Zhou told Toshiro the rest of his tale, in as detached and unemotional a tone as he could muster, still as soft-spoken and well mannered as he always was.

"Wow, Zhou, I'm so sorry," Toshiro said, shaking his head, when he'd finished. "That sounds awful."

"It's alright, you don't need to be. Nothing there was your fault." Zhou replied, quietly.

"Even so, I... I understand if you don't want to stay here, if you're— scared that I would hurt you. I definitely won't force you to do anything. I'd really enjoy having you here, but not if you're unwilling to."

Zhou looked at Toshiro for a long moment, pondering. "The thing is," Zhou finally said, glancing down shyly. "Being here has given me the greatest sense of safety and comfort since... well, in a long time. But I really don't want to trouble you any more than I have already. And I'm eating your food and staying here and spending your money, and I'm not even paying rent."

"Zhou." Toshiro bent down to look him in the eye. "I wasn't lying when I said you're no trouble. It's nothing drastic, but... I do miss my home in Japan, with people around who I knew and loved. Having friends. I enjoy having you here. So the money really doesn't matter, in light of all of that. Besides, you helping out around the house means you've definitely earned your keep, if it's something you care about." Thoughtfully, Toshiro tilted his head and added, "You know, you're a top player in the Oasis now. You can probably get paid from sponsors and companies; I can help you navigate that if you'd like. But not for you to pay me: that's really not necessary, like I said. Only if you'd like a greater sense of security."

"I just... don't want to be a burden."

"Zhou, I told you. You're not a burden; your staying here has made it less lonely for me. You're no more of a burden than a younger brother would be."

"Brother," Zhou mused thoughtfully. "I— I don't have any sense of family."

Toshiro smiled sadly. "I know, and you shouldn't have to lack that. But you can always build your own family, right?"

"Family," Zhou voiced again, with slight but growing enthusiasm. "A brother. I— I'd like that, maybe."

"I'd like that too," Toshiro smiled. He hesitated, then seeing Zhou's smile mirroring his own, joked, "Now, no more nonsense about leaving, alright?"

Zhou nodded quickly.

"Excellent. Then, shall we get on with making dinner?"

They finished preparing the food and sat down to eat as they normally would, but Zhou felt that there was a lightness to the mood that hadn't been there before. Or maybe it was his own happiness, with his conscience cleared while having a sense of... home? 

A home. For what was probably the first time.

"Which book have you been reading from the library now?" Toshiro asked, chopsticks gently clinking against china as they ate. Zhou spent much of his spare time poring over the books, as Toshiro was well aware.

"The Little Prince. I really like it."

"Oh, that's a good one! It's one of my favorites."

"Oh! Um, after... after we finish dinner, would you like to read some of it together? If— if you want to, that is." Zhou asked shyly.

Toshiro smiled at how abashed Zhou was over this invitation, but he was touched by the initiative by Zhou. And after all, he was still a nine-year-old child, even if sometimes his solemn manner didn't reflect it. "Of course! That'd be wonderful," Toshiro said encouragingly.

The conversation drifted to other topics, but once they'd finished eating, he asked, "Would you like to get the book?"

Zhou nodded and ran out of the room to fulfill the request. Toshiro got up to clean up the dishes, humming offhandedly as he put them in the sink and rinsed them off.

As he was almost finished, he felt a small pair of arms wrap around him from behind, book in hand. Toshiro froze, still holding a bowl.

"Thank you," Zhou whispered against him.

"Thank you," Toshiro said, relaxing. Wiping his hands dry, he turned around and returned the hug, holding Zhou tight.

A brother.

A new family.

A/N: And that's the end of Ready Player Zero! I wanted to end on a really wholesome moment :) 

Thank you to the readers who've made it this far; I really appreciate your support. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!