(Volume XII: Placeholder)
[In the dream, someone was walking away.
It was Shu's back. She couldn't see his face, only that he was drifting further and further away from her, step by step.
Kiana wanted to call out to him, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.
She wanted to chase after him, but her legs felt like they were stuck in a quagmire; every step she lifted was so heavy it didn't feel like her own.
Everything around her was fading. Only that back view became clearer, yet more distant.
She ran for her life.
Closer.
Closer.
She was almost there—
The moment her fingertips brushed against the hem of his clothes, the man shattered.
Like sand, he slipped through the gaps in her fingers, scattering into a pale void where nothing could be seen.
Kiana's hand froze in mid-air.
She hadn't caught anything.
"Shu—!"]
"...Shu."
Her voice squeezed out of her throat, dry and raspy as if she hadn't drunk water in three days.
Then, Kiana opened her eyes, standing there blankly, blinking once, then blinking again.
Huh?
Something's wrong...
Kiana engaged in a rare moment of deep contemplation regarding the scene before her.
Beneath her feet was a sidewalk paved with neat gray tiles—the kind of loose tiles that would splash stagnant, city-scented water onto your legs if you stepped on them wrong.
Beside her was a flowing stream of traffic... real traffic, not those rusted skeletons of cars.
There were red, green, white, and black sedans, buses, taxis...
Looking into the distance, she could see traffic lights, crosswalks, and crowds of people standing by the roadside, heads bowed over their phones.
She lifted her head higher... and as expected, above her was a blue sky with white clouds.
Office workers in dress shirts, students carrying backpacks, aunties holding shopping bags, young mothers pushing strollers...
They walked past her. Some looked down at their phones, some laughed with companions, and others hurried along.
Then, someone glanced at her.
Followed by a second, then a third.
When Kiana realized she was attracting stares, she subconsciously looked down at herself—and breathed a sigh of relief.
It's okay.
She was wearing her school uniform, the one she wore during the performance at the pep rally.
A white shirt, a plaid skirt, and a bow tie at the collar.
Although it had picked up some dust and was a bit wrinkled, at least—
At least it was ten thousand times better than suddenly appearing in a bustling downtown area wearing a tattered battlesuit.
Only then did she look down at her hands.
The wounds and bloodstains from the Antarctic ice sheets were gone. Her skin was now as smooth as if it had just been lifted out of milk.
"Wh... What is going on?"
She muttered in disbelief, then slapped her own face hard. She proceeded to vigorously rub and pinch the cheeks that Mei had fed so well.
"Woo—that hurts!"
Kiana used so much force she squeezed a tear out of her eye, quickly pulling her hands back to console her innocent, victimized cheeks.
Careless! I should have pinched my thigh!
Rubbing her face, Kiana turned her head with a grimace, only to lock eyes with a dumbfounded little girl.
Despite the nearly ten-year age gap, Kiana immediately recognized the shock and disdain in the seven-year-old's eyes.
Huh? You stinking brat, how dare you look at this young lady like she's an idiot?!
No, no...
I can't stand here.
Kiana's brain finally turned a corner in this moment of emergency. Instinctively, she moved her legs, squeezed through the crowd, and ducked into the nearest shopping center.
The blast of air conditioning hit her face, walling off the inhumane heat of the streets outside.
Kiana quickly traversed the first floor of the mall, avoiding the customers casting glances her way, and then—
Locked herself in a stall in the women's restroom.
Is there anywhere more hidden than this?!
"Phew—"
Filled with exhaustion, Kiana sat down on the toilet lid and let out a long breath.
Then, Kiana had a meltdown.
"Argh! What exactly is the situation here?!"
The white-haired Tuna unleashed 'Fury Swipes' on her own hair!
Why did things suddenly turn out like this?!
Why did she suddenly appear here?
Why did her surroundings suddenly look like that?
Why did Shu, whom she had clearly already grabbed, just turn his head, and in the blink of an eye, grow wings and fly away?!
Frazzled, Kiana curled her legs up and buried her face in her knees.
No, Kiana, close your eyes. You have to try to calm down!
Hurry up and use your genius Kaslana brain to think of a solution!
She started thinking from the Antarctic ice sheets.
She went to find Shu—no, to find [Shu]? Or Shu?
Whatever, it doesn't matter.
Anyway, she went to find Shu because her intuition told her something had happened to him.
Then she found him, and she threw a rock at the monster that was bullying him.
Then Shu insta-killed the bullying monster with a "Ku-cha—!"
Then she charged over.
Then... a vortex?
Then she remembered reaching out and grabbing Shu's wrist.
Then...
Then?
Kiana's expression had twisted into a knot.
Then we're here.
She felt like there was a gap in her memory in the middle, just like when she used to have history class—one blink and class was suddenly dismissed.
Sleeping? She wasn't sleeping!
Anyway, when she opened her eyes again, she was on that street just now.
"Ugh... it seems..."
Kiana felt she had just performed a valid but useless thought process.
She lifted her head, staring at the graffiti carved by some unknown person on the stall door, and continued to think hard.
No good! The brain seems to be in disrepair!
Has the magical Kaslana intellect been corroded away by her external brain? Damn it...
In that case—
The even more magical Kaslana intuition must take the high ground!
Shu is definitely here too!
This wasn't an answer Kiana deduced.
It was a feeling!
Great, I have the answer, but what about the process?
Kiana grabbed her hair again, messing up the already frizzy long hair even more.
"Aaaaaah! So annoying!"
No, I can't be annoyed. Being annoyed won't solve the problem.
She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Good. Although the process was a bit tortuous, at least the answer has been calculated. As for how I got it, don't worry about it.
Target confirmed.
Find Shu.
As for what to do after finding him, why she was looking for him, what to say when she found him, or what to do...
Who cares, just find him first.
Kiana sprang up from the toilet lid, quickly smoothed out her wrinkled skirt, and punched the air with force.
"Whatever, just look for him!"
She threw open the stall door and strode out with wide steps, nearly crashing into an auntie who was touching up her makeup.
"Ah, sorry!"
Her reaction speed was godlike; she dodged sideways and bolted out of the restroom in a flash.
"Damn, these kids today..."