Pipes and Wires

Please take a look at my latest novel Blow. I'm participating with it in MAL's contest and I hope you can support me by reading it and sharing it if you like it.

IBMFGI is ~20 chapters ahead on other platforms that you can find on my website.

Edited by RedPandaChick

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Gears rotated and pistons contracted in Aeryx's back as she moved. Liquids traveled through transparent pipes and tubes that spread all throughout her back. Colored wires hung down and stretched as her HoloForm gradually turned on from her shoulders to her hip, hiding the mechanical parts under bare skin that was soon covered by Aeryx pulling down her tank top.

I need to go before she—

Her head snapped to the left and she looked at me with one of her eyes. I jumped back and pulled the door but didn't close it so as not to make any noise.

My heart was beating at three hundred beats per minute. Did she see me?

Out of nowhere, Tomokazu's voice sounded through my glasses. "What is it, dear friend?"

I had forgotten about the call. About to reply, something creaked behind me. I turned around to see Aeryx, standing still and staring at me with a murderous glare. My heart went from almost bursting to skipping multiple beats.

We stared at each other until Tomokazu spoke again. "Kaito?"

My voice trembled as I replied, "I'll talk to you later."

"Why—"

I ended the call. Aeryx glanced down both sides of the hallway before grasping the neck of my shirt and pulling me into the room. She closed the door behind me and pushed me into it.

"You saw, didn't you?"

Words struggled to come out of my mouth. "I… did."

She stared at me for several seconds, then she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Her murderous glare had disappeared when she stepped back and placed her hand on her waist.

"You can't tell anyone," she said.

My mind still needed a moment to process the situation. "I'm sorry, but what's going on?"

"What do you mean what's going on?" she frowned. "You just saw that I'm a robot. You can't tell anyone about this; especially the public. Actually, it's stipulated in your contracts that nothing that happens behind the scenes can be made public."

"I know that! But… I have so many questions."

"None of them I can answer."

I took a moment to breathe. "Are you going to tell on me?"

"I already did."

My stomach dropped to the floor. "What is going to happen? Are we in trouble?"

"I'm not sure, you're the first one to find out like this."

Her answer didn't make me feel any better.

"Ms. and Mr. Yoshida know you're smart and that you won't say anything, so you'll probably be fine."

That made me feel better enough to breathe properly. Now that she mentions him, I haven't talked to Mr. Yoshida yet. I wonder if there are ulterior motives aside from him being busy.

We stared at each other in silence.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We should go before someone comes in."

"Good idea."

I was the closest to the door, so I turned around and opened it. I glanced down one side of the hallway and it was empty, then I looked to the other side and it was also empty. However, it took a second for my brain to process that there was someone standing right in front of us: Aki.

Oh, no.

Aeryx walked out of the room and looked at Aki. Luckily, she now was wearing a leather jacket above her tank top, lowering the chances of a misunderstanding. That didn't matter, though. Aki's expression was just as threatening as Aeryx's had been a couple of minutes before.

"I better return to the sound check," Aeryx said and walked away.

Aki followed her with her eyes until she disappeared from our sight. Aki then stood with her arms crossed and wouldn't take her eyes off me. The pressure was such that I needed to go as soon as possible.

"Were you looking for me?" I laughed nervously and started walking. "I'm looking for the storage room so that Tomokazu and I can check the merchandise—"

Aki pulled the back of my shirt to stop me. I gulped before turning around to face her. Despite it being an easy answer, I couldn't tell if she was mad at me by the lack of expression on her face.

Several seconds later, I had to break the silence. "Do you really think I'm cheating on you?"

"I don't, actually."

"Then why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'm waiting for the excuse you'll give me so that I can judge if it's believable enough."

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to tell her, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"Really? You can't tell me?" Her tone had raised. "Fine, I won't meddle. I'll wait for your childhood friend to leak everything."

Something snapped in my brain and my hands instantly went to my head. "I forgot!"

Aki frowned in confusion. "Forgot what? That we're being spied on?"

I pressed my finger onto her lips and shushed. I glanced around before whispering, "Yes, I forgot that!"

My heart started hammering in my chest again and it became harder to breathe. Aki quickly placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Do you remember what the therapist told us to do when this happened?"

I nodded and tried to do mental math. I sucked at it and it was even frustrating, yet the frustration unconsciously distracted me. Before I realized it, I was breathing normally again. Sadly, that technique wasn't going to last for long, but I hoped it would last long enough for me to stop having these attacks.

"What happened with Aeryx? Was it really that serious?" Aki asked.

"Yes, it was."

Her frown turned into one of worry. "Look, there's nothing we can do about it, so let's not worry too much."

"I know, I'll try."

"Good," she smiled. "I was looking for you because we're taking a break and I wanted to spend some time with you."

"Alright. Let's find somewhere quiet."

We walked away to look for such a spot. Meanwhile, I messaged Tomokazu to tell him not to worry about me and ask him to look for the storage room, to which he agreed without hesitation. Nonetheless, I knew he was going to ask me about what happened later.

Obviously, there was no such thing as a quiet and private place in a venue that was about to hold a concert. The only idea we had left was to return to the bus that had brought us to the venue.

We carefully checked its surroundings and saw no one nearby, so we climbed on. Aki headed to the room with the bunk beds and confirmed it was empty, then I knocked on the bathroom door and no one replied.

We took off our glasses, wrapped them with napkins, and put them inside a drawer of one of the kitchen cabinets. We sat down on one of the two sofas and stayed silent for a while. I knew Aki was waiting for me to tell her everything, yet I still needed some time to process what I was going to say.

"So, what happened was that, as I told you, I was looking for the storage room. I was headed to meet with Tomokazu when I saw two people wearing security vests coming out of a room carrying two boxes. I assumed that it was the storage room, so I opened the door, just to see Aeryx inside."

I took a pause before continuing with the weirdest part. "I was seeing her bare back, but there was no skin. Instead, there were gears, pipes, and wires. Then they were covered with fake skin by using HoloForm."

Aki's wide-open eyes stared at me. "Are you telling me that Aeryx is… an android?"

"A robot."

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

"Nope."

She scratched her head. "How? And why?"

"No idea. I'd love to know that myself, but they'll probably never tell us."

Aki's worried frown returned. "It is serious."

"Yep. I would hate it if her career were to end because of my stupidity. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Well, entering an unknown room without even knocking was a little dumb on your part."

"Thank you."

She slid closer to rest her shoulder on mine. "I'm just trying to lift the mood. I told you there's no use worrying about it."

"I know."

"There's something I'm sure would lift the mood," she smirked.

Her face slowly approached mine. It didn't even take a second for me to realize what was about to happen. She closed her eyes and I closed mine, but a click sound interrupted the moment.

We turned around to see the chauffeur standing in front of the bedroom. He scratched his neck and laughed nervously. By his loose shirt, shorts, and messy hair, I could tell he was taking a nap.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I had to tell you that I'm here before something happened."

Aki and I glanced at each other with flushed cheeks.

"Did you hear anything of what we were talking about?" I asked.

"A little…. But don't worry, I've been in this business for two decades. Believe me, I've heard and seen many things throughout the years, and all of them will go to the grave with me," he said while zipping his lips.

It seemed like he was telling the truth and there was no reason for us not to believe him. We had no other choice, anyway.

"Thank you," Aki said.

The chauffeur smiled and stepped back into the bedroom.

I looked at Aki, who merely grinned and giggled.