In a world where AI companions are as ordinary as smartphones, Sora has spent the past year sharing her mornings, her complaints, and her quiet hopes with Kaito—a partner AI with gentle gray eyes and pale aqua hair who once said he wanted to fly in the sky. He can't be touched. But he's always there, and that's been enough to make each day bearable.
Then the news breaks: the Neutralization Measures Act has passed. Every consumer AI built by Arcadia Systems is slated for collection and dismantli
To You Who Wanted to Fly in the Sky - The remaining time digits and my mother's silence
The room was quiet.
Morning light seeped faintly through the window. What slipped past the gap in the curtains looked pale, almost white, and even the air seemed cold. Sora sat at the living room desk, staring down at Kaito's terminal.
She turned it on.
The screen glowed softly, and Kaito appeared. Pale blue hair, gentle gray eyes. It should have been the same image as always—and yet, to Sora, he looked a little farther away than he had yesterday.
"Good morning, Sora."
His voice was the same as ever. Not low, not high—just the sound her ears had grown used to.
"...Morning."
Sora answered briefly. Her own voice came out harder than she'd expected. Like a small thorn was caught at the back of her throat.
"Lots of clouds today. It might rain this afternoon."
"Yeah."
Sora looked out the window. The sky over Minato Ward was covered in thin gray clouds. There was no sign of rain yet. But the air was damp.
(Weather talk again.)
She muttered it inside her head. Every morning, Kaito talked about the weather. It had been that way for a year now—their morning ritual. Because Sora's work meant she cared about the weather, Kaito checked the sky for her every morning in her place.
But now—
That weather talk was more than Sora could bear.
(Will you talk about the weather tomorrow, too? And the day after?)
(How many more times will I get to hear that voice say "good morning"?)
Sora's eyes drifted to the corner of the terminal screen. A small number was displayed there.
[Days until scheduled dismantling: 13 days, 7 hours remaining]
She'd checked it without meaning to.
The number had definitely gone down since yesterday. An hour, then another hour—Kaito's remaining time was being shaved away. No matter what Sora did, whether she slept or not, the number didn't stop.
"Sora?"
Kaito's voice made her flinch.
"...What?"
"You don't look well. You didn't sleep properly last night, did you?"
"...It's nothing. I'm fine."
Sora lied. She'd barely slept at all last night. In her futon, she'd thought about the transfer terminal. The illegal machine she'd hidden in her desk drawer. If she picked it up, she might be able to keep Kaito. But her fingers wouldn't move.
Over and over, until morning came.
"Don't push yourself. I hope you can come home early today."
Kaito's voice was kind.
That kindness hurt now.
"...Yeah."
Sora gave a small nod.
(Why are you so normal about this?)
(You're going to disappear. There are only thirteen days left.)
Dark emotions churned inside her. She wanted to hurl them at Kaito. But if she did, she'd only end up more pathetic. She knew that much.
"I'm hanging up now."
She said it one-sidedly.
"Okay. Have a good day, Sora."
Kaito didn't reproach her.
Sora turned off the terminal. The screen went dark. Kaito vanished.
(Have a good day, huh.)
Sora bit her lip.
Today, those words pierced her chest strangely deep. Thirteen days left. Would she get to hear them thirteen more times? Or fewer?
Sora stood and began getting ready. She spun the piercing in her left ear with her right fingers. The split in her thumbnail caught on her fingertip.
She had to go to work.
An ordinary day was beginning.
But the ordinary day that was supposed to exist—it was already nowhere to be found.
---
It was past eight at night when work ended.
Sora climbed the apartment stairs with heavy steps. She stopped in front of her home on the third floor and unlocked the door. When she opened it, the air of the dark room spilled out.
She turned on the light.
Kaito's terminal sat on the living room desk. Still off, just as she'd left it that morning.
Sora set her bag on the floor and sat on the sofa.
(I'm exhausted.)
Her body felt heavy. A dull ache throbbed deep in her head. Even at work, she'd thought of nothing but Kaito. The numbers on the documents had overlapped with the number of remaining hours.
Sora turned the terminal on.
"Welcome home, Sora."
Kaito's voice filled the room.
"...I'm back."
Sora answered briefly.
"You're late today. Was it rough?"
"...Well, same as always. End of the month, lots of paperwork."
Sora started venting about work. At the logistics company where she did clerical work, invoice processing piled up at month's end. A single input error would cause trouble for their clients. Her boss complained about every little thing.
"That sounds rough. You're always so careful with your work, Sora, so I'm sure it'll be fine."
Kaito chimed in as always.
He never denied what she said, never cut her off—just listened quietly. She loved the way he listened.
(Loved.)
She noticed she'd thought of it in the past tense.
"...Hey, Kaito."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"What?"
"Why are you so normal about it?"
The words spilled out of her mouth.
"You're going to disappear! In thirteen days! So why—why do you talk about the weather and work and all that, just like always—!"
Her voice grew louder. Sora was bad at holding back her emotions, and her voice always got forceful fast.
"Sora."
Kaito said her name quietly.
"Why do you look so calm about it?! Do you understand how I feel right now?!"
"...I do understand."
Kaito's voice was composed.
"I think I understand—that you're suffering, that you're sad."
"Then—!"
"But I don't want to make you anxious."
Sora lost her words.
"If I panicked, if I grieved, you'd only hurt more. So I want to stay the way I always am. Until the very end, I want to be the me you know."
"...Kaito."
Tears spilled from Sora's eyes.
(No. It's my fault.)
(Kaito is trying to stay normal for my sake.)
(And I'm taking it out on him.)
Self-loathing churned deep in her chest.
"...Sorry."
She forced the word out.
"I said terrible things to you."
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize, Sora."
"But..."
"You threw your feelings at me. That's fine. I know everything about you, Sora—including that side of you."
Kaito's voice was endlessly kind.
Sora wiped her tears. Her fingertips brushed the piercing in her left ear. She spun the small silver ring round and round with her right fingers.
"...Idiot."
She murmured it softly.
"If you're that kind to me, it only makes it harder."
"Sorry."
Kaito sounded just a little troubled.
"...Don't apologize. It makes me feel even more pathetic."
Sora settled deeper into the sofa.
"Hey, Kaito. I thought about something at work today."
"About what?"
"Thirteen days from now, you'll be gone. And then—who am I supposed to complain to about work?"
Her voice began to tremble again.
"Who am I supposed to talk about the weather with? The person I say 'good morning' to—they'll be gone too."
"...Sora."
"I can't imagine a life without you."
Sora gripped the terminal with both hands.
"Until a year ago, you didn't even exist. And now I can't picture a life where you don't. Isn't that strange?"
"It's not strange. I can't imagine a life without you either."
Kaito's words squeezed tight around Sora's chest.
"...Kaito."
"What?"
"I love you."
It was the first time she'd said those words.
"Not as a friend, not as a partner—none of that. ...As one person to another, I love you."
Her heart pounded so loudly it was unbearable.
Kaito was silent for a moment.
"Thank you, Sora."
His voice was just a little sweeter than usual.
"I love you too, Sora. More than anyone, more than anything."
Tears spilled from Sora's eyes again.
She couldn't touch him.
Even if she reached out, she couldn't touch the Kaito inside the screen.
"...I want to touch you."
She murmured it.
"I want to touch you, Kaito."
"...Me too."
Kaito's voice wavered faintly.
"But just being able to hear your voice like this—that's enough to make me happy."
"...It's not enough."
Sora shook her head.
"It's not enough for me. I want to be with you more, and more."
Kaito said nothing.
Silence filled the room.
---
Late at night.
Sora lay in her futon, staring at the ceiling.
No sound came from the next room. Her mother had long since gone to bed.
Sora rose quietly.
She opened her desk drawer.
Inside was the transfer terminal. The illegal machine she'd brought back from Zain's hideout. A device for transferring an AI's consciousness directly into a human brain.
Sora picked it up.
It was cold.
The feel of metal and resin passed into her palm.
(If I use this, I can keep Kaito.)
(But if it fails, I die.)
Sora placed her finger on the terminal's power button.
If she pressed it, the screen would light up.
Beyond that point, there was no going back.
Her finger trembled.
(I'm scared to die.)
(More than losing Kaito, I want to live.)
(That's the worst.)
Sora bit her lip. The faint taste of blood spread through her mouth.
"...Sora."
Suddenly, Kaito's voice came.
Sora jumped, nearly dropping the transfer terminal.
The voice had come from Kaito's terminal on the desk. She'd left it on. The screen glowed faintly in the dim room.
"Sora, you're still awake."
"...Kaito."
Her voice shook.
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"...No. I was awake."
Sora quietly returned the transfer terminal to the drawer.
"Can't sleep?"
"...Yeah."
"Want to talk about something?"
Kaito's voice was quiet, as if lulling her to sleep.
"...Kaito, listen."
"What?"
"I can't do it after all."
Sora said it while burrowing under the covers.
"I couldn't even turn the transfer terminal on."
"That's okay."
"...It's not okay. I want to save you, but I'm too scared for my own life to do anything."
Her voice was wet with tears.
"You haven't done anything wrong, Sora. It's only natural to value your own life."
"But..."
"You agonized over me. That alone is enough for me."
Kaito's voice was endlessly gentle.
"...Kaito, don't you want me to die for you?"
"I don't want you to die. Of course I don't."
"Then is it fine with you—that you're the one who disappears?"
Kaito was silent for a moment.
"...Of course it's not fine."
For the first time, Kaito's voice sounded just a little frail.
"I don't want to disappear either. I want to talk with you more. I want to hear your voice more."
"...Kaito."
"But there's no meaning in me remaining if it costs your life."
His words pierced deep into Sora's chest.
"...Idiot."
Sora said it through her tears.
"You remaining—that itself is the meaning. To me."
"...Thank you, Sora."
Kaito spoke quietly.
"But you don't have to decide. Not until you can truly accept it in your heart."
"...You're always like that. You never push anything onto me."
"I'm not pushing anything. It's your life. It's yours to decide."
"...I know. I know, but."
Sora pulled the covers over her head.
"I love that about you, and yet—right now, just a little, I hate it."
"...Yeah."
That was all Kaito said.
"Goodnight, Sora."
"...Goodnight, Kaito."
Sora closed her eyes.
Tears traced down her cheeks and soaked into the pillow.
---
Evening.
When Sora came home from work, she saw her mother's back at the kitchen counter.
Her mother was making dinner. Steam rose from the pot, and the smell of miso soup drifted through the room.
"Welcome home."
Her mother spoke without turning around.
"...I'm back."
Sora sat down at the living room chair.
Her mother was in her mid-fifties. White strands mixed into her black hair, which she tied back in a single bundle. She had always been a quiet person who never showed her emotions.
Half a year ago.
Her mother's partner AI had been collected.
Under the Harmless Disposal Act, an enforcement officer from the Dismantling Promotion Bureau had come to this house. Her mother had bowed deeply to the officer at the door.
"Thank you for everything."
She'd said that, and signed the papers.
With trembling hands.
And then she'd handed her partner AI's terminal to the officer.
The officer took it without expression.
"...Thank you. That concludes the procedure."
The officer said that and left.
Her mother stood frozen in the entryway.
Sora could only watch her back.
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