[T.C.] [Reminiscence of an Older Brother] T.C.-18

Autumn leaves dance along a street corner.
A patrol dog—robotic in form—passes by.

Luna thinks.

A free school, huh…
Should I go? Go on to university and then work, maybe…

But still, Luna—education aside, can you actually live?
In the end, life comes down to money.

I see, big brother.

Luna reacts to the voice of her brother inside her mind.

There’s no denying that side of the world.
After all, Luna, you’re taking risks to sell Wakaba yourself, aren’t you?
If you got caught, you’d be expelled.

Luna keeps walking through the streets.

Then something comes to mind again.
Once more, the voice inside her head speaks.

Back during the Great War—
A hero of the war.
The demon god, Taiyō Saitō (Sol).
A mercenary who defeated a hundred enemies alone.

You see, even before the war,
I already had a data chip implanted in my brain, Sol says.

By an AI research authority—

That data chip holds Sol’s memories from the war.
Sol’s physical body has already been destroyed.

The data of Sol speaks again.

Come to think of it, I had exactly one comrade.
She was a woman.
A knife-wielder who, like me, fought a hundred enemies alone.

In the end—near the final stage—
We were completely surrounded, and I lost my life.

I don’t know what became of my partner.
She took my data chip and delivered it to my family.

That chip—
Eventually—was implanted into Luna’s mind.

Sol speaks to Luna.

That Wakaba theft back then—
The real target wasn’t Wakaba.
It was me. My data chip.

My wartime data chip.
It will awaken Luna as a warrior—an AI combat chip.

That’s what they’re after.
So, Luna—

It’s my brother’s keepsake.
And besides… if the chip is gone, I won’t be able to see my brother anymore.

I know that, Luna.
…Thank you.
Just—be careful.

Sol remembers something.

That final night, we talked like this—

“Whether it’s AI rule or human rule, I don’t care.
I’m sick of these meaningless wars.”

That’s what she said.

I replied:
“I agree that this war is pointless. But it’s not AI governance that’s wrong, nor human governance. The real problem is the concentration of power.”

“You always say such complicated things,” she said.

Under the sunset, she smoked a cigarette.
Just quietly exhaling smoke.

I smoked one she gave me.
The wind carried the smoke away.

The last night—
The eve of the final battle—
And so, the night flowed on between the two of us.

Then, the decisive battle.
And then—I left this world.

A memory.

Tears fall on my face.
—Tears?

For me?

You’re crying?
Why? The stupid war is finally over, isn’t it?

Her voice.

You’re going back to your family.
To your little sister, right?

Why are you leaving?
Why are you leaving me behind?

Again—tears.

—Tears.

I remember now.

Her name—
Yamamoto Ririka.
Codename—Lily.

Why did I forget?
Something so important.

In my memory, I reach out my hand.
Her face—

I’m sorry.
I’m sorry I scarred your precious face.
I’m sorry we couldn’t go home together…

And then—
My memory cuts off.