Chapter Two

Hideki slowly opened the door to his apartment, announcing his return. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable hug...

He blinked, glancing around the room. Chii sat at the table, lifting her eyes. "Welcome home," she said with a smile. Hideki, looking concerned, stepped across the small room towards her and sat down. A steaming plate of beef stew sat before him, and despite his desire to dig right in, he moved to find out what was missing.

"Are you alright, Chi?" he asked with concern. Chi looked at him, and shook her head.

"Chi is fine," she replied, blinking her deep brown eyes. Hideki, still looking unnerved, decided to leave it at that and quickly went to the task of filling his empty stomach.

After Chi had collected the plate and washed it, she sat back down at the table and continued reading a book that the landlady had given her. Hideki sighed, taking out his books, ready to begin again studying for his next college entrance exam. Prep school was ending in a few weeks, and finals were coming up. Despite the pressure, Hideki had felt strangely calm, and was taking it one step at a time. But the silence had begun to make him uneasy, and he decided to address it.

Chi was staring intently at the book, flipping the page with what looked like eagerness. Hideki watched with interest as her eyebrows rose, and then dropped again as she scanned the words. Setting his books on the table, Hideki slowly began to inch towards her in such a fashion that she had no idea what he was doing.

Suddenly, he grabbed her around the waist. "Chi!" she cried in surprise. Hideki wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her into his lap. He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply. Chi quickly relaxed, letting her arms drop so that her hands were over his.

"Is something the matter, Hideki?" she asked quietly, not objecting to his tight hold on her. Hideki shook his head and replied, "No, Chi. Just the opposite." He lightly brushed his lips on her neck, feeling his face warm. Chi was so special... just her close proximity to him made his temperature rise.

"I love you so much, Chi," he said quietly, kissing her neck again. Chi let out a sigh of contentment, twining her fingers with his. She had become much more experienced over time, but each new advancement that he made caused her to learn more and more about him and what she should do.

She thought back to the book that Miss Hibiya had given to her. It was a romance tale, and had been teaching her a lot about humans and their rituals when it came to love and relationships. She was surprised at, compared to her readings, how tame Hideki had been to her. They were in the same house, slept in the same bed, lived like a married couple, but he had only kissed her once or twice. Every time had been a disaster due to Chi's inexperience.

But now, it was time for her to show just how deep her feelings ran.

Chi turned around suddenly, surprising Hideki in his ministrations. She reached up, putting her hands to either side of his face. "Chi loves Hideki," she said, closing her eyes and kissing him lightly on the lips. Too shocked to respond, Hideki remained wide-eyed until he comprehended just what was happening to him; then he lightly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her middle.

They pulled away, just sitting a moment. Hideki lightly brushed a hair from her eyes, and Chi let out a tiny giggle. "What do you say we turn in early?" he asked. Chi nodded with a smile, and they quickly put away their books and got out the futon. Hideki stripped down to his boxers, crawling under the blankets as Chi finished dressing into her overlarge t-shirt, which substituted for a night gown. He held up the blanket, allowing her to climb in beside him. With that, he flipped off the light, and the two curled up for the night.

***

"Have a good day," Hideki said, patting Chi on the head as he left Chiroru. He smiled as he heard Manager Ueda's enthusiastic welcome, and laughed as the persocom happily went to change her outfit.

Now it was time to ponder. Why had she been so forward? He had never known Chi to do nothing but respond, and even times that he made a move were rare.

"Only the person for me can touch me there. No one else can enter." Hideki's eyes widened as Chi took his hand in hers, and put it to the spot between her legs. His mind was a whirl; what was happening? What was wrong with Chi?

"No one else..."

Hideki looked down at his hand, furrowing his brow. What did she mean? He would never turn her off... Was it an intimate place for a persocom, just like for a human? His curiosity getting the better of him, Hideki let his mind wander into other, more personal questions.

Nevertheless, he looked forward to that evening. If things worked out well, he might get more answers.