Mira Hoshino's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

Mira's cousin sat across from her at the corner table, hands folded on the scratched surface, eyes bright with something that looked like pride. The meeting had started well. Better than well. Her cousin had smiled when Mira walked in, had ordered tea without asking if this was an ambush. "The track went everywhere," her cousin said, leaning forward. "Even the upper levels are talking about it. People are finally paying attention." Through the glass wall behind her, the GiganCorp billboard loomed three stories high, its polished message glowing against the morning haze. Her cousin followed Mira's gaze and grinned. "Must be killing them to see it right outside their tower." Mira opened her mouth to answer when her cousin's phone lit up on the table. Then Mira's phone. Then the holographic display at the counter flickered orange. Her cousin picked up the device and the grin died. The screen cast sharp light across her face as she read. "They're naming you," she said. "MIRAI. They're naming MIRAI directly." She turned the e-reader so Mira could see the legal notice, the corporate letterhead, the list of demands. Cease distribution. Remove all copies. Retract statements. The words blurred together but one line stayed clear: failure to comply will result in immediate legal action and financial penalties. Her cousin set the device down carefully, like it might break. "You knew this could happen," she said. Not a question. Not an accusation. Just the truth between them, sharp and unavoidable. Mira nodded once. The pride in her cousin's eyes hadn't disappeared, but something else had joined it now. Fear, maybe. Or the weight of understanding what came next. "Then we figure out how to fight it," her cousin said, and pulled out a notebook. The meeting wasn't over. It had just become something different.