Sensei, the Enemy of Kivotos - 2

In the taxi going back the way they came, Sensei was sweating bullets, his eyes wide open. He was probably the person in the city with the most thoughts running through his mind at this moment.

'Even a soap opera would have more coherence than this. What is going on? Weren't there any signs? Why am I suddenly being attacked, and why did the General Student Council declare me an enemy? I don't understand.'

But what he needed now wasn't an 'understanding' of the situation. He just needed to accept it as it was, to accept it as fact, and to force it into his head. And that's what Sensei was trying to do now.

'The most confusing thing is that.'

Don't trust any students, the words of none other than Black Suit. What could this possibly mean?

"Sensei, this is not looking good. It's too dangerous to enter the school's autonomous district, so we need to go to another area."

"Going home would be suicide, right?"

"Presumably, you'd be riddled with bullets the moment you arrive."

"This is bad, I didn't bring anything with me."

Sensei said this as he looked at his smartphone. The moment he connected to the internet, he grabbed his head. Arona was surprised and looked at Sensei's smartphone, and she couldn't help but be surprised too.

"Wh-What is this...?"

「Schale's Sensei attempts to overthrow the city and is suspected of terrorism, currently being pursued.」

「Gehenna, Trinity, Millennium Academies begin searching for Sensei, cooperating with the General Student Council」

「Schale Collapses.」

Countless breaking news articles were popping up. None of them were good news for Sensei. Sensei let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

"Sensei didn't do anything wrong! What are these?!"

"Right, my childhood dream was to be on the front page of the news, and now I've achieved my dream. Ah, I'm so happy! Dreams☆ do come true!"

And then he immediately turned off his smartphone. Looking at this kind of content any longer would drive Sensei insane. It's better not to do things that are of no help to one's mental state.

"Overthrow the city, what overthrow? They're framing me so obviously. I haven't done anything, and I've already become a major criminal."

"Please get a hold of yourself, Sensei. No matter how hard it is, you need to keep it together."

"Right. Whining won't solve anything."

Sensei fell back into thought. He needed to carefully sort out what had happened.

'First, if Black Suit's words are all true, then the ones who launched the missiles at Schale are...'

It would be none other than the students. The students would have launched missiles at Schale to kill him. He didn't want to believe it, but Yuuka's last words on the phone sadly confirmed that judgment.

"Why are you alive?"

".....Well, if I hadn't overslept today, I would've been gifted with missiles without knowing why. It's a chilling thought. And a sad one."

Sensei immediately moved on to the second question. Don't trust the students, run away no matter what. Putting it together, it means to run away from the students, but then why are the students targeting him?

'Are they doing this because some terrorist charges were revealed? No, that doesn't make sense.'

No matter how heinous the criminal charges are, no one would respond to a suspect with a preemptive missile strike. And above all, Sensei was innocent.

'I'm in the clear, but that doesn't mean I can't run away.'

If he boldly revealed himself to uncover the truth, he knew exactly what would happen based on the situation he had seen just minutes ago. He would just end up as an unrecognizable corpse hung in the public square.

'It's more logical to think that they added the rest to kill me, rather than trying to kill me because I attempted to overthrow the city and commit terrorism. No, is this logical? Trying to kill me out of the blue? Whatever it is, it's not normal. It's a decision that can't come from a normal way of thinking.'

And the third and final question. Why did Black Suit specifically refer to 'students'?

'Students, why students? Is the keyword students?'

He hadn't met any students today. So he didn't know exactly what state the students were in. He could only guess based on Yuuka's last words. The words "why are you alive" definitely had a coldness, sharpness, and a brutal hostility in them.

'If all the other students are in the same state as Yuuka...'

He hadn't met them. Since he hadn't met them, he didn't know for sure. But he felt like he shouldn't meet them. He could easily imagine what would happen the moment he met them.

"......I need to go somewhere where I won't meet people as much as possible."

Sensei took off his white coat, the symbol of Schale, and said to the two.

"Arona, Plana. Is anyone tracking me in real-time right now?"

"No, there's nothing like that following this taxi right now."

"Fortunately, it seems that Sensei's location hasn't been compromised."

"That's a relief. For now, I should go as far as I can with this taxi. It seems like today is the worst day of my life."

And with those words, Sensei threw his smartphone out of the car with all his might. Having that thing would only advertise his location. That's what Sensei decided.

"It's a good thing the Shittim Chest can't be hacked."

At those words, Arona looked intently at Sensei and said.

"...If it had been hacked, were you planning to throw it out too?"

"What a terrible thing to say, no! You know how much I cherish you two."

"Ehehe."

Sensei said this with a bitter smile. Starting today, he was no longer a teacher but a criminal recognized by the General Student Council. And it was also the beginning of an endless escape.

"It's going to be tough from now on..."

And what awaited Sensei from now on will be his greatest trial.

***

"Catch him! It's Sensei!"

"Damn it!"

Bang bang bang!!

Bullets rained down. And Sensei was running away from those bullets. His appearance, which was fine until just a while ago, was now in tatters. Instead of the shining uniform of Schale, he wore discarded, worn-out clothes, his eyes had lost their vitality, and his face was haggard. Scratches had formed on his legs and arms. He had tried wearing a mask and a hat for disguise, but that was far from enough. Sensei was definitely a "person" who stood out in Kivotos.

In just five days of being on the run, he had been discovered twice, and this was the third time. It was a good thing he had been exercising regularly. He was running through the alley, trying to somehow shake off the pursuit.

"Being chased by the police, being chased by the Helmet Gang, and now even the automatons are all after me? Am I too popular?"

"This is no time for jokes! You need to keep running!"

Arona and Plana were desperately deflecting the bullets that were about to hit Sensei, but as the days went by, they were getting more and more tired. They were constantly using their powers in a situation where they couldn't even get a proper recharge, so they were gradually reaching their limits.

"Damn, this means I have to move locations again. It looks like I'll be sweeping through all of Kivotos."

"Sensei! You need to go to the sewer over there!"

"I have no choice."

Sensei followed Plana's faithful guidance. The running of a living being for survival is faster than anything else.

"Huff... Huff..."

Sensei kept running, looking only ahead. He didn't have the capacity to worry about what was behind him. He just ran without thinking. And at some point, the footsteps that had been chasing him could no longer be heard.

"Huff... Huff... Did I shake them off..?"

"Yes... They don't seem to be chasing us anymore."

Hearing those words, Sensei just collapsed on the spot. Sweat was pouring from his entire body like rain, and his lips tasted salty. But for now, a sense of relief that he had survived washed over his body.

"First... there's an exit, right?"

"Yes, if you walk 3km from here, there's an exit."

"I have to walk again. I don't even have the energy anymore..."

Sensei was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He couldn't even withdraw cash properly because he was afraid his location would be discovered, so he couldn't use his card even though he had money, and as a result, he couldn't eat or drink properly. The last time he had eaten something resembling food was two days ago. He had thought about just using his card once, thinking that a well-fed ghost would look better, but he soon gave up. He couldn't bear the thought of his hunger immediately leading to his demise. He couldn't bring himself to do something that would immediately tighten the noose around his neck

"It's too much to keep getting discovered like this even though I'm trying not to give them any reason to track me. My face, which should have been ordinary, is the most noticeable thing here..."

In Kivotos, full of beastmen and robots, a human male face was extremely rare. And this was a huge disadvantage for Sensei. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't help but laugh hollowly.

'I wish this was all just a dream... but I'm hungry, so it's not a dream. I should think about it after I get out of here.'

So Sensei walked on. His gait was so unsteady that it was obvious he was in bad shape, but there was nothing he could do about it. His heart was getting more and more tired, but he kept walking. Believing that things would get better someday, he didn't let go of hope.

***

Shaaaaa....

"Wow~ It's raining~"

On the 7th day of his escape, in a dark night, in a place where there wasn't even a single street lamp properly installed, Sensei was getting drenched by the rain that was pouring down as if a hole had been ripped in the sky. He had placed the Shittim Chest under a discarded, old umbrella to keep it from getting wet, but Sensei just laughed as if he had lost his mind, getting directly hit by the rain and spinning around.

"Sensei... You should... take shelter from the rain..."

At Plana's words, which were barely audible, Sensei smiled bitterly and replied.

"Why avoid free water? I haven't been able to wash or drink properly in a while. There's no reason to avoid a gift from the sky."

Sensei opened his mouth to the pouring rain, drinking it in and washing his entire body with the rainwater at the same time. His clothes and body were all soaked, but he regained a bit of his energy.

"It's definitely better. Better.."

"Sensei... You'll catch.. a cold..."

At Arona's concern, Sensei made a sad face and said.

"Why are you worried about me instead of yourselves... If I had left you at Schale, you wouldn't have had to suffer, I'm sorry."

"Don't say that. Protecting Sensei's safety... is our mission."

"That's right! If Sensei... isn't safe... what's the point...?"

At the two girls' words, Sensei hung his head low. Sensei was now definitely exhausted. The situation wasn't improving, and he didn't even know where things had gone wrong. All he could do was just run away. But running away alone couldn't solve anything. The more he faced this situation, the more Sensei's heart broke.

"It's lonely to have the whole world hate me overnight. There's nowhere to complain, and if I did, they'd probably greet me with bullets, right?"

"Sen...sei... Don't... say that... We'll... be by your side... until the end..."

"That's... right! We'll... always... be on... Sensei's... side...!"

"You girls..."

Sensei looked at the Shittim Chest again. They were also exhausted. They looked like they could no longer hold on from being so focused on helping him escape. The Shittim Chest was gradually reaching its limit.

"I guess sleeping on the street is out of the question today. I need to find a place to avoid the rain..."

It was then, when Sensei was about to pick up the Shittim Chest again.

Bang!

In this place where no one was around, the sound of a gunshot rang out. And that bullet was headed for Sensei's hand.

"...Huh?"

And the next sight that Sensei saw was his left ring finger and pinky finger flying through the air, scattering blood. When Sensei checked his left hand again, only three fingers remained, and where the other two fingers should have been, the bones and skin were exposed, torn apart horribly. And at that moment, an immense pain struck Sensei.

"Arghhhhh!!!"

The sensation, as if his brain was being poked by a burning fire, shot through Sensei. All Sensei could do was groan in pain. And the two girls in the Shittim Chest, who saw this vividly, could only be horrified.

"Sensei!!!"

"Ugh... Argh...."

And then, a woman's voice rang out.

"I finally found you. I was wondering how far you'd run. You ended up looking so pathetic."

"....Who is it.."

When Sensei turned his head to the side, he saw an unidentified person in a black raincoat. But it was dark, it was raining, and Sensei himself wasn't in the best condition, so he couldn't figure out who it was.

"You don't know me? Well, it doesn't matter. Die not knowing."

Bang!

And another bullet was fired.

"No!!!"

But this time, bullet didn't reach Sensei, falling to the ground instead. Arona had desperately blocked it to protect Sensei.

"Sensei! Run away!"

"You think I'll let you?"

Bang bang bang!!

The muzzle flashed. Bullets filled with malice flew straight at Sensei. And those bullets also barely grazed Sensei's side, thanks to the two girls in the Shittim Chest.

"Sensei!!!"

And from this moment on, Sensei moved on survival instinct. He picked up the Shittim Chest and ran in the opposite direction with all his might.

"Pointless resistance, do you think I'll let you escape?"

And she mocked him, casually pursuing him.

Sensei ran and ran. He ran with the Shittim Chest in his arms. He still felt a terrible pain in his left hand, but he didn't have the capacity to worry about it. He just focused on running.

"Arona, Plana! Are you okay..?"

"Sen...sei... We... now.."

Sensei saw it. The Shittim Chest was gradually fading. They had used up the last of their strength deflecting that bullet.

"...Sensei... I'm... sor..ry.."

"What are you sorry for! You saved my life so many times! This is all my fault. Don't be sorry!"

"Sensei...."

"Ah!"

"You... must... es..cape.."

And with those words, the Shittim Chest turned off. They had done their best, but they had exceeded their limits. Now, there was no way to protect Sensei.

"You girls..."

Sensei was devastated. He realized that he could no longer survive, and he thought that this would be his last conversation with them. He didn't want his conversation with them to end like this. But he still had to do what he could. But he had to try until the very end.

"Still, I have to run as far as I can!"

Bang bang bang!

Bullets kept flying, and Sensei kept running. He was somehow managing to escape. As if the darkness and rain were protecting Sensei, the bullets kept narrowly missing. And Sensei thought that maybe, just maybe, he could escape.

"Ah."

That is, until he was cornered in a dead end.

Bang!

And at that moment, a bullet pierced Sensei's right shoulder. Sensei had to feel that terrible pain once again.

"ARGHHHHH!!!"

And Sensei just collapsed on the spot. Now he had no way to escape. And in front of him, an unidentified person was approaching, holding a gun.

"....Isn't it truly meaningless? Why did you run when you were going to end up like this?"

And at those words, Sensei smiled bitterly and retorted.

"If you're alive, you have to try everything you can. Until there are no regrets left."

"You truly are disgusting."

Crunch!

Sensei's mangled left hand was crushed under a foot filled with malice. Sensei had to writhe in pain once again.

"ARGHHHHH!!!"

"You taught us that, yet aren't your actions contradictory?"

"What... are you... talking about...?"

"Teaching us that everything is meaningless, driving us into hell, and then acting so shamelessly, Sensei."

"....?"

And it was then that Sensei finally realized who had shot him. Now that he thought about it, it was a voice that was so familiar to him. Sensei barely managed to lift his head and asked.

"Saori..? Is that you, Saori?"

"Hah, you finally recognize me. Yes, it's Jomae Saori."

"AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

When Sensei realized who she was, he laughed as if he had lost his mind. It was a wretched laugh of someone who had given up everything.

"...What's so funny?"

Sensei looked at her once again. The face hidden by the raincoat was now so clearly visible. She was undoubtedly Saori. And he said.

"It's just... kind of... meaningless. To end up like this. I couldn't even... figure out what was going on... I'm a failure... as a teacher.."

"......."

Sensei's consciousness was gradually fading. He felt his body gradually losing strength. He was now too exhausted.

"Well... it's my fault. You... probably did nothing wrong.. You were just... caught up in it.."

"......?"

And Sensei slowly closed his eyes and spoke his last words.

"I wish... this was all... just a bad... dream.."

".....Huh?"

"When I... wake up again... we'll... get along... like... before..."

"Sensei?"

"....I'm sure we will."

With those words, Sensei closed his eyes. And just before his consciousness completely faded away, he heard a voice one last time.

"Wh-What... have I... What have I done? Sensei, Sensei?!"

"......."

"No, no! Wake up!! AAAAH!"

And Sensei lost consciousness. In an alleyway endlessly pouring rain, with a mournful scream.