(I would've had this done sooner but I was busy wandering around a big 🍑 city, walking through no no smoke clouds on accident, having to smell it on the subway because that 💩 sticks to clothes, then getting back to my hotel with a big 🍑 headache)

Y/n was many things, Dan Heng and the rest of the Astral Express Crew had come to learn that as soon as their newest addition to the team began to open up.

She was always happy to eat alongside everyone else and even happier to see Himeko everytime they met up in the Parlor Car. If she was going to do things like eat, and sleep, it had to be with the others.

Y/n didn't quite share March 7th's excitement with most things, but she was always happy to spend time with the young woman. Even if it meant getting dressed up in things that typically weren't her style or sitting still for hours so March could style her hair.

She was always eager to learn something new from Himeko, often following her around the Express like a duck and squatting nearby to watch on curiously whenever the woman had to make repairs to the express. Sometimes, y/n could be found in the fiery haired woman's room enjoying some coffee.

Y/n's fascination with Welt wasn't something that March or Dan Heng could understand. She jumped at the chance to join him somewhere, and even took up drawing to impress him. She wasn't very good at it, but her skills seemed to drastically improve whenever the man agreed to sit still so she could sketch pictures of him. March 7th sold some of y/n's portraits of the man, much to y/n's dismay, but her despair was quickly dispersed when the earnings went towards her ever growing weapons collection.

Y/n had been a little iffy around Dan Heng at first, watching him from a distance or immediately removing herself from the area he was in to flee to March 7th, Himeko, Welt, or even Pom-Pom.

She didn't talk to him, just watched.
"Sort of like a cat." March 7th had remarked.

Regardless, the other members encouraged Dan Heng that y/n would warm up to him soon. He didn't really care at the time, there was just something about y/n that made him not want her to warm up to him.

Maybe it was the fact that she didn't sleep. Or maybe it was the obscene amount of weapons she kept in her room.

Actually— it was her lack of self-preservation.

They'd ended up on a planet that didn't take too kindly to outworlders, but y/n still insisted on going to grab a particular kind of food for March 7th.

Dan Heng decided to go with her, and not even an hour into their search, they were captured and taken prisoner:

Two days of sitting in a dark cell with countless others who smelled of illness and death, they were thrown out into a gladiator pit where they were expected to take on a giant alligator creature to win their lives back.

50 prisoners, composed of ill men and women who didn't know how to fight, were in no condition to fight, or were too old or young to actually be if any help, against a giant alligator that could swallow them while if it didn't rip them apart with its sharp teeth or impale them with its spiked tail first.

Dan Heng and y/n were clearly the only two people who could actually fight that thing. It was then that Dan Heng learned something else about y/n.

She was an idiot.

She'd directly called out these lunatics' "Great Leader", a woman seated in a booth with curtains that concealed her features and made a deal.

Y/n would go up against the alligator and as many warriors as the Great Leader wanted, all by herself, to win back the other prisoners' freedom.

Dan Heng didn't know if he was more surprised or more horrified. Y/n, the one who collected weapons but had never once showed off any combat skills, facing off against a monster and bunch of warriors to win back the freedom of Dan Heng and a bunch of people she didn't know.

Perhaps it was amusement, curiosity, or just out of cruelty, maybe all three, but the Great Leader agreed and had all the other prisoners including Dan Heng returned to the tunnel.

Through the gates, Dan Heng watched as y/n stood in the center of the pit, staring at the gate at the opposite end where something snarled and roared in the dark.

The excited cheers of the crowd were defeating as they shouted something in a language Dan Heng couldn't quite understand without the Synesthesia Beacon, but it clearly wasn't good considering the gate across the pit opened up to reveal a beast.

An alligator. A massive, beastly alligator that hardly even looked like one. It was littered with cuts, spears and bladed weapons sticking out of it as it thrashed around, whirling a massive chain locked around its neck along with it. Its eyes were wild, immediately locking onto its prey(y/n) as its mouth opened wide to reveal bloodied and sharp teeth.

Damn, what the hell were they feeding that— nevermind, Dan Heng saw the severed limbs stuck in its massive teeth, that was enough of an answer.

Which was louder? The screams of the prisoners who didn't even have to face that thing or the roar of the crowd? Dan Heng didn't know or have time to figure it out as the massive creature looked at y/n and immediately charged for her.

"What do you—? Y/n!" Dan Heng shouted to the young woman as she took off right towards the charging beast. What the hell was that crazy ♀🐶 thinking?!

The big 🍑 alligator lunged, its large jaws ready to close around her entire body only for her to dock the thing in the side of its mouth.

Dan Heng and the rest of the prisoners all gawked as dust was kicked up and the creature was sent flying off to the side, tumbling a little and rolling before landing upright and skidding to a halt to hiss at the young woman. HOLY 💩, IT HAD A 🚚ING BARBED TAIL.

The dust cleared, and revealed y/n untouched.

"Woah... you're one big gator, aren't ya?" y/n chirped as the thing slowly approached, it's footsteps sending tremors through the ground of the pit, "Your nasty teeth just barely grazed me and the smell damn near killed me!"

"Does that woman have a death wish?!" an elderly prisoner asked Dan Heng in a bewildered tone. He didn't reply, focused on her hands. He couldn't see her eyes, as her back was facing him, but her hands were trembling.

A death wish? Clearly not, she was scared. Terrified.

The gator let out a roar, charging for her again only for her to dart out the way before it's jaws could snap shut on her. Again and again, the beast charged and y/n evaded mere seconds before it could grab her.

The crowd wasn't too happy, beginning to shout angrily as y/n pretty much played around with the creature, leading it further and further away from the prisoners and closer to the tunnel it'd come from. Was she trying to shut it back in there? The gate had closed behind it so she couldn't lead it back in... unless she was trying to get it to break down the gate.

"Looks like we've got a bit of a nimble one on our hands! The Blight Beast doesn't like agile snacks, so why don't we fix that?" the announcer declared.

Y/n squinted, "What kind of dumb🍑 name-?" she didn't get to finish, jumping up to avoid having her legs ripped off before bouncing off the alligator to propel herself further away so she'd have some more distance.

Dan Heng caught sight of archers taking place at the edge of the pit far above, aiming their bows at y/n as she waited for the alligator the charge again. It lunged, she jumped out the way, and the archers fired.

"Y/n!" the young man shouted and y/n looked at him. Their eyes met, Dan Heng's panicked ones looking with her confused ones, but the message was clear enough for her to react.

The second the tip of her foot touched the ground, she pushed off to lunge out of the flurry of arrows that rained down. The fleury followed her, y/n darting through the barrage as quickly as she could before finally skidding to a halt as one last arrow just barely grazed her cheek when it flew past her, leaving a cut on her face.

The prisoners all gasped, and someone yelled, "Look at that... she actually survived that—!"

The prisoners began to celebrate and the crowd started booing, but all Dan Heng could do was let out a heavy breath of relief. Y/n looked to him and he hoped that his mouthed stay alert: the archers were loading up more arrows to fire.

Y/n nodded, only lurching back a few seconds before the alligator tried to bite her again. It missed, but it wasn't done yet, its tail lashing out and slamming into her body.

The young woman's eyes widened as she was sent flying across the pit, slamming into the wall and leaving a big 🍑 dent as the crowd began to cheer again while the prisoners let out a simultaneous gasp.

"Woah... what a hit!" the announcer exclaimed as the dust kicked up by the impact began to settle, "There's no way she survived that— oh, nevermind."

Y/n was pulling herself from the wall, bleeding from the head and clutching her shoulder as she breathed heavily. The prisoner's began to cheer again but Dan Heng didn't share their excitement.

If she was bleeding from the head, she definitely hit it hard enough to have some internal damage. As for her shoulder, it appeared to be dislocated and y/n seemed to be debating on whether or not to set it right there and then. The damage didn't stop there, blotches of red beginning to appear in the rags that had replaced her old clothes. Those barbed spikes on that beast's tail had stabbed her through her torso.

The creature didn't charge again. Why wasn't it?

Y/n looked up and her heart sunk in her chest when she saw the arrows raining down from above. Smart piece of 💩, that thing knew they were shooting at her.

She began to run out of the splash zone, only for more and more arrows to strike the ground where she was mere moments before as she ran. They were only getting closer— DAMN! HOW MANY ARROWS DID THEY HAVE?!

A roar dragged her from her panicked thoughts as the alligator approached her head in, jaws ready to grab her as she headed right for it, but she slid under its body to avoid the rain of arrows as the thing was struck, causing it to let out a weird hissing shrieking noise.

Her little slide didn't end smoothly as she tumbled through the dirt, rolling to a halt with a grunt as she landed awkwardly. Her shoulder was screaming in agony, the puncture wounds in her torso had begun to sting, why the hell did her calf hurt so much?

She looked down, and was greeted by two lil arrows. One piercing the side of her knee and the other having gone right through her damn calf. Y/n had been lucky not to get completely filled with arrows, but she had still gotten hit.

Unfortunate.

Y/n glanced down at her gut where she was bleeding, blinking blearily at the sight of it. That thing was happening again... where the world around her became dark and hazy and gold began to creep in at the edges of her vision. This feeling, this burning sensation. She'd felt it before.

She began to push herself to her feet, grimacing and holding back a whimper, but the sudden absence of sunlight stopped her.

There was a low, long growl, and she looked up to see the alligator looming over her. She stared at it. It stared at her.

'Am I... going to die?'

Dan Heng couldn't watch when the alligator caught y/n, turning away. He was glad that the lunatics in the crowd where loud enough to drown out the horrors of whatever had happened to the young woman, but it was no use to the prisoners who were too shocked not to look away.

"She started off strong, but it looks like that outworlder is done for. Since she did not beat the Blight Beast in combat, the other prisoners will be forced to face it as well! How unfortunate!" the announcer exclaimed as the giant beast began to circle around the pit, rial lashing and its eyes filled with hunger as the gates opened up again so the guards could force the frightened prisoners out into the pit.

How was Dan Heng supposed to explain this to the others? "Oh, y/n got eaten by a giant alligator so she's not coming back" or "sorry, March, we tried to get your snack but y/n was turned into one along the way."

Both of those were 🚚ed up, and that second one would probably traumatize March 7th since y/n had only insisted on going to get her that snack she'd wanted.

The group of frightened prisoners stood before the giant beast that had ripped apart and tossed aside their little beacon of hope and was now prepared to give them all the same treatment. Dan Heng wasn't sure how much he could do without his spear, but he sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight.

"Now! Let the feast begin!" the announcer declared and the crowd began cheering once more.

The alligator was watching them but not approaching, seemingly checking to see if there's be any other difficult prey like y/n. It's lack of movement was suffocating, terrifying, and all the prisoners seemed to be paralyzed by fear.

"Mommy, mommy, look!" one of the children amongst the prisoners chimed, "Look at the pretty golden leaves!"

The child was paid no mind as the alligator approached, deciding that none of them would cause many problems. What to do... Dan Heng needed to think of something to do!

The thing opened it's bloodied jaws and lunges for the group, prepared to tear them all up! Only for a flash of light to cut through the air. For a second, Dan Heng thought he saw a spear materialize into the air, but it went away as quickly at it came as a force he couldn't see struck the gator in the mouth.

It left an indent in its mouth, the inspect rippling along the creature's about and throughout its entire face before it's entire damn head was blown off.

The now headless body staggered, seizing up and tumbling as it began to slide towards the group, leaving a trail of blood as it slid to a halt before them.

The entire arena fell silent, the only sound that disturbed it being ragged, distorted breathing. All eyes turned to the source, over by where the alligator had been when its head was blown off, and they found y/n.

Her clothes were bloody, and she was practically covered in ginkgo leaves which glimmered and glowed a haunting gold. Her eyes were unfocused, cloudy, and she seemed to be barley standing as she heaved and gasped for air.

She still showed some evidence of what the beast had done to her, such as a missing arm and some heavily bleeding wounds from the alligator's unforgiving teeth, but she was alive. Surprisingly.

She staggered, one step, then another, before pointing up at the booth where the Great Leader was sitting.

"Keep... your end of the bargain." she rasped, taking a moment to take in air, "Or you'll face the same fate as that ugly 🍑 alligator..."

Silence, then a soft yet powerful voice carried by the wind all throughout the arena which had become hushed.

"A deal is a deal, you all are free to go."

Y/n let out a breathy laugh, "Also... your famous honey cake. I'm gonna need a lot of those, and I mean a lot as a bonus for this... you don't mind, right."

Seriously?

"...very well."

Y/n chuckled, something incomprehensible leaving her mouth before her eyes rolled back as she stumbled and faceplanted right in the dust without another word.

Dan Heng retrieved their items and carried her back to the Astral Express, not before picking up those honey cakes she'd asked for, but thankfully the young woman had regained consciousness in time for March 7th's questions.

She did stop him before they boarded, murmuring a quiet, "Hey, Dan Heng... can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" the young man had inquired, glancing at her. She looked tired... no, she looked like she'd seen some things. Something told him it had nothing to do with the beast that had ripped her apart.

"Please... don't tell the others that I died. I don't want them to worry, just tell them everything but that." she murmured, her voice meek, "I don't want to be a burden... I don't want to make them worry. Can't... can't make her worry anymore..."

It took a moment, but Dan Heng realized she was no longer speaking to him. Her... did she mean Himeko? Or March 7th?

No, she wasn't talking about either of them.
And Dan Heng knew it.

"What the heck happened to you two?! Why is y/n missing and arm and why does it look like something big bit her?!" March demanded before giving the guards loading the many packaged honey cakes onto the express a bewildered look, "Also— what are all these honey cakes for."

Y/n looked up weakly from where Dan Heng was supporting her, still smiling, "You said you wanted to try honey cakes... I didn't forget..." her head drooped again, "I hope you... enjoy..."

"I— y/n! Oh my god, is she dead?!"

"No, she's only sleeping." Himeko reassured the panicked March as Dan Heng continued to support the limp woman, "Dan Heng, could you take her back to her room so she can properly rest. I think she needs a lot of that right now."

Dan Heng agreed, and managed to drag her back to her room with Welt's help. While the man left to go handle the surplus of sweets being loaded onto the express, Dan Heng stayed behind to tuck y/n in as she dozed in her makeshift bed of blankets and pillows.

He didn't know much about her, but he'd learned quite a few things. She was selfless, perhaps a bit too selfless, he'd seen how she'd looked at this either prisoners before deciding to take on that beast by herself.

She was clearly driven, even without her memories. Whatever drove her to do what she did must've been something special if it managed to still keep her going despite her lack of memories.

And... she couldn't die.

Some healers had confirmed that she'd died when that beast caught her. It'd ripped her to pieces and everyone had seen, but then there'd been light. Golden light and a flurry of leaves before she got right back up.

'We already knew she was from a Xianzhou Ship considering she remembers being a Cloud Knight, but doesn't this make her an enemy of her own people now?' Dan Heng wondered as he watched her expressions shift as she slept.

"Urgh..." he blinked when y/n groaned in her sleep, brows furrowing slightly as she mumbled, "Hand... hold my... hand..."

...

'This is stupid.'

Still, Dan Heng reached out and took y/n's hand in his. Her expression relaxed, and she let out a small sigh of content as she rolled over and rested her face against Dan Heng's hand that held hers.

"Better..." she mumbled, "Can sleep... here..."

Dan Heng began to pull away but her grip tightened and she let out an angry grumble in response to that.

"Stay right here—! You...fish..."

Fish?! Who the hell was she talking to?

Dan Heng heaved a sigh as he rubbed his thumb over the top of y/n's hand, hoping that it'd get her to ease her vice-like grip and feeling relieved when she did.

'Guess I'm gonna be here for a while.'

(I know this is Dan Heng's chapter BUT DID YOU SEE BLADE'S TRAILER??? THE OST SLAPPED AND BLADE. HOLY 💩, THE LAUGH? I WANT HIM)