Chapter 24: New Students? New Problems

Two days after the night filled with trauma, Arata was slowly starting to recover. He was still haunted by the past, but his determination to rise again was much stronger. Chisa, along with Shion, Akari, Mei, and Daigo, decided to visit their teacher at his apartment, worried about his condition.

On the way, Akari, who was still concerned, whispered to the others. "I think we should cheer Sensei up by telling him the school is having a study tour to Kyoto soon."

Shion looked at her skeptically. "Isn't it too soon to tell Sensei about this?"

After arriving at the apartment, they were greeted by Koyomi, Arata's sister. Upon entering, they were surprised to see that Arata had returned to normal. The smell of cooking filled the air from the kitchen, and they could faintly hear the clinking of dishes being washed. The sight made them all feel relieved and touched.

Meanwhile, at JSDF headquarters, Commander Narada held an emergency defense meeting. The atmosphere in the room was filled with tension. Two foreign agents from different countries were present.

Representative from the United States: Pierson Howalt, a CIA Agent with a serious face.

Representative from Russia: Natasha Dimtrikov, an FSB Agent with a sharp gaze.

The meeting finally began. The main topic was the terrorist attack by the ARAAF (Asian Red Axis Army Forces), which had become a serious threat. Natasha Dimtrikov stood up, drawing everyone's attention.

"Gentlemen," she said in fluent Japanese. "I can speak Japanese, so there's no need for an interpreter."

"Good," Narada replied. "Let's get straight to the point."

"After the Shibuya attack, we reviewed all our intelligence data," Natasha explained. "There is another group, far more highly trained. They are so organized that we believe they were the ones who trained ARAAF."

The room began to buzz with whispers and speculation.

"Eight hours ago," Natasha continued, her voice now heavier, "our nuclear facility in Siberia was attacked. We lost two nukes."

The statement silenced the entire room, their breaths held. Narada's face, which had been firm, now looked pale.

"The problem is that their troops are extremely well-trained," Natasha went on. "Believe it or not, they are trained like Special Forces. Our intel managed to get new monikers for them: The Architect and The Serpent."

The entire room was shocked; the names echoed in the silence. Whispers returned, this time filled with fear. "That's incredibly accurate," a official whispered, "just like the report from Arata Masamune."

Pierson Howalt, who had been silent, finally spoke. "Commander Narada. It seems the intel provided by Commander Arata was truly accurate. They are not an enemy to be underestimated. In fact, they are an enemy that must be dealt with immediately. If not, more innocent lives will be lost."

"With this, I request to form a temporary special forces team from these two countries," Pierson continued. "They might bomb cities in Asia, or even America and Russia."

Narada, left with no other choice, finally agreed.

Back at Arata's apartment, the atmosphere had returned to warmth. Akari and Mei were still arguing over who would cook the best food. Shion, Daigo, and Chisa were talking with Arata.

"Sensei, will you be able to teach tomorrow?" Shion asked.

"Of course," Arata replied with a faint smile. "I'm much better now. What's happening tomorrow, anyway?"

Shion looked at Arata seriously. "Tomorrow, there will be two new students in your class. The first is Alena Fujimori, the daughter of a human rights activist. And the second is Reiji Narukami, the son of the Police Chief."

"They will definitely be new problems for you," Shion added. "Alena once made two idealistic teachers resign due to endless debates, while Reiji made all the students in his old academy submit to his own rules. Neither of them will get along with you, Sensei."

Arata just stared into the distance. The trauma still lingered, but his resolve was burning anew. He slowly clenched his right hand, which was still bandaged. "No matter what," he murmured, "doing nothing is pointless, isn't it?"

Arata now knew that he would face two new challenges, but the threat from them was nothing compared to the problem waiting out there.