Real World Part 2

Haruto paced back and forth on the spot he remembered seeing Yui. Every day he would reach the end of the domain and sit near the entrance, wondering when Yui would return. It was another day of those days. Did Yui die? Haruto didn't want to think of it.

He paced, it been ten days since she disappeared. He let out another heavy sigh because it seemed like that is the only thing he could do all day. He should have never let her leave by herself. He looked at the sky for the moment before he turned to where she last left. Beyond the domain, a dark silhouette of a figure approaching had him freeze. Was that her? With each movement, it bounced up and down, dragging its feet.

“Is that an animal?” Haruto looked at the domain. It had protected them for years from anything beyond the wall. He took a step backwards, worried but when the air cleared, and he saw her beyond there, dragging her feet as she saw him.

“Ah… Haruto!” She smiled as she got into the domain, her face looked pristine clean with just soot and dirt but her body… he looked down. Her arm charcoaled, hardened like a rock, her other arm skin wasn't there, just the electric wiring that sparked a long time ago. Her leg twisted in another angle as she bounced with one leg. “Yui… what happened to you?”

He got closer to her, grabbed her shoulders and looked over her entire body. His facial expression changed into different emotions in split seconds.

“Look Haruto! Look!” She brought her arms up. He looked at the rock-hard arm, blackened. “I brought you summer!”

“What are you talking about?” He looked at her confused.

“Look!” She used her leftover metal and dug into her rock arm to break the hardening. “You see if you break this, lava pours out!”

Haruto's arms dropped to his side. She gritted her teeth as struggled to break it. “Ah! Ah! There it is!”

Lava poured out from the broken rock. “Do you feel it! It's warm like summer!”

She grinned, giggling excitedly at the discovery. Haruto stared at her emotionlessly as she showed him. “Do you feel how hot it is?”

“Hmm.” Haruto nodded as she brought it near his skin. “Don't touch it, it doesn't look like it but it hurts soo soo sooo muchl!”

“Hmmm.” Haruto nodded, staring at the fiery liquid seeping out of her arm, the heat coming from it made her hot again. “How is it? Do you like-”

Yui stopped talking when she looked at Haruto's face. Tears were pouring out from his eyes. It slid down his face, to his chin. She opened her mouth just to close it. He pulled her closer to him, hugging her. “What have you done?”

His voice became lower and softer, reproaching her as he held her tight. She pushed her arms backwards. “You are going to get hurt like this?”

“Are you worried about me?” He laughed bitterly. “What about you?”

What about her? There was nothing wrong with her. “Haruto… Why is liquid pouring from your eyes?”

Haruto's fingertips touched his face, patted it. “Am I crying?”

He broke his embrace as he looked at his hands in bewilderment. “Am I crying?”

He seemed confused. “This is my first time… crying.”

“Don't be sad Haruto.” Yui felt her core ache from seeing him like this. This was not the time for her defected core to act up.

“Yui, I'm not sad. I have never experienced sadness before so I'm... not sad. Let's forget about me and get you fixed up.” Haruto gently touched her wired arm, tugging her along with him.

“You can get me fixed up?” Yui asked, unable to see his expression now.

“Of course, didn't I tell you? My father owns repairs for humans and robotics.” He nudged her along.

“How was it? Did you feel hot?” Yui's curiosity held no boundaries as she followed him behind.

“Hmm, it felt very, very hot.” Although she couldn't see his face, she could hear the smile in his voice. It was strange how she could hear such an expression.

“Do you like summer?”

“Hmm, I like it a lot.”

“Very much?”

“Very, very much.”

Yui smiled to herself as she felt a sense of accomplishment. “I'm so glad I went out there.”

He stopped moving. She stopped moving. “You are so… reckless.”

“We should go together next time!”

“I can't… I'm banned from leaving. If I step out, the alarms will ring out because I'm the son of the… Nakamura family. They can't afford to lose me.” Haruto turned to her and she saw a fake smile. She can recognize the expression better now. “I'll go out for you then!”

His face blanked before he smiled. “You really are reckless.”

Ever since then, Haruto fixed Yui and she would leave the domain while Haruto would wait right outside of the border, waiting for her. She would bring different kinds of world beauty to Haruto. “Look Haruto, look, this is real snow!”

She was screaming and yelling because it was melting in her hand before she reached. “Oh no. You can't see it now.”

Haruto laughed as he saw her hands cupped up with water. “Hmmm, I can see the fluffiness.”

“You are such a liar!” She threw the water at him as she held his hand up, protecting himself from her. “I know sarcasm now!”

He laughed as she chased after him while he ran. “Did you feel that? That water was COLD!”

“IT REALLY IS COLD!” He yelled back as he continued running. “I want to see flowers next!”

“SO DEMANDING!” Yui caught up to him and as he turned left, she turned left but he already turned right. When she turned right, he was already turning left. “You weasel!”

Haruto grinned as he slipped through the trees, avoiding her. “Fine! I'll get you a flower next if you give me a holographic flower! A win-win situation.”

Haruto shook his head because it was not the same, but he nodded regardless.

And a flower she brought for him…

“How is it? Do you know it smells really good?”

Yui took a deep breath of the jasmine, using her hands as a fan to bring the scent to her nose faster. Haruto stared at the flower in his hands, nodding. “Hmm.”

Another day goes by…

“Look Haruto! Look! I brought you a rabbit!” Yui ran towards him with her hands heavy with a white rabbit and a brown rabbit. “These creatures are very harmless! And cuteeeeeeeee!”

Haruto's eyes widened as he looked at the creature that hopped underneath his feet. He froze, unable to move. “Wow…it's oddly shaped. How did you manage to get these things in? I thought the domain would kill them.”

“I don't know…” Yui shrugged. “But feel them! They are so soft and fluffy and warm and cute and cuddly and-”

“Yea, yea, I get it.” Haruto stopped her from speaking as he gathered some courage to poke the little creature cautiously.

“When I poke my finger, it's kind of like ploooops my fingers back! Unlike our bodies.” Yui giggled, sppeaking in nonsense as she kept poking the smaller animal. Haruto shook his head at her explanation but started to get comfortable in petting it.

“It's really nice.” he muttered, as he started to rub its entire head.

Yui smiled at him as she played with the other rabbit and in that moment, Haruto couldn't help the sincere smile that started to stretch on his face.

“So, this… is the real world,” he mused out loud, to no one in particular, watching Yui with fondness in his eyes as she chased the rabbits. “Thank you… Yui-”

"GET BACK HERE!" You threw herself to the ground, trying to get it

"-For bringing the world to me"