AN: next chapter please review more…..has review withdrawal, dies X.X no poem this time…..readers cheer

Note: I may be doing some first person POV in here for Darla. Only for her though.

The 15 year old girl sat happily on the sofa, sketching a lark that chirruped on the balcony. The air was brisk, but it seemed not to bother her. Her drawing was good, shaded well, with fine attention to detail, and she seemed content. She turned to her persecom, a quiet-eyed boy 'com with brown hair and soft hazel eyes. He appeared to smile at her. He was an older model, like Yuzuki, but she still loved him. Her face wrinkled in consternation as she thought about a comment her father had made at the dinner table a few nights ago. How she was getting old enough to have one of the new faster 'coms.

"But I don't want a new one. I want to keep Aki……" She complained quietly under her breath. "That old hypocrite. Yuzuki is older, but if I said that, he would just have some other argument to fling at me because I'm not good at debating." She turned her face back to the bird, but with a final sweet note, it lit from the branch and rose gracefully into the sky, becoming nothing but a dark speck on the brightening horizon.

"Wa……Crap!" She almost crumpled the sketch on the spot, but after heaving an exasperated sigh, she closed her drawing pad and turned back to her Persecom. "Aki, can you get me a drink of water please?"

"Of course Milady." He gave a comical smile and a mock bow, and the girl giggled. Aki was so real sometimes……and such a tease. Yesterday he had accidentally cut the skin on his hand with one of the kitchen knives, while trying to juggle them for her. He walked over to the pitcher on her desk and poured some of the water into a cup, but some accidentally spilled on his arm. He walked over to her, holding out the glass, the same mocking smile on his boyish face. The girl laughed.

"Oh Aki……." Her smile faded as she realized the blank look in his eyes. Peculiar sparks rose from the tear in his hand. "Aki?" A hint of panicky fear crept into her voice when the persecom didn't answer, only continued walking slowly towards her, hand outstretched. The Cup of water fell to the floor, and the sparks leapt higher. His pace quickened.

"Teku……TEKU?!" She was scared now. She yelled for her brother, forgetting that he was out of town, and she was home alone. Stumbling out of her chair, she ran into the edge of the balcony behind her. "ouch…." She winced. "Aki? Aki, it's me, remember? Hotaru……" She pleaded, tears coming to her eyes. She was cornered and she knew it. There was no way she could defend herself against a malfunctioning persecom. They where built to protect humans, and therefore stronger than any human could ever be. Aki appeared not to hear her, finally meeting her face to face, a hungry look in his eyes. His hands clamped around her wrists like steel manacles. Chains of fear. He ripped angrily at her shirt, his perfectly groomed fingernails tearing 4 bloody streaks down her back.

A shrill scream broke the morning silence. A crowd of sleeping larks exploded into the dawning morning, startled by the sound.

Hotaru sat bolt upright in bed, her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her parched and sore throat refused to produce sound under this sort of abuse. Her hair was plastered to her head, her night gown soaked with sweat. She continued trying to scream until her terror receded and she sat, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. The pain in her throat worsened, and through the haze of fear that still gripped her, she dimly realized she needed something to drink. Quietly untangling herself from the twisted and knotted bed sheets, and silently crept downstairs. She was slowly calming, but she couldn't completely remember her dream. She had a good idea what her nightmare had been about though. It had seemed so real, because it had been real. She brought her fingers up to her face, something wet other than sweat still ran down her cheeks. Tears.

She reached the kitchen, pondering what had triggered her to dream about him again. She hadn't had another of her horrible nightmares for almost a year now. Sighing, she opened the refrigerator for some water, and then thought better of it, going towards her parent's liquor cabinet.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sat at one of the many kitchen tables in the huge mansion. I had gotten up to find the laundry room for my shirt, and gotten quite lost in the process. The room I was in now seemed to be decorated Victorian style, with ornate drapes on some of the small, quant windows on each of the four walls. A mini fridge sat in one corner, with a microwave on the nearest counter, but other than that, the room seemed of an earlier time. It also was dusty from disuse, I reflected, drawing my finger across the wooden table in the center, only to have it come away covered with dust. The sink in the corner still worked, and after locating a kettle, I had made myself a cup of black tea. The real-feeling warmth of the cup in front of me was calming, and I cupped my hands around the chipped mug, staring into the dark depths of the slowly cooling liquid. Steam rose from the cup, making tiny droplets of condensation appear on my skin.

A clanking sound was heard from the direction of the cabinets across from the small room, startling me out of my reverie. A thin silhouette stood on tiptoe at the counter, reaching up for a dark bottle. It was Minoru's daughter, I realized, the dark and gloomy girl called Hotaru. The way she had stared right through me when we had entered the house today had been disconcerting to say the least, but her sad aura had puzzled me. She seemed almost to know my true nature with her cold greeting. When I had asked Papa today why she was so sad, he had only said something about her being hurt by a persecom, which had also confused me.

In my haste to sit and reflect, I had neglected to turn on the light to the kitchen, so Hotaru still didn't know I was there, without thinking, I spoke.

"Hotaru?" With a muffled scream, she dropped the crystalline glass she was holding and spun, brandishing a bottle if wine. The glass shattered in the tiled floor, and tiny pieces of glass flew, a myriad of glittering sharpness. Her face softened a bit when she saw it was only me, but her breathing had sped up again

"Darla. You scared me." She replied in a flat voice before bending down to clean up. I quickly rose to help her, unearthing a cobweb-laden broom from one of the dirty corners if the room. We cleaned in almost companionable silence until the mess was gone. She then went to get the discarded wine bottle, pouring some of the dark liquid into a new glass.

Hotaru listened to the running-water sound of the wine trickling into the flutelike glass on the table. She stared levelly across at the new girl, Darla, who cupped a mug of now cold tea between her hands. Her father, a long time friend of Minoru's had introduced her as his and Chii's adopted daughter, whom he had hidden from the general public for a while to protect her from the criticisms of an anti-computer relationship society. She had thought there was something strange about Darla from the moment she laid eyes on her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what. It was something about the defiance and utter lack of fear in her eyes as she appraised Hotaru and her family, something so uncharacteristic of a human who had grown up in isolation. She lowered herself heavily into one of the dusty wooden chairs across from Darla, taking a sip from her glass, and feeling the liquid burn through her, as though searing her soul. She wondered if Darla was the reason for the reappearance of her recurring nightmare. She decided to break the uncomfortable silence with a question that had been nagging her all day.

"So what's it like?" Hotaru's powerful stare seemed to see right through her, and a wave of guilt rolled over Darla.

"er…..what?" She stuttered uncomfortably.

"Having that……that computer as a mother…..and having to grow up without knowing anyone. It must be pretty strange coming here for you."

"Oh….yeah. Strange." Was it just Hotaru's imagination that the girl seemed overly uncomfortable with the question? Heck, with the kind of society her father must have told her she was being born into, shouldn't she be relieved that they weren't treating her any different? Then again, how would she know….Hotaru felt a wave of pity for the forlorn girl in front of her.

"You couldn't sleep either?" She said, changing the subject. Darla shook her head wordlessly. They lapsed once again into a golden quiet. Orange tinges where beginning to touch the edges of the dim horizon, as another day dawned. Hotaru hadn't realized how late it had been when she had come downstairs, and she sighed inwardly. She was never going to get any sleep now. She could barely sleep normally, insomnia being one of her many psychological issues. After having the dream many times, she had initially been afraid of sleep, and now, it was almost impossible for her fragile mind to allow her to stop thinking and rest. Even when she did manage a light nap, her sleep was fitful, and easily disturbed. She had eventually gotten a room on the other side of the house, away from everyone but her brother, because any disturbance could wake her.

Darla appraised Hotaru inconspicuously. Her face seemed older somehow, and there were evidence of dark smudges under her eyes. She must not sleep often, Darla reasoned. She decided to tap into some of the information her father had given her.

"So, what are you wearing to the cherry blossom festival? It's coming up in a few days." She said, startling Hotaru out of her reverie.

"Mama is helping me make a dress. I don't know, I'm not much for sewing. Maybe I'll just buy one instead." She replied thoughtfully.

"Chii sews very well. She taught me. She is also making her own dress. We could go shopping, though, if you want." She looked at the younger girl expectantly. To her surprise, Hotaru smiled.

"Maybe if I can convince Mama……" She hid her smile behind one hand. Darla looked outside again, where a rapidly brightening sky was begging to turn a vivid blue. Maybe staying at Minoru's would be better than she thought. But she still felt uncomfortable here for some reason…..She shook it off.

What is it with these strange feelings I've been having? First Chii, and now this family. This has GOT to stop……

AN: I've decided to stop writing this story if I don't get a few more reviews……please review.