Chapter 1: To Settle In

My body lurched ever so slightly as the plane settled down at the airport, the entire flight had taken no longer than nine hours, no disturbances had occurred, meaning that someone was frequently sending out patrols to either take out or warn of Honkai in the area of flight.

I looked to my right where both Sirin and Kiana were sat, resting against one another despite the armrests between them, sleeping peacefully. I felt a small smile form as I unbuckled myself and pulled our bags from the area we had stashed them, gently shaking the two awake before leading them out of the plane and into the airport.

The moment we stepped outside of the doors, the sight of the city hit us. Nagazora was a powerhouse, skyscrapers and large buildings overshadowed everything. It was daunting, yet oddly exciting. Kiana seemed to agree as her tiredness faded and she shot past me excitedly, unfortunately, that led to her impacting against a shorter person, sending the two stumbling on the sidewalk.

I quickly dropped the bags I had been carrying and moved to help the two up, raising Kiana back onto her feet before holding a hand out towards the stranger she had toppled.

"Damnit. I knew I shouldn't have left the Lab."

I raised a single brow as the person took my hand and allowed me to pull them up. Apart from the person's height, I had begun to take in more of their features. Lighter skin, not pale like Kiana or Sirin, but still up there. A white dress shirt with a black skirt and vest combo, a red tie completed the look alongside a set of stockings and black shoes.

The most striking however was her red hair, lighter in tone, almost like a peach. It was tied up in long pigtails that reached around her waist area. Eyes that matched the shade glowered towards a sheepish Kiana from behind a set of red glasses.

"Now I have to clean up before that idiot's kids arrive."

I raised a brow as she started brushing herself down, looking for any signs of dirt on her being before something caught my eye, a sign that had been sent flying out of her hands and onto the ground beside her. A sign that had three names on it. The names of the three Kaslana's that had just landed in Nagazora. Sirin, Kiana, and, Myself.

I stopped for a few moments, glancing back towards Sirin who had caught onto what was interesting to me, I had expected some form of help with the situation, but all I got was a headshake with silent laughter as Sirin stifled any noise that could leave her. Obviously, she wouldn't be of help and Kiana had already made an... Impression.

A sigh bubbled up within my throat, one that I forced back down before coughing into my hand to catch the red head's attention. She looked up at me ready to snap before I let a familiar smile take root on my face, an exact copy of my father's whenever he spoke about Cecilia.

Obviously, that hadn't been the best choice of smiles as the girl looked to me for a few moments before I found myself laid out flat on the sidewalk, Sirin doubled over not too far from me, laughing harshly as I stared up at the sky in confusion, the redhead growling about annoying white-haired men before she snapped her fingers and a car rolled over from where it had been parked, instructing the three of us to get in while I just laid there in a daze.

It was going to be one of those days, huh?

I nodded with a blank expression as the redhead instructed us to enter our new home. A decently sized house that looked far above Siegfried's paygrade. Which in retrospect was a harsh way to say it, but, we had lived in a cabin for the last few years of our lives, so I wouldn't call it uncalled for.

"While you're within this home, you are my tenants, payments won't be necessary, merely act like civilized human beings and your stay will be without issues. Your rooms are situated upstairs, return down here after packing for food and a much-needed conversation."

She waved us off with nary a second thought as she made her way into the kitchen and snapped her fingers, mechanical whirring ringing out as we made our way upstairs and split off into the rooms that had been set up for us. It didn't take long to set up my room, it was mostly just a bed, a desk, some equipment such as a laptop, and a few bookcases. Overall, an honestly good-looking room. It definitely beats living in the same room as your younger sisters for a few years.

A warmness settled into my body as I looked around, leaning against the wall and just enjoying the room. It was mine, no one else's.

"So... You think the reason that lady punched him was that Dad cheated on Mom with her?"

I felt my palm slap against my forehead as Sirin spoke outside my door, not even lowering her voice to be secretive about what she and Kiana had been talking about. We were with a stranger that our father knew, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume, but brazenly saying it while said person was downstairs was hardly the smartest thing to do.

"No, Dad loves Mom, he still hasn't forgotten her. I don't think he'd risk such a thing in the past or the present."

Kiana's words made me nod with a proud smile, while she was naive, somewhat of a ditz, she was still smarter than most. The way Siegfried had spoken about Cecilia said a lot about what he thought of her, claiming her to be the only woman he would ever love, something that he seemed to believe above all else.

I shook my head and opened my door abruptly, startling the two who had been chatting outside of it. Before they could regain their bearings, I raised my hands and ruffled their hair, messing it up before turning and walking towards the stairs, signaling the two to follow me as I made my way down towards the kitchen.

The meal hadn't been anything special, grilled chicken with a side of salad and potatoes. A decent meal that filled me up pretty decently, the same could not be said for Kiana and Sirin who had asked for extra, resulting in a robot to appear from nowhere, quickly preparing extra meals for the two who continued to stuff their faces.

My attention however was on the redhead who watched us silently while sipping what looked to be black coffee. It was as if we were being analyzed. Every fiber of my being was being used to repress a familiar shiver as I remembered the Facility, being locked away with no chance of escape. My knuckles turned white at my side as I took in a sharp breath before calming down.

I watched as she slowly lowered her mug and lightly coughed to gain our attention, Kiana and Sirin quickly placing down their forks and focusing. For anyone else, to see the normally goofy Kiana and cold Sirin snap to attention as they did would be, abnormal. To me, who had trained with them constantly, the sight was simply the most natural reaction to the redheads commanding aura.

"Introductions. I won't deign any of you with starting first and screwing it up, so I will begin. I am Frederica Nikola Tesla, refer to me as Tesla. I am an acquaintance of your father and he has requested that during your stay within Nagazora that I watch over you three and make sure you don't mess around. I know all about your training and I will personally see to it that said training continues."

I felt a shiver run up my spine as Tesla glowered at the mention of our training, her glasses glinting coldly as she waved a hand towards Kiana to begin.

"Kiana Kaslana! I'm a future Valkyrie with plans to take up the mantle my mother once held. The Strongest!"

Tesla merely watched Kiana as the girl settled down from her loud outburst, squirming ever so slightly at the sudden bought of silence that took over the room. It was sudden, but the small nod and smile from the redhead were enough for Kiana to throw her hands up with a shout, she had support at least.

I watched as Sirin coldly stared back at Tesla who focused on her heavily, a war between the two seemed to go on before my sister turned her head away with a scoff and spoke.

"My reasons for existing need not matter to you. However, if you are who I think you are... My plans are the become a Valkyrie and be better than the previous holder of Void. I am Sirin Kaslana."

She waved a hand in the air, void portals flickering into existence, startling Tesla briefly before she narrowed her eyes, she seemed to inspect Sirin's eyes for something before she nodded resolutely at the would-be Herrscher in acceptance.

"That must be what Mophead was talking about when she mentioned you being surprising. I should've expected this result, especially with that name."

Finally, Tesla settled on me, her gaze frosty as she looked at me before shaking her head.

"Your actions at the airport told me enough you wanna-be playboy."

An almost suffocating aura constricted me for a brief moment as I stole a glance towards my sisters who had suddenly become stone-faced, they were angry for me. I shook my head and slammed a hand down on the bench, startling them out of their anger as they stared at me confused.

"Sieghart Kaslana, I will be at my sisters' sides as they become what they desire. To see them succeed where I cannot, is my only wish."

Interest flashed behind those red glasses as Tesla took in the new information I had put forth. I barely heard it, but her mutterings were not silent, mentioning that I was almost like a combination of Siegfried and some Sovereign. Whatever that meant must've been good as she nodded at me and pulled something from her pocket, three sets of keys that quickly found their places near Sirin, Kiana, and me on the table.

"I work at a nearby Lab, so I cannot always be home to let you in. Those keys are not only to the house but to other smaller facilities locked away within this area. Such as the basement facility beneath us that holds equipment Siegfried requested be made along with training areas, such as a gym, sparing area, and a firing range. Those areas are completely soundproof, meaning you can go all out. Just... Try not to destroy everything. I'm off, I probably won't be back tonight."

I watched as Tesla stood up from her seat, grabbing a white coat from the kitchen bench and leaving with a wave. I looked towards a clock situated on the wall and sighed, it was about midday, meaning we had time to do some stuff. I pulled out a smartphone from my pocket and clicked into the GPS app.

It was Sunday and school officially started on Monday, but I at least wanted to memorize the best route to our new school.

"Kiana, Sirin. Let's go visit Chiba Academy."

The two quickly nodded, stuffing the last of their food into their mouths and following me as I left the house.

The GPS was constantly updating, busses or taxis suddenly appearing and becoming free as we walked. Luckily, the house wasn't too far from everything, Chiba academy at most was a thirty-minute walk, while shopping districts were scattered all around, there had even been a mall around the corner from the house, which was honestly a new experience, the number of people walking out of it had been, alarming, to say the least.

Yet we continued on, stopping one last time to pick up a few cans of soda from a vending machine and jogging the rest of the way to the Academy while talking and sipping away.

When we finally reached our destination I couldn't help but feel, disappointed? Chiba Academy was a supposed 'Rich People School' as Siegfried had described it, but all I could see from just outside the gates was what looked like a normal Highschool. It was a little underwhelming, to say the least.

"Hey, what are you kids doing?"

I looked away from the buildings, a policeman catching my attention as he walked up to us, he seemed nice enough, calm as well. Far from what Siegfried had described of his run-ins with the law from previous experiences.

"Hello. We're new residents of Nagazora, our father sent us here for education and we were checking out the place we would be attending."

The man started for a second before nodding as he glanced towards Chiba Academy and back at us with a stiff look.

"Then good luck sir, madams. I hope your schooling is as adequate as I hear it is for the rich folk."

He left swiftly, leaving me with a sense of confusion as I watched him speed off. He was afraid of us, was it because of the way we looked or was it because of Chiba Academy? Had something happened for him to be on edge like that?

I looked towards Sirin and Kiana who held the same confusion before shaking my head and pulling up the GPS again. We still had a few hours to waste, best familiarize ourselves with the local area, which mostly ended up being food places and a few different arcades, petting a few stray animals along the way, it was calm yet exciting, honestly, just walking around with the two was enough to make me happy.

By the time we got home, it was already late, Tesla hadn't returned just like she said, and all three of us went to sleep. Setting up our clothes for the morning before letting tiredness take us.

AN:

I didn't expect such a reception from the first chapter. Honestly, for a first story, I didn't expect anyone to be genuinely interested.

Nevertheless, I had this chapter completed around the same time I finished the prologue, so I decided to just upload it now so the Chiba arc can start. Updates won't be on a timetable but kind of sporadic. So don't expect updates every day. Maybe two to three times a week depending on how I feel.