Xia Qi listened to Theresa's grand plans with a familiar, quiet sense of futility.
She didn't believe a word of it could work.
Headquarters and Anti-Entropy had their eyes on this place constantly. Xia Qi hadn't forgotten the bio-chip nestled in Bronya's brain, either—but now wasn't the time to mention that.
"They already know, Principal Theresa," she said, her gaze drifting pointedly towards Fu Hua.
As she spoke, she caught the shift in Bronya's eyes. Fu Hua, as expected, remained an impassive statue.
"Huh? Wha—?!" Theresa's face went slack with shock before she began vigorously shaking her head. "No way! That can't be... right?"
Her confidence, so bold a second ago, withered under Xia Qi's steady, knowing look.
"But if they know," Kiana interjected, her brow furrowed in confusion, "why haven't they just... come and gotten you?"
"Because they aren't sure they can," Xia Qi replied simply. Her answer dropped into the room, snuffing out the conversation for a heavy moment.
Into that silence, Himeko's voice cut, calm and pragmatic.
"Then there's even less reason for you to stay hidden here, Mei. If they know you exist, they'll make a move eventually. And let's be clear—the Far East Branch isn't a pushover."
"I'll talk to Grandpa myself! I'll make him understand!" Theresa declared, puffing her chest out with renewed vigor. "And Anti-Entropy? We'll have them under a microscope! They won't get within a kilometer of you, I promise!"
"Oh?" Xia Qi's tone was mild, but it carried a sharp edge as she turned her focus to the younger girl beside her. "But have you thought about her in all this?" she asked, nodding toward the present-day Raiden Mei. "Taking a part of the life that's meant to be hers and giving it to a version of her that's already lived it... is that fair? Is it right?"
"I don't mind!"
The words burst from Raiden Mei before the question had fully settled. She shook her head, her expression utterly sincere. "I've never thought that life, or our friends, should revolve only around me. This isn't just my life. It's ours. We're a family."
She looked directly at her future self, her voice firm. "You are me. Even if you're from the future, that means you're part of this family, too. We share everything here. There's no 'yours' and 'mine.' There's just... ours."
"..."
Xia Qi was taken aback. Her earlier challenge had been a deliberate prod, a test. She knew this version of herself wouldn't cling to petty jealousy. But the simplicity and conviction of the answer... it disarmed her.
A soft, self-mocking smile touched her lips. "To think," she murmured, almost to herself, "I'd get a lesson in perspective from my own past."
"So, Mei!" Kiana seized the moment, lunging forward to grab Xia Qi's hand. Her grip was tight, almost desperate, her skin cool against Xia Qi's. "Come home with us!"
...Should I refuse?
The doubt flickered in Xia Qi's eyes as she looked at Kiana's eager face.
She didn't get a chance to entertain it. Kiana was already pulling her towards Bronya.
"Ugh, stop overthinking it! We're going! Come on!" Kiana babbled, her words a cheerful, deliberate distraction. "Two Meis... hehe, does that mean twice the home-cooked meals?"
Xia Qi let herself be pulled, falling silent. The flood of mundane memories—of shared meals, of warm rooms, of easy laughter—made her chest ache with a longing so sharp it was painful.
But with it came a thin thread of fear. Could something that peaceful, that normal, ever really have a place for someone like her?
Swallowed by that quiet conflict, she found herself standing before Bronya.
"Bronya! Do it! Bring us all back!" Kiana announced, her voice booming with a giddy, contagious excitement that seemed entirely focused on the prospect of a double portion of dinner.
"Mm."
Bronya didn't even blink. Her small hand moved over the device, and with a soft hum, the dream space dissolved.
Xia Qi was left standing alone in the sudden, absolute quiet. She watched the last shimmer of their presence fade, then let out a soft, breathy laugh, shaking her head at her own foolishness. She looked down at her hand, where the ghost of Kiana's touch still lingered.
A moment passed.
Then, she too was gone.
"Wah?! Mei! Where'd the other Mei go?!"
Back in the physical world, chaos ensued. Everyone scrambled up from the floor, disoriented, as Kiana spun in a frantic circle.
"Idiot Kiana. Calm down. She is here." Bronya stated flatly, already back on her feet. She pointed a slender finger toward the corner of the room.
There, having simply appeared, stood Xia Qi. Her face was a placid mask, but a keen observer might spot the faint, uneasy tension around her eyes—the look of a soldier in a room full of civilians.
"Mei!"
Kiana's initial impulse was to barrel toward her, but she skidded to a halt. Her eyes darted to the present-day Raiden Mei, who was also just getting her bearings. A split-second of deliberation later, Kiana made her choice. She grabbed the present Mei's hand, dragged her across the room, and then seized Xia Qi's hand too, linking them all together.
"Like this!" she crowed, triumph blazing on her face. "Now I have two Meis! Gee-hee-hee~!"
"Kiana!" Present-day Mei hissed, her cheeks flushing with a mixture of profound embarrassment and affection.
Xia Qi, for her part, simply looked at this Kiana—so much stronger, yet still endearingly, foolishly young. Her eyes held a spark of undeniable fondness, edged with exasperation.
"If I see the Kiana who came back with me," Xia Qi said, her voice light but carrying a definite warning, "I'll be sure to tell her you said that."
"Eep?!"
Kiana flinched, a full-body shudder betraying the deep-seated respect and healthy fear her future self's training had instilled.
"S-so what?!" she stammered, rallying with magnificent, brash defiance. "I'm Kiana! She's Kiana! And you're both Mei! That means you're both my Mei! It's simple!"
THUMP!
This time, it was Present-day Mei who acted. Mortified beyond words, she drove a fist squarely into the top of Kiana's head.
"Kiana!"
"Owwwww!"
"Idiot Kiana," Bronya delivered her verdict from the sidelines, utterly deadpan.
"For heaven's sake... What was that idiot Siegfried even teaching her..." Theresa massaged her own temples, grumbling under her breath. "Next time I see him, I'm giving him a piece of my mind... and my fist."
But as Kiana rubbed her new bump with a goofy grin, the tension in the room dissolved into soft laughter and shared eye-rolls. Surrounded by the familiar, warm chaos, Xia Qi felt the knot of dread in her stomach begin to loosen.
It was all so... familiar.
Her gaze grew distant, then intensely focused, sweeping over the scuffed dorm room furniture, the afternoon light on the walls, the face of each friend—memorizing them, matching them, one by one, against the faded pictures in her mind.
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