"Is the camera ready yet?
"Yep, it's all set up now," Ueda replied with a wave from behind the mounted tripod.
"Hooray! Now everything is ready to begin!" Yumi exclaimed excitedly. This was her first production and she wanted everything to be picture perfect.
"Hey Yumi," Hideki's head popped out from between the curtains. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Didn't I already tell you for the billionth time? It's for my class final project! I can film whatever I want and you agreed to help!" Yumi claimed accusingly.
"Yeah, but couldn't you do a nature film or something instead of Cinderella? And why does it have to be that story out of all the-"
"No! That's not interesting at al! Now get back to your place! I'm the director!" She cried out in defiance.
With a look of remorse, Hideki sighed and pulled himself away.
"All right! LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!" Yumi screamed as loud as she could as if she was waiting in anticipation to say those three words.
The curtains drew back revealing a crudely painted backdrop of what appeared to be an old mansion. An ivory haired persocom wearing a mud-brown garment filled with holes stood in the middle of the stage with an expression of a house cat's first venture into a foreign jungle.
"Um Chii, you're supposed to be wiping the floor," Yumi pointed out.
"Chi?" Her amber eyes peered at the water bucket and rag and then back at the director, still clueless. Ueda's camera zoomed in to Chii's perplexed face.
"Nevermind, that's not really important. Okay, cue in the evil sisters!"
At that moment, Sumomo dashed in with the speed of a cheetah dragging poor Kotoko behind her like a rusted can tied to the latest formula one racer.
"Yay! Yay! We're going to the ball and have a BLAST!" Sumomo cried as she danced and twirled as if she was about to go to a birthday bash instead. When Kotoko finally pried herself away from her eccentric companion she crossed her arms and looked rather disdainful.
"I'm not interested," Kotoko deadpanned. To her, something like reading a book was far more fulfilling than dancing and merrymaking. "It looks like a waste of my time and my capabilities."
However before she knew it, Sumomo's face materialized a mere inch away and her eyes flashed almost threateningly with a grin that rivaled the Cheshire cat.
"But you HAVE to come! It will be FUN! You ARE coming, RIGHT?"
Now fearing for her own safety, Kotoko speechlessly nodded her face furiously like a bobble head.
"HOORAY!"
"Can Chii come too?" Chii asked curiously and with slight anticipation.
Of course you ca-," Sumomo started, but then she felt Kotoko tap her on the shoulder. Sending back a questioning glance, her gaze trailed over to the director who was giving a downbeat signal.
"Oh erm, well you see-,"
"You were not invited. I'm sorry but you cannot come. Besides, only members in the high nobility can attend." Kotoko interrupted indifferently. "You are only a servant."
Chii's hopeful expression slowly became crestfallen as the words finally dawned upon her.
"…Chii…understands…,"
Sumomo's internal clock suddenly beeped incessantly and with a cry she shouted, "Ah! We're LAAATE! We need to go NOW!" She grabbed onto Kotoko's arm and marched off, blowing her whistle with each step. The pitiful Kotoko appeared as if she was ordered to walk on death row.
"Chiiiii….," Chii features mirrored a child that was told she would live at an orphanage after a parent divorce.
Ueda pulled his head away from the camera and asked with a little uncertainty. "Um, aren't Sumomo and Kotoko a bit too small for the part? Wouldn't people notice?"
"Don't worry!" Yumi replied, completely undaunted. "We'll just video edit so they are the right size! Now make sure to capture Chii's essence of despair!"
Having no idea how video editing could mask the fact that Chii was practically a giant compared to the two laptop persocoms especially since he filmed them together in one shot, Ueda unconvincingly returned to the camera and focused the lens on the ivory-haired persocom. Her deflated face could melt the heart of the most hardened criminal.
"Chii wants to go to the ball too…," Chii murmured wistfully.
"Ohoho! Did I hear somebody say she wants to go to the ball?" A loud voice echoed from the stage. Swirling mist rolled in from the drawn curtains.
"Have no fear your fairy godmother is here!" With a giant eruption of vapor, Shimizu appeared in an overdramatic entrance.
"CUT! CUT!" Yumi screamed through her large, yellow megaphone. "Why are you in a witch's costume? A fairy godmother doesn't wear that!"
"Oh, but this was the only costume left," Shimizu stated pointedly, admiring her attire. It was a sleeveless black dress that hugged her curves and artfully ripped on the edges complete with a matching, crooked, pointed hat, and a thin, black wand.
"Ara, did I find the right place?" Ms. Hibiya peeked from the doorway.
"Hibiya-san! What happened to the fairy godmother costume?"
"I'm sorry, but I spent so much time on the prince and princess that I didn't have any time left."
"Oh all right," Yumi sighed, "Then, ACTION!"
"Are you Chii's fairy godmother?" Chii asked inquiringly, her small hands clasped together.
"Yes I am, and I'm here to grand your wish!" Shimizu spoke enthusiastically like she enjoyed her job a bit too much. "I will cast a spell that will allow you to attend the ball, HOWEVER, when the bell rings signaling midnight, you will change back so you must not let anyone see you!" She said firmly.
Chii nodded obediently to her orders. With a grin, Shimizu waved her wand an impressive blast of fog covered the amber-eyed persocom. After several seconds, Chii stood there in the exact same clothes as before.
"CUUUUUT! What happened to the dress!? Chii didn't change into the princess!"
"Chii?" Chii tilted her head and looked at Yumi for a moment, and then saw the laid out dress lying on the floor next to her. Supposedly, a trap door opened which the dress was transferred out of and the fog was used to hide her from changing.
"Ah! Chii not now! You only need to put it on!" Yumi cried out in dismay.
The simple-minded persocom began to take off her garments onstage to the horror of the crew.
"Hey, what's going on?" Hideki's head poked from the curtains.
"Don't look!" Like a bullet, Shimizu fired her wand at him with blinding speed. The pointed end struck squarely between his eyes.
"GAAAHH!" Hideki cried out in anguish and with a hand slapped over the bridge of his nose, he stumbled back out of sight with a resounding crash.
Ueda averted his gaze in embarrassment, totally forgetting about the blinking red light on the camera signaling that it was still recording.
After Chii finally finished switching outfits, she looked inquiringly at everyone else as if what she had done was considered very normal.
Yumi took a deep breath and then said, "Okay, let's just continue on. Cue the next scene!"
The backdrop switched to a makeshift courtyard under a painted, starry sky. What made it amazing was a stunning, white carriage waltzed in with Minoru and Yuzuki holding the reins. Minoru donned a black tuxedo with a black bowtie and Yuzuki wore her standard maid attire. However, the material used was significantly different so the light sparkled off of it, making her appearance dazzling.
"Wow, how did you get a real carriage?" Ueda whistled in admiration.
"I asked Minoru about it and the next thing I knew, he brought this!" Yumi seemed thoroughly pleased from the outcome.
"What I don't understand is why I have to be the horse!" From the hole in the horse's neck showed Shinbo's face.
"I feel totally ridiculous," Shinbo muttered darkly. He did not see his role as a particularly dignifying one.
"Aww, but I think you're a cute horse," Shimizu lightly ran her fingers through its mane made out of yarn. Shinbo puffed his chest up like a furious peacock.
"I don't want to look cute!" He answered defiantly, but then his body froze as her bare arms slid around his neck. His eyes grew as wide as saucers when he heard her reply in a low and seductive voice. "Well maybe you can offer a slow, private ride for me afterwards."
"Er, well, uh, if you put it that w-way," Shinbo stammered, attempting to quickly think of a somewhat decent reply when he heard his horse butt scream.
"OH MY GAWD, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
The hind legs seemed to have a mind of its own as it ripped itself off, tearing the horse in two halves. Out of the large rip bobbed out Yoshiyuki's head.
"This is completely humiliating! Why the hell do I have to play the horse's BUTT!" Yoshiyuki cried out in fury.
"Because a real horse will ruin the stage and it won't look convincing with a two-legged horse!" Yumi yelled back through the megaphone. "Now get yourself back in position or I'll duct tape you to the butt costume myself!"
Yoshiyuki moaned in grief and reattached himself to Shinbo with heavy reluctance. Unfortunately for him, he needed to stoop his body over in an 'F' shape so that he wouldn't be taller than Shinbo's waist. With even greater misfortune, this posture forces his head to be several millimeters away from his partner's least desirable area of his body which was ironically the part he was playing.
"Well I guess our ride will have to wait," Shinbo said with slight disappointment.
"I'll be waiting for you, my wild stallion," his fiancée replied playfully with a wink.
"Please shut up for my sake!" The butt replied too.
"The horse doesn't talk! That includes its rear!" Yumi stormed furiously. Hibiya appeared to be greatly amused from the whole exchange. Ueda shook his head, wondering if this entire sequence would fit in since the director did not even yell "Cut!"
Yuzuki opened the door of the carriage and gave a polite bow as Chii went inside, enjoying the soft, plushy interior. Minoru gave a questioning look at the director, reluctant to act out the next part of the scene.
"Is it really necessary to-"
"Yes! Every detail is important in a movie!"
With an apologetic glance to the horse, Minoru spoke with an unenthusiastic "Giddy up," and did a quick snap with the reins.
"OWWCH!" Yoshiyuki screamed and head butted into Shinbo.
"WHOOOAAA!" They both yelled simultaneously. The horse and carriage jerked forward as if yanked by an invisible noose. Minoru almost fell off, but was immediately rescued into the arms of Yuzuki who had returned to his side.
"T-thank you," he gasped breathlessly, his cheeks completely flushed. Yuzuki beamed back with adoring affection. Her hands carefully readjusted his glasses back to its former place.
"Curtain! Woohoo, we're making good progress here! If we're lucky, we might finish the entire thing in one day!" Yumi shouted passionately. The bakery manager scratched his head, thinking how this production could ever pass school guidelines.
"Um, Yumi-chan? Are you sure you want to submit this in as your final project?" Her head darted over to Ueda.
"You don't think its good enough?" Her eyes were wide with shock.
"No, it's, er, not like that. What I meant to say was," Ueda stammered, immediately cautious of what words he would throw out next. Yumi's teary-eyed stare automatically placed him on guard like a deer caught in front of a car's headlights.
"I really want this movie to be a success," Yumi spoke softly. My grades aren't that good and I really want to do well on this…," she trailed off.
"You never told me that," Ueda walked over and squatted down to her eye level. "I thought everything was fine."
When fall began, Yumi reluctantly quit work at Chiroru's in order to attend her final year at school. However, it became more difficult for Ueda to manage especially when it came to the end of the day finances. So sometimes she returned out of goodwill to help him out with accounting or knead dough despite the extra workload.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Both of Ueda's hands held unto Yumi's, now looking at her with genuine concern.
"I missed being with you and I didn't want to make you worry," she breathed out in barely a whisper.
He lightly squeezed her fingers in reassurance. "I truly appreciate your visits, but I don't want to deprive you of your schoolwork."
"I know, but…" she listlessly replied. The director looked rather miserable, her head bowed down in gloom.
"How about I visit your place next time and bring some homemade threats?" He thoughtfully suggested.
"Really?!" Yumi's head bobbed back up to see Ueda's kind smile and then blushed from her earlier outburst.
"Of course, I'll even help you with some of your studies. Mind you, I'm not very confident in arithmetic, but I'm not too bad with other subjects…,"
He didn't think his small offer would make such a great impact, but Yumi appear flustered and it made him politely puzzled. Her father worked at Club Pleasure almost all day so she stayed alone until her night shift came. It was just a simple visit to her empty house, and lending a hand. It wasn't like they were going to do anything else, right?
"Wait, could she be thinking of something more?" He thought and sensed his cheeks burn red while staring at Yumi's blushing face.
"Hey are you guys ready? The next scene is all prepared," Shinbo called, his figure leaned back from behind the stage wall to look at the two crewmen.
Both of them immediately jumped away, breaking eye contact. Shinbo watched with curiosity and asked, "What're you two doing?"
Yumi attempted to recompose herself by taking deep breaths while Ueda's face hid behind the camera.
"Um, n-nothing at all! A-action!" Yumi stammered nervously. Shinbo held a suspicious look and shifted back behind the stage curtain.
As the curtains pulled back, the stage portrayed an extravagant ballroom. There were porcelain vases sitting on marble pedestals, each one had a bouquet of assorted flowers. To top it off, a large, suspending, glass chandelier hanged from the ceiling. The bakery owner guessed that Minoru was behind all of this and wondered vaguely if these grandiose props even made a dent in his savings.
Chii stood in the center of the stage wearing an extravagant dress. The silky-white fabric fluttered delicately as she moved as if the air itself was woven into the material. She held her pale arms in front of her waist, displaying the laced sleeves and glittering bracelets. Fastened around her neck was a laced, pink ribbon, matching with her accustomed hairpins. A sparkling, silver tiara was placed on her head and her glass slippers twinkled merrily under the spotlight.
"Oh wow, you really out done yourself! It's amazing!" Yumi exclaimed to Hibiya. Ueda nodded in wordless agreement, still staring at Chii's costume.
"Thank you. I'm very glad you liked it," the landlady warmly responded. "I wasn't sure if it was up to your expectations."
"Are you kidding? It's above and beyond! But didn't I help you pick the materials? How'd you put it together to make it look so beautiful?" Hibiya just revealed a mysterious smile.
"But I wonder where the prince is?" Hibiya commented, causing Yumi's head to turn back and realize that he wasn't onstage yet.
"Prince! Where are you? Your princess is waiting!" She shouted through her megaphone. The innocent persocom shifted her gaze left and right like a metronome, unaware that another actor was supposed to be with her. A faint scuffling could be seen behind the curtain and she instantly recognized two voices in a soft yet heated squabble.
"I get stage fright and I can't dance!"
"There's no audience here and I thought Takako taught you already!"
"Well I forgot all of it!"
"You'll remember when you go out there! You mustn't leave a lady waiting!"
Hideki, in a constant battle with his feet, finally struggled on stage with the additional shove from Shinbo. The minute he saw his beloved, significant other in her spectacular attire, he instantly received cold feet and couldn't budge an inch. Shinbo let out a sigh and practically dragged him from the edge of the stage and made sure he retreated back when he was several feet away from Chii. After several, long breaths it took all of Hideki's willpower to take two steps toward her. He felt like the school nerd about to ask the prom queen out on a date.
What he didn't realize was that he wasn't the only one stunned. Chii stared at Hideki's garments with as much awe and amazement. He wore a white suit lined with shining gold buttons down the middle. His coattails trailed behind him, as he walked forward in his well-polished, white shoes with an uneasy, yet determined gait.
"Um, would you like to dance, my lady?" He asked, feeling unnatural in his surroundings, and even more so in front of the ivory-haired beauty.
"Chii?" Chii appeared dazed and moved her eyes from the shimmering, aqua-blue tie on his neck and looked blankly at his hand, noticing the silver cufflinks on his sleeve.
"Er, well if you don't want to-," but she immediately shook her head furiously.
"Chii…wants to," Chii spoke in a small and shy voice. For a moment, the tall college student was bewildered by her peculiar behavior. Usually, she would speak with a clear, pure expression. This was probably the first time he had ever seen her act timid, and wondered if she was all right.
He gently placed his hand on her waist, and he could've sworn she saw her jump. Chii's body was so soft that Hideki believed he would break her if he squeezed too hard. He took her other hand and with a deep breath he began to slowly waltz with her, remembering the steps Shimizu taught him in preparation for the play.
Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see the other dancers he hadn't noticed beforehand. Shinbo was finally out of the horse costume and in an actual suit. He was dancing in what seemed to be a very fast tango with Shimizu, still in her witch costume. Yuzuki and Minoru were dancing a much more practiced and elegant waltz, their eyes locked unto each other.
Sumomo and Kotoko appeared to be in some sort of frantic mix between a samba and disco. However, when Sumomo was swinging Kotoko by the arms in a whirlwind fashion, she accidentally knocked over a pedestal and with many large screams of "DANGER! DANGER!" they managed to save the vase from falling in the nick of time.
"Victory!" Sumomo cried in a triumphant voice. Kotoko appeared ready to drop dead in exhaustion.
Hideki smirked amusingly at their odd antics when he heard his partner sighed.
"Chiiii,"
He looked down and saw Chii's face nuzzled into his chest, enjoying the smooth texture of his tie. Her eyes were closed and she beamed with whole-hearted content. Hideki's heart pounded twice as hard and a mad mob of butterflies raged inside his stomach.
"Those two are very natural at this," the bakery manager commented. Through the camera's eye, he noticed Hideki appear surprised. Following his line of sight, it showed Shimizu giving a meaningful look to him. Reversing back, Hideki's eyes widened and he furiously shook his head. Quickly rotating back to Shimizu, she returned his reply with dissatisfaction and her brow furrowed dangerously. In the corner, Shinbo smiled cheerfully on the sidelines as he watched the silent yet intense exchange take place. Panning back to the reluctant prince once more, his head dropped in defeat and made a small nod which Shimizu grinned approvingly.
In a sudden change of skillful, choreographed movements, he spun Chii away from him, but then immediately pulled her back deeply in his arms. The surprised princess let out a gasp and opened her eyes to find herself now inches away from the ground, staring into Hideki's face.
"H-Hideki?" Chii asked shakily, her feet almost lifting off the floor.
With one arm supporting her back, he lightly cupped her cheek with his palm and carefully dipped his head.
When their lips connected, it was as if time itself had stopped. Chii trembled as a wave of unexplainable sensations awakened inside of her. She felt as if her body was as light as a cloud. The warmth from Hideki's lips flowed through her, involuntarily causing her fingers to dig into his back and her toes curl tightly in delight.
In what seemed like hours, when in fact was only a few seconds, Hideki broke their tender, affectionate kiss and smiled lovingly as she slowly opened her glistening eyes.
"What did Hideki do to Chii?" She asked in a daze.
"It's a kiss," he gently replied. Watching Chii in such a lost state of mind it made him begin to question whether his advance was too strong.
"Kiss…Hideki kissed Chii," she cooed dreamily. The doe-eyed persocom appeared spacey, but her lips curled up into a divine smile.
A rousing compilation of cheers burst in the theater. The dance ended long ago and the whole crew was present and watched the entire spectacle. A fierce blush crept up on the prince's face and he had the sudden urge to crawl into a hole. Still in ignorant bliss, Chii curled up and nestled into his body, bathing in his warmth.
"I don't think that was in the script," Ueda said plainly, causing Hideki to turn several shades redder.
"We HAVE to keep that! I'm about ready to cry!" Yumi waved her hands in an attempt to fan her eyes.
"This is the first time I've seen her look so happy," Hibiya sighed nostalgically.
"Congratulations!" Sumomo cheered exuberantly. She was jumping up and down with crimson flags waving, similar to a chicken on fire. Her sullen companion gave a sideway glance, duly noting that the hyperactive persocom's behavior did not match with her cold-hearted sisterly role. Yet, Kotoko couldn't help but escape a shadow of a smile when she saw Chii cuddle happily in Hideki's arms.
Then a long and uninviting ring echoed on the stage. The plastic clock attached on a tall, cardboard tower read "XII".
Regardless of this anticipated development, Chii still stayed where she was. Hideki, confused by her inactivity, whispered in her ear.
"Chii? Why aren't you running away? This is your cue." Chii seemed unaware at first, but then Shimizu's previous warning finally dawned on her. Despite this fact, Chii's embrace grew tighter and she looked up at Hideki with melancholic eyes.
"Chii cannot stay with Hideki?" She murmured sadly. His throat choked and he found it incredibly difficult to even open his mouth. He knew this was just a play, a make-believe act. Nevertheless he didn't understand why his mouth was having such a hard time to throw out a coherent sentence.
"Er, w-well, it's how um, the uh, story goes," he managed to splutter out.
He never saw a more pitiful sight. With heavy reluctance, Chii struggled to pull away from his warm embrace and painfully inched away, looking back at him every couple of seconds as if begging to hurry back into his arms. He couldn't break his line of sight away from Chii's distraught and pleading face. It brought up an image in his mind's eye of a calf being pulled away from its mother and dragged in a muddy pen, ready for the slaughterhouse.
Hideki couldn't stand it. He knew he must act according to script, but Chii's despaired face fueled the torrential whirlpool of emotions inside of him, violently drowning away all logic.
And that was when he finally snapped.
"GRAAAAHHHH! I CAN'T DO THIS!" With an impulsive dash, he scooped the princess up in his arms and hugged her protectively in his chest.
"Hideki! What are you doing? You're not following the plot!" An expecting scream boomed from the direction of the familiar, yellow megaphone.
"I don't care!" He yelled back. "I don't care if Chii is different than anyone else! I love her so much it hurts and I want her to be with me for the rest of my days!" And the next thing anyone knew, the rather unconventional prince galloped off with the astonished princess out of sight.
"Sooo, does that mean this is a wrap?" Ueda asked, smiling sheepishly. Yumi sighed and lifted her hands up to the ceiling in defeat.
"I thought it was a wonderful ending," Hibiya commented, clapping politely. "May I see the completed version afterwards?"
Yumi nodded, exhausted from all the yelling and screaming. Ueda patted her shoulder consolingly. The rest of the crew remained on the stage, still startled by Hideki's outburst.
"Well it looks like he finally lost his marbles," Shinbo muttered with a shake of his head.
"Really? I thought it was romantic," Shimizu replied wistfully.
"Hmm, that was a very unorthodox end," Minoru remarked.
"I liked it very much," Yuzuki responded with a smile.
"HOORAY! GO FOR IT MASTER! SAVE THAT PRINCESS AND AIM FOR ABSOLUTE VICTORY!" Sumomo cheered with all her might. An unmistakable sigh came from her aloof companion.
"This is utterly ludicrous. Now I will be the laughingstock of all my colleagues," Yoshiyuki moaned miserably.
As for the two stars of the show, they were currently huddled behind a residing curtain.
"I can't believe I just did that," Hideki groaned in shame. He felt like a total fool and couldn't bear to face anybody now.
"Hideki," Chii called softly.
"Hm? What is it?" He looked over to Chii, still in his embrace.
She stared up at the tall ronin adoringly. A wondrous sensation overcame her body when he swept her up like a true prince and instead of disappearing, it intensified even more. An unknown pressure built up in her breast and she placed her hands over it in a futile attempt to suppress it. Chii then realized just how close the proximity was between their faces and an intense blush erupted on her cheeks. Hideki held a perplexed look, not used to seeing her in such an unusual condition. He speculated if she became sick and needed a checkup from Minoru.
That was until he heard her ask in a shy voice, "Can Hideki kiss Chii again?"
"Oh…wait, WHAT?" Now his head flushed crimson as well and his mouth dropped, blankly staring back at her. "Er, d-did you…like it?"
Chii answered with the smallest of nods. She looked so embarrassed that he was afraid she would faint.
"Okay."
"Chii?" Chii froze and saw him show a nervous, but warm smile. A hand lightly stroked her cheek and the anxiety immediately died down. Unconsciously, her chin tilted up and as if the world moved in slow motion, Hideki closed the distance between them until she finally felt the warm and pleasant sensation pressed on her lips, enveloping her in complete bliss once more.
Her back arched as Chii swooned, letting out a pleasurable sigh. She could feel his hands playing with her hair and tenderly massaging her shoulders. Chii's arms shakily wrapped around his neck and enjoyed running her fingers through her lover's soft hair too.
When he tried to break their kiss, Chii tightened her hold around him and pressed herself deeper into his chest, deepening the kiss instead. Hideki was very surprised at her subtle refusal, but to be honest, he didn't mind one bit.
When she finally allowed him to separate, Hideki was panting for breath and managed to gasp out, "I…never knew…you wanted it…that much…" There may be an aggressive side to the charmingly innocent persocom.
"Chiii…," Chii flushed and diffidently turned away in embarrassment, but he thought her shyness made her look even cuter. She was covering her mouth with both hands as if she was protecting the kiss they shared together.
"Hey where did the two of you go? We need both of you back here right now!" the director's voice resonated a fair distance away.
"Just a minute!" Hideki shouted back through the closed curtains. Chii seemed to have not heard it, still lost in her own little world. Almost stealthily, he ambled behind the daydreaming persocom and nonchalantly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Chii!" Chii jumped and whirled around, her face was the equivalent of a ripe tomato.
"Shall we return back?"
Chii gave a tiny nod and Hideki noticed that she seemed to glimpse at his arm tentatively. Normally, she would leap to his arm whenever they would go anywhere. But at the present, she appears reserved and blushes more often.
Perhaps now that maybe they had both stepped into a whole new realm of their relationship, she did not know what to do now. This was new and unfamiliar territory and she still hasn't fully recovered from their foray into uncharted waters of passionate intimacy.
Chii had the face of a lost kitten as her gaze darted from Hideki's lips to his relaxed arm, and then to the floor. So for once, he decided to take the initiative. With a confident yet casual gait in his footsteps, he walked next to her and took her hand in his.
"Come on, they're waiting for us," Hideki spoke encouragingly, "we can see how we look onscreen." Chii felt a gentle squeeze and glanced at his familiar smile.
"Chii!" Chii beamed brighter than the sun and clung unto him, feeling happier than she had ever been.
There were many laughs and playful banter as they watched the replay of their lackluster performance. When Chii and Hideki saw the climax, they both flushed deep with embarrassment again from the congratulations and laughter. Chii buried her face in Hideki's chest but he could feel her smiling with pleasure.
A.N.: This has got to be the longest and most sugar-packed one-shot I've ever written in my life. If you somehow managed to survive through all the fluffy, lovey-dovey moments, I seriously congratulate you on a job well done. This piece was inspired out of wanting to see the Chobits characters in an actual play, but it slowly turned into a deeper venture of the love between the two protagonists. Well, I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I writing it.