Wow! I'm surprised with the amount of reviews. Since I got like four reviews for one chapter, which is a lot for me, I decided to go ahead and write the next chapter! (Actually have not planned every detail entirely…let's see how this goes…) I'm glad everyone agrees that Guilty Crown's ending sucks. In fact, Guilty Crown messes with Daryl's character so much that I don't even know what his default character is. Thus, I'm very sorry for any OOC-ness that is bound to happen. Also, wanna take a guess of who Jessica is as you're reading? C'mon! I'll give you a hint, pay attention to her physique.
connections
Jessica took out a coffee mixing stick and poked at the hunk of metal on the countertop. She didn't know what to make heads or tails of the pile of scrap metal. As far as she knew, the thing was sleek white, had a little bit of blue mixed in, and has wheels. The college student prodded at the robot once again, suddenly jumping back due to a sudden hiss, and for a moment, the robot sprang back to life! Then, it died down yet again. What a bummer!
"So do you have any idea what this thing is?" Jessica asked her coworker, who was currently getting his laptop.
Daryl Yan shook his head. "No clue." He grabbed a bunch of wires, walked up to the little robot, and tried to find any sort of plug in the main body, which he assumed to be the biggest hunk of metal.
"What did that little girl say about this again?"
"She said she found it washed up on the riverbank, took it in, tried to go home, and she was attacked by a bunch of delinquents."
"Aww! How sweet of you!" Jessica teased, earning a very icy glare from Daryl. She giggled and leaned back on the stool. "So what made you want to take in this little robot?"
"Don't make me shoot your brains out!" Daryl spat at her, only to earn another giggle from her. "And for your information, I'm only going to fix this because I remember it. I don't know where, but I know it for sure."
"Is it from your days in GHQ? Is it GHQ property or what?" Jessica reached out and picked up the robot and she playfully turned it front and back as if trying to spot out a logo.
"Brat!"
A fist bonked her in the head, prompting the release of the robot from her hands. "Hey! That hurt! Don't make me touch you!"
"Stay out of this!" He huffed back and snatched back the robot. "I'm going to try to get this thing fixed by tomorrow. Can you take over my shift?"
"Huh? We work the same shift."
"I mean my bartending shift." Daryl rolled his eyes at this clueless girl.
Jessica groaned, "Uh Stupid! I'm only eighteen! I'm not even legally able to enter a bar!"
"You look old. No one's going to check! And it's a good way for you to practice your bartending tricks."
"Except I use it on coffee! Not actual drinks!" Jessica argued back. "Look, I have an exam to study for so good luck without me!" She hastily removed her apron, hung up her uniform, and freaking raced out of that coffee shop. No way is she sacrificing study time and sleep so Daryl could play with a robot!
Daryl sighed. Well that didn't work as he planned. He hoped Jessica would take the bait and take over. He desperately needed a break from bartending. It paid well but it sure was tiring!
Now…about that robot… Daryl gingerly placed the piece of metal back onto the countertop. It was cold, deathly cold, and the metal was dented, scratched, and rusting. He wondered what could have gotten this little robot in such a bad shape. Good thing he was raised in GHQ that he got training in repairing Endlaves. This robot was going to be a cinch to repair! It was going to take some time and money though…or he could just throw it in the trash and pretend it never even existed. But through those two black orbs, he felt like he remembered a certain someone. He just couldn't place his finger on it. Maybe, if repairing this robot, he could get his answer.
He hoped so…
-GC-
"A mini-antenna is installed into the back of this contraption, enabling it to receive radio signals from miles away. This is useful for spies and reconnaissance. This robot here…" Tsugumi paused in the middle of her lecture once her beloved Funell showed up on the screen. It's been days and he still hasn't shown up. Tsugumi felt a lump grow in the back of her throat. She quickly coughed, cleared away the tears in her eyes, and tried to continue her lesson.
"Teacher!" One of her students raised her hand.
"Yes?"
The young girl smiled back once she was called, "That's a beautiful robot. What's his name?"
"His name is Funell. I've actually had him for a long time now." Tsugumi tried to keep up her smile.
"Is something wrong Teacher Tsugumi?"
Tsugumi felt her voice crack a little. "Oh it's nothing. He just went missing a few days ago. But I'm sure he'll turn up soon!" She quickly brushed away any tears in her eyes. "Nevermind! Let's continue the lesson, shall we? So..." Tsugumi pushed away any thoughts of Funell from her mind and she began talking once again.
Once her lecture ended, her students eagerly began to mess around while she packed up her bags and began to leave. Tsugumi was about to exit the door when a small tug was felt on her sleeve.
"Teacher Tsugumi, if it makes you feel better, I think I found Funell a couple days ago."
"Really? You did? Where? Is he okay?" Tsugumi literally exploded in a mix of confusion and worry. She felt bad for blasting out so many questions at this student. But she needed to find Funell!
"I'm not sure if he's okay. He was in pretty bad shape when I found him." This made Tsugumi almost wanting to crack and cry. "But this guy took him off my hands and he promised to fix Funell up."
"Do you know this person?" Tsugumi demanded.
"No but he seemed nice enough..."
What a naive child!
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. I know I encountered him around the commerce districts of Tokyo and I think he was a barista or something. He kind of looked like one..."
That was all she needed. Tsugumi hastily thanked her student and took her leave of that school. It was her last class anyways and she was free to do anything she wanted. Right now, she wanted to find her Funell. Tsugumi found the earliest and closest bus into Tokyo and before even ten minutes passed, she was already in the streets of Tokyo. She quickly ran inti the commerce area, only to find at least twenty coffee shops.
Which one is it? She looked to the left. One looked very plain and typical. Could that be it? She looked to her left where there was one that had its lights dimmed out. Could it be that one? Or could it be the pink coffeehouse?
"Ugh! I'm never going to find him!" Tsugumi wailed to herself and smashed her head into her hands.
'What a loud lady!' Jessica mentally commented in her head. At this time, she was sweeping the entrance of the shop so to prepare for the high school student rush hours. Usually, it was a peaceful exercise to start her shift, but this loud lady was ruining it! Jessica quickly finished up sweeping and after tightening her bun, she ran up to the woman.
"Excuse me Miss, is there something I can help you with?" Jessica placed her hand on this woman's shoulder.
Tsugumi turned back around with tears streaking her small face. She saw a girl smiling gently at her. This girl was young, almost eighteen or nineteen, so young that she could almost be one of her students! What struck her the most were her eyes that were as blue as the sea. She had her brown hair tied up into a bun, but Tsugumi could tell it was wavy if she ever untied it. If this girl ever decided to wear glasses, she could pass as a very intellectual person.
Jessica helped up this woman. Her first impression of this woman was she was tiny...like really tiny, like she hadn't grown in the past five years. Another first impression was the headband. They looked like cat ears. How cute. Was this person a student? It couldn't be because she wasn't wearing any uniform. Was she in college? She looked a bit too young to be in college.
"My name is Jessica. I'm a college freshman. What year are you in?" Jessica held out her hand for the woman to shake.
Tsugumi didn't take it. Instead, she stared horrified at this student. "Excuse me! I'm almost graduating! I'm twenty-two years old!"
"Oh really! I'm incredibly sorry miss!" Jessica cracked a smile. Oh crap! She hit a land mine! "How about you come in for some coffee? You seem troubled."
Tsugumi glanced up (this girl was that tall) into her ocean blue eyes. They emitted a sense of kindness and warmth. Somehow, she felt like she could trust this kid. Thus, Tsugumi took hold of Jessica's hand and was led into the small coffeehouse.
"So did you lose something or what?" Jessica curiously asked while her hands were flying across the countertop. It was a trick Daryl taught her, a bar tending trick. She knew how to make an ice coffee while talking with the customer and juggling. Normally, people were surprised and clapping for her, but this woman looked too down to even notice.
"You probably haven't seen him, but I'm missing this little robot of mine called Funell."
Jessica's hand suddenly slipped and a tin cup fell to the floor. Luckily, Tsugumi looked like she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice. So Jessica quickly bent down to pick up her fallen utensil and she resumed making Tsugumi's iced coffee. But this entire time, she wondered to herself if Tsugumi's robot was the same robot Daryl brought back.
"And I don't have any leads right now. The only clue I have is that one of my students found him washed up on a riverbank and she gave it to a complete stranger to fix." Tsugumi sighed in frustration and took a long sip from her iced coffee. "I can't believe I just ran here without thinking! I didn't even ask for and address or a description of the guy. I just came running here like an idiot."
"Oh Miss, don't be beating yourself up." Jessica warmly tried to console her.
"Oh! And I didn't even introduce myself yet." Tsugumi quickly stopped her moping and reached her hand towards Jessica. "My name is Tsugumi. I student-teach technology and robotics design at a high school near here."
"Nice to meet you Tsugumi", Jessica politely returned the shake. "So what does your missing robot look like? I'll try to keep my eyes open for it."
"Well..." Tsugumi curved her hands slightly in front of her as she tried to come up with a shape. "Funell is white, sleek white, and he has separate ear panels and those are light blue. He has four legs and at the end of all four legs are wheels. He also has two black round panels that look like eyes and the black outline that separates all the panels make him look like he's smiling. He looks something like that."
Jessica chuckled once Tsugumi finished, effectively making her mad. "Hey! What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing!" Jessica quickly finished the last of her giggles. "I just think your description of this robot is very cute. When I heard you taught technology and robotics design, I assumed you meant Endlaves."
"Well that's part of the curriculum. But I probably know more than what the textbooks say."
"Really? How?"
"I had personal experience. That is all." Tsugumi cheekily smiled at her. If she wanted to, she could have told this girl that she was once part of a resistance group against the government. But, from name alone, she still had doubts about trusting this girl. For one thing, "Jessica" was definitely not a Japanese name. And even the option of being a foreign-exchange student was ruled out because no student would want to go to Japan after the Apocalypse incidents. Jessica had to be somewhat related to the UN or GHQ. And realistically, especially GHQ, they don't take too kindly to Funeral Parlor members. Even if they were working together now, the enemy hostility was still there either way.
"So Jessica, that's a pretty name you have. It's not Japanese though..." Tsugumi hinted. She also wanted to know more of this person.
Jessica nodded, "Yeah, I'm half-Japanese and half-American. My father wanted the family to live here to reconnect with our roots, which is surprising considering he's not Japanese. Then again, he had work here, so that was probably the main reason."
'So her father works for either GHQ or UN.' Tsugumi quickly deduced. "Well how do you like Japan?"
Jessica merely shrugged, "It's okay. I've been living here ever since I was nine so this place is like my second home."
"Oh, so you're one of the lucky survivors of the Fourth Apocalypse eight years ago." Tsugumi grinned. It was fun to get other peoples stories about the incident when she personally fought against the pandemic. Usually, their stories were not as action-packed, but they were still interesting.
"That? Geez... I was ten when the Second Lost Christmas happened. I don't think I remember much, but I do know that we were still living in a small town that was luckily unaffected by the outbreak. I believe it was mostly in Tokyo when that happened." Jessica replied. "Hey! If I was ten when that happened, you would be fourteen. How did you manage to survive?"
"A secret!" Tsugumi winked and laughed.
"Tsugumi!"
"Well, I think I need to be going now. I think you have other customers to attend to." Tsugumi quickly drank what's left of her iced coffee and got ready to leave. "I don't have money on me right now so I'll pay back tomorrow."
"Don't bother. It's on the house."
"Right. Thanks again!" Tsugumi waved good-bye and she quickly rushed out the door.
Jessica smiled to herself, satisfied that she had done some good to the people around her. She also waved good-bye to Tsugumi, even when she wasn't even there anymore. Afterwards, she returned back to her work and began the set up for student rush hour.
"Was that a friend?" A voice called for her. "You look like an idiot by waving at nothing!"
She quickly turned around. Daryl smirked at her while he leaned against the wooden frame of the back door. He walked in and playfully flicked her forehead, earning her ire!
"Daryl Yan." Jessica grumbled as she rubbed her forehead. "I thought you were fixing the robot."
"I did. It didn't take me that long." He brought out a brand new Funell, except it looked like it was still powered off.
"Wow. It really looks like what she described to me." Jessica looked at the new Funell at eye-level.
"She?"
Jessica glanced back up at him. "Yeah, this woman stopped by and she was looking for a missing robot."
"Well. Go return it to her." He quickly shoved Funell into Jessica.
Jessica wondered out loud, "Okay…I guess…I have her name and everything. She's working at a high school so I can just look up the names of student teachers. Besides, she can't be that hard to spot seeing she so tiny and she wears a headband with cat ears."
Runt…
The young man frantically grabbed onto Jessica and shook her. "Who was that girl? What does she look like?"
Jessica grinned, "Oh! So you do know her! My guess was right!"
"Jessica!" Daryl ripped Funell out of the girl's arms, placed the robot back onto the counter, and he dug through his bag. "Does she look anything like this?" He grabbed a little photo, barely the size of a Polaroid, and flung it right at her face.
Jessica narrowed her eyes at this picture. It was not a good snap to start off with. The focus was bad. Everything looked slightly blurred. But she could make out a small face, dark purple eyes that emitted a sense of shock, long hair of different shades of purple, but most of all, the headband of metal cat ears that was placed on her head. This girl looked exactly like Tsugumi, in fact, she was the younger version of Tsugumi. Now why would Daryl have a small picture of this girl anyways? Maybe she needed to revisit the archives again.
"Yep, that's her alright." Jessica coolly placed the photo on the counter top. She looked up, eager to see his face contort into some weird expression of shock or surprise.
Except…he did the opposite. Jessica's smile soon disappeared.
"I'm going to need you to return this robot back to her." Daryl curtly instructed her and he quickly stood up to take his leave.
Jessica quickly grabbed onto his shirt to prevent him from moving. "Daryl. Something is wrong."
"Nothing is wrong."
"Yes it is!" Jessica yelled back, anger clearly apparent in her shouts. "You can't see this girl for some reason!"
"It's not any of your business Brat!" Daryl promptly and violently shook her off, almost causing the girl to hit the counter behind her. That could have caused some major bruises!
"Why you!" The majorly pissed off girl snarled back. With one strike, she reached under the counter and pulled out the handgun underneath. She pointed it straight at Daryl's face with determination of shooting his brains out!
Daryl also glared back at her, not intent of backing down. "Put that gun away before you hurt yourself. You're not trained in firearms."
Her finger touched the trigger, prompting a reflex from him to back down slightly. "Daryl fucking Yan. How dare you waste your second chance!"
"Says who?" Daryl spat out.
"Says the daughter of the man who saved your sorry butt!"
So, who guessed correctly? Write that in your review! Also, sorry to Daryl/Rowan shippers, but Rowan's married! Cackle! Cackle! Jessica is his daughter! Cackle! Cackle! Didn't see that one coming now did you? That's why her name is in English...and the hair…and the eyes…and, okay I'll stop. As for side ships right now…I have absolutely no idea. I usually write with one main pairing as the focus and then the side pairings kind of fall into place as the plot moves on. But, rest assure that my OC is not pairing up with anyone soon. (She's a whole generation behind)
Review!