Xia Zhi sat back down beside Xia Ci, who was busy gaming.
Xia Ci asked, intrigued, "Cousin, what did the Shogun want from you?"
"Nothing much. Just talked for a bit and helped her come up with a new name."
"A name?"
"Shogun" was a title for the one governing Inazuma, not a real name.
Before, she'd been just a puppet made to handle Inazuma for Ei, so she didn't care about personal labels.
Now she suddenly wanted a name of her own. Did she want to differentiate herself from Ei?
Xia Ci's curiosity grew. "So what is it?"
"Ying."
"Raiden Ying?"
"No. Xia Ying."
"…"
Xia Ci turned to look at him, expression twisting into something odd.
"So I have another cousin-sister now?"
"…You guys don't have to treat it so literally…"
"Whatever. Doesn't matter."
She went back to her game.
"And? There's no way you spent all that time just picking out a name."
"She wants to learn music. Asked me to teach her."
"Ei's a warrior. She wants to learn Guqin?"
"Not Ei. Ying."
"Aren't their memories and personalities identical?"
"No. They're different."
"Oh? Cousin, you sure understand them."
"…"
"But learning music isn't bad. She worked five hundred years straight in Tenshukaku. Honestly worse than what Nahida's gone through."
Xia Ci tilted her head and smiled at the small girl sitting beside her.
"Right, my dear little sister?"
Nahida nodded gently. "Cousin, do you want to play? I can give you my turn."
Xia Zhi waved it off. "It's fine. You play. I'll join next round."
Seeing his sister ignore her, Xia Ci lost interest and faced forward again. "So how's Ying doing?"
"Uh… she's trying hard."
"She's trying… which means she has no talent."
"You're so sharp."
"Those two are funny. One loves cooking but sucks at it. One loves music but sucks at it."
"She can take her time. We have plenty."
"True. We… have all the time in the world."
The screen's glow flickered in Xia Ci's eyes.
---
On the other side, Xia Ying returned to her seat.
Ei turned and looked at her. "Shogun, what were you two doing in there?"
"Learning Guqin."
Ei blinked, slightly surprised. "You're learning Guqin?"
Xia Ying nodded. "Yeah. After hearing cousin play tonight, I got interested."
Ei paused for a moment. "I see."
Then the two of them quietly played their respective games without another word.
---
Outside the dream.
Inside a room at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Xia Lin rubbed her eyes and yawned.
Xia Le immediately said, "You're exhausted, aren't you? Let's stop for now. We should go to bed."
Xia Lin quickly shook the sleepiness off. "No! I can keep going! I can still make more seeds!"
Xia Le sighed helplessly. "You don't have to. If you sleep early and keep working tomorrow, it's the same result. Big Brother told us not to stay up."
Xia Lin turned toward her, staring seriously. "You're acting weird."
"What's weird about me?"
"You went out earlier. After you came back, you've been off."
"Did I?"
"You have! At first you kept telling me we needed to finish the seeds as soon as possible. Now you're telling me to sleep early."
"That's me caring about you."
"Is it?"
"Of course! A dragon doesn't lie to another dragon!"
"…Fine."
"Give me the box. Leave it here and go to your bed."
"…Alright."
Xia Lin was always timid in front of Xia Le. She finally put down the Seed-Converting Box, then obediently returned to bed.
Xia Le set the box by her pillow, then hurriedly turned off the light and shut her eyes.
Big Brother! Big Brother! Big Brother!
Ahhh! If I don't see Big Brother soon, I'm gonna die!!
Right now! Immediately! I need to see Big Brother!!!
She dove into the dream world's internet cafe as fast as she possibly could.
The moment she appeared by the entrance, she craned her neck, searching for him.
But after two full sweeps..
No Big Brother.
Huh!?
Where'd he go?
Did he not enter the dream yet?
Xia Le felt her heart sink.
She walked to her seat and asked Ping next to her. Only then did she learn that Big Brother and the Shogun had gone into the small room together.
!!!
Why wasn't she the one alone with Big Brother in a room!?
Xia Le stared resentfully in that direction.
It's been so long… why isn't he out yet?
Aaaah! If I can't see Big Brother soon, I'm gonna die!!
She really wanted to barge in. But he'd probably hate her for that.
She waited and waited, practically suffering… until Xia Zhi and the Shogun finally came out.
Big Brother!
I'm alive again!
She watched him all the way until he sat down, then reluctantly pulled her eyes away.
And then she noticed something.
Ping, sitting right beside her, had the exact same look she did—the look of someone who'd just reluctantly stopped staring at Big Brother.
The two of them locked eyes.
The air turned strange.
Their expressions shifted at the same time.
Surprised. Embarrassed. Confused. Realization. Silence…
Then, as if perfectly synchronized, they both turned away and pretended to be absorbed in their computers.
----
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