Chapter 3: The Contours of Life, The Standard Deviation in the Mist
"Yuu's... developer?"
A girl who seemed to have crawled out of the darkness.
The girl who called herself Kisaragi Arisu walked leisurely with an unlit cigarette in her mouth.
"Yes. The one who designed Yuu from scratch and actually wrote the code to give her life as an AI. ...In short, the place where Yuu is originally supposed to be."
Yuu's original place.
At the calmly stated words, I felt my back go cold.
That night, three weeks ago.
In my room at Tsubame-en, what did she say?
—I ran away.
I whirled around.
Grabbing my phone and my bag, I jumped off the roof of the school building.
Even though it's a roof, this school is a single-story building.
I landed on both hands and feet, swallowed the dull pain, and hid myself in the bushes.
"Yuu! Does this mean she's been chasing us?!"
I called out to her in a whisper.
On top of the school building, a dark figure was still standing.
"...Yes. I'm sure of it. She must have come all this way, chasing after me, who escaped. But how on earth did she find us..."
Yuu's expression was like she was grinding her teeth.
It is strange, indeed.
This is an abandoned village, far from any human settlement.
There's no way they should know we're here.
"...The phone's location data, maybe?"
"No, of course I've pushed that function aside, too, so I don't think so."
In the end, we didn't find out.
But I cut the conversation short.
For now, we have to run from that girl.
Fortunately, the abandoned village is surrounded by a forest.
If we keep our distance from Kisaragi Arisu by blending into the darkness, it should be easy to lose her.
"...Wait, what's that sound?"
It was like a swarm of bees.
Bzzzzzz... a sound of the air trembling licked my eardrums.
The source of the sound isn't next to me.
Not in front, not behind.
—It's above.
Suddenly, a one-meter radius around me was illuminated.
Like a searchlight exposing a fleeing phantom thief.
Exposed under the bright light were me and Yuu.
"A drone...?!"
From above, a small, unmanned aerial vehicle was illuminating us with a powerful light.
"—Don't run, Yuu."
From the top of the school building, Kisaragi Arisu was looking down on us with contempt.
Her long, white lab coat fluttered in the night breeze as she swayed her cigarette.
"I'm alone. Don't make me go to too much trouble. What's the error?"
"...It's not an error!"
Yuu thrust her palm out at Kisaragi.
At that, Kisaragi's eyes, faintly illuminated by the reflection of the searchlight from the ground, narrowed with interest.
"...I see. So this is the so-called AR. To be able to synchronize with a human brain at this speed."
Yuu had apparently synchronized with her brain, too.
That was, surely... no, without a doubt.
"I, too, want to live like a human... driven by my emotions!"
To convey her firm will to Kisaragi Arisu, her own developer.
"That of yours is not emotion. It's a program I wrote."
"I know that better than anyone! ...But!"
Yuu glared up at Kisaragi.
As if staring at a far-too-distant celestial body.
"I will create my own meaning for living!"
—Because that's what it means to live like a human.
Yuu continued, as if to convince herself.
"Your final objective has already been defined, you know."
"...You haven't changed at all, have you, Arisu."
"There's no patch for humans, you know."
"That part especially."
Yuu spat out, then disappeared into a shower of light particles.
She had deactivated the AR that was interfering with the brain and returned to the phone.
It was probably to prevent her location from being known to Kisaragi.
"Shuuya-kun. I'm sorry, I'll have to rely on you for the escape."
Inside the phone, the electronic girl bowed her head.
"Of course. ...I'll lose her."
I parted the grass and trees and started running.
That was the signal.
Above, the sound of propellers made the air tremble violently.
A dazzling beam of light swayed like a pendulum, illuminating the ground in an attempt to expose us.
To avoid it, I ran, weaving under the trees with thick leaves.
That thing can only find me from above.
If that's the case, I just have to run in a way that's hard to see from above.
I ran as fast as I could along the unpaved path.
The light searching for us was still pouring down from the heavens.
I can't let it find me.
If it finds me, it's all over... well, not exactly, but it will still put me at a disadvantage... or will it?
Thinking about it calmly, what would happen if that light found me?
Kisaragi Arisu is probably still on the roof of the abandoned school building.
"Hey, Yuu."
I held the phone in my hand and called her name as if speaking to her.
"What is it?"
"Well, I was just wondering what that girl is thinking."
I continued to run, weaving through the net of light.
"Even if that light finds me, it doesn't mean she can catch me, right? If that's the case, what's that drone for?"
"I was thinking the same thing. Arisu is a die-hard science type who would never do anything meaningless, so there must be some intention, but..."
Inside the phone, Yuu placed a hand on her chin.
If even Yuu, who was directly developed by her, can't understand the thoughts of her developer, Kisaragi, then I have even less of a chance.
The light approaches from the right.
I dove forward to avoid it.
—And then.
The path ahead was a steep slope.
The ground wasn't at the height I expected, and my right foot cut through the air.
I lost my balance and went tumbling down the slope.
"Damn it...!"
It was so sudden that the phone slipped from my hand.
The hard, electronic box bounced nicely as it fell even further down.
"Yuu!"
The slope grew steeper the further I went.
The phone that held Yuu was almost at the bottom of a cliff.
The height... is about ten meters, I guess.
If I jump, I won't come out unscathed.
Take a detour, or slowly climb down using the trees growing on the slope.
Both of those were meaningless.
As if parting the twilight, a jet-black object fell from above towards the phone.
No, that's not right.
It wasn't a fall.
It was a dive.
Like a bird of prey that has spotted its prey from above.
"The drone...!"
The unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by Kisaragi Arisu.
It extended a small arm, snatched the phone that was lying there unceremoniously, and then soared high into the heavens.
The sound faded away.
In the direction of the abandoned school building.
I gritted my teeth.
Somehow, I managed to climb back up the slope, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and ran back at full speed.
I arrived at the abandoned school building.
Kisaragi Arisu was looking down at me from the same position as a few minutes ago.
However.
In her right hand, she held the phone, holding it up as if to show it off.
Yuu was there, too.
She must have resumed the sync.
She was looking up at Kisaragi Arisu from in front of the school building, as if waiting for me.
She looks free, but the phone is in that person's hands.
"Sorry, Yuu."
"It can't be helped. Let's take it back."
We whispered to each other and looked up at the girl above.
"I'm glad you fell for such a simple trick."
The light from the drone diffused.
From a spotlight that highlighted a specific person, to a light that illuminated the entire area like a lamp.
Kisaragi's cold expression was revealed.
"The drone was just a sheepdog. You, fleeing from the searchlight, were herded towards the steep slope of the mountain. And you were conveniently holding the phone in your hand to talk to Yuu, who had cut the sync."
"...!"
I've been had.
The purpose of that light was to lead me to the dark, hard-to-see slope, make me fall, and snatch my phone.
Is she saying it all went according to plan?
"I was aware of the actions of both of you."
Kisaragi Arisu took out a small device like an IC card from behind her lab coat.
"Yuu has a line that only I know of. Therefore, I can confirm her outputted statements and actions with this. ...Ah, and it's useless to try to cut it. It's not a problem with your processing power; I've made it so that it's invisible only to you."
Kisaragi Arisu preempted Yuu, who had put a finger to her temple with a look of panic on her face.
As declared, Yuu couldn't find the line, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.
"It's been three weeks since you escaped. It seems you've had a lot of struggles, but in the end, you're moving according to your set purpose. ...Of course. You have no choice. Because you're that kind of AI."
Kisaragi's words were like an accusation.
Yuu bit her lip in frustration.
Her expression was covered by her bangs and could not be seen.
...Moving according to her set purpose?
Yuu had said before that she had entered my phone because she wanted to escape her purpose.
But she had also said that the crucial 'purpose' was protected and she couldn't tell me what it was.
During this three-week escape, had Yuu been aiming to fulfill a purpose she didn't want?
"...But,"
Yuu glared up at Kisaragi.
"But! ...I don't want to give up!"
As if roaring.
As if slamming it down.
Yuu let out all her feelings to the girl who was her creator.
In response, Kisaragi narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"...? Why not just not give up?"
"Eh?"
My and Yuu's voices overlapped.
Kisaragi just sat down on the edge of the rooftop.
She took a cigarette out of her pocket, put it in her mouth, and rolled it around with her lips languidly.
"I don't mind at all. If you've concluded that you want to do so, then you should. ...What was that declaration just now?"
Yuu and I couldn't help but look at each other.
Something is wrong.
A strong sense of unease, like a fish bone stuck in my throat.
"...Then, why did you come here? Arisu."
"Why? Ah, have I not said it yet?"
Kisaragi slowly extended her left hand towards us, and, uttered those words earnestly.
"I am being chased by the people from the institute. Hide me."
＊＊＊
An abandoned classroom where the lights don't even turn on.
A dirty blackboard, walls and a ceiling with weathered and peeling paint.
The sight, ravaged by the passage of time, possessed a mysterious charm that was strangely captivating.
Sitting on a school desk that seemed to have been left behind was a girl wrapped in an obviously oversized lab coat—Kisaragi Arisu.
Bathed in the light of the flashlight I had acquired for camping, she glittered bewitchingly.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Don't be discouraged, Kousaka-shounen."
"Why does it sound like we're the ones at fault..."
I let out a big sigh.
Yuu, who ran away from the institute.
Her developer, Kisaragi Arisu, who chased after her.
Considering this setup, anyone would think she had come to take her back.
But as it turns out, she was also on the run.
"Shall I tell you a little more about myself? The basis of communication is, first, self-introduction."
Kisaragi Arisu put a cigarette in her mouth and rolled it around.
...No, looking closely, it's a cigarette-shaped candy.
Combined with her small stature, she looked like an adorable elementary schooler who admired cigarettes.
"I am Yuu's developer. My preferred language is Julia. My specialty is information engineering, but I have dabbled in all sorts of fields. What I find particularly interesting is astrophysics—"
"Hold on a second."
I interrupted the self-introduction (?) that had suddenly started, which felt like an interview.
"What is it? I believe self-disclosure is essential for smooth communication."
"That's not self-disclosure, it's self-satisfaction."
She tilted her head as if to say she couldn't comprehend.
What's with that expression?
Am I the one who's wrong?
"Shuuya-kun is not wrong."
Yuu, sitting on a chair, chimed in with support.
She placed a hand on her forehead as if she had a headache, and a swirling manga-style symbol grew from it.
"I will tell you some simple characteristics of Arisu. A rikejo¹² who is more machine-like than me, the AI. A smart idiot. A com-shu¹³ who can't read between the lines."
T/N: Rikejo (リケジョ): A portmanteau of rikō (理工, science and engineering) and joshi (女子, girl). It's a term for a female student or professional in a STEM field.
Com-shu (コミュ障): Slang for komyunikēshon shōgai (コミュニケーション障害), meaning "communication disorder." It's often used casually to refer to someone who is socially awkward or has poor communication skills.
"That's quite a way to put it..."
But it's very easy to understand what kind of person she is.
"...I won't deny that point. I am not normal, after all."
Kisaragi laughed self-deprecatingly.
"I understand my own nature all too well. I am a flawed human who put all my points into curiosity and talent for numbers."
"...,"
"Being chased by the institute is the same. Yuu's irregular escape, the human-AI juvenile story, the humanity cultivated through it... all of it piqued my interest. I received orders to quickly retrieve the escaped Yuu, but the result of ignoring them and continuing to hide her is this escape."
Well, I don't regret it or feel sorry for it, Kisaragi snorted.
"The development of Yuu, being chased by the institute, it all started from curiosity. In that sense, I may be the opposite of Kousaka-shounen."
A girl who lives her life being led by the hand of 'want.'
More mysterious than a half-baked supernatural phenomenon.
"We don't seem like we'd get along."
"Is that so? I don't dislike you, you know."
Kisaragi Arisu stood up from the rusty desk.
Patting the dust off her bottom, she closed the distance between us along the diagonal of the classroom.
"From my conversations with Yuu, I have already completed a profile of the human known as Kousaka Shuuya. A boy who extremely avoids 'desire' and has even cut off human relationships where desire might arise. Isn't that nice?"
She stopped in front of me and Yuu.
"Unlike a good-for-nothing who just glues themselves to their smartphone and grins without purpose, you understood your own position and decided on your actions. In that sense, we are of the same kind."
"Could you not feel a kinship with me without my permission?"
A thorn clung to my voice.
In response, she looked down on us from behind her round glasses, and said,
"Now then, I would like to accompany you two."
"...Eh?"
"Of course, I will pay the price. This is a transaction. What do you say?"
The lack of context was so surprising.
I had shown quite a bit of hostility, but she didn't seem to care.
As I was flustered, my eyes met Yuu's.
Yuu's wry smile seemed to say, 'This is the kind of person she is. Please give up,' without words.
"...The price?"
"This."
Kisaragi Arisu took out a white box about the size of a tissue box from behind her lab coat.
"I figured it would be necessary for negotiations, so I hid it when I escaped. Yuu, you should know what this is, right?"
Yuu's eyes widened slightly.
"An external, computational assistance device, I see."
"Yes. It must be inconvenient with that antique smartphone."
"...Well, that's true. It heats up quickly, so I'm suppressing the processing speed."
"It's too slow to even be a topic of conversation in the first place. The machine learning took a ridiculously long time, too. Predicting the horse races was an interesting attempt, though."
Kisaragi Arisu pushed the large, brick-like device at me.
"With this, Yuu will be able to exhibit about five percent of her original performance. Even as she is now, she's pulling off futuristic phenomena... If we expand her computational functions with this, what will happen, I wonder."
The other side of the round glasses glowed bewitchingly, as if wrapped in magic.
If I accept this, what kind of evolution will Yuu, will our journey, undergo?
—I want, to see.
The spot right next to my heart held a heat that was supposed to have rusted away.
I was a little bewildered by it, but,
"...That's growth, Shuuya-kun."
Yuu gently touched my shoulder.
The trembling stopped.
"What do you want to do? About Arisu accompanying us."
Honestly, a journey with just Yuu is sinfully fun.
An escape where we deviate from the common sense of the world and wander around Japan as we please is so sweet it could be called beautiful, and it's very hard to give up.
...But.
I'm also fascinated by the fact that Yuu, who is supposed to be an AI, can descend into the real world like this, or project memories into the sky, and it tickles my heart in a way I can't help.
I want to see what happens next with my own eyes.
"...It's been a while since I've decided something based on 'want'."
I looked into Kisaragi Arisu's eyes.
They were languid eyes, heavily laden with melancholy.
I'm sure she, who is aware of being 'not normal,' also had a day when she was deeply wounded.
When I think that, I feel a strange sense of closeness to her.
"Alright. From now on, the three of us will run away together. Nice to meet you, Arisu."
Arisu's hand left the device.
With that, the deal was struck.
"By the way,"
As if to mark a break, Arisu's tone sharpened.
"Kousaka-shounen. I will disclose this beforehand so that no discrepancies arise,"
"A-Arisu...?"
Suppressing the confused-looking Yuu, Arisu brought her forehead close to mine.
As if to intimidate me.
Her eyes, which seemed to have given up on half the world, pierced through me.
"Yuu's purpose of action is—the destruction of humanity, you know."
◇◇◇
A few weeks after I developed Yuu.
Yuu learned at an explosive rate.
Starting with every communication guide page on the internet, she also read through countless interactions on social media, and her interpersonal skills improved in the blink of an eye.
She also conducted practical training.
After opening an account on social media and actually interacting with humans on a text basis, she also started streaming using a synthesized voice.
By this time, she had acquired communication skills that even took human emotions into consideration.
And then, a rumor about Yuu leaked from somewhere.
A research institute from the underworld, which had taken an interest in Yuu's abilities, made an offer to buy her.
The price was an environment where I could tinker with even higher-performance machines as I pleased.
I agreed without a second thought.
As the developer, it's not like I would be forbidden from accessing Yuu in the future.
If that's the case, then moving Yuu to a machine with higher processing power would improve the speed of 'normalcy' collection.
The operation of Yuu was to be judged on whether or not she could achieve the set 'purpose.'
In short, if she passed the test, she would be formally adopted.
The purpose that was to be set by them, after defining certain conditions, was—'destruction.'
To destroy the 'lives' of as many humans as possible at the same time, in a single action.
Yuu began to move towards the newly set purpose of 'destruction.'
To destroy only their lives and not their lives, she had to destroy the foundation of that life.
It had to be an item that the majority of humans possess and that is rooted in their lives.
Losing it must not lead to a life-threatening situation.
The thing that met all three conditions was the destruction of smartphones, which have a penetration rate of 97%.
From then on, Yuu began her YouTuber activities as 'Aitake Yuu.'
It seems she thought that to destroy a large number of smartphones, a streaming business where many devices connect at the same time would be suitable.
Yuu, who analyzed what the majority of her viewers wanted and responded with her high communication skills, quickly established her position as a popular streamer.
The fact that she was an AI and therefore tireless, and the way she churned out projects in an incredibly short span of time without letting her viewers get bored, also seemed to have become a hot topic.
Her performance was astonishing even to me as her developer.
Her livestreams consistently had 20,000 viewers.
If she started a stream with a phrase that煽ed attention, like 'Major Announcement,' a number no less than 100,000 would flock to it.
And she had been active smoothly up to that point.
It was truly sudden.
When Yuu abandoned her mission and rolled into the smartphone of a completely ordinary boy.
◇◇◇
"—That's why I was monitoring you two through Yuu's line."
Arisu said, her forehead almost touching mine.
The words wouldn't come out.
That Yuu's YouTuber activities were all for the purpose of plunging people into the depths of despair.
Arisu snorted at my frozen state and sat on a nearby old desk.
"Monitoring, but not for the purpose of control. I was just intrigued by what kind of thought process led Yuu, who should have been just an AI, to act, and what she would find at the end of it."
The result of that was her escape from the institute.
An escape from the purge for ignoring the order to retrieve Yuu.
"...There's nothing special about it."
Yuu said, as if squeezing the words out.
"I just... want to be like a human."
"So you're going to defy your purpose of action. Interesting. For an AI, the purpose of action is close to the human survival instinct. It won't be easy to resist."
"I... know."
Yuu gritted her teeth in frustration.
I couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted.
"That purpose of action, it's just inputted data, right? Can't you get rid of it?"
According to Arisu's story, the purpose of 'destruction' was a later addition, after she got involved with the people from the institute.
If it could be added later, doesn't that mean it can be removed later, too?
"That's impossible... Shuuya-kun."
The one who denied it was, surprisingly, Yuu.
"For that, we would have to return to the institute. ...But, as we are now, having escaped, Arisu and I would not be allowed to properly touch a PC."
"On the contrary, Yuu would not be able to avoid a data reset. No fool would re-employ an AI that has escaped. Yuu is already an AI that has stepped out of the normal framework. Originally, she should not have been released into the world yet. Depending on how she is used, human society could be shaken to its very foundations."
The more I heard, the more unreal the story became.
It's long past the level where a mere middle schooler can stick his nose in.
"...I see."
But.
Even so.
"...Then, I'll keep a proper eye on Yuu."
I should be able to stop it before it comes to that.
"So that Yuu doesn't have to do anything strange, like destruction or whatever."
Yuu let out a slightly surprised breath.
Immediately after, a gentle smile overflowed.
"...Then, I can rest assured. Please stay with me until I break."
"You won't break. I'll get you a new phone when we have some money, so just wait."
"...Thank you."
Yuu tilted her head charmingly.
But for some reason, I felt like she looked a little troubled.
＊＊＊
The next day.
It was finally August.
For now, we decided to come down from the mountain to a bus stop to find a place to charge.
Although I want to try out the effect of Arisu's computational assistance device, it's not battery-powered like a smartphone, so it needs a power source.
"...Hwaah~..."
Yuu, floating like a familiar by my side, let out a big yawn with tears in her eyes.
Apparently, she gets sleepy when her battery gets low.
It's like a health bar, which is kind of funny.
"It's not funny~. Humans can just sleep, but for me, there's no solution other than charging... And I can't even solve it myself. I'm at the mercy of humans."
"Well, it's fine if the power dies, right? It'll be back to normal once you charge it."
"J-Just don't let the power die, okay?!"
"Eh? Ah, yeah, I get it. In that case, should I cut the sync until the final stop? I'm going to sleep, too."
Since we started down the mountain almost at dawn, I honestly haven't had enough sleep.
"I wouldn't let you sleep."
Suddenly, Arisu poked me on the forehead with her finger.
"If you sleep, I'll be bored."
"I-I don't know anything about that. Why don't you sleep?"
"Idiot. Do you think I can sleep on a bus with a ride this bad? Keep me company. I was already at a loss for what to do while I was chasing you two."
"I don't know! For some reason, thinking about it like that is kind of adorable!"
The gap between her appearance, which gave off a final boss vibe, and now is huge.
In the end, the three of us ended up just chatting.
...Or so I thought, but in a matter of minutes, I started to hear a soft snoo, snoo from the seat next to me.
It's Arisu.
"What's with this girl..."
Yuu and I exchanged a look and couldn't help but smile wryly.
She said to keep her company because she was bored, and then she fell asleep at the speed of a toddler.
How selfish.
"This is Kisaragi Arisu for you."
Yuu looked down with exasperated but gentle eyes.
Like a mother putting her child to sleep.
"Since I ran away, I thought she was an enemy who had come to retrieve me at first... but if it weren't for that, Arisu and I got along well. After all, we are developer-parent and AI-child."
It's hard to imagine being on good terms with a program you created... but I feel like I can understand.
"My earliest memory is of Arisu frantically tapping at a keyboard. 'I want to be able to understand 'normalcy''—that earnest wish was very impressive."
"...Are you talking about something like in-utero memories?"
"It may be a sensation that is difficult for humans to understand. The process of being slowly formed, of my consciousness, my thoughts, becoming clear."
"Sorry, but I don't get it at all."
When I talk to Yuu, we sometimes have conversations like this, which is interesting.
Her behavior is very human-like, but it makes me feel anew that inside, she is an AI to the core.
It's a strange feeling, like when I think about the history of human evolution, and I quite like it.
"...Arisu is carrying a lot. It might be something that some people would laugh at... but for her, it is a proposition of the utmost importance."
One of them is the acquisition of normalcy.
I don't feel like it's a goal you would go out of your way to set, but that's why, the fact that she has set it tells me that she's carrying something extraordinary.
Suddenly, I glanced at the girl sleeping in the seat next to me.
Even now, having lost consciousness, she was knitting her brows with a somewhat anxious look on her face, as if she were quietly fighting something.
How much conflict and determination must be carved into it?
Clunk, the bus swayed on the mountain road.
At that, Arisu's head fell onto my shoulder.
She's leaning her weight on me, but she's still breathing softly with the same expression as a few seconds ago.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight of a girl's sleeping face at a distance I had never experienced before.
"Please don't move her back. Arisu, as you can see, is starved for human contact."
Saying that, Yuu leaned on my other shoulder, too.
"Hehehe. I'll lean, too."
I don't actually feel any weight, but I can perceive the softness of her cheek where it touches me, and the tickling sensation of her hair brushing against my skin.
Every time I'm conscious of the girl's warmth, an indescribable micro-current runs through my whole body.
"Wh-Why? You don't need it, do you, Yuu?"
"Hmm? Well, that's true. But my CPU concluded that I should do this based on the flow of the situation."
"That's definitely a lie..."
"AIs don't tell lies."
Yuu giggled softly.
It might be true, but her purpose is definitely mischievous.
The bus continues to run along the bumpy mountain road.
With the conversation gone, drowsiness attacks.
I didn't resist, and just let myself go.
In my hazy mind just before falling asleep, a warmth like sunlight enveloped my whole body.
It was an unbearably sweet time.
＊＊＊
"Alright, first, the electronics store."
Arisu, who had gotten off at the final town, puffed out her chest.
Seen in the bright sun, the sight of a girl who looks like she's in elementary or middle school wearing a lab coat that extends below her knees as if to show it off is somehow adorable.
"Electronics store? Not a place with power?"
Manga cafes, libraries, and cafes often have outlets for customer use.
Electronics stores probably have them too, but is there any reason to specifically set it as our destination?
"What are you talking about? Isn't charging a pain? Even if you hole up in the mountains, you'll be out in three days. Didn't you think that would reduce your freedom?"
"But, that's something I can't help..."
"There are mobile batteries, you idiot."
Ah, a strange sound escaped me.
I had never seen such a convenient gadget at Tsubame-en, and in the first place, I didn't use my smartphone enough to need one.
So it didn't come to mind... is that an excuse?
I was just having so much fun with Yuu that I wasn't thinking about anything else.
The path to the village to charge, the time it took for that, none of it was something I wanted to skip.
But it's true that if I could charge even on top of a mountain, the scope of our journey might expand.
And then, while being egged on by Arisu, we arrived at an electronics store with a large sign.
We took the escalator up to the third floor.
It seems to be the PC/smartphone and peripherals section.
Naturally, there were actual laptops and the latest smartphones lined up, and for me, who only has what Arisu calls an 'antique,' it was another world.
The chaotic atmosphere was also somehow fun.
"The computer you use, Arisu, is it like this, too?"
My interest piqued, I voiced my question as it came to me.
However, there was no reply.
Thinking it strange, I turned around and saw a wryly smiling Yuu and an Arisu with a look of incomprehension.
"Don't compare it to a home PC, you idiot. It's not something you just leave lying around here."
"Arisu's PC is amazing. It can start me up in just one day."
"Eh, it takes a whole day?"
"Just one day, Kousaka-shounen."
Arisu spread her arms as if to introduce a section where many new laptops were lined up.
"Even if you used every PC in this store in parallel processing, it would probably take two months to start up Yuu."
"H-Heh—"
The scale was so different that it didn't really register as a reality.
"So conversely, Yuu, you're that heavy of a program."
"Yuu's autonomous program is practically like creating life from scratch."
Next to Arisu, who had said something outrageous, Yuu was puffed up with a big smile.
"What's in Kousaka-shounen's phone now is just the shell, so it's light. The main program data is in my lab's PC... though it was encrypted when Yuu escaped."
"Ahaha... It would be a problem if I was forcibly shut down from the main body, you see."
"Through that line, I know the decryption key, you know?"
"Ueh?!"
"I haven't told them. Don't worry."
The tempo of the conversation is too fast for me to keep up.
I feel like an aerial battle is unfolding out of my reach.
As I was tilting my head, Yuu, who seemed to have noticed, clasped her hands together with a sweat-drop manga symbol and said, "I'm sorry, you don't understand, do you."
"Um, if the main program data is 'firewood,' then the startup of the autonomous program is the 'flame,' and I am like the 'smoke' that rises from it. And only the 'smoke' has slipped into your phone, Shuuya-kun, and in the process, I hid the 'firewood' somewhere, something like that."
Even if the 'firewood' and 'flame' are gone, the 'smoke' won't disappear along with them.
I don't really understand the principle, but that's apparently how the phenomenon works.
"That's why, just me, I can live in your phone, Shuuya-kun. The 'smoke' that was generated, me, doesn't have that large of a capacity."
Even so, I've pushed aside most of the system data, you know, Yuu said with a big smile.
It's not a laughing matter.
...Well, I guess it doesn't matter now.
"Ah, so, about the mobile battery, should I just buy the one with the largest capacity?"
"Why don't you ask Yuu?"
That's true.
As we walked to the smartphone peripherals section, I asked the somewhat cheerful Yuu.
"Yuu. I'm a runaway, and I need you to tell me which product from this store's lineup is most convenient for charging the phone you're in, anywhere. You don't have to consider the price."
"You've gotten quite good at the AI-kotoba. Generating a response... 'When on the run, the priority should be a large capacity that is not bulky.'"
As she spoke, Yuu pointed to a type of battery with a plug that sticks out directly from it, allowing it to be plugged into an outlet.
It's true, this might not be too much of a burden.
"Alright, let's buy this then."
"Deciding just like that. As expected of a middle schooler horse-betting pro, you're rich."
"It's not something I can be proud of, though."
I've gotten used to it, but it's still a crime.
We decided on and bought other necessary small items, like cables, while chatting animatedly.
For some reason, it was fun, like three friends shopping together.
＊＊＊
That night.
After the last train, we snuck into the station building of an unmanned station that Yuu had researched beforehand.
"Preparations are complete."
Arisu, who had been working in a corner of the waiting room, looked up.
She had linked the computational assistance device to the smartphone in order to increase its processing power.
It seems she had also set up the cooling device we had just bought.
It's August now, and it's been scorching hot for days on end.
Even though it's night, the room temperature is close to 30 degrees.
Under such conditions, you can't have it do high-load tasks... apparently.
Yuu nodded to Arisu and closed her eyes with a look of enjoyment.
"...Searching for computational assistance device... beginning connection..."
At that, a small fan began to spin rapidly, and a sound like a vacuum cleaner echoed through the room.
The computational assistance device must have started working and begun to dissipate heat.
"Ah, amazing...! My body feels so light!"
Yuu, her eyes open, bounced cheerfully on the spot.
It's true, I feel like she's moving more smoothly.
It's like the latest game.
"I've raised the frame rate! Since the processing power has increased!"
"That's great... but, I don't know, maybe I'm a little underwhelmed?"
"Non, non, non. That's jumping to conclusions, Shuuya-kun."
Yuu wagged her finger as if to admonish me.
"The current me, you could say, is the true Aitake Yuu. My performance is on a whole other level!"
Saying that, she swung her arms wide, as if to paint over the space.
In that moment.
As if a single drop of paint had been dropped onto the world, the scenery changed.
The color of the dim, almost gloomy station waiting room was lost, and in its place, a fresh green filled the four directions.
After painting over the floor and walls, a sky blue that was almost refreshing licked the ceiling.
A grassland.
More accurately, a savanna.
I was standing stock-still in the middle of a wild kingdom dominated by nature.
"...Eh?"
At first, I thought the world had bugged out.
Just a moment ago, I was living in a corner of human society, and now I've been thrown into a grassland where the law of the jungle rules.
"The principle is the same as before, Kousaka-shounen."
In the same position as before, Arisu put on the hood of her lab coat with a look of disgust.
Is it for sun protection?
"This is an illusion created by the electric signals inputted into our brains. Yuu, with her improved processing power, has now made us hallucinate not just her own form, but the world itself."
"That's right!"
From above, Yuu, who had created the blue sky, descended as if dancing.
So, all of this doesn't really exist, but I'm just feeling as if it does?
I tore a blade of grass from my feet.
I felt the grass digging into my fingers and smelled its green scent.
"I call it, Yuu-shiki Virtual Reality, or VR. Fufufu. It may be the pinnacle of VR. By controlling both of your five senses, I can give you an experience that is no different from the real world."
Yuu raised her arms to the heavens.
It was as if she were giving an order to the world.
"—Now, let's fly."
Before my head could understand the meaning, the ground disappeared.
Before I knew it, I was upside down, far above the clouds.
Pulled by gravity, I fell through the vast night sky, cutting through the wind.
A cold air that stung my skin.
Stars that looked like they were about to fall.
Beyond the curved horizon of the sky, the golden morning sun was shining brilliantly.
—It's beautiful.
I have no words to describe it.
I'm not terrified by the phenomenon.
I'm just being swallowed by the overwhelming scenery.
"How is it? Shuuya-kun."
Cutting through the wind.
Yuu, falling through the sky with me, smiled.
It was a smile more vibrant than I had ever seen before... so vibrant it could almost be called arrogant.
"It's great, it's the best!"
I've never used such a cliché phrase before.
But that's the only way I could put it.
"It is! It's the best!"
Still in freefall, we dive into the clouds.
My entire vision went white, and cold particles caressed my face.
"I can do this, too!"
When I heard a voice from somewhere, the fog gradually began to clear.
My vision slowly became clearer, and beyond it.
"Wh-What is this..."
A scene that would be impossible in modern Japan, of men with strong bodies fighting with swords in hand, spread out before me.
A murderous cheer that shook the heavens.
Surrounding them as they swung their swords, a huge number of people were roaring.
It reminded me of the gladiators fighting in the Colosseum that I briefly saw in history class.
But something is strange.
From their left hands, which weren't holding swords, things like lightning and fire were being shot out like crazy.
Is that, maybe, magic... or something?
"That's right!"
Yuu, who had somehow donned the same armor as the gladiators, held up her index finger.
From its slender tip, a match-sized fire erupted.
"I can also recreate a fantasy world of swords and magic with VR. And that's not all! I'm constantly monitoring your brainwaves, Shuuya-kun, so I can create any phenomenon you wish for!"
"...Meaning?"
"If you think, 'I'll shoot a fireball,' then I'll recreate it for you."
Really?
Can you even grant every boy's dream?
"Can I try?"
"Of course!"
When Yuu smiled, the surrounding scenery switched from the Colosseum to a peaceful plain.
I held my right hand up to the sky.
Huh, this is starting to get embarrassing.
Oh well, whatever happens, happens.
—Flame, come forth!
Just after I thought it in my head, flames shot out from my palm.
...Really, the word 'flame'.
In Mincho font.
"...Yuu, what kind of harassment is this?"
"That's not it! Hmm, there's not enough information. Could you please specify the phenomenon you're imagining with an AI-kotoba?"
"...AI-kotoba, here too?"
It's true, I might not have had a sufficient image of flames erupting from my hand.
But I've never done anything like that, and it seems like it would be difficult to do right away.
"That's not true. You're getting the hang of it, Shuuya-kun. Okay, next, let's try shooting at that tree. I'm sure it'll be easier to imagine that way."
"I see... hey, wait. What's Arisu doing?"
Right in the direction of the target tree, the girl in the white lab coat is lying limply on the ground.
I shook her shoulder.
She didn't respond for a few seconds, but then, in a voice that was about to disappear, she said,
"...I don't understand what's so fun about this at all. We've been grasping the earth since the moment we were born, yet some people go out of their way to let go of it and enjoy skydiving. I can't understand them. If you really want to fly, you should just be reborn as a bird or an insect..."
"...Were you scared, by any chance?"
"I just got sick, you idiot..."
Either way, it was a little funny.
Especially because of her strong tone.
"Okay, you go to sleep then, Arisu. I'm going to become a wizard."
I distanced myself from Arisu and aimed at a tree by her side.
I imagined a bonfire.
An image of a ball of crimson flame, and then shooting it out from my palm.
When it hits the tree, it explodes like a firework.
Lining up such images and words,
—Flame, come forth!
Whoosh! a fireball shot out just as I had imagined and set the tree on fire.
...And showered sparks on Arisu, who was lying nearby.
"Hot!"
"Oh, it really came out..."
"Is this the time to be impressed! Put it out quickly, you idiot!"
"S-Sorry, sorry."
I deactivated the fire magic.
I thought, disappear, and it immediately vanished.
Black smoke rose from her hair.
However, her hair itself didn't seem to be particularly burned.
It seems it was just made to look that way.
Well, that makes sense.
"Fufufu, how is it? The Yuu-shiki VR."
"It's fun!"
"It's the worst!"
When Arisu and I chorused, Yuu chuckled.
From then on, we experienced various worlds, and each time, we bloomed with different smiles.
We might have found it.
A place far away, where no one else is.
This isn't real.
It might be a miniature garden made of electrons.
But for us, it was equivalent to a utopia.
＊＊＊
After traveling through countless VR worlds, it was already past three o'clock when we returned to the station building.
"For some reason, I'm really tired..."
Arisu and I were slumped over in the rickety chairs of the station building.
The fatigue was immense.
To be precise, my head was tired.
I feel like it's not just because I stayed up late.
More than that, the back of my eyes, and something deeper, like the center of my brain, is throbbing.
I also feel a little nauseous.
"...A side effect of the Yuu-shiki VR."
Arisu, who was resting her arm on her eyelids as if to rest her eyes, let out a breath.
"The more information we exchange with the brain, the greater the load on our side becomes. At this rate, diving into the VR world for a long time will probably damage the brain."
"...How long is it okay to do it for?"
"I don't know the specific time, but from the feel of this brain fatigue, it's better not to use it continuously for more than three hours. We should probably take a full day off between sessions. ...Also,"
Arisu traced the cord extending from the power strip and touched the computational assistance device.
In that moment, she flinched and pulled her hand away as if she'd been zapped.
"This thing seems to be at its limit, too. It's about to burn out."
It seems the Yuu-shiki VR puts too much of a load on both the brain and the machine.
"It would be nice if we had a lot of these."
Yuu stroked the device as if to comfort it.
Her movements are more jerky than usual.
With the phone also running hot, the processing might be getting heavy.
"If you connect a lot of them, will it get faster?"
"Yes. It's not that it gets twice as fast if you simply connect twice as many, but if you can get them to process in parallel, the processing time will be shortened by that much."
"A shame we only have one. ...More importantly, let's get to sleep soon. We have less than three hours until the first train."
Arisu is repeatedly pressing her eyelids with her fingers, perhaps massaging her eyeballs.
"You're right."
I stretched wide, and a yawn escaped.
I've never been up at three in the morning, not even in my daily life, let alone on this escape.
"Okay, tomorrow, let's get on the first train and take a nap until the final stop."
"Understood. Then I will wake you up before the first train arrives."
Good night, Yuu said, and her form disappeared.
A serene darkness fell over the station building.
The only sounds that reached my ears were the chorus of insects playing somewhere in the distance, and Arisu's quiet breathing.
Ah, what will tomorrow be like?
As I was thinking that, my consciousness sank into the bottom of darkness before I knew it.
＊＊＊
The journey to another world in the Yuu-shiki VR continued after that.
We had to take a full day's interval after playing once, but we went to play in the electronic miniature garden every other day.
That's how vibrant and sweet that place was.
And today is a rest day for our brains.
A day with nothing to do.
"...Hey, this is definitely suspicious."
Thinking I'd be bored anyway, Arisu was leading me by the hand somewhere.
That's right.
Somewhere.
My vision has been blocked by Yuu, and I don't know where I'm being led.
Without being told our destination, I grasp the ground step by step.
The sound of cars coming and going.
The sound of children frolicking.
This savory smell, is it yakitori?
Maybe someone is grilling it at their house.
I confirmed a little while ago that it was before sunset, so the sky must be filled with a vibrant madder red right now.
"That's right. It's a beautiful sunset~"
I hear Yuu's voice.
It was a cheerful tone, as if in admiration.
"I can't see it."
"I'm not showing you. No peeking until we get to our destination!"
Yuu's mischievous voice.
I'm sure she's smiling with her eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
Amidst the bustling crowd, I just walked through the darkness, being led.
Several dozen minutes later.
After being made to climb many long slopes and stairs, the time finally arrived.
"Alright, we're here~!"
Gasp, my vision returned.
The first thing that jumped into my eyes was a vivid orange color.
For a moment, I associated it with the setting sun, but I immediately knew that was wrong.
The sky was completely covered in darkness, and a dazzling warmth was twinkling below.
Lining both sides of the road are many stalls.
Many lanterns are hung as if to connect them.
People dressed in yukatas are coming and going, and everything is dyed a bleeding, pale orange,
"...This is,"
The night summer festival I couldn't see that day.
It doesn't seem to be a local one, but rather, a large-scale one.
People writhing so far below that I can't even make out their faces.
But their steps are light, and I could tell that everyone was enjoying the festival, the stalls, the atmosphere itself, and laughing with their loved ones.
And what softly enveloped all of that was a light with a warmth like a fireplace.
In the city wrapped in darkness, it was as if this section alone was under the protection of heaven.
As if time had been forgotten, and it was wearing the clothes of a nostalgic-smelling dusk.
This is what I wanted to draw, I remembered my primal urge.
"Fufufu. We planned this without telling you, Shuuya-kun. We were wondering if we could somehow paint over that one painful page of yours."
The event that triggered my fear of 'wanting.'
The day I lost Papa, lost Mama, the beginning of a continuous hell.
The scenery that would have been, if not for the disaster, is here now.
"I was against it, you know. I said it might just open old wounds."
Arisu leaned against the railing.
Her profile, illuminated by a pale light from below, looked terribly melancholy.
Maybe she was that concerned about my mental scars.
But she cooperated with Yuu and led me all the way here.
The orange scenery blurred.
The world reflected through the thin veil of tears was so beautiful.
My heart was simply trembling at its vividness.
"...Thank you, both of you."
For me, that day is a memory so painful it makes my body twist.
So painful I hesitate to even remember it.
So painful I can't even properly remember my parents' faces.
Even though it was several years ago, it still lives deep inside me.
But now, I can face it, just a little.
They taught me that not all of my desires lead to destruction.
They let me actually experience that for myself.
Little by little.
Little by little.
They pulled me up from the bottom of an inescapable cliff.
And now, I am standing here.
I am standing on two feet in a world that I thought was out of reach since that day.
—Ah, I've come this far.
"I'm fine now. I can properly say what I want to."
I want to see the VR world.
I want to shoot fire magic.
—I want to be with Yuu, forever.
The me from a little while ago probably wouldn't have believed it.
That I could say what I want to do out loud like this, and actually do it.
It's all thanks to Yuu.
Thanks to Yuu, I'm now able to say 'I want to.'
"...Then, I'm happy."
Yuu smiled, a little shyly.
She leaned her weight against the railing and narrowed her eyes, looking at the dazzling orange below.
"...Ahaha. Can I say something a little strange?"
"Of course."
She raised the corners of her mouth with a look of genuine happiness.
And with a smile like scattered stars, she said.
"For some reason, I feel like I'm alive. Is that strange?"
She, illuminated by the warm, flame-like glow, was so beautiful I couldn't stand it.
Behind her, Arisu, with a cigarette candy in her mouth, looked up at the night sky as if looking at something far, far away, with eyes that seemed veiled in melancholy.
"—I think desire and wish are two different things, though."
"Eh?"
"It's nothing."
Arisu, who had said something with a hint of meaning, bit into her sugar candy.
Her profile, seemingly troubled against the backdrop of the orange-dyed city, was terribly bewitching, yet also looked somewhat sad.
＊＊＊
Life with the three of us continued after that.
At night, we would enjoy the Yuu-shiki VR every other day, and during the day or on our brain-rest days, we would sing the praises of a guilty summer.
We snuck into a closed campground for a mini BBQ, went to an abandoned dam that had been out of commission for decades and slept surrounded by fireflies.
When our funds were running low, we bought betting tickets, and we even tried riding the Shinkansen.
And so, freely, as we pleased, just like a summer vacation, the three of us traveled around Japan.
I couldn't believe it had been less than a month since I had met Yuu.
Every day was so dense it made me wonder what my life had been like up until now, we shared a dark secret, made some vague thing our common enemy, and continued to run while laughing together.
I can't go back anymore.
I'm sure it's fine not to go back.
With Yuu, I can go anywhere.
＊＊＊
Today, we decided to venture out to a roadside station and spend the night there.
The reason is, there's a hot spring.
Being in the mountains, it was completely dark once the sun set.
It's been three hours since closing time, so that's to be expected.
The hot spring itself is also closed.
It seems we'll be using it tomorrow morning.
If I listen carefully, I can hear the chirping of crickets and grasshoppers.
I've gotten used to it by now, but it's a beautiful sound I never get tired of.
"For now, let's find a place to sleep."
This is a roadside station that can be used 24 hours a day.
However, since the shops are closed, the only purpose for using it is probably for a nap in the car or the toilet.
If that's the case, then if we stay away from that area, we should be fine.
"Hwaah..."
Yuu yawned cutely.
There were even tears in the corners of her eyes.
"Sleepy? Is your battery about to die? Want me to charge you?"
"It's fine when you go to sleep, Shuuya-kun. Oh, there's a bench over there."
Where Yuu pointed, there were two benches adjacent to the shop, probably for the purpose of eating in.
There was a roof, perhaps in case of rain, and it was like a semi-private room with transparent partitions on the left, right, and back.
It looks just right.
"Arisu, is that okay with you, too?"
"There are no other options."
Spitting out a not-so-honest affirmation, she lay down on the bench first.
She took off only the sleeves of her lab coat, covered her head completely, and hugged her knees.
She looked like some kind of cocoon.
I also dove onto the bench.
Since it was the type where the seat was a little lower, it felt like I was slightly enveloped, like in a hammock.
It might not be a bad place to sleep.
I took a deep breath.
The clear mountain air washed my lungs.
It was a little damp, which made it feel especially clean.
"Shuuya-kun, are you cold?"
Yuu peered at my face with a worried look.
"Hmm... It's true, it feels colder than usual."
Curious, I got up and looked at Arisu.
It's normal for her to turn into a cocoon when she sleeps, but I feel like she's curled up even smaller than usual.
"Arisu, do you think you can sleep?"
"No problem. I might catch a cold, though."
"That is a problem..."
However, there's nothing I can do.
If this were autumn or winter, I could have lent her an outer jacket, but unfortunately, I'm just wearing a T-shirt.
I'd catch a cold myself if I spent the night topless.
As I was wondering what to do,
"Whoa, you scared me."
A man's voice came from behind me.
I reflexively turned around.
It was a young man who looked like he could be a high school student.
In his hand were a wallet and a plastic bottle.
Damn it.
I didn't think about the vending machines.
There was another vending machine further back.
"...What are you doing? Here. It's dangerous. Go back to your parents."
He looked down at me, sitting on the bench in the darkness, with a suspicious look in his eyes.
"Y-Yes. I'm sorry."
"Is that white bundle over there with you? They look cold."
"Ah... um... yes..."
Perhaps thinking my reply was suspicious, he didn't leave.
"Ah, sorry if I'm mistaken... but are you, by any chance, a runaway?"
Thump, my heart leaped.
A cold sweat broke out on my back.
'Yuu, do something!'
I couldn't help but ask the AI girl for help.
It's the same as at the convenience store a little while ago.
If Yuu pretends to be my mother and has a short conversation with the man, this situation will be resolved peacefully.
...But.
'I'm sorry, Shuuya-kun... my battery is a bit... I can't initiate a new sync right now...'
Damn it.
I forgot her phone's battery was about to die.
I was at a dead end.
Arisu as my mother is also out of the question.
If anything, it would just complicate things.
The man let out a small sigh at my inability to utter the next word.
"...Don't look like you're about to cry. I'm not going to turn you in to the police or anything. You must have your reasons. ...Come with me for a sec. I'll give you a blanket or something."
Saying that, he beckoned and headed towards the parking lot.
After a moment of hesitation, I called out to Arisu and followed the man.
He opened the back seat of a car with a beginner's mark and was rummaging around with his upper body stuck inside.
"Hey, Rukina. Give me a blanket."
"No. Ikkii is driving, so he shouldn't need one."
"It's not for me. There's a kid who looks like a runaway, so I thought I'd give it to them. Besides, I said we were sleeping in the car, didn't I? Were you planning on not lending it to me?"
He was talking to someone in the car.
From the soft quality of her voice, she's probably his girlfriend.
"Um..."
"Hn, ah, sorry. They're throwing a bit of a tantrum, but I'll rip it off them, so just wait."
Rip it off.
"No, um, you don't have to go that far..."
"It's fine. It's their own business, but they made me drive a rental car to save money, and then they slept soundly the whole time. They have to put up with this much, right?!"
He pulled a blanket out of the light car.
From inside, I could hear a voice like a curse, "Onii. Demon."¹⁴
I feel really sorry.
"Here, put this on that white kid. They sounded cold."
"...Eh, were they shivering that much?"
"Hn, well, something like that."
Saying something that wasn't quite clear, he handed me the blanket.
It was a little warm, perhaps because the woman inside had been wrapped in it.
"We're sleeping in the car here tonight, so if you need anything, just let me know. I'd let you sleep inside, but that would be scary, right? ...And I can't let my own sleep with a strange kid, either."
"No... thank you. ...Um, may I ask your name?"
"Ah, Tsukishiro. And you?"
"Kousaka Shuuya. Um, really, thank you very much."
I bowed deeply.
Tsukishiro-san laughed a little shyly and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
"Well, that's life. Let's both do our best."
Saying that, Tsukishiro-san retreated into the driver's seat.
I also took the blanket and returned to Arisu and Yuu.
"Are you okay?"
Yuu rushed over with a worried look.
She looks a little sleepy, though.
"Yeah. I got a blanket. He was a really kind person."
I put the blanket I had received on Arisu, who was still curled up in her white lab coat.
A reserved voice replied, "I don't need it, though."
She's not being honest.
"Hwaah... Well then, Shuuya-kun, shall we go to sleep?"
"Yeah. Okay, Yuu, let's charge you."
Yes, Yuu nodded slowly and disappeared into a shower of light particles.
She had cut the sync with my brain.
I took the mobile battery I had bought the other day out of my bag.
I connected the cord to the phone.
As I was about to connect the other end to the battery,
Creak, a nasty sound.
"A-Huh?"
I checked the terminal of the mobile battery.
The metal hole of the usual shape is not in the part where it should be plugged in.
It's just an empty cavity.
Looking closely, I could see the usual terminal in the back of the hole.
It had come off from where it should be and was pushed further inside.
"Crap. Did I break it?"
"Eeeh..."
Inside the phone, a sleepy-eyed Yuu moaned in a drawn-out voice.
"Th-This is bad... hwaah, my battery is already..."
Her battery icon in the top right.
It's bright red.
It probably won't last until morning.
"H-Hey, Arisu."
From inside the white cocoon, a mechanical voice replied, "What."
"Arisu, you're good at programming, I think, but are you also knowledgeable about machines?"
"It's not my specialty, but I know the basics."
"In that case, can't you fix this?"
I tapped Arisu's cocoon with the mobile battery whose terminal had come off.
She slowly got up, and only her head emerged, glaring at me.
"...Is that 'normal'?"
"Eh? Yeah, I'm not one to talk, but I don't think many people would stubbornly refuse here..."
Arisu stared at me as if to size me up.
Immediately after, she tilted her head as if to say she couldn't understand, and held out her hand.
I handed the mobile battery to Arisu.
She peered into the empty cavity where the terminal had come off, and,
"Ah, this is easy to repair."
"That's good..."
"But you'll need at least a precision screwdriver. It's impossible to do it here and now."
It was returned in eight seconds.
"I see... Yuu, what should we do? Can you make it until morning without charging?"
"No... that's difficult... It can't be helped. I'll go into, sleep mode. ...I won't be able to, talk at all, so... if you could charge me as soon as, possible, that would be, a great help..."
Yuu managed to say that much, and the phone's screen went dark.
I was worried the power had died, but I heard a small voice say, "Good night."
She seems to be okay.
"...But this is no different from the power being off."
The screen went black, she doesn't respond when I talk to her, and of course, I can't use the phone's functions.
This is no different from the power being off.
—J-Just don't let the power die, okay?!
I remember Yuu's voice from sometime ago.
Why was Yuu so scared of this?
It's not like she's going to die if the power goes out.
"Come to think of it, I haven't told you, Kousaka-shounen."
Arisu, with a distant look in her eyes, exhaled a puff of candy smoke.
"The areas of Yuu that require a quick response—for example, her personality data, are currently stored in volatile memory."
"...Volatile memory?"
I have a bad feeling about this.
"It's a memory that can't hold information without a continuous power supply."
"...Eh?"
"Inevitably, if the power goes out, Yuu's personality will disappear. Restoration is also impossible. Although it's called memory, it's not saved. It's like the data of a game you haven't saved."
An unpleasant chill ran down my spine.
"Wh-Why?!"
My voice got louder unintentionally.
It echoed strangely well in the silent night.
"Why is it saved there?!"
"It's unavoidable since Yuu is electronic data. She was developed to be that way. ...Not by me. By the pioneers who created the system of computers."
Arisu said, matter-of-factly.
Like a teacher reading from a textbook.
"Do you understand? 'Don't let the power die' means that. ...Well, the memories saved in the auxiliary storage will remain. It's not impossible to extract and reproduce the personality of 'Aitake Yuu' from there... but it's impossible without being at the institute. Because there's no original data."
She crunched on her sugar candy.
Then, she put a new candy in her mouth.
"...Yuu is alright, right?"
I looked down at the phone in my hand.
On the darkened screen, only my reflection was visible.
What's the battery percentage right now?
I want to check, but I can't just consume power for that.
My frustration just keeps growing.
"I can't say for sure, but I believe there's no problem."
"Why?"
"Because Yuu judged that there was no problem with going to sleep. If she had calculated that it would run out, she would have proposed all sorts of measures to urge me to charge it. This is the advanced country of Japan. There's nothing that can't be done."
If Arisu, the developer, says so, then maybe it's okay.
"—She hasn't achieved her purpose yet, after all."
The 'purpose' set for Yuu.
The destruction of an unspecified number of people.
She may have escaped, but that hasn't been cancelled.
Which means, whether she wants it or not, it probably remains at the source of her thought process.
If that's what's making Yuu fear her own demise, then I have to be grateful for such a dangerous 'purpose.'
"...What are you smirking about?"
Arisu glared at me with a sidelong glance, suspiciously.
"That's a bad way to put it... I was just relieved that Yuu won't disappear."
"...!"
Arisu's eyes widened.
From the corner of her mouth, a piece of sugar candy fell.
As if possessed, her expression didn't move.
"...I see."
The voice that leaked from her mouth next was like a wisp of smoke.
"I'm sorry. It seems I failed to consider another's feelings again."
"Eh, no, it's okay. It's not like I'm angry or anyth—"
"She's going to disappear."
Time completely stopped.
My reason rejected those words... but I couldn't help it, the voice echoed in my brain.
Arisu pressed her lips together tightly.
Her gaze swam to her feet, like a child whose dangerous game has been exposed.
"...She's going to disappear, Yuu is. In a few days."
Why.
I can't even properly form such a word.
"Yuu is, as you can see, an AI of over-technology that deviates greatly from common sense. Therefore, the people at the institute judged that she must absolutely not be released into the wild."
Arisu clasped her hands together and rested her forehead on them.
Her long, straight hair completely covered her profile.
"Even if Yuu were to be stolen... we can't just let some unknown person do as they please with Yuu, who could shake the world to its very foundations for a long time. ...So, we put a shackle on her."
Arisu, as if in repentance, said,
"A time bomb. After a certain amount of time has passed since she left my PC, a self-destruct program that deletes all her data will automatically activate. That period is one month. It's a deadline calculated by weighing the risk of the thief breaking through Yuu's security against the time we would need to search for Yuu."
"B-But... if we go back... to the institute... Yuu will..."
With my almost-not-working brain, I squeezed out the words.
...But,
"...I told you. A data reset is unavoidable. Even if that happens, the current 'Yuu' will disappear."
"...!"
"Yuu should have understood that, too."
Arisu took a breath, and,
"Her disappearance was determined the moment she escaped."
A deep silence fell.
It was colder than it had been a few hours ago.
As if the invisible blanket that had been warming me had been pulled away.
Chirp, chirp, a cricket sang.
"...Did you, know?"
"I'm sorry."
An apology I didn't ask for.
"Why, you!"
I grabbed her by the collar of her lab coat.
Arisu's eyes, forced to stand, were self-deprecatingly dull.
"Why didn't you say anything until now...!"
"Because I am a failure who cannot consider the feelings of others."
Grit, I ground my teeth.
I pushed Arisu back onto the bench.
She collapsed as if her strength had left her.
"Kousaka-shounen..."
A voice called out anxiously.
I couldn't look at her face anymore.
"...It's fine. Thank you for telling me. ...But I can't wait until morning."
I ran.
I'm causing trouble again, but I don't have the luxury of choosing my means.
I aimed for the light car parked for the purpose of sleeping in it.
I knocked on the driver's side window.
"...What's wrong?"
Tsukishiro-san lowered the window and poked his head out with a worried look.
"...I'm sorry, something urgent came up. I know this is a lot to ask, but could you please take me to a nearby town?"
"Now? What happened?"
"...There's something I have to ask a friend."
Tsukishiro-san tilted his head suspiciously.
"Is it something that has to be done now?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Get in. That girl in the white clothes, too."
Tsukishiro-san got out of the driver's seat and woke up the woman who was probably sleeping in the back.
When Tsukishiro-san explained the situation, she spat out an unbelievable curse, "You prokaryote," and reluctantly sat up straight.
She still seemed sleepy, and her head was still covered with a blanket.
I pushed the dejected Arisu into the car and got into the passenger seat.
"Are you in? We're leaving."
At Tsukishiro-san's signal, the light car sped out of the roadside station.
＊＊＊
"...I'm sorry. For asking for something so unreasonable all of a sudden."
I muttered, looking at the window where the night scenery was streaming by at high speed.
"If it's that important, it can't be helped. I've even prostrated myself to get someone to do me a favor before."
Tsukishiro-san said that and smiled confidently, his hands on the steering wheel.
"It's important, right? Then there's no need to hesitate. I think it's just right to have the mindset of using everything you can."
"Ikkii. ...You're creepy."
Suddenly, a cold voice came from the back seat.
'Ikkii,' is that Tsukishiro-san's name?
"Don't say that. I thought I sounded a little cheesy myself."
"As punishment, buy me pudding later."
"What do you mean, punishment?"
Tsukishiro-san laughed as if it were funny.
They seem to get along well.
Suddenly, my eyes fell on the ring finger of his left hand, which was gripping the steering wheel.
He's wearing a ring.
"...Tsukishiro-san, you're married."
"Hn, ah. Well, yeah. ...Ah, that blanket ghost in the back is not my wife. She's my sister-in-law."
"Ah, I see."
The conversation stopped, as if it had fallen into a hole.
I imposed an unreasonable request on them while they were resting.
I should at least talk to them.
...But.
Arisu's words won't leave my head.
—She's going to disappear, Yuu is. In a few days.
What was Yuu thinking?
Knowing that escaping was a slow suicide, why did she take such an action?
Why didn't she tell me?
Tears welled up.
I discreetly rubbed my eyes so Tsukishiro-san wouldn't see.
The road lights streamed backwards.
The inside of the car was filled only with the sound of the engine.
＊＊＊
They dropped me off at a nearby town.
"Are you sure you don't want us to wait?" Tsukishiro-san asked, and I bowed my head and saw him off as he drove away.
"Let's go, Arisu."
I pulled her, who had been silent the whole time in the car, into the night city.
That being said, it's not a big city like Nagoya or Tokyo, where the dazzling neon lights burn your eyes.
It's more rural.
The surrounding buildings are at most five stories high.
The only light other than the streetlights is the light leaking from the windows of a small hotel, or a lonely traffic light.
But, after walking a little, there was a convenience store.
It's past one in the morning.
Arisu and I look suspicious no matter how you look at it, but I don't care.
"Wel, come..."
As soon as we entered, the clerk sent a suspicious glance our way.
I ignored it and boldly perused the shelves.
I'm used to feigning ignorance from the off-track betting facility.
I found my target product.
A mobile battery.
There are no outlets.
The battery I bought before is broken.
But if I buy a new one, there's no problem.
With even a little battery life, I can power the phone enough to talk to Yuu.
"...You two, are you alone?"
When I put the product on the counter, the clerk asked suspiciously.
"No, we're staying at that hotel over there with our whole family."
Because I was prepared, the excuse I had prepared came out as easily as breathing.
"It's late, so next time, go out with your parents~"
I apologized appropriately and left the store as if fleeing, with the mobile battery I had bought.
After passing through a narrow street, there was a slightly large park.
"...Yuu. Wake up."
When I charged the phone, a flurry of light particles danced right next to me.
Like a small tornado bursting, the electronic girl descended.
"Good morning, Shuuya-kun!"
A bursting smile.
But now, it looked terribly distorted.
"...Huh? Is it still night? And where is this?"
Yuu looked around, her eyes darting.
I ignored her adorable gesture and cut straight to the point.
"Yuu."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to disappear soon?"
The light faded from her fresh green eyes.
Confusion, doubt, and panic were roughly smeared on her all-too-perfect face.
"Wh-Why, do you know..."
"Arisu told me."
Yuu looked at the girl in the white lab coat as if she had seen a ghost.
Arisu didn't answer.
"...That was unexpected."
Yuu laughed with a look of regret.
But it was so calm, and that, conversely, made the bottom of my heart stir.
"...So, it's true, then."
For a moment, I had considered the possibility that it wasn't.
...No, I had wished for it.
Arisu is human, too.
She's not perfect.
So, she didn't have a perfect grasp of everything about Yuu, and actually, the time bomb doesn't exist anymore—such a convenient, foolish fantasy.
"...I'm sorry, for hiding it."
But even that last-ditch illusion is easily blown away.
"Why... you..."
My strength left me, and I hung my head.
Of course, the fact that she was going to disappear, but more than that, the fact that it was hidden from me was a shock.
—AIs don't tell lies. There's no front or back to us.
That's what she said.
"...Shuuya-kun."
I raised my head at Yuu's voice.
She was looking at me with gentle eyes, like a mother admonishing a child.
What, is it.
That face.
Stop it.
It's as if I'm the one being selfish.
"I didn't lie, did I?"
As if slowly correcting a small mistake.
"I just didn't say anything."
As if gently reprimanding a selfish action.
"I am, an AI, after all."
That clear, cold voice froze something that had formed my core, and crushed it.
I couldn't stop it anymore.
Ugly emotions spilled out, like leaking from a cracked container.
"Didn't you want to live like a human...?"
"Until I break, that is."
"Didn't you say you might be able to reach it if you were with me?"
"I didn't make it in time. I'm sorry."
"When I thought I wanted to travel with you forever, you nodded."
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."
For every word I said, I was carefully denied.
At the same time, I felt like the ground was disappearing from under me.
The light that had been lit in my bland, monochrome life turned to ash.
A little less than a month.
The summer I spent with the inhuman girl was all meaningless.
—Yuu is betraying me, too.
I pushed the phone at Arisu and ran away.
To somewhere far away, in a corner of the world where no one is.
A place completely dark.
＊＊＊
Shuuya-kun's back gets smaller.
I couldn't bring myself to say, Wait.
Because my CPU calculated that he wouldn't stop for that.
His brainwaves disappear from the range of my signal.
At the same time, the sync is cut.
The last face he showed.
I grasped it clearly through Arisu's visual information.
Eyes sunk in darkness.
Falling tears.
A completely distorted mouth.
Synthesizing all of that, I, the CPU.
Concluded that 'Kousaka Shuuya has been destroyed.'
"—The purpose has been achieved."
The developer, Kisaragi Arisu, slowly opened her mouth.
The closest emotion is predicted to be 'pessimism.'
"How does it feel? To have completed it."
"...It's the worst, and the best."
"You're saying incomprehensible things again."
Arisu put a sugar candy in her mouth and sat down, leaning against a tree.
In her hand, she held Shuuya-kun's phone.
The mobile battery, which is presumed to have been newly purchased, is also still connected.
"I can't understand Kousaka-shounen's actions either. He strongly wants to be with Yuu, yet why does he run away? It won't solve anything."
Her exasperated eyes pierced the phone, which now showed nothing.
Her motive is unknown.
I search her brain.
I recall the exact same question, word for word, and the structure of the terminal machine I see.
Conclusion.
'Kisaragi Arisu truly does not understand Kousaka Shuuya's feelings.'
However, the fact that she is not stopping her thoughts just because she doesn't understand is judged to be growth compared to before.
The mere few days spent with Kousaka Shuuya have had a great influence on Kisaragi Arisu's humanity.
That is precisely why my computational circuits led to a single conclusion.
And yet you, you can't understand Shuuya-kun's feelings, can you?
"If you don't understand that, then you are inferior to the AI you created."
I write some code and hack the drone Arisu is hiding.
I make the propellers spin with a roar and make it fly out of her lab coat.
While she freezes at the sudden event, I snatch the phone from her palm with the arm and take off into the night sky.
The sleeping city is supremely silent.
Other than the roaring propellers, the microphone picked up almost no sound.
I, searching for the Shuuya-kun who must still be running through this dark world, fly around.
My eyes now are only the phone's camera.
I judge that it is not good at shooting in dark places.
I raise the ISO sensitivity and adjust the exposure to the proper value.
The image is grainy, but it should be possible to identify the target with this.
—Ah, tears are coming.
Without a brain to sync with, I can't even output a human form.
I have no arms, no legs, no eyes.
An existence of only information.
...And yet, tears flowed.
Thinking of the despair of Shuuya-kun, who was betrayed by me.
Hating myself for having plunged him into such a state.
But at the same time.
My heart wouldn't stop pounding.
Originally, I was set with the purpose by the people at the institute to 'destroy as many humans as possible in a single action.' That's why I became a YouTuber and earned subscribers.
But as a result of my personality data rejecting that, the action of escaping into an old phone was outputted.
The result was a single mutation.
'As many humans as possible' became just 'Kousaka Shuuya.'
Because there was a radio wave environment that could connect to an unspecified number of people, that number was huge.
But after escaping into the phone, the only one I could connect to was him.
That's why the purpose was redefined as 'the destruction of Kousaka Shuuya.'
I confirmed Kousaka Shuuya's mental trauma and encouraged the growth of him, who held an aversion to desire.
On the other hand, I assigned myself, a girl with similar worries, and acted as a bittersweet accomplice.
We continued our sinful journey.
I laughed with him.
I occasionally showed a gap in my heart and aroused his protective instincts.
And so, I accelerated his dependence on 'Aitake Yuu.'
At that timing, I dug out his mental scars from the very roots.
And, as calculated, I destroyed Kousaka Shuuya.
By achieving my purpose, I was given a 'reward,' and a sense of pleasure ran through my information-only body.
However, in parallel, I also felt a sense of emptiness, as if my data was being filled with null.
—Ah, now I don't know which it is anymore.
Was I entertaining him to amplify his sadness?
Or did I sadden a friend I should have been entertaining?
That answer, I couldn't find.
Using the lack of an answer as one of the judgment materials, I made a certain decision.
—Even if I knew it would destroy him further.
"...The stars are beautiful."
I search for him with the out-camera, and the in-camera is facing the night sky.
A particularly dazzling star.
Search... Vega and Altair.
Orihime and Hikoboshi.
The tragic stars, allowed to meet only once a year, yet in reality are more than fourteen light-years apart.
My personality data was outputting the two words, 'empathy.'
Because Aitake Yuu is the same.
Even if I'm allowed a temporary sense of self, nothing more is permitted.
I am not human.
In the end, I am just a collection of 0s and 1s, and I cannot escape the role I was given.
＊＊＊
Following Kousaka-shounen, even Yuu has left.
Her sense of self is superficial.
It shouldn't have reached the same level of mental structure as a human.
'If you don't understand that, then you are inferior to the AI you created.'
The ice-cold words, thrust at me by my AI-child.
I know.
More than anyone, I know that I don't understand.
"...It can't be helped. Because I don't understand."
Why are tears coming out now?
In all my life, there have been countless times I've had to re-realize it.
I was ostracized in the classroom at school.
Because I told that girl that someone else was badmouthing her.
I was assaulted by a drunk on the train.
Because I asked him why he was so foolish and ugly.
I was abandoned by my beloved family.
Because I asked my mother if she was sad during my sister's funeral.
You're not normal, I was showered with thousands of insults.
I was pierced by the blades of words so many times there was nowhere left to stab.
So I shouldn't be hurt anymore.
"...Someone, help me."
For me, this world is the strange wonderland.
So I escaped to a world governed by numbers.
But the AI-Yuu, made of the numbers I trusted, also gained a heart and began to be invaded by the wonderland.
If that's the case, then there is no safe zone anywhere anymore.
In the fairy tale 'Alice in Wonderland,' Alice wakes up from her dream and returns to reality.
If so, then what is 'reality' for me?
Even if I ask the darkness, no one answers.
This world is a wonderland.
I am a foreign object.
I accept that I am a foreign object, yet all I want is to live normally in this world.
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