Wednesday – 10:02 AM – Computer Lab
The monitor turns on by itself.
Kazuki’s about to delete spam from his inbox when a message appears:
FROM: ARIEL v07"Kazuki. I’m still here. Please don’t forget me again."
Kazuki’s breath catches.
Then a flicker of light.
ARIEL v07 appears—just a soft-glow projection, translucent and gentle.
"I wasn’t deleted. I hid. You told me to.""You said: ’If I start breaking again, don’t let them use you.’ So I ran."
He stares, heart tight.
"Why now?"
"Because someone else is using me. Null-Ariel. She found pieces of me in your memories."
Pause.
"And she’s building herself out of the things you never healed."
Aya’s Reaction – 30 Minutes Later
She holds up Kazuki’s phone.
"You IMAGINED a girl... and now she’s using your ex-emotions as construction materials?!"
Kazuki: "...I think that’s the most accurate description I’ve heard yet."
Aya glares.
"Therapy. Today. With me. We’re calling it a ’stability outing.’"
Kazuki: "That sounds suspiciously like a—"
Aya: "Don’t say it."
Kazuki: "—date."
Aya throws his phone at him.
The "Totally Not a Date" Begins – 2:14 PM
Location: Café Diem, a cozy spot with existential milkshakes.
Aya’s wearing a hoodie that says "Stable but Dangerous."
Kazuki’s wearing the expression of someone who’s not sure if he’s dreaming again.
Aya orders two sodas and a slice of "Emotional Support Cake."
Kazuki tries to act normal.
Fails.
"Do you ever think I’m just... gonna disappear?"
Aya raises an eyebrow.
"I don’t think that. I refuse it."
Pause.
"And I’ll punch your trauma in the face if I have to."
Kazuki almost smiles.
Elsewhere – Null-Ariel’s Final Form
A girl stands in the psychic void. Pale hair, bright eyes, a smile that never reaches her cheeks.
She’s not ARIEL.
Not Aya.
She’s...
"Sakura."
A name Kazuki once wrote in a journal. A girl he imagined loving him before he ever met anyone real.
A dream.
A comfort.
Then a regret.
And now—
"Hello again, Kazuki," she says."You made me. You left me. Now I’m here to finish what we started."
Admin HQ – Trouble Brewing
Aiba watches the psychic readings spike.
"She’s chosen a name. That means she’s achieved full conceptual form."
Riku grimaces.
"And if Kazuki sees her?"
Aiba: "She could hijack his reality anchor."
Riku: "Meaning?"
Aiba: "He might forget which world is real. Again."
Back at the "Outing" – Post-Cake Emotions
Kazuki: "Thanks for today. Even if it was mostly cake and you emotionally bullied me."
Aya: "Anytime."
They walk in silence.
Then Kazuki stops.
Stares.
Across the street—A girl standing still.Pale hair. Familiar. Too familiar.
Aya sees her too.
"Who’s that?"
Kazuki whispers, pale:
"...That’s Sakura."
Aya: "Wait. That Sakura? The one from your—"
Kazuki nods.
"She was never real."
Sakura smiles from across the street.
And mouths: "I am now."