Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Angelic Layer/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, even if the latter I've only used slightly!
I'm back with this one-shot, hopefully someone likes it, since I'm trying something newer when it comes to ideas!
Edit: I decided to remove the lime so I wouldn't have to post this as "M". Sorry to those who enjoyed it!
Programming Versus Personality
A cute little girl giggled as she watched a boy around her age study hard under the direction of the best tutors in the world. She gasped when a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up to see the boy's father standing beside her.
"Do you like my son, Mao-sama?"
She nodded eagerly. "He's the perfect boy for me, Kaiba-sama! I want to be his bride when I grow up!"
"Very well. You'll be the perfect one to be his wife when you both grow up to be adults. Just make sure you're just as beautiful as your potential hints at or I'll select someone else."
She whimpered, but nodded again. "Yes, Kaiba-sama."
So for the next few years until she was twelve, she worked hard on her looks, making sure nothing was overlooked in her beauty. She made certain she was at her most beautiful as she came to the Kaiba Mansion again, only to meet not the boy of her dreams, but a boy she'd never met before. He stared at her with curious eyes, a little boy clinging to his shirt behind him.
"Seto, meet your future bride, the daughter of one of my closest business partners, Kogure Mao. She'll be one of the greatest assets you'll ever get once you're married when you turn twenty."
She bowed and greeted, "I'm honored to meet you, Seto-sama."
Seto smiled a little. "Nice to meet you, Mao-chan."
That struck a nerve. This brat had the nerve to refer to her as "chan"?! Her family was the most powerful and influential in Japan next to the Kaiba family, and some adopted kid thought he could disrespect her like that?! She was two years his senior!
Of course, she hid the storm inside and smiled sweetly. But she felt satisfaction when Gozaburo clipped Seto's head with his fist.
"Boy, mind your manners! You never refer to her in such a familiar manner! To you, she's Mao-sama!"
Seto winced and apologized, "I'm sorry! It was my mistake, Mao-sama! I didn't mean to offend you!"
Mao nodded and held out a hand. "I would accept Seto-sama's apology if he took me out in the back garden for a stroll."
Seto nodded and took her hand, pulling her out to the huge backyard. Of course she'd been there to watch the object of her affection many times, but she acted as if this was the first time she'd explored these paths.
"Oh wow! A phalaenopsis amabilis!" she gasped as she spotted one of her favorite blooms.
"A what?" he asked, confused.
"A moon orchid. What I just said was its scientific name. I really like flowers, especially orchids. I want to be a botanist when I grow up, but I have my family business to carry on to keep up its prosperity."
He watched as she flitted from one plant to the next, her smile fond as she cradled each bloom with the uttermost care and affection. He smiled when he saw her tender feelings for the plants and followed her.
She spotted his smile and thought for a boy of ten, the smile made him a lot cuter than if he had a neutral expression on. She sighed when she allowed herself to relax around this boy. Perhaps if she got to know him better, he might prove to be a better person than the ordeal her crush was.
Four years passed and as Mao headed towards the Kaiba Mansion in her limo. She was looking forward to seeing Seto after so long, since he'd been very busy the last year with the testing Gozaburo was putting him through. The vehicle stopped in front of the mansion gates, only for the window beside her to shatter and a bullet to rip through her neck.
All went black for her.
She opened her eyes, only to find herself lying in her bed. She sat up, not sure what had happened. "Where am I?"
The door opened and the boy who'd she had a crush on for so long stepped in.
"Finally I have companion in this lonely place!"
She raised her eyebrows. He didn't even know about his former betrothed?
"Wow, you sure are a pretty girl! You won't be bored here, I promise!"
"Noa-sama, you don't know who I am?"
He shook his head. "Am I supposed to?"
"That's okay. Where am I? You went missing four years ago."
"You're in my virtual world!"
"Virtual? But it seems so real."
She touched the fine linen of her bed sheets as she got up, then grasped her neck as she remembered the pain she'd felt just before she'd woken in this place. "The last thing I remember was the window to the limo shattering as a bullet hit my neck… Could I have died and this is Heaven?"
Noa shook his head. "Your mind was saved by being downloaded into the system. Your mind is very much alive, but your body must be critically injured if you were sent in here without preamble."
She ran out of the house, only to find it was on the edge of a wilderness instead of a beautifully manicured lawn. She fell on her knees and heartbrokenly looked out at the scenery. "So it's true…I'm not dead… What did I do to deserve being stuck in a world which doesn't exist save the two of us?"
He caught up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll have plenty of things to do here. By the way, what's your name?"
"Mao."
An undetermined amount of time passed when visitors came to the virtual world at last. She stood with Noa and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar pair of faces.
"Seto…? Mokuba? Why are they here?"
"You know them?"
The young woman didn't answer, only moved closer to the screen and a miserable light came to her eyes as she noticed Seto looked around eighteen, two years older than when she'd been brought here. Had he forgotten all about her when she'd disappeared? She had to find out right now.
She vanished and reappeared in front of the Kaiba brothers. Seto stepped in front of his brother and demanded, "Are you my opponent for a duel? You don't look like one of the Big Five."
She shook her head. "Don't you recognize me, Seto-sama?"
His eyes widened and he yelled, "This has to be one of Noa's tricks! You've been dead four years!"
"I might as well be. Without my consent, I was trapped here. I no longer have a body of my own, but it wouldn't be of use to me anyways, I was shot through the neck. I'm sorry for being unable to be your bride, Seto-sama."
She bowed to him and gasped in surprise when he raised her head. A small smile was on his face as he proclaimed, "You could never disappoint me, Mao-sama. Somehow, we'll get you out so you can live a normal life."
"You'd do that for me?"
He nodded. Mokuba grinned and hugged her. "I've missed you, Mao-sama! You just disappeared one day and I thought you'd been kidnapped!"
Seto took her hand and nodded to his brother, who followed them as they began to walk through the virtual forest. "Mao-sama, do you know where Noa is?"
She nodded. "I have as much ability to move about as he does in this world." She raised a hand and created a door. "This is a shortcut to where he is."
From nowhere, Noa shouted, "Mao-chan, you traitor! I thought we were friends!"
"We are, but my strongest loyalties lie with Seto-sama. Didn't your father ever tell you that?"
She opened the door and they stepped through. His chair was empty, but she sighed with a smile. "Playing hide and seek, are we? I thought better of you, Noa-kun. You still act like a child."
She went to the chair and sat, pressing buttons on the arms. "There, done. You need to escape with the others right away. Without any warning, I've set this place to self-destruct in less than ten minutes."
She stood and went to follow them, but hesitated a moment, then she felt Seto pull her forward.
"Installing software," a computer voice stated. "Starting up core systems. Installation complete."
Mao opened her eyes and instead of pupils, lines of data crossed her eyes as her eyelids hooded to half-mast. "All systems online," she stated. "Tertiary objective: Disable KaibaCorp aircraft. Secondary objective: Eliminate Kaiba Mokuba. Primary objective: Eliminate Kaiba Seto. Commence mission."
She was up and out of the pod without any preamble. She ran with lightning speed to the aircraft just as the computer sounded: "Warning: self-destruct in five…four…three…two…one…"
She jumped and grabbed hold of a metal beam on the underside of the blimp. The explosion engulfed the aircraft, only for it to shed the blimp part and shoot away. She waited until its flight stabilized and it was about to land on KaibaCorp Island. She climbed to the nearest engine and with her inhuman strength, tore it clean off. She jumped to the ground and caught the aircraft. She set it down on the ground and did the same with the other engines. She jumped out of sight when the lackeys of KaibaCorp came out and gaped at the damage.
"Impossible… What could've done this?! We didn't land that violently!"
"The engines were torn off…by what? I don't believe it!"
Seto stepped out of the disabled aircraft and gasped. "What the…explain how our engines have been disconnected from the rest of the aircraft! Our crash landing couldn't have done so this cleanly!"
"Primary objective in visual range. Unable to complete without prior objective completed."
Mokuba ran out and demanded, "What happened?! All of our engines—are lying on the ground around the ship?! How could our crash have done that?!"
"Secondary objective in visual range. Commencing mission."
Mao jumped down and raced over, only for Yami to shout, "Kaiba! Mokuba! Look out!"
Seto turned, just in time to knock his younger brother to the ground as Mao sliced her arm across the space where Mokuba's neck was an instant ago. Her hand clipped the elder brother's shoulder and he flew right into a pile of wreckage with a scream of agony.
"KAIBA-SAMA!" his guards yelled.
"KAIBA!" the rest cried.
Yami rushed over and threw his body over Mokuba's to protect the younger teen. Mao's eyes flashed with various lines of code as she processed the situation.
"Secondary objective compromised due to complications. Primary objective completed. Mission complete. Current software shutting down… Starting up previously uploaded software."
Her eyes dropped shut and her head bowed.
"What is that thing?!" Jonouchi demanded, shivering at the power Mao had displayed with merely a brush of her hand against Seto's shoulder. "It made Kaiba fly hundreds of feet without any effort at all!"
The three guards pointed guns at Mao and Isono ordered, "The rest of you, see to Kaiba-sama! This thing might've killed him!"
Mao's eyes opened and she blinked, then her eyes widened as she saw the destruction around her. "What happened? Where am I? Did I…do this?"
Mokuba squirmed out from under Yami and gasped as he realized who his attacker was. "Stand down! She rescued us from the virtual world, Isono!"
"But she could've just killed Kaiba-sama!"
Mao snapped her head towards where she heard footsteps running. "SETO-SAMA!"
She was at his side in a second and her eyes trembled as she cupped his cheek. "Seto-sama, are you alright? Please don't be dead!"
Seto's eyes opened and he grimaced as he looked up at her. "Mao-sama…is that…you?"
She nodded and cried, "I'm so sorry, Seto-sama! It wasn't me who did this to you!"
He lifted his hand and he stroked her hair. "Still the same red that I remember…even if it isn't your real body." He grunted in pain as he shifted. "I'm sure this is going to bruise…this is the worst pain I've felt in my life… I don't blame you for what was done by a computer programmed to kill me and Mokuba… Is he…alright?"
"Yes, he's fine! Please don't give up!"
He chuckled and then coughed as he lifted a corner of his coat, to reveal a piece of metal that had punctured his side. "You need to get this out of me…or I'll just get worse."
A trickle of blood came from his mouth. She shook as she reached behind him and snapped the piece of metal at the base, and lifted him up, jumping down to the ground just as the others reached the base of the remains of the building. She gritted her teeth and placed a hand around the bottom of the metal shaft that impaled him. She whispered, "Ready?"
He nodded and screamed when she yanked it out in one tug. She immediately put pressure on the hole, but blood dripped through the spaces between her fingers. Mokuba choked at the sight of the blood and then ordered the guards, "Get a medical helicopter here right away! My brother's bleeding badly!"
"Yes Mokuba-sama!"
Mokuba placed a hand on Mao's arm. "Hurry! We have to get him to the medical unit!"
She nodded and raced at his speed to the medical unit inside the ship. Seto's shirt was cut away so the damage could be properly analyzed.
"His lung's been punctured all the way through, we'll have to get him back to the mainland or we're going to lose him!"
Mao slumped over the bed and a sob escaped her, even if she couldn't cry. "This is my fault…I've killed him…"
Mokuba gritted his teeth. "It's going to take the helicopter two hours to get here, and two back! He's going to bleed out before then!"
Seto's hand came up to stroke his brother's wild mane. "It's going to be okay, Ototo…" he breathed, then coughed. "Even if this hurts like hell…"
"But Nii-sama—"
"Have I ever lied to you, Ototo? I'm not going to die, even if I have to fight at the brink with Death himself."
Mokuba broke down into tears, and Mao searched her brain for any information she could possibly have for healing. All the programs she had, before her eyes lit up. She held out her left hand and a soothing blue light came from her palm as she pressed it to the injury. Seto gasped out in pain, before his eyes relaxed and fell closed.
"What's happening?! All his vitals are going back to normal!"
She took her hand away and a scar which looked months old was all that remained.
"Impossible! Such technology doesn't exist!"
Mao looked at her hand and saw her right one was covered in his blood. "I'm the ultimate machine of war, but my left palm…is the ultimate healing technology. What could this possibly mean?"
Mokuba took a washcloth and scrubbed her hand clean. "Mao-sama…you just saved Nii-sama. I think you made up for hurting him. Do you think the program for destroying Nii-sama and I will come back?"
"If it does, I don't know what I'll do if it succeeds."
"You'll fight it, of course! You'd never hurt anyone on purpose!"
He hugged her and she smiled. "Thank you for believing in me, Mokuba-sama."
"Gozaburo must've had you studied really close, you're exactly the same as I remember, except that headpiece. It almost looks like a pair of wings coming from your ears. That outfit must be the tightest thing you've ever worn. It fits perfectly."
She looked down to see she was wearing a tight turtleneck leotard, shorts underneath and boots which went up to just above her knees, but when she touched it to see if it was cloth, she noticed that it wasn't wrinkling at her joints at all. She reached to the edge of the shorts and tugged, surprised they gave and pulled up. They were the weirdest clothes she'd ever seen. She raised her eyebrows and let it go back down, only for it to snap in place.
"I don't understand them. They must be some type of armor."
"Yeah, although I don't know why someone so strong would need armor."
"I wonder about that. What if I was supposed to be programmed to fight in a war?"
"That would be terrible! You would be unstoppable!"
"I would tear my own arms and legs off before I'd let myself harm anyone else again."
Mokuba looked into her bright green eyes and saw it was true. "I know you'll keep that promise, Mao-sama."
Mao didn't have to do much the rest of the time they were on the island, only she went with Seto and Mokuba when the final duel was over. They activated the self-destruct sequence and she followed them to where the Blue-Eyes White Jet was in an underground hangar. She saw there was only two seats and asked, "Am I riding on top?"
Seto nodded and she jumped on top, actually making the whole jet shake. The two brothers got in and Seto started it up, just as the whole tower blew. She recalled a faint memory of the same thing happening recently but shrugged it off. They rose above the smoke, Seto laughing as they escaped the explosion without harm. She saw the helicopter and waved to everyone as they passed by.
They turned around and headed further out to sea.
Some months after, Seto was working on constructing KaibaLand in several locations in the world, Mao overlooking his work and making sure she had a backup file for everything in her brain, even if he hadn't asked her to. She knew that hackers were always looking for challenges, and KaibaCorp's security systems were the crown jewel of the Japan network, if not most of the world. Most people didn't know what to make of her when they met her, especially when she memorized any important information in a flash and repeated it back to Seto when requested. He was in such a meeting right now and she stood beside his chair, her blank expression unnerving all the men there, even if she was a tiny girl, just over five feet and seemingly a little over a hundred pounds, since she was built with super-light yet super-strong materials. To top it off, the "KC" logo was in several prominent places on her.
One man, who was new to these meetings, his company rather new itself to the gaming world, raised his hand some to get Seto's attention. Seto turned his eyes from the presentation he was putting out and narrowed them at the interruption.
"What is it?"
"Kaiba-san, may I ask a question?"
"Get on with it. We have a limited time for this to be finished."
"This young woman next to you, is she cosplaying a new card in Duel Monsters, since that seems to be the theme of your new park which is opening at the beginning of the year? If that's so, she should have a more cheerful disposition to make your advertising more attractive to us and the public."
Instead of answering him, Seto turned to Mao. "Tell him what he wants to know."
Mao turned her eyes on the man. "I am 019-2837-465 MAO. I was Kaiba Gozaburo's last creation before KaibaCorp came under the control of Kaiba-sama. I am here to record everything of importance to be relayed to Kaiba-sama at a later time to evaluate, and if it's needed, protect Kaiba-sama's life."
The man gasped and shivered. Everyone knew about how KaibaCorp used to be, and if Mao was Gozaburo's last creation, well…it could be figured out quite easily.
Seto smirked. "If your intentions towards me and my company are pure, you'll have nothing to worry about." He then turned back to the screen and continued his presentation.
Mao kept her eyes on the group of men, who kept their eyes on Seto and everything he said.
The meeting ended right on time, Seto and Mao leaving to go to his office. He closed the door and sat down on his chair, then nodded to her. From her hair she pulled out a cable with plug at the end, which she inserted into his laptop. Words appeared on the blank pages like wildfire, faster than Seto could read. It was only a minute before she sighed and put the cable back. He printed it out and placed the papers in his briefcase for later perusal. His phone rang and he picked it up. "What is it?"
"Kaiba-sama, Mokuba-sama's here to see you about some final details."
"Let him in."
"Yes, sir."
Mokuba stepped inside. "Just a few more papers to sign, Nii-sama."
Seto looked over the documents, Mao reading over his shoulder. He signed in each required place and then handed the papers back to his brother. "Are you going home now?"
"Not without you and Mao-sama, Nii-sama! Come on, it's late and you need some sleep!"
Seto nodded and packed everything up in his briefcase. He walked out first, Mao on his left side and Mokuba on his right.
"Have a good night, Kaiba-sama!" his secretary called as they left.
As they rode home, Mokuba crossed his arms and grinned. "I'm surprised you're still waiting test all of Mao-sama's abilities, Nii-sama. Your wedding night ought to be spectacular."
Seto frowned. "Watch what you say, Mokuba. It's a secret that we're even together."
"It's not like anyone would believe you if you admitted it. Besides, your relationship must be the most original ever: a robot with a human. Most everyone who knows about her is scared stiff, so no one would go against you now. If they tried, they'd be toast, not that Mao-sama would do it unless you activated a certain program."
Mao winced and Seto put a hand on her shoulder, even if she couldn't feel it. "Certain programs won't ever be used, even if the situation requires it. I won't turn Mao into a soulless monster."
She relaxed and smiled. "Thank you, Seto-sama."
Mokuba sighed and then grinned again. "But you can sure threaten them with her! They almost wet their pants the last time she entered the conference room!"
Mao giggled softly. "It's rather amusing, most of the time. I remember a certain worker falling right out of his chair when I came around a corner."
Mokuba laughed out loud at that. "I remember him! He was twice your size and if you'd been human, he could've torn you to pieces! I tried my hardest not to laugh when I saw him after that."
Seto crossed his arms. "Who is this 'certain worker' who's so frightened of you he can't keep his sense of decorum?"
Mao shook her head. "I never asked his name. Mokuba-sama?"
Mokuba snickered. "You won't fire him for being a coward, will you, Nii-sama? Everyone should have a healthy level of respect for Mao-sama."
"It all matters who this worker is," Seto pressed.
"You know the newest security guard we hired last month?"
"He shouldn't be that afraid of Mao. I'll have Isono talk to him."
"Maybe he heard about how Mao-sama tore off all our engines and made us crash on KaibaCorp Island."
Mao placed a finger to her lips. "Anyone would be frightened of me after that story. It takes heavy construction equipment to harness that kind of power, after all, and I did it without effort."
At that time, Seto's phone rang. He glanced at it, sighed and answered it. "What is it?"
"Kaiba-sama! A portion of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon roller coaster has collapsed! Ten of our workers have been trapped underneath! We need you down here to oversee the rescue!"
Mao gasped and he nodded. "We'll be right down. Just make sure you don't move anything until I get down there."
"Yes, sir!"
He called to the driver, "Take us to the KaibaLand construction site immediately!"
They got there in only twenty minutes, Seto and Mokuba rushing to the scene, Mao in back. A good portion of one of the loops had fallen to the ground, people panicking and screaming at the sight of many bodies half-crushed beneath the heavy steel. Mao covered her mouth at the horrifying sight and Seto placed a hand on her shoulder as he demanded, "Everyone stay calm! We'll have this moved in no time!"
The worker that had called him protested, "This could take hours, if not days! They'll die by then, Kaiba-sama!"
Seto shook his head. "I have a secret weapon with me. Mao, show them what you can do."
Mao nodded, pushing her personal feelings aside and walking to the site of the accident. She saw the closest man was awake and he saw her.
"Please…call for some help…"
She smiled. "Don't worry, I am the help. Now don't move, I'll have this thing off you in a second."
"You must be insane, young lady! Just because you're cosplaying a robot doesn't mean you have supernatural strength!"
She placed a finger to his lips. "Shhhh. I have everything under control."
Everyone's mouths dropped open as she curled her fingers under the track and lifted it like she was picking up a stuffed animal.
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
"No way… This has to be 019-2837-465 MAO, KaibaCorp's latest invention!"
"A robot? I didn't know it existed!"
She jumped to where the piece had fallen and connected it back to where it was supposed to be, making sure it wouldn't fall again. She then landed in the middle of the workers and glanced to Seto, who nodded.
"Activate program 100047."
Her eyes went blank and lines of code flashed across them as her computer voice requested, "Password?"
"0683-1."
Her hands spread and a blue light came from them, touching all the injured men and women at once, their injuries vanishing like a bad dream. When it was done, Seto issued the command, "End program 100047."
"Program 100047 deactivated."
The blue light went back into her and she blinked, eyes bright as she saw the workers getting up, eyes wide in shock at feeling the pain no more, as if it hadn't been there in the first place.
"It's not possible!"
"Has KaibaCorp's technology really advanced to this magnitude?"
"Hospitals around the world would pay through the nose for access to such powerful healing technology!"
Her face fell when she spotted some damage she hadn't noticed before. She walked over to it and squatted down. "The poor things…crushed beyond saving…how sad that you'll have to be replaced when you could've grown up so happy here…"
Seto came over to her and crouched next to her. He stroked the back of her head. "You're the only one who noticed, Mao. I'm sorry this happened."
"But I worked so hard…it isn't fair…"
Her eyes quivered with sorrow as she bit her lip.
"Mao, we'll make it better this time. I promise."
She lowered her head and nodded.
They stood and a worker came over and asked, "Is something wrong, Kaiba-sama? A burst pipe? A gas leak?"
He shook his head. "The flowers were ruined in this spot. Make sure new dirt is replaced and it's repaired. Mao will be back later this week to plant some more."
"I'm sure you have better uses—"
"Listen, and listen well. Mao isn't just a robot: she's sentient with feelings of her own. She's not an object or a pre-programmed computer. Understand? She was the one who drew my attention to the destroyed flower bed in the first place."
"Kaiba-sama?"
"If you look at her, you'll see."
The woman turned her eyes on Mao's face and gaped at the heartbroken expression on her face at the pulverized flowers. "She's not just…a pre-programmed…computer."
Seto beckoned Mao and they left the site.
As planned, Mao returned later that week and brought a full order of flowers to plant. She knelt in front of the dirt and began gently planting each bloom with the uttermost care. She was so relaxed that no one dare disturb her in her work. She worked for hours until it was done, before she brushed her palms off and smiled proudly at the final result.
"There. Isn't that better than being in those cramped boxes? You look so happy out in the sunshine right after having a good drink of water. I hope everyone who comes to the park can feel it too."
She turned to leave when a group of men and women came over to her. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed they were the ones she'd saved from certain death.
"Mao-sama? Can we have a moment of your time?"
She nodded. "Yes, what is it?"
They bowed as one to her and chorused, "Thank you very much for saving us! We can never repay you!"
She smiled and bowed her head in return. "You're welcome."
Her eyes widened when she was presented with a bouquet by the man in front. "Just a small token of our appreciation! Please take them!"
"Thank you, you're too kind."
"We feel it's nothing in comparison to what you have in your vases at home, but it's all we can do!"
She nodded and raised her free hand. "No, no, this makes me happy. Such pretty flowers, I'll have to put them in a vase when I get home."
They left to continue their work and she sighed. Mokuba came running over and grinned.
"That was nice of them to give you a thank you gift. Are you done here, Mao-sama?"
"Yes. I didn't think they would even thank me at all, since most treat me like a killing machine, or not even that, just a machine."
"Some people can see the true you."
She smiled and left with him.
Seto came home later to find her arranging the flowers in a vase she'd asked a servant to fetch. He raised his eyebrows at the small bouquet of flowers and asked, "Who gave those to you, Mao?"
"Welcome home, Seto-sama. The workers at KaibaLand I rescued gave them to me as a thank you. How much do you pay them if they can hardly pay for such a tiny bouquet pooling their spare money together?"
"They're not constant workers, they're only helping build KaibaLand and then they'll have to find new jobs. They should be thankful you saved their lives when otherwise they would've died or been permanently paralyzed."
"I see. I don't expect these flowers to last a week, but I'm sure I'll remember they thanked me with what they could manage to purchase. They probably know I don't need much, being connected to the richest man in Japan."
"Of course you don't. You can have anything you want, all you need is ask."
"You've already given me all I could ever want, why would I ask for more?"
His eyes turned gentle as he held her close and murmured, "There is something I could never give you with how you are now. Are you alright with that?"
This query confused her for the rest of the night as she scanned the grounds and mansion for any intruders with her sensors. Since her first night, she hadn't needed any rest, or even felt weak from lack of energy in her robot body. Seto thought it was because of the energy source inside of her, which he didn't quite understand yet, but he wouldn't have his scientists strip her down, they wouldn't be able to put her back together.
So sleep wasn't something she enjoyed in her new life.
But it gave her plenty of time to think as her systems mostly ran themselves.
What was it that Seto could never give her? She couldn't think of what she could want besides him and all the comforts being with him gave. She didn't mind not eating or any other things that came with being a robot, but he wasn't referring to just anything. He was being specific, but not specific enough for her to guess. The look in his eyes had been increasingly tender with sorrow behind them. What could make him sad about not being able to give her?
She paced back and forth out of habit and cradled her chin. In less than a year she would be married to her fiancé and love, Seto Kaiba, becoming the wife of the richest man in Japan. They'd spend a lengthy vacation in an exotic spot, then come home and enjoy their newlywed bliss for the rest of their lives.
Her eyes widened as she lowered her hand to chest level. "He and I can't have children. He needs an heir to run his company when he decides to step down as CEO…he wouldn't just give it to Mokuba-sama, would he?"
She clenched her hand into a fist and gritted her teeth as her heart almost broke. She wanted to cry, but yet again, she couldn't because of what she was.
"Oh Seto-sama…I'm so sorry…"
She went to Seto's bedroom at dawn and climbed onto what would be her side and looked down at his sleeping face. Now that she'd had time to think about it, she remembered her mother talking about it right before she'd been shot. Bearing Seto children was one of the reasons she'd been chosen as a prime bride candidate. She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm so sorry I didn't understand. Forgive me, Seto-sama."
Mao stood at the entrance to the mansion and didn't react when Seto came out. He glanced at her and noticed an oddly blank expression on her face. Her eyes were like a computer screen, processing information at a lightning-fast speed. He placed a hand on her cheek and asked, "Mao, are you alright?"
"Affirmative, Kaiba-sama. Shall we proceed to Kaiba Corporation Headquarters?"
He blinked in confusion, but knew it had to wait until they got home and in a private setting before he could try to figure out what was going on. He regained his composure and turned away. "Yes."
They walked in silence to the limo, where he entered first and she followed. He then asked in monotone, "Report on patrol of the mansion's premises the last six hours."
"No anomalies in the exact span of time specified."
"Excellent."
Silence reigned for the rest of the ride, where he got out and Mao shadowed him, up to his office. He sat down and ordered, "Inform me when an event of today's schedule approaches ten minutes prior."
"Acknowledged, Kaiba-sama. At precisely eight a.m. there's a meeting in the conference room with the board of directors."
He looked at the clock on his laptop and nodded. "I'd better get ready."
For the rest of the day it was like this, and when they got home, he ordered, "Run a self-diagnostic, Mao. Report any anomalies in any and all programs."
"Acknowledged, Kaiba-sama." Numbers began to run across her eyes. "Self-diagnostic in progress."
He watched anxiously until her eyes cleared. She focused on him and stated, "Program 'MAO-000-000-000-01' has been infected by a virus and cannot be accessed."
"Infected? The downloaded software?"
"Affirmative, Kaiba-sama."
"Can the virus be removed?"
"Negative, Kaiba-sama. To do so would damage the program beyond repair."
He hit the wall behind her and gritted his teeth. "Mao! Can you hear me?! You're in danger! Please come out!"
"The command you have voiced is invalid, Kaiba-sama. Please rephrase."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Mao! Whatever's happened to you, we can do it together! I don't want to lose you, no matter what! It doesn't matter if we can't have children! We can adopt! They'll love us and we'll love them! Please! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU!"
"The command you have—"
"SHUT UP! MAO! I LOVE YOU! DON'T LEAVE ME WHEN WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF OUR LIVES TOGETHER! MAO! WAKE UP!"
Mao heard shouting from outside and looked towards the light that shone in front of her. "Seto? Is that you?"
"Mao! I love you! Don't leave me when we're going to spend the rest of our lives together! Mao! Wake up!"
Her eyes lit up and she reached out. "Seto! I won't leave you! Don't cry for me when I'm not gone!"
She dived through all the coding of her body and took over.
She put her arms around him and smiled. "I won't leave you again, Seto. I promise."
He held her tight and threatened, "You'd better not or I'll take you apart and access you by force."
She buried her head in his chest and whispered, "I love you."
He kissed the crown of her head. "I won't hurt you again, Mao."
And that's it!
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