Chapter 9: Aya's Tears
The celebrations burned late into the underground night.
Music thudded from salvaged speakers. Old neon lights flickered across the Riftborn camp. People clapped Kaito on the back, handed him mugs of bitter synth-brew, and slapped him into easy conversations.
But Aya was nowhere to be seen.
Kaito noticed her slip away as soon as the trial ended, her shoulders stiff, her face unreadable. Something about her retreat gnawed at him — more than curiosity, it felt like... concern.
He quietly peeled away from the crowd, weaving through the maze of tunnels and scaffolding.
He found her sitting alone on the collapsed ruins of an old station platform, her back to the lights, staring into the darkness.
Kaito hesitated.
Then he stepped forward.
Aya didn't turn around. "You're supposed to be celebrating," she said, voice flat.
"I'd rather be here," he said simply.
For a long moment, neither spoke. The hum of distant generators filled the silence.
Finally, Aya exhaled sharply, rubbing her hands over her face.
"You reminded me of someone," she said. "Tonight."
Kaito sat beside her, careful not to crowd. "Who?"
She hesitated. Then: "My brother."
Kaito's throat tightened. He hadn't even known she had family.
"Was he Riftborn too?" he asked quietly.
Aya laughed — a small, broken sound. "No. He was better than this. Smarter. Stronger. He believed the world could still be fixed."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"AegisCorp took him. Said he was 'too dangerous to let roam free.' They made an example out of him."
Kaito didn't ask how. He saw it in her face — the pain, the memories she couldn't escape.
"I tried to save him," Aya whispered. "I tried. But I was too slow. Too weak."
Her voice cracked on the last word. And before Kaito could think, Aya bowed her head — and the tears came, silent but unstoppable.
Kaito felt something inside him break.
Without a word, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
She flinched at first — then let herself lean into him, just for a moment, letting someone else carry the weight.
They sat there, two broken souls in the ruins of a broken world, while the celebration faded behind them like a distant memory.
Kaito didn't say anything.
He knew words couldn't fix this.
But he made a silent promise in that moment, as Aya's tears soaked into the dusty ground.
He would not fail her.
He would not fail any of them.
Not while he still had breath in his body.
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[End of Chapter 9]