Neo-Tokyo — Yokohama-6 Side Street
Time: 3:37 a.m.
Rainfall: Light Drizzle
The streetlamp overhead buzzed like a dying fly. Yumi stood beneath it, her coat soaked at the shoulders, eyes locked on Lin as though seeing a ghost that refused to vanish.
He didn't move. Not until she did.
Step by step, she crossed the street. The sound of her boots in puddles echoed between the closed shops and empty stalls. Lin watched her approach, arms still tucked into his long coat, face unreadable.
When she reached him, she said, "You were the one… weren't you? The server boy at Raika Shizuma's summit. With the chipped tooth and shy smile."
He tilted his head slightly. Then nodded once. "I spilled sake on a councilwoman's shoes."
A faint smile touched her lips. "And then apologized in five different dialects."
"You remembered?"
"I always remember strange kindness."
They stood there for a moment, the rain soft around them, catching on neon light like digital snow.
Lin motioned toward a narrow stairwell beneath a ramen stand. "There's a place upstairs. Quiet. Doesn't check IDs."
She followed.
---
Neo-Tokyo — Yokohama-6, Hidden Jazz Den
Time: 3:48 a.m.
The room smelled of smoke and old wood. Soft jazz crackled from a half-functioning speaker in the corner. The bartender, a blind man named Kei, nodded without words and poured drinks without being asked.
Yumi sat at a booth with peeling velvet seats. Lin across from her, sleeves rolled up, scars half visible in the dim light.
"So…" she began, tracing the rim of her glass, "why pretend? Why not tell me who you were?"
"I wasn't that person anymore," Lin said quietly. "Didn't think he deserved to be remembered."
Yumi frowned. "The Lin I knew... used to hum when he cooked. Would burn rice and still serve it like it was a delicacy."
"That Lin died in Facility Twelve," he said.
She paused. "And the one in front of me?"
He looked at her. "Trying to find the pieces."
They drank in silence for a while. The music shifted. A slow piano took over.
"You know," Yumi murmured, staring at the rain through the window, "I thought about quitting. After my mother died. Joining the Helix Division was her dream, not mine. I just… kept going because I didn't know how to stop."
Lin stirred his drink, voice low. "We're the same, then."
She glanced at him. "Yeah?"
"I kept killing because I didn't know how to start over."
A beat passed.
"This place is weird," she said, changing the subject. "Feels warm but… made of black and white."
Lin smiled faintly. "It's built between two collapsed server towers. Old A.I. hauntings screw with the lights. Gives it that monochrome glitch effect."
"Huh," Yumi muttered. "Makes me feel like I'm dreaming with my eyes open."
Lin raised his glass slightly. "To shared dreams, then."
They clinked glasses. Not loud. Just enough.
---
Neo-Tokyo — Outside Yumi's Complex
Time: 4:27 a.m.
The rain had stopped. Mist curled through the gutters like lazy cats. Lin stood beside Yumi's apartment entrance, watching her dig for her keycard.
"You don't have to walk me up," she said.
"I know."
She hesitated. Then turned to him.
"Why did you save me? That night… in the greenhouse."
He looked down. "Because I remembered the boy who brought you tea. And for one moment, I wanted to be him again."
Her breath caught.
She opened the door, paused, and said, "You're still him. Somewhere under all that pain."
Then, she was gone.
---
Neo-Tokyo — Sector 3 Slums, Maintenance Room D4-17
Time: 4:51 a.m.
Lin returned to the old room, the locket still cold in his hand. He barely had time to strip off his coat when Nel's voice came from the shadows.
"I found it," she said.
He turned. She stepped forward, eyes sharp.
"Ryonnosuke Shizuma's lab. The original one. Buried beneath Sector 9, under the old Skyport ruins."
Lin's eyes narrowed. "How sure are you?"
She held up a holo-chip. The display showed a flickering blueprint, security feeds, and a biometric seal: RYONNOSUKE S. – LEVEL OMEGA.
"Sure enough," she said. "Whatever they used to make Rune… it started there."
Lin's grip tightened.
Then softly, he said, "Then that's where we end it."
---
To be continued...