Chapter 12: New Friends…?

With the need to help Kiana get some actual studying in underway, Soleil and Mei had taken the library the day after to gather extra materials and make some extra notes that, hopefully, would be more comprehensible to their lax minded junior. Because they feared otherwise, she'd just bury herself under stacks of books and not get results at all.

"She really does make things just a tad troublesome at times." Mei sighed, scanning over some of the notes she had from previous study sessions for comparison. "I thought we were rather thorough with those notes."

"Well I think the thing is getting Kiana to apply herself more than anything." Soleil replied. "She's a smart girl… just lazy."

"She does zone out a lot. I actually caught her trying to play a handheld under the table one day."

"She could take a page from Bronya: Game after you get done."

Thinking of it, Bronya looked like she had an idea before we came here. I think. While Soleil felt over the past month, he'd been able to get something of a grasp on how Bronya thought, it still wasn't what he'd call a precise idea. What with her constantly stoic expression and tone, if Kiana was someone you could read like a book, then Bronya was the opposite of that phrase. Whatever it may be.

"Well, as her seniors then it's our job to help her set it right." Mei said, a proud hint in her voice. "As much as I'd rather she do right the first time. Though I suppose that's how some things are."

"Yeap." As he tapped his pen on the table, Soleil glanced across to Mei. In said past month, things had been quiet. There wasn't any signs of her Herrscher side resurfacing for now, but it paid to be careful about it. Even with the countermeasures – that Soleil still vehemently disagreed with on principle – of the bomb near her heart, it couldn't be a complete guarantee it would ever stop the Herrscher from going wild while she had the chance. "Everything good for you, Mei? No weird feelings about… y'know."

"I've been fine. Vice-Principal Theresa has me under regular checks to be sure, of course." She replied. "Though it isn't like I'm not worried about it myself. After the second time I was scared all over again."

"Heard from Captain that it was Major Murata who grilled you after we got here."

"It was. Definitely a rough first impression to be sure, but… I did keep something in mind." Soleil tilted his head. "Oh come on, don't act like you forgot. What you told me at Senba: Don't run away from living."

"Ah, right… my little spiel." Soleil's face flushed a bit as he remembered going off like that. Mei giggled in response. "Spare me a bit will ya? Going off on tangents like that's embarrassin' for me."

"But I'm glad you did. If I didn't have those words in mind, I probably would have asked to be killed. Major said she'd have grilled me about it if I had to begin with."

"So why the bomb?" Soleil had been itching to know about that for a while, and now he had a good chance to bring it up. After a month. Man I suck at this… "I mean, I get it's basically an insurance policy, but… it just doesn't sit right with me. About throttled Captain

"I know. But I felt like I had to have some plan." Mei stated. "If you and Kiana couldn't stop the… other me like you did before, then I wanted to do something of my own. At the least, I know she doesn't want to die. So, I thought if I put my body at risk, it could be my way to fight her."

"As much as I disagree with it… gagh, I can't help but admire the guts behind that. You win." Soleil sighed and Mei chuckled as he hung his head. "So, back to where we were before. If notes won't be the only thing, what can we do to get Kiana to actually remember all of this?"

"Hmm… maybe some kind of incentive?" Mei suggested. Soleil nodded for her to go on. "She likes my cooking plenty, so perhaps that?"

"She practically comes over to eat every meal, so kinda pointless I think."

"True. Hmm… no not that option. Not going to let her get away with those things." Now Mei had a bit of a flushed face, Soleil glancing to the side. Not gonna show I know exactly what she means… well, we've both been victims of that side of her. Sneaking into one's bed, groping, the works. Soleil kind of had to admire how forward a person Kiana was. If only she took things more seriously at times.

"Well there's gotta be some method we can work with to get to her." Soleil said. "Let's consider burning the bridge once we cross it. At least streamlining the notes for her should help, somewhat."

"Sure." As Mei got back to her writing, Soleil felt one of those pauses happen again. The world slowed, and a blue hue surrounded everything. The boy turned in his chair as he gave a groan, and to no surprise of his, Sozo was present once more. And again in the form of Seele.

"You're timing is always something y'know that?" He commented.

"I think it's actually rather fitting I choose a slower moment like this." The entity replied. "So, how has it been? Spending a month in this academy. Does anything seem… different to you?"

"If you're talking those senses of déjà vu I get, then yeah." Soleil tented his hands as he thought on it. "A few things stick out compared to some flashes I've had since arriving. In particular… just the fact Kiana's mom is around at all. In some of the flashes I saw this past month… she wasn't there."

"Indeed." Sozo said it with a sad tone. "In the previous worldline as it were, Cecilia did not survive the Second Impact. If I'm to be honest with it, it is those events where the history of this worldline and the previous branch away from each other. The event itself may have been unavoidable…"

"But the outcome could be changed." Soleil finished the sentence, to the pleased look of Sozo. "I get it. Still… as much as some things seem different, more of it doesn't seem to have changed… though that's just for now I suppose."

"I must admit I am quite curious where it will all go." Sozo admitted. "The Sea of Quanta contains many a bubble universe, each one a different outcome to history. But those are ultimately just simulations, a series of events past, present, and future repeating endlessly. Few of those worlds are as tangible as others."

"And here we go with the mumbo jumbo talk." Soleil sank down as he groaned. Again, the entity chuckled. "Actually, I got a question. The other day I saw a memory, but it wasn't mine. It was of someone who looked like me, hell we had the same name! But… it wasn't me. Heck even the features were a bit off. That was my ancestor, right? The one from the Previous Civilization?"

"I'm surprised you put that much together from a single memory of his." Sozo's expression was duly impressed. "Has Sigurd told you a bit about that time? At least from what he knows?"

"Only that it exists, and that our bloodline originates from one of it's survivors." Soleil looked at his right hand, it's blue Stigmata mark giving a faint glow in the presence of its source. "Though, something about it was wrong too. There was other people there, but things were… obscured. Their names, faces, hell even their voices, I couldn't tell anything about them aside from them being girls and the colors of their hair. Everything else was… like it was corrupted to be frank."

"I'm not surprised. Fifty thousand years is a long time for a Stigmata to be passed down, so it is logical some of the data within it would have eroded over time. For now, don't let it worry you too much. But…" Here it comes. "I would say keep an eye on someone around you now."

"Eh?"

"Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and Seele aren't the only people your fate is tangled up with you know?" Sozo said so coyly. "It's more accurate to say anyone who meets you can have their fate changed, but some moreso in particular."

"And how will I know about this one huh?"

"Oh, don't worry, it won't be that hard to figure out."

"Please quit being vague with me for cryin' out loud!"

"Now where would the fun be in that? It's more interesting to see you figure things out yourself." Soleil gave up and set his head to the table. Sozo laughed. "Well then, I'll get going for now. Do continue to enjoy yourself, and I wish you luck in your student life. So long!"

"Whatever." Soleil sat up as Sozo vanished and time resumed. He would never get used to seeing it happen, especially when other people were around. Just play it off… though I wonder if Mei can sense anything about that since she's a Herrscher. The other her did seem to know about Sozo. "Hey, Mei, you feel anything weird just now?"

"Hmm? No, why?"

"Just askin'." Mei tilted her head as Soleil got back to writing. "You ask the oddest things sometimes you know?"

"Was testing something out. Not a big deal."

"Is that so?" The girl hummed, putting a finger to her chin. "Well, since we have all of this how about we head back to the dorm and study with Kiana from here? We are short on time after all."

"I can get behind that." As he and Mei started to gather things up, a thought occurred to Soleil. I never asked Sozo why the hell Theresa was a little girl in some of the flashes I had… eh, not a concern. And as they were starting to leave with bags in toe, while passing by some of the bookshelves, Fu Hua came out from a row right in front of them.

"Ah, Soleil, Mei, what brings you here?" The class president asked.

"Preparing some things to help Kiana-chan study for her make up test." Mei answered. "I'm sure you already know but she did quite poorly."

"An understatement if ever there was one." Soleil grumbled. Mei elbowed him for the snark. "You know I'm right."

"Well you don't have to be snide about it."

"He could have said it better, but he isn't incorrect." Fu Hua said. "It does seem I was correct to judge Kiana as letting her confidence get the better of her. It's a shame for a Valkyrie of her lineage to do so poorly."

"Is Kiana's family really that special?" Mei asked.

"Of course." Fu Hua said. "Kiana is of both Kaslana and Schariac blood. To put it shortly among Valkyries that makes her something extraordinary. Someone born of two of Schicksal's founding houses would have a lot on their shoulders from a young age."

"Which may explain why Kiana likes to mess around." Soleil said. "I mean hey, I grew up globetrotting for basically my whole life. Kiana doesn't talk about when she was young much, but if what you say about it is right Prez, she must not have liked it much."

"I can't say I'm inclined to say you're wrong." Fu Hua admitted. "Either way, I wish you two luck in making sure she passes the make up exam." She turned to leave, but then stopped and turned around again. "Actually, Soleil, I've heard from some others you train privately with Captain Kobayashi, yes?"

"Training is one way to describe what he runs my ass through."

"Hmm. Well, perhaps some other time I could join you. I've trained under him myself, and admittedly I'm rather curious to see the Empyrean house's martial arts. I prefer hand-to-hand combat myself, but I cannot say I'm interested how your style allows for easy use of different weapons."

"Sounds like it'd be fun, so sure."

"Excellent. Well then, I'll see you two in classes tomorrow. Have a nice afternoon." As Fu Hua walked off, Soleil suddenly had one of those feelings again. Well, not hard to guess I met her in the other timeline too. But… it's weird… Fu Hua has a similar air to the other person in saw in my ancestor's memory. Is she connected to that time too? As he was mulling over these thoughts, Soleil noticed that Mei was looking at him with a puffed-out cheek.

"What?"

"I know she simply asked about training, but you get along rather well with girls, don't you?" Soleil could swear there was an accusatory tone in Mei's voice.

"You and I spar together all the time."

"It's the principal of it. Though, I doubt Fu Hua has the same ideas as other's might. It'd be rude for me to assume wrong of her." Mei cleared her throat. Soleil had a look like he didn't at all get what she was getting at with that. "Geez… Soleil-kun I can never seem to tell if you get it or not."

"I ain't gonna reply because that's a loaded phrase." He got ribbed again for that remark. "O-kay look, let's just carry on alright? How about I do the cooking tonight. Not gonna act like I'm making up for anything, but we might as well take shifts."

"I cannot help but appreciate how honest you are, at least." Mei sighed. "But, alright. I do think you're cooking is also quite good. Surprise me with what your idea is, alright? Though if you have to go shopping, don't go out on your own."

"That was one time!" Soleil kept his protest quiet since they were still in the library after all. "Why the hell've you been on me about getting lost since then huh?"

"Not just the one time, Soleil-kun. Back in Nagazora too, when you ended up meeting Bronya." Soleil lurched like he'd been struck. "It's safer to make sure someone can keep an eye on you, thanks to that bad sense of direction of yours."

"Please stop it already hurts enough…" Soleil leaned against a bookcase in mock defeat. As Mei giggled and carried on, Soleil paused for a moment. He felt like something was watching him for just a moment. Looking around for a moment, once it seemed clear, he shrugged and hurried after Mei. Must've just been a shiver. It's St. Freya, no way things would go awry so soon after getting here… though knowing my luck, I say that, and something just might end up happening.

The next day, that feeling like he was being watched was being persistent. It was oddly on and off. During classes, nothing. But between classes as he was walking the school grounds, Soleil definitely felt like something was watching him from a distance. Can't be Honkai related… am I being stalked by somebody? Well… wouldn't be the first time. Weird that I can say that.

So once classes were done for the day, he told Mei and Kiana he was going to do something else before joining them for that day's study session. He simply left out he was doing so in order to find out just why he was being followed. So first step, talk to Hisashi.

"Took a month but I ain't surprised." Was what the man said once Soleil dropped by his office. "Remember how I said when you got here some of the guys might end up not liking you much? That."

"Somehow that's less surprising for me to hear." Soleil grumbled.

"Ahaha, oh trust me you should hear some of the things they say!" Hisashi chuckled. "Not only are they royally pissed you get to be in a specially assigned dorm with Raiden and Zaychik, but they're also even more riled up that Kaslana's all over you all the time. Some of 'em are plotting you know? You placing fourth in the exams just added fuel to the fire. Some of those boys've been here since they were kids so ya' know."

"And they're annoyed some new guy is immediately doing better than them. Of course." Soleil sighed. "Not like I haven't spent my entire life globe-trotting and fighting Honkai or anything."

"Hahah, don't worry about it too much, kid. Maybe get to know some of 'em, they might shape up once they know your case. Though… can't guarantee much when it comes to them being pissed about your dorm case." Hisashi casually shrugged it off. "Well, okay they did get to keep their storage room."

"Oh ha ha."

"Indeed. Also… don't make any kind of ruckus about this. If not, I may have to drill you and whoever gets involved my way. Got it?"

"U-Understood." Soleil shuddered a bit as he left the office. Just remember the three hours of hell Hisashi put him through a month ago brought back bad memories. That man is a freaking demon when he lets loose. Why the heck did a guy like that retire from active combat? Actually… maybe that's exactly why he did. In the past month, despite his best attempts he still hadn't learned much about Hisashi's former service record before becoming the Hyperion's captain. The best he got was that he and Himeko were part of the same squad well before either were stationed to the state-of-the-art battleship.

And as soon as he got out of the office building, Soleil felt eyes on him again. He let out a groan as he rounded a bend, checking back and spotting a few shapes dart behind the corner. He could pick up some muttering but nothing concrete. Alrighty then. If you wanna follow me, let's see if you can keep up with a run around the campus. Digging a foot down, Soleil bolted off to a full run. As he took off through the walkways, as he hoped he started hearing people actually follow him. There was no set destination, he was simply seeing how long it would go on. If there was anything Soleil could be proud of in terms of his physicality, it was his speed, stamina, and durability. Didn't get thrown into a wall by a Herrscher and live for nothing after all!

The one thing Soleil was forgetting about as the dash carried him across the campus's open area was his own luck. It was around the time his running brought him near the sports field that troublesome luck of his finally decided to kick him. The clang of a baseball bat slamming into a ball rang through the air right as Soleil passed the practice field. And next the teenager knew, an impact to his head combined with his momentum sent him sprawling to the ground in a daze, the ball guilty of the unintentional attack bouncing away from his head.

"Just my… rotten luck."

When the girls practicing on the field went over to see just who'd they hit, all they found was the ball on the ground. Though off in the distance, they could see three boys hastily darting around a corner and struggling to bring something along with them.

With the daze he was in after taking a baseball to the head, Soleil wasn't quite sure what had happened afterwards. His best hope was that he'd at least been dragged to the infirmary by somebody. But where a part of him was expecting loose sheets, he instead found his arms restrained… well, that would be pushing it. Soleil found that whoever had gone and tied his arms up had done a rather bad job at tying the rope, and it was going slack with every movement he made.

Though what didn't help was the blindfold. And as he had the mind to say something, that's when he heard voices.

"Look look, he's out of it now! Now's the chance!"

"You're really this serious about it? You realize if a teacher hears about this, we're all going down with you, right?"

"Why did we even follow him at all?"

"You two agreed to help me! So quit bellyaching and come on!"

Three distinct voices, and each of them masculine. Looks like Captain's idea was spot on. Soleil sighed as he kept wiggling his arms to try and free them. He only stopped when a light flashed in front of the blindfold. Oh what now?

"Well well, look who finally woke up!" It was the first voice he'd heard. Soleil was impressed he was speaking like Soleil hadn't just heard him and his companions talking. "We were wondering when you would, Empyrean."

"Can you cut with the drama act? I heard you dumbasses talking so I know this is just some dumb prank." Soleil bit, hearing a flinch from the one flashing the light in his face. Then the clear of a throat, like his "interrogator" was composing himself.

"H-Ha! Bluster like that won't get you anywhere!"

"It's not. I just seriously don't have time for this nonsense. After running across campus and getting knocked out by something, I'm kinda just done with today as a whole." Soleil let his head loll to the side as he spoke in a bored tone. The light vanished, and he heard a frustrated groan.

"Guys he's making this really hard!"

"Just give it a rest Alex. We only told you we'd follow him and now it's a mess. For cryin out loud the infirmary doesn't even make a good interrogation room!" The second voice said. So at least they had the sense to bring me there. Soleil thought. "Rani, get the blindfold and ropes off, I'm turning on the lights."

"Takeru wait!" But as the first protested, Soleil finally had his vision returned to him just as the lights turned on. And indeed, he was in the infirmary, and surrounded by three other boys he only vaguely recognized from seeing around campus.

The first one was definitely the one who'd been "interrogating him." Soleil guessed by his looks he was European, with stark blonde hair and grey eyes. The phone in his hand still had its flashlight on, though he was quick to shut it off and stuff it into his jacket's pocket. The second one he saw had Asian looks, with black hair tied into a short, high ponytail Soleil could only call Samurai-style, with dark eyes currently in a soft glare aimed at the first one.

"Sorry about the mess, Empyrean. Alex is uh… kind of a hot head." And the last apologized as he undid the ropes and came out from behind Soleil. His features seemed of a mixed origin, with dark tan skin contrasting platinum hair, amber eyes framed by the bangs he swept aside. "Sorry about the rude introductions. Name's Rani Peppers. The idiot who's idea this was is Alex Shrade."

"You agreed to help me to begin with!" Alex protested, then getting hit by the remaining one. "Takeru come on!"

"To follow. Not interrogate after getting him to an infirmary because he got beaned by a baseball. I'm sorry about that by the way. I'm Hiyama Takeru, nice to meet you." Takeru gave a respectful bow, forcing Alex to do the same.

"Soleil Empyrean, though I suppose I don't need to introduce myself." Soleil sighed as he rubbed his now freed wrists. "So, mind me asking what the heck this is even about?"

"Well…" Rani muttered, twisting a bit of hair as he looked to the side.

"It's because of your damn lucky situation!" Alex snapped, pointing at Soleil in accusation. "You've been accused of crimes against the male population of St. Freya Academy!"

"Crimes you and the other dumbasses made up!" Takeru smacked Alex again.

"What crimes?" Soleil asking that got Rani and Takeru to groan again. "Oh boy…"

"Crimes against the single men of this Academy is what!" Alex's declaration brought Soleil to the same stilted expression as the other two. "The novelty of being a transfer student always wears off with time, but it's then other situations that bring these to bear!" Does he have to act so dramatic about it? Soleil thought. "BUT! Tack on transferring in alongside the girl who's already been rated as one of the top in St. Freya is an offense in itself! Much less when you and Raiden are clearly so close to one another!"

"I mean we kinda went through a lot in Nagazora. You get pretty close to people when you spend like a week having to survive in a zombie infested city."

"It's a fair point." Rani said.

"Zip it!" Alex snapped. Soleil rolled his head back and groaned. "Second! Bronya Zaychik, the new mascot of the class…"

"Up for debate!" Takeru snapped.

"What the heck is the deal there huh?" Alex continued regardless.

"Pretty sure via possibly complex matters she's my adoptive sister." Soleil said. "Not quite sure on that. Haven't seen my old man in like a year, but she knows him. I'm making assumptions."

"That also makes sense… mostly." Takeru said, Soleil eyeing him. "But I'm not one to make judgments. Family matters are what they are."

"And finally, the egregious case!" Alex had chosen to get up on a chair. Soleil just thought that was way too dangerous. "You and Kaslana! That one tops it all, because it's stepping into territory that's been considered forbidden since middle school! And yet she arrives back here after three years and is all over one of the new transfers… well… two of them."

"Look I can't help that." Soleil sighed. "Kiana's like an affectionate cat. If I try to yank her off I just get clawed. That or she whines about it to Mei and then grabs onto her. After this long of knowing her it's just kinda how she is. Why would you even have a problem with it anyway? Not like the gender ratio at this school isn't stacked in one direction."

"I mean you got a point…" Alex muttered. Then he shook his head. "No, no! Gotta carry through for the other guys who're steamed about this too!"

"Uh huh… look, Alex, yeah? I can tell you're not a bad guy. This is all really stupid so can we just… not?" Alex mumbled again as Soleil put his hands up. "Things are what they are. You don't gotta go and do something dumb because a bunch of guys way more jealous than you actually are wanna throw a fit about it. Who're you trying to impress anyway?"

"That's what we've been telling him." Rani sighed, sitting down on the nearby bed. "But like I said, he's kind of a hot head. He acts before he thinks about things all the way. We said if he wanted to find out what your deal was, just ask."

"An interrogation under some dramatic pretense is dumb." Takeru said.

"Yeah but where's the fun in just asking normally?" Alex protested. "Besides it's just frickin weird man! Seriously, what the hell was Nagazora like the lot of you came out of it so close huh?!"

"That's a bit of a long story." Soleil muttered. "It involves things I'm also kinda not allowed to talk about. Sorry."

"Ehhh… well damn, now the mood's good and gone." Alex finally gave up and sat down, sighing as he leaned on his hands. "You're kind of a lucky bastard y'know that? Seriously, a lot of the other guys are royally up the wall about you."

"So the Captain told me." Soleil said.

"You're seriously just friends with them?" Alex asked.

"Uh… yeah."

"No way no how." He muttered. "Zaychik can get excused if she's family in a way, that's whatever. But no way in hell you're "just friends" in regards to Raiden and Kaslana! ESPECIALLY the latter!"

"You'd have to be one hell of an idiot to not see that much." Takeru noted.

"Uh, well…" Soleil's face flushed as he looked to the side, Takeru and Rani chuckling at the sight while Alex gave a low mutter. "Look it's whatever alright?! We're just friends, one's who're kinda close because of what we went through last month, but that's the extent of it."

"For now." Rani said, a teasing tone to his voice.

"Shut it!" Soleil snapped. "That good enough for you guys?"

"Sure sure, now I'm just amused by it. Clearly your group has a fun dynamic." Takeru said. "So, how about we make it up to ya for this mess huh? We were thinking about heading into the city to hang out tonight, so why not come along with us?"

"Takeru for real?!" Alex yelped.

"I mean c'mon, guy's been around nobody but girls for like a month. Gotta be tiring at least a bit." Takeru replied. Alex groaned again, but he clearly relented to that point. "Besides, now that this has happened, we might as well get to know the guy a bit better. I'm interested in what he can tell us about Nagazora for one."

"Yeah, besides he's an Empyrean!" Rani added. "Guy's gotta have a lot of cool stories from around the world. My mom's a Valkyrie herself, so I'm pretty interested in hearing things from a guy who's a member of a Founding Family."

"Well… I guess sure." Alex said. "I can't say I'm not curious either. Besides uh… yeah, sorry about the whole chasing you around and tying you up thing."

"No harm no foul." Soleil said, waving a hand around. "Besides it was my own shitty luck that got my beaned by a baseball anyway. Was planning to stop the run and see who it was eventually."

"Well, sounds like you four are starting to get along easy." The sounds of Hisashi's voice made all four boys flinch. They turned to see the man himself looking at them with an anything but friendly smile from the door. Ohhhh crap. Soleil thought. "So hey, Empyrean, remember what I said about a potential ruckus? See, I heard from some students around campus you and these other three were running around all over the place! Care to explain what that was about? Actually… you can explain after you idiots run the obstacle course ten times."

"AH COME ON!" Was the protest from all four teenagers. But, there was no chance for them to possibly deny Hisashi, it already looked like he had a demon at his back anyway. And as they were being carted off by Hisashi, who dragged the boys along by their collars, much to Alex's vocal protests, Soleil let out a dragging sigh as he glanced around. I wonder if this is a good way to say I've somehow made some more friends? Bonding through mutual suffering… this is gonna suck for all of us.