Chapter 505: The Hana and Rin Interview – Moments Before |
While John was arranging the paperwork to get Erie and Juliet to Japan (legally), and while Erie, Juliet, and Hope got to know each other, across the globe, Rin was preparing for her stream.
No, not 'her' stream.
Hana's stream.
It was 4 AM in Japan. It was also a weekend. Saturday, specifically.
And right now, Rin had gone to the Myth Inc. HQ to prepare for the best stream idea ever~
Wearing a fluffy pink hoodie with bunny ears that Hope had picked out for her while they were shopping, and wearing a cute panda backpack that Onee-chan gave her, Rin hummed to herself as she walked towards the building's front entrance.
The moment she did, there was a soft chime and a synthesized female voice echoed from somewhere.
*Good morning, Rin-chan~! Are you here to use the studio?*
Rin smiled and waved at the camera. "Morning, Mira-chan~! And yes! Hana and I have to prepare for the interview!"
Rin adjusted her backpack and walked inside. But when she realized what Mira-chan said, she frowned and said, "Lore-san is still awake? That's unhealthy!"
At that time, a tired male voice echoed from an office on the first floor. "I'm aware. But the lore waits for no one... especially with your latest bit, Rin-chan..."
Rin paused and looked over, rubbing the back of her neck. "...Teehee?"
Lore just gave her a blank look. "...How are you this energetic at 4 AM?"
Rin blinked. "I'm always energetic! Besides, I wake up at 3 AM every day anyway!"
"...Youth. I envy it." Lore mumbled and then said, "Want some coffee? Not that you need it, you superhuman imouto character..."
"Ooh!" Rin jogged over and said, "Do you have caramel espresso shots?"
"The Boss gave me a magical machine that can make every coffee mix in the world as a signing bonus... so yes." Lore nodded and walked Rin over into his office.
It was pretty hectic. At least, that was Rin's first impression.
A futon/bed combo was unfolded in the corner of the room with merch pillows and blankets that had been clearly scrounged from storage.
An entire wall had been converted into a whiteboard with markers drawing an elaborate relationship diagram between the girls in Project MirAIs, John's family, the different support staff, as well as other content creators like Poppy Gloria who had interviewed John a lot.
ANOTHER wall had been converted into a giant corkboard and had pictures, printed quotes and chat messages, along with other text pinned up with strings physically connecting them.
A third wall was filled with glass display stands, shelves, and containers of merch from various franchises that Lore enjoyed, like Type-Luna, Steiner's Gate, and other things Rin didn't recognize.
As for the fourth... well, it had the door they walked through. But when Rin turned around, she saw that it was lined with binders marked with... decimals and letters?
Lore noticed Rin looking and said, "Those are divergent worldlines drafts of the lorebooks."
Rin peered at one. "...I see."
Lore walked over to the coffee machine and tapped on the touch screen to make Rin's caramel espresso. As he did, he said, "Thankfully, if I work here, Mira-chan can digitize everything automatically since I set up a full-room 3D scanner." He let out a content sigh and said, "No more having to re-type and retranscribe my notes..."
Mira-chan's voice echoed over invisible speakers. *You're welcome~*
Lore grabbed his cup of coffee and raised it to the ceiling. "I adore you, Mira-chan. If I could, I'd marry you. You're living proof that 2D is superior to 3D."
Mira-chan's voice echeod again. *I'm flattered~ But you'd be a lolicon then, silly.*
"Worth going to jail for." Lore gave a serious nod. "My life is infinitely easier with you."
Rin slowly blinked. Then she said, "...You're weird, Lore-kun."
Lore raised an eyebrow. "...Says the imouto-type character who is going to have a livestreamed interview with her split personality who branched off into a fully sentient being that is possessing the IDOL body you were assigned like some sort of haunted animatronic from Freddy's?"
Rin puffed her cheeks and said, "Hana-chan's body is NOT haunted! She's real!"
Lore slowly blinked. Then he massaged his temple. "...I am not going to consider the implications of that statement right now. But Mira-chan, record it for later."
*Hai~*
Lore continued. "Also, JARBIS, add that to the to-do list."
A suave and deep masculine voice echoed afterwards from Lore's phone. "Yes, Master. Would you like me to also make a memo for a new world line?"
"...No. We'll just retcon it. Probably. I'll think about it later."
Rin gasped and pointed at Lore's phone. "YOU HAVE JARBIS?! Did you become Steel Man?! Do you have an Arch Reactor too, Lore-kun?!"
Lore slowly turned to look at Rin. "...Please tell me you did not suddenly get into superheroes. Because I am not prepared to update my lorebooks to account for extradimensional incursions just yet."
Rin's ears turned red and she said, "...Maybe? But I won't do anything! Yet! That's after the Olympics!"
"...The Olympics?" Lore slowly blinked. "...Oh my god, you're serious. No, I guess you're superhuman enough to qualify from what I've seen you do. Does this mean I have to make a real life lore compendium for your 3D self? Am I going to have to maintain Rin Hibana's wiki page? No, am I going to be a biographer?" Lore let out a helpless laugh. "...I guess they DO say be careful what you wish for..."
"...Sorry not sorry?"
A soft chime echoed. The coffee machine, finished with Rin's order.
A paper cup fell down, printed with Hana's face. A cardboard cupholder with [Project MirAIs - Prototype] appeared next, wrapped around the cup to prevent burns from holding it. And finally, golden caramel-infused coffee filled the cup before a cookie straw fell into the coffee.
Rin gasped and dashed over to grab the cup. After that, she stared at the gleaming silver box that was the coffee machine and said, "I WANT THIS!"
Lore immediately got between Rin and the machine and said, "No! Cafe-kun is mine! He's my life line! You can have him over my cold dead body!"
"But the cookie straw! The cute printed cup! The cardboard!"
"I will DIE before I surrender Cafe-kun!"
"Mou~ Fine!" Rin huffed. "I'll just ask Mister John to make me one of my own!"
After hearing that, Lore slowly relaxed. But he gave Rin a side-eye and said, "...I now understand why they don't allow you around Aurora unsupervised."
Rin stirred her coffee straw into her coffee and took a sip. After that, she huffed and said, "That's mean! I wouldn't do anything to Aurora! I would just keep her, take her out to have fun, and be besties forever!"
"...The fact that you said 'keep her' is concerning."
"But Rory is super cute! I want a baby girl too!"
"...That sentence is ALSO concerning."
Rin stuck out her tongue and Lore and then sipped on her espresso, staring at the binders full of notes and the various information pinned on the walls. Then she said, "You really figured out a lot though, didn't you?"
Her light brown eyes shifted to a certain picture taped on the whiteboard as well as the three lines on it.
One led to Asako, with the words 'Father' and 'Daughter' above and below the line.
The other led to Rin, with the same words.
And the third led to Rin's mom, Sakura, with a question mark over it.
Lore noticed and said, "It was difficult to find out." He paused. "...Also a bit terrifying. But I correlated the sudden dispersal of yakuza presence and soaplands with the execution of the Seiryuu Clan Head. Of course, when it came to the exact intimate relationship, I have theories... but I decided it would be rude, so I left it undetermined."
Rin sipped on her coffee and gave Lore a grateful smile. "Thank you. It's... complicated. How I was born."
Lore nodded. "I could tell. The math alone doesn't line up. Or rather..." He frowned. "...It has unfortunate implications for lining up. But in any case." He looked at Rin and said, "Are you really going through with the interview?"
"Yep!" Rin immediately brightened and said, "Hana and I talked it over! And it'll be fun! Besides, this means that I get to walk around with Hana at conventions in the future and mess with people!"
Lore slowly blinked. Then his eyes brightened in realization. "...Magnificent. The implications, the ARG, the fact that the IDOL bodies are so realistic no one can tell if it would be a cosplayer, the real thing, or if they were seeing things..." He paused. Then he looked at Rin and said, "You are a menace."
Rin stuck her tongue out again.
Lore rolled his eyes and shooed her away. "Go back to work, you menacing imouto."
"Kay~ Remember to sleep, Lore-kun!"
"I will sleep when I am dead. And I am sure that even if I do, The Boss will find a way to bring me back."
As Rin stepped out of the room, she paused and looked at Lore. "Why do you call Mister John 'The Boss' in English, Lore-kun?"
"Because he's a Final Boss character who regressed and returned from a different world, obviously. In the event that some foolish alien invaders attempted to cross over into our world, they would immediately face him. And I will laugh, vindicated, when that day comes."
"...You should sleep more."
Lore let out a half-crazed and half-smug look. "The fact that you're saying so means I'm onto something." He pointed at the sky and said, "The world always resists the most when the truth is obvious!"
Rin blinked. Then she decided to just leave.
After entering the elevator and heading up to the studio, Rin thought about Lore a bit more and hummed. "...At least he's having fun?"
Rin was a liiittle concerned that Lore-kun seemed to be running off pure caffeine and no sleep.
But at least he seemed happy?
"And at the end of the day, that's all that matters! Right, Hana?"
The elevator doors opened.
The moment they did, they revealed a high school girl with orange hair, matching eyes, and an white sailor school uniform with an orange ribbon.
Hana winked at Rin and said, "That's right, Rin~ Now..."
Rin giggled and said, "Hi there~ I'm here for the interview?"
Hana played along and said, "Oh my gosh! Nice to meet you in person, Rin!"
After that, the two girls laughed, sounding almost in stereo, as they walked over towards the middle of the room to rehearse.