Irikumu Tsukisan

Time Off

"Dear." A lithe woman sat above her in her seat as she held onto the headset. She was looking up in a reclining position as her mother and father stood in her room. She was perplexed as they both stood there, with accusing glances. She was quieter than normal as she sat there.

"Don't be rude to your mother, stand up." His grumbling was final. She stood up then with a heavy heart and set the headset on the cushion still heated from an hour of time. Her mother placed a hand on her father's arm, shaking her head as if to tell him she would take care of this. He nodded then her mother's happy smile came back.

"We... have been worried." She started and it took that long for Makenzie to realize that she'd gotten the signals wrong again. Or her mother was tip toeing around the actual subject. She never knew her mother to do that, her eyes slide to her father and his concern was far more present. That in and of itself was concerning. "Honey, there are bags under your eyes."

She glanced over to a mirror in her room with a gentle exhaustion of a much older woman. Looking back to them, her head shook. She was pushing herself but for good reasons. Her dreams were worth it. Woodseth's life was worth it. He was not just a program. Her eyes flit over to the headset she spent at least four hours a night in for the last month, progressing her character to a point where she was well enough to start training. Their life was worth it. She was pushing herself, yes, but if she ever wanted to be a pilot and prove that to her father she is capable, she had to. "Yes..." She was sly when she spoke, walking on eggshells around them. They only cared. "The lab has been busy."

Her mother shook her head. "Sweetheart, the lab is always busy. When you started this job and your side project you promised me that you would watch your health." She closed the gap, bringing her into her arms. "We love you, the last thing we want is to see our darling daughter hurting herself. You have so much potential." She smiled in her mother's arms, letting herself fall into the warmth and close her eyes. "I know you use the games to relax and relieve stress but I feel like it is too much for you to handle at once."

"But mom! I really love this game. It's... exactly what I needed."

"And I'm glad, I researched it well before I got it for you, but you need rest. You're getting two hours a night?" She nodded and her mother sighed. "Even Woodseth is worried. He left a text message on my console. Everyone who loves you is worried for you."

"Woodseth cared that much?"

"Yes." Her father cut in. "Even that glorified web search device cared about you." Her father closed the distance, hugging them both.

Something in her welled up within. Hearing someone talk about him that way, was something she didn't care for at all. She grit her teeth but before she was able to say a thing, being sandwiched between her loving parents, the anger subsided. He said that because he didn't know better. He said that because he was thinking in the past, with tradition, just like Hibiki was. And that thinking- rubbed off on her some. There were times when she thought of Kosuke Minami as just a game, a story path but he was more than that to her. Woodseth was once just as her father said. She made the choice then and there to think about them in a wholly knew way. Woodseth was her best friend, no matter how simple he was right now, he cared for her and this proved it. The intelligence in the game also cared. All of them, even Asahi, who at this point would say hi to her, showing he was comfortable, which showed they learned and felt things too.

"Alright." She nodded heavily with a gentle hug back to them both. It felt nice to bury herself in them again. "I will relax on everything. Stop spending overtime at the lab, cut down work on woodseth and stop playing the game until I can balance my real life."

Her father smiled brightly for the first time in a while and he spoke lowly. "That's my girl. You're such a bright young mind. If you burn out too quickly then you will never be happy. I'm proud of you." Her eyes widen and she looked up to her father, a playful smile on her lips. Then she looked to her mother, who nodded.