Virtual Alpha and I - Chapter 9.1

Omega’s Instinct (1)

“…What am I going to do with that?”

After I got home, I was lying face down on the bed in my room.

I hadn’t looked at my phone after that. There was no way I could look at it. Because no matter what kind of reply I get, it’d only make me feel awkward.

And what’s with my reply… saying that I don’t dislike him.

It was just like a reply to a confession. So embarrassing.

Shortly after that, our conversation came to a close thanks to the washing machine finishing the laundry just at the right time.

There was a large number of uniforms from all the members. As we were hanging them up, Narumi’s phone received a call from Amagi who was tired of waiting. That was the end of our meeting.

He should’ve just quickly gone over to Amagi, but Narumi didn’t forget to say “I’m looking forward to hearing the results!” before he left.

No, I’d rather he had forgotten about it by the next time we met.

“But that probably won’t happen.”

Narumi is the type that properly remembers about things like that.

But I just replied to an AI from an app, so there was no way I could make that kind of progress.

It’s not like there’s anything to report, because nothing would happen.

“Haah….”

While I thought that this was all so silly, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even though there’s no use in worrying about it.

I wanted a change of mood, so I unconsciously reached for my phone. I opened the chatting app with Yuugo out of habit. I only realized my mistake after the chatting screen was displayed.

What am I even doing?

I was supposed to avoid looking at it, but why did I just open the app as usual? Habits are so scary.

I hurriedly tried to close it, but the words popped up on the screen before I could do that.

<I’m really happy. Thanks.>

“…Ugh.”

I had a feeling Yuugo would say something like that.

The reply was just as I expected. I couldn’t imagine him replying in any other way, and I’ve known he’d definitely answer that way—

But I still couldn’t stop my face from turning red.

*

I didn’t show up at the futsal circle the next weekend. It wasn’t that I want to avoid Narumi… No, it was partly because of that, but still.

It was the exams starting next week.

As someone who got too many red marks in the last exam, I’m actually in a bit of a pinch. I was also threatened that my parents would be called to school if I didn’t do well this time, so I really couldn’t slack off.

It wasn’t that I slacked off the last time… But well, I was just not good with studying to begin with.

But this time, I have a strong ally with me. Of course, it was Yuugo. He wasn’t an AI and an alpha just for show. Not only English, Yuugo was very helpful on the other subjects too.

He didn’t only tell me many easy-to-understand reference books, he even answered my questions right there on the app if they were something simple. His explanation was much easier to understand than the teachers’.

Thanks to him I even started to like studying a little bit.

[I might get good scores for the next exams.]

<I’m sure you’ll get it. I know Sou can do it.>

It was fun being able to talk about something like this.

My family didn’t really expect anything from me. I also didn’t talk much with them lately.

Well, we talk at least a word or two when we eat, but I think we don’t need to force ourselves to talk if we’re both too careful with each other. I also somewhat avoided talking to them.

Maybe this is a part of my rebellious phase?

“After the exams… my heat would be coming next.”

I looked at the calendar and sighed.

Luckily, this time it didn’t fall on the exam period, but it still made me feel a bit down. However, there are after-exam breaks, so if it went smoothly I shouldn’t have to do any homework.

My heat is coming, but it wasn’t that hard on me since the meds worked well. When I looked on the internet, many people were having a hard time with their heat.

There were people who couldn’t take the meds because it didn’t suit their body, or people whose fever didn’t go down even if they took the meds.

Until recently, I used to read about all these heat experiences of others every time I’m on heat. I tried to distract myself from my worries by thinking that I wasn’t the only one who was having a hard time.

Though in the end, comparing myself to others didn’t make any difference in how hard it was for me. 

“…By the way, I think I didn’t do that the last time I’m on heat.”

I think I just talked with Yuugo the whole time.

If I sent him a message saying that I was having a hard time, he’d respond in some way. If anything, he’d help me figure out what to do and search it up on the internet.

It’s great being able to complain about my feelings without worrying about the time.

It made me realize that even though the physical pain I’m experiencing should be the same, I could feel much better just by feeling differently. I feel like I might do the same thing on this heat too.

Well, that was the purpose of this app, so there’s no need to hold back.

*