T/N: Hello guys! I know it's been A LONG TIME since I last posted a chapter for Shion.

I've been relatively busy with a lot of things, and it's time for me to declare the clearing of schedule! I FINALLY GOT TIME TO RESUME MY WRITING!

Of course, I should also say that the ending for Shion is actually nearer than you (and I) think.

There's also a surprise for all of you at the end of this chapter! Meanwhile, please enjoy this long awaited chapter!

Disclaimer(s): I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its characters, but I do own Shion and his fluffiness. Warning: may contain language or violence.

ENJOY! :D

Chapter 26: A Second Chance

Shion was running a discreet file check in his own system, oddly bothered by what the brute had phrased upon their supposedly first meeting. His cold, topaz blue eyes were scanning each of the faces and found that there was a click to a heavily protected folder in the "Administrator only" zone.

He had automatically tuned out the voices in the background as he attempted to break into the folder, only to fail and receive several warnings ringing in his system. An unknown wave of anger and irritation washed over him as a low growl emerged from his throat.

Azuma had banned him from participating in the session due to his current hostility towards the humans, in which his maker had strictly ordered him to be gentle to his 'precious daughter'. He was now sitting outside the cabin, sulking as his ears flicked to catch what was spoken from inside the house.

"What do you want to know?" Azuma asked as he offered cups of tea and coffee.

Kyoko glanced out of the cracked window to see the back of Shion's head, "What happened to Shion-kun?"

"Hmm… Several years back when I first made him, there wasn't much data collected to complete his system, therefore the vulnerability for viruses and bugs to hack into his system." Azuma started explaining, as simple as he could, "The last patch I had updated into him was to maintain his security, humanity and personality data. I didn't expect him to hold out this long, actually."

"And when exactly was that?" Lory questioned sternly, crossing his arms, "I was a shareholder to your project, yet I was given almost no news of what happened back then."

Azuma smiled apologetically.

"While we're on topic, how about we make the past clear?" The president leaned forward with a serious glint in his eyes, "Why did the laboratory shut down? What happened there?"

Silence. Kyoko, who had only seen her biological father's smiles since what felt like half an hour ago, shuddered at the sight of his current expression. Brown eyes void of any optimism and steeled to the point she wondered if he was really her father.

Ren had observed her expressions, and to see her tug his sleeve unknowingly, he wrapped an assuring arm around her small shoulders, his lips pursed in a thin line.

It took Azuma everything to remain calm. His fists were clenched so tightly on his lap that his nails dug into his flesh. "Serbeasts… are beast-themed servants. They were supposed to accompany humans in their journeys in life, as a companion." He started explaining, "The theory itself was perfect. Creating them wasn't a problem as well. However, the problem still lies with humans. Their greed knows no boundaries."

His eyes flickered to Kyoko for a second before he looked away. He inhaled sharply, "The prototypes we created were Shion and Ruka. They were supposed to prove that androids can coexist with humans as equals."

"But our intentions were betrayed by the rich individuals in the society. They wanted Serbeasts to do their bidding: regardless was it to satisfy their sexual frustrations, crime scapegoating or the participation of activities not known to public."

Scanning the crowd for any questions, he saw none and continued his story. "They even sent hackers to hack into Shion's system. He was the prototype, which means there are more loopholes in his system. We couldn't prevent him from malfunctioning."

Kyoko flinched when the man slammed a fist down the coffee table, "That boy… he massacred every security personnel, or even the military corps that came to stop him. Just to add up his count, he couldn't differentiate between allies and enemies, and ended up destroying the Serbeasts in the laboratory."

The professor calmed down and sat down, "But I have revised his system, so it's no longer a problem."

"What do you mean you 'revised his system'?" Lory demanded. He was pissed off. "What did you do to Shion?"

"I only rewrote him, to relieve him of the pain he have always felt for years—to stop him from blaming himself for that incident. Also to update everything so that he doesn't get viruses more than he already did."

Now it all made sense to Kyoko. The reason why Shion wanted to die, and why he looked solemn sometimes. It was guilt, self-hate and disgust for the deeds he had done. The girl looked down at her lap, watching her knuckles turn white from clenching her fists.

"Is that why he didn't remember me?" She whispered into the silent room, "Because you didn't want him to?"

There was an air of indifference around Azuma as he stared at her with an unreadable expression, "I don't regret doing this, Kyoko."

Ren felt his blood boiling at his hurtful words. "You—"

Lory clamped his hand over his shoulder and shot him a warning look, "Azuma, have you considered Shion's feelings in regards to this decision?"

Azuma looked at him with a steely gaze, "I believe he will understand."

Lory had a feeling that words wouldn't get through his head now. His old friend was acting impulsively only on his hatred towards those who hurt his children, and it was clear that he was planning something—something dreadful.

Lory scowled until creases formed between his brows, "What are you planning?"

The professor chuckled and stood up, "Oh, nothing much. Just to create a world where my children can live in." He then picked up his lab coat and walked towards the door. "A world… where they can have everything I wanted them to have."

It dawned Lory what he meant by that. His gentlemanly demeanor was gone as he stalked over to the professor and grabbed him by the collar, "Azuma, you plan to make Serbeasts from scratch just to terrorize the world with their existence?"

"Terrorize? You're wrong. It's to show that my children are not things that can be used and discarded like toys." There was a glint of craze in his brown eyes just as Shion burst into the house with a loud growl, prying his maker away from the president.

The two old friends glared at each other for a few long seconds before Kyoko interrupted with a trembling voice, "You… don't have to do this."

Azuma looked over to his daughter, surprised.

"I'm sure what happened in the past have hurt you and the Serbeasts, and you would think it unreasonable to just leave it like that, but…" Kyoko inhaled sharply, "I think instead of looking at the past, you should keep your eyes at the future."

Her words left him speechless. How did his precious girl—his daughter whom he had left alone for so long—how did she become so strong? Her childhood, what she experienced in her lifetime should have left her nothing but despair and disappointment.

"I am…" Azuma looked down at his hands, "… since the day that woman betrayed me… I have… not faced my future. I have not been looking at my children—the children that remained by my side… I couldn't forget your cries. I vowed I'll never leave my children again…"

Kyoko realized that it was not her father that abandoned her, as her mother said. He just couldn't bear to see the woman he loved betray him, and Kyoko, the daughter he wanted so much by his side, was growing up to look so much like the woman that he hesitated to even put her by his side.

Hot tears slid down her cherubic cheeks as she started sobbing, stunning all the males in the room. Azuma stammered as he rushed to her side, his hands flailing in loss as to what to do. "K-Kyoko? W-Why are you crying? Oh god, what to do?"

Lory was baffled by the immediate change. And he remembered how idiot parents behaved. A small relieved smile tugged his lips up. Ren, too was behaving the same way as Azuma that Lory could totally see them getting along.

And then there was Shion, who gaped incredulously at the unfolding scene. Statics buzzed noisily in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and suppressed both his ears, trying to stop the buzzing to no avail.

Running a quick scan through all his system files, he found nothing to justify that strange noise. Along with the sobbing from Kyoko, the statics only increased in volume. Growling from his throat, he dropped to his knees and banged his forehead against the wooden floor.

All the attention snapped back to him. Azuma was the first one to rush to his side, "Shion?! What's wrong? Is it a system bug?"

The wolf boy only shook his head, still struggling against the incessant statics.

Kyoko, having momentarily forgotten her own tears, rushed to his side and placed both hands on his rounded back, "Shion-kun! Are you okay? Please don't die!"

Shion you idiot! Are you still Kyoko's 'brother'?! You should be the one to stop anyone from hurting her!

Those statics, those buzzing—they weren't just noise. It was his voice. Perhaps to say, it was the 'previous' Shion's voice. Slowly, he raised his head to look at Kyoko, who still had films of tears flowing down from the corners of her eyes.

"…Kyoko-chan." An apologetic smile made its way up his face as tears flowed involuntarily out of his eyes. He didn't know what just happened, but he felt the need to apologize. "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

Kyoko was shocked by the sudden pain that struck her. More tears flowed down instead of stopping, and she hitched, sobbing more as she hugged him, "I'm so sorry—sob—I blamed daddy for leaving me! –sniff! —I'm so sorry I wasn't a good girl!"

Shion only cried with her, clinging to her as if she was his last lifeline. He felt another kind of guilt eating away in him. It could just be an aftereffect from the 'previous' Shion, but he wasn't sure.

Ren ignored the jealousy eating him when he saw his lady love clinging desperately to the wolf-boy, crying her eyes out while apologizing for things he didn't know she was thinking of.

Kyoko sniffled childishly, totally forgetting about the sense of shame she always equipped everywhere she went, "Shion-kun, daddy, don't go…! Don't leave me…!"

Each time she repeated those words, Shion felt the urge to break some bones. Her pleads were resounding, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything more than lending her his tail to her.

"Argh woman, stop crying already…!" He sniffled and uttered under his breath, wagging his tail against her back in a soothing action, "You know I can't handle this well…"

His blue topaz eyes widened in surprise. What did he just say? Why would a stranger know what he can't handle? He winced.

Another increasingly irritating static gnawed at the back of his mind, where he thought the locked folder was. Annoyed, he tried cracking it open. It was a memory file and he figured it had something to do with the sudden breakdown at his part.

"Kyoko, shush, it's okay honey." Azuma crooned, embracing both his children in his arms. He didn't know what else to do other than this, "Nobody's going anywhere, okay? Not Shion, not me. We're not going anywhere."

"Really?" Kyoko hiccuped, sniffling as she peered up from the suffocating fluffy tail that was tickling her cheek, "You won't go anywhere? Promise?"

Azuma offered the best 'daddy smile', "Yes, of course."

"Good, good." Lory chirped, drawing all attention on him as he grinned evilly, holding up his phone, "I have it all recorded down."

Azuma balked, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, unsure what to say while Shion only scowled with a flush of red dusting his cheeks. Kyoko only hid her face into his tail out of utter embarrassment upon realization of what she did just a second ago.

OHGODIBAWLEDMYEYESOUTSOSHAMELESSLY! SOMEONE KILL ME!

Lory continued grinning, waving the device in his hand, "You'll return Shion back to his original state and go back with us. I'm sure the current guardians of Mogami-kun would love to have a heart-to-heart talk with you, Azuma."

The professor gaped at him, "N-No, I'm not—" and paused when he felt two pairs of eyes staring at him—Kyoko's shimmering puppy eyes and Shion's wary glare (telling him to make his decision wisely albeit his precious little baby kick up a fuss again).

"B-But… what about my children…?" He whispered hoarsely. The hate was still there, but his will to act upon them faded—most likely because Kyoko had pleaded for him not to go anywhere anymore.

Leo only patted his back with an assuring smile, "Father, isn't there the perfect man for our adoption?"

The professor followed his gaze and saw Lory at the end. He shot a skeptical look.

"Hey now, why that look?" Lory huffed, keeping the offensive device into his pocket, "I know I can be a good daddy, unlike someone."

Azuma frowned at the spiteful comment, "I… guess…"

"Lovely." Lory smiled happily, walking over to Ren and patting his back, "Now that everything's done and over with, let us go back to Japan and get some sleep we all deserve."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll be working on the next chapter so it should be uploaded soon.

Anyway, one announcement to make:

I need your help on something guys. I'm planning to create a light novel with my friend, but we need to know what kind of LNs you guys are hooked on now. What genre(s) interests all of you, and where do you guys read LNs from (to make a platform for us to post our LN to). Your help is very well appreciated :)

I really hope to write an original story that all of you might like and would read like you guys do with my Fanfictions.

Sankyuu and Ciao! Until the next chapter! :D