Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ SIA Documentary ❯ Chapter 3

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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SIA Documentary

Chapter 3

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“This ramen looks like crap,” Setsuko announced as she
looked towards the bowl that Buds had just given her.

The SI could only sigh.

After tasting it, Setsuko looked towards Buds again, and
gave him a frown. “It tastes like crap too.”

“Oh, mom, you’re being mean,” Yumi stated, taking a bite
of her own bowl. “It tastes better than yesterday’s.”

“Yes, and if you recall, I said yesterday’s ramen tasted
like garbage,” Setsuko stated evenly.

“But you have to admit… Mr. Alien is improving,” Yumi
gave a nod and smile towards Buds who gave her a thankful
expression.

“I never denied that,” Setsuko continued to eat the ramen.
“His first tasted like complete shit…”

Buds twitched, and felt like he was physically assaulted.

“His second tasted like spoiled milk… and left in the sun
to ferment.”

The SI fell down.

“His third tasted like someone peed in it…”

“Boss… I get it,” Buds muttered, helping himself up.
“Please… enough. I suck at making ramen…”

“No, not yet,” Setsuko ignored her new assistant’s pain.
“Your fourth tasted like you were trying to poison me…” she
looked at him. “Were you, actually?”

“No!” Buds muttered with irate. It was bad enough that she
accused him of that when she tasted that particular ramen,
but brining it up again?

“And today’s ramen is complete crap,” Setsuko nodded, and
just finished the noodles and some of the meat. “You added
too much salt this time, and go easy on the spice. You should
put vegetables in the end… or slightly boil them. And you
added too much meat.”

“Yes, boss,” Buds muttered.

“Good boy,” Setsuko muttered. “I’m done. Clean everything
up. Any spot in the dishes or bowls, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

With that, she left both Buds and Yumi alone in counter. The
girl seemed to smile at the down SI.

“Cheer up,” she stated. “She also says that your noodles are
now better than ever, and your broth isn’t so strong. Just have
some control over your salt and spice mixing, and your meat as well.”

“I wish she’d say that to me,” Buds muttered as he went towards
his own bowl which was now getting cold. “She’d at least give me
one compliment.”

“Mom doesn’t work that way,” Yumi put her tongue out. “She wasn’t
even nice to me when I was helping her at times. Besides… she’s
treating you nicely.”

“Nicely?” Buds scoffed. “I don’t want to know what ‘badly’ would
be if she was actually treating me nicely.”

“Remember that guy from yesterday?” Yumi asked.

Buds flinched, and had to admit, she had a point. The man yesterday
was a somewhat new customer, and flirted dangerously towards Setsuko,
who coolly ignored his come-ons and remained very professional, which
the SI admired. But all hell broke loose when he actually tried to cop
a feel…

Setsuko grabbed his offending fist and shoved hid head on his own ramen
bowl. He must have broken a wrist (or pretended to, in Buds’ opinion),
and threatened to come back with the police, but everyone had backed up
the woman, Buds included. But it wasn’t that which Buds would remember…
it was her words.

Like how the SI begged for a job, Setsuko started hacking on the man’s
pride. Called him a low-level salary man without any real pride for his
company, an arrogant narcissist who only looks slightly better than a
“complete shit-face”, and couldn’t handle a woman even if his life
depended on it, and he must be a eunuch.

She definitely received anger from that one, and was very nasty,
in Buds’ opinion. Nodding at Yumi, the SI could only agree with what
she said.

“Yes, I do…” Buds muttered. “Was that her being bad?”

“Not even close,” Yumi smirked at him as he seemed to blanch.

“Remind me never to get on her bad side…” Buds muttered.

“You kinda are, you know,” Yumi stated.

“Why?” Buds asked.

“Apparently… she just doesn’t like aliens…” Yumi just grinned. “But
that’s okay, Mr. Alien! You’re an okay guy in my book!”

“… Thanks… I think,” Buds muttered before putting his and Setsuko’s
bowl in the sink, waiting for Yumi to finish hers.

The door suddenly slid open, and automatically, the two people left
there looked at the newcomer and stated, “We’re closed, come back…”

“Oh, Miho-san! Hello!” Yumi greeted.

“Hello, Yu-chan!” Miho greeted. She smiled towards the SI, and greeted
him as well… “Buds-san… good evening.”

“Evening,” Buds muttered with a bow. “Have you eaten dinner?”

“Hmmm…” Miho looked at Yumi. “What has your mother got to say this time?”

“She said it tasted like crap,” Yumi replied with a straight face, much
to Buds chagrin.

“Ah… lucky I have eaten dinner eh?” Miho smiled at him. “Don’t worry.
You’ll get there.”

“I hope so,” Buds muttered. “Why are you here, Miho-san?”

“It’s a secret…” Miho winked at the boy, and went straight towards stairs
leading up towards the rooms.

Yumi looked at Miho for a moment, before she suddenly groaned. Buds
looked at her worriedly, thinking, probably illogically, that his ramen
must have given her an upset stomach. He knew it wasn’t the case when
she didn’t look anywhere on being sick, and moaned, “Oh no…”

“Oh no what?” Buds asked.

“Miho’s sleeping with mom today,” Yumi muttered.

“Reh-reh-really?” Reiko, who was sitting in one of the chairs located
near the counter, stated with a slight tang. Her eyes suddenly darted
towards Buds, who ignored her, while her hands formed a triangle
underneath her chin. “Buds! Lucky man… you’re gonna see a shoujo-ai
scene at its finest!”

Shut up, Buds thought darkly.

“Really? Well… whatever…” he replied towards Yumi, pretending not to
be even remotely interested. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

“No… Mr. Alien, you don’t understand!!” Yumi muttered desperately.

“Understand what?” Buds asked as he drank.

“They are going to have… hmmm, how to say this… sexual intercourse…” Yumi
replied in a straight face, making Buds choke on his water a bit. “You know
what that is?”

“Of course I know what that is,” Buds muttered.

“Ah… you’re cool, Mr. Alien! Studying human anatomy and ways,” Yumi gave him
a nod.

“Whatever… I still don’t get what’s wrong with that,” Buds muttered.

“My mom’s a screamer!”

Reiko chocked back her laughter when Buds spit out the water towards the
sink. Wiping the water off his lips with the sleeve of his uniform, Buds
still pretended to look remotely uninterested.

“So?”

“So! Mr. Alien… let me sleep with you tonight!” Yumi suddenly stated.

Buds could only blink, and hear Reiko’s laughter getting even louder. He
took a deep breathe… and sighed. If he had a smoke, he would have taken a
puff. Then, fixing his gaze on her, he told her in a simple, clear, even,
and final way…

“No.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Why the hell can’t I be taken seriously?” Buds asked to himself when he
opened the door of his room to let Yumi in. She brought in her futon, and
had a big smile on her face as she spread it on the floor, right next to Buds’.

One of the quirks of working with Setsuko was while she paid him money for
work, she also provided food (which he would have to cook as part of his training)
and shelter. The shelter was the residence guest room, which the family has
been using as an attic for some years.

The first night Buds had to do when showed the room was to clear the mess that
was done. It seemed they just threw whatever in the room, and never bothered to
clean it up… so he spent a good hour or so to make it sleep-able for him. Naturally,
it was still a mess after he went through with it, but Yumi didn’t seem to mind as
she went to her futon, and put a blanket over her.

“Thanks for letting me here, Mr. Alien,” Yumi smiled as she made herself comfortable.

“Yeah, whatever,” Buds muttered before going to his futon, and slowly moved it
away from where Yumi was positioned, and slowly stripped away his pants, leaving
his boxers. He slid on his futon, and closed his eyes.

After a few moments, he heard some scuffle and moving feet. Opening his eyes, Buds
watched with surprise as Yumi suddenly approached him, brining her futon along.

“And… what in the world are you doing?” Buds asked in a low tone.

“Why are you sleeping away, Mr. Alien?” she asked.

Why? Because if your mom pops in my room, and finds you near me, she’s gonna kill me! was Buds’
train of thought, and probably what he was going to say, but he knew it was going to be
moot point. The teen, while very smart on her own right, was also very stupid on her own right.
Stupid or naïve… Buds never knew which. So, he just answered in a way that might make her listen.

He answered like an alien.

“I’m not comfortable sleeping next to… people,” Buds lied.

“Oh, no worries, I’m not a bad person!” Yumi replied cheerfully as she slid her futon
next to his. “And I’m a quiet sleeper! Promise!”

“Believe it?” Buds asked, not really knowing why he even asked. Naruto’s dubbed
voice already sounded stupid saying it… more so for the SI.

“Yup! Believe it!” Yumi muttered.

Buds was down and corrected… Yumi sounded more stupid than him or Naruto saying it.

“Aren’t you afraid I may try to do something to you?” Buds asked, looking at her.

“Like what?” Yumi asked, curious.

“Like forcing myself on you,” Buds replied, though not really thinking it. While
Yumi was adorable and pretty in her own right, he’d rather keep his job. His job
got him money, food, and shelter. And he liked food more than anything really.
Shelter and money was a bonus.

“Why would you want to have sex with someone of a different species?” Yumi asked, curious.

“Never mind,” Buds muttered. “Go and sleep.”

After a few moments of silence, Yumi once again broke the silence.

“Mr. Alien?” she asked.

Buds could only sigh. “Yes, Yumi-san?”

“Would you be my father?” she asked.

At that moment in time, the most illogical thing can happen to this world around
Buds, but he’d still pay no mind as much as Yumi’s question did. Actual aliens may
invade, heck, time travelers could appear… well, add an esper along with the ride,
but still… it would not give much red lights to Buds’ head as what Yumi just asked him.

“What!?”

“Would you be my father?” Yumi asked again.

“No! Are you out of your mind?” Buds asked. Was this girl going to set him up
and that woman together? He wouldn’t live long enough to even enjoy the thought!

“Brother then!” Yumi stated. Her smile was now getting creepy on the SI’s opinion.

“Why?” Buds asked.

“Because it would be cool!” Yumi replied. “It would be cool to have a brother
or a father, just like everyone else.”

“Even for an alien?” Buds asked. He seemed to be in an asking mood tonight.

“Yup, ‘cause you’re a good guy, Mr. Alien,” Yumi muttered before she shifted.

“How would you know? For all you know, I’m as bad as any other bad men,” Buds muttered.

She yawned. “Because… I like you…” she replied sleepily.

“You don’t even know me,” Buds stated softly.

She didn’t reply as it seemed slumber overtook her. Buds stared at her for a few
moments, before he sighed, and covered himself with a blanket.

After a few moments, he sat up, and threw out his blanket away from his body. He
stood up, and began to put his pants back up again. Silently, he walked towards
his wallet, and put that on his back pocket. He also grabbed a jacket.

“What’s wrong, Buds?” Reiko asked, floating invisibly beside him. “Can’t sleep
with a nice healthy young girl beside you?”

“Can't sleep, yes,” Buds muttered as he silently took a few steps out of his room.
Reiko was surprised at the honesty of the answer that got her to shut up for a
moment, and followed him as he slid the door, gently shutting it, moved down
the stairs, and went towards the backdoor, grabbing the keys so he wouldn’t be
locked out in case Setsuko was going to be smart (or bitchy in Buds' opinion)
about him going out.

The night air felt nice and cold to him as he locked the door. The SI shivered,
and rubbed his arms a bit before he began his walk. Right beside him was Reiko,
who seemed to wonder where he was going.

“Hey, Buds… whatcha up to?” she asked.

He didn’t answer… and she knew he probably wouldn’t. So, for that time, she left him alone.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Buds found himself back to that bar-restaurant he had gone to on his first night,
and it was noisy. Much to his enjoyment, the house band was playing at full force
and everyone was at it.

The place strangely didn’t smell like smoke, though obviously, there were a lot of
them lighting up a cig; must have been good ventilation. The SI bobbed his head a
bit with the beat.

“Hey, long time no see.”

Buds turned around, and saw the waiter who served him before smiling at him. He
smiled back.

“Hey! Yeah, long time,” Buds replied. “How’s everything?”

“Busy!” the waiter stated. The two were talking rather loudly over the noise.

“You aren’t waiting on anybody?” Buds asked.

“No… when the bar opens, and the music plays, no one orders food anymore, but drinks,”
the waiter showed him towards the bar. “You look better than the last time you went here.”

“Got a job,” Buds replied. “Earning is low, but better than nothing.”

“Drink?”

“Just a regular root beer,” Buds stated. He got a mug, in which he thanked the waiter for.

The band started playing other music, and the drummer, while still being rather weak
at rolls, was much better than the last time Buds saw him. The singer was now rolling
with everyone, and the guitarist and bassist were still great.

“Like whatcha hearing?” the waiter asked.

“Yeah… everyone’s doing okay!” Buds replied.

“Well, they should be. This might be one their last performance for some time,” the waiter declared.

“Why?” Buds asked.

“The drummer’s quitting.”

“No way,” the SI looked towards the drummer who seemed to be getting it on as well.
“Why? He’s good now!”

“Yup, and because of those improvements, he’s gonna join a band with his friends,” the waiter replied.
“It seems he was training himself here… and he was taught well. Improved in the last few days, I must say.”

“So… after tonight, it’s a search for a new drummer now?” Buds asked.

“Apparently,” the waiter looked towards the mug he gave him. “More root beer?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll get another,” Buds muttered.

When the waiter got him another one, he asked, “So… what brings you here?”

“Do I need a reason to be here?” the young man replied back to the waiter with
a small smile.

“Just making conversation,” the waiter smiled back.

“I have women troubles,” Buds replied.

“What kind?” the waiter asked.

“One who readily sleeps beside me because I’m an alien, and its mother who hates men.”

The waiter looked intrigued. “Do tell.”

And that Buds did.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Wow… that got that off my chest quite nicely,” Buds stated.

He had just left the bar after listening to five more songs, finishing his story-telling,
and paid for the root-beer, while adding 500 yen to pay back for his last debt. That left
him with a good 1000 yen left. Yeah… he needed a raise.

Buds stumbled a bit, feeling slightly sleepy. Reiko, beside him, seemed to hum from one of
the music she played by the house band and was quite silent. “They should get a female
singer for that song,” she muttered.

“That cover song originally done by ENOZ? It was nice… if kinda upbeat,” Buds replied.

“Not you’re type?” Reiko asked.

“Well… it really depends. While the way the music sounded was very rock-ish, the lyrics
made it very much like pop,” Buds stated. “I don’t hate it, but I don’t really love it.”

“I like it,” Reiko stated.

“Cause you’re a girl,” Buds rolled his eyes. “ENOZ… where did I hear that name from?”

A fire truck rolled by, though not the big kind. The small one, followed along with a
siren. It got the SI and his familiar’s attention before it even came to them.

“I wonder where’s the fire,” Reiko looked thoughtful. “The way the siren sounds like now…
it doesn’t seem that far.”

Reiko was right. The siren didn’t get any more weaker.

“Hmmm… should we check?” Buds asked, curious.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It seemed that it didn’t matter if they checked it or not. What was on fire was
Setsuko and Yumi’s residence, much to Buds’ complete shock. When he realized that
was on fire, he rushed immediately, seeing the scene caused by Setsuko, who was
being stopped by two firemen.

“MY DAUGHTER’S IN THERE!” she shouted, trying to force herself in.

“W… what the hell happened?” Buds asked as he approached Setsuko’s lover, Miho
who looked worriedly towards the residence and the woman.

“Setsuko just smelled smoke…” Miho stated with a little shiver in her voice. “We checked
on Yuki’s room, and she wasn’t there. We thought she got out already… and we heard you
going downstairs earlier and shutting the door so we knew you were gone.”

“How the hell would you be able to hear me?” Buds asked. “No, never mind… So… you
left Yumi in there!?”

“She wasn’t on her room! We thought she already left!” Miho seemed to almost cry.
“Set-chan wanted to go back in and find her… but the firemen stopped her. The blaze
is too strong…”

There was a loud boom that shook the place. Buds’ eyes widened as he watched a
mushroom of flame sprout out of the front, shattering some of the windows.

“Gas explosion!” one of the firemen declared.

“YUMI!!!” Setsuko shouted.

Buds looked towards Reiko, who looked at the fire worriedly. “Reiko… my Final Protocol.”

She snapped her gaze at him.

“Buds! What the hell are you saying!? You’re gonna use that, are you!? You know
the dangers you can do to this world!? I won’t…”

“NOW!” Buds shouted, cutting her off.

She stood there… for a moment, studying him. She gave a heavy sigh.

“I hope you know what the hell you’re doing, SI,” she stated, and her body began to emit a glow.

Setsuko was still struggling with the firemen when she saw Buds suddenly rushed towards
the flaming restaurant. He rammed his shoulders towards the sliding door, breaking through
that and the metal mesh behind it that kept anyone out. The flame seemed to lick his clothes,
and burned them, but Buds was never bothered anymore about that or the temperature.

As I stated before, SI’s tend to be godly… able to do anything that they think they can do.
To control the urge, Buds created five protocols, regulated by his Familiar, Reiko. His first,
as you all know, is his Starter Protocol.

The second would be his Language Protocol, allowing him to speak the local language of the
world he'd be sent to.

The third would be the Suspicion Protocol, making the locals around him less supiscious to
the SI.

His fourth would be his Death and Rebirth Protocol... allowing him to be reborn in another
AMH world in the event he dies.

His fifth, which he calls the Final Protocol is a desperation protocol… he gets boosted
strength, speed, endurance and resistance. If needed, partial invincibility.

He promised to himself, and to Reiko, that his Final Protocol would not be used for his
own benefit, nor would it be used often. As a protocol program, whenever he unleashes his
Final Protocol, Buds is limited to his state for only 15 minutes. Afterwards, his Final
Protocol would be useless for 100 hours.

The limit was set for two things… One, it would limit the damage he would do in the
world’s space-time-reality continuum… and two, to avoid detection by the SIK.

Supposedly.

Unfortunately, there are some SIK who are reality warpers themselves… and they know
exactly when something in their reality has been changed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Buds ran towards the stairs. He had only fifteen minutes, and he’d rather just use
five of them. The less he used it, the better. Jumping up the burning stairs, he ran
towards his room, where he had left Yumi. Sliding the door open, he found her, sleeping
peacefully, much to his annoyance.

“Good God, this girl’s will get it one day,” Buds complained as he carried her. She
still didn’t budge. Lowering her face so she wouldn’t breathe in carbon monoxide,
he ran fast towards the stairs. “Her home’s on fire, and she’s frigging sleeping! Like a rock!”

“Less complain, more running,” Reiko stated, beside him. Whenever he’s going to give
his command, or when the timer’s gone up, she’s going to seal up his Final Protocol for
100 hours.

Buds jumped down the stairs, only to see a pillar coming down on him. He cursed, and
covered Yumi as the burning log came crashing on his back, breaking into pieces. He
stood up after a second.

“OUCH! That burned like hell!” Buds complained.

“You’re still alive, so move!” Reiko continued to command.

“The exit’s there,” Buds stated as he saw the hole he busted earlier. He approached
it when he heard Reiko suddenly gasp behind him. He turned his head around… and his
jaw widened.

Reiko was floating in the middle of the room, struggling as green neon-colored bindings
were slowly tightening around her. He suddenly felt a ripple run across the wall,
the floor, and the ceiling. Without another word, he threw Yumi right outside, just
before a wall sealed the hole he made.

Everything changed, except the fire. The floor, ceiling and walls became one. Buds found himself surrounded by four walls without an exit. In him was Reiko, who was struggling like mad against the bindings, and a blue haired girl who stared at him with her yellow eyes.

“You’re an SI,” the girl muttered softly, yet evenly. “You will not escape.”

Buds shuddered. Reiko had told him about this when he was making his protocols… the SI Killers.
And from what he’d seen so far… she can warp reality around her in an enclosed space, which he
was trapped from. And he knew her.

He finally knew what AMH world he landed on. God, how stupid could he be? The ENOZ name was already
a big clue!

“Oh shit…” he cursed.

“She’s hacking in your protocols fast!” Reiko growled. “Buds, get out of here! If she
successfully hacks your death and rebirth and kills you… you’re going to die! For real!”

“I know!” Buds replied, desperately looking around. “But I can’t leave you! She’s gonna
kill you once she gets in you!”

“Forget me!” Reiko muttered angrily. “I’m not gonna be called the Familiar that got
my SI killed! Get out of HERE!”

“NO! I’m not gonna leave…”

Buds suddenly ducked as a wooden spear almost skewered him. He watched Yuki Nagato
grabbed a wooden chair, and it instantly transformed to a spear.

“On second thought… I’m gone,” Buds muttered as looked at the wall behind him, and
was about to punch the wall, hoping to break through the enclosed space when suddenly,
Nagato appeared right in front of him.

Muttering some gibberish words, her palm suddenly struck Buds. If anyone seen it, the
way she struck him was like how someone would tap their finger gently towards a baby’s
stomach, but the SI flew meters away like he was struck by a truck. He slid on the fiery
floor, and coughed.

“You will not escape,” Nagato stated calmly, looking at him.

“What is she?” Buds asked, clutching his stomach.

“Reality warper… she uses protocols to create enclosed spaces to create her own reality!”
Reiko struggled more against the binders.

“How do I beat her?”

“You can't! Just escape,” Reiko growled. “Get out of HERE NOW!”

Buds nodded, and dashed towards the left wall, only to see Nagato blocking her way. He
went to the right wall, and she was there again. After moments of going towards the wall,
Buds hit himself in the head.

“Shit… why didn’t I think of this?” he mumbled, and bent his legs, and jumped up high
in the air, breaking the ceiling… only to appear on the floor where he just jumped.
“WHAT!? OH COME ON!” he shouted.

“It seems your protocol enhancements are slowly at their limit…” Nagato stated. “I have
closed your other protocols… I will soon exterminate you.”

“Buds…” Reiko’s voice was desperate as the bindings tightened around her.

The SI knew at that point in time, it was over. That Human Interface had trapped him
in her territory, and he couldn’t find a way to escape. His fifteen minutes were almost
up, and when that was done, he’d be defenseless against her. He sighed.

“Reiko… close my Final Protocol…”

“… Buds!” she complained. “She closed your Death and Rebirth Protocol! You’re really going
to die!”

“It’s over… I can’t do anything,” the SI looked around desperately abefore he gave a sigh.
“Just… close it. It’s over.”

He felt the strength leave him as his protocol was closed by his Familiar… and along with
the strength came the suffocation of being enclosed space with fire. The temperature was
high, causing him to perspire and feel light headed. Buds went on his knees and coughed.

He watched as the darkness slowly came at him. He saw same darkness he did when that Caster
chick began stabbing him… but… he didn’t feel any pain. He coughed a bit more before he
lost consciousness.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Mr. Alien! Mr. Alien!”

Buds slowly opened his eyes… and blinked when the sun shone hard on his sight. He
moaned a bit before his eyes focused on the young girl looking at him.

“What the hell…” Buds mumbled.

“Mr. Alien! Mr. Alien!”

“Yumi-san… stop shaking me…” Buds complained. He was slapped. “OW!”

“Wake up,” Setsuko’s voice rang clearly on his head. “Wake up or I’ll slap you again.”

Buds sat up, and rubbed his eyes. “Where am I?”

“Hospital,” Setsuko muttered. “You were brought here after the firemen were able to remove
the derby that suddenly blocked the entrance you made when you threw my Yumi-chan out…
They said you were able to push the lock down because it was already weakened by the fire.”

“Oh?” Buds asked blankly. His head was still trying to shake off its cobwebs.

“The doctors said you weren’t injured much,” Setsuko stated. “Just fainted due to lack of
oxygen. I’ll call him now… so we can clear you.”

“T… thanks…?” Buds stuttered as the woman abruptly left. Yumi giggled for a moment, and
he looked at her, oddly. “What?”

“That is my mom being thankful,” she replied. “You saved me, Mr. Alien… and she really
appreciates it. Even me.”

“You’re welcome,” Buds stated softly. “How long was I out?”

“You slept the night,” Yumi took her tongue out in a silly manner. “So did I…
I didn’t even know what happened until my mom glomped me when I woke in the morning.”

“You… actually slept through the fire?” Buds asked, incredulous.

“Yups!”

“Unbelievable…” Buds shook his head. He looked around for a moment, and briefly wondered
what was missing. He couldn’t remember much… except that girl, Yuki Nagato trapping him
in her enclosed space. He tried to escape… failed… and he asked Reiko to close his Final
Protocol, accepting his doom.

There was a knock on the door, and in came Setsuko along with a doctor, who smiled at
seeing Buds awake. He started a conversation, stating that he would just check on him for
a moment before he can clear him for release. Buds just nodded, and didn’t reply as the
doctor did his job.

He finally found out what, or who was missing.

Reiko was.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Well… isn’t that good?” Setsuko smiled at the SI, something very rare. “In a rather fit
shape. You’re really lucky, squirt.”

“No surprise! He’s an alien,” Yumi nodded.

Buds smiled a bit as he walked towards a park with the two companions he had in this AMH
world. Setsuko had paid for his stay at the hospital, and treated him quite well for the
past 20 minutes. He began to enjoy her company… something he thought would never happen.

“We have to move to temporary apartment,” Setsuko muttered in a low tone. “Restaurant’s
gonna be closed indefenitly until the reconstruction is done.”

“Can Mr. Alien join us?” Yumi asked.

“Of course he can,” Setsuko slapped Buds’ back rather hard, making him cough. “By the way,
Yumi… where were you last night? Me and Miho-chan tried to find you in your room, but
you weren’t there.”

“Oh… I was at Mr. Alien’s room,” Yumi replied easily.

“… really?”

“Yup! He showed me a good time,” Yumi looked ahead and spotted an ice cream parlor.
“Hey, mom, can we eat some ice cream?”

“Sure, hon, go ahead,” Setsuko smiled at her.

Buds was still wondering where Reiko was to notice Setsuko suddenly grabbing him by the
shoulders. For one awkward moment, he wondered if she was going to kiss him suddenly… but
that flew away on his mind when she saw her cold blooded stare. The SI could only blink.

“Uh…”

“Did what she say was true?” Setsuko asked coldly.

“Huh… who… what…?” Buds was lost.

“Yumi said she slept in your room,” Setsuko stated.

“Oh, that… yeah, it’s true,” Buds answered blankly. When her grip tightened… he knew he
gave her a wrong answer. “B… but nothing happened! I swear!” he quickly added.

She placed her hand on his mouth, and while Buds tried to wonder what she was up to… he
felt her knees on his crotch. Hard. His scream barely escaped from her covering hand,
and he felt like the world suddenly shattered. He keeled over, and Setsuko let him go.

“Ouch… mommy…” he moaned weakly.

“You’re fired,” Setsuko muttered coldly before she calmly walked away, following Yumi.

Buds, for a moment, was on his knees, feeling like he was about to throw up. He crawled
like his legs were working towards a park bench, and sat on its base, breathing like oxygen
was a rare commodity. He still clutched on his jewels protectively.

“What a kick, eh, Buds?” Reiko’s voice sounded on his side.

“… It… was… a knee…” Buds muttered automatically through his gritted teeth. He then blinked
when he realized who spoke to him. He looked towards his side, and saw his familiar. “Reiko!”

The Familiar smiled at him. “Yo.”

“Where have you been?” Buds asked, and tried to stand up, only to feel sharp pain on his gut.
He sat down almost at once. “Ouch… fuck…”

“Hit you hard, eh?” Reiko nodded sagely towards the SI. “Well… overprotective mother wins.”

“She played dirty!” Buds muttered darkly. “It was totally uncalled for! She just grabbed me out
of nowhere, and then, BAM! She knees me hard! I thought I was gonna puke my guts out! You know
that feeling?”

“You must be fine if you’re ranting like that,” Reiko smiled.

“Yeah, whatever… where have you been?” Buds asked. “And what the hell happened? I thought I was
a goner! The last thing I remember was the fire and trying to cough air in…”

“Are you feeling better?” a voice from behind Buds asked evenly.

“Huh? Yeah, I am…” he turned around, and was about to ask something but just went silent when he
saw Nagato staring at him.

His jaw went wide open.

“Sorry Buds…” Reiko suddenly stated softly. The SI looked towards his familiar, still
reeling in shock.

“Sorry…?” Buds asked. “What do you mean sorry…”

“I had to make a deal,” Reiko stated.

“What deal…?” Buds backed away as Nagato approached him. “Reiko… what deal?”

“You are coming with me…” Nagato stated softly.

“Wait… no… wait…!”

Buds looked towards Reiko who didn’t seem to be of any help. He looked towards Nagato who
didn’t seem to listen. He wondered briefly if he’d make a run for it… or if he could. Maybe
he can distract her for a second and he’d be able to hide somewhere… until he realized that
he was still in pain.

He cursed. Why the hell did Setsuko have to kick him there at this point in time?

To Be Continued… :P