Honkai: Starting to Wander with Kiana

Late at night, moonlight streamed through the window of a small wooden cabin, illuminating Ryn and Kiana's faces with its tranquil glow. Ryn lay on his back, an ice pack pressed against his forehead, while Kiana slumbered, drool pooling from her mouth as she sprawled across his chest, clinging tightly to him.

Ryn felt dizzy. He could sense something pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he felt like he was about to die, his mind flashing back through his life.

Ryn had grown up in an average middle-class family. His parents were loving and supportive, doting on their son. He'd learned the value of right and wrong: a firm spanking for misdeeds, and well-deserved praise for doing the right thing. As a child, he'd been punished by being forced to read a book called "JAXA: From Beginner to Quitter," a slapstick tale that had piqued his interest in becoming a bald engineer. Ryn had a few hobbies: video game development, anime, and immersing himself in the two-dimensional world. He was a small-town kid with a penchant for overthinking, sometimes struggling to fit in with his peers due to his peculiar interests.

One fateful day, a voice echoed from within the Stigma, signaling that fate had finally touched Ryn's life. He was about to embark on a grand adventure, traversing a mystical realm, encountering beautiful maidens, forming alliances, and ultimately vanquishing the Great Demon Lord to become the world's savior.

But reality struck Ryn like a bolt of lightning: The good news was he'd transmigrated; the bad news was there were no beautiful girls or powerful demons—only an unstoppable force called Honkai. And Ryn himself was half-frozen under a tree.

"You're awake! And now you're a beautiful girl!"

A voice suddenly spoke in Ryn's mind, scaring the daylights out of him. He jolted up, eyes flying open, and immediately checked if he still had legs.

He did, but something soft was pressed against him. Ryn let out a long breath, finally realizing he was in a bed with an unfamiliar white furball on top of himself. He carefully removed the ice pack from his head, gently sat up, and started examining the sleeping beauty in his arms.

The girl's long snow-white hair draped over his chest, with a tiny silly tuft swaying in the air as he exhaled. Her white eyebrows matched her hair, complemented by long, slender eyelashes. Her slightly chubby face held a faint smile, making her look like a small kitten. In the moonlight, her sweet, serene beauty seemed like the most precious gem in the world, almost like a mythological princess of the moon itself.

If it wasn't for the drooling white fluffy ball, Ryn would have given more compliments. He couldn't really understand the situation yet, but the girl in his arms had probably saved him.

He wondered where her parents were. How could they let their daughter sleep in the same bed with an unknown man? How rude! he thought. I'm a perfectly fine young man!

The novel hadn't lied—being reincarnated really does lead to meeting beautiful girls. Could she be my girlfriend? Heh heh heh, if it's her, then I'd definitely say yes!

As Ryn thought, he gently moved the snow-white long legs tangled between his own. Perhaps his movement was a bit too big, causing the girl's eyelashes to flutter, and then her eyes opened. Her gaze was still groggy from sleep, but her icy blue eyes reflected Ryn's face clearly.

Who can resist a beautiful girl who looks at you with such adoration? Ryn's heart raced, pounding wildly. Even though he'd never been in a relationship before, at that moment, he was already thinking of names for their future children.

"Wow, you're awake! Are you feeling better? Does your head hurt? I remember when I had a fever before, my head really ached, and I felt so weak all over." The girl blinked, as if recalling something. She pressed one hand against Ryn's chest, then started patting him here and there. Finally, she rested her head against his, their foreheads touching.

After a moment, Kiana wiped her hands on the quilt and looked up at Ryn with delight.

"Hmm... You're all sweaty (that's actually my saliva), but it seems like your fever's gone. Say, you're really pretty, sis! You're the prettiest person I've ever seen! (When Kiana was little, she lived in the Siberian snowfields with Siegfried. She hadn't met many other people back then.)"

Ryn's heart raced, and his face flushed at Kiana's actions. His eyes were about to roll into smoky swirls. Let me die like this, he thought, surrounded by a beautiful girl's embrace. She's just too cute!

Suddenly, Ryn realized what must have happened. She thought I was a girl! He glanced down at his clothes—they hadn't been changed. No wonder they couldn't tell I'm a boy. What a mess!

(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻

Ryn's heart suddenly calmed. He looked straight into the girl's eyes and said seriously:

"My name is Ryn. I'm not a 'Sis,' I'm a boy! A boy!"

Kiana looked at him in disbelief, covering her eyes with one hand and her chest with the other. Then, under Ryn's helpless gaze, she flopped onto the bed and started kicking and screaming.

"Ah! No way, there's no way! How can a boy be so pretty with such soft skin?! Stupid Dad always said that beautiful girls are incredibly gorgeous and have soft skin too. There's no way you're not a beautiful girl! Stupid Dad lied again! Aaaaah, I don't care, I don't care—"

Ryn paused for a moment before responding, "Could it be that only beautiful girls look pretty and have soft skin, but not everything that looks pretty and has soft skin is a beautiful girl?"

"I don't care, I don't care, I want a beautiful girl, I want a beautiful girl—"

After a bit of rough-housing, Kiana, as if struck by a sudden thought, clutched her bright red face. Like a steam-powered girl, large clouds of white mist seemed to rise from her head.

"Um... My name is Kiana Kaslana, but just call me Kiana."

"Kiana Kaslana, what a lovely name! So, 'Kiana' refers to the moon goddess, right? It fits you perfectly, Kiana. Under the moonlight, you truly looked as beautiful, divine, and pure as the moon goddess!"

"Heh-heh-heh, well of course! Dad said that's exactly how my mom chose the name for me—while holding me under the moonlight!" Kiana sat up again, her eyes sparkling with joy. She pointed to the moon outside the window, still beaming, but then suddenly remembered something. Her mood dropped, and her eyes grew red.

"Dad says Mom loved Kiana very much, but I've never met her. I don't have any memories of her at all. Dad explained that when I was eight, I suffered a serious injury and lost all my previous memories. She must have been really important, someone I should have always remembered, but I've forgotten her..."

As Kiana spoke, tears began to fall, not in loud sobs, but steadily, like raindrops.