Ice Flower

Chapter 22

"I thought that you said you were going to get an older model," the Ignis commented. "This is not an older model. Oh, and by the way, the AI that came with this? I deleted it. It called me a virus and tried to delete me. Honestly, the nerve."

"Quiet," was Kayla's only response.

"Why?"

"One: There are a lot of people around. Two: It probably looks weird to anyone who sees me that I'm talking to my duel disk. Three: You're annoying me." She pulled a bag of rice off the shelf and placed it in the cart. 

"Many people converse with their duel disks now a days because of how popular AIs have become. And how am I annoying you?"

She gave it a sidelong look. "You talk too much. I'm considering naming you Chatty."

"Why in the world would you give me such an absurd-"

"Chatty it is."

"No! I beg you, please do not give me that name!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Allow me to think for a moment."

Kayla scanned her list. Looks like she got everything.

"Ah! I have got it! You may call me Winter."

"Looks like my life really is ice themed," She said to herself.

"Why would you say that?"

"Personal matters." She pushed to cart to the front of the store to check out.

"Why would you need to hide it from me then? I am an excellent secret keeper, unlike most humans. I would not tell anyone. Besides, we are stuck together, so we minus well try to get along."

"I agree with the last part. But I'm still not telling you my secrets."

Winter grumbled under her- at least, Kayla assumed that it was a her- breath the rest of the way back to the house. She caught something about 'can't believe that I didn't leave this human when I had the chance' and decided not to bother her.

"Yusaku, are you home?" She called when she entered the house.

She was greeted with silence.

"Looks like he forgot to lock the door again." She sighed.

"Your phone is making an aggravating ringing sound," Winter informed her while she put away the groceries.

"Who's calling me?"

"A girl named Yui Ito."

Kayla quickly pulled out her phone and answered. "What's up?"

"A friend of mine wants to talk to you. I said that I'd pass along your info, but they said that they wanted to talk in person in a certain part of the city."

"I got it. I'll be there in five." She hung up, quickly finishing putting away the groceries. 

"Who do you think it is?" Winter asked.

"I know exactly who it is." She took off her duel disk and placed it on the table. "Stay."

"Get back here!" Her data jumped out of the duel disk and into her phone, which she was still holding. "You cannot just leave me. I thought that the whole point of getting a duel disk was so that you could take me places and not be suspicious."

"Yeah well, where I'm going you can't come." She went to her room, placing the phone face-down on her bed. 

"I can't see!" 

"That's the point."

"Wait a minute... there's another duel disk in the room. It is not your brother's- he took his with him when he left, I'm sure- so is it yours? But that can't be possible. Unless... do you have two duel disks?"

"It's not a duel disk," She said through clenched teeth.

"Yes it is. I can tell. Let me see..."

A second later Winter's eye was staring up at her from the screen of an old model duel disk.

"Hey!" She shook it. "Get out!"

"I will not. Let me see... you have a Raidraptor deck. Interesting. I thought that they stopped making these kinds of cards a long time ago. Your login information is... no, that is impossible. There is no way that you're Glacier."

"I said, get. Out."

"No. I am coming with you. I will not say a word during your meeting with whoever this is, but if we are going to work together we need to stay together. Besides, I get the feeling that my owner was a VR duelist as well, so we may find her in here."

She groaned. "Fine." Then she ran back up the stairs and left, making sure to lock the door behind herself, unlike some people