Wake up Shiromi!

The corridor shook from the force of the impact.
Concrete dust drifted through the red emergency lights like ash falling in slow motion.
Shiromi stood over Eiji Kurokawa, fist still raised.
Expressionless.
Cold.
Not angry.Not sad.
Empty.
Hayato’s chest tightened.
That wasn’t the girl he knew.
Eiji laughed weakly from the crater in the wall, blood running down his chin.
“There it is…” he whispered. “The perfect Subject.”
Shiromi stepped forward.
Mechanical. Precise.
Her movements no longer felt human.
Every instinct in Hayato screamed danger.
But he still moved toward her.
“Shiromi,” he called carefully.
No response.
“She can’t hear you,” Eiji said, coughing. “The limiter removed emotional interference. Right now, she’s functioning exactly as designed.”
Hayato ignored him.
He took another step.
“Shiromi… it’s me.”
Her eyes shifted toward him.
Just slightly.
Enough to make his heartbeat rise.
Eiji noticed too.
Interesting.
“She’ll kill you if you get closer,” Eiji warned calmly.
Hayato clenched his fists.
“Maybe,” he said.
Then he walked forward anyway.
Shiromi moved instantly.
Too fast.
In one blur she was in front of him, fingers around his throat, slamming him against the wall hard enough to crack concrete.
The rescued children screamed.
Hayato gasped, barely able to breathe.
Shiromi’s eyes stared directly into his—
Empty silver-blue.
No recognition.
Just threat assessment.
“Unknown obstruction,” she said flatly.“Remove.”
Her grip tightened.
Hayato’s vision blurred.
But even then—
He reached up and grabbed her wrist gently.
Not to fight.
To hold on.
“…Shiromi,” he choked out.“You promised…”
A flicker.
Tiny.
Her grip loosened by less than an inch.
Eiji narrowed his eyes.
Hayato forced himself to speak.
“You said… we’d save them together…”
Another flicker.
Memories.
Rainy streets.The library.The café.Her smile at sunrise.
The trembling in her hand when she first trusted him.
Shiromi’s breathing changed slightly.
Eiji saw it immediately.
“No,” he muttered.
Hayato kept going.
“You’re not Subject 4,” he whispered painfully.“You’re Shiromi.”
Her fingers trembled.
Inside her mind—
Voices clashed violently.
"Eliminate target.""Protect.""Survive.""Hayato."
Pain surged through her skull.
She staggered back suddenly, releasing him.
Hayato collapsed to his knees, coughing violently.
Shiromi grabbed her head.
Her body shook uncontrollably.
“Noise…” she whispered.
Eiji stood slowly despite his injuries.
“You’re resisting the protocol?” he said quietly.“Impossible.”
Shiromi’s eyes snapped toward him.
This time—
There was emotion in them.
Rage.
Pure human rage.
“I’m…” she gasped.
Her knees buckled.
“…not your weapon.”
The entire corridor exploded outward.
A shockwave burst from her body, shattering windows, lights, steel panels—everything.
Even Eiji was forced backward.
Hayato shielded the children as debris rained around them.
When the dust cleared—
Shiromi stood in the center of the ruined hallway, breathing heavily, tears streaming silently down her face.
But she was herself again.
Mostly.
Eiji stared at her in disbelief.
“You rejected synchronization…”
Shiromi wiped the blood from her mouth.
Then she looked at him with burning eyes.
“You made one mistake,” she said.
Eiji narrowed his gaze.
She stepped forward.
“You taught me strength.”
The floor cracked beneath her feet.
“But my family taught me why to use it.”