Honkai: Star Rail – From the Moment Tom The Cat Became My Passenger

Watching Aha laugh until his sides hurt, Tom looked thoroughly disgruntled, arms folded and left foot tapping the ground in irritation.

As a good cat, he knew it was his duty to kick out any uninvited guests.

But how do you kick out a person? He'd only ever chased off mice.

Still, not a big deal.

He was absurdly strong now—he'd taken down a Doomsday Beast, after all. What was there to fear from one measly person?

Tom pulled a baseball bat out from behind his back, ready to drive the intruder out.

But as soon as Aha saw Tom's movements, his voice—a melody of pure mischief—rang out, every word laced with a laughter that seemed to infect the very air, making it impossible not to relax.

"Oh, Tom, you want to throw me out?"

"That won't do. How about we go find some fun together?"

"Aha can give you all my power—make you Tom the Aeon. Though maybe you don't even need my strength."

"In that case, why not return to my old tricks? I could just blow up both trains right now! That'd be twice as fun as last time—and you'd enjoy it with me, Tom!"

Blow up the Astral Express? Blow up his own home?

Tom's head shook side to side like a rattle drum. There was no way he'd ever agree to something like that.

Seeing his suggestion instantly shot down, Aha shook his head lightly.

"Now Aha's really lost face."

"But never mind—let's go find some fun together, for now!"

With that, Aha reached out his right hand toward Tom.

The other was still bigger than Tom, and besides, when it came to people—unless Yevenko said otherwise—Tom would never actually hurt a person himself.

Seeing Aha reaching for him, Tom hurriedly dropped his baseball bat and vanished in a blur.

Aha looked again and found Tom huddled beneath a table, limbs twisted and tangled tightly around the table leg, tail coiled and knotted into a perfect bow around the corner.

Aha, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, simply walked around to stand behind Tom.

He gently tried to pick Tom up.

Yet that omnipotent strength—enough to destroy a galaxy—couldn't even budge Tom from the table leg. All he managed was to tug a bit of Tom's fur.

Aha even tried to lift the whole table, or the entire Astral Express itself, but found that Tom, the table, and the train all seemed fused together—connected with the very fabric of the universe itself. With Tom's sheer unwillingness to leave, Aha simply couldn't move him.

"Tom, you've really got Aha stumped."

"You know, the universe is like a giant stage, and the Aeons are the main characters in this play."

"But most of us? We're so dull. It's only after seeing you that Aha found true joy. You're the most important part of my show."

"When you ever feel like finding some fun, come look for Aha. The surprises we'll create together could even make those gloomy Aeons crack a smile!"

The endless sounds of laughter gradually faded away.

Tom finally let go of the table leg, still unsure why someone had suddenly shown up—then disappeared just as fast. He scratched his head, a big question mark popping up above him, utterly lost.

Just then, Yevenko's voice called from the other end of the train, drifting in as he walked over.

"Tom, are you done yet?"

"I'll help you finish packing."

Seeing Yevenko come up to him, Tom opened his mouth and let out a simple sound:

"A↑ha↓."

Hearing that name, Yevenko tensed up, glancing warily around the compartment. Only when he saw nothing unusual did he finally breathe easy.

Truth be told, he'd always worried Aha would come find them.

After all, if that god of mischief ever saw Tom—a being this miraculous and perfectly in tune with Aha's idea of fun—he'd absolutely come over looking for a good time.

Right now, not just Himeko and the rest—even the Genius Society couldn't see Tom's true nature. Only the Aeons might catch a glimpse of it.

He had a bad feeling that once Aha discovered Tom, it'd only be a matter of time before the god showed up. And no one could predict what he'd do.

If Aha really blew up the Astral Express, that'd be… well, it'd certainly be funny.

At that point, he would become the joke.

Still, Yevenko figured he probably wouldn't actually die—between [Tom's Transformation Stone], [Tom's Rapier], and Tom at his side, he had a decent shot at saving himself.

He just didn't know exactly how [Tom's Transformation Stone] worked or how long its effects lasted. There was too little intel; he'd have to figure it out himself on Jarilo-VI.

Seeing Tom had finished packing, Yevenko slipped his hands under Tom's armpits and slung him back over his neck.

"All set—let's go!"

"Whatever happens, this is still the first planet we're visiting in this world. I can't help but be excited."

"And besides, there's snow!"

Having grown up in the south before transmigrating, Yevenko was naturally fascinated by snow.

He was so excited that his cheeks flushed, his body temperature rising a little. Carrying Tom, he strode forward in high spirits.

...

"Cold… so cold…"

Standing on Jarilo-VI, having just stepped off the Astral Express, Yevenko was wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, feeling like his body temperature was about to hit zero—he'd freeze to death out here.

The howling wind was bitterly cold, stinging his cheeks. The snow was so deep it buried his knees, and on either side, sheer frozen cliffs loomed high.

This was a world sealed in ice.

"Is it too late for me to apply to stay on the train crew?"

Achoo—!

Right beside him, Tom let out a tremendous sneeze. His limbs splayed, his brain literally flying out of his head, circling once before plopping back into place.

Teeth chattering, his whole body shivered, snot turning into frozen icicles.

As bad as Yevenko felt for both Tom and himself, he looked around and found some comfort in suffering together.

But in the very next second—

Tom pulled a scarf from behind his back and wrapped it around himself. Instantly, his teeth stopped chattering, the snot was gone, and he looked totally refreshed.

Yevenko realized he'd made a huge mistake—how could he judge a gag character by normal logic?

Seeing this, March 7th's eyes filled with concern.

"Yevenko, can't you use your Path power to keep yourself warm?"

"If you really can't manage, we should take you back to the train first."

It was true, Yevenko did have Path power—but he'd only just obtained it, and had no real control over it yet.

If this were some sort of Star Rail self-insert fanfic, his star rating would probably be abysmally low… three-star at best.

But saying he'd go back to the Express was just talk. That would mean missing out on Exploration Value.

There was only one solution left. Yevenko pressed his lips together, his gaze sharp with seven parts determination, four parts anticipation, and three parts gravity. He whispered,

"At this point, I'm not going to act human anymore!"

"Time to turn into a cat!"