A month had passed since the finals of summer camp. The moonlight from that night—the faint touch of Seira's fingertips against Kaito's hand in the corridor behind the hangar—still seemed to linger somewhere in his palm, even now that autumn had arrived. Every time Kaito noticed it, he tried to think of something else. It didn't work very well. His synchro rate was 58. It had dropped slightly after losing in the finals, but he was close to 60 now. Preparations for the graduation exercise were ramping up, and the simulators in the Primus building were crowded with students every day. This morning, the entire third-year C class had assembled at the practical exercise field—a wide area adjacent to the hangar block. The autumn space had softer light filtering through the solar panels than summer, and the air on the field was crisp and cool. Kaito stood beside the Regnos Mk-IV, stifling a yawn as he watched his classmates. Beside him, Seira opened her terminal to check today's exercise schedule. The asymmetrical hair clip on her left side swayed slightly in the air conditioning breeze. (That look on her face... she's about to say something like "Shouldn't you be checking the schedule?") The moment he thought that, Seira looked up. "[serious]Amami, today's exercise starts with the initial mecha check. This isn't the time to be yawning" "[sarcastic]I know that already" "If you knew, then you'd open your termi—" Just then, a voice echoed from the entrance to the exercise field. "Yo! Everyone, this is the transfer student Shirakawa Ryo!" Everyone turned around. Kaito turned around too. Standing at the entrance was a tall boy with bright brown hair styled in a wolf cut. He was at least a head taller than Kaito. His large amber-colored droopy eyes scanned the entire class with a cheerful smile. His canine teeth peeked out slightly, giving him an air of someone who'd be popular with girls. Captain Carmilla Lette walked in behind him, her usual sleepy eyes holding a coffee cup in one hand. "[cold]As of today, transfer to third-year C class. Shirakawa Ryo. Pilot division" Transfer students weren't uncommon. But a transfer in third year was quite rare. The class stirred. Ryo slowly scanned the class, then for some reason walked straight toward Kaito. "[serious]You're Amami Kaito? I heard you're the top pilot in the year" "[excited]That's right" Ryo looked Kaito up and down once, then grinned. "[sarcastic]Huh. Top of the year at 148 centimeters. Seems like... less impressive than I thought" "[angry]What? What did you just say?" "I said you seem less impressive than I thought. You heard me, right?" Kaito stepped forward. He was completely worked up. Ryo didn't budge. He just kept smiling, his expression asking "You mad?" "[angry]Say that again" "Well, but—" Carmilla cut between them. Her eyes were sleepy, but her voice was clear. "[cold]Shirakawa. Aptitude data" Ryo held out his terminal. Carmilla glanced through it quickly, then turned it toward everyone. "[cold]Pilot aptitude rating: equal to Amami. That's all" The exercise field fell silent. Equal. The moment those two characters landed, the atmosphere of the entire class shifted. Kaito checked the numbers. It was true. His rating was nearly identical to Ryo's. (This guy...) While Kaito was processing the numbers in his head, Ryo's gaze slid sideways. Toward Seira. "[gentle]You're Kenjo Seira, right? I heard you're the top operator in the year" Seira looked directly at Ryo. "[serious]I am. Is there something?" Ryo smiled. His canine teeth showed. "[excited]Want to pair up with me? It's a waste for you to be with this hothead. You'd definitely be better off with me" Kaito froze. Seira looked at Ryo for just a moment, then her gaze fell back to her terminal. "[serious]Under Pairing Regulation Article 7, change requests from the parties involved are not permitted. Rejected" "Rules are made to be broken" Ryo winked at Seira. A small wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. "[serious]Rules are made to be followed" "I like that serious side of you" Kaito watched the exchange from a distance. Something was wrong. Something in his chest felt wrong. Hot, or heavy, or something. The sensation of Seira's hand touching his in the moonlight the night before summer camp suddenly came back to him with vivid clarity. (Why am I remembering that now?) His head was a mess. --- The afternoon simulator training was in Pod No. 7 of the Primus building. Kaito and Seira climbed into the two-seat cockpit and attached the neural link to their necks. When the neural link—the small device that interconnects the brainwaves of pilot and operator—activated, there was a sensation of Seira's presence becoming closer in his mind. Usually, that felt comforting. Today was different. The moment they connected, the morning's scene flooded into Kaito's head. Ryo's canine teeth. The wink at Seira. "You'd definitely be better off with me." "[serious]Amami, please concentrate. There's too much noise" Seira's voice came from the rear seat. Even through the neural link, her voice sounded slightly harder than usual. "[angry]I am concentrating!" "A person who's concentrating doesn't have synchro wave patterns that distorted" "Shut up!" The training scenario began. Simulated enemy mechas deployed ahead. Kaito gripped the control stick, but the movements didn't mesh. Seira's calculations couldn't read Kaito's movements. Kaito's instincts couldn't sync with Seira's data. It felt like everything they'd built up the night before the finals two weeks ago had crumbled, just today. An enemy attack hit them directly. Warning alarms sounded. "[angry]Amami, right!" "I see it!" "Then evade!" In the end, they had to cancel the training scenario midway. Garcia Hove, the warrant officer and technical chief of the Primus building who devoted his life to simulator maintenance, looked at the monitor with an expression that said "That's enough for today, get out." When the two exited the pod, Carmilla was standing by the wall. Coffee cup in hand, her sleepy eyes watching them. "[cold]Come with me" They were taken to a small conference room in the Primus building. Carmilla operated the monitor and displayed a number. 52. "[cold]Your synchro rate dropped to 52 in last week's measurement. If you go into the graduation exercise below 60, you'll fail and face forced re-pairing" Her voice was matter-of-fact. Emotionless. Her sleepy eyes simply stated the facts. Kaito looked at the number. It had dropped six points from last month's 58. His mind went blank. "[serious]We'll analyze the cause and rebuild—" "[cold]Do that between the two of you. Dismissed" Carmilla left. When they stepped into the corridor, Ryo was standing by the wall. Arms crossed, smiling cheerfully. "[sarcastic]I heard, synchro rate 52. See? You two just don't match" Kaito's teeth clenched. "[sarcastic]Seira, if you pair with me, we'd easily hit 80. Think about it seriously" The number 52 was in Kaito's head. An objective fact. Not a number he could argue against. Seira looked at Ryo. She started to open her mouth. In that moment, Kaito reached toward Ryo. He tried to grab his collar. He'd completely lost his patience. "[angry]You, listen here—!" "[angry]Stop it!" Seira jumped between them. Both arms spread wide, standing between Kaito and Ryo. Kaito's hand stopped. Seira was facing Ryo. Her back to Kaito. (Seira is facing Ryo.) In an instant, the scene transformed into something different in his mind. She's protecting him. Ryo. That's what it looked like. "...Fine" Kaito quietly lowered his hand. He didn't shout. He didn't yell. In a voice much quieter than that, he said only those words. Then he turned his back on both Ryo and Seira and walked down the corridor. He thought he heard Seira call "Amami" behind him. But he didn't turn around. --- That night, Kaito was in the hangar block. No one else was there. The lights were at minimum, and the Regnos Mk-IVs lined up in the darkness. Fifteen meters long. The surface of the mecha dully reflected the faint light. Kaito climbed the boarding ladder of unit one. (I can move it alone. If I can just prove that—) He wanted to prove something. That even without Seira, even without someone like Ryo, he could do this. The confidence he'd built up at summer camp felt like it had been completely taken away by the number 52, and he couldn't bear it. He climbed into the cockpit and attached the neural link. The rear seat was empty. He ran the startup sequence. The instruments lit up. But something was wrong. An HSS—Humanoid Starship—only achieved its full output when a pilot and operator were connected via neural link. With the rear seat empty, the mecha's correction systems couldn't function properly. He knew that. But he started it anyway. The mecha shook. The balance correction couldn't keep up. The right arm moved on its own. It hit the wall. A loud bang echoed through the hangar. Kaito was thrown forward, his helmet striking the instrument panel. Blood seeped from his forehead. Alarm bells began to ring. "[surprised]Hey! Who's in there!" Garcia's voice flew through the hangar. --- The next morning. Sitting in a chair in Carmilla's office, Kaito touched the bandage on his forehead. It wasn't a serious injury. Not deep enough to need stitches. But honestly, it was pretty embarrassing. "[cold]Violation of training regulations. Unauthorized mecha startup. Three days suspension" Carmilla said only that while looking at documents, her sleepy eyes unchanged. The smell of coffee drifted through the room. Kaito said nothing. He hung his head and stared at his knees. "[cold]You understand there's not much time left before the exercise, yes?" "...Yes" "[cold]Dismissed" --- First day of suspension, midday. Room 3-217, third floor of the boys' dorm. Kaito lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't feel like going to buy academy curry, so he'd just bought a juice from the vending machine and had been lying around ever since. Three knocks. (Seira?) he thought, but the door opened. He'd forgotten to lock it. "[excited]Yo. Door was unlocked" It was Ryo. "[angry]Why are you here?" "Just wanted to talk" Ryo entered without waiting for a response and sat on the edge of the bed. The room was small. Several mock battle score sheets were taped to the walls. For a while, neither of them spoke. Ryo glanced around the room, then faced forward. "[serious]You like Seira, don't you?" Kaito reflexively sat up. "[surprised]What? What are you talking about?" "It's too obvious" Ryo laughed. But the laugh was slightly different from his usual light tone. His eyes weren't smiling. "[serious]Yesterday, every time I talked to Seira, your face changed. Can you deny it?" Kaito tried to deny it. His mouth opened. But no sound came out. (Can I deny it?) If he was being honest with himself—he couldn't. "...Whatever" His voice cracked. Ryo made an "I told you so" face. Then, after a pause, his expression became serious. "[serious]I'm serious too. About Seira" The words were delivered with a smile, but they shifted the air in the room for a moment. "[serious]I'll protect her. I really mean that" Kaito had no words to return. Ryo stood up. "[serious]You face your own feelings too. You've got time during suspension to do at least that much" The door closed. Kaito was alone in the room. (Like... as in—) He started to put it into words, then stopped. He thought again, then stopped again. The word was wandering around in his head, but it wouldn't take proper form. The sensation of Seira's hand from that night at summer camp. The pure joy that had flowed through the neural link during the high-five moment. The comfort of breathing in sync during training. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. --- Second day of suspension, late afternoon. The solar panel turned sunset colors. There was a