[Morning – Oxoford Academy Gate]
The morning air at Oxoford carried a metallic scent, mixed with the smell of oil from the students' weapon workshop.
Click–clack–click echoed from students assembling and disassembling rifles.
Kaito stood with Miraka before the tall iron gate. The breeze tugged lightly at the hem of his deep-blue coat.
Kaito (low, flat):
"Starting now… call me 'teacher.' Don't call me 'Dad' for a while."
Miraka nodded softly, her white hair shifting with the wind.
Miraka (quiet):
"Alright… Teacher."
Kaito took a breath, then held Miraka's hand so she wouldn't get lost as they entered the Oxoford courtyard.
Several elite students polishing their rifles paused the moment Kaito passed by.
Their stares were curious — The Flying Teacher is here? At Oxoford?
Some whispered; others stole glances at Miraka.
Miraka looked around.
Students selling grenades like market vendors.
Others showing off weapon upgrades.
Bronze students welding metal plates for shields.
She tugged the sleeve of Kaito's coat.
Miraka (whispering):
"Teacher… they're strange."
Kaito (flat, resigned):
"You'll get used to it."
He didn't slow down. Holding Miraka close, he jogged lightly toward the main building.
[Inside Oxoford Medical Room]
The sliding door opened with a sharp whhhk.
Cold air greeted them, filled with the sharp scent of medical alcohol.
White ceiling lights created a sterile atmosphere — too sterile, too quiet.
Inside stood a student.
Levi, 16, elite class.
White Oxoford uniform, neatly tied blue-violet tie, thin white coat over it, a small tactical belt carrying pistol magazines.
Short black hair, silver thin-rim glasses, and the stiff expression of someone perpetually tired.
A semi-automatic HS-9 pistol hung at his hip.
Kaito approached him.
Kaito:
"Are you Levi?"
Levi (quick nod, polite but nervous):
"Yes, Flying Teacher. Thank you for coming. Please follow me."
Levi walked briskly.
Kaito and Miraka followed.
He opened a small room.
Inside: a single bed, a folding chair, and one window catching morning light.
A student stood leaning slightly toward the window — as if surviving on the last thread of awareness.
Harisa, 16, elite class.
White uniform rumpled, blue-violet tie undone, dark brown hair that looked uncombed for days, elite light jacket hanging open.
Dark circles beneath her eyes.
A CZ P-10 pistol at her waist.
Her gaze was hollow — fixed on a lone sunflower outside the window.
Kaito (quiet but firm):
"What caused this?"
Levi (frustrated exhale):
"To be honest… I don't know, Teacher. She refuses to answer.
Her name is Harisa. Same age and class as me."
Miraka hid slightly behind Kaito, but her eyes stayed locked on Harisa.
There was a strange, deep curiosity.
Kaito:
"Where are the doctors?"
Levi:
"They're… out for medical training. She was checked yesterday, and again this morning. But the doctor still can't figure out the cause."
Kaito scanned the room.
A tilted chair, messy blanket, untouched health notes.
This child… hasn't slept for two days? he thought.
He stepped closer to Harisa.
He waved a hand slowly in front of her face — no reaction.
Kaito looked out the window.
One sunflower stood tall under the morning sun.
He looked back at her.
Kaito (gentle, like speaking to someone carrying trauma):
"Harisa.
What if… we look at the flower outside more closely?"
Levi stared at Kaito with an expression saying 'this is really weird'.
Miraka covered her mouth to stop a comment.
But then—
Harisa nodded.
Slowly.
Barely.
But unmistakably.
She walked out of the room without looking back.
Levi:
"She responded!?"
Miraka followed, her tiny footsteps soft.
Kaito followed next, expression flat — but inwardly relieved.
Kaito (inwardly):
Alright. Then let's solve this… in an unconventional way.
They followed Harisa to the flower courtyard.
[Oxoford Flower Courtyard]
The morning breeze flowed gently through the courtyard.
Leaves trembled softly.
One sunflower bloomed alone in a small patch of soil — its petals glowing gold.
Harisa stood before it.
Her body slightly hunched, hands gripping the hem of her wrinkled uniform.
Her dark-ringed eyes reflected the yellow petals… as if seeing someone, not just a flower.
Miraka stood beside Kaito, tugging his coat again.
Miraka (whispering):
"…Teacher… she looks very sad."
Kaito observed Harisa from the side.
His expression flat — but beneath it, a quiet empathy of someone who had known too much loss.
Levi stood behind, barely breathing.
His shoulders trembled as he tried to remain composed.
Then—
Harisa spoke.
Her voice low… hoarse… heavy with years of burden.
Harisa:
"…My parents used to sell sunflowers in the city."
Her hands clenched.
Her clothes trembled.
Harisa:
"Every morning… I'd wake up to the smell of soil on my father's hands.
Mother would laugh and say,
'The sun is racing us to wake up… so we can't lose to it.'"
Miraka covered her mouth, eyes glistening.
The wind whispered through the courtyard.
Harisa's stare deepened, sinking into old memories.
Harisa:
"Everything changed when I was in ninth grade…"
Silence swallowed the courtyard.
Even Levi held his breath.
Harisa (voice shaking):
"There was a mass shooting.
In the city.
Mercenaries working for a corrupt faction of the Anemoriez Empire."
She swallowed hard.
Her eyes closed.
Her hands trembled.
Harisa:
"My parents were there.
I heard gunfire from my school balcony.
And when I arrived…"
Her shoulders collapsed.
Her voice cracked.
Harisa:
"…I found them covered with white cloths."
Miraka began crying softly.
Kaito did not move.
But something dimmed in his silver eyes —
the look of someone who understood grief too intimately.
Levi turned away, wiping his eyes quickly.
Harisa continued.
Harisa:
"I felt like everything had ended.
I… didn't want to keep living. It was overwhelming."
She gave a faint, bitter smile.
Harisa:
"But my best friend stopped me.
She forced a sunflower into my hand and said:
'If you disappear… who will take care of this flower?'"
She wiped her cheek.
A single tear fell.
Harisa:
"That became the only reason I kept going."
A long silence.
The wind gently brushed the four of them… quiet, patient.
Harisa inhaled deeply.
Harisa (voice tightening):
"A few years later… the mastermind behind the attack was captured.
He was going to be tried in the city."
Kaito tilted his head slightly.
He knew what was coming.
Harisa:
"I couldn't stand it.
I took a pistol…
and when I stood at the front of the crowd…"
She closed her eyes.
Harisa (soft):
"…I shot him. Without hesitation.
After that… they arrested me.
And brought me here to Akarius."
Silence swallowed the courtyard.
Harisa stared at the sunflower again.
Her voice fragile:
Harisa:
"Even after everything… I regret it.
I regret not spending more time with them.
Sometimes it makes me feel like… I wasn't a good daughter."
Miraka clung to Kaito and cried.
Miraka:
"No… Harisa is not a bad person…!"
Levi turned away again, shoulders shaking.
Kaito remained still.
Then he stepped closer to Harisa.
He stood beside her, looking at the sunflower.
His voice flat — yet soft.
Kaito:
"If regret hurts… that's normal."
Harisa's red eyes lifted.
Kaito (quietly):
"But hurting yourself with guilt won't bring them back.
What you can do now…
is make sure your life doesn't fall apart again."
Harisa bit her lip.
Kaito added — his tone sharper, but steady:
Kaito:
"And one more thing:
Your parents wouldn't want to see you destroy yourself with blame."
Harisa froze.
Unable to reply.
Then—
Footsteps.
…tap.
…tap.
…tap.
Calm, rhythmic steps — like someone accustomed to walking down controlled, protocol-heavy corridors.
They turned.
A student approached from the left side of the courtyard.
Neat appearance.
Perfectly arranged attire.
Lex, 17, Elite class, grade 11, White elite blazer with blue-violet trim, Pressed black trousers, Short white hair neatly combed, Narrow, composed eyes that analyzed everything,
Name tag: LEX / Elite Grade 11
He stopped three steps from Kaito.
He bowed slightly, hands behind his back.
His tone smooth and formal, like a conference speaker.
Lex:
"Good morning, Flying Teacher Kaito.
I'm Lex, grade eleven elite.
I've been wanting to speak with you."
His gaze slid briefly to Harisa — noting the dark circles, the fragile posture, the pistol.
A tiny lift of his brow showed he understood the situation… but chose not to comment.
Kaito studied him with a flat stare.
Kaito:
"…What is it?"
Lex straightened his back.
Wind filled the silence.
Lex:
"I'm here on behalf of the Oxoford Student Council President.
She has something important to tell you."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
Lex:
"And it concerns… a certain secret involving you and the President."
---
The morning wind pressed through the old trees as Kaito, Miraka, Levi, and Harisa followed Lex.
Their footsteps echoed across the sandy path — steady but tense.
Lex walked in front — back straight, hands behind, footsteps precise like a metronome.
Kaito followed, his deep-blue coat shifting with each breeze.
Levi walked stiffly on the left, clutching his small bag like a shield.
Miraka held tightly onto Kaito's coat, head lowered.
Harisa drifted slowly behind, her gaze empty, her face pale, her exhaustion worsening.
The buildings of Oxoford grew distant.
The smell of gunpowder and metal slowly faded into the damp scent of old soil.
An abandoned building finally appeared —
cracked walls, broken windows,
a nearly detached "NO ENTRY" sign.
A crow cawed from the rooftop.
Kaito slowed, eyes narrowing.
Kaito (low, flat):
"Why would Mila bring us somewhere like this?"
Lex didn't stop.
He glanced sideways briefly.
Lex:
"Because what we're discussing… must not be heard by anyone."
Levi raised his voice, confused and tense.
Levi:
"But I've never seen you before. Not even in Juantice Team activities."
Lex stopped.
He looked at Levi with sharp, analytical eyes.
Lex:
"That's because my role is not to be seen.
I protect Oxoford's confidentiality.
If I appear too often… our secrets cease to be secrets."
Levi swallowed hard.
They reached the fragile wooden door.
Dust rose as Lex touched it.
Lex:
"Only the Flying Teacher may enter.
You three will wait outside."
Miraka immediately clung tighter to Kaito's arm.
Levi frowned.
Harisa didn't react at all.
Kaito stared at Lex coldly.
Kaito:
"They're coming with me."
Lex frowned, his tone rising slightly.
Lex:
"They must not.
They have no right to—"
Kaito:
"Let them in."
Lex (sharper):
"Teacher, they must not—"
Kaito:
"If they don't enter…
Then I won't enter either."
Silence.
Lex clenched his jaw.
Reluctantly, he lowered his shoulders.
Lex:
"…Very well."
The wooden door creaked loudly as it opened.
Darkness greeted them — deep and heavy.
They stepped inside.
Footsteps echoed across cracked concrete.
Kaito (murmuring):
"Why would Mila choose a place like this—"
—BANG!
The door slammed shut behind them.
Miraka jumped, clinging to Kaito harder.
Levi reached for his waist, hand shaking near his pistol.
Harisa swayed slightly, detached from the scene.
Then—
—CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Weapon cocking echoed from the darkness.
Seven silhouettes emerged from the shadows, pointing rifles and pistols at them.
A dim flickering light revealed the muzzles aimed directly their way.
Kaito turned, shielding Miraka and Levi with his body.
His eyes sharpened — cold, hardened, soldier-like.
Kaito:
"Lex.
What is the meaning of this?
Why are we being held at gunpoint?"
Lex stepped forward, his hands no longer behind him.
He drew a pistol from beneath his white blazer — rarely used, but threatening nonetheless.
He aimed it at Kaito.
Lex (calm but biting):
"Because we do not trust you, Teacher."
Miraka whimpered softly.
Levi froze, stepping back.
Harisa closed her eyes, too exhausted to react.
Kaito lifted his hands slowly — not surrendering, but steadying the moment.
His posture straightened.
His silver eyes hardened like twice-forged steel.
---
FLASHBACK – The Battlefield
Dust, smoke, and distant shouting filled the air.
Young soldiers scattered across the sand, running with no formation and no guidance.
Amid the chaos, young Kaito—only thirteen years old—stood wearing a commander's uniform that hung far too loosely on his small frame, the fabric whipping in the harsh desert wind.
He watched the troops ahead of him, all of them moving without trusting his orders—
their backs growing smaller as they charged forward on their own, uncoordinated and unprotected.
Beside him, his uncle—a general—stepped into view with a heavy expression.
Uncle:
"I'm sorry, Kaito. We pulled you into this battlefield because of your father's last request.
You shouldn't be here… but the soldiers no longer trust any commander."
Young Kaito gave a faint smile—strangely calm, almost too mature for his age.
Young Kaito:
"It's alright, Uncle. Father entrusted me to this unit."
He reached for the pistol at his side.
His uncle stiffened in surprise.
Young Kaito (softly):
"Father once said, 'If you want to be trusted… show it through action.'
And if a sacrifice needs to be made… then I'll do it."
With that, he stepped forward, walking alone toward the battlefield.
---
Back to the Present
Lex kept his pistol aimed at Kaito's chest.
Levi held his breath.
Miraka clung tightly to Kaito's sleeve, her small body trembling.
Harisa closed her eyes, her face weighed down by exhaustion and sadness.
Kaito slowly raised his hands—not as a sign of surrender, but as a gesture of calm.
His posture stayed firm, his expression steady, and his silver eyes cold and focused, like steel tempered by countless battles.
Kaito (quiet, firm):
"Believe me… If the problems of this city aren't solved yet—
you're free to shoot me afterward."
Silence flooded the building.
The gunmen glanced at each other — uncertainty flickering.
Lex didn't lower his pistol.
His hand shook faintly, but his gaze remained sharp.
Then—
—BANG!
A gunshot tore through the dark.