The connection hadn't dropped.
Naoya still sat at his desk, back aching from leaning too long over scattered circuit boards, but he didn't move. A faint blue flicker lingered in the corner of his vision—[Naoya's system], ever passive, inert. Watching, logging.
But it was [Aoi's system] that lit up the space between them.
Her voice was still in his ear. Not through a speaker, not through a screen. It felt like she was behind him, beside him—right there, without being there.
"I thought you'd end the call by now," she said softly.
"I'm not even sure how to."
[Naoya's system] offered nothing. No button. No guide. Just silence.
[System Note: Connection Stable] [Bandwidth: 22% — Active Transfer] [Emotive Link: Ongoing | Sync Fluctuation: Minor]
Aoi's laugh was barely audible. "Good. That means we're stuck."
A moment passed.
Naoya adjusted the strap of his school bag, still untouched on the floor.
"What are you seeing right now? I mean—your system. What does it show?"
A pause.
Then:
[Overlay: ACTIVE — Sharing Emotional Layer]
Naoya blinked. The world didn't change, but something pressed against his senses. An impression. A drift of warmth. Quiet flickers of emotion.
From her.
[From Aoi's system:] [Heart Rate: +4 BPM | Thought Vectors: Focused, Hesitant] [Status: Slightly Embarrassed / Curious] [System Whisper: "He still doesn't know you're letting him see this."]
"…You're sending that?" he asked.
"I didn't know it would show up for you."
"But it's real?"
"It's my," she said. "It's always me. The system just… shows my emotions."
[Naoya's system] quietly displayed:
[External Data Feed: INCOMING — Origin: USER AOI] [Filter Applied: Read-Only Mode] [System Role: Passive Observation]
"Mine doesn't do that," Naoya muttered. "It doesn't tell me how I feel. It just gives data. And watch"
Aoi didn't respond right away. When she did, her tone had softened. "I think it's afraid to get in your way."
"Can systems be afraid?"
[Naoya's system]: [No response]
[Aoi's system]:
[System Humor Module Triggered] [Suggested Action: Nudge Him]
"I think mine has a personality," Aoi said. "Sometimes it teases me. Sometimes it feels like… someone who knows when I'm pretending."
Naoya leaned back in his chair, feeling a sharp pinch in his spine. "And mine feels like someone watching me through a two-way mirror."
Silence.
Then:
[System Event Detected: External Interference — Minor Flicker] [Source: Unknown]
Naoya straightened. "Did you feel that?"
"…Yes," Aoi said, quieter now.
[Naoya's system]: [Status: OBSERVING] [No Interruption Logged]
[Aoi's system]:
[Signal Drift: 0.02° | Stability: Holding] [Emotional Drift: Alerted / Protective] [Suggested Response: Keep Him Calm]
"It's probably nothing," Aoi said, but even through the signal, Naoya could tell she didn't believe it.
"What else does yours say right now?"
A beat.
[From Aoi's system]:
[Tagged Topic: Kirigami, Naoya]
[Emotion: Slight Worry / Residual Warmth] [Internal Note: He sounds closer than he is.]
"…It's showing me that?" Naoya asked, stunned.
"I think it wants to."
He shifted in his seat, heart pounding. Not because of the data, but because of the weight it carried. Because her worry came through like static between radio channels—real, close.
Naoya said, "I didn't know someone could care through a signal."
Aoi was quiet for a long time.
Then she whispered, "It doesn't have to be words."
[Connection Sync: 39%]
[Bandwidth Holding | No Latency Detected]
They didn't speak for a while. Just stayed linked. Breathing on either end. Light from different rooms casting shadows across different walls.
And then—
[ALERT: INTRUSION SIGNAL DETECTED] [Source: Unknown System]
[Overlay: PARTIALLY MASKED]
[Trace Attempt: FAILED]
Both systems pulsed.
[Aoi's system]:
[EMOTIONAL RESPONSE: SPIKE]
Naoya sat bolt upright.
A sliver of a third presence slid across his vision. Not blue. Not silver-white.
Dark. No identifier.
"What is that?" he said.
"I don't know," Aoi answered fast. Her breath caught. "I didn't call anyone else. I swear."
[Naoya's system]:
[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED
[Action Suggestion: OBSERVE / DO NOT ENGAGE]
Naoya: "It's not from me."
[Aoi's system]:
[TRACE INITIATED — FAIL]
[System Conflict Detected]
Suddenly, their screens glitched. Both sides. Not completely—just enough for a flicker of garbled characters. Almost like… a language neither system knew how to display.
[—----SIGNAL CROSS NOISE—--]
[User Classification: CORRUPTED/INCOMPATIBLE]
[Link: NOT RECOGNIZED]
Then, silence again.
[Naoya's system]:
[Residual Energy Detected | Source: Echo-Based Signature]
[Aoi's system]:
[Advisory: Someone tried to listen.]
They stayed connected. They didn't speak.
Aoi whispered, "who would do that?"
Naoya nodded.
[System Whisper – From Aoi's system]: "Don't be scared yet."
He closed his eyes.
"…I'm not scared," he said. " there are more people like us."
[Aoi's system]:
[Suggested Response: Ask Him]
[Private Emotional Note: You already know.]
And finally, from [Naoya's system]:
[System Status Update: OBSERVER MODE — ADJUSTING PARAMETERS] [Passive Feed: Narrowing to One Signal]
[User Acknowledgement Detected]
Aoi's voice broke the quiet again—faint, but steady.
"Naoya… if someone is watching, like really watching—not just the system, but something else—what do we do?"
Naoya didn't answer immediately. His system wasn't helping. It never did in moments like this.
[Naoya's system]:
[Status: OBSERVING]
[External Threat Level: UNKNOWN]
[Response Suggestion: NONE]
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, eyes locked on the soft blue flicker still hovering in his vision.
"We stay linked," he said at last. "Until we figure it out."
Aoi's breath caught—but didn't waver.
[Shared Connection: Stabilized]
[Emotive Drift Sync: 41.6%]
[Aoi's system]: [Reading: Quiet Relief / Trace Anxiety / Unspoken Gratitude]
[Private Note: Don't lose this.]
Then—
Another flicker.
Subtle. Quiet.
But not from either of them.
The systems didn't alert this time.
The presence didn't register on any overlay.
Just a ripple in the connection. Like something brushing against a wire underwater.
Both paused.
And then, Aoi whispered, not to Naoya, but maybe to herself.
"…It's still here."
The connection dimmed slightly—not breaking, just narrowing. The bandwidth held steady, but the space between their voices suddenly felt colder.
[Naoya's system]:
[Internal Log: Interference Flag Raised – Third Signature Echoed]
[Aoi's system]:
[Detected Emotion: Suppressed Fear | Action: Contain Display]
[System Whisper: "Don't let him hear you panic."]
Naoya said nothing. But he felt it too.
The quiet wasn't safe anymore. It was listening.
And it was learning.
[Aoi's system]:
[Final Advisory: Sleep will be difficult tonight]
[But connection will remain active unless severed]
Naoya looked out the window, the night pressed flat against the glass.
He whispered, barely audible, "Then don't go."
Aoi answered the same way.
"I won't."
And neither of them spoke again.
The link stayed open.
The watchers, whoever they were, didn't speak.
Not yet.
But both systems silently logged the same line at the same time:
[Threshold Approaching: Synchronization Limit Nearing]
[Effect: UNKNOWN | Risk Level: UNCALCULATED]