Reina: Ohayo, mina-san! It's been some time hasn't it?

Fran: Reina, it's only been a few days.

Reina: Really? It feels like it's been forever.

Bel: Ushishishi. The last time the writer-peasant updated this oneshot collection was on her birthday.

Reina: Exactly, so it's been forever!

Fran: No, it hasn't! Reina, your birthday was 19 days ago!

Reina: Exactly, it's been ages! Okay everyone, today's one shot puts Human against machine, homework against jealousy, love against hate!

Fran: Basically, Reina tries to save her essay but the computer has plans to shut down.

Reina: Fran, you just ruined a perfectly good build up there!

Fran: Did I? Gomenasai

Reina (Sighs) Anyways...

Reina/Bel/Fran: READ LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Reina: Enjoy, doki~doki!

OneShot 19 - System Will Shut Down In…

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Went the keys on the keyboard as Reina typed up her English essay on her laptop. She had been given an English assignment last week. She had to write a 5 page essay on the story 'Romeo and Juliet'. Although this assignment had been given a week ago, Reina had put it off, saying she had a lot of time. But, oh how wrong she was. It had slipped her mind that her essay was due tomorrow. She forgot how fast time went these days.

So here she was, at the Varia castle, in Bel's room with Fran and himself, typing up her English essay on her laptop. The 3 of them were apparently 'hanging out'. But a girl doing her homework, a bored prince throwing his knives at a wall and an emotionless frog reading a book wasn't exactly what Reina had in mind. 2 hours. 2 hours Reina has spent on her English essay. It took her time to write it down on paper and time to type it up. 1 hour for each. She was now pushing into the 3rd hour. But fortunately she was almost done. To be precise, she was on the last line.

"Romeo and Juliet is a romantic novel that is sure to touch your heart" Reina said as she typed. "And....done!" Reina turned herself round in the swivel chair so that she was now facing Bel and Fran. "After almost 3 hours of non-stop typing, I've finally finished my English essay on Romeo and Juliet" Reina announced.

"Finally. I thought it was going to take you all day" Fran said.

"Ushishishi" Bel chuckled. "The prince thought it would take two"

"Thanks, you guys" Reina said sarcastically.

Reina turned back round in the swivel chair and faced the screen of her laptop. She read through her work, making sure everything was okay and that everything was in-place. After 10 minutes of checking her work, all was well.

"Okay" Reina said as she got out her memory stick. "Now to save it"

Reina inserted her memory stick and waited for it to load on the computer. She then went to 'file' and then 'save as'. She typed in 'Rome and Juliet English Essay'. But just before she could click 'save', something terrible happened. A small box took over the screen. On it was a timer and a bar that was slowly going down.

"What?" Reina muttered, confused.

The small box read: 'System will shut down in 10 minutes and 59 secs'

"Oh, you want to go to sleep?" Reina said to her laptop.

"Well just let me save my work first and you can-"

But that's when Reina began to panic. For some unknown reason, she couldn't close down the box. And she couldn't save her work without closing down the page first.

"No..." Reina muttered as she clicked the 'x' in the corner of the box repeatedly. "No. No. No. No. NO!"

"Ushishishi. You'd be terrible if you ever begged for sex" Bel said.

Reina glared at him.

"What's wrong?" Fran asked.

"My laptop's shutting itself down and I haven't even saved my work yet" Reina said.

"Why is your laptop shutting itself down?"

"I don't know. A box just suddenly came up saying 'System will shut down in 10 minutes and 59 secs' "

"Just take the box off"

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"It won't let me"

Fran sighed before closing his book and getting up from off the floor. He walked over to Reina and her laptop.

"It's not hard, Reina" Fran said as he moved the mouse to the 'x' and clicked it. "It doesn't take a genius to-"

Fran stopped noticing that the page was still up. He tried again.

Click. Nothing happened.

"You were saying?" Reina said.

Fran began clicking repeatedly but the outcome was always the same. "Okay. That's strange" Fran said.

'System will shut down in 9 minutes and 45 secs'

"Oh, what can we do?" Reina asked."Ushishishi. Alright, move over" Bel said as he came over and pushed Fran out of the way.

"Is a simple 'excuse me' so hard to say?" Fran said. "But then again, your vocabulary is small"

Stab.

Fran sighed and took out the knife.

"It's pretty obvious that you peasants can't do a thing without the assistance of royalty. Ushishishi. That's how weak and pathetic you all are" Bel said.

"Thanks" Reina said with a scoff.

"The prince is only stating the truth"

"The truth or your truth?" Fran asked.

"Ushishishi. Same thing"

"Look are you going to insult us or help us?" Reina asked.

"Both. Ushishishi" Bel said.

Bel moved the mouse over the x. "Watch and learn, peasants" Bel said.

Bel then clicked the x. The box disappeared. Reina and Fran were speechless.

"Bel, you did it!" Reina said.

"Ushishishi. Of course""How?" Fran asked.

"Stupid peasants, a prince can do anything. That's why I'm the best"

"Thanks so much, Bel!" Reina said.

But before Reina could click 'save', the box appeared again.

'System will shut down in 8 minutes and 55 secs'

"What!?" Reina asked.

"It came back?" Fran said.

"Ushishishi. Maybe the stupid computer doesn't understand that when the prince kills it, it's supposed to stay 'killed'" Bel said as he got out his knives. "No matter. I shall remind it"

But just before Bel could throw a knife at the laptop, Reina grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Reina asked.

"Killing the computer" Bel said in an obvious way.

"If you kill it, I'll never be able to save my essay!"

"Too bad"

"Too bad? I thought you were helping me!"

"Bel-senpai must have the memory of a rock" Fran said. "Oh wait, rocks don't have memories"

Stab. Stab. Stab.

'System will shut down in 7 minutes and 25 secs'

"Ushishishi. The prince is going to skewer you" Bel said to the laptop as he held up his knives.

"There's no need to go all crazy on it, senpai" Fran said. "I'll just create an illusion and-"

"No! look, under NO circumstances can we kill or harm the laptop in anyway" Reina said.

"Well what else can we do?" Fran asked.

"Ushishishi. The prince has an idea" Bel said. "Would the princess like him to try?"

"Go for it" Reina said.

Bel took out a single knife and stood right in front of the computer.

'System will shut down in 6 minutes and 45 secs'

"Bel" Reina began. "I said no harming my laptop"

"The prince heard you" Bel said.

Reina decided to just watch and see what Bel would do.

"Ushishishi. Listen up you stupid machine. I'm a prince so whatever I say goes. And I say to stop shutting down and let the princess save her work. Or else..." Bel said as he played with his knife.

"Is he seriously saying this stuff to a computer?" Fran asked in disbelief.

"It's better than trying to cut it up" Reina pointed out.

"Or else I'll cut you open and let the new Vongola mechanic take a look at you. Ushishishi. Just to see how you work. And I promise you, it will be anything but painless" Bel threatened.

The laptop seemed to of heard Bel loud and clear and responded quickly. The countdown was put to a stop.

"I don't believe it! Bel, you did it!" Reina said. "Again!"

"Ushishishi. Of course I did. I am a prince after all" Bel said.

"I can't believe the laptop got scared and listened to you" Fran said. "You're just a fallen-prince"

Stab.

"Senpai..." Fran moaned.

"Ushishishi. Froggy should be more respectful to a prince" Bel said. "Especially since I stopped the laptop from shutting down and erasing Reina's essay"

That sentence seemed to be a jinx because as soon as Bel said that, the countdown continued. But something else happened.

'System will shut down in 4 minutes and 15 secs'

"Bastard..." Bel growled, angrily.

"What!? How!? Why!?" Reina asked. "And wasn't it just on 6 minutes!? How the hell did it drop to 4 so quickly!? It doesn't make sense!"

"Maybe it got mad at Bel-senpai threatening it and now it's out for revenge" Fran said.

"No one gets revenge on the prince. No one" Bel said as he raised a knife in the air.

Reina grabbed his arm again.

"Hello? Err, yeah...we're trying not to make the laptop more angry and have a reason to finish the countdown faster" Reina said.

'System will shut down in 3 minutes and 44 seconds'

"Tch!" Bel muttered. "Well do you have a better idea!?"

Honestly, Reina had nothing. She was out of ideas. Her essay that she spent almost 3 hours working on was about to disappear and there was nothing she could do. Nothing! So far, every plan that came to mind failed.

"Stupid frog, this is all your fault!" Bel said.

"Me? How is it my fault?" Fran asked.

"I don't know, it just is! Everything is your fault!"

"Everything?"

"Yes!"

"Everything is my fault!?"

"That's right!"

"Oh, okay. So it's my fault that there's global warming, it's my fault that people are starving all over the world and I guess it's my fault that you hate your brother!?" Fran said.

"You couldn't be more right, froggy!"

'System will shut down in 2 minutes and 23 seconds'

The argument between the two of them made Reina remember that Fran had yet to come up with a plan and put it to the test. Glancing at him gave her an idea. Call her crazy, but it was all she had.

"Fran, seduce it!" Reina suddenly said.

......................Silence......................

"What!?" Fran asked.

"You heard me!" Reina said.

"Seduce a computer?"

"Yes!"

"Reina, do you know how crazy you sound?"

"I don't care! This thing is going to take my essay away from me unless we do something! Right now, you're my only chance!"

"But it's a computer!"

"So!?"

"Reina, it's a computer! A machine! Artificial Intelligence!"

"I heard you the first time! Now stop making excuses and just do it."

"But-"

"Fran, I spent almost 3 waking hours doing this essay. So it took a long time to do it. And just when I finally finish it, this computer...this thing decides it's hungry and wants my essay for lunch. But I can't let that happen. This essay is important. Look, it's worth a shot. What else have we got to loose besides my essay?"

"Alright. I'll do it" Fran said with a sigh.

"Really?!" Reina asked.

"Yeah, sure. Like you said, it's important"

"Thank you"

Fran nodded to her. He stood there for a few more minutes, thinking up a strategy before sighing heavily and walking up to the laptop and standing in front of it. If anything, this was going to be embarrassing.

"U-um...h-hey you..." Fran began as he rubbed his arm in embarrassment. "Y-you...really c-cool, computer"

Fran looked back at Reina, unsure if this plan would work. But Reina motioned for him to continued. With a sigh, Fran turned back round.

"Y'know, t-there's...a computer like you...in my..........dreams every night" Fran said.

Bel began snickering behind his hand.

"Y-yeah. Cool, shiny ones...just like you" Fran said. "And y'know, I think I may need to go to the opticians. I think there's something wrong with my eyes because I just can't seem to take them off you"

Bel the broke into fits of laughter. Fran turned around and glared.

"Fuck you, Bel-senpai!" Fran said.

"Ushishishi. Are you sure? Won't your computer girlfriend get jealous?" Bel asked, smirking like crazy.

"She'd have nothing to be jealous about because you're just a stupid, fake-prince!"

Stab. Stab. Stab.

Fran was about to say something until he took a glance at the computer. He glanced again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. And he wasn't. The countdown had stopped.

"Reina, it worked. I did it!" Fran said.

"Seriously!?" Reina asked as she stood next to him.

"Seriously"

"Seriously!? No joke!?"

"No joke! Look!"

And Reina did just that. She gave a small squeal of happiness and smiled. "Yes! Finally!" Reina said.

"Ushishishi. The prince never knew the froggy was such a sweet-talker" Bel said.

"Yeah, well you would know all about that, wouldn't you, senpai?" Fran asked.

"What is the froggy implying?"

"That your sexually active all the time"

Stab. Stab. Stab.

"Senpai..." Fran moaned. "Stop doing that"

"Ushishishi. No" Bel said before throwing another one.

Stab.

Fran sighed heavily in frustration before going back to reading his book on the floor.

"Thanks again, Fran" Reina said as she sat at her computer.

"No problem, Reina" Fran.

But just before Fran could sit down, his phone went off. It was so sudden that Fran jumped when he took it out. He had to keep juggling around with it to ensure that it wouldn't hit the floor and smash into pieces. A few seconds later, he was able to keep a steady grasp on his phone.

"Oh, thank god" Fran said as he sighed in relief.

"Ushishishi. The froggy would be good as a clown in the circus" Bel said.

"Are you okay?" Reina asked.

"Yeah. It was just my phone. It almost smashed into pieces, that's all"

"You seemed panicky"

"I love my phone. I'd die if anything happened to it" Fran said as he put it back in his pocket after reading the message he received.

BIG mistake

Although the countdown had stopped, the box had not completely disappeared. It was still up on the screen. The laptop seemed to have heard Fran's words about his phone. Call it crazy, but the laptop might've gotten jealous/angry and started up the countdown again.

Beep!

A loud beep emitted from the laptop, signalling that it was almost done. Reina, Bel and Fran instantly looked up as soon as they heard that noise.

"No" Reina said. "Don't tell me..."She slowly turned round to face the box on the screen. When she did, her face turned into a look of horror.

'System will shut down in 0 minutes and 25 secs'

"Oh no" Reina said. "NO!"

Bel and Fran quickly stood next to Reina and looked at the screen.

"No way" Bel said.

"I don't understand" Fran said. "I thought I did it"

"My laptop must've heard what you said about your phone and got jealous" Reina said.

"What!?" Fran asked.

"Ushishishi. Two-timing? Shame on you, froggy" Bel said.

'System will shut down in 0 minutes and 20 secs'

"This is it. I'm going to get a big, fat F from my English teacher!" Reina said.

"There's really nothing we can do?" Fran asked.

"Tch! That damn computer!"

'System will shut down in 0 minutes and 10 secs'

"Here it comes..." Fran said.

"Oh no" Reina muttered.

"10..." Bel said, beginning to count it down.

"9..." Fran said, also counting it down.

"8..."

"7..."

"6..."

"5..."

"4..."

"3..."

"2..."

"No. NO!" Reina cried.

"1..." Bel and Fran said in unison.

'System will now shut down'

"NOOOOO!" Reina shouted up into the sky.

......................The Next Day......................

Reina was feeling gloomy all day. The events of what happened yesterday still played in her head. Today she would have to explain to her English teacher, Mrs. Shay, why she did not have her essay with her. She had a feeling that her teacher wouldn't believe her and only see it as an excuse. A really bad excuse.

The school bell rang as Reina entered the classroom and sat in her seat. The rest of the students came rushing in, not wanting to get detention for being late. Once everyone was seated, Mrs. Shay began calling everyone, one by one, to her desk to hand in their assignment. As students went up to the desk, Reina began to get a weird feeling in her stomach. She was nervous.

"Reina" Mrs. Shay called from her desk at the front of the class.

"This is it..." Reina thought.

Reina shamefully walked up to the teacher's desk and stood in front of her.

"Your essay...?" Mrs. Shay said.

"Yeah, about that..." Reina said. "I don't have it"

"Why not?"

"Haha, funny story actually" Reina said, nervously.

"This 'funny story' better be the truth or else it'll be a week's detention for you"

Reina sweat dropped and smiled nervously. "The truth?" Reina muttered. "You want the truth?"

"Yes. The truth would be nice" Mrs. Shay said.

"Okay. The truth is...a box came up with a countdown saying that my computer would shut down in a few minutes and seconds. So my 2 friends and I did everything we could. Bel threatened my computer with his knives but that only made the computer count faster. So then my other friend, Fran, seduced the computer. And it worked. We got the countdown to stop. But then the computer over heard Fran say how much he loved his phone and I guess it got jealous and started up the countdown again. And this all happened before I got the chance to save my work. So that's about it, really" Reina said.

......................Silence......................

All Reina could do was smile nervously and pray that her teacher would somehow believe her crazy story. What else could she do? After all, it did sound like some story she made up on the spot. But no matter how crazy it was, it was true. Whatever the outcome was, Reina made a mental note to 'Never talk about another machine while in the presence of one. For it may get jealous and take revenge upon you'.

Reina: Damn that evil machine!

Fran: Don't make it more angry than it already is.

Bel: Ushishishi.

Reina: R-right! Okay everyone, what did you all think of this one? Good, ne?

Fran: Of course this didn't actually happen to Reina and she finished her R&J essay ages ago.

Reina: It was a stich! So easy! That reminds me, I've got an english exam comming up soon in June/July.

Bel: Let's hope there aren't any computers in the exam. Ushishishi.

Reina: Ah, Bel, don't jinx it!

Fran: Next...

Reina/Fran/Bel: Froggy no more!

Reina: Ah, froggy no more? What could that be about?

Bel: You'll just have to wait and see. Ushishishi.

Reina/Fran/Bel: PLEASE READ & REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!

Fran/Bel: PS!

Reina: No computers were harmed in the making of this oneshot. See you in the next one! Ja ne!