Honkai Impact 3: Noah's Ark

25: 《Left Behind》

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Noah wasn't surprised anymore to wake up in the hospital bed. The colorless walls and furniture of Saint Freya's medical ward had become something akin to a second home after spending so much time in them over the past two months. It had become more routine for him now to just check on his internal condition so that he could give an accurate report of how he felt to the doctor Heide in the morning checkup.

He was conscious, but he didn't open his eyes. No, he didn't want to, which in itself was strange. He could tell he was breathing, but it was vague. His limbs felt like they were far away. No. They shouldn't be. They shouldn't be!

He opened his eyes and exhaled in relief at the sight of his remaining limbs still attached to his body, though doing so was an effort since there was a neck brace pressing against his jaws.

"Sleeping beauty's awake."

He looked away from observing his state to the beautiful white-haired girl sitting in an orange-sleeved white jacket, a hand on his chest pushing down gently since he had started getting up. Absently, he noticed the frantic beats of the heart monitor slow down as he leaned back against the bed. He allowed his breathing to return to normal despite the slight itchiness of the ventilator in his nose.

"Hey," he managed. It felt like he swallowed a Durian.

Kiana smiled. A small, sad smile. "How are you feeling?"

The boy did some introspection. His limbs still felt disconnected. His thoughts were in disarray, and trying to sort them out felt like an arduous process. It took him almost thirty seconds to come up to an answer, "Sedated."

"Guess so."

Moving her seat back, she leaned forward and stretched, moaning quietly as she did so. The boy felt himself wake up slightly after hearing that and blinked. "How," he swallowed, "...Mei and Bronya?"

She fixed her seat. "Bronya's unconscious for now." She smiled. "The doctors are working on her and I know that she'll back up and being a brat soon."

Noah was not used to nuances, but the light in Kiana's eyes betrayed the worry buried far underneath. She herself didn't believe her own words, though she wanted to. The boy let his drugged brain crunch the numbers. A biochip that could control one's actions could only be placed in an area where it could affect the body's control system. To change not just actions but disposition, it would have definitely been somewhere deep into the central nervous system.

And Bronya destroyed that. Soon, he was mirroring his friend's concern.

"As for Mei..."

There was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Kiana said as rose and to let the visitor enter the room. "You're just in time," he heard her say. In the next moment, he was looking at Mei Raiden standing beside his bed. She looked thinner but not to a terrible degree. The girl smiled at him before going into a bow before Kiana could protest.

"Thank you," she said. Then Kiana pushed her chair near the girl.

"Come on Mei-senpai! Take a seat! You're not that well yourself!"

"Kiana-chan—!"

Noah let his eyes close for a few seconds. When he came to, the girls were already seated down. Kiana had pulled out another chair from somewhere.