Dear Literotica Editor: There are italics in this submission that I would like retained. Thanks!
Author's Note: This is a sequel series to Amy, Captured. For the full experience, please read through that one first.
Okay, we're back! So this is chapter nine, another one that I don't really have much to say about. Many thanks to Isabel and Allyourbase for their contributions, they are both fantastic humans. Any votes, feedback or what have you is hugely appreciated. Enjoy the show!
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'Oh, Tsugi!'
He froze at the first wispy, girlish syllable. There was only one person that voice could belong to, and as he turned to greet it he found himself smiling automatically. Kanaria seemed to bring out the happier side of everyone around her; she was like sunlight given human form.
And Tsugi never quite knew how to deal with her. His own life had been filled with jaded, cynical husks of humanity before coming here, and Kanaria seemed to be the only person he knew without an agenda. She was simply here because her sister had asked her to be, and because she genuinely cared for everyone here, by this point. Tsugi found himself ill equipped to deal with out and out sincerity, which even he had to admit was mildly disappointing. It took him a few seconds to adjust enough to respond, as the raven haired girl drew closer.
'Hi, Kana,' He tried to inject as much enthusiasm as he could muster into the smile that came, which wasn't a lot. He also tried his hardest to avoid thinking about what he had just done with Amy; those thoughts seemed out of place when talking to Kanaria. Thinking about her in a sexual context was... confusing. Technically she was around his age, very pretty if he thought about it, and he
was
a young person himself, but she was so much like a teddy bear that actually imagining her
doing
any of those things...
He
knew
she had already visited Amy, which just added a whole plethora of new images for him to feel vaguely bad about. He didn't want to say the word
virginal
, but Kana had always seemed so pure, almost like a little sister... But he had to admit that was an even more dissatisfying label. Which raised the question: if the opportunity presented itself, would he...?
He
almost
shook his head to forcibly dislodge the thought, before realizing that he had company, waiting patiently for him to speak again, 'Sorry, I drifted away there, for a second. What's up?'
'I asked you if you were doin' anything?' Kanaria's smile took on a timid edge, which meant only one thing: she was going to ask him for a favor. It didn't matter what she actually wanted, Kana would get shy asking for the
time.
So cute...
'Hmm? No, nothing. Actually, I just got done doing...' He saved himself at the last second, realized who he was talking to. The prevalence of colorful, entirely honest and, frankly, ribald individuals here sometimes meant his mouth would run ahead of his brain when it came to certain things, '
Something.
Why?'
'I was wondering,' Again that adorable, dainty smile. Did she do this with any conscious effort, or did this level of sweetness just come to her naturally? 'I need to go and see Sander about this Marduk thing, and I could use a bit of company, if you wouldn't mind?'
'Still having trouble with Marduk?' He grinned, 'I would have thought someone like you would have dealt with that a long time ago. I mean, you are
Aria
, after all.'
Ah yes, Aria... It had been a bit of a shock to learn that the woman he sat across from at the table at breakfast was what passed for a folk hero in this day and age, but at the same time the profile fit her like a glove. Around six years ago, Aria had been big news. The name itself had just been a pseudonym, the username of an otherwise anonymous- and remarkably well hidden- programmer operating from her own corner of the galactic networks. There were plenty of those, though; one couldn't throw a stone without hitting an anonymous programmer. But Aria, she was different. Where others had thrown themselves into meaningless vandalism and hacking endeavors, Aria had been into charity. And on the internet, completely random acts of kindness were a rarity. Like seeing Robin Hood flying around in deep space: an entirely bizarre, and certainly not to be repeated occurrence.
Aria would break into your systems, oh yes. In fact, she was better at it than most anyone else out there. She'd be in before you'd even realized it, but there was a kicker: she would
improve
your security programs, and then leave. That was it. Aside from a shiny new, personalized set of security protocols emblazoned with Aria's signature, nothing would be altered, added, or stolen from your computer. This level of utter harmlessness was
unthinkable
.
Effectively, she was an internet legend; entirely anonymous, taking very little credit, striking randomly... It was no wonder she garnered so much attention. It was like if a unicorn had suddenly been discovered on Earth, only it was fighting crime in its spare time.
In fact, this was part of the reason Sander had hired her; she had just completed work on the A.I that made the Torchwood archives Doctor-proof when he got in touch with her. That had been Aria's last job, it had been a request from the Terran government that had interested her. After that, she had moved to Trismestigius to work on Jericho.
Upon hearing all this, Tsugi had asked her
why
. Kanaria's answer had been surprisingly pragmatic: she had been testing herself. Nobody broke into an Aria protected system.
Nobody.
And it hadn't been for lack of trying, either. This, she reasoned, was the challenge: criminals always seemed to be the ones to think up the best toys, they had a kind of vicious, razor edged ingenuity all their own. All she'd had to do was strike randomly, and uniquely, and she'd had the attention of everyone with the inclination to attempt to break into her work. She'd kicked over the proverbial anthill because, in her mind, that was the way to figure out if she was getting
good.
