Honkai Impact 3: Noah's Ark

20:《Graduation》

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《Sunday》

Noah tasted the cold mountain air and blinked. The gradual slopes of the valley projected the gold in his eyes towards the sky. Lazy rolling clouds painted the sky with the sunset's fading brilliance, and the moon was shining yellow somewhere off to the right, a thin mocking smile in the sky. He shivered in his white shirt and jogging pants.

A slender and pale hand reached out towards him.

"Come on sleepyhead," Kiana said, clutching her summer hat with her left as her thin dress billowed in the wind. Her voice was sweet and reminded him of the sky. He reached out in turn and grasped her right, feeling the girl's soft fingers slide between his. He looked up to see her face—

—And met a pair of wintery gold orbs that twisted with glee as his arm was ripped from the elbow and disappeared into a gnawing and lightless void.

"NOAH!"

He was being held by the wrist and shoulder. The boy opened his eyes to reality and stared at sky blue pupils. His throat stuck as he recognized Kiana, but she was nothing like her dream version. Easy to look at, friendly, and in this case, very concerned. The boy leaned back into his pillow with uneven breaths and placed a hand over his eyes as he tried to calm himself down, while the girl massaged his former right arm to alleviate the thousand spearheads buried into the freshly-healed dome that used to be protruding bone.

"That makes it the sixth," Kiana said with a fragile smile. "At least it happened again when we're actually supposed to wake up."

The boy still remembered when the girl had to comfort him in the dark. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't mind it. Just get up and take a bath. Mei just finished and I know that Bronya and I are gonna be here at least until ten."

The boy glanced at the clock. 7:15 AM.

"Yes ma'am."

Noah sprung gingerly off the bed and surveyed his room. The basement had collected dust while he was away, and he didn't have enough time the night before after the two of them had moved his belongings back to the dorm. Kiana left as he scrounged for the clothes, but unbeknownst to him, she had looked back, face creased with silent worry that had more to do than just the recent nightmares, though in the end, she said nothing.

He found he had precious little choice for clothing. The uniform was still dirty after he had used it yesterday. The only thing left was a black collared shirt and complementary cargo pants.

He took a bath and changed quickly. He was still wiping his hair dry in the living room when there was a knock on the door.

As usual, he opened the door and greeted with silence.

"Was just lookin' fer ya," Éclair said. She was still in workshop clothing and even had some oil stains on her face and hair. "Here." She handed him a black arms case, just about the right size for a rifle.

"Ah didn't install the weapons into the arm itself," she explained. "Figured you'd want the versatility, so ah made 'em all mods ye can just hook up to the nodes like swappin' gloves. It's made of strong stuff but for the love of the Lord, don't punch down wall with it!"

"...Understood," Noah said, bewildered.

"Go on then. Ah wanna see ya wear it."

The two sat down around the couch. Noah opened the case like it was his seventh birthday and marveled silently at the lightly armored prosthetic. With the mechanic girl's help, he fitted his stump into the socket and was electrified as the sensation of more than a foot long bundle of nerves reconnected with his brain.