trans_9 | Kid really needs to learn to watch where he's going [Open like an open thing]

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Kid really needs to learn to watch where he's going [Open like an open thing]

"You've gotta be kiddin me!" Alex shouted, shaking this video screen he was holding. "My own AI! Stop that!"

Apparently he was having trouble getting through one of the levels of his own game.

Sure it was using basic text for it's graphics, but he was a programmer, not a graphic's artist. Besides, since he just had different symbols for different units and different colours for different armies and some symbols set aside for use with terrain, there was no need for fancy graphics.

So distracted by his strategy game he nearly walked into one of Stacy's fleshy walls as he wandered down the hallway, stretching his legs. He had spent his time from when he got on the ship until now programming this thing and convincing people from the engineering department to made the equipment he needed. He was damn well going to enjoy this game, even if strategy wasn't his thing. In fact, the only reason why he had made a strategy game at all was because he had an idea earlier for a new algorithm that would more efficiently analyse enemy movements and know how to react better. This was of course, best suited for a.)a fighting game- which would require a graphics artist for it to be really playable- or b.) a strategy game.

So here he was, forty battles in, fighting an AI who seemed to know what moves he would make before he did.

"Come on! Get out of my friggin head you pile of bytes!"

Yup, he was far too into this game to notice much of anything around him. Even the walls sometimes got in his way. He didn't much care- usually you were left alone if you appeared very busy, and this game was getting to be such a pain now, he had to focus on it. For all he knew, he was about to walk straight into someone. Given the sheer number of people on the ship, this was bound to happen.

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Kogasa nodded, and the umbrella grinned and stuck its tongue out. "Yeah, I'm just fine on both accounts! You sound like maybe you're not okay, though! Is something wrong?"

She leaned forward, scrutinizing his face, searching for signs of illness or injury.

All she might have found was a few old scars. His father tended to avoid the face- it was one of Alex's selling points- but when he was too drunk he would sometimes miss. He held his free hand up and shook it, palm facing outwards, "N-no, I'm f-fine!"

"Well, if you say so..."

Kogasa frowned, not entirely convinced, but she didn't want to bother him now that she'd messed up her scare attempt. The umbrella watched Alex wave his hand and began to imitate him with its tongue. Kogasa giggled.

Alex snatched his hand back when the umbrella does this, as if it was going to bite off his hand. "Uh... Y-your u-umbrella..."

He's been staring at it for a while now. "I... I th-think we met on th-the comms. K-Kogasa? U-unless s-someone else h-has an umbrella."

He had been wondering what she had meant by "the umbrella is also me."

Kogasa knitted her eyebrows together in thought, but a look of recognition dawned on her face after a few moments. "Oh! You mean you're that shy person! Yeah, as far as I know I'm the only one with an umbrella, especially one that's still alive. Kind of..."

The umbrella withdrew its tongue, frowning in apology.

Alex laughed. It certainly was not the first time he had been called shy.

"Y-yeah. Alex. Th r-rat a-asleep in my h-hood is Alice. Sh-she u-usually w-wakes up f-for p-people."

"Awww, that's mean! Does that mean I'm not a person?" The umbrella looked at her and continued to stare until she sighed heavily. "Well, I guess technically I'm not a person..."

She smiled again. "Nice to meetcha, Alex! For real this time! Wanna be friends?"

Alex flushed red and put his hands up again, "N-no! Th-that's n-not it a-at all! I-I didn' m-mean it th-that way! H-honest! I m-meant th-that sh-she'll pro'lly w-wake up s-soon!"

As if on cue, the little rodent squeaked as she yawned and stretched before peaking her head over Alex's shoulder. "S-see?" Alex exclaimed with a smile, "w-we'd both love to be y-your friends!"

Kogasa giggled. "It's okay! I'm still kind of getting used to this whole person thing anyway." When Alice woke up, Kogasa smiled broadly. "Awww, she's so cute! Y'know, a lot of humans are scared of rats and mice, but I never really understood why..."

Her expression became contemplative, and the umbrella whacked her on the head with its tongue. "Ouch..."

Alex grinned and scritched Alice's head, "I-I don' r-really get it either. A-Alice here's o-one of my b-best friends. I d-dunno wh-what I'd do w-without her."

He paused a moment as her use of words dawned on him, "S-so, you're n-not human?" Despite his stutter he didn't look in the least bit concerned over the idea of her not being human. It really wasn't surprising that she wasn't, with the talking umbrella, but he figured a human with a talking umbrella that was also them was not out of the realm of possibilities. Really, he had decided that nothing was outside the realm of possibilities.

"That's right! See this?" She waved the umbrella. "This is my old body. I spent a hundred years like this, and then one day I woke up with this body! So I'm not a human, I'm an umbrella!"

The umbrella stuck its tongue out and smiled as if to say hello.

Alex raised an eyebrow and paused a moment, contemplating the whole idea. All he could come up with after that time was "W-well, that's a n-new one."

He was really amazed at was that he wasn't completely floored by this revelation. He was getting a little more used to how things worked on this ship. That didn't mean he could quite wrap his mind around the idea. "Wh-what was it l-like- I mean! I-I mean i-if you d-don' m-mind me a-asking...."

Kogasa blinked, surprised. It was the first time she'd ever been asked that question, and she didn't really have an answer prepared.

"Well...I guess it actually really sucked. I couldn't move, except when the wind picked me up or someone carried me...except no one ever carried me, so I only moved on the wind. I was forgotten, see, and my owner never came back for me...and I guess nobody wanted a purple umbrella!" She said it with a smile, but it was more subdued than normal. "I spent a hundred years drifting around, and then one day I woke up like this. It was really weird, but...I'm glad it happened! I met some interesting people because of it!"

[I tried to keep it as vauge as possible. I would have IMed you first but contacts of new players aren't up yet. My aim is phoenixaenigma or darkenchantrez. Info about Alex's powers are here ().]

Alex noticed the shadow around the girl, and gave her a weak, reassuring smile, "I-I'm glad too. Y-you're really nice. A-and now y-you c-can have more f-friends! Wh-who you c-can talk to! I-I'd be h-happy to h-have a p-purple umbrella, s-specially if sh-she's as n-nice as you."

[I'm totally fine with this, no worries! But if you ever want to talk again, my AIM is celsiuscaliber :D]

Kogasa grinned, then grimaced, and smiled again. "I like being called nice, but youkai aren't supposed to be nice...aaah, whatever! It's okay if a few humans think I'm nice! Right?" She turned to the umbrella, which grinned in agreement.

"Well, if you ever need an umbrella here, I'd be glad to be of assistance! It's what I was made for, after all!"

Alex smiled brightly at her and pet Alice's head, "I-It looks like w-we have a n-new friend Alice!"

"Yaaaaaay! You hear that? We have three friends now!" Kogasa and her umbrella high-fived, which basically meant Kogasa slapped its tongue. "Eww, gross. I should clean you today." She wiped her hand on her plantsuit and turned back to Alex.

"So what were you doing before you fell? It sounded like you were having a hard time with it..."

Alex laughed at the pair, thinking how in a weird way the reminded him of Alice and himself.

Upon being asked about his game, he held up the system and explained, "I-it's this AI I w-was t-training. I-It does strategy. I-it l-learns s-strategies a-and f-figures out th-the b-best responses. I-it a-also l-learns t-to p-predict and nullify strategies b-before th-they come t-ta fruition."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Kogasa exclaimed, even though she didn't understand some of what Alex was saying. "Could it figure out how to dodge danmaku too? I bet if I could do that, it would surprise a lot of people! Can you show me how it works?"

"W-well," Alex pondered for a moment, not realizing it was odd that the girl was familiar with danmaku, "S-since t-they flow in patterns, y-yeah, it'd be n-no probl- w-wait..." Now it sinks in that she might be from the Touhou series. He never paid much attention to the story, after all. "Y-you know d-danmaku?"

He racked his brain until he vaguely remembered her sprite. Wasn't she one of the bosses? Well, that explained why she knew danmaku. "B-but, y-yeah, I-I'm sure m-my AI c-could a-avoid it."

"Yeah, I know danmaku! I thought everybody did," replied Kogasa. "Well, I guess there are some humans that can't, but I'm not a human, so..." She waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever! On to the point!"

She peered at the video screen. "If I could beat that AI thingy in a danmaku battle, would you be surprised?!"

He considered it for a moment before saying, "W-well, I w-wouldn't be s-surprised f-for the f-first battle or two, b-but... after it's g-gotten enough d-data, I w-would be r-rather s-surprised."

The karakasa clenched her fist in determination. "Then that's what I'll do! I'll beat your AI thingy! I didn't manage to really surprise you today, after all!" The umbrella smiled mischievously, giving a silent approval of Kogasa's plan.

Alex laughed a bit, "W-well, I'd h-have ta l-load it i-into the sensorium f-for you ta f-fight it normally. A-and I g-guess I'd h-have ta g-give her s-somethin' t-ta fight with. I-in this v-version both players h-have the same a-armies." It was actually starting to sound like a pretty good idea.

"Oh, yeah, if you put me up against my own danmaku it would end in a tie," Kogasa said, nodding. "I bet you could come up with some awesome patterns, though! I'd offer to help, but then it wouldn't really be fair because I'd know what the patterns were..." She seemed disappointed at that, but she perked up again in an instant. "But it's more fun to be surprised anyway!"

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Alex sees bad emotions, let me know if you have an issue with this post.

It's no problem at all! o/

^_^

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