The Next Day
It had taken several hours of strenuous unpacking, but Junji and Minako were finally settled in their new apartment. Initially, they had planned to have one or more of their friends help them haul the final boxes of luggage and furniture up the stairs into the second-story dwelling, but they all had given reasons to decline. Hitomi, Nanase, and Jushiro were occupied with moving out of their own dorms, Masahiko and Kameko were on a date, Amethyst was all the way up in Kyotango, and Ryuhei had simply told them that he was 'busy', whatever that meant.
Immediately after the last box had been emptied, Junji collapsed onto the new, double-sized bed they had bought. Less than a second later, to his consternation, the phone began ringing.
"Ugh, talk about bad timing," the exhausted college graduate muttered, grabbing both ends of a pillow and pressing them tightly over his ears to block out the obnoxious sound. "Minako, could you get that? Please?"
"Of course," the green-haired persocom responded, smiling at her fiance. "You deserve your rest."
She walked over to the side table next to the bed and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Minako-chan, glad to hear from you again!" Joji's familiar, cheerful voice greeted her. "Do you mind if I speak to my son?"
Minako, correctly guessing the purpose of the call, handed the phone to Junji. "It's your dad," she told him.
Junji, still lying on top of the bed covers, took the receiver from Minako and turned over so he could comfortably hold it to his ear.
"What's up?"
"I was just wondering if you and Minako-chan would like to come visit us for a day or two," he said. "We're having a little family reunion to coincide with your graduation. Your cousin Satoru will be there, along with uncle Yuu and aunt Rie. We're scheduling it to start a week from today, if you're interested."
"Really?" Junji asked, surprised. "They're coming all the way down from Hokkaido?"
"They said it's no big deal, they were planning on taking a vacation anyway, after Satoru's school year ended."
"Oh yeah, he'll be a senior in high school this coming year, won't he?"
"Indeed. Maybe this time next year we can do this again to celebrate his graduation!"
"Hold on dad, I haven't agreed to this yet," Junji said nervously.
"Do you already have plans or something?"
"Well, no, nothing in particular..."
"Then what's the matter?" Joji's voice softened to a conspiratorial whisper as he spoke his next sentence. "Are you worried about your mother?"
"A little bit," Junji admitted.
"Well, relax, son. Miki will be too busy hosting this thing to cause you and your girlfriend too much trouble. You know how much of a perfectionist she is when it comes to having guests over."
"Yeah, good point," Junji laughed, recalling how his mother always had to make sure that even casual acquaintances were treated with five-star hospitality. "But, regarding Minako..."
"What is it, son?"
Impulsively, Junji decided to tell his dad the good news. The man had been very kind and understanding to the both of them, so he figured it was okay for him to know. But, he thought, he would have a little fun by delivering the news in a somewhat roundabout way.
"Actually dad, as of yesterday, she's not my girlfriend anymore."
"What?" Joji asked, sounding worried. "What happened?"
"I proposed to her - she's my fiancee."
The line went silent, and for an instant Junji regretted revealing his decision, but then he heard the unmistakable sound of Joji's laughter. It wasn't an incredulous or mocking laugh, though, but rather a cheerful one. "That's great, Junji! I'm really happy for both of you! But, is it legal to marry a-"
"No," Junji didn't let him finish the sentence. "Not officially, anyway. But common-law marriage is permitted, and there are a handful of precedents. We won't get any of the legal benefits, and our marriage won't be formally recognized by the government, but we will be considered to be married, nonetheless."
"I can imagine a lot of people probably still won't be too happy about it," Joji reflected.
"Yeah, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Well, I'll definitely do my best to support you two," Joji said. "Did you get her an engagement ring?"
"Um... well..." Junji chuckled nervously. His proposal had been almost completely spur-of-the-moment, as he had delivered it just as Minako had so eloquently dispelled his final doubts and reminded him of why he loved her so much. He hadn't even considered the fact that he had forgotten to give her a traditional engagement gift.
"It's okay," Minako laughed, overhearing the conversation perfectly with her enhanced senses. "You can buy me one later." She gave him a teasing wink.
"So, are you two coming, then?"
Junji looked at Minako, seeking her approval. She nodded.
"Sure, we'd love to come."
"Great! Don't worry about money, your mother and I will cover all of your expenses."
"Dad..." Junji groaned, again annoyed at his parents' tendency to coddle him financially. But if Joji picked up the cue in his son's voice, he didn't give it any heed.
"I can't wait to see you again! Give my regards to Minako-chan and Hitomi-chan!" With that, the older man hung up.
Junji put the receiver back on its stand and sighed. "One thing after another, huh?"
Minako sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm looking forward to it, personally, despite any trouble we might run into with your mother. By the way, what are your cousin and his family like? I'd like to know what to expect."
"They're nice, I guess," Junji mumbled.
"You guess?" Minako raised an eyebrow at this vague answer.
"Well, to be honest, I don't really know them that well. Satoru and I used to play together as kids, but that was many years ago - I can barely remember any of the details."
"You humans and your faulty memories," she teased him.
"Hey!" He shouted in mock indignation, as he playfully grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her down on top of him. They laughed as they play-wrestled a bit, which soon ended with Junji pinned in a gentle but firm hold.
"You should know better than to try to take me on when you're so exhausted," she laughed, relaxing her grip.
"Are you going to make fun of us humans for succumbing to fatigue so easily, too?"
"Well, now that you mention it..." she began, teasing him yet again. They both laughed and laid back on the bed, which was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate both of them.
"So, back to your cousin..." she said.
"Well, like I was saying, we used to play together when he was a little kid, but soon after that his mom got a job in Hokkaido and they had to move. I've only seen them a handful of times since then - the last time was a bit before I started college."
"So I take it you don't have any clue about how they'd react to...us, do you?"
"Not really. I guess we'll just have to figure that out when we see them."
"So, do you think we should tell Miki about the engagement, or wait?"
"I'm honestly not sure. Part of me wants to, just to see the look on her face."
Minako giggled at that.
"But," Junji continued, "dropping that bomb on her right away would make our stay rather unpleasant. I'm thinking maybe we should wait until the day before we return home."
"Good idea," Minako agreed, as she stood up. "I still need to buy more food to stock the fridge and cabinets here. You feel like coming along?"
"I would, but I need a nap," Junji yawned. "Could you pick up some chicken curry while you're shopping?"
"Don't you ever get tired of that stuff?" She asked. He gave her his best puppy-dog face and she laughed. "Don't worry, I won't forget it."
One Week Later
Soon after finalizing the arrangements with Junji's parents, and agreeing to stay for two days, Junji and Minako had departed. They were currently about half of the way to Tokyo, with Minako driving and Junji in the back seat. Most people made this trip by train, but that method of transportation didn't allow the couple the privacy they preferred. Not that they were making much use of it at the moment.
"When you guys get back," Nanase was saying over Minako's internal phone software, "you should really check out the new Korean restaurant that just opened a few blocks from our old dorm. Jushiro and I noticed them setting up as we were moving out, but I didn't get to try the food there until today. Their Hoeddoek pancakes are to die for!"
"Heh, I wouldn't know," Minako replied, subtly reminding her friend that she was incapable of eating.
"Oh yeah, that's right," Nanase chuckled, embarrassed at forgetting such an obvious fact. "But at least you don't ever have to worry about your figure, or watching your weight. I've gained a few kilos lately, and Jushiro's been warning me about pigging out. I do love food, but I might consider giving up eating entirely if I could have the chance to be young and beautiful forever."
"I'm not sure it's really worth it, Nanase-san," Minako advised her. "But I guess there is a balance of advantages and disadvantages for both 'coms and humans."
"You're right. Jushiro once said that-"
The rest of her sentence was lost, cut off by a loud "DAMMIT!" emanating from the back seat.
"Junji, I'm trying to drive here!" Minako said harshly.
"Sorry, sorry," he muttered, throwing the small, portable terminal he was carrying against the inside of the car door. "Freaking Masahiko..." he muttered under his breath.
Minako laughed. "Did you honestly expect anything different when you challenged him to a wireless deathmatch? He's a pro gamer, and you're an amateur at best."
"Still, I figured I'd be able to score at least one kill against him, but he's dominating me twenty-seven to zero! It certainly doesn't help that he feels the need to leave a snarky message every time he kills me."
"I guess you need more practice," the green-haired 'com said. "But not right now," she amended, as she spied him reaching for the discarded terminal. "Try something a bit less stressful. If it were a human driving, that little outburst of yours could have easily caused an accident. You're lucky that persocoms aren't so easily distracted."
Junji pouted sheepishly, but acquiesced, texted to Masahiko that he had had enough, and exited the game window, instead deciding to surf the net a bit.
A few minutes later, he was interrupted by his fiancee's voice.
"Hey Junji, look outside."
He put down the terminal and peered out the window. It had started to snow.
"It's a little late in the year for snow, isn't it?" He asked.
"Blame La Nina," she explained. "It's been particularly strong this year. Still, the weather forecast isn't predicting too much precipitation. I actually think it's very pretty."
Junji began to open his mouth, but Minako wasn't done yet. "And yes, I know it's not nearly as pretty as I am," she joked.
"I wasn't going to say that," he muttered, blushing.
"Yes you were," Minako chuckled. "I know you too well. Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but ease up on the cheesy lines when we're with your family, okay?"
Several Hours Later
When they pulled into the driveway of the Takeda home, situated within a quiet suburb of Tokyo, a light blanket of snow had accumulated on the ground, and it continued to fall gently.
After parking the car, Junji and Minako quickly rushed under the awning over the front door and rang the bell. The door opened, and they were greeted and ushered inside by Joji.
"Nice to see you again, son! You're right on time! You too, Minako-chan!" Junji's father gave them each a hug in turn.
"So this is the same house you grew up in, huh?" Minako asked.
"Yep," Junji confirmed. "I have a lot of fond memories of this place."
"It is pretty nice," the green-haired persocom commented. "Fairly large, too. Not quite as big as Amethyst-san's beach house, though."
"Your room is still the way you left it, for the most part," Joji said, addressing his son. "Occasionally we used it for storage, but we didn't touch any of your things."
"Thanks dad," Junji said.
At that point, Miki arrived in the small front hallway where the others were standing. She and Minako quickly caught each others' eyes and gave each other brief glares, but the exchange was almost imperceptible to observers if they weren't paying close attention.
"I'm glad you showed up, Junji", she said, hugging her son. She turned to address the persocom.
"Minako," she acknowledged her curtly, seemingly straining to not be overly aggressive.
"Miki," Minako replied, mimicking the woman's dismissive tone.
Joji and Junji shared a nervous look, both hoping to avoid another confrontation between these two.
To her credit, Miki didn't try to antagonize her son's fiancee, and changed the subject. "Your cousin's family should be here in an hour or so. While we're waiting, how about we get dinner started? You must be hungry after the long trip."
"That actually sounds really good right about now," Junji rubbed his stomach. "I haven't had anything to eat since this morning."
"Well, you'll have to wait a while before dinner itself is ready." Miki snapped her fingers. "Aurora!"
"Aurora?" Junji and Minako both muttered in confusion.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" Joji said. "Around two weeks ago, we finally-"
Before he could finish his explanation, a new face emerged from behind a door, farther down the hallway.
"Yes, ma'am?" The newcomer asked, in a soft, calm voice, bowing politely. She was clearly a persocom, of medium height, with long, white hair and white feather-like ears, wearing a simple maid outfit.
"Our guests have arrived," Miki said. "You can start fixing dinner now. Make sure it's ready in one hour."
"Yes, ma'am," the persocom acknowledged, bowing again, as she retreated back to the kitchen.
"You have a persocom, mom?" Junji asked.
"They are quite useful, I must admit," Miki said. "Now how about we get you some appetizers while Aurora is preparing dinner? I have a few plates of hors d'oeuvres prepared."
"I'm not about to refuse that," he said, patting his rumbling stomach again, as he followed his mother into the living room.
Once they were out of sight, Minako shot an accusing look at the older man standing next to her. "Joji-san!"
"What?" He raised his hands defensively. "It was Miki's idea, to get a persocom to handle various tasks around the house. We don't mistreat her or anything, if that's what you're worried about."
"But she seems so subservient," Minako commented.
"Hey, not every 'com is as fiery as you are," Joji countered. "That's just the way Aurora-chan is. We've only had her for two weeks, after all."
"I suppose you're right," Minako said. "Even I didn't have that much of a personality at first."
"I find that hard to believe," Joji said. Minako grinned.
"Can I introduce myself to her?"
"As long as you don't get in her way, sure."
Minako headed towards the door that the white-haired 'com had passed through, and found herself in a decent-sized kitchen. Aurora was standing at the counter, chopping vegetables on a cutting board. Minako sent out a ping signal to greet the other persocom, causing her to temporarily pause what she was doing and turn around.
"Hello," Aurora said, bowing politely. "You must be Minako-san. I have heard much about you from Joji-san."
"All of it positive, I hope," Minako said.
"Yes..." Aurora tilted her head to the side, apparently not getting the joke, as she went back to preparing the vegetables.
"Here, I'll help you with that," the elf-eared persocom offered, grabbing a knife herself from a stand on the kitchen counter.
"Thank you," Aurora said, moving to the side so Minako could join in the work.
"So, do you enjoy it here?"
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked, confused.
"Are you happy here, living with Mr. and Mrs. Takeda?" Minako clarified.
"Yes, I am happy," the white-haired 'com replied, smiling for the first time since Minako had seen her. "Joji-san and Miki-sama treat me very kindly."
"Why do you call her 'sama' and him 'san'?" Minako asked, noticing the incongruity.
"I was programmed to address my masters as 'sama', but Joji-san told me to address him as 'san' instead," Aurora explained.
By this point, the two had finished cutting the vegetables and started placing them in a pot of boiling water on the stove top.
"I see," Minako smiled. "What about the fact that you're forced to work for them, without being paid?"
"I don't mind," Aurora replied, without skipping a beat. "Joji-san once offered to compensate me for my work, but I told him that being given a place to live, along with clothes and other everyday necessities was sufficient payment in and of itself."
"Glad to hear he offered, at least," Minako said. "He must have really taken the lessons in my book to heart."
"Which book is that?"
"I Am Not A Thing: A Persocom's Reflections on an Unjust Society," Minako stated the title proudly. "My magnum opus - at least until the next work I come up with."
Aurora's eyes flashed with recognition. "I have seen that book on the shelf in Joji-san's room, but I have not read it."
"Well, here. How about a data transfer then?" Minako reached behind her ear and took out a cable.
"Okay." Aurora stopped stirring the boiling pot and reached behind her own, wing-like ear, opening a data port. She took the cable and plugged it in, and both of their eyes flashed with streaks of light for a few seconds before returning to normal.
"Transfer complete," Minako said. "I hope you enjoy it."
"I have begun reading it." Aurora said, as she went back to her cooking. "I will give you my opinion when I am finished."
Just then, Junji entered the room, noticing the two 'coms chatting.
"Hey Minako, made a new friend?"
The elf-eared persocom turned to smile at her fiance. "Junji, this is Aurora-san. She's a bit shy, but I like her already."
"Pleased to meet you, Junji-sama," she said, bowing much lower than she had when addressing Minako.
"Just Junji-san is fine," he said.
"I'm sorry. As the son of my masters, I thought-"
"Hey, it's okay," he said, cutting her off. "You know, you look familiar. I think I've seen a persocom like you somewhere before."
"I am a PCN Model NQ18 Multi-Purpose Humanoid Agent," she said. "My model is currently ranked 29th in popularity nationwide."
"Hey, I remember now!" Junji snapped his fingers. "It was the day I bought you, in fact, Minako!" He turned to face the elven-eared 'com. "Before I saw you, I was checking out some other models, and I saw one that looked just like her. I wonder if it actually was her?"
"That isn't possible, Junji-san" Aurora explained. "According to the data exchange we just performed, Minako-san was built two years and four days before I was, and one year, one month, and sixteen days before my model was first available in stores. What you likely saw was a previous model, perhaps an NQ17."
"I guess. You're a more advanced version, then?"
"Yes. My design improves over the NQ17 in several areas, including memory capacity, drive space, parallel processing ability, and self-maintenance capability."
"I wonder what happened to your predecessor, though, the one I saw back then? Hopefully her owners didn't just thrown her in the trash now that there's an improved model out."
"The NQ17 model is still more than sufficient for most domestic and computing tasks," Aurora said. "The NQ18 model was designed primarily for people buying their first persocom, rather than those looking to replace an older one."
"Hopefully the Aurora model you saw has a good home, with someone who respects her." Minako offered.
"Interesting how they'll upgrade the internal systems, but keep the same external appearance." Junji commented. "Can't say I blame them, though. You're incredibly cute, Aurora-chan."
The white-haired 'com began blushing intensely, and looked demurely away. "T-thank you, Junji-san..." she stammered. He laughed, but soon felt the sting of a light slap on his cheek.
"Hey! I didn't mean she was cuter than you, Minako!" He complained. The green-haired 'com simply rolled her eyes.
Aurora looked at this scene in puzzlement. "I don't understand. Is there something between you two?"
"You mean, Joji-san didn't tell you?" Minako asked.
Aurora shook her head. "He merely said that his son Junji lived with a persocom named Minako."
Junji and Minako shared a look. "Should we tell her?"
"I don't see the harm in it."
"Tell me what?" Aurora asked.
"Well... promise not to tell Miki, okay?" Junji whispered.
Aurora looked furtively from side to side, and then whispered back "I promise."
"Minako is actually my fiancee. We're engaged to be married."
Aurora's eyes widened a bit at this. "I... see. Congratulations to both of you."
"Thanks," Minako said. "It means a lot to have supporters."
"Anyway," Junji said, "if I recall correctly, Aurora is actually the name of your series. My parents didn't give you your own name?"
"No," Aurora said, now completely recovered from her earlier embarrassment due to Junji's compliment. "Miki-sama was the one who first activated me, and when I prompted her for a name, she decided to just give me the default name of my series. I suspect she never really considered coming up with something more unique."
"And you're okay with that?"
"It doesn't bother me."
"But isn't it confusing, with all of the other Aurora 'coms out there?" Junji asked.
"The majority of owners give their persocoms individual names, so being named after my series actually makes my name rather uncommon, ironically," Aurora said.
"Heh, that is ironic," Junji grinned. "What-"
"Hey, you two, stop distracting Aurora! She has to finish cooking by the time Yuu and Rie get here!" Miki's scolding voice announced her arrival in the kitchen.
"Sorry mom," Junji said, as he and Minako left Aurora to continue preparing the meal.
Junji then showed Minako to his room, which, as his father had said, had been preserved almost exactly the way he had left it when he had first gone to college. Junji collapsed onto his bed, relishing the nostalgic feel of his old mattress and pillow.
Minako, meanwhile, began inspecting some of the books on one of the nearby bookshelves.
"Shounen manga? Really?" She chuckled as she flipped through the black-and-white comic.
Junji blushed slightly. "Hey, I was a teenager, can you blame me?"
"I suppose not," she said, putting the tankoubons back on the shelf. "I guess I just imagined your tastes would be a bit more sophisticated."
"You want sophisticated, check out my dad's library," Junji suggested. "I've read most of the books he has there, both fiction and non-fiction. In fact, it was from reading some of books he had, like Elliot Aronson's The Social Animal, that I first became interested in psychology."
"Interesting. Maybe I should check that one out myself."
"I'd definitely give it a recommendation. Anyway," Junji said, standing up, "those snacks mom gave me have sated my hunger for now, but I'm still kind of sweaty, so I figure I should take a shower before the rest of the family arrives."
"Mind if I join you?" Minako asked.
Junji's face became bright red. "W-what if mom sees?"
"She's not going to walk into the bathroom when the shower is running," the persocom pointed out. "Besides, she's busy with last-minute preparations before your cousin's family shows up."
"I guess," Junji said. "But we should make this quick, just in case."
The two covertly entered the upstairs bathroom and began running the shower water as they took off their clothes.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask you something, and this seems like a good time," Junji said, as he washed Minako's back and shoulders.
"Go ahead," she replied, adjusting the water a bit.
"Do persocoms really need to take showers, or is it just for fun and relaxation purposes?"
"Well, I can't deny I'm certainly having fun," she replied, smiling seductively as she turned around and caressed her lover's chest, "but it does also serve a practical purpose. Just because we don't sweat doesn't mean that our bodies don't accumulate dust and dirt, the same as humans do. We just don't need to shower quite as frequently."
"I guess that makes sense," Junji said. "Although I'd figure that hair takes quite a lot of maintenance," he said, playfully running his hands through her green tresses.
"Actually, my hair is composed of a composite polymer specifically designed to minimize tangling and accumulation of dirt and debris, while still retaining the flexibility and texture of human hair," she explained. "Reishinka was one of the first companies to incorporate this material into the design of their 'coms, but now it's actually pretty standard for the entire industry. I still have to brush it and clean it, of course, but only about once a week."
"I can see how that would come in useful," he said, surreptitiously reaching a hand around her waist to tickle her stomach.
"J-Junji, stop it!" She started giggling uncontrollably.
"Sorry, I thought you liked that," he apologized.
"I kind of do, but I don't want Miki to hear anything suspicious," she whispered.
"Good point. By the way, have you decided whether you're going to stay up all night like you do at home, or try sleeping? And if so, where? I don't think mom would like us sleeping in the same room."
"Yeah, well she can go-"
Minako was interrupted by the muffled sound of the doorbell from downstairs. The two quickly finished up in the shower, toweled each other off, and got dressed. When they arrived downstairs, they found Junji's parents greeting the newly-arrived Yuu, Rie, and Satoru. Junji's aunt and uncle were both relatively tall, much thinner than Joji, and sported short, black hair. They were wearing casual, but still respectable - looking clothes. Satoru, on the other hand, was slightly shorter than his parents, with scraggly, unkempt hair, and wore a sweater and jeans that looked like they hadn't been washed for a few days.
"Hey guys, I haven't seen you in practically forever!" Junji exclaimed, giving his aunt and uncle a hug. He then turned to his younger cousin. "Heh, Satoru-kun, the last time I saw you, you were just a little kid. What are you, like sixteen now?"
"Seventeen," Satoru said proudly. "My birthday was just last month."
"Oh yeah, that's right," Junji said.
"Is that your persocom?" He asked, pointing towards Minako. "She's pretty hot."
"Satoru!" His mother admonished him.
"It's okay," Minako laughed. "I'm not offended or anything. Teenagers will be teenagers."
"Hey, I was just paying her a compliment," The boy defended himself. "I've always wanted a full-size 'com, but all we've got is a crummy laptop."
"Who are you calling crummy?" A high-pitched female voice rang out from a bag Yuu was carrying, and a small, doll-like persocom soon crawled out and jumped to the floor. Her hair was a simple bowl cut, divided into equally-sized hemispheres of pure black and white, and she wore an outfit reminiscent of a Shinto priestess.
"I thought you turned yourself off, Rika," Satoru said. "They required all persocoms and other electronic devices to be shut down on the plane." Minako noticed that he didn't seem to be on particularly friendly terms with the little 'com.
"I set myself to automatically reactivate on a timer," she said. "Just in time to catch that rude remark." She pointed at him accusingly. "You really should be nicer to me, or I might not help you with your homework again next year!"
Junji couldn't help but laugh at this, which caused Satoru to give him an annoyed glare.
"Whatever," the high school student exclaimed in annoyance. "Where's my room?"
Miki offered to show him to the guest room he would be sleeping in, while Rika turned to address the others.
"Please excuse Satoru-kun," she said. "He doesn't really mean most of the rude things he says, he just lacks social skills."
"I heard that!" Satoru shouted from down the hall.
"Anyway," the laptop continued, undeterred, "My name is Rika. Pleased to meet you all." She curtsied politely.
"Pleased to meet you too, Rika-chan," Junji said, bending down to shake her tiny hand.
"Everyone, may I have your attention please?" Aurora asked, having arrived when no one else was looking.. "Dinner is ready. If you will all procede to the dining room, I will begin serving your meals."
"Good job, Aurora-chan," Joji said. "I'll go get Miki and Satoru." As he left, everyone else began politely introducing themselves, and sparking up a few minor conversations.
Both Junji and Minako noticed that Yuu and Rie didn't seem to look down on any of the persocoms, and spoke to them politely just as they would to other humans - that was a good sign. After a few minutes, Junji's mother and cousin had returned, and everyone proceeded to the dining room.