Disclaimer: I do not own Honkai Impact 3rd, anything related to miHoYo, or any other fictional media referenced in the story.
I only own my OCs.
Honkai Impact 3rd: Next Reality
Chapter 2: A New, Forced Life
Date: July 18th, 2553
"For the last time, I am not joining Schicksal!" Tendou yelled.
After hearing his yell, Professor Sarah could only sigh in agony. The man was being extremely stubborn and was resisting a lifetime opportunity.
"Damn it Tendou, how many times are we gonna have to go through this!" Sarah loudly argued back. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Someone does not easily become a Valkyrie. We don't just pick someone up and say "Oh you're a Valkyrie now.". That's not how that works." She lectured to Tendou. "There are so many people who would wish to be you right now."
"So many people are willing to give everything to become a Valkyrie, and you decide to give the free pass to someone who doesn't want to become one?" Tendou raised an eyebrow out of disbelief. "I can't help but feel like this is all part of an elaborate plan."
"Oh my fucking…." Sarah swore under her breath. "Let's just talk about this later. We gotta get to the city." The Professor looked out at the window.
"Fine. Let's go then." Tendou headed for the door.
"Wait!" Sarah reached out to him. "Take a shower first." She pointed to the bathroom. "You absolutely stink. We can't have you roaming the streets while reeking of body oder."
Tendou lifted up his rags and gave himself a sniff. After getting a whaft of himself, the man only raised his shoulders.
"I don't smell like anything to me." He said.
"That's because you can't smell your own body odor." Sarah pushed him towards the bathroom. "You've been reeking your entire room with your foul smell. Take a shower."
"Fine." Tendou said as he opened the door to the bathroom.
The tall man entered the bathroom to get rid of his smell. Professor Sarah waited outside for a few seconds before remembering something. Tendou didn't have any fresh pair of clothes currently. He couldn't change back into the rags that he had as they were infected with his odor. Quickly, she left Tendou's room and headed for the elevator. Besides his lack of clothing, there was another problem. Sarah had to actually find someone that even had clothes to fit him. Tendou was taller than the average Valkyrie and his body shape was also an abnormality amongst them.
"Who do I go to?" Sarah grasped her lower face. "The only one who's close to his height is the Overseer, but I don't recall if the Overseer is as bulky….I don't think he's even bulky in the first place." The Professor raised her eyebrows. "Well, he's the best I got."
The elevator descended downwards to the main floor. Professor Sarah barged out of the elevator and the dorm building. She entered the campus grounds, passing by many students of the academy. Being a professor, Sarah was easily recognizable, and as she continued sprinting towards the main building, many Valkyries waved and greeted her as she continued passing by.
"Hello, hey, hi!" Sarah quickly spouted as she passed many of the students.
After a few more minutes, the Professor made it to the main Schicksal building, the tallest building within Crescent City. Sarah made her way towards the elevator and headed for the top floor, where the Overseer's office was located. Once the elevator closed, she harshly leaned back against the walls, heavily exhausted from her sprint. Her sprinting, combined with her clothing, and the hot summer weather made her drenched across her body. Thankfully, the elevators had air conditioning, something that Sarah reveled in as she made her way up.
"I hope he's in his office." Sarah whispered. "He's never there every time I visit him."
*DING*
The elevator door opened up to the top floor. The Professor quickly made her way out, and headed towards the office. The hallway of the upper floor was quite empty. There were only a few rooms, mostly belonging to Otto and his needs. Sarah went over to the door leading to his office, giving it a quick knock. No response. The Professor tried again, and got zero responses.
"I should have known that he was gone." Sarah said disappointingly.
She quickly turned around to walk away, but as she turned, the door opened. Sarah turned herself back to the door, an expression of relief on her face.
"Overseer! Sorry for bothering-."
Sarah's expression of relief would hastily turn to shock as she would face the Overseer.
"Sarah! What are you here for?" Otto asked gleefully.
The Professor could only freeze as she would witness Otto donning on a maid outfit. That's right, a maid outfit. The weirdest part, Otto looked content with the maid dress.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?" The Overseer asked.
"Of course there's something wrong!" Sarah bursted. "What the hell are you wearing?! No, wait, why the hell are you wearing that?!" She rudely pointed at him.
"Ah, the maid outfit?" He lifted up a piece of the outfit. "Reshia is currently away for something, so I have no one to do housework in the office. In that case, I decided to do it myself."
"Okay, but you didn't need to wear the maid outfit! And where did you even get one for your size in the first place?"
"Correct, but I thought that I should don one on anyways to make the experience more immersive."
"How does that-, never mind!" Sarah yelled. "Point is, I need some clothes." Sarah told Otto.
"I see. Well, I have another set of maid clothing if you-."
"Normal Clothing!" She bursted back.
"Alright, I got the memo. Just give me a second." The Overseer lightly laughed.
The Overseer closed the door in front of Sarah, and returned back a few seconds later. He gave the Professor a white button-up, a pair of jeans, and a white boxer brief.
"So what's with the pair of clothing?" The Overseer asked.
"It's for Tendou. He's gonna need some spare clothing once he gets out of the shower." Sarah answered his question.
"I see…who's Tendou?" Otto asked Sarah.
Sarah paused for a moment before she left.
"Ah, that's right. It's him." Sarah told him. "You know, him, as in the man we picked up earlier."
Otto's eyes raised up with a hint of confusion at first, before he closed his eyes, his mouth curling to a grin. He knew exactly who Sarah was talking about.
"Ah, I see now." The Overseer replied. "Well, I suppose you don't have much time on your hands. How is he with the recruitment process?" He questioned.
"Not budging." Sarah replied. "He's not willing to join the faction, not after Kathlynn made a terrible first impression by shooting him."
"Kathlynn did that?" Otto asked. "That's not good. Krystal won't be happy."
"Anyways, I gotta go." Sarah left in a quick hurry.
"Wait, hold on-, and there she goes." Otto sighed. "Welp, back to maid duties."
Sarah quickly ran down to the elevators and headed back down to the first floor of the main building with a pair of clothes from Otto. The elevator descended downwards the building. As the elevator made its descent, Professor Sarah pondered on about Tendou.
"What happened?" She whispered to herself. "How did the Overseer manage to get him back within our grasp? Most importantly, how did she get repressed?"
The elevator made it to the first floor. Sarah made a mad sprint towards the dormitory. With how long she took to get to the Overseer in the first place, plus the short conversation she had with him, Tendou probably finished with his shower by now. The poor man was probably waiting for his clothes by now. The thought made Sarah try to run faster to his room, ignoring everyone that tried to call to her. The Professor would make it to the dorm, and thankfully, the elevator was open just for her. She quickly pressed the button to the highest floor, closing the elevator immediately so that she could get back to Tendou as quickly as possible.
"How long have I been gone for?" Sarah wondered. "Surely he should be out of the shower by now."
*DING*
The elevator opened. Professor Sarah walked over to Tendou's room, which was the only room on this floor for some odd reason. She pulled out the card to his room, scanning it over the door and unlocking it. When Sarah entered the room, Tendou was already out of the shower, covered in a towel, and just a towel. Despite having the important area covered, the Professor still averted her eyes. She tossed the pair of clothes over to Tendou, leaving the room quickly.
"Once you're dressed, get out. We got to go to the city." Sarah made her voice loud and clear.
A few minutes passed as Professor Sarah waited outside for Tendou to get into his borrowed pair of clothes. The tall man finally exited the room, wearing some actual clothes now. Thankfully, Otto's clothes were able to fit Tendou, though it wasn't a perfect match.
"Was this the best you can get?" Tendou asked Sarah. "The sleeves are really hugging against my arm, and it's hard to move them around."
The sleeves were practically creasing around his biceps, and the buttons near the top were being pulled more than they should be. The only thing that was close to perfect was that it was able to cover Tendou's entire top half. The pants were pretty much the same deal, luckily being able to cover Tendou's leg.
"Yep, this was the only thing." Professor Sarah answered. "Barely anyone here is as tall as you, let alone share the same body. I just had to get whatever worked for today. Although….."
Sarah looked at the very bottom, looking at Tendou's feet. His shoes were really worn out, looking as if they could rip at any moment. She forgot to ask the Overseer for a pair of shoes.
"I forgot to grab you something comfortable and proper for your feet. Your shoes stand out like a sore thumb." The Professor painfully inhaled. "Let's just hope we don't meet anyone with a foot fetish."
Professor Sarah headed towards the elevator, waving to Tendou to do the same, which he followed. Once in the elevator, the two headed down to the first floor.
"So, let's recap the plan." Sarah lifted up a fist on her left and a finger on her right. "We have to get you some clothes for yourself." She lifted a finger on her left and gently slammed her right onto it. "Then we have to give you a bank account to store your income." She continued. "There's also the school tour, and finally, I think it's just some food along the way, or is it?" Sarah scratched her head. "…Ah, right. A phone for communication."
"And why exactly are you buying all of this stuff for me?" Tendou asked.
"Do I need to explain?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"On my fucking life, how many times do I have to tell you?!"
Sarah reached her hands, fiercely grabbing Tendou by the collar. The Professor was getting tired of dealing with Tendou's whining.
"Tendou, just listen to me." Sarah said. "I understand that you got shot by one of our Valkyries. I can understand that you have a sour opinion of us. However, we need you." Sarah tried to convince him. "I know you just woke up, and you're confused, and you have no idea what the hell is going on in this world, correct?"
Tendou could only grimace at Sarah due to the fact that she was pretty much right. He woke up in a destroyed Arastan City, with no recollection of anything. Would he have a better judgment of a situation than…..well, anyone? Can he consider himself in the right when he had no clue of anything?
"This world is in a worse state than you think it is." the Professor told Tendou. "Arastan City was just something light compared to everything else. The world is desperate to defeat the Honkai, and we need everyone we can. If you don't join, do you know the amount of innocent lives lost without you there to prevent it?"
Tendou looked down at the smaller Professor, eyes widened as he looked at her with a pissed expression.
"Oh, so that's how it is?" He growled at her. "You're just gonna force the responsibly of the lives of others into someone who has no fucking clue of anything, not even himself?!" He grabbed the Professor's wrist, taking it off. "I can't tell if I'm supposed to be someone special that you want to keep, or you're just forcing an ultimatum on me. Maybe both at this point!"
Professor Sarah retracted her wrist back to her side. She was clearly angry, but also a bit saddened. Forcing him was not something she wanted to do, but this was her duty.
"Can we just ignore this for now?" Sarah was clearly tired of this debacle.
Tendou let out an angry breath, but he ultimately shut his own mouth. Even he didn't want to think of this now.
The elevator hit the first floor. Professor Sarah led Tendou out of the dorm, and into the main campus of Saint Freya Academy. Just like when Professor Sarah was out earlier, there were many students around the campus, with the majority being female. Some were just hanging around on school grounds, hiding under the shades of the trees as they enjoyed their lunch, while others were just walking around and chatting. As Tendou spectated the Valkyries, he received a huge migraine. His head ached momentarily, and his outer vision was surrounded by red. He grasped his head in pain, but a few seconds later, the pain had vanished.
"Tendou, something wrong?" Professor Sarah asked him.
"Huh, uh, no?" He answered.
"That wasn't confident." The Professor noted.
"Whatever, just continue on." He let out.
"Okay then…" The Professor grew skeptical.
The Professor and Tendou walked into the main school building. The building consisted of 4 floors, all of which housed many rooms to different classes. The individual classrooms were nothing too impressive on their own. They were just classrooms with some desks. The only rooms that were particularly special were the battle training rooms due to their higher-tech needs.
The true appeal of the academy building was its aesthetics. The walls of the school were primarily glass, allowing some light to easily enter and enlighten the school. Similarly, all of the classrooms were made of glass walls too. The building itself did not resemble a normal academy. Its architecture made it look more like a cathedral, especially the roof of the building which had triangular pillars similar to one. The floors were also massively large on their own, most likely to compensate for the lesser amount of floors when compared to other buildings.
"So this is the school?" Tendou looked all over the interior.
The tall man would gaze by every room, hallway, and glass walls he passed. It was honestly a bit much for him since his eyes would mainly be attracted towards the minor reflective parts of the glass, which hurt his head a bit.
"Yes." Professor Sarah plainly answered. "This is Saint Freya Academy. As you can see, we are divided into four floors. They're pretty much identical in terms of layout, though there are a few differences on each floor." She explained. "We have a lot of students here, primarily around 18 years old, though we have some that lurk around 15 and 16, while some are older at around 23. After all, the academy does offer both high school and university courses alongside our Valkyrie like I've said earlier."
The two would continue walking around the academy. Many students didn't really pay attention to either of the two. They just carried on with their day, not paying attention to Tendou or Sarah. The Professor would continue leading Tendou around the school.
"This room right here…." She pointed towards a classroom. "Is my classroom, where I teach Biology. Normally, I'd be here preparing a lesson for my students, but since I'll be taking you around the city, someone else will be subbing in for me." Sarah explained. "Honestly, I'm thankful to get out of the classroom once in a while. The Valkyries here can be wild."
"How wild?" Tendou asked curiously.
"A lot of inappropriate behavior, filthy pranks, and just outright noise chaos." Professor Sarah listed. "Mainly happens the second I step out of the room, but there are still occurrences of Valkyries picking on other Valkyries, mainly higher ranking ones picking on the rookies. Reminds me…"
The Professor walked away from her room, closing the door shut. The two would walk over to a set of stairs, ascending up to the next level.
"The Valkyries here are split within rankings." Professor Sarah began explaining. "The lowest ranking is D, followed by C, then B, then A, and the highest rank of S. The higher ranks, usually A and S Rank, love to pick on the lower ranks, predominantly D and C Ranks. The picking usually ranges from just teasing from a senior-to-junior perspective, or just flat out torment." The Professor let out a breath. "Just a heads up."
"Is there really a big difference to cause such behavior?" Tendou asked curiously.
"There was. Keyword, WAS." The Professor took the final step to the 2nd floor. "D and C Ranks were never sent out to combat duty. You wouldn't be sent out to combat until you reach the rank of B. D ranks were mainly subjected to janitorial duties within the airships while C Ranks were mainly to provide medical support." She gave a synopsis. "It wasn't until the last 20 years that we started to send them out on the battlefield."
"What caused the change?"
"Well, the Honkai have been ramping up their numbers, and we just simply needed the manpower in numbers."
The two would roam around the 2nd floor for a while. The two would stop as a mob of people would slowly approach their direction. Along with the mob was a lot of talking.
"Kathlynn, how was the mission?" A voice asked her.
Tendou would turn his head towards the group of people. There were a lot of Valkyries that were currently swarming a girl with white hair, a girl that Tendou would immediately recognize.
"Did you find the Herrscher?" They asked her. "Did you kick its ass?"
"Calm down." Kathlynn chuckled. "I didn't fight a Herrscher at all. I may be strong, but I'm not capable of fighting one yet." She softly waved her friends.
"Don't say that!" Someone yelled. "Have you seen yourself in combat? You're like a goddess!"
"Please, I'm nowhere near that." Kathlynn laughed. "Besides, have you seen all the stuff Herrschers can do? To them, I'm just a sewer rat."
"And you would be right, you are a sewer rat!" A voice called out from far away.
"Oh no, not again!" Sarah quickly directed her attention towards another person.
Another person with their own group of people walked up to Kathlynn. Upon meeting their gaze, the groups began violently shouting at each other.
"What the hell is going on?" Tendou looked at both sides of the commotion.
"It's always like this with one of the family members!" The Professor was aggravated. "Give me a moment Tendou. Let me just-."
As the Professor tried to stop the two groups, she was blocked off as a circle formed between the two. Tendou, perplexed at the situation, stood by as a bystander and spectated everything that went on.
"Ah, Darwin…" Kathlynn let out a massive sigh.
Darwin was a brunette, taller than Kathlynn by a noticeable amount. With the clothes he had on him, his build was hard to define, but like most Valkyries, it was safe to consider that he was in shape for the job. His brown hair was quite spiky, especially towards the back. He had a small patch of hair covering his right eye.
"Nice to see you belittle yourself just now." Darwin chuckled.
"Heh, as if you could fight a Herrscher." Kathlynn chuckled back. "You really think that achieving the status of S makes you worthy to do so? Please don't bullshit me." She scoffed.
"Is that so?" Darwin raised an eyebrow. "I may not be able to defeat a Herrscher myself, but at least I stand more of a chance!"
"I don't think surviving one extra second is something to be proud of you sack of shit." Kathlynn smirked. "You're just gonna die anyway. What's the point of being proud in that?"
"Hmph. At least our family is able to handle a Herrscher, unlike yours!" Darwin started to raise his voice.
"Coward." Kathlynn developed an antagonizing look. "Bringing your other siblings into an argument just revolving us. I'm surprised you managed to reach the rank of S while still smooching off of Desmond and Yelena."
Kathlynn's last statement broke a nerve within Darwin. A faint sound of him clutching his teeth in anger could be heard as the Valkyrie would reach down to his chest, pressing a button. Starting from the button, a battle suit in the colors of black and neon red would begin to encase all of his body, barring his head. Upon seeing his suit materialize, Kathlynn reacted the same. Pressing a button on her own chest, Kathlynn's own white and neon blue battle suit would materialize. Both would raise their fist up, waiting for the other to strike the first blow. The crowd would move back a bit, giving the fighters some room. They would begin chanting the two to fight. Unfortunately for both Darwin and Kathlynn, none of them would strike the first blow.
*BONK* *BONK*
As she seized the moment when the crowd dispersed a bit, Professor Sarah was able to breach the crowd. Immediately, she whacked both Darwin and Kathlynn on the head.
"Would the both of you please do this somewhere else at a different time?!" The enraged Professor barked at them. "If you choose otherwise, then you can guarantee yourself a trip to Doctor Enmu."
Kathlynn and Darwin looked at the Professor, a slight sense of fear shared between them. Regretfully, both Valkyries turned off their battle suits. Without a word, Kathlynn went her own way with her own crowd while Darwin went his own separate way. Professor Sarah turned back to Tendou, furiously rubbing her temples. The day had barely begun, and she already looked extremely stressed.
"Another reason why I'm thankful for this day." She sighed. "Let's just escape this building and head for the city. I don't want to encounter more shenanigans when we travel up to the other 2 floors." Sarah pointed towards the stairs. "You'll just have to visit the other 2 floors later."
"Ah…right." Tendou snapped out of his confusion. "What the hell was that all about?"
"It's a long…..LONG story." The professor groaned.
Professor Sarah pulled out her phone. There were only a few hours before noon hit. She hadn't eaten anything, and Tendou most likely hasn't either.
"Let's just go to a restaurant." Professor Sarah said. "We should at least start the day by eating something first." She began walking down the stairs.
"Hey, wait! Are you not going to explain anything?" Tendou referred to the long story.
'"Hah. Are you sure you want to listen?" She asked him.
"We have some time, don't we? What else were you gonna talk about?" The man asked.
"…."
As the two entered back into the first floor, Sarah began retelling the long story between Darwin and Kathlynn.
"The two that you saw fighting up there were Kathlynn Kaslana and Darwin Schariac." The Professor began. "Both of them are apart of two separate families, the Kaslana family lineage, and the Schariac family lineage. As you can see, the two families don't get along well." She stated.
"The two families don't get along well? I thought it was just those two." Tendou expressed his thoughts.
"Nope, it's the entire family. If it was just them, then it wouldn't have been as long of a story." Sarah lamented. "See, the Kaslana family lineage and the Schariac family lineage are two of the most well-known family names. The family usually births some of humanity's strongest warriors, which is mainly why they are held in high regards."
The two exited the academy building, making their way towards the campus entrance to enter the city.
"This whole family debacle started about….. 30 years ago? Maybe a bit longer than that." Professor Sarah resumed her explanation. "The Kaslana family and Schariac family never had a bitter relationship. Back when the current heads of each family, Krystal Kaslana and Zachary Schariac, were in their late teens, they were probably the best Valkyries we had, and while they aren't in their prime, their power is not to scoff at." She told Tendou. "The two had a rivalry with each other, though it was a friendly one as they would try to surpass one another, encouraging both of them to become stronger. They never hated each other, but rather appreciated each other."
"I see." Tendou replied. "So what went wrong?"
"Well…" Sarah resumed.
As they both exited the campus, they were fortunate enough to catch a bus that had just arrived. The Professor led the man onto the bus, aiming for the back of the bus, which had the most air conditioning.
"There were two other Valkyries. Kazuto and Yasmine." The Professor continued.
"What do they have to do with this?" Tendou asked.
"They're the whole reason that the family debacle began in the first place." Sarah breathed in. "See, Kazuto and Yasmine were within the same year as Krystal and Zachary. That may not sound important, but just listen. See, Kazuto and Yasmine were also strong Valkyries, but they were most noteworthy for their relationship. The two were a couple, and many saw them as the best couple of the year due to how they paired together."
"Ok, what does this have to do with anything?"
"Be patient." The Professor said. "The two would eventually get married, and even have a child together….but that's where everything went wrong. See, their relationship was not all flowers and joy. During their relationship, Kazuto was also dating Krystal behind Yasmine's back." Sarah revealed.
"Wait. So Kazuto was dating Krystal?" Tendou raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." The Professor said. "Kazuto was dating Krystal behind Yasmine's back, and the only reason why she did was because Kazuto lied about Yasmine secretly cheating on him, so he decided to cheat on her with Krystal. Basically, Kazuto betrayed his bond with Yasmine behind her back." She said. "I wish that was the end, but it wasn't."
Before she could continue, the Professor dragged Tendou off of the bus. The two had arrived at the closest stopping point to the restaurant that Sarah chose to go to. As they got out, she led the man towards the restaurant.
"See, when Kazuto made up that lie…it wasn't actually a lie like he thought. Yasmine also broke that bond as well." She continued. "Behind Kazuto's back, she was also dating Zachary as well." Sarah said. "This eventually culminated in both Kazuto and Yasmine finding out, and it led to the stupidest argument ever. Instead of talking it out like normal people, the two had to get into a fight." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Krystal and Zachary would be brought into this lover's debacle, and they would begin to hate each other as they were fed their own cheater's perspective, and it led to this entire family debacle today."
The two would arrive at the restaurant. They would enter the crowded building, and would, fortunately, be seated right away. The waitress would take the two over to a booth.
"Anything you would like to drink?" They asked.
"Two waters please." Sarah immediately said.
"Sure thing. I'll be back soon. In the meantime, take a look at the menu."
The waitress left, leaving the Professor and Tendou alone. In front of them laid a holographic tablet embedded on the table. Sarah easily operated the tablet, but the newly awoken Tendou did not know what to do. The Professor looked over and sighed.
"Just press on the screen Tendou." Sarah sighed. "Pretty sure you can read what's on them."
"Oh, thanks." He said.
Tendou pressed on the table embedded tablet, causing it to pop up holographically in front of him, slightly startling him. A whole slew of menu sections would pop up for him.
The waitress would come back with their cold refreshments, before leaving again. Thanks to technology, the waiters and waitresses weren't really needed to take orders. They were just simply there to deliver things. Of course, not all restaurants operated like this.
"You mentioned that they had a child right?" Tendou asked
"Yeah." Sarah looked away from the menu. "What about it?"
"Well, what happened to it?" Tendou asked.
The Professor remained silent, staring dead center on Tendou. She was essentially frozen in time as she did not move a single inch. The only movements were her blinking. Tendou was quite uncomfortable with the intense stare.
"Uh, hello?" He called out to Sarah. "Did I ask something wrong?"
Sarah escaped her gaze, shaking her head violently to snap herself back into reality.
"Sorry for that." Sarah mumbled. "Uh….." She grasped her temple. "Uh….the child….he's with Yasmine now. He's currently the eldest of the Schariac family. Funny since he has no bloodties with the Schariacs, but whatever." She let out in a shaking tone.
"Are you alright?" Tendou asked. "You didn't answer that question like you did with the others."
"Sorry, just….not a question I'm comfortable with." Sarah let out a depressing expression. "Anyway, have you ordered something yet?"
"Huh? Uh-!" Tendou quickly scrambled on his tablet. "There!"
Sarah widened her eyes as she looked at Tendou's choice.
"T-Tendou." She stuttered. "Why did you choose that of all things?"
"Huh?" He looked down.
Tendou's finger had pressed ordered on a burger, a very unhealthy one at that. It was a burger that was topped with a crispy cheese mixture of dubliner, parmesan, and pepper jack, a hash brown, bacon, and a fried egg. It probably tasted amazing, but it was very unhealthy.
"Yeah? What's wrong with it?" He asked.
"That's going to severely mess up your body!" Sarah pointed to Tendou.
"H-how exactly?" He asked. "Isn't it just food? I don't see how I would be hurt by it."
"That's gonna heavily ruin your physique." She stated. "It won't cause an immense shift, but…..forget it." Sarah gave up explaining."You'll learn…..hopefully."
The two waited several minutes. The diner was loud and noisy, though the two didn't contribute to any of it. Both remained silent to themselves. Tendou's eyes wandered around the entire restaurant, watching as people happily chatted, laughed, and have a great time. The atmosphere just inside of this restaurant was already so different from what Tendou woke up to. It was pretty much the complete opposite. Instead of corpses, there were actual live people just enjoying themselves.
A few minutes passed, and the waitress came back with their food. She simply put down their entrees before leaving immediately.
"Alright, food's here." Sarah rolled up her sleeves.
Without much talking, Sarah dug into her food, which was just a steak with some greens. The Professor ate her food formally, as many people would. Tendou was a different case. The man had no manners whatsoever. He dug into the food like a boar. He wasn't necessarily so hungry, just a lack of manners. His social manners would definitely catch the attention of the Professor sitting across from him.
"Tendou!" She scolded. "Please don't tell me that you lost your manners as well." The Professor sighed.
The man was initially confused, though by interpreting the tone of the Professor, he could clearly feel that he did something wrong.
"I apologize." He set down his burger.
By then, he had already finished about half of the burger. While efficient on time, he did make a slight mess of himself. His mouth was completely covered with juices and grease from the burger, and some of the mess even dripped onto the pair of clothes lent to him by the Overseer. Sarah pulled a wad of napkins from a nearby dispenser, tossing them to Tendou.
"Please wipe yourself clean." She said.
The man took the napkins, wiping the mess clean from his face, and then the shirt. The Professor could only shake her head.
"We're gonna have to wash that before we return it to the Overseer." She said. "Go back to eating, but don't make a fool of yourself please."
The two resumed back to consuming their entrees. Tendou took himself more carefully with his meal, maybe a bit too carefully. Regardless, the two enjoyed their ordered meals. The Professor tapped on her tablet, bringing up the menu again. She slid the screen across a bit before stopping at the payment tab. There, she paid for both her and Tendou. Sarah took a few seconds to make her payment. Once paid, she closed the holographic screen, getting up from her seat, and leaving.
"Come on Tendou." The Professor waved her hand. "Let's go get you some clothes."
Tendou quickly followed the Professor out of the restaurant. Once outside, Professor Sarah skipped the bus stop, opting to walk all the way to the next location. Crescent City was crowded to the brim, just as Tendou saw back in the dorm. It was actually difficult to walk around without bumping into someone, made harder when you are bigger. Similar to the restaurant, the city was filled with life. There were people walking around with friends, family, or colleagues, just chatting and enjoying the day.
"Is this what it's like every day?" Tendou wondered.
"Pretty much." Sarah looked behind at him. "The city has a constant amount of people roaming around. People live here without immense worry, considering that we're probably inside the most safeguarded city." She pointed out the fact. "The city is the base to Schicksal's main operation base, and home of the Valkyries. Civilians are able to live here without much care other than financial issues."
While the man was listening, most of his attention was mostly attracted to the city as a whole. Just seeing things go right…it left a warm feeling inside the man.
After walking for several, and several of minutes, the two finally arrived at the mall. As expected, there were many people around the mall. The two walked up towards the entrance, before Sarah stopped as she met someone with a familiar face.
"Krystal!" The Professor ran forward.
The figure that Sarah ran up to, turned around. The woman looked mature, probably aided by her outfit, which was an elegant white dress. She also wore a beautiful white hat, which blended well with her long white hair, which was tied into a decorative braid. To top off her fancy look, she had a silky white scarf. When Sarah came up to her, the woman's blue eyes lit up. She screamed for joy, also running towards Sarah.
"Sarah!" Krystal yelled back.
The two collided together in a hug, holding each other for a few seconds. Tendou stood on the sides, blinking a few times. It perplexed him to see Sarah have a sudden change of mood, seeing as how she mostly acted stoic and serious.
"Krystal, I didn't expect to meet you here!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Me neither!" Krystal yelled. "I thought you were supposed to be teaching. Why are you here?" Krystal blinked a few times.
"Ah, I'm supposed to be giving the new recruit a tour of the city." The Professor pointed a thumb at Tendou.
"Uh….hi." Tendou awkwardly lifted his hand. "I'm not a recruit though."
"I thought it would be best to familiarize him with the city since he'll be here for a long time." Sarah winked, completely ignoring Tendou's last statement.
"I see." Krystal said.
The head of the Kaslana family quickly walked up towards Tendou, grabbing both of his hands with her own. The woman, who was roughly about 5'4, looked up at Tendou with a gleeful smile.
"I'm Krystal Kaslana." She introduced herself. "Nice to meet you!"
"Um, nice to meet you too." Tendou mumbled. "Tendou."
"Tendou….?" Krystal patiently waited.
"….Am I supposed to say something?" Tendou blinked.
"Surname." Krystal said. "What's your surname?"
"I…" Tendou trailed off. "I don't have a surname."
"Yeah…..about that." Sarah scratched her head. "Our friend here has no recollection of anything. Tendou was actually a name I gave him a few hours ago. I never bothered giving him a surname."
"I see." Krystal nodded. "So you don't remember anything?" She asked Tendou. "Don't remember Mommy? Daddy?"
"No." Tendou answered. "I can't remember anything exactly."
"That's horrible." Krystal changed her expression to a sympathetic one. "I hope you're able to make fond memories while you're here to make up your lost ones."
"Thanks." Tendou said.
"So what did you come to the mall for?" Krystal looked back at Sarah.
"Tendou doesn't have any clothes of his own, so I thought I should take him through some fashion shopping to get some." Sarah answered.
"Ooh! Can I come along?" Krystal's eyes lit up.
"Oh, that would be great!" Sarah gave a thumbs up.
"Wait, what?" Tendou looked at both of them.
Without answers, Krystal dragged forcefully dragged Tendou into the mall with a force that he had never experienced before in his life. Struggle all he wanted, he was nowhere strong enough to overpower Krystal. The Professor followed being them as the tall man was dragged across the mall, and into a random clothing store. The girls would continuously get a random assortment of clothing, placing them around Tendou to see if it would fit, and repeat the process.
"I-uh-what?!" The tall man was overwhelmed.
"How about this one?" Krystal lifted up a long-sleeved shirt, hovering it around Tendou's torso. "Sarah, do you think this would go well with this jacket?" She asked.
"Hmmm, not really." Sarah shook her head, carrying over another set of clothes. "How about these ripped jeans? You think they would pair well with anything?"
"Don't think so." Krystal voiced her opinion. "His legs don't really work with them."
The Kaslana and the Professor continued to scavenge for more clothing options, mostly finding outfits that they didn't believe would work, and only being able to find certain items that were decent. Tendou was completely overwhelmed with his situation. He didn't know what to do. Randomly, he just grabbed two random shirts, a plain black one, and a unique white shirt. The white shirt had a Red Cross that started at the left chest area, and extended all the way to the side half of the shirt. Bored, Tendou messed around with the shirts, putting the black one underneath the white one. Both were short-sleeved shirts, though the black one had slightly longer sleeves.
"How about-eh?" Krystal looked at the man fooling around with the clothes. "Did you find something you liked?"
"Huh?" He answered uncertainly. "I…..think it looks nice."
"Really? That?" Sarah looked at the shirt combo. "Well, it's not awful looking."
"If the man wants it, then we'll buy it." Krystal smiled.
"Are you sure that's fine?" Sarah asked. "I'm worried he'll be ridiculed."
"Sarah, fashion is a subjective thing." Krystal winked. "People will find different things attractive. Besides, I don't think it matters too much."
"Alright then." Sarah said.
After a few more outfits, Krystal and Sarah paid for Tendou's new clothes, which for the Kaslana, were not that expensive. The three walked out with a lot of bags, Tendou being forced to carry a majority of them. It wasn't heavy for him, though it was hard to move when bags were pretty much surrounding you.
"Are we done yet?" Tendou moaned.
"Nope. Not even close." Krystal winked while waving a finger. "We still got many more stores to go to."
"What?" The man gasped.
"Hmm? Are you not having fun?" Krystal tilted her head.
"Well, no?" He answered unconfidently.
"Then what's with the complaining?" The Kaslana smiled.
She quickly grabbed him, dragging him to another clothing store. Tendou let out a yelp as Krystal effortlessly dragged him across the mall against his will. The process repeated the same in the next shop, and then the next shop, and so forth. By the time that they visited all of the clothes stores that they could, the three came out with lots of bags, and this time, all of them were carrying bags.
"Isn't this a bad idea?" Tendou asked them. "How are we supposed to walk around this city with this many bags?"
"Don't worry, I have a solution." Krystal answered.
The Kaslana pulled out her phone, dialing someone. The call between Krystal, and a random person lasted about a few seconds before Krystal ended the call, tucking her phone away in her purse.
"I'll have someone arrive here with a truck." Krystal told Tendou. "I'll just have them transport your stuff up to your dorm."
"O-ok." Tendou stuttered.
"Reminds me, we have to get you a phone as well." Sarah looked at the tall man. "We do need a way to contact you if necessary."
"Right, right." Tendou nodded. "Though…are you really fine with buying all of this for me? I'm still not joining Schicksal-."
"But first, we can stop buy at this accessory shop." Sarah pointed towards a direction. "I did say to get you a hat to keep that wild hair down."
"I just said-."
"Come on Tendou, we don't have all day." The Professor ignored him.
The Professor would drag the taller man inside of the accessory shop. The store, as implied, was filled with many accessories of different assortments. There were hats of different kinds, earrings of different shapes, and more. Immediately, the Professor and the Kaslana went looking for hats for the man. Meanwhile, Tendou just wandered around the store, eyeing certain accessories that he passed by. None of the accessories really stood out, though he wanted to try some of them. Randomly, he grabbed a pair of black wristbands. Tendou didn't wear them on out of the fact that he couldn't, but he thought they were neat.
"Found something you liked again?" Krystal popped up behind him.
"AHH!" Tendou jumped forward a bit. "You scared me! Tell me when you're here!" Tendou looked back at Krystal.
"Sorry, sorry!" Krystal swatted her hand. "I'll try not to scare you next time. Anyway, you like those wristbands? We can buy them if you want."
"Uh….." Tendou couldn't speak. "Are you sure you want to buy them for me?"
"I don't mind." Krystal replied. "This isn't going to hurt me in anyway. Oh, here's a hat that I found."
Krystal pulled out a hat from her side. The hat was a black fedora, which had a white line going around its base. She placed the fedora down on Tendou's head by jumping up, and essentially slam dunking the hat down on the poor man's skull. The force nearly caused Tendou to fall down to the floor, but Krystal managed to catch the big man on time before he could fumble.
"Ow!" The man yelled. "Did you imbed the thing in my head?"
Krystal backed away a bit, her eyes carefully examining the fedora on Tendou's head. It certainly did the job in keeping Tendou's hair down, mostly at least. The front forward-pointing patch still pointed forwards despite the fedora. However, the fedora fit well for Tendou, at least in Krystal's opinion.
"Adorable." She stated.
"Huh?" Tendou raised an eyebrow. "You think it's adorable? How?"
Krystal chuckled. To the older woman, his cluelessness only added to the adorableness.
"Don't worry about it." She swatted her hands. "Just know that it's a compliment, ok?" Her eyes met with Tendou's cobalt blue eyes.
Tendou couldn't help but blush a bit. Hearing Krystal say that it was a compliment erupted a feeling inside him that he couldn't explain.
From behind, Sarah came back, carrying a few hats. The Professor was caught off guard when she saw Tendou with a fedora on him. She let out a few chuckles, as she believed he looked ridiculous with the fedora on.
"Tendou, what the heck?!" Sarah laughed uncontrollably. "Why a fedora of all things? That's not something you can just wear casually everyday."
"I think it looks nice." Krystal argued back. "Besides, my husband wears fedoras a lot. Not on an everyday basis, but-."
"Krystal, your husband is different." The Professor argued back. "He's pretty much forced to look exceptionally well everyday. Tendou is a completely different situation."
"True, but I think he rocks the fedora well enough to justify wearing it casually." Krystal winked.
"I don't." Sarah said. "Tendou, take that hat off."
"Sarah, why are you acting like his mother?" Krystal teased her. "You've only met him for a day, and you're already worrying too much about him." She arrogantly shook her head. "Tendou, you don't have to listen to her."
"Aren't you acting too much like a mother here too?" Sarah asked her. "You're acting like an over pampering mom….which is pretty on course actually, but never mind that!" She criticized. "Just take the hat off."
"I…." Tendou began. "I think I'll keep it."
"See, he likes it too." Krystal pointed out. "We shouldn't reject him from something he likes, right?" The Kaslana winked.
"…hah, fine." Sarah gave up. "Still take the hat off though. We need to pay for it."
Tendou took of the black fedora from his head, giving it to Sarah. The three would pay for the fedora and the wristbands, and leave. To alleviate from having him to carry more, Tendou wore the hat and wristbands on him immediately. The bags they carried around had become a nuisance to all three of them. It was difficult to move around with them. Thankfully, Krystal said she had help, and just then did she get the notification.
"Alright, let's head back to the entrance." Krystal said. "Our truck should be here. We can trust them with our luggage."
Tendou, Sarah, and Krystal would carry all of their bags out to the entrance of the mall. Like Krystal said, there was a truck that had its rear facing towards the mall, open with a few workers waiting. Without any command, the workers would walk towards the three, taking away all of their bags and storing them on the truck neatly. By now, the sky had become orange as the sun started to set. It was already evening.
"Wow, we really took our sweet time in there." Krystal looked up into the sky. "Time flies fast when you don't notice it. You know where to go, correct?" Krystal asked one of the workers.
"Yes ma'am." They said.
"Good."
Krystal turned around, walking away before stopping a few inches. She turned back around, facing Sarah.
"Actually, which floor of the dorms is Tendou staying in?" She asked.
"Top floor, the very highest." Sarah replied.
"…Oh…"
"Please don't bother with it too much." Sarah sighed.
The Professor looked over at workers.
"Just ask one of the other professors on campus. They'll give you entry to the room."
Sarah walked back into the mall, Tendou and Krystal following behind her.
"Next up…oh right, shoes and socks." Sarah remembered. "Socks should be easy. No one sees them anyway, so it doesn't matter what they look like."
The three headed towards a footwear store. The store had different types of shoes in stock, ranging from running shoes, to mountain shoes, and normal everyday shoes.
"Take your shoes off Tendou." Krystal said. "We need to accurately measure your foot."
Tendou would pull off his extremely damaged shoes. His foot was big unsurprisingly, larger than average. A benefit in disguise since that meant that shoes that fit Tendou would more likely be in stock.
"Alright then." Krystal looked up at Tendou. "Go and find shoes within that size. You can start searching over there, and we'll start over there." She pointed in different locations
Plopping his shoe back on, Tendou walked around the shoe store, searching for shoes that he thought looked good. Krystal would do the same, looking at shoes from a different since. Meanwhile, Sarah would go and buy some socks for Tendou.
The tall man would walk past many different shoes before stopping at a certain pair of shoes on model. The main color of the shoes was black, with the secondary being red. Interestingly, the majority of the red-colored parts were metallic. Behind the model shoe were the stocks. Surprisingly, there were still a lot of boxes available for purchase. Tendou would grab each box, looking for one in his size. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to search for long. Once he found his size, he tried the shoe on. For him, it was a near-perfect fit, and it felt comfortable. The only noticeable negative was that the shoe felt a bit heavy.
As he took the shoes off, a random person walked up to him.
"Looking to buy those shoes ey?" They said. "Must be a basketball player if you plan to buy those."
"Basket….ball?" Tendou looked at them, confused.
"Hmm? Do you not know what basketball is?"
"….Sorry, I don't." Tendou apologized.
Tendou placed the basketball shoes back into the box, getting ready to place the box back on the shelf.
"Woah, what are you doing?" The person asked. "Those were a perfect fit. Why put them back?"
"You said they were basketball shoes, and I don't play basketball." Tendou simply replied.
"Aw, don't be a downer like that. Sure, they may be basketball shoes, but you don't need to play basketball in order to wear them." The person reassured. "Besides, they looked great on you."
Tendou blinked at the person a few times before looking back down at the box, blinking at it a few times as well. After putting in some thought, Tendou carried the box on his side.
"There ya go buddy!" The person cheered. "Don't be afraid to wear something that you feel like you shouldn't. Anything works as long as you are positive about it."
The person walked away from Tendou, carrying on with their own life. Tendou was clearly confused why they bothered with him in the first place, but he dismissed it. It wasn't overly important to worry about.
Krystal Kaslana would walk back to Tendou, carrying a few boxes of shoes in front of her that almost obscured her vision.
"Tendou, I got you some shoes." She said. "Did you find any yourself?"
The Kaslana looked at the only box the man was carrying. One of her eyebrows perked up as she would see the only shoe he would pick out.
"Basketball shoes?" The woman was surprised. "Planning to play basketball? I mean, you kind of look like one."
"No, I just think they're neat." Tendou looked down at the box.
"Oh. Alright then." Krystal smiled.
The Professor would be the last to meet back up with Tendou and Krystal. She was carrying a few packs of socks, ones that were mainly white in color, though there were a few vibrant ones.
"Are we done here?" Professor Sarah asked. "It's getting pretty late."
"Yeah, we're about done." Krystal exhaled. "Let's go."
Krystal took another hit in her account as she paid for Tendou's shoes, though the woman didn't mind a single bit. She was a Kaslana after all. The Overseer pays them highly for their contributions. The three would exit the mall, entering the city nightlife. It was here that Sarah forgot something.
"Oh shit!" She cursed. "We forgot about the phone!"
The Professor lifted a hand up, covering her eyes in shame. The Kaslana put both of her hands in Sarah's shoulders, gently rubbing them.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine." She reassured her. "You can just get it later. I think Tendou can last a few days without a phone."
"I guess you're right." Sarah sighed. "There's also his bank account too. Guess I'll have to set that up tomorrow."
"Yep! You don't need to worry yourself over it too much." Krystal winked.
She handed over Tendou's shoes to Professor Sarah.
"Now then, I have to go home. Everyone at home must be worried about me. Have a great night you two!" Krystal gave her farewell.
The Kaslana walked away from the two, disappearing into the crowd of the nightlife of Crescent City. Speaking of the nightlife, this was Tendou's first time being exposed to such. The sky was pitch black, filled to the brim with glittering stars. The billboards, signs, and buildings that surrounded the landscape of Crescent lit the city up in the darkness of the night with beautiful, vibrant colors. The liveliness that Tendou saw during the afternoon only enhanced itself. There were more people outside in the cool night, dressed more differently to fit the fun and hectic atmosphere. The nightlife was a different experience, and Tendou stood in the very center, witnessing a new event for him unfold, causing him to zone out.
"Tendou?" Sarah nudged at him.
"Huh?" He regained his senses.
"Come on, let's go home for the night." The Professor said.
As the Professor began to walk, Tendou followed suit, though he was stopped for a bit. Just like earlier in the morning, the man received a huge migraine. His vision was beginning to obscure in red again, but a few more side effects came anew. His hearing was blocked by a jarring wind chime sound that vibrated and echoed in his ear, and alongside the distressing noise came a voice.
"Don't…..trust…."
Because of the wind chime, Tendou could not make out what the voice said. The only thing he knew was that it was a woman's voice.
The pain would subside, and the noises would disappear. Tendou shook his head a few times, phasing back into reality. The Professor had gained a few meters on him as he was distracted with his own bizarre dilemma.
"Wait, hold up!" He called out to the Professor.
Needing to catch up, Tendou had to push through the crowds of people to catch up. The two would arrive back at the Saint Freya campus grounds after walking for a long time. By now, nearly every Valkyrie had returned to their dorms for the night, so the campus was dead silent, and dead empty. The two headed back up to Tendou's room. Entering the room, it was surprisingly clean, which the Professor didn't expect as she expected bags to be flooding the room. Curious, she walked over to Tendou's closet, opening it up, and revealing the clothes that they had bought. They were neatly folded or hung inside the closet.
"Looks like they did all of the work for us. Lucky us." The Professor smirked.
The Professor would take Tendou's shoebox, and neatly place down Tendou's shoes in an empty section alongside the other shoes they bought for him. She would place the socks next to the shoes. Closing the closet, Sarah pulled out a keycard from her lab coat, handing it over to Tendou.
"This is your only entrance to your room, got it?" She asked. "We have spare copies, but that doesn't mean you can go around and simply lose these cards."
"Right." Tendou replied.
Tendou took the keycard, placing it down at a table near his bed. The Professor headed towards the door, getting ready to leave.
"I hope you're ready for tomorrow." Sarah said.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow. We'll be turning you into a Valkyrie." Sarah opened the door, stepping out. "As I said before, you will become one no matter what, and you will comply." She looked back. "Goodnight."
Tendou reached his hand out, but before he could say anything, the Professor closed the door. Outside, the Professor stayed in front of the door, holding onto the handle of the door, and looking up at the roof. An expression of lament and regret crawled up on her face.
"Is this really the right thing to do?" She whispered to herself. "Just what does the Overseer plan to do?"
Closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, Sarah let go of the door handle, and left to go back to her room in a separate building. Meanwhile, Tendou looked outside of the massive windows inside his room. With how high his room was, Tendou was able to get an amazing view of Crescent City. He was able to gaze at the vibrantly colored city, watching as many vehicles pass by, watching as people enjoyed the night, watching as the city gave life. It was a huge contrast, a far cry from what Arastan City was like. To Tendou, this was…beautiful. Tendou would lift his left hand up to the glass pane, continuing to witness the glory of human life.
"So this is what I will be protecting?"
The man's left hand trembled. He was at a crossroads. He wanted to continue fathoming in Crescent City, and its exuberance, but at the same time, he did not want to throw his life fighting for an organization that treated him poorly on first contact. What was he supposed to choose?
Stressed, Tendou laid down on his bed, gazing up at the ceiling, and drifting about his choice. Soon, he would drift to sleep.
On top of Schicksal's main building, Otto Apocalypse looked through old holographic files of past research, all of the ones deemed 'Failures'. He pulled out a file of a particular research, one that ended roughly around 15 years ago. Looking down at the file, he let out a smirk.
"To think that we would meet again in a situation like this." He grinned. "The future has a lot to hold for both of us."
With a holo-interactive pen, Otto crossed off the words 'Failure' from the holographic file before closing the application. In front of him, the door to his office opened. A maid came inside his office.
"Welcome back Reshia." Otto greeted.
"It's a pleasure to be back." Reshia bowed her head. "You called for me once I returned. What is important that you needed me this late in the night?"
"Ah, yes." Otto began. "I needed to tell you in advance that I no longer need your service."
Upon hearing those words, the maid's eyes widened. She began trembling in place.
"W-what?" She stuttered. "Wait! Please don't put me away!" She started tearing up. "Did I do something wrong?! Please give me a second-!"
"Calm down Reshia." Otto slightly raised both of his hands. "No need to panic. You did nothing wrong, I can assure you that." The Overseer told her. "I'm just here to tell you that you will be serving someone else from now on."
"W-what?" Reshia tearfully looked up to the taller man.
"I should have begun with that now that I think about it, but it's too late. Regardless, you'll be serving a new person tomorrow, and he'll need all the help you can provide." Otto told the maid.
"Oh." She sniffed a few times. "Who will I be moving to?" Reshia wiped her tears away.
"Tomorrow, you'll be serving someone named Tendou." Otto informed her.
"Tendou? I haven't heard someone with that name." Reshia said.
"He's someone new to the academy." Otto said. "You'll be meeting him tomorrow. That is all. Rest well Reshia."
"I see. I hope you rest well too, Overseer." Reshia bid her farewell.
The maid bowed and left the Overseer's office. Otto tidied up his office before leaving his office. On his way to his bedroom, Otto could only think about the research file. He let out a chuckle, thinking about the future from now on.
"Let's see what you will do, Lessica."
Chapter 2 END