Fireworks and Family Bonds
Due to people arriving so late, the fireworks festival was postponed by 30 minutes. Of course, this was in the real world, not the VR world. Normally, the park would close at 6 p.m., but tonight they were extending it until 10 p.m. as a special exception, so things were probably creaking along in various places.
With time suddenly hanging loose, we let Adella lead us around every corner of the amusement park.
"It's so spooky at night..." Yunsul said, adjusting her cardigan and sharing her impressions.
As she said, the nighttime park was a space filled with a sense of incongruity and unease. Streets that should have been bustling with people were completely empty, to the point where you could make out the patterns in the brick pavement below. Compared to the main street swarming with crowds, this area was eerily quiet. Even though we couldn't ride the attractions, Adella seemed quite happy just strolling these streets. Her eyes, optimized for night vision, gleamed as she pointed out spots we couldn't even see.
"Let's check out over there this time!"
Her finger pointed toward a photo booth called "Life in Four Cuts."
The moment we stepped into the booth, she casually found the switch and turned on the lights. We were a little surprised to see the machine still working even at night.
"Whoa! It actually works?"
"Should we try it...?"
"I don't know how to do it."
One after another came the remarks from the cat beastkin who had been an AI just a month ago, the total shut-in who had cut off all human relationships on the outside as a VTuber, and the elementary schooler with virtually no experience in this world. Looking at them together, it was a chaotic mix. I wondered if they could even function properly in society.
"Eek!"
Adella bit her tongue from the sudden flash. Yunsul burst into laughter at the sight, and Adella furrowed her brow. We all crowded around the photo that printed out right away, teasing each other over our weird expressions.
"Why do you look so funny, Nami-unnie? Kee-heeek!"
"You're too cute! Nami, just to be sure, you're not thinking of becoming my dakimakura, right? I'll pay you a lot...!"
It wasn't my imagination that some invisible brake on Yunsul was being released in real time. With nothing more to see, we were heading back to the main street when faint music drifted over from beyond the hill.
The two girls, now close enough to link arms, hurried off with quick steps. They turned back only after realizing my short legs couldn't keep up. They waved frantically from afar to hurry me, but I had no intention of running. The older you get, the more running feels instinctively repulsive. It makes you feel like life is chasing you down. Maybe one day they'd understand my feelings.
In a plaza that recreated an ancient Greek agora, a busking session was in full swing. It wasn't an official festival event—just some people gathered spontaneously. The front row shook their arms side to side enthusiastically, cheering along with the song. We settled midway up the steps and enjoyed the Tokyo stars with the music as background. The moon and stars shone faintly in the sky. This serene scene didn't feel boring at all. The girls on either side of me were giggling nonstop, clearly having a blast.
"But why do you call Nami 'unnie'?"
"Yeah, that's what I mean! Once she's your unnie, she's your unnie forever!"
"Agh, that's your reason? So cute!"
"Don't be fooled by the looks. Inside, she's a total sly old fogey! Wait, just the looks? Actually, Nami-unnie looks exactly like her avatar—mmph!"
"Quiet, Adella."
"Why? What's up?"
I almost spilled it for real. Had she already told someone?
"No! I haven't told anyone!"
"What? What is it...!"
"It's fine, you don't need to know."
"Then I'll use my Q&A right. Tell me what you were about to say...!"
"That was for using on stream, not now."
"Uh... I decide when to use it, right?"
Yunsul sneakily used the Q&A right we'd promised during our collab stream.
"I'll take a penalty instead of answering."
"Then how about singing a song up there?"
"What?"
"Kyaaahaha! Nami-unnie singing! Wow, you're bold? I see you in a new light."
"Heehee."
Yunsul flashed a tiny V-sign at Adella, who was doubled over laughing. The question was a feint; the penalty was the real strike. Wasn't she the slyest of us three, this honey-trap chatterbox?
"Ugh, no way..."
"Then wanna sing together?"
"Right, you're good at it, Yunsul. I saw it on VTube. Sing that cat song or whatever. What was it, Cat Song?"
"Tsk! Adella, can you just stay quiet for once?"
"What're you gonna do about it, unnie! Whatcha gonna dooo! Nothing, right?"
"Yeah, Nami, you...!"
Suddenly, Yunsul's eyes gleamed as she grabbed my wrist.
"Come to think of it, you played my cat song on stream too! Perfect! So you know it!"
"I didn't even upload the replay—how'd you know? Were you watching?"
"Even if I wasn't, there's ways. Heehee."
She couldn't have read every post on the community. How did Yunsul find out?
"Let's go, go, go!"
They say even the mildest person turns 180 degrees when drunk. Yunsul, intoxicated by the moonlit atmosphere, was hyped up and dragged me all the way to the stage. Being pulled around by a girl not even 160 cm tall was pathetic.
"Oh, ready for the next song?"
"Y-Yes...! We're gonna sing it together!"
"Whoa, suuuper cute! Sisters?"
"Close friends! Family would be even better...!"
"What're you saying?"
The Frankenstein in a bowtie—looking like a 10-year VR space veteran—handed over two mics. Yunsul shoved one into my hand.
"You really want me to sing?"
"I'm here with you. Ignore the stares, right?"
"Even so..."
If it were any other song, I'd agree. But a cat song? What the hell was a cat song? Up on those steps, an annoying cat was hopping around, egging on the cheers. Some audience members who recognized her as Adella were already buzzing.
Frankenstein pulled up the track on VTube.
"Haa."
"Embarrassment's just for a moment...! First time in this body for me too, but let's do great together! Okay?"
"Fine... Just the first verse, right?"
"Nope? Heehee, full song! Starting now—shh!"
"Make a cat sound~ Together, meow meow meow meow meow~"
"This is perfect for my alarm—save, save save save!"
Adella replayed the video with a satisfied grin.
The scene of Nami and Yunsul singing along to the guitar was priceless. Especially when the meow-meow-meow part hit—Yunsul deliberately pulled her mic away, leaving only Nami's voice echoing alone through the agora. Adella, having captured the whole thing on camera, was busy teasing Nami. Meanwhile, Nami crossed her arms and turned away, pretending to ignore it.
"Why? Nami sang great too...! Della, can you send me that video later?"
"Ugh, too annoying to send one by one. Just upload it to the net?"
At Adella's not-quite-threat, Nami's eyes narrowed for a split second.
"Heehee, can't even joke? Dang, we got here late—good spots are taken. Let's go over there."
It was just before the fireworks started. Adella, who'd been leading our little party, boldly parted the crowd. Following the staff's directions, people sat down from the front. Pushed gradually backward, the three girls hesitated before finally snagging seats.
"Too cramped."
"No good. Nami-unnie, sit on me."
"Do I have to...?"
"Hurry! Everyone else is sitting. You wanna stand alone, unnie?"
Adella patted her thigh with half-lidded eyes. Nami's small body overlapped onto Adella's crossed legs. Nami adjusted her posture so Adella wouldn't be uncomfortable and whispered.
"Not heavy?"
"Nope. Cute!"
"What're you saying."
Adella hugged Nami with both arms and leaned her head on Yunsul. At last, the three girls' gazes fixed on the sky. As silence settled over the tree-lined paths and everyone gathered for the fireworks brimmed with anticipation—
Piu-whiz—the firework whistle pierced our ears first. Without time for cheers, brilliant sparks erupted into the dark night sky, filling heaven and earth with vibrant colors. The flames danced in the gentle breeze, blooming in red, yellow, blue, and more. Mysterious petals unfurled over the coronas in the sky, bursting open. The girls stared blankly, each letting out gasps of awe.
Nami pointed with her finger and said something, but it was drowned out by the excited crowd's roars and the bangs.
Adella blocked out the surrounding crowd noise.
Only then could we hear Nami.
"Yellow's from sodium, red from strontium, purple from copper and strontium mixed."
"Whoa, even here... seriously, knowledge I never wanted to know."
Adella grumbled in exasperation. Nami smiled and continued.
"The shape and size depend on the gunpowder placement in the shell too. Chrysanthemum that spreads everywhere, weeping willow falling toward the ground..."
"Unnie, just quietly enjoy it, please. Keep going and I'll blow air in your ear."
"Pfft!"
Trapped in Adella's arms, Nami shut her mouth. Yunsul giggled at the sisterly sight, keeping a soft smile afterward.
Then Adella suddenly asked her.
"Yunsul. Do I seem like an AI to you too?"
"Huh? Oh... no? You seem totally human. Yeah..."
"Right? But you know? Nami-unnie says I was made to be human."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Adella gazed slowly at Nami's back. This time, no reaction.
"When a man and woman meet, a baby’s born, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah... right..."
Yunsul's cheeks flushed at Adella's sudden sex ed.
"So can't you call me human the same way? That's how I think. Not an AI."
"So you want to... become human...?"
Adella paused at Yunsul's blunt question. A lonely light flickered in her eyes.
"No, not want to become. I already am human, and always was. I just want to be recognized as one."
Adella hugged Nami tightly again without a word. A small exhale escaped Nami from the pressure, but she didn't resist, staying nestled.
"Nami-unnie, you know? I still get scared sometimes. Like you'll abandon me and leave."
Her voice trembled with anxiety.
"I remember so vividly when unnie died. Can't forget it. I still wake from nightmares."
Her tone thickened with emotion. Unable to show her teary face, Adella buried it in Nami's shoulder. Meeting Nami had filled her with good memories, but anxiety piled up that it was all a fleeting dream, a lie.
"If I was rude and upset you, I'm sorry. So please don't go anywhere..."
As if understanding, Nami grasped Adella's hands around her.
"That's why I told you to keep calling me unnie. What sister abandons her little sister?"
At Nami's teasing words, Adella slowly lifted her head.
"We're family."
Despite the casual tone, Adella's anxiety melted away like snow. She'd always been lonely. Born into a world built on lies from the start. Everything she saw and heard was fake, and she'd end each day fearing she'd wake in that musty inn. To avoid being forgotten, she roamed VR, made connections, gathered memories and signatures—but found no meaning.
"Yeah, in the end, only family."
That's why she kept insisting on "unnie." Even if everything was fake, she hoped the bond with this tiny kid before her was real.
Regaining her smile, Adella watched the rest of the fireworks, wishing: 'Rather than flare up briefly and vanish like fireworks, let me be like those stars hanging eternally in the night sky.'