Disclaimer
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That's not Chi is based on the original fanfiction by my friend Chibi-chan. I don't own any of the characters or components of Yugioh or Chobits.
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"Master Kaiba." A voice calls through my door. I recognize it as belonging to my new advisor, Matthew Waters. He insists on using my formal title though I've told him not to. Its not that I count him as my equal, but because that was my brother's title and I don't think I've earned the same recognition as him. I open the door.
"Yes, Mr. Waters." The formality in my voice has come from two years practice. My brother was helping me adopt a "Serious Business Man" face, before he...
"A woman is here to see you." Waters interupts my thoughts, "She said she had a delivery. Should I order a security check on her packages, there are quite a few."
Finally, she's here. "No that won't be necessary. Send some aids down with a dolly and get those packages safely to lab 4-7. Have Mr. Yamamoto meet them there to help set up. I'll greet our guest." Waters gave me a curt nod of ascent before relaying my orders on his walkie-talkie. I head off down the hallway. The excitement boiling inside me threatens to shatter my composure but I work hard to suppress it. Big Brother never ran or showed any emotion to those under his employment. He told me once that people only listen to you if they respect you and they can't respect you if they can't take you seriously. This was about the time when he taught me about the "Serious Business Man" attitude and how it was important to learn it. It was harder than I thought and Seto made it look so easy. Well, I guess I've got it down now but I still wish he could have seen it.
I take the stairs three at a time because no one is around but I slow down before I turn the corner into the entrance hall. I find my guest sitting in one of the velvet chairs. She is very beautiful yet so plainly dressed. Her long black hair is held back in a loose knot. She stands and extends a hand.
"Hello, Mr. Kaiba, It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Chitose Hibiya, your staff have been very helpful." She takes my hand and smiles. I can almost feel her radiance melting away my "Serious Business Man" face. I return the smile.
"I'm happy to see you too, Mrs. Hibiya. Did you know that you are a hard woman to find?" My question is answered with another smile. Does she ever stop smiling? I lead her to the west wing where lab 4-7 is waiting with the answer to my greatest wish hidden inside those brown paper packages and cardboard boxes. I notice Mr. Yamamoto standing outside lab 3-7.
"Yamamoto," I call to him, "You were supposed too meet us at lab 4-7 not 3- 7."
Mrs. Hibiya's grin widens as she and I watch Yamamoto's face flicker with a wide range of emotions before landing on an expression between pride and embarrassment that triggers a giggle from Hibiya.
"Oh, Its good to meet you Mr. Yamamoto. You remind me so much of my husband." She says. I assume that the subject of her husband is not a happy one since just after she said it, her smile faded.
"Yamamoto will be helping you set up you equipment and will be available later if you need him for any technical help. He's quite skilled." I address Hibiya. The slight change in subject helps her mood just as much as the blush on Mr. Yamamoto's cheeks.
I find a semi comfortable place to sit on the cold linoleum floor to wait until Hibiya and Yamamoto finish setting up. I want to help but I know I'd only be in the way. This stuff is way out of my league. You would think that with a brother like Seto Kaiba, I'd be more adept in the field of technology. Maybe it's just a little brother thing. I would always depend on Seto to do all the complicated stuff. I remember when I was locked up in Duelist Kingdom. Never once did I attempt to escape on my own. I had convinced myself that if I tried to escape, it would only mean trouble for my brother. When Seto died I was crushed. I was forced to take a good look at my life. I am unable to pinpoint when I started depending solely on him but that dependence made his death so much more devastating to me.
I can remember that night so clearly. I can recall everything, The blaring sirens, the white hallway of the hospital, the sound of the rolling cot rushing my brother to the ER, the doctors shouting orders, the glaring white light, the acrid smell of antiseptic, the tall double doors, the hand of the nurse that caught me before I could follow my brother inside.
I remember how I sat in the waiting room for hours before the same nurse came to get me and the complete fear that filled my heart as I dashed down the hallway to his room. I can still see him lying flat on his hospital bed connected to an IV and various machines. I had never seen him like that before. Even though the heart monitor beeped regularly I remember feeling as if he were already dead. The silences between the beats on the machine were frozen waves whose floes scratched and raked the inside of my veins. I remember crossing the floor to his bed, each wave hindering my progress and the look in my brother's eyes when they flickered open with my touch. He gently turned his head to look at me.
"Mokuba." He whispered "I promised you that we'd always be together." I took his hand in two of mine and touched it to my forehead. I remember the silent tears inching down my face and the sound of the heart monitor piercing the calm night. I sat there by his bed, holding his hand, mentally cursing anything and everything, especially myself. Around three in the morning I felt his hand tighten and a fleeting cry escape his lips before the warmth left his body forever. And, that sound, the note that arose from the machine by his bed, cut straight through me. In that moment, before the doctors swarmed into the tiny room, I felt nothing. Nothing but pain.
I hear the note again and my eyes snap open. When did I close my eyes? I look around to find myself in an almost completely different room. The boxes and packages must have been filled to bursting with equipment and there is still one mid-sized box untouched. The ceaseless tone hurts my ears.
"Can someone turn that off?" I shout over the noise.
"Not until I get this other cord connected." Yamamoto answers me. According to his voice, I assume that he is squashed somewhere behind a machine the size of a refrigerator that has taken up residence in the corner while I was asleep. The sound stops and I uncover my ears. Mr. Yamamoto emerges from a crack between the refrigerator shaped thing and a counter with a large cupboard above it.
"I think I've got this one running." He says, turning on the power and tapping some of the keys.
"Very good, thank you for your assistance, Mr. Yamamoto." Mrs. Hibiya says smiling.
"But what about the other box?" Yamamoto asks but Hibiya insists.
"I won't be needing your help with that one. I'm sure you're a busy man, I'll call you if I need anything. Thank you."
Yamamoto closed the door behind him as he left. Mrs. Hibiya starts opening the last of her boxes. I suddenly feel curious.
"Why did you send him away?" I ask and Mrs. Hibiya looks at me slightly confused.
"I thought that you would want to keep it a secret." She says as she unloads an array of unusual cords and cables. "Your name would be all over the tabloids if this got out." She reaches all the way down to the bottom for something heavy. "It's not everyday that a famous billionaire who has been dead for over a year gets a new chance at life through a supercomputer robot." She hauls out what appears to be a dead body, but I know that it's not. It's just the way Minoru described. This is a legendary persocom, a Chobit.
That's not Chi is based on the original fanfiction by my friend Chibi-chan. I don't own any of the characters or components of Yugioh or Chobits.
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"Master Kaiba." A voice calls through my door. I recognize it as belonging to my new advisor, Matthew Waters. He insists on using my formal title though I've told him not to. Its not that I count him as my equal, but because that was my brother's title and I don't think I've earned the same recognition as him. I open the door.
"Yes, Mr. Waters." The formality in my voice has come from two years practice. My brother was helping me adopt a "Serious Business Man" face, before he...
"A woman is here to see you." Waters interupts my thoughts, "She said she had a delivery. Should I order a security check on her packages, there are quite a few."
Finally, she's here. "No that won't be necessary. Send some aids down with a dolly and get those packages safely to lab 4-7. Have Mr. Yamamoto meet them there to help set up. I'll greet our guest." Waters gave me a curt nod of ascent before relaying my orders on his walkie-talkie. I head off down the hallway. The excitement boiling inside me threatens to shatter my composure but I work hard to suppress it. Big Brother never ran or showed any emotion to those under his employment. He told me once that people only listen to you if they respect you and they can't respect you if they can't take you seriously. This was about the time when he taught me about the "Serious Business Man" attitude and how it was important to learn it. It was harder than I thought and Seto made it look so easy. Well, I guess I've got it down now but I still wish he could have seen it.
I take the stairs three at a time because no one is around but I slow down before I turn the corner into the entrance hall. I find my guest sitting in one of the velvet chairs. She is very beautiful yet so plainly dressed. Her long black hair is held back in a loose knot. She stands and extends a hand.
"Hello, Mr. Kaiba, It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Chitose Hibiya, your staff have been very helpful." She takes my hand and smiles. I can almost feel her radiance melting away my "Serious Business Man" face. I return the smile.
"I'm happy to see you too, Mrs. Hibiya. Did you know that you are a hard woman to find?" My question is answered with another smile. Does she ever stop smiling? I lead her to the west wing where lab 4-7 is waiting with the answer to my greatest wish hidden inside those brown paper packages and cardboard boxes. I notice Mr. Yamamoto standing outside lab 3-7.
"Yamamoto," I call to him, "You were supposed too meet us at lab 4-7 not 3- 7."
Mrs. Hibiya's grin widens as she and I watch Yamamoto's face flicker with a wide range of emotions before landing on an expression between pride and embarrassment that triggers a giggle from Hibiya.
"Oh, Its good to meet you Mr. Yamamoto. You remind me so much of my husband." She says. I assume that the subject of her husband is not a happy one since just after she said it, her smile faded.
"Yamamoto will be helping you set up you equipment and will be available later if you need him for any technical help. He's quite skilled." I address Hibiya. The slight change in subject helps her mood just as much as the blush on Mr. Yamamoto's cheeks.
I find a semi comfortable place to sit on the cold linoleum floor to wait until Hibiya and Yamamoto finish setting up. I want to help but I know I'd only be in the way. This stuff is way out of my league. You would think that with a brother like Seto Kaiba, I'd be more adept in the field of technology. Maybe it's just a little brother thing. I would always depend on Seto to do all the complicated stuff. I remember when I was locked up in Duelist Kingdom. Never once did I attempt to escape on my own. I had convinced myself that if I tried to escape, it would only mean trouble for my brother. When Seto died I was crushed. I was forced to take a good look at my life. I am unable to pinpoint when I started depending solely on him but that dependence made his death so much more devastating to me.
I can remember that night so clearly. I can recall everything, The blaring sirens, the white hallway of the hospital, the sound of the rolling cot rushing my brother to the ER, the doctors shouting orders, the glaring white light, the acrid smell of antiseptic, the tall double doors, the hand of the nurse that caught me before I could follow my brother inside.
I remember how I sat in the waiting room for hours before the same nurse came to get me and the complete fear that filled my heart as I dashed down the hallway to his room. I can still see him lying flat on his hospital bed connected to an IV and various machines. I had never seen him like that before. Even though the heart monitor beeped regularly I remember feeling as if he were already dead. The silences between the beats on the machine were frozen waves whose floes scratched and raked the inside of my veins. I remember crossing the floor to his bed, each wave hindering my progress and the look in my brother's eyes when they flickered open with my touch. He gently turned his head to look at me.
"Mokuba." He whispered "I promised you that we'd always be together." I took his hand in two of mine and touched it to my forehead. I remember the silent tears inching down my face and the sound of the heart monitor piercing the calm night. I sat there by his bed, holding his hand, mentally cursing anything and everything, especially myself. Around three in the morning I felt his hand tighten and a fleeting cry escape his lips before the warmth left his body forever. And, that sound, the note that arose from the machine by his bed, cut straight through me. In that moment, before the doctors swarmed into the tiny room, I felt nothing. Nothing but pain.
I hear the note again and my eyes snap open. When did I close my eyes? I look around to find myself in an almost completely different room. The boxes and packages must have been filled to bursting with equipment and there is still one mid-sized box untouched. The ceaseless tone hurts my ears.
"Can someone turn that off?" I shout over the noise.
"Not until I get this other cord connected." Yamamoto answers me. According to his voice, I assume that he is squashed somewhere behind a machine the size of a refrigerator that has taken up residence in the corner while I was asleep. The sound stops and I uncover my ears. Mr. Yamamoto emerges from a crack between the refrigerator shaped thing and a counter with a large cupboard above it.
"I think I've got this one running." He says, turning on the power and tapping some of the keys.
"Very good, thank you for your assistance, Mr. Yamamoto." Mrs. Hibiya says smiling.
"But what about the other box?" Yamamoto asks but Hibiya insists.
"I won't be needing your help with that one. I'm sure you're a busy man, I'll call you if I need anything. Thank you."
Yamamoto closed the door behind him as he left. Mrs. Hibiya starts opening the last of her boxes. I suddenly feel curious.
"Why did you send him away?" I ask and Mrs. Hibiya looks at me slightly confused.
"I thought that you would want to keep it a secret." She says as she unloads an array of unusual cords and cables. "Your name would be all over the tabloids if this got out." She reaches all the way down to the bottom for something heavy. "It's not everyday that a famous billionaire who has been dead for over a year gets a new chance at life through a supercomputer robot." She hauls out what appears to be a dead body, but I know that it's not. It's just the way Minoru described. This is a legendary persocom, a Chobit.