Clone Girls

*Kachack*

The door to the room where Meiko was waiting opened, making the woman raise her head as she observed the people who entered the room. Two ECGs entered first, followed closely by Rika.

“Ah.” Meiko let out a small gasp once she made eye contact with Rika, and a wave of various emotions nearly overwhelmed her. In fact, Rika expected it would be the case, since it was usually what happened each time the two of them met. This time however, Meiko closed her eyes for a small moment, calming herself, before looking at Rika with Tear filled eyes…

“It’s… been a while… Rika…”

It had been a long time since Rika last saw her mother, and yet she had not grown any more wrinkles, making her mature beauty shine despite her age.

“...It’s been a while indeed, Madam Doesson, please address me formally.” Rika answered coldly after a pause, before seating on the couch facing the one Meiko was in. Her answer made Meiko flinch.

This was the first time Rika did not call Meiko ‘mother’ face to face, which told her that Rika had truly cut all strings with her. By saying this from the beginning, Rika had built a wall from which she defended herself against Meiko.

“Ah… yes, I’m sorry, Brigadier-General…” It was just another blow in Meiko’s heart after the coldness that Rika directed at her.

Still, despite trembling, Meiko took the initiative.

“I see you are doing well…”

“I am.” Rika answered shortly.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Meiko forced a small smile, and a heavy silence began…

While Rika appeared calm on the outside though, she was a bit surprised…

She’s acting weird…

The Meiko Rika knew would have shied away by now, taking refuge into her husband’s arms while weeping from sadness, as if Rika just died. But the person in front of her seemed to be… accepting the situation as it was…

Not only that, but even though Rika wanted to avoid this meeting, Ticia had pleaded with her to reconsider, and Rika had a small argument with her as a result. Her friend acquiesced that it might be a well defined trap, but still insisted despite knowing that, mentioning it was a ‘mother’s intuition’. Ticia also told her some rather… interesting facts, but Rika remained suspicious, and now that she saw how Meiko acted, she was even moreso.

I need to stay on guard… She doubled up on her alertness. She was sure Meiko had been sent here as a means to discover and exploit her weaknesses, and that this ‘disparition’ from the family was just an excuse. Rika had already prepared herself against any events like that, and knew her mother well. That was why…

“Tell me what they want.” She asked straightforwardly.

“...Sorry?” Meiko tilted her head.

“Alexander Doesson, that old fox. What does he want?” Rika asked again.

“What?” Meiko seemed surprised at first, but she quickly understood what Rika meant. “Wait, Rika, I think you’re misunderstanding something, I ju-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Rika cut her mother’s words, feeling irritated as she looked at Meiko with a sharp gaze. If Meiko did not want to talk, then Rika did not see anything else she had to do here. “I have nothing to do with the Doesson family anymore, please leave.”

“Rika, wait!” Meiko panicked as Rika stood up, about to leave. “C-can we talk for a bit? Just a little moment, please…”

“...” Rika stopped in her tracks, observing Meiko. The latter seemed despaired, which made Rika think she might talk.

“Alright, then tell me why you’re here and who sent you.” She said as she sat back on the couch. Meiko nodded timidly, tidying herself before sitting on her own seat too.

“Nobody told me to come… I just wanted to see you…”  Meiko insisted.

“Why?” Rika frowned. She was not interested but decided to play along this time.

“Because you’re my daughter…” Meiko weakly replied.

“That’s it?” Rika could not help but ask again, and as Meiko nodded as a confirmation, Rika sighed again.

This is getting nowhere. What a waste of my time…

“I do believe I have made myself clear before. I do not want to be associated with you, nor do I consider you as my ‘mother’.” She said mercilessly.

“I-I know.” Meiko lowered her head and trembled, clearly hurt by what Rika just said. But she quickly raised her head again. “But still, despite that, I wanted to see you…”

“And I don’t want to see you. I have nothing to do with you anymore!” Rika raised her voice unconsciously.

“I understand that… I do, but… Is there no way to fix our relationship?” Meiko pleaded as tears began to flow down her cheeks, but Rika shook her head.

“It’s too late.”

I already closed that door.

Rika felt too hurt to consider reconciling with her mother. She preferred to think of the person facing her as a stranger.

There’s nothing to do about it. Every time I see her, I don’t see my ‘mother’ but the person who abandoned me to my fate.

Meiko stared at the eyes of her daughter with a wide range of emotions, while Rika stayed unwavering. After a while, Meiko finally spoke up.

“... I guess it is too late after all…” She mumbled with a bitter smile full of regrets, before bowing to Rika. “Thank you for giving me some time, I won't bother you further.”

“...” Rika stayed silent at first, before sighing and getting up. “If you say so, then I will be going.”

She approached the door at a rapid pace. The thought of staying in this room any longer sickened her. When she reached the door, she caught a glimpse of Meiko, who had a look of acceptance on her face. This made Rika freeze for a bit, as she did not expect such a face from that person. One of the ECGs though, misunderstanding Rika’s expression, opened the door for her.

*Kachac*

““Whoah!?””

““Eh?””

Four little girls immediately fell on the ground as the door opened, surprising everyone in the room.

Rika knew those girls very well, of course.

“Ouch ouch ouch…”

“...What are you girls doing…” Rika asked as she overlooked Nia, rubbing her arms while her sisters were still grunting on the ground. They all froze when they heard her.

“Uhm, hey Rika...” Nia awkwardly said, fidgeting. “We were wondering what was behind that door… Teehee.”

“Don’t ‘teehee’ me…” Rika replied, exasperated at the girl who was pulling her tongue out while closing one eye, before looking at the other girls who just got up. “I could expect this from Nia, but you three?”

Lidia, Ticinia and Vinia were now looking down, feeling guilty. Seeing that there was no point in inventing a story, Nia told the truth.

“They also were curiou-Buh!?”

She ended up receiving a punch to the stomach as a result…

“Lidia…” Rika sent a judging look towards the perpetrator of the punch, who immediately looked down.

“Sorry…” The girl mumbled, which made Rika sigh.

This was something Rika noticed about Lidia after she got to know her more. When her secrets were about to be revealed, she had a tendency to panic. Willia and Nia, who most of the time told everything to Rika, often received the ‘silencing punishment’ as a result…

You can be sure Lidia will keep important secrets, but still, punching your sisters is a bit… I’ll need to consult Ticia.

“Still, I didn’t expect you to spy on me, guess you’re as much of a naughty girl as your sisters…” Rika felt a bit betrayed over the fact that the clone girl who always was on her side was sneaking behind her back.

“I-I wasn’t! I was just making sure they wouldn’t trouble you!” Lidia immediately panicked and pointed fingers at her sisters.

““Liar…”” They all answered back with judging looks, making Lidia look down in shame. There was no escaping from that one.

Seeing this scene, Rika smiled wryly.

“Look girls, I’m not that angry, but you need to understand that people might not like it if you spy on something they don’t want you to check on. Sometimes, curiosity is dangerous.”

““...”” The girls stayed quiet, seemingly reflecting on what they just did, when suddenly-.

“Are those… the clone children I saw the other day?” Meiko let out in wonder.

“!!!” Rika was immediately reminded of the presence of Meiko within the room, and so did the Null CGs.

“Ticinia, Ticinia, the person over there looks just like Rika!” Vinia said excitedly as she pulled her sister’s arm.

“Yes! That probably means it’s Rika’s mom!” Ticinia answered back with a huge smile on her face, reciprocating Vinia’s current mood. The two approached Meiko.

“H-hey, you girls! Where are you going?” Rika called out to them, but her call fell on deaf ears.

“You’re Rika’s mom, right?”

“What’s your name, miss?”

Both asked one after another with stars in their eyes.

“Uhm…” Meiko was a bit surprised at first, before presenting herself. “I’m Meiko Doesson, Rika’s mo-.”

“Stop.” Rika intervened with a strong pressure. “Vinia, Ticinia, don’t bother her, come here.”

I won’t let you do anything to those kids.

“But…” Vinia seemed hesitant, she looked between Meiko and Rika several times before nodding. “Okay…”

Ticinia stayed right next to Meiko though.

“Ticinia, what are you doing? Come here.” Rika called out as she grew agitated, but Ticinia simply shook her head.

“No.”

“Eh?”

This was the first time Ticinia ever refused something Rika demanded of her, so Rika was left in utter shock.

Ticinia has always been a good kid, why now?

“Why would I be in danger, Rika? She’s your mother, no?” Ticinia said while tilting her head. The fact that she mentioned the word ‘danger’ meant that she knew how Rika felt right now…

“That is… Yes, but…”  Rika had a hard time finding the right words to convince Ticinia. How could she explain her situation with just a few simple words?

“...Some things happened between us, I don’t really think of her as my mother anymore.” Was what she ended up saying.

“Is that so? That’s not what I see though?” Ticinia replied while tilting her head again, confused.

“...What?” Rika froze at Ticinia’s innocent remark.

Does she mean that I still…

She understood what Ticinia meant by that. After all, Ticinia had shown her powers multiple times in front of her…

This innocent remark made Rika notice that the wound she thought to be long gone was still open and aching… She began to feel phantom pains on her scars.

No! I shouldn’t let her get close to the clones! She might hurt them like she did for me! Rika convinced herself that Meiko was acting to trick her as she felt her mind spinning around questions she thought resolved. But deep down she knew. It was harder to recognize the facts than just saying they were not a family anymore…

“It’s okay Rika. She’s good.” Ticinia consoled softly while hugging a confused Meiko. The cute twintailled girl had perceived Rika’s current train of thoughts and was becoming better at facing it.

“...” Rika stayed silent. While she managed to keep her poker face, she was struggling inside.

She’s…good? I mean, yes, she’s always been kind, but kindness isn’t everything! It can hurt sometimes, and she’s a person who can’t make any decisions! You’ll just get hurt by staying near her!

“Hey, Rika, if Ticinia says it, then it’s fine, right?” Nia suddenly commented from the side, making Rika grunt.

“It’s more complex than that…”

“But even if it’s complex, it can be fixed, right?” Nia commented nonchalantly, before her mood suddenly soured. “I don’t want to see you lose your mom…” 

Rika could tell this was how the girl truly felt. Nia wasn’t hiding her emotions behind her happy, joking tone right now, and it affected the mood of the other Null CGs. This reminded them of their painful experience…

Seeing this, Rika could only sigh. The sad look of the girls as well as Vinia’s intensifying pleading stare was weighing heavily on her, and she could not bear it any longer.

God, I can’t bear to make those kids cry right now… I’m too attached to them…

“...Fine, I’ll let her stay.” She mumbled after a while, ignoring her own spiraling feelings.

“Ri-, Brigadier-General…” Meiko seemed touched by Rika’s words.

“Why are you calling her by title? You’re her mother, so call her by her name like a family!” Nia chided.

“Yeah yeah! I always like it when mom calls me by name!” Vinia added innocently while nodding her head strongly.

Meanwhile, Meiko was hesitant after Rika had made it clear that she did not want to be considered her daughter. She looked at Rika, asking whether it was alright with her gaze. Rika closed her eyes and grinded her teeth.

“...I’ll let it slide in front of the kids.” She managed to let out, albeit with a lot of reluctance.

“Thank you Rika.” Meiko said with a small smile. “But don’t worry, I won’t stay here long. I just wanted to talk to you and see how you were doing, that’s all.”

“Where are you going, Miss Meiko? I want to chat with you more!” Ticinia asked while clinging to Meiko for some reason.

“Me too!” Vinia also rushed to Meiko.

“I can’t stay long, I sneaked out just to see Rika, you see.” Meiko said with a wry smile. She was about to pat the girls on the head, but held herself back as she glanced at Rika’s slightly twitching eyebrows.

“Is that so? Will you have some problems for sneaking out? Because Nia and Lidia did.” Vinia said, pointing at the other to Null CGs.

“Hey! We agreed we wouldn't talk about this matter anymore!” Nia protested.

“Fufu. Don’t worry, I made sure to assure my back before going out. There’s no way they’d try anything.” Meiko said with confidence.

“How can you be so sure about that though?” Rika frowned.

“Your father would not let it pass if something happened to me.” Meiko answered back.

“...I’m not so sure about that.”

“Eh?”

Meiko did not seem to understand Rika’s words, to Rika’s stupefaction.

She really doesn’t know? How could she be so… naive…

Rika thought Meiko knew her husband better, since they were a married couple, but apparently, she was wrong. Seeing that Ticinia did not react to what Meiko just said either, it meant that Meiko truly believed what she just said.

However, Rika had seen it for herself, how screwed her father could be…

He’s the one who told me to respect the patriarch’s order and die if I must, after all…

It was Rika’s father who announced to the younger Rika that she was to serve in the army to satisfy the family’s ambition, and while he seemed sorry at first for Rika, he kept on insisting that the family’s honor came first before his daughter’s happiness. Rika could not understand this, and she still couldn’t after all this time…

After that, her father kept asking how she was doing when they met. But Rika could sense the difference in what he meant. He was not asking how his daughter was doing, but rather if she managed to achieve things that could benefit the family… He was nothing but a messenger of the patriarch…

Rika thought her mother also knew all that, hence why she felt guilty in the first place, but it was not so simple after all…

Let’s show her what her ‘husband’ has been doing then… Rika thought with some flash of revenge, before fiddling with her watch.

“This might be hard to believe if I just said it, so here, read this article.” She said as her watch displayed an hologram for Meiko to see.

Meiko’s eyes grew wide as she read the name of the article, under the title was a photo of herself lying in a glass coffin.

“...What? Died? But I-”

“Yes, you’re alive and well.” Rika said back, showing other articles that Rebot-ia sent her just a few minutes ago… She brushed those off as she had other things in her mind, but seeing Meiko’s current reaction, she understood that Meiko had no part in it.

The articles focussed on Dave Doesson, Rika’s father, as well as Dannie, her brother. Both expressed sadness over the loss, and criticized Rika as an unfilial daughter for not even showing up at her mother’s funeral. The whole article then focused on undermining Rika’s reputation, reporting on all kinds of bad rumors around Rika instead of talking of the said dead person.

Now that I think about it, that AI also said something about taking revenge on those cupid journalists… What on Borkian Prime did she mean by that? Rika asked herself, unsure about this new ally of hers, but focused on her mother who was still in disbelief.

“Not only that, but the patriarch has erased you from the family register.” She pulled out the report Ticia got from Nathalia and showed it to Meiko.

“Grandfather-in-law did what?” Meiko began to tremble as she began to realize something. “No way… Then…”

“I’m afraid you’ve been abandoned by the Doesson family.” Rika spoke what Meiko hesitated to say.

“...” Meiko looked down while trembling, a variety of emotions showing on her face. Rika expected to feel good about what she just did, but she didn’t… She also expected some denial from her mother, but Meiko stayed silent, as if broken by what she just heard…

She was just a tool in the end… Just like I was…

In a somewhat twisted way, Rika ended up sympathizing with her mother, though she would never admit it.

“Miss Meiko, it’s gonna be ok! You can just stay with us!” Vinia suddenly declared from the side.

““Eh?”” Both Rika and Meiko looked at the little girl with looks of surprise.

“Oh! That's a great idea, Vinia!” Ticinia said from the side, before looking at her sisters with a smile. “Don’t you agree, sisters?”

“Why not? It could be fun!” Nia immediately jumped on the ship. Rika could tell from the girl’s smile that she just thought of something that might end up with Ticia punishing her later on…

As for Lidia, she stayed silent, neither nodding or shaking her head.

“I’m happy with the thought, but it’s not me who must take the decision…” Meiko said with a small smile to Vinia, who immediately looked at Rika with puppy eyes. Ticinia quickly joined in the act.

““Rika…””

“Guh!? D-don’t try to make puppy eyes with me, it won’t work!” Rika was shaken up.

“So it’s a no in the end?” Vinia said sadly.

“Gufuh!” It was super effective on Rika!

I can’t bear it if it comes from you Vinia! That's just not fair!

“I-I get it already, stop making those faces! Else I won’t be able to face Ticia…” Rika blurted out as she tried to keep a somewhat serious look, though the ECGs standing guard and Lidia looked at her with deadpan looks. “B-but it’s not me who has to take the decision!” She added as if suddenly remembering something.

That’s right! Ticia’s the one who will have the final word in this!

“Oh, it’s fine. Mom said she was alright with whatever happened.” Nia casually said, leaving Rika with a sense of loss.

“...Why do I feel like this has all been planned…”

““It wasn’t?”” The Null CGs tilted their heads in confusion, which made Rika sigh.

This might not have been planned, but you girls can’t say you didn’t make it up on the spot. What a terrifying planning speed…

“...Fine, she can stay with us for now…” She raised the white flag.

“Yay! Miss Meiko can stay!”

“Yay!”

Both Ticinia and Vinia jumped in joy, hugging one another while giggling.

“Good for you, Ticinia, Vinia!” Nia gave them a thumbs up while smirking, satisfied with the result.

“Haaa… My heart hurts…” Rika rubbed her forehead as she leaned on the couch. She felt tricked from the beginning to the end…

Taking care of kids is hard… Just how do you manage to refuse them, Ticia? She seriously asked herself…

“Cheer up, Rika, mother would’ve also been defeated by those two.” Lidia suddenly said from the side.

“Lidia, you’re such a sweet girl.” Seeking reconfort, Rika hugged Lidia, who smiled as a result.

“Ah, how cunning, Lidia. So that was your plan…”

Rika thought she heard Nia mumble something in the background, but she did not pay attention to it. Instead, she looked at her mother with a serious face. 

“You’ve heard the kids, I’ll allow you to stay here with us for now.”

“Thank you, Rika, but I won’t just stay silent.” 

“Eh?”

Meiko answered with the same serious face, which surprised Rika. Meiko had been shaken up quite badly until just now… Not only that, Rika felt like something… different, in her mother’s gaze. This might be the first time she saw her mother make a face like that…

“Throughout my life, they told me to be obedient. So long as I was doing what they wanted, they’d give me whatever I wanted. You should know who educated me, Rika.” Meiko said to herself before addressing Rika.

“Yeah…” Rika nodded. She had heard the story multiple times already, and experienced some parts herself. 

Meiko lost her parents and the rest of the Eiko family when she was only eight years old. As a result, the people who took care of her were the family with whom the Eiko family had made a marriage agreement: the Doesson. Meiko then grew up surrounded by Doesson family’s tutors, just like Rika, who taught them how to be an obedient and servient wife. She ended up marrying Dave, her sweet childhood friend and fiance, as soon as she was eighteen, in accordance with the will left by her parents and the wish of the Doesson’s patriarch, and she lived the most happy married life ever since.

“I… I still feel like this is just a nightmare, I want to go back to the time when it was just the four of us as a happy family, but…” Meiko trembled as she looked at her hands, before clenching them into fists and looking at Rika with an expression that cried immense pain and betrayal to the world. “I understand it, I understand it very well. All this time, I’ve been a bird in a cage, and I’ve always told myself that this was the path to happiness, that this was the way it should be…”

“...Mother?” Rika called out to her mother unconsciously as she stared at Meiko. Was it really the mother she knew? Something seemed different…

It’s as if… all strings have been cut from the puppet…

“There's an old saying in the Eiko family, Rika, which comes from our roots as Nitchibotsus.” Meiko said with a serious look. “‘Only when the puppeteer cuts all the strings of the marionette can the marionette shine like never before.’”

It was a bit of a cryptic message, yet Rika somehow understood what her mother meant.

“They want to erase me? Fine, do so. I don’t care. I’ve been the good girl they wished for long enough. They took one kid from me, they also took my baby girl away to die on the battlefield, and now that she’s rebelling, they want her dead… I’ve watched all of this unfold while doing nothing and being helpless, believing their sweet words of poisoned affection. But I can’t stand it anymore… Enough is enough. All they were after was my family’s business after all.”

Meiko got up.

“I am Meiko Eiko, a member of the Eiko family, and not of the Doesson. It’s time I get things right.”

“...Miss Meiko?” Vinia asked in confusion as Meiko fixed gaze with Rika again.

“Rika, your faction, let me join it.” She suddenly said, raising her hand for a handshake.

“Eh?” Rika was surprised at first by the sudden request, before making a serious face too. “But what would we all gain from that?”

“Eiko Extraction Industries.”

“!?!”

Rika nearly fell out of the couch when she heard her mother say that, and that was for a good reason. It was a huge and influential corporation after all.

Despite being managed by the Doesson family right now, the old employees stood defiantly in keeping the name of the now defunct Eiko family alive somehow. The Doesson did not insist on renaming the corporation either, as they would slowly digest the big corporation…

Still, neither I nor mother have any right over the industry, so how? Rika asked herself while looking at Meiko, not even realizing she had begun to call Meiko her mother again in her thoughts.

Realizing what Rika was thinking, Meiko smirked, which made Rika even more baffled at the devilish expression her mother had right now.

“Do you really believe the Eiko family would have let itself be eaten away by the Doesson without fighting back? No, they wouldn’t. I did not know them for very long, but I remember my parents and grandparents being strong figures. The Doesson were the minor partners in this alliance.” She said nonchalantly, but Rika knew that she was right.

The Doesson were only a small family dealing in arms production. They needed a stable source of raw materials to flourish. That was where the Eiko family entered the frame. They offered an alliance, as they too, were interested in expanding their business into arms dealings. The Doesson patriarch jumped on the occasion immediately, and the Doesson Industries had been flourishing ever since…

“If you help I, Meiko Eiko, the both of us can get back what is ours. Would you be willing to help your hopeless mother?” Meiko declared in front of the still baffled Rika with an impish smile.

“...” Was this still the same person that had been waiting for her in the room? Rika asked herself. She had a sharp gaze and a thirst for revenge, that she could tell. It was the complete opposite of what she knew of her mother…

“Do it Rika!” Ticinia suddenly said.

“Yes! This sounds so interesting!” Nia added.

“We’ll help too! Ah, our sister too of course!” Vinia nodded in agreement, firing herself up.

“...This could be beneficial to mother too…” Lidia mumbled, looking thoughtful.

Rika stared in wonder at the four clone girls who suddenly went into ‘serious Ticia’ mode. The fact that Ticinia was not shying away this time also caught her interest, but Rika did not comment.

They're right… If we could get the Eiko Extraction Industries, then not only would we deal a serious blow to the Doesson, we would also get a stable source of income and raw ressources as well as a stronger political stand…

This was very attractive, and Rika could not find any counterarguments to this. In the end, she sighed at the clone girls.

“Okay, I get it, you have my support.” She declared as she shook her mother’s hand.

“Yay! She said yes!”

“Quick! Let’s go tell mom and eldest sister about the news!”

The girls rushed out of the room like a storm, and silence came back as the ECGs slowly closed the door their sisters had left open.

“Those girls, really…” Rika could not help but sigh while rubbing her forehead.

“Fufu, seems like it’s been lively around you.” Meiko giggled, sending a motherly look to Rika. It had been a long time since Rika last saw her mother smiling with such peace of mind…

“I can’t deny that, but sometimes, I wish they were calmer...” She commented with a wry smile.

“You’re too soft on them.” Meiko commented.

“Like mother, like daughter, I guess.” Rika rolled her eyes.

“Fufu, touche.”

The both of them ended up laughing at this exchange.

“Just so you know, I still haven’t forgiven you.” Rika suddenly said with a grave look.

“I know.” Meiko mirrored her daughter’s expression. “But I’ll work hard to improve our relationship, since you’re all I’ve left. Even if you don’t want it.”

“We’ll see about that.” Rika turned as she replied, hiding the twitching as her lips tried to raise themselves. She was beginning to like this new side of her mother…

“Let’s work hard together.”

“Yes.”

As the both of them repair a broken link unconsciously, they did not notice that the ECG’s expressions had become warm as they watched over them…