"Damn thief!"
Kiana blamed herself for the theft of Narukami. In her mind, if she had just stayed at the shrine and practiced swordsmanship with Mei today, Narukami would never have been stolen.
After all, Raiden Mei was a renowned swordsmanship prodigy—and someone who dared to steal a sacred blade from a shrine couldn't be an ordinary person.
She had to make it right.
She had to catch the thief.
There were only two paths leading away from the shrine—one toward the city streets, the same route they had taken earlier, and another narrow path that led out of town. Without hesitation, Kiana chose the more secluded path.
The chances of finding anything were slim. But after only a few steps, she spotted a figure ahead—a person wrapped tightly in a black cloak, gender indistinguishable.
In broad daylight, dressed head to toe in black, completely covered from sight…
This person was clearly suspicious.
"Stop right there!"
The cloaked figure stood beneath a cherry blossom tree. Without thinking, Kiana charged forward.
If this wasn't the thief, she'd just apologize.
The cloaked person turned at the sound of her voice, frowning slightly beneath the brim of their hood as the white-haired girl ran toward them.
Raiden Mei didn't come?
…So be it.
The black-cloaked stranger had no intention of talking. With swift, graceful movements, they leapt several meters away, light as a swallow.
"Narukami?! You damn thief!"
As the figure moved, the cloak lifted with the wind—and Kiana caught a glimpse of two swords hanging at their waist.
Her eyes widened in anger.
"Give Narukami back to Mei!"
Even without Honkai energy in this world, Kiana's physical strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
There was only one thought in her mind now: she couldn't let this thief escape with Narukami right under her nose!
She had to stop them!
The cloaked figure frowned, increasing their speed to try and lose the girl trailing behind—but Kiana was just as fast. No matter how the stranger moved, she refused to fall behind.
This girl's movements are sharp…
Could she be a human who had undergone Oni transformation?
After several failed attempts to shake Kiana off, the cloaked stranger finally leapt onto a large tree branch and stopped, turning to face her pursuer.
"Go on, keep running!" Kiana shouted, panting but still full of energy. Her blue eyes locked fiercely on the woman standing above.
Now that they were face-to-face, Kiana could clearly tell it was a woman—and a beautiful one at that.
Even dressed so strangely, she hadn't hidden her face.
Her features were strikingly beautiful—on par with Mei's.
"Give Narukami back, now!"
Pretty or not, a thief was still a thief.
Two swords hung from the woman's waist—one a crystal-blue blade Kiana didn't recognize, and the other unmistakably Narukami, the sacred sword of Mei's family shrine.
"You already have one sword, yet you still sneak around stealing sacred relics from shrines? You shameless thief!"
The woman in black remained silent.
Her sharp gaze studied Kiana carefully, searching for signs of Oni corruption—but the girl's body showed none. She wasn't like them at all.
There was no trace of Kami's influence on her.
A pure human.
"I am not a thief," the woman finally said. Having realized she couldn't shake Kiana off, she chose to speak. "I was entrusted with this blade—to bring it to where it truly belongs."
"Its place is at the shrine!" Kiana snapped, pointing at the sword. "Taking something without permission is called stealing!"
The woman shook her head. "That blade—Narukami—does not belong to the Raiden family. They were merely its keepers."
"You say it's not theirs, and I'm supposed to just believe you? That sword's been enshrined there for hundreds of years!" Kiana steadied her breath and glared at her. "Return it now!"
The cloaked woman rested her hand on the hilts of her twin blades. "Long ago—over a thousand years past—twelve blades existed, Narukami among them. They were not yet forged into their destined forms. Each bore the fate of becoming an Edict Edge, awaiting the day they would be complete. I speak only the truth—you have nothing to fear."
"I don't care about whatever you're talking about! Just give the sword back!" Kiana snapped. She didn't understand all that talk about destiny or Edict Edges—right now, she just wanted to bring the sword back to the shrine and return it to Mei.
All that "fate of becoming an Edict Edge" stuff could wait until later.
Seeing that Kiana wouldn't be swayed, the cloaked woman sighed quietly. The power of those who bore the Edict Edges was meant to strike down Kami, not humans.
She couldn't bring herself to draw her blade against this girl.
"What if this sword concerns the very survival of Izumo itself?"
Kiana froze.
Seeing her reaction, the woman continued, "As I said, I was entrusted to retrieve this blade. The one who asked me to take Narukami… was none other than Lord Raiden Ryoma."
Even if Mei hadn't mentioned her father's name, Kiana already had a strong guess that it was Raiden Ryoma.
Mei's father wanted to take Narukami?
"Don't try to fool me! If it was really him who sent you, then why didn't you come while Mei was still at the shrine? Why sneak around and run away like a thief?"
The cloaked woman fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "That was Lord Raiden Ryoma's request. He did not wish for Raiden Mei to learn too much about us."
It was an odd explanation—but considering who Raiden Ryoma was, Kiana couldn't completely dismiss it either.
In Honkai Impact 3rd, Raiden Ryoma had been an operative of Anti-Entropy, yet his daughter knew nothing of Honkai at all.
"Twelve" was also an intriguing number.
And the Edict Edges…
Kiana's blue eyes flickered thoughtfully. After taking a deep breath, she spoke more calmly. "So you're saying… this was Uncle Ryoma's request? That you're not allowed to let Mei find out?"
The woman nodded.
But in her heart, she believed Raiden Mei would eventually join them. Raiden Ryoma's desire for his daughter to live a normal life was, to her, meaningless.
"Come down here," Kiana said suddenly.
The woman blinked in surprise but, after a brief pause, leapt down from the tree and landed gracefully in front of Kiana. Her presence radiated strength—she could tell this white-haired, blue-eyed girl possessed inhuman physical power.
Up close, Kiana finally noticed the woman's hair color—soft, pale pink. Combined with her calm yet powerful aura and that familiar voice… a realization began to form in her mind.
"I'm not Raiden Mei," Kiana said evenly. "So if you tell me the truth, you won't be breaking your promise to Uncle Ryoma. And I'll stop chasing you. Isn't that fair?"
The cloaked woman thought for a moment, then nodded.
"My name's Kiana," Kiana said. "If you want me to trust you, you should tell me your name first."
"…Sakura. Yae Sakura."