???: "Hua...?"

A male's voice rang out in a pitch-black space. All that could be heard was the muffled sounds of what sounded like complete chaos, and carnage, followed by the cracking of flames. Then silence once again...

• • •

Until...

???: "HUA!!!" the voice yelled out, followed by the roar of a dragon and the cracking of flames.

      ••••••••••••••••••

With a sharp gasp, Ryu's eyes shot open as he found himself lying on his bed in his dark room. As he began to heavily pant, he realized something. That wasn't the original dream he kept having about those 13 figures, but it was about something completely different. It was about...

Ryu's thoughts: "Hua...? Fu Hua...? What was that...?"

He began to sit up but felt a slight weight on his left arm. Looking down, he saw Bronya sleeping there, as usual, her arms wrapped around his arm as she was sleeping peacefully. Ryu sighed internally seeing this, but as he was getting used to the silver-haired female's sudden appearances, he didn't mind as much anymore. In fact, the sight was cute to him. However, he felt as if he couldn't go back to sleep. He then looked around the room before finding Bronya's signature Homu plushie resting on the bedside table. Picking it up, he slowly and carefully removed his arm from Bronya's clutches, attempting not to wake her before he quickly filled the gap with the Homu. Almost instantly, Bronya clutched onto it before mumbling,

Bronya: "Ryu... Seele... Don't... leave the Bronya..."

Ryu felt his heart ache hearing her words as he was reminded of the tragedy him and Bronya went through when they were in Cocolia's Orphanage; when they lost the one, they both would fight against the entire world for: Seele. Ryu gently stroked the petite female's forehead and gently whispered to her.

Ryu: "I won't leave you Bronya... And we'll get Seele back... I promise."

With that, he stood up and quickly put on something, a pair of white sweatpants and a simple black T-shirt before leaving the room.

>Chapter 15: Sealed<

After waking up from that sudden dream, Ryu decided to go on an early morning jog. It was around 5 in the morning, so the sun hadn't fully come up yet, but it did slightly poke through the horizon, causing the sky to slightly light up. Multiple questions were going through Ryu's mind at this point, mainly about that dream. Why? Why was he dreaming about this "Hua"? Could it possibly be the same Fu Hua he knows today and if so, why was he dreaming about her?

With a big sigh, he slowly came to a stop and placed his hands on his hips.

Ryu: "First those 13 figures, then Kallen and Sakura, then that pink haired elf lady and now this "Hua"... What is going on with me? Is this like a side effect of my Herrscher Authority? Or..."

???: "Ryu?"

Blinking, the raven-haired male turned his head to the right as he became surprised that he saw Fu Hua standing there without her red-framed glasses. She wore a black sports bra and long black pants. While Ryu was surprised to see her, he was more surprised by how well built she was. He knew that Fu Hua was not to be underestimated, he experienced her punches firsthand, but to see her actual build was something else. Her arms, while slender you could still see her muscles and her abs were pronounced. All he could say was.

Ryu: "Wow..."

Fu Hua: "What...? Is something on my face?" She questioned with a tilt of her head. Realizing he was staring for too long; Ryu blinked and shook his head before calming himself down.

Ryu: "No, no. I was... just surprised that you were out so early."

Fu Hua: "I should be saying that about you." She said, hands now on her hips. "But I normally wake up around these times to take a morning jog and clear my head for the day."

Ryu: "Huh, I see."

Fu Hua: "What's wrong? Couldn't sleep?"

Ryu: "Yeah, I guess so..." He sighed. "I just couldn't fall back asleep after—"

Fu Hua: "—another dream, I presume?" Ryu nodded with a sigh. The two entered into a bit of a silence before Fu Hua, with an idea placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the male to look back at her only to be surprised to see her smiling. "Well, I won't try to pry into it, but how about you join me? A nice morning jog while talking to someone is a good way to forget about your troubles."

Ryu was surprised, mainly due to him not expecting Fu Hua of all people to make that suggestion, but who was he to decline her? While smiling, he nodded.

Ryu: "Right. Thanks."

      ••••••••••••••••••

The jog went off without a hitch. In fact, Ryu found himself becoming more relaxed than ever. Whether it was from the jog itself or from Fu Hua's very warm company he didn't know. All he knew was that he definitely needed this.

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, coating the sky in its golden glow, Ryu and Fu Hua were seated on a bench with bottles of water in their hands. They sat in a comfortable silence, taking the time they had to just rest up before the busy day ahead of them. Then all of a sudden, Ryu broke that silence.

Ryu: "Hey, Fu Hua?"

Fu Hua: "Hmm? Yes, Ryu?" The two continued to look towards the sunrise.

Ryu: "Do... you possibly have an ancestor named "Hua"?"

There was silence. Fu Hua's eyes had widened a bit upon hearing this but she managed to keep her composure.

Fu Hua: "N-No... What made you bring that up?"

Ryu: "It's apart of the dream I had." He said, causing the gray-haired female to look at him, watching as his eyes were fixated on the rising sun. "I don't know what happened in it because it was pitch black, but I could hear... complete chaos."

He paused as he remembered the voice that called out that name...

• • •

???: "HUA!!!"

• • •

Ryu: "And I heard a voice... a male one that was calling that name out desperately... And then, the roar of a Dragon." He lowered his head as a shadow covered his eyes. "At first, I thought the voice was calling for you, but since you said that I'm not too sure anymore. I'm not sure what this dream was... but when I experienced it and even look back at it now, I for whatever reason, feel a sense of... dread... sorrow... and anger."

Silence fell upon them again. Ryu continued to stare at his lap with him taking in a deep breath. However, he would soon become surprised as Fu Hua suddenly embraced him from the side. Normally he'd expect this kind of thing from Bronya or Mei, but from Fu Hua? That was new. He didn't know what to do and froze a bit before speaking.

Ryu: "Fu... Hua...?" It seemed the A-Rank Valkyrie realized what she did as she quietly yelped and pulled away.

Fu Hua: "A-Ah... I'm sorry..." She looked away from him, hiding a faint blush that had crept up on her cheeks. "It's just... I-I felt like I needed to do that... for some reason. Sorry if it was too... sudden." She apologized, but Ryu shook his head almost instantly.

Ryu: "No, no, you don't need to apologize. I just... didn't expect it to be you to do that." Fu Hua slightly looked down at her lap. "However... I appreciate you trying to comfort me, Fu Hua."

The female's eyes widened slightly as she looked back at him, seeing as he smiled at her. Fu Hua felt her heart cry out in sadness and bitter happiness as she felt a wave of nostalgia before, she returned the smile and nodded.

Fu Hua: "Of course."

Ryu: "Well." He stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna head back. I feel better now, just taking this jog and talking to you. You coming with?"

Fu Hua: "Hmm... I think I'll stay here for a while longer. But I will join you shortly."

Ryu: "Cool. See you back at the dorm." He smiled at her and lightly patted her on the top of her head before jogging off. That gesture caused a stronger blush to creep up on Fu Hua's face... but she then looked down, her expression becoming more and more somber as she recalled what he told her...

• • •

Ryu: "Do... you possibly have an ancestor named "Hua"?"

• • •

Fu Hua: "Ryu... is it possible that you'll... remember? Remember who you were...?"

      ••••••••••••••••••

Ryu: "And why again should I be the one to wake her up, Himeko?" He questioned the redhead over their phone call.

Himeko: "Because our dearest madam principal would be most happy to be woken up by you of course~!"

Ryu: "The hell does that even imply..." He sighed before hanging up on her.

After he had found Theresa unconscious the previous day, Ryu brough her back to the school for treatment. It was then learned that she had passed out from exhaustion after battling a Pseudo Herrscher with Plant-based abilities and the wounds she sustained were minimal so that meant she would be just fine. Ryu was honestly impressed as she went one on one with someone with Herrscher-like abilities and came out basically unharmed. That just went to show the strength of S-Rank Valkyries.

Now around two hours after his morning jog with Fu Hua, Ryu was on his way to wake her up. Well, it was Himeko who basically pressured him into doing this for whatever reason unknown to him. But to get the redhead off his back, he just agreed. Finally stopping in front of the door that led to the short Principal's room, Ryu knocked.

Ryu: "Theresa? Are you awake?" He called out but got no response, which was normal. He then knocked again. "Theresa, being late as the principal won't be a good look you know..." Again, no response.

Ryu: "Teri Teri World's Number 1 cutie? There I said it." He spoke.

Yes, that was a line that Theresa loved to say for whatever reason. But to his surprise, she didn't even answer that. Now it could be possible that Theresa wasn't in the room, but he couldn't help but get a bit concerned. Then he remembered that he found her passed out the previous day, so he decided to open the door.

Ryu: "I'm coming inside, Theresa..."

He announced as he slowly pushed the door open. As he did, he was greeted by quite a big room with a large queen-sized bed, definitely too big for Theresa... But on the ground before the bed, he spotted something that made his eyes widen. Or more like, someone. In nothing but her cute white nightgown, there Theresa laid, unconscious.

Ryu: "Theresa!"

In an instant, he slid to her side and hoisted her up into his lap. She wasn't responding like yesterday, but something felt off. He could see a faint red glow coming from her back, so he turned her around her back was facing him before his eyes widened. Glowing through the white fabric of her dress was a Red Symbol, more specifically...

Ryu: "A... Stigmata...? Just like the one Seele has...?"

      ••••••••••••••••••

Infirmary...

Kiana: "What!? Principal Theresa passed out!?"

After finding Theresa passed out, Ryu immediately brought her to the infirmary while contacting the others. Now not only him, but Kiana, Mei, Ame and Bronya were also there, discussing what happened.

Ame: "Stop yelling for once, will you? You're not making Principal Theresa feel better. Muffle her please, Onee-Chan." She deadpanned while staring at the twin braided girl.

Mei: "Kiana, Ame is right. Try to quiet down a little. We're all worried about the principal." she said, trying to comfort the panicking Kaslana. Ryu sighed before he shook his head.

Ryu: "That aside..." he deadpans. "I found her collapsed next to her bed, with that Stigmata on her back. Did you get anything, Bronya?" he asked, looking towards the gray-haired petite girl who was looking at the tablet in her hands.

Bronya: "Da. Preliminary diagnostics by the Bronya conclude that the principal is unlikely to wake up any time soon. Suspected cause is the Stigmata on her back. Stigmata serve as archives for recording vast amounts of genetic data. The Bronya detected abnormal spikes of dataflow volume from the Stigmata on Theresa's back. Such volumes can interfere with the host's physiological and mental functions."

As this news, Ryu gritted his teeth in frustration, but Kiana's screaming interrupted him.

Kiana: "AMAGAD! I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE!!!" She was holding her head as she was screaming her head off. Trying to ignore that, Ryu looked back to the petite Russian girl.

Ryu: "... Continue Bronya."

Bronya: "To avoid this, Schicksal uses artificial Stigmata modified to fit the host's physiological performance. But the Stigma on Theresa's back in obviously not hers to begin with. The Bronya suspects that Theresa's mind is being assimilated. If no action is taken, Theresa will be engulfed by the native data present within the Stigma."

Ryu: "Meaning, we have to be—"

Kiana: "AMAGAD!!!! ASSIMILATED! PRINCIPAL THERESA WILL BE ASSIMILATED!!!!" Having enough of her screaming, Ame grabbed a Bat from... wherever she got it, but it was Kiana's bat for sure and bonked her on the head, hard, instantly shutting her up. "Ow!!!"

Ame: "Please go on..." she said with an annoyed sigh as the tuna was rubbing the cartoonish bump on top of her head, with small tears in her eyes.

Kiana: "Owie..."

Ryu: "As I was saying, that means if we want her to wake up, we'll have to act fast, correct?"

Bronya: "Da." She nodded before Mei, who was patting Kiana on the back spoke up.

Mei: "Is there anything we can do to wake the Principal?"

Bronya: "Da." She nodded as she then reached into her backpack before suddenly pulling out the same three Homu-Homu Virtual Reality Comm Links that were used to help Kiana study, and also to "save" Virtual Reality Kallen.

Ryu: "The VR Comm Links again?"

Bronya: "Da. Wearing these devices will allow us to link up with the Stigmata's native Dataspace! Entering the Dataspace will allow us to investigate what exactly went wrong."

Ame: "Huh... Who would have thought that thing would be so versatile." She said, to which Bronya, with her signature deadpan gave her a sparkling thumbs up.

Bronya: "The Homu-Homu Virtual Comm Link is the ultimate piece of technology to be released." She stated with clear pride in her voice.

Ryu: "Then it's settled." he said, taking the red one from her hands. "I'll go and take Mei and Ame with me." He said, as Mei took the yellow one while Ame took the blue one, before the two sisters nodded.

Ame: "Understood."

Mei: "Right!" But of course, Kiana had to object as she suddenly latched onto Mei.

Kiana: "Kyaaa!!! I wanna go with Mei! I did this before! I almost rescued my super awesome ancestor!" She said before her eyes suddenly snapped to Ryu as she then reached for his VR Comm Link. "Give me that—Hnnggh!!"

The white haired female was pushed back by Bronya, who stared at her blankly while Ryu and Mei sweat dropped.

Bronya: "Nyet! Nyet! Subject Kiana's user logs indicate disruptive behavior! Example: Illegal use of VR applies and getting beat by VR entities. Subject Kiana. Subject Kiana shall stay here with the Bronya and take care of Theresa, Ame, Ryu and Mei during Dataspace operations." She then looked to the other three as they were putting on the VR devices onto their heads. "The Bronya will maintain contact with you three Via this terminal. Our priority is to locate Theresa's consciousness within the Stigma."

Ryu nodded.

Ryu: "Got it. Take care of our bodies for us now." He said with a grin. Bronya stared before she gave a small smile and nodded while Kiana only crossed her arms and scoffed.

Kiana: "Hmph. I'll make sure nothing happens to Mei's body!" Mei sweat dropped but laughed lightly while Ame only rolled her eyes.

Mei: "Ahaha... Thank you, Kiana."

Ryu: "Anyways... Mei, Ame, let's go save our principal." He said with a smirk, to which the two Raidens nodded.

Mei and Ame: "Right!" They all closed their eyes as they yelled together,

"Link Start!"

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