Chapter One: Just a Tiny Spark

"Otaoko-san... As head of the Research and Development Department you have never ceased to dazzle us. The last few months have been no exception. Your work with the new companion doll series has been crucial in their success the last few years. For your integral participation in the project you've been awarded a massive bonus!" The child sized Chairman of the Board beamed in his goo-goo ga-ga way. "We eagerly await your final presentation on the finished 'Life Partners' series!"

An average sized woman with no real stand out features stood up from the end of the table and bowed slightly. "With respect Sir I'd like the bonus to be deferred to my company expense account. The final program for the 'Life Partners' series will be finished within the week. After that I have my own project I'd like to undertake with the help of the company's facilities and my much overdue vacation time. If the funds are deferred to my company expense account I won't be squandering company funds on a woman's silly whim..." She announced with a long face which didn't seem to reflect the happiness she should be feeling given the nature of the meeting. She had single-handed designed and built the prototype-types for the best selling series Kronos Heaven has had to date. The meeting was a formal congratulations to her for her great success. Still, sadness tinged her chocolate brown eyes. She brushed her light brown hair out of her face and waited for the Chairman's response.

"Just what kind of project do you plan on undertaking?" He wondered curiously. The last time she started a side project it resulted in the mush anticipated 'Life Partners' series. Her latest masterpieces were designed to last much longer than their single purpose predecessors and were much more life like. With maintenance needed only once every five years and a life long upgrade program to make them appear to age, these figures would surely bolster the company out of the specialty market. Kronos Heaven released itself as a mainstream company 5 years ago shortly after their first two mass-produced lines met great underground success.

"I want to build my own figure... Built to my own specifications and with my own operating program. As my illness progresses I'll need someone to take care of me in the event of an emergency. However, my dedication and love of my work would make it impossible for me to find a reliable human being... Hence why I would like to use my own funds..." She replied smiling slightly at the boy's childish curiosity.

"Otaoko-san..." One of the older looking chair members started unsure of themselves. "Is it true you've been cooping with the Genetics and Biomechanics Department on culturing mechanical-organic hybrid organs?"

Otaoko sighed slightly and nodded. "Yes... I was hoping to integrate brains enhanced with nanotechnology into the 'Life Patterns' series so that they could self learn easier and develop more life-like personalities and blend into society easier. However the resulting conflict between computer programming and self learning eventually lead to identity crisis and mental instability. The hurdle maybe crossed at a later date however at this time the project has been shelved."

"Why weren't we informed of the project before now?" Another chair member wondered suspiciously.

"I knew the project would be relatively low cost. I also knew it would either flourish or fail miserably. I was pleasantly surprised to learn a great deal in how to use our nanotechnology to help the synthetic brains adapt and rewire as the circumstances of their master's life changes. Ultimately the project paid for itself and seemed to be of no great concern to you of the Board. In the future I will do better to keep you informed of such things. My apologies..." She was flawless with her response and her unwavering cool head.

"Well enough as long as it wasn't a complete waste. I trust your judgment Otaoko-san when it comes to these matters. I would like to stay informed as to your projects and their success or fail. It may land you a bigger budget." The Chairman gooed and flailed in his chair.

"Thank you Sir. I appreciate you confidence and support. And also thank you for allowing to continue working for this company. If I may though... I would like to finish the 'Life Partners' program now so I can begin my vacation." Otaoko answered warmly as she stood up again and bowed.

"Thank you for all your hard work Otaoko-san!" The Chairman beamed with a smile. Even as the door closed behind her though she could hear murmurs among the board members. Now of them sounded bad though just concerned about her having too much freedom.

Otaoko soon reached the safety of her personal lab. It had only one door in and no windows at all. With all the lights off it looked like an infinite cave leading off into the nothingness. She made sure to close and lock the door before turning a single light on in the center of the room. "I'm back Night-san..." She sighed with relief to see the figure was still resting soundly in a dust-proof box. He had several wires coming out of him and part of his head had been opened. Next to it were several tools and a pair of gloves which someone could use to work on him from outside the box. "I got the back up cell I need to keep your brain running... Hopefully I'll be able to get the back up data I need made before it fails..." She added turning on a few more lights which illuminated most of the room. "It should be fine if it's just running your brain for quite awhile though." She mused crossing the room to her desk. The desk was cluttered with schematics and mathematical equations on print outs and a single personal computer on one end and a laptop on the other. She took off her cross clothes she wore to the meeting and put on a pair of dirty looking jeans and a t-shirt. With single hair tie she wrapped her long straight hair up in a bun and secured it at the back of her head.

Next to the desk was a larger computer which she had been using to contain the massive amount of data and programming she used or created as part of her job. With great strain she very carefully placed a small battery pack onto a sterilizing tray on the box containing Night. A remote controlled mechanical arm took it off the tray and held it in place in the opening on Night's head. For the next few hours Otaoko painstakingly attached the battery to the existing circuits careful not to damage them and ruin her years of work. When the job was finally done she pulled herself up stiff and dizzy from staring at one fixed point for so long. With great effort she stumbled over to her workbench which she had recently cleaned off and curled up on it. As she nodded off she swore she heard a sneeze...

From across the room the alarm on Otaoko's phone made it sing her favorite pop song. "Blah..." She groaned rolling off the table on to the floor a few feet below. With almost as much effort as it took her to get to the table the night before she stumbled across the room and flipped open her phone to turn the alarm off. It had been going off for almost 15 minutes without her waking up. She held her head with one hand flipped it device closed with the other.

"Good Morning..." A male voice chimed from somewhere in the room. Surprised the woman spun around and looked about wild eyed. When she saw no one there she called out into the room.

"Who's there?" She wondered suspiciously.

"I'm Night Tenjou... I'm sorry I've tried many times to greet you but it seemed I 'm able to speak today thanks to whatever you did to my head!" Following the sound of the voice the researcher walked over to the processor next to her desk. On one of the screens she saw Night's smiling face. With shock and utter surprise her gaze shot from the screen to Night's body behind her and back.

"Not... possible... Not possible..." She muttered over and over as she slowly sunk to her knees. "H... how long... have you... been able to... sense my presence?" She mutter quietly still in utter disbelief.

"Several months now I would say... I was awake much, much longer than that but the repairs you made on me allowed me to regain some functions..." He replied cheerfully.

"Then it is as I suspected... The reason I could turn you off is because you truly had gained your own consciousness..." She seemed very resolved all of a sudden as she stood back up.

"How long have I been like this?" He wondered eying his body behind her.

"You were returned to the Kronos Heaven headquarters just over five years ago... My name is Aimina Otaoko Head of the R and D Department. I have been studying you and keeping you from getting disposed of for that time. I'm very pleased to meet you... Night-sama..." She replied with a happy smile and tears in her eyes as she touched the screen with a shaky hand.

"Five years... That's not so terrible... I didn't think I'd ever wake up again." He seemed to be unsure if he should be happy or sad. The realization that his dearest Riiko had no gone five years without him suddenly made him hurt. Before he could ask, Aimina had shoved a disk into the console and let it play.

"This is a surveillance disk of Riiko Izawa... The company continued to keep tabs on her until it went public several years ago. I used my ties in the company and a few personal favors to get a highlight reel made for you. I also got a friend to keep an eye on her after the surveillance stopped..." As she spoke a video of Riiko started playing. It had a lot of highlights on it from her first A on an exam to her graduating and going to college. "I'll leave you alone for now..." Aimina whispered as she quietly made her way to the door... She knew the exact length of the video so she took the opportunity to go home and shower and eat. When she returned the video had just finished.

"Are you all right Night-sama?" She wondered sitting down at the console again.

"Yes... I was right when I thought Soushi-kun would take good care of Riiko... She is very happy and that's all I wanted..." He was obviously sad but was trying very hard not to show it.

"Night-sama... There's a reason why I've been working very hard to get you up and moving again..." Otaoko had clearly been burdened by something since she had returned but now it seemed the weight was crushing her. "Riiko contracted an illness her parents brought back from abroad... She's been fighting it for a year now but... She's not winning... It's at a stalemate right now but she could get worse at anytime... I want... I want you to be able to say good-bye when the time comes... Since you didn't get to last time."

"Why are you going to all this trouble for me?" Night wondered remembering his previous dealings with the heartless Kronos Heaven company.

"You managed to keep from shutting down entirely... It was just a tiny spark but for all this time it has kept you very being lost completely... As I researched you and your memory banks and compared them to your program log I soon realized something very surreal... From almost the first minute you were active you were slowly breaking with your programming... When you decided to fight for Riiko you broke all ties with your core program module... From that moment on... you were for all intent and purpose... alive..." The more she spoke the harder it became for Aimina to speak. The fact that... Even if it was just a tiny spark... But a spark nonetheless shows a desire to exist! I couldn't let them kill you! You deserve a chance to be happy just like every other living sentient being!"

"Otaoko-san..." Night sighed clearly touched by her show of emotion. "So that's why you keep me locked up in here in the dark. You finished your research on me and they wanted to scrap me." He added as if eons of confusion were finally becoming clear to him.

"Yes... I need to make a complete and exact copy if I'm going to transfer you to a new body I'm designing. Don't worry! Aesthetically you'll look the same only a few years older. But I have developed an entirely new set of parts and way of operating that will give you a 50 year lifespan!" She seemed all fired up suddenly and excited. "You won't even need maintenance but once every 5 years and even then it's very light! Even better figures a widely accepted so you won't have to hide who you are unless you want to! And... You'll have a chance with Riiko again!" Her last comment seemed to give her the greatest joy.

"You haven't seen the video have you?" Night wondered sadly. "I couldn't tear up Riiko's heart again and ruin her precious happiness. If you can bring me back to life... I'll just have to be happy watching over her from afar like Soushi-kun did all those years..."

"Night... I'm sorry... I'm so stupid and naive sometimes... I just... wanted to help you ever since I learned about you from Gaku-san all those years ago..." Aimina seemed utterly crushed by Night's logic. "You're just... so sweet you deserve to be happy too."

"I'll surely be happy as long as Riiko is Otaoko-san. Don't worry about me!" Night beamed smiling." This garnered a slight smile from Aimina.

"Please call me Aimina!" For the rest of the day the two talked while the R and D director put the finishing touches on her new program. When it was finally done she beamed with happiness. "Now I can get the money to build your new body!" She beamed happily and the copy finished burning to the last disc. She scrawled the sequence numbers and them and threw them in some jewel cases. "I'll be back soon Night-sama!" She cried dashing out the door, locking the door behind her.

"Aimina-san... How could I possibly thank you for everything you're doing for me?" Night wondered to himself as he sat alone in the quiet room. "What will become of me once I can move again?" For the remainder of his time alone he sat pondering his future.

After about an hour the door to the office creaked open and Otaoko wheeled a dolly of wooden boxes into her lab. This was promptly followed by three more dollies load down and a sophisticated looking bed that seemed to have been pried out of an operating room. It had eight robotic arms sticking out of the sides that hovered over the top of it. With gleam in her eye, Aimina organized everything into her large lab. Her expression bordered on gleeful school girl and mad scientist which scared but intrigued Night at the same time.

"Aimina-san... You said that you would get the money to build my new body when you turned over that program... Does that mean you're using the money from them buying that program to build it?" Night wondered curiously as he watched her fly around with a crowbar prying open boxes.

"No... You're familiar with the 01, 02, and 03 series models... Well I designed and built the prototype-types for the models following those which the company used to go mainstream. My designs and programming have made the company one of the most profitable and popular in the world in the field of electronics... They just wanted me to finish the program for their new series before they gave me the bonus from those models and let me go on vacation. It only took a third of my bonus to buy all these parts... It will take another third though for the power to put them all together and the process I'll surely blow up transferring you..." She mused seemingly unphased by the amount of money that could be.

"How much was your bonus?" Night wonder dazed by her clear lack of concern over his expense.

"Um... three billion..." She replied without a second thought.

"YEN?!" Night shrieked as if would have a heart attack if it were possible. Aimina just nodded. "And you're going to use two billion on me?!" He shrieked again no more calm than before.

"I had these parts made just for you so that added to the expense... The body I'm making for you is going to be truly unique to reflect your uniqueness... Remember how you kept telling Riiko would wanted to become as human as possible?" She wondered peering over one of the crates. He nodded slowly unsure how that pertained to his two billion yen body. "Well... With a set of these... You'll be so close to human it will be impossible to tell you apart from the real thing expect by medical scans and x-rays..." As she spoke she stood up revealing a jar with a human brain in it covered in small metallic bits. "Between myself and the Genetics and Biomechanics Department we grew these nanobot enhanced organs. They are capable of interfacing with with electric circuits and each other to act exact like a human body acts. You'll be able to feel, eat, sleep... And thanks to the nanobots in your synthetic blood... You'll be self repairing too! At least as far as your research has proven... We've never actually tried this on a full body scale. Just several systems at once." She was clearly brimming over with pride and happiness.

"You... you can really do that?" Night wondered with mouth agape. "If I'll work just like a real human then why would I need maintenance?"

"The nanobots wear out and it's vital to keep them in good order since they act as your blood essentially. In order to keep self repairing and functioning normally you'll need to get the equivalent of a blood transfusion every five years or so to replace them." She explained so matter-of-factly that Night could hardly believe that this had never been done before.

"Are there any risk involved in having this kind of body versus a standard figure's body?" He shuddered as he watching her carefully move the body parts to a refrigerator she had wrestled out of one of the boxes earlier. His question made her stop and look quite sad. Her response was slow and quite.

"It might be a major time set back however... I'm hoping you'll be different since you won't have to have a program to begin with... But in our tests when we tried to apply a programmed personality to the brain and allowed it to develop on it's own... It started conflicting with the program and became mentally unstable... If that happens I'll have to encode the program into a synthetic brain then transfer you into the new body." She replied being serious and concerned as she gently slide the brain into the chill chest. "Whatever the case may be... I'll take care of you and put you together as quickly as I can safely..." She smiled warmly as she shut the door and turned to him.

"Thank you Aimina-san... If there's anything I can ever do to thank you... I'll happily work off the expense!" Night seemed very determined but his voice never was suited for a serious expression. Aimina giggled and as sat down at the console.

"All I ask... Night-sama... Please find and spread happiness in this second chance I'm trying to give you... Somehow... Just be happy..." Was all she said as she reclined into the chair.

"I will... Aimina-san... Thank you." He watched her fall asleep as he often did with Riiko and felt very happy.

Morning greeted Aimina mush as the one before had, only this time when her eye peered open they were met with Night's smiling face. "Good morning Aimina-san!" He beamed happily with a wave. She giggled as she reached over and turned off the alarm.

"Good morning Night..." She sighed happily. "I was so worried that I had dreamed everything that happened yesterday." She added stretching her aching muscles throughly. They were very opposed to moving much since she slept in a chair and on a wood table the last few nights.

"You should really sleep in a nice comfy bed sometime Aimina-san... It's cold in here and you could get sick and stiff if you keep sleeping in your lab!" Night scolded as she finished stretching. "Besides wouldn't your boyfriend worry if you don't come home at all for several days?"

"I don't have a boyfriend..." She replied sadly with a half-hearted smile. "I never found someone who interested me more than my machines... Well until I met you..." She smiled and went over to her chest of spare clothes in the corner. "You'll be happy to know I have to leave for a little bit today..."

"Oh? Do you have a date?" He swooned making the cutest face she had ever seen.

"Yes... With a doctor." She replied giggling and smiling again.

"Are you okay?" He wondered as his face quickly melted to a frown.

"Nothing you need to worry about Night-sama... It's just a check up. Would you like me to leave some music playing so you don't get so bored?" She wondered pulling a small MP3 player up from under her desk.

"Sure! I need to get caught up on a lot from the last few years." His comment seemed to make a light bulb come on in Otaoko's head. In a flurry she produced a couple of cords and plugged one into her laptop and one into the end of a cord coming out of Night's head. Almost instantly Night moved from the console to her laptop.

"Here ya go! Now you can use my computer to access the Internet! Make sure you pick out some clothes and I'll order them when I get back! You'll need something to wear when I'm done!" She beamed happily seemingly satisfied with her handiwork.

"Thanks Aimina-san!" Night chirped as he started opening browsers and venturing to various websites.

"I'll be back soon Night! Don't get a virus while I'm gone... If the firewall blocks something leave it alone..."

"I will! Be careful Aimina-san!" With a gentle tug on the door she left him with a smile on her face.

"Ah! Otaoko-sama I didn't see you come in! Cleaning up before your vacation?" The young woman at the front counter beamed cheerfully.

"Yes Ariia-kun! I'll have some more to do after my appointment though." Otaoko replied as she stopped to talk to the girl.

"If there's anything I can do to help you please let me know!" Ariia replied with great enthusiasm. "You know you're my idol!"

"You just have one semester left in college right? I'll definitely snatch you up as an intern when you graduate if you've kept your grades up!" Aimina had been eying Ariia as an assistant for year since she had been confronted by the girl for advice on her advanced robotics project. She was reminded of a much prettier version of herself when she looked at Ariia. As Otaoko started turning to leave Ariia grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her in.

"Otaoko-sama... Please check your lab carefully every time you come back to it... I heard two board members talking about spying on you while you work on your special project... If they think they can make a profit they will steal it..." The girl whispered very concerned, her face reflected the tone of her voice.

"Thank you very much..." Aimina smiled and pulled a small device from her handbag. "If this red light comes on... Push the button would you please?" Ariia nodded slowly.

"What happens if I push the button?" The receptionist wondered warily eying the remote.

"Anyone and anything within five feet of either side of my door goes poof..." The director answered donning her evil scientist face. "See you this afternoon!"