We Are Similar

Presents

The night was a blast for them all. All the friends and their families stayed the night over at Tiny Orbit. It was a miracle that nothing was a mess, but then again, there were a lot of parents.

Eva was the first to wake up. She grabbed her coat and walked out of the room she and Niara shared. They all had to divide themselves to groups of two or three to fit in all the available rooms. She had left a note in the room, telling whoever reads it that she would be heading back to the dorms. She was glad to have brought a spare change of clothes, that way, she didn't have to walk out in the cold in a dress.

The walk was silent and peaceful. She watched kids running around in the snow and having fun as she passed them by. Occasionally, she'd wave at a few of them who saw her, and they would all happily wave back.

She stopped by a store and bought some flowers. Plastic ones because she doubted real ones were blooming in the cold. I just hope he'll like them. She wasn't entirely sure if Mizel liked flowers, but it was better than coming back with nothing.

Arriving at the door, she didn't have the chance to knock as Mizel had immediately opened it for her. Perhaps it was their link again. The boy didn't seem bored despite spending the whole night there on his own, but his eyes definitely lit up when he saw her. He followed her to her room and after she placed the bag she had beside her bed, she turned to him and smiled. "I bought these on my way back. Merry Christmas, Mizel."

He gently took the bouquet from her hands and observed them. "Gardenias... 'Family' is it?"

"That's what I was going for." She giggled. "I don't really know how you feel, but I want to make sure you're included in this family."

He stared at it for a moment before nodding. "Thank you. I'll make sure they're safe." As he spoke, he had the flowers absorbed into his abdomen. She wasn't sure how that worked, but if it made him happy, then she has no desire to object. He turned back to her. "I have something for you too."

She blinked. "You went out and got me something?"

"No. I made you something." He led her to the bed and told her to sit down. She obliged and when told to close her eyes, she did. She felt a wave of electricity dancing around her. It didn't hurt like a shock would. Suddenly, she could no longer feel the floor beneath her feet. "You can open your eyes now."

When she did, she gasped. She found herself floating in the sky. Below her was a small, floating island, with fluffy animals playing about. There was a small house by the edge, covered by the orchards around it. Looking up, she found many stars and constellations of every season.

"W-Wha... where is... Mizel, what..." She was completely speechless. He made this? It was most likely not in the real world. No, it was definitely not in the real world. The Infinity Net?

"I made a small space." He explained. "A small paradise for whenever you're down. To access it, you just need to ask me and I'll transport your mind here. You can come and go as much as you'd like without worrying about software instability. You don't have to worry about your physical body either. It'll just seem like you're sleeping."

"T-This is... I don't know what to say, I... This is too much, I can't... H-How did you even... In one night???" She was still too confused to take in any of it.

"No. I have been curious about that VR Mind that your family was working on. Since Hugo mentioned it, I've been working on a small system that only the two of us could access."

"I-I... Mizel, you..." She shook her head. "I can't comment. I just... Thank you. Thank you for this... This really big thing..."

He nodded, smiling. "You're welcome."

~~~~~

The two spent their time talking and making breakfast for when the rest of them arrives to change. Soon enough, the doorbell rung and there stood every other member of the 'Dorm Crew', as Ran called them. The boys went to their respective showers, while Niara went to the kitchen, taking her share of sandwhiches.

Later that day, Hugo came over with presents for Eva, Mizel, Niara, and Jin. He got his sister a folder of all of their mother's music and lyric sheets, and his somewhat-adopted brother a digital file filled with their mother's songs, because he too liked her music. Niara got a small punching bag, but instead of punching it, she punched Kirito with it, earning a growl from the older male. Jin was rather surprised when he got his. He opened the box and found some of his old stuff from the fortress, mainly pictures of him and Eva when they were younger. With all that's happened, he had forgotten that he even had things in that place. Nonetheless, he was glad to have them back.

"Oh, I remember this!" The blonde girl got hold of one of the pictures in the box. "The little puppy that got lost and ended up in the backyard somehow."

He glanced at the picture for a second before nodding. "Mmhm. Didn't you name it?"

"Yeah. Uhm... it was either Fuzz or Buns..."

"Wasn't Fuzz the cat?"

"Oh, right. Then Buns it was."

"How many animals did you guys have?" Niara asked, looking at the many photos of them finding small, fluffy critters.

"Oh, we didn't keep any of them." Eva replied. "After taking care of them for a day, we took them to the shelter. The fortress had a lot of people staying there so the animals might've been a bother to them. Now though, I'm kinda wondering if they're all okay."

"One year for us is seven dog years, so 'Buns' might've died of old age." Kriito replied indifferently.

"Shush!" The Russian wacked his head with her punching bag again. She might enjoy her present a bit too much.

~~~~~

This is the kind of punching bag Niara got: