The Second Partner
The research institute's characteristic odorless air seeped deep into my lungs.
Security procedures waited at the entrance, but my father must have given them advance notice, because gaining entry proved surprisingly simple.
I walked down the institute corridor. After rounding a corner and reaching the glass door ahead, the scene inside came into view.
Several researchers in lab coats were exchanging data in front of monitors, with my father standing at the center of their discussion.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The laboratory interior was chilled by the air conditioning, and data streams flowing from inside the Dracore unit scrolled across the wall-mounted monitors.
"You've arrived."
He lifted his head the moment he saw me.
"Why did you call me?"
When I asked, my father handed over the tablet he'd been holding.
The screen displayed complex arrays of synchronization rate fluctuations observed during coupling along with feedback level indicators.
There were so many unfamiliar symbols and numbers that I couldn't grasp their precise meaning, but one thing stood out to me instinctively. These were the records of my coupling responses from today's training session.
Father pointed at the screen and spoke quietly.
"The existing Dracore systems were all designed on the premise of coupling between female pilots. Perhaps that's why every piece of data we've observed from you deviates completely from that framework."
I looked up. Father's expression remained impassive, yet his gaze was unmistakably clear.
"Therefore, we plan to design a new unit tailored to your coupling conditions, unlike the current Dracores. It will be the first design based on male-female coupling, which means we require extremely precise measurements for the customized setup."
I remained silent for a long moment after hearing those words.
Yet before I realized it, the corners of my mouth had lifted slightly.
...In any case, it meant they were building a new Dracore better suited to me.
I glanced back down at the tablet screen and said, "That... sounds good to me."
Then a question suddenly crossed my mind. I looked up and asked carefully.
"Does this have anything to do with all my couplings with the students in class failing today? Was it because the Dracore design criteria don't match me..."
Father paused at my words, then shook his head firmly.
"No. That was purely because your coupling is too aggressive. For the sake of your future partners, you need to learn how to control it yourself."
"...Ah. I see."
At my father's words I gave a bitter smile and closed my mouth.
So in the end, the problem wasn't the Dracore—it was me.
"Then... what would you like me to help with now?"
"Nothing complicated. Today we'll simply collect some of your physical data. It shouldn't take long."
I nodded, though a faint sense of unease stirred inside me.
"But is this a one-time thing? Or will I have to keep coming to the lab like this in the future? Honestly, traveling this distance every time is a hassle."
"You don't need to worry about that. It actually works out well. Starting next week, the lab and Dracore Academy facilities will begin the integration process. We'll be able to conduct everything at the academy without needing to move around separately."
The unexpected news made me tilt my head.
"...The lab is merging with the academy?"
"It might sound sudden to you, but this has actually been planned for several months. Recent internal schedule adjustments and external variables simply moved the timeline forward a little."
Father crossed his arms, quietly lowered his gaze, then continued.
"The Dracore system originally began in this lab. Core technologies like the neural interface device and coupling feedback algorithms were all developed here first. But as the need for a proper framework for education and practical training grew, the academy was built on a massive scale. Discussions about gradually relocating the research facilities there have continued ever since."
His words made it clear the integration wasn't merely about convenience.
"There was also the justification of reducing redundant investment between institutions. In that sense, it was ultimately only a matter of time."
It was a relief that I wouldn't have to commute back and forth to the lab anymore, and now everything felt like it was falling into place.
When I thought about it, in the anime both coupling technology and Dracore operation protocols had their practical management and application carried out almost entirely inside the academy.
Yet the fact that the roots of those core technologies remained here in the lab had always felt strange to me.
That question was finally answered.
It seemed that in the original work, the lab had been quietly absorbed by the academy.
After listening to my father's explanation, I followed the researchers' guidance and moved deeper into the experimental wing.
The measurement room at the end of the corridor.
When its automatic door opened, measurement equipment resembling a miniaturized Dracore cockpit waited inside.
As I entered and prepared to sit, I saw that the backrest and armrests precisely replicated an actual pilot seat.
The moment I leaned back, the pressure against my spine and the temperature of the contact points instinctively triggered tension.
I waited like that for some time.
The machine's characteristic power-up hum and soft operational whir filled the room. Following the researcher's instructions, I attached the fixed sensors to my head and placed my fingertips on the sensory response device.
I continued following every step in order as directed.
That was when it happened. A short warning beep suddenly rang from the equipment and the measurement stopped.
Something was wrong. Wondering if it was an error, I slowly extracted myself from the cockpit and looked into the lab through the transparent observation glass.
What I saw were researchers with faces drained of color.
One clutched a communicator and spoke urgently while another typed frantically across a keyboard. Everyone was scrambling.
The sight instantly told me something had gone terribly wrong.
At that moment, my father approached me.
"We'll have to postpone the measurement. We don't have time right now."
"...What happened?"
A brief silence fell. Father stared at my face before answering quietly.
"An Outer has appeared. And it's not far from here."
"......"
Yes, I had known it would appear again soon.
But even though my head understood, a corner of my heart had kept praying.
Just one more day. Even half a day more to prepare would be enough. I never expected reality to crash in so suddenly.
I took a slow breath and looked at the people moving with urgent intensity all around me.
Their expressions made one thing clear: there was no prepared leisure for me either.
Residual heat clung to the road where blood had dried.
Blood coagulated into something like blackish-red moss filled the cracks in the asphalt, and the shattered frame of a Dracore leaned like a doll with a broken wrist.
Black ash particles burst through the carbon smoke and soot, floating in the air like dust.
Luna walked slowly, taking the entire scene into her eyes.
The piles of corpses reaching her ankles were less human shapes than charred lumps, their faces reduced to unrecognizable gray.
Dried blood clung to Luna's own hands, but she passed over the bodies with an expressionless face, as if she hadn't noticed.
"It's this dream again..."
Her fragile voice melted into the empty air.
This was no mere dream.
It was the scene she had witnessed at eight years old.
The day everything collapsed. The day neither parents nor friends survived.
An Outer attack. A dimensional rift that could not be closed.
That hellish landscape and the screams burrowed into the bottom of Luna's consciousness every night, twisting into slightly different forms.
She was sick of it.
Now it felt like a waste of emotion to even react to dreams like this.
The Outer’s scream-like roars, the sound of Dracores shattering, and the human screams coming from somewhere had become all too familiar.
Whether she had grown numb or simply resigned,
Despite her wish to never have these nightmares again, the dreams evolved with ever more detailed and vivid sensations.
The heat of flames, the smell of flesh, the feeling of stepping onto an empty road. Everything felt more real than reality itself.
Fighting an Outer would have been better.
In reality, everything ended when the battle was over, but this dream gave her no chance to escape.
If all lingering attachments disappeared, would this nightmare disappear too?
Clinging to that faint hope, Luna walked slowly toward the center of the ruined wasteland once again today.
How much time had passed?
Her consciousness was dragged upward by the short, deep vibration.
Luna barely managed to lift her eyelids and draw in a breath.
A damp forehead. Fingers gone cold. The image of the corpse piles still burned into her retinas like an afterimage.
Even though she had returned to reality, every sensation in her body still lingered inside the nightmare.
She let out a long breath and looked around. Dim evening light gently soaked the room.
Reddish indigo and violet afterglow leaking through the curtain gaps spread along the walls, casting long shadows across the bed like spilled ink. On the desk, the novels she had been reading yesterday lay open at random.
After taking in the ordinary scenery, Luna buried half her face in the pillow and groped for her smartphone.
A familiar name glowed on the screen.
"......"
She had planned to rest properly and end the day, but it seemed he had something for her to do.
Luna puffed out her cheeks and sent a dissatisfied reply.
The unexpected answer made her sharpen her gaze and bite her lip lightly.
Luna lived and slept inside the research institute.
This was not a short stay but essentially permanent residence. To be precise, it was the life she had led since childhood.
To her, who had grown up without parents or blood relatives, surrounded only by observation and records, this place was more than a mere experimental facility.
The institute's scenery, its air, even its smells formed the environment that defined her and served as her only 'home'.
That was why.
The fact that an Outer had appeared near the lab was no simple threat.
It was as if the one sanctuary where Luna could feel safe had been violated.
At that thought, Luna slowly rose from the bed.
The room was quietly sinking into darkness, but her eyes grew increasingly sharp.