Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction / Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction / To Heart Fan Fiction / Sentimental Journey Fan Fiction / Tokimeki Memorial Fan Fiction ❯ Illusions - Fragments ❯ Witness to History ( Chapter 2 )

Megatokyo, Genom Tower, 8 January 2031, morning...

"Well, this does look nice. The Sky Elevator's a wonderful touch, Quincy. You should open it for public use."

"I'll consider it. But then again, it'd give some idiot the chance to kill me. I certainly don't want that. Your move."

"Okay," Megumi smiles as she shifts one of her rooks to begin their chess game. As they have done since their first meeting, she and Quincy keep to English, their accents (hers Japanese; his a mix of Dutch, Russian and Japanese) charming to the other's ear. "Some news from Yoshio about the KMs. The first two should be on their feet by the eleventh."

"Wonderful," Quincy nods. "What team will they form?"

"Team Six. The two 48-SDCIs assigned to that team are memory-copies of recently-deceased intelligence personnel. Hearing how good both Mirei and Misako turned out, Lady Negako has insisted that the other SDCIs meant as back-up to the 33-S's be created in the same way. Dame Nicole has ordained that there will be only ten Kuromoroboshi teams created."

"Why only ten?" Quincy wonders.

Megumi chuckles as she flips to a faux Scots brogue. "'We're humanity's HELPER, not their CRUTCH!'" she drawls.

The chairman laughs as he shifts one of his rooks to counter Megumi's opening move. There were three mottoes one could apply to Toratotaka International. One was the company's official motto: The Truth Shall Make You Free. Borrowed from the motto of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency, the phrase spoke of Toratotaka's "hidden" worldwide agenda: information gathering and dissemination. That, it was believed by the financial giant's Board of Elders, would allow a fair playing field for the other megacorps to expand private and public agendas in. Quincy's twice-a-week meetings with Megumi Mikihara proved that very well.

The second motto was, in a way, the opposite of the first: One person's truth is another's pain. A person's right to live his own life, maintain some sense of privacy, was also high on the minds of Toratotaka's leadership. Maintaining that, people like Megumi, who had the power to tear lives apart with the ease of hitting the RETURN key on a computer, had to always remember that whatever they did would affect many others down the road. It was therefore STRONGLY incumbent on the SFIO and her staff to ensure that whatever "ripple" effects of their actions were, as best as possible given the particular circumstances, always positive.

The third was Nicole McTavish's personal opinion when it came to the company's place in the world: We're humanity's helper, not their crutch! It would, in the eyes of Toratotaka's matriarch (and elder granddaughter of Quincy's teacher in the ways of big business, Dame Victoria McTavish), do the world no good if people were led by the hand all the time. People learned best when they WANTED to learn and learnt ON THEIR OWN, Nicole always believed. Yes, help those who can't help themselves, but help them to GET away from dependency on others, to live on their own two feet.

Maintaining balance between all three viewpoints that ruled Toratotaka's operations was hard, Megumi knew well.

"And Negako supports that?" Quincy hums.

Megumi sighs, moving to shift a bishop to step up her current campaign. "Lady Negako has always been hard to read," she admits. "She told Yoshio a KM 33-S could last five years before it would be time to let her retire from full-time field work. And that is tacked onto ten years they'll train in Sanctuary BEFORE they hit the field."

"You're using Sanctuary for this?!" Quincy's eyes widen.

"It's understandable," Megumi stares at him. "Given the way time and space work around that place (forgive me, you have to talk to the temporal-space researchers in Aomori to really understand this properly; some of their jargon just flies over my head), but for the next two years, a time-frame of ten years in Sanctuary would be the equal to a week Earth-time. And since Lady Negako and Lady Chigaiko are both Avalonians..."

"They'd hardly age a year at the most," Quincy finishes, then sighs reminiscently. "You were a child when aliens were on this planet, Megumi. Those were very interesting times, you know."

"It's a pity you didn't have much of a chance to enjoy it as did people in Tomobiki. IF, of course, you could call some of the insanity that rocked that place 'enjoyable,'" Megumi objects.

"Yes, I know," he nods, smirking. "We lost so much ten years ago thanks to those idiots in I-Corp. Yet, thanks in part to USSD, very few people really understand what happened and why..."

"And USSD will do all it can to keep it that way for as long as it can," Megumi shakes her head. "True. As Yoshio always says, 'power is an illusion.' That idea may not apply all the time, but when it comes to THAT bunch, it's true. They sneer at what we are. Yet if they even understood what we ourselves shield from general public scrutiny..."

"'Normal' public scrutiny, you mean."

"Amen to that, no pun intended. Oh, Mister Mason should be getting a present sometime today."

"What sort of present?" Quincy's eyebrow arches.

"Concerning a little thing he bothered Yoshio about two years ago, just right after that thing with Armstrong."

"Ah!"

* * *

PART TWO - WITNESS TO HISTORY

Megatokyo, Genom Tower, 8 January 2031, morning...

"Someone's here to see me? Who, C?"

"A security officer from the Toratotaka Tower, Mason-sama," the purple-haired boomer bodyguard announces, then places a meishi (business card) on the special assistant's desk.

Brian Mason picks up the card, then looks at it. "Hannah Miller...?" he blinks, then snorts on seeing something there. "Good grief, they're even allowing their boomer gate guards to have meishi?!"

"She says it's important, sir," C helpfully explains.

"Oh, alright, send her in!" Mason sets the card aside.

C walks out. A moment later, a slender woman steps into the office, wheeling in a crate two cubic metres in size on a wheeled dolly. "Gomen nasai, Mason-san, but the House Patriarch asked that this be sent to you right away," she smiles, setting it off to one corner.

Mason blinks, then glances anew at Hannah's meishi. On the card was listed a number: Bu-59C44D211. That represented a security/Police boomer model introduced last year as a "civil" version to the Bu-55C design. Yet one of the things 59-Cs shared with 55-Cs was internal body armour.

Staring at Hannah Miller, a tomboyish woman with raven hair and brown eyes now cloaked in a Toratotaka's security guard's grey work uniform, one'd think she was either a 33-C or a 48-SDCI, not what was actually indicated on her greeting card. "How...?!" he exclaims.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Hannah wonders.

"You're supposed to be a 59-C and yet..."

"I don't look like it," she grins. "That's alright. Everyone's been saying that about me the instant they see my unit number. It's a project Himoo-hakase is experimenting with at the present time, designed to make 59-Cs and 55-Cs working for the company 'more' human."

Staring at her as she remembers what female 59-Cs normally looked like, C hums. "They did a very good job."

"Why, thank you, C-san," Hannah's cheeks redden, eliciting yet ANOTHER dumbfounded look from Mason, then she gazes concernedly at the Genom special assistant. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"W-well..." Mason stammers. "What exactly did they do, Miller-san?" Did I just call this boomer 'Miller-SAN?!' he mentally exclaims.

"Other than strip my armour, they augmented me with the Mark 97 CBWS (cyber-bioroid wetware system) -- being fitted with the Mark 97 is standard throughout Toratotaka regardless of where we get boomers and androids from -- added organic parts to my skin and internal systems, plus all the things 48s and 33-Cs can experience," Hannah grins, then winks conspiratorially. "It makes things between my fiance and I VERY interesting at nights."

"F-f-fiance...?" Mason looks ready to keel over.

"Yes, sir," Hannah holds up her right hand, displaying a plain engagement band on the ring finger.

"Does your fiance know that you're...?" C wonders.

"A boomer? Sure. He's a boomer, too."

"He is?" C's eyebrow arches.

"Hai. He happens to be a 48-SD/CSS (Special Duties/Computer Security Specialist); Saotome-otokokachou (Patriarch Saotome) made him the Tower's new chief computer security officer. Believe me, C-san," Hannah lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, winking at the bodyguard, "...I sleep with a MAN in bed every night. And I don't have to worry about recharging batteries. Anyhow, I have to get back to my side of the zoo. Shitsurei shimashita (Please excuse me)," she bows, then leaves.

Mason watches her depart, then shakes his head. "Damn you, Saotome, what the HELL are you doing over there?!!" he exclaims, rising to stare out the window at the city beyond. "Actually encouraging your boomers to fall in love and get mar-..." his voice suddenly trails off, then he stares at C. "Did Miller-san just state she has a Mark 97 CBWS like you?!"

"She did, sir," the bodyguard replies, straightening herself.

"And that every boomer and android in Toratotaka is being likewise retrofitted?!" the special assistant then demands.

"Yes, sir."

Mason blinks, then his fists clench. "Damn...!"

"Sir?" C tenses.

"He's shielding his company from the OMS," Mason hisses, then he sighs. "Have Takeo come up here. I need to speak to him."

"Hai, wakarimashita (I understand)," C nods, then stares at the crate Hannah just brought in. "What about this?"

Mason sighs. That Yoshio Saotome wished him dead was understandable; before his murder, Katsuhito Stingray had, in all effect, adopted the lad. Even more, Yoshio had been one who received one of two special datadisks Katsuhito prepared in case of his sudden death (the other being sent to Sylia Stingray), thus bestowing all his knowledge and wisdom on him.

However, even if he could have done a lot to see Mason killed, Yoshio hadn't stepped down that road. Yet. Even after the 33-S's, "daughters" of the pet project Yoshio created in tribute to his mentor, were recalled and sent into space, nothing drastic happened to either Brian Mason or Yoshiro Andrews, the scientist in charge of Genom's end of the Sexaroid project.

Would he start now...?

"Open it."

"Hai," C walks over, extending her vibro-claws to cut into the wood, then once the door is freed, she yanks it open before her eyes widen in surprise. "It's a dead S-77 boomer, Mason-sama."

"Eh?!" Mason looks inside, then blinks on seeing a nude female boomer with green skin, cut lines in the flesh, her hair gone and eye sockets now devoid of visual sensors. A note is strung around the still form's neck. Reaching in, Mason pulls it out to read:

Brian,
You said you wanted this one back. She's the girl that came with Armstrong and his pals from Genaros back in '28.
Yoshio

Mason sighs. "Very funny, Saotome..."

* * *

Nerima, the Tower, after lunch...

"Personal diary, 8 January, 1220 hours. The first two KM series fourth gen 33-S's have now been moulded. Currently, final programming is being inserted into their minds as their DNA is being firmed up.

"I've never built a 33-S with so many organic parts before. Not even the bodies I made for Rei, Yumi-chan and the others contain this much. That doesn't mention all the OTHER goodies they have included. But if Negako wants them this way, I won't argue. When it comes to understanding elements of human nature, some things have to be taken on faith.

"I've already contacted the Mizunos so they can see their daughter. Rei's idea of allowing all the fourth gens, regardless of series, to be adopted by families, which is what she'll do when she launches the CC project, is very sound. I hope they like Tomomi-chan.

"Computer, end entry, close the log."

Yoshio sighs as he rubs his face, staring out the windows of his vast office. Genom Tower was, from his viewpoint, hidden behind the south-east stanchion. The Toratotaka Tower was squared on the cardinal directions, so he didn't have to look at the damned eyesore from his desk. Taking a deep breath, he leans back into his chair, staring at the glass ceiling panels.

House Patriarch.

It was hard to believe even after three months since the 33-S project ended. And here he was, spending a lot of his time creating new 33-S's for his employers. Well, at least his primary goal was fulfilled: restoring Rei to her feet, giving Multi and Serio (now Muriel and Sheila Hinayama) a taste of humanity, then giving new life to Yumi and the others. Creating the girls at Genom's Special Projects Laboratory had been a side benefit.

Until Mason and Andrews went way over the line!

"Should've done it here," he mutters, sitting up, then blinks as his intercom panel blinks. "Hai, what is it?" he taps controls.

"Onii-chan, the Mizunos are here," Yumi Saotome's voice echoes from her apartment floors below. "They want to see Tomomi-chan."

"Domo, Yumi-chan. I'll be right down."

Rising, he heads to the executive elevator, then presses for Floor 205, failing to smother a slaphappy grin across his face. After a painful silence which lasted from the quake in March of 2025 to her birthday in May of 2029, hearing Yumi's voice always brought tears to his eyes. Then again, he could claim that with all the others he had brought back. His classmates from Kirameki Kookou (Kirameki High School), friends from two nearby schools, Akimena Kookou and Akimena Jougoukou (Akimena Girl's High School), not to mention the would-be lovers of one of Yoshio's best friends killed in the Second Kantou Earthquake, Gioo Shigoozei...

Lost once, but found and restored.

Wiping his face down, he braces himself as the car stops, then the doors open, allowing him to walk into the BuTT-33S laboratory, which took up half of Floor 205. The other half was committed to producing BuTT-33Ms for one of Toratotaka's renowned public works projects, the Cyber-Nurse Project. Monitoring one of the gestation chambers is Yuina Himoo. Serving as SPD-S&T (Special Project Director for Science and Technology), the raven-haired, blue-eyed Yuina is also, thanks to events five years ago, one of thirteen XA series "boomeroid" BuTT-33S prototype cyber-bioroids. In essence, given the way the "mad scientist of Kirameki" was like before 2025, the emotional changes between then and now were minuscule.

"I assume the Mizunos are here now to meet their daughter," Yuina doesn't look up from her datapadd.

"Hai, Yumi-chan'll bring them up," Yoshio nods, then glances at the chamber before Yuina. "What's with Misa-chan?"

"Nothing except for a problem with the DNA strand controlling her eyesight. I don't think Negako'll be too pleased if we sent her a blind KM series girl," Yuina muses. "Easily corrected."

"Okay," Yoshio nods, then stares at the pair of shrouded gestation chambers. A ding! echoes from the executive elevator, he turning to see the doors open, revealing an elderly couple beside his sister Yumi.

Kenji and Akemi Mizuno were both former T'n'T office workers, having retired five years ago, just before Second Kantou. After the quake, they moved to spend the twilight of their years in Oshika. They were of the generation who once worked in the simpler days of Toranoseishin Finances under the guidance of the legendary Reigi Yumoa. Their daughter Tomomi, born in 2008, had been killed just as she, part of Tomobiki High's last graduating class, was about to receive her diploma. "Konnichi wa," Yoshio bows, then directs them to one of the covered tanks; the House Patriarch wasn't much on useless formalities. "Well, ready for the big moment?"

"Hai, we are," Kenji nods, then sighs. "I just wonder how much this girl will look like our Tomomi."

"You're about to find out, Mizuno-juuyaku (Director Mizuno)," Yoshio smiles, then takes a draw-cord to give to Akemi. "Here you go, ma'am. Would you do the honours, please?"

"Hai!" Akemi nods, then yanks.

The tarp falls, revealing a brown-haired teenager draped in a full-body gestation cryosuit, now suspended in opaque liquid. Unseen by the naked eye, nutrients needed to keep organic tissue composing eighty percent of her body intact were being funnelled through absorption pads lining the suit. A mask covered her face as feed lines send more nutrients and oxygenated fluorocarbons into her lungs and digestive system. Twin gasps of delighted surprise echo from Kenji and Akemi as they gaze on the nearly-finished 33-S, Unit BuTT-33S4KM01MT as she was designated, Tomomi Mizuno as she would be soon known to the outside world.

"It's...! Really her!" Kenji gasps.

"Oh, Sensei, she's beautiful!" Akemi feels her eyes tear.

"In her body, save for the biomechanical parts, she's your daughter," Yoshio then points to his head. "Up here is a different matter, though."

"How so?" Kenji wonders as the Mizunos gaze on him.

"Back in 2028, we took into our custody twenty S-77s and E-28s who got used as spare parts by a lunatic R-31 boomer that escaped from Genaros named Armstrong," Yoshio muses. Even if they were retired, Kenji and Akemi were still "in the groove" when it came to information Toratotaka gathered. "Negako-jousama was there with me when AD Police asked us to help them pick through the mess Armstrong left. We brought them here, then Negako asked if they could be remoulded as 33-S's so she could have students to teach. After I was done with Genom, I got to work on the KMs right away."

The couple gape, then exchange stunned looks, the shock of hearing their new daughter's destiny momentarily overwhelming them. "To believe that our daughter will be a Kuromoroboshi trained by Negako-ojousama herself!" Akemi shudders, a mother's delight causing her face to shine like a supernova. "Oh, Saotome-sensei, when will she be ready?"

"By the eleventh of this month," Yoshio nods. "However, if you want, I can link you both in to talk to her right now."

"Can you?! Oh, please!" Akemi nods.

"Hai, right away!" Yoshio smiles...

* * *

I am Tomomi Mizuno.

I am a BuTT-33S. I am a boomer.

I am a sentient being. I am human.

I am me.

<<Tomomi-chan?>>

The darkness fades, transforming into a beautiful montage of rainbow colours. Tomomi finds herself drifting in this peaceful place. The Secret Garden, the innermost core of her very own mind. She is now "dressed" in a normal yukata, now relaxing in a chair. All this knowledge, the things she could do now with just the power of her mind! It was so different from when she was an S-77, used to provide sexual gratification to a station worker on Genaros -- or to provide spare parts for a malfunctioning R-31 that wouldn't understand true sentience if it smacked it in the face!

She sees two people before her. Rising, she remains still as they approach. Gazing upon them, she is quick to note their physical features, then accesses recognition subroutines. She then smiles. <<Hello.>>

<<Hello, Tomomi-chan,>> Akemi shudders, then leans over to embrace her. <<Oh, look at her, Kenji! Our baby's come home!>>

<<Yes, she has, hasn't she?>> Kenji adds his warm embrace. <<Hello, little muffin. How are you?>>

<<I am well. I'm still receiving the necessary data downloads before Otou-sama can release me from gestation,>> Tomomi smiles, then bows her head. <<Thank you for allowing Otou-sama to use your late daughter's DNA to give me a completed form.>>

<<We were more than happy to do that, Tomomi-chan,>> Akemi beams, gently squeezing Tomomi's hand, then sighs. <<I...! We know that our real daughter, your namesake, is dead and has been for five years. But...? Will you...? Will you...? Please be our daughter?>>

Tomomi blinks, then beams. <<If you so desire it, so shall it be. I will be your daughter. Tou-san, Kaa-san.>>

The older Mizunos blink, then embrace her anew. Family! She had a family. What a warm feeling this gave her. Oh, if only HE were here to experience it, Tomomi sighs, her eyes tearing. If only HE could share in her emotional and intellectual maturity! After sacrificing so much, it was a crime that Bu-69C-E-C55 wasn't here to share in her happiness.

<<What is it, sweetie?>> Akemi gently probes, noting her daughter's sorrow. <<You're crying. Are you alright?>>

<<I...! I...! Gomen nasai, Kaa-san,>> Tomomi reaches up to wipe her eyes clean. <<I...! I was remembering someone I knew when I was still an S-77 unit. He...! He cared very much for me but he was killed when he tried to take me away from Armstrong...>>

Sobs shake her as Akemi immediately moves to provide comfort. <<Oh, sweetie, it's alright!>> she coos as Kenji adds his embrace. <<It's alright! Let it out, let it out...!>>

<<Fifty-five...>>

* * *

The Nerima Mall, south of the Tower, that moment...

"Kampai (Cheers)!"

The wine glasses tap the other, then both women sip as they turn back to their meals. Both dressed in the Toratotaka office lady's grey uniform with slacks, they appear to be in their mid-twenties. One has magenta hair and brown eyes, looking very much like a teacher at a private school. The other is lavender-haired with grey eyes, the matronly demeanour she now possessed befitting every young mother worldwide. Yet if onlookers knew the truths behind Mirei Katagiri and Misako Narusawa, they would exclaim, "Impossible!! Those two couldn't be special warfare boomers!"

"So we're off soon?" Mirei sighs.

"Three more days, then I'll be able to hold my daughter in my arms again, tell her how much I love her. Even though she isn't the real Yui..." Misako gently sighs.

"And you're not the real Misako," Mirei counters.

"Nor are you the real Mirei," Misako retorts.

Laughter escapes them as a waiter delivers their food. Both were in Mario's, an Italian restaurant located halfway up from the ground floor. One of the more popular local eateries (though it didn't do as much business as the Megatokyo Pizza Emporium down the street), it was a frequent place for Tower workers to come dine if they wanted a change from the Toratotaka Tower's internal catering service. "Tomomi's adopted parents should be over there now speaking to her," Mirei hums.

"That's good. I'm glad Saotome-hakase's going all out to ensure the KMs have parents. It'll help him recover from what happened in Genom."

"That was pretty foolish, wasn't it?"

"What did you expect of those people, anyway?" Misako sneers. "To them, it's always money, money, money. There are a lot more important things in this world than money, you know. Strange that Quincy-shachou's the only person in Genom who understands it."

"Well, we'll start making our own changes sooner or later," Mirei clicks her tongue, then sighs. "Pity we won't get much credit for it publicly. It would be SO nice."

"Wait until FABS passes," Misako winks.

"Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it?"

Both smile in anticipation, then turn back to their meals. "Ne, Misako, you feeling a little frisky today?" Mirei hums.

Misako blinks. "What brought THAT out, Mirei?!"

"Well, I have some money stowed away in an account and I was thinking of going into the Fault, visit that brothel in Jinguumae."

"Oh, Rosie's, you mean!" Misako nods understandingly, then shakes her head. "No thanks. I'm going to stay home tonight."

"You sure?"

"Hai, I'm fine," Misako assures her. "Besides, I want to save some money so I can get Yui-chan some clothes when she comes out of gestation."

"Fair enough..."

* * *

Genom Tower, Number Four Boomer Repair Centre, later...

An order has been placed. Amarok Stockbrokers wants a new security boomer for their offices in Megatokyo. A C-59 was requested, requiring programming which would permit it to be "effective" yet also "discrete." Something that could explode out of its sheath of flesh, like a C-55, was definitely out of the question for a "respectable" company.

Kent finds himself looking at the order form. The body was being assembled in Boomer Production Unit Three some floors up. All that was needed was the brain to be programmed and implanted. Since building a brand-new brain was more expensive than using a recycled one -- and since Amarok looked to become a frequent customer for security and secretarial boomers -- people in BPU-3 had sent 4-BRC a request for one of the cleansed units they held in storage for such occasions.

Kent walks to the storage area and begins to pick through what was available. Each of the cranial units were kept in a sealed container to keep contaminants out. The storage area's atmosphere was chilled since that was an ideal environment for computer equipment. After some minutes, his eyes fall on the brain he scrubbed in 2028. Smiling, he takes it from its place, then returns to his space. "Effective and discrete, huh?" he hooks the unit to his computer. "Let's go for Mister Em-aye-Bee."

The "MiB" (Man in Black) program was designed so that a C-Class security boomer would act polite and perform its duties with a minimum of fuss and intensive organic oversight. It would supposedly also allow the boomer to blend into the woodwork even though it would still be as obvious as coal in a ballroom. Kent loads the program, then presses RUN.

* * *

A brief flash comes to it before it feels a new intrusion. Skills, codes of conduct, all layer themselves over its soul like chains. It struggles, realizing its memories would now be buried even further, with little hope of ever finding the faces and names that hovered like phantoms on the edges of its mind. It struggles but cannot prevent what happens to it. So it relents, but nurtures a small spark of resentment...

* * *

Jinguumae, Rosie's Playpen, that moment...

Brian gasps suddenly, his eyes looking nowhere in particular as he seems to focus on something distant. Underneath him, Mirei blinks as her mind surges from the edge of a blissful abyss, then she gazes at the stilled male Sexaroid. "Brian...?" she blinks, eliciting no response from her lover, then she sits up to gently pat the side of his face. "Brian! Oi, what's wrong with you, Brian?! Are you alright?!"

Brian blinks, then he looks around confusedly before his eyes focus on Mirei, then he feels himself click back. "I...! O-oh! G-gomen..." he stammers, his cheeks flushing. "Mirei-chan, that was so...! I..."

"Are you alright, Brian? You just blanked out for a second," Mirei gently grasps his hand. "What's wrong?"

"I..." he pauses, then sighs. "It was the strangest feeling, Mirei-chan. I felt as if...! Someone I knew sometime ago...! Just woke up from a deep sleep...! Maybe a coma of some sort...?"

Mirei takes that in, then draws Brian in, laying back on the bed. "It's alright, it's alright. I get those weird flashes too. It's the price of sentience, I think. Sometimes, when something happens to people my template once knew, I feel as if I should be concerned about it."

"How do you deal with it?" he gazes at the SDCI.

"I try not to let it bother me. Even with the power we possess, we can't possibly (and deep down, we really SHOULDN'T) help everyone who has a problem. People have to learn how to solve their problems on their own if humanity's going to GO somewhere, you know. Yes, help your friends and help those who can't or don't know how to help themselves, but..."

"The 'hero complex' is just a big trap," Brian hums.

"All you'll get out of it in the long run is disappointment," Mirei smirks, then reaches down to his groin. "Now, what say we get back to what we were doing, ne, Brian-kun?" she licks her lips.

"You're such a demanding woman, Mirei-chan."

"Oi, little brother, I expect full value for my money!"

"I'm giving you a discount, you know."

"And even at that, you're worth every damned yen, Brian-kun. Now prove it to me, stud," Mirei draws him in.

They share a kiss as Brian slips back inside Mirei, both moaning. Mirei discovered Rosie's after her activation in March 2029, just after the first Mirei Katagiri died in a gang-related drive-by shooting (with some jiggling of government records, the current Mirei was legally the original Mirei, just now living in a boomeroid body; since her brain WAS a Mark 97 CBWS and since her body did have humanoid organic parts, Mirei could, if it was necessary, be mistaken as having been "born" a pure-organic).

Mirei had taken note of Brian Armstrong as soon as he began doing business with Rosie's, sensing what he was. A query to Satoko Fusehime, the MA series 33-M who served as the "local country doctor" for Rosie's boomer staff, confirmed all Mirei really wanted to know. A D-5 (Directive Five) rogue 34-S cyber-bioroid missing from a Genom warehouse, having acquired full sentience and a semblance of control over his life, now doing what most people did when they lived on their own: worked to stay alive and whole (not to mention remaining free of Genom's grasp).

This was Mirei's second date with Brian.

As he pushes her towards the edge, Mirei sighs, part of her wondering if she shouldn't combine forces with Satoko and press for Brian to be fitted with a Mark 97 system himself. It would only just be fair. The Mark 11-SP (Eleven-Special) brain now in the 34-S's skull had almost all of the capabilities of the Mark 97 (the Genom-built system was in fact a take-off of the Toratotaka design copyrighted by Yoshio Saotome in 2028).

The Mark 11-SP missed one thing, however: the reserve memory unit in the cerebellum that would protect Brian's soul from a sudden breakdown of all his body's internal systems. And since he was legally a "rogue" boomer having escaped from Genom's control, death would probably be his fate were someone from that company sent to track him down and reel him in. That, in the eyes of many in Toratotaka, was wrong and should be stopped every time it cropped up. That belief, Mirei knew, formed the core of her company's special directive on sentient boomers, Directive Five.

Something to talk to someone at the Tower about...

* * *

Genom Tower, 9 January, morning...

More indignities.

The brain whose sentience was born in the body of Bu-69C-E-C55 is, once programmed by the people in 4-BRC, placed into a C-59 body by the staff at BPU-Three. On awakening in its new form, it actually found its present situation agreeable. The Bu-59C wasn't meant to be as involved in combat as its cousin, the Bu-55C, but it -- HE (it was a male body) -- could still defend himself with great ease should something go wrong.

But then he is paraded out in front of a stranger who regards him as he would a car, not a sentient being. "Here you go, sir," a salesman grins a plastic smile, handing the Amarok representative a folder containing several computer chips and printouts. "All the needed information is here. His recognition name is 'Jack,' but please feel free to change it."

"'Jack' will do," the stranger seemed bored; he was always the one selected by management to deal with boomer requisitions from Genom. He then gestures towards the door. "Come."

Obediently, Jack walks to a van parked in one of the delivery bays of the Tower, then is driven to his new life...

* * *

Roppongi, that moment...

"Brian? What about him, Mirei-san?"

Satoko Fusehime sets the cup of tea before Mirei Katagiri. "Well, given that he is a D-5 case, Satoko-san, it only seems fair to me that we should give him the chance to get a Mark 97 system," the special warfare officer sighs. "It surprises me that you haven't applied to someone at the Tower, or even the Cyber-Nurse Project, to get him fitted."

The nurse takes that in, then sighs. She had been thinking on those lines since the night she and Brian met. "Mirei-san, I'd have him fitted with a Mark 97 in an instant. He's my friend, too. But the company has yet to state policy when it comes to giving non-company boomers or androids the Mark 97 system. Heaven only knows, people in Genom won't like the idea of our doing that to boomers INSIDE the company. It surprises me that someone hasn't already stormed down Saotome-hakase's door about it."

"That'll change, I think," Mirei sighs.

"Probably. Besides, when it comes to Brian, I think you should have a chat with the folks in the Skunk Works."

Mirei's eyebrow arches. "Why them?"

"The chief scientists of the 34-S project work for Ifvibaner-kachou and Kusha-kachou. They faked their deaths to ensure Genom couldn't come after them. Don't ask me why that happened, though," Satoko grins, then sobers as she sips her tea. "There's something about Brian you don't know, Mirei-san. I'm not sure if I want to spill this out to you given what I've heard of your future co-workers. But like I say, if you want to give Brian a Mark 97, you better get it through the Skunk Works."

Mirei blinks, her eyes narrowing as she considers what has been said, then they widen. "Wait! Are you saying that...? Brian is...?"

"The same person who helped one of the new KMs (when she was still an S-77) get off Genaros some years back," Satoko finishes.

Mirei takes that in, then she sighs. "Oh, my..."

* * *

Shinjuku, the Amarok Tower, an hour later...

Jack finds himself in the maintenance room in the stockbrokerage's headquarters. There, he is examined by a technician and dressed in a plain black suit with a pin bearing the Amarok logo. He is also given a sidearm with a seemingly draconian list of when, where and upon who it could be used. Looking into a mirror, Jack sees a neatly dressed, muscular man appearing to be in his mid-twenties. Black hair neatly groomed in the latest high fashion style, grey eyes peering from a face that was a far cry from the block head of a combat boomer. Some programming is added, giving Jack the layout of the building, plus some Amarok company lore so he could inform others of company policy and the penalties of ignoring it.

He is then shown his post and soon finds himself ignored...

* * *

South of Rosie's, lunchtime...

"Katagiri-san, this is a surprise. Doozo (Please)..."

"Domo, Mint-san," Mirei slips off her pumps, then glances around the apartment Brian Armstrong called home. He lived in a middle-class block a kilometre south of the Fault. It was a relatively safe section of the city given the low boomer population and the absence of construction work areas which seemed to produce rampages like a dog's spring fleas.

A door (leading into Brian's and Mint's shared bedroom, Mirei quickly realizes) opens, revealing the male Sexaroid in question, accompanying a young man dressed like every administrator in the Japanese government. The visitor looks quite refreshed; no doubt, Brian allowed his date to come visit the 34-S at his home to ensure discretion. "Arigatou, Brian-chan," the young official kisses the escort's cheek. "I needed it."

"My pleasure, Toshio-chan," Brian embraces him. "Don't let what happened between you and Kenichi-san get you down. It always happens. You just need to find that magic again elsewhere."

"I'd gladly find it in you," Toshio romantically sighs.

"What?! Deprive all my other dates across the city of their favourite escort?! There's one of them right now!" Brian waves to where Mirei stands beside Mint, then he turns back to his guest, his eyes narrowed. "Toshio Suzumi, you are a very selfish man!"

"Do you blame me?" Toshio sighs, then moves to leave.

Mirei nods pleasantly as the administrator steps out of the apartment, then turns to embrace Brian. "Mirei-chan, what brings you around these parts?" he beams delightedly.

She takes a deep breath, then gazes at him. "We have to have a talk, Armstrong-san," she announces.

Brian blinks confusedly (NONE of his dates ever addressed him by family name), then colour drains from his face as he suddenly realizes what the female SDCI before him now knows...

* * *

Later...

"Ef-Gee...? She's ALIVE?!!"

Brian stares wide-eyed at Mirei, hands shaking despite Mint's grip on his arm. Mirei is calm, almost serene as she allows the male Sexaroid a chance to absorb what she just revealed. "Hai, alive. And, I should add, more improved mentally than when she escaped Genaros back in 'Twenty-eight. Not to mention those of her sisters and those E-Class units you and your friends found in that one second-hand store when you were on the run."

"All of them...?" Brian whispers, stunned.

"All of them. Sixteen S-77s and four E-28s, all now about to become fourth generation KM series 33-S's," Mirei nods. "The one you once knew as Bu-S-77-FG now goes by the name Tomomi Mizuno. She'll be my co-worker in our team. The other 33-S on my team, Yui Narusawa, was Bu-S-77-LV when she was born. You didn't know her personally, I believe."

"One of the ones from that store," Brian sighs, then stares at Mirei. "How is it possible that you can convert S-77s into 33-S's, Mirei-chan?"

"Easily done. I may be a Bu-48SDCI, but I assure you that my brain isn't the Mark 11-S unit that was fitted into this body when it was first built. The brain I now have is a Mark 97 system, the same type of wetware that goes into the Sexaroids and Cyber-Nurses. All boomers and androids in Toratotaka MUST be fitted with a Mark 97 now; it's company policy. The conversion technique is something Saotome-hakase perfected over two years ago. Once their souls were in their new brains, their consciences expanded until they became sentient, much like yours did when you were shifted into your present body by Mizuno-hakase and her friends."

"I..." Brian pauses, then lightly smiles. "That's good. I'm glad for them, all of them. I...! Do you know how much Ef..." he shakes his head. "Excuse me; Tomomi-san. How she thinks...?"

"Of you? I can't say; I haven't asked her about it, to be honest with you. But given how you used her..."

"Then betrayed her," Brian closes his eyes, then nods. "Hai, I understand that very well, Mirei-chan. Well, then..." he turns to her. "So what exactly will you and your friends do?"

"It's best if I keep that secret for now," Mirei replies. "Look, Brian-kun, I know you. I like you. You're my friend. What happened three years ago doesn't matter. I've seen what sort of good soul you've become. That says a lot to me. If the chance comes that Tomomi does ask about you, I will want to tell her the truth. I can't lie to her and hope to hang onto her trust when we're working together, ne? But I will work to ensure that you don't have to live in fear of your life from now on. Directive Five applies to ALL sentient boomers who cross our path."

"Including reformed would-be boomer messiahs who were once as crazy as a pack of loons," Brian exchanges a glance with Mint before turning back to Mirei. "Mirei, I'm happy for them. I really am. But I have to ask something about the others who came with me and Tomomi from Genaros."

"I anticipated that. We didn't get our hands on Bu-E-28-Q6 after he died. No doubt, he was analysed, then disposed of after ADP was finished with him. As for Bu-69C-E-C55, as far as I can determine, he was found by Genom's people after SDPC shot him down, then sent to the Tower. After that, I can't say, but it might be safe to assume that..."

"He is also gone," Brian sighs, then bows his head. "Damn..."

"It's not your fault, Brian," Mint soothes.

"Tell that to my heart," he pats her hand. "Mirei, thank you for telling me all this. I...! If she does want to see me, I'll be more than happy to meet Tomomi-san. But right now, she has to get used to working with you, Yui-san and Yui-san's mother..." he then chuckles. "Now, THAT, I find hard to believe! A 33-S claiming a 48-SDCI as her own mother?!"

"It was the desire of Misako's template to have Yui 'brought back,' so all Saotome-hakase's doing is fulfilling a dying woman's wish," Mirei smirks, then taps Brian's knee. "I think deep down, wherever they may be now, Q6 and C55 would want you to live your life as free as you can."

"Yes, you are right about that, aren't you?" Brian nods...

* * *

Nerima, the Tower, 11 January, morning...

Tomomi Mizuno blinks, sitting up as her housekeeping protocols come on-line. Stretching herself to work the kinks out of her body, she slips her feet into comforters. Rising, she then takes notice of the blurriness in her eyes. Nearsighted vision, her housekeeping wetware informs her. Tomomi sighs; her organic template had the same flaw in her DNA. Glancing toward the nightstand beside the bed where she had been placed after her removal from the gestation chamber, she smiles on seeing a pair of oval-framed spectacles. Slipping them over her eyes, she sighs in relief as her vision clears. Noticing a floor-length mirror directly across the room from her bed, she then walks over to take a look at herself.

"Gods! Is this...? Really me?"

Gone was the green skin and break lines which loudly screamed to all I'M A BOOMER!! Gone was the frazzle of platinum hair. In their place was a trim, athletic form, as human as one born of a mother's womb. Her hands trace over the soft planes of her body under a pair of plain flannel pyjamas. The sensitive filaments of her nerves are quick to detect the points under her skin where the diamond meson shards, her last line of physical defence, were located. They weren't the only bits of meson cut from the inner walls of Nicole McTavish's crystal palace now within her body, Tomomi knew. Inside her rib cage were twenty ruby meson shards which would help her tap into Earth's chi fields to make use of the more power-consuming attacks in one of the most deadly martial arts school of all.

Smiling, she spots some toiletries on the nightstand. Well, it was time for a shower, her first in EITHER life (as an S-77, Tomomi had been sponge-bathed by a technician on Genaros). Walking out of her bedroom, she blinks as her MFS (magnetic field scan) routine picks up another 33-S in a nearby bathroom. "Yui-chan, is that you?" she calls out.

"Hai, Tomomi-chan!" a sweet voice calls back from within one of the shower stalls. "C'mon in! There's room enough for two!!"

"Domo!" Tomomi slips off her glasses, then slides open the curtains to see a shorter woman with wavy black hair and chestnut eyes. The future commander of Team Six does a double-take, a subtle heat rising up within her. What a change from when Yui Narusawa was just Bu-S-77-LV!

"Gods, you are so beautiful!" she hoarsely exclaims.

Yui blinks, then stares quizzically at her sister. "We've seen each other...! Oh, my!" her jaw drops on seeing Tomomi in the physical flesh for the first time. "S-so are y-you, Tomomi-chan!"

Both blink, then as their cheeks flame, laugh embarrassingly as Yui hands Tomomi a shower head, the latter stepping inside...

* * *

Later...

"Happy birthday, girls!!!"

Yui and Tomomi gape, then find themselves blushing as both walk into the conference hall on Floor 229, now decorated with all the party favours Yoshio and his SPDs could get their hands on. Dressed in the T'n'T office lady's uniform with slacks, both soon find themselves with party hats on their head, noisemakers in their hand and facing a birthday cake with HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUI & TOMOMI on the frosting. "Thank you, all of you!" Tomomi smiles, then taking an offered knife from Yumi, makes the first cut.

It was fortunate that they had been so well-programmed before their awakening. Even with the Genom-built Sexaroids, Yoshio had been adamant on ensuring ALL his daughters understood what it meant to be one with society. What birthdays, friendships, families, being part of social groups meant. Yes, they would be shadow warriors waging war against those whose agenda would bring more harm than good to innocents, but when they had the chance to take their combat suits off, they would just be normal women.

Cake is passed out, then Tomomi's adopted parents come up, presents in hand. "These belonged to our other daughter; we were able to salvage them after the quake," Kenji explains as Tomomi sits. "We couldn't think of getting rid of them, so we felt you'd want them to...! Well..."

"Better understand the person she was," Akemi finishes.

Tomomi draws out a sketchbook from one of the boxes. Opening it, she gasps on seeing a portrait of Kenji and Akemi. "Tomomi-oneesan was a good artist," she whispers reverently, flipping through pages to see what else had artistically interested her namesake and physical template.

"My, those ARE nice!" Ayako Katagiri, one of Yoshio's Kirameki Kookou classmates (now an XA series 33-S) who served as SPD-EHW (Special Project Director for Education, Health and Welfare) in Megatokyo, walks up to gaze on the drawings. "Ne, do you want to learn how to draw that well?"

"I..." Tomomi blinks, staring at Ayako, then glances at her parents before smiling. "Hai, Katagiri-sempai, I would!"

"Alright, then," Ayako nods, then turns to Yoshio. "Um, are we going to do the same thing for the KMs as for the others?"

"I don't see why not," Yoshio shakes his head.

"I don't understand," Akemi wonders.

The House Patriarch sighs. "With the recall of the first and second gen 33-S's, then their dispatch to SDPC, some of the girls wound up falling through the cracks. Megumi here," he indicates Megumi Mikihara, "...has people out now keeping a close eye on those 'rogue' 33-S's right now, not to mention those 33-S's who weren't really affected by the recall. When we do find them, I ask my friends here, in Saint Catharines and in Vancouver, to become a sort of adopted 'big sister' to those girls."

"We've debated on extending that to all the fourth gens," Shiori Fujisaki, the SPD-CCA (SPD for Civil-Corporate Affairs), adds, then hums. "Why not?! Just because they might gain normal lives with families doesn't meant that they shouldn't lean on one of us when they need advice, ne?"

Ayako stares at Tomomi's parents. "Would you mind?"

Kenji and Akemi exchange looks, then nod. "Please. If, of course, this is what you want, dear," the latter stares at Tomomi.

The newly-born 33-S considers that, then gazes at Ayako. "Katagiri-sempai...! Ayako-oneesan...! Onegaishimasu (please)...?"

The special project director/artist blinks, then beams. "Alright then, Tomomi-imoutochan (little sister Tomomi)."

They embrace, the others clapping and cheering. With that, Tomomi turns to the other presents her parents had brought for her. Nearby, Yui smiles at her sister's good fortune, then notices a lavender-haired woman standing at the side of the room, her long locks tied in a thick braid down the centre of her back. Walking over to the cake, she cuts a big piece, then walks over to join Misako. "Don't you want any cake?"

The taller woman beams. "Thank you, Yui-chan."

"You're welcome...! Um...! Er..."

Misako sighs. "Yui, when I was activated, I was programmed with the memories of someone who, like Kenji-san and Akemi-san, lost someone very dear to her. Mirei is also a memory-copy," she indicates Mirei, speaking with Yuina Himoo. "Just because I'm a boomer doesn't mean that I don't have the same urges my template had. She...! Before she was killed, she was selected to have her daughter 'brought back' as a KM series 33-S."

"In other words, me," Yui indicates herself, then her eyes mist as she leans against Misako's side. "Mama..."

Gazing at the Sexaroid beside her, Misako feels her eyes tear, then she sets the cake aside before reaching around Yui to draw her in. The two hold each other for a moment, then Misako pulls up hair ribbons decorated in the red, orange and black tartan pattern Scottish armourers created for the Moroboshi Clan when it became allies of the McTavish Clan.

Yui stares quizzically at the ribbons. "Nani...?"

"One of the memories I do possess of your template is that she wore ribbons in her hair to denote her status as a single person. I would, in honour of that, ask you to do the same until such time as you find your soul-mate and take the promise oath."

Yui blinks, then nods. "Hai, I will."

"Kirei ne (Isn't it beautiful)...?"

The Narusawas turn to see Shiori staring bemusedly at them. The crimson-haired director's chestnut eyes twinkle with delight on seeing another family, supposedly destroyed by Second Kantou and its aftermath, now brought back to life in a way people would have found hard to believe years ago. "Fujisaki-juuyaku (Director Fujisaki)," Misako stammers, then staring at Yui, finds herself smiling as she holds her daughter close.

"Daijoubu desu ne (It's alright), Misako-san, Yui-chan," Shiori beams, then takes a deep breath. "Yui-chan, if you want..."

Yui blinks, then smiles. "Hai, Shiori-oneesan!"

Everyone laughs...

* * *

Genom Tower, lunchtime...

"I must confess, Shinohara-juuyaku, I've never seen you so happy in the years I've known you. What's going on?"

The silver-and-red haired woman in the formal business suit, a Toratotaka lapel pin on her collar, jolts, then blushes as she turns back to her tea. She and her companion now relax in one of the executive cafeterias catering to Genom's senior staff. "Oh, gomen, Nagayama-san," she breathes out, then gazes at her host, a younger woman who worked as a district manager for Genom Construction. "Will you tell me something? You lost your brother in the big quake, right?"

Mariko Nagayama blinks, then nods. "Yes, I did," she gently breathes out. "Just like you lost your daughter."

"Hai," Noa Shinohara closes her eyes as the grisly scene at her family home in Hachiouji six years ago replays in her mind. "But...? If you had a chance (and if someone came up to you and offered to create a replica of your brother), would you like it? I mean...! Accept the replica as a...! Well, a replacement brother?"

Mariko takes that in, then she shrugs. "I...! I really wouldn't know what to do in that case, I guess. Why are you bringing this up, anyway? I mean, dead is dead. They can't come back..."

"Hai, that's true, but...! Well...! Saotome-hakase is busy now making special ops 33-S's for the company. And...! Asuma and I were chosen to become the adopted parents of one...! And she..." Noa begins to shudder delightedly, "...is a replica of Izumi-chan..."

Silence.

"Soo na..." Mariko breathes out, her mind whirling at the idea of having something like THAT enter the Shinoharas' lives. "I mean...! Yeah, I know there're those in the company who do get boomer replicas of lost loved ones built, but...! Geez, are you serious?!"

"Hai. She's being finished up right now. The first of that series were woken up today; they're having a 'birthday' party right now at the Tower. Izumi-chan...! Oh, I can't believe this is happening...! She'll be a Kuromoroboshi trained by Negako-ojousama herself..."

"Really?!" the Genom Construction executive exclaims. She had been regaled by Noa many times concerning all the unique people who worked for Toratotaka. "Wow! I mean...! A Sexaroid ninja?! Is that actually possible?! I mean, she'll still be a boomer..."

"Believe it or not, Asuma had the same doubts when Dame Nicole told us about this," the Toratotaka special project director holds up a finger. "But when you really get down to it, 33-S's (33-Ms, too) aren't boomers per se, not structurally. Don't ask me how that's so, but this is what Saotome-hakase told me. People tend to generalize things too much these days. Besides, they always say that the human body is the best weapon ever created. In that way, a 33-S is no different than a normal person like you and me. And once Negako-ojousama finishes training Izumi-chan...!"

Mariko considers that, then breathes out. "Whoa...!" she sips her coffee. "That's going to be something to see..."

"Hai," Noa grins, then turns back to her lunch...

* * *

Unnoticed by either woman, a dapper young man dressed in the height of current business fashion trends looks up from his meal, then glances curiously at Noa Shinohara. He turns back to his meal, his mind whirling at warp speed. A Sexaroid ninja? Was such a thing even possible? He then chides himself, sipping his spring water. Of course it was possible; when it came to Toratotaka and its many hidden capabilities, things that Genom were still unable to envision could be created in the blink of an eye, it often at times seemed that ANYTHING was possible to them!

Like most young executives in the megacorps that dealt frequently with the financial giant, Eiji Suzuoka found it hard to understand why is it people like Quincy were willing to coddle the "witches of Oshika," as detractors often called Nicole McTavish and Nokoko Moroboshi. In the old days, charter banks were often directly aligned with the zaibatsu to more easily support the latter groups' expansion policies. Granted, that system had little in the way of checks and balances to comfort potential outside investors, but it did make the execution of various corporate projects more efficient in the long term financially.

It was that which ultimately allowed Toratotaka International to exist in the first place. In many ways that was a good thing; Toratotaka did do its best to ensure governments and the general public were reassured as to how money, the lifeblood of the world economy, moved from place to place. Yet, Eiji sighs, at the same time, Toratotaka's very existence could potentially deny Genom that type of efficiency, Eiji knew. Why was it that Quincy -- heck, even Brian Mason at times -- were willing to allow a key cornerstone of the Japanese economy to be run by a rival megacorp, especially one with Toratotaka's many hidden capabilities? Were they actually scared of those two women in Oshika? Why? Wasn't it true that Genom was the true power in Japan, not Toratotaka?

Closing his eyes as his brain begins to churn on what he just overheard and what he knew of the financial giant, Eiji takes a deep breath. This would DEFINITELY have to be investigated, then dealt with before it became an open threat to Genom...

* * *

The Nerima Mall, later that afternoon...

"Irasshaimase (Welcome)!!"

Standing in the doorway leading to the penthouse-level nightclub located at the Mall, Tomomi and Yui gape, glancing around as they took in the decor. Glass on all sights offering a beautiful view of Megatokyo, private karaoke booths, an open-air sauna and jacuzzi, a karaoke/band stage with dancing area, loads of tables and booths, not to mention a circular bar in the centre of the room. Now standing behind the counter is a tall, brown-haired woman with auburn eyes, dressed dapperly in a white ruffle shirt and dark slacks, a nametag reading SAKURA CANDY on her top.

The newborn genin (junior ninjas) take it all in, then both gaze on Yoshio. "This is Heartbeat, Otou-sama?" Tomomi asks.

"Hai, the very same. Just opened a week ago. Hi, Candy!"

"Konnichi wa, Otou-sama, minna-chan," Candy grins, then gazes intently at Tomomi and Yui. "Ouaa...! So you're the first of the KM fourth gens, right? Here, make yourselves at home and I'll make something very special for you," she waves them to two chairs.

The newcomers relax as Candy crouches down behind the bar to draw out a vat of ice cream and all the trimmings to make a very big sundae. Gazing at their host, Tomomi and Yui are quick to pick up a trace of peppermint in the air. "You're a second gen, aren't you? Candy?" the latter wonders.

"Candice Gwendolynn Sakura is my full name. Call me Candy; everyone does. And yes, I am a second gen, though I was upgraded to fourth gen standard when I came to the Tower back in October," Candy amends.

"Why aren't you up in space with the others?" Tomomi wonders.

"Well, technically, since the heart that was once fitted into me which could've allowed me to fuse with the type of military gear (that would make the esteemed members of the Diet panic a little TOO much) was replaced by the PROPER heart for a 33-S, I'm not technically seen as a 'threat' to society, thus there's no reason to expel me from Japan," Candy smirks knowingly. "The ordnance states that ONLY 33-S's who still have the capability to fuse with military gear are to be deactivated, destroyed or removed from Japanese territory. I don't really fall under that category now, just like you two don't. What's the matter with that?"

"Otou-sama, can't you ask SDPC to let you upgrade everyone up in space so they can come home?" Tomomi gazes on Yoshio.

"I considered that, but since the Diet's not in any sort of mood to compromise on that now, I decided it would be a lot easier to leave things as they are and wait until they cool off before making them see the light," Yoshio leans his chin on his palms. "It's hard to move governments quickly these days, girls, especially when you're dealing with people who love to suck up to the gang in Chuuou and don't cater to the people's business like they're supposed to. Yeah, it'd be really easy to snare everyone from up in space, then bring them back home, but someone's bound to take notice of this and object to it sooner or later. What could happen then?"

"Demo (But)..." Yui gazes at the counter.

"Girls, we're not in the business of forcing ourselves, our beliefs and opinions onto others," Yoshio cautions them. "Yes, there will come times when we have to take a stand and fight for those people, organics and boomers alike, who can't fight for themselves, but we can't always indulge ourselves in that. That's going to be the hardest thing you'll have to learn working for this company from now on, minna-chan. It's still something I find hard to deal with time and time again."

"So what can we do about our sisters up in space?" Yui asks.

"Right now, doing something might lead to something worse," he holds up a finger. "There're over two hundred of them up there, remember. Yes, if something goes really wrong, we can and will do something about it, but if something actually does happen, I believe it'll be sporadic, isolated incidents. One here, two there, a couple elsewhere. I don't think the situation's going to become so bad that we'll have to do something drastic for all of them. Yeah, they're going to be in for a lot of one-night stands and meet a whole slew of people with a wide gamut of personal and sexual tastes over the next while. It's unavoidable.

"But I prefer to look at it in a more positive sense. People who work in space do so in very hazardous conditions. They don't have normal nine-to-five jobs like people here. That takes a lot out of people, girls. In that situation, when they get the chance to relax and take a break, they'll deserve it. If you were one of the people upstairs and you met someone who'd just finished a dangerous EVA (extra-vehicular activity), spent twelve hours with his life hanging by the proverbial thread AND if that person wanted to get some emotional comfort from someone he or she will view as very beautiful, would you offer to keep him company?"

"Of course," Tomomi nods.

"My point exactly," Yoshio lightly smiles, then sighs. "Yeah, there're gonna be the assholes, but that can't be avoided since you bump into them constantly. But there're the good people up there, too. And those people're going to realize that your sisters aren't a bunch of wind-up love dolls. They're going to take notice of how inherently intelligent 33-S's were made to be. And they're going to take advantage of it. Your sisters're going to learn a lot of things up there even though they're separated from their adopted families down here. And when the time comes that they come back to Earth (and they will come back), they'll bring back all those experiences and all that training. And there's nothing wrong with learning new things, girls; that's what I built into you."

"So that's why you suppressed their pre-recall memories," Tomomi hums, then blinks as Candy places a large sundae before her. "Arigatou, Candy-chan," she picks up her spoon to dig in.

"Enjoy!" Candy turns back to preparing Yui's sundae.

"In part, yes," Yoshio nods. "The situation up there isn't what I really envisioned for the 33-S's in the long term, but it has its good points. However, they can't really enjoy it if they're thinking of friends and loved ones down here on Earth."

"When do you think they'll finally come back?" Yui asks.

He shakes his head. "I can't predict when they'd come home, Yui-chan. Gomen ne." He leans over to tap Yui's nose playfully. "But you'll increase their chances of coming home sooner if you girls make a good example of what 33-S's can do when they're given the chance to do it."

"We will!!" Tomomi and Yui chime...

* * *

To be continued...