【T.C.】【Searching the Meteor Code】T.C.-15

Akemi woke in her apartment, wrapped in the quiet of the morning sun.
Still lying down, she ate cereal straight from the box. No milk. No toppings.
Cooking? …Nah. Too much work.

She took a shower.
Then began walking toward the city.

A sudden notification.
Ms. Akemi.
The stiff, businesslike tone.
A request from a foreign investigation agency she once worked for.

The message read:
Ms. Akemi. We have a request for you, the creator of BreakChain.
There is an upcoming meteor shower. We would like you to create a program that can predict its appearance.

Akemi sighed.
“Haa? That’s ridiculous.”
…But maybe I’ll do it. Could cover this month’s expenses.

Thinking about it, she kept walking.

She arrived at the meeting place.
Seeing Kiryu in the distance, she waved energetically.

“Did I keep you waiting?”
“No, I just got here.”

“What about Gunjo?”
“He said he’ll be a bit late.”

“Kiryu-kun, are you okay? Really?”
“Hey, I’m not a kid.”
“I know, I know.”

But—
When Akemi first met Kiryu, he looked like someone who had lost something important.

Once—
Kiryu’s thesis became one of the sparks of war.
A theory of AI governance.
Kiryu had only watched, powerless.

Eventually he was called a war instigator.
A story from long ago.

They walked side by side beneath the roadside trees.

“A program that searches for meteor showers? What even is that?”
“Ahem. They asked me, okay? The BreakChain developer, thank you very much.”
“And what will they use it for? BreakChain ended up being used for military purposes too. It was practically a scam.”
“Probably some rich old guy wants to guarantee he’ll see a meteor shower.”
“…What a waste of technology.”

Kiryu spoke quietly, shoulders heavy with guilt.

“How are you gonna live in this peaceful era, Kiryu-kun?
Hey, why don’t the three of us run a café or something?”
Akemi said lightly.

“Or a bar. Or a lounge. Oh—maybe you’d hate that.
Gunjo can be the waiter. Or wash dishes.”

“Why is it always food service with you?”
“Well, what can you do, Kiryu-kun?”
“…No idea. Being able to walk freely is enough.”

“And you can live like that?”
“…Never thought about it.”

“Gunjo… late as usual.”
“Well, it’s fine,” Kiryu said softly.
“Once in a while, the two of us is okay.”

—Later.

Akemi completed the meteor-shower prediction code.
Meteor showers have cycles.
She fed in 200 years of records,
calculated when and where each could be seen,
and even added graphics.

She showed it to Kiryu and Gunjo.

“You made this, Akemi?” Gunjo asked.
“Yep!”
“I should sell it to some rich guy. Then we’ll never worry about money!”
“Can you not say it like we’re starving…?” Gunjo muttered.
“…But it’s good work. As expected,” Kiryu said.
“Hehehe, right?” Akemi blushed.

“So? The next meteor shower?”
“…Tonight.”

A small peak—Shinoda Pass in G Prefecture.
“You sure this is real? It’s not even online,” Gunjo said.
“Shut up, we came all this way!” Akemi snapped.
“Uugh, cold…”
“You always hated the cold,” Akemi teased.

Kiryu simply looked at the night sky.

Akemi wondered:
Is Kiryu still thinking of those people from his past?

“I saw a deer earlier,” Gunjo said.
“Well yeah, it’s a mountain,” Akemi said.

Kiryu spoke.
“What’s this meteor shower called?”

“Shattra-Marie Meteor Shower,” Akemi answered.
“Thirty-eight-year cycle.”

“Ah!” Gunjo yelled.
A flash of light pierced the sky.

“That’s… a meteor shower?”
“The Shattra-Marie Meteor Shower,” Akemi replied.

The streaks grew brighter, thicker.

“Whoa… you really predicted it,” Gunjo said.
“Told you! I’m getting rich!” Akemi said proudly.

Kiryu said nothing—
just stared at the streaming light.

The meteors grew immense,
as if enveloping him.
A blinding flash swallowed Kiryu—
and for an instant,
he vanished into the meteor shower.

A fleeting illusion.
He was simply standing there,
watching the Shattra-Marie meteors glide across the sky.

Akemi watched his back the whole time.

They stood in silence,
surrounded by stars.

After a long while,
Kiryu finally murmured:

“…Let’s go home.”
“To our city.”

Akemi nodded.
“…Yeah.”