After leaving Qlipoth Fort, Bronya the Supreme Guardian ran as fast as she could toward the orphanage in the Underworld, convinced Seele would go there. She took every shortcut she knew, determined to arrive first. In her mind, meeting Seele there would be romantic, the place overlooked the city beautifully, and since Seele had lived there as a child, Bronya thought it might hold sentimental value for her. Maybe that would make forgiving her a little easier.
She didn't notice the worried looks people gave her as she rushed past. All she could think about was Seele.
When Bronya finally reached the orphanage, she scanned the area. No Seele. Believing she had managed to get there before her, Bronya sat on the stairs and tried to plan what to say.
'Seele, you know I never look at anyone else but you! Even if someone has the same face as you, the one I love is still you. Because you're the one I see. I love your honesty, your stubbornness, your expressions when you're angry, happy, frustrated… everything. What you saw before was just a sleepover with a friend. We didn't do anything. We only talked before falling asleep.'
Bronya imagined Seele standing in front of her, arms crossed, glaring at her.
"Hm… no, that doesn't feel enough," she muttered, touching her chin.
Fifteen minutes passed before she finally came up with what she believed was the perfect line to say. But still, no one else appeared. Not even a shadow of Seele. Bronya's chest tightened. She felt foolish, realizing she didn't know Seele's heart as well as she thought. Maybe she had assumed too much.
Then, like a small miracle, her phone buzzed. She unlocked it to see a reply from her most reliable friend.
Stelle:Sup Bronya, I just finished my business over here.
Stelle:What do you want to talk about? Is it another job?
Bronya:No, it's not like that. I just want your opinion on something. But… I think it's already too late. It's over.
Bronya:I don't know what I should do.
Stelle:You can tell me first! Maybe I can help you out of your problem like I always do!(Proud.png)
Somehow, that proud sticker Stelle sent only made Bronya more irritated. Maybe it was the stress from her current situation. Or her collapsing love life. But seeing Stelle send her girlfriend March's proud sticker really set her off.
She forced herself to calm down, took a slow breath, and replied normally.
Bronya:It's a long story, but the point is… Seele is really mad at me. I'm waiting in front of the orphanage because I thought she'd come here, but it's already been fifteen minutes and she still hasn't shown up.
Bronya:I don't know where else to look for her.
Stelle:How about Natasha's clinic? Or maybe the bridge in Rivert Town where you can seethe orphanage? If I remember right, she goes there sometimes when she needs to think.
Stelle:Or maybe she's working herself like a horse to forget about you?
Bronya froze at that last message. Her mind immediately spiraled. What if Seele was trying to forget her? What if she didn't want to see her ever again? What if she blocked her number? The more she thought about it, the more her confidence crumbled.
Stelle:Bronya?
Stelle:Sorry, I'm just joking! (Crying.png)
Stelle:Anyway, I think you should go look for her instead of overthinking!
Stelle:Good luck!
Even after Stelle apologized and sent a sticker of Pom-Pom kneeling and crying dramatically, the worry still clung to Bronya. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to steady herself. Empty her mind, pull herself together, before trying to search again.
Not long after that, Bronya heard footsteps. She opened her eyes quickly and stood up, her heart leaping in hope. 'Seele…?' Maybe she'd been overthinking. Maybe her fears were just her mind playing tricks on her.
But the person who appeared wasn't the Seele she knew.
It was the other Seele. The one from another world, together with her twin and her sister.
"Bronya? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be looking for Seele?" Seele asked as she walked toward her, the others following behind.
"Hello, Seele." Bronya gave her a weak smile. "I was waiting here because I thought she'd come. But… as you can see, she hasn't."
She tried to keep her voice steady. "What about you? Why are you here?"
"Remember what Seele told you yesterday? About how this place is different, and maybe there's a space that connects this world to ours? We're here to check it out again. Sis Bronya might be able to do something about it."
"I see… good for you then. I hope your trip goes safely."
Bronya forced a small smile so they wouldn't worry, then turned to leave, not wanting to disturb them.
"Bronya, wait."
Seele reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in place.
"Can we help you look for this world's Seele?" she asked, her eyes soft and earnest. "I think searching together would be better than doing it alone. Besides, Sis Bronya is great at analyzing situations and finding people, and my other self has better instincts than me."
"Bronya feels like a tracker dog in Seele's eyes…" Bronya Zaychik muttered.
Veliona snorted beside her, barely holding back her laugh. "Honestly? It's not that far off. You're both pretty good at tracking people."
Fortunately, they were standing far enough away that neither the other Seele nor the Supreme Guardian Bronya could hear them. If Seele heard that, she'd definitely puff up her cheeks in that cute pout, and she'd probably confiscate Project Bunny as punishment.
"I can't ask for anything more than what you already gave me," Bronya sighed. "After all the advice last night, I still don't understand how she thinks… and maybe I really do deserve this."
"Seele doesn't think anyone deserves it," Seele said firmly. "It was just a misunderstanding. If Bronya talks to her properly, Seele believes she'll forgive you."
"But… where should I even look for her…?" Bronya asked in a small voice, uncertain.
At that moment, Bronya Zaychik floated a little closer, her expression unimpressed. "Didn't your friend already suggest some places she might go? Natasha's clinic, the bridge in Rivert Town where you can see the orphanage, or somewhere she can overwork herself like a horse?" she said while tapping on her touch panel.
"Wh-why do you know that!?" the Supreme Guardian yelped, eyes wide. She definitely wasn't expecting that.
"Sis Bronya! It's improper to hack other people's phones!" Seele scolded, hands on her hips and staring at her with clear disapproval.
"But if we don't act fast, it'll just get harder to find this world's Seele. And we've already wasted more time than we should here," Bronya Zaychik said calmly, fingers still flying across her panel. "Besides… the distortion around this orphanage won't last forever. We don't know how long that space will stay stable enough for us to open a portal."
"What, you hacked my phone!?" the Supreme Guardian Bronya repeated in disbelief. It was something she never expected from someone who looked exactly like her. She could barely use half the features on her own device… and this Bronya in front of her just hacked it.
'Great. We only share a name and a face,' she thought helplessly.
Pretending she didn't hear the accusation, Bronya Zaychik continued, "Seele, I've sent you an updated map of this town. You and Veliona should check the marked points. I'll sweep the Underworld for any place she might be overworking herself. And you—" she nodded at the Supreme Guardian "will head to Natasha's clinic." Bronya swiped her panel shut. "Any questions? If not, we should move."
"Wait. I should search the entire Underworld," the Supreme Guardian insisted, lifting her chin. "I know this place better than you."
…And partly because she refused to lose to her alternate self.
"Don't worry about Bronya," Bronya Zaychik replied without hesitation. "Bronya already acquired this world's map from the nearest satellite and calculated the most likely locations based on her daily activity records." She said it completely seriously, missing the competitive fire in her counterpart's voice.
The Supreme Guardian frowned deeply. "If you can do all that, can't you just track her directly? Instead of sending us running around one by one?" she said, her tone edging toward sarcasm.
"The satellite doesn't update in real time," Bronya Zaychik explained. "There's about a twenty-minute delay. Normally, it should be faster, but the ice surrounding this planet seems to interfere with signal accuracy. So Bronya can't pinpoint her exact location. But according to the latest data, she visited Natasha's clinic… and here."
"Are you sure she ever came here? I didn't see her at all while I was waiting," the Supreme Guardian asked, doubt creeping into her voice.
Instead of answering directly, Bronya Zaychik raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you weren't drowning in your own thoughts and missing everything around you?"
"..."
The Supreme Guardian had no comeback for that.
"Alright then," Bronya Zaychik continued briskly, as if nothing had happened. "If no one has any more questions, we should start searching."
With that, the group split up and headed to their assigned locations.
Bronya Rand's Side
After parting ways with her other-world friends, Bronya hurried straight to Natasha's clinic. She pushed the door open a little too forcefully.
BANG.
"Natasha! Did Seele come here today?" Bronya demanded, unable to keep the impatience out of her voice.
Instead of answering immediately, Natasha gave her the same awkward look Bronya had been getting from people all the way from the Overworld.
"Bronya… I think you should calm down first and come with me to the back room," she said gently, offering a soft smile.
"I'm fine. It's urgent. I don't have time to relax," Bronya insisted.
"Bronya," Natasha repeated, her tone a little softer. This time, guiding Bronya to actually look at herself.
Bronya followed Natasha's gaze downward… and froze.
She was still wearing her nightwear.
Heat rushed to her face. She had sprinted from Qlipoth Fort all the way to the Underworld like this.
'Thank aeons I didn't wear my lingerie last night…'
If she had, she would have buried herself six feet under by now.
'…Cough.'
"Yes. I think… I should calm myself a little and do as you suggest," Bronya muttered, voice small, and quietly followed Natasha toward the back room.
Bronya Zaychik's Side
After splitting up, Bronya headed toward the nearest alley, somewhere she could observe Oleg from a distance while messaging him using the Supreme Guardian Bronya's account.
Bronya:Good afternoon, Oleg. It's me, Bronya. Did Seele come to see you today?
From her hiding spot, Bronya saw Oleg pull out his phone. His brows furrowed with confusion at the message. Even so, he responded politely despite the questions clearly swirling in his mind.
Oleg:Hello, Bronya. If you're looking for Seele, I can't say more than this. She's mad at you. She told me not to tell anyone where she is.
Unwilling to give up, Bronya typed again.
Bronya:Can you at least give me a hint? I'm really sorry for what happened. It was all a misunderstanding, and I want to explain it to her properly.
Oleg:
Sorry, Bronya. I can't tell you where she went.
All I can say is that I didn't give her any work today, despite her demanding it. I could tell she was planning to work herself to exhaustion just to clear her mind, and I couldn't let that happen.
I hope you two make up soon.
After sending the message, Oleg turned off his phone and let out a heavy sigh, worried for both Seele and Bronya. Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket.
Bronya let out a small sigh of her own. From Oleg's expression alone, she knew he wasn't lying. Whether he genuinely didn't know or simply refused to betray Seele's trust, there was no more information she could get from him.
So, she turned her attention back to the data displayed before her and decided to search for Seele one location at a time.
Seele Vollerei's Side
Since they had split up to search for this world's Seele, they had already covered almost half of Rivet Town near the orphanage, chatting here and there. But there was still no sign of her, and Veliona was growing impatient.
"I don't get why she has to do something this stupid," Veliona complained, crossing her arms. "If she has a problem with this world's Bronya, then she should just yell at her and say what's wrong instead of running away!"
"Yes, but don't you think it's similar to you?" Seele replied softly, giving her other self a gentle look. "When you ran away from Seele to protect Seele? Or when Seele pushed you away because Seele didn't want you to get hurt? Maybe… It's just an instinct every Seele has. When we want to protect something important, running away feels safer. So we don't hurt them, physically or with words."
Veliona let out a loud sigh. "Huft… you're too kind. If it were me, I wouldn't care about any of that. I'd just go straight home."
"Seele believes you can't leave them alone," Seele said, smiling at her with full trust. "Just like Seele said before."
"D-don't look at me like that!" Veliona snapped, covering her red face with the back of her hand.
Seele giggled. "If you show this side of you to everyone, Seele believes you'll become much easier to approach."
"Shut up! We have important things to do," Veliona grumbled as she quickened her pace, leaving Seele behind. "If we're too slow, that stupid person might already be in trouble, or dead."
But instead of Seele's gentle reply, a sharp, angry voice answered from above, coming from the bridge right beside them.
"Who are you calling stupid!? You wanna fight, you copycat!?"
While Seele confirmed that the person in front of them was indeed the Seele they had been searching for, she quickly typed a message to her sister, Bronya, letting her know. That left Veliona alone with the newly found Seele, a time she immediately used to pick a fight.
"Do you seriously think you can win against me?" Veliona taunted. "When you're the one running away from a fight with your girlfriend?" She leapt up onto the bridge so they could glare at each other eye to eye.
"Mind your own business! And she's not my girlfriend!" This world's Seele snapped, pulling out her scythe and getting into a stance.
"I'll believe that when you can say it in front of her!" Veliona shot back, still mocking her as she drew her own weapon.
Just as their scythes were about to clash, Seele suddenly stepped between them. With one swift movement, she parried both attacks and knocked their weapons clean out of their hands.
Both Seele and Veliona stared at her in disbelief. They never imagined the gentle Seele would physically stop them like that.
"It's enough, both of you!" Seele said firmly, her expression stern. It was clear she was truly angry.
"It's not my fault! She challenged me first," Veliona huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Says the one who called me stupid!" this world's Seele shot back.
"Are you sure I was talking about you?" Veliona said smugly. "I never mentioned any names."
Hearing Veliona's smug remark, this world's Seele clicked her tongue in irritation. Before the argument could flare up again, Seele Vollerei stepped in.
"Will you let Seele handle this?" she asked gently. But there was a firm edge in her tone that told them she wouldn't accept another fight. "You can wait for the others over there."
"Fine." Veliona turned sharply and walked away, stopping near the stairs to sulk.
"What do you want," this world's Seele said, voice dripping with displeasure, the moment Veliona was out of earshot.
Once Seele Vollerei confirmed they were far enough away, she spoke softly, "Did you know… the first time Sis Bronya said she loved Seele and the other Seele equally, she got so embarrassed she yelled at her? She shouted that Sis Bronya was messing with her feelings, that she didn't care about her love, as long as she didn't hurt me."
This world's Seele blinked, thrown off for a moment.
"After that, she kept avoiding Sis Bronya whenever we met her. She thought she was disturbing Seele's time with Sis Bronya." Seele Vollerei continued gently. "But Sis Bronya never gave up. She pestered her nonstop. We always invited her to join us, no matter what we were doing. And in the end…the other Seele finally gave up running away. She became more honest about her feelings. To me, and to Sis Bronya."
Seele frowned, clearly confused and a bit irritated. "If you want to tell me something, just tell me directly. Don't waste my time with random stories."
"Seele doesn't have anything important to tell you." Seele Vollerei smiled softly, meeting her eyes with sincere warmth. "Seele only wanted to share her experience with Sis Bronya and the other Seele. Seele hopes you can make up with your Bronya soon. And… Seele is very sorry for causing all of this trouble."
Just as she finished speaking, both Bronya appeared at the same time.
"Seele!" / "Good job, Seele." the two Bronyas said in overlapping voices.
Seele Vollerei nodded. "Then… it seems like it's time for us to go back. Seele is very happy to meet you." She reached out, gently taking Bronya Zaychik's hand and tugging Veliona along with her. "Let's return to the Orphanage and open the dimensional crack so we can go home."
After their other-world friends were out of sight, Bronya immediately stepped forward and pulled Seele into a tight hug. Relief overflowing all at once.
"Seele… I'm so glad I found you." Bronya's voice trembled, the words pouring out too fast to control. "Please let me explain. I can't stand the thought of you staying angry forever or never wanting to talk to me again. There are so many things I still want to do with you. Even if it isn't as your girlfriend, I don't mind. Just… please don't leave me."
Seeing Bronya like this made Seele's chest tighten with guilt. She gently patted Bronya's back to reassure her.
"Talk to me slowly," Seele said quietly. "I won't run again."
Hearing that, Bronya pulled back slightly and searched Seele's eyes. Making sure she wasn't lying. Seele offered a small, guilty smile, and that alone eased some of the panic twisting inside Bronya.
Once she steadied herself, Bronya continued.
"I'll tell you everything. Yesterday, Natasha came to me and said something was wrong with you, your appearance, your behavior. So I checked… and after that…"
She took a breath before continuing.
"Last night, after returning from the Orphanage, I invited her to my room. But it was only because I wanted to ask about her relationship with the other Bronya and how they manage it. I asked her for… l-love advice." Bronya's face warmed in embarrassment. "Before I knew it, we talked for hours. We accidentally fell asleep. And when morning came… that's what you saw."
Bronya finally let out a long exhale, as if her heart had been squeezed for hours.
"That's everything. If you want to ask me anything… I'll answer. Anything."
On the other hand, when Seele hears this, she feels stupid because she gets angry just because of a misunderstanding. She feels like she wants to run away again to hide for a while until she's not so embarrassed again. But because she promised she wouldn't run away again, she just slapped both of her cheeks to make the blush fade away, or maybe blend in with the pain.
Bronya gets worried when she sees Seele slap both of her cheeks and asks, "Seele, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" After composing herself, she continues, "I don't have anything to ask you anymore. You don't need to worry about me running away or something like that. I promise you, I won't and wouldn't do that."
"Are you sure you don't want to ask me anything?" Bronya asked again, her voice tight with worry, afraid Seele was holding something back.
"Do you want me to ask?" Seele shot back, glaring at her for insisting she ask a question. "Do you even know where I was when all that happened!?"
"N-no! I'm sorry!" Bronya stammered, waving her hands quickly. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't holding anything in!"
"I—" Seele started, ready to scold her, but suddenly the other-world Seele's words echoed in her mind.
Then she remembered that teasing smirk from the twin with the red-tinted hair. The one who had already gotten one step ahead in her own relationship. The thought made her cheeks burn with frustration.
'No… calm down,' she told herself, taking a deep breath to steady her heart. Instead of arguing, she decided it was finally time to tell Bronya the truth. Why had she run away that day.
With a small, hesitant voice, she said, "Back then… I ran away because I was too embarrassed. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't want you to see my face like that. So…"
Since they were standing so close, Bronya heard every word clearly. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"So… you ran away, not because you were disgusted with me? Or rejecting me?"
"No! I would never think that!" Seele replied instantly, voice rising without meaning to. Only realizing afterward just how badly Bronya had misunderstood her.
"So… does that mean…" Bronya began, her tone trembling with hope.
"I…" Seele tried to say it. Those three words she hadn't been able to back then. But no matter how hard she pushed, the words tangled in her throat. Her brain and mouth refused to cooperate. 'If only I weren't like this,' she thought bitterly. 'If only I could be like the kind, gentle Seele from the other world… the one who can say things honestly.'
Bronya smiled softly, sensing her struggle. "Seele, you don't have to answer right now. You can tell me when you're ready. Just knowing you're not rejecting me, and that you're thinking about it seriously, already makes me hap—"
Before Bronya could finish, Seele leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
"That's my answer," she said, her face flushed. "I can't say those words yet… but I'll try. Someday."
Before Bronya could see how red her face had gotten, Seele turned away and added quickly, "Now let's go home. I'm tired. I want to sleep."
She hurried ahead toward Boulder Town, her heart pounding faster than her steps.
And as she walked, Seele silently made a promise to herself
that someday, she would overcome this frustrating habit of hers…
and finally be honest with the person she cared about most.