A small dark figure trudged down the street; a cold, solemn, heavy rain poured from the matted brown and black sky, assailing the sidewalk and the solitary figure who occupied it. The figure was wrapped in a thick, black, ebony cloak, which was tugged about tighter for warmth, but the person beneath, was still visibly shaking. Lightning split the sky and the resounding clap of thunder that followed caused the figure to leap and spin about, searching the night desperately for some unknown persecutor. A whimper came from the cold and frightened figure, who suddenly stopped in front of the large wooden gates. The hood of the cloak was pulled back and damp brown locks were revealed, framing a pretty soft face of a young woman who's coffee colored eyes told all to clearly the despair she was in. She peered at the plaque on the brick supports that stationed the massive gates and prayed she'd read correctly. 'Kokobunji...So, this is the place? I sure hope so, otherwise I don't know what I will do!'

A/N: My second Chobits fic and it will be much more serious than my first one and probably pretty dark. I don't know what the official rating will end up so I'll change it as I need to. I based this off a character I created for a rp but the content is all original. Hope you like it, please rr!

She chewed her lower lip and, with a tentative air, reached up to press the intercom, stalling briefly then mustering her courage and jamming her thumb against the button. A soft buzz greeted her and signaled that the task had been done. The wait seemed infinite and then a soft chime broke the building tension, followed by a sweet, quiet voice, "Hello, who might this be?" There was a soft whir as a video camera swiveled and focused in on the caller at the gates.

Wide-brown eyes looked about as she stuttered out a reply, "M-my name is Maehana Tokimi... I was told that this is the residence of Kokobunji Minoru but I'm sure my arrival is not expected." She paused and shivered as the stinging rain hit her face. "I... I really am terribly sorry to be a nuisance when the hour is as late as it is... but I'm afrai-" Her sentence was cut short however as the gates slid open.

"Minoru-sama will see you now." The sugary voice echoed, "Please come in."

Tokimi obediently followed the orders and watched as the gates slid shut once again after her passing. She followed the stone walkway up to the already open doors of the house, which she previously couldn't see over the gates, but could now distinguish, despite the dim light, was indeed quite enormous. She was already enchanted by the sprawling walls, which were surely white. Before her, light spilled out onto her feet from the doors where four silhouettes stood poised. As she neared and could make out their features, one stepped forward. She had short brown hair cropped about her inhuman ears, which instantly identified it as a persocom.

A persocom is a computer of sorts with a robotic body, but it looks and sounds human in all apparent facets. They come in many different appearances and can be build either male or female in structure with a program to fit desired mannerisms and abilities. Persocoms can do just about anything you program or teach them to do, answer phones, make phone calls, send e-mail, take orders, track information, do menial tasks, or be a companion. Because of this it isn't uncommon to find them in home, office, or government settings.

The persocom was, as were the other three persocoms, dressed in a skimpy, black, vinyl maids' outfit and her black glassy eyes studied Tokimi carefully. With a swift movement she was reaching out and removing the soggy cloak from Tokimi's shoulders and carrying it off into the room at the right before protest could be made. Another room opened to the left and a long, wide, curved staircase stretched out in front of Tokimi, who was now left wearing a dark green sweater and a plain looking tawny skirt that cut short just below her knees, where they met with sticky wet socks that traveled into mud splattered shoes.

Her gaze traveled the room and descending upon the staircase was a woman, her long blue hair floated behind her in two thick braids and she smiled courteously with her violet eyes. Her attire was a modest improvement from the four that had just occupied the room with Tokimi, soft black fabric stretched down to her knees and covered her arms. White ruffles poked out from beneath the hem of the skirt and white cuffs flanked the sleeves and collar, a tie, matching the color of her hair, hung down over her ample chest and half concealed a yellow cross printed on the fabric.

"Please, take off your shoes and follow me." Her kind and familiar voice was even more enamoring when in person and which a face to accompany it, however Tokimi could already tell that the creature before her was, in fact, a persocom. There was nothing so distinctive as to give it away at first glance, maybe it simply came with experience.

Noting on that, her curiosity was admittedly piqued, she knew nothing of the person she was going to meet except that he was a genius, especially when it came to persocoms. She vaguely remembered being told that he built custom coms. If the elegant creature that was leading the way through the halls of the elaborate mansion was an example of his work then there was no doubt that he was as excellent as described. Her quiet contemplation was broken as the blue haired persocom's voice reverberated in her ears once again, "Just through here miss." A soft smile graced her lips as she held open the door at her side, they were at the end of a long hallway and Tokimi had no idea how far they'd gone in the maze.

She cautiously peered into the room, it was dim but a light in the center of the ceiling cast a soft glow and eerie shadows across the floor and walls. A white, stone fireplace was stationed at one side but it looked disused, on another wall curtains covered the windows that looked down on the empty street, the sound of the rain on the glass mingled with another irregular, yet rhythmic, tapping. Directly inside the room, the blue light of a computer screen illuminated the face of a boy whose features were intensely focused in thought, his fingers dancing across the keyboard before him in an impressive display. After a moment his attention waned from the screen and he noticed Tokimi, adjusting his rectangular framed spectacles he stood, "Thank you, Yuzuki." There was a soft kindness in his eyes as he thanked the persocom, Tokimi noticed it and had seen it before.

"Please come in miss and have a seat." The boy said, crossing the room to a pair of couches, which sat facing each other, a short glass-topped table sat between them. He motioned for Tokimi to sit on one while he took the other. Tokimi nervously perched on the edge of her seat and watched the boy with a mind fluttering in contemplation and wonderment. His hair was a dark brown and it hung down to his equally dark eyes, his glasses rested in the middle of his nose and his face, though child-like, hinted of someone wise beyond their years. Could he be the genius she was supposed to rely on? This boy of only twelve or thirteen years?

"Yuzuki, would you please bring some tea for our guest and myself?" He softly requested.

"Of course Minoru-sama" The blue haired persocom, obviously Yuzuki, nodded and exited the room.

Now his attention was turned fully onto Tokimi, "I hear you wish to speak with me."

Tokimi swallowed, "I-if you are indeed Kokobunji Minoru, then yes." She felt the nervousness pitting inside her stomach.

"Then you are in the right place, I am Kokobunji Minoru." He studied her with a fixed stare, intrigued at the story of this woman who had suddenly appeared on his doorstep. She had a timid aura about her but seemed overly paranoid besides that, she seemed as though the tiniest noise or quickest movement would send her bolting from her seat. "Now you know who I am, but I know nothing about you."

With a fumbling utterance she answered, "My name is Maehana Tokimi... I'm sorry for disturbing you but I'm in a great deal of trouble. A friend directed me to you, his name is Hotohiro Genji and said the two of you have corresponded on a few occasions." She paused and Minoru nodded in acknowledgement. "Genji is a close friend of mine, we were work acquaintances at first but after many years I hope he considers me as a friend as well." She shook her head, realizing her topic was trailing, "I don't know how much you know about Genji and what he does, but the two of us worked within the government. My job mainly consisted of maintenance on the company's persocoms but I also helped create and test in certain situations. Genji had a similar position but focus more on design and improvements in functionality. It was our responsibility to ensure that the governments' persocoms were in top condition and at the peak of performance." She stopped, Yuzuki had re-entered the room carrying a silver tray, two white cups, dishes, and a pot were atop it.

Yuzuki set the tray on the table and placed one dish before Tokimi and a second before Minoru, she then set a cup in each and proceeded to pour tea into each of their cups. Minoru smiled at the persocom, "Thank you, Yuzuki." His voice held the same fondness as it had before. He looked back at Tokimi, "Please, continue." He said, lifting his cup and taking a sip.

Tokimi nodded, picking up her own cup and letting the warmth of the liquid inside seep into her hands and chase away the chill. "Genji had also helped with something else, he assisted in the initial creation of the original Chobits. His role wasn't big but he knew what they were and the capabilities they had... he also knew there was untapped potential within their build, not only untapped but forbidden. Hibiya insisted that the blue-prints had long since been lost, but Genji managed to find them. He modified their designs and began construction. They weren't at all like the first two, dramatic changed were made outside and within. One of these biggest changes was the beginning of an Artificial Intelligence system, a system which he asked for my help on. At the time I didn't know what I was getting into, but little by little I was told more about our project. But once they were finished something neither of us could have anticipated happened, our Chobits were mistaken for new models and sent out in a shipment of persocoms. We had to admit what we had done but... I took the blame for everything and make sure that no one knew of Genji's involvement. I managed to flee but I know they are after me, I can't go home and I can't endanger the lives of my friends and family. I needed to go somewhere that wasn't in my personal records. Genji was able to direct me to you, just before I left." She stopped, forcing back the tears the threatened to brim up in the corners of her eyes. The tea was cooled greatly so she took a generous drink.

Minoru sat back, silently frowning as he pondered the dilemma brought before him. "I see your predicament. Besides hospitality can I be of more help to your cause, I suppose you would like to locate these... Chobits." He set down his now empty cup, causing a small 'tink' as cup met dish.

"Yes, I would provide as much information as I can on them, though admittedly there is little to go on and I know far less than that. Tracking them will be no easy task, they carry a very different encryption to normal persocoms. I imagine only the database is equipped to monitor their movements." The pit of nervousness wriggled and tightened its grip.

"I'll do what I can then, I do own Genji a favor. And since a challenge is involved it seems I have incentive." He softly smiled before standing a stretching, "We'll begin the search tomorrow, I'll have a room prepared for you." He walked over to the computer and took a seat, "I have a bit more work to finish before I take my rest. Yuzuki, would you please have the maids ready a room for Miss Tokimi and show her to it?" He had already begun typing as the request was finished.

"Certainly Minoru-sama." Yuzuki contacted the maids and approached Tokimi, "Please, come with me. I'll lead the way." She was as kind as ever with a smile that matched her composed demeanor. Tokimi nodded, setting down her cup and thanking both Yuzuki and Minoru before leaving the room at the heel of the lovely com.

Once again they entered the labyrinth and after a few twists and turns, through dimly lit hallways, Tokimi was soon standing in front of the door to her new room. It was a simple wood door with a gold colored handle, beyond it lie room that matched the rest of the house in decor. The carpet was a soft, dusty blue and the walls a pale white, a small inlet lead into the room and ensured extra privacy. Inside was a simple four-post bed, the sheets were white and the comforter was colored dark blue, a wooden nightstand sat next to the bed, across the room was a small dresser with a wall mirror hung above it. The windows looked out on the backyard but it was too dark to distinguish anything particular, a second door within the room stood ajar to display a small closet where the still-damp black cloak had been hung.

"Does everything appear to be in order Miss Tokimi?" Yuzuki's soft voice asked from the doorway.

Tokimi retreated back to the door and nodded, "Yes, it's wonderful." She was undoubtedly stunned by the hospitality being provided, and to someone that they knew very little about. Grateful was an understatement to how Tokimi felt at the moment because her heart was positively swelling with gratitude.

"Is there anything else you need before you retire?"

"No, I'll be fine. Tomorrow I will worry about clothing and other essentials. Thank you, again... and please tell... Mr. Kokobunji, that I offer my thanks to him again as well."

Yuzuki smiled, "I will do that. Good night Miss Tokimi." With that she turned down the hallway and disappeared from sight.

Tokimi shut the door but didn't turn the lock, it didn't seem necessary. At that moment she felt more secure than she had in a long time and although it was nice, it scared her, the thought of letting down her guard at just the wrong moment. She went back and locked the door. With a sigh Tokimi brushed the loose strands of hair from her face and crossed over to the bed, she was just going to flop down and let sleep overcome but a remembrance shook the fantasy and she went to the closet. Retrieving the damp cloak she rifled through the folds until finding a concealed pocket, reaching in she pulled out a small something, something just the size so as to fit in her hands. Closing the closet door she walked back over to the bed and lie on her stomach, placing the something before her. It appeared as though it were a doll, a very realistic doll no taller than seven inches high and lying on its side. Its hair was the color of limes and tied up in two buns with a circular piece fastened about each, it wore a simple dress of a lighter green. But it wasn't a doll at all, it was another type of persocom, a 'laptop' or 'notebook' model. Carefully Tokimi tapped a button on the side of the right circular piece and the notebook com sat up, flickering open its eyelids to look around with yellow eyes.

"Master, have we reached our destination safely?" It asked, in a voice much deeper than normal for a notebook persocom.

"Yes Reiko, we have." Tokimi smiled but bit her lip in revere, "I have a favor to ask, run a search for any news reports happening in the past 24 hours regarding fires in Hyogo Prefecture."

"There are ten." She confirms, small lines flickering across the pupils of her eyes.

"How many with audio clips have been in Kobe in the last 12 hours?"

"Two."

"Please... Play the first clip." A nervous shake took hold of her words as they were spoken and she listened fearfully.

Reiko nodded and a foreign voice came from her mouth, "We are here in front of the Gokigen apartment complex where a fire has been raging for the past 15 minutes. Most of the residents of the building have been evacuated safely but unsure is the fate of this woman, Maehana Tokimi. It is believed that the fire originated in her apartment, so far she is not to be found anywhere. We will be updating as more information arises. End clip." Her eyes flashed and she shook her head. "Master... are you alright?"

"I'll be okay Reiko, thank you." Tokimi whimpered, wiping the flood of tears away from her eyes. She should have known it was coming, she did know it was coming, but she had hoped that by some chance her heart, mind, and gut had all been wrong. With a somber lethargy she pulled herself under the covers, set Reiko on the nightstand, and turned off the light. "Goodnight Reiko."

"Goodnight Master."