Friday Morning – Reintegration Protocol
Kazuki sits in a white chair.
Across from him: a woman in a crisp black coat, clipboard in hand, eyes like razors.
"I'm Aiba," she says. "I don't smile, I don't do small talk, and I don't care how cute your little roommate is."
Kazuki blinks.
Aya, sitting behind him, sipping a melon soda:"Wow, already a fan. I like her."
Reintegration Interview Begins
Aiba clicks her pen.
"Your psychic signature has become unstable. Multiple field breaks. High probability of conceptual contamination."
Kazuki: "…Okay, but what does that mean in human?"
Aiba sighs.
"It means your brain leaks dreams into the world and now we're trying to figure out if you're a bomb or a balloon."
Aya: "He's more of a squeaky stress toy with anxiety legs."
Kazuki: "That's not helping."
Later – Psych Field Monitoring Lab
A technician shows Kazuki a simulation:Floating symbols, thought constructs, and a faint outline of his own mind.
A new thing pulses in the center.
A node.
"Yume left a fragment inside your cognitive field," the tech says. "It's stable. But we don't know what it does."
Kazuki leans closer.
Inside the node, something flickers: a memory of her voice.
"You're not the first. You won't be the last."
Aya: "Okay but like, can we delete it, or do I have to start charging it rent?"
Meanwhile – Director's Office
Natsuki reviews the report.
Aiba stands beside her.
"You're not going to like my recommendation," Aiba says.
"Hit me."
"He's not a student anymore."
Natsuki raises an eyebrow.
"He's a contaminant vector. You need to either isolate him… or train him."
Natsuki smirks.
"And you think I'm choosing isolation?"
Aiba pauses.
"…Then I have one more condition."
Natsuki gestures.
Aiba slides over a new file:
"Aya – Civilian Subject #3B – Requesting Special Clearance."
Natsuki whistles.
"Well," she says. "I did always enjoy a little chaos in the curriculum."
Elsewhere – Aya Gets Briefed
She's in a room with two administrators.
"Miss Aya," one begins, "we're approving your presence under one condition."
She sips tea.
"Only one? You're slacking."
"You'll be formally assigned as a Psychosocial Companion Interface."
Aya blinks.
"I'm sorry. A what?"
"It means you provide emotional regulation to Subject Kazuki—"
"Oh, you mean being his roommate. Yeah, been doing that."
"—and in return, you receive observation clearance, access to daily mission logs, and…"
Pause.
"…a staff lanyard."
Aya stares.
"...Do I get to change the photo?"
"No."
"Then I accept, but bitterly."
Field Training – Afternoon Session
Kazuki enters the training dome.
Everyone's watching him.
He hears whispers.
"That's the guy who manifested a helicopter out of regret.""I heard he can dream weapons into existence.""His girlfriend broke out of a prison with a hairdryer."
Kazuki: "She's not my—"
Aya, from the observation booth:"Let him dream, kids."
Final Scene – Briefing Room Zero
Kazuki is alone.
A screen flickers on.
It's Aiba.
"You're going to be introduced to something new," she says.
A file appears.
Class Zero Candidates – Confidential.
Names. Faces.People like him. People worse than him.People who broke time. People who created their own gods.
One file catches his eye.
A girl smiling.
The note reads:
"Deceased. Cause: cognitive feedback loop."
Kazuki exhales.
Aiba speaks again.
"If you stay here, you'll be trained. Monitored. Tested."
"And if I leave?"
"You'll end up like them."