Blue Archive - Story of Joshua Sensei

Chapter 9 - Problem Solver's Attack

"Lemme guess, you ain't gonna tell who hired you girls?" I ask.

"Correct, Sensei!" Aru says, proudly. "Problem Solver Sixty-Eight is a respectable business, with absolute client confidentiality!"

"I see." I say.

"Well, I guess we should do this, get them girls!" Aru shouts, pointing at us.

"Spread out!" I shout, as the goons march at us. The four girls and I distance ourselves from one another, as we are beset by goons. All of us quickly take cover, as I draw my AR. I look to Shiroko, crouching next to me. "Got any grenades?"

"A few." She says, handing two to me.

"Thanks. I'm gonna flank 'em." I say to Hoshino, on the other side of me, as I hook one to my belt. "You gals distract them towards that'a way." I point to the left of the group of goons.

"Got it, Sensei!" Nonomi, hidden behind another piece of rubble past Shiroko says.

"On it! Serika, past Nonomi says, as she dashes to the left of the group and fires, drawing their attention. Nonomi goes over that way too, as she fires her gatling gun, also drawing their fire.

"Stay safe, Sensei." Hoshino says, seriously as I begin to move.

I stop and nod. "Shiroko, you've got range. Cover me." The wolf girl nods as the two girls begin to fire just after I begin to move. I scuttle behind broken things scattered here and there. This area hasn't been fixed since a previous attack, I surmise. Fortunately, the four girls keep the goons distracted. Unfortunately, they don't keep the Problem Solver girls distracted. Kayoko's eyes dart to me, as she readies her pistol. I quickly pull the pin and toss the grenade at a large group of goons, while quickly ducking behind cover, narrowly missing Kayoko's bullet.

The grenade explodes, causing multiple cries to ring out. "Now! Rush 'em!" I shout, as Hoshino jumps out with her riot shield right into the crowd. The hail of bullets avoid her as her shield casts a translucent barrier around her whole body, repelling the shots. She rushes forward, taking out a few with quick smacks of the shield, surprisingly powerful kicks, despite her short legs, and short range blasts from her shotgun.

Shiroko and Serika unload their rifles into the smaller groups. Nonomi unloads into the larger groups. I can't do much, for fear of Kayoko shooting at me again.

This though is interrupted by a ringing sound. One of a cellphone, coming from multiple sources. I peek over the debris I'm hiding behind and notice the sound is coming from all of the goons. The hell?

"Phew. It's quittin' time." One goon says. The hell?

"It sure is." Another agrees. "That's all you get for the money you paid us today. You can handle the rest on your own. Let's go ladies." She says, motioning the others to follow her as she begins to leave. THE HELL?!

"Wh-What?! W-Wait a second!" Aru shouts, seemingly just as shocked at this development as I.

"Time to clock out." Another says, as they as one, begin to leave.

"Wanna grab a bowl of soba on the way back?" Yet another asks.

"Hey! What the heck is this?!" Aru shouts desperately. "Don't just leave!" Kayoko cringes at Aru's pleading.

"Lady, it's one o'clock. You only paid for six hours, and time's up." One says to Aru as she, like the others, walks away.

"Welp. We're boned." Mustuki surmises. "I kind of thought we would have wrapped up by now." She turns to her boss. "What now, Aru? Should we run for it?"

"Ughhh..." The boss groans. She eventually does reach a conclusion. "Y-You haven't seen the last of us, Abydos!" Aru shouts.

"What's with that cheesy line?" I ask, hopping over the rubble.