The truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth

"What is going on?" I ask, glancing between Issei, Naomi, Yukako, and my parents.

"Issei brought us here to celebrate Christmas Eve together." My father replied. "But we had no idea you were already here!" He laughs, closing the gap between us and wrapping me in a warm embrace.

"So this means you've found out about everything?" My mother asks with a smile.

"Not really. I'm actually very confused right now." I stared at Issei, struggling to comprehend the recent events.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Everything will be revealed soon." He then motioned for us to follow him into the cozily decorated living room, where a large, beautiful Christmas tree stands tall in the corner.

"Everyone, please sit and make yourself at home," Issei says before steering me towards a stylish black couch that looked like it was made out of marble.

"I see you've already met Yukako," he says, scanning the room with his eyes.

"She probably feels embarrassed since the dating show was her idea!" Issei smiles and turns to me."When Yukako was unwell and had to miss school, she would pass time by watching many episodes of those dating shows all day." He chuckles.

"Oh, so she was the one who pushed you to join, huh?" I smile. "That's cute."

"No, she was the one who came up with the idea." Naomi chimes in.

"What do you mean?"

Issei sighs, then looks into my eyes. "The show 'Pick a Brain & Fall in Love' is not, in fact, a real dating show. Naomi and Yukako made everything up."

"Yeah, right!" I chuckle. "That's a good one!" I laugh, glancing around the room, expecting everyone to crack a smile. But they were all serious.

"Come on, Airi! What kind of respectable TV show films in a basement?" Naomi giggles. "And that audience made out of cheap holograms? Yeah..."

"But what about the contract with the lab, Sam and Tom and—"

"The alien brothers are our friends, and about the lab..." Naomi smirks. "I dare you to look up who the owner is."

Issei, looking visibly uncomfortable, fidgets with his shirt collar. His eyes refusing to meet mine.

"NO WAY!" I sit up and point at him.

"You're such a big liar! I trusted you, and... and... I don't even know what to say right now." Overwhelmed, I shield my eyes with my hands, trying my best to gather my thoughts.

Then, out of nowhere, Yukako sprints over and wraps her tiny arms around my leg. "Please don't fight with Issei because of my idea!" She begs.

"I know I was rude to you as Brainy, and I'm sorry..." She puts her head down and fidgets with her pink dress. "I—I didn't like you at first, so I decided to test you. Because I wanted to protect Issei from heartbreak." She then peeks up at me.

"Issei was a good stepbrother and did a lot for me and Naomi in the past."

I look at her in shock. So they were siblings all along?

"And even now, as our legal guardian, Issei worked even harder to get where he is now." Naomi adds.

And now he is their father also?

Wow, what a tangled family tree this guy has!

"It's true, they used to be my stepsisters, but I adopted them after we became humanoid robots. They needed a guardian when they came back here, and I couldn't just let them be taken by the adoption services." He glances at them and smiles.

"I understand that this is quite a shock." Issei then rises to his feet. "When I said I felt bad for not telling you the full story, I meant it." He sighs and places both of his hands on my shoulders.

[Permission required]

[Attempt to link Telepathy with Issei]

"I know you're angry, and I apologize, but please just... just give me the chance to explain everything."

[Accept] [Deny]

[Airi and Issei are now connected.]

"Thank you, Airi!"

[File attachment sent]

After you passed away in 2025, I made contact with your parents and told them about our meeting and about the lottery ticket. They were touched by my story, and we remained close since they offered to help me with my sister's illness, which was the same as yours. Sadly, Yukako also had low chances of living, so we decided to resort to cryopreservation, just like you did.

Later, I finished university and got a business degree. I teamed up with some colleagues, and together, we helped rebuild your parents' companies. We became partners and made a good amount of profit. With that, I bought the entire lab and made some changes. I trusted their technology and invested a lot in developing a way to keep all of the brains there safe in case the possibility of us getting revived in the future happened.

Years after Yukako's death came another tragedy. Naomi got in a car accident and went into a coma. You can imagine what happened after that. Both of your parents lived for a long time after that, but at the age of 80, they both requested that their brains be preserved too.

I also opted for cryopreservation; however, I made sure to get revived first using my authority as the lab's owner. But only because I had a hunch the first humanoid models were going to be unstable, and I was right.

When Humanity Points got implemented, I took this opportunity to give each brain a price. Since anyone could buy them if they had enough points, I gave everyone's brains astronomical prices on purpose because I didn't want any of you ending up in some random museums. It was all part of the plan to keep you all safe until the tech was more stable.

Years later, the humanoid models started getting better. I convinced the President of Earth to revive a lot of people, including your family and my stepsisters. We then all agreed to wait a little bit longer for your arrival. I wanted your brain to have the best humanoid robot possible.

Just to be clear, "Pick a Brain & Fall in Love" wasn't my idea. Yukako was the mastermind behind it. She made up this plan with Naomi in order to get you on a fake dating show and get to know me better this way. That's because they knew I wouldn't want to pursue you after buying your brain with HP. It just felt wrong in my opinion.

You might ask why you. Well, that's because over time, I've had the privilege to learn about the real Airi through your parents' stories. Yes, that side of you that used to hide under the image of a spoiled, rich woman who always got what she desired.

I wanted to meet the Airi with a heart of gold who loved helping others, even though she had her own battles to fight. That kind of strength really inspired me, especially after seeing what Yukako went through.

And now that you're here, I hope you can finally start living the life you never got to have.

[Issei Disconnected]

Settling back into the couch, I attempt to gather my thoughts and process everything Issei had told me.

"T-Thank you, each and every one of you!" I murmur, my voice shaky with emotion.

"I truly appreciate your efforts." A few tears start to escape the corners of my eyes. I guess snow must have gotten into my water tank by accident. Everyone came near me, and we hugged before we sat like that in silence for a while.

"You know..." Wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, I manage to muster a chuckle, glancing in Issei's direction. "This whole ordeal would have been a bit less complicated if you had simply hidden our brains somewhere."

"Like I told you before, I'm a good citizen." He holds both of his hands up in surrender. "I like to do things the legal way, even if it means the hard way."

"Just how old are you, really?" I ask him, unable to contain my curiosity after hearing the full story.

"You already know I was 20 when we first met. Does my age really matter? You said you liked older men anyway." His statement is met with a round of laughter from everyone.

"Who said I was going to date you?" I stick my tongue out, embarrassed.

Naomi, noticing my flustered expression, joins the conversation. "The dating show might have been fake, but the cameras didn't lie. Your chemistry with Issei was pretty convincing if you ask me." Both of my parents nod, and I blush even more.

"This might sound strange, but there's a part of me that's actually going to miss filming." I say as I glance back at Yukako, who was slowly approaching me.

"Airi? Can you please come back for one more episode?" She asks shyly, watching me with big, cute eyes. "We need to announce the winners."