I do not own Honkai Impact 3rd. Mihoyo does.
Let it be known to the world at large that she was not a morning person. Cecilia Kaslana, the heiress of the ancient and noble house of Kaslana, was not the greatest person in the morning. Waking up before 11 AM was akin to a death sentence for her. But today was special to Cecilia. She and the rest of her squadron were assigned to go on a mission. And so, she found herself seated at the table of their dorm at St. Freya Academy. "Stupid, stupid…"
"If you're going to keep grumbling like that, I won't make you breakfast, Ceci," a voice called from the kitchen.
"Shut up, Baka-Nee!" she yelled, from her chair still groggy from her dream. She had dreamt a wonderful dream of her and Mei. The dream gradually kept getting lewder and lewder and her recall of it just made her face turn a bright shade of red.
"Idiotka should listen to Senpai." Her blue eyes turned to glare at the diminutive girl seated across from her. Bronya Zaychik. Bronya was a short girl of Russian descent. Her hair was grey and her eyes were dull like flint. Her voice was flat and emotionless. The young Russian Girl sat there with a blank expression, emotionlessly taking a bite of the pancake in front of her. Her flint gray eyes stared into her blue ones, eliciting annoyance in the girl.
"Shut it, Bratnya! I haven't gotten enough sleep." She rubbed her temples. A slight headache was beginning to take root. I knew I shouldn't have stayed up so late playing Kallen Fantasy XV!
"Ara, Cecilia-chan, that's why I told you to go to bed early. We have a mission in Soukai City today," a voice called from behind. She knew that voice. That voice belonged to an angel. Her angel.
Raiden Mei. One of the residents of their dorm and a member of their squadron led by their drunkard captain. Mei was a tall, elegant, and beautiful woman. She had long silky violet-black hair reaching down to her lower back and bluish-violet eyes that captured her attention whenever they lay upon her.
"Mei-senpai~! Now that you're here, hug me?" she held her arms.
"Cecilia-chan. You should really listen to your older sister and go to bed early," Mei said, hugging her. She sighed at the fact that her friend had gone to bed late before a mission. Again.
"I would be well-rested if Nee-chan bought me Kallen Fantasy during the afternoon so I could play it then!" Cecilia said, pulling out of the embrace.
"Oh, and how is it my fault you decided to stay up all night playing your DS5?"
Cecilia froze when a woman, who looked exactly like her in height and appearance walked into the room. But there was a clear difference between the two. Their auras radiated different emotions. While Cecilia exhibited a more playful and friendly feeling, her older sister was far more aloof, mechanical, and even cold at times.
"Nee-chan didn't want to go into town to get the game with me so I had to wait in line and get home late," Cecilia said, pouting.
"What am I ever going to do with you?" she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. A vibration rang inside her pocket and she pulled it out.
"You three need to get going. Just leave your plates here, I'll clean them up," she said.
The three nodded and left the room immediately, running (floating in Bronya's case) to their respective rooms to get ready for their mission.
She let out a small chuckle as she gathered the plates and headed to the sink. "I hope Himeko-senpai looks after them properly." She whistled an old tune her father had taught her as she washed the dishes.
"Nee-chan! We'll head out now!" Her blue eyes brightened when she heard Cecilia's voice in the background.
"BE CAREFUL YOU THREE!" she called.
"We will!" her sister said.
"MEI! BRONYA! MAKE SURE MY SISTER DOESN'T GET INTO TROUBLE!"
"Of course!" Mei called back as she ran out the door after Cecilia.
"The Bronya shall protect Subject Cecilia from her own mental shortcomings," the girl said.
As the doors to their dorm shut, she let out a sigh and went on to finish the rest of the chores. She had been grateful to her aunt for allowing her to stay even though she wasn't formally a student. She walked into her own room, changing into her Valkyrie uniform. While her sister had taken after their mother in how she wanted to dress, she preferred their father's style.
Donning a grey button-up uniform and a black trenchcoat with wings on the back, she left their dorm.
St. Freya Academy was a large campus located in the Far East, away from the prying eyes of the Overseer. The school was massive, spanning an entire island with a large main building at the center that resembled a cathedral. Here Valkyries hopefuls were trained to fight against the ever-present enemies of mankind, the Honkai.
She was quite popular amongst the students. She was one of the youngest Valkyries that St. Freya produced, albeit unofficially.
Her walk was cut short when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. Almost immediately, she recognized the person by feeling a large warm marshmallow engulf her arm.
"Major Himeko," she said.
"Hey now, what's with that frown?" Himeko brushed her red hair out of the way. She looked at her superior with mock apprehension.
Himeko Murata was her direct superior and the squad leader of her younger sister. The redhead was the first person from St. Freya that she and her sister encountered during their escape from Nagazora. The busty redhead grinned upon seeing her junior.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just surprised because my arm is suddenly getting a paizuri from my commanding officer," she said.
"You have such a perverted sense of humor in the morning," Himeko said, pulling away from her. "Do all Kaslanas have some sort of perversion gene that makes them all perverts or something?"
"I mean… maybe?" she shrugged. Honestly, she blamed her dad at this point for how she and Cecilia turned out. Cecilia was openly perverted but was only this for one person so she could let it slide.
She, on the other hand, was quite the fan of dark lewd humor.
"I guess that's my dad's fault," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "I've tried to make sure Cecilia doesn't really do it in public. I realize how inappropriate it might be to some people."
"I'm just pulling your chain now. Don't be so serious," Himeko said.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the Hyperion right now?" she asked, wondering why the Major was wasting her time talking to her.
"Oh shit! We'll get drinks later right?" Himeko asked.
"Yeah, sure. If Aunt Teri doesn't send me anywhere, we can go to the usual place. I might even bring Cecilia with me." She grinned upon saying that.
She stood there and waved as Himeko ran off towards the Hyperion. As the older redhead retreated, she let out a sigh. Walking down the stone path of St. Freya Academy, her blue eyes wandered, watching all the younger Valkyrie hopefuls running to their classes. She remembered the time when she was just a normal girl like them. A normal girl with dreams of grandeur. But the world was not the place people made it out to be. The pistols she carried at her side signified that.
The loud sound of an engine roaring to life caught her attention. The ground rumbled slightly as she watched the Hyperion rise into the morning sky, displacing the dew around her. She could imagine Cecilia's face pressed against the window of the bridge as they took off. Feeling as if her younger sister could see her, she let out a friendly wave.
"What are you doing waving?" a voice called.
She smiled. "Nothing, Aunt Teri."
Theresa Apocalypse was a woman whose appearance did not match her age. The woman had long white hair, styled in a ponytail and draped over her shoulder. Her ice-blue eyes were similar to hers except a shade lighter. Her body was the real eye-catcher. Not in the fact that it appealed to one's more primal urges but rather that she appeared more like a sassy lost child than anything. A lost child wearing a nun's clothing and habit.
"Hmm… you remind me of an emo version of your father." Theresa walked up to her and crossed her arms as the two watched the Hyperion disappear in a sonic boom.
"I'm worried," she said.
"You're always worried."
"I promised Dad I'd look after her," she admitted.
"Cecilia's a grown woman. Your parents would be proud of the way you raised her," the older but shorter woman said. "But still, what was Siegfried thinking going and doing that. You're a child too. You didn't need to grow up as fast as you did."
"..." she stayed silent. She had often wondered what it would be like if their dad had never… She shook her head at that train of thought. There was no dwelling on the past. She had her time to grieve and now she moved forward. All for her sake. For the sake of her sister. "It's not that bad."
"You're only 18. Your sister is still 18. And yet you speak like a mom who just watched her child go to college," Theresa said.
"Well, I kind of am. I had to be her mom, dad, and sister all at the same time after what happened with dad," she said. "But it's okay. Is there something you need me to do?"
"Oh right, there is. Come on, let's take a walk and talk about it," Theresa said, walking back into the academy.
"So…?" she kept pace with her diminutive, child-like aunt. Aunt Teri has really short legs, she thought.
"There's been a minor Honkai outbreak over in Kyoto. Grandfather won't spare the forces because we're spread too thin across the West as it is. And with Himeko and the others going to Soukai, you're all we have left right now."
"I'm the only active Valkyrie on duty right now?" she asked. "That's odd. I thought Fu Hua-san was here with us."
"Fu Hua is out doing her own thing right now so she's not available. So, will you accept?" Theresa turned around and faced her niece.
"Yeah! I've been meaning to stretch my legs for a bit," she said, clenching her fist. A smile appeared on her face at the thought of being out on the field.
"Yes, yes. Now, go. We've got Helios on standby for you, Kiana."
With those words, a smile appeared on Kiana's face. And as she walked out of St. Freya, Kiana felt a breeze pass by her, billowing her coat. She closed her eyes and smiled.
It was just another day after all. Another day in St. Freya Academy.
Alright, let me clear up the whole Kiana-Cecilia issue. Cecilia is K-423. And the Kiana we see here is the original Kiana Kaslana. For those who don't know (spoilers beware), the Kiana we play as in the game is just a clone of the original Kiana Kaslana, for reasons which I will not spoil if you're not that far in the game yet. Now, you might be wondering that this is just an OC with K-423 slapped onto it. In a way, it is because she has a different name but she's still K-423. The same Mei-senpai obsessed, neko themed, PTSD having, depressed, self-loathing K-423 we know. So yeah, that's the issue I wanted to nip in the bud before it grew out of control. K-423 is Cecilia and Kiana is the original Kiana in short. Just a little tl;dr of what just happened in this chapter.