Inside the Astral Express, March 7th stood frozen, her mind struggling to process the sight before her.
Not long ago, Asta had explicitly stated that Bai Ming would be remaining at the space station. Yet now, here she was, standing inside the parlor car as if she'd always belonged. The familiar, slightly goofy grin on Bai Ming's face made the scene feel both real and impossibly surreal.
Is this actually happening? March wondered, her thoughts racing. Did I fall asleep somewhere?
Bai Ming seemed to be having similar doubts. Her wide eyes darted around the plush interior of the carriage before finally landing back on March.
"March!"
The sound of her name broke the spell. March 7th blinked, the vibrant blues and pinks of the Astral Express's interior snapping back into sharp focus.
"What's wrong?" Bai Ming asked, tilting her head. Her silver hair caught the soft carriage lights. "Why have you been staring at me since I came in?"
"Huh? This?" March stammered, heat rushing to her cheeks. She immediately averted her gaze to a nearby potted star-bloom. "No, nothing! I haven't been staring at you at all!"
"You have!" Bai Ming insisted, taking a step closer. Her voice was light but firm. "From the moment the airlock cycled and I stepped in, your eyes have been locked on me! I could feel it!"
"March, you really..." Bai Ming began, a mischievous glint entering her eyes.
"I really... what?" March asked cautiously, already regretting engaging.
"You've actually fallen in love with me, haven't you?"
March 7th's brain short-circuited. "Wha—?"
"Oh, how embarrassing~" Bai Ming clasped her hands to her cheeks, her body swaying in an exaggerated, serpentine motion. "To think I've won March's heart so easily! My charms are simply too potent. It's really making me shy."
"..."
Thwack.
The sound of March's hand meeting Bai Ming's forehead echoed softly in the quiet car.
"Ow! That hurts!" Bai Ming yelped, clutching her head. She looked up at March with an expression of profound betrayal, her golden eyes shimmering with mock tears. "March, what was that for? Why did you hit me?"
"Because you're talking utter nonsense!" March retorted, her face now a brilliant shade of scarlet. "What do you mean, 'fallen in love with you'?!"
Bai Ming pouted "If you haven't fallen in love with me, then why have you been staring? The eyes are the windows to the soul! Yours were screaming 'love'!"
"Can't I look at someone without being in love with them?" March shot back, crossing her arms. "Didn't Miss Himeko glance over when you boarded too? Does that mean she's secretly in love with you?"
"Huh!" Bai Ming's face lit up. "That's also a good thing? A two-for-one special—"
"You...!" March sputtered, utterly lost for words. She wanted to unleash a torrent of logic, to dissect Bai Ming's ridiculous claims piece by absurd piece.
But for some reason, looking at that unwavering, gleeful grin, all her frustration evaporated. What remained was a hollow, floating sensation—a profound disbelief that this was real. That Bai Ming was really here, on the Express, choosing them over a life of guaranteed luxury.
"March, why so quiet again?" Bai Ming's voice softened, her head tilting with genuine concern. "Alright, alright! I'll stop, I promise. No more teasing... Don't make that face."
"I'm not making any face!" March protested, but her shoulders slumped. After a moment's hesitation, she sank onto the long, curved sofa, the plush fabric giving way beneath her. Bai Ming immediately plopped down beside her, close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
"I just..." March began, staring at her own intertwined fingers. "I have my doubts."
"Doubts?" Bai Ming blinked, her long silver lashes fluttering. "About what?"
"About whether you truly intend to stay. To travel with us."
"Why would you doubt that!" Bai Ming's response was immediate. She reached out and grasped March's hand, her grip warm and surprisingly solid. "I'm sitting right here, on the Astral Express, aren't I? What more proof do you need?"
"But—" March's fingers tightened around Bai Ming's. "Asta... she offered you everything. A life of ease, purpose, security. Weren't you even a little tempted?"
"If you ask if I was tempted..." Bai Ming released March's hand to scratch her cheek thoughtfully. "Well, yeah. I was. Quite a bit, actually. She said I could just... stay. Decorate her quarters, spend her wealth, enjoy the view. No more fighting, no more running. Sounded pretty nice."
She paused, her gaze drifting to the star-streaked view outside the panoramic window.
"But—" she continued, turning back to March with that signature, lopsided grin spreading across her face. "I did some mental math. And I think compared to all that, March, you're way more valuable!"
"Huh—?!" March 7th's breath hitched. Her face ignited like a neon sign. She could feel her pulse hammering in her ears, a frantic drumbeat against the quiet hum of the Express's engines.
Then Bai Ming sighed, a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. "But man... Asta's legs really were something else. So smooth. Such a nice shape. Hehehe~"
SMACK.
The slap this time was sharper, crisper.
"QAQ! March! Again?! My poor, beautiful face!"
"Because you're a hopeless, irredeemable pervert!" March hissed, yanking her hand back as if burned. She glared, but her eyes flickered past Bai Ming to the thick glass of the viewport. Just minutes ago, she'd been leaning her forehead against that same cold surface, watching the station shrink away, her chest aching with a strange, lonely hollow.
"By the way," she said, forcefully steering the conversation onto safer tracks. "Bai Ming... how in the stars did you even catch up to us? The Express was already at cruising speed."
"Oh, that?" Bai Ming rubbed her reddening cheek, following March's gaze to the window. "Simple. I wanted to get on. So I caught up."
Of course, March thought. The answer was pure, unadulterated Bai Ming. But the reality couldn't have been so simple.
The truth involved the [Battlesuit: White Comet]—the third-generation Valkyrie armor that slept within her, granting inhuman strength and speed. It involved a power thrumming in her veins that even Herta had found fascinating. Together, they had turned her into a living projectile, arcing through the vacuum to intercept a starship. It was reckless, insane, and utterly breathtaking.
However—
March fixed her with a stern, pragmatic look. "If that was the plan, why didn't you just call? Or message? We could have stopped. Or at least slowed down. Chasing a train through space... that's beyond dangerous. It's suicidal."
"..."
Bai Ming had the grace to look slightly abashed. She stuck out her tongue in a guilty gesture. "Now that you mention it... yeah, that would have been smarter. Guess I just... panicked? Saw the train pulling away and my brain shorted out. Thought you'd changed your minds. Thought I was being left behind."
"You? Panic?" March couldn't help the faint smile that touched her lips. "That's hard to believe."
Yet, hearing it sent a wave of warm relief through her. So Bai Ming had cared. She wasn't as nonchalant as she pretended. The thought untangled a knot of anxiety March hadn't fully acknowledged.
"By the way," March's eyes drifted to the large, lumpy bag sitting at Bai Ming's feet. It was made of a sturdy, space-worthy fabric and was tied shut with excessive care. "What's in the luggage? You were clenching it in your teeth like a dog with a prize bone. Must be important."
Bai Ming's entire demeanor shifted. Her eyes lit up with excitement. "You mean this? Oh, these are my treasures! The essential kit for galactic travel!"
"March, look, look!" She dove for the bag, her fingers working at the complex knot with practiced ease. After a moment of rummaging, she pulled out her first prize with a triumphant flourish.
A worn, slightly dented metal baseball bat.
"I brought Louie!"
The moment March saw the bat, a cascade of memories assaulted her: The chaotic dark of the Containment Sector. The reek of ozone and rust. Bai Ming, moments before looking lost and confused, hefting this same piece of sporting equipment like a sacred relic. Then, the transformation—the bat becoming a blur of kinetic fury, cracking antimatter engine plating, deflecting attacks, a streak of defiant light in the gloom. She remembered it glowing, burning with raw power as it connected with the Doomsday Beast's carapace.
"You kept it," March said softly.
"Of course I did!" Bai Ming hugged the bat to her chest, nuzzling the grip affectionately. "Louie and I are bonded for life! A girl needs a reliable partner. Couldn't leave him behind."
"Just the bat?" March eyed the still-distended bag.
"Of course not! There's also... this!" From the bag's depths emerged a pristine white box, tied with a delicate silver ribbon. Even through the container, the faint, sweet scent of frosting and berries reached March's nose.
Her heart did a funny little flip.
"This... isn't..."
"The 'Welcome to the Space Station, Please Don't Die' cake!" Bai Ming announced proudly, placing it on the low table between them. "We never got to eat it! You ran off before we could even get the plates!"
"No, wait," March frowned, a practical concern surfacing. "Asta let you take it? That was meant for the celebration after the crisis."
"March," Bai Ming said, her tone gently chiding as she carefully set the cake aside. "Don't think of the Station Head so poorly. She's... generous. Really."
"Oh! Right! She also gave me this!" Another dive into the bag, and this time she produced a slender card. It was crafted from a matte black material that seemed to drink in the light, edged with fine platinum. It felt heavy, significant.
"What's this now?" March leaned in, curiosity piqued.
"Hehe~" Bai Ming held the card between two fingers and flipped it. The reverse side was inset with a line of microscopic, laser-etched lettering that gleamed under the lights.
ASTA.
"This," Bai Ming said with reverence, "is the key to a small fortune. A credit chit from Asta herself. She said it's got 'enough to be comfortable.' I didn't ask for a number. Seemed rude."
"You!" March's protective instincts flared. "Bai Ming, if you weren't planning to stay, why did you take it? That's... that's practically fraudulent!"
"She wouldn't let me leave without it!" Bai Ming whined, looking genuinely pitiful. "She shoved it into my pocket and said 'for emergencies'! And anyway, I don't even plan to keep it on me."
"Then where would you keep it?" March asked, hands on her hips.
"With you, obviously!"
Bai Ming said it as if it were the most natural conclusion in the universe. She thrust the card toward March.
"See? Problem solved. If you think it's wrong for me to have it, then you hold it. Morality crisis averted!"
March stared at the proffered card, then slowly, firmly, pushed Bai Ming's hand back.
"No."
"Why not?"
"First, I have a track record with important cards. Remember the Master Control Zone keycard? Lost within an hour. Second," she added, her voice firming, "Asta gave it to you. It's yours. It would be wrong for me to take it."
"...Oh." Bai Ming deflated, tucking the card away. "Yeah. That... does make sense."
Seeing her crestfallen look, March's expression softened. "Bai Ming," she said, her voice dropping to a serious whisper. "I'm being serious now. Don't go spending that recklessly. If Asta ever calls it in, or there's some clause... and you can't pay it back... I don't have that kind of credit. I can't bail you out."
"It won't come to that..."
"Just don't," March insisted, reaching out to take Bai Ming's hand again, her grip earnest. "Please. No more surprises. No more life-altering debts. Let's just... have a smooth journey."
"..."
Bai Ming looked down at their joined hands, then up at March's worried face. A slow, genuine smile spread across her lips, and she let out a warm, hearty laugh.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm! Whatever March says, goes! I'll be a model of fiscal responsibility!"
"I'll believe it when I see it," March muttered, but a small smile played on her own lips. Her gaze returned to the mysterious bag. "But... it's still so full. What else is in there?"
"Treasures!" Bai Ming declared, diving back in. This time, she emerged with something that made March's jaw drop.
It was a doll. A perfect, palm-sized replica of Herta, complete with the genius's signature bored expression and twin-drill hairstyle. The craftsmanship was unnervingly precise.
"What. Is. That?"
"Oh, this little guy?" Bai Ming said, holding the doll up by its tiny shoulder. "Herta gave it to me. Said to keep it close. 'Might be useful,' she said. Very cryptic."
"Isn't that... incredibly creepy?" March leaned in, peering at the miniature's frozen porcelain face. "It's like having a tiny, silent version of her judging you from your pocket."
"Yeah, that was my first thought too!" Bai Ming nodded vigorously. "But—"
She pinched the doll's perfectly sculpted head between her thumb and forefinger.
"It's got a fun mode!"
She gave the head three firm twists—click, click, click—and placed it on the table. The tiny Herta doll immediately began to pirouette smoothly on its base, a silent, spinning ballerina.
"Wow—" March couldn't help it. A laugh bubbled out of her. "Okay, that's... actually kind of adorable. Takes the edge off the horror."
"Right? Hehe~" Bai Ming beamed, watching the doll spin. "So, is there anything else?"
"One more thing!" Bai Ming's expression grew slightly more solemn. She carefully extracted a sealed glass case from the bag. It was heavier than it looked. Inside, suspended in a shimmering, amber-hued gel, floated several jagged fragments of dark metal. They vaguely resembled the pieces of a shattered sword.
March felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. "Bai Ming... what is that?"
"It's... a Curio," Bai Ming said softly, cradling the case with unusual tenderness. "From the Space Station's vaults. I don't really know how to explain it. I just... knew I couldn't leave it behind."
The sadness in her voice was faint but unmistakable. March didn't press. She simply nodded.
"Alright. If it's important to you, it's important. The Express has room. We'll find a place for it."
"But," a new doubt occurred to her. "Herta just... let you take a Curio?"
"Yes!" Bai Ming's brightness returned, albeit tinged with wonder. "She even helped me make this preservation case! Said the resonance was 'interesting.'"
"This..." March's brow furrowed. "Does she... like you that much?"
"I don't think it's like," Bai Ming said, scratching her cheek again, a faint blush appearing. "More like... she's interested in my body."
"Interested in your—?! That's worse!"
"Not like that!" Bai Ming waved her hands frantically. "For research! Dissection, scanning, probing... that kind of interest!"
"So you agreed?!" March asked, horrified.
"Of course not!" Bai Ming's answer was instant and fierce. She looked straight at March, her golden eyes suddenly intense. "Because—"
"Because...?"
"Because I belong to March now!" she declared, puffing out her chest. "My body is a temple for March's eyes only! If Herta wants to run tests, she needs to get permissio—OW!"
Another precise chop landed on the crown of her head.
"Alright, that's enough," March said, her face burning. "Topic closed. Forever."
"Mean..." Bai Ming rubbed her head, but she was smiling again. "But your teeth must be made of neutron star material. How did you carry all this just by biting down on the strap?"
"Hehe, determination!" Bai Ming proclaimed, carefully setting the glass case next to the spinning doll. She placed her hands on her hips, striking a heroic pose. "After all, I'm going to become someone who makes March's heart flutter so hard it creates artificial gravity!"
"You're impossible," March sighed, but the fondness in her voice was undeniable. Desperate for a change of subject, she gestured to the now-sagging bag. "That's everything, right? Surely even your bag of holding has limits?"
"Huh? Wait, March, don't—!"
Too late. March's hand darted into the bag's opening, her fingers closing around something soft and silky. She pulled it out.
A single, delicate piece of lavender-colored lingerie, edged with lace.
Time stopped.
March 7th's brain completely blue-screened. Her hand held the garment aloft as if it were a radioactive isotope.
"W-why... is there... this?!" she finally squeaked, her voice several octaves higher than normal.
"Um..." Bai Ming began, adopting an expression of extreme innocence. "Would you believe me if I said it's a sentimental parting gift from Asta...?"
"WHO GIVES PANTIES AS A SENTIMENTAL GIFT?!"
"♪~ La la la, can't hear you over the sound of plausible deniability~ ♪" Bai Ming trilled, whistling and looking at the ceiling.
"Don't you dare whistle your way out of this!" March yelled, brandishing the offending item.
"But it's true! She said 'a memento of our time together'! I think it's sweet!"
"Even if she gave it, you should have refused!" March's entire face was now the color of an emergency beacon. In her flustered state, the next words tumbled out without any filter from her brain. "And besides, if you wanted something like that... I could have given you some of mine!"
Silence.
A heavy, profound, universe-encompassing silence filled the parlor car.
March 7th's eyes went wide with utter horror. What did I just say?
Across from her, Bai Ming's expression shifted. The goofiness melted away, replaced by something slow, predatory, and intensely smug. She raised one eyebrow deliberately. The tip of her tongue peeked out to wet her lips.
"March..." she purred, the sound vibrating with promise. "I heard that."
"Stay back!" March yelped, scrambling backward on the sofa. "I misspoke! It was a verbal glitch! A synaptic misfire!"
"No take-backsies," Bai Ming sang, beginning to lean forward, her hands reaching out. "I have a witness. My ears are sworn testimony."
"Then I'll give you some later! As a... a birthday present or something!"
"No. I want them now. The ones you're wearing have the most sentimental value."
However, just as Bai Ming was about to close the distance, a new, high-pitched voice sliced through the tension like a photon cutter.
"Ahem!"
Both girls froze.
Standing in the doorway to the next car was a small, fluffy conductor with long ears and an expression of profound disapproval. Pom-Pom's paws were planted firmly on its hips.
"Hey! What are you doing to Pom-Pom's passenger?" it demanded, its beady eyes fixed accusingly on Bai Ming. "And what are you looking at, you blockheaded newcomer? Pom-Pom is talking to you!"
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober