A/N: Aigis would be a perfect maid. And Ken would be lonely when everyone else is at Kyoto! Yes, he's supposed to be at school too. It's Thursday in the game. Let's pretend he got a few days off to himself...
The bed was cold. It's the middle of November, after all.
Ken sat up in his bed. His room was still quite dark. It had always been. Rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains. It should be around seven in the morning. His hamster was running on the wheel. The goldfish was still swimming. A robotic voice… There was a sound of an answering machine in his room. But shouldn't the voice be there for the person who called him and not, well, for him?
Ken looked around. He saw a blonde android sitting next to his bed and holding his phone. Of course.
Aigis noticed him and tilted her head to the phone. "Junpei-san, Ken is now awake. Leader, please be well and let your teammates stay by your side. Do not interact with Ryoji-san under any circumstance." Aigis handed the phone to Ken.
Ken put the phone to his ear and ignored the fact that Aigis answered the phone for him. "Good morning. Amada Ken speaking."
"Wow, so formal. Guess that's Amada Ken for you, huh?"
"That sentence only works with Mitsuru-san, I think." Ken never expected Junpei to be the one calling him. "How is everything there?"
"Oh, we're out of the hotel. We shared the room with Ryoji but don't tell Aigis, okay? Today's Itinerary: Walking tour of Kyoto! Mitsuru-senpai seems better after yesterday. Wonder what happened… Hope she's okay now." Junpei sighed. "Anyway, the seniors haven't noticed. How's living with Koromaru and Ai-chan?"
"It's not bad." Ken smiled. "Koromaru is never a trouble. I notice that I can predict what Koromaru is thinking lately, and Aigis, she does house chores and helps with homework. She wakes me up and knows the TV schedule so I don't miss the Fe-" He coughed into his fist. "... She's helpful. I'm glad she is here with me. Thanks."
"Tell her to clean my room too." Junpei chuckled.
Yukari's voice cut in. "Sorry if it's rude, Ken-kun, but you woke up late today. Sorry we woke you up! We thought you were already awake. I mean, you usually get up earlier, so... Are you fine? Did you get enough sleep?"
"Uh…" Ken grumbled. "There is a lot of work lately."
"Grade school kids shouldn't be doing work at home!" Junpei shouted.
"That's just you, Stupei."
"Do the other two mess with your sleep time? Like Koromaru running along the hallway and you can't focus? Or Ai-chan shooting a floating leaf with her finger guns?"
"No, no. Not at all. Koromaru and Aigis are well behaved. It's the opposite, actually. It was too quiet, so I couldn't get much sleep," Ken said. "I'm the only human in the whole dorm. I can't remember the last time things were so quiet around here, a lot quieter without you around."
"Hey!"
"I was not being specific, Junpei-san."
"It still hurts!" Junpei said.
"You need more rest, Ken-kun." Yukari said. "You're still a grade schooler, not a college student. You act like an adult sometimes…"
Junpei added. "Take care of yourself. Don't let Koromaru take care of you. And don't be too serious with work!"
"Thanks, Junpei-san. Yukari-san. I'll consider it."
Ken hung up and saw Aigis looking at him.
"You do not have 'work'," Aigis said. "Last night, you stayed up watching late-night shows and Fea-"
"I'm taking a shower!" Ken grabbed his towel and ran out the door.
He arrived at the male bathroom on the fourth floor and was about to enter when he heard a sound of metal touching the floor, the kind you would hear if your android didn't have feet.
"That was quick…" Ken said in awe as a pile of clothes was handed to him. His clothes already prepared, neatly folded. "Thanks, Aigis."
Ken took the shower. Aigis had prepared him his shirt, the orange jacket, shorts and other necessary things. The fact that she knew what he wanted to wear was slightly creepy. He decided to appreciate her effort instead. Of course he wore whatever was in his own closet. Aigis did well at choosing the matching clothes though.
Ken went down the stairs. Aigis was already cooking. Huh, Ken wondered how good she was at that. They ate outside yesterday and ate leftovers so Ken hadn't seen her cooked yet. Ken sat at the kitchen table and watched her cooking. A few minutes later, Aigis placed the dish in front of him.
It's omelette.
It's as good as the Leader's cooking and Shinjiro's. Shinjiro was a good cook. He proved himself at the party. And Leader cooked it for him one day. Ken once saw Yukari making omelette for herself. So Aigis could cook too! Ken would make sure to ask her to cook next time. She wouldn't mind, he hoped.
"The rest of SEES will come back tomorrow." Aigis was in her school uniform now. "Do you miss them?"
"No. Why would I be?"
"I see." Aigis nodded. "You are not an emotional person."
"Huh." Ken shrugged. "It doesn't make sense to miss them. It's just a few days."
Aigis went grocery shopping, so that's why she dressed. She would walk around and explore the town on her own, so she should come back a few hours later. Maybe she would visit the lolita girl in the hospital, Chidori? Junpei might have personally requested that.
Ken turned on the TV. He wasn't interested in news or any shows, so he went into Junpei's room. A quick search and he found a detective movie. That could work.
Ken came back to the lounge and smelled butter. He checked the kitchen and found a popcorn bag in the microwave. Aigis must have did that. How thoughtful. It's as if she knew what he wanted to do.
He inserted the disk, sat on the couch and grabbed the popcorn. Koromaru jumped onto the couch. Mitsuru wasn't here so Ken allowed that. The movies wasn't bad. Some surprises here and there but Ken spotted a red herring a mile away and the twist was predictable it shouldn't even be called a twist. Ken solved the case way before the protagonist. He held some pride in that. Ken went back to Junpei's room to pick some crime and other mysterious films for the afternoon.
A quick noodle cup for lunch. He wasn't too hungry. Breakfast was only a few hours ago. He must have woken up later than he had thought.
Ken settled on the couch once more and continued his deduction game. Motorcycle chase scenes were fun. Ken's guess was wrong on who was the killer's client, but he knew he was close enough.
"I was correct."
"Ahh!" Ken almost dropped his bowl of popcorn. When did she come back? Maybe he was too distracted with the movie. "Welcome back."
"That man hired the killer." Aigis walked to the front of the couch and sat next to him. "I saw something in his way of acting. He knew beforehand his role was the antagonist."
"That's… cool."
"Reading body language is one of my features." Says the robot who could translate dog talk. Take that statement with a truckload of salt.
Ken looked at the android for a moment before handing her the bowl of popcorn. She could eat now, Ikutsuki's new upgrade so she could blend in with students at school. "Do you want some?"
Aigis grabbed a piece and placed it in her mouth. She slowly chewed it. "Corn. Sugar. Butter."
"You don't need to analyze it…"
They sat on the sofa as the rest of the movie passed. Aigis picked up a tennis ball from under the table and threw the ball toward the kitchen. Koromaru jumped, catching the ball with his mouth.
"Let's take a walk." That was Ken's another way of saying 'let's walk Koromaru'. He changed the wording and it sounded better, nicer, so he stuck with it. Koromaru returned the ball and barked.
"Koromaru was about to suggest the same thing." Aigis nodded. "Let's go."
The walk to Naganaki Shrine took them around ten minutes. Koromaru ran up the steps to the shrine and ran in circles. Aigis climbed some trees. A few minutes walk and Ken found himself in front of his mother's grave. He prayed, then they left.
Aigis gave him a few tricks on how to read Koromaru's language on the way back. The way the ears moved or the tension around the mouth. Ken was being confirmed of his own observation after being with Koromaru for almost three days. Ken guessed what Koromaru was thinking. Aigis confirmed them. It was a useful skill he had learned.
They made it back to the dorm. Aigis made omelette for him again. She must have noticed that he liked it. It was really good. Who wouldn't like omelette?
Aigis took the empty plate from him. And soon she handed him a plate of pancakes and a cup of tea. That was a lot of honey and whip cream. No, he's not complaining. Ken sliced the pancake and took a bite. It was both soft and crispy in his mouth. Warm and sweet. He definitely would ask her for more pancake in the future.
Ken picked up the cup and sipped the green tea. A warm drink was much appreciated in winter. It would go well with namayatsuhashi from Kyoto. "I thought you would make coffee."
Aigis was washing the dish. She looked at him and tilted her head. "You do not like coffee."
"... Yeah. I don't like coffee." There's no hiding anything from you, huh? Ken was glad she didn't question further.
As Ken enjoyed his tea, he remembered Aigis grinding the coffee beans one day. She was making coffee for someone in the dorm, most likely Yukari, could be Mitsuru. It was a rainy day. A cold day. She had always been playing maid, taking care of people.
After shower, Ken entered his room and fed his hamster and goldfish. He brushed the dust off his action figures. There was a neat row of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R DVDs on the shelf. Ken didn't want to watch again today, so he sat on his desk, grabbed a book, and started reading.
And when he finished that book, he grabbed another one.
And another.
It was dark, so he turned on the lamp.
Yet another book.
Red Hawk and Black Condor...
His hands felt cold.
Turning the pages…
"You should sleep."
"Ah!" Ken almost fell off his chair. He wasn't used to Aigis sneaking up on him. "Please knock before you enter! How did you, anyway?"
"I picked the lock in nine seconds."
"That's fast."
"A new record." Aigis was stealthy when she needed to be, already standing at his desk without him realizing it. "I will knock before picking the lock next time." She leaned forward. "What are you reading?"
Ken showed her the front cover: Introduction to Law. There were many law books scattered across his room. He was sure Aigis noticed those already. She was merely striking a conversation.
"Do you like law?" She asked.
"I want to be the best prosecutor there is."
Aigis tilted her head. "There are many career which deal with the law system."
"Like the judge or detectives or polices? I get it, but I'm still aiming for the prosecutor."
"Why do you want to be a prosecutor?"
"To send criminals behind bars, of course." Ken closed the book. "I wouldn't want them to forge evident and get away with murder… I would make sure the truth are not lost and that criminals get the punishment they deserve. That would be… wonderful. A dream."
"I see," Aigis said. "It is an interesting choice of career."
"I guess." Ken liked talking to Aigis. One main reason was that she never judged. She didn't give him a pitying look or the one that said it's impossible or a childish dream.
"It suits with your personality. I could imagine you being a lawyer." Aigis rubbed her chin. "I could also imagine you in a bat costume, a vigilante in the night… You should sleep."
"Nngh…" Ken blinked. "No, not yet. Not-" He forced back a yawn so it wouldn't be too obvious. "Not really sleepy."
"Ken." Aigis glared at him. Not exactly a glare but he knew when she had that knowing look. "I know you are sleepy and need some rest. Do you remember what Junpei and Yukari told you?"
She's not supposed to know that, unless she tapped his phone or something… Sounds likely, actually. Ken put the book away and looked at the bed. Okay, he was sleepy, but it was too cold to feel sleepy.
When Aigis touched his hand, he realized her hand was warm. "It will be warmer in bed, under the blanket. It should be comfortable and help you sleep."
Ken snickered. "I'm not frozen in a block of ice, don't worry. It's not that cold yet. It's only November."
Aigis fixed her eyes on him. "You had a nightmare last night."
Ken widened his eyes. "How did…"
"I was under your bed last night and kept track of your breathing patterns," Aigis said. "You suddenly woke up at three in the morning with rapid heartbeats and shallow breaths."
"Uhh…" Ken was not sure if he should feel exposed or angry.
"You could treat me as a teddy bear." Aigis opened her arms. "Please let me accompany you in bed."
"Oh. Alright. That suddenly makes it not awkward." Ken found himself forgiving Aigis every time. That puppy eye, robot eye, innocent girl trapped in an android body!
"Should I stay under your bed again?"
"There's no reason we can't share the bed. There's enough room…" Ken sighed. That was hardly the point, but he let it go. "I don't mind. Just… do what you want."
"Gladly." Aigis hopped on his bed and got under the covers. "I hope my body heat can warm you up."
Ken attempted to act nonchalant and casual laying next to an android girl. She's agender, but if she was modeled after a woman, then she's a woman! She looked like one. She acted like one. Even if she was a ken doll down there, she's a woman.
"Goodnight," Aigis said.
Ken stared up at the dark ceiling and kept the focus there. He kept staring. Intensely.
There were a few seconds of silence before Aigis spoke up. "Ah, Ken?"
"Yes?"
"May I ask what your nightmare was about?"
Ken blinked. "What…"
"Letting it out, they say. It could be beneficial." Aigis paused. "You can also hug me. It should have the same desired effect."
Ken didn't answer right away. Aigis was patiently waiting, as always. Of course she didn't know what he dreamt about or if he wanted to share. But Ken knew it wouldn't be so bad if it's her.
So he told her about that nightmare. Of having dinner in a cozy place. It rumbled. Ceiling cracked and everything collapsed. Smoke. Debris. A broken coffin. A howl.
"I'm sure he suffered as much as I," Ken said. "Live, huh? He sure made it sounds easy."
Taking it away was as hard. Two years to plan, and even Ken couldn't do it. He wasn't ready to take a life or to see one taken right in front of him. It happened anyway whether he liked it or not.
This is how it should be… Ken knew he wasn't that brave.
"I read his body language that day," Aigis spoke up. "He trusted you."
Ken let that sentence hung in the air. He didn't want to disturb the kind words. There's something about it being spelt out, the truth, a fact, not supposed to be a reassuring thing to say. Still, the fact that Shinjiro trusted him to live, that he could live… It meant a lot.
"It's nice to hear that," Ken murmured.
Trusting Aigis wasn't bad after all. It was a comfortable silence. Ken yawned. It was really late, huh...
"Hey, Aigis?"
"Yes?"
"I trust that you can live too, someday."
Aigis looked at the ceiling. She didn't answer. No 'I am a machine I do not live', but a silence. Ken considered that to be the best outcome.
Aside from Koromaru, Ken hadn't shared a bed with anyone for two years, but for tonight, his bed was warm.