After Hua left, Vya continued her wanderings around the base. She had originally thought about looking for Sister Mobius, but she figured it'd be better to wait until the sister was awake.
So, after another little while, she turned a corner. From up ahead came dragging footsteps and low grumbling.
Seeing the light, Vya knew she'd run into more familiar faces.
The red-haired big sister, Himeko, was walking towards Vya, occasionally tugging a rather drowsy-looking Carol along behind her.
Wonder if she didn't sleep well…
Vya trotted over to meet them, her voice especially bright in the corridor. "Hello, Sister Himeko! Hello, Sister Carol!"
"Well, if it isn't little Vya. Up so early, huh?" Himeko said, smiling at the child before her.
Carol, suddenly released, staggered a bit before finding her footing. She rubbed her eyes and, upon recognizing Vya, managed a weak smile. "Mmm… Vya. Morning."
She punctuated this with a huge yawn, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Vya nodded earnestly. "Mmm, good morning, sisters!"
She tilted her head, studying Carol. "Didn't Sister Carol sleep well?"
But before Carol could answer, Himeko spoke up.
"Look at Vya, she's up even earlier than you are!"
She punctuated this by giving Carol's forehead a light poke…
"I know, Captain! Yesterday was an accident, it's all Nuwa's fault for getting me to play games with her…" Carol lifted her head, immediately starting to shift the blame.
"I heard about that from Hua too. Didn't she try to get you to come back early?"
"Believe me, Captain! There definitely won't be a next time!"
Carol forced herself to look more alert, declaring this with great conviction.
Vya mimicked the tone Elysia often used when instructing her. "Mmm, mmm! If you know you were wrong and promise to do better, then you're a good child, sister!"
"Yeah, Vya's right. You should give me a chance to make it right," Carol chuckled, then added, "Oh, right, Vya, have you seen Hua?"
"I saw her. Sister Hua has already gone to the training room," Vya answered truthfully.
"Good, then we should go find her too," Himeko smiled, grabbing Carol's hand. "Come on, let's have Hua give you some… guidance."
Carol's face instantly fell. "Aww… nooo!"
"Really don't want to?" Himeko raised an eyebrow.
"Mmm, mmm!" Carol nodded vigorously.
Himeko revealed a dangerous smile. "Well then… I could always be the one to personally guide you instead. How about it, wanna give that a try?"
"Nonono, Hua is fine…" The nodding turned to shaking, then back to nodding again. What exactly was she trying to say?…
Probably… that Hua, as a friend, would at least go easy on her, but Sister Himeko… that was less certain.
"Goodbye, sisters!" Vya continued her trek through the base, searching for NPCs that might have respawned…
And so, she ran into that dark green-haired boy again.
Kosma had grown a lot… compared to when he first arrived, he really had changed. His body was stronger, his gaze much more resolute.
Vya could see this too, because the orange light surrounding Kosma had grown brighter.
"Brother Kosma, what are you doing standing here?" Vya trotted over and asked, looking up at him.
Kosma looked… oh, it was Vya. His expression softened a bit. "Hmm. Waiting for Dystopia."
"Oh, I see! Vya will wait with you!"
"Okay." Kosma acknowledged, and just like that, he and Vya waited together.
Before long, two figures approached.
None other than Elysia and Dystopia.
"Sorry, Kosma…" Dystopia jogged the last few steps. "I ran into Sister Elysia on the way, so I got held up a little."
Kosma shook his head. "Uh… it's fine." His gaze flickered slightly when it met Elysia's smiling eyes.
Kosma wouldn't dare have any opinion on the matter.
Yeah, that was Elysia after all. Kosma wouldn't dare have an opinion… after all, the way his name spread throughout MOTH back then was just because of a single remark from Elysia…
"Sister!" Vya cheered, lunging at Elysia. Elysia crouched down, catching the little girl in mid-flight, picking her up and spinning her around in a circle.
"And how come you're running around so early again today~" Elysia nuzzled Vya's cheek with her nose. "Didn't even wait for your sister?"
Elysia said this, but there was no trace of actual blame in her tone.
Vya wrapped her arms around Elysia's neck. "Hehe, sorry, sister." She whispered in Elysia's ear, "But Vya met so many people."
"Tell me, who did you just meet?" She put Vya down, taking her hand.
"Oh! Vya first met Sister Hua, then… just now I met Sister Carol and Sister Himeko, and then I met Brother Kosma." As Vya spoke, she looked at Kosma and Dystopia.
Elysia glanced at the two standing to the side, a mischievous smile curling her lips. "Hey, you two, aren't you going to training?" She waggled a finger. "Careful, or I'll tattle to Ato~"
"We're going right now… Kosma!"
"Bye, Sister Elysia! Bye, Vya!"
With that, Dystopia grabbed Kosma and started running towards the training room.
Kosma was pulled off-balance for a step.
"Goodbye, big brother and sister!" Vya waved her little hand energetically until the two figures disappeared around the corner.
She turned to Elysia, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Sister, are Brother Kosma and Sister Dystopia good friends? They're always together."
Elysia winked mysteriously. "That… you'll understand when you're a little older~" She took Vya's hand. "Right now, we should head to the cafeteria. They have the blueberry muffins you like today."
Vya cheered, but then remembered something. "And then we have to bring food to Sister Mobius, right?"
"That's right~" Elysia laughed, pinching Vya's cheek. "Let's go. Gotta stay happy today too♪~"
"Mhm!" Vya nodded vigorously, skipping along as she followed Elysia towards the cafeteria.
"Oh, and Sakura said she'd have some free time in a few days. How about we go play with them?"
"Sure! Vya hasn't seen Sister Rin in a long time either!"
"Then I'll arrange a specific time with them…"
Peacefully, just like that, a new day began quietly.
…
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