A/N: Whooo hooo! Finally! A new chapter, eh?! (For those of you who just started, some people have been waiting for this for a LONG time. XD) Whatcha think? I know this is going a little fast, but I've re-vamped the plot line, so... :shrug: I think it'll be fine.
Chapter Two: Owner's Manual, Please!
All people are different. What makes one person happy… may make another sad. There's not just one type of happiness.
With a dry chuckle, Ohjiro took off his Deus apparatus, finally resigning himself that he wasn't going to get anything done at all.
"For future reference," he said, gently patting the life-sized Wizard on the shoulder. "When I'm practicing, I need to concentrate."
"Practicing what?" Wizard mumbled, slightly disappointed in his owner's reaction. Really, he just wanted to know who the little moving doll was.
"Angelic Layer."
Wizard frowned, taking in the information. Ohjiro could see the persocom's eyes glaze over and he could tell the life-sized humanoid computer was trying to remember if he had memory files on the game.
"Ohjiro plays Angelic Layer. He is called the 'Prince of the Layer', he fights with lots of skill… he uses a field cast of kinetic energy to stop opponents. His angel's name is Wizard," the boy stated softly, his eyes slowly coming back to normal. "Which is my name as well…"
Ohjiro blinked—he hadn't told Wizard about all of that. "Uh, yeah." He just remembered telling the Persocom that he played a really popular game called Angelic Layer. "Where did you learn all that?"
Wizard blinked. "I watched a TV program on it while you were at school," he said guiltily. "Should I not have?"
"No, not, it's fine. I was just surprised," the teen admitted, impressed at how fast the Persocom picked up on things.
"The television also says that surprise is good!" Wizard exclaimed, pointing to the small television in the corner of Ohjiro's room. He grinned happily. "Does it make Ohjiro happy that I surprised him?" Gaining only a blink for a reply, the blue-haired boy tipped his head and sat on the floor next to Ohjiro's chair. "Why is the Angel named after me?"
"Well…" The Deus chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the Persocom's hair. "Actually, you're named after him." He leaned forward and picked the tiny Wizard up from the layer, the Angel sitting comfortably in the crook of his arm. "See how much you look alike?"
Wizard made a face. "We don't. He is much smaller than me," he said stubbornly.
Ohjiro laughed, recognizing the face that Wizard was making; in the three months that he had… er… owned?... the Persocom, he had picked up the bluenett's subtle reactions to thing that he didn't like. Like Ohjiro going to school, or going to long tournaments. Ohjiro just figured that Wizard didn't like being lonely, so he often let the boy play with his older brother's daughters. Even then, Wizard was distant when Ohjiro came to pick him up, and often either one of the girls— it was mostly Freya— and Chitose would comment on how lonely the boy seemed. It rather confused the Deus, but…
"Don't worry, Wizard, I love Angelic Layer, but I'd not abandon you," Ohjiro laughed, patting the blue-eyed teen's shoulder.
Wizard averted his eyes, his small mouth setting into a sad pout. "I am not afraid of that… But… I do not like the fact that there was another before me," he whispered defiantly.
Ohjiro saw Wizard's mouth move, but didn't quite catch what his companion was saying. "What?"
"It's nothing, Ohjiro," Wizard whispered, standing. He walked out of the room, and the teen got the distinct feeling that the Persocom was sulking.
With a sigh, the Layer champion picked up his cell phone and called his brother.
"So if it's as you say… Then Wizard was reacting negatively upon finding out about his counterpart?!" Icchan exclaimed, leaning across the table.
Ohjiro set down his cup, turning his eyes to watch Wizard instructing two blonde girls on how to play chess. He had one hand placed cockily on his hip, and he was pointing to the board as he explained to a confused Elda how the game worked. His eyes darted to Ohjiro for a moment, then his face seemed to melt into a sad smile for a second. Then he seemed to remember that he was being stubborn today, and he turned up his nose at his owner.
The teen laughed at Wizard's antics. "Yeah, I guess you'd call it negative. But, brother, he looked like he was about to cry," he mumbled.
Ichiro pushed up his glasses, grinning. "It's just normal, no worries!" he cried proudly.
"What's going on with him?"
"Something you should figure out on your own," Icchan replied flippantly, waving Ohjiro off. "So go home and make up with Wizard."
Ohjiro clapped his hand to his forehead; his brother could be such a cryptic pain sometimes!
Ohjiro stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his hair absently. He walked into the living room, expecting to see Wizard watching the television, but found the room empty—in fact, Wizard seemed to be nowhere in the apartment.
The Deus pushed open the door to his room, and to his relief found Wizard sitting on his bed. "Wizard, why aren't you watching—"
"I've already seen tonight's episode," the blue-haired Persocom whispered, staring intently down at his hands.
Ohjiro frowned, his eyes traveling to what Wizard was holding.
In his thin hands, he held the smaller version of himself, the blue-clad angel resting lightly in the cup of his interlaced fingers.
Ohjiro stepped forward, sitting next to the Persocom. "What's wrong? You've been acting oddly…"
"I feel like breaking," Wizard whispered. Ohjiro's eyes widened, and he leaned forward, staring at Wizard's face intently—he didn't look broken! "I feel like shutting down and never turning back on…"
"Don't talk like that," Ohjiro said, panicked. "If you do, I can't fix you, and-and then I don't know what would happen!"
"But you have this Wizard, so why fix me?" the blunette mumbled, turning sad eye up to Ohjiro's horrified face.
"What? No, no, you've seemed to have gotten the completely wrong idea!" Ohjiro removed his Angel from Wizard's hands, setting it on his bedside table. "You two—You and that Wizard—are different! You're different from him. You were based around the same idea, but…"
"So he was not what you wanted? … If I don't turn out the way you want, will you make another me?"
Ohjiro grimaced; this boy was just not getting it! He raised himself on his knees, settled himself in front of Wizard, and placed both hands firmly on the boy's shoulders. "You are not him. You two just look alike. He thinks like me; you think like you," he said simply. "And if you shut down, I don't know what I'd do, because then I'd be lonely again."
"Is… lonely feeling like your heart has completely died?"
"Well, I guess you could put it like that…"
"I'm lonely," Wizard whispered, staring up at Ohjiro.
The teen had no clue what to do. His Persocom was lonely?! Oh, god, he needed a manual for this thing or something! His brother's cryptic clues were just not good enough.
Suddenly, Ohjiro was brought out of his thoughts by a pair of soft lips pressed against his own; Wizard was kissing him.
Oh yeah, definitely needed an owners manual!
