Niko shifts around in her chair, nervously shifting her gaze from one side of the dining room to another. If you didn’t know Shinju’s apartment was of a military base, you wouldn’t be able to tell, that’s for sure, but still — the sparse interior, featuring stark, rectangular closets, framed pictures of abandoned landscapes and the simple oaken table she’s sitting at, have her on edge. It’s giving catalogue vibes, and not in the good way, like the Troubadour’s penthouse did. Figures a military woman would decorate her living quarters to look like a hotel room you forget you ever stayed at the moment you leave, but that doesn’t mean she can’t find it iffy. She secretly hopes Shinju finds it iffy, too, but she knows she doesn’t.

Shinju comes back from her room, Kinu riding on her shoulder. She can barely be heard muttering things like “Who’s a good little fluff?” to him as she sits down beside Niko. 

Shinju: Heyo, thanks for waiting. Kohaku should be out soon too. 

Niko: W-Wait, you sister’s coming, too? I didn’t know this’d be a “meet the parents” kinda situation!

Shinju: Oh, yes. Look, this is my father. (She gestures at Kinu on her shoulder) He works as a fluff meister at the local place. 

Niko: (she nods) … H-How do you do, mister Hayama?

Kinu: (He makes some quiet squeaking noises, hopping off Shinju’s shoulder onto the table and then the floor, running around bouncing off the walls) 

Shinju: (Seriously) He’s got to get his wall jumps in now.

Niko: B-Better leave him to his work then…

Shinju: Wall jumps are very important to Mr. Hayama. He— 

Kohaku: (She emerges from her room down the hall, pushing her hair back off her forehead) Hello. Sorry for the wait. A mountain of paperwork since last month… 

Shinju: Hey sis! 

Niko: (she suddenly jolts out of her chair, straightening her back) G-Good evening, sir… ma’am!

Kohaku: (She laughs a little before she can stop herself) It’s alright, I’m not here as an officer. Just Shinju’s sister. 

Niko: … That makes me more nervous, if I’m being honest!

Kohaku: That’s a new one for me. Even the lower-ranking officers mostly don’t respect me. 

Shinju: Yeah, well, this isn’t the military, this is our family home stuff.

Niko: And what a gorgeous home it is! … You have a great sense of style, s—Miss Hayama!

Kohaku: Well, since we live here on base, we can’t go crazy with the decor. Especially me, as an officer. 

Shinju: Even I have to be on my best behavior in school and stuff!

Niko: … W-What happens when you get in trouble? Does Miss Hayama get, like, dishonorably discharged, or anything? Do they send in the Americans?

Shinju: Well, if reprimands didn’t work, we might have to live off-base instead. They wouldn’t discharge her. 

Niko: I didn’t know that was actually a thing…

Shinju: We’re held to a high standard here on base! Grades, too.

Kohaku: But, a girlfriend coming by is generally fine. 

Niko: E-Even when you’re a girl, too?

Kohaku: The JSDF doesn’t have any policy about that. I checked. 

Niko: Gotta hand it to the JSDF! I-I mean, I expected that, obviously. I’m not Shirahara.

Shinju: Hah, well, we’re kinda ahead of the Americans on that one… don’t tell any of them, though. 

Niko: In America we’d be able to marry… N-Not that I’m thinking about that yet or something, eh, or that I’d just make that decision all willy-nilly and— (she clears her throat) Of course, that all depends on Shinju’s future! And mine, I guess… But mostly Shinju’s!

Shinju: Wh-why my future more than yours…? 

Niko: I-I mean… (she sighs) Do we really have to bring this up in front of—(she mutters) I don’t exactly have a promising career ahead of me…

Shinju: I mean, being a Puella isn’t so promising either, honestly… not like anybody’ll ever pay me to do it… 

Niko: No, that’s not what I—(she sighs) Forget about it…

Kohaku: (She shrugs) You two don’t have to hide it from me. I about figured it out while we were holed up in that penthouse back when those gaijin first arrived. 

Niko: N-No, I don’t mean that either! Also, you can’t say tha—eh, ma’am. I, eh, mean, nothing. Sorry.

Kohaku: (She chuckles) There’s really no need to be so nervous. 

Niko: I-I’m not nervous! It’s just, eh— I-I have to make a good impression, don’t I? W-Wait, did I just say that out loud?

Kohaku: That’s what I’m saying, you don’t have to do that. Shinju makes her own decisions. That’s how we usually do things in this household. 

Niko: Y-You don’t think I’m an embarrassment…?

Kohaku: You seem like a normal teenager to me. Plus there’s all the work you’re doing down in that dream world. 

Niko: I, eh, do my best down there… (she clears her throat) T-That sounded wrong.

Kohaku: Hmm?

Shinju: You do just fine in the Dreamscape! Don’t you worry about it! 

Niko: O-Oh, hehehe… I, uh… (she stands up suddenly) E-Excuse me! I need to go… r-relieve myself now!

Shinju: Oh, uh, sure! No problem! 

Niko: Thankyouverymuchma’am! (she darts off, looking for the bathroom)

Shinju: … (After a long pause, she sighs) It’s like she thinks you’re a redneck dad with a shotgun… 

Kohaku: Hmm. Well, never mind about that. What about you? 

Shinju: Me? I know I don’t need to get all worked up for your approval. 

Kohaku: No. I mean you seem a little out-of-sorts, too.

Shinju: O-oh. Um… well… oh, I guess you should know too. I saw Yui and Cecilia fighting each other. Like, not just arguing, like full-on… 

Kohaku: Guess you can’t take the old mafia out of people, huh… listen, I don’t want you involved with that. 

Shinju: But, Sis…

Kohaku: Yeah, I know. We don’t know when those Balancers will come back and we don’t want two of our Puellae to be fighting. (She leans in) But, Shinju, if you get involved, now we have three of our Puellae fighting. And four, since I’d have to jump in for you. And probably five including Segawa-san. Understand? 

Shinju: Yeah, I… wasn’t thinking of doing that. 

Kohaku: They’re both adults. As long as they can swear this won’t trip them up if trouble comes up again, we have to let them work it out themselves. That goes for Yui’s quest to get beat up or however she puts it, too. 

Shinju: Yeah. I already told her I wasn’t doing that. 

Kohaku: (She nods) Have to know when something’s not yours to fix, right? 

Niko: (she walks back in) I tell her that all the time!

Kohaku: Well, I’m telling her it again, I guess. On something pretty important.

Niko: This about that college-slash-Conductor drama again?

Kohaku: You know about that, do you? 

Niko: Well, yeah… I know everything, kinda. If I remember to look for it. (she shrugs) Not that it takes any effort when it comes to Arashi. Her bad vibes kinda reverberate all across the Dreamscape. She’s making her problem everyone’s problem, as usual.

Kohaku: Well, for someone who has knowledge of the whole Dreamscape, perhaps. She hasn’t exactly posted about it on her socials. 

Niko: It’s about Mei-Mei and this Firestarter chick, like, apparently they go back? Big “I should have saved you” energy, whatever.

Kohaku: (she leans in, serious) Did she tell you thaterself or did you find that out through that dream world? 

Niko: I mean, it’s hard not to find out.

Kohaku: Yes, I suppose you have access to a lot of private info now whether you even look for it or not. Still, people oppose surveillance states for a reason. Be careful what you do with what you learn. 

Niko: (she stammers) … B-But I’m not the state!

Kohaku: In the Dreamscape, you might as well be. There’s an American superhero, I’ve heard, who says “with great power comes great responsibility.” You know? 

Niko: Well, yeah, I know that! But if someone’s stirring shit in the real world, then I gotta tell people about what’s going on in their dreams, right?

Kohaku: … Do you remember what I told Shinju just now? 

Niko: … I-I was on the toilet… m-ma’am.

Kohaku: I meant about some things not being yours to fix.

Niko: But… doesn’t great power come with great responsibility?

Kohaku: Part of being responsible is not to use it when you shouldn’t. 

Niko: Well, I-I guess that’s no skin off of my back. I’ve got more than enough to worry about already.

Kohaku: You too, Shinju. I don’t think having you join this infighting will be the fix you think it is.

Shinju: R-right. Yeah, of course…