An Unexpected Impact

by LordChaldea

Death was an unknown, no one knew what awaited them after it. So when I awoke in a world so familiar yet foreign at the same time, I swore to live a quiet life so that I could live this life at least to the fullest. That was until I decided to take a damn scholarship. SI-OC Captain Reincarnation

37. Chapter 37

Please read the note at the end of the chapter but other than that…

Enjoy!

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When Mei had enrolled in St. Freya Academy and heard that this was the place that trained the Valkyries of tomorrow, it was safe to say that she had high expectations of the students that she would be classmates with.

After all, her own personal previous experience with classmates left much to be desired…

So when she introduced herself in front of the class that she would be their new 'transferring' classmate, her heart dropped when she saw everyone's eyes light up in recognition of her name.

It seems that the news of what befell her family had reached this place as well.

Fearing that another Chiba Academy would happen, she tried her hardest to try and make herself unnoticeable, to fade into the background as much as possible and hope that no one would bother her.

But she had forgotten the crucial factor that she was attending the academy alongside Kiana and Haruto, the two already notorious among the student body for their own various reasons.

Kiana belonged to the Kaslana family, one of the three important families that compromised Schicksal. Here the white haired girl had the same fame that she once had when Massive Electric was still the corporation giant that it once was.

And as for Haruto, not only was he the nephew of Himeko Murata but he was also St. Freya's first ever male student. The dark purple haired girl quickly learned that male adaptability to honkai energy was extremely low, so low that there were only a few recorded instances where a male could survive being near honkai energy without dying.

So it went without saying that trying to stay in the background was impossible with her friends.

At the first instance that they had a break was all her fellow classmates needed before they flooded their desks, asking all the questions they had for them. From her desk she watched with a small smile at Kiana's smug expression, no doubt enjoying every bit of the attention.

It came as no surprise to her, Kiana's good nature would draw people in.

But what she hadn't expected was for a small group of students to appear in front of her desk.

She prepared herself for their scathing insults but what she got instead shocked her. "U-Um I know this might sound strange but I don't believe that your father did all those crimes!" The lead girl shouted, much to the heiress's bewilderment.

"I never believed what all those media anchors said," Another classmate spoke up, making Mei turn to her in shock. "Your father's corporation is the reason why my parents survived cancer, a kind man like that could never do crimes like that."

"We don't think you're anything like what the media says!"

"I…" She was truly at a loss of words for what they had said to her. The former heiress knew that St. Freya was meant to be a new beginning for her, a new chapter in her life…

She would've never thought that she would get this kind of new beginning.

So she said the only thing she could think of saying at the moment.

"Thank you, your words mean a lot to me."

Here people, well a good majority of them, didn't care about status. They made friends with people that shared the same interests as they did or because they liked them. It was a strange change from how things worked in Chiba Academy but it was a change that Mei welcomed.

They continued to make small talk, getting to know the other a little bit better. When the break time ended and everyone made their way back to their respective seats for the next class Mei knew that she hadn't made friends, she knew better than to make friends right off the bat.

But she had made friendly acquaintances that could blossom into beautiful friendships.

Only time would tell if that would be the case.

Yet while her fellow Valkyries in training were different from her peers in Chiba Academy, they were still teenagers at the end of the day. And if there was one thing that was in common with all teenagers…

It was that they all loved to gossip.

"Hey didn't you hear?" A student said as the 5th Valkyrja Squad entered their first class of the day. They weren't the first to enter the classroom, but neither were they the last, as there was a healthy amount of students already inside.

"The 6th Valkyrja Squad just came back from their mission!" Another student interjected as Mei took her seat, taking out her supplies for the class. She should've been jumping at the information were it not for the fact that Himeko-sensei had already notified them of the squad's arrival back.

It was just unfortunate that they would be preoccupied with other things and wouldn't be back in time when the classes of today began.

"Isn't sending them on a mission this early highly dangerous? They're still only in training, not to mention out of everyone the three of them are the least experienced in combat."

"But they have Fu Hua-sama! Of course they'll do fine!"

"And have you seen them in their spars? Each day it seems like they're a whole different person when they step onto the sparring grounds."

"Add in the fact that Haruto gets to have his own battlesuit, he's already above most of us. I don't want to be the ones going against them when the annual St. Freya Valkyrie Trials come around the corner."

"I'm still jealous they got to go on a mission already. I want to go on a mission already!"

"Alright everybody!" The teacher of the class announced as she came into the classroom, dispelling the gossip immediately. "Please get to your seats so we can begin the first lesson of the day."

It didn't take long for everyone to get back into their seats by the time the teacher walked to the front of the classroom. "Before we begin today's lesson…" The teacher's eyes moved over to where Mei and the 5th Valkyrja Squad were seated.

"Theresa-sama would like to speak with the 5th Valkyrja Squad about something. You are to report to her office immediately."

That announcement drew surprised looks from everyone in the class, including the 5th Valkyrja Squad themselves. They had all expected today to be a normal school day so what could Theresa want that concerned all of them.

"Excuse us," Mei apologized as they began to pack their things up and left the classroom, making their way to Theresa's office.

"Mei-senpai? Why do you think Theresa is calling for us?" Kiana asked curiously as the trio walked down St. Freya's halls.

"I don't know Kiana-chan," She answered truthfully as she was currently trying to think up several different reasons for why they were being called over. Could it be something that related to one of them personally? Highly unlikely but something that Mei quickly learned was that even the most impossible of situations could still happen.

"Maybe it's to give us our very own mission like Haru-senpai!" The white haired girl cried out triumphantly, placing her hands on her hips in confidence. "I mean it was only natural that we the 5th Valkyrja Squad get our own mission right after Haru-senpai's squad!"

The heiress only smiled as the Kaslana laughed in certainty, not having the heart to tell her that her reasoning was probably wrong.

Bronya however had no qualms in shattering Kiana's reality. "The Bronya doubts that reasoning."

Kiana whirled around to glare at their other teammate and with the look she was giving to the petite gray hair girl Mei had a feeling that she was going to have to break up yet another argument between the two.

While it may certainly seem that two teammates butting heads constantly would be of concern, it wasn't really anything to be worried about. Kiana and Bronya may appear to not trust each other, but in reality it was the opposite as the two worked well together in the various combat trials they trained in.

No words needed to be exchanged to know how to work alongside the other, only speaking if the situation required. Mei had to wonder if the two bonded during the events of Nagazora's eruption when she was unconscious.

But while the two could trust the other with their lives, it was just unfortunate that the two had completely different personalities which came head to head every so often. And if Mei had to be honest…

She just wished that the two could learn to be less…blunt with their words.

"Huh?!" And true to Mei's experience with her squad the white haired Kaslana turned to glare at Bronya for her words. "And what is that supposed to mean Bratnya?!"

"Now, now," Mei readied herself to intervene. "I'm sure Bronya-chan means well and that-,"

"Principal Theresa is probably calling us about something that concerns the 6th Valkyrja Squad." The unexpected answer from the avid gamer had both Mei and Kiana look at her in surprise, not at all expecting that kind of response from her.

The both of them were expecting something that would've set the Kaslana off.

And in turn Bronya gave them a wry, knowing smile. "Is there something wrong?"

"No Bronya-chan," The dark purple haired girl looked to Kiana who was still processing the fact that their petite gray haired teammate hadn't verbally riled her up when there was a clear opportunity to do so, which she had never done before. "There's nothing wrong."

Maybe things weren't as final as Mei believed it to be in the 5th Valkyrja Squad.

It didn't take long for the squad to walk to the doors of the principal's office. When Mei pushed the doors open she was surprised to see a familiar face waiting for them. "Himeko-sensei?" She called out in surprise when she saw their guardian A-Rank Valkryie patiently sitting in a chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah you're finally here," It didn't take long for Mei to pick up on their sensei's grave tone of voice and somber expression to know that something bad had happened.

"I-Is there something wrong?" Mei was scared to ask but the fear of it being related to Haruto in any way was what compelled her to ask.

And to her suspicion Theresa slowly nodded her head in confirmation. "It concerns the 6th Valkyrja Squad."

After she had spoken those words, silence followed as the three of them processed that revelation. Mei did not need to look to see the reactions of Kiana and Bronya to know that they too had looks of shock on their faces. They all knew that they had come back from their mission but they didn't know what condition they might be in.

"W-What happened to them?" She eventually asked, her voice riddled with anxiety at not knowing the condition of the squad. But more specifically…

The condition of Haruto.

"Nothing fatal, they all returned back to their dorm in the morning in good condition." Theresa reassured, much to their relief as they all let out sighs that they all had been holding in. Even Bronya broke her mask as she too looked relieved by the good news.

However even with the fact that they were all alive and well the somber expressions never left the principal's and Himeko's faces, which begged the question of why they had been called in. "However we've just been informed that something has happened to Haruto Nakamura."

And just as fast as it came, relief turned to worry that their friend was suffering from something that they had yet to disclose.

It must've shown on Mei's face that she was about to ask that very question as before she could even open her mouth Himeko spoke up. "I think it's best if we show you." She nodded to Theresa who nodded back before the two of them stood up from their respective seats and led the 5th Valkyrja Squad out.

The trip to the 6th Valkyrja Squad dorm room was filled with an uneasy tension that no one seemed eager to break. Even Kiana, who normally had a cheerful expression, instead had a frown as her mind was no doubt going through all the possible situations that Haruto could be in right now.

Mei couldn't blame her for doing so, because she was doing the same exact thing.

Eventually the group arrived at the front door of the 6th Valkyrja Squad dorm room, but before anyone could open the door it was opened from the inside to reveal a very familiar shade of brown hair. Green eyes widened when they saw who was in front of him.

"KEJI?!" She and Kiana yelled in unison before they ran over to their surprised chess loving friend. Bronya hadn't yelled her surprise at them but her wide eyes were more than telling that she too was shocked at his sudden appearance.

"YOU GUYS ARE HERE AS WELL?!" Keji shouted in disbelief as he took off the mask he had covering his mouth. Seconds later he was embraced by Kiana and Mei, expressions of relief on each of their faces. Each of them knew that they were all doing fine after Nagazora, knowing that no one had sustained any fatal injuries…

But it was completely different to see them in person doing well.

A few moments passed till the hug ended, a bright grin on Keji's face as he pulled away. "Not like I'm complaining but this is kind of a crazy coincidence of fate. Who would've thought that not only would I find Haruto here, but the rest of you guys as well."

The dark purple haired girl would've smiled at this happy reunion of friends but at the mention of their redheaded friend she was reminded of the reason why they were there in the first place. "Haruto," Her voice was urgent and pleading. "What happened to Haruto Keji?"

Thankfully he got the message as he nodded, opening the door and ushering them in. "I'll show you."

They entered the dorm and Keji led them to Haruto's room. When he opened the door and revealed what was inside Mei's heart dropped at what she saw.

Laying in the bed was a feverish Haruto Nakamura. The red head was breathing shallowly, cheeks flushed as beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. His eyes were closed shut as if he was in the midst of a horrible nightmare.

The scene in front of Mei certainly looked like a nightmare.

However Haruto was not suffering unseen, as two familiar people were sitting near his bedside. "Mei nee-chan?" Having heard the door open Sora and Fu Hua turned to face them, showing that the both of them were wearing surgical masks. Even Kuro had a tiny little mask covering her mouth as she sat on the bedside table. The pink haired child stood up from her seat and rushed towards Mei, arms out to engulf her in a hug.

"W-What happened?" She asked as Sora hugged her, comforting her by smoothing her pink hair in a reassuring manner.

"It happened when we got back to the dorm," Fu Hua explained as she looked back towards Haruto's unconscious form. "Mashu-san went to help Layla-san get to the infirmary to get her leg treated so it was the three of us in the dorm. We were cleaning up a bit and without warning he suddenly collapsed onto the floor with a high fever."

"Did he eat something bad?" Bronya questioned as she placed a hand on the redhead's forehead, feeling just how high his temperature was. "Or contract something during your mission?"

"No this was quite sudden," The A-Rank Valkyrie shook her head. "He looked perfectly fine when we were departing, he showed no signs of feeling weak when we were being checked up after the mission."

"It was scary to see Haruto nii-chan fall like that," Sora admitted, tightening her hug on Mei to which she reciprocated back.

"We're unsure of the reasons why he collapsed like this," Theresa spoke up. "But I've been informed that an answer to this dilemma has been discovered."

And the moment she finished saying those words a pair of people walked into the room. "Why yes it has!" Even if she had little to no interaction with them, Mei knew who Christopher Asplund and Marie Barlow were. It was hard to forget such an eccentric scientist and his assistant that reeled him in.

The white haired scientist confidently walked towards Haruto's bed as he continued talking. "And the answer to our current dilemma revolves around one of the things that makes Haruto Nakamura such a fascinating subject of study!"

"His stigma!"

At his answer everyone bar Marie looked at him in confusion. His stigma was responsible for his condition? But how could that be when stigmas were supposed to empower their user, not harm them?

But while everyone pondered on the scientist's explanation, it would be Himeko who would be the first to realize why that was the case. Haruto's aunt softly gasped in realization before she looked to the pair of scientists for confirmation. "Isn't this a bit more severe than the usual case?"

"You know something about this Himeko-sensei?" Kiana asked, bewildered that their sensei was the first to figure it out.

"You could say that. It relates to the nature of artificial stigmas." Himeko answered before she turned around and motioned to the middle of her back, where Mei assumed was where her stigma was located. "It happens quite commonly with those that get an artificial stigma, though in my case I only experienced a slight migraine."

Asplund nodded at the Major's answer before he took over. "To explain it properly, think of the stigma as a vaccine. It acclimates our body's natural defenses against honkai infections so that we don't die on the tiniest of exposures to the lethal radiation and in turn the stigma bolsters our bodies with increased strength and resistance. And like with all vaccines one might experience a small fever the following day."

"However Haruto-san is a special case, as while he gained his stigma similar to how one would gain an artificial type, it has the power of a natural one which is much stronger than an artificial one." Marie joined in the explanation. "And we recorded during their first mission that he activated his stigma temporarily for a split second so we believe he fully activated the stigma and his body is currently trying to acclimate to it."

That…explained quite a lot actually. It had only been yesterday where they learned of the many details that were associated with stigmas in class. The lesson was very enlightening, especially for Mei as she learned more about the mark she gained on her thigh after her partial Herrscher awakening.

Stigmas were responsible for giving Valkyries the strength to do deeds that normal people could only dream of. Before she had come to St. Freya Mei's strength was quite strong due to her kendo training but she knew it wasn't anything extraordinary. After gaining her new stigma she now had strength to cut through even solid steel with her blade.

But she knew that they were hardly detrimental to someone's health, the only case being if the stigma was incompatible with the person's body. So it was certainly nice to know that Haruto hadn't contracted a fatal disease. "But if you knew this, why didn't you try and activate it when he was back here?" Mei asked.

"While we have created artificial stigmas, they are inferior compared to those of a natural stigma," Asplund explained, a frown growing on his face. "And as you can guess by the progress of our artificial stigmas, we know very little of natural stigmas save that they are able to be passed down by bloodlines."

The white haired scientist motioned to Kiana. "Take our resident Kaslana for example, the stigma that her family is infamous for boosts their strength past what is humanly possible, even for Schicksal's standards. Yet despite that boon and with how essential they are to the effort against the Honkai, we possess more questions about their stigma than we do answers."

The scientist's teal eyes looked back to Mei. "So you ask why we have not prepared for this outcome? Test his stigma to know more about it? It is a simple reasoning, it would be a waste of time and resources."

Asplund's frown turned into a smile as he thought of a better way to simplify the explanation. "Think of it as the same as being placed in a dark room with no lights on and being tasked with completing a puzzle. Why try when you know your efforts will be for naught."

The lab coat wearing scientist then spread his arms out in a show of triumph. "But by waiting for his stigma to activate naturally, a slight light has been lit in that dark room and with it we can now make small, but meaningful progress, in uncovering the secrets of Haruto's mystery stigma."

"But we must take things one step at a time," Marie interrupted her boss's enthusiastic spiel, ever being the voice of reason. "And that means our first step is ensuring that Haruto-san's condition will not deteriorate any further."

With that everyone present in the room nodded with newfound determination, each one ready to do whatever they needed to do in order to make sure Haruto didn't get any worse.

After the explanation the two scientists went to take some more tests from Haruto and everyone else began to talk amongst themselves to figure out what everyone would be doing.

But Mei was doing something different as she was all by herself outside the 6th Valkyrja's Dorm Room. The reason why she was alone and not with everyone else was because she was calling someone who she believed had experience with taking care of a sick Haruto, and as such would know how to approach this situation.

It took a few seconds of ringing before her call was picked up.

"I swear to all that is good and pure in the world," Akane's voice came out on the other side of the phone call. "If I get another word about paying some sort of insurance for your lost possessions Mr. Ferguson then so help me-"

"Akane-san?" She interrupted before Haruto's grandmother could complete her sentence. "It's me, Mei."

"Mei?!" The woman called out in shock, not at all expecting a call from the Raiden heiress. "Holy shit I was not expecting this, how are you doing in St. Freya?!"

"Good, everything's been going fine for me here." She smiled hearing the words of someone she considered like a second mother. Haruto's grandmother might not have the mannerisms or etiquette one might expect for a mother, but Mei quickly learned that the senior really did care about those she loved. "However I wanted to inform you of something that has happened to Haruto."

She then told her about how her grandson had gotten sick suddenly and was currently bedridden. As she explained the details about his condition Akane listened with rapt attention, merely giving soft sounds of confirmation that she was taking this matter very seriously.

When Mei finished she expected worry from the red haired woman, to hear fear for her grandson's condition.

What she was not expecting was for her to suddenly start laughing.

"So he got sick again," She chuckled. "Oh he's not going to be happy when he gets better."

That was not the answer Mei had been expecting. "Does Haruto not like getting sick?" She confusedly asked.

"No it's not necessarily that he hates getting sick, it's kind of hard to get mad at something that's bound to happen to everyone." Akane told her. "Rather he hates what his body does when he gets sick…"

That only confused the Valkyrie in training even more. "What do you-!"

But before she could finish her question a sudden scream reverberated through the building, a scream that sounded a lot like Kiana's.

"KYAAH!"

Before Mei could even question what was happening inside the dorm room, Akane was laughing out loud as she had even heard that from her side of the call. "I'm guessing it's already happening." She said with a nostalgic tone in her voice. "It's nothing to worry about but… do have fun Mei."

"...Eh?" Was all Mei could say before the older woman ended the call on that mysterious note.

She was very tempted to call the woman back and ask what she meant by those final words but the dark purple haired girl had a feeling that she wouldn't get a clear answer back. Which meant the only thing she could do was walk back inside the dorm and find that answer for herself.

Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself for any possible situation that could happen, Mei re-entered the dorm room and made her way back to Haruto's room. When she walked inside nothing, and I mean nothing, could've prepared her for what she saw.

Everyone else present was also feeling the same thing as they all watched with varying degrees of surprise and shock at what was playing out in front of them. The only one who wasn't reacting the same as everybody else was Kiana and that was because she was a part of the scene, her face a vibrant red as she turned her head to look at the reason why she was so flustered

For it was none other than Haruto Nakamura, his arms embracing the girl's waist with a surprising degree of strength as he confined the white haired girl to his bed . "So warm!" He cooed childishly before he nuzzled his face into the girl's back, drawing a surprised yelp from Kiana.

"H-Haruto?" Mei couldn't believe just how…different her red haired friend was acting right now. To see him acting so…affectionately had her questioning if the person in front of her was indeed Haruto.

"Mei-san!" Upon hearing her voice he moved his face from nuzzling Kiana's back to look at her, his hazel eyes and expression brightening up as if he was a child in a candy store. "What are you doing here?"

The dark purple haired girl opened her mouth to give him an answer but no words came out as she was still in the midst of trying to process Haruto's peculiar behavior. The bizarreness of the situation only grew when he took note of everyone present in the room, his expression somehow brightening even more.

"Are we having a sleepover?!" He asked excitedly.

Directing his attention to Himeko, his expression turning to that of pleading. "Auntie, can we get some ice cream then?"

At such a casual use of calling her 'auntie', Himeko eyes widened in surprise before she adopted an exasperated expression. "I am in no way prepared for this."

As Haruto continued to show off his new strange behavior Asplund was watching all of this go down from the background, his teal eyes taking note of every interaction. Soon a knowing smirk grew on his face. "Hmm I think I know what's going on here."

His words drew the attention of everyone, watching as they saw the scientist begin to walk forward and give his theory. "According to Sigmund Freud, human actions are determined by one's desires, the id, and one's reason, the ego. Human instincts produce the desires of the id while it's the duty of the ego to act as a brake that suppresses those desires. However, if the ability to think, which is the source of ego, is lost for any reason, the person becomes a beast that acts according to the id."

Everyone gave the pudding loving scientist looks of utter confusion, not understanding a single thing he had just said. Seeing the looks of bewilderment all over the room, Marie coughed into her hand to summarize what her boss had just said as she realized what he was trying to say. "In other words the person becomes a simpleton."

"Ah." Everyone said simultaneously, going from clueless to understanding within a single second from that simple explanation.

Asplund didn't look at all offended that no one understood what he had just said as he continued on with his theory. "And since Haruto is one to always be thinking, the effect is much more profound." Walking over to the red headed teenager the white haired scientist began to pat him on the head. Normally one would be annoyed by such an action but the teenager simply began to laugh joyously at the action, even leaning more into the touch.

"Haruto may look awake but at the moment he's probably perceiving this as one giant fever dream, unable to make the distinction that he is in fact awake."

"He'll probably have no recollection of whatever he does today…" They all looked at him still hugging Kiana and made a silent vow to never mention the events of this day to him, lest he die from embarrassment.

Though it was also unanimously silently decided that they save some evidence of this day's events as well for…reasons that will not be named.

"U-Uh Haruto?" Keji spoke up as he motioned to the girl Haruto still had in his iron grasp. "Maybe you should let go of Kiana now?"

"..." The red haired teenager stared blankly at his friend, engaging in a staring contest with him as his hazel eyes stared into Keji's green eyes, before pulling Kiana's body closer to him. "No." Was his simple and blunt answer.

"You idiot Keji nii-chan, that's not how you do it." Sora admonished before she walked over to Haruto's bedside. Mei watched as the pink haired child dramatically took in a deep breath and exhaled before she threw her arms out as wide as she could.

"Can I get a hug Haruto nii-chan!"

"Hugs!" Letting go of Kiana, who quickly scrambled for freedom the moment he lessened his hold on her, Haruto opened his arms up and cuddled Sora close to his body.

"I like this nii-chan better." The pink haired child shamelessly admitted as she reciprocated her older brother's affectionate cuddling.

Everyone smiled at the cute and affectionate moment the two were having but Theresa quickly drew everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "While he may not be in any critical danger it's better to be safe than sorry." The petite principal looked to everyone present. "So that is why everyone will be taking a shift to watch over Haruto just in case something happens."

Her blue eyes moved to where the 5th Valkyrja Squad was. "I know you three care deeply about Haruto so I am giving you the option to skip today's classes in order to look after him. However, know that you will still have to make up any work that you might miss out on."

"That's fine Theresa-sama," Mei voiced what her squad was thinking. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't look after Haruto in his sickened state?"

Kiana and Bronya quickly gave their voices of support to which Theresa smiled, knowing that they would agree without hesitation. As they began to discuss what their plan would be, Mei threw a quick glance to Haruto, who had let go of Sora as his eyes began to droop, no doubt about to fall asleep.

"After everything you've done for me, it's my turn to look after you Haruto," The dark purple haired girl vowed to herself, a fire of determination burning within her.

---

It was quickly decided that everyone gets an individual shift to look over Haruto. That way someone was always watching over him and the others could use that free time to complete any work that they had to catch up on.

But Kiana didn't care about those little details because she would get time alone with Haru-senpai!

He might have caught her off guard when he had woken up and hugged her like a teddy bear but this time she was prepared. She would be the one to turn the tables on him and capitalize on this golden opportunity presented to her!

She knew all about these sick episodes from watching anime and knew that they were the cornerstone in making relationships take off. By the end of the day she would have his heart!

IT WAS A FOOL PROOF PLAN!

So when Bratnya was done with her shift and it was her time to watch over him, Kiana was internally cheering at the fact that her shift was around the time it would be lunch…

Which meant that she would be the one responsible for feeding him!

"Haru-senpai!" She announced as she entered the room, a steaming bowl of food in her hands. "It's time for lunch!"

Hearing her voice Haruto moved his head so that he could see her approaching his bed, having woken up midway through Bronya's shift. "L-Lunch?" He sniffled cutely. "What is it?"

"Chicken Soup!" The white haired girl placed the absolutely delicious bowl of hot chicken soup on the table near the bed, ready for her to pick it up and feed Haru-senpai.

The sick teenager looked at the bowl of soup with such scrutiny that it looked as if he was determining if she had brought him a bowl of mud instead. He was silent in his inspection of the innocent chicken soup that after a few seconds of silence Kiana feared something had happened.

However just when she was about to ask what was wrong he suddenly turned to face the other side of the bed and burrowed himself deeper into his blanket.

"I don't want it."

"Eh?!" The Kaslana cried out in shock, not at all understanding his refusal to eat this scrumptious meal. "But Mei-senpai cooked it!" And if Mei-senpai cooked this soup she would've eaten it till not even a speck of it remained!

"Mmm don't want it," He stubbornly held his ground.

Well two could play that game. "But Haru-senpai!" Kiana nudged his shoulder to try and change his mind. "You need to eat something at least!"

Though Kiana may be stubborn and insistent, she would quickly learn that a sick Haruto could be a stubborn wall that was unrelenting to any disagreements. After a few useless minutes of trying to convince him otherwise, the Kaslana knew that she needed to change her strategy or she would lose even more valuable time with him.

"Say Haru-senpai do you want to eat something in particular? If so I'll be sure to bring it to you!" She decided that if she couldn't convince him to eat the soup, then maybe she could go get whatever he wanted to eat.

The white haired girl internally jumped for joy when she saw Haru-senpai move his head back so that he could look up at her in his bundled up state. His brow was cutely furrowed in concentration as he thought of what he wanted to eat and when he came to it he said what he wanted to eat.

"...cake."

"Eh?" Was all Kiana could say to such a bizarre answer.

"I want cake." He reaffirmed, leaving no room for doubt.

"You can't eat cake Haru-senpai! It's bad for you!" She admonished as she tried to convince him otherwise.

"I want cake." He repeated, much to Kiana's dismay as she soon came to the conclusion that asking him what he wanted to eat had turned out to be a very bad decision.

But she couldn't turn back the hands of time so she needed to make the most out of this situation. "…what about this Haru-senpai. If you eat this soup, I'll go buy a slice of cake for you!" She offered.

"…promise?" He pouted and Kiana's heart melted at such an adorable sight. Sick Haru-senpai could be stubborn but he was also so cute at the same time!

The Kaslana brought up her hand and extended her pinky finger out. "Pinky promise." She vowed to him.

The sick teenager freed his own hand from the confines of his blanket cocoon to complete the promise. "Mama and papa say that you go to hell if you break that promise." He said as he interlocked his pinky finger with hers.

In turn Kiana smiled knowingly. "A Kaslana never breaks their promise."

Having her word that she wouldn't break the promise made, a small smile grew on sick Haruto's face. "It's a promise then…Tuna."

…

Did he just call her a Tuna?

Unsure of how to respond to such a strange nickname, Kiana just pushed onward.

With the solidification of the promise, Haru-senpai began to move from his position on the bed so that he would be able to eat the soup without making a mess. While he did that Kiana went to grab the tray that had the still warm bowl of soup and when she made sure her fingers wouldn't burn from holding it she turned around to feed Haru-senpai…

Only to find his blanket had slumped down from hugging his body, revealing that his shirt had some spots in it drenched with sweat.

"Haru-senpai! Your shirt is drenched!" She cried out in alarm at his current state. "You need to take it off or you'll even get more sick!"

"Oh?" He looked down to his shirt, not at all bothered by the fact his shirt was partially drenched in sweat. "Okay then." He casually shrugged…

Before pulling his shirt off, revealing his naked torso to Kiana.

"H-H-Haru-senpai!" She shouted in surprise, not at all expecting that course of action. It was a miracle that she had not dropped the bowl of soup she was holding, even more so when she also managed not to drop a single ounce of soup. Somehow placing the tray back down on the table to avoid making a mess, Kiana looked back to Haru-senpai and began to think how she was going to approach this new situation.

However at the same time her blue eyes unashamedly drank in his appearance. The red haired teenager was by no means super muscular, but she could see that he was nicely filling out in the muscles department.

She wondered what it would feel like if she were to glide her hands over them and-?!

Before she could complete that not so innocent thought the Kaslana was able to bring herself back to reality, shaking her head clear of continuing such thoughts as she could feel her face turn a bright red. Wiping a trail of drool that had unknowingly trailed down the side of her mouth, Kiana tried to retake control of the situation. "W-Why are you naked?!"

"Hmm?" If Haru-senpai looked at all fazed by her embarrassment, he didn't show it. "But you said that I needed to take off my shirt, did I do something wrong?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side in a very adorable manner.

Steam began to erupt from Kiana's ears as she tried her hardest not to squeal at how cute he was acting and to also try and stay in control. "W-W-Well yes b-but…you need to put a shirt on right now!"

Eager to try and get some normalcy in the situation, the white haired Valkyrie in training quickly went to grab a spare shirt and helped Haruto put on. She would neither confirm or deny if she purposely took her time helping him put his shirt on, especially when she needed to pull it down his chest.

When Haruto had on a new shirt, Kiana then proceeded to feed him. "Now say 'Ahh' Haru-senpai!" Getting a spoonful of soup, the white haired girl guided it towards Haru-senpai's mouth and watched as he sipped it up. She was worried that he wouldn't finish the soup but very quickly she would set an empty bowl on the bedside table.

A content look was on the sick teenager's face, no doubt having enjoyed every single drop of Mei's chicken soup, and judging by the way his eyes were beginning to droop it was time for him to go to sleep.

As Kiana watched the red haired teenager settle back into his bed, pulling his blanket over his body, a sudden thought raced through her mind that she couldn't help but blurt out. "Haru-senpai! Aren't you forgetting something?"

"W-Where's my goodbye kiss!"

…

…

What the hell was she thinking?!

Where did this idea for a goodbye kiss come from?! Sure it was completely normal for a kid to ask for a goodbye kiss, and Haru-senpai was technically acting like a sick child so it wouldn't be too far-fetched that it might happen.

The only problem was she hadn't planned for this at all, not at all prepared herself to do it, and most certainly never thought she would blurt it out without a second thought!

And she knew it was such a stupid idea by the blank look Haru-senpai was giving her!

"...A-Actually you know what." Kiana immediately began to downplay what she had just said, desperately trying to come up with an excuse, unaware that Haruto was moving closer to her. "F-F-Forget I said anything, it was just really a dumb idea and-?!" Whatever Kiana's excuse had ready flew out the window when she felt the distinct soft feeling of lips touching her cheek.

But it wasn't exactly on the cheek per say. You see Haruto was still out of it and so when he moved from his spot to give the Kaslana her goodbye kiss he wasn't necessarily aiming correctly.

In reality his kiss landed just a few inches away from the corner of her lips, a few inches away from giving her a kiss that was not what one would classify as a 'goodbye' kiss.

"Goodbye Kiana," His eyes closed shut as he returned back to his bed, not noticing the rapidly growing redness in the white haired girl's cheeks.

"I love you," He murmured out before he fell into a deep sleep.

Stunned, Kiana robotically walked out of Haruto's room, not saying a word as she opened the door handle and left the bedroom. Closing the door behind her, the white haired girl pressed her back against the door before sliding down to the floor, her mind a whirlwind of different thoughts.

Bringing her hands up to her beet red face, her blue eyes were open wide as she processed what had just happened.

Had he been serious when he had said those words or was it just sick Haruto talking instead?! So many emotions were going through her mind right now that she didn't know what she was supposed to be feeling!

On one hand she should've been ecstatic that she had gotten a kiss, an indirect one at that, from Haru-senpai…

But she also felt…flustered by it as well. She knew she wanted it but having gotten it her heart could not help but beat so fast that she feared that it would burst out of her chest. It made her so nervous yet at the same she wanted to jump up and down in joy.

Despite this strange, unknown emotion she was feeling…

It was something that she didn't want to get rid of.

Unbeknownst to Kiana, three pairs of eyes had watched her every action when she had stepped out of Haruto's bedroom. Even now they were watching her internal dilemma with different reactions.

"He strikes again huh?" Keji joked as he watched Kiana's rapidly increasing flustered state with a small smile on his face.

Kuro had a deadpan look in her blue eyes, not wanting to know whatever had happened inside the bedroom.

And finally Sora had stars in her eyes as she saw what was going down. A hand was clenched in excited anticipation as she began to jump excitedly in her spot.

"It's finally happening!"

---

From learning of Haruto's feverish condition, to seeing his almost magical shift in personality, to taking care of him…

It was certainly an interesting day for Mei.

She had little experience in taking care of sick people, but she knew enough from how Ayaka had treated her when she had gotten sick back when she was living in the Raiden Estate.

Some good sleep, some warm food, and company were really all you needed.

After the initial shock that had come from finding out Haruto was sick, not much had happened after. Everyone took their individual shifts to watch over the sick teenager but they didn't do much as he was asleep for most of the day. The times he was awake were very brief as in his current 'child-like' mindset he would make some strange remarks before falling back to sleep.

The only time he was awake longer than a single minute was when it was Kiana-chan's turn to watch over him as she was the one who had to feed him for lunch.

However when she asked the Kaslana what had happened during her shift, something strange occured. Kiana-chan's face suddenly flourished a bright red before she began to stutter about how she just remembered something important and before Mei could ask any further on what that meant the white haired girl quickly left the scene.

She was so caught up in trying to figure out her friend's peculiar behavior that she could not hear the light sounds of snickering coming from the living room.

Other than that nothing eventful happened. Day soon gave way to night and most of the 5th Valkyrja Squad had already returned back to the dorm, with her being the sole exception. The reason for that being was that she had the last shift of watching over Haruto.

From her spot in the kitchen she could see the forms of Layla and Mashu having a conversation about something that revolved around some sort of paperwork that the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps had given them when they had come back from the infirmary. She didn't know what they were working on exactly but she had managed to catch the words 'specifications' and 'Kingsbane Battlesuits'.

"I'm telling you that you should definitely add that to your shield." Layla spoke from her spot on the couch. Around her were various papers filled with sketches and scribbling of info that only the sniper could make out.

Opposite of her Mashu had a hesitant look on her face as the ash blonde and lavender haired Valkyrie in training looked at the paper she had in her hands. "Are you sure? It seems…excessive."

"Pssh are you kidding me! You're gonna look so badass with it!" The sniper encouraged her.

"B-But to add something to my shield would be-!"

"Have you seen Captain's battlesuit? That thing is the perfect example of all the technology that could be used to upgrade our suits." She reminded her teammate.

"...If you think it's a great idea then I suppose nothing could go wrong with adding it-"

"Atta girl!"

"B-But I'm going to get a second opinion from everyone else first!"

"If that's what you believe is best then I won't stop you," The black and green haired girl whistled, probably looking at all the stacks of paper that were messily littered the living room. "Still I can't believe that crazy pudding scientist has so many ideas for our battlesuits."

"Take this one for example," She picked up a paper that was near to her and showed it to her teammate. "Something that would increase my ranged capabilities that could also compensate for my lack of close range options, a 'funnels system'?"

Before she could listen any further to their conversation, someone entered the kitchen. "You know you don't have to dishwash for us Mei-san," Fu Hua had a small smile as she walked right next to the heiress, taking one of the plates that still needed to be cleaned as she joined her.

"It's no problem for me," Mei dismissed as she placed a clean plate on the dryer rack. "The 6th Valkyrja Squad should be making the most of their day off, you did come back from your first mission after all."

"Perhaps for them, but I've been on my own fair share of missions already," The bluish gray haired Valkyrie reminded Mei as she handed her a clean plate. "After a while these missions became routine for me."

The heiress had forgotten that Fu Hua, even if she was a fellow classmate, was already an A-Rank Valkyrie. The Class Monitor probably had already gone on her own missions, probably by herself as well, so this was probably the norm for her now.

No more words were said as a comfortable silence settled around the two of them, just washing dishes and placing them on the drying rack. Mei was not sure how long they spent in the silence but eventually she was the one to break it as she had a question for the experienced Valkyrie.

"Fu Hua-san? I-...I have a question for you."

"Hmm? All you need to do is ask away then Mei-san."

"W-When do you know that you're a Valkyrie?" She asked hesitatingly, wondering if she should even be asking this kind of question. "How do I know if this path is the right one for me?"

Fu Hua stopped washing the plate that was in her hands as she focused all of her attention on her fellow sister in arms. "Did something happen to prompt this kind of question. I know for a fact that you rank quite high in combat class, even with the fact that you've only been here for a week."

A frown appeared on the Class Monitor's face. "Has one of our classmates bullied you? You know that St. Freya is not like Chiba Academy so if that's the case please tell me who I must-".

"No nothing like that!" Mei quickly interrupted. "I-It's just there's this nagging feeling that's been telling me that I shouldn't be a Valkyrie."

The dark purple haired girl didn't have the heart to tell Fu Hua that the 'nagging feeling' was the Herrscher of Thunder's persona. It remained silent most of the time, choosing to let Mei without its influence. But the times it chose to speak with her almost seemed timed, always choosing the most opportune moments to question her.

And to her utter shame it was working. Before she had thought that being a Valkyrie was only the right thing to do…but now?

Now she wasn't so sure about that.

"...Did you know that it was only quite recently that I accepted the path of being a Valkyrie was the best choice for me." Fu Hua admitted, much to Mei's surprise.

"But why?" She asked as she looked at the bluish gray haired Valkyrie in shock, baffled that someone as kind and strong as her didn't think that she was worthy of being a Valkyrie. "Y-You're so strong and everyone looks up to you!"

In response, Fu Hua smiled wryly. "Strength doesn't define if you're a Valkyrie or not, it's the reasoning that does." She looked up to the ceiling with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

"Before I was a Valkyrie I was just a normal school girl, a bit lonely at first, but eventually I found friends that changed how I viewed life. Days I thought that would only be filled with dread became days filled with joyful anticipation. I thought nothing could break the happy life I had found." She then looked back down, this time a somber expression on her face.

"Then the Honkai came and I went from a normal school girl to a Valkyrie that needed to fight against an enemy that humanity could potentially lose to. I've lost many friends in this fight against the Honkai and I suppose somewhere along the way I numbed myself to the joys of living, dedicating my entire existence to eradicating the Honkai."

Mei watched in shocked silence as Fu Hua continued with her story, not at all expecting the A-Rank Valkyrie to have such a tragic backstory. "What changed then?"

"I suppose you could say I found my memories again." A small smile formed on her face. "I remembered all the friends I had and all the joyous moments I had with them. I made a new vow that I would fight to end the Honkai not for revenge, but so that others would have the chance to experience the joys of life like I did."

Fu Hua then turned to look at her. "And I know that the answer to your dilemma is quite close."

The dark purple haired girl cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean by-".

"I believe you should go watch over Haruto now," The Class Monitor interrupted her, a knowing smile on her face. "I can finish over here, go visit him. I'll come pick you up when it's time to go."

The Valkyrie in training really wanted to know what she meant but simply chose to follow through with visiting Haruto, after all it was around the time she should be watching over him as she had just seen Keji finish his shift as he had gone over to talk with Layla and Mashu.

Grabbing a bowl of cold water that had a towel in it, the dark purple haired girl walked over to Haruto's room. Being as quiet as possible she turned the knob of the door and entered the room, careful not to accidentally wake him up.

Though her concern was un-needed as even in the darkness of his room there was enough light from the moon available that she could make out the soft rise and falls of his chest as he slept peacefully.

A small smile grew on Mei's face as she approached Haruto's bedside. It was both a comforting, and adorable, sight to see the red head teenager sleeping so soundly. Why he almost looked like a child who had just had the best day ever, if the soft smile on his face was any indication.

When she arrived at the side of Haruto's bed, Mei gently placed the bowl of cold water on the bedside table before she placed a hand on her sleeping friend's forehead to check his temperature. She frowned when he felt hot to the touch, nothing that was life threatening, but certainly enough to be worried about.

She turned her attention to the towel that was submerged in the bowl of cold water she had brought and proceeded to get it ready to be placed on Haruto's forehead.

And it was at that moment her Herrscher Persona decided to talk.

"Why don't you just be honest with yourself?" The familiar voice said as she wrung the towel in her grasp of any excess water. "It saves the both of us the trouble after all."

"Go back to wherever you came from." Mei internally seethed as she wrung the wet towel with much more force than was needed. "You will not shake up my resolve, not now, not ever."

"And when will you get that I'm on your side." One might expect a persona meant to be a harbinger of destruction to be antagonistic but that wasn't the case here. She was much more…mellow than what Mei would've expected.

But that didn't mean she was going to let down her guard.

"I just want what's best for you."

"And how would you know what's best for me?!" The dark purple haired girl shot back. "Why would I trust anything the Herrscher of Thunder would have for me? You leveled Nagazora and turned it into a wasteland!"

"Watch your tone girl," Though the persona was much more mellow than Mei would have expected, that did not mean it was an innocent little girl. This was a being that could level an entire city with little to no effort. "If I remember correctly it was you who wished for Nagazora's destruction, I merely just fulfilled your wish."

"I only wanted to get back at the people who wronged me!" She argued back. "Not destroy an entire city!"

"Lying to ourselves are we now?" The persona taunted her but just as Mei was about to quip a response back…

"You wonder why you're doubting if being a Valkyrie is right for you? It's really simple…you're not being honest with yourself!"

That threw Mei out of the loop, not at all expecting that answer.

"You keep denying that I may not know what you're going through but you forget that I was born from you, your anger, your desires, your love, they are all a part of me. Or have you forgotten what your dear precious Haruto said about us in Nagazora?"

Anger quickly gave way to denial.

"N-No that's n-not true!"

"Oh? And what about the red haired teenager in question? Do you have any feelings for him then?"

"I-I don't have f-feelings for-!" She tried denying but was cut off when the Herrscher of Thunder sighed out loud in disappointment.

"Ever defiant even when the truth confronts you. Do what you will, this is your body after all," The persona said as the dark purple haired could feel them returning to wherever in her mind it called home. "But a word of advice, you will never find your true path if you continue to be dishonest with yourself." And with that they were gone, leaving Mei alone in her thoughts.

Ignoring the Herrscher personality's final words to the best of her ability, the Valkyrie training decided she would focus on the reason why she was in Haruto's room in the first place. Taking the towel out of the bowl of water, she placed the cold piece of cloth on her friend's forehead.

However the moment the cold fabric of the towel touched his forehead, Haruto's groggy hazel eyes slowly opened up.

"Haruto? Are you feeling better?" She gently asked as the red haired teenager slowly woke up.

His hazel eyes were still unfocused, trying to process where he was and it was clear from the redness in his cheeks that he was still feeling a bit under. Though there were signs that he was feeling better by how his eyes had a bit more clarity as he gave her a small but noticeable yes.

"I'm glad." She genuinely said. This sign of progress all but assured that his fever would be gone by tomorrow morning.

All that would be left to do was to wait till then.

Making sure that he wasn't uncomfortable with the cold towel on his forehead, Mei watched as Haruto's eyes slowly became half-lidded. She called out to him, asking if he wanted to sleep but was surprised when she got no answer in return. Upon closer inspection it looked as if he was awake but in reality was mentally somewhere else.

"Asplund-san did say that he would perceive this as one giant fever dream," Theorized Mei as she stopped her attempts in trying to reach her friend. She knew whether or not she managed to get his attention, Haruto would eventually fall back asleep.

The valkyrie in training decided that she would use this time to catch up on completing her assignments. Taking advantage of the nearby bedside table to complete her work, the heiress worked in silence as Haruto continued stared off into the distance.

She didn't know how long she spent completing her assignments but she had been left undisturbed by the time she finished her last assignment. No one had come by to check up on her or Haruto and when she saw how late it was getting she decided that Haruto no longer needed any more supervision.

After cleaning her things up, Mei decided that she needed to give Haruto one last serving of cold medicine for good measure. Gently coaxing him out of whatever trance he was, the heiress spoonfed the sick teenager without much trouble.

Hazy hazel eyes had moved to look up at her as she spoon fed him his medicine, and as she pulled away she swore she saw a look of longing in his eyes…

No that couldn't be, it was probably her mind playing tricks on her.

"Go back to sleep Haruto," She gently soothed as she stood up from her chair, belongings in hand. "You should feel better by tomorrow morning."

She got no response from him as she made her way to the door, not that she expected one from him in his current state. However she made the mistake of assuming that silence meant he wasn't conscious.

For because the moment she placed her hand on the door's knob…

THUD

The loud bang had her quickly turn her head to see what the cause of that noise was. "H-Haruto?!" Her dark blue eyes widened when she saw that for some reason the sick teenager had gotten out of his bed and was now collapsed on the floor. His face was flushed as he tried to push his sickly body up, but ultimately failed.

"Why did you leave the bed?!" She shouted in concern as she placed down her belongings on the ground and rushed over to him. Why he decided that he needed to get out of the bed now was beyond Mei right now. It made absolutely no sense to her but in his current sick state she knew that it wasn't likely that there was a reasonable explanation.

All she needed to focus on was getting back in his bed and making sure that he hadn't harmed himself from the fall. As she got closer she reached her hand out so that she could help him back to his bed. "We need to get you back up and-!"

However she would soon learn that this wasn't any normal situation as the moment she was close enough Haruto's hand grabbed hers with blinding speed, catching her off guard.

"Haruto what are you…" Mei was about to ask what had taken over him but trailed off when she realized that the arm that grabbed her was trembling. Looking up to his face revealed that tears were beginning trailing down his cheeks.

As the heiress tries to comprehend what was happening, Haruto mutters something. In the confusion of this new situation unfolding Mei almost missed it but was able to understand that he muttered a date of a seemingly random day. She was not sure what to make of it…

And her bewilderment would only grow with what Haruto would say next.

"M-Mama…? P-Papa?" Never had she heard such a broken voice from her friend, never. As a matter of fact she doesn't think she's ever seen him so…vulnerable like this.

He raised his head up and Mei got a full look of his now teary hazel eyes. "W-Where a-are you?" He sobbed.

Mei watched as Haruto lowered his head as tears were visible falling to the ground. "I-I didn't see the truck coming. I-I-I was being careful, not trying to rush but I still didn't see it till the last moment." His body was wracked with sobs as he brought his arms and hugged himself in an attempt of self comfort. "It's so dark here…so cold…"

Mei doesn't know what's happening to her friend, all of it barely making any sense to her, but it's irrelevant as she surges forward without hesitation and hugs him. "It's okay Haruto," She soothes as she rubs circles into her friend's back, hoping her efforts of comfort were getting through to him. "You're not alone anymore, I'm here for you."

To her relief they were getting through as the moment those words left her mouth he sobbed in relief, his arms finding purchase around her body as he continued to cry away his tears from whatever nightmare he was experiencing.

Mei wasn't sure how long they stayed in that position for but she found that she didn't really mind, not even when his tears began to wet her t-shirt. Her friend needed someone to be with him right now and it was only right that she be there for him like he had been back in Nagazora when it felt like the entire world had turned on her.

…And she would never admit it to anyone but being hugged by him felt quite…nice.

Eventually his sobbing turned to sniffles and Mei took that chance to guide the still sick teenager back up and to his bed. "Alright Haruto, let's get you back to your bed." Assisting him back into his bed and making sure that he was comfortable she turned to leave, believing that there would be no more surprises.

It became quickly apparent that was not the case as when she turned to leave he latched onto her arm once again, albeit this time with less speed and force.

"C-Can you stay with me?" He pleaded, looking up at her with an expectant look.

"Me? Get into the bed beside him?!" Was Mei's immediate thought as her cheeks turned a bright red at the invitation. She knew that Haruto wasn't thinking straight, being sick and all, but never did she think he would ever ask something like this of her.

She almost declined his request but promptly remembered the experience that he had just gone through. There was a chance that Haruto might relapse back into it and seeing how he had done something rash during it, Mei didn't want to risk something bad happening.

Which meant she could only choose one option…

"O-Okay then," She embarrassingly stammered out as she slowly joined Haruto on the bed. The sick teenager scooted over so that she could fit on the bed and very soon she was sharing the bed with him. The bed itself wasn't very big so Mei's eyes were staring directly into Haruto's as their faces were but a few inches away from each other.

Embarrassed could not even describe the state Mei was in as she tried not to scream out loud. Even now she was doing everything in her power to not be awkward in her current position.

How had watching over Haruto turned into this?!

Though she supposed that there were little mercies to be found in this situation. Asplund had said that Haruto would most likely never remember the events of today so this embarrassing situation would only be remembered by her, which was a major relief to her as she wasn't sure if she could live with other people knowing of this incident.

However in the midst of her internal dilemma she failed to notice that Haruto had been watching her with an almost intense scrutiny. "Why aren't you sleeping yet?" He asked, breaking her internal thoughts.

As Mei was about to open her mouth to answer him, he apparently came to his own conclusion as to why she hadn't fallen asleep.

"Do you need a goodnight kiss too?"

…

…

EH?!

Completely oblivious to the effects those simple words had on her, and her rapidly reddening face, the red haired teenager smiled as his eyes began to droop…

And without any warning he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. The moment his lips made contact with her skin any form of rational thoughts that might have been in Mei's head promptly flew out the window.

"How cute," He murmured as his eyes closed shut and fell into a deep sleep, but not without saying some final words.

"Goodnight Mei, I love you."

Soon after saying those words he began to snore softly, leaving Mei to try and comprehend what had just happened to her in the span of what felt like a few seconds. There were many times that she had been embarrassed or flustered but without a doubt this took the top spot.

Her cheeks were so red that they almost looked like apples and her mind could barely form even the tiniest fragments of coherent thoughts. The only thing that she could focus on was the lingering sensation of the kiss on the forehead she had just received.

Haruto had just kissed her on the forehead…

He had just kissed her…

HE HAD JUST KISSED HER!

Not to mention that he had just said he 'loved her' but Mei's mind had shut down on itself when the kiss had happened so those words had gone unheard.

In the deep recesses of her mind even her Herrscher Persona had no words to describe what she felt. If she were to have a corporal form at that moment then her cheeks would be as red as an apple just as Mei's were.

Mei really wanted to try and make sense of everything that had happened to her in the span of a couple of minutes, she really did, but while the soul may be willing, the body wasn't.

With how eventful this night had become Mei hadn't realized how tired she had become, only realizing it when her eyes began to droop as the warmth of Haruto's bed enticed her to sleep. Add in the fact that her mind had gone into overdrive over a simple 'goodbye' kiss, all her mind wanted to do right now was rest.

"This…isn't so bad," Was what she thought as she slowly let sleep consume her thoughts,

Though sleep became the last thing on her mind when at the last possible second the door to Haruto's room opened to reveal a smirking Fu Hua.

With speed that even surprised her, Mei shot out of the bed, her mind no longer sleepy. "H-How much did y-you hear!" She demanded, embarrassed.

"Oh nothing much," Fu Hua said, though the look in her eyes said otherwise.

"N-Not a word of this to anyone!" Pleaded Mei, not at all ready for the embarrassment that would come if other people knew.

"You have nothing to fear from me Mei-san, I shall not tell a soul," Fu Hua replied, much to Mei's relief.

"However…" The bluish gray haired Valkyrie trailed off as she took a step to the side, revealing the faces of Layla and Mashu. The timid shielder had a light blush on her face while the spunky sniper had a smirk on her face.

Both expressions were more than a clear indication that they too had also heard what had happened.

It took everything a bit of control within Mei not to scream out loud in embarrassment.

---

I groaned out loud as I slumped my body over the kitchen table, much to the amusement of Layla who snickered at me. "I hate getting sick!" I whined as my entire body ached in discomfort everywhere.

Waking up had felt like coming back from a fever dream, a feeling that I was unfortunate to have been acquainted with already. When I was a young child I had gotten sick and the horrid experience I had to endure made me vow that I would never get sick again.

Which clearly didn't work.

"Remind me never to get sick again." I groaned as Fu Hua walked over to me, gently placing a simmering cup of tea in front of me. Not understanding the gesture I looked up to the A-Rank who merely smiled.

"Hibiscus Tea, it helps with the after effects of being sick and should energize you for our classes today."

Ah yes, the day off that we had been promised had been spent being sick. What a productive way to spend a day.

Giving my thanks to her, I sipped the tea and allowed its energizing properties flow in me. Already I was feeling much better than before, though I was still feeling groggy but I had a feeling that it wouldn't go away till tomorrow.

"Did I miss anything yesterday?" I asked as I finished Fu Hua's tea.

"Oh nothing much," The bluish gray haired Valkyrie nonchalantly dismissed and I would have believed her if I hadn't caught the amused glint in her eyes.

I so desperately wanted to call her out on that lie but I knew that in some way shape or form that it involved sick Haruto and I don't think I was ready for that kind of embarrassment yet. Maybe on another day I would ask her.

Still sick Haruto was something I loathed…and feared.

"I fear him as well," Hyperion spoke in my mind and I wasn't sure if it was my fatigued mind playing tricks on me but I swore I heard…fear in their voice. "Please never get sick again Haruto, I don't want to experience that ever again."

Not sure why Death was talking like they were a survivor of a traumatic experience but I agreed to their plea nonetheless.

Soon Mashu and Sora walked into the kitchen, clothed in their academy uniforms, and after having a quick breakfast the 6th Valkyrja Squad went to go to class. When we left the dorm coincidentally we saw the 5th Valkyrja Squad also making their way to class.

"Mei, Kiana!" I greeted the two with a smile on my face. "Good morning!"

I expected them to return the greeting but what I was not expecting was for both of their cheeks to turn red before promptly turning their heads away from me.

Oh god what had sick Haruto done?

Before I could even begin to wonder what the hell had happened yesterday, thankfully there was a distraction that I could focus my attention on instead.

And said distraction was that Keji was present in the 5th Valkyrja Squad, clothed in the same academy uniform as I was.

"Keji, you're joining as a classmate?" I asked, surprised that the brown haired chess enthusiast was going to be a fellow classmate.

"You act so surprised." Keji smirked as he placed his hands on his hips smugly. "Thought you could get rid of me so easily, but alas I'm not so easily removed!"

"The Bronya overheard that Marie nee-sama wishes Keji to continue his education," Bronya interjected, much to Keji's displeasure as he slumped forward in defeat.

"Well you won't find me complaining, it'll be great to not be the only male student in St. Freya." I revealed, smiling when I saw my friend's face pale at the implication of my words.

"Y-You're joking right? Right?!"

"C'mon everyone we should get going," I deliberately ignored Keji's frantic pleading as I turned around and began to walk to class. It seems that everyone else had the same idea as they too began to walk, leaving Keji to question what he had gotten himself into.

"H-Haruto? HARUTO?!"

---

"Forgive me Theresa, had I known that the 6th Valkyrja Squad would've faced such a threat I would've sent the Immortal Blades in their stead" Otto apologized to his granddaughter in his office at the Schicksal's main floating headquarters.

"It's nothing grandfather," On the other side of the video call he was in, his granddaughter was in her office back at St. Freya Academy. "From what Marie-san has told me the arrival of the angel was so sudden that none of our scanners were able to detect it beforehand."

Resting his elbows on the table, the Overseer of Schicksal interlocked his fingers together before a light smile graced his face. "Give my thanks to Marie and Asplund for me, the discovery of this new honkai beast will be sure to prove beneficiary for our war against the Honkai. I'm pleasantly surprised by the progress his Kingsbane Battlesuit Project had made in such a short amount of time."

"I believe you should be thanking Haruto Nakamura for the success then. After all, he is the user of Asplund's Caliburn Battlesuit." Theresa revealed, much to Otto's surprise.

"Haruto Nakamura you say?" He inquired, already intrigued by the reveal of someone that had once interested him.

"Do you know of him grandfather?"

"I read the file of Kiana Kaslana's kidnapping in Nagazora." Otto partially lied. It would do no good if he revealed to his granddaughter that one of her students had been involved in Rita's mission in Nagazora. "I was not aware that he was attending your academy now."

"He arrived in the Hyperion alongside Kiana Kaslana and Mei Raiden, quite close to them in fact. I initially would've offered him a supporting role but that was before I learned he had a stigma of his own." Theresa revealed, getting an eyebrow raise from the Overseer in light of the revelation that Haruto possessed a stigma. "From Asplund's testimony he's been performing better than expected."

"Is that so…" The point of this message was for him to try and learn more about this 'angel' incident but had now turned into an interesting development regarding someone Otto had once believed to be unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

It was a surprise to be sure that Himeko Murata's nephew played a greater role than he once believed but it was not an unwelcome one. Haruto Nakamura was proving to be a variable whose importance seemingly grew with each passing day.

Now it was time to determine how valuable he would be in his future plans. How would he be able to judge his abilities without casting suspicion on himself? Knowing that he now was a part of the 6th Valkyrja Squad meant that he had Fu Hua as a spy but he liked having more options available to him.

It did not take long for him to formulate a plan and he resisted from showing a smile.

That would work splendidly.

"If I recall," He began, grabbing his granddaughter's attention. "Durandal and her Immortal Blades will be holding a training exercise quite soon. I do not believe she or Rita would mind if there were a few extra people to join them."

Theresa's surprised reaction was exactly what he expected his proposition would have. "Are you sure grandfather?"

Her surprise was not strange as the two of them knew that it was extremely difficult for even some of the renowned Valkryja Squads to even be invited to an Immortal Blades exercise. Not that Durandal held bad opinions of her fellow sister in arms, quite the opposite in fact, but she took things seriously when it came to training.

"Think of it as a way to make up for the 6th Valkyrja Squad." He offered. "I'm sure that the experience of training alongside Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie will."

"If that is what you're offering then I have no choice but to accept it." Theresa smiled, no doubt happy that her students would be getting access to the best training Schicksal had to offer. "I'm sure that Asplund will be overjoyed by this."

He smirked as he himself was happy with this outcome. "I'm sure he will." On the corner of his eye he caught movement and he turned his gaze to see Amber walking into his office.

"Forgive me but Amber has come back from her duties, this is where we say goodbye." Otto smiled as he watched his granddaughter say her goodbyes before ending the call.

"Amber," Now with that out of the way the Overseer looked at his assistant with an expectant look. "What is the progress that our scientists have made in identifying what exactly this angel is?"

"The scientists have made remarkable strides in dissecting the angel." She relayed as she handed him a tablet that had the full report. "However, identifying it with the Previous Era records we possess has proven to be…difficult."

"No surprise there," He mused as he placed one of his elbows on the armrest of his chair, allowing him to rest the side of his face against the propped up arm as his other arm held the tablet. "Those in the Previous Era likened the Honkai to that of God, the amount of biblical references in our records is astounding."

Scanning through the reported information he knew that his initial theory that this was a special honkai beast was not misplaced. Even with only having a day to study it, his team had already found numerous differences that put this angel above the typical honkai beasts that they dealt with.

But that was not enough. Otto knew that this honkai angel appearing was not random, no there was a reason why it had shown up and he intended to find out why.

"Forward me all the data that our scientists have on the angel, regardless whether it is factual or not." The Overseer of Schicksal ordered. "I will look into the identity of our mystery angel myself."

"As you wish, Overseer." Amber nodded as she went to complete her newest objective.

And so that's how Otto Apocalypse spent his day, cooped up in his office as he poured over every Previous Era record that they possessed. He knew that it was most likely that he would not find the answer he was looking for that day, or even this week. Every record had to be treated with equal importance.

There was also the possibility that they had no records that would give him the answer he sought. After all there was so much information about the Previous Era that he did not know of and had been lost to the ravages of time.

However…

"Oh?" The light of the sun had given way to rays of the moon when Otto had come across a very promising record. One might think that after countless hours of searching that his mind was playing tricks on him but not this time.

For this record had a picture of a near perfect copy of the Angel, or Virtue as they were apparently called, that Schicksal was currently dissecting.

"Perhaps Lady Luck has finally blessed me." The man smiled before he opened the record and began to read it, absorbing all the information presented to him. The record was a report that the Fire Moths had on these Virtues, detailing everything that they had discovered about this honkai beast variant.

It contained a plethora of useful information, information Otto knew would benefit not only Schicksal's goals but also his own.

However when he got closer to the end of the report, that good news slowly turned into bad news. It was evident by the seeming shift in tone the writer of the report underwent as it went from a professional detailing to a seemingly personal, harrowing, experience.

And when he read what this 'experience' was, his eyes narrowed at what it read.

With Each Victory Against The Herrschers, We Believed That It Was Only A Matter Of Time Till Humanity Prevailed.

Until That Fateful Day Where We Learned That Was Not The Case.

That Day We Learned That We Were Woefully Ignorant Of The True Power Of The Honkai.

The Sky Suddenly Became Bathed In A Golden, Heavenly Light And A Sea Of Angels Descended From The Very Heavens Themselves To Cast Their Judgment On Us.

At the bottom of the report was one last image, an image that could send terror to someone as ruthless as the Overseer of Schicksal.

The image in question was a picture that was probably taken by the writer of the report. It showed darkened skies with a heavenly light piercing through them. Virtues of different sizes and appearances descending, really depicting the image of angels coming to deliver the judgment of God.

But that was not what the main focus of this image was.

However We Quickly Learned That The Angels Were Not The Ones We Would Fear.

No, They Were Simply The Vanguard For Our Judgment.

For at the bottom of the image was the real source of terror that Otto was experiencing.

At the bottom of the image was a single woman. Dressed in clothes one would find on a nun, the only thing that stood out from this individual was the metal-like crown that covered her eyes. Yet despite that her eyes were covered it felt as if one could tell what emotions this nun was conveying as she looked directly at the camera, her ash-white hair billowing in the wind.

For They Heralded The Arrival Of The Envoy That Marked The Beginning Of Our End.

How could he not feel terror at the sight of this being?

For this very being might've very well been the reason why humanity lost their first war against the Honkai.

The Herrscher Of Binding.

---

Dun Dun DUN!

If the ending of this chapter hadn't already clued you in, this story goes into a heavy canon divergence. Most of the canon events will still happen, but as you can tell by the intro of Herrscher of Binding it will be done my way.

You have all been warned, though I'm sure most of you already knew this.

How did you like the little romantic chapter I had for Haruto, Mei, and Kiana? I'm sure most of you figured out what anime this chapter was inspired by. How can you go wrong with it?

It's my first time writing a sick character so how did I do? I hope that while reading the chapter you were all like 'oh this is a cute and wholesome chapter' then at the end BAM!

I did say that this chapter would be great for all the good and bad reasons XD. And before anyone asks no this is not Aponia.

Sorry for the late update, last week was hectic for me as that was Final's week for me.

Am I back to one week updates? Hmm Idk yet but it could be possible. However it could vary cause I have a life to live and trying to update weekly chapters this size can get really tiring.

I wanted your feedback on the story so far, do you guys want me to focus more on St. Freya as opposed to what we have going on right now? I did the majority of the school ideas at Chiba Academy and feel as if I attempted it in St. Freya it would just be repetitive.

What do you all think?

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. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.

Peace!