Gro:Cery Sho:Pping

Inside, the grocery store was as small as it looked from the outside. The aisles were cramped, and the shelves were sparse. A few humans were browsing, but the store was otherwise quiet.

Tackle handed each of them a small list. "Get me these ingredients. I’ll make you both a nice meal. Johe won’t get anything, since he’s too good to help."

Shinku nodded.

No wonder we had to drive all the way out here. She needs human food. It’s hard to find that kind of stuff within miles.

Bontly began grabbing items off the shelves, muttering under his breath. "Popsicles. Seaweed. Apples…"

As they moved further down the aisles, Shinku noticed something strange—a teenage girl, no older than 15, in ragged clothing, darting between shelves. She was grabbing items off the shelves and stuffing them into a worn-out bag with trembling hands. Her movements were frantic and her disturbance was loud.

"Hey, wait a minute," Shinku thought to himself. "Is that... shoplifting?"

The girl looked up, making eye contact with Shinku. Her eyes widened with panic, and then she bolted out of the store.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" the store owner shouted from behind the counter.

"Stop right there!" Shinku shouted as he ran after her.

The girl looked back, eyes filled with fear, and then, without hesitation, took a bite from a loaf of bread as she kept running, barefoot.

"She’s quick," Shinku muttered under his breath. Without thinking, he used his data to accelerate, kicking off the ground with a burst of speed. In an instant, he was standing in front of the girl, grabbing her wrist. His officer suit now on.

"Please, relax," Shinku said, gently holding her in place as she struggled.

“Ngh! L-Let me go!” The girl wept. “”

"I’m not here to hurt you. Drop the food." Shinku ordered.

The girl hesitated, but with a defeated sigh, she let the bag slip from her arms, revealing a collection of human food. Bread, canned goods, apples—items the store barely had in stock.

Shinku examined the items carefully, his expression softening. "This is all human food."

The girl looked up at him, eyes full of uncertainty. "Are you going to arrest me?"

Shinku shook his head. "No, I’m not. Just stay out of trouble. Go."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You’re lying, aren’t you? You’re going to report me."

Shinku smiled and shook his head again. "No, I’m not. Just go. Stay safe."

The girl blinked, processing his words, and then, to Shinku’s surprise, she wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you. Thank you so much, sir!"

Shinku stepped back, allowing her to flee into the streets. As he watched her run off, he felt a sense of relief.

It’s only right.

He turned back into the store, where the shopkeeper was still standing, looking impatient.

"Did you catch her?" the shopkeeper asked. "She ran off so fast."

Shinku shook his head. "No, I couldn’t. She was too fast."

The clerk sighed. "Well, I’ll have to check my inventory later. I don’t think I’ll be able to replace everything she took."

Shinku was about to speak when Tackle appeared, tossing a few items onto the conveyor belt. "Got it all, huh?" Shinku asked.

"Yes," Tackle replied with a grin. "You took so long, I finished everything, and Bontly grabbed extra food."

Shinku chuckled. "I knew Bontly would be on top of it."

"That’ll be 5,000 bytes," the clerk said as the items were scanned.

Bontly exclaimed. "5,000 bytes? For human food? This is expensive!"

"Yep," Tackle replied casually, pulling out a card from her pocket. "It’s costly for us."

As she tapped the card on the terminal, she leaned toward Shinku. "Hey, go into my pocket and grab the module for me."

Shinku blinked, a little flustered. "What?"

Tackle shrugged. "It’s just a module. Grab it."

With a hesitant sigh, Shinku reached into her breast pocket and retrieved a small, circular device. Tackle held out her hand. "Now, tap everything with it."

Shinku followed her instructions, pressing the device against the items on the counter. Suddenly, everything seemed to vanish, transported into thin air.

Bontly stared in amazement. "What was that?! H-How’d you?!"

Tackle smirked, pleased with the effect. "It’s something they had at the utility shop. Another thing they rejected."

"That’s awesome!" Bontly was impressed.

Johe, awaiting their arrival said. “Yo, Shinku! This girl keeps asking for ya.” Pointing to the same girl Shinku helped to his left.

Looking at him with a mixture of hope and confusion. "Hey," she called, her voice wavering. "Mister... officer?"

Shinku approached her cautiously. "I told you, you’re not in any trouble. You can go now."

The girl’s face lit up, and she ran toward him. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, her voice full of gratitude. "No computer has ever done something so nice for me. I don’t know what to say..."

Shinku gave her a small smile. "It’s my job to take care of everyone."

The girl looked down at her feet, then up at him again. "Could you... could you give me a ride home? My feet are hurting."

Shinku hesitated, then nodded. "Of course. Come with us. Is that okay Johe?"

Johe stood confused. "Sure, but who’s this? What’s going on?"

“Oh. My name’s Kirria. Shinku told me it was okay to keep the food I ran out with.”

Tackle looked at her somberly. “Alright, get on.” Johe said.

Eagerly getting on, Kirria’s eyes widened. "I’ve never seen a car like this before. It’s amazing!"

Bontly greeted her. "Nice to meet you, Kirria,"

Tackle peering out from Bontly’s panel. "How old are you?"

Kirria beamed. "I just turned 15."

"Wow," Tackle said, "Real young to be out alone."

Kirria nodded. "I had to get some food for me and my mom. Her body never recovered from her work in the mines."

"Where do you live?" Johe asked.

"Hama Prefecture," Kirria replied. "It’s a long walk from here."

"Don't worry, that’s where I live. We’ll get you there," Tackle said, her voice warm. "I’ll teleport your groceries to your place. Just give me the coordinates."

Kirria’s eyes filled with tears. "Thank you so much. You’re all so kind."

The four of them rode together, and soon found themselves atop the apartment building, eating popsicles. Kirria kicked her feet in delight, savoring the cool treat.

"This is a popsicle?" she asked, eyes wide. "It’s so good!"

Shinku smiled. "Yeah, glad you like it."

Kirria looked at him, eyes full of admiration. "Thank you again for everything, Shinku. These clothes are so comfortable, too."

Shinku chuckled. "No problem."

Tackle grinned. "You’re a good guy, Shinku."

Shinku turned to Kirria. "Hey, if you ever want to hang out, I’ll be around. You can come by and have popsicles with me anytime."

Kirria smiled brightly. "Really? I’d love to hear more about what it’s like to be an officer!"

Shinku nodded, a sense of warmth filling him. "Of course."

As they made their way down the building’s hallways, Bontly and Johe waved them off.

"See you, Kirria," Bontly said.

"Get home safe, girl," Johe added, rolling his eyes.

Shinku handed Kirria a small holographic key. "Here, take this. It’s for my apartment. Apartment 87X."

Kirria took the key with a bright smile. "Thank you! I’ll let myself in!"

As she ran off, Shinku turned to Tackle who began to walk towards her unit. "Hey, Tackle..."

Tackle glanced at him. "What is it?" Noticing his strange change in tone.

Shinku shifted nervously. "I was thinking... Maybe we could go out sometime. Just you and I."

Tackle let out a soft laugh. "Oh, Shinku. That’s sudden but I had a feeling.”

The thought crossed Shinku's mind briefly, that maybe he could develop something more with Tackle, something more than being her teammate.

“I’ll never fall in love with a computer, regardless of if there’s human in you." She looked at him.

Shinku blurted. “B-But I feel just as human-”

“Stop there.” Tackle quickly shut down his words. “Don’t ever say something so untrue again.” Her face beginning to fill with slight anger

Shinku was taken aback.

Collecting herself to speak again, Tackle said. “You’re nice, smart, even funny at times. But, we could never work. I want children someday, and you can’t provide that.” Sighing, showing her peer she didn’t want to sound harsh. “So, you be you and I’ll find a human to fall in love with eventually. I’ll be Tackle the human, and you’ll be Shinku the computer. Unfortunately, you aren’t one.”

Shinku nodded to her words. “You should know how shaky relationships between humans and computers are anyway.”

“Looks like we’re on the same page. Get those thoughts out of her head now before it gets even more difficult. I’ll see you.” Tackle said, walking away.

Silence fermented.

All Shinku could do was watch her go, a quiet feeling of contentment settling in as he acknowledged what just transpired.