Note: This is set after the events in "re:connect"

I made a song to represent my feelings for Aoba-san many years after Aoba-san's death. It's been fifty years since Aoba-san passed away and I just now made a song. I'm a terrible lover. But I finally was able to make him a song. Aoba-san passed away at eighty-four... It's been 111 years since I first met Aoba-san. It's so lonesome.
I live on forever until I inevitably break down with no one able to fix me because they either lack the parts or lack the knowledge. My only solace is that Ren-san is still around to talk to me but ever since Aoba-san died, Ren-san changed a little. He's not as talkative and seems bored with everything. I worry for him. He's old and Allmate, so he'll be breaking down long before I do.
I promised Aoba-san that I would live on until I could live no more. It's hard... because I loved Aoba-san so much, but I try to.
I kneel before Aoba-san's grave in the Northern District of the Old Residential District on Midorijima. I bring fresh flowers daily and when the old ones have died, I throw them away. His grave is next to the house I lived in with my Grandpa. Tae-san's ashes are in the living room on the coffee table. I recently refurbished the house so it looks a little more like a house and the garbage piles have been cleared. I even started a little garden and made ornaments and decorations for the yard out of all the shiny things I've collected.
I place a flower on Aoba-san's grave and place a hand over my heart. I read the inscription on his headstone: "Here lies Seragaki Aoba. Lover. Best friend. Inspiration. You will be forever missed. 'I love you, Master.'" I added the last part as reminiscence over how I used to call Aoba-san "master"... he truly was my only master.
"Aoba-san..." I close my eyes shut and cry out.
"Clear. Are you okay?" I hear Ren-san call from my side.
"It looks like it's going to rain today, Ren-san," I mutter as the tears leak down my face.
"You're right," Ren-san states and nuzzles my other hand as it falls from the headstone. Though he doesn't talk much, he still provides me comfort when I need it... and when he needs it, I always press my forehead to his, the way Aoba-san use to for him.
I stand up and casually walk towards the town, Ren-san staying behind. Everyone in town knows me. I'm 111-year-resident. They all know I'm a machine, but they treat me like any other person. It reminds me of what Aoba-san said about how I basically am human. Likewise with everyone knowing who I am, I also know who everyone else is.
I stroll the streets and pass by Aoba-san's old house... it was still there. Midorijima was trapped in time, per say, as the architectural designs never progressed. The technology did, but the architecture remained slightly archaic.
I stop as I see a moving van nearby. It must have been tough to get that van through the streets here. I see boxes lining up in front of Aoba-san's old house. I walk over and notice a new, but somehow familiar face.
"Oh, hello there! My name's Aozora Kuroba. Nice to meet you," The familiar-looking person introduces himself. "A lot of people see my name and pronounce it as 'KuroHA', but it's 'KuroBA'."
Oh. So his first name means 'black leaf'.
I stare. Wait. Aoba-san's name means 'blue leaf'. Must be a coincidence.
"Nice to meet you Aozora-san. My name is Clear," I smile.
"Clear? That all?" Aozora-san tilts his head.
"Yeah... see... I'm actually a machine, not a human, so I don't have a last name..." I smile at Aozora-san.
"Ah. Well what about the person who made you?" I shake my head. "The person that owns you?"
"Nobody owns me. I used to have a human lover, but they died a long time ago," I smile sadly.
Aozora-san gives me a sad smile. "Then use their last name. Didn't you guys ever marry?"
I shake my head. "Back then, machine-human marriages weren't legalized. That bill only passed twenty-three years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But you should still use their last name, it's the last connection to them that you can keep forever," Aozora-san smiles at me.
I think about and then smile widely. "Ah! You're right! My name is Seragaki Clear!"
"There you go!" Aozora-san grins and fist pumps the air.
"Thank you so much, Aozora-san," I smile brightly at him.
"You can call me Kuroba, or Kuro for short," Aozora-san... uh... Kuro-san states with smile and waves his hand in front of his face.
"Okay. Kuro-san, do you need any help carrying this stuff inside?" I ask.
"Some help would be greatly appreciated," Kuro-san sighs out in relief, with a worn out smile.
I just met Kuro-san, but they seem really familiar for some reason. I push the thought aside and help Kuro-san move into Aoba's old house. Once all the boxes and furniture are inside I look at him.
"You're from the mainland right?" I ask, Kuro-san nods. "Which part?"
"I was born in Okinawa but raised in Kyoto. I lived in Hokkaido in various towns for a year doing miscellaneous jobs for cash... but for some reason, my whole life I just wanted to come here to Midorijima and live here. So I got enough money and moved out here, I got a job at the Junk Shop Heibon," Kuro-san smiles and my heart stops.
Aoba-san took over the shop and owned it after Haga-san passed away. When Aoba-san passed away, I took over the shop in his name and kept it up and running. I was going through applications and randomly selected somebody who fit the credentials; I didn't really pay attention to the name.
"Ah. I see. I'm the owner of that shop," I smile at Kuro-san who widens his eyes and immediately bows.
"I'm so sorry. You're my boss and I shouldn't have asked you to help me and I-"
I cut him off by patting his head, he flinches and I immediately remove my hand. "It's fine. I wanted to help. I don't mind helping others. By the way... does it hurt when people pat your head?" I tilt my head and he nods.
"Yeah... it sounds strange, but I was born with nerves in my hair so it hurts when people touch it," Kuro-san laughs nervously.
"But your hair is so short," I point out and he nods.
"Yeah, my mom always cut my hair regardless of how painful it was for me. I just go and get it done now out of instinct. It hurts, but I wanna make mom proud and quit her worrying over me," Kuro-san smiles softly.
Wait... just for a second there... he looked like Aoba-san when I first met him. No. It must be my imagination.
"Aoba-san was like that, too..." I smile sadly and Kuro-san looks at me with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry. Am I reminding you of him?" Kuro-san asks tentatively.
"Yeah. But it's not all bad. I'll see you at Heibon tomorrow at 8! Be there and maybe afterwards I can help you unpack the rest of your things," I smile and saunter away.

I don't sleep, but I like to close my eyes and pretend I do. It's how I pass by the lonesome nights. Ren-san enters sleep mode to conserve energy and restore it, I can't do that. I might never wake up again. Aoba-san wouldn't want that.
I had what was like a dream this time. I saw Aoba-san's face as he held me lovingly in his arms. Maybe it was a memory? At around 8:00, I "wake" up and get dressed and head over to Heibon, Ren-san in my arms. I enter the store immediately tidy up. Bonjin-san stopped working shortly after Aoba-san's passing. To be honest, I'm surprised Ren-san still works.
I set him on a nearby stool and activate him.
"Clear. Good morning."
"Good morning, Ren-san. Have a nice sleep?" I smile at him and he nods. I hear the door open and the familiar old bell jingle and see Kuro-san enter the shop.
"Oh wow! That's an ancient Allmate model!" He instantly recognizes Ren-san. "That's got be 120 years old... and it still works?"
"Yep. I keep good care of it. It was Aoba-san's Allmate so..." I drift off.
"Ah... it's really your last link to him, isn't it?" Kuro-san frowns and pets Ren-san with an affectionate hand.
"Aoba?" Ren-san looks at Kuro-san with a tilt head and a questioning look.
"Ah... I really must be exactly like him if the Allmate thinks I'm him," Kuro-san laughs sheepishly. I look to Ren-san, shake my head, and turn back to Kuro-san.
"Your job is to take calls and handle customers. I keep stock, keep the store clean, and run deliveries," I smile at Kuro-san who nods then makes a face. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing... I just don't particularly like handling customers, but I'll do my best," Kuro-san smiles at me.
"Why's that?" I blink and look at Kuro-san with a tilted head.
"Ah... every time I talk, the customers always get weird... it's like they're attracted to my voice of all things. And it doesn't matter if it's a guy or girl, they come in flocks sometimes!" Kuro-san sighs out and gives off an irritated look. "It's kind of annoying."
I nod, grab Ren-san, and head down to the basement waving a goodbye to Kuro-san. "Ren-san!"
Ren-san looks at me with knowing eyes. "I can sense. He's extremely familiar to Aoba. His thoughts, his personality, even his hair. I'm also detecting an anomaly within his voice and mind."
"Scrap?" I ask carefully.
"The possibility is high," Ren-san confirms. How can that be? Has Aoba-san returned from the dead? But that can't be. Humans don't come back to life and when he died he was a wrinkly, old man. None of this adds up.
"Clear. Be careful not overuse your thought processors," Ren-san warns and I shake my head. Yeah, overheating would be bad.

It's been a month since Kuro-san moved to Midorijima; he and I have gotten a lot closer as employer-employee. We've even become friends! It makes me happy to be this close to someone again... but I can't shake the unnerving feeling that there's more to Kuro-san than he even knows.
"So... what called you to Midorijima?" I ask as we head over to my house. He always cooks and we always go to his place, so I offered him to go to my place for once. He's never been there.
"I don't really know... I mean... I do... but it's hard to explain and you might think I'm weird," Kuro-san laughs it off.
"I'm a machine who had a human lover and now carries around his late human lover's Allmate to always remember him. Weird doesn't even scratch the surface of what I am," I chuckle and he nods, feeling better about it.
"I heard a voice in my head. It told me to go to Midorijima... when I asked it why, I heard the most beautiful, heart wrenching song ever," Kuro-san states.
"What was it about?" I ask.
"A blue sky with endless possibilities for somebody left behind. It really emphasized the color blue. It was so pretty," Kuro-san smiles, then frowns. "But also so sad because even though the world was filled with such vibrant color, the person who sang it was sad over being left behind."
My eyes widen and I stop when we reach Aoba's grave just before the house. I look over to it and sigh, putting my hand to it as I knelt by it. I gave it fresh flowers this morning.
"Oh... is that Seragaki-san's grave?" Kuro-san asks and I nod.
"That song... did it sound like this?" I ask and start singing the song I made for Aoba-san. Kuro-san's eyes widen and he takes a step back.
"But... I thought that was a dream. That was the exact song with the exact same voice!" Kuro-san looks shocked. I sigh and stand up, my suspicions only getting worse.
"I made that song to represent my feelings for Aoba-san," I state and beckon him toward me as I enter the house. Kuro-san follows. "I think... a lot more goes into why you chose to move to Midorijima than just a voice and a song that I sung."
Kuro-san takes a seat when I pat a chair for him to sit in. I sit directly across from him.
"Before you say anything... I gotta confess something," Kuro-san states and looks into his lap.
I nod and he looks up, inhaling deeply.
"I feel... like I know you... or, at least, I should. I feel like we've met before and it's so alien because I only met you a month ago... I think. You've never been to mainland since I was born twenty years ago, right?" I shake my head and he nods. "I figured... and... you say I act, look, and even sound like Seragaki-san... Then... I heard a voice that wasn't my own and your song... It's weird, but..." He struggles and then looks in my eyes. "Do you have a voice recording of Seragaki-san that I could listen to?"
I nod, open my coil, and pull up a video of Aoba-san's 26th Birthday. My coil was full of his birthday videos.

"Clear! Stop recording!" Aoba-san makes a bashful face.
"No! I wanna capture every birthday, Christmas, and White Day with you, Aoba-san~" I coo as he rolls his eyes.
"Aoba. The candles," Ren-san calls out off screen. Aoba-san nods and blows out his candles before digging into the cake.

The screen goes black for a second, then more footage appears.

"Aoba-san~! Time to open presents!" I say, my face off screen as I drop presents into Aoba-san's lap.
"Why are there so many?!" Aoba-san asks, surprised.
"Everyone pitched in! Hurry up and open them!" I giggle and Aoba-san nods, opening presents one by one. He received a New Year's kimono from Koujaku-san with a bottle of Sake from Beni-san, various Allmate parts for Ren-san from Noiz-san, a few tribal things from Mink-san, a recipe book full of his Granny's recipes from Tae-san, various Allmate parts from Haga-san, clothes from Virus-san and Trip-san, and a pass for one back massage from Ren-san (I thought that was the cutest one of them all).
"Clear?" Aoba-san looks around for my present and I smile. I set the coil down to capture us both as I pulled Aoba-san up and into my arms. "Clear?" He sounds even more confused. I give him a kiss and hold in him tight in my arms, but not too tight.
"Clear, will you tell me what's going on with you?" Aoba-san asks with a very happy smile on his face. I get down on my knee and Aoba-san's eyes widen.
"I know we're not allowed to get married as machine and human, but will you be with me until we have to part?" I ask as I take a box out of one of my pockets and present it to him. He looks very emotional and takes the box, opening it. He gasps.
"Clear!" His eyes waters as he takes out a pair of matching Jellyfish necklaces, one blue and one yellow.
"I want to wear the blue one, to remind me of you," I smile as I point to it. He nods and puts on the yellow one.
"It reminds me of your scarf," Aoba-san smiles and pecks my cheek.
"Happy birthday, Aoba-san," I smile as I pull him into my arms. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Clear," Aoba-san nods and hugs me tight.

I watch as the menu pulls back up. That was my favorite birthday memory. I now wear both necklaces around my neck. I know Aoba-san wanted to be buried with it, but... I couldn't bring myself to bury it with him. It was selfish, but... I couldn't.
Kuro-san nods and smiles. "His voice. That's the voice I heard in my head."
I look to him immediately, my eyes wide with surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah... I believe in reincarnation, Clear-san... And I believe that your beloved Seragaki-san has been reincarnated... and I am that reincarnation... You mentioned that he had problems with his voice, too, right?" Kuro-san asks and I nod. "Can you tell me more about it?"
I tell him about Scrap, Aoba-san's power to manipulate others. I tell him about how dangerous it can be, as well.
"That answers a lot of my life's questions..." Kuro-san turns to me and looks me dead in the eyes. "I think your Aoba-san lives on within me. I have his power, there are nerves in my hair as well, and I pretty much look and act like him, too. That can't all be a coincidence."
I stand up and shake my head. I don't want false hope. "No... I can't believe in it... I want to, but..."
"I heard his voice and then I heard your song, that's gotta mean something," Kuro-san prods and I shake my head. I don't want false hope. "Clear-san..." I refuse to look at him. "Clear-san, don't bat it away so easily." I keep shaking my head and avoiding eye contact. "Clear, look at me!" That voice.
I turn to him, eyes wide.
"Aoba!" Ren-san yelps in surprise and runs up to Kuro-san.
"Clear..." Kuro-san's normally blue eyes are now bright yellow. "Listen to me... I feel like he's here." It's not Kuro-san's voice at all...
"Aoba-san...?" My eyes leak tears. That voice... it's Aoba-san's! I'm 100% positive. Then... the world darkens and I'm inside Kuro-san's head.
I see a black-haired figure with blue eyes... standing next to a blue-haired figure with gold eyes. Kuro-san and Aoba-san?
"You're the voice inside my head! Wait... does that mean I'm actually you?" Kuro-san asks as he looks to Aoba-san.
"We share the same soul, which is why I'm here, but you are your own person... You're a different me and I'm a different you," Aoba-san explains with a smile.
"Aoba-san!" I call out and Aoba walks up to me, placing a hand on my cheek. I hold it there, rubbing it. "Aoba-san... I miss you so much."
"I know, Clear. But you have to move on... reincarnation exists, so I'll always come back for you, I may not exactly look or be the same, but it'll always be me. My soul longs for you, Clear, and it's strong... so I'll always lead myself to you as long as you stay on Midorijima, doesn't that give you hope?" Aoba-san asks as he strokes me cheek and I nod. It really does. He smiles and pecks my lips. "I miss you, Clear. Even though I won't be 'Aoba-san' anymore, I'll always come back for you. You may have to endure a lot of pain, but you have the hope of seeing me again... and I'll make sure that I shine through at least once each time so we can have this reunion..."
"I'd like that," I nod and smile as tears fall down my face.
"I'm sorry, Clear, but Kuroba deserves his chance at life. But I know he'll take care of you and cherish you. He's me after all," Aoba-san presses his forehead to mine and I smile as I'm brought back to reality.
"Kuro-san... are you okay?" I ask as I look at the black-haired male before me. He smiles.
"I'm fine. I don't have Aoba's memories, but I know I'm him... and I remember... just how much Aoba loves you... and I'm sure I'm gonna love you just as much... it'd sound weird if I said that I already do... we've only known each other for a month and we're not even dating yet," Kuro-san chuckles and looks to the side, bashful. I nod and hold his hand in mine.
"Let's correct that," I smile and he nods, happiness in his sky blue eyes. I hand over the blue Jellyfish necklace and he happily puts it on.
"This time... marriage IS an option," Kuro-san smiles and hugs me. "So... let's hurry and start dating so I can fall in love with you all over again as Kuroba."
"Aoba..." Ren-san mutters and Kuro-san pets his head.
"I'm here... maybe not as the Aoba you remember, I'm different, but I'm the same soul and I'm here. I'll always keep coming back," Kuro-san smiles and Ren-san looks happier.
"Right," Ren-san nods.
We interlock our fingers and head out of the house. "I think... we should move into your place, it's much bigger."
Kuro-san looks at me as I say this and nods. "Yeah... besides... it's my home from before, right?" I nod.
Aoba-san is back. He may not be the Aoba-san I remember, but it's the same soul and heart that loves me... and no matter how much Aoba-san changes in looks and personality as long as he finds me and falls in love with me again, I'm okay with that... because he comes back for me... and I will always love Aoba-san. Forever.
And with reincarnation a reality...
Our love is eternal.

Kuroba Aozora is my creation. His names literally means "Black Leaf, Blue Sky". Aoba's name means "blue leaf"... so I was kinda playing off his name.
Ba means leaf, but it's technically pronounced "ha". It's kanji: 葉.
Aoba's name is "青葉", with "青" being pronounced as "ao" (meaning blue) and "葉" being pronounced as "ba" instead of "ha" (meaning leaf).
Kuroba's full name is "青空黒葉". "青" is the "ao" from before meaning "blue" and "空" is "zora" which is another way to say "sora" meaning "sky". So "青空" is Aozora, his last name meaning "blue sky". "黒" is "kuro" meaning "black" and "葉" is the "ha" from before but pronounced as "ba" instead meaning "leaf". So "黒葉" is Kuroba, his first name meaning "black leaf". Basically I just took Aoba's name "青葉" and split it to give Kuroba his own name that is reminiscent of who he actually is, the reincarnation of Aoba. AOzora kuroBA is AOBA. Haha.

Your author,
Nova