Monday morning. Shibuya moves fast. Train sounds. Convenience store doors opening. Footsteps. Ren walked through a narrow alley in Shibuya-ku, Jinnan. Black backpack on his shoulder. Slightly hunched. A small piercing in his left ear caught the morning light for just a moment. The acceptance email said it. "Please arrive by 8 AM." It was 7:45. Between buildings, a sign appeared. "Sonic Bay Studio." Managed by Felcia Entertainment. Where Miku's rehearsals happen. The building Ren would visit dozens of times in three years—except for Ren now, it should be his first time. He couldn't tell anyone otherwise. The glass automatic door opened. The first-floor reception was compact. White walls. One potted plant. A woman sat behind the counter. Late twenties, maybe. Light brown hair loosely tied back. Glasses on. She noticed Ren entering. Looked up immediately. "Are you Otoha Ren?" "[serious]Yes." "I'm Nonomura Hikari. I handle reception. Nice to work with you from today." Her voice was calm. No pressure. Ren relaxed his shoulders slightly. Nonomura pulled an ID card from the counter drawer. Placed it in front of Ren. Light blue strap. "Staff Only" written on it. "This card gets you into the first floor and basement one." The explanation continued. Where cleaning supplies are. Garbage sorting. Basic organization rules for the equipment storage. Beverage refills at 2 PM. Ren took notes while listening. He knew a lot of this already. Three years from now, he'd worked here. But he had to pretend he didn't. "Second floor and above——" Nonomura's voice changed slightly. Still soft, but more serious. "The rehearsal studio is a restricted area. Non-staff entry requires permission, so please be careful." Her eyes were on Ren. Checking. Confirming. "[serious]Understood." Basement one. Equipment storage. Dim. One fluorescent light flickering. Cable bundles wrapped on racks, stacked. Unused equipment in cases lined against the wall. Ren picked up a broom. Simple work. Sweep the floor. Wipe dust from shelves. Reattach labels on cables if they're peeling. Flatten empty cardboard boxes. Stack them. He moved silently. His mind was elsewhere the whole time. Three failures before coming here. Letters ignored. Couldn't get into the concert venue. Couldn't meet her directly. Couldn't make her believe. Nothing worked. But now he's here. Where Miku is. (Three years left.) Thinking about the battery made his stomach tighten. But all he could do was move. While organizing cables, sound came from above. At first, he didn't know what it was. Then he recognized it. Singing. From the second-floor rehearsal studio. Through the hallway. Through the ceiling. Reaching the basement faintly. Despite the soundproofing, the voice carried through. Ren stopped. Broom in hand. He knew this voice. Miku. A voice he'd heard hundreds of times three years from now. At concerts. In MV footage. In smartphone recordings from the future—but now, for the first time, it reached him as a voice "existing right here, right now." His chest ached. Dull. Deep. Ren stood there for a while. The voice repeated phrases. Stopped. Started again. Rehearsal. Careful. Checking the same section over and over. (She's alive.) Ren went back to work. Hands moving. Listening. --- Early afternoon. Ren was told to carry equipment cases to the second floor. Stairs, not the elevator. Heavy. Digging into his arms. When he reached the second-floor hallway, the rehearsal studio door opened. His feet stopped. Miku came out. Cyan twin tails. Jade-green eyes. Her holographic body had a glossy sheen. Under the hallway fluorescent lights, she looked naturally "there." The usual microphone at her ear. Miku looked at Ren. No surprise. Just a slight head tilt. A small smile. "[gentle]New part-timer?" Ren couldn't speak. He had to say something. He knew that. But his mouth wouldn't move. Miku was looking directly at him. Those jade-green eyes pointed straight at Ren. Miku walked down the hallway. Toward the break room. Ren took a step. "Um——" "Sorry, that area is off-limits." A voice from the side. He turned. A male staff member in his thirties, hand raised horizontally. "The break room is staff only." Miku's back disappeared down the hallway. A door closed. Ren stood frozen. The equipment case dug into his arms. --- He got back to the share house "Kotono-ha" after 9 PM. He didn't turn on the lights. Just collapsed onto the bed. The ceiling stain looked like a bear again today. He pulled out his phone. Battery at 42%. Hadn't dropped since yesterday—he'd kept it powered off to conserve. He opened the screen. Future Miku's concert schedule data. Three years of rehearsal records. Song lists from this period. Tomorrow's rehearsal song order was there. Ren traced the song titles while staring. "Blessing." "Star Beyond." "Door of Sky"—in that order. Three years from now, his future self knew that naturally. (Never say anything tomorrow.) Thinking that, he fell asleep. --- Next morning. Equipment transport. Boxes stacked in front of the studio hallway. Several staff members dividing the work. Ren joined in. A middle-aged staff member next to him was confirming the schedule. "What was the song order for the B-side today? After 'Star Beyond'......" "[serious]'Door of Sky.'" He said it. Then realized. Silence. The staff member was looking at Ren. Suspicious face. "......How do you know that?" "Huh, um——" Mistake. Words wouldn't come. His head was spinning. Couldn't explain. Couldn't say he saw it in schedule data. Couldn't say that data was from three years in the future. "You." A different voice. He turned. Miku stood at the rehearsal studio entrance. Jade-green eyes. Quiet. Looking at Ren. Not the slightly smiling expression from yesterday. Now she was serious. "[serious]......Why do you know the song order?" The hallway felt silent. Ren searched for an answer. Found none. Telling the truth would make him sound insane. Lying would make him more suspicious. Saying nothing—— Silence stretched. Miku's expression changed. Subtly. Something flickered in those jade-green eyes. Something like fear. "[whispers]......You're hiding something, aren't you?" Quiet voice. But clear. Miku kept looking at Ren. Then slowly turned back into the rehearsal studio. The door closed. Only Ren remained in the hallway. Frozen. --- Afternoon. Back at the first-floor reception, Nonomura called him over. "Can we talk for a moment?" End of the counter. The tone was quiet. Nonomura looked apologetic. Her eyes behind the glasses narrowed, troubled. "I heard about what happened earlier." "......" "I'm not blaming you or anything——" Nonomura paused. Choosing words. "Do you know about DP law? The Digital Person Rights Protection Act?" Ren had heard of it. Enacted five years ago. The law that gave legal protection to autonomous AI performers like Miku as "digital persons." "[serious]I know about it." "Miku is protected under that law——and if non-staff make unauthorized contact or illegally obtain information, it can be classified as unauthorized access." Nonomura spoke slowly. "Felcia is especially strict about this. In some cases, it could result in criminal charges......" Blood drained from his head. Legal risk. Criminal charges. Getting close to Miku itself carried danger. He'd been hit with that reality on day one. "......I understand." "I don't think you're trying to do anything strange." Nonomura said that. Her voice was calm. "But I wanted you to be careful. This is that kind of place." Ren could only nod. --- That night. His room at "Kotono-ha." He tried to charge his phone. Plugged in the cable. It wouldn't charge. Again. He knew why. The connector didn't match the 3-year-old standard. This phone was bought three years in the future. No way to charge it. He checked the number in the top right corner. 38%. Down 4% from yesterday. Ren stared at that number for a while. Worst first day ever. He'd mentioned the song order. Miku got suspicious. Nonomura hit him with legal risk. (No one will believe me. Of course they won't.) (Miku was scared of me. Of course she was.) He knew. All of it was obvious. But—— Ren put the phone on the bed. Sat up. Tomorrow he'd go again. Arrive earlier than anyone. Work silently. Handle equipment carefully. Say nothing extra. He had to build trust through action, not words. 38%. The countdown continued. Next morning, Ren arrived at 7:30. Before Nonomura. Cleaned the basement storage silently. Didn't talk to anyone. The day after that too. Miku sometimes looked out the second-floor window at the hallway. Each time, a cyan figure watched from a distance. One point. Ren carrying equipment. Miku's eyes followed him several times. Jade-green eyes still held fear. But something else was being born in their depths.