CrimsonMoon01: You'll find out soon... It wouldn't be fun if I spoiled it for you, would it now...
Chapter 3
After eating a while, Hideki decided to ask Ms. Hibiya about Chi's ears. Kotoko did make a really good point back there. Right before he could tell Chi he was leaving, a knock came from the door. Quickly he opened it and came face to face with Yumi. "Yumi, what are you doing here?"
"Hi Hideki! I was just wondering if you would like to come to the park with me tomorrow... Well, not just me; Mr. Ueda will be there too. We would like to thank you and Chi for helping us." She gave him a smile, one that said thank you—thank you for helping me with my relationship with Mr. Ueda. "Well, meet us at the City Park at 11:00 A.M., alright?"
"Sure Yumi!"
"Okay!" She cheerfully zipped off, probaly thinking of the picnic.
Stunned, Hideki finally closed the door. So many things seemed to have been happening today. Chi supposedly turning human, and a picnic tomorrow.
"Hideki?"
He turned to face a worried Chi. "What is it, Chi?"
"You were still for a long time. Are you sure nothing is wrong?" She gave him a desperate look. Hopefully he wasn't hiding anything.
"Of course not, Chi!" Hideki exclaimed. I better not daze off so much, especially since it worries Chi, he told himself. Then he remembered his original intention about asking Ms. Hibiya and turned towards the persocom. "Chi, let's go to Ms. Hibiya's home. I have to ask her a few questions."
"Okay!" Smiling, she zipped off and put on her shoes.
Hideki grabbed his shoes, put them on, went out, and started to lock the door.
"Chi gets to walk with Hideki again!" she exclaimed, her face full of happiness.
Hideki smiled, and the two went to Ms. Hibiya's home, only to find the place empty. He sighed, muttering, "Oh, that was a waste of time. I guess we have to come back tomorrow." Right before he could leave, from the door came a sound.
Tap!
The curtains waved a bit, revealing a face, a frowning one. Blonde hair blew over the face, hiding the rest of the features. Then in a second, it was gone. There was no wind, and there was no face. Who was that? Turning around with a confused look, he gazed at Chi. Her face, it seemed so familiar, wait—it looked like the one behind the curtain! Or maybe, what he saw was a reflection of Chi! That's what he was getting all worked up about... "I'm a complete idiot!" he cried out loud.
"Hideki is...an idiot?" Chi asked, looking at him confusedly.
"Arrgghhh," Hideki mumbled. He still needed to get used to the city. His horrible habit of thinking aloud wasn't good at all.
The next day was a Saturday, meaning Hideki didn't have class. In the morning, he gave Chi breakfast, and like the day before, she enjoyed it. Kotoko tried to figure out what happened to Chi, but with no luck. It seemed like she might actually be a human.
Before it was time for the picnic, Hideki and Chi had a little talk.
Hideki started the conversation. "Chi, I know we're going to a picnic, but right now, your ears aren't normal. They look too much like human ears, and since Yumi will also be at the picnic, it would be a bad idea for us to talk about you a lot. She was sensitive about persocoms, and even though she doesn't seem to be like that now, it would be a bad idea to remind her. Is it okay with you if you eat at home, and then wear a hat at the picnic, Chi?"
"Chi's ears are not normal?"
"Well, they look different now, but don't worry. We'll get that fixed soon." I hope. "Okay. Chi will do as Hideki asks." As long as it was important to him, and made him happy, she was fine with whatever she had to do.
Because of lack of time, Hideki quickly fixed her some Ramen noodles to eat. He remembered when she first came here, she had twirled her finger in a ramen noodle cup, and splashed some of it in her face. Back then she was a persocom, and couldn't eat it. But now—she could eat. But did that really mean she was human?
After Chi finished eating, Hideki started to dig in one of the bags Ms. Hibiya gave him. There should've been a hat in one of those bags; he was sure he saw one before. He kept digging through that bag, but stopped as he noticed someone else was also digging through bags with him. Lifting his head, he saw Chi's ivory-colored hair.
"Chi? Why are you digging through bags?"
The persocom paused for a moment, then turned her head towards him. "Because Chi wants to help Hideki!" Pausing again, she pulled something out from her bag. "Are you looking for a hat?"
Turning towards her, he nodded. It seemed like she beat him to finding it.
Soon, it was time for the picnic and all four of them went off this time. Plum was extremely excited, but Kotoko's face seemed to be a bit dull.
Hideki turned towards Chi as he gave her instructions. "Look Chi, you must wear this hat at the picnic. Don't take it off, okay?"
Unsure of his motive, she did as she was asked. The question she would ask could wait until later.
The two went off to join Yumi and Mr. Ueda on the grass. They sat down, and Yumi cheerfully greeted them. She opened the basket to reveal some sweets, which she and Mr. Ueda had made specifically for this picnic.
"So," Mr. Ueda said, starting a conversation. "How have you two been?"
"We're fine, right Chi?" Hideki's gaze turned towards Chi.
A small gust of wind blew in their direction, and Chi's hands shot up towards the hat. Hideki told her not to let it fall off, and that was what she would do.
Startled by her sudden action, Yumi asked, "Chi-san, why are you wearing a hat? We're sitting in the shade."
"Chi..." She glanced at Hideki, who was violently shaking his head, and at the same time, trying to hide his panicking gesture from Yumi and Mr. Ueda. Hideki seems to be nervous. Maybe he doesn't want me to say 'because Hideki wanted me to' to Mr. Ueda, she silently told herself. "—Chi...likes how this hat feels!" she happily declared.
"Okay," Yumi and Mr. Ueda said in unison, hoping their voices didn't carry a hint of confusion.
Hideki released a sigh of relief. Hopefully Yumi wouldn't ask any more questions about the hat.
Breaking the silence, Yumi shouted, "Let's all dig in!"
Since Chi was full, she didn't need to eat anything. Turning to Hideki, she asked, "Can Chi get something for a little while?"
"Sure Chi, but don't go too far away," Hideki replied.
Nodding, the blonde persocom left, following a yellow and black butterfly across the field. The way it flapped its wings was really pretty, and Chi couldn't help but be attracted to it so she kept following it.
After finishing his food, Hideki sighed. "I better go get Chi now. I'll be right back!" He waved at his friends, then went across the field in search of Chi. He told Chi not to go far, but he couldn't see any sign of her. She sure has been missing quite a lot of times lately. I'll just search a bit further, he murmered to himself.
In the meantime, Plum and Kotoko were at the park, playing. Well, Plum was the only one having fun; Kotoko, however, was not enjoying this at all.
"Kotoko!" the tiny pink-haired persocom shouted. "We must have fun at this park! Let's go to the slide!"
"Plum, please," Kotoko replied, sitting on a rock. "I need to—" She was cut off as Plum stuck her head in front of Kotoko, her face only mere millimeters away from hers.
"Kotoko! Too much work and too little play is not healthy!" she said, shaking her head as if she was a mother lecturing a child. "You must HAVE FUN!" With that, she seized Kotoko, dragging her along to the slides.
Kotoko finally reasoned that talking to a crazy persocom was no use. She would need a different method if she were to complete her research.
It seemed like hours had passed instead of minutes. Even after searching through the whole park, there was no sign of her, or at least, that's what it seemed.
Cursing, he mumbled, "Where did she go again? I need to find her!"
As if in reply, a blond-haired girl walked by him, her brown eyes sober. She didn't pay any attention to Hideki. In fact, she practically ignored him.
It was Chi! He could recognize that face anywhere. Hideki quickly ran towards her, shouting, "Wait Chi!"
Several heads turned curiously towards him, and people wondered why the man was shouting so loudly despite the fact that the girl wasn't far from him, thereby should be able to hear him if he spoke with his normal voice.
Author's Note: I'm totally gonna finish this fanfiction! Even if nobody reviews! I hate it when people only add on to their fanfiction if they get enough reviews... They should enjoy writing, not write so they could be recognized and all. Anyway, please review!
