Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

The first person to arrive after Hikigaya Hachiman's cardiopulmonary death notice was sent out was his sister, Komachi.

The little girl didn't even bother to ask for leave. She skipped school directly and booked a ticket to Academy City overnight.

It wasn't far from her home to Academy City. As soon as she got the news, the little girl took a bus over. She didn't even have time to properly notify her family. After simply pouring some cat food for the family cat, she set off in her school uniform.

"She's actually a little taller than you, Bronya."

Noldrei briefly compared the girl's height and found that Bronya had tragically lost this competition.

"Her age should be the same as yours. Do you need me to help you grow a little? If you want, it's not a problem to get a figure like Mei's."

Bronya's resolve wavered for a moment, but she ultimately suppressed the idea of letting Noldrei tamper with her body.

"Bronya has things to do. I have to take her to see her brother. I hope nothing happens." Bronya couldn't stand this kind of life-and-death separation. Even though it wasn't a life-and-death separation, she couldn't accept one of her relatives turning into a giant brain.

Just think about it. One day, Bronya sees her mother's head suddenly detach from her body and become independent. That sour feeling would be too much to bear.

Noldrei couldn't help but ask, "Are we taking her to see the Deadwalker corpse, or the giant brain with eyes and a mouth attached?"

"It's... never mind. Let's go see the corpse first." Bronya finally decided to let the girl see the skull-less Hikigaya Hachiman first.

Hikigaya Komachi, Hikigaya Hachiman's sister.

She was one of the few sisters who was close to her brother. When she ran away from home before, it was her brother who personally found her. Her little snaggletooth was very cute. No wonder Hikigaya Hachiman became one of the legions of sis-cons in Chiba.

After arriving in Academy City by bus, she was taken by the Raiden family's private car to see Noldrei, under the guise of being her brother's friend.

"He-hello, I'm Hikigaya Komachi. My brother... where is he?"

The girl seemed very anxious. This wasn't a small matter like getting hit by a car and breaking a leg on the street.

"Don't worry. I'm your brother's classmate. We used to go to school together. Although he doesn't have many friends, always walks with his hands in his pockets and hunched over, and often tries to push off his responsibilities, he's a really good person..."

Noldrei thought for a moment and couldn't find two particularly good things to say about him. He changed the subject. "Don't worry. Although your brother's cardiopulmonary death is a foregone conclusion, we're doing everything we can to save him! His head is still alive!"

The little girl's eyes glazed over. Noldrei put his arm around her shoulder and was about to lead her to where Hikigaya Hachiman's body was being kept.

Bronya thought this was too horrible. She quickly grabbed Komachi's arm and asked, "Didn't your parents come with you?"

Komachi shook her head. "They were supposed to come, but their company wouldn't give them leave. So they handed in their resignations. They'll be here soon. I told them it wouldn't be a big deal even if they missed work for a while, but they couldn't stand the attitude of their company's leaders, so they decided to quit early. Fortunately, my brother's schooling doesn't cost much, and our family doesn't have any loans, so we can manage for a while."

Her eyes were a little red. She nervously grabbed Bronya's hand and said, "Please take me to see my brother first. I... I really... if I wait any longer, I'm not sure if I'll have the courage to see him."

Noldrei immediately nodded. "You're right. I'll take you to see your brother right now."

This time, Bronya couldn't stop him. Noldrei led the little girl directly to where Hikigaya Hachiman's body was being kept in a preservation tank.

The corpse's skull was turned inside out. The skin on top had actually been cut open by the arthropod legs of the protective implant.

It looked more like a burst dumpling. If a brother who looked so inhuman suddenly appeared in front of his sister, what kind of shock would that cause?

Hikigaya Komachi's eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

It was hard to say if she was scared by her brother's strange appearance or if she simply went into shock from seeing his corpse.

Noldrei had originally planned to explain the situation to the little girl, but who knew she would just collapse in his arms.

"Now what?"

He looked up at the Deadwalker body of Hikigaya Hachiman floating in the formaldehyde.

It was obvious that the headless body had completely turned into a Deadwalker. Even with the Stigma Battlesuit on, it couldn't withstand such deep erosion, not to mention that Hikigaya Hachiman hadn't even reached the fourth stage of controlling Honkai Energy.

"What are you doing?!"

Bronya was shocked when she came in, afraid that Noldrei would grab the little girl and give her the Teletubby and My Little Pony treatment. Although the little girl did have a cute, next-door-neighbor feel to her, she absolutely couldn't let anyone else fall victim to Noldrei's cruel hands.

"She just fainted from shock. You should thank me for using my ability to maintain her heart rate. Otherwise, the girl might have been scared to death just now."

Noldrei slung Komachi over his shoulder and said calmly, "Let's go. I still have to take her to see her brother's head. I can't let her see only one part."

Bronya thought this guy must be a demon.

Hikigaya Komachi didn't have the chance to poke her own eyes out. She would rather faint than see her brother like this.

But things didn't go as she wished. Even though she had fainted, Noldrei woke her up again.

And this time, Hikigaya Hachiman, whose cognitive and operational systems had been restored, had fully regained his consciousness.

Unlike when he was just a head, acting on instinct.

"Komachi?!"

A floating mouth woke Komachi. She felt that her current situation was a bit strange.

The little girl looked up in the direction of the voice calling her name.

And what she saw was incredible. She almost passed out again.

"Komachi! Don't look!"

Hikigaya Hachiman's warning came too late. How could he let his sister see him like this?

'This is bad. The few points I have left in my sister's heart are about to be completely deducted.'

The little girl's vision began to roll upwards. There was no need to look any further. It was better to just pretend her brother was still intact.

"Komachi! Komachi!"

The two exposed eyeballs didn't have tear ducts installed. They could only stare dryly, turning red from the strain.

Noldrei stopped him. "Alright, stop crying. Your parents will be here soon after they quit their jobs. Sigh... it's rare to see parents who care so much about their children. Much better than our parents."

'Is this really the time to be talking about parents?!'

Hikigaya Hachiman had already passed the second stage. Although he was still a little scared of Noldrei, his fear, along with the stimulus of his near-death experience, was gradually fading.

"Damn it! I've never even carried Komachi on my shoulders with her butt resting on them like this!"

Tesla had just pushed the door open, ready to give the boy some good news, when she heard this perverted remark. She was now starting to doubt if her decision to save him was the right one.