Something tickled my nose.
I could feel a sneeze coming, and my eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, Eli," a sweet voice cooed adoringly in my ears. A blurry image of a beautiful woman hovered above me.
I smiled, my heart feeling fuzzy as I reached out to touch her cheek.
"Win—"
[Rest mode timeout!]
"—er,"
I blinked, momentarily realizing I was jarred from the most wonderful dream I was having. My brows immediately furrowed as I saw Fifi's small frame hovering above me.
She glowed against the fluorescent lights.
[You're awake now?]
I closed my eyes and gave Fifi a look. She knew what I meant and immediately disappeared for a brief period.
She reappeared a few minutes later, a sheepish look on her animated face.
The pungent smell of lemon cleaning agent hit my nose, distracting me from glaring at Fifi.
I must be in the infirmary.
Grunting, I hauled myself to sit up. My theory wasn't wrong; for some reason, I could feel a numbing pain on my forehead.
"What the hell happened?"
Fifi looked at me, her eyes going round and a little teary. She let her two forefingers touch while her head slowly ducked and stared at her feet.
[Fifi activated rest mode]
"And?"
She started crying.
I stared at her, my patience decreasing every time I heard her wail.
"Fifi,'
[Exo fell]
"Fell?"
[Yes. His head hit a little… well, a bit only, hard onto the desk]
I blinked, my breathing becoming ragged.
[And then the professor checked on Exo and asked two volunteers to take Exo to the infirmary]
"Fifi…" I could imagine white smoke coming out of my nose and my ears. The pixie rose, fleeing from my obvious annoyance at what happened.
"Are you aware of what you have done?"
[Fifi was worried. Exo exhausted himself battling the Cypher. Fifi took precautionary measures!]
"Do you know you sounded defensive right now?"
[...]
[Fifi is sorry]
I curled my hands into fists and then uncurled them.
Since coming back to life in this new identity, unfortunate events started to follow me.
Was this some form of punishment the ancient scrolls forgot to write about? If that were the case, I'd gladly accept being a floating, fleshless soul in the in-between.
It was a way better ending than living someone else's life and fighting for my life.
Am I really fighting to live, though? Or was it the other way around?
Getting myself off the bed, I threw a glance at Fifi. The look on her face told me she was genuine in her apology.
And who was I to hold a grudge against a talking system?
Gesturing with my head, I had her fly down and return to her usual spot.
Keeping a safe distance, Fifi observed my face for a minute.
[Exo no longer mad?]
"I still am," I admitted. "But I'm going to reconsider not talking to you. Instead, you will have to follow everything I say from now on. I also expect you to answer my questions. No funny business."
[...]
[Fifi promise to be on her best behavior]
"Good," I replied, finding my school bag on the bedside table. "That includes not activating rest mode. Ever."
[Not even—]
"No!"
The school nurse came in at that instance, and her face showed confusion as she caught my gaze.
Thinking quickly on my feet, I pressed a hand over my right ear and pretended I was in the middle of a call.
"I'm fine. I'm actually on my way out of the infirmary,"
The school nurse narrowed her gaze briefly before she gestured with her head that it was safe for me to leave.
I mouthed a 'thank you' her way, keeping my hand pressed on my right ear.
Once I was out of her sight, I breathed a sigh of relief, dropping my hand.
[Exo's heartbeat soared high]
"It's normal for my heartbeat to accelerate when I'm nervous or scared, Fifi. It's human nature."
[Fifi still needed to—]
[Oh!]
"What?"
Confused at her suddenly cutting her speech short, I was on high alert. My eyes swept every corner of the hallway we were walking in.
My little pixie danced, jumping up and down before she began flying forward.
"Hey!"
I had no choice but to chase after her, curiosity gnawing at me.
"Fifi!"
[Brother!]
Brother?
I hastened my pace, keeping a reasonable distance from Fifi. She was clearly headed to the same person whom she called brother.
Was it possible that someone like me existed in this place, and Fifi recognized his system?
I was drawing conclusions with no solid proof.
Unless Fifi answered my query, it would remain a mystery to me whether I was right or otherwise.
But if I was right, what does this mean?
[Brother!]
Fifi squealed excitedly. I have no idea why this brother of hers didn't come forward and met her halfway.
What if he was running away instead of wanting to meet?
"Fifi!"
I called out.
The afternoon sun was tinged orange, reminding me that I should be heading home right now instead of running around, chasing after Fifi.
Already panting, I watched Fifi gliding and almost enjoying her plight.
"Fifi!" I tried to get her attention and had now blindly followed her. She seemed to be ignoring me.
I was considering whether I should actually be mad at her or just add this to the reasons why she needed to obey my rules.
Forcing my feet to keep pace, I gave the last strength I could muster. It was not easy trying to level with a flying pixie.
Aside from her size, she wasn't breaking a single sweat in her body. Her speed had nothing to do with her legs, and she was a bloody system!
I was about to call out to the little devil when an approaching figure blocked my path. The other person seemed to be running at a speed comparable to mine.
Knowing how this would end, I closed my eyes, unable to put a stop to my feet in time.
Wham!