Is it Hot in here, or is it Just You?

Noriko was about two blocks away when she received the message from Risa via Mei-senpai's phone. Risa wanted to meet with her tomorrow after school. Noriko had finally spit out her confession. She hadn’t expected to do it then, but the passion from their almost kiss and her street clothes had caused her to blurt out her feelings prematurely. 

Noriko felt as though she had been hit hard in the chest. The aching feeling since she left Risa-chan’s house was only getting stronger as she made her way home. Noriko was interesting in many different ways. But something that added to the paradox that was her was her lack of any healthy coping mechanisms.

As she arrived at the main street near her house, Noriko made a left turn instead of a right and followed the street to the train station. She shot her mom a quick text saying that She would be staying with Risa. Noriko was normally a good girl so her mother didn't even think to question anything. Noriko did feel bad for lying to her mom, but again she had like zero healthy coping mechanisms so this was the only way she was going to get any peace. 

The train hadn't changed much in the last century. When it arrived at the station there was an announcement overhead “Eastbound train has arrived. Please enter swiftly and orderly. Thank you for choosing NextGen as your method of transportation.”

Noriko entered the train when the doors opened. A bot began going around the cabin scanning the passenger for valid transportation vouchers. Credit cards or digital barcodes were no longer necessary. The bot's facial recognition software was able to trace a person's transactions, occupation, age, and even medical information like blood type. So essentially a person's face was their debit card. Humans were pretty much obsolete for these kinds of roles because they couldn't keep up with the bots. 

Next Gen, the company that manufactured bots, also had full control of transportation, and even automated manufacturing processes. That being said, many people boycotted their products and so the train Noriko road was almost empty. That was fine with her because it made the chances of encountering a perverted uncle slim. 

The area that Noriko was heading to was about four stops away. It gave her just enough time to start to obsessively think about Mei-senpai clinging all over Risa. “Oh no,” she thought as her eyes became tearfilled once again. 

Noriko watched the small houses and neighborhoods passing by in the train windows and wondered how many people were struggling the way that she was. How many people now had such intense social anxiety that they couldn't function IRL? The place where she was heading was a place of desperation that was surprisingly popular. 

Finally, the train stopped at Noriko's destination. As she exited the train several shady looking men entered the train. This place drew in people like that. It was a place where the dregs of society were welcome. What did that make Noriko? Honestly she wasn't sure. The place had a service she had become addicted to so she had to come here frequently.  If that made her a loser, so be it. 

The main street was lit  with dim, red lights, making  the red light district an appropriate title for this area. Noriko walked down the block to the fifth shop on the right. The neon sign outside the building  in a pink and white luminescent glow read “Love” in giant bubble letters. It was a three story building with many small rooms and from the outside appeared to be a normal love hotel. Even the welcome desk that was manned by a bot appeared to be a normal hotel with a vase full of flowers and a stack of business cards. This was far from a normal hotel though. 

After the bot checked Noriko in and collected the 3000 yen fee for the night, it led her to the back area. Rather than separate rooms, there were small cubicles, each with a state of the art Suny VR gear and wireless headphones. At a glance the place looked like a typical internet cafe, but the place was far from normal. The special thing about this internet hotel was that all the vr systems had been illegally equipped with 100% pain settings. 

“Pain” was a generalized term for full neuro  synchronization, meaning all physical sensation was possible, from something simple like temperature to complex feelings such as pleasure. That last bit was the reason why Noriko had come all this way. One of the most popular apps at the love shop was a dating sim where you got to design the characters appearances and personalities yourself through the in-game AI. 

It was through this game that Noriko could live out her fantasy life with Risa. The main character that she had crafted was almost an exact copy of Risa down to the way that her pink hair fell in front of her thick eyelashes.  In the game, Noriko didn't stutter or buffer or find herself too anxious to say what she wanted to say, when she wanted to say it. This had become a guilty pleasure of hers. At first Noriko just used it to learn how to speak better, but as time went on she would make the avatar do things of a more provocative nature. Kissing, touching, going on dates, Noriko did it all in the fantasy world and she could feel everything as if it was actually happening. Sometimes it was almost as if reality was the game and the game as the real world.

The phenomenon of people using VR to cope with the real world was becoming increasingly common. They were living in a time of peace, no country was waging wars, and on top of that, people no longer had to do manual labor, bots did that. No more customer service or jobs such as trash collection were done by living people either which was supposed to lessen the burn-out in people. Despite all these positives the national rate of suicide and depression was higher than it had ever been. The problem then became that people no longer socialized in real life which also made conditions like Noriko’s were becoming exceedingly common. 

How did people cope with poor social skills? They retreated to virtual reality. Some people were so addicted to it that they would starve themselves to death by refusing to log out of their game. Trouble in paradise looked like people who were given an easier life stressed about living easier so they ran to virtual places instead. 

Rather than healthy coping and having the ability to wait for Risa's response, Noriko just went to a place where Risa already belonged to her. No more waiting and thinking, Noriko just drowned her sorrows quite literally in the bosom of a Risa doppelganger. Who was so hot and flirty she gave the real thing a run for her money.

Rather than admitting that there was a possibility that Risa didn't feel the same, which was very real, Noriko retreated to her virtual home yet again. Had she taken it too far? Maybe? Was she married to Risa in her virtual life with 2 adopted cats, a large house, a job where they worked together, and nightly shenanigans? Absolutely! Could she do that in real life? No fucking way. Could she talk to anyone? Nope. 

Noriko was the first to admit that it was nearly impossible for her to have confessed, yet somehow she had. Maybe it was all her virtual world practice or maybe it was her sudden jealousy at Mei-senpai for carrying Risa around, whatever the case was, she had done it. Now there was no going back so rather than confront her feelings head on she sought comfort from her virtual Risa wife. 

As she sat on her computer chair in what looked like a drug-induced trance, VR Risa stroked Noriko's hair in the game. She could literally feel each finger running through her hair and just for a minute was able to forget the stupidity of her rash and unplanned confession. This Is what she needed, her pretend wife to stroke her hair and comfort her when her real-life dream girl hadn't said anything back to her. 

Like many other people, Noriko allowed herself to become immersed in the world of the game and soon, was falling asleep in her virtual bed with her virtual Risa. Thinking about facing Risa in person had really sent her into a state of depression and hopelessness because she knew that if she was so pathetic she had to make her own Risa that the real one would never be able to love her. She knew all this, but still was truly worried about what she would become if she was rejected by the only person who had ever stood up for her. Maybe she would just become like those crazy people on the news and feed herself with a tube until she died of starvation while playing VR. At least then she and Risa could be together. 

For now though Noriko would settle on being virtual Risa’s plaything. As she changed into some lingerie in her game and joined Risa AI in bed for a night of excitement.