The next day, Kotori, in her usual commander uniform, was with Reine on Fraxinus bridge.
It also served as a command and control room: the large space was filled with screens and seats for the crew. Kotori's desk was above all of them, as it was fit for the commander.
The other crewmembers were also present, though they were busy with various tasks: only Kannazuki, the masochist yet talented vice-commander, was listening to Kotori and Reine.
Actually, Kannazuki was doing Hindu squats on Kotori's order, as he had suggested that Nia and Shidou should experiment a BSDM private club in order to deepen their bond(age) together.
Kotori had thought about having him tied up and hanging from Fraxinus reactor but had changed ger mind.
"Now that we can talk between adults, Reine, please explain" Kotori said, giving a cold glare to the sweating yet happy Kannazuki.
"Please, Commander! Keep giving me death glares like this!"
"Yes."
Reine while ignoring Kannazuki, manipulated her screens and several readings appeared in front of them.
There was the representation of Shidou's body, where waves of different colors were running inside out, like a cycle. The other screens displayed the Spirits data.
"For practical reasons, I depicted the different reiha flows with different colors. They represent the passes between Shin and the Spirits."
Even after months, Reine was still mistaking Shidou's name. Shidou himself had get used to it at this point.
A small board on the top right of the screen had pictures of the Spirits with the related colors. Tohka's was violet, Yoshino's was deep blue, the Yamai sisters's green, Miku's pink, etc.
Reine then pointed a light blue line with a pen.
"As you can see on this picture, this one, representing Nia's reiha, is somehow stuck inside and outside Shin's body."
"Inside and outside?" Kotori repeated, frowning.
"Yes. It looks like Nia's reiha barely circulates between her and Shin, as if it was blocked by something."
Kotori's Chupa-Chups almost broke between her teeth when she reminded this.
"… do you mean, this will happen again?"
Kotori was mentioning the event known as "Itsuka Disaster", where Shidou had lost control of his powers, as the reiryoku stuck inside his body had overwhelmed him.
This incident had happened because the pass between Shidou and the Spirits had weakened. They had eventually managed to save him, but they all clearly remembered it.
Kotori especially, as she had almost killed her brother in order to prevent him from causing a giant scale disaster.
Even if things were now fine, this Disaster was a grim reminder that she had once failed as a commander, and as a little sister…
"The chances of this happening again are low" Reine answered, "as the only reiryoku concerned is Nia's. It is not enough to cause an issue right now, but…"
"But?"
"But if it gets worse, it can provoke a chain reaction inside Shin's body. Needless to say, we have to take care of that matter as soon as possible."
Kotori chewed her Chupa-Chups and pondered.
There was one thing that was weird to her.
"And you are saying that the signature is Nia's?"
"Yes. The readings between her and Shin have been slightly irregular these last weeks, but given their bond and the fact that Nia doesn't see Shin as often as the others, we didn't perceive it as a problem" Reine explained.
As Nia was not "formally" in love with Shidou, and because the sealing of her powers had been quite chaotic, Ratatoskr's analyzers didn't find strange that the values of Nia were different from the other Spirits.
After all, Natsumi's values were the same.
They trusted and liked Shidou, but didn't love him.
"Commander, I have an idea!" Kannazuki suddenly spat, between two squats.
"Go on."
"I think that if Shidou and Nia explore together the crossdressing universe, they will find their true selves! After all, Shidou can transform into Shiori, and Nia can easily disguise as a man, due to her lack of curves!"
"Rejected. By the way, since you seem to like squats, you will do 10 series of 1 000 every morning for an entire week."
"Thank you very muuuuch!"
Kotori ignored the beaming smile of Kannazuki and tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingertips.
They had to take action quickly. They could not take the risk of having another Itsuka Disaster happening…
Especially that last time, they had been lucky no civilian were around. Who knew what could happen, next time?
"Summon Nia here now" she finally ordered.
"Are we opting for a direct approach?" Reine asked.
"Yes. We don't know what will be DEM's next move. We better solve the Nia matter now, or else, it could backfire later."
"Roger that."
One hour later, Kotori, Reine and Nia were alone in the conference room of Fraxinus around a table.
Kotori and Reine were having tea but Nia –in pajamas under her coat- had asked for a black coffee.
Due to her almost sleepless night, she was yawning every few seconds and had heavy bags under the eyes.
"Imouto-chan, that's bad…" she complained. "I planned to sleep the entire day, so why did you have to break into my apartment?... I thought that I would be safe in my own home!"
"Break? Safe? Maybe if your security code was not 1234, you would be safer!" Kotori replied with a harsh tone.
It didn't really matter to Ratatoskr who could hack into almost any system but Kotori also wanted to show Nia how careless she was.
"Guh… so what is it, Imouto-chan?" Nia questioned. "You ought to have a good reason to convoke this powerless me alone… Perhaps… no, you have enough of my jokes and want to turn me into a mechanical doll that will serve you like the mafia?!"
Kotori did not pay attention to Nia's usual nonsense and teasing tone. Instead, she gave Reine a nod.
Reine showed Nia a portative screen with the same readings of the day before displayed on.
"Oh, is this Boy?"
Nia frowned and get closer, analyzing the data in front of her. Her face became serious and somehow anxious.
"…these irregular lines… they are mine, right?"
"Yes" Reine nodded.
"And…since this is Boy's body, it means?..."
"Yes."
Silence took place, as Nia was staring at the screen with a blank face.
"Nia. What is happening?" Kotori firmly asked. "Did something happen with Shidou? Why is the bond between you two perturbed?"
Nia gave Kotori an embarrassed "teee-hee" and scratched her head.
"Hmm…how would I explain it… let's say, this is Steins;Gate's choice, okay?"
"Cut off your crappy jokes and filthy otaku references" Kotori retorted. "You do not seem to understand how serious the situation is, so let me explain it to you."
When Nia heard Kotori's sharp tone, she immediately stopped grinning and gulped.
"Even if that damned Westcott stole your Qlipha Crystal, you still have a little bit of reiryoku inside of you. The chances of you turning Inverse are very low, but still exist. You are still a Spirit."
Kotori pointed her finger at Nia.
"But that's not the main issue here. The main issue here is your emotions. You share a bond, a pass with Shidou, but you are not the only one. At the present time, Shidou's body is the receptacle of ten different reiryoku. If one is perturbed, the chances of having it causing a chain reaction are not negligible."
She paused and took off a new Chupa-Chups out of her breast pocket.
"I'm sure you know what happened the last time where Shidou's reiryoku was perturbed, right?"
Nia nodded.
"Of course I remember. He freed me with his "Ougi Roaring Flash Blast Wave"!" Nia said, quoting the original technique created by Shidou during his chuuni period.
"Yes, that– no, that's not what I was talking about!"
"I'm just kidding. I know that Boy turned a berserk time bomb and nearly died…"
Kotori coughed. Each time she talked with Nia, she had the feeling of her being the adult and Nia the kid.
"Back to the main topic. There are two perturbations in the readings: the first is coming from you, and the latter causes the second. As a result, the reiryoku between Shidou and you has troubles to achieve its cycle."
Reine sipped her cup of tea and looked at Nia in the eyes.
For some reason, her dizzy yet serious look made Nia uneasy.
"Nia. If you do not tell us what is happening, it is possible that it will endanger Shin."
This time, Nia did not try to laugh it off.
She bowed her head and averted her gaze.
"Nia. Do you have an issue with Shin? Did something happen, like an argument?"
"No, that's… I mean…"
Nia couldn't find her words.
To her own – as well as Kotori's and Reine's – surprise, she blushed.
"… I, myself, don't really understand my own feelings. I mean, it tingles, yet it hurts. It reminds me of when I fell in love with Tokiya… but since I only fell in love with 2D characters, I'm not sure… besides, I already have a waifu even though it's a male…"
Kotori facepalmed when she heard Nia's confused explanations.
The had thought Nia and Shidou had a dispute or something like this. But the truth seemed completely different, and barely real.
Kotori gave Nia a strange glare.
"Nia, do you love Shidou?" she then asked.
Nia froze and then smirked.
"Heeee, no way, no way, no way! As I told you, I already love someone: Tokiya, my first love from [CHRONICLE]! This warm feeling inside my chest is probably… only gratitude, that's it! I just want to repay Boy! Like that dragon maid who only wants to help!"
Kotori and Reine stared at her, obviously not convinced.
"…Why are you looking at me with such suspicious looks, like I'm a terrorist with a Power Ranger mask who plants bombs while leaving riddles behind her?!"
Nia felt cold sweat running down her temples, as she was under Kotori and Reine's glare, eyebrows raised.
Stare…
Staare…
Staaare…
Staaaare…
"Stop that! I'm telling you, I opened my heart to Boy, but that's all there is to it, I swear! Even if Boy is cool as a manga main character and cute and easily flustered, it's not like I love him or anything! After all, I can only fall in love with 2D! So!"
Nia was now yelling, like someone found guilty and desperately trying to deny the facts.
Kotori closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead.
A few seconds later, she left her chair and smiled.
"…alright. I got it. Nia, you are a lucky one. We have the perfect solution for you. Follow us."
Even though she was slightly anxious because of Kotori's grin, Nia obeyed.
Kotori and then guided Nia to a small and dark cabin only equipped with a comfortable chair, a mouse and a large video screen. The room was only lightened by the screen that was displaying "INSERT DISK".
It looked like a console with no game loaded in.
"Huuh, so it's a game… that makes sense…" Nia pondered, caressing her chin.
A game was the most appropriated method to interact with Nia, after all.
She was into media of all types, especially books and games.
Back then, when Shidou was trying to make Nia fall in love, they had tried a similar method.
"Hehe, I wonder what it'll be. Be it an otome, a FPS or a RPG, I'm ready. I played so much games even Kagami Junichirou could not beat me!"
(Still, how is it supposed to solve the matter of my bond with Boy? Nia thought. How playing a game will make me understand my own feelings?...)
At this moment, the screen changed, some light music started to play and a title appeared, in a typical moe moe style, blue and pink font:
[Love Me My Little Shidou ~ Girl's Side 2~]
All of this was literally screaming the otome game, but…
"Eh?"
Nia gasped for a good reason: the title of the game indicated that the latter was the sequel of the game Ratatoskr had created before in order to make Nia fall in love with Shidou.
Truth to be told, the title itself was very explicit...
However, as the first [Love Me My Little Shidou ~ Girl's Side ~] was a typical otome, the second was a simple quiz game.
"Do you really love our little Shidou? ~ Find out through this interactive quiz!" Nia read aloud. "This, is weird, but… I guess, this could be interesting… "
Nia hesitated a bit but deep down, she was curious. She had not lied to Kotori and Reine. She truly didn't understand her own feelings.
That was the result of the years she spent considering other human beings as NPCs. She had lost her understandings of human emotions… of her own emotions.
"Fine… Let us begin the game!"
Nia stopped and immediately felt a chill running down her whole body.
"Kyaaa! I always wanted to say that! It's so cool! Wait, being that chuuni makes me look like Kaguyan or Kurumin!"
In Reine's bureau, Kotori and the chief analyzer were monitoring three things: the game progress, Nia's emotions readings and Nia herself, through multiple sophisticated cameras.
All of the data were displayed on several screens and would probably unreadable by lambda searchers.
"Ehh. Don't underestimate us from Ratatoskr" Kotori smiled, her legs crossed. "Do you think that, with the growing number of Spirits, we didn't consider the possibility of one of them doubting her feelings toward Shidou? That's why, this game has been developed by our most capable members in that field: Dimension Breaker Nakatsugawa and Maria!"
Nakatsugawa was a crewmember of Fraxinus. A proud otaku with over 100 waifu, he used to be a big shot in otaku community, recognized for both his works and reviews.
Like Nia, he was in love with 2D but could also do with seiyuu: thus, he was the best suited to create a game for her.
To be exact, since he loved equally 2D and 3D (only seiyuu), he was a bridge between the two dimensions.
He knew what it was to have feelings for both of them: that was why he could use this experience to create situations and questions that would bring oneself to realize if they loved only 2D… or if they had a chance of loving also 3D.
As Kotori was proudly boasting, a voice suddenly resonated in the room.
"Though Nakatsugawa seems to have mostly played eroge, I have to admit that his help was precious."
The mechanical yet, in a certain way, human voice, was Maria's. She was the super advanced AI of Fraxinus, the one in charge of propose choices to the crew.
She was not doing this randomly, however. Each of the choices she proposed was based on the current mood, the target's emotions and an impressive amount of data collected in every drama, anime, manga with the same situation.
"But I can guarantee the efficiency of this software" she added. "After all… this is a direct approach. We usually use different methods."
"Of course, I know. But I trust you both, Maria."
"Thank you."
"So…Let's begin our (war) date!"
"Choose one of the three options with the mouse…Huh, so that's how it works…" Nia mumbled as she read the instructions.
It was likely the same system Maria, the AI of Fraxinus, used to submit choices to Shidou each time he could raise the mood of a Spirit.
However, in this game, there was obviously no voting system, Nia was the one in charge.
A fraction of second later, the first question appeared.
"Do you love Shidou?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!" Nia yelled. "Nononono, wait, that question is supposed to come in last position! That's just basic logic! Imouto-chan, your game is messed up!"
However, no answer came from the speakers in the room. Nia was shocked but it looked like there was no mistake in the development.
They really wanted her to answer this question.
She looked at the three choices proposed to her:
"1) Yes"
"2) No"
"3) I don't know"
Nia felt an urge to select "No", but…
(… it would be lying, right… and I should not lie, especially in a game. It always lead to a bad end! My instinct tells me so!)
Nia quickly made up her mind.
She had to follow the rules, if she wanted to learn more about herself.
Using the mouse, she selected the third option.
Because, that was true. She didn't know.
Kotori smirked when Nia made her choice, but let out a small sigh of relief.
The first question in this game was primordial.
If the Spirit interrogated would choose "Yes", the game would end immediately.
Since it was designed to make the Spirits who doubted their feelings towards Shidou fall in love with him, it was pointless to go further if they were certain that they loved him.
Nia could've lied and chose "Yes" to put an end to this, but she would've lied to herself by doing so.
The game would only continue if the Spirit chose "No" or "I don't know".
As the game analyzed the emotions and reactions of the Spirit, depending on the situation, it could be done in a few minutes or a few hours.
"Understood. The following questions will now determine your feelings toward Shidou."
Nia read the sentence displayed on the screen, and, having recovered from the first shock, motivated herself.
"Okay, bring it on, you super computer! But please, don't try to create a level 6 ESPer this time!"
As to answer with a perfect timing, the next question appeared.
"If you were to see Origami dragging Shidou in a love hotel, what would you do?"
"Eh… even though it's a game, this seems quite possible, no?"
Stunned by the question and its realism, Nia examined the options.
"1) Knock out Origami with an Iron Mountain Fist, take possession of the reservation and make love with Shidou all night in a closed room"
"2) Follow them and spy on them to get R18 doujin premium raw material"
"3) Separate them and take Shidou home to check if he has not been drugged with an aphrodisiac"
"The first one is… no, even I couldn't do that… I didn't put any point in Strength, so knocking out Origami would be impossible…"
Nia played with her glasses.
"The two would be interesting from an author perspective but... I played too many visual novels to know how it ends if I let something like that happen to the main character. That's right; I have to protect him and his virginity!"
Nia, letting her otome spirit talking, selected the third option.
It was more of a choice by elimination, but still, she had to pick this one.
This triggered the third question.
"Would you regain your powers in exchange of never seeing Shidou again?"
"1) Yes"
"2) No"
"3) Probably"
This time, Nia did not hesitate for a second and instantly chose "No".
She didn't know if it was love, but there was something between them.
Otaku friendship? Pure, friendship? Affection?
No matter what it was, Nia knew she would never sever that bond. She also had the feeling that going on by Shidou's side would bring her things her powers would never.
In fact, this kind of question irritated her. It was an insult to her, to Shidou, to their bond, and to her gamer pride.
(Giving up the main route? Like, would Shirou retire from the Holy Grail War? Or would Red join Team Rocket? Don't screw with me!)
Kotori and Reine were carefully observing the scene and the readings.
"Kotori. It seems the last question did anger Nia" Reine said.
"Perfect."
On the computer screen, a warning appeared.
In fact, all the questions of the game proposed by Maria were taking into account the Spirits' mood and the possibilities of triggering them.
When Maria judged a question to be risky, she would send a warning to ask for confirmation before any action.
All it required was Reine and Kotori's approbation.
"…under these circumstances, are you sure we should send the next one?..."
"…Yes."
"In my opinion, this is too… brutal."
"I know. But if we give up now, then all this game is pointless. We have to conduct our date (war) to its end. And we have no time to waste."
"…Understood. Sorry."
Reine then proceeded to send the question.
Nia's lips trembled when she read the fourth question.
"…aaah."
She exhaled and closed her eyes, trying to calm down her heartbeat.
"Did you open your heart to Shidou because you believed in him and had affection for him, or did you do it just to be saved from death?"
That question hit her hard.
Because of DEM, Nia almost lost her life but was saved by Shidou at that time.
It was only because he managed to seal her power and let reiryoku flow in her, that she could be saved.
Since then, everyone, including her, believed she had opened her heart to Shidou.
But that question unraveled the reason of her uneasiness.
She was not in conflict with herself because she did not know if she loved Shidou or not.
No, in truth, deep inside of her, she felt guilty and doubtful, about her own behavior.
Nia wanted to believe that she appreciated Shidou, who looked like a manga main character. That she relied on him. That she had affection for him.
Even if it was not love, these were genuine feelings… or so she thought.
But… what if, in truth, she was forcing herself to like him to maintain their bond?
What if, she had done that only to be saved, and was keeping this lie on only to live as a normal person, surrounded with friends?
What if she had persuaded herself to do that to enjoy happiness?
Nia had, for a long time, been alone because of her Angel, Rasiel that could let her know about every person life.
Everyone had secrets. That was nothing new: even the most honest person had things they wouldn't want to reveal.
Knowing about the hidden faces of everyone she knew disgusted Nia and brought her loneliness.
But right now, she was living a happy life.
She could joke and spend time with her friends.
She could draw her manga in peace, battling with deadlines.
She could get Shidou to cook for her when she was hungry and too lazy to buy food.
She could laugh, she could cry, she could smile.
She could enjoy life.
All of this thanks to one person: Shidou.
To imagine she was faking her affection toward her savior was horrifying to Nia.
What if all of it was an untruth?
A façade, to break off her solitude?
Nia re-opened her eyes and noticed that, this time, there were only two choices on the screen:
"1) I did it because I trusted him"
"2) I did it for my own sake"
(I always called humans liars… I cut myself off from the real world to escape these lies… But in the end, the true, biggest liar… is me, right?)
Disgusted by her own self, Nia was nauseous.
She wasn't sure that she had done this on purpose, but the only thought of this…
However.
Memories flowed through her mind within an instant.
All the moments she had spent with Shidou.
Shidou.
Shidou's easily triggered personality.
Shidou's wry smile.
Shidou's kindness.
Shidou's will to save people from solitude.
Shidou's will to…save her, at that moment.
Shidou, as cool as a manga character, incarnating the hero depicted in the manga he had created with the other Spirits.
Shidou, who could know whether Nia was fine or not.
Nia's heart was beating faster and louder, resonating inside of her.
Only thinking about Shidou was enough to put her in that state.
Nia was feeling hot. She had a knot in her belly. And above all, she was hurting.
And precisely because of that pain, she knew it her feelings were not false.
(No. I can't believe… I can't believe this feeling in my chest is an untruth. I can't believe these emotions are lies…)
Using the mouse, she chose the first answer.
Nia felt like she just signed an invisible contract.
Immediately, a line appeared on the screen in a moe font.
"The results will be calculated ~"
Little did Nia know that the software and its manager, Maria, calculated the results based on the answers and Nia's own emotions readings.
Seconds later, a loud fanfare resonated and a pink font announced the results with confetti explosions.
"PROBABLY IN LOVE WITH SHIDOU~~
CONGRATULATIONS!~ ~"
Nia stared at the screen silently.
Strangely, she didn't feel relieved.
Why was that?
"..So… I probably… love Boy?..." she whispered.
"Huuuuuuuu…" Kotori stretched her body while exhaling. "Looks like I was right on the mark. But Nia sure is a tough one…"
Kotori was satisfied with the result.
Of course, it was obvious from the start that Nia had a liking for Shidou, but it was good to confirm it.
It would also bring a new concurrent and its share of issues, yet…
"The margin of error is 0,2%" Maria's voice announced. "In my opinion, it is almost certain Nia is in love with Shidou, but she does not want to admit it for some reason. Her age may be the cause, though."
"Yes… but at least, this problem is solved. Now, the perturbation between her and Shidou should be cleared, since she has realized her feelings" Kotori nonchalantly replied, waving her Chupa-Chups.
At that very moment, an alarm sound resounded.
"Kotori."
Reine spoke up.
"What is going on again, Reine?!"
"…Nia's mood… is dropping dangerously, all of sudden."
"What ?! How?!"