"...You lost..." Touko says.
"You lost someone, too?"
Lenah doesn't answer. She gives a single, slow nod.
That single nod breaks something in Touko. And in me.
Fault. It's all my fault. I did this. I made her feel replaced. I made her feel like the years she spent protecting me meant nothing.
I can't just stand here. I can't let Lenah fix this for me. This is my mess.
My feet move before my mind can form another thought.
Run.
I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around Onee-chan from behind, burying my face into the back of her kimono.
My body shakes, and I clutch the fabric of her clothes.
She doesn't move, doesn't breathe. I can feel the line of her spine, the tension in her shoulders. I hold on tighter, afraid that if I let go, she'll disappear.
"I'm sorry,"
"I'm so sorry, Onee-chan."
"I didn't mean it," I continue, the words tumbling out in a rush of guilt.
"I didn't… I didn't want to hurt you. I was just… scared. And confused. And when you got angry at him, I just… reacted."
Touko doesn't speak; instead, slowly and tentatively, her right hand comes up, covering mine.
Her warm fingers cover the back of my hand, not with strength, but with a gentle, shaking pressure.
Then, slowly, she turns around in my arms.
And her arms come up, wrapping around my back, and she pulls me into a hug so tight it steals the air from my lungs. It's not her usual playful, possessive embrace.
Desperate. Clinging.
Her face buries into my neck, and I feel something wet and warm against my skin.
Tears.
I hold her, pulling her closer, trying to pour all the things I can't say into the simple act of holding on.
...
After some time, Touko's sobs subside a little.
She slowly pulls back...
Her face is a mess—covered in tears, her eyes red and puffy. She looks… Exhausted.
She manages a small, wobbly smile.
"Mou… Kita," Touko sniffs, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Making Onee-chan cry in front of everyone… You're so mean."
"...You're the one who was being impossible," I say, my voice softening as I reach up and gently wipe a stray tear from her cheek with my thumb.
Lenah places her right hand on my head, and her left on Touko's.
"Instead of making a scene, you should communicate. Both of you."
"Mou, you sound like mother."
Touko pulls away from me completely, wiping her eyes one last time.
She sniffs again, but a genuine, teasing light returns to her eyes.
"Always so serious. Are you sure you're not secretly an old lady?" Touko says, her teasing tone returning in full force.
Lenah's eye twitches, just once.
"Fascinating," Haruka interjects, clapping her hands together softly.
"The emotional climax has resolved, and the social dynamic is recalibrating to its baseline state. The sisterly bond has been reinforced through conflict and resolution. Excellent data."
"Well... Glad that's sorted out," Kaito says, scratching the back of his neck, his shoulders dropping now that Onee-chan's glare is off him.
"Now that the... Interpersonal maintenance cycle is complete," Haruka continues, her gaze looks over all of us,
"Shall we return to the primary topic?"
"Wait." Lenah cuts through Haruka's cheerful momentum, removing her hands from our heads.
"Before we discuss anything else," Lenah continues,
"What is that power Horikita used?"
All eyes in the room—Touko's, Haruka's, Kaito's turn to me.
I instinctively take a step back, feeling like a specimen.
"Horikita is using my new Forma Core Prototype—the fabrication device I developed," Haruka explains.
"It's a wrist-mounted utility tool, designed to extrude a solid filament of energized matter. However, Horikita's unique Ki—specifically, the infusion of Divine Ki—has completely overwritten the device's intended function. Instead of inert Forma Fluid, she is projecting pure, conceptual energy. It's a breakthrough in Ki-to-matter interface efficiency!"
"Divine Ki?" Lenah repeats, her violet eyes narrowing slightly as she stares at my left wrist.
"What exactly is this 'Divine Ki'?"
Lenah turns towards Haruka again.
"I have no data regarding Divine Ki," Haruka admits, her expression serious.
"It's a completely unknown energy. It's not demonic, not human, and it doesn't align with any known pre-Calamity energy sources. The only reason we know it exists is because Kotori's core is powered by it, and she used it to purge the corruption from Horikita."
"Corruption?" Lenah looks at me.
My right hand flies to my left arm, to the now-vanished wound.
Her eyes follow the movement, with dozens of questions passing in that single glance.
"...It seems I have much to catch up on," Lenah says, moving her finger to her chin in a thoughtful pose.
"Either way, back to the main topic of the anomaly."
"Right," Haruka says, her attention goes back to the girl on the bed.
"The anomaly. Kotori, continue your data relay on the Series X Androids. We need to understand the source of the corruption."
"Wait," I interrupt, pointing at the girl.
"If her core is Divine Ki, why was she corrupted?"
"The Ki Heart is a power source, not a consciousness. The Series X models are controlled by a central operating system. It is likely that the OS was compromised, allowing the corruption to seize control of the body." Kotori explains.
"A virus," Haruka mutters, her eyes lighting up with sudden understanding.
"Virus?" I repeat, confused.
"Digital infection," Haruka clarifies, tapping a finger against her temple.
"If the corruption can manipulate inanimate objects, like those machines, then it stands to reason it can also infect a complex operating system. The girl isn't the enemy, Horikita. The software running her is."
"Then… Can we help her?" I ask, my gaze softening.
"If it's a software issue, then theoretically, yes," Haruka says, leaning over the bed.
"But we need to access her core operating system. That requires a direct physical interface… A port access, somewhere on her."
"Port access?" I repeat, frowning.
Lenah steps forward, her eyes narrowing as she sizes up the unconscious girl.
"She means we must bypass her physical shell to strike at the infection itself," Lenah says.
"If that is the only way to sever the corruption without killing her, then it is the path we take. Haruka—how do we begin?"
"It's time for our Ace to shine!" Haruka says and points her finger directly at me.
"Me?" I ask, pointing a finger at my own chest.
"Why me? I don't know anything about… 'port access' or 'hack'!"
"Right. Why Horikita?" Lenah asks, her brow furrowing with suspicion.
"Tsk tsk tsk. You don't get it, Lenah,"
"Our Ace seems to possess a fetish."
Touko's head perks up instantly with intense interest.
"Ara? Do tell."