Author's Notes: Thanks again for all the great reviews and support! I know that you were expecting the next update to be the epilogue, but after the flood of requests and ideas for new chapters that came in I have decided to continue on with the story. The "official" story ended at chapter 24, so I guess you could call this the 2nd season O.o
Also I would like to take a second to point out that Saburo and Reia have made their first appearance in another fanfic. Ikarias' "Love and Life" to be more specific. He's a new writer, so give him some support!
Next up (wow, lots of stuff here!), Artision, another member has created a few rough sketches of the characters! After he's finished and is cool with showing off his work, you'll see what he's come up with.
Alright, without any more delays, the next chapter! (Eeek, another two parter!) Enjoy!
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Ch.25 - Someone Like Me, Part 1
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It was a normal weekday at Saburo's apartment. He was relaxing in his rolling chair, keyboard in his lap just banging away. He had the day off, so he made sure to take full advantage of it. Reia was of course laid back on the couch, deep into one of her games. She had a new stack fresh out of the used bin at the local game shop and was fast on the way to polishing them all off. With her love of video games, their collection grew from three titles to about thirty but at about 400 yen apiece, Saburo didn't have a problem letting her pick up three or four at a time.
Saburo was spending a bit of time catching up on his custom hardware message boards. Once Reia appeared in his life, he all but disappeared from them. Now that things had finally settled down, he decided to let everyone know he was still alive. That, and check up on what new goodies and projects he could build.
He would occasionally take a break from looking at project web pages and peek over the monitor to see how Reia was doing. Even though she was back home safe with him, he was worried Ushio's last stunt reopened some of the emotional wounds he worked so hard to help her overcome. Although he learned just how badly she beat him there was no doubt that what happened left her feeling extremely vulnerable.
'Damnit... why wasn't I there?' Saburo thought, dwelling on about things he ought not to. Almost losing Reia scared the hell out of him. Realizing how easy she was snatched away scared him even more. Almost immediately after bringing Reia back, he had the landlord change the locks on his apartment. His neighbors also offered to keep an eye out when he was at work, but neither did much to alleviate his fears.
An unexpected tap on his shoulder startled him, almost sending him and his chair tumbling backwards. He caught his breath (and his balance) then turned his attention up to Reia who was just as startled.
"Sorry." Saburo sighed.
Reia nodded. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just caught me off guard."
Saburo sat up and straightened himself out. He gave Reia a quick kiss on the cheek and switched off his monitor. "Let's get out for a little bit. Wanna come with me to Makoto's?"
She smiled and nodded.
Saburo ripped the piece of paper he was writing on out of his notebook and stuffed it in his pocket. They both put their shoes on and headed downstairs to the main entrance. He stretched his arms out when he walked outside. "Summer's almost over, it's gonna start getting cooler." he said. "Soon enough everything will be buried in snow."
"I remember it was snowing when I was activated." Reia signed.
"Well, now you'll get a chance to play in it."
"Play in it?"
"You'll see." Saburo smiled.
As they continued towards downtown, Saburo's worries got the best of him. "Say, Reia..." he started. "Are you doing okay?"
Reia tipped her head.
"I mean... after what happened."
She nodded. "Yes. I took care of everything."
"I hope you're right."
-- -- --
"Hey, Makoto!" Saburo said, walking through the door of the shop. He immediately started chatting away, not noticing Reia's attention was focused on something else entirely. A young girl, six or seven years old, sitting against the wall of Makoto's shop much in the way Reia was when Saburo found her. The girl's eyes were red and puffed up, tears streaming down her cheeks. Reia peeked back inside the shop, seeing Saburo and Makoto busily sorting through piles of parts as usual. She walked up to the girl and kneeled in front of her, waving her hand when she made eye contact. The girl did little more than look at her. "Are you okay?" Reia silently mouthed, rubbing the girl's head. She closed her eyes and leaned into Reia's hand, sniffling and wiping her face.
Meanwhile, Saburo and Makoto were still deep into it, tearing through the boxes upon boxes of 'new' parts that just came through the shop. Saburo, so concentrated on his rummaging, didn't notice that Reia hadn't followed him inside. He assumed that she was behind him or walking up and down the aisles of shelves.
"Good grief! I don't think most of this stuff has seen the light of day since the early twenty-first century!" Saburo chuckled.
"No doubt!" Makoto replied as he pulled out a couple of hard drives, blowing the dust off of them. "Look at this! This one holds an INCREDIBLE 500 gigs of data!"
"My grandpappy told me about these things. Never though I'd actually see one." Saburo said, imitating an old cartoon clip he remembered as a child.
"Dottie and I surfed the internets over the telephone!" Makoto added in a creaky old voice.
The two of them erupted in laughter.
Amidst their joking, Saburo felt that familiar tap on his shoulder. He sat the drive down and turned around. "Oh, hey there!" He looked down and noticed the little girl clinging tightly to Reia's arm. Saburo did a quick double take and stared blankly at Reia and the child, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Reia... ummm... is there something you want to tell me?"
She nodded.
"Am I to assume it has something to do with the little shadow you seemed to have picked up?"
"Can we walk her home?" Reia asked.
Saburo turned to Makoto, "A moment, please." He took Reia by the hand and pulled her over behind some shelves. The little girl followed quickly behind and clung back onto Reia's arm. "Wha... Reia... how did you end up with this child?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet.
"She was outside the shop. She's scared and only wants to go home."
"That doesn't answer..." Saburo took in a deep breath. He bent down to the girl's level, "Hi!" he said, smiling. The little girl backed away and grabbed on tighter to Reia's arm. "Where are your parents?"
Reia tapped Saburo on the shoulder again. "They are at work." she signed.
"Is this right?" he asked the child. She nodded.
"Is your home far from here?" The girl shook her head.
Saburo hung his head and sighed. "Alright. Just show us how to get there."
The girl smiled and pulled on Reia's arm, pulling her towards the store entrance. "I'll be back in a minute, Makoto." Saburo called out.
"I'll be here all day!" Makoto replied.
They step out of the shop, child in tow. "Okay, where we goin?" Saburo asked.
The girl pointed down the street and tugged Reia's arm. Saburo followed behind the two as the young girl led the way. A few blocks down, a few blocks over and into a small community he had only seen in passing is where they wound up. She brought them to a house near the end of one of the several streets that crisscrossed the entire division. Reia followed her up to the front steps while Saburo stayed behind, not wanting to look like he was forcibly trying to separate the two.
'I need to keep a better eye out on her.' Saburo thought to himself, staring off into nothingness. 'She could get into real trouble like this.'
Seconds later, he felt Reia take him by the arm and put a peck on his cheek. "All done." she signed.
"Sounds good. Let's get back, shall we?"
"Can I ask something?" Reia asked as they walked back.
"Of course!" he replied.
"It is about some of the things she told me."
"Hmm... alright." Saburo gave her an odd look.
"Here goes..."
-- -- --
A short while after Saburo and Reia left, a car pulled up into the driveway. An older man steps out of the driver's door and walks towards the trunk.
"Hey, Noriko! Are you here?" he calls out towards the back yard.
The little girl comes running and leaps into the man's arms. "Wow, we are energetic today! Did you have fun at school?"
"Daddy, guess what? I made a new friend today!"
"Oh really? Tell us about him!" a middle aged woman asked, stepping out of the passenger side.
"It's a she, mommy, and her name is Reia!"
"That's great, Noriko! What's she like?" her father asked.
"She's tall and cute and has black hair and purple eyes and she's just like me!"
"Just like you, eh?" her mother giggled.
"That's right!"
"Will your friend be joining us for dinner?"
"No. I don't think she eats, mommy."
"I see." Noriko's mother added. "Okay, go back to playing. I'll let you know when dinner is ready."
"Okay!" Noriko ran off towards the back yard again. Her parents gathered the groceries out of the car and dropped them off inside on the kitchen counter.
"She's got a heck of an imagination!" her father started.
"Most kids that age do."
"I know dear, but I hope she's making some real friends. It must be hard for her."
"Well for now let her have her fun."