Please read the note at the end of the chapter but other than that enjoy :)

Time was slow during my recovery at the hospital, almost unbearable at times. For someone who had never been to the hospital for more than a couple of hours, staying there for an entire week was a whole different ordeal.

By day two of my stay there it felt as though the window was mocking me, taunting me with the beautiful outside world that was just waiting to be enjoyed. I could've taken a morning stroll through the streets or maybe get a nice meal at a cafe.

Yet I was confined to this hospital room.

The silver lining was that I at least had Kuro, Akihiro, and Sora to keep me company through most of my stay. Kuro was basically sharing the room with me while the other two tried to visit me whenever they were free.

Sora would ask me to play the games that she brought with her while Akihiro would often tell me what was happening in Nagazora. Even though I had a television that I could watch the news from, I felt much more comfortable getting it from the elderly man. Kinda like insider knowledge.

And from what he had told me, a lot had happened during the day that I had woken up in the hospital. For starters, Anti-Entropy had lended their assistance to help Ryoma Raiden keep the city safe.

And when I said assistance it wasn't like a verbal confirmation of assistance.

No it was, 'we will send our armies in to help fortify the city' sort of help.

The force that Anti-Entropy had sent was massive, so massive that it felt almost like an invasion from how many of their mechs were now patrolling the streets. Now police patrols had mechs assisting them in safeguarding the streets of Nagazora.

It was definitely quite a shocker the first time I had looked outside the windows to see the notorious AE mech standing on top of a rooftop on the opposite street. I was so caught off that the heart rate monitor soared. I had to assure the nurse that had frantically come in when the alarm went off that I was just caught by surprise by the mech's sudden appearance.

Seeing the mech in-game as opposed to reality was a surreal experience. My phone didn't do these mechanical weapons of destruction justice as you could tell that these were meant to be in wars just by a mere glance.

I was just weary seeing the machine with my own eyes.

It didn't come off as a shock when Akihiro had told me that everyone had also gotten apprehensive by the appearance of Anti-Entropy forces. It made everyone question just how bad the situation was if they needed AE to come in and help defend their city.

Raiden Ryoma was quick to assure the city that everything was under control and that with the help of Anti-Entropy they would soon find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The people took his words with a grain of salt, they wanted to believe him but at the same time they weren't so sure that he could deliver on them so soon. At best they believed that they'd have to endure this atmosphere for a month before justice was dealt.

It was two days after his announcement, on a Thursday afternoon, when it was announced that they had found the culprits responsible for the attack on ME Corp. To say everyone was surprised was an understatement by how miraculous this all seemed.

It could take weeks to solve a murder case, yet Raiden Ryoma was able to find them in less than two days.

People were shocked that Raiden Ryoma and Anti-Entropy had worked so well together that they were able to catch the culprits with such astonishing efficiency. They celebrated that the worst had passed and they could continue to live their lives peacefully soon enough.

But as everyone celebrated justice being delivered, I knew that it wasn't true justice. After all, the true intruder was resting peacefully in her bed a couple of feet away from me.

When I had heard that the intruders had been caught, I really did believe that a SWAT team was about to break into my room. I thought that Raiden Ryoma had seen through my fabricated story and was going to arrest me for colluding with the real intruder.

Other than the false intruders getting thrown into jail, the only other thing I did was spend the entire week waiting to get discharged from the hospital.

School wasn't a problem as the principal had decided for the safety of their students that they should just suspend their operations for the entire week, having all students stay home just to be sure that even with the intruders locked up that the coast was clear.

Keji and Ishigami had visited the day after my admittance to the hospital. My fellow club member comically cried over my body as he kept repeating how he should've been there for me while our teacher just watched from a foot away.

I just awkwardly patted the back of my friend and thanked him for coming by to visit me. He wasn't the only person in our grade to visit me, mostly a few classmates that I was acquainted with.

And while I did know their names, I don't think I was friends with them. We were acquaintances at best but that didn't mean I was going to turn them away for trying to visit me.

Ishigami's reason for coming with Keji was to tell me that since we would be missing an entire week of clubtime, that they would make the most of that day playing some chess and getting our practice in.

This man must really love his chess.

But I wasn't complaining as more time playing chess meant more practice for me. While I wouldn't be doing any tactician duties anytime soon, it certainly didn't hurt to sharpen my mind to think like one.

My grandmother also took some time to visit me, while also giving me the biggest dressing down that I've ever received in my life. I couldn't tell if she was trying to scold me because I got hurt or how I had all worried when I hadn't come home and she only knew of my condition when Akihiro had called her.

I made sure to promise her that I wouldn't get into any trouble like this anytime soon. Though I knew that I didn't need to worry about that for a while seeing how Anti-Entropy was guarding the streets now.

Verbal confirmation didn't hurt though.

She wanted to stay to ensure that I was living comfortably in my room but she still had her duties as a landlady to attend to, especially now that she had to assure her tenants that everything was okay and that they didn't need to move out of the city.

I assured her that I didn't mind and that I was old enough to take care of myself, even with the fact that I had bandages covering my entire torso.

And then there was Mei, the last person to visit me on that Tuesday afternoon. She was the last to visit due to the fact that she had some club errands she needed to finish before the end of the day. She apologized for the fact that she had come just as sunset began and how she must've been a bother for interrupting my recovery at such a late time.

I quickly dismissed her worries by saying that she would never be a bother, and that it was me who should be concerned about being a bother for taking up her time. I couldn't imagine what sort of media she had to go through just to get inside the hospital.

Ever since my hospitalization, there was a persisting crowd of reporters that would not stop trying to get an interview with me. I silently thanked the guards for their never ending vigil to keep those reporters out of the hospital.

Just the thought of being in an interview was scary already, I didn't know how Mei could live with doing that almost every day.

The both of us made some idle talk about school and our personal lives before the visitor hours had ended. During the time that we were together I got to properly introduce her to Kuro, who didn't take as long as I did to recover.

Needless to say I saw a whole new side to Mei that day, who knew she could act so differently when you present a feline to her.

Maybe I needed to bring Kuro with me more often if I got to see this side of Mei. It was too cute to see the usually composed heiress fawning over the black feline just to see it once.

After days of recovering at the hospital, my doctor soon discharged me just at the end of the week. When they unwrapped the bandages that had covered my body, I was surprised by how effective the treatments were.

I was sure that I was going to walk away with some kind of scar or some blemish on my torso, yet it looked like I hadn't just had gotten slammed by Staker Carbon's metal chassis.

Speaking of Stalker Carbon, the fact that I had yet to get imprisoned by Schicksal either meant that they weren't interested in me or something had happened while I was out that messed with Stalker Carbon's memory, and I had a feeling that Apollo had something to do with the latter.

Apollo was unresponsive to my calls, any time that I tried to reach out to him I would get silence in return. I gave up trying to get him to respond to me after two days of trying to get any response from him.

He said that we would talk again when 'I was ready for it', whatever that meant. So for now the only thing that I could do was simply wait for them to come forward.

It didn't help that I still felt betrayed by just how secretive they were being. And as much as I wanted to vent my growing frustrations at them, it would just be a wasted effort.

And so Saturday came rolling by and I fully expected to spend the day at home, just relaxing on my couch as I spent the rest of the day either watching television or playing with Keji and [Haxor_Bunny] on Homu Fantasy Online.

Take advantage of the fact that I had a day that nothing hectic would happen to me. Live a normal teenager's life.

Get my mind off how close I had been to Death's doorstep.

Again.

"Is everything okay Nakamura-san?" Sato asked me as he drove the black limousine into the high-class district of Nagazora.

In the back of the limousine, I had an anxious smile on my face as I did my best to reign in my nerves. Facing death by the claws of Stalker Carbon seemed much more preferable than this right now.

Everything in this limousine felt too...high-class for me. From the leather covering the seats, to the drinks that I could help myself to, to the smooth detailing that went into creating this vehicle of luxury.

Even the air felt sophisticated for crying out loud!

"I-I'm doing okay," I answered back as I desperately wished that Kuro was here with me right now. The black feline was currently at Sora's place, and as much as I wanted to bring the cat with me.

I could not say no to Sora's puppy eyes.

You would need a heart of steel to say no to those eyes. I secretly laughed to myself at a joke that I just thought of. If we used her puppy eyes on the Honkai, then victory was good as ours.

"You'll do great," The driver reassured me as we began to pass by the houses of the elite that called this district home. I marveled at just how grand these homes were, it was like if you had taken them straight out of the movies.

"I'm guessing it's your first time meeting these kinds of people," He guessed as we soon pulled up to the most lavish of all the houses in the district.

The same house that the Raiden family called home.

"Y-Yeah," I dumbly replied as I took in the majesty that this house was. If the previous homes were what the elites lived in then this house was fit for a king!

And as the gate opened up to reveal a massive driveway flanked by two luscious gardens that were filled to the brim with purple flora, I thought back to how I even ended up in this situation.

"A project?" I repeated as Mei nodded her head in confirmation. We had been in the midst of talking about random things until the topic of school had been brought up.

"Yes, Ishigami-sensei decided that instead of taking the test, we would have a project with a partner." She handed me a paper detailing exactly what this 'project' was supposed to be about.

"It doesn't look too bad…" I trailed off as I read the paper from top to bottom. Project felt like the wrong thing to say here. It was more along the lines of a partner assignment that went into depth about a topic that he had given a list of in the guidelines.

"And it's not due for another week," I had to give props to Ishigami-sensei for that one at least. Even though he was the only teacher to actually assign work over the week, at least he was lenient with the due date.

And while I would say that was a bad thing, I sorta expected to have work to do over the week. Even if school had been cancelled, that didn't mean that the work had to end either.

But judging by Mei's words of how every other student reacted to the news, the life of an elite student was drastically different from that of a regular student's life. They didn't even get any work to do over the vacations!

"Wait a minute," I turned to look at Mei. "If this is partner based then how did you end up as my partner?" I asked as I knew that everyone in our class would give up their left leg just to have the chance to be her partner.

Mei merely smiled as she recalled what had exactly happened in the classroom that day.

"In light of the recent events, I have decided to cancel the test that we were going to have this week." Ishigami-sensei announced as looks of pure joy were on everyone's faces. Mei would not like to admit it but she too was happy that they would not have to take this test.

And just as everyone was about to announce their joy outloud to the world.

"Instead I will replace it with a partner project to make up the points that you would've missed out on." With just that one sentence, he brought the entire mood of the class down. They were still happy about the fact that they didn't need to do the test, but it did bring them down quite a bit that they now needed to do a project.

Akira Ishigami was unfazed by the sudden drop in atmosphere in his students as he continued onward. "If the students with the stacks of paper in the front row begin to pass the sheets to the people behind them."

As the project paper was starting to get passed back, one student in the front asked a question. "Uh Ishigami-sensei you said this was a partner based right?"

"Yes I did, what of it?"

"So we can choose any partner we want, right?"

And with the end of their sentence, Mei became aware of everyone's stare on her. It wasn't the first time that she had been on the receiving end of everyone's stares but she didn't think she would ever get used to the feeling of every detail about her being scrutinized.

"If you paid attention then you'll see that those who didn't receive a paper are sitting to the left of someone that does," He waved his hands towards them as the bell rang for the next period. "Figure it out yourselves," He said as picked up his items and left before he could be bombarded with questions.

As the other students talked amongst themselves about the project, Mei turned her gaze to the empty desk left of her.

She was quite happy with who her partner was.

"I see," I muttered as Mei finished recounting what had happened in the classroom. While I certainly wasn't complaining that Mei was my partner...

I certainly didn't feel all that great knowing that I would be getting closer to Raiden Ryoma. I knew that he had either decided that the real intruder of ME Corp was no longer a threat or that he was still on the lookout for the real one.

I certainly hoped that it wasn't the latter case.

"Well it would be smart if we did it as soon as possible," I began to think of the best time that we both could tackle this project to get it done with the best efficiency. "And since we'll be using the internet to talk to each other-"

My whole master plan revolved around using online communication to do this project. Even with the 'intruders' having been apprehended, authorities still urged people to stay home as much as possible for the week until they were absolutely sure that it was safe for people to be out.

And if we worked on this project through the internet, then there would be no need to accidentally be under Ryoma's radar. It was a fool proof plan! Now all I needed to do-.

"Actually I was hoping that you would come to my place so that we can do the project together," Mei interrupted me.

Was to watch my plan come crumbling down.

"But-" I turned to her to try and argue that it was unsafe.

"I'll be sure to talk with my otou-san about your arrival, he would be so delighted to know that you'll be coming to visit." The heiress flashed me that smile as I could feel myself freeze into place under its gaze.

The smile that meant she wasn't going to take no as an answer.

I could do nothing but stay frozen as Mei sweetly smiled as she stood up from her chair. "I'll be sure to tell Sato-san about your arrival, how does Saturday sound?"

"I-I u-uh yeah that sounds good," I barely managed to croak out.

Mei nodded happily before she left the room. As she left the room, I let out a giant sigh as I leaned back into my bed. I definitely wasn't seeing that coming, and from her of all people as well.

In the background, Kuro silently laughed as she witnessed her stupid human being caught so off-guard.

As my little recollection ended, my attention was soon drawn towards the two lavish gardens that flanked the sides of the driveway that Sato was driving down. If I had one word to describe the experience that I was having.

Surreal.

Yeah that was a perfect word to describe this place. Ever since I had entered the gates of the Raiden Estate, it felt as if I had entered a whole new world. The purple flora that decorated the gardens felt so outworldly.

It felt as if I had entered the realm of paradise itself.

"Yeah I had the same reaction as you did when I first laid my eyes on this place." Sato laughed as he looked in the mirror to see my gobsmacked expression. "Leaps and bounds compared to the other people that I've worked with."

"It feels like I'm about to meet the Shogun," I admitted as we began to draw nearer to the estate. Just like everything else that I've seen in this place, the massive manor was a sight to behold.

You could see the japanese influence just basically being flaunted here. It was as if Raiden Ryoma had gone back in time and taken the best architects that Feudal Japan had to offer and had them construct his house for him.

And while there were modern influences to the estate, it was still majority Japanese.

"And here we are Nakamura-san," Sato said as he parked us right in front of the estate. The driver looked back at me and offered me an assuring smile. "You'll do great,"

I gave him a nod of thanks before the door nearest to me was opened. Seeing that was my cue, I took hold of my bag and exited the limosuine.

Standing before the estate was something else I have to say, how it towered over me. I thought I had some idea how Mei had lived her life as a heiress.

Man was I wrong.

"Nakamura-sama," A maid descended the steps of the estate before bowing in front of me. "I am Ayaka, head maid of the Raiden Estate. Mei-sama is waiting for you in the hall, please follow me." She motioned me to follow and I allowed her to lead the way.

Two maids bowed their heads before they opened the doors of the manor and as Ayaka led me inside. I was treated to a sight of a rich purple carpet that was flanked by an assortment of maids and butlers.

"Welcome honored guest," They spoke in unison before simultaneously bowing in unison. For someone who's never been treated like royalty, let alone stepped inside a manor as luxurious as this one, this was the beginning of a day of many firsts.

"U-Uh, yes." I stuttered before doing the first thing that came to my mind and bowed myself. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to do that but it just felt right to do. "Thank you for having me."

They showed no reaction to my response and I feared that I had done something wrong, until Ayaka clapped her hands once. On command every butler and maid stopped bowing before they went back to whatever task that they had been doing beforehand, soon leaving just me and Ayaka alone in the room.

"This way," Was all the white haired maid said before she resumed leading me to where I assumed Mei was at.

As we made our way through the manor, I still couldn't help but in awe of what I was seeing. A little bit of me was envious of what Mei had growing up. I mean she got to live everyone's dream growing up like a figure of royalty.

Who wouldn't be jealous?

Yet as the head maid guided me through the manor, I made no attempt to try and have a conversation with her. Other than the fact that I had no idea what to say, it felt unnecessary to try and break the comfortable silence that we had going on.

Besides, it allowed me to focus more on the palace that Mei called home.

From the artistic paintings, to the rich mahogany wood that framed the windows, to the suits of samurai armor that stood guard in the hallways, to even the vases of exotic flora.

This was the epitome of high class living.

Soon enough Ayaka opened the doors of the hall to reveal Mei sitting at a table, her books stacked on top of each other as she was engrossed in reading a book. Off to the side was a tray of pastries alongside a porcelain pot of tea with two cups next to each other.

"I leave the care of Mei-sama to you Nakamura-sama," Ayaka bowed as Mei looked up from her book to see me on the other side of the room. With a smile she beckoned me over as the head maid bowed before she left the room, closing the doors.

Leaving the two of us together alone.

"Mei-san," I greeted as I walked over to her side of the room. "Or should I refer to you as your highness," I joked as we were both aware of how lavious her house was.

"Stop it Haruto-san, you're embarrassing me." She chided. I tried to lower myself on one knee to try and present myself like a knight would do but she was quick to see what I was doing.

"Haruto!" She yelled as she stopped me from performing the deed, though that did nothing to stop me from laughing at how ludicrous I had been. Soon enough she too joined my laughter as we just enjoyed how silly we were both being.

Like as if we were just two regular teenagers living their normal lives

And not two people that were fated to be soldiers in the war that preceded the current human history.

"You're not allergic to anything are you?" After taking a minute to calm ourselves, we took our respective seats. "I didn't know what you preferred so I had Ayaka-san prepare an assortment of delicacies."

"I think I'll be good," A small strand of drool left my lips as I marveled at the bounty that was laid before us. It was as if a master chef had personally cooked each piece.

I reached out and grabbed a random food item before plopping it into my mouth, resisting the urge to moan out my appreciation.

"That was so good," I made my appreciation known before immediately eyeing my next vict-, I mean meal for me to enjoy.

Project be damned, I'll spend the entire day eating this tray of food!

"Why don't you try some tea?" Mei offered as she held the teapot up, amusement in her eyes as she watched my behavior.

"Tea?" I inquisitively picked up the tea cup and marveled at the level of detail that went into this work of porcelain. "I'll admit that I don't drink tea much but what's the harm in trying it out?" I kept my hand stable as Mei began to pour me a cup of tea.

I was pleasantly surprised by how aromatic the purple tea was, giving out a surprised hum as I raised the cup to my lips and took a sip of the liquid. "This is really good!" I praised as I lowered my now empty cup to the table.

"Ayaka-san was the one introduce me to this blend of tea, I think she told me it was lavender mixed with some other tea leaves in it." She poured herself a cup of tea before setting the pot down. "It was also my cat's favorite tea to drink. Speaking of cats, where is Kuro?"

"Sora really wanted to have her over today and I couldn't refuse her request." I explained to her why the feline wasn't here. In truth I wanted to bring her here just for Mei but fate had other plans.

"Is that so," She took a sip of her tea. "Sora was the pink haired child I saw right?"

"The very same."

"Is that her natural hair color?"

"Oh no, she asked her ojisan to dye her hair pink for her birthday one time but they found out that he had accidentally used a permanent dye rather than a temporary one." I also had the same questions when I first noticed the fact that Akihiro's and Sora's hair color did not match up.

It could so easily have been that Sora could have inherited her mother's hair or pink hair was a thing in her family and it just skipped Akihiro's generation but I still had to ask.

"Oh my," Mei gasped. "Wouldn't she be mad?"

"Quite the opposite actually," I smiled as I recalled what Sora had explained to me. "She said that her hair being permanently turned pink was the best thing that had ever happened to her." Though the pink had sort of faded from its original hypercolor, it was still distinctive to be called pink.

Mei laughed as she poured a refill in each of our cups. "I don't think I would have the same reaction as her if my hair was permanently pink."

"But I think we should save this conversation for later," The heiress interrupted as she pulled one of her books in front of her. "Shall we start?"

I mirrored her actions as I brought out my own school books, "With hope we can finish most of this project before the end of the day." I flipped open to a blank page. "We should first start off with finding a topic to do this assignment on, got any ideas?"

"Well how about this?"

I looked over at what Mei had written in her notebook. The heiress had wasted no time in getting started. "I have no problems with it," I quickly began to copy down what she had done. "Let's continue with this idea until we hit a roadblock, if that's alright with you?"

Mei nodded in acknowledgement before we began to collaborate with each other on how we were going to finish this project.

"What about-"

"Sound's good, let me write this over here-"

"But the problem here would be-"

"I think this works for this area, let's move on to-"

"Haruto don't forget to add-"

"Thanks Mei, I almost forgot about-"

"Here's the work for this area, Mei could you check if-"

"Everything looks good here Haruto, now what about-"

"Would the young masters care for any refills or requests for the chef?"

"Um, if I could request whatever this apple fritter thing is, it's so delicious. How about you Mei?"

"Just a refill of the tea Ayaka-san."

"Of course young masters, I will soon be back with your refreshments."

Day soon gave way to night as I only noticed how much time we had spent working on this project. "Man we were so into it that I didn't even notice it was almost evening already." I leaned back into my seat, my sore back appreciating the soft cushions of the chair.

"But we were able to get most of the project finished," Mei mirrored my action, an appreciative sigh leaving her lips as she got herself comfortable.

"True," I closed my eyes as I thought back to how we worked together. Whoever was in the seat before me, you were truly lucky to have Mei as an assignment partner.

Aside from the fact that she lived in this manor fit for kings, she was nothing but attentive throughout the time that we were working. There was no fooling around, no meaningless five minute breaks, no reason to do anything other than the task at hand.

She was the person that every group project hoped to have on their team.

Yet while she was sure that we both stayed on track, as time passed on I got to see Mei slowly relax herself. A different side to her that I don't think I haven't seen yet.

Mei still acted as she usually did, yet there was a small but noticeable change in her demeanor that I couldn't help but notice.

It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her back, like she could finally relax. Even if we were in the midst of doing our project, that didn't stop her from laughing at the little jokes I would crack here and there.

And to my surprise she cracked a few of her own jokes.

Apparently she also had a massive sweet tooth. I can still remember the surprise when I saw the amount of pastries that she had piled up on her plate.

"What?" She looked at me with such a confused expression as she held a half eaten scone, as if this was completely normal for her.

You learn something new everyday.

"Shall I call Sato-san to drive Nakamura-sama back to his residency?" Ayaka asked as she began to pick up the empty pot and tray that we had finished.

"Yes please call him, it is rather unfortunate that our time must be cut short." Mei answered as she began to clean up her books.

"Right away Mei-sama, I will come back once Sato-san is ready." Ayaka left to get the driver ready.

"If the events of this week hadn't happened I would've loved to have you here for an extra hour or two," Mei looked to me with a hopeful smile. "This would've been a perfect opportunity to have you start on your kendo training."

Oh yeah that, I totally forgot about that. "Well if things finally die down this week then maybe I could visit here another time. Maybe next week will be good for you?" I offered. My doctor had told me that I just needed a week of rest so I was good to put my body through kendo.

"Yes that sounds perfect," Mei nodded in confirmation. "I'll be sure to notify my otou-san and Sato-san about it then."

"Speaking of your father I was sure I was going to meet with him from our talk on Tuesday, where is he right now?" I curiously asked.

"He's in a meeting with some people from Anti-Entropy," She explained. "From what he told me it was a last minute meeting that he could not refuse."

So did that mean Anti-Entropy was in the manor this very second? If that was the case then I was very glad that I was leaving soon. I did not want to tempt fate by staying a second longer than I needed to.

Thankfully it did not take Ayaka long to call Sato as she was already opening the door. "Nakamura-sama, your ride is ready."

"So I guess this is it," I stood up from my chair and slung my bag over my shoulder. I turned to Mei and said my farewells. "I'll see you back at school."

"Have a good night Haruto."

"And you as well, Mei." I responded in kind before I left the room and followed Ayaka as she guided me back to the front of the manor.

As we walked through the halls of the Raiden Manor, a content smile on my face. Nothing crazy happened today, no sudden appearances, no special events happening, no strange interactions took place.

It was just a normal day of two classmates working on a project together.

"So that's him," Cerulean blue eyes watched as the red headed teenager that caused such a stir in her friend's city stepped into the black limousine before it drove away. "He doesn't look that remarkable."

"Yet he was involved in Rita's assignment," Raiden Ryoma commented as he walked up to where his friend was watching from his study's window. "Looks aren't everything, you of all people should know that Einstein."

The head scientist of Anti-Entropy only shrugged her shoulders as she watched the estate's front gate open before the limousine drove out of her view. "If you suspect him so much, why haven't you thrown him into jail?" The light blue haired scientist glanced at the CEO. "After all we both know that the intruders you threw into jail aren't exactly the people you're looking for."

Raiden Ryoma just sighed as he went over to his desk, taking a second to look at the photo of his family before sitting down. "It's not like I can throw him into jail, he has an alibi in the form of that young child who warned the authorities. He also has an alibi during the time that ME was infiltrated."

Einstein left her spot near the windows as she walked to the side of his desk. "And I suppose that it would be easier to craft evidence for two random people than it would be to get him into jail."

"I have talked with the young man myself, he has nothing to hide. Everything that he told me was the truth." Ryoma leaned back into his chair. "Where is Tesla? I thought that she was coming with you?"

"It was a last minute change," She explained. "Personnel at The Deep became alarmed when their sensors began to act up, Tesla went over to check and make sure that everything was under control."

"You don't think it's the Honkai acting up? " Even if it had been some years since the 2nd Honkai Eruption and both Anti-Entropy and Schicksal had effectively recovered from their losses, they could never predict how destructive the next Herrscher could be.

Einstein sighed. "I don't know, for all we know it could be just the Sea of Quanta acting up. It's rare but it's not impossible for energy fluctuations to suddenly ripple through that dimension. Though it would be the first time our sensors would react so violently to it."

Ryoma raised his eyebrow. "When exactly did this happen?"

"The same night that Rita attacked that red head," She answered. "Apparently that was when the biggest fluctuation hit the base, the energy behind it knocked out the communication arrays which is why their report was delayed."

That was a...grim coincidence.

"Anything from Welt?" He asked, yet he knew the answer to it when he could see the faintest emotion of sadness flicker across Einstein's face. "Is he still doubting that he won't be able to be the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy?"

"The 2nd Eruption took a toll on many people, Joachim was one of them." She bitterly remembered the years of rehab the Herrscher of Reason had to undergo in order to even be able to use his powers again, and even then he still couldn't use it like he had once before.

And the knowledge that he would never be back at full strength was a bitter pill for him to swallow.

"I know the day will come when he will take up his mantle once more, but for now all I can do is trust him."

"Where is he right now?" Ryoma asked. "Isn't he supposed to be undercover at St. Freya as a teacher right now?"

Einstein shook her head. "That was the plan originally but...there were some complications when we discovered a certain scientist working directly under Principal Theresa."

This was new, someone that had Einstein concerned was not a good sign. "Is he dangerous?"

"Not exactly, you won't know him as you two have never personally met but Tesla and I have a long, complicated history with him. He will most definitely figure out Welt's true identity if he goes in with his current credentials, so he's currently at Caltech making sure his resume is as convincing as it can be."

Secrecy wasn't something that Einstein resorted to but if she said the mission would fail then all he could do was trust in her. "I guess I'll take your word on it but tell me more about this mystery scientist."

"There's not much to tell, he's blind to anything relating to human socialization but when it comes to the battlesuits no one can rival him in that field." Einstein explained before she glanced at some of the pictures that were on Ryoma's desk.

Most importantly, the photo had both father and daughter standing in front of the gates of Chiba Academy. A powerful well of emotions began to bubble in the scientist, not because of Raiden and his daughter…

But the place that the photo was taken at.

"How is he?" She asked with a surprising soft tone.

Ryoma knew who she was talking about, they didn't leave on the best of terms after all. "He's doing well, I've heard that he's taken some students in."

"That's good, I was so concerned that the way he left would affect his view on life. If that happened then I could only blame myself for that outcome." Her phone buzzed with a notification.

[ Hey Mophead, All done over here at The Deep. The sensors all needed to be replaced but all of them are up and running now. I'll be heading back to the base right now. ]

[P.S Grab me some takoyaki before you leave :) ]

Classic Tesla, Einstein couldn't help but smile at her fellow scientist's antics. "Well I'll be heading back now," She walked over to the door. "Be sure to update me if the situation changes."

"Send my regards to Tesla and Welt," He called out.

"Only if you send my regards to him."

"You know that I am barely on speaking terms with him," He reminded her.

Einstein just shrugged her shoulders. "Far better than the terms that me and Tesla are on with him." She gave him a single wave before she exited his study.

Raiden sighed as he relaxed into his study chair, his back aching from all the work he had done today. As much as he would love to call it a night, he had other things to finish up. Maybe he'd call Ayaka to cook him something for dinner, the head maid knew what dish would hit just right.

His phone began to buzz with an unknown caller id. That was strange, he knew that he had listed the contact names of every person that he had given his number to.

So who was calling him?

Bringing the phone up to his ear, he decided to answer the caller. "Hello?" He answered cautiously.

"Hey Ryoma, what's up!" A cheery voice greeted him.

His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the person that was on the other side of the call. "S-Siegfried?!"

"The one and only!" Somewhere in the Amazon Jungle, the male Kaslana stood atop the burning corpse of a Honkai Beast that had been stirring up some trouble for some natives. Nothing that he couldn't take care of though.

The Judgement of Shamsah still flickered with its divine flame even as it was impaled in the hide of the honkai beast, the Kaslana using his only arm to hold up the phone to his ear. "So I know this is out of the blue and whatnot but…"

"I was hoping I could cash in that favor you owe me."

Huh I wonder what that favor is...I wonder what it could be?

What am I saying I think everyone knows what the favor that Siegfried is calling in right now. You guys have been waiting for it, and finally our favorite tuna is making her way into the story!

Sorry it took me so long to update, Monster Hunter Stories 2 Wings of Ruin got me addicted so I had little time to write this chapter. I Highly recommend it if you like the Monster Hunter Series.

It even gave me inspiration for a future arc!

I was so surprised by how many responses the last chapter got, I'm pretty sure that's the most reviews a single chapter of this story has gotten so thank you so much guys!

But those responses come with some things I need to address.

Pairing: The pairing is still up for debate. Replying 'kiana x oc x mei' does not help me in any way. I can see the appeal that the pairing has but it all boils down on who I like writing the most and the synergy that they'll have with Haruto. As of now Durandal and Mei are my top contenders but that could change with a single chapter. Hell I have a good chapter that involves Fu Hua that I think will be good so she might even be in the competition.

This is my first SI fanfiction so interactions between characters will sound strange or forced. If you look at my previous fanfictions then you can see that interactions are not exactly my forte so each chapter I learn something new. If you got some tips on how to better write my interactions, then by all means please put them down. I didn't want to go super into Mei and Haruto's bond yet cause they've only had a week to get to know each other, two now. Felt kinda forced if I had to make special interactions between them and I don't think that Haruto can increase what bond he has with Mei until you know what.

I will take criticisms, but not if it's without ways to improve. If you simply reply, 'this is stupid' all you're doing is being toxic and it doesn't help me at all. If you say a certain character seems weird then I will review how that character was written and adapt accordingly. I have gotten some concerns about the voice(s) and I admit that they could've been written better. I didn't want to reveal who they were so early but I can see how that kinda backfired on me.

Pacing: Do you think that everything in this story so far happened too quickly? I can understand if you guys think it's moving too quickly with all the things I kept adding but I needed to introduce important things somehow in this story and I did not want to have filler chapters before something important happens. I didn't want to write a bunch of meaningless filler chapters. Though fair warning right now: WE GO THROUGH A BIG TIMESKIP NEXT CHAPTER.

However after the tuna is introduced the story will go much slower. I want to build the Kiana, Mei, and Haruto bond. Speaking of building it up, if you have any suggestions on some good chapters I will gladly take it. It can even be a single scene, my mind will take care of the rest but it just needs to be really good for that to happen.

I got Golden Week chapter(s) and even a play sort of planned out so if you think you got something, speak it.

ALSO THE ETERNAL FLAMES SHORT WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Got a theory about what the next short might be but I'll explain in the next author note cause this is big already.

ALSO BAAL LOOKS SO GOOD! So glad that Mei's Japanese VA is voicing her, I am so saving my primos for the Electro Archon.

Support has been crazy and I want you to know that I deeply appreciate all of you.

Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast.

Peace!