9:00 am, East of the Park,
"So, what do we do now?"
The group walked down the new street at a slow pace as Phillip checked every corner they passed thoroughly. Mei watched him with a perturbed expression, eyes filled with concern as Phillip snapped his attention to any sound. Bronya acted similarly, but her actions were more subdued to avoid Mei's growing mire.
Kiana asked the question as she continued her exaggerated walk unabated. Her lazy gaze stared off into space with hands resting behind her head, obviously not caring much for their current condition. What was on her mind at the moment was hopes of relieving her boredom, and she deemed Phillip to be the one to do so.
However, Phillip wasn't paying her any attention. He was too invested in his investigation, now scanning the rooftops for any movement, to respond to her request for a destination.
Kiana shifted her focus to Mei, her face contorted into a flat expression. "Is it me, or did he get weirder since we left the park?"
"I…" Mei gave Kiana a nervous glance before returning her attention to Phillip's back. "Let me talk to him." She quickened her pace, leaving the line she, Bronya, and Kiana created to get closer to Phillip. Her right hand grabbed his jacket sleeve to pause and console the boy.
Instead, Phillip spun on his heels and readied a lightning-infused jab with his left hand. His eyes, wide and filled with killer intent, suddenly shifted to terror when he realized exactly what, or who rather, he was aiming to kill.
"Mei," Phillip breathed down; the tension in his body felt suddenly abandoned him and replaced with the feeling of exhaustion. The lightning dispersed from his hand as he lowered it, and he let out a silent but deep breath to calm himself before speaking again. "Is something wrong?"
"That's something I should ask you," Mei stared, worry thick in her voice. "You've been jittery ever since we left the park. It's like you're expecting something to ambush us."
Phillip opened his mouth to say it was nothing but clamped it shut a second later. She wasn't wrong: his entire being felt off at the moment. He was convinced that the peaceful morning they had was simply a ruse, that something would poke its ugly head out and attack them. Honestly, he just wanted one zombie to pop up and rid this feeling from him, but he doubted that would actually appease it.
Gabriel summed it up rather well, though.
"You've been battling every morning since the explosion, and the nights after weren't exactly the most relaxing experiences. Your body is registering this as a war zone, so it's falling back on the training you've received." An amused huff sounded in Phillip's head at the end of this. "Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't killed these three back in the park, with how wound-up you are."
Phillip flinched at the explanation, his right hand reaching up to latch onto his left arm like a vise. It was a terrifying thought to him, becoming something that was just an indiscriminate killer. He took another deep breath in a vain attempt at calming himself and nearly jumped when something grazed over his hand. He turned to convince Mei that he was fine, but it wasn't the person he thought it was.
Kiana seemed just as worried as Mei was, eyes wide with anxiety as she latched onto his arm. "Hey, if you wanna take the break, you can. We're a team, ya know. We can handle things while you get things together."
"No, I…" Phillip sighed and pulled his arm from the girl's grasp. "I'll be okay. Let's get moving."
However, Kiana didn't accept this, giving Phillip a grumpy look before grabbing his arm. She dragged him towards one of the buildings closest to them, leaving Mei and Bronya to trudge along behind them. However, halfway to the building, Phillip stopped them by planting his feet firmly and channeling chakra to them to stick in place.
"I said I'll be fine," Phillip said sternly. "We shouldn't be wasting time; we need to get out sooner rather than later."
Kiana sent him a sour look, a scrunched-up nose and teeth showing at the corners of her mouth before shooting a glance over his shoulder. "Mei-senpai, can you help me with this idiot?"
Mei was all too willing to help, latching onto Phillip's other arm and pulling with as much intensity as Kiana. This was futile, however, as Phillip was basically glued to the ground under his feet.
Phillip gave a sigh and shot the two a flat look. "That isn't going to work. So, instead of wasting energy, how about we-"
His eyes widened in surprise when his legs gave out from underneath him, pausing his chakra flow to his feet. With his leverage now missing, the two teenage girls began to drag him towards the building. With a twist, Phillip pulled his face from the dirt to find the perpetrator behind him: Bronya, who held two fingers up as she followed them.
"Pressure point triggered. Subject Phillip's legs are paralyzed for the next three hours."
Phillip settled a glare at the girl as he was forced into the fate the girls placed on him.
9:25 am, Inside an unknown building,
"Seriously, I'm fine."
"Yeah, yeah, keep telling ya self that," Kiana replied to Phillip's statement with disbelief. She then settled down beside him against the desk cubicle with a much softer time. "Come on, what's wrong with taking a rest? Everyone needs one at some point."
"Every second we stay here, the more likely we're likely to die," Phillip explained solemnly, eyes peering out of the massive windowpane to his left. "Excuse me for wanting to leave as soon as possible."
"Ah, you're being a worry wart again," Kiana responded, shrugging off Phillip's statement. "So long as I'm here, we'll be right as rain, and we'll get out of here easy peasy."
"Your vote of confidence is noted," Phillip replied with a flat excision. "I don't think that's enough to earn mine, however."
"Well, tough bricks," Kiana said, her own expression now deadpan. "You heard Bratnya; your legs aren't moving right now, so just go to sleep or something. We're doing this for you, ya know."
Phillip didn't feel at ease at this. If anything, his guilty conscience made his heart feel like lead as it sunk into his stomach. Despite this, the suggestion for sleep was relatively easy to comply with, and he quickly drifted off and leaned into Kiana's warmth.
Kiana blushed violently once Phillip's head landed on her shoulder. She tried to distract herself from the affection by taking in their surroundings.
The building was obviously a business, or maybe just a piece in one, as the second floor was filled to the brim with cubicle offices. Most of them were now thrown about the place, with the one she and Phillip sat beside being toppled over. It all fits relatively uniformly with the gray walls, ceiling, and floor.
Kiana looked past a couple of fallen cubicles to some rubble where Mei and Bronya were seated, once again chatting their time away. A pout sprouted across Kiana's face at the scene. Everyone seemed to be giving that little brat their attention, leaving Kiana to her lonesome.
Decided she'll take whatever affection she'll get, Kiana rested her head against Phillip's, closed her eyes, and gave a huff.
With the other two, a few minutes later.
"Bronya detects that Subject Idiotka has fallen asleep."
Mei gave a light sigh at this. The recent talks the two were having were her attempts to reconcile from the terrible events. That, and shots at teaching the younger girl better manners, like to not insult people right out the bat.
"Please don't call her that, Bronya-chan," Mei said sternly yet warmly. "I how you two can be better friends, but that won't happen if you constantly insult her."
Bronya gave Mei a blank stare, seemingly unable to understand what the heiress meant, before giving a slight nod. "Very well, Subject Mei."
"I told you before: you can call me 'Mei-san' or 'Mei-chan,'" Mei suggested, giving the girl a calm smile to entice her into the idea. The first time she suggested a more familiar naming to Bronya was during their walk to the park, and she didn't expect it to stick immediately. However, Mei was getting tired with the "Subject" talk and didn't enjoy it being attached to her name.
"Da Bronya still doesn't understand," Bronya stated, her monotonous tone and face betraying her statement of confusion. "Why does Subject Mei remain joyous when speaking to Bronya? With how much collateral damage caused in trying to awaken the Herrscher, shouldn't we still be adversaries?"
" 'Mei-san,''" Mei suggested, slightly more sternly than before, and let out a sigh as she looked over at the other two of the group, a frown marring her face. "… I've had a lot of anger and fear recently, and I don't think it's okay. I want to let it go, and you're the first person I think I can do that to."
Bronya didn't respond to the explanation and pulled her legs closer to her body as she clutched the HOMU doll more closely. She definitely looked the part of a young, innocent girl, so much that Mei couldn't resist patting her head. Bronya leaned into the pet as her eyes grew heavier.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Mei asked, a soft smile on her face. "I don't think we'll be going anywhere for a while."
"Yes, Mei-neesama." With this, Bronya closed her eyes and slumped to her side, landing on Mei's lap.
To say Mei was shocked by the sudden change in honorific would be an understatement. She wanted for the two of them to have a more friendly relationship, but not to this extent. However, looking at the sleeping girl's face, Mei soon lost the shock and became calmer and kind. Her hand rubbed Bronya's head as she drifted into sleep. Before she fully delved into Dreamland, she let out a few last words for the day.
"Sleep tight, Bronya-chan."
12:00 pm.
Phillip's mood significantly improved when the group had awoken. The jittery feeling within had disappeared, and he was no longer feeling the need to constantly scavenge for any potential attackers.
It was funny then that once they continued on their merry way, they would be attacked by a swarm of zombies.
It was a relatively simple task as Phillip, Kiana, and Mei had taken out the legion on undead quickly, Kiana providing covering fire for the close combat pair. Phillip was the one to finish the group off, piercing two zombies at once and then cutting through them with a vertical slice.
Sealing his blade away, Phillip shifted his focus to the girls. "Everyone alright?"
"I'm good!" Kiana shouted in reply. "Got all of the ones that got close to me!" Kiana then looked over to Mei and noticed something off. "Mei-senpai, what are you doing? Did they bite you?"
Alarm settling in his brain, Phillip rushed over to Mei to inspect her. However, noting what Mei was doing, Phillip paused upon reaching the heiress and let out a sigh to relieve his stress.
Mei had her head stuffed into the fabric of her left arm sleeve, held by her right hand, as she sniffed it for something. Phillip assumed that, while they had been changing clothes rather frequently, the lack of bodily cleaning was finally catching up to them.
Bronya walked up to Mei as well, though, and conducted her own sniff test on the matter. Once her conclusion was drawn, she spoke. "Bronya detects the scent of the infected we slew. Said odors, however, do not pose a hazard to da Bronya."
Phillip nodded at this and looked around at their current surroundings. The present buildings that surrounded them likely didn't contain the facilities for showers or baths, so their best bet was to continue on for some time and hope they reach some more residential lodging before night falls. If they couldn't… well, Phillip had some means of achieving the same end.
Deeming that Mei would need to know this first hand, Phillip turned back to her… only to see her latch onto Bronya in hysteria.
" It doesn't smell that terribly, right?! Tell me it isn't that bad!"
Phillip could see Mei's eyes dart around before landing on him and diverting away immediately, almost as if she thought him offended by the stink. He took two steps towards her, ready to tell her his plan when Kiana got between the two and took her own whiff of the fumes.
It took her less than a nanosecond to back away from Mei, hands to her nose to block off any other scents. "Oh, that's foul! It smells like puke and things that make me wanna puke!"
Ever the tactful person, Kiana helpfully exclaimed this revelation loudly, allowing Mei to know the gist of her situation. Mei took it in stride… by curling into a ball and sulking, a small cloud forming over her head.
Phillip quickly shot Kiana a disapproving look and went over to comfort the heiress.
"Mei, look-"
Whatever that was supposed to come out came to a grinding halt as Phillip took a light breath once he reached Mei. Despite Kiana's complaints that the smell would make her puke, Phillip was the one that almost did.
The group of zombies they had just battled must have decayed extremely fast or something similar because the scent wafting off of Mei was horrendous. The only time Phillip had to combat such a powerful odor was when Naruto needed help clearing his apartment of 3-year-old meat from his fridge after a power outage.
As Phillip tried to keep himself from vomiting his breakfast up, Kiana returned to Mei quickly and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, Mei-senpai. I was just kidding around, ya know."
Mei didn't buy it, obviously catching Kiana's nervous tone. Instead, she simply squeezed herself deeper into her ball.
"Just stop, Kiana-chan," she sulked, her distraught deepening. "My clothes are soiled, my skin feels rotten. I need a hot shower."
Kiana pulled back, leaving Mei to mutter to herself in anguish, to think about their situation with her chin held by her right index finger and thumb. "Ya, I could use one too. Better yet, a hot spring bath would be nice."
Phillip responded to this through his heaving. "No volcano here."
Kiana sent him a pout. "You know how to kill the wind in my sail, huh?"
Bronya, having remained quiet to this point, spoke up. "Bronya has confusion about the term 'hot spring.' It is not springtime, and spring tends to be cool, not hot."
Phillip rose a brow, somewhat amused by this despite his current situation. "You didn't learn many phrases when you were younger, did you?"
Bronya tilted her head in confusion, expecting Phillip to answer her question. However, Kiana was the one to explain, with her right index finger pointed up now.
"It's hot water from underground! They're normally near volcanoes, ya know."
Bronya seemed to understand this as she gave a thumbs-up. "Geo -thermally heated aquifer! Da!" Bronya walked over to Phillip, who managed to subdue his spasms and need to hurl. "Project Bunny has a subterranean scanner. May Bronya use it to locate a hot spring?"
Phillip shook his head at this. "We won't need it." Phillip looked towards Mei, still grumbling to herself, as he walked over to Kiana. "Collect Mei for me. We're going back to the park for a minute."
Kiana scrunched her nose tightly, closed her eyes, and tilted her head, all in confusion. "Huh?! Why?"
"Because If I'm to do the thing that I'm about to, it would be best in a place with fewer things to destroy."
1:15pm, Back at the park,
The group arrived at a small clearing in the southern part of the park, something Phillip found when scanning the place before. The trees had formed into an odd square that was left untouched by anything other than grass. If it wasn't for the absence of construction equipment, Phillip would have assumed it to be a city project.
Kiana walked to his left, leaving the other girls behind, to look around the place. Seeing nothing too interesting, Kiana gave him a flat stare.
"We're looking for a water bath, not a dirt one. What are we doing here?"
"Just… give me some space," Phillip demanded as he stepped farther into the clearing. Kiana did as she was told, though with a humph and crossed arms, as she watched Phillip blur through hand signs and slam his hand into the ground.
Doton: Mobile Core.
A large, squared piece of land before Phillip quickly sunk down, deep enough for Mei to stand up and have her shoulders above the new hole. Once the hole reached that far, the siding rose slightly to provide some seating for anyone that desired it, even Bronya.
The three girls walked over to see the spectacle, each with a different expression. Mei looked on with amazement and fear, while Kiana remained confused, and Bronya was just as monotonous as before.
"Are we digging for something," Kiana asked before a shine came to her eyes as excitement overtook her. "Did you see treasure here? Because I'm happy with that."
"Some room, please," Phillip requested through gritted teeth, once more weaving hand signs. The girls quickly took three back steps, just in time to see an orange-red fireball burst out of Philip's mouth and enter the pit. Soon, it was filled with golden flames and smoke, all of which disappeared once Phillip fired a torrent of water from his mouth.
Before long, the fire had receded, and smooth, glistening rock was seen, a feature Phillip made sure to happen when he made the pit. Once he was sure none of the stones were out of place or jagged, he turned to the girls.
"Go ahead and take a look."
They did so, and Kiana and Mei gasped at the sight, though for different reasons. Kiana was utterly enraptured by the sparkling stones, her eyes mirroring them. Either she had never seen something of similar stature, or she was wondering how much the rocks would cost if sold.
Mei, however, tore her eyes from the hole and focused solely on Phillip, fear gracing her face. "Phillip-kun, you didn't - we could have just-"
"I'll be fine, Mei," Phillip stated, and it was true. From the previous rest and the lack of summoned clones, he had plenty of chakra for this side-tracked project and for the rest of the day as well.
"But you might-"
"I won't," Phillip dismissed, Mei's fear now getting on his nerves. "Let's get cleaned up and, then, get going."
Phillip moved to go through some hand signs but was stopped when Mei grabbed his right wrist. He was sent to yank his arm away and move away, but Mei managed to act first.
"You stop if you start feeling tired. Okay?"
Phillip sighed in resignation, knowing he wouldn't get past her without reassuring her. "Alright. I'll do that." Mei kept her hand at his wrist for a moment longer, trying to gauge his sincerity, before she let go.
Finally allowed to finish the job, Phillip fired another torrent from his mouth to fill the hole with lukewarm water. When it reached the edge, Phillip stepped out into the water, as if it was solid ground, and walked to the middle of the new mini lake. He then leaned down to a kneel and placed his right hand onto the surface as he channeled fire chakra. Soon, steam sprouted out from the water, signaling his job was complete, so he turned to the girls to invite them into the man-made hot spring.
The looks on their faces were priceless. Each of them, even Bronya, was shocked at the sight of him standing on the water.
Kiana recovered quickly, however, and turned to Mei to voice her thoughts.
"Mei-senpai, we have a jacuzzi-making Jesus as our boyfriend!"
"Oi!"
A couple minutes later,
At Kiana's insistence, she and Mei were the first into the hot spring; their clothes were folded and laid on a cloth that Phillip pulled out. Mei stretched her arms back, her right hand over her left wrist, as she pressed her back into the wall. Her hair was pulled from the ponytail it initially stayed in, allowing the mid-back length to float on the water's surface.
Beside Mei, Kiana rested her head on the side ( Phillip turned it to stone after the fact), hands between her chin on the rugged rocks beneath while she laid out as much as she could. Her shorter hair stayed out for the water, only getting wet from her consistent dunks into the hot spring.
Bronya, being the closest to the two, watched them as they cleaned themselves and messed around. Turning her head to the left, she spotted Phillip as he leaned against a nearby tree, his back turned to the girls. He had decided to give as much privacy as possible to the girls, despite the constant demands from one particular Kaslana, so he closed off his senses and turned away from them. However, he made one minor exception to this, and Bronya noticed a rather niche example.
"Subject Phillip, Subject Kiana's expendability is increasing drastically."
Phillip tilted his head slightly towards the pool, determining the young girl's words to be the exception he stated. He found Kiana making grabbing motions while Mei hugged her chest and glared hard at the white-haired menace.
"Hands to yourself, Kiana," Phillip called to the girl, pausing her from any further actions. "I can still make a wall to separate the two of you."
Kiana pouted at this and pressed her back against the side to sulk more where Phillip would look. Mei sent him an appreciative glance before chatting up Bronya, set on convincing her to join the other girls. However, when Kiana splashed water Bronya's way, the younger girl dismissed the request, stating that she wasn't that dirty in her own heavily wordy way.
At that point, Phillip pulled himself from his tree and moved toward the group. By the time he was close, Bronya had requested to leave for a perimeter patrol, turning away from Mei's drenched and concerned self.
"Bronya, stay and wash," Phillip ordered, his tone strict. "I'll keep any zombies at bay. It's likely we won't have many opportunities to bathe, so do so now."
Bronya, rather than accepting this order, shook her head firmly. "Bronya lacks sufficient dust to warrant cleansing protocols. Also, da Bronya is still armed without Project Bunny."
"That's not the correct answer." With that, Phillip swept Bronya's legs with a low kick, grabbed her by the collar, and tossed her into the middle of the hot spring.
Mei wasted no time in diving, though without exposing herself, after Bronya. When she surfaced, she was carrying a soaked, red-faced, and glaring Bronya with her own enraged glare.
"Phillip-kun, that was an unacceptable action! You can't toss people in the deep end of a hot spring little that!"
Phillip waved away the lecture. "She'll be fine." Turning around, he began to walk deeper into the trees with only a few final words. "Keep Kiana in line, and things should be fine. I'll be back soon."
3:17pm,
After a couple of hours of patrolling the general area around the hot spring (where the worst he encountered was a horde of zombies that shambled a little too close), Phillip was interrupted by a fully clothed Mei. She sent him a disapproving gaze, paired with crossed arms and pursed lips.
Phillip sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll apologize to her later, but I did that for a reason. It will be faster if all of you girls clean up first."
"That's not a good excuse for tossing someone into hot water, Phillip-kun," Mei responded curtly, obviously not impressed with his reasoning. "There are nicer ways to get the same result."
"Let's move on from that," Phillip requested, pinching his brow in frustration. "Is Bronya cleaned?"
Mei's pursed lips deepened as her displeasure grew, but she answered his question regardless. "Yes, I made sure she was. She's found to need new clothing, though, since you ruined her old outfit."
"…Fair point." Phillip pulled up his sleeves, summoned the ink bottle and brush for seals, and began drawing one onto the closest tree. "When you can, bring Bronya's clothes here; this seal should automatically accept, dry, and restore them."
"Okay, but… Phillip-kun?"
Phillip stopped his creation at this. Mei's voice shifted from mild anger to something more…concerned. He looked her way to see her act rather sheepish about the topic she wanted to talk about.
Mei continued on after a moment of silence. "Bronya, she… she has scars on her. I'm not sure if I can ask, but can you do anything for her."
Phillip didn't respond immediately, simply giving her a blank look before returning to his seal. Once he was finished, Phillip walked towards and passed Mei, only finally replying to her question when heading back to the spring.
"I'll see what I can do."
Back at the hot spring
Phillip found Bronya sitting cross-legged on a patch of grass beside the pool, her HOMU plush pressed against her to hide what modesty it could. She watched Kiana splash around in the pool with her black face while her clothes hung on a nearby branch to help dry.
Phillip saw what Mei meant: Bronya's back was littered with multiple types of scars. Most seemed like slash wounds, while others were absolutely bullet wounds. He could even make out an attempt at branding near her right leg, which peeved him a little.
Phillip silently moved directly behind the younger girl, seemingly without notice. However, he had no plans to act when she wasn't aware of his presence, so he cleared his throat slightly to direct her attention to him.
The reaction was almost instant, though much tamer than he expected. Bronya gripped the plush doll tighter but didn't turn her head to him. Her monotonous voice held the slightest bit of mirth in it when she spoke, however.
"What do you want, Pervert Phillip?"
Phillip rose a brow at the accusation but kept his tone even. "Mei had asked me to help your scars. Would that be okay?"
Bronya turned her head to him, matching his gaze with her own skepticism. "They are scars. They won't heal."
"Normally, no," Phillip replied offhandedly as he pressed his right hand into Bronya's back. A glow of pure white later, and the scars soon faded into smooth, pale skin that was soon unblemished.
"I'm far from normal, however."
Phillip did his best to hide his wince, but it was an unneeded venture. Bronya was already too enraptured in checking her unmarked skin to notice, though wise enough to avoid dropping her doll.
With the task, Phillip straightened up and moved back into the trees. Before he got far, though, he decided to call out to Kiana.
"Get out of the pool, Kiana. You're gonna prune, and I still need to bathe too."
"Only if I get peak first!"
"Not in your life."
Phillip didn't need to look back to know Kiana was pouting after the yelled conversation. With a sigh, he continued his path back to his patrol route, knowing it would take time for Kiana to calm down and do as he said.
What am I gonna do with that girl?
An unknown apartment,
"You want me to what?!"
A red-haired woman, clad in only a pink towel over her body, slumped onto her couch and sent whatever trash there stumbling to the ground. She paid it no mind, however, as she was too engrossed in the conversation in her left ear as her phone was held up to it with her shoulder.
A squeaky voice sounded from the other end. ~You heard me! The Overseer needs Valks to head over to Nagazora for aid in a recent Honkai eruption. Everyone else is on leave, so it's up to you.~
"B-But my vacation," the red-haired woman complained, complete with lip tremble. "I need to go to that party in Hong Kong! Can't we hold it off for now?"
~That party is in February! Besides, this is only a run-in, run-out job. You'll be there for a day tops.~
"I still have to get ready for it, though," the woman countered. "I need to pick out the right dress, pinch my pennies, and figure out my method of travel since HQ isn't sanctioning my little vacay."
For the love of-. Tell ya what, if you go, I'll get you a case of beer or two, free of charge.~
"…Make it three, and you have a deal."
~Fine, but you better get ready in the next three hours. Grandpa wants this to be as smooth as possible.~
With that, the call ended, leaving the redhead to her trash dump of a living room. She was able to navigate through the beer cans and food wrappers, though, and reached her room's door. She entered and, after a few minutes of rummaging around, exited with her trademark battlesuit on. With a stretch of her neck and two pops, she headed for her front door to meet her new crew.
"Time to see the new bucket of bolts HQ calls a ship."
Welcome back to the story.
This chapter was mostly an attempt at trying to ease off the Bronya suspicion a little, and I wanted to use the one manga that kind of did that for the original three: Steamy Hot springs. Granted, my attempt will vastly pale to MiHoYo's and anyone else who decides to novelize the idea, but that's the breaks.
Furthermore, I've been reading the other fics on the sight and I feel that they have something that I'm lacking. Maybe it's just them being better at descriptions and I'm not, but there is something I feel holding this back on my end.
Sorry for the winded rant. I'll see you all soon at the next chapter.