Hello! This will be my first story on the site in general, and it will be about an Alternate Universe of Blue Archive, a game where I find myself quite invested in the lore and all the concepts behind it, despite never playing the game itself.
As a warning, this story will deviate a lot from canon and a lot of it is just my own way to try and expand on the concepts, as well as the characters beyond what was already shown in canon.
Oh, and there will lots of OCs, OCs that are obviously not part of the canon, but hey, this is fanfiction at the end of day, so I'm going to have as much fun with it as I can.
Anyway, before the actual story itself, the first set of chapters will be preludes to set up the story arcs, including ones that don't exist in canon yet. Enjoy!
Takanashi Hoshino was irritated, for lack of a better word.
The stares thrown at her way as she made her way to Abydos High School were the last thing she wanted. She resisted the urge to simply glare at the crowd in the hopes that they would leave her alone.
Alas, she knew that she couldn't, as doing so would reflect badly on the path she planned on going.
A path that her estranged father would, no doubt, disapprove of.
"I'll show him…" She muttered to herself, unknowingly clenching her fists as she did.
Fortunately for her, she didn't have to linger much longer, as she caught sight of the front gates leading to Abydos High School.
"Finally…" She sighed in relief, closing her eyes.
The girl adjusted her necktie, checked her tactical vest for anything out of the ordinary, lightly dusted off her pleated skirt, and then proceeded to check on her weapon for any flaws. After seeing that everything was in place, she nodded to herself in approval.
Hoshino breathed in and out by herself for a few seconds, before putting on a determined glare at the school building.
"This is what Kougami-senpai and Kanzaki-senpai will be fighting for, so count me in…!" She thought to herself.
She let out a short yell before charging through the front gate and into the entrance of the school building.
"This place is more abandoned than I thought…"
Hoshino looked around at the empty hallways of the school, while idly passing by open rooms that looked like they hadn't been used in a long time.
The once-thriving and excellent school had become desolate and on the verge of collapse, with bits of sand and small rubble scattered throughout.
However, Hoshino knew how much the school meant to her senpais, so she was willing to put in the work in helping it restore its former glory.
At the corner of her eye, she spotted something of interest inside one of the abandoned classrooms, prompting her to stop.
Feeling her curiosity getting the best of her, she made her way inside the classroom and approached the teacher's desk.
As she did, she slowly picked up a picture frame, gently wiping away the dust before taking a closer look.
The picture frame contained an entire group of students, all of whom were smiling and looking proud of the school they were a part of.
Hoshino knew that only two students remained in the photo.
One of the students was a young man with black hair and deep purple eyes. He was wearing the full Abydos school uniform and had a calm smile on his features as he stood with his classmates.
The other student was a mature-looking young woman with long white hair and gentle cyan blue eyes. Like the young man, she was wearing the full Abydos uniform, and was smiling warmly as she stood next to her fellow classmates.
All these bright and hopeful faces, not knowing what their precious school would eventually turn into.
She wanted to know what it was like. To have hope in the future.
As it stood at the moment, she was feeling very doubtful after years of her own future being decided for her.
She wanted to show her father. To show everyone she knew that she would forge her own path.
Before she could linger on her thoughts even further, a gentle voice called out to her.
"Hoshino-chan, are you in there?" She knew that the voice could only belong to one person.
Hoshino turned around and saw Kanzaki Yume standing before her with the same warm smile she showed in the picture.
The only differences were that she wasn't wearing the blazer like in the picture and was wearing black boots instead of the standard brown shoes.
"Kanzaki-senpai…" Hoshino tried to stand straight respectfully.
Yume giggled and shook her head, before speaking. "Silly girl, didn't I tell you that I'm fine with simply being called Yume?"
"… Sorry, Yume-senpai." Hoshino slowly nodded and then looked around. "Where's Kougami-senpai?"
"Oh, Ryota is just making sure the school is empty besides all of us." Yume replied.
"There are other students?" Hoshino asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, they are all waiting for you inside a classroom not too far from where you are now." Yume answered, smiling as she placed a hand on her junior's head. "You should go and greet them."
" … " Hoshino looked hesitant as she stared down at the floor.
"Usui-kun is one of them, if you want to know." Yume added with a slight glint in her eyes.
" …!"
Without saying a word, Hoshino was quick to rush out of the classroom, prompting Yume to giggle at her junior's reaction.
"I'm glad that you have at least one friend before coming here." She said to herself.
"So, what's your deal?" A boy with spiky brown hair asked.
"What do you wish to know about me?" A red-haired boy replied with a neutral expression.
"Well, I'm quite curious about what you're carrying behind your back…" A silver-haired girl trailed off.
Before any of them could speak further, Hoshino burst inside the classroom and quickly sported an expression of joy and relief.
"Yuzuru!" She grinned.
Usui Yuzuru was a young man with red hair and green eyes. He wore the uniform quite loosely and ignored the necktie entirely, while keeping both the blazer and white shirt unbuttoned to reveal the black shirt he was wearing underneath.
Behind his back was a long dark brown sheath, which the silver-haired girl was still looking at with a curious expression.
"Hoshino." Kido nodded with a smile of his own. "Good to see that you are here as well."
"You two know each other?" The spiky-haired boy got between the two first-year students.
"This girl is Takanashi Hoshino, and we have known each other since middle school." Kido answered, looking over his friend for any reactions.
Hoshino herself was narrowing her eyes at both, in her eyes, the new boy and girl inside the same classroom.
"Uh…" The boy shuffled in response to the staring.
"Do not mind her, she is simply observing your intentions." Kido tried to reassure him.
"Oh!" The boy blinked, before he put on a friendly smile and tried to introduce himself. "Well, hello there, the name's Yamaguchi Kaito, nice to meet ya!"
Like Usui, Kaito wore his school uniform very loosely, only that he tied the blazer around his waist and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, while also ignoring the necktie completely.
" … " Hoshino remained quiet, but slowly nodded.
"U-Uhmm!" The silver-haired girl shyly raised her hand, realizing that she couldn't make a bad impression on her fellow student. "M-My name is Sasaki Nagato, I hope we get along well!"
Unlike her fellow first year students, Nagato seemed to be wearing her uniform properly, complete with black tights.
" … " Hoshino continued to stare, until she let out a sigh.
She ran a hand through her short pink hair and had the decency to look somewhat apologetic.
"Sorry, I wanted to test you two for a bit." Hoshino said with a shrug. "You two don't look like you have any hidden plans… at least for now…"
"Hoshino…" Usui shook his head at his friend's wariness.
"That's cool!" Kaito said, raising his arms with a quick laugh. "We're complete strangers to you, but I'm sure we'll all make a great team!"
"I would like to work with all of you as well." Nagato nodded in agreement.
Hoshino merely went back to observing the two students in silence, causing said students to shuffle uncomfortably.
"She was like this with me when we first met, give her some time." Usui said, gazing between them and his friend.
"Uh, sure man, we'll take your word for it…" Kaito said with an awkward chuckle.
Nagato merely gripped her skirt tightly under the quiet stare from her fellow female first year.
Before any of them could speak further, a masked figure in a dark trench coat suddenly entered the classroom through one of the windows.
"What the-!?" Kaito widened his eyes in alarm, before narrowing them as he took on a brawling stance.
" … " The masked figure was scrutinizing the first year students without a word.
"S-Stop right there!" Nagato shakily raised her weapon, which was a blue-colored HK MP5K.
"Yeah, if you know what's good for ya!" Kaito said, growling as his weapons, a pair of bronze spiked gauntlets, began to glow with power.
Usui merely moved his hand towards his scabbard, ready to pull out his khopesh sword if the figure dared to move.
Hoshino was the only one unfazed by the appearance of the masked figure and began to casually walk towards them, not even reaching out for her own weapon.
"What is she doing…!?" Kaito was surprised by the girl's boldness.
"Please be careful…" Nagato silently prayed for her.
Usui stared at the masked figure for a few more seconds, and then nodded. "I see now."
He moved his hand away from the scabbard and crossed his arms, with a quiet but knowing look on his features.
"Kougami-senpai, was that really necessary?" Hoshino asked flatly, putting a hand on her hip.
The masked figure remained silent at first, before slowly reaching out for their mask and then took it off in front of the first year students.
Setting the mask down on a nearby desk, the figure was revealed to be a dark-haired young man, not much older than the students before him, as he looked at each one with his purple eyes.
"My apologies, I wanted to test their responses to a sudden attack." He spoke in a deep tone that radiated complete authority.
"Seriously…?" Kaito asked in awe as he lowered his gauntlets.
Nagato lowered her weapon as well, her eyes fixed on the young man's hardened gaze.
"I believe introductions are in order." The young man said, closing his eyes. "My name is Kougami Ryota, one of the two remaining students in Abydos High School prior to your arrival."
"Then the other one is…" Kido trailed off, his green eyes looking all over the classroom.
"That would be me." Yume answered, giggling to herself as she entered the classroom and gave the first year students a gentle gaze. "Kanzaki Yume, but you may call me Yume. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"Yume-senpai." Hoshino's lips curled up slightly.
"You know these two?" Kaito asked curiously.
Hoshino looked over to him with a neutral expression, which caused him to shift awkwardly once more.
"Y-You don't have to answer if you want!" Nagato stammered, not wanting to risk potentially annoying her.
"Hoshino, I spoke to them for quite a while before you came inside," Usui said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They are simply curious and nothing more."
Seeing that the two students were genuinely curious, as well as Usui's words of reassurance, Hoshino's body relaxed slightly.
"Yeah, I know them." Hoshino answered with a small nod, before turning her gaze to her two senpais. "I met them during middle school, while they were still first year students here."
"Indeed we have." Yume approached her junior and began pinching her cheek. "I still remember the cute scream she let out when Ryota snuck up on her for the first time."
"H-Hey!" Hoshino said, flushing in embarrassment. "D-Don't tell them that!"
"Really now?" Kaito said, grinning.
"Don't you dare!" Hoshino exclaimed, gritting her teeth. "I'll sock you in the face, asshole!"
"Language, young lady." Yume playfully scolded, pinching her junior's cheek harder. "It won't be good for your youth."
"Okay! Okay! Just stop pinching me…!" Hoshino whined with a childish pout.
Kaito grinned wider, Nagato giggled to herself, and even Usui had a smile on his face.
"Good." Yume nodded in approval, pulling away her hand.
"As much as I don't wish to interrupt, I believe a meeting at the gym is in order." Ryota stepped forward and crossed his arms.
"Please…" Hoshino muttered, rubbing the small sore spot on her cheek.
The six students gathered inside the gym of Abydos High School, but like every other room and area, it was covered in its share of sand and rubble.
"This place has seen better days." Kaito remarked, looking around. "Then again, this whole school has been through a lot, I can tell."
"You are correct in that regard, Yamaguchi." Ryota nodded in agreement. "Just one year ago, the sandstorms increased in size and strength to an unnerving degree and once fully covered Abydos."
"I've heard about that." Nagato said with a frown. "I had no idea what was happening at the time, my parents and I were visiting relatives in Hyakkiyako during that day…"
"You too?" Kaito widened his eyes slightly. "My old man actually drove me outta Abydos and we had to stay in some village for a few days before coming back."
Usui simply crossed his arms and was seemingly in deep thought, no doubt thinking about the incident as well.
Hoshino merely stared at the floor, unknowingly tightening her fists as she did.
XXX (One Year Ago) XXX
"Father, where are we going?" A slightly younger Hoshino asked as she sat at the back of a moving car.
"Somewhere far away from here." An older man with slicked black hair and a small stubble replied as he kept his eyes on the road.
"But what about the people?" The girl questioned, frowning in concern.
" … " The man remained silent, continuing to focus on the road.
"What about our neighbors? Your friends? My classmates?" Hoshino continued as she gripped her seat. "You wouldn't even let me tell my friends…"
" … " The man was still quiet, with only the sounds of the car's engine as he continued driving.
"Father?" Hoshino was getting frustrated by her father's lack of response. "Please answer me, why didn't you let me tell my friends that we were leaving?"
" … "
The continued silence was slowly grating on the girl's nerves, in which she stood up slightly and leaned closer to the driver's seat.
"Father!" Hoshino began to raise her voice. "Why aren't you listening-"
"Because we simply had no time."
The simple neutral reply had struck a nerve within the girl.
"No time!?" Hoshino yelled, gritting her teeth. "We had plenty of time to-"
"It would be disastrous if we were to remain in Abydos." Her father continued, as he gave his daughter a small glance. "Furthermore, you are the next one in line to continue the Takanashi legacy, and thus, your safety is my biggest priority."
This talk about continuing her family's legacy was another strike to her nerves.
"… So you're willing to leave behind our home just for some stupid family tradition, is that it…?" Hoshino muttered under her breath.
"… Yes…"
Despite the clear hesitation on his tone, it was clear that he wasn't going to speak any further.
Disappointed, Hoshino leaned back in her seat and stared out the car window, as Abydos looked like it was getting further away from her sight.
"Yuzuru, Kougami-senpai, Kanzaki-senpai, please be safe…" She whispered in concern.
XXX (Present Day) XXX
"Hoshino-chan?" Yume lightly shook her junior's shoulder. "Kivotos to Hoshino-chan?"
"Huh?" Hoshino said, blinking in confusion. "What were you all saying…?"
"Well, while you were spacing out, Ryota basically just said that he'll be testing the first year students' skills in combat, which will include you." Yume happily explained to her junior.
As if on cue, Yume stepped aside and gestured to Ryota, who was looking expectantly at not just her, but all the first year students.
"Like what Yume had said, I want you all to attack me at once so I can gauge your strengths and weaknesses."
To prove his point, Ryota reached out to his mask and placed it back on his face.
In response, each first year student prepared themselves for combat, readying their weapons as they did.
Kaito raised his spiked gauntlets and they began to glow brightly.
Usui had pulled out his khopesh sword and pointed it at the masked boy.
Nagato was more hesitant, but still pointed her MP5K SMG at her senpai.
Hoshino narrowed her eyes at her senpai, reaching her hand out to her gun, a Beretta 1301 Tactical shotgun.
"Hey…" She spoke, turning to her fellow first years. "I just wanna let you all know that Kougami-senpai shouldn't be underestimated, you hear?"
"Then we just gotta strike first!" Kaito replied, grinning in anticipation.
Usui merely closed his eyes as the air around him became thick, as gusts of wind surrounded his sword.
Nagato aimed down her sight on her MP5K, trying to stay fully focused.
Hoshino cocked her shotgun, also preparing to move as she began to give out orders.
"Okay, we do this on the count to three." She said, positioning her legs slightly.
The other first year students all nodded at her words.
"One…"
Kaito clenched his gauntlets tighter, while Nagato inched her finger closer to the trigger.
"Two…"
Usui opened his eyes, the wind surrounding his sword growing stronger.
"Three!"
Kaito and Usui immediately leaped forward at Ryota, their weapons completely at the ready.
Hoshino was about to join them, but stopped herself at the last second as she noticed her senpai wasn't moving at all from his spot.
"Why isn't he…"
Then it hit her, as the girl gasped and widened her eyes in shock, before attempting to call out the boys.
"Wait! It's a trap!"
It was too late, as Ryota disappeared from where he was standing, much to the boys' surprise.
"Where did he…" Kaito trailed off.
Before the boy could finish his sentence, he felt something punch at his abdomen, followed by a sudden burst of electricity.
Kaito cried out at the sudden pain, and then felt a boot strike his face, which sent him flying back towards the wall.
CRASH!
The boy left behind a small hole on the already abandoned building as he fell to the floor, his halo flickering out of existence as he did.
He had been defeated in a matter of seconds, leaving only three first year students remaining.
Realizing that he was next, Usui swung his sword in the direction where Kaito had been struck.
It was all for naught, as Ryota reappeared in front of him, blocking his junior's attack with bladed tonfa seemingly attached to his arm, with the wind not even budging him from where he stood.
Usui was quick to jump back to avoid being attacked himself.
However, Ryota sensed this move and pulled out what looked like a grappling hook with a blade attached to the end.
Usui narrowed his eyes as he reached out inside his blazer and pulled out three throwing knives.
"Usui-kun!" Nagato called out, aiming her gun at her senpai. "Let's do this together!"
Without another word, Usui threw his knives at the masked boy at the same time as Nagato began firing.
Unfazed by this, Ryota rapidly swung his grappling hook, its blade shockingly deflecting both the knives and the bullets.
"What!?" Nagato felt intimidated by her bullets being casually stopped like they were nothing.
The brief moment of weakness was a huge mistake.
Ryota disappeared from sight once more, before reappearing behind both Usui and Nagato.
They barely had time to react, as Nagato was quickly tied up by the wires of the grappling hook, and then was being spun around like a ragdoll.
In the process, Kido was struck by Nagato's bound body before he could fully dodge, sending both of them flying towards the same area Kaito had been defeated.
CRASH!
Nagato groaned as she and Usui were on top of Kaito's body, as both their halos flickered out of existence.
"Goodness me, you all should be lucky that Ryota chose to hold back greatly." Yume said, placing a hand on her cheek as she chuckled.
"Takanashi."
Ryota noticed that Hoshino was nowhere to be seen, having seemingly disappeared after he had taken out Kaito.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait for too long, as he turned around and caught his junior's fist before she could punch him.
"Dammit!" Hoshino cursed to herself.
Ryota had a tight grip on her hand, before taking off his mask to look her straight in the eye.
"Your Horus vision is an amazing ability by itself, but you still lack the experience to make full use of it." He stated, and then did a quick spin as he threw the girl towards the defeated first year students.
CRASH!
"Ugh…"
Hoshino groaned in slight pain, feeling the fight knocked out of her.
"The fact that nearly all of you decided to attack me at once without a proper plan shows that you still have much to learn." Ryota said, shaking his head.
Yume approached her juniors and knelt down to their level.
"Are you all okay?" She asked in concern.
"I guess I should've known that one year isn't enough." Hoshino remarked, slowly untangling herself from the others.
Yume smiled at this and said. "Ryota has been fighting for most of his life, so I would say that you still need a decade before you can fully catch up to him."
"You don't have to tell me…" Hoshino grumbled.
One by one, the other first year students awakened and processed what had happened to them.
"Damn, we got our asses kicked hard." Kaito said, scratching the back of his head.
"I still can't believe he deflected my bullets just like that…" Nagato muttered under her breath, clutching her gun to her chest.
Usui simply let out a sigh and turned to Hoshino.
"I assume that you tried to sneak up on him?"
"Yeah, it didn't work in the end." Hoshino answered, letting out a sigh of her own.
"Hey now, don't feel discouraged!" Yume said, approaching her junior's with another smile.
"Kinda hard not to when I got knocked out within seconds." Kaito said, frowning slightly.
"Well, think of this as an initiation of sorts." Yume tried to be as encouraging as she could. "The fact that you all managed to stand after only a couple of minutes shows that you all have potential."
"What do you mean?" Nagato asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Most people, including grown ups and our former classmates, have been knocked down by him before and took days to recover." Yume explained.
The first year students simply stared at her, as if she was insane.
Realizing this, Yume sheepishly giggled and said. "Okay, I should've worded things better, but you understand my point!"
"She's not wrong." Ryota agreed, approaching his juniors before standing next to Yume. "You all have the potential to be greater than this, and you're all deemed fit to join us."
"Huh?" Nagato asked.
"As we are the only students remaining, Yume and I saw fit to create the Countermeasures Committee." Ryota explained, crossing his arms. "All of us will be defending Abydos High School with the intention of restoring its former glory."
"Indeed, I have hopes that all of you can grow from this experience." Yume added with a nod.
"Heh, I just need to get stronger, yeah?" Kaito grinned, showing off his fangs.
"Well, I wouldn't mind defending this school." Nagato said, smiling. "Even with the destruction, it would be a waste to just abandon this building."
"I made my decision the moment I set foot inside." Usui said, crossing his arms.
Afterwards, Hoshino realized that her two senpais and fellow first year students all turned their attention towards her.
"Uh…" She was at a loss for words.
"Well, Hoshino-chan, are you willing to help defend this school?" Yume asked.
"I… well…"
Part of her wanted to say yes right away to help her senpais defend the school they hold close to them, but another part of her believed that it was a tall order.
It was the main reason why her father had been adamant against her enrolling in Abydos High School.
"Do you truly believe that a handful of students can save an entire academy?" She could feel her father's words enter her mind.
"Damn it…"
She hated it when he made good points sometimes, she really did.
"If you have trouble deciding, you have the rest of the day to give an answer." Ryota spoke up, as if he sensed her hesitation.
"Sorry…" Hoshino mumbled.
"Don't be, we won't force you to decide right away." Yume reassured her junior.
Ryota briefly pulled out his phone and checked the time, before turning his attention to the first year students before him.
"Okay, we will have our first official meeting tomorrow at eight o' clock in the morning." He said, and then looked at Hoshino. "I will be waiting for your response, Takanashi."
"Yeah, yeah…" Hoshino said quietly.
"See you all tomorrow, everyone!" Yume said, smiling as she waved her juniors goodbye.
"It was cool meeting you guys!" Kaito grinned, being the first one to leave.
"I will need some tea after this." Nagato said with a small sigh, following after.
Usui turned his eyes and saw his friend staring at the floor, before he moved forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Would you like me to walk you home?" He offered.
"No, I need some time alone." Hoshino replied, shaking her head. "Thanks for asking though."
Usui looked at her for a few moments, and then gave a single nod as he left the gym as well.
Hoshino turned to her senpais and said. "See you tomorrow, Yume-senpai, Kougami-senpai."
"Be careful on the way home." Yume said.
The pink-haired girl was the last one of the first year students to leave the gym.
"I believe Takanashi is thinking about her father." Ryota said, as soon as he and Yume were alone.
Yume covered her mouth and said. "Oh dear, I know that she doesn't have the best relationship with him."
She recalled the few times where her junior spoke openly about her father, but the way she spoke about him had told her enough.
"My parents? Well, my father and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye, and I don't really know my mother because someone keeps dodging all my questions about her…"
She tried to hide it with a neutral tone, but it was clear that she held resentment towards him.
"I do hope she'll be okay." Yume muttered in concern.
"We can only hope for the best." Ryota said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What a day…"
Hoshino had blocked out her surroundings as soon as she stepped out of the school, focusing solely on getting home. She clenched her hand into a fist as she thought about what had happened today.
"I'm not strong enough…"
She was naïve to believe that she could hope to catch Ryota in her pathetic display at stealth.
"I need to get stronger…"
She placed a hand over one of her eyes, her pace slightly increasing as she walked.
"My Horus vision is still too weak, but…"
She gritted her teeth at the thought of asking him for help in honing her main ability.
"I don't need his help, I can-"
"Hoshino!"
Hoshino was suddenly pulled backwards, before a large truck had driven by, barely missing her in the process. She turned her head and saw Usui looking over her with a look of concern.
"Yuzuru…?" She asked with widened eyes.
"You were not paying attention."
His words had caused her to look away with shame, knowing that he was correct.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Usui asked.
In response, Hoshino sighed and answered. "Yeah, it was my fault that I nearly got hit."
While she knew that her halo would've absorbed the damage, she didn't want to inconvenience whoever was driving the truck.
Both students proceeded to walk the rest of the way back to Hoshino's home in silence.
She was grateful that her friend decided not to ask her anything, as she was still too absorbed in her thoughts to properly answer any questions.
It didn't take too long for the two to reach their destination.
"It has been quite a while since I have last seen your house." Usui remarked.
Hoshino's house was fairly large for its location in Abydos city, which was a clean white and looked wide enough to house up to thirty people inside, and then was surrounded by stone gates, with two guards standing dutifully next to the entrance.
"Hoshino-sama." The two guards bowed in respect.
"Well, see you tomorrow…" Hoshino awkwardly waved goodbye to her friend.
Usui watched as the pink-haired girl stepped through the gate's entrance, before one of the guards approached him.
"Would you kindly excuse yourself from the premises, Hoshino-sama deserves some rest." The guard had the decency to sound polite.
"Of course." Usui nodded and proceeded to turn around.
He knew that she was cursing herself for her failure against Ryota, but believed that asking her about it would only worsen her mood.
"Not to mention her father…"
Usui suspected that it was another reason why she seemed oblivious to her surroundings.
However, he also knew that it was a sensitive topic for her and respectfully remained quiet on that as well.
After all, it was difficult to be the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Kivotos Grand Council and sole heir of the Takanashi clan.
"I'm home…" Hoshino greeted in a dull tone.
"Hoshino-sama, welcome home." A maid walked up to her and bowed respectfully. "Do you want me to prepare dinner?"
"I guess…" Hoshino didn't really care either way.
"Oh, and Kenji-sama is in his office, I believe that he will be too busy to join you tonight." The maid added with a small frown.
It was to be expected. Hoshino knew that her father was too busy with council work to really give her the time of day nowadays.
"I'll be in my room for a bit."
Without another word, Hoshino walked past the maid and made her way up the stairs and into the second floor.
After only a few minutes of walking, she found her bedroom and stepped inside.
CLICK
She took off her tactical vest and carelessly threw it to the side, and then placed her gun next to the nightstand, before slumping on top of her bed.
"I'm so… tired…"
Hoshino turned around in her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, as thoughts flowed through her mind.
Did she have what it takes to help defend Abydos High School from completely collapsing?
She wanted to say yes to Yume, she truly did. However, the feelings of doubt suffocated her chest as she recalled her father's words before she left for the school earlier.
"Hoshino, I know that your friends mean so much to you, but is it truly worth risking your life for an abandoned school?"
She didn't want to answer him at the time, but as she continued to lay down in silence, she found herself seeing some merit behind what he said.
Was this path something she really wanted to take? To protect a school that has already been abandoned?
She didn't want to let down her senpais, especially Yume, as she knew she missed the school more than anything.
"This school was where I truly found myself as a person, I don't wish to just leave it to die and be forgotten…"
A small tear went down Hoshino's eye.
"Yume-senpai, please forgive me…"
She wasn't sure if she would bring herself to follow her into a plan that would no doubt cause her pain and heartbreak along the way.
She wanted to have hope for the future like she did, but she couldn't…
"Compared to you and Kougami-senpai, I'm still weak…"
Before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, a small drone had been spying on her through one of her bedroom's windows.
The drone flew away before it could get noticed, as it went over the gates and landed in the hand of a hooded figure.
The hooded figure pressed a button on the drone, before a deep voice spoke out from it.
"Kagami, have you gathered all the information?" The voice questioned.
The figure pulled off his hood, revealing a middle aged man with graying dark blue hair and grey eyes.
"Of course, Kaiser-sama, I shall send the data to you right away." Kagami answered, pressing another button.
After a brief moment of silence, the voice, known as Kaiser, grunted in approval.
"Excellent work, as expected of a former scientist for Millennium." Kaiser said.
"I aim to please." Kagami smirked.
"Once I give out the data to our researchers, I will lend you a hundred of my soldiers to take over Abydos High School." Kaiser continued.
"Hmph, is that sorry excuse of a building truly worth bringing a small army over?" Kagami asked, raising an eyebrow over his employer's logic.
"All will be revealed eventually, Kagami, all will be revealed." Kaiser said ominously, before the signal on the drone was cut off, ending the call.
Kagami simply shook his head and pulled his hood back on to conceal his identity.
He had already come this far after betraying the very city he was born in, especially his daughter.
"No matter, this will be done." Kagami said, making his escape away from the gates before he could get caught.
With that, this is the first part of a prelude that will set up the Abydos arc, to lay out the ground work on how the arc will go down moving forward.
Again, this is an Alternative Universe style of fanfic, so canon is almost immediately out of the question, but I'm going to try my hardest to keep the lore, concepts, and characters as similar to canon as I can, while still doing my own thing with it.
What do you all think?