Kiana Birthday Special
By Your Side
[ WARNING: Major Timeskip to 2017 ]
Amusement Parks.
An enjoyable location for people of all ages and from all walks of life. A place that emanates joy and the scent of caramel popcorn and overpriced soda. A place that gives beaming smiles and creates unforgettable memories.
The sun was setting, and the warm, golden solar object slowly sank below the horizon. Today, its spherical shape was perfectly lined up with the amusement park's towering Ferris wheel, giving the guests a wondrous view and a romantic atmosphere. In the carriages, families huddled together, and couples gently kissed, enjoying the company of their loved ones on an ordinary weekday evening.
Hyperactive screaming echoed around the Ferris wheel as the many rides remained active. From intense roller coasters with many loops and steep drops to the tamer tea cups and merry-go-rounds, even with the night slowly closing in, there hadn't been a drop in the number of people enjoying their time in the theme park. Instead, it seemed as if the population within had grown even more as people who came from studying at school or got off their shifts came searching for a place to relax and shout away their stress.
But in the unseen corners of the park, hidden inside the shadows of dusk, away from the eyes of the happy-go-lucky crowds, a single white-haired girl stood over the corpses of several inhumanely pale zombies.
A cyberpunk-esque, risque outfit hugged her slim, athletic figure. It was a skintight gold, white, and black costume that exposed her upper thighs, armpits, and toned midriff. But the most notable feature was the pair of cat ears on her head.
Her long twin braids fluttered in the wind, and her chest heaved as she caught her breath. Sky-blue eyes studied the bodies as they slowly began to break apart and dissolve.
"Is that all of them?" she asked herself, scanning the area while wiping the sweat sliding down her chin.
"No," Her gaze was cast to the ground, next to the head of a disintegrating zombie. She sucked in her breath, and her fists clenched, "It's not enough. I have to defeat even more…that's the only way…"
"Kiana!"
The familiar voice severed her from her thoughts. She whipped around to see a black-haired male in his late teens jogging up to her with a large paper bag in hand.
"Ah, Adam, sorry to keep you waiting," Kiana greeted him as he stopped before her.
Adam shook his head, "It's no problem. You worked hard today. Here, your normal clothes,"
"Thank you," the girl smiled softly, taking the bag from his grasp.
Without missing a beat, the boy removed his jacket and draped it over Kiana. The white-haired girl looked up at him, blinking in surprise.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked with concern.
Her companion offered her a reassuring grin, "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. It must've been tough standing out here all day wearing nothing but that,"
"Ahaha, a little," Kiana replied honestly, "It was a lot better during lunch since the sun was still up, but now it's…Ah…Ah…Achoo~!"
"I'm still surprised that someone who lived in Siberia isn't cold-resistant," Adam joked.
"Shuddup," Kiana pouted with a quick sniffle, tightening the grip on the jacket and pulling it closer around her, "It's been forever since then. My body is more adapted to warmer climates now,"
"Mhm. Now all this talk about the cold is making me cold, and I want my jacket back, so go and get changed already," The black-haired teen said playfully and gently pushed Kiana toward the locker rooms.
"Yeah, yeah," the girl waved nonchalantly and entered the changing rooms, though a faint smile played on her lips.
In the past, Kiana would've rolled her eyes and countered with a quip of her own, which would, more often than not, trigger Adam to fire back and, subsequently, herself again. Their heated back-and-forth bickering matches about all manner of things, from battle strategies to which fried chicken shop was better, were infamous between their respective squads and possibly even in the entire St. Freya Academy.
But those innocent days were long gone.
They felt like events that happened lifetimes ago when, in reality, it had only been half a year or so.
Nowadays, she was glad and thankful that Adam behaved relatively the same as he did back then. At first, she was suspicious, but eventually, whether it was an act or not wasn't important to her. With all the drastic changes in her world lately, at least someone close to her remained unchanged. Like a living souvenir from a bygone era, frozen in time and a reminder of what she was now fighting for.
Shaking those thoughts away, Kiana quickly discarded the skimpy cat outfit and swapped into clothes that suited the winter season. It consisted of a comfortable white turtleneck sweater, light-blue jeans, dark snow boots, and a trendy, beige trenchcoat that went down to her knees. Surprisingly, instead of keeping her signature hairstyle, Kiana reached up and released her braids and allowed her flowing white hair to cascade freely down her back.
However, there was one more step to her outfit change, and she had purposely procrastinated the step further and further back into the routine.
Kiana stared at her reflection in the changing room's mirror panel. There was a time when she would spend hours playing in front of the mirror, posing, confidently admiring herself, giving herself what she deemed 'inspiring' and 'cool' speeches, and roleplaying various situations she saw in movies and anime.
But these days, her reflection terrified her and even disgusted her. Only in horror movies did one's reflection morph and smile sinisterly back at them…unfortunately, this was Kiana's reality.
For she shared her body with her.
The monster that had slaughtered millions of innocent people and caused countless pain and suffering worldwide.
Worst of all, it forced her to harm and even kill the ones she loved.
She hadn't been showing herself recently, which was fine with Kiana; the less she appeared, the better for everyone.
The white-haired girl popped open a small lens case and raised a hand to her right eye, peeling out the blue contact lens, blinking a few times to re-adjust.
Glancing at her reflection, her heterochromatic eyes looked back. Her left eye was still her natural blue, while her right was an invasive amber.
A sigh escaped her lips, and she tore her gaze from the glass. There wasn't anything she could do about it now. But she swore that one day, she would expel the intruder and claim her body back. No matter what.
After packing her things back into the bag and hanging the cat outfit back on the staff uniform shelf, the former Valkyrie left the changing rooms.
Kiana's head swiveled from right to left after exiting, searching through the crowd until her sight settled on Adam, leaning against a lamp post, scrolling through his phone.
She strolled up to him, and just as she was about to call out to him, she paused when two young women who looked a little older than them approached Adam.
Through the ambient chatter of the theme park crowd, Kiana couldn't pick up on what they were saying. She could always use the Herrscher power to enhance her hearing and eavesdrop, but the Kaslana immediately decided against it. That power was only to be utilized as a last resort and not for petty reasons. It was already difficult to control and would give her a splitting headache every time, not to mention the constant, taunting whispering from her 'other self, 'and the less she had to interact with the other half, the better.
Kiana inhaled deeply, controlling her intrusive thoughts, and paced forward.
"Come on~ We'll show you how to have a good time,"
"Yeah~ Let these two big sisters spoil you just for today,"
"Sorry, I'm sure you guys are nice people, but I'm waiting for someone," Adam said, kindly turning down their offers.
"Huh~?"
"Who~? Are you sure you're not making this up? If you are, big sis is gonna be really, really sad,"
"I'm not making anything up; I'm waiting for—" At that moment, the black-haired teen caught his companion coming toward him in the corner of his eyes. He looked over and waved, "—And here she is. Kia—?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kiana latched onto his arm and pulled him away without even acknowledging the existence of the two women talking to him.
"What's the hurry? Are you hungry or something?" Adam asked.
Kiana shook her head, her cheeks puffed up slightly, and refused to answer the rest of his question. Instead, she reached into her bag and retrieved a gray piece of winter clothing.
"Here, your jacket," she said, returning it to its owner.
"Thanks, Tuna," he replied, taking it and swiftly putting it back on.
Kiana momentarily froze, and her eyes went wide. She hadn't heard him call her by that insult-turned-nickname in a long time. A sudden wave of nostalgia for simpler times when all their friends could gather around the same dinner table every night came crashing down. She bit her lip to hold back the tears slowly shimmering in her eyes.
While Adam was distracted, Kiana quickly wiped her eyes and responded, "No problem,"
"So you worked as a part-time amusement park tour guide today, all so you could find and eliminate the Honkai beasts hiding inside the park?"
"Of course. The latter is my real job," Kiana insisted and briefly released her grip on Adam's arm to place her hands on her hips proudly, "I'm now Arc City's one and only protector, Cat Girl,"
The black-haired teen raised a brow and held back his laugh, 'Cat Girl? Really? Well, I'm glad to see that despite everything that's happened, her naming sense still remains the same,'
"Cat Girl, huh? Are you sure she doesn't need any help from another hero? Someone like Tracksuit Guy, perhaps?"
"Nope," Kiana rejected with her head held high as her lips curved into a mischievous smile, "Though I'm sure she'd accept the Neko Maid's help at any time,"
"No," the black-haired teen instantly shot down that proposal, prompting melodic laughter from his white-haired companion.
"Ahaha~ I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Kiana said after controlling her giggles, "But hey, I'd honestly really appreciate the help, y'know. Whether it's from Tracksuit Guy, Neko Maid, or just…" the Kaslana looped her arms around the black-haired teen again, "...You,"
Adam's ears turned red at the gesture. He looked away bashfully, rubbing the back of his head, "Well, they're all technically me, so…"
"Oh no!"
The sudden exclamation from Kiana brought his attention back to her. She was staring wide-eyed and mouth agape at her phone.
"What's up?"
Kiana didn't say anything at first but immediately switched from holding his arm to his hand and abruptly took off, sprinting and pulling Adam with her.
"If we don't hurry to the station now, we'll be stuck in the rush hour! C'mon, we have to hurry!"
"In the end, we still couldn't avoid the rush hour," grumbled Kiana.
The rhythmic clunking of the monorail speeding across the tracks echoed beneath all the combined, quiet chattering of the other passengers.
All the seats had already been taken, so the duo was forced to stand on the sides of the carriage. With the cramped and still-growing crowd, Kiana found herself up against the wall with Adam standing directly in front of her, shielding her from the remaining stream of people. While they weren't packed like canned sardines…yet, it was still a reasonably tight squeeze. The built-in heaters and the amassed body heat radiated through the train's multiple carriages, and Kiana could already feel the effect of it trailing down her neck.
"Even if it's that time of day, there's a lot more people than I expected," commented Adam, peeking around until his gaze landed on Kiana, "You have enough breathing space down there?"
The Kaslana looked up and nodded, though her uncomfortable expression remained, "It's still kinda suffocating, but what do you expect, there's so many people—WAH!"
A sudden, sharp turn on the tracks cut her off and caused all the passengers to stumble.
Losing her balance, the white-haired girl fell forward with a yelp.
"Watch out!"
But thanks to the black-haired boy's quick reaction, she was caught before she could collide with other people in the constricted carriage.
She breathed a sigh of relief, "That was close,"
"Are you okay?" Adam asked.
"I'm fine," She smiled, dispersing any worries her companion had.
Only when things had calmed down did she notice her current predicament. In her haste to stabilize herself, she had latched onto the closest thing available, and that happened to be Adam, with her arms locked behind his back. At the same time, Adam wrapped one arm around Kiana's waist to hold her in place while the other gripped the handle above.
She wasn't the only one to realize their intimate position as the black-haired teen teasingly smirked, "Doesn't this kinda remind you of all those times you dragged us into those weird, tight hiding places?"
"You mean like the maintenance closet?" the girl's lips curved up similarly.
"And that dumpster that one time we were on holiday,"
"Ugh, don't remind me. It seemed like a good spot at first, but I couldn't get the smell out of my hair for weeks,"
"You really wanted to avoid Theresa that day, didn't you?"
"I didn't have a choice. She was gonna force me to do my assignments, and that's the last thing I wanted on vacation,"
"Well, if you're done reminiscing, you can let go of me now," said Adam as he released his grip around Kiana, "If I remember correctly, it's gonna be smooth sailing until we reach our stop so we don't need to hold onto each other anymore,"
His female partner didn't reply nor move, and when he looked down to see if there was something wrong, he saw that her cheeks had puffed up in an adorable pout, and her chin rested on his chest as she stared back up at him.
"What?"
At first, Kiana still said nothing as she strengthened her clasp around the black-haired boy and then craned her neck to nuzzle against him—a wordless rejection of his suggestion.
"Warm," she finally spoke, her voice muffled by his cold-resistant clothes.
"I swear you're just like a cat sometimes," stated the black-haired teenager.
With her face still buried against his body, the Kaslana made a single meek noise, "...Meow~,"
At her antics, Adam released a quiet laugh and reached up, gently stroking her hair the same way he would to a small feline. After a moment, he stopped. His hand stayed atop the former Valkyrie's head before he eventually found himself with his arm around Kiana's waist again.
The duo of black and white remained in this close position for a while longer. The pastel orange and pink rays of sunset flashed through the windows, illuminating the carriages with their comforting glow as they traveled through the many colorful and bustling districts of the advanced metropolis known as Arc City.
The monorail mainly fell silent as most of the passengers were focused on the contents of their phones while others were still talking amongst themselves without raising their voices above a whisper. The commercials on the small TV screens by the automated doors of the carriage looped over and over, and they were the loudest things on the train. It was only surpassed by the speakers with a robotic female voice announcing which station was next and how much longer it would take to arrive.
"Hey," Adam started, deciding to break the ice as a stray thought wandered into his mind.
"Hm?"
"So if you're acting like a cat, but you're also a tuna…"
Kiana pulled back slightly and glared at him, "I swear if you ruin this moment by making a catfish joke, I'm gonna kick you out this train myself,"
Not wanting to disturb the other commuters, Adam held back his laugh but couldn't restrain his grin, "Right, noted. At least I tried,"
"Hmph," the Kaslana pursed her lips and wrinkled her brows before leaning back into the black-haired male's shoulder.
Suddenly, she recoiled again, "Wait, why do you smell like fried chicken?"
"Because…,"
"Did you eat dinner without me?!"
"What? No,"
"Then, shouldn't you smell more like coffee since you work part-time at a cafe?"
"They um…started selling fried chicken recently…today, actually,"
"Reaaally?" Kiana eyed him suspiciously.
"...Yes," Adam averted his gaze.
Just then, the soft chime of an announcement rang through the monorail, saving him from any further interrogation.
[ Attention all passengers. We will be arriving at Liliweiss Station shortly. If this is your stop, please prepare to disembark. Thank you. ]
* DING *
The elevator doors slid open, and the two of them stepped out into the hallway of their apartment building.
The building itself was only ten stories and was located in the city's outer districts. It wasn't the shortest residential building in Arc City, but it was far from the tallest or the most luxurious. There was much litter in the hallway, from empty beer cans to snack wrappers to crumpled pizza boxes and takeaway containers. Only two of the overhanging lights worked; the rest were either dimmed, blinking, or broken. Alcohol, blood, and other unknown substances were splashed across the walls and floor. On the other side of the hallway, surrounded by empty boxes of beer, was a disheveled man lying on his side next to reinforced corridor windows, muttering to himself.
The duo ignored their surroundings as they headed in the opposite direction to their door. A cat with a rat dangling in its mouth rushed past their feet as it stuck to the shadows.
It wasn't the best conditions to live in, and it was an inevitable downgrade from their dorms at St. Freya and the shared apartment back in Nagazora. However, after the most recent Herrscher of the Void incident, they were left without money or belongings. After working frantically upon arrival in the cyberpunk city, this place was the most affordable, and for the past couple of months, it was home.
Upon arriving at their unit, Kiana punched in the code, and with an acknowledging beep, the door slid open. If there was one good thing about their building, and all the buildings in Arc City in general, it was that due to the advancements in technology, the safety of its residents was all but ensured.
"Finally, we're back," Kiana exhaled, kicking off her shoes and strolling into their living room, leaping face-first onto the couch.
Their apartment was small and straightforward, with one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room connecting to the kitchen, and a short, compulsory balcony outside. The walls were painted generic white, and there weren't any decorations aside from a couple of green, purple, and blue succulents on the window sill. The furniture wasn't anything special, just the standard pieces any other unit would contain.
Their apartment wasn't sparkling and spotless, but it was far cleaner than the rest of the building. At least they had electricity and hot water…most of the time.
Adam took his time in entering, first stripping his jacket off before doing the same to his shoes, neatly placing both his and Kiana's to the side.
"Too much human interaction today?" he asked, plopping beside her after hanging his jacket on the couch's backrest.
The white-haired girl nodded, "A little. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was fun being a guide and all, it's just…"
"You thought there'd be fewer people since it's a weekday?"
"Exactly!" Kiana abruptly sat up, "I thought I'd have more time searching for the hidden Honkai Beasts, but I spent so much time walking around the amusement park in circles saying the exact same lines over and over,"
"Well, that's the most populated city in the world for you,"
"Ugh, and I thought Nagazora was crowded," the Kaslana groaned, leaning back when suddenly, a familiar scent invaded her nose, causing her to jolt up.
"There it is again!"
"What?" Adam blinked.
"The fried chicken smell!" she clarified and dubiously narrowed her eyes at her black-haired companion, "First, it came from you, but I thought it might've just been from the surroundings, so I stopped asking questions, and now it's coming from in here,"
They both said nothing, wordlessly staring at each other, one wide-eyed, feigning innocence, and the other sharpened by suspicion.
"Neko…Jump!"
Kiana pounced on top of Adam, who let out an unexpected cry as the girl pinned him to the couch by his wrists. Her long, snowy hair spilled forth, forming a silky wall between their faces, shielding their eyes from the outside world and making the only place they could look was at each other.
She chuckled and smirked victoriously; Kiana inched closer and demanded in a low voice, "Now, you're gonna tell me everything you're hiding,"
Staring into her dual-colored eyes, Adam finally relented and sighed, "And I tried so hard to keep it a secret. But then again, with that nose of yours—"
"Gah!" The black-haired teen reached up and booped Kiana on the nose, eliciting a surprised yelp from the white-haired girl.
With her defenses down, Adam took his chance to, quite literally, flip the situation. Now Kiana was the one pinned down, with Adam on top.
"H-Huh? W-Wait,"
Her cheeks were dusted pink after realizing the change in their position. A shiver of anticipation crept down her spine, igniting every nerve in her body as Adam leaned in until they could feel their breaths on each other's lips.
Kiana's eyelids flickered and grew heavy as the warmth of his presence trickled slowly into her skin. The moment she closed her eyes was the moment she missed his impish smile as he changed course to whisper in her ear.
"—I couldn't hide it forever," After finishing his prior sentence, the black-haired male hopped off her with a mischievous snicker.
He extended a hand to help her up. A look of disappointment flashed across Kiana's face before promptly disappearing as she accepted her friend's gesture.
"Come on, I got a surprise for you," said Adam, guiding Kiana into the kitchen.
Her eyebrows raised when she saw an expansive piece of cloth on the table, very obviously covering something. Coincidentally, the scent of fried chicken grew more potent, and instinctively, her mouth began to water.
"Is that…?" the girl stepped forward as if mesmerized by the unknown item hidden from her sight but discovered by her nose.
"Ready?" Adam asked, gripping the edge of the cloth.
Kiana gulped and nodded.
With a single, swift motion, the black-haired young man pulled the fabric away, revealing the treasures underneath, and Kiana's eyes instantly sparkled.
In the middle of the table was a large plate of crispy, golden, aromatic fried chicken screaming out to Kiana to devour them immediately.
"Exactly one-hundred-and-one pieces," said Adam, smiling at the girl's reaction.
"When did you—?" Kiana asked, whipping her head toward him, still in shock.
"Half an hour or so before I came to pick you up," he explained, "The store owner called me crazy when I ordered, but luckily they went through with it anyway. It was a little challenging to bring it all back here, though. I honestly didn't know if they'd stay warm enough until the both of us arrived home,"
"Well, I applaud you for your effort, but I'll have you know, I'm not gonna give you my share," Kiana pursed her lips and folded her arms, "Especially after the stunt you pulled on the couch,"
"Weren't you the one who jumped on me?" Adam countered as he maneuvered his way to the fridge.
"That's… No comment," Kiana began but decided against it and watched as her roommate extracted something from the fridge, 'I meant not finishing what you started, dummy,'
"I also bought—" The young man spun around and presented his findings, "—these,"
"Milk Tea?!" Kiana beamed, springing over to take a cup out of his hands, "You got milk tea, too?"
"Not just that, I got one more thing for you," Adam reached back, patting his hand around the fridge randomly until he found what he was looking for.
He pulled out a small white box wrapped in a soft red ribbon and set it on the table next to the plate of fried chicken.
"You wanna do the honors?" the black-haired male asked as Kiana sauntered up to him after shutting the fridge.
The white-haired female nodded enthusiastically. She placed her milk tea down and undid the ribbon before unfolding the box.
"Cake!" she exclaimed the moment she laid her shining eyes upon it.
It was the perfect size, not too large, but not too small. Round in shape and double layered, the dessert also came with light-blue icing drizzled over it, accompanied by crushed cookies as toppings.
"It's a little basic," the boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and quietly added, "And not as visually appealing as last year,"
Kiana fervently shook her head, her eyes glued to the pastry, and declared, "Cake is cake!"
"That's such a classic Kiana response," Adam chuckled.
"Hihi~ Don't expect anything less," the Kaslana grinned and perked up, "So! What's the occasion? What are we celebrating today?"
A shocked expression morphed on the black-haired teenager's face.
"Wait, you don't know?"
Kiana's grin faltered as she adopted the same look as her companion, "N-No? Why? Is it important?"
"You actually forgot?"
Kiana gasped, "Wait! Is it your birthday today?"
It took all Adam had not to widen his eyes any further. The two of them held their gaze for a moment longer, and the boy lightly flicked the girl on the forehead.
"It's yours, Kiana,"
She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times, and then the realization dawned on her.
"Wait, already!?" Kiana hurriedly patted down her pockets in search of her phone. When she finally found it, she ripped it out and turned on the screen. The date innocently greeted her in big white numbers.
"December 7th… It really is my birthday today!"
Her roommate let out a breath of disbelief, "You've been working so hard recently to the point that you forgot,"
"Well, the days kinda just blended together, y'know," Kiana replied, rubbing the back of her head bashfully.
Then, the white-haired girl gave Adam an appreciative smile, "But thank you… Thank you for remembering,"
"Of course," Adam's lips curved softly as he caressed her head, "It's your birthday. How could I forget?"
"Still…," Kiana spread her arms and enveloped him in a tight embrace, "Thank you,"
"No problem," he reassured, returning the comforting gesture.
Adam had no idea how long they stayed like that. It felt like an hour when, in reality, it could've only been a few seconds, but eventually, they separated. When he met Kiana's eyes, he sucked in his breath. The girl had the widest, most genuine grin he had seen from her in months. A nostalgic warmth filled his core. Bits of memories from their younger days replayed like a video in his mind.
But this wasn't the time to get emotional; he had to keep this positive, uplifting energy going a little longer.
"Now, come on, let's get this little party started!"
"Yeah!" Kiana cheered.
For the next hour, laughter and excited voices filled their small apartment as the world outside turned nocturnal. The moon replaced the sun, but the stars were left in the dark since the shining neon lights illuminating much of Arc City had quenched their tender sparkle.
The duo relayed stories to each other throughout the night; some they shared, others not, some exciting and action-packed, while others were funny and heartwarming. Meanwhile, the plate of chicken slowly but surely became a plate of bones. The tall cups of milk tea ran dry, and eventually, there were only two slices of cake left.
Their shared laughter, occasional bickering, and a quick eating competition. For just a moment in this deadly, hectic life of theirs, everything felt normal, like how it used to be.
Without realizing it, the hours ticked by, and like all good things, their little party had to come to an end.
Kiana offered to help clean up, only to be rejected by Adam, insisting that she relax since it was her special day. Eventually, she opted to watch him washing the dishes from the couch with a cushion clutched to her chest.
"I'm gonna get some air," she called out, getting up and opening the door to their balcony.
"Okay," the black-haired male replied, scrubbing the grease off the large plate.
A minute later, he finished and wiped his hands dry before stepping onto the balcony to join the former Valkyrie.
Kiana leaned forward against the railing, and her snow-colored hair fluttered elegantly in the Winter wind. A contemplative look replaced the bright expression she had at dinner as she gazed out at the neon-lit mega-city.
The monorails hummed as they zoomed past in the distance. Cars and trucks honked from the roads below, and faint music could be heard booming from the myriad of nightclubs, bars, and other similar facilities. The skyscrapers that made up much of Arc City's skyline stood above them like metal obelisks in a dense forest of steel. Blue holographic goldfish and whales swam between these towering buildings. There was really no point in them; it was just the wealthy corporations showing off their money, but at least they offered a nice aesthetic.
"Something wrong?" asked Adam worriedly after noticing her frown.
"I just…miss them," Kiana confessed, "Mei. Bronya. Class Monitor. Aunt Teri. And…Himeko-sensei,"
The amber-eyed male said nothing, listening intently as she spilled her heart out.
"In the past, when it was my birthday, Mei would prepare a giant plate of fried chicken just like you did. Then, whenever I'd try to sneak a bite, Bronya and Class Monitor would stop me and reprimand me for not waiting for everything and everyone to be at the table before eating. You and your squadmates would accompany me playing video games to help pass the time. Auntie and Himeko-sensei would then show up with a lot of edible goodies, and we'd all celebrate my birthday together,"
"...Everyone…," Kiana fell silent and remained that way for a while. When she opened her mouth again, her breath was shaky, "I wonder if everyone's doing okay?"
Under the light of the luminous glow of the moon and the vivid lights of the city, Adam saw that Kiana's face looked a bit lonely and distant.
"Hey…," she said softly, turning to him but afraid to make contact with his eyes, "Can I…still go back to everyone?... In the end, I'm always hurting them… My existence itself…Perhaps it's just—"
"Kiana," The young man interrupted sternly, "If you continue speaking like this, even I'll get mad at you,"
"...Adam?"
"What you just said is betraying the feelings of all of those who believe in you, cherish you, and are thankful to you,"
"But I…I…can't do anything,"
"But you have. You've already saved so many people in this city. None of you know each other, and you'll probably never see each other again, but your efforts are what brought them peace and another chance to be happy,"
"No," Kiana shook her head, "Compared to the price everyone else paid for me…this feels like…this isn't anything,"
"You've protected and still are protecting the ordinary but valuable daily lives of the people. That's already an extraordinary thing to do and definitely worthy of praise," Adam reclined against the railing, resting his elbows on the metal bar, and peered up at the moon, "Even if it's just a minor thing, keep doing it, keep pushing forward and eventually you will become the true Guardian of Arc City. Then one day, when the time is right, you'll be able to stand proudly and return to everyone's side where you belong,"
Despite his comforting and encouraging words, the white-haired young woman still looked unconvinced, "Do you think they'll still accept me like this?"
"Of course they will. Since we found each other again, I've been by your side all this time, and I can say for certain that you're still that brave, kind, and just Kiana Kaslana we all know and love," A warm smile played on the black-haired boy's lips, and he couldn't help but add, "Well, the only difference from before is that you've actually matured a little, just a little,"
The edges of Kiana's mouth twitched until they smoothed out into a slight upward curve. Drawing a breath of cold air, she found the courage to look him in the eyes again.
"I know I've said it a lot tonight, but thank you, truly. I know I said some things that weren't like me, so I'm grateful that you were here to accompany me and comfort me," An expression of conviction overtook Kiana's former melancholy features, "From now on, I'll remain in this city to carry out my responsibility. This is my promise to her, to you, and to myself. I won't run away, and I won't give up in order to one day rightfully stand by everyone's side again,"
A cool gust of air brushed past them, ruffling Kiana's snowy hair. With a content grin, she brushed a stray strand behind her ear and raised her hand to the boy standing in front of her.
"Until that day, you'll continue to be by my side, won't you?"
Adam nodded and took her hand in his, "Of course,"
Basking in the cozy warmth of each other's presence, they remained on the balcony, looking out at the ever-bustling city in comforting silence.
The city, in its nocturnal state, looked the same in all hours of darkness. The chill never dissipated, and time returned to being merely a concept. Neither had any idea how long they had been out on the balcony, and it was only when it started to snow that Adam felt Kiana's head against his shoulder, along with hearing her light snoring, that he decided to take her back into the safety of the apartment.
He gently placed her on the bed and wrapped her up in the snuggly duvet.
'She must be dreaming of something nice,' he thought when he saw her cheerful expression while sleeping.
Just then, the girl's phone started vibrating. Not wanting the humming to disturb her, Adam picked it up to turn it off. His brows furrowed when he saw what was on the screen.
[ Attention all officers near the Silver River District. There have been multiple reports of unidentified white and pink creatures near the Athletic Park. Please make your way to investigate as soon as possible. Thank you. ]
[ Attention all officers near the Topaz District. There have been multiple reports of armed people with pale, near-white skin terrorizing civilians at random. Please make your way to investigate as soon as possible. Thank you. ]
[ Attention all officers near the Glass Dome Center. There have been multiple reports of unknown jellyfish and birds making a disturbance inside the center. Please make your way to investigate as soon as possible. Thank you. ]
'A police scanner app?' the black-haired teenager sighed as he gazed down at Kiana with a mixture of pride and concern.
'You've been working hard is an understatement. You're overworking yourself while I'm having it easy standing around in a cafe all day. You deserve more time to rest,'
Adam dove into his side of the wardrobe and quickly and quietly changed into an outfit that allowed more free movement. It was the traditional combo of a black hoodie and sports pants, along with similarly colored shoes and a mask.
'I wasn't able to prepare a present for you this year. So allow me to lift some weight off your shoulders and share the burden with you. If you were awake right now, you'd definitely say that this is a lame gift, but…this will be my present to you. Let's protect this city together!'
He carefully pushed the window open, making sure not to create any creaking noises. Once he was sure he was able to slip through, Adam took one last glance at the white-haired girl's sleeping form before throwing on his hood, pulling up his mask, and leaping out the window.
"Happy Birthday, Kiana,"
Kiana Birthday Special - By Your Side
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Hope you all enjoyed the Special Kiana Chapter.
[ Starchaser ] will now resume as normal.
Until We Meet Again!