Letting Go

It was another day in the life of the ultimate, shut-in NEET, who is my master, Kisaragi Shintaro. It was always a secluded, boring and repeating day, that I sometimes think that I would eventually die (of boredom).

"Maaaaaaaaaaasteeeeeeeeeeeeer!" I woke him up by yelling that.

I also added a weird alarm. Ducks.

I grinned a little before sounding the alarm.

It went quack! , quack! , quack!

"...Hrrmm...mm... Wh-WHAT THE ACTUAL DUCKS- ENEEE!"

I know he's used to this, and I'm used to him too. He always yells at me first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, master!" I enthusiastically greeted.

"Uh... Good morning... I'm still sleepy..." He lazily replied.

"Did you have some weird dream again?" I asked.

"Huh...? Not really. No dreams today, Ene..."

When I see his face while sleeping, I can't help but let out a soft giggle.

But sometimes, I see pain and anguish on his face... It's as if he's being haunted by a really, really bad dream.

"Ah, I see! But you are lying ~ your face last night tells me... that you were having NAUGHTY DREAMS! Hahaha! "

"I was not! Damn, you always make fun of me..." Master said while scratching his head.

He gets up from the bed and walks to his computer chair, so I transfer from his phone to his monitor.

"Master! Aren't you going to eat breakfast first? You'll get thinner and thinner you know~"

"You don't have to tell me that. I'll go and grab food downstairs."

He stands up again, opens his door, and proceeds to go downstairs.

I was left alone again in the room. As I was contemplating about master earlier... I began to wonder...

What were those dreams that kept on coming back to master?

Those might be really sad memories.

I wonder if he would share them to me someday.

"Master... I really care, you know."

"If ever you've lost someone... We're somehow in the same boat..."

Memories of him suddenly flashed through my eyes.

Eh, huh...

Tears...?

Why am I... crying...?

"H-Haruka..." I unknowingly muttered his name.

I didn't hear master's footsteps approaching; he caught me crying. How embarrassing... He'll surely make fun of me.

"Hey, are you alright? Why are you suddenly crying?" He asked while placing a sandwich and a can of soda on his desk.

"M-Master, heck, I'm n-not crying!" I wiped my tears quickly, but they still kept on falling.

"I'm just..."

"Master, tell me, those nights that I..."

"See you sobbing... What are those about?"

"What is this suddenly about?"

"..."

"P-Please, tell me! I want to know! I want to know you more!"

I'm so worried about you, master...

"... Ene. "

"I... lost... my best friend."

"Moreover, I was not able to tell her..."

Master's tears started to fall as well. He's crying too. I know he's in pain, and that he thinks that no one would understand him.

But I want to; I want to understand him-

"...I was not able to tell her that I love her!" He continued, his sobbing getting louder.

He suddenly collapses to the ground, holding his head with his two hands.

"Ayano... Ayano! "

"I was so useless. I... I..."

I immediately transferred to his phone, which fell beside him.

"I-I'm so sorry master! W-What have I done?"

"I just w-wanted to help master..."

"You have no idea how much it hurts!"

"Your loved one dies, and you're left alone to rot for your whole... life!" He yelled.

As he uttered those words, I began to sob harder. I couldn't stop crying too.

"Master... I know! I know how you feel! I've lost someone too, you know! My, my...!"

I couldn't talk anymore. There were no words that could come out from my mouth.

I couldn't take it anymore. So much sadness and we only let it out now. We kept all of this pain inside our hearts all these years, knowing that we'll burst someday...

"Ene..!"

Master grabbed his cell phone, put it close to his chest, and attempted to hug me. His sobbing calmed down a little, and so did mine.

He took a deep breath and wiped away his tears.

"All this time, you stood by my side, watching me every day, annoying me, but trying to cheer me up the best way you can."

"Her death was something that I couldn't get off of my mind."

"But... I knew that I can't hide my past from you. You can somehow see through it..."

"And in all those times, I felt something. It's a different feeling. Although you are from another world, I don't know... I can't explain it in words."

He raised his phone to the level of his face so that our eyes could meet. Of course, I couldn't look at him straight in the eye because I was still sobbing, but he could...

I glanced a bit and I see that his eyes are filled with so much sadness and at the same time compassion. His lips slowly drew nearer to mine.

"Master, wha-what are you-"

He kissed my lips through the screen.

It was like kissing his phone all right, but that kiss was like magic... It was a subtle calm that flowed through my spirit.

"Ene... I... Uh... I-I like you. From the moment that you were sent to my computer, I've always felt that you cared for me."

I see that he blushed a little too, after saying all those cheesy words.

"Y-Yeah... You are noisy, though. But the good part about you is that you're always cheerful. It's as if there's a mantle of warm light around you..."

"That even if you really had a painful past, you could still smile, unlike me..."

He looked down and smiled a little.

I was still not recovering from that. I touched my face with both of my hands. I can't feel the heat, but I bet that it's so red.

"I-I-I actually like Master too..." I said with a trembling voice.

After that, I put on a widest smile I could.

"You've been through hard times too, and I want to show you that I care!"

It feels good to know that master actually appreciates that I'm doing everything I can for him.

He hugged me again, and we laughed together.

Now, I'm living a happier (and livelier) life with Shintaro.

One time, he finally decided to go out of the house. He took me to so many wonderful places (Like the amusement park!), even if he feels a bit awkward around people.

"Ehehe~ He's so cute." I let out a soft giggle.

After two years... He finally decided to let go.

I did, too.

I hope that this happiness continues forever, despite me being cyber girl and him being a human. Even if we live in two different worlds, I know that the love that we have for each other will transcend each other's worlds, no matter how far it may seem.

"... I'll always, always stay by your side."