◊◊ Chapter 11 – A rage like no other ◊◊
In the previous chapter, Hideki and Chii were prepared to face with Soulithe. Hideki deep down inside feared having to confront Soulithe but he had to. Shinbo brought Chitose, Takashi, and Minoru along to help comfort Hideki before Soulithe showed up. Minoru explained about Soulithe and the possible reasons for him wanting Chii so much. He gave Hideki new information regarding Soulithe that he should remember. The hour came and Soulithe appeared ready for Hideki's decision. Hideki resisted and a battle took place involving Chii. Chii stopped the battle by overpowering Soulithe. He may have disappeared but he said he'd return…
------------------------------------------------------------
Hideki and Chii went to the bookstore that Hideki always went to for his study material. Hideki tried hard to get rid of the events that happened today so he can focus on school work. Chii was looking at books in the Manga section and she was skimming through them to pick which one to read. Hideki found books related to math since those were his classes tomorrow. He picked one that had a bunch of tutorials in them and proceeded to find Chii. "Ah Chii, I found what I need are you ready?" Hideki asked.
Chii was reading a romance manga that she picked up earlier. She looked at Hideki and said "Chii?" Hideki looked at the book and saw it was about an angel and a human who fell in love. Chii looked interested in the book so he thought about how much money he had. "Do you want this book Chii?" Hideki asked. Chii smiled wide after Hideki asked her about the book. "Ok I'll get this for you" Hideki said with a smile. "Chii!" she said while giving Hideki a big hug.
Hideki and Chii went up front to pay for the books they brought. While Hideki was reaching for his wallet, he accidentally jerked his elbow behind him and landed on something soft. Hideki turned around and saw that his elbow was in between a girl's breasts. He then looked at this girl's face and saw that it was Yumi who had smile on with her eyes closed. "Gahhhhh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you behind me!" Hideki yelled while trying to explain himself. "It's ok Hideki, I know you didn't mean to…or did you?" Yumi replied with a tease. "No I was trying to get my wallet…" Hideki said while getting his wallet out of his pocket.
"So what are you up to?" Yumi asked. "Getting ready for classes tomorrow since the heat has calmed down some. Chii is here with me as well." Hideki replied. "Ahh so she is. How are you two doing?" Yumi asked. "We are doing well. We got back from Osaka so we could avoid the heat. I stayed at a friend's house in Osaka until then." Hideki answered. "I see, well its good you got out when you did. Well I hope to see you soon then." Yumi said. "Yes, talk to you later." Hideki answered.
Hideki and Chii left the bookstore and Hideki looked back at Yumi who was now at the counter. Hrmm, she's still so big. High school students nowadays... Hideki went off thinking about Yumi's breasts. "Ah…anyway, let's get going Chii" Hideki said to get himself out of his perverted thinking. Hideki and Chii walked back home so Hideki could do his studies. Chii was reading the manga she wanted while they were walking.
"How is that book Chii?" Hideki asked. "Chii!" she said while closing her eyes and giving a smile. "I'm glad you like it Chii." Hideki said with a smile of his own. Hideki then took a peek at one of the books he brought for himself. "Well…I can do it!" Hideki said out loud. Determined to make an effort in his studies he began to read some of the book.
Hideki and Chii arrive back at the apartment and both of them notice that big hole in the wall. Chitose had called someone to determine the severity of the damage and how much it would cost. Hideki passed by looking at Chitose to see what was going on. Chitose looked back at Hideki and saw that he was making a gesture saying if she needed some help. She shook her head gently as help wasn't needed at the moment. Hideki understood her gesture back and continued to go up the stairs with Chii. Hideki reached for his keys and opened the door.
Chii ran to the bed and jumped on the bed so she could read her manga. She lied on her stomach and continued to read while Hideki put his bag nearby on the ground and went to the bathroom. Chii was very fascinated by this manga that she didn't pay attention to anything else around her.
Some time had passed by and Hideki was looking over some problems in one of the books he brought. Chii continued to read her manga book and was actually nearing the middle of the book. A knock on the front door echoed throughout the room. Hideki stood up to answer the door. "Who is it?" "It's Chitose" she replied. "Ahh come in" Hideki said while opening the door. Chitose walked inside and saw books everywhere on the ground.
"Oh…you look busy with your studies. I won't keep you. I just wanted to give you this. Hope it helps keep your energy up." Chitose said as she handed Hideki a small box of food. "You made us a lunch? That was very nice of you; I hope you didn't have to go through a lot of trouble to make this." Hideki said as he looked through the box to see what she made. "It's no trouble at all; I don't think you had the chance to eat anything ever since Soulithe appeared." Chitose said. "Yea thanks, let me just wash my hands. Hideki went into the bathroom to freshen up before he took a break and had some lunch.
"Oh, what are you reading there Chii?" Chitose asked. Chii showed the front cover of the manga to Chitose. It was titled "Love in High Places". "You're reading mangas now huh? They are good to read." Chitose said. While Chitose was talking, another knock was heard on the front door. "Do you want me to answer that?" Chitose yelled to Hideki who was in the other room. "Yes, please." Hideki replied. Chitose stood up and went to the door. "Who is it?" Chitose asked. "It's Shinbo, open up" the voice said. Chitose opened the door and to her surprise it wasn't Shinbo.
It was Soulithe who had memorized Shinbo's voice and mimicked his voice. Chitose screamed as Soulithe grabbed hold of her and went over to the edge of the balcony. Hideki ran out of the room as fast as he could to find out why Chitose screamed. Chii stood behind Hideki dropping the book she was reading on the ground. "SOULITHE LET HER GO!" Hideki shouted as he tried to run toward him. "Oh…gladly Hideki." Soulithe replied. He threw Chitose over the balcony as he flew up in the air to watch the whole thing. "CHITOSE!" Hideki yelled as he ran to the balcony trying to save her. He got there too late as Chitose landed hard on the ground. A thud was heard in the area and Soulithe smiled when he saw Chitose unable to move. "That's victim one Hideki!" Soulithe said as he flew away from the scene.
"NOO Chitose!" Hideki yelled as he ran downstairs quickly. Chitose laid there motionless and Hideki hovered over her to see any visible damages on her. Chii was looking at Chitose with sadness in her eyes. Hideki didn't want to touch her as he feared it would further injure her. "DAMN YOU SOULITHE!" Hideki yelled while looking up at the sky. Hideki felt terrible for having Chitose answer the door if he known it was Soulithe. He shed a tear while looking at Chitose's face. "Chii…call an ambulance would you. She needs to be taken care of immediately!" Hideki strongly requested. Chii then began to send a signal over the air to the nearest hospital station.
Some time flew as a crew of doctors put Chitose on a stretcher and put her in the back of an ambulance. Neighbors nearby watched as they saw Chitose get put in the ambulance. Some of them even cried for they knew her personally. Hideki and Chii were saddened the most. While the doctors proceeded to put Chitose in the ambulance, Hideki went to the back window to see her one last time.
Chitose hadn't changed expression at all since she landed on the ground. Shinbo and Takashi came back from a day of going out and they saw the ambulance. They saw Hideki and Chii so they ran over to them to ask what was going on. "What happened here Hideki! Who's in the ambulance?" Shinbo asked in a fluster. "Chitose is in there…Soulithe came a while ago and threw her over the balcony." Hideki said while looking at the ground. Shinbo and Takashi were in shock from what Hideki just said. Shinbo, Takashi, Hideki, and Chii all stood there as they watched the ambulance drive off with Chitose in the vehicle headed to the nearest hospital.
Hideki was depressed so he went back upstairs to his unit to rest. The others followed behind him to comfort him. I have suffered so much these past few days now I have to witness the death of someone close to me? I don't feel like I've "lived" these past few days…life has been so depressing ever since I met Soulithe. I really want him defeated…no I want to defeat him. He has caused me so much pain that I can't move on until he is defeated. All of my friends are my best friends and Chii, I love her. It would be very hard for me to live without her. Protecting Chii has been the highest priority for me and I can't help but feel that I should have watched Chitose closer.
Hideki thought a lot to himself as he rested his head down Chii's lap. Chii trying to comfort Hideki as much as she could while Shinbo and Takashi did their best as well. "I hope Chitose isn't dead. I hope those doctors say that she is all right." Shinbo said out loud. Hideki wished the same things to himself but he didn't acknowledge Shinbo.
"I need to be left alone you guys. I'll see you in school tomorrow Shinbo" Hideki requested. "Ok…try to take it easy. I'll meet you at the front entrance tomorrow." Shinbo said as he headed to the front door with Takashi. "Oh Hideki? I'll understand if you don't want to come to school tomorrow." Takashi said while looking at Hideki. "Thanks…" Hideki said softly. Shinbo and Takashi left closing the door behind them. Hideki was mixed in anger and depression that he didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't concentrate with his studies now that this had to happen.
It was starting to get dark out anyway so he thought to himself that he should try to get some sleep. Hideki crawled in the bed trying to sleep the night away. Chii got in the bed with Hideki and wrapped her arms around Hideki's chest. She buried her face on Hideki's back as she could easily the emotions running through Hideki's mind. "Chii?" Hideki said as he turned to face Chii. He brushed some of her hair back and placed his hand on her chin. Hideki leaned in and gave Chii a soft kiss on the lips and then pulled her in close. He then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Chii with a smile on her face doing the same thing. She felt that she made Hideki happy, or at least cheered him up some. Hideki thought to himself that this was going to be a long night.
The next morning arrives and Hideki's alarm clock was buzzing loud. He woke up in a frenzy from the surprise of the alarm clock. He banged on the clock with his fist and it shut off. He looked at the clock and it read 12:00PM. "I have to get ready for class." Hideki said. He jumped over Chii and landed on the ground and ran to his dresser to put on change clothes for school. Chii woke up after hearing Hideki land on the ground. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ah sorry about that Chii I…" Hideki stopped in mid-sentence as he began to notice what Chii was wearing.
She wore a nightie that she one time got when Hideki sent her out to buy lingerie for herself. This was long after the panty shopping moment. Hideki blushed as he remembered what Chii brought home that day. "I remember that big bag of lingerie you got. I don't see you wear that very often though so I almost forgot that you had it. That looks very…err…"nice" on you" Hideki said while blushing and looking off to the side. Hideki didn't want to say another word to her though that was the word that best described how she looked. "Chii is sexy!" she blurted out loud with a smile.
"Ah…where did you learn that word Chii!" Hideki said in great surprise as that was the word he didn't want to say. Chii bent over and reached underneath Hideki's bed and pulled out a magazine. "Hideki's yummies." Chii said as she pointed to the lingerie that she brought. On the top right corner it said "Sexy!" "Well…that lingerie is yummy in a way…UH I mean!" Hideki said suddenly while covering his mouth.
"I…have to go to school. I'll be back later Chii. In the meantime, don't let anyone in here ok? I have the keys to the place so only I will get in." Hideki explained. Chii nodded as she understood what Hideki said. Hideki left the unit leaving Chii inside and then he locked the door behind him. He didn't want to take any chances if Soulithe should return. This way Chii won't answer the door for no one.
Hideki ran down the stairs and out into the area where the ambulance was. He looked behind him seeing the hole in the wall was covered in a big sheet of paper. He thought to himself that work must be beginning so they can repair it. Hideki ran out into the streets so he can head for the train station. He pulled out a piece of the sandwich that Chitose made for him yesterday. While eating it, Hideki could not help but feel sadness as he ate the sandwich.
Hideki arrives at the train station and goes inside to find a seat. He sits down and reaches in his bag to find one of his books he brought yesterday. It feels weird not having Chii with me today…but I can't have her with me at school. I need her to be home where she will be safe. As much as I am worried about her, Takashi is right. I must try to live my life. It's very hard to do so…but I can't keep living in fear like this. Hideki stopped thinking to himself and began to look over some problems in his book for class.
After a while, the train stops at a large district and Hideki gets off the bus. The usual everyday crowd was entering and exiting the train as Hideki tried to get out of there alive. Dodging and moving out the way of people is something Hideki has grown accustomed to. Hideki ran down the street where it led to his school. He crossed the street and there he saw Shinbo standing there waiting for Hideki.
"Hey Shinbo" Hideki said while panting hard. "Hey, did you run all the way down here?" Shinbo asked while observing how out of breath Hideki was. "Took…the train…whew. Just…didn't…want to be…late" Hideki said. "Wow, you're beat. Hope you have some energy left to concentrate in class today." Shinbo said. "Well let's go." Hideki said while lifting himself up.
Hideki and Shinbo arrive in Takashi's class with a few minutes to spare before class started. They sat in the back next to the window like they always do. Takashi walks over to where Hideki and Shinbo were sitting. "Glad you can make it Hideki." Takashi says quietly to Hideki. She smiles and rests her hand on Hideki's shoulder before she went back up to the front. "Hello to you too." Shinbo said sarcastically. Takashi turned around and stuck her tongue out at Shinbo in a tease.
"Ok everyone in your seats! Glad we could all make it to class today as the weather has been very favorable for us lately…" Takashi said as she spoke to the whole class. Hideki was looking out of the window worrying about Chii's safety. It must feel weird to have been through so much with us and yet be able to teach a class as if nothing happened. Hideki thought to himself. He admired Takashi's will to move forward despite rough times. It was something that Hideki was not used to. "Hey did you hear from Chitose yet?" Shinbo asked quietly. "No not yet" Hideki replied while still looking out the window. He began to think about Chitose and he hoped that she was alive.
While class was in session, everyone was writing down entries from the blackboard. Hideki eventually took his mind off of the bad events and focused on schoolwork, as he wanted. It was a mostly cloudy day and occasionally the clouds covered the sun providing shade temporarily. A cloud covered the sun and it appeared really dark outside. The whole class looked out the window and noticed how dark it appeared on the buildings outside.
Takashi went over to the window and observed the clouds. "Looks kinda creepy out there don't it?" Takashi said. As she was about to walk back to the front of the class, the whole window crashed. Something flew through the window and caused the glass to scatter all the way to the other side of the classroom. All the students screamed and covered themselves from the flying glass. Some of the students already got cuts from the glass before they could dodge it in time.
There stood Soulithe at the edge of the window with bits of glass on his coat and clothing. He lifted his hat and even brushed some of the glass from his hair onto Hideki. Soulithe slowly turned his body to Takashi and smiled. "NO!" Hideki jumped quickly to Soulithe knowing full well what he was thinking. Hideki clasped at Soulithe's feet while Shinbo quickly ran to Takashi. "Shinbo get Takashi out of here!" Hideki yelled in fear. Shinbo did just that and Takashi quickly followed Shinbo out of the class.
"Hideki. She was my next victim. How could you?" Soulithe said while looking down at Hideki. "You are pure evil!" Hideki said as he quickly stood up to attack Soulithe. "Be careful Hideki" Soulithe said while dodging his attack. Hideki was standing near the window. He turned around and saw Soulithe quickly rush in to push him out the window. Hideki rolled away from the window out of adrenaline to avoid Soulithe. Soulithe ended up hovering outside since Hideki got out the way just in time.
All of the students were leaning on the other side of the class in fear of this man. "That was supposed to be victim number two Hideki. I wonder…I wonder how Chii is doing. I hope she's…safe." Soulithe said as he flew away. Hideki's eyes widened as he felt a terrible sting in his stomach. He…HE BETTER NOT! CHII I'M COMING! Hideki feared that Soulithe was on his way to the apartments since Chii wasn't with him. Before he left the class he told one of the students to call the nurse to tend to the ones that suffered cuts from the shattered glass. The student leaves the class and Hideki follows behind.
Hideki leaves the school property and runs like mad back home before Soulithe gets there. Soulithe, if you harm Chii…I will never forgive you. I will stop you myself if I have to. Chii, don't answer the door for anyone! I'm coming Chii! Thoughts raced through Hideki's head in fear of what Soulithe could do to Chii. I never felt so scared in all of his life. Chii means a lot to me and I knew I had a funny feeling that something bad was going to happen. I didn't want to leave Chii alone at home, but I was trying to move on. This is proving to be hard as well since Soulithe keeps showing up. With Chii all alone, that was the perfect opportunity for Soulithe to capture Chii. Hideki thought to himself.
Eventually, Hideki made it back to the apartments. Before he went any further, Hideki slowly walked up to the center of the front area. He looked around for any sounds or any signs of Soulithe. All he heard was the wind occasionally hitting the big sheet of paper that was covering the hole on the wall where Soulithe shot yesterday. He didn't hear Chii yelling or anyone else for that matter. Hideki proceeded to go up the stairs cautiously. He reached for the keys in his pocket as he walked up to his front door. He listened out for any sounds in his unit. He heard nothing and he opened the door quickly.
There he saw Chii lying on the bed still reading her manga that she got yesterday. She looked up at Hideki and got up from the bed to greet him. "Welcome home Hideki!" Chii said as she hugged him. "Th…thanks Chii. Did anyone come in here Chii?" Hideki asked in suspicion. "Only Hideki came home today." Chii replied. "So…Soulithe didn't come here at all today?" Hideki said while looking around the room. "Soulithe never came. Only Hideki came through that door today." Chii replied. Hideki let out a big sigh of relief. I wonder why he said all that then. Here he could have taken Chii while I was school. Why didn't he?
"Chii, Soulithe attacked my class today. He was almost going to do the same thing he did to Chitose to Takashi. I stopped him from going to Takashi and I told Shinbo to get Takashi out of the classroom. I saved Takashi Chii." Hideki said proudly. "Chii is happy for Hideki. Chii is happy that Hideki is home in one piece." She answered with a smile. Hideki sat on the bed taking a moment of what he just said. "I saved her. If I hadn't stopped Soulithe, he would have thrown her out the window. He said that she was the second victim." Hideki said out loud to himself.
Hideki was happy that he was able to help someone in all of this mess. He's been so loyal to Chii that she was all he thought about. Hideki felt proud of himself. "Hideki is a very good person. Hideki protects others as well. Fighting should not be an answer." Chii said. "You are right Chii, but if I don't fight then Soulithe will keep appearing at random times. Just so he can capture you. I don't know how else I should solve this Chii. Defeating him sounds like the answer to me." Hideki answered.
While Hideki spoke, Chii looked around the room. "Hideki has a call from Mr. Kokubunji who is requesting a video conference." Chii relayed. "Ah, it's Minoru. He must have some new information about Soulithe. Hold on." Hideki said as he went to close the front door. He then went over to Chii and connected her audio and video cables to his TV monitor so he can initiate a video conference. Hideki turned on the TV and waited for Minoru. The screen flashed and Minoru appeared on screen.
"Ah, Minoru!" Hideki said cheerfully as he was happy to see him. "Good afternoon Hideki. Like I promised, I said I'd conference with you when I have more information regarding Soulithe. Well I have the information to Soulithe's whereabouts are. In fact, this same area is also where you will find his creator. There is a small island east of Japan that has a strange looking tower on it. Police have blocked nearby shores and all neighboring areas of Japan because of this structure. I was not able to find out about Soulithe's creator or the name, but he is the real enemy from what I have read on the BBS." Minoru explained.
"A tower huh? How did it get there?" Hideki asked. "I do not know how it got there, however the tower does seem to have a connection with all the malfunctioning persocoms in that area. Some reports have shown that this tower emits an energy draining radius that even persocoms off the coast of Japan feel its effects. We do not know what's inside the tower other than Soulithe and his creator. That's all the information I can give you Hideki." Minoru finished.
"So I should go in the tower to defeat this creator?" Hideki asked. "Hideki, I know how much Chii means to you and how much you have suffered these past few days. However, you should get "defeating" out of your mind. First off you are a human and you don't know who you could be up against. Who's to say that Soulithe's creator isn't a persocom that is more powerful than he is?
You need to think of other ways to solve this than thinking that fighting with your fists is going to be the answer. I advise you take Chii along just in case. Her being a Chobit might repel against the tower's energy draining barrier." Minoru suggested. Hideki sat there looking at Minoru through the monitor thinking about what he said.
I have been thinking like that. I just don't want anyone to harm Chii. I don't know how else I'm supposed to solve this. Soulithe is a big threat not only to Chii's life, but to everyone else as well. I want to stop Soulithe because he threatens everyone, not just Chii and I. Hideki kept thinking to himself. "Hideki? Are you ok?" Minoru asked. "I want to stop Soulithe because he threatens everyone, not just Chii and I" Hideki said the thoughts in his head out loud. Minoru nods at Hideki's words. "Remember that fighting isn't the answer to everything. Many cases, all it requires is some thinking through. I am confident that you will have the answer to this.
Meanwhile, I can help you out from over here. If you enter that tower, have Chii enable a protective barrier around you so you can ward off any attacks you are dealt with. Just say to Chii "Enable Protective Barrier" and that voice command will trigger her to produce a shield around you. It will enchant you for up to 10 minutes so use it wisely as it will drain some energy from Chii." Minoru explained. "Ok, thank you for everything Minoru!" Hideki said while giving a bow. "It's nothing Hideki, just remember what I said. Fighting isn't always the answer. I believe you will find another way. Good luck Hideki." Minoru ended while shutting down his end of the conference.
Hideki crossed his arms and looked at the ground thinking about what to do. Chii sat beside Hideki and mimicked his action. "Chii…I'm going to do it. I will enter that tower but I won't do it now. Minoru is right, I must think about this. We can't just walk right in right?" Hideki asked. "Hideki…fight!" Chii said while raising her arm up. "That's the thing Chii, I won't fight too much. Though I'm not fully sure what I'm supposed to do if I can't fight." Hideki said out loud.
Hideki stood up and sat on the bed looking at the clock. "I'm going to bed Chii. Maybe I can sleep on it." Hideki said while climbing into bed. Chii went inside the bed with Hideki while he set the alarm clock. "Just so you know Chii, this is what time we are going to wake up ok?" Hideki said. "Chii!" she replied.
The two began to go to sleep while Hideki laid there thinking what he is going to do. He began to plan out everything that is going to happen tomorrow. Good night Chii. Soon, I will save you too.
To Be Continued…