Kenji
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
'H-Huh? What's that sound?' Kenji's mind was flustered as he tried to think. It was as if he were swimming from the bottom of the ocean and was slowly surfacing.
Then, as he opened his eyes, he saw the world, slowly, blinking at the intense light in the sky above him, squinting from the harsh light. Another thing that he noticed right away was the strong scent of antiseptic.
'That's… a ceiling.' His mind processed, 'I'm in a hospital room?'
He took a deep breath as his eyes became clear enough that he could see his surroundings. It was indeed a room in a hospital.
'I made it.'
The relief lasted for about two seconds before he winced as a sharp jolt of pain ran through his side.
When he looked down at his stomach, he saw it completely covered in bandages. He pressed a hand gently over it, his mind slowly piecing back what had happened the night before.
He was attacked by a Seraph of all things, which almost killed him as he was walking home. Then... he awoke a power, and he was able to fight back and save his life.
Kenji studied his hands and slowly twiddled his fingers. He half expected something to happen, perhaps the power of yesterday would manifest itself again.
But nothing happened. It was just his dull, boring hands.
"You're awake."
"Holy crap!"
Kenji's head turned towards the door. There was a nurse standing there with a look of surprise on her face and holding a clipboard.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't expect to see you out so early," she said in an apologetic tone. "How are you feeling?"
"Not too bad, all things considered," he said, voice hoarse. "Guess I made it, huh?"
She walked over, checking the monitors beside his bed. "You sure did. Honestly? Kind of a miracle."
'Is that really appropriate to tell a patient?' Kenji couldn't help but think.
She put a hand under her chin and hummed at him. "You came in bleeding pretty badly, but there was barely any internal damage."
Kenji's stomach sank a little, but he managed a weak laugh. "Guess I'm tougher than I look?"
"Maybe." She sounded unconvinced, but didn't push it any further.
"Either way, you'll need to take it easy for a while. So the usual rest a lot, and no strenuous activity."
She went on to say some more stuff, but Kenji didn't really pay attention. He just nodded along as his mind went elsewhere.
The nurse appeared to notice the faraway expression on his face. "Do you remember what happened?"
'Uh oh.'
Explaining that he had a sudden burst of power and was somehow able to beat a Honkai Beast with no prior experience wasn't really something he wanted to tell.
They could think he was insane.
Or worse, they did believe him, and he would be kidnapped and cut up by a crazy scientist!
…
'Ok, that's a little out there even for me.'
"Yeah, kind of? I was walking home when Seraph came out of nowhere and attacked me." He put a hand on his bandaged stomach. "But I was able to get away somehow. Guess I'm just lucky."
"'Lucky' might be underselling it," she said, scribbling something down. "A few more minutes out there and this conversation would've gone very differently."
She looked back at him. "The doctor will be by later. For now, just rest. You've been through a lot."
"Thanks for patching me up and everything," Kenji said, managing a small smile.
She stopped at the door and turned to him with a polite smile. "Take care of yourself."
Then she walked out, leaving Kenji alone with the beeping of hospital machines
…
…
"Finally…"
He leaned back against the pillows, letting out a long, heavy sigh.
Kenji's gaze drifted back to his hands.
He could still remember it, that warmth that started as a faint spark and built up into a blazing inferno that pulsed through him like electricity.
The sensation was kind of scary… But it was also fucking awesome.
He let out a small grin as he thought back to the battle.
"I actually did it," he murmured, holding himself back from laughing out loud. "I fought a Honkai Beast. And won."
The thought that he was finally able to hold his own in the world made pride bubble up in his chest.
But the feeling didn't last long as his mind finally processed the implications of such power.
'What was that, though? Where did it even come from?'
A realistic part of him wanted to think of it as some freak accident, a one-time thing that wouldn't happen again.
After all, it wasn't every day that someone got powers out of nowhere.
But he had a feeling that that wasn't true.
He did get isekai'd after all. It was kind of a miracle that it took this long for something weird to happen to him.
Whatever that power was, it felt like it was connected to this world, connected to the Valkyries or the Honkai.
He stared up at the ceiling.
'Okay. So what now?'
Pretending that nothing happened was something he couldn't do. If this power was real, and if it was actually his, he needed to know how it worked and whether he could control it.
The thought sent a flicker of not only fear, but excitement that coursed through his body.
For 19 years, he'd been nothing more than a normal person. Just another random face that blended into the masses.
But now he had something that made him different.
His mind drifted to the red-haired Valkyrie from the mall. Her shining, confident figure as she cut through those Honkai Beasts like they were nothing.
'Maybe I could be like that… Maybe this is what makes me... matter.'
His hands curled into loose fists.
Whatever this was, he was going to figure it out. He wasn't about to let this chance slip away.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
He flinched slightly when a knock sounded at the door.
He blinked from his hospital bed, thinking whether or not he should get up and open the door. But the handle already turned itself, and his heart skipped a beat when a familiar figure with red hair entered the room.
The Valkyrie from the mall.
/ — /
'Oh my god, I'm gonna pass out.'
"Hey there," The lady said gently, like she didn't want to startle him. "I hope I'm not bothering you. I heard about what happened, so I figured I'd check in… And give you a well-deserved apology."
She let out a regretful sigh as she walked closer, "If I'd cleared the area more thoroughly, that Seraph wouldn't have gotten anywhere near you."
Kenji's mouth opened, but he couldn't get a word out. He had a million things he wanted to say, and it all jumbled up together into a slurry that he couldn't even voice out.
"Uh, no, it's—it's fine," he stammered. "I mean, I'm okay. Recovering, I guess." He immediately wanted to disappear into the hospital bed. 'Recovering, I guess?' What kind of response was that?!
His response seemed to amuse her a little as she took a seat in the chair beside his bed. Up close, she looked even more striking than before, just more relaxed this time.
'She's so cool!'
"You can call me Himeko," she smiled at him. "As you already know, I'm one of Schicksal's Valkyries. You're… Aoyama, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. Kenji's fine, though." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks. For saving everyone. At the mall. You were... really cool."
God, he sounded like a child.
Himeko's expression softened slightly, the corner of her mouth rising into a smile. "It's a part of the job. But thank you."
She leaned back in the chair, and something in her demeanor changed. It was still warm and accommodating, but it looked a little more serious.
"I actually wanted to ask you about what happened. It's not exactly common for us to find a civilian who survived a Seraph-class encounter alone... and walked away."
'Oh fuck.' Kenji had to use every ounce of will he had to not make an incriminating face.
Lying to a nurse was one thing, but lying to a Valkyrie was insane! Especially lying face-to-face with someone who saved his life.
"Uh-huh. Yeah, that." He gave a little sigh and reclined into the bed. "Honestly? I'm just thinking I got lucky. I guess it just got tired of me running around."
Himeko raised an eyebrow. "Lucky you say?"
"Yeah."
"Seraphs don't really… give up. Heck, it's hardly a common sight to see any Honkai Beast give up." She looked him over, her eyes cool and unexpressive. "Do you remember anything else? Did anything seem... out of place?"
Kenji wanted to just die right there.
Part of him felt like he owed her an explanation for saving his life. But another part knew that telling a big organisation, especially Schisksal, that he had powers was basically putting a target on his back.
He needed to understand what was going on with his own body before telling anyone.
"Can't remember much, I was trying too hard not to die," he chuckled, but it was a sad chuckle. "But I'm pretty sure it was already injured. So I just... threw whatever I had. Got a couple lucky hits in, I guess."
"Lucky hits?" Himeko repeated, the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah. I mean—" He gestured at himself up and down. "It's not like I'm a Valkyrie or anything."
For a moment, Himeko didn't respond. She just stared at him like there were gears turning in her head.
Then she just leaned back into her chair, "Fair enough."
"But if there's anything you're not telling me," she went on, in a gentle but serious tone, "or if you start noticing anything... unusual, going forward. I hope you'll reach out."
"The Honkai is unpredictable, sometimes those who have gotten close to them... change. Sometimes in ways that they don't realize until it's too late."
"Y-Yeah, of course. If anything weird happens, I'll definitely let you guys know."
Apparently, Himeko was content with that, but there was something in her expression that made him think she didn't take the bait.
"Well. Take care of yourself, Ao—Kenji." She stood up and took out a little card from her coat pocket, and she held it out to him.
It had the Schicksal emblem printed on one side, a phone number on the other. "If you ever need anything, just call."
He took it, nodding. "Thanks. Miss Himeko."
"I said just Himeko was fine— Ah, whatever."
She gave him one last look, but he couldn't make out her expression.
"One more thing." She paused at the door. "If there is a reason you're here, alive, after something like that, maybe it's worth not ignoring it."
And then she was gone.
With the card in his hand, Kenji sat there, replaying her words in his mind.
'If there's a reason you're here... maybe you shouldn't ignore it.'
He looked down at the card and saw the Schicksal emblem glitter in the light.
He'd been trying to convince himself that nothing had changed. That he was still just some guy who'd gotten lucky.
But he didn't really believe that. Not anymore.
He lay back on the pillows, gazing at the window. The lights of the city sparkled in the distance.
He closed his eyes.
Whatever this was, as soon as he was out of here, he was going to find out.