Divergence

by GhostlySins

Life comes at you like an unexpected earthquake. Sometimes it comes with monsters crawling out of the darkness, people turning into zombies, girls with weird outfits battling them to save the day. Chaos ensues. And here I am, a sixteen year old boy, trying to stay alive on this mad world with my own ways.

6. Mind

Friday, 23rd August.

I've done the usual morning routines: woke up from the bed, took a shower, brushed my teeth and had a nice breakfast with the others. Everything comes along rather smoothly.

"You didn't study last night." Mei addresses as she places the dishes away to the kitchen. "Kiana, tests are coming up and I know you're having trouble with history lessons."

"I know, I know." Kiana shrugs, "I mean, I was... too tired, was all."

"Subject Kiana did not show any signs of fatigue based on Bronya's monitoring last night."

"Whose side are you on?"

"The Bronya doesn't choose sides."

While I'm enjoying every moment of it like I'm enjoying my sweet, chocolate milk, I have thought of something practical to return the camera back to Frank and Pao and grab my reward. My mind that had turned into a rushing tides became sort of a calming, wide ocean after I conducted a scenario for this. A sense of familiar eagerness surges within me, as of this evening, I will be trained by the aloof Shenzhou lady herself.

"We're gonna meet the Principal." Himeko says before sipping her black coffee.

...Just like that, all my plans come tumbling down like a melting iceberg.

I release a little sigh, leaning backwards on my chair, "Why? Is this really necessary?"

"A bit of introduction won't hurt. And, you're in her school, you know. Don't worry too much, she won't bite." She giggles as she places down her empty mug on the table.

That's really not the main problem.

"We're off, Auntie!"

"Don't you dare call me that again in class!"

She raises her voice as Kiana skips out of the house with a playful laugh. Mei and Bronya follow the suit with the former scolds the Kaslana when they're in the hallway, or so I heard.

"When am I gonna be meeting her?" I get up, taking the mugs with me to the sink in the kitchen.

"After you're ready, of course. She just returned from Japan last night."

"What's her business there?" I raise my brow while cleaning Mei's purple mug first. "If you don't mind me asking, by the way."

"Just a regular mission."

"Valk's things, I presume?"

"Aye."

With that, the milliards of questions from me come to an immediate conclusion. She won't give anything even if I ask further. After what she said yesterday to which I summarize as "don't interfere with our stuff if you want to be safe" or something along that.

A melodic tone rings around the room as Himeko takes her phone out, frowning at the screen for a while. Which I wonder to myself about but quickly discards it as it can mean anything but.

"I'll be waiting outside." She gets up, pacing to the hallway, eyes still gluing on her device.

"Yes, miss." I reply.

After her presence has gone, I shake my head and stop after cleaning the second of the fifth mugs. I place my wet hands on the edge, trying to think of new, different ways to retrieve the camera I have still hidden upstairs. It all seems fruitless as every possibilities I can predict in my head will end up pretty bad or worse.

Because of the expeditious lies I had given yesterday that probably raised a lot of questions, it's logical if they would suspect me when I come up with yet another veil of dishonesty.

"Whatever happens...happens."

I chuckle at that and I continue wiping the last mugs.

For three months, I had thrived and forced myself to stay alive in that scorched earth. Never once I thought I would be here, stepping my foot on this foreign land, in this small residential house on a remote island, wiping these mugs of mine, the students, and the householder.

Truly unexpected, in a good way. I am still breathing, talking, walking, and eating. I have been given the chance of getting in touch with humanity once again - I get to meet Mei - I should be grateful for that.

I finish my chore within a few moments, I wipe my hands and head to the front door. After slipping my shoes in, I grab the handle-

"-sure you haven't found it yet?"

I come to a halt. I hear Himeko's voice just outside of this door and I lean my ear on the gap of wooden frame.

"We're closing on it. Just...just keep looking."

A small frustration leaked from her mature voice and a rough huff at the end of it. No more exchanges after that as everything turns silent as the grave. I should definitely wait for a while - I don't want to be bombarded with questions if I hear that convo or not.

Twenty seconds should do it.

As I mentally count the timer down, I waste the time by searching about the noodle restaurant Frank wants me to meet at.

The result came in quick: It's on the Jiangzhe street and that's on the north-east side of this city.

What's bugging me is the road would take approximately an hour by bus.

My shoulders slump down a bit, but I quickly push the matter aside as my mental timer rings, and I open the door.

"Sorry." I hang my head down with a sheepish smile as Himeko notices me. "Toilet."

"It's really bad to keep a lady waiting." Her remark leaves me with a sting as she turns and begins to walk, and I could only chuckle at that.

"Well, I can't really please anyone around me at all times." I muse, pacing behind her.

"Of course you can. You just have to put your heart into it."

"...I'll try."

My words were small, fragile as I rub my left forearm, as if there's a sheer cold creeping up onto my limb, and my eyes flicker on the cobblestones and Himeko's back.

"So," I suddenly speak up. "are we going to the Cathedral?"

"What?" She glances back at me with amusing glare. "You want to confess your sins?"

"Principal isn't there?"

"Why do you think she's there, anyway?"

"I don't know - maybe she's a nun, judging by how she owns this place and having a giant Cathedral over there, and probably is praying right now."

"Oh yeah, she dresses like one, alright. But...let's just say she's a special woman."

The last time she mentioned "special", I had set my expectation bar so high and everything subverted down into the earth. I attempt to make myself intrigued either way just to keep this normal discussion going.

"That's interesting." I nod. "Well, considering she's an Apocalypse, too. One of the big three houses. Am I right?"

"Heh, you didn't forget about your homework."

Although her voice sounds slightly akin to a mockery, I'll take that as a credit to myself as the side of my lips curl up into a smirk.

"I'll never forget about what I have learned." I chuckle.

I will never forget.

"Since she's an Apocalypse, that would mean she's related to the Overseer himself." I say to Himeko, and the woman hums in confirmation. "Also, what kind of a woman is Miss Theresa?"

She giggles. "You'll know her when we get there."

I can only raise a brow at that. My interest comes to an arc as I take a glimpse of that abandoned building again. An intimate rush of fright causes my hairs on my arms to stand, and I focus myself on the road back while slowly rubbing my hands together

"Miss - a question."

"Shoot."

"Why is there a deserted place over there?" I point with my finger without looking at it.

"Oh, well..." Himeko stares at me, an impish smile creeps her lips. "What if I told you that ghosts exist?"

I immediately flicker my eyes to her, "That's impossible, ghosts aren't real."

"Okay, what if I told you I met one before in that very same building?" She says with a no-nonsense tone.

Absorbing her obnoxiously, rather insane, question, triggers my morbid curiosity from within my psyche. A brief flash of the pink silhouette comes to my mind as uneasiness creeps up to my skin as I breathe deeply.

"Ghosts aren't real..." I say.

"Uh-huh, but- oh my goodness! What's that behind you?"

With wide eyes, she points my back like one of the characters in those fictional horror genres, impulsing a terrific revelation to the audiences, and her stoic act almost got me as my head twitches back. Almost.

"It's still morning." I frown and she giggles while shaking her head. "Almost broad daylight."

"Made you look, though."

I roll my eyes. No, you didn't.

...However, the sense of curiosity controls my action as I hastily whip my head back while she wasn't looking. There is no one behind me. My heart eases down and I inwardly sigh.

"I don't exactly know, by the way. The Principal didn't say anything, as well." She takes a quick look at it. "It's just... there."

"Why don't you just, I don't know, demolish it?" I shrug.

"Well, like I said, she didn't give us a dime of any explanation whatsoever."

"Not even a nickel?"

"Nuh-uh." She wiggles her finger side to side.

Highly classified information... Schicksal with their secrets.

Soon afterwards, we finally reach the school area - a few meters away from the dormitory - into one of the Victorian buildings. Steps echo throughout the hallways on these shiny marble floors reflected from the radius windows on our sides.

Hardly any students to be seen; only a fair few teachers and janitor staff roaming and wiping. Himeko says hello to each passing individual and I stay smiling - staying polite.

A moment later as we get up to the third floor, I find myself looking in front of the two-way doors made with a solid wood and polished with a sublime touch from talented craftsmen, as there are no vicious holes as far as the eye can see, complete with the golden handles attached.

As we stop at the door, Himeko knocks it twice with her knuckle. There is a distinct sound of something falling down behind this door afterwards. She rolls her eyes at it, leaving me wondering what that was about.

"Enter!"

An audible, childish voice causes me to make a face. Letting no chance for me to process that, the teacher opens the door and I follow her in from behind.

"Hey, I brought him." Himeko heads to a couch and sits cross-legged.

The Principal's room is quite modest and large. Multiple lamps sticking on the walls around with a fireplace on the side, bookshelves attached to the wall across it. Under the golden chandelier in front of me, two leather couches are placed on each side between a small wooden table and a green carpet.

Across from here, I see an office table with various documents, a lamplight and a tablet lying on top of it. Behind it, a black leather swivel chair turns its face away, the big symbol of Schicksal on the wall behind is there for the whole world to see, and light shines brilliantly through the windows.

I look at the corner and... a giant black and golden cross leaning on the wall. I have seen crafted Christian crosses during my lifetime but not like this. No. This thick, tall, holy relic radiates an authority that brings turmoil to my still beating heart. As if it is about to squash me down into an amalgamation of flesh and bones.

My gaze quickly flicks to the table, glancing as if it's an interesting piece of furniture. The air around me emulates a persistent putrid, gut-churning smell.

"So," The chair swivels around as I switch my glance at the person calling. "you have come. Please take a seat, young Kilo."

Person... As in she has the same child-like voice I just heard before entering this room. I normally wouldn't question such obviousness but seeing a girl talking with a grandiose tone on a chair that is twice her size with a familiar smug-looking face, blue eyes and same white hair as Kiana's with a low-side ponytail has put me with uncertainty.

Plus, the table blocks half of my view and I can only see her head.

I sit beside Himeko, lean forward a bit to her and whisper.

"Miss, who is this sassy, lost child?"

To which Himeko wheezes at my question as her shoulders tremble before barking out a laugh.

"Eh." The girl raises a brow, glancing at me and Himeko a few times. "Why is she laughing?"

I can only shrug.

" "Sassy, lost child" !? Hahaha!"

"Wha!?" The girl gawks as her eyes widen in surprise, then she frowns at the laughing teacher. "Enough with this nonsense! I'm not a child, I'm an adult!"

But her cries remain unheard of. I just sit here, eyes roaming around and my face is in total confusion.

The girl groans in distress and pinches her forehead, "First, Kiana called me a brat and then a new guest of mine has mistaken me for..."

Her words trail off into a mutter.

Did I do something wrong...?

"Whatever." She shakes her head. "Ahem! Miss Himeko, please cease your impertinence at once."

"Haha! Ha...Oh, my god, that brings a tear to my eyes." Himeko manages to calm herself down, wiping her eyes in a mocking way.

The girl grunts and purses her lips.

"Alright, alright..." Himeko waves her hand discouragingly.

"Excuse me." I raise my hand. "I don't want to be rude, but where is the Principal, actually?"

I don't want to waste any more time. The fact that I have my own problem that I need to figure out before twelve makes me anxious about how long this meeting will be. And, from what I look, the Principal is nowhere to be found except for this kid who is probably her daughter-

"I am the Principal."

"Oh." I nod slowly, and then I blink. "What ?"

The child crosses her arms and leans backwards. "My name is Theresa Apocalypse. Granddaughter of the Overseer, the head of the Far East Branch of Schicksal and the Principal of St. Freya Academy - which you're standing on its very foundation right now."

"..."

She smirks at my look, "Now, I'm sure you have tons of questions-"

Yes, I have... thousands of questions left to be answered. One of them is how a single child lookalike is able to orchestrate the entire school and part of the organization by herself.

"-but let's cut those up and take the important pieces, okay?"

I am dreaming. This has to be a fluke. A phooey illusion created by my own subconsciousness.

"Kilo."

I am still lying on the bed like a log, snoring peacefully, drifting into the lala-land. This has to be it. This is the most rational reason I can think of.

But, if I realize this is a dream, shouldn't I be waking up by now? I even try to pinch the flesh on my hand to no avail.

"Hey." Someone taps my left shoulder.

"Huh?" I look at Himeko and to the "Principal", and blink several times.

"You're dozing off."

"Oh...um," I quickly lick my dried lips. "I'm sorry. I wasn't... paying attention."

This is not a dream.

What is wrong with this world.

Himeko's face remain critical. Theresa tilts her head, curious eyes scanning my slightly troubled movements.

The latter must have some sort of syndrome - a disease, probably. Yes, that's it. There's no way a ten-year-old child would possess such intellect and professional mannerism. But what kind of syndrome is this? Anti-aging?

I take a mental note to search for it later.

I lightly cough and stare at Theresa with an apologetic smile.

"Miss Principal...I would like to apologize for my impoliteness." I say as her eyes widen at my words.

"It's totally fine." She gives a hearty laugh but that soon turns into an awkward one as she glances to the side. "I get that a lot, yeah..."

"Am I in trouble?" I look at Himeko who smirks with a shake of her head and mouths "no".

Theresa's somber look fades away, as she clasps her hands and leans forward. "In any case, you shouldn't worry about me. Just remember to take this as a norm from now on. Do you understand?"

"I... understand, miss."

Nodding at her instructions, Theresa beams a smile. Though, hers doesn't stay for long as she reaches for her tablet, picks it up and tinkers the screen with her small fingers.

"Before we get to a proper welcome, I have an important question and the following matter concerns you, young Kilo."

"What is it?"

"Look at this."

Theresa then flips her tablet and shows the wide screen for both of us to see. Himeko narrows her eyes at it and I push my upper body forward and squints to get a closer look.

A footage of a young man wearing a white and orange jacket, jogging around with a camera...

"Why were you taking pictures around my school?"

I can't see Theresa's expression due to the rectangular device perfectly blocking her head. Just judging by her unexpected tone that demands an answer is enough to put me on edge.

Himeko's no different. She snaps her neck immediately and stares at me with criticizing eyes.

"Care to explain?" She asks with a hard tone while I slowly retreat and sit back down. "Kilo?"

"I..." My voice croaks a bit.

However, the smile never slips away from my face and I never break eye contact with any of them.

"I am sorry. I should have told you first about that, Miss Himeko. But, please let me explain." I give a short chuckle while holding up a finger to stop her from saying anything else. "Um, have you misses ever heard about the famous journalism website called 'The Millawette'?"

"The what?" Himeko raises a brow and my mouth hangs open, shocked at her words.

"You never heard of them?"

"I know about them." Theresa places the tablet down. "They're very well-known among the network. I used them to get info to buy some anim- ah, things..."

Perfect.

With a wide smile, I shove my hand into my pocket and take a card out.

"Then you must know that I'd met the owner yesterday." I give the business card to Himeko and she takes it, and examines it. "Mister Frank Eastberg - what a lovely man. I met his photographer, as well. We talk about a lot of stuffs: hobbies and such, and then he asked for my help to take shots of your school that comes with a reward."

"Huh..."

After searching for the site with her phone while rubbing the texture of the card, Himeko gives it to Theresa by throwing it between her fingers. The short woman manages to catch the spinning card between her own fingers and begins to inspect it.

Which, I admit, that little card trick impresses me.

"That looks legit, alright." The redhead then, glances at me while pocketing her phone back. "And you took it?"

"Yes, miss." I nod in an enthusiastic way. "It was honestly, well, a sum."

"How much of "a sum" ?"

"Six hundred."

She purses her lips, astonished. "That's not bad."

"I know." I nod again.

"But all this for a money? You can totally ask me about it."

"Oh no, absolutely not." I shake my head. "For me, I respect everyone trying to make money for a living, and therefore I shouldn't ask or even beg for some. Matter of fact, I was planning to return yours last night. But uh, I forgot."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and there's a saying, "if you want to win a lottery, you have to make money and put it away to buy a ticket"."

"..."

Himeko casts a long glance, analyzing my postures and expressions. For a few seconds before, her brows wrinkle down at my quote.

"I thought that would help St. Freya to expand its reputation." I resume, "Giving them a sense of conventionalism, or something like that, to the public."

"Still, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want." The redhead crosses her arms. "You need to at least inform me about it before you make any decision that involves this school. Are we clear, Kilo?"

Her words were hard as stone and I couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of myself as I bit my lips. It was honestly a bad thing from my end. Then again, I didn't know her number so I couldn't contact her even if my own initiative came to me yesterday.

"Yes, miss." I bow my head a bit, deliberately looking downcast.

Himeko sighs, "I even intentionally put my number on your phone and yet that didn't cross your mind to make a call."

Oh.

W-Well, how would I suppose to know that in the first place...

My brows twitch but I manage to keep my act up still.

"Sorry..."

"Well," Theresa suddenly calls and places down the card, likely trying to get rid of the tension away. "I admire your enthusiasm, young Kilo. But I have to agree with Miss Himeko to... some degree. St. Freya is a private school for Valkyrie candidates to train and grow as warriors who will exterminate the Honkai and bring peace throughout the lands - such methodical teachings have been running on for years."

"Generally, we prioritized seclusion from the eyes of the citizens for the sake of our students and staff members alike. However, time passes and so do people's desire to know about us increases."

There's a pause as the Principal crosses her arms, places a hand on her chin and ponders about something.

She hums. "I think it's safe to give the folks a tidbits of our sides."

Himeko raises a brow, a bit surprised. "You sure about that?"

"Yes." a solid nod of positivity from Theresa. "It's not a misapprehension that the people may already notice the danger of Honkai after the Second Eruption, the lockdown of Lahti and the latest Nagazora outbreak. Grandpa also noticed this very well. Suffice to say that people need to feel protected after what's happened...Therefore, they need to also know about our existence, as well."

"To feel safe and secure."

Theresa bops her head down with an optimistic smile.

"Yes, yes. From here on out, St. Freya will no longer be known as an all-girls private school, but as a Valkyrie private school."

"Well, you do that...but what about, you know..." Himeko's eyes flick to me for a second and I was caught in surprise.

"Not to worry." Theresa waves her small hand. "I'll contact Mister Frank and be sure to give him some direction on what to and what not to, so that they won't perceive too much about us."

"You're the boss."

The redhead shrugs at the words, leans back and switches her legs to find a new comfort.

A lot of exchanges come in a lot of new, but little knowledge for me. My lingering assumption from yesterday has turned into a mild presumption. Whatever this second group is - their aim or raison d'etre - they are not in a healthy relationship with Schicksal.

And I will stay out of it.

"With that out of the way, let's move on." Theresa coughs lightly before eyeing me with great confidence. "Young Kilo, though it's perhaps a coincidence, I must thank you for the action you've committed. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask?"

Although, I would like to leave, I can feel the same tension weighing on my shoulders as I lick my dried lips. Himeko's eyes are darting me unlike her former carefree nature, as if I've done something wrong.

To get rid of the icky atmosphere and this wandering thought of mine which has been dwelling around in my head for the past two days, I raise my hand.

"Ah yes, Principal." I say, "A question, if I may."

"You may." She gestures and I let my hand down.

"Okay, um..."

I pause, forming the right words in my head before I open my lips again.

"Why do you name your male warriors, "Knights" and not "Vikings"?"

They give me a look but I hold up my palms.

"With all due respect, misses - I don't mean to insult Schicksal as I've read one of the history books from Cora Fenne, which Schicksal actually brought many inspirations from Norse mythology to their names - as like many, many of them - but doesn't "Viking" sound...I don't know, better?"

"..."

"...Cooler?" I whisper.

"Well..." Theresa speaks up with a smile, "That is a good question, young Kilo. You see, Schicksal was established during the Middle Ages. Before it became widespread throughout Germany, at a certain point, we were but a small kingdom. Soldiers who were bestowed by gods, were christened as "Knights"."

"Because...they had materialized their Stigmas?" I ask as Himeko flinches at the mention of the tatoos from the corner of my eyes.

"Correct." She nods, "They were granted because, as you may already know, Stigmatas in males are extremely rare. And we have used that title for decades."

I nod at her explanation. Vikings are still even better, though. I mean, come on, it fits! Valkyries and Vikings - marching to the bloody battlefield in the name of Valhalla.

Wasted opportunity. Calling them Knights is as generic as plain donuts...

"Are there any other questions you would like to ask?"

"Oh, no. I have nothing more to ask, miss."

Just from her gratitude is enough to soften my worry away. On the other hand, I just want to go out now...

"Well then, to finalize this short meeting. I, as the Principal of St. Freya Academy, would like to welcome you to our school with open arms."

She reaches down her desk and pulls a drawer with a slight struggle, takes out and shows an electronic silver card for both of us.

"Here is the spare key for the 5th Valkyrja Squad's residence. Please take it."

I widen my eyes for a bit before grinning.

"Thank you so much, miss."

I get up, head in front of her, and accept the keycard with a slight bow from my head.

Taking a short glance at the Principal, she's much smaller than I'd initially thought she would be. Talking to someone that looks younger and acts older than myself has been one of the most weird experiences in my lifetime.

"Hey, remember, there are still rules to follow. Important one is: Come home early before six or there'll be consequences." Himeko calls as I turn to her while shoving the card to my pocket. "You heard me?"

"Yes, I understand." I nod. "So, can I please go now? I still need to return Mister Frank's camera."

"You can leave." Theresa smiles warmly.

"Superb - Miss Principal, Miss Himeko, have a nice day and please excuse me."

I head to the doorway - eyeing the giant cross as I pass for a bit, which I swear it just moves a bit - and exit. Sighing in relief after I close the door behind me.

Wow, huh... Now I can go in and out of this island with ease. I guess that whole talk is worth it after all. I can do whatever I want- Well, okay, definitely not going with that because I'd get in trouble.

A smirk curls up on the side of my lips. I memorize the pathway already, so I don't need to worry about getting lost. I walk down the stairs back to the first floor and turn corner-

"Whoa!?"

Numerous white papers fly around as my shoulder accidentally bumps onto a walking person.

"Oh, no..."

As I watch the man crouches, he proceeds to collect the documents scattered around the marble floors while occasionally fixing his glasses.

I silently sigh and groan. It was a bit of my own fault there. And the least thing I would do was to leave a bad first impression on the people I encountered.

And so, I crouch down and help him gather the sheets.

"I'm so sorry. I-I wasn't looking, sir..." I say. Trying to be as apologetic as possible, again.

"No, no. It's totally fine."

"No, it's my own fault that I was in a hurry."

"Oh, I was in a hurry, too." He gives a small chuckle at the end.

I quickly glance at him while picking up a paper. Short brown hair, matching brown eyes, wearing a simple shirt underneath a gray jumper with diamond patterns, brown pants and black shiny office shoes made of leathers.

His sharp eyes are that of a dignified sense of conscientiousness. Like I'm gazing into the dimming light itself.

I dart back to the papers piling up onto my hand, and I notice some words typed in English. Many of them are about the topics of the old ages: Ancient Romanian and such.

"You're teaching history, sir?" I ask.

"Well, yes. I um, I am teaching history. As you can see," He then jerks his head somewhere to the hallway. "I was just about to deliver these to the faculty office."

I nod rapidly at that. After a moment, we manage to stack them on our hands.

"Let me help you bring these to-"

"Really - There's no need for you-"

I lightly chuckle, "I insist, sir. Consider this as my punishment for being reckless."

He gauges me rather strangely with a small frown across his face, but a smile of friendliness appears after.

"Thank you." The man politely nods. "That's much appreciated."

I throw him a wide smile and we walk to the office that is apparently located on the right wing where I took the stairs down.

"I haven't seen you around here." He speaks up, "Are you a... new student?"

In a school full of Valkyries who all have superhuman abilities?

"No sir, I'm not." I reply. "I was only here for two days."

"Then, why are you here?"

"Well..." I mutter, briefly facing to the side and rolls my eyes. "It's a bit of complexity. Sort of that. Miss Himeko brought me here under some circumstances."

"Miss Himeko Murata?"

"Yes, sir."

"I uh...Is that so." He nods sagely as I raise my brow at his slightly confused face.

But in order to keep the conversation flowing, I bop my head up and down, acting like a child.

"Yeah. Miss Himeko - she's pretty nice for having me stay at her home after..."

He turns his head, "After what?"

"...A lot of things happened." I give him a sad smile. "Sudden, actually."

He later sends an understanding look. Eyes look down.

"I see."

...Did I go too far on making my life on having such a dramatic backstory like an opera?

"Here we are."

We stop in front of a door. A wooden plank with a black words carved on its side, "Faculty Office", as I watch the cubicles through the window from where I stand. Indeed, there are some teachers sitting around working with their papers and computers.

"You can just put them on top of these." His knees bent down a bit.

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Absolutely." He smiles.

I carefully place the documents on top of his own, and he stands straight up again.

"It was a nice, short talk, mister..."

"Ah, Yin. Call me Yin."

His right hand opens up under the stacks, due to him carrying the weight of the works with his hands, he is unable to move either and has to hold them down.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Yin." I grin and grips firmly and slightly shake his trembling hand. "My name is Kilo."

"Kilo, huh..." He narrows his eyes, not out of weirdness but with a genuine, interesting smile. "That is a fascinating name."

"..."

My smile falters and my eyes widen as if they're about to shoot out. This small, yet strong warm feeling swirls around me. However, I immediately shove it away by giving a hearty laugh and letting go of his hand.

"I um...hahaha." Another awkward laugh before I wet my dried lips and my smile comes back.

Don't think of yourself like that. No more. Not again. Burn it out into ashes. Scatter them away.

I take my phone out. With a forgery of urgency, I gawk at the time.

"Jesus- I'm gonna be late!" I shove it back, panicking while doing so.

Hah. Of course not, it's still 08:48 AM. But best to be prepared, am I right?

"Please excuse me, sir. I need to return some books. Here, let me open that for you." I twist the door handle and push the wooden frame.

"Oh...thank you." Yin walks into the room. "Well then, be careful, Kilo."

"I will." I smile. "Have a nice day, Mister Yin."

"You too, young man."

My act drops the moment I close the door and I walk out of this building.

Alright. First things first, I need to grab the camera from the house, my bag, the Transportation card and some money into my pocket. Then head over to the noodle restaurant and take the reward

Should be an easy task. Ah, not to mention I will undergo training with Fu Hua on evening. I'll be needing some clothes and maybe pads for that. I hope there's a clothes store around there.

Man, thank goodness I volunteered for the chore. I guess this is some sort of luck, huh?

---

"What do you think?"

"...No, he doesn't look like one of AE personnel." The Principal tilts her head a bit, "What happened to his face, though?"

"Got scratched by a stray cat. Besides listen, I personally didn't expect him to do such things." Himeko says, tapping her finger on the arm rest. "Especially when he recited a line from an upcoming movie."

"Hm? Which one?"

"It's...I forgot what it's called but some guy named Jack is in it."

"Jake...? "

"Yeah, him." Himeko shoots her a finger.

Theresa skims forward with her left hand holding on the tablet. Lines by lines as she scrolls down, she absorbs the intel and concludes them into a memory.

"No doubt he was taught proper etiquette. He was raised by the Catholics, after all."

"I know." Himeko nods. "Still... When I first met him, I knew for a fact that he wasn't associated with the AE's. I could be wrong, though. There's just something that I couldn't put my finger on."

Given how the Anti-Entropy's method of dealing with the Honkai disaster using unmanned mechs to control and restore the order is a far cry with Schicksal's own ways of defeating the monsters, is highly plausible, yet inefficient and ineffective at times. More machines produced; more resources to be used. And there are moments that their strategies could hold the Honkai back, but couldn't subdue them entirely.

With the glooming hypothesis of the spark flickered from the recent events, which one of them resulted in the birth of the Third Herrscher, Theresa and Himeko can't help but cast a wan of suspicion onto them this entire time.

A sudden controversial subject on Ryoma Raiden, an unknown high-tech barrier around Lahti, the Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora and AE has taken over Massive Electric? All correspondences happened so frequently that it's seemingly connected. Somewhat, somehow, all roads lead to the Western Organization, the Anti-Entropy.

Otto Apocalypse didn't say anything to these cases, only giving a brief grief and encouragement before ordering to deal with the mess without a glimmer of explanation behind them. Instead, just give them the regular information before the sortie.

"And he's like a... like a boy-next-door, you know? You already read the reports from Marie, right?"

"Yes, I do realize his behavior is quite odd." Theresa puts down the device and rests her chin on her folded hands on the table.

Formalities are one other thing Theresa grew up with. It's as if the ethics have stayed within her moral code for nearly forty-two years and it has become a part of who she is. By the time, as she learned, she began to understand how people are using it in their daily lives.

So, when she met the young boy, she immediately saw the strangeness layered behind his formality. If anything, she wouldn't frankly dare to call it one at all. She dubs it as some sort of cascade that keeps flowing down endlessly; aimlessly in all directions. Too much apologizing and sudden streams of words coming out of his mouth, with apparent use of fake quotes from fictional works.

Truly, it reminds her of some people she had met in the past, in a way, and a person she holds dear as well - her own Grandfather.

"By the way," Himeko calls as the Principal's eyes dart at her. "How was your adventure in Nagazora?"

"I handled the situation, but when I found the source of the energy..."

"Are they dead?"

She blinks, a sympathetic look fades into her face. "She's too far gone. The Honkai had corrupted her to a level of that of a Herrscher."

Himeko frowns. Slowly, breathing out of her nose and resting her back on the cushion, staring long at the woods in the fireplace across her.

"And I may have to go to see Doctor Lambert..."

She turns to Theresa, "Why, what for?"

"Err, just want to check on...some things."

Theresa rubs her wrist. The Pseudo-Herrscher was created from a Honkai residue prior to the events of Nagazora, infecting a dying body of a human. She wasn't a formidable foe, rather she was quite the annoying one, capable of summoning and controlling throns to the point she had to use Oath of Judah and throw it like a boomerang just to get the advantage.

At some point however, she was knocked out. The memory was hazy, erratic even.

The strands of her pink hair, and her soft lips touched hers...

How she bit off the Pseudo-Herrscher's hand and feast it-

"A-Anyway! The expedition team still hasn't found a suitable Stigma for you yet." Theresa mentions while adjusting her posture straight back.

"I heard." She replies, "Kika and the others had informed me about it a while ago."

"I see." Theresa gives an understanding nod. "Science department had given me the report of your condition last night, as well."

She closes her eyes, pressing her back more on the couch as if letting the couch slowly devour her existence.

"The result?"

Her tone was so small that Theresa had a hard time getting the words. But, she understands it quickly.

"Seven years."

Theresa's words repeat in her mind. Constantly. Seven years. Seven. Seven... It sure sounds short, doesn't it? Like you can count them down with your own fingers.

No. No. Numbers don't mean anything. What she needs is progress. That is all she wants.

Himeko opens her eyes.

"It's enough." She gets up and stretches up her arms. "Mmm, I still have a lot of time."

Seven years means nothing.

"Please take good care of yourself, Himeko." Theresa advises with a wistful smile while taking a sheet from the stacked documents.

"Roger that." She winks before checking her watch, eyebrows lift in surprise at the time and she walks to the doorway. "Welp. I'll be going to the class now."

"Hm, see you later."

"Uh-huh, see you later, sassy child."

"Wha-HEY!"

The Principal stops her activity and screams, but her figure has left her office now as the door shuts. She was sure to hear Himeko laughed while exiting the room.

She can only let out a sigh and go back to her papers with a pen in hand and the small skeptical feeling towards the Major within her heart.

---

You know - After meeting with the Granddaughter of the Apocalypse - I'm still coping with the fact that she has the body of a child - I can't help but wonder. If only the history books had pictures on it, I would absolutely have no sense of curiosity about what this Otto guy looks like.

Little, unsatisfying results when I looked up the internet during my ride on the bus to know more about this man. Other than his groundbreaking achievements that are enough to roll my eyes over. Take these multiple disasters that occurred at the same time back in 2000 in Finland, Kazakhstan and Russia, and Schicksal had provided pharmaceutical support for the three affected countries out of nowhere.

Well, after going through a couple of articles, I already know how he looks from one of the several images. Long blonde hair, two green eyes and you guess, wearing fancy, dated attire. He probably lives under a mansion to what I speculate.

Considering how pretty radical they were on dealing with such catastrophic monstrosities lurking about the world. What might seem to be useless, in the end. It's not illogical to think that Schicksal tries to atone for their wrongdoings.

The books didn't really specify a lot of bad decisions they had made in the past, either. And the social media praises this large, unknown organization so much that I couldn't find any negative reactions, like they're some kind of heroes. Disregard of those fanatics, conspiracy theorists.

But what if there's more to this than meets the eye? Some secrets behind a closet that aren't meant to be seen or opened by anyone?

...Hah! Look at me, slowly morphing into one of them.

There was a lot of traffic along the way. I was sitting on the hard bench for nearly two-goddamn-hours that I felt my ass is now flat as a board. It was uncomfortable to the point I had to stand up at some point.

The bus drops me after, a bit too far from my destination, but that is fine; the cost is free and I'll take it.

The north-eastern part of this city glaringly contradicts the modern lives of the west area.

Being close with the mountains; The sandy roads are filled with vendors, simplistic and dirty roofs, random pamphlets all around the walls with electric cables entangled from one pole to another like multitudes of threads as I look up, and the citizens are in an absolute hustle and bustle; food sellers, clothing shop alike are shouting and yelling to urge the potential customers to buy their alluring products.

Zero skyscrapers; smaller houses. Multiple wooden, chipped pillars with dragons chiselled on them. No business-like men nor women as far as my eyes can see. Everyone is wearing rough-looking outfits and behaving poorly, like under-class men. All looking like they have a sense of righteous freedom on each of their expressions, as they smile, laugh, angry at one another.

It's as if this part of the city is locked in time. And Jiangzhe is no less brimming with the living atmosphere as I walk past a gate guarded by two lion-like statues.

I weave through the crowds with my phone at hand, looking at the map on my screen. A part of me is wondering why Frank chose this area, of all places, and another part of me has a wild awareness that someone might hit me in the face. I clutch the camera closely to me this time.

Soon enough, I finally found the restaurant. Its big, rectangular brown plank with the name carved with ink is hanging just right above the entrance. I slide the glass door, gone with the noisiness outside, and head in.

"Yo, boy! Over here!"

As I enter, I instantly notice Frank and Pao on the second table as the journalist waves his hand. Wasting no time, I pace to them.

"Good afternoon, Mister Frank, Mister Pao." I call.

"Christ, enough with the mister BS, you're making us feel old." Frank chuckles before gesturing for me to sit across them, "Come on, show us the work."

"Of course."

While sitting down, I remove the sling from my neck and give the digital camera to Pao.

"I haven't turned it on yet." I mention as I drum my fingers on the plastic table.

"Right, right."

I patiently wait as I see Pao presses the button multiple times and examines the LCD screen. After a moment, his eyes open wide and my heart beats faster than before.

"These...These look nice!" Pao shows the screen to his partner on his side and stares at me rather crazily. "How did you manage to get good shots?"

My brows lift for a moment at his question spiced with commendation, then I cast a smile at them.

"I have uh...an interest. A sort of hobby."

"What kind of hobb-" He looks baffled. "I-I mean, you took a clean angle and every shots fit the frames, even."

"Well, it's just cinematography." I admit proudly as I clasp my hands. "I have a thing for it. I picked it a little while back."

It is one of the best creations mankind had come up with, other than music, and it's been going on for generations. And with how the technology advances rapidly, so does cinema. Inclusions of bombing sound designs, computerized CGI for action, science fiction, even horror genres creating stunning visuals and effects, make them all-so pristine if done right.

What can I say, movies are simply gorgeous in every way. It is how I came to learn how to speak and write English. I used to watch all sorts of films that were available in the orphanage whenever I had the chance to do so.

Alone. Hand's holding a remote under the night of the children's room, I kept repeating the same scenes over and over and over and over, reading the subtitles out loud, copying the actors', actresses' words and pronunciations - until one of the sisters spotted me and scolding me for not going to bed early.

I silently scoff as I continue, "I think... I'm striving to become a director myself, sir. Or at least that's my goal for now."

"Very nice." Frank nods with a smirk.

"Thanks." I give him back my own.

"I'll edit the photos to make it look good. You do what you do, Frank." Pao sets the camera side.

"I'll start typing tonight, or when we get back. Alright-" He turns around, hand raises to the chef at the end and shouts, "Boss! Another bowl for this boy, please!"

"好!/Got it!"

I widen my eyes slightly. "Sir, it's unnecessary, I just had my fill before going here."

"You don't wanna miss the noodles. They're awesome. Chef kiss!" He states as he kisses his own gestured fingers.

"I'm grateful for the offer but I-"

"Son, it's okay." He holds a hand up in a quick gesture. "Hey, plus, you've done a great job! I think you deserve more reward, my boy."

Well, that lifts my heart up, so to speak. I haven't gotten any snacks as well. Normally I would accept the offer without second thoughts. However, the point is: Since I just landed here two-three days ago and am currently living in Asia, I do not know how to use chopsticks...

"Jesus Christ..." I mutter before going back to my usual smile. "Okay, thank you, sir."

He grins, "Not a problem."

"YAHOOOOOOO! "

"OY, OY, 走开!走开!/OUT OF THE WAY!"

The sound of a roaring engine, accompanied by primitive shouts, coming from the outside as we, including the customers, look out of the windows.

A couple of savages wearing black leather jackets shoving random people away. I witness a punk accelerating his bike to a man, who luckily dives out of the way.

I return back to my proper position as I turn. But Frank seems to fail to notice my disinterest as a genuine one as he speaks.

"They call themselves Shengou Shu... Sewer Rats." He shakes his head as I raise my brow, still uninterested. "Scums of earth, I tell you."

Pao nods, "Yeah, it's best we stay away from them. I heard rumors that... you know, they eat people..."

"It's still a gossip among the neighborhood." Frank says, "Considering they usually show up around evening, you gotta watch your back, Kilo."

Evening? Like, 04:00 PM? Do they have any relation to the thugs I encountered yesterday?

I frown and blink, pondering about it before nodding at Frank's advice.

"Kinda wanna find and sneak into their turf and spill them up."

"No, no! " Pao raises his hands, his shoulders tremble. "I frickin' refuse to go with you, even if you force me to."

"Hey, I covered wars, y'know." He flamboyantly spreads his arms.

"Bull- shit." His partner points out and Frank laughs loudly.

I just chuckle at that. At the same time, a waitress places down three dried noodles and three cups of sweet tea with respective straws. I gaze at my own serve, it looks delicately delicious with its brown coloring and chopped greens, bean sprouts and a half egg on the side. I can feel my stomach grumble from the sight.

...Don't get me wrong, I much prefer Mei's cooking over this.

Then again, my problem with chopsticks is still here so...

Frank gestures all around, "These areas, right here, folks called it, "生活区"."

"I beg your pardon?" I frown.

"Ehh, literally called "living area"."

"We like to call that "The Lively Neighborhood" instead." Pao corrected.

Not much of a livelihood when there are so-called cannibal gangsters around now, would it?

"Yeah, but look, back to my main point Pao, this ain't the sixties or the eighties, anymore." He bemuses, "People have changed their ways. They don't go around insulting others with messed up jokes that are hardly any funny to begin with. Now, we have the internet - the social media. You see lots of those useless posts on Facebook."

"The memes."

"The memes." Frank nods at Pao's words. "Especially those, and youngsters are way into dubsteps these days. See how much this generation has changed in twenty-fourteen?"

"That's so..."

Frank just constantly throws words that seem jumbled together and Pao, while nodding at every stuff, is eating his food with no care whatsoever as if he's being in his own world.

I'm trying my best to stay with the flow. I nod and nod, drinking my sweet tea, and giving my stand whenever I was asked. Or what seemingly directed at me.

Slowly but surely, I am beginning to lose interest as I fiddle with the plastic straw, but I keep an eye contact with the talking journalist.

"Your noodles are getting cold, my boy. You should eat it right now." Frank says before taking a bite of his own.

"I just can't, sir." I click my tongue and look dejected. "I'm just so full right now that I'm about to die."

We both laugh.

No, seriously, I'm going to die if I don't consume things right now. The tea may quench my hunger for a bit, but it's not enough to satisfy it. My intestines are screaming for actual food as I heard it groaning again just now.

"Well then, just take it home, I guess. It would be a shame if you miss this one out."

Frank then calls the waitress, telling her to wrap my food with plastic or something. In which I grin at that.

"Splendid - Thank you so much, sir." I give the plate to the madam and thanked her in Mandarin.

"For Christ's sake." He grumbles while reaching out for the peppers on the side. "We're basically friends now, Kilo. No more "sir" or "sirs" in that matter."

His words went into my right ear and out of the opposite, just like that, as I sincerely nod.

"Alright then."

I see him reaching his pocket, taking some money out. I can't contain my smirk at the folded papers as I accept it gracefully.

"There you go, six hundred, as promised."

I shove the money into my pocket, right about time as the waitress hands me a package of noodles with bamboo chopsticks inside a plastic bag. Then I excuse myself, they look a bit dejected but I couldn't stay long anymore, due to my starvation...

Or perhaps I'm just sick of sticking around.

I exit the restaurant. But I'm not going home just yet; I still need to go to a clothing store. According to the map, there's one just two blocks from here.

So I head there, carefully and trying to not bump into passersby by twisting my body here and there. Somehow, the crowds are getting merrier than before.

Suddenly, I can hear a small whimper coming from my side as I halt my steps. It doesn't take me a while to find the source, as I lay my eyes on a small sized brown canine on the corner.

A puppy.

It whimpers again while fidgeting its tiny paws as if calling for something, or someone. I gaze around the people, but they don't seem to care, only sending looks of pity, and just walk away.

No surprises there. I mean, who would get close to a random animal such as this one?

...

I approach the puppy with calm footsteps, trying not to scare it away. But it lifts its tiny head and the sharp ears perk up.

I got its attention - Good.

"Hi..." A smile forms on my face as I crouch and gently caress its head, the puppy's tail wiggles in delight.

Feeling its sharp furs dancing all around my fingertips as I slowly move them repeatedly. A warm fuzziness entangles my heart as I can hear it beating ever so slightly, the smile on my face becomes a grin.

Then, the little one whimpers once again and lets out a small grunt, licking its paws and sniffing the ground near it. A thought crosses my mind as my eyes turn wide of revelation.

"You hungry?"

Another whimper as if it's telling me "yes".

I frown. I remember I walked past a clerk store not far from here. Vendors are one of many options, but I wouldn't even dare to give it unhealthy meals. And I know for a fact that most canines are okay with anything as long as there's nutrition. No way in hell, I would feed it my dried, cold noodles.

I have a choice to pick.

"Come on." I carefully pick it up with both of my hands, and now it's lying on my palms and cuddles the fabric of my green shirt.

"Let's go get you some snacks, okay?"

Two small barks, and I pet it again as a reward for being eager.

It only takes a few minutes of walking to go to the store. I swing the door open, enter and I spot a woman behind the counter, stacking up boxes with her back on. But when she turns her around-

"-哎呀! 你为什么带狗来?/Why're you bringing a dog here?"

"Gou"...? As in "dog"? My Mandarin isn't that fluent, so I have a hard time interpreting the words.

"Um... 对不起/Sorry." I call, I hope my pronunciation is correct, "不好意思, 我-/I don't mean harm, I'm-"

"I says, why you bring dog here!?" The woman speaks, even loudly this time, and points at the door. "I already place signs there and you still cannot read, ah?"

"Oh..." I hug the little one, ignoring her finger point. "You have to excuse me, I can't possibly leave it alone. Besides, it's a puppy, it won't hurt no one."

"No, no." She exaggeratedly waves her hands in front of me.

"Please, ma'am. It's just a pup-"

"Puppy, not puppy, take it out!"

I close my mouth as I stare the cashier's deformed, angry face. The little one whimpers yet again. My hand caresses the canine, in an attempt to get rid of its fear away. Dozens of customers stopped and eyeing my figure around.

"Out!" She shouts.

"...Okay." I whisper.

I exit the store and I take a long sigh while searching for a spot for the little one to stay. There are several plant pots on my side, and I think that would be safe enough for it. But...Leaving it alone, again? I have my bag on me. Surely, I can just put it inside.

Certainlynot.

Nobody would go near pots anyway.

I gently settle the puppy down near a ceramic pot, "I'll be back, don't go anywhere, alright?"

Giving it another pet, I immediately go back to the store - throwing the woman a dry smile - before I fade into one of the passageways between the multiple shelves.

"Dog food, dog food, dog, cat, cat..." I mutter as my eyes are scanning through every section, every corner.

Soon enough, I finally found a bag of food exclusively for puppies at the end of the aisle on the first row. All I need is milk, plastic plate and bowl.

Wait...do puppies drink milk? Or can they drink milk? Or should I grab a bottle of water...?

I stop, taking my phone out and begin my search through the good old internet.

"Bottled water...generally safe." I nod with a sense of clarity.

While pocketing my device back, I dash toward the other section and grab a bottle, the plastic plates and bowls on the other corner, and quickly rush to the counter.

"Hi." I place my goods down, ignoring the glare of the cashier as I watch her doing her job.

In just a few seconds, she has wrapped everything up into a grocery bag. She types something on the machine a few times before the pop-up display shows the digits.

100 Yuans, in total. 60 for the pup, 15 for the bottle and 25 for the plastic dishware.

Is it really that expensive here?

I narrow my eyes at the screen and at the clerk. Reluctantly, I take out the right amount of the money and pay for it. Afterwards, I thank the woman, snatch the bag using the hand I'm carrying my food with.

A wave of relief washes over me as I see the little one is still there, pawing at the ceramic pot.

"Come on, let's go back." I pick it up with a single hand.

Its parents are probably waiting, or the mother is still out there... somewhere. My conscience tells me that she has already died. But, I can't be so sure about it. Perhaps she's still hunting for food for hers and her child.

After we come back, I set the canine and the grocery down, taking out the plastic plate and bowl, unlid the bottle and pour a good volume of water in the bowl.

The little one sniffs the water for a moment before it drinks by licking the liquid. On the other hand, I tear the bag, pour out the contents as brown, square-like shape chips drumming on the plate.

"There you go, buddy." I stop at the right amount as the puppy switches to the edibles.

Dogs are such enthralling creatures. They bark to scare away any potential threats that may or may not threaten their lives, or their kin, or just to get your attention while wiggling their cute tails. I smile as I imagine them rolling around, limbs bent, big, round eyes staring at me, yearning to be spoiled, yearning to be loved...

As I watch the puppy chews, I can't help myself but to reach out to its head and start to caress it again for a few good times.

I switch my attention to dog food, pullled by those brown, dry, small...snacks...

Meals...

Eyes moving to the side as I gaze at the plastic bag on my hand, yanks the plastic strip and peek inside the bag.

There are still a lot of them.

I reach in. Taking out a chip, examining it for a while before I place it in my tongue as I can taste the rough texture and crunches it-

"...Ah."

I have come to an understanding. It is a terrifying mix of strong meat with copious amounts of grains. This mild, beefy flavor quickly comes and goes the moment I swallow it down to my throat.

Overall, it is pretty good. Not a bad one for my first test of animal food. Although, since this meal is manufactured for puppies, I do think the dog ones are actually much more hard to chew. Probably have a more strange, meaty odor, as well.

I take another bite while looking at the little one that is still enjoying its time devouring the chips.

I take another piece again as my mouth opens. However, I stop mid-way as a young woman stands and staring at me ludicrously, as her mouth agapes. I immediately close my mouth and place the food to the plate, smiling at her.

As if almost freaked out by my action, she hastily continues her walk and vanishes to somewhere. Which I sigh and shakes my head, figuring that I should go to one of the stalls and grab me some food.

But, this puppy though... I can't possibly leave-

"Hello, hello! Mister foreigner!"

I glance at the corner of the alley, an approaching slender-looking Shenzhou man who's grinning ear-to-ear all the way.

As he stops near me-

"How much?"

Surprised mix with confusion as I stare up and frown at his plain face looking down on me. His grin is still there, as if it's his permanent feature of a person.

"Come again?"

"How much for that?"

He points with this finger, and I follow his direction that leads my eyes to... the little one? That's not right, what?

"You mean these things?" I gesture at the grocery and the bag I'm holding. But to my surprise again, he waves his hand.

"不是, 不是! 那个小狗啊!/No, no! I mean that dog!"

He points again. I soon come to notice that this man's pupils have turned wide; eyebrows overdrawn while he's looking at the little animal, coupled with his distinguishable yellow liquid on the corner of his parched lips and his abnormal, hitched breathing.

This man is not... right in his mind.

"...It's not for sale." I shake my head with a smile.

"我给你五百元, 好吗?/I'll give you five hundred, okay?"

My face contorts into a slight disgust, and I stand up, "Sir, I-"

"H-How about six hundred? Six hundred, is okay?" He leans his head towards me, and I take a step back.

"Like I said, sir. It's not for-"

"Seven-five? Huh, huh?"

"...sale."

"E-Eight! Then, eight!?"

"..."

He continues to talk and talk and talk, cutting me down like some sort of sharpest tool in the shed - attempting to buy me over a canine. His words spout out his mouth as if a toxic mushroom polluting the wind.

I don't listen to him, nor do I pay any attention to his grotty demeanor. Instead, I stare straight into his brown, hazy eyes. The side of my lips creep up to that of a soft, affiliative smile. Without blinking, I move slightly close to him and lightly chuckle.

"I feel like... gripping you around the throat right now and screaming to your pathetic face: No... I am not interested, please walk away."

The man stays silent afterwards, eyes widen as his eyes roaming around my face while taking a step backwards.

"...神经病/You're crazy."

He whispered those words and walks away with a hasty steps. I stare at his back until he escapes my vision. Until he's nowhere to be seen anymore.

I go back and crouch in front of the pup. When I look at the plate however, it's now empty and clean.

"Aww, you ate all of them huh, you little glutton." I rub him with both of my hands.

When I look at its face and remember the disgusting sight of the stranger, an idea pops out of my mind as I smirk.

"Say, how about you come to my home and I'll-"

BARK! BARK!

My shoulders jump in fright and I look to the side. Another canine slowly approaches me, the dog, to what seems to be a German Shepherd breed, keeps barking at me for some reason as I raise my hands by reflex.

"Whoa, hi..."

Suddenly, the little one dashes towards the other. The big dog sniffs and licks its head as their tails shake in a form of happiness.

I lower my hands and sigh. As it turns out, the little one does have a family. One, single family.

The Shepherd picks its kin up by using the jaw, which leaves me with a pang of worry as I rapidly blink at that. Then, they move away somewhere.

I stand up and was about to call them, yet when I open my mouth, I suddenly have no idea what to say as if my strength somehow is leaving me.

"..."

I look back at the stuff I gave to it. Repeatedly, staring forward and back one by one. A familiar cool wind runs through as the breeze cloaks my entire body as I let out a shaky breath and my sight starts to blur. I look up to seek the sun.

But all I found are just the white, empty clouds.

I rub my eyes and take a deep breath. After a moment of calming myself down, I pick up the stuff and throw them into the rubbish, except for my own cold food.

There's no more time to waste. I still need to buy some new clothes, the practical ones would be a simple T-shirt and a track pants.

Yeah...yeah. I'll just do that.

---

The journey back home wasn't quite smooth. I had to wait a little while for the bus while going through heavy traffic past the shopping district.

With all the cutting edge Shenzhou has, it makes no sense how come there are no subway trains, or any locomotives at all, in this city.

"You're late."

It is now 04:13 PM.

Fu Hua, dresses with her blue attire and wearing glasses this time, crosses her arms in front of her personal dojo entrance and to my heavily panting figure. And I wonder why she doesn't have her duffel bag on her.

"Sorry...I had to buy some clothes..." I say in between breaths. "And bought myself a dinner."

I gesture at my new, simple outfit (I failed to find any pads), show my packed noodles and the outfit I wore in a bag to her, but she still keeps furrowing her brows at me disapprovingly, and I feel somewhat smaller as I force myself to smile.

First day and I already made a bad impression.

I really wanna place my hands in a hot iron and let them burn.

"Come." She turns heel, slides the door open and walks right in as I bite my lips and follow behind. "Please take your shoes off and put them there. I forgave you the last time because you probably didn't know about it."

"Oh, okay."

After we remove our footwears and place them on a rack, I place my things on the bench and head to the center of the room where Fu Hua is waiting for me with her hands behind her.

"So, how do I star-" I stop with much enthusiasm. "Ah before that, should I call you master?"

"..."

"Sifu?"

"..."

"Shifu...?"

Silence fills the room and I rub my hands, feeling like I am at fault once again.

"Two things to clarify: First and foremost, you don't need to call me that." She points out, "Secondly, "Sifu" is Cantonese; "Shifu" is Mandarin."

I know about it. I'm just testing the water to bring out a lighter tone.

Though, I nod along.

"Right, actually, back to my first question. How do I start learning Shenzhou martial arts? Like the Kung Fu stuff, Wing Chun and all that?"

"I won't do that." She quickly replies.

"Oh, okay...what? " I furrow my brows. "I'm sorry, what do you mean by that?"

She stares at me intently, "Most Kung Fu is insufficient for street fighting, and sometimes it gives nuisances than chances to overcome your opponents. There are a lot of techniques in Kung Fu. Moreover, it will take months, years even, depending on how much potential you may hold within you, to practice your strength, flexibility, coordination and hone your skills."

"Well, doesn't that apply to every martial art?"

"It does. But like I mentioned, insufficient."

"Why not just... you know, learning one style?"

"No." She gives another solid response. "My suggestion is for you to learn something other than that."

"Such as?"

"Judo, Karate, Krav Maga, even Muay Thai. I highly recommend Kickboxing, instead."

"Kick...boxing?"

"Yes. Considering the fact you have less of an experience when it comes to fighting, Kickboxing, or Boxing in general, is a great start."

I do have experiences in brawling, I raised my hands when I had no other choice - when they threw me down like a piece of sack. Yet, I failed, nonetheless.

I bite my lips. "But, that sounds a bit... unconvincing."

"What do you mean?" She raises her brow before sighing. "Answer me this: Why do you want to learn Kung Fu?"

"Hm?" My eyes turn wide, surprised. "Ah, w-well..."

Fu Hua tilts her head down, frowning at my face.

"Do you think...Kung Fu is remarkable, don't you?"

A pause. I close my eyes and silently nod.

I cannot lie. How could I recline to something that I really love? I watched those Hongkong action-flick blockbusters, and I enjoy everything - I was fascinated. How the actors and stunt actors did their best in creating exciting mayhem; flashy moves, brutal hits, destructive environments and so on.

I love Kung Fu.

There is a moment of another silence as Fu Hua tries to get a final nuance out of my facial expression. And then, she sighs.

"Sit down." She gestures before lowering her body, sitting cross-legged on the padded floor.

"What are we doing?"

"Meditating."

I had a question in my mind, but I ignored it. Instead, I imitate her position, hands resting back on the knees, sitting upright and head straight, looking at her.

"Have you ever done it before?"

"No, actually." I answer truthfully.

"Then, please allow me to guide you." She replies and I nod. "Close your eyes."

I follow her instruction as the world turns black.

"Picture a candle, standing in front of you. Focus - Concentrate on it."

A projection of white paraffin wax floats still around the darkness.

"You can nod if you already have done so." She orders and I comply. "Is the candle lit ?"

My lips quiver at her words. It's not because of her harsh tone, but the fact that she didn't tell me to do it in the first place, somewhat irked me.

Whatever - There, I light it up.

"It is." I simply reply.

"...Now, gently, breathe in through your nose. Fill the lungs with the air for three seconds."

I inhale with my nostrils as my chest rises up.

"Then breathe out through the mouth. Slowly."

Exhaling the carbon dioxide out through the small gap on my mouth while still imagining the lit candle floating.

"Continue, until I say stop."

Fu Hua's words echo. And then comes the silence. I inhale and exhale. In and out. I will continue this process until she says so. I have the urge to move around as the rough floor under my butt is starting to feel sore, and my spine begins to hurt after a little while.

Yet, I don't move. I am not willing to move. Breathing. Again and again.

Again. Again.

Orange.

Color of the sun.

Light.

Its warmth engulfs and guides me to the rushing waves of the ocean, and into the path of radiance on these stones I have set down upon myself. Walking into the palace of oh-so bright on the palms of this giant.

Speechless. Glorious. Majestic.

All forms of delusions gather in a single, empty box.

But the Moon. Oh, the futility of the Moon with its abysmal desire to stay in close with the Sun so its existence will prove to be purposeful.

Deceit. Lies. Hollow.

Let there be no clarity within the polarity.

"Wake up."

I snap my eyes open, eyes flicker around before focusing on Fu Hua.

Her eyes are as sharp as a knife.

"You were sleeping."

"I... was?"

"Even snored."

No way.

Ah, no, I think I was circling around in a room with a man who looked a lot like David Hasselhoff.

Maybe he was The Hoff, himself.

"You have lost your concentration. That candle is an object - your catalyst - so don't lose it. Don't focus too much on your breathing, else your candle will dim out and you will be gone to sleep without you even knowing."

"Try again." Fu Hua frowns. "Focus."

I furrow my brows, but I decide to just close my eyes and picture the illusory candle in my mind, and breathe.

I steel myself - This time, I won't dissappoint her. Like she said, focus, concentrate at the dancing fire.

...

...

...

...

...

"Kilo."

I open my eyes, and blink away the black spots for a few moments. Then, I stare at Fu Hua across from me.

"How do you feel?" She questions and I ponder for a bit as I wet my lips.

"Um...My head feels lighter and my breathing becomes... calmer? Like my lungs have more space now?"

"Such is the essence of meditation." She specifies as she nods. "You managed to maintain your posture straight and breathing normally throughout without a single flinch. For someone who has performed their first meditation, albeit small mistakes, I must say I'm candidly impressed."

I grin at her praise, but there's a thing bothering me, regarding the question I wanted to ask her before.

"Is this necessary for, like, any martial arts?"

"Of course." She nods. "It is to help oneself to have a clear state of mind during the battle. The old once said, "One must become the tide to turn the course of the flow". "

I blink at the quotes. "To control...?"

But, she shakes her head.

"To be better. "

The interpretation of the quote has left me wondering. If I were to become water itself, shouldn't I be the one who controls the current and do whatever I want?

"We'll continue this tomorrow." She stands up and I whip my head at her.

"What?" I exclaim while getting up, ignoring my knees cracking from the sudden act. "We're not moving on?"

"It's almost six." She replies as she adjusts her glasses. "You definitely don't want to miss your dinner."

My mouth is gaping like a fish. How come...I've been meditating for almost two hours?!

"It doesn't feel like-"

It felt like several minutes.

"What is it?"

"No." I slowly shake my head. "Nothing... Just wondering about..."

"Hm?" Fu Hua purses her lips, seemingly confused at my abnormality.

I lightly cough to get rid of the awkwardness.

"So uh," I cough again, "we're going to proceed with the physical training?"

"No, we're going to meditate."

"...Again? "

"Until you've mastered it without any hindrances."

What's the point of me in these new clothes, then?

"The usual time, then?" I ask, resisting the urge to groan, while gathering my stuff from the bench.

"Since tomorrow is Saturday. Let us meet here after lunch, one o'clock."

"There's no school on Saturday?"

"Some extra classes until twelve." She closes the door.

"Alright then." I give an understanding nod. "Be seeing you, Fu Hua."

She narrows her eyes a bit at my words. Well, I copied one from her, nonetheless. Fu Hua doesn't seem to be like she's angry, just mildly surprised. My tone didn't even have a cord of mockery, whatsoever.

To my relief, she nods.

"Be seeing you."

With that, we walk back to our respective homes.

I... I definitely can't say anything. As I simply do not know anything about martial art. But if it really helps me on defending myself, then so be it.

After I open the door with my own keycard, stepping into the living-dining room, I hear a wacky sound effects across the room, from the TV. I smile the moment I see Mei stirring a soup in a pot on the stove in the kitchen.

"Hi, everyone."

Though my call falls deaf to both Kiana and Bronya, Mei immediately notices me as she glances back.

"Ah, Kilo, welcome back."

"Take this! And that!"

Another hitting sound effect echoes around the room as I place my outfit bag down and hangs my satchel on one of the hangers. Kiana and Bronya are seemingly having fun playing a video game, sitting beside one another on the couch. The former is, as usual, loud with no common sense of indoor noise.

"By the way, if you don't mind." I show her the packaged, cold noodles. "Mei, can you please heat this up."

"Sure, but," She grabs it and heads to the cabinet, taking out a bowl. "what about your food?"

"It's fine, I don't think a noodle can satisfy me." I say as I take a seat.

"This is from Wan Ah's, right? They come with a large amount of portion, if I remember correctly."

"Well, you know, I'm something of a big eater myself." I wave my hand dismissively with a laugh.

I'm not going to miss out on her masterpiece of a creation. Not a single day.

"Did someone say Wan Aaah!? Stop spamming!" Kiana yells at the screen, and of course, Bronya doesn't reply.

"Where's Miss Himeko?" I ask as Mei had set up the microwave timer to ten minutes and return to stirring her tasty soup.

"She's out until midnight. Usually."

"Uhh, Friday Night?"

"Mhm. What happened to your clothes?" Mei suddenly asks.

I twirl my point fingers on my clasp hands, "Well, I was... jogging, keeping my blood pumped up."

"Oh."

"Yup." I nod before switching to other topics, "That smells good, what are you cooking?"

"Just a potato soup with err, I added eggs in it." She replies, "I want to try out new stuff though I'm not sure it will turn out great."

It will sure turn out perfect, Mei.

"SLASH!"

"Wait, no!"

I take a glance at the ladies for a while, Kiana is shaking for some reason and her opponent remain calm.

"The Bronya wins again."

"You...My controller was not working well!"

"The controller is brand-new, produced by Homustation, and has been tested systematically in the factory. There are no delays nor any technical difficulties after Bronya examined it." The little lady deadpans.

Kiana frowns, "That is impossible. Why can't I jump to avoid your special attack?"

"The hitbox for the Dragon Install is wide."

"C-Change to another character then, I dare you."

"The Bronya accepts the challenge."

The screen changes to, what I suspect, character selections. I look back to Mei as she closes the lid of the pot.

"They're really enjoying it, huh?"

"Believe it or not, they've been going around like this for five months." She mentions with a nervous laugh.

They were literally fighting over two fictional characters from the anime (that I forgot its name of) last night, arguing who's the strongest or something like that. Evidently, Kiana was so loud at voicing her opinions that I had to excuse myself and decided to go hit the hay early.

I didn't get the chance to know Mei closer, but I will do it now.

"Is cooking, like, your hobby, Mei?" I ask nicely, leaning back on my chair with a smile on my face.

"Not really." She shakes her head with a small smile. "I happen to be picking it up because, um..."

As Mei leans on the countertop to relax herself, I see her moving her eyes to the side. To the living room where Kiana and Bronya are.

A look of mild, unfiltered trust.

But then she starts to look around and eyes become unfocused, holding her hands together and I can see her shoulders tremble, coupled with the slight troubled look on her facial expression as she bites her lips.

It doesn't take me a second to realize I have pried into a safe that should be left alone.

Because I know that look very well.

"I'm sorry, I-I-"

DING!

We gaze at the microwave, and Mei moves to take the heated food out. She then places the bowl in front of me with wooden chopsticks.

"There you go." Mei says with a hint of strained tone that tightens my heart with strings.

I give her an appreciative look and thank her. As I take the wooden chopsticks, I silently groan and curse myself for not being aware of Mei's well-being.

I already know for a fact that her father was arrested for an accusation that probably wasn't his fault. Something had happened to her. Something had changed her. She was a student of Chiba Academy, and that school was in Nagazora. And half of the city was destroyed.

And Honkai was the cause of it.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Hm?" I look up while fiddling with the sticks. "Ah, no, I'm just..."

"You don't know how to use them?"

"...No." I chuckle.

"I can help, if you want to."

"What?" My eyes turn wide as she put up a smile.

"W-Well that is, if you want..."

I remain speechless. For a moment, as I stare at her face, I swear my heart skips a beat and I swear I'm hearing Louis Armstrong playing with his trombone behind me.

"I..." My voice croaks, I absentmindedly nod. "Yes, please."

She shoots me another smile before taking another chopsticks for her own and she takes a seat across from me.

Mei begins to show me how this twin utensil works: Grip the chopsticks like a pen or a pencil, diagonally, about one-third away from the top, and lean the two sticks on the ring finger.

"Use the middle finger, put between them like this."

As she demonstrates it, I look to my own and follow her steps.

"It acts like um, call it as a "piece" to create a gap. As you let go of your middle finger, you can grip your food by pinching your point finger and your thumb.

I eagerly nod and practice. Though, I end up failing a couple of times as one of the sticks are either fell, slipped from my fingers, or I pinched it so hard, it flew away to the edge of the table.

"A-Am I explaining too fast?"

"No, no." I quickly shake my head. "They're very much understandable."

"Oh, I'm glad."

"Yeah. No one I've ever met has ever given me an explanation like this way, so it's really... helpful."

"Glad I could be of help, then." She gives a small, yet strained laugh.

My heart beats like crazy as it's about to pop. I don't even care if she gave me such a sloppy explanation. Jesus, she's teaching me and it's all I ever could ask for.

For the sixth try, I've finally done it as I make tapping sounds coming from the end of the chopsticks.

"You did it." Mei exclaims and I grin happily.

I was about to thank her again, until the pot behind hisses. Mei's eyes turn wide and she paces to the kitchen, turning the stove off.

"Thank goodness..." She whispers.

I shouldn't bother her any longer and let her do her work. Now it's time for me to put my lessons to come true.

Although I'm trying to ignore the sounds of the tapping buttons being mashed by the Kaslana, I can't help but feel bad about it.

Please, keep on keeping on, controller while I'm struggling to learn this technique myself.

"SLASH! "

"The Bronya has come to a conclusion: Subject Kiana simply lacks the skill."

"You were spamming that dolphin again and again!"

Hey, I managed to snatch one!

"Skill issue."

I have mastered the essence of chopsticks.

"Why you-" Kiana grits her teeth, "Alright, alright then! Next round, I'll be sure to win this time, I'll prove it to ya!"

"Da."

Oh my god, this tastes good. But not as great as Mei's dishes though.

"Guys, it's time for dinner! Kiana, Bronya, please turn the game off now." Mei calls out as she prepares everything on the table.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm coming!"

Like a flying fighter jet, Kiana rushes to her seat with loud thumps. At the same time as she sits down, I hear the front door opens with a click.

Someone makes a long sigh.

"Good evening, everyone."

"Hey, Auntie." Kiana greets as I stop slurping my food.

Why did Himeko come home early? No, wait, that didn't sound like her at all.

"Good evening, Miss Principal."

"Miss Principal."

The unexpected revelation from Mei's and Bronya's words have made me cough and accidentally slurp down my noodles to the wrong pipe as I hack and instantly gulp down a cup of water.

"Where were you in the last few days?" Kiana outrightly asks and Theresa giggles, staring at her smugly.

"A secret mission for an S-ranked Valkyrie, my dear niece." Theresa finds a seat, right across where Himeko sits.

Niece?

"Aw, come on, tell me."

"Nope, it's a secret."

When I look at both of them, comparing them, they have awfully similar appearances, minus the heights, from the color of the white hairs and facials, bright blue eyes.

"I'll pre-order the latest volume of your favorite manga." Kiana grins toward the Principal.

A haughty laugh coming from Theresa, "Too late, I already did that."

"Well, I get it that it's REALLY big, but two of them don't sound bad, right?" She holds her hands in front of her as if holding an imaginary book.

"Hmm...still no." Theresa giggles at her supposed niece who is pouting in frustration.

They look more like a mother and a daugth- No, wait, that sounds wrong. This... doesn't look right. What? Huh?

"Subject Kilo."

Bronya taps my right shoulder as I switch my attention to the little lady beside me. Her emotionless gray eyes prying into me.

"Staring at the opposite sex for a minute is a proven perverted behavior according to various studies."

My face morphs into a ridiculous one. I soon notice that everyone gives me a look. I could care less about any of them by now, because they're probably thinking negatively about me.

Probably, including Mei.

My heart winches a bit.

"I wasn't staring." I try to smile.

"Nyet. The Bronya has observed him for two minutes and twenty-three seconds as Subject Kilo was staring at Miss Theresa and Subject Kiana."

Well, look at yourself!

I release a strained laugh.

"I wasn't staring." I shake my head exasperatedly as if it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever done. "I was just thinking about something... when I heard them talking about mangas."

The Russian girl still glares at me, blinking at every ten seconds.

"I remember that I have to return some books tomorrow... before one o'clock strikes." I add with a wide smile.

Her unhinged, dead impression sends shivers down to my spine, along with her weird usage of third person multiples with how monotonous she speaks, as if I'm communicating to an apex predator.

Thankfully, Bronya blinks, looks at the dishes as if they're interesting.

Maybe I should avoid her every now and then.

"Ahem, speaking of which, young Kilo." Theresa calls and I look at her. "Miss Himeko mentioned that you are a fast-learner person."

"Oh yeah, people told me that a lot."

"Able to finish three history books within six hours." Theresa gives a nod of awe.

"Wha!?" Kiana whips her head to me, even Mei stares at me astonishingly.

And I can't contain my pride as I smirk a bit.

"It's nothing special, really, I did say to Miss Himeko the three of them shared some similarities." I voice my opinion. "I like to learn new things."

"Good, good." Theresa smiles, "I will help to add more subjects to your upcoming assignments!"

"..."

My face comes crashing down the moment she said that, but I got my act back up in just a second.

"That sounds splendid." I nod, nonetheless. "I'm looking forward to it."

I truthfully don't...

She seems like she was planning it this whole time, too. Lying or not, it will both lead to her conclusion. Nothing I can do about it, anyway.

After all, what's the point of being a good noodle if that person doesn't follow the established "rules"?

---

Shuliang Wu Avenue - West of Soukai City.

The sun has entirely settled down.

He looks at his watch, for a good measure, sighing in a small worry and he stares out of the broken window at the night of the road in the distance.

The abandoned house they're told to stay in wasn't quite the place to seek solace, but it will do it. They have light, sleeping bags, and most importantly, rations downstairs.

"Why don't we just take these resources, or whatever, right now?"

He turns his back from the window. One of his companions moans while sitting on a dirty couch, legs resting on a box in front of him, enjoying his cigarette with numerous cans on his side.

"That's not how it works, Akira. D'ya listen to what boss's said?" He made a look.

"Nah, Sean, Akira was snoring like a pig during the meeting."

"Hey, Lin." Akira calls.

"Yeah?"

"Shut your trap."

The youngest one, Linzhe, barks out a laugh on his creaking chair at the corner of the room. Matsuda throws a nearby tin can to the kid, whom the latter tilts his head, as the can hits the wall.

He rolls his eyes at his companion's ignorance. Nonetheless, he would recap everything to him with single sentences to make sure it's all in his head.

"We wait here. We raid in. Load them in the trucks. Scatter them in some points the boss'd planned. And wait."

"Aaah...I see, I see." He then ponders, "Wait... didn't I hear there's uh, an inside guy, or somethin'?"

"Yeah." Lin gives a firm nod. "Boss says they're an expert on hacking and infiltration. Whoever this tech guy is, they're good. Real good. But, they won't be with us, for some reason."

"Still ain't gettin' why it has to be boss dealing with this bullshit." Akira absently asks as he flicks the spent ashes onto the floor.

"Look, it's either us or that little shit going in and out with more blood on her hands." Sean walks to the center of the room. "Boss doesn't want any casualties, he wants everything to be clean... Remember who picked us all up from the gutters? Remember who gave us the second chance?

Akira stays silent, running his fingertip on his lower lips as if to ruminate back to his old life.

"We owe him this." He points to his chest, making eye contact with both people. "And he needs us to get into that facility and take the samples out."

"But...we're still working under Cocolia?" The younger one in the room, wonders out loud.

"That we are." He replies, "Doesn't mean we have to listen to her. We listen to him, and him,only. Nobody else. You, me, Lin, Mamoru and the others - We follow the Boss until the end of the line..."

"...Until the end." Akira whispers, a steel of loyalty and respect burns in his eyes.

Suddenly, a beeping sound echoes the room and Sean pulls his phone out of his pocket. He glances at the incoming notification, and grins.

"Get the gears downstairs." He says, "It's time to go."

---

Two things I'd like to say: First, I apologize for not being able to upload a chapter for almost a month. The second case has a relation to the first, I'VE FINALLY FINISHED WITH COLLEGE BABY!

The whole reason for my absence was because I had to study and learn again from my thesis (Yes, here we use thesis defense just to get the pass and snatch that Bachelor's Degree and slap that title into our names). I decided to put everything away and focus on that moment. It paid off and it felt really awesome and I had to take a few days of rest before went back to write on my first draft.

Putting those aside. I'd like to address a few things about my first ever story and the future:

One, I am still an amateur when it comes to story-building, world-building, action sequences and dialogues. I have a struggle with those last two parts as English is not actually my first language, so I've always had a hard time finding the right words to execute and describe the scenes.

But, I feel driven. Because I grew up with cinema and video games, any media, in general. Because I absolutely LOVE how the plot structured, characters interact with each other, and the psychological conflicts of each main cast. How can you root or support, feeling an emotional empath, for their actions, be it horrible or admirable? THIS is the main reason why I started to write. I love them as much as I love pizza.

Two, I'd already planned out the roadmap for this story up towards the later canon. Hell, I even already made some raw concepts for the upcoming game, Honkai: Star Rail, too. We still have the tiny bits of the lore so I wouldn't think it would work, hence why I called it "raw concept". I'll also try my best to use the in-game elements and lore of the Honkai itself, and not using other stuff from other franchises, which I've seen like...a lot from this site. I mean, I get that it's Fanfiction, but still, it doesn't sit right with me. And Honkai's lore is already a rabbit hole that I have to remind not to put random things with no sense of explanations whatsoever.

Three, I have no plans for making a Genshin Impact fanfic as much as I would love and want to after the devs had pointed out that Honkai and Genshin share the same universe not too long ago (I'm talking about the branches on Imaginary Tree). I have to focus on "Divergence" first, in particular. And as there's still a lot of to uncover from Genshin, I don't want to mess everything up.

This has been a long note, so Imma end it now by thanking you for sticking around till the end. As of the update today, thank you for the 57 favs and 91 folls. And THANK YOU for the reviews as well. You've helped me to breach a milestone and I hope you guys are doing well! See you!