Honkai Impact 3rd - The Interference

Chapter 64 - Minus

The bustling sounds of fun-loving crowds echoed through the ears of Fujuki Hana and Raiden Mei, as they strolled through the crowded pathways together. Hana's eyes, sharp and ever active, scanned countless subjects, searching for something interesting to engage her attention.

Hana's curiosity was piqued by the sign displaying a peculiar fare, but she struggled to decipher its text. "Hmm... satay? Sa-..tay ayam?" she mouthed the words, frustration mounting with each attempt. "I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! Mei, what is that thing!?" Hana demanded in exasperation.

The red-eyed girl whirled to face her friend, beseeching for her aid, but when she turned towards her, she had already retreated into her own thoughts. "Mei?" Hana hailed, yet received no response.

Mei had her gaze cast downward, her mental condition opaque but undoubtedly troubling her to a great extent. Regardless of Hana's frequent attempts to rouse her by shouting her name repeatedly, no answer was given.

Finally, as a last-ditch effort, Fujuki Hana decided to raise her hand and gently lay one of her fingers on the side of Mei's abdomen, resulting in the Heiress shouting in surprise. "Erk!?" She immediately turned towards Hana. "H-hana?!"

"Finally! For a moment there I thought you had vanished off the face of the earth," Hana asserted with her arms folded. "You do realize that for I, Fujuki Hana has been calling for your name multiple times, right?"

"You were calling my name?" Mei queried, tilting her head and wearing an apologetic smile. "I had no idea.. sorry but what was the matter Hana?"

Hana hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and adopting a solemn demeanor. "Ya know what nevermind, it's nothing important anyway." Then, a hint of curiosity entered her voice. "But now I'm curious, what's up with you Mei?"

"What's up with me?" Mei's awkward laughter filled the space between them, her gaze averting as she struggled to hold eye contact. "I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about, Hana."

"You can't pull the wool over my eyes, girl. I've got a built-in emotional detection system, and you know what that mean? It means that I'm basically a human lie-detector. If you're feeling off, I'll know." Hana boasted, placing a hand on her chest. She cracked a wide, knowing smile.

Mei's laugh quickly died down, and her expression shifted as she realized that Hana had caught her. After a moment of hesitation, she finally sighed and began to speak. "It's about Wan... that's all..." Mei glanced down, trying to come up with the words to express herself.

"That goofball huh?.." Hana let out a low hum, her eyes straying to the delicious food item that she had seen earlier. "That looks pretty tasty..." she murmured, her hand pointing in its direction. "Let's grab it before someone else does."

"That... goofball? Who? Wan?" Mei whispered, glancing back over at the food Hana was pointing at. Her lips twisted into a slight frown as she tried to process what to do. "I suppose we can talk about it after we grab some food. But... let's make it fast, okay?"

..
..

Sitting together on the bench, Fujuki Hana and Raiden Mei share the food they bought together, though it's mostly Hana relishing the meal while Mei's in thought, her attention drawn to a particular boy.

"This 'satay ayam' is bangin and bussin'! All I can say is that I'm loving it," she exclaimed, devouring the food on the stick with clear satisfaction in her eyes. "Oh dayum I could eat this forever! It's no wonder Kiana was all excited about food here, they're delicious as fu- I mean it's delicious.. yeah.."

Mei offers Hana a small smile, even though her thoughts are elsewhere - at the very least, her friend is having a good time. "That's great to hear, Hana," she says softly.