Remission

Wait. No. This can't be it. This can't be right. I refuse to believe that this is Ash. This isn't her. I can't see anything in her eyes. They're empty. It's missing everything that it once stood for back when we were children. Those mysterious and innocent eyes surveyed the classroom area as if they were filled to the brim with hope the moment when she stepped in. But these ones were nothing but empty. Just empty and useless.

When every trace of you is gone… what part of me shall remain?

"Excuse me," Ryo's voice faltered as his stomach churned. He was at a loss of words as his mouth failed to enunciate any words. He stepped back from the front door where Naoto and the false Ash stood. "I need a minute. I just need…" Ryo gestured with his hand and moved towards a railing nearby the edge of a bridge.

Naoto looked at the false Ash and noticed that she was marked with the AIL replication logo. With jet black tattooed letters, the letters AIL appeared on the left side of her neck with the number 09124. Naoto bowed to the AIL version of Ash in respect. "Excuse me for a second too." He said.

"Not a problem." AIL Ash replied.

Naoto approached Ryo hovering his head over the railing of the bridge. Vehicles sped through the highway as Ryo inhaled a deep breath. He tapped his fingers on the cement railing and lost himself in a jumble of thoughts.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naoto asked.

Ryo kept his voice low. "That person… she's an AIL replication, isn't she?" He asked.

Naoto nodded. "She is."

"Then… your sister has done much more than work for AIL because that person is Ash. And… if that person is the AIL version of Ash… then that means the real one is…" His voice began to falter. His lips shriveled like raisins. Ryo realized that he had lost his chance for a successful redemption after realizing that the real one has died.

"I don't believe she's dead," Naoto firmly stated, raising his voice in the process. "I refuse to believe that. There are many other ways of AIL replication other than replicating the deceased. Sophie must have used her prior memory to create this version of your Ash."

"For Sophie to go this far as to replicate her, does this not prove how much Ash meant to her?" Ryo indicated. "Then after all this time, Sophie couldn't let her go no matter how old they were. And I…"

"Hey. pull yourself together!" Naoto hit Ryo with a blast of reality through his surging voice. "You've already shown me and the others that you're remorseful. But this was what Sophie wanted. You can't question it nor can you change the fate of her actions. The only way to understand this all is to move on and accept it. If you would just look at the facts-"

"Excuse me," The AIL Ash stepped forward and bowed to the two in respect. "But I believe Miss Hiragi has returned much earlier than her schedule anticipated. She has arrived. Would you like to see her?"

Naoto looked at Ryo with a concerned expression. He tapped on his shoulder and patted it down to calm him. "Thank you. I'll handle this, for now, Ryo. You can rest somewhere close by. Come back after I've talked to Sophie for a bit."

Ryo nodded in understanding. Being hit with reality and future fate, and understanding the consequences of the early action was a large pill that Ryo forced him to swallow. Sophie was arriving, and Ryo hurried off towards an alleyway to cool off. The eyes of the AIL replication of Ash still haunted her from how phony and complicated its existence was.

How could a mindless corporation replicate such a broken heart like her?

Naoto remained settled by the bridge's railing, awaiting his sister's arrival. AIL Ash returned to their house, and Naoto heard the distant footsteps of sandals dragging against the cement sidewalk. He remained still as the figure of Sophie approached his right.

"My dear little brother Naoto…" Sophie's deepened and sadistic voice was as clear as glass.

Naoto's eyes traced towards her face, noticing her red hair had been dyed black with red highlights. Her facial features were more slim and refined. Her jaw was lightly tucked back and her body figure was slender. She wore a black leather coat with a white blouse inside exposing her neck plunge, revealing the center of her cleavage and her belly button. Her skirt was a tight one-piece fuzzy black skirt that revealed the refinement of her black see-through leggings.

"Why have you called me?" Sophie asked, placing her arms on the railing with him.

"Wow…" Naoto was speechless. "You've grown taller, and you look so much different."

"Don't indulge me with your pitiful side talk, Naoto," Sophie intervened with a dull expression. "If you've come here to drag me back to our family's roots, you can leave. It's impossible anyway, and I don't have time to waste. I've already made a living with what I have."

"What… what do you mean by impossible?" Naoto asked. "Is something wrong?"

"A lot of things are wrong, Naoto," Sophie said, sighing and looking down at the speeding cars moving through the expressway. "Do you know how it feels… to be an AIL worker?"

"I don't because you've never told me."

Sophie chuckled and turned her head away from Naoto to avoid his sight. Naoto remained concerned, wondering if he should continue initiating.

He lifted his right hand and took a single step forward. He reminisced the long and dreadful moments where he was unable to reach her while she remained secluded in her room. The imaginary blinding lamplight in her room fazed his eyes and distorted his vision as he envisioned himself facing his sister's room from far away. Sophie's back was turned against his gentle hands. One person believed the other to be meddling while the other interpreted it as rescuing. The lamplight was dimming into the shadows, and Naoto's view was pulling back further and further.

However, this time around, fate had changed. Sophie turned her seat around to face Naoto with a trembling mouth relinquishing her silence and secludedness. Her mouth puckered together as her swollen eyes puffed up in worrisome sorrow. Naoto's vision suddenly returned to the present in Sekigahara, where they stood above the bridge where the expressway was. At last, Sophie turned herself back to Naoto. His tender grasp met with Sophie's shoulder. He had finally caught up to her.

"I'm pathetic, Naoto," Sophie's voice fluctuated in tone as she hesitated to speak. "Just look at me. Look at me, Naoto. Look at the way I'm dressed. Look at my face. Look at the AIL servant in my house. I've spent years and years searching for someone and something that doesn't exist, and I have the gall to show my face to you. I'm trapped. I'm just trapped, Naoto."

This was what Naoto wanted to hear; Sophie's release of true emotions granted Naoto the opportunity to seize his purpose as a brother. He watched his sister crumble into uncontrollable tears as he fixated his glance into her eyes. Those young eyes that remained joyful before her life-changing incident was still present. It was only hidden in her displeasure and regrets.

"Listen to me," Naoto began with confidence. His eyebrows slanted downwards as he truly wished to pave a successful future path for his sister. "You are not pathetic, so stop telling yourself that. You are my sister. I know you're having a crisis right now, but you need to breathe and relax. It isn't the end of the world."

"You don't understand, Naoto!" Sophie shouted and lashed out at him. "I've spent over ten years of my life without a family, and who can I blame? Only myself! It's because I don't know how to trust anyone anymore. I ruined myself, so how can I even trust what I do is right or wrong?" She pounded her fist against the bridge's railing. "I've lived such a cruel and unnatural life hiding from everyone, and it's all because of me!"

"You're wrong," Ryo's voice lit Sophie's consciousness awake, sending her mind through descent of rapid thoughts from the past. Her eyes widely lit up as she creaked her head back to face Ryo standing in the center of the sidewalk. Naoto placed his hand on Sophie's shoulder once more and smiling, hoping she could find solace in reuniting with someone who remembered her before she transformed into the pathetic individual she burdened herself with. Sophie locked eyes with Ryo and inaudibly gasped incompletely. "If you want to blame anyone, then blame me, Sophie!" He shouted with his eyes closed in absolute terror.

This was Ryo's final chance, Naoto thought. Ryo had always been a weak and closed-minded individual in the past from what he had described. Naoto didn't know Ryo for long. But he knew that his presence as a friend who looks out for others exists in his warm heart. Naoto realized that it was okay for one to be weak. Standing up to face one's fear is what makes one strong.

"You…" Sophie whispered, stepping forward with her mouth slightly opened.

Ryo kept his eyes closed. Naoto released his grasp of Sophie's shoulder, watching her speed towards Ryo. Ryo could only hear the sound of her shoes clacking on the cement sidewalk. If her intent at this very moment was to ensure that Ryo suffer for his past heinous acts of absolute authority, then he was ready. This was his moment after running away for so long.

A merciful and forgiving embrace instead occurred after Sophie approached Ryo with two of her arms out. She warmly hugged his statue-like body and lost control of her emotions. Nose drippings and saliva were leaking out of her nose and mouth as she unbearably sobbed the most she ever had. Ryo's eyes opened in reaction to her response, astonished that she chose a different path. The same Sophie Hiragi, the one that yearned for nothing but the worst of Ash's attackers, had finally released the truth.

"Thank God…" Sophie whispered in a slow mumble. "You're alive…" She inhaled through her mouth and moved her head back to face Ryo's surprised facial reactions. Her eyes appeared as if they were grazed and rubbed on beyond normal. "You're actually alive. I can't… I can't believe it."

Naoto folded his arms together, smiling in response to his sister's reaction. It was one of the first times he had seen his sister react in a normal manner, in contrast to her robotic and static behavior in the past.

Ryo's arms remained by his side. But as Sophie couldn't stop holding him, Ryo returned the favor by wrapping his arms around her as well. "I…" His voice began weakly. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this? This was my cross to bear. What I did… was unforgivable."

"I don't care about that anymore," Sophie admitted. "I've waited so long for this moment to see you because I know you didn't mean what you did. The fact that you're here after so long means you really didn't mean to do it. I put my trust in you… and you actually came. I just… I can't believe it… I actually did something in my life besides being a pathetic slave…"

"Sophie," Ryo's voice lost control. He held her tightly after hearing her true confession; she was correct. Her response caused him to break down in tears as well while his mind expelled all of the guilt regarding her away. Her nightmarish accusations replaying in his cold ears like a broken record, and the blame that he placed within his heart began to wane away in strength. "All this time… you forgave me… and I could never forgive myself. What I did to Ash changed my life forever. It ruined me. And I started hearing your truthful voice day and night and I could never let myself go."

"And I couldn't stop hearing your voice too," Sophie replied with a peaceful grin. "I heard what you said to Meguro-san that day. You told her that she had beautiful eyes, didn't you? Didn't you!?"

"I… I did."

Sophie's mouth opened in total joy. "I… I knew it," She said, gasping after realizing that she had a breakthrough. "I knew you said it to her, I heard it! I knew it! I wasn't imagining it! I wasn't…"

"What's going on here?" Naoto said as he approached the two's reunion with a smirk on his face. "I heard screaming. Is everything okay?"

Sophie chuckled, turning to Naoto with a tear in her eye. She examined herself and realized her clothes were much too revealing for her reunion to be proper in any terms for meeting Ryo. "Oh dear," She embarrassingly said while looking away. "If only I knew you were coming, I would have dressed in something a bit better," She said, wiping a tear away. "But it's okay. I have to ask though, how do you know my brother?"

"Oh," Ryo exchanged glances with Naoto. "We're friends. We work together in the same task force."

"I see," Sophie said. "Then you've been gone for a while then. Back then, when I met you, I knew the truth about what happened with you, Ryo-kun. Because…"

Ryo and Naoto nervously awaited Sophie's response. For years, they had been almost clueless about Japan's status because of their inactivity. For Ryo, he was unsure what Japan was going through when it came to the implementation of alien activity from Aries.

"Sekigahara has been in a large mess, especially from AIL and the… the Yakuza gangs," Sophie revealed.

"What!?" Ryo and Naoto both said in unison.

Sophie nodded. "It's true. The Yakuza gangs stationed in Hokkaido are gaining power and influence from nowhere. Their numbers have increased tenfold, and they've become present almost everywhere. Crime rates are increasing, and a large portion of that has to do with their increasing knowledge about technology from Aries," She informed the two. She placed her fingers on her chin as she examined the situation. "This can't be good. Ryo-kun, you're in the Yakuza, right?"

"I was," Ryo clarified. "I left nine years ago. I couldn't stand how things were changing there. Before, the Yakuza treated each other like family, gaining strength and supporting each other with the bonds that we shared. But ever since they started obtaining stolen technology, they started to focus on bigger things that I wasn't fond of."

"I see," Sophie said. "So that's what's been happening. Some of the Yakuza gangs have been taking over territory across Hokkaido. They're becoming so well hidden that not even the police or the government can catch them."

"So what do we do?" Naoto asked.

"There's nothing we can do right now," Sophie said. However, after realizing Naoto's question meant something much deeper than what she believed on the surface, her eyes lit up in aghast surprise. "Wait, what did you mean by that? Don't tell me you're planning on interfering with them."

Ryo and Naoto exchanged glances with one another once again before looking back at Sophie with an expression that hinted at a resounding yes.

"But why? They'll kill you both." Sophie said.

"We don't have a choice," Naoto said. "It's our job."

"Then get a new job!" Sophie said as she rushed towards Naoto with concerned gleaming eyes. "How do you expect me to react after seeing you and Ryo after all these years? To just waltz into the Yakuza and make demands?"

"We aren't going to do anything with them yet. But for all we know, they're already on our trail," Naoto indicated. "Some of them started appearing on Aries territory looking for an important crystal. We can assume that they're working with one of the massive corporations there. They both share the same goal."

"I don't know what to say," Sophie shook her head. "I don't know what to do."

"There is something you can do for us," Ryo chimed in. He looked at Naoto as a gesture for him. "Naoto, do you mind if I speak to Sophie privately? There are some things I need to touch on."

Naoto nodded. "Of course. I'll wait." He said.

Ryo and Sophie made their way over to the expressway's railing to speak in private. They exchanged glances with each other before Sophie decided to take the initiative. Ryo was having difficulties speaking, considering that the person in front of him was someone he had feared for a sizable amount of time. Yet he glorified her presence, believing that he was grateful and honored to be standing in front of her.

"I'm assuming you saw the person in my house…" Sophie's voice nervously trailed off. She clasped her hands together and swayed them from side to side.

"I did," Ryo said. "It's an AIL version of Ash, isn't it?"

"You can tell that I've trailed off into unwanted and unnecessary bounds. I mean, look at me. I've been hiding from everyone for so long and all I did was chase someone that I had no control over. I was so miserable that I decided to make a copy of her in my best interest, programming her in the best way that I could. But then I realized that all I was doing was using her as a means of staying as a slave to the past. I just… I just couldn't let her go. Not after the way she was treated by that piece of shit Sezan Fuma."

"Sezan Fuma…" Ryo muttered. "Sophie, I need you to know this. Sezan is still after me."

"After almost ten years?" Sophie asked, shaking her head. "I don't get it. When will he stop torturing us?"

"I don't know," Ryo replied. "You know him. He's always so keen on wanting everything his way, and he'd do anything to make it like that. He used me for so long that I could tell you exactly the kind of person he was. Only, it wouldn't be so pleasant. He used me, my friend, Chiaki, and the Yakuza to gain power from stealing the technology. And after nine years, he came back to my life by taking me away from my family."

"Damn him," Sophie said. "He's the reason Meguro-san was tortured day and night ever since she came into Seiya. He wanted her dead. I heard rumors back then about the gang that they formed and how you couldn't take the stress after following his orders. If only I was there to stop you, I would have. If only I knew what was going to happen, she wouldn't have been traumatized to this extent."

"And now he's gaining power in Aries. His most recent act was sending his people to attack my friends. They were lucky that someone was with them for protection." He said, referring to Starrosa. "Ever since he tried to kill me during his final plot, I haven't seen him since. But I know he's still on the move searching for me. It's just part of his nature. He can't let me go… and he never will."

"Meguro-san deserved better."

"It's not your fault, Sophie," Ryo said. "We were just kids like you said before. We were young and didn't know any better."

"It's funny you say that…" Sophie's voice cracked as she began to grief for herself. "Because… I wasted the rest of my life looking for her. I shut out everything… and everyone. Meguro-san was the only friend I had who smiled at me every single day. Her precious gift of grace was something I could never let go of, and the fact that she left me… I can't believe it. How could she do something like that? How could she leave me, knowing how much she meant to me?"

Ryo acknowledged Sophie's pain. Ash was one of the biggest defining parts of Sophie, considering how she shut out Naoto from her life after realizing that no one could support or change her mindset about preserving Ash's innocence. For her to have been so blinded by the truth to the point of her replicating it with her job seemed like she had worked her entire life to create something that was an empty shell of a real person. The AIL replica was nothing but a false husk that only knew harm, which was replicating the abhorrent memories of her childhood.

"I need to apologize for what I did to her," Ryo said. "Where is she?"

"I... I don't know..." Sophie said, drooping her head down in shame. "She disappeared all of a sudden one day. No last glance, no goodbye, nothing. I don't know what I did wrong. And ever since she left... I've had nothing left. I've always had nothing-"

"You're wrong," Ryo interrupted with a strong voice. "You have Naoto. You have your brother."

"I..." Sophie whimpered.

"Don't you know how much he loves you? Don't you know how much you mean to him? He's been following you for years, wanting to help you whenever you were lost. He told me that all he wanted to do was be a brother to you. Yet he never had the opportunity to do so because you always wanted to be alone."

"Oh..." Sophie said, looking down at her feet. Her face seemed as if she already knew that fact Ryo stated but chose to shut it out.

"But…" Ryo said. "It was my fault. I was the one that did this to you. If it wasn't for me, then maybe you and Naoto would have-"

"No…" Sophie whispered. "I chose this path. I chose this," She looked down at her feet once again, letting her soft black hair bangs fall to obscure her eyes. "It was me." She breathed out.

Ryo stared silently at Sophie's still body, realizing that perhaps she was right. Much like Naoto said, everyone had a destiny and fate to fulfill. Sophie was merely taking responsibility for her actions, and Ryo did the same. Now it was a matter of changing the future. To move on was the best possible option for both of them, and Ryo wanted to take the next step. Here and now, he wondered if April, the one who greatly influenced his fluctuating mindset at the jazz club based on her influence, would be greatly proud of him wanting to move on.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Ryo admitted. "What's more important is how we move forward. And maybe we can find Ash in the future together."

"Maybe… but I know I should talk to Naoto… but I don't know how to," Sophie said.

"Maybe we can start off by doing something else," Ryo said, approaching Sophie. "I need your help with something important."

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

Ryo sighed. "Recently, my young sister was involved in an attack," He explained. "She was shot and kidnapped. Right now, I don't even know if she's alive or not. But I need your help in finding out. I know AIL keeps track of the deceased, and I need to search your records to find her if she's not gone. I have to know if she's alive. I know it's against your job to do this, but-"

"I will do it," Sophie said, clenching her right fist.

Ryo was surprised that Sophie answered so quickly without hesitation. "I… Okay. But why did you decide so fast?"

"Because this is the first time I'll be doing something useful in my life, especially for you, Ryo-kun," Sophie said, exuding confidence. "I let Meguro-san go. I know how much she meant to you. But now there's someone else in your life, a family member that probably matters more. If I can at least save her, then I will have done my part. Let me choose this path… just the way I chose mine in the past."

Ryo smiled. "You're a lot like Naoto." He said.

Sophie blushed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You all have a role to play, much like how destiny plays out," Ryo replied, thinking about what Naoto had done to forgive him for hurting his sister in the past. "You both believe in fate being controlled by yourselves. But don't worry. It's a good thing."

"I see..." Sophie said, touching Ryo on the shoulders before moving back to her brother. Before she continued, she stopped and turned her head back with a slight smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Ryo-kun. It's really nice to see you again. But before we go, I need to tell you all something..."

Ryo witnessed Sophie smile for the first time with incandescent and natural joy for the first time in a while. Much like he did for being a part of Sunlight, Ryo smiled as well after realizing that he had been so fortunate to have a connection with Naoto and Sophie, even if the connection was one of his biggest nightmares. Ryo's guilt and sympathy for Sophie had been carved out and replaced with hope. He followed his father's advice and wanted nothing but to improve and move on.

But how could he move on, when someone was still seeking to ravage his life?

He wandered his eyes to the sky and wondered if Ash was okay. Somewhere in the world, whether it be Aries, Earth, or her original home, he hoped that one day, Sophie would see her innocent smile again.