Fate’s Slave - Shadow Slave X Honkai Star Rail

The Memories that Natasha had summoned were laid out on a tray. There were a few potions, bandages, and a stitching set among them.

Sunny thought that it was quite unusual for Natasha to conveniently have Memories that were perfectly suited to her profession as a doctor. It was even more strange when one considered that the Underworld was separated from the Overworld — which in turn was separated from the rest of the world.

…Maybe he should ask about it later.

Natasha first picked up one of the strange potions she had, uncorking the bottle. This one in particular had a green liquid in it.

She first went over to Dan Heng, pouring the green liquid within the potion over each of his wounds. Sunny wasn't very sure what it was supposed to do, but since it was a Memory, it must have served some purpose. Maybe it helped to clean the wound in some way.

Suddenly, a needle with a string attached floated into the air as if it was alive. It almost disappeared, zooming across Dan Heng's body as it stitched together his wounds with frightening precision. In less than a minute, the needle returned to the tray, having sealed the multiple wounds spread across Dan Heng's body.

A roll of bandages unfurled itself, floating on it's own as it delicately wrapped itself around him. Natasha had already turned away from Dan Heng, pouring another one of those green potions on the wounds that littered March's own body. Once she was done, she walked over to where Sunny and Sampo were sitting.

The process repeated itself, with the floating needle and bandages operating automatically. Natasha pulled off her gloves, throwing them into a trash can before pulling a chair up to Sunny and Sampo. Taking a seat, Natasha sent Sunny a gentle smile.

"Your friends will be fine. They're quite tenacious, even when compared to the average Awakened."

Sunny was tempted to clarify that they were not his friends. However, he decided that it wasn't really relevant to the current situation. She glanced towards Sampo, who had an annoying expression plastered on his face.

"It looks like your tendency for getting into trouble is starting to cause problems for others, Sampo Koski."

The man in question waved his hands in a placating manner.

"It's not anything like that! Honestly, they were the ones who…"

Sampo trailed off as he looked towards Sunny, who was dragging finger across his neck without Natasha noticing. The message was clear.

Gulping, Sampo redacted his words.

"Ah, well I suppose it is my fault. Silly me…"

Natasha sighed at his antics.

"What are you up to, Sampo? Why do you insist on getting caught up in Overworld affairs that have nothing to do with you? If it's a whole lot more attention from Wildfire you want, you're going about it the right way."

A look of indignation crossed Sampo's face.

"Hey now! Sampo Koski's primary concern is taking care of his friends. These guys scratched my back. How could I live with myself if I didn't scratch theirs?"

He paused for a second, before grinning.

"And another thing! Where does Wildfire get off... assuming that these fine folks won't come in useful to them, huh? I mean, you never know."

Sunny wasn't quite sure what Wildfire was, but he wasn't liking how Sampo insinuated that he was going to work for them.

"Then what are you going to do about that Overworld girl?"

Sampo stared at the unconscious Bronya for a moment, before simply shrugging.

"My friend Sunny over here brought her, not me. If you want to know, just ask him."

…Where had Sampo heard his name? Sunny didn't think that it was ever said out loud in front of the man.

Everything Sampo did only made Sunny even more cautious.

The man in question looked at his bare wrist, pretending that it was a watch, before saying:

"Would you look at the time? I just remembered that I have some business over in the Dream Realm, so I must bid the both of you farewell!"

Sunny narrowed his eyes, before suddenly realizing what Sampo was trying to do.

Before he could even say anything, he felt space warp slightly. It wasn't to an extremely noticeable amount, but Sunny was somewhat sensitive to these things.

Suddenly, Sampo had disappeared from both his line of sight and his shadow sense, which meant that he went to the Dream Realm.

'Does this guy think that he could abuse that trick just because he's a Master?'

That settled it. The moment that Sunny became an Ascended, he was going to do the exact same thing whenever he was in a tricky situation.

Natasha sighed again as her attention was redirected towards Sunny.

"Sunny, right? As you may already know, I'm Natasha, the lone doctor in the Underworld."

He felt a little awkward about being left alone here, but ignored it as he nodded.

"My name is actually Sunless, but people just call me Sunny."

He paused for a second.

"How come you have so many healing Memories? It couldn't have just been luck, right?"

Natasha shook her head.

"It's thanks to my Aspect. I'm able to turn everyday objects into Memories. I can't really control the enchantments though…"

Sunny blinked. He was aware of Aspects that allowed one to create Memories, whether it was by forging a weapon or crafting a charm or tool. However, the only example that he was aware of had to actually forge the item. He couldn't simply turn a random object into a Memory…

…Who was he thinking about again?

Anyways, it seemed like the trade off was that the enchantments couldn't be controlled. It was an Aspect that was tailored to convenience rather than specialization.

Sunny wasn't sure how she was able to evade his shadow sense, nor why she barely had a presence, but maybe it was a Memory that she had.

Sunny sighed before pulling out his phone. Luckily, he still had connection to the internet, which meant that he could access his bank account.

He mentally smiled as he looked upon all those zeroes.

He then realized that he might end up losing a few of those zeroes.

Medical assistance from an Awakened couldn't possibly come cheap.

"…How much do I need to pay you?"

Those words crawled out of Sunny's mouth, his reluctance to throw away money for those two idiot evident. Maybe if they listened to him — the one who was responsible for this expedition — they wouldn't be in this situation!

Natasha looked at him strangely for a second, before a flash of realization appeared on her face.

"Oh! No, no… you don't need to worry about that."

Sunny frowned.

"Well, I'll probably be busy for a while, so it'd make more sense for me to pay you now…"

Natasha chuckled as she shook her head to refute him.

"What I meant was that you don't need to pay me anything. This clinic is meant to help anybody that need it. If I charged everyone that came here, Boulder Town would probably end up looking like the rest of the Underworld."

Sunny almost gaped at her words. A person that didn't need money?

If Sunny was an Awakened doctor, he would definitely be charging a premium for his services!

His fingers twitched around his phone.

"…Just to clarify, you don't need any money whatsoever?"

Natasha nodded.

"Simply making sure that everyone stays healthy is enough payment for me."

Sunny placed a hand on his chest, looking down at it in confusion.

'That's strange… didn't Herta say that my heart doesn't beat anymore?'

He stared at Natasha for a second.

"Alright then. Since they're healed now, is there anywhere that I could take them?"

"You could just leave the three of them here. I'll make sure that all their needs are taken care of, so you don't need to worry about that."

…Free board as well? A strange feeling welled up in his chest, one that he couldn't identify.

Natasha looked at him for a second, before a playful smile graced her lips.

"That doesn't apply to you though, since you aren't a patient. If you'd like, I could show you to a nearby hotel. I'll ask them to waive the fee for you."

A bead of cold sweat trailed down Sunny's face. The feeling within his chest only grew stronger.

Natasha sat up from her seat.

"But before that, are you hungry? I can cook something up really quick. Free of charge."

The words 'free of charge' reverberated through Sunny's skull. His unmoving heart felt like it was pierced by an arrow. Despite this, he didn't feel any pain. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and yet, Sunny instinctively knew what it was.

'Was I always this weak to free stuff? No… that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is…'

Sunny nodded at Natasha's request, following her through a door that led to her place of residence — which would contain her kitchen.

A strange smile appeared on Sunny's face. A smile that the gloomy shadow silently mocked him for.

'I think I'm in love!'