[Chapter 7]

Two days until I had to work for that client. Until then, I was allowed to live at Avenir's complex and was provided with a small allowance. Even though it wasn't much, it could last an entire day if spent right.

"…" I walked the trail at the park. Even though Lastation was basically factories and machines, they still managed to fit a park in there. Despite everything, the park was really nice and a peaceful place to be.

While I quietly continued to walk through the park, I watched the children as they ran around with carefree, happy expressions on their faces.

These people, the people of Lastation, lived their lives happily, putting their faith in their CPU. Th people here didn't seem to truly despise any of the CPUs either, despite their meaningless Console Wars and the problems that it had been causing.

I smiled. "If only I could go back to that..."

CPUs, Console Patron Units, were people who were given the role of governing and protecting their nation. Previously, before I had been betrayed, I never really thought much of them. All I really thought of was why they never showed their faces to people. Why would they always be so occupied?

Eventually, I had learned about the Console Wars and what they were. At first, I thought it was dumb. The CPUs were basically fighting for supremacy over each other. Rather than trying to work together, they all fought each other for control of all of the nations.

While I could see why that could benefit them, I knew it wouldn't ever end and would just go on and on. Due to each individual's own opinions and beliefs, not every person in Gamindustri would flock to the one nation. They would either still believe in their previous nation or put their faith into that nation.

And, while I understood the benefits from a CPU's point of view, it wasn't exactly something I believed in.

War was something that never changed. And, war was something caused by somebody's own selfish desires. Just like the Console Wars. It had been the thing that had caused all of the CPUs to despise one another, rather than working together.

However, things changed. Maybe not instantly, but, eventually, the people—even CPUs—changed. They became better or worse people. It was just a long process.

"Look out!"

"…!"

I was suddenly snapped from my thoughts as a ball came speeding towards me. Luckily, I had managed to catch it before the ball had smacked into my face.

I let the ball—the kickball—drop to the soft grass, bouncing back up a bit.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Hm?"

Tearing my eyes from the bouncing ball, I was met by the sight of a woman and a kid, who wore a worried expression on his face.

I smiled at the two of them, trying my best to relieve their worries. "No, I'm fine! It didn't hit me, so it's fine."

The woman let out a heavy sigh, bringing her right hand to her chest. "Still, I'm so sorry about my son. He's a pretty reckless kid and can sometimes do things that make others around him mad. But, despite that, he's a good kid."

Switching my attention to the boy clinging to his mother's left arm, I smiled. "I'm sure he is," I kneeled down to make eye contact with him. From his facial expression, it looked as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment. "Hey, it's alright. Look, I'm fine, aren't I? I even caught the ball!"

He sniffled and gave a slight, shy nod. "Y-Yeah..."

I cast him a wide grin. "If that's the case, you've got nothing to worry about! I'm sure your mommy's just glad you're alright and that nothing bad happened! So, cheer up!"

The boy just shook his head back and forth rapidly. "B-But... B-But...!"

"Hey," I pointed to my arm, showing him my cybernetic arm. "Look, it's alright. I'm a cyborg. Even if that ball would've hit me, it probably wouldn't have hurt."

"W-Woah..." The boy couldn't help but say his amazement at feeling my cybernetic parts. "T-That's so cool!"

"So, are you better now?" I asked him.

The boy gave a firm nod, wiping away any accumulated tears. "Y-Yeah! One day, I wanna be just as cool as you, miss!"

I did my best to smile as the boy took his ball and went off to play with the other kids.

Like me, huh?

"I see..." The mother smiled at me as she took her eyes off her son. "So, you're a cyborg, huh? It explains how you managed to catch that ball..."

I nodded. "I guess. But, it does have its disadvantages. Besides, I didn't choose this option..."

The mother just responded with a understanding smile. "No, I understand where you're coming from. My sister almost lost her life in the recent accident where our CPU attacked. She only survived because she was turned to a cyborg. However, she became shunned by the people after that..."

"I guess I wasn't the only one..." I murmured.

"Ah, so you were involved in that accident too?" She had managed to hear me. The mother watched me with a curious look.

I gave a nod. "Yeah. After that, it actually made me start despising the CPUs, CPU Black Heart in particular."

"I don't blame you," she answered coolly. I was expecting some major reaction. "Like you, my sister began despising our CPU. Could you blame her? Black Heart was the reason for the accident, though, some argue not."

What was she trying to tell me? "So, what happened?"

"Well, my sister came to a realization," the mother answered. "She learned that the CPU wasn't to really to blame for it. In fact, that entire incident wasn't her doing. Rather someone else's doing. She had done her best to protect the nation while we all just cowered in fear and ran."

"… I see..."

"After that, it drove her to become stronger and help protect the nation, hoping that it would also inspire others to take action," the mother finished up her story nicely. Probably to try to put my thoughts at ease. "She's now one of Lastation's top commanders..."

I just smiled at her. "That's...great..."

"Well, that's not the point," the mother said. She stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Look, all people change. Some people are perceived as bad because they don't know the full story. All I'm saying is that you should really think this through before doing anything you'd regret..."

All I could do was smile. "Y-Yeah... You're right..."

"Well, I'll be off then," the lady announced, taking her son's hand before walking off.

"…"

The lady had a sister, one who had a similar experience to me. However, the sister had put aside her own emotions and beliefs to examine both sides, something I hadn't done.

But why had she done it?

Both sides were bad. So why sympathize?

"Oh, miss!"

"…" Hearing her voice again, I snapped from my own thoughts to see her running back towards me, her son close behind.

"M-Miss..." The mother did her best to catch her breath. "I-I... forgot to tell you something..."

"Forgot?" I stared at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"…" She cautiously looked around, making sure nobody but her son was around. Then, she leaned in close to my ear so that only I could hear her whisper.

"There was also something else that convinced my sister. Nobody knows if it actually happened, but, according to some, it did..."

"What was it?" I asked. My heart had begun pounding for whatever reason. What made me feel so uneasy?

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Apparently, the Black Heart at that accident wasn't actually her. It was just an imposter, somebody pretending to be her..."

"…!"

She backed up and looked around once more before looking back at me. "Like I said, nobody knows that for sure. But I thought that that information might be useful to you..."

"Yeah... it was... Thanks..." My words weren't coming out right anymore. Instead, they only came out in fragments. My mind was too busy trying to take in what I had just heard.

Before I knew it, the mother and her son had run off again.

I took a seat on the grass, my blank eyes staring at the lush, green grass.

"…" I took my phone out and dialed, waiting for the voice to pick up my call.

"Hello? Hikari?" After about a minute or so, Ganache finally came on the phone.

"I'm quitting the client's job," I cut to the chase. "Sorry."

"H-Huh? W-Why?" His voice seemed shocked at my words. "What happened?!"

"I realized I have a matter that's more important right now," I answered. "Sorry, this is more important than the client's request."

"B-But didn't you want to kill CPU Black Heart?" He asked. "The client's giving you the perfect chance for that!"

I shook my head. "Sorry, this matter, like I said, is more important. I hope you can understand."

"…" For a while, Ganache went quiet. But, after about a minute or two of complete silence from his end, he replied. "Alright, I guess it'll be fine if you don't come. After all, you were meant to be a fail-safe and this wasn't our request anyway. We'll figure something out."

I let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Ganache."

"Don't mention it," I could hear him let out a frustrated breath. "We'll figure something out with the client. But, if you ever need anywhere to stay, we'll always take you in, Hikari."

"Thank you, honestly," I said. "Until then, good luck to you..."

"Yeah, you too..."

I clicked the phone and hung up the call, putting my phone away.

I got up and looked towards the sky. "Now, where can I get some explosive charges...?"


A/N:

Welcome back to the section where I ramble about my life and talk about various things!

Actually, not much to talk about again. However, there is one thing I will say! This time, it's not some hollow promise. Basically, the second OC story has been written and will be coming out sometime next week. While I don't know the exact time, I do know that I'll be doing it once I have finished editing it.

That's all that I can really think about what I need to talk about. So, I guess that's it.

So, thanks for reading and I hope to see you all next time!