The learning Curve
Chapter 6
Cipu
Here we are again, first-period study hall, Juu-kun and I, playing chess.
I still can't believe he could kiss me like that. I mean, God, he's a cyborg! Are they supposed to know how to kiss, to feel love, to be a person?
I had to really consider this before I started drawing up the plans for New Cipu. Was I still a person if I had circuits, wires, and reactors in me?
Juu-kun had accomplished this amazing feat, evolving from the puppet of Dr. Gero into a full-fledged... person.
I didn't know if I could do the same. Maybe it's possible with the modified reactor for me to keep my identity, my memories, myself.
God, Cipu! Concentrate on chess for once! Your cyborgation will come later...
I moved my queen out to capture one of his pawns, placing him in check. He saw through this, and moved his king to capture my queen.
The next thing he said shocked me.
"Let's forget about chess for a while," he said.
Juunanagou
"Wha-what do you want to talk about?" she said.
"I've thought about last night. My sister and I talked, and I realize that I'm in love with you. I've never felt love before, it's new to me, but I know I love you."
"Thank you. And I want to apologize for how I treated you last night."
"Huh?"
"The experimentation crap. I was thinking of you as just another lab mouse to toy with. Then I thought, 'God, I'm being Dr. Gero'. Then I got so mad at myself..."
Her face tensed with pure rage.
"It's okay."
"It's not okay! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with research that I can't see people for who or what they are. Such was your case. Thank Kami-sama I snapped out of it."
"Calm down, Cipu." My hand stroked hers. "You are a brilliant scientist, and as such, I want you to do something for me."
Her expression grew more serious. "What?"
"Fix me. Make me normal again."
"I can't do that. Cybernetics is a relatively new field, but it does have its laws. The First Law is the Law of Biotic Variation, which states that all cyborgs are different from each other, due to their biological components. The Second Law is the Law of Creators. It states that only a cyborg's creator can make repairs or modifications to him or her. Also, if I attempt fitting you with one of my modified reactors, I have to turn your original eternal energy reactor off for a few minutes, and there is a great chance that your biological components will...die."
"Thank you for informing me," I said, " but that's not what I meant. I want you to make me feel normal again, like you did last night."
She pondered for a minute and said, "Ohhh..."
I leaned in towards her beautiful face, black eyes snapping; raven-black hair styled just so with two star-shaped barrettes. My mouth opens, and she responds in kind. We kiss, ever so gently, ever so slowly, as if there was nothing around us but eternity. I force my insensate skin to feel this, making a hallucination of it. What's that saying? "Mind over matter".
This is perfection, but it is soon interrupted by the whiz of a flying pencil.
"OWWW!" Cipu screams.
"What's going on?"
"They always do this to me. They sharpen pencils sometimes, and play 'target practice' with me. I try to dodge the pencils, but they usually get me, somehow."
Oh, Kami-sama, leave the poor girl alone!
I may be semi-mechanical, but I am not as cold as these bastards who intend to harm this girl are. My love.
More pencils come flying, as do the taunts of "What are you going to do now? Create androids to rule the world?" "Gero Junior!" "Geek!" "Go to Hell, nerd!" "I want you to die!"
I have no choice. I stand up, flick my earring in order to move faster than usual, and capture all of the pencils being aimed at Cipu.
The rest of the class, except Juuhachi, just stares in amazement.
The main popular girl- I think my sister said her name was Nuriko- yelled, "God, you're a handsome boy, why would you defend a worthless, piece-of-crap geek like HER?"
"Because I want to." I raised my hand, ready to offer Nuriko an energy blast. "Got a problem with that?"
"N-no..."
"Good."
I returned to playing chess with Cipu.
Upon sitting down, Cipu asks me, "Would you like to go out with me this evening?"
"Where to?"
'The arcade."
"Which arcade?"
"The one within walking distance of Green Meadows, the one by the fresh-fruit stand."
"Yeah... that one. I'll go, on one condition."
"What?"
"We're not going to play any wimpy games like pinball or electronic bowling."
"Agreed. I wanted to check out the new Virtual Motorbike game, anyway...I like those kind of games, shoot-'em-ups aren't bad either."
The bell sounded.
"See you tonight, Cipu."
"Later."
I arrived at the Kame House to find out that my sister had gotten home before me.
"Hey, lover-boy," she teased. "How's your date going to be tonight?"
"Shut up! How do you know?"
"Overheard the two of you in class."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I've picked you up some new clothes at the mall. I had to get some new shoes anyway, and so I thought, 'Hey, why don't I pick up Juu-kun something nice for him to wear on his little date?' So I got you a denim shirt and a pair of khakis."
She showed them to me.
"Sis, you've always had excellent taste in clothes."
"Well, thanks. I should take that as a genuine compliment coming from you. Why don't you try them on?"
"Okay."
While I struggled to put the pants on (I'm not used to wearing dress pants), Juuhachi yelled, "C'mon out! I want to see what my brother, that little lover-boy, looks like!"
"Just a second."
I pranced in front of her in my new clothes. They fit perfectly, even though the pants were a bit snug at first.
"My, you look quite handsome! My brother, the lady-killer!" She laughed.
"Aw, shut up."
"No, I'm serious. You look good in that."
I hope I can impress Cipu in this. I really do.
Cipu
Okay, it's 4:30.
I've rushed through my homework half-mindedly, started my New Cipu blueprints, and now is the Hour of Doom.
I have to find something nice, but comfortable, to wear to the arcade.
All I could see were old school uniforms and tons of lavender T-shirts and black skirts.
Then I saw it.
The floral jumper my mom gave me for my birthday last year. It still fit.
I slipped it and its accompanying white T-shirt on, leaving on my white socks and purple hi-tops for casuality.
Now for the hair.
Ah, yes. The purple headband.
Perfect.
I hope he likes my clothes. I hope we have fun at the arcade.
What am I worried about? He's not one of those self-centered popular guys who only dates you because you're pretty or rich or something. He's Juunanagou, a lonely cyborg boy who is crazy-mad about me. Because I am me.
Well, still I pray...
************************************************************************
Juunanagou
Well, she isn't here yet.
But I did have some fun in the interim- I wanted to get a nice car for her, so I went out hunting for a human with a nice convertible. When I found him, I pointed my .45 at him and asked to hand the car over. He protested, but I kept shoving the gun against his skull. He soon got the message. I got behind the wheel and speeded away.
Oh, here she comes... on a bike?
A bike? I could have picked her up in this car! Cars, as are my understanding, are female magnets! What the hell...?
"Hi, Juu-kun! Nice car!"
"Thanks, it's stolen!"
"How in the hell did you manage to do that?"
"Easy. I'm a cyborg. People are scared of me. I take what I want, and they run off and hide."
"Figures," she laughed. "Maybe you should have said you were a valet or something, that's what I would have done...if I wanted to steal a car."
"Why didn't you wait for me to pick you up?"
"I live only two blocks from here, baka. It's easier for me to ride a bike."
"Oh... You look beautiful tonight."
"You too. I love that shirt. It makes you look so..." She stopped short and blushed.
"So what?"
"So...so...sexy." She turned away from me.
I didn't understand her. She said I was sexy, but she turned away, like she was scared or something.
Damned human emotions. I'll never understand them.
"Why did you turn away from me?"
"I was...embarrassed, that's all."
"What's embarrassed?"
'When you feel the world is crashing down on you, and all you want to do is run into a cave and hide."
"Oh. I see."
"Let's go in, sexy man," she grinned, holding out her hand.
My hand returned the favor, enmeshed in hers.
We entered the arcade.
Nuriko and company were standing outside the arcade, chatting. "This proves that Mad-Scientist and that hot guy are an item!"
"What do we do?"
"So help me God, I'm going to kill that bitch tomorrow. Don't laugh, I'm dead friggin' serious."
Cipu
"Which game do you want to play first?" I asked.
"Anything involving cars, guns, or random destruction."
"Well, that's about seventy percent of the arcade... Hey, I'll race you at Virtual Motorbike."
"Deal."
We both deposited the token fee of 5 zenis, sat on the motorcycle-shaped controls, and started to race. Juunana couldn't keep his foot off the accelerator. He was whooping me bad.
Well, sucker, eat this!
I accelerated and made a sharp left so as to cross Juu-kun's vehicle. He got visibly mad and yelled, "Eat my dust, Cipu! Ha-ha!"
"Yeah, right." I accelerated some more. "Eat my dust."
"Hey, this is pretty fun!" he yelled. "I think I'm going to kick your ass good..."
Just then, the light flashed and the siren beeped.
WINNER: PLAYER 1.
Juunanagou.
"Ha-ha! Loser!" He laughed.
"Oh, pu-leeze..."
"Okay, sorry about being a poor winner. It's my nature, I have to win."
"I guess... Let's get out of here."
"Why?"
"I'm tired, and my mom says I have to be home by nine."
"Can I drive you?"
Without a moment's hesitation, I replied, "Sure. Let me put the bike into its capsule..."
Which I did. I then hopped into the stolen convertible and gave him directions to my house.
Juu-kun was smiling and driving like a maniac all the way home.
Juunanagou
We finally arrived at her house.
No cars were in the driveway; I assumed her mom wasn't home.
"Do you want to come inside?" she asked.
"What for?"
"Um...because." Her eyes shifted like she was up to something.
I was curious what.
"Umm...sure." I parked the car in front of the house.
We went inside, hand in hand, and sat down on the couch.
"I was thinking something at the arcade tonight," she said, her face turning bright red.
"What?"
"I want to get to know you a little better." Her hand brushed against my thigh. She giggled, slightly.
"How so?" I had no clue what she was talking about.
"I want you to make love to me. My mom's not home, no one will know."
"Make...love? What do you mean?"
"I have a picture in one of my mom's medical treatises. You want me to show you?"
"Sure." This couldn't be as bad as kissing, could it?
She got up, grabbed the treatise, and showed me the picture...
I was speechless.
"It's usually used for reproduction in lower mammals, but, for humans, cyborgs included, it is a way of bonding your essence, your soul. It's like a kiss, but a thousand times more intense." She smiled. "Let me escort you to my room. I realize my bed is rickety and twin-sized, but it'll suffice."
She grabbed my hand and dragged me up the stairs.
Cipu
Clothes flew everywhere, his, mine. Before we even knew it, we were on my rickety old bed. Making love.
I knew we were just a couple of kids fooling around, but there was something that told us that this would be of cosmic significance.
I left no trace, no atom, of his being untouched. He responded by gracefully nuzzling my neck. It was amazing to me that he could project his mental feelings onto his insensate physical body.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling. He made me feel like a goddess, a Grand Creatrix. All of his old wounds, his hatred of Gero, became my hatred, his unconditional love for his sister became mine. We were slowly becoming one being, with no name and a shared mind, although I still saw him and he still saw me.
The pleasure, the pain, the sensation was too much for me to bear. My lips opened with a gentle moan at first, then a loud scream.
His body began to shake. He whispered, "Oh, Kami-sama! Cipu, I love you. You are precious. I could be with you forever..."
"Get your clothes on, I'm tired."
"Okay." And so he did. "I hope to see you again, Cipu-sama."
I cried. No guy had ever called me that in my whole life.
"Thank you, Juu-kun...Juunana-sama. Tonight was beautiful. I felt like I was a part of you. I know where the holes in your psyche are, why you hate Gero and love your sister. I learned that tonight."
"And I learned why people want to destroy your being. We know each other now; let's keep it that way." He smiled, not a sarcastic smirk like usual, but a real, genuine smile.
"See you tomorrow in study hall," he said as he left.
I fell asleep, dreaming of that boy.
Juunana-sama.
