Coincidence is Inevitability - 11

Lunchtime ended, and the meeting of the fugitives continued. And then, Sensei brought up the most important issue here.

"But, actually, there's something really important... Aru, don't take this the wrong way, okay? Can you listen?"

"Uh, huh? What is it?"

"It might be a bit rude to ask..."

"How could anything you ask be rude, Sensei? Just say it."

And Sensei put on a serious expression, making Aru nervous as she looked at him. Then, the words that came out of Sensei's mouth were...

"Do you happen to have any money?"

Sensei's expression turned sheepish again. It was clearly not something he should be asking a student, which made him even more embarrassed.

"M-Money? Sensei, you don't have money?"

Sensei let out a deep sigh at her words and said.

"My account is frozen, so I'm completely broke right now... And the other kids aren't in great financial shape either. It's not like we can earn money while running away..."

"Ah, ah! Is that all? Don't worry! Money isn't a big problem..."

But Aru's words lacked confidence for some reason. Sensei, being observant, vaguely realized Aru was lying.

"Aru, be honest with me. Is the Problem Solver's financial situation really bad?"

"N-No problem...? We have plenty..."

But the rest of the Problem Solver 68 members shook their heads and looked at Aru. Kayoko immediately spoke up.

"Boss, this isn't the time to act tough. You need to be honest."

At Kayoko's words, Aru's shoulders slumped, and she said.

"Right... Actually, we haven't had any requests lately, so we're in the red. We don't even have enough for rent..."

Seeing Aru dejected, Sensei scratched his head, wondering if he had said something unnecessary, but it was something he had to say. If the people you're relying on are poor, wouldn't that be like taking the shirt off their back? If they had the means, he could stay without worry, but if not, he couldn't impose on them.

"Then, shouldn't we leave...? You need to take care of yourselves first, right?"

At Sensei's words, Aru vehemently objected.

"Where are you going to go in that condition?! You can't even go to the hospital! You need to rest here and recover!"

"It's not that bad. As long as I'm careful with my right arm, it doesn't really affect my activities."

Saying so, Sensei tried to reassure her by moving his right arm, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

"Ugh..."

The pain surged back terribly, and Sensei grimaced in agony. Seeing this, Aru paled and said.

"No, no! We'll find a way to get money! It's not like we haven't been in situations like this before!"

"Y-Yes, Aru-sama is right...! Please rest and recover first...!"

Sensei resented his body. If only he were healthy, they wouldn't have to worry him. He realized he couldn't be the dependable 'adult' the students could rely on in his current state.

"Alright, I understand. But what are you going to do? In the past, when you were in this situation, I would find you some requests, but I can't do that now..."

"Even if it's late, we'll get one! Then we can solve the immediate problem!"

"Really?"

"Really! Just trust us this once!"

At her sincere plea, Sensei had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

"Okay, I'll trust you."

But one can't move forward with an unstable future. And this wasn't something to gloss over; it had to be made clear.

"But, Aru-chan. If you don't get any requests until the very end, do you have a plan?"

"We can borrow from the bank..."

When Sensei showed disapproval at that, Aru quickly changed her words.

"Bounties! There are a lot of people with bounties in Kivotos, right? If we catch them, we'll strike it rich! Then we won't have to worry!"

Aru then brought out a poster with a list of wanted criminals, her expression exaggerated, and stuck it on the whiteboard, saying,

"Well, if we catch these guys, there won't be any big problems! We'll earn money! And our reputation will soar! It's killing three birds with one stone!"

"As expected, Aru-sama! You're amazing......?"

Haruka's expression suddenly hardened, and her face turned pale.

"A-Aru-sama...?"

"What's wrong?"

Then, Mutsuki and Kayoko's expressions also stiffened.

"Uh, Aru-chan...?"

"Boss. That's..."

"???"

The other five looked even more appalled. They all glared at Aru with serious expressions. Aru was utterly bewildered by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Why, why is everyone acting like this?"

She couldn't understand what was happening. Sensei sighed and said quietly to Aru,

"Aru."

"Sensei?"

"Look at who's on the poster."

She had just grabbed a random poster when she brought it, so she didn't know who was on it. She had just thought, "We can catch these guys!" and put it up, nothing more, nothing less. So, Aru was checking the poster for the first time now.

1

"Of course... eh, EHHHHH?!?!?!?!"

And then, her eyes rolled back in her head. On the poster were none other than Sensei, the Arius Squad, and Wakamo, prominently displayed.

"Uh, no! That's not it! Uh!"

It was a wanted poster featuring the most dangerous individuals in Kivotos, and there were exactly six people, the same six people right here.

"Wow, we're big shots! I'm the biggest shot of them all. 100 million yen? Am I the Pirate King?"

Sensei grinned and said.

"So, Aru. Are you going to catch us?"

"Huh?! No, no! Of course not! Why would we catch you, Sensei?!"

"But didn't you come to catch me?"

"No, that, that was! That...!"

While there was resentment, it was also true that they were after the bounty. So Aru couldn't easily deny it.

"I know, I know. Calm down."

Sensei knew Aru was a bit of an airhead in these situations. She had inadvertently said something like, "We'll sell you out and revive Problem Solver 68!" in front of the very people she was talking about, but surely she didn't mean it. Sensei understood her mistake, but...

Click.

The others didn't seem to. They all raised their guns and pointed them at Aru. Sensei, startled, quickly stood in front of Aru and said.

"Guys, calm down! She didn't mean it! You don't think she really meant to sell us out, do you?!"

But Wakamo spoke with a subtle hint of anger.

"Darling, this woman has a history of going after the bounty on you..."

"Oh...? She did?"

"N-No!? Th-that's... uh... well... uh! Uh!?"

While she had targeted Sensei out of resentment, it was also true that she had gone after the bounty on him, so she couldn't easily deny it, feeling guilty. This only heightened their vigilance.

"Sensei, move. I'm going to blow her head off."

As Misaki loaded her Stinger to fire a missile, Sensei forced a smile, sweating nervously, and said.

"Hey! She's our benefactor! If you shoot that, I'll die too?! Saori, talk some sense into them... No, put your gun down too! You're scaring me?!"

"..........."

And at this, Haruka also pointed her shotgun at the others, saying,

"If you t-touch Aru-sama...! If you touch her...!"

"No! No! No! Nothing's going to happen! Everyone put your guns down, let's calm down. We're human. We can talk it out."

But Mutsuki poured cold water on that with her remark.

"In Kivotos, guns are the conversation, aren't they?"

"Hey, Mutsuki! That's not the time for that line!"

"Right, do you want this kind of 'conversation'?"

"No! Saori! Put your gun down!"

With the situation spiraling into utter madness, Sensei felt his mind spinning. Kayoko sighed deeply at the unfolding chaos.

Sensei spent a full ten minutes trying to clear up the misunderstanding and calm everyone down.

* * *

Tadadadang!

A girl fired her gun in defiance, but the bullets posed no real threat to her target.

"Huff... Huff..."

Is this guy and that guy all going to disobey me now?

And then, the girl shouted at her target.

"We don't exist for your glory! I'd rather die than live like that!"

So, that's your choice? How foolish. You could have lived if you had just followed my orders...

"As your puppet? I've lived my whole life like that. I won't live like that anymore!"

And the girl continued to fire her gun. But it wasn't enough to mount a proper resistance. She was soon captured.

Since when did you think you could address me like that?

"Why, should I call you 'Madame'? Too bad, I don't want to."

At those words, the other person's anger flared, and their grip on the girl tightened.

Then, die.

The girl's halo slowly faded from her head. She began to lose her strength. Her mystic power was being drained into the other person. In her last moments, she spoke.

"You... will... never... get... what you... want...! Go... to... hell... Be...atrice..."

The girl raised her middle finger one last time before collapsing. And she would never rise again.

Now everyone looks down on me. Even these insignificant fools mock me! All of this! It's all because of that man and that woman!

She smashed the wall with her own strength, gritting her teeth as she spoke.

I hope he's dead by now, but no. That damn man is probably still alive. Of course, he is. It wouldn't be fun if he died already. If I kill him, it will be with my own hands.

And she laughed strangely, her many eyes wide as she spoke.

Sensei, Jomae Saori! I will make sure those two suffer the most agonizing deaths...!

* * *

Two days later, Problem Solver 68 still had no work coming in. There were ten people in the office, but without any jobs, they were essentially idle resources. Aru held her head in her hands, overwhelmed by the situation.

"No, this isn't right! It can't be like this!"

"Calm down, Aru. We'll get a request eventually. Problem Solver 68 is good at what we do. We'll definitely get work."

Sensei tried to console her, but Aru was already in a state of semi-panic.

"Am I really just a nobody...? Did I start the Problem Solver 68 for nothing...?"

"Hey! Why is the greatest villain, charismatic leader, and president of Problem Solver 68, Rikuhachima Aru-sama, so down? Cheer up!"

"Ugh..."

She was losing her confidence. Then, as she lifted her head from her slumped position, she saw Hiyori with her mouth full of complimentary snacks. Hiyori flinched when their eyes met, but Aru just resigned herself to the situation.

"No, go ahead and eat... We're not getting any customers anyway..."

Hiyori nodded and stuffed more snacks into her mouth. Sensei shook his head at the sight.

'This isn't just a financial issue; Aru is going to fall apart. We really need something to come up...'

"I'm trash... Less than a... rolling stone..."

"Oh, Aru..."

And then it happened.

Ring! Ring!

The cheerful sound of the phone ringing. She immediately jumped up, answered the phone, and switched to a business-like tone.

"Yes, this is Problem Solver 68, we can solve any problem."

".........."

"Yes, yes."

"..........."

"Ah, I see."

"......Yes! Understood. We'll head to the location as soon as you send it... Oh, you already sent it? Alright. We'll start right away!"

Click.

After hanging up, her face was filled with the joy of the happiest person in the world. And she immediately declared with enthusiasm,

"Problem Solver 68! We've got a job! Let's go!"

As Aru put on her coat, raised her gun, and prepared to leave, the rest of the Problem Solver 68 members followed her lead.

"Yahoo~ How long has it been since we had a job?"

"Yeah, we've been slacking off too much."

"F-Finally... it's here...!"

Seeing Problem Solver 68 preparing, Sensei felt a sense of relief. Seeing Aru, who had been down for a while, regain her energy made him feel at ease.

'Yes, this is the Problem Solver 68 I know.'

As Problem Solver 68 finished their preparations and were about to leave, someone spoke to them.

"Wait."

It was none other than Jomae Saori, the leader of the Arius Squad. Aru maintained a poker face outwardly but was inwardly tense as she asked,

"Why?"

And what came out of Saori's mouth was unexpected.

"Can I help?"

Everyone, from the Arius Squad to Problem Solver 68 to Sensei, was taken aback by her words. Aru asked for the reason.

"Do you have a reason?"

"Well, it's rude to just freeload and do nothing. And..."

Saori glanced at Hiyori, who was eating snacks and said.

"Let's just say it's in exchange for the snacks."

And Aru readily accepted. The more people they had to work, the better.

"Great! You can see how we work!"

However, Kayoko expressed concern, saying,

"Won't we be short on people to protect Sensei?"

"It'll be fine. Especially with that fox around."

When Saori pointed at Wakamo with her thumb, everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess... nothing will happen."

And so, Problem Solver 68 + Saori set off on their mission. Wakamo was secretly pleased, thinking she could spend more time alone with Sensei.

'Hehe... Now is my time...'

And Sensei and the Arius Squad saw them off.

"Have a safe trip, Sacchan."

"Guys, take care of yourselves! Don't get hurt!"

"Take care of yourself, Sensei!"

"Sensei, we'll be back. Take care of the princess and the others."

And with that, they left.

'Do your best, Saori intern!'

And Sensei turned back to look at Hiyori. She was still stuffing her mouth with snacks like a hamster.

"Hiyori..."

"Mmph?"

"Never mind. Just keep eating."

"Mmph."

Sensei sat back on the sofa and enjoyed the peace for the first time in a while. He raised his right arm again, and this time, the pain wasn't as severe.

'? It doesn't hurt much anymore, is that a good sign? Maybe things will work out...'

* * *

".......? Why is it so quiet?"

"I know... There aren't even any guards, it's strange."

The request they had received was to clear out an abandoned building in a redevelopment area, but the Helmet Gang had taken over and refused to leave, hindering the redevelopment efforts.

But even after reaching the outer walls of the building, they couldn't find any guards, and only silence hung in the air.

"They couldn't have set up a trap, right? What's going on?"

But they couldn't know anything without going inside. So, they decided to take action. If they openly stormed through the front gate, they might be met with a barrage of fire, but since they embraced a hardcore approach anyway, they didn't care.

"Alright, let's go in!"

The five of them made their grand entrance. And what they saw was shocking.

"Wh-What...?"

All the Helmet Gang members were lying on the floor, brutally beaten. Their helmets were smashed, and only a few were barely twitching. The helmets were dented as if struck by a blunt object.

"A-Aru-sama... Did someone get here before us...?"

"Kuhuhu... Did we just get an easy win without lifting a finger...?"

"But who would do this?"

They had no way of knowing. It was unlikely that someone who had given them the request would have assigned it to someone else. They felt a sense of unease.

"For now... should we go inside the building?"

And Saori rushed into the abandoned building first, saying to Problem Solver 68,

"I'll investigate ahead. You all check outside to see if there's anyone else."

"Oh? Okay!"

And so, Saori entered the building alone. Inside, an even more gruesome scene unfolded.

"Huh."

The interior of the building was wrecked, as if a typhoon had swept through. The Helmet Gang members were strewn about like corpses. Someone was slumped against the wall, and when Saori looked closely, she saw a large crack in the wall behind them.

"........."

There weren't many signs of a firefight. But the bullet wounds on the gang members were clear.

"Were they shot at point-blank range? And... there are marks of blunt force trauma. Metal bats wouldn't be effective in Kivotos..."

The more Saori looked at the signs of the fallen members, the more certain she became. They hadn't been defeated by a group.

"One person?"

One person had turned this place into a disaster zone.

"There should be four more floors left... I'll have to check."

She cautiously surveyed her surroundings and continued to climb the floors. As she went up, the number of members decreased, but they were all defeated in the same way. And the total number of members she had counted so far was 25. Nearly 25 people had been helplessly defeated by a single person.

'It wouldn't be easy for one person to cause this much carnage...'

She continued to climb carefully. When she reached the fourth floor, she heard a sound.

Bam!

A dull thud echoed from above. And she immediately knew. The person who had caused this mess and the person who had made that sound were definitely the same.

She held her breath, stayed alert, and went up. And... when she reached the top floor, Saori hid behind a pillar. And what she saw there...

"Hey, don't you really know?"

"I said I don't! Why are you doing this... Why are you looking for Sensei here?!"

"Really? That's too bad. Then let's just say it's for Serika-chan's revenge."

"W-Wait..."

Bang!

The pink-haired girl grabbed her opponent and shot her point-blank with a shotgun, knocking her out. Then, she tossed her aside.

"I'll never find him like this. Did they leave Kivotos completely? If so, I'll never get my chance for revenge... No, he must be somewhere."

And she sat on the floor, muttering to herself.

"Yume-senpai... I have to kill that person... I have to..."

Saori could sense a chilling madness in her words. And not just in her words, but in the aura she exuded.

'This is just like... back then.'

Saori recalled that day. Back then, too, a pink-haired girl had displayed the same intimidating presence.

"Let's stop playing hide-and-seek~? How long do you think you can keep running...?"

Thinking about that time still sent shivers down her spine. And even now, she could feel that same aura from the small girl.

'I need to tell Sensei. That woman is dangerous.'

And just as she was about to leave.

Bang!

A shotgun blast hit the pillar she was hiding behind. And the girl spoke.

"I know you're there. Come out."

She had been discovered. Even though she had tried to enter as quietly as possible, Hoshino had already sensed her presence.

".....Who are you? Did you do all this?"

"You can see that, can't you?"

Every word she spoke was filled with intimidation.

"We were just here to subdue these guys. We're not your enemy."

"Oh? Then it doesn't matter. I'll just ask you one question. Do you happen to know where Sensei is?"

"....I don't."

And then.

Whoosh!

Hoshino instantly closed the distance to Saori, who was behind the pillar, and swung her shield at her.

Whack!

The shield slammed into the pillar with a loud crash, creating a huge crack. Saori leaped back to avoid the blow.

"What are you doing?!"

But Hoshino's expression hardened, and she countered with a question of her own.

"That reaction was strange, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"When you mention Sensei, people usually say, 'That bastard,' 'That scum,' 'That piece of sh*t.' But your reaction was too calm."

"It's just your assumption."

Saori maintained her composure, asserting her lack of connection to Sensei, but Hoshino had already made up her mind.

"I don't think so... You seem to know a lot. I'll have to capture you and interrogate you."

Hoshino closed the distance in an instant, aiming to shoot Saori at point-blank range with her shotgun. But Saori ducked again, evading the blast.

Tadadadadang!

She returned fire. But Hoshino casually blocked the bullets with her shield. Her expression grew even colder, her orange and blue eyes glowing as she spoke.

"Looks like you're pretty tough? Well, it doesn't matter."

"You won't have it easy."

On the top floor of the abandoned building, the battle between the two girls began.