Categories > Anime/Manga > Chobits
“A boyfriend for Harutenshi?”
Akira kiiroryuu sat in a small dining establishment called the Otosan Karasu Nichiyoubi. It was a nice restaurant, as many were in Tokyo. He had just come in not even five minutes ago. The restaurant was not busy at this time of night. It was almost closing time, maybe nine or ten at night. He had just gotten off of work at the arcade. He was a guard.
Happy to be done with work, and having just gotten his first paycheck (he had gotten the job to pay for Computer Intelligence Training), he was able to buy himself a good meal, which he hadn’t been able to do for weeks. If you saw his cupboards you’d understand instantly. His classes wouldn’t start for a few weeks, seeing as it was a summer session he would be going into.
The man that was waiter brought him his ramen. The waiter smiled at him. “Boss says it’s on the house. We had leftovers and he was glad when you came in.”
“Tell him thank you. I really appreciate it.” Akira said. He was surprised that he was getting a free meal, but by no means would he reject. He’d never turn down a free meal.
The waiter nodded. “I will. I need to close down now. Do you mind if the lights are out?”
Akira shook his head. He’d rather eat in darkness than not eat at all. “Go ahead.”
As the waiter went to shut the lights off the front door opened. A sweet female voice echoed throughout the building. “Are you closed?”
“Oh, Harutenshi. No. Of course not. Not for you. What would you like tonight?”
“The usual.” A soft-faced woman with long black hair that cascaded down the sides of her face said. She smiled at the young waiter, whom Akira had noticed would catch the eye of many women. She was probably smitten with his good looks. “And the usual spot.”
He nodded and held out an arm. “Go ahead Harutenshi.”
She nodded to him and then turned and walked in Akira’s direction. Akira was surprised when she took the table next to him. She looked at him for a quick second and then turned away, resting her hand on her shoulder. Her meal came not too long later. The waiter set it down, but that didn’t even seem to faze the young girl. She stayed in the same position for about five minutes.
She finally began to eat after that. She had ramen, the same as him, even though the waiter had said he had gotten the last of it. Perhaps they had left her some knowing she would come in? Or perhaps he just wanted to keep her happy. No, wait. She didn’t look happy anymore. The smile she had had when she had come in had disappeared. She didn’t look quite sad, but there was a tear in her eye.
She finished quickly and left without a word. He was left wondering who this woman could possibly be.
The next night he decided to go in again after work. If she had a normal food and a normal table then she must come in often. He hoped that meant every night. He walked in once again right before the place was to close and took the spot he had the day before.
The waiter smiled at him. “Did you like our food?”
Akira nodded. “It was very good. I can’t make it too regular, but while I have a bit of extra money…”
“It’s on the house.” A voice said from the back. A short old man walked in from the back room. “You are going to school to learn about Persocoms, right?”
The knowledge of this man surprised Akira. He nodded. “I am. Why?”
“If, when you finish your schooling, you could come in and look at a couple of my persocoms then you may have free meals here whenever. It is not cheap even to have them looked at. I am an old man. I have little money, enough to run the shop, but that is all. You may eat here for free all the time if you can.”
“But my schooling hasn’t even started!” Akira exclaimed.
The old man laughed. “My persocoms have no need of fixing at the moment. All I really need right now is to find out what is wrong with Harutenshi. She is my favorite customer.”
“And you want me to help?” Akira asked, a bit confused.
The old man laughed. “No. There is nothing you can do. I am trying to find out what it is, but she will not talk to me. Forget I said anything though, she may get mad. I was hoping that you might start coming in every night though. Perhaps it would help her to start having someone around instead of always being alone.”
Free food and sitting next to a cute girl. What could be better than that? He nodded. “I’d love to Mr…” Akira suddenly realized that he had forgotten to ask him his name.
“Crow.” The man replied. “Call me father Crow. My restaurant is named after me.”
Akira smiled. “Thank you Mr. Crow. I really appreciate this. I have little money, but this will really save me money. You letting me do that. By the way, you don’t know my name, do you? Akira. Akira Kiiroryuu.”
“Nice to meet you yellow dragon.” The old man said kindly. He bowed his head. “I thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you sir. It will really help me.” Akira said kindly.
“It is nothing.” Sir Crow replied. “I…”
He stopped talking as a familiar black-haired girl walked in. Crow smiled. “Hello Harutenshi. I have work to do in the backroom. I wanted to say ‘hi’ though. See you.”
“See you.” Harutenshi replied meekly. She walked over to the table without even speaking to the waiter. She seemed to take the same position as yesterday. He had to wonder what could make her so sad. Whether by sheer luck or fate the ring, just noticed by Akira, fell off her finger and onto the floor, right by his table. He reached down and picked it up. The ring was silver with a blue stone in the middle of a rose. He held it out. “Your ring.”
She nodded and took the ring from him. She then turned to her original position. He didn’t want her to stay the same, so he decided to try and start a conversation.
“What a beautiful ring.” He said. It didn’t work. She stayed in the position. He knew that he had obviously said something wrong so he tried again with something new. “Ohayou.”
She took another look at him, this time not looking away. “Ohayou. I am Harutenshi.”
Akira grinned. “Spring Angel. What a beautiful name.”
“Arigatou.” She said. “What is your name?”
Akira mentally smacked himself. He hadn’t even told her his name! “Akira. Akira Kiiroryuu.”
Harutenshi smiled. “I like your name. Do you come in here often?”
Akira shook his head. “I didn’t used to. I might start coming here nightly though. Anything you’d recommend?”
“Everything is good here Akira-kun.” She answered. “I eat the ramen though. They do have some of the best, but you must already know that, you had it last night.”
He nodded, surprised that she had even looked at what he was having. “It was good. A bit filling though. Do you find it so?”
She looked at him as though confused. “Not really. I could always have more of Father Crow’s ramen.”
He nodded. “Where do you come from?”
She once again looked confused. “Here.” She said. Then she changed it. “My apartment.”
He nodded. “Is it close?”
She closed her eyes as though thinking. “Only four point two blocks from here.” She answered and opened her eyes. “Not too long I guess.”
“May I walk you home?” He asked her. “After we’re done eating of course.” He mentioned as the waiter brought them their food.
She looked at him curiously. “Walk…me…home? I do not understand.”
“You know, walk with you. Keep you company on the way.” Akira was getting very confused.
She nodded. “I would like that.” As she nodded silver ears shone at the side of her head that were hidden before. She was a persocom!
He thought that persocoms could not feel emotion, yet this one was sad. Could this be a new type? Was this something he had to learn about? He didn’t care though. He would still walk her home. When he finished with his food he stood up. “Ready to go?”
Harutenshi nodded. “I am.”
Somehow he knew that he had to help her. To do something. A persocom with emotions. A persocom that could eat normal food! It was a persocom, but to him it acted more human than anything. He wanted to learn more about her... from her. He decided at that moment that he wouldn’t even think of her as a persocom because she was obviously much more.
Akira was led by her to her apartment. She smiled at him when they reached her apartment. “Well thank you. I have to go in and sleep before going into work tomorrow. See you Akira.”
“Yeah. See you.” Akira said. Her face seemed to look sad again, but as she walked in there was nothing he could do. He turned and walked the other direction to where his apartment was. He couldn’t wait for the next day to see Harutenshi again. He didn’t know that tomorrow he wouldn’t be seeing her.
After work Akira walked down the streets that led to Father Crow’s place. He was going to eat there again and see if he could find out why Harutenshi was so sad. The night had been rough on him. Some hooligans had thought it would be great to get some free change so they had told them that the machine had eaten all their money. Funny thing was Akira had watched them play all night. He was not about to give them money. He kicked them out. They weren’t happy. Funnily enough they thought they were stronger than him. They weren’t. He had their butts on the street, all three.
Akira walked into the restaurant and saw that the waiter was closing up. He looked at him. “Any food left?”
The waiter looked at him angrily. “Not for you!”
Akira was taken aback. “What did I do?”
The waiter walked over. “What did you do to Harutenshi? She was sadder than she’s been in weeks. She’s never coming in again!”
“I-“ Akira was surprised. “I just walked her home. She seemed to like the idea. I thought…”
“Obviously something happened and it had to do with you. You were the only one she mentioned before turning herself off.” Father Crow said, walking into the room.
“Turning herself off!” Akira looked at the two men to see if there was some falseness in their words, but their faces showed complete truthfulness. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. Something threw her over the edge though. I don’t understand why she mentioned you though. She came in earlier crying so bad she was shaking.” Crow explained. “She told me to tell you goodbye and then she turned herself off. I didn’t want to turn her back on because she wouldn’t be the same girl I knew.”
Father Crow looked down. “Did you want to see her?”
Akira nodded and watched as the old man turned around to go into a back room. Akira followed. The girl he had seen not even twenty four hours ago lay on her side, head rested against her arm. If he had to have guessed he would have thought she was asleep. He knelt down next to her and touched her arm. “Oh no. What did I do to her?”
Father Crow shook his head. “She has been sad a long time. She had probably been thinking about doing it for a while. I don’t want her thrown, but I know she won’t know me if I were to turn her back on. She used to be like a daughter to me until about a year ago.”
“She seems so human…”
“She was my very first persocom. I bought her from a guy I had met at a persocom store. He said that all of the ones there were crap. Said that he made his own. He told me that he had one that was ten times better. I asked him how much it was and he asked me why. I told him that I was looking for one for my work. I told him about my new restaurant. He smiled at me and said that he could give me a very good deal. He said that it was free if, and only if, I kept her name. He said that he had named her Harutenshi. I agreed. Why not take a free persocom. When I got her she had no memories. She was a blank slate. That’s when I noticed she acted more like a human than a persocom. So that’s how I treated her. There was only one thing I would not let her have.”
“What was that?” Akira asked.
“A boyfriend. The only thing I didn’t let her have. I told her to live on her own like a normal human but not to have a boyfriend. Not to even think about such things. I told her a boy would treat her like the persocom she is and she would have to do as they told her. It’s in her programming . She didn’t like that, but she took my advice. I paid for her apartment and gave her a job. She worked whenever she wanted. I also told her she could eat here whenever she wanted. She accepted only at night when I had ramen.” Crow looked at him. “And then you came along two days ago and she seemed to have taken an interest in you. She looked at you whenever you weren’t looking at her. I thought that perhaps I had found the problem. She wanted someone to hang around. That’s why I asked you to come in. And then you asked if you could walk her to her apartment and she said yes. I was ecstatic. I thought that the problem had been solved. I guess not though since she did this.” He closed his eyes and when he opened them his eyes were full of tears. “She was my only daughter. I never even treated her like a perocom. I gave her free will. She was able to do as she wanted. I thought that I had done things right, but all she wanted was a boyfriend. Someone who would care for her and treat her like the thing she was. She wanted to be treated like a persocom, but also a real girl. She was only a human to me. That’s how I treated her. I know it is my fault she did this. She wanted someone to love…”
“Someone who would have been there for her when she was sad.” Akira said, almost choking up. What had he done to this poor girl? Had she expected more of him, or had he proven that men weren’t worth dating?
Mr. Crow nodded. “She asked me to give you this to remember her. And she also said thank you for walking her home.”
Crow handed him the ring he had picked up for her the night before. He shook his head and gave it back to him. “I can’t accept that. I didn’t know her that long. She’s your daughter. You should keep it.”
Crow shook his head. “No. Take it. I have had my daughter since I was thirty. She looks the same as she did then. I have enough memories to last me a lifetime. I cannot take her ring because then it would remind me of her and I would cry.”
The ring fell to the floor as Father Crow dropped it. “It is yours. As is she. I have no need for a persocom. She will no longer remember me. I want you to take her. Treat her as a human as you did last night. Perhaps you can help her now. She has no memories. You can make new ones with her. Maybe after a while you can give her the ring. She would like that.”
Akira shook his head, but the old man looked at him with passion. “Please.” He insisted. “She would like it. I know she would.”
Akira finally agreed. “Maybe in the years to come they will have something that can return the memories to her. Then I could return her to you…”
“No!” The old man looked livid. “Obviously she’s done this because of something I’ve done. She’d probably do it again. Take her home and start her over. Do not bring her here! She has no reason to see me and no memories to remember. Start over with her and make it right. Take her places. Do things with her. The only thing I ask is that you treat her as a human.”
Akira nodded, but he felt tears in his eyes. “I-I’m sorry sir.”
Crow shook his head. “Please just take her and go.”
Akira followed the old man’s orders and picked her up. She was a lot heavier than he was expecting, but not too much that he couldn’t. He walked home. As soon as he got home he placed her on the bed and looked for the on/off switch. He found it on her ear. He flicked it on.
The first thing he noticed was a small twitch from her finger. He reached down and touched it. Suddenly her eyes opened. Her eyes shone like fire. She smiled at him. “Ohayou.”
He smiled at her. “Ohayou. I am Akira.”
She sat up. “I am unnamed.”
“You have a name.” He said in return. “It’s Harutenshi.”
Five years Later…
“I want to go see Father Crow!” Harutenshi whined. “It’s been ages since we last saw him.”
“It’s been two days.” Akira said with a smile. “I was planning on going there for supper. Would you want to?”
Harutenshi put her hands on her hips playfully. “What do you think? We still have to tell him about the engagement!”
Harutenshi looked excited, just as she should. Akira had proposed to her the other night, which was the only reason they hadn’t gone into Father Crow’s. “Yes we’ll tell him that and about your new job.”
Harutenshi smiled. “He’ll be so happy for me.”
Akira smiled. “That he will.”
Akira was happy. His life was together and so was Harutenshi’s. Her father had finally agreed to let her see him a year after he had turned her on. The only reason was because Akira had mentioned she had been remembering certain things. One being an old man. As soon as she had seen him she knew him and had even called him father. Crow had been so happy. Harutenshi now had all of her memories back and she was happy because she had everything she had ever wanted. A home and a boyfriend, soon to be husband.
Akira quickly found himself being welcomed into the family. He now knew that the waiter who had waited on him was Crow’s son, Tobi. He was an actual human and he treated Harutenshi like a sister. He had now begun treating Akira like a brother too.
Harutenshi and Akira had plans for the future. Other than getting married they planned on adopting two children. Harutenshi wanted two girls. She had even picked out the names if she could name them…Tsukiko and Tomomi. Akira would make it happen. He was now getting paid pretty well. He worked at a company that made many persocoms. He saw many everyday, but none of them could compare to his Harutenshi.
Akira was so glad that he had met Harutenshi five years ago. If he hadn’t he didn’t know what he would do. He hadn’t thought that he’d ever find a girl, but now he knew why. The one whom he had been looking for had been waiting for his help. It wasn’t because of his help that she was better though. She had remembered all on her own. It had never been because of him, although she would say differently. He tried to get her to remember some things. He didn’t want her to forget her father. He was the one who had kept them together. She needed her father. He would walk her down the aisle.
A/N: I was working with a song on another story and then I realized that this was better than my Harry Potter fic idea, at least I hope. The song I used to create this was ‘My Heart Goes Out’ and I have it following, along with a few translations. I hope you enjoyed. Please review.
She sat a table away
Staring into space
In her own little world
And I saw a tear in her eye
Like a window to the mind
Of a frightened little girl
She never said a word
But I know I clearly heard
A cry for help
And I wanted to answer
I wanted to tell her
My heart goes out to you
You don't even know me
You don't even know
Oh my heart goes out to you
And I don't know what else to do
To reach you now
My heart goes out
But I'm still glued to my chair
She's unaware
There's little time
And though my intentions are good
If I'm misunderstood
The price could be high
I can't fix whatever's wrong
But if I fail to pass along
Someone cares
The price could be greater
This can't wait til later
My heart goes out to you
You don't even know me
You don't even know
Oh my heart goes out to you
And I don't know what else to do
To reach you now
My heart goes out
- - - - -
Lyrics © 2003 Warren Barfield
Haru tenshi- Spring Angel
Kiiro ryuu- Yellow Dragon
Otosan Karasu Nichiyoubi- Father crow Sunday
Akira kiiroryuu sat in a small dining establishment called the Otosan Karasu Nichiyoubi. It was a nice restaurant, as many were in Tokyo. He had just come in not even five minutes ago. The restaurant was not busy at this time of night. It was almost closing time, maybe nine or ten at night. He had just gotten off of work at the arcade. He was a guard.
Happy to be done with work, and having just gotten his first paycheck (he had gotten the job to pay for Computer Intelligence Training), he was able to buy himself a good meal, which he hadn’t been able to do for weeks. If you saw his cupboards you’d understand instantly. His classes wouldn’t start for a few weeks, seeing as it was a summer session he would be going into.
The man that was waiter brought him his ramen. The waiter smiled at him. “Boss says it’s on the house. We had leftovers and he was glad when you came in.”
“Tell him thank you. I really appreciate it.” Akira said. He was surprised that he was getting a free meal, but by no means would he reject. He’d never turn down a free meal.
The waiter nodded. “I will. I need to close down now. Do you mind if the lights are out?”
Akira shook his head. He’d rather eat in darkness than not eat at all. “Go ahead.”
As the waiter went to shut the lights off the front door opened. A sweet female voice echoed throughout the building. “Are you closed?”
“Oh, Harutenshi. No. Of course not. Not for you. What would you like tonight?”
“The usual.” A soft-faced woman with long black hair that cascaded down the sides of her face said. She smiled at the young waiter, whom Akira had noticed would catch the eye of many women. She was probably smitten with his good looks. “And the usual spot.”
He nodded and held out an arm. “Go ahead Harutenshi.”
She nodded to him and then turned and walked in Akira’s direction. Akira was surprised when she took the table next to him. She looked at him for a quick second and then turned away, resting her hand on her shoulder. Her meal came not too long later. The waiter set it down, but that didn’t even seem to faze the young girl. She stayed in the same position for about five minutes.
She finally began to eat after that. She had ramen, the same as him, even though the waiter had said he had gotten the last of it. Perhaps they had left her some knowing she would come in? Or perhaps he just wanted to keep her happy. No, wait. She didn’t look happy anymore. The smile she had had when she had come in had disappeared. She didn’t look quite sad, but there was a tear in her eye.
She finished quickly and left without a word. He was left wondering who this woman could possibly be.
The next night he decided to go in again after work. If she had a normal food and a normal table then she must come in often. He hoped that meant every night. He walked in once again right before the place was to close and took the spot he had the day before.
The waiter smiled at him. “Did you like our food?”
Akira nodded. “It was very good. I can’t make it too regular, but while I have a bit of extra money…”
“It’s on the house.” A voice said from the back. A short old man walked in from the back room. “You are going to school to learn about Persocoms, right?”
The knowledge of this man surprised Akira. He nodded. “I am. Why?”
“If, when you finish your schooling, you could come in and look at a couple of my persocoms then you may have free meals here whenever. It is not cheap even to have them looked at. I am an old man. I have little money, enough to run the shop, but that is all. You may eat here for free all the time if you can.”
“But my schooling hasn’t even started!” Akira exclaimed.
The old man laughed. “My persocoms have no need of fixing at the moment. All I really need right now is to find out what is wrong with Harutenshi. She is my favorite customer.”
“And you want me to help?” Akira asked, a bit confused.
The old man laughed. “No. There is nothing you can do. I am trying to find out what it is, but she will not talk to me. Forget I said anything though, she may get mad. I was hoping that you might start coming in every night though. Perhaps it would help her to start having someone around instead of always being alone.”
Free food and sitting next to a cute girl. What could be better than that? He nodded. “I’d love to Mr…” Akira suddenly realized that he had forgotten to ask him his name.
“Crow.” The man replied. “Call me father Crow. My restaurant is named after me.”
Akira smiled. “Thank you Mr. Crow. I really appreciate this. I have little money, but this will really save me money. You letting me do that. By the way, you don’t know my name, do you? Akira. Akira Kiiroryuu.”
“Nice to meet you yellow dragon.” The old man said kindly. He bowed his head. “I thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you sir. It will really help me.” Akira said kindly.
“It is nothing.” Sir Crow replied. “I…”
He stopped talking as a familiar black-haired girl walked in. Crow smiled. “Hello Harutenshi. I have work to do in the backroom. I wanted to say ‘hi’ though. See you.”
“See you.” Harutenshi replied meekly. She walked over to the table without even speaking to the waiter. She seemed to take the same position as yesterday. He had to wonder what could make her so sad. Whether by sheer luck or fate the ring, just noticed by Akira, fell off her finger and onto the floor, right by his table. He reached down and picked it up. The ring was silver with a blue stone in the middle of a rose. He held it out. “Your ring.”
She nodded and took the ring from him. She then turned to her original position. He didn’t want her to stay the same, so he decided to try and start a conversation.
“What a beautiful ring.” He said. It didn’t work. She stayed in the position. He knew that he had obviously said something wrong so he tried again with something new. “Ohayou.”
She took another look at him, this time not looking away. “Ohayou. I am Harutenshi.”
Akira grinned. “Spring Angel. What a beautiful name.”
“Arigatou.” She said. “What is your name?”
Akira mentally smacked himself. He hadn’t even told her his name! “Akira. Akira Kiiroryuu.”
Harutenshi smiled. “I like your name. Do you come in here often?”
Akira shook his head. “I didn’t used to. I might start coming here nightly though. Anything you’d recommend?”
“Everything is good here Akira-kun.” She answered. “I eat the ramen though. They do have some of the best, but you must already know that, you had it last night.”
He nodded, surprised that she had even looked at what he was having. “It was good. A bit filling though. Do you find it so?”
She looked at him as though confused. “Not really. I could always have more of Father Crow’s ramen.”
He nodded. “Where do you come from?”
She once again looked confused. “Here.” She said. Then she changed it. “My apartment.”
He nodded. “Is it close?”
She closed her eyes as though thinking. “Only four point two blocks from here.” She answered and opened her eyes. “Not too long I guess.”
“May I walk you home?” He asked her. “After we’re done eating of course.” He mentioned as the waiter brought them their food.
She looked at him curiously. “Walk…me…home? I do not understand.”
“You know, walk with you. Keep you company on the way.” Akira was getting very confused.
She nodded. “I would like that.” As she nodded silver ears shone at the side of her head that were hidden before. She was a persocom!
He thought that persocoms could not feel emotion, yet this one was sad. Could this be a new type? Was this something he had to learn about? He didn’t care though. He would still walk her home. When he finished with his food he stood up. “Ready to go?”
Harutenshi nodded. “I am.”
Somehow he knew that he had to help her. To do something. A persocom with emotions. A persocom that could eat normal food! It was a persocom, but to him it acted more human than anything. He wanted to learn more about her... from her. He decided at that moment that he wouldn’t even think of her as a persocom because she was obviously much more.
Akira was led by her to her apartment. She smiled at him when they reached her apartment. “Well thank you. I have to go in and sleep before going into work tomorrow. See you Akira.”
“Yeah. See you.” Akira said. Her face seemed to look sad again, but as she walked in there was nothing he could do. He turned and walked the other direction to where his apartment was. He couldn’t wait for the next day to see Harutenshi again. He didn’t know that tomorrow he wouldn’t be seeing her.
After work Akira walked down the streets that led to Father Crow’s place. He was going to eat there again and see if he could find out why Harutenshi was so sad. The night had been rough on him. Some hooligans had thought it would be great to get some free change so they had told them that the machine had eaten all their money. Funny thing was Akira had watched them play all night. He was not about to give them money. He kicked them out. They weren’t happy. Funnily enough they thought they were stronger than him. They weren’t. He had their butts on the street, all three.
Akira walked into the restaurant and saw that the waiter was closing up. He looked at him. “Any food left?”
The waiter looked at him angrily. “Not for you!”
Akira was taken aback. “What did I do?”
The waiter walked over. “What did you do to Harutenshi? She was sadder than she’s been in weeks. She’s never coming in again!”
“I-“ Akira was surprised. “I just walked her home. She seemed to like the idea. I thought…”
“Obviously something happened and it had to do with you. You were the only one she mentioned before turning herself off.” Father Crow said, walking into the room.
“Turning herself off!” Akira looked at the two men to see if there was some falseness in their words, but their faces showed complete truthfulness. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. Something threw her over the edge though. I don’t understand why she mentioned you though. She came in earlier crying so bad she was shaking.” Crow explained. “She told me to tell you goodbye and then she turned herself off. I didn’t want to turn her back on because she wouldn’t be the same girl I knew.”
Father Crow looked down. “Did you want to see her?”
Akira nodded and watched as the old man turned around to go into a back room. Akira followed. The girl he had seen not even twenty four hours ago lay on her side, head rested against her arm. If he had to have guessed he would have thought she was asleep. He knelt down next to her and touched her arm. “Oh no. What did I do to her?”
Father Crow shook his head. “She has been sad a long time. She had probably been thinking about doing it for a while. I don’t want her thrown, but I know she won’t know me if I were to turn her back on. She used to be like a daughter to me until about a year ago.”
“She seems so human…”
“She was my very first persocom. I bought her from a guy I had met at a persocom store. He said that all of the ones there were crap. Said that he made his own. He told me that he had one that was ten times better. I asked him how much it was and he asked me why. I told him that I was looking for one for my work. I told him about my new restaurant. He smiled at me and said that he could give me a very good deal. He said that it was free if, and only if, I kept her name. He said that he had named her Harutenshi. I agreed. Why not take a free persocom. When I got her she had no memories. She was a blank slate. That’s when I noticed she acted more like a human than a persocom. So that’s how I treated her. There was only one thing I would not let her have.”
“What was that?” Akira asked.
“A boyfriend. The only thing I didn’t let her have. I told her to live on her own like a normal human but not to have a boyfriend. Not to even think about such things. I told her a boy would treat her like the persocom she is and she would have to do as they told her. It’s in her programming . She didn’t like that, but she took my advice. I paid for her apartment and gave her a job. She worked whenever she wanted. I also told her she could eat here whenever she wanted. She accepted only at night when I had ramen.” Crow looked at him. “And then you came along two days ago and she seemed to have taken an interest in you. She looked at you whenever you weren’t looking at her. I thought that perhaps I had found the problem. She wanted someone to hang around. That’s why I asked you to come in. And then you asked if you could walk her to her apartment and she said yes. I was ecstatic. I thought that the problem had been solved. I guess not though since she did this.” He closed his eyes and when he opened them his eyes were full of tears. “She was my only daughter. I never even treated her like a perocom. I gave her free will. She was able to do as she wanted. I thought that I had done things right, but all she wanted was a boyfriend. Someone who would care for her and treat her like the thing she was. She wanted to be treated like a persocom, but also a real girl. She was only a human to me. That’s how I treated her. I know it is my fault she did this. She wanted someone to love…”
“Someone who would have been there for her when she was sad.” Akira said, almost choking up. What had he done to this poor girl? Had she expected more of him, or had he proven that men weren’t worth dating?
Mr. Crow nodded. “She asked me to give you this to remember her. And she also said thank you for walking her home.”
Crow handed him the ring he had picked up for her the night before. He shook his head and gave it back to him. “I can’t accept that. I didn’t know her that long. She’s your daughter. You should keep it.”
Crow shook his head. “No. Take it. I have had my daughter since I was thirty. She looks the same as she did then. I have enough memories to last me a lifetime. I cannot take her ring because then it would remind me of her and I would cry.”
The ring fell to the floor as Father Crow dropped it. “It is yours. As is she. I have no need for a persocom. She will no longer remember me. I want you to take her. Treat her as a human as you did last night. Perhaps you can help her now. She has no memories. You can make new ones with her. Maybe after a while you can give her the ring. She would like that.”
Akira shook his head, but the old man looked at him with passion. “Please.” He insisted. “She would like it. I know she would.”
Akira finally agreed. “Maybe in the years to come they will have something that can return the memories to her. Then I could return her to you…”
“No!” The old man looked livid. “Obviously she’s done this because of something I’ve done. She’d probably do it again. Take her home and start her over. Do not bring her here! She has no reason to see me and no memories to remember. Start over with her and make it right. Take her places. Do things with her. The only thing I ask is that you treat her as a human.”
Akira nodded, but he felt tears in his eyes. “I-I’m sorry sir.”
Crow shook his head. “Please just take her and go.”
Akira followed the old man’s orders and picked her up. She was a lot heavier than he was expecting, but not too much that he couldn’t. He walked home. As soon as he got home he placed her on the bed and looked for the on/off switch. He found it on her ear. He flicked it on.
The first thing he noticed was a small twitch from her finger. He reached down and touched it. Suddenly her eyes opened. Her eyes shone like fire. She smiled at him. “Ohayou.”
He smiled at her. “Ohayou. I am Akira.”
She sat up. “I am unnamed.”
“You have a name.” He said in return. “It’s Harutenshi.”
Five years Later…
“I want to go see Father Crow!” Harutenshi whined. “It’s been ages since we last saw him.”
“It’s been two days.” Akira said with a smile. “I was planning on going there for supper. Would you want to?”
Harutenshi put her hands on her hips playfully. “What do you think? We still have to tell him about the engagement!”
Harutenshi looked excited, just as she should. Akira had proposed to her the other night, which was the only reason they hadn’t gone into Father Crow’s. “Yes we’ll tell him that and about your new job.”
Harutenshi smiled. “He’ll be so happy for me.”
Akira smiled. “That he will.”
Akira was happy. His life was together and so was Harutenshi’s. Her father had finally agreed to let her see him a year after he had turned her on. The only reason was because Akira had mentioned she had been remembering certain things. One being an old man. As soon as she had seen him she knew him and had even called him father. Crow had been so happy. Harutenshi now had all of her memories back and she was happy because she had everything she had ever wanted. A home and a boyfriend, soon to be husband.
Akira quickly found himself being welcomed into the family. He now knew that the waiter who had waited on him was Crow’s son, Tobi. He was an actual human and he treated Harutenshi like a sister. He had now begun treating Akira like a brother too.
Harutenshi and Akira had plans for the future. Other than getting married they planned on adopting two children. Harutenshi wanted two girls. She had even picked out the names if she could name them…Tsukiko and Tomomi. Akira would make it happen. He was now getting paid pretty well. He worked at a company that made many persocoms. He saw many everyday, but none of them could compare to his Harutenshi.
Akira was so glad that he had met Harutenshi five years ago. If he hadn’t he didn’t know what he would do. He hadn’t thought that he’d ever find a girl, but now he knew why. The one whom he had been looking for had been waiting for his help. It wasn’t because of his help that she was better though. She had remembered all on her own. It had never been because of him, although she would say differently. He tried to get her to remember some things. He didn’t want her to forget her father. He was the one who had kept them together. She needed her father. He would walk her down the aisle.
A/N: I was working with a song on another story and then I realized that this was better than my Harry Potter fic idea, at least I hope. The song I used to create this was ‘My Heart Goes Out’ and I have it following, along with a few translations. I hope you enjoyed. Please review.
She sat a table away
Staring into space
In her own little world
And I saw a tear in her eye
Like a window to the mind
Of a frightened little girl
She never said a word
But I know I clearly heard
A cry for help
And I wanted to answer
I wanted to tell her
My heart goes out to you
You don't even know me
You don't even know
Oh my heart goes out to you
And I don't know what else to do
To reach you now
My heart goes out
But I'm still glued to my chair
She's unaware
There's little time
And though my intentions are good
If I'm misunderstood
The price could be high
I can't fix whatever's wrong
But if I fail to pass along
Someone cares
The price could be greater
This can't wait til later
My heart goes out to you
You don't even know me
You don't even know
Oh my heart goes out to you
And I don't know what else to do
To reach you now
My heart goes out
- - - - -
Lyrics © 2003 Warren Barfield
Haru tenshi- Spring Angel
Kiiro ryuu- Yellow Dragon
Otosan Karasu Nichiyoubi- Father crow Sunday
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