Honkai Impact 3: Noah's Ark

11:《Castle》

《???, Present Day》

The girl stopped in her tracks and the two stared at each other. Like him, the shrine maiden was armed, with a katana and a wakizashi on her hip similar to how samurai of old would arm themselves. His eyes trailed to the rest of her body; her Miko outfit did not cover her skin as much as a traditional outfit would, say for example, the checkered pink skirt that she wore instead of the more common long plaid skirt, and there was a thick rope around her waist that served as some form of protection. Perhaps the most noticeable of all was the pair of long ears growing from the top of her head, which ought to be a rabbit's, yet Noah could subconsciously tell was a fox's.

"Who are you?" she hissed with steel in her voice, her fingers lying on the hilt of her sword. It took a second for the boy to realize she had spoken in Japanese—and that he understood her perfectly.

"Noah Arkos," he said diplomatically, though in English, "Valkyrie of Schicksal."

He watched her twitch for a second, but it was gone as soon as it came.

Slowly, she asked, "What year is it?"

"2016."

He watched as her expression changed, then she stepped back and stood straight, breathing out a sigh. "A year already, huh?" she muttered. Noah tilted his head in confusion. A breeze blew in from the open windows and door, bringing with it a few cherry petals that danced around the room. Then, she faced him again.

"Sakura-chan, what's holding you up?"

Noah directed his eyes towards a figure who had come from behind the miko and widened his eyes.

"Principal?"

The woman in question ducked over the shrine maiden's shoulder. Indeed, she bore a striking to Theresa Apocalypse, yet she also looked quite similar to Kiana. However, there was something that felt original to her subtly glowing white hair, blue eyes, and nun attire that made it seem like she was...original.

"Who's the Principal of who?" she said.

Only when Noah noticed the crucifix iconography all over her outfit did he realize that he was talking to a Kaslana. It, however, did nothing but make him even more confused.

"An outsider who found himself in our dimension, dear," the swordswoman answered while glancing over. She looked at him one last time before she began taking off her shoes.

"Leave your shoes out in front, then enter the guest hall," she said, walking past him. The Kaslana woman followed after her, glancing at him briefly before disappearing into the hallway. Noah hesitated, then left his boots and walked inside.

He found the two sitting in the not-so-abandoned guest hall, with the shrine maiden preparing tea on top of a low table. The women sat on the floor, and there was a cushion at the other side of that was likely meant for him. The boy inspected their positions, then walked and mimicked them, resting his behind on his heels. The shrine maiden then finished pouring the tea into three handle-less cups. Noah stared at the beverage. It was green.

"Never had green tea before?" she asked, her voice now serene instead of intense like when they first met.

He shook his head. "No." Still, he brought the cup to his mouth and drank the warm liquid, feeling it melt the cold that had been building up in his system. Yet, he could somehow tell that it never reached his stomach.

When he looked again, the two girls nodded at each other. Then the miko spoke:

"My name is Yae Sakura." She glanced at hear companion. "Sakura is my first name, and Yae is my family name."