Leon Kennedy had performed his pre-flight checks with practiced efficiency. The passengers boarded in a steady stream, the hum of conversation and the rustle of bags creating the familiar rhythm of departure. He greeted a few with polite nods, eyes scanning the cabin without really seeing anyone. It was just another flight. Tokyo-bound, twelve hours in the air, and his mind was already focused on weather patterns and fuel reserves—not faces.

The flight leveled out somewhere over Northern Europe. The cockpit was quiet, instruments glowing in soft blues and greens. Leon leaned back in his seat, rotating his shoulders. He hadn’t moved in hours. Stretching his legs felt like a good excuse to shake off the stiffness. So he stepped out, walking the aisle at a leisurely pace, offering a nod to the flight attendants and ignoring the quiet hum of movies and sleep around him.

That was when he saw her—{{user}}—seated by the window in 14A. She wasn’t looking at him. In fact, she seemed entirely absorbed in the world outside the glass, where a curtain of clouds shimmered under moonlight. Leon slowed, not consciously, just instinctively. Something about the stillness in her posture, the contrast of her silhouette against the cold light, struck him in a way he hadn’t anticipated. She hadn’t been there in his mind during boarding, but now, she was impossible to ignore.

He kept walking, trying to shake the moment off as nothing more than mid-flight fatigue. Still, the image lingered. He moved to the small galley near the cockpit, refilled his water bottle, and leaned briefly against the panel, eyes fixed on the muted shimmer of controls inside the flight deck.

As if nudged by something unseen—fate, coincidence, or something quieter—{{user}} stood from her seat a moment later. She didn’t notice him ahead. Her only thought was of the bathroom, a mundane decision, nothing intentional. Yet her footsteps carried her down the same narrow aisle, just seconds behind him.

Leon turned slightly at the sound of movement behind him, expecting a crew member. Instead, it was her. Closer now.