November. Outside the window, fine snow fell onto the asphalt streets of Arc City, melting into dark patches of water.
Inside the studio, the heating ran at full blast, shutting out the cold from outside.
A thin layer of white mist clung to the glass windows.
The moment the door swung open, a gust of cold air rushed in.
Himeko walked in, dressed in a camel-colored trench coat.
She slid her still-dripping long-handled umbrella into the stand by the entrance and, in the same motion, unwound the somewhat heavy wine-red scarf from her neck.
Elysia hurried over from the sofa, took the scarf and hung it on the coat rack, then picked up a freshly brewed cup of hot black tea and held it out to her.
She was wearing a loose pink turtleneck sweater today, sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
"Sister Himeko, is it snowing hard out there? Here, have some hot tea to warm up."
Himeko took the cup, running her fingers along the warm white porcelain.
She glanced toward the back of the studio, her gaze passing over several running computer towers.
She'd been invited here for the vintage red wines in Eden's collection.
As for the man who'd so graciously offered to open his cellar, his scheming was loud enough to be heard across all of Arc City.
Today was the release of the Chapter 11 interlude, "Void Dome, Moon of Solitude" — those wines, put plainly, were just payment for getting her to appear on the livestream.
Using her face — identical to the in-game character's — to fan the flames a little more.
Sometimes Himeko couldn't help wondering just when this kid Su Yu had started getting so shameless.
Footsteps sounded from the direction of the break room.
Kiana came out carrying a tray with several plates of cut pastries.
Seeing the visitor standing in the entryway, she stopped at once and set the tray down on the nearest table.
"Sister Himeko, you're here."
Her voice carried well, her words crisp, with a touch of respect in her tone.
Himeko stepped closer, took a sip from her cup, and looked Kiana up and down several times.
The girl in front of her had fuller cheeks now, her hair combed smooth and resting softly against her shoulders.
"Tsk, tsk."
Himeko swallowed her tea and set the cup down on the side table with a soft clink.
"That kid's always digging pits for people, but I'll admit he's done right by you. Look at these round cheeks — give it a few more days and you'll rival that cat's chubby face."
Not far away, at the foot of the sofa, a white cat with mismatched eyes lay sprawled on a cushion.
Hearing herself mentioned, Chongchong flicked her tail, lifted her head to give an indignant "meow" in their direction, then buried her face back in her paws.
Kiana immediately turned to look at the cat, her cheeks flushing even redder.
"Sister Himeko, don't say things like that! What do you mean 'fattened up nicely'..." her voice climbed several decibels, "You make it sound like I'm his pet or something!"
Himeko didn't stop there. She stepped half a pace closer, leaned in toward Kiana, and gave her a casual nudge with an elbow.
"So, Kiana, still no progress, huh?"
Himeko lowered her voice.
"Eating together, living together, sleeping under the same roof this whole time, and you still haven't reeled him in? It's not like you haven't seen the girls around him — if you don't hurry up, he might just slip away one day."
Kiana's breath caught, and the hem of her shirt twisted into wrinkles in her grip.
She coughed sharply twice and used the motion to step back, putting some distance between them.
"S-Sister Himeko, y-your livestream is about to start, you should go over the script first."
With that, she turned her back, grabbed the tray from the table, and hurried off.
Himeko leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching Kiana's flustered retreat, and clicked her tongue twice.
It was maddening to watch — she felt the urge to march over and shove their heads together.
Himeko really couldn't understand it. The two of them were glued together morning to night — did anyone actually believe nothing was going on between them?
More like "nothing going on" enough to hatch a whole litter.
She turned and walked over to Elysia, who was fiddling with the streaming equipment nearby.
The two of them sat down side by side at the wide computer desk.
The glow of the monitor lit up Himeko's face.
She looked at the familiar countdown timer in the bottom right corner.
"After last time's experience, I can guess about eight or nine parts out of ten what tonight has in store."
Himeko pointed at the microphone beside her.
"He never visits without a reason — his heart just keeps getting darker by the day. I've seen how people online cuss him out every day, swearing they'll give that old scoundrel exactly what he deserves. Not that he doesn't have it coming."
She turned her head to look at Elysia.
"This chapter's story — I could guess with my eyes closed — it's got to be about 'Himeko.'"
Himeko's fingertip tapped hard on the thin script.
"Calling me in — are you planning to throw me another cyber funeral, just to make everyone down there cry louder?"
Elysia was carefully adjusting the angle of the camera.
She pushed the ring light above her head down a little, then turned to answer.
"I honestly don't have the actual details. But Nuwa quietly let something slip to me the other day — said this chapter's story is going to be absolutely shocking."
Himeko sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"He's obviously using you as a shield, hoping you'll cry right there on camera." She looked at Elysia. "And you're just going along with it, not a single complaint?"
Elysia's hands stilled.
She picked up the moisturizing spray on the desk and misted her face twice.
"Complaints? Saying I have none at all would be a lie."
She set down the small spray bottle and tucked a stray lock of pink hair behind her ear.
"But I'm not just going to let it slide either. I'll find a chance to get him back for it eventually."
"Besides, I'm the brand ambassador for Honkai Impact 3rd. At a critical moment like this, of course I have to stay on the front lines and share the highs and lows with everyone."
Himeko listened, then held out her right hand and gave Elysia a thumbs-up.
"Now that's professional dedication. I'm impressed. Still..."
She watched the danmaku scrolling across the screen — most of the flood of text was either anticipation for the new chapter or wailing over what had already happened.
"Why do I keep feeling like I've somehow become part of some weird thing you two have going on?"
Himeko grabbed the sparkling water off the side table, popped the tab, and took a long gulp.
"Elysia."
"What's up, Sister Himeko?"
"I am a teacher, after all — I can tell that kid's a stubborn, contrary sort."
Himeko looked down at her sparkling water.
"He's always complaining about how troublesome everything is, acting like he doesn't want to do anything. But when real trouble actually shows up at his door, he goes quiet."
"Is that experience talking?"
"Ahem. Sometimes when you've had one too many and end up at the wrong door, you know how it goes."
"I can just picture Su Yu rolling his eyes while dragging you back to your own place, grumbling the whole way."
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is — if that kid ever suddenly goes quiet, stops complaining about how troublesome or tired he is, stops talking about wanting to slack off—"
Himeko set the sparkling water down on the desk.
"It's probably not because he's had some change of heart."
She looked into Elysia's eyes, trying to read something there.
"It's because he's quietly cooking up something big."
Reaching that conclusion hadn't been hard for Himeko.
A carefree drunkard was her base nature, but it wasn't the whole of her. If she were truly a complete fool, she wouldn't be teaching at Arc City University.
Not saying something didn't mean not knowing it — in the adult world, you had to leave each other a little room and distance.
"Just consider it a landlady's idle nagging." Himeko shrugged. "I figure you two, being the same generation, have more to talk about than an auntie like me would."
The implication was clear.
That kid Su Yu was cooking up something big, and one day it might just go off like a fireworks show.
You're close to him — keep an eye on him and don't let him do anything reckless.
But there was nothing in Elysia's eyes — the same as always.
"Su Yu must have his own reasons."
Her answer caught Himeko a little off guard.
She'd expected that, true to character, Elysia would thump her chest and say with a grin, 'Leave it to me — watch as the beautiful detective Elysia gets to the bottom of everything!'
Just like that day on the rooftop — though of course, Himeko had no idea about that.
"Well, I've been in Arc City for a good while now, and I've made a lot of friends."
"They're all very warm-hearted people. If I really put my mind to asking them, Bad Su Yu's clumsy lies wouldn't hold up for a second, right?"
Elysia glanced at her own pinky, remembering the pinky-promise made in that cave, and a touch of tenderness crossed her face.
"Sister Himeko, I'm not really that clever a girl."
"But I do know that everyone plays a different role in each other's lives."
"Playing one's role well and staying within its bounds is a good thing for everyone — because that way, no one gets hurt."
"I do love playing detective, but at heart, Elysia is Miss Pink Elf, not some relentless master detective."
"Seeing through it but not saying so — that's a beautiful girl's wisdom too, don't you think?"
Himeko blinked, seeming to mull over the meaning behind Elysia's words.
"Now I see it.
Himeko sighed.
"You and Su Yu really are a pair of sharks — trouble cut from the same mold."
She didn't press the issue further.
After all, a teacher was, at most, a guide — she didn't think herself qualified to be a life mentor to two little troublemakers.
Elysia pulled a headset out from behind the computer and handed it over.
The two of them put on their headsets, and the microphone's green light came on, signaling it was live.
Elysia turned toward the screen and waved.
The livestream officially began.
Her voice, bright and cheerful, carried through the microphone.
"Hello, hello, all you fans in Arc City, good evening!"
"It's snowing outside right now, and the temperature's dropped quite a bit. If you're heading out, be sure to bundle up and stay warm, okay?"
The danmaku on the right side of the screen immediately cascaded like a waterfall.
Some fussed over her outfit, some spammed meaningless emoji, and quite a few pressed for updates on the last stream.
Elysia leaned toward the screen, catching one comment scrolling by.
She cleared her throat, coughing twice on purpose.
"Someone's asking about the outcome of the manhunt for Su Yu last time?"
As she spoke, she reached under the computer desk and pulled out a plastic pink inflatable hammer.
She waved it in her hand, then tapped it against the edge of the desk twice, producing a dull thud.
"Let me tell you, I beat him until he was begging for mercy!" She set down the hammer, pouting a little. "But you all know how he is — if a beating could fix his terrible habit of gutting us emotionally, he wouldn't be old scoundrel, would he?"
Himeko, sitting beside her, glanced at the inflatable toy and brushed back the red hair falling over her shoulder.
She leaned toward the microphone too.
"I'm happy to be here with everyone at this time, but honestly, knowing that guy's usual habits, this chapter's story is almost certainly tied to Himeko again."
The moment she said it, the danmaku's scroll speed doubled.
The screen filled with a mix of question marks and exclamation points.
[Does this mean there's news about Teacher Himeko?]
[I knew old scoundrel wouldn't be that cruel! Himeko just fell into Imaginary Space — no body was ever found, so maybe she can really come back!]
[Let's be rational here — from a business standpoint, bringing back Himeko, Herrscher of Flame, wouldn't just be a huge emotional payoff, it'd also let them roll out another limited character and milk everyone's wallets. So there's no way Himeko is actually dead!]
Himeko watched the hopeful, confidently-argued business analysis scroll by, leaned back in her chair, and gave a small shake of her head.
These people never learned, falling for the same trick every single time.
But she kept any buzzkill conclusions to herself — everyone was too excited, after all.
Before long, the game's maintenance finished.
Elysia immediately tossed the inflatable hammer aside, grabbed the mouse, and without any extra words, clicked straight into the newly released Chapter 11 interlude—
"Void Dome, Moon of Solitude."
The loading screen flashed past.
Then a heavy soundtrack swelled from the speakers.
The screen first showed a landscape of shattered walls and rubble.
Raging flames devoured what had once been bustling streets, painting the darkened sky a deep red.
Amid the ruins, several massive Honkai Beasts wandered aimlessly, their enormous claws smashing concrete buildings like they were made of tofu.
Not far away, beneath a crumbling section of wall, a woman in ragged clothes shielded a sobbing child under her body.
She turned her head to watch the monster draw closer, her face twisted with sheer terror.
The camera angle cut aside.
In the shadows of the ruins stood Kiana, wearing a tattered coat.
She stared fixedly at the mother and child, jaw clenched.
["Kiana, stop! You can't touch Honkai energy anymore — there's nothing you can do right now."]
But the white-haired girl on screen seemed not to hear Fu Hua's warning at all.
Without hesitation, she snatched up a broken baseball bat lying at her feet and charged out.
She swung the bat with all her strength into one of the Honkai Beasts' joints, drawing its attention and buying the mother and child time to escape.
The intensity of the opening scene brought the entire stream's danmaku to a brief halt.
Elysia stared at the screen, hands folded on the edge of the desk.
"Huh? Wait, wait."
She turned to Himeko beside her, her voice full of confusion.
"Why is Hua with Kiana?"
She pointed at the frozen frame on screen, trying to recall the earlier story.
"If I remember right, didn't Hua vanish after helping Himeko find the Crimson Knight Armor, once her Strength ran out?"
Himeko was frowning at the screen too, watching Kiana pant on it.
She rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment.
"Don't tell me Fu Hua became some kind of guardian spirit, or... just turned into one of those ghosts that possesses people?"
At that moment, the momentarily stalled danmaku exploded back to life, with some viewers even typing out lengthy theory posts.
[Everyone, think back! Remember the dimensional bubble setting from the Chapter 11 story — didn't Bronya run into that thing called Yu Ducheng?]
[That's right! Yu Ducheng is the Squad Monitor's Holy Blade! A being that can control consciousness!]
[That Holy Blade said Otto did it a favor once, so it left a feather on Father Otto to protect him! So the reason Kiana can hear the Squad Monitor's voice now is probably because she's also carrying one of the feathers Yu Ducheng left behind!]
Everyone chimed in on the danmaku, piling on their theories.
But no matter how they analyzed it, everyone arrived at the same conclusion: whatever state Fu Hua now existed in, it definitely had something to do with the Holy Blade Yu Ducheng.
—
The director's office door stood ajar; from the hallway outside came the faint sound of Elysia and Himeko laughing and chatting in the livestream.
The sound blurred through the wall, muffled as if wrapped in thick cotton.
Su Yu and Kiana sat side by side on the wide sofa.
The screen in front of them mirrored the livestream, where Elysia had just grabbed the inflatable hammer and was gesturing with it at the camera.
Danmaku drifted past, all of it teasing and jeering.
Su Yu watched himself get publicly roasted on screen and sank back into the sofa.
He turned his head and asked, almost to himself, "Am I really such a terrible game producer?"
Kiana said nothing.
Her gaze stayed on the screen, on the familiar ruined landscape, on the burning flames.
Her fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the sofa, her lips parting as if to say something.
A piece of pastry was pushed into her mouth.
Kiana's eyes went wide, and she let out a muffled yelp.
Crumbs stuck to the corner of her mouth.
She turned to see Su Yu pulling his hand back, that familiar smile on his face.
"I know what you're thinking, you silly Paramecium. That's what happened right before you crossed over, isn't it?"
Kiana forced the pastry down her throat.
She lowered her head, silent for a long moment.
"Su Yu, my memory only goes this far." Her voice was much softer than before. "I overused my Strength, and the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness nearly swallowed me whole, and then—"
She didn't say the words "ended myself" out loud.
"—and then I came to this world, and met you."
Kiana raised her eyes to watch the version of herself fighting a Honkai Beast in the ruins on screen.
"So the game story you've made... is it..."
Outside the window, the snow kept falling.
Su Yu nodded.
His voice was quiet, but in the silent office, every word reached Kiana's ears clearly.
"It's just like you think, Kiana. That's your other future."
Kiana's breath caught.
She'd never asked about this before. Su Yu knew a great deal of what she knew — and far more that she didn't.
It wasn't that she didn't want to ask; she understood that Su Yu's choice not to tell her was a way of protecting her.
"Do you remember the conversation I had with Uncle Yang? Uncle Yang has memories from the future." Su Yu said, his gaze settling on her face. "To be precise, memories concerning the original future of your Honkai world."
"The original future?"
There was a touch of bewilderment in Kiana's voice.
Su Yu looked at the white-haired girl fighting on screen.
"By the original course of events, you were never supposed to end up in this world."
"For you, this stretch of time in Arc City would have shaped you into a Void Drifter."
The moment those words landed, Kiana froze completely.
Her eyes went wide, her breath quickening, lips trembling slightly as if turning the weight of those words over and over.
"Void Drifter... my future...?"
At that moment, Su Yu's hand reached over and took hold of her fingers.
His palm was faintly damp, faintly cold, trembling ever so slightly.
Kiana looked down at his hand.
She stayed silent for two seconds, then laced her own fingers into his instead.
"What's this? We're talking about my future, so why is your hand the one shaking, big-shot producer?"
She looked up at him, and there was neither fear nor self-reproach in her eyes.
There was even a hint of amusement in them, along with a trace of mock displeasure.
"Don't tell me you're thinking — [this silly Paramecium saw her other possible future, and is she going to agonize over whether she's too weak]?"
Kiana pouted.
Her cheeks puffed out, looking exactly like Chongchong sprawled on the sofa — absolutely adorable.
"What is that? You silly Su Yu! Aren't you basically saying you look down on me? Or is it that, in your mind, Kiana Kaslana has always been nothing but a coward who can only hide behind you?"
Outside, the snow fell against the glass, melting into scattered droplets.
"I— uh—"
Watching him fumble for an explanation, Kiana finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
She wrapped her other hand around his too, sandwiching his hand between both of hers.
The warmth of her small hands passed clearly through the skin.
She still carried the scent of toasted bread — remnants of the breakfast she'd eaten not long before — mingled with the fresh, sweet scent unique to her.
"Silly Su Yu, I'm not a little kid anymore. You should have more confidence in me, shouldn't you?"
A touch of amusement rose in her mismatched eyes, as if his overprotective act had genuinely entertained her.
"You know, if you ever have kids someday, you're definitely going to be the type who worries himself sleepless every single night."
She paused, then added, almost jealously.
"Hmm, but come to think of it, being worried over like that by an idiot like you doesn't sound half bad."
Su Yu opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Kiana did something he never saw coming.
She turned onto her side and rested the back of her head on his lap.
Her head was light, settling down softly, just like the cat always burrowing into the sofa cushions.
Her white hair spread across his pants, the soft ends brushing against the back of his hand with a light, ticklish sensation, carrying the faint scent of shampoo.
"But there's a saying I really like." Her voice drifted up from his lap. "Even when a hero passes by, someone still needs to be there clapping for her. So I suppose I'll grudgingly grant you the honor of being that passerby for me!"
"Mm."
Su Yu didn't say anything more.
The back of her head faced him, her eyes fixed on the screen, on the version of herself still fighting the Honkai Beast.
"Su Yu." She said his name.
"Mm?"
"I won't lose to that other me. Because the me right now — I'm already a Void Drifter too."
Kiana's legs curled slightly at her side, her skin taking on a faint pink tint in the warm room.
In rhythm with her words, her toes curled and stretched inside her white socks, like a kitten kneading a blanket.
Chongchong, lying nearby basking in the warm air, yawned, her gaze lingering for a moment on the toes that had given away Kiana's mood, and let out a faint huff through her nose.
As if to say: silly humans, so easily satisfied.
Su Yu didn't answer.
Kiana felt his palm settle gently on her hair, not stroking, just resting there.
"Kiana."
"Mm?"
"Wherever your future lies, everyone will be behind you."
"I know."
The room fell into a brief silence, his large hand resting over Kiana's head, oddly reassuring.
For a while, the only sounds in the room were Elysia fighting monsters on the livestream and Himeko's running commentary beside her.
"...And what about you?"
Kiana's voice drifted up from below, soft as a feather settling onto water.
Su Yu's voice floated down from above her, tinged with amusement.
"I'm your producer, remember? Ever since the day I was born, I've been solo-stanning you."
Kiana's body stiffened.
Then she let out an exaggerated wail.
"Whoa! What kind of statement is that?! If anyone heard you say that, they'd definitely call it harassment! And your 'solo-stanning' is probably just code for 'pushing me around by name,' right?"
"Well, do you think it's harassment?"
Kiana didn't answer right away.
But her two bright red ears gave away just how pleased she was.
"Not telling you~ hehe."
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉