"Do you have the things you need?"

Yep, Phillip replied as he slid the backpack strap over his right shoulder. A piece of toast, slathered with peanut butter, was held in his mouth, sprinkling crumbs down on his uniform. Holding the sides of the toast with his right hand's thumb and index finger, he took a bite and wiped his black slacks off with his free hands. He would have knelt down further to remove the remnants off his black, polished dress shoes, but the sight outside suggested the strong winds would happily remove them.

"Including that history essay you finished last night?"

Positive. Phillip moved away from his bed to stare into a slim, standing mirror at the end of the room. Spotting the more obvious error, he fastened the second-to-top golden button on his black button-up shirt. He didn't take up the red tie that laid on one hinge of the mirror, primarily due to not desiring to tie his hands up like last week when he was practicing. That would cut too much time down from the little he had left to finish preparations.

"...Are you sure you're not wearing too much black?"

They aren't going to kick me out simply because I'm wearing dark colors, Phillip countered, heading for the bedroom door to enter the main area as he finished off his toast. Once there, he grabbed a brown sack on the table without dropping a beat and continued to the door. In the hallway, he looked to his right to see if Kiana had come out. Seeing that she hadn't, he walked over and gave three hard knocks on her door, the thuds resounding throughout the place.

"Get up. Kiana!" he yelled at the door. "You're going to be late!"

A dull crash escaped the room before him, signifying that the girl had fallen from her bed in haste. Phillip pulled a smartphone from his pocket and looked at it for the time. Deeming it too late to wait for the girl, he started down the hall.

Some time later, outside

Phillip hummed a tune to himself as he walked down the sidewalk, Senba High only a block away. The stroll to the school was uneventful, to say the least. The winds died down enough to not be a hindrance, while the usual morning crowd dispersed a street back. An unusual calmness in the usually rambunctious city, though it didn't disturb Phillip.

As he reached the last street before the school, he felt something pull impatiently on his right sleeve. Knowing what, or rather who, it was, Phillip turned to face the person with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Kiana."

She pouted as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You woke me up too early. It's still a half-hour before school starts."

"Well, if I didn't, you'll be late," Phillip explained, as the walk-light turned green. He immediately crossed the street, Kiana following after him. Once they were on the other side, he continued. "You really need a better sleep schedule."

"I ain't gotta do nothing," Kiana stated stubbornly, arms still crossed. "I get all the sleep I need and I still get to school."

"Yes," Phillip replied with a flat look on his face. "Except, you get here late and you still sleep through your classes."

Kiana had the decency to blush when she sent him a heated glare. "W-Who told you that?! If anyone telling lies about me, I'll deck 'em hard!"

"Your teachers told me," Phillip chided, stopping her from getting out of control. "I guess, because we come to school together, they think I can fix your behavior."

This was a complete lie on his part, but Kiana didn't need to know that he had a clone tailing her once they enter the school. He started doing this ever since April, when he moved up a year and Kiana entered the school. At first, it was to keep her from getting into fights but evolved into keeping her from failing out. He had often wondered how the girl got into the school, but that hardly mattered now.

Kiana huffed at this, turning away from him and crossing her arms once more. "There's nothing to fix, and I'm doing fine in class. They just need to make the classes less boring."

"They can't do that. Mostly because your version of boring differs from others," Phillip stated before letting out a sigh, stopping and turning to the girl. "Would you like me to tutor you? I am willing to help, you know."

"I told you, I got it!" she exclaimed, an overly confident smirk on her face. "Anyway, I'm gonna get to class. See you later!" With that, she booked it over to the main building as fast as she could. Phillip followed at a much more relaxed pace as he sent out a telepathic message to the clone inside the school.

You know what to do.

The clone didn't reply, but Phillip knew it immediately began following Kiana to keep her awake and in line. At this point in time, Phillip was happy the school kept its scans on the exterior of the school and not inside.

Phillip's classroom, the third story of the building

The classroom was similar to all the others in the school: white tiled floor, white walls that surrounded the room, and three windows on the opposite side from the door that peered down on the surrounding city. A wide, green chalkboard was placed on the front wall, with a clock ticking away by the top right corner and a list of rules taped to its left. The desks, once stationed in dedicated lines, were strewn about the place, though a bunch clung to the central desk.

Phillip knew whose desk that was. How could he not, with the girl's name on every whispered tongue in the school? She was the top of the class, the most popular person in the school, and the creator of the school's kenjutsu club. She was given the most prominent nickname, "Queen of Thunder," though the reasons why remained untold.

She also just walked into the class, using the second door closer to the back than the one near the front. The two's eyes met, and she flashed her a gentle smile, showing off her serenity and beauty to him. He, in turn, replied with a small smile of his own, greeting her in his own way.

She crossed over to him and gave him a bow. "Greetings, Phillip-san. How's the morning treating you?"

"I'm doing fine, Mei-san," Phillip replied, before gesturing over to the grouped desks. "I guess you would like some help getting to your desk."

"Ah, yes, please," she stated, her smile becoming apologetic.

Phillip wasted little time getting the desks back in order, pushing and pulling to get every re-aligned in the five rows they were in yesterday. It took some time, enough for a few more students to come in after and began chatting up Mei, but Phillip finished before any more people could arrive. With the task complete, he took his seat, a desk next to the middle window, while Mei took the desk in the middle of the class. The other students sat as well but immediately moved their desks to be near Mei's.

She sent Phillip another apologetic smile before continuing the conversations she had started. Phillip shook his head at the instant vandalism, but let the group be. He might disapprove of the action that has happened since the beginning of the year, but, as the teacher could prevent him from doing so, he had a snowball's chance in hell in rectifying it. Hopefully, as they moved into September, Mei's crowd of admirers will dissipate and he wouldn't need to put the desks back in order.

"I believe there's a phrase for that: 'be careful of what you wish for.'"

Is something bad going to happen soon?

"Keep an eye on Mei. She's going to need a friend if the destiny of this universe is to play its cards."

Phillip frowned and looked over at the subject of the conversation, who was giggling at some joke someone told her. Debating on whether he should cross over to her, it was decided for him when the door opened and a middle-aged man strolled into the class, books under his arm. He placed them on a tall desk that was close to the chalkboard.

"Alright, you lot," he barked in pure English, startling the group surrounding Mei. "Get separated into groups of two and pull your worksheets out. Anyone not in a group within ten minutes will be put in one of my choice."

All the students, except Phillip, scrambled over to Mei, desperate to be her partner for whatever grueling task the English teacher had for them. Phillip simply watched with a dull expression, knowing they only picked her so they did little to nothing. He had noticed several students look his way, obviously looking for the alternative in case Mei didn't pick them.

However, the teacher decided to take matters into his hands. "Well, I see everyone's going after the popular student once again. In that case, let's spice things up a little." Once everyone's eyes were on him, the teacher continued. "Raiden-san, you will be paired with Stuyvesant-san. Please collect your items and transfer to a desk close to him."

The rest of the students groaned in disappointment while Mei did as instructed with little resistance. While some students tried to plead their case to the adamant teacher, Mei sat down at a desk on Phillip's left and scooched the desk over until the edges of the desks touched and their shoulders nearly brushed each other. The two shared a slight smile before turning their attention to the front, awaiting the instructions of the teacher.

Lunchtime

Phillip put away the history textbook and slid on his backpack. The class returned to normal after the English class, along with Mei going back to her original desk. He was about to get up and start walking when he was confronted by Mei. She looked a little ragged from the students swarming her since the end of English, but still stood tall.

"Could I bother you for a second?"

Phillip stood up from his seat and tilted his head to look her in the eyes. While she was still taller than he was, they were now two inches off instead of the 4 of yesteryear. Thus, it felt much more comfortable when he spoke to her.

"What do you need?"

"I won't be able to join with you and my friends for lunch today," she explained, the apology written on her face. "I was hoping you would alert the girl about my absence."

He looked at her, perplexed on the matter, before asking, "Is it something scheduled? Or did someone in class finally manage to convince you to go on a date?"

Mei blushed crimson at the latter and shook her head with rapid "No!" coming out of her mouth. Once she collected herself, she answered the question much more calmly. "My father asked for me to join him for lunch. I'm simply abiding by his wish."

Phillip nodded at this. "Alright, I'll let them know." He slipped past the girl and made for the door, only to be stopped he felt his sleeve being tugged on. He looked back to Mei, confusion back on his face.

Mei gave him that same remorseful look as she continued. "I would also like you to stay with them today. I know you and I aren't truly friends, but maybe some time with them will make you enjoy their company."

Phillip opened his mouth to voice his objection, but faltered at the puppy look she switched into. Instead, he let out a sigh and relented. "Fine, I'll spend my lunch with them."

She let out a beaming smile before giving him a bow, which he reciprocated, before she ran out to catch her chauffeur. He stood window long enough to see the girl rush out of school and enter the limo parked before the school. Once this was over, he left the classroom and headed to the rooftop.

On the roof, at the squared benches,

"WHAT?!"

This was one of the responses he received when alerting the other three girls about Mei's departure. Mikoto simply looked confused, Ayame remained stoic (though her eyes showed her to be slightly angry), while Yuki...

Well, she was the one screaming.

After her yell, Yuki slumped over, dejection written on her face. "No, no, no. This was supposed to be the day. We were going to go to the store and get new clothes. I was going to jump into her changing room and-"

Mikoto brought her hand down as a chop on top of the girl's head, losing her initial confusion. "Keep it in your pants, girl. It's only one day that she's gone." She then looked at Phillip with an inquisitive look, ignoring the whimpering the other girl was letting out from the new lump on her head. "On that note, do you know why she left?"

Phillip brought his right hand up to rub the back of his head. "Her dad asked for her to eat lunch with him. Besides, it's only for lunch, right?"

"Not really," Mikoto explained, sending a nervous grin to him. "Whenever those two go out, Mei ends up getting saddled with other parts of her schedule."

Ayame let out a "tsk," at this, now looking slightly annoyed. "Of course. Daddy's little girl, answering every beck and call her father gives her." She then let sigh. "A shame, too. I really wanted that dress."

Phillip's eyes narrowed at this, crossing his arms. "She doesn't get much time to spend with her dad. Give her some leniency if she uses her lunchtime to be with him."

Ayame looked at him with a dangerous look. "What are you, her knight in shining armor?"

"I don't need to be a knight to see you're abusing her friendship with you." Ayame rose from her seat to challenge Phillip, but Mikoto pushed her back down.

"Alright, you two, that's enough," she said, her head changing focus between the two for a moment before centering on Phillip. "Was that everything she wanted to tell us, or was there more?"

"A request for me," Phillip stated coldly, eyes never leaving Ayame. "She asked me to eat lunch with you three to understand you, but I see that's a vain attempt." He turned away from them to head back into the building and eat lunch in the classroom.

"Wait!"

Phillip stopped his walk to turn to Mikoto, who looked more than a little desperate at his sudden retreat. He had a feeling as to why she had done so but felt the need to ask why she stopped him.

"What?"

The word, he would admit, came out harsher than he wanted, as Mikoto flinched at his voice. In response, she simply looked between Ayame and Yuki before glancing back to him, an obvious plea for aid in dealing with the two.

Phillip breathed a sigh out of his nose, before moving to the bench that was beside Mikoto and opposite of Ayame. He looked eyes with Ayame, giving every ounce of killer intent he could produce that wouldn't kill a standard human. The girl looked away, seemingly offput by the action while trying to keep stoicism. With this, Phillip and Mikoto began their lunch, ignoring Ayame and the still-crying Yuki.

After school, at the ME Corp Central Building,

Phillip drummed the side of his arm, staring down at the documents and contracts laid before him. A stray thought led him away from the workload and back to Ayame, making the drumming increase in tempo from his rage. After a minute lost in his anger, he took up a pen from the cup on the desk in front of him and filled out the pieces he could before setting them off to the side.

"Calm yourself. At the apartment, it's different. Here, you're liable to lose your job."

Damn it, I know! That girl got under my nerves, is all. Phillip tossed the pen off to the side as he finished the last paper and ran his fingers through his hair. Ryoma better call me at some point. I'm gonna need it.

The job he obtained from Ryoma wasn't nearly as bad as he thought. First, his placement was a metal desk opposite of the entrance, against the wall. It had barriers around and on the front of the desk, with plastic panels 4 feet high to prevent confrontations. There was enough room behind the desk for Phillip to wheel his leather chair around, and a doorway on the right side. All of it, excluding the panels, were black.

At first, the hidden microphones and cameras were a nuisance, but Phillip just said the word and he'd be relieved for food and relief. More so, the job wasn't all that demanding, unless there was a person of interest to come in. Then, he had to escort them up to Ryoma and wait for his instructions.

However, that also made the fun part because, should negotiations go sour, he was also responsible for-

Phillip noticed a couple of people heading his way. Straightening his slouched position, he waited with tense eyes as the two grew closer. It was when they were in front of him that he realized who they were, and they saw him.

"Well, hello again. It's been a while."

It was the mother from last year, though with only one of the daughters this time. While the mother hadn't changed all that much from her last appearance, the gray-haired girl beside her was now sporting a dark brown jacket, with yellow cuffs meeting her white gloves, with matching shorts that stopped mid-thigh that had an extra part that was darker and went down further, though nowhere near her knees. There was an orange corset around her stomach, locked in place above her striped button-up shirt by a brown belt.

In terms of accessories, she had a yellow bow on her chest, stapled there by a white brooch that had a red gem in the middle and two black bows with white polka dots to hold her ponytails. There was a yellow pocket protector on the right side of her shorts and a golden chain on the left. Also, he saw an emblem behind the chain that looked suspiciously like that rabbit mascot from the arcade.

However, the weirdest and most disturbing addition was the metallic braces on her legs, covering the parts her shorts didn't, all the way down to her feet. The top part had indents with yellow colors, while her knees had caps that bent with her movement to show a black fabric underneath. Her shoes weren't really shoes, more like extensions of these braces that were colored crimson.

After his examination of the two, he addressed the mother. "Am I to assume you have a reservation for Mr. Raiden?"

"Ah, I see you really are a foreigner," the mother chuckled before getting serious. "Yes, I am here for 'Raiden-sama'. Let him know Cocolia is here."

Phillip sat back down at his desk and started typing into the silver keyboard to look through the standing reservations found on the matching monitor. Finding none that had the name "Cocolia" or any other variants, he pressed onto the earpiece in his right ear.

"Mr. Raiden, you have a guest here by the name 'Cocolia.' Should I-" A low, almost silent, groaned sounded in Phillip's ear when he said this. "So, am I to assume that's a negative?"

~Send her up. I'd rather deal with her suggestion now than have her complaining later~

Phillip pulled his finger out of his ear and exited his booth. Once on the outside, he gestured the two to follow him up a wide flight of stairs that was next to him. Cocolia did so without issue, but Bronya flinched slightly as she took her steps, something most people wouldn't have noticed, but Phillip did.

Thus, he spoke up. "I suggest you stay here on the ground floor. Mr. Ryoma only asked for-"

"Bronya will come with me," Cocolia insisted, sending a meaningful glance at the girl. Bronya ascended the flight of stairs, though still lightly flinching as she did. Cocolia turned to Phillip with a wide smile. "Bronya is a tough girl, and I doubt Ryoma will disagree with one extra person."

Not wanting to risk his neck on a hunch, Phillip reached back up to his earpiece to send a message to Ryoma. Cocolia tried to reach for it but was stopped by Phillip's glare. She stepped back and huffed as Phillip did his thing.

"Mr. Raiden, Miss Cocolia has invited a guest that she wishes to join her. Will that be alright?"

There was a momentary pause before he received his answer.

~I'll allow it~

Phillip dropped his hand and addressed Cocolia. "Mr. Raiden approves of your plus one." He then turned to Bronya with a gentler expression. "If you need anything, Bronya, just ask."

"The Bronya will be okay. Lead on." The monotone the girl let out as she spoke was disheartening, but Phillip forced nothing more. He walked forward towards the wall, where the red-colored door of the elevator was. Once he was in front of it, Phillip looked up and watched the scanner pass over him. Once done, the door slid open, and he gestured his company in before joining them.

The beginning of the ride-up was uneventful. Phillip stood perfectly still near the buttons, left hand gripped his right. Cocolia made herself at home by leaning against the back while Bronya stood just as silently as Phillip.

It was around the mid-point that Cocolia spoke, arms crossed under her large bosom. "So, tell me. Are you Ryoma's new secretary or something?"

Phillip didn't turn to her, keeping his eyes on the numbers flashing by above him. "I am."

He felt Cocolia's eyes trace over him before she spoke again. "You look pretty good in black. Hoping to catch a lady's eye?"

"Not my objective."

He felt the woman move and turned slightly to keep an eye on her, only catching a glimpse of her as she ducked behind him. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her assets against his back. Thanks to their now equal height, her breath tickled the back of his neck.

"Then, would you mind little old me?"

Phillip didn't react to the attempt at seduction. Instead, he reached up with his right hand and grabbed her right arm. With a pull, the arm came loose, and a silver blade was seen on the underside. Cocolia retracted her arms and pulled herself from him. Phillip turned to face her and found her not peeved that the ploy failed but smirking as if she was the one that won.

"Smart kid. Many people had died from answering that question."

Phillip narrowed his eyes at this. "Is this an elaborate scheme to kill Ryoma? Because I can reverse this elevator right now, and you wouldn't get anywhere near him."

"Relax, kid," Cocolia said, pulling her knife off her arm and knelt to sheath it in a holster on her boot. She pulled herself up to continue. "The only thing I have against Ryoma is him being a pansy about experiments. Otherwise, we're business partners." A ding resounded as the elevator reached the top floor, where Cocolia's smirk widened. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter and I need to talk with Ryoma about said business."

Phillip gave her a look that guaranteed pain should she be lying, but waved the two in when the doors opened. Peering into Ryoma's "office," he watched the two walk into the office but paid more attention to Ryoma, who was seated at his desk. Ryoma spotted him and pressed a finger down on his desk.

~Stay on this floor.~ Ryoma's order resonated in Phillip's ear but was low enough to evade Cocolia's attention. ~However, stay in the elevator. Assume these two will need to be escorted out of the building~

Phillip smirked at this and nodded. Pressing a button, the doors closed on Phillip, allowing him to lean against the cushions of the elevator. The better part of his job was a possibility now, and he was ready. After all, the best part of the job was-

"There's something you'll want to know about the girl. Something's following her, but not on this side of reality."

Phillip looked back at the doors as if Bronya was suddenly going to appear there. What is it? Is it malicious or symbiotic to her?

"For your first question, it is mech from unknown origins. It seems to be symbiotic, though we'll have to see it to know completely."

Phillip lowered his eyes as he nodded, closing them instead. So, does it reside in a different dimension or...?

"It appears to change in and out of a quantum state. This allows it to hide in plain sight while also being at hand at all times."

That would explain how it didn't trigger the alarms, but not how I didn't sense it.

"The tech it's made from is quite advanced," Gabriel stated. "More than the current age could supply."

Well, I guess that's the best we can understand for now. I'll tack it on once we head back home. Phillip cut the connection as he heard Ryoma's and Cocolia's voices grow increasingly louder. More than likely, negotiations had failed, and that meant his job was about to come into play. He pulled himself off the side of the elevator and began stretching his arms, first locking his left arm with behind his right in a plus sign before doing the opposite.

As he stretched his arms out to his sides and rolled his head, he sent a message to his clone in Ryoma's office, hidden away. How's it going in there?

Clone: Ever seen two parents duke it out on who's got the better kid?

You're me, so guess.

Clone: Well, it's like that, times ten.

Phillip couldn't help the smile that graced his face. Anything else?

Clone: Well, Bronya just sent me like three glances, so there's that.

That put a hamper on Phillip's euphoria, forcing a frown on his face. If Bronya could discern his clone, that meant either the clone failed at hiding itself or the mech following her scanned the place and picked it up. Either way, the idea didn't sit well with him.

Has she said anything about it?

Clone: No, but I think Cocolia noticed her glances once. Granted, they're wrapping up now, so feel free to give the girl a concussion to make her forget.

Phillip rose an eyebrow at this but stopped when a static passed through his earpiece.

~Their time is over. Please escort them back to the entrance with the utmost care. ~

Phillip's excitement returned full force as he opened the elevator doors. As they opened, he heard the final breaths of the argument finish.

"Damn you, Ryoma! Project MEI was our only chance to control a Herrscher, and you're throwing it away!"

Cocolia's yell, while impressive in tone and power, paled compared to the mighty roar Ryoma let out in response.

"I will not throw my daughter to the Honkai just so you can continue living the pipe dream that you can save what you've sacrificed!" Ryoma's enraged eyes traveled from Cocolia to stoic Bronya, before noticing Phillip as he walked out of the elevator. Ryoma calmed at the sight of Phillip, sitting back down into his chair, but still shot a fiery glare at the woman before him. "I suggest you leave my building, Cocolia, and never think of returning."

Cocolia pressed her hands on Ryoma's desk, still fuming at whatever had occurred between them. "I'm not done, Ryoma. I am the enforcer of Anti-Entropy and I assure you that-"

"You will assure me that you leave posthaste," Ryoma said heatedly before addressing Phillip. "Phillip, please alert security to not allow this woman to enter this building. After you've escorted them, you're free for the evening."

Phillip gave his boss a two-finger salute before getting to his job. "Alright, lady. Get your shit together and let's get going."

Cocolia spun to him, fury in her eyes. "I'm not leaving until I see this through. Now, be a good bellhop and stay in your box until this is over."

"This is over," Phillip said, a smirk gracing his face. "And I'm not just the secretary to Mr. Raiden. Oh, no, my job has a bit more fun laced into it." Cocolia looked confused as Phillip strolled up to her. Her expression changed to fear when he placed his right hand onto her shoulder and pressed down, earning several pops for his efforts.

"You see, I'm more of a bouncer right now. So, just give me a reason to do my job effectively."

At the apartment

"Man, I love it when a day fixes itself."

Cocolia and her daughter had left Ryoma's office rather peacefully after Phillip's display. While this meant that Phillip wasn't allowed to completely throw them out, Ryoma agreed to let him out early. Before the two left, however, Phillip made sure to quickly draw a small seal on Bronya's neck to erase her memories of finding his clone. Afterward, everyone went their separate ways, with Phillip heading to a nearby gym to relieve his stress before returning home.

Phillip opened his door and set his backpack down beside the table. He then began unbuttoning his shirt to pull it off as he walked to his room. It was off by the time he was in the bedroom and tossed it at a seal next to the doorway, causing the shirt to disappear in a puff of smoke. Grabbing the crimson t-shirt that was folded on his bed, he slipped it on with one movement before retreating to the main area.

"While you're reveling in your 'stress relief', we should crackdown on what we know."

Phillip opened the door of his refrigerator before he replied to Gabriel's suggestion. Let me put the stove on, make myself something for dinner. He reached in and grabbed a jar of tomato sauce, a cup of ricotta cheese, and a package of ground beef, placing them on the empty space of the counter next to him. Once everything was out of the fridge, he opened the cupboard above him to pull down some flat noodles and several spices.

"Just remember to go easy on the spice. Let me know when you're ready to investigate."

Phillip smiled at the advice of the angel before getting to work.

When done with preparations.

"Alright," Phillip said as he placed his food into the oven and set the timer. He then walked over to the windows of his apartment and pressed two fingers onto a seal next to it. A whiteboard shimmered into existence, starting from the corners and moved inwards. Several black scribbles and scrabbles were on it, some words thrown in explain things and some papers about past events. All of this centered around the word "HONKAI" in the middle of the board.

"Good. Now, what have we learned recently?"

From my one-week trip around the world six months ago, or from what I pulled from Ryoma's office? Phillip responded to Gabriel, before stepping back to grab a black marker off the table. He then traced a line from a paper about nuclear fallouts over to the central word. Beyond learning that the nuclear explosions are actually Honkai eruptions from Ryoma's computer, very little. The only other thing would be that it's a global phenomenon, not local.

After being given a week off by Ryoma during his summer vacation from school, Phillip had combed the entire Earth in this dimension. While he had battled many of the Honkai creatures during the trip, he had felt rather unsatisfied with the info he had drawn from them. Strategies were easy to create, but there was very little he could confirm when the corpses would disintegrate into pink cubes at death.

That left the clone he planted in Ryoma's office, an effort that took a couple of days to confirm what types of security the office had. It was during an overnight escapade that he found a crack in the walls and used it. Since then, his clone has relayed what they could pull from the computer, since it saw Ryoma's password firsthand one day.

Surprisingly, Ryoma had very little. Most of what was on his computer were the same things Phillip found in the library. But Phillip believed that Anti-Entropy was still giving Ryoma information, so Phillip left his clone there to capture anything new for the last several months, replacing them whenever the crack was scheduled to appear.

"Remember what Cocolia said: Herrscher."

Yeah, I read about them on Ryoma's computer. Phillip drew a line from one of his scribbles to another. Humanoid forms of the Honkai, though believed to be superstitious by the populous. If what Cocolia was saying was true, then Ryoma was working on a way to control them. Phillip narrowed at this thought, not liking the story of the connection. He named it 'Project MEI,' and that tells me something disturbing. That he was willing to sacrifice his own daughter at some point.

"Yes, but it seems he grew a conscience, as the project seems to have taken an eight-year hiatus."

Then, why is Cocolia taking up arms now and not eight years ago? Ryoma said she sacrificed something, but what?

Phillip pondered over these questions, though showing nothing at the moment. As he tried to comb through his findings in his head, the timer on the stove went off. Putting it aside for now, he grabbed two oven mitts off the counter, put them on, and opened the stove. He pulled the pan out and placed it on top of the stove. As the food was still blazing hot, he looked over his room as he waited.

Despite being here for well over a year now, very little has changed from the time he received the place. The only things that have changed were the whiteboard that covered his window, a silver laptop on the arm of his couch, and a wide-screen TV on his table, next to a silver DVD player.

Phillip never watched his television, preferring to play games on his laptop when he had free time. In fact, the only reason he grabbed a TV was something Kiana decided on.

On that note...

Phillip looked over at his door and noticed a shadow lingering on the other side. Knowing exactly who it was, he went over to the whiteboard and reapplied the seal, causing it to fade out of sight. With that covered, he went over to open his door.

There, holding several bags of different chips, pretzels, and popcorn, stood Kiana. She leaned back as she held them, as if she was over-exerting herself from carrying the combined weight, with a wide smile on her face.

She shoved the food in Phillip's arms and ducked into his apartment when he stepped to the side. However, once she had taken a couple of steps past him, she began sniffing like a hound dog, leading her to the food Phillip had made. As soon as she saw it, she began drooling and her eyes sparkled, extremely eager to take it for herself.

"Don't," Phillip warned loud enough to snap her out of her trance to look his way. "That just came out of the oven and is my dinner. I'd rather have enough to eat, thank you."

Kiana let out a "hmph" at this. "I wasn't going to eat it all. Besides, I bet you suck at cooking anyways!"

"Right," Phillip said with a flat look, not buying what the girl was saying. He placed the snacks down on the remaining room his table provided and moved towards the pan, slipping between the stove and Kiana. "I wouldn't want you to get sick on my crap cooking, so why not stick to the snacks you brought?"

Kiana looked back and forth between the meal Phillip prepared and the pile of junk food, as if contemplating whether or not one or the other was better. All the while, Phillip pulled open a drawer in his counter and pulled out a knife to cut his food into squares. As he finished the cutting and pulled plate down from the cupboard, Kiana made a decision.

"I'm sorry!" Phillip looked over at the girl, as she clasped her hands together and raised them to her closed eyes, as if in prayer. "Please let me have some! I promise I won't eat it all." This was her way of convincing Phillip to overlook what she said. It was something she had used in many situations prior, so Phillip had grown used to it.

Knowing the girl would persist until she received her wish, Phillip let out a sigh before holding up a finger.

"You can have one slice of lasagna. Afterwards, keep to your chips."

Some time later

Phillip watched the finale of the Mecha movie with a bored expression, leaning into his left hand as his elbow was propped up on the arm of the couch. Kiana laid sprawled on her side, already lost in the realm of sleep. The floor was covered with crumbs of the snacks, mostly on Kiana's side though. The pan that once held the lasagna sat empty on the table before the TV, which was now up against the counter instead of next to the couch. They began doing this when Kiana received an "anonymous" gift for her birthday, which was a complete collection of Mecha movies about a giant mech called Arahato and its pilot. Needless to say, Kiana would have tossed them away but hesitated at the last second. After a bit of contemplating, Kiana came up to him to see if he wanted them before changing her mind to if he wanted to watch them with her. Thus, the purchase of a TV and DVD player.

They had long since finished the entire collection, but Kiana would come by weekly to watch one movie over again. Phillip was fine with it, so long as Kiana aided him in cleaning up any messes they made. Luckily, Kiana was more than willing to keep her word on the matter, so Phillip never stopped her from coming by.

Phillip turned off the television and DVD player as the Arahato was about to finish off the big boss. Returning to his bedroom, Phillip placed his laptop, moved there during set-up, on the floor, and gathered up the blanket. He returned to the couch and draped the blanket over Kiana, leaving her head exposed. Finally, he retreated to his room, as all the lights were out already, leaving him to close the bedroom door and get ready for bed.

"And here I thought you'd give her a goodnight kiss."

Phillip rolled his eyes at the angel's teasing. Yeah, no. Not dealing with that. With his pajamas on, he laid down into the bed and placed both hands behind his head. He had nary a thought before he was consumed by the void of slumber.

?

Gabriel looked up at the pale moon, glistening in the black of night that covered this world. The cracked and crumbling white pillar he sat upon was frozen in time, where its falling pieces remained suspended in air. However, it wasn't the exception, as the entire ruins that surround the pillar were held together in a similar fashion.

Gabriel pulled his attention from the moon and to his surroundings. He remained stoic as he dropped from the pillar and entered the ruins. After walking for what seemed like miles in the isolated place, Gabriel waved his left hand, starting from his right side to the other. Every pillar near him, spreading out in a complete circle for a few feet, was turned to dust. Another wave, and the dust turned into pristine white tiles that covered the new clearing. Once everything settled, a rising gesture from his fingers brought a wooden chair from the ground, and he sat down, his right hand pressed against his forehead.

"Yes, sir. He has prepared enough." Gabriel remained silent for a second before speaking again. "No, sir. I made certain that he remained simply 'prepared', as per your instructions."

Gabriel soon grew solemn, as if hearing some bad news. "Yes, sir. I've read the list, but I-" Gabriel stopped abruptly before continuing just as suddenly. "But, sir, if we utilize this list, he won't reach half those powers, and we'll be down one more champion."

Gabriel then let out another groan before speaking loudly. "Yes, I know he was bottom-of-the-barrel, while I also knew he wasn't the absolute bottom. Still, we can't just-" Gabriel stopped again, before letting out a sigh of resignation. "Yes, sir. I- I do believe in your wisdom, sir. I'll follow your command."

Gabriel pulled his hand from his head and looked out into the ruins in front of him, worry filling his eyes. He made one last look at the moon before making one last remark to his host.

"God be with you, Phillip. Because, if he isn't, he very well may be against you."

A hotel room in Nagazora.

Cocolia pressed her forehead into her arm as she stared out the window of her hotel room. The day couldn't have gone any worse than it had, and she was already on the shit-list of every one of her high-ups. With Project MEI down the drain, she was forced to do something she hoped not to use, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Bronya," she called to the girl seated on the ruby-red covers of the bed, "bring up those falsified documents. It seems we'll have to ruin Mr. Raiden's reputation to get what we need."

"Momentarily, Matushka."

Momentarily? Cocolia looked back at the girl as if she grew two more heads. Bronya focused on the holographic screen before her, so focused that Cocolia walked up and sat beside her without interrupting the girl. From what Cocolia saw, the screen showed an odd energy emanating from somewhere close.

Cocolia grew curious. "What are you researching so intently that you refuse to follow my command, Bronya?"

In an instant, a bulky robot with a long but slim head appeared behind Bronya. The robot had a serpentine tail, coming out of its hovering main body, and two arms. One arm was a large riot shield, tall enough to cover its host and itself, while the other had a clawed hand with razor-sharp claws.

The claw hand was the one Cocolia noticed first, as it was already clasped to Bronya's neck. Cocolia jumped up and pulled a gun from her belt, leveling it at the robot. However, the mech withdraw its hand from the girl's neck, leaving Bronya unscathed. On the back of its hand was a black diagram.

"As we were leaving ME Corp Central HQ, Subject Phillip attempted to sketch this on the back of Bronya's neck. Project Bunny intercepted it just prior to application."

Cocolia's eye narrowed dangerously at this. "What is it supposed to do?"

"Undetermined," Bronya stated before locking eyes with her adopted mother. "But the Bronya believes she has found an oddity in Subject Phillip."

Hello again. How has everyone been?

First chapter stepping into Mei's despair, and let's hope I do it justice. Though, I think A Maiden's Betrothal will be the best iteration of that.

I may have to delete something in one of the previous chapters, as I don't think it was wise to place that there. So, beware of that.

Anyway, have a good one and I'll see you next time.