Autumn in the Cosmic Era 67 crept quietly over Heliopolis as the Space Colony's environmental control system precisely introduced a faint chill into the air. Yet compared with that pleasant change in climate, the tension and unease permeating society within the Space Colony gathered and festered at a far more alarming pace. The shadow of Blue Cosmos was no longer content with anonymous leaflets and underground whispers. It began piercing the Space Colony's seemingly peaceful routines in sharper, more violent ways. For Mei Hock, who possessed ACCORD abilities, this increasingly strident "background noise" was no longer a vague premonition of danger. It was gradually coalescing into pulses of crisis with clear timing and direction. He knew that private training and passive avoidance alone would no longer be enough to preserve everything he cherished in the coming storm. He had to act-not only to strengthen himself, but also to weave an invisible safety net around the girls who were gradually coming to rely on him. At the same time, he had to begin guiding them toward confronting the increasingly cruel edges of this world.
One autumn weekend afternoon, sunlight passed through the simulated light-filtering system in the Space Colony's enormous dome, casting a gentle glow. As promised, Akira took Luna Maria, Meirin, and Shiho to the Third Commercial District to buy new school supplies. The streets teemed with people, the shop windows shone brightly, and the air buzzed with everyday activity. Luna excitedly pointed out a new electronic notebook, Meirin quietly compared paint colors, and Shiho carefully inspected the components of a mechanical model. Akira walked beside them with apparent casualness, his calm gaze sweeping their surroundings. But his ACCORD abilities were running continuously at minimum power, like a precision radar scanning environmental energy fluctuations, the crowd's fleeting expressions, and every detail that seemed out of place.
Just as they were about to pass Stardust Wish, a shop renowned for its exquisite PLANT handicrafts, a sharp stab of pain suddenly shot through the core of ACCORD. An icy digital countdown seemed to flash silently at the edge of his vision: 5... 4... 3... The source of danger was not an armed thug, but a cleverly concealed explosive device behind the decorative plants beside the shop, its energy readings wildly unstable. There was no way Orb's security forces could react before it detonated.
There was no time to explain, and he could not cause a panic. Just the right hint of pallor flashed across Akira's face, and he deliberately made his breathing a little faster. He stopped and gently extended a hand to hold the girls back. "Wait..." His voice carried a barely perceptible note of "weakness." "I suddenly feel a little dizzy... Maybe I didn't eat enough at lunch, and my blood sugar's low."
"Akira? What's wrong?" Luna immediately turned toward him, concern written all over her face. Meirin's little hand instinctively clutched the hem of his clothes. Shiho said nothing, but her gaze instantly sharpened. She quickly followed the direction of Akira's earlier glance toward Stardust Wish, her body tensing slightly as she went on alert.
"It's all right." Akira managed a smile and pointed to a brightly lit, crowded fast-food restaurant across the street. "Could you help me over there so I can sit down for a bit? Just get me a sweet drink... I'm having trouble walking." It was a perfectly reasonable request, especially given how "weak" he looked. Luna and Meirin immediately took an arm each, readily agreeing. Shiho moved slightly behind and to the side without needing to be told, her watchful gaze sweeping their surroundings, especially the shop Akira had seemingly singled out without thinking.
They had barely settled into a booth at the back of the restaurant. Luna hurried off to buy a drink, while Akira leaned "weakly" against the seat. Just then-
BOOM!!!
A deep, violent explosion erupted across the street! The restaurant's windows shook fiercely, giving off a teeth-grating hum. Screams, cries, and alarms instantly tore apart the afternoon's peace. Through the windows, they could see thick smoke billowing from Stardust Wish, with flames flickering within it.
Luna was so frightened that she nearly dropped the drink. She rushed to Akira with Meirin, both of them trembling uncontrollably. Shiho's face also went deathly pale. She looked at Akira, her eyes filled with lingering fear and an indescribable sense of confirmation. Akira gathered his two younger sisters into his arms and soothed them quietly. "Don't be afraid. We're safe here." This latest "coincidence" conclusively confirmed Shiho's suspicions: Akira's intuition was anything but ordinary.
The authorities classified the bombing as an extremist attack, deepening the panic within the Space Colony. Shaken by how close the children had come to danger, the Hocks strictly ordered them to cut down on unnecessary outings. Meanwhile, an unspoken understanding had formed among the four young people: Akira's ability to sense danger was an invisible shield in this increasingly unsettled world.
But threats did not come only in forms as violent as explosions. On Monday morning, as the four walked to school as usual, they discovered that the noticeboards, walls, and even the ground near the school gates were covered with crudely printed leaflets full of hateful rhetoric. Eye-searing slogans such as "Coordinators are genetically polluted monsters!" and "Expel the Coordinators! Purify Orb!" polluted their surroundings like a virus, alongside the Blue Cosmos emblem. Students murmured among themselves, the atmosphere oppressive. School staff were frantically clearing the leaflets away.
Shiho clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. Those vicious words stirred unpleasant memories from her past, and humiliation and anger made her tremble slightly. Luna's cheeks flushed with fury. She wanted to rush forward and tear the leaflets down, but Akira stopped her with a look.
"We'll come back tonight." Akira spoke softly, with an unquestionable calm. "Cleaning them up now would make us too conspicuous. Their accomplices might still be watching."
After school, night settled over the Space Colony. Akira and Shiho stayed behind, saying they were going to study at the library. Once the campus had fallen completely silent, the two appeared at the school gates like shadows. Using his ACCORD senses, Akira confirmed that no one was watching them, then nodded to Shiho.
Without a word, they got to work. Shiho took up a vantage point overlooking the street, keeping a vigilant eye on every movement. Akira worked like an efficient cleaning machine, swift and silent. He tore down every visible leaflet, missing none of the scraps wedged into cracks or dropped beside the drains. His ACCORD Ability allowed him to pinpoint these "sources of pollution" with extraordinary precision, and even his cleanup route was optimally calculated. Watching his back as he worked quietly in the dim light, Shiho felt her anger gradually give way to a solid sense of reassurance. He not only led them away from danger before disaster struck, but also quietly removed the filth that threatened to corrode their everyday lives, in dark places where no one would ever know. Those silent actions held more power than any impassioned speech.
Once he had gathered the leaflets, Akira disposed of them completely, treating them like ordinary rubbish. On the way home, Shiho asked softly, "Akira, aren't you angry?"
Akira was silent for a moment before answering. "Anger won't change anything. I cleared them away so Luna, Meirin, and... everyone those words might hurt can have a clean environment tomorrow. That matters more." What he left unsaid was that this frequent, low-level harassment revealed how deeply Blue Cosmos had infiltrated the Space Colony, as well as possible gaps in Orb's administration-or even its tolerance of such behavior. It only strengthened his determination to improve the others' ability to protect themselves.
The successive attacks filled both the Hawke Family and the Hanafis with anxiety. Akira took the opportunity to suggest teaching the girls basic crisis-response skills so they could deal with possible emergencies, citing familiar situations such as fires and riots. The practical proposal won their parents' support.
And so, in the Hawke Family's living room, in quiet corners of the community park, and even in safe areas along the edge of the abandoned factory district Akira knew so well, his "special training" quietly began. Naturally, Luna, Meirin, and Shiho were the participants.
Akira's lessons were grounded entirely in practical application, dispensing with anything flashy or useless:
Environmental awareness and route planning: He taught them how to instantly identify emergency exits, hiding places, and potentially dangerous blind spots. During walks, he would point things out with apparent casualness. "That shortcut is a dead end. In an emergency, it becomes a trap. This way is longer, but there are more passages, so it's easier to get out." He had them repeatedly memorize multiple routes home from school and the commercial district, including both conspicuous main roads and less noticeable alleys.
Using simple tools: He gathered everyday objects for demonstrations: how to block with a thick textbook, aim a pen tip at a vulnerable point, throw a full water bottle to create a distraction, and even use a sturdy belt to briefly entangle and hinder an attacker. He constantly emphasized that all of it served one purpose: create an opening and escape quickly, rather than get dragged into a fight.
Mental preparation: He repeatedly drilled the core principles into them: first, stay calm; second, run and call for help. Only when every escape route was cut off and no other choice remained should they use what they had learned for limited self-defense, creating a fleeting chance to get away.
Luna showed tremendous enthusiasm for the training. She seemed to see it as an exciting adventure, and she copied the movements convincingly, but sometimes became so absorbed that she forgot Akira's emphasis on avoiding danger first. Meirin approached the lessons with a little apprehension, but her unconditional trust in her brother drove her to memorize every key point. She was better at observing and remembering details, such as the distinguishing features of different routes. Shiho was the most dedicated student and grasped the lessons most deeply. She not only fully understood Akira's intentions, but could also apply them to new situations and ask questions grounded in realistic scenarios. Beyond the concentration of someone mastering a skill, her eyes revealed a determination to face danger alongside him.
As time passed, from autumn in the Cosmic Era 67 to spring in the Cosmic Era 68, the four young people's relationships changed as they confronted outside threats together and trained each day. In particular, the three girls' feelings toward Akira were like seeds beneath the frozen spring soil. Nourished by everyday companionship and spurred on by their sense of danger, they quietly sprouted, each growing in a different way.
Luna Maria's dependence became more overt, mingled with a young girl's slyness and tentative probing. She enjoyed the training time she shared alone with Akira and began, deliberately or otherwise, to blur the line between brother and sister. After a sparring exercise, when he reached out to help her up, she would "accidentally" lose her balance and fall into his arms. With flushed cheeks, she would stay there for several seconds before skipping away with a giggle, triumph and shyness sparkling in her eyes. One weekend evening, while bathing, she suddenly called out, "Akira! I forgot to bring clean underwear! It's at the top of the wardrobe. Could you pass it to me?" When he reluctantly closed his eyes and held the garments between his fingertips to hand them through the gap in the door, she quickly took them, her fingertips "casually" brushing his palm and leaving a warm, damp sensation behind. From behind the door came a quiet hum, tinged with the satisfaction of having gotten her way. Her affection was bold and direct, full of testing gestures. Though the knowledge that they were biological siblings remained a vague restraint deep within her, her instinctive feelings had already broken through the soil.
Meirin's attachment was more reserved and innocent, even carrying a vulnerability that tugged at the heart. She remained quiet, but grew more persistent in seeking reassurance. She clung to the habit of having Akira read her a story every night before bed, and the stories grew longer and longer. Sometimes she even pretended to fall asleep while listening, yet kept her little hand tightly clenched around his clothes so he could not easily leave. Late at night, she would wake from a "nightmare," then stand trembling beside his bed in thin pajamas, clutching a soft pillow, her eyes red. She needed no words. That silent plea softened Akira's heart, and he lifted the covers to let her curl up beside him. Like a frightened little animal seeking shelter, she nestled tightly against his warmth, as though only his steady heartbeat and reassuring presence could dispel all her fears of explosions, leaflets, and the outside world's malice. Her feelings for him combined a deep attachment to her older brother with an imprinting-like dependence that was gradually changing in nature, growing ever stronger as the unsettled times nourished it.
Compared with Luna's boldness and Meirin's fragility, Shiho's feelings were more complicated and restrained, yet also more mature. She knew clearly that she and Akira shared no blood ties. The gratitude born from his saving her life had long since quietly transformed into deeper admiration through daily companionship, shared secrets, and unspoken understanding. Her way of expressing it was subtle and considerate. During their morning runs, she would "happen" to make slight physical contact with him as they ran side by side. The instant their shoulders brushed, she would spring away, a fleeting blush crossing her face and her stride turning a little flustered. The packed lunches she prepared were always generous and nutritionally balanced. She would quietly place one before him and explain softly, "Mom made too much today. You burn a lot of energy training, so don't let it go to waste." When Luna and Meirin monopolized Akira as if it were their right as his younger sisters, Shiho usually watched quietly from a short distance, her gaze gentle. Occasionally, when their eyes met, she would reveal a barely perceptible trace of understanding and faint resignation. She seemed to be patiently gathering strength, waiting until she became strong enough, waiting for a more suitable moment. She was the only one who dimly sensed that beneath Akira's calm exterior, he seemed to bear burdens far beyond his years. She longed to share them, rather than merely be protected.
Akira was not oblivious to any of this. His ACCORD Ability gave him not only the ability to anticipate danger, but also extraordinary sensitivity to subtle emotions, body language, and physiological indicators such as heart rate and breathing. He clearly sensed the probing beneath Luna's enthusiasm, the quiet changes within Meirin's dependence, and the deep affection beneath Shiho's restraint. Deep down, as someone who had crossed into this world and knew the paths their lives had originally taken, he harbored complicated feelings toward these "heroines"-pity for their tragic fates, a sense of responsibility to protect their smiles, and perhaps even a trace of the fondness and admiration he had felt as a fan in his previous life. As a result, he felt no aversion to these increasingly boundary-crossing gestures of affection. He even drew warm comfort from them, a rare bright spot amid his cold, cruel knowledge of the future. Yet he always kept his role as an older brother and his foremost goal of changing that brutal future firmly in mind. He carefully tucked any potentially more complicated feelings into the depths of his heart, maintaining the calm and distance expected of him on the surface. He understood better than anyone that, amid the dangers surrounding them and the shadow of an approaching war, giving the girls genuine safety, survival skills, and proper guidance was far more important and urgent than reciprocating or openly addressing those delicate feelings.
In the spring of the Cosmic Era 68, Heliopolis's artificial flower beds burst into brilliant bloom right on schedule, but the fractures within the Space Colony continued to deepen. Akira's training went on, its content becoming increasingly advanced, while the girls' private feelings quietly flourished like vines in the sunlight. He knew the threat of Blue Cosmos was merely the prelude to a greater storm. Everything he was preparing was intended not only to confront the immediate danger, but also to plant the embers of survival ahead of a full-scale war that would soon sweep across the entire world. And what he sought to protect was not merely their lives, but also those delicate, precious emotional bonds that continued to grow stubbornly and intertwine beneath the shadow of unease. They were vulnerabilities, yet they might also become his most important source of strength in the battles to come.
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