[Outside Haruka's room]
"Are you ready to proceed, Horikita?"
I take a deep breath, pushing down the last of my flustered feelings.
And reach for the door handle.
What am I going to find in there? What am I supposed to do?
"Pilot,"
"Your heart rate has increased by another eight percent. Are you experiencing tactical apprehension?"
"N-No," I mutter, my grip tightening on the handle.
"I'm just… Thinking."
"Analysis suggests your current state is suboptimal for engaging with the anomaly. Shall I proceed first?"
"I'll go first," I say, more firmly this time.
...The voice… It told me to free her.
And right now, that's the only thing that makes any sense.
I turn the handle, opening the door.
Haruka is sitting on a chair, her back to us, staring intently at something large.
"What is she doing?" I whisper, stepping further into the room with Kotori right behind me.
"Haruka is currently reading Doujins on her computer display."
"Doujins?"
And I assume display means the thing she is looking at.
"What does that mean?"
"Self-published narrative works," Kotori replies.
"Often featuring established characters in non-canonical scenarios. Haruka's collection primarily focuses on genres exploring exaggerated anatomical features and high-intensity emotional bonding rituals, frequently involving tentacles."
Tentacles? Bonding rituals? What is she talking about?
I shake my head, pushing the confusing thoughts aside. I'm not here for Haruka's… hobbies.
"Haruka!"
Haruka jumps, startled, and the chair she's sitting on squeaks as she turns around to face us.
Unashamed smile instantly spreads across her face.
"Ace! You're here! And Kotori, too. Excellent! Did you need something? I was just… Compiling cultural data."
"The girl," I say, cutting straight to the point.
Though I instantly notice the girl is lying on Haruka's bed.
"Ah, the anomaly,"
"Come to check on our guest of honor?"
I ignore her casual tone and walk closer to the bed.
She no longer has that cold, empty aura around her.
Looks… Peaceful. Like she's finally sleeping after a long nightmare.
Doesn't look like a monster either.
I stop at the edge of the bed.
Doesn't look like she's in pain right now.
(...The source of her pain. It's still here. Connected to her. You must sever it, or she will fall back into its grasp.)
Free her… Sever the connection.
But what connection? Where is it?
I reach out my hand, slowly, hesitantly, towards the girl's forehead. Maybe if I touch her, I can feel it.
It's cool. Normal. Simple, living warmth of a body at rest.
Nothing.
I feel nothing. No connection. No pain.
Am I doing this wrong? Was the voice just… A hallucination?
Huh? Is it just me, or does her skin look similar to Kotori's?
My gaze moves to Kotori, who is standing silently beside me.
And then, I place my right hand on Kotori's forehead.
"Pilot? What is the purpose of this action?" Kotori asks.
It doesn't feel the same, but there's a similar quality to it.
I pull my hand back, turning to Haruka.
"Haruka,"
"These two... They're not human, are they?"
"Bingo, ace! Full marks on pattern recognition!"
She claps her hands together with a quick, excited smack.
"I knew you were sharp! Most people see 'pretty girls.' You see the data beneath the surface!"
"What are they?" I press.
Haruka crosses her arms.
"I don't have the data to give you a complete answer," Haruka admits, and for the first time since I met her, she looks genuinely frustrated.
"But perhaps your new 'partner' can help with that." Haruka finishes, her gaze shifting pointedly to Kotori.
I remember the voice from my memory.
(...That girl... Kotori... The one you protected... Her heart will know what yours cannot. She can help you.)
Haruka is right. If anyone knows what's going on, it's her.
I turn to Kotori.
"You know something, don't you?"
"Affirmative."
"The entity on the bed is a Series X Android."
"Series X Android?" I repeat and turn towards Haruka.
"What does that mean?"
"It's my first time hearing of it as well," Haruka says, her expression turning serious.
Haruka pushes herself off her chair.
"Kotori,"
"Define 'Series X Android.' Origin, function, power source. Give me the core data."
However, Kotori looks towards me.
"My pilot?"
Her question is quiet, but it cuts through the room, silencing Haruka's unspoken demand for data.
She's… Asking for my permission.
Even though Haruka is the commander of this base, Kotori is looking at me.
Her loyalty, her obedience… It's absolute.
I look from Kotori's expectant face to Haruka's, whose intense curiosity is practically a physical force in the room.
This is my responsibility now.
"...Is that fine?" I ask, a little hesitant.
"Your command is my priority."
I give a firm nod.
"The entity is designated Series X."
"Origin: Pre-Calamity governmental initiative — the Divine Hybrid Project."
"Function: Ultimate defense against world-ending threats."
"Power source: A Ki Heart — an artificially stabilized core of divine construction."
"And that explains your connection to Divine Ki." Haruka mutters, her eyes narrowing as she connects the dots.
I stare between them... Half of those words mean nothing to me. The other half mean too much.
"Wait," I interrupt, holding up a hand.
"What's an android? And... Are you one of them, Kotori?"
"Negative."
"I am the Alpha Prototype."
More words I don't understand.
"Alpha… As in, the first?" Haruka asks.
"The first, and the only one of my kind. The Series X are fully artificial. I am the result of the Divine Hybrid Project—an experiment not of creation, but of integration. My core is a prototype Ki Heart fused with what was already a human biological system."
I struggle to process the words. Human... Biological system?
"The Series X Androids,"
"Are the subsequent production models. They possess fully artificial bodies engineered around stabilized Ki Hearts. They are designed to be less susceptible to the... systemic instabilities inherent in my design."
The phrase caught Haruka's attention.
"Systemic instabilities?"
"What kind of instabilities—"
*BANG*
The door of Haruka's room begins to bang loudly.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
"What was that?!" I exclaim, spinning around to face the door.
"It seems like we have a curious group of eavesdropping visitors."
"Visitors?"
The door bursts inward with a loud crash, revealing Touko, Kaito, and Lenah standing in the doorway.
"Kita!"
"What is going on here? And what are you wearing?!"
Lenah steps past her.
She assesses the unconscious girl on the bed, Kotori's impassive stance, Haruka's amused expression, and finally, me.
Kaito looks… uncomfortable.
"We, well… We heard voices,"
"Sounded important."
"Important is one word for it," Haruka says, and claps her hands together once.
"Excellent! The rest of the unit has arrived. This saves me the trouble of holding a separate briefing. Please, come in. Don't mind the door."
Touko ignores her completely.
She runs towards me and wraps her arms around me in a tight, possessive hug.
"Kita, are you okay? What did they do to you? And what are you wearing?!"
"O-Onee-chan! Let go of me!" I squirm in her tight embrace, my face flushing as I try to push her away.
Touko ignores my struggles.
"Whose shirt is this?" Touko asks as she sniffs the fabric near my shoulder.
"Smells like… A male."
Instantly dismissing the women in the room, Touko's gaze locks onto the only possible source.
Kaito.
"You,"
She releases me and takes a step towards Kaito.
"What did you do to my little sister?"
Kaito instinctively takes a step back, holding his hands up in a non-threatening gesture.
"Whoa, hey, it's not what you think,"
"She needed clothes. Hers were… Damaged. I just lent her a shirt."
"Lent her a shirt?"
She closes the distance between them in a single step, stopping so close that her puffed-out chest is nearly touching him, her silver tail lashing in agitation.
"You expect me to believe that's all that happened?"
"That is all that happened," Kaito insists, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"I gave her some clothes and left. That's it."
"That's it?"
"You just 'lent her a shirt' and now she smells like you?"
Touko raises her left hand and grabs Kaito by the shirt, pulling him forward until they are nose-to-nose.
"Don't play dumb with me, human."
"I know your type. You see a cute, innocent girl, and you think you can move in and claim her for yourself."
"That's not what this is," Kaito replies.
"I'm not going to apologize for helping someone who needed it."
"Help?" Touko scoffs, her grip tightening.
"You call this 'help'? Marking her with your scent? Don't lie to me!"
Onee-chan is actually getting angry. And Kaito… he's not backing down.
"I have no reason to lie."
He doesn't try to break her grip. Instead, he meets her glare without flinching.
"And I have no reason to believe you."
Onee-chan is doing it again.
Always like this.
Always jumping to conclusions, always ready to fight anyone who gets too close to me.
Stop...
Stop it!
I shoot a thread of Azure Ki from my wrist, and it connects with Touko's left arm, just above her elbow.
"Onee-chan, stop!"
She looks down at the azure line wrapped around her bicep, then back up at me.
"Kita… What is this?"
"Let him go."
Touko tries to flex her arm, to break the thread with brute demonic strength, but it holds tight.
"I said, let him go," I repeat, pulling the thread tighter.