Perfect World Part 3

“Come on, don't slack off, didn't you say you wanted to see the world?” Haruto teased as he extended his hands out.

“Aren't you impatient?” Yui chided lightly, the clearing they reached was empty and in front of the road route. “Are we going to wait for a symbotic or an air force mobility car?”

She didn't see anyone around, she extended her tips, gently touched his awaiting hands as he nudged her along. “I'll show you.”

Yui held his hands as he pulled her along to what's next. She looked at the sky with a smile. It was becoming less faint and more vivid in crimson. She didn't notice, Haruto got on the railway and the moment he did, he floated, pulling her along

“Watch ou-” Yui panicked but the words were lost in her throat when Haruto merely bent his knees and leaned forward, moving at an incredible speed. She let out a squeak as she held onto him like her life was dependent on it. He smirked as he skated, carefully following along the railway magnets.

“Ho- how did you do that?” Yui tried to calm her beating heart down as her dress flapped with the wind.

“It's one of my secrets.”

“You!” Yui scrunched up her nose and glared at him, frowning. Haruto laughed as he led her into the city. “I'm kidding, I'm one of the rare people here who have perfect balance… and rebellious enough to break some laws.”

“You must be quite the troublemaker.” Yui remarked in curiosity. She was relieved to know she wasn't the only one breaking laws.

“Hmm…but I wish I was like everyone else.” He admitted as he looked down.

Yui looked at him, the way his eyes saddened made her feel some type of way. She lowered hers. “I wish so too.”

Haruto tilted his head at her answer, he thought she would tell him about how everyone should be themselves and have a purpose in life so he shouldn't feel that way, but she was agreeing? He looked back at her, the way her black hair whipped around at his speed.

“You look… pretty,” he muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?” Yui put a hand near her ear to hear closer from the air whiplash.

“Nothing.” He looked back ahead, getting a little lost in his thoughts before they reached their destination. He snapped his wrist up, she flew high as he twirled mid-way, his arms wrapping around her waist. It felt like life went a little slow as they both stared at each other.

“We are here.” He muttered as he loosened his grip, letting her feet touch the ground before he hopped down as well. “Welcome Yui to the heart of the city, Gardenia.”

She looked around at the place he brought her in. It was a sight to see with a very tall and large glass structure, filled with clear liquid inside. It had another liquid in green, forming bubbles, floating and bursting.

“That's a tree.”

“That's a tree?” Yui repeated as she got closer to look. There were multiple of them in different shapes and sizes. From a weeping tree and a grove to just grass.

“I wanted to show you this.” He pointed to the side where a fountain was in the middle, water pouring out from the tip. “In here, there is magical power in the water.”

They both stood before it as Yui stared at herself in the reflection. “You bring out a coin-”

He pulled out one from his pockets. “And you flip it.”

He flipped it right into the water, it blobbed as it sank in. “Then you drink it with your hands.”

Yui followed the instructions, gathering water at the pool of her cupped hands. “What makes it magical?”

“If you drink this, you will regain a memory you may have long forgotten.” Haruto couched down and glanced at the reflection.  His eyes narrowed at himself before pulling away.

“Really? Is that true?” Yui frowned, dropping the water back in skepticism.

“It is. I've gained many memories before. How about you try it?” Haruto encouraged her.

Will a robot like her even have any memories? She was born three years ago. “But I… I remember almost everything." Yui let water go through the cracks of her hands.

“Well, it's definitely hard for us to forget but maybe you do have something you have forgotten but you don't remember it.” Haruto shrugged. “It doesn't hurt to try. It works even on a machine, trust me.”

She twirled her hands around the ripples, but she cupped it up again, near her lips. It dripped down her chin when she took small sips. Nothing happened. Yui sighed; she knew it. It wasn't made for a robotic like her. A second didn't pass before her vision darkened, head reached the back of her neck as her eyes rolled and when she opened it, she could see someone hovering above her.

“Hush hush little one. You will forget what you saw today…” A memory she never had before sank in her head. “It's okay... Humans… need to die for the greater good.”

She abruptly leaned her head forward. What was that?

“It seems like you remembered something.” Haruto observed her quietly. "What was it?

“I don't… know?” Yui admitted, scratching her head. What did she see? Whatever it was, made her core pound so much, it almost sounded like drums in her ears. “Let me have more-”

“It doesn't work like that.” Haruto watched as she drank more of the water fountain.

“Strange? Why doesn't a memory pop up again?” Yui blinked her metallic lids.

“Because it only works once a year. Whatever is in the water, can only work once before we start getting used to the components in it. We basically gained a tolerance to it from one sip. A year needs to pass so our bodies forget about it again.”

She frowned, clicking her tongue. How disappointing. Haruto smiled at himself as he noticed more and more expressions on her.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed something blur by. More and more blurry images passed her vision. She looked up, seeing small white dots arraying together before her vision couldn't take in the millions of them. She shields her face. “What is this?”

“That's rain.”

“Rain?” She grinned as she placed her hands on top of her head, covering her head. Those dots slide to the side, none going beyond her hand. “Woooow! This is amazing!”

She started waving her hands around and it followed along.

“Is it?” Haruto's hand rotated, unimpressed. “You find this amazing?”

“Hmm!” Yui nodded excitedly as she twirled around, watching the way it slid past her.

“Do you not notice anything strange?” He asked, lifting his head to gaze at her.

“Like what?”

“I guess… it's just me.” He let out a big sigh. “Nevermind, there is no way you would notice. At least one of us is happy.’

He smiled at her and now, even though it was the same smile he usually does, why did it feel so… different? Yui felt like something was wrong, but she didn't understand it.

"How long does it rain for?" While Yui loved the rain, it was distracting her sight.

His arm rose up and he pointed at the sky. She curled her hand and squinted her eyes. There was a timer in the sky, three forty five in thick, bolded text and it was decreasing in number after a while. "How fascinating! An efficient system that- hey, wait up."

Yui rushed to run after Haruto. There was a feeling in her heart that started to bloom but she has yet to figure out what it is.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yui lay on her back, closing her eyes to sleep.

“Nevermind, there is no way you would notice. At least one of us is happy." The way his eyes lowered, saddened, stuck in her mind.

Yui flipped around on the bed, head on her hand. "Why can't I sleep?"

"Difficulty in sleeping can arise from a variety of factors. Here are some common reasons-" Systemic robotic voices filled the room. "Physical factors such as consummation of coffee, light exposures, discomfort, stress, anxiet-"

Yui rose her head off the pillow, her long black hair tasseling up as looked at the ceiling. She decided to speak about herself in third person so systematic won't suspect. "But if a robotic had those symptoms, what would it mean? Robotics can't feel emotions, you know."

There was silence before the system responded. "You are right. Their inability to sleep might stem from their system overloading."

Yui pulled her legs together and her palm on her cheeks. "A system overload... Huh...."

She was defected so that could be it.. She was starting to understand why robots who had defected core were scrapped because this- she clutched her core- it was an unpleasant feeling. She didn't want to feel this way every day. "You are probably right, Systemic. It's probably a system overload."

She needed to get herself fixed as soon as possible. Yui turned to look at the glass window of the balcony where the world were beyond. The musty night with the moon glows temporarily seeping in the room. She should never forget her goal.

Or else....

She will die.

But…

She liked seeing the world more.

What was wrong with her?