Chapter 14
1164words
The first thing was Rin's call, filled with sobbing and extreme panic. She no longer called me "Ayashiro Ai" or "partner," but directly called out my name—"Ai." That voice, like an awl, pierced through my last bit of consciousness.
The second thing was the low whisper from the man outside the door—"Professor," filled with extreme surprise and a hint of appreciation. Through the thick door, that voice clearly transmitted into my mind.
"...How interesting. To actually use brute force to forcibly destroy the connection port of the 'fuse.' Truly... an incomparable, rough yet beautiful 'raw gem.'"
Following that, I heard his unhurried, gradually fading footsteps.
He left.
After confirming that his only bargaining chip had become ineffective, this man known as the "Professor" chose to retreat cleanly and decisively without any lingering attachment to the battle.
His malice, deep as an abyss, also receded like the tide.
In the apartment, only dead silence remained.
……
My consciousness was slowly floating up as if from the deep sea.
My hearing was the first to recover.
I could hear my own faint breathing, the strong beating of my heart, and a... tearful, suppressed voice repeatedly calling my name.
"Ai... Ai... wake up..."
Then came the sense of touch.
I felt myself lying on the cold floor, with my head resting on something... soft and elastic.
It was Rin's knee.
A drop of warm liquid fell onto my cheek.
Tears?
I struggled to open my heavy eyelids.
What came into view was Rin's face, filled with anxiety, panic, and self-blame.
Those eyes of hers, usually as calm as an icy lake, were now reddened, with crystal teardrops hanging from her long eyelashes.
Her practical athletic wear was stained with blood from my nose, making her look disheveled.
She was no longer that invincible "human weapon."
At this moment, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl who didn't know what to do when her companion fell.
"......Rin?"
I opened my mouth, and the voice that came out was so hoarse that it didn't sound like my own.
"Ai!"
Seeing me awake, she felt relieved, but the tears in her eyes flowed even more fiercely.
"How do you feel? Is there anything uncomfortable? Do you need immediate medical attention?" she asked a series of questions in a trembling voice.
"I'm fine..." I felt completely drained, with a splitting headache, but still managed to force a smile, "Just... a bit tired... want to sleep for a while..."
"No sleeping!" she said in an almost commanding tone, but the sobbing in her voice betrayed her, "Your vital signs are extremely unstable! Consciousness blur is a dangerous sign! Stay awake, partner!"
"I... really am fine..." Looking at her in this state, I felt somewhat uncomfortable, "That 'fuse'... I succeeded, right?"
Rin's body suddenly stiffened.
She looked at me, her eyes filled with extreme complexity.
There was shock, fear in retrospect, admiration, but more than anything, a kind of... tenderness I had never seen before.
"...Yes." She nodded, her voice still trembling, "You succeeded. You protected everyone in your own way."
"Then... what about Yui?" I struggled to sit up.
"She's fine." Rin pressed down on my shoulders to keep me from moving, "I just checked on her, she's just sleeping in her room. After you disrupted the 'hibernation program,' it seems to have produced a mild hypnotic effect."
She paused, then said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Thank you... Ai."
This was the first time I had ever heard the word "thank you" from her lips.
Looking at her beautiful tear-stained face so close to mine, I felt that my brain, which was in agony from mental energy exhaustion, didn't seem to hurt as much anymore.
"As partners, this is only natural, right?" I answered wearily, imitating her usual way of speaking.
Rin was taken aback for a moment, and then, on her tear-streaked face, for the first time, appeared a smile that was more awkward than crying, but incredibly genuine.
"...Confirmed. Between partners, no thanks are necessary."
She carefully used her sleeve to gently wipe the blood stains from my face.
Her movements were clumsy, even rough, and several times she almost poked my eye.
But that careful, attentive desire to take care of me was conveyed to me more clearly than ever before.
"What about the 'Professor'?" I asked.
"He left," Rin's gaze instantly regained a hint of coldness. "After confirming that he couldn't achieve his goal in a short time, he immediately retreated. That's his consistent style - calm, efficient, and unscrupulous."
"He won't just give up like this, will he?"
"Yes." Rin's gaze became solemn, "Today, you showed him your 'potential'. From today onwards, your threat assessment within 'Chronos' will likely be elevated from 'S-class trigger requiring strict surveillance' to... 'SSS-class strategic target that must be recovered at all costs, or directly eliminated if recovery is impossible'."
......It sounds like my future has become even darker.
"However," Rin looked at me, her eyes becoming more determined than ever before, "regardless of how the mission level changes, my mission mode, from today onwards, will forever be 'Type B: Collaborative Protection'."
"I won't let you fight alone anymore."
"I am your weapon, and also your... shield."
She was no longer reciting regulations in that cold, AI-like tone.
Instead, she was making a promise to me with her own will.
A guardian's declaration from a "human weapon."
Looking at her, I felt that something between us had fundamentally changed.
I stretched out my hand, gently holding her cold hand that was covered with my fresh blood.
"Well then... please take care of me, my... guardian."
Rin's face seemed to redden.
Of course, it could also be because she had been crying so hard earlier.
"...Received. Contract, established." She quickly replied through thought transmission, not daring to look into my eyes again.
Just then, the bedroom door opened with a "click."
Sato Yui walked out, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Mmm... Ai-kun, Rin-san, I think I fell asleep... huh?"
She saw us.
She saw me lying on the ground covered in blood.
She saw Rin kneeling beside me, tears staining her face, still holding my hand.
Yui's brain instantly crashed.
Then, on her cute little face appeared an... extremely complicated expression that mixed shock, gossip, and some kind of indescribable excitement.
"You... you two..."
Rin and I simultaneously realized how easily this position could be misunderstood.
Rin jerked her hand back as if electrocuted, stood up, and resumed her ice queen expression, but her reddened eye sockets betrayed her.
I wanted to get up too, but my body was completely drained of strength, so I could only lie awkwardly on the ground.
It's over.
I felt that my already precarious daily life was, at this moment, being pushed toward an even more unfathomable abyss.
And this time, the culprit seemed to be... not just Rin alone.
