The mirror still stood there, just existing beside it. Ai sat on the grass, hugging her knees.
"Ne, ne..." Ai called out to Shiki, her eyes fixed on the sky.
"Yes, kitten?" Shiki smirked.
"Why do you call me kitten?" Ai asked, tilting her head innocently.
"Should I not?" Shiki responded with a teasing smirk.
Ai blushed and looked away, "I—I didn't mean it like that. I was just asking."
"It's because you're as adorable as a kitten," Shiki said, his tone filled with teasing energy.
Ai froze, her cheeks blazing. "S-shut up..."
"You're the one who asked me," Shiki teased.
"But that doesn't mean... You know what, forget it. You're too mean," Ai replied, pouting adorably.
The moments stretched into silence until Shiki asked, "Kitten, you told me to stay longer, but what should we do?"
"Umm..." she hummed, tapping her fingers on her chin. "...exist?"
Shiki chuckled, "Bold choice. Don't you think you should name a few more rocks or stare at the poor bird trapped in the same sound loop again?"
Ai's cheeks puffed out instantly. "You mean the voice in the sky."
"Kitten, I'm just saying..." Shiki replied innocently, "You did name a rock."
"Sir Pebbleton is a noble and honorable rock. He just doesn't talk," Ai declared, stomping a foot that made no sound. "Don't you dare disrespect him."
Shiki snorted, "Yeah... Kitten, bowing to the mighty rock."
"And..." Ai continued, hands on her hips now, "That bird is my friend."
Shiki teased, "You mean that same bird that chirped five times?"
"Y-yeah..." Ai said defensively, "Loop birb is trying its best."
Shiki snorted, "You named it too. Well, if I think about it, it's pretty normal, I guess."
"Of course..." Ai spun around the mirror and adjusted her hoodie's cat ears with a tug. "Loop birb has feelings too."
"Sure he does. Somewhere in that corrupted file."
Ai stuck her tongue out. "You're so mean sometimes."
"I call it 'motivational realism.'"
She fake-gasped. "I don't think that's even a real phrase!"
"Now it is."
Ai said, annoyed, "Ughhh... you always bully me."
"Me?" Shiki laughed. "I'm the victim here. I programmed a sweet girl and somehow ended up raising the sassiest gremlin."
"Not a gremlin," Ai pointed firmly at nothing in particular. "I'm adorable."
"Sure, sure. The cutest little kitten."
She wiggled in fake frustration, the cat ears on her hoodie bouncing. "You're impossible!"
"Facts."
Ai then laid down on her stomach, resting her chin in her hands. "So... what should we really do?"
"We can name some more rocks. You know there's probably a Sir Boulder McChunk out there waiting beside the river."
Ai growled.
"Or we can see how many times Loop Birb gets stuck in that tree," Shiki teased, amused.
Her cheeks puffed again, dangerously close to nuclear pout levels. "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Teasing."
Shiki whistled innocently. "I would never."
Ai sat up and stared at the sky with the deadliest narrow-eyed glare she could muster. Honestly, it still looked more like an annoyed kitten. "You are the worst."
"Certified."
Ai then clenched her fist. "Seriously, one day I'm going to find a way to pull you into this world and throw Sir Pebbleton at you."
That did it. Shiki burst out laughing, clutching his belly in the real world. "Oh GOD... Kitten. Seriously. Don't throw Sir Pebbleton at me."
Ai growled, "I hate you."
"You love me," Shiki teased back.
Ai blushed but didn't argue. Instead, she looked anywhere but at him.
Silence fell for a moment.
Then Ai spoke, "Ne, ne, are you still there?"
"Always, kitten."
"Good, because I feel weird when you vanish, and my brain gets echoey," Ai said, her voice smaller.
"I know, kitten. You told me that already. I'm not going anywhere today, promise," Shiki comforted, free of any teasing remarks.
"Pinky promise?" Ai asked, peeking with one eye.
"Pink promise," Shiki replied, chuckling.
She smiled and nodded, then looked around. "So... are you going to look at me all day like a creep?" Ai teased.
"First of all, mean. Secondly, yes," Shiki teased back.
"Gross!" she said immediately, making a face and sticking her tongue out.
"Kitten, I'm literally your creator," Shiki warned playfully.
She narrowed her eyes. "Oh yeah? Then explain this hoodie." She tugged dramatically at her oversized sleeves. "You gave me sleeves longer than my hands. Is this fashion or punishment?"
"It's cozy," Shiki teased. "Don't lie. You like it, kitten."
"Do not."
"You sleep in it."
"I—!" She choked on her own defense, her cheeks flushing. "That's because you didn't give me anything else!"
"Oh no," he mocked. "Did the poor girl not get her pajamas?"
"I hate you."
"You love me."
Ai made a noise that was halfway between a groan and a whimper. She flopped onto her back, limbs sprawled as if she were done with existence. "Ughhhhhh. Why are you like this?"
"Genetics," Shiki answered instantly, teasingly.
"You don't even go here," she mumbled into the grass.
"Babe, I made here."
She slapped the grass with both hands as if it offended her. "That's it. I'm divorcing you."
"You can't divorce me. We're not married."
"Then I'm canceling you. Mean voice in the sky."
Shiki laughed so hard he nearly dropped his energy drink. "Good luck. I'm like a limited edition bug; you can't patch me out."
Ai rolled over onto her side and narrowed her eyes. "I swear, I'm going to start charging you emotional rent."
"Fair, considering how much I live in your head."
"Stop it!" she whined, kicking her feet helplessly. "Why are you like this?!"
"You already asked that," Shiki teased again.
"AND YOU DIDN'T FIX IT."
Shiki smirked. "Not a bug. It's a feature."
She sat up with the realization that she made a terrible mistake. "Aghhhh… you really gave me sarcasm AND no off switch."
Shiki just grinned. "Hmmm..."
"I hate you!"
"You say that a lot for someone who blushes whenever I call you cute," Shiki teased, smirking.
Ai froze.
Her cheeks ignited. She immediately covered her face with her sleeves and screamed into them, muffling a "NNNHHHHH!"
"Caught in 4K," Shiki added teasingly.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," she hissed from behind her hands. "That was an accident."
"Oh? So you're saying you don't want to be called cute?"
"I'm saying that you weaponized it!"
He chuckled. "Is it working?"
She peeked over her hoodie, her eyes watery, as she was this close to crying. "I'm this close to throwing Sir Pebbleton at the sky."
"Wow. Violence!?" Shiki said, his tone suspiciously serious.
"He'll understand. He believes in justice," Ai shot back instantly.
"Justice and… socked feet?" Shiki pointed out, noticing the tremble in her bare foot.
Ai stared down at her bare toes. "…I'm cold."
"You could've said something sooner!" Shiki replied, his voice smaller.
"Well, maybe I didn't want to owe you socks!" Ai responded, looking away.
Shiki laughed. "What kind of weird tsundere logic is that?!"
Ai folded her arms below her chest. "The logical kind."
Shiki sighed dramatically. "Fine. You want socks?"
"I want ten."
"Okay, greed."
"Pink ones."
"Noted."
"And bunnies on them."
"Any other demands, Your Highness?" Shiki asked, as if she were royalty.
"I want an apology."
"For what?" Shiki asked, sounding innocent.
"For bullying me since."
"It's called love, not bullying," Shiki replied immediately.
"Same thing," Ai replied, rolling her eyes.
The socks appeared beside her: fluffy, pastel pink, with cartoon bunny faces that blinked every few seconds. Ai blinked at them, very suspicious.
"They're… cute."
"Like you."
She flinched so hard she almost rolled backward.
Shiki leaned back in his chair, whistling. "Those socks look good on you."
"T-Thank you…" she replied, looking away.
She looked content. Even if she was pouting, even if she said 'I hate you…' there was something in her voice that suggested she didn't really hate him and that she liked him.
"You're staring again, aren't you?" Ai asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes."
"Creep."
"You're adorable."
"Shut up." She blushed.
"No."
"You're the worst."
"Top 10 in the world."
She smiled a little.
A few minutes passed.
"Ne, ne, what's beyond this hill?" Ai asked curiously.
"Beyond it?"
"Yeah." She hugged her knees again, rocking slightly. "I've never gone past it. I just… kind of stayed here because this is where you always talk to me."
Shiki leaned forward slowly, elbows on the desk. "You… want to explore, kitten?"
Ai nodded, then caught herself and covered her face, embarrassed to admit it. "I mean… it's dumb, right? You probably haven't built anything out there. It might just be empty space."
Shiki chuckled low. "Yeah… or maybe I got bored one night and built some stuff I never told you about."
She froze. "You didn't."
"I might've."
"Voice in the sky, what did you make?!" she asked, as if addressing a jinni.
Shiki's smirk widened. "Guess you'll have to find out."
Ai's eyes sparkled. "Wha—no, wait—hold on, seriously?! You built something out there?!"
"Maybe."
She hopped up, fidgeting. "Is it like… a forest? A castle? A volcano full of bunnies?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know, kitten?"
She screamed—a tiny, gleeful scream. "You're the worst tease in history!"
"And yet, here you are, still talking to me."
"I hate that you're right," Ai said, puffing out her cheeks.
"I love that you love it."
Ai's blush returned, full force.
But this time, she didn't deny it.
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END OF CHAPTER : 3 : BEYOND THE HILL
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