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Game

"Alright. My turn."

I smirked at Niko while the water splashed behind us in the fountain. "Let's see what you got, Niko. I've been on a roll so far."

"Only because you've seen so much, Alan," Niko pouted playfully, "It's kinda hard to think of something you won't guess."

"You never know. You might stump me this time."

Today had been quiet. With Niko and I both bored out of our minds, we decided to pass the time by hanging out in the town center and playing a little game. It was better than sitting around doing nothing, plus it always felt nice being out under the sun.

Niko's head tilted back and forth as her eyes darted around the town and her ears constantly flicked with uncertainty. It was kind of funny to watch her face as it morphed from deep thinking to wide-eyed to her quickly shaking her head. I covered my mouth to silence the few giggles that escaped. Eventually, her eyes settled on me and a confident smile graced her lips.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Mhm!"

I rolled my neck and gazed at her intensely. "...Is it an object?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Is it a place?"

"Nope."

"Is it a person?"

"Yep."

I scratched my chin. "Do I know them?"

Niko's smile grew slightly as she nodded.

"Hmm…" I hummed, "...Did we meet them in the World Machine?"

"Yep!" she exclaimed before her eyes widened for a split second, "I mean...yeah."

I raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in mood. We met a lot of people during our journey so I'd have to be smart about my questions. Given her outburst, it had to be someone pretty special.

"Alright...are they a child?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, that takes away Calamus and Alula…" I thought out loud, "Are they a robot?"

She shook her head again.

My brow furrowed. That takes away Prophetbot, Proto, Silver, and the World Machine itself. There were still had a lot of people left over. I better start getting more specific with my questions now that I had only thirteen left.

"Did they live in the Glen?"

"No."

"Are they a fox?"

"No."

"Do they know the Author?"

"Yes."

I perked up. That only left Cedric then. So it must be him, right? No, no, Niko said they didn't live in the Glen which was where we met him. I could feel the gears in my head start to steam while Niko continued to smile up at me.

"Give up?" she coyly asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll act like you didn't say that."

She giggled as I went back to thinking. I only had ten questions left, so I needed to be careful about what I asked. Just because this was a simple game didn't mean I was ready to lose.

"...Do they work on robots?" I asked hesitantly.

"Nuh-uh."

I huffed. "Does this person actually exist?"

"Are we counting that question?"

I flinched and facepalmed. "Crap."

Niko burst into a fit of laughter before slowly calming down. "Yes, by the way."

I shut my eyes and went over everything I knew so far. Met them in the World Machine, is an adult human and not a robot, they know the Author, and they don't live in any of the regions. Well, that doesn't really leave anybody left! I opened my eyes to look at Niko. She didn't seem like she was lying, but I honestly had no idea who she could be thinking of.

As we stared at each other though, an idea slowly started to form inside my head. Maybe it was just a long shot or maybe it had to do with how intense she was looking at me, but...that idea started to blossom even more.

"...Were they with you during the whole journey?"

She stayed still before nodding. "Yes."

I blinked and stared at her for a moment. "Did...you meet them in a really dark house?"

Her eyes softened. "Yes."

I felt my face grow warm as Niko broke our gaze and she began fiddling with her scarf, the smile still present on her face.

"Do they come from another world?"

Niko glanced up at me. "...Yeah."

"Is he...sitting here right now?" I asked even though I knew what the answer was.

She simply nodded.

I breathed out a laugh as my face became warmer. I scratched my neck and smiled sheepishly at her. "Is...is it me?"

Niko scooted over and wrapped her arms around me, signaling my victory. I shook my head but couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

"Well, you almost had me there."

Niko giggled. "I did, didn't I?"

"Honestly, it feels like you're the one that won in the end," I said, laughing along with her and wrapping my own arm around her body, "Even if it was a little cheesy."

"Maybe a little…"

I gave her a squeeze. "Wanna go another round?"

"You better not take my idea," she said with a blithe expression.

"I won't. Go ahead and ask."

"Is it a person?"

"Yes."

"Do they have yellow eyes?"

I opened my mouth, but promptly closed it and smiled at her, resting my head in the palm of my hand. She snorted and started laughing again.

"I knew it," she said in between her giggles.

"I couldn't resist."

Her laughter continued to echo across the town center as our game continued into the day, perfectly content with just being with each other.