Hello. Wanted to update this chapter as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: Honkai Impact doesn't belong to me. This a work of fiction, yaddayadda, etc.

Hope you enjoy it!

"Mei-senpai. I'm dying…"

"Kiana-chan. You aren't dying."

"But this is sooo boring!" Kiana moaned as she dropped her head on her desk, which was filled with books. She groaned when her head hit the thick tomes. For God's sake! Why did the books have to be these hard and boring!

"Kiana-chan, it has been only fifteen minutes since we started." Hearing her words, Kiana jerked her head towards Mei.

"You're kidding, right? There is no way it has only happened fifteen minutes. It felt like hours!" Mei sweatdropped at her exclamation. "I know that's going to be hard, but you have to try." She smiled, trying to cheer her up. "With my help, I know you will be able to solve the tests easily in time." Mei was happy that her words liven up Kiana's expression.

"You're right! With Mei-senpai's help, Kiana Kaslana would beat these stupid tests and eat cake!" With a renewed spirit, Kiana glanced down at the book and started to read. Mei was happy that her words were paying off. She hoped her friend would be able to keep the spirit until she tired off.

Something that happened fifteen minutes later…

"Damn it! Why is this so hard?" Kiana pulled her hair frustrated. God knew she really tried to focus her mind but is so damn boring! For what reason the needed to know the causes and consequences of the French Revolution? Who the heck cares for a cell's feed process? And for all that is pure in the world, why did she have to learn how to solve equations with long and dreadful processes?!

"Calm down, Kiana-chan," Mei tried to appease her. Kiana growled before slamming her head on her desk, again. "Why does it has to be so boring and hard?" Kiana lamented again. "I mean, are we really going to use all this stuff in the future? I remember that my old man is an oaf but he's pretty good when fighting."

"Nevertheless, it's necessary to know the basics, Kiana-chan. The Principal said it herself," Mei commented. In retrospect, while Kiana raised some valid points, not in the best way, Mei knew that it was necessary to at least know the fundamental knowledge. And she didn't want to be rude but the material they were studying, while extensive, it wasn't something of a higher level. All of it was at high school level, but to someone energetic like Kiana, books and she were like water and oil.

"But for what it would be useful, Mei-senpai?" Mei thought about how to answer, but a new voice cut in.

"Idiotka. Study instead of bothering Subject Mei with useless complaints," Bronya chided from the door while carrying a board loaded with drinks and some snacks. "Subject Mei is already helping you with your troubles."

"Ugh! Stop calling me an idiot," Kiana grunted. "I'm not the smartest but neither the dumbest!"

Bronya left the board on the desk and glanced down to the book Kiana had opened. "The Bronya doesn't seem the problem. The contents in themselves are quite easy to read and understand," Bronya stated with a calm voice.

"You mid-"

"Bronya-chan, please don't be mean to Kiana-chan," Mei chided Bronya, stopping the incoming long argument between the two girls. The young girl relented and stepped back. "I apologize, Subject Mei. It wasn't my intention to bother you."

"What about me?" Kiana asked. Bronya looked at her.

"I apologize, Subject Kiana, for disturbing your focus."

"But you didn't apologize for calling me an idiot!" Bronya blinked and tilted her head. "I can't apologize for someone's natural quality."

"Midget!"

"Enough you two!" Mei cut in raising her voice. "Bronya-chan, you shouldn't be rude and Kiana-chan, please concentrate." The two girls relented, not before glaring at each other one last time.

Kiana followed Mei's words, focusing and asking from time to time some questions when she didn't understand something and trying to answer Mei's questions with the best of her memory or understanding. While it was short progress -they just got one subject done- it was clear to the ex-heiress that Kiana needed a break, her friend's eyes gave the appearance of a drying corpse if her mind wasn't playing tricks with her.

"Let's take a short break," Mei sighed as she stretched her arms.

"Oh, thanks Mei-senpai. I thought I was going to die!" Kiana jumped in happiness from her seat, stretching her limbs and moaning in satisfaction when they popped.

"You're exaggerating, Kiana-chan," Mei smiled at her friend's actions.

"A fly was rounding up the Idiotka's head," Bronya thought seated on the bed as she saw the bug flying out of the room. Her friends were ignorant about it. She went back to play games on her portable console.

The older girls decided to dig in on the snacks Bronya brought. Mei opened a can of soda as she reviewed what else Kiana needed to study, for her part, the silver-haired girl was eating from a bag of chips. She was leaning back on her seat, trying to recover from the mental torture called 'study'.

While she was relaxing, she couldn't help but think how new and new all of this was.

"It's so lively in here. There's actual food being served here every day by someone amazing like Mei-senpai and there are people to talk to."

Despite the short time she had spent living in the academy, it has been one of the best times in her life by a long shot. Compared to the last years of her life studying abroad, it was pleasant to at least settle down and no longer move from place to place seeking her stupid old man. It's not like she lived poorly. She used to live by herself, in a decent apartment or the school dormitories, but it was hard to come home and expect no one to welcome her. This was one of the reasons why she took part-time jobs to entertain herself, never mind the juicy check that always came on the first day of the month from below her door in the mornings, she would rather work until late than face an empty room for the whole day.

Kiana glanced at Mei, who was reviewing the material and writing something on the pages to make it easier for her to understand. She gazed back and found Bronya playing games with her portable console in silence, with the occasional tap from her fingers.

The silver-haired girl couldn't help but feel warm in her heart when her senpai asked how was her day, the smiles on her face, the worried but fond tone in her voice, her melodious laugh, that frightening smile that made her jump when she ate something she shouldn't have… It never failed to bring a smile to her face or made her feel warm.

With Bronya, while she vexed the heck of her sometimes, or most of the time, if she was being honest (secretly), she enjoyed her banters with the midget. Of course, she took it personal when she called her an idiot, which was most of the time, but despite the insult, she admitted their arguments were a way to express their… bother-friendship? She didn't know if it was the correct term, but despite the insults, she enjoyed her company and playing video games with her.

Kiana took a glimpse at the door, where their roommate and only male student in the academy had left some hours ago.

She had mixed feelings about him. For one part, she had this jealousy feeling to him, and being objective, she had all the right to feel that way. After all, Adam had spent a year and a half traveling around the world with her deadbeat father, who she had been tracking down for the last years! But after hearing his explanation, while she understood some things, he raised more questions than answers. Still, it was Adam who faced her instead of her dad, which gave him tons of points in her book.

On the other side, she got this odd feeling about him. Partially it had to do with his powers, but rather it was his attitude. Sometimes he acted like a normal high school student, someone who groaned at tests, fought to not fall asleep in classes, and sighed in content when Friday arrived. But sometimes he had this mature and detached air around him, like he was already an adult, trying to fit in a younger body and deal with younger people of his age. Something he had proven when he was talking with them or when it came to dealing with the disdain aimed towards him. Despite that, he didn't act mockingly, harshly, or tried to be the smartest person in the room. Heck, he was the one who came with an idea to help her with the tests that even rewarded her with Mei-senpai's cake!

In summary, Mei-senpai was the kind big sister of the group (she hoped it was something more than sisterly love towards her), Bratnya was the calm (and annoying) little sister (towards her) and Adam was like the mature… Brother? Cousin? (Dad?) Whatever he was grumpy but helpful. And well, Himeko could be the mom, if only she didn't act like a hobo at home -

"Kiana-chan, is something the matter?" Mei asked as she stopped writing.

The person in question blinked a couple of times. "What did you say, Mei-senpai?"

"I said if something is in your mind. You were making a thoughtful expression just now," Mei noted while putting down the pencil.

Kiana smiled. "It's nothing bad. I was just thinking that you're really helpful, Mei-senpai." Mei gained a slight pink tint on her cheeks and fake-coughed. Kiana almost smirked at her senpai's flustered actions. But...

"Then, I believe it's time to continue."

"Noooo!"

Meanwhile…

"I'll be back in a moment," Lance signaled. The driver nodded wordlessly as he and Adam got out of the car. The black-haired young man noted that they were close to the outskirts of the city. He glanced around and noted that they were in a residential zone, and he was sure the place had seen better days, given the worn buildings, the lack of people walking around, and the graffiti decorating the walls.

The duo walked through a worn and abandoned lobby before passing through a courtyard. They turned to the left and started climbing a stone stairway. At some levels, they almost tripped with some of the residents, who either ignored or glared at them. Both shrugged it off and continued on their way until they reached the seventh floor. They walked down the hallway until they reached the last door.

Lance searched in his pockets before drawing a white key. In a motion, he put the key in the lock and with his free hand put his thumb on the peephole. There was a click and the door opened.

"There's a fingerprint reader on the peephole. While the lock it's the state of security, I added the fingerprint reader to make it harder to get in."

"People have tried to get in?" Adam asked. Lance smirked. "Yep. But that was before they were ridden off the apartment complex, courtesy from your server." He didn't add that a broken jaw and a twisted arm could make people relent. Adam just cocked a brow before entering the place. Lance closed the door and followed him. Both of them walked past the foyer and into the living room. Adam stopped while Lance moved past him towards the kitchen area. Adam quickly scanned the darkened room. What called his attention was that the whole place was clean and it was accompanied by a set of furniture.

In the living room was a large wood table with two chairs. At its side, there was a large couch and a coffee table in front of it. There was a large TV screen set on the wall. To his left, there was the large kitchen area, fully equipped, and a counter in the middle of it. He glanced to his right and saw a short hallway with a door on its left side and another at the bottom. By last, there were a series of short lamps hanging from the ceiling.

"Open blinds," Lance ordered as he took a couple of glasses and a bottle of whiskey from a shelf and cabinet. Following his words, the blinds in front of Adam moved by themselves, allowing sunlight to illuminate the dark apartment. There was a great view of the mountains and forest.

"Come here, Adam." He stopped looking and made his way to the kitchen. Lance was on the counter, serving the glasses with some ice he took from the fridge and pouring the bottle contents.

"I rather not drink, Lance," Adam said. The man glanced at him but didn't stop serving. "Didn't imagine you would be the prude type," Lance commented, passing him the glass. "I hope it doesn't have to do with all the proper behavior and legal age that they teach you at the academy." Adam rolled his eyes. Lance continued. "Although, after hearing what I'm going to tell you, you're really going to need that drink," Lance smirked, but Adam caught a worried glint in his eyes. Lance took a drink from his glass and started.

"To begin with, Siegfried recently infiltrated an AE base to obtain critical information. While this shouldn't be a new thing, the point is that the target itself is not just anyone in the organization. I'm talking about one of AE's Senior Executives." Adam's eyes widened at the revelation. While Hestia, he, and Siegfried had run into them, they avoided them and in the worst case, they worked against them. The last thing they wanted was to tick off the organization.

"Who you are talking about?"

"Cocolia, the Demoness of Siberia."

"Shit!" Adam cursed and took a swig of his glass. The burning sensation in his throat barely helped him. "Oh it gets better," Lance commented as he also took a drink from his glass. "Siegfried just didn't steal from her personal office," he shook his head and chuckled. "That crazy son of a bitch stole from her secret and personal servers!" Adam's eyes widened more, like plates. "And the worst part, Adam… is that we're just scratching the surface of the shit that woman has been hiding under the rug," Lance said grimly.

"What do you mean?" Adam inquired with a serious voice, but Lance caught the worried tint on it. And he didn't fault him for it. Cocolia wasn't known to play with moderation. She made sure to always win, no matter the angle or the number of bodies. Not for nothing a great part of Siberia was under her control, as well as several powerful members inside AE. Hestia made sure to avoid her like the plague. Adam didn't understand why of all times Hestia decided to infiltrate one of her bases.

Lance took another swig and answered. "What would you think if I told you that the Third Impact wasn't just the Honkai acting by itself? What do you think if someone decided to press a button and axed an entire city so a Herrscher could be born?" Adam thought his words for a moment, before blinking incredulously as he figured out what he meant. "Now, you can't be serious?" Lance shook his head and laughed mirthlessly like he was just told a terrible joke. "I looked over the decrypted documents available and it added up. That crazy woman really did it."

"Holy shit," Adam said gravely. Now he understood why Lance didn't want to say anything back in the restaurant. What he just told him was crazy and severe. He knew that Schicksal's overseer, Otto Apocalypse, was a cold-hearted bastard, Siegfried's stories portrayed him as such. But, to deliberately kill a whole city to awake a damn Herrscher?

"How come AE or its sovereign hasn't killed her yet?" Adam was sure the organization if not its leader would have had her head on a spike after pulling such action.

"As I said, she kept it under the rug. I guess that so far, Hestia, Siegfried, you, and I are the only people who know what she did. Maybe they suspect it in AE, but my informants have told me that things are tense. So nobody isn't going to point with their fingers unless they have solid evidence," Lance explained. He took a deep swig from his glass and slammed the empty glass on the counter. "I'll be honest. I don't like this, Adam. What Cocolia did was bold and cold, even for me."

"You killed one of your assistants to placate one of your clients," Adam thought grimly but didn't voice it out. Instead, he asked. "Are there new orders?" He knew that Cocolia would hunt, no, was hunting for the responsible of the infiltration and seeking them like a hound. The last time he heard someone stole from her, she left a trail of blood and the annihilation of a whole mobster family in Eastern Europe. He wouldn't blame Hestia if she called him back to help Siegfried or in the worst case, hide.

"No. Hestia told me to just keep your guard up whenever you're out in the city. She also told me to keep a low profile until the waters calm down or she has found a better solution to confuse Cocolia." Adam made a mental note to do that in the following weeks until Hestia told him that the danger has passed. "Which brought us to this," Lance said motioned with his hands around happily. Like what he just told him didn't happen a moment ago. "Aside from informing you about all that, I brought you here to present you your new apartment!"

"What?"

"Your new apartment," Lance repeated. "Hestia told me to get you one as soon as you arrived in Soukai, but at the last minute she told me to give it to you after the first two months in St. Freya." Adam was confused at this revelation. Why Hestia didn't send him here once he arrived in the academy or mentioned it before? Was it because of the strange circumstances that happened in Nagazora? Did she scheme to assault Cocolia's base once he arrived at the academy?

"To begin with, the place is equipped with a smart home system," Lance began, bringing him out of his thoughts. "It can be commanded with your voice or from your smartphone. The place is already furnished with all you may need. There is a bedroom at the bottom of the hallway and a bathroom next to it. The kitchen isn't stocked except for some booze. The windows and doors are bulletproof. You don't have to worry about cleaning by the way. Check this," Lance took out his own smartphone and after some taps, a hidden compartment next to the TV opened and a metallic rectangle about 5 feet came out silently.

"It's a prototype cleaner from ME Corp. It was almost on sale before the whole scandal came crashing down on its president. I managed to obtain some of the prototypes before they could have been destroyed. This guy almost could do everything before it was fully upgraded-thanks to your server- now being capable of doing everything you may need," Lance snickered. "Except if you want someone for night company~"

Adam ignored his jab and narrowed his eyes at Lance. "You just didn't bring me here to show all of this, right Lance?" He asked seriously. "This is rather a safe house, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Lance nodded. "As I said, the doors and windows may offer some protection, but in case you may need something else to defend yourself, just yell Tarfu and the place. Let me show you," Lance walked next to the TV. "Tarfu-Living room!" A second later, metallic plates came down over the windows, and Adam heard another one slamming shut over the main door. A panel below the TV slid open. Adam approached and inside the compartment, there were: two MP7, six magazines, three military knives, a medkit, passports, and several bills of different currencies arranged to quick-grab.

"There another two compartments like this in the bathroom and bedroom. You know, just in case," Lance commented as he took a box of cigarettes out from his pockets and lighted it up. He offered one to Adam, who thought about it for a second before accepting it. "To call all the measures back, just yell Cozy Home!" He said raising his voice, and true to his words, all the plates and panels retreated, again giving the view of a normal apartment.

After inhaling for a moment, Adam asked while exhaling a cloud of smoke. "You went a bit overboard, don't you think?"

"Considering that we live in a world where young women can tear apart creatures who seek humanity eradication and metallic golems are in the hands of a crazy woman, I'm bothered that I couldn't install an anti-materiel rifle on the roof."

"Touché."

"Also, I went out of my way to get you a comfy place to rest in case it was needed for you to stay out of the academy. I know it can be though to be living and attending an all-girls school."

"Really?" Adam asked cocking a brow unimpressed. Lance smirked with the cigarette in his mouth. "I get that you don't trust me, Adam. And that's fine by me. But I know that you trust my skills as I do yours. And while we may not see eye to eye most of the time, let me tell you that to me, you aren't a packing mule or a hired gun. You are someone who I dare to say, is my equal."

"We are not the same, Sirius." He just chuckled and moved to show the rest of the place to Adam.

"{Something smells fishy.}"

"{Despite his words, Lance is still someone to keep at arm's length.}"

"I know."

Half an hour later, Lance finished showing Adam the whole place and downloaded the house program on Adam's smartphone. The young man didn't voice out that the apartment was spacious or looked like something too luxurious for him to live in. They left the apartment, locking it down, and came down the courtyard. They walked to what were five storage rooms. Lance told him to ingress the number 6683 in the keypad. A second later, the door pulled up and Adam saw the place had several boxes with what appeared to be junk. Lance entered and put out a couple of things before he pulled out a backpack. In the middle of the center wall, there was a blueprint with marks and on the floor, below it, there was a metallic trapdoor.

"The backpack has the same items you saw in the apartment. That trapdoor is a passage towards the sewage system and this blueprint is the map with marks for the best places to leave the city. You know, in the case things come crashing down."

"Quickly if Cocolia discover it was Siegfried who pulled the rug under her feet," Lance thought grimly but smiled confidently. He left the backpack next to a worn cuckoo clock. "If it comes to clean off the whole apartment, you have to press the center of the hands and you'll have thirty seconds to get out before the storage room and the apartment are blown off."

"What about the other residents?" Adam knew that sometimes collateral damage was unavoidable, but if there was a way to avert it he would take it.

Lance shook his hand in dismissing. "The two apartments below you are unoccupied and you are the only one living on the seventh floor." Adam nodded at the information and was a bit impressed at the series of steps Lance took ahead in case of shit hit the fan.

"{Sirius is being a bit excessive, don't you think?}"

"{Considering that Schicksal and AE are being run by reckless and cold heart people? I think he should have put the anti-materiel rifle on the roof.}"

Adam agreed with them but didn't show it as he continued listening to Lance.

"Sorry, Adam, but it seems we can spend more time relaxing together," Lance commented as he had his cellphone out and was typing something. "There's some business I need to attend before I leave the city," he shoved back his cellphone and started walking out of the storage room. Adam did the same. Lance closed off the place and started walking towards the exit with Adam following behind. "Let me give you a lift to downtown. I suggest you get a vehicle to come and go here. This isn't the safest neighborhood and I doubt a cab will give you the whole ride to here." Adam would have negated the offer, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with crooks or run the whole way back to the academy. He even doubted that the buses passed close here.

"Sure, Lance."

"You are supposed to say 'thanks, Lance'."

Adam shrugged and ignored him.

"Ass," Lance thought.

Elsewhere…

An ashen blond-haired man wearing casual clothes was trying to regain his breath, leaning on one of the tunnel's walls as he reloaded his empty gun. He hissed when he felt the deep stab on his abdomen still throbbing despite the bio-gel on them. He cursed and gave a couple of kicks to a corpse next to him.

"Fucking AE lackeys. All of you are really a pest." The corpse was a black-haired man wearing a business suit. Next to him, there was a knife resting on the floor and another stuck at the base of its neck. Despite his injuries, the agitated man put a couple of rounds on him to be sure he wouldn't get up. Overkill, but it was better to be safe.

RING! RING! RING!

Struggling, he went to one of his pants pockets and pulled out his cellphone. He barely put it on his ear before the caller spoke.

"Did you have trouble at all, Mr. Larsen?" Yuri Larsen wanted to snort but refrained. "Yes, sir. There were some complications but nothing I couldn't handle," he informed. He hissed in pain when the wound throbbed with more force. The fucking thing was supposed to have a painkiller, goddamnit!

"Considering that you just took care of five experienced ex-Spetsnaz, I'm impressed you managed to get alive with minor injuries, Mr. Larsen. Seems that my first impression of you was incorrect." Yuri would have retorted if his boss wasn't someone to fear. "Is the package safe, Mr. Larsen?" His voice was cold and to the point. Not like Yuri expected anything else from him.

"The package is okay, boss. The case doesn't even have a scratch on it! I don't know how it withstood an explosion like nothing, but-"

"Continue your way, Mr. Larsen," his boss interrupted. "Another operator is already on the move to aid you to have a proper recovery for the day before you leave the country." Hearing his words, Yuri couldn't help but protest. "With all respect, boss. I don't think it's a good idea. I believe it'll be better if I-"

"I don't' care what you think or believe, Mr. Larsen," his boss barked. "I didn't hire you to do such things. You're being employed to hear and act when I said so."

"It's a suicide to remain here! They'll keep tracking me until they find and kill me!" Yuri yelled in frustration. He didn't plan to die anytime soon! If he thought his life was so easy to discard, then he could do the same with the damn package!

"The terms and possible scenarios were laid out to you when the contract was offered to you, Mr. Larsen," the boss remarked. It was true that details were laid in front of him, but he didn't think of trading his life just because his boss wanted to! Yuri opened his mouth to protest. "And, have you forgotten your side of the deal?" Yuri closed his mouth with a click. "The papers, the money, the bills, and even their cover to keep them safe has already been delivered and fulfilled. All of these from my side of the deal, now, you only have to continue doing what I say until your services are no longer necessary. After all, their sakes are of utmost importance to you, right, Mr. Larsen?"

At his words and the omen in them, Yuri responded with a slight stutter. "Y-Yes, sir."

"Excellent. Now I suggest you start walking. There are eight miles to cover before the sunset."

"Fucking great… Nothing like walking with a stab on my damn gut." Yuri thought.

"And to show you that I don't think of you just like a pawn, as a token of appreciation, the operator at your destination would meet you halfway to town." At his words, Yuri was sure that his boss, aside from being cold and calculating, was also a sadistic bastard.

"Halfway?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No, sir." Yuri managed to not click his tongue in irritation. "I will be there."

"I hope so," the boss said before ending the call.

To vent out his frustration, Yuri gave another pair of kicks to the ex-Spetsnaz corpse. Once satisfied, he picked up a black suitcase that was resting few feet away from him and started his way to the rendezvous point.

"Fucking asshole."

I'll be honest, I feel this wasn't one of my best chapters. Many things are happening in my life right now. I'll not bother or bore you with the details, but I really wanted to post this chapter before the end of the week. That and I didn't want to post this chapter after three months like I used to. Didn't want to make you wait that long and didn't feel right to make you wait all that for this chapter.

In the following chapters, the next two or three, I'm going to introduce the Gratitude Arc and its development. I'm planning carefully how I'm going to play things for our Valkyries and Adam.