Prologue (part 2)

She didn't say anything and fled, I don't think she was following me, it was a coincidence, we both crossed paths by chance, I could see it in her eyes, as distant as they were cold.

I have no reason to harm her, I just want to see her again, maybe she knows what happened here, maybe I can talk to her...

She went in this direction, there are few tracks but I could find her.

Most of the buildings are damaged, but some retain their structures enough to enter them, if only I knew how to use my sensors, I could find her very quickly, but I can't access them, they're also blocked.

Following the silhouette of this girl, I ran after her without thinking.

Even though I have a very slim figure, I must be made of some very heavy material, my feet break the concrete ground and make a great noise every time I touch the surface.

I arrived at the nearest building that she could enter, it's in ruins, but maybe she hid here.

—Hello?..hello?, don't worry, I don't want to hurt you.—

If I was the one who destroyed this place, I hope she didn't see me.

Looking around, an interior with very dark corners and with many debris on the ground, I began to call her.

I don't think it will collapse at any moment, it's very destroyed but it seems safe enough… even if the whole building collapsed on me, it wouldn't hurt me.

I walk slowly through what remains of this place, my night vision activates automatically, but I can't see her.

I don't hear anything, does she really not want to be found?, does she want to avoid me so much?.

—I'm IA.. don't be afraid, it's a surprise for me to see someone else too.— I try to make her come out without raising my voice too much, looking to the sides, taking careful steps, I advance very slowly, one foot at a time.

—Can you come out for a moment?.— I say softly.

—...…—

Why do I feel like she's watching me?.. even though I can't see her.

—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—

...Before turning my face in another direction, I felt and heard a very loud noise…

She ran towards me and hit me with her hands, the impact threw me out of the building, breaking what little was left of it.

..She attacked me…

She's a weapon...just like me... Her strength is superhuman, her speed is above any species.

Slowly, I get up from the ground, it was just a warning, if she wanted to end me, she'd be hitting me relentlessly.

I think I'm okay, I check my body with my hands and find no damage, my system tells me everything is fine.

The impact was so great that the sound wave from the blow made the few remaining buildings explode into pieces, any living being would have disintegrated.

The girl with light blue eyes heads towards me slowly, her gaze fixed on me, should I fight her?, I don't want to harm her, I don't know why, but I don't want to hurt her...

..She runs towards me...

—Wait!, wait a moment!.—

—...…— She doesn't say anything..

—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—

She hit me again…

I raised my hands in time to receive the impact of her right fist, this made her send me a few tens of meters away from her.

I don't understand, why does she attack me like this?, why does she only hit me once?.

The girl with light blue eyes comes towards me again, it's as if she jumps breaking the ground and in an instant she's in front of me, she has incredible control of her body.

She's like me, built similarly, to kill.

I don't want to hit her, I don't want to…

I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable, I'd rather be harmed than touch her.

I clench my fists, standing still.

—...…—

—...…—

..Nothing happened?...

She's in front of me... I can feel her...

Slowly, I open my eyes…

Her gaze seems almost lifeless, expressionless.

She stopped a few centimeters away from me.

This situation paralyzes me a bit because of how unpredictable she is, and I gather strength to try to speak.

—...This?.— I ask puzzled and somewhat unsure..

Did my necklace catch her attention so much?, from hitting me to stopping completely.

—Do you know it?.— I ask again, taking the necklace in my hand.. It's a strange situation for me.

—...…— She doesn't say anything, she's just standing there, her eyes fixed on it.

She moves a few centimeters away from me and starts walking around me, as if examining me, is she studying me?.

Her eyes roam my figure, but it's clear what catches her attention.

Why did she change her attitude so quickly?.

—Do we know each other?.— My tone is calm, and the girl returns again to the front of my body.

Her movements are very delicate and the long pigtails of her hair that reach almost to her feet move with her, she is as tall as me.

—...…—

She doesn't want to talk or she can't?.

Raising her right hand, she points to my necklace with her index finger, which I still hold, I haven't let go, it seems to be the key to her not wanting to attack me.

—...…—

Although she still doesn't say anything, the girl emphasizes pointing to my necklace by moving her finger, touching it gently.. she's caressing it.. Then she points to herself, and joins her two hands, as if giving a greeting.

Maybe she can't speak, and those signs mean she's a friend of my necklace, or something like that.

—Friends?, friends?.— I ask trying to hide a little my excitement.

—...…—

She hardly shows facial expressions, but the look she had when she attacked me is no longer there, I want to believe we'll be fine..

I release the necklace that falls on my chest again. It seems to interest her too much, she keeps looking at it.

But if she can't speak, what could she tell me about it?.

—Can't you speak, right?.— Without getting carried away by the moment I don't move from where I'm standing, I wouldn't want to make sudden movements that could scare her. I still don't know what she's really like or what she wants from me.

—...…— The girl shakes her head from left to right..

—I understand, you can't... let me think.— I look around, trying to find an appropriate idea.

—Can you...can you write?.— There's some dust and mud on the ground, she could write with her hand.

—Can you write something?, who you are.. or do you know what happened here?.— Maybe it's impossible, but I need to know..

—Do you know who I am?.— I ask.

My expression softens a bit, going from seriousness and confusion to curiosity.

—...…—

The girl blinks her light blue eyes, tilting her head to one side, as if not understanding what I said, did I speak too fast?.

—Look.— I sit on the ground and start writing with my finger on the mud.

—IA, I am IA.— I tell her, writing "IA" and pointing to myself, maybe this way she'll understand me better.

The girl follows my actions with attention, sitting in front of me, she looks very calm.

—"Mi..ku...ni".— I read aloud what she writes in the mud.

—Mikuni?, are you Mikuni?.— I ask when the girl with light blue pigtails finishes writing and points to herself. I'd say she sometimes understands what I mean.

—Can you tell me something else?.— I pat the surface inviting her to continue.

—...…— She doesn't say anything and looks down again.

—"Mikuni".— She wrote her name again.. and again..

The girl writes her name two more times. I don't know if she didn't understand me or if her language ability is damaged.

Watching her face, her skin as well cared for and white as mine.. must be a similar material.

I stand up from the ground, carefully and slowly, not scaring her is still a priority.

She stands up with me and now she looks like a totally different girl, she looks so harmless, as if she trusts me and I trust her.

—Mikuni, can I...can I check your head?.— As I speak, I make gestures with my hands to make her understand me more easily.

—...…— With a smile, and without omitting a single sound, Mikuni tilts her head.

..She's like a different girl...

When it comes to building an android, I'm not sure if it's better to leave our CPU in the head or in our chest, but like me, Mikuni has most of her important components in her head.

—Don't worry, it won't hurt, I just want to understand how similar we are.— Although like me, she shouldn't feel pain.

I also don't think I can dismantle her right here, but if I can communicate with some electrical signal that is linked to her circuits, I could see part of her structure and do something for her.

—It's strange, Mikuni.— I furrow my brow a little as I place my hands on her head.

I can go through her system without any problem, to some places I can go, and to others I can't. I would say they used the same base model to make both of us… we're almost identical.

Mikuni presents the same type of modification that they did to me, but instead of her memory, her language ability has been modified, this means she remembers everything but can't express herself clearly, it's the opposite of me.

My fingers delicately run through her soft hair, maybe I can fix her primary functions, if she could understand me, it would be a great advancement.

My eyes move from side to side, my expression calm, slightly concentrated.

—I think I'm done, can you understand me, Mikuni?.— I remove my hands, stepping back a bit from her, expectantly.

—...…— She doesn't say anything, but smiles and nods her head.

It's a bit frustrating, there's so much I would like to ask her. She's the first… not person… machine, but she's the first time I've seen someone in a long, long time. There's so much I would like to hear from her.

—Let's see, when we met, were you following me?.— I ask softly.

—...…— Mikuni shakes her head from side to side, denying it, and then raises her hand and points behind me, in the distance, gesturing with her hands.

—Do you mean the shortwave frequency?, were you walking in that direction?.— I turn, realizing that over there the most relevant thing is the radio transmission, but I still can't identify it, probably because of the distance or some interference.

—...…— Mikuni smiles, closing her eyes, she seems happy that I can understand her, and nods her head.

—I'm also heading to its origin, there shouldn't be any living beings left in Aria, so we shouldn't hear anything.— I position myself by her side to look in the same direction, pensive.

—...We can go together, is that okay with you, Mikuni?.— I ask, expectant and somewhat afraid she might refuse..

—...…— She takes my hand and begins to walk with her eyes closed and a faint smile. That's her answer, she wants us to go together.

I don't know what that signal will say exactly, it must be almost on the other side of the planet, it's still too far to identify it, but we'll get there, just come with me, we'll get there.

***

If I'm honest, I can't stand this noise.

—If only I could communicate directly with IA and with Mikuni, I wouldn't have to go through this.—

In these cases, I have no choice but to shut down my sensors as I approach, or it would certainly be very annoying, the message repeats constantly.