"Um, Kai? Hello? Are you okay?" Inquired Aria, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Huh? Sorry, what?" I responded, as she snapped me out of my train of thought.

"You had a kinda tense look on your face, is something wrong?" She asked me in concern.

"I, uh...I just remembered a bad memory from my past life, that's all. Speaking of which...so, yeah, I'm about a good decade older on the inside that I am on the outside. I, uh, hope you're not creeped out or anything by that," I replied, my state of mind having skewed a bit to the negative side.

I feel bad, there's this sense of remorse and guilt in me, and I just can't help but think negatively.

"Huh? Why would I be? You're still the same person, aren't you?" She frowned, looking a bit offended.

"Well, yeah, but-..."

"Come on, don't insult me. My opinion of you isn't going to change just because you happened to have lived another life," She huffed indignantly, before adding, "You trusted me with all this information that no one would blame you for wanting to keep to yourself, that means a lot to me, you know.

So, please don't say stuff like that. I'm not going to suddenly start hating you or whatever over something like this. Here, have the last chicken strip and cheer up!"

"Mfph!" I muttered as she shoved the strip into my mouth.

I chomped down on it, a slight crunch ringing out as I bit through it.

"Feeling better?" She smiled, as I took another bite.

"Well, I've got a cute girl feeding me, so I'd say so," I replied with a wry smile, licking my lips.

"D-Don't just say stuff like that out of nowhere, Kai," She muttered, as she smacked my shoulder with a slight huff.

"Heh, sure, I'll try not to. So, what do you wanna do now?" I asked her.

"Let's go another round with that racing game. I'll win this time," She declared with a smile.

"Alright, challenge accepted. Bring it on," I responded with a smirk.

I tapped on my I-Watch screen to bring up the display, before manifesting a pair of holographic controllers, handing her one as I loaded up the game.

"Did you play this game in your previous life too?" She asked me, as we began selecting our vehicles.

"No, I didn't have any of the consoles it was available on...though I played an older entry in the series, and the controls are pretty much the same," I replied, leaning forward a bit as the loading screen appeared.

I had a gaming console when I was a kid, but I had to sell it after I got saddled with my father's debt. Naturally, I never got any of the newer consoles after that.

I could barely even afford a smartphone, and it was a pretty shitty one that lagged and crashed a whole lot. Didn't have a computer or a laptop either.

So, I was pretty thrilled with my I-Watch in this era. I can play all the games I never got to play during my era, plus a whole lot of new ones, I can watch all the movies, shows and anime I want, and all for free...it's like a dream come true for my past self.

"Okay, here we go...I've got this...," Aria muttered to herself, a focused look in her eyes as the race loaded, the countdown starting.

As the race began, we began driving forward, before I let her get a bit ahead of me, before hitting the side of her car with mine, sending it spinning out of control as I pulled ahead.

"Nailed it," I smirked as my car shot across the track.

"No! That was a dirty move, I'll get you for that!" She exclaimed, before crashing as she tried to make a turn with too much speed, "Damn it!"

"Nice, looks like I can just play it safe and take it easy, good luck trying to catch up," I grinned teasingly, as she let out a huff.

"Crap...can I just give up and get another rematch?" She requested with a groan.

"Aw, giving up so easily? Well, if you're that sure you'll lose, I guess I can do that."

"Hey, stop trying to provoke me!"

"A gaming clash without trash talk is like toast without butter, it's just not as good," I shrugged smugly, before she flicked the side of my forehead with a pout.

"Let's see how cocky you are once I beat you," She responded with a huff.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll break this losing streak someday."

"You can be kinda mean sometimes, huh? I mean, it's not, like, cruel mean, more like obnoxious and harmless mean," She replied with a sigh.

"Think the word you're looking for is teasing. And I'll be nicer for got the rest of the day, Aria," I smiled, patting her head.

"Just for the rest of the day, huh? Well, I guess I don't totally hate it, at least in small doses. Also, you do this a lot," She responded, as she glanced up at my hand.

"Well, I did go five months without doing it, so gotta make up for lost time. Plus, your hair is really soft, it feels nice to touch. Also, it's a really pretty shade of red."

"Oh, um...thanks, Kai. And it feels nice to me too, you're good at headpats-...wait, is that because you do it a lot?" She inquired hesitantly.

"Huh? No, I don't pat anyone else's head, if that's what you mean," I assured her with a smile.

I'm pretty sure that's true, at least as far as I can remember, I can't recall ever having patted anyone else's head.

"I see, that's good," She smiled, nodding to herself.

"Why do you ask?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"N-Never mind that, let's get back to the game! I'll win for sure this time, just you wait!"

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