Yeah. I was fast writing this chapter. Motivation and that things are kind of hard going on around my home. I have read the others fics with the SI-OC and with Adam (from APHO) traveling back in time. I'm eager to know what their authors have in store for the plot. On a second note, for future clarifications, I read them because they're interesting and entertaining. Not gonna try to rip off the plot from them. I'm pretty sure what the other authors and I have in store for our protagonists is quite different. So guys… LordChaldea and Death276 keep the good work. To the other authors, as well.
Disclaimer: Honkai Impact doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Mihoyo and yadayada… You know the drill.
[NEXT STOP… SOUKAI'S DOWNTOWN!]
Adam was leaning on one of the wagon doors as the intercom spoke. He stopped playing with his phone and saved it in his pants pockets. As the wagon started to slow down, he along with other people got in front of the door waiting to leave quickly, less they wanted was to be shoved back by the next hurried passengers.
While he waited, Adam felt some stares in his direction. He casually moved his eyes around and noted that the stares came from different girls in the wagon. Despite this, he didn't feel comfortable at all.
"Do they have to stare so hard?" Adam thought while fighting down the need to morph his hand into a short blade. "It's annoying…"
"{Come on man! You sound like an asshole,}" it groaned at his thoughts. "{You're being eyed by some pretty girls. In St. Freya, many girls want to drill some holes in you with a damn sword, and now you are complaining about it?!}" It scoffed. "{How fussy.}" Adam grunted.
"I'm not here to pick up girls, idiot."
"{But you have to admit it's a nice change. Better than disdain looks.}" Adam had to agree with it. It was… nice, but it was still uncomfortable. He was used to having eyes on him, whenever on gunfights or-
"{Stop right there,}" it cut off. "{You are, well, we are here to relax for today. So don't dwell in those thoughts and try to enjoy the day.}"
"{You take the words right from my mouth,}" it voiced in approval. "{The other is right, man. Try to chill out for today and calmly blow some steam.}" As the wagon stopped, Adam's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Never thought you would say that."
"{Duh! I'm the voice of the fun here.}" Adam smiled and carried on once the doors opened. After five minutes, he left the station behind and took out his cellphone.
"Well, the maps says that the game store isn't that far from here." He put it back in his pockets and started to walk down the street.
As he made his way, Adam noted that there were a lot of people walking around. Teenagers, group of friends and families walking around, enjoying their time weekend together and the fresh weather that fell on the city. In the distance, he saw part of the sea that surrounded the large metropolis. In the corner of vision, he spotted the building like a castle from St. Freya; and the highway and trail line that connected the academy to the city. Adam was quite surprised when he discovered that the academy had its personal train line to get in the city; not to mention that it was off-limits except for the students or personal from the academy. Talk about exclusiveness.
"Compared to the other cities, this one is, I don't know, is kind of average?"
"{You mean boring.}"
"I won't put it like that. I mean," he paused for a second, seeing how a child was playing tag with who appeared to be his older brother, running after him in a park across the street. "Calm, I guess?"
"{You mean, warmly comfy. Isn't it?}" Adam resumed his walk and hummed in agreement. "Yes." He took some steps aside when a group of friends almost collided with him. The teenagers hastily apologized before they resumed their way.
"{We have been in other cities before. This one looks all the same to me,}" it opined with a shrug. Adam kept glancing from time to time around, spotting several stores; ranging from clothes to simple food stands. The city was bustling with a lot of people walking around or buying stuff.
"{Perhaps, this kind of scenario is new to you. In the way that you're walking in a city without a mission or a contract to complete,}" it pointed out. Adam was about to answer but he hastened his step when a large wave of people was coming on his way. Unconsciously, his shoulders tensed and his hands were ready for any action he required. Some seconds later, the wave of people thinned, making Adam relax his stance once he turned on a corner.
"{You were almost right. Almost,}" it chuckled. "{Normal instincts are hard to handle, isn't it?}"
Adam sighed and decided to change of topic. "With these many people here, I hope there isn't a large line to get the game console." The dark voice laughed. "{Hahaha! Considering that today is Saturday? Good luck with that. It's nice that you tell the girls to not wait for you to eat lunch with them.}" Adam cursed under his breath, knowing it was right. He kept walking until he saw a long line of people formed. He took out his cellphone and saw that he was on the same street as the game store. He leaned on his side and cursed when spotted where the line was coming from.
"Fuck. It will take hours," he groaned.
"Hey man, if you came to get the console, get in the line," one guy in the line said to Adam. He sighed and went behind the last person formed.
"{I told you.}" Adam sighed in response.
Time passed slowly, though more in Adam's case. He tried to entertain himself by surfing through the internet; reading some manga titles like Killer Killer, From the New World; reading through some articles about sudden accidents in isolated villages, and weapons articles. Automatically he moved when the line advanced, but despite his efforts to distract himself, he was conscious about how little he advanced in the line. He checked the time and cursed.
"Damnit! Thirty minutes here and I'm not even at the line's half!"
"{Considering that all these people came here to get the console, it's logical you'll spend a lot of time here}"
"{Or in other words. Duh! You should have come prepared for something like this,}" it scoffed at his lack of foresight. Adam managed to not growl in annoyance to its words. He crossed his arms and kept in silence, both physically and mentally, hoping that the line would move faster if he disconnected himself from his surroundings and thoughts. His sight was on a soda billboard with a funny animation in it, but Adam wasn't paying it attention, though. He only rested his eyes on it. The same was with his hearing, people were chatting with the others about the new console features or talking about other themes, but not like he was focused on them.
"Hey, sis! Quick! We're going to miss the movie!"
"Jonah! Come back here! You're going to hit someone."
"That's not- Uff!"
Adam was pushed out of his head, literally, by someone. He was pushed a step back by a young boy, who was now laying on the sidewalk while rubbing his rear. Adam saw a teenager coming quickly to aid the boy. She helped him got on his feet while scolding him for being careless. She turned in Adam's direction and quickly bowed.
"I'm so sorry!" She apologized hurriedly. "My little brother was just so excited about this superhero movie and he-" the next words was barely comprehensible as the girl spoke quickly and without pause. Adam turned to look at the boy, the girls' brother, flustered and looking like he just swallowed a bitter lemon.
"-andIkeeptellinghimthatheshouldn'trunbecause-!" Adam raised a hand to stop her babble.
"Don't worry about it. It was an accident."
"But my brother-!" Adam shook his hand. "It's okay. It was an accident," he repeated but the girl didn't stop.
"Jonah! Apologize!" The girl pushed her young brother forward. Adam noted that there were some onlookers. He huffed at their meddling but there was nothing he could do about them. Like him, they were bored and this fuss was the only entertainment they had so far.
"I-I'm sorry, mister," the boy apologized with an awkward tone. His cheeks flushed and he was sweating. Like Adam, he noted that he along with his sister had peoples' eyes on them. Adam decided to help the poor boy. "Like a said to your sister, there's no problem buddy," and shrugged off. Both brothers stared at each other and then at Adam before giving an awkward bow and went their way.
"{That was nice of you.}" Adam exhaled. "The poor guy was flustered, more than his sister. I've been in his shoes before," he glanced at the previous onlookers, who went back to their business. "There was no need to make a fuss."
"{Oh! Like when you peed yourself after seeing that dinosaur movie!}" Adam's brow twitched at the memory and jab.
"{Or when you disguised as a knight when you went to trick treating with Celeste using a vampire and Katherine a werewolf costume.}" It reminded. "{You tried to protect them from the mean kids back then.}"
The dark voice laughed. "{And it worked sooo well that their friends asked you take photos with them, 'the adorable knight'!}" It paused for a second. "{Thinking back then, they were using quite the bold costumes. Forget about awkward, you lucky dog!}"
"Wow. Yeah, great memories… I'm having so much fun now, asshole," Adam remarked dryly.
"{Why don't we remember when you made a fool of yourself in front of the whole class in fifth grade when you proposed to the teacher? Or when you threw your friend in a mud puddle by mistake? Or how about when you and Siegfried were invited by that scientist and her friend to have a good time with them? Or that time-}"
"{Aside from those memories,}" It butt in. "{While some of them were embarrassing, you have to admit you acted on them based on good and pure intentions.}"
"Whatever you say," Adam rolled his eyes.
"{Embarrassed?}"
"Fuck you."
"{Awww… He's embarrassed!}" Adam growled and leaned on the wall.
He tried to go back to his unfocused state but found it hard with the voice still laughing at his expense.
"Are you done yet?"
"{You wish!}"
"{Moving on, when was the last time you spend your time doing something normal like this?}" Adam was glad that it changed the topic but he had to admit it caught him off guard. "I don't know. Maybe when I went to that library in New York?" He remembered that it was a rainy day and he went out to buy a book to kill some time while he was at the hotel back then.
"{That day doesn't count. You killed a hitman that was trailing you in a back alleyway,}" it remarked unimpressed. "{What I mean is, when was the last time you relaxed in the traditional sense?}" Understanding what it meant, Adam chuckled mirthlessly. "Before or after discovering that a powerful entity wants humanity dead?" Adam snorted. The people behind and in front glanced at him but he ignored them. "Before Fire Moth, before Honkai, and definitely before that fucking day, you know that I used to relax in the traditional sense."
Breakfast, school, lunch, play in the park, dinner with the family. Sleep and repeat it the next day. A repetitive routine with minimal changes. Boring in a sense. But when discovering that the world has a countdown from the mere beginning, and not from some natural source, but from an external force that wants to annihilate you, your dog, and all you held dear; it's kind of hard to pretend that everything is normal.
Adam glanced around. People were minding their business. A girl behind him was talking over her cellphone about meeting with her friends in a coffee shop; he saw a man huffing and puffing as he carried a lot of clothing bags with his wife walking in front of him; a toddler in its stroller being pushed by its gentle mother; a couple across the street teasing each other; an elder woman taking a walk with her dog…
"All of this will be gone in some years," he exhaled heavily. "What a shame."
"{You didn't come here to have such thoughts,}" it chided. "{You came here to have a day off from the Academy.}"
"I'm realist," he remarked.
"{Then, as you know better than anyone that all of this will be burned to ashes when shit gets serious; why not enjoy these calm moments,}" surprisingly it tried to be positive. Before Adam could respond, it continued. "{Yeah. Everything is going FUBAR after some years, then make the most of it while you. No one will get drunk, slack off, eat delicious food or even fuck when that shit hits the fan, so I say… Let's rock!}"
"{I can't believe I'm agreeing with it,}" it puffed out in exasperation. "{But it's right. Rather enjoy these calm moments and hope to see more of them after this war is won}."
"{The shrimp is right; you know… volunteers are going to be needed to repopulate the Earth when all is over~,}" it chuckled lewdly.
Adam wanted to refute but paused when he found merit in their words. He came here today to try and relax, away from school and the disdain showed towards him. He would try to relax and perhaps it would work. And the matter about when things would go grim, it couldn't be helped but brave the storm and ho-try to see the sunrise the next day. There would be time to cry and break down when all was over.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. He felt some tension leaving his shoulders.
"{Better?}"
"Yeah. A bit."
"{Glad to hear it, because… you're almost the next!}" Adam blinked and realized that indeed, there were three people in front of him before it was his turn.
"{Having deep and grim discussions tend to help pass the time quickly, aren't they?}"
"Shut it," he answered at the jab.
Ten minutes later, Adam was walking out of the street with a paper bag with the store logo on it and with his new console inside it.
"Now, where to go?" He pondered. "I have to still meet with the person Hestia talk about." He started to walk aimlessly. He was pondering what to do after meeting the person until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Quickly, he released the bag, gripped the hand with his free one, and turned to see who it was. His eyes widened and he said a word:
"Sirius?"
Tanaka Kazuya was a black-haired man in his first thirties. He was talking to her angry wife as he drove to his work.
"Honey, I know you're upset but there isn't helping it. Mr. Watanabe wants me to fix some issues that the newly hired personal couldn't solve." His wife huffed. "Saki, I know that the fat bastard overwork us but I need this job to pay all the debts with the bank." Tanaka stopped the car when the traffic light turned red. "I know that it hard honey, and I swear to God that I want to spend more time with you and the kids, but if I annoy Watanabe there won't be promotion honey." His wife sighed in defeat before telling him to take care.
"I will do it, honey. See you until night," he said before ending the call. He put down his cellphone and slammed the steering wheel with his hand. "Fucking bastard. Making me go in my day off because some newbies can't do their work," he clicked his tongue. "I bet the fat bastard is going to stay for some minutes before 'attending another urgent issue' with his secretary. Who does he think he is fooling? It's obvious that he is sleeping with his secretary," it pissed him off that he was doing that to his wife.
"At least he should have the decency to divorce from his wife before doing this. It's not my fault that he hates her." He was glad that he didn't have such problems with his beautiful Saki. Remembering her made Tanaka sigh. "I was supposed to spend the day with my family," he felt bad for not staying to chat with his baby girl and chat with the ball of energy that was his son. He knew that both of them were growing so fast and he was barely there to watch them.
"I will ask Suihara to cover me the next time. He owes me after saving his ass from that girl of the accountancy's office." The traffic light blinked for a second before turning green. He saw this and resumed driving.
"He better do that or I will-"
Tanaka never saw the van that t-boned his Toyota Prius at terrible speed. He only saw the world turn upside down, experiencing a feeling of weightlessness before the car crashed down on the asphalt and met his end, but he wasn't the only unfortunate.
In an area of five blocks, failures in the traffic light system were reported, resulting in a large number of accidents in the area and many deaths. The matter was investigated but the results were quite clear. It was a failure, nothing more nothing less.
Among those killed, there was a computer engineer who had worked several months ago at Massive Electric Corp before the dishonorable arrest of President Raiden Ryoma. This computer engineer was working at a new place.
Tanaka Kazuya, husband, and father of two children, met his end on his way to one of the offices of the Mikoyan Central Design and Manufacturing Bureau.
"Your dishes will be ready in a moment. If you need something from me, just press the button and I'll be with you in a second, dear customer."
"Thank you miss," a man smiled at the waitress. "But please don't call me so formally. Just calling me Lance would be enough." The young woman's cheeks turned a bit red with his charming smile.
"I-If you say so, Mister Lance," she stuttered before giving a short bow and leaving the man and his companion alone in a private room. The man chuckled when he saw the soft blush on her cheeks.
"I guess you're used to seeing your fair share of blushes in the academy, aren't you?" The man asked turning to his companion. The other person didn't say anything as he kept a neutral expression on his face.
"Playing the strong and silent type? Considering your age, it doesn't suit you," he commented leaning back on his chair. "I rather like it when you're more… expressive. Like the kids of your age, but after the kind of things you've seen and done, well, I guess it would be really scary if you acted like a normal kid."
"…"
"Come on! I invited you to eat here today to celebrate your birthday," he raised his arms like he was shouting 'surprise' to a friend's surprise birthday party. "At least try to pretend that you appreciate it," he sighed dejectedly.
"What do you want, Sirius?" Adam asked drily.
"Hey! Hey! Don't tell my name so casually in the open, even if we're indoors, Adam," he smiled but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I go by the name of Lance,for now." Adam raised a brow but didn't speak. The man, Lance, chuckled. "Long story but we don't' have the time for that. We're here today to enjoy your birthday."
Lance, or rather Sirius, was a tall young man in his early thirties, with light brown hair in a quiff undercut, shiny green eyes, a slim but athletic body, and a charming aura around him. He was wearing a purple business suit which consisted of a black tie, white shirt, gray vest, and black shoes. He also wore black gloves. At first gaze, he looked like a handsome man in his prime years with a happy smile on his face.
Though, Adam knew that it was all but a great useful façade to Sirius. He knew that despite his casual and sometimes silly attitude, Sirius was a great schemer and had an extensive and influential information network. No matter how insignificant or natural his actions seemed, he was always aiming at something with them. Adam barely knew anything of him, but he knew that Sirius was one of Hestia's most useful and closest associates. Still, even if he was close to Hestia, he always felt on guard whenever he was before him.
"But before we pass to the gifts, I would like to know if you haven't been a naughty boy. I can't reward bad attitudes, do I?"
"Hestia told me that you have some information about AE," Adam said sharply. Lance only smiled. "You're quite annoyed. Did something happen at the academy?" He inquired with a worrisome tone. "Do you have the information or not?" Adam asked with narrowed eyes. He wasn't going to play his game. Despite his attitude, Lance didn't seem upset at all. "Man… Someone must have stepped on your toes to be this grumpy." Adam didn't comment about it. Both of them fell in tense silence. Adam kept his serious semblance while Lance remained with a happy smile on his face. After almost a minute of not doing anything, Adam scowled and got up from his chair to leave the place.
"Come on, Adam. Don't be like that," Lance also got up from his chair and got on Adam's way. "Hestia asked me to check on you, she is worried about your moodiness and awareness lack to do something fun." Adam stopped. "Aside from that, I thought we could kill two birds with one shot. You'll get the information and something entertaining to do today," then he gestured with his hand for Adam to take again his seat. "How about we eat lunch before we move to the main event?" Adam kept his sharp gaze on him for some seconds before sighing and went back to his seat.
Seeing that speaking further will only annoy him, Lance remained silently smiling while tapping his fingers on the tablecloth. Adam kept his eyes on Lance, who didn't seem bothered by the action.
After almost twenty minutes in silence, the waitress came back with their food. She paused for a second feeling the tense silence floating within the private room, but Lance told her to enter, that there was no problem.
Swiftly and methodic, the young woman set up the table with fine cutlery. She proceeded to serve two steaming plates that smelled heavenly.
"Two orders of Roast Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce, as you asked Mister Lance."
"Oh my! They smell heavenly," Lance's mouth watered smelling the waffling essence. "What do you think, Adam?" The young man sniffed and agreed with Lance. "Indeed, it smells delicious." His words would have convinced the waitress if it wasn't for the scowl on his face. She bowed in gratitude to their words.
"Would you like to see our wine list, Mister Lance?" Lance nodded. The waitress retrieved it from her apron and offered it to him. As he grabbed it, his fingers touched the waitress's lithe finger by accident. The young woman fought to keep the hard blush down while Lance remained obvious to it.
"This one please, and don't forget to bring glasses to both of us."
"T-Two? Well…" She glanced with apprehension in Adam's direction. Lance waved off his hand. "Don't worry. Despite his looks, he knows how to handle his drink. Right, Adam?"
"Yes," Adam nodded in her direction.
"I see. I'll retrieve it in a second." Quickly she walked out of the room and a moment later she came back carrying two cups and a bottle of wine. She served the bottle's contents with expertise. Lance complimented her and she blushed at his words. Adam kept a neutral face while this played. After a short talk, the waitress left them alone again to talk in privacy.
"Not bad," Lance commented taking a sip from his glass. "What do you say, Adam?" For his part, he started to eat the meat without waiting for him. He paused for a second, savoring the softness and delicacy with which the meat was prepared, before remembering who was in front of him and resumed eating mechanically. Lance shrugged off and started to eat. From time to time, Adam would take a sip from his glass, but he never spoke to Lance while they ate, he didn't seem to mind it though.
After 40 minutes of eating silence, both of them finished.
"Delicious, isn't it?" Lance cleaned his lips with grace with the napkin, like he was a polite businessman.
"AE. What do you have about them?" For the first time since their reunion, Lance pursed his lips in irritation. Adam had to control himself to not scowl deeper with his genuine reaction.
"I would like to have a thank you from you. After all, I invited you here, a five-star restaurant, which takes weeks to get a reservation; and you've been nothing but impolite towards me and my efforts to make you feel welcome, Adam." Lance took a sip from his wine. "Although, seeing your lack of impression makes me wonder how good Raiden's cooking is?" Lance smiled innocently when Adam's eyes became cold and sharp. He had to applaud it to him, he was sure Adam was going to draw one claw or grip him from his shirt.
"You didn't invite me to just eat, and much less to ask me about the academy," Adam's voice was sharp. "What are you really doing here, Lance?"
Lance leaned his elbows on the table, crossed his hands, and put his chin on them. "You don't trust me, do you?" Adam scoffed.
"Leading Siegfried and me into a trap, almost make us fuck the mission and your stunt that put us in Schicksal's bounty hunters' radar for weeks?" Adam crossed. "Should I trust you?" He asked sarcastically.
"Trust in my skills, Adam. I have never let you down, even when things were dire," he said in his defense.
"But never in you, isn't it?" Adam thought.
"On a secondary note. That fuck up in The Cairo wasn't my fault at all. Some idiot thought they could cross me and gain some juicy cash with Siegfried's bounty. They're already taken care of." Adam nodded, but still didn't lower his guard. He was still upset with Lance at what happened in that city and how he almost got caught by Otto's hunt dogs.
"What do you mean with Raiden's cooking?" Adam cursed that Lance had eyes in the academy. While Hestia kept him on a leash, he could work around the edges she imposed on him. Lance was skillful, no doubt, but working with him equaled to play with dynamite and gasoline. In both hands.
"A little bird told me you're living together with her and other girls," he chuckled. "I didn't expect the always serious and brutal Adam to live together with a bunch of girls while attending an all-girls school with them. It's silly, like a manga plot." Lance grinned. "But I must say I'm surprised that you're living with Siegfried's little girl. I think I could help her with-"
"Try to play with her and you are dead, Sirius."
Lance quickly leaned back and raised his hands in surrender. He knew that Adam wasn't bluffing, he was dead-serious and more with his frightening red-black eyes.
"Geez! Don't take it personally, Adam. But if you insist, I'll back off from your territory." Adam's glare remained on him. Lance sighed. "I just wanted to know what you were doing after all these months without hearing from you. And when I heard what happened in Nagazora, I had a hunch you were there." Adam's eyes went back to normal but his eyes narrowed when Lance said he had a hunch. He never believed in such things, and less with the kind of affairs, he was involved in.
"AE?" Adam asked. Lance winked and got up from his seat. "Let me pay for the meal and we'll be on our way to see your gifts. But let me add that I was curious to know if you have been a little shit in that academy."
"From my mouth, not from your little birds," Adam remarked. In response, Lance laughed and walked out of the room.
After flirting and giving his number to the waitress, Lance paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant with Adam a couple of steps behind. Once they walked out of the restaurant, on the street there was a black Audi A3 waiting for them.
"Hop in, Adam. I'm eager to show you your late birthday gifts." Lance winked at him. Adam clicked his tongue before rolling his eyes and got in the car.
Without him noticing, there was a cellphone recording his moves.
"Oh my god!" A brown-haired girl squealed in surprise. The girl in question was a student from St. Freya that was spending the evening walking around the city. She just walked out from a clothing store, recording all the cute outfits she found and that her friends were missing before she caught sight of the only male student of St. Freya walking out of an expensive restaurant with a handsome man. While it would be wrong to assume things, the girl couldn't help but imagine many kinds of scenarios running in her head.
"Is he his dad? No. They don't look alike. Maybe an uncle?" She was guessing until she saw Sirius winking at Adam and his reaction. "OH MY GOD! Don't tell me he has a sugar daddy?!" The girl screamed on the street, startling some pedestrians. "It can't be, right?! I mean, he's a loner and barely gazes at any of the girls at school and he spends most of the time with his friends. But I don't think he could pay at that restaurant. I had heard it's freaking expensive." She saw how the car started to move on. "Maybe I should show this to the girls and heard their opinions." She stopped recording and was about to send the video to her friends.
"I don't' think it's a good idea, miss." The girl almost dropped her phone when she heard a male voice coming from her cellphone. She didn't call anyone by mistake, right?
"It's awful to meddle in the affairs of others. Although considering that your mother is the editor-in-chief of a gossip magazine, it's in your blood," the stranger stated dryly. The girl's eyes widened. How did he know-?
"Here; a little help to correct your bad attitude," the stranger said warmly. The girl watched in bewilderment when her cellphone blinked for a second before many lewd photos appeared on her screen. Her bewilderment was replaced with cold horror when the protagonist of such photos was her! She had never done such things before! But her face, no, her entire naked body was displayed doing such gross things!
"I'll keep this short. You would forget the last five minutes and be in your merry way. Or…" Her screen displayed a message with all the lewd contents with her face on them, ready to be sent to all her friends and family!
"Do we have a deal?"
"Y-yes…" She stuttered.
"Have a nice day!" The stranger hung up and her cellphone went back to normal. The girl fell to her knees, in horror and relief at what just happened.
At the car, Adam saw Lance tipping something in his cellphone before shoving it back in his suit.
"Is there a problem?"
"Not at all Adam," Lance beamed. Adam gazed at him for a moment before moving his eyes back to the road.
"Not at all."