...
With that taken care of, Sena, Mio, Agura, Hiku and I all went back to our patrol, which was INFINITELY easier with Wakamo out of the picture.
Unfortunately, an explosion detonates nearby. Looking at the source, I see a small office building begin to collapse towards us.
"MOVE!" I shout as I dash away from the building. With a loud crash, the thing hits the ground, kicking up dirt and debris.
"Your four okay?!" I shout.
"We're fine!" Mio shouts back, on the other side.
"What about you?!" Hiku shouts.
I look around and see the building has cut off either of us from reaching the other.
"I'm fine! Dammit, there's no way around." I growl.
"What should we do?" Agura asks.
"Go and get Wakamo! She's likely nearby!" I shout.
"But-"
"No, I'll be fine!" I cut off Mio. "Go and get her before someone else gets hurt!"
"O-Okay!" Mio relents.
"Dammit..." I hear Agura curse. "Stay safe, Sensei!"
"You too!" I shout, before hearing them run off. Fuck it, if Wakamo wants me, she can have me. My anger recedes as my phone rings. Oh, it's Chihiro this time.
"Sensei?! Are you okay?! You haven't been hurt, have you?!" She asks, frantic.
"Had to dodge a building, but no scratches. Why?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"Wait. Are you alone?" She asks, looking around.
"Yeah. When the building fell, I was the only one who went this way. Plus, the damn thing blocked any way around." I explain. "I told them to go and get Wakamo before anyone else gets hurt."
"Sensei, it's a trap!" The hacker shouts.
"I figured as much." I say, simply.
"No, not the building, she's planned this all from the very beginning. She was causing those incidents to draw every law enforcement agency's focus on her." She explains.
"Hoh? A better plan than I expected." I compliment. So those weren't just random acts of destruction.
"There's no time to explain." Chihiro says. "I need you to stay calm and follow my instructions." I raise an eyebrow. "I just hacked into a system near you. I can use the traffic lights and cameras to lead you to safety. Th... can... lay..." The feed begins to stutter as the hologram of Chihiro also fizzles. "Come... sei...!" Then, the call forcefully ends.
"Welp." I say, popping the p as I casually pocket my phone. "I suppose it doesn't matter."
"Chihiro's probably gonna be super worried." Arona says from the tablet in my pocket.
"Yeah. Well, that's on Himari for not telling her what I can do." I shrug and begin walking down the quiet street, sounds of fighting out in the distance. "Oh well. If she wants me, she can come get me."
Arona sighs. "Honestly, Sensei..." I can almost hear her shaking her head.
"Speaking of..." I trail off, feeling someone nearby.
"Hehehehehe~" Sure enough, I hear Wakamo's giggle. "I finally found you~" She purrs.
I turn around calmly and face the Fox of Calamity, her gun held lazily in one hand. "I set up a jamming device so that no one can interrupt us." She purrs. I can almost hear the heart at the end of her words. Huh... her voice is actually kinda pretty, now that I focus on it. "Stealing Valkyrie's equipment on a whim turned out to be quite useful. Wouldn't you say so... Se~n~se~i~?" She asks, putting out my title.
I narrow my eyes at her. What's her game?
"Oh, how I've waited...!" She exclaims, sounding like a cat that's just caught the canary, the anticipation in her voice almost being a tangible thing. "You have no idea how long I've been dreaming of this moment. Or... how long I struggled to make it happen. Removing all of the obstacles around you proved to be quite difficult."
Obstacles? Huh? What is she talking about?
"But at last, nothing is standing in my way." She continues. "I've been thinking all this time about what I must do to get this close to you." Couldn't you have just walked up to me normally? I almost ask that question, but hold off. "Or better yet, what I would do once I was alone with you like this."
"That's why you've basically waged a fucking war against Valkyrie?" I ask, unimpressed as I cross my arms.
She giggles sweetly again. "It was the only way to take everyone's eyes off of you and place them on me. I caused such a stir that they had no choice but to focus all of their attention on me. It was all to create the opportunity to finally be alone with you. But..." She sighs, lovingly. "Enough talk. I can't hold back any longer."
Wakamo holsters her gun behind her back as she walks up to me, looking up to me, seeing as how she's about five foot-three. "At long last, I can fulfill my deepest desires!" As she says that, she places a hand on her mask and-
Oh fucking hell, she's cute.
She removes her kitsune mask revealing an adorable face and gorgeous golden eyes outlined with a bit of red eyeshadow. She looks up to me with nothing but adoration and love in her eyes, a great big smile and bright blush on her face. Is she seriously a damn yandere?!
She then reaches behind her back and pulls out... a piece of paper? "So..." She begins, shyly averting her gaze with a blush. "...will you accept this, Sensei?"
"A... Schale recruitment form?" I ask, completely and utterly dumbfounded by this turn of events. What the fuck is even happening anymore?! I thought I was used to Kivotos by now! What happened?!
"Of course. It's even the updated version you posted the other day." She says, honest-to-god hearts in her eyes, replacing her pupils. "I was originally going to wait until Valentine's Day and give you chocolate, but I simply couldn't wait any longer!"
"V-Valentine's...?" I stutter. "Wait, hang on. Does that mean...?"
"Yes! It was love at first sight!" She shamelessly admits.
Oh... that was why she ran from me in the basement.
"Since the moment we met, I've been longing for you in my heart, waiting for this." Wakamo explains. "And now that we're alone at last, I can give you this recruitment form. It's not chocolate, but I believe it will show you exactly how I feel." She giggles. "I couldn't be any happier!"
My mind blanks. This... She... "So everything that happened today... was to give me this...?" I ask, slowly.
"Yes, Sensei~!" The kitsune chirps.
"Wakamo, you..." I begin, trying to form words.
"Yes~?" She purrs.
"I'm grateful and all, but..." I say.
"Aw. I'm so glad you like it." She cuts me off. "I knew I should have done something like this from the beginning. I could have confessed to you earlier!" She giggles, sounding a bit manic.
I sigh. "I appreciate it, but..."
"Hm? What is it?" She asks, the hearts leaving her eyes.
"I don't know how to feel about this." I say honestly.
"How you feel...?" She mutters. Did... Did she not even think of the possibility of me turning her down? Not thinking of how I feel?
"Wakamo." I stress. "This was the wrong way to go about it."
"Wrong, you say?" She blinks. "B-But, Sensei...! It may not be Valentine's, but... Everything I did today was to show you how I feel."
"I get that. But you can't do it at the expense of others." I chide- no, scold.
"But I...!" She tries.
"You aren't the only one who had plans today. Think of the bystanders who you either hurt or ruined their plans." I say.
Her ears flop down. "I was only trying to-!"
"And I understand that." I interrupt. "But you went too far. If you can't understand that, then I'm disappointed in you. I can't let someone selfish be a part of Schale."
Wakamo recoils, as if struck, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks. It hurts me seeing that face, especially after seeing her so happy, but she has to hear it. "Y-You're... disappointed in me...?" She asks, slowly, in disbelief. "Everything I did was for you... but... it was wrong...? I've... disappointed you...?"
I nod. "It's fine to be selfish every now and again, but this?" I softly ask, gesturing around. "This was too far, Wakamo."
"Thi... This can't be happening!" She shouts, her eyes suddenly overflowing with tears. "I-I don't know what I'd do with myself if I made you hate me!" Dammit, that hurts my fucking heart.
I sigh and walk forward. Gently, I put my hand on the back of her head and pull her against my chest. "Wakamo. I have faith that you can learn from this and be better."
She gasps, stilling in my grasp.
"I can tell you aren't a bad person, but like I said, there is a limit to selfishness. You've definitely hurt people today, but I have faith that you can be better than this." I say, softly stroking the back of her head.
"You... believe in me...? You don't hate me despite the mistakes I've made?" She asks, in disbelief.
"I could never hate one of my students." I say, eliciting another gasp from her. "It's also really, REALLY hard for me to truly hate someone. It's an emotion I'm not a fan of..." I say, as I put my hands on her shoulders and pull her away, causing her to look at me, her golden eyes wide and still moist with tears. "I will always give my students another chance, understand? I know you aren't a bad person, Wakamo. You just need to be better."
She stills again. "I'm... one of your students...?"
I smile. "All of the students in this city are."
"Ah... of course! I'll do better next time!" She says, perking up and smiling.
"There's a smile." I say, happy.
"From now on, I won't do anything to disappoint you." She promises. "I'll follow the rules and be your best student!"
"Promise?" I ask, taking a hand off her shoulder and holding out my pinky.
She eyes my finger in surprise for a moment, before wrapping her pinky around mine. "Yes! I promise!" Then, the hearts appear in her eyes again. "Oh, Sensei! My dearest Sensei!"
I smile as I let go of her, but not before snatching the form from her hand. "Then welcome to Schale."
Her smile somehow widens further. Her ears twitch as I hear sirens. "And on that note, it would seem those interlopers are on their way here to interrupt our precious alone time again."
"Oh, no. You aren't running off again." I say.
"Eh? Sensei?" Wakamo asks.
"People are free to make their own actions and face their own consequences." I lecture. "Joining Schale means owning up to them."
"I..." Wakamo begins to speak, before her ears droop. "Okay... If it'll make you happy, I'll do anything, Sensei."
I pat the girl on the head, in between her ears, which perk back up.
Soon, a police car shows up, and out from it a few girls practically leap out.. The former gang trio, Sena, Chihiro, Fubuki, and Kirino- all of which aim their guns at Wakamo, who puts her mask back on quicker than the eye can see. Impressive.
"Sensei, are you-?!" Chihiro begins, before noticing Wakamo. "You... uh...?"
"Sensei...?" Kirino blinks.
"Did he catch her...?" Fubuki says.
"The hell is...?" Agura blinks.
I let go of Wakamo's head. "For now, go with them. And no more breaking out, okay?"
"Okay!" Wakamo enthusiastically nods, before sauntering over to the girls, uncaring of their guns as she goes into the back of the cop car, shutting the door behind her.
"...Okay, what the hell?!" Chihiro shouts.
I just chuckle.
—————
By that time, the day was nearly over, so I headed back home. Arona, the trio, and I ate, then we all fell asleep, emotionally and physically exhausted.
The next day, Kirino and Fubuki called me to update me while the trio were out getting their stuff to move in. Valkyrie got most of their stolen stuff back, though most of it was broken. Most of the ones who helped Wakamo also got arrested.
I also got messages from the girls who helped out. I also had a chat with four of my girlfriends who helped out. That conversation was...
—————
Yuuka: She WHAT?!
Hoshino: Okay, you have to be making that up.
Sensei: I ain't the type to joke about this. You think I'd jest about a cute yandere fox destroying and attacking shit to get me alone?
Shiroko: It sounds so far-fetched that it loops back around to sounding real.
Sensei: Exactly.
Chinatsu: Well, she was arrested. That's it, right?
Sensei: Not exactly.
Yuuka: Josh, what are you planning?
Sensei: I'll tell ya later. -Sensei has logged off.-
Yuuka: JOSH!
Chinatsu: Honestly...
Hoshino: Hueh... That man.
Shiroko: What a handful.
—————
They'll see. Hopefully my plan works out.
Sena also called, apologizing for not being more of a help, but I waved her off. Chihiro also called, also apologizing for not helping as much as she could have. Once again, I waved her off. Those two girls were really worried about me, huh?
With everyone calmed back down and the situation resolved, I had another thing to take care of.
The phone rings as the call goes through. Eventually, a hologram shows up.
"Ah, hello, Sensei." Rin answers, sat at her desk.
"Did I catch ya at a bad time?" I ask, looking at the stacks of papers.
"I can scarcely recall there being a good time recently." Rin deadpans. "Not to mention with that mess that happened yesterday."
"Yeah." I nod.
"Anyway, what did you call for?" She asks.
"I need a meeting with your pal Kaya." Rin's eyebrows rise at my request. "You're about the only one I can ask about this without going through official channels."
"Surely there are others." Rin sweat drops.
"Ayumu works for you and Momoka..." I trail off.
Rin sighs, a small smile on her face. "That adds up... I'll see what I can do. I'll tell you if I manage anything."
"I'll keep an eye out." I smile. "Thanks, Rin."
"You're welcome, Sensei." She says.
"And another thing. Remember my offer. Swing by anytime to take a break." I remind.
Another small smile appears. "I will keep that in mind."
I nod as we end the call. Sighing, I lean back in my chair. Let's hope this works out.
—————
Surprisingly, the very next day, Rin calls me back, saying that Kaya agreed to a meeting that afternoon. Mio, Hiku, and Agura all got moved in easily, and they all made quick friends with Arona, to my joy. While they ended up playing video games with Arona, I went over to Sanctum Tower. I'm so glad I took this armored car way back when.
I follow Rin's directions and quickly find myself in a long corridor, each leading to the offices of the eleven heads of the eleven committees of the Administration Board of the General Student Council. Rin runs the Supervision Office, which oversees all eleven branches. Ayumu actually runs the Arbitration office, and even Momoka is a branch leader. But the one I'm going after is the Defense Office, which supervises Valkyrie Police School, or rather, it's leader.
I knock on the door. "Come in." A female voice says.
I enter the office and find one reminiscent of Rin's place, albeit vaguely. A young woman sits at the desk, her eyes... closed? The hell? She has pink hair done in a bun on the back of her head and has a cowlick in front of her halo, a thin gold ring with two spears on either side. Reminds me of Elden Ring, actually. She wears a white GSC uniform with a long skirt, white gloves, white leggings, and white heels.
To my surprise, it seems she was talking to another girl. Her light blue eyes are open and she has blue hair cut in an askew bob cut- her right bangs being longer than the left ones. She wears a similar uniform, albeit with a longer skirt and no leggings. She also has a pistol holstered on her hip and... elf ears? Her halo is multiple sky blue rings with a plus in the center and two spears in either horizontal side.
"Ah, Sensei." The pinkette says, checking her watch. "I guess time got away from us. We'll have to cut our chat short." She says to the bluette, without opening her eyes. How?
The bluette nods. "Still you should have told me you were meeting with Schale's Sensei, Kaya."
Kaya just shrugs. "My apologies."
The other girl sighs. "I'll introduce myself. Oki Aoi, head of the Financial Office."
"And, as you know, I'm Shiranui Kaya, head of the Defense Office." Kaya introduces as well.
"Joshua Birkin, Sensei of Schale. Nice to meet you both." I greet politely.
"Hm. Senior Administrator Rin told me you were more casual, Sensei." Kaya comments.
"I felt like I oughta make a good first impression." I smile and shrug, earning a small chuckle from Kaya and a smile from Aoi.
"I'll let you two speak. Nice meeting you, Sensei." Aoi says, walking past me.
"You too, Aoi." I say as the door closes behind the bluette.
"Please, have a seat, Sensei." Kaya offers. Obliging, I sit at one of the chairs in front of her desk. "The Senior Administrator didn't mention what this meeting was about."
"Nor did I mention it to her." I point out. "Simply put, I had to do with Wakamo."
"Oh?" Kaya raises an eyebrow. "The Fox of Calamity? What of her?"
"I dunno if she explained why did caused all that mayhem yesterday, but it was merely to talk to me alone." I explain.
"Eh?" Kaya blinks, opening her eyes to reveal pretty green ones with... horizontal pupils? After a moment, she closes them again. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean Wakamo has a dumb way of thinking. She wanted to speak to me alone, but didn't consider merely asking to take in private or anything, instead opting to distract everyone in the city from me." I explain. "All to give me a recruitment form to Schale."
"...The report I received mentioned something like that. I thought it was the Fox merely joking, but..." The pinkette trails off.
"No, it's accurate." I say with a knowing smirk. "Long story short, I accepted her form so I want to help her. She is a student of mine, after all."
"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" Kaya asks. "Do you suggest we let her go without repercussions?"
"Hell no. She caused many problems yesterday alone. Too many to warrant getting off scot-free." I say, sternly. "No, I'm offering to change her sentence from being jailed to working at Schale."
Kaya hums, mulling over that info. "That's certainly an interesting proposal. But it's still too dangerous. Far too many issues would arise from this."
"Oh? You do know the only reason she hasn't tried, or rather succeeded in escaping again is because I told her to not do it again." I point out, crossing my arms. "I try to be nice, which is why I set up this meeting. If I were more of an asshole, I could've just used Schale's authority to bust her out."
"You could have... but you wouldn't." Kaya smiles.
"Nah, I wouldn't. It'd cause Rin and the rest of y'all too many more problems." I retort.
Kaya smirks, letting out a huff. "If Wakamo is released into your custody, she'll be on house arrest- not allowed to leave Schale without an escort. That means you or anyone else capable of reigning her in."
I nod. "Those are acceptable terms. Will the house arrest cover the entire duration of her community service?"
"No. If she causes no more incidents until, say... After you return to Schale once the Eden Treaty is signed, then she can leave unsupervised." She says. I raise an eyebrow. "What's with that look? Surely the Tea Party will invite you to the signing."
"And it ain't too far away." I pause, mulling it over. "How long will the community service last?"
"Looking at her current sentence, it will end when she graduates." Kaya says.
"Hmph. Better than being locked up. Alright, it's a deal." I stand up from my seat and hold my hand out to her.
Kaya smiles, a gloved hand taking mine and shaking it. "That it is."
"And one other thing." I say, remembering my other concern. "Is there any way Valkyrie's budget can be increased?"
"Hm?" She hums.
"Well, after seeing the mess yesterday, it's obvious they're low on manpower and equipment. From what I've been told, their budget has been down since your president disappeared." I say.
"Funny you say that, I was just speaking about that with Aoi." Kaya explains. "Unfortunately, there isn't much wiggle room with this, Sensei."
"I see." I say.
Kaya frowns. "Furthermore, most of Valkyrie's equipment was stolen by Wakamo and her thugs yesterday, half of that being broken. I doubt it's a good idea to upgrade their weaponry if it's just going to be used by thugs again."
"Maybe their security should be updated." I snap. "What was it again? Their equipment lockers' password is the chief's birthday? And all the cars' glove boxes have a note with the date written on it?"
Kaya stills, looking very unsure of herself all of a sudden. "That... is definitely a more pressing concern."
"Indeed." I say, crossing my arms. "The VP of Veritas was with us yesterday and offered to help them. I'd say see if you can squeeze a bit of budget out for that. Upgrading stuff and getting more recruits can come next."
Kaya hums. "Perhaps Aoi will agree to that... I'll see what I can do, Sensei."
"That's all I ask." I say, smiling. "And that's all I came by for. Send me word when Wakamo is sent my way, would ya?"
"I'll do just that." Kaya nods.
"Then I'll be leavin'." I say. "Have a good day, Kaya."
"And you as well, Sensei." Kaya politely says, sitting back down as I leave the office. Heh, nice girl. Real polite and willing to compromise. I wouldn't mind meeting with her again.
Just wish she would tone down the killing intent she was blasting me with from the moment Aoi left. Wasn't even trying to be subtle.
—————
The next few days progressed rather smoothly. The trio of Mio, Hiku, and Agura were hardworking. They did a great job of helping out with commissions and paperwork, much to my joy with the latter. All was going normally, until Fubuki called me.
"Yo." I say, upon answering the phone.
"Hey, Sensei. So, uh... About Wakamo..." She begins.
"She's coming this way?" I ask.
"Yeah." She nods.
"Thanks for the heads up." I smile.
"No problem." She smiles as the call ends. Well, I guess I'd better get ready.
BOOM
But before I can, the door explodes. Wakamo happy saunters through the smoke.
"Hello, Wakamo." I greet.
She takes off her kitsune mask, revealing her cute face, smiling brightly. "Hello, Sensei. The door was open, so I decided to show myself in."
I sigh. "Wakamo, next time just open the door. Or knock. Now I have to get a new door."
"Ah!" She blinks, fearful realization on her face. "Oh, no! Did I disappoint you again?"
"No. Like I said, I know you can be better." I say, walking over to her. "Did anyone explain why you got sent over here?"
"Not really. They mentioned having me go to meet with my darling Sensei, that's all that matters." Wakamo smiles, the hearts appearing in her eyes again.
I shake my head, a smile on my face. "I accepted your application, remember?" She nods. "That means you're a part of Schale now, and I'm gonna help you out."
"What do you mean?" She blinks.
"Instead of jail, you now have community service at Schale. Also house arrest." I explain.
"House...? You mean... I'm to be working here... with you?" She asks, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yup."
"A-And living here... with you...?" She asks, hopefully blushing.
"Yup." I repeat. "There's a lot of spare rooms here. And I trust you can behave yourself should I leave."
"This is...! This is the greatest thing that has ever happened!" Wakamo happily cheers, a massive smile on her face. "It's almost like we're married now! Ahhh~!" She moans. "Anata-sama~!"
I shake my head again. "Yes, you can stay here. But you still have to help out with work, and can only go outside with a supervisor."
"Oh! I'm so happy!" She cheers again.
Chuckling, I walk over to her and before I can do anything, I find myself hugging the fox girl. She happily wraps her arms around my torso tightly. I pat her on the back. After a moment- and after my surprise dies down- she lets me go, looking up at me with love and lust.
"Moving in with Anata-sama...! Does this mean you're going to take me here?" She asks, excitedly.
"Wakamo, I barely know you." I stress, raising an eyebrow. "I'd rather get to know you before we actually become a couple or anything like that."
"Ah, right. A good relationship starts with a date. A first date!" Wakamo happily says.
"Yes, we can go on a date sometime." I sigh.
"And I get to be Sensei's woman! His only woman...!" She smiles, all but panting.
"Actually... I already have a few girlfriends..."
"Eh?" She cutely blinks at my admission. "That's... No, I should have expected this. Sensei is a wonderful man, it only makes sense for others to feel for him the same way as I."
I raise an eyebrow, wondering where her thought process is going. "And you're fine with this?"
The kitsune smiles. "It just means you have more love to give than one woman can handle! Anata-sama really is amazing!"
I... honestly...
"Well enough of that. Let's go and get your stuff so you can move in." I say.
"Yes! Let's!" Wakamo smiles a bright smile.
"Ah, right. Arona?" I ask.
"Yes, Sensei?" Arona asks, popping up on the screen. Wakamo quickly puts on her mask again.
"Get the Crafting thing to make a new door." I say.
"On it!" Arona nods, smiling.
"Ara? Is she another lover of yours?" Wakamo innocently asks.
"Huwah?!" Arona chokes, blushing up a storm.
"No, she's an AI who's like my secretary or something." I explain.
"Is that so?" Wakamo tilts her head.
Arona nods. "W-Well, I'll go get on the crafting!" She stammers, as the screen goes dark again. I shake my head. Arona's easy to fluster too, huh?
I turn back to Wakamo. "Why'd you put your mask back on like that?"
Wakamo huffs. "You are the only one allowed the pleasure of seeing my face, Sensei. No one else can be granted such a gift."
I find myself smiling at her. "I'll treasure it, then." Even with the mask, I can see her blushing from that. "Now c'mon, let's go and get your stuff. I have a truck we can use."
"Yes!" Wakamo chirps as we step over the broken door, her grabbing onto my arm and holding it against her body, muttering 'Anata-sama' over and over again.
I can almost feel a headache coming on. Oh well.
Hopefully I can curb these destructive tendencies of hers. And if I can't, Wakamo will at least be a strong ally.
Then again, a lot of the students are pretty crazy. What's one more lunatic?
—————
SCHALE'S HAPPY VALENTINE'S(?) PATROL / KOSAKA WAKAMO'S SILENCE AND FEAST: END
—————
AN
Translator's note: Anata-sama means husband, though I may be wrong.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!