Julius tapped his brother's shoulders, gently shaking him awake.
"Oliver, wake up."
Oliver groaned, turning around on the couch to face the cushions, squeezing his eyes shut.
"There's someone at the door. Should I get it?"
Oliver, not fully processing, mumbled his consent and went back to his dreams.
Why didn't you make it with ears, sir?
Because. Life as a persocom is so incredibly hard. You aren't taken seriously, you are bullied, ridiculed, for sharing love with someone, your will is not your own. Your very existence is a controversy. I didn't want him to face those challenges.
Is it true you made it because you were lonely for sexual companionship after Kinoshima died?
No, what the fuck? Don't you understand he's a child?
Sir, can you tell me more about Kinoshima's sudden death?
How are you struggling with your loss?
Mr. Hughes, can you elaborate?
He has a name. Call him by his fucking name.
Why did you make it look so much like a human?
Is it for sale?
How much does it cost?
Didn't I just say why? Jesus. Leave us alone. Come on, Julius.
Oliver sat up in bed with a start, heart pounding. He nervously skimmed the dark room, looking for something amiss- like reporters. However, everything was as it was. The couch was there, pictures on the wall. Coffee table with chess on it.
He leaned over and picked up the glass piece, a knight. He fingered the cold figurine and sighed, lost in his thoughts.
Julius. Kinoshima.
Where was Julius?
He quietly set the chess piece back on the board, glancing around the room. The front door was open.
Dog tags clinking against his chest, Oliver reached under the couch and grabbed his Remington ACR, his military rifle. He clicked the cartridge into place, and began to search the house, heart pounding.
He cleared each corner with precision and accuracy from military training.
Bathroom: Clear.
Kitchen: Clear.
Bedroom: Clear.
Lastly, the garage. He could hear voices from within, and he concentrated, straining to recognize the voices. As he drew near, he could understand.
"This here is where he made you. Took him forever. You don't remember, do you?"
It was Julius.
"I can always upload my memories into yours, if you want. I'm so glad you're finally around! It gets so boring. Oliver never wants to play. But now that we're all here, we can build forts and stuff! Like old times."
A feminine, soothing voice responded in a low tone.
"Of course, Jules."
"You'll stay, won't you? Won't you stay?"
A pause.
"We all have our flaws and weakness. My flaw, one of the few, is that I cannot refuse you, precious child. I will stay."
Oliver froze, recognizing the voice, the nickname, the flaw.
Ryuu.
Oliver walked into the garage, not sure what to expect. And there he saw her. Kinoshima reborn, in all her glory. Her hair was down, wet, dripping puddles on the floor. She wore the same kimono from the first day. Julius and she faced the wall, away from Oliver, oblivious to his silent entrance.
Only when he dropped the gun, did they turn around.
How beautiful she was. It was as if she never left. Her lips, her curves, her eyes, the smile pulling at her lips, it all came back to him. She studied his face, hazel eyes searching. Searching for what, he did not know.
She stepped forward, reaching out and running her fingers through his hair.
"Do- Do you remember?" He choked out, unsure, unbelieving that she had returned.
Ryuu shook her head, hazel eyes clouded with confusion.
"No. I do not. I just feel as though I've done this before. Run my fingers through your hair. Is it true? Is this all true?" She asked.
Oliver nodded, his own hands cupping Ryuu's face. She leaned into his touch, sadness making her smile droop.
"So much I do not remember. When Jayce started me up, I guess he must have wiped all of my data of you. And then, on the way here, I manually rewired him from my system and masked my IP address so he can't shut me down from afar. Not only this, but when my IP address changed, a lot of my systems crashed. My speech is… inhuman." She hesitated.
At the mention of Jayce, Ryuu's eyes teared up. Oliver frowned, releasing her from his grasp. His walls came up.
The moment was gone.
Julius came over, reached up and tugged on his brother's sleeve. The two looked down.
"Can we go to Sam's house? Please? I want to start filling Kinoshima here with my memories, and that'll take hours. Sam has the best movies." He asked in his high pitched voice, eyes wide.
"I am called Ryuu. Not Kinoshima." She corrected, the venom in her voice making them both flinch. She did, however, smooth it over with a shaky smile.
Oliver looked at her closely, but finally nodded.
"We better drop by. I don't feel like dealing with Julius's tantrums this early." He said, casting his eyes downwards.
Julius smiled his winning smile.
"Then it's settled. We'll go over, kick down the door army style, maybe Oliver will let me hold the gun. And then we'll watch frozen! Or Moana! Moana, okay? I decided. Moana."
So, here's chapter 3.
I realize there are now more persecoms than humans in the story.
Julius, Aitsu, and Ryuu.
New characters will be introduced in the next chapter.
If you haven't done so already, check out ThanosofTitan's story, Coming to Terms. It's brilliant.