Public Obsession

"You want a ride? And I mean by motorcycle this time..." Emma teases as she grabs her keys.

Aoi's cheeks fluster bright pink "Uh-sure. That would be much apricated, Emma-sama" the brunette rubs her shoulders sheepishly as she finishes getting through her routine for something that she could not put off any longer. The tiresome Journey to school. Aoi throws on her backpack, dusting her uniform off. She follows Emma from out of the apartment and find themselves out in the streets. The now orange sky brightens the city in a warm glow of comfort.

"Uh...Emma?" Aoi asks.

Turning her head. Emma finds herself looking at the schoolgirl "What is it? I'm sorry but you don't have time to go back for round two with Playmaker..." she gives a light chuckle as she sits over her motorcycle while throwing a spare helmet Aoi's way.

Aoi catches the helmet "Since me and Playmaker uh...you know? Is there any chance of me getting..."

"Nope. Don't worry...it was all fun and no fuss. You don't have to worry about having little playmaker-juniors" Emma reassures.

"That's a relief. But I also have another concern. Well in our interaction he was a little rough on my chest and when I logged out...well I got a bruise there..." Aoi shyly speaks.

"Ah...I figured as much. You know when you take too much damage in Link Vrains it can impact you in the real world. Since your mind thought that bruise was real; it must have tricked your body and made that mark. There are a tone of real world cases of that sort of thing, it's actually really fascinating"

"Would that go for him as well...? I might have gone a little rough too; I think I left a mark on his neck" the schoolgirl adds.

"Oh...my, Aoi. Marking your territory are we? I will remember to stay far away..." Emma gives a sweet smile "Though I knew Link Vrains could be used for a lot more then duelling, virtual sex wasn't exactly what I would say was what came first to mind. I'll need to keep that in mind next time when I'm feeling a little frisky..." she gives a chuckle while she puts her helmet on "Maybe Playmaker may also like my company..." she laughs. Aoi rolls her eyes.

"Please stop talking about that. You are like ten years older the him...It's really strange" the brunette now wearing her helmet takes a seat behind Emma who shrugs "The next time you call me "Old". You will be walking your way to school..." she jokes.

"Am I sensing a hint of jealously in your voice, Aoi-chan? Well I'm going to tell you this and only once so listen closely. What happened between you and Playmaker wasn't love. It was nothing of the sort. You and him were simply just using each other for your own personal pleasure. You think you let him fuck you because you loved him? Sorry to break it to you, but you just wanted to release all the pressure that was building up in your body. Both physically and mentally..." Emma raises her eyebrows.

"And him too. He didn't follow your requests out of admiration for you, simply you were a cute girl who was going to help him get rid of all the tension plaguing his mind..." the older woman adds.

"Trust me. I know...it just felt nice to...well let loose? That moment with him was the best I have had in recent years. There was no one to look down on me...I didn't have to worry about my brother disapproving of me...I didn't even have hide myself from Playmaker. It may sound selfish, but if that is what it feels like to use people...then I am more then happy to do it again..." the brunette sighs.

"Aww...they grow up so fast..." Emma leans forward; driving off with Aoi sat behind her. Arms wrapped around her waist.

.

A Few Hours Later

.

"Hey, Yusaku! Who's the unlucky girl to be dating you?" a irritating voice digs. The owner of the voice being none other then Shima Naoki.

"What are you talking about?" an annoyed sigh escapes the lips of the stoic schoolboy. Yusaku Fujiki sits by his desk. Shima showcases a grin followed sharply by a raised eyebrow.

"I'm talking about that little...affectionate mark on your neck...though from the looks of it. Who ever did that to you was more violent then loving..." the hyper-boy laughs as he sits on the other boy's desk. Making his prescience unable to be ignored.

"It's not a love bite if that is what you are thinking..." Yusaku groans. Looking at Shima with a cold glare.

"C'mon, Yusaku. You can't fool me!"

Yusaku sternly folds his arms "Your claims are false and I have three reasons to prove it. One: I have far too much work to focus on to have any spare for a relationship. Two: I have no personal interest in pursuing a stable relationship at this time as I am not in the right state of mind to fully commit myself. Three: I have terrible luck with women..." the schoolboy tightens the top of his shirt's collar. Naoki was left in amazement and speechless.

"D-Did you just make a j-joke? Holly shit you really did get laid didn't you?! Wow I can't wait until Aoi hears about this!" Naoki jokes as he holds his sides.

Then it dawned on him "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Yusaku screams internally ""Uh...Naoki. Just leave it between us...like...fr...frien.." he trips over his words.

"Are you trying to say friends?" the other boy scratches the back of his head,

"Yes! That. Thank you " Yusaku looks to Naoki.

"Oh...Ah a sign of trust! I swear to you I shall never reveal the your secret! It shall be the start of our undying friendship that will transcend all of time!" Naoki smirks holding his hand over his chest as he bows.

.

10 Minutes Later

"AOI! AOI! AOI! AOI! AOI!" Naoki calls out from across the hallway as he runs towards the brunette schoolgirl.

"It's that time of day again...isn't it?" she sighs under her breath "Morning, Naoki. What's up with all the yelling?" she asks uninterested. Naoki jumps in front of her, holding his arms out to block her path and halts her movement all together.

"You aren't going believe this!" he waves his arm frantically.

"Alright...you got my attention. I'll bite" Aoi folds her arms.

"Yusaku got himself a girlfriend!" the schoolboy squeals.

Aoi Zaizen had to stop herself from letting out a laugh. She was clearly taken back by the information "Yusaku Fujiki? Somehow I doubt that you are telling the truth..." she dismisses "Plus what girl will be dumb enough to-" she was cut off as the schoolboy interrupts.

"It's true! He even has a love bite on the left side of his neck!"

Aoi almost fainted on the spot, but luckily she managed to lean herself against the wall beside her "A love bite on his left side?" she was clearly shook by the information.

"Yeah! He must have got it today because he didn't have it yesterday. It's hard to believe that any girl would be dumb enough to actually date a kill joy such as Yusaku and judging from how he was acting. He definitely did more than go out with her. He most certainly got himself laid..." he laughs.

"Please stop talking..." Aoi breaths in.

"Yusaku is...Playmaker...? Which means Yusaku and I had...had...oh god. I had sex with a classmate...oh this is awkward on so many levels..." Aoi's eyes widen "Wait a sec! How the fuck did I not notice that Yusaku and Playmaker are the same person? They looking the fucking same! Now that I know; it so obvious. He doesn't even change his voice!" Aoi mentally slaps herself "Wait, but he showed me his deck and it wasn't Playmaker's...oh clever; it was a dummy deck!" she closed her eyes, tightly shitting them.

"Uhhh, Aoi. Are you alright? I know the news was shocking but damn. You kinda look jealous" Naoki comments.

"Jealous? I'm the one who left that mark!" she screams internally while keeping her exterior calm "Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" she sheepishly questions the boy's words.

"Hey, it's okay to be honest. So you may not be that popular with boys. You aren't exactly on the level of a beautiful girl such as Blue Angel, but that doesn't mean you are totally at a loss when it comes to getting a boyfriend, though I doubt Yusaku's girlfriend will be to amused when she finds out about you. Anyway I'm heading to the duel club. You coming?" the schoolboy walks off; leaving the brunette to herself. Her cheeks burn red.

"I'll be there in a minute..." Aoi replied doing her best to hold back the venom in her face until Naoki was out of sight. It was at that moment she finally over-flowed on her frustration "Mother fu-" she bites her lip to hold back obscenity that was yet to come. Aoi rubs her eyes; slowly dragging her hands down her face "Please be dreaming! This is a nightmare" she groans. She follows the path that the schoolboy took while dragging her feet "This can't get any worse..."

.

Meanwhile

"So...do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Yusaku coldly replies as he walks through the hallways while whispering not to draw any attention to him.

"You know what. That little thing that happened between you and Blue Angel. The whole part where you and her well joined-together..." A.I jokes.

"I rather not" the schoolboy quickly retorts.

"Well regardless I have been going through tones of dating advice around the web. I have been cross matching your little situation of tones of others in hopes to find an optimal solution. You would be surprised how many people have hardships when trying to express their emotions..."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well I was under the assumption that humans only made love when well they wanted to express their love for one another, but when I looked through your data. I did not find anything that would indicate your feelings for Aoi Zaizen. Am I correct to say that no love was involved in that exchange between you two?" A.I asks curiously.

"That wasn't Aoi. It was her true self. It was just Blue Angel. Mostly sex can be used to express love, but it can just be sex. Just a way to let lose and to feel good. Blue Angel is Aoi without her worry or fears. She is who Aoi truly is. It was because of this that she engaged the interaction. As Blue Angel she doesn't have to concern herself about what Aoi Zaizen should do, but only with what she wants. In other words. She needed for it to happen to know that she didn't have to be tied down by the worry of her real life" Yusaku explains while keeping his voice low enough so only the ignis could hear him.

"Hmm interesting. From what I am understanding. She was just using you for her benefit? Are you alright with that, Yusaku? Usually humans find it to be painful when they are just being used for someone else's goal. But from what I can make out, you seem to be acting as your regular self. Do you mind explaining why that is?" the dark ignis follows up.

"I have bigger things to worry about, though I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy about the situation. Using people just so you can accomplish your goals is wrong. No matter in what way they are used. I would never use a person like that, not at their expense, but that's the path that I choose to walk. Aoi is more than able to walk her own and will deal with her own consequences respectfully..." the schoolboy down to his duel disk.

"Humans are so remarkable, though I am not entirely sure if that is a good aspect or just a devil in disguise waiting to reveal itself..." A.I closes his eyes "Though I will say. Yusaku, you really do keep getting yourself in the toughest situations. Now I fear that you face your toughest challenge - the feelings of a teenage girl..." A.I chuckles.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Nothing like that is ever going to happen like that ever again. My work is too important to focus on anything else. I made that clear to her" the teen makes himself clear.

"I think not. She told you that you two could meet up again and you replied by saying Maybe. That's not exactly what I would say making it clear means. In fact you just did the complete opposite and made the situation even more complex" The ignis shoots back.

"That what we humans call a harmless lie. Though I said there was a chance that we could meet up again. I had no intention of going through with my word. I'm sure she will figure that out sooner or later" the schoolboy scratches the back of his neck "I still don't know how the hell she left that mark on me, but it's has more than caused a problem with Naoki. If he tells Aoi about it; she will more than likely figure out my true identity..."

"The mark must has been left by your mind being convinced that she actually left a mark on your neck. Though you were in the network it still simulated the sensation, pleasure and even the pain of your sexual actions between you two. So even though when you tasted her. It may appeared that it was no more then her avatar. You were tricked into thinking that there was a taste to it. In other words. It simulated what her lower area would taste like, as well for her chest and your neck. There is as well the fact that it gave you the appropriated pleasure when you had intercourse with her. It used your own bodies as the source for the feelings. So even though you had sex with her avatar. You were basically just having sex with a clone of Aoi Zaizen and vice versa for you..."

"Is that even possible?" Yusaku questions.

"Though humans and technology are both evolving beside each other. Make no mistake, Technology is evolving far faster then humans can keep up with it. That's why I am here and it's also why the mark happened. The line between reality and fiction is becoming more of a blur by each day" The ignis answers before he widens her eyes "Look out, 12 o'clock" he warns his partner.

Yusaku looks up, but is knocked to the ground while a brunette was met by the same fast. The sudden fall was caused by both their bodies bumping into each other "Ow..." Aoi wined as she massages her shoulder "What was-" she comments before she sees the person that she walked into "Oh...crap..." she thought to herself as she saw Yusaku on the floor in front of her. She took a moment before she pulled herself to her feet while the schoolboy did the same as her.

They look at each in silence until Yusaku spoke up "Sorry about that. I should have looked where I was going" he apologizes while he dusts himself off. Aoi should have said something. Maybe her own apology, but she couldn't. Not when she saw it. The mark on the boy's neck. The exact shape left on Playmaker "That confirms it..." she takes note as she saw him pull up his collar to hide the mark almost as if he knew that she would be looking for it. Good for her that he looked like he hasn't noticed that she has already seen it.

"It's my fault too. I was daydreaming again" Aoi excuses herself.

"No harm done. Just be careful" he advises her as he walks off.

"Uh...Fujiki Yusaku..." Aoi shyly addresses.

"Zaizen?" he takes note of her. Though his voice treated her like a stranger do him, and the fact that he used her surname made her feel even more foreign to him. Yusaku turns to the brunette with his usual stoic expression that she has grown accustomed to by both him and Playmaker.

"...Nothing..." she walks off; leaving their conversation finished before it had the chance to prosper into something that they could both share.

"Smooth one"

Aoi's eyes widen "That's the ignis' voice" it took everything thing that she had not to turn around. She couldn't risk such an action without having to reveal that she had in fact heard the voice of the dark ignis. She does her best to walk casually away and act like she did not hear anything.

"Idiot! She could have heard you..." Yusaku narrows his eyes.

"Sorry! It just came out!" A.I apologises.

Later

Although this day was just as equally as long as any other. All that had happened made it feel like an eternity and thus. Aoi was more then relieved to find herself entering both her and her brother's penthouse. She was more then ready to call it quits for today and to allow herself to fall into a slumber to the next day. She throws her keys over to the counter next to her. She drops down omto the couch, leaning her head back and grabbing a cushion. She holds it over her face and lets out the biggest scream that she could.

"Stupid hormones! This day could not get any worse!" she face-palms "It should be an hour or two before my brother gets home...thank goodness. I will need some time to get my head together..." she kicks her shoes off and grabs the television remote and presses it "There has to be something good on..." she cycles through the various channels.

"Welcome home, Aoi. Do you want me to make you anything to eat?" a pink robot with green eyes asks while rolls over to her.

"Not at the moment. I am way too worked up to eat..." she continues her channel surfing "Today has been one big event after another. Not only did I have sex with Playmaker. I honestly enjoyed it and loved every moment. I would give anything to feel that comfort again, but now that I know he's Yusaku...that complicates everything. I can't even bring it up to him without him figuring out that I'm Blue Angel. Plus there is the fact we both didn't even do it out of love but for something much more selfish..." Aoi closes her eyes.

"I did it just to make myself feel good and he was happy to go along with it. He got just as much out of it as I did...so there shouldn't be problem, right? It should be a one and done deal, but there's something about him that is...enticing me. I now know that he is a lost incident victim...which means maybe he can understand my feelings. But I should feel guilty for using him like that, shouldn't I? I don't regret my actions...in fact I am more than happy to use him again and again...if it is the only way to take my mind of my pain..." she lies herself down on the couch, resting her against two overlapped cushions.

Aoi yawns as she closes her eyes "Wake me up when my brother is home, Roboppi..." she nuzzles her head against the cushion as she drifts off to sleep.

It could have been no more than thirty minutes before Aoi was abruptly woken from her sleep by the loud buzzing from her phone. Half-awake the girl grabs her phone and answers "Hello?" she yawns, rubbing her eyes.

"Aoi, it's Emma. Don't freak out but we have a serious problem on our hands..." a distress voice tells her.

"Has another piece of data appeared in Link Vrains?" she asks as she sits up.

"No. Aoi listen. Look at the news" Emma tells her.

"Fine" she groans as she reaches for the remote and turns up the volume. Her eyes focus on the flat screen in front of her "WHAT?" she screams in disbelief. Her eyes watches restlessly at the screen as it showed both her as Blue Angel and Playmaker kissing "How the hell did they get that!?" Aoi jumps from her seat. Her eyes narrow as she see both the frog and the pigeon that usually follow her around in VRAINS both sitting at a rounded table in front of the video that was playing.

"It looks like that they were following either you or Playmaker and they caught it all on film...and I mean all of it..." Emma said from the other side of the line.

"No...no...no..." Aoi looks and sure enough it showed Blue Angel resting her legs around the shoulders of Playmaker while his head was placed between her legs as Blue Angel used her hands to play with his hair. Most of it was blurred but she could easily make it out with her keen-eyesight.

"Oh...no..." Aoi whispered sounding defeated as the phone drops out of her hand.

Chapter End