ママには言えない

Author's Note: Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of Super Inventor BOY Kanipan.

Pairings: Kanipan x Ravioli tension. Referenced pre-canon Kanipan x Angelica.

Summary:

Love isn't selfish? Tell that to Ravioli!


"I've got your water, Ravioli."

"Ah, thank you, Kanipan! It's exactly what I needed!"

"Is that BK Mark III? He's really coming along!"

"Yep, that's him!" Ravioli took a drink and formally unveiled the new version of his imposing, largely blue gorilla-like robot. "I've been thinking about installing gauntlet shields this time around. His armour definitely wasn't sufficient to withstand a direct aerial attack!"

"Well, I was the only operator at the robot battle who incorporated flight into his blueprints!" Kanipan stressed. He wasn't bragging; simply stating the truth. "And there's no chance I'd instruct 01 to fly straight into my opponent!"

"You never know. That guy who tried to force Ann to go with him, we already know he has a gargantuan rocket-powered rat mecha on his side!"

"That's true. Gonna need something bigger than gauntlet shields to improve BK Mark III though, Ravioli! That mecha was huge! One step and it'd flatten him! Hell, had it not been ordered to stop, it would have punched the stadium down!"

Kanipan was by no means exaggerating. He'd lived through the damage it could do firsthand (no pun intended). He, Milk, and Ann nearly met their deaths at the hand (ditto) of the rat-bot. One such blow – not even a closed fist punch – destroyed a chunk of earth the stadium rested on!

"Aren't you rebuilding 01? After that collision, there was plenty of scrap metal to pick up! Pieces of your junk might've even found their way into BK Mark III, so I apologize if you notice any of your peripherals mixed in!"

"I had Kid sweep up the main components. Once I get Ann settled and come up with a security system I can trust, I'll pull a couple all-nighters to get 01 up and running again. Just…not right now. It's safer to rely on analog. Whatever those lights out of his fingers were, it's machines the enemy's capable of controlling! If I reduce the number of machines he could possibly exploit, he'll have fewer weapons to point at us!"

"Smart. I hadn't thought of that."

Planet Sharaku's inventors possessed a bottomless flair for invention, but they were dense.

"Kanipan, be careful around Ann. Honestly, you ought to keep away from her. It'd be safest for everybody."

"Except Ann! We can't leave her! She's a sitting duck without our help!"

"Yes, but that guy is serious business. He talked about not wanting to involve unrelated bystanders, but you saw the determination in his eyes! He was prepared to execute the necessary maneuvers to take Ann back with him!"

"He also chose to let her go."

"Yeah! And told her she'd regret not coming with him! And then what did he do? He came back to capture her regardless! What's your point?"

"My point is we don't have the complete picture. According to him, the future of Planet Sharaku is at stake. There may be something we don't understand, which he does."

"Kanipan!" Ravioli groaned. "You believe the guy?"

"I don't. I won't believe a bastard who'd hold a girl against her will. All I know is Ann is in trouble. She has no idea who she is."

"We have no idea, Kanipan! The memories she's missing…Use your head! She's their ally! Ann not remembering the kind of person she was before doesn't matter! Good people don't threaten stadiums full of people with giant robots and abduct scared girls!"

"I can't tell if you're behind defending Ann anymore."

"I am, but I'm still warning you."

"You warning me for my sake?"

"No."

"Because I distinctly recall you saying you weren't creating a diversion for my sake when Ann was almost dragged off, yet firing smoke grenades to cover us!"

"I didn't burn my hand on my blaster and let myself be shoved to the ground for your sake," Ravioli reiterated.

"If you didn't do it for me, who did you do it for? Ann?"

"Me. I did it for me."

"For you?"

"Can't have my boy gettin' beat up."

"Sure sounds like you did it for me!"

Ravioli scoffed and played it off.

"Ravioli."

"What?"

"Am I or am I not needed by you?" Kanipan challenged him.

Ravioli acted innocent. "Depends on your perspective."

"How?"

"What, you want me to demonstrate?"

"That'd be the scientific thing to do. Give me your hypothesis!"

Ravioli wore his goggles and boxed in his ex-rival. The goggles were the real scientific mystery to Kanipan. When Ravioli was inventing, sure, they served a practical purpose: They guarded him from sparks and fumes and exposure to other potentially harmful materials. But why slide them on here or during a robot battle, other than to look badass rebellious?

Kanipan answered his own question.

It was to look badass rebellious.

Dumb, but it was Ravioli.

"Now this seems wholly unnecessary!"

"Shh! Weren't you asking me to demonstrate?"

"Mm, sorry. Demonstrate away."

The box Ravioli had Kanipan in shrank into a kabedon, causing Kanipan to squeak. Kid's impression of a woman's scream didn't fool Milk, though Kanipan did do an impressive impression of Kid's high-pitched voice. Remember, inventors on Planet Sharaku are dense. They wouldn't know love was budding unless the signs hit them sequentially in the face. A totally believable occurrence, considering Kanipan wasn't the greatest driver when he was driving on highways.

That's what happens when society recognizes children with inventor status as adults, permitting them to drive vehicles.

"See, I could kiss you! Or I could wait for you to kiss me!" Ravioli rhetorized.

"You end up kissed either way." Kanipan followed the argument.

"Pre-cisely!"

"What if I just don't kiss you, Ravioli?"

"Ah, then you've learned to negotiate, Kanipan! How to obtain what you want!"

"Jeez, that's trashy! And you've been experimenting with this on me, haven't you?"

"Hahahaha! You're gettin' it! Ain't love selfish?"