Enjoy!
"Hey Captain, what do you think Fu Hua was called in for?" Layla asked me as the 6th Valkyrja Squad, minus our A-Rank Valkyrie and Keji, who had to run an errand for the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps, walked into the cafeteria for lunch.
"I don't know," I answered with a shrug as the three of us saw Kiana energetically wave at us from where the 5th Valkyrja Squad were currently sitting. Giving a wave in return we walked over to our sister squad and sat on the opposite side of them.
"But I know it must've been important enough that she had to be called during the middle of our last class." I gave my sniper teammate my two cents on the situation as a bright red bento box was placed in front of me.
"Thank you Mei, you didn't have to cook me lunch for today. I would've been fine with the cafeteria food." I turned and gave the dark purple haired girl a grateful smile, one that she mirrored with a smile of her own.
"I made too much food for our squad today so it's no problem at all." I opened the lid of the bento box to reveal the absolutely scrumptious meal that awaited me to devour with gusto. Smelling the aroma wafting from the insides of the bento, I eagerly readied my utensils and began to enjoy Mei's heavenly cooking.
Beside me Layla looked down to her cafeteria food before directing her eyes to my food, jealousy clear in her eyes as she eyed my enjoyment of Mei's cooking. "Too much food she says," She said with faux hurt as she began to eat her own meal.
Taking one bite of her food was all it took for a frown to appear on her face and for her to take another look at my bento. "Captain, I'll trade you some of my food for one of your onigiris." She offered and I just merely shrugged.
"Go for it," Helping myself to one of her biscuits, Layla speared one of Mei's onigiris with her fork before immediately eating it, a content expression on her face as she enjoyed the joy that was Mei's food.
Beside the heiress Kiana was looking down at the meal that she had also received before she looked over to mine. "Mei-senpai? Is it me or does Haru-senpai's bento meal look better than mine? Both of our meals look the same but I swear that they look different!"
At the Kaslana's question, Mei's cheeks reddened very slightly as she turned her face away from Kiana. "I-It could just be your imagination playing tricks on your mind Kiana-chan." She offered her teammate, though the tone in her voice suggested otherwise.
Little did I know that Mei had taken the best samples of her cooking and put them in my bento, but that would be the heiress's little secret to keep.
However Mashu and Bronya, who had remained silent throughout the entire interaction as they enjoyed their lunch, merely smiled knowingly at what was going down.
Before any more could be said about this situation Fu Hua took that opportunity to enter the scene and sat down beside Mashu. "Did I miss anything?" She asked as she brought out her meal and began to eat it.
"Nothing much," I answered as I took another bite of the lunch Mei had cooked for me. "Hey Fu Hua, what were you called for at the end of the last class?" I curiously asked the A-Rank Valkyrie.
"The 6th Valkyrja Squad has received its next mission," She revealed, much to everyone's surprise, including mine.
I hadn't known until much recently but it was very rarely that Valkyries in training got to go on missions. So rare in fact that months could go by and you still would not be assigned a mission. It was not that missions were in short supply but rather the dangers of them made those in charge very hesitant in choosing Valkyries-in-training to complete them and instead opting for more experienced ones.
So to hear that after a little close to three weeks having passed after our first, might I say interesting, mission; the 6th Valkyrja Squad receiving its second mission.
"Again!? No fair!" Kiana whined, not at all concerned in showing her jealousy at this new information. "I want to go on a mission like Haru-senpai and my cute imouto!"
Beside me Mashu blushed at casually being called Kiana's little sister and I couldn't blame her, it was kind of hard not to when Kiana had publicly announced that for all to hear. The amount of teasing the shielder had gone through had her cheeks as red as a strawberry the entire rest of the day.
"Don't worry Kiana," I assured the white haired girl. "Himeko told me that she's recently petitioned Theresa to clear the 5th Valkyrja Squad for missions. Who knows? Maybe we'll be on a mission together in the near future."
Ever since our outing at that bar, Himeko and I began the slow steps of restoring the bond between nephew and aunt. Granted it was awkward at first, two almost complete strangers trying to bond would take time, but it was progress made in the right direction.
And while I was happy that Himeko shared that the 5th Valkyrja Squad could potentially be deployed alongside the 6th Valkyrja Squad in the near future, I was more concerned with the fact that she had even told me this information in the first place. Wasn't this some sort of violation of Schicksal's rules?
Pushing away that train of thought for later I turned to face Fu Hua. "So Fu Hua," I asked the A-Rank Valkyrie curiously, prompting her to turn and face me. "What exactly is our mission?"
"It's not a mission perchance but…" The bluish gray haired trailed off when she noticed that she was not only getting expectant looks from her own squad, but that of the 5th Valkyrja Squad as well. She sighed in amusement at the situation before a small smile graced her face as she opened her mouth to reveal what the surprise was.
But as she did that it was as if the universe itself had awakened as the loud noise of the cafeteria dimmed down just enough that a good majority of people would hear the A-Rank's words.
"We will be attending a training exercise hosted by the Immortal Blades and I am informed that both Rita and Durandal will be in charge of it."
And with that bombshell, all hell broke loose.
"EH?!" Was the collective shout, including my own. If I had to draw a comparison to the news that we had just heard then it would be the same as if everyone had won the lottery at the same time.
"Y-Y-You're j-j-joking right!?" Layla looked at Fu Hua with wide eyes in disbelief, not at all believing what she had just heard. "We are training with the Durandal!"
Mashu had her mouth open as she tried to say something in response to this news, only for no sounds to come from her throat. Her mouth was in the mixture of opening and closing as her mind had seemingly shut down on itself.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Kiana shouted as her hands shot up to her white hair and pulled it in frustration. "First you get to fight some sort of badass honkai beast and now you get to train with Durandal herself?!"
Kiana's view of the strongest Schicksal Valkyrie could be best described as a mix of admiration and rivalry. Admiration in that Durandal's strength was legendary amongst all Valkyries, including even those in the A-Rank, and rivalry at said strength as the Kaslana vowed that she would surpass her.
It was kind of cute in the way it almost reminded me of a sibling rivalry.
…
Wait then did that mean the theory that Durandal was the real Kiana actually true?
I would forever curse the fact that I was transported into this universe with incomplete knowledge of what actually took place in the canon events of Honkai Impact 3rd. It would've been a massive advantage if I knew everything that went down.
Speaking of which, where did I end off? It was getting increasingly hard in differentiating what I had already gone through and what I remembered of the game. There was little I could do about this fact but that didn't mean I could be bitter about it.
I just had this inexplicable feeling that I had missed out on something big after Kiana had become the Herrscher of the Flamescion.
Pushing that thought away from the forefront of my mind, I moved my focus to everyone else's reaction.
Mei and Bronya were not people that were super integrated with the social lives of their fellow sisters-in-arms and did not idolize Durandal to the same degree but I could see the hints of jealousy in their eyes at what the 6th Valkyrja Squad would be getting.
The chance to train with the strongest Valkyrie of all time? Which Valkyrie, training or not, would pass up that sort of opportunity?
Yet while everyone in the room had various reactions of either jealousy, surprise, and elation, the feeling that I was experiencing was none of those three…
No the emotion I was currently feeling was downright terror!
I still remembered how I gained the Excalibur stigma the first time, all that time ago at the Nagazora docks, and I knew that in some way, shape, or form that the Captain of the Immortal Blades was tied closely to it.
I thought the day that I would meet Durandal face to face wouldn't happen for at least another year or so, which would've given me ample time to prepare for it…
Now I had less than twenty four hours to prepare!
Oh my god what the hell was I going to do, let alone say!? Would Durandal recognize me on sight or merely raise an eyebrow at the mention of my name?! Even if the visions I had of her and 'me' were short and brief, I knew enough to know that even if we shared the same name and looked slightly similar, I knew that our mannerisms were almost night and day.
Not to forget I only had those brief visions that gave me pieces to a puzzle that gave more questions than answers every time I had one.
Why does my life have to be so complicated?!
And so while the entirety of the cafeteria was still excitedly talking amongst themselves from Fu Hua's shocking revelation, I was too busy trying to calm myself down.
If Kuro had to summarize what her life was now it could be plainly described as…
Wake up, eat, wander, return, eat, go to sleep, and repeat.
An ordinary cat would've enjoyed such a passive lifestyle, after all they were animals that were lazy in nature. The only time that they weren't lazy was when they were either in danger or they needed to get food.
But Kuro was not an ordinary cat.
So it was very easy to say that the feline was understandably bored right now.
The feline wondered if she had never joined her stupid humans and remained with Jackal. Would she be assisting with the canine mask wearing scientist's work, breaking into the most secure places on the planet still?
Would she even be alive right now if that was the case?
From her perch on one of the windows of the 6th Valkyrja Squad's dorm that overlooked a small park, the black feline shook her head. No she would not regret her decision in helping her stupid humans, no one harmed what was hers.
However…
With a silent dejected sigh the blue eyed feline rested her head on the frame of the window that she had plopped open, letting the nice breeze of the outside world graze over her black fur.
She did wish that something interesting would happen right about now.
Across from her perch was a moderately sized tree, and on the branch closest to her were two birds and the nest that the feline presumed was theirs. They had been there before the 6th Valkyrja Squad called this particular dorm their home and while the two birds were weary of the black feline, as they should as it would be very easy for her to destroy their nest.
Yet Kuro for some strange reason did not feel the need to hunt them.
…
Curse her stupid human for making her go soft.
The birds in question cawed at her in greeting before one of them took off to scavenge some food while the other stayed behind and guarded the nest.
The black feline wished something exciting would happen very soon. Her stupid humans had to go on another on of their 'missions', having left already a couple of minutes ago, which meant that Kuro had been giving free reign of the dorm till they got back.
So what would she do in the meantime? Perhaps she could take another stroll through the campus, maybe hang out with the 5th Valkyrja Squad?
However as Kuro deliberated on how to spend her day, the rustling of some leaves below attracted her focus. Looking down from her perch the feline expected to see a rodent rustling through the bushes, most likely wounding up as her next prey.
But what she was not expecting was to see a familiar shade of pink in the midst of all that greenery.
"Operation Sneak is a go," Pushing her head out of the bushes Sora had a smirk on her face as she slowly began to make her way through the bushes, trying to be as sneaky as possible. The young child was busy muttering to herself of how flawless her escape had been, unaware that Kuro was watching her every move from her perch with a slightly shocked expression.
What was Sora doing here? The youngling should've been in the middle of class right now so what had prompted her to be sneaking her way through the bushes right now?
"Haruto nii-chan gets to go on all the exciting adventures without me, but not today!" The child vowed to herself as she continued to waddle through the bushes. "Today's the day I get to experience an epic adventure!"
So she was sneaking out in order to try and tag along with her stupid human and his team before they left. Kuro would've applauded the child if she could, curse these paws of hers, as she saw a little bit of herself in the youngling.
Always wanting to go on the next big adventure.
But Sora was young and rash so she would quickly learn the reality of her choice. Knowing this the black feline chose to stay on her perch and watch the pink haired child, knowing that very soon the young child would realize that she would have to go back to her class.
However the feline would learn that Sora was not so easily deterred as very soon the she became a tiny pink dot in a foliage of green and a few seconds later the child was out of the cat's sightline.
Still Kuro did not see this new development as something to worry about. If the child would not see the errors of her way then surely someone would notice the girl and bring her back. St. Freya was crawling with capable warriors which a child had no hope in hiding from…
Right?
…
…
…
Or not…
With a sigh Kuro stood up from her position, stretching her limbs, before leaping out of the window and onto the nearest branch. The bird whose nest was on that very branch she jumped on cawed loudly in warning, daring the cat to try something.
Fortunately for the avian Kuro would not stay long as just after landing on the branch she began to scale down the tree before leaping off and landing perfectly on the ground. Without missing a beat the feline began to follow the path that Sora had used to 'sneak through'.
It did not take long for her to catch up to the child, who had managed somehow sneak her way all the way up to the vicinity of the plane that would transport the 6th Valkyrja Squad to wherever they were going. The feline couldn't see her stupid human any where so it was safe to presume that he was already inside the plane with his squad.
Sora was currently hiding behind a couple of crates near some workers who were currently loading similarly looking crates into the plane. From Kuro's own hiding spot, which was much better than the child's, she could see that she was trying to open the lid of the nearest box.
Was she going to hide in one of them and use it as a way to sneak aboard the plane?
That actually…was smart. Already Sora had proven that she had the skills to be a master infiltrator. Alas such a move was the oldest trick in the book and all it would take was one single aware human to figure out her hiding spot.
And so when a human with a clipboard walked up to the box that the child had managed to open and was currently hiding in to inspect, Kuro waited for the moment when everything fell apart for the young child.
Yet this day was so keen to keep the surprises going.
"Hmm looks like everything looks good." The human nodded absentmindedly before looking up from his clipboard and looked to a couple of other humans that were sitting on some fork loaders. "Get these loaded up onto the plane, it's bound to take off any moment now!"
And without any clue to the child inside one of those boxes, the humans began to load the cargo into the plane, leaving Kuro speechless at how this was progressing. Never did she think such an elementary infiltration method would actually work in a place like this!
The only next logical thing to do was to point out Sora's hiding spot to someone before the plane took off but…
Where was the fun in that? The pink haired child was as bored as she was and if anything she would be accomplishing two goals at once. Protecting the child from any harm and also alleviating their boredom.
With her mind made up the cat moved from her hiding spot and on to the plane. Knowing how 'aware' these humans were, Kuro was easily able to get inside the plane without any trouble. And not a second too soon as the moment her paws felt the metallic floor the plane's loading bay doors closed right behind her.
Following the faint trail of Sora's scent, the feline made her way to the pile of boxes where the child was currently hiding in. After confirming that the child was indeed nearby the feline jumped up and found a nice little crevice in between two tall boxes that she would be able to hide herself in for the duration of this trip.
After getting comfortable in her new hiding spot, the sound of the plane's engines and the feeling of being up in the air slowly lulled Kuro to sleep. She wouldn't be defenseless in this state, far from it as she would be able to react if needed or if Sora moved, but it would be foolish of her to stay awake and waste her energy before they got to their destination.
At least this day wasn't going to be as boring as she originally thought it was going to be.
"Ohmygoshohmygod!" Was Layla's excitable reaction as the 6th Valkyrja Squad saw all the activity taking place in the military base we had just landed in. The sniper was jumping up and down in joy as she saw all the Valkyries wearing the iconic dark blue armor of the Immortal Blades walking around.
"We are actually meeting the Durandal today! I'm gonna rub this fact in so many faces when we get to St. Freya!"
Mashu said nothing but a quick look at her face would tell you that she was just as excited as her teammate was.
Beside me Fu Hua did not share the two's enthusiasm, already having met both Durandal and Rita so the novelty of it all had worn off for her. Turning to face me, the A-Rank Valkyrie had a small frown on her face at what she saw. "You don't look well Haruto, is your stigma acting up again?"
"Kind of," Slightly frowning, I placed a hand on my forehead. While my temperature wasn't anything to be worried about, it was definitely higher than normal. The moment we had landed my stigma had immediately begun to act up, slightly glowing and raising my temperature as a result.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was reacting to…
Or rather to who it was reacting to.
"I can't describe it properly but it feels like an itch that I can't get rid of, though I think primarily its how hot it is right now." I lied, not knowing how the heck I was going to explain to them my supposed connection with the strongest Schicksal Valkyrie.
If Fu Hua picked up on my lie, she didn't show it as she nodded. "It is a bit hotter than it usually is in Japan but I'm sure you will acclimate to it soon enough."
"I hope so," I muttered as I could feel my heart pound nervously in my chest in anticipation of what was going to happen. Ever since I had learned that we would be participating in the Immortal Blades' exercise I spent a lot of time racking my brain to develop a strategy of how I was going to handle Durandal.
After much careful deliberation with myself I soon came to the best choice of action.
And that was to wing it.
Such a plan might sound idiotic and bound to fail, which it most probably would, but I couldn't think of any other way that would be successful. There were simply too many things I didn't know and trying to build a plan on any one of them would fail horribly.
"I do hope so Fu Hua…" I said, making a silent prayer at the same time that all would go well.
Trying to distract myself from panicking on the spot I decided to observe all the activity taking place in the military base.
First off I turned around to see the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps currently unloading the cargo and setting up. I could see various terminals being set up with my Caliburn Kingsbane Battlesuit getting activated. Off to the side I could see Asplund, Marie, and Keji talking amongst themselves, probably coaching the chess enthusiast as he had a clipboard on him and was frantically writing notes into it.
Turning around I focused my attention on what was happening inside the busy military base. No matter where I looked or who I saw, whether it be an Immortal Blade or one of the base's military personnel, everyone was busy with something. From carrying boxes, to carrying out patrols, no one was loitering around.
Some Immortal Blades that walked near us gave me an inquisitive look, which I didn't find surprising since I was pretty sure I was the only 'Knight' currently in Schicksal. For many I might've been the first Knight they've seen.
"Say Fu Hua, what exactly are we waiting for?" I spoke up as we had been standing in the same spot for a good couple of minutes without doing anything.
The bluish gray haired Valkyrie lightly smirked, a knowing look in her eyes. "Well you see we're just waiting for the representative of the Immortal Blades to come and find us," She then pointed to a trio of Immortal Blade Valkyries approaching us. "And I think you will find one of them to be very familiar."
It didn't take me long for me to figure out what she meant by that I caught a familiar shade of black hair of the lead Valkyrie. Taking into account their build and the katana that they had strapped to the side of their hip this could only be one person. "Midori?!" I shouted in surprise as I ran toward my friend.
"Haruto?!" The green eyed Valkyrie cried out in equal surprise before she ran forward as well.
And before I knew it the two of us met in the middle and proceeded to engulf the other in a tight hug.
"I just knew it!" My friend cried out in happiness. "When I heard that St. Freya's first ever male student was going to join us and how he was in charge of a new experimental suit I just knew it was you!"
The two of us ended the hug and I gave her a grin. "Looks like you won't be getting rid of me that easily," I joked to which the two of us laughed. It felt as if we were back in Chiba Academy, just two teenagers goofing off.
Not as two warriors who had the burden of humanity's survival on their shoulders.
"And look at you!" I motioned to what she was wearing, no longer was she garbed in the standard Valkyrie uniform that she had worn at the Nagazora docks. Now she was wearing the prestigious battlesuit of the Immortal Blades. "You're living the dream of being a part of the Immortal Blades!"
At the reminder of where she was, a bashful expression took shape on her face as she looked down to her black and dark blue uniform. "I still have a lot to prove that I'm even worthy of being a part of them…but I don't plan on going down without a fight."
Looking back up her bashful expression quickly changed to a smile when she saw that the rest of the 6th Valkryja Squad was walking over to us. "It's good to see you again Fu Hua!" She joyously greeted the A-Rank Valkyrie.
"And it is good to see you as well Midori-san," Fu Hua greeted in turn with a smile. "I cannot wait to see what kind of Valkyrie you have become now."
The Valkyrie's smile shifted to a determined expression, ready to prove to her senior just how far she had come since the last time the two had met. However before she could just do that a cough from Layla drew everyone's attention to her.
"Ahem, shouldn't you be introducing us?" The sniper pointed to herself and then to Mashu who just nervously waved in turn.
"Ah sorry about that," I apologized for forgetting about them before I turned back to the black haired Valkyrie. "Midori these are my teammates, Layla Gunnhildr-"
"Wassup," The black and green hair sniper greeted.
"And Mashu Schariac-"
"A pleasure to meet you," The ash blonde and lavender shielder bowed for her greeting.
"Mashu and Layla," I then gestured to my highschool classmate. "This is Midori Aki."
"It's nice to meet you all" Midori waved her hand with a smile as she learned the names of my teammates. After waving one of the Immortal Blades that had arrived with her leaned in and began to whisper something in her ear. When they were done a frown was on Midori's face before she sighed tiredly.
"And while I would love nothing more than getting to know you better, we're currently on a tight schedule." She turned around to face the direction that she had come from and motioned us with a hand to follow her. "If you would follow me."
So that's how we were being led through the military base by Midori and her fellow Immortal Blades. As we made our way deeper into the base it only got more busier, with Valkyries opening crates full of supplies to them polishing their weapons for battle. Whatever this 'training' exercise was, it was clear that it was taken quite seriously.
Looking at the back of Midori's head, I realized there was so much I needed to catch her up on. Things like the 5th Valkyrja Squad to Keji being a part of the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps as our combat operator…
Not to forget to tell her that I had given Mei her farewell letter and that she was patiently waiting for the day of their reunion.
But I could do that at a later time, preferably at a time where we didn't have to focus on our respective duties.
Speaking of duties…
"Midori?" I started, prompting the katana wielding Valkyrie to slightly turn her head so she could see me. "If I can ask, what exactly is the 'training' exercise going to be?"
"Oh you weren't briefed on that yet? No problem, I'll tell you what we'll be doing here." She then pointed to a mountain that wasn't far from where the military base was.
"Schicksal has detected a rather sizable nest inside the confines of the mountain and we've been called in to exterminate it. Nothing too serious in terms of threatening honkai beasts but you can never tell until you get inside." She explained as I couldn't help but shiver at the revelation that we would be going inside another cave.
"Yipee," I groaned out, more than happy to show how displeasing this was going to be.
"Got a problem with caves?"
"Well let's just say that our first mission was exterminating a nest and it ended up being very…interesting," I told her.
"Pssh you'll be fine, this is practically routine for us." The Valkyrie reassured us as we began to walk on the military's second massive runway.
You see the military base we were currently at was one of the major sites where Schicksal carried out its operations so the layout of the base had to also reflect that need. Bases like these were essentially in carrying out operations like these. From state of the art defenses to massive runways that could easily support an incoming army, it had it all.
"Not to mention that Durandal and Rita will be spearheading the operation, if you think you know what true strength is then be prepared to have your mind blown by them." Midori praised, making me internally groan at the reminder of what I was going to face soon. Thankfully no one noticed my internal dilemma.
"Is it true that Durandal can punch a hole in a mountain with just one strike!" An excited Layla asked with stars in her eyes. It should've come as no surprise that the sniper was one of those Valkyries that idolized Durandal but it was still strange to me just how much the S-Rank Valkyrie was revered.
"That and then some," One of the Valkyries accompanying us joked before the Immortal Blades began to laugh to themselves.
"But don't worry Haruto cause that's not all we're doing here." Midori added. "You see the next day we're planning on holding something akin to a tournament. Teams of Valkyries will compete against each other and I'm told that there is a sweet prize to be won if you get all the way to the top."
"I doubt that the 6th Valkyrja Squad will come out on top," I truthfully told her. It was no secret that the Immortal Blades were the top of the top, having the strongest Valkyries within Schicksal in their ranks. The 6th Valkyrja Squad was not weak, far from it, but I knew we had a long way to go before we could reach this kind of skill.
Still, the experience that we would get from fighting such highly skilled opponents would be invaluable.
"Don't beat yourself down Haruto," Midori lightly admonished as we crossed the runway and entered a massive warehouse. It was filled with various supplies, even some of the crates that we had brought with us were present as workers moved them in and out of this place. "I'm sure you'll find that you can actually stand toe to toe with most of us."
"Even you?" I could not help but ask with a grin.
"In your dreams Haruto," Was all she responded with a laugh.
The banter would've continued if Midori hadn't stopped, forcing us to stop right behind her. I was about to ask why she suddenly stopped only to follow her gaze to someone standing a few meters in front of her, with their back turned against us. However even if they weren't facing us, it was someone I recognized.
For all the wrong reasons.
"Rita-sama I brought the 6th Valkyrja Squad as requested." Midori called out to the Vice Captain of the Immortal Blades. Hearing the Valkyrie's words, the Maid of Schicksal turned to face us.
The jolly mood that had been built up had instantly been replaced with dread at the sight of the light gray haired scythe wielding Valkyrie.
How could I not when she had almost killed me?!
"Thank you Midori-san," Rita gave her gratitude to the Valkyrie, who smiled brightly at being thanked by one of her idols. The maid's pink eyes moved from Midori over to Fu Hua before a small smile broke out on her face. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Fu Hua."
"Likewise Rita-san," Fu Hua cordially greeted back.
Nodding her head, Rita moved her eyes to the person standing next to Fu Hua. "Mashu-sama?" She called out in surprise, not at all expecting to see the Schariac here. The surprise however was momentary as she aimed a warm smile at the shielder. "It is a pleasant surprise to see you here and well."
Mashu simply bowed. "Your training served me well Rita-san," She thanked, surprising me with this info. So Rita trained Mashu for a short period of time…well the more you know.
"I'm glad," Rita then moved her focus to Layla. "Your sister gives her regards Layla-sama, she is still preoccupied with her mission and is unable to be here in person."
"It's alright Rita, but thanks for telling me," The Gunnhildr sighed but thanked the maid for the information.
Yet I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow at what this implied. So Wendy was actually an Immortal Blade Valkyrie? Or maybe someone close enough to Rita or Durandal? Still this was great information to know about Rita and the Gunnhildr sisters .
But now that I thought about it, the Valkyrie that had almost killed me in my first few months of living in Nagazora was also some sort of sister-like figure for my teammates. I didn't know what to think about that information but it was definitely interesting to know.
Finally her eyes drifted over to me. A small part of me prayed that she would've forgotten about me by now, after all it had been some time since I had to run through the streets of Nagazora trying to flee from her.
However that didn't seem to be the case as I saw her pink eyes light up and I simply knew that she recognized me.
Great, I was so screwed.
"And you must be Haruto Nakamura, St. Freya's first ever male student." She bowed in greeting, making it seem as if we were not acquainted with each other. "I am Rita Rossweisse, it is a pleasure to meet you."
I didn't know why she didn't reveal that fact but I wasn't going to complain as two can play that game. "It's an honor to meet the fabled Maid of Schicksal." I said as I slightly bowed.
While the others thought nothing of it, Rita did. Straightening her back the maid valkyrie gave me a smirk that more than told me that she knew what I had done. Whether she looked mad or impressed about it was not clear.
Before I could do anything else however, a small jolt raced through my body as I could feel my shoulder beginning to act up.
Of course my stigma would choose now of all times to act up, but why was it-!
"Ah Durandal-sama," Rita's words interrupted my thoughts and with a cold chill I snapped my head up to see the revered S-Rank Valkyrie make a sudden appearance.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
The maid bowed as the blond Valkyrie walked up to her. Ending her bow Rita then motioned to us. "Allow me to introduce you to-"
"H-Haruto?" Durandal interrupted her, much to the shock of everyone present, as her eyes looked at me in barely concealed surprise.
"Is that you?"
And the moment her wide blue eyes made contact with mine…
The entire world around me blurred.
There I am again.
Back in the green plains that seem to stretch on for forever.
It's currently sunny as I can see the familiar forms of young Bianka and the other 'Haruto'. The young boy was currently crouched in front of something while the young girl had her arms crossed over her chest.
"Alright I think that's everything!" The other 'Haruto' says as he finishes placing something in the bag in front of him. Grabbing one of the straps of the bag, the young boy looped his arm around the straps before standing up, the bag strapped onto his back
Bianka however was not in the same jolly mood as the young boy. "You're an idiot." Was her simple and harsh response.
Frowning at her response, the young boy turned around to try and ask what she meant by that. "What do you mean by-,"
She interrupted him with the same words, this time with a scowl on her face. "You're an idiot."
In response the young boy simply tilted his head to the side, an expression not of anger or irritation on his face but rather that of curiosity. "Why do you think I'm an idiot Bianka?"
The calm response was the seemingly the last straw for Bianka as her scowl morphed into a furious expression. "I don't know!" She shouted out loud as she uncrossed her arms and pointed a finger at the black haired boy.
"Let's start off with the fact that you still haven't gotten angry at me! I've done about every single thing that would piss off most people, even Rita would've gotten mad at me by now, yet you simply shrug it off like it's nothing!"
She opened up another finger before continuing on with her rant. "Secondly you've helped me without seeking any reward or compensation. Me, a complete stranger that you've never met before and I could have had bad intentions for you, yet you helped me without hesitation."
Her arm began trembling as her face began to grow flushed. For a moment it looked like she would lose all semblance of control and do something rash like breaking something. With her strength it would've been easy to bring down a small tree.
Yet that was not the case as Bianka lowered her hand, clenching her fist. A few seconds after that she then dropped her head.
"And now," She hoarsely whispered out as the emotions that the young girl had tried to keep in check began to freely flow. "Now you're leaving your home just to help me get back to mine."
In response 'Haruto' merely smiled before he began to walk up to her. Stopping right in front of the trembling girl, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But if I don't come with you how will you find your way back?"
Then with his free hand he waved it in a seemingly empty space of air. It would not be empty for much longer as a second later a white oak door seemingly manifested where he had just waved his hand at. "After only these 'portals' appear for me."
Bianka's head shot up, her watery blue eyes trying to glare at the person in front of her but failing to do so. "Then teach me how you did that!" She yelled.
And much to her aggravation the black hair boy just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know how," Was his simple response as the white oak door near them vanished, yet that seemed not to be good enough for Bianka as she continued to remain silent and doing her best to glare at the boy in front of her.
Realizing that hadn't calmed her down in the slightest, 'Haruto' continued to try and explain his mysterious powers in an attempt to make her see reason. "I…I don't know how to explain it exactly. All these bubble universes feel…connected in some strange way to one another. For some reason my body is able to sense where these connections are the strongest and I can open them up to be travelable."
"However, even if I did somehow teach you how to open them, it would be useless if you didn't know how to get back to your world. I'm pretty sure I know which bubble universe you were trying to get to originally and once we're there I'm sure that your friend Rita is waiting for you there!"
While his explanation was sound and somewhat logical, that didn't deter the blonde girl from backing down. "But-!"
"If you think I will feel sad about leaving this place then you're absolutely right." He interrupted her, much to her surprise. "I mean who wouldn't be? A place that you've lived in for all your life? It's hard to get rid of that sentiment." He looked around the green plains with a look that Bianka couldn't decipher.
However, it suddenly came to the blonde girl that she was seeing something rare in the young boy's hazel eyes, an emotion that she had never seen since she had first met him.
Hesitancy.
Hesitancy to leave everything he had ever known, to literally step out of his bubble and into an unknown path.
"However this place never felt like home for me, as strange as that sounds." He then randomly pointed upward into the sky with a smile on his face, the look of hesitancy gone in his eyes. "I've always felt that my home was out there, past the boundaries of this bubble universe. Like if there's a part of me that I haven't been reunited with and simply waiting for me to find them."
"So if that's the case then why didn't you leave?" Inquired a curious Bianka.
"I don't know, I just felt like I needed to stay for something, or rather for someone." He joked as he looked at her with a knowing smile, and in response Bianka merely huffed in annoyance, her previous behavior all but gone now.
"Besides, it's much more fun to travel if you have someone with you to experience the journey as well." He held out his hand to her. At that same moment the white oak door from before reappeared, this time wide open and revealing what appeared to be some sort of jungle on the other side.
"Shall we then Bianka?"
When the vision ended it left me exactly where I had been, staring right into Durandal's blue eyes. Unsure of what I was supposed to do, and still processing what I had just seen, I simply continued to stare at the S-Rank Valkyrie.
Yet as I stared in Durandal's eyes something must've changed in mine that signaled something positive as a relieved smile appeared on the blonde Valkyrie's face. Before I could even register this change she suddenly moved from her position.
"Haruto!" She yelled happily and nothing, and I mean nothing would've prepared me for her to suddenly start running at me. I couldn't even open my mouth to voice a response as without wasting any time she engulfed me in a fierce hug. "It's you!"
I could hear a literal pin drop as I could imagine everyone's gobsmacked expression at Durandal's actions, not at all expecting the normally serious Valkyrie to do something like this. Even I was trying my hardest not to pass out from how this was all unfolding. There were many ways I envisioned our first meeting together but never in my wildest dreams did I think this was how it was going to go down!
The S-Rank Valkyrie in question didn't even notice the shift in atmosphere as her arms tightened around me."It's been so long since I last saw you." She whispered.
"I-I-I…." My attempts at trying to voice something, anything, were all in vain but I knew that I needed to clear this up somehow. So desperately trying to gather my thoughts I blurted out the first words that could come to mind.
"S-Sorry but d-do I know you?"
Immediately after I said those words Durandal took a step back, a look of hurt on her face. Just seeing that expression just felt…wrong to me in some inexplicable way, like if my words were the wrong ones to use in this situation.
After a few painstaking seconds passed I could feel the blonde Valkyrie remove her hands from my arms before she took a few steps back. Her expression was unreadable but I knew that it was anything from the happy one she had shown just before. Taking one last look at me, searching for something that I had yet to know, the S-Rank turned her gaze away from mine.
"...Sorry…you…you reminded me of someone I used to know." Was all she whispered out, and it wasn't too hard to hear how defeated her voice was in saying that.
After that an awkward silence settled in the warehouse. No one dared to even make a noise, not even the sounds of activity outside could be heard. Everyone was trying to comprehend the scene that had just unfolded right in front of their eyes.
Even Fu Hua had an utterly shocked expression on her face.
I did my absolute best to not make eye contact with anyone, as their gazes were solely on me. All I was thinking at that moment was for some divine intervention to deliver me out of this awkward situation.
Just when it seemed that nothing could break this stifling silence a box near us suddenly tipped over, the lid being kicked open by whatever was inside the container.
And imagine my shock, and utter relief, when I caught the sight of a familiar shade of pink hair emerging from the box. After just having the surprise of my life happen a few moments ago I thought nothing else could catch me off guard but oh how wrong I was!
"Part One of the operation is a success!" Sora whispered in excitement, not at all aware that her little ninja stunt had been uncovered. "Now for Part…" Raising her head the child realized that part one of her grand scheme was actually not a success at all and rather it was failure in the worst way possible.
"Two," She finished as she looked at everyone present, who were all looking at her in varying reactions of surprise or disappointment at her appearance. With each person her eyes passed her face paled more and more until her eyes met mine. Nervously gulping at the not so pleased look on my face Sora attempted to give me her cutest smile.
"...Hi Haruto nii-chan," She said innocently as I merely sighed in exasperation.
This day was not going well at all.
After calling St. Freya to inform them that Sora was a stowaway on our transport, including Kuro who showed herself after the child was caught. I made sure that she was looked after by Keji and Marie at the command center to ensure that she wouldn't stir up any more trouble.
And I also gave her the punishment of being grounded for an entire week when we got back.
Regardless of that however, I really had to thank the pink haired child for her timely intervention. If she hadn't shown up the time she had I wasn't sure how that awkward situation with Durandal would've ended.
Speaking of which…
Feeling someone's eyes on me I turned around to catch the S-Rank Valkyrie looking at me with a scrutinizing stare. Realizing that she had been caught, the blond Valkyrie swiftly jerked her head away which prompted me to sigh.
Ever since the warehouse incident I wasn't so sure on how to approach the blonde valkyrie. Granted I hadn't known how to do so in the first place, it had changed from hesitance to awkwardness now.
Clearly there were enough similarities between me and the other 'Haruto' that she was able to recognize me. One might think that would be a good thing and that was what I initially thought as well…
However,
I groaned into my hands at how complicated this 'training exercise' had become.
I didn't want to give the S-Rank Valkyrie false hope that I was the Haruto she remembered, when not even I knew who the other 'me' was in the first place. That would've been a scumbag move if I just tried to fake it and I knew I would've been left in a world of pain if I had done so.
At the same time however if I wanted to know more about my stigma then I needed to get close to her so I could decipher its history and how it exactly worked.
Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
"Trouble in paradise Captain?" Layla spoke up next to me, a shit eating grin on her face as she enjoyed every second of my misery.
"Not another word from you," I grumbled as I let go of my face and focused on readying the Caliburn Battlesuit for the upcoming nest raid.
Thankfully after getting Sora and Kuro to the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' command center there was nothing else to do but wait for the raid of the Honkai nest to begin. The Immortal Blades were still in the process of organizing everything when we had arrived at the base and currently it was the final hour of preparing our equipment before it began.
Originally the 6th Valkyrja Squad was to be placed in the backlines, which was unsurprising considering that we had the least experience in missions like these.
Yet just recently we learned that we had been moved from the backlines…
And we were now to be a part of Durandal's group who would be the vanguard of the operation.
"I didn't know that Senpai knew Durandal-sama," Mashu spoke up on my other side and I resisted the urge to scream into my hands. Unlike Layla's teasing, the shielder had asked her question with such curiosity that I couldn't stay mad at her.
"I just reminded her of someone she knew, that's all." I repeated the reasoning that Durandal had used in the warehouse.
"Even still," Fu Hua spoke up as she finished checking the condition of her gauntlets. "I've had the pleasure of working with Durandal in past missions and I've known her to be a very serious Valkyrie, always taking her duties seriously as the strongest Schicksal Valkyrie. Very rarely does she show her other side and it is only to a few select people…"
The A-Rank Valkyrie's blue eyes then bore into mine. "Yet the moment she saw you she did not hesitate to embrace you, a public display of affection that not even Rita experiences, let alone in the presence of other Valkyries."
"So I ask you Haruto, what are you to her?"
I opened my mouth to answer her but I couldn't form an answer to save my life. "I…"
However when I could not give her one I merely casted my gaze downward.
"I would like to know as well."
I could imagine that response was probably unexpected and I was mentally preparing myself for the follow up question that would've surely followed.
Thankfully however, my luck in this situation was finally taking a turn for the best.
"Guys?" The sound of Keji's voice coming through from the Caliburn's built-in communication systems saved me from this awkward conversation. "Testing, testing, 1,2,3 can you all hear me?"
"Yeah we can hear you buddy," I immediately replied, thankful for his timely intervention. "You need something from us?"
"Just wanted to tell you guys that the honkai nest raid is beginning right now," He reminded us. Looking up from the ground I could see the Immortal Blades were getting ready to begin as they held their weapons at the ready.
Currently the entire attack force was placed in key strategic locations surrounding the mountain, effectively cutting off any means of escape for the honkai beasts. Earlier scans of the mountain's layout revealed that there were no underground tunnels that could be used as a means of escape.
And since we were now a part of the Vanguard group we were currently stationed several meters away from the main entrance of the mountain.
"Thank you for notifying us Keji-san," Fu Hua spoke as I stood up from my position, taking one last check of the Caliburn. It didn't take long for Mashu and Layla to realize that we were about to begin the operation as they too stood up from their spots, weapons in hand.
"Seeing how this will be your first mission I want you to merely watch and observe the operation, do not worry about trying to create strategies." She told our combat operator, much to his utter relief.
"You don't have to tell me twice, still can't believe we're about to fight aliens in order to save the world," He joked.
After readying ourselves we joined the rest of the Vanguard, who were all waiting for Durandal's orders to commence the operation. Speaking of which, the blond Valkyrie was at the front of the group with Rita standing faithfully by her side.
The look currently on the S-Rank Valkyrie's face was one that I had known her best for from Honkai Impact 3rd, the serious dauntless warrior that knew no equal in battle.
"Begin the operation!" She ordered as she raised her spear upward into the sky before pointing it at the cave's entrance. Without wasting a beat the thrusters of her Bright Knight Excelsis Battlesuit came alive as she shot straight to the entrance, prompting the Vanguard to follow behind her.
As I ran alongside my teammates I could faintly hear the sounds of the other battalions positioned throughout the forest beginning their assaults. The plan was to strike with so much power and speed that the honkai beasts would not be able to mount a defense, allowing us to clean through their numbers with little trouble.
From there we were to all converge to the middle of the mountain, where the nest supposedly was at. No matter how flawlessly we executed our assault, by the time we made it to the nest the strongest honkai beasts would know to mount one final stand.
And an opponent was most dangerous when it was backed into a corner, desperation fueling its will to live.
Already our element of surprise did not seemingly last long as a Honkai Templar beast bursted out of the cavern, letting loose a battle cry as it brandished its spear and shield. This humanoid honkai beast was fairly ranked high in the danger list and would normally take a full team to bring down.
As it jabbed its spear-like hand at the approaching S-Rank Valkyrie, I was reminded of something.
Of why Durandal was the strongest Schicksal Valkyrie.
Just as the spear was about to skewer her, the flying Valkyrie rolled out of the way as the spear seemingly barely grazed her. There was no fear or hesitation on her face as she jabbed her own spear forward, this time with much better results.
The Templar's hide might've as well been paper to the spear's edge as it tore right through its defenses, completely skewering it from the front and coming out of its back.
Stopping her suit's thrusters, Durandal landed on the ground before lifting her spear alongside its victim high up into the sky. And in a feat that could only be described as herculean she brought her weapon straight down into the ground, shaking the earth as a result.
After the dust cleared from her smash I could not help but slightly open my jaw in awe as I saw the now singular eye of the Templar beast dull and lifeless.
She had taken it out with a single move?!
"Holy crap," Keji voiced his thoughts in the 6th Valkyrja's communication channel. This was his first time seeing honkai beasts and to add to it he had seen the strongest Valkyrie absolutely trash one of them with little to no effort.
"What is it with Haruto attracting dangerous women?"
I pretended not to hear that, though the tick mark I could feel on my face was more than telling of what I thought about his comment. I was not the only one who had a reaction to that as I could see Fu Hua simply shake her head in exasperation while Mashu giggled and Layla openly laughed at it.
Though the time of joking around swiftly ended as we entered the dark tunnels of the mountain's cave system, the only source of light being the entrance behind us…
And the purple glowing forms of the honkai beasts that called this mountain home.
With a shrill cry they descended on us like a horde of agitated bees, seeking to overwhelm us with their sheer numbers and tear us apart with their fangs and claws. A strategy like this was very effective, especially if you were unconcerned with how many you may lose and if they could be effectively created back.
But the Immortal Blades were the best of the best for a reason after all.
Droves of honkai beasts met their end to Durandal's spear, and flanking her were her two astral summons, King and Queen. The two knight-like specters bashed and cleaved their way through the enemy alongside their mistress, leaving a path of carnage in their wake.
For every several honkai beasts that tried to end her life, all that was required from the strongest Valkyrie was a single swing.
Such was her power.
Not too far from her was Rita, who also had her own astral summon fighting alongside her. With her scythe, paired alongside Crescent Harvest's own, she danced her way through the horde of honkai beasts.
It was something both beautiful to watch, and also terrifying as the severed limbs of her opponents fell all around the maid in spectacular fashion.
Even Midori, who may not be a S-Rank Valkyrie, was an impressive sight to behold. With her seemingly basic katana, the black haired Valkyrie sliced through any opponent that foolishly got in her path.
She had already been a terrifying opponent to go up against, but now that she had joined the Immortal Blades her skill with the sword had grown leaps and bounds from what I remembered it to be. All around her the Immortal Blades were proving that they were no pushovers to these kinds of fights as they effectively culled the honkai's numbers.
That didn't mean the 6th Valkyrja Squad was useless, far from it. We were able to contribute our fair share to the fight, killing any honkai beasts that came across our path. Me, Mashu, and Fu Hua were on the frontlines while Layla supported us from the back with her rifle.
Still it was so blatantly obvious just how far we had to go if we wanted to even match the Immortal Blades.
After what felt like hours spent fighting inside those dark tunnels we finally managed to enter the cavern that held the main honkai nest. It was eerily familiar to the area that we had fought the honkai angel in before but thankfully there were no signs of that kind of honkai beast to be found here.
That didn't mean it was any less terrifying.
The moment we walked into the cavern it was apparent that the other teams had managed to beat us to the nest and had already engaged the final bastion of defense. Seeing how effectively our own group had swept the honkai beasts, the scene I expected to see was the final cleanup.
What we saw instead were the injured bodies of some Valkyries, and while none of their injuries were life threatening it was clear that they were fighting an opponent that could hold its own against them.
It did not take long for me to figure out who they were fighting as the moment we entered the cavern a massive white and purple foot slammed into the ground…
Revealing the fearsome visage of the elephant-like Honkai Beast known as Parvati.
One of the honkai beasts that belonged to the Emperor Class, the third most dangerous tier. The only tiers that were even more stronger than the Emperor were that of the Judgment Beasts and Herrscher class.
This Parvati immediately noticed our arrival and realized that we were the bigger threat as disengaged from the Immortal Blades it had been fighting and began to charge towards us.
My faint recollection of the elephant beast was not much but I did know that it had rather short legs, as opposed to the long legs one might find on a normal elephant. Normally that would mean it couldn't run fast enough to be a threat.
But let me tell you this could freakin move! Couple that with its two giant tusks and horns on the top and side of its head this beast was absolutely terrifying!
Before I could even try and think of a way to combat it, the Immortal Blades were already on the move.
"Midori-san with me!" Rita yelled as she ran forward with her scythe, Midori doing the same as she placed a hand on her sheathed katana and ran towards the raging elephant. The other Immortal Blades took defensive positions as they began to provide covering fire for the two while Durandal…
Was strangely nowhere to be seen.
However I couldn't exactly ponder on why that was the case, the Parvati let loose another shrill cry. Finishing its battle cry it turned to face Rita before standing up on its hind legs to be in an upright stance.
Seeing how the elephant was going to try and flatten her, Rita dove out just in time as the honkai beast slammed itself on the spot where she had just been standing. Recovering quickly the maid slashed at the tusk closest to her with her scythe.
At the same time Midori took advantage of its current state and delivered a swift slash with her katana on the Parvati's opposing tusk.
Both strikes were unable to sever the tusks but they did inflict a considerable amount of damage. So much so that the Parvati let out a pained cry that reverberated through the entire cavern.
With how much damage that had been done to it in such a short amount of time it would be long before it went down. Mayhaps this was a newborn Parvati? It would certainly explain why it was going down so fast despite being an Emperor Class Beast.
But suddenly without warning it leapt up into the air with surprising acrobatics and agility, hunched its massive frame…
Before subsequently performing the attack that I liked to call 'The Sonic Maneuver.'
I had always found this attack to be super goofy and funny, not really understanding how this massive tank of a beast could perform this move. Its other attacks made sense but whoever came up the idea for this must've been on something else!
It was all fun and games until the Parvati's terrifying roll attack picked up an alarming amount of speed and force in a short amount of time and charged straight towards me.
I didn't even know what had gone through the elephant's thought process to have shifted its focus from the two dangerous Valkyries that had almost cleaved off its tusks to me who hadn't even raised a sword against it.
Though none of that mattered as now I had to figure out how the hell I was going to deal with this now. Dodging was out of the question, with how fast this thing was going that was practically impossible and even if I dodged someone could potentially be fatally harmed.
So my only choice was to try and tank this hit.
I raised up both of my arms to use the Caliburn's defensive systems on full power and opened my mouth to yell for Mashu to join me. I was not sure if the Kingsbane Suit could actually hold against the strength of the Emperor Class so having Mashu and her greatshield assist me was just to be on the safe side.
However before I could even yell for the shielder's assistance, somebody had already placed themselves in front of me.
"D-Durandal-san?" I said in shock.
The blonde Valkyrie made no indication that she heard my words as she wordlessly cocked her fist back. I was confused by her move but I soon caught on to what she was planning to do when she dug her feet into the ground, bracing herself.
There was no way she was going to do what I think she was going to do…right?!
As the rolling Parvati was practically right on her doorstep, Durandal took in a big breath of air before calmly exhaling.
And then…
"HAH!" She yelled as she slammed her fist right into the spinning Parvati. A normal person might consider it suicide to attack an elephant that was currenly spinning with enough force to rip stone to pieces but Durandal was no ordinary human.
The moment her fist connected with the hide of the Parvati it was immediately stopped in its tracks. From my spot behind her I could see that with her fist alone it shattered the otherwise formidable armor of this elephant for a split second before the force of the punch launched the poor thing straight into a wall.
The Emperor Class Honkai Beast moved for a second in its stuck position before its head went slack, a river of honkai blood trailing from where the S-Rank Valkyrie had punched it.
The blonde Valkyrie just killed it with one punch.
HOLY SHIT!
Sure seeing her essentially 'one shot' the Templar Beast in the beginning had been cool but that was with her spear and the element of surprise. Here she merely cocked her fist back and straight up punched the poor elephant.
Turning around Durandal gave me a small smile before she began to walk toward where the other Valkyries were fighting the Honkai beasts to help finish the operation.
And I just stood there in my spot slack jawed, feeling both slightly in awe and in terror at what I had saw.
After the Parvati was felled, it didn't take long for us to clean up what remained of the Honkai nest. It seems that the elephant-like honkai beast was the de facto leader and with its death the remaining beasts simply gave up.
I would do the same if Durandal and Rita were my opponents.
When we emerged victorious and the nest was effectively neutralized, the rest of the night was spent hauling all the equipment back to the military base. We had gotten some good battle data for not only the Caliburn Battlesuit, but also for Layla and Mashu as well.
Asplund had all but promised them that their Kingsbane Suits would soon be ready for prototype creation and testing.
After a restful sleep the next day came and true to Midori's words the Immortal Blades tournament had begun. Groups of three were formed and they were all sorted into the proper tournament format.
I knew that against such experienced opponents that the 6th Valkyrja Squad would not end up on top, Fu Hua was not included as in her own words 'This will be a good opportunity for the three of you to fight more skilled opponents' ".
Still I was confident that we could get quite far in the tournament, so long as we didn't fight like a super strong team.
Thank god Rita and Durandal weren't participating otherwise the winner would have already been obvious.
But putting aside all of that…
Guess who our very first opponent was?
"I promise I'll go easy on you Haruto-kun," Midori teased as she placed a hand on her katana. Behind her the two Valkyries that had accompanied her yesterday were also her teammates and they were currently readying their own weapons.
"Ha Ha," I sarcastically replied back as I unsheathed one of the Caliburn's swords and activated the green luminous shield on the other gauntlet. Behind me Layla loaded a fresh ammunition clip into her rifle while Mashu brought her shield up.
On the side Fu Hua was to be the referee of the match and saw that both sides were ready to fight. Raising her hand the A-Rank Valkyrie was about to commence the match, only for someone to walk onto the arena behind Midori's team.
And it was none other than Durandal herself.
"Forgive me Midori-san but may I ask you to stand down for this fight?" The blonde Valkyrie asked, much to the confusion of everyone present.
"Uh sure Durandal-sama," Midori replied confusedly as she sheathed her katana, her teammates also mirroring her action. "But might I ask why?"
"It's simple," The S-Rank Valkyrie replied before a lance manifested on one of her hands. Spear in hand the Valkyrie twirled it in the air before she pointed its deadly edge right at me.
"Oh god," I whisper in horror as I clench my sword a bit tighter. I could faintly hear the murmurs of surprise from my team but that quickly faded when I saw Durandal's piercing blue eyes make eye contact with mine.
We were so undeniably screwed.
"I wish to test the skills of the 6th Valkyrja Squad myself."
So how was it?
I know that all of you were anticipating this chapter ever since I said that I would try my hardest to make a Haruto x Durandal ship and I hope this delivered. I spent a long time just testing this in my brain and hoping nothing here seemed too OOC.
Please share your thoughts on this please, I will really need it in writing Durandal's character.
Sorry for the late update I was…reading Pokemon Fanfiction XD.
I swear I read the Pokemon fanfiction 'Natural' (Phenomenal by the way, if you like Pokemon you should check it out.) and that resulted in a downward spiral of reading pokemon self insert fanfiction and playing pokemon for a good four days.
Nothing else I want to talk about here, just really curious to see what your reaction to this chapter is.
So…
Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.
Peace!