Staring blankly at the pure white ceiling of the capsule dormitory.
Soga Yura had already forgotten when last night she had grown so unbearably drowsy that she'd fallen asleep, and... when she had drifted up out of her hazy stupor to go on staring blankly at the ceiling like this.
The ceiling of the capsule room could actually be switched to look like something else.
If the occupant liked starry skies, the ceiling could be switched to look like a starry sky.
The vast spread of stars made it feel as though she were truly lying on a lawn, lifting her eyes to a brilliant river of stars.
Only... when she reached out a hand would she discover that she was still inside the capsule dormitory.
And if the occupant wanted to fool themselves with a slightly larger room, the virtual projection could also be switched to look like a big room.
The realism of the scene was already hard for an ordinary person to tell apart from the real thing.
But... Soga Yura was a Fourth Sequence mental-type Esper.
The Dominator who stood towering above all mental-type abilities.
To her, such a virtual projection was simply a touch too fake.
She quietly listened to the sounds inside the base vehicle.
Although, to avoid suspicion, she hadn't actively scanned the entire base vehicle with her mental power, still... subconsciously, Soga Yura was looking down over the whole situation inside the mobile dormitory from a kind of gamer's god's-eye view.
She didn't pay attention to the sleeping postures of that savage rabbit, or of Sakura Mai.
Soga Yura even deliberately avoided them, protecting their privacy.
She only stared blankly at the entrance of the mobile dormitory.
The door had not been pushed open.
It hadn't been pushed open even once all night.
Yuzu... Yuzu hadn't come back all night.
Were it not for the connection between the twins—and the protection Soga Yura had left lingering on Yuzu's body, both of which told Soga Yura that Yuzu was fine—
She was even a little happy.
Last night Yuzu had rested very well; her sleeping posture must have been quite serene.
Otherwise, by now Soga Yura would already be unable to sit or stand still, ready to overturn the entire base—even the entire ocean—just to find Yuzu.
[Yuzu... where are you?]
In truth, deep down Soga Yura did have a few faint guesses.
After all... out here in the desolate wilds, Yuzu didn't have many places to go.
It wasn't until Sakura Mai knocked on the cabin door that Soga Yura sluggishly got up; she looked somewhat dispirited, as though her soul had wandered off.
Sakura Mai watched Soga Yura with worry.
The girl's spirits seemed somewhat haggard.
Haggard... just like the day after the night of Soga Yura and Su Yuzu's birthday, when Sakura Mai had seen Soga Yura unable to even speak clearly, needing Yuzu to support her as she walked.
She'd heard that on that night the wicked Lady Fate had thrown two heavy punches in a row at Soga Yura.
Just imagining that situation gave Sakura Mai a... sour-sweet sort of satisfaction.
So the reason Lady Fate had forgotten them that day was because she had lavished all her loving care entirely upon Soga Yura?
Sakura Mai could only regard Soga Yura with both pity and gloating schadenfreude.
But... today Soga Yura's condition was clearly very off.
"Sister Yuzu... hasn't come back all night?" Sakura Mai had a rough idea of why the girl was so worried.
"She couldn't have gone off to investigate on her own, could she?"
"Given Sister Yuzu's personality, it really is quite possible she'd do something like that."
In Sakura Mai's view, sometimes Sister Yuzu was just as stubborn as her sister.
The twins who stood on either side of the Cross of Fate shared certain common traits.
Still... Sakura Mai also understood that Yuzu truly bore certain Fate Turning Points—ones that perhaps only she herself, or only she and Soga Yura together, could shoulder.
Soga Yura's mouth puckered into a pout.
"She probably hasn't..."
"Yuzu seemed to have rested very well last night."
"What?!!" Only now did the jumpy little rabbit come squeezing hurriedly out of the capsule dormitory room.
The girl was even somewhat disheveled, and the wicked temptation faintly revealed beneath her messy clothing made Soga Yura, with a single glance, indignantly want to pinch it until it burst.
Back then, she had merely caught sight of this trueborn daughter of the Saotome family at a banquet.
She had wanted to enlist her help to look after Yuzu, who—in Soga Yura's imagination—might not even be getting enough to eat.
But in the end... in the end this rabbit turned out to be an utterly unreasonable creature.
She even wanted to nibble at the grass right beside her own nest.
"Yuzu-senpai didn't come back last night?" The little rabbit's mental state didn't look very good either.
Sakura Mai looked at this Healing-type "healer," who formed such a stark contrast with the Soga Yura beside her.
Although, upon hearing the news about Yuzu, the girl had put on an air of frantic urgency, moving as swiftly as a darting hare.
But... the "main body" atop her head... ah, what Sakura Mai meant was, the girl's ahoge had a wilted, droopy look, like a leaf that hadn't been watered in ages.
The little rabbit, pampered and spoiled since childhood, was used to sleeping in a big bed.
Make her sleep in a capsule dormitory, and she was less suited to it than anyone.
Only... so as not to embarrass Yuzu-senpai, the little rabbit simply buried that pampered streak of hers deep in her heart.
"Yuzu rested very well last night." Sakura Mai reached out and, under the little rabbit's slightly panicked gaze, smoothed down the little black dress on her, signaling for the girl to pull up her slipped shoulder strap.
"Oh no..." Because she was so used to caring for Soga Yura, Sakura Mai realized she had unconsciously done something a bit overstepping to a girl she wasn't even very familiar with.
This was probably also one of the important reasons Sakura Mai had been able to draw Yuzu to her.
A crisp and dashing... considerate... caring big sister.
But thankfully—
In the face of news about Yuzu, the girl clearly hadn't minded.
"She's probably resting over at the other base."
Among the base vehicles of this survey operation, two deployed base vehicles served as dormitories; Imperial Capital University had set one aside specially for the girls and Unohana Chiyo.
It was also possible that Yuzu was at the other one...
Only... seeing Soga Yura's expression, the outcome would clearly turn out to be somewhat unexpected.
Unohana Chiyo, who had packed up her things early, now returned from outside as well, and she had even brought breakfast for the girls.
"What?"
"Yuzu didn't come back last night?"
Unohana Chiyo's brow also furrowed.
She had gone to ask around at the base next door.
To accommodate the children, the dormitory there was packed full.
There wasn't even a spot left for Professor Tsukiyomi.
But fortunately... Professor Tsukiyomi's observatory had a separate room, so there was no need to prepare a room for her.
Wait—?!
Unohana Chiyo felt as though she had caught onto something.
Just at that moment, the door of the base was pushed open.
"Morning~" Yuzu, having changed into a fresh school uniform, stood there looking pretty as a picture.
Soga Yura wrinkled her nose.
Sakura Mai gave a light sniff as well.
The ahoge atop the little rabbit's forehead shot up as if it had just been fully charged, and she lunged straight at Su Yuzu, "Senpai!!!"
And then... the little rabbit, flung into Su Yuzu's arms, suddenly went wide-eyed too.
Even Unohana Chiyo sized up the girl's neck.
Those faint little marks on the girl's slender, fair neck... why did they look somehow familiar?
Holding the little rabbit, Su Yuzu felt an inexplicable prickle of unease.
Why did she... feel so jittery inside?
"Where did Yuzu go last night?"
"Sister Yuzu, your sister was very worried about you."
"Senpai, why is there the scent of another woman on you?!"
"Yuzu..."
[I'm done for—]
"I'm done for."
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