Author's Note: Welcome back, it's time for another chapter! I'm sure you've been eager to see the Loki Familia and how Rin will bullshit her way through them… Or supposedly she will, haha. Speaking of Rin, I got the non-scale figure of Fate/Extra Rin Tohsaka! It's not exactly Hakuno merch, but she is Hakuno's friend! By the way, Artemis has a canonical appearance now in Danmachi, don't worry though, I have a story reason to fix it in Lunar Hearth and Ashes later.
Engineer4Ever: I'll write more food scenes with Saber, I swear on Hakuno's wallet!
GGFBank: Rin Fainted! Hakuno's Cuteness Leveled Up!
Dxhologram: Nope! But she's not a genius for nothing.
KadinaruDess: The power of Hakuno's head tilt rivals the Moon Cell.
Mike21: Yes, I know about the Ares Familia and Nation.
loop2: Lol, you're answer is in this chapter.
King of fans: Mhm, I do wonder about Avalon in Digital/Lunar Hearth...
amerdism: Hakuno's Falna is a mystery, perhaps Rin can help?
Student: Yep! Thanks!
Enjoy the chapter everybody! The tale of a different wish, a story that changes the predetermined outcome, the journey, the Extra that pushed the world of gods into Extella!
Digital/Lunar Hearth
Chapter 28: Digital Human & Spirit Hacker
An instrument of destruction, that was what she is. Everything taught to her, all that this body learned, circled and revolved around destroying anything in her path. She would never experience the pleasant sensations of life, or so the Hun Elders would believe. But there were instances, flashes of some hidden feeling that occurred as she and the warriors traveled the vast world for conquest and pillaging. Perhaps, in a way, it concerned her own desires to know the life of an average woman, to nurture instead of decimate, care and find love, not the slash opposition until their blood covered the earth.
But that's her life.
She is the King of Ruin.
Devastation wrought in her wake.
It had been marked as her destiny from the very beginning. Since the day the Hun Elders found her in the underground ruins of a bygone civilization, a slumbering young child emblazoned with white markings and holding a blade symbolized to a divine entity of war.
That will be, had been, and is all she knew.
Destruction.
Her dreams were plagued with memories of a White Titan, massive and familiar, all-encompassing all of the devoured civilizations it fed upon like an animal did for survival, just a natural occurrence. She did not fear this giant or feel pity for those it eliminated, but her heart trembled at becoming it, to turn into this thoughtless force.
It is only a dream? Or is the life she lives the dream?
There was no answer she could find to answer it.
Hakuno Kishinami opened her eyes to the sight of a tent's roof, her mind filtering out the information shoved into it during the Dream Cycle, which the magus girl noted its relation to her Servant, Altera. It wasn't a kind or encouraging memory, but Hakuno Kishinami knew that from her previous interactions with Altera. So, knowing it hadn't changed anything, the Digital Human sat upright and observed her surroundings. There wasn't much to spot, a few standard beddings made all the objects in the tent.
Did she faint?
She recalled accepting the Territory Revert action from the Regalia, then a blinding white light and nothing. Hakuno checked herself, making sure there weren't any injuries or issues with her body or magic circuits, but couldn't find anything outside of feeling fine from resting. The teenage girl stood on her feet and walked to where her shoes were before slipping them on with practiced ease, her brown uniform had a few crinkles in it, but Hakuno didn't care too much for appearance.
After a brief glance to make sure the Regalia remained on her finger, Hakuno Kishinami turned to leave the tent only for the blonde Rin Tohsaka to enter first. Her friend didn't adorn her prior attire gained from being partly Servant, but instead the nostalgic and comforting clothing of what Rin wore during the Holy Grail War. Sure, her hair color remained the same blond hue and eyes an aqua blue, but her outfit had the signature crimson red tight top shirt with a white cross symbol, onyx skirt, and long black boots. Unexpectedly, Rin seemed to have kept her weapon sash, which Hakuno only caught by glancing at her skirt's movements, since it was hidden underneath the garment.
"H-hey! Eyes up here, Hakuno!" Rin scolded with a firm foot slam against the ground, driving the girl's attention away from the nostalgic clothing. "Sheesh, I know my apparel showcases my curves more than that dull uniform of yours, but that's not a reason to stare."
Hakuno blinked, "I didn't mean to stare, you just changed to something familiar," She replied.
"Well, as long as you understand then," Rin's voice almost seemed… Disappointed.
"What's wrong?" Hakuno asked.
"Nothing's wrong!" She blurted out, a pinkish tint adorned her cheeks. "Anyway, how're your reserves?" The colors dimmed back to normality.
"I'm fine, nearly replenished," Hakuno replied, though her Servants did maintain a constant consumption of od, especially with three of them, if it wasn't for the Regalia, Hakuno knew she'd likely have died. Archer, however, was extraordinarily low-cost compared to the two Saber-class Heroic Spirits, and could outright not take any magical energy for a week due to his high-ranked Independent Action skill. Robin Hood, as she recalled his True name, could have taken his required mana while Hakuno slept easily without any issues to his Master. Which is likely what he'd done.
"Good," She released an exhausted sigh, but her expression told how tired and depleted the Spirit Hacker is.
"Are you alright?" Hakuno asked in concern for her friend's wellbeing. Rin Tohsaka had never been like this, with the exception of one occasion, so this had Hakuno worried.
Rin breathed in deep, then said, "Take off your shirt."
"Huh?"
"I said take off your shirt!" Rin commanded, "And don't you dare disobey me anything or I'll Code Cast you back to unconsciousness!" She exclaimed.
"Alright," Hakuno replied calmly.
"I want to experiment with something," Rin's voice remained very much authoritive.
Hakuno Kishinami began unbuttoning the outer layer of her Academy uniform before pulling her arms out of the sleeves, Rin Tohsaka stretched out her hand, and the brown-headed girl gave her the clothing and began taking off the black wool garment while her friend folded the uniform neatly.
"You want to see Hestia's Falna?" Hakuno questioned Rin's experiment.
"Yes, this… Falna thing," She answered while her gaze tried and avoided looking at Hakuno's front body, focused instead on the magus' face. "Why do you not have a bra?"
"Don't know," The Digital Human replied as she stripped off her top. "These are the clothes I received from the Moon Cell," She finished and used the wool shirt in her arms to subconsciously block the view of her breasts. Thankfully, SERAPH did provide an undergarment for her most private section, although there wasn't any shorts, all that had covered it had been the long uniform itself.
"So the standard uniform setting doesn't let female Masters have it?" Rin Tohsaka said mostly to herself. "Here, hold your clothing," She handed over the uniform and circled around Kishinami.
Hakuno wondered why Rin Tohsaka had such an interest in Falna, although the Spirit Hacker had briefly mentioned it after the battle against Berserker, Rin's tone at the time had more pressing concerns with the Loki Familia. Speaking of which, what did her friend do afterward?
A sudden chill caused Hakuno to fidget as a finger touched her bare back.
"Cold, Hakuno?" Rin's teasing voice said.
"Yes, your finger is freezing," Hakuno replied, she hadn't expected the sudden sensation, but she also felt Rin using a Code Cast on her, but Hakuno trusted Rin not to harm her.
"Did you know you have the Moon Cell's Core emblazoned above a hearth?" Rin questioned.
"I do?" Hakuno inquired.
"What? Does your 'goddess' withhold information from you?" Rin spoke in spite. "Yes, of course, you do! In fact, I'm surprised you're even in a physical world with this body! I just did a View Status Code Cast on you and your body is still a data construct. How are you even alive?"
Hakuno turned her head to somewhat look towards Rin, "I theorized that the Regalia is responsible for managing that feat."
"Regalia… Ah, that's right, Regalia… Information shoved in my head when I arrived here, man, I feel sorry for your counterpart right now," Rin stated.
"My counterpart?" Hakuno asked surprised. "You found her?"
"I had a team with me, Einzberns included," She began. "We found the cryogenic chamber of Hakuno Kishinami, the original Hakuno Kishinami. We had unfrozen her and vaccinated the Amnesia Syndrome that plagued her, but I never had the chance to talk because the next day I found myself fused with a Servant, stuck with Hood jerk, and fighting for my life while protecting the asses of so-called Adventurers!" The Spirit Hacker vented her frustration.
"Sorry."
"What? Don't apologize for that!" Rin scolded.
"But I brought you here because I was selfish and made a wish," Hakuno said.
"You wished to survive, didn't you?" Rin asked, to which Hakuno nodded. "Then don't be sorry, it's alright to be selfish. Heck, I'm surprised you managed to pull it off; but I'm glad you've grown."
Hakuno looked back forward, "... Anything else about the Falna?" She questioned.
"Well, I don't know much of the language used here, but I understood that your… Attributes? Yeah, sure, we'll use the Servant variant. The Attributes are concealed, is that your diety's doing?"
"No, she says my Falna doesn't work, doesn't know what to do," Hakuno answered.
"I'll need to learn more about how this whole Falna works, guess I'll interrogate her when we leave this dump," Rin finished and walked back around. "Done, for now, you can put your clothes back on."
Hakuno Kishinami did so, feeling more comfortable with her uniform on and not standing half-naked. She looked to Rin and asked, "How did you deal with the Loki Familia?"
"Easy, half-truths, much more believable," Rin replied.
Rin Tohsaka explained the story she'd used; Hakuno Kishinami was a mage that used to be part of her group, she had the ability to contract powerful spirits to eliminate dangerous threats. Rin helped Hakuno with the spirits, taught her, and saved her a few times during harsh situations. Lately, Hakuno had moved with Orario and disconnected from Rin, getting a Falna from Hestia but maintained her connection with spirits. They'd heard of rogue spirits in the Dungeon influencing the monsters and Rin and Archer was there to help deal with them, but they'd underestimated their foe and called in Hakuno to help.
When asked about why the Floor had changed by the Loki Familia, Rin explained that only certain powerful spirits could do that, but they lose their sanity. However, they questioned about the floating cube that appeared on the Tenth and now Eighteenth Floors.
"That was just an easy, 'I don't know' type of answer," Rin finished.
Hakuno blinked.
There were many truths and lies, but most of what Rin used was open-ended enough for the Loki Familia to fill in the blanks with their own knowledge, using this world's interpretations to Rin's advantage.
The Digital Human knew she could never pull off something like that.
"I'll try to keep my history close to that," Hakuno stated.
Rin nodded, "Alright, now tell me about what you've experienced since arriving in this world."
"Wait, you mentioned about a Cube being on the Eighteenth Floor?" Hakuno interrupted.
"Yeah, that is this floor of the Dungeon?" Rin questioned.
"Huh…?"
She's on the Eighteenth Floor? Did the Return Crystal bring her that much deeper? At least it was fully confirmed that they weren't back inside the Moon Cell.
Where was Altera? Hakuno couldn't feel the presence of her Servant in the tent, so she likely was outside, but nearby, considering the Heroic Spirit would remain in the astral state per her Master's orders.
"Hakuno," Rin said impatiently.
"Right…" Hakuno didn't delay and began recounting the events that transpired since arriving in Orario.
The Goddess of the Hearth, Hestia, paced throughout the surface floor of her Familia Home. Her eyes occasionally glanced to the door, hoping that her mage girl would arrive any minute now with that dumb monotone look on her face but irises shining like distant stars. She stopped, tapped her foot on the ground, her brow furrowed before she outright stomped downward with force.
"Where is she!?" Hestia cried out in frustration.
It had been a whole day and Hakuno Kishinami was nowhere to be seen, Hestia's concern turned into anger and worry, a violent combination that made Bell and Liliruca wary of their Familia Goddess. Saber remained calm, standing in her armor almost like a statue near the entryway of the church, waiting patiently for her Lady's return.
Hestia knew Saber to be a perfect image of what a Knight was.
But, unfortunately, she herself doesn't have the mental fortitude and discipline the Heroic Spirit possessed. In her worry, Hestia prevented Bell and Liliruca from so much as leaving the building, even if the goddess herself will get scolded by her workplace boss and other jobs she worked at.
"Lady Hakuno will return," Saber said from where she stood.
"You've said that already!" Hestia replied in an aggravated tone. "I'm just wondering what's taking her so long! Doesn't she know not to make me worry?"
"Goddess…" Bell trailed off, sitting on a bench, he had been there for an hour now alongside Liliruca who relaxed against her large bag.
"Shush, Bell!" Hestia pointed accusingly at him. "She's pulling off you right now!"
"Me?!" He exclaimed in shock.
"Yes! You did this exact thing only a week after we started the Familia!" The Goddess of the Hearth scolded. "Now look! You've become a bad influence for Hakuno!"
Liliruca tried to interrupt, "Wait, Mister Bell isn't-"
"You too! Bad influence! Bad!" Hestia cried out. "Hakuno is supposed to be cute and adorable and always listened to her goddess and never get into trouble!"
The prum blinked, "To be honest, I think trouble finds her."
Hestia was taken aback, "Gah, I… I can't deny it with all that's happened!" She admitted.
Saber looked towards the doorway, her expression changing.
Then a couple of knocks echoed.
"Hakuno~! She's here!" Hestia sang the girl's name as she rushed towards the doorway and opened it. "Oh… It's you."
It was the youngest Artemis' member, Lia, who arched an eyebrow at Hestia's words, "Um, is Hakuno here? I wanted to invite her to go out hunting."
Hestia frowned and grumbled under her breath.
Lia looked behind the short-statured diety, glanced around but did not spot the magus, "Did something happen?"
Suddenly the petite goddess brightened up, "I know! The Artemis Familia is filled with level two and three members, right?"
"Yeah…?" Lia replied. "Wait, is Hakuno in trouble?"
"I'll grant Artemis a single hunting trip with Hakuno if she sends them down into the Dungeon and looks for her!"
"Eh?"
