Day 2

The next morning, Togusa's daughter was sitting at the dining room table with Marion in the chair next to her. The girl was eating a traditional breakfast meal of rice, eggs, and banana. She would playfully offer Marion food yet the doll silently refused.

Togusa entered the kitchen and greeted his wife before noticing his daughter in the other room.

"She certainly loves her new doll." His wife commented while hand drying a plate, "She came down here this morning and insisted I prepare a plate for Marion but I told her they could share one."

"I hope she won't make us get two of everything," Togusa joked. He then offered, "I can drive her to school. I don't have to get to work early today."

His wife nodded until she suddenly felt a small hand pat her leg. She looked down and saw her daughter holding up her empty dish.

"Did you and Marion enjoy the food?" Her mother asked.

"It was delicious!" The girl smiled. She looked at her father and asked, "Can I take Marion to school?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, honey." Togusa squatted down to be at eye-level with his daughter, "Marion's made of porcelain which means she's very fragile and if you're not careful, she could break...you wouldn't want that now, would you?"

"No…" She shook her head with a pout.

Togusa delicately moved some brunette hair out of her face and suggested, "How about she ride in the car with us? Then when I drop you off, you can leave her with me."

"Okay!" She replied cheerfully. She scurried over to her backpack before grabbing Marion, "I'm ready to go!"

On the drive to school, his daughter was humming a tune that he had not heard before. It was in a minor key and if she had not hummed it in a quick and playful rhythm, it could have sounded melancholy. He shook his head at the thought and simply assumed that whatever she was humming was probably her rendition of a song from the radio. Marion sat in her lap and was being made to sway from side to side in her small owner's hands.

The car finally slowed to a stop and Togusa turned and looked at his daughter in the backseat.

"Have a nice day at school, Sweetie." He smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy!" She replied. She opened the door and placed Marion where she was sitting. She strapped a seat belt across the doll and said, "Be good, okay?" She closed the car door and waved "goodbye" to her father before meeting up with her friends.

Togusa watched her leave until he saw her make it to the front doors. He looked in the rearview mirror and could see the doll quietly sitting in the backseat. It was quite the eerie sight but he didn't let it bother him.

He made his way onto the freeway and headed for Section 9. He turned on the radio and listened to the news station on his way there. He could not help but glance at the rear view mirror every now and then and everytime he did so, the doll was always in a slightly different position. It was most likely from the bumps in the road causing the small doll to move about in the backseat.

He pulled into Section 9's parking garage and began to search for a place to park. He wanted to back into a space but when he looked into the rearview mirror, Marion was gone. He stopped the car and quickly turned his upper body around to investigate her absence but to his surprise, Marion was still strapped into the seat. He furrowed his brows and could not comprehend what just happened. He looked into the mirror and her reflection remained.

"I didn't have my coffee this morning…" Togusa thought aloud as a way to debunk the scenario. He parked his car and soon exited it. He locked the car until he heard two electronic beeps and as he walked by the back doors, he eyed the doll. Its piercing blue eyes seemed to follow his movement yet to him, it was most likely an optical illusion of the glass material.

Inside, he met up with Batou in the elevator. The tall cyborg gave a nod of greeting and stood quietly with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"How's Gabriel?" Togusa asked his cohort.

"She's doing well; your family took good care of her," Batou replied without looking at him, "However, she seemed very exhausted when I got her home..more so than usual. Your daughter must've worn her out."

Togusa chuckled, "She thinks all dogs are puppies...that's why I was sure to get her something almost as good so she wouldn't have to beg us to get her one."

"The caucasian doll you brought back?"

"That's the one." Togusa nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, "She's already grown very attached to it."

"I see…"

"Speaking of which...do you know what the significance of the name 'Marion' is?"

"'Marion'?"

"Yeah, that's what my daughter named the doll...but I'm not exactly sure where she came up with it."

Batou looked up and began to access the web, doing some internal research through his optics and cyberbrain. "Marion: the French diminutive form of Marie which was derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. The meaning of the name is debated but it ranges from 'rebellion' to 'lady of the sea'…"

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain where she got that name…"

"Perhaps the doll came up with it…" Batou almost smirked.

"No no, don't give me that…" Togusa looked dissatisfied by the suggestion.

Batou paused for a moment and began to say, "She really liked the name Marion…"

"Huh?" Togusa looked up at him, "What was that?"

"Nothin'." He shrugged, "Just thinking aloud."

Two hours passed and Togusa was finishing some paper work. He walked by the computer lab but as he passed the open door, he noticed a small person sitting at one of the computers. He stopped and backed up to see who it was but whatever had been there, vanished. For a split second, he thought he had saw Marion.

It sent chills up his spine.