Blue Archive: Do I look like a student to you?

As Lina watched the man from afar, her sharp yellow eyes following his every move, her focus was abruptly shattered when three delinquent girls appeared out of nowhere. They grabbed the man by his arms and began dragging him toward a dark alleyway.

Lina's jaw dropped. "He got kidnapped?!"

Her immediate reaction was to act, and without hesitation, she reached behind her back. A faint shimmer in the air appeared as a sleek, metal baseball bat slowly materialized in her hand. She held it up, inspecting it briefly.

"I still couldn't get used to how this power works..." she muttered under her breath, giving the bat an experimental swing.

Shaking her head, Lina crouched low and began creeping toward the alleyway where the man had been dragged. "How unlucky can this guy be?" she sighed, her tone a mix of irritation and reluctant concern.

But just as she got closer, the loud bang of a gunshot rang out, echoing through the street. Lina froze for a moment, her eyes wide, before her legs kicked into gear.

"Hah?! A gun?!" she whispered sharply, breaking into a sprint as she rounded the corner into the alley.

What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

The three delinquent girls were sprawled out on the ground, their eyes spinning in dizzy, unconscious circles. Their weapons lay scattered around them, and not one of them appeared to be moving.

The man, however, stood in the center of the carnage, looking completely unscathed and... utterly clueless. He scratched the back of his head as though he had no idea what had just happened.

But Lina's eyes weren't on him. Her gaze locked onto the woman standing just a few feet away from the man.

The stranger was striking, to say the least. She wore a short black kimono decorated with golden and white cherry blossoms, her attire accentuated by a lace choker and asymmetrical leggings. Her left leg sported a glossy red sock with a black strap attached to her thigh, while her right leg bore a ripped flower-patterned legging. She stood tall in mismatched yet elegant footwear, one side a bluish-black shoe and the other adorned with a scarlet sock.

What stood out the most was the fox mask she wore—a traditional kitsune mask that concealed her face, save for her sharp eyes, which were locked onto the man.

As Lina watched from the shadows, she noticed something odd. A faint trail of what looked like smoke began rising from the woman's head, curling around her like a thin mist.

Then, without warning, the woman bolted.

She turned on her heel and dashed out of the alley at an inhuman speed, disappearing around a corner before Lina could even process what had happened.

Lina slowly emerged from her hiding spot, her baseball bat resting on her shoulder, her face a complete mess of confusion.

The man turned to her, tilting his head, looking even more confused than before.

Lina blinked, her lips parting slightly as her mind raced to make sense of the situation. Finally, one word escaped her mouth:

"...What?"

Her gaze darted to the unconscious delinquents, the clueless man, and the spot where the strange woman had stood just moments ago.

A massive question mark seemed to form over her head as she muttered under her breath, "What the hell is going on here...?

Her baseball bat slung over her shoulder. She stared at the now-empty space where the woman had stood.

The man, still standing amidst the chaos, blinked slowly and scratched his head. His expression was somewhere between dazed and utterly lost.

Lina approached cautiously, her bat tapping against her shoulder. "Alright, Buddy. I have so many questions right now," she said, her tone a mix of exasperation and intrigue. "Who are you? Who was that? And why does trouble seem to follow you around like a lost puppy?"

The man turned to look at her, his face blank for a moment. Then, as if realizing she was talking to him, he finally spoke.

"I... don't know," he said simply, his voice low and steady but tinged with uncertainty.

Lina's face twitched. "You don't know?! You just got dragged into an alley by three thugs, some random woman with a fox mask shot at them, and then she ran off after seeing you—and you don't know?!"

"I don't," he said again, his gaze dropping to his hands as if searching for answers in his own palms.

Lina sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, you know what? Forget it. Just... don't move. Let me think."

She paced back and forth, her mind racing. This guy wasn't normal. That much was obvious. And if the kitsune woman's reaction was anything to go by, there was more to him than even he seemed to understand.

Finally, Lina stopped and pointed her bat at him. "Alright, listen up. You're coming with me."

The man blinked. "Huh?"

"You heard me. I don't know what's going on, but you're way too unlucky to be left wandering around on your own. If I don't keep an eye on you, you'll probably walk off a cliff or something," Lina said, already turning to leave.

"But I don't even know your name," the man said, his tone still calm despite the chaos.

Lina glanced over her shoulder, her yellow eyes gleaming with annoyance. "Lina. Lina Astra. And you'd better keep up or you're gonna get left behind."

The man tilted his head slightly at the title, but before he could question it, Lina was already walking away, her bat resting on her shoulder as if she hadn't just witnessed one of the strangest encounters of her life.

With a resigned sigh, the man followed after her.

As they walked, Lina's head was swirling with countless thoughts. "What was I thinking? Why did I invite him to follow me when I don't even know where he's supposed to go?!"

She glanced back at the man trailing behind her. He seemed completely absorbed in his own world, his eyes scanning their surroundings, lost in thought.

"I must be drunk!" Lina thought, her brow twitching in frustration. "Why did I even suggest he follow me? He doesn't seem to have a clue, and now I've made it my problem!"

Shaking her head as if to banish the embarrassment from her mind, Lina decided she needed to break the awkward silence. Clearing her throat, she glanced back at him.

"Ahem. Mister adult, are you single—?!" Her words came out faster than her thoughts, and she immediately panicked. "No, no! I mean... are you alone? I mean, I mean…" Her words tumbled over each other as her eyes began to spin in circles, her face burning with embarrassment.

The man stopped walking and looked at her with a bemused expression, his lips curving into a faint smile. "Yes, I'm single."

"That's not what I meant!" Lina blurted, stomping her foot in frustration. "I mean... are you alone here? Do you have anyone—any person—that I can send you to?" She crossed her arms, trying to regain her composure, though her cheeks were still red.

The man chuckled softly at Lina's flustered reaction, his amused expression making her feel even more embarrassed. She groaned inwardly, gripping her baseball bat tighter as her face flushed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you," he said calmly. "But to answer your question, yes, I'm alone."

Lina blinked, her face still red. "Wait, so you seriously don't have anyone? No family? No friends? No one waiting for you?"

The man shook his head. "Not that I can remember," he replied, his voice tinged with an odd mixture of calm acceptance and uncertainty.

That answer only made Lina's confusion grow. "Not that you can remember?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes. "What, did you hit your head or something? Did you lose your memory?"

The man's gaze shifted away for a moment, as if he was lost in thought. "I... don't know," he admitted after a pause. "I remember my name, my job... and that's about it."

Lina stared at him, her eyes wide. "So you're telling me you're wandering around with no memory of who you are or what you're supposed to be doing?"

"Pretty much," he said with a small shrug, as if it were no big deal.

Lina rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Great. Just great. I pick up a random lost adult, and now I find out he's got amnesia or something. Why does this stuff happen to me?"

She glanced back at him, her yellow eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Alright, Mister Amnesia. Do you at least remember your name?"

"Sensei," he replied without hesitation.

Lina froze, her bat slipping slightly off her shoulder. "Sensei? That's not a name, that's a title!"

"It's all I remember," he said simply.

Lina threw her hands in the air. "Unbelievable. I swear, you're like a walking cliché! Next thing I know, you're gonna tell me you're some kind of Big boss or chosen hero or something ridiculous like that."

Sensei chuckled again, the sound light and unbothered. "I don't think I'm either of those things."

Lina sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Alright, fine. Whatever. I don't have time to figure out your life story right now. Just... stick close to me, okay? This city isn't exactly safe, especially for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Sensei repeated, tilting his head.

"You know, clueless and completely helpless," Lina said bluntly, starting to walk again.

Sensei followed her, his expression calm but his eyes betraying a hint of curiosity. "You don't seem like the kind of person who usually helps strangers," he said after a moment.

Lina froze mid-step, turning to glare at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing bad," he said quickly, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "You just seem... independent. Like someone who prefers to do things on her own."

Lina huffed, crossing her arms. "Well, maybe I do. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna leave some clueless weirdo to wander around and get himself mugged or worse."

Sensei smiled faintly, his gaze softening. "Thank you, Lina."

The unexpected sincerity in his voice caught her off guard, and she looked away quickly, her face turning red again. "Yeah, yeah. Don't make it weird, okay? Let's just keep moving."

As they walked, Lina couldn't help but glance back at him every so often, her mind racing with questions. Who was this guy? What was his deal? And why did she feel like she'd just gotten herself involved in something way bigger than she realized?

(A/n: no weird thought or lina banish you to shadow realm)