Bronya felt particularly strange right now, as if she possessed two separate lives. In one life, she was taken in by an assassin organization and became a killer, then met Mother Cocolia and everyone at the orphanage. After a period of warmth, the start of an experiment shattered those happy days, and she once again became a cold-blooded assassin carrying out Mother Cocolia's orders, right up until the Third Honkai Eruption where she met Xin Yu and Kiana.
In the other life, however, she had never left her mother's side. They grew up together in the snow-covered lands, her mother deeply loving her, protecting her, and caring for her. Occasionally, a strange auntie would come and play with her.
When she reached a suitable age, she went to school, and then, by a stroke of luck, she entered St. Freya Academy. Her mother supported her in doing what she wanted to do.
"Project Bunny..."
Bronya whispered the name, and the familiar mech suit appeared behind her. She turned her head to look at the quantum-state mech that was only by her side because of Seele, proof of her other life.
"Xin Yu... how exactly did he manage to preserve the future while changing the past? And what kind of price did he have to pay to bring about such a beautiful future? Or rather, what price should I pay to repay this kindness?"
Bronya's gaze suddenly sharpened. Could it be that Kiana and Raiden Mei were like her, with no way to repay this kindness, so they paid with themselves instead?
But wouldn't that be too despicable? Just because of the guilt and desire for compensation in their hearts, they claimed to be in love with him, using "love" as a pretext. Then they could accept his kindness without reservation, and perhaps even rely on him to solve any regrettable or painful things they encountered, all because of the excuse of being in love.
That really was a perfect excuse.
As Bronya sat alone on a bench in the academy, pondering what to do and how to face the young man who had practically saved her and given her a new life, she saw the very person she was thinking about walk past her, carrying a bag of snacks.
"...Xin Yu?"
Bronya was a little surprised to see the young man walk by. She had thought Xin Yu had already gone back to accompany Kiana and Raiden Mei, so why was he now strolling through the school with a bag of snacks?
Hearing someone call his name, Xin Yu turned and saw Bronya sitting on the bench.
Their eyes met, and Bronya quickly noticed something was wrong with Xin Yu. His face seemed unusually pale.
The girl got up from the bench and walked over to Xin Yu. She touched his arm, and after feeling an inexplicable chill, Bronya bit her lip and asked, "Just how much did you pay?"
"It's nothing, just a temporary thing. My body's just a bit unwell, it'll recover soon. Don't worry, Bronya, and you don't have to feel like you owe me anything. This was my own one-sided wish... bah! This is just what a Young Pioneer like me ought to do!"
"The light of the righteous path shines upon the land!"
The reason Xin Yu was carrying a bag of snacks was that he wanted to find a place to rest for a bit, eat some snacks to relax, and wait until his body had mostly recovered before going to see Kiana and the others. Otherwise, they would probably notice something was wrong. In the end, he didn't expect to run into an acquaintance in such a remote corner.
Bronya looked at Xin Yu's completely forced-looking cheerful act, took a deep breath, and then extended an invitation.
"If you don't want Kiana and the others to see you in your current state, would you like to come to my place and sit for a while?"
"Ah? Wouldn't that be... a little inappropriate?"
"What, are you worried I'll do something to you?"
Xin Yu thought for a moment. He didn't seem to have anything to worry about. His relationship with Bronya was purely that of a savior and the saved; it wouldn't develop into anything strange. Besides, Bronya wasn't like Mei and Kiana; she didn't have very few people left to accompany her. Because of his changes, she still had connections with her friends from the orphanage and her own mother...
Wait, in other words, if it weren't for his changes, the survivors of Nagazora wouldn't even have a single mother among them.
Xin Yu shook the strange thought out of his head. After accepting Bronya's request, the two quickly arrived at her dormitory.
Xin Yu placed the snacks on the table, then pulled out a bag of chips. Since he had recovered his sense of taste, he naturally had to sample the snacks from his memories. Mmm, the taste of chips was truly great. It felt like he could never get tired of eating them.
Bronya didn't seem to stand on ceremony either, pulling out a bag of snacks from the sack and starting to eat.
Then, the girl turned on the large-screen television in the living room, took out a game controller, and asked Xin Yu, "Want to play a game together?"
"Sure, I haven't really played much. Teach me, master."
Xin Yu smilingly took the controller from Bronya's hand. Bronya looked at Xin Yu's relaxed expression, thinking that despite possessing power that could interfere with time, he had never been seen using that power to force anything for himself. He was almost always helping others, and his demeanor was completely without airs, even though he was no different from a god.
No, compared to those illusory gods who existed only in records and oral traditions, this person who could actually exist in the world and take away people's sorrow and pain was a better fit for the definition of a god.
"Ah! I died again."
Xin Yu helplessly put down his controller. Since they started playing this side-scrolling fighting game, Bronya had taken him out with a few simple combo strings. He hadn't even familiarized himself with the controls before he was stun-locked and unable to move.
Bronya snapped out of her daze. Seeing the character Xin Yu was controlling getting thrashed on the screen due to her absent-minded, subconscious actions, she felt a bit embarrassed.
She then began to teach Xin Yu how to play the game. Soon, thanks to Xin Yu's own powerful physical constitution, the two gradually started having evenly matched fights.
Xin Yu threw himself wholeheartedly into the game, temporarily setting aside the responsibilities he had shouldered and the obsession to save others, enjoying the pure relaxation brought by the game.
Bronya turned her head to the side, looking at the relaxed smile on Xin Yu's face. It was a different kind of smile from his usual gentle one. The Xin Yu of this moment felt much closer to being human.
"Xin Yu... have you always used this power to help others?"
"Yeah, I have. Crunch."
Xin Yu answered vaguely, chewing on the chips in his mouth.
"Have you never thought of using this power to get something for yourself?"
"I have. I've been using this power to get myself benefits all along. (Chew)"
"What is it?"
"Of course, it's the happiness, joy, and hope-filled smiles and tears on their faces after I've saved them. That's what I want to see, that's the benefit I want... As expected, I still prefer original-flavored chips... Bronya? Why are you staring at me? I get it, you're going easy on me, aren't you? Tsk, it's so obvious."
"I think... I'm starting to understand Kiana and the others a little."
Bronya said to herself in her heart.