Happy Birthday, Xing (Part 1)

Sachi's birthday is August 23rd, the day he came to the Honkai World and the day the event story "Midsummer Night's Dream's Fantasy" began.

Happy birthday, and may the world treat you kindly.

Happy birthday, Xingbao! Although our birthday isn't August 23rd yet!

Build, in her Hawk Gatling form, flew through the air, passing through layers of clouds, and arrived at the island academy that she knew so well.

The orange wings slowly folded, and the girl landed on the lush grass. She took a deep breath, and ah, the smell of home.

"It feels like a year has passed even though I've only been gone a short time." Xing bent down, placed her hand on the grass, and savored the long-lost feeling.

"Cluck cluck cluck cluck!" The calls of the Crimson Kite Bird rang in her ears. The girl was startled and before she could react, she was pounced on by the plump white chickens. Fortunately, she felt that their diet had been quite good recently, as they were much fatter than before.

"How did you find me? Hmph, what a cute little creature~" Xing didn't scold them for their rudeness, letting the little furballs rub against her affectionately. "Hey, don't touch me like that, you'll get my clothes dirty!"

As the Crimson Kite Bird piled up more and more, Xingye started to have a headache. Damn it, these fat birds are too heavy. What should he do if he can't push them away?

"Caw!" The giant Crimson Kite Bird appeared, and with just a soft shout, it commanded all the birds to scatter. It walked up to the girl, lowered its head, and said, "Please mount the horse, or rather, please mount the bird."

Xing blinked, just like when she first encountered them on Taixu Mountain, and sat on the head of the giant Crimson Kite Bird.

A giant Crimson Kite Bird carried her slowly across the small island where they lived. Since moving here, they no longer had to worry about food or play. Every now and then, some silly two-legged creatures would come to play with them, making them much happier than before!

"I wonder how my daughter is doing," the giant Crimson Kite Bird cried out a few times, asking the girl.

"Hehehe! (How is my daughter doing lately?)"

"Crimson Kite's Wings eats and sleeps well, but it just won't grow any bigger. How long will it take to grow to your size?"

"Hehehe! (Soon, soon, several hundred years later, it will arrive.)"

"A few hundred years isn't a long time? Wait, why can I understand what you're saying?"

"Hehehe? (Didn't you understand before?)"

Xing blinked. Huh, so she could understand the meaning of the Crimson Kite Bird's call all along?

The giant Crimson Kite Bird led her to a pond. Seeing the water, the girl's playful spirit was piqued. She took off her shoes and socks, lightly touching the surface with her toes, a cool sensation instantly spreading throughout her body. Happily, she dipped her feet into the water, creating ripples. The Crimson Kite Bird drinking nearby glanced up at her, then lowered their heads to continue drinking.

"Hehe~" Only then did they notice them and gave an awkward laugh.

The traveler returning home frolicked with the mythical beasts by the water, and the long-lost joy made her very happy. By the time she came to her senses, the red sun on the horizon had already set.

"Oh no, I've gone too far! Hmm, I'll go check on Kiana and the others, and Mom, and then I'll go back." Sachi put on her shoes and socks, reluctantly said goodbye to the Crimson Kite Bird, and pressed her feather hair ornament, the illusory feathers covering her figure.

If I were to just glance at them and meet them directly, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to resist staying. That would drag Kiana and the others into my own affairs, and it's better not to meet them until I regain my Stigmata power and revert to my male form.

I don't want to become the Fire-Chasing Squad's communal body pillow...

--Happy birthday--

"Auntie, does it happen to be a birthday?" Kiana asked Theresa.

Five days ago, they had just thrown Bronya a birthday party. As Kiana was looking forward to her own birthday, she suddenly thought of her naughty little sister who was living alone outside.

"Little Xing said he doesn't remember, and I don't know his exact birthday either," Theresa shook her head regretfully.

Kiana pouted in dissatisfaction, "Hey, how can you do that? Does that mean Sachi won't be able to celebrate his birthday every year? How about we choose a special day for his birthday?"

Will Little Xing agree?

"Oh, he's very easy to talk to. He usually agrees to help me when I ask, except for that one time..." Kiana recalled the time she raided the place at night with a cup and props.

"?" Out of maternal instinct, Theresa keenly sensed something, her sharp gaze shooting towards Kiana as if she wanted to peel back the layers of her skin to find out what was going on.

"Auntie, is there something dirty on my face?" Kiana, feeling guilty, unconsciously took a few steps back. "Ahem, how about we make it the day I enrolled in school my birthday?"

"Little Xing said this place is her home, but that seems a bit hasty. Hmm, wait a minute, let me look for records about Little Xing ... Oh, what a coincidence?" Theresa looked at the file in her hand in surprise. "The records show that Little Xing Taixu Mountain was first discovered on August 23, 2013, which is a year ago today?"

"What, what a coincidence?" Kiana leaned closer, looking surprised. "How about today?"

"Hmm, that's possible, but Little Xing isn't here, so we need to ask her opinion first. It's such an important event like a birthday, even if Little Xing says she doesn't care, that's not true, right?" Theresa thought that after her eldest niece left, she would take out the emergency communicator her daughter had left her and ask her opinion.

"Oh dear, Auntie, you just don't understand!" Kiana, like a master, spoke eloquently to Theresa: "Birthdays are all about surprises, so that next year on this day, we can give Xing a surprise!"

"What's the meaning?"

"What I mean is, after Xing comes back from playing outside, we shouldn't tell her or him about this. We'll give him a surprise. Hehe, I'm suddenly looking forward to Xing's expression. Will she cry her eyes out? Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen Xing cry. The only time I saw her cry was when she was cutting onions and got choked by the smell."

Theresa looked at Kiana, who was deep in thought, and hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself. No, he just didn't want you to see him cry. He's a person too; how can a person not cry?

"Since everyone's free today, let's go rehearse ahead of time!" Kiana, having made up her mind, grabbed the white-haired dwarf and rushed out, leaving behind a series of wails. "Wait! I haven't finished my work yet..."

A short while later, a white-haired girl pushed open the window of the headmaster's office and carefully climbed in. "Isn't Mom here? Let's go find everyone. Hmm, why are there some unread documents on the desk?"

Sachi sat down in the chair, picked up a pen, took out her glasses from her Fourth-Dimensional Pocket and put them on. "Looks like there's not much. Let's finish it for Mom. Hmm, about the simulation program upgrade for the Memory Battlefield..."

Ten minutes later—

"Done!" Xing closed the last document, put them back in their place, tidied up the scene, and then jumped out of the window.

"At this time, everyone should still be in class. Let's go check out my dorm room."

Fortunately, she didn't keep the "Mortal Tribulation Difficult to Cross" cognitive filter on all the time; it was too energy-consuming, and unless absolutely necessary, it was better to keep it off for as long as possible. Relying on her past experience catching Kiana skipping class with Mei, Sachi wandered along secluded paths and easily found her way to her dormitory.

The moment her hand touched the doorknob, Osamu noticed something was wrong. Logically, after being away for so long, there should have been some dust, but it was so clean. Did someone come here often?

Fortunately, he pressed his ear against the door and listened carefully for a while. He then activated his Honkai Vision to confirm that no one was inside before preparing to enter. He took out the key from his Fourth-Dimensional Pocket and successfully inserted it into the lock.

The long-lost owner has finally returned to his home.

"Sure enough, someone comes here to clean regularly; there's no dust on the tables, chairs, or floor. Is it Mei, Rita, or Fu Hua?" After thinking for a while, Sachi felt that Rita and Fu Hua were the most likely candidates.

The dormitory room was arranged exactly as it had been before she left. Back then, she had dried the washed sheets with a hairdryer, put them in the closet, tidied the room, and then packed her things to leave. Now that she was back, everything was still the same, except...

Sachi walked to her desk. Before leaving, she had left a letter there, and now an envelope lay quietly there, signed by Kiana and the others.

Fortunately, after hesitating for a moment, she still chose to open it.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I should have considered your feelings. But you're so cute... Fine, I'll let you beat me up, however badly you want, it's my own fault. But don't even think about drinking my... that would be betraying Mei!"

—Kiana

I'm truly sorry for the evil deeds my other personality committed against you. I've already disciplined her, and I believe she won't do such a thing again. By the way, Kiana, tell me properly what you did to Sachi.

——Mea Mei]

Hey, how old are you? Running away from home... It was my fault. When you come back, you can do everything I did to you once, ten times, or a hundred times, no problem. But please don't hate me.

—Bronya

Sister Xing, no, Brother Xing, I was indeed a bit abnormal before. Please rest assured, I am still the Wendy you know. But I think I need to re-examine my feelings for Brother Xing. He has his own will and his own thoughts. I cannot impose my own will and thoughts on him and deprive him of his freedom. That is not love, that is control.

—Wendy

We're waiting for you to come back so we can debut as a group!

—Rosalia & Liliya

"Is this... an apology letter?" Xing glanced at everyone's comments, smiled helplessly, folded the letter and put it back in its place. A bunch of idiots, I wouldn't take that kind of thing to heart.

However, I was indeed a little angry at the time, so I'll just pretend I'm still angry with you guys.

The girl rubbed her red eyes, coughed a few times, and left her dormitory.

--Happy birthday--

At the Fire Moth Base One, all the current members of the Fire-Chasing Squad except Xing, along with Flame-Chasers from the original Fire Moth, have gathered. Oh, Eden said she couldn't come because of something, but she sent a gift box. As for Pardo... Fu Hua explained that she's a friend of hers who's quite skilled.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down. Our task today is to rehearse Xing's birthday party in advance so we can surprise him next year. Do you have any opinions?"

"Yes!" Xing raised her hand. "Since it's for next year, why not rehearse next year? Besides, that guy isn't even here right now, so it's pointless!"

"You, a maid, have no right to speak here!" Kiana winked at Wendy, then calmly snapped her fingers, and a hurricane blew Grandpa Xing out of the window.

"There was a slight hiccup, but the discussion will continue!"