Author's Note: You don't know how sorry I am to be writing this in March and not August. I really have been busy with school and I believe that all my readers think I have abandoned them. This should finish up the story so you won't have to hang on my responsibilities as a writer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chobits or Angelic Layer in any way shape or form. Just to let you know…
Chapter 8"Thank God! Kaede your home! Something terrible has happened to Yuzuki!" Minoru exclaimed exactly as his sister stepped into the doorway. She instantly bore a shocked expression. Kaede dropped her coat on the floor and pulled off her shoes as quickly as her fingers would allow her.
"What's wrong with her?" Kaede asked caringly as they rushed up the stairs.
"She's shut herself down." Minoru whispered stopping at the top. One of his hands hung limply off the wooden railing. He looked down at the carpet, hurt. "I'm afraid her programming was too domineering. She's gone to sleep," Minoru paused and looked up at his sister. His angry eyes were glossed over. "Just like you."
Kaede stopped instantly on the third step and winced with guilt. She realized it was her fault for telling Yuzuki all her stories. She knew that Minoru blamed her even though he wouldn't confront her directly. She averted her gaze and bit her lip.
"I have an idea. The creator of persocoms is also the creator of Angelic Layer. Maybe the equipment is interchangeable." Kaede said quickly and uncertainly. She bound down the steps and grabbed her bag. She then returned to the stairs and started to ascend. Her brother, still a statue at the top, stared at her quizzically. "I'll explain in Yuzuki's room."
Minoru only nodded and, reanimating, ran to the room. He threw open the door and jumped onto the bed. There, he delicately positioned Yuzuki's head on his lap, it serving as a pillow. He stroked her gray hair from her absent eyes.
"What are you going to do?" He asked curiously and hesitantly. Minoru did not want someone with an inept amount of knowledge of persocoms to be tinkering with his beloved machine. He was the only one allowed inside her. Yuzuki was his and his only.
"I'm going to use my Angelic Layer gear to have look into Yuzuki's brain." Kaede explained while pulling out a pair of blue goggles. They had a rose tinted screen that extended from the wings that protruded from each ear. "I'm not sure if this will work or not…I'm positive that it won't hurt Yuzuki in any way." Kaede glanced over at Minoru who paled and only nodded. She carefully pulled the visor over her head. She pulled off her glasses and set them next to a white doll in her bag. "Let's see here…" She murmured. She pushed a button on one of the ears and the wings expanded briskly at each ear. Kaede handed a cord connected to the screen to plug into Yuzuki. Minoru grasped it lightly and pushed it into the plug in Yuzuki's ear. He nodded again and Kaede returned it grimly.
Suddenly an image bounced on the screen, flickering at first, but then with clarity. Kaede knew the image so well and yet it surprised her to see it. "Oh…"She managed to breathlessly say.
"What! What! What is it? Is it bad? What do you see?" Minoru practically screamed. Kaede only shook her head, bewildered. She took the visor off and flaccidly held it out to her brother. He snatched it only after looking at her sister's flabbergasted expression. Minoru slipped it on and threw off his glasses carelessly; they were needed for seeing far away anyway.
The room was quickly engulfed in silence. "What…is this?" Minoru whispered. What he saw on the screen was foreign to him. There was no recognition at all. What he saw was a beautiful, blonde women lying on a stone slab and holding a bouquet of flowers. "Is she…dead?" He reluctantly asked. He wished with all his might that the answer was no.
"Aurora…" Kaede said hoarsely. "It's the tale of Sleeping Beauty…"
"What's this doing in Yuzuki's memory? I don't know anything about this story. How can she? Did you…?" He trailed off. Kaede shook her head slowly.
"She must have learned it on her own." She answered.
"Does…Aurora…ever wake up?" Minoru asked.
"She was cursed to sleep forever along with her kingdom." A distressed look fell on Minoru's face. "But a prince came and…kissed her. Aurora woke up because it was true love." Kaede added quickly.
Minoru was lost in thought before a violent blush swarmed his cheeks. He understood. "So, if I…kiss Yuzuki, she will wake up?" Minoru struggled.
"I would think so, but…" Kaede faded.
"But?"
"You would have to be in love with her for it to work." She replied softly. Minoru pursed his lips tightly and felt his heart leap from his chest. Love a persocom? It was like loving a blender. How could he be in love with something that didn't have a real personality, didn't have a real heart? Was it possible?
Minoru closed his eyes.
(You know that loving a persocom is different from loving a human. A human has real emotions and real memories. They cannot be erased or forgotten. A human can respond unlike a persocom which can't step outside of its programming. I know Yuzuki looks real and acts real, but it's her programming. Your programming…Minoru. You can make her fall in love with you. You can make her forget. You have total control over her mind and her heart.) He thought to himself. Minoru battled with his brain as another consideration formulated. (Look at Hideki and Chi. Look how happy they are. Hideki doesn't care that she's a persocom. He loves Chi for Chi. Look at Manager Ueda. He married a persocom. They can live and love their persocoms without feeling artificial.)
"Minoru," Kaede said lightly and kindly. "I know this may sound corny, but I believe it will help you. Just listen to your heart. Minoru, you think too much. Just forget about logic for one second and listen to your heart."
Minoru did exactly that. He dropped the debate in his head and looked down at Yuzuki. Her eyes stared blankly back at him. That stare, that desolate, stormy-sea gray, tore at his heart. He couldn't leave her like this. He would miss her smile and her soft, elegant voice. Tears filled Minoru's eyes as he smiled. He laughed a little for he saw how ridiculously easy this predicament was.
He tore off the screen and looked down at his sleeping beauty. He hesitantly closed his eyes and lowered his lips to hers. Minoru blushed even more, if possible, when their lips connected. He shyly pulled back after a moment and stared down. She remained motionless. Minoru's heart dropped to his stomach. He blinked furiously to keep back the tears. He crawled out from under Yuzuki and picked up his glasses. A sob grew in the back of his throat as he threw himself into Kaede's arms.
"It…didn't work." He whispered. Kaede could only hold him because she also choked on her tears. Her vision blurred, but a movement caught her eye. She blinked and let the tears roll down her face as she stared at the stirring from the bed.
"Minoru…" She said quietly. Minoru looked up at her, but her eyes were locked on the bed. He turned to see a figure rise from behind the canopy curtain. Minoru ran from his sister back to the bed.
"Yuzuki!" He exclaimed. She caught him in her arms and hugged him lovingly.
"I'm sorry Mr. Minoru. I'm sorry to put you and Miss Kaede through so much pain." She apologized. As soon as he heard her voice, Minoru looked up with a stern look on his face.
"I'm not sure if I can forgive you Yuzuki. What you did was extremely hazardous." He said strictly. Yuzuki bowed her head. "As punishment I'm afraid I must delete the sister program. I don't want this to happen again. I don't want you to be anymore like Kaede." Minoru turned his back to her. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. At the sight of this, Yuzuki smiled gratefully. She rose from the bed and stepped toward her master.
"Mr. Minoru…may I say something?" She asked diligently.
"Please, Yuzuki, call me Minoru." He ordered brightly.
Yuzuki smiled shyly. "Minoru…I, I love you." She confessed.
Minoru knew that this was not her talking; it was her programming reacting to the environment. He knew that a machine could never experience any human emotion. Minoru smiled. He didn't care.
Minoru took a step closer to her. They were practically touching each other they were so close. "I love you too Yuzuki." Yuzuki smiled ecstatically and pulled him into her stomach. Minoru swore he felt her warmth even if it was just her hard drive. He wrapped his arms around her waist and embraced her emotionally.
Kaede, the forgotten, stood by the door smiling. She had her small, white doll in hand and the doorknob in the other.
"And they all lived happily ever after…" She said to herself and quietly shut the door.
Author's Note: Yeah…sorry it took me so long to write. This concludes the story and sorry to keep you waiting. I want to thank all the readers that stuck around and all the ones that will return.
