Kenji
Another day, another lecture designed to test the limits of human consciousness. Kenji slumped slightly in his chair, his pen scratching furiously across his notebook as he kept up with the lecture.
The thing about lectures is always that even when you want to focus, it's just so unbearably boring that sleeping just becomes inevitable.
Himeko stood at the front of the classroom, her voice a steady and confident rhythm as she detailed the tactical failures of Schicksal during the Second Eruption.
The soft hum of the holographic projector and the rustle of turning pages were the only other sounds in the otherwise silent room.
For Kenji, it was still a surreal experience. One moment he was a delivery boy in Nagazora, and the next he was sitting in a classroom full of Valkyrie cadets, listening to lectures about honkai history.
It was hard to believe he has been here for over a month now. After all, time flies if you constantly have things to do.
He risked a quick glance around the room. To his right, Kiana had already lost her battle with consciousness, her head propped up on her hand as she stared blankly at her notebook, where a detailed drawing of a chibi Himeko battling a giant squid was slowly taking shape.
Across from her, Mei was the picture of a model student, her posture perfect and her notes impeccably neat. And Bronya… well, Bronya was Bronya, even with her poker face, her focus absolute as her fingers tapped silently on the datapad in front of her.
It was like watching a kid with an ipad, except the ipad was a highly advanced hologram thing. He doesn't even want to know how long it took her to get used to using that. He gave up after just a few minutes trying to use it.
"And that's why understanding our history is critical to avoiding the same mistakes," Himeko concluded, her sharp gaze sweeping across the room, seeing a few students dozing off.
She sighed, then clapped her hands together, the sharp sound making Kiana jolt awake. "Alright, that's enough history for one day."
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the classroom. Kiana stretched dramatically, letting out an extremely satisfied groan.
"However," Himeko continued, a smirk playing on her lips as she enjoyed their brief moment of hope, "that just means we have time for something more interesting. As you all know, your first field exercises are scheduled for tomorrow."
'Field exercise? Oh! It has to be that mentoring thing she was talking about.'
The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant. The tired slump of the students vanished, replaced by a buzz of excited energy. Whispers erupted from every corner as people straightened in their seats.
"Finally!" Kiana whispered, her previous boredom completely gone. She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. "Some real action!"
Himeko gestured toward a large holographic display at the side of the room, which flickered to life. "Your teams and supervising Valkyries have been assigned. Find your names on the roster."
The classroom erupted as students scrambled from their seats, crowding around the display. Kenji hung back for a moment, letting the initial rush pass before making his way over.
He scanned the list, his eyes searching for his own name among the sea of others. He found it under "Team 7."
And right below it, a familiar list of names made a warmth spread through his chest:
____________________
Team 7:
Kiana Kaslana
Raiden Mei
Bronya Zaychik
Kenji Aoyama
____________________
"Yes! We're all on the same team!" Kiana shouted, throwing an arm around Kenji's shoulder as she pointed excitedly at the screen. "This is gonna be awesome! No Honkai beast stands a chance against us!"
Kenji couldn't help but smile. After over a month has passed since arriving at St. Freya, the feeling of being the "odd one out" faded completely.
Well the feeling did, but he still got some looks for being the only guy around. Himeko said that there used to be a lot more knights around, but the numbers just died down as time passed.
"Just try not to get us all killed in the first five minutes,"
"Hey!"
Mei laughed softly beside them. "I'm sure we'll be fine."
"Now for the important part," Kiana said, her gaze shifting to the next column on the roster. "Who's our supervisor? I hope we get Himeko! She knows how awesome I am." She scrolled down the list, her finger tracing the line from their team name to the assigned Valkyrie. Her finger stopped. The name listed was not Himeko Murata.
______________________________
Team 7 Supervisor: Rita Rossweiss
______________________________
"""Rita??""" The four said in unison.
'Holy shit our supervisor is Rita!' Kenji screamed happily in his mind. This was definitely a surprise, but a very welcome one!
He has met Rita twice now. Well they technically "met" only once, when she escorted him to Theresa's office on his first day here.
But he still vividly remembers the first time he saw her in that public demonstration. He was embarrassed to admit it, but after seeing her in action that one time, he went and searched up everything about her.
Yeah, he was a total Rita fanboy. How couldn't he be? She was the first person that showed him the strength and finesse of a valkyrie. Well the first he was able to actually observe. Something that back then, he absolutely needed.
He was too focused on St Freya last time to actually talk to her, but this time is different. This time, he wouldn't just talk with her, but he is also going to see her in battle for real.
Sadly, not everyone in the team shared his excitement.
"Rita Rossweiss? The super strict maid that basically never smiles?" Kiana grumbled, her previous excitement was now completely gone.
That came as a surprise, he thought Kiana would be more excited to have such a strong Valkyrie as their supervisor. But the more he thought about it, maybe it wasn't that she didn't like Rita. She might have been hoping that Himeko would be the one supervising them.
It would make sense. After all, Himeko's fiery personality and hands on style of teaching definitely fit Kiana well, and even if Himeko liked to act annoyed whenever Kiana does her antics, it was clear that they were really close.
"Hey come on now, having Rita mentoring us will be fun!" Kenji said, giving her a little nudge.
She still seemed to be reluctant, but seeing everyone else excited allowed her to get over it quickly. "Yeah you're right, having an S-Class teach us is gonna be awesome!"
Her mood now seemingly lifted, she put her attention to Mei and Bronya. Asking them questions about what they think the exercise will be like.
'It's scary how her mood can change so quickly…'
"I agree, this exercise will definitely teach us a lot. Seeing face-to-face an S-Class in action… We could learn a lot from her." Mei said, a reserved smile on her face. "But we definitely don't want to get on her bad side." Her eyes slowly moved to Kiana, then Kenji.
""Hey!"" The two said in protest, Mei rolling her eyes in response.
"The Bronya agrees with Subject Mei. Bronya has analyzed Rita's combat data. Her mission success rate is 98.7%. This will be an informative, if demanding, experience." Kenji assumed she was excited, even though it was impossible to see from her face.
The other students also showed differing reactions to discovering their mentor, but mostly they were all positive.
/ — /
Himeko
Himeko leaned against her desk with her arms crossed, watching the controlled chaos of the classroom with a practiced, weary amusement. The moment the words "field exercises" had left her lips, the room had transformed.
The drowsy, lecture-induced atmosphere disappeared, replaced by a crackling energy that was both exhausting and infectious. It was the same every year, but it never failed to bring a faint smirk to her face.
Her gaze drifted, landing on Team 7 as they huddled around the holographic roster. It was impossible to miss them; Kiana's loud excitement was a beacon in the sea of murmurs. Himeko watched as Kiana's mood visibly deflated, her triumphant cheer faltering into a dramatic pout.
As expected, Himeko thought, the corner of her mouth twitching. She wanted someone who would let her run wild. Rita is the exact opposite. This is exactly what she needs.Sorry kid, we can go wild another time.
Her eyes then shifted to Mei and Bronya, whose calm, analytical reactions were a sharp contrast to Kiana's. At least two of them had their heads straight.
Then there was Kenji.
While Kiana looked like her favorite toy had just been taken away, Kenji was practically vibrating. He was trying to play it cool, but Himeko could see it clear as day. The wide eyes, the barely suppressed grin, the way his posture straightened with a jolt of nervous energy.
'So, the tough-guy vigilante is a Rita fanboy' she mused, finding the revelation genuinely hilarious. Who would have guessed?
Beneath her amusement, however, was a calculated logic. She, or rather Theresa, hadn't assigned Rita to them on a whim. Himeko knew her own mentoring style was effective, fiery, passionate, and great for building morale.
But it was also chaotic. She was the sledgehammer you used to break down a wall. Rita, on the other hand, was more akin to a scalpel. Cold, precise, and unflinching.
Right now, with Kenji's raw, untamed power and Kiana's glorious recklessness, they needed someone with precision and patience.
"Oof!" Kenji suddenly yelled out as Kiana decked him in the stomach, probably for a comment he made.
A lot of patience.
Deciding they'd had enough time to chatter, Himeko pushed off her desk and strode over to the group, her presence immediately silencing their conversation.
"Looks like your mood shifted quickly, Kaslana," she said, her sharp gaze landing on Kiana. "You should be glad, you're being supervised by an S-Rank Valkyrie. You might actually learn some discipline."
"Hey, I have great, even amazing discipline!" Kiana countered, "When I feel like it…"
Himeko chuckled then turned to Kenji, letting her smirk widen as she saw the faint blush creep up his neck. "And you," she said, her voice laced with amusement. "Try not to get star-struck. I wonder what she would think when the knight she's supervising is actually a fanboy."
"I am not!" He yelled, but that confidence quickly left him and looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
"Enough gawking," Himeko commanded, her tone shifting back to that of an instructor. "Rita's waiting for you in Briefing Room 3. And trust me," she added, letting the warning hang in the air, "she is not someone you want to keep waiting."
The team exchanged wary glances before nodding and heading for the door—Kiana grumbling, Kenji looking a mix of terrified and thrilled, with Mei and Bronya maintaining their usual composure. Himeko watched them go, her smirk softening into something more thoughtful.
'She's going to murder those kids' Himeko thought, a flicker of a genuine smile on her lips. 'Eh, they needed someone to knock them down a peg anyways. Good luck to them.'
____________________________________________________
OMAKE
____________________________________________________
Kenji
Two weeks.
It had been two weeks since Kenji had officially become a student at St. Freya Academy, and he still wasn't sure if he'd gotten used to it. He walked down a quiet, upper-floor corridor, the late afternoon sun streaming through the grand arched windows and casting long, geometric shadows across the polished floor. Below, in the main courtyard, he could hear the faint, distant chatter of students enjoying their free time, but up here, it was peaceful.
He'd been looking for Himeko. After his training performance yesterday, the stares from his classmates had shifted. The initial curiosity had morphed into a mix of respect, hushed whispers, and, from some, a competitive glint in their eyes.
Some had other kinds of glints, but he made sure to stay far away from them.
But a new worry had been gnawing at him, a paranoid thought that refused to go away: Do they know?
He rounded a corner and finally spotted her. Himeko was leaning against a balcony railing at the end of the hall, gazing out over the sprawling academy grounds. She was out of her uniform, dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts, and was sipping from a thermos. She looked relaxed, completely off-duty, a rare sight for the ever-busy Valkyrie.
"Hey, Himeko," Kenji said, his footsteps echoing slightly in the quiet hall as he approached.
She turned, a lazy smile on her face. "Kenji. What's up? Got a girlfriend yet? Or maybe… girlfriends?~"
He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "No, I don't have time for any of that stuff…" He hesitated for a moment, but continued "You got a second?"
"For my second best troublemaker? I can spare a minute," she teased, taking another sip from her thermos.
Kenji leaned against the railing beside her, the cool stone a stark contrast to the warmth of the sun on his face. He hesitated a moment before coming to the point. "I've been meaning to ask... about my whole 'Night Runner' thing."
Himeko's smile didn't falter, but her eyes sharpened with interest. "What about it? Don't tell me you want to go out at night to fight crime again?"
"What, No! Wait, yes! I mean, Ugh." He sighed, she always knew how to get under his skin. "Do... do people here know it's me?" he asked, his voice quieter than he intended. "I mean, besides you, Theresa, and the girls. The other students..." He trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the courtyard below.
It was pretty likely that they knew, heck maybe the entirety of Nagazora knew he was the Night Runner at this point. He would prefer if no one else knew but that would be wishful thinking.
The strange thing was that no one had said anything, so he needed to know.
It was awkward when there were students here looking at footage of him fighting while sitting close to him. It felt like they were purposely gouging his reaction, even if that might not even be the case.
Himeko's smile softened, the teasing glint in her eyes giving way to a more understanding look as she saw the genuine worry on his face. She took a slow sip from her thermos before leaning against the railing.
"Nope," she said finally, her voice calm and reassuring. "No one else knows. Your identity is safe with us."
A wave of relief washed over him. He let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding. So everything was inside his head after all, he had been worrying over nothing. "Oh, thank God. I thought I was going crazy."
"However,"
'God dammit.'
"That doesn't mean it's been quiet." She took another thoughtful sip. "Somehow, word got out that we had taken in the 'Hero of Nagazora.' We've had reporters trying to get a comment for weeks. Theresa's been running interference, but it's been a headache."
She gestured with her thermos toward the courtyard below. "As for the students," she continued, a smirk returning to her lips, "they don't know your name. But they know a mysterious and powerful new male trainee showed up right after the Night Runner vanished. They're not stupid, Kenji. They're just putting two and two together and gossiping."
She leaned a little closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Right now, you're just a rumor. A very popular rumor."
Kenji groaned, rubbing his face. "Ok that definitely helps explain some of their behavior."
"Comes with the territory," Himeko said with a shrug, her tone light again. "So, as long as you don't go around saying you're the Night Runner, your secret's safe. We'll beside the red glow you emit everything you use your powers, but other than that you should be good."
Yeah it was more than likely that his identity as the Night Runner would come out sooner than later. But he was glad he was able to enjoy a few weeks at least without anyone figuring out. "Thanks, Himeko. That's... a huge weight off my shoulders."
Thus the two went on to talk about more menial things, Kenji even challenging her to another sparring match the next time he had private training.
The two were too immersed in their conversation to notice the two students secretly listening in.