A-kun: Slice of life in St.Freya... is so peaceful without depression 😏
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Narrator PoV
It's been a day since Kiana passed the retest, although she barely passed. This is mainly thanks to Bronya, who helps her with her studies.
''Oniichan! As a thank you for helping me through my studies, I baked cookies for you!'' Her snow-colored hair fluttered around her waist. Her eyes sparkled like the sea when the light reflected in the sea.
A beautiful girl with a childlike expression said these words with her usual energetic, excited demeanor as she held out the container she was holding in her hands to Shiroi.
''You know, Kiana... Bronya helped you the most... so why did you bake it for me? Not that I'm not grateful for it, because my sweet little sister made it for me.''
''This brat... already got all my pocket money from our last bet... so I thanked her for her help, even though I didn't really need her help since I can handle studying just fine on my own.I mean, after all, I'm your super cute, smart little sister, so the test was a breeze.''
With a carefree, happy, big smile that could make Shiroi smile if the situation were normal.
''...Well, about that...''
There were so many things he wanted to say, but Shiroi couldn't find the appropriate words in the face of his dear sister, who was in a really good mood.
Kiana couldn't see anything wrong with Shiroi's expression and lifted the lid of the container.
''Look Oniichan! The cookies look good, right? I did my best!''
The many things inside were irregularly shaped and had burn marks all over them and there were even some ingredients in there that shouldn't be there. They could hardly be called cookies or any kind of edible food. As expected when a Kaslana cooks or bakes something.
Shiroi was also like this for the first time when he started cooking around the age of six, but after a lot of passionate, hard work, he overcame the curse of Kaslana cooking.
Shiroi stared at the cookies and felt a shiver run down his spine as he could have sworn the cookies were just moving slightly and somehow grinning at him.
His eyes twitched slightly in disgust at this creation of Kiana's.
''Um... Did you bake it yourself?''
''Nope! Mei-senpai help me! She even took a bite and said it was good, but somehow after taking a bite she just ran upstairs to the bathroom with a pale face.'' Kiana said with an innocent expression on her face, not knowing that she had poisoned Mei with her creation.
Shiroi feels sorry for Mei because he can imagine that after baking her so-called cookies, Kiana has a very happy puppy expression and Mei takes a bite, knowing that it looks very disgusting, but with the thought that it will still taste good, even if it doesn't look edible at all.
Shiroi regrets having to tell Mei that some food, even if it looks inedible, might taste very good... but in the case of a Kaslana, this quote won't work.
''Oniichan...? Don't you want to eat it? Or is it because the cookie isn't good enough?'' Kiana said shyly and nervously as she lost confidence in her cookies when she saw how much Shiroi was hesitant to say anything about it.
As a person who adores his sister very much, Shiroi didn't want to see his little sister sad and so he decided to do so.
He took a cookie out of the container. And then as he slowly lifted it to his mouth, praying internally that it didn't kill his taste forever.
''...!?''
While his attention was elsewhere, a yellow blur flew in a straight line before his eyes. The shot came from the stairs. It was a plastic bullet with a Homu symbol on it.
''Saved...'' Shiroi murmured quietly, feeling relieved.
Then his eyes went to the stairs and saw a petite girl with light gray hair and dark gray eyes with a drill-shaped ponytails haircut.
It was the Bronya with a Homu-style toy sniper on her shoulder.
''Mission accomplished... The Bronya save Niisama from the Idiotka poison cookies.'' Bronya said monotonously with no expression on her face, giving the impression of a lifeless doll.
''What...?! Bratnya! that's dangerous, you know!'' Kiana shouted as she turned towards the stairs.
''Why do you have a Homu sniper with you?'' Shiroi asks her curiously, even though he's the one who bought it for her, but his question is more about why she brought it downstairs.
While Kiana had her eyebrows furrowed in dissatisfaction. She is annoyed that Bronya not only interrupted the moment when she was alone with her brother, but also destroyed her cookie without any remorse.
Bronya approached them slowly while looking at both of them. After stopping in front of Shiroi, she placed her sniper on the couch, lifted the lid of the container she was holding in her right hand, and retrieved it, just as Kiana had done a few moments ago.
''Niisama... you don't have to put the weird Idiotka creation in your mouth. If you want to eat, eat The Bronya's special cookie.''
Inside the container were perfect cookies in the shape of a Homu with different expressions. It looked like it was made by a professional pastry chef. Shiroi was really impressed and proud that Bronya was able to do this well with just a few tips from him.
''Wow... It looks really delicious.'' Shiroi said as his eyes glittered in amazement.
''Don't interfere, Bratnya! Oniichan will eat my cookies!'' Kiana shouted in a high pitched voice as she squinted at Bronya, trying to ignore the wonderfully sweet smell emanating from the cookies.
However. Bronya didn't flinch at all. Her expression turns slightly smug as her gaze turns to Kiana. ''The one who interferes is you, Idiotka. You should dispose of your poisonous cookies before endangering other people like Mei-neesama... The Bronya will protect Niisama from this thing.''
''Wh-what are you saying? Mei-senpai definitely loves my cookies and doesn't interrupt me and MY Big Brother moment with your all high and mighty acting!''
''Niisama is also Bronya's big brother and as Niisama's little sister, The Bronya came here to protect Niisama from the poison cookies.''
''MY COOKIES ARE NOT POISON, BRATNYA!''
''Then eat it in front of us.'' Bronya retorts and Kiana is still fuming but then slowly subsides as she looks at her cookies. She takes a cookie and looks at Bronya who makes an eating gesture towards her.
She slowly and hesitantly moves the cookie to her mouth, slowly noticing how wrong the cookies look as her filter of her perfect cookies slowly breaks down. Before she could put the cookie in her mouth, Shiroi gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her from eating it.
Before Kiana could respond, Shiroi ate the entire cookie, his soft lips lightly touching her fingertips. In one gulp, he swallows the whole cookie without chewing.
Bronya looks at Shiroi with the most worried expression she can make as she saw him eat the entire so-called cookie.
Without saying anything, Shiroi stood there with a trance-like expression on his face.
''Oniichan?/Niisama?'' They both said his name at the same time, worried for their big brother since he had been quiet for almost 10 seconds now.
''it tastes... good.'' Shiroi says something very unexpected that leaves both of them speechless, especially Bronya.
''Really?!'' Kiana smiled broadly and her eyes shone with happiness.
''Impossible... This thing... tastes good?'' Bronya looks at Kiana's cookies in denial because she can't believe something like that would even taste good.
''HA! in your face Bratnya! My cookies are awesome!'' Kiana celebrates with anticipation and then looks at her brother with a big smile plastered her face. ''Do you want more Onii—''
Kiana couldn't finish the sentence as she saw that Shiroi's face was becoming more and more pale and didn't look good at all. Shiroi wasn't lying that it tasted good, but he felt the after effects of the cookie he ate as he felt very nauseous.
Without saying anything, he ran upstairs to the bathroom, opened it and saw Mei lying unconscious on the floor with a sick look on her face.
Shiroi have high resistance to many things like poison, disease, etc. and Kiana making him feel that way is just a testament to how dangerous Kaslana's kitchen skills were.
He immediately leans forward and touches her forehead with his palm and a warm, golden light envelopes her body. With each passing second, her skin color normalizes and her facial expressions soften.
Shiroi breathed a sigh of relief after healing her. Kiana and Bronya were behind them after a few seconds as Shiroi healed Mei. Kiana looks down and feels very guilty for poisoning Mei and Shiroi with her cookies, even if it wasn't intentional.
Shiroi stood up and patted her head gently and Kiana looked up and met the face she loved to see.
''It's okay, Kiana... Mei and I know that you have no bad intentions, because you just want to thank us with your homemade cookies. And I really appreciate you for your hard work and effort you put into the cookies you baked... So don't feel guilty about this incident. Every person makes a mistake somet—''
Without finishing his words, Shiroi's eyes rolled and he fell backwards, before he passed out he could hear Kiana and Bronya calling his name in concern. After treating Mei, he wanted to comfort Kiana first before healing himself, but he underestimated how bad it was and fainted because he himself chose to put other people's happiness over his own.
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Shiroi's ears rang. There was a lot of screaming as if it was day of judgment. The sound of swords, guns and the screams of people echoed in his ears.
''...Huh!'' Shiroi woke up. He breathed in the blue sky of dawn that spread before him. Pushing and moving the weights against his body, Shiroi stood up.
The ringing in his ears disappeared and was only replaced by groans drowned out by the sound of the wind. As the dust settled, the smell of blood crept into his nose.
''Where am I? I was in the dorm... and then I ate Kiana cookie... And now I'm here...'' Shiroi mutters under his breath, trying to figure out where he is and why he's here.
His eyes widened as he looked around. There were so many corpses and destroyed mechs. Shiroi didn't look particularly horrified, as he was already used to such a scene without meaning to.
The ground was dyed with blood, several thousand bodies lay upon the earth. He looked down and noticed that his hand was wet and stained red. Near him, his sword was stuck on the ground, damaged and covered in blood.
Shiroi now clearly noticed the corpse and saw that they were Valkyries and knights who belonged to Schicksal. He bites his lip in frustration because he doesn't know what's going on.
Then Shiroi punched him in the face but it didn't work as he was trying to wake himself up if it was a dream.
''This must clearly be a dream... I don't remember anything about being on the battlefield.'' With no choice, Shiroi wanders aimlessly through the battlefield.
He tries not to look too much at the corpses around him, as many of them die gruesome deaths, separated by many limbs or holes and even bite marks on the body.
After wandering aimlessly across the battlefield for hours, killing the remaining Honkai beasts that try to kill him.
He reaches a certain place.
The place was St. Freya, or rather the remaining of St. Freya, as the entire building is in ruins. Shiroi immediately runs to the dorm and sees nothing but piles of rubble from the building.
He grits his teeth and then tries to look for his family with a desperate expression on his face. But he couldn't find anything until he got to the middle of the place where the fountain was.
Shiroi's eyes water and his expression becomes horrified with each passing second. He falls to his knees as he looks at the fountain. In his eyes you see no will to live and is replaced by complete despair.
His dead friends and family lie around the fountain. On the fountain, Kiana lies lifeless as her blood turns the water red.
Shiroi slams his forehead mercilessly on the ground, trying to wake up from this nightmare. Blood pours from his forehead as he continues to slams his forehead against the ground.
''I thought you would like this view because I made it just for you~'' An indifferent, playful voice came from behind Shiroi.
Shiroi recognizes the voice because it sounds very familiar to him. He turns around with a murderous expression and lunges at the person.
The person was none other than himself as he grinned crazily at Shiroi. He looked older and more mature than the current Shiroi, but his eyes were red and his pupil was in the shape of a slit. His right arms were not human, but rather demonic, as his arms were black with red stripes and his hand was replaced with a monstrous claw.
Shiroi creates a sword from his mana and swings it mercilessly with all his might to kill him.
''Even my past self is so weak in front of me, huh.'' He said unfazed as he effortlessly caught the sword with his left hand, which still looked human. ''You should really give up on being a selfless tragic hero trying to redeem himself... and to be like me. free, selfish, without any attraction to anyone, kill anyone you don't like, and without feeble emotions.''
''I WILL KILL YOU!'' Shiroi screamed and increased his power tremendously, shaking the entire area. But the person who seemed to be his future self was unimpressed and just grinned at him even more.
''Man... I completely forgot what a boring person I was.'' Afterwards, without hesitation, he pierces Shiroi's stomach with his right claws, causing Shiroi to cough up blood.
He raises his claw high above him, enjoying the blood dripping from Shiroi's stomach onto his face.
''In the end you'll be like me... I really want to see the look on my face when they were all dead... I bet it was hilarious, KUHAHAHA.'' He laughs like a madman and enjoys the situation.
''...?! Grrh!'' Someone punched him in the face and before he could fly for miles, his claw was pulled out of Shiroi's body, causing Shiroi to fall harshly to the ground.
''Kiana cookie is really something that could make you meet your future self or rather your past self.''
Then Shiroi saw his other self with a smug face. He stood up and healed his body and the five holes in his stomach closed.
''What do you mean my past self? And is the place a dream?'' Shiroi asked him bluntly and he just shrugged.
''I don't really have the motivation to explain it, but I'll give you a little hint... Rewind.'' Shiroi just growled when he gave him just a single word as a clue.
Shiroi sighed heavily and looked at him seriously. ''At least help me wake up from this dream... I can't bear to look at them.''
His other self knew what he meant by that because it was really obvious that he meant the lifeless bodies of his friends and family.
''Is your dream, just put effort and willpower and bend this place to your will, reckless idiot.'' Without reacting to his mocking words, Shiroi closed his eyes and imagined another place.
When he opened it, he found himself in a snow-covered forest.
''Better, but there's a better place than here, you know.''
Before Shiroi could respond, his future self appeared between them, grinning casually.
''I never thought you would help him, even though you constantly neglected and ignored my cries for help back then, Kuroi... Is this your quest for redemption because you couldn't stop me when it was too late?''
Shiroi, his other self, known as Kuroi, simply gives him the middle finger. ''It's more like my revenge on you. Erase your existence for good sounds much better to me.'' He sneers at him and Shiroi's future self just responds with a grin.
''Sharp tongue as always. It will certainly be fun to kill you again... but this time I will gouge out your lovely eyes~''
''Try it, you lunatic idiot.''
As they stared at each other, Shiroi swung his sword to decapitate his future self, but he caught it with his clawed hand without looking at him, as if he wasn't worth his time.
''Children have no right to interfere in adult affairs... Remember this little me... you will be like me in the end... until then enjoy your little peaceful life.''
With a feeling of fear coming over Shiroi, his vision changed as he saw his own body lying on the cold snow. Without realizing it, his head was severed by his future self.
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Shiroi's eyes open with tears as his torso tilts upwards. He is covered in a cold sweat of fear that runs down his back like ice. His strands of hair stick damply to his forehead. He feels the ongoing fear, confusion and even anger.
''Oniichan...?'' Shiroi hears Kiana's voice and his eyes shift and he sees Kiana, Mei and Bronya sitting on a chair next to the bed to his right.
He wipes his tears with his fingers and tries to look normal. ''How long did I sleep?'' Shiroi asked them softly, trying to smile even though he felt miserable.
''About 2 hours, Niisama... After healing Mei-neesama, you passed out a few minutes later.''
''You're being careless with your health again, Shiroi... You really should take care of your health first and then the other.'' Mei lectures Shiroi in a gentle, concerned tone. ''Still, thank you for healing me, Shiroi.''
''I'll try, okay... it's just difficult when you girls are always in a weird situation, Haha...ha... ha.'' Shiroi tries to lighten the tense atmosphere with his bad joke, but it didn't work as they still looked at him with concern, especially Kiana who still feels guilty.
''Oniichan...why did you cry and murmur our name in your sleep? Did you have a nightmare?'' Shiroi sighed internally as he tried to avoid the question.
''It was truly a nightmare when you girls stole all of my dessert and forced me to watch while you happily ate.'' Shiroi explained with his cheerful demeanor. They didn't really believe it was such a dream because they saw the look on his face while he was dreaming.
But since they knew Shiroi wouldn't tell them, they just nodded and played along.
''If you say so. Anyway, try to rest for an hour, okay?'' Mei said and stood up and so did Kiana and Bronya.
Then they left his room and Shiroi immediately let out a deep sigh.
''They definitely know I'm lying... and now my question about me only gets bigger... rewind... what he means by that...'' With this question in mind, he closes his eyes again.