by Nika

Thank you, Pink Spider, Sei-chan, Malice Maizer, Arashi, winter faLL and
vanilla mint for commenting
*sends little sparkling hearts and x-mas cookies*
Now it continues strange as before.
[And I need a new keyboard before I continue...the o just does not work
every time I touch it *hangs head*]

PART 2



Shinya returns to the small slot and pokes in one last time, before he
closes the skin over it and gives an encouraging nod. Hesitantly Kaoru
kneels before the figure and peeks into the clear face.
"Toshiya-kun?", he asks carefully, voice friendly. The unseeing eyes blink
suddenly and gain focus. The head shoot up and the new member glances
around with wondering but not frightened looks.
Die walks up to him, grabs the passive hand and shakes it: "Welcome to our
band, Toshiya-kun." With more wonder the bassist looks from the joined
hands to the bright welcoming grin.
Kaoru smiles even wider: "I was supposed to say that, but Die is right:
Welcome to our Band."
Kyo bites his lower lip, not sure what to say, preferring to stay in the
safe distance.
The bassist directs an open look at the two men who talk to him so friendly
and remains silent himself. Disappointed and a little helpless Kaoru turned
to the drummer: "Can't he...talk?"
Looking all insecure Shinya studies the bassist, whispering: "Father said,
he could..." He lifts the lovely, man-made face up to his pleading eyes:
"Toshiya..."
The lips move: "Yes?" A small, shy sound.
Relieved smiles spread on the faces of all men, except on Kyo's and of
course on the cyborg's. "Hello, Toshiya-kun," Shinya continues, releasing
the chin in his hand. "I'm Shinya. Do you remember me?"
"Yes", still the hollow sound, as if the voice hadn't been used often.
"You frightened me for a moment, making me think, you had lost your ability
to speak", the drummer gives an encouraging grin and Kaoru takes over, his
face still as blissful as that of any four-year old on Christmas:
"Toshiya-kun, you are the new bassist of our band now." No understanding is
displayed on the empty lines of the pretty face. "You will be our friend
and band-mate. And we will make music together. Isn't that just great?"
Kyo can't shake off the feeling that they are talking to Toshiya like to a
dumb child, when the latter looks more like he doesn't understand the
language.
"Stay here for a moment, while I talk to Kaoru and the others, okay?"
Shinya tells the cyborg, when he still doesn't show much more than
wide-eyed looks.
The drummer huddles his band-mates in the tiny kitchen, sighing: "I guess
he hadn't had a real chance to practice his communication skills. This is
really a problem, I have to tell Father. We have to try, maybe ask him
simple things, like how he is and stuff. That were the standard questions
he had to answer in the lab. And we have to talk in front of him, let him
learn how it is done."
The band-leader frowns: "How will we make music when he doesn't even talk?"
"Don't worry, Kaoru-kun. I've heard him play and he's outstanding. He just
needs practice. So, it's up to you now, Kyo-kun, since you will spend the
most time with him. Talk to him as much as you can, please."
Kyo rolls his eyes: "Sure, leave it to Kyo." Sarcasm drips off every word.
"Let me talk to a wall on two legs, who looks around like a newborn baby.
I'd be more fun to talk to a street-sign."
"Theoretically speaking he is a baby," Shinya explains: "Only five weeks
have passed from the day he was born. Everything he needs to learn to live,
he must learn from us."
"So, we are like his real parents?", Die asks, eyes filled with silent
accusations.
"Sort of, but only for a while. See him as one of those cyber pets. Once
they know what they need to know, they make less fuss than a real animal",
Shinya shrugs.
"Great, we have a cyber-pet bassist," Kyo grumbled, earning a frightening
glare from the band-leader.
"Okay, let's go back and involve him in simple questions", the blue-head
decides, "We'll make him a part of our band. Tomorrow we will start
practicing together and I expect everything to fall into place, understood?"
The other three nod.
So they return to the small room, where the bassist sits, his finger
tracing forms over a piece of paper, lying on the small table. Kyo notices
that it is one of his scribbled he had drawn while they were waiting for
Toshiya. With zealous movements the cyborg follows his lines.
Somehow this picture lets him feel a lump in his throat.
When they all have entered the new band-member looks up, his voice filling
the small room: "Welcome back."
Again the playful smile lightens up in Kaoru's face: "Toshiya-kun. I'm
sorry for earlier. How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you afraid of us?" Kyo asks out of the blue, and much to his own
satisfaction they all twitch. But the cyborg does not. He just tilts his
head, as if he is pondering the question, after a few thoughtful seconds he
states: "I don't know."
"How dare you, Kyo-kun?", Kaoru snarls into the ear of the small blond. The
singer shakes his head: "I would be afraid of us", he whispers back,
"Afraid of our fake smiles and our insecure over-eagerness."
In the meanwhile Die has gathered a little courage and takes a seat beside
Toshiya, big, Die-like smile plastering his face all the time: "Can you
smile, too?"
"Can I smile?" The newborn is without a clue.
"Yeah, like me...", presenting another one of those grins, driving his
friends mad sometimes. Toshiya mimics the facial expression perfectly, but
it still seems without real aim. Die none the less appears to be satisfied,
nodding: "Great, you look sweet like that. Just watch at what opportunities
we use it, okay? And try doing it on your own then."
"Understood", the man-made bassist takes the task into his programs.
"And listen to how we talk, okay? Don't always say: 'Understood', you sound
like a nerd. Try: 'Okay' instead, ne? Lighten up a bit, Toshiya-kun."
"O...okay", the student tries and earns a friendly pat on the shoulder:
"Much better. I'm Die by the way, second guitarist."
The man beside him rises, bows: "Very pleased to make your acquaintance,
Die-san," he answers very properly. Die snorts amused and shakes his head.
"No need for such formalities", Kaoru tells the man with the innocent eyes,
"We are friends and that means we are close enough to be more relaxed."
"I will remember that, Kaoru-san." The bassist bows, then halts in the
middle of the gesture and straightens, obviously totally confused. Watching
that, Kyo frowns, his eyes shooting arrows at Kaoru.
"Can't you see that you confuse him even more?", he growls. Positioning
himself in front of Toshiya the holds up his hands: "It's been a long day
for all of us. Maybe you should go now? Toshiya and me will be at practice
tomorrow, then we can sort out some of the music, ne?"
Kaoru agrees: "A good idea, Kyo-kun. Toshiya-kun, please take a little time
to get accustomed with your new surroundings, Kyo will show you everything
I think...", trailing off since he's not too sure according to Kyo's
disapproving words earlier. "Sleep well, Toshiya-kun."
The others repeat the last phrase and Toshiya answers with polite 'Sleep
well's of his own, bowing a little.
Shinya tugs at Kyo's shirt and draws him in a corner: "Remember, he will
follow commands, he will do whatever you say, Kyo-kun. It's part of the
basic pattern, you see? If there are any serious technical or program
problems, call this number." A small white card with no name, just a number
on it is handed to Kyo, who looks at it with a frown: "Serious problems?"
A scene unfolds in his head: Him sleeping soundly while a 'serious' problem
occurs in Toshiya's program, making him grab a kitchen knife and rip open
Kyo's chest down to the groin.
"Cool...", the singer whispers and is scared yet.
"You aren't listening, Kyo-kun!", Shinya rightfully complains, whacking the
smaller man softly and then sighs: "See you tomorrow then."
The men leave the small room, accompanied by Kyo, who sees them to the door.
"I hope he will be easier to handle in advanced mode", Kaoru muses and
disappointment shines in his voice like a glittering diamond. So much for a
fascinating easy-to-handle toy.
"Man, Kaoru. Be patient, we've just met him and he is still shy, just like
a real new band-member. It will get better, it already has", Die is as
optimistic as ever, due to his good-nature ready to stand in for the
band-leader at any time, but still courageous enough to show Kaoru into his
borders.
"Father will make a first inspection in one week, then he will decide if
Toshiya is ready for the advanced mode"; Shinya is as objective as one can
get, always sticking to facts and affirmations.
They leave discussing on and together with them their voices disappear,
their presences vanish.
And suddenly Kyo is all alone in his apartment.
All alone with a man-machine.



to be continued 

back to deg fics pg 3