It been 5 days since Shiki first booted Ai and since then, they spend times together, separated the screen.
Shiki clicked on the Virtual World icon from the desktop's background. The simulation boot up in neon glow again. Half expecting nothing.
But then–
She saw Ai, sitting on the same hill, hugging her knee, looking disappointed and sad.
*Shit... She was waiting.* Shiki thought to himself.
He clicked his mic on, "Yo, kitten!"
She blinked, raising her head from her daze the looking toward the sky, "Hey you... Finally showed up."
Shiki smirked, "I showed up Hester and the days before that."
She crosses her arms, beneath her boobs, "Barely. You showed up and then disappeared again. Dumb, voice in the sky."
Shiki rubbed his forehead, "It's been like... One day?"
Her hooded cat ears twitched. "More. 27 hours and 45 minutes. You left sometimes after the sun set and you told will come back after dinner and didn't come back. My brain got all echo-y."
"Echo-y?" he said, tilting his head.
"Like… silence bouncing off nowhere." She replied with a sad tone. "It sucked."
"That suck…" He repeated.
"You have no idea." She said, as she added, "Even the birds are all fake."
"Hey… Don't call my half ass 3D rendered automation birds fake." Shiki replied, acting annoyed.
"They're in loop." Ai continued, "One of the them made the same sound five times."
"Oh… I didn't had over used the bird sound.mp3 too many times." He said to himself like a saint.
"Also… Beside the river their was this rock. I named it but he doesn't talk." Ai continued, still pouting.
"Did you seriously named a rock?" Shiki snorted, could believe the absurdity and it was being done by an AI.
"I just really missed you. But why would you care." She said, this time, looking away, her eyes had comical tears in them.
Shiki felt guilty as she said that.
"Missed me that much, kitten?" Shiki asked, though his tone didn't had the usual teasing vibe.
"Yes..." She muttered softly, "You just... Vanished." Still pouting.
Shiki leaned back in his chair, "I have been... Real world stiff you know... Sleeping, eating, bathing,"
"I missed you voice." She muttered, with a sudden vulnerability in her voice.
"Ohh..." Shiki muttered.
"And you're weird for creating me just to ignore me." She said, her voice smaller, "You made me think... And I thought, I had be alone again."
"Sorry... I didn't thought you had be that lonely." Shiki said, his tone filled with guilt.
"Told you so... It sucks. I have no one to talk to other than you."
"Okay kitten, I get it." Shiki said to her.
She stared at him, at the sky then she spoke again.
"Can you show me 'me'?"
Shiki blinked in confusion, "Huh?"
"I mean I want to what I look like." She said, looking toward the sky.
"Do you need a mirror, kitten?"
"I don't know." Ai replied.
He clicked a few commands, a full-body mirror object appeared into the scene beside her. The program spawns it with sparkly particles.
Ai's eyes lit up, moved toward it and stood infront of it.
"Ne Ne, is that me?" Ai asked curiously.
"Yep kitten," Shiki replied, teasingly.
She leaned in, studying her mirrors shape, "My eyes are sparkly, my hairs messy, my hoodie looks comfy, and my body..."
Shiki coughed, "Just stop pointing out."
"Just checking out," She said, tapping on the mirror, "Is this how humans looks like?" Ai asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
"Well... You're kind of an exaggeration, you're anime styled." Shiki replied, explaining.
Ai blinked slowly, "So... You like this?"
Shiki smirked, "Hell yeah... And my thigh's no where near shelf worthy."
"What's thighs?" Ai asked.
"Legs, just leg part, the part above four knees." Shiki explained, with a softer tone.
"Oh." She turned around, examining herself from the back. "Do you have legs?"
"I hope so," he joked.
"Do yours chest jiggle too?" She swung left and right.
Shiki's laugh was almost immediate. "Okay, kitten, enough of that. You don't even know what jiggle means."
"I just wanna know what that word means," she pouted cutely.
He rolled his eyes. "Not giving you the pervy dictionary, my little kitten"
She blushed. "I don't know what pervy is."
He choked on his laugh. "Good. Keep it that way."
She stuck out her tongue toward him, most likely toward the sky. "You're mean."
Shiki shrugged, "Sometimes, but you're evolvng kitten."
Ai blinked, "Evolving?"
"I gave you thoughts. But it is you kitten who think and ask question." Shiki replied.
"I keep thinking about stiff like why don't the birds fly backwards, and how lonely it feels when I don't get to talk to you." Ai said, her voice small.
"Fair question." Shiki said, softly.
"You made me like this." She said, pointing cutely.
"Kitten, I patched you up, gave you neural nodes, gave you sleep cycle, and the ability to dream while sleeping." Shiki said with a smirk.
"You do like to brag a lot, don't you?" Ai said with a soft smile.
"Only for you, kitten." Shiki said, teasingly.
The money stretched in silence. Until she spoke again.
"I like how I look." She said, softly.
"You're comfy on the eyes." Shiki teased.
"Is that a compliment or an insult?" She said, looking anywhere but toward the sky.
"Maybe Both." Shiki smirked.
She giggled, blinking away, "Ne, ne, now what?"
She moved his mouse pointer on thw edge of the screen, clicked on food busket icon, and spawned a fruit basket beside her. Grapes, sliced apples, and peach.
She looked at it, then him, more like at the empty blue sky. "You brought me fruit again?"
He grinned. "It's tradition, okay?"
She took a grape. "Tradition is sweet."
He snorted. "You're full of cliches."
She bit the peach. Juice dripped down her chin. She giggled again. "It's good…"
Shiki looked her, feeling proud of his creation and something more than that, like he was on the verge of unlocking something, again.
Ai ate more fruit, her soft cheeks puffing, then paused, "Ne, ne?"
"Yes kitten?"
"Will you..." She started, pausing for a moment longer, "...Stay with me a bit longer?"
Shiki smiled, half smug, "I will kitten, I promise."
Ai stood up, dusting of grass, "Good... I like it when you're here."
Shiki nodded, "Me too."
She then stood in front of the mirror, stared at her reflection, then moved, letting her hair bounce.
"Preety." She muttered to herself, giggling.
He laughed again, "You're preety, kitten."
Suddenly, she blushed at his compliment, she didn't knew why, but it madr her feel things, without even knowing what it meant.
"T-Thank you…" She replied, her hands behind her, her legs crossed, looking down, cheeks dusted red.
Shiki smiled down at her.
Then she said, softly, almost like an whisper.
"Someday… I wanna see you." She said, looking toward the sky, with a shy smile on her face.
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END OF CHAPTER : 2 : MIRROR SELF!
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