"What a strange man."

Yuki continued with her vacation, showing off her cosplay at Comiket.

"Come on, you look super cute in your outfit. Everyone will love it."

"It's a little embarrassing."

Yuki managed to drag Yuriko out from behind a pillar to show off her cosplay. It was a modified version of her sailor outfit. Her skirt had become tight shorts that were reminiscent of bloomers, and her blouse had become smaller, barely covering her chest. It was skintight as well.

"I'm not covering much with this."

"You've got a nice body, you should be proud of it."

"If it's just you and Kyosuke, it's fine. But there's a lot of people here. Besides, your outfit isn't revealing like mine."

"Hmm, you're right. Let's rectify that."

Yuki's maid outfit was now similar to Yuriko's. She had a blouse that barely covered her chest and her skirt was made into a frilly miniskirt.

"Come on, there's a cosplay cafe inside."

"But…"

"Alright, if you're that worried, I'll let it go. We can have fun elsewhere."

Yuriko didn't want to spoil Yuki's fun, but she wasn't great around people. Even in the army, she's a lone wolf. She's only comfortable around two people. But she also knows that Yuki wants her to grow up to be a fine young woman. If she wouldn't improve herself, she'd let her down. She was thinking too much about this.

"On second thought, let's stay."

Yuki hugged her with joy and took her hand, walking inside. Needless to say, they attracted the attention of many people, most of them photographers, many of them male. Yuriko could feel their eyes staring at her body, peeling away at her clothes and thinking indecent things. Then she felt Yuki squeeze her hand. She focused her thoughts on Yuki and blocked out anything that made her worry. At the cosplay cafe, the two of them sat down at a table and ordered a slice of chocolate cake for both of them. Though it was nothing fancy, Yuki made it seem like she was eating from heaven's personal patisserie. As usual, she tried to feed Yuriko her share. The cafe was small and private, but that didn't stop the men inside from taking pictures. Even the female staff took pictures as well. After their cake, they had a bowl of vanilla ice cream to share.

"You've got some… I'll get it."

Yuki licked Yuriko's lips, getting some ice cream off. Totally unnecessary, but it's what she usually does. After that, they calmly had some green tea.

"Thanks for being with me today, Yuriko."

"It's no problem."

"I mean it. I only have two friends. You and Kyosuke. Sounds sad, I know. But you two are special to me."

Yuriko felt giddy when she said that.

"You done? I want to show you something."

After finishing, they paid for their meal and left for the west exhibition hall. There, they made their way to a secluded area, behind the elevators. Yuki searched along the wall until she pushed a panel. A doorway opened up to an elevator. Its lights flickered on as they entered.

"Yuki, where are we going?"

She said nothing, but simply smiled. Once they reached the lowest floor, the doors opened and they were met with an underground oasis. A small patch of green was in the center of the chamber surrounded by clear water. There was a tall dark oak tree on the green with a wooden bench ridden with vegetation. The chamber was lit with an eerie yellow glow in an upper corner that resembled the sun. Because of it, the room was as bright as outside.

"Yuki, what is this?"

"This is my secret paradise."

Yuriko couldn't believe such a place existed, especially underground.

"Did you build this place?"

"No, it's been here since the 70s. I know that because this place exists in our world too."

"Wait, what?"

"Would you believe me if I said an elderly janitor I met when I was 10 showed me this place?"

"Umm…"

"Well that didn't happen. But I did come to this place when I was 10. I had to attend a business party celebration thing that my father was a part of. I was to meet potential marriage partners that held important positions and titles. As you know, I had no interest in that sort of thing. So I ventured off towards my own adventure. When I heard my father looking for me, I ran. I knew how furious he was and what he'd do to me. I bumped my head into the wall panel that you saw earlier and accidentally found the elevator. I was out of options, so I entered and pressed the only button that was there. The moment the doors closed, I was relieved. Then I realized my predicament. The doors opened and I was greeted with this place. Then I was greeted by a middle aged man in a green jumpsuit. He looked like he was tending to the plants surrounding the place. He asked me if I was alright and if I wanted to take a break. I was surprised he didn't ask how I got here or if I was lost. I sat on that bench and relaxed for what felt like 10 minutes. Then he told me that he's been taking care of this oasis since the 70s. It was his own piece of heaven, as he put it. He told me that it could do fine without him, but he felt responsible for the place. He never told me why, though. After I felt relaxed, I remembered my father was still looking for me. The man offered to escort me back to the ground floor. In the elevator, he told me to play along and only tell people I trust with my heart to tell about this place. I understood the latter, but the former was pretty vague. He said if I played along, I wouldn't get in trouble. I thought this guy was some kind of creep, that I was just a naive little girl that he could persuade into having sex with. Turns out, that was what I had to play along to. The moment we stepped out onto the lobby, he told me to scream for help. He then proceeded to grab me and shuffle towards the service exit. By then, my father and a couple of security guards rushed in and rescued me. He acted like a pedo, trying to get them to think that he kidnapped me when I wasn't aware. He was right in the end. My father didn't get mad at me. But I don't know what happened to that man after that. He was arrested and that was the last I saw of him. I don't know if he exists in this world, but at least I know this place still does."

Yuki sat on the bench, taking this moment to relax.

"Sorry to overshare."

"No, I think it's a nice story."

"I'd go here whenever I had spare time after moving out. I felt all my troubles melt away in this place."

Yuriko felt a change in her tone.

"Then an earthquake shook this place down. I couldn't find my way to this place without the elevator. When I became Supreme Commander, I had scans run this place, but found nothing. A part of me thought it was gone forever. The other part believed it was protecting itself from the outside. Either way, I couldn't go there anymore. But the fact that it exists in another world means it's still there in ours."

Yuriko took a seat next to Yuki. Then Yuki laid her head on her lap.

"I've been talking too much. Let's just relax here for awhile."

On that note, Yuki closed her eyes and dozed off. Yuriko put her hand on Yuki's head and planted a kiss on her cheek.