Ah, I'm back! it feels good to be writing again. Thank you for all your reviews, everyone! I gotta say, you're all so suspicious!! O.O! C'mon, be a little trusting...LOL! Though I see where you're coming from...Like many of you said, some things aren't what they appear. Anyway, this chapter is a little short, but informative, I guess. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Chobits or any of the characters. Ah, the world would be screwed if I did...XD!
Chapter 3: Realization
Hideki sat with wide awake as he stared intently at Chi on the futon. Her chest moved gently up and down as she breathed softly, her mouth forming words in her sleep. He felt the blush rise to his cheeks and his heart beat hard in his chest. He had been watching her almost all night, his eyes unable to close. She looked like an angel with her skin aglow in the light that filtered through the blinds. He remembered the message Plum had recited to him as soon as he walked in that night from Blue herself that it would be several hours as her body recovered from the shock and became familiar with all her knowledge and bodily functions. It was already 10:00 in the morning, and thankfully it was Saturday. The only thing to worry about was work...
He stood and approached Plum, taking the laptop in his hands. Her alarm had been shut off somehow so she wasn't awake yet, but she perked up as he took her in hand. Luckily the number to the restaurant had been registered in her phone log, and he was sure Mr. Ueda's was there as well.
Hideki dialed the number to his job only to leave a message. When he called the pastry shop, however, Mr. Ueda picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Mr. Motosuwa, is that you?" He must have been expecting him.
"Um, yeah, hi...Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes, of course...I've just had this feeling all day...Are you and Chi okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry. I was just calling you to tell you that, um, Chi's not going to be able to come in for a while." He gulped and hoped it hadn't been heard.
"How long's a while?"
He was about to reply when there was a click on the other line and Ueda excused himself as the bells of the doors clinked sharply; customers must have come in. The line was quiet for about ten minutes before the pastry shop owner came back in with a sigh.
"Sorry about that Mr. Motosuwa. Some customers came."
"Oh, no problem. Um, Chi'll be out for about a week." Why had he said that? That was how long Blue said she'd wait for her payment, but he wasn't sure he'd go through with it. He was sure something was up with the whole thing.
"What happened?" Mr. Ueda's voice startled him a little from his thoughts.
"She, um, got some surgery done."
"Surgery?"
"Yeah," he shifted, thankful the pastry-shop owner couldn't see his face, since it was so full of guilt. It wasn't far from the truth, but at the same time, it was a tiny lie. He hated having to lie to him, especially after all the help he had been before.
"Well, tell her I said I hope she feels better soon. I'll need my top salesperson in good shape soon!" Mr. Ueda laughed and Hideki found himself smiling as well.
"Okay, thanks. I'll tell her. Bye." There was a click and he was alone with Chi again. Somehow he felt slightly better now that he had spoken to his old friend; Mr. Ueda always had that effect on him. He drummed his fingers on his knee and jumped as Plum came back to normal.
"Master, are you okay?"
He was about to answer when Chi stirred and her amber eyes opened. He felt as though time had stopped as she sat up and looked around, smiling as her eyes set on him.
"Hideki...Good morning."
He realized it was their ritual and stammered "M-Morning."
She suddenly looked down at her hands, her fingers sliding out from his large shirt. She looked up at him with guilty eyes. "I wanted it to be a surprise, Hideki..."
"It's okay...I was surprised," he said, sounding a little more irritated than he'd intended. He winced and hoped she hadn't picked up on it; she however, was used to the pitches of his voice and had indeed noticed.
Her eyes filled with tears, "You don't like it?"
He didn't reply, wondering the same thing. He heard a sob and looked up to see tears streaming down her face. "Chi?! What's wrong?"
"You don't like it. Chi isn't your 'someone just for you' anymore..." she looked up pitifully and it wretched his heart to see pure anguish in her eyes. "You don't love Chi?" She hiccupped and wiped her eyes uselessly, her head hanging in sorrow.
He sighed and crawled over to her, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her to his chest and she hugged him tightly. His shirt began to soak in her tears, but he was too busy to notice; how strange it was to be holding her like this. He was holding her in the same way he always did, but it felt strange and awkward like it had when he first got her...
He spoke softly, unsure if he could speak any louder even if he wanted to. "I still love you, Chi. Very much, and don't ever think otherwise. I'm just..." His voice trailed off temporarily and Chi shivered. It took several minutes before he could find his voice again. "...Why didn't you tell me you planning on getting this done? Do you know how scared I was when I came home and you were gone? Do you know how scared I was all night and morning that you wouldn't wake up? Why didn't you...?"
Chi buried her head in his chest and his heart fluttered slightly. "Chi wanted to surprise you...I thought you'd like it. You do, don't you?" She looked up at him with stray tears rolling down her cheeks.
He was speechless and sighed, thinking long and hard. It was nice and he knew she meant well, but he was just so used to her as a Persocom. When he thought about things, he supposed that there were more positive than negative facts. He was only bothered by the price that Blue wanted in return. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized Chi had seen him do so. He looked down to her and smiled. "I do like it, Chi. You did this for me, right?"
She nodded and he hugged her. "Thank you, Chi" Somehow he felt her smile and he knew that at least that hadn't changed.
xXx
After Chi made him breakfast, he sat down to study only to end up doing staring. his mind was too tangled on everything else so he closed his textbook in defeat. Blue's price was the top of the list of his troubles. What was as precious as Chi? There was nothing he had, nothing he had ever possessed his entire life, that was as precious as a human life. Was she just toying with him?
He sighed and looked up at Chi as she walked past with a basket of dirty clothes. His eyebrows rose, "Um, Chi, what are you doing?"
"Laundry," she blinked; when had she- he suddenly remembered the hacker and understood that she had taught her.
He stood up quickly to take the basket gently, "I don't think that's a good idea right now. Somebody might see you in the laundry room."
She cocked her head. "Hideki...doesn't want people to see me? Is something wrong with Chi?"
"No, it's just...Everybody still thinks that you're a Persocom. They wouldn't understand how you became real."
She bobbed her head up and down in a nod. He placed the basket back in her hands, filing it away later that the clothes really did need to be washed; he stopped suddenly as her hands gently touched his and she kept them there. In fact, she placed one hand completely over his and smiled up at him. He blushed brightly and the urge to kiss her came even stronger than ever before. He wanted it badly, and things were harder on him now that she was...Wait, she was real now, so did that mean...?
His thoughts came to a screeching halt as it dawned on him. She was REAL, which meant no reset button, no ability only she could do, nothing. She was a fully grown young woman. His cheeks were on fire as he dared think farther, the room beginning to spin.
"Hideki?"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" she tugged on his sleeve, both her hands now on the basket free from his grasp.
He snapped back into reality and nodded, though the room continued to spin. He felt slightly dirty and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm okay..."
Once she turned back and went to place the basket down, he spun around and sat down to exhale a held breath. That was close. if he had continued to daydream like that, who knew what could have...
He shook his head until he was dizzy and looked down to his textbooks. There was no way he could study now...
A/N: Ah, you gotta love Hideki sometimes. Sure he's a perv, but he's a nice guy. Yes. I'm happy to include Mr. Ueda in this chapter; he's one of my favorite characters in the entire series. Speaking of which, I just finished the anime of Chobits and decided that I like the manga a lot more. It was still good, don't get me wrong, but they changed or left out a lot of important details and such. Meh. Such is life, I suppose. Sorry about how short this chapter is, but this actually did help the plot. Please don't hurt me! XD! Review please!
