Kiana's steps froze.
Su Yu's face flushed bright red, like someone had splashed him with hot oil.
"It really isn't—"
Their voices collided—both blurting out at the same time—panicked, messy, totally unconvincing.
Himeko looked at their flustered chaos and burst out laughing, the kind of hearty laughter that made the whole stairwell echo.
"Youth is great!" She slapped her thigh, laughing so hard she nearly teared up. "That sour-sweet stink… I can't smell it anymore."
"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you two." She waved the beer can in her hand. "I'm going upstairs to enjoy my single-and-alcoholic lifestyle."
She turned, about to head up—
"Wait."
Kiana's voice stopped her.
Himeko paused and glanced back.
Kiana's lips moved—that name almost slipped out. The name that had surfaced in her dreams countless times.
But she caught herself at the last second, like slamming the brakes.
"…Sister Himeko."
"Hm? What is it?" Himeko asked, curious. "If you want beer, I can share a ca—"
Moonlight spilled over Kiana's face, lighting up those mismatched eyes.
"From now on—"
Kiana inhaled deeply. Her voice was a little stiff, still raw, but serious—like making a promise.
"Please… take care of me."
The stairwell went quiet for a beat.
Himeko blinked.
She studied the white-haired girl in front of her—the same girl who used to look like she was standing on the edge of an abyss.
Those eyes had changed.
Fear was still there, but now there was light.
A weak flame… but stubborn. Like a candle refusing to go out in a storm.
Himeko didn't know what had happened in just a week.
But she could see it: this girl was trying—awkwardly, stubbornly—piece by piece, to come back to life.
She scratched her flame-red hair with exaggerated impatience and waved her hand like she couldn't stand the seriousness.
"Yeah, yeah, enough with the formal stuff." Her tone was all mock-complaint, but the corner of her mouth lifted anyway. "Makes it feel like we're acting in some tragic drama."
"I live right across from you. If anything happens, come find me." She shook the can. "Drinking, fighting—whatever. I'm in."
With that, she turned and started up the stairs.
The clink of beer cans echoed through the stairwell—steady, casual, weirdly comforting.
"Oh, right—"
After a few steps, she looked back and winked at Su Yu.
"Even if your leg's broken, take care of it, Little Su." Her grin turned knowingly wicked. "Don't make your junior sister worry. A good girl like that—miss her, and you'll regret it for life."
"My leg isn't broken!"
Su Yu's protest rang out, completely powerless.
Himeko's laughter floated down from above, growing distant—then came the sound of a door closing.
Kiana stood there, staring at the direction that red-haired woman had disappeared.
Himeko-sensei.
She repeated the name silently.
She knew it.
This world's Himeko and that world's Himeko were two different people.
She understood that.
And yet—
Watching that familiar back. Hearing that familiar voice.
She couldn't stop the past from rising up.
Teacher…
I'm trying. I'm really trying to live.
Like you taught me.
Even in a world without Honkai…
I'll still… live properly.
"Hey." Su Yu's voice snapped her out of it. "Ready? Can we go upstairs? My leg's kinda going numb."
Kiana blinked back to reality and realized she was still standing there with this idiot on her back—
like an idiot.
"…Let's go."
She stepped forward, climbing the stairs one step at a time.
The night was gentle.
The motion-sensor lights flicked on, then off—one after another.
Their shadows stretched along the wall, overlapping, then separating.
"Oh, right," Su Yu said. "Just now… you almost called her the wrong name, didn't you? You wanted to call her 'Himeko'."
Kiana's steps faltered.
"…You heard that?"
"Yeah. You were pretty loud."
A few seconds of silence.
Then Kiana's voice came softly.
"She looks like… someone important."
Su Yu didn't press.
"I know."
He only answered lightly, then rested his chin on her shoulder.
"When this leg heals," he said, "I'll treat you to hotpot. The extra spicy kind."
"Why hotpot?"
"Because Sister Himeko said she found a new Chongqing hotpot place. Apparently it's so good not going would be an insult to life."
"…What does that have to do with her?"
"Because we can invite her." Su Yu said it like it was obvious. "We're neighbors. More people, more lively."
He paused, then added quietly—
"And… I think you'd want to spend a little more time with her."
Kiana was silent for a while.
Only footsteps in the stairwell.
"…Mm."
She answered like she didn't care.
But Su Yu felt it—just for a moment—her arms tightened slightly around him.
A wordless yes.
....
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