Project Honkai

4

I bite my lip nervously. It was time for the try-outs. I play with the cloth of my shirt as I walk to where the it was taking place, the courtyard. Many guests surround the usually empty corridors as I look around for the doors to the courtyard.

I open the large doors with slight anticipation. Around, I can see large crowds, colorful banners, many like me trying to become a... Valkyrie? Magical girl? Idol? I have no idea. Yume, being an incredibly useless guide to me, never really explained anything about this. I know why I'm doing it, to get a place to stay and food to eat, but what about everyone else here? Money? Power? Fame? Or maybe even all of the above?

My thoughts immediately get cut off by a woman's voice echoing through the courtyard. My eyes dart to the voice. The woman was standing on a large pillar for some odd reason. She had turquoise hair in the form of a bun, held up by multiple red clips. What had stood out about her was her piercing eyes, one red like a ruby, the other a deep blue like the ocean. She had a large white and red jacket, covering a simplistic uniform, consisting of a buttoned shirt with a red bow and multiple teal accessories. Her skirt was also very simple, but fluffy and large. Contrasting with her cute uniform, she had a tired and agitated look on her face. On her chest, she had a nameplate which had read, {Akane}.

"Welcome, everyone to the annual valkyrie try-outs. You all will be put through various trials to find out if you're eligible to become a valkyrie. With becoming a valkyrie, you will be granted many privileges, such as being allowed to join multiple professional agencies, free healthcare, being able to kill someone and not being punished for it, and more. I expect that you use the privileges responsibly and try your hardest with the try-outs. Now, let the annual valkyrie try-outs begin," she stated, monotone and exhausted.

Another girl jumped up onto the pillar and whispered something to the other. Akane rolls her eyes and whispers something back while swiftly jumping off the pillar, heading somewhere else. Murmurs could be heard from the crowd, people trying to speculate what was so important. The new person speaks up, "Akane will have to do something, for now, I will temporarily have take control of the try-outs." Many groans could be heard from the crowd, causing the poor girl to start sweating nervously. "A-Ah, I apologize, but I have no idea what the first trial is, so this one will just be a simple race. The first twenty who get to the finish line get to pass to the next trial I guess?" After that, even more groans came from the crowd. I overhear many complaints on how a race would be boring or too easy. What do they usually have for trials?!

Everyone gathers towards the race track area. "Go," the girl shouts. Everyone starts sprinting as fast as they can. I look ahead, it was a long way, a very long way. If I ran at full speed, then by the time I get to the half way point, all my stamina would be drained! I decide to play it safe by starting out with a simple jog. Many run past, but I know that it will be the opposite sooner or later.

I keep jogging, the wind making my hair flow in the wind. I was already at the half way point. I start to pick up the pace, my jog turning into a run. I run past all the tired participants who had wasted all their stamina on the first half and easily make it to the finish line. "Good job, you're the twentieth person to be finished," the girl says. Huh?! I barely made it! She hands me a large white badge with the number twenty on it in bold on the front. Immediately, I put it on my chest without feeling the need to check the back.

I let out a sigh of relief and observe the others who have passed the first trial. Out of the nineteen, only two had stood out.

One was that girl I had met earlier today when heading to my room to get a bit of rest before the try-outs started. This time, she wasn't wearing her large black cloak. She wore a red school type uniform with multiple black belts holding what seemed to have been guns? She had a red skirt, having many gold and black accents, and a black hoodie tied around her waist.

Unlike me, she seemed to have been talking to another person. They were a bit taller than me, well, only because they were wearing platforms. They had dyed black hair, glasses, and the same uniform as the girl. The main difference was their choice of accessories, which had consisted of many spiked bracelets, and that instead of guns, they had two katanas.

The thing that had stood out about these two was the difference in their aura and everyone else's here. Everyone else seemed to be rookies, they have some fighting abilities but would not stay strong in a dangerous situation, whether it be physical or not. But these two, they seemed experienced. Not only did they have multiple weapons on hand, but on their badges, the numbers one and two were shown, meaning they were in first and second place.

I shudder, I hope the next rounds won't have anything too hard.

I feel a stare on me. I quickly turn back to see who it was but no one was in sight. I think back onto that sticky note that was posted on my door. Who put that?! What do they mean by "I'm watching you?" What did I ever do to them?!

"Hello~" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Sitting carelessly on a tree branch was a girl about my age. Her salmon colored hair put into two pigtails flows gracefully in the wind. "I'll be telling you all about the next round so listen carefully, this one isn't going to be as easy as the last one," she announced with a smirk. She points a finger up into the air, "You will all get into groups of five. Each group will be given a deck of playing cards which you can play whatever game you choose. Whoever wins gets to go to the final round! And to spice things up a bit more, one random person has a key underneath their badge. If someone in their group wins the game, they will not go into the final round and instead the person with the key will take their place. Fortunately, before you all start playing the games, you will have the ability to discuss who you believe has the key and vote that person out of your team! Be careful to not get it incorrect."

Murmurs and whispers could be heard from the crowd. I gulp, this may be challenging.

***

Akane pov:

I sit on the ledge of a rooftop, watching the try-outs from afar. "Mm, they're already having the annual trials? Jeez, feels like time has gone so fast," a girl sitting beside me says. "Hm, interesting how you mention time, considering it's you," another says, amused with a smirk on his face. She responds with a simple chuckle and turns to me, "Akane? What do you think about these rookies?" I shrug, "I dunno, but I'm sure that they will be interesting." The male beside me speaks once again, "Huh? You say that all the time, most of them end up dead on their first mission anyways."

"Hmph, I don't say it all the time! Well, not anymore. I just know that this group will be different from the ones of the past, especially with these add ons."

"Eh? They don't seem all that special. Why'd you even leave midway during your announcing session? Just to watch them off a rooftop so you can be all mysterious," he questions.

"I was wondering that too! For you to not be making the trials for the newbies? That's just plain out weird," she says.

I sigh, "For you guys' information, it was an emergency! Well, at first it was. I just said that everything will be okay in four weeks. I didn't feel like saving another nation, I just decided on leaving it to one of the newbies as a mission."

The girl gasps, "You're just going to make one of the newbies save a nation all by themselves! How cruel of you!"

"Relax, relax, I'll probably have one of you guys help them."

Then, the male catches something that was flying in the wind, "Eh?" Without thinking, I snatch it out of his hands to see what it was. It was a pink sticky note and it read

{Be prepared!}