How is this feeling called?

The day after Ano received his motorcycle, a special news bulletin was endlessly repeated on every media device.

*The Asu Technologies Group has issued an urgent statement. Its founder, billionaire Yoshikage Asu, at the age of 106, passed away tonight due to cardiac arrest associated with health complications. Apparently, it was not due to any malfunction caused by the implants in his body. Yu Asu, at his 17’s has become the new leader and owner of Asu Industries. He also made a statement on the matter of his dad’s death.*

*It's a pity what happened to my father. His death was sudden and instantaneous. No abnormalities were recorded in the minutes prior to his death. The data is public so that anyone who does not trust our word can check it. Our technology is working properly. Unfortunately, we do not yet have the technology to grant us an immortal body. But this event has made us reflect again on the possibility of making humanity eternal. Therefore, Asu Industries opens its doors more than ever to new researchers with innovative ideas who want to take humanity to a new frontier.*

*These were the words of the new leader of Asu Industries. Across the country, events are being held to find young talent with the ambition to work for our nation's largest technology company.*

*In other news, 24 residents of Sector B died last night after an explosion caused by a gas leak. The price of the new Cyber Hut models increased due to the great demand received from other metropolises.*

****

"Master! I will be participating in the science fair. Please help me!"

The young boy arrived at the workshop for another day. He formally asked his teacher for help after bowing his head as a sign of respect. He was seeking forgiveness from his teacher after being so persistent in refusing his proposals.

"Ooooh! You came with Hana-chan! You too want to learn about how to build artifacts?" Akira ignored the apologies from Ano.

"I'm coming to help Ano with his project! He tirelessly asked me to help him!" She said confidently.

"Hey, don't overdo it, Hana." The young boy replied.

Hana stuck her tongue out and teased Ano before entering the workshop.

"Hey, you little rascal!!! I'll show you who's the genius of this workshop!!!!”

Akira, smiling, stood watching the two young friends from the doorway as he watched them immediately get to work. He walked towards them as he smoked his mint cigarette.

"So Ano, what have you thought of for your project?" The teacher asked.

"A bomb detector! You see, master, my genius has no limits. With this, you will be able to avoid many accidents. It instantly detects any explosive material within a radius of 20 kilometers. It also detects movement and the substances with which the artifact is mixed, so it can determine if it is a real bomb or not."

"It's interesting, yes... From what I can see, you'll copy the explosive detection technology and add some extra functions to it. It could work."

"Yes, it is true that I am copying already existing technology, but there is no record of any device capable of detecting its movement."

Akira knew that this was true. But the reason for this was that there was no need for a function like that for an explosive detector. Anyway, for a young boy to assemble and develop something like that, and the fact that he was able to set it all up, might be enough to draw the attention of Asu Industries.

"Hey Mi-kun. How about we make it an automaton? Instead of being a static detector, we can design it like a self thinking robot. That will increase the value of your invention." Suggested the teacher.

The boy picked up his notebook, and as he lifted it, he replied to his teacher.

"I have thought of this design!!!"

The drawing was terrible. The design was horrendous. The aesthetics went against everything possibly pleasing. The master doubted if that could somehow move.

"Ano. Leave the design to me." Said the master with a worried expression.

While the two inventors thought of some better designs, Hana gave the idea that would turn the invention into something much more valuable.

"A dog!" She said vivaciously. "Let's make a bomb-sniffing dog!"

"Hana, that's a fantastic idea!" Said the teacher excitedly.

"But that's exactly what I have drawn..." Said the young inventor, disappointed.

Hana and Akira looked at the notebook and with a face of resignation and disgust, while they pointed to the drawing, asked at the same time.

"What kind of dog is this?"

"SHUT UP!!!"

Hana and Akira laughed as they watched the embarrassed young boy as he started to work on the project.

****

Hours passed as the team of three designed and built the automaton with recycled materials from the workshop.

"Well, little rascals, I'm going to cook something for dinner." Said Akira.

"Master Akira, please wait!" Hana exclaimed. "I've prepared something for Ano-kun."

“Eh? Really? I can't believe it. Lucky you, Mi-kun.”

The girl took out what looked like a rice ball. Hana had used the rice she was given to eat at school today to make a rice ball for her friend. As she offered the rice ball to Ano, Hana's tummy started growling from not having eaten anything all day.

*GRRRRRRRR*

The girl blushed so much that it seemed like the temperature in the room had risen.

"Thank you, Hana." Ano took the rice ball and broke it in half. "Here, let's share."

Master Akira, smiling, left the room and went to prepare some dinner for the three of them. He left the friends alone while they enjoyed their improvised dinner.

****

After they ate what master Akira cooked, Hana was ready to leave for the day.

"Ano-kun, Master Akira, I'm leaving for the day."

"Do you want me to take you home, Hana-chan?" The teacher asked, worried.

"No. It's okay. This neighborhood belongs to The Northern Stars gang. Everyone who sees this star runs away because of their fear of us."

"I see." Said the master with a kind face. "Then sleep well."

"Yes! Goodbye, Ano-kun!"

Ano was so focused on programming his automaton's functions with the Cyber Hut that he didn't notice that his friend had already left.

"You know, Ano-kun... I think Hana likes you."

Ano turned red. "SHUT UP!!!"

This is how the group of three would spend the next 7 days leading up to the science fair.

****

Two days before the day of the science fair, Hana and Ano decided to take a ride on the motorcycle he got a few days before. They wanted to rest, as the project was finished, and only a few additional tests and adjustments remained to be done.

They went back to patrolling around the C district. The evenings were quiet. Nothing ever happened. Bored, they returned to the hill where they went last week. The place where they spent so much time in their childhood.

"Ano-kun. Do you remember when you couldn't even run for 5 minutes straight? I'd always beat you when we raced up here."

"I also remember when you cried because you got mud on your dress."

"I cried because I didn't want people to think I was sloppy." The girl grabbed some mud and stained her shirt. "Look, I don't care about that now."

"You don't need to prove anything to me. I already know you've become very strong..." The boy said shyly.

Night had fallen. From the hill, the metropolis was visible, with all the neon lights on. A sea of stars shone in the sky. Hana stood up and walked forward with her hands behind her back.

Hana pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, leaving it loose. "Ano-kun... Did you know that the lights from the stars we see have long since gone out?"

"Yes, I know."

"Huhu."

Hana laughed tenderly. The girl approached the edge of the hill in front of Ano, turned her body to where her friend stood as she wielded an honest smile, and a gentle breeze swayed her unbound hair.

*WOSH*

"You think in those stars..."

A tear, glistening thanks to the sky and neon lights, slowly trickled down her cheek. The multicolored lights of the city illuminated Hana as if she were an angel from another world.

"...people were happy?"

The young boy was surprised. He thought that the girl in front of him was not Hana. He always thought of her as his childhood friend. A rebellious and aggressive girl who fought with everyone and didn't attend school. But at that moment, Ano thought that she was the most beautiful girl not in the city, but in the world.

What's this feeling inside me called?

****

The next two days passed quickly, and the day of the fair arrived.

"WAKE UP! It's time to go to the science fair!"

It was the first time in years that Ano had to get up at that hour. He had barely slept 3 hours and almost overslept. Fortunately, the AI in his alarm clock knew exactly what he had to do.

“Execute autodestruction protocol. Wake up now or I’ll blow up.”

No response from Ano. The automaton executed his autodestruction protocol. A loud as hell noise that drove crazy even the cats outside.

*ZZXRRRRRRRRRRXXXXXZZZZXRRXXXXXXRRZZR*

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I'M AWAKE!!! STOOOOOOPPP!!!!!!!!”

Sleepy and groggy, Ano managed to put on the clothes his master gave him for the science fair. He was wearing a casual shirt along with some old dressing pants and his regular sandals.

“Good morning Son. Have a great day today at the science fair.” Said M.O.M.

“ABlkaekleiuHWi.” Said the sleepy boy while he closed the door.

He left the brothel and started walking to the meeting point at his master's workshop.

Despite being early, there were no traces of any stragglers on the streets, which was very fortunate. The boy went half asleep to his master's workshop, which made him an easy prey if there had been anyone with evil intentions around.

"Mi-kun! Good morning! Ready to impress Asu's scouts?"

"Yes... zZzZ... ZzZz..."

"Mi-kun! What's wrong with you!? Have you taken any drugs!?"

"Shut up...ZzzZ...I'm trying to sleep...ZzZz..."

The teacher smiled. "Get in the car and get some sleep. You tried hard, didn't you?"

It wasn't from trying too hard. He didn't sleep well because of his bad routine. Ano got up in his master's car, and so they headed to the science fair.

****

After a drive of just over an hour, they arrived at district B’s science fair. The place was packed. People from all districts were gathered. Students from high school, college, and even the working class were there. They dreamed of their invention catching the attention of Asu Industries. It was their ticket out of a life full of misery.

"All right, science fair. Show me what you’ve got. Let's do it one more tim…zzZZzz…"