Kanoe arrived late to an odd scene, barely managing to get a robe over herself before entering the room. A fully naked, strange man stood, trembling as a newborn foal, with the diminutive Satsuki struggling to support him. Yuuto and Seishirou stood warily by, watching, the latter looking as if he were trying not to laugh. Nataku had wandered off, it's childlike mind bored now that the excitement had passed.
"What in the HELL is going on here?" She stopped, hands on hips. Everyone turned at the sound of her voice, and the strange man actually cowered, bringing to the Dreamseer a brief, secret smile. The younger girl took this opportunity to let him gently to the floor and approach Kanoe, her expression a mixture of anxiety, confusion and something else. She bowed hurriedly and began to explain.
"It seems that the computer I call the Beast has managed to get into the same labs that birthed Nataku, and requisitioned one of their prototype cyborg bodies for it's own use."
"How do you know it didn't just take over some poor bastard from off the street.?"
"Look at the marks on his back. Those are make, model and company identifiers."
"And you let this happen?" Her expression became severe. Satsuki took a deep breath, trying not to scream at the half-naked bitch.
"I didn't know it would. Beast stopped responding to me days ago, presumably to do this. Don't try to pin this on me, Kanoe-san. I built the machine with a mind of it's own, as much of one as you or I." Kanoe pursed her lips, then turned to the shivering form. "There's an empty room in your wing. Find some clothing for him. And a name. We can't exactly keep calling him 'The Beast'."
Satsuki began calling him Kakuei-san. At first it was like having a child, but one that learned at an astonishing rate. Thankfully the cyborg body controlled certain messy functions. Motor functions were learned quickly, though making them smooth took a bit longer. When in the room with his old self, he seemed to function psychically as both bodies, the tendrils of the great machine moving with the new arms and legs, accomplishing tasks as the rest of him did other things. She managed to cadge some old clothing from the assassin, and would have had more but Yuuto was a bit too short. He quickly began exploring his senses, combining food in ways that made her retch, to figure out what the combinations were like. Coffee was something he took to readily, disliking the taste without huge amounts of sugar, but enjoying the way he could watch the caffeine filter into the chemicals that carried things around in place of blood, and how it reacted with his own chemistry, not unlike a human's. Kakuei grew bored of the complex quickly enough, so Satsuki began taking him to different places in Tokyo. His favorite places to go turned out to be the subway stations, with their constant bustle of people, and the park.
"Why is the End of the World so important? It seems like everything's fine." The two of them sat beneath a cherry tree in a small park near the two towers, Kakuei watching a flock of girls wander past, excited to be out of school. Satsuki stared at him. She didn't want to explain.
"Um. Well. Because there are lots of things wrong with this place too. We don't want it to end, really, but to be rebuilt. Look at the air. It's dirty. And all these buildings. They used to be stands of trees. And the people..." She paused, eyes downcast. "I used to like people. I used to be able to see the good in them. But they don't think anymore. They just keep consuming and ruining and not seeing what they're doing wrong, or who it affects. That's why I like you."
"But those children over there. They're not bad. And those older people. They're feeding the birds. That's helping. How do you know who are the bad ones?"
"We don't. We take it all down and destiny gets to decide." It sounded so harsh that she winced at her own words.
"Won't that make you a bad person, then?"
"It's more complicated than that, damnit. Please, drop it." She leaned back and closed her eyes, felt the rough bark behind her head with the currents of life within, and tried to convince herself of something new; that fate was still the right thing to do.
"What in the HELL is going on here?" She stopped, hands on hips. Everyone turned at the sound of her voice, and the strange man actually cowered, bringing to the Dreamseer a brief, secret smile. The younger girl took this opportunity to let him gently to the floor and approach Kanoe, her expression a mixture of anxiety, confusion and something else. She bowed hurriedly and began to explain.
"It seems that the computer I call the Beast has managed to get into the same labs that birthed Nataku, and requisitioned one of their prototype cyborg bodies for it's own use."
"How do you know it didn't just take over some poor bastard from off the street.?"
"Look at the marks on his back. Those are make, model and company identifiers."
"And you let this happen?" Her expression became severe. Satsuki took a deep breath, trying not to scream at the half-naked bitch.
"I didn't know it would. Beast stopped responding to me days ago, presumably to do this. Don't try to pin this on me, Kanoe-san. I built the machine with a mind of it's own, as much of one as you or I." Kanoe pursed her lips, then turned to the shivering form. "There's an empty room in your wing. Find some clothing for him. And a name. We can't exactly keep calling him 'The Beast'."
Satsuki began calling him Kakuei-san. At first it was like having a child, but one that learned at an astonishing rate. Thankfully the cyborg body controlled certain messy functions. Motor functions were learned quickly, though making them smooth took a bit longer. When in the room with his old self, he seemed to function psychically as both bodies, the tendrils of the great machine moving with the new arms and legs, accomplishing tasks as the rest of him did other things. She managed to cadge some old clothing from the assassin, and would have had more but Yuuto was a bit too short. He quickly began exploring his senses, combining food in ways that made her retch, to figure out what the combinations were like. Coffee was something he took to readily, disliking the taste without huge amounts of sugar, but enjoying the way he could watch the caffeine filter into the chemicals that carried things around in place of blood, and how it reacted with his own chemistry, not unlike a human's. Kakuei grew bored of the complex quickly enough, so Satsuki began taking him to different places in Tokyo. His favorite places to go turned out to be the subway stations, with their constant bustle of people, and the park.
"Why is the End of the World so important? It seems like everything's fine." The two of them sat beneath a cherry tree in a small park near the two towers, Kakuei watching a flock of girls wander past, excited to be out of school. Satsuki stared at him. She didn't want to explain.
"Um. Well. Because there are lots of things wrong with this place too. We don't want it to end, really, but to be rebuilt. Look at the air. It's dirty. And all these buildings. They used to be stands of trees. And the people..." She paused, eyes downcast. "I used to like people. I used to be able to see the good in them. But they don't think anymore. They just keep consuming and ruining and not seeing what they're doing wrong, or who it affects. That's why I like you."
"But those children over there. They're not bad. And those older people. They're feeding the birds. That's helping. How do you know who are the bad ones?"
"We don't. We take it all down and destiny gets to decide." It sounded so harsh that she winced at her own words.
"Won't that make you a bad person, then?"
"It's more complicated than that, damnit. Please, drop it." She leaned back and closed her eyes, felt the rough bark behind her head with the currents of life within, and tried to convince herself of something new; that fate was still the right thing to do.
