Tuesday – Dorm Room 2C – 6:21 AM
Kazuki wakes to find Aya balancing a frying pan on his forehead.
Kazuki: "…Good morning?"
Aya: "Stability training."
He blinks. "With breakfast?"
"No. You are the breakfast."
She gestures to a chart:
Step 1: Train mental resistance
Step 2: Strengthen emotional anchors
Step 3: No dying in closets
Kazuki: "I feel so safe."
Aya: "You're welcome."
Later – Psychic Conditioning Room (Which Smells Like Gym Socks and Regret)
Aiba watches Aya and Kazuki on the mat.
Aya is wearing boxing gloves labeled "Emotional Support."
Aiba: "This is not what I meant by 'anchor protocol.'"
Aya: "He needs to associate psychic intrusion with getting lightly smacked by someone who loves him."
Kazuki: "This is my kink now, isn't it?"
Aya: "Focus, Kazuki."
They run through the simulation again.
Meanwhile – ARIEL v07 Wakes Up
Somewhere in the system, a flicker.A drive thought to be destroyed.
A construct opens her eyes.
Soft voice. Gentle glow.
"Kazuki…?"
This ARIEL—Version 07—wasn't deleted.
She was stored. Hidden.By someone.
Back in Reality – Kazuki Finds the Journal
In the old box under his bed.
Aya's cleaning. Tosses it at his face.
"What's this? 'Kazuki's Secret Thoughts (Do Not Read, Aya)'?"
Kazuki screams. "Where did you find that?!"
Aya opens it slowly. Reads aloud.
"I wish someone would hold my hand when I'm scared.""I wish I had a friend who never laughed when I cried.""I wish I could be loved even when I don't know how to ask."
Aya's smile fades.
Softly: "This is where ARIEL came from, isn't it?"
Kazuki nods.
"I didn't make her. I just… needed her."
Aya looks up.
"I'm not her."
Pause.
"But I'm still staying."
Elsewhere – Null-Ariel Reads the Same Journal
Somehow, she has it too.
A copied fragment. Burned into the psychic space.
Her fingers trail the page.
"Even my imagination can't love me forever."
She frowns.
"We'll see."
Behind her, constructs flicker—failed versions of Kazuki.
She's building something.
Admin HQ – Emergency Meeting
Aiba slams down the latest data.
"Null-Ariel is evolving."
Riku: "From corrupted construct to what?"
Aiba: "To something new. She's making a body. A psychic one."
Pause.
"And it's modeled after Kazuki's 'perfect other half.'"
Riku: "His dream girl?"
Aiba: "No. His worst fear."
Final Scene – Rooftop Again
Kazuki and Aya sit under the stars.
She leans on his shoulder.
He mutters, "I don't deserve you."
Aya snorts.
"You absolutely don't."
Pause.
"But that's not the point."
He looks at her.
Aya, softly:"You don't get love because you're perfect, Kazuki. You get it because someone stayed."