Birth of a Hero [Erina]

[Densetsu Karu]

Date: Sunday, April 20, 2003
Time: 11:30 AM

“Thanks.”

The words were soulless; a formality from one machine to another.

Karu reached forward and gently grasped the bento that contained his lunch. His grandmother smiled, pleased at his acceptance of her efforts, but beneath the expression he could see the worry in her eyes. Pah. He had never asked for her worry, or or help. She wasted her time with his lunch every day. Even when he went to school, where he could simply take a trip to the cafeteria, Karu's grandmother painstakingly filled a bento with food for him. Sure, her food tasted better than the slop at the cafeteria, but it's not like that mattered in the long run. The food would return to dust all the same.

That's the directive of parents and grandparents, though: to dote on their successors, to help them survive in this cold world. A machine whose job is to ensure the next machine in the chain performs well. With time, he too would become that machine. How pitiful.

Karu slid the boxed lunch into his bag. He wanted to go out for a walk. Clear his mind. Get out of his own head, if only for a moment. All of the cynicism that had clouded his thoughts for the first week of his freshman year was bogging him down. Today was a day for cleansing, if he could manage it. Walking had a therapeutic effect on him, and as such, it was his preferred way of clearing his mind. He would have left the house earlier, but his grandmother insisted he wait so that she could supply him with food. She wanted him to have something to eat since it was getting close to That Arbitrary Time in the Middle of the Day Where Everyone Decides You Should Eat a Meal. He had obliged, not out of a need for food, but because it took more energy to argue than it did to wait in a chair by the window for twenty minutes.

With his lunch acquired, Karu said goodbye and made his way to the door. His grandmother followed him to the door, but he did not engage with her further. Wordlessly, he stepped outside and walked away from his grandparents' house.

~ ~ ~

He walked for some time; eventually, Karu had found himself in one of the popular local parks of Hikarizaka. He hadn't planned to end up here, but he was here nonetheless. Normally his mind was a storm of thoughts and feelings, but of them all, the most pervasive feeling was emptiness, like that of a gaping abyss that threatened to swallow him in its darkness. By walking through Hikarizaka, taking in the scenery around him, watching other, happier machines move about in their daily lives, he could feel that emptiness fighting with a rising feeling of optimism. No, not quite as hopeful as optimism—it was as if he was balancing on a tightrope along the border between the abyss in his heart and that sweet yet transient feeling of contentedness.

“Pathetic,” he mumbled to himself, deeming his thought processes melodramatic and excessively angsty, but he was powerless to stop them.

It was then that he heard shouting. On the tightrope in his mind, he slipped, but managed to keep his balance. He craned his neck, searching for the source of the sound; in only a moment, he spotted another machine who was shouting into the open air only a few meters to his right. It was looking at the lake nearby, babbling on about the beauty of the scenery... or something. He had been so lost in his own mind that he hadn't noticed this machine's presence. He kept watching it for a few moments as it continued to speak loudly despite no one being there with it. Then the machine pulled a pink phone from its pocket. It fumbled with the phone for a moment, and then held it up to eye level, pointed towards the lake. Taking a picture?

“Waaaaaah~! Ai-chan needs to bring me food nooow!” it shouted, frustration in its voice as it continued to try to adjust the angle of the phone's camera.

Why was this machine... acting like this? He felt himself drawn towards the machine, his curiosity taking hold of him. In his mind, he slipped again, this time unable to catch himself as he tumbled away from the abyss. He did not realize it, but a seedling of excitement and hope sprouted in his heart. He took a step toward the machi- no, the girl. Then another, and another. What was he doing? What would he say? Why was he approaching this stranger? He continued to question himself as he moved closer to her. Fear of his own uncharacteristic actions caused adrenaline to begin to surge through him.

In spite of himself, he stayed his course, and in a moment, he was standing only a few feet behind her. She's hungry, right? That's what she was shouting about. So, naturally... Karu removed the bento from his bag, holding it by his side. He waited there, trying to decide exactly how to announce himself. Each second was an eternity as adrenaline continued to flow through his veins. It took all of his energy to fight back that instinct to flee. He had come too far already. “Pardon me,” he said softly, “I overheard that you were hungry.” He forced a smile, but it looked more pained than cheerful.

[Yasuda Erina]

“This is a pretty place~!”

The robust voice that echoed across the lake belonged to one Erina Yasuda, high school first year and professional ball of energy. She threw her arms out wide as she made her cheerful declaration and surveyed the sparkling water before her. It was beautiful! Amazing! Super, super pretty! Jogging through here had definitely been a good idea!

She nodded as if to affirm her own thoughts then lowered her arms and glanced about to admire the scenery further. It really was lovely. There had been parks in her old city, but they hadn’t felt quite the same. Perhaps it had to do with “small town charm” or something of that nature. Whatever it was, Erina had decided she liked it.

Not that she didn't like her old town, of course! No, no, she missed home very, very much! The goodbye party her friends had thrown together on her last day was a cherished memory now. Those photos of silly middle school girls giggling and throwing peace signs at the camera now sat on her desk in her room, ready to be framed or pasted into an album. 

“Maybe one day, everyone can come here together~!” At this thought, her smile grew even broader, and she began to nod vigorously, quickly losing herself in a happy daydream. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to gather all her friends here? Everyone back at her old home could come, as well as all the new friends she’d make! They could play games and laugh and have a picnic… A picnic!

The thought of food caused Erina’s eyes to sparkle and her mouth to water, drool making its way out of the corners of her grinning lips. It was going to happen! She’d make it happen! Snapping back to attention, she hurriedly wiped her mouth with her arm. New determination and energy had filled her. Oh the motivating power of food!

“I bet Ai-chan would come!” she began to think aloud, reminiscing volleyball practices with her friend while fumbling for her phone in her pocket. “If she sees how pretty it is, she’ll have to come and see me and bring me food! Definitely, for sure!” Switching to the phone’s camera setting, she turned to face the lake, holding up the device to get the best angle she could…

Grrrooooowl

“Waaaaaah~! Ai-chan needs to bring me food nooow!”

Even as she whined at her loudly complaining stomach, Erina continued to flail about with the device, pointing it in various directions. Why did the camera have to be so small and the lake so big? How was Ai-chan supposed to be impressed with such a tiny picture? Cell phone companies needed to make bigger cameras!

"Pardon me"

The quiet voice pulled Erina back to the present with such force, she let out a startled "Eep!" and nearly dropped her phone in a flurry of pink and jingling keychains before turning to face the stranger that had approached her.

"I overheard that you were hungry."

A boy? He was smiling at her... sort of? Well, his expression looked a little funny, but he was smiling, right? He was being friendly, wasn't he? She flashed a bright smile back, apparently forgetting her picture-taking plans for the moment. 

"Yes, I'm hungry! Super hungry~!" she stated emphatically, her gaze slowly wandering toward the bento in the boy's hand. Was... was he going to give her some of that? Was that why he had asked if she was hungry? Ah, but taking food from strangers in the park was kind of suspicious, right? But still, her stomach...

Wait! She hadn't introduced herself! If they introduced themselves, they wouldn't be strangers anymore, right? Maybe it would be okay then?

"Ah, I'm Yasuda Erina!" she shifted topics, tearing her eyes from the bento. "It's nice to meet you~!" She completed the sudden introduction with a small bow then looked back at the boy expectantly as she awaited his reply, but every few seconds her eyes darted down toward the potential meal in his hands. It was true she wanted to know his name. Making friends was always a pleasure! But what was in that bento?!