Honkai Impact 3rd Main Storyline Chapter 16: Imminent Storm

Part 6: Curry and live on

Helios. 1 hour later: Kyaa... this is... so super tasty!" Said Sora. "Have as much as you want. There's more in the kitchen." I said. I was feeding Sora some curry I just cooked up.  "...it's filled with chili peppers but it's not spicy at all! It's actually pretty sweet!" "Because they're sweet peppers..." Said Dr. Tesla. "If only Sensei could cook like Mei. Sensei is such a nice person... but the food she makes isn't nice at all..." "Speaking of which, I'm curious about something. Your Sensei goes out every month. She had three years to help you leave. Why didn't she do that?" "Oh... she has her own reasons The Roost is a lonely place. We always wanted Sensei to tell us stories about herself. Sensei came from a poor family. Something terrible happened when she was young and left her with nothing. For many years, she worked hard, dealt with people from all over the world, and she saved a small fortune. She spent most of that money to buy a private island in a faraway country called... erm... I can't remember. She planned to build a huge house on that island and live a happy and peaceful life. She'll also take us there along with people she saved in other countries. The huge house was almost complete. We felt so happy that her hard work would finally pay off. But no one foresaw the tragedy..."

"What happened?" I asked. "The Great Eruption 4 months ago. Sensei was here when it happened. Many beasts attacked us but Sensei fought them off and protected the Roost. The battle lasted hours but we were finally safe. It was then when we received the bad news. ...Sensei's island sank beneath the waves..." Sora explained. "...?" "I can still remember what Sensei did on that day... She paced about and said "it's fine". Then she started throwing herself against the ground...she was crying. Then Sensei rushed out of her room and howled at the waves like a child. She kept howling until she ran out of tears and her voice turned coarse. I could never forget the oath she swore at the setting sun. "Humanity shall defeat the Honkai no matter the cost...!!"" "......" "......" Me and Dr. Tesla were silent until I broke the silence. "...oh dear... that's... a very sad story. Alright, Sora. I'll escort you home before it gets too dark." "Mei... can I... take some of that delicious curry home so that everyone gets to try it?" "Of course, I have it all packed and ready." I smiled as I walked into the kitchen and brought out the bento boxes. "This is enough for 20. Share them with your friends." "Thank you so much, Mei. You're the nicest person in the world!" "Humph, Mei is really good at taking care of people. ...... ...wait, is it my turn to do the dishes today?" Asked Dr. Tesla.

Sora and I got outside where a mecha was waiting. "Using tactical mech to transport curry... I hope Dr. Tesla won't get mad. I got in and activated the mecha. "Turning on autopilot... Done." The mecha walked by itself carrying the supply of curry till we got back to the Roost. "Safely arrived. Here, share with everyone." I said as Sora began to give out the curry I made to everyone.

"Mei, I gave out all the curry and everyone really likes it." Said Sora. "I'm happy to hear that." I said. "I wish Sensei can try it as well. You'll leave once you find Kiana, Patrick, and Toriyama right?" "Yes... we stilled to take care of many things. I'm sure we'll meet again. Dr. Tesla and Anti-Entropy will try to help you and meet your Sensei." "Of course! You're so kind, Mei. You're just like our Sensei. I'm sure you'll become good friends." "And you always sound happy every time we talked about your Sensei." "Yeah. She's my Sensei in so many ways. The disaster took away my memory... I could hardly remember my family, friends, the life I lead, or even my dreams. I could only remember waking up in Sensei's arms as she silently walked through the ruined city. It was dark and the clouds were heavy, but I... I felt as though light was shining on me. Sensei gathered me with the other children, took us to the Roost, and told us that we would live together. But I couldn't remember anything and didn't know what to do. I chose to follow Sensei wherever she went. Sensei was a little annoyed, but she taught me survival skills since she couldn't be in Nagazora all the time. She taught me how to get around quickly, how to avoid the roaming beasts, and how to protect myself. She taught me how to "live well"."

"What does that mean?" "I remember it was a normal afternoon. Sensei wished me happy birthday and told me about a present. I was surprised since I couldn't even remember my name. How did Sensei know my birthday? ...Sensei then gave this to me." Sora held Mark II in her hands and gently asked: "Mark II, Mark II, who am I?" *PSSSHHZ* The robot's eyes created a holographic geometry that quickly expanded into a giant body of text. "What's this?" "...It's my life. My name, birthday, family members, experiences, an incomplete diary, social network page, and theme park visits... Sensei pulled a lot of strings to salvage all these fragments of my life. To be honest, my life was more ordinary than I imagined. But... it is still what it is. It's my life. It was the first time that I've learned my name, birthday, where I lived, and what I dreamed of. I found out I was over and loved in return. I had hobbies and there were things that I hated. Though my memories didn't return, the text made me feel that I actually had a life in the past... Sensei said I couldn't "live well" without a past. ..."live well"... she always said that. Nagazora was destroyed, but we're still here. We'll live on and live well in our fight against fate. One day will come when we leave this place, go to the other side of the great sea and bask in the sun. The story of our struggle will inspire others to live on and live well in the future. I believe that's why Sensei built the Roost and gave me Mark II and my past on my birthday."

"A reason to live on... After the disaster, your Sensei changed you like how Kiana changed me." "...ah, it's getting dark. I have to head back to my room. You should also head back, Mei. We'll definitely find Kiana, Patrick, and Toriyama tomorrow." "Of course. See you tomorrow." With that I left the Roost and back to the Helios.