The peaceful hum of the evening filled the room as I lay sprawled on my bed, mindlessly scrolling through my phone. The gentle glow of the screen was the only light in the otherwise dim room, and for once, everything felt calm.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I jolted upright, my heart leaping into my throat. The sound was unmistakable—a knock at the window. Who would even knock on my second-floor window? I slowly turned my head toward it, half expecting something ominous.
Instead, I saw Ayami.
She was crouched on the narrow ledge outside my window, her golden eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Her hair was slightly tousled, and she had an almost mischievous grin plastered across her face. For a moment, I just blinked, trying to process the sight in front of me.
"Hikaru-kun, are you just going to stare, or are you going to let me in?" she said, her voice muffled by the glass.
Still in a daze, I shuffled over to the window and unlocked it, sliding it open. The cold night air rushed in, making me shiver. "What are you doing here?" I asked, baffled. "And how did you even get up here?"
Ayami swung her legs over the windowsill, landing lightly on the floor. "Oh, come on. You know I'm not exactly… normal." She flashed a cheeky grin, brushing off invisible dust from her clothes. "I climbed. It's not hard when you've got skills like mine."
"Did you turn into a cat to jump to the second floor?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ayami gave me a big thumbs up, her grin widening. "You guessed it!"
I sighed, leaning against my desk. "So... what do you need?"
She stretched her arms dramatically, glancing around my room as if inspecting it. Then, out of nowhere, she said, "Let's go to Iraq."
I blinked. "Huh!? What? You can't just drop that on me!"
"I'm serious," she replied casually, as if suggesting we grab coffee. "Let's go to Iraq."
"Why...?" My voice was a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"To find Enkidu," she said with a shrug, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I stared at her, my jaw slack. "Are you sure he's even there?"
She shook her head, her expression unbothered.
"Then don't ask me to go!" I nearly shouted, throwing my hands up.
She flopped onto my bed, staring lazily at the ceiling. "I'm just bored... it's been five days and nothing's happened."
"Isn't that good? Better than being weird and showing up at my place," I shot back, still baffled.
"I need to do something," she said with a sigh, her golden eyes flicking toward me briefly.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to think of something that might entertain her. Then an idea struck me. "Wanna play a game?"
Her ears practically perked up. "Oh? You have a game? What game?"
I got up and walked over to my desk, grabbing my console. "Have you played this before?" I asked, holding up my Pendo Switch.
Ayami tilted her head, examining it. "I've seen that thing before but never knew much about it. So... it's just for games?"
"Yep. Just games," I replied, booting it up. "Trust me, it'll keep you busy."
She leaned forward, curious, as the screen lit up. "Hmm. Alright, teach me how to use this thing."
I handed Ayami the Pendo Switch, watching her hold it like she was inspecting some ancient artifact. Her golden eyes narrowed as she examined the buttons and joysticks, pressing one experimentally. The device let out a cheerful chime, and she jumped slightly, her cat-like instincts kicking in.
"Relax, it's not going to explode," I said, trying not to laugh.
She scowled at me. "Hikaru-kun, I'm not that clueless. I'm just… figuring it out."
"Sure, sure," I said, sitting next to her. I leaned over and pointed at the screen. "Okay, so this is the home menu. You pick a game by using the joystick to highlight it and then press this button here—'A'—to select."
Ayami shifted on the bed, then suddenly plopped herself down on my lap without any hesitation. I froze, caught completely off guard.
"Uh, Ayami?"
She tilted her head slightly but didn't look back. "What? You're already here, and it's easier for you to guide me like this," she said nonchalantly, her focus glued to the Pendo Switch screen.
I sighed, trying to ignore how casual she was about the whole thing. "Alright… if you say so."
Leaning forward, I rested my arms on either side of her to better point at the controls. "So, in this game, you're a villager, and your goal is to help build up the island, make friends, and collect resources. See that little icon there?" I gestured to the screen. "That's your inventory."
She moved the joystick hesitantly, but her character spun in circles instead. "Wait… what's this doing?" she asked, confused.
"That's the movement joystick. Use it to walk around. Now, press 'Y' to pick up that seashell."
Her golden eyes lit up as her character bent down to scoop up the shell. "Ohhh, I get it now. So, it's like… gathering stuff? But why?"
"For crafting, decorating, trading—there's a lot you can do. It's a pretty chill game. No big missions or stressful moments, just… relaxing."
Ayami hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm. It's oddly peaceful." She guided her character toward a tree and shook it. A fruit dropped to the ground, and she picked it up. "So, I can just keep shaking trees and stealing their stuff?"
"Pretty much, yeah," I said, laughing. "But there's more. Try using your net to catch that butterfly over there."
"Net?" she repeated, fumbling with the controls. Her character swung the net wildly, scaring off the butterfly instead of catching it. "Tch, this is harder than it looks."
"Here, let me show you." I reached around her, gently taking the Pendo Switch from her hands. Our heads were close, her soft hair brushing lightly against my cheek. I tried to brush it off and focus on the game instead. "See? You just wait until you're lined up, then press 'A'—and there, got it."
Ayami leaned back slightly, watching me closely. "Okay, okay, I think I've got it now. Let me try again."
I handed the console back to her, and she eagerly took it. This time, she managed to catch the butterfly. Her grin was triumphant. "Ha! I'm getting good at this!"
Knock, knock!
The sudden sound at the door startled us both. Ayami instantly turned into a cat, dropping the console, which hit my foot with a thud.
"Keugh…" I winced, clutching my foot. "Come in!" I yelled toward the door.
The door creaked open to reveal my mom, her brows furrowed slightly. "Are you… talking to someone?"
"Oh, Mom! No, I was just, uh… talking to my game," I said, laughing nervously.
"Meow," Ayami, now in her cat form, let out a soft, perfectly innocent meow while sitting on my lap. Her golden eyes blinked at my mom, feigning the most angelic look possible.
"...Who's cat is that?" my mother asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Oh, just arrived! Seems like it's from the neighbor," I replied quickly, stroking Ayami's fur to play along.
"Ahh… I see. Well, I just came to check in. I thought someone was in here," she said, her tone easing. "I'll be in the living room if you need me." She gave the cat one last curious glance before closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I let out a sigh of relief. Ayami stretched lazily on my lap, clearly unbothered by the close call.
"You're way too good at that," I muttered, giving her a pointed look.
She purred smugly, flicking her tail. "Of course. I am a cat, after all."
I picked up the console, inspecting it carefully to make sure it hadn't been damaged. "Glad it didn't get destroyed," I muttered, feeling relieved.
Ayami, still lounging comfortably on my lap in cat form, tilted her head slightly and gave a playful meow. "You could just steal it from the mirror world if it got destroyed, nya."
"Yeah, I could..." I mumbled, half-lost in thought.
"Hey, how about we go to the mall, nya?" Ayami perked up, her golden eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Mirror world?" I blinked at her, confused.
"No, not the mirror world," she clarified, stretching out lazily. "I mean the actual world. I want to walk around, see some people. Not just an empty world, nya."
"Let me change, go look at the wall," I asked her.
"Why should I?" Ayami replied, her voice playful but with a hint of sass. "I've been living for 80 years, I know what a man's body looks like. No need to look away."
"Look away, you grandma," I teased.
Her eyes flashed with frustration at the word 'grandma,' and she huffed, turning her head away with a scowl. "You bastard little kid."
To Be Continue.