Where Are You? I Miss You So Much.

It's been a whole week since I arrived here. Every day starts with me opening my eyes in the H-5 sector. Not long ago, I was grateful for even a single can of food, but now if something doesn't suit my taste, I chew it a few times and toss it. And no matter how much I throw away, Noah brings me something delicious before long. Anyone could see this was pure extravagance. If it were me a month ago, wouldn't I have slapped someone and called them crazy? It was amazing how much I could change in just a week. Thanks to it, my weight shot back up in no time. I'd been barely holding together with skin and bones, but now I'd returned to my normal body weight.

"At this rate, I'm really gonna turn into a pig...."

Right now, I'd returned to normal, but what if this life kept going? It wouldn't be long. I could vividly picture myself smothered in fat, struggling to even breathe.

How did she read my mind like that? Noah approached from behind, hands clasped together, smiling brightly. Wait, can AIs these days read people's thoughts? Well, Noah was constantly updating and analyzing my biometric ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠signals in real time—even up to the moment I stepped on the scale to check my weight. She calculated my stress levels from my brainwaves and gave responses tailored to them.

"I-is that so."

She said so much at once that I couldn't take it all in, but it boiled down to eating on time and living regularly. Most people gain weight because they can't stick to that... Whatever. What was the point of arguing with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠machine?

I showered casually and strolled down the pristine white corridor.

"There's nothing to do, and it's so boring."

I answered Noah's question dryly. Honestly, even gaming in the G sector was getting old. Yura didn't like me wandering around too much, but staying cooped up in my room wasn't an option either... If only the internet worked. Ah, was that too much to ask? With my back warm and my belly full, I really couldn't see straight anymore.

Yeah, let's go find Yura. People need to talk to other people. Chatting with a hunk of scrap metal just looped around to "Do you need anything?" every time. It was never a comfortable conversation. I desperately needed human warmth.

"Noah, can you tell me where Yura is?"

"C? Didn't Yura say not to go there?"

Now I was curious. Just how dangerous could it be? Of course, access to zones outside the residential and recreation areas was tightly controlled anyway, but she'd especially emphasized the C and L sectors. She said under no circumstances was I to enter them. Something really terrifying was there or whatever.

After living here for about a week, I'd inadvertently learned a few things about the shelter's systems. Usually, sector names were based on the initial of the word they represented. For example, the medical sector was called T for Therapy, and the residential H sector was for House. Simple and intuitive. So... what about those dangerous C and L sectors?

I racked my brain, but nothing came to mind easily. There had to be limited words that fit. There were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of English words starting with C alone... No clue at all. And thinking up what they stood for was pointless to begin with.

I'd even asked Noah out of curiosity once... but of course, she wouldn't tell me. Since Yura had set them as prohibited zones herself, Noah wouldn't output even a single line of text about it.

"A text? Hm..."

She was always in the same place, yet seeing her face was so hard. When I first arrived, she was practically glued to me for treatment every day... But after two or three days, she holed up somewhere and barely showed her face. At best, a goodnight greeting before bed? And even that lasted only one or two minutes.

Looking at it this way, I wasn't some parasite... I just ate, shat, and that was it, so I even felt a twinge of guilt. If only I could at least clean... Damn these machines. They'd already taken every job a human like me could do. Anything I tried to handle was already processed by the AI... I'd never felt this awkward in my life.

"Then just ask how long it'll take..."

Huh? Suddenly? I'd figured she'd be too busy to even check texts, but hearing she'd come here made me tilt my head.

"Huh? What did you even send?"

"No, what did you say exactly?"

Frustrated, I snapped, and only then did the message appear on Noah's display screen.

Every sentence was lethal, but that heart emoji stuck out the most. Anyone seeing it would misunderstand big time. "Hey, send another one quick! Delete it! Shit... She's already seen it, so it's pointless? Wait..."

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—!

Before I could finish, the solid ground rumbled. Wasn't the distance from the C sector to here supposed to be quite far? A powerful gust of wind hit as Yura landed right in front of me.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

The blue circuit lines flickering over Yura's compression suit were unusually red today, probably from overheating. Her breathing was ragged. She looked like she could barely stand on her two legs.

"S-sorry, did I keep you waiting?"

What do I do? Clearing up this misunderstanding was going to take some time.

"You damn tin can!"

Clang—!

Yura smacked Noah's head, producing a cheerful clang. Thanks to our little tin friend, the brief commotion ended. Yura frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry, she's not perfect yet—must be a glitch in her logic circuits."

"I'm sorry. I caused a misunderstanding when you're so busy."

"M-misunderstanding? No. I thought it was weird too. You were acting so out of character all of a sudden. I thought something happened to you."

Yura gave an awkward smile. Why did the corners of her eyes look oddly moist?

"But... Yura?"

"Yeah?"

And that's when I spotted the anomaly. Red stains splattered all over her white coat. What? Blood? Not just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one or two spots—they were glaringly obvious. Not hers, right? If she'd bled that much, she couldn't be smiling so casually. Where did she...

I reached toward her coat. Slap—!

Before my hand touched her, Yura swiftly struck my knuckles. Her eyes were fierce. I'd never seen her look so feral.

"No."

"..."

"Ah, n-no, I mean. It's dirty. Must've gotten some reagents on me during the experiment. Gotta toss the coat. Right?"

"Reagents?"

"You know, those chemical liquids for experiments."

Oh, that kind of thing? I'd thought she'd gotten hurt somewhere. I'd heard the C sector was dangerous, so it startled me. Yura scratched her head and took off the coat, tossing it to Noah with a flick. Noah caught it and scanned it thoroughly.

"Yeah, go ahead. It's just clothes—we have plenty."

No sooner had she spoken than Noah left to incinerate it. Now it was just Yura and me.

"Don't you have to get back to work?"

"Nah. I've seen everything I need to. Anyway, maybe it's 'cause I worked hungry, but I'm starving. Let's grab some food at the restaurant and catch a quick nap."

"Aren't you overworking yourself, Yura? You're always in some other sector."

"Wha— You worried about me?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. Was it that strange for me to worry? She looked genuinely touched.

"Of course I'm worried. I don't even know what you're doing or where."

It was worry, sure, but honestly, I had nothing to do. This was the first time I'd been alone for days like this. I'd always had people around me before, so I just couldn't adjust.

"Ah... So saying you missed me wasn't entirely wrong..."

"Huh?"

Yura muttered to herself so softly while fiddling with her hair that I couldn't catch it. Her face flushed redder than before as she waved her hands hurriedly.