Chapter 475: Hope on Arrival (1/2) |
Betty adjusted her glasses and took a look around the Project MirAIs lounge.
Sky-blue ribbons, balloons, present boxes.
High quality sushi, pastries, and cheese cake bites lined up buffet style.
Streamers, a banner saying 'Welcome to Japan, Hope,' along with a white arch wrapped with forget-me-nots.
A milk-shake machine, smoothie machine, and coffee machine, set to dispense pre-made sealed cups of each.
Altogether, an almost miraculous arrangement considering that she had to pull it all together just before midnight and this 'Hope' arriving.
Alphy looked at everything with sparkling eyes and said, "Betty... You're amazing!"
Rin walked around the lounge, checking on the food, then the drinks, and finally the arch with the blue forget-me-nots. "...Betty nee-chan. You should go into wedding designs."
Suzume marveled at the forget-me-nots placed on synthetic vines to look like they were actually growing on the arch. "Indeed... this is remarkable work."
Chihiro watched everyone looking around with awe. Then she said, "Uh... so like. Are we ignoring the fact that this is definitely either witchcraft, magic, or crazy holodeck technology...? Because like, this is literally impossible to pull off under an hour."
Betty adjusted her glasses and said, "Excuse you. That would be cheating. I am simply hyper efficient."
Chihiro gave Betty a blank look. "You're telling me you did this. All by yourself. Under an hour." She pointed at the sushi. "Including all of that."
"Of course." Betty let out a smug expression and said, "As the lead project manager of an independent game studio, it is essential to be able to wear many hats."
"...Forget hats, this is goddamned shapeshifting at this point." Chihiro side-eyed the expertly sliced sashimi with perfect marbling. "...This is fresh too. Like, caught just a bit ago fresh..."
"Ah." Betty nodded. "Maji-san helped source that. He has a hobby of night fishing. I happened to contact him as he was returning."
"...Of course that guy does." Chihiro sighed and checked her nails. "Well, even if this is definitely supernatural, I'm getting good food, a good time, and the opportunity to troll our cute kouhai, so... sure. Whatever you say~"
Rin gave Chihiro a thumbs up and said, "That's the spirit, Chi-chan!"
Shu finished eating a tuna handroll and then paused. "Uh... so what IS the plan again?"
Suzume sighed. "For the third time, Shu. We are having a surprise party. And for the first surprise, we are all going to wear masks to see if Hope-chan can guess who we are."
"OH!" Shu smacked her fist in her open palm. "So THAT'S what the Sentai masks are for!"
"...Yes."
Betty stepped off to the side, watching the girls interact with each other and prepare for the surprise party.
'They are quite an interesting bunch... and good for Eldest Sister.'
Betty shifted her gaze to Alphy. As she did, she couldn't help but compare the young woman standing there to the Eldest Sister that she remembered.
'Back then, Eldest Sister was...'
Emotionless. Beautiful, yes. But 'empty.' A being whose only talent laid in destruction. One born for combat at a time when Father needed protection the most.
Spoiler
But now...
Alphy glanced over, pausing in the middle of eating a cookie. "Did you want one, Betty?"
Spoiler
Betty adjusted her glasses and smiled. "No. But thank you."
A young woman who had found her place in life. One who was loved by many, and who had a love she'd chosen to spend her life with. No longer an empty vessel for 'destruction' but one who had even destroyed her own emptiness with a calm love and adoration towards others instead.
That was who she was now. Not Magnum Opus Alpha, but just Alphy. The beautiful, soft, and caring eldest sister of theirs.
"B-Betty?!" Alphy set her plate down and quickly walked over. "You're crying!"
Betty laughed, brushing away her tears. "Just... something in my eyes."
Spoiler
"B-But in any case." Betty cleared her throat and said, "Come. We should rehearse, yes? Asako and Yuri will be here any moment with our guest."
Alphy pouted, reaching out to wipe away Betty's tears. But then she smiled and said, "Okay. Since those are happy tears, I'll ignore them." After a quick hug, Alphy walked back to the other girls of Project MirAIs and said, "Let's get ready, everyone! Music! One, two... Itsudemo I love you~"
===
Hope stepped out of Asako's car and hugged her suitcase close to her chest. "I-Is it okay to be in here...?"
It was a fancy looking underground garage. Not only that, but it was in the middle of Roppongi Hills too!
Hope didn't know much about Japan, but she DID know that this place was super expensive.
So the fact that they were here... PARKED here, and were going to head up...
Asako stepped out of her car and said, "Relax. This garage is part of the HQ building, so it's fine."
Yuri stepped out next and said, "Yep. I even streamed from here for a video. Screamed a lot too. Nobody came."
Hope's breath hitched.
Asako facepalmed. "Yuri. Phrasing."
"What do you mean- O-Oh!" Yuri quickly held her hands up. "That's NOT what I meant! I just mean the soundproofing is amazing- Um... That's... Ugh, you're safe, okay! Don't panic!"
"S-Sorry!" Hope let out a nervous laugh, taking a look around. "I'm not scared. It's just... I don't know what to think?"
She wasn't on edge, really. But she also wasn't relaxed either...
Asako noticed and then frowned. "...Hypothetically, how good are you with surprise parties, Hope?"
"H-Huh? Oh!" Hope's eyes lit up. "I love them!"
Yuri tilted her head. "And jumpscares?"
Hope giggled. "I actually love horror movies! But um... why?" Hope's eyes lit up. "Oh! Are we going to have a movie night together? I know that Hana-senpai loves horror, right?"
Asako locked her car and said, "Ugh, don't remind me. I still have nightmares about that..."
Yuri shivered and said, "I think that she's more scary than any horror movie could be... I still remember the day we all thought we were being haunted..."
"Huh?"
Yuri shook her head. "Don't worry about it... yet."
"Y-Yet?!"
Asako rolled her eyes. "Stop messing with her, Yuri."
"What?" Yuri laughed. "It's my turn to bully my kouhai! Do you know how much Rin puts me through each day?"
"That's because you react so much."
"Do not! ...Okay, maybe a bit."
Asako rolled her eyes again and started walking towards a nearby elevator.
Yuri did as well, pulling out her phone as they walked. "...You know, it's weird how good the service is down here."
Asako nodded. "Tell me about it. You can stream 4K video here without any buffering."
"...Why do you know that, Senpai?"
Asako's ears turned red. "...Don't worry about it."
"...You know what? You're right." Yuri nodded. "I don't actually want to know the answer to that."
Hope giggled and walked behind Asako and Yuri, still hugging her suitcase to her chest.
Asako noticed and said, "You know you can roll that, right?"
"O-Oh!" Hope blinked and laughed. "I-I didn't even realize I was doing that..." She set her suitcase down and pulled out the handle to roll it.
Yuri smiled and said, "You must really be out of it, huh? Was the flight that bad?"
As they entered the elevator together, Hope shook her head. "No. I'm just... Well." Hope giggled, feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion. "...This is real. I'm here. In Japan. With all of you. And I'm going to be a part of Project MirAIs. It's... a dream come true. In more ways than one."