Chapter 7 - Kamui Makes a Friend
"Fifty steps forward…. Fourty-nine…. Fourty-eight… Fourty-seven…"
Several pedestrians stopped and watched as Kamui walked down the sidewalk, counting softly to himself. Exactly fourty-six steps later, he stopped at an intersection. "TURN!" He declared, making a left and continuing on his way. Counting was fun; it was one of the several things that Kamui used to entertain himself on a daily basis. Whether he counted out inari to put in the lunches, or counting how many pieces of clothing he picked up off of Fuuma's floor; there was always something that could be expressed in a numerical value.
Another thing that could be counted was time. Kamui knew exactly how long it had been since his activation: one week, four days, seventeen minutes and thirty-five seconds… thirty-six….
The Monou family had adjusted quickly to him being in their lives, and he was learning to like them all very much. Kyouga, the adult-called "Father" and "Daddy" by his children-seemed to be a nice man. Kotori said he was, and Kamui believed her. He had no reason not to. Kotori herself also fit into the "nice" category. She had helped him to learn how to cook and speak better, she had found clothes for him to wear. She hugged him a lot, which he liked. Kamui sometimes felt slightly guilty when she did, because Fuuma didn't appear to like it.
"Hugging Kamui is not good." Kamui said to himself, as he walked faster down the street. "Kamui should not let Kotori hug Kamui if Fuuma not like it." If Fuuma didn't like it, then he would be unhappy. And Kamui couldn't have that. He wanted nothing more in the world than for the one who had found him, had taken him in, to be happy.
Though the entire Monou family used him for various chores, Kamui's whole world revolved first and foremost around the tall, serious, dark-haired boy. Every word, look and touch meant so much more coming from Fuuma; as far as Kamui was concerned, Fuuma owned him. That was what made Kamui happy, he thought with a smile.
He entered the gates to the high school the Monou siblings attended just as the dismissal bell rang. Students began to filter out, paying little to no attention to him as they passed. Kamui also paid them no mind once he had determined that they were "not Fuuma." Scanning the crowd, he tried to catch a glimpse of the boy or his sister. Unfortunately, his stature made it difficult to see above the heads of most of the upperclassmen.
"Can I help you?" A female voice from behind him asked politely. As Kamui turned, he heard a slight gasp of surprise. "Oh… I didn't realize you were a persocon." She said, her eyes wide behind her gold-rimmed glasses. Kamui looked at the woman, taking in her straight black hair and white, knee-length coat.
"Fuuma is where?" He asked, tilting his head. The woman was an adult, and therefore, it was possible she might know where he could find Fuuma.
Instead, the woman appeared puzzled. "I'm sorry, I don't know him." As Kamui turned to leave, she rested her hand on his shoulder. Surprised, Kamui just looked at her hand, then back up at her. "But if you wait here, I'm sure he'll turn up." She smiled easily, the corners of her eyes crinkling up. "My name is Tokiko. What's yours?"
"Kamui."
Her lips parted, forming an "O" in surprise. The look quickly vanished, replaced by another smile. "It's nice to meet you, Kamui-kun." She studied him carefully, appearing to find him of great interest.
Kamui turned back to the crowd. "Must find Fuuma." He told Tokiko. "Help look please?"
Tokiko laughed lightly. "Is Fuuma your owner?"
Nodding, Kamui smiled a little. "Fuuma found Kamui. Kept Kamui, even though Kamui is broken." The one thing Kamui regretted was that he wasn't working the way he was supposed to. At least, that's what everyone said about him. Kamui did things the only way he knew, but if he had functioned as he'd been designed to, maybe Fuuma would like him more. Since the day they'd visited the boy with the many persocons, Imonoyama Nokoru, Fuuma had talked to Kamui less. He didn't touch Kamui at all, and had a strange look in his eyes whenever he looked at him.
Kamui knew he'd done something to cause it, something he would not have done if he wasn't broken.
Tokiko squeezed his shoulder. "Fuuma sounds like a nice boy to do that." She smiled down at him. "You seem to be working all right to me, Kamui-kun." She said with a wink. "Maybe it just takes time."
"Kamui-chan!!"
Turning immediately from Tokiko, Kamui saw Kotori running toward him, followed by the spiky-haired boy with the funny accent. Kamui recognized him as one of Fuuma's friends, Arisugawa Sorata. Perched on Sorata's shoulder was his dour-looked mobile unit.
"Good afternoon, Kotori." Kamui managed to say before being enveloped in a hug by the exuberant blonde girl. When she pulled back, he looked over her shoulder. "Fuuma is where?"
"Monou went to work, Kamui." Sorata answered, joining up with them. "He switched with someone and left right after the bell."
Kamui felt a pang of sadness. Work meant that Fuuma would not be home until late. Fuuma worked very hard to earn money, and Kamui understood that it was so he could buy things for him. But it didn't mean he didn't miss the older boy when he wasn't there.
His disappointment must have shown, because Kotori glanced at him in surprise. "Oniichan didn't tell you?" She asked, her big blue eyes wide. "He must have forgotten. Don't worry, Kamui-chan, I'll yell at him for you." She took his hand and started walking.
"It was nice talking to you, Kamui-kun."
Kamui looked over his shoulder at Tokiko, who had her hands in her pockets. She nodded at him, smiling. Kamui waved, then let Kotori continue to pull him along. Sorata walked with them; insisting, as he often did, that he walk Kotori home.
"Never know when there could be weirdos out there, Kotori-chan." He was saying, wagging his finger.
Kotori giggled. "Oniisan says you're one of them, Arisugawa-san."
Sorata clutched his hands to his chest and stumbled a little, Arashi hanging on tightly to his collar to keep from being thrown backward. "Kotori-chan, you don't think I'd do anything to you, do you?!" He cried, seemingly hurt by her comment.
Kotori's face turned a little pink. "No, Arisugawa-san." She said, still giggling. "Oniichan is just very protective."
"Don't I know it," Sorata griped, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked behind him at Kamui. "How's it goin' with the persocon?" He asked, pointing at Kamui. "Did Nokoru-san tell you guys anything yet?"
Kotori shook his head. "Oniichan hasn't said anything about it. I think he's getting nervous…." She bit her lip. "Kamui-chan's software might cost more than he can afford."
Kamui watched the conversation intently, taking in everything they'd said. Everyone talked about him as if he wasn't there. Kamui knew that since he was a machine, he was different from people, and sometimes people forgot he was there. It was all right, he had learned that people were forgetful. That was why persocons like himself had been created. He was supposed to help them with things like remembering. Or with earning money….
"Kotori? Kamui can have a job?"
The girl turned to look at him, surprised. "I'm not sure, Kamui-chan." She replied, thinking it over carefully. "You might want to ask oniichan about it."
Later that night, Kamui sat on Fuuma's bed, waiting for him to come back from work. He had not been needed for dinner, Kyouga had brought home sushi, and since Kamui didn't eat, he was allowed to go upstairs. He had been thinking long and hard about getting a job in order to help Fuuma. Maybe if Kamui worked too, Fuuma wouldn't have to spend so much time at his restaurant. It was a good idea, he hoped Fuuma would say it was all right.
He perked up as he heard footsteps on the stairs. They were heavier than Kotori's and faster than Kyouga's, so it only left one possible option. A moment later, Fuuma let himself into the room. Kamui jumped to his feet immediately. "Welcome back!"
Fuuma grinned in his direction, and Kamui echoed it, delighted to see him back to the way he had been. "Thanks!" Fuuma flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling before directing his gaze to Kamui. "I had a great night, made a ton of money." A light pink color appeared on Fuuma's cheeks, similar to the blush Kamui had seen on Kotori's face earlier that day. Kamui had begun to believe such a thing happened when people were talking to someone special. As a result, his mood was lifted even further. Fuuma was definitely back to his old self.
"One of the girls I work with offered to make me lunch tomorrow." Fuuma's face broke out into a silly, lopsided grin. "She's really cute, and -stacked-, you wouldn't believe someone so little-ah well, not that you really care, right?" The boy sat up, excited. "I think she likes me! Her dad's my boss, so I can't do anything -really- bad, or I might get fired." He laughed a little, rubbing his neck. "But still… it's great to have someone make me a lunch."
Kamui blinked. "Kamui makes Fuuma lunch." He said, recalling his morning chore.
Fuuma waved his hand, dismissively. "Yeah, yeah… but you're different. She's doing it 'cause she likes me." He bounced to his feet, grabbing towel and his shower supplies. "Gonna take a shower." He said, voice still buoyed to a giddy level.
Kamui could hear him whistling down the hall, and felt his own spirits fall quite suddenly. He moved to collect Fuuma's discarded backpack. "Kamui likes Fuuma…." He whispered to the empty room as he put the things away.