Yae Village...

??? 1: "I-Is cutting my hair really necessary...?"  This first voice, belonging to a man muttered underneath his breath as some soft snipping noises could be heard.

??? 2: "But of course. Every man in Yae Village should look up to par, and you're no exception dear."  A slightly deep yet gentle and caring female voice replied, with a slight tune in her tone as it sounded like she was smiling from the way she talked.

??? 1: "But..."

??? 3: "No 'buts', darling~! She is right you know."  A second female voice answered, only difference being that it was at a slightly lighter pitch than the previous one and her tone had a sense of playfulness in it.

??? 1: *sighs* "What am I gonna do with you girls..."

??? 3: "You've managed us plenty of times, Ryu. You'll be fine!" 

The man named Ryu was seated on a rock next to the river just outside of the village, his long black hair being neatly trimmed away by a pink haired woman behind him. Meanwhile, seated next to him was a woman with long white hair tied into a singular braid.

Ryu: "I doubt it... *mutters* Especially with how complicated women can be..."

??? 2: "What was that dear?"  The voice of the pinkette sent chills down the male's spine as he could feel not only her stares, but also those of the white-haired women on him. All he could do was gulp.

Ryu: "Umm... I love you Sakura and love you Kallen? Y-Yeah. That's what I said. Totally."  He ended up chuckling nervously at the end as the two women pinned him down with their gazes. The two women, Yae Sakura and Kallen Kaslana looked at each other before gaining devious smirks, which instantly sent a bead if sweat down the male's forehead. "W-Wait... What's with that—Ah!"

He yelped as the two women leaned down towards him before...

"Chu~"

Ryu: "Huh...?" The black-haired man blinked in surprise as the two women had planted their soft lips against both his cheeks. In a moment, they pulled back.

Kallen and Sakura: "We love you too~" The two smiled warmly at him. Ryu stared up at them before laughing a bit as he lightly blushed but felt smile widen a bit more.

Ryu: "This really feels like a dream... I wish it will never end..."

     ••••••••••••••••

Ryu: "So yeah... It seems like what the simulated Kallen said was true after all. At least... that's what I think."

Present day Ryu had just finished explaining everything to the girls before him. Their expressions were quite mixed as while Kiana was just downright shocked, Bronya and Mei were looking like they were trying to figure out a plausible explanation as to how that could be possible while Ame was stroking her cheek, thinking back to everything Ryu had just told them. After the silence, she spoke.

Ame: "So long story short... You could possibly be over 500 years old? And was in a relationship with Kallen Kaslana and Yae Sakura, who is also a Herrscher?"

Ryu: "That's just about right. At least... I think. My memory's quite fuzzy and I'm not too sure if any of this is true... The only memories I have of my past is...."

Bronya: "The Orphanage." She answered, to which he nodded in confirmation. "I always wondered why Ryu shared the same name as Aikawa Ryu from 500 years ago... But, it could still be a coincidence."

Kiana: "I don't know. Kallen DID say that he looked, sounded and acted just like him."

Mei: "But despite that, the outcome doesn't matter." She scooted over to the raven-haired male's right and placed a supporting hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling about all of this, Ryu?"

There was a brief silence before he sighed.

Ryu: "Well... After finding out that I could possibly be over 500 years old and all of that, I don't really know how to make of it. This was just supposed to be a fun experience to help Kiana pass her Valkyrie Exams... but now..." He felt a warmth on his left before looking down as he saw that Bronya had moved to his other side and hugged him, firmly. This caused him to smile and pat her head gently. "But it won't be enough to bring my mood down."

Ame: "But that brings up the question. If everything ends up being true, then how did you lose your memories?"

Kiana: "And also, both the history books and Kallen said you died! So how the heck's that even possible??"

That was the biggest mystery. If all of that was true, then he should be dead by now... But he's not. He's breathing, with a full beating heart in his chest. However, there was one possibility that came across his mind.

Ryu: "Maybe it's the Honkai..."

Mei: "You mean because you're a Herrscher like me and Ame?" He nodded in response to her.

Ryu: "Yeah. I'm not sure what my Herrscher's abilities are meant to do so maybe it gives me the ability to reincarnate? But from the history of the Herrschers, none of them have such an ability..." He trailed off a bit. Honkai was not a completely crazy answer since the Honkai itself is well known for breaking expectations. But alas, they were at yet another stale mate. "Anyways, I don't think we should dwell on this topic for long. You still must prepare for your test Kiana, and we should be prioritizing that."

He said with a firm expression. For once, the white-haired girl seemed... conflicted and reluctant. But before she could even say anything, the black-haired male had already walked up to her and gently rested his hand on top of her head.

Ryu: "Hey, don't give me that look. I'll be fine, okay? Let's focus on you for now, Ms. Main Character~" This comment alone caused the female to freeze up as a strong blush crept up on her face before she quickly shook her head and slapped his hand away.

Kiana: "W-Whatever you stupid Lizard boy! H-Hmph!"

While Mei and Ryu shared lighthearted laughter at this, Ame only had on a slightly smug smile from the white-haired tuna's response while Bronya seemed indifferent, before ultimately, her face reverted to her normal "Bronya face".

Bronya: "Kiana-Idiotka."

Kiana: "Huh!? What the hell did I do!?"

>Chapter 14: His Memories<

Ever since relaying all that information to the other girls, Ryu had been feeling more concerned about all of this. Whether what he assumed about him somehow being the same Aikawa Ryu from 500 years ago was correct or not left him in a state of confusion. The biggest question was, if this was true, how is it possible that he was "revived"? Because the Aikawa Ryu from 500 years ago died along with the Herrscher in him.

Walking down the street in the city, Ryu was just left to his thoughts simply because he needed some time to himself. So, he went out for a walk to think things over. However, taking him out of his thoughts was the loud crash of thunder, followed by a sudden downpour.

Ryu: "Tch... Of course." He sighed in annoyance before the dragon tattoo on his left arm, underneath his jacket glowed as Nakith suddenly appeared. The White Honkai Dragon swooped her master up onto her back and flew off, heading towards a roof top. As the Dragon touched down, Ryu noticed that the roof they were on had some benches that had their own little platform with a roof over them.

Ryu: "Not what I had in thought, but thanks partner." He patted the Dragon on its head, with Nakith letting out a low sound of acknowledgement as she disappeared. Now with his form of shelter, Ryu laid down on the bench, waiting for the rain to stop. As he continued to think of his situation, he would, unknowingly begin to drift off. Aside from the rain beating against the roof over the bench, he could just barely hear the faint noise. It sounded like... a Violin and some crystals. But before he could fully process it, he had fallen asleep.

     ••••••••••••••••

https://youtu.be/SRRUkw9_xa4

There he was again, in that black void. Ryu found himself walking aimlessly around this... "realm". The black-haired male sighed and crossed his arms.

Ryu: "Am I really gonna always end up here when I either sleep or go unconscious? What the hell..."

He shook his head with a groan. As he looked around, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind, which was followed by the warm feeling of two soft mounds on his back. This had already caused the male to freeze. He was half expecting it to be Himeko since she for whatever reason loved to mess with him like that, but then...

???: "Oh my~ You're earlier than I expected!"

That was definitely not Himeko's voice. Rather.... That voice was familiar to him. But even then, the male jumped and backed away before swiftly turning around.

Ryu: "What the—Huh??"

Standing before him was a beautiful female. Beautiful was an understatement. She was drop dead gorgeous, and cute at the same time. But he instantly seemed to recognize her. This girl had light pink hair that was tied into a low ponytail. Her hair curls at the tips and extends far past her shoulders. On the right side of her head, she has a large hair clip with a light blue gem on it: the same color as her alluring eyes. Her pupils are pink like her hair. She wore a white top and black short shorts that hugged her entire hourglass figure tightly with long black stockings, along with a little black shawl with an off-the-shoulder style. The sleeve she uses on her right arm has purple layered frills and a shoulder plate while her left arm has a black glove instead. She wore a white, black, and lilac cape at her waist, which had a fur trimming at the end. However, the most noticeable feature of her was her small elf ears that replace normal human-like ears.

(???)

Ryu was completely entranced by her appearance. It wasn't just from her complete and utter beauty, but something about her... Ryu could feel that not only was his heart racing, but he felt like he was being filled with this... loving warmth.

???: "O-Oh my..." Ryu was snapped out of his trance as he saw that the girl before him had crossed her arms under her developed chest as she looked off to the side while squirming around, with a cute blush on her face. "To be stared at with eyes of longing by such a handsome man, you're gonna make me blush~"

Instantly, Ryu's eyes widened as she shook his head and looked off to the side.

Ryu: "S-Sorry! I don't know what overcame me..." There was a brief silence from that. Ryu was half expecting the girl before him to chew him out in some matter. However, she didn't. In fact, he was more confused to hear and see that she... was laughing. "Huh...?"

???: "Hehe~ Oh it feels like an enormous wave of nostalgia washed over me." she said, with a happy and satisfied sigh, with her placing one hand on her chest. Ryu was just... confused. What was she talking about?

Ryu: "Nostalgia? What do you—" He was cut off as the pinkette had closed the gap between them and had pressed her index finger against his lips, effectively shushing him.

???: "Shh~ It's still too early for our fated reunion. But..." She removed her finger from his lips and pressed herself against him again, with her arms now slithering around his neck as she embraced him lovingly. "When the time arises, it will be the most grand and romantic reunion, my Ryu~"

The moment those words came out of her mouth, Ryu's eyes widened as he felt a wave of flashbacks run through his mind at the speed of light but didn't have the chance to say anything a everything around him began to become engulfed in a bright light. The last thing he saw was the pink-haired woman, breaking the embrace and pulling away from him while smiling cutely at him and winking.

     ••••••••••••••••

Ryu: "What the...!?"

The black-haired male gasped as his eyes had shot open. The male had found himself sitting on a roof top in the real world. When he retraced his thoughts, he remembered that Kiana had taken the redo for her test and managed to pass! So, after a bit of celebration for her, Ryu had decided to leave for a bit on his own and ended up falling asleep on this roof top. Despite that, he also remembered everything from that... "mindscape" with the pink haired beauty. But one question plagued his mind...

Ryu: "Who was she...? And how did she know my name?" He just sighed and held his forehead in the palm of his hand. "First Kallen and now this... What am I, a main character?"

However, bringing him out of this was Nakith, who had materialized next to him and roared loudly, startling him.

Ryu: "Huh?? What's wrong girl??" He asked.

The White Honkai Dragon instantly gestured for her master to get on her back, which he did. Nakith swiftly flew into the distance. Soon, they were now at some kind of school, but the most noticeable thing was that Large Golden Cross planted in front of it with multiple spears protruding from it. And laying in front of it, unconscious and injured was...

Ryu: "Theresa!?"

______________________________________

For those who have noticed, yes this is a reupload of my last version of this chapter. I wanted to add some extra stuff and fine tune some stuff. So here it is. Hope ya'll enjoy!