Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

"I'm very sorry for the command errors in the [Endless Abyss]..." Keng Huo's voice was filled with deep regret. "I was too greedy. I should have teleported you back earlier... and I also failed to issue timely warnings and give the correct instructions when the [Abyss's Gaze] occurred..."

"I'm sorry...it's all my fault..." Keng Huo's voice was soft, as if he were talking in a dream.

“That’s enough, you’ve already…tried hard enough…” Kiana’s long eyelashes drooped, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

No, that's not enough.

"You don't need to work so hard... Can't you just do your job properly?" Kiana retorted weakly, but the other party's affirmative tone made her seem like the one in the wrong.

"This is my duty."

"You big dummy! This isn't your business at all!" Kiana was so angry that she trembled all over. She raised her hand as if to give Keng Huo a good punch on the head, but then slowly lowered her hand and turned it into a gentle slap.

Keng Huo felt a warm hand stroking his head, and for a moment he felt a sense of peace.

Kiana was never stupid; she just tended to be less thoughtful when with familiar people, which made her seem a bit single-minded. Thinking about it carefully, if she hadn't been intelligent, having wandered alone from a young age, she probably would have died long ago while searching for her father.

But it was precisely because Kiana was used to being carefree and always getting away with things that she seemed so unusual at this moment.

It's as rare as the quiet, adorable version from last time.

"It's probably as rare as a shiny Pokémon," a thought suddenly popped into Keng Huo's mind.

She had witnessed too much of the coldness and warmth of human relationships in the world, especially those who were corrupted by the Honkai before the Honkai erupted. These people often had huge obsessions and dark sides in their minds. Kiana, who had personally executed countless corrupted people, understood the dark side of human nature exceptionally well.

Suddenly, Kiana seemed to recall that year, under the cherry blossom tree, a girl named Asakura Miyuki, her face flushed, staring at her hesitantly. She held a bag of three-year-old cherry blossoms in her hand, and as if summoning immense courage, spoke to her in a trembling voice:

"Kiana-san...please...please..."

That was one of the people she had executed. The girl she had saved was corrupted by the Honkai because of her dark past. Thinking of this, Kiana's mood became much heavier.

"Why are you so stubborn? You're not the only one in this world who's working hard!" Kiana said softly, her eyes fixed on the empty street ahead, as if she were talking to someone who didn't exist.

"Why should you be the one to save the world? Who do you think you are? Saving the world is the job of us Valkyries, okay? You, a clerical worker who is only able to survive because we protect you, should just stay obediently behind us and wait for us to come out and dance for us in a short skirt with two colorful pom-poms after we've saved the world!" Kiana angrily flicked Keng Huo's forehead.

"Yeah... I really am... arrogant..." Keng Huo chuckled, his eyes slightly closed, it was hard to tell if he was serious or just being perfunctory.

"Well, so... please trust us a little bit, okay..." Kiana lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

"Do you remember what you said to the first batch of Valkyries in the auditorium? You said you hoped to fulfill that seemingly impossible wish with us."

"You've asked us to trust you again and again, so we have; so... when we need your trust... please trust us a little bit too, okay?"

"Trust what?" Keng Huo's voice was very soft, as if he was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"Trust us...we will never abandon you." Kiana raised her head slightly, looking at the glow of the rising sun as it secretly crossed the horizon outside the floating island of St. Freya Academy. "We trust you, which is why we rely on your command; at the same time, we also believe that without your command, we would only do worse, and if we don't achieve the expected results, it can only be because we are not strong enough and not worthy of your command ability."

Keng Huo chuckled softly: "It's clearly not your fault, but when problems arise, you try to take the blame... How arrogant."

“Yes, isn’t this also something you did?” Kiana raised her left hand and gently brushed aside Keng Huo’s hair, revealing a sliver of white. “It was clearly our own fault for forgetting that [The Gaze of the Abyss] would use people we know as templates to create projections, which is why we lost two people at the start of the battle… Why do you consider this your mistake?”

“It’s really…strange…” Kiana’s fingers continued to gently stroke the hair, searching for more of the white hairs that were causing the trouble.

"Hmm...maybe...maybe it's just a habit." Keng Huo didn't notice Kiana's hand playing with his hair. The familiar touch reminded him of many years ago, of that little girl who used the excuse of picking lice off herself to make a mess of her hair, and then complained with a troubled expression about how she was different from the animals in the animal documentary.

"Your habits are quite unique," Kiana said, seemingly amused by the perplexing reply.

“Yes, I can’t change the world, I can only change myself.” Keng Huo closed his eyes and said softly, “I can’t ask anything of others, so I can only do it myself… when facing difficulties…”

“Because no one will answer your cries for help, is that it…” Kiana’s hand stopped, a hint of longing in her eyes. “In that case, you really are a bit like a lone wolf.”

That was the same loneliness she once felt.

"Maybe..." The hesitant voice revealed a deep weariness.

"So, Keng Huo, were you ever truly possessed?" Kiana suddenly asked this question out of the blue.

"...Are you just reciting what you've learned?" Keng Huo clearly recognized that these were words he had taught her in the Endless Abyss.

"Hurry up and answer my question..." Kiana urged.

"Hmm...I guess so..."

"And now?"

"……do not know."

"Were you a warrior before?" Kiana didn't get the answer she wanted, but she wasn't annoyed. She just asked this question out of the blue.

"Ok?"

“Because when I’m under your command… I always feel… that you’re not like a subordinate,” Kiana said, her eyes filled with a thoughtful and reminiscing look. “It’s more like… how should I put it, that you seem to want to do the work yourself.”

"Ok?"

"But you are now our commander."

"Ah."

"So... it's okay not to force yourself so much, you still have us."

"Um……"

Are you very tired?

"Um……"

"Then take a nap."

"Hmm~" This time, the tone of her voice carried a clear shift, as if she were expressing refusal.

Kiana almost laughed at the almost coquettish tone: "Are you a 'poop monster'?"

"Ok!"

"Pfft..." Kiana raised her hand to cover her mouth, her big blue eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. Keng Huo could even feel the thigh under his head trembling rhythmically. "So you still haven't answered my question. Were you a warrior before?"

"Even now."

"why?"

"Because I still have people to protect."

The atmosphere fell slightly silent.

Kiana wasn't sure if her face was burning from the sunlight or from her own body. She looked around anxiously, and only relaxed when she found that no one was around.

"By the way, haven't you heard me sing before?" Kiana decided to change the subject.

"What song?" Keng Huo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The song that Mei, Bronya, and I sang together at the school festival!" Kiana pinched Keng Huo's cheek, somewhat annoyed. "You don't even remember that! I'm angry!"

"My lord, could the magnanimous Miss Kiana please forgive this rude fellow's offense?"

"Hmm... I'll forgive you if you just listen to me sing honestly."

"I'm all ears."

Kiana's face slowly broke into a smile. She cleared her throat and began to sing a somewhat sad song.

"...

Steel no weaving blue pupil

The world is full of rotten food

Cold and gray heart

なのに君と会った

光が强すぎから

Forget the stars and the king

Answer the sound of the answer

Feelings are gone

Answer

Search

I'll do my best to hug you

すべてを Drink み込む光に

Feelings are gone

......"

"It's...a rather sad song..." Keng Huo's voice was somewhat low.

"……Um."

"But it sounds really good."

"...Of course."

"Next time I'm tired... can I listen to you sing again?"

"If you want to."

Kiana didn't even know how she had answered those words so inexplicably. She couldn't help but cover her burning cheeks with her hands, her girlish heart pounding wildly.

"What if one day we fall into a crisis like that again...?" Kiana asked, leaning slightly forward with her hands on the bench, as if she had just remembered something.

"I will never let you fall into such a crisis again."

"Well... I was just talking about you, how come you're getting arrogant again?" Kiana tugged at Keng Huo's ear.

"Because no move can be effective twice against a Saint Seiya!"

Kiana smiled and poked Keng Huo's cheek, who seemed to have regained his energy, her words full of teasing: "Then you really are the worst Saint I've ever seen. Even the aftereffects of staying up all night can affect you several times over."

"Well... after all, Saint Seiya are human too, and humans can't stay up all night."

"Pfft... Saint Seiya, can you tell me? If Mei and I were to find ourselves in such a dangerous situation again someday, what would you do?" If Keng Huo turned around at this moment, he would see Kiana's eyes, which were completely different from her usual self.