You didn't show them anything we said, right?

No. I never even recorded it. They just asked me to tell them what I know.

Which was...?

That you both had crushes on each other since you were five and only now do you have the guts to finally tell each other how much the both of you cared.

And...?

And that you're both wusses for not kissing or saying the three important words yet.

... Injury of an insult runs deep across the heart...

You just made that quote up.

But it's the truth!

Well that's your own problem. Though, I find it amusing that you two just decided to get 'together' without saying the three words.

I'm too nervous to say it...

That may be what you're like, but Jin doesn't get flustered easily. I wonder what he's waiting for.

Maybe for when we finally get some time alone without others listening in on us.

It's not my fault that you keep me with you 24/7.

I worry about you!! And- Hang on a second, did you call us wusses? Where did you even get that term?

Niara.

Eva let out a sigh as she fiddled with her CCM again. It was now the afternoon and she was still waiting for her brother to return. Currently, she was in her brother's room. Unlike in the Duck Shuttle, no one had to share rooms or beds anymore beacuse NICS could provide one room for each person.

The door opened to reveal a certain Russian. "Still no news?"

"No. He wouldn't answer my calls either." The blonde replied with a sigh.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon-"

"Excuse me, Niara." The male in question said from behind her.

"Eh-?! Oh, sorry." Niara stepped to the side, letting Hugo through.

"Nii-san, are you alright?" Eva immediately questioned him.

He nodded. "Yeah. After going back there and getting some stuff, I actually feel a lot better."

"Back where?"

"Our old house." At her shock, he smiled wryly. "Sorry I didn't take you with me. I wanted some time to myself at that place. But I brought your stuff back too."

"My stuff?" She repeated. "Like what?"

"To start with, this photo." He took out a picure frame from one of the boxes he was holding that had two children in it, smiling brightly at the camera. Below their faces were crayon writings.

"'Evie and Nia'..." Niara blinked, and blinked, and blinked. And then it hit her. "WAIT A SECOND. HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T REALIZE UNTIL NOW. AND I WAS THE ONE WHO RECOGNIZE HUGO'S REAL IDENTITY BACK AT THE FORTRESS!!"

"Huh...?"

"Eva! This was us! Like, I guess it makes sense that you don't remember because I didn't either, but damn... Damn, it's been so long since this was taken..."

"Oh wow... So we actually knew each other before? And 'Nia' is your nickname..."

"And I called you 'Evie', because I'm unique like that."

Hugo smiled at the two and handed his sister a box. "Well, here's yours, Eva. Enjoy scavanging, but in your own room please. I want to go through some of my own stuff along with our parents'."

"Alright! Thank you, Nii-san!"

"Anytime."

~~~~~

Soon, it wasn't just Niara, but all of her other friends came to take a look at what she had. There were toys and stuffed animals, which was pretty normal, but there were also these round devices that looked a lot like the ones they found in her body.

"So what are those exactly?" Asuka poked one and yelped when it began blinking. Suddenly, an image of a little blonde boy that was wearing a similar hat to hers appeared. "E-Eh?! Takeru?!"

"Takeru?" Hiro asked.

"My little brother..." The younger girl muttered. "But how did... What is this thing?!"

Mizel, who had been in his humanoid form, scanned the device. "It uses a neuro-translator to read what you are thinking based on those impulses and projects them as a three dimensional figure."

"... What."

"It's a hologram that reads your mind when you touch it." Kirito re-explained.

"Oh... Wow, cool!"

"Let me try!" Ran said, picking it up directly. The hologram switched from the boy to a marshal-artist doings kicks. "Wow! It moves too!"

"Me next!" She tossed it to Hiro and Senshiman appeared, doing his pose. "Amazing!"

"Me! Me!"

"What? No! Me first!"

"I want to try!"

"Hey! Let me have a turn!"

In the end, everyone except Kousuke, Kirito and Jin had a try. They had a blast looking through all the other things and it was decided that night that they will leave for Tokio City the next day.

~~~~~

"Jessica and Asuka are coming too?" Kazuya asked.

"That's right~!" Jessica said, boarding the Duck Shuttle with a suitcase in tow.

"We want to see how Japan celebrates Christmas!" Asuka said, carrying her usual backpack.

"But what about your families?" Ban worried.

"Papa will come on Christmas Eve."

"Mine are all busy. And Takeru's got a school event."

"Well, if you two say so."

They took off after bidding goodbye to the director and the flight was silent. Some were sleeping, others were minding their own business. Until Cobra decided to speak up.

"So what exactly is that?" He asked the blonde male beside him.

Hugo had his mini laptop on and was staring at drafts and blueprints. "It's some of the stuff my parents wanted us to keep. Or rather, what their company had left. The blueprints for the biggest project they had. The VR Mind."

"Didn't Takuya-san mentioned something like that back at the fortress?" Yuuya asked.

"Yeah, but he didn't explain anything about it, did he?" Hugo gave him a wry smile. "The VR Mind was something we worked on with the cooperation of Professor Mito, hence why he knew who Eva and I are. We needed a neurologist to figure out ways for the machine to read impulses of human nerves."

"Like a lie detector?" Niara said out loud.

"Something like that, but we were going for something more. You all know what a virtual reality is, right?" Without letting anyone answer, he continued. "We are trying to create a way to access memories. Not just see it replay on a screen, but to have that experience in full 3D. Hence why we called it the VR Mind."

"And Kaidou Yoshimitsu ruined that..." Ami muttered, not noticing a certain boy clenching his fists.

"But with these blueprints, I can rebuild a prototype of it and start again." He said, almost happy. "Well, a prototype would be easy enough to make, but the real thing might take years..."

"Everyone starts small, Hugo-san." Hiro encouraged. "You can do it!"

"I mean, I didn't say that I can't." The elder male replied. "But looking at the reports and designs, it looks like Aval-Tech was going for more than just memories. The files and coding programs... It was like they wanted to create an entirely new world."

Eva felt a spark at the back of her head. It seemed Mizel was interested.