This chapter has a medium change from the original.

Please read the author's note at the end of this chapter for a critical update, but other than that…

Enjoy!

I nervously tapped my fingers against my thigh as I tried to keep my thoughts in check, doing everything in power to not obey my instinct to shoot out of my chair and run out of the club room.

Which was harder said than done as I looked to one side of the table that held my teacher's irritated glare then switched over to the other side where Tesla was mirroring his expression while Einstein was calmly sipping on a cup of tea.

"Um…" I broke the tense silence between the three, inadvertently drawing the center of attention onto me. "I think I'm intruding on…whatever you guys were talking about here." Not like I wanted to know whatever the hell they were talking about before I got here.

"Yes you were," Ishigami's pissed expression shifted from me over to the two scientists on the opposite side of the table. "And I believe that you were just about to take your leave."

Einstein calmly set down her tea cup before looking the teacher challengingly in the eyes. "No, I believe that he has to add something to this conversation, a new perspective is just the thing we need to break this stalemate that we have before us."

Ishigami's eyes narrowed in return as he leaned forward. "And I wonder whose fault is that?"

"What is your problem!?" Tesla slammed her hands on the table, slightly shaking it as the tea cups on it shook from the impact. "All three of us want the same thing, for Ryoma's name to be cleared of these charges and to find the person responsible for spreading these rumors."

I looked at the red headed scientist in surprise. "Y-You think Mei's father is innocent?" I asked, not expecting that kind of answer. I would've thought that an organization as big as Anti-Entropy would not risk their image but apparently I was wrong.

The fact was further supported as Tesla looked offended by my question. "Raiden Ryoma is our closest confidant, so it goes without saying that we work closely together. If he was responsible for these crimes, we would've been the first to know." The scientist lifted her hands away from the table and leaned back into her chair.

"Not like he would've done them in the first place, man's too soft for those kinds of crimes."

That was an utter relief, the fact that Raiden Ryoma had no association with those crimes was a weight off my chest. Breathing a sigh of happiness I moved my attention to the cyan haired scientist. "Forgive me for my curiosity but what would've Anti-Entropy done? I thought that you would have remained neutral in all of this."

"No worries Haruto-san," Einstein coolly dismissed my concern. "It may be true that as a big organization our hands are tied in matters like these, but as confidants we weren't going to remain silent. We had planned to supply evidence to his defense team that would show that he was innocent"

The cyan haired scientist leaned her elbow on the arm of her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose before she sighed tiredly. "…though that no longer remains an option seeing that he has confessed to these crimes."

Ishigami placed his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers together. "And even if you were able to somehow convince the courts for a re-trial and prove his innocence, it wouldn't matter as the public perception has already been warped."

"But that does not mean that we can't do anything about the situation," Tesla affirmed as she lifted up her armored gauntlet in a show of conviction. "We intend to find out who exactly is the one responsible for leaking those files to the public and deliver justice."

"That's all good," It truly was, with how resolute they were in delivering justice for their fallen friend was really endearing but that got me thinking about something. "However does this relate to me though?"

What could I offer them that they didn't have? I didn't have the resources of one of the biggest organizations of the world at my disposal, I didn't have the super strength or intellect that could be of any use so that was off the table…

So what could Einstein possibly want from me?

"Haruto Nakamura," Einstein answered as if she was reading a dossier of my information. "A student that was only able to attend due to the sponsorship of Raiden Ryoma. Not even a week after his attendance had he formed a friendship with Mei Raiden and ever since has been a close friend of his daughter."

I narrowed my eyes at the tone that the cyan haired scientist was using but I would keep my reservations after she was done with whatever she was trying to imply.

"Yet he also has been involved with numerous situations that he has no affiliation with." The air flickered around the scientist as a tiny floating drone made its presence known. The light blue drone made a, rather adorable, beep as it hovered right above her shoulder.

The main mono eye the robot possessed lit up and I sucked in a breath in response, hoping that no one would see my behavior. The reason for my action was a projection that played a video of Kuro in her alternate form and a strange insect thing fleeing whilst Massive Electric soldiers were in hot pursuit.

"First the break in of Massive Electric in which you were at your home, only becoming aware of it when there was news coverage of it." The video soon changed to a very familiar alleyway as I watched my comatose body get lifted into an ambulance.

"Yet for some strange reason you found yourself to be a victim of an assault by one of those responsible for breaking into the corporation." The scene changed yet again as it showed numerous robots, not too different from the very one in this room, scanning the scorched surface of a rooftop. "Even stranger how curious at the same time a massive surge of honkai energy erupted on a rooftop not too far from where authorities found you, a fierce battle that had taken place that all but scorched a rooftop."

The hovering orb shaped robot now displayed a photo of Kiana's school ID as Einstein continued talking. "And that's not even the end of it. A few months pass from that incident and you befriend Kiana Kaslana on her first day of attending the academy, whose circumstances match yours with both receiving scholarships. It's no surprise that you two developed a close friendship in such a short period of time…"

The scene shifted to a very familiar part of the Nagazora docks, a miniature war being shown as gunfire and missiles flew through the night sky as the World Serpent clashed with Anti-Entropy. I had an inkling of how intense the battle had been back when I was there but never did I think it would be on the scale that I was seeing right now.

"But it was quite a surprise to hear of how you personally helped in freeing Kiana Kaslana from the World Serpent." A photo of me was now shown of me sneaking into the docks prior to the chaos, taken by some of the many security cameras that littered the docks. "A teenager who has no records of combat experience would rush headfirst into danger." Einstein turned her eyes towards me.

"Some might call you foolish for such a choice."

I stared back at her blue eyes unflinchingly as I placed a hand on my chest. "I would do that for any of my friends." I fiercely defended myself.

"And that is a very admirable trait Haruto-san," Admitted Einstein, a small smile on her face. "A dangerous and reckless one at that but an admirable one nonetheless."

Her smile dropped in place for a more serious expression as she continued. "However such a trait does not free you from some questions that I have about what actions you took."

"For example how was it that you knew that your own teacher, who I know is very secretive to reveal anything about his past no less his affiliations, had a connection to Anti-Entropy and informed him of the situation when you could've called the authorities to handle it."

I had to admit that was going to be a hard one to explain. I had thought that after telling the teacher of my circumstances that would've been the end of it but it seems that was not the case. I could only pray that I could somehow come up with a convincing alibi before I was questioned on that.

That train of thought was quickly pushed aside as the display changed to show me wielding that white and gold Schicksal prototype gauntlet as I fought alongside Midori.

Just seeing the black haired girl again was a stab to my heart but I pushed down the feelings that arose from seeing my friend in favor of focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Not to mention how you seemingly navigated yourself to an unregistered Schicksal container and was able to utilize a prototype weapon with little to no training against soldiers twice your age that held more experience than you do." Had Mei's kendo training regime to thank for that, also Schicksal for the gauntlet but mostly because of Mei.

"And finally," For one last time, the display changed to a scene I was not familiar with at all. I knew that I had done something when Iudex had 'killed' me but I never really knew what had occurred. No-one had anything to show me so I was left wondering what had exactly happened.

Now I had it as I stared at a photo, probably taken by one of the recorders in the vests of the soldiers that had been present at the , of me staring at Iudex with a glowing sword in hand. My eyes were drawn to the armor that I was somehow clad in and the sword that was almost blinding to stare at.

Yet I kept staring at it, entranced by its divine glow.

However as I kept staring at the sword, the more this sense of familiarity was growing within me. I didn't know how to explain it but the more I kept looking at it, the more sure I was that the feeling was that of familiarity.

My trance was broken when Einstein spoke up. "You were able to destroy a machine that effortlessly destroyed our own mech squadrons with nothing but a sword." She motioned to the glowing sword that I was wielding in the photo. "I may not know all of the details, in no part due to the works of a certain teacher," She gave a pointed glare to the teacher who just crossed his arms in response.

"But I know that something about you is different." The drone turned off its projection before it reactivated its cloaking technology and vanished from sight. With the little display show over, the scientist directed her attention from the clone over to me.

"And that uniqueness makes one have to wonder…" Her blue eyes took in a different look in them, the room's temperature seemingly dropping as the atmosphere changed.

This wasn't just a normal scientist I had to remind myself as I steeled myself for what was to come. While Lieserl Albert Einstein was one of the greatest minds to be currently on this planet, she was so much more than a simple scientist.

She was one of the heads that ran Anti-Entropy, and with it had to come a ruthlessness of its own caliber to back it up.

"What do all of these recent events have in common?" She questioned. "After all, I don't think it's a mere coincidence that you were present for all of them."

I sucked in a breath at what she was insinuating, not being the only one as Ishigami shot up out of his chair. "You think that he's responsible for Raiden Ryoma being in the situation that he is in."

"Of course not," Einstein calmly retorted as she shifted her attention back to the standing teacher. "Not only has he stuck with Mei through all of this, I know that you are a great judge of character. I am only pointing out the fact that ever since his arrival in Nagazora a series of events have followed in his wake."

"Though that could just be marked up as just a mere coincidence." Tesla pointed out.

"That is correct ," The cyan haired scientist agreed with her red haired counterpart. "But we all know coincidence is just a prelude to something more."

"So knowing all of this," My voice was low as I carefully thought my next few words. "What is it that you intend to do?"

Einstein just smiled, as if she was privy to something important, before she looked towards me. "Haruto-san, what do you think about all of this? If someone intended to take down a CEO of one of the most revered corporations, who do you think would've done it?"

That was an…odd question to ask after all of that. I definitely thought that she would've continued on but I wasn't complaining. Eager to get away from this topic, I answered the scientist's inquiry

"I would say…" I trailed off as I placed my hand on my chin, contemplating an answer. "Someone who wants what Raiden Ryoma has." I answered at last. "Someone who knew they would be able to replace him in the event that his leadership was called into question."

I apparently said the right thing as the cyan haired scientist was in agreement, "I came to the same conclusion, and with a certain Anti-Entropy executor cementing herself as the top choice to take over Massive Electric, I do believe we have our culprit."

"Cocolia," Tesla said. Apparently the blonde woman had a reputation that would make her the prime suspect, which was great seeing they had it right on the bullseye.

"So we have your culprit," I was not the only one happy to have a target as Ishigami looked all but ready to have this conversation done and over with. "Then what you have to do next is easy, go and confront her about it. I'm sure that you'll be able to find something to accuse her of if her reputation precedes her."

"It's not…" Einstein looked almost ashamed about what she was about to say as she looked away. "...that simple." She finished, much to the displeasure of Ishigami-sensei who suddenly slammed his hands into the table with great force.

It was so unexpected that I jolted in my seat and looked at my teacher with wide eyes.

"...Do not tell me you don't plan on doing anything again." His voice was low and dangerous as his brown eyes glared daggers at the scientist. I looked at him in shock with how cold he was being, not expecting that level of hostility from the rather calm man.

Tesla tried to de-escalate the rising temper in the room, raising her hands in peace. "If we try to denounce Cocolia on suspicion alone, Anti-Entropy will be split. She already has a sizable sway in the organization and should we choose to accuse her of Ryoma's downfall we will have a civil war happen as a result."

That was a reasonable explanation, choosing to let a lesser evil go free in favor of preserving one of humanity's strongest defenders against the Honkai. It didn't mean that it sat well with me as the prospect of letting the person responsible for Mei's predicament go free.

Ishigami was not so reasonable as he focused his ire on the red haired scientist. "And so you rather have this infection fester in the organization, damming other innocent people, rather than purge it before it gets worse?!"

"It's not as easy as you-!"

"Was not the whole reason Anti-Entropy was founded was to be what Schicksal would not?" Ishigami hotly questioned as I could see his fingers dig into the wooden surface of the table, beginning to create splinters from the pressure. "To be an organization that tolerated no evil and would do everything in its power to eradicate it?"

"Yet when it shows itself you twiddle your fingers together and turn a blind eye to it, all for the sake of image." The brown haired clone sneered.

I looked at my teacher in utter surprise over his behavior. Out of everyone in this room I expected him to not be the one to lose his temper. Yet as his anger was at an all time high, I had a suspicion of why he was so riled up about this.

I could only think of a certain part of his past that had him in a similar state like this. "This wouldn't have to do with…your circumstances would it?"

Tesla and Einstein simultaneously looked at me in shock, not at all expecting me to know the man's origins as a clone. "You told him?!" Tesla demanded from the brown haired teacher.

"What I do with my past is my business and no one else's," He defended before looking at me with a smile that did nothing to suggest that he was currently calm. "Speaking of which, Haruto shall I regale you with the final part of my origin story?"

I couldn't even suggest that he wasn't thinking straight as he did so anyway. "Well you see after an investigation was conducted into the origins of the laboratory that created me, it was revealed that a number of high ranking executors had a hand in funding the experiment, they all had a hand in killing my brethren and making our lives a living hell."

He looked down to his hand as he clenched it. "They knew of what they were putting us through that hell, every one of those who contributed knew. They knew and chose to do nothing, all for the sake of their seats of power."

His eyes snapped up to the two scientists as he pointed an accusatory finger at them. "Yet what did these two do with this information?!" His voice was barely hanging as he shouted the fury that he held for the two scientists. Even if I wasn't the receiving end of it, it was still terrifying to behold, let alone witness. "They swept it under the rug, tarnishing the name of the Sovereign and the dream that he entrusted to you!"

"We didn't know what they were doing to you!" Tesla shot back as she rose from her seat. "If we had known then-!"

"What?" Red dark energy began to shimmer into existence, a byproduct of Ishigami's current mood as he argued with the red haired scientist. "Give a blind eye to it like you always do?!"

Tesla opened her mouth to rebuke the man's claim only for Einstein to place her hand on the red haired scientist's arm, shaking her head that it was a futile act. The guilt on the woman's face revealed all that I needed to know about what was going on.

For the sake of keeping the dream of Anti-Entropy alive, in the absence of their Sovereign, they had to make some hard decisions. One of those decisions was to let Ishigami's tormentors run free…

An act that the teacher had not yet forgiven.

But as I stared at the expressions of both Tesla and Einstein, my mind drifted to the events of the story. I remember believing them to be villains, with their affiliation with Cocolia and Anti-Entropy.

However as the story progressed the view shifted as they proved time and time again of their good intentions. From assisting Theresa and the others in helping free Kiana from Otto, in standing against Cocolia at the Deep, even in trying to find a cure for Kiana's condition after the events of the Arc City.

They proved time and time again their compassion and resolve to save humanity. Even against unbeatable odds they were there with plans that would eventually lead them to victory.

"You have to start believing in people, trust in them to take you for your word." The memory of my grandmother's words played out in my mind as an idea began to take shape. As much as I wanted to believe that the recent development in Mei's behavior was the sign of good things to come, I knew that could only go so far in the grand scheme of things.

Who knew what people like Ryne would do to escalate the situation to satisfy their dark desires. And while the urge of violence was strong everytime someone mocked Mei, I knew that if I, or any of us acted on it, she would feel that she was responsible for the consequences and blame herself even further.

But if I told Einstein and Tesla about what would happen to Nagazora, told them about the cataclysmic event that would soon happen, then maybe, just maybe…

"You have to take the first step."

I could do something drastic now, change the future looming over us.

I couldn't tell them everything, just enough so they about the current situation. There was always the risk that they would demand more, hell it was practically guaranteed that they would ask how I came across this information.

It was more than apparent that I was placing all of my hopes and dreams on this one gambit. I was banking alot on what I knew of Einstein and Tesla's characters. I was placing alot of faith on typed up script of a video game to influence my actions.

For a split second I entertained the idea of my not going through with this gambit. To just sit back and pray that another situation would present itself that would allow me to help Mei and also not reveal what information I possessed.

However…doing nothing now meant that Mei would continue to suffer, that everyone in this city was going to die. They most certainly deserved it, for their horrendous treatment of my friend but there were others who still stuck with her through this perilous time.

And I would not let them die, not if I could do something about it

"I…have to try," I mentally steeled myself for what I was about to do. "For Mei, for everyone that I love."

Sucking in a deep breath and collecting my thoughts, I opened my eyes and took my first step into an unknown situation.

"Cocolia…" I started, silencing the argument that was taking place between my teacher and the two scientists, drawing their attention to me. "She plans on summoning a Herrscher." I revealed.

The reaction that my words got was what I had expected from the three of them. Tesla was the most open about displaying her shock as she gasped loudly, Ishigami-sensei just sucked in a breath while looking at me with wide eyes, and Einstein merely narrowed her eyes at me.

"A Herrscher?" The cyan haired scientist spoke, trying to determine what I knew about the harbingers of destruction. "How do you know-,"

"The third one," I interrupted her as I looked unflinchingly in the scientist's blue eyes as my voice never lost its seriousness. "After Void and Reason."

Again silence reigned once more as my words threw them out of the loop. I could see them all interpreting what I said, trying to determine if my words were true or false. Ishigami's eyes never moved from me as his brown eyes tried to see if I was lying, Tesla was mumbling to herself as I was unable to figure out what she was saying, while Einstein silently processed this.

After what felt like an eternity Einstein was the first to break the silence. "And how exactly do you know this Haruto?"

Of course the first question she asked was the one I couldn't answer at all. "I…I can't say." I turned my head away as I said those words.

Tesla's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she spoke up. "Then how can we trust-,"

"You can," Ishigami interrupted, his voice having lost its earlier temperament as it was back to its usual calm. "I can personally attest to the validity of his words." My teacher looked at me and nodded, affirming that he would be standing alongside me through all of this.

I could feel my eyes water up from the affirmation but I pushed those emotions back in, I couldn't cry now. Not only would it be an awkward situation to deal with but I couldn't break this momentum that I had managed to build.

"If he is willing to place his trust in you," Einstein looked at me, seriousness was all you could see in her eyes as shifted into her role as one of the leaders of Anti-Entropy. "Then perhaps there is some truth to your words,"

Tesla looked at her colleague in shock. "You can be serious Mophead!

"But that alone is not enough for me to take your words and believe in them." The cyan haired scientist affirmed, making it clear that what I told her was not going to be taken for granted. I just had to hope how I weaved it now would make it seem convincing.

"I may not be entitled to your secrets, whatever they might be, but I believe that a test is in order for us to determine if we shall believe your words." The Executor stated as an ultimatum was set.

"What test do you have in mind then?" I asked, ready to prove myself.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "It is up to you, all you must do is make your knowledge indisputable to be argued against."

Indisputable then? I placed my hand on my chin and fell into a state of contemplation as I considered my options. What could I exactly reveal that would both be able to gain the trust of these two scientists and at the same time not reveal any more that I needed to.

My eyes unknowingly drifted to Ishigami-sensei and at that moment I knew what I could say.

"…You're Sovereign's name, Welt Yang. It's not his real name." I simply said. There was no need to elaborate what the Sovereign's real name was as the secret of Welt Yang not being his true name was a secret that I was sure only the two scientists were privy to.

Not even Ishigami-sensei apparently knew about it, if the look he was giving me was something to go off of.

And it seems my suspicions were true as there was no rebuttal from the both of them. I could see surprise before realization took over in Tesla's eyes as her jaw dropped while Einstein's eyes merely opened a fraction wider than normal.

"I see," Processing that bombshell I just dropped, the blue haired scientist's eyes went back to normal as she looked at her red haired colleague. "Dr. Tesla, I trust you have no objections to Haruto-san's claims?"

The scientist just slowly shook her head as Einstein turned back to me, and I knew at that moment I had won over their trust…for the moment. "Go then Haruto-san, seeing how you know about one of our Sovereign's closest guarded secrets, we will give you the benefit of the doubt. Tell us what you know about Cocolia's plans."

"Cocolia plans on utilizing the resources of ME and Anti-Entropy to forcibly summon a Herrscher and capture it." I explained. "She plans on both dissecting it and trading the charged gem of the Herrscher to the World Serpent in exchange for freeing someone trapped in the Quantum plane."

"It would explain why she's been making frequent visits to the Deep as of late," Tesla contemplated my words. "If she wanted to free someone in the quantum plane then that facility would have all the necessary equipment to do so."

"Cocolia is someone who prioritizes ruthless efficiency of the mission over the lives of others and this plan of hers would endanger every single soul in Nagazora, it sticks to her motto." Einstein looked towards me with a questioning look. "Though with how detailed your explanation was, I believe that you would also know the identity of the one who would become the Herrscher."

I nodded with a grave expression, not at all excited to explain this part. "Mei…it's Mei Raiden."

The expressions of everyone present darkened. "It…makes sense in theory," Ishigami realized. "Herrschers are beings who fall victim to the Honkai's temptation, the desire of having the power to have vengeance on those who wronged them. It was how Sirin became the Herrscher of the Void originally."

Tesla nodded as she picked up from where the teacher left off. "And Nagazora has turned into a cesspool of negativity for Mei, you yourself Haruto know what she experiences on a day to day basis."

I nodded grimly with the scientist's assessment as I thought about everything Mei had to deal with, all the negativity she had to deal with. Yet that did not deter the hope that was beginning to blossom within me as everyone was trusting in my words. It was only a matter of time before we came up with a solution and Mei would be saved!

Only for that hope to get shattered when Einstein spoke up."But with how things have gone with her…I do not think we can prevent a transformation from taking place. Maybe death is the only option we have left."

"No!" I cried out, the one option that I did not want to be offered was now apparently our only course of action. "There has to be a better way! Maybe trap her in some kind of prison while we figure out how to save her."

I was still aware of the fact that Kiana was here, and Bronya as well, to be the ones to pull Mei out of her Herrscher trance but I did not want to get blindsided yet again by fate. Who knows what could go differently in the eruption, what little details could spiral it into a catastrophe. So while I wanted to trust in Kiana's role in this, I wanted more options to approach this with.

Not to mention the still unanswered question of how I was going to survive the eruption, let alone everyone else like Keji and Sora. None of us had Kiana's high resistance for Honkai so we were screwed.

"I'm sorry Haruto-san but if a Herrscher personality has already been born within Mei, there is little we can do to stop the eventual awakening." Einstein had a sympathizing look on her face as she spoke to me.

"And even if we were to trap her in a prison strong enough to contain the initial eruption, it won't do much for us in the long run." Tesla added in. "She would feel miserable in there and that misery will empower the Herrscher even further, adding more and more to her power. Before long she'll surpass the limits of the prison and the fallout will be much more devastating."

"Evacuation of the citizens is also not an option," Ishigami chimed in. "Not only would we not have a reasonable explanation for it, Cocolia would be more than suspicious and may decide to take matters in her own hands."

"There has to be something!" This couldn't be it, this was not the answer that I wanted to hear! "I don't know what, but there isn't anything you can do!" Dread overcame me as I looked to the floor, my body trembling.

Was this what my gamble would get me? Not a solution to save Mei but rather a death sentence for her!?

"There is one way" Tesla suddenly announced, making me look at the scientist in surprise.

"Hmm?" My surprise was shared as Einstein looked at her colleague in confusion.

"You know a certain crazy pudding scientist that we used to work with," She recalled as blue eyes widened in recognition. "Remember? The last thing he made before he went over to Schicksal."

"...Rasputin."

"What?" Ishigami questioned.

"Tower-like structures whose sole purpose is to absorb the Honkai radiation, " Explained Einstein as her drone decloaked and projected a hologram of these 'towers' in the middle of the tower. "It was developed with the intent to absorb the massive initial blast of honkai energy that a Herrscher emits when they awaken."

I looked in awe at the tower-like structure, marveling at the purpose that they served. If what she said was true about them, this could save millions of lives! This could save everyone in the city!

However I just had one massive question to ask about this 'Rasputin', "What do you mean 'developed'?"

"We never got around to building them as it's never been tested," Tesla revealed. "The scientist who built this had only developed a prototype before he left Anti-Entropy. Only he knew how to make improvements to the design should something go wrong."

"And the only way we could know if his prototype works is to have a live test and creating an explosion of that magnitude could have dire consequences." If it was designed with the intent of absorbing an eruption level event, then it didn't need to be said what would happen if they were testing it and something went wrong.

"But in theory it would work out?" Ishigami asked.

"The scientist who built this knew what he was doing," Affirmed Einstein. "So while it may have never been tested, I believe that we could get it working with a few modifications to its design."

A massive hopeful smile blossomed on my face as I registered those words, not daring to believe what it meant. "Then that means…"

"It's not a guarantee," Tesla clarified. "All the data does check out but we have no previous tests to confirm this. We are essentially putting all our apples in one basket over a pit of lava."

"But that still leaves the problem of the actual Herrscher who will no doubtedly-"

"I have that covered!" I interrupted, as I placed a hand on my chest. My heart was beating like crazy but at the moment I couldn't care as it finally felt like things were going our way. "Please don't worry about that."

Einstein looked as if she wanted to say more, probably questioning how I knew this but refrained from doing so as she turned to her colleague to plan out the logistics. "Then we should begin building them across the city while pulling out all of our manned mech squadrons in favor of our automated ones. It wouldn't do us any good to risk their lives should the Herrscher not be contained."

"Wouldn't Cocolia get suspicious of your activities?" Ishigami pointed out.

"She would if this garrison was under her control, which I'm happy to say is under ours." Tesla proudly pointed at herself. "She can't say anything either without casting suspicion on her own motives."

"But building these will take time," Ishigami said. "Time I am sure we have very little of."

Einstein was in agreement as she nodded before she turned to me with a serious expression. "Haruto-san, you will have the most important part in all of this. You must hold Mei back long enough for us to build these, though I must stress that this is not a guaranteed success."

I nodded knowing the gravity of the situation. The lives of every Nagazora citizen was hanging in the balance, if anything went wrong, even the tiniest of details overlooked, then catastrophic loss would follow. Despite that nothing could deter my hope from soaring.

For I finally found a way to change the future, for the better at last.

"You can count on me."

"I have to go now Einstein-san, Tesla-san," The cyan haired scientist and her colleague watched as Haruto gave his farewells. "I'll notify you if anything changes." The red headed teenager bowed before he turned on his heel and walked to the opposite end of the hallway they were in and turned a corner.

When he was out of sight, Tesla spoke up. "Mophead, shouldn't we be more suspicious of him?" Red eyes narrowed as she thought back to the conversation that they just had. "He clearly knows more than he lets on."

"Oh without a doubt," She affirmed. Such knowledge was dangerous in the wrong hands and she would know how exactly he came into possession of such a thing. "But did you see the look in his eyes? He would have never taken such a risk if he didn't know that we couldn't do anything to change what he knew."

"Besides," She interjected as she looked towards the door of the room that they had just left. "I have to thank him for giving me a chance to do something I have always longed to do."

"A chance to mend this bridge that I once thought was all but broken."

"It won't be easy, you know." Tesla looked at the same door with a face of guilt. "He still blames us for the death of his brothers."

"And he has every right to do so," She would not hide behind a lie to cover up her mistakes. No reason in the world could justify her short sightedness. "If only we had seen the signs of how weak our control over Anti-Entropy was back then we could've avoided it."

This incident was but one of many disasters that had happened under her watch. She was so focused on holding Anti-Entropy together after the events of the Second Eruption that she turned a blind eye to many things, things that still weighed on her soul till this very day.

"But the past is in the past, there is no point in dwelling on it. "With one last look she and Tesla turned away from the door and walked down the opposite direction that Haruto had walked down. "We only have the present to make the best of it."

She pulled out her tablet and immediately got to work with this plan that they had made. "I will notify the garrison of our plans to build the Rasputins across the city while having all but the essential personnel be transferred out. I trust you can handle the transfers of our pilot squadrons for our automated ones?"

Tesla gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up with her armored covered hand. "Leave it to me!"

The two continued discussing the plans as they walked through the halls of Chiba Academy, where not even a single soul could be seen roaming these halls. If Einstein was to take a quick look outside one of the many windows the school had, she would see that the sun was already beginning to set and with it the students as they went back home.

So the two had nothing to fear of someone listening in to their as a precaution Einstein's little helper drone was on lookout duty, ready to alert the two of them if someone was not meant to be where they were supposed to be.

However as they made their way out of the academy, just as they were to waltz out of the exit of the building that they were in, a group of rather boisterous students was walking towards them. The students paid them no heed, and they did as well, when they passed each other but they could not help but eavesdrop on their conversation with how loud they were being.

"Did you see the look on Mei's face earlier!?" An olive haired girl exclaimed with a large smile on her face. "Poor thing looked like her puppy died!"

"Imagine what we'll do to her tomorrow!" One of the people laughed to which everyone else in the group soon joined in with their own laughter.

"Who would've thought the day would come that we get to show the Mei Raiden who really runs this school." Someone sneered.

"Though what about her 'knights in shining armor'?" One said those words like if they had eaten something sour. "Are we going to do something about them?"

"Are you stupid?" Someone admonished them. "We can get away with targeting Mei since none of the teachers care but if we target one of them then they'll act, especially Ishigami-sensei."

"Still don't understand how Haruto-san of all people managed to be that teacher's favorite student."

"Oh well there's nothing we can do about it," Someone lamented with fake sadness, but not for too long as a second later they pulled out what appeared to be a spray can out of their bag. "Anyway there's this new product I got that I want to try on our dear 'princess'. It's really hard to get out of your clothes and as a bonus it's also red so everyone can see it!"

The group shared another bout of laughter as they moved out of the hearing range of the two scientists. After their footsteps could not be heard anymore, Tesla turned her head around with an expression of disgust.

"God I hate people like them, makes you really want to punch them in the face." She raised her armored hand and clenched it into a fist to further prove her point

"Now, now, violence is never the answer." Amended Einstein as she held a calming hand up and lowered her colleague's hand. "While it may be the most straightforward answer, it may do more harm than good."

"Yeah I know that," Tesla puffed out in resignation "But if we don't do anything about it then Mei will-,"

"You didn't let me finish," She interrupted. "While violence may bring momentary relief. One must consider other approaches that yield a more…satisfying result."

The red haired scientist raised an eyebrow at the tone of voice her friend was using. "What are you planning Mophead?"

"Oh nothing," She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as her little drone decloaked and had a screen displaying the school IDs of the entire group that had just walked past them. "Just the principal of this academy will get a rather extensive folder of evidence of the mistreatment this group committed alongside the threat of going public and pushing for a trial. I do believe that he will choose the right thing to do with the information we so graciously provided."

Tesla just looked at her colleague in shock. "... That is dirty."

"What can I say?" The cyan haired scientist had a small smile on her face as the pair continued walking and exited the academy building. "Ryoma made me Mei's unofficial aunt when she was born and I'll be damned if I don't fulfill that role in some way."

"You're looking good, Haru-senpai!" Kiana grinned as she held her phone and snapped a picture of my current predicament.

"You should be a model Haruto nii-chan!" Sora grinned unashamedly whilst Keji hid a laugh behind his hand.

"Hah, hah," I deadpanned at them. "Very funny, I wonder who could be responsible for my predicament?" I gave the trio a pointed glare which none of them had the gall to at least look guilty.

The surprise conversation that I had with Einstein and Tesla had taken much more time than I had prepared for, leading to me being late for the baking 'date' that we had set up. By the time I had gotten home the sun had almost given way to night.

When I reached my apartment door I feared that all the time I spent at school had taken up the time we would have spent cheering up Mei, which now had so much hinging on its success. My mind thought back to the conversation that I had with the two scientists, about how they would be constructing these 'Rasputin' Towers all over Nagazora.

I wasn't sure how strong the infrastructure power of Anti-Entropy was but I knew Rome wasn't built in a day so neither were these towers. If I had to give a guess then maybe a month or two would it take to build them, though a small part of me was hoping it wouldn't take that long.

For the less time they took, the less risk there was in Mei killing every living soul in Nagazora.

But I could dwell on that later, cause right now I have to focus on my current predicament.

Upon entering my apartment it was a relief to see everyone present. With no one having any plans for the rest of that night, the only thing we had to worry about was taking up too much time before we had to retire for the night.

However I soon learned that would be the least of my worries.

Keji graciously had a bunch of spare aprons that we could borrow and brought them for the baking session. However since I had taken so long everyone decided to have their pick of what aprons they wanted leaving me with the one they said 'was perfect for me'.

Which was a pink apron with the words 'Kiss The Cook' printed on the front in big bold letters.

"I don't know about you guys but…" I turned to a standing mirror that was my living room, putting my hands on my hips as I did a little pose, much to the amusement of everyone else. "This isn't half-bad."

"Wouldn't you say Mei?" I turned my head and asked the heiress who was watching all of these unfold from her sit on the stool. Kuro had situated herself next to the girl, letting the girl lose herself in petting her black fur.

The heiress just barely nodded in confirmation, with the tiniest hints of her lips curling upward at my actions. Her eyes still possessed its dull coloring but a bit of light was in them. It wasn't the response I was hoping for but progress would be slow, very slow. I was just glad that we were actually making some.

I gave Mei a smile before I turned away from the mirror and approached the kitchen as I clapped my hands. "Alright you guys had your fun but let's get to the actual reason we came here."

"Can't say I remember the last time I made cookies," Keji had a hand on his chin as he went down memory lane. "Let alone with some of my friends,"

"Cookies cookies!" Kiana and Sora sang together as they held hands and did a little dance, all but ecstatic for what we were doing tonight. "Today is going to be a great day!"

"Now, now you two," I smiled at their infectious energy. "We still have to make the cookies first."

"Haru-senpai," Kiana sadly shook her head at me, as if I was missing a key factor in all of this. "Allow me to enlighten you of the glory that is cookie dough!"

"I think Kiana has the edible cookie dough and the dough we use to bake cookies mixed up because the latter is actually harmful to you, raw flour and eggs will make you sick." Keji informed the white haired girl.

"Well you don't possess an iron stomach like me." She dismissed as she proudly patted her stomach with a wide grin. "This baby is undefeatable!"

"Please don't Kiana," I begged, not at all excited about the prospect of Kiana getting sick. "I don't want to have to call an ambulance should you have a really bad stomach ache if you ate the dough."

"Sora?" I looked to my left where Sora was. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on Kiana?"

The pink haired girl looked at me with a pout. "But the dough nii-chan," She dejectedly tried to convince me to think otherwise.

"...On second thought Kiana is a bad influence on you," I turned to my right where Keji was. "Keji, can I trust you to keep an eye on these two?"

Before he could give an answer to my question, the brown haired teenager was interrupted by Kiana. "Pssh enough talking!" She held up one of the mixing bowls with a smile that looked like it belonged on the battlefield. "Let's start baking!"

"Kiana," Before the girl could go any further, I calmly took the bowl off her hands and placed it on the kitchen counter. "Have you forgotten who this is for in the first place?" The four of us looked to Mei who was calmly watching all of this go on with Kuro, her face still the emotionless mask that she had on ever since I had gotten here.

"Mei," I approached the dark purple haired and offered her a bowl. "Would you like to take the lead? You know these cookies better than anyone else here."

The heiress contemplated my question for a second and for a split moment it looked as if she was going to say her answer. However at the last second she decided against it and just quietly shook her head instead.

I would be lying if I wasn't slightly disappointed by the response I got.

"That's okay," I softly said, pushing down the disappointment I had felt as I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We can do a test round and maybe after you can take over, how does that sound?"

Mei had that same small smile she had shown me earlier and I knew I was on the right track. "I'm glad." I made my way back to the kitchen counter where all of our ingredients were waiting to be used before picking up the sheet that held the instructions for the cookies. "Alright let's start this off."

However after taking a quick read of the paper, I couldn't help but voice my initial thoughts on it. "This is…unexpectedly very simple."

Keji poked his head in to see the paper and gave it a quick read-over. "What were you thinking this cookie was going to be?"

"I don't know, something with foie gras or something?"

"Foie gras?!"

"Well forgive me if I thought we'd be baking some sort of rich people cookie!"

"What's foie gras Kiana nee-chan?"

"Well you see my dear adorable imouto, foie gras is…"

"Alright let's get started before Kiana convinces Sora to convince me to waste all of my money to buy foie gras." I was quick to get everyone back on track and before anyone could say otherwise I called out the first steps of the cookie making procedure.

"So first we have to get flour in one of our bowls and combine it with baking soda and…salt?"

"Yeah you put salt in the dough in order to enhance the flavor of the cookie and balance out the sweetness of it." Keji commented as he was already beginning to mix the appropriate amount of each ingredient in a bowl. "You didn't know this?"

"No not really, never really had a baking touch." I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders. "Keji, can you mix this while we go and move on to the next step?" My fellow club member just nodded as he grabbed a spatula and went to mixing.

"Next up we need to get another bowl and mix in two sticks of butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and a small amount of vanilla extract." This time Kiana and Sora began to get those ingredients into another bowl.

"We should probably get the mixer out," I mused as I looked back to the cabinet filled with kitchen utensils and equipment. "I'm pretty sure I saw it in the first drawer or was it in the one on top of it…"

"I got this!" Kiana interjected as she rolled up her sleeves and showed off her arm muscles, which were without shock evidence of the strength of the Kaslana line. "With my strength this'll be done in an instant!" And without further ado, she grabbed her own spatula and got to mixing her respective bowl.

I just shook her head at her antics before I refocused my attention on the instructions. "Just make sure you don't eat any of the…" Looking back up for a brief second, my eyes were just in time to catch Kiana about to eat some of the dough that she was mixing. "Kiana!"

"I wasn't doing anything!' With lightning fast speed she lowered the spatula that was filled with cookie dough and began whistling innocently.

I stared at her for just a second longer before I chuckled, just count on Kiana to make things like cookie baking livelier. "After you mix that dough, crack two eggs and mix them well." Sora had this as she began to crack eggs into Kiana's bowl while the white haired girl mixed.

"Then slowly mix in the flour and dough together." Kiana then transferred her mixed dough into Keji's bowl of flour.

"After that we add in our chocolate chips and peanut butter chips." Never had I seen an ecstatic smile on Sora's face when we opened the packs of chocolate and peanut butter chips up. I'm sure that I saw her trying to discreetly eat some of the chips, even giving some to Kiana to share with.

I wasn't sure if you were allowed to feed cats peanut butter chips as Sora moved to where Kuro was and gave the feline a few chips to eat.

Though to my relief Keji had assured me that cats could eat peanut butter if it was a small serving.

A few minutes of mixing passed, and our cookie dough was ready to be portioned and placed into the baking sheets to be baked.

"It looks so good," Kiana drooled as she stared at our dough with stars in her eyes.

"Don't eat it Kiana," I playfully chided.

"I-I know that Haru-senpai!"

We all shared a laugh at the Kaslana's expense before we performed the final step of the cookie making process. "Finally we shape them into a ball and place them on a baking sheet." This time all four of us contributed as we shaped our own respective ball of cookie dough for our first test batch.

"Then place into the oven at a temperature of 376 Celsius and allow it to bake for 10 minutes." The oven door closed as we all huddled around the oven window, all but eagerly watching the ten minutes pass by for our cookies to cook.

Yet after ten minutes passed by and we pulled the cookies out of the oven, we were feeling anything but eager to try them out.

"Did we do something wrong?" I said as we all looked at the 'cookies' that we had made.

"They look…flat." Kiana lowered herself so that she was eye level with the thin, almost paper thing, cookies that we had made. The only redeeming factor was that the chips of chocolate and peanut butter had made it look like an actual cookie.

"They look more like a cracker than a cookie." Sora said as she tried to peel off one of the cookies off the baking sheet, only to reveal its gooey like state.

"Clearly we did something wrong…but what?" Keji questioned as he began to tap his cheek in contemplation.

"Hmm whatever it is, it's clear we need to do this again." I sighed knowing that our first batch would have to be completely thrown out. "Alright let's start this again, step…one." I looked at the bag of flour that we had initially used and knew it wouldn't be enough.

"Kiana, can you open another bag of flour? This bag itself won't be enough." The white haired girl saluted before she went to find another bag of flour we could use.

"Alright what went wrong?" Looking back at the instructions, I began to try and think where our error was. "Maybe we didn't add enough flour, or what about sugar? Perhaps we added too much salt or what about…"

As I rambled out loud, I was unaware of how much effort Kiana was putting into opening the bag of flour she had found which clearly wasn't opening. The girl could've gone to get a pair of scissors but clearly wanted to open it on her strength.

Sora was the first to notice the disaster just waiting to happen and silently made Keji notice it before the two shared a look on what to do. I was so preoccupied on trying to figure out what went wrong that I did not notice them slowly stepping away from me, leaving me in the vicinity of Kiana.

Yet unbeknownst to all four of us was a pair of dark blue eyes and light blue eyes were watching this all play out.

"Kiana you still haven't gotten the flour bag open yet?" I turned to face the white haired girl. "Let me go grab you some scissors and-!" When my eyes looked at Kiana, and the bag that was almost comically getting bigger and bigger each time she pulled on it, I knew what was about to happen.

"Kiana!" I reached my hand out in a futile attempt to stop the girl. "Don't-!"

POOF!

The bag finally gave way and exploded into a massive dust of flour, blanketing us and some of the kitchen counter in a cloud of flour.

"...pull on it," I finished as I could feel my entire face being covered in flour. Slowly my hands wiped the flour off my eyes and gave the Kaslana a very unamused look.

"H-Haru-senpai," Kiana quickly wiped the flour off her eyes and held up her flour covered hands in surrender. "I-I can explain what happened."

"Oh I do hope so," I could faintly hear the sounds of Keji and Sora laughing in the background but ignored them in favor of Kiana as I slowly walked up to her. "After all it'll be a great story to tell when you're helping me clean your little mess up."

However just as I was about to deliver the justice of the gods onto Kiana, the smallest sounds of someone else snickering had everything freeze into place. The four of us looked at each other in confusion, trying to see if one of us was making that sound.

It didn't take long for all of us to simultaneously look at Mei who had her eyes closed as she tried to reign her laughter in. "Snrk…hahahahaha!" Her control fell as she began to laugh out loud, cradling her stomach as she showed the most emotion that I've seen her display ever since the day her father confessed to his crime

I could feel my eyes glisten and my smile growing bigger with each second the heiress continued laughing. I knew that I was not the only one to have an expression of utter joy on my face as the Mei we knew was coming back to us.

However all good things must come to an end as the moment the dark purple haired woman had managed to control her laughter…

Was a bag of flour thrown onto her face.

My mouth dropped in shock as I tried to discern who had thrown the flour at Mei. Sora immediately thrusted the bag of evidence into Keji's unprepared hands before pointing an accusatory finger at him. "It was him!"

"Huh?!" Keji exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at the incriminating bag in his hands before looking at the child in utter betrayal. "Why you-!"

"Oh Keji-san," Mei sang, freezing the brown haired teenager on the spot as his terrified eyes moved to see the heiress' terrifying sweet smile directed at him. To add to the menacing image she was holding her own open bag of flour, courtesy of a grinning Kiana who had her own bag of flour.

Kuro just gave Keji a similar unamused look, having been near Mei when she had gotten flour on her face. Her entire face and some parts of her black fur were covered in flour.

"M-Mei?! What's that look on your face?!" Keji backed up as Mei and Kiana slowly made their way towards him. "Kiana what are you doing with that bag of flour?!"

I watched all of this go on, noting all the smiles on everyone's faces. Weeks of what seemed like utter despair and darkness, finally light was beginning to break through. It would be slow progress, for every step we took in this direction would be harder than the last one.

But we would do it.

Together.

"Oh Kuro!" I spoke up, deciding to join in on the fun. "Would you help me open a bag of flour for me? I want to decorate our dear friend over here." The black feline merely raised one of her paws up, her claws revealing themselves.

"Oh I want to join in too nii-chan!"

"Flour fight!"

"Why don't I show you how to make my favorite cookies after we teach Keji-san a lesson on manners."

"That would sound great Mei."

"Haruto," Keji cried out before all hell and flour broke loose. "You traitor!"

It was the next day of Nagazora, and unlike previous days today just seemed like everything was going great in life. The sun was out, birds were chirping, the weather was just right, there would be no tests today.

Einstein and Tesla were working fast as I could already see Anti-Entropy construction crews all around the city, building the Rasputin Towers. A general statement had been issued that they were in the process of constructing a new defense system that would keep the city safer, which wasn't technically a lie.

But even with the good leeway that the towers' construction had, a big part of how I was feeling was due to a certain heiress who was finally laughing at the jokes Kiana would say as the three of us walked to school.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though, people were still there to openly mock and ridicule her whenever we passed by them. Each comment that was said about her father or family did have its intended effect of bringing her down, a downcast expression on her face.

This time however she was no longer stuck in that pit of despair as either me or Kiana were there to pull her back up. Whether it be in the form of some words of encouragement or of jokes, Mei's eyes finally no longer looked like they were dull, that light was back in her dark blue hues.

However by the time we reached and entered the gates of Chiba Academy, we were greeted by a rather unexpected person.

A fuming Ryne Hinori walked up to us, her usual face of haughty amusement had been replaced with utter fury. "You bitch!" She screamed as she pointed an accusatory finger at Mei.

We all looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what had the olive haired girl all riled up. Kiana and I looked to Mei who Ryne had called out but the confusion on the heiress's face made it clear she too didn't know what she was talking about.

Luckily Ryne was more than happy to elaborate on what she meant as she continued fuming. "You told someone didn't you!"

I gave her a confused look. "Tell them what exactly?"

"Don't play stupid with me!" Ryne pointed her accusatory finger at me, trembling as she tried to contain her anger. "Because of you I'm getting expelled from this academy!"

Really?! My wide eyes looked to Kiana whose eyes mirrored mine as we processed this information. Ryne's streak of terror was nothing new and no-one beside us had the courage to step up to her, so this was coming as quite a shock to us.

"Had it coming," Kiana muttered under her breath, unfortunately it wasn't quiet enough as Ryne had heard it and completely lost it.

"You dare!?" She screamed at Kiana. Luckily for us it was still quite early for students to be at the academy so naught but a few students had heard the outburst from the olive haired girl, though they were quick to leave as they did not wish to be the unintended target of the girl's fury.

She refocused her anger at Mei, who was watching the person she once considered a friend with a face of indifference. "If it wasn't for you I would've been the Queen of this place! You didn't deserve your fame here!"

"I never asked for it," Mei quietly responded, though her words weren't perceived by the fuming girl as she directed her fury to me at last.

"And you!" She stepped up to me, to the point she had crossed the boundary of uncomfortable. The fury in her words was much more intense than that she had given to Mei and Kiana. "If it wasn't for you lot this girl would've been where she belongs!"

She even placed a hand on my shoulder and roughly pushed me back as she continued her furious rant. "If it wasn't for you this mistake of a girl who has nothing would've never been-!"

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted when Mei stepped forward, placing herself between me and Ryne. All became a dead quiet and the temperature dropped as even Ryne's furious rant was cut short when the heiress placed a hand on her shoulder, like how you would if you were addressing a friend.

"Ryne, my dear friend." She calmly said, throwing me out of the loop with her tone of voice. I looked to Kiana for help but even she didn't know what to make of it. "I don't think I've had the opportunity to thank you for all the years of friendship you've given me…so allow me to thank you properly now."

Not even Ryne knew what was happening as she looked at the dark purple haired girl in confusion. "What are you-!"

CRACK!

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could've ever prepared me for the day that sweet and kind Mei Raiden would flat out punch Ryne in the face with so much force that I swore I heard something break from the impact.

My jaw dropped in shock as Ryne recoiled from the punch and cradled the part of her face that had been hit. Beside me Kiana openly voiced her surprise as Mei lowered her fist and gave the olive haired girl a glare unlike any I've seen from her.

"Mock me all you like, but never mock my friends, those that have stuck through me in all of this." She declared to the olive haired girl.

Ryne lowered her hands, and to my growing shock I saw that she now had a broken nose with blood dripping down her face and glared at the heiress with renewed ferocity. "You think you'll get away with this!?"

"Perhaps not but it's as you said I have nothing, my family name has all but been driven into the ground." Admitted Mei before she took a single step forward. "You on the other hand however…" Her voice was low and dangerous as she did not need to complete her words for her message to be conveyed.

Her former friend paled at the malice in the girl's words before she tried to regain what little dignity she had left. "T-This is not over!" She shouted before she quickly fled the scene, cradling her broken nose.

When Ryne could no longer be seen, all that remained was a tense silence as neither me or Kiana knew how to respond to what we had just seen. How could we when our sweet innocent Mei threw us out of the loop and punched someone with the force you would see in a professional boxer?!

Luckily for us Mei was the first to break the silence as she turned around to face us, a look of utter shock at what had just occurred. "...oh my god," She breathed out as she looked at her fist and replayed what she had just done with it. "T-That was really violent wasn't it?"

"You were amazing Mei-senpai!" Kiana praised as she closed the distance and hugged the girl tightly. "Though If it was me," She quickly let go of the girl and began to shadowbox for demonstration. "You would follow that up with a nice little right hook to the cheek and then when she's disorientated…"

"You can regale Mei on how to properly fight later," I placed a hand on Kiana's shoulder to stop from going further on how to teach Mei how to fight. "While there were many other ways to deal with that situation, I think Ryne had it coming."

Mei gave me a smile of gratitude and not a second later was the normal crowd of students beginning to enter the academy, all but unaware of what had taken place moments ago. They gave us a wide berth regardless but I had a feeling that berth would be expanded once word got out of what Mei Raiden was capable of.

"And before we go to class," I smiled at Mei as Kiana gave her a massive grin. "I think I speak for all of us…"

"Welcome back Mei."

Not sure how to start this author's note but how did you like Mei's little comeback? After all that depression I tried to jam pack into the last two chapters, I hope this was a great turnaround for Mei.

Took me a long while to do this chapter as I juggled with making sure the Einstein/Tesla talk and the Mei scenes whilst also completing Endwalker of FFXIV. After completing Endwalker, man what a journey that was.

And a journey full of inspiration for this story.

Coming back to the story, I saw all the comments of people wanting Haruto to punch someone and beside me thinking how when I was thinking of this I was like 'What if instead of Haruto we got Mei to punch Ryne instead?!"

I think you guys liked it.

As for the baking scene how was it? I want to insert some Cooking with The Valkyrie scenes in the story and this was my first attempt at it. How was it? I just looked up a cookie making video and added the peanut butter chips lol.

How about the talk with Einstein and Tesla? I think the talk was a great way for Haruto to pick himself up and it was a way for me to connect the scene with his grandmother and changing the future.

I know some of you guys raised concerns of him sharing his knowledge but I think this was a great way of doing it. Don't worry he's not revealing what he knows for a very, very long time.

As for my major update…I am unfortunately starting my spring semester…

I want to cry… :(

My college didn't offer a winter session so my break was essentially cut in half which makes me mad cause if we did have one by the time my school started up again I would've finished the Nagazora Saga!

Though I guess one happy thing I could have is that my classes aren't as hard and time-consuming as my fall semester. I still have Physics, kill me now, so I might be able to still retain my one week updates.

Not set in stone so don't get your hopes too high.

ALSO I SAW THE NEW DURANDAL BATTLESUIT SO DON'T REMIND ME OF HOW LITTLE PREPARED I AM TO PULL FOR FOR HER!

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

Peace!