A/N: I wanted to try out another anime series and then it hit me one day when I was watching the last few episodes of Chobits. Chii and Hideki Motosuwa do make a very interesting couple to write. (And I loved simulating the way Chii talks…) This takes place within the last few episodes of the series.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Chii, Hideki or any of the characters of CLAMP specifically from the Chobits anime series. Furthermore, I am not a native Nihongo speaker so my grammar and spelling will, undeniably, be flawed. (Not that my English is any better… )
Summary: Delve into the thoughts of a young persocom owner, Hideki Motosuwa, and see what it is like to be a human in a world where even emotions could be simulated by machines.
Title: The Mechanical Heart
By: Kairi21
Persocoms. A few generations back, a person could only dream of human-like machines. Now, anyone could walk down the street with their computers walking right next to them. Persocoms were computers with human-like features. It seemed like they were capable of anything. They could connect to the World Wide Web, they could function as telephones or cellular phones, they could do anything a computer could do and more! They were capable of handling virtually any task. They were perfect. They could even perform some house chores. However, no matter how advanced their operating systems and external hardware were, no matter how many upgrades and fine tunings they went through, they were still unable to do one thing.
Tragically, no matter how powerful the task-handling skills of a persocom were, they could never be human. Well, this was so in the opinion of most people but Hideki wasn't most people. Sure, he was a little…eccentric, but he was still capable of logical reasoning. He always noticed the uniqueness of his persocom.
Flashback to a few days earlier
"Hideki, Okaeri nasai!" Hideki was instantly greeted the moment he stepped into his room in the complex handled by Chitose Hibiya, the nice land lady.
In a flash of gold and pink, a pair of soft arms wrapped around the teen's neck and a pleasant weight clung to him. Irresistible doe eyes bore into his, he was looking down at the cutest face he had ever laid his eyes on.
It's true, all female persocoms were built to be flawlessly beautiful but, they were always going to be seen as artificial. Despite that, he fell for her… or should he refer to her as an 'it'?
Were persocoms to be considered as living beings or just mere tools? What requirements are there for one to be a living being? Was it really that bad for a human to fall in love with something man made? The teenager had enough things to worry about and there he was, contemplating what it meant to be human.
"Chii? What is wrong? Hideki has no energy?" She instantly noticed Hideki's lack of response to her greetings.
Were other persocoms like this? Did their eyes glaze over with worry? Could they sense their master's pain? No- Chii was different. She was different from other persocoms.
"No, Chii, I'm fine." Hideki said as he gently laid his hand on her head.
"Chii!"
She always liked it when he would praise her.
/Do persocoms feel happiness/ He wondered.
End flashback
Maybe not normal persocoms. No- not other persocoms. But Chii was different. His Chii was different. Sumomo could laugh and smile, but only because she was programmed to do so. Only because that's what her program told her to do.
Chii was different. Hideki knew that the moment he switched her on. The moment they first locked gazes.
Flashback
"Chii?" He asked.
"Why are you smiling?"
The angel looked at him, bewildered, as if it was the most natural thing to do.
"Hideki told Chii that we smile when we are happy. Chii is happy when Hideki is happy. Hideki is happy now so Chii is smiling." She answered in her childish way.
End flashback
Did persocoms smile? Did they feel happiness? It seemed inconceivable that a mechanical heart could feel. Then again, his Chii was unique. Even that kid, Minoru, said so. She was moving, talking…even though she lacked an OS.
The Operating System, the factor that determined how a persocom would act. The factor that determined what a persocom knew. The most important component of a persocom.
When his angel was switched on, she could say nothing but 'Chii'. He worried that she was broken, but then she understood what he said. Soon, she began to imitate his actions, kind of like the way a baby would imitate it's parents. She began to 'learn' things.
Machines do not 'learn'. They are given input. Data is programmed into their system.
Persocoms…persocoms weren't human. They couldn't be human despite the fact that they were perfect. This was so because humans weren't perfect. The imperfections are what make us human.
Chii wasn't perfect. He didn't care what others said. His Chii was human, maybe not physically, but human just as he was human. She could feel. She could feel happiness, pain, disappointment…love.
It didn't make a difference. Happiness; true happiness is being with the one you love. It hurts when they aren't happy and there is nothing we could do about it so we tend to run away… run away from the pain.
However…
It hurts more to be away from that person. The 'person only for me'…
"Hideki, Chii is in love with Hideki. Is…is Hideki in love with Chii?" His angel stood on her toes and cupped his face in her little hands.
"Chii…I love you too." He answered without hesitation. This time, he was sure.
Flashback
"…but then I started to wonder if it mattered that her husband chose a persocom over her. I mean, would it have made a difference if he went with another woman? Would the pain be any less?" Shinbo's words during their conversation about Mrs.Shimizu and her husband echoed in Hideki's mind.
End flashback
Persocom or human…
Machine or not…
…He loved her and she loved him.
Flashback
"My husband wanted to create a being that could love and be loved. Persocoms have the right to be happy too, it's just fair…" Ms. Hibiya said when she was telling him all about Eruda and Freya.
End flashback
It didn't matter that everything they had with each other could be erased, deleted in an instant…
Because HE would still remember. Chii was Chii and he loved her for who she was. He loved her for the things she can do…
…and for the things she cannot do.
Because- because in this situation, it mattered not if the heart was made of blood and tissue or a network of wires and electronic signals…
He loved her, and she loved him… and they were both happy. That's all there was to it.
-Owari-
A/N: Well? Redundant? Too dramatic? Hard to understand? Too many flashbacks? Please do leave a review, it would help to improve my poor writing skills.