Honorary B Rank

{Date: 10/12 - Wednesday}

{Time: 9:00 AM}

The next day arrived after the mission in the Sakura District, and I couldn't stop thinking about Pandora's words about my true identity. I decided to shake them out of my head for now and get ready for the day ahead. After getting dressed, I met up with the others in the living room, noticing them watching the news.

"Good morning," I greeted, glancing around the room.

Kikyo peeked her head out of the kitchen with a smile. "Morning~ Waffles and eggs for breakfast this morning."

I looked at Kikyo and smiled at her then nodded. I walked toward the couches, taking my usual spot next to Saito on one couch and leaned against her. I noticed both Yumeji and Saito engrossed in today's news reports so I decided to see what has their attention.

"And we have words from the leader of the Midnight Corps, Ms. Yonaka Yoshimura herself! Hello, Ms. Yonaka, how are you this fine morning?" The news reporter asked, holding her microphone toward a beautiful woman standing next to her.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. So, today I will be letting everyone know from the cities of Yukihora, Yahoma, and Shibuya that you don't need to worry about the Demon Order as the Midnight Corps has it all handled. Since the St. Fraskia Valkyrias all have their hands tied with Judgement, we decided to step up and deal with Demon Order for them," Yonaka said, smiling at the news reporter.

Yonaka looked at the camera, a soft smile that looked sickening to me stretched crossed her face. "The offer still stands Yusa Yukota..~ You and I can team up like old times again...take down both Organizations in half the time..~ The choice is yours."

Yumeji scoffed lightly changing the channel to play Detective Pamu on the TV, tossing the remote on the table. "What a load of bullshit. Those Midnight Corps Valkyrias think they are better than us because they are handling a separate organization..."

"Saito agrees with Yumeji's frustrations...Saito thinks Yonaka is being disingenuous with her offer, thinking we can't handle two organizations at once. Madam Yukota is more than strong enough to handle both Organizations," Saito said, hugging her Detective Pamu plushie as her eyes were glued to the TV screen.

Kikyo sighed softly, carrying two plates the dining table and set them both down. "It doesn't help that she's a part of the same organization that my traitorous father is a part of. We will never team up with the likes of her..."

I looked at Kikyo with a raised eyebrow, leaning back against the couch. "Why? She seems pretty solid to me. I mean yeah, she has a smile that looks very punchable, but at the end of the day she's cleaning the streets."

Kikyo looked over at me with a soft smile and walked toward the couch and leaned against the back of th couch. "Yeah, on the surface she seems like a true hero, but on the inside, she hates some of us Valkyrias.."

"I...I don't follow," I said, scratching the side of my head, glancing at Saito for answers.

Saito waited for her show to go to commercial break then broke out of her trance, turning toward me and allowed me to lean against her even more. "Yonaka Yoshimura is in am organization called Anarchy. It is an organization that was created to kill certain people with the potential of becoming Rulers and Overlords. They believe that a world without certain order is a world of true peace."

"And I'm guessing certain Valkyrias have potential to become Rulers and Overlords huh?" I asked, glancing at the three.

"Yeah...Your mother has the potential of becoming a Ruler. The Ruler of Death. In Yonaka's eyes, your mother is a threat to the Earth, the Human Realm despite Rulers being here to protect us from the forces of Chaos," Kikyo said, getting off the couch and began to go set the table.

I took a moment to think about her words then glanced at Genesis with confusion. 'What exactly is a Ruler?'

"Glad you asked!~ A Ruler is a being of Godlike Power, a Guardian of the Five Realms and Concepts. There are 12 Rulers: Life, Death, Land, Sea, Sky, Science, Magic, Humanity, Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, and Willpower," Genesis began.

"While there are 12 main Rulers, you have your Sub Categories that fit within the category of each of the rulers. An example of this would be Land, Sea, and Sky. They have Minor Rulers such as Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Life, Death, Creation, and Destruction all make the Ruler of Reality. Humanity, Knowledge, and Willpower make up the Ruler of Indomitability," She continued.

I nodded at her explanation, getting a better idea of what a Ruler was, but still didn't understand why Yonaka wanted them dead. I shook my head and decided to leave it as a thought for now and focused on getting ready for classes for now.

The four of us sat the dining table together, enjoying a nice breakfast and talked about our plans after classes today. We thought about heading to Fujitori since it was a Safe Haven that was near St. Fraskia to do a bit of shopping.

After having breakfast, we decided to head out to head onto the campus since classes were getting ready to start.

{Time: 10:00 AM}

We made it to the campus, the four of us noticing Orishi up ahead talking with Yusa. We glanced at each other, wondering what they could be talking about. We decided to approach them to see what was up, our curiosities getting the better of us.

"Mom? Orishi? What's going on?" I asked, walking up toward them and crossed my arms under my chest.

Yusa glanced over at me, a smile playing on her face as she gazed at me. She then looked over the four of us, a proud expression playing in her face. "Orishi told me about your successful mission yesterday, especially you, Hisumi. I couldn't be more proud of you..."

I blushed slightly, feeling my cheeks flush from my mother's praise. It was the first I've been praised so I didn't know how to take it. I rubbed the back of my head, narrowing my gaze. "Y-Yeah...I mean...it was a team effort. I couldn't have done it without my roommates.."

Yusa smiled at me then glanced at Orishi, her gaze shifting back toward me. "Because you did such a good job, I want to promote you to a B Rank so you can be on the front lines as well."

Yumeji looked surprised and glanced at me with excitement. "Hisumi, you're gonna become a B Rank!"

"That's actually amazing! To become a B Rank this fast! We can finally get you up to speed with your true potential," Kikyo said, smiling at me and placed a hand on my arm.

I grunted softly, immediately thinking about Orika and my promise to her. I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck. "As much as I would love to jump up to B Rank...I made a promise to Orika that I would stay beside her to help her rank up and grow. I can't just leave her..."

Orishi chuckled softly at me, crossing her arms and tilted her head. "I thought you'd say that, so I have an alternative for you. We make you an official Honorary B Rank where you will take on an extra class after your lunch period. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you'll have my afternoon class. Tuesdays and Thursdays, you'll have Liao Ru's afternoon class."

"Wait, you'll really let me do that?" I asked, looking at Orishi and Yusa with a bit of awe.

Yusa nodded, placing a hand on her hip. "Mhm!~ That way you can be with Orika and help her grow while also be on the front lines where your potential can see maximum usage."

I couldn't deny that I was excited to be an Honorary B Rank and actively help out to save the world from Judgement. Without hesitation, I nodded at them and gave them a look of pure determination. "I accept!"

Orishi smirked at me, letting out a soft hum and nodded back. "Good...your first day in my class starts today..~ I hope to see you there."

I watched as Orishi and Yusa walked off, feeling more confident than ever now that I was able to now be on the frontlines and help out with missions. "I can't believe it's actually happening..~ I'm going to become an Honorary B Rank Valk..."

"This is...Uber Awesome! No one has EVER been considered an Honorary B Rank before! Then again, no one from lower ranks have ever even been on a mission with us so this is a first!" Yumeji said excitedly and held her hand out. "Now we have the Roomies all together even in the academy!~"

Kikyo looked at Yumeji's hand then giggled softly, placing her hands on top of Yumeji's. "The Roomies are once again together..~"

Saito placed her hand on top of Kikyo's, nodding her head. "Roomies..."

I looked at their hand then placed mine on top, smiling at them. "We're finally together inside and outside the academy~"

"Roomies on three! One, two, three!" Yumeji called out.

"Roomies!" We all exclaimed, raising out hands and smiled with happiness.

With that, we began to head toward the academy building. I split off from the ground to head toward my first class to tell Orika the good news and to try to invite her out with us to Fujitori after classes.

I made it to Alice's class, bowing toward her, beaming a bright smile at her. "Good morning, Major Newton."

Alice looked at me and smiled warmly at me, taking off her glasses. "Good morning, Hisumi. You seem to be in good spirits today~"

I nodded at her and practically skipped over to my seat, smiling at Orika and sat beside her. "Good morning, Orika..~"

"Good morning, Hisu... What's got you all happy today?" Orika asked, tilting her head at me as she grew curious of my chipper mood.

"Well earlier, I had a conversation with Orishi and my mom which carried great news. After my mission yesterday that I went on with Squad VI with Yumeji and the others, I was promoted to become an Honorary B Rank to take extra classes with Orishi and Liao Ru!" I said in an excited tone, smiling ear to ear at Orika.

Orika gasped at me, an excited smile playing on her lips as she was excited for me as well. "Really? That's amazing! Wait...does that mean this is your last day as a D Rank?"

"Not really. I'm only Honorary, not an actual B Rank yet meaning I'm still a D Rank in reality, but since my power level is B Rank it's like the best of both worlds. I get to still be with you while also growing my own potential," I said, blushing from what I said to Orika.

Orika became flustered, glancing away from me shyly from my words, a soft smile playing on her lips. "You really chose to stay at my side than to accept becoming a full B Rank..?"

"Of course...I made a promise to you, and I will keep it. If I grow, you grow with me. There's no use in blooming only one flower and forgetting about the other buds..." I said, smiling at Orika and held her hand under our table.

{Orika's Mood: Flustered}

{Bond with Orika increased greatly.}

Orika's heart skipped a few beats as I held her hand in mine, her face becoming more red. She held my hand back, gently squeezing it and smiled warmly at me. "Thank you...that actually means a lot to me..~"

I smiled back at her then sat back in my seat. "Oh yeah, and the other girls and I were thinking about heading to Fujitori after classes. Did you want to come with?"

Orika glanced at me with a bright smile, nodding her head. "Yeah..~ I'd love to join, plus I'll be able to visit my grandmother at their hospital..~"

"Great, I'll let them know when I get to Orishi's class after lunch," I said, nodding at her.

The bell finally rang, signalling for classes to begin and the rest of the student began rushing inside the class before Alice closed her doors. With that, class was now in session. Orika and I prepared our notebooks to take down a few notes from the lessons Alice taught.

The class was primarily a remedial of what was to come on the Promotion Exams at the end of this semester. Alice made sure we knew everything there was to know so we would pass her class and advance on to becoming C Ranks.

I couldn't lie, once I promote to C Rank, I was going to miss Alice and her teachings. We would be getting new teachers at C Rank and new classes and lessons. On one hand, I was excited to finally promote but at the same time, Alice as a teacher held a special place in my heart that I knew I would have to part from.

Alice heard the bell ring, signalling the start of the lunch period and smiled at us. "Alright everyone, that's all for today. You all have the rest of the week off to study, relax, or train to get yourselves ready for C Rank. Study hard everyone, I want to see you all promote this year!~"

With that, we all gathered our things and left the class to get lunch. Orika and I walked side by side, traversing the halls through the sea of students, our hands touching as we walked together. I glanced down at Orika's hand, gently wrapping my pinky around hers.

{Bond with Orika increased.}

"So who's your afternoon teacher?" Orika asked and glanced up at me, keeping her pinky finger wrapped around mine.

"On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have Orishi but on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have Liao Ru. I'm actually excited to learn from them...The Sovereigns know that I need to grow if I'm ever gonna complete my goal," I said, continuing to walk along side Orika to the cafeteria.

"To take down Judgement right?" Orika asked.

"Yeah...with me being Honorary now, I'm one step closer to my goal. I just have to defeat a few people then it's on to The Commander... Hazuki," I said, letting out a soft sigh. "But I need to get past Kioshi first. If I can't even beat her in a one on one, I'm not even getting close to the others."

"I believe in you. I know that you can accomplish your goal like I'll do with mine. One step at a time right?" Orika said, smiling up at me.

I chuckled softly and glanced at Orika, meeting her gaze. "Yeah...one step at a time..."

The two of us smiled at each other then continued forward to the cafeteria, getting lunch together and sitting at the table to enjoy some time together before I had to go off to attend Orishi's class.