Chapter 4 - First Snow in Autumn II
The crisp morning air fluttered through the school grounds of the famous Valkyrie Training School. Flocks of sparrows roosted on the trees that had been planted in a fashion that would be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Their chirping was accompanied by the chatters of the future warriors of Schicksal as the trainees made their way across the campus to their scheduled classes walking in colorful groups.
However, one stood out among them. For two reasons.
Firstly, the lone student who walked alone. It wasn't that he was antisocial or refused to make any friends. On the contrary, back during his threes at Schicksal Prep, he had a nice little group with the gender ratio split rather evenly. And speaking of gender ratio, this student had the privilege…or perhaps depending on how one would look at it, the disadvantage, of being the first and currently, the only male student attending an all-girls school.
Adam looked up at the large buildings, designed in a gothic style, built out of ivory-colored stone with azure-tiled rooftops and spires.
A month had passed since his arrival and he had yet to be put in a squad. Out of all his peers, he was one of the handfuls of students who hadn't been sorted yet. He wasn't sure why the others were still squad-less but he had a fairly good idea of his situation.
To his admission was controversial would be a very big understatement. Schicksal was thrown into chaos at the suggestion, Adam had even heard rumors that some internal units threatened to splinter off and become some sort of Anti-Entropy 2.0. Needless to say, there was a brief spike of internal strife that had the potential to break out into some type of silent civil war. All because of the suggestion for a boy with a Natural Stigma to be trained at St. Freya Academy. The boy in question had always found their reactions strange and seeping with a sort of prejudice. It was also strange that it was only the higher-ups disapproving of his attendance and giving him problems, ironically, the Valkyries-in-training themselves had all accepted him into their cohort rather quickly.
In their records, Schicksal had evidence of deploying a good number of male Valkyries known as [ Knights ] throughout their long history. Heck, if the rumors were true, then several Knights had already been recently employed within the organization. So what was so scandalous about him entering St. Freya?
To this day Adam had never found the answer to that. He never bothered to. All he knew was that some compromises were made for him to be accepted as a student. He knew that the higher-ups were watching him which is why he never tried anything funny.
When they expected him to peep on the girls while they were changing, he was always the first one to arrive at the training grounds.
When they expected him to accept the invitations and party with the girls on the weekends from dawn to dusk, he instead declined and spent that time studying, completing his assignments, and polishing his combat skills.
When they expected him to flop, he rose to the top of the weekly rankings in nearly all subjects.
Despite many of the senior officers of Schicksal biting their nails in frustration at his unpredicted success, the Overseer was grinning with contempt. It was she, who accepted and finalized the enrollment. The boy raised by the Celestial was showing immense promise and proved himself in rising to become one of her best warriors in the near future. To her, it didn't matter if you were male or female, young or old, of the east or the west, as long as you had the everlasting flames of resolve, compassion, and desire to fight for all that is beautiful in the world, then you had a place among St. Freya and Schicksal's grand halls.
As Adam walked into the classroom, several of his classmates greeted him with a 'good morning' which he politely returned, before making his way to his seat. If memory served him correctly, then the first lesson of the day would be history. This semester's subject was the first Honkai Eruption in Berlin, January 1st, 1952.
Just as he was about to get his books out, an announcement blared through the loudspeakers, catching everyone's attention.
[ ATTENTION. Student - Adam. Student - Adam. Please report to the Principal's office immediately. REPEAT, Please report to the Principal's office immediately. Thank You ]
In a single second, the black-haired teen could feel all eyes turn to him. An awkward silence drifted throughout the classroom and with the pressure of the dozens of pairs of eyes aimed directly at him, Adam knew that he had no other choice. He zipped up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and trotted out of the classroom.
There was quite a bit of distance from his classroom to the Principal's office seeing as it was on the top floor, but eventually, he arrived.
Adam knocked on the large set of mahogany doors and waited for a response.
"Come in,"
The boy complied and the luxurious wooden doors creaked open as he stepped inside.
The office was large and spacious. Tall bookshelves lined the walls on the side, there was a pair of leather couches in the center placed upon an expensive-looking rug. At the end of the office, two large windows reached up to the ceiling. In front of those windows was a long, polished, wooden desk with a mountain of paperwork and books neatly stacked on one side, and on the other side was a large holographic monitor.
Sitting at the desk was a woman with crystal-blue eyes and snow-white hair, styled in a long braid that reached down to her hips. She wore the attire of a nun with added orange accents to the outfit, giving the traditional garment a more 'modern' look.
As Adam approached her desk, she looked up from the document she was reading and gave him a welcoming smile.
"Good morning, Adam,"
The black-haired teen dipped his head respectfully, "Good morning, Principal Amber,"
"Please, take a seat," when the boy got comfortable on the couch, she continued, "So, you've been here for a month now, I've been meaning to ask, how are you finding St. Freya?"
Adam thought a bit before responding, "It's not as intense as I originally thought it would be. In all honesty, it feels similar to Schicksal Prep, just more advanced with a lot more focus put into combat training and the biology of Honkai Beasts. Not that it's a bad thing of course,"
Amber nodded in understanding, "How about your personal life? Is it comfortable here?"
"It took a week to get used to living alone but I think I'm doing alright," he replied.
"I see," hummed the android, "That's good to know,"
Adam raised an eyebrow, "Principal Amber, you didn't call me to your office during class time just to ask me all of this, did you?"
"Student feedback is fundamental for us to make improvements to campus life so you can create many fond memories to look back on in the future while building the necessary skills to defend humanity," answered the white-haired cyborg.
The boy looked confused, "Can't you guys just send a virtual survey or something?"
"We do every three months, but since you're the first male student, I wanted to hear it from you personally," said Amber, "But if you're wondering, no, this isn't the complete reason why I've called you in today,"
"The Overseer and I have been monitoring your results and performance since your first day. We both agree that you're showing excellent promise and will become a fine Knight of Schicksal when you graduate. Thus, we have decided that the time has come for you to be assigned to a Squad,"
Adam blinked as the words registered in his mind.
"R-Really?" he stammered with his eyebrows slowly rising, "A Squad? Like with an A or S-Ranked Valkryie Instructor? And to go on missions and all that?"
Amber smiled and simply nodded her response.
The teen couldn't believe it, for the longest time he had thought that he would be going solo for his entire duration at the Academy. Potentially acting as a filler member for Squads who needed a temporary replacement, or as field-backup, or something of the likes. He never expected to be allocated to a Squad, especially this early.
"You've been adjourned from today's classes to meet and get acquainted with your new Instructor and squadmate," explained Amber, "She should be meeting you at Training Field 5. She's a rather understanding and patient person, but you best not keep her waiting. She might be the scariest S-Rank we have when angered,"
"Yes, Principal Amber!" Adam saluted before bolting out the door with a new destination set in mind.
He had never exited the building that fast in his life. Within mere minutes he was rushing across the expansive campus grounds towards the fifth training field.
In the distance, he could see the silhouette of his new instructor leaning against a pillar, and inspecting her weapon, a katana, checking if it needed any maintenance.
As he got closer, he could see her more clearly.
It was a beautiful woman looking to be in her early twenties with long, silky, dark-purple hair cascaded down her back. Her iridescent eyes were a mixture of blue and purple hues, her gaze was sharp yet relaxed with years of battle-hardened experience hidden behind a gentle exterior. She wore an elegantly tailored, black and white battlesuit that revealed her shoulders, with wing-like details on the sleeves and dark leggings.
Hearing his rapid steps, the woman looked up and grinned at the approaching teen, as she pushed herself off the pillar.
Adam slowed until he came to a stop, slightly huffing from sprinting across the academy. Why did Training Field Five have to be on the opposite side of the campus?
As he was catching his breath, the purple-haired woman took the initiative and spoke first.
"Good morning, you must be 'Adam', correct?" she asked.
The black-haired teen immediately straightened up and stood at attention, replying seriously, "Yes Instructor,"
The woman hummed, closing her eyes she nodded, before spinning around and putting a bit of distance between the two of them. It was as if she was pondering a question that had no easy answer, though the upward curve of her lips never faltered.
Adam stiffened, he could not read the meaning behind the S-Rank Valkyrie's actions. Was she having second thoughts about him being in her Squad? Did she choose to add him herself? Or was this a decision made by the Overseer that she couldn't avoid? …And where were the other members? Surely there was no way it was going to be a two-person squad?... Right?
Before his mind could drift even further, the Valkyrie swirled back around with a satisfied look on her face.
"Well then, Adam, I believe introductions are in order," she said.
"Is…Is it just us two?" the boy asked.
The purple-haired valkyrie shook her head, "There's one more, but it seems that she decided to skip school today so we won't be seeing her until tomorrow,"
"Oh, okay,"
"So for the rest of the day, it'll just be the both of us,"
Adam nodded, his muscles relaxing from his formerly static state.
"As your senior at Schicksal and St. Freya, it's only appropriate for me to introduce myself first,"
She placed a graceful hand over her chest as she peered into Adam's golden eyes with her vibrant purple ones.
"My name is Raiden Mei, from today onward, I will be your new Squad Leader,"
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...
"My name is Raiden Mei, I hope we can get along,"
Adam could feel his pupils tremble and his breathing shake as he was hit by an immense wave of deja-vu, the largest he had experienced yet.
Staring into the eyes of a teenage Mei, he realized how much they bordered on the line between familiar and stranger. No longer did they hold the sharpness sculpted from years of combating the Honkai, and no longer did they hold the hints of sorrow from witnessing the deaths of millions, including her loved ones. The eyes of the current Mei were large and innocent, carrying an aura of kindness, the same kindness that her future self had retained.
Even the eye color between the Mei in front of him and the one he knew was different, as the former was lacking the vibrant, electric shades of purple and blue, instead, they were a plain violet.
Perhaps it was a lasting side-effect of being a Herrscher?
"Is…Is there something on my face, Adam-san?"
It was then the black-haired teen realized that he had been staring for too long, and most likely made the girl uncomfortable.
He immediately darted his gaze to the side, and scratched the back of his head, "N-No, sorry, I'm just…I-I…um…,"
Adam paused, taking in a deep, calming, breath before continuing.
"I come from a humble village in the mountains and this is my first time being a bodyguard, so please forgive me for my reaction, I will admit I'm a bit overwhelmed. I never expected that my very first client be someone of my age yet already possess such high class and fame,"
'...That is the most professional and formal I've sounded in a long time,'
To his surprise, Mei simply nodded in understanding.
"Yes, my father called me last night, informing me of your background and situation," she said, "I must say, it's courageous of you to leave everything you know behind for a new life elsewhere,"
"It's…nothing really," the teen replied bashfully.
"On the contrary, I think it's quite admirable," replied Mei, "To be honest, even if I was given the chance, I don't think I'll ever be able to do as you have,"
'And it's not just because I don't think I'm brave enough,' the purple-haired girl added mentally, 'I can't let father down and sully the Raiden name,'
On the other hand, Adam averted his gaze to the ground, it wasn't the first time he had been complimented by Mei, but it was rare as his Squad Leader though caring and kind the majority of the time, was a terrifying and strict entity when it came to training the mind and body. Thinking on it more clearly, the only times he had even been complimented by the former Herrscher were both during their mission in St. Fontaine. It was safe to say, the black-haired teen wasn't used to it.
A silent gust of wind blew by the rooftop, rustling the duo's hair as well as their uniform.
"Well, I just came up here to say," Mei's voice brought the teen back into the present, bringing his eyes back up to hers, "Please don't be burdened by your task of protecting me. It's your first time in Nagazora, as well as attending high school in Nagazora, isn't it? I'd hate it if your duty to me interferes with your experience here. This is a time in our lives where many relationships and unforgettable memories are born, so please, enjoy your time here as well, okay?"
"...I–,"
Mei put a finger up to her lips, "No 'buts' Adam-san, if it's difficult to put the responsibility my father gave you to watch over me aside, then I won't hesitate to turn my words into an 'order',"
"S-Sorry,"
"You needn't worry too much, Adam-san, I'm not vulnerable, I know how to defend myself,"
"I didn't mean to presume—,"
"It's quite alright, many think the same due to the stereotypes of my position as a CEO's only daughter," With a grin, the heiress put her hands behind her back and slightly leaned her body to the side, "But that's all the more reason to prove them wrong, is it not?"
"Y-Yeah," nodded Adam.
"Then I'm glad we've come to an understanding," the heiress straightened back up, and brushed a strand of purple out of her face, "Oh, but please don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the efforts my father and you are taking for my safety,"
'But I haven't done anything much yet, this is literally my second day on the job,' thought Adam, absentmindedly folding his arms, 'Although, I guess this means Squad Leader has given me permission to ignore the 'Stick-by-her-side-at-all-times' thing her dad told me to do,'
A subtle smile twitch on his face, he felt as if a heavy boulder had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders. He knew that it was going to be an absolute pain to shadow Mei everywhere, but her reassurance had relieved him of any future stress. However, there was a spark of thought at the back of his head, a spark that was slightly disappointed by the change, and a spark that was quickly quenched by the teen before it could catch on and burn any further.
'There's a line I cannot cross, whether in the past, the future, or the present, she's still my Squad Leader,'
Mei suddenly clapped her hands together, "Ah! I have an idea,"
"What is it?"
"Are you familiar with the Club system, Adam-san?"
"I've watched enough anime to get an understanding,"
"Then do you have one in mind?" she asked and received a shake of his head but that only caused her grin to grow wider.
'What's she plotting?'
"In that case why don't you come and check out the Kendo Club after school today?" the heiress suggested.
"The Kendo Club?" he echoed.
Mei bobbed her head, "It's not much but I want to help you get the full Nagazora High School experience as a way of paying you back for your troubles. And there's no better way than joining a club, Chiba Academy is famous for them,"
"I see, but why kendo?"
"Well, as it turns out, all new students have a week to trial the many different clubs to see which one is to their liking before filling out the admission form," explained Mei, "As your client and deskmate, I'm simply helping you in getting a headstart, just in case you're the type of person to overthink things and never make a decision,"
Adam felt her words turn into arrows and impale into his chest, 'Argh! How does she already know?'
Mei giggled with a hand over her mouth at his reaction, "Right on the mark, aren't I?"
"I'm trying to fix it," he admitted.
"If that's not enough of a reason to come to the club today, you can always just say that it's because you're simply watching over me as a part of your job,"
Adam's gaze flicked to the side as the thought briefly rushed through, "That's true,"
"Great, I'll see you later then, Adam-san,"
With that, Mei spun on her heels and headed for the rooftop's exit
As he watched the door close behind her, he sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky.
"As expected of Squad Leader Mei, even in the past, she doesn't take 'no' for an answer, does she?"
Shortly after his talk with Mei, the lunch break came to an end and classes resumed until the last bell of the day rang through the campus.
The classroom bustled with noise as the students went about their daily schedules, with the clubs resuming on the second day, and the excited chatter of teenagers echoed through the hallways as they made their way to their respective clubrooms.
As Adam was packing away his things, Mei glided past him and a small piece of paper was stealthily slipped onto his desk.
He picked it up and unfolded it.
[ Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier, the clubroom is in the gymnasium, room 1-A, ]
'1-A? Not the main hall?' he wondered as he stuffed the paper into his bag before slinging it around his shoulder and standing from his desk.
Just as he was about to leave the classroom, the teacher called out to him.
"Ah, Adam-san, please wait a moment,"
The teen turned around, "Is something up, Amano-sensei?"
"Sorry to bother you, but I have a favor to ask of you if you're up to it?"
Adam nodded, "It's not a problem, sensei,"
"Thank you, Adam-san," replied Amano as he gathered a small stack of paper to insert into a folder.
Then he walked over to Adam and handed him the folder, the boy took it and held back the confusion from being expressed.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Notes and homework compiled from today's classes," said Amano, "They need to be delivered, I would've done it myself but I have a few matters to attend to this afternoon,"
"Certainly, do I take this to the teacher's office then?"
"No, not the office," Amano shook his head before he revealed, "I need you to deliver them to your classmate who was absent today, Asakura Miyuki,"
Adam stiffened before he quickly shook it away.
"Of course, but I don't know where she lives," he replied, hoping that his shock wasn't noticeable.
"I know, I put a note of her address on the folder," said the teacher, "It's on the other side,"
Adam flipped the folder around and true to his words, a small sticky note was attached with the address written in black pen.
"…I'm going to trial a club this afternoon so is it okay if I deliver it a bit late?" he asked.
Amano nodded, "That's fine, as long as it's today and not too late in the evening,"
"Then leave it to me, sensei," stated Adam, he straightened his posture instinctively, which got a raised eyebrow from the teacher and a small huff of amusement.
"Very well, Adam-san, once again I apologize for burdening you with this task,"
"It's nothing, sensei," affirmed the teen.
Bidding their goodbyes, the teacher and student parted ways with the latter making his way to the gymnasium.
As he crossed the field towards his destination, he looked down at the folder still in his hands.
'...Asakura Miyuki… Well, I guess this gives me the chance to return her ID and check on her…though that is if she doesn't hate me and freak out when she sees me again. Maybe I should just give it to her parents and they can pass it on instead, yeah, that seems like the better option,'
Adam reached into his pocket and fished out the ID of the girl, he glanced at the photo where she was barely smiling, before slipping the ID into the folder. Better to hand everything over at once than separately.
When he entered the gym he started looking for the kendo clubroom. Following the signs posted on the wall, he was sure he was going in the right direction. As he walked he glanced through the window at the gymnasium's main hall. The basketball and volleyball clubs were present, divided by a large net barrier, and had already started to warm up.
Soon, he stood in front of a set of double doors, next to it was a small plaque that had [ 1-A ] etched into it, and right below in small letters were the words [ Kendo Club ].
Having confirmed that this was the right place, Adam pushed open the doors and the sight would've been rather bewildering if he hadn't attended a Valkyrie school that is.
To call the place a classroom would be inaccurate. Chiba Academy had the entire room renovated and turned into a dojo. The floor was a polished, pale timber that reflected the lights above. Along one side of the wall were racks of traditional kendo bokkens and armor sets, and on the other side, there was a long row of benches. At the very end of the room, on the wall, there was the Chiba Academy crest and just above it was a calligraphy display.
Suddenly, a loud clack rang out through the room as two students dressed in practice gear clashed swords and quickly separated. The rest of them, who were also donned in the training armor, were sitting or standing around the duo, observing their match.
'Yep, definitely the right place,'
"Oh, you made it,"
Adam nearly jumped as Mei appeared behind him.
He stilled himself and replied, "It wasn't hard to find,"
The heiress simply nodded and walked on ahead, waving for him to follow, "Come on, I'll introduce you to the members,"
It was almost as if the entire club had been waiting for Mei, the moment she approached, the practice match stopped and all of their attention was turned towards her.
"Mei-san, you're here," one of the girls called out, she had light-brown hair in a side ponytail. Adam recognized her, she was the one who came to pick up Mei at lunch yesterday. What was her name again…?
"Sachi-san, good to see you,"
Oh, that's right, Sachi.
"Raiden-sama,"
"Raiden-san,"
"Mei-sama,"
The chorus of greetings from the other members flowed through the clubroom, with the heiress returning each of them.
One of the students that had been in the practice match, removed their helmet, revealing a tall male student with short light-gray hair, a red headband, and a chiseled face.
"Oho~? Raiden, who's this?" he asked with a hearty grin.
"Ichirou-senpai, this is Adam, a new international student in my class from Shenzhou," Mei told him as she gestured to the black-haired teen beside her, "He's here to trial the kendo club,"
"Ahahaha! Another newbie! I'm so glad, all are welcome to the mighty and undefeated Chiba Academy Kendo Club!" his voice boomed, vibrating the entire clubroom.
Unbothered by the loudness, Mei then turned to Adam, whose ears were ringing, and gestured towards Ichirou, "Adam-san, this is—,"
"Please Raiden, allow me to introduce myself," he said as he combed back his hair.
Mei nodded and stepped to the side.
Ichirou strutted up to Adam, his helmet tucked under his arm and the bokken in his other hand. He bowed which the teen returned before both of them stood straight again.
"The name's A-Ra-Ta-Ki Ichirou!" he began, pointing to himself with his thumb, "Third-year of Chiba Academy. President of the Kendo Club for two years. Winner of the 38th annual Nagazora Card Battle Tournament. Expert Drum Player. King of Rhythm Games. Proud collector of Onikabuto Beetles - my ace is Nimble Ninja by the way. Upcoming champion of the Beetle Bash tournament. Hater of all things beans, aaaand the academy's resident male heartthrob! Gyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha—aghck!"
Ichirou lurched to the side as a stern Sachi elbowed him in the kidney, "Control yourself, prez, you'll scare away the new recruit,"
"Okayokayokay," he gasped on the ground, recovering from the strike.
Sachi grinned sweetly at Adam, her demeanor flipping a complete switch, "Good afternoon, I'm Kuki Sachi, vice president of the Kendo Club and fellow second-year, nice to meet you, and welcome,"
"It's nice to meet you both, my name is Adam, due to some complicated familial situations, I currently don't have a family name," the black-haired teen introduced himself, "As Raiden-san said, I'm an international student from Shenzhou and am looking to trial the Kendo Club,"
With this, the other members of the club greeted him one by one in an almost militaristic style. Something that reminded Adam more so of the Prep Academy rather than St. Freya. Though he couldn't help but notice that some of them were trembling, he looked over to the side and noticed Sachi standing there leering at the members with an intense glint in her eyes, and a heavy, pressuring aura flooding out of her.
"So newbie, you said you wanted to try the club right?" Ichirou, now all healed up, strolled over to Adam.
"That's right, I heard Chiba Academy is famous for its club system, and Raiden-san recommended it so I came to check it out,"
Ichirou suddenly gasped as tears welled up in his eyes.
Adam was taken aback by the abrupt change of emotion, "A-Are you okay?"
"Raiden…recommended you to…check us out?" he said between hiccups.
"Ah…yes?"
"I'm so proud…our ace, our shogun, our one and oni…this is the first time…," the club president wept into the crook of his arm, "...this is the first time she's brought someone to the club…she stepped out of her comfort zone…she's actually making contributions to the club aside from winning tournaments…I feel like a proud uncle…,"
"O-Okay?"
"I'm standing right here you know,"
Out of nowhere, Sachi whacked Ichirou on the back of his head, sending him into the timber floor.
"What did I say about scaring the recruit!?" she barked.
Ichirou gave a weird, squealing, muffled reply as his head was still kissing the wooden planks.
"Go and start training with the others!" she ordered, "We still need to use the last half hour to discuss our plans for the Culture Festival! If you fail to meet that time, then that's thirty extra laps, fifty extra push-ups, and sixty extra squats!"
Without another word, Ichirou, whose face was still stuck to the ground, speedily crawled over to the rest of the club like some sort of old-school horror movie monster.
Sachi only sighed, shook her head, and pinched her nose bridge.
"Is this normal?" Adam whispered to Mei.
"You get used to it," she replied quietly, "Although Ichirou-senpai is the Club President on paper, Sachi-san is the real leader,"
"Ohh,"
If this was the type of weirdness she had to deal with when she was a teenager, then no wonder his and Carole's regular antics never fazed her. She had been trained since a young age.
"Sorry about that," Sachi clasped her hands together, mustering together her best beaming smile, "So Adam-san, you want to trial the club right?"
"Yes, that's right,"
Sachi nodded to the benches on the side, "Let's talk over there, that way we won't disturb the training. Mei-san, get changed, we can't have our ace slacking,"
"Right," the heiress replied and jogged to the changerooms.
Once settled on the benches, Sachi continued her talk with Adam.
"So, have you ever tried Kendo before?"
Adam opened his mouth, then closed it. He wasn't very sure how he was going to answer. On one hand, he did train in a type of sword-style martial arts and if the St. Freya scoreboard had anything to say about it, then he was above average. On the other hand, calling that style kendo would be the same as calling karate, kung-fu, or saying that salmon is the same as tuna. The style of sword combat his Squad Leader used definitely had some resemblance and elements to traditional kendo, but much of it had been altered and evolved so many times through the years of fighting the Honkai, the Herrschers, being a Herrscher, and facing other entities, that it had become its own thing. Future Raiden Mei's unique style. But as far as he knew, she had never taught that variation of combat to anyone else. Yes, Mei had trained Adam in sword combat, however, her motive had always been to help the boy perfect and break through the limits of his style. Every tip, advice, lecture, and demonstration was targeted to bettering Adam's own method of blade arts.
Perhaps it was because she thought he wasn't ready to learn hers. Or perhaps it was because she didn't want him to learn it as it might've been too dangerous. Or perhaps she simply believed everyone should have their unique way of fighting and defending humanity. He would never know.
…Or, finally, perhaps it was her way of respecting Fu Hua.
The blue-gray-haired martial artist was Adam's first teacher after all, and to this day was the only one he called 'Master'. Fu Hua had been taking care of the black-haired boy, essentially raising him for half a decade before he was admitted into St. Freya Academy. During that time, there was no doubt she would've been training him in the Taixuan Sect Style of Martial Art, which included hand-to-hand, spear, staff, and of course, swords or as the people of Shenzhou call them, [ Jian ].
"I've…dabbled in martial arts," Adam finally replied, "If that counts,"
"It depends, what style?"
"The Shenzhou style,"
"Sooo, Kung-Fu?"
Adam pursed his lips and furrowed his brows.
'Th-That…That's such a generic term to describe the Taixuan Sect Style! Kung-Fu refers to the entire world of Shenzhou martial arts since the beginning of time! Flowing through the rivers and lakes birthed from the blood, sweat, and tears of the countless masters, disciples, and sects through the flow of eternity until their techniques evolve and adapt to their era's conflicts and changes, all the way to the modern-day, and that cycle will continue on forever and ever. Like an everflowing river coursing through the land, no matter how many stones are in its path, no matter how many streams it's divided into, that river will flow forward no matter what until it reaches the infinite sea. Calling the Taixuan Style 'Kung-Fu' is like calling an apple a fruit! Yes, they belong in the same category but…Wait…I'm doing it again aren't I? Calm down Adam, she's just a kendo girl, she doesn't understand the intricacy and eloquence that is the Taixuan Sect. Remember, we need to keep on the down-low, let's try not to expose ourselves. Respond like a normal person,'
"...Yes,"
'If Master Hua heard me just now, my ass would so get BEAT,'
Sachi rubbed her chin and hummed in a state of pondering, "Hmm, I see,"
After a minute she snapped her fingers with a comprehensive gleam in her deep-purple eyes.
"Much like the Far East, Shenzhou also has a long history of martial arts utilizing the sword. Although what you've trained in isn't kendo, it's certainly a decent start and it'll certainly assist the rate at which you'll pick up techniques," Sachi hopped to her feet and placed her hands on her hips, "I believe that we can make use of your pre-built base in kung-fu to develop you into a master swordsman in no time. What do you say?"
"Hold on, I'm not a member of the club yet, I'm only here on trial and because Raiden-san recommended it, so I think it's better to lower your expectations of me in case I decide to choose not to join," Adam said honestly as he rose from the bench.
"That's true, the club's no stranger to people leaving so I promise that there'll be no hard feelings if you decide to do so," said Sachi, "I was simply just saying that your experience in Shenzhou martial arts would be nothing but beneficial to you if you choose to join, and we would welcome you openly. Well, even if you were a complete newbie to combat, we would welcome you regardless,"
"That's nice to know,"
The two watched as the kendo club members began their warm-up. Ichiro was leading the group as they ran laps around the clubroom that transitioned into star jumps and then to sit-ups. Mei had also reappeared from the change rooms, now dressed in her training gear, and quickly joined in with the others.
"So," Adam began, "What does a trial member do anyway?"
"Honestly, nothing too different. As the title suggests, you're trying the club so you'll simply be doing whatever the other members are doing until the trial period is over,"
"Huh, that's simpler than I thought," Adam confessed.
A chuckle escaped the brunette's lips, "What? Did you think we'd put the recruits through a specialized boot camp to see which ones were worthy enough to join?"
"Well…,"
"Hehe, that's such a common misconception of our club. I blame the previous seniors. But no, nowadays recruits get no special treatment. You're just here to trial and nothing else, which means you also don't get a say in what we'll do during the Cultural Festival,"
"Good, I don't want to be burdened by decision-making," Adam replied with a small smirk.
"That's a positive way of looking at it," Sachi laughed, before watching the club members go through their forms.
"While we no longer have the boot camp system, you still have to earn your keep here," she told him.
"Earn my keep?"
The brunette nodded, "Prove yourself with the sword and you'll be able to stay. Our club has a reputation to maintain, not just in Nagazora, but in the entire Far East as well. Out of all the schools in the country, ours has the highest win rate in the kendo tournaments. Though some may not look like it, every person in this room has at least gotten up to the semi-finals in any tournament,"
"So that's the real prerequisite,"
"Of course, we don't expect this from newbies, but we'll train you and by the time another tournament rolls by, you just have to sign up and prove your worth,"
"Harsh," commented the black-haired teen.
"It might be so, but those are the measures we have to take to keep the population of our club under control," shrugged Sachi.
Adam raised an eyebrow, "The kendo club is that popular?"
Sachi didn't answer and looked out toward the members. Adam followed her line of sight until he realized she was looking at a certain purple-haired girl. Then she closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "Haaah…Yeah,"
"You know about Mei's status and the weight of her name, don't you? I'm not sure if you know this but she's also our ace, dare I say the best the club has ever had. Claiming championships left and right. Simply put, she's a prodigy at kendo. And all of these mixed together is why she's so…so…lusted over, so desired and famous. Almost ninety-five percent of recruits only join to try and get closer to Raiden Mei, barely any of them had an actual interest in kendo, and the ones who do get scared off by her fans. That's why we created this system so we can weed them out and leave the ones who deserve to be here," Sachi revealed, crossing her arms.
Adam stayed silent, something told him that the brown-haired girl wasn't finished and after several seconds, he proved correct.
"I like Mei,"
"Huh?" The boy stiffened.
Sachi narrowed her eyes and socked him on the arm.
"Get your perverted girl-on-girl fantasies out of your head, I don't mean like that. I don't swing that way, sorry but I'm boring and traditional,"
"But I didn't say anything…," Adam muttered, rubbing the tingling point on his arm.
"Anyway before you get any more weird thoughts, let me clarify," stated Sachi, "I like her, not for her status as an heiress, or for her Raiden name, or for her money, or for her beauty although I must admit, she is pretty damn cute. I like her because of the kindness that she shows everyone no matter their background, and her willingness to grow and better herself even more. Not to mention her skill with the blade…mostly because of her skill with the blade,"
"Right," was all the teen could reply.
"That's the reason why I call her by her given name 'Mei-san' instead of 'Raiden-san' or '-sama' like everyone else, you know. As her unofficial club leader, I want to acknowledge her for herself and not the conceptions society has placed on her,"
Adam stayed silent, his golden eyes flicked towards the brunette who went back to scrutinizing her clubmates.
A thin wave of confusion washed over him. Through history class, he learned that the Third Herrscher, Raiden Mei was awakened due to the mountains of abuse, scorn, and abandonment she felt by the world that once admired her when her father was imprisoned and her family name dragged through the dirt.
And yet, there were people like Kuki Sachi, and the other members of the kendo club around who valued her for just being herself, the club's ace player. So why? Why did the Third Eruption still happen? Where were these people when she needed them the most? Are they faking it? Did the societal peer pressure prove too heavy for them? …Were they belittled and perhaps killed for taking her side?
History was written by the victors. But victors push for the light of the past instead of the dark. Only focusing on the major points while leaving the unimportant ones to rot in the abyss of time. These people who had supported Mei since before the whole ME Corp scandal, were they part of the dark, forgotten sequences of history?
Once again, Adam found himself standing at a fork in the road.
On the left, was the choice to change the past and the future, sending him into a spiral of unpredictable events where the chance of extinction was but a flip of a coin, though on the other side of that coin was the equally possible chance to flourish. This was the riskiest choice, promising a great reward or a great disaster.
On the right, was the choice to do absolutely nothing, to live out the normal high school life and leave history as is. He couldn't promise the chance of anything changing, him being there was too much of an anomaly to bypass that. However, he could do his best to keep any changes to a minimum. The Third Eruption could still happen. Sirin's second coming could still happen. The destruction of Coral, the Herrscher of Domination, Otto, and Kolosten, could all still happen. All Adam had to do, was step back and let history take its course.
The black-haired teen closed his eyes and allowed a thick fog to cover the split paths. He wasn't going to make the choice, not now…not today.
"Why have you told me all of this, Sachi-san?" he asked, turning toward the unofficial club president, "We're nothing more than strangers and yet you reveal so much information to me,"
"Heh," the brunette put a hand on her hip, "You may call me a fool for what I'm about to say but, I trust you,"
"Isn't that going a bit too fast?"
"No, I don't believe so," she shook her head, and peered Adam in the eyes, "What the Club Prez mentioned earlier was true, you are the first person Mei-san has ever brought into the club. Now I don't know how you did it, what your relationship with her is, or what she sees in you, but she isn't the type of person to flaunt her personal interests to anyone. Her bringing you here proves that she trusts you, at least to some…perhaps unconscious extent, and if she trusts you, then so do I,"
Sachi then shifted her gaze back towards the training club members silently.
Adam watched her from the corner of his eyes, waiting to see if she had anything else to say but it looked like she was done talking. He looked back over to the club members, more so at Mei.
'Sorry if the truth disappoints you Sachi-san, but you've looked into it too much. She invited me because I'm her bodyguard, nothing more, nothing less,'
He had to hold his tongue from saying his thought. Telling anyone what his true reason for attending the Academy and getting closer to Mei is, would bring nothing but complication upon complication, heavily burdening not only him, but the purple-haired heiress, and to an extent, her father as well. Adam knew better than anyone that some things were best left unsaid. It wasn't his first secret, and he would bet his entire salary that it won't be his last.
"Come on," Sachi suddenly spoke up as she patted Adam on the shoulder, "You're here on trial, aren't you? Let's get this started,"
The teen nodded and followed the brunette as they joined the rest of the club.
Two hours passed rather quickly, and the kendo club wrapped up its first session of the semester.
The club members all bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways, leaving Adam and Mei to walk to the gates together.
"So Adam-san, what do think?" she asked.
Truthfully, he didn't even work up a sweat. While he would admit that all the members had a decent foundation and he could definitely see the expertise in their movements. There was still a large, noticeable gap in skill compared to even that of a low-ranked Valkyrie. Heck, even Prep Academy students were better. He knew that the reason was mostly that the goals of the Kendo Club and the Warriors of Schicksal were oceans apart, but the stiff rules and point system of kendo restricted itself, whereas the freestyle combat utilized by Schicksal agents allowed them to gain more experience and skill with every training session and mission.
Adam had to hold himself back the entire time, purposely tripping or losing grip of the bokken every now and then to keep up his illusion of being a newbie to sword fighting. Although, it was a rather relaxing experience to essentially mess around during a training session that he knew was pointless to him.
"It might take some getting used to," Adam told her. It wasn't a complete lie, he indeed had to get used to pretending to be a rookie at something he was good at.
"Kendo isn't like other martial arts so just take it slow, okay? No need to rush," Mei reassured him, oblivious to the truth behind the black-haired teen's performance back in the dojo.
"Understood,"
A brief moment of comfortable silence filled the air around them as they exited Chiba Academy. The lone sleek, black limousine resting against the setting orange sky greeted them at the gates.
"Well, this is where we part for today," said Mei as she reached for the car door handle.
"It would seem so," added Adam.
"That is unless you would like to be dropped off at your place?"
Adam's eyebrows twitched in surprise. Raiden Mei, a teenage version of his Squad Leader was inviting him to get into that luxury car with her and drive all the way to his rented apartment, all the while socializing in a confined space with just the two of them sitting in the back, ignoring the grumpy head butler in the driver's seat.
If he had no sense of responsibility or was someone else entirely, the black-haired teen would've jumped at the chance with no second thought.
However, he was taught better than that, and his sense of responsibility was much stronger than most his age. That very same sense was telling him that he had something else to do before heading home for the day, and he best get to it.
"I appreciate the offer, Raiden-san, but I have a few errands to run this evening,"
Mei nodded her head in understanding before entering the vehicle, "Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow, Adam-san,"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he waved.
Adam watched as the limo disappeared into the sunset traffic as he walked off.
With the folder of notes and homework now in his hand, and holding onto his phone that was displaying a map, Adam started on the way to his task.
Thanks to his previous food delivery job, navigating the metropolis named Nagazora was much easier than when he first arrived. Though he didn't know every nook and cranny of the city, he knew how to get around three-quarters of it which helped in locating the address posted on the folder.
Eventually, Adam found himself standing in front of a surprisingly normal, two-story house in one of the many suburban districts of Nagazora, surrounded by other similarly designed residences. It was situated in a nice location that wasn't too far nor too close to Chiba Academy, being only around a half-hour walk. On his way here he passed by a lush park with a playground set that had been occupied by preschoolers with their parents watching and chatting close by. As he looked up at the house, back down at the written address, and at the map on his phone for one last check, a happy bark sounded through the street as a young couple passed by with their labrador.
Adam slapped his face and shook away his prior assumptions. Just because there was a possibly depressed and troubled girl, being rather harshly bullied while seemingly being in some kind of financial debt, doesn't mean that she had to be from a poor family. That was just pure stereotyping. The normalcy that exuded from this area might even make his task even easier, at least that's what he thought.
Without wasting more time, he walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell. He could just faintly hear the chime coming from inside before a series of noticeably small, but rapid steps.
The door swung open and Adam did not expect to see a little girl that looked around about seven or eight, standing at the doorframe.
She was around his waist-high, wearing a dark blue hoodie and shorts. Her hair was a short lilac with long bangs that swept to the left, along with large fuchsia-colored eyes that were innocently looking up at the black-haired teen.
"Who are you?" she chirped.
'...Why do I feel like I've seen her somewhere before…?' he thought before answering the child, "Oh, I'm here to see Asakura Miyuki, I'm in her class at school and the teacher wants me to give her some stuff,"
"Aha," the girl nodded, and just as she was about to respond, she was interrupted by a flurry of footsteps charging down the stairs.
"Sora! What did I say about opening the door to strangers?!" a casually-dressed Miyuki chided as she swiftly moved to the little girl's side.
Sora's shoulders slumped with a pout as she shuffled away from the door, "Sorry, Onee-chan,"
Miyuki sighed and patted her sister on the head, "I'll deal with this now. Just don't do it again, otherwise no mochi for a month,"
The lilac-haired child's eyes widened in horror and gasped at the possibility of not being able to eat her favorite sweet for such a long time. Without another word she sped back into the house and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Adam's mouth hung apart when he observed the short sibling moment.
Sora.
That name repeated itself multiple times in his head. It had honestly been almost a year since he had heard that name and seen that face so it wasn't out of the ordinary that he couldn't recognize her straight away. But now everything added up, those pink-red eyes and the pastel purple hair with a noticeable sweep to the left were unmistakable. There was only one person he knew that fit that description.
'Sora-senpai? That's Sora-senpai?!' he exclaimed in his head.
Sora Cioara. In his timeline, she had attended the Schicksal Prep Academy and was two years above him. She was famous for being an expert in utilizing drones and bows together smoothly in battle. Thinking back on it, before he took the top spot in the Combat Rankings, Sora was the student that held first place and it was only when she graduated did he take her position. The girl then moved to St. Freya Academy and was quickly placed into a Squad, but due to scheduling differences between grades and other squads, by the time Adam was enrolled and joined Squad 3, they seldom saw each other. Occasionally, they would spot each other across the campus ground or halls and would give each other a small wave of acknowledgment before continuing on their way.
Thinking back on it, he didn't know that much about her either. He had no idea that she had a biological older sister or a different family name. Although she acted as the big sister of the Prep Academy junior students, she kept her personal information private. All he knew was that she came from Nagazora, was most likely caught up in the third Eruption, and was raised in the same orphanage as his good friend Lyle, a place called 'The Roost'.
Speaking of Lyle, the girl that he had a crush on was none other than the lilac-haired archer. Though Adam considered the sniper's personality to be similar to that of a casanova, it was surprising and always hilarious to see him so flustered every time Sora walked by. It was to the point that Lyle was too shy to mention her by name, and every time he tried to talk about her he substituted her name for another. But every time Adam had to restrain a smug smile as he knew exactly who it was.
"Excuse me?"
Miyuki's voice cut through Adam's recollection of the past, and the boy blinked as he quickly brought himself back to the present.
Looking at the dark-pink-haired girl more closely now, he could see the resemblance between her and the matured Sora he was used to.
However there was a wariness in her eyes, her brows were furrowed, and she had one hand hidden behind the door, no doubt gripping the handle so if anything happened she could slam it shut and lock it without too much trouble. Her body was tense and standing slightly side-on as if she was ready to bolt away at any time or perhaps kick whoever was at the door before closing it. That same door was also covering half of her body like a shield.
Adam could see a small tinge of recognition in her eye as she scanned him from top to bottom. With that, she relaxed her stance just a tiny bit but did not let her guard drop for a second.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
'It looks like she recognizes me from yesterday, though but I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Gonna have to ease into this if I don't want her freaking out again,'
Adam slowly raised the folder in his hand and decided to give her a friendly introduction, just to be safe.
"My name's Adam, I'm also in Class 2-C. Amano-sensei told me to deliver today's notes and homework to you," he said in a softer tone than normal, "He has some personal errands to run this evening so he couldn't do this himself, but he told me if not for that he would've,"
Miyuki took the folder while not allowing her cautious gaze to drop away from Adam.
"I also found your ID card yesterday after…y'know, that,"
The pink-haired girl flinched as that memory briefly passed her thoughts.
"I was going to return it to you at school today but you weren't there, so I just put it in the folder,"
Miyuki remained silent as she opened the folder and dug around before pulling out her ID, checking it for any scratches or other damages.
The awkward silence continued for a minute longer as the pink-haired girl shifted through the papers.
Not wanting to be rude and wordlessly leave, Adam remained rooted in his spot, deciding to only make his exit once she had dismissed him, and just in case she had more to say.
The black-haired boy also used this quiet moment to inspect the severity of the injuries she sustained yesterday.
He could see medicinal patches across her arms and legs, along with one wrist being wrapped in a bandage. There was also a plaster stuck onto her cheek. She also smelled of medicinal oil and ointment.
Adam frowned at her predicament.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Miyuki looked taken aback by his question and caught his eyes shifting from injury to injury. She brought the folder up and hid some of them behind it.
"I'm fine," she simply answered while casting her gaze to the ground behind Adam, "...It's not as bad as it looks,"
"...Have you tried calling the police?"
Miyuki nodded subtly, but Adam failed to notice.
"How about telling your parents?"
Suddenly her eyes grew wide with evident anger and her body stiffened, "SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"
The teen hadn't expected that abrupt outburst, she was so soft-spoken a second ago before raising her voice faster than a rocket takeoff.
And with that, the door to the Asakura household was slammed in his face. Without even an utter of thanks.
Adam held back a rebuke, he knew it wasn't in his place to say anything. He barely knew this girl and whatever problems their family was facing were their own, his job as a messenger was done.
Turning on his heels he made his way away from the residence.
However, unbeknownst to him, Miyuki's dark purple-red eyes were peering at him, watching him leave from behind a curtain.
And unbeknownst to Miyuki, having heard the shouting on the second floor, a curiosity-driven Sora was doing the same from behind the safety of her room's window.
"Good morning, Adam-san," Mei greeted at her desk as the teen slid into his seat beside her.
"Good morning," he yawned, plopping his head on the table.
The wooden desk cloaked in the morning chill sent a slight shiver through his body.
"You look like you didn't sleep a wink,"
"That's because I didn't," confessed Adam, sighing into the desk, "I have to catch up with basically a whole year's worth of content so I stayed up all night studying,"
"The studying part is relatable," the heiress giggled.
Groaning, Adam reached down to take out his books and pen, mumbling, "...I hate physics and chemistry," as he did so.
The door to the classroom rattled open, and Adam looked up out of instinct. He blinked in surprise when he saw Miyuki quietly make her way to her seat at the back without so much as casting a glance at him. She was also wearing the school's blazer, no doubt to cover her bandaged injuries to avoid questions and stares.
Soon after, the first teacher of the day strolled in and thus the school day began.
Time slowly ticked by, both breaks rolled past, everything proceeded as normal and eventually, it was the last class of the day. Which just so happened taught by their homeroom teacher, Amano-sensei.
The middle-aged man cleared his throat at the podium, and all the students turned their focus toward him.
"Alright class, as you all know, the Culture Festival is right around the corner. As per tradition, from today until the day of the festival, all of the final period classes will be converted into planning time so you lot can figure out what to do for it," he announced, "This is a student-only collaboration event so I have no say in it. As long as it's not inappropriate, anything is accepted. And remember these three things: Firstly, no repeats of last year's activity. Secondly, work harmoniously as a team, and thirdly, have fun and make more memories,"
The student cohort cheered when Amano finished his speech, he waved his goodbye and exited the room leaving the class to immediately bring their desks and chairs together, brainstorming as a group.
'A festival, huh? I think I overheard some people talking about it while on break, and Sachi-san said something about it yesterday too,'
Although the Culture Festival was native to the Far East, Adam was no stranger to festivals being held at school.
St. Freya along with Schicksal was a very international environment. It had valkyries-in-training and workers stemming from every corner of the globe and that brought their culture with them, sharing it with the other members of the humanity-defending organization. While the adults usually held back on celebrations at work unless it was a major one, the teenage populous of the Combat Academy was on a completely different page. Due to the multi-nationality of the school and the bright environment, it felt as if there were festivals and other types of celebrations every month, ranging from the Spring Festival at the start of the year, to Christmas at the end. Schicksal certainly had more than enough funding to make them happen, and the Overseer along with the higher-ups were more than happy to proceed. If Adam had to guess, their acceptance of the celebrations was because they knew more than anyone in the world that life could change in a split second, bringing a swift end to everything they know, plunging them into a wallowing depression where death seemed like a blessing. And so, during this hard-earned time of peace, they allowed the trainees to enjoy this joyful and pivotal moment of their lives…so long as they keep their grades up and not slack on missions and training of course.
"Hey, hey, what should we do?" one of the students, a male spoke up.
"Well, the haunted house is off the list coz we did that last year," informed a female student.
"How about a library café?"
"Nah, that's boring compared to last year's?"
"Hold on, café sounds good,"
"Yeah, but isn't it kinda cliché?"
"While that may be true, it's the easiest one to do,"
Suddenly a male student with a shaved head jumped up from his seat and slammed a hand on the table, triumphantly declaring, "A MAID CAFE!"
"You're kidding right?"
"Bro that's like double cliché, there's usually like seven other classes who do that not including clubs,"
"No no, wait wait, I like his idea,"
"Shut up, you just want to see us in maid outfits,"
"That doesn't matter, if it ain't broke don't fix it,"
While the class was locked in an intense verbal fight about what they'll be doing this year, Adam and Mei both stayed silent, the teen's golden eyes briefly flicked towards where Miyuki was sitting. To no one's surprise, she hadn't moved an inch and was reading a book.
"Raiden-sama, Adam-san, Asakura, you three have been quiet this entire time, tell us what you think?"
"Yeah, Raiden-sama is sure to have some great ideas,"
A female student nodded in agreement, "That's right, she's the top of our class so she must have something?"
"Ooh, Raiden-sama in a maid outfit, shit that image feels illegal! Raiden-sama, forgive me!"
Mei simply clapped her hands together and apologized to the class, "Sorry, sorry, I won't be participating in the class's activity because the kendo club is doing a major event this year so all members have to focus on that instead. The faculty has approved it as well,"
"Awww,"
"That's too bad,"
"I would've loved to hear her plan,"
Like a light switch, their attention was immediately flicked towards someone else.
"Asakura? What about you?"
The dark-pink-haired girl shrugged, her eyes never leaving the pages of her book, and replied, "I'll go along with whatever,"
"Mhm, mhm, that's one point to the maid café then," the bald student nodded proudly.
"Bring up the maid café one more time and I'll cave your skull!" a muscular female student snarled, shaking her fist. The male student yelped and ducked for cover.
"Ooh, ooh," a petite girl classmate clapped her hands together and bounced on her seat excitedly.
"What is it Mina-chan?" her friend asked.
Mina raised her hand and pointed directly at Adam with a wide grin on her face, "Butler~!"
Adam reeled back slightly, "Huh?"
"A butler café?"
"Ohhh, I've never heard of any class doing that before,"
"I bet he'll look absolutely dashing in a suit,"
"Ah~, yes~,"
"I can already see it now," the face of the girl who said this bloomed an intense red.
"No no, that won't work, I might purposely become a customer and hog him all day,"
"Not if I get to him first,"
A bead of sweat rolled down Adam's head, 'Y'know I'm sitting right here, right?'
Mei looked over at the black-haired teen's deadpanned expression and held back an amused smile.
A tick mark appeared on a boy with light-brown hair, "Oi, oi, you do know that he isn't the only male student in this class, right?"
"Yeah, we're practically split evenly, our class's gender ratio," another added.
"So? You're not good-looking enough to be a butler,"
All at once, the boys in that class, minus Adam, felt that sentence stab into their hearts, some looked up at the ceiling in a loss while others got infuriated.
"If most of you became butlers, we'd lose profit instead of gaining it,"
"Hey, shut up!" the bald male student stomped on his chair, "Half of you are at best, average too!"
A simultaneous gasp rang through the classroom.
"You flaccid bastard! What'd ya just say!?" the muscular girl student rose to her feet and pulled up her sleeves, "Do ya see these bad girls!? You wanna meet 'em!?"
"Bitch, sit your olympic body-building ass down! This is why you don't have a boyfriend yet! Looking like a crossdressing virgin beta walking into the gym to pick up girls with bubble butts!"
"Fuck! You wanna go!?"
"I'm all about that gender equality!"
"Okay, okay, enough!"
All movement paused, and all eyes turned to Mei, it was one of the rare moments where she had raised her voice.
"Why don't we just take the best of both and combine them?" she suggested, "A Maid and Butler Café,"
Silence fell upon the room and Adam could see the idea grinding the gears in their minds. For students of such an elite school, how this simple solution flew over their heads, he would never know.
"That's…actually not bad,"
"Yeah, this way shifts will be more manageable and not gender-based,"
"We'll attract both male and female guests equally, so best of both worlds right?"
"This is doable,"
"I like it,"
"Leave it to Raiden-sama to come along and solve the problem," someone praised.
"Even though she won't be working here she still contributed,"
"That's our Raiden-sama,"
As the chorus of agreements started to rise and the peaceful discussions began, Adam released a pent-up sigh.
He looked over at Mei and whispered, "Does it always go like this?"
Mei tilted her head back and massaged her neck, "Pretty much,"
"Hey, Adam-san," the bald student called.
"Yeah?"
"You're a native of Shenzhou, right?" Mina asked, a notebook in her hand.
"That's a weird way of putting it, but yes,"
"There! That's our main attraction!" another girl exclaimed.
"Come one, come all, visit Class 2-C's M+B Café and be served by the illustrious Butler from Shenzhou,"
For the second time that day, the black-haired teen deadpanned, "...I'd appreciate it if you didn't use my nationality as publicity,"
His voice went unheard, and the class continued to draw up their battle plan.
An hour later, they began to announce the roles of each classmate.
"Mina-chan~, you're a maid,"
"Itsuki, butler,"
"Naho, maid,"
"Akira, supplier,"
"Ria, decorator,"
"Sana, maid,"
"Rinko, maid,"
"Testu, butler,"
"Adam-san, our star Shenzhou butler,"
The boy in question groaned silently at the title.
"And finally… Miyuki-san, maid,"
The dark-pink-haired girl jumped in shock at hearing her name.
"M-M-Me?" she stuttered as all eyes turned to her.
"Mhm~," Mina nodded and smiled brightly, "You'll make a really cute maid, Miyu-chan,"
"M-Miyu-ch—?"
"Ohh, she's right, you do have a pretty face Asakura-san,"
"Yeah, you really do,"
"You sit at the back so we normally never see you, but now that we get a closer look,"
"You could be an idol, Miyuki-san,"
Miyuki turned a deep red as the barrage of compliments was fired toward her, she wanted nothing more than sink into the ground and go home for the day… but she would be lying if she said that she wasn't feeling a little bit joyful. For the first time in a long time, she was showered by positive comments, and her lips curved up into the faintest of smiles.
"Anyway, we should get started with buying materials and ingredients and all that,"
"Yeah, that's right, we only have a week or so until the festival and we still need to test combinations, desserts, and designs,"
"Shall we split into teams then?"
Adam watched as his classmates wrote down the names of everyone in the class, except for Mei who had left early to meet up with her club, on small slips of paper, torn from their notebooks. Then the pieces of paper were placed inside a container and shaken thoroughly.
"So how do we do this?" one student asked, "Pairs? Trios? Groups?"
"I say pairs. We have even numbers and that way we can cover more ground faster," suggested another.
"Yeah, that feels best,"
And so, the students of class 2-C began drawing names from the container. Assigning duos with items they had to locate and purchase. Adam knew that it couldn't be avoided, so he patiently waited for his name to be called, and eventually…
"Adam-san, aaaaand~,"
The female student sorting the teams together reached into the container and rustled her hand around before pulling it out.
"Asakura Miyuki,"
'Wait, what?!' the black-haired teen's eyebrows raised, conveying his astonishment.
He looked over to Miyuki who looked just as surprised, if not more.
In their class of thirty-six, what were the chances?
Chapter 4 - First Snow in Autumn II
…I mean, I gotta push the plot forward somehow, right?
I'm not gonna lie, I actually didn't expect that at least half of the readers already knew about Miyuki. But no matter, her version here is gonna be different from that of her GGZ version though there will be some similarities because multiverse tree. Such as being the older sister of Sora being one of the differences.
Not much else to say in the author's note this time tbh.
But seeing as this is already four chapters in I guess I should mention the update rate. If I'm not busy, I can try to upload once a week, but realistically, it's more like once every 2 weeks. This is probably because each chapter is around 9000-10,000 words. So unless I cut the word count in half for shorter chapters, it'll most likely remain once every 2 weeks.
Anyway, that's all for Chapter 4. If you enjoyed please consider leaving a review/favorite/follow, all are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or theories, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.
Until Next Time!