Minor notice, I have decided to make Omake 1 canon to the rest of the story, no further quick announcements from here, onto the chapter! -
Chapter 5 - Birds of a Feather
St. Freya Dormitory - Honkai Impact 3rd World - July 2016 - Four Days after the end of the previous chapter and one day after Omake 1
(Fuchou's P.O.V)
I groan as I slowly wake up from my restless slumber, another round of nightmares has been my companion during my sleep last night. As I sit up in my futon, I see that Fu Hua's own Futon is empty, meaning she's likely already awake…
I feel like I'm forgetting something important is happening today but I can't recall what, eventually I shrug my shoulders and decide it's probably not important as I snuggle back under the Futon.
I soon hear the door option behind my back, sensing my dear sister coming in and just continuing my minor nap, after all, today feels like a good day to rest. However, just as I get comfortable…..
SPLASH!
A ton of water is dumped on me as I scramble to get out of the now-drenched Futon, wearing nothing but one of Fu Hua's tunics and shorts for sleep last night as I scowl at the smirking Fu Hua holding a now empty bucket.
"You didn't have to do that sister!" I yell, furious at her for dumping water on me to likely force me out of bed for the day. Fu Hua's smirk grows ever so slightly more noticeable as she softly chuckles before adjusting her glasses, soon saying…
"You didn't have to upload that video of me yesterday either, so it's only fair as your Elder sister that I retaliate in a suitable way.." Her words were a clear shot at my own words yesterday regarding the role of being an Elder sister…
While technically Fu Hua is the real Elder sister between us, the memory gaps for Fu Hua have made that a hard thing to properly claim due to the fact I have all of her memories and she doesn't have the entire thing due to using Fenghuang Down multiple times.
I grumble before thankfully Fu Hua tosses me a towel to allow me to dry off, although I am still quite peeved as I find myself asking… "So, tell me sister, why the hell did you force me out of bed like that?"
Fu Hua just has an ominous glint coming from her glasses as she smiles, my sister puts down the bucket as she walks towards the door and retrieves a package, Fu Hua soon chuckles as she says…
"Well Fuchou, today is the first day of classes for you~!"
I freeze just as I am finishing drying my long hair, my mind slowly processing what my sister said before slowly turning to her with an expression of abject horror on my face, dropping the towel as I soon have only one response in mind….
Meanwhile - Dormitory, Squad Kitchen
(General P.O.V)
"WHAT?!"
Major Murata Himeko winces as she nurses a minor hangover with coffee, soon sighing as she realizes that the new Herrscher has woken up. She's still getting over the fact she now has to look over a Herrscher of all things as one of her girls, although thankfully said Herrscher has been surprisingly consistent in her actions…
While Himeko is very much happy that a Herrscher has willingly chosen the side of Humanity, she just wishes that she wasn't the one to handle her at times. Although worries about Fuchou harming her girls have been dispelled on the very first day, that doesn't mean she can should stop keeping an eye on her…
The video that's currently uploaded on the Schicksal public servers is enough proof that even though the Herrscher has no desire to harm humanity, she's very much a handful regardless. Said video has already garnered interest from Schicksal recruiters to potentially have Fu Hua become a dance model in her spare time…
Something that Fu Hua, Himeko herself, and surprisingly Fuchou of all people put a stop to on day one, although if one were to ask Himeko why Fuchou had Intervened when she had sent the video on the same day…
"Possessive, that one…." Himeko says as she sips her coffee. While many might not notice, Himeko has seen several signs of PTSD in the Herrscher of Sentience, resulting in her seemingly being unwilling to part with her new sister for any longer than a day or two…
While that alone isn't enough, Himeko has learned that Fuchou has been experiencing nightmares regarding those she apparently lost according to Fu Hua herself. While Himeko is considering getting a therapist for Fuchou, she is worried that no Therapist would willingly undertake it on the account it's a Herrscher that's the patient.
However, as she looks over to Bronya on the couch playing video games and Mei making breakfast for everyone, she can't help but note that Kiana isn't up yet which is a surprise. Now that Himeko thinks about it, Kiana has been waking up late ever since Fuchou became a part of the squad…
Before Himeko can get up to go check on Kiana, the young woman herself finally emerges from her room and looks fairly lethargic. As the Kaslana Scion makes her way to the table, she greets everyone with a weak smile, the girl looking fairly troubled and quiet today as she sits down…
Mei eventually comes over with breakfast and looks at Kiana concerned at her present state, placing waffles, bacon, and egg plates where everyone will be sitting at the table. As she soon takes a seat next to Kiana, she looks at the haggard-looking Kiana before saying…
"Kiana-chan, are you ok…?" Kiana looks up at Mei, giving her a bright smile as she gives a slightly shaky nod, not wanting to worry her beloved Mei-senpai, she soon finds herself responding to the question by saying…
"I'm f-fine Mei-Senpai, just felt like sleeping in hehehehe…" Mei looks at Kiana with concern on her face before she slowly nods, seeming to accept the response. However, it's clear that Kiana isn't fooling anyone with the false bravado as it is becoming clearer and clearer something is up with the White-haired Valkyrie…
However, before anyone can comment on it, they soon hear footsteps coming from down the hall…
[P.O.V Shift]
(Fuchou's P.O.V)
I grumble as I find myself wearing a white militaristic Uniform that resembles Kiana's own, not at all happy that I can't just go in my usual outfit but my sister was quite firm in her insistence regarding me wearing the Uniform.
As Fu Hua smiles and walks out from behind me, I can see that everyone is staring at me in the pristine white military style of the academy uniform, making me feel slightly embarrassed by all the stares.
I can feel my eyebrows twitching, growing increasingly annoyed by the silent stares as I soon find myself saying… "Hey, I know I'm hot shit and all, but can you stop staring at me like I've broken some fundamental law of nature?!"
At that I see everyone come out of whatever daze as I can see a sly grin on Himeko's face appear, walking over with barely repressed amusement in her expression before she looks me over, examining my uniform quite intently and making me feel like I'm under a damn microscope by this busty redhead…
"Well well, looks like you really are Fu Hua's sister when you're dressed up so neatly, although I wonder how many will mistake you for your sister~" Major Himeko says, making my eyes widen as I have to visibly repress a groan coming from my lips, my annoyance just making Himeko just grin at me even more as she seems to enjoy this…
I briefly spot Bronya still silently staring, although more akin to analyzing me at this point rather than just staring at me. It's strange how…muted Bronya here feels compared to her future self, the memory of which flashing in my mind at the mere thought of her future as I try my best to hide the pain I feel from the memory.
It's then I turn to look at Mei and Kiana, with Mei giving me a gentle, comforting smile as she waves good morning to me. As for Kiana though, I have noticed something….off about her as of late, but she ever so faintly feels a slight bit like her future self.
The thing is, Kiana shouldn't be a Herrscher right now so I don't know why I am detecting such things from her. As I continue pondering it, I wonder if I've forgotten something crucial regarding Kiana around this time.
However, before I can even consider trying to recall what is going on using Fu Hua's memories on the matter regarding this mystery, I feel Himeko's hand ruffling my fucking hair as I scowl at her. She eventually pulls her hand away and I quickly put my hair back in order as Himeko soon says…
"Well then, good luck with class Fuchou~!" Himeko says as she walks toward the kitchen and grabs, of all fucking things, a bottle of booze and quickly goes into her room to drink it in peace. Eventually, I walk over to Kiana, hoping to see if she's alright as I can tell she's not been sleeping well lately…
But before I can get a word in at all, Fu Hua taps me on the shoulder and points to the time, making me realize I should probably eat something real quick before I head to class because, if I am doing this whole class thing, I ain't doing it while I'm hungry!
St. Freiya Academy - Two Hours later
(Fuchou's P.O.V)
"Class dismissed for the mandatory lunch break, everyone please make sure to return in 0200 hours in order to resume the final lesson today, we'll be going over the basic fundamentals of Valkyrie battle suits during that lesson so don't be late!" The class instructor says as the various other attendees of St. Freiya get up from their seat and begin to mingle with each other.
Me, I just groan as my head throbs from having to recall so much information at once from the thousands of years of memories I have in my head. I think that the only reason I was able to get by and do so well is the memories I have from my sister during her 50,000-year-long existence so I basically have a wellspring of knowledge regarding all this to draw on…
Both fortunately and unfortunately this led everyone to conclude I was indeed Fu Hua's sister, good in the sense that it's no longer in question that we're related, not so good because I have been mistaken for my dear sister three times already, and I'm in the same fucking class as her!
Considering a keen eye tends to be a requirement to advance as a Valkyrie, I doubt those who mistook me for my sister will advance far if at all. Still, it's not like there have not been people that beat the odds stacked against them…speaking of one such person…
I glance over at Kiana as I can see her frustrated over some of the homework she's been handed in a class before I was brought in, so I stand up from my seat and walk on over. Kiana is so engrossed in her frustration and whatever troubles she's been having lately that she doesn't notice me until my hand on her shoulder, surprising her as she looks up at me.
"Hey there Kiana, need a hand with the homework..?" I ask her with a smirk on my face, Kiana frowns as she thinks about it for a moment before she slowly nods as she slides her homework over to me to look over…
Glancing at it, I find myself both amused and slightly disbelieving considering that this is who I'd be beaten by in the future…fuck, stop it Fuchou, you shouldn't think about that…
I shake my head to dispel any potential mental pitfalls thinking about that stuff before I place the homework down and bend over, grinning as I come close to the cute little Kaslana before I soon say… "Yea, I can help you with this…."
Kiana immediately perks up at the offer, the white-haired young woman soon smiles brightly before asking... "Really?!"
I nod my head as with Fu Hua's long list of experiences I should be able to guide her to the correct answer without flat out giving her the answers themselves. Before long I find myself sitting down next to her and spending the next two hours of our lunch helping Kiana finish her homework…
While I am unfortunately not able to get lunch, helping Kiana with stuff like this feels….good, good enough that I can almost entirely ignore my stomach grumbling. Well….like I said though, almost….
St. Freya Dormitory - Four Hours later
(General P.O.V)
Raiden Mei frowns as she is struggling slightly to make a cake of all things, although this is mostly due to the fact it's not a regular cake but a complicated cheesecake that she's having to follow the recipe for due to inexperience in making cheesecakes right now…
Soon she sees Fuchou coming into the Kitchen as she is grabbing a bite to eat to stave off the hunger she feels right now. As the Herrscher of Sentience reaches for an apple, eating it hungrily before she notices Mei staring at her, freezing as she looks at all the cooking going on, then the apple she was eating…
"Uuuuuh…did you need this for whatever you're making…?" Fuchou asks, making Mei shake her head as she looks back to the still unfinished mix as she isn't sure if she'll have it all ready in time.
However, much to her surprise Fuchou comes over and starts to work on the eggs after reading the recipe briefly. Realizing what Fuchou is trying to do to help, she smiles and begins to work on the rest of the cheesecake to ensure it's ready for dessert tonight.
Although it does seem like the Herrscher is not exactly the best cook herself, she is working quite diligently to follow the recipe to the letter which at least helps ensure this doesn't end up a dud of a cheesecake.
As the two women work over the course of an hour to prepare the cheesecake, Raiden Mei begins to direct the Herrscher of Sentience regarding how she wants to decorate the cheesecake with Fuchou herself adding some minor flourishes herself that add to the overall intended look of the cake.
With the Icing design sorted, all that remains is to finish the cake mix itself and carefully bake the cake itself, as the two wait and start a conversation…
"Fuchou-san, may I ask you something…?" Mei says, with Fuchou slowly nodding as she is curious as to what Mei is wanting to as someone like her, the question itself slightly surprises her as Mei soon then goes to ask…
"How did you become a Herrscher….?" Fuchou's mind briefly flashed back to her body slumped on the floor, bleeding out from a gunshot as Otto's words that signaled her birth echoed into her mind…
I do not lie Master Jingwei…
Fuchou grits her teeth as she shakes her head rapidly to not let the resentment from both old-timer and herself leak into her words as she soon says… "It was not by choice Ms. Raiden, It was by betrayal from someone I and my sister trusted…..thankfully they will not repeat their mistake…"
Mei's eyes widen as she can see the raw pain and anger on Fuchou's expression, the subtle twitches of the grey-haired woman's delicate fingers that shows just how much she's holding back her rage.
What does surprise her however is the fact she doesn't seem to be releasing any Honkai Energy with her anger, which leads the Ravenette to her next question, which she soon asks… "...Fuchou, if I may ask…how is it you have such control over your nature that you don't destroy things with your power…?"
At this, Fuchou raises an eyebrow as she slowly closes her eyes, pondering how to answer before she has a mischievous grin on her face, before saying… "Why it's this Bracer I have on me, it really helps with dealing with any corrupting properties of my power from the Honkai part of it so I don't have to worry…"
Mei looks at the bracer that she displays on her left arm, seeing that it looks rather ornate, and wonders if the bracer is from some sort of family legacy left to the two sisters, speculation of course but still it leads Mei to ask…
"Is that why your sister has one on as well, to protect her from any harmful effects of your own power…?" This makes Fuchou chuckle and give a playful smile before nodding in affirmation to Mei's theory, the Herrscher of Sentience soon seemingly considers something for a moment before she asks…
"Why do you ask, hoping to get one for yourself..?" This makes Mei slowly nod, seemingly catching Fuchou off-guard as Mei soon hesitantly explains her previous troubles with the Herrscher of Thunder within her and believes that one of Fuchou's bracers could help with ensuring she never loses control of herself like before, if there are any more at this point…
Fuchou soon smirks as she walks off to her and Fu Hua's room, intending to make it look like she's getting the bracer from their room when in actuality, she's taking it out of the pocket space storage she has her ever-refreshing stock of unbound bracers in.
She soon walks over with the unused bracer in tow, showing it to Mei as she soon says… "Mind you, the effects of the bracer need to take a bit of time to properly adjust to your specific body so I'd say….three days before you see the full impact of the bracer's effects~"
As Fuchou holds out the bracer for Raiden Mei to take, the Ravenette girl hesitates for a moment before grabbing the bracer from the Herrscher of Sentience's grasp and puts it on her own left arm, the bracer automatically adjusting to her forearm's size and locking itself onto Raiden Mei's arm.
As Mei admires the bracer, she soon finds herself asking… "Do you happen to have any more of these, just in-case it breaks or something..?" This makes Fuchou shake her head in a negative fashion as she soon responds by saying…
"Nah, this was the only spare I have until I find the material to make more.." However, this is a flat out lie, one that Mei doesn't pick up on due to not knowing any better, nor has Fuchou told her the full list of effects of the bracer…
However, it's all that Mei needed to hear to put it on in the end, so Fuchou and Mei soon refocus on the cheesecake that had only now finished baking, bringing it out of the oven in order to begin putting on the decorative Icing.
Later, when the cake is finally unveiled to the entire squad, Fuchou is quick to try and hide her part in making the cake as she tries to spin a tale that Mei worked tirelessly on her own to make the cake while she could only watch with admiration…
But Mei is quick to put a stop to that as she is not willing to let Fuchou try to put all the credit on her, especially if the bracer's effects turn out to be true as she quickly gives the truth of what happened, although hiding the conversation they had with only a passing mention of the bracer now on her arm.
Before long as everyone begins to eat the cheesecake the two have baked together, Raiden Mei notices that there is a wistful, longing smile on her face for the briefest of moments that speaks of her grief and pain…
Leading Mei to wonder exactly what kind of betrayal it was that made her the way she is now….
St. Freiya Dormitory, Kiana's room - That night
(General P.O.V)
Kiana's sleeping form twists and turns, gripping the sheets of her bed as she seems to be struggling in her dream, as if tormented by something that she can't actually deal with as sweat pours down her forehead.
However, Kiana inside her dream, the Kaslana scion is worse off than she is when she is awake…
Kiana's Dream - ? - ?
(Kiana's P.O.V)
It's so cold….
I can feel myself shivering as I walk through the snow in this blizzard, searching for her, for Mama, I don't know why she's here, but I know she is. "MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I scream into the endless void of white snow…
For brief moments I hear a young girl laughing as if she's mocking me, well I won't give up, I will find Mama!
I feel another shiver run down my spine as I try to keep warm, to keep moving in order to find my Mama. It's all I can really do right now, the blizzard isn't ending and I can't see Mama anywhere…
Eventually, I find myself tripping over something in the snow, the arm of a strange mech that I feel like I should know. I shake my head, not wanting to focus on it right now as I pick myself up and soon see more and more destroyed mechs…
As I walk past the destroyed mechs, I see someone laying in the snow, some sort of lance thing sticking out of them. Getting closer, I see that the lance looks like it came from some sort of Honkai beast…it feels so….strangely familiar…
It's then I look to see who it is it's impaling and freezing, No I don't want to believe it…
"M-mama…?"
I slowly reach out, hands shaking as I can feel my heart shattering into pieces as I gently brush away the snow from Mama's face, her eyes glazed over as if she….
"M-mama….w-wake up…please….." I ask, my eyes prickling with tears as I try to wake her up from her nap, It has to be a nap, IT HAS TO BE A NAP, MAMA, MAMA!
"MAMA, PLEASE WAKE UP!" I cry out before I fall to my knees entirely, sobbing as I can't wake mama up…she won't wake up….
"W-why…WHY WHY WHY?!" I scream out, I don't want mama to die, I don't want to lose my mama!
As I feel myself pass out while cradling mama, I hear a young girl's voice soon say….
"Just a little more now, and you'll be Ready~"
Why Mama….
Why did you have to die….?
Author's Notes
Well shit, looks like things are starting to get real…
Whelp, I did say this would be a monthly release and well, I have delivered as promised.
Right, let's get down to the plot discussions.
The Choice to make Omake 1 Canon
Honestly, from what I've seen the reception of the Omake was quite good so I figured it would be good world-building for the story. Plus it adds a moment of levity before the heavier stuff this chapter threw into the pot.
Himeko's analysis of Fuchou
I wanted to show that as the leader of this particular squad, Himeko does actually keep note of the state of her girls, with Fuchou now being one of them. This also leads her to notice the PTSD Fuchou is undergoing as well as gives further insight into others thoughts regarding Fuchou's existence in St. Freiya.
Fuchou bonding with Kiana and Mei
The scene with Kiana was an interesting one as I do recall that Kiana tends to be one who doesn't do well with the written exams compared to the physical exams, so she would also struggle with homework at times which I swear I have read a comic or two regarding this exact premise, think it had Bronya in it.
So Fuchou, having the knowledge that Fu Hua has built up over the 50,000~ Years of living essentially means that she is in a position to help the struggling Kaslana with her homework.
Now, regarding Mei...
This bit has two purposes.
The first is for them to bond, of course, working together over Mei's hobby to make a cake for everyone in the squad. While I had originally intended for the two to compete to make a cake for Kiana, I realized that I didn't give Fuchou the Faeire Feast perk so I scrapped that original idea.
However, this led to the second purpose by accident, the binding of one Raiden Mei. This is Fuchou Jingshen, the Herrscher of Sentience, once more trying to live up to the memes that the HI3 fandom has built for her…
Seriously, sketchy car salesman Senti is unironically fitting.
Kiana's Dream Scene
This is where we start going through some major butterflies brought on by Fuchou's mere presence around Kiana. Kiana has been going through these nightmares for days now and well, I have a very specific scenario in mind for what will happen in the next chapter~
So, Next time on Sentient Wrath: The Truth behind Kiana Kaslana and Sentience against the Void.
Oh I can't wait for the next chapter next month~!