It wasn't too long before it was time for Astro and Uran to go to school, and in the same breath Ochanomizu stated that he had to leave for his board meeting as well.
Well that was one thing Tenma did not envy him for; he remembered very well all the board meetings he always had to attend while being the leader of the robotics institution and he had hated it like the pest it was. It had, quite simply, just been a waste of his time and his talents.
Tenma wasn't allowed peace and quiet for too long, though. He had only just managed to put away all the breakfast items when Doctor Yukata stepped through the door, ready with her notepad and little robot levitating next to her.
That robot may have looked little and cute but it was no laughing matter; the thing was armed with tazers and tranquilizers in case of an emergency in regards to violent patients. Not just that, it had scanners able to read heartbeats, body temperature, and it could measure the chemical proportions in your body. It was a powerful little thing.
Yukata, though, didn't hesitate to take her place on the couch with her notepad and her pen. Tenma merely stood by the window, looking out towards the park. He only had to glance a bit downwards to see a certain Detective Gumshoe standing behind a bush, yet he was only half hidden.
"Now then, Doctor Tenma, how are you enjoying your first day of freedom?" Yukata asked.
Tenma smirked with grim amusement. "I think it is rather debatable whether you could call this freedom," he glanced at the bright light that indicated a sensor in the corner of his eye.
"The surveillance will gradually lessen," Yukata replied. "All you have to do is follow the rules and relax."
Finally, Tenma turned to Yukata and regarded her with a tired expression. "I know," he sighed deeply. "Technically, the surveillance here is not any different than at prison."
Yukata nodded. "I am glad you realize that. So how has your first night been?"
"Uneventful," Tenma shrugged, repeating the answer he had given to Ochanomizu when he had asked that same question.
"Astro decided to spend the night here as well, didn't he?" Yukata asked. "How was that?"
"It was…" Tenma hesitated, then frowned. That one was not so easy to answer. He was very touched that Astro would do this for him, and he did enjoy the robot's company; his mere presence did indeed feel soothing. Though, at the same time, to receive pity from the boy he had put into the world and forced so many hardships upon was a bitter pill to swallow. And sometimes Tenma had to question if Astro was looking over him so he wouldn't feel lonely, or to make sure he didn't do something crazy. "Acceptable," he finished. "Astro is no trouble at all; he's very organized and quiet. And when I went to bed he simply shut himself down."
Not true. Astro's sensors had been active the entire night. Tenma had easily figured that out from the way certain metals within his alarm clock had vibrated in response to sensory lasers sent in his direction. But Tenma had already decided not to say anything and let Astro do what he wanted.
"It must be nice, though, to have someone waiting for you outside of prison. Not many convicts have that luxury. Most are left to their own devices in a empty house at a place they don't know anyone," Yukata pointed out. "You know a lot of people in this city don't you?"
"I am acquainted with many people. And there are even more people acquainted with me whose names and faces I don't even remember. I don't know if I would call any of them friends."
"And then of course you are quite famous; we're quite lucky there haven't been any reporters getting news of your release."
Tenma shrugged. "They'll find out sooner or later, then they'll come, they'll grow bored, and go away. The mass media aren't exactly the most loyal bunch."
Yukata looked at Tenma. "So what do you plan to do for the rest of today?"
Tenma shrugged. "Astro talked about going to the park when he comes home from school. He can act as my supervisor."
"And you intend to go?"
"It's what Astro wants." Tenma replied shortly.
"Is that the only reason why you'll go?" Yukata pressed. "Because it's what Astro wants?".
"I suppose it's as good as any reason."
"So you would do the things Astro wants you to do?"
"Astro didn't want me to die; that's why I am still alive right now," Tenma stated simply. "Astro wanted me to work with the system, and he wanted me to be released from prison. It was Astro who wanted me to move here, so here I am. It's cause and effect."
Yukata looked at Tenma, who stared right back.
"The tables have been turned," Tenma continued. "I used to regard Astro as my project, now I am his. Whatever he wants me to do, I intend to follow suit. You people are lucky my son is a person who hates violence above all else. That's the reason why you are all quite safe."
Yukata watched Tenma blankly for a moment, then frowned. "I see," she said. "You've accepted you have no control, so you've taken a complete u-turn and handed control to Astro. How irresponsible of you."
Tenma shrugged. "You people should be happy," he said. "It means the world will be safe from this terrorist." He halted, glancing over Yukata's shoulder where he could just see a slight glimmer of a mini-robot, and Tenma frowned.
Another surveillance computer, but this one did not belong to the police or the institute. He was being watched by a third party, some vigilante. Not too surprising really; there were many people out for both his life and his talents, and for many different reasons. The question was whether or not he should take that little robot seriously or not. Tenma squinted his eyes and then turned his head away.
Yukata, however, didn't seemed like she had noticed anything off as she wrote on her notepad. "Doctor Tenma," she proceeded, "you have been known to be rather obsessive compulsive, you crave order in your everyday life. In that way your taste for robots over humans does make quite a lot of sense. It is quite good you came to realize that you don't have total control over everything, but you cannot just give up control to others either." She gave him a pointed glance, "If you wish to succeed you must take control of your own life once again, and not rely so much on Astro."
"Hmm, hmm," Tenma shrugged. It was hard to say if he didn't care or simply wasn't listening.
"Doctor Tenma," Yukata snapped.
"Astro can do with me as he pleases," Tenma said. "If he one day gets tired with me and leaves, I will only consider that fair."
"Surely you are not implying Astro is the only reason you stay alive?"
"What if he is?" Tenma asked. "He's the one who said very clearly that he didn't want me to die. As I said, though, you are lucky he is such a good boy who detests any form of violence. Astro has a theory, you know."
"And what is this theory?"
"Astro theorizes that like how robot hearts evolve and grow, a human's does as well," Tenma explained. "Astro believes my heart is still evolving, so I shall see what he intends to do next."
"You really insist at looking at yourself as a specimen," Yukata exhaled deeply.
"Of course I'm a specimen," Tenma replied. "Right now I am your specimen; you have given me several diagnoses to determine how to treat this specimen of yours, and you have names for the things you are supposed to do, how to make him as normal as possible. I suppose, in a way, we are all specimens. Trapped in this big petri dish we fancy calling life."
Yukata frowned, then sternly looked at Tenma. "Can you then honestly say to me that you don't care whether you live or die?"
"I don't care," Tenma said. "I don't care what happens to me, so you can add an extra diagnose to your little journal if you want. Though since I don't actively search my own death, I am not sure suicidal is a correct diagnose at all. Although you do like your labels. It makes specimens so much easier to talk about."
Yukata frowned at Tenma, then she smirked. "Hmph," she commented. "Even when you've decided to give up control, you want to showcase that you're the one controlling the room."
"Old habits die hard I suppose."
Yukata sighed deeply. "Now then, for now your days can include things such as Astro and visits from me, but eventually you are going to be on your own. Do you have any idea what you plan to do then?"
Tenma shrugged. "I still have a substantial amount of money in the bank, so financially I should be alright on my own."
"That's an even better reason to find something to spend your time on."
"Are you suggesting I get a hobby?" Tenma raised a brow.
"For starters," Yukata replied. "Surely there must be things you enjoy doing."
Tenma shrugged. "I have enjoyed fishing before," he admitted. "But I don't think that's really an option when I'm not allowed to go any further than the park at the moment."
"It's a good start: a goal to aim for," Yukata said. "Try to write it down. Are there other things you wish to do?"
Tenma had to groan inwardly. Now Yukata was driving on autopilot – these were the things written in all kinds of psychology books about how to deal with patients. Yukata wasn't actually very sentimental, she rarely smiled and wasn't what many people would call a 'warm, pleasant person'. She was very cold and direct. Which wasn't very common for a psychiatrist, but perhaps what was needed when dealing with the criminally insane. Perhaps it was just time and many dark experiences that had made her harsh; it certainly would explain a few premature wrinkles under her eyes. Who knew what kind of psychos she had had to deal with at the prison over the years?
Tenma supposed what truly mattered was that she did her job and did it well. Perhaps she was kinder with other patients, and he was the one making her harsh. It was always so hard to tell with humans.
"I think perhaps I'll take up chess. I believe I would be rather good at it."
Yukata glanced at him. "You are not intending to use the workshop Astro made for you?"
Tenma shrugged. "I'm not sure yet," he said. "I do not, though, intend to build any robots, if that is what you're asking."
"Oh," Yukata blinked, looking mildly surprised. "I see." She made a short note in her notepad while Tenma casually observed that third party mini robot that thought it could hide itself behind her.
The instrument hadn't made any moves. It seemed like all it wanted to do for now was to observe, probably sending the signal to somewhere else, too. The robot was too small to be of any physical threat. If he wanted, Tenma could merely pluck it out of the air and crush it in his hand right here and now. Or, even better, he could reprogram it, track its signal back to the source… there were many possibilities.
When would people learn better than to try to use robots to spy on one of the best robot engineers who had ever lived?
Well, he would play innocent for now. It was what Astro would want: no trouble. And therefore he responded kindly to Yukata's next question.
This Chapter has been beta ready by MugetsuFoxPipe