"Of course Miko-sis is cute."
The one who answered was Kiana, and she seemed to be in a genuinely good mood.
"By the way, why don't both of you come inside and sit down? Standing out here the whole time really isn't great."
It was as though a thought had suddenly struck her — Miko quickly turned around and pushed open the door to a room just behind her.
She didn't step inside, though. She stayed at the threshold, waiting for Kiana and Acheron to go in first.
"Just now I only wanted to hear you call me 'big sister' once — you really didn't have to go this far."
Acheron glanced at Miko standing there by the door and said that quickly.
Whatever happened, she absolutely did not want Miko thinking that things around Kaito operated on some rigid hierarchy. That was not the kind of impression she wanted to leave.
"That's right, Miko — whether you call me Kiana-sis or just Kiana from here on out, either is perfectly fine," Kiana added, speaking up at the same time. "We call each other by name sometimes too. It's not like we use 'big sister' every single time."
Honestly, her first instinct had been to tell Miko not to bother with the 'big sister' title at all — but then she'd remembered that both she and Wendy called Acheron 'big sister,' so she'd held back.
Because if she'd actually said that, it would've made Miko feel like an outsider. And that was absolutely not happening.
"Got it, got it — so come on in, both of you. I'll go make some tea."
With a smile and a nod, Miko finished saying that and turned to go brew the tea.
She's still calling us 'big sister'...
Watching Miko's retreating figure, Kiana couldn't help feeling a faint, helpless amusement.
Honestly, she'd only brought it up on a whim — she'd wanted to hear Miko call her 'big sister' just for the fun of it. She hadn't expected Miko to take it this seriously.
Well, whatever...
I'll have Acheron go check on her...
And while she's at it, I can find out if Miko's impression of me has changed at all...
With that thought settled, Kiana watched as Acheron had already started walking in the direction Miko had gone.
Afterward, Kiana headed inside the room on her own.
— On the other side.
"Miko."
Acheron caught up quickly and found Miko in an adjacent room, deciding it was a good moment to ask what Miko actually thought of Kiana now.
"Mei-sis, why did you come? I could've handled this on my own."
Miko turned around, saw Acheron, and said so immediately.
Even though both Kiana and Acheron had already told her she didn't have to use 'big sister,' Miko felt like she still should. After all, she'd heard Wendy and Kiana call Acheron 'big sister' plenty of times before.
"I already said you don't have to—"
"Which means I get to decide for myself, right, Mei-sis~?"
Miko cut her off before she could finish.
"Fair enough. But now that you've actually met Kiana — how did it go? What did you think?"
Acheron considered it for a moment, then gave a small nod and went straight to the point.
Since Miko had made a perfectly reasonable argument, there was nothing more to add on the subject of titles. She'd let it go.
More importantly, she still didn't want Miko feeling like she wasn't being treated as one of them. So she let the whole honorific question drop right there.
"Hmm..." Hearing the question, Miko paused her tea-brewing and let herself think back on it. Then she said, "She's actually pretty easy to be around. Really different from what I'd imagined."
"Good. That's good to hear."
Acheron gave a nod at Miko's answer.
It was obvious — the meeting had been effective. Going forward, Kiana really did need to come out more often.
She could only hope that when the Raiden Shogun eventually ran into Kiana, she wouldn't make quite as much of a scene.
"Although..."
Just as Acheron was turning things over in her head, Miko added that word — and Acheron immediately asked, "Although what?"
"Although... Kiana actually looks that much like the Sustainer. That's still really hard to wrap my head around."
Even though Miko no longer believed Kiana was definitely the Sustainer the way she once had, the resemblance itself still struck her as deeply strange.
If Kiana looked like anyone else, fine. But looking that much like the Sustainer — that was a whole different matter.
"Perhaps it's just fate," Acheron said.
It was the only thing she could offer. The alternative was recycling the explanation Wendy had given before, and she'd rather not.
"But in Teyvat, I suppose those people might just be fate." As Miko said it, she smiled faintly and tilted her head back to look at the sky outside.
"I'd say it's not quite enough for that," Acheron said, following Miko's gaze, her voice perfectly even.
"Now that's what I'd expect from you, Mei-sis!"
Miko looked bright and animated, pulling her gaze back down with a small laugh before returning to the tea.
"Oh — right." Her hands stilled again. Something had clearly just occurred to her.
"What is it?" Acheron asked, noticing.
"Lumine is going to have to call me 'big sister' too!"
Miko said it with total matter-of-fact confidence, under Acheron's gaze.
Acheron: "..."
I'm not sure Lumine is actually younger than Miko...
And she came first...
Thinking that quietly to herself, Acheron said nothing right away.
"What's wrong, Mei-sis? You don't actually think I'm younger than that little Lumine, do you?"
Seeing Acheron's thoughtful expression, Miko called her on it.
"That... is actually a possibility, yes." Acheron looked at Miko, who had stepped closer, and nodded to indicate that it was.
And just then, something else seemed to strike Miko.
"Hold on, Mei — how do you already know that Lumine is... y'know... the same as me?"
The surprise was obvious. She'd even forgotten to add 'sis.'
"Because you basically just said so yourself. Wasn't it already pretty obvious from that?"
Facing Miko's wide-eyed look, Acheron answered with complete composure.
"Ah... okay, fair. I let that slip."
Miko scratched the back of her head, looking a little sheepish.
She hadn't meant to say anything extra — and yet, here they were.
"It would've come out soon enough anyway."
Seeing Miko's flustered look, Acheron said just that.
Not that she hadn't already known, of course — but she still had to play along.
"That's true, but still — blurting out someone else's secret isn't exactly great, even if it slips out."
Miko understood what Acheron was saying, but it was one thing to know it would come out eventually and another thing entirely to be the one who said it early. That was a real difference.
"I'll keep it to myself," Acheron said after a moment.
It was the only reassurance she could reasonably give.
____
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