12

Fortunately, Haruyuki’s mother didn’t seem to notice that he was leaving for school an hour earlier than usual. Six thirty AM on a bright Tuesday, April 16. He said good-bye to her in her room and, after she sent five hundred yen to his Neurolinker, Haruyuki left the house.

Under an intermittently rainy sky, offering proof for the saying that you won’t see three straight days of sun in the spring, Haruyuki walked to the nearby JR Koenji Station and got on the Chuo line. Dizzied by the unfamiliar crowds, he got off at Shinjuku Station, and when he left the west exit, the time was 6:55.

He moved at a trot toward the fast-food place that was their designated meeting place before suddenly wondering, How am I supposed to know who she is?

If he connected his Neurolinker globally, he could make a tag saying he was “Corvus” or make something float above his head, but this was the middle of Shinjuku Ward, controlled by the Blue King. Once he was discovered on the matching list, the information would make the rounds and he would be challenged to duel after duel.

And Haruyuki’s real-world appearance had exactly zero in common with his duel avatar. Or rather, it was the polar opposite. The real question here was why on earth he had been so quick to trust a direct meeting in the real; i.e., have it known that inside Silver Crow was this pudgeball.

The sad memory of the one time he had previously had a game-related offline meeting came back to life, and Haruyuki thought, rapidly rounding his back, Yeah, I should just go home before she finds me. And then we’ll just do the transfer of the Enhanced Armament through the Shop somehow—

“Morning, Corvus.”

“Eaah!” Haruyuki leapt into the air at the sound of the gentle voice and the pat on his shoulder from behind. Fighting to tuck his head and limbs into his torso like a turtle, he seriously considered replying, You’ve got the wrong person, for about 0.3 seconds, and just on the verge of actually doing so, he abandoned the idea and gingerly turned around.

Standing on the crosswalk was a girl he had never met, wearing what appeared to be the uniform of some high school, but Haruyuki instinctively knew that this person was Sky Raker herself.

Her long hair resembled the other’s, and there was also the fact that the upper front area of her torso was extremely voluminous—just like her avatar. Of course this was reasoning that touched on harassment, but mostly, there was just a similar aura shrouding her.

Calm with a gentle air, she definitely didn’t seem like a regular person. It was an aura she shared somehow with both Kuroyukihime and the Red King Niko. She wasn’t in a wheelchair on this side, but Haruyuki bowed his head with confidence.

“G-good morning,” he mumbled, looking at the very Japanese eyes of his interlocutor with an upturned gaze. “Uh, um…how did you know it was me?”

“The power of your will.”

“Wh-what?!”

“I’m kidding. There aren’t too many junior high students standing in front of a fast-food place by themselves at this hour.” Giggling, Sky Raker touched Haruyuki’s shoulder and turned toward the door of the restaurant. At her urging, he slipped through the automatic door.

“Corvus, how about breakfast?”

“Oh! I already ate.”

“Well then, just drinks should be fine.”

After this exchange, he was treated to a medium oolong tea, not given the chance to refuse politely, and they headed for a table in the corner, seating themselves across from each other.

Wondering what she thought at seeing him in the real, Haruyuki at any rate bowed his head again. “Um…y-you’ve really done so…so much for me. And then you came all the way out here. Thank you so much.”

“My school’s in Shibuya, so it’s not that far out of my way.” Smiling, Sky Raker pulled a bundled XSB cable from her bag on the chair next to her. She plugged one end into the silver-white Neurolinker peeking out over the collar of her blazer, deeply reminiscent of the wheelchair she used in the accelerated world, and gripped the other end tightly with both hands.

There was no hint of hesitation in her gesture, but a look invoking the grief of separation flashed across her cheeks. As Haruyuki felt a sharp pain in his chest, the silver plug was already being gently offered to him.

He was aware of the many stares of the students and office workers in the restaurant settling on the back of his neck. In the dead of night, it maybe wouldn’t get so many stares, but directing first thing in the morning, and in school uniforms no less, was pretty crazy.

Normally, directing in a place like this and with a girl in high school would have caused inevitable heart palpitations, copious amounts of sweat, and a beet-red face, but now at least was not the time for feeling embarrassed.

Having lost his wings, he understood, so much so that it hurt, just how valuable and precious this Enhanced Armor was, especially given that it was initial equipment and not bought in the Shop. To be then nurtured all this time, fighting with her up to level eight…He understood to the point of absurdity.

But Haruyuki intuitively knew that any show of polite refusal for the sake of form alone would only insult her. Because this act was most likely based on the convictions of the Burst Linker Sky Raker.

He bowed his head deeply once and, taking the plug with both hands, Haruyuki stabbed it into his own Neurolinker.

Sky Raker’s plump lips moved slightly in the shape of “Burst Link.”

The transfer of the Enhanced Armament through a Direct Duel and the lecture on its use were completed within the 1,800-second count.

After they returned to the real world, the time was just seven fifteen. Aware of a lingering vague heat and a sense of excitement even after the direct cable had been removed, Haruyuki chugged the rest of his oolong tea. When Sky Raker had also emptied her coffee cup, she smiled with her eyes at Haruyuki and stood from her seat.

Feeling equal parts exaltation at the new power he had acquired and peaky unease at the thought that he might not be able to master it, Haruyuki trailed behind and to the left of the older girl as he walked to the station.

He noticed the sound when they were about halfway across the long crosswalk.

Each time her feet, clad in gray tights and dark brown loafers, stretched out and hit the ground, there was the faint but definite whine of a servo. Yanked back from his meditations, Haruyuki knit his brow, and after listening for several seconds, he understood.

Prosthetics.

Sky Raker’s legs were artificial and electronically controlled. They were connected to her Neurolinker and received the order to move from her brain, and then internal actuators and dampers moved her. She would be able to walk without any hindrance in normal life, and she should be able to run, but even still, there would definitely be a limit.

Once they had finished navigating the crosswalk, Haruyuki stopped, hung his head, and clenched both hands tightly.

The reason Sky Raker longed for the sky, the reason she wanted wings, was probably not unconnected with those prosthetic legs. If that was the case, then her motive was so deep and maddening that Haruyuki couldn’t even begin to understand it.

And yet she…

Because of that, she helped me after I lost my wings, without even trying to find out why I was given them…She encouraged me, gave me her own wings. Even though my own motives are totally nothing. Just wanting just to escape from the earth, I mean, that’s it.

The backs of his eyes grew hot, and the depths of his nose popped painfully, but scolding himself that he could not cry there, that that was the last thing he could do, Haruyuki pushed past the feeling. Sky Raker was absolutely no less proud than any other Burst Linker Haruyuki knew, even the Black King, Black Lotus. Crying easy tears just because his heart thought it understood what was going on with her would be absolutely unforgivable.

He let his head hang straight down as he pinched his right cheek as hard as he could, an attempt to pull back what was trying to flow out, and the tip of a loafer entered his field of vision with a clack.

“You’re quite kind, aren’t you?”

At the almost consoling words spoken from above his head, Haruyuki shook his head fiercely several times. “I-I’m not. Not at all.” His voice shook, and the end of his sentence had a strange choked sound to it, so he pulled at his cheek with his hand even harder.

A white hand reached out to grab that hand and pull it back forcefully. Crouching down, Sky Raker clutched Haruyuki’s hand to her chest and their eyes met.

“Listen, Corvus. I most certainly did not help you out of pity, and I know you don’t pity me or anything. Those tears are proof that your truth exists in the accelerated world.”

“Tr-truth?”

Nodding gently, Sky Raker brought her face so close that the tips of their noses were nearly touching. The curious stares of students heading for the station on their way to school pooled on them, but seemingly completely unbothered by this, she told him in a quiet but firm voice, “Those who think that Brain Burst is simply a tool to accelerate their thoughts and make the real world easier would absolutely never cry like this. For them, the duels are a means of earning points, and the accelerated world is nothing but a hunting ground where they can trick and trap others. But we know that that is not everything. We believe that there are encounters with the truth, there is friendship and love, and other bonds in that world as well. Isn’t that right?”

“…Yes…Yes.” Finally, unable to hold them back, Haruyuki felt the tears fall in large drops as he nodded deeply.

Sky Raker wiped away the water on his cheeks with the fingers of her right hand, and continued in a voice shaking slightly with emotion. “Because of my own foolishness, I once lost friendship, those bonds. I deeply regret that I was part of the reason she threw herself into battle with the other kings with such extreme recklessness. But I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. I want you to fight to protect what you really should protect.”

Haruyuki closed his eyelids tightly and prayed hard. I must never forget how lucky I am, even now with my wings stolen from me. This time, for sure, I have to burn that deep into my heart. All the people who I’ve met and created a bond with…Ash Roller, Sky Raker, Scarlet Rain, and of course Takumu and Chiyuri, and…Kuroyukihime. That is what I really should protect.

“…Okay!” Once again, his voice was nasal, but he replied firmly and raised his head, wiping his face roughly. “Thank you. I-I’m definitely going to fly again under my own power. When I do, I’ll definitely come to return them…Your wings.”

“All right. Good luck, Corvus.” Standing and smiling, Sky Raker started to move away after bowing, but Haruyuki stopped her.

“Um…um. I don’t think it’s lost or anything. I’m sure she’s waiting even now…for you to come back.”

Hearing this, Sky Raker opened both eyes wide and blinked several times in succession.

Haruyuki finally saw a faint but definite smile rise up. He smiled awkwardly himself, before running through the thronging crowd toward the Chuo line platform.