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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.

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Chapter 14: Headpattable Gift

Today was a free day, and I had no plans with Hope.

...This isn't exactly a good way to say today was meant to be a slow day, but it was the best one to explain why I was alone at home and with no general intention to leave the flat. I was a bit tired from recent events and I really needed a break from it all. I knew that Shin and Hikari were going to check something out of Prism while Naerie was stuck at home. Hope? She had some extra work to handle, so she couldn't exactly surprise me with an unexpected visit.

I was meant to spend this day either resting while watching some TV, or napping. As I said, a slow day. And, of course, that wasn't how things truly unfolded. Not when I realized that someone had decided to send me a gift. Early in the morning, a courier came and dropped a small package on my front door. A box which was wrapped up like a... gift. Or what loosely resembled a gift. And it had been sent by Ambar as I could tell from the small letter attached to it.

Dear John,

Think of this more as a gift than an experiment. I promise this isn't something bad, and she will help you through most of the problems in your work. Even more if needed~.

The nicest bear friend you got,

Ambar~

What a humble individual indeed...

Still, the message literally set up a mood that was the furthest thing from handling a 'gift box'. The box itself didn't look unusual and gave off the air of a normal gift box. Despite that, Hope's words about Ambar flared up in my mind as I slowly picked up the thing and slowly unwrapped it. Each move to remove the string keeping the gift wrapped settled slivers of unease down on my chest and soon I was hesitating to open up the box altogether.

Then, I did it and I revealed the content within it to the world. I blinked for a moment, expecting something impressive to come out of the box- or something that was at least surprising. I had some expectations it was also something frightening but... it was just a ruby. A perfectly spheric ruby which seemed more like a shiny orb to keep on a pedestal as a great conversation piece about wealth than anything 'useful' as the High Prime described it as. And 'she'? Maybe the Bear Prime had a thing for precious stones?

I could only sigh as I settled the box on the table, sitting by one of the chairs as I stared at the ruby for a while. Was it just a gem? Maybe it was more than just that. Could it be like a genie-in-the-bottle situation? I leaned back on the chair, pondering about it before then reaching out for the stone and grasping it. I expected to feel the cool surface gems normally have. I mean, it wasn't like it was giving off any visual signs and I was getting curious on what Ambar had given me. I finally grasped the thing and- paused as I felt something was off about it. I finally did and it wasn't exactly a clear sign. While the surface was indeed as cool as I expected it to be, there was a hint of warmth coming from within.

As if there was something inside that wasn't supposed to be there. This wasn't a normal gem and, as I pulled away from it, I quickly retrieved my phone for a quick search. Except, as I went to pick up the device, I realized that its screen was stuck in a loading page.

Download Progress: 87%

What?

I was perplexed by the sight, with the download speeding until it reached 100 while I tried to stop it and... nothing happened. I blinked, going through all archives within the phone to see if anything had indeed been installed, but I couldn't find anything from a brief search. Hence why I swiftly looked into a more advanced search by going through dev mode. Even in that more 'open' approach into the phone, I found nothing new to add to the count. No new folders, no new files- it was clean. So what has been downloaded?

I was about to boot up my PC and give it a final 'full-thorough look', but then I paused as something else had changed while I had been distracted with the device. The ruby had started to glow. It wasn't the 'super-shiny' kind of glow. It was soft, tame, and calm. Soothing even. I reached out again for it, expecting to just feel it either as warm if not warmer than before. I was correct in that assumption, but wrong when it came to this being the only change it ensued at my second approach. Just as my palm wrapped around the gem, something unpleasant wrapped around my neck, its sudden feeling forcing me to recoil, but not before I got flashed by a full-force blinding light that erupted from the gem. I stumbled back and fell backward on the ground. My free hand went to cover my eyes as I tried to recover from that unexpected situation, and as I tried to stand up, I found my chest fully pressed down by something sitting on it. I felt legs, I felt someone shifting onto it and then a girly hum.

"Fuhaa~, I'm finally free."

I blinked a few times to get my sight back faster and... I found my eyes now close to see a pair of red orbs mirthfully staring back at me.

"Oh, you're my boss? I didn't expect it to be a human!" The girl chirpily replied and I was freaking out. A lot.

Sure, her overall appearance looked close to a Prime. If not for the fact her entire body was wrapped in an ethereal silver light minus her eyes, the stone embedded in her chest and the one by her belly button. Her hair looked like a fluffy cloud that got spity at the end. She was wearing a sleeveless top-bra and a sarong that was short in the front and a bit longer on the rear. It took me a while to actually remember what kind of creature I was looking at and-

"A Nanozell Spirit?"

To add more context on the matter: Nanozell is a special particle born between Quantum and Magic. It was essentially technomagic bound more to nature than anything magical should. And a spirit born from these particles was generally an entity which was born with a specific set of abilities meant to help specific individuals which it could bond with through emotional/soul-related links.

"Yup! My full name is 'Data Class SM-042086', but I go primarily by 'Zip'."

I blinked. "Nice to meet you... Zippy."

Her grin widened at the nickname. "Aw, thank you, boss!"

"...Wait, you're actually bound to me?" I asked, finally catching up on what was going on. Heck, I just realized now I had something of a light golden necklace around my neck, one with a small ruby encased in it.

"Well yeah, as someone that has acquired a Nanozell Gem, you have been bestowed with the Light of Prism and... wait, what's with that look, boss?"

"John," I corrected, getting a bit annoyed with the whole 'boss' thing. "And I got your gem through a bit of a gift. No explanations, just the gem."

"Oh? Hmm, was it the High Prime that gave me to you?"

I was a bit surprised by that quick guess and I nodded.

"That explains a lot. Lady Ambar is known to provide people with Gems when she thinks those will favor them and... she also tends to be really cryptic about her gifts," The spirit elaborated. "Still, I hope you don't mind that... this happened."

"Not really?" I replied, still confused. "I'm just trying to get this whole thing digested. You know, kind of a sudden change."

"Understandable, and I don't find it any odd. In fact, would you like me to help you de-stress?"

My mouth opened as it could be interpreted in too many ways than I liked, but as she said that, Zippy gestured to me to look at the top of her head where a pair of feline ears suddenly sprouted. My jaw dropped at the sight and she giggled.

"From what I found about your likes, you seem to have a preference for headpats and other 'lewd' activities such as common cuddling."

"Ah-"

"Worry not, John," The spirit assured happily as she leaned down for me to reach out. "I will not tell anyone and I will use what I know of you to help you. Both as a valuable data-specialist and as a comfort-giver. Of course, nothing too explicit-"

"Which is fine," I reasoned nervously. "Let's just say it would feel quite awkward."

Zip merely hummed back, her voice going missing as soon as I complied with her offer and started to caress the top of her head, rubbing gently around her ears and... drawing her purrs out. I don't know how long I had been lying on the living room's floor with Zippy napping on top of me, but I had no regrets despite the lengthy headpatting session.

After we were done with that, I finally managed to get to my PC and look more on Nanozell entities. Zip decided to go around and study the layer of the flat, checking all rooms and getting all measures to establish a proper mapping of the place. She mentioned she also had yet to check all data on the phone, so I knew that it was just a matter of time before she realized about my current situation and asked about it. Despite how intense of a development her arrival was, I would soon learn that Zip's presence in my life would be essential in keeping things from getting too difficult for a single individual like me to handle.

A helpful spirit with the means to become a headpattable treat.

AN

Congratulations John, now you can deliver endless headpats. Don't go overboard with this.