Girl: "Who are you?" Alien: "Er, I'm an alien."
A story about a girl and an alien. Very straightforward, right? Well, uh...
(While this is easily one of my favorite 2ch stories to date, it gets sad, and it involves abuse of several varieties. Fair warning.)
——
#OP
Girl: "An alien?"
Alien: "Yes."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "..." *poke*
Alien: "W-What are you doing? Stop that, please."
Girl: "...Hm..." *poke poke*
Alien: "Ack! Those are my eyes! Ow! That hurts!"
Girl: "Wha? That's gross. Why do you have eyes THERE?"
Alien: "Huh? Is that odd? Eh? Um..."
#OP
Girl: "Your front's all slippery..."
Alien: "I-I'm sorry... I'm a little nervous, so I'm sweating..."
Girl: "Huh? Sweating?"
Alien: "What? What is it? Do you find me... odd?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "E... Er... You're worrying me with the sudden silence."
Girl: "Are these ears?"
Alien: "Ah! Ah! No, don't pull on that! That doesn't feel good at all! AHH!"
Girl: "Huh? Sorry." *let go*
Alien: "Wh... whew... Y-You caught me off-guard."
Alien: "...Please, be more careful. If we were the same species, that could have been seen as an attack on me."
#OP
Girl: "...I'm not quite sure how I'd describe you, honestly. It's... tough."
Girl: "...I guess you have arms and legs, at least. But as for how many... man, that's just not right."
Girl: "Are you really an alien?"
Alien: "Well, I wouldn't likely consider MYSELF an alien... But you would, certainly."
Girl: "So you came from space?"
Alien: "Indeed."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Don't aliens talk their own alien language?"
Alien: "Ah, yes. I'm using a mechanism that translates our language into yours, and vice versa."
Girl: "?"
Alien: "Err... simply put, I'm using special technology that enables us to understand each other."
Girl: "Hmm..."
#OP
Girl: "I don't get it, but it sure sounds fancy."
Alien: "A matter of course! Your level of technology is one we passed nearly 40,000 years ago."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Ey." *poke*
Alien: "Ow! That hurts! Don't poke me!"
Girl: "Then stop bragging!" *poke poke*
Alien: "I'm sorry! I won't brag any more! I promise I won't brag!"
Girl: "...Sure."
Girl: "But I'll still poke you." *poke poke*
Alien: "Ack! No! Not there!"
#OP
Alien: "Oof... You're kind of a bully, you know that?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Well, I know you must be a tad uneasy... and I'm in no position to be fussy."
Alien: "Apologizes, but could I stay here a little while?"
Girl: "Why?"
Alien: "I explained it more briefly earlier, but I require power to sustain myself and to operate my space ship."
Alien: "All I need is enough energy for a short transmission to my mothership, so it won't need to be much..."
Girl: "Power... so, oil or something?"
Alien: "Ah, no. What we use as a power source is the emotions of living things."
Girl: "...I don't get you."
Alien: "Huh?"
#OP
Alien: "A-Ah... I'm sorry."
Alien: "While I suppose it's ordinary to us, I can easily see how the technology of your planet is lacking such that it sounds odd indeed."
Girl: "Ey." *poke*
Alien: "Wh...! I-I wasn't trying to brag that time! Sorry!"
Girl: "...Go on."
Alien: "A... Anyway, yes, we have technology to convert the emotions of creatures into a power source."
Alien: "The more intelligent the lifeform and the purer the emotion, the more energy it will yield."
Girl: "I don't quite get it... But so, you want me to get mad, and laugh, and cry?"
Alien: "Indeed! I'm glad you understand."
#OP
Girl: "But then will I lose those feelings, or what?"
Alien: "No, there's no need to worry about that."
Alien: "It's not as if it takes away your faculty to produce those emotions. It's merely utilizing the emotions themselves."
Girl: "Well, that's alright, I guess."
Alien: "Thank you muchly. Then allow me to attach the equipment."
Girl: "...Sure."
Alien: "Very well then... How about..." *place*
Girl: "Ack! Pervert!"
Alien: "Huh?"
Girl: "...you're gross..."
Alien: "I-I assure you, it wasn't intentional. Of course, being that we're different species, please don't think ill of me for it."
#OP
Alien: "You're all ready now."
Girl: "Hmm."
Alien: "Now, would you laugh for me?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Ah... ahaha?"
Alien: "That won't do. Not one bit. There's no feeling in it."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Ey." *poke*
Alien: "Ow! That hurts! Why did you...?! Sorry!"
#2ch
I wanna know where he put it...
#OP
Girl: "If you've got a problem with my emotions, then put it on yourself."
Alien: "I'd absolutely love to do so, but as half of us is non-living, our emotional yield is rather poor."
Girl: "Huh?"
Alien: "What? Does that surprise you?"
Girl: "I think it's pretty surprising. Half of you's not living?"
Alien: "Indeed. Half-living life forms are not uncommon in the cosmos."
Girl: "What's the half of you that's not living, then?"
Alien: "It differs from case to case, but with our species, it is a "body of information.""
Girl: "Body of information...?"
Alien: "It's a kind of physical entity. But I don't believe you'd be able to understand it in full."
Alien: "...Ah. Perhaps you could think of it as something like a ghost."
#OP
Girl: "Uh... what?"
Alien: "It will have to be a very rough explanation, but... Our ancient ancestors were ordinary creatures as one could find anywhere in the cosmos."
Alien: "But given their lifespan and the extent of their bodies, the transmission and collection of data was inefficient for such simple lifeforms as they."
Alien: "Eons in the past, they began to mechanize their bodies, and soon transferred from that to having a body of information."
Alien: "They successfully broke out of the cage of the physical body. But lifeforms cannot surpass certain limits, so they could not be perfect bodies of information."
Alien: "Omitting many details, this was how we arrived at our current state of half-information, half-lifeform."
Girl: "???"
Alien: "If you don't understand, don't worry about it."
Alien: "Our bodies of information are helpful for many things, but..."
Alien: "We require emotion for sustenance, and yet we are less inclined to producing energy with our emotions than a pure living entity."
Alien: "In hindsight, it's a good lesson in how nothing can truly be perfect."
Girl: "Hmm... Yeah, I still barely understand."
#OP
Girl: "What kind of emotion do you want?"
Alien: "Any kind of emotion will do, really, but I would be grateful for one with a high output."
Girl: "Such as?"
Alien: "Such as... an orgasm, for example?"
Girl: "Uh...?"
Alien: "The feeling at the climax of a sexual intercourse, essentially the utmost feeling of pleasure. Most creatures feel immense energy in their minds during it."
Alien: "I believe your species has... the most standard case, with two partners mating?"
Alien: "I would certainly be pleased if you could... Er, what's with that look?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "......"
Girl: "............" *POKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKE!!!!*
Alien: "Ow! Y-You're awfully strong! What is it?! This is sudden!! Ahh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"
#OP
Girl: "Don't even talk about that."
Alien: "Oww... What is "that," exactly?"
Girl: "..." *cough*
Alien: "S-Sorry! I don't quite understand, but... understood!"
Alien: "...Oh!"
Girl: "?"
Alien: "You had some strong emotion there. Given the color and shape... shyness?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Ahh... I see now! Yes, I had heard that, on rare occasion, there are cultures who feel embarrassment over matters of mating. It's seen as rather uncivilized..."
Alien: "Hmm... Yes, it's my first time actually encountering it."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "....." *POKEPOKEPOKEPOKE!!!!*
Alien: "Ow! I'm sorry! Ah, so you're showing me your anger! I'm very grateful! Ow, but it still hurts!"
#OP
Girl: "Well, I need to go to school now. Behave in my room while I'm gone."
Alien: "School? What do you study?"
Girl: "Lots of things. Letters and numbers... geography and history, biology."
Alien: "I see. How do you study them?"
Girl: "How...? The teacher stands in the front, explains it, and everyone listens. The usual, right?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "What?"
Alien: "Nothing... It just strikes me as phenomenally ineffective."
Girl: "?"
Girl: "...I've gotta go. Be good and watch the house."
Alien: "Right. Take care!"
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Welcome home!"
Girl: "...Hi."
Alien: "Is school truly such a disagreeable place?"
Girl: "...Eh?"
Alien: "Forgive me if it was an intrusion, but I was monitoring your emotions from here, and I picked up a strong, continuous one."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "It was "fear." Is it something at school that causes you to be so afraid?"
#OP
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Does it really matter? Aren't you satisfied just having my "fear"?"
Alien: "Well, I suppose... But the emotion of fear also weakens one's life force."
Alien: "While I wish for the success of my emotion gathering, I also worry that you may die. So it's a complex situation."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Hmph. You can't do anything but sympathize and talk pretty words, can you?"
Girl: "Given your disgusting appearance, it surprised me to hear you're just as emotional as us... but I guess we're different creatures after all."
Girl: "I'll provide you emotion until you're satisfied. So... just shut up already."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...You're unexpectedly loquacious. I'm a bit surprised."
Girl: "...I'm going to bed."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Girl: "...Ah?!"
Alien: "What's the matter?"
Girl: "!! ...Dad's calling!"
Girl: "!" *leave*
Alien: "???"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "It's... fear again. And sadness, as well..."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Welcome back."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Did something unfortunate happen again?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Unlike you aliens, we can be scared over stupid little things sometimes. That's all."
Girl: "Everyone's that way. Not just me."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "On your forehead... There's a bruise."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Good night."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Welcome home."
Girl: "...Hey."
Alien: "Was school an ordeal again?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Are you being bullied?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Bullies are omnipresent among living beings. Even beings of low intelligence have them."
Alien: "As such, it's natural that they would exist among a race as intelligent as yours. It's not hard to imagine the possibility."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Alien: "It's not just your classmates at school. Isn't it your father and mother as well?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "...Shall I kill them?"
Girl: "...Wha?"
#OP
Alien: "Shall I annihilate those who are bullying you?"
Girl: "...What?"
Alien: "You have done more for me to be indebted than simply keeping me over for a night."
Alien: "And I would be able to eradicate all traces of them..."
Alien: "If you wish, I could also end their lives while making them suffer?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Don't you dare."
Alien: "Why do you say that?"
Girl: "Because..."
Girl: "Because I'm the one at fault."
#OP
Alien: "How do you mean?"
Girl: "...I'm kind of a... demanding child, so my dad and mom hated me as I grew up."
Girl: "Mom blamed me for making them poor, and got mad at me, and hit me..."
Girl: "And dad, um... he hurt me, too..."
Girl: "But I'm alive because of dad and mom, so I really just have to endure it."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "What about school, then?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I don't get to have many baths, and I don't have very many clothes, so everyone calls me "smelly" and "dirty"..."
Girl: "It's not surprising... Even I think I'm dirty."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Girl: "Dad and mom raise me, so... there's nothing I can do."
Girl: "And everyone at school... they're right, because I am dirty."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "You're very wise."
Girl: "Huh?"
Alien: "You're extremely bright for one of your species around this age."
Alien: "Understanding herself and her environment, and even learning how to control her emotions."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "What? That sounds weird."
Alien: "...I may perhaps not fully understand your race's concept of the words, but..."
Alien: "I perceive you as mixing up being "responsible" and being the "cause.""
Girl: "???"
#OP
Alien: ""Responsible" and "cause" are not the terms we use, so it will be difficult for me to explain..."
Alien: "You possess some causes to be mistreated, yes."
Alien: "The fact of being a demanding girl and the impression of uncleanliness you give could be judged as such causes."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "But it is not necessarily that this fact and this impression are the reason for which your father and mother, and your classmates, indulge in these acts."
Alien: "For you see, the reason they mistreat you essentially lies with they who commit the act."
Alien: "However, you think of the reason for these actions in such a way that your "causes" and who is "responsible" are undeniably related."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I'm sorry. It's too hard for me to understand."
Alien: "...I'll try simplifying. Even if there is cause for you to be bullied, the reason for the bullying does not lie with you."
Alien: "You are not at fault."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Alien: "You have certain characteristics, and as consequence are being treated ill."
Alien: "But it is no reason to say you are at fault, much less to say it must merely be accepted."
Alien: "If you wish it, I can do away with all those who tease you. That will resolve the issue."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Thank you. I was surprised, but... you talked some sense into me."
Alien: "Well, I was mostly intending to persuade you into the implementation of the Bully Termination Plan..."
Girl: "But I still have to say no."
Girl: "If everyone at school died, their dads and moms would be really sad."
Girl: "And if dad and mom died, I know my real parents in heaven would be upset with me..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "But thanks. It's actually sort of relieving, in some weird way."
#OP
Girl: "Also..."
Girl: "Sorry... about last night."
Alien: "Hm?"
Girl: "I said you were disgusting, right?"
Girl: "Ever since I said that... I've been regretting it."
Alien: "Ah, is that right? No need to worry. You look rather odd from my outlook, too."
Girl: "H-Huh... Well, fine. We're even, then."
Girl: "But, you... Actually, I do kind of find your little nose cute."
Alien: "Really? I'm having trouble thinking of your nose as very cute, unfortunately..."
Girl: "Don't get full of yourself!" *poke poke*
Alien: "Ack! Ow! Stop, please! Heehee!"
Girl: "...Geez! Why are you happy about that...? Stupid..."
#OP
Alien: "I find your decision rather unfortunate, but... I did prepare a backup plan."
Alien: "Put this on."
Girl: "What's this?"
Alien: "It's a handheld defense mechanism. I made it while you were gone today."
Girl: "...Is this thing dangerous?"
Alien: "Do not worry, it does no harm to others. It emits a faint electric current that affects the autonomic nervous system of others around you."
Girl: "???"
Alien: "Just think of the current from the device as having a relaxing effect."
Alien: "It will make angry people less so, with no ill after-effects."
Alien: "It can't eradicate bullying, but it should offer some relief."
Girl: "...Thanks."
Alien: "...Ah, a warm color indeed. Well, I aim to please."
#OP
***
Alien: "Welcome home."
Girl: "Hi! Hey, listen, I made a friend today!"
Alien: "Oh! Is that so?"
Girl: "Yeah! It must be thanks to that charm you gave me."
Alien: "That's wonderful. Is your friend a boy or a girl?"
Girl: "A girl. ...Boys are kinda scary."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Come to think of it, you're a boy, right? Or are you a girl?"
Alien: "Me? If you insist I make the distinction, I'm a girl."
#OP
Girl: "Huh..."
Alien: "What is it?"
Girl: "Given it's you, I was expecting you to say something crazy like "We don't have gender as such"..."
Alien: "No, that's not true at all. However, my gender carries very few social implications with it. As our species progressed, sexual distinctions became little more than a biological feature."
Alien: "In addition, our mating may be quite different from what you may imagine."
Girl: "M-Mating..."
Alien: "Ah, I'm sorry. I nearly forgot about your culture feeling shyness about sexual matters."
Girl: "It's fine... So, uh, how do you make children, then?"
Alien: "A direct concatenation and division of life data."
Girl: "?"
#OP
Alien: "As I said before, we are half living, and half a body of information."
Alien: "But by half, I do not mean our bodies are literally divided down the middle."
Alien: "Our ancestors scientifically analyzed the phenomenon of "life," and continued that phenomenon into a means of making a body of information."
Alien: "So we are not comprised of a split between life and information... To be more exact, we are "living bodies of information.""
Girl: "..."
Girl: "As you might expect, I don't get it."
Alien: "If I were to have a child, part of my life information would directly combine with part of my partner's, and then divide."
Alien: "And that would give birth to a new living body of information. My child, if I need to say it."
Girl: "Huh... That's pretty neat."
Alien: "No, I would consider it rather primitive in some ways."
#OP
Alien: "As an addition, being a body of information, I do not necessarily need a physical body."
Alien: "But the body of information has its pros and cons."
Alien: "While it's incredibly efficient at transmitting, collecting, and processing data with others of my species, it of course makes it difficult to communicate with species who have not undergone the same change."
Alien: "Improvements are being made with regards to this even now, so it is a problem that could vanish with time..."
Alien: "But at the present moment, when communicating with other species, we use a "meat puppet" to serve as our information transmitter. A very primitive method."
Girl: "Meat puppet?"
Alien: "It is, in fact, the form you see before your eyes."
Girl: "Huh? What?"
Alien: "To me, this body is borrowed. If I prepared another body, I could transfer to that one. And if this body is damaged, I would not die myself."
Alien: "However, we still have our individual preferences. So I picked a meat puppet according to my own tastes."
Alien: "What do you think? It somewhat resembles a popular female model... Do you find it at least a little cute?"
Girl: "Wha?"
Alien: "Wha?"
#OP
***
Girl: "I'm home! I had lunch with my friend today!"
Alien: "Welcome home. That's great to hear."
Alien: "Indeed, I did monitor many warm emotions of "joy" and "fun.""
Girl: "Heehee. I'm kind of happy you came..."
Alien: "However, I did also observe "tension"... or perhaps "disorientation.""
Girl: "Ah..."
Girl: "Well, actually... a boy confessed to me."
Alien: "Oho."
Girl: "It's the first time it's ever happened to me, so I wasn't sure what to do..."
#OP
Alien: "What to do? Is it not acceptable to mate with a partner you're fond of?"
Girl: "Huh?"
Alien: "If possible, I would like you to engage in intercourse with him."
Alien: "I pray he can become your boyfriend. That way, you would be happy, as would I for gathering enough emotion."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "...Oh."
Girl: "I tooold yooou..."
Alien: "W-Wait a mo -"
Girl: "I KEEP TELLING YOU NOT TO TALK ABOUT THAT!!" *POKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKE!!!*
Alien: "Ah! Ow! It hurts! I was careless! Just careless!"
#OP
Girl: "You're sure full of yourself for all your body of information stuff... but you still seem pretty dumb to me."
Alien: "I'm only using the minimum amount of energy to sustain myself, so it's to be expected, sadly."
Girl: "Hmph."
Alien: "Don't cast such doubt on me, please."
Alien: "While our species does have individual preferences, in order to share in information accumulation and processing, we are all equally intelligent."
Alien: "On the other hand, the homogeneity of intelligence does limit the tastes we can have, so differences in hobbies and such are rather slight."
Alien: "One could easily say that one failing of the body of information is a lack of diversity."
Girl: "Huh... So if your preferences are limited, wouldn't it be a problem if you liked a boy?"
Alien: "No, our sexual emotions have lessened greatly. It's something only a very small group of us enjoy, even in private."
Alien: "As I said before, our reproduction does not require a physical body, so our sexual desires and other base desires have deteriorated."
Alien: "When sexual want dwindles, so does affection. Incidentally, so have appetite and sleepiness."
#OP
Girl: "Huh... So then what desires do you still have?"
Alien: "There are a variety, but for the most part... A desire to live, and a thirst for knowledge."
Girl: "Wow, weird. So you don't want to eat anymore, but you've still got the basic desire to live."
Alien: "That's simply a limitation of living beings."
Alien: "As long as they are living, they cannot help but seek their own continuation."
Alien: "Intellectual analysis into the phenomenon of life has told us that we cannot overcome the reality of being living organisms."
Girl: "Hmm. But that seems so boring. You're a girl, right? And yet you've... never had and never will have a boy you like?"
Alien: "Yes. But I don't think that's especially unfortunate."
Alien: "I just think of it as a duty to leave behind descendants and pass down my information. I am sure many of my kind are the same way."
#OP
Alien: "As such, I cannot very well discuss your romance with you. I apologize."
Girl: "It's not like I was expecting that from you..."
Alien: "With a fair amount of energy, I could consult a shared database for pertinent advice, but of course..."
Girl: "I told you, it's fine."
Girl: "Either way, though... boys are kind of scary. I had to turn down his offer to date."
Alien: "I see. That's unfortunate."
Girl: "Why are you so beat up abo... never mind, don't answer that."
Alien: "Ah, no, it's not just about mating."
Alien: "Enjoying oneself in romance would be very effective for gathering emotions such as joy and fun. That's why I think it's unfortunate."
Girl: "Sorry about that, then. But people can't just change in a night."
Alien: "Yes, well, I'm in no real hurry. I'll be patient."
#OP
***
Alien: "What happened today?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Did something happen with your father and mother?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "I observed a fear greater than any before it."
Alien: "If it lasted too long at that strength, it could have a serious effect on your life."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: ".....Dad..."
Girl: ".....Dad said to come in the bath with him..."
#OP
Alien: "The bath? I don't see much issue with..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...he." *sniff*
Alien: "He?"
Girl: "...h-he touched... me." *tear*
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...he touched me... all over..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Girl: "...sniff... waaah..."
Alien: ".....We'll have to do away with him."
Girl: "...N-No. You can't..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "My dad and mom in heaven... would never forgive me..." *sniff*
Alien: "I will be the one taking action, with no involvement of yours. It's as I explained before, yes? The responsibility for an action lies with the one who acts."
Alien: "Of course, this rule does have exceptions."
Alien: "There is not always a direct match between the one taking the action and the one responsible for it. Even if they are not actively doing it, they could be passively responsible."
Alien: "But in today's case, I will act of my own accord. Even if you were the origin behind my action, you take no responsibility for it."
Alien: "Even if I eliminate those that torment you, you have no reason to be distressed by it."
#OP
Girl: "..." *sniff*
Girl: "You still can't..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "If I agreed to that, I'd definitely think I'm responsible..."
Girl: "Even if you really don't consider me being involved at all, I'd definitely FEEL responsible."
Alien: "But..."
Girl: "It's... not about logic."
Alien: "...But then what will you do?"
Girl: "There's nothing that can be done. I've said that."
Alien: "..."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I'm home."
Alien: "You've been feeling calm at school lately, but... something must have happened today."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "You were shaken by the same fear and sadness as before."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "My friend... called me a traitor."
Alien: "...What do you mean?"
#OP
Girl: "The boy who I told you confessed to me before..."
Alien: "Yes, you refused his offer to date."
Girl: "...Yeah."
Girl: "It turns out my friend liked that boy."
Alien: "Hm."
Girl: "So when my friend found out he had confessed to me..."
Girl: "She said "You traitor!""
Alien: "??? I don't understand."
Alien: "If you had accepted his offer and dated him without telling your friend, then I could see how she would interpret that as traitorous, but..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Then she said she was only my friend because she felt bad for me. But I was filth for being confessed to by the boy she liked."
#OP
Alien: "...I see. Yes, I see."
Girl: "Am I really... a traitor?"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...You had no intention of deceiving her with regard to the matter of the boy."
Alien: "But perhaps she feels you betrayed her expectations."
Girl: "Expectations?"
Alien: "Yes. I have little to go off of, but I believe she was looking down on you."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "She was counting on you to be "a girl more pathetic than me," "a girl more misfortunate than me.""
Alien: "But the boy she held affection for chose not her, but the girl whom she thought was pathetic compared to her."
Alien: "In his doing so, you were no longer more pathetic than her. You betrayed her expectation."
#OP
Girl: "...I see."
Alien: "With expectations such as those, it seems a forgone conclusion that she would feel you betrayed her."
Alien: "But objectively speaking, it is hard indeed to label you as a traitor."
Girl: "...Why?"
Alien: "In establishing a friendship with her, it is not as if you entered a contract stating to always be more pathetic than her."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Additionally, she never spoke her desire for you to remain pathetic. And given the values of your species, it is hard to claim it is easily assumed."
Alien: "An expectation to not be recklessly violent, to not talk behind one's back - those are more reasonable expectations in your culture. But hers is not so."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "...If it's too hard to understand, I'll say it plainly."
Alien: "You've done nothing wrong."
#OP
Girl: "But... I hurt her."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "She had selfish expectations of you."
Alien: "And she's merely lamenting that these did not come true."
Alien: "Hopes and dejection exist solely in one's own world, so she can easily be said to have sole responsibility."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "You are not responsible for it. You did nothing wrong."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I don't think "responsibility" is something that comes from someone, then eventually just disappears."
Alien: "Hm?"
#OP
Girl: "Someone does something, there's automatically someone responsible, something is done to make up for it, and the responsibility is gone... I don't think that's how it works."
Girl: "Maybe responsibility is just something you "take on.""
Alien: "Take on?"
Girl: "Yeah... I don't know how to explain it. But... it's about being resolute."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "If you're not resolved to deal with the consequences of an evil act, then you're not taking responsibility."
Girl: "When you insult someone, or kill someone... If you're looking away from the reality of it, then you're not resolute... you're not taking responsibility. You're just... irresponsible."
Girl: "But conversely, even when doing something that you'd consider just..."
Girl: "If you're willing to accept it as one of your own problems, then you're taking responsibility."
Girl: "So I think responsibility is just a form of resolution..."
Alien: "..."
#2ch
Was anyone expecting this story to be this deep?
#OP
Alien: "Perhaps what you're talking about is not responsibility itself, but a sense of responsibility?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Hmm... no. I don't think so..."
Girl: "Let's say someone does a bad thing, someone else calls it bad, and they forcibly enact punishment."
Girl: "But if the person who gets punished treats the consequences of their action and the punishment as just a passing breeze, then of course, they're not being responsible."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "The people around might say they took their punishment, and as such, they've taken responsibility..."
Girl: "But... I personally wouldn't say they've actually done that."
Girl: "Because from beginning to end, they haven't been willing to accept the responsibility they should."
Girl: "It's just like they were punished for reasons unrelated to their deed."
Alien: "...Hm."
#OP
Girl: "What you're saying makes logical sense. I'm not at fault for what she thinks."
Girl: "But putting reason aside... I'm still going to take responsibility for the reality of hurting her."
Girl: "Regardless of my intent, I'm the one who led her to say those things..."
Girl: "So I do think I'm responsible for betraying her after all."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "If you say so, then I won't say any more."
Alien: "But isn't that a harsh way to live?"
Girl: "...Maybe it is."
Alien: "Even while there are no faults in your thought process, it results in you taking responsibility that you need not burden yourself with."
Alien: "I would say it's very inflexible, and so narrow as to give no regard to your own well-being."
Girl: "..."
Girl: ".....I'm going to bed."
Alien: "...Right. Good night."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Welcome home."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "The color of your fear gets thicker day by day."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "If it's this bad, perhaps you shouldn't go to school?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I want friends."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
#OP
Girl: "Hey."
Alien: "What?"
Girl: "Do you have friends?"
Alien: "...Hm."
Alien: "There are some whom I frequently exchange information with... but I'm sure you wouldn't deign to call them friends."
Girl: "...I see."
Girl: "So you... don't have any friends either."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Heehee... hee..."
Alien: "Why do you look happy?"
Girl: "...Never mind."
#OP
Girl: "Sigh..."
Alien: "...I'm worried for the weakening of your life force."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Or are you just worried your emotional power supply will go away?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...I'm sorry."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "My mom's calling."
Alien: "Yes. Take care."
Girl: "..."
#OP
***
Alien: "You're not going to school?"
Girl: "...We have today off."
Alien: "Ah... I see. What are you reading?"
Girl: "A science fiction novel."
Alien: "Ah. Do you like reading novels?"
Girl: "Yeah. I haven't had much time to lately, but I like reading all kinds of books, not just novels."
Alien: "Yes, I see. Now I understand why you have such an extensive vocabulary for your age."
Girl: "When I'm reading... that's when I feel peaceful."
Girl: "When I can empathize with the characters in a fictional world, I forget about the bad things."
#OP
Alien: "What kind of story is the one you're reading?"
Girl: "This one... it's about a girl who meets an alien."
Alien: "Huh?"
Girl: "One day, an alien suddenly visits a girl."
Girl: "The alien looks very strange, but it doesn't seem mean or anything..."
Girl: "Gradually, the girl and the alien get to know each other and become friends."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Heehee. It's just like us, isn't it?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "It really... it really is like they wrote a story about us..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Come to think of it, why did you come to this planet?"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "Of course, I've told you countless times that our species requires the emotions of others to sustain ourselves."
Alien: "With this necessity, pure lifeforms with high intelligence are key to the survival of our race."
Girl: "Oh, so..."
Alien: "Yes, we have already established many sites to gather emotional energy."
Alien: "I was one such pioneer performing a field survey of this planet. Many others have landed on the planet as well."
Alien: "But an unexpected incident knocked out parts of my ship's functionality, so I came to ask you for help."
Girl: "...I see. That explains it, I guess."
#OP
Alien: "Do you..."
Girl: "Hm?"
Alien: "Do you remember the details of our meeting?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Huh?"
Alien: "...When we met, and you no doubt wondered why an alien such as me came to you. Do you have any memory of it?"
Girl: "...Uh... huh?"
Girl: "Ah..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...I-I remember. Yes, o-of course I do!"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...I see. That's good, then."
#OP
***
Girl: "...sob... sob..."
Alien: "...What happened?"
Girl: "...sniff... no mooore..."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "Were you mistreated by your father again?"
Girl: "...sniff... sob....."
Alien: "..."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: ".....They told me to never come back to school again."
Girl: "...Again, and again, and again..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
#OP
***
Alien: "...You're bleeding."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...Mom threw something at me."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "I'll take care of the wound for you."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...thank you."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "That girl who was my friend beat me up today."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "She hid my shoes, scribbled in my textbook, pulled off my underwear and put it up in the front of the classroom."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "She told me to kneel in front of my underwear and say I'm sorry."
Girl: "Say I'm sorry for being born."
Girl: "I did. And then..."
Girl: "They said to say I'm thankful I'm being allowed to live."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "To say I was grateful to them..."
#OP
***
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Dad..."
Alien: "Hm?"
Girl: "Dad's... been getting worse..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "I'm sure there's not much time left..."
Girl: "Until something happens which there's no recovering from..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
***
Girl: "Hey..."
Alien: "What is it?"
Girl: "Why do we... mistreat others?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...You're knowledgeable. You must know, right?"
Girl: "Why is there mistreatment of the weak?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Why can't everyone just be nice to each other?"
#OP
Alien: "Because they have desires."
Girl: "Desires?"
Alien: "Taking, killing, eating... It's fundamental to life."
Alien: "The desire to attack, the desire to dominate. These lie at life's foundations."
Alien: "In a species with intelligence like yours, these desires are deeply rooted."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Wanting recognition and power... such social desires exist as well."
Alien: "Desires for power, conquest, demonstrating superiority, and in your father's case, sexual desire... Whatever the case, fulfilling them is pleasing."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Your mother is dissatisfied with the situation of raising you."
Alien: "Thus she turns to these things to feel better."
Girl: "..."
#OP
Alien: "Those desires and frustrations often come to involve others as well."
Alien: "Fulfilling desires and dispelling frustrations through one's relation with others can be pleasing."
Alien: "It makes one feel good about themselves."
Alien: "Mistreatment, bullying... can feel satisfying."
Alien: "So it won't go away. Because everyone wants to do things that feel good."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "To them, you are little more than an implement of enjoyment."
Alien: "...That is the answer, as you requested."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...I see."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...That's it, then."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Hey."
Alien: "What is it?"
Girl: "Could you take me?"
Alien: "Take you... into space, you mean?"
Girl: "...Yeah."
Alien: "I can't."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Why not?"
#OP
Alien: "There are various reasons why I can't take you along, but there are two primary ones."
Alien: "First, I have duties as one whose job is to claim lands for energy gathering."
Alien: "While I am no doubt grateful to you for your assistance, I cannot neglect my duties."
Alien: "And I do not possess the authority to take an inhabitant off of their planet in the first place."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Second, the spaceship I use cannot take physical bodies... It can only board bodies of information."
Alien: "This meat puppet... it was constructed when I arrived on this planet, and I cannot reboard my ship with this form."
Alien: "So in short, to board my ship, you would need to be made into a body of information. And the laws of our species forbid us from doing so."
Alien: "So I can't agree to your proposal."
Girl: "...Right."
Alien: "Yes. ...I'm sorry, but I ask you forget the notion."
#OP
Girl: "In that novel..."
Alien: "Hm?"
Girl: "The girl in that sci-fi novel, she..."
Girl: "At the very end, she set out into space with the alien."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "She was so happy, bouncing along, filled with hope for the future..."
Girl: "She took the alien's hand... and they launched into space..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "It's such a... happy ending, isn't it?"
Girl: "...A very... very happy ending..."
Girl: "I thought... if I could launch off this planet, I'm sure there'd be a happy future for me..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Alien: "If..."
Girl: "Huh?"
Alien: "If you were to be happy, with all your worries put to rest... what would you want to do?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Let's see..."
Girl: "Maybe I'd visit the planet you were born on."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "I mean, you do have a place you were born, right?"
Alien: "...Indeed."
Girl: "Heehee... It's settled. That's my dream."
Girl: "If everything goes right, I'll go to your birthplace, surround myself with weird-looking aliens like you... and live happily."
Alien: "..."
#OP
***
Alien: "What happened today?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "You look terrible..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...Nothing."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...Nothing happened."
Girl: "...Just the usual."
#OP
***
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "My body's been feeling heavy..."
Alien: "You're starting to feel your life force weakening."
Girl: "...Hey. If you can't take me with you... then can you kill me?"
Alien: "Huh?"
Girl: "Like you said before. You could annihilate someone without leaving a trace."
Alien: "...Correct."
Girl: "Then could you kill me? Instantly, without any pain..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
Alien: "...I can't do that."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Why?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Why not...?"
Girl: "WHY NOT?!?"
Girl: "Aren't you my friend?!"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Right? Right?! We're friends!"
Girl: "I'm begging you, just say it! You're my only friend! You're the only one nice to me!"
Alien: "..."
#OP
Girl: "Say something! ANSWER!!"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Say we're friends! Say I'm your friend!!"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Everyone bullies me! I've never been happy once in this world!!"
Girl: "But you're different, right?! You're always nice to me! You're the only one in the whole wide universe!!"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "You're the only one who pays attention to me!! So... So please!! SAY WE'RE FRIENDS!!!"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...You are..."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...You are... my friend."
#OP
Girl: "Ah, haha, hah..."
Girl: "...Right."
Girl: "So then you'll listen to me, right?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...Please. It's really... really painful..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...Please. Kill me."
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...I can't do that."
Girl: "..."
#OP
Girl: "...Right."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Then... I don't want anything."
Girl: "I don't care anymore."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "If people can't all get along with each other..."
Girl: "And all I can do is try to run from this hell..."
Girl: "Then this world..."
Girl: "This world..."
..........should just disappear.
#OP
Alien: "..."
Alien: "Then it shall."
Girl: "...Huh?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "N-No! F... Forget what I said! You can't just kill everyone...!!"
Alien: "...No."
Alien: "That's incorrect. There's no need to do that."
Alien: "If the world... if "your" world disappeared. That's what's important."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Wh... what are you saying...?"
#OP
Alien: "I must apologize for keeping quiet."
Girl: "Huh?"
Alien: "Well, in truth, I did touch on it once, but your reaction was dramatic enough that I decided not to do so again."
Girl: "...Mention... what?"
Girl: "What... what are you talking about?!"
Alien: "If only faintly, you must have noticed it, yes?"
Alien: "The world..."
Girl: "...St..."
Alien: "That world of yours..."
Girl: "...St-stop!"
Alien: ".....is all in your imagination."
#2ch
( ﾟдﾟ)
#2ch
I don't get it.
#OP
Girl: ".....Ah..."
Alien: "The parents who mistreat you do not exist."
Alien: "You don't go to school, and your peers do not bully you."
Alien: "...It's all in your head."
Girl: ".....Hah..."
Girl: "...Ha, haha. What're you saying..."
Girl: "That has to be a lie. I remember it all."
Girl: "Being abused by my friend. Mom hitting me, dad touching me... They're fresh in my mind!"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...Indeed. Those memories are all real."
Alien: "Make no mistake, those are real memories of yours."
Girl: "Wha? ...What are you even...? I don't get it..."
#OP
Alien: "What you're missing is... the one thing you're averting your eyes from."
Girl: "...Which is..."
Alien: "You..."
Alien: ".....You killed your real parents."
Girl: "..........wh..."
Alien: "I noticed something odd as soon as I met you."
Alien: "And forgive me, but I looked through your memories while you slept."
Girl: ".........."
Alien: "The ones mistreating you were not your adoptive parents."
Alien: "In truth... it was your real ones."
Alien: "It was they who neglected you, abused you, and were violent."
Alien: "And it was your real father who sexually abused you."
#OP
Alien: "Your father's death was half an accident."
Alien: "He threatened you with violence in the bathroom, and you pushed him away..."
Alien: "He slipped and fell... and had an unfortunate landing."
Alien: "He was dead in moments."
Girl: "...wh..... ah..."
Alien: "How would your mother have treated you if she found out about this...?"
Alien: "She could very well kill you... and if not that, a deathly severe scolding."
Alien: "So you went to your mother."
Girl: "...sn-sniff... st... stop it..." *tremble*
Alien: "You stabbed her with a knife. Unlike with your father, you had a clear intent to kill."
Alien: "And, well, even if your father's death was an accident... you still had quite some desire to kill him, did you not?"
#OP
Alien: "After killing your true parents... Your mind was half-destroyed. You wandered between dream and reality."
Alien: "Thinking you could hide their corpses in the bathroom, you left them there without even trying to conceal them."
Alien: "And you pretended to go to school, but you really spent your days absent-mindedly in the park, ignoring those around you."
Girl: "...Stop... just... stop it..." *tremble*
Alien: "No... I will not."
#OP
Alien: "With one leg in reality, you indulged in a world of fantasy."
Alien: "You decided to dream up kind, adoptive parents to replace your dead ones, and imagined pleasant mingling with classmates."
Alien: "If you could be wrapped up in the fake warmth of that fantasy, it would have been happiness in a way."
Girl: "...urp... haaah... haaah..." *tremble*
Alien: "But having never experienced it in your life, only knowing the experience of discontent..."
Alien: "Even in your fantasies, you couldn't imagine a happy you."
Girl: "...Ahhh... ahhhhh....." *tremble*
#OP
Alien: "The classmates in your fantasy were the very same bullies you encountered in reality."
Alien: "The treatment by your adoptive parents was the very same abusive treatment your true parents gave you."
Alien: "You were discontent in reality, so even in total fantasy... you were discontent."
Girl: "...hahhh... hahhh..." *sniff*
Alien: "The shortage of authorities in this area is the one fortunate thing for you amid all this misfortune."
Alien: "Were there enough, you would have been arrested in days."
Alien: "After all, your body has... long reeked of the smell of corpses."
Alien: "...All this is your "real world.""
Girl: ".....h..." *sniff*
#OP
Girl: "...Wh..."
Girl: "...Why..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Why did you... tell me?"
Alien: "...You were about to kill yourself, still entwined in your fantasy."
Alien: "I felt this was as far as I could go staying silent."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...I see..."
Alien: "...Yes."
#OP
Girl: "...Well then... Let me ask one last thing."
Alien: "...What is it?"
Girl: "Are you..."
Girl: "Are you... a figment of my imagination, too?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "...Yes. I am."
Girl: "..........I see."
Girl: "...I thought so... of course. Aliens couldn't really exist..."
Girl: "Our relationship... it was just like in that novel..."
Girl: "My only friend being some imaginary alien... it goes past miserable to being funny..." *sob*
Girl: "Everyone... everyone... EVERYONE! Was all... me playing with myself... ahahah..." *sniff*
Girl: "Ahaha... ahahahah..." *sniff*
#OP
Girl: "Ahahahahahah..."
Girl: "Why... why did I kill... dad..."
Girl: "Why... did I... kill mom...?" *sob*
Girl: "A-ahahahaha... ahaha..."
Girl: "Aha... aaaaahh..."
Girl: "...wwwAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" *sob*
Girl: "I'm sorry... sorry... I'M SORRYYY!!!" *sob*
Girl: "Daddy... mommy..."
Girl: "Dad! Mom! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY! Waaahhh..."
Alien: "..."
#OP
***
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...Have you settled down?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: ".....Yeah, a little..." *sniff*
Alien: "..."
Girl: "...You don't need to be with me anymore."
Girl: "Clinging to my fantasies any longer would be a disgrace to my dead dad and mom..."
Alien: "...Is that so?"
Alien: "Indeed, I have gathered a fair amount of energy. So there's no need for me to stay any longer."
Girl: "I guess so..."
Alien: "And there's no need to continue involving myself in your situation. I will vanish from your world."
Girl: "Yes... that's... good."
#OP
Alien: "But what will you do now?"
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Do you remember what I said before?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "If you're not resolved to deal with the consequences of an evil act, then you're not taking responsibility."
Girl: "When you insult someone, or kill someone... If you're looking away from the reality of it, then you're not resolute... you're not taking responsibility."
Girl: "...Look who's talking when I was running from my responsibility all along."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Don't try to tell me "you're not at fault" this time."
Girl: "I killed them."
Girl: "I killed them... of my own volition."
#OP
Girl: "I'm not running anymore."
Alien: "Responsibility is a form of resolution... wasn't it?"
Girl: "Heehee. So... you remember."
Girl: "...That's something I should be remembering. Not some figment of my imagination."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "I have to take responsibility for my actions."
Girl: "So I thought... I'd want to die."
Alien: "..."
Girl: "Maybe there's a better way of taking responsibility for something like that."
Girl: "But this... this is my way."
Girl: "I'm willing to accept that "form of resolution.""
#OP
Alien: "I see..."
Girl: "...Yes."
Alien: "I have no right to deny your resoluteness."
Girl: "...Yes."
Alien: "So I suppose I'll leave you here."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "I see."
Alien: "Indeed. With enough power to make communications, I'll contact my mothership, and they'll come to pick me up."
Girl: "So then this is goodbye..."
Alien: "...Yes."
#OP
Girl: "It didn't last very long..."
Girl: "And you were just a figment of my imagination... but I enjoyed my time with you."
Alien: "...Yes."
Girl: "Thank you. I'm really grateful."
Alien: "No... I thank you for assisting in sustaining me and powering my ship."
Girl: "Hee, to the very end... you don't let up with your act. My fantasies are pretty good."
Alien: "...I don't suppose we'll meet again."
Girl: "Yeah. Bye-bye... miss imaginary alien..."
Alien: "So long... ill-fortuned girl."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...She really vanished in an instant."
Girl: "No trace... like a mirage."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...So long."
Girl: "So I was all alone from beginning to end..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Dad, mom..."
Girl: "Did dad and mom... ever love me...?"
#OP
Girl: "Mom... she hated me."
Girl: "And dad's love wasn't an ordinary fatherly love..."
Girl: "But I..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "I loved them."
Girl: "...Even now I... still love them..." *sob*
Girl: "So..." *sniff*
Girl: "If I go to heaven, I hope we can get along..."
Girl: "Just the three of us, starting all over..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...No, I suppose not. I'm going to hell for sure..." *sniff*
#OP
.....ah, the world is so cruel.
.....full of such harsh realities.
.....at least...
.....at least, in this sleep...
.....I hope I can be at peace...
.....so long...
.....bye-bye, miss alien.
#OP
...............
..........
.....
...se.
Girl: "..."
...please.
Girl: "...uh..."
...Wake up, please!
Girl: ".....Huh?"
Alien: "Wake up, please! I'm begging you!"
Girl: "....."
Girl: ".....Wh... why...?
..........
.....
...
#OP
Girl: "...Why did you come back?"
Alien: "..."
Girl: "I... I was resolute, but... but I'm still fantasizing... Was I not ready...?"
Alien: "Don't speak, please!"
Alien: "So you stabbed yourself in the abdomen..."
Girl: "...ugh... *hack*....."
Alien: "There's... something I need to apologize for."
Alien: "In prioritizing my duty... I lied to you."
Girl: "..."
#OP
Alien: "...I am not a figment of your imagination."
Girl: "...huh?"
Alien: "Your family, your classmates, they were indeed all a fantasy."
Alien: "That is... undeniable fact."
Alien: "But I do exist."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Your world is rather backwards..."
Alien: "What seems real is actually fantasy... and despite seeming like it could only be fancy, I truly do exist."
Alien: "...Please, forgive me for not telling you."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "I may seem preposterous at a glance, but I am... ...your sole piece of reality."
#OP
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...Real... ly? You really... exist?"
Alien: "Yes."
Girl: "...This isn't a dream?"
Alien: "It is not. We both exist here and now."
Girl: "But... *hack*... why?"
Girl: "Why did you... come back?"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "I came here to fulfill my responsibility."
Girl: "...responsibility?"
#OP
Alien: "Responsibility is a form of resolution, taken on by one's own volition, yes?"
Alien: "I could not deny your resoluteness."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "Indeed, it was too pure and noble to deny."
Alien: "...Thus."
Alien: "Thus, I have decided to show you mine."
Girl: "..."
Alien: "I will devote my very existence... to attempting to help you."
Alien: "To protect you from everything that would harm you."
Alien: "That is... what I have resolved to do."
Girl: "..."
Girl: ".....You'd help... me?"
#2ch
Whoa, aliens are AWESOME.
#OP
Girl: "...Hah... hah... urgh!!"
Alien: "?! Stay with me!!"
Girl: ".....y..."
Alien: "Hm?"
Girl: ".....why... would you do that for me?"
Alien: "..."
Alien: "...Why. Are you really asking me that now?"
Girl: "Eh?"
Alien: "It's obvious, isn't it?"
Girl: "..."
Alien: "You are..."
Alien: "Among all the creatures in this wide universe, you are..."
Alien: "..........my one and only friend, yes?"
#OP
Girl: "...............ah..."
Alien: "For you, I would resolve to do anything."
Alien: "I vow to take your very existence... as a responsibility to bear for myself."
Girl: "...ah... ahh.........."
Alien: "Please, wait! I'll get you aid!"
Girl: "...It's... ...fine..." *sob*
Girl: "...At least... I made such a... good friend... before I died..."
Alien: "...You will not die!"
Girl: "Whether you're just a fantasy... *hack*... or you exist... I don't care which..."
Girl: "Just, thank you..." *sob*
Girl: "For calling me... your... friend..."
Alien: "Wait! Stay...!"
.....At that moment, she... expired.
#2ch
It was all a dream!
Please tell me it was.
#OP
— Epilogue
I left the planet.
But it was difficult to say my duty was completed.
I contacted the mothership to pick me up, and the moment the power I had gathered was secured, I returned without permission to the planet I had just left.
...But I could not avert her death.
Did my hesitation determine this fate?
This dull regret echoes in my mind.
Certainly... if I had given her a body of information before returning to the mothership...
As soon as it returned to secure the power, I would have been executed instantly.
Ultimately, I must convince myself that this was the only possible outcome.
There's... no going back to the past.
#OP
What to do now?
I could not share the experience with my fellow bodies of information.
If I did, certainly a third party would lecture me on what should have been done in my position.
...Should I return to my birthplace?
Thinking this, I took the helm.
...My space ship cruises outrageously fast.
While I call it a space ship, it's not as if it's a physical ship I ride on.
It is little more than another body of information.
In the process of such abstract aviation... I wonder now if I'm moving forward or running away.
"Responsibility..."
It floats alone in my consciousness.
Why, even now... does my meeting with her circle my mind?
#OP
..........
.....
...
...Communication trouble rendered me unable to return to the mothership, and I'd run out of power.
I knew I would be able to make it to the target planet, so I looked at the situation optimistically.
Not thinking about things too seriously has always differentiated me from others of my kind.
"Still, I suppose I can't just go out for a leisurely stroll..."
Generally, I would want to prepare a meat puppet that would aid in contact with the races of this planet, but I had no energy for such a thing.
So, with no other choice, I created a meat puppet that imitated the form of our ancient ancestors.
It wasn't easy to act in such a form.
If I were to walk down the street as such, I would no doubt draw attention and soon be dissected.
Of course, dissection of this body wouldn't mean the end of me.
#OP
At present, I had a need to find an inhabitant to assist in collecting emotions.
"Who are you?"
...I found one before I could even begin my search.
"Er, I'm an alien."
Out with the truth immediately. I'm honest to a fault.
"Wow..."
She had a sparkle in her eyes.
"It's always been my dream to be friends with an alien!"
...Hoh.
"Well, I'm glad as well to meet a source of... cough, ahem... make a friend on this planet!"
So I followed her, thinking only what an innocent creature she was.
#OP
"Hey... How do aliens live?"
...I immediately noticed something upon entering her home.
A rotten smell... the smell of corpses.
"Well, it may be very different from what you're imagining..."
The smell's coming from... the first floor... the bathroom?
"I have to say... You sure look weird. Are all aliens like this?"
"No, not exactly. In fact, I'm just borrowing this. It's not my regular form."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
...Doesn't she notice this smell?
If she does, she's not paying it any mind...
Continuing to talk to her, I couldn't help but be curious about the smell and grew absent-minded.
#OP
"Can I borrow your toilet?"
"Huh?! O-Okay... Aliens use the toilet?"
"Yes... we do."
...a lie, of course.
I went down to the first floor and checked the bathroom.
I found two rotten corpses.
"...Hm."
Could there be cultures that kept the corpses of family members in the bathroom?
"I doubt that..."
After some data processing, I returned to her room on the second floor.
#OP
"Welcome back."
"Ah, hi."
She was relaxing in her room.
"Er... Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"What are the corpses in the bathroom?"
"..."
"?"
"..."
"Err..."
...S-She fainted.
What's with this girl...?
#OP
"Who are you?"
That was her first question upon waking up.
"Er, I'm an alien."
Even I find replying so honestly a little... hm. Deja vu.
"An alien?"
"Yes."
...Ah, I see.
This girl must be insane.
Deciding this, I simultaneously thought... "Won't this be convenient, though?"
She was rather odd the moment she accepted the existence of aliens without hesitation.
But for one with an objective of gathering emotions, it seemed to make things easier for me.
And such is how I chose her as my target.
..........
.....
...
#OP
To begin with, I merely used her.
Even after discovering her unhappy circumstances and still-unhappy delusions, I felt no particular sympathy.
The Bully Termination Plan was only a way to keep her life force from weakening.
If she had agreed to the plan, I was thinking I could manipulate her fantasies in an agreeable way.
Of course, to do that, some way or another, I would have to falsify the "deaths" of her parents and classmates.
If the ill treatment were not an illusion, but something happening in reality, I could do as I told her I would and murder them...
But unable to do such a thing with figments of her imagination, I came to worry about her progression.
...Yes, I truly did worry about her.
A large part of which arose from her way of thinking.
#OP
.....Responsibility is a form of resolution.
It should have been a young girl's joke, a remark to be laughed at.
But what brought about a change in me was... her words.
Ridiculous as it was, I found something somehow beautiful about the way she accepted responsibility for her ill treatment in her fantasies.
It's a sentiment that should have died off in our species.
And yet, her resoluteness... it tugged at my heartstrings, and shook my soul.
And when I saw her resolution to close the curtain on her own life, ultimately taking responsibility for the murder of her parents...
I was assaulted with a strong urge to protect her, this beautiful creature.
#OP
When we stand at a crossroads, we have a habit of making our decision by judging what we will gain.
In doing this, we tend to forget what will we lose from our choice.
And after proceeding ahead without regard to what we've lost, even the reality of losing ourselves lands in forgotten oblivion.
Standing as we are now at the end of countless forgotten decisions, we come to worry about our journey, wondering if the choices we made were right.
When we begin to doubt, we cannot move forward.
So my fellows do not feel doubt, never stopping, unafraid of forgetting, and proceed bravely ahead.
.....Yes.
I did little more than take a different path from them.
#OP
They had a sense of dignity once, now left to the distant past.
And I had emotion for that girl that welled up in my chest and shook my core.
So I stubbornly chose what my fellows had forgotten, and chose to be left behind.
..........Was there value in doing so?
I need not ask.
...Warm.
...Gentle.
...Full of courage.
...More precious than anything..........
Girl: ".....Hey. Don't look so gloomy and thoughtful, talk to me!"
Alien: "Huh...? Ah, sorry. Well, what shall we talk about?"
.....There's nothing that could be more important than protecting this girl and her smile.
#OP
***
Girl: "Hnnnnngh!!"
Girl: "...Haaah!! Finally, land at last!"
Alien: "It was a long trip."
Girl: "It sure was! It's so boring in your spaceship. You can't walk, can't eat..."
Alien: "Well, you have a body of information now, so there's no need for exercise or food, right?"
Alien: "Of course, in exchange, you now need emotional energy like us."
Girl: "...Well, that's fine. But what's with this body?"
Alien: "It's a meat puppet modeled after our ancient ancestors. The same kind I was using."
Girl: "...I prefer my old body."
Alien: "Just put up with it, please. That body is... undeniably dead, after all."
#OP
Girl: "About that. Every time I hear it, I still don't get it... I died?"
Alien: "You certainly met your death as a regular lifeform."
Alien: "But the termination of the body and of life are separate phenomena."
Alien: "When they are linked, then the destruction of the body carries life with it."
Alien: "But I, and now you, have our lives as a body of information, so the death of a physical body will not terminate us."
Alien: "Of course, life itself has a lifespan separate from the body, so having a body of information doesn't mean living forever either."
#OP
Girl: "...Nope, I don't think I'll ever understand. Can you summarize?"
Alien: "Hm. To be concise..."
Alien: "After your physical body was dead, after a slight delay, I was able to make your life a body of information, as it did not itself expire."
Alien: "The loss of your physical body is lamentable, though."
Alien: "I regret not being able to do anything more about it."
Girl: "Well... whatever. It's fine, I guess."
Alien: "...So, then I was able to have you board my ship, and after our trip... we've now arrived at my birthplace."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "Yeah, I don't get it."
#OP
Girl: "...But I have to say, I'm liking this planet."
Girl: "Lots of greenery, lots of water. Air's... a little stale, but I guess I'll get used to it."
Alien: "I'm glad you like it."
Alien: "In the past, there used to be crust and climate change, and the deforestation and resource mining we ourselves did was terrible indeed, but many years of effort have improved things greatly."
Alien: "We still don't get many extraterrestrial visitors, so you'll be welcome... well, not treated cruelly, at least."
Girl: "Hmm. ...You said this was your birthplace, but you weren't really born here, were you?"
Alien: "Yes, of course. To be exact, this is the planet where the ancestors of my species lived."
Alien: "The meat puppets you and I are using now are in the form of those ancestors."
Girl: "Hmm. Weird..."
Alien: "Don't worry, I've prepared a meat puppet for your own species as well. Just put up with it for now."
Girl: "...Fine. I will."
#OP
Girl: "W-Well...? Since you were the one who took me here..."
Alien: "? Yes, I was."
Girl: "T-Then... you have to take responsibility for me!"
Girl: "I wouldn't stand for being left all alone to wander this planet."
Alien: "Ah, I see. It's fine. I'll show you around."
Alien: "...But given this context, and the cultural background of your species, your comment about "taking responsibility for you"..."
Alien: "Is it related to marriage? Are you proposing?"
Girl: "...Huh? What're you talking about?"
Alien: "Hm. Well, I'd be ready to accompany you for life, but even if you have that intention..."
Alien: "A same-sex barrier stands in the way of procreation... er... well, a much bigger one of species..." *mumble*
#OP
Girl: "Hey, what are you mumbling about? ...It's making me uneasy."
Alien: "...Yes, I understand. It's fine."
Girl: "Huh? What is?"
Alien: "While it's impossible for us to create children due to the species difference, it will not frustrate you."
Girl: "Huh...?"
Alien: "What? There's nothing to be anxious about. While sexual desire is a faded one for us, there are those among us who enjoy it for the ecstasy, so you..."
Girl: "..."
Girl: "...You reeeally..."
Alien: "?"
Girl: "Don't LEEEEEARN!!!" *POKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKE!!!*
Alien: "Ah! Ow! That hurts! But it's so nostalgic! But it hurts!"
Girl: "Again! Why are you enjoying it?! Stupid!"
#OP
Girl: "Sheesh. You never learn."
Alien: "Hee... sorry."
Girl: "...Well, don't we need to get going?"
Alien: "Yes, let's go."
Girl: "...Argh, but it's just... so hard to walk!!"
Alien: "I apologize. You'll just have to get used to it."
Girl: "How can you manage getting around in this body?!"
Alien: "Practice, really."
Girl: "I mean, seriously..."
Girl: "How can you... HOW CAN YOU ONLY HAVE TWO LEGS?! This is just common SENSE!"
#2ch
Huh?
#2ch
Say what?
#2ch
A plot twist this late...?
#OP
Alien: "That's how our ancestors' bodies were. Not much I can do about that."
Girl: "Not just two legs, but two arms! It's so inconvenient!"
Girl: "And everything's all tall and vertical, so the center of gravity is all unstable!"
Girl: "And what the hell is this fluffy stuff at the top?!"
Alien: "It's called "hair." Yours is long, black, and straight. It really suits you."
Alien: "Your eyes are cute and round as well, and they fit well with the bridge of your nose... Indeed, you look very beautiful."
Alien: "While I did pick a short build to match your age... that body would be very popular among meat puppet enthusiasts of our race."
Girl: "Don't try and tell me that. Weird things are weird and they're going to feel weird!"
Girl: "....Man. I miss my old body..."
Alien: "Heehee... Just deal with it for a little while, alright?"
#OP
Girl: "...Hey. I forgot to ask you something important."
She turned her head, her long hair trailing behind her.
Alien: "What is it?"
Girl: "This planet. What's it called?"
Whatever the form, her strength and the sparkle in her eyes didn't change.
Alien: "Huh? Didn't I tell you at the start?"
Girl: "Maybe, but I guess I forgot."
Standing side by side, both looking with resolution toward their future, all they needed was their hope.
Alien: "Heehee... Is that so?"
Alien: "This planet, birthplace of my ancestors....."
Alien: "...............is named "Earth." Wonderful name, isn't it?"
#OP
— Girl: "Who are you?" Alien: "Er, I'm an alien." fin.