Chapter Twenty-Three – Hikikomori with a Shotgun

Chapter Twenty-Three – Hikikomori with a Shotgun

“It’s strange, isn’t it? How as the world grows, and people get stuck in their own little bubbles apart from others, how communicating effectively just becomes even more important?”

–CEO of Talktech, during a 2039 interview

***

“So, uh,” I started. “Did Deus Ex tell you about what I was doing?” I asked.

Shy slowly and carefully shook her head.

“Right. Well. She wants me to check up on all the local samurai, make sure they’re alright. I guess… give them my number, in case something comes up. You know, if you need help or something.”

“Okay,” Shy said.

She stared, and I stared right back.

Truth was, I’d dealt with something similar before. There was a kid in the orphanage a few years back. Actually got adopted at some point. I think his name was Br4nd0n? Numbers and all. Poor shit had some of those parents before he ended up in the orphanage. Didn’t speak a word. There was a mute kid back then too, but he could sign up a storm and used her phone to ‘talk’ a fair bit. Mute was mute, The Br4nd0n was just cripplingly shy.

It took a long time to figure out how to work with him. I think there were tricks to handle it, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember any of them.

Didn’t help that mute kids got adopted a lot more often than more obvious cripples. I guess wanna-be parents would rather have a kid that can’t talk back instead of a kid missing an arm or a leg.

“So, uh, is there anything you need help with?” I asked.

Shy shook her head slightly. “No,” she said.

Well shit, a whole syllable, I was getting somewhere. “Okay then,” I said. “I’ll have Myalis, my AI, send you my contact info. If something comes up, don’t be… don’t hesitate to give me a call, or send me a text. If it’s urgent, I’m sure Myalis will nag me to get to it.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Cool cool,” I said.

The silence stretched. The only good thing was that I could tell this pained Shy as much as it pained me. She was working her jaw and looked like she was resisting the urge to cringe into herself. “D-do…”

“Yeah?” I asked.

Shy looked away from me, and her throat moved strangely for a moment before she nodded.

“Are you thirty?”

“Thirty?” I asked.

“Thirsty,” she repeated.

Then there was a voice, speaking up from… pretty much nowhere and everywhere all at once, but not in a super loud way. I recognized it almost right away. Latyns, I think his name was? “Greetings, Vanguard Stray Cat. Lady shy wishes to enquire about your hunger and thirst, as a matter of polite hospitality.”

“Oh. Uh, no, I’m good. My girlfriend has been taking cooking classes at that university right off the island lately. She’d been getting pretty good at cooking. Hey, maybe I can invite you over one of these days?”

She nodded.

“Do you cook?” I asked. Maybe I could foist the social responsibility of dealing with Shy onto Lucy… she wouldn’t mind too much, would she?

Then again, someone as extroverted as Lucy might well blow Shy’s little introvert mind right off her shoulders.

I was expecting Laytns to answer, but Shy suddenly shook her head, took a deep breath, and spoke herself. “Ah, no? I order a lot,” Shy said. “Do… you want a tour? Of my apartment? If I go to your place, it’s only fair.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. Did I really want a tour of her place? No. Did I want the awkwardness to end? Yes. Would I feel guilty if I just fucked off back home and hugged and praised Lucy for being so awesome? A little bit.

Shy nodded, and seemed happy, and that little twinkle in her eyes twisted the guilt in my gut. Then she pointed down, towards my feet.

I looked at the floor, then back up. “What?” I asked.

“Shoes,” she said.

“Actually, these are boots,” I said.

Shy shook her head. “Wearing shoes in someone’s house… um… no, it’s okay.”

I didn’t sigh. I wanted to, but I had the impression that if I gave off the vibes that I wasn’t appreciating her efforts, Shy would clamp right up, and then every visit to her would be more awkward than the last.

“Give me a minute,” I said.