Bronya's home was one that was decorated with a variety of Homu products. Posters of Homu were plastered on the walls and Homu dolls were sitting on the shelves.
Given this, there was no doubt that she was a super fan of the Homu franchise.
The girl in question however, didn't seem to care much for these products that she normally had such love for at the moment.
Instead, her thoughts were all on one person.
Gojo Satoru
"Subject Gojo deviates from standard behaviour. Analysis: Medium possibility of targeted psychological probing." Bronya spoke softly to herself alone. "Usage of love confession to lower the Bronya's guard's success rate was 100%"
A small frown appeared on her face despite her words. She was not a hundred percent sure of her thesis at the moment. She knew that Gojo was no ordinary human. His quick takedown of Matushka's men proved that.
But now the question was, how much did he suspect or know?
If he suspected that there was something wrong with her, then his actions would make sense. The problem about that however, would be how did he find out?
She had not shown any clues up until yesterday. Her confidence in her acting skills made her sure of that.
Still, given his... erratic personality, it could be something that he could do if he planned with Kiana to prank her.
Bronya exhaled quietly as she brought out a picture. Its edges were slightly yellowed, showing signs of age. Yet, there was nothing more than that, showing that it was well maintained.
On the image, it was a younger version of her, along with a young girl with black and blue shaded hair.
Bronya closed her eyes, which showed a hint of sentimentality, as she brought the image to her heart.
"The Bronya will do whatever it takes to bring you back...
Seele..."
She pressed it slightly harder into her chest before slowly relaxing her hold.
Then, she slowly tucked the photo away. When she opened her eyes again, they were as hard as steel.
Though Bronya wasn't sure the depth of Gojo's suspicions or knowledge, she knew that he probably wouldn't do anything to her even if he was actually hostile towards her.
He wouldn't want her to blow up in front of him, would he?
Bronya knew that Matushka would not bear to do such a thing, but Gojo wouldn't know that.
Thus, that was her opportunity.
Taking out her phone, she opened up the game that Gojo and Kiana usually played around this time and sent a direct message.
[SilverWolf123: Subject Gojo. The Bronya wishes to talk with you.]
Gojo didn't answer immediately. It seemed he was trying to deliberately torment her as she waited for his reply.
Seconds ticked by. Bronya even began to believe that Gojo was going to start avoiding her from this point on.
Until finally...
[TheR1zzler: Yes?]
She still couldn't believe that Gojo would pick such an... infantile name. She pushed aside her contempt as she continued on.
[SilverWolf123: The Bronya believes that this conversation would be best done in person.]
[TheR1zzler: ,,,]
[TheR1zzler: Are you going to accept my confession from yesterday? I'm sorry... but I need to tell you that... I've found someone else...]
She resisted the urge to find Gojo and shoot him with Project Bunny now.
[SilverWolf123: It's something about Honkai. You should bring Subject Kiana too. The Bronya's proposal would be at a place of your choosing]
The reason she let Gojo choose was to allow him to let his guard down a bit more, though it was slightly more dangerous for her.
Despite her damaged emotions, Bronya felt a twinge of nervousness when she did this. There was no turning back after sending that message.
It didn't matter to her however.
She was confident that she would succeed.
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"Yo!" I waved to Bronya as she arrived in a large grassy field that I owned. Kiana, who was busy fiddling with her phone under the tree to hide from the sun, looked up when she heard me.
"Hey little brat! What did you want to tell us about?"
"Requesting for Subject Kiana to remain silent. Conversation is set to be only between individuals with a minimum IQ of 100." Bronya said with her signature deadpan.
I'm not going to lie, I'm quite impressed by how well she's managing her expression. She must be really well trained.
But considering in other shows, these kids are usually super skilled or something, I'm not too surprised.
Kiana, predictably fell for Bronya's provocation, She pulled up her sleeves and began to stomp towards her. "You little piece of-"
"Kiana... it's about Honkai." I said beside her. At that, Kiana's anger disappeared. Replacing it, was a more stoic expression as she took a few steps back instead.
She clicked her tongue. "Tsk, speak up then little brat."
"Subject Kiana's elevated aggression levels upon minor stimulus were noted. Proceeding with primary communication objective now that parameters have stabilized." Bronya turned to me. "Subject Gojo. Reports show that assault happened to you at 6:43pm, 12th of November 2012."
"Yea that's right..." I said, ignoring Kiana's aggravated surprise at the side. "How do you know this though?"
My expression darkened as I got into a combat stance. Noticing this, Kiana dropped into a stance as well.
However, I was composed on the inside. Though I didn't expect Bronya to just confess her knowledge straight up, I had already connected the dots of what she wanted to do.
"The Bronya wishes to clear up any misunderstandings and if possible, provide necessary assistance."
"Oh?" I said, letting my expression relax slightly. "You're not one of them?"
"Negative. The Bronya's mission is one to protect civilians from malicious actors."
"The Honkai device!" Kiana suddenly said in realisation.
"Subject Kiana may be reconsidered for eligibility of conversation."
"..."
Kiana's fists clenched at her sides.
Her mouth opened, then she swallowed it back down with a growl.
I blinked.
Huh. That was... surprisingly mature.
To continue on with the conversation, I asked. "Can you tell me who those malicious actors are then?"
Bronya let out a breath. "Permission granted. Provided name is Schicksal."
Schicksal?
Is that a made up name? Or is it actually a real organisation?
Even if it was, she could be lying about who was actually doing it...
"Seriously? Then why are you telling us?" I said, fully relaxing my body now. However, I noticed that Bronya was pondering something again.
It didn't last long as she continued.
"Anti-Entropy monitors Schicksal activities closely," Bronya stated, her gaze steady. "Methods taken are often aggressive, particularly towards individuals exhibiting unique energy signatures or potential. The attack on your transport matches known Schicksal operational parameters for threat assessment and potential neutralization."
She paused, letting that sink in before adding, "Your existence, Subject Gojo, and your association with Subject Kaslana, represents variables outside their control. Schicksal dislikes uncontrolled variables. Therefore, you are a target."
"Logically," she continued, meeting my relaxed gaze, "A mutual threat warrants cooperation. Anti-Entropy seeks to counter Schicksal's overreach. Providing you with intel or support against them serves both our interests. However, effective collaboration requires baseline data regarding allied combat potential."
"I see..." I then moved towards to Kiana slightly. "Were you listening to a single bit of that yap?"
"Nope."
Bronya clearly heard us as she sighed. "Subject Gojo and Subject Kiana are strong. Thus, Schicksal wishes to eliminate you. The Bronya getting your help makes it easy to stop their plans."
"Why didn't you just say that?"
She continued, ignoring me. "Proposal: A practical assessment. Combat synergy exercise, free for all format."
So she's trying to get information out now?
How cute.
"Sure. I don't mind." I played along. "What about you Kiana?"
"Ha! I've been waiting for months for something like this!" Kiana said excitedly. She flexed her bicep. "I'll finally get a chance to beat her up!"
"Subject Kiana. This is a team bonding exercise."
Kiana ignored those words. "Gojo! Wanna jump her?"
"That doesn't sound very fair though?"
Kiana raised an eyebrow, making me laugh. "Who am I kidding? Let's fucking jump her!"
Bronya looked up to the sky, as if recalculating her life choices.
"The Bronya regrets initiating this protocol..."
(A/N: How is this chapter? Please give powerstones and comments!)