As Captain's current bridge valkyrie on duty, it was a fair assumption that Rita had to follow through what was going on with his head. Because there comes the time where the deployed valkyrie was in dire need of context on their captain's orders.
Normally, a valkyrie on bridge duty would assist them by elaborating the reason for their deployment and her captain for other certain things.
Notifying him about scheduled meetings.
Compiling weekly reports about recent deployments and battle simulations with their analyses and suggestions for improvement.
News on possible Honkai waves. And so forth.
Basically, they are secretaries for the Captains.
And this is basic news that even a freshwomen in St. Freya would know.
But when you ask the valkyries of the Hyperion about the experiences of being his bridge duty valkyrie, they would give you an entirely different answer.
Rita would know. He has been her handler before she became a leader of her own task force.
Long before Himeko appointed him from Schicksal's auditor to Captain of the Hyperion.
He was no Otto Apocalypse but he has handled Rita. A feat rarely anyone achieved.
Straightforward. Ruthless. Rational. Cold.
These were the things she remembered about him as her handler.
So imagine her surprise at what he was like when she first applied to be his Bridge Duty Valkyrie after Kolosten.
He was sassy. Surprisingly funny. And honestly a bit of an emotional mess.
He was still as smart as before. But there was warmth and emotions in his words.
But most importantly to her, he felt different. He felt human to her.
When he issues an order, she honestly expects herself to comply with his command without hesitation much like how the Former Overseer does things.
She was wrong on that assumption.
Whenever she was seen pondering about his true intent of his command, he gave her clues for her to think on and she just immediately understood what he was going for after a few minutes.
When she asked him why he couldn't lead her with those in the first place, His only reply was "Old habits are hard to break, i guess.".
To her, this felt more like a lie and a truth.
She couldn't deny that he was lying when she observed him on the spot but his words sounded genuine.
She honestly couldn't determine which was better.
Him being so straightforward quick much like in the past or him being so human in the present
She missed the days where everything she relied on and accomplished were orders and missions. That is not to say that her current Captain is unwelcomed.
She likes to figure out puzzles now and then. Much as she finds enjoyment finding ways to perfect her cooking for her master Durandal, she will enjoy figuring out the enigma called Captain Hajime M. Stellar.
There is always satisfaction in achieving perfection.
And her first step is figuring out what her captain meant through his message.
"Something wrong, Rita?" She was interrupted from her thoughts by her captain through the comms. "You are usually talkative to me when I deploy you to the battlefield." She smiled and was glad that they were talking with each other on a private channel.
"There is nothing wrong, captain." She held her chin and kept pondering. "I am trying to figure out what message you want us to send to the public." He chuckled.
"If you are still analyzing my words and you still haven't found the answer without me giving you any clues, that means that you still haven't truly figured me out, Miss Rossweisse."
She narrowed her eyes to the captain as he was seen briefly waiting in the sky, camouflaged and overseeing the three possible Honkai wave areas.
She honestly hated how he referred to her like that.
It felt like she was the headmistress of a mansion and he was the butler.
As a professional maid, this felt more like an insult.
As his Valkyrie, this felt casual as opposed to her uptight demeanor.
As his friend? This felt like a dare. And she couldn't resist smiling in the face of adversity.
"My~ My~ Captain. Was that a challenge I heard?"
"I take it this got you interested then."
"You sure know how to keep a girl hooked, captain." She imagined him shrugging his shoulders at that response.
"Wouldn't be your handler if i didn't."
To St Freya's valkyries and hyperion's staff, one would normally assume that this was just a casual saying of him being her captain.
To her, this fun conversation was something they should have with each other before going separate ways.
"Looks like..." She heard him go silent and saw through her visor that he was announcing to all Valkyries.
"AMBER SPOTTED IMAGINARY CONSTRUCTED MECHS IN ALL 3 AREAS. READY YOUR GEAR!"
Bianka 'Durandal' Ataegina, who was reading beside her, put her book down and readied her stance. Rita nodded along as certain dimly-lit mob enemies that used to be AE's line of defense to Honkai were spawned in front of them.
As Bianka charges with her weaker lance to one of the mobs, Rita prepared her stance but this went naught as she heard her captain's odd request.
"Ah... Please leave the heavy fighting to Miss Ataegina, Miss Rossweisse. But you are, however, allowed to keep your Crescent Harvest Phantom remain on the battlefield for the public's protection." She raised an eyebrow.
Then why did you...
She widened her eyes and smiled as she finally realized what was going with her captain's mind and chuckled.
"Guess I was overthinking it about you wanting us to send a message to the public, captain. " As she watched Durandal applying flames on every mech she saw at the battlefield.
"You sound disappointed."
"I guess it is because you gave me a clue that led me to this kind of insight. So however it looks, it is still my loss." She imagined her captain smiled through the communications.
"There is always next time for our little game, Rita." She bowed and smiled as she watched the flames on the battlefield quickly cooled down by the particles that were dispersed from her battlesuit, leaving certain roses near the Anti-Valkyrie Protesting Area with dew-like droplets on the petals.
In betting, there will always be stakes involved.
In games, there will always be prizes to be won.
So what were the stakes to be won?
As the owner of Umbral Rose Battlesuit, she is sworn under secrecy of certain things.
Much like how a maid uses rose as a symbol of keeping things a secret.
Such matters keep elegant ladies like her interesting, no?
"Captain is an idiot for telling Bronya and Kiana not to bring their weapons." Seele immediately hushed her other self as the three are now fighting the constructs near the orphanage.
Seele, being less experienced of the three, was tasked to escort the orphans to a safer place as Kiana and Bronya used weapon constructs simulated by the latter's Herrscher of Reason's power.
She also never understood how Bronya and Kiana complied with the captain's order with no hesitation though she can still sense their curiosity.
"I am pretty sure the captain has a good reason. He never failed Bronya and Kiana before." As she finished head counting the orphans.
"Oh? You are not worried about your dearest Bronya getting hurt? Because not having to use Project Bunny is making her struggle a lot."
She can't deny her other self that both Bronya and Kiana are having a hard time fighting the mobs on the battlefield.
What she can't even understand more is why her captain tasked only Seele to escort the children on evacuating instead of helping the two experienced valkyries.
She was always aware of how understanding and attentive the captain is and she always learned something new when she was his bridge duty valkyrie.
So what was the deal with her Kapitan?
She has heard from Miss Rita, her senior, that he wants them to send a message.
Rita seems to be interested but Seele, on the other hand, was more worried than curious.
"Hey, Seele. One of the kids is making some weird noise. If he keeps this up, he will attract more of those annoying puppets." Seele didn't even correct her as she had her eyes on the crying child in the corner.
"Is there something wrong, Tony?" Seele placed her hand on the crying child and tried to put on a smile after running up to him.
"No. It is scary out there. It is loud and everybody is always fighting and screaming. Make them go away." Seele frowned.
Seele has been visiting them during her breaks. She always tended to their needs and always listened to the kids after telling them stories.
Tony has always been the quiet and problematic one.
Not that she can blame him. He almost reminded Seele during her days back at the orphanage.
Always hiding in the corner and crying.
Always avoiding and running away from trouble.
When he thought nobody was looking, she always watched him taking care of the strays and the garden back at the orphanage.
She knew that he was just shy and didn't have any friends.
Seele was lucky to have her other self and Bronya during her time with her Matushka.
Tony doesnt seemed to have any and it just breaks her heart every time she tries to reach out to him.
So when Seele heard him crying his heart out, she knew something was wrong.
It doesn't also help when there is a self-regenerating mob enemy outside.
And she isn't taking her other self's suggestion of leaving this poor child behind.
Seele, remembering her promise to the orphanage, smiled.
"How about this? After we get out of here, we are going to the arcade." The rest of the kids, except for Tony, smiled at her promise.
They always knew that Seele always keeps her promises.
"No. Make them go away. They scared the poor animals away. Because of them, they are never going back." Seele finally understood why he was so upset.
Looking at the backyard, one of the mobs trampled his hard-earned pet shed. Seele clenched her fist in concern.
"Then wouldn't it be more logical to help the two now so the pets would come back?" Seeing how similar Tony and Seele are, she decided to think what it would be like if she was in his shoes.
"No. Seeing us destroying the mobs left and right would make them a bit more afraid of us. We are essentially making ourselves look like monsters in their eyes, both to animals and humans."
Seele decided to think of the things that would make them happy. What would make her happy during her times with her Matushka.
Beach? No. That wouldn't work. Not everybody is fond of the sea like me and Bronya.
Sweet Snacks? No. None of the kids has the appetite to eat right now.
Bronya's Homu doll? No. That is just what Bronya likes. Even so, It just provides a little comfort to them. why would that...
She widened her eyes in realization and smiled.
"You are not being serious about this, are you?" Seele gleefully smiled and called the captain.
"Say captain?" She looked up, seeing her captain looking at their general area.
"Yes, Seele?"
"Can you send Bronya something? I am really not sure what to call it but... They are more like schematics of..." Before Seele get the chance to
"You want me to send a certain specific blueprint to her so that you could use it to escort the children out of the orphanage? A certain roller coaster ride perhaps?" She hummed in confirmation but got confused and shocked on how he knew what she was going to say.
"How did you..."
"One. You always kept your eye on Homu-Land whenever we pass it by land or air when you thought i wasn't looking."
"Two. You looked so disappointed one time when coming back from the orphanage. So I decided to keep my eyes and ears open. I found out that all of the orphans are unable to go to the fair due to reasons of having no parents or guardians supervising them. My guess, on account of my previous thought, is that the security there was unable to accept your willingness to be their guardian due to the number of orphaned children that are present."
"Three, while I was there disguised as a Hobo, I heard a certain child had been wanting to try the rollercoaster ride but got disappointed of not being able to, which confirmed my guess that you guys tried to enter Homu-Land but failed due to safety reasons."
"So seeing this set of challenges and scared children on your end which i would assume that you will do your best cheering them up, It just takes me a while to connect the dots and see where is the direction of your head going, Seele.
Don't forget, I always take care of the Hyperion's Valkyries. And for you, One of my jobs is to maintain the orphanage you often visit.
Besides, someone has to keep the place afloat for you to tend to the kids' needs."
"Is there anything else, Seele?" Hearing no response from Seele confirmed what he just said and sent the blueprints to Bronya with a text message.
Seeing her 'Seele' so shocked and flabbergasted in his response, the Id side of her took over.
"YOU ARE NOT JUST AN IDIOT KAPITAN. YOU ARE ALSO CRAZY." The ego didn't deny nor stopped on what her Id said.
"Thank you, 'Seele'. Feel free to put that on my performance review once we get back from St. Freya."
Both the Id and Ego felt like the captain already knew who Seele really is and what they're really capable of.
Thing is, aside from Bronya knowing, she never told anyone about it. And him knowing that scares them.
Fu Hua, in all of her 50 000 thousand years of experience, not once expected herself to see a very odd sight of the Olenyeva twins and Overseer fighting the constructs in the town square while the public watches in awe as she was walking in the alley way.
The public were told to evacuate the area but due to their distrust of Schicksal's, most of them resisted and hid somewhere else.
And many have resisted.
Normally there would be screaming and panic involved.
Now?
Some of the public are just cheering for the Overseer, who was in her Twilight Paladin battlesuit, throwing swords at the constructs from her Oath of Judah.
"Fu Hua? Based on my readings, I got a stray, 500 clicks north of you." Fu Hua nodded and thanked the captain.
"Of course..." He sighed in her communications, which made her curious.
"Fu Hua? We have a problem. It turned left and ran away fast." The captain looked around her general area and held a serious expression on his face.
"And I see a civilian nearby." Fu hua widened her eyes and sped up.
Before turning left, she heard a loud scream and explosion.
"Fu H..." She couldn't understand why the captain was interrupted and she didn't want to think about what caused it.
She was now more concerned about the life of the civilian.
She finally arrived at her destination and readied her fighting stance.
As it turned out, the brunette civilian, who was cowering and screaming for her life, was safe and the threat was long gone.
Leaving nothing but smoke and ash.
When she saw Fu Hua standing there, she ran towards her and held her hands.
"Oh, thank you for saving my life, Miss. You are a hero." Normally she would just shrug it off and say that it was part of her duty.
But in this case, she was baffled at the fact that she was taking credit for what she didn't do.
Seeing how genuinely grateful the victim was, she didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.
"N... No... No problem ma'am. It's what we do. Why don't you head to town square? You are more safe there."
"But there are more monsters in there." She firmly gripped Fu Hua's hand in fear and her 'savior' responded with a calm hand and a genuine smile.
"And you have less protection hiding here. But don't worry. The ones fighting the monsters are my friends. You can trust them defending your lives." Seeing Fu Hua smile was a rare sight but those who receive it always feel calm and protected.
Convinced by her kind words, the panicked civilian ran to the town square where she was more safe.
She was wondering why she couldn't still hear her captain through her communications and decided to go back to where Kiana and others were fighting.
As she exited the alleyway and saw Kiana riding a homu rollercoaster with the orphans while Bronya was driving it, she finally got in touch with the captain.
"Oh thank goodness. Finally got you. What happened back there? I lost you there for a bit. And my binoculars got jammed." She saw him running to her wearing a similar outfit to her Dark Butler outfit aside from the hat.
"No... Nothing's wrong. Captain. The civilian is safe and that's all that matters." Sensing something was off, he decided to push the topic further.
"I am not taking that answer, Fu Hua. Tell me, what happened?" She flinched at his surprisingly stern voice.
"It's just that... I wasn't the one who saved her, captain. Both the imaginary construct and its seed were gone by the time I arrived." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You are telling me someone managed to finish the job quickly before you arrived? Thinking about the speed and strength of the person while taking account of the time he or she has left to defeat it before you even got the chance to see it would be insane. The only person who would fit in that category would be..." They both held their chin and Hajime came to a conclusion.
"You think Mei helped you out?"
"Which would honestly explain the smoke and ash." He sighed.
"Kinda wished she would have let us thank her for saving the civilians." He rubbed the back of his head to ease the stress he has. "In any case..." The captain was interrupted by the loud cheer to their side and both Fu Hua and Hajime turned to the source of the sound and saw different things.
Fu Hua was surprised to see both Durandal and Rita were being cheered on and praised by the public for mitigating the damage in the Anti-Valkyrie Protesting Area. Due to both of their heroics and their concerns towards public safety, they were awarded by one of the Senators of Soukai.
Although Fu Hua can tell that both former protesters and the said senator were upset due to the current circumstances. But... In the game of earning the Public trust, Public opinion always wins. And this was enough to make her smirk.
Fu Hua turned to where Kiana, Bronya and Seele were and watched them riding a simulated Homu rollercoaster with the orphan kids.
Kiana even assisted and added to the fun by randomly putting Void portals on Bronya's path. Such an act caused the kids to squeal in delight as they passed through every portal as if they were riding a magical rollercoaster using void portal as tunnels.
Seele even volunteered to get all of the stray cats she saw and gave them to the young boy who was riding beside her by blinking all over the place while being coated with quantum energy.
The public were so entranced by the 'magic' that they couldn't resist streaming it to the world.
Fu Hua then turned to the town square and saw that Olenyeva twins and Overseer were huddled by the fans and asking for their autographs, telling how cute and awesome it is to save the people from the monsters at a young age. The pink haired Valkyrie couldn't resist and she just mingled along with the crowd. Though her lack of restraints leaves a lot to be desired.
She kept hearing the same word she received from saving the girl in those 3 areas.
"HEROES."
A certain conclusion was in the Immortal Phoenix's mind and decided to ask the captain for confirmation.
"This was your plan, wasn't it, Captain? Making them look like heroes in the eyes of the public in order to gain back the public's trust?" The captain smiled.
"I wouldn't go that far... But more or less. I have faith in the girls that they will do it right."
"So you placed Durandal in the protesting area for diplomacy while Rita, being with her, would help her at least avoid so much destruction in Durandal's wake. And since you asked Durandal to use the Valkyrie Gloria battlesuit, Rita's Argent Knight Artemis battlesuit capabilities are more than capable of putting out the flames."
"Yep. Besides, it will look great on social media that the public sees Rita's Crescent Phantom as a guardian, no?"
"Then why ask her to bring a dress?" He raised his index finger and pointed to his ear, prompting Fu hua to listen closely.
"If you think about it, she looks a bit more like an Ice queen, no?"
"An Ice queen that summons her heroic guardian to protect the weak from Monsters. Sounds like a fairy tale came to life."
"That will sound amazing on paper. I wonder how the world will see it." Fu Hua gave an 'Ah' and nodded in understanding.
Fu hua gave him a soft smile.
"And the rollercoaster?"
"All part of the plan. If the public sees that the Valkyries are willing to save everyone, even the little orphans from Honkai and make them feel safe and happy, that would earn us a few points from the public and have us earn their trust back. And what cheers orphan kids more than having the chance to ride the rollercoaster that actually destroyed the imaginary construct mobs?
After all, why question such heroics if you are willing to save the orphans?" Fu Hua nodded.
"What I didn't plan on was Kiana using her Herrscher of the void powers for 'tunnels' and Seele saving a lot of stray pets." Fu Hua chuckled at his sense of humor.
"The Olenyeva sisters and Overseer?"
"Media exposure. The twins have been nagging me about finding ways to be an idol so I gave them a small opportunity to be what it is like. A pair of cute young idols that are strong enough to save the public from Honkai waves? The chance is just too good to pass up. As for Theresa, same reason. Media exposure." Fu Hua raised her eyebrow at him.
"If the world, Schicksal and St. Freya sees Overseer Theresa saving the world and realizes that she is very much different from Otto, they would be very much convinced to place their trust in her.
You can't change how they see her as Otto's granddaughter. You just have to prove and enlighten them that she is very much different from Otto." She watched him gave a dramatic flair with a smile to Theresa who was now preparing for a speech
"Lo and Behold Fu Hua. The leader of St. Freya being exposed to the media is now telling the world that you guys can defend the world from the monsters." Fu Hua giggled how funny the captain was but she can't deny how good this plan is.
"I am guessing I am your back up plan in case any strays wander around. And my suit looks good enough for me to blend in the crowd." He nodded.
"Still... What's with your get up?" She looked at him with a bewildered expression. "That is because no one exactly takes notice of a chauffeur. Only the diva that walks outside of the Limousine. That way, I can sneak past them and just have myself overlook the general area while being camouflaged. And what is the better way for your captain to issue orders than having a front row seat of the action?" As he pointed to his previous location in the sky.
"And you planned all of this before getting the suit?" He shook his head with a smile.
"The chauffeur act also gave me a general look of the area and confirmed a few things before I set my plan in motion in case things just go downhill."
"That was like... a half-hour drive from St Freya."
"Which was more than enough time to organize my plan together." Fu Hua just stared blankly at her captain's planning capabilities.
"Something wrong?"
"No. I am just surprised." She looked on ahead seeing all of the Valkyries were waiting for their chauffeur.
"Guess we can head back now."
"Actually... You are heading back. I will stay and see if Mei left something behind." He gave her his chauffeur's hat. "Now, Move along." Fu Hua nodded.
"Also... Don't mention to others that Mei was here. They had a long day and they need some rest." Fu Hua nodded and left him behind.
He was walking around in the alleyway, smelling the leftover smoke and looking for clues. He sighed as he kept examining for more.
"Oh Mei. You could have at least said something before doing things on your own again. The girls and I missed you." Remembering how she turned from an innocently looking and approachable teenage girl into one of the powerhouses of World Serpent, Hajime slumped his shoulders and kept looking.
"Huh." He saw something glistening on the floor and picked it up.
"Since when did Mei use this?" He examined the pink crystal on the ground. After being unable to find more clues, He kept it in his pocket and decided to walk the way home.
Before leaving the alleyway, he could have sworn he heard a cute giggle echoing on the walls.
Author's Note: To those who are confused right now on how I am posting this, Yeah... Sorry about that. I am still learning the ropes of using Fanfiction documents posting.
So give me a few weeks to learn on how to use this since the only fiction website i have use was AO3.
So this might take a while.