Being a Valkyrie is not easy [Honkai Impact FF]

20. Babysitting a Herrscher

A/N: Just saw the Trailer for the Next Animation. Now I'm definitely going for a happy end for this story.

~Narrator POV~

While Elysia and Eden were getting ready to tell the other flame chasers, Mei was thinking about where Yuki might have run to. At the same time, said girl was curiously walking through the different levels of the Elysian Realm. The Herrscher, who was now awake again, naturally kept an eye on Yuki even if she couldn't do anything herself. Somehow it was adorable how excited and curious Yuki was running back and forth. The Herrscher hoped, even if it was only for a week, that the girl could catch up on part of her childhood. ,,Meow?'' meowed a cat. ,,A kitty...'' the white-haired girl gasped in amazement and cautiously approached the cat. ,,Don't worry, I won't hurt you...'' Yuki continued. Can sniffed curiously at her hand and recognized her immediately. Out of nowhere Can jumped into Yuki's arms.

,,Woah, you're so fluffy!" Yuki gasped as she started to pet Can. With Can in her arms, Yuki continued walking through the Elysian Realm. She explored almost every floor until she arrived at the tree, which she usually loved to visit. In the middle was a store. Can meowed and a noise came from the direction of the store. ,,Ahh~ Can, there you are!" said the owner of the store, who immediately jumped out. ,,Who are you? Wait, Yuki Onee-chan?" asked Felis when she noticed the little girl. Puzzled, the girl nodded at her name, but that Onee-chan confused the little one. Can jumped down from Yuki's arms and sat on the edge of the store. ,,...Do I know you?" asked Yuki shyly. A little nervous, Felis didn't know how to react. ,,I think I mistook you for someone else," Felis answered after some time when she understood that Yuki didn't remember.

Suddenly a message rang out from Elysia asking if Felis had seen a little girl. It seems that Elysia refrained from making a complete announcement about the whole realm. ,,Did Ellie Onee-chan refer to you?" Felis asked the girl. ,,Maybe. The adults were talking about strange things that I didn't understand. So I left and found this kitty," Yuki answered. ,,I understand, sometimes I do that just to find a place to take a nap.'' Felis confessed with a giggle. Maybe I should go back. I didn't want the adults to worry about me...'' Yuki mumbled gloomily. "Then I'll take you back," Felis said and helped her out of the store. 

When Yuki and Felis arrived at the lobby, Yuki noticed new faces which she did not know. A man who had his eyes closed, a woman with fox ears, a boy with horns and claws, a little girl who was a little taller than her and a girl with a funny hat. ,,Yuki-chan, where have you been?" Mei asked, relieved. ,,I was exploring the area," Yuki replied, feeling awkward because she was afraid that the others were upset. ,,Don't worry, Mei Onee-chan. Yuki arrived at my store and hasn't done anything wrong so far,'' Felis reassured. ,,So this is the peculiar situation that Eden and Elysia were talking about," Sakura began. ,,Exactly. Yuki-chan has temporarily become a child again due to a side effect of her Herrscher powers. The Herrscher had described in a letter that she should be back to normal in a week. But I can't keep an eye on her all the time," Mei explained. ,,So you're asking us to keep an eye on her?" asked Vill-V, eyeing Yuki curiously. ,,If it's possible, yes,'' Mei replied. 

All eyes were on Yuki, who was hiding behind Felis. ,,I wouldn't mind," Vill-V said and smiled. The other flame chasers also agreed after some time. ,,Um... How long do I have to stay here?" Yuki asked shyly. ,,One week,'' Sakura answered. ,,That's no good! I-I have to go back to the orphanage for my medicine. Otherwise the man with the white coat will get angry!" the little girl objected, frightened. ,,Calm down, Yuki. Is the medicine that important?" said Elyisa and squatted down next to Yuki. ,,I-I don't know. But the man always gets angry when one of the children refuses to take the medicine. When he gets angry, he always gets scary...'' she replied, intimidated at the thought of the man. ,,What kind of medicine is it then? Maybe we have that medicine here too?" asked Su. ,,I don't know for sure. The man only comes every few weeks and only a few children are supposed to come with him then. He always has syringes with a pink liquid with him. The others had funny patterns on their arms and said that it hurt. But after a few days the pattern was gone again...'' explained Yuki.

Everyone had a shocked face after Yuki's description of the medicine. The man Yuki was talking about injected the children at the orphanage with liquid honkai energy. ,,Did I say something wrong?" the little girl asked when she saw the shocked faces of the others. ,,No, you didn't. Thank you for telling us," Su replied. Yuki smiled a little. ,,Is it okay if I explore the area with Felis again? I won't run away again either," Yuki asked. ,,Sure, but listen to what Felis says,'' Mei agreed. 

When the two were gone, Mei and Sakura's gaze seemed to darken. ,,Who would inject children with Honkai energy? That's just cruel," the latter said. ,,Maybe it has to do with what Raven-san said," Eden thought. Elysia explained to the others what Raven had found out about the orphanage with a research station underneath. ,,I would strongly suspect that Yuki and the other children were unknowingly used for an experiment. Perhaps this orphanage wanted to create more than just one artificial Herrscher. For what, however, is unknown...'' said Su. ,,Do you know anything?" Vill-V asked Mei. ,,Not really... Yuki just said that she was found by someone and brought to the HQ of Schicksal and then stayed there for 10 years,'' Mei replied, sighing. She could understand Yuki a little better now. The more one learned the more questions came up...

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-2 Days later-

In the last 2 days, the flame chasers have so far kept their promise to keep an eye on little Yuki. Most of the time Yuki was with Elysia, Eden or Felis. But it was noticeable that Yuki also enjoyed spending time with the other flame chasers. So far, at least, Mei was relieved that neither Mobius nor Aponia had noticed that Yuki was now a child. Especially Mobius should stay away from Yuki...

Right now Yuki was in her studio drawing with Griseo. Kosma was keeping watch at the time. ,,Your drawings look much better than mine...'' Yuki said, as she admired Griseo's drawings. ,,That's because I had practiced a lot," replied the flame chaser, who was concentrating on her painting. Quietly, the smaller girl stood up and went to watch the artist. Yuki saw that Griseo had made a sketch of an adult. ,,Who are you painting?" she asked curiously. ,,You. I'm drawing you," Griseo replied. But I'm not that tall," Yuki said, confused. ,,Griseo," Kosma started and shook his head. ,,Maybe you will look like this in the future,'' Griseo added. ,,Woah~'' Yuki gasped in excitement. 

As Yuki watched Griseo paint the picture, she noticed how detailed the image became. The girl in the picture stood under a starry sky and wore a long dress. As much as Yuki would have continued to watch, she promised Elysia to come back early. Elysia was especially fond of little Yuki. ,,Griseo, Kosma, I'm going back for now," Yuki began. ,,Should we accompany you?" asked Griseo. ,,I can handle it alone. I don't want to keep you from painting," Yuki answered with a smile. ,,...Be careful,'' said Kosma. ,,Okay. And thank you for letting me come here." Yuki nodded before walking through the door.

As Yuki walked through the floors of the realm, she felt herself being watched. ,,I-is there someone?" she asked uneasily and looked around. ,,Ara~ I see the little lab rat has really shrunk," said a playful voice, coming out of the shadows. ,,Who are you?" Yuki asked, frightened. ,,Don't worry, I'm no one bad. I'm just interested in how your powers work.'' replied the green-haired woman, smiling at Yuki like prey. Slowly, Yuki took a step back. ,,You don't have to be afraid," the woman continued. But Yuki just shook her head and sprinted away. She ran again through a door into another floor and ran into someone in her haste.

,,Watch out, idiot!" said an angry voice, which also frightened Yuki. ,,I'm sorry... Please don't hurt me...'' she cried. Only now did the flame chaser notice the little girl he recognized immediately. ,,What are you doing here alone?" he asked more calmly when he saw Yuki's frightened face. ,,I-I was going back to Elysia in the lobby when a creepy green-haired woman came up to me...'' she answered. Suddenly, Yuki was lifted up and was now sitting in the arms of the hot-tempered flame chaser. ,,What are you doing?" asked Yuki curiously. ,,Tsk, I see my lab rat has escaped again," Mobius said annoyed. ,,Stay away from her!" said Kalpas angrily. ,,Or what? Are you going to take her somewhere like last time and then just leave her?" asked Mobius mockingly. Yuki looked back and forth between the two, confused. On top of that, she felt it was getting hotter. 

'I just want to go back to Elysia...' thought the poor little girl too nervous to say anything.