re: INITIATIVE [Detective Fiction]

[#02] An Acquaintance

THAT NIGHT was scheduled to be the supposed acquaintance party for all the students for that semester. Curiously though, sophomores and the upper levels should already have found the party to be obsolete. Though if I were them, I might've also been interested in meeting new people, and nothing says "meeting" than a good ol' fashioned acquaintance party.

I never thought Axel would ever be the type to attend such an interactive party where you could get new friends, but I suppose Axel couldn't have anything better to do in his apartment that time.

"Hey, you free later this evening?"

Joshua contacted him beforehand, and had tried to convince him to attend (though he didn't really need any convincing) the party. The holographic projection of Axel's Dpad lit up his room as Joshua's face was plastered by Axel's side while he laid in bed.

"Why? What's up?"

"Posters of the acquaintance party tonight are all over the place. It would be a marvelous uncanny phenomenon if you said you hadn't been informed of it."

"Okay, yes I was informed, no need to get all pretentious with me."

"You coming?" Joshua asked,

"We don't need dates, if that's what you're worried about," Joshua interrupted what Axel was about to say, while Axel just stared at him apathetically as a response.

He would've been interested a while ago, but now that Joshua had insulted him, he was starting to doubt his attendance.

Joshua would probably be hoping to see him there - that was the type of person I thought Joshua was.

Before the supposed hour, Axel laid on his bed as he browsed through free downloadable formal outfits for his DynaFabric, but as expected, one can only see top quality for a corresponding price. Nothing was free online - in the essence. In the end, he decided to come along - perhaps for the free food.

Axel's digital wardrobe, however, was very limiting. Aside from the black pants, white sleeves, black vest and black tie that the AU uniform chip provided, he only had one other pair of formal pants, a pair of plain jeans, a pair of shorts, a V-neck, a cardigan, and a tux jacket - all customizable in color.

"You better not have someone else other than me!" Sam pouted while looking right at Axel as she stood by his doorway, her hands resting on her waist, looking like a crazy clingy girlfriend - except she wasn't the latter.

"Don't worry, we're not required to bring dates, and you're not one to stop me if I were to have mine anyway."

"B-but I'm your girlfriend! Wouldn't that be cheating on me?" Her flushing cheeks scared me. Had android technology gone too far? Her emotions just seemed to be so realistic.

Too realistic. Come to think of it, I've never seen any other sympathetic androids; perhaps "sympathetic" models were just an idea in Axel's head. Does the model type even exist anyway? Back then, we knew nothing.

"What are you even talking about? You're not my girlfriend!"

"A-and now you're disowning me? After all that I've done for you... c-cruel, Axie. Just..."

"Please don't call me that."

"How could you be so inconsiderate of how your future wife would think about this... this acquaintance par-"

"W-wife?! Preposterous!"

"Oh darling, I love it when you use pretentious words~" Sam said with a lovey-dovey tone of voice.

"Ha? Preposterous isn't pretentious!"

"Conscientious contentious anomalous whatever, just don't get too close with any other girls, okay?! Or... or..."