CHAPTER III. BUYING

"Mizi, WAIT!" He stands up as well, but another persocom gets in his way.
"Do not follow her," she says, "do not, sir. Disaster might strike if you will do."
"But..."
"Sir!" another persocom calls. "Just listen to her! Do not follow Mizumi, sir! She is not called Number Thirteen for nothing!"
"Get out of my way," says Riko coolly, "who do you think you are to command me!"
"Who we are? Ameiru and Meari, sir," the blonde one says, "for the use as computer, we are the strongest persocoms around here, though we do not have a heart like Mizumi. Trust me; we know what we are talking about." Riko nods gently.
"Okay... I hope for you that you know it for sure, then."
"Sir..." Meari says. "She has already told you too much, you know. If she tells you too much, she – and so will we – crash completely." Riko sighs deeply.
"Can't you just let me talk to her? Not about her secrets or whatever, okay, I just need to tell her my feelings!"
"That really is the last thing you must do," another persocom says, "you have heard Mizumi, sir. Do not fall in love with her." He turns away from her.
"How silly this may sound, it's already too late now," he says, "why do you think I keep coming here every day? I just need to see her, no matter if she's a persocom or not! I don't care! She's a human girl to me, okay!"
"Sir, that would not be the biggest problem," the persocom vaguely says, "first of all, as you might have noticed, Mizumi can not handle very strong feelings, she will crash immediately. And we all know the most powerful feeling."
"You mean..." The persocom nods.
"Yes, sir. She will not be able to return your love, ever, because that will crash her down completely. And since our creator is... not able to repair her, there is no chance to get her back in that case." Riko takes a seat beaten.
"So there is no way... or is there one?" The persocom hesitates.
"Well, there actually is," she says, "but I can not tell you. I am sorry, sir."

It's the next morning, and Riko passes "Crystal Dragon" gloomily. "I can't see her anymore," he whispers, "unbelievable... I finally found the girl I can really love, and now..."
"RIKO-CHAN!" He looks up astounded: the next moment, Mizumi lies sobbingly in his arms. "Riko-chan, you have to help me... you have to..."
"Mizi, what..." She looks at him crying.
"Tazuka-san has fired me, Riko-chan! I'm fired! I have to leave this place... My family, all my friends, all of them..."
"Mizi, calm down," he mutters, remembering the persocoms' words. Mizumi can not handle very strong feelings. "Tell me exactly what's happened."
"I will tell you!" Hideto calls, coming out of his restaurant. "That worthless persocom in your arms is horrible! She's completely crashed, can't remember a thing..."
"Give her a break, Hideto-san," Riko says, "it's not her fault!"
"Well, whether it's her fault or not, I'm selling her anyway," Hideto says shrugging. Riko suddenly gazes at him.
"Really? Fine... how much do you want for her?"
"What!"
"Let me buy her," says Riko, pushing a sobbing Mizumi against him. "I'll take good care of her, and she can still see her friends and family now and then."
"Wow... you really treat her as a normal girl, don't you?" says Hideto astounded.
"She is a real girl to me," he says, "and I care a lot about her, so... how much do you want for her?"
"I... ehm..." Hideto's still glaring at him. "Okay... what about five-thousand yen?"
"Sounds good to me. Deal." Mizumi looks up at Riko.
"Riko-chan, you don not have to... I did not mean you had to buy me to help me..."
"It's the best I can do for you now, Mizi," he smiles, "I can only hope you're happy to have me as your owner from now on."
"Oh... I..." She blushes, suddenly smiles shiningly. "Yes, Riko-chan, I am very happy with it."
"Fine. Okay, Hideto-san..."Riko grabs his wallet. "Here you are, five-thousand yen."
"Fair buying," Hideto says, taking the money. "She's all yours now, Riko-kun."