We Are Similar

Discovery pt1

They were all called to the conference room the next day. Niara was the last to enter the room and her mood was still the same as the previous day. She took her seat next to Eva, the blonde sitting awkwardly between her and her brother.

Hugo however, went on as if it was natural. "To recap, we found the foreign item inside Eva's body and extracted it. The adults and I had just finished running a full scan of it this morning. Take a look." He typed on his computer and the television screen in front of them turned on, showing a tiny black ball.

"What is it?" Ami was the first to ask.

"Wait for it." He continued to type. Suddenly, the ball began glowing and numbers appeared on the screen.

"A program?" Prof. Yamano guessed.

"The code is all over the place." Prof. Oozora blinked.

Then, the numbers formed a clearing at the center of the screen and three spaces appeared.

"Password." Hugo muttered. "There doesn't seem to be any way to get around it, so I guess we'll have to guess."

"Are there any clues?" Kazuya asked.

"More importantly, is there any sort of limit to how many guesses or countdowns?" Hiro said, thinking about the puzzle games he's played.

"I don't think there's anything like that."

"Nii-san..." Eva tried not to choke on her own words. It was almost natural to call him that, but after all that had happened, a part of her still sees him as a stranger. "Can I... Uh... Um...."

Seeing her gaze on the computer, he nodded. "It was in your body. Give it a try, Eva."

Slowly, she pulled the computer over to her. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and took a deep breath. "R... N... T..." The second she clicked enter, the numbers began to cover up the screen once again. They reshuffled themselves and soon began to fade, leaving only six numbers behind.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Lillian asked, rather amazed.

"'How did you even know' would be a better question." Philicia pipped in.

"Please don't say you were just typing randomly." Susan said, raising an eyebrow. "That sort of luck doesn't exist."

"I noticed the numbers weren't scrolling down randomly like most programs would. They were blinking at a certain beat." She explained, gaining her courage to speak again. "I don't know why, but when I noticed it, all I could think of was the word 'Renetto'... Whatever that meant."

"'Renetto'...?" Olivia repeated.

Kousuke looked up from where he sat and found Hugo staring in surprise. "So is that supposed to mean anything to you or...?"

His eyes narrowed. "'Renetto' is the title of our mother's lullaby. But that would mean... She's the one who put this in you?"

"673-993." Yagami read out loud. "Do you think these could be coordinates?"

"One way to check." Takuya began doing his own thing on his computer.

Hugo kept his eyes on the screen. "If these really are coordinates, it could be a way for us to find them."

"'Them'?" Eva repeated. "Y-you mean... Our parents?"

He nodded. "Truth be told, I have no idea whether or not they're still alive. They went missing after Aval-Tech went bankrupt."

"Oh..."

"There!" Takuya had finished and the screen changed into an image of some sort of cottage with a large dome behind it.

"What is that?" Izayoi went closer to the screen. "I could barely see it with all the white blurry stuff everywhere."

"Maybe it's some kind of hidden lair?" Yuuya suggested.

Niara blinked, her anger completely replaced by confusion. "That's not a lair. It's my house."

"Eh?" Lots of questioning looks came at her.

"Are you sure?" Kirito asked, staring at the image.

"Yeah." She stood up and pointed to different parts of the building. "That's where we do all the house-related stuff, like eat, sleep, cook, take baths. That dome thing is to help grow fruits and veggies without worrying about the cold temperature. There's the shed where my dad keeps all his hunting gear."

"Well then, now what do we do?" Ban asked, turning to his father. "Should we check it out?"

"I don't think everyone has to go." Hugo said. "Of course, Eva and I will. Niara should too because it is her house after all. Mizel is automatically coming along since he's attached to Eva. I think that should be enough."

"No. I'm coming too." Kirito insisted. "You never know if you need back up."

"If it's about back up, then we should all go." Jin stated. Some were surprised, but after a moment's thought, they know what he wanted.

"One problem with that." Yagami objected. "Eclipse is still being rebuild. It'll still take another week or two until everything is back in order."

"Gee, I wonder why." Ran said sarcastically. Mizel didn't respond and neither did Eva.

"What about the Duck Shuttle?" Ami suggested.

"I don't think the director would approve." Takuya hesitantly turned to face Eva, who held the watch to her chest, clinging to it protectively.

"No, they will." Hugo said confidently. He turned off his laptop and turned to the kids. "All of you pack up what you need. I'll call Director Kaios personally."

Confused, they did as they were told. Before they headed off to their own rooms, they turned to Niara for advice on what they should bring. She shrugged. "Dress warm."

~~~~~

Unsurprisingly, lunch time was still awkward. It was silent and still and Eva knew she was the reason why. On her left was the wall, as she had purposely sat on the edge to avoid listening to whatever the rest had to say. Niara was to her right, refusing to leave her side until she herself confirms that everything is back to the way it should be. Across her was Kousuke, who in reality just picked the seat furthest from Ban. And Kirito was next to him, not letting anyone get close to her either.

It wasn't like the dining hall had just one long table. It was actually something like an indoor restaurant that took up about half the entire floor. Staff members came to eat here too, but not a single one of them noticed the tension between the kids. None of them knew after all.

"So what are we gonna do?" Kousuke asked in a bored manner.

"What do you mean?" Niara said, an eyebrow raised. "We're going to my house."

"I mean after that." He took a bite out of his sandwich before continuing. "We're going to your house because we're looking for Eva's parents apparently, right? What happens if we find them and what if we don't? On top of that, there's still the Mizel issue."

"I'm right here, you know." With every word he said out loud, the watch on Eva's wrist would blink a green light.

"Like I said, the Mizel issue."

"Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised at whatever you all decide to do to me." The watch spoke again. "I'm staying alive because Eva wants me to, but I am prepared to go when it comes to it."

Eva eyes widened in worry. "You aren't scared?"

"When you've experienced something once before, you'll know what to expect the next time it happens. So no, I am not scared."

~~~~~~~~~~

'Renetto' is a song from the Caligula Effect anime. I might be using a few references from there so just a heads up :)