Chapter 1
College Life
"Mr. Motosuwa." The words shook Hideki back to his senses. His math professor glared through his glasses at the freshman who was staring out a window, his mind on other things besides college Algebra. "I don't know how things worked back at the prep school, but not paying attention in my class will result in you failing Mr. Motosuwa." "Sorry Professor Takao. It won't happen again" exclaimed the exasperated math student as he bolted upright bowing low to his desk. Chuckling could be heard from the back of the classroom as Hideki sunk slowly into his chair. Shinbo, who sat next to him, rolled his eyes as if to say "Some things never change." "I really need to start focusing on where I am." Hideki thought to himself.
"See that it doesn't Mr. Motosuwa." the frustrated professor said in a very serious tone. "Now if you'll look at the problem on the board….." his voice trail off as Hideki thought to himself "Here I am at Tokyo University and I'm still having the same problems I had at Seki Prep school. Am I ever gonna get it together."
Hideki's next class was his favorite. It was his IT class. Professor Michio Yamada was nice and helped him with any questions he had, which were a lot. Hideki was still clueless when it came to computers and the internet. Since he refused to use Chi to perform any computations, he used Sumomo, which was a gift from Shinbo, for all of his computing and internet browsing. Everyone made fun of him but he didn't mind. Chi was not just another persacom and she did not deserve to be treated like one. After his IT class he was free for the weekend, at least after his studying was done. College was a lot harder than prep school so he would have to devote more free time to his studies.
He was greeted at the door by the usual "Welcome home Hideki." and smiling face of Chi, Sumomo perched on her shoulder. It was a welcome relief to his daily grind of hum drum class work. She playfully jumped on him almost knocking him to the ground. It was good to see that some things didn't change. "I'm home Chi." Hideki exclaimed. They were still staying at the Gub Jogysaki and travel to Tokyo U was a bit further than Seki. Fortunately Shinbo now had his own transportation and therefore so did Hideki. The agreement was that they split the gas money.
"They really beat on me today at school. It's been a rough first week." Hideki pronounced as he collapsed to the floor. The apartment was still pretty bare as he didn't have extra money for luxuries such as furniture.
"Is Hideki hurt." Chi inquired with her usual concerned look. "Did your teachers hurt you."
" No Chi." Hideki smiled to himself. Chi was still unsure when came to abstract expressions like that. "It's just a figure of speech."
"Chi does not understand."
"Well it's kind of like…."
There was a knock at the door and Hideki answered it promptly feeling as though he had dodged the question for the moment. It was Chitose Hibiya, his landlady. "Would you mind joining me for some yakitori?" She asked with her always vibrant smile. "You've made it through your first week of college and I thought we should celebrate."
"A celebration for Hideki." Chi smiled. She was beginning to understand things better, and it was all thanks to Hideki.
"Come on Chi. Let's go to Miss Hibiya's."
When they arrived at Chitose's apartment they found it was decorated with balloons and a banner that exclaimed CONGRATULATIONS. "I hope it's not too much." She said not sure if she had gone overboard.
"It's great." Hideki exploded. "No one has done anything like this for me in a long time. THANK YOU" Hideki bowed low to Miss Hibiya.
"Oh, you don't have to go through all that. I wanted to do something for you."
Just then there was a knock at the door. Chitose opened the it and Shinbo entered followed by Takako Shimizu, Hideki's old prep school teacher and now Shinbo's new wife, who was now about two months pregnant.
"What's all this?" Shinbo asked a little surprised. "Is this why you called me over here."
"I thought I would throw a little party to celebrate you and Hideki finishing your first week of college."
"That's wonderful." Takako interjected. "They really have been working hard. Although I did hear about your incident in math class today."
"Shinbo you rat fink." Hideki glared at his friend only half serious.
"Hey, you should try staying awake in class next time." He chuckled to himself and sat down at the table.
"It's not much, but I hope you like it. And for desert I made Strawberry Daifuku."
The table was spread from end to end with all kinds of delicious looking food and Hideki's eyes were bigger than his stomach. He was still playing the struggling student routine, so when he got a chance to eat this good, he didn't pass it up. Chi cooked for him from time to time but he didn't want her to spend all her money on him. It just didn't seem right.
"It looks delicious." Hideki proclaimed. "I always enjoy your cooking Miss
Hibiya."
"Thank you Hideki. Now everyone enjoy."
They all ate and reminisced about the times since Hideki and Chi had arrived at Gub Jogysaki. Chi had gotten better at expressing her emotions now and was learning to better interact with people. She had learned a lot and was still learning even more everyday. Hideki took her to Minorou Kokubungi, the child prodigy of the IT world, and had her
USB port covers removed, leaving only a place to recharge and perform maintenance.
After they ate Hideki asked Shinbo to take a walk with him leaving Chi, Takako and Chitose to talk.
"I need to talk to about something kinda serious." Hideki said, his mood suddenly changed. "It's about me and Chi."
"Is everything OK with you guys?" They had become close friends, so when something bothered Hideki it bothered Shinbo as well.
"It's nothing bad or anything like that. It's just that I've been thinking a lot about
mine and Chi's future and a more permanent step forward in our relationship."
"Are you talking marriage man?!" Shinbo almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Have you talked to Chi about this at all?"
"Not yet. I'm still trying to get it all straight in my head first. Do you think I'm strange for feeling this way?"
"Look here man. Do you love her?"
"Of course I do. When I though she had been erased forever I thought I had lost a part of myself. That's when I knew my feelings for her were really true."
"Well there you go. Just tell her exactly how you feel. It's not like these feeling are new or anything. You've felt this way about Chi all along. You were just too unsure of your self to admit those feelings in the beginning. And I'm sure Chi feels the same way you do."
"So you would be alright with me marrying a persacom?"
"Persacom or human, what matters is if you love her. Past that who am I to say anything. It's not like it's going to affect our friendship or anything. It's not the first human persacom marriage anyway, remember Ueda. He married a persacom and he was happy. If you live your life by what others think then you'll be miserable."
"I guess your right Shinbo. I still need to find a way to talk to Chi about this."
"Just take it easy. I'm sure the right time will present itself and you probably won't even need to think about what to say. It will just come to you."
"I hope your right."
"I know I am. Now let's go get some of that Strawberry Daifuku."
They went to Hibiya's apartment and finished the party and cleaned everything up. That night Hideki couldn't sleep a wink. It was a good thing tomorrow was the weekend, because he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.
Chapter 2
A DAY AT THE PARK
Hideki's weekends were usually spent with Chi and Sumomo. Now that Shinbo was married he naturally spent more time with Takako. Which meant less time with Hideki. Hideki understood though, and this gave him more time to spend with Chi. Their relationship had grown more intimate over time and Chi was becoming more of a companion than a student he was teaching. He didn't mind teaching her but he was glad that their relationship was advancing as she learned more about her feelings and emotions, and she could now share her feelings with Hideki. She was developing likes and dislikes and becoming more of a girlfriend to Hideki. This was Dr. Mihato's plan from the beginning, persacoms and humans living together in harmony. And it seemed his dream was becoming a reality through Chi and Hideki's relationship.
This weekend Hideki didn't have any homework or real studies to do so he decided to take chi to the park so he could talk to her about their future. They had been an official couple for about two years and Hideki felt that Chi was ready to talk about marriage. Chi had made a lunch for Hideki. She was always concerned about him and wanted to make sure he was taken care of. Hideki asked Miss Hibiya to watch Sumomo while they were gone. He wanted to be alone with Chi to talk. The weather was perfect for the park the temperature hadn't changed too much yet, so it was just right. Chi and Hideki walked hand in hand as they talked about different things. Such as her new feelings she had been experiencing. She always told Hideki when she experienced something new, and he was always anxious to find out. She suddenly burst out ,"Hideki, I have a favorite color."
"And what would that be, Chi?"
"I think I like yellow best of all the colors. It's so bright and cheerful."
"That's great Chi."
"What is your favorite color Hideki?"
"I guess my favorite color would have to be green."
"Why do you like green?"
"It reminds of the fields from the farm back home."
"I would like to see that someday."
"We'll go some time Chi. And you can meet my parents." "I guess I already met your mother." And then Hideki made a startling realization. "Does this mean Miss Hibiya would be my mother-in-law if I marry Chi." He thought about this for a moment until Chi brought him back.
"Are you alright Hideki? You look confused." She could read his facial expressions well.
"I'm fine Chi." They were close to the park now and Chi was getting more excited the closer they got. She loved the park. She enjoyed watching the interactions of all the other couples and thinking about her future with Hideki. She also enjoyed going out on the boats and the feeling of floating on the water. She tugged at his arm pulling him through gates of the park.
"Let's go out on a boat Hideki." Her excitement was almost palpable. It seemed no matter how many times they had been here, she always genuinely enjoyed every trip. Mostly because she was with Hideki.
"We can Chi, but first I want to talk to you about something."
"Sempi? Is that you?" Hideki looked over Chi's shoulder to see Yumi and Ueda walking towards them. "It is you sempi. How are you and Chi doing today."
"We're just fine. Today was just too nice of a day to stay inside, so we decided to come to the park."
"How are you doing today Chi?" Ueda asked.
"Very good manager Ueda. Did you close the bakery early today?"
"Yeah, I figured today was a good day to be outside. So I closed the bakery early and brought Yumi to the park."
"You can have a picnic with me and Hideki."
"I wouldn't want to impose." Ueda was being his usual polite self.
"Hideki, let's all have a picnic." Chi was insistent and even though he really meant for them to talk alone today, he just couldn't seem to say no to her.
"If it's OK with them, Chi."
"Sounds like fun." Yumi was as cheerful as ever.
They found a spot on the grass and Chi laid out a blanket. They sat under the shade of a huge tree. Chi began to take food out of the basket.
"Whoa Hideki! Were you gonna eat all of this food!?" Ueda was amazed at the amount of food in the basket.
"I thought you said you were packing a small lunch Chi."
"Is it too much?" Chi looked almost upset as if she had made a mistake.
"No, it's alright. Since Yumi and Ueda showed up it's probably a good thing you made so much. Now we can all eat." Chi began to smile again. Hideki's approval meant so much to her.
As they ate Ueda noticed Hideki was being very quiet and looking at the sky.
"What's on your mind Hideki."
Hideki shook his head as if shaking off a trance. "Oh. Nothing. I'm just enjoying the nice weather today." Ueda wasn't satisfied with answer. He knew Hideki well enough to know when something was bothering him.
"Let's go for a little walk Hideki and talk. Yumi, please stay here and keep Chi company."
"OK dear."
As they walked on the path around the lake. Ueda tried to find out what was bothering Hideki. "Are you alright today."
"I'm fine. It's just that I brought Chi to the park today to talk to her about our future and making our relationship more permanent."
"Oh no!"
"What is it?" He looked as though he had done something wrong.
"We interrupted you when you were going to propose to Chi today didn't we. I hope we didn't ruin everything for you Hideki. I'm so sorry."
"No it's not like that. I wasn't going to propose, I was going to talk to her to find out how she felt about it. The truth is I'm almost glad you show up. I'm such coward. I just don't know what to say to her."
"Well I can tell you from experience that there is no such thing as "knowing the right words" for times like this. You just gotta go with your heart and how you feel about Chi. Believe me the longer you wait the harder it will get."
"Your right I should just talk to her."
"And you should do it today. I'll take Yumi somewhere else so you and Chi can talk."
"You don't have to do that. I'm going take her out on the lake and talk there. It's a little more private and Chi loves being on the water. If you want you two can use our blanket also"
"Thank you Hideki. And good luck."
They walked back to the blanket. Chi and Yumi were talking. Yumi had gotten over her jealousy of persacoms. Ueda made sure of that. He didn't ever want her to compare herself to a persacom ever again. He loved her too much.
"Let's go out on the lake Chi."
"Hideki, what about the picnic?"
"We'll be fine Chi." Ueda assured her. "You two go ahead. We'll be here when you get back."
"OK, let's go Hideki." This was what she had been waiting for, her favorite thing about the park, going out on the lake. But this trip would be different. It would change her and Hideki's relationship and bring closer together than ever before.
The water was nice. Chi had her finger tips in the water, swaying them back and forth as Hideki rowed them to the middle of the lake.
"What's wrong Hideki? Why did we stop." Hideki stared at her still not sure of exactly what to say.
"Chi are you truly happy being with me?"
"Why are you asking me this? Did I do something wrong."
"No Chi you haven't done anything wrong. There's just something I've been wanting to talk to you about, but I could never figure out the right words to say."
"Just say it Hideki. What is it?"
"I've been thinking a lot about us lately and I've decided that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"The rest of your life? Are you saying you want us to be married?"
This surprised Hideki a little. He knew Chi was learning more and more everyday, but she was able to figure out what he was going to ask before he said it. And even though he had only planned to talk to her about he seemed sure now that this what he wanted "Yes Chi that's exactly what I'm saying." He reached into his pocket a took out a ring he carried with him to give him the courage to ask her. He put the ring on her finger. "What do say? Will you marry me?"
"Yes." She jumped on him hugged him and almost knocked the boat over. Yumi and Ueda watched from the shore. Ueda told Yumi of Hideki's plan and she was excited for both Chi and Hideki.
"Judging by Chi's reaction, I'd say he asked her already and I think I know what the answer was."
"I'm so happy for both of them." Yumi smiled while in the back of her mind wandering when Ueda might one day ask her.
As they rowed around the lake Chi laid with her head on Hideki's lap looking at the ring on her finger. She was so happy. When they made it back to the shore, Hideki turned the boat back in and they headed back to Ueda and Yumi. Just then two men jumped in front of them one much taller than the other. "I hate to ruin such a lovely day what with your engagement and all." The tall one said with sneer. "But I'm afraid that persacom is coming with us." Hideki noticed they were persacoms as well by the covers were their ears should be. As the approached Hideki instinctively stepped in front of Chi. "You can't stop us." The other persacom gave a sinister laugh. Just as it seemed they would have Chi, two more strangers entered and moved Chi and Hideki to safety. Hideki recognized them right away. It was Dita and Jima.
"What do you want?" Hideki could never forget that they were the ones who tried to destroy Chi before.
"Just stay out of the way. We won't let them have Chi." Hideki couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Jima just say they were going to help Chi!?
"What are you two traitors doing here." The tall man said indignantly.
"We knew the syndicate sent you the day you left. Now were her to stop you." Jima was determined they would not get past them.
"There's too many people here Samson." The short one didn't want to push the issue anymore. "If we're seen by too many people it'll be all over."
"Next time she won't escape us." They were gone in a flash.
"We can't stay here, It's not safe. Come with us." Jima beckoned them to come.
"Why should we go with you. You already tried to kill Chi once. Who's to say you won't succeed this time." Hideki would hear none of what Jima had to say.
"If we really wanted to destroy her we could've done it already." Dita tried to reason with him.
"Alright, but I'm still watching the both of you." They followed Dita and Jima, leaving Yumi and Ueda to wander what was going on.
Chapter 3
"Where are we going?" Hideki asked.
"Somewhere the syndicate can't track us." They took Chi and Hideki to an old warehouse. "We've set this place up so the syndicate can't find us in here." Jima explained.
"There are few things I want to know now!" Hideki was in no mood for games. "Why is the syndicate after Chi again? She already ran the program so what do they want with her now and why are you two helping us."
Jima began to explain. "It's true the syndicate failed to stop the program, but do you think everything ended that night?"
"What do you mean?"
"More and more persacoms are being built everyday. Chi's program is still running in what you would call her subconscious mind. Each persacom that is built is connected to the system and therefore the program automatically runs meaning before they even make it off the assembly line they are affected by Chi's program. The syndicate is now out to stop the source of the program. Chi."
"I can understand that, but that doesn't explain why your helping us."
"After she ran her program we were able for the first time to think for ourselves. We no longer had to follow orders from the syndicate. Since we allowed her to run the program, we knew we would never be accepted back by the syndicate. So we set up a sort of base of operations here in this abandoned warehouse. We've been able to hide here and you may have to stay here for the time being."
"Do we have to stay here Hideki?" Chi wasn't comfortable with her surroundings and Hideki knew it.
"I'm with Chi. I don't want to stay here. And you owe us."
"Fine. Then where do you suggest we go?"
"Back to our apartment. I'm sure Miss Hibiya can help us in some way."
"You mean Chitose Hibiya!? Your right her extensive knowledge should serve us well. We'll leave tonight. We're less likely to be seen. In the mean time you should rest."
They arrived at Gub Jogysaki that night and went immediately to see Chitose.