Two months after the Third Impact in Nagazora City…
He didn't know how he ended up here…
She kept singing her lullaby song. A song never meant to be heard by mortal ears
He bit his lower lip, hoping the pain will be enough to keep him awake.
Someone among the crowd couldn't keep their senses awake, like a poor fool, a girl, finally succumbed to the siren's song. The siren didn't stop her melody, though her eyes landed over the one who dared to fall asleep in the middle of her beautiful dirge.
Clarity came back to him, her voice lowered a bit as she slowly slid next to her victim and raised her extremity, and brought it down with fury. He felt pity for the poor soul who yelped and was dragged back to the land of the living.
The poor one protested until her eyes met with the siren's ones. She whimpered at the harsh glare and tried to apologize. Her rant was cut short when the siren dictated her sentence. The poor girl whimpered and only nodded in resignation. The siren paused, to inhale a deep breath, and, to his horror, her voice became louder and clearer to hear for all the poor wretches in her domain.
He gulped, his eyes started to feel heavy. He didn't close them at the fear of meeting a similar fate like the previous victim. He knew that it wouldn't be for long. He only needed to endure a couple of minutes and he would be free!
His mind tried to comprehend and kept her words inside his mind, but her voice, damn her voice! He could understand what she was saying, but for the life of him, he couldn't grasp that power of hers to make people fall into Morpheus' realm!
He took deep breaths, trying to keep his mind clear and sharp.
It bore fruits, as he felt for a moment that he could endure suck kind of torture at the hands of this- this terrible demon…
His hopes were crushed as his eyes felt heavy. He tried to keep calm and took a deep breath again. He panicked when it didn't work. Her melodious voice became a delicious bait, a bait connected to the land of the dreams.
A place that most of the poor souls in her presence were dying to grab and taste without fear of being caught by the siren.
He bit his lower lip again, the pain doing almost nothing to keep him in the awake realm. He applied more force, to the point of drawing blood. He didn't mind the iron taste or the stares focused on him for his harsh action.
Many would do anything to leave her terrible grasp. Anything!
Despite his struggle, his eyes started to feel heavier, impossible for his ocular muscles to hold his eyelids. He knew that the second these closed, his sentence will come with no delay. He cursed the little devil who put him in the siren's presence in the first place.
Sharp eyes settled on the only male in the group.
He wasn't a man who prayed to God. It has been a long time since he stopped believing in Him. But, in this instant, he prayed to whoever deity was overlooking this mortal realm to please, please, punish the little devil who put him in this chamber to endure this demon's song!
Her eyes narrowed as he started to get lost in her song.
His eyes went unfocused and his eyelids slowly started to fall. Darkness came crawling at the corner of his eyes. He kept struggling, though. He won't go down without giving a fight!
Despite his effort, despite the iron blood and twinge on his lower lip, finally, darkness came and claimed his whole vision. He sighed in surrender and relief. He knew that the monster was coming for him next. At least, he would have a few seconds in Morpheus' arms before being drawn back to the nightmare realm that it was reality.
DING! DONG!
Adam's eyes shot open wide hearing the bell, signaling his and everyone else salvation until the next week.
His eyes almost peeled themselves at how wide he opened them when he saw the very monster, who almost sentenced him to a terrible fate worse than death, in front of him.
The teacher gave him a harsh frown before sighing and going back to the front of her class.
"Before you go, remember to read from chapter twelve to fifteen, so we can discuss the next class about it", then she smiled at them warmly. A contradiction to the monster she personified during her class. "Enjoy your weekend~," she chirped.
The dark brown-haired female teacher with glasses waved her hand before leaving through the classroom door. Once she was out, Adam and many others sighed in relief and let their upper half fall without grace on their desks.
Few fell downright on their desks and into the dream realm, snoring without a care and with happy smiles on their faces. Others started to chat with their friends and the rest left the classroom.
"{Holy shit… that was a close call. You're lucky that the bell sounded or your ass would have been done,}" it said breathlessly.
"Along with my weekend," Adam added grunting.
"{All the more reason to not stay up late at night playing videogames with Bronya if you are going to have a class with this dem -ahem- I mean, teacher of yours the next day,}" it pointed out.
"Noted." Adam was about to resume his nap on his desk but a new voice stopped him from doing it.
"Are you alright, Adam-kun?" Adam turned his head on his desk and saw that Mei, Kiana, and Bronya were standing next to his right.
Despite living with them, Adam still found strange and flashy their current uniforms.
Mei's uniform resembled more a vermilion theme dress with two large black lines on her sides that hugged her figure nicely. Hanging from her shoulders, there was a brown shawl that complemented the dress; her arms were covered by a couple of thin red sleeves, woven with a special material to deflect sharp objects, and her hands by a pair of black combat gloves; her legs were also covered by black-themed tights with golden lines that stopped at the middle of her thighs; and finally, she was wearing a pair of tactical special crafted shoes that resembled more like high heel shoes, in Adam's humble opinion. [Valkyrie Blade Strike Suit]
For her part, Kiana was wearing the generic white St. Freya uniform with a few accessories and customizes. Her school coat was cut to only hug the upper half of her body; on her back, Kiana sported an onyx light-weight cape with a golden sigil representing Schicksal's wings; a black blouse with also Schicksal's imprint on the front, the blouse highlighted her slim and toned waist; her arms were covered by a pair of brown tactical long gloves that stopped until the middle of her forearms; her waist was hugged by blue-gray shorts and a large ammo belt; at her bottom, she was wearing a jet-black pantyhose and a pair of large dark-brown combat boots. [Valkyrie Ranger Suit]
Bronya decided to wear the generic uniform at the beginning of her stay in St. Freya, but due to the Principal insistence (and intervention), Bronya's had a colorful theme, just like the older girls but with her uniqueness. Her jacket had a navy-blue theme with grey lines at its borders; under her jacket, she was wearing a dark-gray straight-striped shirt with short sleeves; her forearms sported a pair of white and orange gauntlets complemented with black combat gloves with orange at the fingers; and from the middle of her thighs to her feet, both legs were covered by her prosthetic legs with the same color theme like her gauntlets. [Valkyrie Chariot Suit]
For his part, Adam was wearing a black jacket with Schicksal's emblem in red right over his heart and with a protruding collar; a red t-shirt under it, a black tactical belt, black gloves, dark blue cargo pants, and combat boots. Despite its lack of fashion or fanciness, Adam had asked for certain customizations on his apparent plain clothes. The jacket's upper-half, collar, and gloves were woven with the same material as Mei's sleeves; and his pants and boots were made using a resistant material to handle violent tugs and sweeps.
When Adam asked the Principal about the colorful and flashy uniforms, she explained that in order to boost the morale of the student body she allowed her students to customize their uniforms and battle-suits, of course as long as it was functional and not outrageous. Despite her explanation, Adam started to consider seriously if St. Freya was really a school that taught beautiful young girls to combat Honkai Beasts to protect the world instead of a super-model high school.
Going back on track, the black-haired girl beauty looked a bit worry at his drowsy expression. Adam got up from his half-lying down posture and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah. Just a bit tired from enduring this tortu- I mean- this class…" Mei made a strained smile at the way he referred to their last period.
"It wasn't that bad, Adam-kun. I'm sure that Louise-sensei is doing her best to teach us," Mei tried to argue. Adam and Bronya, who was playing with a portable console- he didn't know where or when she got it from- stopped and stared at her incredulous.
"Then, tell me why Kiana looks miserable?" And true to his words, the bright silver-haired girl had a gloomy expression. Adam was sure that for a second, there was a dark cloud raining and thundering over her head reflecting her mood.
"Why I have to do an essay about something that happened two hundred years ago?!" Kiana whined. As she said this, Adam knew that whenever Kiana's pride was hurt, there would be someone to rub salt on the wound.
"The Bronya confirms that it has something to do with Idiotka's tendency to sleep in Louise-sensei's class," Bronya pointed out as she resumed playing. Kiana immediately recovered from her whining state and started to argue with the short girl, soon followed by Mei trying to placate both. Adam rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face, he was too used to their antics at this point, and shoved his book and pen inside his green messenger bag and picked it up.
"So shall we go?" He prompted.
"Mhm. Just let us grab our things Adam-kun." Mei dragged the girls to pick up their bags as Bronya and Kiana kept arguing, albeit less intensely and more quietly. While this happened, some girls that were still in the classroom glanced at him discreetly, or so they thought, as he caught the obvious display of stares from the rest.
Adam was glad to get out of the classroom as soon as his dorm mates got their stuff and made their way to the door. He didn't like dealing with many stares on him at once if it wasn't a hostile environment; at least there he could frown in response to their stares.
While the quartet walked on the halls of St. Freya, Kiana began to complain about how boring and difficult the classes were, Mei kindly chided her for her lazy behavior and that she should study more to improve her marks, Bronya would add a remark from time to time, mainly to tease Kiana, and while the rest talked; Adam remained silent and walked a couple of steps behind them.
On their way, they ran into some acquaintances from their class. Although to be more precise, they were Kiana's, Mei's, and Bronya's acquaintances. Whenever they ran into them, the students waved their hands normally at the girls, but when it came to Adam, they waved lazily and offered an awkward smile. Adam tried to not get it him and answered back for education, but he had to admit that his tolerance started to run thin as some girls looked at him with disdain in the distance. He was glad that they kept their distance, the last time someone scowled at him up-close he had a hard time holding back Kiana. He was glad that at least she had his back. She really was protective of the people close to her.
"Damn it. I'm someone who was sent here, not a damn jerk who came here trying to get in their pants!" He thought annoyed after another girl glared at him.
"{In a way, it's understandable. You're a sudden addition to the student body with different features that separate you from the rest.}"
"So, having something hanging from my crotch it's a crime now?" He asked sarcastically. He knew, well, he had expected some negative behavior from the students given that he was so suddenly and unexpectedly added to their ranks. Still, it didn't make it easier at all to endure the disdain or awkward pleasantries.
"{At least not everyone here finds your presence upsetting,}" it said as a couple of girls waved at him happily with genuine smiles. Adam was glad for this silver lining and decided to answer in kind and gestured a small and real smile on his face. One of the girls got a little blush on her face and quickly left the place. Her friend chuckled before waving her hand at him and ran to catch up with her embarrassed friend. Kiana raised a brow at the embarrassing display and Mei chuckled.
The calm mood was broken by an unexpected person. "It can be seen that the behavior of others towards subject Adam has improved in the last two months," Bronya pointed out while pausing her game and glanced at the direction the girls went off and shifted to Adam's way.
"Yeah… You're right. At least they have toned it down." He wasn't sure if disdain shifted to simple awkwardness to interact with him or scowl at him in the distance was a real
improvement at all.
Mei shook her head. "Still, they should at least try to know you first before making conclusions."
"Well, Adam is a guy after all. And you know guys are known to be more blunt and lecherous," Kiana added her two cents with a casual tone. Adam's brow twitched. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right, in a way, but let's be honest here. How many times I've done something like that while living with you three?"
"Subject Adam doesn't mind his use of harsh language in an unpleasant situation for him," Bronya pointed out.
"Okay. But I'm still getting used to the whole rules and school mode. I've been traveling for years from place to place alone."
"You entered my room while I was changing!" Kiana glared at him. He was glad that there wasn't anyone else in the hallway. He could have been labeled as a pervert.
"That time I was really tired and I stopped before I could open the whole door. Not to mention I make it up to you by buying you all that junk food," he quickly interjected.
"Isn't that the reason why Kiana-chan was sick for two days?" Mei asked innocently while pointing out.
"Geez, Mei. Why don't kick me while I'm down, eh?" Mei got flustered and quickly apologized. He waved it off, knowing Mei was only worrying for their resident food greedy dorm mate.
"At least it's better than how you were welcomed the first day," Kiana said. Adam felt suddenly tired remembering that day.
"You're right…"
Five days after Nagazora Incident. Morning in St. Freya Academy…
He cursed mentally under their scrutinized gazes. At his side was Himeko, introducing him to the class.
'Calm down, Adam. You've faced the mafia, AE robots and agents, killed big Honkai beasts, and fought a fucking Herrscher and lived to tell the tale for fuck's sake!' Adam tried to fill himself with courage. He felt better when he saw that in the middle of the row of seats were his dorm mates.
Kiana waved at him discreetly and Mei smiled; even the always stoic Bronya gave him a short nod as a way to give him courage.
"And as you can see, we have another new and special student with us today." Adam gulped as the class' stares intensified. "Now, why don't you present yourself?" Knowing it was his cue, Adam took a deep breath and took a step forward.
"H-hello, everyone. My name is A-Adam, Adam Alighieri," he swore for his stutter. "I'm eighteen years old and from on, I will be in your care." Some of the girls in the class just blinked with disbelief on their faces that suddenly a male student was attending their school.
'Damn it! I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do here.'
'{Getting cold feet? Come on! You had faced worse and still came back alive.}'
'{Indeed. You had met with persons who had killed for less than a stain on their expensive clothes. This self-introduction shouldn't be difficult to you.}'
'While it's true, mind remembering that all of us tended to keep a cold and professional attitude for the sake of not blowing each other's brains out?' It wasn't impressed at this response, though.
'{How the hell you managed to bargain with a Herrscher again?}'
'Fuck you! That's how,' he barked back.
Before it could say something back, a girl raised her hand. Adam mentally thanked her for interrupting their little argument inside his head. He tilted his head in her direction.
"Yes?"
"Miss Himeko, is this true? Is he really going to attend St. Freya?" His thanks for the girl banished immediately as she ignored him and asked their teacher instead. Himeko frowned a bit; Kiana did the same and Mei was perplexed at the sudden show of disrespect towards her male companion; Bronya's semblance was almost neutral, almost because her brow twitched down for a second.
Still, the red-haired answered. "Indeed. His acceptance has been approved by the Principal herself." Instantly, murmurs began to sound throughout the class. It lasted a few seconds before Himeko stopped them.
"Silence! As much as it surprises all of you, the decision has already been made. Just as your fellow classmate just said, before being ignored," the girl flinched back under her hard stare. "…he's going to attend the academy for the following years until he graduates." Again the murmurs began and again Himeko had to quiet them. "I think it would be for the best to ask him directly instead of making assumptions," Himeko suggested. The girls didn't need to think twice. Many hands suddenly shot up. Adam was a bit overwhelmed at their eagerness to ask but decided to take the chance.
"A-Ah? Yes?" He looked towards one of the girls at the front desks. She lowered her hand and asked.
"Do you have strong Honkai endurance?" Adam nodded. "Yes." Some girls lowered their hands and were surprised at the detail. It was known that women had better endurance and adaptability against Honkai emissions than men.
He looked to the left side of the bottom of the class and nodded to a short girl.
"Why you were sent here? I thought the few men who could endure Honkai were sent to Schicksal HQ?" Another batch of girls lowered their hands and nodded in agreement with her. Adam was thankful that Theresa (and Hestia) already had an excuse for that kind of question.
"That was the first option, but the Principal decided that it would be for the best if I attended St. Freya. She wanted for me to have a normal education instead of a strict one in HQ." Some of the girls were dumbfounded at the reason while a few nodded in agreement. These few had heard rumors that the people and training in Schicksal HQ were rigorous and cold, nothing like the comfy and loose lifestyle in St. Freya.
Seeing their doubtful faces, Adam added the other reason for his enrollment in the academy. "And the Principal found me fighting my way out of a Honkai Outbreak. She thinks I have some potential, so… here I am." He explained plainly. Hearing him say that, some looked at him incredulously while others thought he was lying. Simultaneously, all their heads turned on their teacher for answers.
"He's right. We found him in the middle of the Honkai Outbreak that happened in Nagazora five days ago," Himeko clarified. Many were dumbfounded hearing it. The class fell silent for a couple of seconds before they started firing questions in quick succession.
"Wait! You fought your way out of the city with Honkai Beasts roaming wild?!"
"How the hell you managed to survive?!"
"You traveled alone?"
"Did you run into an Emperor-Class Beast on your way out?"
"Nah! He would be surely dead!"
"Right. Probably he ran into some Knights and Chariots at worst."
Adam laughed mirthless inside his head. 'If only you know'
While the girls keep asking, Himeko was thinking about other things.
'Wow! I'm amazed that Teri's plan worked. They're more focused on him than on the other girls.'
Before coming to class, Theresa told Kiana, Mei, and Bronya that they would explain that they were found around Nagazora. She told them that for two reasons; one was to keep attention away from them, and the second; to keep Mei's identity as a Herrscher as secret as possible. Himeko and the Principal knew that some of the students lost their families in the Nagazora Outbreak. Both didn't comment on this last detail to Mei, they didn't want her to feel guilty for reasons out of her control. Thankfully, none of the girls in Himeko's class had family in the fallen city.
'Still, we better keep an eye on Mei if she starts to get stressed out when she finds out the news,' she thought gravely. She only hoped that it didn't trigger the Herrscher when it'll happen.
While she was thinking about how to make the news not so shocking for Mei, a student asked a scandalous question.
"Is it safe to be around him?"
The questions ceased and glanced toward a petite girl in the middle of the row of seats. Himeko's eyes narrowed a bit and Adam fought the urge to rub his temple.
"Why do you ask such a thing?" Himeko asked. She had an idea why but wanted to hear it from the girl herself.
The young woman shuddered under the many stares before taking a deep breath and replied. "W-well, because he is a guy," she stated, glancing to her red-haired teacher before she focused her eyes on Adam. For his part, said the male's right hand twitched in annoyance, don't understanding what she said as a valid reason to be cautious around him. His annoyance changed for exasperation and incredulity when she didn't add anything else to base her statement.
'You've to be kidding me… I thought she was going to say something with sense, like, why suddenly new four persons appeared in the academy right off after the Outbreak?!'
The students started to whisper and some even nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Adam found the urge to glare them down and drew a claw. He wasn't the only one, though.
'W-Why…? Why are they being so mean to him?!' Mei thought in bewilderment and anger as her future classmates already started to draw and have a terrible image of her male friend in just a question of minutes, right after meeting him.
She knew what is like to be discriminated and being ostracized by unforeseen events and being judged by people with petty grudges and baseless rumors. She was so tempted, oh…, so tempted to get up from her seat and give these pathetic idiots a real reason to-
'No…' She took a deep breath to push back the Herrscher's influence on her mind, trying to break free using her anger and still bitter experience before the outbreak. It tried one last time before it hissed in displeasure and retread back to the back of her conscious. She was glad it didn't fight back for more, but a tiny and dark part of her heart thought that it wouldn't have been bad at all. She ignored it, in favor of getting ready to stand up and aid the person who helped her and her friends get out of the city alive. She was about to get up when Himeko decided to take the matter into her hands.
"And mind telling me, Nanami Mami, why you think that's enough excuse to be this cautious around your fellow classmate with such fervor based only on his gender?" Her voice was serious and neutral, but the people in her presence sensed the coldness and displeasure at the girl's statement. The girl tried to answer, but words failed to leave her mouth under Himeko's harsh glare.
'So much for a first day…' Adam thought in exasperation at how downhill things started to went. And the worst was that the day was just beginning. He started to think that coming to St. Freya was a mistake. And not out of fear of being ostracized, but out of the hassle of dealing with these people and not being able to tell them to piss off without him risking being unable to spend his days at the academy peacefully.
'{Then, put in question the base of her declaration and deliver your reasons to study here in the first place,}' it advised with a cold tone. Adam agreed with it. It was plain logic and a way to show his true intentions and correct the possible and baseless idea that he was only in the academy for the eye candy and whatever else passed in their minds.
'{And… Himeko pointed out that Theresa gave you her personal approval. Who is this dipshit to question the Principal's judgment?}' It hissed with a mocking tone. Harsh but effective to put down the girl's, and perhaps the others baseless thoughts.
He pondered for a second before he decided to use both suggestions. He decided to reply casually but straight to the point. To question but without the need to be hostile. He took a deep breath and spoke.
Something clicked. Something like glass shattered and reformed inside his mind. New… but familiar to him…
"I don't know your experience -Nanami was it? - With men and, or whatever you undergo in the past, but I come here to get stronger in order to fight and survive against the Honkai. Principal Theresa saw some potential in me. I don't' know why she decided to give me the option between coming here or going to HQ, but if you want a straight answer you should ask her instead of guessing and causing misunderstandings between us."
His voice was calm but with an assertiveness not usual in young people. The girls in the classroom quieted down as they listened to him. Some were surprised at how straight he addressed the issue. If the students were bewildered, the four women who shared a dormitory with him were baffled by him.
The seriousness face, the detachment in his voice, his sharp eyes looking straight at the Nanami girl, his posture… For a second, his dorm mates and teacher didn't see a brash young man who groaned when he had to carry many bags with clothes the previous day; they didn't see a young man annoyed when Kiana ate the whole fried chicken balls for the evening meal; or the helpful person who carried all their new furniture inside their rooms without having to ask.
For a second, they didn't saw an awkward young man nervous in front of the other girls, instead, they saw a cold man calling off a girl's bullshit in front of everybody and expected her to either apologize or shut up.
Nanami shuddered under his stare, clearly not expecting him to rebuke her and in such form.
"That's enough, you two!" Thankfully, Himeko decided to interfere before things could escalate. "Alighieri, go to your seat, and Nanami, we're going to have a few words after class." The mentioned two didn't protest and nodded. Adam walked to his seat, which was a couple of seats behind his three dorm mates. Kiana and Mei looked vexed and Bronya showed it by having her eyes colder than usual.
Once he took a seat, his actions and how he carried them finally sank in his mind.
'OK… What the fuck just happened?! Since when do I talk like that?' Somehow he managed to keep his aloof demeanor while freaking inside his head.
'{That was weird…}'
'No shit!'
'{Would this be perhaps an aftereffect?}' It inquired. Adam pushed his shock back when he heard it said this.
'What do you mean?'
'{Perhaps, what just happened is a consequence of what took place on the ship that night. Your powers went out of control and maybe, it just didn't trigger your memories, perhaps it also brought back a bit of your forgotten demeanor.}'. Adam felt a knot forming in his gut as he listened. He knew that his memories would come back in time, Hestia had told him to, but he didn't expect it to be this…
'{Able to personify you without you even knowing?}'
"Alighieri, we are in class. Pay attention!" Himeko called him, making him came back to reality. Adam flinched and nodded. "S-Sorry, Hi- Mis- Murata-sensei," he apologized and took out his school supplies. He saw the worrying glances from Kiana and Mei. He gave them a small smile, telling them he was alright. The girls gave him brief nods before returning their eyes back to Himeko.
'I will sort this later. Now, I've to survive… this.'
'{This will be interesting.}'
'{Good luck.}'
The rest of the day Adam spent his classes in relative peace. His classmates kept their distance and his dorm mates tried to cheer him up in their own way. Adam thanked the delicious dessert made by Mei, relaxed with the comics Kiana shared with him and enjoyed the funny and frustrating time he spent playing videogames with Bronya, although he didn't feel at ease at all when remembering what took place in the class. Later, he called Hestia and told her about the event. She called it a 'bleeding effect' from his previous memories. While she reassured him that it was normal, she asked him to keep her updated whenever this happened.
Adam shook his head off the memory lane.
"Anyway, things haven't worsened out and most of the time the other girls either ignore me or avoid me," he said shrugging off. Hearing him saying this without problem didn't sit well with Mei.
"You should enjoy your time here, Adam-kun. Not being conformist with how they treat you." Adam felt a bit touched by what she said, but he knew that it couldn't be helped.
"It doesn't matter, Mei. Neither they nor I have to be friends or friendly acquaintances. If they feel uncomfortable with my presence in St. Freya, it's their problem, not mine. I will keep myself out of their business and them from mine. All of us came here to get stronger or whatever is their goals, but that doesn't mean we have to be friends. We have to get along just enough to know that we'll watch out each other's back out there in the field because no one else will do." He knew that it was his cynic thinking, but he had seen that not all friendships are meant to last.
Kiana sighed and Mei frowned at his display of cynicism; Bronya shook her head and continued walking in silence. She would have added an observation from her part based on her personal experience, but she didn't feel comfortable at all sharing such thoughts; her mind felt fuzzy at the emotional strain whenever she thought about them. Adam noticed the change of mood around the girls, especially the exasperated look on Mei.
"{She is looking out for you. Don't need to be an idiot.}" It rebuked. Adam felt a knot on his gut knowing he exaggerated his answer.
"Sorry, Mei. Didn't want to sound like an asshole, but I've had bad experiences when it had come to put up with …supposed friends," he explained. The girls glanced at him, remembering that unlike them, Adam didn't have a normal upbringing as much as he had disclosed to them.
"I understand, Adam. I know what you mean…" Mei looked down as she started to remember her friends before the fallout that came with her father's arrest. Kiana and Bronya saw her expression and shot him irked glares. Adam bit a curse. He knew that he stepped on a mine. The Nagazora Incident, as it was officially called, was a reminder of Mei's previous scholar life were topics that her new friends avoided like the plague.
Adam stopped and raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry. Didn't want to bring this just before the weekend. I really appreciate your concern, Mei. But I'm more of a reserved person. It's just the way I am."
Mei relented and sighed. "Okay, Adam-kun. Sorry if I sounded too pushy." Adam shrugged off. "It's fine. And it's better to be with few people who you can trust instead of being surrounded by complete strangers." Mei and Kiana blinked, realizing what he meant a couple of seconds later. "So… you trust us, Adam-kun?" He nodded.
"Yeah. I don't use the term 'friend' easily, but I know I can trust you three. You have proven it when we were in Nag- in that city." He didn't want to bring Mei's bad memories back mentioning the city's name. And what he said previously, he meant it. He trusted them enough to lower his guard around them, well, not all with Bronya and her sudden arrival while they were in trouble, he still had his reserves about her; but he knew that Kiana and Mei were just normal girls suddenly shoved in the fight against the Honkai.
"Anyway," Adam tried to shake off the awkward silence that fell on the group. He didn't like to share too much about his personal thoughts. "I'm going to the gym to steam off. I really need it after this week." His sentence sounded as if he had gone through a rough time, but considering that he hadn't attended a normal school in the last years, the girls understood his newfound stress while attending St. Freya.
"Okay. Just remember to not stay too much in there. The last time you were late for dinner."
"And you make all of us wait for you!" Kiana chimed in. She didn't mention that everyone waited for Adam due to Mei's orders, though.
Adam nodded. "Understood. I will keep an eye on the clock. See you later." He waved them goodbye as he took a turn in another hallway and disappeared.
"He really likes to steam off in the gym, isn't it?" Kiana commented as they resumed their walking towards their dorm.
"Considering subject Adam's background, it's understandable," Bronya added. Then she looked at Kiana. "At least subject Adam is trying on his studies instead of dozing off like idiotka."
"Yeah, he is… Hey! I'm not an idiot!"
"Girls, please don't fight!"
Mei tried to stop the arguing as they continued on their way.
Meanwhile…
"And I thought I was going to be bored without the kid," Siegfried thought while taking cover behind a fallen thick tree in the middle of a forest. He peeked out from his hiding and saw three athletic armed men moving around. One of them was barking orders, probably the leader. Seeing that none of them had spotted him yet, Siegfried raised an HK33 and decided to make himself known.
He raised from his cover, aimed…
"Hey, guys!"
The three men's neck jerked towards him and paled.
…and shot.
Bang!
"Aaagghhh!"
The leader fell on his bottom as his knee was blown up into chunks. The other two quickly took cover and started to shoot in his direction.
"Son of a bitch!" The injured one screamed as he gripped whatever remained of his knee, trying to stop the bleeding.
The other waited for Siegfried to make more distance between them. Instead, he shot a burst of bullets and started to close the distance, moving and covering every couple of seconds behind the trees.
BANG! CLICK! CLICK!
One of them cursed as his rifle ran out of ammo. He was about to reload but flinched when Siegfried appeared in front of him.
"Too slow."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
His body jerked as he was shot point-blank on the chest.
"Ian!" His companion screamed seeing his friend's corpse falling. Despite witnessing it, he didn't abandon his cover. He took out a communicator and started to ask for aid.
"K-1, this is Wolf- 9. I need assistance! Parvarti-2 is here! I repeat, Parvati-2 is here!" He felt a pit forming in his stomach as he was rewarded with static.
"K-1, this is Wolf-9, please-"
"They're not going to hear you." He jerked when he heard his voice close up
BANG!
Like his friend, his body jerked and fell lifeless next to the tree. The injured one flinched as he saw this. He tried to get back on his feet desperately. Siegfried shook his head and sighed.
"Damn. I didn't think you guys were going to be so easy," he sounded disappointed. He walked towards the bleeding man slowly.
The man flinched and tried to get his gun out of its holster. Siegfried didn't let him, though. He kicked the gun out of his hands casually.
"Nope," he smiled at the angry and snarling man in front of him. "I really hoped more from your people, man. Guess that preying on defenseless villages rusts your ability to fight, isn't it?"
"F-Fuck you! I'm not telling you anything." Siegfried smiled and stepped on the man's injury.
"AAGGHHH Fucking son of a bitch!" The man cried. Siegfried remained smiling as he kept stepping on the bloody knee.
"I thought you said you weren't going to talk," he jested cruelly. He applied more pressure on his feet.
"AHHH! Bastard!" His cries got louder when Siegfried started to grind on his leftover knee.
"AAAHHHH! Sto-"
"Mmm? What was that?"
"Stop! I will- ahhh! –I will talk! I will talk!" He gave up. Siegfried complied and took off his foot.
"About time! For a second I thought was going to start stomping on you," Siegfried chuckled while scratching his nape awkwardly. His victim looked at him incredulous but decided to not comment.
"Now that you've decided to talk, then…" His smile shifted for a serious face and his jovial blue eyes hardened. "How long has Cocolia been keeping track of me?"
"I don't know," he gulped as Siegfried raised his feet. "B-but the boss gave the order to try and catch your companion as soon as he set foot on Nagazora City."
"Really?" Siegfried asked incredulously. "Did she really give that kind of order? Because it's pretty stupid. You know, because my friend wouldn't have minded slicing your men's thin arms and legs."
"It's true! L-Like you, I thought it was s-stupid," he stuttered. "I have seen what you and that kid could do when pissed off. All of us know what you two can do when pissed off." He chuckled mirthlessly remembering a dreadful night in South America. "I lost men who had survived the aftermath of the Second Impact when everything went to hell." He spat at Siegfried's feet. "And it only took a couple of two pissed off guys- no- two fucking monsters pissed off to tear them apart as if they were cheap soldier toys."
"And it was needed a full squad of soldiers to take over a small village with defenseless people," Siegfried clicked his tongue. "And you call us monsters." He shook his head and gave the poor man a hard kick on the chin, making some teeth flew. The man cursed and grabbed his mouth. He cried in pain as he felt his destroyed knee being stepped on, but it came out like a drowned whimper as he was face to face with the rifle's endpoint.
"Next question. I had someone dug around and found out that some of your guys were moving in Nagazora City before everything went to hell. Mind telling me what were you doing there?"
"T-The boss told us to set up some special devices around the city." He panicked when Siegfried frowned and put his finger on the trigger. "I swear! It's all I know!"
"What kind of devices you put there?"
"T-They were special cameras to record in great detail whatever happened around them. A-and she even ordered us to put Honkai meters around!" Siegfried's eyes widened hearing this.
"What?" He looked lost for a second before frowning, starting to put together what his prisoner just said. "You better not be fuck-"
"Do you think I'm lying?!" He screamed. "Don't you think I don't realize the same thing as you?" He chuckled dryly. "I have some friends within the group who put the devices and they realized the same thing. Why would Cocolia put them in a city where there hasn't been any Honkai activity at all?" He spat a bit of blood. "Even some of the most loyal ones to Cocolia were bewildered at what happened later." The man was a mercenary, who only cared about money and his well-being. And while he didn't mind burning down villages to get money, he at least knew when to draw the line, not out of morality, but knowing that he could end up bitting more than he could chew up.
He was sure that the
only reasons why Cocolia still breathed were because, either she covered too well her tracks or the other bosses decided she was still useful.
"Do you know what else Cocolia has planned?" Siegfried asked with a cold tone. The man shook his head. "Cocolia hasn't said anything. I think she is watching out her steps to not piss off the other bosses."
Siegfried grunted, and to the man's surprise, stopped aiming at him and started to walk away.
"I'm not going to kill you. Consider it a reward for what you just told me." He stopped and turned to see the man crawling towards his gun, freezing in mid-motion when Siegfried's eyes fell on him. "And before you think about using it on me, let me tell you that I saw some wolfs scouting around here. Better save those bullets if you want to make it alive. And no, backup isn't coming. They've been taken care of." The man paled but still went for the radio. Siegfried shrugged off and resumed his walking.
"Better call Hestia," he thought. "But I have to make it in a different place." He hanged his rifle on his shoulder and, in an impressive show of strength, he kicked off the dirt and jumped towards a long tree. He barely landed on it before jumping off towards another tree and continued doing the same for few minutes before stopping atop another large and sturdy tree.
Siegfried took out his phone and dialed Hestia's number calmly while enjoying the breeze.
BIP! BIP! BIP! CLICK!
"Hello, Siegfried. I'm sure you managed to carry out your task without problems?" Hestia asked rhetorically while cutting the chase and going straight to the matter.
"Yeah. There wasn't much trouble getting things from their database. Still, I thought that it was going to be harder," Siegfried commented somewhat disappointed.
"Would you've liked to fight those two or worse, Welt?"
"Thinking about it, maybe it wasn't so bad," Siegfried relented while chuckling.
Hestia sighed before changing to a serious tone. "Putting that aside. Were you able to confirm our suspicions?" Siegfried growled before answering. "Yes. I interrogated one of your suspects, he told me that Cocolia had her people installing devices everywhere in the Nagazora City to keep track of Honkai activity." He clicked his tongue angry. "I know that Cocolia liked to play with fire, but…, dooming a whole city… Fuck! I don't know if she is crazy or desperate."
"Mhm," Hestia hummed. "I had hoped to get Cocolia in our side on a later date, but with what she carried out, easy to say that I don't find her trustful any longer."
"I agree with her. Cocolia has connections and the conviction to protect the world, or at least the children she has under her care, but fucking a whole city with innocents and with Kiana in there…" He grimaced thinking this. He was cut short from his thoughts by Hestia.
"Siegfried, I'm seeing a helicopter ten kilometers going to the base. Leave the area before they could pinpoint your location," and then she added. "And don't forget to take your pills, Siegfried. I have spiking readings from you."
"Hestia, they taste-"
"Take your pills, Siegfried. I don't care if they taste like manure, they're helpful to you. Your demeanor changes when you take them between long periods of time."
"You know that I'm still in dangerous territory, right?" He asked sarcastically. Hestia huffed. "You're going to take them after you leave the place." And with that, she hung up the call.
Siegfried rolled his eyes before saving his phone and continued making long jumps between the trees.
"I'm surprised that Cocolia responded quickly," he thought about the whole outpost unconscious personal. "To think that Hestia would drug an entire base through food, water, and even use gas." Hestia usually will give him special gear to sneak out during missions, but going as far as to put to sleep an entire base, he bet that she was paranoid. But thinking about what happened in Nagazora, she couldn't be faulted at it.
"Siegfried, dear…" He cursed and rubbed his head in pain.
"Right… My pills…"
By the time the helicopter reached the outpost, the personal was just waking up from their induced sleep and Siegfried was safely gone.
PANG! PANG! PANG!
Dumb hits echoed inside the empty gymnasium as Adam kept hitting and kicking a punching bag.
PANG! PANG! CREAK! PANG! CREAK!
Instead of his usual uniform, Adam was now sporting a black tank top, grey sweat pants, and white sneakers. He kept a sport grey jacket on a bench nearby.
From time to time, the poor punching bag crunched. Some of Adam's punches were delivered stronger than the last ones.
"{Something the matter? You've been punching the bag without rest.}"
"Nothing's wrong," he replied hastily. He kept punching and kicking.
PANG! PANG! CREAK! PANG! CREAK!
"{Yeah… And I'm a saint. You're bothered by something."}
"Like what?"
"{Mmmm… Don't know, maybe it has something to do with not blowing each other's head with Siegfried?"} It jested
PANG! PANG! CREAK! PANG! CREAK!
"You think I miss him?"
"{Yep. But I think you're missing most of your training sessions with him and the jobs. You know, breaking bones, pounding faces, taking cover from bullets, slicing zombies' bodies and tearing apart Honkai beasts,}" it purred at the last part. "{And now, you're in a school filled with girls who either want you out of St. Freya or are being awkward around you and training with rules instead of giving up when you are spilling blood from your mouth.}" It clicked its tongue annoyed. "{Damn, I miss those days.}"
"{Putting aside its delight of causing harm and spilling blood, it raises a valid point. You're used to training under harsh conditions instead of a controlled place with rules and limits, like here in St. Freya. Not to mention that you and Siegfried tended to train together under the privacy of the forests and not under your fellow school mates' stares.}"
"For some reason, I feel sullied and what you just said about the forest sounds wrong without context." It sighed exasperatedly at his response.
"{My point is, all this context: the school, the classes, the rules, homework, the stares, and your dorm mates; all of them are new to you.}"
"Are you saying I'm kind of nostalgic before coming here?"
"{In a way, yes, but you're also eager to blow some steam like you used to.}"
"Meaning?"
"{You just tear a hole with your claws in the sandbag!}
Adam blinked and in fact, he tore a hole on the sandbag, making its contents spill on the floor. He glanced at his hands, and both were in their claw form, though in a downgrade version, only covering his fists.
"Son of a bitch…" He cursed and called off his claws.
"{Theresa's going to kill you,}" it pointed out.
"No shit! Why you didn't say anything before?!" He asked irked.
"{Quite bitching. At least this couldn't get worse.}"
"Alighieri, why there is a hole in the sandbag?" Adam flinched and turned to see the origin's voice.
"H-hello, Fu Hua." Adam greeted the class monitor, who sported a frown on her face.
CREAK! BANG!
Her frown became harsher when the sandbag fell and all its content spilled on the floor.
"{Damn!}"
"{It got worse.}"
"Son of a bitch!"
And cut!
Hello people, hope you are doing okay at the beginning of this year.
Anyway, I had some complications writing this chapter. I had to redo it all over again a couple of times before it came out like this. I had some trouble writing about Adam's reception and how he was perceived by the other girls. At first, I wrote it in a way that showed the girls being downright hostile against him or too apathetic to his arrival. I hope that at least it didn't come out like that in this chapter.
Well, I hope you liked this chapter and that it was worth the patience you had for it.
Thank you, very, very much to all the people who have shown interest in my story so far. I will try to live to your expectations and make it worth your time to read it.
See you in the next chapter.