chapter 7

Tokugawa Home

Early Evening

"Let us be difficult shall we?" Mitsunari thought to himself as he ran through his protocol tool again without much result. "You are well versed for a punk aren't you?" He said as he typed on the lap top keyboard. Busting Daichi's password was the easy part but finding out exactly where he might have hidden the file was another problem. It soon became clear to Mitsunari that he hadn't put the jam recepie in the lap top.

Closing the lid. Mitsunari stretched himself and looked around the bedroom for a bit before making sure he'd covered his tracks. He was walking down the staircase when Daichi came walking up from the lower floor.

"I've been waiting for you Sir." Mitsunari said with a slight bow. "Your father would like some details as to your current progress and I didn't want to explain anything to him unless you agreed."

Daichi looked past Mitsunari's shoulder. "So why are you coming down from upstairs? That's where the bedrooms and private studies are."

Mitsunari countered quickly. "The line of artwork starting at the top here had me curious. Such rare pieces should be in a museum don't you think?"

Daichi snorted. "What my Father does with his stuff is his buisness. I'll meet you downstairs." Daichi watched till Mitsunari was gone before walking to his room and carefully looking over the door frame of his bedroom. His brow creased as he ran a hand across the upper right corner.

"Bastard." He thought as he saw the strand of hair he'd carefully glued between the frame and the door had been snapped.

Doctor O'Shay's house

Evening

Astro had just settled down in bed with a book propped on his lap and music softly rolling around in his brain when Uran came in and sat at his study desk.

"I heard you have a girlfriend! Congratulations!" She said with snippy giddiness.

Astro pursed his lips. "Don't you have something better to do? Like go to bed?"

"Don't be a wet blanket big bother?" Uran said as she slipped to the side of the bed with a quizitive face. "What's she like?"

"And who told you?" Astro asked.

"Guess?"

"Reno...ugh..." Astro did a face palm. "Well if you have to know, she's...very nice."

"Aaaand?" Uran pressed.

"I'm not going to give you details!" Astro snorted. "I know by tomorrow the whole school will be a rumor mill."

Uran smiled at him. "Did you kiss? What's it like? I need to know in case I meet a wonderful boy in the future."

Astro lightly pushed on her head. "The only thing in the future you'll kiss is a pillow now go to bed?"

"I bet you still need work." Uran pouted.

"Get going!" Astro demanded. "Ugh...I'll never hear the end of it."

He tried to settle down again only to be disturbed by a beeping noise in his head. "Yes?" Astro asked.

"Looks like we have an issue." Daichi replied. "I can't speak too loudly, I'm at a Catillion with my father."

"Issue?" Astro asked. "Is it serious?"

Daichi excused himself and walked into a bathroom. "Serious...let's just say you need to watch your back from now on and cover me."

Astro brooded. "Mitsunari?"

" How perceptive." Daichi returned. "I caught him rummaging through my bedroom...and my laptop."

"Let's bust him." Astro snorted. "He's after the recepie I bet."

"Not yet." Daichi replied. "It would be too soon. I know what's going through your head though."

"Well it's a little obvious." Astro replied snorting. "Your Dad doesn't like me and he sure doesn't like being upstaged by anyone."

Daichi rubbed his hair. "That's something I have to deal with, not you. I'll worry about Mitsunari's intentions."

Astro sat tapping his fingers on the book he was reading. "Are you going out tonight?"

"Just a late night in Hamachia." Daichi replied. "It's college race night and I want to see some of the custom crotch rockets racing. Don't worry ok, no crazy stuff...I promise."

Astro pursed his lips. "Heard that one before."

"Honest." Daichi replied. "Tomorrow is our final consolidation conference before we go into production remember? You think I'm gonna miss that?"

Astro groaned. "You need plenty of sleep. Which, may I remind you, you lack?"

"Astro..." Daichi warned back. "I promise...no funny stuff."

As Daichi clicked off, Astro slipped from his bed and pulled some clothes from his dresser. "He knows what I'll do so why be a disappointment?" The boy bot said as he laid the clothes out and looked at the clock. "Three hours...ok...I have a little time at least."

Astro slipped back onto his bed and dozed off.

Route 16

Hamachia City

1am

Astro peaked up over the low wall of a nearby parking building to look at the crowd gathered below along the highway that ran through Hamachia. "Don't see him yet and I've been here a half an hour now..." He thought to himself as he kept scanning. Finally at the corner of an intersection he saw Daichi standing with a bunch of his biker pals cheering as two bikers screamed by them on their way down the highway. "That's a relief. He's keeping his word." Astro thought as he walked down the ramp way of the parking garage and onto the streets. "Why humans have a crazy love of riding things without much protection is beyond me. At least if I bounce off the pavement, all I get is ripped up synthetic skin. But humans seem to enjoy the risk…even more silly is how they brag about the injuries."

Astro laughed a little. "They get stranger and stranger every minute." He decided that he didn't want Daichi to know he was being watched, instead Astro found a place across the street. He quickly climbed up an elm tree and sat horse stride on one of the branches. Adjusting his eyes to zoom and tuning his hearing, he carefully watched Daichi as he stood pointing out the racing bikes as they flew by.

"Now that's a good crotch rocket!" Daichi said to one of his co-horts. "Did you hear the engine? The way it kept the power tune steady as it came by?"

The younger looking girl, obviously a new recruit for the gang or perhaps just an interested bystander. Leaned on Daichi and nodded in her agreement. "Hey! Let's go get something to eat?" She asked Daichi.

"Sure…there's a Boston's doughnut shop down the street. I could use a cup of coffee." Daichi replied as he wrapped an arm around the girl and walked with her.

Astro didn't have to move. He climbed higher into the tree and kept his eyes zoomed on Daichi even as he stopped short of the store to give the girl a kiss…then a little more that caused Astro to shake his head. "I…should respect him a little bit." The boy bot said with a smile as he pulled his zoom back and shut off his super hearing.

Daichi told her how beautiful she was and gave her another gentle kiss on the lips when suddenly something sharp and pointed brushed against his neck. "Well look what I have here!" The girl snorted. "Mister dumb, hot and stupid! We've been waiting to get our hands on one of you jerks."

"Oh man…no second base?" Daichi snorted. He was going to wreck this girl's night…till her pals showed up and jumped his back!

"I hope you didn't think you would just skip out rich boy!" The taller of the three goons snorted as he started dragging Daichi into the alley next to the store. "I'm going to enjoy beating your scrawny hide to a pulp."

Daichi tried to reach for the small steel pipe he carried in his back pocket but felt it ripped from him by the girl. "Did you think we were that stupid? Oh yeah, this punk defiantly needs a total makeover." She was about to stick her blade into Daichi's face when a coffee can went whooshing past her nose.

"You know? Knives really don't improve a girl's looks at all?" Astro said as he sat smiling on the wall next to the store. "If I didn't know better? You guys were in the process of committing a felony. Don't you have better things to do?"

One of the gang slipped a pair of brass knuckles on his hand. "Look here kid. First of all you should be in bed and second of all little kids shouldn't be sticking their noses into things they can't handle."

Astro slipped off the wall. "Gee...I kinda thought I was well known but I guess there's a few cavemen left in the human species. I'll tell you what? You let him go and I'll let you go...fair enough?"

"Little bastard." The big biker said as he took a swing! Astro caught him by his wrist, whipped him over his head and pitched him into a dumpster!

"You shouldn't say naughty words in front of little kids!" Astro said snarling as he turned on the other two guys and the girl holding Daichi. "I'll repeat...you let him go and I'll let you guys go...otherwise space camp is open for business."

The girl smirked. "Oh so it is huh?" Before Astro could jump, she plunged her knife deep into Daichi's chest!

And there they went! Her other two co-horts joined their companion in the dumpster and the girl found herself hogtied with the steel pipe Daichi had been carrying! Astro jumped back to Daichi as he sagged against the wall of the store.

"You made good time." He said as he pulled the knife out.

"Agh!" Astro paniced ad threw a hand to Daichi's chest. "Are you crazy! You should have left...it...in?"

Daichi smirked as he opened his biker jacket and patted the kevilar plates under a bullet proof vest. "Hehehe...Kevlar."

"YOU CREEP!" Astro snapped. "You had me arcing and sparking for nothing!"

"You didn't think I'd just go out without some protection did you?" Daichi said as he knelt down to glance at the struggling girl. "Let her go?"

"She just stabbed you and you want me to let her go?" Astro said pursing his lips.

"I think she's learned her lesson." Daichi replied as he waved a finger. Astro pulled the steel pipe off and stood back as the girl got to her feet.

"I should have known you'd have someone on your back." She said snorting. "You can't have them around all the time."

Astro slipped between the two. "You could join your pals in that dumpster if you want?"

"Call off your attack mutt?" She asked Daichi.

"Astro? I'm trying to do some difficult negotiating, would you mind?" Daichi said as he gingerly pulled Astro back.

"You're nuts?" Astro said smirking. "Better watch her fingers, she might rip your tongue out if you try kissing her again."

Daichi snorted back. "Sit Ubu! Robots are so overprotective. Look...I never got your name did I?"

The girl frowned back. "Naomi...and you can drop the nice act...I hate you."

"And you're not walking away and spitting at me why?" Daichi asked.

"Who says I have too?" Naomi huffed back. "Look you jerk! Just because you're all big and bad with a rich father, don't think I'm going to get on my knees and grovel for...And what are you looking at tin can?"

Astro smiled. "Oh nothing...just that you're kinda heating up...I can see the warmth in your cheeks, very colorful."

"Why you!" Naomi went to punch Astro but Daichi caught her.

"Naaat a good idea." He said as he held her hand. "Look...why don't we just sit down, you and me, and work this little problem between our gangs in a calm mannor huh? My treat."

Naomi snorted. "You still suck and you're still the enemy got it!"

Daichi looked back at Astro and gave him a thumb.

Astro looked at him like he was a raving loon.

"Do me a favor Astro? Go get my bike?" Daichi asked.

"Yeah...and I'll call a doctor too...for your head!" Astro snorted as Daichi and Naomi walked off.

Tokugawa Industrial HQ

Morning

Astro sat patiently in the reception room, the only place he

was allowed because of big Tokugawa's inflamed distrust of

robots, looking between the time and the morning cartoons as

they rolled across his eyes. Unlike Daichi, Astro didn't suffer

drag from lack of sleep so he stood all chipper and happy while

Daichi trudged through the front door with a coffee in his hand.

"Morning Miss Ediko." Daichi said with a light wave.

"I hope you're not going to try and get through the meeting

like this!" Astro said as he walked beside Daichi. "How long

did you stay up?"

"I got an hour's sleep, I'm fine." Daichi replied...with a devilish

smile. "She's still in my bed."

"Hey!" Astro snapped.

"Will you grow up." Daichi replied. "It was that or...public

fountain." Daichi snickered. "I do have a certain draw with

girls you know."

Astro threw his hands over his ears. "I don't wanna hear that!"

Daichi tapped his head. "Well...you and Nicky were certainly

quiet all night at her house."

"Gnah! We were just talking...and a few kisses...nothing more."

Daichi pried closer. "Are you sure? You know I can always

find out? It's not that hard."

Astro snorted. "You try and I will so not help you do anything! And...last night was pretty dumb, she could have

gotten you in trouble again and I wouldn't be able to protect

you!"

"No one said you couldn't watch from my bedroom window

Astro."

"Grrrrr...enough already!" Astro fussed. "I'm missing school

today so let's get this done."

They entered the small conference room where the representitives of several companies sat waiting for them. Daichi took a seat at the head of the table while Astro sat a little ways behind him, this was after all Daichi's show.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know it's taken longer than most of you expected but I believe in being deliberately slow and cautious, unlike my father. My little friend Astro here has been helping me with the final contract agreement, I believe you will all find it exceptionaly fair."

"Of course...there is the question of the recepie itself. For those of you who's companies will be involved in the manufacture process, I will only release the recepie to you after a short trial session to ensure you have proceedures in place to defend against corperate espionage. I am also awaiting a reply on the patent for the recepie and until then I will be entrusting it to only one other source than myself. Astro back here will be at your disposal to help with the first month's processing."