"Phew… I'm beat, totally beat. Finally shook them off." After confirming no Zombie were in the area, Kiana pulled Mei to sit against a wall. Thinking back, so much had happened today: a morning brawl with the Herrscher of Thunder, then running with Mei all this time. Even with a Kaslana physique, Kiana was worn out.
"Why can these Zombie run so fast… nothing like in the movies." Kiana leaned against the wall while Mei sat in gloomy silence.
"Eh? Mei, what's wrong? You haven't said a word."
"What… will happen to us next?" Mei hung her head, voice low and dispirited. "The whole city's ruined, overrun with Honkai Beasts and Zombies, and no sign of rescue. They say 'escape,' but where can we even run?"
Kiana looked at her, grinning brightly. "Oh, don't worry, there's always a way. Isn't there an old saying? When the bridge reaches the boat's bow, things will work out!"
"It's 'When the boat reaches the bridgehead, things will straighten themselves out'… the fact you got into Chiba Academy is a miracle." Mei couldn't help laughing; seeing her smile, Kiana laughed too.
"Forget the details. We keep heading east, get past the quarantine wall, and we're bound to find other survivors. If that fails, we go north and leave Nagazora. Or… grab a boat by the harbor and sail abroad—plenty of options."
Kiana painted that future for her. Mei stared, then suddenly said, "Kiana, maybe… you should just leave me behind."
She figured that rather than lug a burden—and a ticking bomb—Kiana would be safer on her own. At least… alone, Kiana stood a better chance of escaping.
"If you run alone you might make it; taking me is like carrying a bomb that could blow any second…" Mei listed pros and cons, but Kiana cut her off, cupping Mei's face and turning it toward her own, eyes dead serious.
"Why do you still say that? Mei, I will absolutely, positively never abandon you!"
"But you don't understand, Kiana… Darkness pours in from every side like it's tearing me apart. That voice is still there, she'll keep following me… If I lose control again—" Mei tried to continue, but Kiana covered her mouth.
"Then I'll beat you again." Kiana gazed at her; the Verna had far outclassed the Herrscher of Thunder in battle, and… remembering her talk with the Void queen in the mind-realm, Kiana steeled her resolve.
"If danger shows, I'll run away with you. If enemies pop out, I'll wipe them all out. And if you turn into that Herrscher thing again, I'll have the Big Sis inside me smack you once more—turn once, smack once. Even if I have to punch you 'til your head's all bumps, I'll stay by you and protect you forever."
Mei stared in a daze. If earlier feelings could be called the suspension-bridge effect, right now, watching Kiana bathed in light, Mei's heart began to race.
"Careful, Kiana—enemies!" An ethereal voice rang beside her ear. Without a thought Kiana yanked Mei close and leapt out the window. A second later a giant robot crashed down with a little loli aboard, slamming the ground and raising a cloud of dust.
"Target located. Bronya commencing operation." A cold, childish voice sounded. The loli named Bronya raised her hand, and the robot behind her raised its long rifle in sync.
"Who are you! What target! Why attack us!" Kiana shielded Mei behind her, twin pistols gripped tight; she could feel the tremendous Honkai Energy radiating from that robot.
'What is this, some wild Stand User? Where's Jotaro? Where's DIO!?' Kiana ranted inwardly, every nerve on edge.
"Project Bunny, commence assault." Ignoring her questions, Bronya ordered the robot—er, her "Stand"—to begin capturing the pair.
"Damn it, where'd this brat come from!" Kiana fired, but bullets pinged off uselessly. Project Bunny swung its spear straight at her.
"Mei, watch out!" Kiana tackled Mei aside, barely dodging the spear.
"Stop resisting; you have no duty to face an opponent you cannot defeat." Bronya's tone stayed icy; to keep her from going soft on targets, Cocolia had installed a chip that suppressed Bronya's emotions.
(Not sure if canon; treat as head-canon if not.)
"Cannot win… I don't understand that line!" Kiana scrambled up, taking a Gun Kaslana stance, shielding Mei behind her.
"Mei, run—don't worry, I'll catch up soon." Kiana glanced back with a confident grin. Knowing she'd only hold Kiana back, Mei sprang up and sprinted the opposite way.
"You have to win, Kiana—come back alive!"
Hearing Mei's voice, Kiana answered lightly, "Of course I will!"
Bronya didn't stop Mei; to her it simply meant quickly beating the target in front of her, then chasing the other. After all, the current Kiana felt far weaker than the one on the rooftop—easy pickings.
"Bring it!" Kiana roared, leaping high to kick Project Bunny. Since bullets were useless, she'd trust the Kaslana flesh forged through countless battles.
"Idiot! She's got a shield!" Inside the mind-realm the Verna panicked as Kiana went melee, a potato chip flying from the motion.
"Huh?" Kiana froze at the voice; the next instant Project Bunny deployed its shield. Her leg slammed against it, forcing the robot half a step back but dealing zero damage.
"Oww— that hurts!" Hopping on one foot, Kiana clutched her toes, tears welling.
"Dummy…" Even with emotions suppressed, Bronya felt the urge to retort—perhaps the bond of fated rivals.
"Don't underestimate me! Hah!" Gifted in combat, Kiana infused Honkai Energy into her bullets, finally producing sparks.
Bronya remained expressionless—handguns stand no chance against artillery. She commanded, "Project Bunny, switch to cannon."
The robot's lance swapped for a cannon; its black muzzle aimed at Kiana, who twitched. This loli's cheating! Attack, defend, ranged firepower—who built this broken thing!
"Think I'm scared! My soul's ablaze, my blood's boiling—now I'm invincible!" Kiana's declaration made the Verna face-palm. Done for—everyone knows that line flags a beat-down.
Sure enough, three minutes later Kiana lay flattened, mouth open and eyes blank in the classic 'defeated' pose.
"Target: Kiana Kaslana, retrieval complete…" Bronya directed Project Bunny to grab her…
Hmph, early Kiana's actually pretty weak—no Valkyrie Armor, no decent weapon, half-baked gun kata style; losing is normal.
Man, miHoYo retcons so much… the Chiba Academy arc has versions where Kiana and Mei know each other and versions where they don't, familiar or stranger.