Chapter 9 prompt me to do this. Enjoy?

"Hello, master!" the program said, emerging from the mail attachment he just opened, a wide smile on her face as she looks at him while he could only stare strangely at the monitor where she was smiling from. It took him a while to understand what suddenly happened, and how did this program, virus, or whatever came to be.

The program called herself 'Ene', "Nice to meet you!" she continued.

More like 'new headache' if you ask him.

"What are you?" he asked, and she smiles at him ever-so innocently, "Well, I'm not sure about that either, but nonetheless, please take care of me master!" she answered her new so-called 'master', he frowns deeper upon hearing this. She's definitely suspicious, he thought. He realized she is probably keeping her identity a secret to him and feels she's more trouble than what she's worth which is the very least he wanted in his life right now. But truthfully, he doesn't care all that much about that.

He stared at her with that same cold look, as if contemplating on the puzzling situation that appeared in front of him. And after a while he decides…

To delete her.

The Shintaro of that time was still an arrogant 17-year old boy. Stuck in his room and refused to come out, his sight locked on what happened in the past and refused to look at anything. He didn't care about anything anymore (not like he had actually cared before) and just wanted everyone to leave him alone now more than ever. Whether it was a human or a program, it doesn't matter.

He just wanted to be in solitude.

The next day he wakes up to find that that same program he deleted just yesterday was again settling on his screen monitor, smiling what seemed like a triumphant smile that he can't help but be angry about.

What happened to the so-called security system? He asked himself in mild anger as he sluggishly gets out of bed and to his computer.

"Good morning, master!" she greeted him cheerfully to which he frowns in response, "I thought I deleted you."

Hehe, Ene laughed, "You did. But I can always come back. Master's firewall isn't as strong so I can come in and out of here as I wish!" she grins while saying this.

So the reason for her annoying smile earlier was this, huh? He concluded with a sigh.

Fine, whatever.

And so for the next few days he let himself be bothered by this cyber being all because there was nothing else he could do about it. All he could do was ignore her and move on doing what he does -being a hiki-NEET- and immerse himself in the internet all day long. Well, it's not like everything will change just because of this, he assured himself, everything will be fine as long as I ignore her. That's what he wanted to believe.

But unfortunately, she's the kind of pest that doesn't like to be ignored.

She would force him to play a game, a finding game. A game where she would purposely switch all his folders and/or rename it using oddly disgusting callings and phrases that if he doesn't find them in time, she would post all of his embarrassing emo poems online for the world to see and laugh at. It would always set him panicking and burning with fury but he knows he can't do anything about it but be forced to go along with her whims. He could only frantically find them while she just stay put and laugh, enjoying her master's sweet misery. And often times, record it for her own enjoyment.

He deletes her again.

.

He then decides to install a new security system. An anti-virus software that is said will guarantee to keep unknown programs —especially ones like her— out, for good and never come back. Ever.

But even still, she would come in like nothing ever happened,

"Oh, you installed a new security system?" she would ask, "That's great master!" she then says, always with that same mocking smile. That same annoying smile that tells him that there is nothing he can do to keep her from invading his precious privacy. He wanted to punch the monitor for that.

But dammit, he can't!

He needs to get rid of her or else he'll really lose it and do something he'll regret.

Then he found out that interesting little fact that she can't enter his computer whenever the internet connection is off, he was glad, ecstatic even to the point of wanting to jump up in utter happiness. At last, he can now spend his moments alone in peace! How long has he waited for this to come.

Yet it came with a price of his whole life: The internet. He didn't even last a day without it and was forced to get connected to save himself from the death of boredom and misery, allowing her to enter and cause hell once again. Still smiling that ever-provoking sighed.

He gives up.

Seriously, when it comes to being stubborn and annoying, this cyber girl is probably the worst of them all. Much worse than his parents when they tried to get him to enter school again, much worse than his teacher coming and going to his house, telling him to come back, all because he was the school's only elite student in their whole year, worse than his classmates who would also come and visit, but looks at him like he's an outcast,

And definitely, much, much worse than her…

Ayano.

Remembering her sent a painful pang in his heart, her smiles, her hair, her gestures, everything about her hurts.

Especially her death.

He didn't admit it then, but her presence beside him eases him to the point that he doesn't understand how to react to her except with how he normally react with everything: with utter indifference and detachment. He had spent his whole life being hated by the people around him that it was nothing new to him anymore.

But she was.

For a long while he just sat there with a regretful face wishing he could take it all back, to take her back, surely everything will change and time for him will continue once again. And everything would have been fine, just like how it has always been…

For sure…

Meanwhile Ene just stares at him with a blank expression on her face as she looks at him. An expression so very unlike her.

She then sighs. And after a while, sounds an ear-smashing alarm at full volume, waking him from his reverie with a painful shock. She grins playfully.

.

One evening as Shintaro was completely immersed in his computer more than ever, not noticing the time passed as he did this, Ene decides to butt in, "Master, look at the time! You have to eat!" she shouts to remind him, "Don't you see how thin you are?" but he just ignored her, like how he usually does.

Ene stares worriedly at him, "master, you need to get your nutrients! It's not good to skip meals!" she says matter-of-factly, after seeing her master staring pass her and to whatever he was doing behind her, she says silently,"I'm worried,"

Just leave me alone, he thought, quit feigning sympathy for my sake.

Still, she persists, "Master do you want to stay like this for the rest of your life? Just sitting here and dreading the past?" and as if saying the magic words, Shintaro felt himself snap,

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he suddenly shouts, "You're just a program that enjoys making others miserable! You have no idea how I feel. How it feels to regret everything you did and wished you can take it back! Take everything and change it!" he yells, letting it out, letting everything out of his chest and to the program in front of him, "You have absolutely no idea..."

And a second after, he hears his mother loudly knocking on his door, asking if he's alright. Her panicked voice filled the silence in his room.

He stands there, fists clenched and glaring furiously at the monitor screen, at Ene, who stares back at him with an unreadable face.

Her lips then curl up slightly, and much to his surprise, she's smiling, "Yes, I don't understand,"she starts,"I am but a program after all." She replies him, her sapphire blue eyes locked to his jet black ones and he immediately feel his words then thrown hopelessly back to him, having no chance against this smile of hers. He averts his gaze.

"Anyway master," Ene continues, "You have to eat!" she flashed a wide grin at him, seemingly back to her old self. Shintaro sighs at this and for the first time,

He decides to listen.

.

He dreams about her again.

He dreams of the same sunset drenched classroom. Just the two of them. He was seated at the back corner, beside her, Ayano, who was seated beside the window. She turns to smile at him and he's surprised. He then realizes this is all a dream since it was impossible for her to be her beside him right now.

Yes, so it must be a dream.

But that fact doesn't matter, he smiles at this thought and talks to her, going back to that time before everything happened. He would talk and she would smile in response to him, a sweet summer-ly smile she would always wear.

This is fine, he thinks, if everything can go back like this, I don't mind not waking up.

"So are you fine with this?" A voice echoed, and in a flash, everything went black, the sunset, the classroom, her warm smile, everything was devoured by the darkness that only he and a screen monitor remained. Ene repeated her words.

"Are you fine with this?"

"It's fine."Shintaro says simply, anger evident on his face as he approaches her. Stretching his hands up, he reached for Ene on the other side of the monitor, "after all," With his hand slipping pass the screen, he reached for her neck, "I'm choosing solitude."

He strangles her. Letting out every bit of anger he felt for her. No, not only for her, but also for everything around him. His school, his classmates, even for Ayano, whom he couldn't reach out to help. He wished right then that everything should disappear, just disappear from his life and never come back,because that's how he always wanted it to be. Then until now.

"No." Ene interjects, not even trying to put up a fight against him.

"You're just seeking amnesty, master." She said, smiling before exploding into tiny fragments of pixels in front of his eyes. His mouth opened to say something when...

His eyes shot open and almost immediately, he felt his head hurting,

Damn it, he thought recalling his dreams in the most painful way possible, she invades me even in my dreams.

"You're just seeking amnesty, master."

He wonders how true those words of hers are...

Glancing at the time, he remembers why he was asleep. The pest of a virus on his computer keeps telling him to get some sleep after taking an all-nighter for 3 days straight. He hasn't slept once ever since. He would have refused, because there are still so much to do (those candies aren't gonna crush themselves you kno) but she started threatening him to post all his emo works online, which immediately sets him in the mood to go to bed early that night.

Before he sleeps, he ordered her to wake him up once his anime download was over. And by that means immediately after it's over. No buts. She made a salute in understanding and he just went to bed in response to this. He fell asleep almost immediately.

He stared up the monitor and saw that his download had been done sometime ago.

She said she's wake me up, he thought to himself scratching his head lightly in frustration, I really can't trust her with anything can I? Sighing once again, he then notices something a little off.

She isn't moving.

Could it be that the computer lagged while I was asleep? He speculated, analyzing the monitor for any slight changes in movement, especially from her -Ene. She stood frozen at the center of the screen, her back turned to him She seems to be staring at an image he doesn't remember opening. So she must have done so while he was asleep, probably planning to dig some more dirt to use on him as usual. He cursed.

That aside, the image she was looking at was an image he downloaded a few days ago, something he did while she was away. A JPG-formatted image of 2 students, a boy and a girl smiling and laughing in the classroom alone together, drenched with the orange-colored sunset.

He recalls downloading it because the image reminded him of his dreams, his dream about him and Ayano laughing together. It rarely happened when she was still alive, how he regrets not having it done so more often realizing now that those days will never go back. So much. So those regrets of his manifests in his dreams, all the things he wished he'd done in the past.

At least, that's his theory.

He noticed her head drops a little, so it wasn't a system lag after all, he thought sighing in relief, but still, why the odd silence?

Not to mention that she doesn't seem to be her usual annoyingly outgoing self. A different aura surrounds her now, as if she's a completely different person. It was suspicious, more so coming from her. Curious as to why, he decides to move in closer her to the monitor without her noticing, being as sneaky as possible. He thinks this might be the only chance he could get to get back at her for all the things she did. And as he moves about, his bed creaked loudly beneath him. He sweat-dropped.

Hearing the loud noise, Ene turned to him, meeting his awkward gaze...

He was taken aback.

"Oh, I'm so sorry master for not waking you!" she suddenly starts, "You were snoring so soundly that I didn't want to bother waking you up! But just in case you don't believe me, I took the liberty of recording that monstrous snore of yours!" she grins widely. Opening the music player, she began to play what she recorded while he was fast asleep. And what came out was an unbelievable sound of something other-worldly. It was impossible for such a thing come out of his yet here he is hearing it.

"Just to let you know, this isn't edited or anything!" she informs, "This sound is completely raw! Teehee~ quite the talent you have for snoring master~"

This is what he gets for not sleeping for 3 days straight, "...uughh..." even he would agree it was a monstrosity. His head dropped in both anguish and embarrassment. Did she plan to do this all along? Knowing her, that is surely the case, "...damn it... damn it all..."

She flashed her usual annoying grin at him and he felt if not one, then all of his nerves explode.

This, he thinks, this is the annoying pest he knows and hates.

.

One day while Shintaro was alone in the house (but sadly not his room), the doorbell rang. He lazily answers it and was surprised to see a package addressed to him. At first, he thought he'd won something and was ecstatic, but it all changed when he saw the receipt. He didn't buy anything as far as his memory goes...

So it must he her doing again.

He sighs.

Well, after everything she'd put him through, something like this isn't surprising anymore. Anything he does against her never works, but since she has his greatest weakness, everything he would have done will be in vain. It scares him how much he's getting used to her already. And in such a short time nonetheless.

I guess that's better than being out and see those people again, he thinks. At least this enigmatic program doesn't look at him like how the others do, that much he is grateful. No matter how small it signing the papers and tipping the deliveryman, he rushed to his room and found Ene playing his latest blunder of crying over a cliche drama, "Who was at the door?" she asked.

He answered by raising his hand holding the small package, "Mind telling me what is this and why is it addressed to me?" she winks innocently before realization kicked in and she gasps, "Oh that was quick!" she seemed more amused at how fast the delivery was than his master's sour face, "Enough, just tell me what-"

"Open it master! Open it! Open it!" she orders him enthusiastically, her face almost filling the screen at how excited she is right now.

Well aren't we excited? he notes sarcastically before opening the said box. It was a software of some-sort. On the front box, it was labelled, "Vocaloid," he reads, eyeing the long-haired anime character beneath it.

"Yes!" Ene said, "It's popular not only among music composers, but everyone nowadays! You compose a song and this software sings it for you!" she informs him enthusiastically.

"Wha-" he lets out, seemingly amazed with his eyes sparkling, Ene smiles wider at this, "Why not try it out master? You can make this software sing your crappy poems!" she urged.

"Hey! Don't call them crappy!" he retorts as he opens the box.

He seems excited, Ene comments to herself staring at his master as he installs the software, that's good.

"Why?" Shintaro asked her as he waits for it to load, "Why did you order this?" he was was rare for her to do something like this. Something that wouldn't make him miserable, which is why he decides to ask.

"Well, I wanted to make up with all the pranks I keep pulling on you," she answers. He wonders if that's really the case. Well, whatever, "Even if it was to make up to me, it's still my money."

"It doesn't matter right?" she replies quickly, as if expecting him to say that,"As long as it's not boring, as long as master can enjoy it, it's fine isn't it?" she smiles widely at this.

He was surprised at her answer. And thinking about it now, she always does things like this. He never tries to notice but looking past his miseries of being tortured, abused and blackmailed by this pest of a program, he sees that those things she does are actually for his own good.

"Master, you have to eat!"

"Master sleep or else I'll spread your poems over the net!"

"Is it fun, master?"

"As long as master can enjoy it, it's fine isn't it?"

She has an odd way of keeping him intact, from letting himself go and be consumed by everything he regrets. Although some are worse than others, her pranks does some good, not more than bad, but it still does something. At least, he thinks so.

Thinking this sent a funny feeling down his chest, being foreign to such things, Shintaro forced it down quickly and sighed, "I guess I'll let it entertain me for a while." he says looking away from her.

"Please do master!" she beams, "Transform your crappy poems into something less crappy!"

"I told you not to call them crappy!"

Haha, she laughed, "Master's face right now looks crappy."

With a vein popping at each side of his head, "Do you want me to delete you again?" He threatens.

"Now that'd be bad wouldn't it?" she replies mockingly, "Well, I guess their not all crappy~"she says in a forced tone. It was the best compliment he could receive from her he bets. Really, doesn't she know how much time and effort he put into making those 'crappy' poems?

(A lot of his hiki-NEET time and energy)

After a moment of silence, "Anyway master," Ene starts, her tone serious and Shintaro can immediately feel something bad coming, "I notice that in addition to your poems, you've also started collecting these certain things..."

Shintaro fidgets, not liking where this is going, "W-what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb master! Want me to show you? I must say, when it comes to these stuff, master has quite the odd tastes~"

"No... stop! ENEEEEE!"

"Ah master! You finally called me by my name!" she yells, turning to Shintaro with a wide smile that surprises him a little. He wonders why would she be happy being called by her name. It was odd...

But despite that rare moment she was waiting for happen, it didn't stop her from opening his other prized possession. Shintaro's scream reverberates throughout the room.

.

.

.

.

It had been a year since then.

And in that span of a year, his whole lifestyle had changed, which truthfully, he is really surprised about. It was all because if that pest living in his computer-Ene. Everything that happened to him is all her fault. She, who keeps getting him into different levels of trouble that seemed to have reached its peak when his computer malfunctioned due to one of her pranks, which eventually led to him meeting the Mekakushi dan.

And being tricked to join their mysterious little group.

Yes, he blames her for that too.

Right now, he can tell the considerable change he underwent after meeting her. He was a shut in, alone and free from everything in the world, that much hasn't change till now but he can tell everything else changed. It would seem that only those two things about him that remained.

Everything else is already far from the way they were before.

He could also blame her for that, but a part of him seemed grateful. Because he's starting to accept everything around him, especially her death. Ayano's death that left a deep scar in his heart. He's now starting to forgive himself more and free himself from the restraints of his past. Yes, he guess he could also blame her for that.

That aside, Ene has become quite the happier person than she was back then, he can't help but notice. Maybe because the idea of meeting others and joining a mysterious group excites her. He recalls that she's fascinated by the world, quite much if he remembers correctly. Much more than anyone.

And her pranks are also getting worse and worse as time passes, often collaborating with the cat-eyed guy, Kano, to prank him. She's much more hyper and annoying, unfortunately for him, who has to shoulder the effects of her changing moods. She always wears that mocking smile, that she has whenever she's trying to pull something under his nose. It never ceases to give him goosebumps out of anger and other things (fear). And he still can't do anything about it.

But often times, she would smile differently. A seemingly nostalgic smile as if she remembers something precious. Though that rarely happens, but whenever it does, it would be so contagious that he finds himself smiling back after.

She's such an unpredictable, malicious and abusive thing...

But despite all this and how happier she seemed to be now, Shintaro still wakes up to see her looking at that same picture, showing a familiarly regretful face she wore then.

The same face he had before...

Well now this is quite long and I really took my time doing this (haha). Anyway this is my second attempt at making a story of Kagerou Days! Hope you enjoyed it!

I heard about tumblr hosting something about a Kagerou Days countdown till the songs/novels come out (I think?). Oh, how much I wanted to participate, but dammit school why do you torture me!

Maybe I'll write one after all this nonsense I do in school.

On a side note, Kido's name is finally here!

Anyway, that's all! Till next time! :D