Day 54

[from Aishiteru! Hikikomori-san][WARNING: potentially NSFW]

Ilana lay on the sofa, bored. Yuuichi had left for his first day of work, and now she was feeling listless, and unsure what to do with herself. The two of them hadn't really been apart for more than a few minutes at a time ever since she arrived at his apartment, and now she would be without him for several hours.

Look on good side, Ilana thought to herself. Yuuichi going to work for first time ever. He make big step today, good step. Then a thought occurred to her: I should give reward. He probably have tough day. I do thing for him so he feel better when back home. But what thing to do?

Ilana pondered this for a moment. She hadn't really known Yuuichi all that long, and she didn't really know all his interests yet. What kind of thing would he want as a reward? Whatever it was, it would also have to be cheap, because the pair of them didn't have all that much money, and it would have to be quick to prepare, as he would only be home in a few short hours. Ideally, she would have to make do with what was in the house.

That was when an idea struck her. One of the interests she knew Yuuichi had was that he was an avid reader of Japanese comics, or "manga" as he so insistently called them. Maybe they give me idea, she thought. Getting up off the sofa, she headed into the bedroom, crossing to Yuuichi's bookshelf. The first shelf was occupied by several plastic figurines depicting various anime and video game characters, many of whom were in a state of undress. Ilana smiled to herself. Husband is… what is word...? Hen-tay? Yuuichi is hen-tay.

The second shelf was stacked full of DVDs and Blu-Rays. The third and fourth shelves contained what Ilana was after, however: Yuuichi's extensive manga collection. She began to flick through the titles on the shelf, looking for one that might contain some kind of romantic gesture she could replicate for Yuuichi upon his return. She felt he would appreciate that.

Murder Book… no. The President is Magical Girl… no. Uhh… I know not what that one say. Or that one. I just skip them. Uhh… no… no… ah. This one look, how you say… promising. Ilana pulled out a thin volume with a cover depicting a pretty cartoon girl in an apron, who appeared to have fallen over while baking a cake and was covered rather suggestively with icing. Again, she couldn't quite decipher the full title, but she could make out the word "Love" in it and that was good enough for her.

Ilana flicked the book open and found herself confronted by a rather explicit drawing. Flicking to the next page, she was confronted by an even more explicit drawing of something that should logically come at the end of such a book, not the beginning. Oh, yes, she remembered suddenly, book is backwards in Japan. Is weird country. Having realized what kind of manga this was, she was half-tempted to close it and find another, cleaner one. However, driven by a strange curiosity and a desire to make Yuuichi happy, she instead opened the manga at the correct page and began to read, her face as scarlet as her hair.

***

When Yuuichi returned home several hours later, he was fairly exhausted. "I'm home," he called out lazily, kicking off his shoes.

"Welcome home~"

Yuuichi looked up and found himself confronted with a scene straight out of one of his explicit manga. Ilana stood before him wearing nothing but an apron, her cheeks rather flushed but a broad smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, pushing out her already substantial chest, which was now separated from Yuuichi by only a few feet of air and a thin strip of fabric. Slowly, her husband's face turned bright red, but Ilana was not done yet.

"Would you like bath first?" she asked sweetly, reciting the lines she had read in the manga and then practiced dozens of times. "Dinner first? Or maybe you want…" She leaned forward, blushing profusely but still managing her best seductive smile. "…me~?"

It was too much for Yuuichi to take. A fountain of blood erupted from his nose with enough force to send him tumbling backwards, albeit with a look of sheer bliss on his face. I have the best wife in the whole world!, he thought to himself blissfully, as he collapsed to the floor.

Day 29

[from Cyborg Team Alpha]

It was almost 4am by the time Gumi was finished. She staggered out of the augmentation theatre into the brightly-lit corridor, letting out a loud yawn. "Finally…" she muttered. "Finally done…"

Ryuto was sat in the corridor, waiting for her. Unlike his companion, he did not look the least bit tired. "You didn't have to stay up all night to finish it, you know," he said.

"You didn't have to stay up all night waiting for me to finish," replied Gumi, rubbing her tired eyes.

"You know I don't have a choice," said Ryuto, adjusting the black hood pulled tight around his head. With the bandana drawn over his mouth, he more closely resembled the gangs he was out to stop than anything else. "So, have you rebooted her?"

Gumi yawned again and nodded. "Yeah… it'll take a few hours for her to regain consciousness, though. I want us t… to all be there when she does…"

Another loud yawn escaped from Gumi's mouth. Ryuto heaved a metallic-sounding sigh. "Go get some sleep, Gumi," he said. "I'll watch over her for now. If she starts to wake up, I'll let you know."

Gumi nodded, let out yet another yawn, then shuffled off towards the dormitory. Ryuto stood up, and entered the room she had just left, the door closing behind him with a pneumatic hiss.

Inside, the augmentation theatre was rather cluttered despite its large size. It was filled with all manner of machinery, electronics, and computers, many of which Ryuto did not know the function of. Several brightly-coloured displays set up around the room showed the status of the figure lying in the white hospital bed, in a clearing in the centre of the room. Only two were of importance to Ryuto. One was the heart rate monitor, which showed that her heart was beating at a slow, steady rate. The other was a touch-screen computer monitor, with a simple message displayed on a pop-up on the screen: "REBOOT COMPLETE".

Ryuto could see nothing of the girl apart from the left side of her face. The right half was swathed in bandages, an oxygen mask concealed beneath them, and the rest of her body was covered by the bedsheets . He did not know what lay beneath, but he knew that it would not be pretty. Judging from the time Gumi and the professor had spend augmenting her, and what he had heard when she had first been brought in, her injuries had been both horrific and extensive, no doubt even more so than his.

For a moment, Ryuto was tempted to pull away the sheets, to unravel the bandages, to see just what had been done to this poor girl and what Gumi had had to fix. Eventually, he decided against it. He did not want to disturb anything, lest he accidentally cause the poor girl any discomfort.

Pulling up a chair, Ryuto sat down by the girl's side and began his quiet vigil. Almost without realizing, he swept back the hood of his jacket and pulled down his bandana. Much of the left side of his face, and his lower jaw, had been replaced by metal plating. Where his left ear had been, there was now a bionic ear with ten times the capability of a normal human ear. This, in a way, was his gift. Not only had he been reborn, he had been enhanced, and now it was his solemn vow to use those enhancements, and the second chance at life he had been given, to protect the country. In a few hours, when she woke up, the girl would find herself perhaps not with the same enhancements as him, but with the same life, the same fate. And unlike him, she would have others like her there to help her come to terms with it. She would not be alone.

As Ryuto spoke, his metallic jaw did not move, creating an eerie effect despite the softness of his words. "Welcome back, Ichiko St-Clare."

Day 14

[from I Watch You Sleeping]

I can't help it. I can't stop thinking about him. Not being with him is driving me crazy. I have to see him. And not just in the corridors, as he walks past. Not just in the cafeteria, staring from afar. I have to be with him. Alone with him, just the two of us. That would be perfect.

I'm not allowed out to go see him. I don't know why. It's like they're trying to keep us apart, even though we're meant to be together. But they can't stop me from seeing him, not if I want to. I can just sneak out at night, once they're asleep. Yeah, that’s what I'll do. I'll sneak out tonight and go see him. Oh, I bet he'll be so delighted to see me outside his window!

I already found his address on Google, so I know where I'm going. I got his number off his Facebook profile, so I can text him when I get there. I should have asked him myself, but I was too shy. I wish I could just speak to him, tell him how I feel… I know I'll find the courage eventually! I'm sure of it!

I get ready for bed as usual, but I don't go to sleep. Even if I tried, I'm far too excited. When my father comes to check on me, I lie down and pretend to be asleep. Even once he goes back to his own room, I remain like that until I hear him start to snore. The coast is clear. Here I come, my love!

Quietly, I slip out of bed, put on a jacket, grab my phone and tiptoe downstairs. I grab a set of keys from the side, and text him to let him know I'm coming. I hope he's still awake. I know he likes gaming, so maybe he's stayed up to play something. I know he likes his PS4~

I unlock the front door, open it, and grab my bike. I leave, wheeling my bike alongside me, then quietly lock back up once I'm outside. My parents will never know; they won't suspect a thing. I get on my bike and cycle off, towards his house.

I dunno how long it takes me to get there, but it doesn't feel very long at all. I'm so excited! I'm finally going to be with him! When I get there, I check my phone and my heart sinks; he hasn't seen my message. He must be asleep. It is almost midnight, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised… but I came all this way to see him and he isn't even awake!

Then I notice that along the front of the house is a support frame for growing plants. Right above it is his bedroom window. The frame looks solid… I think I can climb up there and reach him! I've come so far, I might as well try!

I go to the frame and tug on it. It seems like it'll hold my weight. Slowly, I start to climb up. Sure enough, it holds my weight. It's almost like this was a sign… that I was supposed to do this… that we're supposed to be together. I climb faster. I'm so excited I can barely breathe. He's so close…

Finally I reach the top of the frame, and reach up and grab the window sill. I'm able to pull myself up onto it. The curtains are open. There he is: Kentaro Miyazaki, my beloved. I can see him right through the window. Just as I thought, he's in bed, asleep. He looks so peaceful… so handsome… as much as I want to be here with him tonight, I don't want to wake him up. He looks just perfect like that.

In fact… he looks so perfect… I can't help it. I take out my phone. I point it at the window. I open the camera and take a picture. And then another one. And then another one. I can't help myself. I take so many photos of Kentaro... he looks so perfect in every single one of them, I just can't stop myself…

I don't know how many pictures I take, but after a while I start to get tired. I don't want to leave him, but I know I have to get home. So I put my phone away and climb back down the frame. I get back on my bike and cycle away, feeling giddy. I was with Ken-chan… I was so close to Ken-chan… I could have reached out and touched him… that settles it! I have to tell him! I have to tell him that I love him, that I feel the same way he does about me! I have to do it! And then we can finally be together…~