The day had gone from bad to worse after that. Even when he showed up for the rest of his classes, everything still flew over his head. It was supposed to be introductory for the semester, but they clearly expected you to have some level of background knowledge on everything. Ash wasn’t just a fish out of water, he was one that had been frozen in time.

“Stop sulking Vargr,” Kyouko told him as they sat on the rather comfy cafeteria seats. “You’re ruining the mood.”

“I am not sulking.” Ash grumbled as he jabbed his fork into his food.

“You’ve barely eaten a bite. Usually by now you would’ve scarfed down the whole plate,” his best friend countered as she poked at the schlock that could generously be called food. “Not that I don’t get it, but this is the only thing we can afford right now. ‘Kay?”

The Vintrkind nodded before taking a bite. It oozed in his mouth, barley chewable and utterly devoid of taste. Ash’s face scrunched up as he forced himself to swallow it down. “This is just awful.”

Unfortunately, it was just something that he had to put up with. He didn't even have the comfort that everyone else was suffering as well. As far as he could figure out, VEA operated on a merit point based system that was used as the school’s form of currency, but it’s not like they gave students a starting amount of points. Nope, instead your efforts before you came to the academy directly translated to how many points you were given once you arrived. Which was just another nail in the coffin for Ash, who had never expected to be here in his life.

“My deepest apologies. I’d offer some of my own servings but…” Liesa, who was apparently the Valhalla equivalent of ‘fucking loaded’, had a plate worthy of being served in a five star Midgard restaurant. It made Ash just drool looking at it while simultaneously making the gloop he had been given worse. “At least you can take comfort that the nutritional value in your plate has been tailored directly to your dietary needs!”

“And at least it’s just awful, we’ve had food that was just disgusting!” Kyouko tried to comfort him, only to remind him of even worse times. Suddenly a beep rang throughout the table before the black haired girl pulled out her VEA-standard data pad and flicked on the holographic display. “Oh nice, I’ve got enough points to buy me a snack.”

Ash’s head snapped towards her like lightning. “What? How?”

“Test Miss Rivers gave this morning.” The same one that she got in trouble for taking apart the writing implement while she wasn’t paying attention. “You heard her, impress her and you get points. Just so happens that my answers were slick as hell like always.”

“When did you even have time to study?” The white haired boy questioned before his eyes widened. “Wait don’t tell me-”

“Oh man, took you long enough Vargr! Did you really think that I’m the kind of girl who would just jump into the Valkyrie Exam and hope for the best?” The grin on Kyouko’s face grew incredibly smug as she wagged a finger in the air. “Hell no. I made sure I could pass the written exam as well if it came down to things. You’re the one who didn’t study.”

Was that what she had been staying up till five in the morning for? On the one hand that was just plain ridiculous, seeing how she’d need to self-study everything that the fellow trainees had teachers for. On the other, that was just the kind of crazy feat he would have expected from his old friend.

“That’s superb!” Liesa exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I had been devising a lesson plan in order to get you up to speed, but if you’re already at the level of your peers then all I need to do is supplement the course work you’ll be given instead.”

“Nah, don’t throw it away entirely.” Kyouko jabbed her chopstick in Ash’s direction. “Vargr needs it just as much.”

“Oh, yes, that is true, but I assume his own partner has something else planned-” The green haired girl began to speak only to be interrupted as a synthetic voice came over the intercom.

“Will Ash Whitelund please report to Miss River’s office,” rang throughout the entire cafeteria. “Repeating. Will Ash Whitelund please report to Miss River’s office. Thank you.”

Immediately, all at once, the entire cafeteria turned to look at him. A rush of winter went through his veins as he tried to keep calm in the middle of all the attention, slowly standing up without looking anyone in the eye. “I guess I better go.”

“It’ll probably go fine,” Kyouko waved. “What’s she going to do? Try to shoot you?”

---

“Don’t move,” the woman spoke in a quiet but steely voice as she pressed the handcannon deeper into Ash’s side. The vintrkind slowly nodded, raising his hands up into the air as he glanced for an escape in the empty classroom. Of course, even if he did find one, he wouldn’t dare go for it. Not if he wanted to keep his organs intact, at least. And besides, this threat on his physical well being crossed the line from dangerous to absurd the moment he remembered just who was ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

Finished recalling how he had got in this situation, Ash only had one thought on his mind.

Goddammit Breaker.

There had been absolutely no warning. The vintrkind was no stranger to sudden ambuses, but Miss Rivers had moved so fast that the boy couldn’t even blink before she was there. One moment Ash had been walking into the office, the next thing he knew there was a gun pressed up against him.

“I’m just going to say this right now,” The blue haired cowgirl teacher began as she dug the barrel into him. “You shouldn’t be here.”

There is a moment of silence before Ash fidgeted, before suddenly stiffening up as he felt the petite woman flare. An icy chill escaped his mouth as he tried to calm himself down. “...Can you at least put away the gun?”

“No,” Miss Rivers declared flatly. “I said it at the beginning of class didn’t I? If you drag others down, I’ll shoot you. And right now you’re a dead weight so heavy you’re pulling down the entirety of Valhalla.”

Well, that was just rude. And an over exaggeration.

“Turn around.” The teacher commanded and Ash obediently followed only to suddenly have a piece of paper slapped into his chest. The young boy winced before taking the paper and glancing at it, only to find his test marked up with a pen with one big grade written on the front. The score? Five. Out of 100. “This is the worst assessment I have ever seen in my history as a teacher. I can ignore the fact that it’s barely legible, that’s to be expected from middle realms, but the answers I can understand show a lack of knowledge in both skills Valkyries and civilians need to know. This is beyond just being unprepared, you’re flat out uneducated.”

“...I’m aware.” Ash nodded slowly, keeping his cool.

“That’s good, but not an excuse.” The tiny woman’s eyes narrowed as she spun her revolver in her hand. “Valkyries are Yggdrasil's main line of defense against Jotun. There’s a reason it’s so hard to get into this school, and it’s because we need the best of the best. Someone on your level, who defines the bottom line, would be better served working as a research subject in Alfheim rather than as an actual Valkyrie candidate. Simply put? We don’t need you.”

A soft sigh came out of her mouth as she took a few steps back. “If I were in charge you’d be gone already. But I’m not, so the only thing I can do is change your mind.”

“Sorry, but that’s not happening,” Ash snapped back, his tone frosty. Slowly, he took a deep breath as he tried to cool off. “I’ve got my own reasons to be here. It’s what The One Eyed Queen recommended I do anyways.”

“From Odin herself, hm?” His teacher contemplated it for a bit before coming to a conclusion. “Tell you what, if you do something for me I’ll let you prove your worth.”

Oh. Now this was familiar territory. Favor for a favor, everyone always wants something. It was the law of the Midgard backstreets and it seems it went all the way up to the tips of Asgard itself. Whatever, that just meant he could work with this system. The white haired boy sighed before nodding. “What do you want?”

“It’s simple.” Miss River’s spinning revolver came to a sudden stop, her finger already on the trigger. “Dodge.”

A loud bang blasted through the classroom. With zero hesitation, the school teacher had pulled the trigger. Ash was already moving, kicking himself out of the way as the bullet shot through the air before embedding itself in the ground where his legs were a few seconds ago. The blue haired woman nodded as she adjusted her cowboy hat. “Good reflexes.”

“...What were you going to do if that had hit me?” Ash couldn’t help but ask as he slowly reached down to pick up the bullet off the floor.

“Toss you into the infirmary and shoot you every time you came to class until you either learned to dodge or just dropped out.” That was bullying. He was pretty sure that was just flat out bullying. “You’d have been fine.”

At that moment, there was a light rapping on the door before a voice could be heard from the other end. “Madam Rivers? Magnolia Hale reporting in, the headmaster sent me.”

“Oh good, the other one is finally here.” The teacher let out a breath before walking to her chair and tossing herself into it. “You may enter.”

With a light click, the door opened and an elegant blonde girl walked into the room. Her stride was filled with grace and confidence as she nodded towards the instructor who had just tried to shoot him before turning Ash’s way. Their eyes met and the young boy instantly recalled where he had seen those deep, crystal blue eyes before. It was her, the same girl that he had crashed into on the train earlier today. The same aura of contempt being tossed his way as she scoffed and threw her hair behind her neck. “So, it really is the buffoon from this morning. I suppose hoping for anything else would’ve been a foolish endeavor.”

“Nice to see you again too.” Ash replied, as calmly as he could.

“Whitelund, this is Magnolia Hale. One of Asgard’s Wing Candidates and as of now, your handler.” The teacher explained. “I’ve seen you hanging out with that friend of yours so I’m sure you know the drill already, but to make it clear: she’s here to prevent you from doing any funny business on campus. Where I can’t see it, that is.”

“Do not worry ma’am.” Magnolia nodded. “You can rely on me to make sure this raggy mutt doesn’t cause anyone trouble.”

“You make me sound like a criminal already.” Ash grumbled, only for the blonde’s eyes to lock on to him.

“Are you not? I’ve read your file.” Her eyes narrowed in scorn as she threw her head back. “If it wasn’t for the miraculous fact that a man could activate a Valkyrie Gear you’d be rotting in Helheim for-”

“Enough, Hale.” Miss Rivers interrupted. “Your job is to watch over him during his time in Valhalla, not serve as judge, jury, or executioner. It’s already been decided that his ability right now is more important than his past.”

“...Very well.” The Asgard girl grudgingly admitted. “But if that is the case, then what exactly is he capable of? ”

The tiny woman jumped out of her chair before snatching Ash’s test out of his hands. Without skipping a beat, she proceeded to hand it over to Magnolia. “Take a look at this.”

For a minute there was pure silence as the blonde looked over the paper. Her face an ever shifting canvas of emotions that started as her usual look of contempt before slowly transitioning into one of pure bewilderment. Her eyes went wide as Magnolia looked from the paper to Ash then back to the paper before finally turning back towards the teacher. “Madam Rivers, is this a joke?”

“Nope.” The cowboy teacher said flatly as she looked Ash dead in the eye. “This is the result of the assessment exam I gave out this morning.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Magnolia hissed, looking like she'd rather scream but holding back on front of the teacher. “I was prepared for the worst, but this is far beyond what I was expecting! This is who I am to be watching over!?”

“I’m right here you know,” the Vintrkind piped up, only for the Asgard girl to whip her head towards him and storm over.

Despite the fact that she was, like every other girl here, shorter than him, Magnolia carried a presence as she slammed her foot into the ground before grabbing him by the collar. “Listen here you! I can handle someone from Midgard, I can even handle a man, but I will not tolerate someone who tries so little that they make a filthy pig look dignified!”

“Sorry but that was in fact the best I could do for now.” Ash smacked the girl’s hand away before letting out a cold breath of air. “Growing up on the streets doesn’t give you the best education you know?”

Not everyone could be an overachiever like Breaker. In fact, if everyone was then the world would have a completely different problem on its hands.

“There’s no excuse for failure!” Magnolia snapped back. “You should be ashamed of yourself for even sullying this school with your presence! Leave this instant!”

The vintrkind could see her point, really. He knew he was lacking in a lot of ways. But at the same time, Ash just didn’t even remotely care about what this homegrown Asgard vegetable thought of him. The young boy held no grand ideals about what a Valkyrie should be. In the end, Ash was here at Valhalla to chase the first lead he had in years. He had done everything he could to survive his entire life and if that required proving himself as a Valkyrie. There was simply no time or energy to care about what Magnolia thought of him. So he’d shut her up. Now.

“Miss Rivers, you said there was another way I could prove myself right?” Ash asked the teacher as winter flooded through his veins. “Can I do that right now?”

“Are you sure?” The petit woman raised an eyebrow. “You might lose the rest of class time.”

“That doesn’t matter.” The white haired boy declared as he turned to stare down Magnolia. “If she really wants me to prove I belong here then I’ll do it right now.”

With a glance, the instructor turned towards the blonde who scoffed. “Let him try. If he disappoints, I’ll drag him out of Valhalla myself.”

“Very well. Both of you go and suit up and meet me in the arena,” Miss River’s declared, and for the first time her lips curled upwards into a smirk. Her blue eyes glinted. “We’re going to be having ourselves a showdown.”