Hey everyone, it looks like we're already on the second chapter of A.Y.A.N.O! And this chapter we get to find out more about this mysterious persocom so read, enjoy, and review as always.
Kagami
It took way longer than it should've, hauling the persocom up the street and up the two flights of stairs. At least it was a work out, I needed to loose a bit more weight. I got this creepy feeling though, about how close the robot and Ayano looked alike. I mean, Ayano was in England! So why was there a persocom that looked like her? It gave me chills. We set her down on the floor once again when we reached the door.
"Konata? You in there?" I asked through the door.
"Yes, Kagamin," Konata sang.
"Are you dressed?" I asked, an annoyed expression appearing on my face. Misao snickered quietly. Inside, a light and bubbly laugh came. That wasn't Konata!
"Yes, Kagamin! Yu-chan's here," Konata answered.
Oh, that made sense. "Okay, I'm coming in." For once I wasn't greeted by Konata on one of her games, instead she was sitting criss-cross on the carpet across from her little cousin. Between them was a small persocom with brown hair and wearing a panda hat. She was doing little ballet twirls as she informed Konata about the latest games coming out for the PC.
"Woah, what's that, Kagamin?" Konata asked, looking up from the persocom. She pointed to the Ayano-styled girl we were carrying.
"We found her in the dumpster behind My Pleasure," Misao explained, closing the door behind us with a kick of her leg.
"She's so pretty," Yutaka praised, large eyes blinking in wonder at the life sized persocom. She was sitting on her knees, awaiting a further explaination.
"We don't know why she was there," I told her, coming around to the couch and setting her legs down. Misao put a pillow down on the other end and set her head down lightly. "We decided to take her home. One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?"
"Yes, Kagamin, but does she work?" Konata asked, hopping up and coming closer for further inspection.
"Natsumi, stop reading now please," Yutaka told her laptop. The small girl stopped and nodded. Yutaka placed her back in her bag before following her cousin's lead.
I wondered what it was like to be the robot on my couch. Wrapped up in bandages, thrown away in a dumpster, and then carried up to someone's apartment only to be swarmed by other people. What was she thinking? Could a persocom even dream?
"She looks so real," Konata marveled. "What's her name?"
When Misao and I realized we couldn't give a response, we simply shrugged unsimultaneously. We looked back at her. Her chest wasn't falling and rising like a human's, I'm sure if it did it would freak me out more than her appearance. Why couldn't I just get over the fact it was a coincidence? It was believable! Lots of girls had orange-blonde hair and soft features.
"Let's get her something to wear," Yutaka suggested helpfully.
"She's too big to wear any of my stuff," Konata replied.
"Then let's go get some of my things," I deadpanned, jabbing a thumb in my room's general direction.
"Nah, she's too small for your clothes, Kagamin," Konata chuckled. I bonked her on the head and stomped over to my room, Misao coming close behind after making a joking comeback. I opened my closet, the sounds of Yutaka's light scolding coming in from the living room. I threw open my closet and began to leaf through my choices.
"Nice clothes ya got there, Kagami," Misao grinned, helping herself and looking for outfits as well. Finally we both reached for the same thing, one of my pastel yellow sun dresses with pearly white buttons and straps.
"Perfect," I said with a nod, and pulled it off the hanger. I carried it out into the living room. Yutaka and Konata still watched the robot with intrest. Konata was busy poking her cheek. "Make room, squirt, we got her some clothes."
After slipping her into the summer dress, Misao helped herself to some of Konata's home-made tea. We began to discuss the sleeping arrangements for Yutaka and plans for dinner. Though I didn't notice that, while we were talking, there were more than three listeners.
Ayano
Where am I? What is this place?
Everything was dark except for a single orb in the sky, if that is what you could call it, that was a swirling cloud of red. I reached out to touch it but it was just out of my reach. I flexed my hands, noticing there was something different about them. They were metal.
This had to be some freaky dream, I decided. Nothing in this place was right.
I felt my chest, trying to find my heartbeat. I felt dizzy, about to fall. The ground under me began to crack like glass. I had no heart! I was a machine, nothing but. My eyes felt like they were going to tear up at any moment but tears never came.
No emotion, no anything.
The ground shuddered and broke and I began to fall down through the dark abyss, passing through layers of the glass. Shards broke and hurdled into the air around me, the swirling fire getting far away. It spurred trajectories through the glass and color began to come back.
I heard voices. I thought I was going crazy, but I knew these voices. Misa-chan! Hiiragi-chan! Izumi-chan! My hair fell into my face, swirling up around me as I neared the earth below. The fire was so far away and above it was pumping, beating, twinkling.
The voices of my friends were so close, though they were muffled as if I were under the water. I kicked my legs in a last battle to take control of my limp, metal body. A face blinked through my mind.
Where had I seen her before? Were those...purple eyes? Bright, bubbly, innocent? I knew her from somewhere but I couldn't recall her name. She was so familiar. I knew her.
"Come back!" I called. My voice was still here, the same and not monotone like any other robot's. I looked down at my body once again, the pale yellow of a dress not hanging in the closet of my dorm at Oxford. Whose was it?
Why couldn't I remember anything?
"Help me!" I called to the softly laughing figure looming over me. To her I was just a doll, swirling away from her life. She began to walk away. With a graceful sway of her hand, she reached up and took the fire before leaving me in the darkness.
I fell to the ground, wires coiling around my arms and legs before spreading them out so far I thought they would break. It felt like doing a hand stand and the splits at the same time. Again the girl was there in front of me, in a doctor's coat and inspecting me.
"So you'll be staying here tonight?" Kagami asked.
A small, unkown voice answered, "Yes, but I'll leave after breakfast in the morning! I have Minami-chan's address now, so I can take the bus there."
"Wah, you have such a nice friendship! And you don't even have to work a dumb job," Misao put in.
"Let me go," I pleaded to the woman, hoping I could find my friends. With a small smile, everything began to fade into reality and my eyes opened.
I was a persocom.