02 Echoes
Jin, trembling, escorts the girl to the hospital, shielding her.
The migrant fleet is a closed society traveling through space.
To survive in the vacuum of space, not a single molecule can be wasted.
It is no exception, even for humans.
All residents are ID-monitored, so their identities should be immediately apparent……
"Without registration?"
From the fragments of conversation he overheard, Jin asked the police officer who had been a classmate in student days.
Even by modest standards, the situation was eventful.
Therefore, I had already reported it to the city police.
You were listening, weren't you, Higashiō?
I heard it coming.
In truth, Jin had strained his ears slightly, attempting to catch any information.
A girl indistinguishable from the late fiancé.
Apart from the difference in hair color, they share too many common traits to be distinguished as separate individuals.
It would be unnatural to tell someone not to be interested.
"Actually, do things like that even exist?"
"There are plenty of them. You can't register an ID without declaring it at birth. Others who came to this convoy through irregular means, maybe."
The comrade shrugged, expression unchanging.
If one were to live properly in a city, there'd be no reason not to declare.
That meant the girl's guardian had no intention of raising her properly.
"Urban police should be able to trace blood relations, though."
"Already did. No matches. The girl herself won't say a word—completely blank."
Jin felt nothing at the phrase "no matches."
He couldn't even name what answer he'd been hoping for.
Had he hoped she was of Ryō's bloodline?
Or had he hoped she wasn't?
"Also doesn't seem to have received any monitoring nanites. She's kept clean and tidy—someone must have been looking after her, that much is certain."
At least, she doesn’t seem likely to become friends with that guardian.
That’s certain. There are a few possibilities about where the girl lived, but none of that matters for her future. I can’t go any further than this with you, even if I wanted to.
Still, for Jin, it was a relief that he’d said this much.
Perhaps the position of Top Ace, and the fact that they were old friends, had opened his mouth.
“What happens to her now?”
“Well, if nothing changes, she’ll end up in a facility.”
“…I see.”
A girl with no known identity.
That was something Jin could’ve guessed without being told.
Still, he’d asked anyway—perhaps hoping for a different answer.
The girl lies on the bed, her gaze distant and unfocused.
Even upon closer inspection, she still bears a striking resemblance.
Of course, she’s younger than the adult woman known as Rei.
But if someone said this was her appearance from over a decade ago, it would be entirely believable.
A thought flickers through Jin’s mind.
He dismisses it with a quiet laugh.
Absurd.
Just a stranger he happened to meet.
No connection. No history.
“...Take care. Miss. Stay well.”
Silver hair, different from Rei’s.
Only the style—unruly, untrimmed—distinguishes her.
He brushes her head, lightly.
The sensation—almost identical to Rei’s.
Enough to recall her image, unintentionally.
Surprised by his own lingering regret, Jin withdraws his hand.
A chance encounter, nothing more.
From here, it’s the city police’s duty.
What had he been seeking from the girl?
Unclear. But the emotion—real, yet unmanageable—remains.
Still, Jin turns to leave.
It is the girl herself who stops him—unconcerned with the surroundings, as if they did not exist.
A small hand grips Jin's military uniform sleeve.
It is easy to dispel.
It would require no more effort than twisting a newborn’s hand.
Her lips part slightly, shaping words.
...Jin?
Breath—
Stop.
The intonation, the fleeting gesture—each recalls the Order.
Jin freezes as if time has stopped.
The girl says nothing. She stares intently into those eyes.
A mechanical gaze, devoid of emotion.
The absurd thought from earlier—dismissed with a laugh—returns once more.
Reincarnation is impossible.
Age is the one thing that simply does not align.
That is entirely foolish.
The girl and him were entirely unrelated.
Even saying it so many times over.
Jin did not see it that way.
Perhaps she didn’t want to believe it.
Perhaps this act of protecting a girl identical to Rei is meant as compensation for failing to protect Rei.
If that's the case, what a grotesque pretense.
Jin could not understand his own true heart.
Jin keeps careful not to brush off the hand that grips his sleeve, then sinks to his knees on the hospital room floor.
Meeting the girl’s gaze, she asked.
Come over to my place?
Whether or not they truly understood those words remained uncertain.
The girl nodded slightly.
Hey, Higashi. You serious?
"Yeah. I mean it."
To someone else, this would probably seem like madness.
Taking in a stranger—someone with a past, no less.
It's not unreasonable for the fellow officer to make a grimace.
There should be no issue with verifying identity, then?
That’s right, you’re an officer of the Convoy Defense Force. The review should go through easily enough…
Then it's alright.
Nodding, he exhaled with a sigh, then laughed faintly.
"Truthfully, maybe it's better for the girl this way. At least while under the protection of a Defense Force officer, she won't be touched too soon."
"Right?"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Can't help it. We're already on the boat. I'll lend a hand."
"Appreciate it. Honestly, I had no idea where to start."
The girl watched their exchange with a distant gaze.
There were complications, as expected.
There were disputes, and she had to rely on a fellow officer for procedural support.
Jin himself moved between appointments, maximizing time with the girl.
By the time everything concluded.
One week after their meeting on a rainy day.
Jin became the girl’s legal guardian.
"…Now then, calling her 'miss' won't do."
"Won't do."
Sitting with arms folded in the ward, the girl mimics the gesture.
She always liked imitating others.
She laughed, imitating the nurse who visited the room.
"Can't remember your name?"
"Can't remember the name... "
Her expression does not shift—difficult to tell.
Or perhaps parents everywhere read emotions from such stillness, Jin wonders.
He sees only a vague melancholy.
To be honest, Jin had been optimistic.
The girl, who initially spoke nothing at all, had begun to speak in fragments as time passed.
The doctor said she might simply have been overwhelmed by unfamiliar people.
Incidentally, the girl’s attending physician had been Jin’s own during his hospitalization.
A remarkably versatile individual, possessing qualifications in pediatrics as well as surgery.
She had grown capable of communicating with the girl in this manner.
Thus, he had expected her to eventually speak her own name.
"Could it be she doesn’t remember…?"
"Doesn’t remember…?"
That was the case.
At a glance, she appeared to be around six years old.
Not the age at which one would not know their own name.
Whether she herself was aware of it was another matter… it was hard to imagine a pleasant past.
He could not know the truth, since she did not speak of it.
Yet the girl now seemed to be enjoying herself, aside from the fact that her facial muscles appeared to be in rebellion.
Jin thought it was unnecessary to force memories that could not be recalled.
Still, he could not allow her to remain nameless.
He began to ponder.
After all, he was now to become her guardian.
He could not simply leave the naming to someone else.
After long consideration, a single name surfaced.
"...Mio."
"Mio?"
"Miss. That is your name. Mio."
"Mio, Mio, Mio. Is Mio, Mio?"
"Yeah. Do you like it?"
"I do!"
Jin smiled faintly at the girl—Mio—raising both hands to express her joy.
Her expression remained unchanged, but that was fine. That was better.
"Mio. Mio is Mio!"
Looking at her—his chest ached.
The kanji for Mio.
Water radical, rain, and Ling.
Even in the name, he had sought the shadow of Ling.
He hated himself for being so weak.
"Come. Then let's go."
He extended his right hand toward Mio—then, after a brief hesitation, withdrew it and offered his left instead.
"O-oh...?"
Mio stared at the hand, now withdrawn and offered again, her eyes filling with question marks.
He hadn’t meant to confuse her.
But Rei had always been on the right side.
That was all he’d tried to avoid.
Even realizing that, Jin felt he was already failing.
He grasped Mio’s small hand with his left.
A fragile being, on the verge of breaking if too much force was applied.
This time, he thought, I will protect her.