Chapter 6
Author's Note: It's been a while, eh? School's out so hopefully I'll be updating a lot more. I'm glad you are still there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chobits or Angelic Layer. Actually, most of the Angelic Layer references will be gone from here on out.
A couple weeks had passed. Minoru and Kaede lived happily in Minoru's mansion. Everything seemed to be fine and dandy, but there was something unseen. It is said that a persocom can only have feelings if they are programmed to hold those emotions. Unknowing to Minoru, Yuzuki had inherited many new and difficult to handle emotions. Internally, she was struggling. Yuzuki did not let anyone see how she was feeling for fear of deletion. Though she was not used to these new emotions, she did not dislike them. Actually, they comforted her. Yuzuki liked that she shared the same emotions as the people she lived with. It was quite a liberating feeling.
"I'm going to school you guys." Minoru shouted from the hallway entrance.
"Mr. Minoru, don't forget you jacket!" Yuzuki exclaimed scooping up the school jacket from the kitchen. She quickly dashed through the rooms. She slowed when she approached Kaede.
"I'll take it to him if you want." She offered.
"No, I can handle it. Thank you." Yuzuki returned. She squeezed the jacket closer to her torso as she swiftly walked past her twin.
(Competition...) Yuzuki thought. This was another emotion. Lately it seemed like she was mentally listing off all the ailments that had been bestowed on her.
Minoru waited patiently at the door. He gently moved one arm into the jacket. Yuzuki held the jacket up to help him with the other sleeve. He easily glided his arm through.
"Thank you Yuzuki." Minoru said. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye Mr. Minoru." She replied. She smiled and waved slightly before shutting the door delicately. She sighed and leaned against the door. This part of the day was always the hardest for her. The other persocoms cleaned the house while she waited anxiously for him to return. Usually, she would sit on his bed and imagine conversations that she would have with him. They would talk about school or computers or anything he wanted to talk about. She knew all about what he liked and how to respond accordingly. But lately, his bed seemed untouchable. And the conversations she imagined seemed unimaginable. Yuzuki knew that they would never happen.
"What do you do when he's out of the house?" Kaede asked innocently. She had been over at her friend's house playing Angelic Layer everyday right after Minoru left for school. Today, it seemed, she was not departing.
"I usually wait for Mr. Minoru to return." Yuzuki stated as if it was the most normal thing to say.
"You wait for six hours? Don't you ever get bored?" She asked, stunned.
"I have not experienced boredom before. Is it fun?"
"You must be kidding. C'mon Yuzuki, we're going to have fun today!" Kaede exclaimed grabbing Yuzuki's hand.
"It is cold out. We must wear jackets." Yuzuki protested and reached for the closet.
"Live a little Yuzuki. A little cold never hurt anyone. I can tell you that people take this kind of weather for granted. I did miss this weather." Kaede confessed. "Let's go to the park." Yuzuki, loss for words, only nodded. She abandoned her attempt for the jackets and stepped outside for the first time against her programming.
The two girls walked along the sidewalk side by side. The fall air was crisp and breath-taking. Kaede felt short of breath, but in a non-sick way.
"Look at the twins. Aren't they adorable?" An elderly woman, who was sitting at an outdoor table at restaurant, cooed. The two girls looked at each other and smiled.
"I have been meaning to ask about that." Kaede mumbled.
"Mr. Minoru modeled me after you after you died. I was supposed to be your replacement." She explained.
"Oh." Kaede said shortly.
"Would it be okay if I asked you questions so I could be more like you? I would really like to please Mr. Minoru." Yuzuki pleaded.
"Um...okay. Let's go find a bench or something to sit on." Kaede agreed and turned off the sidewalk. Yuzuki followed and shortly after sat down next to her twin on the curb. After feeling comfortable, Kaede began to speak. "You know, Yuzuki, you should try to be your own person. I don't think it would be any help if there were two of me."
"But my programming-" Yuzuki started.
"Don't follow it. Just do what you want to do Yuzuki. It would be a shame if I replaced you. I don't want you to fade from our household. I think Minoru holds you very close to his heart." She interrupted. Kaede smiled her famous kind smile and got up from the curb. "I'd like to walk."
"A-Alright." Yuzuki hesitated. She got up and caught up to Kaede so she could walk by her side.
"Could you tell me a little about yourself anyway? I would like to know more about you. You are someone I would like to become friends with." Yuzuki said happily.
"Sure! Let's see...well the main thing about me is that I've been asleep for a couple years. I was sorta in a coma-like state, but I got to choose when I got to wake up. I stayed asleep because I wanted to find Minoru. My dreams were like a portal to my past. The only thing I regret is making my friend Sai so sad. You should know everything else. I'm sure Minoru always talked about me." Kaede explained. She seemed happy now that she did not have to worry about her illness. What Kaede failed to notice was the blankness of Yuzuki's eyes. She had recorded the information regardless of the small speech Kaede had just fed her.
"I'm glad that you are better now." Yuzuki replied.
"Yeah, so am I. I'm glad that I get to spend all this time with Minoru." She added. "You're lucky. You got to grow up with him. I'm sure you made a good replacement. Thank you for being there for him." They smiled sickingly sweet at each other and began heading home.
"Kaede, Yuzuki! Where did you go?" He asked in a worried tone. The two girls looked at each other and Kaede giggled.
"Just for a walk." She informed. She hugged him and walked into the hallway.
"Yuzuki, can you make a snack for Kaede and me?" Minoru requested. Yuzuki, lost in a dream about her hugging him from coming home from a walk, snapped back to reality.
"Yes Mr. Minoru." She answered sadly. She walked into the kitchen and waited for the door to slam behind her. Yuzuki felt a sinking feeling inside. Unfortunately for her, she did not recognize that this feeling was part of love. She pulled a few trays out of the refrigerator and set them on the floating island. After shutting the fridge, she put the trays in the oven.
(Maybe it would be better if I did get my memory erased. At least then I could function properly.) She thought. The oven bell rang and she removed the trays. They had a miscellaneous amount and kind of cookie. She shoveled them neatly onto a plate and carried it over into the living room.
Kaede and Minoru were talking about some unknown topic. She dully placed the plate on the table and stood promptly beside it. She waited until he addressed her. If he did not, then she would continue standing there until he left the room. In that action, she would follow and again stand somewhere out of the way. This was one such night. Minoru seemed too absorbed in his conversation with his long-lost sister to pay her any attention. The only recognition she got was when he asked her to do something. She willingly did, but wished that she could add to the conversation. Kaede, more than once, shot concerned looks at her. Yuzuki just smiled.
Night cast its sleepy shadow across the neighborhood, trying to put all the residents in there bed for the night. Kaede had gone to sleep earlier while Minoru stayed up to do his tedious homework. Yuzuki acted as his calculator.
"Have I become a burden?" Yuzuki asked after a difficult Calculus problem.
"What makes you think that?" He returned.
"Well...Miss Kaede has returned. I was made for the soul purpose of replacing her. I was thinking that my presence is unnecessary now that she is back." Yuzuki explained.
"Yuzuki...no. I don't think you're a burden. I enjoy your company so much." He stated. He removed his glasses and stared at her directly. "Actually, I've been meaning to update your data. I want you to be-"
"Minoru! I think its time for bed!" Kaede shouted from her bedroom upstairs. Minoru glanced at the clock and jumped slightly. "It has gotten late. Yuzuki, would you mind packing up down here? I'm going to bed." He asked and left the table. It seemed like he forgot his train of thought. Yuzuki nodded as she bent down to push his plethora of books into his bag. After that, she put away the pencils and things that he had been using. Yuzuki sighed before turning off the lights of the living room.
Yuzuki found herself at the stairwell and began to climb the carpeted stairs. She reached the top and silently made her way to Minoru's bedroom. His light had been off for about the hour it took Yuzuki to pack up. She carefully turned the doorknob. It did not creak, to her relief, as she slid into his room. She shut the door behind her and crept over to his bed. The only light was the streetlights flooding in through his open window. A bitter breeze grazed her cheeks. Her automatic response was to keep Minoru warm. She sat down gingerly on his bed and tucked the fleece blankets up to his neck. Satisfied, Yuzuki took to staring at her beloved. The generic thought would be 'he looked angelic as he breathed in his pleasant slumber'. No other sentence could describe him.
Yuzuki put her face close to him. The lights made him glow in a white translucent glow. She could feel his breath on her cheeks. Good thing she did not need to breathe or he would have felt her. A crazy thought passed her mind.
(I want to kiss him...) She thought.
"Just do what you want to Yuzuki." Kaede's voice lingered into her head.
(It would be against my programming. And...and Minoru would wake up. I don't know how he would respond.) Her mind raced.
"Don't follow it." Kaede's voice rang again.
(All I want is his love. All I want is his attention. Even if it's just for this moment, even if he'll destroy me afterward, I just want him to know how much I love him.) Yuzuki leaned closer. Her lips almost touched his. She hesitated, still fighting with herself.
"Kaede..." Minoru murmured. Caught by surprise, Yuzuki jumped back.
(That's right. I am obsolete. He has Kaede now. He doesn't need me. He just keeps me running out of kindness.) Yuzuki thought sadly. She lied down next to him and shut her eyes. If she was human, she would be silently weeping. It was a bad thing for her to be expressing. She could not release her sadness through tears or words. All Yuzuki could do was lie there hoping that this horrible feeling would leave. And that's all she did. She lied there hoping her sadness would just go away.
Author's Note: I guess in the next few chapters, the story will be done. I don't really want to let go yet. Sorry for ending on such a sad note. Stay tuned for the next chapter. It shouldn't take as long now that school is out. Thanks for sticking around and reading my story.
Author's Note: It's been a while, eh? School's out so hopefully I'll be updating a lot more. I'm glad you are still there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chobits or Angelic Layer. Actually, most of the Angelic Layer references will be gone from here on out.
A couple weeks had passed. Minoru and Kaede lived happily in Minoru's mansion. Everything seemed to be fine and dandy, but there was something unseen. It is said that a persocom can only have feelings if they are programmed to hold those emotions. Unknowing to Minoru, Yuzuki had inherited many new and difficult to handle emotions. Internally, she was struggling. Yuzuki did not let anyone see how she was feeling for fear of deletion. Though she was not used to these new emotions, she did not dislike them. Actually, they comforted her. Yuzuki liked that she shared the same emotions as the people she lived with. It was quite a liberating feeling.
"I'm going to school you guys." Minoru shouted from the hallway entrance.
"Mr. Minoru, don't forget you jacket!" Yuzuki exclaimed scooping up the school jacket from the kitchen. She quickly dashed through the rooms. She slowed when she approached Kaede.
"I'll take it to him if you want." She offered.
"No, I can handle it. Thank you." Yuzuki returned. She squeezed the jacket closer to her torso as she swiftly walked past her twin.
(Competition...) Yuzuki thought. This was another emotion. Lately it seemed like she was mentally listing off all the ailments that had been bestowed on her.
Minoru waited patiently at the door. He gently moved one arm into the jacket. Yuzuki held the jacket up to help him with the other sleeve. He easily glided his arm through.
"Thank you Yuzuki." Minoru said. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye Mr. Minoru." She replied. She smiled and waved slightly before shutting the door delicately. She sighed and leaned against the door. This part of the day was always the hardest for her. The other persocoms cleaned the house while she waited anxiously for him to return. Usually, she would sit on his bed and imagine conversations that she would have with him. They would talk about school or computers or anything he wanted to talk about. She knew all about what he liked and how to respond accordingly. But lately, his bed seemed untouchable. And the conversations she imagined seemed unimaginable. Yuzuki knew that they would never happen.
"What do you do when he's out of the house?" Kaede asked innocently. She had been over at her friend's house playing Angelic Layer everyday right after Minoru left for school. Today, it seemed, she was not departing.
"I usually wait for Mr. Minoru to return." Yuzuki stated as if it was the most normal thing to say.
"You wait for six hours? Don't you ever get bored?" She asked, stunned.
"I have not experienced boredom before. Is it fun?"
"You must be kidding. C'mon Yuzuki, we're going to have fun today!" Kaede exclaimed grabbing Yuzuki's hand.
"It is cold out. We must wear jackets." Yuzuki protested and reached for the closet.
"Live a little Yuzuki. A little cold never hurt anyone. I can tell you that people take this kind of weather for granted. I did miss this weather." Kaede confessed. "Let's go to the park." Yuzuki, loss for words, only nodded. She abandoned her attempt for the jackets and stepped outside for the first time against her programming.
The two girls walked along the sidewalk side by side. The fall air was crisp and breath-taking. Kaede felt short of breath, but in a non-sick way.
"Look at the twins. Aren't they adorable?" An elderly woman, who was sitting at an outdoor table at restaurant, cooed. The two girls looked at each other and smiled.
"I have been meaning to ask about that." Kaede mumbled.
"Mr. Minoru modeled me after you after you died. I was supposed to be your replacement." She explained.
"Oh." Kaede said shortly.
"Would it be okay if I asked you questions so I could be more like you? I would really like to please Mr. Minoru." Yuzuki pleaded.
"Um...okay. Let's go find a bench or something to sit on." Kaede agreed and turned off the sidewalk. Yuzuki followed and shortly after sat down next to her twin on the curb. After feeling comfortable, Kaede began to speak. "You know, Yuzuki, you should try to be your own person. I don't think it would be any help if there were two of me."
"But my programming-" Yuzuki started.
"Don't follow it. Just do what you want to do Yuzuki. It would be a shame if I replaced you. I don't want you to fade from our household. I think Minoru holds you very close to his heart." She interrupted. Kaede smiled her famous kind smile and got up from the curb. "I'd like to walk."
"A-Alright." Yuzuki hesitated. She got up and caught up to Kaede so she could walk by her side.
"Could you tell me a little about yourself anyway? I would like to know more about you. You are someone I would like to become friends with." Yuzuki said happily.
"Sure! Let's see...well the main thing about me is that I've been asleep for a couple years. I was sorta in a coma-like state, but I got to choose when I got to wake up. I stayed asleep because I wanted to find Minoru. My dreams were like a portal to my past. The only thing I regret is making my friend Sai so sad. You should know everything else. I'm sure Minoru always talked about me." Kaede explained. She seemed happy now that she did not have to worry about her illness. What Kaede failed to notice was the blankness of Yuzuki's eyes. She had recorded the information regardless of the small speech Kaede had just fed her.
"I'm glad that you are better now." Yuzuki replied.
"Yeah, so am I. I'm glad that I get to spend all this time with Minoru." She added. "You're lucky. You got to grow up with him. I'm sure you made a good replacement. Thank you for being there for him." They smiled sickingly sweet at each other and began heading home.
"Kaede, Yuzuki! Where did you go?" He asked in a worried tone. The two girls looked at each other and Kaede giggled.
"Just for a walk." She informed. She hugged him and walked into the hallway.
"Yuzuki, can you make a snack for Kaede and me?" Minoru requested. Yuzuki, lost in a dream about her hugging him from coming home from a walk, snapped back to reality.
"Yes Mr. Minoru." She answered sadly. She walked into the kitchen and waited for the door to slam behind her. Yuzuki felt a sinking feeling inside. Unfortunately for her, she did not recognize that this feeling was part of love. She pulled a few trays out of the refrigerator and set them on the floating island. After shutting the fridge, she put the trays in the oven.
(Maybe it would be better if I did get my memory erased. At least then I could function properly.) She thought. The oven bell rang and she removed the trays. They had a miscellaneous amount and kind of cookie. She shoveled them neatly onto a plate and carried it over into the living room.
Kaede and Minoru were talking about some unknown topic. She dully placed the plate on the table and stood promptly beside it. She waited until he addressed her. If he did not, then she would continue standing there until he left the room. In that action, she would follow and again stand somewhere out of the way. This was one such night. Minoru seemed too absorbed in his conversation with his long-lost sister to pay her any attention. The only recognition she got was when he asked her to do something. She willingly did, but wished that she could add to the conversation. Kaede, more than once, shot concerned looks at her. Yuzuki just smiled.
Night cast its sleepy shadow across the neighborhood, trying to put all the residents in there bed for the night. Kaede had gone to sleep earlier while Minoru stayed up to do his tedious homework. Yuzuki acted as his calculator.
"Have I become a burden?" Yuzuki asked after a difficult Calculus problem.
"What makes you think that?" He returned.
"Well...Miss Kaede has returned. I was made for the soul purpose of replacing her. I was thinking that my presence is unnecessary now that she is back." Yuzuki explained.
"Yuzuki...no. I don't think you're a burden. I enjoy your company so much." He stated. He removed his glasses and stared at her directly. "Actually, I've been meaning to update your data. I want you to be-"
"Minoru! I think its time for bed!" Kaede shouted from her bedroom upstairs. Minoru glanced at the clock and jumped slightly. "It has gotten late. Yuzuki, would you mind packing up down here? I'm going to bed." He asked and left the table. It seemed like he forgot his train of thought. Yuzuki nodded as she bent down to push his plethora of books into his bag. After that, she put away the pencils and things that he had been using. Yuzuki sighed before turning off the lights of the living room.
Yuzuki found herself at the stairwell and began to climb the carpeted stairs. She reached the top and silently made her way to Minoru's bedroom. His light had been off for about the hour it took Yuzuki to pack up. She carefully turned the doorknob. It did not creak, to her relief, as she slid into his room. She shut the door behind her and crept over to his bed. The only light was the streetlights flooding in through his open window. A bitter breeze grazed her cheeks. Her automatic response was to keep Minoru warm. She sat down gingerly on his bed and tucked the fleece blankets up to his neck. Satisfied, Yuzuki took to staring at her beloved. The generic thought would be 'he looked angelic as he breathed in his pleasant slumber'. No other sentence could describe him.
Yuzuki put her face close to him. The lights made him glow in a white translucent glow. She could feel his breath on her cheeks. Good thing she did not need to breathe or he would have felt her. A crazy thought passed her mind.
(I want to kiss him...) She thought.
"Just do what you want to Yuzuki." Kaede's voice lingered into her head.
(It would be against my programming. And...and Minoru would wake up. I don't know how he would respond.) Her mind raced.
"Don't follow it." Kaede's voice rang again.
(All I want is his love. All I want is his attention. Even if it's just for this moment, even if he'll destroy me afterward, I just want him to know how much I love him.) Yuzuki leaned closer. Her lips almost touched his. She hesitated, still fighting with herself.
"Kaede..." Minoru murmured. Caught by surprise, Yuzuki jumped back.
(That's right. I am obsolete. He has Kaede now. He doesn't need me. He just keeps me running out of kindness.) Yuzuki thought sadly. She lied down next to him and shut her eyes. If she was human, she would be silently weeping. It was a bad thing for her to be expressing. She could not release her sadness through tears or words. All Yuzuki could do was lie there hoping that this horrible feeling would leave. And that's all she did. She lied there hoping her sadness would just go away.
Author's Note: I guess in the next few chapters, the story will be done. I don't really want to let go yet. Sorry for ending on such a sad note. Stay tuned for the next chapter. It shouldn't take as long now that school is out. Thanks for sticking around and reading my story.
