"Yeah. I'm home."
Wrapping her arms back around Number Six in return, Number 11 felt — in this single moment — utterly, completely happy.
That particular kind of peace that only comes from getting back something you thought you'd lost — it settled over her now, soft and deep.
Number Five drifted over to join them as well, reaching out to gently touch Number 11's cheek — a face that had weathered who knew what hardships and yet remained somehow smooth and unmarked. Her own expression was nothing but tender warmth.
Number 11 — she was the youngest sister of the bunch. And now, at long last, every single member of Silver Squad was finally accounted for.
"Um — while you're all having your heart-warming sisterly moment, do you think we could perhaps let me go first?"
Geno raised a small, meek hand. Other than that one fleeting glimpse he'd caught of things he probably wasn't supposed to see the second he stepped through the door, his entire field of vision had very quickly gone pitch-black.
Right now, Trigger's small hand was clamped tight over Geno's eyes, sealing them off completely — apparently terrified that Geno was going to get away with copping a free eyeful at her squadmates' expense.
"Pfft, Geno, perv!"
"Huh?! Hold on — that's MY fault?!"
Faced with Number Six's perfectly deadpan accusation, Geno made it abundantly clear: he refused to wear that particular hat.
It wasn't like he'd done it on purpose. And honestly, if anyone was asking — Twiggy was packing a lot more than they were anyway.
Geno's stance was unwavering: his eyes were the gold standard!
Even among sisters cloned from the same template, the developmental results varied wildly from one to the next!
Of course — this was the kind of thing you definitely didn't say out loud. Saying it out loud was an excellent way to get yourself smacked.
Meanwhile, Twiggy — who'd just come out of the bathroom — quickly took in the absolute chaos of the scene in front of her.
The moment she walked over, she found everyone tangled together in little clusters of twos and threes, and her brain promptly filled with question marks.
"What are you lot... doing exactly? 0.0"
After a brief round of explanations, Twiggy finally caught up with the situation.
At the same time, Number Five and Number Six had slipped their lab coats back on — though each of them now had a tiny portable fan blowing directly into her face, nonstop. The two of them genuinely had zero tolerance for heat.
"I never thought I'd actually see you again, Harin. When Geno first told me, I honestly assumed he'd mistaken you for someone else."
Twiggy sat down in a chair, took a sip from the freshly-brewed black coffee she'd just made, and watched her opposite with perfect composure.
"I didn't expect it either. That all of you were still alive. I thought you were all dead."
Number 11 had always been a blunt instrument — when she talked, she rarely bothered with diplomatic phrasing.
Thankfully, Twiggy and the others had been long since braced for the way Number 11 worded things. After all, this was how she'd been the entire time they'd known her.
"It's all thanks to Geno. He kind of just... scooped us up off the street, like you'd pick up a stray cat."
"Hey now — that's a pretty weird analogy, isn't it."
"I didn't tell you to get up."
"...Right."
Off to the side, Geno — currently being made to kneel on a keyboard by Twiggy as punishment for what he'd accidentally seen earlier — got swiftly put back in his place.
So much for any standing he might have had in this household.
"By the way, Anby... is she also...?"
Number 11 trailed off, unable to quite finish the question. Anby was a special name to every single member of Silver Squad — every one of them carried complicated feelings about her.
"Ah, of course. She's got a whole new life now, a new family, and she lives every single day to the fullest."
...If chasing cats, catching dogs, and dodging debt collectors counted as living life to the fullest, that is. (Anby: Achoo!)
"I see."
Hearing that Anby was alive and well — and even still in contact with all of them — Number 11 visibly settled, her whole demeanour calming dramatically.
Then she lifted her head and asked if she could meet with Anby.
"Of course you can. Just probably not today — I've got a few things I need to handle. Tomorrow, then. Speaking of which — do you have a place to stay?"
Both Number 11 and Trigger shook their heads.
"In that case, Miss Trigger, you can stay at my place for now. As for Number 11..."
"Obviously she's staying with us! We've got a mountain of things we still need to catch up on, right?~"
Before Twiggy could even finish her sentence, Number Six had already glomped onto Number 11 all over again. After such a long separation, she just couldn't contain her excitement.
"Squish~ squish~ Number 11, you'll stay with us tonight! We've got a free bunk in the dorm just waiting for you~"
"That's — fine with me, but. Could you please let go of me first."
Having Number Six nuzzle her cheek like some kind of pet, Number 11 was finding the whole experience deeply strange. And — maybe it was just her imagination — but it really did seem like the look in Number Five's eyes, standing off to the side, was carrying something behind it. Something that gave her goosebumps.
"Glad that's settled, then. Anyone got any other questions?"
Off to the side, Geno — still mid-punishment — raised a meek little hand of his own.
"Um, I do, actually. Where am I sleeping tonight?"
After all — Geno's place wasn't exactly small, but it only had two bedrooms. There wasn't a dedicated guest room in the mix.
Granted, there were nights when only one of those rooms actually got used...
Faced with Geno's pointedly innocent question, Twiggy simply slid him a flat sideways look, and then — without an ounce of feeling — said:
"You? You can sleep at the studio. Or you can head back to the Timefield residence and find your little bunny rabbit."
With that, Twiggy gathered up Trigger and got ready to head home and sort out the luggage and the spare room.
As for Geno — he had already gone completely grey and pixelated where he stood, and Number Five casually swept him into the nearest trash bin.
She was kidding, obviously — but the facts were the facts: Geno was definitely not sleeping in his own little bed tonight.
The only thing that was going to keep him company tonight was the cold sofa back at the studio.
As for the Timefield residence... he still hadn't worked out how he was supposed to face Alice.
Fiancé turned legally-adopted elder brother who walked off with the family inheritance — and oh, also wasn't about to let her off the hook either...
Where on earth was this dating-sim eroge-route nonsense coming from?!
"Haah. Looks like it's another late shift tonight."
Quietly tidying away the keyboard, Geno saw Twiggy and Trigger off, then drove himself back to the studio, simultaneously ordering up a mountain of pizza delivery — bracing himself for an all-out battle through the night.
"All Bangboos! Overtime tonight! Let's make it hurt!"
"Mhm-nya?!! (You can't be serious?!!)"
"Overtime pay's unlimited! Paid vacation once the project ships!"
"Mhm-nya! Mhm-nya!!! (Long live the boss!!!)"
For Geno, tonight was destined to be a sleepless one.
Meanwhile — still inside the Hollow — Sarah had just received her latest intel.
"Oh? That core actually ended up in Public Security's hands?"
Sarah's eyes lit up at the sight of the message. If it had landed with anyone else, things might have been awkward — but with it in Public Security's possession, this got considerably simpler for her.
"Aren't you worried this could be a trap?"
Iseult was meticulously inspecting her military saber and sidearm — her soldier's discipline had long since drilled the habit of regular equipment maintenance into her bones.
"Hah — whether or not it's a trap doesn't matter. What matters is that the 'bait' I want is finally close enough for me to bite down on."
Sarah even made a small clenching gesture, crumpling the slip of intel she had just received into a tight little ball and tossing it casually into the bonfire beside her.
Watching her do it, Iseult offered no comment of any kind.
It had been a while now since she had left the Defense Force. Her stated reason — same as Number 11 and her squad — was that she was on leave.
But soon, she'd be going back. She still had unfinished business waiting for her there.
Just occasionally, Iseult would catch herself wondering — if back then she had possessed the strength she had now, whether everything that happened might never have happened at all.
The thought always brought her, inevitably, back to the comrades she had once fought alongside.
Except she — she was no longer the person she had been.
"Will-o'-the-Wisp, the things you couldn't do, I'll do. The strikes you couldn't bring yourself to make, I'll make for you."
"I — am no longer who I once was."
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Homelander: Founding the Hero Association
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