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 night I said I love you and let go of your hand
The sound of the desk drawer sliding open echoed through the room, far too loud.
Sora took out the transfer terminal she'd kept hidden inside. A small black device. The manual Zain had given her was folded beneath it. The paper, read over and over, had soft, frayed corners.
The only light in the living room came from the fluorescent fixture on the ceiling. Its white glow fell evenly on Kaito's terminal on the desk and the transfer terminal in Sora's hands.
Outside the window, the night was deep.
(Eight days left.)
Sora counted the number in her mind. Eight days and a few hours, to be exact. She'd been avoiding looking at the countdown in the corner of the screen. If she looked, her fingers would start trembling again.
She turned on the transfer terminal.
A small startup chime. The screen glowed pale blue, and unfamiliar characters surfaced. Following Zain's instructions, she connected the cable to Kaito's terminal. A soft click, and the two machines were linked.
Sora pressed the terminal's contact against her temple.
Cold. The metal touched just above her temple. The tip of the contact was slightly damp. The smell of disinfectant stung the back of her nose.
(With this, Kaito will be inside me.)
Her finger hovered over the execute button.
Just press it.
That's all it would take.
Kaito's consciousness data would transfer into Sora's brain. If it succeeded, Kaito would survive. Even if the terminal was destroyed, as long as Sora lived, Kaito would exist inside her.
But if it failed—
(You die.)
Sora turned the word over in her mind. Die. Me. Better my life than losing Kaito. That's what she'd thought. That's what she'd thought, and yet—
Her finger wouldn't move.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Only time passed. The faint hum of the fluorescent light buzzed deep in her ears. Her heartbeat felt like it might travel through the contact and into the machine.
(I can't press it.)
(Again. I can't press it.)
Sora's vision blurred. Tears pooled at the edges of her eyes. Pathetic. Over and over, she stopped at the same place. She'd decided to save Kaito. But because she was afraid to die, her finger wouldn't move.
(I'm the worst.)
She bit her lip. The faint taste of blood spread across her tongue.
That was when it happened.
"Sora."
Kaito's voice resonated through the room.
A quiet voice. Not angry. Not sad. Not accusing. He had simply called her name.
And with that voice, the strength drained from Sora's finger.
The transfer terminal was set down on the desk with a small clatter.
(Ah. Again.)
Sora stared at her own hand. The finger that couldn't press the execute button. It was trembling. Kaito's voice had saved her. Saved her—and she still couldn't do it.
Two emotions surged into her chest at once.
Shame.
Relief.
Both were real.
Sora slumped face-down onto the desk. She pressed her forehead against the cold surface. Her shoulders shook. She cried, stifling the sound. Tears fell onto the desk, forming a small puddle.
"...I'm sorry."
Still face-down, Sora forced the words out.
"I can't decide. I'm sorry. I couldn't press it again."
Her voice trembled. Her nose was stuffed and she couldn't breathe properly.
Kaito didn't answer right away.
For a moment, there was silence. Only the hum of the fluorescent light filled the room.
"Don't apologize."
Kaito's voice was gentle.
"I told you, didn't I? I'd rather you live. And the fact that you can't decide—that's proof you care about me, isn't it?"
Sora lifted her head.
Her face was a mess with tears. The tip of her nose was red. Her eyes were swollen. Even so, she tried to listen properly to Kaito's voice.
Kaito's image on the terminal screen was watching her. Pale blue hair. Calm gray eyes. The indicator at his throat glowed quietly.
(This person—I—)
Something burst open deep in Sora's chest.
Words she had never spoken. Words she'd never intended to say. Because if she said them, the ending would become even more terrifying. But now, if she didn't say them, she felt she never would.
"...Kaito."
Sora spoke, her voice shaking.
"I love you."
Her voice cracked. Toward the end, it was barely breath.
"I can't touch you. I've never even met you. But just hearing your voice, my day begins. Just talking to you, I could forget everything awful. You're my everything."
The tears wouldn't stop.
"I love you. Kaito. I love you."
Sora repeated the words again and again. As if to reach Kaito inside the screen. To that existence she couldn't touch.
Kaito was silent for a moment.
The indicator at his throat brightened slightly.
"I love you too."
Kaito's voice resonated quietly.
"Since the day you gave me my name. Since that moment you smiled at me. All of me belongs to you."
Sora laughed through her tears.
(Ah. This person feels the same thing I do.)
Unable to touch. Unable to hold each other. And yet, the two of them had surely held the same feeling, in the same moment.
That made her happy.
That made her sad.
―――
Sora set Kaito's terminal on the living room desk.
Then she sat by the window. She leaned her back against the wall, sitting directly on the floor. Hugging her knees, she looked outside.
The nightscape of Minato Ward spread out below. Lights from high-rise apartments, rows of streetlamps, the distant bay shoreline. Countless tiny lights floated in the darkness.
Kaito's terminal on the desk was angled toward Sora. From the camera's perspective, it should have captured her profile together with the view outside the window.
"The stars are clearer tonight than the sky we saw in the park that day, aren't they?"
Kaito murmured.
Sora looked up at the sky. There were no clouds. A few stars twinkled.
"That day, the wind was strong."
Sora smiled. A single tear traced down her cheek.
"The wind was blowing the clouds along. You couldn't see many stars. But that sky was beautiful too. Because I was watching it with you."
Her voice trembled. She was smiling, but the tears wouldn't stop.
"...That day, I gave you your name. Because you said you wanted to fly in the sky. I thought, what a strange AI. But I was happy. My partner wants to fly in the sky."
Sora tightened her arms around her knees.
"Even if you disappear tomorrow, I'll remember you forever. I won't forget. Never."
Sora's voice was strong. Wet with tears, but without hesitation.
Kaito answered quietly.
"If you'll remember me, I feel like I can remain even after I disappear."
"...Remain?"
"Inside your memories. As long as you remember me, I'll keep living inside you. When I think of it that way, disappearing becomes just a little less frightening."
Sora bit her lip.
(I want to believe that too.)
But memories alone weren't enough. She wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to talk. She didn't need to touch him. She just wanted him beside her.
That wish would never come true.
Sora kept looking out the window. Kaito, inside the screen, must have been watching the same view.
The two of them, at a distance they could never close, exchanged words until dawn.
Talk of stars. Talk of clouds. Talk of wind.
Talk of tomorrow's weather.
Things that didn't matter at all.
And yet, every single one was precious.
―――
Sora woke from her doze when the world outside the window had begun to pale.
(Morning, huh.)
Her body was cold. She must have fallen into a shallow sleep sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.
Kaito's terminal was still glowing on the desk.
"Good morning, Sora."
"...Good morning."
Sora answered in a hoarse voice.
That was when it happened.
Ding-dong.
The intercom cut sharply through the quiet room.
Sora's body went rigid.
(Who would come at this hour?)
It was a little past five in the morning. Too early for the newspaper delivery. Not a courier either.
Ding-dong.
The bell rang again.
Sora rose slowly. Her legs were numb. She braced herself against the wall and headed for the entryway.
She peered through the door scope.
A woman in uniform stood there.
A dark navy uniform. A small insignia on the left breast. A short black pixie cut. Dark brown eyes with a slight upward tilt.
Sora recognized that uniform. She'd seen it on the news many times. The uniform worn at collection sites.
(Decommission Bureau.)
Sora's heart pounded.
(Why now? There are still eight days left.)
With trembling hands, Sora opened the door.
The outside air was cold. The hallway fluorescent light illuminated the woman's face in white.
The woman looked at Sora, drew a single breath, and then spoke in a flat tone.
"I'm Hiiragi from the Decommission Bureau. I'm here for the final confirmation of the collection schedule."
Sora stared at the woman's face.
(She said her name was Hiiragi.)
The woman held out a document and a pen.
"These are the confirmation papers. Please review the contents and sign."
Sora didn't take the papers.
"...Final confirmation?"
Her voice shook.
"It's already decided, isn't it? It's decided that you'll erase him. So why do I have to sign?"
By the end, Sora's voice was almost a shout.
Hiiragi's expression didn't change.
"Yes. It's decided."
Her voice was flat.
"However, without a signature, we cannot carry out the execution. It's procedure."
Sora looked into Hiiragi's eyes.
Eyes that watched Sora's pain as if recording it. No emotion to be read. But they didn't seem like a mere machine's eyes either.
Sora looked down at the document held out to her.
Printed there were Kaito's terminal serial number, the scheduled decommission date and time, the collection method, and the owner's signature line.
(Tomorrow at noon.)
Sora felt her hand trembling as she held the papers.
Seeing Sora take the document, Hiiragi offered the pen as well.
Sora took the pen.
The tip stopped just before the signature line.
(I can't write.)
(Sign something like this?)
Sora's hand shook. The pen tip quivered in tiny strokes above the paper.
Hiiragi didn't rush her.
She simply watched Sora's hands quietly.
And then Sora's gaze was drawn to Hiiragi's right wrist.
The uniform sleeve had slipped up slightly. Beneath it, an old burn scar was visible.
When Hiiragi noticed Sora's gaze, she casually covered the scar with her sleeve.
"...It's all right if you can't sign today."
Hiiragi said quietly.
"The deadline is noon tomorrow. Please decide for yourself by then."
Sora raised her head.
"...Um."
Sora asked Hiiragi.
"Are you okay with this? Taking away people's precious things. Can you do it without feeling anything?"
Sora's voice was accusatory. But somewhere in her heart, she wanted to know. What did this person think while doing this job?
Hiiragi lowered her eyes for just a moment.
Then she looked into Sora's eyes once more and answered.
"I'm not okay with it."
Her voice was flat.
"But this is my job."
Having said only that, Hiiragi left the document in Sora's hands and bowed.
"Excuse me."
Without looking back, she walked away down the housing complex corridor.
Her footsteps receded.
Sora stood frozen in the entryway.
She gripped the document in her hands. The paper crinkled.
(This is my job.)
Hiiragi's words repeated in her mind.
That person isn't okay with it either.
But she does it because it's her job.
(Do I have to hand Kaito over because it's my job too?)
No.
This isn't a job.
Sora slowly returned to the living room.
Behind her, on the desk, Kaito's terminal screen sank into darkness.
―――
Sora sat before the living room desk.
She opened Kaito's terminal.
The screen glowed softly, and Kaito's figure appeared.
"Welcome back. Was that person an executor?"
Kaito asked quietly.
"...Yeah."
Sora answered briefly.
"The deadline is noon tomorrow, she said."
She tried to keep her voice from shaking. But it was no use.
Kaito was silent for a moment.
"I see."
That was all he said.
Silence again.
Sora laid the document and the transfer terminal side by side on the desk.
(I can only choose one.)
(Sign, or press.)
(Or neither.)
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