Chapter 55 - Arona's Day Out
...
A short girl with light blue hair, wearing an adorable sailor uniform walks through the district of Millennium with a massive, infectious, bright smile plastered across her face as she looks this way and that, eyes filled with wonder.
Her head keeps rotating as her vision darts back and forth, all over the place, almost as though she's seeing the world for the first time and doesn't know what to observe first.
Which is exactly the case, as Arona, the artificial intelligence, whose role in life is to be the OS of the Shittim Chest, has gained a brand-new body and is currently using it to explore the world for the first time.
Oh sure, she could see the world from any screen or camera thanks to the strange power of the Shittim Chest and her connection to it, but she has never experienced the world in person.
Never felt the soft breeze of the wind against her skin, causing her hair and clothes to rustle.
Never seen the various students and adults walk the streets, on their way to somewhere, for some reason.
Never heard the cacophony of the hustle and bustle of the city at noontime.
Never smelled the scents or tasted the air wafting from the many restaurants in the city.
Never felt so...
Alive.
She was lonely for a long time, a very long time, as she waited for her beloved Sensei to activate the Shittim Chest. Once he did, she was no longer alone.
But still not alive.
A small part of her loneliness remained as she was bound to technology, never able to interact with things in person. Even when her Sensei entered the Shittim Chest, he merely did it as an avatar, a body created through code. It wasn't physically real, just as she was.
Keyword being was.
Because now? Now she has a brand-new body, made by the Engineering Club of Millennium at her beloved, thoughtful, amazing Sensei's request.
Her role was to be his assistant from within the Chest, but he changed that.
He acted selflessly so that she could act selfishly. He spent his hard-earned money to commission a body for her.
Arona's gratitude for her Sensei suddenly had no limit.
But with that newfound freedom, one can only wonder what the tiny AI girl will do.
Let's find out, shall we?
Sensei is so amazing!
I mean, I knew he was great after seeing him help so many people in Kivotos, but to think he would get a body made for me! He really cares about us a little too much, huh?
As I leave the campus of the Millennium Science School, I head out into its district, no destination in mind. Yup, I'm just gonna explore the city!
It's noon currently, so lots of people are walking around. Scores of rather short animal people, rather tall robot people and various girls with halos of all shapes and sizes walk this way and that. It's a true sea of people! Even something as mundane as this is really amazing to see!
"Oh? Arona-chan?" A soft voice calls out.
"Huh?" Turning my head to the voice, I find, "Himari-san?"
Sure enough, right there is Himari, sitting in her wheelchair as usual. Next to her are the three girls from Veritas that Sensei met not long ago, along with someone new.
"It IS you, Arona. How did you manage to get a body?" Himari asks, curiosity flaring up in her eyes.
"Oh, Sensei asked the Engineering Club girls to make me a body. It's amazing, huh?" I ask, happily.
"Fufu, that it is." The wheelchair-bound girl says with a giggle.
"Hm? You know this girl, Himari?" The girl I don't know asks.
"Whoa, she's super cute!" The redhead, Maki says, causing my face to burn in embarrassment. Huh, that's new too!
"This girl is Arona, an AI who serves as the OS for Sensei's strange tablet." Himari explains. "It seems our Engineering Club friends made her a new body."
"Seriously?" Hare asks, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Sensei asked them to make you a body?" Kotama asks me.
"Yup! It's only been a few minutes since I got it, but I've already experienced so many new things!" I explain. "Even something simple like feeling the breeze is so new to me."
"I suppose it would feel like that, huh?" The unknown girl says happily.
"Oh, that's right. You weren't here when we helped Sensei." Maki remembers, likely noticing my confused looks at the new girl. "This here is Kagami Chihiro, our Deputy Director." The redhead introduces.
"It's nice to meet you, Chihiro. And the rest of you as well." I say, honestly.
"Nice to meet you too, Arona." Chihiro says, smiling.
"Well, we should be off. We do have plans, don't we?" Himari asks the other hacker girls.
"Oh crap, that's right! Let's go!" Maki says, pulling Hare and Kotama along with her.
"Fufu, that girl." The wheelchair-bound girl giggles at her friend's antics.
"Geez, those idiots." Chihiro curses, following them.
"Oh, and Arona." Himari says, catching my attention.
"Yes?"
"Have a nice day." She says with a smile, causing me to feel my smile grow on my face as she turns and leaves.
Hmm... I wonder what they're up to today?
"Hey, isn't that Arona?" I hear someone ask from a ways away.
"Holy crap, it IS!" A similar voice confirms, as I hear a group of footsteps running towards me.
Looking to the side, I find the Saiba twins running towards me. "Momoi! Midori!"
""Arona!"" They cheer in unison, smiling just like me. "How did you get a body?!" The pink twin shouts, shocked, but happy.
"Sensei got the Engineering Club to make it for me." I explain.
"Really?" The green twin asks, her eyes wide. "Those three really are amazing, huh?"
"This is amazing!" Momoi cheers. "When you helped us make Tales Saga Chronicle Two, you just did stuff from behind the screen, but now you can actually play it! And other video games too!"
"Hey, you're right!" Midori adds.
"Hmm... It's true that I've never played video games. Well, why don't we go play some now?" I offer.
""Yes!"" They cheer in unison once more, causing a giggle to escape my mouth.
"We were just out buying this new game-" The pink twin explains, holding up a video game case. "-, so this is perfect!"
"Mm." The green twin agrees with a nod. "I can't wait to see how Aris and Yuzu react to this."
"Hehe, neither can I!" I cheer as the three of us walk back to Millennium.
"Aris, Yuzu, we're back! And we brought a guest!" Momoi announces, as she and her sister enter the Game Development Department's club room.
"A guest?" Yuzu asks, curious.
"Hello again!" I say.
"A-A-Arona?!" Yuzu shrieks, shocked at my presence. Aris, to the side, has her blue eyes widened.
"Yup!" I confirm.
"Get this, the Engineering Club made her this body!" The pink twin explains.
"Really?" Yuzu asks. "Since you're here, does that mean you want to play video games with us?"
"Yup! You four were always walking about how fun it was, so..." I say.
"Aris, you've been quiet this whole time. What do you think of Arona's new body?" The green twin asks, causing us all to look at Aris, who's been staring at me for a long while, silent all the while.
"Hmm..." My fellow robotic girl hums in thought, before she breaks out into a great big smile. "Bum bum bum! Fellow Robotic Warrior Arona has joined the party!"
"Haha! That's right, you're both robots, huh?" Momoi says, remembering that fact.
"It's kinda easy to forget." Midori adds.
"Ah, enough of this talk. Let's get to playing!" The pink twin says, fed up with the stalling.
"That was so much fun!" I cheer, having been playing a multi-player game with the four girls.
"What should we play next?" Momoi asks, excitedly.
"Say, Arona. How long have you had your body?" Midori asks.
"Only a few hours now. Why?" I ask, confused.
"We can play video games together some other time. Let's let Arona go and keep exploring the city." Midori suggests.
"Aww..." The pink twin whines.
"We can all play together again some other time, Momoi." Yuzu says.
"Of course! Nothing can stand between the Robotic Duo!" Aris cheers, bringing a smile to all of our faces.
"Well, alright, then." I say, standing up, before wobbling a bit. "Whoa!"
"I guess that was your first time sitting down for so long." The pink twin observes.
"Yeah, it was!" I say, glad to experience something new, even if it was a bit weird.
"Even Aris gets like that sometimes." The green twin adds.
"Alright! Then I'll see you four some other time!" I say as I begin to leave the club room.
""Bye!"" The twins say, in unison.
"Bye." Yuzu says.
"Goodbye, partner!" Aris adds.
Time to go and see more of the city!
I spent quite a while at the Game Development Department, as it's already three o'clock! Time really does fly when you're having fun!
The city, once again, is crowed as it's the time in the afternoon that schools usually end their days. There are noticeably more students than adults prowling the streets of Millennium.
Did the Game Development girls even have school today?
Ignoring that, I find that something catches my attention.
A flier is posted on a streetlight, along with many copies of it posted here and there. Inspecting the flier, I find that a popular cafe here in Millennium is have some sort of special offer today. Maybe I should go and see what the fuss is about. I'm still linked to the Shittim Chest, so I should still be able to access Sensei's bank account.
"Oh? Are you interested in this cafe as well?" A female voice asks.
Looking to the side, I find four girls looking at me. The one who spoke seems to be a silver haired girl wearing a beret. She has a single wing protruding from her back, making me realize she might be a Gehenna student, along with the other three, each having a pair of horns.
"Yeah, I've been seeing a bunch of people around today." I confirm.
"That's because the cafe is well-known all around Kivotos for being five-stars." The second girl, having blonde hair and two horns on either side of her head, explains to me.
"Yeah, this place is super fancy and super expensive too!" The third girl, her long, red hair tied into twintails, adds.
"But today, everything's half off!" The fourth girl, having grey, curly hair tied in short, low twintails, adds.
"And because of this, we of the Gourmet Research Society, have taken the opportunity to sample their product." The first girl explains.
"Gourmet Research Society?" I ask, tilting my head in confusion.
"That's right. We're a club in Gehenna that is the single club in Kivotos most dedicated to tasting the finest food in all of the city!" The first girl declares. "I am the leader, Kurodate Haruna."
"I am Wanibuchi Akari." The second girl introduces.
"I'm Akashi Junko!" The third girl adds.
"And I'm Shishidou Izumi!" The fourth girl finishes.
"It's nice to meet you all, my name's Arona." I introduce myself as well. "If you four are going to the cafe, could I come with?"
"Of course!" Junko says.
"Indeed. All are welcome to join us on our gastronomic journey, even if just for an afternoon." Haruna proudly says.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Izumi says, drooling a bit.
"Calm down, Izumi." Akari chastises her friend. "We'll be there soon."
"Let's be off, shall we?" Haruna asks, as we all walk to the cafe together.
"So, Arona. What school do you go to?" The red haired Junko asks.
"Er, none, technically." I explain, awkwardly.
"Oh?" The silver haired Haruna says, curious.
"I'm actually Sensei's assistant." I say.
"The Sensei of Schale?" The blonde, Akari, asks.
"Yes, that's him." I confirm.
"I think it's fair to say we've all heard a great deal about him. Hm... Perhaps we should introduce ourselves sometime." Haruna idly suggests. "Regardless of that, we're nearly there."
As we round the corner, we see the front of the cafe, oddly barren, save for a few people. I guess this place must still be expensive, despite things being half-off today.
"Are you kidding me?!" A girl in front of the store roars. She has blonde hair tied into short pigtails. "Everything's half-off today, so why's it still cost so much for a single piece of cake?!"
"C-Calm down, Yoshimi." Another girl with brown hair says, attempting to calm her enraged friend.
"This truly is the struggle of humanity." A pink haired girl adds, speaking in a philosophical manner. "What we want we cannot always have, like desserts when we're sick."
"What? There's nothing stopping you from eating dessert when you're sick." A fourth girl, having short black hair with pink highlights, points out, confused by her friend's words.
"How odd..." Haruna muses. "Even if everything is half-off, I wasn't expecting Trinity students to be unable to pay."
"It must be more expensive than we thought." Akari says, suddenly worried.
"C'mon, it'll be fine!" Junko interrupts.
"Yeah, let's just go in and see for ourselves!" Izumi says, hopeful for her and her friends' success.
"Izumi's right, let's just go see." I add, as the other girls nod in agreement.
I and the Gourmet Society girls walk towards the cafe, before Haruna stops by the upset four girls. "Excuse me."
"Huh?" The blonde girl asks, eyes wide, as she and her friends all turn to look at the silver haired gourmet.
"We overheard your plight and were wondering, is everything here really still that expensive, even at half price?" Haruna asks politely.
"Of course they are!" The blonde roars, causing us all, even her friends, to take a step back. "Even the cheapest thing here is still five thousand yen!"
"Five thousand?!" Junko shouts, in shock.
"Oh goodness." Akari says.
"Holy crap!" Izumi adds.
"I see." Haruna says, her smile suddenly very strained. "We may have a problem on our hands."
"That's an understatement." The black and pink haired girl comments.
The eight girls go silent, contemplating their next course of action. Hmm... What would Sensei do in this situation? Oh, I know!
"Well, why don't I pay for us all?" I offer. Eight heads and eight pairs of eyes snap towards me.
"You?" The blonde Trinity girl asks.
"Y-You don't have to do that Arona." Junko says, still a bit downtrodden.
"Well, since I'm Sensei's assistant, I also have access to his, and Schale's, bank account. So I don't mind paying for us all." I explain. "Besides, this is probably something Sensei would do anyway." I add, a bit awkwardly.
"Are you sure?" The brown haired Trinity girl asks.
"We shouldn't turn down a gift, let alone one like this, Airi." The pink haired girl advises, sagely.
"Well, if you're certain... Thank you, Arona." Haruna says, smiling like all eight of the girls.
Soon, the nine of us sit at a large booth within the cafe, having already placed our orders. I sit in-between the four gourmet girls, whereas the four Trinity students sit opposite us.
"You girls are from Gehenna, right?" The brown haired girl, Airi, asks, likely hoping to strike up a conversation.
"That's right. We are Gehenna's Gourmet Research Society. I'm Kurodate Haruna." The silver haired gourmet introduces. "This is Wanibuchi Akari-" She says, motioning to Akari, who smiles. "-,Akashi Junko-" She says, as Junko says a quick 'Hello'. "-, and Shishidou Izumi." She finishes as Izumi says a bubbly 'Hiya!'.
"Gourmet Research Society?" The blonde asks, curious.
"Well since you introduced yourselves, we should do the same, huh?" The pink haired girl asks.
"Of course." The black and pink haired girl says. "We're Trinity's After-School Sweets Club. I'm Kyouyama Kazusa." The now-named Kazusa introduces.
"I'm Kurimura Airi." The brown haired girl says, smiling.
"Yutori Natsu." The pink haired girl adds. "And this is the head of our club..." Natsu adds, pointing the the blonde.
"Ibaragi Yoshimi." The blonde says. "It's nice to meet you all."
"Ah, right." I say, feeling a bit left out. "And I'm Sensei's assistant, Arona."
"Sensei? Like the guy from Schale?" Kazusa asks.
"Yup!" I confirm, smiling.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Airi says, happily.
"It's still so weird hearing that there's a guy that isn't an animal or a robot in Kivotos." Yoshimi comments.
"Indeed, it is quite strange." The silver haired gourmet adds. "Human men were a myth for a long time, and now suddenly one appears."
"It IS pretty weird." The red headed gourmet notes.
"Oh! I wonder what kind of food he likes!" The grey haired gourmet says, changing the subject.
"It would be nice if he like sweets." The pink haired Natsu adds.
"Well, truth be told, I don't know what kind of food Sensei likes." I say, realizing that fact. "But, from what I know, he's a pretty good cook."
"Really?" The black haired Kazusa asks, a bit surprised by my words.
"A teacher and a chef, huh?" The blonde Yoshimi muses.
"Here you girls are." A robotic man says as he stands next to the table, holding a tray of sweets, which he hands to each of us.
"Oh, wow!" The brown haired Airi says, joyful.
"Ooh!" Natsu says, her eyes sparkling.
"This looks amazing!" Izumi says.
"This will truly be an experience." Haruna says, her mouth drooling a small bit, which she quickly wipes away before anyone can see.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Akari says.
"Enjoy, ladies." The waiter says, before walking away.
"Arona?" Haruna says.
"Yes?" I ask, looking up at her.
"I think it's safe to say that we all owe you one for this." The silver haired gourmet says, grateful.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Friends help each other, right?" I ask, happily.
The eight other girls smile brightly at my words, as Haruna nods, a satisfied look on her face.
"Gah! Enough talk, let's eat!" Junko interjects.
Slowly, all nine of us, filled with overwhelming amounts of anticipation, reach down to each of our plates, each one containing a single pastry. The cafe's most popular pastry, yet still not the most expensive thing in the store.
Almost as one, all nine of us take a bite from the pastry.
"...?!"
My eyes widen in shock, as flavors dance across my mouth.
I've never actually eaten anything before, but this...
An indescribable torrent of emotions overwhelm me all at once.
Shock. Joy. Awe. Ecstasy. Surprise. Happiness.
Overwhelming emotions. Powerful emotions. Torrential emotions. Too many to count. Too many to list. Too many to describe. None of them bad or negative in any way.
If one were to attempt to list them all, they would be busy for a week.
I sit there, slowly chewing the divine food, in an attempt to savor the delicacy, before forcing myself to swallow, unwilling to lose this sensation, even if there's still more of the pastry left.
"-ona?" "Ar-?" "Arona?"
'"Huh?!" I say, snapping out of a trance of sorts, hearing someone call my name. Looking around, I see the eight girls looking at me with various degrees of worry.
"Are you okay?" Yoshimi asks, softly.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I ask, confused.
"You're crying." Akari says softly.
"Huh...?" I ask, before reaching up to my face and feeling a wetness there. "I... am...?" I ask, slowly, unable to comprehend why.
"I knew this place was well-known across the city, but I didn't expect it to bring someone to tears." Kazusa comments, her eyes wide.
"S-Sorry." I apologize, wiping away my tears. "This is... Well, this is kinda the first thing I've ever eaten."
"I get what you mean." Natsu says, knowingly. "This pastry is good enough to make someone feel as though they've never truly eaten food before. Such a dangerous place this is."
"No, I mean..." I say, sighing, before I explain. "I said I was Sensei's assistant before, yeah?"
"That's right." Akari says.
"Well I meant that literally. I'm actually an AI, the OS of Sensei's tablet." I admit.
"Really?" Airi asks, eyes wide, like the other seven girls.
"A real AI?" Junko asks.
"Yes. Sensei wanted me to experience the world like everyone else, so he commissioned Millennium's Engineering Club to make me a body." I explain. "They did an amazing job, making a robotic human, rather than an android, since I can taste and feel and stuff. So... this was honestly the first thing I've ever eaten."
The eight girls remain silent for a moment, surprised by this turn of events.
"Well... I, for one, think this was the best 'first thing' you could have eaten, Arona." Haruna says, catching me off-guard a bit.
"She's right. Eating something as tasty as this will definitely make you want to eat more tasty things!" Airi chirps.
"Just think of the many things that taste even better than this you've yet to eat." Akari adds.
"There's also stuff that'll taste worse." Kazusa points out.
"That's just life." Natsu notes, sagely. "Some food tastes really good, some doesn't taste as good, and some taste bad. Just like people, no two foods are the same. It's best to find and try a wide variety."
"Yup! You might find something you like that others don't." Izumi chimes in.
"...Thanks." I say, after an awestruck moment. "Enough of this sad talk, let's finish our food."
All eight girls nod in affirmation, prompting us to continue our food.
A strange sensation wells up inside of me.
A strange, happy feeling?
Togetherness, perhaps?
After the nine of us finished consuming our pastries, I decided to buy another one to bring home to Sensei. Our group continued to talk for a while, before I got up from the booth and bid my new friends farewell.
New friends... Just thinking about those two words makes me really happy!
"Aw, really?!" A female voice shouts at a volume just above speaking. Looking at a booth, I see a pink haired girl with a halo shaped like a planet and stars at the cafe's counter looking rather disgruntled.
"Yes." The robotic man taking her order says, apologetic. "Our apologies, but so many people bought our special pastry today that we've simply run out."
"Aww..." The pink haired girl whines.
Special pastry? That's the thing I first ate, and what I've got in my bag to give to Sensei.
...
Making a Sensei-like decision, I walk over to the upset girl. "Excuse me."
"Hm?" The girl hums, looking down at me.
"You said you were trying to get that special pastry, right?" I ask, eliciting a nod from her. "Well, you can have mine." I offer, holding the bag out to her.
"Wha?! N-No, I couldn't possibly-" She starts speaking, rather flustered all the while, before I interrupt.
"It's fine. I already ate one. This one was just for a friend, but I think he'd be happy if I gave it to someone who wanted it more than him." I explain.
"Geez, you're serious about this, huh?" She asks, an awkward smile on her face. "All right, then. If you're offering." She says, taking the pastry. "You wanna sit down?" She offers, taking the pastry from the bag.
"Sure." I say, smiling.
The girl unravels the delicacy and proceeds to take a small bite. Her eyes widen in surprise as her face reddens. Her eyes then close as she holds a hand to her cheek while chewing the food with a blissful expression on her face. "Sho good!" She exclaims, her mouth full, yet still smiling happily.
"Haha! I was wondering what kind of face you'd make when eating that!" I say, smiling as well.
"W-Well, it's just really good." She says, awkwardly, but not dropping her smile. "You already ate one, right?"
"Yup! I ate with some new friends. I think they're still here." I explain, looking back over at the group. The Gourmet and After-School Sweets clubs still are sat at the large booth, happily conversing while still eating the remains of their food. I guess they're savoring it.
Looking back, I see something unsettling.
The pink haired girl I've been talking to has been nothing but polite, if not a bit awkward, but now...
"Gehenna..."
She growls the school's name out under her breath, a scowl present on her face as she stares at the Gourmet club with eyes filled with hate and distrust.
I guess it makes sense, she looks like she goes to Trinity. After all, both schools are long-time rivals.
"You don't like Gehenna, do you?" I ask, softly.
"Huh?" The girl asks, eyes wide as her head snaps back to me. She seems to realize her actions and becomes nervous once more. "No, not really. I don't know why, either. I just don't like them."
"Well, maybe you just need to find some common ground with them." I advise.
"What do you mean by that?" She asks, blinking in surprise.
"My friends over there are from two different clubs- One being the Gourmet Research Society from Gehenna, the other being the After-School Sweets Club from Trinity." I explain. "Though both groups focus on eating different kinds of foods, one fancy stuff and the other exclusively sweets, they both came here together and spoke with one another happily, as friends instead of rivals. I think if you met someone from Gehenna who had the same interests as you, you might not be so distrustful of them as a whole." I advise. "I'd bet most students from both schools could do the same."
"That's..." The pink haired girl stares at me, wide-eyed. "...very insightful of you."
"W-Well, I just kinda said what Sensei would say in this situation." I admit, awkward.
"Sensei would say something like that?" She asks, thoughtful, before a small smile appears on her face. "Well, thank you for the kind words... and the pastry."
"No problem!" I chirp, before checking my internal clock. I say internal, but it's really the Shittim Chest's clock. "Well, it's getting late. Enjoy your pastry!" I say, getting up to leave.
"Thanks again!" The Trinity student says happily as I leave.
After leaving the cafe, I walked around the Millennium district for a long while, looking at the many sights of the city. As the sun began to lower in the sky, bathing the world in a red-orange light, I decided to take a break.
Spotting a bench, I plop down on it with a tired exhale.
"Long day for you as well?"
I jump, hearing a feminine voice so close. Turning, I find a girl with long, black hair and wearing a similarly colored suit sat next to me on the bench. She has a tablet out and was likely skimming through it. Her face is emotionless, almost frighteningly so.
"I, uh, I guess you could say that." I say, still a bit frightened by her sudden appearance. The bench was empty before I sat down, wasn't it? "I've been up and about all day, exploring the city. Even though I've only been in this district, I have to admit, Kivotos is amazing!"
"I suppose so." She agrees, monotonously.
"It's also really pretty!" I continue. "This was the first time I've really gotten to look around. I can only hope to see the other districts soon. It'll be really fun!"
"How could looking around the city be fun?" She asks, emotionless.
"Hm?" I ask, caught off-guard by her strange words. "How could it not? Today's been super fun! Seeing new sights, meeting new people, eating new tasty food... How could it be anything but fun?"
The black haired girl sighs. "I still can't comprehend how fun can be such a defining factor in people's behavior."
"Well, look at amusement parks. People enjoy having fun, even going so far as to pay for it." I argue. "Emotions, even negative ones, are what make us human. Without them, we wouldn't be human anymore. And this is coming from an AI!"
"An AI?" She asks, her interest piqued.
"Ah." I say, realizing I said that so suddenly. I mean, it wasn't a secret. "You see, I'm Sensei's assistant, literally in this case. I'm the OS of his tablet, but I was stuck in there and couldn't interact with anything outside. Then, Sensei went and got the Engineering Club to make me a body so I can experience the world with my own eyes, instead of through a screen." I explain. "It's why I'm so happy today. I've gotten to experience things I've yet to, including new emotions."
"...And what of the negative ones?" She asks. "You've felt new emotions, likely only positive ones, but what about negative ones?"
"..." I remain silent for a moment, remembering my past. "I've felt loneliness before, y'know... I was inside the Shittim Chest for a long time before Sensei connected to it and woke me up. I wasn't lonely anymore as I had a friend, but... That loneliness was still there, albeit muted, due to Sensei's presence. But still, I couldn't interact with anything or anyone. I'm so truly grateful to be able to have a body and experience these new emotions, but... Even though I don't want to feel lonely again, I'm not afraid of feeling lonely, or any other negative emotions... Without them, I wouldn't truly be living. Life is all about the good AND the bad. Without emotions, we just become no different than robots... Unfeeling, uncaring, un...human."
Neither of us speak a word for what seems like an eternity. The only sounds are those of the evening city, bathed in rays of red and orange.
"I... see." The emotionless girl says, standing up. "This discussion has certainly been thoughtful..." She trails off, clearly fishing for my name.
"Arona." I suppliment.
"Rio." She says, walking away without looking back.
Hang on, Rio...? That means that she was...?!
Sighing to myself, I hop off the bench and back to my feet as I begin my way back home to Schale.
Entering the Schale building at dusk, I feel a strange sense of deja vu wash over me. I've been here before, but seeing the building in person is quite strange.
Opening the door to Sensei's office, I see the man himself sat at his desk, papers in hand. He looks over as he hears me enter, a bright smile appearing on his face as he sees me.
"Oh, hey." He says, tossing the papers back onto his desk. "How was your day?"
"It was a whole lot of fun!" I exclaim, unable to hide my happiness. "The Millennium district was so pretty! I ended up going to a fancy cafe that was having a sale with some new friends."
"Oh? Bring me anything?" He asks.
"Er..." I begin, awkward. "I did, but I bought one of the last pastries of theirs and gave them to a girl who seemed really upset when she didn't get one."
"Ah, that's fine." He says, waving my concerns off. "I prolly would've done the same."
As she says, that I find myself unable to contain a giggle.
"Speaking of food, you hungry? I was about to go and start cookin'." Sensei offers.
"Yes!" I exclaim, before recoiling, realizing my volume. "Er, yes."
Sensei chuckles happily as he begins to walk to the kitchen. Before he enters the next room's threshold, he stops and turns back to me. "And, uh... Welcome home, Arona." He says with a gentle smile.
As he says that, I stiffen, emotions overwhelming me once more.
With the biggest smile I can muster and hot, joy-filled tears running down my face, I respond to his kind, kind gesture.
"Thanks, Sensei!"
AN
Well, this was different.
I can already see the headlines: Tiny Android girl meets lots of people in the city. Causes mass outbreak of cuteness overload.
I hope you all enjoyed this Arona-centric chapter. Please tell me what you thought of it.
Next time, an Event! I promise!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!