POV: Aika Yamasaki (Earth-21)
The scent of rain lingered on her jacket—damp cherry blossoms and asphalt. Aika walked arm-in-arm with Mia, their fingers twined like they had always belonged that way.
Downtown Kyoto shimmered in neon reflections. It was April. Spring. The air full of promise, and old pain.
Aika smiled at Mia's shy laugh. She had just kissed her cheek in public—a bold, stupid thing to do in a city where women like them still got sideways looks. But for once, Aika didn't care.
Tonight, they were free.
"You know you're a troublemaker," Mia murmured, brushing black hair from her face.
Aika pulled her closer. "Then why'd you fall for me?"
"I didn't."
Aika stopped.
Mia turned, face serious—but her eyes danced. "I crashed. Full-speed. No brakes."
They stood outside the central station. Aika's phone buzzed—her mother again, demanding she cancel the date, go home, "stop shaming the family." She turned it off.
For the first time in months, she felt like she was breathing for herself.
Mia noticed. "You sure you're okay?"
Aika nodded, then looked up. "Look at the sky."
"What about it?"
"It's the last sky I want to see."
Mia frowned. "Don't say things like that."
"I mean it the good way," Aika said softly. "If I die tomorrow, I want this to be my last memory. You. The air. This moment."
They never saw the man with the briefcase.
He dropped it by the transit pillar, looked around, and walked away.
Aika's eyes met his for half a second. There was no emotion. Just a click.
The explosion was instantaneous.
Aika didn't feel pain.
Only light.
Sound disappeared. Her ears rang like bells underwater. Mia's hand ripped away from hers.
And then—
Time slowed.
Aika hovered in that moment, memory unspooling:
– Mia asleep, curled on her chest.
– The first time they kissed, both trembling.
– The time she promised: "If I ever leave, I'll find you again. In another life, another sky."
That was her last thought.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Just promise.
And then:
Darkness.
But something—someone—caught her before she fell all the way.
[SOULPRINT LOCKED]
[SEED CODE ACCEPTED]
[NEURAL ECHO TRANSMISSION… SUCCESSFUL]