Author's Note: I was looking at my earlier post of this story and decided that it wasn't very good, so I decided to delete it and repost a new and better version. I hope you enjoy it.
Circuits
A New Model
Tai had always hated being confined within the interior walls of the hospital, and this time as he sat quietly in the waiting room was no exception.
Still, it reminded him of the past. Something that he wished had never taken place.
He shuddered, recalling how he had innocently taken his sister, Kari, outside with him to play despite her being sick with a cold, only for her to collapse from pneumonia. She was whisked away from the playground, fighting for her life while he faced the fury of his mother for his carelessness.
In an attempt to ignore the harsh memories, Tai quickly shifted his attention to his father and sister, both bearing expressions of worry and fear, for now it was Yuuko who lay powerless within the white rooms.
Tai sighed, his mind replaying the events which led the family to where they were now:
Just as the holidays were coming up, Yuuko's health started to deteriorate. Her exhaustion increased daily, which frequently left the apartment unclean and dinner unprepared.
Tai, Kari, and their father were baffled by this sudden change but when they questioned Yuuko about it, she merely blamed her tiredness on stress.
However, none of them were buying it.
Upon returning home from school one day, her children found her sprawled across the bedroom floor, unconscious but more alarmingly, thinner.
After calling an ambulance, Yuuko was rushed to the hospital. There, Tai and Kari found their father in the waiting room, calling off work after the hospital contacted him and had told him that his wife was undergoing several tests in order to pinpoint her diagnosis.
But waiting for said diagnosis did not settle their nerves.
Then, a doctor appeared and approached the Kamiyas, and asked for them to follow him where he led them into his office, closing the door.
Susumu couldn't take it anymore and bombarded the doctor with questions.
"How is she?! Did you find out what's wrong?! Will she be alright?!"
The doctor sighed, "Well, Mr. Kamiya, we did find out what was ailing your wife."
Susumu persisted, "And?"
"Her diagnosis is terminal cancer and I'm afraid that chemotherapy will be of no use since the cancer has entered its final stage."
"T-terminal cancer?!" Tai repeated in utter shock.
Kari shook her head in denial.
"No, Mom can't be!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'CHEMOTHERAPY WILL BE OF NO USE'?!" Susumu shouted, "Surely you can do something!"
But the doctor shook his head.
"Surgery would only result in permanent damage to her body. However, you and your family are allowed to see her and bring her home."
Leaving the office, he took the distraught family to a hospital room with the number# 283.
"Here is her room," the doctor said, opening the door for them, "I'll let you have a moment with her."
They held back a gasp when their eyes fell on her form.
Yuuko was lying in bed, looking as white as the sheets, while wires were attached to her arms leading to various pumps; a tube was attached to her nose to enable easier breathing though she wheezed each time she took in air.
When she saw them, she managed to form a weak smile upon her lips as her family came closer to her bedside.
Tears formed in her husband's eyes, but he forced himself to be strong for his beloved.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Susumu whispered as he knelt down and took his wife's frail hand in his, "How could I have been so oblivious?"
Yuuko gazed sadly at her husband and turned her attention to her children, who were too devastated with shock to even speak.
"None of you are to blame for this," Yuuko answered weakly, "I was diagnosed with cancer years ago and I thought I had won when the disease went into remission, but those days are over and the cancer has returned with a vengeance."
"But Mom, there must be another way!" Kari said, her voice weakened by tears.
She suddenly felt Tai put a hand on her shoulder.
"That's just it, Kari. There is no other way."
…
Many sad days passed by for the Kamiya family. With their mother completely bedridden, their father had been cutting hours from work to help take care of the apartment household, leaving him exhausted and stressful while their son and daughter could only watch helplessly.
Later one evening, Tai and Kari were discussing the situation that had befallen their parents.
"Tai, we've got to do something, Dad can't keep this up much longer or else he'll lose his job."
"I know Kari, both of us could stay out of school for a while to take care of Mom, but you know how Dad is about getting an education."
Just as Kari sighed in defeat, a sudden idea popped into her head.
"We could hire somebody, Tai!" she exclaimed, "They can help take care of Mom and Dad can keep his job!"
"Yeah, but caregivers charge on the hour," Tai protested, "Besides we don't have that kind of money."
"That's where you're wrong," said Kari said, pulling out a flashlight and a newspaper ad shining the light on it so that her brother could read the article.
It said: 'Odaiba Factory of Artificial Servants. They never ask for payments, just do as they are told. Sales are cut in half, shipping and handling already paid for! Starts Friday, three o'clock at noon.'
"Kari, that's tomorrow!" Tai stated, "We better get to bed so we can get done with school faster and be first in line!"
"I'm right behind you, Big Brother!"
…
The following Friday, the streets of Odaiba were bustling with eager costumers itching to buy their own personal robotic housemaid, however luck was on Tai and Kari's side and together, accompanied by the owner of the company himself, they entered the enormous factory.
"As you kids can see," the owner said, as the three walked along the hallway, displaying different types of robot workers, "I noticed how difficult help is to get without running into monetary problems, so in protest, I have created these wonderful machines!"
"They're so realistic!" exclaimed Tai in awe, "But my sister and I are looking for a caregiver, not a gardener."
"Hey Tai!" Kari cried, "I think I've found one!"
The bushy-haired teen turned and stared at the figure displayed inside the glass that Kari was pointing to.
It was a male android. He was slightly taller than Tai, with lily-white skin and locks of shiny blonde hair upon his scalp barely touching his shoulders, and was dressed in a white buttoned up long sleeved shirt covered with a black vest with a nametag on it, with matching black pants and shoes.
"I see you two have picked a new model," stated the owner as he observed the robot, "He is Model# 354 and the codename he responds to is M-A-T-T: Male Artificial Teenaged Tutor or Matt for short.
"He'll do! How much does he cost?" Tai asked eagerly.
"You kids can name your price," replied the owner mysteriously, "and he's all yours."
Making a quick deal, the two siblings paid the man with him telling the two that the delivery would be ready by tomorrow and that the robot will be brought to their door, packaged in a large box.
Soon, the big day arrived as Tai and Kari started to open the box hastily and the moment the cardboard fell away from his body, the blonde servant came alive.
-To be continued…