Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kiana Kaslana, known more widely as the White Ghost, one of Siberia's most renowned mercenaries, stared at the site of her latest job and wondered, not for the first time, if there hadn't been a mistake. 

She checked her phone. Nope, definitely the right place.

She stared at the gate again. The gate to Chiba Academy, one of the most esteemed schools in all of Japan, stared back.

…. She really wished there had been a mistake. 

Sighing, she went back to her phone, this time opening the message that had brought her here in the vain hope of finding an explanation that made sense.

“Kiana,

Your mission has been changed. You have been enrolled in Chiba Academy, Nagazora, as a transfer student. An ID and cover story for your background has been provided. Your task is to attend classes as normal while reconnoitring the area for any signs of unusual Honkai activity. Payment has been sent as per your normal rates for long term missions. 

On a more personal note; Kiana, I know you have your reasons for being so single minded, but despite your condition and past, you are still very much a child, and you deserve to have a chance to act as one, and to get an education. I understand you will feel uncomfortable with spending so much time around others and in one place, but your readings have been stable for almost a year at this point, and one of my highest ranking associates sends his own daughter to Chiba Academy - I assure you, nobody will learn of your presence. If you choose to return to your usual wanderings, I will accept it, but please, try to attend class for at least one month before making your decision. 

I will be in contact again in a month's time. Sincerely, 

W.Y.

Ps: Do not worry about your previous assignment, it's been handled.”

The explanation failed to make sense.

”What do you mean, ‘it's been handled’ you jerk!” she hissed to herself in frustration, shaking her fist in futile anger at the message's absent sender. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into Japan with no records!? I spent half my savings getting here!”

With a last explosive sigh, Kiana put her phone back in her pocket, before returning to her wary standoff with the school gate. She probably wasn't going to accomplish much by doing so, but she could totally win a staring contest with a gate! It didn't even have eyes! Her victory was assured!

…. In hindsight, Kiana supposed she should've expected something was up. The doctors had been super shifty at her last check up, and the job she'd taken that led her to Nagazora had been pretty light on details. But seriously, this whole thing was entirely unnecessary. 

… Well, maybe. She supposed she probably wouldn't have gone for this idea if they told her ahead of time, but so what? Yeah, she didn't have any friends and the White Ghost’s work hours were pretty high, but she was a mercenary! A Siberian mercenary! Who cared about her social life - she had work to do! 

It didn't help that they had been all sneaky about it. As stated, the message had been accompanied by a fake ID that she knew without even checking was impeccable - cleanly explaining away all the questions anyone would have about a sudden mystery transfer. It even explained away her last name, establishing that she was from an unremarkable family that had lived in Siberia for generations before leaving after the Second Eruption - and which had no relation to the noble House Kaslana that were known among European history buffs for their long history as knights of renown in times past, and among some others as far, far more.

Even the enrollment itself had been handled, with transcripts of her “interview” and a copy of her entrance exam - barely above the pass mark, which was rude but, admittedly, probably true - so she wouldn't get caught out by any discrepancies. And even if she did, whoever it was her benefactor mentioned was apparently with AE and would cover for her. It was all set up - but did she really need school? S-sure, she hadn't gotten any kinda education since she was tiny, but what did someone like her need one of those for-

She… she was avoiding the issue again. She'd always been too good at doing that. She took a deep breath and sighed. 

… This was absolutely her old man’s doing. Making her go to school as a vacation sounded exactly like the sort of zany nonsense he'd come up with.

… She missed him. 

Timidly, old, bone deep fear slowing her, Kiana reached within her mind to a sense few possessed. The Honkai flowed through her body, as it always did - but not much of it. Her stigmata glowed dully, but kept its power tightly leashed - the Core buried in her chest remained dormant, only a trickle escaping it. She was safe, or at least not an active bomb. 

She took a deep, shuddering breath. One month. She would take one month to live a normal life, before she returned to her wanderings. She… she could handle that long. Her resolve firmed, she walked forward, entering the gates to the first day of school she had ever known -

“Huh?”

Kiana paused a few steps away from the door, frowning to herself. Slowly, she turned her head, scanning the area as her old man had taught her. There was nothing. No zombies hiding in dark alleys to ambush unsuspecting prey, no Beasts lurking as they waited for their chance.

“... So why is there so much Honkai in the air here?”

Quickly, making sure nobody was watching, Kiana grabbed her phone and opened an extremely unusual app. The tiny Honkai sensor backed up her own senses - there was ambient Honkai energy here. Not enough to hurt anyone, not yet, but noticeably higher than the average - and it wasn't fading away like it would if it was merely the remnants of some long ago incident. If anything, it felt like it was getting stronger. 

Kiana checked her Core again. Still no signs of it leaving the dormant state it had been in for most of her life. She used her phone to double check, just in case. It said she was stable. So if it wasn't her, what was going on here?

Kiana frowned, troubled - before her gaze caught on the time. Why did something about it being 8:55 feel unnerving -

The realisation hit her as hard as the Ganesha that had rammed her through a building a year ago. “OH CRAP I'M GONNA BE LATE!” She yelped in alarm, slamming open the door as she sprinted past a thoroughly surprised receptionist in the direction of her first class.

As she raced to avoid truancy, a small part of Kiana’s mind kept a note of the strange Honkai spike. It looked like that excuse about “reconnoitring for unusual Honkai activity” was going to be more relevant than she'd thought. 

[HR][/HR]

Kiana stood outside her classroom, unable to ignore the nervous energy filling her. She had never been to a school before - would she do something wrong? She checked her uniform, a white sailor uniform in the style of the place she was allegedly transferring from. It didn't look dirty or anything, but she had lived on the road for years - what if it looked like crap? “Oh man, this is gonna go to hell- maybe it isn't too late for me to just - no! None of that Kiana. One month, that's all you gotta handle!” She rambled to herself internally, her stream of consciousness as fragmented as ever.

Finally, a voice drifted out from the room. “.... now, we will be receiving a transfer student today. She will be with us for the foreseeable future, and I expect you all to give her a warm and polite welcome, are we clear?” There was a chorus of “Yes, Sensei” from the class, before the door opened. “Hello there, Kaslana-san.” The teacher greeted, a courteous smile on her face. “Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?”

She nodded. “Y-Yeah, Sensei. I can manage that for sure!” She said, making an effort to smile in feigned excitement. 

The teacher's smile turned sad. “I'm glad to hear it. I know you went through quite a bit in Siberia before moving to Japan-” oh okay her cover story included that she wouldn't have to make something up, good “-and while we haven't told your classmates where you're from, your appearance might get some attention. If anyone starts making you uncomfortable or asks about something too personal, just tell me and I'll set them straight, alright?”

Kiana felt a little bad. The lady clearly sympathised pretty hard with the presumably traumatised war orphan her cover story made her out to be, but growing up in Siberia with her old man had been the happiest years of her life. Still, it was nice to know she had an explanation for if something caused her to freak out. “I will. Thanks, Sensei.” She said, smiling gratefully - misplaced or not, the kindness was appreciated - before squaring her shoulders and walking into the classroom. 

Sitting in the front row was the single prettiest girl Kiana had ever seen.

Mistakes had been made.

Kiana froze midstep, her eyes locked on the other girl. Silken black hair tied in a ponytail fell down to her back, over the dark uniform of the school. Purple eyes gazed back, a polite smile adorning her face. Her skin was utterly perfect, and her… yeah Kiana was feeling a little envy there.

Kiana was very aware she was gay, but if she somehow hadn’t figured it out before, she definitely would have realised it now, because woah. Should… should she say something? Introduce herself? Wait, did the other girl even like girls? How would she tell? What was her old man’s advice again - wait, no, bad idea, her old man’s advice was awful. But then how was she supposed to - the girl was starting to frown, why - oh God she was staring like a creep crap no ABORT -

Desperately fighting not to blush, Kiana rapidly turned her head away from the pretty girl and walked towards the front of the class, praying her zone out hadn’t been too weird looking to the others - she did not want to cement her status as a headcase on the first day. Arriving at the teacher’s desk, she turned to face her new classmates.

That… was a lot of people. Not the most people she’d ever seen in one place, but definitely the most her own age. Kiana took a deep breath, going over her plan to introduce herself one final time. “Please, God, don’t let me screw up my Japanese here. I will never live it down.”

“Hi, everyone!” She announced cheerfully, smiling widely. “I’m Kiana, Kiana Kaslana! I just moved here to Nagazora, and I’ve transferred here for the year. I’ll be with you from now on - pleased to meet you!” She finished, throwing a V sign with her hands and winking. “Nailed it.”

Immediately, the class exploded into whispers. “Wow, talk about energetic!” “She seems pretty outgoing.” “Geez, those looks… so unfair.” “Did anyone recognise that accent?” “What kinda name is Kaslana? Is she a foreigner or something?” As the storm of muttered words continued, Kiana almost wilted, her confidence fading into embarrassment until the teacher strode up next to her and made a polite cough.

The silence was instant. This lady was good.

“Now, if you’re all quite done..?” She said, eyebrow raised as she cast her eyes around the room. Nobody dared speak. “Good. Now then, Kaslana-san, please sit down - there is an empty seat over there -” she nodded towards the window -  “so we can begin our lessons for the day. Our first class will be on mathematics, so if everyone would please get their texts and notebooks ready…”

As Kiana rushed to her seat, she suppressed the urge to wince at the idea of math - she had always struggled with it when her old man tried to teach her before. Still, that had been years ago, and her old man sucked at teaching. She could totally do this!

[HR][/HR]

Kiana had never been less able to do something in her entire life.

She stared at the textbook. The textbook stared back. The problem had letters in it. Math wasn't meant to involve letters, Kiana was pretty sure, just numbers, but there were letters anyway. Everyone else seemed completely unsurprised by this, so apparently this was normal? The teacher had launched into an explanation of what the lesson was about, seemingly under the assumption that her students all understood the basics already, which was perfectly fine except for the fact Kiana didn't know what the letters were.

The young Kaslana could practically feel her brain frying itself inside of her skull. Should she speak up? No, it was obvious she was the only one who didn't know this - she'd just look like an idiot. Wait until after class? No, she'd be late for her next lesson then. Ask one of her classmates…? Kiana nervously glanced around at her peers, and immediately decided against that plan. Smacking her head on a brick wall it was.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was actually just an hour or so, the teacher put down her chalk. “And that concludes today's mathematics class. Now I'm sure you're all tired after that one just after summer break, so we'll have a ten minute break to talk among yourselves before the next class. Do behave yourselves now, yes?”

“Yes, Sensei!” the class answered en masse, Kiana joining a second late as her brain processed the end of it's suffering. “Very good.” The teacher said, nodding in satisfaction. “Then I'll leave you to it for now.” So saying, she stood, turned, and walked out the door.

The moment the door closed behind her, the class exploded in activity. 

Kiana let her head fall onto her desk, groaning in exhaustion. That… had sucked. A lot. She was starting to understand why all the kids on tv or in books hated school so much - if it was all like this, she wasn't a fan herself. Maybe… maybe she should just take a nap. That'd be fine, right? She had ten minutes… just… let herself… drift… off…

“Ah, Kiana-san?” 

“Bweh?” Kiana startled awake, her head snapping up. What - who woke her up - what had happened - oh God it was the pretty girl. “Ah - y-yes, that uh, is me! Kiana Kaslana, nice to meet you!” She babbled, sitting ramrod straight. “Wh-what can I do for you, pre - uh, new classmate?” She tried, desperately trying not to blush like a fool.

“Oh dear… did I wake you up?” The girl asked in concern, blessedly not mentioning Kiana’s rambling. “I had been hoping to introduce myself properly while we had time, but I can wait if you're feeling drained -”

“No!” Kiana blurted. “I'm fine. Just. Didn't sleep great, that's all. I'm up for talking!”

The other girl blinked in confusion “I… see?” Shaking her head, she continued on. “Well, my name is Raiden Mei. I lead the Kendo club here at the Academy. I'm glad to meet you, Kiana-san… or… hmm…” she trailed off, seeming confused at something. Kiana stared back, blinking in bafflement, until she remembered that oh right, Asia.

“Oh! Uh, my last name is Kaslana.” She clarified, waving her hand. “Sorry about that, I forgot it's the other way around here. I don't mind if you just call me Kiana, though!” She said cheerily.

“Oh, you're a foreigner then?” Mei asked curiously, borrowing the chair in front of Kiana (It's occupant having crossed the room to speak with someone else). “I was wondering about your looks, but I didn't want to assume…”

“Yep!” Kiana answered, leaning backwards with her hands behind her head. “This is my first time in Japan actually, I only moved here a bit ago. I travel a ton though, so I'm pretty used to being in new places.” She averted her eyes for a second, momentarily embarrassed. “I uh, hope I'm speaking properly - Japanese is pretty complicated and I'm not sure how politely I should be talking right now.”

“Really?” Mei said, astonished. “Your Japanese is excellent! I could barely hear an accent - I'd assumed you'd lived here for years.” She shook her head. “You must've had an excellent tutor.”

“Actually, I picked it up from my old man.” Kiana said, grinning at the memories. "He's such a fanboy for anime and stuff…I think the word was otaku?” She shook her head. “I don't think I could not learn Japanese, after how many Arahato marathons he dragged me into watching.”

“Oh my…” Mei giggled at the description, thankfully not noticing how Kiana’s heart skipped a couple beats. “That's certainly an interesting way to learn a language.”

“Yeah, no kidding…” Kiana agreed, smiling to herself. This was… fun. She couldn't really remember the last time she'd just sat down and talked with another person, not about something that wasn't super important. It was… nice. “Anyway, enough about me for now - what about you? Any languages you know? Uh, other than the obvious, I mean.”

“Hmmm…” Mei answered, putting a finger to her chin. “Well, I'm a fair bit better at English than most, I suppose? I don't know if that really counts when everyone learns it in school, but my father happens to be a businessman, so I was exposed to it a fair amount more than usual whenever he would speak with associates from overseas… I suppose it must've rubbed off on me, given how often my friends ask for help with English homework.”

“Wow, really?” Kiana blinked in surprise. “That's pretty impressive - English sucks if it's the second one you learn!”

“Oh, it's nothing that impressive.” Mei denied. “I can hold a conversation, but that's really all.”

“Still impressive!” Kiana stubbornly insisted. “God, when I started to learn English it was hell. There was this one time…”

As their conversation continued, Kiana felt more and more at ease. For years, she'd avoided other people for a multitude of reasons, never going beyond passing conversation with anyone around her. Yet now, talking to this girl, she felt more comfortable in her own skin than she had in years.

“Huh.” She thought to herself absently as the teacher walked back in. “Maybe the docs had a point about me needing to talk more.”

“Ah, looks like the break is over.” Mei realised, getting to her feet. “Thank you for your time, Kaslana-san. I hope you'll enjoy your time here at Chiba - talk to me if anything comes up, alright?” She added, smiling. She had a really good smile.

“Got it!” Kiana replied, grinning back. “See ya later, Raiden-senpai~!” “Wait, was that too forward? Oh shit it was wasn't it, oh no-”

But Mei just laughed to herself, seemingly almost embarrassed. “Thank you, but I don't think I deserve that much respect just yet. I'm just doing what anyone would, really.” Before Kiana could reply - and point out nobody else had come to talk with her - the black haired girl was halfway back to her seat.

As Kiana quickly grabbed her books for the next lesson - English, ironically enough - she found, to her surprise, that she wasn't having to put effort into her usual, cheery smile. Even more strangely, she didn't feel like she could stop. For the first time in a long while, Kiana smiled not to reassure others, or to make herself seem harmless. She was smiling because she was happy. 

All from one conversation with a pretty girl. She supposed her old man was right - girls really were amazing. Maybe this whole school thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

[HR][/HR]

As Kiana walked out of the classroom, she couldn’t help but groan a little to herself. English had gone well enough, even if she had decided not to volunteer for any of the questions the teacher asked, but History… holy hell, History. Kiana had never cared about it much, and she certainly didn’t now - the fact she had to remind herself not to interrupt when they talked about things that she knew were really paper-thin coverups of the Honkai doing something just made it worse.

Still, it was over for now. It was time for lunch! Or, well, a break anyway - Kiana was more or less broke at this point, and her cooking skills… were about average for a Kaslana, so she didn't have anything to eat. Still, a break was something she direly needed after banging her head against her own lack of knowledge for a couple hours, so she was more than willing to head to the cafeteria and take a breather.

If she knew where the cafeteria was.

Which she didn't.

“Ugh…. Where is it?” She muttered, looking around in confusion.”It's gotta be around here somewhere, right? Maybe there's a map nearby…” 

“Kaslana-san?” A voice called. Kiana jerked her head in surprise, only to relax as she saw who it was. “Ah, there you are.” Mei said, sighing in relief. “Sorry to disturb you - I was just wondering if you knew where the cafeteria is, seeing as it's your first day.”

“Hi, Raiden-senpai…” Kiana said sheepishly. “I was, uh, just trying to figure that out, actually, ehe…” She waved a hand dismissively. “Don't worry about me, though! I got this, just… need a second to figure out the directions.” She assured, peering at the plaques on the nearby doors in the vain hope of ascertaining her location. 

A sigh of fond exasperation was her only warning before she suddenly felt her hand being grabbed. “Honestly, Kaslana-san, there's no shame in needing help.” Mei said wryly, thankfully missing how Kiana stiffened at the unexpected contact. “It's only your first day - it's perfectly understandable you don't know where everything is yet. Come on - I'll show you the way.” 

“W-wait, no need! I'll get there, no need to take time out of your day-” Kiana blurted out - and then instantly shut up as Mei turned and smiled.

“If you're going to call me your senior, it's only right that I act as such, isn't it?” She said, tugging Kiana along behind her. “Don't worry - it's no bother. Now, the stairs should be down this hallway…” 

[HR][/HR]

Kiana had thought she'd seen a lot of people in one room when she'd first gotten a look at her class, but apparently she'd had slightly more skewed standards than she'd thought, because when Mei opened the door to the cafeteria, the first thing that went through her head was “Holy SHIT that is a lot of people.” 

Still, even if the room was packed with teenagers like a can of sardines, they at least weren't focusing their attention on her this time. Kiana was proud to note that she only stumbled over her feet for a moment in surprise, rather than freezing up completely. Progress!

“Hmm, seems we're here on time.” Mei noted absently, casting her gaze around. “Now, there should be - Ah, there we go.” She walked forward, tugging on Kiana’s hand as she went. “Come this way, there's a free table.”

Sure enough, there was, a bit away from the main pack. Kiana couldn't quite stop the sigh of relief that escaped her as she sat down, collapsing halfway onto the table. “Hoo boy, there's a lot of people here… thanks, Raiden-senpai. I'd be completely lost without you.”

Mei laughed politely, waving her off. “I told you, it's nothing. I know I wished someone showed me where to go on my first day of class - it wasn't a bother.”

“Well, thanks anyway.” Kiana said stubbornly, before lifting her head to look around. It was strange - the room had a lot of decorations and stuff, even a few paintings hanging on the walls. Those made a little more sense once she focused her eyes on the plaques declaring them to be the works of various students, but the place was still pretty fancy for what was ultimately a school cafeteria. “Then again, Chiba is apparently a pretty big deal.” She mused to herself. “I guess if most of the students are rich kids and stuff, it makes sense the school is all ornamental and fancy. I'm probably the only one who thinks it's odd -”

“Mei-san! Hey!”

“Morning, Mei-san!”

“Mei-san, how was your summer?”

“What the-!?” Kiana blurted out, startled from her thoughts by the sudden barrage of greetings. Somehow, in the few moments she'd spent looking around the room, their isolated table had become surrounded by almost half a dozen other girls. For a split second, Kiana tensed, but Mei simply smiled in happiness. 

“Hello, everyone! I'm doing quite well - Father was on a business trip in America, so I got to spend some time overseas again. How about you, Hikari-san? I heard you were planning on visiting Greece?”

“Yeah, we did! It was great too - you have to go see the Pantheon one day, it's gorgeous-” And with that, the conversation exploded, a flurry of gossip, anecdotes and more than a little one upmanship passing between them. Mei stood, alone at the eye of the storm, demurely waving off the torrent of compliments and well wishes headed her way while simultaneously praising the others on their own accomplishments. Kiana, meanwhile, sank into her seat and desperately tried to disappear. 

Mei, unfortunately, didn't seem to get the memo on Kiana not wanting to be in this mess. “Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot!“ She said in shocked realisation. “Everyone, this is Kiana Kaslana-san - Kaslana is her last name - a new transfer student in my class.” She explained, gesturing to Kiana to guide her fellow’s attention towards her. “Kaslana-san, these are my friends. Sorry about that - we didn't see each other much over summer, so we got a little distracted…”

“No big deal…” Kiana said with a shake of her head, turning to face the new arrivals as she tried to bury her nerves under her usual cheery facade. “Hey! Uh, nice to meet you all. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, it's my first day so Raiden-senpai was just… showing me around and stuff…” she trailed off, wilting under the other's stares. She knew it was wrong to assume, and these people were Mei's friends so they were probably alright people, but… Kiana couldn't shake the feeling they were judging her somehow. But for what? She hadn't done anything yet…

“Hello, Kaslana-san.” One of them, the one Mei had called Hikari, replied evenly. “I hope you've been feeling welcome here. I assume from the order of your name that you're a foreigner?” 

“Yep!” Kiana answered. “I, uh, only moved to Japan a little while ago. This place has been pretty neat so far, though”

Hikari hummed to herself non comitally. “I suppose that explains your accent. Where are you from, if I could ask?”

Kiana tensed, not particularly fond of the way she'd asked that, but she didn't exactly have any excuse not to answer either. “... Siberia.” She said flatly, intentionally not looking directly at any of them. “I was from Siberia.”

There was a moment of silence around the table, followed by what Kiana could've sworn was someone being kicked discretely under the table. Everyone, even sheltered rich kids, knew Siberia was a hellhole. “I'm sorry.” Mei apologised softly, reaching a hand to rest on Kiana’s own. “That can't have been easy. Do you want to…?”

Kiana shook her head quickly. “I'd really rather not, thanks.” She said, continuing to keep her voice carefully blank. “I'm here, not there. No point going into it.” In truth, Kiana had no real problem with where she was from, but the fewer questions about her past she had to answer, the better. If that meant pretending she was just another traumatised survivor of the hell Siberia had become after the Second Eruption, well, it wasn't that far from the truth.

“I understand.” Mei said gently, unaware of the twinge of guilt Kiana felt at the deception. “I won't ask again -” and a quick glare at her friends that wasn't as subtle as she probably thought made it clear she expected them to do the same “- but, if you ever feel like talking about it, I'm willing to listen, okay?”

Kiana didn't need to fake the small smile on her face at that. “This girl is too damn kind, seriously.” “I'll keep it in mind.” She answered wryly. “Thanks, Raiden-senpai.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, after the rather depressing subject they'd suddenly found themselves addressing. Kiana couldn't help but notice that Hikari and a few of the others seemed to be judging her even more now, even as some of the others shot her looks of sympathy. Finally, after shooting a Look at Hikari, one of Mei’s other friends - Kiana thought she was called Kimiko - clapped her hands to attract attention. “Well then! That's enough of that, I'd say. Has anyone heard about that new branch that Yukimaru-san’s family set up in the old city?” 

“I had, actually!” Mei said, seizing the opportunity. “My father was saying that -” And with that, the gossip began once again. This time, it was the rest of their peers that were the focus of discussion, dozens of names and references flying to and fro. Kiana barely understood a word of it, but kept an ear on it nevertheless, quietly absorbing what she could. She'd been right, apparently - basically everyone was either the kid of some major business owner, or from some old money family. Kiana wasn't exactly judging - heck, she was old money technically, even if she and her old man had basically disowned most of the rest of House Kaslana after… everything - but it did mean a lot of the subject matter went right over her head.

And then, a question was asked that would have consequences nobody at that table could've considered.

“By the way, has anyone seen Miyuki-san lately?” One of the girls, Kaneko or something, asked. “I saw her this morning, but she ran off and wouldn't talk to me…” the girl trailed off, confused by the stares she was met with. “What?”

“You… didn’t hear?” Yumi asked, suddenly subdued. She wasn't the only one. While a couple of others, Mei included, seemed just as baffled by the sudden drop in the mood as Kiana and Kaneko, most of the others had suddenly gone quiet, saddened expressions on their faces as they looked between each other. “I'm… surprised she was here today. I thought she might… well… want some time before coming back.” She finished, her voice quiet.

“Hear what?” Mei asked, worry in her voice. “Did something happen to Asakura-san?” 

All of the girls who seemed to know what was going on suddenly flinched. “Okay yeah something happened.” Kiana thought, straightening. “Why does it seem like everyone knows about it though?”

“I'm… not sure it's my place to say.” Kimiko, one of the few people at the table Kiana didn't have a bad feeling about, answered carefully, her voice shaking in a way Kiana suspected was very much out of character for the girl. “It was a… very personal incident. I don't feel like we should really speak of it behind Asakura-san's back like this -”

“Oh it was terrible!” One of the girls - Kiana hadn't caught her name - blurted out. “It was just a few weeks ago - one of Miyuki-san's friends was supposed to meet up with her, but she was late, so she went looking for her but it turned out she had run into some group of thugs on her way there, she had to call an ambulance!”

"What?” Mei jolted in her seat. “That's awful! Did the police find out who was responsible yet?”

“They did, Mei-san, don't worry, but we really shouldn't-” Kimiko tried to say, only to be interrupted. “Oh, the police found them alright.” Hikari said coldly. “But apparently they were only charged with battery and theft. Not enough evidence, supposedly.” She snorted in disdain.

“Not enough evidence of what?” Kaneko said, looking around sharply. Hikari's mouth clicked shut, seemingly realising she'd said too much. There was a tense silence, nobody seeming to want to be the one to answer, before Kimiko sighed.

“I suppose it's best you hear it now, since apparently nobody understands privacy…” She muttered, Yumi, Hikari and the other girl wincing at the callout. “There were… Well.” She took a deep breath, putting a hand on Kaneko's. “There were reports that Asakura was… assaulted. During the incident.”

The silence was deafening. 

“...What?” Mei breathed in horror. Kaneko, face white, jumped to her feet and half walked, half ran off. Kiana gritted her teeth. The incident had already happened by the time she was in Japan. There was nothing she could do. “That…. that's horrific!” Mei said, her voice rising. “And you're saying those thugs weren't even convicted!?”

Kimiko shook her head. “The police apparently couldn't prove they were responsible. They were proven guilty of the theft and her injuries, but… I'd think we all know that's the least of her concerns right now.” She finished quietly, a heavy silence falling over their group.

“Has anyone been checking in on her?” Kiana asked, looking around. But she was met with the sight of the others shaking their heads in denial. 

“Asakura-san is something of a loner, you could say.” Hikari explained. “She has few friends, and none especially close. Kaneko-san is actually one of her closer acquaintances, and as you saw, she didn't even know about all of this.” The older girl shook her head. “I'd say she's mostly been dealing with it on her own.”

“There are rumours going around too.” Yumi noted quietly. “Some students haven't been seen in a couple days now, and people are saying nobody knows where they went. I hope they're okay…”

“We all do.” Mei reassured her, having regathered her composure. “But right now, the best we can do is keep an eye out to make sure Asakura-san is okay. And I shouldn't have to remind you all to keep this to yourselves, yes?” She added in exasperation. 

Kimiko scoffed. “Honestly, Mei-san, there's no need for concern. Most of us understand that privacy is supposed to be respected. Never fear - I'll make sure the rumour mongers show some tact for once.”

“I'd expect nothing less.” Mei said, nodding graciously. And that, it seemed, was that, for the little circle of popular kids - the table falling back into a subdued silence. Kiana, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. An inkling of suspicion entered her thoughts. 

[HR][/HR]

As the final bell rang, Kiana couldn't help but yawn, stretching her arms over her head. “Man, what a day…” she muttered. “Here's hoping school isn't normally this crazy.” 

“Indeed.” An equally exhausted voice rang out next to her. Kiana definitely did not jump out of her seat thank you. “Ah! Sorry, did I startle you?” Mei asked worriedly. 

“Nah, it's fine!” Kiana hastily reassured, waving her hands in the air. “Just didn't hear you, that's all!” Mei didn't quite seem convinced, but after a moment, she nodded in acceptance. 

“Very well… at any rate, I came over to apologize…” Mei winced. “Well. For what happened at lunch. I didn't expect your first day here to be overshadowed by such a tragedy…”

“No need - not like it's your fault or anything.” Kiana said with a shrug, grabbing her bag as she walked to the door. “Really, I'm just hoping everyone will be alright.” 

“Still, I'm sorry your introduction to the campus got interrupted this way.” Mei said sincerely. “Don't worry either way - with any luck, Asakura-san will be fine. We just have to make sure she doesn't feel alone.”

Kiana stopped, then turned and smiled softly. “... you're a good person, Raiden-senpai.” 

“Eh?” Mei blinked in confusion, not entirely sure what she'd done to earn such praise - wouldn't anyone do what she did in her position? 

“Thanks, for helping me out.” Kiana continued, tracing a pattern absently on her shirt. “To be honest…” she hesitated a moment, trying to decide how much she was comfortable revealing, before she finished her sentence. “... I haven't been out of Siberia very long, y'know? This was my first time ever going to a normal school like this…” she admitted scuffing her heels on the floor.

“Really?” Mei asked, eyes wide. “I… I'm sorry. It can't have been easy.” 

“Eh, you'd be surprised.” Kiana said, flashing a cheeky grin at her classmate before becoming serious again. “But… Really, thank you. I was nervous as hell today. You might think it was nothing, but coming over and talking to me… not a lot of people really bother, so it helped more than you know.” Kiana bowed formally. “Thank you for the help, senpai!”

Kiana couldn't tell her how much it had really helped. She couldn't tell Mei just how grateful she was for the other girl, the first person in a very long time to see the young Kaslana and decide to help her simply because it was the right thing. It would put her in grave danger, to know anything of Kiana’s past, and frankly, Kiana didn't know if she trusted her enough to tell her in the first place. But she could at the very least, thank her for this.

It was a good thing Kiana had lowered her head, because if she saw Mei blushing in embarrassment, she'd have had a heart attack. “I still really don't think I've done anything to earn such respect… but, consider your gratitude accepted.” She managed, turning away to start walking again.

Kiana flashed another grin, before trailing off after her. Soon, they reached the exit, and Kiana turned to leave. Before she exited the gate however, Mei interrupted her one last time. “Kaslana-san?” Kiana turned, curiously gazing back. “I'll see you again tomorrow.” Mei said simply, smiling. 

Kiana’s eyes widened for a single instant, before she smiled widely - the second real smile she'd had in a single day. “Yeah! See you!” she said happily, before heading off.

After a few minutes walking, Kiana grabbed her phone, humming to herself merrily as she went. Today had been a good one - the best in a while. “Maybe this whole vacation thing was a good idea after all.” she mused to herself, tapping a long since memorised code into her phone to bring up the Mercnet. “Now then… aha, that's perfect!” She cried, seeing a job excellent for her skills - and for good pay to boot. “Time to build up some savings.” She thought cheerily, heading in the indicated direction. 

And so began the next stage in Kiana’s life.

Chapter Text

The alley was dark. Silence filled the air, the bustling sounds of city life muffled - this area was far from where most people lived. The buildings were boarded up; the lights were broken, hanging loosely from their mounts. Nobody had been here in quite some time.

Or at least, nobody living.

The zombies were still, unmoving. There was none of the shuffling, moaning or aimless wandering one would expect from movies or games; the Honkai did not waste the energy of its soldiers. They simply stood, statue-like, so still and silent one might think they were truly dead.

They weren’t. They were simply waiting.

Though the dead themselves had long since been purged of any remaining brain activity, and no greater force was there to command them, the Honkai animating them had a certain instinctive cunning. It knew that were the zombies to rush forward to slaughter the people of Nagazora, they would fail; they were too few, too weak - merely animated corpses with sharp teeth and claws, the humans they had formerly been lacking the Honkai resistance to become any true threat in death. Were they to strike, they would kill some, yes, but it would be mere moments before the Valkyries of Shicksal’s Far East branch descended to purge the infestation - and then, the jig would be up. 

And so, the zombies simply stood there. Waiting. Always waiting, for the balance to be shifted - an Eruption to either empower them or hold the attention of Honkai’s enemy, a powerful Beast to command them, or maybe, should the Will of Honkai deem it suitable, even a Psuedo-Herrscher to issue the call to slaughter. But until then, they would linger here, in the places humanity had ignored, remaining beneath Shicksal and AE’s notice, slowly yet surely growing their numbers as they slew the unfortunates who stumbled across them.

Suddenly, movement. A young girl turned the corner, a few dozen meters away from the horde. Dressed in old, battered clothes, she looked to be nothing but another unfortunate street rat - a poor, unloved soul who had just made a horrible mistake. Someone nobody would miss, once her body was added to the Honkai’s forces.

One of the zombies raised its head, burning orange coals for eyes locking on the new prey. Beginning to take a step forward, its maw unhinged, letting forth a hiss that began to raise into an unearthly shriek -

The corpse’s head exploded. 

The Zombies hadn’t expected that.

The girl rolled her shoulders, pulling a pistol from somewhere under her jacket to join the one she’d just fired. As she reloaded, her eyes quickly flicked between each of the dead as they turned as one in recognition of the threat she had proven herself as. Thirty zombies, none of them the more advanced forms that could pose a threat. She wouldn’t be here long.

The horde rushed forward, unnervingly silent. Their clawed arms raised before them, their pale skin, still marked with the lines of Honkai Energy that had killed them, lit up as the meager power animating them flared. For any regular person, instinct and common sense would both dictate she retreat - put distance between herself and the dead, so that she could continue gunning them down at leisure and not risk an injury that could lead to her dying a slow and painful death later.

Instead, she sprinted headlong into the fray. As she ran, she quickly crouched low and leaped forward, a flying kick slamming into the first zombie with enough force to cave in the ribcage. Landing, the girl quickly stomped on the neck to ensure the corpse wouldn’t get back up, before launching into a devastating combo of kicks, pistol strikes and punches, interspersed with the occasional bullet aimed at those farther away. The second zombie died nearly instantly, its skull smashed apart with a whipping strike from a pistol; the third and fourth lasted little longer, a pair of bullets to the chest and a spine-breaking side kick sending them back to their graves. The zombies tried to strike back, then, finally realising the danger was in their midst, but their swiping claws and lunging bites found no purchase, the young warrior easily ducking under and jumping away from the attacks. 

Jumping backwards, the girl snapped a short burst off at the zombies towards the rear, bullets slamming into heads and torsos, before landing and whirling around, her elbow crushing an assailant against the wall. Another tried to grab her, teeth seeking her throat, but a single punch broke its arms, before the warrior grabbed its head and, in a single movement, snapped its neck. Dashing towards a corpse that had become separated from the group as the horde tried to track her astounding speed, she snapped her leg up, knocking the zombie skyward - and then leaped upwards, a second kick slamming it into the ground. There was another burst of gunfire, the warrior smoothly switching from target to target, until her guns clicked empty. 

She didn’t bother reloading. Instead, she launched back into the now much reduced horde, a whirling ball of violence smashing through the Honkai’s ranks - until, in a few short moments, it was over.

Kiana Kaslana sighed, twirling her pistols around as she reholstered them - sure, nobody was there to see it, but it looked cool, so there. Casting her eyes about, she quickly counted out the corpses strewing the alley. Sure enough, all thirty one zombies were accounted for. Smiling in satisfaction, the young Kaslana stretched, yawning as she raised her arms above her head - while the tiny horde was no real threat to her, it had taken her a while to find it.

Grabbing her phone. Kiana quickly snapped a few photos of the carnage, before flipping over to the Mercnet and opening the page for the job. Quickly getting to the bottom of the page, she sent the photos in and claimed the mission complete. Once the evidence was reviewed and her success confirmed, the money would be wired to the White Ghost’s account - and, she hoped, the corpses of the people the Honkai had slain finally returned to their loved ones.

It was a fairly standard job, all told; a kind she’d done over a hundred times. While most people were only vaguely aware of the Honkai, and had no clue how big a danger it really was, the people of Siberia had no such illusions, and so jobs to exterminate minor threats such as this one, below the notice of the likes of Schicksal, were fairly common. Of course, the White Ghost’s success rate and willingness to deal with jobs twice as dangerous as most mercs would accept had earned her a small degree of notoriety but, well. She was a Kaslana. She was, quite literally, born for this - even ignoring… everything. Of course she was good at it.

Putting her phone away, Kiana frowned at the nearest corpse, the glowing pink lines crisscrossing its pale skin fading as the Honkai dissipated. While her senses told her the energy levels in the alley were dropping, quickly plummeting to a level where even someone with no notable resistance could survive it, they weren’t falling as fast as she knew it should be now that the Honkai had been purged like this. “That’s twice.” She noted to herself. “Both here, and at the school. Something is causing the ambient Honkai energy level to rise around here… but what?” After a moment, frowning in deep thought, Kiana shook her head and sighed in frustration - she simply didn’t know enough to realise what was going on. She’d just have to keep an eye out and deal with it as it came.

Turning away from the alley, Kiana’s frown remained in place as she quickly did a rote check for injuries; as expected, she didn’t find any, but her sense of pain was iffy somedays. At the very least, there wasn’t any blood.  Well, no human blood - some of the black-pink sludge from the zombies had gotten on her sleeves. At least it was easy to clean off - when she got injured herself, it took weeks to get the stains out. Fortunately, she hadn’t wrecked her uniform - that was safely buried under her jacket.

At that thought, Kiana’s frown turned into a small smile. “I wonder what Mei’ll talk about tomorrow… Heh, good thing I thought to put my old clothes on first. If my uniform was a mess, she’d freak.” Strangely, the thought wasn’t as bitter as it normally was when Kiana thought about people’s reactions to her life. 

“I wonder what school will be like tomorrow.” The girl wondered as she ambled away from the field of bodies. “Hopefully not as crazy as yesterday - now that was a mess…”

[HR][/HR]

Kiana ducked into the door, rushing to her seat - she wasn’t quite late, but she’d definitely cut it close.”Okay!” She muttered to herself, collapsing into her chair. “Note to Kiana; do not put your uniform in the laundromat before bed and then oversleep! Ever!”

After a taking a few moments to vent to herself about laundromats, accidentally silenced alarms, and being too broke to afford a second uniform, Kiana sighed in exhaustion, and accepted defeat; she’d just have to wash the damn thing at the weekends and try to keep it as clean as she could. “Ugh, God I hate being broke... maybe next time the others make contact I can set something up.”

Picking herself up, Kiana flicked her eyes around. It seemed like she was one of the last students in the door - almost everyone was there. A few other stragglers had yet to arrive, but most of her peers apparently had better time management skills than she did. Still, she wondered where -

“Good morning, Kaslana-san!”

Kiana perked up. “Morning, Raiden-senpai!” She answered cheerily, waving as her new… friend? She hoped they were friends at least, walked over to her desk. “How've you been?”

“Oh, well enough.” Mei answered, putting her bag down - had she switched desks for some reason? - and quickly grabbing a few books. “My father had a bit of time off for once, so I got to spend most of the evening with him without work getting in the way.”

“He busy a lot, then?” Kiana asked sympathetically. 

“Like you wouldn't believe.” Mei replied wryly. “One of the perils of running a company as large as ours I suppose - it feels like we are lucky if he can grab a day to himself a month, sometimes.” She shook her head in long suffering exasperation. “Fortunately nothing seems to be catching fire when he wasn't looking, so I'll hopefully have a bit more time before he has to run off and handle some new disaster.”

“Eesh.” Kiana winced. “Sounds rough. My old man’s never been able to be around as much as either of us liked either, but that's…” Kiana trailed off, realising she definitely couldn't tell Mei the reason she didn't see her father much. “Kinda a different story. I didn't think company people had to work that hard!”

“A lot of them don't.” Mei confided. “It's just that father prefers to be far more active in keeping things running, rather than resting on his laurels, as it were.” She looked away slightly, seeming… embarrassed about something? “I'm… not sure if what we do really counts as hard work compared to what you're used to, though…”

Oh. It was that. “Raiden-senpai, trust me, just because your dad's job revolves around talking to people doesn't mean it ain't hard.” She snorted, intentionally keeping her tone light. “Especially if what you just said about things catching fire when he isn't looking is anything to go by.” She frowned to herself. “Is that normal? For things to be going wrong a lot?”

Mei put a finger to her lips, thoughtful. “Well… in most fields, things are usually fairly stable. It's just that my family has a number of research and development firms under our general umbrella, so there's a lot of experimental projects and such running at any given time.” She tapped a finger against the desk, missing how Kiana winced a bit halfway through her sentence. “It's the energy branch that causes him the most trouble, I think. It always seems like that blasted reactor is trying to go wrong…” Mei looked over to Kiana, curious. “Now that I think about it, what does your father do?” She asked, realising too late that this might not be a pleasant subject like it would for most of her class.

Kiana floundered, mentally flailing for an answer that didn't make Siegfried Kaslana sound like a lunatic. “Uh - w-well, he does a bunch of things really!” She stammered, fidgeting with one of her braids. “He's a, uh, contractor! Does all kinds of odd jobs - helping out with construction, hunting, acting as a pathfinder for any groups passing through the area, just about anything!” She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she flicked her eyes around in mild panic. “Siberia is, well, itself, so we don't really have the kinda working on just one job thing as much, y'know? So there's a lot of that style of contract jobs available. Pretty common way of getting money, actually!” 

All of that was true, of course - contract work was the basis of most things in Siberia. Even the Mercnet showed that - Kiana had seen everything from plans to pillage entire towns on behalf of one warlord or another to requests to go check to see if an old lady who lived alone was still okay. She just… wasn't mentioning what kind of work her and her father specialised in.

“Oh.” Mei blinked, seeming mildly bemused. “I… think I understand. That style of doing things is pretty rare here in Japan - odd to think that's the norm for you… how do they organise everything for larger tasks?” She muttered the last sentence to herself, unaware she'd spoken aloud.

“We don't.” Kiana deadpanned. “It's chaos.”

“... Ah.” Mei winced. 

At that moment, the teacher walked in. “Good morning, everyone.” She said calmly, with a chorus of “Good morning, Sensei!” answering her. “We'll be starting off with Geography today. If all of you would please get your textbooks, we'll begin with…”

As the teacher continued her sentence, Kiana lunged for her bag, the conversation left for later. But not before sending Mei a thumbs up so she didn't think Kiana was mad or something. 

[HR][/HR]

Kiana stared at her book. The questions stared back.

The letters were back. Kiana could feel the headache coming on. Glancing up to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, she surreptitiously flipped back through the book, searching for an explanation. There was nothing. The weird math with letters stuff remained stubbornly incomprehensible. Was this… meant to be something from a previous year? A piece of revision they'd skipped? Was math with letters instead of numbers just how it was done outside of Siberia? No, her old man hadn't grown up there, he'd have known, so what were the stupid letters for -

“Kaslana-san?”

Kiana jerked in surprise, whipping her head around to see Mei looking at her in concern. “Is everything alright?” She asked. “You've just been staring at your textbook all class…”

Kiana hesitated, eyes darting around as she thought to herself. Kiana didn't want Mei to think she was dumb. She liked Mei, she wasn't exactly keen on showing off her lack of smarts. But on the other hand, Mei had been nothing but understanding so far. Sure, she hadn't known the other girl long yet, but Kiana had always been good at reading people, and Mei seemed completely genuine in wanting to help her. And it was pretty clear by now that Kiana wasn't figuring this out any time soon. So… maybe asking Mei for help was okay?

“Ah fuck it.” “Uh… Raiden-senpai?” She asked sheepishly. “Uh. Could you, ehehe… tell me what the uh, letters mean?”

Mei blinked. “The… letters?”

“The uh, the math questions,” Kiana whispered, desperately hoping nobody could overhear them. “There are letters in them? But math is supposed to be with numbers? I'm… everyone seems to know what we're doing. What do they mean?”

Mei looked at Kiana like someone watching an airship smack into a mountain. “Kaslana-san, you… Don't know Algebra?”

“Alge-what?” Kiana blinked.

“Algebra.” Mei said faintly. “I. Well. That's…” Mei trailed off. Right as Kiana was about to wonder if she had somehow done something wrong, Mei shook her head, blinking rapidly. “I, I'm sorry, Kaslana-san - I was just surprised. It's a common principle in math - a slightly complicated one, but it appears in all sorts of places, so most people learn it quite young. You… you genuinely haven't heard of it?” She questioned in disbelief.

Kiana felt like sinking into a hole in the floor. “No… my old man taught me before, but I've never seen letters in math till yesterday…” she muttered. “It's… normal, then?”

“I'm afraid so.” Mei answered, the faint tone in her voice Kiana couldn't identify still there.

(Kiana was not unfamiliar with “dawning horror”, but she didn't usually associate it with something as unimportant as her education.)

Kiana’s head slammed into her desk. “Why meee…”

Mei tried to stop herself from staring. She really did - people staring at her like she was a zoo specimen was the last thing her new classmate needed right now, but she couldn't help it.

Mei had known, of course, that Kiana’s life had doubtless been a harsh one. Everyone knew Siberia was a horrible place, a war torn no man's land that had vast stretches of territory still outright unsuited for human life after the horrific natural disaster that had struck it at the turn of the millennium. It was why she had gone to talk with Aki the previous evening to ask if they could switch seats, so she could keep an eye out for the poor girl.

But somehow, all the horror stories she'd read, all the awful statistics and news reports she'd seen… none of it had made her so acutely aware of how lucky she was as the idea that the girl currently muttering invective into the wood of her desk didn't know something taught to children years younger than them.

Mei took a deep breath, and quietly released it, quickly looking around them. Miraculously, nobody seemed to have heard their conversation, though Kiana’s dramatic display of despair was earning her a few confused looks. Mei quietly nodded to herself, determined. She'd known from the moment Kiana had first barged into the classroom as a cavalcade of mixed social anxiety and hyperactivity that the girl needed some help, and decided there and then to be that help, the way she wished someone had when she was still recovering from the mess of her preteen years. It was just… slightly more complex than she'd initially thought, that was all. 

Resolve firmed, Mei reached out, carefully placing a hand on her new… no, she didn't want to presume or make Kiana feel pressured. Her new acquaintances' shoulders. Not for the first time, Kiana jerked in surprise at the sudden contact. Mei determinedly stopped her mind worrying about why such a social person seemed unused to physical contact. One thing at a time.

“Kaslana-san, I'm sorry.” She said gently. “I should've realised after yesterday that you probably hadn't gotten the kind of education I did, but I assumed either our teachers or whoever helped your family leave Siberia had already handled it.” Kiana gave her an askance look at that one, causing Mei to chuckle. “Haha, a little foolish in hindsight, yes. But there's nothing wrong with not knowing this - you just didn't have a chance to learn yet.” 

Mei quickly internally braced herself, knowing she would be touching on an unpleasant memory. “I… also had a time where I was far behind my peers.” She said simply, not wanting to burden someone who surely had trouble of her own with the sordid tale of her childhood. “At first, I felt terrible about it, like there was something wrong with me for not knowing something everyone else did… but none of it was my fault. I hadn't chosen to end up in the situations that delayed my education, nor asked to be left behind by my teachers. And the same is just as true of you.” She squeezed Kiana’s shoulder, smiling encouragingly. “Why don't you come with me after class? I'll try and help you catch up.”

Kiana looked back at her, wary. She hid it well - Mei suspected she hid things quite often - but Mei knew that hidden, judging look of someone who wondered if it was too good to be true. She'd been there, once. So she simply kept up her smile, and hoped whatever Kiana found was alright with her.

Finally, Kiana sighed, a sheepish grin answering Mei's own. “Sounds like a plan... thanks, Raiden-senpai.”

Mei simply gave Kiana’s shoulder one last squeeze before letting go. “No need for thanks, Kaslana-san.”

[HR][/HR]

Kiana looked curiously as Mei, instead of turning in the direction of the cafeteria, turned to go further down the hall after class. “We going somewhere else today?” She asked, trailing along behind her.

Mei nodded, turning her head to address Kiana even as she kept walking, apparently confident in her sense of direction. “I thought you might want some peace and quiet, since it sounded like you were struggling a lot with the problems.” She explained. “Not to say the cafeteria isn't often used for studying, it certainly is, but I know somewhere a little quieter… Ah, here we are!” She exclaimed excitedly, darting through a small, unmarked door and up a set of stairs. Her curiosity piqued, Kiana followed.

She wasn't disappointed. “Woah…” Kiana breathed, the door at the top of the stairwell opening to reveal part of the roof of the Academy. The area was small, sectioned off somewhat by the slope of the roof behind them, but still had more than enough room for two people, and held a commanding view of the city. “Talk about a nice view…” she said in amazement, walking over to rest her arms on the railing. “Do you come up here often?”

Mei nodded, casting her own gaze out over the comfortingly familiar sight. “I do, yes. I found this little place in my first year here at Chiba, when I was younger. It's an older part of the school, so it's a little cut off from everywhere else - nobody uses this part of the building much anymore. I think I'm the only one who ever really comes here… ever since then, this has been where I go whenever I want some time to myself.” She explained.

“You sure picked a nice spot.” Kiana joked, casting a mischievous grin towards her. “Thanks for letting me come up here.” She tilted her head up, thoughtful. “You're right about this place being nicer than the cafeteria. It's quiet… think I like it.”

“I'm glad to hear it.” Mei smiled back. The two took a moment there, enjoying the sight of Nagazora spread out before them in the midday sun, before Mei nodded to herself firmly. “Now then… I usually sit over there, on that old bench when I'm up here.” She said, nodding to the furniture in question. “There should be more than enough room. Would you like to get started now, Kaslana-san?”

Kiana shrugged. “Don't see why not. Faster I start, sooner I catch up, right?” So saying, she stood and meandered over to the bench, plonking herself down as she grabbed her books. “Okay, so… where should I start?” She asked, glancing at the table of content. 

Mei hummed in consideration, sitting down next to Kiana. “I think we might want to start from the beginning. Fortunately our textbook has a revision section… Try page 39, for now.” Kiana duly flipped over the pages, frowning in confusion at the slightly arcane problems adorning the book. “Alright, let's start with the basics…” Mei murmured, low enough that most people wouldn't have heard her, before looking to Kiana. “First of all, I'd like to make sure I understand what you already know. What's the most recent thing you learned as far as math goes?”

Kiana frowned, her gaze drifting to the clouds as she wracked her brain for knowledge. “I think…” 

A flash of memory, sitting at the table as she pouted to herself. “Papa, this stuff is boring!” She'd complained, her uncovered eye screwed up in frustration. “Can't we just practice katas instead?”

Her old man laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair. “I know, baby doll, it's not much fun, but even Valkyries need to know numbers. After all, do you know how much money it takes to keep yourself fed for a month?” Kiana frowned, then shook her head. “Well, this'll help you do that.” He explained, gesturing to the worksheet in front of her. “After all, if you have to go on a long mission by yourself, you'll need to know how much money and food to bring, or you won't be much help to anyone.” 

Kiana made a small sound of realisation, her eye lighting up. “Oh, I get it!” She exclaimed in excitement. “Because I'm no good at fighting when I'm hungry!” She looked at the sheet with new interest, only to frown again. “But… I dunno what these symbols mean…”

“And that's okay.” Her father said gently, shuffling over to rest a hand on her head. Most children would've flinched away from the man’s icy touch, but Kiana never had - she'd never known anything different, her father's cold body simply one of the things she'd never questioned. “Nobody's born knowing stuff like this. It's just something we all have to learn, sooner or later. You'll figure it out, don't you worry.” He smiled, eyes twinkling. “Here, why don't you let your old man lend you a hand?”

Kiana frowned, dubious. “But Papa's terrible at numbers.”

Her father spluttered, waving his arm in denial. “I- no I'm not - I can totally remember this! Why do you even think-”

“I've heard Papa saying bad words at the money sheet for not making sense.” Kiana answered plainly.

“OH COME ON-”

Kiana smiled softly, drifting away from the cherished memories of her father's flailing attempts at parenting. “My old man was teaching me how to keep track of money and stuff.” She said quietly, bittersweet happiness in her voice. “He's horrible at it, but he always tried his best to help me understand things… I think the most recent thing he taught me was the uh, multiplication and division stuff. He said that part is really important, and it sure does come up a lot when I'm tracking my money.”

“Ah, good.” Mei said in relief. “You're not quite as far behind as I was afraid of, then - that'll make it easier to explain everything.” She shut her eyes, focusing, then nodded decisively, quickly grabbing her text book and opening it to the same page as Kiana. “Now then, this problem should be a good example. In this question, we're told what amount of time the task will take, but, you may notice, not how many times it needs to be repeated. We're asked to calculate the time it will take for the mechanic to finish for the day, which you might think is impossible with the information we have. This is where Algebra comes into play…”

[HR][/HR]

“Okay…” Kiana muttered. “So, the letter means a number in the question I don't actually know yet. And I can use it to figure out what the answer would be, so once I do know that number I can fill it in… And this is also helpful if I'm trying to answer a question where one of the numbers could change?” She hazarded, squinting at the textbook as she tried to get the knowledge into her head.

“Exactly!” Mei said warmly. “We can then use this to create a special type of equation called a function…” as she spoke, Mei glanced at her phone, only to frown when she saw the time. “... but we'll have to look at those later - class will start soon, so we have to leave now, I'm afraid.”

“Ah, no worries!” Kiana said, waving a hand dismissively. “I already know, like, ten times as much as I did this morning! That classwork has my name on it!” She proclaimed, puffing herself up in pride. Mei giggled a little at that. Kiana liked her laugh. Smiling, she hopped to her feet, stretching her arms with a sigh. “Right then! Time to get moving.” As the two of them grabbed their bags, and started walking back down the stairs, Kiana looked curiously at her companion. “By the way, where was everyone else? Your friends, I mean.” She clarified, seeing Mei's confusion.

“Oh.” Mei replied, her eyes lighting up in understanding. “I texted them earlier - they were all at our usual spot in the cafeteria.” She explained. “I just told them I was taking some time to myself, so we'll be meeting up later.”

Kiana nodded, then hesitated a little. “Where would you all be going?” She asked, trying to keep herself casual. 

Mei blinked at the non sequitur. “The garden on the way to the club buildings - right outside on the opposite side from the entrance.” She explained, gesturing off in the direction of her social circle’s favoured meeting place. “Like I said, not much happens in this part of the building, so it's a good place to meet up after class when the clubs aren't busy. Why did you ask?” She said, tilting her head curiously.”

“Oh, uh, nothing.” Kiana said hastily, trying to hide a flash of disappointment - she had no reason to be near the school once class ended. “Just curious I guess.” She shrugged, reminding herself to keep her smile in place. “Hope you guys have fun.”

Mei blinked, realising a slight miscommunication had occurred. “Kaslana-san, you did realise I was including you when I said ‘we’, right?” She said carefully. 

As evidenced by how she stumbled and whipped around to face her, Kiana did not in fact realise. “I- wait, seriously?” She asked in disbelief. “I mean, those guys are your friends and I thought you might want to hang out with them instead of me so…” Catching the rambling before it properly began, Kiana shook her head rapidly, staring at Mei in confusion. “I mean, do your friends even want me around?”

Mei gave her a fond look. “Why wouldn't they? You've done nothing but make a good impression since I've met you. Besides…” She made a show of looking around them, before leaning towards Kiana. “You might not have noticed, but most of my friends are chronic gossips.” She whispered conspiratorially. “Honestly, they’ll just be happy to have someone else to tell all the stories they’ve been hearing to.”

Kiana giggled a little at Mei’s acting - she could tell it was intentional to get her to relax, but, well, it was working. Still, she wasn’t entirely sure Mei’s friends shared her high opinion of the young Kaslana - some of them didn’t seem to think much of her. Then again, she’d only met them once, and she did notice they seemed to like gossiping a lot… maybe it’d work out? “Alright, then.” She conceded. “I'll be there. Not sure I'll be making much of a contribution to the discussion though.”

“That's perfectly fine.” Mei assured her, turning the corner. “And besides - oh there they are!” She exclaimed happily. Sure enough, the motley crew of girls Kiana had met the previous day were walking down the corridor, talking amongst themselves. “Hello everyone!” Mei called, waving to her friends as she went to join them, Kiana hurrying after her. “I hope everyone's had a good day?”

“Ah, Mei-san.” Kimiko said, smiling as she greeted her old friend. “Yes, we're all quite well.” Turning slightly, she nodded to Kiana. “Hello to you as well, Kaslana-san. I hope your second day here has been enjoyable.”

“Yeah, it's been going fine.” Kiana said cheerily, forcefully ignoring the looks Hikari and a couple others had shot her when they realised she wasn't just passing by. “Raiden-senpai was actually a big help, explained something the teacher was saying I'd missed out on learning before. Seriously, thanks again - you're a lifesaver.” She added sincerely, bowing slightly in thanks.

“I've already told you, it was no trouble.” Mei said, clearly gearing up to wave off the gratitude, only for one of her friends, Yumi, to jostle her slightly. “Aw, c'mon, Mei-san, she's just being grateful.” She chimed up, before turning to Kiana. “Sorry for this. You've probably noticed it, but our Mei-san's allergic to compliments. Don't take it personally!” She said, gesturing energetically as Mei flushed in embarrassment.

“Heh, no worries - I'll wear her down eventually!” Kiana said in reply, dramatically placing her hands on her hips.

Mei shook her head in dismay. “Oh dear…” she muttered apprehensively, causing Kaneko to giggle a little. “Wow, you definitely found a stubborn one.” She joked, leaning into Mei’s side. “Lemme guess, she's been bulldozing past it whenever you waved her off?” At Mei's sheepish nod, Kaneko smiled. “Good. You need someone able to get past that humility of yours.”

“I still don't think I've done anything special, but she seems convinced otherwise…” Mei admitted, casting a glance towards Kiana, who was currently competing with Yumi over who was more dramatic (Kiana was winning). “I guess I'll just have to live up to her opinion of me.” She shook her head, frowning as a darker subject came to mind. “On another note… Kaneko-chan, is Asakura-san…?” 

Kaneko's face fell. “I talked to her for a bit this morning. She's…” Her shoulders slumped. “She's acting like she's fine, but… I've always been a better actress than her.” She whispered. “She's hurting. Badly.” 

Mei nodded sadly. “I expected as much.” She cast glances to Hikari and Kimiko, meeting their eyes. “And you both?”

Kimiko frowned. “The usual suspects were causing some trouble, yes.” She waved a hand, sniffing in disdain. “‘Fear not, they got the point after a stern talking-to. However…”

Hikari took over. “It seems the missing students wasn't just a rumour. Three girls went missing over the last month or so, and nobody's certain what happened.” She said neutrally. “The police aren't involved yet, but they likely will be soon.”

“I see.” Mei murmured, a hand on her chin as she thought over this strange turn of events. Glancing at her watch, she frowned. “We'll have to talk later - we'll all be late to class soon. Our usual place?” She checked, and was met with a round of nods. “Alright. We'll see what we can do then.” She nodded decisively, then remembered something, her eyes widening. “Oh, right!” Turning to Kiana, she called out loudly. “Kaslana-san! Do you know where the club buildings are?”

Kiana paused, turning around. “Eh?” She blinked, confused. “Uh… behind the school?” She said blankly. “I didn't really pay much attention to that part of the intro speech…” She scratched her head bashfully, not looking towards Hikari, who had narrowed her eyes upon realising Mei's point. “I didn't bother signing up for a club, so -”

“You haven't joined a club yet!?” Mei exclaimed, eyes wide. “Oh dear, now we definitely need to bring you along later!”

Kiana stared in confusion, causing Kimiko to cough politely. “Kaslana-san, the school actually requires students to attend at least one, and preferably two, clubs.” She explained. “They count towards our grade. You won't be allowed to pass the year if you don't find one.”

“HUH!?” Kiana yelped, alarmed. “I-wha-nobody told me that was - oh crap, I never even looked at them -” Her panic was interrupted when Yumi laughed, nudging her in the side. "Aw, don't worry about it, Kaslana-san!” She said. “We meet up by the club buildings anyway, and Mei-san already invited you! We'll just show you around later and help you pick.” She breezily declared.

“The clubs haven't begun meetings for the year regardless.” Kimiko added, reassuring. “The first years are still making their own choices, after all. Fear not, we'll handle this little crisis soon enough.” Hikari frowned to herself, but didn't deny it, nodding in acknowledgement. 

None of them noticed how Kiana stiffened at the unexpected contact, before relaxing as the others spoke. Mei however, did, her eyes narrowing before she forced herself to ignore it - she'd figure out if Kiana had an issue with being touched later, in private. "It seems we're all in agreement then.” She spoke authoritatively. “For now, we should all get to class before -”

There was a scream. 

Most of the girls froze, shock overcoming them. At first, they thought they had been hearing things, before the horror struck cry rang out again. Mei and Kimiko reacted quicker, but they too were off guard, whirling in confusion as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Kiana, however, didn't hesitate for a moment.

“Kaslana-san, wait-” Mei called, reaching a hand out as Kiana ran past, but she was too late, the other girl already sprinting to the end of the corridor and turning towards the sound. Cursing, Mei went after her; the others, still processing what was happening, instinctively followed her.

Kiana was distantly aware it probably wasn't a good idea to be hauling ass like this. A random, white haired girl in the middle of a city wasn't anything of note. A white haired girl capable of running faster than some cars was far more likely to reach certain ears. But she didn't care. Her usual fears and worries faded, drowned out by one, single thought;

“Thou shalt constitute thyself a shield, for the weak and innocent…”

She was a Kaslana, and her oaths came before all else.

Kiana turned a corner, skidding to a halt as she rapidly looked left and right - there, the scream rang out once again. A small part of her tracked the footsteps following after her, noting in confusion that one set of steps was keeping up with her much better than the others. The rest was too busy determining the best way to get to whoever needed help. Whirling left, Kiana moved, charging down the corridor and turning to engage the threat -

And halted.

Mei ran after her new friend, gasping at the exertion. Gods, but the other girl was fast! Still, Mei could keep up, though the others fell behind. Turning a corner, Mei looked around wildly, and found Kiana finally stopping, staring down a corridor. Quickly, Mei rushed to join her. If there was something wrong, she was not going to sit back and let her new classmate deal with it alone if she could help.

But it was too late for that, she realised distantly as she saw what Kiana was looking at. It was too late for anything. 

There wasn't much anyone could do for a dead body, after all.

Chapter Text

For a single moment, all Mei could do was stare.

The body was lying in the middle of a room, face down in a pool of blood. Its limbs lay limp, one arm clearly broken. The back was covered in wounds, and from the blood, Mei suspected the front was as well. 

Herself and Kiana weren't the only ones there - a whole class was gathered in front of the classroom, frozen in front of the horrific scene. One girl had collapsed on the ground, back against the wall as she shook in terror - the one who had screamed and alerted them. Mei simply stared, her eyes locked on the body that had once belonged to one of her fellow students, and for a single instant, became lost in the memories -

And then she was knocked to the side as Kiana moved, and the moment was broken.

Kiana barged through the crowd, brusquely shoving aside anyone who got in her way. Pushing past the teacher who had frozen alongside his students, she skidded to a halt next to the body. Mei belatedly followed, trying to be somewhat more polite as she made her way through, but was barely making any progress until she heard a familiar voice snapping out behind her. 

“Move, all of you, if you would! You, there - get the nurse and a first aid kit! You as well, please, find the principal! And will one of you kindly hurry and call the police?”

A wave of relief flowed through Mei at Kimiko's voice. That girl's calm really was a godsend. She'd forgotten about grabbing her phone herself. Finally, she finished getting through the rapidly clearing crowd, and was met with the sight of Kiana kneeling next to body, her hand on its wrist. Despite herself, Mei felt a single moment of hope. “Kaslana-san, is she…?”

The look on her new friend's face as she slowly looked up and shook her head shattered that hope. “She's gone.” She said quietly. “Body's starting to get cold… no way any doctors could fix her.”  Mei heard several sharp intakes of breath behind her, as well as a wave of sobs as the reality began to sink in. She closed her eyes, silently sending a prayer to any Kami listening to make the poor girl's journey a peaceful one.

A slowing series of footprints told her when her friends caught up with them. “I've gotten everyone moving.” Kimiko told her quietly, stopping next to her. “The police and paramedics are on their way… although, from the look on Kaslana-san's face, I suppose the latter will be superfluous, by now.” She added sadly, glancing at the corpse for a moment before needing to look aside.

“Do we -” Mei began, only to be interrupted by a truly awful sound as, without warning, Kiana reached out and carefully flipped the dead girl onto her back, exposing her face. 

Behind them, someone threw up. Mei did not blame them. As awful as the girl's wounds on her back looked, her front… It looked like an abattoir. “The injuries on her back came first, then this.” Kiana noted in a detached tone, seemingly speaking to herself. “The wounds look bad, but they didn't hit any organs…” she hesitated, her voice becoming quiet before she looked towards them. “Raiden-senpai… whoever did this, they weren't just trying to kill her.” She said flatly. “They wanted it to hurt.”

Mei almost felt like she was going to throw up herself, only just noticing Hikari tensing up next to her. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she spoke, barely cutting off whatever Hikari had been preparing to say - now wasn't the time for her friend’s usual waspishness. “Can you tell anything else?” She asked, trying to keep herself focused - the more they could tell the police when they arrived, the better. Kiana looked back to the body, frowning, then shook her head.

“I don't think so. There aren't any of the kind of injuries you get when you fight, so the killer -” some part of Mei curled up at how bluntly Kiana described it, because true as it was she did not want to think about what it implied - “must've caught her off guard. The body is cold, but not icy or anything… I think she's been gone a few hours.”

Mei heard Hikari breath sharply, whatever complaint she'd had for Kiana seemingly forgotten. “Barely anyone comes to this part of the school. Which means…”

“There wouldn't have been anyone to catch them in the act.” Mei finished,voice tight. “If a class hadn't come by, the first person to find her would've been the janitor at the end of the week.” She took another deep breath, knowing that none of her friends would miss the implications of this. “Whoever did this was familiar with the school.” She concluded to herself, head bowed as her thoughts spun. Looking up, she looked towards her friends, the only ones still there. “Does anyone recognise her?” She asked. 

She was met with shaken heads. “She… she looks familiar.” Kaneko said haltingly, gulping little as she spoke. “But I can't place it. Someone I've seen on the way to class maybe?” she guessed, her voice an octave higher than normal. She wasn't the only one stressed - most of the others looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Mei closed her eyes and sighed. There was nothing more they could do. Kiana agreed, apparently, getting to her feet and walking over to the window. Mei's half formed question was answered when the younger girl reached up and yanked the curtains free, before turning and gently laying it over the body. “We can't do anything more.” She said aloud, keeping her voice gentle for her friends' sakes. “We should probably leave… the police will want to have space to work once they arrive. Does everyone have a way to get home?” She checked, looking around until she counted a nod from everyone present. “Alright, then. Let's all go home for now.” She declared.

“B-but-” Yumi, who had gone white the moment they'd arrived, stuttered, only to be interrupted when Kimiko gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Classes will be cancelled for the day after this, dear.” She said calmly. “Even if they weren't, you couldn't possibly focus on it after this. Just get yourself home - your father is on vacation, yes?” She asked, and was met with a jerky nod. “Well then, let's call him and get you on your way then.” She announced, gently leading her away - but not before shooting Mei a Look that she knew meant her old friend would be having words with her later.

“I'll stay here.” Kiana spoke, still glancing around the room even as the others peeled away. “Cops might want to ask me what I saw when I found her.”

Mei jerked in surprise, staring at her. “Are you sure you're…” she began, only to be cut off by a wry smile.

“Raiden-senpai, I've seen things like this before.” She revealed, a sad turn to her ever present smile as Mei froze. “I'll be fine. Just get going, okay?”

Mei hesitated - Kiana having seen sights like this before was just more reason she shouldn't stay, as far as she was concerned - but something in Kiana’s eyes told her there wouldn't be much point arguing. “If you're certain.” She caved, sighing. “But… here.” She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled on it, handing it to her new friend. “My phone number.” She explained, causing Kiana’s eyes to widen in surprise. “I'll be calling you later. You'd better answer me, am I clear?” She declared, arching an eyebrow. 

“We're clear.” Kiana agreed, laughing softly. “Get going, Raiden-senpai. See ya later, okay?”

She nodded, sending a final, saddened look at her dead peer. “Goodbye for now then, Kaslana-san.” She said, before turning and walking away. Sighing, she grabbed her phone typing in an all too familiar number. Miraculously, she was answered on the first ring.

“Mei?” Her father's voice asked. “Is something wrong? You should be in class at the moment.”

Mei inhaled, then exhaled. “Father. There's… there's been an incident at the school.”

“What kind of incident?” Raiden Ryoma asked sharply, his voice tense - he remembered the chaos of Mei’s childhood just as well as she did.

“I'm fairly certain there was a murder.” Mei said with a calm she did not actually feel.

There was a single moment of silence, followed by a sound of rustling paper and screeching chairs. “I'm on the way to you now.” Her father said simply. “Stay on the phone with me, if you don't mind?”

Mei smiled shakily. “I don't. Not at all.”

[HR][/HR]

Mei sat down heavily, an explosive sigh escaping her lips. She was in her own room, having just gotten home. As he’d promised, her father hadn't hung up until the moment she was in the car with him. She hoped he hadn't been doing anything too important. As it was, it had taken almost an hour to escape his watchful gaze, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't be left unsupervised very much for the rest of Ryoma's vacation.

Mei cast her gaze around tiredly, eyes flicking between the various mementos and decorations in her room without focusing on any of them for long. After a moment, she stood for just long enough to grab the bokken she kept on one wall, the familiar weight of the training weapon something to center herself with, before sitting back down. She felt exhausted… but, she wasn't quite done with the day yet. 

Taking out her phone, she immediately started making calls. “Yumi-san? Yes, it's me… oh, I was just making sure you got home alright.” She reassured her, keeping her voice light - her friend didn't need more stress on top of what she was already going through. “Oh, yes, I made it home fine. My father came to get me. He was intending to spend the evening at home today, so thankfully he wasn't otherwise occupied…”

She spent perhaps an hour there, slowly working her way down her contact list as she checked in with everyone in her friend group. She didn't touch on the subject of what had happened that afternoon, simply speaking as she always would on a normal phone call. Fortunately, most of her friends seemed to be mostly alright, despite the horrible event that they'd seen. She'd still be surreptitiously emailing everyone contact information for an appropriate therapist, of course, but it seemed they'd all escaped the worst of the trauma of the experience. She was glad - the others didn't deserve to live through the nightmare she remembered of her childhood. 

Speaking of that nightmare… Mei hesitated a little, staring at the last number on her contact list. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation whatsoever. She sighed. “If I don't, she'll accost me at the first available opportunity to harangue me for answers.” She thought wryly. “May as well get through it now.” Taking a deep breath, she called and, to precisely zero surprise, was answered before the first ring was even over. “Hello, Kimi-”

She didn't even get to finish her sentence. “Mei-san, are you alright?” Kimiko's voice rang out, a completely uncharacteristic note of urgency in her voice. It wasn't too much of a shock, though. After all, of all her friends, Kimiko was the one who'd known Mei the longest… and the only one who knew the details of her past.

Mei heaved out a sigh of exhaustion, collapsing onto her bed. “I've been much better.” She admitted, before taking in a shaky breath. “I had… truly hoped my days of seeing dead bodies were behind me.” 

A rustling noise exited her phone's speaker as Kimiko sat down. “As did I.” She answered, her deadpan tone managing a smile from Mei. “I can't say I expected this when I came into class today. Although, I suppose it certainly explains a lot about the strange rumours lately.” She noted, her usual proper vocabulary dropped altogether.

Mei's answer was equally informal. “It does.” She agreed quietly. “For all I've told the others that the disappeared students are probably alright…”

“... it's far more likely they're the same case.” Kimiko finished, her tone heavy. “As much as we'd wish otherwise. I made a few calls. It seems our unfortunate peer was Miyazaki Mao. She shared an economics class with Kaneko-san. She never returned home yesterday.”

Mei closed her eyes. “She must've been attacked just after school, then…” Turning over as she tried to work through what had happened, she took a few seconds to speak again. Her old friend waited patiently as she did. “Have the police said anything yet?”

Kimiko answered in the negative. “If they have, it wasn't to me. The school has, though; judging by the rant I can hear downstairs, it isn't one my mother approves of.” Mei winced in sympathy - the wrath of Kimiko's mother was legendary.

“My father isn't happy with them either.” She admitted. “Apparently, we're still expected to be in tomorrow, but all classes will be canceled and the old wing will be sealed off by the police.”

“They're calling us in? After a murder on school grounds?” Kimiko exclaimed, scandalised. “Well, that certainly explains why Mother is so furious. What fool made that decision?”

Mei couldn't help but agree - it struck her as foolish too. “Unfortunately, it isn't really up to us. We'll just have to stick together - hopefully we can get everyone to stick in groups without wandering off…”

Kimiko exhaled in annoyance. “Hopefully, the police resolve this before anyone else is hurt. We're not exactly the right people to handle a crisis like this, after all.”

Mei nodded tiredly, forgetting for a moment that Kimiko couldn't see her. “Agreed… but, needs must.” Gazing at the ceiling, a small smile flickered across her features as she noticed a silver lining on the clouds hanging over her school. “At least this gives us a chance to show Kaslana-san around like we planned. I can't believe this happened on her second day…”

Kimiko hummed in agreement. “It is an example of truly atrocious luck.” There was a moment of silence before she continued. “Kaslana-san… is a very strange person, isn't she?” She said carefully. 

“She is.” Mei agreed. “She's very open and seems to be naturally social, and yet she seems to keep a great deal close to herself - she can spend hours talking, and yet it feels like I still know almost nothing about her.” She sat up, her gaze pensive as she remembered how Kiana had spoken so happily about her father, but hadn't told her anything about the man himself - not to mention how she clearly hadn't been giving a straight answer when Mei asked what he did. She hesitated a moment before speaking further, but if there was anyone she could trust with this, it would be Kimiko. “I think… I think she's like how I was, back then.” She admitted, voice heavy. “She… told me this isn't the first time she's seen things like this.”

“I see… I suppose it's only natural, given where she's from.” Kimiko remarked sadly. “The poor girl… it's unbelievable. She finally leaves that hell, and the moment she's in Japan, there's a murder. It must feel like she's not even left at all…” Kimiko sighed. “You definitely made the right decision, reaching out to her. I hope this club showcase goes well.”

“So do I.” Mei admitted quietly. “I can't even imagine what she's been through. I just hope we can be of some help for her while she adjusts to being out of there.”

“I know.” Kimiko assured her. “You're too much of a do-gooder to think of any other motive, at any rate.” She teased.

“I- Kimiko-san!” Mei yelped, flushing at the implication. “That-that's completely uncalled for! I- we don't even know-” 

Her flailing was cut off by her friend's laughter. “I kid, I kid! Really, Mei-san, you're far too easy to tease.” Mei pouted in exasperation as her friend’s giggles trailed off, only for Kimiko to suddenly grow serious. “Mei-san… I…” her friend hesitated, a long moment hanging between them before she gingerly continued. “I don't want to bring up bad memories, but… you don't think this has anything to do with…?” She trailed off, clearly unsure of how to finish that sentence, but she didn't need to. Mei knew exactly what she meant.

It was impossible to forget.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, shoving the memories aside with long practice. “It isn't.” She answered confidently. “The people from back then were specifically interested in me, not anyone else. If it was the same group, they'd have no reason to randomly attack girls around the school like this - they'd just try to kidnap me again while I was alone.” She snorted. “And more fool them, Father's quadrupled my security since then. They wouldn't even get within a block.” She declared with disdain, burying the old nervousness under humour.

“And good riddance.” Kimiko declared, primly. “I have to leave you for now, I'm afraid - dinner's almost ready.” Mei jolted, looking at her clock - sure enough, it was already late. “I suppose we'll have the group meet up at the club area tomorrow morning?” She checked.

“Precisely.” Mei affirmed. “I'll make sure to track Kaslana-san down - hopefully she won't get too lost. Honestly, who designed those corridors…” Both girls shuddered in memory of the utter maze of their school. “At any rate, goodbye for now, Kimiko-san!”

“Goodbye, Mei-san. Stay safe.” Her old friend replied, before hanging up. Mei stared at her phone for a moment, her thoughts buzzing from the chaos of the morning - despite everything, she couldn't shake a dire feeling her friends would be more involved in this incident than any of them would want. Then, she shook herself, sighed, and stood up; with any luck, a good meal would calm her mind.

[HR][/HR]

Mei and her father sat together, a comfortable silence filling the room as they ate. The meal was, as ever, delicious - Mei would need to thank the staff yet again. Still, the quiet wouldn't last forever - it would be a waste to spend one of her father's rare days off not speaking, after all.

In the end, Ryoma was the one who broke the silence. “I've been told you've been borrowing part of the kitchen in the mornings.” He remarked, turning to face her with a smile. “When did you decide to learn cooking?”

Mei smiled back, sheepish. “It was nothing, really. I just thought that even if I don't have to, it's only proper I know how to take care of myself.” She looked away, rubbing her arm. “I'm, ah, not very good yet, though…”

“Everyone starts somewhere, Mei.” Her father reassured her. “To be truthful, the first time I tried cooking my own food as a child, I managed to set rice on fire.” He shook his head, nostalgic schadenfreude leading to him wincing through his smile. “How I managed that one is beyond me, if I'm honest.” Then he blinked, noticing how Mei had cringed backwards at his words. “Is something wrong?”

Mei laughed nervously, rubbing her shoulder. “I ah, well. To tell you the truth, I…” she looked away. “... almost managed to burn down the kitchen making katsudon.” She admitted, flushing with embarrassment.

“Oh dear…” Ryoma chuckled at his daughter's misfortune. “I can't imagine Zhou was very happy about that one.”

“He wasn't.” Mei admitted, cringing at the memory of the lecture she'd received from her family's head chef once the Yunchin native had successfully salvaged the disastrous attempt at pork cutlets. “I'm fairly sure I'm still not allowed in there unsupervised.”

Both of them shared a quiet chuckle, before Ryoma's face grew solemn. “How are you feeling?” He asked gently, resting a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

Mei slumped, leaning into her father's side. “I've been better.” She admitted. “Part of me can't believe it's real, another part is just surprised it took this long.” She sighed, her eyes distant. “I truly was hoping I was done dealing with this sort of thing.” She noted quietly.

“I know.” Ryoma said softly. “So was I. But this won't be like back then, alright? I already managed to bull my way into getting the school board to let security on campus. You'll be okay.”

Mei blinked in surprise, looking up to face him. “Really? How did you manage that?”

Ryoma smiled wryly, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Judging from the yelling I heard in the background during that phone call, I was not the only one displeased by the idea of school still being in session tomorrow. Allowing those of us with private security to bring them appears to be their way of trying to save face.” He looked away, frowning slightly. “To be frank, I'd still vastly prefer you stay home until all of this is resolved… but I suppose they value keeping up a semblance of normality over anything else.” He muttered to himself darkly.

Mei nodded tiredly, staring absently through the window. “I hope it'll at least help my classmates stay calm. They don't deserve to get dragged into things like this.” She said sadly. Ryoma squeezed her gently in response, dragging her into a proper hug.

After a while, Ryoma let her go, reluctantly pulling away. “Let's talk about something else, shall we?” He suggested, met with a quick nod. “Hmm…” he mused, mind flipping through all the topics he wished to discuss with his child, before settling on a more recent one. “I've heard you and your little group have gained a new member.” He said, smiling. “What's the story behind this one, then? The rumours about your newest forced adoption are already getting quite impressive.” He asked teasingly.

Mei blushed. “I'm not that bad!” She protested, despite the fact she was exactly that bad. Sighing, she immediately moved on, refusing to allow herself to be teased further on her habit of unofficially adopting anyone in the school who had problems in their lives. “But, yes, I have been trying to invite someone into our group recently. All of… this, has been making it awkward, though…”

“I can imagine.” Ryoma said solemnly. “What is she like? I gather she's a transfer student?”

“She is.” Mei confirmed, nodding only to frown. “She's… well. She was born in Siberia.”

Ryoma's eyes widened in dismay. “Truly?” He asked, alarmed. “That can't have been a good life. I can see why you decided to reach out.”

“Yes… I can't imagine what she's been through.” Mei murmured, eyes downcast. “I realised something was wrong the moment she walked into class… She's such an energetic and social person, and yet I could tell she was terrified of managing to somehow make a mess of things. It was…” Mei hesitated, then looked at her father sadly. “It reminded me of myself, when I tried to go back to school right after everything.” She confided, her voice heavy. 

“I see…” Ryoma mused in sympathy. “I'm sorry your new friend had to go through something like that. I hope today's events haven't been too hard on her.”

Mei frowned at that. “She seemed to be taking it the best of us at the time, to be frank. I'm not sure if that's still the case now there's been time to process it all though - I, ah…” She looked away. “I gave her my phone number, and then forgot to ask hers. So I'm… still waiting for her to call back like I asked.” She admitted sheepishly. 

“Oh dear.” Ryoma chuckled in amusement. “A familiar mistake, that one. Hopefully you'll be able to fix that little error soon.”

“Yes, I'll be asking her -” At that moment, Mei's phone began to ring. “Oh!” She said in surprise, quickly fishing it out of her pocket, only to frown in confusion. “Unknown caller…?” She muttered, almost hanging up on instinct - only for her eyes to widen as she remembered who, exactly, would be likely to call her from an unfamiliar number. “Ah! This might actually be Kaslana-san now!” She exclaimed, quickly rising to her feet. “One moment, Father - I just need to take this! I'll be back in a moment!” She said, rushing off as she brought the phone to her ear without turning to look.

As a result, she missed the moment Ryoma shot upwards, his eyes widening. “Kaslana?” He thought to himself in astonishment. “It can't be… but that certainly sounds like her.” He shook his head, an amused chuckle escaping as he took a sip of his water. “Well now, I may have known she was coming here, but to think, she's in the same class as my Mei… the world really is a small place, isn't it?” 

Smiling to himself, he stood up. It seemed he had a call of his own to make.

[HR][/HR]

Mei speedily walked through the hallway, quickly arriving at a small nook near a window. She knew the spot well; usually she used it as somewhere to read, but it was far enough out of the way to make a good location to make calls without being overheard. Raising her phone, she hesitated, before pressing answer despite her instinctive desire to ignore the unknown number. “Who is this?” She asked tersely, unconsciously slipping into her colder tone. 

“...Raiden-senpai?” A baffled voice asked. “What are you -” There was a moment of silence. “... I never gave you my number did I.” Kiana said, her voice flat.

Mei couldn't help the smile of relief at hearing her new friend's voice. “I'm afraid you didn't, Kaslana-san.”

There was a groan, followed by the sound of what she suspected to be Kiana smacking her head against something. “Uuuuugh…. I am so sorry. It completely slipped my mind. What was I thinking, seriously it is not hard to remember this stuff come on -” 

Mei let her friend burn out her frustration for a moment, the stream of muttered invective eventually transitioning to a language she didn't recognise. After a while, Kiana sighed, before returning to their conversation. “Well, I'm glad you actually answered. Sorry about that, really.”

Mei laughed softly, trying to wave the unneeded apologies away before she remembered it wasn't a video call. “It's no trouble, Kaslana-san!  I'm just glad to hear from you - I was worried, when I realised how long it had been.”

“Ugh, yeah… sorry I didn't call earlier, I only managed to get away from the cops just now.” Kiana said apologetically. 

Mei blinked. “... Kaslana-san, it's been five hours.” She pointed out, mildly concerned.

“Yeah, and it looked as if they were gonna take another five there for a while.” Kiana grumbled. “Seriously Raiden-senpai, it felt like they were never going to run out of questions! It was ridiculous!” She sighed explosively, throwing herself onto a bench. “And then there was that one dumbass who noticed I'm Siberian and decided that meant I had to be the one who did it -” She continued, realising too late that she probably shouldn't have said that.

“I'm sorry, they WHAT!?” Mei yelled. “Kaslana-san, are you alright? Did they try to arrest you!? Do you need a lawyer-”

“Woah woah woah, Raiden-senpai, slow down!” Kiana protested. “I don't need a lawyer, geez! It was just one guy, and he got smacked down for it the moment the others noticed - it was actually kinda funny.”

Mei stopped, calming a little at Kiana’s reassurances. “Are you certain you're alright?”

“Yes, Raiden-senpai, I'm sure I don't need a lawyer.” She assured. “I'm just tired from how long it took.”

Mei remained silent for a moment, unsure, but eventually decided to move on - she had the feeling Kiana wasn't the type to admit to any difficulty she faced. “Well, if you're okay, I suppose that's what's important.” She murmured, leaning into her alcove. “How did it go, for that matter? Did the police find anything useful?” She knew it was a dim hope this early on, but the sooner this was over, the better.

Sadly, all she was met with was a sigh of frustration. “Not a thing.” Kiana said bluntly. “Even when I showed the detective guy around, they couldn't find anything new - there just isn't anything to find. Couldn't even find anything they could use those fancy DNA thingys to look at - whoever this was, they didn't leave jack.” Lying down on her bench, she frowned in annoyance at the memory. “It didn't help that I had moved the body - apparently I wasn't supposed to touch anything, which sounds really stupid to me because of course people are gonna touch things when looking at stuff like this -” Kiana stopped, clearly having overheard Mei's sudden facepalm. “Raiden-senpai?”

“Anyone without law enforcement training touching the crime scene could be tampering with the evidence.” Mei said, voice flat. “How did I forget that.”

“... oh.” Kiana said, audibly wincing. “Well. That's. Pretty dumb of me, huh.” She noted, shaking her head in embarrassment.

“No, you wouldn't have known.” Mei denied, shaking her head. “I hope they weren't too upset with you…”

“Nah, most of them were cool - think they must've realised I knew what I was doing.” Kiana answered, putting her legs up. “They actually agreed with me on the injuries- said it looked like the ones that killed her came hours after the first one.”

Mei's eyes widened in horror. “That's horrible! Why would anyone do that?” She asked, aghast.

Kiana sighed sadly. “No idea. Could be someone with a grudge, someone who blamed her for something bad that had happened to them… could even just be someone too crazy for anyone else to understand it.” She replied. “They don't know enough yet. Too many options.”

“I see…” Mei muttered, bringing a hand on her chin. “Well, unfortunately there's little else we can do. We'll just have to trust the police know what they're doing.” Mei hesitated, then brightened as a far happier subject came to mind. “Oh right! Kiana, we're going to be meeting at the club buildings tomorrow! Do you mind waiting for me at the gates so I can show you where to go?”

Kiana blinked in confusion. “Wait, we're still in school tomorrow?”

“Yes, though class is canceled and the right wing is closed off… Did you and your family not get the message from the school board?” Mei asked.

“Nope, hadn't heard. Weird choice though.” She answered lightly. 

“Well, at the very least it gives a chance for you to speak more with the others, and for us to help you find a club to join.” Mei said, only to frown when she was met with a surprisingly hesitant hum rather than Kiana’s usual enthusiasm. “Is something wrong?”

Kiana’s answer was rather sheepish. “I've… never been to anything like a club. Never seen any point in it.” She admitted. “Before, I didn't care much, but… what if I don't find anything I like?”

“Kaslana-san, Chiba has more clubs on more subjects than we know what to do with.” Mei answered, confident. “I know that you…” She took a moment to check her phrasing. “...probably didn't have much of a chance to pick up hobbies, until now. But that doesn't mean you can't get one now. If anything, it just means you have a chance to explore the kinds of things you enjoy now.” She encouraged, wishing they were speaking in person so Kiana would know she was being sincere.

“I hope so…” Kiana answered. “What about you, Raiden-senpai? You already joined one, right?” 

“Yes, I actually mentioned it before - I'm the president of the Kendo club.” Mei replied, nostalgia filling her at the memories - she was looking forward to the clubs reopening, it'd been too long since she had a chance to spar with her club mates.

“Kendo?” Kiana questioned, abruptly reminding Mei that her friend wasn't actually Japanese. Before she could rush to explain her error, she was met with a storm of muttering. “That’s… Ken is a word for sword, Do is way… Sword's Way? Way of the Sword?” She murmured in English, rolling the unfamiliar word around her tongue. “Is that like, some kind of sword fighting club?” She tried.

“It is, yes!” Mei confirmed, impressed. 

“... what's it like?” Kiana asked, trying to sound casual.

Mei smiled. “Well, Kendo specifically is a formalised sport, much like Fencing, but though that's the main focus our club actually covers all kinds of sword techniques and styles…”

[HR][/HR]

Chapter Text

Kiana sighed as she stared at the roiling mass of students gathered by the gates. “Guess word spread fast, huh…” she said to herself, casting her gaze about. The air was tense, students gathering in threes and fours as they threw fearful glances around. Nobody was near the entrance; none of them dared to.

Kiana… had been expecting this, she had. She knew that outside of hellholes like Siberia, things like the events of the previous day weren't something people expected to deal with, weren't normal. This whole display, though… it was certainly hammering the point home.

Kiana gritted her teeth, momentarily angry at herself - she shouldn't have tried to figure out what happened. Mei and her friends weren't prepared to think about the idea of some lunatic haunting their school, and didn't deserve to be told one of their peers had been tortured before she died - but Kiana had seen the body and slipped right into her usual role as if nothing had changed. And all she had to show for it was having potentially traumatised her new friends. A truly excellent display there, really.

She couldn't even console herself with good food. She hadn't found a single job that night - the Mercnet was completely blank in her area. She was even more broke now. Seriously, she'd expected to have less work, there always was in a more stable area, but not even a stuck cat?

Shaking her head, Kiana wrenched her mind away from her frustration at her lack of work - her benefactor better follow through on the promise of a long term mission payout - and tried to focus on a slightly happier train of thought. Mei had said she would meet her by the gates, hadn't she?

“Kaslana-san!” Kiana perked up, turning to face the increasingly familiar voice. Sure enough, there was her new friend.

“Hey, Raiden-senpai!” She called back, waving as Mei quickly walked over to her. As she approached, Kiana fought the urge to frown - Mei looked… tired. Which made sense after what happened, admittedly, but… “How are you feeling?” She asked as Mei came up next to her, letting her voice drop to a calmer tone than her usual energetic pitch.

“Oh, I'm well enough, really.” Mei insisted, waving her off. “I'm just worried about the others. None of them could've expected…” she trailed off, staring sadly at the sight of their terrified peers. “I cannot believe they actually expected everyone to come in after all this.” She muttered. 

“Yeah, no kidding.” Kiana concurred, glancing around again. Still nothing looking out of place. “Guess they thought sticking to routine would help everyone stay calm or something, but… I don't think it worked.” She said bluntly.

“Indeed.” Mei said dryly. Shaking her head, she continued. “Still, we can't do anything about that right now. Were you still unable to pick a club?” She asked, looking towards Kiana curiously. 

Kiana laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she glanced away. “I uh, couldn't find a list of them, ehe…” In truth, she hadn't looked, more focused on both planning what to do about the current situation, and on attempting to fix her budget. God was ammo expensive in Japan…

“Well, we can solve that quite easily!” Mei remarked, quickly grabbing Kiana’s hand and pulling her off in the direction of the school. “Come, there's a shortcut through here.” She explained, shooting a quick smile at Kiana as they went.

Kiana grinned back. “Jeez, I'm coming! No need to drag me!” She whined, though the laugh bubbling from her throat gave the game away a little. “Unless, that is, you want to take me somewhere more… private?” She teased, leaning just a little closer…

Sure enough, Mei blushed like mad. Success! “H-honestly, Kaslana-san! Don't just say such things out of nowhere - people will get the wrong idea!” She stammered.

“And if I want them to get the wrong idea?” Kiana suggested, whispering conspiratorially. 

“Kaslana-san!”

Kiana laughed at the top of her lungs.

[HR][/HR]

Mei couldn't stop the surge of relief that filled her when she saw her friends gathered

together by the club buildings. They had been walking for five minutes, and Kiana’s teasing had been relentless. “Ah, there's everyone else now!” She pointed out, in the desperate hope that having new victims would distract her newest friend. “Hello, everyone!”

Sure enough, Kiana perked up, switching from leaning… distractingly close to Mei’s ear, to waving at the others as they walked over. “Morning guys!“ She announced breezily.

Hearing them, the others turned to face them, and Mei was happy to see the others seemed quite alright, despite everything that had happened. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

“Good morning, Mei-san.” Kimiko greeted, before turning to Kiana. “And to you as well, Kaslana-san. I'm glad to see you doing well.” She added sincerely. 

“Yes. You seem quite well, given what happened the other day.” Hikari noted, her voice oddly cool. The mood fell, many of the others’ expressions turning downcast at the reminder.

Kiana, though, took it on the chin, giving a wry smile with her answer. “Yeah, I'm fine. Honestly, I'm more worried about all of you - everyone doing okay?” She asked, looking between the others. Hikari, strangely, seemed almost caught off guard by the concern.

Mei frowned a little; while she hadn't directly said anything yet, it was becoming clear Hikari didn't get along with Kiana. While Hikari had always been rather aloof, never all that close with any of Mei’s circle, this seemingly immediate dislike wasn't like her. Mei would have to get to the bottom of that soon enough - she didn't want anyone feeling unwelcome, or like they were being overruled. 

“I think we're mostly doing okay.” Kaneko answered for the group, looking around to see if anyone said otherwise; none did. “I'm… still a little shocked, though.” She admitted. “Who would do something like…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It doesn't matter. Not really anything a bunch of kids can do about this. Let's just talk about something else, okay?”

“Yeah!” Yumi added, clearly desperate for a change of subject. “Like helping a certain new friend of ours find a new club!” She whirled to face Kiana, a mischievous grin on her face. “Think you're ready, Miss Transfer Student? I'm warning you, we won't go easy on you~” She warned in a single song tone, eyes glinting.

“Oho, I'm ready alright!” Kiana declared, hand on hip as she returned Yumi’s smile. “You think you can handle me, lady? Well, I guess we'll find out, huh?” She added, leaning closer…

Mei tuned out the ongoing competition of dramatics momentarily, turning to the others - only to blanch a little as she saw the widening grin on Kaneko's face. What was-?

“So~ I can't help but notice how Kaslana-san was leaning quite close to you on the way over…” She said, leaning in to whisper. “Anything you need to announce, our darling Mei-san? The student body would be devastated to know you're off the market…”

Mei blushed furiously, stammering in denial. “I- no! I do not! Kaslana-san was just teasing me - there's nothing happening, I swear!” She insisted, waving her hand in front of her to ward off her friend.

“Well, I can't deny I wouldn't do the same - you are fun to tease…” Kaneko admitted, slightly disappointed. 

“And yet,” Kimiko interjected, a quirk to her calm smile that Mei knew well was a sign of immense danger, “it is a little hard not to doubt your words, considering…” She gestured significantly. 

Mei turned, frowning in confusion, in Kiana’s direction. Her new friend had pulled away from her while they had been speaking, now seemingly in a posing competition with Yumi. Mei was unsure how this had occurred, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know either. However, it quickly became apparent Kiana was at something of a disadvantage in this particular contest.

She'd never let go of Mei’s hand, after all.

OH NO.

Mei desperately extricated herself, thanking the gods that Kiana seemingly hadn't noticed their predicament as she turned a rather interesting shade of red. “I - that - you see - this means nothing -” she babbled, waving her hands as her friends giggled, the traitors.

“Oh, I'm sure.” Kaneko grinned. “Nothing at all~” she lilted.  

“I'm serious Kaneko-san!“ Mei hissed, immensely grateful for Yumi and Kiana’s combined chaos providing a distraction. “There's nothing between us - Kaslana-san only just met me! And besides, it…” she sighed, glancing around to make sure nobody was listening before she continued. “It wouldn't feel right. Not after what she's been through, when she's still getting used to not being in that situation. I… I don't want to make her feel pressured.” She admitted, staring sadly at her new friend- someone who had doubtless seen things Mei couldn't imagine.

Her friends grew serious, their teasing momentarily forgotten. “I guess so…” Kaneko murmured, glancing towards Kiana herself. “The things I've heard about Siberia… they say it's only gotten worse over the years. I'm amazed she can be so hyper when she's from a place like that…” she said.

“None of us can understand what Kaslana-san experienced in her former home.” Kimiko said gently, resting a hand on Mei's shoulder. “All we can do is be there, and help her as and when she allows us to.” She gave Mei a supportive squeeze, smiling. “You have been handling this well, old friend.”

“I do my best.” Mei said wryly. “Though I sincerely hope things won't be quite so stressful from here on.”

“Right then!” Yumi announced cheerfully, interrupting their conversation before Kaneko could speak. The three of them turned, rejoining the group as their energetic friend rubbed her hands together excitedly. “I’d say it's time we get started! Now, to begin…” She intoned ominously, turning to face Kiana. “Kaslana-san… what are your hobbies!?” She demanded, dramatically pointing a finger at the other girl. 

[HR][/HR]

“Uhhh….”

Kiana really should've seen that question coming, but somehow she hadn't. It was a little embarrassing, honestly - she wasn't usually this bad at thinking ahead, but somehow it had completely slipped her mind to actually plan for the day's events in favour of teasing Mei. Admittedly, teasing Mei was way more fun than wracking her smooth brain for plans and she really wanted to do more of it, so maybe that wasn't a bad thing -

“Focus, Kiana!” She reprimanded herself. “Gay thoughts later, making people stop worrying now!”

Kiana wasn't blind - she knew that the glances she kept getting from Mei's friends meant things, and honestly she didn't blame them. Siberia sucked, that was just a fact - home or not, she'd be the first to admit it. Sure, she'd been fine there - been happy there - but she couldn't exactly tell her new peers that her old man was a former S-Rank Knight who nobody in Siberia was stupid enough to piss off. They wouldn't know what that actually meant, and if they somehow did…

Well. There had only ever been one S-Rank Knight. Not exactly conducive to staying hidden.

Still, she could see the looks she got. The others were worried, a lot, and she couldn't blame them. It actually felt nice, even, that they cared. Well, except Hikari. She pretty obviously didn’t like her. So she wanted to reassure them, and having been able to get hobbies would definitely help make whatever they imagined her life had been like less bad!

Except… Kiana’s hobbies mostly involved things like “kill zombies” or “beat up mad scientists”. Not exactly normal hobbies, there. And so, she stood there, momentarily at a loss for words - a truly impressive feat.

Desperate to come up with something before her new friends noticed, Kiana flipped through all the ways she spent her time. Martial arts? No, the Kaslana Gun Kata was way too recognisable. Stargazing? Not exactly a club thing, or at least she didn't think so. People watching? Same problem. Food? She was a Kaslana, she was not gonna subject strangers to the atrocity of her cooking. Pretty gi - ABSOLUTELY NOT DO NOT COPY THE OLD MAN BAD KIANA.

And then, finally, salvation came in a moment of glorious clarity. “Well, video games are pretty fun…” she mused, casually putting a hand to her chin to hide the relief at finding something vaguely normal about herself. “Haven't been keeping up lately though, couldn't find a new console.”

“AHA!” Yumi yelled triumphantly, jabbing a finger at Kiana. She whirled to face the others, grinning victoriously. “I told you she would like gaming! Never doubt a gamer’s prowess in finding our own!” She declared, before breaking into maniacal laughter. “Soon! Soon, I shall have new blood to show my dominance in all fields!” 

Kiana smirked cockily, leaning. “Oho? You're challenging me?” She asked, leaning forward. “Bold move, there. Sure you aren't writing a check you can't cash in?” She dared.

Yumi's grin widened further, but alas, their fun was interrupted. “I think that's enough of that for now.” Mei said, gently grabbing Kiana’s shoulder as Yumi was similarly accosted by Kaneko. “Please don't try to outdo Yumi, Kaslana-san, we'll be here all day.” She implored, meeting Kiana’s eyes. 

Kiana pouted a little, meeting someone who could match her propensity for chaos was fun, but sighed in assent. “Fine…” she muttered, kicking her feet. “Guess we can wait.”

“Yeah, you guys can have another one of your dramatics competitions later on!” Kaneko breezily agreed, ignoring Yumi’s complaints as she dragged her friend backwards slightly. “Good choice by the way - Yumi and I are both in the game club, so we can show you the ropes.” She added, goodnaturedly elbowing Yumi once the latter escaped. “Wanna head there first?”

Kiana perked up, feeling a kernel of genuine excitement - it had been a long time since she got to just sit down and play. “Heck yeah! Where to?” She exclaimed, whipping her head side to side to try and meet everyone's eyes at once.

Mei chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. “Calm down, Kaslana-san. We’ll be there in a moment.” Turning to Kaneko, she spoke. “The video game club is in the front left club building, correct?” She checked, smiling when Kaneko nodded in confirmation. “Very well! Let's be off then!” She declared, grabbing Kiana’s hand. “Come on, it's this way.” She assured, tugging Kiana to the correct building. 

[HR][/HR]

“And we've arrived!” Yumi announced, flinging open the door to the game club with a flourish. Turning, she bowed, playing the drama for maximum effect as she gestured for Kiana to enter. “I hope you enjoy~!”

“Woah…” Kiana breathed, looking around. There were gaming setups everywhere - each chair sitting before a monitor that looked more expensive than her and the old man’s house, and that wasn't considering everything hooked up to it. Every console she knew of, classic and modern, was lying around the room, as well as a few she hadn't heard of at all. Then there were the games - in just a simple glance around, Kiana spotted a good dozen Kallen Fantasy titles, a smattering of Honkai Gunner games, and what had to be the entire HOMU franchise. And those were just the ones she knew on sight.

It was, in short, a gamer’s paradise. Almost enough Kiana didn't notice when Mei stopped holding her hand, though not quite. 

“Holy crap, you guys! How the hell did you afford all this!?” She asked, whipping to face the others as she suppressed the sadness from Mei stepping away (which was weird, but Kiana was an expert at ignoring things that were weird and this was no different!) “I've seen buildings less expensive than some of these setups!”

“A lot of these consoles were donated by previous members of the club when they graduated.” Kaneko explained, walking further in to show Kiana around. “Others we buy ourselves, or are even just the personal consoles of some students. Chiba gives us a generous budget so the club can keep up to date, so as long as we don't do something like try to buy out an entire game store, we're usually fine.” She lectured, raising a hand.

“Not that that's stopped people from pushing the limits a little. Remember that one time Akatsuki-san tried to buy herself a dozen copies of the new FromSoft game and claimed it as club expenses?” Yumi interjected, grinning mischievously at the memory.

“Oh please don't remind me.” Kaneko begged, her arm drooping. “She spent almost the entire budget on those collector's editions, I thought we were gonna get shut down for sure…” She sighed in exhaustion.

Leaving Kaneko to her misery, Yumi whirled towards Kiana. “So! This -” she gestured to a slightly more organised group of chairs “- is where the competition team hangs out!”

“You guys have an Esport team?” Kiana asked in surprise, eyes widening. 

“Yep!” Yumi confirmed proudly, flopping backwards onto a chair. “Though I guess it's more ‘teams’ - obviously people are better at different games, so whenever a tournament pops up we pick whoever the best people are at the game of the hour and that's who goes! We'd never keep up if we tried to be at a competitive level for everything…”

“This is coming from you.” Kaneko deadpanned, leading Yumi to wince. Seeing Kiana’s confusion, Kaneko explained. “Yumi is the captain of the RTS team, a member of the Pokemon team, a member of the RPG team, and she's on the Shooter team as well. She's a nutcase, and we have no clue how she manages it.” She announced, causing Yumi to laugh nervously. 

“W-well, it isn't that big a deal!” The excitable girl claimed, her statement met with Kiana’s stare of disbelief. “It's just that I'm planning to go pro one day, and for the others it's more of a hobby, so I have more time to spend practicing, that's all.”

“Oh, truly?” Mei asked curiously, having been politely listening despite being a casual gamer at best. “I didn't know you were planning to take this up full time, Yumi-san.”

“Yup!” She said cheerily. “Once we graduate, I'm gonna apply to the local teams. I've already gotten a pretty good reputation, so I should get at least some kind of position. Or that's the hope anyways - you know how sport gets!” She explained, sounding completely unconcerned by the idea of failing to advance her career. 

“Man… that's pretty impressive, girl.” Kiana remarked. “What about you, Kaneko-...?” She trailed off, slightly embarrassed as she realised halfway through her sentence that she didn't know how she was supposed to refer to her new acquaintance.

Kaneko immediately noticed. “No need to think yourself in circles, Kaslana-san. Just use ‘san’ unless we ask you to call us something else for now, okay? I keep forgetting you aren't a native Japanese speaker…” She assured, shaking her head as she muttered the last sentence to herself.

“Right, got it! What about you, Kaneko-san? Are you on any of the teams?” Kiana asked, burying the relief that the others weren't insulted by her mistake.

“Me? Oh, I'm the captain for the Shooter team. I play the others too, just not competitive.” She replied.

“Wow…” Kiana murmured, unable to help being impressed. “I dunno if I'll be any help there, though… I mean, I haven't had much time to sit down and play lately, so I'm really rusty.” She admitted, rubbing her head in nervousness. 

“No worries, being in the competition team isn't mandatory.” Kaneko assured. “The club is here because we want to have fun gaming together - the team is just for those who want to compete. Don't worry about anyone thinking less of you for not being on the top level - none of us tolerate that kind of gatekeeping crap.” She said bluntly.

That was when Yumi interjected. “So then, Kaslana-san! Feeling up for a game?” She challenged, leaning forward as her eyes glinted. Kaneko perked up as well, her competitive spirit roused.

“Oh hell yes I am!” Kiana replied enthusiastically, eyes glinting with excitement, only to jerk a little as she remembered they weren't the only ones there. “I mean, unless everyone else has a problem with it?” She asked nervously.

Everyone shook their heads. “We have plenty of time, Kaslana-san.” Kimiko answered, surreptitiously poking Hikari before she could make any sarcastic comments. Kiana pretended she hadn't seen it. “I'm sure you all can fit in a match or two.”

“Of course we can, the day barely started! Now come on, pick a game! Pick a game!” Yumi urged.

“Alright, alright, I’m on it!” Kiana responded, already dashing over to the wall of game cases as she considered what to pick. Kallen Fantasy was always a riot from the sheer schadenfreude of the fictionalised version of her ancestor, but considering her cover of Definitely Not Being One Of Those Kaslanas she wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the silliness. Besides, most people genuinely liked the Kallen Fantasy series, she didn’t want to be rude by laughing at someone’s favourite game. The HOMU games were always an option, but Kiana had never been the biggest fan of platformers and most of the other HOMU games were… kinda eh? 

That left the Honkai Gunner games among the ones Kiana knew well enough to try. The games had a pretty interesting history, according to her old man; they’d been inspired by Valkyrie training simulators, when someone had realised they could actually be fun. The games played like shooters, but amped things up to match the player characters being Valks, usually with the plot amounting to “You’ve been caught up in a Honkai surge, kill everything”. The games were even playtested by actual Valkyries to be as realistic as possible, not that most players had any idea just how realistic they were. Her mind made up, Kiana grabbed the newest looking game and triumphantly raised it above her head as she faced the others. “Alright, you girls ready?”

“Honkai Gunner, huh? Sure you want to challenge the Shooter team captain on her home turf, newbie?” Yumi said teasingly, even as she quickly started connecting controllers to the console they’d be using.

“Come on, Yumi-san - you know as well as I do that the whole franchise is as much an action game as a shooter.” Kaneko chided, dragging a chair over as Kiana slid the disc in. “Alright, let’s get started!”

Kiana rubbed her hands together gleefully. “Get ready to lose, people!”

[HR][/HR]

Kiana collapsed into her beanbag, staring dumbfounded at the scoreboard. “H-how…?” She muttered in disbelief, vainly trying to comprehend what had just happened.

She got destroyed.

“Well! That was… interesting.” Kaneko said, desperately searching for a way to soften the blow. “You're certainly a pretty aggressive player. It definitely would've been a problem, if, uh…” she trailed off, staring at the post match screen cheerily proclaiming how Kiana had died twenty times in exchange for only a single kill of her own, and admitted defeat. “Okay so that was… kind of disastrous. But it was just your first time playing! You were already improving at the end there!” She hastily added.

“Uh… maybe you'd be better at PvE?” Yumi suggested tentatively. “You definitely did better against the bots than you did against us…”

“I… think I’d rather just… quit while I'm ahead.” Kiana replied, cradling her head in her hands.

Mei patted Kiana’s shoulder in consolation. “Don't worry about it, Kaslana-san. Nobody starts excelling right away - you have plenty of time to practice.” She assured. Looking around, she posed a question. “Now that this is over, what should we try next? I think a few other clubs are around that may be of interest…”

Yumi perked up. “Ooh, ooh, you can join the comedy club with me!” Yumi said excitedly, clasping her hands together as her eyes all but sparkled in excitement. “Come on Kaslana-san, you'll be perfect!  Please please please?”

Kiana laughed at her friend’s hyperactive begging. “Well, that sure explains a lot!” She declared, shaking her head in mirth, only to frown again little. “But, well… I kinda want something more active, I guess? I like doing things. Getting people to laugh is fun, sure! But… Not really what I'd look for.”

Yumi nodded in acknowledgement, though clearly saddened. “Yeah, makes sense… Anyone else have any ideas?” She inquired, looking around.

“You could join me in the acting club.” Kaneko suggested. “We always need more cast members anyway.”

Kiana shook her head. “Nah… never liked acting much.” She admitted. And people not knowing I'm a good actress means they're less likely to notice when I am acting, she carefully didn't say. 

“I assume home economics and business are both out of the question.” Kimiko said, her eternally level voice now dry as a desert.

Kiana’s answering look was equally flat. “Trust me, you should all be very glad to not have encountered my cooking.” She deadpanned. “And I'm not really interested in business stuff.”

Hikari scoffed quietly to herself. “I'd imagine not.” She remarked. Nobody heard her quiet jabbing, however, and thus her opinion was summarily ignored.

“Hmm, business can be quite boring at times…” Mei admitted, casting an apologetic look at Kimiko, who waved it off dismissively. “You could join the Kendo club with me, I suppose? You mentioned your father teaching you…”

Kiana perked up, considering, only to regretfully shake her head. “I have no idea how to use Japanese swords. And everything my old man taught me about European swords would just screw up my muscle memory.” She admitted, shaking her head sadly. “Sorry, Raiden-senpai.”

Mei smiled, hiding her own disappointment. “No need for apologies, Kaslana-san. Besides, even if you aren't in the club, we can still talk about swordsmanship on our own time.” She encouraged. “Everything you've told me about your father's sword style sounds incredibly interesting - I'd love to spar one day.” 

Kiana gave a small smile at that - she hadn't quite intended to tell Mei about learning how to swing a sword with her old man, but as Mei had rambled on about her own lessons on the subject, she'd found herself drawn in by her new friend's love of her art. Before she knew it, she'd been speaking, describing her own experience with the ancient Kaslana sword techniques. She hadn't been able to go into much detail, but it had been fun, getting to talk about those old memories. “Heh… maybe I'll take you up on that, one of these days.” She said, winking.”

“Oh, I wouldn't recommend getting too confident.” Kimiko remarked, smiling teasingly. “How many victories are we up to now, Mei-san? Forty in a row?”

Mei opened her mouth, only for her instinctive denial to be interrupted. “It's forty-four now. She won the last tournament undefeated. Again.” Hikari remarked, grinning slyly. “Honestly, our darling Mei-san didn't show the Shibuya team any mercy. Those poor dears.”

Mei blushed furiously. “That was luck alone! Kira-san came a second away from beating me three times in that match and you know it!” She insisted, desperately raising her voice to be heard over the laughter of her friends.

As the chaos faded, Kimiko shot a considering look to Kiana. “While we're on the subject, I hadn't realised you were a swordswoman, Kaslana-san. Is studying such things not very rare in the West?” She asked curiously. 

“It isn't common, but the old man was always a massive sword-brain.” Kiana said, carefully keeping her voice flippant. “I'm way out of practice though, hard to bring a big old sword anywhere.” 

Fortunately, it seemed her intentional downplaying worked, as Kimiko simply nodded in acceptance. “I see. A shame - I always wondered how western swordplay differed.” She tilted her head, considering. “As for other physically active clubs… do you play any sports, perhaps?”

Kiana frowned. “I mean, I know how to play baseball, but I'm not much good…” she said dubiously.

Things… didn't get much better from there. Equestrian club? Horses had never gotten along  with Kiana well enough to let her ride. The track team? Kiana had a Natural Stigmata. Hell, she had the Kaslana Stigmata. It would be just plain cheating. Archery? She couldn't use a bow to save her own life. As the number of clubs that hadn't been shot down decreased, Kiana began to feel more and more nervous. Come on, the point was to make people LESS worried! Why is it so hard to find things to do!? She thought in panic. 

And then, right as it looked like they were out of options…

“It's not like the firearms club is an option here!” Kaneko yelled in exasperation, flinging her arms up. “Come on Yumi-san, you know better than -”

Kiana perked up. “There's a firearms club!?” She blurted out in excitement. 

There was a pause. The others began to shoot each other nervous looks. Finally, Mei coughed politely as she discreetly kicked Kaneko. “Ah… there is, yes. I'm sorry, you probably weren't aware of it… I know you probably disapprove -”

“What are you talking about, Raiden-senpai? That's awesome! Where is it? Can I see? What do they have!?” Kiana interjected, jumping to her feet in anticipation. Finally! Finally something she actually liked! It wouldn't even give her away as long as she didn't use any Kaslana techniques - it was perfect!

… Why was everyone giving her those looks?

As she noticed the unnerved, wary looks on the other's faces, Kiana slowly began to panic. What did I do? Did I say something wrong? Is that not normal? Oh no it isn't normal, I messed up, they've realised something is wrong with me -

Perhaps, in a less kind world, Kiana’s momentary spiral would have continued. Perhaps Hikari, already suspicious of the mysterious foreigner, would have made some cutting remark that would have been taken as confirmation of her worst fears. Perhaps the others would have remained silent out of confusion or fear, leaving her to be consumed by panic until she fled the city without a word. But this wasn't that world.

Because right as the Kaslana heiress reached the point of no return, she was snapped out of it by a hand reaching out to grab her own.

“Kaslana-san… are you sure you're okay with this?” Mei asked, unable to hide her worry. “I… after everything you must've been through in the past, I thought you'd want nothing to do with guns at all.” She admitted, squeezing her new friend's hand in reassurance. “If you want, we can make sure you won't be around the shooting range…”

Kiana’s breath hitched as she blinked in surprise. Wait… is that… is that why they look… Confused, the young Kaslana looked again. The other girls still looked unnerved, still looked like they were afraid of something - but in a flash of insight, Kiana finally realised she wasn't what they were afraid of.

They were afraid they had hurt her.

“... oh.” Kiana whispered to herself.

[HR][/HR]

“Kaslana-san?” Mei asked again, her voice a fraction louder as her friend continued to remain frozen. She had been afraid of this, had known that there was a good chance somebody was going to put their foot directly into their mouths eventually. She knew, from long and painful experience, how easily someone could remind you of your worst memories by complete accident - that the most random things could bring you back to those moments. But for the life of her, she couldn't fathom how, exactly, they'd messed up so suddenly. 

Kiana had gone from acting unusually excited by something Mei would have expected to be triggering to completely blank in seconds.

Then, right as it finally hit the others that something was badly, badly wrong, her friend’s breathing hitched slightly. “...oh.” She heard faintly, a single breath containing a riot of emotion Mei couldn't quite unpack.

“Kaslana-san? Are you… are you alright?” Yumi asked, her usual energy replaced by an almost timid tone. “You just… froze all of a sudden.”

“I must admit I'm quite concerned.” Kimiko agreed, carefully and slowly walking over to them. “You gave us quite the shock. Are you certain you're well? We can call the nurse's office if you need anything.” She said, keeping her voice gentle and quiet. Mei had never felt more grateful for her old friend than she did at that moment.

Kiana took another, deeper breath, squeezing her eyes closed and rubbing her right eye furiously. When she opened them, the brightness and mischief Mei had come to recognise so well over the last few days was back. “Yeah… yeah, I'm good.” She answered steadily, leaning a little into Mei without noticing. “Sorry, girls… thought I'd said something bad and you all were gonna freak out.” She admitted in embarrassment. 

Mei couldn't help it. As unladylike as it may be, she gaped in astonishment. “You - Kaslana-san, what in the heavens made you think you were the one who misstepped!?” She asked, unable to hide her incredulousness.

Kiana simply laughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head. “Y-yeah, sounds dumb now that I'm thinking about it… but for a second there I thought I'd said something that makes me sound like a total headcase anywhere except back home, y'know?” She explained, wincing a little. “I'm… still working out what's normal, I guess.” She admitted. Looking to her side, she spoke again. “Thanks, Raiden-senpai.” She said, smiling as she squeezed Mei’s hand. “I'm sorry for worrying everyone.”

Mei couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her at that. “You are not the one who ought to be apologetic right now.” She pointed out wryly. Kiana just giggled a little, still smiling. With another sigh, this one of exasperation, Mei decided to move on - Kiana likely didn't want whatever episode she'd nearly entered to dominate the rest of their day. “I'm still surprised you're alright with the firearm club, if I'm quite honest.” She admitted. “You seemed almost excited about it, actually!”

“Why wouldn't I be?” Kiana answered simply, uncaring of the surprise she was met with. “I guess some folks back home might have problems with ‘em, but for me… actually, they honestly remind me of some good times, y'know?” She tried to explain.

“Truly?” Mei said in surprise. “That's not what I'd have expected.”

Kiana glanced away from her, looking out of the clubhouse window. “When I was little, my old man taught me to shoot… maybe that sounds odd, but he wanted me to be able to protect myself if something happened.” She explained, a nostalgic smile on her face. “We'd spend hours out behind our cabin, practicing over and over again… I was awful at first, but he never stopped trying. Maybe some people would remember bad things from them, but to me… guns always remind me of when I got to spend time with him, just the two of us…” 

Mei felt her heart clench slightly. Kiana had never actually said whether she was living with her father, and the way she was speaking of him now… it was Kaneko who finally worked up the courage to ask. “Kaslana-san… is your father… no longer with us?” She asked nervously, rubbing her wrist.

Kiana shook her head, smiling sadly. “Nah, the old man's alive. But… he can't really be here with me like he was back then. Not for a long time… it's been years now, I think, since I last saw him with my own eyes.” She admitted,

“Years!?” Mei blurted out in horror. “That's… that's just awful, Kaslana-san. I… I'm so sorry…” she trailed off, unable to think of anything to say. To think, she had felt unfortunate about her own father being too busy…

Kiana shook her head, smiling reassuringly. “It's okay, Raiden-senpai.” She said gently. “I miss him, obviously, and I wish he was around… but I love him, and I know he loves me. That's enough for me.” She exhaled, shakily. “Sorry for the heavy subject, guys. Can we move on, please?” She asked, clearly eager to talk about quite literally anything else.

“I do believe so, yes.” Mei affirmed, before anyone could ask a well intentioned question and cause disaster. “Would I be accurate in assuming you'd like to join the firearms club?”

Kiana grinned, excited. “Yep! I'd love to get back in practice!”

Mei couldn't help, but smile back. “Well, none of us are members, and I'm afraid the firearms club building isn't open to non members.” She explained regretfully. “We won't be able to show it to you today, but I can get in touch with them this evening. Classes are still cancelled tomorrow, so we can easily arrange something.”

“Yeah, it'll be easy!” Yumi added cheerily. “The gun nuts never have enough people - they'll be over the moon!” 

“Then it's decided.” Kimiko declared. “We'll arrange matters this evening, and take a tour of the firearms club tomorrow to see if it's to Kaslana-san's taste.” Suddenly, she frowned. “Although, this does leave us with the question of what we should do with the rest of our day…”

Mei found herself frowning as well. There were still a couple of hours before school ended. “Indeed… perhaps we could-” She began to suggest.

“Isn't it obvious!?” Yumi interrupted, barreling over her more responsible friends without a care. “Get back in your chair Kaslana-san! It's time for the training of the Video Game Club's newest member to begin!”

Kiana perked up. “Wait, you mean you'll really let me join?” She asked excitedly. 

“Of course we will.” Kaneko snorted in amusement. “Didn't I tell you we don't tolerate that gatekeeping shit around here? You love gaming, doesn't matter if you aren't top level. Now get over here so we can fix those mistakes already! Or do you want to keep sucking?” She teased.

“Like hell I do GIMME THAT CONTROLLER-”

[HR][/HR]

Kiana walked out of the school gates, sighing to herself in contentment. Today… today had been another good day. She even felt like she'd gotten a lot better at Honkai Gunner - turns out, the PvE mode was a lot more to her taste. 

Craning her head backwards, Kiana let her thoughts drift. She'd been… on edge earlier. Talking about her past was difficult enough - hurt enough - when it was to people who already knew. Trying to navigate her web of secrets and explain her family history without either lying her ass off or giving the game away was…. not a fun concept. She was glad her friends hadn't pushed her on it. They really were incredible people… well, maybe not Hikari. She was kind of a jerk.

You don't deserve them.

So what? Kiana fired back at her thoughts. Of course I don't, but that doesn't mean I can't try.

Looking left and right, Kiana let herself slip into her on-job mindset. She still had no leads on the strange amount of Honkai Energy that was hanging around the city, but it wasn't at dangerous levels yet. She had time. For now, she just had to scrounge up enough money to actually be able to find some leads around here.

“Easier said than done, though…” she muttered to herself, instinctively opening up the Mercnet. “Seriously, I know this isn't Siberia, but there shouldn't be this little work -”

Her phone beeped an alert. A job had been posted - one the Mercnet had flagged as being of interest for her. Eyes widening, Kiana instantly opened the post. The job was simple; a request by a grieving family for a private investigation into the death of their daughter, and to identify the culprit.

A request by the family of Miyazaki Mao.

“Well now.” Kiana murmured to herself. “Guess the case isn't closed after all…”

Chapter Text

Kiana stood on a rooftop, gazing down at the building across from her. This was a decently well off part of the city - not quite a beacon of opulence or anything like that, but certainly a far cry from the abandoned streets she'd cleared of zombies two days before. The house in front of her was identical to the ones surrounding it - a simple, well built two story home, painted a warm red. For all the world, it seemed a welcoming, comforting place, the sort anyone would be glad to rest their weary head - and yet, that comfort was gone. The warmth had been sucked away, replaced by a cold, dreary aura of sorrow.

She checked her phone. This was, in fact, the residence of the Miyazaki family.

Kiana sighed sadly, looking at the home of a shattered family. “Doesn't look like they're really up to see anyone…” she muttered, staring at the windows and doors, each and every one shut tight, curtains drawn. “Still, I don't want to take the job only to end up telling them what they already know. Guess I'll have to just be as quick as I can.”

Kiana quickly did a last second check. Her preferred outfit for fighting? On, her hood hanging low enough to hide her face as she preferred. Her pistols and ammo? Hidden under her favourite white and orange jacket, though she doubted they'd be needed. Her bat? Strapped to the side of her backpack. The contents of said backpack? Her slightly anemic first aid kit, a sleeping bag, and a bit of food. Everything else was hidden back at her place.

Kiana took a deep breath. Remember, Kiana, you're on the job. Serious face on, alright? Opening her eyes, she breathed out, tightened her hood, and jumped down to ground level in the alley next to her. Calmly, channeling every ounce of professionalism in her possession, she walked out, crossed the street, and knocked on the Miyazaki's door firmly.

And then stood there. Waiting. Awkwardly.

Right as Kiana began to wonder if they were even home right now, she heard the faint ‘click’ of the door being unlocked, and stepped back as it swung outward. The man who had answered the door… the only way she could describe him was as being very, very, tired.

“What do you want?” He asked, the harshness of his voice barely disguising his obvious grief.

“Good evening, Miyazaki-san.” She said quietly, bowing what she hoped was an appropriate amount for the situation. “I'm sorry to disturb you at a time like this.”

“Then leave.” He replied, already moving to shut the door. “I have no interest in whatever you want here -”

“You posted a job for a private investigator, right?” Kiana spoke, inwardly cringing at interrupting him even as she raised her phone, already open on the page showing the Miyazaki's request. “I know you probably don't feel like talking, but I'd like to speak with you and your family. I don't want to take your money only for us to find out I didn't tell you anything you didn't already know.” She added, praying he took her seriously.

The man blinked, staring at her in surprise. “You're a private investigator?” He asked, squinting at her. “You don't look like much…” Right as Kiana was about to launch into her long practiced ‘convincing suspicious clients’ routine, the man sighed and shook his head. “But I'll take anything I can get. Come in. I'll get my wife. Then we can talk.” With that, he turned, and wordlessly walked back into his home.

Kiana quietly followed, putting her boots to the side as she trailed after the man. She quickly found herself in the kitchen, waiting as the man walked upstairs in silence. With nothing better to do, she found herself wandering around the room. There were pictures everywhere. Most of them featured a group of five people; the man she had spoken to, a woman much the same age, a young boy and even younger girl… and a young woman she recognised immediately as Miyazaki Mao.

They looked happy together. Kiana thought to herself, a pang of guilt shooting through her as she studied the smile on a face she'd previously only seen locked in agony. Part of her screamed that she should leave before she somehow made the poor girl's family feel even worse, but the sound of a pair of footsteps descending the stairs made the matter moot.

Kiana quickly dashed over to the table, using all her skill to silently get in a chair as she put her phone on the table. She squared her shoulders, doing her best to look respectable as she straightened her jacket. As the footsteps drew near, she took one last breath to steady herself. Showtime.

The man she had spoken to returned, holding the hand of what had to be his wife. The poor woman looked… well. She looked like someone who'd lost her daughter just a day or two beforehand. Her husband gently led her over to the table, an arm around her as they both sat down across from Kiana. The young Kaslana breathed in to speak. “Good evening, Miyazaki-san-”

“Are you here to help find out what happened to my baby?” The woman interrupted, leaning forward. Desperation and grief mixed in her eyes. Unwilling to trust her voice, Kiana nodded. “Oh, thank goodness…” Ms. Miyazaki breathed, collapsing into her chair. “When the police told us they didn't have any ideas who was responsible, I thought…” she murmured, tears beginning to drip from her eyes as she rubbed at them.

Kiana forced herself to open her mouth. “I'm sorry for your loss.” She said, throwing every piece of sincerity she could into her words. “I just hope I can help in some way.”

Mr. Miyazaki spoke then. “If I may ask, how exactly did you learn of what happened, young miss?” He asked,leaning forward. “We only started sending requests a few hours ago. I hadn't expected a response for days, if I'm honest with you.”

Kiana blinked in shock. “Days? The hell kind of response rate is that?” She muttered to herself. “I thought I might be late, if anything!” That was when she remembered that oh yeah, speaking to clients, “Uh, well, I'm glad I was able to save you time!” She said cheerily in an effort to salvage her image.

Instead, they only seemed more suspicious. “I… I don't want to pry, dear, when you're trying to help us, but my husband has a point.” Ms Miyazaki said, her voice a little steadier. “Are you sure you're alright with this? You seem awfully young for all of this…”

Kiana cursed in her mind - of course a parent had managed to clock her age. She didn't miss the days when she'd been too tiny to pass as an adult, and going through that rigmarole again was just ugh. Still, she owed them an explanation. “Well, the truth is…” she trailed off, letting the hesitation show in her voice. “I'm actually from Siberia -”

“WHAT!?” Mr Miyazaki shouted, practically jumping out of his chair. Kiana flinched. Shitshitshit wrong thing to say why would you mention being from there when people are looking for a murderer your age idiot dumbass moron abort abort abort -

“Oh, you poor thing!” Eh? Kiana blinked as, instead of freaking out, accusing her of being their daughter's killer, throwing her out or, worse, calling the police, Ms Miyazaki covered her mouth in horror. “You're Siberian? You grew up in that warzone? I - oh sweetie, are you okay?” She asked, leaning forward.

“My wife and I have heard horror stories about that wasteland.” Mr. Miyazaki added, his voice angered. “It's no place for a child. Are you alright, girl?” He asked kindly.

Kiana stared in shock. This… she hadn't expected this. For the second time that day, her assumptions of how people would think of her past had been completely wrong. “I…” she began, her breath catching as it hit her that these people, having just lost their child, were bothering to worry about her of all people. “I'm fine.” She said, clamping down on her voice. Now wasn't the time. “I got out of Siberia a while back.” She assured, raising her head a little so they could see her smile. “My Old Man worked hard getting money for it. It was tough to get used to things, but we're doing alright.”

“If you're sure, dear.” Ms. Miyazaki said uncertainty, sitting back down.

“Anyways,” Kiana said hastily, desperate to get the conversation back to more familiar territory, “back home there's a site called the Mercnet. Like the name implies it was originally founded as a way for the mercenaries to get themselves more organised and find jobs they won't get backstabbed on, but nowadays it gets used for almost everything.” Picking up her phone, she held it up, showing the job request that brought her there, “I happened to see the job listing you guys posted, since my account flags anything in my area. I have a good chunk of free time, so I decided to come help out since Papa and I used to do stuff like this before.” She explained, carefully leaving out that this was her actual job and that mere investigation was far from the only thing her and the old man did.

“You did?” Mr. Miyazaki said, peering at the request. “Strange. I didn't realise we had sent it in on a site like this one…” he leaned back, rubbing his chin. “Then again, after the police told us they had no leads, we've been posting requests everywhere and anywhere. I suppose it isn't a surprise we haven't been paying attention to exactly what we were looking at.” He sighed heavily. “Still, I can't say I'm convinced.” He said bluntly.

“Dear!” His wife admonished. “The poor girl came all the way over to help us!”

“And yet, she's kept that hood over her head since she first knocked on the door.” The man pointed out frankly, Kiana suppressing a wince at his words. “On top of that, she still hasn't explained why she's interested, or why she's capable of finding out who that monster is.” He turned to face the young Kaslana Heiress, drawing himself up. “I don't want to insult you, girl.” He said softly, yet firmly. “But I can't trust someone to find out who killed my daughter when they won't even show me their face.”

Kiana froze. He… had a point, didn't he? In Siberia, a mercenary hiding their identity was common sense - nobody went into her line of work without an alias, it was asking to get killed. But she wasn't in Siberia right now. Of course she looked suspicious, especially since she was acting as a private investigator and not a mercenary. But even then…

Kiana walled off the surge of terror as she tried to logically think about the risks. The windows were still barred. Nobody else was there. She couldn't hear or see any recording devices. Nobody except the bare handful of people who had earned both her and her father's utmost trust knew she was in Japan, right now. It… it was safe right? Surely, there was no possible way he could find her from this, no way the White Ghost’s identity would be revealed here…

Kiana took a deep, deep breath…. and lowered her hood.

Two gasps of shocked recognition escaped the adults in the room. “You…” Ms. Miyazaki breathed. “You're that girl the police spoke with, the one who…” her eyes widened in shock.

“You're the one who found her.” Her husband finished, staring in amazement. “You're the one who let us know what happened to our girl…”

Kiana squirmed uncomfortably. “I wasn't the one who found her, not really.” She insisted, unable to meet their gaze. “I just knew enough that I stayed to tell the Cops what I figured out, that's all.”

“Sweetheart, the police told us they weren't sure they'd even have realised the killer was connected to the school if it weren't for you and your friends.” Mr. Miyazaki told her, to Kiana’s shock - she hadn't done that much, had she? “We already owe you more than we can repay… you really want to help us further?” He asked, astounded.

Kiana nodded, firmly. “I do.” She said, mustering her confidence enough to meet his eyes. “I can't let someone who'd do something like this run around free, even if I didn't have friends there. I want to help.” She cringed, looking away. “Just… can you not tell anyone it was me? I use an alias on the Mercnet for a reason, and I don't want anyone knowing my real name…”

The two adult's eyes softened. “Of course, dear.” Ms Miyazaki said gently. “If you're not comfortable telling people your name, you won't have to.”

Kiana smiled in relief. “Thanks.” She said with a sigh. “It- it means a lot to me.”

“Still, I'm a little worried about someone your age being involved in something like this, young lady.” Mr Miyazaki said, putting his hands on his knees. “Does your father know what you're up to?”

“Of course!” Kiana cheerily lied through her teeth. “He'd be all over this himself, but… he's busy right now. Getting into Japan was expensive, so he's still working on getting things settled…” She claimed, playing up her embarrassment. It wasn't even a complete lie - her Old Man would be in full hero mode by now if he'd been in the city.

“Well, if you have his permission…” Mr Miyazaki grumbled, before leaning forward with a sigh. “Now that all of that is settled… I suppose you came here for a reason, young lady?” He asked, his face falling.

Kiana nodded. “Yeah, I did.” She confirmed. “I was hoping to ask you all some questions about Mao, and what happened. I want to know what you already know, and see if there's anything that stands out I can look into.” She looked towards them, uncertain. “If… if you don't want to talk about this with a stranger- ”

“There's no need for that, dear.” Mrs. Miyazaki assured her, eyes saddened despite the gentle smile on her face. “It is hard to talk about what happened to our baby girl, but… if it lets us find out the truth… lets us give her the justice she deserves, then…” She broke off, a shuddering breath escaping her lungs.

Mr. Miyazaki brought his wife closer to him, letting her lean into his side as he spoke. “We know that finding the… the thing who took our child won't change what happened.” He said, his voice heavy even in the absence of the anger he'd expressed when Kiana first introduced herself. “But if we can stop that monster before any other parents have to go through what we are… it'll be worth it.”

Kiana nodded, solemnly. “Alright… if you're sure.” She acquiesced. Taking a deep breath, she began. “To start with, I'd like to ask when you first realised something was wrong…”

[HR][/HR]

The sun was almost down by the time Kiana left the Miyazaki residence. She hadn't meant to stay quite so long, but Ms. Miyazaki had all but demanded she stay for a cup of tea. Finally, Kiana extricated herself, promising to return in a week's time to tell them whatever she had learned.

Her hood back in place, Kiana walked deeper into the city, her stride intentionally casual - few forms of stealth were more effective than looking like you belonged. On the inside though, her mind was still turning over what she'd learned - one detail in particular.

“So, you last heard from her the evening before she died?” Kiana checked, frowning.

“Yes, that's right.” Ms. Miyazaki confirmed. “I remember it quite well - she called us at 3:30 to tell us she'd be late home that evening. That's why… why we didn't report she was missing sooner…” she explained, trailing off as she became lost in thought.

“She was planning to meet one of her friends, you see.” Mr. Miyazaki continued, as his wife took a moment to gather herself. “Mao always was an outgoing girl, and with all the worries building up at that school, she'd been spending a lot of time with them all to make sure they were alright. That's why we didn't think much of it when she missed dinner- it wasn't until we realised she hadn't come back to wish her siblings good night I realised something was wrong.”

Kiana frowned, quickly adding to the note app on her phone, before freezing as a thought occurred. “Did she… happen to say who she was meeting?” She asked carefully.

Mr. Miyazaki's face darkened, clearly realising exactly why Kiana would want to know that detail. “No.” He answered, his voice tight with anger Kiana knew wasn't directed at her. “I'm afraid she didn’t.”

Kiana tilted her head back, studying the clouds above her. Of everything the Miyazakis told her, that was what stuck out most. I'm sure of it now - it has to have been another student, someone she knew. That explains everything - why she seems to have been caught off guard, the killer picking such a perfect spot, all of it. But who?

Unfortunately, the Miyazakis hadn't had much to tell there. Miyazaki Mao had been a renowned social butterfly, one who ran in different circles to Mei and her group but still someone who had people she’d call a friend anywhere one cared to look. Not to mention the possibility it was all a red herring and the murderer had simply caught Mao unawares; in the end, the police had simply had too many suspects, leading to the current stall in the investigation.

Nevertheless, Kiana was sure - her instincts hadn't steered her wrong yet, and she was confident the key was found in who Mao had been going to see that day. She just had to work out who it was.

Continuing her seemingly aimless wandering, Kiana strolled into an alley, then - the moment she wasn't in anyone's sight - shot upwards, leaping up the side of the building. Quickly grabbing a windowsill two stories above ground, she jumped again, scaling the apartment building in seconds. Landing on the roof, she ambled over to the side, swinging her legs over the edge as she sat down, gazing thoughtfully at the horizon. After a moment, she grabbed her phone, quickly opening an app and searching for a specific item.

Several seconds of highly illegal activity later, her phone beeped as it retrieved the information she requested. Kiana grinned, quickly scrolling through the police report of everyone involved in the missing students case. Her smile faded a little, though, when she realised she wasn't looking at a list of suspects. Rather, she was seeing the names of those suspected to be victims.

… there were a lot more names than she'd expected.

Kiana stared sadly at the list of people she was too late to help, sighing as she moved to tap away - and then paused as something occurred to her. Frowning, she tapped another request into her phone. A few more extremely illegal seconds later, another beep sounded as the school's student listing was brought up. A quick request to compare the two documents later…

“Huh.” Kiana said to herself. “Are they… all in the acting club?” A further check proved her slightly wrong there - while the vast majority of the missing students, including Miyazaki, had been either currently or formerly members of the acting club, she also saw a fair few who hadn't. All of them, however, had been in the art club.

In fact, all of them had been in one or the other, with three exceptions - all of the latter had been among the first to vanish.

Heart pounding, Kiana entered a request for a list of any students who were in both the acting and art clubs - and then groaned in despair. “Thirty results? Are you kidding me!? How many people who want to be actors and painters at the same time can there be!?” She complained, gazing dejectedly at the list of matches. No wonder the police were having no luck - even assuming Kiana’s hunch was right, which, as a professional, she had to admit could be untrue, there were too many people it could be. Going through each and every one of them could take weeks - time enough for the killer to realise exactly which group was being suspected, and who knew what a psycho like this would do if they sensed they were close to discovery?

Kiana sighed in frustration, wracking her brain for any way to overcome the roadblock - when her phone beeped again. The app's simple LLM had noticed something - another common trend among the victims. Curious, Kiana brought up the notification - and her eyes shot wide.

All victims last seen alive between 5 PM and 8 PM. All victims were within a 2 block radius of Chiba Academy at estimated time of disappearance.

Shooting to her feet, Kiana checked the time. 6 PM. She glanced around, her gaze landing on the distant, yet increasingly familiar image of the school. An hour or so away, for most people. For a Kaslana?

Ten minutes. Sooner, if she pushed it.

Kiana shoved her phone into her pocket as she started to move, rapidly building up speed as she dashed across the rooftop. As she reached the edge, a simple hop cleared the street, the young warrior not even breaking her stride as she landed on the next building and kept going,

She'd found a lead after all.

[HR][/HR]

Kiana skidded to a halt, ducking behind an air conditioning unit as she arrived. A moment later, she cautiously poked her head up and scanned the area. Nobody around. Unnecessary paranoia outside of Siberia? Definitely, but if she was getting paid for something she was taking it seriously so there.

Now confident she wasn't about to get ambushed or something, Kiana swung herself over the metallic box and slowly walked over to the edge, peering over at the school. She'd picked a fairly good vantage point; she could see the school grounds, as well as most of the buildings nearby, without being super obvious about it.

She scanned the area. There were a few people walking around - the blue caps they were wearing quickly identifying them as police officers. It seemed they had also decided to keep an eye out after hours, pairs of officers patrolling the school in a cautious pattern. That was good; even if the cops missed anyone trying to sneak around, the culprit’s efforts to evade them would bring them right into Kiana’s own sights.

The plan, such as it was, was pretty simple. The killer, whoever they were, always struck late in the evening, after most people had left the school. They also never went too far away from it. So, all Kiana had to do was stakeout the building and wait. Sooner or later, she'd catch the murderer in the act… in theory, anyway. Still, it was the best chance she had of not just finding the murderer, but potentially saving their victims. So, it was what Kiana was gonna do.

Her family's Oath wouldn't accept anything less.

Casually slinging her backpack off her shoulders as she settled in for a long wait, Kiana frowned as she continued her observations. There weren't as many officers around as she would've thought - their patrols were leaving some nasty blindspots, and they weren't covering any of the nearby area, just the school.

Did they not see the pattern? Kiana asked herself, confused, then shook her head. Nah, can’t be. They're experts at this, no way I found something this quickly they missed. They must just be understaffed. Good thing they've got some secret extra help this time! Nodding confidently, Kiana smiled to herself. She'd arrived late this evening, but that was fine - she would be here at 4 PM tomorrow, and the day after that, as many times as it took to make the world a little bit brighter.

And so, lying down with a set of battered binoculars in hand, Kiana settled in for what she expected to be a long wait.

She had barely been there for fifteen minutes when she saw it.

She was scanning the grounds, her years of experience valiantly battling her boredom. Kiana had always hated any mission that involved a lot of waiting - it went against her every instinct, her Kaslana blood and her own impatience demanding she act rather than sit around and let others take initiative. But she was determined to give this everything she had, no matter how much she wanted to do something other than sit on a rooftop.

It was because of that focus that she noticed it the moment the door a few storeys below her to the right began to open.

Kiana's eyes snapped around, her instincts immediately on alert. She'd scanned a map of the area on the way here. That was a utility building for both the school and some other places near it - one that had closed hours ago. Nobody should be there right now. And they certainly shouldn't be leaving through a side entrance that couldn't be seen from the road.

The door continued slowly swinging open. Halfway through, it paused, just barely ajar as if someone was checking to see if anyone was outside. Kiana leaned forward, her eyes darting toward the school grounds. None of the police patrols were nearby. Her heart began to beat faster.

Finally, the door opened fully, and a figure emerged. Kiana quickly flicked her eyes across it, examining the stranger. A teenager, probably, around her own age. Bulky, baggy clothing, concealing most details. Gloves over their hands. They were wearing a hood as well, joined by a scarf around their face. Suspicious, very suspicious. Kiana’s breathing slowed to a near halt. Was this the one she’d been hunting?

The figure glanced around. Fortunately, they didn't look in Kiana’s direction. The Kaslana cursed her luck - she was at just the wrong angle that she couldn't make out anything of the person's features. As the figure cautiously began to walk away, Kiana leaned forward to get a closer look even as she reached for her phone -

The figure's glove left the door, revealing a red liquid dripping down the handle.

Blood.

Kiana MOVED -

The killer's head snapped around, a set of dark goggles locking on to Kiana as they jerked to the side in shock. They scrambled away, barely evading the axe kick that tore through the air where their head had been moments ago. Kiana didn't stop, already lashing out with the side of her fist even as her first attack landed and shattered the concrete beneath her. She missed, her instincts momentarily forgetting that she wasn't holding her guns, but a quick shift of her stance corrected that error as she launched into another kick.

The murderer ducked to the side, throwing a clawing strike towards Kiana’s face. She knocked it aside with contemptuous ease - whoever this person was, they hadn't a clue how to fight. It was easy to take advantage of their error, a fist landing in their stomach with enough force that had Kiana not intentionally missed it, she could easily shatter their spine. The young woman smirked as the killer was knocked backwards with a gasp of pain. No regular human would get up anytime soon after that. All she had to do now was call the police, then check on the victim and everything would be -

The murderer landed on all fours, skidding to a halt, raised their head, and hissed in rage.

Kiana’s eyes widened. “Wha-!?” Before she could finish her exclamation, the killer charged forward, a kick sweeping out towards her legs. Kiana jumped over it on instinct, evading the terrifyingly familiar maneuver with the ease of long practice even as she struck back, flipping over mid air so she could land another punch, this one to the shoulder blade - except the expected sensation of bone giving way before the power of a member of House Kaslana simply wasn't there. Her enemy let out another pained hiss, but kept going, scrambling to their feet.

What's going on? Kiana thought as she flipped over to land. I wasn't holding back there - I could've killed someone with that hit! And the way they're moving - it's almost like one of those high grade Zombies with claws, but they're obviously still alive. What's wrong with them?

Even as she thought that, she landed on her feet, quickly settling in to dodge the next blow - only to realise too late the enemy's plan. They'd switched positions; she was standing at the door, her foe a few meters away - with nothing blocking their escape.

Kiana lunged forward, but she was too late - the murderer took their chance, turning and sprinting down the alley. The Kaslana Heiress gave chase, dashing after them as fast as she could. To her frustration, she wasn't catching up - the killer just barely keeping distance as they turned a corner. Grabbing a lamppost, Kiana whipped herself around after them, her gaze snapping on to the sight of her target scrambling up the side of a fire escape with inhuman agility.

Kiana didn't waste time thinking, her hand flying under her jacket as she grabbed one of her pistols and fired -

The bullet landed, digging into the killer's side. They kept moving. With a final glare at their pursuer, the murderer launched themselves over the roof, out of sight.

Kiana stood there, frozen. Her eyes stayed locked on the last place she had seen the murderer. They'd escaped. Even if she leapt up after them, the killer - whoever and whatever they were - had gotten too much of a lead. She wouldn't be able to get there before they got out of sight again, and from there, there was no hope of her managing to figure out which way they went.

She'd failed.

…If anyone asked, Kiana would swear on her Oath that her reaction was entirely reasonable and justified.

“BLYAT! SUKA PIZDETS -”

Her reaction, of course, being to swear furiously. And having grown up Siberian, Kiana had an extremely large arsenal of foul language to use for the situation.

Even as the tirade of violent swearing in her second language continued, Kiana’s mind raced. What the hell!? That person was way too damn strong! She thought to herself. Kiana was a Kaslana, blessed with the power of the Kaslana Stigmata - the symbol on her back just the outward expression of the genetic trait that gave her strength, speed and especially durability utterly surpassing human limits by channeling Honkai Energy through her body. Someone managing to physically keep up with her wasn't possible, unless they too had a Stigmata - it was why she was so effective as a mercenary.

If the killer had a Natural Stigmata themselves, that would potentially explain it. But even amongst people with Natural Stigmata, Kaslanas were renowned for being beyond compare - and while Kiana wasn't arrogant enough to say she was one of her House's best, she certainly wasn't weak by their standards. And besides, Natural Stigmata didn't normally awaken unless the one carrying it was exposed to dangerous amounts of Honkai Energy, protecting the host by processing the lethal radiation into something usable. There wasn't enough in the city to trigger one - if there were, there would already be reports of people dropping dead in the streets.

And Zombies? Sure, high level Zombies could become that strong, the Honkai animating them instinctively channeled in a similar way - but they were dead. Corpses brought to a semblance of life by the Honkai, their brains long since completely destroyed by the destructive effects of Honkai Poisoning. If that were the case, the victim would be -

Kiana’s blood turned to ice.

The victim.

She turned and sprinted the way she came, desperately praying she wasn't too late.

[HR][/HR]

Kiana skidded to a halt, her eyes flicking desperately around the hallway as she lunged through the door. Nothing. She kept going, unconsciously getting her pistols out, quickly checking each room as she walked stalked through the building. It was familiar, this dance - walking from door to door, weapons at the ready, hoping to find survivors but all too aware of the chance she'd just find enemies, her gait utterly silent to avoid being found first. Painfully familiar, even.

As she walked towards the next door, Kiana’s ears pricked at the sound of sirens approaching. The police, reacting to the sound of her guns earlier. Not too bad a reaction time, given the distance and that there had only been one shot. Here's hoping they thought to call the paramedics too, Kiana distractedly thought as she stepped forward, or the victim might be screwed -

There was a splash. Kiana froze. Slowly, dread rising, she looked down towards her feet.

A pool of red leaked from under the door.

Throwing caution to the wind, Kiana kicked the door open, the lock torn through as she scrabbled for her first aid kit. She needn't have bothered.

The girl whose head lay before her was already beyond help.

Chapter Text

“So, the school will be closed next week?” Raiden Ryoma queried, his voice terse as he listened to the principal's long winded explanation. “Yes, I'm still very concerned! Frankly I'm quite furious you didn't already cancel the remainder of the week until this is dealt with! You'd best hope the police find the one responsible soon, good sir, or I assure you you will not enjoy the consequences if more students come to harm!” His warning sent, the head of ME Corp hung up, sighing in frustration as he turned to the other passenger of his car. “I'm sorry you had to overhear that, Mei.” He said apologetically. “The line was occupied most of the morning - I suppose I wasn't the only one making some pointed calls lately.”

Mei nodded quietly. “Yes, you weren't. Kimiko and Hikari said their families were making complaints as well…” She murmured, glancing out the window towards the rather ominous looking set of vehicles accompanying them. She couldn't quite help but remember the last time she'd had this much security following her around.

She was jostled from her reverie by a hand resting on her shoulder. “I'm sorry about all of this fuss as well.” Her father said gently. “I know how much you hate having the security forces everywhere you go. It'll just be today and tomorrow. Think you can handle it?” He asked quietly. 

Mei took a deep breath. “It's… just a precaution, right?” She asked, trying to keep her voice light.

Her father nodded gravely. “Just a precaution.” He confirmed. 

Mei tried to relax and remind herself that this wasn’t like the previous time she was placed under this kind of protection. She wasn't being followed and didn’t have to constantly look over her shoulder for any signs of trouble. She didn’t need to wonder if this would be the day they took her again. She was in no more danger than any of her friends, or any of her other peers.

It was nothing more than a precaution. 

She breathed out. “Yes. I can manage today and tomorrow.” She said, her voice quiet yet determined. 

Her father opened his mouth, but before he could reply, they were interrupted by the jovial voice of their driver. “We're coming up to the Academy now. All ready back there, young miss?” The older man said, eyes still on the road.

“Yes, I am!” Mei answered quickly after checking her bag. “Thank you for bringing me here, Shinjiro-san.”

“Oh, none of that now, young miss.” The genial man said, chuckling good naturedly. “I've been carrying you and your father to and fro for years now - it's no bother.” As he spoke, the car slowed to a halt, the grey haired man expertly sliding into a parking space without so much as a jolt. “Ah, and here we are. Do try to enjoy yourself, young miss - children like you and your friends deserve to amuse yourselves!” He said cheerily.

“We will, don't worry!” Mei replied, grabbing her bags. “We're helping Kaslana-san tour the clubs, so we'll have plenty to do! I'll see you after school - farewell for now, Father, Shinjiro-san!” She called, quickly heading towards where her and the others planned to meet.

“Goodbye for now!” Her father replied, waving after her in good cheer. He maintained his energy just long enough for the door to close, before slumping in his chair in exhaustion.

“Oh dear. Another all nighter, then, sir?” His driver asked, turning to face him. 

“I'm afraid so.” Ryoma remarked, running a hand through his hair. “This isn't the best of circumstances for something like this… not that there could ever be good circumstances for it.” He mused, staring at the cordon of police already being joined by his own well equipped security, as well as those he recognised as being in the employ of many of his rivals and allies in business alike.

“Indeed there isn't. Dreadful business, all this.” Shinjiro muttered, quickly and efficiently starting the car and pulling back onto the road, weaving through other vehicles as if they weren't there. “I do hope they solve the matter soon, the last thing the young miss needs is all this stress. Where to next, sir?”

“The reactor building, if you would, Shinjiro.” Ryoma requested, bringing up his tablet.

“Ah, the other business, then, sir?” His old friend remarked, navigating a turn that would put them on the route to his employer's most classified facility. “I had been wondering why you returned from America in such a tizzy…”

“It is, yes.” Ryoma confirmed. “The Sovereign has had a bad feeling of late, so he wants everyone to triple check that we're ready if the Third awakens.”

“Already?” His driver inquired, sounding more like he was mildly affronted by news of bad weather than anything else. “And here I was hoping we'd have a decade or more before we had to worry about a repeat of that mess on the continent.” Shinjiro shook his head in disdain, then blinked as a thought occurred. “On that subject, sir. The young miss mentioned a Kaslana, yes? She wouldn't happen to be talking about that man's daughter, would she?” He asked.

“Believe it or not, she is.” Ryoma answered wryly. “I was aware she was in Nagazora, but I couldn't believe my ears when Mei mentioned her new classmate.” He shook his head in mirth. “Talk about a coincidence… the world truly is a small place.” He mused, only to frown as his driver winced slightly. “Shinjiro? Is something wrong?” He asked worriedly.

“Oh, nothing, sir.” The elderly man assured him, despite the mild dread in his voice. “I just can't help but hope that Miss Kaslana is less prone to trouble than her father. Lord knows I get enough stress on my heart any time he's around.” He muttered, shaking his head in dismay.

Ryoma snorted. “Rest assured, my old friend. Kiana may be an apple that fell close to the tree, but she's not as bad as him.” He remarked merrily, completely unaware the girl he spoke of had gotten into a fistfight with a serial killer not twelve hours ago.

[HR][/HR]

Mei walked through the courtyard, moving towards the spot by the entrance she and the others had agreed to meet. The atmosphere was even more bleak than the day before - the fact the killer still hadn't been found weighing heavily on her classmates. I hope everyone is alright…

Even as she thought that, Mei heard a voice calling out to her. Turning, she smiled at the sight of two of her friends walking towards her. “Kimiko-san, Hikari-san.” She greeted, relieved. “Are you well?”

“Oh, I am as well as ever, Mei-san.” Kimiko reassured her, the taller girl sounding as tired as Mei felt - which meant she was probably exhausted right now, she mused wryly. “I must admit, I have had less sleep than I would like, but that can mostly be attributed to Mother having left her door open when she was tearing into the board over the current mess.” She explained, clearly aware Mei was onto her.

“It's much the same here, frankly.” Hikari added. “Although it seems I at least got more rest than the two of you. I hope you're well yourself.” She said, sounding mildly concerned. 

“Oh, I'll be perfectly fine, no need for worry.” Mei assured them. “I'm just a little stressed. Having so much of Father's security forces around is always a little nerve wracking for me, that’s all.” She shook her head. “I truly hope this ends soon.”

“As do we all.” Kimiko agreed heavily, then glanced towards their destination. “Ah, Yumi-san and Kaneko-san are already here.” She pointed out. Sure enough, there they were, the duo waiting by the out of the way benches that they'd picked the previous evening.

Quickly picking up the pace, the three joined their friends, calling out greetings as they went that were answered in kind. Before long, they had all sat down as their conversation gravitated to the elephant in the room.

“There's even more police around than yesterday, huh.” Yumi mused. “Even before you three and the other business kids arrived, I could feel it.”

“Yes, I'd noticed that myself.” Mei admitted, putting her hand to her chin. “Not to mention they're all around the school, not just the old wing. It's a little worrying, to be honest.”

“According to what I’ve heard, the investigation is stalled at the moment.” Hikari noted. “With no way to identify the assailant, it’s only natural the police are on guard at the moment.”

Kimiko nodded in agreement. “The sort of scum who commit such acts tend to become rather overconfident.” She explained. “The police likely worry the killer will take the fact they have not yet been caught as meaning they are more clever than they really are, and try to attack during the day.” She snorted in disdain. “I should like to see them try - with how much security is present they would be learning the consequences of their deeds before any of us even…” she trailed off, frowning suddenly. “Kaneko-san, is something the matter?” She asked.

Mei couldn't help but agree. “You do seem quite tense.” She admitted, turning to face her friend. “Has anything happened?”

Kaneko blinked in confusion, then made a small noise of understanding. “I'm guessing all of you drove here from the business district, no detours?” She checked.

“Obviously.” Hikari said snidely, ignoring the warning look Kimiko shot at her.

“Right, you wouldn't have seen it then.” Kaneko muttered, completely ignoring her rival as she thought to herself, before looking up. “Do any of you know the old utility building a block or so away?” She asked.

“I do, yes.” Mei confirmed. “It handles the power and water for the school and the other buildings nearby, correct?”

“Yep, that's the one.” Kaneko confirmed. “The thing is, I passed by it on my route here.” Kaneko leaned forward, face serious. “The whole building was surrounded by police. There were officers blocking people streets away from it - I had to take a detour.” She explained gravely.

“Seriously?” Yumi blurted out in shock, nearly jumping up from her seat. “You're sure?”

“I'm sure.” Kaneko confirmed. “I couldn't see what was going on, and the police didn't say anything, but…”

“That is… rather bleak news.” Kimiko murmured, clearly shaken. “I pray it is merely a coincidence, but…” She shook her head in dismay. 

“This mess just gets worse and worse.” Hikari complained, her voice bitter. “So much for us no longer having to worry about it.”

Mei simply sat backwards, slowly tilting back her head to gaze at the clouds as her friends took in the news. Every time I think we're at the worst of it, I find out it's even more dire… why couldn't we just have a normal week of school? She thought to herself in despair. Sighing heavily, she turned her attention back to Kaneko, who was still clearly unnerved by what she'd learned. “Kaneko-san, you said the police near the utility building wouldn't explain why they were there?” She checked.

Her friend shook her head. “Nope, not a word.” She affirmed. “Just that there was an investigation in progress, the street is closed, we apologise for the inconvenience and so on.” 

“Then we can't even say for sure it has anything to do with the school at all.” Hikari summarised, sighing heavily. “Oh, how I adore not being told anything.” She declared, her voice thick with sarcasm. Mei could not help but agree.

“We can only hope for the best.” Kimiko concluded, shaking her head before turning to face Yumi. “On an unrelated note, Yumi-san, did you not say you were planning to buy a new strategy game? How was it, if I may?” She queried, knocking her pale faced friend out of her nerves.

Mei thanked every Kami she knew of for Kimiko's social skills as Yumi perked up, quickly shaking herself out of her thoughts to share her thoughts on the new title. Kaneko quickly threw in her own thoughts, and the conversation went from there, the familiar whirlwind of topics, anecdotes and gossip emerging quickly. Mei had little to offer, never the most invested in video games, but she was glad to see her friend’s moods brighten. 

As time passed, a few more people came to join the quintet, more and more of Mei’s social circle arriving in twos and threes. She greeted all of them, a few short sentences passing as they were ruthlessly dragged into the tornado of conversation. Most of them, Mei would admit, weren't especially close with her, friends of her friends more than herself, but they were friends even so - and as her silent headcount slowly filled up, she felt a surge of relief at the knowledge all of them were well.

There was one person missing, though, the newest member of their little group. As time passed and they drew closer to when they had been advised to drop by the firearms club with no sign of the woman of the hour, Mei couldn't help but begin to feel anxious. Still, she tried to stay calm, reminding herself of how her younger friend seemed to dislike people prying into her life.

Finally, with just a half hour to go, she broke and brought up the matter. “I hate to interrupt, but has anyone seen Kaslana-san yet this morning?” She inquired, looking around. Most of the group just blinked in confusion, clearly having forgotten the day's plans as they chattered away, and Hikari seemed oddly annoyed about something, but Yumi and Kaneko both frowned as they, too, noticed the absence of the energetic foreigner. 

“I must admit, I had noticed she was late, yes.” Kimiko stated, frowning thoughtfully. “It is quite strange, as she seemed to be greatly looking forward to the rest of the tour. I do hope nothing has happened…”

“Maybe one of us should call her?” Yumi suggested. “Just make sure there isn't a family emergency or something?”

“Sounds like a plan, but I don't have her number.” Kaneko mused thoughtfully, staring at her phone - only to blink as she realised something. “Actually… wait a second, do any of us have her number?” She asked, looking around.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Hikari scoffed quietly. “I didn't ask, no.” She said bluntly.

“Hikari-san, be polite.” Kimiko reprimanded, before frowning thoughtfully. “Though I admit, she never did offer it…” She mused.

There was a quiet rustle of conversation, everyone confirming that Kiana had never shared her phone number, nor any other way to contact her. It wasn't that strange, as she hadn't known any of them very long, but the fact none of them knew was still odd. 

“Maybe people just… don't share their numbers often in Siberia?” Yumi hazarded a guess. 

“Maybe, still weird though.” Kaneko said ambivalently. “Hey Mei-san, do you know what it is?”

The Raiden Heiress frowned, still thinking about what Yumi just said. “Now that I think about it, when I told Kaslana-san my number she didn't give me hers. She didn't realise she forgot until I didn't know it was her when she called me later on - she sounded quite embarrassed when she realised…” She mused. “I think you might actually be correct, Yumi-san.” Blinking, she turned to Kaneko, realising she'd been addressed. “Ah, apologies, could you repeat that?” She asked.

“Just asking if you have her number. Guess we know the answer now…” Kaneko replied, grinning as she trailed off in a manner that set alarm bells ringing in Mei’s mind. 

“I suppose I do.” Mei agreed, trying not to blush as she realised she was going to be teased mercilessly later on. “I can try to call her now?” She suggested, reaching for her phone -

“Morning, guys…” 

Mei jumped in shock at the voice behind her.. “K-Kaslana-san? When did you get here?” She yelped, spinning to face her friend as she suppressed the surge of relief at her voice. 

Kiana groaned, rubbing her eyes. “Morning Raiden-senpai… got here just now… sorry, should I have said something sooner?” She asked, blinking through bleary eyes as she stared around. 

“Oh, no, no need.” Kimiko assured her. “We were so busy speaking we never noticed you, my apologies.” 

“Yeah, we were actually just wondering about whether something came up.” Kaneko added. “Glad to see you made it. What kept you?”

“Ugh… I overslept. Didn't realise the time until I was nearly late.” Kiana muttered, shaking her head free of cobwebs. “Sorry for keeping you waiting, guys. Road was clogged to hell.” She looked up, finally meeting the other's eyes. “Did we get permission for checking out the gun club?” She asked, looking around.

“We did, as a matter of fact.” Kimiko confirmed. “We have a half hour or so before the appointment, but I see no reason not to get ourselves moving now, unless anyone has any objections?” She asked, looking around. None did. “Very well, then, let us move on.” She announced, clapping her hands in decision as she stood up.

As the group started to amble along, the topic shifting a mile a minute once more, Mei found herself hanging back for a moment, chewing her lip as she tried to find a way to phrase her thoughts. Kiana stopped, turning to face her in confusion. “Raiden-senpai? What's wrong?” She asked, tilting her head.

Mei hesitated, scrambling for ways to ensure she didn't give offence. Oh damn it all, just ask. “Kaslana-san, are you… alright?” She asked carefully.

“Eh?” Kiana uttered in bafflement. “I mean… yeah? W-why wouldn't I be?” She stammered, disarmed by the sudden question.

“It's just…” Mei’s eyes hovered, picking out all of those small details - the crumpled collar, the slightly askew twin tails… the way Kiana stood as if  some invisible weight was tied to her shoulders, and any moment, it might crush her. “You look tired.” She settled.

Kiana blinked in surprise, then smiled sheepishly. “Well… I guess I didn't sleep great.” She admitted, rubbing the back of her head. “I kinda feel like I should take a nap once school ends, get some more rest - don't wanna fall asleep in front of everyone like a moron!” She joked… Only to smile again, softer this time. “Thanks, Raiden-senpai.”

Mei smiled back. “I've told you, you don't need to thank me, Ki-... Kaslana-san.”

[HR][/HR]

Kiana whistled to herself. “Certainly got a lot of space, huh?” She mused, staring at the building containing Chiba Academy's firearm club. The building was huge - far larger than any of the other club buildings, at least in terms of footprint. It was only two storeys, unlike the three storey structures most of the clubs were in, but most of those buildings had several different clubs calling them home. This one, on the other hand… “So this whole place is just the gun club?” She asked, curiously glancing around.

“Yes, that's true.” One of Hikari's friends - Kiana really needed to start learning the names of everyone outside of Mei’s circle - confirmed. “They used to share space with us over in the archery club but, well…” the other girl's voice turned sheepish. “There was a… pretty major inter club rivalry two or three years ago, and it got a little out of hand -” From the immense schadenfreude emanating from everyone who knew what she was talking about, there was a story there Kiana had to get the details on someday “- so the firearm club pooled together to get a building to themselves. It actually worked out pretty well, since it was always kinda awkward to arrange things so we didn't get in each other's way - having our own shooting ranges is so much more convenient.” She muttered, shaking her head.

“Yeah, I getcha - I don't know much about bows, but I know it takes a ton of focus. Can't be easy doing that with guns around.” Kiana muttered absentmindedly.

“You have no idea.” The other girl deadpanned. “How do they not go deaf over there, honestly?”

“Ear protection.” Kiana answered seriously. “Lots and lots of ear protection. You do not want to shoot without ear plugs. Ever.” Kiana herself would know, given how her line of work often forced her to keep her ears uncovered so her senses remained sharp. Boy was she glad for her Kaslana blood - she'd probably have tinnitus by now.

As the group settled in to wait, Kiana felt her thoughts drift. With nobody looking, Kiana sighed, letting herself lean against a wall. For all she'd waved it off at the time, Mei had been right - Kiana felt utterly exhausted. 

The young warrior closed her eyes, silently apologising to the girl who had died the evening before. She knew, technically, that there wasn't anything she could have done - the other girl was already dead when Kiana realised what was going on - but that didn't stop her from feeling like she'd failed yet again. It didn't help that she hadn't been able to investigate the scene - as soon as she'd snapped out of her shock, she'd had to make a break for it before the police arrived. She hadn't run that fast in years. By the time she’d made it back, she'd been too exhausted to do much but collapse for the night.

Kiana tilted her head back, slowly turning over the events of the previous evening. That girl… the way she died was way worse than Mao. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was mauled by a wild bear… did she somehow do something to piss off the killer? Make it personal somehow? Even as she thought it, Kiana knew it didn’t fit. No, it's not that… the injuries were worse, sure, but they were more or less the same kinds. If anything… Kiana couldn't fully suppress a shudder at what her conclusion came to. I think the murderer just didn’t realise how much stronger they'd gotten.

Part of Kiana felt like that was important, that something about the killer's shocking physical capabilities was the key that explained all of the questions she had about the case… but she couldn't see it. As she heard calm, authoritative footsteps approaching, she put the problem aside for now. If I haven't figured it out by the end of the week, I'll call the doctors. She resolved. They're twenty times smarter than me - they'll crack it for sure. 

For now, though, Kiana’s attention turned to a happier subject. “Good morning, students.” A professional, disciplined voice called out, grabbing everyone's attention immediately. Quickly, the group got to their feet, a badly coordinated chorus of “Good morning, sensei!” answering the teacher as they came to a halt in front of them.

The teacher, an older woman Kiana immediately pegged as someone with fighting experience, cast her gaze across the motley assortment of teenagers before her. “For those who don’t recognise me, I am Kurosaki Asuka, the teacher supervising the firearms club here at Chiba Academy. Now then, I’m told one of you wishes to join?” She asked, her forbidding expression pinning them to the wall.

Part of Kiana hesitated - she didn’t exactly trust women with combat experience, as a rule - but a tiny extension of her senses showed that the teacher didn’t have a lick of Honkai Energy in her body. Not a Valkyrie, then. Her worries satisfied, Kiana cheerily hopped to her feet, waving her hand at the teacher. “Yep, that’d be me, Kurosaki-sensei! Kiana Kaslana, nice to meet you!” She announced, placing her hands on her hips.

“Ah, the new transfer student then.” Kurosaki replied neutrally, staring her down. Kiana blinked back, letting her smile stay in place as she continued to meet the teacher’s eyes. It was a pretty intimidating glare, she supposed, but she’d seen worse. She wondered why -

“First rule of firearm safety?” Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp question.

“Never point a gun at anything you aren’t willing to put a bullet in!” Kiana instantly replied, years of training having burned the answer into her brain.

The teacher’s eyes narrowed. “When can you accept a firearm from another person, or give a firearm to another?”

“When you’ve personally opened the action and see there isn’t a round in the chamber and not a second sooner!”

“When is it appropriate to have your finger on the trigger?”

“When you’re about to pull it!”

The teacher’s eyes lightened appraisingly, but she didn’t slow down with her questions. “What does it mean for a firearm to be out of battery?”

“It means it isn’t capable of firing.”

“And you accomplish this by?”

“Take the magazine out, rack the slide a couple times, and put the safety on!”

“What is the safest manner to keep a firearm in storage?”

“In a locked box, with the bolt in a different, also locked box!”

The teacher’s eyes widened in surprise, before becoming firm once again. “And finally; how do you treat a firearm that isn’t loaded differently compared to one that is?”

“There’s no such thing.” Kiana answered simply. “It doesn’t matter if you just personally emptied the chamber, removed the magazine, stripped it, reassembled it and changed barrels, the gun is still considered to be loaded.”

The teacher’s glare remained in place for a few moments longer, burning a hole through Kiana’s head as she locked eyes with the young girl… before softening, the older woman adjusting her glasses as she nodded in respect. “Very well done, Kaslana-san. I’m impressed - very few students come here knowing even the three rules, yet you’ve passed with flying colours. Did you happen to learn firearm safety before, perhaps?”

Kiana nodded, smiling. “Yep, from my old man. He would lecture me on this stuff for ages.”

“Well, it’s certainly a relief to have a prospective club member who actually knows what they’re doing for once.” The older woman muttered darkly, before returning her attention to Kiana. “Now then. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t let you so much as set foot inside the armory until I’d drilled a measure of common sense into your head, but seeing as how you’ve already demonstrated a degree of competence, I’ll allow you to tour the facilities… on the condition that none of you touch anything.” She finished, glaring at the rest of the group. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, Sensei!” The group chorused, more than a few expressions of fear visible. Damn, this lady’s good. Kiana thought to herself.

As they got moving, Kiana found herself back with Mei and her circle near the front of the pack. “Well, Kurosaki-sensei is certainly… intense.” Yumi remarked weakly.

“Yes, she is… it reminds me of my swordfighting instructors.” Mei, one of the few who hadn’t seemed shaken by the teacher’s intimidating display, agreed. “There’s the same feeling of refusal to tolerate any foolishness… I suppose it makes sense. They both work with weapons that could severely harm someone if used wrong.”

“Yeah, this is actually pretty normal for this kind of thing.” Kiana confirmed. “Heck, even my old man managed to get serious for a minute when he’d be teaching me this stuff, and he’s basically allergic to not goofing off.”

“I’m impressed you were able to earn her approval so easily.” Hikari mused. “Is it true what you said there at the end, about always treating it like it’s loaded?”

Kiana’s face suddenly grew serious. “It’s absolutely true, and you’d better follow it.” She warned, her voice devoid of her usual cheer. “I’m serious, guys, do not mess around with any of the stuff in here, okay? I know what is and isn't safe, and sensei will know anything I’m not familiar with, but the rest of you have no idea what you’re doing.” She stopped, turning to meet everyone’s eyes in order. “Once a bullet’s in the air, there’s no taking it back.” She said firmly. “Keep a safe distance, and don’t touch anything unless both sensei and I confirm it’s not dangerous. We clear?”

Most of her new friends seemed thrown by Kiana’s sudden seriousness, but Mei and Kimiko seemed completely unsurprised. “The same rules as when working with Mei-san’s assortment of sharp objects then, I imagine?” Kimiko asked rhetorically. “Fear not, Kaslana-san, we will be sure to avoid any foolishness.”

Kiana sighed in relief. “Glad to hear. Thanks guys.” 

And with that, they arrived.

“Attention, if you please!” Kurosaki called, continuing once all eyes faced her. “Now then, I shouldn’t have to remind you all, but the items in this building are extremely dangerous. They are not toys, and should I catch any of you horsing about with them, you will be expelled on the spot.” Every whispered conversation around them stopped there and then. “Now that we’re clear…” She turned, inserted and turned the key, and opened the door calmly. “Allow me to welcome you to the Chiba Academy firearms club. Please, enter.”

Kiana whistled. “Now that’s a nice shooting range…” She mused, staring through the window at the impressively large (and very sturdily walled) range, currently inactive as it was. Turning to face the club’s supervisor, she asked the first question to enter her head. “So, I’m guessing you have more than just handguns?”

“We do, as a matter of fact, though I’m afraid I won’t be allowing you to use those until I’m more confident in your skills.” Kurosaki replied. “Now, then, to give you a better view of the facilities…”

And so began the quick, if still comprehensive, tour of the clubhouse. There was a common area - which Yumi gave a thumbs up to when she saw the computers in the corner - a kitchenette - both Mei and Kimiko nodded approvingly - and a small shower - which Kiana would absolutely be calling dibs on once the club officially started. As time went on, more and more of the others left, intimidated by Kiana and their teacher’s combined warnings of dire consequences, until finally, only Kiana herself and Mei’s quintet remained.

At last, they came to the final door. “Now then, I do believe you’ve been waiting quite patiently for this one.” Kurosaki remarked, smiling in amusement at Kiana as she tried to vibrate out of her skin.

“You bet I have!” Kiana cheered excitedly, bouncing up and down. Mei laughed, shaking her head at her friend’s hyperactive nature.

“Settle down, students, we’re almost there.” Their supervisor assured them. Carefully pulling a key from one of her pockets, she quickly opened the padlock over the door, before glancing back towards them. “And one last warning - touch nothing. Understood?” She asked, and was met with a chorus of nods. “Very well. Now then…” She said, turning back towards the door and carefully pulling it open. “Allow me to show you our armory.”

Kiana’s eyes sparkled as she quickly dashed in. “Oh my God this place is awesome!” She yelled, quickly running over to the far wall, which displayed an assortment of handguns. SIGs, HKs, Glocks - every pistol she knew and more was there. “Wait, is that a - an FN Five-Seven!? Oh my God it is!” She exclaimed, gleefully staring at the rare pistol. 

“Ah, I see you recognise that one.” Kurosaki remarked, uncaring of the confusion overtaking the others. 

“You bet I do, these are awesome!” Kiana replied. She began to reach towards it, only to frown as something occurred. “This isn’t loaded, right?” She checked, looking towards Kurosaki.

“If it is, I’ll be throwing out the last one to use it through the front gates.” The club supervisor muttered darkly. Confirmation given, Kiana eagerly picked up the handgun, before - to her friend’s shock - beginning to dismantle it.

“W-wait, Kaslana-san-” “Maybe don’t-” “Are you allowed to-” 

Ignoring the mild chaos behind her as her friends stumbled over each other to warn against her chosen course of action, Kiana continued stripping the gun apart, quickly getting a look at the gun’s internal mechanisms. Holding it up to the light, she cast a critical eye over the various components. She wasn’t an expert on this particular model, but from what she could tell, everything seemed to be in place. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned back to Kurosaki. “Looks good!” She announced cheerfully, quickly starting to reassemble the pistol.

“You know how to field strip a weapon?” Kurosaki asked in astonishment. “Only some of my fourth year students have the slightest clue how to manage that.”

Kiana frowned in confusion. “Seriously? This was like the first thing the old man taught me, before he even let me shoot…” She muttered in confusion, before making a small noise of understanding. “Oh, right, you guys don’t have to worry about snow getting into everything… yeah that makes sense.” She mused, running her hands over the now intact handgun as she tried to find a comfortable grip.

“Does snow getting into things cause problems for guns?” Mei asked innocently, met with winces from both Kiana and the teacher. 

“Yes, it certainly does. Few things are more likely to cause a firearm to malfunction in a potentially dangerous form than snow, dirt, or any other substance getting into the internal mechanisms.” Kurosaki explained, her tone indicating this lecture was one she’d given many times before. 

“Yeah, guns do not handle anything gumming things up well.” Kiana added. “Heard of a guy who lost most of his fingers because he didn’t clean his gun and it blew up in his hand. Nasty stuff.” She said absently, before suddenly freezing as she saw the disturbed looks her anecdote had been met with.

Seeing Kiana’s panic, Mei quickly shook herself free. “Well, that sounds quite painful to experience… I can certainly see why you’d be so focused on keeping the weapon in good condition if that’s the case.”

“Y-yep!” Kiana recovered, smiling as she attempted to laugh off her slip up. “That’s why my old man was always after me about keeping my guns in good shape.” Idiot! She berated herself inwardly. You can’t just say things like that here. Use your filter dammit!

“So, what kind of gun is that thing, anyway?” Yumi asked curiously. “You sounded fairly excited to see it. Is it like, super rare or something?”

“Oh, right!” Kiana perked up, rushing over to show the others the pistol she was holding (and causing Kurosaki to nod in approval as she saw Kiana’s hand staying carefully away from the trigger). “It’s an FN Five Seven! They’re made by this really famous company in Europe that makes some seriously good guns, and this is one of their newer ones!” She rambled, excitedly displaying the compact handgun.

“Huh… the barrel looks… weirdly small.” Kaneko noted, squinting. “What’s up with that?”

“That’s because most handguns fire rounds that are nine millimetres wide.” Kiana explained. “This one was designed to use a new round the designers came up with that’s only five point seven millimetres. That’s how they named it too!” 

None of the others knew a single thing about firearms, but with a shared glance, they silently agreed to indulge their new friend’s odd hobby. “Why would you use a smaller projectile though?” Mei asked, bending down curiously for a better look. “Wouldn’t a larger, more powerful round be preferable?”

“A lot of people say that, and there are some good reasons to use a bigger bullet.” Kiana answered. “But the thing a lot of people don’t realise is that even a really small and weak bullet can still hurt someone really badly. Even flesh wounds can kill you if they hit an artery - and that’s a lot more common than you’d think. And besides that, big rounds are really hard to control - the bigger the round, the worse the recoil is from the little explosion that gets it moving. That’s why the Desert Eagle, the gun you see in all the movies, isn’t actually that great - the recoil is awful, you can’t aim it for crap.”

“Not that that stops the uninformed from obsessing over the blasted thing.” Kurosaki muttered direly.

“Yeah, it kinda got a bad reputation for being the kinda gun you’d only buy if you knew nothing about guns.” Kiana commiserated. “Still though, it is crazy powerful. Not practical, but hoo boy will it mess up whatever it hits. That’s a fifty cal for ya, I guess…” 

“A what?” Hikari questioned.

“Fifty Calibre.” Kiana answered, explaining absolutely nothing. Realising this fact, she hastily expanded on her statement. “Uh, old system of measurement people use for guns. A fifty calibre round is about twelve point seven millimetres - twice as big as this, and then some.”

“Seriously?”  Kaneko asked, incredulous. “Why would you even need that!?”

“You don’t.” Both gun experts in the room chorused, their voices drier than the sahara. “That’s the whole problem with it - the thing is total overkill.” Kiana clarified. “There’s almost no situation where a smaller round won’t work just as well, and be less likely to break your wrist to boot - and before you ask, yes people really have broken their wrists because they fired that monster wrong. They’re cool, but nobody ever uses one as a serious weapon.”

Of course, Kiana knew, that wasn’t entirely true. Sure, for most people, fifty cal handguns were too much to ever use, but for Valkyries? That kind of firepower was the bare minimum to be of much actual use against an outbreak. Between the unnatural durability of the Honkai’s forces and the superhuman capabilities of those who opposed them, the Honkai War had led to some weapon designs that were downright deranged by any other standard.

“So, the norm is nine, and twelve is the point it becomes impractical… why a five millimetre one, then?” Kimiko asked. “You have yet to explain that, I believe.”

Kiana made a small noise of realisation, mentally shaking herself out of her thoughts. “Right, right… So, the thing was, FN had just made this other weapon called a P90, and they wanted to make a pistol to use the same cartridge. The reason the P90 had a cartridge, though, is actually pretty interesting because -”

And so, an hour or so passed as Kiana cheerily introduced her new friends to her deep knowledge of weaponry. She explained the history of the unique 5.7X28mm round, and the, in her own opinion, overblown controversy caused by the armor piercing qualities of the military grade versions, aided when Kurosaki revealed, to her glee, a functioning P90 in the restricted section of the armory (though Kiana was warned she wouldn’t be allowed to fire it herself anytime soon.) 

Then, she started flipping through the impressive catalogue of weapons contained within Chiba’s most heavily secured club, merrily enjoying the chance to finally get her hands on weapons she had never had a hope of acquiring herself. 

As Kiana bounced from weapon to weapon, rambling incessantly about all sorts of minor details, Mei’s attention was grabbed by a poke to her side. Frowning, she turned to ask what the matter was, only to be met by the sight of Kaneko grinning mercilessly. “So~” She said, a sing-song lilt to her voice. “I can’t help but notice how much you’ve been smiling recently…”

Mei checked her face. She was indeed smiling. She hadn’t noticed. Oh No.

“I-well-I mean -” She babbled, only to be interrupted by Kimiko sighing and pushing Kaneko aside.

“Control yourself, Kaneko-san.” She advised. Turning aside from her pouting friend, she turned to Mei. “Never fear, Mei-san.” She reassured. “You are far from the only one happy to see our new friend’s excitement here.”

Her friend having punched through to the heart of the matter, Mei looked away, embarrassed. “It is good to see her energy being so… sincere, I suppose.” She said, struggling to find words to explain the difference between Kiana’s usual hyperactive nature and her current glee. “It may be a strange hobby to have, but… I’m glad she has something that makes her this happy.” She finished, smiling once again as she watched Kiana and Yumi furiously debate the merits of a strange looking pistol with an odd, tube shaped magazine on the top.

Kimiko smiled, resting a hand on her old friend’s shoulder. “We all do.” Then, her eyes twinkled ominously. “Although, I have to admit that the way you have been following Kaslana-san with your eyes is quite adorable–”

“Kimiko-san! Please–”

[HR][/HR]

“Ah… Man, that was fun!” Kiana cheered, stretching her hands above her head as she and the others walked away from the building of her now-offical club, Kurosaki having stayed behind to lock up. 

Kiana was a little worried, honestly, when she’d realised how long they’d been there. Sure, touring the place had been the plan and all, but she was all too aware she was probably the only one of them interested in this kinda thing. To her surprise though, it seemed like the others had actually had some fun, listening to her rambling. 

Although… Mei seemed kinda red. Wonder what that’s all about. Kiana thought absently. Hope the others aren’t leaving me out of the loop on some teasing ammo~

Kiana twirled around, facing the others as she continued walking towards the main building. “Thanks for sticking around with me, guys! I know that must’ve been a little boring for the rest of you.” She remarked, rubbing the back of her head.

“Nah, it was cool!” Yumi insisted, shaking her head. “Some of that stuff you told us was awesome – I had no idea you could tell which gun fired a bullet just by looking at the patterns in the barrel, that’s super cool.”

“Yes, that must be very handy for detectives.” Mei agreed. “I always wondered why the criminals in western media always threw away their firearms… I suppose now I might be able to solve those mysteries a little better.” She said, amused, before frowning slightly at Kiana. “Kaslana-san, please look where you’re going, I’d hate for you to fall and hurt yourself.”

“Aw, c’mon, I’ll be fine!” Kiana complained, well aware a regular fall would not be nearly enough to be dangerous to her, but she turned around to humour her friends anyways, letting them pass her before she spoke again. “So, now that we’re done there, what’s the plan for the rest of today?” She asked curiously. They had several hours more before school ended, after all, so they still had time to spend.

“Well, I imagine we would be best served to get some studying done before the day ends.” Kimiko remarked. “We have missed several days of classes thanks to recent events, so I would greatly prefer to take some extra time to make sure we are all on track.”

Kiana laughed nervously, glancing off to the side. “That uh, might be a good idea, ehehe…” She muttered, memories of her abysmal performance in her first two math lessons coming to the fore of her mind. Judging from how she winced, Mei had just thought of the same thing. The leader of their little group cast a glance at Kiana, a question in her eyes. It took Kiana a moment to realise that Mei was trying to see if she was alright with telling the others about her academic failures. 

Part of Kiana really didn’t want to, but… it was still only the six of them, the others having yet to rejoin them, and Mei and her friends had never held her issues against her. With a deep breath, Kiana shot Mei a discreet thumbs up, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

Mei, thankfully, immediately got the message, and spoke up before the conversation fell into awkwardness. “Yes, we definitely should. We can't let ourselves fall behind before the start of year tests, especially since Kaslana-san is still well behind in some classes.” She said, concurrent with Kimiko's statement.

The others blinked, confused. “Wait, really? Didn't whoever helped your family get out of Siberia make sure you were caught up?” Yumi said, tilting her head as she gazed at Kiana in concern.

Kiana sighed, her eyes locked to the floor. “Man, I wish… they didn't do anything like that.” She explained, trying to stay flippant even as some part of her braced for impact.

Instead of the anticipated mockery, the others gazed at her with undisguised sympathy, even Hikari seeming to be supportive. “Well, I suppose hoping whoever helped you get out of that hellhole was at least competent about it was too much to ask.” The waspish teen snarked, sighing in annoyance. 

“Well, if Kaslana-san's benefactors will not do their duty properly, we shall have to fill in the gaps.” Kimiko declared, moving to grab Kiana’s shoulder in support only to abort the motion when she saw how tense her foreign friend still seemed. “Fear not, you will catch up soon enough.” She gently reassured their newest acquaintance.

Kiana smiled tentatively, her shoulders slowly unwinding at the other's reactions. “Yeah, here's hoping. Although, I wouldn't expect too much from my brain cells if I were you.” She joked, returning to her usual self. 

“Very well then.” Mei nodded in satisfaction, bringing up her phone as she opened her texting app. “I'll let everyone know we're meeting in the cafeteria, and then we can get started on-”

As they filed into the main building, the gaggle of teens was suddenly interrupted when a door swung open right in front of Mei, who barely stopped in time to avoid thwacking herself in the head. With a quiet gasp of surprise, the girl who had walked in front of them jumped backwards slightly, wincing as she noticed her mistake. “S-sorry…” She muttered, her voice raspy as she looked everywhere except towards them. 

For a moment, Kiana breathed in, ready to read the other girl the riot act for not being careful about people - and then she stopped, her instincts twinging slightly. She frowned in confusion, unable to tell what she had noticed, when she realised it. None of the others were reacting. All of them simply stood there quietly, gazing at the sudden new arrival in sadness. Even Hikari, usually the first to make a snide comment, held her tongue.

Kiana barely had time to wonder why the others were acting so strangely when Kaneko quietly stepped forward and gave her the answer. “Hey there, Miyuki-san.” She said softly, gently tugging a still shocked Mei behind her. “It's been a while since we talked, hasn't it?”

… oh. Kiana belatedly realised. Asakura-san. That explains it.

It felt horrible to even think about it, but Kiana had almost forgotten about Kaneko's friend. Amidst the terrible tension caused by the murders, as well as the stress of Kiana’s own attempts to investigate them, the horrific experience the girl before them had endured slipped her mind. Kaneko, on the other hand, clearly hadn't, given the stark relief in her eyes upon seeing Miyuki in person. 

Still, it would be a lie to say the other girl looked well. Her face was terribly pale, and from the bags under her eyes, Kiana doubted she'd slept an hour the entire week. She hunched over, an ill fitting hoodie covering almost her entire body as she tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. Still, she offered a weak smile in reply to Kaneko's greeting. “Y-yeah, not since the last acting club meet.” She confirmed. “How've you been? I heard you managed to go overseas for summer…”

“Oh, nothing special.” Kaneko said, keeping her voice quiet as she stood in between her friend and the others. “We just went to Korea. It was pretty cool though, we got to see some really cool places…”

As Kaneko regaled a quiet, but attentive Miyuki with the stories of her adventures across the sea, Kiana seized her opportunity. Grabbing the others by the shoulders just as Mei and Hikari had moved to step closer, she hauled them backwards, forcibly clearing the area around the traumatised teen. Hikari rounded on her, clearly furious, but Kiana beat her to the punch. “No sudden movements, don't mention how she looks, and for the love of God in heaven above clear her personal space!” She hissed, fixing the others with a glare. 

Hikari opened her mouth, clearly ready to tear into Kiana until interrupted by a bop on the shoulder from Mei and Kimiko, who both nodded sadly.

“So, I suppose you have encountered… situations such as this before, then?” Kimiko surmised, the elegant girl's formal speech barely disguising her sorrow and anger at what had happened.

Kiana shut her eyes, sighing heavily. “Not to anyone I knew personally. But yeah, I have.” She opened her eyes, meeting Hikari's offended glare with a steely stare of her own. “Look, Hikari-san, you can rip into me later, but we cannot fuck this up. Help Asakura-san now, yell at me later. Deal?” She said firmly, eyes boring into the haughtiest of her friend's own. Hikari worked her jaw a little, but nodded in agreement.

“Alright. That's settled, then.” Mei declared, looking between them all. “I'll go join them first. The rest of you, please hang back until Asakura-san is comfortable.” So saying, she broke free of the impromptu strategy circle, slowly walking towards Miyuki and Kaneko. 

The nervous girl tensed a little at Mei’s approach, but with a glance at Kaneko, she settled slightly, resting against the wall. “H-hello, Raiden-san.” She rasped out, her voice still rough. “Sorry, I didn't see you when I opened the door. You're not hurt or anything, right?” She asked, leaning forward in concern. 

“Hello, Asakura-san.” Mei greeted kindly, stopping just beyond arm's reach - and, Kiana noticed in surprised approval, making sure to leave an open spot for Miyuki to leave through. “Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm sorry, we must have given you quite a shock walking out in front of you like that.”

“No, it's fine.” The shy girl denied quietly, shaking her head. “You didn’t know I was there.” She looked away, hugging herself slightly. “Nobody ever comes through this way. That's why I…” She trailed off, her voice wavering a little. Kaneko scooted a single inch closer, getting Miyuki to smile slightly.

Mei’s fists clenched angrily behind her, but she admirably kept her face even. “Yes, this is a fairly quiet area, normally, isn't it?” She mused, putting a finger to her chin. “I hadn't really noticed, but most people go through the main entrance to the courtyard even though it's a longer walk. I wonder why?” She questioned, something Kiana recognised as a disguised method to sidestep Miyuki feeling obliged to explain why she was trying to stay in areas nobody else went near.

Kaneko seized the opportunity. “Maybe it's just more convenient for most classes?” She suggested, resting her head on her hand. “I mean, I can't think of many times I'd be in this wing after club meets… math, maybe?” She guessed.

Miyuki shook her head, thoughtful. “I-I don't think that's it. I always came through here because one of the music rooms is right upstairs from here, but nobody else did.”

Kaneko blinked in surprise. “Wait, it is?” She asked in genuine amazement.

Miyuki nodded in confirmation. “Up there.” She said quietly, pointing at a door slightly further down the corridor. “It's one of the old small ones, so it's a good place to practice without getting distracted.” After saying that, she looked at Kaneko, head tilted in confusion. “By the way, Rina-san, why are you over here today?” She asked curiously. “The clubs aren't back yet, right?” She asked, suddenly seeming a little worried.

Kaneko waved a hand in denial. “Nah, they aren't, we've got a week or two to go.” She reassured her friend. “As a matter of fact…” She turned towards Kiana and the others, leading Miyuki's attention to them. “We were helping a new friend of Mei’s pick a club! She's a new transfer student, and she hadn’t chosen yet.” She explained, voice light. 

“Transfer… oh, the foreign girl people were talking about.” Miyuki realised, staring at Kiana in some interest. She focused on her face, eyes judging, then nodded firmly as she turned to Mei. “She's pretty. Be nice.” She said simply, immediately causing Mei to blush furiously as Kaneko started cackling wildly. Kiana didn’t blame her; she was desperately trying to stifle laughter herself.

“I–that–it's not– why does everyone keep saying that!?” Mei yelped, desperately covering her face.

“Because… your reaction… is hilarious!” Kaneko wheezed, barely able to breath between bursts of laughter. Miyuki, meanwhile, simply stood there, her face the picture of blinking, innocent confusion- except for the mischievous tilt to her smile, just a touch wider than it had been.

As chaos reigned, Kiana felt a slight push to her back. Turning in confusion, she was met by the sight of Yumi gesturing her forward. “Come on, come on, she obviously wants to talk to you!” The game club member said impatiently, insistently pushing Kiana forward. “We can wait a moment, you first! Go, move!”

“Okay, okay I'm going!” Kiana whispered back, taking a step forward as she cautiously gazed at the other teen. She seems alright, but… things can go downhill fast, I know that. Easy does it, Kiana. With a deep breath, she carefully walked over, making sure to make her footsteps loud enough her approach would be noticed.

Fortunately, Mei saw her first.  Quickly shaking herself free of her mortified state (Kiana was going to tease the crap out of her later, that had been hilarious) she studied Kiana critically, before nodding in approval on seeing that Kiana was managing to contain her hyperactive nature for now. Turning back to Miyuki, she spoke up, getting the shy girl's attention as she kept her voice causal. “Ah, speaking of that, here comes Kaslana-san now.” She said, nodding towards her. Miyuki followed her gaze, nervously staring down the young Kaslana. Kiana smiled back, desperately channeling every ounce of ‘completely harmless don't mind me’ she had developed in her years wandering into her expression. 

Kaneko leaned inward, carefully inching her hand over to Miyuki's yet not touching her. “Kaslana-san is a pretty cool person, y'know.” She said, voice softly encouraging. “You want to talk to her?”

Miyuki stared a moment longer, before reaching out to grab Kaneko's hand. Facing her friend, she nodded determinedly. 

Permission given, Kiana quickened her pace, waving energetically at the trio as she approached. “Hey Asakura-san!” She said, doing her absolute best to strike the careful balancing act between her usual cheery personality and not overwhelming the poor girl. “I'm Kiana, Kiana Kaslana! Kaneko-san keeps talking about you - it's great to finally meet ya!” She said cheerfully, throwing a wink at Kaneko.

“She has?” The other girl said wonderingly. “I mean… um, thank you. I-it's good to meet you as well, Kaslana-san.” She murmured, doing her best to look at Kiana’s face but not quite managing to make eye contact. That was fine - Kiana could understand that. “People have been talking about you, since you started hanging out with Raiden-san and her friends. I've heard a lot about you.” She continued, sounding slightly sheepish at the admission.

“Here's hoping it's good things!” Kiana joked, leaning against the opposite wall next to Mei. 

“O-oh, it has been!” Miyuki hastily reassured, waving her hands. “Um… there's a lot about how mysterious you are, and how you look, but mostly everyone was talking about how energetic and funny you are.”

“Hoh, so my sense of humour is appreciated after all!” Kiana crowed victoriously, reminding herself to keep the volume down. “Y'see Raiden-senpai, I told you they were good!” She declared, hands on her hips as she whirled to face her new friend.

Mei shook her head in amusement. “I'm afraid I wouldn't be the one you need to convince of that, Kaslana-san.” She answered wryly, gesturing significantly at Hikari.

Hikari got the hint, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. “Forgive me for not being too amused by your puerile teasing, Kaslana-san.” She called out sarcastically, still a short distance away. 

“Oh c'mon, they're great and you know it!” Kiana complained defensively - but the slight, stifled giggle behind her was more than worth the hit to her pride.

It was all going well, after that. Kimiko and Yumi took advantage of Hikari and Kiana playing up their opposing senses of humour to join the conversation, slowly approaching as Miyuki began to pipe up herself. Kiana did her best to keep the mood light, trusting Mei and Kimiko to steer the conversation away from any landmines as Yumi helped her out. Slowly but surely, Miyuki crept out of her shell, talking more and more as she gained back some energy. For a moment, it looked like they had it all under control.

And then, midway through a joke, Kiana felt it. Her body twinged, a shiver along her back joined by a slight cramp in her chest. She kept going, finishing her punchline to a groan from Hikari and small laughs from the others, but the sensation didn’t fade. Actually, it got worse. What the hell…? She thought to herself, frowning. Letting Yumi take the lead, Kiana quietly drew back from the conversation, focusing her senses as she tried to figure out what she was feeling. And then, a single, nearly unconscious glance outwards gave her the answer with all the subtlety of a freight train full of bricks. 

The… the Honkai Energy levels in the school are rising! Kiana realised, eyes widening in shock.

A second look confirmed it– the Honkai Energy in the area was spiking, a slow but inexorable rise as the young Kaslana looked on. Kiana glanced left and right, searching for the cause of the sudden surge. This isn't right… she thought, mind racing. The Honkai doesn't just build up like this, not out of nowhere. This isn't the slow increase I felt earlier either - the entire school is getting saturated. Kiana glanced towards her friends worriedly, but they were fine. The surge wasn't high enough to kill, not yet, but Kiana knew if it continued to build up it would hit that threshold soon. A week or so at most at the current rate, and the Honkai Energy would rise to the point where Honkai Poisoning would begin to set in among anyone unfortunate enough to have low resistance. 

And from there… the apocalypse would come to Chiba Academy. 

Kiana swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut. This is bad… She thought, mind racing for something, anything she could do. I… I need to tell the doctors. She decided, clenching her fists. Need to let them know something is wrong. There's still a while left to do something. I can handle this. It's… it'll be okay.

She prayed she wasn't wrong.

“You sure, Miyuki-san?” Kiana vaguely overheard, a small part of her attention dragged back to the present moment. 

“Y-yeah, I should go. Got something to do. Sorry for leaving so suddenly…” Miyuki replied, seeming strained. She looked exhausted. Probably out of energy for people today. Kiana thought distractedly. Should let her leave, needs to recharge her batteries before we try again.

Mei seemed to agree, discreetly waving the others away as she smiled kindly at the traumatised girl. “That's fine, Asakura-san. We don't hold it against you.” She reassured her. “You can head off if you want. Is there anything you need help with?” She asked, letting the concern show on her face.

“N-no, I'm fine.” Miyuki assured them, pushing away from the wall. For a moment, her hand lingered on Kaneko's, before slowly, almost reluctantly letting go.

(Kiana should've been paying attention.)

“Alright, Miyuki-san, if you're sure…” Kaneko said, saddened. “But…” she hesitated, before meeting her friend’s eyes determinedly. “You know I'm here for you. No matter what, got it?” She said firmly.

Miyuki's eyes widened, before she gave a small, saddened smile. “I… I know. Thank you, Rina-san.” She swallowed, studying Kaneko's face, before speaking again, slowly. “You… you're the best friend I ever could've asked for. Thank you.” She finished, her smile widening into a true one as she began to step away.

“Same to you.” Kaneko replied, returning the smile with one of her own.

(She should've noticed the signs.)

Miyuki walked down the hallway ahead of them, slightly favouring her left side. As she reached the end and opened the door, Kaneko called out one last time. “Miyuki-san!” The girl turned, blinking in surprise. “See you tomorrow, okay?” Her friend said, throwing her a thumbs up.

Miyuki stared back at Kaneko, eyes wide, before softening as she smiled back. With a final murmur, she opened the door, and walked away.

As her friend left, Kaneko's face fell. “Kaneko-san?” Yumi asked worriedly. “Did… Do you think we helped at all?” 

Kaneko turned towards them, face grave. “She was definitely doing better towards the end there, but…” She slowly shook her head. “Miyuki-san is an amazing actress, but I'm still a little better. She was trying to fake it so we wouldn't be worried.”

Mei closed her eyes, sighing sadly. “I see… I suppose it was too much to hope that it would be so easy.” She admitted. “We'll simply have to keep trying. We can talk to her again tomorrow, when she's gotten her energy back.”

(Maybe then, she would've realised before it was too late.)

“Indeed. We shall have to hope our efforts are more successful on Friday.” Kimiko agreed.

“They'd better.” Hikari noted pessimistically. “The school is going to be closed next week, remember? Until they solve our little serial killer problem, tomorrow is our last shot.”

“That right?” Kiana asked, perking up slightly. 

Mei startled in surprise, staring at her. “Yes, we were told this morning. Did nobody contact you?” She asked.

Kiana shook her head. “Not a word, good to know though.” She muttered in distraction. That's good. Gives me some time, both for my job with the Miyazaki's and for this mess. 

“Kaslana-san…” Mei spoke, hesitant. “You seem… very distracted all of a sudden. Is everything well?” She asked.

Kiana jolted, finally shocked out of her thoughts. “Oh! Uh, sorry, I mean, yeah I'm fine!” She hastily reassured, waving her hands in dismissal. “Just a lot on my mind that's all!” 

“If you're sure, then.” Mei accepted, bringing her phone up again. “We have less time than hoped, but we may as well try to study anyways. Let me make sure the others know where we are.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Kiana cheered, quickly slotting into place as her friends got moving. Come on, Kaslana. No need to panic. Let's try and enjoy this vacation just a little while longer.

(Maybe then, she would've heard what Miyuki's last words to them had been:)

(“Rina-san… please, don't come anywhere near me.”)

[HR][/HR]

Kiana sighed in exhaustion as she and the others wandered along, school at an end for the day. “Uuuuuughhhh… I hate history so muuuuchhh…” She whined piteously, half slumped over in exhaustion. Why, why did what had happened years and years before she was even born matter? 

“There there, Kaslana-san. You're doing much better than you were on our first day already!” Mei encouraged her, patting her shoulder in a valiant attempt to raise the Siberian girl's spirits. 

“Yeah! And besides, you weren't totally hopeless!” Yumi pointed out, waving frantically. “I mean, you knew tons about European history! Sure that stuff isn't on most of our tests, but that doesn't mean it isn't super cool!”

Kiana shrunk in even further, Yumi’s attempted compliment having thoroughly backfired. “Why meeee…..”

Mei shot an exasperated look at a now rather sheepish Yumi, before sighing. “Well, at least we managed to make some progress on modern history. That will hopefully do for now.” She murmured, staring at the clouds in resignation as she accepted she wouldn't be getting Kiana out of her despair any time soon. 

“Indeed. Fortunately, our upcoming test is on the Heisei era, so we should be more than able to catch Kaslana-san up.” Kimiko noted, reviewing the expected curriculum for the year on her phone. 

Hikari remained silent, mostly ignoring Kiana. Glancing upwards, her eyes lightened in relief. “We're at the gate, finally.” She announced, voice dry. “About time as well, I'm quite thoroughly done with today.”

“Ugh, you aren't the only one,” Kiana groaned, raising her eyes to the heavens in despair. Unlike her peers, her day was far from over– while they would be returning home for some rest, she would be setting up her stakeout for the killer, continuing to search for leads on the Miyazaki's behalf, and now, alerting the experts of the potential danger of the rising Honkai Energy in their school. Truly, a mercenary's work was never done.

“Nevertheless, I would advise we all try to get some rest.” Mei advised. “After all, we'll need ourselves to stay sharp tomorrow.” She glanced around, meeting everyone's eyes in turn, something Kiana was beginning to pin down as being a habit of the other girl's when she was talking about a serious topic. “We all remember the plan, I trust?”

All of them nodded in confirmation. “Meet up here, wait till after the first break, invite Asakura-san to study with us and talk to her while she's there, Hikari-san and Kimiko-san fend off any bullies and gossips.” Kiana quickly summarised the simple, but hopefully effective plan they'd cooked up over their break. “Should be easy!” She said, shooting Mei a thumbs up as she smiled.

Mei smiled back (success!) as she nodded back at the others. “Very well.” She said, looking around their little group before turning to leave. “Then let's part ways for now. I'll see you all tomorrow!” She called, quickly walking off towards a very fancy looking car where a silver haired man waited.

“I suppose I shall depart as well. It would not do to worry my bodyguards by wandering off without them.” Kimiko declared, turning left and right as she located her family's security forces. “Ah, there we are. Farewell for now, everyone!” She said, before leaving.

“Same for me.” Hikari remarked. “See you all.” She said, waving lazily behind her as she too split off towards her drive home.

“Bye Raiden-senpai! Bye Kimiko-san! Bye Hikari-san!” Kiana cheerily called out, waving goodbye as the three girls walked off. Kaneko and Yumi called out their own goodbyes, and then the three of them were left to themselves as they made their own way to the front gates.

“Man, what a day.” Yumi muttered. “Kinda wish I had a driver to pick me up!” Laughing at her own misfortune, the cheerful video gamer spun around, facing Kaneko. “So, Kaneko-san, we still on for that round of Halo later? I'm still up one~” She challenged in a sing-song tone, smiling mischievously.

“Well, looks like you two have some plans.” Kiana remarked, before grinning menacingly as an opportunity occurred. "I hope you aren't planning anything… unusual?” She said, leaning inwards as dropped her voice just so…

Sure enough, there were the titanic blushes. Another victory! “I-wah- no we aren't! I'M CHALLENGING HER TO A VIDEO GAME, A VIDEO GAME!” Yumi yelled in panic, flailing wildly as she denied everything.

“I cannot believe you Kaslana-san, seriously!” Kaneko yelped, less thrown than Yumi but still red. “Oh God, this is how Mei-san feels isn't it?” She muttered in sudden realisation.

Kiana laughed merrily, bending over as she wheezed at her friend’s embarrassment. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding!” She assured them, waving them down. “I know you aren't, it's just fun to tease people.” Besides, I'm like, 90% sure Yumi is straight. She thought absently. Dunno about Kaneko though. Hmmm… nah, I've messed with her enough today. She decided, abandoning her half formed scheme to troll her new friends.

Both girls sighed in relief, Yumi all but falling over as she hung her arms limply. “Kaslana-san, has anyone told you you're a complete menace?” She asked in despair, though the smile she shot back let Kiana know she wasn't actually upset. 

“Oh, every now and then.” Kiana said airily, crossing her arms smugly. Admittedly, it wasn't as common as her friends likely thought, but that was just because Kiana wasn't often around someone often enough for them to realise she was, in fact, always like this. Then, she buried a sigh. It was time for her to leave her guise of normality. I've got too much to do. Guess I can't waste time on having fun right now … ah well. That's life, I guess. She thought wryly. “Well, guess I'll leave you to it then!” She announced outwardly, no sign of her mixed feelings escaping past her facade of happy-go-lucky menace. She turned to leave, but shot one last look over her shoulders. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do~.” She called merrily, eyes twinkling with obvious implications regarding what she would do.

Judging from the fresh explosion of sputtering followed by a loud “DANGIT KASLANA-SAN!” she heard as she turned away, the message had indeed been received. Kiana giggled to herself. She'd forgotten how much fun messing with people was in her time wandering. For now though, it was time for the White Ghost to get to work. Kiana took a step forward, her mind already switching to serious mode as she began to consider the best way to balance her job with the Miyazaki family and the strange Honkai activity.

“Kaslana-san, wait!” 

“Eh?” Kiana said in surprise, turning around. “Uh, Kaneko-san?” She asked in confusion, staring at the other girl, who had an arm outstretched. “Is something wrong?” 

Kaneko frowned determinedly, meeting Kiana’s eyes. “I apologise for the inconvenience, Kaslana-san, but if it isn't too much of a bother, I'd like to speak with you for a moment. In private.” She added, glancing at the small numbers of other students passing by them, some glancing at them in curiosity.

“Huh?” Yumi said, blinking. “But what about our game session?” She asked, crestfallen. 

Kaneko smiled apologetically at her fellow video game club member. “Sorry, Yumi, but this is important. I promise I'll make it, but…” She looked back to Kiana, eyes serious. “Kaslana-san and I need to have this talk. Sooner than later, if we can,”

Kiana stared back at her friends, face devoid of expression. Her eyes met Kaneko's, stabbing through her as they looked on judgingly. Kaneko stared back, eyes firm. Right as Yumi began to quietly wonder if something was wrong, the Siberian girl spoke. “Sure.” She said calmly. “Where?”

“There’s a quiet street a short walk away. I'll show it to you.” Kaneko answered, voice level. Turning, she smiled reassuringly at Yumi. “Don't worry Yumi. I'll be right there with you. I ain't staying at second, y'hear?” 

Yumi nodded in acknowledgement, clearly still unnerved but reassured by her old friend’s confidence. “Alright… if you're sure then. You better not be late!” She called in warning, before walking away. Stopping at the intersection, she cast one last look at her friends in concern, before leaving.

The two stared at each other a moment longer, before Kaneko nodded. “This way, please, Kaslana-san.” She said politely, gesturing for the exchange student to follow her. Kiana silently followed behind her.

Outwardly, Kiana appeared completely calm as they walked together to the small alleyway Kaneko had mentioned. Her silent footsteps and relaxed demeanor were almost predatory, anyone who might have seen two young teens walking alone as easy targets finding their instincts warning them away. 

Internally, though, she was panicking. Kaneko is the right age for an Artificial Stigmata. A cold, analytical part of her mind noted. Only the Three Pillars still begin Valkyrie training at twelve, but even more humanitarian factions such as Schicksal Far East start at high school age at latest. Being lead towards an isolated area where nobody can see. This is a trap.

But I can't feel anything! Another part of her pointed out, fearful. Artificial Stigmata leak like sieves, I should have sensed it!

Could he have found a way to trick my senses? A part of her she kept deeply buried, the part of her that still didn't quite believe she had ever been under the open sky, asked quietly.  What if he could? What if every person around me could be…?

She didn't recognise my name. Kiana thought to herself, desperately rationalising to fend off her rampaging paranoia. Even Intel Valks wouldn't be able to hide at least recognising the Kaslana name, even if they didn't know about me. And Mei and the others have known her for years! She couldn't hide being away for training all the time, and nobody knows I'm even in Japan - he doesn't have any reason to have someone hiding in some random school looking for me!

But what if? Her fears screamed back.

They turned into the alleyway, ducking out of sight. “Nobody really comes this way, so we should be able to hold this discussion in privacy.” Kaneko stated, her words still switched to a level of formality Kiana expected more from Mei and Kimiko than her. “Apologies for the presumption, but this didn't feel like something you'd be comfortable talking about in public.

“Good to know.” Kiana remarked, her voice devoid of her usual cheer. “So, Kaneko-san, what's this about? Got something you need to tell little ol me?” She said, her usual teasing twisted almost into mockery.

Kaneko didn't react to Kiana’s implied taunt. “I have a question I want to ask you.” She said forthright, causing Kiana to tense. “Please, be honest with me.” She asked, staring Kiana in the eye.

“Fire away.” Kiana said calmly, even as she reached behind her back oh so casually. Knock her down, up the stairs, hook left get back to hideout grab stuff get to safety run run run- her mind screamed, planning devolving into dread as Kiana’s hand closed around her bat -

“Kaslana-san… do you have a place to stay tonight?”

Kiana blinked. Then she blinked again, unconsciously rubbing her eyes. The scene before her didn't change; Kaneko's face, previously serious and impassive, had melted into one of open concern and sympathy. Kiana’s eyes roamed over her expression, and no matter how deeply that ever paranoid side of her looked, found no lies in it. “...eh?” She said weakly, letting her bat fall back into her backpack without quite meaning to. “I uh, I'm not sure what you mean–”

Kaneko sighed and shook her head, exasperated fondness filling her eyes as she put one hand on her hips and brought the other into view. “Kaslana-san. You're still wearing the same uniform you were on Monday.” She said in wry amusement, putting up one finger. “You always leave school in a similar direction as most of the others, but then swing off into the alleyways the moment you can.” Another finger rose. “You have never, in the entire time I've known you, had anything to eat at lunch, or bought any from the cafeteria.” The third finger rose. “You constantly blow off any attempt to invite you to any kind of outing, especially shopping, and when anyone asks where you live, you dodge the question like your life depends on it.” The fourth finger rose, joined by Kiana’s face turning increasingly red from the ongoing obliteration of her professional pride. “And last but not least, you literally told me this afternoon that the aid agencies for Siberian refugees are being as useless as always.” The fifth and final finger rose, before Kaneko lowered her hand so she could cross her arms. “So, like I said; do you actually have anywhere to go tonight? Or are you bluffing for Mei-san and the other's sakes?”

Kiana froze, desperately looking for a viable excuse, then slumped over with a sigh as none presented themselves. “That obvious, huh?” She asked, unable to keep a tiny tinge of bitterness out of her voice. “And here I thought I was being subtle and stuff…”

“You were, to be clear.” Kaneko claimed, unfolding her arms. “I'm the only one who's noticed. And I'm not going to tell anyone if you don't want me to.”

Kiana eyed her suspiciously, unsure what to think of that. “What would you get out of that?” She asked warily.

Kaneko sighed softly, saddened sympathy in her eyes. “Do I need to get something out of it?” She asked, the question clearly rhetorical. “You're my friend Kaslana-san. A new one sure, but a friend all the same. Of course I'm worried. Who wouldn't be?” Her eyes narrowed as she suddenly pointed a finger at Kiana in warning. “And don't you say Hikari-san, we all know she's a jerk but not even she is that bad. She'd bitch and whine about it, and probably mock you because you rub her the wrong way, but she wouldn't see you any different.” She said, a surprising degree of conviction in her voice.

Kiana blinked. “Wait, so I'm not imagining that stink eye she keeps giving me?” She checked, surprised.

Kaneko nodded solemnly. “Kaslana-san, Hikari-san's been a friend for years, but except Mei-san any one of us will freely admit she's kind of a bitch. And Mei-san only wouldn't because she's too nice to say it.” She proclaimed sagely. Kiana couldn't quite stop a snort of amusement at her bluntness. “Now stop dodging the question, Kaslana-san. Do you have somewhere safe to go?” 

Kiana froze, reminded once more of the actual topic of their conversation. Her eyes fell, no longer able to meet her friend's gaze. She'd tried so hard to keep up her facade, to be normal, and she hadn't lasted a single week. Some part of her flinched away, insisting that she should deny everything. That she should turn around, walk out of this alley, and start avoiding Kaneko like the plague. The less anyone knew, the less evidence there was that she was anything but a harmless, idiotic girl, the better. But right as she opened her mouth, she caught one last glimpse of Kaneko's face, and her instincts, honed by years of wandering where being able to read clients, enemies and bystanders alike had been key to staying alive, realised she hadn't quite been correct earlier.

It wasn't just sympathy in Kaneko's eyes. It was empathy.

Slowly, carefully teasing past layers of instinctive denial and evasiveness, Kiana began to speak. “It's been… rough, since we got out of Siberia.” She confessed, navigating through her cover as she fought to be as honest as she could. “My old man can't be here, and my mom…” Kiana bit back the tidal wave of grief that overcame her at the thought of Cecilia Schariac, each time as strong as the first. 

Kaneko's face twisted with sadness at that, but she stayed quiet, letting Kiana collect her thoughts. She was grateful for that. “I… I do have somewhere safe, or safe enough.” She insisted, before slumping. “But… It's a little hard to get an apartment rented when you don't have a birth certificate. Or, well, anything else…” She said with a humourless laugh. Then, she looked up, eyes firm. “But… It's getting better. I've got a spot here at the school, the old man has the money sorted, and we've got a plan for the whole… getting legal identities problem. I'm fine. Promise.”

Kaneko stared at her a moment longer, searching for any signs Kiana was lying. The young Kaslana stared back, inwardly praying Kaneko didn’t dig too deeply into her story - if she looked too much further, it would rapidly become impossible to explain without revealing things that could put Kaneko herself in grave danger.

Finally, after a moment, her friend's eyes softened, a relieved smile crossing her face. “I'm glad to hear it, Kaslana-san. But, if you don't mind me possibly overstepping slightly…” Kaneko trailed off, clearly hesitant on whether she should keep it to herself. Kiana knew that Japanese culture greatly valued privacy, and that offering unsolicited advice or thoughts for a… situation like her own, would normally be considered a massive intrusion - it was half the reason the Japanese mental health system sucked - and so cocked her head curiously, intentionally broadcasting that she didn't mind Kaneko trying to help.

Kaneko saw it, and Kiana saw her gather her resolve before she spoke up. “I think you should consider telling Mei-san about your situation.”

“E-eh?” Kiana blurted, taking a step back in surprise - she hadn't known for sure what she was expecting Kaneko's advice to be, but it certainly hadn't been that. “Tell Raiden-senpai? I– no way, I–I wouldn't want to make her have to deal with my issues!” She rambled, waving her arms in insistent denial. But right as she was about to insist she was alright on her own, something occurred to Kiana. Wait… this doesn't feel like before. I'm not just scared… Why does the idea of Mei knowing about my past make me feel so… nervous?

Before Kiana could process the odd feeling, her thoughts were derailed by Kaneko speaking again. “Y'know… you're not the only one who grew up broke.” Her new friend confessed, to Kiana’s shock. “My parents were factory workers.” She explained with a shrug, seeing Kiana’s surprise. “They helped make steel. It was honest work, but… the company wasn't great. They always had to pull extra shifts to keep everything going…” The brunette reminisced, her eyes going distant as her mind went through old memories. “When I got the scholarship for Chiba my family were overjoyed. They thought I had finally gotten a chance to earn a better life than they could give me… but my first month or so here, I hated it.” She remarked, shaking her head in bitter mockery of her own naivety. “I should have expected it, really. I had a tenth the income of the average student here, and it showed - of course they wanted nothing to do with me. Most of them didn't even bother bullying me, but I almost wished they did - would've been better than them acting like I didn't exist.” Kaneko sighed heavily, the memories clearly weighing on her. Kiana was horrified. She'd never seen a hint of anything like that, not in the week she'd known the other girl. But before she could say a word, Kaneko's face broke out into a grin. “And then, right at the end of the first month, just when I was thinking about transferring and giving up, Raiden Mei walked over, sat down beside me, and asked if I wanted to be friends.” Kaneko shook her head. “I thought it had to be a trick at first. What the hell would someone like that want with me?”

The question seemed like it was rhetorical, but Kiana couldn't stop her mouth from opening. “I mean, that kinda sounds exactly like Raiden-senpai.” She pointed out frankly. “I mean heck, she basically just sat down and started talking to me too.” 

Kaneko laughed at that. “Seriously? She still does that? Oh Mei-san, never change…” she said merrily, shaking her head in mirth. “Back then though, Mei-san was… kind of a big mystery, I guess. Nobody knew about how kind and open she was - the kids from her old school all went on about how she was the ‘Thunder Queen’, distant and unapproachable.” Seeing the look of utter disbelief on Kiana’s face, Kaneko jabbed a finger at her. “I know, right!? That's so not how she is! But that first month, the only friend she seemed to have was Kimiko-san, and considering who she was, I completely believed it.”

Kiana blinked in confusion. “Wait, what do ya mean ‘considering who she is?’”

Kaneko stared at her, blinking slowly. “Kaslana-san, you… do know who Mei-san's father is, right?” She asked slowly, sounding baffled. 

Kiana was equally confused. “Uh… she told me he's a businessman? Overseas a lot? Works in power generation?” She hazarded, flipping through the memory of her conversation with Mei about their fathers. “Why did you ask? Is he super famous or somethin’?”

Kaneko stared at Kiana. It was the same distant, unfamiliar stare Mei had when Kiana confirmed she didn't know what Algebra was. “Kaslana-san.” She explained very slowly. “Raiden Ryoma is the owner of Massive Electric. One of, if not the, biggest conglomerates in Japan. He's in the top twenty richest people on the planet.”

Kiana stared. Kaneko remained entirely serious. Kiana stared some more. She still could not see a single sign that had been a joke. “What.” She said flatly. “I- wait you mean - how much money do they make!?” She demanded, a sudden deep fear overtaking her.

“Look it up.” Kaneko replied simply, her eyes completely dead.

Kiana did so. 

The number that duly appeared took a moment to comprehend. There were far too many zeroes in it.

“ER MACHT WIE VIEL ZASTER!?”

Kaneko blinked in surprise as Kiana exploded into a tirade of disbelieving curses, switching languages almost with each word in a truly astounding (and completely incomprehensible) cavalcade of violent swearing. After about two minutes, the rant slowly petered out, and Kiana woodenly turned to face Kaneko. “This is real?” She asked, voice devoid of emotion as she held up her phone, the mildly absurd number front and centre.

“Yup.” Kaneko replied, her voice equally dead inside.

“Scheiße noch eins…” Kiana muttered weakly, staring dumbfounded at the evidence of just how ludicrously rich her new friend was. They make enough money a day to hire me for a year straight. I put the one year rate in as a JOKE. She thought to herself, boggling at the sheer wealth involved. “I… I guess that explains a lot?” She suggested, valiantly fighting past her flabbergasted reaction.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Kaneko agreed fervently. “Like I said, what with that, I was totally willing to believe the stories of her being all standoffish, right? Of course someone that rich would look down on us peons, so when she came over I was convinced it was a trick. I went along with it, of course, because pissing off someone like that is a death sentence–” Kiana nodded in agreement, all too familiar with the axiom of staying far beneath the notice of the powerful, “–so I decided I'd enjoy it while it lasted. But I was convinced it was just a trick. That she was doing it to amuse herself, that sooner or later she'd throw me away and that would be that…” Kaneko mused, a self deprecating smile on her face as she remembered her own cynicism, before she turned back to Kiana fully, her expression that painful look of empathy once again. 

“But she never did. After a few days, she introduced me to Kimiko-san, and then Hikari-san too, even though Hikari-san and I didn't get along great. With the three of them hanging out with me, all the other rich kids had to acknowledge I was there, or their precious reputation went out the window. And then I met Yumi and the rest of the Game Club, Miyuki-chan and the other actors, and so many others…” Kaneko gushed, talking faster and faster as she described all of the friends she'd found. “And I owe it all to Mei-san. For being the one to reach out to me when nobody else would, for forcing everyone to acknowledge I was there, for not letting me give up… everything was because of what she did for me.” Kaneko finished, a small smile of true happiness on her face. 

“That’s why… ever since then, I've tried to pay it forward, to help people the way Mei-san helped me - the way she still helps people when she realises they need it. People like us…” She gestured towards herself and Kiana. “It can be hard to trust people who are doing better, right? That little voice going ‘what do they know, they haven't been there, they don't know how it feels, they just want to get brownie points‘ - all those excuses for not letting anyone help. But I have been there. I do know how it feels. So please, even if it's hard to believe …” Kaneko looked Kiana dead in the eye, her expression one of utter faith. “You can trust Mei-san. No matter what.”

For a moment, Kiana stood stock still, processing everything she'd just been told. Then, she tilted her head back, considering, weighing her instinctive distrust against that growing, painful wish to stop lying to her new friends. And then, with a heaving sigh, she looked Kaneko dead in the eye and smirked. 

“Dangit, Kaneko-san.” She grumbled, “How the hell am I supposed to say no to that?” She asked, faked annoyance layered on thick, before she dropped the act. “Alright then. You win. I'll talk to Raiden-senpai. Just… mind not making me have that conversation alone?” She asked sheepishly, an embarrassed smile on her face as she rubbed the back of her head.

Kaneko grinned in happiness. “Of course not! What kind of friend would I be if I made you handle that by yourself?”

Kiana sighed in relief, flopping over halfway. “Phew, now there's some good news… was not looking forward to trying to defuse whatever heart attack she gets by myself.” She mused, having long since noticed Mei’s habit of worrying herself in circles about her friends.

“Oh man, now that'll be fun.” Kaneko muttered, the look in her eyes telling Kiana more than enough about how many times she'd dealt with Mei freaking out. “Don't worry though, once she hears you're not at risk of getting hurt or anything she'll calm down. Just… don't panic too much once she starts threatening anyone who stonewalls your old man with her lawyers.”

Kiana laughed at that, then realised Kaneko wasn't laughing. “Wait, she actually-”

“Oh yeah. Small army of them, terrifying bastards too.” Kaneko said, completely serious. Kiana stared in bafflement, but didn't get a chance to ask any of her many questions (first of them being ‘why the hell does someone our age need that many lawyers!?’) before her friend continued. “I'll be a little late, though. I'm going to try to talk to Miyuki-san in private, before the others get there.” She revealed. “She's always been a quiet, reserved person… I'm hoping one old friend will have better luck than Mei-san’s legion of well intentioned busybodies.” She said, the self deprecating smile on her face acknowledging that she herself was one of the well intentioned busybodies. 

“That might be for the best, considering I um… still only remember half of the gang’s names.” Kiana admitted in embarrassment, wincing as she thought about how many people she still couldn't name.

Kaneko just laughed, a long, uproarious gale that lasted for almost ten seconds. “Allow me to let you in on a secret, Kaslana-san.” She wheezed out as her fit ended. “I can still only remember the inner circle and my own friends. I have no damn idea how Mei-san keeps us straight.”

“Oh thank God it isn't just me!” Kiana yelled in vindication, throwing her arms up in dismay. “How are there so many of you!?”

“Eh, when the three most popular kids in the whole school share a social circle things get kinda dumb after a while.” Kaneko answered, shrugging. Then she glanced at her watch, eyes widening. “Oh shit, I'm gonna be late!” She yelped, spinning around for the exit. “Sorry Kaslana-san, I gotta run or Yumi-san will kill me!” She called back, dashing towards the exit. “See you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow!” Kiana agreed with a laugh. “Don't keep our club leader waiting!” She waved, watching as her new friend turned out of the alley and booked it down the street. With a smile, Kiana followed her progress, a sense of wonder flowing through her. This feeling… I guess this is what it feels like to realise someone cares about you. She stared up at the sky, brushing away a traitorous tear that tried to fall. Papa… you were right. I did find people who care about me out there. I can't wait to tell you all about them.

And with that, she turned around, heading off to her next destination. 

[HR][/HR]

AN: I would like to issue my heartfelt thanks to @tigerbolt, of the Honkai Fanfic Discord, for his wonderful advice regarding making Kiana’s German actually sound German. He saved you from Google Translate. Praise him.

Chapter Text

Yesterday, the atmosphere of Chiba Academy had been tense. Today, it was suffocating.

Kiana stared around at her peers, a pall of silence falling over them. Nobody was by themselves - even the greatest loners had fallen in with one group or another. They stood around, clustered together in tens and more as they stared fearfully out at their surroundings.

Despite it being several minutes past when classes normally began, nobody had actually entered the school building. None of them dared.

Guess the news got out… She thought to herself, a burst of frustration emerging - her stake out the previous night not having the success of her first attempt. She’d seen no signs of the killer, and the strange Honkai surges hadn’t revealed anything. Dammit… Feels like I haven’t gotten anywhere the whole week. So much for my mission completion rates… She mused, using the minor hit to her professional pride to bury the worse feelings her lack of success had brought up.

At least her conversation with the doctors had gone well… for a given value of well, she had to wait ten minutes while they yelled at her for having gone radio silent for a while there, but after that, it had gone well. Once the initial panic stations had ended, they’d promised to send some people with higher grade equipment to get some data. Once they had an explanation, they’d call Kiana, fill her in, and offer a job if need be - a simple, easy process they’d gone through plenty of times before. Honestly, Kiana would’ve been fine handling some of the jobs she got from her benefactors for free - she owed them more than enough - but they hated owing people just as much as she did, and, well. 

She was still broke.

Kiana glanced around the area, trying to find the area they’d planned to meet. For once, she managed to see someone she recognised, her eyes picking Mei out of the crowd as her apparently ludicrously rich friend scanned the crowd. It looks like she’s looking for me. Kiana guessed, a momentary burst of amusement popping up as she realised that, for once, she’d found one of her friends without getting horribly lost. May as well head over. Don’t want her wasting time trying to figure out where I wandered off to. With that thought, Kiana turned, quickly slipping through the crowd of quiet teens towards her friend. As she got closer, she called out, her voice quieter than she’d meant as the silence around her got to her. “Raiden-senpai? Over here!”

Mei turned, her eyes shining in sudden relief as she saw Kiana. “Kaslana-san! Good, you’re already here. I was worried you’d gotten lost in all of this.” She admitted, pushing through the chaos to where Kiana was standing.

“Nah, no worries. I’ve gotten through worse than this.” Kiana reassured her, waving a hand dismissively. Then her face turned serious. “Though.. Can’t say I like how everyone is acting. What happened?” She asked, sure she already knew the answer.

Mei’s face turned grave. “We… should probably wait to meet the others before getting into that matter.” She warned, glancing around at the pale, nervous faces around them. “Come, this way. The group isn’t far.” Mei said, quickly grabbing Kiana’s hand to tug her in the right direction. Kiana couldn’t stop a moment of tension at the contact, but let it pass - Mei was right to worry about getting separated.

It was… odd, how her hand felt. Kind of warm. It wasn’t surprising - for a Kaslana, basically everyone felt warm to the touch - but something about it felt… weird, to Kiana. Before she could think further on it, they arrived.

Kiana couldn’t stop herself. The instant she spotted her friends, her eyes scanned over them, instinctively checking for any sign of injury. She found none. Good… that’s good. She thought to herself, her shoulders relaxing in relief. God, this tension is getting to me too now… come on Kaslana, try and breathe a little here.

With her initial worry assuaged, Kiana took a second look as her and Mei quietly walked over. Most of the various members of their friend group, an embarrassing number of whom Kiana couldn’t name, seemed more or less fine - as terrified as everyone else, but not on the edge of hysterics like Kiana had feared. Kimiko and Hikari seemed to be handling it all a little better. Hikari looked kind of like she wanted to bite someone’s head off, but Kiana got the feeling that wasn’t unusual. Yumi seemed stressed, but was still retaining some of her energy, keeping a quiet conversation going to stop anyone from falling into their own heads.

As they approached, Kimiko glanced over, eyes brightening as she saw them. “Ah, Mei-san, Kaslana-san. It’s good to see you both well.” She called, causing the other’s attention to switch towards them. Kiana quickly suppressed the instinct to try to slip out of sight.

“Hello, everyone.” Mei replied, quickly sidling past the others as she settled into the middle of their group, drawing Kiana along with her. “I’m glad you’re all alright.”

“For now, anyways…” Hikari muttered spitefully under her breath. Most of the group didn’t hear her, but unbeknownst to the cynical teen, Kiana caught the statement, frowning at her as she tried to decipher that.

For a moment, they lapsed into silence, the resident social masters desperately trying to find a way to resurrect the conversation. Before they could, though, Yumi finally broke and raised the Parvati in the room. “So I… guess everyone heard, huh?” She asked, looking around at the terrified children scattered across the school grounds. “About… well. What the police found…” She trailed off, shrinking inwards as the atmosphere somehow managed to ratchet the tension up another notch or two.

“Yes… I’m afraid so.” Mei answered, clearly giving up on not talking about it. “Though there hasn’t been an official statement -”

“Like we need one?” Hikari coldly interjected. “It’s not like there are many explanations for the fact a coroner was called.” The vitriolic girl’s words were met by a collective flinch among most of those present, her blunt description reminding them of just how bad things were.

“I heard a little about it.” Kiana threw out, having spent a few minutes the evening before going over what was safe to say. “They’re saying there was a commotion around the utility building Kaneko told us about, like a fight or something. Nobody’s sure what happened, though.” Too late, it hit Kiana that the increasingly fearful faces around her were probably a hint not to give people more to worry about.

Before anyone else could throw in what they knew - or fall into a pit of paranoid speculation - Kimiko clapped firmly, grabbing everyone’s attention. “That’s quite enough, thank you.” She said politely, her tone nevertheless making it obvious that it wasn’t a request. “There is little point in driving ourselves in circles regarding all of this.”

“I agree.” Mei spoke up before anyone could complain. “We already know school will close soon until we’re safe. This changes little, and worrying about it helps none of us. Trust the police, and stay safe, alright everyone?” She asked, sincerity in her gaze as she tried to lock eyes with everyone at once. The others all slowly nodded, the tension settling slightly as they saw how calmly the two were taking it all.

Kiana racked her brain, trying to find something to get everyone’s minds off the situation. Finally, she found a solution. “So, I was wondering - Japan has lots of big festivals and stuff, especially at shrines, right? Are there any important ones in Nagazora?” She asked, leaning forward curiously. It wasn’t entirely feigned - she did want to know more. She just also wanted to get people thinking about anything other than whether a serial killer was nearby.

Kimiko seized the opportunity. “Hmm… well, I cannot say it compares to the sort of celebrations you would see in Tokyo, but there is the Festival of Remembrance in a few months.” She suggested. “There is a shrine in the south of the city that was once the site of a small village a few hundred years ago. Sadly, it was destroyed in some catastrophe or another, and the shrine was all that was left standing. Nobody knows the shrine’s true name, or what Kami was worshipped there, but people began to hold a festival to remember the village and its people, and the tradition still survives to this day.”

Hikari snorted softly. “Honestly, Kimiko-san, remember who you’re speaking with!” She said, a fake cheer in her voice that Kiana felt her hackles rise at. “Kaslana-san is new to Japan, after all. Did you even consider checking to see if she knew what the Kami were first?”

Kiana couldn’t stop a minor flinch at that. For all Hikari phrased it as making sure she had context, she couldn’t not notice the subtle shot at how much of an outsider she was. Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one to notice it, and the twin glares Kimiko and Mei shot at their acerbic friend proved enough for her to back off, nodding apologetically at Kiana as she leaned back slightly. 

Still, Kiana found herself quickly falling out of the conversation. With Hikari’s snub, came a reminder of an even bigger thing separating her from her peers - and the fact she was meant to be explaining it later that day.

Oh God, why did I agree to this? She groaned inwardly, dreading the thought of how Mei would react to her lack of money. Yeah Mei is nice, but there is no way in the universe she’ll take this well!

Kiana had been on her own for several years now, most of them spent wandering the tundra as she went from mission to mission. In those years, many people had many reactions to her and how she lived. None of the ones from people anywhere close to being as well off as Mei had been good ones. Not that that was surprising - Kiana was the literal definition of a murderhobo. Nobody had a good reaction to that.

I can’t tell her about my job, I just can’t. She’ll have the police on me in seconds. Hell she SHOULD have the police on my ass! But how am I gonna explain what I do to get money? Do I just lie my ass off? That’s what I normally do…  but… Kiana looked around her, eyes going over her new friends one by one. 

Yumi, the only person she’d ever met as naturally energetic and cheery as Kiana tried to be. Even after Kiana realised just how out of practice she was at gaming, Yumi had still been nothing but welcoming - tips and advice flying a mile a minute. It was the first time Kiana had gotten to sit down and do something fun just for the hell of it since she was separated from her father.

Kimiko. The calm and collected social genius. Kiana had spent a long time learning to read and understand people as well as she did, and she knew how impressive the way Kimiko could lead a conversation was. Even during the havoc of them stumbling across Mao’s body, Kimiko had been the one to stay calm, get everyone moving, and stop what could’ve been a dangerous panic. How someone close to her age was so mature and put together was astonishing - Kiana could see all too well why she was one of the two everyone looked to for direction.

Hikari. A bit of an outlier, in a way; her acerbic wit and sharp tongue a contrast to the kindness and acceptance most of the others favoured. Even still, she was one of the gang - always a step behind their ringleaders, a sardonic statement and sarcastic jibe never far away. It was clear she and the others had a long history, Hikari’s insults tinged with nostalgic references to things Kiana hadn’t seen. The young Kaslana couldn’t stop herself from hoping to overcome the mild suspicion in the other girl’s eyes… and getting her to stop trashing her sense of humour would be nice too, she supposed.

Kaneko. She wasn’t there yet, still busy with finding Miyuki, but her presence was everywhere in negative space - the tiny gap next to Yumi left awkwardly unfilled, the stuttering half-pauses in conversation making room for where she’d normally voice her opinion before everyone kept going. Kaneko gave body to a constant source of support, always there when the others needed a hand. Her more down to earth perspective was one Kiana had been able to tell the others appreciated even before she found out why she had such a different view to the rest. She owed the other teen a hell of a lot, for reaching out to her the way she had.

And then… Mei. The center of their little assortment of social meddlers. A humble, kind girl who never had anything but supportiveness to offer, a gentle presence hiding a strangely sharp focus and steady will Kiana had caught a glimpse of twice now - once with Mao, and again when they’d been planning how to help Miyuki. The girl who’d seen the utter mess Kiana was and chose to reach out with no expectation of gaining anything, who had done everything she could to make Kiana feel welcome among her new surroundings. A person who’d time and again tried to help, always reaching out to ask Kiana her opinion, whether she was alright, constantly trying to head off anything that might cause a problem. The first person to see Kiana and decide to be her friend, after her long years of self imposed isolation. A person who, for some reason, Kiana dreaded the thought of disappointing, who Kiana simultaneously desperately wanted to stop lying to and was terrified of her knowing what kind of person she really was.

The first friend Kiana had ever had.

Though outwardly as lackadaisical as ever, on the inside, Kiana moaned in despairing frustration as she admitted defeat; she cared about these people. After three years spent keeping everyone around her at a safe distance, a single week had been enough to get her attached. She was doomed. 

Dammit. So much for just a little while… I’m stuck with them now, aren’t I? She thought to herself miserably. I don’t even get why I care so much about what Mei thinks about me! I’ve only known her for a few days - am I seriously that desperate for human contact?

As Kiana sulked to herself, still unsure of what was going on in her head, she absently noted that Kaneko was still absent. Man, she’s seriously late. Guess her talk with Miyuki ran long… ugh, I know she has to put her friend first, but I really hope she gets her soon. I am NOT having this conversation with Mei alone!

Meanwhile, the conversation began to peter out once more, the silences getting longer as they ran out of things to talk about. And with the silence, came a return of the tension and dread that had been building more and more throughout the week.

Finally, Yumi broke. “Oh, whatever!” She burst out, throwing her hands up in the air halfway through what Kimiko had been saying. “We’re not getting anywhere sitting here! Time for a gaming session - and don’t you try and get out of this Kimiko, even you can play HOMU Party!”

“I’m down.” Kiana agreed, shaking off her confused thoughts. “Does it have to be HOMU Party though? That one was a total ripoff!”

“Now listen here -!” And they were off, Yumi’s spirited defense of the HOMU franchise against Kiana’s slander thoroughly banishing the dreary atmosphere. 

Mei chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. “Those two never change, do they?” She mused wryly to Kimiko, unaware of Kiana quietly fistpumping at her successful distraction. In truth, Kiana was more or less neutral on HOMU, she just thought there were usually better games in whatever genre, but her and Yumi’s now almost typical dynamic was a great way to raise the mood. Besides, arguing with the video game club’s resident pro was fun.

As the group got up to move, Kiana absently heard a conversation between some of the others. “Kaneko-san is really late… I hope nothing’s wrong.” One of the girls Kiana didn’t know said, looking around worriedly.

“Don’t worry about it - Yumi-san and Kaslana-san said she’d planned to go talk to Asakura-san, remember?” Another assured her friend. “She’s probably just busy with her friend. We all know Asakura-san’s been through a lot recently.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” The first girl said reluctantly. “I just hope they’re okay.”

“I mean, Asakura-san knew Miyazaki-san too, didn’t she?”

At that moment, various facts clicked together in Kiana’s mind.

“She was planning to meet one of her friends, you see.” -

I'm sure of it now - it has to have been another student, someone she knew -

 “Are they… all in the acting club?” -

“Hey there, Miyuki-san.” -

Her face was terribly pale -

The… the Honkai Energy levels in the school are rising! -

For a moment, her hand lingered on Kaneko's, before slowly, almost reluctantly letting go -

The bullet landed, digging into the killer's side -

Miyuki walked down the hallway ahead of them, slightly favouring her left side -

“I'm going to try to talk to Miyuki-san in private -”

“RAIDEN-SENPAI!” Kiana screamed, whipping around as fast as she could as it all finally came together, terror seizing her as she locked eyes with a shocked Mei. “CALL KANEKO RIGHT NOW!”

“Wha- Kaslana-san, what’s wro-” Mei began to ask, only to be cut off.

“JUST DO IT!”

Too shocked by Kiana’s sudden panic to think it through, Mei instinctively did just that, easily bringing up Kaneko’s familiar contact.

The phone rang. 

Once. 

Twice.

BEEP

“Hey there! This is Kaneko Rina! Looks like my phone is off right now, so -”

Kiana moved.

It happened faster than the rest of the group could react - one moment, their foreign friend was in the middle of them, her wild eyes locked on Mei’s phone as the others opened their mouths to ask what was going on to make the young Siberian react with such blatant panic. The next, she was gone, the ones standing behind her finding themselves shoved gracelessly to the ground as she barrelled by them. 

Most of the group devolved into hysterics there and then - the inexplicable actions of the normally easy going girl simply too much when combined with the fear and stress of the past week. A few - Yumi and Hikari amongst them - kept their composure, but were caught up in the confusion, too busy trying to both calm down their friends and work out what had just happened to help. Kimiko and a handful of others reacted faster, seeing Kiana move, but were too slow - by the time they were able to give chase, Kiana was long ahead of them, the Kaslana scion’s superhuman agility leaving them with no hope of catching up.

Only one person was fast enough to follow her rush.

“Wha- Kaslana-san, WAIT!” Mei yelled, by sheer luck catching the moment Kiana had turned and dashed away out of the corner of her eyes. Her phone still in hand, the Raiden Heiress sprinted after her young friend, still without a single clue what was happening. All she knew was that whatever had made Kiana act like this, she wasn’t willing to let the other girl face it on her own.

For a moment, though, it looked like she wouldn’t have any choice. Kami above but she’s fast! Mei thought to herself in astonishment, barely managing to keep Kiana in sight as she barged into the school building through a side entrance. She had known Kiana was fast - she still remembered how Kiana had pulled ahead of them when they found Mao - but this was on a completely different level! The sheer speed her friend was displaying wasn’t just impressive, it was almost superhuman.

Mei could feel herself running out of breath, even as she just barely saw Kiana turning the next corner. Even with all her years training, she was hitting the limits of her stamina. If this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before Kiana went far enough ahead of her Mei wouldn’t be able to track her down.

She didn’t know why she was so desperate. As strange and worrying as Kiana’s behaviour was, simply chasing after her without any plan was a foolish course of action to say the utter least. And yet… for some reason, some instinct in Mei’s mind screamed that if she lost sight of her friend now, she would never see her again.

Come on! She silently begged her body, even as she felt her lungs burning as they tried to suck in enough oxygen. Please, just a little faster!

I…

I don’t want to lose her.

One moment, Mei could feel herself flagging, her determination to not lose her newest friend - the strange, wonderful girl who’d made such an impact on her and her friend’s lives in the chaotic week they’d known her - only barely keeping ahead of her growing exhaustion.

The next, Mei felt stronger than she had in her entire life. 

Mei stumbled midstep, an involuntary gasp leaving her as her limbs suddenly burst with strength. It felt like she had drunk an entire bottle of caffeine, energy surging through her. Her exhaustion disappeared, burnt out by the rush as Mei caught herself with an ease that surprised her. As she unthinkingly started running again, she could tell that she was going faster than she ever had before, speed she could normally only muster for a single instant during a kendo match barely even straining her.

It felt… familiar, somehow.

Mei had no idea what had just happened. To be frank, she didn’t care overly much either. Without a moment’s hesitation, Mei sprinted forward, eyes locked on a head of white hair that, mercifully, was no longer growing more distant…

Completely unaware of the fact that a dull mark on her back, long dull and lifeless, began to glow weakly red as it slowly, fitfully stirred to life.

[HR][/HR]

Kiana skidded to a halt, eyes flicking across the different corridors at the junction she’d hit. Don’t know this spot. Left or right? Armory is behind in courtyard, exit? No windows, took a few turns, should be a right to keep going? Find armory, find Kaneko, why didn’t I bring my guns why why why -

Despite her racing heart, Kiana had not lost her composure. Years of being a mercenary, and of dealing with her past, had taught the young Kaslana that giving in to fear did not help her. She had long since learned how to compartmentalize in situations like this. Even as some part of her berated her own carelessness and idiocy, the rest of her remained focused on the objective.

Which would be significantly easier if she knew where any of these corridors went!

“Come on, come on…” Kiana muttered to herself, desperately trying to find some form of landmark to orient herself. Finally, something clicked. She’d seen that hallway a couple times on the first few days going between classes, which meant the route to the club house - and more importantly the weapons she needed to take down Asakura Miyuki - were probably down that direction, and then if she took the stairs -

“Kaslana-san!” A breathless voice yelled from behind her. 

Kiana froze, a strange dread filling her. That’s - wait, but she can’t have- But despite her disbelief, the sound of approaching footsteps nevertheless echoed behind her. Slowly, Kiana turned, her limbs oddly sluggish, to see someone who absolutely should not be there. 

“Raiden-senpai…” She muttered weakly, staring at her older friend in shock and mounting fear. How the other girl had managed to find her was beyond Kiana - she had been going at speeds most people would associate with cars more than people - but find her, she had. It clearly hadn’t been easy, though - even as Mei jogged over to where Kiana had frozen, she was panting heavily, exhausted from the strain. “You… why are you here?” Kiana stuttered out. 

“I… hah… finally caught up.” Mei got out between breaths as she came to a halt next to Kiana, completely ignoring the younger girl’s question. Instead, she asked one of her own. “Kaslana-san, what’s going on?” She demanded, confusion clear in her voice. “You just ran off without any explanation! What came over you all of a sudden?”

“I…” Kiana tried to begin, only for her tongue to refuse to move as it finally hit her. It… it’s finally over, huh?

There was no way out of this. Even if, by some miracle, she managed to convince Mei to leave, her friend wasn’t stupid. She would realise what Kiana planned to do the moment she heard of it, and there was no way she wouldn’t inform the police. 

Who would keep silent for a killer they’d known for less than a week?

This was it. Her time pretending to have a normal life was at an end.

“Kaslana-san? Kaslana-san, you’re shaking! What’s wrong?” Mei asked, alarm filling her eyes as Kiana fought not to let tears spill. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that she was losing this already, right as she’d finally been able to accept she wanted it.

But Kiana’s life had never been fair. Not since the very moment she’d opened her eyes.

“Kaslana-san! What’s going on?” Mei asked, coming closer to Kiana and reaching for her shoulder, before thinking better of it, her hand hovering anxiously in the air.

“Raiden-senpai… please, just go.” She begged quietly, her downturned head turned away from her friend. She couldn’t bring herself to look her in the eye. She couldn’t afford to break. “I know you’re angry, but -”

“Wha-angry- Kaslana-san, what are you talking about!?” Mei asked, utterly off balance. “I’m not angry at you, I’m worried. Please, just tell me what’s wrong.” She pleaded, 

“I’ll explain, I promise.” Liar. “But right now, you need to leave.” Kiana tried to smile, but for some reason, she couldn’t manage it. The cheery, reassuring smile she’d practiced so long and hard to keep up refused to come, leaving a shaky mess in its place. What was wrong with her, lately? “I.. I can take care of myself, so you just get back to the others and -”

“Kiana.” 

The Kaslana heiress stopped dead in her tracks, halting mid sentence as she stared at Mei in shock. That’s… the first time she’s used my name. She realised absently, her surprised gaze met with Mei’s own eyes locked firmly on them.

“Kiana-san.” Mei continued softly. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore.” 

Kiana felt something start to break, the dam of stubbornness holding back years of repressed emotions finally starting to burst. “I- no, Raiden-senpai, you don't understand-” she rambled, taking a half step back and shaking her head furiously as her eyes burned with unshed tears.

“Then help me do so!” Mei said firmly, stepping forward to keep close. “Kiana-san, I know there are a great many things in your past I still don't know about, and I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for you as a refugee, but that doesn't mean I can't-”

“I'm not a refugee!” Kiana yelled, her voice ringing out loud enough to drown out the end of Mei’s sentence.

Mei opened her mouth, confusion plain on her face, but Kiana didn’t let her respond. “Raiden-senpai, I'm not a refugee. I never was.” She revealed, finally meeting Mei’s eyes as Kiana Kaslana did the one thing she knew she should never do; tell the truth. “I'm a mercenary.” There was a long silence, the two girls staring at each other - Mei in dumbstruck shock, Kiana in resignation.

It took Mei a few seconds to find her voice. “... What?” She whispered to herself, staring at her friend in disbelief. Mei knew of the infamous Siberian mercenaries. The most lethal and skilled hired guns across the world, hardened by the endless conflict of their home, it was said they would commit any crime, kill anyone they were asked to, in return for a paycheck. Ruthless and uncaring, they were feared across the world. The entire idea of someone like Kiana, kind hearted, ever optimistic Kiana, being such a feared figure seemed laughable, and yet…

And yet, it explained so much. Kiana's love of firearms, how she refused to talk about Siberia and yet seemed strangely unbothered when the subject came up. The way she hates being touched, how jumpy and nervous she can be, only to handle crises so calmly… it all makes sense. This is what she meant when she said it wasn't the first time she'd seen something like what happened to Miyazaki-san! Mei realised, mind racing as she began to put together the pieces. She never told me what her father actually does. Is he a mercenary? Is that why he's never home? But… hold on… “Kiana-san you… you're fifteen.” Mei blurted out in horrified realisation.

“I'll be sixteen this Christmas. And besides, most mercs start younger than I did.” Kiana pointed out, shrugging to herself in dismissal even as she shrunk in on herself, mistaking the horror in Mei’s eyes as being aimed at her rather than the implications of what she'd just said.

Mei continued to stare at her friend a moment longer, stunned into silence. Kiana stared back, resignation in her eyes. “Kiana-san… if that’s true, why are you here?” Mei asked, slowly.

Kiana’s smile was a hollow, bitter shadow of the one Mei was more familiar with. “I was supposed to be on vacation.” She confessed, a humourless laugh escaping her. Mei opened her mouth, clearly wanting to say something - but Kiana didn't let her. She couldn't - the dam had finally burst, and now that she'd started to tell her friend the truth, Kiana suddenly found she couldn't stop, words flowing out of her unceasing. “I- I really did want a break, y'know? Gets exhausting being on the job all the time but, well!” She giggled hysterically, smiling bitterly. “I'm fucking broke! Always am! Fucking ammo costs and all that! And getting into Japan was a nightmare and I needed to eat, so I looked for a job -”

“Wait, you're- Kiana-san what do you mean you're-?” Mei interjected, somehow latching onto what Kiana thought was the least important part of what she was saying.

“Raiden-senpai!” Kiana interrupted, grabbing Mei’s wrist because her friend wasn't listening, wasn't able to get the point through the rambling Kiana couldn’t stop and she needed her to understand before she got hurt - “Raiden-senpai, listen, I looked and I got a job from the Miyazakis, the family of that girl we found on Tuesday.” She explained scatteredly, holding her phone up to show the job posting for Mei to see. “They wanted someone to look into what happened to her, and I decided to take the job because I've done things like that before, but then I started to notice things weren't adding up and God, I should've noticed it was so obvious how did I not see it-”

“Kiana-san, calm down!” Mei said in alarm, putting her own hands on the one Kiana still had locked around her arm as she tried to get through to her all but hysterical friend. “What do you mean? What is it you noticed!?”

“Asakura is the murderer!” Kiana shouted, wild eyed. “She's the one who killed the other students, and it was obvious because she was one of the only things they all had in common and everyone told us she was acting strangely, but I thought it was all just the trauma because I am so damn stupid-”

“WHAT!?” Mei burst out in horror. “A…Asakura-san? She's the murderer? But… that doesn't- why would she-”

“Raiden-senpai!” Kiana interrupted as she grabbed Mei’s shoulders in sheer desperation to make her friend understand what she had been trying to say through her outburst of repressed feelings the entire time. “Raiden-senpai, Asakura is the murderer, and Kaneko went to speak with her ALONE!”

And at last, the full, horrible reality of the situation became clear to the Raiden heiress. “What…?” She muttered dumbly, staring at Kiana as dread slammed into her. “But then… that means…. Oh Kami above, no.” She breathed, horror filling her mind as she realised the horrible danger her friend was in. 

If Kaneko was even still alive, by now.

“She went alone.” Kiana repeated, finally managing to wrestle her self control back after her near breakdown. Slowly, she reluctantly let go of Mei’s shoulders, stepping back from her friend. “I'm going after them.” Instantly, Mei snapped out of her shock, immediately opening her mouth to register her vociferous objections, but Kiana forged on, plowing over Mei’s protests before she could even speak them. “I have to do this, Raiden-senpai. I'm the one who failed to realise who it was, and put Kaneko in danger like this. It's my responsibility.” She said, quiet determination in her eyes.

“But that doesn't mean you should just charge in alone!” Mei argued, finally getting a word in edgewise. “Please, Kiana-san, think this through! Confronting a murderer alone without a plan - do you even understand how reckless that -”

“It's nothing I haven't done before.” The Kaslana heiress said calmly. “Easier, since she isn't armed.” A lie, Asakura was just as dangerous either way if Kiana was right about what had happened to her, but Mei didn't need to know what Honkai Corruption meant. Besides, it wasn't even a complete lie - Kiana didn't have any proof. “And I have a plan. Armory for the firearms club is that way.” She jerked a finger behind her.

It took Mei less than a second to figure out what Kiana meant by that. “Kiana-san, you're going to steal a gun!?” She asked in disbelief. “You heard Kurosaki-sensei! Are you trying to get expelled!?” She demanded, fighting down the urge to grab her foreign friend by the shoulders and physically shake some sense into her.

But Kiana just gave a small, saddened smile. “Raiden-senpai… you heard what I just said. I'm getting kicked out no matter what. Not like the school will be willing to let a ruthless mercenary attend class, and the parents definitely won't.” She said, a self deprecating tilt to her smile. 

The Kaslana heiress gave a final sigh, turning to leave. “... Thank you, Raiden-senpai.” She said quietly, not looking back. She didn't want to keep looking at Mei… didn't want to see the moment everything she'd told her settled in, and the horror in her first ever friend's eyes turned to hate. Even though it had ended like this, Kiana didn't regret meeting Raiden Mei, or any of the others. Though it hadn't lasted as long as she hoped, this one, wonderful week was something she would never forget. “You don't have to worry about this mess anymore. I'll handle Asakura - with any luck, she'll stand down when she realises she's cornered. So please…” Kiana begged, her voice cracking. “Please, just go. This is my fight.” 

That was it. There was nothing more to say. And so, Kiana turned away, and walked back into the darkness of the only life she would ever be able to live.

It was at that moment Raiden Mei made a decision.

There was a hand on Kiana’s shoulder -

The Kaslana heiress whirled, her hands flying up to block the attack that she knew was coming -

And Mei flung her arms around her friend, and held on as tight as she could.

There was a moment, a silent, long pause as Kiana first froze solid, then slowly untensed as it slowly sank in that Mei was, of all things, hugging her. “... wha?” She said dumbly, blinking sluggishly as her mind, already overwhelmed from the near breakdown she'd had not even five minutes ago, failed to understand what exactly was currently happening. “l… Raiden-senpai? What's…. Why are you?” She asked, staring over Mei’s shoulder in confusion. 

“Kiana Kaslana.” Mei said in a firm voice. “Allow me to make something very clear - I am not angry at you. I'm slightly horrified at the idea a child had to take up such a living to begin with, and that is not your fault.”

Kiana's eyes finally snapped to Mei’s, filled with disbelief. “What- but I'm-?”

“Nor,” Mei continued, not breaking her stride as she barrelled directly over Kiana’s protests, “are you leaving after this for any reason other than that you want to leave. And if anyone tries to force you to?” Mei pulled back, meeting Kiana’s eyes, revealing a gaze of furious resolve. “I have lawyers.”

Kiana shook her head wildly, her eyes clouded with denial and bitter, worn resignation. “I… Raiden-senpai, you don't get it. I told you what I do, what my job is - I'm not some innocent war orphan, I'm a mercenary! I-” Her voice began to break. “Dammit Raiden-senpai, I've-!”

Mei knew what Kiana was about to say. Frankly, it was rather obvious - you didn't lead the kind of life Kiana was alluding to without doing so. Equally frankly, Mei didn't care very much. Why? A variety of reasons, the most important being that, put simply, she trusted the other girl - knew she would never take a life unless she felt she had no other choice.

But Mei also knew it was going to be far from easy to get Kiana to recognise it didn't matter to her. She'd seen the way Kiana was talking about herself - the self deprecation, recriminations and bitterness, the way she'd just accepted Mei would take all of this poorly without waiting to see her reaction, all told a dire story about how her younger friend thought of herself. If Mei told her she didn't care, Kiana wouldn't believe her. She needed something else, some way to convince Kiana that Mei fully understood and still didn't blame her for it.

…. She had one way. A story, one she’d managed to bring herself to tell exactly twice - once to Kimiko, and once in halting, short segments to her childhood psychologist. Neither time had been an enjoyable experience, digging up memories that weren't worth remembering. 

But Mei had always been the sort of person who was willing to put others over herself. And so, before Kiana could finish her sentence, she gathered herself and spoke.

“When I was quite young, I was abducted by a group of terrorists.” Kiana’s head snapped back to looking at Mei fast enough to give a normal human whiplash, but the Raiden Heiress kept going, staring thoughtfully upwards as she went over memories she hadn't thought of in a long time. “To this day, I don't actually know what they wanted from me. They never said what they had planned, nor did they post a ransom note or anything of the sort. I think the place they took me to had some doctors of some form, but why I would be of interest is beyond me. I suppose I'll never know why…” she mused, keeping her breathing steady as she carefully stopped herself from becoming lost in days gone by.

“Raiden-senpai…” Kiana whispered, staring at her in shock. Before she could finish her thought, Mei forged onwards. Better, she supposed, to finish this sordid tale in one go.

“I don't know how long, exactly, I was gone for. I know it was quite a while, but I was always too afraid to ask. All I remember is how terrified I was, being dragged around by armed men without any idea what was going on.” Mei admitted. Even now, years of therapy and convalescence later, the fear from those days felt as clear as if it had just happened, long after most of the details had faded. “Eventually, my father managed to find me. He sent his security forces to rescue me, without waiting for the police - he's always so reckless when it comes to me…” she reminisced, smiling sadly at the memory of her father being read the riot act by his friends for his ill-advised rush to her rescue.

“And then…” Mei took a deep, shuddering breath. What had happened next was something she still struggled with. More than anything else that had happened during that terrible experience, it continued to haunt her. But if it would be enough to get through Kiana’s guilt and self recriminations… well. That would be more than worth it. 

“Right before my father's men went in… something happened.” She explained, clamping down with no small degree of annoyance on the tremor that tried to sneak into her voice. “Even now, I don't know what happened that day. No matter how hard I tried during the investigation, I couldn't recall a single detail. All I know is that when they found me…” 

Mei closed her eyes for a moment, but forced them open. “I killed them.” She confessed. “Twenty grown, armed men, and I killed them as an eight year old girl. I don't know how I did it. All I remember…” She trailed off, eyes distant. Bodies, still, unmoving bodies everywhere, and Mei almost convinced herself they were just asleep until she saw -  “I still remember the bodies. That's the only part I ever remember.”  

“Raiden-senpai, that's…” Kiana trailed off, staring at her friend in shock. “I… I'm so sorry. I never knew…” She haltingly tried to explain.

Mei just smiled sadly. “It isn't exactly something I speak of often.” She pointed out. “Out of all our friends, Kimiko is the only one I've told about all of this.” Slowly, Mei let go, settling her hands on Kiana’s shoulders as her empathetic gaze met her friend's own. “Do you understand it now, Kiana-san?” She asked gently. “I'm not unaware of what you must have been through in the past. I know how you must feel - like what you've done before makes you worthless, that you'll never be a good person again, but you aren't a bad person.” She said firmly. “Kiana-san… I don't blame you. For any of it. And if anyone does? Once again, I have lawyers.”

Kiana stared back at her friend, lost in thought as she studied Mei’s eyes. There was no deceit in that purple gaze - just understanding and compassion in ways Kiana had seen few times before. Certainly not from anyone save her father and his friends. 

Some part of the young Kaslana refused to believe it. The tiny, withdrawn child that had never really left that place looked at the girl she'd come to care about so much saying she didn't hate her and simply could not believe it. Liar, she's a liar, she'll hate me she has to everyone hates me and they should -

Another part dismissed it as too good to be true. There's no way in hell some random rich kid actually doesn't mind all that. The cynical resignation Kiana had developed as she wandered the world alone scoffed breezily. Maybe she says that right now, but the moment she can she'll be asking the police to rescue her from the crazy lady. 

It kept going, thoughts, feelings, bitter experiences and painful lessons whizzing through Kiana’s mind, all of them instinctively denying the other girl's attempt to reach out to her. Underneath it all, backing every deprecating thought, scarring memory and bitter rejection, was a single, underlying sensation; the wall of emptiness and pain that had been a part of Kiana for years. 

A belief that Kiana had had hammered into her at the age of twelve, when she had woken up amidst a sea of flame and remembered what she really was. A belief that had endured throughout the years she had wandered alone, praying endlessly for nothing more than to see her father again but convinced she never would.

The soul-deep, weary exhaustion of knowing that nothing good would ever happen to her - and that she deserved nothing else, because the world would be a better place if she had not been born.

But… there was another part of her too. A tiny, fragile feeling unfurling in her chest, one Kiana hadn't really felt in so long she couldn't quite recognise it, that argued that maybe, just maybe…

A kindly old merchant in the town by her home, always with a twinkle in her eyes, a piece of candy in her pockets, and a story with which to regale the tiny, bandage covered girl waiting for her father to finish his business. The last time she had seen her, calmly ushering the terrified child into an old tunnel as she and a gathering of infuriated elders furiously told off the shame faced Valkyrie who had the sheer audacity to demand they tell her the location of a mere child without so much as a by your leave -

A pair of strange women, one red haired, the other blue, never far apart even as they bickered endlessly. She'd been terrified of them, part of her still was, but never once did they hold it against, her fearful silence filled by calm, measured explanations and energetic, foul mouthed trades in equal measure. The memory of the relieved smiles on their faces the day she finally worked up the courage to timidly ask a question regarding one of the machines they'd been tinkering with stood out clearly, as did the chaos that had ensued as the redhead had thrown her tools aside without a thought to boast of her success.

 A fellow mercenary, older than her but still with a spark of compassion most of her elder colleagues had long thrown aside in favour of money, who wordlessly walked over to the nervous child staring at the job counter and asked if she was there to post a job or ask for one. He'd been the one to tell her about the tradition of using aliases, to teach her how not to get ripped off, and more importantly, that there would always be some jobs no amount of money could excuse taking. They still sent each other messages over the Mercnet sometimes; the gutbuster of a story that had begun with a laconic message reading “ran into your old man” was saved in as many places as she could.

An unassuming man who radiated sheer power in senses she hadn't had words to name then, smiling kindly at her with eyes full of so, so much understanding she'd started to cry, gently reaching down to pick her up from where she knelt hopelessly in the snow. Countless times he'd helped her, taking time out of his impossibly full schedule to tell her about what she was and what it meant, to explain all of the countless things only the two of them could perceive, patiently helping her work through her confused, fragmented thoughts to something that made sense. The man who taught her how to endure the waking nightmare of her existence: the one who gently, painstakingly helped her to believe that maybe, just maybe, she could bear being alive after all.

And most of all, the most precious memory by far; a sharp faced, blue eyed man, his white hair in a ponytail and an easy going smile ever on his face. His eyes hid an ocean of pain, guilt and self hatred she had witnessed all but consume him, but even at his lowest, he had forced himself to move forward for the sake of his daughter. She would never forget it, the moment he had given her the greatest gift she could ever have had; the sight of the first time he smiled at her etched into her very being, just like the way his voice sounded when he called her by name for the first time.

So maybe…

Just maybe…

Even something like me can still have good things?

As she stared into Mei’s eyes, it finally clicked for Kiana. Oh, right. She thought, blinking as the feeling in her chest exploded outwards. That's what hope feels like.

“...You're not lying?” She asked, her voice quiet in a fragile, tinny way she had never let anyone save her father and the people he trusted with his life hear.

“I'm not.” Mei confirmed. 

“You really aren't angry at me?” She questioned, carefully testing the water like she was making sure a frozen river wouldn't collapse beneath her.

Mei hummed a little, thinking. “No… not really. It's not even as if you lied to us - we were the ones who assumed wrongly.”

Kiana stared in disbelief, only for it to slowly fade as it finally began to settle in that this was real. With a gulp, she asked one, final question. “... you want me to stay?” She asked, a quiet, awed hope filling her voice.

Mei simply smiled at her. “Of course I do, Kiana-san. What sort of friend would I be otherwise?” Stepping back, she carefully reached a hand forward. “Kiana-san… you don't have to do this alone anymore. So please… let me help you?” She asked, her smile never leaving her face.

…Kiana was not going to cry. She hadn't cried in years, she was not going to do it now. She wasn't. 

… Ah shit, I'm tearing up. 

Kiana flailed for a way to hide how much the last few minutes were affecting her, and instinctively reached for one of the first of the ancient Kaslana techniques she'd learned at her father's feet;

“Remember, Kiana - if you ever want to stop someone from seeing you lose your cool, the best way is always to tell a joke so they're too busy laughing to notice!”

Let it never be said that Siegfried Kaslana didn't try. Even if the value of his teachings was… questionable.

“J-jeez, Mei-senpai.” She choked out, smiling wider than she had in years as she took Mei’s hand. “If you wanted to make me fall for you, you didn't need to go so far! You could've just asked~”

Mei’s eyes widened as she blushed furiously, even as she had to cover her mouth to stifle a fit of giggles. “Really, Kiana-san! How are you just the most shameless person about things like this?” She exclaimed, but her exasperation couldn't hide the joyful tint to her voice.

Kiana was using her name, now, too, after all.

Kiana chuckled to herself, even as she seized the opportunity to discretely rub away the threatening water in her eyes. “Heh, what can I say?” She said, her voice once again the cheery menace Mei knew so well. “I'm a girl who knows what she likes!” 

The two of them took a moment, then, as they both waited out their respective laughter, soaking in the surprising ease they both felt now that they'd finally shared some of their secrets. To her immense relief, Kiana felt her self-control returning - the all too familiar turmoil and incoherent thoughts finally settling into something she could manage again. She knew it wasn't over just yet - she had always been a little unstable for a while after a breakdown like that, and she doubted that had changed in the year or two since she'd had one - but she at least felt like she could think straight again. And for some reason, it felt… easier, somehow, to keep her composure. Huh. Wonder what that’s all about. Eh, I ain't complaining.

Kiana let the moment last a little longer, before reluctantly breaking the silence. “So… what now?” She asked curiously, tilting her head at Mei. “We can't just leave Kaneko hangin’, and I don't know how much time we have.”

Mei frowned, reminded of the dire crisis they still faced. “We certainly can't. We have to find her, fast.” She looked to Kiana, eyes serious. “Kiana-san, do you think you can track down Asakura-san?” She asked, slowly coming up with a saner plan than Kiana’s reckless charge.

The young Siberian frowned thoughtfully, going over what she knew of her target. “If I had to guess? She probably never left the school building. Remember that music room she mentioned yesterday?”

“Ah, yes.” Mei confirmed, confused. “Why do you… wait, do you think that's where they are?”

Kiana nodded, even as she went over her thoughts for anything she might’ve missed. “She said it herself - she's basically the only one who uses it. Isolated, out of the way of any students, and somewhere she's familiar with. Normally I'd think it couldn't be this easy, but…” Kiana hesitated a moment, but… she had trusted Mei with far greater things now. “I think I might know what's wrong with Asakura, something that I've seen back home, and if I'm right? She probably isn't able to think coherently right now.” She admitted heavily.

Mei nodded, solemnly. She'd already come to suspect Asakura was not fully herself; there weren't many other explanations. “That isn’t far from here. We can probably make it in a few minutes, faster if we hurry.”

Kiana suddenly became nervous, staring uncertainly at her friend. “Uh… are you… sure about that, Mei-senpai? I mean, it's just - this is probably gonna end in a fight if we go ourselves and-” 

Her rambling was ended before it properly took off by Mei grabbing her hand again, squeezing it reassuringly. “Yes, I'm sure. I'll be calling the police with your suspicions, but we don't have much time - we can't wait for them. And besides…” she added with a smile, reaching into her backpack. “I've come prepared.” She announced, drawing forth…

Kiana stared in bafflement at the carved wooden hilt that poked out of Mei’s bag. “Is that a sword?” She asked blankly, before her disbelieving eyes snapped to Mei’s own. “You brought a sword!?” She demanded, incredulous.

Mei smiled in embarrassment, shaking her head. “Not quite, I'm afraid. This is a bokken - a type of wooden replica of a proper blade used in sword practice. I started bringing mine with me recently, just in case.” Her face grew serious. “It isn't sharp, but it's still more than solidly built enough to cause serious harm. If Asakura-san tries to attack us when we confront her, rest assured that I'm prepared.” Mei didn't enjoy boasting about herself, but she was a student of the Hokushin Itto-Ryu, one of the most lethal swordsmanship forms in Japan. She was entirely capable of protecting herself; that was the very reason she'd studied the blade for so long.

Kiana, though, still wasn't certain, and was about to argue when she felt a twinge from her senses. Eh? Blinking to herself, Kiana checked again, sure she couldn't have sensed what she thought she just had - and yet, her perceptions remained stubbornly clear. On a familiar point on Mei’s lower back, Honkai Energy had begun to gather, weakly stirring as it slowly flowed throughout her friend's body, in a pattern intimately familiar to Kiana but distinct from any she'd felt before.

Somehow, someway, Raiden Mei had a Natural Stigmata.

WHAT.

Kiana gazed in disbelief, before mentally throwing her hands in the air and deciding that this might as well happen. The past ten minutes had already seen pigs fly and hell freeze over - why not a magically appearing Natural Stigmata with no prior sign it existed? Kiana could drive herself to distraction over how she had missed this later - her brain was too damn tired for this right now.

Still, that solved her biggest fears. The Stigmata was weak, fitfully stirring to life as if it had both freshly awakened and was absolutely starved of Honkai Energy, but it was fully active - already, Mei had likely begun to notice the enhancement of her physical abilities. She doubted she'd be able to fight high grade Zombies, but Mei could at the very least fend off Asakura if the worst happened.

“Alright then.” She grudgingly agreed, sighing as she nodded. “But I go first, alright? I'll let you try to talk her down, but I'll be the one doing the hard bit if there's a fight.” She warned, eyes serious - already, Kiana had started to shift into “work mode”, her usual hyperactivity buried under practiced focus. 

“Then I will respect your superior experience.” Mei said formally, bowing in acknowledgement. Kiana felt that was a little much, but she was too busy workshopping the impending fight to waste time teasing Mei right now. Even if it was tempting. “Well then, we should get going. No time to waste. Let's go - I'll contact the police on the way.”

“Yes ma'am!” Kiana saluted, before an irreverent grin split her face as one final joke occurred. “And hey, at least we've got you for any hospital bills, right?” She snarked, finally letting the more morbid side of her sense of humour off the leash.

Judging by how Mei exploded into a fit of giggles, it had gone over well. Success! Huh, maybe the old man's joke tips weren't all terrible… nah, coincidence. 

Kiana grinned back at Mei as she finally managed to stop laughing. “Honestly, Kiana-san! You're incorrigible, you know that, right?”

“Learned from the best!” Kiana declared proudly, hands on her hips. That earned her another laugh, Mei shaking her head in amusement as she turned to keep walking. Kiana smiled softly. Mei really was an amazing person, she knew, to take in the mess that the young Kaslana was and decide to be her friend for no reason save because she needed one. Ever since that day four years ago, when her life fell apart, Kiana had just… accepted, that she probably wasn't going to have many people in her life. That her father and his friends were okay with who she was - what she was - was already a miracle. But Mei… she'd seen almost all of what made Kiana herself, and only flinched because she hated the idea of anyone having to live like that. 

She really was an incredibly kind person, behind that aloof guise she had at school. Maybe that was why a small part of Kiana wanted to choke the life out of the thief and TAKE IT BACK  maybe even tell her the truth about -

Kiana's arms raised up. 

She hadn't been the one to do that. 

Kiana froze. She stopped moving. She stopped breathing. She stopped thinking. In a single instant, all thought and feeling fled her, every single ounce of focus redirected into one, single task; not moving.

SHE was furious at her for that, Kiana knew. Could sense the torrent of black rage and hatred that suddenly flooded from her Core, her presence slamming into the bars of the cage deep within the Kaslana heir’s mind over and over, pulses of agony ripping through her mind with each strike as she stared at Mei. Kiana hated it, hated the sensation of someone else looking through her eyes - but she couldn't think about that. Couldn't think about anything, feel anything, or she would use it against her.

“Don't think you can stop me, vessel.” She hissed, her voice fuelled with a level of hate Kiana had only felt a bare handful of times before. “I'll rip that thieving bitch in half myself!” 

Kiana stayed there, frozen. Time felt like it was moving at a crawl, her awareness of her surroundings shrunk until all she could hear was the pounding of her heart. Her heart, hers, not anyone else's. She clung onto that. 

A week. One week, two days, and nine hours. That was how long it had been since she had last spoken. It had been the longest period of time Kiana's mind had been fully her own since she was twelve. She should've known it would never last.

Stupid. So very stupid of her, to let herself lose her grip on her emotions like that. What had she been thinking, dropping her guard so thoroughly? It was sheer luck Kiana had even caught herself - sheer luck she'd regained her senses before she could seize the opportunity in full. As it was, Kiana’s arms had already gone numb - freezing emptiness crawling up her limbs as she fought not to lose ground.

“Kiana-san?” A voice asked, worry filling it. 

Her heart almost stopped.

“Kiana-san, is everything alright?” Mei asked, turning from the end of the hallway. “You stopped rather suddenly.” she continued, her worried eyes meeting Kiana’s. The Kaslana wanted to scream, to tell her that she should be worrying about herself right now, that she should be turning around and running from the monster as fast as she could - but she couldn't. Couldn't open her mouth, couldn't blink - could do nothing, except dig in her heels and shove the tidal wave of homicidal rage flowing out of the Core of Void back.

Mei walked closer, oblivious to the danger she was in. “Kiana-san?” she asked, growing more and more concerned for her incredible, yet so very pained friend. There was no answer; only increasingly rapid breathing as Kiana stared past her without any sign she had heard a single word. Mei's eyes widened as she realised that somehow, Kiana had entered a violent panic attack. (In a sense, she wasn't that far off - her friend certainly would be locked in a panic attack if she was able to spare any mental bandwidth at the moment.) 

“Kiana?” She called more firmly, reaching a hand out only to stop a few inches away, her need to reach out to her friend through whatever her mind was putting her through warring with the knowledge she could easily set off some violent response if she unintentionally startled her out of whatever she was seeing. 

So focused on Kiana’s frozen face was she, she never noticed how her arms twitched violently from where they were half raised at her side.

She never should've come here. Should've run the moment she realised what the others were scheming. Damn how disappointed they'd all be, damn whether she was happy or not. It wasn't worth it. She was a time bomb, a constant danger to everyone and everything around her, and like the idiot she was, she'd let herself forget that.

She had to leave. She had to get out of here, run now - run as fast and far as she could before it was too late - 

“Kiana!” Mei cried in panic as the young Kaslana's body jerked, stumbling forward as her arms continued shaking. The girl had begun hyperventilating, eyes staring unseeing at something far in the distance. Mei almost leapt forward, held back only by her uncertainty of whether Kiana would be okay with being touched - only for her hesitation to evaporate as a choked sob escaped her friend. Without a word, Mei rushed over, pulling Kiana into a hug as she quickly went over all the tricks her psychiatrist had taught her.

“It's okay, Kiana-san. I'm right here. You're safe; I swear it.” She spoke gently, keeping her voice low. She needed Kiana to respond - to give her something to ground herself with, and remember where she actually was. Mei knew a few ways to do that - but they wouldn't work until Kiana consciously recognised she was there. So until she responded to Mei’s presence, she would stay there, and hope her words would offer her friend any relief from the hell her mind was trapped in.

Because of that, she didn't see how a sickly amber began to leak into Kiana’s right eye; like toxic runoff tainting once clear water.

Technically speaking, despite her lack of knowledge regarding the actual problem, what Mei was doing was exactly the right move - more than anything, what was needed in a situation such as Kiana’s was an anchor, something to focus on other than her tirade of abuse and threats. That would give her something to hold onto, a foothold as she struggled to regain control of her body.

On the other hand, coming closer to the body a homicidal madwoman was currently screeching about using to kill her slowly and painfully was the exact opposite of what Kiana wanted her to be doing at the moment. 

Nonononononono! Kiana chanted to herself in panic, desperately trying to escape Mei’s grasp. It was futile - her jerky, uncoordinated movements just made her friend more determined to help her.

“Yeeessss!” She hissed in delight, wicked glee flowing forth as the current subject of her loathing stubbornly kept her grip, holding Kiana tight to prevent the Kaslana's shaking limbs from giving way and hurting her. She redoubled her efforts, slowly bending the bars of her prison as she remained fixated on the completely unaware Raiden. 

It felt like an eternity, for Kiana; an eternity and an instant, time ceasing to hold meaning as her soul fought for her life. All she could hear were two things - her, as spiteful as she had always been, screaming furiously at her defiance as she raved about the torment she would visit on the young girl for daring to oppose her; and Mei, simply there, a comforting, solid hold and a steady stream of calm, whispered reassurance.

It was… warm, strangely enough.

Slowly, Kiana began to gain ground, her limbs slowly losing their stiffness as they once more obeyed her will. She screamed in outrage, but Kiana did not bother listening; she'd heard every threat and promise of suffering a thousand times, and she rarely had any new material. For a moment, it looked like, once again, her return had been thwarted.

And then - a single errant thought, amidst the feverish delirium of a battle for one's soul. A wish; the simple desire to return the soft grasp that she could still feel.

Kiana instantly cut off the thought, but it was too late. She seized on the chance, throwing all of her remaining energy into it as she reached for the half formed feeling and twisted. Before Kiana could stop it, her arms jerked up, reaching around Mei’s shoulders and leaving her hand limply resting on her friend's back.

NO!

“AHAHAHAHA! AT LAST!” She giggled exultantly, reaching forth even as Kiana, surging with desperation fueled strength, dragged her back into her prison. “Farewell, vessel. Victory is mine!” 

And with that, just as Kiana panickedly grabbed the last of the Honkai Energy raging through her body and forced it down, she forth and grabbed hold of -

… Nothing?

“... where is it?” She asked, her joy rapidly giving way to hysterical rage. “Where is it!? I can sense it around that girl, it should be right there and it isn't where is it what did the thief do where is it where is it whereisitwhereisitWHEREISIT!?”

Kiana’s head felt like it was about to burst, her eardrums feeling like they would rupture from the demented shrieking in her head - but she had long gotten used to pain. Without giving any thought to what had just happened, she grabbed the opportunity of her distraction with all of her strength, and started to force the cage within her mind shut once again. 

She screamed in fury, raging at having been foiled once again. “NO! ACCURSED CHEATERS - HOW COULD YOU HAVE-!?” And then, suddenly, she went silent.

Her next words weren't filled with wrath. Instead, they contained something Kiana was far, far more scared of hearing from her curse; intrigue. “Hold on, is that…? It is, yet it's so faint. But how could that connection be there already when it isn't here… unless…” And slowly, steadily, she began to laugh, low chuckles rising into manic cackles. “Hahaha… haha, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH, THIS IS RICH! THE SHEER FOOLISHNESS! AND THE POOR GIRL DOESN'T EVEN REALISE! This is brilliant! Oh, but humans never cease to amuse… I’m grateful you found this girl, vessel. It would have been such a shame to miss the show.”

Even as the numbness slowly receded and her mind and body once more became her own, Kiana’s heart froze. She knew from long, painful experience that anything she found so funny was nothing but bad news. “What are you talking about? What do you want from Mei!?” She demanded, even though she had long since learned there was no point in words where she was concerned.

“And spoil the surprise?” She mocked, laughter in her voice. “Oh, I wouldn't dream of it! You win this time, vessel; I'm more than willing to let this play out by itself. Farewell for now…” As she spoke, her presence slowly began to fade, the Honkai she could muster from her dormant Core expended as she was locked away in the deepest, darkest shadows of Kiana’s mind yet again. 

But right as she faded to nothing but a whisper, she made one last remark; determined as ever to get the last word.

“I wonder what wonderful dreams you'll have tonight~”

And then, finally… it was over.

Kiana let out a strangled gasp, going ramrod straight as the terrifying absence of sensation faded away, leaving only a lingering numbness in her limbs. Then, she collapsed, a series of choked sobs escaping her throat.

“Kiana? Kiana-san, can you hear me?” Mei worriedly asked, drawing back to study Kiana’s face as she instantly noticed the change in her friend's state. “Kiana-san, do you know where we are? You don't need to use words; just nod or shake your head.” She said softly, gently trying to coax a response out of her incoherent companion. 

But Kiana couldn't bring herself to answer, couldn't even stop the tears flowing because she could still feel it, could still feel that awful, aching pressure at the back of her head that had been there since she was born - the horrible wrongness from her body and mind not fully belonging to her that had been a constant, inescapable part of her even when she had lost all memory of her origin.

And it was even worse, this time, because not only was there the lingering, violating sensation of her body obeying someone else, but she had been interested in Mei. Mei, the first friend she'd ever had, the innocent, impossibly kind girl who didn't deserve having to know about the horrors lurking in the dark, had the attention of one of the most dangerous and terrible monsters to ever live, and Kiana didn't know what even attracted her interest to begin with, let alone how to stop it.

She really was a failure.

Neither of the two girls had much attention to spare for their surroundings, at this point. Kiana had only barely gotten her feet back on solid ground, her mind consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts as she both struggled against her own lack of self worth and furiously tried to decipher her prisoner's ominous words. Mei, for her part, was devoting the entirety of her focus to Kiana, patiently working through everything she'd learned in her years of therapy to try to guide her friend back to the present.

As a consequence of this, neither of them had noticed the person who had been slowly walking towards them for the past twenty seconds.

Kiana took in a series of deep, shuddering breaths, slowly regaining her wits as her mind settled down. “M-Mei-senpai, you…”

“Yes, Kiana-san? What is it?” Her friend quietly replied, suppressing the surge of relief at seeing Kiana respond to her surroundings again. “I'm right here.”

“I-I'm sorry, I didn't… you need to… you're in…” Kiana rambled, unable to quite finish a sentence through her gasping breaths. Need to warn Mei, need to tell her she's in danger - but how? How do I tell her, she already knows I'm a headcase if I tell her I just sound delusional on top of the rest - but I can't wait, she said it would happen without her doing anything - need to prove I'm not just crazy think think THINK Kaslana!

Suddenly, Kiana’s senses, still slightly foggy from the truly astounding level of mental stress she had endured over the span of only ten minutes, surged. Feeling a spike of Honkai Energy behind her, Kiana jerked in surprise, moving to turn and see whatever it was -

The last thing Kiana felt was an explosion of pure agony from her back. Then, everything went black.

[HR][/HR]

Mei woke slowly, blinking sluggishly as she woke bit by bit. The first thing she noticed was that she was not in her own bed. This was not entirely unheard of - after her abduction, Mei had more than once had nightmares severe enough to see her waking up on the floor after falling off her bed in her restless sleep - but it still caused a feeling of mild annoyance at the cramps she would surely feel as a result.

The second thing she noticed was that she was sitting against a wall. This was significantly more confusing for her, because Mei did not sleep near the walls of her room and even at her worst, she had never been one for sleep walking. Groaning slightly in annoyed confusion, she made to pick herself off the floor and decipher what had possessed her to sleep in such a strange position. 

The third thing she noticed was that she couldn't move.

Understandably more than a little alarmed by this realisation, Mei tried to shake herself free, but could not - her hands jerking her to a halt as they pulled on something behind her. Shaking her head as she tried to clear the fog of sleep and focus, Mei tried to remember what she had been doing -

It hit her all at once.

“Kiana!” She screamed in anxious fear, her eyes finally clearing as she whipped her head around the room, desperate for any sign of her foreign friend. 

Instead, she found the other friend she had been looking for.

Kaneko hung limply across the room, her arms tied to the leg of a heavy piano much as Mei realised her own must be. Her eyes were closed, looking as if she was asleep. Her face was a riot of emotions; fear, pain, regret, despair - yet strangely enough, the emotion that stood out most on her expression was… grief. Mei found herself wanting to ask her friend what was happening in her mind, to get an explanation as to what led to such complex emotions in a situation like this… but Kaneko wouldn't be able to answer.

Even if her friend was somehow still alive, Mei knew with a seizing pain in her chest that the gash in Kaneko's throat was deep enough to see to it that she never spoke again.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind her, a set of heavy, unsteady footsteps sounding out nearby. Mei turned her head, trying to get a look at who was approaching. 

She wished she hadn't. 

“O-oh, h-hi there Mei-s-san! You're finally awake!” Asakura Miyuki cheerily announced as she dropped an unconscious Kiana to the ground, her merry tone a stark contrast to the streaks of blood covering her face and uniform. She smiled widely, causing the glowing, geometric lines of pink on her face to shift and widen like cracks as they ran to her blank, unfocused eyes. “Rina-chan was right about you not sleeping enough. You were so sleepy you almost missed your own death!”

[HR][/HR]

AN: So uh. Some of you were wondering about the meaning of this fic's title, I recall. 

… I've been waiting for this reveal since I started this story all the way back in February. I hope I did this moment justice, and that the questions Kiana’s thoughts, actions and situation raised have been given a satisfying answer.

In the next chapter, we will reach the climax of this first arc. It's denouement will follow; I expect it to take no more than two chapters. I am already beginning to work on my desired course for the second of the three arcs taking place here in Chiba Academy; it is my hope I will not suffer any delays from working out how to handle it all.

Until then - See you next time.

Chapter Text

“Asakura-san…?” Mei murmured to herself in horror, unable to look away from Kaneko's old friend. The other girl's appearance was terrifying - her skin unnaturally pale, lacking any colour save the glowing pink lines that crawled up her neck, reaching for her eyes. Her gaze was distant and cloudy, as if she wasn't truly seeing what was in front of her, and the smile she was attempting to give Mei was a broken and empty thing. “You… what happened to you?” The Raiden heiress asked, barely holding back a scream as she tried and failed to process what had turned a shy, kind young girl into - into this.

Miyuki smiled, her deranged grin causing the lines to twist and contort. The more Mei looked at them, the less she could convince herself they were some form of tattoo or body art - the crawling, sickening pink sheen seeming more like the other girl's skin was cracking apart. “Oh, nothing much really! I just got fucked in a back alley by a group of thugs and nobody cared!” Miyuki said, her airy tone carrying a cheer that had nothing to do with the utterly horrific events she'd just described.

Mei flinched in horror as Miyuki spoke, her eyes wide. Had Kaneko's friend really thought…? “No, Asakura-san - of course people cared!” She protested, momentarily forgetting that she spoke to a murderer because that wasn't right. “Kaneko's been worrying about you day and night, all of us have! And I know your other friends from the music and acting clubs were as well! I - who on earth told you nobody cared about what happened to you!? That's nonsense -”

“None of them did anything.” Mei found herself falling silent, her words dying in her throat at the quiet, broken tone in Asakura's voice. The murderous girl stared listlessly, her gaze fixed somewhere over Mei’s shoulder rather than on her. “Nobody ever came to check on me after it happened. Did you know that?” She asked, tilting her head in what seemed to be honest curiosity. “My parents are overseas, and the company won't let them come home. But I thought at least my friends would be there… but none of them ever came. I was just… alone. Ever since. Not even Rina-chan ever came to see me…” Asakura muttered, staring at nothing at all.

As terrified as she was of her insane peer, Mei couldn't help the twinge of horrified sympathy that she felt at those words. “Kaneko didn't know, Asakura-san.” She explained softly, desperately hoping at least some of what she was saying would pierce through the fog of whatever had driven Asakura to madness. “Neither did I. We didn't find out until Monday.”

But Asakura didn't respond. Mei couldn't even tell if she'd heard a single word of what she'd said as she kept speaking, her voice devoid of life. “At first I think I thought it was my fault. I wasn't thinking much, back then I mostly just wanted to die -” Mei’s eyes widened in abject horror at those words, but didn't get a chance to speak - “but I remember it making sense that nobody ever showed up. Why would anyone want anything to do with me anyway?” She mused, tilting her head slightly. “But then… then, I started thinking about it some more.”

“I was a little scared at first.” She admitted casually, wandering over to the rack of instruments on the other side of the room. “I didn't know where all those thoughts came from… but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, y'know?” She remarked, running a hand over a battered, but clearly well loved trumpet. “None of them cared about it when I was hurt, so why should anyone care if I hurt them?”

Before Mei could respond and try to point out the many holes in that line of reasoning, Asakura whirled around, a wide, delirious grin all but splitting her face in half. “And that's exactly what I did!” She announced cheerily, her voice suddenly regaining its energy. “The first couple times were harder - that girl from the Taekwondo club who joked about me being a slut put up one heck of a fight -” Mei dizzily noted that she wasn't entirely sure she felt very sorry for that one “- but then I started getting this weird feeling, like I was getting stronger, right?” Asakura explained, her voice speeding up as she all but bounced in place.

“And then I started to figure out how to do it properly, so I could start taking it slow, just like they did to me!” Suddenly, Asakura pouted, the expression so utterly out of place Mei felt like she might’ve laughed, were it not for the bone deep horror filling her mind as she realised exactly what the madwoman was describing. “And then all of a sudden school started, and suddenly everyone decided they cared again!” She complained, stomping a foot in childish anger. “And the weird foreign girl started chasing me! That punch the other day hurt!” She yelled, glaring at the Kaslana heiress, still unconscious. 

Mei glanced worriedly at her friend. It had been a good ten minutes, and Kiana still showed no sign of stirring. Mei still wasn't sure what had happened - one probably she’d been focused on trying to help Kiana through a violent panic attack. The next, she'd heard Kiana suddenly cry out in pain, only to be knocked unconscious herself before she could react. Damn it all, why did I stop being aware of my surroundings? We knew she was probably nearby! Mei berated herself, desperately looking between her friend and Asakura as the crazed girl ranted about some encounter between them that the Raiden heiress really didn't care about at the moment. Kiana looked alright, but Mei couldn't see much from where her friend lay collapsed on the ground. Oh Kiana-san, please be alright…

Suddenly, Asakura's tirade reached a fever point. “- and thanks to that, I couldn't even walk straight for a couple days!” She shouted, a terrifying rage clear in her expression. “And that's why, I think I'll give you a taste of your own medicine.” Asakura hissed, the sound coming from her throat completely unlike anything a human voice should produce. Mei’s eyes widened in horror as Asakura reached over, rummaging through the storage rack and drawing out a long, thin metal rod that she tore in half, leaving a jagged, sharp spike in her hands. “You won't miss your kidneys much, right?” Asakura asked, suddenly cheery once again as she smiled widely at the unconscious Siberian. “You only need the one, and besides! You won't be needing them for much longer~” She announced in a sing-song voice, slowly stepping over to Kiana.

Mei’s eyes widened in terror as a gasp of fear tore out of her chest. Desperately, she racked her mind for something - anything - to get Asakura's attention off of Kiana and back to herself. “But why the others!?” She blurted out, her strident call filling the room.

“Eh?” Asakura replied, turning to face her again, the crazed expression on her face giving way to a look of polite confusion. “Sorry, Raiden-san, I'm not sure what you meant by that.” She admitted, carelessly toying with the spike in her hand.

Mei took a deep breath, her relief at having temporarily secured Kiana’s safety warring with the building, crawling fear that had been growing every time Asakura looked her way. “I can understand why you killed that girl for saying such an awful thing, even if I disagree with it.” She said firmly, some instinct warning her that completely denouncing Asakura would go badly. “And if the others were similarly horrible to you, I can understand that as well. But why did you then go on to hurt the others? Kaneko-san, Miyazaki-san, the rest of the music club - they were your friends, Asakura-san!” She pleaded, staring straight into the killer's eyes despite the dread surging through her. “Why did you kill your own friends?”

“Fri…ends…?” the other girl muttered, confused. Then, she started blinking rapidly, staring at where Kaneko lay limply against the wall in bafflement. “They… were my friends… right? And then… no, they didn’t. Rina-chan would never. So why… why did I…?” She murmured, seemingly in a daze. “And then… yesterday… she said… and… Did I tell her to leave? But why…” Asakura said to herself, before suddenly stumbling, barely catching herself with one hand on a table. “I don't… what's happening to…?” For a single moment, lucidity began to creep back into her eyes, and Mei felt a wild surge of hope -

And then Asakura hissed in pain, clutching her head, and Mei felt the hope die as the other girl's eyes glazed over once more. “Y-yeah, that's right…” she muttered, hysterical giggles escaping her as her mad grin slowly returned. “Th-this world is awful, so I'll just… send them on to the next! That's what it was!” She rambled to herself, slowly breaking into a loud, shattered laugh as she covered her face.

And then, without warning, she threw her head back, her neck craning at an angle Mei knew with certainty wasn't natural. As she fixed her gaze on the Raiden heiress, revealing the pink lines now reaching her eyes and crawling onto her cheeks, Mei felt her heart stop at the empty gaze the madwoman fixed her with. “Oh yeah. Wasn't I supposed to kill you?” Asakura mused casually, as if she was simply remembering she had forgotten an old coat. “Yeah… that was what I was doing… oh dear!” She said cheerily, turning around to face her fully. “I'm sorry, Raiden-san - I completely forgot! How silly of me. Well, I suppose we should get on with it!” She said airily, walking slowly towards the frozen teen as she lightly flexed her hand - finally allowing Mei to witness how her fingers had been warped into pale, amber like claws covered in the same glowing lines as her face. “After all, Rina-chan will be lonely if she's all alone in the next world! So I need to make sure you and the others join her as soon as I can.” She said, nodding to herself, smiling in satisfaction as if she had solved some deep philosophical quandary rather than her plans to commit mass murder.

Mei couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even breathe. All she could do was stare into the empty, unseeing gaze of the madwoman before her as she slowly realised that she was about to die.

“Aw, don't worry so much, Raiden-san!” Asakura said cheerily, smiling happily as she slowly reached towards Mei’s eyes. “It won't hurt a bit! Well, after the first minute or so.” And with that, she began to stretch her clawed fingers outwards, the jagged, bloody edges filling Mei’s vision as she opened her mouth to scream -

A hand clamped onto Asakura's shoulder. “Wha-”

“Back the fuck OFF, you psychopathic bitch.”

The murderous teen didn't even get a chance to react. Before she even processed who had just spoken, she was dragged backwards, hauled off her feet by impossible strength as the other girl whirled around and hurled her across the room. With a deafening crash, Asakura was sent flying through one of the tables, before slamming against the wall with enough force to crack the bricks underneath the old drywall. 

Mei stared with widened eyes at the one who had just saved her life. “Kiana-san?” She asked in dawning awe.

Her friend didn't turn to look at her, her gaze staying firmly on her opponent - but she was angled just enough for Mei to see the confident grin on her face. “Hey, Mei-senpai. Miss me~?” 

[HR][/HR]

The first sensation Kiana felt as she awoke was pain.

That wasn't unusual, really - it had been what she woke up to every day for the past four years, if not longer, a constant, low ache spreading from her chest; a reminder of what she was. Some days it was barely noticeable, to the point it felt barely worse than bad heartburn. On the bad days, the numbness in her extremities was the only part of her that didn't hurt.

This… definitely wasn't one of her good days.

“Fuuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkk……” Kiana wheezed to herself, an old instinctive urge to keep quiet the only reason the word hadn't come out at the top of her lungs. Okay, owowowowow. That one's bad, oh boy owowowOW.  She rambled to herself, her stream of consciousness momentarily refusing to focus on any one subject. After a few seconds, though, Kiana gathered her composure - she'd had far, far worse than this. Oh boy, I'm not gonna enjoy tomorrow morning… the heck happened? She wondered, trying to push through the haze filling her mind. It's… Friday, right? I'm… I was supposed to talk to Mei later, with Kaneko… yeah, that's right. So why am I -

“- Asakura-san, of course people cared! Kaneko's been worrying about you day and night-”

And instantly, Kiana remembered how she ended up in her current situation. 

Her reaction was, in her esteemed opinion, an entirely rational and justified response.

KIANA KASLANA YOU INCOMPETENT, SMOOTHBRAINED MORON, WHAT THE FLYING FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

Her reaction, for the record, was to mentally slam her head into a steel wall in shame.

YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME! A SERIAL KILLER! A FUCKING SERIAL KILLER WHO PROBABLY HAS HONKAI CORRUPTION ON THE LOOSE AROUND CIVILIANS, AND YOU PICK NOW TO HAVE A BREAKDOWN!? Kiana furiously screamed into the void, desperately resisting the urge to open a portal for the sole purpose of strangling herself for her own idiocy. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN MEI KILLED BECAUSE OF WHAT, YOUR HURT FEELINGS!? AND THEN YOU ALMOST LET HER OUT, AND NOW NOT ONLY HAVE YOU ONCE AGAIN PUT THE ENTIRETY OF HUMANITY AT RISK BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T MANAGE BASIC FUCKING SELF CONTROL, YOU SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO LET A RANDOM TEENAGER SNEAK UP ON YOU, GIVE HER A HOSTAGE, AND GET INJURED BEFORE THE FIGHT EVEN STARTED! HOW ARE YOU THIS FUCKING USELESS, KASLANA!?

Despite the intense desire to do so, Kiana didn't say any of her self-deprecating tirade out loud. Nor did she let herself fall completely into the spiral she could feel beginning as the memory of the shame and terror from her near miss reared its head. There would be time to once more face the self loathing that had been her constant companion for so long later.

Right now, though? She had a job to do.

Mentally sectioning off the train of thought regarding how colossally stupid she was, Kiana experimentally took a deep breath, noting with detachment the way her back lit up with pain as she did. Eh, not too bad… she judged, keeping her ears open as she tracked Asakura's voice. She hasn't realised I'm awake… good to know. She thought, her mind whirling as she slowly put together a plan to get Mei - and, if she was alive, Kaneko - out of the mess she'd managed to make.

Kiana cast her mind back, focusing on the last thing she remembered - a small spike of Honkai Energy behind her, followed by… the way my back feels… claws? She guessed, mentally frowning as she tried to get a feel for how, exactly, she'd been hurt. Would match up with her being in late stage Corruption. Still, that much physical alteration… Kiana couldn't stop the pang of sorrow that shot through her. It's too late now. There's no way to save her… not at that point. Yesterday must've been the last bit of sanity she had left before the Honkai got into her brain… I'm sorry, Kaneko. She thought sadly, knowing there was only one way this day could end. 

With some effort, she forced her mind back on track. That hit hurt like hell… way more than it should've. Poison? No, it would do more than just hurt if it was toxic. Weird Honkai Nonsense then. Hate it when that happens. She analysed. It was a good trick, all things considered - the raw agony Asakura's claws caused was enough that any regular person would be completely helpless. Even someone used to pain would be knocked for a loop, and for a serial killer, she'd probably never needed anything else. Indeed, even a Kaslana, with their legendary durability, or someone with damaged pain receptors, would find themselves all but crippled by having to work through the pain.

It was rather unfortunate for Asakura, then, that she had successfully managed to earn the enmity of quite possibly the only person on the planet to both be a member of House Kaslana and have pain receptors that could be politely described, by the standards of politeness held by a certain red headed scientist, as ‘completely and utterly fucked beyond all comprehension.’ To Kiana Kaslana, the pain she could feel - agony that would drive most souls to the edge of their sanity - could be summed up with a resounding ‘meh, 5 outta 10.’

I basically hard counter her one trick… hehe, lucky~ Kiana thought to herself happily - there was no better feeling than actually being at an advantage in a fight, for once. But she didn't move just yet. Now wasn't the best time, after all.

Right now, Asakura probably thinks she has all the cards in her favour. Kiana thought, mind settling into a calm focus as she silently readied herself. With Mei unarmed, me ‘unconscious’, and nobody else aware of this situation, she thinks she's already won - and that means she'll get sloppy. Waste time, show off, rant endlessly - wow, she's still talking? Man I must've pissed her off - the works. And that means, sooner or later… Kiana smirked to herself inwardly.  …she's gonna leave herself wide open.

Perhaps Kiana didn't need to wait for an opportunity. Perhaps she could win even if she let her impatience get the better of her. Certainly, she'd bet her life savings - pathetic as they may be - that she was far and away the better fighter. But Kiana had let herself put her friends in danger by being sloppy once already. She refused to do it again.

And so, she waited. And waited. And waited. Until -

“It won't hurt a bit! Well, after the first minute or so.”

NOW!

Silently, years of life in Siberia making her movement noiseless without any conscious effort, Kiana surged to her feet, eyes snapping open as they locked on to her enemy. With two rapid strides, she closed the distance between them. Her gaze fell on Asakura's clawed hand as it reached with taunting slowness towards a terrified Mei’s eyes, and with a spike of fury, Kiana lunged forward and clamped her hand around the madwoman's shoulder.

“Wha-” the deranged teen started to open her mouth, beginning to turn in surprise - but Kiana had no intention of waiting for her.

“Back the fuck OFF, you psychopathic bitch.” Kiana growled in rage, before yanking the other girl backwards with all her might. Her Stigmata glowed brightly under her shirt, House Kaslana's famous strength filling her as she picked the other girl up with one hand, before spinning around and throwing her into a wall - hard.

Kiana didn't miss a beat, dropping into a fighting stance her father had spent weeks drilling into her when she first learned to fight - a branch of the Kaslana Gun Kata designed to be used when one was unarmed. Damn, but I wish I had my guns. Stupid Japanese gun laws, gonna get people killed if there's an outbreak… she grumbled inwardly, but she didn’t feel any concern.

Unarmed or not… this wasn't gonna be too hard.

“Kiana-san?” She heard behind her, awe filling the other girl's voice. Kiana didn't turn around - there was no way Asakura had gone down that easy - but shifted her head just slightly, a confident grin on her face as she felt a rush of relief at the sound of her friend's voice.

“Hey, Mei-senpai. Miss me~?” She teased, letting a tinge of her everpresent mischievousness slip in even as she didn't bother suppressing her happiness to see the other girl. “Sorry I'm late.” She added more seriously, eyes still locked on the wreckage where Asakura's impromptu flight had come to an end as abrupt as its beginning. “She didn't realise I'd woken up, so I was waiting for her to make a mistake. You alright?” She asked, concern swelling momentarily.

“Y-yes, I'm quite alright.” Mei assured her. “But… Kaneko-san…” she continued fearfully.

Kiana could tell why - she'd caught a glimpse of their friend, a deep gash running along her chest and throat. There hadn't been enough blood for an artery to have been opened, but Kiana couldn't tell at a glance if she was breathing. “I know.” She muttered reassuringly. “We've gotta get her to a doctor, fast. But first…”

There was a crash as the wreckage was violently knocked aside. “YOU!” A rage filled scream echoed out.

“I've got to deal with this.” Kiana finished grimly.

“Asakura-san…” Mei muttered in horror. “What happened to her…?” Kiana couldn't blame her - the other girl looked like she'd walked off the set of a horror movie, her too-pale skin covered in the geometric glowing lines Kiana was far too familiar with - the glowing pink marks slowly spreading before her very eyes, reaching towards and out from the wild, furious gaze of the other teen as she stared Kiana down, her face locked in a rictus of insane rage.

“It's just like I thought.” Kiana quietly answered, shifting her feet. “I've seen this before, back home. Those glowing pink lines… she has Honkai Sickness.” She explained grimly, carefully using the more ‘public’ name for the condition.

“What!?” Mei yelled in horror. “Then, she's-” she stammered, her gaze switching wildly between Kiana and her opponent. 

Kiana nodded sadly. “The brain damage has already set in. No way we can reason with her.” She said softly. From the way Mei’s breath caught in her throat, she knew with resignation that her friend had already figured out what that meant. 

“You…” Asakura hissed, eyes twitching wildly as she stalked forward, heedless of the blood running down her arms from a cut left by the debris. “I… hate you… hate… you…!” 

Kiana winced. Yep, brain damage has kicked in. She noted dryly. Looks like we're doing this. “Mei, do you think you can get out of that?” She asked quietly, banking on the fact Asakura was in no condition to make sense of them planning. 

Kiana heard a rustle behind her. “I think… Yes, I believe I can.” Mei confirmed. “It may take me a few moments, though.”

“That's fine.” She assured her, quickly checking the distance between them and the exit. “Listen to me, okay? Once you get free, I need you to get Kaneko out of here.” She explained rapidly, knowing Asakura could attack at any moment. “Don't try to jump in. Just get up, grab her, and move. Once you've gotten away, get back outside to where the other students are. Get someone with a phone, call the paramedics, call the police. That's the best way you can help right now.” She said firmly. Sorry, Mei. I know you didn't want me to do this alone… but I've put you in enough danger already. This is my fight.

Mei wasn't convinced. “But what about you? I can't simply leave you here by yourself!” She protested. 

Kiana answered with a cocky smirk. “Heheh. No need to worry about me, Mei-senpai. I may not be the best merc for assassination, or warzones, or any of the other stuff people think of… but when it comes to this?” She slammed her fist into her palm, cracking her knuckles. “I'm an expert.”

Asakura growled furiously, her eyes all but devoid of thought. She hung limply, crouched over the ground in a stance Kiana knew instantly - Asakura was resembling that type of Zombie more with every passing moment. “You… keep getting in my way…” she muttered, a hysterical laugh bubbling from her throat.

Kiana’s mind raced, the oh so very familiar feeling of time slowing to a crawl beginning again as the adrenaline kicked in. She's barely still breathing. If she Zombifies, things could get ugly… I need to end this fast!

Finally, Asakura snapped. “I'LL KILL YOU!” She screeched, throwing herself forward -

Kiana dashed in -

And the dance began once more. 

The first hit was exactly what Kiana expected - as soon as Kiana had started moving, Asakura dropped low, shifting herself to one side as she stretched one arm out to slash at her legs. It was a good trick - using the unnatural flexibility the Honkai had given her to move in ways most human opponents wouldn’t expect and immediately cripple their ability to fight back. It was exactly how the class of higher level Zombie Asakura was rapidly becoming (Razorclaws, not that Kiana remembered that) opened a fight, a clear sign of how the Honkai was rapidly overwriting the girl she'd once been.

Unfortunately for her, it was also a trick Kiana'd seen a hundred times before.

As soon as she saw her opponent drop down, Kiana crouched low, tracking Asakura's hand, and then shoved herself off the ground, the other girl's claws sailing harmlessly through the empty air where her hamstrings had once been. Twisting over midair (and resisting the urge to start showing off), Kiana flipped herself over to face Asakura, slamming an open palm strike into her back. The blow connected, sending Asakura sprawling with a squawk of surprise and pain, as Kiana easily landed back on her feet, frowning to herself. I was right back then. She's tougher than she should be. Kiana noted to herself, bracing herself with one hand as she readied herself for her opponent's next move. No need to hold back, I guess… 

Asakura scrambled to her feet, hissing in rage. Her eyes stayed locked on Kiana, devoid of anything but fury. The murderous teen hunched over, hands on the floor like a feral beast, before rushing Kiana once more. She changed tactic this time, leaping into the air and diving towards Kiana with her claws outstretched, only for the young Kaslana to calmly slip under the blow and snap a kick upwards, her foot slamming into Asakura's ribcage with enough force to knock her back upwards. The deranged girl recovered instantly, slashing at Kiana’s face, but she simply knocked the blow aside before throwing a punch of her own into her enemy's side.

Judging from how Asakura gave an inarticulate cry of fury and lunged towards her instead of doubling over, the attempted kidney shot hadn't landed - that, or she was already too far gone to feel the pain. Kiana stepped backwards, leaning away from the claws slashing at her chest, then charged inward, ramming her shoulder into Asakura's side and slamming her into the wall behind them. The young Kaslana didn't give her enemy a chance to recover, a barrage of punches hitting the murderous teen in the face and body in the precious moments where she was too dazed to counter it. 

Then, Asakura got her bearings back, and a plan flickered to life in the last remaining pieces of her higher reasoning. Rather than attack right away, she waited for a single instant, letting Kiana draw back her fist for another strike, before suddenly jerking to the side, tearing free from the Siberian teen’s grasp. Already committed, Kiana was caught off guard, leaving her wide open as Asakura lashed out, finally connecting as her claws sliced into Kiana’s arm. The maddened teen hissed gleefully, her few intact memories telling her that as soon as her claws made contact, even someone as strong as this would be as helpless as a newborn puppy.

Kiana punched her in the face without missing a step. Judging from the look of shock on the other girl's face, she hadn't expected that.

Kiana hissed in pain, clenching her fist as she warded off the surge of pain from her left arm. Fuck me that hurts! She swore to herself, unable to stop herself from wincing slightly. Okay, definitely Weird Honkai Nonsense, that bit of my arm should NOT hurt so much from a hit that light, owowowow! Still, as Asakura screeched in disbelieving rage, Kiana couldn't stop a smug smirk from crossing her face. “Not so tough now that you're up against someone who can actually fight back, are ya?” She said tauntingly, making a mocking ‘come at me’ gesture. “C'mon, at least pretend you actually know how to fight instead of coasting on your little cheat!” Come on, eyes on me. 

Judging from the almost completely inhuman shriek that escaped the other girl as she threw herself at Kiana, it was definitely working. Heh. Gets them every time.

As the brawl continued, Mei slowly struggled upwards, finally getting her feet under her. Twisting around, she studied the piece of rope tying her arms to the piano leg behind her. Bolted to the ground, it seems. Still, the rope doesn't look too tough. Mei thought to herself, experimentally tugging against the knot. Sure enough, the rope pulled taut, Mei’s sudden increase in strength straining it to the limit - and causing a few tiny strands to slowly fray. There! The Raiden heiress thought victoriously. Come on, Mei. This won't be too difficult. Just need to put some effort into it! She encouraged herself, immediately beginning to pull against the rope with as much force as she could muster. As soon as she did, the rope started to give way - but to Mei’s frustration, it did so slowly. Oh come on! She thought in a slightly uncharacteristic moment of frustration, gritting her teeth. I don't have time to waste. Get on with it and break already, you useless piece of fiber! She yelled mentally at the infuriating knot, desperate to get free and help Kiana - or at least get Kaneko away.

For a moment, though, it seemed her help was unnecessary. As she watched, Kiana sidestepped a claw thrusting towards her chest, before grabbing on to Asakura's outstretched arm. The murderous teen's eyes widened, but it was too late - before she could react, Kiana turned and yanked viciously, as Asakura's arm jolted free of its socket. The Kaslana heiress wasn't done - even as she felt the joint give way, she kept going, pulling the half-zombified teen by her dislocated limb and slamming her into the drum set, sending the instruments flying as Asakura yelped in pain. 

The killer scrambled to her feet, whirling around heedless of her injuries - but it was too late. Kiana charged forward, sprinting across the short distance between them and jumped - catapulting herself across the room, leg outstretched in the flying kick that was one of the signature moves of House Kaslana. Asakura panicked, raising her arm to block - but in her Honkai hazed mind, she had forgotten her new injury. The blow slammed home, crushing through Asakura's guard into her torso - and finally, finally, something gave as Kiana felt the familiar sensation of bones fracturing before her impossible strength. 

Asakura screamed in pain, stumbling backwards. Her arm flopped down at her side - dislocated at the shoulder and downright shattered along her forearm, the Honkai flowing through her could do nothing to change the fact that the limb was simply no longer physically functional. Kiana landed lightly, falling into a crouch as she braced herself, but no counter came - Asakura doubled over, clutching her injured arm.

Silence fell across the room, a heavy, pregnant moment broken only by the sounds of the killer's pained, heaving breaths, and Kiana’s own strained, but still controlled exhalation. The two stared at each other, motionless, as they warily judged the other's condition - Asakura, crippled in one arm, uncaring of her injuries in her madness but rapidly losing what rationality she still had; Kiana, not unscathed, but yet unbowed, her calm confidence having never faded throughout their clash. It was obvious that Kiana’s years of experience far outshone the instincts the Honkai was implanting in Asakura's damaged mind, easily countering everything the other girl had tried - though the fight was not yet won, it was clear the Kaslana scion was by far the better fighter.

Mei’s breath caught in her throat, her efforts to free herself momentarily forgotten. Was it over?

For a single, glorious moment, it seemed like it was.

Kiana breathed in deeply, rising from the crouch she'd landed in to stand straight. She eyed Asakura warily. She's still alive. The young Siberian noted in surprise. After all that, I thought she would've completely Zombified by now. She couldn't stop a pang of sorrow shooting through her heart. She must've put up one hell of a fight… Kiana momentarily squeezed her eyes shut, before returning her focus to her opponent. Asakura stared back, her eyes now completely devoid of any higher thought. She hissed in warning, warily backing away from Kiana like a cornered beast - for all her body still drew breath, Kiana knew with heavy sorrow that Asakura Miyuki was already dead.

I'm sorry, Kaneko. I can’t save your friend. All I can do… the young Kaslana thought to herself, her resolve firming as she stepped towards her foe, … is put her to rest.

Asakura hissed again, the warbling, high pitched noise a familiar one to Kiana, for all her instincts insisted it couldn't be a human making that sound. She scrabbled backwards, looking for an escape route - but there was none to be found. Asakura's own plan worked against her - the very isolation of her lair, chosen specifically to prevent her victims from fleeing her, now left her with no way to evade the Kaslana calmly approaching her. The murderer had been caught in her own trap.

Finally, with a last flicker of something resembling thought, Asakura realised there was no available escape. She made no move to surrender. Even if she had, Kiana would not have been able to accept - her Honkai Corruption having advanced to its final stage, Asakura's rapid onset Honkai Poisoning had already become terminal. At any moment, she would fully zombify, and become the origin of a Honkai Surge that could kill an entire city block if she wasn't killed quickly enough. Kiana could not allow that to happen.

The half-zombie crouched low, disregarding her damaged limb as she returned to the familiar, feral stance Kiana had fought so many times before. With one final hiss, she bared her teeth in warning, the glowing lines spreading further and further across her body as she readied herself. Kiana approached, unafraid. 

This fight was already over.

Slowly, Kiana raised her hands, eyes falling towards Asakura's throat as she readied herself to land the final strike and bring the other girl's suffering to a swift end -

PAIN.

Kiana had grown used to pain over the years. Between the chronic pain from her Core and body being mismatched that had accompanied her her entire life, to the intermittent numbness and lack of sensation in her extremities she'd slowly learned to endure in more recent years, her pain tolerance was all but inhuman. More than once, the two doctors who were the only ones she had ever willingly received medical attention from had torn their hair out wondering how she was able to remain conscious, let alone be fully functional, through pain that would cripple almost any human. All Kiana had ever been able to respond with was a helpless shrug, and the truth - she'd had worse.

The pain that hit her at that moment was indeed worse.

Kiana had rated the pain from Asakura's claws at about a five. The pain she was in now… no, pain was too weak a word to describe it. 

The all consuming agony that erupted in Kiana’s chest was a ten.

Kiana stumbled mid step, her breath coming out as a choked, silent gasp. For a moment, her legs almost gave out beneath her, leaving her blindly throwing an arm out to hold herself steady - mercifully, she found a table, gripping on to it as she fought to stay upright. Spikes of pain tore through her insides, her body recoiling from the stagnant, toxic energy left behind by her earlier reawakening. A violent cough ripped through her, leaving a tang of copper on her tongue. She knew, from long experience, that if she hadn’t swallowed it back down, her blood would be shot through with lines of glowing pink. 

As terrifying as the thought may be to someone unused to it, this was not, in itself, that bad. A painful experience, yes, as Kiana rode out the consequences of her actions, but this was far from the worst Backlash she’d endured. A few moments to regain her bearings, and Kiana would have been perfectly fine - in for a miserable few days of recovery, but it was a far cry from the memories of utter agony that could leave her unable to move for days on end.

It would have been perfectly fine, if it hadn’t been for the small, minor detail that Asakura was less than two metres away when Kiana stumbled.

Kiana had lost her footing for only a single instant, so quickly Mei didn’t notice it until she thought back to this moment much, much later - a testament to her immense will and long experience enduring the side effects of her condition. But with her so close, and the entirety of her focus locked on her enemy, the half zombie caught it instantly - and in the split instant before Kiana could recover, the feral beast that had once been Asakura Miyuki seized her chance. She lunged forward, her still functioning arm lashing out with every ounce of monstrous strength she possessed, and her claws hit home, slamming into Kiana’s chest… right next to a certain old scar that Kiana had mentally refused to acknowledge for almost a year.

It took everything she had not to scream.

Kiana fell backwards, her legs losing all strength, crumpling to the ground. Blood stained her uniform, a small spurt of it flying outwards before Mei’s eyes.

“KIANA!” Mei screamed in horror, jerking forward as her friend collapsed. Desperately, she tried to get to her feet - only for her restraints to snap her to a halt, yanking taut against her. Mei struggled to get free, but the rope stubbornly clung on, fraying before her strange burst of strength but refusing to give way completely. “Come on, come on…!”

Asakura staggered upright, hissing in pain from her injuries. Even so, her eyes locked on Kiana, as the killer - her transformation almost complete - slowly staggered towards the momentarily crippled Kaslana. The murderous teen seemed almost in disbelief, as if whatever fragment of rationality she still had couldn’t believe that had actually worked - but only for an instant, before fading into the haze of bloodlust once again. With a broken giggle of glee, she raised her arm, claws flexing as she prepared to take Kiana’s life.

That was when Mei began to panic. 

NO NO NO NO NO NO! The Raiden Heiress chanted, yanking on the damnable rope holding her in place with every ounce of strength she had. In a crystalised moment of utter horror, she realised it didn’t matter. Even if the restraints finally gave way, it was too late - she would never make it in time before Asakura’s strike landed.

Her friend was going to die, and there was nothing Mei could do about it.

For a single, frozen instant, time seemed to halt. Staring at the terrible scene before her, Mei found her thoughts circling back, memories of every moment she’d spent with the younger girl throughout that strange, terrifying week. 

The first time they’d met. Kiana walking into the classroom, breezy confidence hiding an underlying anxiety Mei had only just caught track of. If it hadn’t been for that odd moment where Kiana seemed to zone out staring at her, Mei wasn’t sure she’d have caught that anxiety at all, so solid was the facade.

A few moments later. Their first conversation, accidentally startling Kiana awake after a maths lesson that, in hindsight, must’ve been utterly miserable for the other girl. Talking to her about their respective experiences learning other languages, and picking up the tiny hints in how Kiana spoke of herself her first inkling of the hell that had been her past.

Their second conversation, dragging the girl she didn’t know well yet but was clearly in desperate need of a voice in her corner to the cafeteria when she’d gotten lost. Meeting her other friends, learning of where Kiana came from - and by the kami, she’d known from the moment Hikari put her foot in her mouth that Kiana had been through things Mei couldn’t imagine. Finding out about Asakura’s suffering. As she remembered the way Kiana had grit her teeth in anger as Kimiko relayed the horrible tale, Mei couldn’t help but wonder - did Kiana feel responsible for not stopping the other girl’s pain? It seemed foolish, yet it would be so much like her.

The moment in the hallway as they left. How Kiana had looked when she admitted she’d never been to school before, masking pain and embarrassment under a front of lackadaisical carelessness. That bow of gratitude, that she attributed to just showing her around the school but that Mei had worked out by now had likely meant more than she ever could’ve realised to the Siberian outcast. 

She did that so often. How was it that Mei always seemed to be the only one who noticed? How did nobody else see it when Kiana hid how she felt about herself like that all the time?

Finding out about Kiana’s utter absence of an education. Showing her Mei’s favourite spot on the roof, talking about their fathers. The love and adoration in Kiana’s eyes when she spoke of the man, not a trace of anger or hurt over his later revealed absence.

Kiana had never spoken of her mother. Mei understood. She never spoke of it either.

Meeting their friends. Finding Mao, the moment they’d first been dragged into the unfolding tragedy ailing her school. Kiana’s calm determination, and the way she’d carefully and solemnly covered Mao’s body before telling Mei to get home. It had been disturbing, in some ways, how calm and composed Kiana’d been, but Mei had always found that overshadowed by that moment of empathetic respect.

Wednesday. Meeting Kiana again, facing - for the first, but to her chagrin, far from the last time - her gleeful teasing and utter shamelessness that left Mei somewhere between laughter and mortified horror. Some part of her secretly wondered if Kiana had been serious about some of the implications she’d made, but… well. She was like that with quite literally everyone. It probably hadn’t meant anything.

Talking to the others. The moment Kiana had frozen when Yumi asked what her hobbies were, seemingly at a loss until she’d brought up her love of video games. How long had Kiana been a mercenary? Was she so focused on her bleak occupation she hadn’t had time for herself?

Watching with amusement Kiana’s atrocious display in her match with Kaneko and Yumi. The heartstopping moment where Mei had seen her have an episode for the first time. Finding out about her love of firearms, and her father’s long absence. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to thank the man for getting Kiana away from that life, or slap him for leaving her alone.

The meeting at the firearm club. Kiana had been so exhausted that day. How that exhaustion had vanished once they saw the armory, hours spent following her gun nut of a friend around as she gushed about the history and capabilities of a dozen different firearms, many of which Mei hadn’t known existed. She had never cared about such things, but somehow, Kiana’s utter joy as she energetically explained with a mix of wild gesticulations and careful, professional demonstrations had been utterly captivating.

Their conversation as they’d left, Kiana admitting that she’d received no aid after fleeing Siberia. Now that she knew Kiana’s true profession, Mei doubted she’d ever been given any to begin with. Meeting Asakura, the girl’s fragile, broken countenance somehow burying the deranged madwoman Mei had seen more recently. Had Asakura known, she wondered - did she realise the insanity hiding inside of her, or had the poor girl been utterly oblivious? Trying to reach out to her, Kiana firmly warning them to watch her boundaries, only to become oddly distracted right as Asakura seemed to reach her limit. She’d never explained, even as she spent the rest of the evening lost in thought.

And then, finally, the past few hours. Kiana’s panic when she somehow realised the truth, utter fear on Kaneko’s behalf driving her to sprint off heedless of the risk. Mei’s own pursuit, barely managing to keep up. Kiana’s confession, the other girl’s emotional walls collapsing as she’d poured her soul out for her. Finally getting through the flood of self loathing and guilt with her own sordid past. 

Seeing Kiana consumed by another, terrifying episode of the strange panic attacks she seemed to suffer from, one that Mei could tell was somehow different in some hidden, fundamental way from the ones she’d had before in a way she couldn’t yet understand. The way her friend had stood there, frozen, gasping for breath as her body moved jerkily like a broken puppet had been the second most terrifying moment in Mei’s life, behind only the memory of the all consuming dread of her time as a prisoner of those terrorists.

Now, as Mei’s shrunken irises took in the sight of Asakura’s claws slowly moving for Kiana’s throat, that moment abruptly found itself at third place.

At that moment, Mei’s mind went completely blank. Her entire being consumed by one, single thought - or rather, a single prayer.

Please, Mei begged anything and anyone that could possibly hear her. Please… PLEASE LET ME HELP HER!

Her father did not answer - he was still in his office, frowning in troubled contemplation at a certain object Mei did not know of, unaware of the situation.

Siegfried Kaslana did not answer - he had just entered a small, but well loved pub in the country side of Ireland, cheerily hauling the thoroughly charred remnants of a Ganesha behind him as he regaled the locals with a retelling of his exploits, oblivious to the fact his treasured daughter was, at that moment, in mortal peril.

Kiana Kaslana did not answer - she was still stuck in place, eyes locked on a blow she knew would kill her if it landed, knowing she had but one remaining option but warring with the bone deep terror born of the knowledge that to use her trump card now, so soon after her most recent reappearance, would be to risk the lives of every soul in Nagazora.

….. The being a broken, tortured thirteen year old who had become the greatest and most terrible monster of their era once called God did not answer. Her despair was not yet complete.

But that false God was not the only force listening. The very day Mei had been born, a tiny, unnoticeable link had been engraved in her being - a connection, waiting for its other half. Fourteen years prior, during a certain chaotic period of time in the year 2000, that connection had been partly shut, what was meant to be on the other end given instead to another - but the connection itself had never been removed, even after almost a decade of effort by Mei’s father to such an end. It was weak, suppressed, and completely unable to draw more than the bare minimum of power with the other half of it both physically incarnated and separated from their host - but it was still there. 

And as Mei reached out in pure, unthinking desperation, for the second time in her life, the tiny wisps of something coalesced together in that connection, broken and twisted as it was by the conflict with its opposite force, and answered.

A soft glow emerged from Mei’s left side, rapidly brightening -

Asakura’s claws descended -

Kiana gritted her teeth, toxic amber beginning to leach into her eye -

For one, single instant, unnoticed even by the man gazing right at it, a purple gemstone flashed with light as the Authority within it was called upon -

And all was drowned out by a single clap of Thunder.

Out of nowhere, a bolt of shining blue lightning slammed into Asakura, interrupting the half zombie with mere instants to spare. Utterly off guard, the murderous teen was completely helpless before the stream of raw power flowing into her, screaming in against as the sheer force of the furious thunderbolt knocked her aside with the contemptuous ease of a man knocking aside a particularly fearless feral cat. Kiana’s eyes widened in astonishment as her opponent was sent flying, the toxic amber fading back to her natural eye colour as her focus was broken by sheer confusion. What the - who - how - why WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? She screamed to herself in bafflement, even as she realised in relief that the Backlash was finally over - for now, anyways. Levering herself into a sitting position, Kiana turned her head, tracking the direction she had seen the lightning come from as she tried to figure out what was going on -and froze. 

On the other end of the room, Raiden Mei calmly rose to her feet, the rope that had restrained her falling away as vaporised ash. An aura of static surrounded her, tiny, short-lived flickers of electricity sparking to and fro as she lazily brushed herself off. Her eyes were half lidded, studying her palm.

She seemed… regal, in that moment. Like a queen rising to put an end to injustice in her realm.

Were this a happier world, and a happier tale, it would be this awe inspiring sight that caused Kiana to freeze up, stunned by her friend’s sudden transformation.

Were it a more comedic one, it would have been the intense attraction Kiana felt at that sight ramming into her like a freight train, leaving her mind devoid of any thoughts beyond Oh God she’s somehow even prettier.

But this world was not a happy one, nor was it light hearted. It was neither awe, nor star struck adoration that filled Kiana in that moment.

No. As Kiana stared on, her entire focus was swallowed up by one thing. A mark on Mei’s left hip, like three circles in a triangle. It glowed with light, just like Kiana’s Stigmata did - but this was not the warm, dull red glow of a healthy Stigmata. It shone with a terrible, poisonous pink light, even more so than the ones crossing Asakura’s body - an even brighter shade than the true Honkai Beasts Kiana had seen before. It was almost enough to bring to mind her father’s warnings of the worst fate a Valkyrie could meet, the beginning of a Honkai Cascade.

But worse than that, far worse, was the pattern - because Kiana knew it. She had seen it before, in a short briefing, images from the Previous Era accompanied by a lecture she had just managed to pay attention to because it was relevant to her own life. A series of emblems, the calling cards of the Honkai’s greatest and most terrible servants.

It was the True Stigmata of Thunder, and as Kiana gazed upon it and slowly realized what it was, as in the depths of her mind she began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh, the only feeling she had was all consuming horror.

It would not be today.

It was unlikely to be tomorrow.

It may not even be that year, or the next, or even within the decade.

There was always the chance, vague and bleak, that a different candidate would somehow claim the seat.

But one day. It would be so.

One day, Raiden Mei will become the Herrscher of Thunder.

Such is the Will Of Honkai.

And then, right as the realization of the fate her friend had been sentenced to fully settled in Kiana’s mind, right as the utter horror at the fact the first person she had ever called a friend was doomed to face the waking nightmare Kiana had faced her entire life reached its peak - 

Mei stumbled. The terrible light vanished. Her eyes flew open, sinking to one knee as her face went pale. The young girl gasped for breath, jolted out of the strange reverie she’d been in as her heart hammered in her chest. Without warning, a wave of exhaustion had overwhelmed her, fatigue sapping all her strength as she grew faint. “Wha…” She asked blearily, fighting to stay awake. Why am I… so tired? I haven’t felt… like this… since… I was a child… Her mind questioned, her thoughts growing fragmented from her sudden weakness.

Nobody saw how the pink mark on her hip suddenly shifted, twisting around like it was struck as it grew dull. Nor how the red mark on her back writhed, its glow becoming intermittent and flickering.

If anyone had been in a position to see it, they would find themselves thinking of a pair of wild animals fighting to the death.

“MEI!” Kiana shouted, surging to her feet in panic. No no no please! She chanted, desperately praying this wasn’t what she feared - only to be interrupted by a crash behind her, followed by a shrieking call of primal fury.

Asakura’s body lunged forth, claws outstretched. Her eyes had become sightless, glowing amber. Her body was covered in the geometric pink lines head to toe. Black and amber had begun sprouting from her form as her death approached, and Kiana did not have time for this.

The Kaslana scion spun around, fury and worry driving her blows as she grabbed the half zombie from the air by the throat, cutting off the inhuman scream it was emitting. “GET! OUT! OF! MY! WAY!” She screamed angrily, each word backed by a blow with all her strength. The half zombie struck back, its claws burying themselves in her side - but Kiana was long past caring about pain. She forced the body away from her, shoving it back with her arm, and whirled around in a full body punch with enough force to shatter concrete -

And as Kiana’s arm slammed into Asakura’s chest with a sickening noise as her sternum shattered into her heart, it was over.

For a moment, the two stood there, silently. The rage and madness faded from Asakura’s eyes. Though they remained empty of any thought or reason, for a single moment, it was like she was… sad. Regretful, even.

Kiana hoped she was wrong. Asakura didn’t deserve to think she was responsible for what the Honkai had done with her body.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” She found herself saying, even though she knew the person she was talking to had already been dead long before her body got the memo. “I’ll make sure your family and your friend’s folks know the truth. That you didn’t want this. I swear on my Oath.”

For a single moment, Asakura’s eyes glimmered with something approaching relief, mixed with gratitude. And then, they faded, slipping into utter blankness. As Kiana pulled her arm back, Asakura Miyuki, the Chiba Academy Murderer, fell to the ground, dead.

Before Asakura’s corpse even hit the ground, Kiana whirled, the entirety of her thoughts fixated on a single subject. “MEI!” She yelled, rushing over to her friend. Skidding to a halt, she knelt next to where Mei gasped for breath, grabbing her face in her hands as she examined her for any signs of what she was fearing. “Mei-senpai, are you okay? What’s wrong!?” She asked in panic, eyes searching for any trace of the inevitable.

Instead, to her utter relief, she found only a shaky, wan smile, Mei’s eyes clear and focused. “I… Yes, I’m. I’m alright, Kiana-san. Don’t… Don't worry yourself.” Mei gently reassured her friend, unaware of the origin of her fear but well aware she didn’t look her best. Stubbornly ignoring the lingering fatigue she could feel, she pushed herself to her feet, giving Kiana a confident smile. “See? I’m quite alright.” She said calmly, politely ignoring the way part of her desperately wished to go lie down.

Kiana studied her for a moment longer, but still saw no signs of anything wrong. As colour began to return to Mei’s face, she reluctantly pulled back. “If you’re sure, Mei-senpai…” She murmured, unable to completely bury her anxiety. She doubted she ever would, not with what she knew now, but Mei was, at the least, showing no signs of Herrscherisation. 

It was there and then Kiana came to a certain decision, and - as it finally clicked why the soft smile on Mei’s face made her stomach feel so funny - a certain realization. But now wasn’t the time to think about those subjects, as a gasp of concern left Mei. “Kiana-san, you’re still bleeding!” She pointed out in panic, grabbing Kiana’s arm. Examining her cuts, Kiana winced - none of them were particularly deep, and now that Asakura’s death had purged whatever strange power she’d had, she couldn’t feel any pain from them - nothing that stood out through the dull, throbbing ache in her insides at least - but they certainly didn’t look great. 

“Yeeeaaaahhh, not my best showing.” She muttered self-deprecatingly, smiling wryly at Mei. “Here I am calling myself a professional and I get messed up like this right in front of ya. So much for my pride, huh?” She joked, once more emanating her irreverent cheer in an attempt to reassure her friend.

Given Mei’s snort of amusement, it worked. Success! “You… are utterly incorrigible, Kiana-san.” She replied dryly, before turning to face the other side of the room, face grave. “But, Kaneko-san…”

Kiana’s eyes fell on their friend too, eyes turning serious once more. “Those injuries aren’t bleeding as much as they would if they hit an artery, but I’m not sure…” She murmured, pushing herself away from Mei with reluctance. “Alright, here’s the plan.” She announced as she began to walk over to their unconscious friend. “I’ll go try and keep Kaneko alive, you go call an ambulance for her, and then while I wait I try and figure out how the blyat I’m going to explain this to -”

The door was smashed in. “HANDS IN THE AIR!” A loud, strident voice screamed, shocking Mei into a yelp of fear. Kiana remained calm, stepping back as the police officers surged in.

“I really hope you guys brought a paramedic, because -” Kiana began, gesturing with her head towards Kaneko - but before she could even finish her sentence, she was cut off by a baton slamming into her nose. “I SAID HANDS IN THE AIR!” The first officer roared, shoving his pistol into her face

Mei screamed.

Kiana stumbled backwards, more surprised than actually hurt, but before she could respond, the officers began moving again. “GET DOWN! MAKE ONE MOVE AND WE WILL FIRE!” A different officer demanded, even as the first one stepped forward and roughly grabbed Kiana’s arm.

It was utter chaos, officers yelling demands even as they  tried to manhandle her, Mei screaming in fear as the shock overwhelmed her, shouts and questions from the corridor outside - but all Kiana could think of was one thing.

Oh. She thought absently, staring at the blood on her hands in full view of a group of police officers who were clearly all too aware they had been called to stop a murderer. Fuck.

[HR][/HR]

Well now. That could’ve gone… better. How do our heroines get themselves out of this one, I hear you ask? Well, wait and see…

Huh what? “Honkai Fictionologists?” …. No idea what you’re talking about.