Chapter 15: Calm Before the Storm
Nagazora's nightlife is always beautiful as the city lights illuminate the streets and buildings. It is when people go home from work and rest, but for some people, it is the perfect time to plan their next move. After all, the serpent thrives in the dark.
Cocolia sits in her office overlooking the city life below her. The woman whom Bronya calls "Mathuska" sighs. "It will be too late to go back now." She muttered, She knew she had made a deal with the devil to get back something that was taken away from her. That is her family back or more specifically her surrogate daughter back.
"Ryoma…. " The woman clenched her fist "Dammit.". Both of them are parents, and she knew that man wouldn't agree to her request of turning Mei, Ryoma's own and only daughter into a Herrscher. A being of pure destruction that has brought forth countless tragedies and destruction each time one awakens. But at the same time, there's an equal possibility that those same beings can become a Herrscher who sides with humanity. A Herrscher of Human.
"We demand a Herrscher as part of our deal, It would be better if that Herrscher is alive. We will help you get her back from the clutches of the sea of quanta while you will help us fulfill the wish of our sire. I hope you won't disappoint me Cocolia."
Cocolia recalled Grey Serpent's words. It was the deal that she and Grey Serpent made and for her family, she would do anything for them. She doesn't want to, no, Cocolia can't lose another one of her children again. One is enough, she can't lose Seele as well.
"Mathuska. You have guests." Bronya said as she knocked on her mother's office.
"Bring them in." Cocolia answered. 2 Men came in soon after, and Bronya left, 1 looks like someone in their 30s while the other appears to be someone who had just turned a legal adult about 1 or 2 years ago.
"Did the grey serpent lie about him sending 3 agents?" Cocolia asked.
"Tsk. That cat is late. Don't bother." Said the younger one of the two. His code name is Asura. He has messy grey hair with a black and gold mask covering his entire face even his eyes aren't visible. The AE enforcer wonders how "Asura" could even see his surroundings.
"Haha. I apologize for the inconvenience Mrs. Cocolia. Nyx is a very free-spirited person." The man said. This middle-aged man is usually called by his code name Grey Hound. His tone seems to resemble that of a butler rather than an assassin or a secret agent. Still, Cocolia might be wrong about her first impression of him.
He has jet-black hair and blue eyes. Both men have a good build yet slender bodies and both are of the same height, almost 2 meters tall according to Cocolia's observation. Since they're a World Serpent agent, the two must have a stigmata on their back or at least they need to be highly resistant to Honkai or maybe even a MANTIS.
"Nyx would be arriving soon." Grey Hound looks at his wristwatch. It is just a generic silver analog watch. True to his words, their partner arrived soon enough but not in a way that Cocolia expected. Cocolia turned around as she heard someone enter from her office's window.
There she saw a cat girl perching on the open window. She has short Jet black hair and her cat tail is also black. She has heterochromia, her left eye is light blue and her right is light green. Her code name is Chartreux Nyx. Chartreux is a cat breed from France, which would explain the similarities of her cat features with the actual French cat breed rather than Nyx's nationality.
Unlike the other 2 agents, this one is definitely a MANTIS judging by her cat-like appearance. She also wore a dark pink hoodie. If she needed to hide her tail she could wrap them around her waist and use the hoodie to hide her cat ears. Other than that her eyes still look like a normal human at least.
"So what's the heist?" Cocolia saw Nyx's ears perk up and her tail swinging from side to side.
"Then get down from there." Nyx nods and enters the room. Her eyes scanned every corner of the room as Cocolia sighs.
"So we'll go with plan A, plan B will only start if this plan is foiled, got it?" The 3 agents nod as Cocolia explains the plan that she and Grey Serpent have secretly been working on.
"A WOTAN!? How am I supposed to steal that!" Nyx points at the picture and blueprint of the mech that Cocolia provided. She can rob banks or steal information from government offices but a mech? No, a giant mech that's the size of a building? There's no way she could do that without alerting AE.
"That's for phase 2. AE would inevitably be on high alert after that phase of the plan is done, that's why you need to steal these documents first, preferably without alerting security." Cocolia replied as she passed Nyx the piece of paper for her current mission. Now this seems more reasonable to her as she read all the information written on the paper.
"As for the two of you. Your job is to recruit people. Grey serpent has connections that you're allowed to use, correct?"
"That's correct madam. He wouldn't mind either way if it doesn't affect our sire's long-term project." Grey Hound replied.
"Good because we'll be needing them. That's all, any questions?" Cocolia was greeted by silence. Nyx shakes her head while Asura stares at her.
"If there's none then you may leave and do your part."
"Aye!" Nyx said as she reopened the window she just came in from. She jumps out of the window onto the nearby building. Showing everyone her parkour skills and flexible joints.
As the black-haired cat girl parkours through the rooftops of the city. She suddenly felt a cold shiver down her spine as every hair in her body perked up, and her cat instincts picked up an ominous feeling. "Wh-Wha?" Nyx doesn't understand why she was suddenly afraid but she instantly sprinted away from that place. After all, curiosity kills the cat and she doesn't want to find and confront the source of her fear that she could run away from. It's better to be safe than sorry.
"Matushka do we have to do this?" Bronya asked Cocolia as all the other WS agents left.
"It's the only way." The woman replied with a sigh
"The Bronya doesn't trust Grey Serpent. He feels off. Bronya felt uncomfortable when Matushka met up with him."
"...Bronya. I'm not going to lose another daughter. I've failed once I'm not losing another one due to my greed and incompetence! We'll get Seele back with or without their help."
"..." Bronya stayed silent as the Russian girl stared blankly at Cocolia. The WS agents can be trusted but for some reason, Bronya doesn't feel the same way when she met up with Grey Serpent. Her instinct told her that he is her enemy and would likely stay that way.
"As you wish Matushka. But Bronya thinks that there is another way to save Seele and we don't have to depend on our deal with Grey Serpent to achieve it." Bronya said before she turned around and left Cocolia's room.
Cocolia merely sighs. That child has been so stubborn lately. She wonders if this is the right choice, maybe Bronya is right. "No. Let's just see how this ends first. Show me your true colors Serpent." Cocolia took a deep breath as she look at the city outside through the window.
Meanwhile.
"? What was that?" Sakuya stops for a moment. She was doing her usual morning run albeit with a different route as she needed to go back to Mei's mansion after this. That was until she smelled a faint trace of an unfamiliar scent.
She looked around and saw that nothing was out of the ordinary. She kept that scent in the back of her mind as she resumed her run.
Because of her incidental sleepover with Mei, Sakuya decided to follow a different route for her morning jog. She came back to the heiress's mansion precisely an hour later.
"Welcome back, Kaslana sama." The head maid greeted her as soon as she entered the house. It weirded Sakuya off seeing how this maid waited by the front entrance just to greet someone like her. Her dedication to her role is something else.
"Y-Yeah." Sakuya starts heading to the kitchen area.
"Are you looking for snacks? Kaslana sama?"
"No. I- Right this isn't my own house." Seems like habits die hard. Sakuya was about to help prepare some breakfast when she was stopped by the maid.
Hakurei giggles. "Please wait for breakfast. Ojou Sama is still asleep. If you're looking for something to entertain yourself while you wait for her to wake up I could show you the game room."
"No thanks. Is it okay if I explore this mansion on my own?" Hakurei's presence made Sakuya rather uncomfortable. It felt as if she was being followed and monitored all the time.
"Do as you, please. But try not to break anything if you happen to touch them. Call my name if you require any assistance." The maid then left her alone. Presumably to do her other daily tasks.
There were many rooms that Sakuya explored. Most of the rooms she found are bedrooms for the servants, and some of the other rooms she found are either empty or locked.
As Sakuya opens another door. She found a room that interests her. It is a dojo, where Mei presumably trains her Kenjutsu. There are 2 areas. 1 area is for sparring and the other one is for training with a wooden practice doll that is placed in the middle of the room.
Near the back wall, there are weapon racks though most of them are wooden swords or wooden sticks. Sakuya remembers that Mei is Senba's current best kendo master as she has won multiple gold trophies each time she enters a kendo tournament in the region. So far she hasn't participated in a national tournament yet but with her reputation as a genius and a prodigy in the way of the sword, she may be able to at least win some sort of medallion or even a gold trophy.
Sakuya didn't for sure as she never sparred with the Heiress yet and she was rather curious about how good Mei actually was compared to the rumors that were spread around.
Sakuya examined the wooden swords. She picked one up and swung it a little bit to get a feeling of how this weapon worked. Siegfried had taught her how to handle one although it is usually a two-handed greatsword instead of a one-handed one.
She also only knew about the European style instead of the Eastern one as the Kaslana gun and sword kata were based on an old European fighting technique that was perfected and modernized as time went on.
Sakuya didn't realize how much time she had spent there trying to mimic the style of how the far eastern swordsman swung their blade. She only saw them on TV and her footwork was very awkward as her legs moved based on the Kaslana fighting style while she swung her sword like a samurai.
'These two things are harder to combine and execute properly than expected.' Sakuya thought to herself. 'Just how did my body move so naturally when I was holding the scythe? I could even properly incorporate the Kaslana gun kata into my usual fighting style so easily.'
Sakuya continued to practice the way of the blade for a couple more minutes. As time went on her movement became less and less awkward as she started to get a hang of the basics. She's purely mimicking the footwork that she saw based on her memories and filling in the gaps with the knowledge that she already knew.
"Sakuya are you there?" Mei opens the door to her dojo. "Oh." The Heiress smiles and giggles as she sees Sakuya try to hide the wooden sword behind her back. "Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh but I didn't know you were interested in Kendo as well."
"...It's not Kendo. I'm interested in eastern Kenjutsu." Sakuya replied, her eyes glancing away from the heiress. She wonders why she felt pretty embarrassed about this. It never happened before when Leon or the twins suddenly barges in when she was in the middle of training so why now?
"Kenjutsu hm. I don't know if Otou san allowed me to share our family's sword technique, the Hokushin no Ryu with others but I could teach you the basics."
"...Sure." Sakuya accepted the offer since Mei offered it at the kindness of her heart. Besides, knowing how to use more weapons would be beneficial for Sakuya in the long run.
"Your footwork is a bit off." Mei began to correct Sakuya's stance.
"Here hold the sword like this. You're holding them as if you're holding a greatsword." Mei gave Sakuya a demonstration while also correcting how she holds the wooden blade.
"I-I see. My dad taught me how to wield one so I unconsciously grip my sword like that."
"It's alright. We all start from somewhere." Mei moved back a bit and ordered Sakuya to swing the sword vertically. "You have the power and speed but your precision is a bit off. Again."
The two continue their training. Sakuya noted that Mei seemed happy as the Heiress continued her lecture. Perhaps it is because Sakuya is a natural adapter and quickly learned all the basics that Mei gave in her lecture.
Though unfortunately their time was cut short as the head maid walks into the room and tells them that breakfast is ready. "A-Ah let's do this next time then. How about in the evening I-if you're free that is." Mei fidgets with her hands.
"Sure." Sakuya smiles. The Heiress saw her friend's smile and smiled back. She felt that this smile was a bit different from the smile Sakuya always wore on her face back at school. It felt more genuine and warm.
Mei grabbed Sakuya's hand and led her back to the dining room. "Oh, do you want dessert? Our chef sometimes made those for breakfast."
"I'm not a picky eater. I'll eat anything that's served to me."
"Noted. Feel free to ask for seconds if you'd like some more."
As Sakuya sat down at the dining table while being served her breakfast. Her mind wanders, it has been a while since she felt this free. Simple things like eating with a friend felt warm and fun.
That's right, she isn't trapped in that cold cellar anymore. She's no longer alone, She has a new family and a friend now. But even so, she still can't let her guard down. So long as the serpent is still active and slithering about in the cold dark alleys, she hasn't truly escaped their grasp yet.
Sooner or later they'll come for her again. As Sakuya ate, her mind began reminiscing about her past. A traumatic past full of loss and misery. She began to recall the events of the past during the time when she was just a weak girl who couldn't do anything.
Current Era, Era number 42. Year 19xx, Pre 2nd Eruption
It hurts, Everything in her body felt like they were being stabbed by a small needle. The guards are dragging her away from the test chamber where those scientists did something to her while she was unconscious.
"Batch 43." A guard mumbled quietly and soon the two men stopped. They opened the cell door and throws Sakuya inside before locking it back up. "Be a good girl and don't cause any trouble C-108." C-108 was her new name.
"Are you okay?" A girl's voice was heard. Sakuya was still breathing uncontrollably as she lays there on the floor. Her body freezes up, She is scared. Everything here is foreign to little Sakuya.
"Hey, it's okay we're not going to hurt you." The southeast Asian girl walks closer to Sakuya as she put her hand on Sakuya's palm. "Shh. It's alright, you poor thing. Don't worry your big sister here will keep you company." Sakuya looks up and saw the girl's reassuring smile. Her breathing stabilizes as she starts to familiarize herself with her new surroundings.
As Sakuya looks around she noticed that she isn't alone in this cell. There were other people in this cell as well. Though some have those purple lines showing up on their skin while others are scared just like her.
"Those people seem to have brought all of these people here. Some are as young as you but some are also older than me." The Asian girl explained. She seemed rather calm on the outside but on the inside, she was scared and anxious. "I hope Mom and Dad are okay… Oh! I forgot to ask but what's your name?"
"My name? It- It's Sakuya." Sakuya replied as the two girls sat beside each other.
"Just Sakuya? No last name?" Sakuya nods. "I see, my name is Safa. Safa Caroline. Nice to meet you."
"Is Caroline a family name?" Sakuya tilts her head.
Safa shakes her head. "No. It's just a last name, the people there don't use family names."
"How did onee san get here?"
"…I don't remember. Everything just happened so quickly you know. I was knocked out when they brought me here and I couldn't remember what I did before I arrived here." Safa sigh. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're alive right now. Hopefully, we can escape from this place as well." Sakuya nods to her statement.
"…Then Onee san let's be friends!"
Safa looks at Sakuya for a while before the girl burst into a laughing fit. "I'm serious!" Sakuya pouts cutely.
"Sorry. Sorry. Haa, Okay I'll be your friend little one." Safa wipes away her tears of mirth before she holds her pinky out.
"I'm not little!"
"Yes, you're my cute friend." The older girl starts to pat the younger girl's head much to her amusement.
From this moment on these two were always seen together. Playing simple games and having fun with the other prisoners to keep their spirits up.
Despite their living condition. It was a place of joy and warmth for the two. Of course, they weren't planning to stay there forever but during their stay there. They two made good friends and memories together.
Though it is unfortunate that some things were just never meant to last.
Present day
"Sakuya?" Mei's voice eventually snapped Sakuya out of her trance. She has been recalling that memory during the lesson. She wonder why she thought about that memory in specific.
"I'm up. I'm up. Sorry dozed off for a second there."
"Thankfully you didn't miss anything important. But Sakuya chan what were you thinking about?"
"It's…Nothing. Just recollecting some old… Nostalgia I suppose." Sakuya replied with a small smile on her face. Mei mouthed an 'oh' and didn't question her friend further.
"You're just like her huh." Sakuya thought to herself as she saw the silhouette of her former friend beside Mei. "Has Mei always looked this beautiful before?"
"Is there something on my face?" Mei asked. Noticing that Sakuya was staring at her.
"Wh-What no. Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Sakuya glances away as her ears turned red from embarrassment. Mei giggled at her embarrassed friend who groaned in return.
"Say are you free this evening? If you are how about we continue our lesson that was interrupted this morning?" Mei asked.
"Hold on lemme check my schedule." Sakuya checked her phone first and there's a new message coming from Nathara? Sakuya read the gist of it and she found out that it is a job offer. "I don't think so. I've got a job to do later. Maybe on the weekends."
"Okay. Hmm, why don't we go to a mall on Sunday as well?"
"A mall?"
"Mhm." Mei nods her head. "To hang out. I'm free on Sunday, if you have anyone in mind you can invite them too. Yeonsheo chan agreed to come that day. Are you free on Sunday?"
"I see… I think I'm free during that day, I'll ask Kyuushou and the others later to see if they want to join."
"Perfect! We can discuss our plans for Sunday tomorrow. Please make sure to come on time!" Mei smiles, she looks rather excited as she looks forward to a fun hang-out day with her friends later in the weekend.
Later in the evening, Sirin, Kyuushou, and Sakuya all gathered in their usual hang-out spot. That is inside the forest area of the academy's park.
"So Nee-san. You said Nathara needed our help with moving things?" Sirin asked while she tries to process what Sakuya just said. The offer is tempting due to the amount of money they'll get paid for this.
Sakuya nods "Yeah. To a bunker somewhere. It's too far and too expensive to use the conventional method that's why she asked us specifically due to our powers to create portals. It'll allow easy access and fewer resources spent on this project. "
"Woo! Pay day! I'm in!" Kyuushou grins. The Houraiji really only cared about the money right now. If Sakuya said that Nathara is trustworthy then she is trustworthy. Other than paying for rent she needed to pay for her student loans. While her mother takes care of all of that, it just doesn't feel right for Kyuushou to let her single mother do all the work to support her.
"Only that? Alright fine I'm in as well. Hmph I could brag about this to Kiana." Sirin smirks already thinking of ways to annoy her sister's pride.
"..." Sakuya let out a disappointed sigh. These two will definitely cause some chaos again but that would be her future problems. "Open a portal to these coordinates Sirin." Sakuya gave her phone as Sirin took a look at where they needed to go first and portal them there.
"Don't worry everyone! The savior is here!" Kyuushou said with a Chuunibyou pose as soon as they all stepped outside the portal. Sirin shook her head while putting her palm on her face though surprisingly Sakuya smiled a little when she heard that.
They were greeted by Nathara's assistant Klein who gave them the most deadpanned expression ever. She's a young woman who has green hair and green pinkish eyes. Though compared to Nathara she is shorter in terms of height and looked more sleep-deprived, the poor soul must've worked extra hard to manage every project her boss is doing at once. Now she has to manage these weird superpowered kids all by herself.
"Houraiji Kyuushou, Sirin Kaslana, and…" Klein stared at Sakuya, unsure of whether she should call her by her real name given by Sakuya's biological parents or the name Sakuya came up for herself.
"Kaslana Sakuya."
"Okay. Sakuya Kaslana it is." She writes that down on her tablet. "Here are the coordinates to the PE bunker we found deep underground. Has Boss briefed you on your job already?" Klein asked before showing them the location. The trio nods and Klein handed her tablet to them.
"This is… Umm, where is this on the map again?" Sirin asked.
Klein opens a map app on her tablet and points to where it is located. Her finger lands somewhere in Ethiopia. "It's in East Africa, Ethiopia."
"Right." Sirin concentrated her powers for a bit before a portal was opened. The trio alongside Klein went inside to check if Sirin managed to get them to the right location.
Fortunately, she did. The girls saw several construction lights lighting up the area and a couple small generators. The bunker certainly looks futuristic yet strangely ancient. The people in that era built this bunker with a different artistic style than what the people in the current era are used to seeing.
"Alright, I got the gist of our location." Sakuya said as she created her own portal and Kyuushou followed suit.
"Perfect, We will start by moving some things to generate power and other building materials. The sooner we can get this base a sustainable power source the better. That's why we'll start by bringing the materials necessary to repair the reactor room." Klein explained as the 3 girls go to work, Helping out the other workers by bringing in materials as well as keeping their portals active at all times during their shifts.
6 days later, 7 PM.
The project is nearing its end as the last bit of equipment and scientist were transferred into the bunker. The bunker itself has been fully operational now, though they still need to make traveling to the surface faster and easier than what they currently have right now but that's a problem for a later time.
As the final piece of equipment was moved the trio could let out a sigh of relief. It didn't take long for Klein to call for them either. "Ms, Sirin, Kyuushou and Sakuya follow me. Dr. Nathara wishes to give out your rewards in person." Said Nathara's number 1 personal assistant.
"Oooh finally!" Kyuushou immediately got up and the rest soon followed.
"Lead the way, Ms. Klein," Sakuya replied.
As the three girls arrived at her office. They're greeted by a green-haired woman who's still wearing her lab coat as she sat at her desk and Natalia?
"Natalia?" Sakuya looks confused about why she met that woman here.
"Mhm. I've come here to see you that's all. Come on it's your first paycheck! Definitely memorable." The blond woman smiled as both Sirin and Sakuya rolled their eyes while Kyuushou looked confused. "Oh come on. Anyway is Leon okay?"
"Yes, he's fine. Ms. Milkova. His dense self isn't picking up any signs like usual." Sirin replied with a sarcastic tone.
"Ah. I suppose all boys his age are similar in that regard."
"Ahem." Nathara coughs as she gave her employee an unpleasant glare. "Save those personal talks AFTER our business talks are over."
Nathara turns her gaze back to the trio "As for the payment do you prefer cash or transferred straight into your bank account?"
"I'll have my money transferred!" Kyuushou raises her hand immediately. Nathara looks at her assistant and without saying anything Klein immediately starts working.
"Well, Kyuushou you can check it with my assistant Klein. She'll transfer the money as soon as you give her your account number."
The Houraiji walks over to the other green-haired woman.
"Cash." Sirin replied and Nathara immediately pulled out a briefcase from under her table.
"Here as promised. 1000$." Sirin steps forward and opens her briefcase to check before closing it back again.
"Transfer." Sakuya replied. Nathara nods and gestured to her to go to her assistant. It didn't take long for Kyuushou to finish. She happily walks back to where Sirin is after she checked her bank account and true to the scientist's words she also gets 1000$ just as Nathara had promised them.
"Now you two can head back. Sakuya and I still have some things to discuss."
Kyuushou and Sirin looked at each other unsure whether or not it would be okay to leave Sakuya alone like this though Natalia and Sakuya herself reassured them that nothing bad is going to happen to her. So the pair left them alone as the money got transferred into Sakuya's bank account.
"Now then onto our other promise. What is your request?" Nathara leaned forward onto her desk. Intrigued whether or not, Sakuya has the ambition to take what she wants or would she succumb to her own hedonistic desires.
After a while, the girl made her choice. "Power. I want power." Sakuya turned and stared back into Nathara's eyes. It wasn't the answer the scientist had expected but it was an answer that got her even more interested in this girl though Sakuya is not done yet. "Specifically I want to have an organization that I could reliably rely on. Because I can't always protect the ones that I care about alone."
"Hm? Interesting and why didn't you trust Schicksal or AE?" Nathara grinned. 'My, she's not that naive, is she? She must've planned this the moment I gave her that opportunity.'
"AE, they're too weak. Schicksal has an unreliable overseer. I know Otto wants his experiments back especially Sirin. That's why I'm asking you, in terms of influence your organization has more influence over Schicksal in the research department."
"Correct but we're not a military organization."
"Yes but with how things are going don't you want a fighting force that would be able to protect you? Either from the Honkai or the other 3 factions."
"You're not wrong. Well, what do you propose?"
"That I'll be leading your organization's combat division. That way Schicksal nor the World Serpent can easily push you guys around. It is a win-win scenario and Isn't this what you wanted Nathara Adaline?"
"It's close." The green-haired scientist smiled, seems like it was a good idea to keep an eye on her. "Alright. But you'd still work for me. You're free to recruit any strong fighters you'd like but do keep in mind. I won't be able to supply you with soldiers to join this new combat division."
"I understand." Sakuya nods.
"Now do you have a name for it? Or do you want to simply call it Combat Division?"
After a bit of thinking Sakuya finally spoke. "Kara no Kyoukai."
"..." Nathara put her palm on her face. "Garden of Sinners. Really?" She sighs."That was my fault for trusting you with naming it."
"Kyuushou would like it." Sakuya replied deadpan. Natalia tried her best to hold her laughter after seeing her boss's high expectations shattered in an instant. She thought Sakuya would be old enough to not be influenced by this Chuunibyou cousin of hers but nope she was wrong.
"That's…" The woman groaned "Alright fine. Kara no Kyoukai it is." Nathara tapped away on her tablet as she dismisses Sakuya.
Sakuya portal herself out of the room and made her exit on one of Nagazora's skyscrapers. It was evening as she get out of the other end of her void portal. She looked down onto the bustling city down below. "This time… I'll protect them. Safa…It won't happen again." She let out a melancholic sigh as she clenched her fists. She took a good look at the city before she went into one of her portals again and head back home.
9 AM, The day after.
The day that Sakuya, Mei, and Yeonsheo arranged to be their hangout day. To her surprise, the Heiress had actually decided that she would pick her up. "Sakuya chan!" Mei waved her hand as Sakuya came outside of her home. Her sisters and Leon were equally surprised to see Mei there waiting for her.
"Alright. You two better not cause Kyuushou any trouble okay?" Sakuya walks toward the car and she points at Kiana and Sirin. "I'm warning you." She closes the door of the car and sighs. She also didn't expect to meet Yeonsheo either as she sat in the backseat. Sakuya took a seat right beside her while Mei took the front passenger seat.
"We know Saku-nee!" Kiana replied with her usual cheery attitude. "Have fun with Mei senpai and Yeonsheo senpai!"
The car slowly drives away from her home and Sakuya could see Kiana, Sirin, and Leon waving their goodbyes as she looks back at them.
"Hey." Sakuya lightly taps Yeonsheo who is sitting beside her.
"What is it?" The black-haired girl turns around to see her.
"Listen…Valk-" Yeonsheo immediately covered her mouth.
"Just…Over the phone yeah? Kaslana san?" Sakuya nods as the two began messaging each other.
"Alright, Valkyrie what are you doing here?"
"A mission."
"There's no Honkai in the area. Spill it why would Schicksal go to AE territory?"
"It's classified okay?"
"Do you want me to make your mission harder then? I can contact Eden or Tesla at any time."
Yeonsheo groans "Fine. You win, My mission is to observe Houraiji Kyuushou."
"You're not going to kidnap her are you?" Sakuya suspiciously stares at the black hair Valkyrie.
"No no. I know what's right or wrong as far as I know your cousin is innocent. Not all Valkyries like the orders that the higher-ups are giving us you know."
"Then why were you sent here?"
"Like I said to observe her and find out how she knows about the Honkai. She is just a regular civilian that never met or experienced anything related to Honkai yet she somehow knew about their existence and even created a 2D side-scrolling shooter game."
"Houkai Gakuen."
"Yes, that's the game. She presumably has it on her laptop yeah?"
"Probably. So what are you going to do about it?"
"Just observe. She doesn't pose a threat so there's no reason for me to kidnap or steal her laptop even though the higher-ups gave me that as an optional thing to do."
"Good." Sakuya put her phone away. "So I guess you agree to hang out to relax?"
"And have fun. If you have a job and school at the same time it's hard to find free time like this." Yeonsheo sighs. "Besides I owe Mei some of my spare time since we rarely hang out due to my 'job'. "
"Wouldn't your boss be mad?"
"It's technically my 'holiday'. How's he going to get angry at me if I'm relaxing on my holiday." Yeonsheo rolled her eyes. Sakuya nods, she didn't feel any malicious intent coming out of the black hair Valkyrie and everything she says has been pretty genuine as far as Sakuya could tell. Most Valkyries aren't known for their spying abilities and Yeonsheo feels like another ordinary Valkyrie in Schicksal.
"Also can I ask you for a favor Yeonsheo san. Keep an eye on my cousin whenever you can yeah?" Sakuya smiled menacingly.
"...Fine. I'll do my best." Yeonsheo sigh. And for the rest of the journey, the car ride was silent.
A couple of minutes later they soon arrived at the largest mall in the city of Nagazora.
"Stay safe Ojou sama." Mei's driver said before he drives away after dropping them down at the south entrance of the mall where there were fewer people nearby than at the other entrances.
"Now then let's go to a cafe. I know a perfect cafe we can hang out in." Mei smiled as the Heiress grabs both of their hands though kept a more firm grip on Sakuya's. Mostly to reassure her to relax, Mei remembered the first time the two had met.
Sakuya always had this sense of uneasiness whenever she was around a lot of strangers. Mei thought it was because she had a rough childhood or some sort of trauma with strangers. Well, whatever it is the Heiress made sure she made her friend as comfortable as possible while they tour around the giant mall at the heart of Nagazora city.
But whenever she looked at her new friends. She was reminded of the old friends she had in her childhood. The Vistage of her old friends overlapped with her new ones creating a weird sense of nostalgia and longing in Sakuya.
Bzz, bzz
Yeonsheo's phone was buzzing, She takes it out of her pocket to see what it was. "Sorry, it's from work I gotta take this call." She said as she leaves the two for a bit to find a more private location to answer that call.
"Meet us at the cafe after you're done." Mei said as Yeonsheo headed into the bathroom.
All of a sudden, Sakuya started feeling anxious. She got a bad feeling about all of this and her instincts are telling her that something horribly wrong is about to happen.
"Sakuya chan?" Mei turned around. The heiress wonders why her friend suddenly stops in her tracks. "Is something wrong?"
"I… don't know. Something just doesn't feel right." Sakuya replied. The clock keeps ticking down and yet Sakuya shows no signs of calming down.
"Hmm? Come with me then. We'll go to a less crowded area." Mei said as she offered her hand. At first, Sakuya stood there staring at her though slowly the girl moved closer and closer until she finally reached her hand and then.
BOOM!
An explosion followed by a sudden earthquake hits them. Mei was almost thrown off her feet but thankfully Sakuya managed to pull her closer to her body. From behind Sakuya In the distance, crowds started screaming as the lights around them flicker.
The pair turned around and see what is happening. Yet all they saw are broken pieces off the mall and flames were engulfing the area and there they saw it. A WOTAN, A giant robot that is almost as tall as the mall itself standing there after it literally fell through the roof of the building.
Mei gasped in disbelief as her body trembled in fear, freezing the Heiress in place.
The robot's hands easily swatted away the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building. Making the building around it crumbles even more before it notices a certain purple-haired girl in the distance and started heading towards her.
"I-It's- W-Whoa!" Sakuya immediately swiped Mei off her feet and princess carried her. "Sak- AAAA." The Heiress screamed as her friend started running whilst carrying her in her arms. She sprinted from 0 to almost 40 Km/h in mere seconds leaving behind a trail of dust as she ran, Sakuya only had one goal in her mind and that is to get her and Mei safely out of this place.
Unfortunately, Her situation became bad to worse as the WOTAN started walking and even started following them after noticing that its target is getting farther away.
"W-Wait Yeon-"
"She'll be fine!" Sakuya shouts. "Hold on tight and don't squirm around!" Sakuya said as the girl started to run even faster than before.
"Dammit, why now of all times?... Valkyrie you better hurry." Those were Sakuya's thoughts as the two girls ran for their lives as the two got out of the building they saw multiple sets of explosions happening on the buildings and roads all around the perimeter of the mall.
The Serpent had once again shown its fangs. Spreading fear amongst the denizens of Nagazora as they scream and ran for their lives. Though what they didn't know is that the Nagazora mall isn't the only place that they strike as other places in Nagazora started being targeted as well.
Buildings were destroyed and chaos soon ensued inside the city of Nagazora. The Serpent's attack has begun.
I apologize for the late update. IRL stuff is taking my time and so is HSR.
Anyway If you see this thanks for reading the chapter. See you later in the next chapter