[Multi-Chapter]:Chobits 18/?
Title:Chobits
Chapter:18/?
Pairings:OhnoxNino
Extra Characters:Chinen Yuri (as Sumomo), Kato Rosa (as Hibiya Chitose), Narimiya Hiroki (as Zima), Kuroki Meisa (as Dita)
Genre/Rating:AU, Humor, Fluff, Romance, Sci-fi/PG-13
Disclaimer:Idea taken from original manga Chobits by Clamp. Almost all the quotes are from the manga as well.
Word Count:4155
Summary:Ohno Satoshi, the computer illiterate young man who lives in the 22nd century full of androids everywhere?! What will happen when this young man meets one android that was meant to be thrown away?
A/N:The plot will go exactly like the manga, but there will be some changes cause this is my story. I don't plan on making chobits seem weird. Just decided to share because it was my first manga that I came to love. If you don't wanna read this, then don't. Edited in 2014
Fanfic Masterpost
Nino was excited to start the new day with his money in hand as he ran out of the apartment. As soon as he exited the building, the first thing he saw was his landlady sweeping the ground. Satoshi had taught him that it was polite to greet her good morning and so he did.
“Good morning!” Nino greeted the landlady as he came to a stop in front of her.
She smiled. “Hello, Nino. Are you going out by yourself? Where’s Satoshi?”
“Satoshi is at school,” he replied as he showed her the envelope he received yesterday. “Nino is going shopping. Nino worked at Chiroru... and manager gave me money.”
“Chiroru?” The landlady gasped. “You mean the bakery?”
Nino simply nodded his head as a smile formed on his lips.
“Their tiramisu is to die for!”
“Manager said Nino can come back and work again!” He told her proudly, remembering how the manager wanted his service again.
“How nice,” the landlady sighed, “I’ll have to stop by and see you someday.”
“Nino would like that.”
“What are you shopping for?” The landlady asked him curiously.
The smile was still on his lips as he brought the envelope to his chest. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh before he spoke. “Nino worked hard to give this money to Satoshi... but Satoshi said it is Nino’s money. He said to buy something Nino likes.”
“Satoshi really is a nice person.”
“He sure is!” Nino agreed enthusiastically. “But Nino still wants to give something to Satoshi. Nino wants to buy something for Satoshi with this money. But I don’t know what to get for him.”
“Hmm... Well...” The landlady breathed as she put her hand on her cheek. “You could get him something practical-- like clothes or books. Or you could get him something fun. Is there anything Satoshi mentioned what he wants?”
Nino copied her action. “Satoshi collects magazines and photo books with pictures of naked girls. Nino could find him one that he doesn’t have.”
“Well, yes, there is that,” The landlady laughed behind her hand, “Fun and Practical,”
All of a sudden, Nino knew where to go. “They have photo books at the bookstore! That is where Nino will go!” With that, Nino ran off.
“Good luck, Nino! Take care,” He heard the landlady call after him.
The bookstore, he went to with Satoshi, was not far from their apartment. He was ready to head to the direction of the bookstore when a thought made him stop. Turning around, he saw that the landlady was still on the same spot, going on about her usual business.
“Kato-san?”
The landlady looked up with a soft smile on her face. “Yes?”
“When Nino closes his eyes, I see someone just like me,” He told her as he closed his eyes and saw the girl who claims to be his sister. “The girl with Nino’s face... Knew who you were.”
When Nino opened his eyes, he saw that the smile on the landlady’s face disappeared as if telling her this made her unhappy.
“Yes. I also know the other you.”
Nino cocked his head to the side curiously as a frown formed on his face. “Nino doesn’t understand. Nino met you for the first time here... Did I not?”
The landlady just sighed before she reached towards his head. “Don’t let it bother you. Those old memories are better left forgotten...”
“Now,” The landlady smiled again, but it was different compared to the first one, “Be careful, OK?”
“Okay!” Nino exclaimed as he began on his feet. Soon, he was nearing the bookstore by then...
Kato watched Nino’s frame grow smaller and smaller as he ran towards his destination. Upon seeing him, she was thrilled. She had noticed ever since that day, that Nino becomes cuter and cuter, wondering if Satoshi was the reason. However, that was the least of her concern. “The more he unlocks his true program... The easier it’ll be for those kids to finder him...”
Nino came to a stop, realizing that he was standing in front of the Yamatani Bookstore. “This is the bookstore,” He thought out loud as he pointed at the sign on the window glass. Once he confirmed it, he headed inside straight to the naked girl’s section.
“Satoshi already has this one...” Nino pointed out (literally) before scanning another shelf. “...And this one...”
A few seconds later, he found one that Satoshi didn’t have in his collection. On the front of the cover was a girl wearing a light pink panties while exposing her buttocks. When he spotted this, NIno grabbed it and thrust it in midair. “He doesn’t have this one!”
He was sure about it since he’s spotted Satoshi’s collection of magazines once in awhile. Taking a sharp turn to the right, he headed towards the cashier when something from the corner of his eyes stopped him. Turning his head to the left, he spotted the book that looks like the first one Satoshi bought for him. He immediately went towards the bookshelf, grabbed a copy and flipped it open.
”But... are people truly happy being with them?” It asked as it looked into the dark sky full of twinkling stars while it sat on the ledge of the building it was standing on. “Is this city with no people truly happy?”
“I don’t know,” the darker one behind the glass replied. “Because... happiness depends on the individual. All people are different. No two are the same. What makes one person happy... might make another sad. People’s soul come in all shapes and sizes. And as time goes on and a person grows, their soul can change. Their hopes and dreams can change. That’s why... there isn’t just one type of happiness.”
“Then...” It stood up as it turned to face the one behind the mirror, “...There must be a way that I can be happy, too!”
He looked up from the book he was holding as his thoughts ran over the word ‘happy’...
”That is what we all want, isn’t it?” The latter questioned as it’s hands clasped together in front of it’s chest. “To find the person just for you, to find your own happiness... That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?”
Nino pressed the book to his chest as he let the words in the book run in his head. “A person just for me... My own happiness... Will Nino be happy, too?”
Just as he was about to read the book again, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Are you alright? Is something wrong?” Someone asked worriedly as Nino turned around and saw the cashier. “You’re a persocom, right? Isn’t you owner around?
“My owner is Satoshi. Satoshi is at school,” he responded. “No. there is nothing wrong with Nino.”
“That’s good,” the cashier sighed in relief, “Can I help you with anything?”
“Nino wants this. And this,” he let the cashier know as he showed him the books in his hand. “Can I buy them with money?”
“Of course you can!” The cashier smiled as he motioned Nino to follow him.
Once the cashier was behind the counter, Nino handed him the two books.
“Oh, this book...” The cashier mumbled as he stuffed the naked girl magazine and the picture book into a brown bag. “I seem to remember you were in here before and got the first volume.”
Nino nodded his head. “Satoshi bought it for me. And the one after.”
“Oh yes-- The fourth book in the series just came out. Would you like that too?”
Nino nodded his head rapidly and eagerly as he jumped up and down. “I want it!”
“You know,” the man began as he stuffed the fourth volume into the brown bag as well, “I heard from the publisher that the author of these books lives in the area. How ‘bout that? A local author. Maybe they’ll do a signing for us. I wonder what kind of person it is... Oh, sorry to ramble.”
“Here you go,” the cashier then handed him the bag, “Thank you very much. Please come again.”
\\\♥///
It was a short walk to the closest playground Nino could find. As soon as he spotted an empty log bench, he took the fourth volume out as he sat. On the front, it read A Wish That Can’t Be Granted ~ a city with no people ~. As Nino flipped it open, he began to read.
”One day I went to a new city,” it began as it walked on a bright path. ”They are in this city, too. There is no place without them anymore. The people are with the,. There are as many of them are there are people. But...”
It sat down on the floor as it closed it eyes. “There is only one person just for me... and still I have not found him.”
All of a sudden, a hand shot out. It was one of them. It stared at it for a while, wondering why one of them was reaching out their hand.
“You are a person, aren’t you?” It questioned. “What was that? I should do what with my hand. Hold it out?”
And so it did until it touched the person’s hand. Soon, they were in the air, flying under the nightly sky before landing under the nose of a huge twinkling star. The person continued to pull it towards the path until they reached a house and entered it.
“Is this your house?” It questioned as it peered walked around the room. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Are you...”
The person reached out, touching the top of it’s head.
“Are you... the person just for me? You might be... but... perhaps this person only brought me here because I’m one of them. Maybe he’s just like everyone else. Maybe he just wants me to grant his wishes.”
“But there is one wish that I can’t grant.”
“If I grant that wish... I would...”
“I would...” Nino repeated as he read...
\\\♥///
“What’s wrong, Hiroki?” The female asked as she pulled her glasses from her face.
Hiroki smirked. “There it is again. Our old friend is getting stronger.”
“Can you pinpoint where he is?”
“Not yet,” he told her as he turned around to see her dissatisfied expression. “Nothing to worry about, Meisa, love. If his signal gets stronger, he’ll be easier to find. If it doesn’t, then, well, we’ve got nothing to worry about, now do we?”
“It still bugs me,” Meisa snapped. “Why would anyone create something like him? His program is too powerful. You saw what he can do to other persocoms...”
“I think...” Hiroki smirked as he took his shades off, “...I can see where her creator’s coming from.”
“What do you mean?”
Hiroki smirked. “That’s for me to know and you to find out!” With that said, he jumped off of the cable pole, landing smoothly on the floor below them.
“Hey!” Meisa called for him as she, too, slipped off, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I said hey!” She repeated, landing just on top of Hiroki’s long body.
“You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you,” Hiroki shrugged, grabbing Meisa’s petit chin. “Well, not yet, anyway.”
“Yet? You mean I will?”
“That, my dear...” He whispered, bringing Meisa closer to his face, “Would make me a very happy man.”
Either way, she sulked on his chest. She really had no idea what he was talking about and it was getting more confusing every time she asked.
“There, there,” Hiroki soothed her, “No need to feel down, love.”
Meisa snuggled closer to Hiroki, remembering his creator. “We had her creator right there. We would have asked why he made him while he had the chance. I wonder if he would have told us.”
“Perhaps...” Hiroki sighed. “But I wouldn’t trouble myself about that now. You’re not going to get anything out of a dead man. Well... we’ve got some time before we have to act. What say you and me rest here for a while?”
Meisa groaned as she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a slacker, Hiroki.”
“Now, now. I’m not slacking. I’m resting,” he corrected, squeezing Meisa to his chest. “When the time comes, we’ll need all the strength we can muster...”
It really didn’t take that long for Meisa to fell asleep. As she relaxed on his body, Hiroki sighed. “I hope... that time never comes...”
\\\♥///
Ohno grumbled on the way home. With Aiba-san gone because of Sho, class was never the same. Instead of a bouncy and hyper Aiba teaching them, he was replaced by a dull and boring man who was fat and had an obvious wig on his head. The teacher reminded him of his high school lunch lady back in the countryside.
Really, though, Sho was to blame. And it would seem that those two were still at the hot springs without a care about him. Either way, he’s going to get back at Sho when he comes back. Just as he was about to curse his friend’s name out loud, Chinen popped from his pocket.
“Ring ring! Ring ring!” Chinen blared as he danced with his tambourine. “Phone call from Okamoto-san!”
“Oh. Keito, huh?”
“Would you like me to connect you?”
“Yes, please.”
A few seconds later, after Chinen sat himself on his shoulder, a familiar voice spoke through. “Hello, Satoshi?”
“Speaking. Hey, Keito.”
“Can you talk now?”
“Yeah,” Ohno nodded although Okamoto couldn’t see him, “I just got out of class. How did you know that I had Chinen?”
“Sho contacted me. He asked me to give you some pointers, since you probably don’t know anything about operating a laptop persocom...”
“Sho did...”
“And you probably wouldn’t be able to pay him back if you broke it.”
Ohno grumbled. “Alright, I’m poor. So sue me!”
“Anyway,” Okamoto sighed, “We can save the lessons for later. Right now I’ve something more important to share with you. There was another e-mail from the sender with the fake address with an image file attached.”
Ohno gasped, remembering the photo he had of a persocom, that looked like Nino, curled into a fetus position. It was pretty gruesome with a bunch of cords and all those technical things coming out of Nino’s back. It also had the word “Chobits” printed on it’s leg. “The same person who sent the pic that you said might prove Nino’s a chobit?”
“Sho’s laptop -- He’s called Chinen, right? I’ll forward the file to him. You can access it by hooking him up to your TV.”
“Okay, thanks, Keito. I’ll keep in touch.” With that said, the call ended and Ohno fastened his pace to the apartment. As soon as he entered his apartment room, he was greeted by Nino holding a package.
“This is for you!” Nino grinned as he handed him the package.
“What is it?”
“A present! Nino bought it with the money Nino earned at Chiroru!”
“For me?!” Ohno asked in surprise.
“Yes!”
“Thank you, Nino,” he smiled as he rubbed the top of Nino’s short hair.
“Nino’s face does this whenever Satoshi is happy. What do you call this?” He asked as he pointed to his lips.
“That’s called smiling.”
“Smiling...” Nino repeated quietly. “Is smiling good?”
“Yeah. It means you’re happy!”
There was that word again coming right out of Satoshi’s mouth. “...Happy...”
Ohno was really looking forward to opening the package Nino had proudly bought for him. As he took it out of the bag, he wasn’t expecting what was being shown on the present. As soon as his eyes landed on a girl posing seductively on the cover of the magazine, he fell back right away.
“Can Satoshi make good use of this?” Nino questioned him as he pointed at the magazine. “Kato-san said books make practical gifts.”
“Er... Uh...” Ohno mumbled, his face beginning to turn hot. “Yeah!”
“But you worked hard for that money. You should have bought something you wanted,” he reminded Nino of the words he told him yesterday. At least Nino thought of him. Well, it’s the thought that counts right?
Anyways, while Ohno was busy blushing hard about the book, Nino was taking something else out of the bag. Ohno was able to spot Nino’s rustling over his shoulder.
“Nino did. I bought these, too,” Nino told him as he took out two books.
“Oh...” Ohno breathed once he saw the familiar books. One was the book he decided not to buy for Nino, and the other must be the next volume in the series. Once the books were taken out, Nino took one and began to read.
So Nino really does love those books. I should have bought them for him when I had the chance.
His attentioned stayed on Nino for a while until he remembered the conversation he had with Keito right after school. “Uh... Chinen are you awake?” He asked the laptop as he opened his bag.
“At your service!” Came the high voice as the laptop jumped out.
“Keito sent me some kind of picture file. Can you show it to me on the TV?”
“Plug me in first!” Chinen exclaimed as he waved a black and purplish wire around. “Use this to connect!”
When he grabbed the wire, he carried Chinen along with him, afraid that if he pulled too hard the wire would snap right out of his head. After plugging it in the right socket, Ohno grabbed his remote and pressed the power button. While the TV took time to turn on, Ohno glanced over his shoulder and saw Nino sat with the book on his thighs.
Why do I feel this regret? He is just a persocom. Still, I can’t help but feel as if I let him down. Maybe it’s because he’s shaped like a person…
A sudden brightness made him snap out of his thoughts. He paid attention back to the TV and saw two envelopes in the screen being exchanged around.
“I will display the image sent by Okamoto-san,” Chinen told him. A second later, the screen changed it showed a photo that definitely sent chills to his spine.
“What the hell?!” He yelled when he recognized who was in the photo.
And in it was someone who looked a lot like his landlady except her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, had glasses on, and even wore what looked like a scientist, or doctor, would wear. What also makes it interesting is that she’s kneeling besides the persocom that looked like Nino who still had those things on his back, but it was shaped just like angel wings.
“Is that... Kato-san?!”
B...But why?! It’s that same persocom that looks like Nino! What’s Kato-san doing with him?! And what’s with that lab getup? She looks like she’s a doctor or something.
Ohno’s immediately turned his head to Nino.
“What is it?” Nino asked calmly as he looked up from his book.
“This...” Ohno pointed at the photo in the TV screen. “...This isn’t you, is it?”
Nino moved a bit closer to him, his eyes lingering on the TV screen.
“But that sure looks like you... and that’s definitely Kato-san,” He mumbled to himself. “What the hell is going on...?”
\\\♥///
“I’m sorry to make you wait,” Okamoto apologized as he sat down besides him in the cafe near the bus station.
Ohno shook his head. “No problem. I haven’t been here long.”
After all, he was glad to see Okamoto right after he had seen the photo. There was something definitely wrong with it that he was in need of explanation from Keito.
“Sorry to call you out like this on a school night,” Ohno apologized.
Okamoto shook his head before setting his school bag on the counter. “I’m glad to help.”
“So... this person in the picture,” Okamoto began as he took a photocopy of the strange picture out of his bag, “You say it’s someone you know?”
“I think so...”
“Who is she?”
“My landlady.”
Okamoto raised his eyebrows. “You’re sure of this?”
“Well, I haven’t seen her today, so I haven’t been able to ask her directly, but that looks exactly like her. What could this mean, Okamoto? Is this some kind of prank?”
“That’s not out of the question. Someone could have digitally grafted your landlady’s face onto somebody else.”
“So you’re saying this is a fake?” Ohno asked, already jumping to conclusions.
“Well, it could be. But to tell you the truth, I really can’t tell... The image is so grainy, it’s possible to tell if it was manipulated. But...”
“But what?”
“Regardless of whether this is real or fabricated, it means someone out there knows about you and Nino and they want something from you.”
“Wh-what makes you say that?” Ohno jumped in surprise, suddenly feeling small from Keito’s theory.
“I don’t know this landlady of yours... I didn’t make anything of the fact that she’s in this picture with Nino... But it certainly surprised you, didn’t it?”
“Well, yeah...”
“Which means that this person... knew that I was going to show you this image. It’s you they’re trying to contact.”
“M-Me?!” Ohno exclaimed in horror and surprise. What could this person probably want and expect from him? Well yeah, it’s true that he had gotten Nino completely free, but he was broke! So money was not going to stop this person anyhow...
“I only mentioned that you’d found Nino once on the internet and I never left your name. Whoever’s sending these pictures must have read that post and now they’re trying to get in touch with you through me. The sender’s address is scrambled like last time, but I’ll see what I can do to encrypt it.”
“Thanks. I feel bad bringing you into this,” Ohno apologized.
“Don’t worry about it,” Okamoto reassured. “Anyways. I’m curious to find out what kind of person can encrypt their e-mail so that even I can’t track them down.”
Ohno sighed. “I wonder what kind of person it is.”
“One thing’s for certain-- whoever it is knows a lot about persocoms,” Okamoto told him as he stared at the photo.
“...Persocoms...” Ohno mumbled.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ohno?”
“So, uh... I’ve been wondering... Why do they make persocoms shaped like people?” He asked him since that question has been bothering him for quite a while.
Okamoto looked surprised at his question as if he had something bad.
“Oh! Did I say something weird?”
“It’s not weird,” Okamoto said. “It’s just, I never thought about it before... Why do you ask. Did something happen?”
“No, it’s not like anything happened. Maybe it’s just because I came from the country... but I’ve never seen many people with persocoms before. Ever since I arrived in Tokyo, I’ve seen them everywhere -- everyone’s got one. You just assume that it’s normal to have all these persocoms around,” He explained. “But is it normal, really? Normal, I mean.”
Ohno sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, they’re useful and smart and they look so much like humans that you kind of forget they’re any different. But they’re still machines, not living things.”
“That’s true...” Okamoto agreed.
As they both looked at the crowd in the cafe, filled with incoming and outgoing persocoms and human, Ohno explained how he read a pulpy sci-fi comic book. He told him how there were these machines that can possible do anything, reminding him of persocoms except they were called androids. But even before computers existed, people already imaged making machines shaped like humans.
Ohno didn’t get a reply from the latter except a long stare. “Oh! I must sound like a moron. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“No, what you’re saying is true,” Okamoto spoke, his eyes leaving his face. “I never thought about it because humanoid persocoms have existed before I was born. I suppose you’re right. Persocoms are just like the old humanoid robots of you comic books.”
Okamoto told him, that he had no idea why the persocoms were shaped like people. He told Ohno that the only way to know the reason why was to contact the creator himself. Unfortunately, the man who created them had long passed away.
“He’s dead?”
“So I hear,” Okamoto shrugged. “Even if he wasn’t, it’s not as if we could have just knocked on his door and asked him. He is, after all, the greatest inventor of our century.”
“Still, you have better be careful,” Okamoto warned him as if what’s stored in Ohno’s future will be a bumpy ride. “Whether these images are real or fake... this person knows about you and NIno, and if he tracks you down, who knows that he’ll do. He might even be watching you right now.”
“O-okay...”Ohno mumbled, taking Okamoto’s warning to heart as Nino appeared in his thoughts.
~~~~
A/N: Yay! Another chapter posted.
I hope you guys don't mind if I pair Hiroki with Meisa.
Comments are <3!
Chapter:18/?
Pairings:OhnoxNino
Extra Characters:Chinen Yuri (as Sumomo), Kato Rosa (as Hibiya Chitose), Narimiya Hiroki (as Zima), Kuroki Meisa (as Dita)
Genre/Rating:AU, Humor, Fluff, Romance, Sci-fi/PG-13
Disclaimer:Idea taken from original manga Chobits by Clamp. Almost all the quotes are from the manga as well.
Word Count:4155
Summary:Ohno Satoshi, the computer illiterate young man who lives in the 22nd century full of androids everywhere?! What will happen when this young man meets one android that was meant to be thrown away?
A/N:The plot will go exactly like the manga, but there will be some changes cause this is my story. I don't plan on making chobits seem weird. Just decided to share because it was my first manga that I came to love. If you don't wanna read this, then don't. Edited in 2014
Fanfic Masterpost
Nino was excited to start the new day with his money in hand as he ran out of the apartment. As soon as he exited the building, the first thing he saw was his landlady sweeping the ground. Satoshi had taught him that it was polite to greet her good morning and so he did.
“Good morning!” Nino greeted the landlady as he came to a stop in front of her.
She smiled. “Hello, Nino. Are you going out by yourself? Where’s Satoshi?”
“Satoshi is at school,” he replied as he showed her the envelope he received yesterday. “Nino is going shopping. Nino worked at Chiroru... and manager gave me money.”
“Chiroru?” The landlady gasped. “You mean the bakery?”
Nino simply nodded his head as a smile formed on his lips.
“Their tiramisu is to die for!”
“Manager said Nino can come back and work again!” He told her proudly, remembering how the manager wanted his service again.
“How nice,” the landlady sighed, “I’ll have to stop by and see you someday.”
“Nino would like that.”
“What are you shopping for?” The landlady asked him curiously.
The smile was still on his lips as he brought the envelope to his chest. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh before he spoke. “Nino worked hard to give this money to Satoshi... but Satoshi said it is Nino’s money. He said to buy something Nino likes.”
“Satoshi really is a nice person.”
“He sure is!” Nino agreed enthusiastically. “But Nino still wants to give something to Satoshi. Nino wants to buy something for Satoshi with this money. But I don’t know what to get for him.”
“Hmm... Well...” The landlady breathed as she put her hand on her cheek. “You could get him something practical-- like clothes or books. Or you could get him something fun. Is there anything Satoshi mentioned what he wants?”
Nino copied her action. “Satoshi collects magazines and photo books with pictures of naked girls. Nino could find him one that he doesn’t have.”
“Well, yes, there is that,” The landlady laughed behind her hand, “Fun and Practical,”
All of a sudden, Nino knew where to go. “They have photo books at the bookstore! That is where Nino will go!” With that, Nino ran off.
“Good luck, Nino! Take care,” He heard the landlady call after him.
The bookstore, he went to with Satoshi, was not far from their apartment. He was ready to head to the direction of the bookstore when a thought made him stop. Turning around, he saw that the landlady was still on the same spot, going on about her usual business.
“Kato-san?”
The landlady looked up with a soft smile on her face. “Yes?”
“When Nino closes his eyes, I see someone just like me,” He told her as he closed his eyes and saw the girl who claims to be his sister. “The girl with Nino’s face... Knew who you were.”
When Nino opened his eyes, he saw that the smile on the landlady’s face disappeared as if telling her this made her unhappy.
“Yes. I also know the other you.”
Nino cocked his head to the side curiously as a frown formed on his face. “Nino doesn’t understand. Nino met you for the first time here... Did I not?”
The landlady just sighed before she reached towards his head. “Don’t let it bother you. Those old memories are better left forgotten...”
“Now,” The landlady smiled again, but it was different compared to the first one, “Be careful, OK?”
“Okay!” Nino exclaimed as he began on his feet. Soon, he was nearing the bookstore by then...
Kato watched Nino’s frame grow smaller and smaller as he ran towards his destination. Upon seeing him, she was thrilled. She had noticed ever since that day, that Nino becomes cuter and cuter, wondering if Satoshi was the reason. However, that was the least of her concern. “The more he unlocks his true program... The easier it’ll be for those kids to finder him...”
Nino came to a stop, realizing that he was standing in front of the Yamatani Bookstore. “This is the bookstore,” He thought out loud as he pointed at the sign on the window glass. Once he confirmed it, he headed inside straight to the naked girl’s section.
“Satoshi already has this one...” Nino pointed out (literally) before scanning another shelf. “...And this one...”
A few seconds later, he found one that Satoshi didn’t have in his collection. On the front of the cover was a girl wearing a light pink panties while exposing her buttocks. When he spotted this, NIno grabbed it and thrust it in midair. “He doesn’t have this one!”
He was sure about it since he’s spotted Satoshi’s collection of magazines once in awhile. Taking a sharp turn to the right, he headed towards the cashier when something from the corner of his eyes stopped him. Turning his head to the left, he spotted the book that looks like the first one Satoshi bought for him. He immediately went towards the bookshelf, grabbed a copy and flipped it open.
”But... are people truly happy being with them?” It asked as it looked into the dark sky full of twinkling stars while it sat on the ledge of the building it was standing on. “Is this city with no people truly happy?”
“I don’t know,” the darker one behind the glass replied. “Because... happiness depends on the individual. All people are different. No two are the same. What makes one person happy... might make another sad. People’s soul come in all shapes and sizes. And as time goes on and a person grows, their soul can change. Their hopes and dreams can change. That’s why... there isn’t just one type of happiness.”
“Then...” It stood up as it turned to face the one behind the mirror, “...There must be a way that I can be happy, too!”
He looked up from the book he was holding as his thoughts ran over the word ‘happy’...
”That is what we all want, isn’t it?” The latter questioned as it’s hands clasped together in front of it’s chest. “To find the person just for you, to find your own happiness... That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?”
Nino pressed the book to his chest as he let the words in the book run in his head. “A person just for me... My own happiness... Will Nino be happy, too?”
Just as he was about to read the book again, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Are you alright? Is something wrong?” Someone asked worriedly as Nino turned around and saw the cashier. “You’re a persocom, right? Isn’t you owner around?
“My owner is Satoshi. Satoshi is at school,” he responded. “No. there is nothing wrong with Nino.”
“That’s good,” the cashier sighed in relief, “Can I help you with anything?”
“Nino wants this. And this,” he let the cashier know as he showed him the books in his hand. “Can I buy them with money?”
“Of course you can!” The cashier smiled as he motioned Nino to follow him.
Once the cashier was behind the counter, Nino handed him the two books.
“Oh, this book...” The cashier mumbled as he stuffed the naked girl magazine and the picture book into a brown bag. “I seem to remember you were in here before and got the first volume.”
Nino nodded his head. “Satoshi bought it for me. And the one after.”
“Oh yes-- The fourth book in the series just came out. Would you like that too?”
Nino nodded his head rapidly and eagerly as he jumped up and down. “I want it!”
“You know,” the man began as he stuffed the fourth volume into the brown bag as well, “I heard from the publisher that the author of these books lives in the area. How ‘bout that? A local author. Maybe they’ll do a signing for us. I wonder what kind of person it is... Oh, sorry to ramble.”
“Here you go,” the cashier then handed him the bag, “Thank you very much. Please come again.”
\\\♥///
It was a short walk to the closest playground Nino could find. As soon as he spotted an empty log bench, he took the fourth volume out as he sat. On the front, it read A Wish That Can’t Be Granted ~ a city with no people ~. As Nino flipped it open, he began to read.
”One day I went to a new city,” it began as it walked on a bright path. ”They are in this city, too. There is no place without them anymore. The people are with the,. There are as many of them are there are people. But...”
It sat down on the floor as it closed it eyes. “There is only one person just for me... and still I have not found him.”
All of a sudden, a hand shot out. It was one of them. It stared at it for a while, wondering why one of them was reaching out their hand.
“You are a person, aren’t you?” It questioned. “What was that? I should do what with my hand. Hold it out?”
And so it did until it touched the person’s hand. Soon, they were in the air, flying under the nightly sky before landing under the nose of a huge twinkling star. The person continued to pull it towards the path until they reached a house and entered it.
“Is this your house?” It questioned as it peered walked around the room. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Are you...”
The person reached out, touching the top of it’s head.
“Are you... the person just for me? You might be... but... perhaps this person only brought me here because I’m one of them. Maybe he’s just like everyone else. Maybe he just wants me to grant his wishes.”
“But there is one wish that I can’t grant.”
“If I grant that wish... I would...”
“I would...” Nino repeated as he read...
\\\♥///
“What’s wrong, Hiroki?” The female asked as she pulled her glasses from her face.
Hiroki smirked. “There it is again. Our old friend is getting stronger.”
“Can you pinpoint where he is?”
“Not yet,” he told her as he turned around to see her dissatisfied expression. “Nothing to worry about, Meisa, love. If his signal gets stronger, he’ll be easier to find. If it doesn’t, then, well, we’ve got nothing to worry about, now do we?”
“It still bugs me,” Meisa snapped. “Why would anyone create something like him? His program is too powerful. You saw what he can do to other persocoms...”
“I think...” Hiroki smirked as he took his shades off, “...I can see where her creator’s coming from.”
“What do you mean?”
Hiroki smirked. “That’s for me to know and you to find out!” With that said, he jumped off of the cable pole, landing smoothly on the floor below them.
“Hey!” Meisa called for him as she, too, slipped off, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I said hey!” She repeated, landing just on top of Hiroki’s long body.
“You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you,” Hiroki shrugged, grabbing Meisa’s petit chin. “Well, not yet, anyway.”
“Yet? You mean I will?”
“That, my dear...” He whispered, bringing Meisa closer to his face, “Would make me a very happy man.”
Either way, she sulked on his chest. She really had no idea what he was talking about and it was getting more confusing every time she asked.
“There, there,” Hiroki soothed her, “No need to feel down, love.”
Meisa snuggled closer to Hiroki, remembering his creator. “We had her creator right there. We would have asked why he made him while he had the chance. I wonder if he would have told us.”
“Perhaps...” Hiroki sighed. “But I wouldn’t trouble myself about that now. You’re not going to get anything out of a dead man. Well... we’ve got some time before we have to act. What say you and me rest here for a while?”
Meisa groaned as she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a slacker, Hiroki.”
“Now, now. I’m not slacking. I’m resting,” he corrected, squeezing Meisa to his chest. “When the time comes, we’ll need all the strength we can muster...”
It really didn’t take that long for Meisa to fell asleep. As she relaxed on his body, Hiroki sighed. “I hope... that time never comes...”
\\\♥///
Ohno grumbled on the way home. With Aiba-san gone because of Sho, class was never the same. Instead of a bouncy and hyper Aiba teaching them, he was replaced by a dull and boring man who was fat and had an obvious wig on his head. The teacher reminded him of his high school lunch lady back in the countryside.
Really, though, Sho was to blame. And it would seem that those two were still at the hot springs without a care about him. Either way, he’s going to get back at Sho when he comes back. Just as he was about to curse his friend’s name out loud, Chinen popped from his pocket.
“Ring ring! Ring ring!” Chinen blared as he danced with his tambourine. “Phone call from Okamoto-san!”
“Oh. Keito, huh?”
“Would you like me to connect you?”
“Yes, please.”
A few seconds later, after Chinen sat himself on his shoulder, a familiar voice spoke through. “Hello, Satoshi?”
“Speaking. Hey, Keito.”
“Can you talk now?”
“Yeah,” Ohno nodded although Okamoto couldn’t see him, “I just got out of class. How did you know that I had Chinen?”
“Sho contacted me. He asked me to give you some pointers, since you probably don’t know anything about operating a laptop persocom...”
“Sho did...”
“And you probably wouldn’t be able to pay him back if you broke it.”
Ohno grumbled. “Alright, I’m poor. So sue me!”
“Anyway,” Okamoto sighed, “We can save the lessons for later. Right now I’ve something more important to share with you. There was another e-mail from the sender with the fake address with an image file attached.”
Ohno gasped, remembering the photo he had of a persocom, that looked like Nino, curled into a fetus position. It was pretty gruesome with a bunch of cords and all those technical things coming out of Nino’s back. It also had the word “Chobits” printed on it’s leg. “The same person who sent the pic that you said might prove Nino’s a chobit?”
“Sho’s laptop -- He’s called Chinen, right? I’ll forward the file to him. You can access it by hooking him up to your TV.”
“Okay, thanks, Keito. I’ll keep in touch.” With that said, the call ended and Ohno fastened his pace to the apartment. As soon as he entered his apartment room, he was greeted by Nino holding a package.
“This is for you!” Nino grinned as he handed him the package.
“What is it?”
“A present! Nino bought it with the money Nino earned at Chiroru!”
“For me?!” Ohno asked in surprise.
“Yes!”
“Thank you, Nino,” he smiled as he rubbed the top of Nino’s short hair.
“Nino’s face does this whenever Satoshi is happy. What do you call this?” He asked as he pointed to his lips.
“That’s called smiling.”
“Smiling...” Nino repeated quietly. “Is smiling good?”
“Yeah. It means you’re happy!”
There was that word again coming right out of Satoshi’s mouth. “...Happy...”
Ohno was really looking forward to opening the package Nino had proudly bought for him. As he took it out of the bag, he wasn’t expecting what was being shown on the present. As soon as his eyes landed on a girl posing seductively on the cover of the magazine, he fell back right away.
“Can Satoshi make good use of this?” Nino questioned him as he pointed at the magazine. “Kato-san said books make practical gifts.”
“Er... Uh...” Ohno mumbled, his face beginning to turn hot. “Yeah!”
“But you worked hard for that money. You should have bought something you wanted,” he reminded Nino of the words he told him yesterday. At least Nino thought of him. Well, it’s the thought that counts right?
Anyways, while Ohno was busy blushing hard about the book, Nino was taking something else out of the bag. Ohno was able to spot Nino’s rustling over his shoulder.
“Nino did. I bought these, too,” Nino told him as he took out two books.
“Oh...” Ohno breathed once he saw the familiar books. One was the book he decided not to buy for Nino, and the other must be the next volume in the series. Once the books were taken out, Nino took one and began to read.
So Nino really does love those books. I should have bought them for him when I had the chance.
His attentioned stayed on Nino for a while until he remembered the conversation he had with Keito right after school. “Uh... Chinen are you awake?” He asked the laptop as he opened his bag.
“At your service!” Came the high voice as the laptop jumped out.
“Keito sent me some kind of picture file. Can you show it to me on the TV?”
“Plug me in first!” Chinen exclaimed as he waved a black and purplish wire around. “Use this to connect!”
When he grabbed the wire, he carried Chinen along with him, afraid that if he pulled too hard the wire would snap right out of his head. After plugging it in the right socket, Ohno grabbed his remote and pressed the power button. While the TV took time to turn on, Ohno glanced over his shoulder and saw Nino sat with the book on his thighs.
Why do I feel this regret? He is just a persocom. Still, I can’t help but feel as if I let him down. Maybe it’s because he’s shaped like a person…
A sudden brightness made him snap out of his thoughts. He paid attention back to the TV and saw two envelopes in the screen being exchanged around.
“I will display the image sent by Okamoto-san,” Chinen told him. A second later, the screen changed it showed a photo that definitely sent chills to his spine.
“What the hell?!” He yelled when he recognized who was in the photo.
And in it was someone who looked a lot like his landlady except her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, had glasses on, and even wore what looked like a scientist, or doctor, would wear. What also makes it interesting is that she’s kneeling besides the persocom that looked like Nino who still had those things on his back, but it was shaped just like angel wings.
“Is that... Kato-san?!”
B...But why?! It’s that same persocom that looks like Nino! What’s Kato-san doing with him?! And what’s with that lab getup? She looks like she’s a doctor or something.
Ohno’s immediately turned his head to Nino.
“What is it?” Nino asked calmly as he looked up from his book.
“This...” Ohno pointed at the photo in the TV screen. “...This isn’t you, is it?”
Nino moved a bit closer to him, his eyes lingering on the TV screen.
“But that sure looks like you... and that’s definitely Kato-san,” He mumbled to himself. “What the hell is going on...?”
\\\♥///
“I’m sorry to make you wait,” Okamoto apologized as he sat down besides him in the cafe near the bus station.
Ohno shook his head. “No problem. I haven’t been here long.”
After all, he was glad to see Okamoto right after he had seen the photo. There was something definitely wrong with it that he was in need of explanation from Keito.
“Sorry to call you out like this on a school night,” Ohno apologized.
Okamoto shook his head before setting his school bag on the counter. “I’m glad to help.”
“So... this person in the picture,” Okamoto began as he took a photocopy of the strange picture out of his bag, “You say it’s someone you know?”
“I think so...”
“Who is she?”
“My landlady.”
Okamoto raised his eyebrows. “You’re sure of this?”
“Well, I haven’t seen her today, so I haven’t been able to ask her directly, but that looks exactly like her. What could this mean, Okamoto? Is this some kind of prank?”
“That’s not out of the question. Someone could have digitally grafted your landlady’s face onto somebody else.”
“So you’re saying this is a fake?” Ohno asked, already jumping to conclusions.
“Well, it could be. But to tell you the truth, I really can’t tell... The image is so grainy, it’s possible to tell if it was manipulated. But...”
“But what?”
“Regardless of whether this is real or fabricated, it means someone out there knows about you and Nino and they want something from you.”
“Wh-what makes you say that?” Ohno jumped in surprise, suddenly feeling small from Keito’s theory.
“I don’t know this landlady of yours... I didn’t make anything of the fact that she’s in this picture with Nino... But it certainly surprised you, didn’t it?”
“Well, yeah...”
“Which means that this person... knew that I was going to show you this image. It’s you they’re trying to contact.”
“M-Me?!” Ohno exclaimed in horror and surprise. What could this person probably want and expect from him? Well yeah, it’s true that he had gotten Nino completely free, but he was broke! So money was not going to stop this person anyhow...
“I only mentioned that you’d found Nino once on the internet and I never left your name. Whoever’s sending these pictures must have read that post and now they’re trying to get in touch with you through me. The sender’s address is scrambled like last time, but I’ll see what I can do to encrypt it.”
“Thanks. I feel bad bringing you into this,” Ohno apologized.
“Don’t worry about it,” Okamoto reassured. “Anyways. I’m curious to find out what kind of person can encrypt their e-mail so that even I can’t track them down.”
Ohno sighed. “I wonder what kind of person it is.”
“One thing’s for certain-- whoever it is knows a lot about persocoms,” Okamoto told him as he stared at the photo.
“...Persocoms...” Ohno mumbled.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ohno?”
“So, uh... I’ve been wondering... Why do they make persocoms shaped like people?” He asked him since that question has been bothering him for quite a while.
Okamoto looked surprised at his question as if he had something bad.
“Oh! Did I say something weird?”
“It’s not weird,” Okamoto said. “It’s just, I never thought about it before... Why do you ask. Did something happen?”
“No, it’s not like anything happened. Maybe it’s just because I came from the country... but I’ve never seen many people with persocoms before. Ever since I arrived in Tokyo, I’ve seen them everywhere -- everyone’s got one. You just assume that it’s normal to have all these persocoms around,” He explained. “But is it normal, really? Normal, I mean.”
Ohno sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, they’re useful and smart and they look so much like humans that you kind of forget they’re any different. But they’re still machines, not living things.”
“That’s true...” Okamoto agreed.
As they both looked at the crowd in the cafe, filled with incoming and outgoing persocoms and human, Ohno explained how he read a pulpy sci-fi comic book. He told him how there were these machines that can possible do anything, reminding him of persocoms except they were called androids. But even before computers existed, people already imaged making machines shaped like humans.
Ohno didn’t get a reply from the latter except a long stare. “Oh! I must sound like a moron. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“No, what you’re saying is true,” Okamoto spoke, his eyes leaving his face. “I never thought about it because humanoid persocoms have existed before I was born. I suppose you’re right. Persocoms are just like the old humanoid robots of you comic books.”
Okamoto told him, that he had no idea why the persocoms were shaped like people. He told Ohno that the only way to know the reason why was to contact the creator himself. Unfortunately, the man who created them had long passed away.
“He’s dead?”
“So I hear,” Okamoto shrugged. “Even if he wasn’t, it’s not as if we could have just knocked on his door and asked him. He is, after all, the greatest inventor of our century.”
“Still, you have better be careful,” Okamoto warned him as if what’s stored in Ohno’s future will be a bumpy ride. “Whether these images are real or fake... this person knows about you and NIno, and if he tracks you down, who knows that he’ll do. He might even be watching you right now.”
“O-okay...”Ohno mumbled, taking Okamoto’s warning to heart as Nino appeared in his thoughts.
~~~~
A/N: Yay! Another chapter posted.
I hope you guys don't mind if I pair Hiroki with Meisa.
Comments are <3!