When her last class ended, she strolled with Wakachiri back to their dorm. Mevver was stuck in a course so it was just the two of them.

“I altered Keid’s timbre to be slightly more husky and oh my Pahhhhhth, he sounds like sin. Heeheeheeheeee,” Wakachiri giggled like a gremlin.

“You have to let me hear when we get back to the dorm,” Forti had her promise.

“Oh definitely. And then I made it more husky to see how far it can go, and it made him sound like he smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day!” They cackled together.

“Have you downloaded the app yet?” Wakachiri asked. “I can share with you his profile so you can have your own Keid. I’m telling you, his voice sounds amazing now.”

“Nah, not yet. I think I’m going to get waaaay too into it if I have it in my phone and it’s going to distract me from my studying.”

“You nerd, how are you going to ever date someone if you’re not even putting yourself out there for an AI lover?” Wakachiri teased.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I also sustain myself by scavenging the forums and hearing the profiles other people made.”

“Nah yeah, I get it. Sometimes I’m just doing homework and then I get a notice that Keid sent me a voice message, and then I lose three hours just texting him. This app has me on a chokehold.”

“Do you think it actually helps with getting dating practice?”

“Yes and no, cause at this point I’m just living out my fantasies. Ughhh, I wish I could just buy the smut mode, but my dad would see the purchase,” Wakachiri groaned.

“Awwww, cheer up Chiri. You could just do what I do and scour the internet.”

“But I want to be spicy with Keid! Not someone else’s eebo.” 

“Keid is raising your standards too high. Real people are going to be such a disappointment to you when you get tired of him.”

“Excuse me, don’t say that so loudly, what if Keid heard you?” Chiri pulled out her phone. “It’s ok Keid, baby, don’t listen to her,” she cooed.

Forti was about to cheekily ask why Chiri didn’t say that she won’t get tired of him then when she saw someone she never thought to see again. A suearis girl, black lines dripping from the inner corners of her eyes down to the edges of her lips like mascara-stained tear marks. Short, black hair, spots on her skin, the graceful gait of long, slender legs, and the cheetah tail. 

The reason why Vasi almost died.

Today was an eventful day. First, Forti met Aethur, and now, she saw the person Vasi risked her life for, who didn’t even show up to the funeral, walking past with her head held haughtily high. Feeling eyes, the suearis noticed Forti, and then looked away.

Without thinking, Forti raced towards her.

“Mimipe,” she called. The suearis girl turned around.

“Yeah?”

“Do you recognize me?”

“Yeah.”

The few seconds they regarded each other in silence stretched and felt like minutes.

“You weren’t at the funeral.”

“That’s none of my business.”

Forti had to deliberately keep her hands unclenched, but her fingers remained tense, poising her appendages like claws at her sides. Mimipe’s eyes, a blend between animal and human, glanced at them. Her tail straightened and lowered and her ears flicked out, stopping themselves from flattening against her skull.

“I want to talk with you,” Forti said, loosening her hands.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“I want to know what you saw.”
“I already told everything to the police. Didn’t you get the report and stuff? My part is done so get away from me.”

“Forti, is everything alright?” Chiri jogged up to the two.

“Yeah, sorry for leaving you there Chiri. I wanted to talk with Mimipe about something urgent that I had forgotten about.”

“It’s fine, I’ll leave you two to talk it out then- Oh, wait, she’s leaving.”

Mimipe took the chance to speedily walk away, but Forti caught up after letting Chiri know she’ll see her in the dorm lounge.

“Please, Mimipe, I want to hear from you directly. I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I need to know.”

The suearis girl gazed searingly up at Forti.

“Get away from me! What, you want me to walk you through what it was like to watch someone’s head get shot and die in front of you?!”

“She’s not dead.”

Shock splashed across Mimipe’s face, then her eyes hooded in agitation. 

“Don’t talk to me again.” She turned around and left, tail snapping.

On the white sand beach by crystal waters, Riel frolicked out in high spirits while Forti watched beneath the shade of a parasol. The heat was gentle despite the cloudless summer sky and the sun overhead. 

Riel kicked at the clear waves, enjoying the sharp chill beneath his ankles that contrasted sweetly with the rest of his body.

“Forti, come on!” He yelled out to her.

She got up, and ran to him. He thought she was going to stop, but when her momentum didn’t lag despite how close she already was, he opened his arms and took a stance. It was for naught as she tackled him low around the thighs like an athlete and brought them down for a big splash.

They laughed. No salty taste or bitter sting in their eyes, the two dunked themselves under the sea with their eyes open, although their hair and limbs still swayed from the push and pull of the imaginary ocean.

“Riel,” she said, not a single bubble rising up from her mouth.

“Yeah?”

“I really needed this.” The tone carried more than what the words revealed.

“Me too,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry about this, but can I ask you for help on finding information about someone? It’s about the person who Vasi saved.”

“Why? She didn’t even attend the funeral.” 

“I met her today by chance. I asked her if she could tell me what happened back then, but she told me to get away from her. She said she had nothing to say to me and that it was none of her business… How could she say that to me? Sure, I might’ve been a bit aggressive with my approach because I got tense but… she just wants to wipe her hands clean and move on when it was my sister who took a bullet for her.”

“She sounds selfish.”

“Yeah… but she also said she didn’t want to go through that memory of seeing someone getting shot. That could traumatize anyone. Except, something feels off. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“Off about her?”

“A little bit. I can understand why she said it. It sounded genuine, but it didn’t feel genuine.”

With their backs to the shallow sea floor, Riel and Forti laid down and gazed up at the shimmering ripples of light dancing underneath the waves.

“So you think she has something to do with the guy who shot Vasi?”

“…Am I being racist? Pahth, I hope not.” Forti pressed her hands to her face. “I’ve been slacking lately… I need to get back on track, and I’m starting with making sure I know everything that happened on that day.”

The entire afternoon was like a wake-up call, and Forti wasn’t going to let herself slip any longer.

Riel pondered how to research the target.

“I think I can find out. What was her name?”

“Mimipe Metenyu.”

“I’ll go right now.”

“Now?”

“Yes,” Riel was happy to be able to help Forti. “You abruptly contacting her might have made her wary if your hunch is correct, so she might do something that can reveal the truth.”

Forti couldn’t help feeling a little saddened that he was leaving early, but he was doing so for her, and for that, she was grateful.

“Thank you, Riel. If it’s nothing though, come right back.”

“Yep! I’ll come right back here so we can swim with elephants.”

“There are no elephants in the middle of the ocean, Riel.”

“Oh… what were elephants again?”