Make Them Love Me Or They'll End The World-Chapter 147: The Drama Hall.

Both Kentaro and Tenka headed back to class after having their talk. The air between them had been cleared up, at least for now, but as they made their way back, they noticed that the sound of the other students in the room had gotten louder, and there was no sign of Mr. Tachibana anywhere.

"Strange… Where is he?" Kentaro asked as he looked around at the entrance. Tenka, who was behind him, stepped around him and noticed something else.

"And where are the girls? It seems they're not here either," she asked with confusion.

A thin fluorescent hum pressed against the quiet between them. The classroom smelled faintly of dry markers and floor polish; the windows let in a pale wash of noon light that caught the dust drifting in lazy spirals. Tiered rows of desks climbed up the hall like steps, each seat already filled with students who weren't their crowd. The murmur and shuffling echoed off the high walls, no Tengen, stretching like a show-off; no Shaula, pretending to be ordinary; no Serica's halo of brown hair tucked over a desk.

Kentaro made sure to look all around the classroom, but nothing was found. They also noticed that Tenka's friends weren't here either, and it was now a whole five minutes after class was supposed to start.

Kentaro's eyes widened as his mind jumped to the worst possible outcome. "Shaula, she must be behind this," he whispered, his voice laced with fear.

The name "Shaula" landed like a pebble in his stomach, sinking fast. Tenka caught the tremor in his voice; her posture sharpened from soft to steel in a single breath, the commander peeking through the girl.

Hearing that, Tenka's eyes also widened as she looked at Kentaro, unable to think of where they could have gone. "Do you know where they went?" she asked, already knowing the answer Kentaro was likely to give.

Kentaro nodded his head. "All I know is that they should be with Tengen, but where, I'm not sure. I was hoping they would just go to class…" Kentaro replied as the two began walking out of class.

Their shoes clicked into the corridor, trading the chalk-dust smell for the mixed scents of vending-machine coffee, cheap cologne, and the faint ozone of an overworked copy printer. Posters for club sign-ups flapped along the walls. Somewhere down the hall, a laugh broke too loudly, echoing, far away and wrong for the hollow feeling in Kentaro's chest.

"Well, wherever they are, they're missing, and so is Shaula, which can only lead to something bad…" Tenka replied as they walked down the corridor.

Although they were walking, they had no idea where to look or where to go. After walking aimlessly, Tenka stopped, now getting frustrated and worried.

"Let's just ask around. Walking around aimlessly gets us nowhere. Remember, the girls don't know their way around campus anymore," Tenka said as she turned around, looking for students to ask.

Kentaro stopped, his mind racing and his heart beating quicker with every moment they couldn't find the girls. As he looked up, he saw a group of girls approaching. He turned back to see if Tenka would ask them instead of him since they were girls, but as luck would have it, Tenka was already talking to another group of girls and it didn't seem like they were going to finish in time.

"Crap. Well, hey, I've got experience now; it can't be that bad?" he muttered to himself, watching and waiting for the right moment to make the first move.

A four-girl phalanx approached: glitter phone cases, swinging tote bags, and the sharp-sweet smell of body spray that hit Kentaro's nose before they even reached him. One of them, the obvious ringleader, walked a half-step ahead, confidence clicking off her heels.

Just as they came close enough that he wouldn't have to awkwardly walk up to them, he spoke. "Excuse me…"

"Get lost; I'm not giving you my number," the ringleader shot back.

"Welp." Kentaro's courage was shattered as the ringleader of the girl group rejected him without giving him a chance to speak. Thankfully, though, Tenka had finished her conversation and caught sight of Kentaro's rejection. As always, she took over.

Tenka's hand brushed against Kentaro's sleeve. "I've got it." She stepped into the ring of perfume and ponytails as if she'd been born to negotiate sieges. Her presence wasn't loud, just steady; her eyes bright and her voice softened to a calm that made people answer without realizing why.

Kentaro watched as Tenka seamlessly walked up and began her conversation. In fact, the ringleader of the girl group was happy to see Tenka.

"Oh, wow! I love your eyes!" the ringleader exclaimed, gazing at Tenka with a cute smile.

Kentaro felt his brow twitching as he struggled to hide his disdain for girls like her. He bit his tongue and stared past them at a faded safety poster. The vending machine nearby rattled, dispensing someone else a bottle of tea with an indifferent thunk, the universe rewarding hydration to literally anyone but him.

Eventually, after talking to the girls, their ringleader told Tenka that they had seen a guy matching Tengen's description, though their description was more of an insult since he was with a group of girls.

"Yeah, I mean, yeah, that gross guy was with like seven girls and a teacher, I think?" The ringleader said with some sass.

"Seven?" Tenka muttered as she began counting on her fingers the potential number of girls that could be there.

"Yura, Aria, Serica, Sumire, Kei, Mika… That's six." She muttered, tilting her head slightly as she looked back to the girl for an answer.

"Yeah, trust me, there was seven! I think there was also a girl with short black hair," she replied confidently.

Both Kentaro and Tenka's faces dropped.

Kentaro's eyes widened. "S-s-short black hair… Don't tell me…" he muttered, stuttering helplessly.

"It's Kira. There's no other girl that would hang around with them in the first place," Tenka said quietly.

"Well, whatever her name is, that's all I know, okay, Tenki?" the ringleader chirped.

Kentaro noticed Tenka's brow twitch ever so slightly at the nickname 'Tenki.' But there was no time for such trivial matters right now. The ringleader chirped it again, "Tenki!" and gave a two-finger salute as if she had just promoted Tenka to weather deity. Kentaro covered his mouth and faked a cough to smother the laugh he absolutely could not afford.

"Do you know where they were going?" Tenka asked, doing her best to ignore the names and gestures.

The girls paused, looking at each other, even the ringleader wasn't too sure where they were going, until one of them spoke up. "Um, I think they were going to the drama hall or something?"

"The drama hall?" Both Kentaro and Tenka echoed.

The ringleader scoffed at Kentaro for no reason before turning her gaze to Tenka. "Yes, hun, also I forgot they were with a teacher. I think it's Tachibana or something?"

"Right, this makes no sense. What the hell is Mr. Tachibana doing with them?" Tenka muttered.

Kentaro didn't respond; he gave Tenka a look of worry. Eventually, Tenka thanked the girls before heading off to the drama hall.

They moved quickly now. The hallway changed as they went: ordinary chatter thinned, and the hum of the building grew louder, like the school itself was holding its breath. Posters for last year's musical curled at the edges. The faint smell of sawdust crept in; someone had been working on the sets recently. Kentaro's palms were damp, and he wiped them against his pants, choosing not to mention it.

The hall wasn't far from where they were, but it was just far enough for both Kentaro and Tenka to feel their hearts race ever so slightly with the consistent question of, "Why are they there, and why is Mr. Tachibana with them?" Neither of them had the answer, but they were soon going to find out as they made their way through the last corridor, coming face to face with the door to the drama hall.

Kentaro could feel sweat dripping from his forehead as he gave Tenka a nervous glance. Tenka, on the other hand, had her hand on the handle. She was nervous, but unlike Kentaro, she was also curious. The metal was cool under her fingers; they heard the tiny click of the latch slide as she tested it. Somewhere inside, something banged-stage wood? A chair?

"I'm opening the door," Tenka said.

Kentaro nodded.

"TRY IT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, YOU FIEND!"

Before Tenka opened the door, they heard a loud voice echo from the drama hall. It sounded intense, like Yura.

"Was that Yura?" Kentaro cried out, startled by the sound.

Tenka didn't reply. She swung the door open, and on the other side was something neither Kentaro nor Tenka were expecting… and it had Kira's name written all over it.

*

The sudden emergence of new members from another branch, another country, shifted the whole dynamic inside the Oshawa base. The talk around the mess hall hovered like steam: the Beijing transfers. Most of it was shallow, how pretty they were, how different their uniforms looked, how their hair colors didn't match regulation anywhere outside of an anime. But beneath the chatter was a different hum: the kind that comes when predators meet other predators and try to decide who hunts whom.

The smell of Chinese cuisine claimed one end of the dining hall, pepper, soy, star anise; a heat that stung the nose in a good way. Chopsticks clicked against metal trays. Fluorescents buzzed. The AC breathed cold along the ceiling. The five transfers sat lined along the last bench: Mei Lin's pink hair draped like silk; Hua Li's red ponytail swished whenever she laughed; Xia Yu's blue twin braids framed glasses that flashed with every glance; Lan Fen's green pigtails bounced with irritation at anyone who stared too long; and at the center, Jin Yue, with short blonde hair and a thin scar on her cheek, ate with clean, efficient motions. They said almost nothing. They didn't have to. People talked around them anyway.

Milly tried to pretend she didn't notice the stares. She picked at her curry and sat beside the one person she knew wouldn't make it easier: Aruther.

"Do you think if I ask them out on a date I could get one?" Aruther whispered, leaning in as if he'd discovered a state secret. "There are five of them, and I'm not picky in the slightest."

Milly scowled. She would never normally sit with Aruther, but with Kira gone, he was the only familiar island in a loud sea. "Gross. Why do you have to be like that? And I know you won't even get one."

Aruther's eyes lit up as if she'd thrown down a gauntlet. He pointed dramatically, his index finger trembling with destiny. "Hehehe. You underestimate me, Miss Milly. I shall now prove that I, Aruther, will be one of their princes in shining armor."

"Yeah, yeah…" Milly waved him off.

He didn't falter. He stood, smoothed his jacket as if he owned it, and marched toward the transfer bench.

Milly's face flattened. "…He's actually doing it."

"Hey hey hey, ladies," Aruther announced, planting himself at the edge of their table. "May I sit with you?"

Five pairs of eyes slid to him. No smiles. No words. Just the cold, clinical sizing-up of a new weapon on a rack.

"Hehe?" Aruther tried, a nervous chuckle escaping. Silence stretched. Then the five looked at each other, sharing something unspoken, before facing him again.

Hua Li broke first, her lips curling into a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Say, Mr… Are you one of the Operators that fought Akio, by any chance?" Her head tilted, ponytail swaying. It sounded innocent. It wasn't.

Aruther barked a laugh. "I'll have you know-" He puffed out his chest, his voice taking on a heroic timbre, "not only did I fight her, I managed to survive for over a whole minute!"

Hua Li's eyes went wide, almost sparkling. She slapped both palms on the table and leaned in. "NO WAY! PLEASE, PLEASE, TELL ME, TELL ME!!!"

Aruther blinked, just for a heartbeat, then slid into the open space beside her. As Hua Li scooted to make room, he angled his shoulders so Milly could see his smirk across the hall, a silent, smug, 'got-'em' smirk.

"What a jackass," Milly muttered, stabbing her rice. "I've never met a bigger bullshitter in my life."

At the transfer bench, the air felt different up close. Jasmine clung to Mei Lin's scarf; disinfectant-clean clung to Jin Yue's sleeves. Xia Yu's glasses tracked Aruther's hands, his posture, his breathing, clocking stress as if she were timing a bomb. Lan Fen didn't bother hiding her impatience; her foot tapped quickly, a tiny metronome of annoyance.

"So there I was," Aruther began, his hands sketching big arcs to sell the picture, "face-to-face with the legend herself, Akio. She comes in like thunder, and I, cool as ice, roll left, lay down suppressing fire, and-"

"Suppressing fire?" Xia Yu asked mildly, adjusting her glasses. "From where? The last time we checked, your practice fight was mainly with longswords. I doubt they would allow you to use guns."

Aruther's smile faltered. "Uh... Special authorization."

"Hmm." Xia Yu's pen had appeared from nowhere. She wrote something on the back of a napkin without looking down.

Hua Li clasped her hands under her chin, still leaning dangerously close. "So brave! Did she say your name?"

"Of course," Aruther said too quickly. "She said, uh... 'You… Man.' With a… menacing look."

Lan Fen snorted. "Wow. Romantic."

A soft scrape cut through the noise: Jin Yue set her chopsticks down. The little action felt like a gavel. "Aruther." Her voice was low and even. "We're not here for fairy tales. We're here to kill a target your branch has failed to secure twice. Codename: Oblivion."

The table's chatter around them dimmed, as if the room leaned in too.

Aruther coughed into his fist, colour creeping up his neck. "Well, I begrudgingly admit Oshawa's had… Complications."

"Complications like a college boy outmanoeuvring senior operators?" Jin Yue asked. No heat. Just the blade...

"Hehehehe, honestly though, it sounds bad... It's a long story; I'm sure you'll be filled in." Aruther let out a small chuckle, and just like that, the conversation ended, leaving Aruther with both a sense of success and a bad taste in his mouth...