GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Ghost in the Machine is a series of a short stories pertaining to Ghost in the Shell. Each story is influenced by The Police's album "The Ghost in the Machine". I hope you enjoy :)

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
But my silent fears have gripped me
Long before I reach the phone
Long before my tongue has tripped me
Must I always be alone?

Batou x Motoko, Ishikawa; Stand Alone Complex

The first two weeks were the hardest.

He didn't realize how difficult it was to dial a simple seven digit number. Not to say he couldn't simply communicate with her via the net or through their personal link, but (call him old fashioned) this was a moment that begged for the telephone.

They were impractical, bulky, and useless. Sometimes Batou wondered if the only reason why people still held on to such outdated devices was to maintain a link with the past. For the most part, it was a pointless link. Especially if the phone was a touchtoned thing, black and wired into the wall.

Frowning, he always picked up the receiver and punched in the first four numbers before his nerves got the best of him and he turned it off.

"So... are you going to tell me what it is about her that you like so much?"

The voice was a breath away from mirth, inclined more into a tone of humor. Ishikawa trotted into the flat with a pair of plaid sleeping bottoms, the pale flesh of his soft belly and chest visible in his lazy state. In his hand was an unopen beer, of which he offered to the larger man.

Snorting, Batou took the chilled alcohol into his hands and firmly twisted off the metal cap. "Can't say." Actually, he could say, but he didn't like to vocally admit his feelings. He had already listed lines upon lines of what attracted him to the Major. She was brilliant, a hardass, no nonsense, serious, but at the same time expressed a softer side. Those rare moments were worth all the amazon tactics she tagged to her persona. Batou saw a side of that in the war, and he wanted to see more of it.

Ishikawa sniffed, rubbing his beard between his thumb and index finger before settling on the couch beside his roomate. "First two weeks away from the military, and you already want to go back."

"Not really..." Batou murmured into the mouth of his beer before taking a swig. He hated the taste, really. The liquid was bitter and left an awful flavor in his mouth, but the artificial sensations produced by his prosthetic taste organs grounded him and made him feel more... "I felt human out there."

At that, Ishikawa was quiet. Tapping a finger into the bridge between his knuckles, eyes searching the cluttered ground. "... Does she make you feel more human?"

Batou offered silence in reply, lips closed around the cool glass of his beer as his ears rung with Ishikawa's sigh.

"Are you going to sit there all day and mope or are you going to get your ass up and call her?" His friend started, head nudging towards the phone, "You've got nothing to lose, except maybe your pride."

"Fine." Batou growled, slamming the drink onto the table and forcing himself to trot right back to that damned black telephoned sealed against the wall. He could feel his nerves prick at the back of his neck as he collected the receiver, thick finger picking at the porcelain touchtone numbers. Five thousand moments swept him away as the phone purred. Batou recalled the smell of the jungle as he removed his coat to cover the Major, wounded and drained from combat. Or sharing calorie mates under the rain while reminding her of crude stories from home. He didn't have to do a damn thing to impress her, and rarely acted out of character. When around her, he managed to reconnect with that part of himself he thought he lost under years of physical alterations. It was, for the most part, a comfort.

"...Hello?"

Batou was taken back by the sound of a high-pitched female voice. If he had eyes, he'd blink. Instead, he raised the ridge of his brow high and mighty as his voice came through the receiver. "... Yes, is this Motoko Kusanagi's residence?"

"...Yes... One moment..." There was the sound of a little shuffling, and Batou strained to hear the quiet noises in the background.
"Who is it?" The major asked.
"Some guy. Hey, you aren't turning straight on me are you...?"

Batou practically gagged on his own tongue, the nerves replaced with something a bit more crazed. Male instincts honed by thousands of years of society and culture that told Batou he should be positively excited about the object of his affections being Lesbian were battling for dominance against his common sense. He stared at Ishikawa who, for the most part, looked fairly entertained despite being blind to the conversation on the other line.

"A man? Hnn... Tell him to call later. Get back in bed, Ang. We aren't done yet."

There was high pitch giggling followed by the shuffling of a phone as the strange woman squeeked into the receiver, "Sorry, Motoko's not here. Uhmm... Call back later." "Wai-" "Ok?" "Just a minute no-" "Bye!" "What th..."

The sound of cut reception buzzed in Batou's right ear. He glared at Ishikawa before words managed to take form, "... You knew."

"Uh huh."
"How long?"
"Wasn't it obvious the day you met her?"

"..." All those conversations about days back at home. Sitting on boulders laughing about specific actresses, sharing constructive criticism on what makes a woman ideal physically, agreeing that female android sex objects were a disgusting mark on society, the open comments on bodily functions, and the femme fatale endeavors... "... Not really."

Ishikawa sighed, rubbing his temple, "Listen, just... stop there and don't. Don't chase her, Batou. You'll only get hurt."

Mind you, at that moment he would've loved to just take the advice of his friend and walk away a happy bachelor without a mind for a specific woman. And he was just about to agree when...

You know, calling is such a terrible thing, Batou. Phones are so outdated.

Major?
And if you are so adament about using phones, then at least choose to use them at a decent time. Not at 3AM in the morning.
Alright...
Batou?
Yeah?
Get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow.
... Right.

"Batou are you listening to me?" Ishikawa grunted, raising a bushy brow above his eye, face plastered with curiousity.

Hey Major?
What?
Don't disturb the neighbo-

Before Batou could formulate the last sentence, he could feel the back of his head buzz as a shock was sent via the network, traced from the Major's location. All he could do was smile dumbly as his discouraged roomate rolled his eyes and flopped back on the couch, the smell of smoke whisping the air, "... You are hopeless."