Notes: I watched 1-8 of the anime. (*O*) I really think it's cute and all, but somewhat mellowed compared to the manga and stuff were changed. I don't know, I always think manga is the best anyway and plus I don't like filler plots in epis (although I understand they're trying to prolong the series). I also saw vol.5! Manga all the way, baby! Let me know what you guys think, k?
"Chii..." he uttered nervously, looking around the empty room, "Chiiiii???" He got up and walked to the window, which was fastened shut. He looked around all the furniture and up on the lamp. "Chiiiiiiii!?!?!?" By now, his face was drenched with sweat as he frantically came to grips with himself that his precious Chii was gone.
Instead of screaming and freaking (like he normally did), Hideki fell to his knees. Again, he dreamt that Chii's real owner had come for her. 'What if it's true...' he asked himself, 'What if I... I'm not the one for Chii... Do we really belong with each other...?'
Hideki couldn't believe what he was telling himself. He was sure that he was damn lucky to have found Chii - especially since he was a poor ronin and no way in hell he could afford a persocon or custom made his own. Yet...
'It can't last...' he thought, going to lift one of Chii's dresses from a pile of laundry on the floor, 'Nothing lasts... Someday, Chii will...'
Just then, the door opened. "UWAH!" Hideki fell over in surprise as a light was shown in his eyes. Holding up his arm to block the glare, he squinted over to the door. "W-Who??!"
"Motosuwa-san," Hibiya stood there, peering in the room. She was in her bathrobe and holding a large lantern, "Ano, I'm sorry to bother you. But we need your help??"
"Eh? EH??" he stammered, blushing as she came inside, 'W-W-Why is Kanrinin-san here to see me?! KYA! She'll see my personal stuff!! Must hide all dangerous items!!'
Before he could belt for the closet, Hibiya stopped him with a smile, as if knowing that he was worried about her sudden appearance. "There's a great wind storm outside. The power has been out for 2 hours and I was told it wouldn't come back on until late morning tomorrow. Chii-chan has been helping me downstairs in trying to alert the tenants."
"Aa... I see..." Hideki uttered, finally relaxing. But he then freaked out. "AAAAAAH!! My clock!! There's no way I'll wake up in time without an alarm!! And I have big test tomorrow!!!"
"That was what I was worried about," Hibiya replied, "I hope everyone will be okay..." She paused to look him over. "Motosuwa-san..."
"H-Hai??!"
She moved closer. "Daijoubu desu ka? You looked pale when I first came in the room, as though..."
"A-As though --- NANI??" he nervously asked.
She just smiled. "We better check on Chii-chan. She must be having a tough time walking around in the dark."
Hideki nodded and followed her out the door. 'Chii...' He could see her at the bottom of the stairs with a flashlight.
She slowly lifted her head and smiled. "Hideki!"
"Chii!" he replied, going towards her. But with the light shining in his eyes, he tripped and fell. "UWAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" He collided with Chii, the two of them hitting the floor. "Itai... that hurts..."
"Ara, daijoubu desu ka??" Hibiya uttered, looked down the stairs at them with concern.
"Hideki!!" Chii chimed happily, numb from any pain of being crushed to the wall by Hideki.
'Uuugg...' Hideki sorely thought while Chii hugged him tightly, 'It's too dangerous to be walking around in the dark...'
* * * * * * * * *
"You all right??" Shinbo asked, the following morning. Hideki had come to yobikou with a couple of bruises on his face and a sore shoulder.
"Daijoubu desu ka? Daijoubu desu kaa??" Sumomo exclaimed, dancing in front of Hideki's annoyed face. He finally picked her up and shoved her back into Shinbo's bag and zipped it close. "ANOO!!!!" Sumomo called out.
"Man, that's cruel." Shinbo noted, "If you're not feeling well, don't take it out on Sumomo."
"Shut up," Hideki mumbled, "Because the power went out, I fell down some stairs.
"Heeeeh? That's not good. Hibiya-san check you out?"
"Aa, she said I should go to a doctor, but I can't afford to go to a doctor." Hideki paused and thought for a moment. 'How odd...' He turned to his friend. 'I wonder if Shinbo straightened things out with Shimizu-sensei... If he did or not, he's not letting me know. I guess it's because we're in class... Maybe he'll tell me later...'
Just then the door opened. "Ohayou gozaimasu!"
"W-Who is that??!?" Hideki gasped as a tall man with slick hair entered the room. "W-Where's Shimizu-sensei!?!"
Hideki's voice was so loud that the man couldn't help but hear. "Aa, Shimizu-sensei called in and said that she would be gone for a while, for some personal matters. I shall be her substitute until she returns."
'B-B-B-BUT!!!' Hideki grabbed at his hair, freaking out as usual. 'I like Sensei's teaching! Kya! This guy looks evil! What if he picks on me in class?! Shimizu-sensei picked on me, but I kind of enjoyed it... And she graded pretty easily... And another mock test is coming!! What should I do?!? Aaaaah!!!!'
"Oi," Shinbo tugged at his shirt. "Sit down, Motosuwa... Class is about to start."
Hideki's eyes shot daggers at his friend. 'Shinbo!!! This is his doing! It's because he let Sensei go back to her husband...!' Hideki paused, staring into that face that didn't show any hurt emotions. 'No... Shinbo couldn't have stopped her. Somehow he did the right thing, letting her go... but...'
"Pssst!" Shinbo leaned over and opened his book. "If you're not going to pay attention, at least pretend. I heard this guy is tough, especially if you goof in class."
"Aa..." Hideki uttered, looking down at the page. 'I wonder when or if Shimizu-sensei will be coming back...'
* * * * * * * * *
After school, Shinbo and Hideki walked to the Chiroku bakery to pick Chii up from work. "Are you sure you're all right?" Hideki asked, "I mean, after Shimizu-sensei moved out."
"Un, iiyo... I'll be fine." Shinbo replied, forcing a smile, "Takako and I talked about it. We decided that whatever happens - it can't be helped. She should be with him anyways..."
"Shinbo?" Hideki frowned at his friend, whose voice had drifted off, "That doesn't sound like you. Sure she's still technically married, but she's in love with you."
Shinbo just sighed, with Sumomo on his shoulder mimicking. "Let's stop talking about this, okay??"
Before he could say anything, Hideki looked up to see the Chiroku bakery. He couldn't help but smile, because he would be seeing Chii soon. 'Ah, what a relief!' he thought as he walked right in and saw her cheerful face, 'I always get this happy feeling when we meet...'
Shinbo slapped him on the back. "Motosuwa-KUN! Stop looking 'lovey-dovey' at the persocon!!"
"Ai!!" Sumomo chanted in the background, "Lovey-dovey desu~!"
"I-I was not!!" Hideki exclaimed, all red in the face.
Chii had come and threw her arms around him. "HIDEKI!!"
"Aa-Ah!! Chii!!!" Hideki went even redder. "W-What did I tell you about hugging me... especially in public where there are people?!"
While Chii thought about it, Shinbo noted, "So it's okay for her to hug you in private??"
"SHUT UP, SHINBO!!"
"Gomen," Chii said, moving away with her head downcast, "Chii was bad."
"Sonna!!" Hideki gasped. He reached over and patted her on the head. "Chii, everyone makes mistakes from time to time... Saa, shall we go home now?"
"Hai!" Chii cheerfully replied.
"Oh, matte!!" Ueda came out of the kitchen, "Motosuwa-kun, there's something I want to ask!"
"Ah, Ueda... What is it??"
Ueda took off his hat and held it in front of himself. "Eto... Tomorrow the shop will be closed, but because I will be attending a convention on French desserts. I have an extra ticket, so I was wondering if Chii-chan could accompany me..."
"EH?!?" Hideki went pale.
"Oh..." Shinbo leaned over his shoulder. "Sounds like a date..."
"DE-TO! DETO~!" Sumomo sang, swaying her head back and forth.
"D-Date ja nai!!" both Hideki and Ueda exclaimed, "It's not a date!!"
Chii tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "Chii??"
Hideki looked at her, saying, "Well... you shouldn't be asking me. If Chii wants to, then..." Part of him was trying to hold him back, but the other felt it was the right thing to do - as Hideki moved over to her and touched her shoulder. "Ne, Chii... You want to go with Ueda to a convention tomorrow?"
"Convention?" Chii repeated, "With Tenchou?" (Tenchou = "shop manager")
"Aa, I have to study for my mock test anyways. And you need to get some sunlight and learn more about your work..." Hideki was looking for other reasons, but deep inside he was beating himself up. 'Why am I doing this? Do I really want Chii to be with him??'
Chii still looked confused. "Does Hideki want Chii to go?"
There was an uncomfortable long pause of silence. Hideki took a deep breath, staring into her innocent face. "Chii... you should go."
"Okay..." Chii uttered. She then smiled. "Chii will go with Tenchou tomorrow!"
"I'll come by your place to pick her up..." Ueda said, "Let's say around ten in the afternoon? We have to take a bus to get to it and it's a luncheon so..."
Hideki nodded his head. "Hai hai..." He then grabbed at his chest. 'Why the hell did I say...!?' he yelled at himself.
* * * * * * * * * *
Hideki, Shinbo, and Chii went to the Dukylon fast-food joint for dinner. They all felt a little tired from the day's events. Chii looked over at Hideki as he lifted his burger, didn't bite, and just stared at it.
'Hideki... How come Hideki doesn't want Chii to be with him when he studies for his test? Did Chii do something wrong?'
Hideki was still deciding whether or not he wanted to take a bite. He was more involved in arguing with himself. 'Why am I allowing Chii to go on a date with Ueda? I know he married his persocon, so he obviously likes them IN THAT WAY. But... Chii is different... She's not like other persocon... isn't she? Right! She's special... So... then... Aaaarg, I don't know what to think!!!'
Shinbo was gazing off into space, with his chin rested on his hand. Meanwhile, Sumomo was waving a French fry in front of his face. "Master!!" she cried, "You should really eat something!!"
"Oh..." he muttered, watching the windows where people passed back and forth. Many of them were couples - human and human, persocon and human. "In a minute, Sumomo." he assured her as she started pushing his soft drink closer.
Suddenly something caught his eye. Shinbo leapt on his feet, backed out of the booth - his eyes still tied to whatever he saw.
"Oi Shinbo... what is it??" Hideki asked, he and the persocons worried for him.
"Takako," was all he said as he rushed out of the restaurant.
"HEEEEEY!!!" Hideki gasped as his friend had just took off. "W-Wait a minute!!!" He turned to the others who were equally shocked. "Let's go after him!!"
Hideki shoved everything that was left into a bag and the three of them - Sumomo in Hideki's pocket - ran out into the street. 'He went this way.' Hideki thought as they were going in the opposite direction of pedestrian traffic, 'Not good! In this crowd, I'll lose Chii.' He reached back and grabbed hold of her hand.
Chii blinked. 'Hideki...' She looked down briefly at their linked hands while they ran in the crowd. 'So warm... Hideki's hand is touching Chii's... Chii is happy...'
"Shinbo no yatsu... Where did he go?!" Hideki grumbled.
"Ai!" Sumomo said, "Master Shinbo is 12 paces ahead. 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."
Hideki's eyes went swirly. "AAAAAARG!! I CAN'T CONCENTRATE WITH YOUR COUNTING! I'M NOT GOOD WITH ENGLISHHH!"
"KOWAII DESU!!" Sumomo wailed, hiding in his shirt, "SCARY~~~!!!"
Hideki finally got a hold of himself, about five paces away. He could see Shinbo standing there with his hands to his side. He saw him facing Shimizu-sensei and the man who was her husband.
"So..." her husband uttered, "You're the bastard who seduced my wife."
Shinbo didn't say anything at first, his gaze falling only on Takako. "You're the one who dumped her..." he replied, "I had found a treasure I wanted to keep..."
"Shinbo..." Hideki watched from behind a post. Takako had seen him, the two of them making eye contact. But they were both helpless.
"Shut up!" said her husband, "You stay away from her, understand?!" He then punched Shinbo in the face.
"HIROMU!!" Takako cried, about to rush to his side as he fell to the pavement. But her husband held out his hand in front of her, stopping her. She looked back and forth, and then slowly turned away.
"Let's go." her husband said, taking her by the hand and leading her away.
Hideki and Chii ran over and stood over their fallen friend, who just lay there and looked grimly up at the sky. "Master! Speak to me!!" Sumomo wailed, pulling at his sleeve.
"Oi! Shinbo!! You okay??!"
"Chii??"
Shinbo then closed his eyes, one of them that were bruised. "Even though I found it, I could not keep it..."