Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Psyborg (n.): Psychologically available artificial intelligence. These machines can act on behalf of their owner, from doing highly intelligent tasks to the most mundane communications. Is mostly used by people of the upper class and upper middle class as they can cost quite a bit to gain and maintain.

The year, 2500.

The man, Uki Violeta. And his newly acquired Psyborg who was bought for a rather cheap price, fitting for his new owner who was merely a young man of lower middle class.

“Activation, on.”

Uki could not believe just yesterday, he was still sleeping all on his own, but he’d already gotten himself a new roommate today. Staying up for the entirety of last night, he could barely get any sleep from the excitement of hopping on the latest technology trend, even if his Psyborg was bought from a not-so-well known company for only $300. It was a rather sketchy scheme, but the deal was so tempting to Uki. After all, who wouldn’t want to gain a Psyborg with such a price? Eventually, he had to agree. And we’re back again at square one.

The Psyborg was yet to speak. Oh, right, I need to give him instructions and a name first, thought Uki. The imprinting process was the key factor to the relationship between a Psyborg and their owner, or master as people preferred the term. He was an extremely handsome model as well. Uki couldn’t help but feel proud of himself for being able to get such a handsome Psyborg. Silver hair, lightning-grey eyes that were as striking as that of a hawk, and an overall beautiful facial structure. If one gets a meat cleaver, they could have his face in equal halves. If Thanatos were to reincarnate as a Psyborg, he might have been just as hot as this hunk. The purple-haired young man stared closely at the eyes of the Psyborg. Such beautiful eyes, with purple and gold accents.

“I will name you…”

“Fulgur Ovid.” A deep, husky voice with a dark and rich timber resonated. Uki almost jumped upon hearing the Psyborg’s voice.

“Wh-what?”

“Fulgur Ovid. Fulgur Ovid. Fulgur Ovid.” The Psyborg continued to repeat over and over. It was starting to become nerve-wracking to Uki, as he tried to find a way to stop the malfunctioning of the machine.

Silence. Nervously, Uki tried to turn his Psyborg up again. He still had the warranty, and he would return it to the company he bought it from immediately if this thing acted up once again.

Or should he? After all, it would be a waste of his hard-earned money. There was no place for doubt now. He gotta restart that Psyborg for realsies.

“Activation, on.”

The Psyborg opened his eyes the second time. Unlike last time, Uki waited for a few minutes before finally naming him. If the Psyborg wanted to have the name “Fulgur Ovid”, then he was naming him exactly that. Though he did not fully know the meaning behind this name, he did not want to call the Psyborg by something he did not deliberately choose from the beginning.

“Um… Ful… Fulgur Ovid.”

“Fulgur Ovid.” The Psyborg nodded. “Memorization is completed. I hereby swear my loyalty for you, master.”

“Yeah, no need for such honorifics…” It made him uncomfortable. “Just “Uki” is fine. My name is Uki Violeta, so…”

“Uki.”

Upon hearing his name through the Psyborg’s voice, Uki unintentionally let out a soft chuckle. From now on, he might have to get used to hearing his name being called when he’s at home, but the young lad was perfectly fine with it. Though he had been alone for most of his adult life, he pretty much yearned for company nowadays.

“Now, let me give you a house tour first. Since you’re going to live with me from now on, you gotta know what your new home looks like, no?”

Uki’s house was once a coffee shop, but with the help of a friend he managed to buy it at a low price and renovated it partially. It was spacious enough to actually house four people.

“So that room was my bedroom, as you might have already guessed… Oh, this one here is where I store my witchcraft and astrology stuff. Don’t touch them unless I specifically told you to, okay?”

The Psyborg nodded. They soon made their way to the living room, the toilets, and the other bedroom which Uki had cleaned beforehand just for the Psyborg to stay in (though Fulgur insisted he would be staying in the same room as Uki to protect him at night). He thought it was odd, but understanding the Psyborg’s concern, he reluctantly agreed.

The next morning, when Uki got up for work, Fulgur had already chosen his clothes for him, turned up the bath and made breakfast. Seeing how convenient a Psyborg could be, Uki wished he'd started saving money earlier to get a Psyborg sooner. The deal was way too good to be true, yet now a Psyborg was moving and working right in front of him.

"Did you sleep well, Uki?"

“I did, yes! Uhm… Can you go to the garage to check if my bike’s fuel is empty or not? I’d appreciate it.

And the Psyborg did as he was told. It wasn’t long until he returned to Uki, much to his surprise:

“There’s still three quarters of petrol left. Shall I refill it for you, Uki?”

“No thanks. You can… rest now, Fulgur.”

“Is there anything else that you need from me?”

Uki knew he had full control over what he bought, but somehow he still felt bad whenever he had to give the Psyborg new orders. It felt weird for a first time master, but from the videos he’d watched to prepare himself mentally, he would soon get used to these kinds of things.

"I'm home!" The next day went on as usual. Uki did not want his Psyborg to just stare at him the whole time he had to change and get ready for work, so he temporarily disabled him for the night, only turning him on as soon as he got to work.

“Stay home and watch over the house for me, okay? I’ll be back soon. Bye!”

“Goodbye Uki.”

******

"Welcome home. Do you want me to fix you a snack?"

“I… do, yes.”

“Great! Because I’ve already made one. Here, have some onigiri. I made it with the ingredients I could find in the fridge.”

Owning a Psyborg was a one-of-a-kind experience, but it was also astounding to Uki. No matter how much research he’d done on Psyborgs, he couldn’t quite get a grasp on his. From the way that he forcefully named himself when Uki first turned him on, to the way he interacted and showed his big personality to his master was very much something that the purple-haired young man had never seen before. Uki decided, if he wanted to get his Psyborg to know him better and be more involved in his life, he should first introduce him to his favourite forms of entertainment. After all, art connects people.

“Fulgur… have you ever read anything in your life?”

“I believe I had, however everything was all but faint memories recorded in my drive.”

"Then, uh… why don't you and I get to know each other with books? Is that alright?"

"Sounds fun! What kind of books do you read, Uki?"

As if he was only waiting for that question, Uki immediately opened his ebook app and projected his ebookshelf on screen. There were all kinds of novels, novellas and manga as well, but they all have one thing in common - the covers all depict, or at least suggest, some kind of loving relationship between two men. Some were more toned, more soft, but some were wild enough to have their titles being something along the lines of "Cock battle peninsula".

"So here we have "Summer rain, your memories and I", "Four letter idiom", "Kachoufugetsu", "Classmates"..."

"May I ask what these are? They seem pretty interesting…"

"These are called BL, short for boy's love. They're romances that center around men loving each other, as the genre's name suggested."

Fulgur didn't seem shocked by this discovery. Rather, his eyes suggested an intriguement.

"Love between two men, huh… that sounds rather endearing."

"Right? You can get all kinds of genres in these tales. I prefer stories that are on the softer side, so I bought these. But when you've discovered them enough, I think you'll soon find your preference, Fulgur. Then, we can share one bookshelf."

"Mmhmm, yeah… Thanks Uki! I'll check them out right away."

Uki thought he just said that because it was a Psyborg's job to get to know their owner better to serve them better. The next morning, when Uki woke up, he was surprised to see Fulgur already awake with his glasses still on.

"Fulgur, are you oka… oh my god!"

Fulgur's eyes were evidently red from crying, his face stained with tear marks.

"Uki… g-good morning. You're already up?"

"I… uh, yeah. Did you even get any sleep last night?"

"I did not. I was up all night reading about Saijou and Midorikawa's story all night… then I wanted to read some more because the angst was so good…"

"So you just… binged through my entire BL collection? Throughout the entire night?"

"I can't help it! BL is so good… it opened my eyes to so many things. Some of them are even relatable!"

Uki could totally understand his Psyborg's feelings. He, too, was the same when he was first introduced to the fascinating world of BL. There were all kinds of compelling characters, all types of intriguing romances to discover. For days, the only thing he could think about was to go back to the comfort of his home and read BL all day. Though he'd gotten over that phase for quite a while, watching Fulgur reminded him of his past self and it made him feel like this artificial intelligence instrument was more adorable than he was supposed to be.

“Well, for now… why don’t you go out and do the shopping for me? Just buy whatever you feel like you wanna buy.” Uki gave Fulgur his command as he transferred some money to Fulgur’s wallet app.

“$100 has been transferred to your wallet.”

“That’s a lot. Are you sure you want me to hold on to this much money, Uki?”

“It’s okay. Go ahead.”

“And buy anything… Do you mean I can buy anything I want?”

“Yeah, anything. You can check the fridge to see if we need stuff…”

Fulgur’s face lit up. Happily, he left the house and headed to the commissary with the map app already shown in his mind. From the window of the second floor, Uki watched like a parent looking over their child’s first errand.

About two hours later, Fulgur returned with two eco bags full of groceries. With his hands being so full, it was understandable that he couldn’t get inside the house on his own. Rushing to open the door for him, Uki wanted to commend him on his ability to buy so many things with just $100 - and he didn’t even use all of them.

“You bought ramen, chicken, even beef brisket and some veggies… fresh fruits too. Oh, even some alcohol? How did you manage to get all of these?”

“I have some tricks up my sleeve. What would you like for dinner tonight?”

“I want to eat a hearty meal… You know, some comfort food. Something meaty and cheesy sounds great.”

“Perfect. Do you wanna get upstairs and take a shower as I cook?”

Uki hesitated. He wanted to be surprised by the Psyborg’s cooking, but part of him wanted to help with the cooking. In the end, he gave in and went upstairs for the shower while Fulgur had the kitchen all to himself. By the time Uki walked out of the shower, hair dripping wet and smelled of conditioner, Fulgur had already plated everything up. It was a nice plate of cheesy garlic bread bomb, with a little bit of bacon sprinkled on top.

“If I had more time, I would have make some phở for you. Too bad the broth actually needs to simmer at a great amount of time for the flavors to come out, so it’s better if we eat it for tomorrow morning. I’ll prepare it tonight.”

“Did they… program your ability to cook?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I’m… not so sure about it. I think cooking ability differs from Psyborg to Psyborg, no one is ever the same.”

“Oh, I’m kinda thirsty…”

“Wait here, I’ll make something for you.”

Uki’s patience eventually paid off, but not in the way he was expecting. Fulgur came out of the kitchen with a glass with a liquid that smelled of alcohol and had a violet hue to it.

“It’s Aviation, but I’ve put a twist on it.”

“A twist?”

When Uki asked Fulgur to go shopping for him without a shopping list, he certainly didn’t expect Fulgur would buy alcohol at all. There certainly are lots of unexpected things from this Psyborg, thought Uki. Though he wondered just how much he hid behind that exterior of an unbreakable Psyborg. As he took a sip of the alcoholic drink, Uki's eyes widened. He knew it was Aviation from the signature purple hue of the crème de violette, but the taste had an exciting difference to it. It could probably be due to the fact that it's been quite a while since he'd last enjoyed a glass of Aviation, but it was undeniable that Fulgur's mixing skills were great. Fulgur had gotten himself a glass too, as he settled down next to his owner, looking ready to spend the night with some good cocktail.

“Where did you learn to make this, Fuufuuchan? Was it also something programmed in you?”

“I don’t know. I guess I used to do this before, somehow.”

Ah, probably for his owner. Or he used to work as a bartender?

Uki tried not to think too much of it. Some things are best kept a secret. All he needed to know for the moment was the great taste of this Aviation cocktail. He wished there had been a phonograph that played soft music, and the feeling of sitting in a New York bar in the 20s would be completed. Turning to Fulgur, he ordered:

"Fulgur, can you put on some jazz bar music for us?"

"Yeah, sure, give me a sec… There we go." The soft music even had a radio-like effect that enabled everyone in the room to feel like they were reliving the Golden Age of jazz, drinking enough to feel loosey goosey enough for some riveting conversations. Uki was enjoying every moment of it. He really thought everything in his life was going smoothly with Fulgur being his company, until one day, when a face he had not seen for a while showed up at his doorsteps.

Chapter Text

After a few weeks together, Uki had finally gotten used to Fulgur’s presence. The Psyborg was like a housewife - a battle housewife. His ability to fight has never failed to surprise Uki. One time, as they went out, a robber snatched Uki’s charger as he was paying for stuff in the grocery store. Unfortunately for him, Fulgur was standing right beside his owner. Before Uki could notice what had happened to his belongings, Fulgur had already immediately landed a kick to the robber’s head with great precision and strength. Moreover, he did an amazing job keeping the robber down until the force came. And thus, Uki soon placed his trust completely in the Psyborg.

As they slowly warmed up to each other, Uki gave Fulgur a nickname - Fuufuuchan.

“Fuufuuchan!”

The first time Uki called him like that, Fulgur didn’t respond, due to him thinking that Uki was just calling someone else. But when Uki directly sat opposite him, mouthing “Fuu-fuu-chan”, it became ingrained into his hardware.

It wasn't long until Fulgur's first communication task as a Psyborg began. Over a week after Uki and him started living together, some unexpected visitors showed up at the Violeta house.

“I’ll get the door.” Even before Uki could get up, he could already hear Fulgur’s footsteps echoing downstairs. Still, he followed the Psyborg to see who the visitor was. A bright, almost brashy voice made its way into the house:

“I’m Uki’s friend! You must be…”

“Sonny?” Upon meeting face-to-face with his visitor, Uki was taken aback. A bright lad with blonde hair that was just as bright as the sun, wearing a full-body patrol sergeant suit, waved at Uki over Fulgur’s shoulder.

“Uki, hey! Can… Can I come in?”

“Sure! Fuufuuchan, open the door for him please. He’s a close friend of mine.”

“Please excuse me.” Sonny waltzed right in, as if this was his own house. Another boy with chestnut hair came after him. He was, actually, no boy - like Fulgur, he was a Psyborg. Proudly, the officer introduced his newly acquired Psyborg to Uki:

“With the money I’ve saved up for a whole year, I was able to buy a Psyborg! Say hello to Alban. Alban, I’d like you to meet my longtime friend Uki.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Alban extended an arm and gleefully grabbed Uki’s hand. In Uki’s opinion, the Psyborg resembled a cat more than a human with his small and slim stature. It wasn’t just that though - his triangular hairclip-like antennas and a tail-like accessory peeking from the back of his coat added to the feline features. It was peculiar of Sonny to buy such a Psyborg, and thus Uki was rather curious. Still, his thoughts remained far away from his mouth.

“Hello there, Alban. Let’s get you two nice and cozy.”

“I saw that you’ve gotten yourself a Psyborg. That’s pretty sick!” Sonny exclaimed.

“My name is Fulgur Ovid, and I’m an archivist. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. This is Alban, my Psyborg.”

“Hi!” As Sonny introduced him to Fulgur, Alban confidently strode up to the Psyborg and grabbed his hand. Merrily, Uki’s Psyborg did the same and merrily greeted the duo. Leading them into their living room, Fulgur looked quite happy to receive visitors.

Surprisingly, Alban was a very cheery child. The first thing he did as he made himself comfortable on the couch in Uki and Fulgur's home was to lean in and snuggle with the other Psyborg. At first, Fulgur was not going to give in that easily, but Alban's cuteness had overtaken his reservedness. As if they were only waiting for this opportunity, their owners switched to their camera tool to take bursts of pictures right away. As for Fulgur and Alban, although this was their first meeting, both have sensed an unspoken and inexplicable familiarity between themselves.

“Awawawawa!”

“Aaaah, Alban!” Sonny cried. Uki found his heart beating faster than ever. Both were like fanboys enthusiastically swooning over their cute idols.

“Hey, Fulgur? Lean in, I wanna tell you something.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“You stink of old people's smell.”

“What’s the big idea?! You were the one who leaned in to cuddle with me!”

“I changed my mind, okay?!”

“Come here, you little shit!”

Seeing his Psyborg being able to socialize and having the time of his life put a smile on Sonny’s face. But the color on Sonny's face changed upon closer inspection of Fulgur. Scooting himself closer to the Psyborgs, he could see the faint marks of Valve, the company that, from files that he’d seen in his time working as an office worker for VSF, had liquidated.

"Ey, Sonny, what's wrong?" It was so obvious that even Fulgur could detect his uneasiness.

“Ah, sorry, um… Uki, can I have a word with you?”

“Yeah sure, what is it?”

“You two stay here and be nice to each other, okay? I need to talk with Uki.”

“Okay.”

As the Psyborgs were left to be on their own in the living room to scratch and scream at each others like five year olds, Sonny pulled Uki to a corner, his face showing obvious concern:

“Uki, where did you get that Psyborg?”

“From the Cysys Advanced Biotech company.”

“The what?”

“You’ve never heard of that before?”

“Nuh uh. That sounds extremely sketchy… How did they find you? What did they say when they sold you that Psyborg? Did it come with a warranty?”

“I… yeah, they did. I can get it for you if you want to, but what does it have to do with me, Sonny? Why are you suddenly questioning me like I was convicted of murder?”

“You don’t know how big of a mess you’ve gotten yourself into, Uki…” Sonny sighed. “This one right here probably has the insignia of a very famous tech wizard… and what's more, if my information was correct, you can get tangled into a big legal mess just for owning him."

“You mean I have to give him up?”

“Not just about giving him up! You even risk going to jail if things go south!”

“J-jail?” Uki’s blood froze upon hearing the word “jail”."I don't want to go to jail! Sonny, what should I do?"

“I will help you cover up in case inspections or raids were to happen. However, I cannot be 100% sure about VSF’s operations so it's best that you yourself are careful about everything.”

“Sonny…”

“What is it?”

“Thank you very much.” Uki wanted to say so much more, but he couldn’t. Something was holding onto his vocal chords.

“Yeah. Stay safe, and don’t go out looking for trouble. You save me a lot just by doing that.”

As he gave his best friend one final hug, Uki saw him off. He noticed Sonny seemed happier than he did before as he walked, hand in hand with Alban. Uki could even hear their little discussion about dinner, which reminded him of his own home with Fulgur. As the Pysborg called out, his voice warm like a heated blanket on a winter’s day, Uki was pulled back inside for a delicious meal by the heating system.

*****

Finally, when all work was done for the day, Uki spent the remaining hours to pamper himself a little bit. Getting his face mask ready after his cleanser, toner and eye cream, the young man was spending a rather long time in the bedroom.

"You're not heading to bed yet?" Fulgur asked.

"Not quite. I gotta skincare first… But it’s almost done! I can teach you how to do skincare some time later.”

"Tell me whenever you feel ready. I'm reading this book."

"A new BL?" Uki's voice reverberated from the bathroom.

"Yeah. I've been hooked on this one. Take your time, Uki."

Uki did not want to rush, either. Rather, he wanted to pull a little prank on his Psyborg. With the face mask already sticking onto his handsome face and his hair all pushed backwards by a bandana, the lad walked outside to face his Psyborg.

"Oh my god! What the heck, you scared me!" Fulgur almost dropped his tablet upon seeing his owner’s face.

"Relax, it's just my mask. I'm beautifying, can't you see?"

"Damn, you really are incredible. I can’t keep up with this nightly routine…”

After thirty minutes, Uki was finally done with his beauty routine. As he once said to Fulgur, beauty is pain, but it was worth every bit.

“Goodnight, Uki.”

“Nighty night, Fuufuuchan. Can you give me a kiss on the cheek?”

“Alright, just one kiss.”

Back at Sonny and Alban’s apartment, the pair was preparing dinner for each other. Sonny made the main course, while Alban prepared the side dish. Working together like a team, the VSF officer felt like it saved him lots of time, thus making him more enthusiastic in cooking and eating. Back when he lived alone, he just found it a bit too disheartening whenever he accidentally made too much food and had to go knocking on his neighbors' doors to give them away.

“Do you think he’s gonna come home tonight, Alban?” There were only two who sat at the dining table, but three chairs were available - the seat next to Alban was empty, and this wasn't even the first time it's been like that.

“I don’t know… he’s been outside so much lately. I did ask him if he’d been eating properly too, but he just kept sending me stickers like this.”

As Alban showed his phone to Sonny, a moving sticker with a husky showed up.

“Hmm. I wanna make some strawberry cupcakes for him, but nowadays he’s rarely home…”

“He’s probably busy. I think we’ll see his face at home soon, no?”

“Yeah… even so, he’s just like a cat who never stays in one place for a long time.”

“What do you mean? I’m the cat, he’s the dog!”

“Ehehe, alright alright. You’re the kitty.”

Just like that, Alban hugged Sonny, wagging his power-cord-tail-thingy like a cat rubbing himself onto his owner. Sonny grinned, ruffling his Psyborg's hair before he himself returned the cuddle.

“Alban… promise me you won’t stray away from our house without my permission, okay?”

“Okey…”

“Good boy. I know you’re a good child.”

Of course Alban was a good child. Alban had to be a good child. Were it not for Sonny, he would have been in pieces, scattered in a garbage dump somewhere.

******

In an unlit room of a famous club, stood a young man who was doing some regular check-ups on his wristband. While doing his job, a high, whistling tune was being hummed. It was "Paranoia", a song by Ike Eveland - the famous vocalist whom he befriended a while ago. Being presented as a talent under the wings of Akuma Production, the man soon gained immense popularity, becoming one of the biggest names in the entertainment scene and quickly rose to stardom. The man at the club - whose face, although being half hidden in the shadows, could still be made out to be one of the most stunning faces one had ever seen - was able to entice said Ike and struck up a conversation with him. Now, he lives in the shadows, producing songs for Ike and signing contracts as a ghostwriter while still managing to gain quite a crowd of followers from his night club.

As the musician and the vocalist managed to keep quite a good conversation, with both being extremely passionate on the topic of music, they had promised to meet up for many occasions, some even as mundane as a drink at a speakeasy. The musician was hoping to meet up again with the vocalist soon someday, since they’ve barely gotten the time to hang out.

A sudden ‘ting’ came up. “You received a message” - an artificial voice announced, and the musician picked up his phone immediately.

“Nekochan: Hey, are you coming home today?
You: (replied) Probably
You: I miss you LOL
You: But after the show, kay
Nekochan: Great then please do
Nekochan: Sonny would be mad if we keep having leftovers
You: What’s for dinner?
Nekochan: Curry”

With the development of texting and social media technology, even little stickers can successfully convey the feelings of its user. The sound of droplets hitting against the glass window almost startled the young chap. Pausing for a bit, he stared at the outdoor scenery, now dyed in a saddening grey shade.

“Ah… it rained! Okey, I know what to do for a new song now! This is gonna be fun, fun, fun!”

Now changing his humming to a melody with more pauses and random notes being played around, the man’s face beamed. Outside the club, there were flyers drifting through the wind. One was caught by a mechanical hand painted in a shade of cherry red, with its joints being the only parts that were black.

Chapter Text

"Uki Uki, wakey wakey!"

As Fulgur pulled the curtains aside for the risen sun to enter the room, Uki tossed and turned a little bit out of discontentment. Although this was better than being woken up by an ear-wracking alarm, a night person like Uki could not get used to waking up at 7 no matter how many times he’d done it.

“Uki?”

“Fuufuuchan…” He would always call the Psyborg's nickname in the sleepiest, groggiest voice he could possibly muster. But Fulgur was not the type to give in to his master’s cuteness. Serious as ever, he grabbed Uki and get him to stand straight up:

"Get up sleepyhead. Breakfast's ready, do you wanna eat it before you head to the bathroom or after?"

"After… please…"

"Alright, then off to the kitchen we go. I'll walk you there."

Uki's breakfasts could change depending on Fulgur's plans, but one thing that stayed was a cup of black coffee at a "just right" temperature - Uki's favorite drink. It never, and mustn't be, decaf. Sometimes, when he felt like it, Uki would open the daily newspaper app implanted in the chip on his wristband before going to work. Then he’ll leave the house for work on his motorcycle while Fulgur cleaned up and did all the house chores that included preparing a warm, hot homemade meal as he waited for Uki to come back. Though, occasionally Uki himself would text Fulgur, saying that he wanted to eat out so there was no need for the Psyborg to cook.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong, Uki?” Fulgur asked as he set the plates down for him and his owner.

“I’ve seen many critics praising this brand new 4 dimension film, but I don’t know if we should see it…”

“At the movie theatre?”

“Cinema.”

“Ah, yeah… Do you wanna watch it? I can make a booking if you want to.”

“Of course. But I gotta go to work now, bye Fuu-chan! Look after the house for me, I’m expecting a delivery today.”

“Alright, I’ll stamp it for you!”

*****

The movie was thrilling, but there were a bit too many rated R scenes. Uki didn’t budge, even when Fulgur almost let his voice out whenever a jumpscare happened. Sometimes, Uki would use that chance to hold hands with Fulgur, being as slick as he possibly could. However, there was one scene in the movie that had Uki’s heart beat a bit faster than it was supposed to.

“Why was I given this name? Am I free to change it?”

“You are. It is impossible to have complete freedom in this world, so please do whatever you think fits your preference.”

The purple-haired young man turned to Fulgur to see his reaction, but nothing in particular happened. The Psyborg just seemed absorbed into the scene, watching every movement on the actor’s facial muscles. Fulgur's endless curiosity reminded Uki of the character Tarzan from a movie he’d watched from a long time ago. It was fascinating, how people from centuries ago could possibly produce movies that future generations can all pick up something that they related to. In this case, Uki thought about the relation between his relationship with Fulgur, compared to that of Jane and Tarzan.

Other than that… Fulgur’s name still remained a mystery to Uki, although in the imprinting process, it was registered that Uki gave him that name himself. If Uki recalled it correctly, all Psyborgs come with an autodelete process which granted their owner a Psyborg with the mind similar to that of a newborn.

"Ooh, it's finally over… yikes." Stretching like a cat, Uki yawned. Waiting for the after credits took forever. "Let's go home, Fuufuuchan."

"Alright. Do you wanna buy some snacks on our way home?"

"I'll decide."

Walking side by side with Fulgur, Uki hummed a quiet tone. The Psyborg didn’t realize what it was, until his owner finally reached the chorus:

“It’s the movie’s theme song! How did you remember it so well?”

“I just like it that much, that’s all… It indeed was a great song. I wonder what’s the name of it?”

“Of the soundtrack?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you hum it to me one more time?”

Once again, the song came out from Uki’s throat, softly. This was Fulgur’s first time listening to his owner singing, but he knew Uki had one of the most beautiful voices he’d ever heard in his life.

“Well, I know what this is…” After searching the melody up online, Fulgur managed to find just the song and the singer behind it. “Composed by Petra Gurin, sung by Enna Alouette - famous vocalist under the management of Ethyria. Born in 2476, signed her contract with…”

“Enna? That Enna Alouette? No wonder it sounds so familiar.”

“Is there a second Enna Alouette? But that name seems far too unique to have someone of the same name…”

“No, there’s only one in this world. Wow, I can’t believe… Vox Akuma himself made a cameo in the movie, and Enna Alouette came out after years of hiatus to sing the theme song?"

"You sure know a lot about the entertainment industry."

"They're big names, of course I have to know. You’ll get to know them soon, Fuufuuchan. That’s a promise.”

Fulgur made a sudden stop in his tracks. Uki didn't realize it, until he spotted a donut truck and wanted to buy some for him and his Psyborg, just to turn around and find that he was no longer walking next to him.

"Fuufuuchan? Fuufuuchan?"

No response. It was like the Pysborg had vanished into thin air. Uki decided to dial his Psyborg with his wristband. From the other side, Fulgur’s voice came up:

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“Ah… are we lost?”

“We are! Give me your location, I’ll come to y…”

"Oh wait, I see you. Gimme a sec, let me walk to you." Fulgur was faster than Uki could say “cheese”.

"What were you looking at?" Uki asked when he’d finally got Fulgur’s hand back in his.

"A billboard featuring some tall dude with blonde hair and a dorky smile. But most important of all, he has a really large… chest. Like, crazy large pecs."

"I get it, you don't have to repeat yourself… that's probably Luca, Luca Kaneshiro. Man, I love him."

“Who?”

“You don’t know him?”

It was understandable why Uki was taken aback upon hearing Fulgur’s unawareness of Luca Kaneshiro. After all, he was a big name in the city. Being the mayor’s son himself, he’d had the silver spoon in his mouth ever since day one. Women and men would be infatuated with him not only for his looks but also for the way he treated everyone around him. Even though he owned many Psyborgs, people saw him directly conversing and communicating with others on a daily basis. As he worded it himself, he disliked having his thoughts and feelings being transmitted through artificial intelligence.

“I mean, isn’t it extremely pog to be able to talk to everyone without the need to rely on a piece of hardware all the time? I love interacting directly with y’all!”

It was a great mindset, especially for people of the anti-tech party. Everyone simply admired Luca Kaneshiro. Uki too, was a big fan of Luca. Sonny, however, was not entirely fond of that young man. When asked why, he never gave out a true answer and would immediately change the subject on a whim, therefore Uki had stopped mentioning Luca altogether in their conversations.

Sonny’s personal investigation had eventually led him to something he was suspecting all along. The company which Uki had bought Fulgur from - Cysys Advanced Biotech - was no ordinary entrepreneur tech company. It was a branch of Staugusa, a network of cybersecurity production which belonged to la famiglia Kaneshiro.

*****

Abandoned in a warehouse at the far west side of the city was a Psyborg given the name “Legatus”. Being part of the battle Psyborgs program, Legatus was trained to fight after his creation. Being fed with only information of highest quality, programmed and trained with only the best techniques, he carried the ambitions of people who wanted. But the project was abandoned when the cult was disbanded, after its leader got arrested. The entire battle Psyborg brand was modeled after Fulgur Ovid, the one who set the recipe for a “perfect household Psyborg”. A little twist here, a little body modification there, and the harmless household Psyborg could turn into a cold, mindless killing machine.

But Legatus had a malfunction. Created in a laboratory by irresponsible scientists without any regard for safety hazards then abandoned once his project was supposed to be liquidated, the Psyborg was accidentally activated again by an unsuspecting warehouse worker, who died of a heart attack upon looking at Legatus’s eyes.

“Hello?”

As Legatus’s speechbox was activated, he engaged in one of humanity’s most highly regarded activity, and essentially what pushed the human race forward - language, even if he didn’t had anyone to talk to. The knowledge that he had all sorts of power at his birth took over him like waves crashing over his head.

He needed to find someone who he could apply his previous knowledge to. What would be better fitting than society? His programming had had "preferences" being defined in order to serve his analytical skills better, which made him rather curious about love. There should be someone out there who could love him. With a fresh heart full of hope, the Psyborg went on his adventure to look for the meaning of his life.

*****

In the house of Vox Akuma, the Psyborg in glasses approached his master, the voice demon. With a crisp and warm voice, he could easily seduce and persuade anyone, except for his very own Psyborg. But why of course - if he kept someone who would do everything as obedient as a dog to its owner, what was the thrill in that? Surely, he was not very fond of such a boring and tasteless chemistry between a master and his servant. The man found beauty, rather, in imperfect things.

"Ike, my boy. Are you there? Can I see you? "

“You called?” Ike was already standing behind Vox as he replied, startling the latter. Though this wasn’t the first time he did it, Vox could never get used to his Psyborg’s sudden and quiet entrance.

"Ah yes. I just wanted you to confirm my schedule before we start a new work week. I just wanna make sure everything is on point."

The Psyborg complied, showing his master the schedule being laid out and marked from the projection in his glasses. Everything was already in check. Nodding, the heir of the Akuma corporation memorized everything into his busy head before signaling for Ike to turn off the projection.

"Thank you. Can I have a kiss from you now?"

"No. For the record, this is going to be our 592nd time of this kiss-and-decline thing."

"So… no goodbye kiss for daddy?"

"Certainly… not." Ike’s voice sounded as if his speech box was being covered by something. The Psyborg’s stance also became unnatural, as he stammered and almost fell even when there was no force hitting him.

“Ike?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just…I’m… I…” Ike staggered for a little bit, before eventually losing his balance and collapsed to the ground, hitting his head and almost breaking a part of his skin open.

“Ike? Ike! Wake up, Ike!” Vox’s cries echoed in the empty house.

Chapter Text

Another close friend of Uki - Yugo Asuma the DJ - had always been against the idea of acquiring a Psyborg. It was understandable for him to almost spit the strawberry milkshake out as Uki announced his exciting news. Exciting, that is, on Uki’s side only.

“I can’t believe now YOU are owning a Psyborg too, man! What’s wrong with man-to-man communication?” Shocked at his friend's announcement, Yugo almost shouted.

“Yugo, we’re in public.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“But it’s really convenient. I can ask him to do all sorts of stuff for me, including house chores. Don’t you find it tiring to work on everything on your own?”

“I mean… yeah, it is a hassle, but I’m not going to let you persuade me to get a Psyborg that easily! Besides, I'm…"

"Hm?"

"No, nothing. Go on."

“I’m not persuading you, I’m just stating facts. With your financial ability, it should be easy for you to get some company…. But, enough of these Psyborg talks. How are you these days?”

“Pretty… fine, I guess? Yeah, yeah, I’m going by just fine. I’m perfecting my DJ skills day by day so sometimes I go to other clubs too. Made some new friends here and there…”

"Awww, Yugo's making friends!" Uki remembered the first time he met Yugo. It was hard to believe that when they first met, the young DJ was rather shy and not very talkative. But over time, as he slowly blended into the city life, Yugo started to show his colours - and they were beautiful. Though he can be quite stubborn, hot headed and air headed at the same time, Yugo was a genuinely good child who just happened to function differently, leading him to attract all kinds of trouble.

“Can I go to your club sometimes? I might introduce you to my Psyborg.”

Yugo seemed troubled as his finger stopped playing with the straw in the milkshake cup. “Is he…”

“Nah, he’s a chill dude. Kinda odd sometimes but he makes the best drinks. I think you guys might even get along well.”

“That sounds like a lofty promise. Alright, bring him to my club. The address is….”

A few nights later, Uki decided Fulgur and Yugo really should meet up after he had told Fulgur so many things about the DJ and got the approval from the Psyborg himself. Fulgur did not have any intention to turn the guy into a Psyborg-liking dude either, to him Yugo just seemed like someone with a really strong sense of individuality. The Asuma Club was a nice place to hang out, but it was hard to locate. Protected with passwords and special invitations, it reminded Uki of a speakeasy. It was hard to imagine that this place was actually in the backrooms of a bookstore.

But right as Uki and Fulgur stepped in, there was no doubt about the integrity of this establishment. Neon lights were flashing everywhere. People were chatting, drinking, even throwing up in a corner. They were then escorted outside, with a few cleaning Psyborgs coming up to clean the mess, and all was returned to order. Before Uki even got the chance to say “cheese”, Fulgur had already grabbed two drinks for both of them.

“Thanks, Fuufuuchan. Are you feeling okay with all the people here?”

“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine. Where is your friend, Uki?”

“He should be here any minute now…”

Finding Yugo in a crowd wasn’t hard, actually. Though Yugo wasn’t the tallest or biggest of men, Uki could always find him since he just stood out from the rest, and it probably had something to do with him being a celebrity. But tonight, he couldn’t seem to find his friend in the raving crowd. Suddenly, a high-pitched, energetic voice reverberated throughout the club, stopping everyone in their tracks to all pay attention to the disc jockey. Fulgur jolted, as his ears were rather sensitive to noises. Yugo Asuma was on stage.

“Hey, you guys! Are you ready?”

The crowd cheered in sync.

“Alright! Let’s scream at the top of our lungs. THREE, TWO, ONE!”

The crowd was livid. Everyone went into a frenzy as the beat dropped harder than someone dropping their cream cheese bagel with the cream cheese side on the floor. Yugo really knew how to control his audience - it was a great part of his charm. His charismatic self was enough to draw everyone in, but his music and mad-dog-like personality kept people around, even becoming frequents at the club because of this. Though he can be a pretty awkward guy in real life, on stage he’s a king.

As he joined the crowd in their rave, Fulgur’s eyes had a hint of hope and astonishment sparked like a firework. Uki had never seen this sort of expression on him before. Waiting for the Psyborg to calm down, the master softly poked him on his shoulder:

“Fuufuuchan?”

“Hmm? Ah, sorry Uki.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

A Psyborg’s job was to “feel”, to perceive feelings in their owner’s stead. Any feeling of their own was considered to be sacrilegious. Had it been someone else, Fulgur might have been scolded for his behaviour, but Uki was just simply curious. He did not know what spurred up such emotions inside Fulgur, but he secretly wished to. It has been so long since the last time he paid this much attention to another person. Not since…

Since Shoto disappeared.

“Thanks for coming! See you in next tune, bye byeeee!” Enthusiastically waving at the crowd, Yugo ended the show for the night after two and a half hours of partying and DJing. Though he frequented this club, Uki had to admit his friend’s vocal chords were crazily strong, especially since he spent most of the time yelling and hyping the crowd up. Aside from that, it was considerate of him to give everyone each a pair of earplugs as well as set up a barrier so that no one would have to stand too close to his mixing table and get the full impact from high-volume music blasting through the speakers.

“Yo! You made it!” With a sweaty back and a very-ruffled head, Yugo rushed towards his friend and cut off his stream of thoughts. Though, he slowed down a little bit upon seeing Uki’s company.

“So, you really brought him, huh?” Giving the Psyborg a look from top to bottom, Yugo asked.

“I did, yeah. Fuufuuchan, this is my long time friend Yugo Asuma, the DJ and owner of this club. Yugo, meet Fulgur.”

“Yo! How you doin? I’m Yugo Asuma, a DJ from the club Noctyx. You can just call me Yugo.” He didn’t show any discomfort as his hand was extended towards Fulgur.

“Fulgur Ovid, archivist of the future. The pleasure is all mine.”

“You have a pretty nice voice.” Was all Yugo said as Fulgur shook his hand rather firmly. Joyfully, the young man led his guests towards backstage, where there was a secret passageway that led to a billet. This was also Yugo’s room inside the club, where he played, ate, made music and slept. Today, though, it seemed tidier than usual. Someone must have done some vacuuming as well as reorganizing stuff.

“Did you have someone come over?” Uki asked.

“Yeah. You guys.” As he brought out the coffee for his guests, the DJ replied. Uki highly doubted it was the truth, but kept quiet anyways. Yugo was probably tired from working.

“Oh, sorry, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Really? What do you like, then?”

“Just water is fine.”

Handing them their refreshments, Yugo finally sat down after a long day of running around the club:

“The club might seem small from the outside, but it’s wide… spacious here.” Yugo explained. “I renovated things a little bit, so…”

“You really are creative, huh?” Fulgur seemed interested in Uki’s friend’s work. From the time that he spent with the Psyborg, he knew that Fulgur was just excited and was wholeheartedly invested in creative, artistic works. Be it art, literature, music or anything of the sort, he would always appreciate them in every way possible. Uki was making guesses that either Fulgur’s former owner was an archivist, or another theory was that he could possibly be an archivist before he was handed to him.

“No, no, I’m not… I still have a long way to go, man.”

"Still, you did such a great job creating that crowd. It was wild to see a DJ so crazily successful in his own flesh and blood."

"Haha", Yugo awkwardly laughed, "I'm really not that talented."

“By the way Yugo, you… don’t own a Psyborg?”

The DJ didn’t hesitate to answer right away:

“I don’t need one. I was kinda against the idea of owning a Psyborg, but due to some events that happened recently, I’ve changed my mind… about Psyborgs in general, not about owning one. I still feel weird about that.”

“I’d like to hear your opinion.” Fulgur sat straight up. Uki was afraid he would be offended, but it seemed like Fulgur was more than interested to learn from new perspectives.

“So… as you might have seen, I’m not the best when it comes to communicating and talking to people. Offstage, that is. As a result, I don’t want myself to rely too much on Psyborgs because it’d make me even more useless by then. It’s ironic, how creations like Psyborgs have become more and more humane, whilst humanity is just losing itself in the fever of technology. My job does rely heavily on it, but man….” Yugo’s voice hinted at a regretful expression underneath his seemingly loud and cheerful words.

“It’s alright. It’s pretty much inevitable for the human race to reach this point. You have done a very good job trying to keep your emotions at bay.”

“Mister Yugo?” There was knocking on the door. It was a waiter Psyborg guy, waiting to deliver something for the DJ. On his hand was a tray with a bowl filled to the brim with bright red cherries.

“Ah yes, thank you very much. Here’s your… tip.”

As he returned to his friends, the DJ offered them his treat, before picking up one himself.

“Watch this.”

Popping the cherry in his mouth, Yugo’s sexiness suddenly increased by 150 percent in Uki’s vision. His tongue moved around for quite a while, making noises that were rather erotic. When he’d finally opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out, the only thing that remained was a cherry stem already tied up into a knot. To Uki, he'd always been pretty amused at Yugo's ability to tie a cherry knot so quickly with his skillful tongue. Being awkward as he was, the man was no joke when it came to sweeping people off their feet and making them swoon. However, being entertained as he was, Uki suddenly got reminded of a minor but very important detail about the cherry Yugo was eating:

“Wait, where’s the pit?”

“In my stomach.”

“Yugo…!”

“I’m kidding! Here, I stored it inside my cheek.” The DJ spit it out. His mischievous smile was even more charming as he turned to Fulgur:

“Anyway, Fulgur Ovid… thanks for taking care of Uki. You’re a good egg. By the way…”

With movements as swift as a cat, Yugo slipped a card into both Fulgur and Uki’s pockets, smiling coyly at them.

“Here. Just flash this at anyone who looks at you sideways. You’ll be granted access to my club with lots of offers like free drinks on days I’m not available. Be careful not to lose it, I can only snuck these two out.”

“How much do I have to pay you?” Uki readied his wallet.

“Free of charge.”

"For real?"

"Yeah. Just the best for my friends. Besides, you've helped me so much, what's the point if I can't offer you some form of free entertainment?"

“Yugo…”

“Don’t mention it. Just seeing you guys at the club makes me happy enough.”

Listening to the radio music coming from Yugo’s wristband, Uki couldn’t help but be curious:

“Is this a new track? You’ve been making lots of music lately.”

“Yeah, I wanna experiment with everything I can reach. Expanding horizons and such, you know?”

“You seem to try new things all the time. Last time I saw you, you were trying your shot on the shamisen. And somehow…” Fulgur intently listened, as Uki fondly recalled his memories, “... everything worked out. Even if it didn’t the first time, you’d always find a way for it to work. I admire you.”

“I don’t have to be afraid of music. It always saves my heart.” Clutching at his shirt, Yugo’s eyes reflected a soft melancholy and solidarity. In the world that is ever so unforgiving, his will and passion for music was the only thing keeping him alive and breathing. Were it not for his beats to exist, he might have been stuck forever in an abyss of depression.

“Yugo…”

“By the way, I know a pretty nice place where we can watch the stars. Do you wanna see it?” The DJ turned to Fulgur.

“Do I?! Let’s go!”.

The sound of Fulgur’s mechanical parts creaking, combined with Yugo and Uki’s heavy shoes tapping on the staircase seemed to have somehow created a melody, because the DJ was already humming to their walking rhythm.

“Are you still trying to make music in times like this?”

“What? It’s the perfect rhythm!”

Finally, after a few flights of stairs, the trio reached Yugo’s stargazing room. A silver sandy streak stretched itself across the sky.

“It’s just a simulation in this mini planetarium. I’m sorry I can’t afford a better view.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t have my hopes too high either way… wow, this exceeded my expectations. Would you look at that! It looks just like the real thing.”

“Have you ever seen the stars, Fulgur?” Yugo asked.

"I haven't. Thanks for showing it to me."

"I hope we can continue to watch the stars… or not even like this. If we can see the constellations and all kinds of celestial bodies for what they are, with our own eyes…"

"Well, then we'll have to stay alive for as long as we want. Let’s do our best to not die." Lightheartedly and playfully as if it was just something people say on a daily basis, Yugo arched his back, his face facing the artificial sky as he rested his head on his arms. The stars were brighter than ever in the darkest corner of the city, where no artificial neon lights could touch.

*****

“Yo! Great show. We watched it on the livestream!” Sonny greeted a rather disheveled Yugo, who was trying to take off his heavy boots at the front door.

“Did you two like the tracks I used?” As he came inside the house, the DJ took off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch without giving it any thought. Alban, being the household Psyborg he was, picked it up but didn't forget to yell at Yugo for his untidiness.

“We did, yeah.” As Sonny placed three bowls of piping hot udon onto the table, Alban cheered at the sight of good food and Yugo thanked him for the meal after he’d sat down properly. The udon was topped with loads of negi, proudly home grown by the VSF officer himself with Alban's help.

“I’m glad you guys enjoyed them, because I sampled them entirely from Alban!”

As he watched his housemates playfully arguing with each other, Sonny's heart was laced with happy thoughts. His dream was now somewhat completed. He’d gotten a house for himself and his little family with Alban and Yugo. Though the latter actually didn’t stay at home that much, Sonny still considered him part of the family. It was good enough for them to be together like this.

“Hey Neko-chan, you have some sauce on your cheek. Sit still…”

“Ahhh, don’t! I can do it myself!” Alban squirmed

“Man, you’re already this big yet you still leave food on your face.”

"I've always been this big! What about you, Yugo? You're this big yet you still cry like a baby when you can't find your favourite piercing!"

"Shaddup!"

"You shut up! La la la la…" Sticking his fingers into his ears, Alban childishly tried to ignore Yugo.

"Hey, look at me right in the cockeye!"

"All I heard was cock!"

"Alright boys, no more fighting. I spent three hours making this udon, you better eat this before it gets cold or Imma whoop your asses."

For some reason, the other housemates seemed more than happy to turn back to their udons. Though he tended to deny it every time someone brought up the topic of cooking, Sonny was surely a great chef. His seasoning was always on point, and he always knew where to source the best ingredients. Today's udon too, was a success, resulting from the harmony of taste and textures combined with colorful stories that were passed across the housemates.

"By the way Sonny, I did meet Uki and his Psyborg, Fulgur, at the club today."

“How were they?”

“Fulgur seemed pretty scary at first, but he cracked some jokes and seemed like a chill dude! I like him. But his name is rather hard to pronounce…”

Another peaceful day went by, and Sonny thanked whoever was controlling the universe for that.

Chapter Text

Fulgur always knew there was something wrong with his blurry memory. Sometimes, he would experience headaches out of the blue, but everytime it happened he never let Uki know about it. Whenever those headaches happened, Fulgur could see visions he’d never seen before. A laboratory, an unseen face, the drilling sounds of gadgets being inserted into his body parts… They all have a very wrong sense of unspoken familiarity, to him.

Tonight too, those visions appeared again, but as a dream.

“Fulgur. Fulgur Ovid.”

Yeah, that was his own name, but just who’s calling it? That was clearly not Uki’s voice, not even close. Though, somehow, it seemed strangely familiar. He must have heard it somewhere.

“Are you sure you are what you think you are?”

What?

Fulgur wanted to respond to that voice. Of course he knows who he is, he’s Fulgur Ovid, the one and only Psyborg in Uki Violeta’s possession.

“Have you ever looked at the back of your shoulder?”

The back of his shoulder?

Now, Fulgur no longer wanted to respond to the voice that asked him such questions. He wanted to question them back. Who exactly are they, and why do they act like they know him?

And thus, Fulgur woke up to the sudden stinging in his joints. What an unpleasant dream, followed by an equally unpleasant sensation in his damned body. Uki was still asleep. A paranoidal fear suddenly swirled up in his heart - he was afraid his master was going to stop breathing in his sleep. It wasn't like Fulgur could go back to his sleep cycle at this point, so he might as well stay awake and keep an eye on him. Fulgur’s fear was somehow useful - Uki's temperature was a bit higher than usual, as evidenced in Fulgur’s medical scan.

Uki woke up that morning with a sore throat. He regretted staying up late last night to go clubbing, but remembering Fulgur and Yugo’s expression from last night, he couldn’t help but feel like it was rather cute for the two of them.

“Uki?”

“Fuufuuchan… oh wait, sorry. Fulgur, can you call in sick for me today? I don’t think I can go to work.”

“Have you been stressing yourself again?”

“Yeah…”

Fulgur only nodded as a response.

“I'm gonna make you some ramen. Let’s eat together.”

Sonny’s words kept replaying in Uki’s dreams like a chant. It was hard for him to believe that this Psyborg was considered to be a national secret. But just what makes him different from any other household Psyborg? His functionality was the same as any other, from Uki's personal research.

Or maybe Sonny was the one mistaken, and there was actually nothing for Uki to worry about? Yeah, everything would turn out fine eventually.

Two bowls of piping hot spicy ramen, one of them being topped with two fried eggs, were placed on the table in Uki's room.

"Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks."

“Hey, if you’re tired, it’s okay to rest. You can leave the rest to me.”

“Really?”

“I’m basically artificial intelligence. My ability to process the input matches that of a computer, so no need to worry about me.”

“Haha, if it’s work I’ll have to go on my own though… I can’t make you work in my stead.”

“Actually, you can…” Fulgur suggested.

“What?”

“Labour and Relations Law, Article Three Section 5A stated that "Psyborgs are allowed to work in their owner's stead, as long as they have a warranty from the owner's employer."

“Really? But I haven't told you anything about how I work or where I work yet, how are you…"

"Uki, I'm a Psyborg. You can just drop the information and your memories, I'll do the rest."

"Fuuchan…!"

“We’ll have to see about your boss, but it’s okay, I can deal with even the toughest of guys. I’ll make sure no one ever speaks ill of you or tries to harm you in my presence, Uki.”

It was the first time someone ever got so protective of him. Even Sonny, his best friend, was never like this. But of course. After all, Uki had always been the type to keep his troubles to himself and hide his pain no matter how hard it gets. But Fulgur… Fulgur sparked something in him with his caring and thoughtfulness. True, it might be programmed in him to serve his master to his best and be as loyal as possible to him, but the way Fulgur performed his duties seemed rather off. It looked more like a friend, a family member taking care of him out of their own will and affection for him, rather than a servant performing his jobs. Not like he had anything to complain about, but the lad sure found that pretty off for household Psyborgs. Or was he wrong this whole time about how these housekeeper artificially intelligent instruments work?

Other than that, there was another mystery that had never left him. Who gave Fulgur the name Fulgur Ovid that he has? From Uki’s own research, Fulgur means “lightning” in Latin. Consider how bold the Psyborg was, he figured that name was quite fitting. And then there was the “Ovid ''. Unlike Fulgur, it was derived from the name of Publius Ovidius Naso, a Roman poet who was better known with the name “Ovid”. Why did he decide to choose these as factors of his name? His friend could probably provide him an answer, or at least a clue to this unraveled mystery.

With Fulgur's care and treatment, it wasn't long until Uki got well enough to move around again.

“We’ll visit another friend of mine today. Get my bike, Fuufuuchan.”

Uki’s bike was another impressive feat of his. From the looks of him, people would expect the guy to be a public transportation user kind of guy, but in actuality Uki rode his bike to work everytime he needed to. Bought from a second hand rider store, he did a spectacular job keeping the bike looking like it was a brand new one.

“Can you drive?”

“Oh no, I’m not fitting for the road… please take the handle, Uki. I’m afraid if I was the one behind it we’re gonna crash into everything.”

“Alright, then hold on to me tight.”

It was probably Fulgur’s first time on a bike, so he clumsily wrapped his arm around Uki’s waist in order to not fall off. With that out of the way, Uki revved up his vehicle and rode off into the night. Basking themselves in the fluorescent lights, Fulgur stared in awe as they passed by colorful shops and busy streets smoothly as if they were gliding on the road. Even though the city was already pretty in the daytime, at night it was even more marvelous with neon lights of different colors everywhere.

“It’s so bright…”

“Neon lights might be beautiful for now, but when it snows…” Uki shook his head. “Oh, you wouldn’t wanna see that. It’s too bright to sleep, and everything is just… kinda night.”

“Kinda night?”

“Not dark enough. Like you’re stuck in that interlude between the afternoon and evening, what’s it called… yeah, twilight.”

There were so many things new to Fulgur in this world. Even though he was programmed to be incredibly quick on the uptake with an ability to process and produce information at high speed, he constantly felt like a newborn. But nothing put him in awe as a billboard in the city center. On the billboard was a 3D music video of three beautiful young girls who all had a light, bubbly aura exuding from their performance. Fulgur’s attention was on the one with fins protruding from where it should be her ears.

“Who are they?”

“Who?”

“On the billboard, up there.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s Lazulight, the trending Psyborg idol group from Karaeni Production. From left to right is Pomu Rainpuff, Elira Pendora and Finana Ryugu.”

“So her name is Finana huh…”

“Yeah. Fans also call her “Feesh”. You know what, the song that they’re performing there, Diamond City Lights…” Uki quickly turned to point at Pomu’s chanting with two lightsticks in her hands, before resuming his attention to the traffic, “is said to be very twerkable. I’ve tried, and apparently it is.”

Fulgur looked around. Now that Uki had mentioned the song’s name, he really wanted to check out the sight of this town once again. Neon lights, as blindingly bright as they ever were, and the lights coming from skyscrapers really resembled shining jewels.

Fulgur did wonder though, are the real stars in the sky just as beautiful as this? He’d never seen a starry sky, not when his life was still bound to this neon city. People had been traveling to the planets for centuries, yet now it was almost impossible for them to see those balls of gas that were millions of lightyears away because of the same reason - technology. With how rapid the human race had developed, cities, towns and villages were all brightly lit at night, disilluminating the stars.

“You’re actually pretty good at riding, Uki.” Impressed at his owner’s ability to scoot all the way from one street to the next with such high speed and great elegance, Fulgur commended. As a response, Uki only gave him a coy smile:

“Really? Well, this bike isn’t the only thing I’m good at riding.”

It took Fulgur one minute or two to understand the obscene joke.

It was easy to spot Shu Yamino's house from afar because of how it stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of nowhere. Shu was a retired scientist. He used to be one of the biggest names in the Psyborg development industry, but due to mysterious circumstances - boredom, as he said - the brilliant scientist announced that he was going to take his leave from the technoscience field five years ago. Now, he's living peacefully with his very own Psyborg - Mysta Rias. He was actually the third household Psyborg Fulgur met in a row. Regarding how big his master’s network really was, it made him rather surprised. With Uki’s soft-spokenness as well as his shy and introverted manners, he seemed much more like the reserved kind of person who’d rather keep to himself than go out and socialize.

“Uki! Eyyyy, how are you?” The scientist greeted them. Upon his first meeting with Shu, Fulgur almost gasped at how stunning he was. Eyes that bore the shade of dark opals combined with long, fluttering lashes and a face that smiled sweetly; as he reached out his long fingers which were covered in gloves to wave at them both, Fulgur only had his eyes on him. Though, his grace was not the only reason why the Psyborg was so enticed by him - the scientist's face seemed oddly familiar to him.

“Hey, Shu. Sorry for the sudden visit.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! I figure you have something urgent you’d wanna tell me. Now, what is it?”

“I got a Psyborg.”

“You…” Shu seemed not in the slightest bit surprised, and he also did not feel the need for words to indicate who the Psyborg was. Somehow, Uki thought his irises seemed odd for a second, but it happened so quickly that he couldn’t tell if it was real or he was just seeing things. The scientist greeted them before turning around, shouting for someone in his house:

“Come in, come in! Mysta, can you make us some tea?”

“Alright!”

Most of Shu’s house was actually underground, which was the reason why it didn’t need to be so big on the surface. Though he had been here a few times, Uki had never stopped being fascinated by it.

“I don’t really need to come outside, Mysta handles all the communication and interaction for me.” Shu once explained to Uki, before he had Fulgur.

“It was a shame that you left the laboratory. After all, this city’s modernization and technolization depends on you.”

“It shouldn’t. Which is why I left.” Shu’s pinky finger was not curled up like his other fingers when he held the tea cup to his mouth.

"Do you… regret it?"

"Pretty much, yeah… but but! Enough of that, I shouldn't dampen this conversation anymore, should I? Now, let's talk about… you. Do you need any advice?"

"Uh… yeah. I just want you to give me some advice on how to take care of him."

"What's the model?"

"His company said it's XTS-505."

“XTS-505? So he’s… one of the newer ones. Mmmhmm…” Shu’s eyes glimmered with a little bit of confusion, before he asked Uki to get him the Psyborg.

“... And so, I told him “I’m gonna be surprised if I’m still sane at this point”."

Fulgur bursted out into a long, shrill cackling that sounded almost like someone was boiling a big pot of tea from a century-old kettle. Laughing to the point of being unable to stop and take his breaths, the Psyborg could hardly sit up straight after Mysta's joke.

“Um, Fuufuuchan… I mean Fulgur…” Uki didn’t want to interrupt the conversation, but he had to.

“Fuufuuchan?” Mysta asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, that’s my one and only nickname by him. I’ll talk to you later okay?”

“Anytime, champ.”

Fulgur followed Uki suit. Again, as he went into the same room as Shu, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at him.

“Come here, Fulgur.” Shu smiled. “Lie down. It’s gonna be al-right, okay? Close your eyes.”

Shu immediately pulled his shirt up to find a little door-like compartment. Lifting the "door" up, it revealed a little crystal ball with tiny bits of automation being crafted and locked inside. With his skillful fingers, Shu was able to take the crystal ball out without damaging any parts inside the Psyborg's body.

“Uki, look at this closely. This little mechanical sphere right here is “Soph”, essentially the heart of a Psyborg. Not only does it control a Psyborg’s emotional ability, it is also in charge of their overall activity. If you lose this, your Psyborg will turn into a completely different… machine. He’ll no longer be himself, since no two hearts are the same.”

“As long as Fulgur’s chest is not exposed, his “Soph” is safe, right?”

“Yeah. Right now," Shu examined the heart carefully with his magnifying glass, "it’s looking good. Now, let me check the rest of his body.”

Setting the heart inside a sterilized container, Shu continued to check for any impair or broken parts. It wasn't long until the scientist informed his friend, much like a doctor informing a patient's waiting family member of the results.

“Your Psyborg is in good shape! But if you wanna perform maintenance on him yourself, you can use this set of machine maintenance, including these fluids… and these replaceable parts… and don’t forget to help him cool himself down with this bottle once in a while. If you ever need more, you know who to find.”

“Thanks, Shu. You saved me a bunch.”

“Eyyy, it’s no big deal!”

“...But you gotta reactivate him for me.”

“Oh, right, right! Sorry.”

As Fulgur walked out of the Yamino house, he just kept turning to look at Shu one last time. It was only their first meeting, but somehow Shu gave him an indescribable feeling that was strong, and also not at the same time. Uki even noticed his attraction to the scientist.

“... Fuufuuchan?

“Hmm? Oh, sorry Uki.” Buckling his helmet up, Fulgur gave a not-so-desired-by-Uki reply.

“What’s wrong? It’s like you just turned into a different Psyborg. You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry for making you worry. Let’s go home.”

As Uki rode his bike down the road, the traffic was much more jammed than when he left his house. People were gathered around a particularly crowded spot on the streets, slowing traffic down.

“Fuufuuchan, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, there seems to be an accident…”

“The police are present?”

“Yep. Seems like… oh no, Uki, look away if you can.”

Uki frowned. As they passed by the scene at a speed akin to that of a snail, he tried his best not to look at it. He did not want to see it one bit. The sentiment that made humans accept Psyborgs as almost their own kind had become part of human instincts, and this could cause lots of disadvantages for sympathetic people like Uki.

“Uki, are you okay?”

“I’m fine now… Oh my god…” Uki could barely feel the ground beneath him. He could feel his legs clearly shaking like crazy. An annoying sensation that felt unlike a sore throat was also grabbing at his neck. He couldn’t breathe. Before he collapsed to the ground, he could hear Fulgur screaming for his name, and the solid, cold touch of a metal arm behind his head.

Fulgur stayed by Uki’s side for the entire night. When he’d done tucking his master in, Fulgur finally had some time for himself. What was the meaning of those visions that he saw in his dreams? Can he keep Uki safe from this world? Should he be wary of Uki’s friend, Shu? His words were calming, but it was exactly that reason that made him feel like he was unable to trust the scientist completely. The way Shu’s gentle voice entered his head as he told him to close his eyes and fall asleep for him was dangerous. If he could do it once, he surely could do it twice.

And just what is this feeling, budding in his chest? Everytime he thought of Uki, his heart stimulated a feeling comparable to one's aching for affection.

Back at the Yamino’s house, Shu was working on his personal research paper with a plate of macarons in his reach.

“Shu, your coffee.” Entered Mysta.

“Thanks.”

“Call me if you need me, okay?”

“Mmhmm.”

Shu always replied to him like this whenever he was extremely focused on a project, but this time Mysta felt something was different. He was typing away on the keyboard more deliriously than ever. He decided not to let the scientist alone in the room like he always ordered him to, and sat right next to him like a dog guarding his owner.

“Mysta, please leave. I’m working on a little research.”

“I’m not gonna. What if you faint in the middle of work? I can’t leave you alone.”

“Oh, right, I forgot you can go against my order… Well, it’s nothing much. Overworker? I hardly even know her!”

"Your jokes are bad, Shu. Please finish work soon, then we can go to bed together."

*****

“Mysta? Mystaaaa?”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Like a dog running towards his owner, Mysta showed up in less than a minute after Shu called out to him. Seeing his Psyborg being so happy to see him out of work, Shu couldn’t help but laugh. Patting his head, he finally told Mysta:

“Let’s go to bed. Please prepare everything and wait for me in my room, I’ll get in with you right away.”

“Yay!”

Laying on one of the softest mattresses the world has to offer, Mysta could hardly contain his happiness to be sleeping right next to his owner and creator once again. Usually, Shu would just fall asleep wherever he felt like, and Mysta would have to bring him all the way back to his room. His sleeping schedule was all over the place.

“Are you enjoying this?” Shu asked when both of them were on the bed, in their comfiest pajamas.

“Yep!”

“Aha, I’m glad.”

"Hey, Shu?"

"Yeah?"

Pulling his creator towards himself, Mysta softly patted Shu on his back.

"Hmm… you smell."

"Hey, that's not setting up the mood."

"I wasn't trying to. You smell of sweat… What happened? Was there something on your mind? It's not even hot today." Carefully putting Shu's eye cream and covers on for him, Mysta asked. As he enjoyed being pampered by his own Psyborg before bedtime, the scientist yawned quite a few times before giving out an answer:

“Yeah… there were some things. But don’t worry, I’ve made sure to sort them all out.”

“You haven’t had a break for days. I know! How about we go out tomorrow? I’ll treat you to your favourite banana splits!”

“Treat me with my own money?”

“I was trying to be nice!”

“I’m sorry. But you gotta admit, it’s fun to see you flustered.”

“Hmph!”

"Alright alright, now go to bed. We're gonna have a long day ahead of us. Sleep tight and don't let the hat man eat you, Mysta." Pulling up the blanket that was tossed around by his bedmate, Shu said his goodnites. To Mysta, though, it sounded more like a threat than anything.

"The WHAT?"

"Oh, suddenly this is not a safe place anymore."

*****
Mysta was always the easier one to fall asleep out of the two. As soon as he could hear the faint snoring coming from his Psyborg, Shu got up as quietly as he could, shifting the sheets wedged between their bodies. Mysta squirmed around a little, before going back to snoring steadily with his face buried in his pillow. He’s always such a deep sleeper, the scientist thought as he lovingly gazed at his favourite creation, but he sat up anyway and left for the balcony.

Three years ago, someone had become an unspoken topic between those two. Now, Shu wanted to find someone he could talk about said person, but. The only one he could confide in was the moon, with its unwavering brightness always lighting the road for him. As he laid himself on the balcony, head resting on his arms, Shu told the celestial body everything he wanted to tell that one person directly but had lost the chance to do so. No one, not even Mysta knew of this nightly habit of his.

“So, I’ve told you all that, why don’t you tell me how your day went….”

Mouthing a few words only he could hear, Shu’s eyes were shut close.

“...ca.”

Chapter Text

Vox Akuma was a peculiar man. There were rumours about him being the heir of a family that has great influence in not only the entertainment industry, but many more. Even “Akuma” was probably not his real surname, as it was just Japanese for “demon”, like he always bragged about himself. Voice demon, that’s what people call him anyway. That warm, intoxicatingly seductive voice of Vox Akuma made him fit to be an actor.

“Good morning Uki.” Ike Eveland, the cute Psyborg of the Akuma household greeted him as they both made their way to the commissary. From his looks and his polite manner of speech, it was easy for people to overlook and underestimate him. Uki was not one of them. He knew how well Ike could put up a fight. Adding to that, being the Psyborg of the voice demon himself, he also had a screaming voice matching the reputation of his master. The first time Uki heard it was a couple of weeks after they had moved to this neighborhood. A menacingly dark and hoarse, bellowing sort of roar resonating through the walls woke him up in the middle of the night. Apparently, a burglar was idiotic enough to inflitrate the Akuma house, which back then seemed like any ordinary civilian’s home; Ike was immediately alerted and went off like a burglar alarm that was put through two megaphones. By the time the police arrived, the household Psyborg had already put the criminal down. Needless to say, every single person in that neighborhood had learned to not mess with the Akuma household.

“How’s Vox?”

“Same as usual. Woke up, asked me for a kiss which he knew was never gonna happen, ate his breakfast and all. Work has been easy for him these days, but that’s just making him more needy for me than ever.”

“Oh.” Uki wanted to leave a sarcastic remark on how those two are actually closer than they seemed to be. “Well your hands sure are full with him.”

“Haha. I wish he’d cut me some slack… How about you, Uki? How’s Fulgur?”

“F… Ful…gur?” Uki almost dropped the shopping basket. How did he know Fulgur?

“Oh, was I mistaken?”

“No no,... um… It’s just… I didn’t know you knew him.”

"We saw each other last week, when he helped me bring a drunk Vox home. He's your… personal Psyborg, no?"

Uki had to be extra careful with his words. Trying to play it cool, he replied with a tone as calm and casual as ever;

“Yes. I just bought him not long ago.”

“I hope we can get along well! If you need help, just call me! I think you have my number so there’s no trouble in it, right?”

It was the first time Uki ever saw Ike so enthusiastic. He wanted to offer him an olive branch and invite him over to his house, but he was afraid someone used to the high class life like Ike wouldn’t find his house appealing.

"Fuufuuchan, did you meet Ike?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I did, a while back. I helped him bring Vox back inside the house since the man was dead wasted on our doorstep, once. He must have gotten to the point where every house seemed the same for him, but anyway I helped him inside our house. I also put out a notice for the neighborhood, describing him and his name for his chaperone to come and fetch him.”

“And so Ike came…”

“Right, right. Vox even tried to fight me when I brought him inside, you know? But something weird happened while I was waiting for Ike to come.”

“What was it?”

“I think there was a moment when his consciousness came back? Yeah, he just stared at me, mumbling something unintelligible, then went back to snoring.”

Uki was glad to hear that Fulgur maintained a good relationship with their neighbours, at the same time he couldn't help himself but be worried. Did that last detail mean Vox actually knew Fulgur somehow? That could pose a threat to both of them.

But Uki decided to put it aside to deal with later. Last time, it was Sonny who came over and paid the newly bonded master-Psyborg duo a visit. Now, it was their turn to repay the favour. Preparing themselves with a bunch of Fukaya negi from Saitama, Uki and Fulgur headed straight to the VSF officer’s house. As they arrived, opening the door for them was Alban himself. His cat-like face lit up as soon as he saw who his visitor was.

"Hey Albanyan!"

"Uki! Fulgur! Come in come on in!"

"Is Sonny home today? We did ask him in advance to see if we could come."

"Yeah he's just sleeping… Onii!"

“Hey guys…” After quite a bit of time, Sonny walked downstairs, yawning and in his pajamas, not even bothering to change. He entered in time for a rather interesting act as Alban was screaming “Nyoooo!" when Fulgur tried to give him a cheek kiss. No one noticed the faint high-pitched voice that came up somewhere in the middle of that banter.

“So, you guys are here, let’s uh… do you wanna play some games? Or watch something? I think we have enough to entertain you.”

“Yeah let’s… Yugo?!” The Violeta-Ovid duo was more than baffled to see their DJ friend coming out from a room in a normal household habitat, wearing a sleeveless shirt and blue shorts, hair uncombed.

“Fulgur?! And Uki too?!"

Undeniably, everyone was surprised at this turn of events.

"Well, so we all know each other after all, I suppose there's no need for an introduction, no?" Sonny spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hey, Sonny, you didn’t tell me they were coming!” The blue-eyed DJ, still in his comfy attire and unkempt bed hair, cried.

"I forgor. Even so, I can't be sure which day you're staying at home, so I figure…"

"Eh, whatever, it's not like we've never seen you guys in your pajamas." Nonchalantly scratching the back of his neck, Uki remarked.

“Fulgur hadn’t. I should change…"

"Yeah, at least comb your hair."

Yugo's first reaction was to immediately play with his own hair, which made it even more messy. With a shrug, he walked upstairs and came back with a neater look.

“What are we gonna have today?”

“Do you guys like alcohol?”

"We do, yeah."

"Alright, let me whip up something real quick for you guys…" Taking out his equipment and ingredients from the picnic basket that he brought, the Psyborg seemed more than happy to show off his mixing and bartending skills. Crushed ice, creme de violette, creme de menthe, lemons and a lemon squeezer… It wasn’t far off to say Fulgur was practically a walking bar.

"Does he… do this all the time at your house?" Sonny pointed to the bar-on-the-go being laid out in his kitchen.

"Not all the time, but yeah. He'll make something for me after a long day at work, or at weekends when we both feel a bit too idyllic to our liking."

Yugo, though, didn't think too much of it and ordered straight away:

"Master! Can I have a Blue Moon please?"

"Alright! One Blue Moon, coming right up…"

"I'd like to have a Mint Julep, please!" Alban ordered, his mechanical tail wagging. Despite his childish looks, the Psyborg seemed to be rather experienced with alcohol, seen by his ability to order what he wanted straight away.

"Wow Neko-chan, you have taste." Yugo commented, rather sarcastically.

“Hmph! I'll drink whatever I want!”

Whilst the argument went on, Fulgur concentrated on his work of art. Right as Yugo was about to bite Alban’s puffy cheeks, the bartender Psyborg was done shaking the mixture vigorously before straining it into one of the martini glasses that he bought. Finishing everything up with a burnt lemon peel garnish, he finally pushed it towards the blue-haired DJ.

“Will you guys stop FIGHTING?”

“We’re sorry Fu-chan…”

“It won’t happen again…”

“Good boys. Here, Yugo, your drink.”

The Blue Moon that Fulgur gave Yugo was not at all what he expected. He usually ordered the one with blue curacao, vanilla vodka and whipped cream. Fulgur’s Blue Moon, however, seemed a bit more old-fashioned, with the smell of alcohol and the signature amethyst hue of creme de violette.

The DJ hesitated before grabbing the glass and took a sip. His eyes were widened upon taking the first sip, before turning to examine the drink again.

“Well? How is it?”

“This is… brilliant! It’s so good! Fu-chan, have you always been good at mixing drinks?” Yugo almost jumped.

"I don't know, but I'm honoured to hear that you liked it. You can order a second drink too."

Then, it was Alban’s drink’s turn to be made. Fulgur started with placing quite a few loose mint leaves into the julep cup or glass before pouring in the simple syrup that he just made in Sonny’s kitchen (after asking for permission) and muddled them together gently. He then proceeded to add the bourbon - a rather expensive one, which he'd asked permission from Uki to buy. Then the bartender added some crushed ice and stirred the mixture with a bar spoon. Finally, he topped everything off with another generous amount of ice, as this summer day cocktail needs dilution to perfect it. To garnish, he spanked the mint bouquet that was saved for last to release its oils and nestle it into the julep cup, then pushed the finished product to Alban across the table. Upon taking his first sip, Alban was very clearly complacent with the treat he’s given. Seeing how good Fulgur was with bartending and how much fun he was having doing it, Sonny couldn’t help but remarked:

“He’s pretty good, eh? Well, I can certainly see what you like in him now.”

“I do not…Well, who can I fool. I do."

“Wait, really?”

“You tricked me? Bitch.”

“Oh nyoooo." Sonny laughed lightheartedly.

“Hey Sonny, Uki! Order something. Don’t put me out of work that fast!”

“Coming~”

*****

"Fulgur, it's been two months since we became friends… Why don't we celebrate this with a dinner night out, yeah? Just you and me. I'll make a booking at a restaurant for us."

Server Psyborgs were the closest in terms of function and communication to household Psyborgs. As their jobs were both about catering and making sure humans have the best experience, they more or less resembled the model server - only knowing how to serve, making all the principles of customer service their life motto. Seeing how subservient Psyborgs were supposed to be for the first time was an eye-opening experience to Fulgur.

"Yes sir, I'll get your food right away, sir."

"Now, if I complain to them about the quality of this wine, they will go and change it immediately without making me pay for this bottle, which is almost empty. But of course we won't do that. I never want to be a Karen." Pointing at the bottle, Uki explained to his household Psyborg about the way things were supposed to work for household Psyborg.

It was like that. Household Psyborgs were taught to be as obedient as they possibly can with a high performance rate, which was the reason why they were sought out for a high price. To Fulgur though, they seemed so lifeless, as if the joy of living was ripped off of them the moment they were presented to the world, ready to serve. Compared to them, Fulgur was on a whole different level. He was ready to serve Uki whenever he called him, but it was unlikely that he would literally jump off a cliff if Uki ordered him to. Normal household Psyborgs, though, were definitely the type to do just that. Throughout the whole meal, whenever he tried to do something for Uki, the server Psyborgs would immediately jump in to help them. Once, Fulgur insisted that he could do his job just fine, but after being given weird looks from the fellow Psyborgs, he had no choice but to back down.

“Uki…”

“Yes?”

“Do you feel like… Well, do you feel like I’m doing a bad job as your household Psyborg?”

"No. But… Do you know the reason why I took you here?”

“Your pure existence will put you in danger, Fuufuuchan. I know you’re kind, brave and selfless, but I have to show you the way around this world. Look at the server Psyborgs around you, and if possible… learn their behaviour and use it to mask your ego when we have to present ourselves to the public.”

“... I have to change myself, then.”

"No! Fulgur, you're different, which is why some people want you to be locked up. I don't. But… from now on, please be wary of your surroundings. I can’t be sure that I’m able to protect you forever.”

“...Alright. Your wish is my command.”

*****

It was not after he’d spent quite a while wandering aimlessly when Legatus had a realization of what it felt to hold all the knowledge in this world, yet unable to do anything with it. His clothes were starting to get more dirty and tattered as he had no owner who took care of him. Without any other choice left, he decided to steal some from a random clothes shop downtown.

One day, as he was walking without a destination in mind as usual, Legatus came across a frail, old woman with a cane in her hand.

“Hello young man, can you help me cross the road?”

This was the first time someone actively struck up a conversation with Legatus. A burning tingle was flaring up in his chest.

“I… I can, but let’s wait. The cars are still running. As soon as the light turns red, I’ll take you to the other side.”

“Thank you. Bless your heart, child.”

Somehow, Legatus felt… weird. He wanted to smile. He could even feel the corners of his lips curling up.

So this is the feeling of happiness?

He was sure if he were a human, right now serotonin would be all over his brain. The feeling was so great, it made him yearn for more. He wanted to be surrounded by love and showered with merriment. But at the same time, he realized how painful loneliness, pain and sadness actually was when he remembered what he felt prior to this. It was sickening. Once he’d gotten his tongue on the sweetness of sugar, the bitterness of a pill was simply unbearable.

A head pat, and a hand that held his because they needed to cross the road was the only thing he received from anyone. Still, the warmth coming from this contact was already in his memory.

He wanted people to look in his direction. He wanted to be touched, just like the way the old woman who asked for help was enough. But to everyone, he was a nobody

But day one, day two, day three. Nothing ever happened to him. The loneliness was killing him from the inside.

There were many people like Legatus. Being abandoned in the annals of history, ignored, forgotten. No one knew of them to remember them. And thus, love was something out of his league. Though they look humanoid, Psyborgs can never be true humans, thus they were treated like no less than scraps of metal by the general crowd.

*****

“...So, even Psyborgs produced with the latest technology can malfunction. I’m not surprised.”

The mafia boss who was living under the name of the mayor’s son was rather imperturbable in his one-man game of chess. Calculating every move that he and his non-existent rival would use, his eyes were deeply focused on the black knight. Neither the king nor the queen interested him.

“Knight on D4… Bishop on F6… oof.”

“Hmph. Even Shu himself left me, even though I was the one who took him in and gave him that job as a scientist… don’t you think it’s cruel, Augustus?” Petting the Golden Retriever, Luca exhaled deeply, his tanzanite eyes fixated at the black bishop he was holding. Dropping the chess piece onto the board, the young mafia boss’s eyes remained still and unwavering like a lake on a winter’s day. What remained was a messy board, with the king being the only one standing.

Chapter Text

Legatus had been trying his best to blend in with society like everyone else. Going to movies, heading to bars, trying food at fast food restaurants, learning how to use public transport… Everything he did was for the sole purpose of researching human behaviour and the way they interact with one another. It was easier than he initially thought, though. In an age where humans couldn’t communicate without feeling the need to rely on technology, he quickly learned his way around the norms of society.

But everytime, wherever he went, there were some forms of groups or couples. Humans, in the end, aren’t entirely solidarity beings. Golden Week was coming around, which means people were flocking to shops, malls, markets… to buy stuff. Some went alone, but many went in large groups. As a battle Psyborg, he didn’t have the need for such necessity. If he needed anything to sustain himself, he could just get them by stealing from warehouses, or factories.

How infuriating. It's on occasions like these that Legatus felt bitter about the festivities more than ever. Without any company and only a mission - either to kill or to spy - he had no rights to wish for a normal life, and a happy one was even further from his reach. No one ever taught Legatus what it’s like to survive. All he knew about himself was that he was a product of one of the greatest artificial intelligence production technologies, developed by Doctor Shu Yamino. Before him, it was rumoured that Doctor Yamino managed to create an entire array of Psyborgs, all on his own, and the first one was the model for other battle Psyborgs.

He wanted to know more about this “Shu Yamino” person, and he also wanted to know.

“Well, well. I’ll make him come out of that hiding spot!”

And thus, Legatus’s plan went into motion. It was a slow burn, but surely effective, plan. First, he started by gaining all sorts of information about the city to incur a scandal big enough to drive everyone into doubting each other.

*****

“Breaking news: Psyborgs gone rogue at The Grand Sagar…”

Rubbing his chin, Uki sneaked a glance at Fulgur. The Psyborg was very much concentrated on flipping Uki’s morning pancakes while stirring a pot of scrambled eggs for him. The Grand Sagar was not far from the place where they went out to eat last time.

Fulgur was still out. He was probably going to get some groceries, since Uki noticed they ran out of milk and ramen. Without anyone to keep him in check, Uki started to drink. One, two, three, and then it went to infinity. Uki couldn’t count his shots anymore. Hazy eyes twinkling, cheeks flushing redder and redder with every pouring of the wine, he was dead drunk. As he drowned himself in booze, he felt even lonelier than ever.

“Fuufuuchan… Where are you? Fuufuuchan…”

“Uki?”

The Psyborg’s timing was coincidentally perfect.

"Uki! How much did you have to drink?"

"Fuufuuchan?" Uki’s vision had gone blurry. Though he could make out the outlines of Fulgur’s face, he couldn’t see his expression clearly. Trying to reach for the Psyborg’s face, he almost stumbled and fell out of the couch, were it not for Fulgur who had already supported his back.

“I’m here. Do you want me to tuck you in?”

"... Come here, Fuufuuchan."

Naturally, the Psyborg did as he was told. Uki didn't stall for even one bit - swiftly and forcefully, he pushed Fulgur to the couch, crouching atop of him. Speechless, the Psyborg tried to find a way out of the situation, but there was no way for him to escape. Uki’s drunken breath filled the air.

“Uki, what are you doing?”

“I want you to answer me as truthfully as possible… Have you ever experienced… love?”

“I believe you’re my first owner, so I won’t be able to experience it until either you show me, or I change owners and they show me what it’s like.”

"Then, you’ll do as I say. Keep your eyes on me."

“What are you…?!”

Fulgur thought he almost lost his breath when Uki wrapped his tongue around his. They kissed for a good two minutes, with Fulgur clumsily receiving Uki inside him while the owner grabbed his head, pushing himself deeper down the Psyborg’s mouth. Fulgur was almost out of breath by the time Uki released him.

“That was my first kiss.”

“How did it feel?”

“It was… it was to my expectations, but also not, at the same time.”

“You knew this day would come?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuufuuchan. I want more… why won’t you look at me…?” Uki was asking for more, but Fulgur had already stopped his thoughts before it bloomed into another action. Placing a hand over his owner's lips, he refused:

“Uki, I know you’ve always wanted this but please forgive me. This is the only thing I can’t comply with, since we are going way past masters and Psyborg boundaries. Let’s just keep it down a little bit, for now.”

Just like that, Fulgur left the room, leaving only a brokenhearted Uki. Did he just get his affections denied by his very own Psyborg? How dare he. How dare he push him away like that.

No. Fulgur had always been like this. Having a heart of his own, having the ability to analyze and rationalize, of course he has all the rights to do so. But at the same time, as his master, Uki had all the rights to order him to love him. A forceful love, sure, but it was possible.

Uki did not want that. Uki hated it. The people in the cult he grew up with forced him to love them against his will. He felt sick to his stomach for even fathoming such a thought as coercing his Psyborg into loving him. It was getting harder for him to fall asleep, as tears streaming down his face were turning into quiet, muffled sobbing as he cried into the pillow. “For now”, Fulgur said. His tossing and turning must have woken the Psyborg up. He probably knew Uki didn’t want him to acknowledge that he’s awake.

Uki was grateful for Fulgur’s care and treatment, but it also made him despise the way the Psyborg made him feel these past months. He had been feeling special. It was the worst feeling when someone lifted him so high just to drop him on the concrete with a heart bleeding and bruised with pain.

“How did I even read the stars so wrong…”

That evening, Uki decided to go to Shu’s house alone for some advice. Leaving a note for a napping Fulgur at home, he quietly got on his bike and rode away.

“So you’re in love with your very own Psyborg, huh…” Shu asked when his unexpected guest was seated with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“I know. Shocker, right? You can even call me a loser.”

“I’m not surprised, and I don’t think you’re a loser either. After all, we humans are rather sentimental. No emotioner? I hardly even know ‘er!”

“Then…”

“All I can say is… everything, and by that I do mean everything, is temporary as long as you're not willing enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let it fall into oblivion. Things will eventually fade away and become a part of the past, you can’t live in a moment forever.”

"Thanks, Shu. You always know the right thing to say."

“But still, I advise you to be careful with Psyborgs. Recently, there has been an uproar with a few rogue Psyborgs… ah, thank you Mysta.”

Said Psyborg grinned, then left after setting two cups of coffee on the table. It was uncanny how life-like Mysta's eyes were. Shu's crafts were excellent, but Uki did not expect it to be so accurate to the real thing. But then again, Fulgur’s eyes, when facing light in the right direction, also bore an uncanny resemblance to human eyes. It had actually gotten harder and harder to differentiate Psyborgs from humans as time evolved. Uki remembered back when he was a child, it was easier to tell these artificial intelligent instruments from humans.

“Hey, Shu. I have one last thing to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think… Psyborgs are like, homunculi?”

“Homunculus? The… perfect human created by alchemy, you say?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… do you remember what happened in your mother’s womb, Uki?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then I suppose this case is the same. They have an advantage, that is being able to memorize and process everything fed to them from the moment they open their eyes… but not like, instantly know everything as the amount of information this world has to offer is vast. Plus, even if you have access to them all… how do you even know which of them is true and which of them is false?. I mean, what’s the fun in instantly knowing that? Grabbing knowledge into your own hands, feeling it, seeing it with your own eyes… now that’s the stuff I’d wanna have.”

“Spoken like a true scholar. Well, I have to go home now, he's waiting for me. Thank you for having me."

"No problemo. Hey, if you ever need help, remember I'm here, okay?"

“... Yeah.”

Quietly, Mysta re-entered the room as soon as Uki’s bike engine started.

“Is it even possible for a human to develop feelings for a Psyborg?”

“Are you doubting him, Mysta?”

“Well, no… yes.”

Shu chuckled.

“Mysta, Psyborgs are basically designed to be as close to humans as possible. After humanity stepped up its automation game from androids and other forms of AI, scientists have been more ambitious than ever. Then, after generations and generations of scientists, rulers and scholars, we’ve finally come to the point where it’s acceptable to have pieces of mechanization that resemble humans closely. In biology, if your, say… chimeras, like a pig with human cells implanted in it, turns out to be too human-like, then that would be considered blasphemous and the entire project will definitely be annulled. However, Psyborgs were lucky enough to be perceived as “non living things”, which give us a little crack in general morality that

“So… they don’t press on the human-like matter with us because we weren’t built from DNAs?”

“It’s just like what you said. Also, there's something that differentiate normal household or service Psyborgs from humans. Although they're programmed to be emotionally intelligent, they are rather… er, prone to be controlled because of how "perfect" they are."

"Can you elaborate?" Mysta was staring at his owner more intently than ever.

“Because they all follow this same perfect pattern, once you've discovered how to mess one up you have the power to make an entire army, and that's scary. It's a miracle no one has ever tried to do that."

“So that’s where their imperfection lies?”

“Uh-huh. I figured creating something unpredictable would help you guys in the future when someone tries to mess with your heart. Having a heart without a uniformity is better than… something that works with the precision of a clock, after all."

Shu’s words left Mysta deep in thought.

It was a rather busy day for Shu. Not too long after Uki left, the Yamino household received some new visitors. This time, it was Mysta who did the greeting for his owner.

“Hello Mysta. Can I see Shu, please?”

“Sure.”

"Hey, Shu. How're you these days?" There was no need for the visitor to announce who he was. Signaled by his lingering perfume-like voice, with a warm and crisp timber like a pot of ginger tea in winter, the man's confidence was peaking. He was Vox Akuma.

“Ah, Vox! Glad to see you went out of your way to come here.”

“I know how hard it is to get a hold of mister Yamino these days, so I gotta come here as soon as I get your invitation. I also need to ask you to look at Ike for a bit.”

“I can certainly do that… Oh, wow.” Right as he turned to face his friend, Shu was a bit surprised to see an unconscious Ike being carried in bridal style. As gentle as he possibly could, Vox laid him down on the operating table. With his eyes shut close, Ike’s features were even more prominent than they usually were. Vox’s honey butter eyes gazed at Ike was not only like that of someone marveling at a treasure of their possession, but also the gaze of a man worrying about someone he held dear. Shu returned from his storage, just to see his friend softly stroking the hair of his Psyborg. Setting the tools down, he exclaimed:

"You sure do love him huh, Vox?"

The actor went quiet. His tone suggested Shu's deduction was not too far from the truth:

"Focus on your work please, Shu."

"Alright, alright." The scientist held the unconscious Ike up with a contraption specifically designed to fix Psyborgs. First, he started by taking off his mechanical patient’s shirt, then removing his heart out of its “cage” to completely deactivate him, ensuring that the operation would go as smoothly as possible. He then strung Ike up on a contraption with chains attached to it, putting him straight up like a chicken. After everything was done, Shu proceeded to open the heart out and took out his repair magnifying glasses to check for any damage inside. To Vox, it more or less looked like Shu was doing some BDSM roleplay with Ike. He said, unamused:

"Your taste is still as bad as ever, huh?"

"Shut up. I'm the one fixing Ike right now. I am literally holding his heart in my hand."

Mysta suddenly entered the room with a few scones and a pot of tea. Finding it to be pretty charming, Vox said his thanks and took the scones from Shu's household Psyborg. They were all piping hot, presumably only having been taken out of the oven not long before.

"This is gonna take a while, so have some."

"Thanks, Mysta."

Quietly, Shu's Psyborg inspected Vox as if he was looking for evidence in a crime scene while his master inspected Ike. Mysta had to admit, Vox has such a pretty face that it was hard for anybody to not draw their attention to him. Even if his role in a movie was just a teensy tiny cameo, people would still flock to the box office just to see him. His frown grew deeper and deeper the longer he looked at the Psyborg. Even the Akuma heir could sense confusion and fear coming from his breath.

"Is there a big problem, Shu?"

“It’s probably gonna take me pretty long to repair Ike… Yeah, he has a few parts that need replacing and maintenance… Let me do another round of check ups.”

Vox eventually grew impatient. Clicking his tongue at a rate of a mile an hour, he asked:

“How much does it cost? Do you need any special equipment or…”

“Not quite… But I’m also planning on doing maintenance to sustain him longer. You know, since he’s…”

“What?”

“He… Vox, I’ve never told you this because I was afraid you couldn’t take it, but now that the cat should be out of the bag… did you know he was a…?”

Chapter Text

“A what now?”

Mysta dropped the cup on his hand, shattering it into pieces of ceramic on the floor. Vox almost stood up, but seemed too exhausted to fully get on his feet. It was as if his eyes were forming bags right on the spot. The lights in Shu’s laboratory had turned a sickening shade to him. Resting his head on his hand, he sighed:

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I'm sorry."

"Recycled means… he was made from parts of other Psyborgs, right?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean he has a deadline? The time that remains until he… dies?"

"Most certainly, yes. When all of his parts break down and become irreplaceable. Right now, a portion of his body is starting to act up, and I suspect it wouldn't be long before his life… eventually comes to an end."

“How much time do you think he has left?”

“...17 years, with the proper maintenance. Without repairing and maintenance… 12.”

Vox already knew there were problems with Ike when he picked him up, he just wasn't expecting it to be so severe. This was not the first time the heir was stuck in a position where he couldn’t do anything to help those who were important to him. Still, knowing Ike could not be saved was slowly killing him from the inside.

“Ike…”

“What do you want to do, Vox? The decision is all yours.”

“I’ve already made up my mind.”

Piercing Shu with his gaze, Vox’s words were made loud and clear:

“No matter how hard it would be, I’ll do my best to keep Ike. Til death…”

“Do you part. Then, please believe in me. I will try anything, I will do everything in my power to give him what he…”

Pausing momentarily, Shu looked up at a worn-out Vox.

“And you, deserve.”

“Thank you, Shu.”

“Look, you're my friend and I care a ton lot about you. I'm not joking when I say I would try anything to help you.” Ruffling Vox’s hair like he always did in the past, Shu assured him.

*****

Fulgur couldn’t help but become more and more concerned for Uki. He had been a lot more grumpy and seemed like his mind was put elsewhere. If things were going in this direction without being solved thoroughly, sooner or later he would

“We really need to talk about what’s happening to you, Uki. Please sit down next to me.”

“...Can you let me hold your hand, Fuufuuchan?”

Fulgur never realized how small his owner’s stature was. Uki’s hand could fit inside his own perfectly. As the owner played with his Psyborg’s hand, his long, white, slender fingers doodled on the metallic palm painted in a cherry red shade. Mindlessly, they leaned onto each other, heads touching each other affectionately.
“Do you want to talk about our feelings?”

“I do, yeah.”

“You go first.”

“I’ve been… feeling weird lately. It’s because of love.”

“Yeah, I know that too… But just exactly how do you feel that “love”?”

“I guess it’s… a painful, stinging feeling that’s ready to burst out of my chest at any time? Like, a heartburn. And I was… I was hoping, I was having an intuition that maybe, just maybe, you feel the same way towards me. But it was probably just my own imagination.”

The air was filled with verbal, but not emotional, silence. No one, not even Fulgur, said anything. But he did squeeze Uki’s hand a little bit tighter, as he once again became the first one to speak up:

“Things really never turned out the way we wanted, do they…?”

“I’m sorry, Fuufuuchan. It was terrible of me to develop such feelings for you.”

“No…”

“What?”

“No, you… you were right about your intuitions. I was catching feelings like swarms of butterflies too.”

Uki’s heterochromic eyes could only reflect the Psyborg. He wanted nothing more than to hold him in his arms.

“Fuufuuchan?! Fulgur? What did you just say? Say it again to me, please!”

“Uki Uki…” Tenderly, the Psyborg cupped his owner’s face into his hand, the metallic grey pigment in his eyes and Uki’s violet tincture mixed together as their irises reflected each other’s eyes. Fluttering his lashes, the human was vying for his Psyborg’s locked up endearment.

Fulgur mouthed a phrase that Uki and him both understood its meaning. “Love”.

“Do you love me?”

“I wish to be with you till the end of times.”

Fulgur knew his heart well. He didn't do this out of pity or out of a sense of duty towards his master. It was exactly because of this sentimentality that came from a malfunction in his "Soph" that made him this way.

The newly bonded couple decided to come to Yugo's next concert to commemorate their first outing as a pair. It was the pre scheduled acoustic concert that Yugo had announced a few weeks prior. Excited, the young man climbed on stage to do his checkups one more time before finally starting the concert. However, there was a big problem.

Despite this being a music-themed event, there was no sound coming from any of the equipment.

Yugo became frantic in a timespan of only five minutes. It was only five minutes until the live concert started. Everyone was starting to flood the stage, yet there was still something wrong with the sound system. Being an independent performer, Yugo persisted that he would prepare for everything on his own without the help from anyone so as not to burden them. But things didn’t always go as we planned them to be.

As Yugo tested his DJ set, there was absolutely no sound coming off of it. His mic, too. When he went to check it, there was something wrong with all of the cables.

"No…"

He was far too familiar with this scene. He'd seen this countless times in the past. Technical difficulty, voice being wrecked by stress and smoke, people telling him to go off the stage… he was gonna let people down once again. Yugo's eyes were completely wet from sweat and tears. But like a miracle, someone had already come by his side to help him. Ike, present backstage, was standing right next to Yugo. Kneeling down, he gently patted the young man on his back to soothe him.

“Yugo? What’s wrong?”

“Ike…? You came already?”

“Yep, it’s me. Do you mind telling me what’s wrong?”

“The system… it’s all messed up. Ike, I’m going to mess up! I’m seriously going to mess up! I’ve failed them so many times in the past, yet why does it keep happening? Am I so undeserving of this success?!” Yugo was on the verge of tears once again. Fear and anger had almost completely taken over him, but Ike was there to stop it. The Psyborg’s presence next to Yugo was like a soothing scent in the atmosphere. Wrapping his arm over the DJ, Ike tried to soothe him:

“Yugo, Yugo, listen to me. Take a deep breath.”

It actually worked. The DJ found his mind easing up with every breath that he took, and the banging headache that was killing him from the inside also faded as if he just took a painkiller.

"Do you like skinship, Yugo? Like, body contact?"

"Uh huh…"

"Then, let me hug you."

Ike’s warm embrace was the final straw. Just like that, Yugo let himself drown in his overflowing emotions from the stress he had endured. Clinging onto Ike like a child holding onto his mother, he cried without any care for everything else in the world. He knew Ike had always had his back and would never judge him for expressing his emotions so freely.

“It’s okay, my sweet child. Just cry, go ahead and cry all you want.”

“I’m so useless… It’s all my fault

“I can help you with the system. There are many people who love you, and are willing to help you. So, you do not have to put yourself down like that.” Lifting the young man’s chin and wiping away his tears, Ike cupped Yugo’s face in his hands. Standing at 168cm tall, it was suffice to say that the DJ’s pretty face was rather delicate. Even when he just cried, his eyes - with one side redder than another - were still lovely.

“So you… you were a Psyborg? You have been a Psyborg all along?”

“Yes. Were you surprised, Yugo? Did you hate me?"

"Not at all." Yugo's eyes were starting to tear up again. "I've always liked you for who you are, Ike. I adore you."

“Hehe, I’m glad to hear that, but let’s leave the chitchat for later, okay? Let me help you.”

After leaving Yugo by himself for a while Ike came back with a contraption that was shaped like a black cube.

"I borrowed this from people from your club. See, it doesn't hurt to ask for help from other people around you sometimes. Let me stick this in here… this in here… and yeah, the sound will be stabilized now. Now, are you gonna perform with your guitar today? Where is it?"

"I'll go get it by myself."

"There are many people willing to help you, Yugo. Don't be afraid, or you'll miss out on countless opportunities. Now go out there and perform. I'll watch." Not before waving his farewell to the DJ, the vocalist swiftly disappeared. Yugo was rather dumbfounded, yet the sound of the audience, even though it was a curtain behind him, was so loud that it made the floor vibrate and reeled him back to reality.

"Hello. Um, I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting… we ran into some technical difficulties."

"It's okay Yugo!"

"We can wait for you!"

"We love you Yugo"

"Y-You guys…"

Amidst all the tears welling in his blue eyes, Yugo looked around As Ike disappeared into the crowd, Yugo watched him, admiration and adoration still present in his gaze.

“Even though I asked him at the last minute, he still agreed to help me. Thank you for supporting me… even from the future or present time. Thank you very much. So, let’s hear it. “REVvolution”, by… Yugo Asuma.”

Instead of using the virtual Dj table as his instrument like he always did, this time the DJ decided to go for a more authentic, old-fashioned instrument: the guitar. To some people, it was their first time listening to someone playing this string instrument. But the unique sound produced from the wooden instrument sure was alluring… and gave off an oddly unfamiliar nostalgic feeling. The atmosphere was unlike before, where everyone went crazy over the high decibels of music that pumped up the dancefloor. Quiet draped itself like an invisible blanket across the room, to Fulgur’s amusement. Secretly, he opened up his imprinting function to record everything happening. He wanted to keep the memories of this night alive forever. Yugo’s sharp, tonic voice went extremely well with his instrument, creating an uplifting melody. Somehow, Fulgur could feel Uki quietly wrapping his fingers around his hand.

“Uki…?”

“Shh.”

He, too, was absorbed in the act. Yugo was even more attractive than ever as he was relaxing almost completely. Fulgur sure hoped Ike was watching this performance and be proud of the man he used to support. When the song was over, the audience fell into complete silence, before it exploded with a rain of applause. People were chanting Yugo’s name over and over.

“As you guys might have known, I used to… overthink a lot. I fret over the smallest things, and I blamed myself many times in the past. But…”

Stopping to gain his breath and to probably stop himself from being over-emotional, the DJ continued, gripping the neck of his guitar harder.

“I stopped thinking like that. I’m just gonna do whatever I wanna do. Thank you everyone. Thank you…”

“I’m gonna do something ONLY I can do!” As he got out his acoustic guitar, Yugo started his passionate strumming of a song, spontaneously. He was playing without any care in his mind. At that moment Yugo Asuma was freer than any soul in this world. He was the blue bird of hope and liberty, soaring high up above the night sky. As the song progressed, his voice grew even more powerful even though he just screamed and shouted only a few minutes before that.

The crowd went silent for a minute, before everyone bursted out into a thunder of applause. Even his heart seemed to be beating just as hard. Now that everything was over, Yugo felt raw in his voice. But it was worth it.

“Thank you. I want to appreciate you guys… just once again.” The DJ could no longer differentiate his sweat and tears. It was the peak moment of his life, up to this point.

See you in next tune.

A blue bouquet was already waiting for him backstage.

When Ike finally returned to the Akuma house, it was already quite late and a downpour was also starting. The neighborhood had already had their lights turned off, thus making his house one of the only ones with its lights turned on. Vox was also waiting for him at the front door.

“Ike. Where have you been?”

“Went out to help a friend.”

“You know you’re not allowed to move around without my permission, right?”

There was nothing Ike could do. Vox was concerned for his well being, even if he didn’t and was just selfish enough to keep Ike at one place, that reason was enough to keep him from disobeying his master and staying at home. Still, Ike could hardly believe his master would be the first person to betray him on their lifelong oath, which they've both signed a contract over. It was a pact about respecting each other's freedom and boundaries. Feeling like his commitment was detained, the Psyborg's heart mechanically and quietly bled with pain. Not letting Ike being fully absorbed into his pain yet, Vox continued, his voice sonorous:

“You’re lucky I didn’t call the police on you.”

“Excuse me? What in the seven hells did you just say?” The kitchen chair stumbled and fell. Ike quickly went into a flying fury without himself noticing it.

“I’m saying… Using someone else’s Psyborg like that, does your friend have no shame? He’s lucky I didn’t report to the police that you were missing, since after all you went out without my approval. How do you think I feel? Like you only went out to help some friends like you said? No! What if something were to happen to you and I couldn't save you in time?"

"I'm sorry. That won't happen again."

"How much have you lied to me, Ike?"

"Huh?"

"I don't know how long you have been unfaithful to me, but from now on I'm going to turn on your navigation chip 24/7."

"You…! Vox. Are you seriously trying to control my own freedom?”

"If helping you keep yourself in check counts as "controlling your freedom", then yes I am doing it, so what?"

“Do you remember our oath? What you swore, upon your name? Are you so terrible a man as to go out of your way and break that promise?”

"I am not…!"

"Yes you are! Vox, just since when did you stoop so low?!" Even when Ike was standing as straight as he could, Vox could still cast his shadow over him. Though, he was no longer afraid of their disposition. Although he was the one making decisions in Vox's stead, his life was in the palm of this man's hand, entirely. In the end, everything was a puppet game between him and this man, but it’s high time to put everything to an end. Without feeling the need to take anything with him, the Psyborg made a decision to be selfish for once and stormed out of the house, into a bigger storm that was waiting for him outside.

“Ike? Ike! Come back here right this instance! If you take another step, you're out of this house!"

"Then so be it. I'm sick of seeing your face the whole time, Milord.”

The rain was still pouring as hard as it possibly could. Just for the sole purpose of provoking and defying his master, Ike walked alone in the cold drizzling.

Chapter Text

There was knocking on the door. Yugo still hadn’t gotten back home from work, so Sonny bet it must be him.

But it was not.

“You're…"

“Good day, Officer Sonny Brisko. We have received reports that you are illegally housing a Psyborg that was not registered in the official federal files and was supposed to be discarded half a year ago. Therefore, we have a warrant to search your house. Please cooperate, as your words can be used as testimony against you in court.”

"... I do not know where you got that information from, but I do not have a Psyborg."

"Onii?" Alban's voice resounded in the corridor. Sonny almost flinched.

“Then what was that sound?” The other officers asked.

"It was my automatic voice message system. I… used my younger brother's voice for it." As he answered the questioning officer, Sonny secretly sent a message to Alban that only said "run". But that was enough for the VSF to feel like there was no need to question him any further.

"The Force Security Bill, Article Seven, Section 4B: "Any team of law enforcers have the right to question house search officers who were allegedly suspected of legal misconduct”. Now, if you cooperate with us…"

Sonny knew there was no way out of this. Alban either had to escape, or he had to surrender to them.

“O-onii?” Alban trembled.

“Run, Alban. RUN!”

Alban couldn’t run. His whole body just froze. Even if his legs were flexible enough to run, it was too late. The guards were already pushing Sonny aside and waltzing straight into the Brisko house. A fearful Alban held up a shotgun. There was no place to hide. Little did he know, that gun was a fatal mistake.

"Officer Brisko, please cooperate with us and you will be protected by the law…"

"Put your hands where we can see them!" A voice echoed from inside of the shared house. Alban was all alone there. Sonny would risk being shot if he tried to run to him, and vice versa. Stuck in this predicament, the officer had no choice but abiding to everything he was told like a puppet being strung up and controlled.

"NO! Please, don't take Alban away! I'm begging you!" Sonny’s and Alban’s gut wrenching screams echoed as the Psyborg law enforcement workers took the little rogue away. He tried to kick and fight his way out, but it was useless. They beat him, over and over again, taunting both him and Sonny with phrases indicating that they think of him no more than a piece of gadget created to serve humans, and that his existence was already wrong in the first place.

“Onii! Onii! Save me! I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die!!!” Alban kept on repeating, his begging for mercy grew more desperate as his voice became hoarse from shouting and crying.

"You're even trying to get his attention by calling him by a nickname? Bratty little robot. You'll be terminated soon."

"Don't hurt him! You can do anything you want to me, please stop hitting him…"

“Officer Sonny Brisko. We will now escort you to the Metropolitan Tower. Once again, we ask you to cooperate.”

Sonny wanted to get his gun out and save Alban on the spot, but he knew it would put him and his Psyborg in even higher risk of being executed by the law. With no choice left to guarantee better safety for himself and his loved one, Sonny raised his hands over his head, surrendering to those who were his colleagues.

*****

After a long nap at the club, Yugo woke up to find himself alone. Realization suddenly struck the DJ - it has been ages since he went home with Sonny and Alban.

Excited, he quickly took the public train to go home as fast as he could. He couldn't wait

“I’m home!”

There was no response. As soon as Yugo stepped inside, he could strongly feel the dreadful silence filling the house.

"Sonny? Alban? Hello?"

No response. No "welcome home" or even a simple "hi". At first, Yugo thought it was just another prank by those two, and when he entered a random room both of them would jump out, probably from a closet or a door. Yeah, that could be it.

But even after he'd opened all the doors and looked into every possible hiding place, there was no sign of Sonny or Alban.

“ALBAN! SONNY!” Yugo desperately called out. What could have possibly happened to them? Damn it, he shouldn't have stayed at the club for so long. Had he stayed at home for Sonny and Alban, it might not have turned out like this. Disregarding his own belongings, he searched for any clues of his housemate's whereabouts. Upon seeing the trail that resembled scratch marks across the floor, Yugo understood everything. Dialing Uki’s number with his wristband, the DJ trembled:

“Uki… help us. Sonny and Alban are gone!”

*****

“OH SHIT!” Fulgur cussed as he almost crashed the car for the third time into a post lamp. A terrified Yugo was yodeling next to him:

“YOU CAN’T DRIVE?!”

“I can’t! It’s always Uki who does the driving. Even so, we’re always on a bike!”

"Oh my god ARE YOU SERIOUSLY– gimme the steering wheel!" With that out of the way, Yugo quickly became the one behind the wheels even though he wasn't the best driver either. Making turns and revving the car up as fast as he humanely could, the DJ has already disregarded any care for general traffic safety. His number one priority for now was to get to Alban, pee the plan that was devised in fifteen minutes between him, Uki and Shu Yamino.

"Y… Yugo… I'm a little dizzy now. Can you please tone down on the shaking and turning?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I haven’t turned on the de-shock function. Sorry sorry, I'm reaaally sorry."

“There’s a stabilization function?”

"Is that what it's called?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

After Yugo pushed a few buttons on the control panel, Fulgur felt much easier on his stomach.

It was probably due to the “mercy bill” - that was what they call it in the VSF, at least, that Alban and Sonny had to be held in quarantine before their sentences could be decided. Since Alban was a Psyborg that was supposed to be terminated before, there was no other choice for him left. However, the “mercy bill” allowed an owner and Psyborg pair to say their last goodbyes before the Psyborg was to be removed from the world, and the VSF decided to use exactly that as torture to Sonny. In the jail cell, alone Alban sat. The stinging pain on his head still hadn’t left after those officers forcefully hit it to shut him up. As soon as he came back to his senses, his first reaction was to look for Sonny - his dearest Onii. But then he figured they probably wouldn’t keep them together to prevent any form of jailbreak. Devastated and frightened, Alban became defensive of everything. Even the smallest of noises made him jump. A guard passing by was no exception, especially since following his appearance was a sudden bang with smoke emitting from who knows where. Suddenly, two figures appeared, one considerably smaller than the other.

"INTRUDERS!" As the guard was about to take out his walkie talkie, the taller figure - whom now Alban could make out to be Fulgur - immediately went into fight mode and pressed the man on some of his pressure points, silencing and knocking him down entirely. He then grabbed the walkie talkie and smashed it into the wall.

"Shut the– shut up man. Don't make this job harder for us." Yugo said as he stole the keys from said guard and finally, unlocked Alban from his confinement. As Yugo did the job, Fulgur rushed to the bars to hold Alban's flailing hand.

"Albanyan, hey, it's us. We're here to pick you up, baby."

“Hey, we got here just in time, didn’t we? Didn't even need to use this bad girl.” Taking out and checking a shotgun inserted in his belt, Yugo grinned. Alban's tears were also pooling up the moment he saw Yugo, which had left him in a tearful mess of fear, happiness and stress.

As soon as Alban was out of the cell, the trio rushed to Sonny’s spare VeloCar which was parked outside. As Yugo gently took a frightened Alban’s hand and helped him into the car, a sudden shake almost dropped him and the Psyborg from a height of 16 metres. Sirens blared from a distance, startling Fulgur behind the steering wheel.

“What’s the big idea?!” Yugo squawked as Alban held onto him as tight as he could, his nails dug into the DJ’s skin.

“We’re getting fucked!” Fulgur howled for an answer. Checking one last time, to see if Alban and Yugo were in their seats safe and sound, he hurriedly pumped up the engine and drove away without any regards for the speed limit.

“I can’t believe there will come a day when I have to rescue a friend of mine who’s a Psyborg…” Yugo sighed. Upon seeing Alban’s anxious expression, he awkwardly extended an arm, gently rubbing and stroking on Alban like a mother soothing a child. He even softly tried to rock him to sleep. Being the introverted guy he was, Yugo was more keen on keeping his true emotions to himself but today was different. He had to be emotionally supportive of the little Psyborg right now.

"There, there Neko-chan. It's okay, no one's gonna hurt you now. We'll protect you."

"Yugo… Where's… Onii…?"

“Uki and the others are coming to get him out of there now. Don’t worry, yeah? He’ll be safe.”

There was silence between the three of them. Fulgur wanted to get Alban to talk, but Yugo had already told him not to, since he suspected the Psyborg was previously traumatized from the events. He had stopped shivering, but his eyes were still pale and unlively.

“Guys…” It was now that Alban finally bursted into tears once again. These emotions were becoming overwhelming for him.

“Waah Alban, you’re heating up!” White smoke was coming out of the Psyborg, from his head downright to his stomach. Taking off his own coat, Yugo frantically tried to put the smoke off as best as he could.

“Thank you… thank you, all of you.” Were Alban’s last words before he eventually collapsed onto Yugo with a loud “thud”. The DJ started to make noises that, in Fulgur's respected opinion, sounded as if he was trying to gather every word in the English alphabet and pronounce them all at once.

“Fulgur, what’s wrong? Neko-chan… all of a sudden, he just fainted onto me! Help!”

“This is probably overheating due to overwhelming emotions. He’s overloaded.”

“So many “over”...”

“I know. Yugo, do you have a water bottle or something of the sort? Just… water.”

“Here.” Yugo handed him a bottle with many stickers attached to it. A bit too gaudy to Fulgur's needs, but helpful nonetheless. With that out of the way, Fulgur zipped open Alban’s shirt. His hand scrambled a little bit before reaching a slit on the Psybor’s skin - it was actually the lid for a case inside his body. Fulgur took out a small crystal sphere with small electronic components connected as a web. The archivist Psyborg couldn’t help but praise the complex overall structure of Alban’s "Soph" - his heart. Still, advanced as it was, its biggest problem was presenting itself to him.

“This will deactivate his consciousness and functionality, which will make it safer for us to perform treatment on him.” Fulgur explained. Pocketing the heart, he turned the Psyborg around to open another case at his back and poured the water in.

“What are you doing, dude?!”

“Relax, I’m not killing him. He just needs a supply of water to cool his system down, literally. Yugo, why don’t you watch while I help him? That way, you’ll know what to do next time when you see an overheated Psyborg.”

Slowly, Yugo found a dark alley to park his car in. As Fulgur poured the water inside Alban, it immediately took a cooling effect. The smoke died down, and Alban’s body temperature also cooled down.

“Psyborgs like you guys can become sick from stress too?”

“Although it’s not the most accurate word, I suppose, with how human-like we are, sick is a good way to put it… but yeah. Don’t act like we’re just toys for humans to play with.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just… this is peculiar to me. I’ve never seen a sick Psyborg before.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for yelling at you. It's not like everyday that one gets to see an overheated Psyborg. My fault.”

“No, I’m sorry for being ignorant too.”

“So we’re even?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Fuu-chan.”

Fulgur had never told Yugo, but he loved to see him smiling. It eased up the tension in his heart.

******

On Uki's side, he and Shu were driving towards where Sonny was held. Unlike Yugo and Fulgur’s reckless driving, Shu's system was safer, though the efficiency was probably the same.

"By the way, how did you manage to find them? I don't remember you having any connec…"

"Alban was my creation."

"What?"

"Like I said, Alban was one of my Psyborgs. One of my… children, if you wanna say so. When I created him and a few others, I made sure to plant location chips inside them so that I have full control of where they're going."

"That sounds a little… well, but it helped us anyway, so I'm not gonna complain. Who else did you create?"

"Other than Alban? I… I think you know them. Many Psyborgs aren't who you think they are."

"Then, is Luca Kaneshiro one of your creations too? And was his "mayor's son" appearance a facade?" Uki knew it sounded paranoid, but he was genuinely curious. In fact, it was so ridiculous that it rendered Shu too stunned to speak. After fumbling and almost crashing his vehicle, the scientist gave a reply:

"No, of course not. Now please let me concentrate on driving or we're gonna hardly even know our way to heaven."

In the jail cell, Sonny was devising a plan to break out. Being stripped off of his weapons and suit, they assumed he was practically useless now. However, in the past, Sonny used to go into these establishments a few times, in which he managed to memorize the structure. Calculating the probabilities as well as risk, he found himself at a rather disadvantageous position.

But right when he was least expecting to be saved, the tunnel of despair gave him a ray of light at its end.

"Uki! What are you doing here? The guards could be coming any minute now!"

"About that… Shu already took care of them to assure we can get you out without any hassle."

"Shu? Doctor Shu Yamino?"

"Eyyyyy." Shu greeted the man behind bars with a wave.

"There's no time for questions now. You gotta go with us… Put these on. We’ve managed to steal it from one of the dudes here. You really gotta tell them to up their security games."

“And by doing so, you added quite a number of legal charges against yourselves…” Sonny sighed. “I’m very sorry for dragging you guys into this. By the way, how did you know I was taken here?”

“It’s all thanks to Shu and Yugo. Yugo reported your missing to me, and then we went and found Shu. Right now, he and Fulgur are going to get Alban out of his capture place.”

Upon hearing the word “Alban”, Sonny's face turned into a grimace. His brows furrowed, the corners of his mouth curled down as his lips were pursed.

“Dammit, I should’ve done a better job protecting him…”

“You couldn’t help it, Sonny. It’s not your fault…”

“It is! I should’ve known better. I’ll explain to you on the way out, but to put it simply… you and I are on the same boat, this whole time. Alban was actually from the black market…”

"What?! You're the VSF, and you broke the law?" Uki couldn't believe his ears.

"He was about to be destroyed by my team! As the captain, I had to take responsibility and get rid of him, but I couldn't!"

"Aren't you trained for that?"

"I was. But my heart becomes weak at the worst times."

Uki couldn’t bring himself to be mad at Sonny. Knowing him, Sonny was definitely the type to do that. Being the man with a heart of gold he was, the VSF officer was not exactly the type to act on logic. Not everyone was like him, though - Sonny was actually one of the few who was kind enough to stop in his tracks and reflect about his past missions, whom he hurt, who he was at the beginning. There were all kinds of people on the force - as many types of men there were in modern society, the exact people can be found in VSF. Sonny was a sweet young chap, true and true.

But Fulgur and Yugo appeared again, with enough smoke to cover an entire room, cutting Uki off his stream of thoughts.

“UKI!”

“Ukiiiii!”

“Yugo! Fuufuuchan!” Uki called out.

“We saved Albanyan! He’s in pretty rough shape, but he’s alive!”

Sonny quickly ran towards them. Upon receiving an unconscious Alban, he immediately pulled him as close as he possibly could to his chest, crying:

"ALBAN! Alban, I'm so sorry… Alban…"

There was no response from the Psyborg. Immobile and completely relaxed like a ragdoll, his entire weight was put on Sonny.

"Guys… What's wrong? What happened to Alban?"

"He overheated."

"How did that even happen?... Did the guards make him malfunction?" Those last words were said in a voice so ominous Fulgur could hardly believe it was coming from Uki's best friend. Sonny looked as if he was ready to take revenge at any time. Even the look in his eyes had changed - the warm, sunshine-like cinnamon roll was no longer there, only a Sonny Brisko in the midst of his bloodlust and hunger for his enemies' cries for mercy. Though he knew Sonny had some kind of violent tendencies that he hides, even Uki had never seen his friend in this state, but it was making him feel things.

"No, he's just overwhelmed from feeling so many things all at once. With proper care and rest, he'll recover in no time." Shu explained.

"But now that we're in a big crowd like this, we have a higher risk of getting caught by the force… what should we do now?"

“I can help.”

Everyone knew way too well who the man standing at the doorway was.

“Are you gonna run away from me again, Shu?”

Shu didn’t budge. His look remained the same as he and Luca were pinning at each other, eye to eye. Luca seemed upset… but was he really?

“What do you want from me?”

“Not a bad romance like last time, at least. You kinda made me sadge the whole time.” Luca’s voice sounded happy as ever, but Shu knew exactly what the intention behind it was. His eyes were following every movement of the mafia, from the way he spinned his gun elegantly to the tapping of his feet on the ground. As soon as Luca went behind him, Shu stopped his observation. Averting his gaze to the ceiling, the scientist’s thoughts were finally voiced:

“Luca wouldn’t use words like… “bad romance”. Tell me, who are you exactly?”

The young gangster stopped in his tracks, gun still pointing at Shu’s head. As he was now standing behind Shu, he could not make out what his face was indicating. But everyone’s gasp suggested something either real bad, or real odd had happened. The scientist turned around, just to be greeted with something he never anticipated.

“Wait, Luca, you’re a woman this whole time?” As the gangster stripped “his” fur coat and vest off, “his” perky bosoms were peeking out under a black shirt that was not fully buttoned towards the chest. Sonny and Shu blushed, while the others didn't seem to be bothered that much by this promiscuous behavior. The looks on Luca’s face suggested that "she" knew this would happen all along.

“Well, not quite… There’s no time to explain, but I surely will let you know all you need to know. For now, let’s hurry up and get to my car.” “Luca’s voice changed - now much more high-pitched and had a softer timber than just mere minutes ago. It was hard to believe that a woman could pull off a masculine voice that convincing.

As the group passed through the halls, sometimes the walls would break itself apart into big chunks that were enough to keep someone down. “I think they’re trying to wreck the walls to get us out like mice!” Mysta screamed. His first instinct upon seeing the wreckage was to pull Shu as close to him as possible while using his coat to cover his master up. The other Psyborgs did the same, which gave the rest another surprise as they saw ”Luca” almost did a similar motion, as if she was looking for her master to cover him up. At this point, Sonny was certain that “Luca” was also a Psyborg. But this was no time to get concerned over trivial matters - everyone’s safety had to be prioritized. A large piece of the wall fell off, but had it not been for Fulgur who was there to push Uki out of the way it would have fallen and crushed him.

“Fuufuuchan!” Uki yelled! Fulgur’s leg had a little piece of metal scraped off.

“It’s okay, Uki, I can go on.”

“I know another way. Hurry up and follow me!”

The rubble has already blocked their way down. Confused and angered, “Luca” muttered under her breath: “Shit, there's no way out…”

But clearly, being cornered didn't stop her from thinking of a solution. It only fired her up more than before. Staring outside the glass window, the young woman calculated carefully the risks before turning back to the gang:

“We gotta take a leap of faith.”

“What?!”

“There’s no choice left. Now, Mister Asuma, please hold onto me, we’re gonna jump. All Psyborgs, please hold onto your masters…”

“My Psyborg can’t… do that right now. I’m carrying him.” Sonny explained.

“Then, please wear this on your ankles and wrists. I'll jump first to catch everyone.” After “Luca” had handed the officer two specially-designed gadgets to support his arms and legs, she also made her own preparations for the jump with Yugo. With a swift and preconceived movement, she scooped the DJ up, carrying him in bridal style.

And the jump happened. All the way down, Yugo could do nothing but screamed bloody murder and clinged onto “Luca” as hard as he could (though he did admit afterwards that it felt nice when he was being held by a muscular woman in her arms). Even after they landed, he still didn’t have the guts to open his eyes and get down from her arms.

“Mister Asuma, please get down. We’re in my car now, you’re protected.”

“Hah, ah… okay… hah….” Exhaling and inhaling deeply, Yugo’s face was drained of every drop of blood there was supposed to be. Like a cat who was about to be thrown into the bath, he timidly dropped his legs first, before releasing his hold of “Luca”. Though Yugo thought she was going to be annoyed by his behaviour, she complimented the young man on his effort to get over his fear.

“Luca’s” VeloCar, which was waiting for them, managed to catch everyone perfectly, even Sonny who was hesitant at first as he considered the drop. To Yugo, Fulgur and Uki’s surprise, it could actually fit all of them.

“Buckle up, gentlemen. This is going to get bumpy.”

The car was immediately put on highway speed as soon as Lucy gassed it up. For those who were already used to speed, they didn’t budge that much. But things were not the same for the creator - Psyborg couple Mysta and Shu, who usually drive their car at a low speed.

“Who… are you, exactly?” Uki asked when they’ve finally cut tails with the Metropolitan force.

“My name is Lucy Kaneshiro. I’m… well, you can sorta say I’m Luca’s right-hand man.”

“Consigliori?” Fulgur asked.

“Quite.”

“Why were you there? Why did you rescue us?”

“I can’t answer all of those questions yet, but one thing I can assure you is that the famiglia is going to take care of this for you. From creating fake scenes to autopsy reports, we’ll get y’all covered.”

Shu went quiet for a bit, before eventually speaking up again:

“Was this one of Luca’s orders?”

“Yes, Shu. Please give him your thanks when we get to the house."

“You know Shu too?”

“Yes. He’s a popular name, isn’t he?”

“This is a little bit cramped…” Uki, who was sandwiched between Sonny and Yugo, complained.

“It fits us. Especially with Alban curling up in Sonny’s lap like that.”

“Thanks for rescuing him, Yugo, Fulgur.” Sonny softly said his gratitude as he buried his face in Alban’s hair. With his eyes closed shut, cheeks flushed and his breath now steady, Alban was soundly asleep in the arms of the officer. For the time being, he was safe and united with his big bro Sonny.

“No problem. We’re just happy you two are together now. Protect him at all cost, will you, Sonny?”

The officer couldn’t finish his thanks, because Lucy had already alerted all of them about an incoming threat:

“Hold on tight. I’m gonna gas this up.”

With that, the consigliori applied more pressure on the gas pedal with her foot. The car sped up, pulling everyone backwards. No one dared to say a word as Lucy's face became more and more frowned. They didn't want to anger the speed demon when she's doing her job.

“Yeah, we cut them off. Now we only have one thing left to worry about.”

“And that is?”

“Luca.”

Everyone except Lucy stared at each other.

Chapter Text

Luca was the same as ever. A happy smile, a dorky face, a laid-back attitude. When Lucy brought the gang back to him, he’d already waited to greet them in Casa Kaneshiro 's living room. 

“Luca, I would like to announce I am back with the Psyborgs.” 

"Thank you Lucy, you've done a fantastic job. Leave the rest to me, you're free now."

"Welcome, Rogue Psyborgs!" 

"Rogue?" Fulgur asked. "What do you mean, "rogue"?"

"Well, it seemed like someone from the new government of this state was a little… interested in Shu Yamino's works. So, they started by confiscating all of his creations that were not following the programmed protocol. Those creations in question are you guys.” 

"...What?" 

"Mysta, Fulgur, Alban and my Lucy are programmed rather differently, so they're under the risk of being destroyed by the authorities. But, since Lucy managed to pass the psychological test set for Psyborgs, she's basically protected under the law now." 

"It's okay, we can create a fake scene… I'll say, as the mayor's son, I've taken the liberty to resolve this matter by destroying each and every one of you. 

There was, however, one problem: Alban was having abandonment issues. If he was left alone for more than twenty minutes, the Psyborg would start to feel uneasy and start to hyperventilate. 

"Uuu…" 

"What's the matter, Alban?" 

"Onii… Please don't leave me. I don't want you to leave!" 

“I’m here, I’m here. Yeah, I’m not gonna leave, I promise.”

This worried Sonny more than ever, so of course the first one he consulted was Shu. After a two hour long session, he was given the answers that he somewhat did not want to accept. It seems like with these faulty rogue Psyborgs, they were not programmed to have the memory in their wires erased after any major traumatic experience happened to them, unlike the norm for most household Psyborgs. It was called the "autodelete" feature. Such a mechanism was created in order for Psyborgs to move on after their master's death, helping them serve their next owner without having to keep too much memory about their former masters in their disc. But evidently, Alban could still remember every detail about the day of his and Sonny’s arrest. 

Fulgur Ovid was not completely erased of his former memories either. As Uki recalled, he could hear him saying something about a “Legatus”, aside from the fact that he always introduced himself as an archivist. He tried not to pry too much into Fulgur’s past life (before being handed to him) since the past is the past. All there was to hold on was the present and future, and being the man he was, Uki really stuck to his own words. 

"As long as you guys stay with us here, then there's no need for you to be afraid. After all, just like how it was with past societies, the law was made to protect the rich rather than who it should have protected." 

La famiglia Kaneshiro’s hospitality was out of the question. The group were served with only the best food - fine dining, with ingredients sourced from only the best sources. It was natural for la famiglia to have their hands on such things, considering how much they’ve done for the community which helped them gain the respect they deserved. Food was filled to the brim in every dish and every tray, as well as beverages being refilled every time it was mere inches from being empty. Yugo in particular seemed to be very hooked on the buffet, especially with the octopus sashimi. As he was drowning himself in the octopus paradise, Mysta approached him out of his own curiosity: 

"Do you like octopus, Yugo?"

"Yeah. Actually, alive, fresh, squirming octopus are my favourite. Don't you like it when you can feel one slowly dying in your mouth?" 

"But what if the suckers stick to your esophagus?" 

"That's why you gotta make sure you killed it in your mouth!" 

Silence. No one present at the dinner party had the courage to reply to Yugo's eerie description, at least not until Luca himself replied: 

"That's… pog?" 

After the dinner party, everyone was led to their guest rooms which they will temporarily stay in for the meantime. 

“You tryna find hope in the dark?”

“But I’m stuck in the abyss”

It was another sleepless night for Uki Violeta. After being bombarded with too much information to process plus running around the whole day, he'd had enough. But even when he'd lied down on the large, comfy bed of la famiglia Kaneshiro, the man still found himself struggling to fall into slumber. 

"Hey, Uki. You awake?"

"You're the only one who knows if I am or not." 

“Haha. Cheeky as always, aren’t ya?” Fulgur lay down next to Uki. “I’m sorry this is rather cramped. Do you miss our home?”

“Not… really. We sure left many things there, but I’m content with you here.”

Fulgur fell silent. Contemplating what to say next, the Psyborg played with the sheets for a while as his owner laid motionless in bed. 

“Do you miss our home?”

“After all, it was my first home, so…”

“I was… you know, since we all heard what Shu, Luca and Vox said, and I’m also pretty sure that you know I’m pretty much the “rogue” kind of Psyborg. So I just want some confirmation… Will you still… have the hearts for me, even when I'm incomplete?"

It was rare for Uki to hear Fulgur losing his confidence like that. Somehow, it just made him want to protect his Psyborg even more, at all cost. Even if he had to murder for him, he was willing to. 

“I’ve always loved you for who you are, Fuufuuchan. You don’t have to question my love for you." Fulgur's eyes were a pool of tears by the time Uki's answer was given. Holding Uki's hand like a treasured artefact, he kissed his master's fingers tenderly and lovingly. The other one’s heterochromic eyes blinked, as he blushed like crazy from Fulgur’s gentlemanly act. 

"Oh boy, if I let my emotions seep out anymore, I'll probably overheat like Alban." Fulgur laughed as an effort to stop the atmosphere from tensing up, but Uki wasn’t gonna let him get away that easily. Forcefully pulling him into a kiss, Uki could feel the soft rustling of the bed sheets underneath their bodies. The warmth on Fulgur's body, the cold and hard feeling that stayed where he touched his mechanical parts… Uki wanted every single piece of Fulgur. Sure, he was possessing him on legal paperwork and contracts, but how could that compare to being entrusted by someone with their heart?  

“Ah…” A stray silver line connected them. Unable to keep his heart in check, Uki panted, taking off his outer jacket as he climbed atop of Fulgur: 

“Make me yours for tonight.”

"Alright. I won't make you regret this."

*****

Uki could faintly remember Fulgur’s movements inside him. His circumference, the dimension, his stimulation… Everything that happened felt like a dream. There was no mathematical formula nor physics solution that could ever suggest an explanation for the feeling that was incurred that night. As they both entered a trance together, Uki managed to show his partner - his very own Psyborg - his past visions as well as current feelings. Fulgur too, exchanged his memories with him until they both blacked out - one from short-circuiting, one from being overwhelmed. When Uki came back to his senses, he’d found himself already sitting in a bathtub with Fulgur sitting right next to it, his hair wet from the vapor in the bathroom.  

“Fuufuuchan…”

“You’re awake? Are you okay now, Uki?”

“Mmhmm. Thanks to your proper aftercare.”

“That’s the least I could do. Sorry, this is my first time with a human, so I didn’t expect so many issues would happen…” 

“You made me happy, and that’s the most important thing.” 

“Ahh, that's right. You made my heart go crazy too, you know? Take responsibility, master."

“So… we’ve finally united. One soul, inside two bodies.”

“Oh boy, that soul would be more messed up than my system.” Filling the gaps between Uki’s fingers with his own, Fulgur laughed, while tenderly looking at his partner. To Uki, their relationship has transcended the barriers of Psyborg and owner, but Fulgur still wasn’t sure about how he felt. He had stepped over that line after all, but admitting to it needs bravery. 

“I don’t mind sharing the same soul, as long as it’s with you.”

“Even if we have to be dragged to hell?”

“Even if we have to go to hell. Wherever you go, I’ll go with you.”

******

La casa Kaneshiro was the first place Vox thought of when he thought about places that Ike could possibly go to. Even though he was anxious and rather worn out, as soon as Luca's Psyborg servants greeted him, he immediately put on the best front he possibly could - the manly, kind, reliable gentleman of the Akuma Production company. However, once they're out of sight and it was just him and Luca, the man reverted to his depressed self. 

“Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be even more out of your mind than usual. Care to explain?" 

"... Can't you see Ike is not with me?" 

"Ah, so that's the reason. Sounds very unpog, indeed…" 

"Are you teasing me?" 

"I'm not. I'm just surprised to see… how I am the advocate for the prevention of Psyborg dependency, yet one of my best friends is one. It's like you can't live with him." 

"It's not! It’s not like that. Luca, don’t you know how bad his conditions currently are? He could literally break down at any moment!” 

Luca's expression remained unfazed as he stared at his best friend. 

“I know where he is, but you’ll have to tell me what’s going on between you two before I can hand him out.”

“Luca, I am very much exhausted and in distress. I just want to have my Psyborg back to have a chat with him.” 

“Then you’ll take him back home, right? Are you sure you can keep him like that forever?”

“...!”

“Ike might have a weaker constitution than most, but let me ask you something. Do you remember that set of toy soldiers I broke when we were kids?”

“I do, yes." 

"Were you mad at me?" 

"I… I was, at that point, but I said I've forgiven you already! What does that story have to do with this?”

“If you've already forgiven me for something that I deliberately broke, then why can't you let go of someth– sorry, someone who will sooner or later break? Everything must break. Everything must go away, eventually. Nothing stays. Not even the stars that we saw as children.”

Vox's gaze soon dropped to the ground, clouded with unacceptance and upset. 

“Accept it, Vox. Ike must eventually die, whether you want it or not. Whether you keep him as close to you as possible or let him be free to his will, it will only have one outcome. So rather than keeping him locked up and making that the reason for his resentment towards you for the rest of his life, why don't you let him go? Let him be free." 

Leaning his back against the couch, Vox exhaled deeply. He couldn’t argue against Luca in this matter.

“Is it too late to save our relationship now?”

“It’s not.” 

Turning his head to a smaller door in his room, Luca called out:

"...Ike, you can come out now." 

Entered Ike, who was being escorted by none other than Lucy herself. Though he literally went out in a heavy downpour, his condition seemed fine.

"Ike!" 

"Vox…" 

"Ike, I… I'm, I…" 

Slowly, the Psyborg walked towards his owner, who seemed relieved to be released from his distraught and able to see his darling Psyborg again. Almost opening his arms, he was more than eager to embrace Ike, but that wasn't the reply the Psyborg wanted. Standing at a distance, he asked:

"Do you want to admit it, or do I have to say it?" 

"I'm sorry." 

“For?”

“... I’m… I’ve hurt you deeply. I'm sorry. I've only thought about my selfish wishes without any regards to your feelings… I'm sorry. I'm very sorry." 

“I'm sorry too. I should've told you where I was going, and I shouldn't have left you at home worrying for me like that. I hope you can forgive me." 

"What are you saying? I should be the one asking for forgiveness…" 

"Vox, we're both in the wrong this time. I was undeniably wrong for opposing me so as my master, you have a." 

"I don't want to ruin your bonding moment but since Uki and you were living in the same area, the cops are searching both of your houses so don't go back there. For now, stay here, Lucy will lead you to your own room." Luca announced, before leaving the room. 

******

Deciding that it would be best for his guests (and possible fugitives) to get to know each other, Luca decided to host the next breakfast. Needless to say, everyone got a good shock to see each other at the dinner table. 

"Vox?" 

"Vox– wait, you guys know him?" Yugo asked.  

"We do, yeah. We were friends."

"Are friends." The voice demon corrected them. From the looks on their faces, it seemed like they had some beef with each other. But their Psyborgs were turning that beef into a steak:

“Ikey wikey!”

“Mysta sistah!” The Psyborgs cheered as they ran towards each other. Ike gave Mysta a big kiss on the cheek as the latter did the same for him before embracing. Vox didn’t seem all that happy though, especially since Mysta stuck his tongue out at him when Ike was too concentrated on the hug. 

"Shu! And Mysta too. How lively."  

"...Luca." Shu didn’t seem all that amused. Mysta, too, went oddly quiet as soon as Luca called them out. 

"Hold on. Don't tell me you and him…" Pointing at Luca then Shu, Yugo tried his best to form words. Seemingly understanding the DJ's unfinished question, the mafia boss nodded. 

Now Sonny, Uki, Yugo and their Psyborgs were even more confused. They all knew each other? And what's more, those three looked like they had some kind of falling out as well. Yugo glanced at Shu, who was doing his best not to look at Luca by averting his gaze to Vox, whose eyes were only on Ike.

“For now, why don’t you move into your temporary rooms? La casa is big enough for everyone to live in, so I’ve prepared rooms for you all. Lucy, can you please show them the way and give them their keys?”

“Sure.”

“And Vox, Ike, Shu, Mysta… Please follow me after breakfast.” 

*****

“Are you enjoying your stay here, Sonny?”

“I am, yes. Thank you, Lucy.”

“It’s my pleasure.” 

La famiglia Kaneshiro was a pleasant place, to Sonny himself. Though Alban did get lost here a few times, he was always returned to him safely. The natural scenery might also have contributed to its therapeutic effects as Alban's anxiety and abandonment problems were suppressed during his stay. Him, however, had never gotten over the day that changed everything. He didn’t dare to come back to the house they once had to collect any memoirs either. After the incident, Sonny was angered to find himself becoming even more cowardly. 

“Onii! Do you wanna go to the garden with me?”

"By the way, Alban… have you been trying vegetables lately?" 

"Eh? Uh… why did you ask?" 

Apparently, while Sonny was away, Yugo and Alban had lunch together since the former had promised to keep his friend company. In that very same meal, the cat-like Psyborg tried his best to get some vegetables onto his palate. Seeing his grimace at the sight of greeneries, Yugo lightly tapped his shoulder: 

"One shouldn't be picky about the food that they eat, Neko-chan. I'll teach you manners and…" 

"No, it's okay. I'll eat the veggies." 

“Huh?”

“Onii-chan is changing himself for the better. I wanna change, too.”

Alban’s words put a smile on Yugo’s face, as he slowly topped his plate with some bell peppers - something he’d always hated as a kid. 

“Then, let me join you. It’s always better to do things with your friends, don’t you agree?”

As he fondly recalled what happened that day and the way Yugo tried his best to help him eat what he’d always hated, a smile unconsciously bloomed on Alban’s face. 

"I still can't eat corn though, I hate them… I mean, Yugo tried to guide me through corn by putting some in curry, but I just can’t…. Blegh. Onii, why are you being so quiet?" 

"Heh?" 

"You're not talking to me as much as you did before…" 

Sonny never realized he was reverting to his old self. With his feelings bottled up so as not to hurt people, Sonny had slowly gone back to his old ways and became rather untalkative. 

"Onii… you always say that I need help, but just what are you doing to yourself? Now you’re the one who needs help, aren’t ya?”

“What? No… I’m perfectly fine, see? 

“You know… before I meet you, Alban… I was rather lonely. Uki and I are both lonely people, that’s why we consulted and found comfort in each other. But things changed after we got you guys, and when Yugo moved in with us, my life became even brighter." 

Alban's eyes were on his "big brother Sonny" the whole time as he talked. 

“You were the family that I needed. Being with you was like… "home". At first, I thought I just wanted to save you out of pity, but you made me realize I made the right choice. I probably talked too much, sorry.”

“Nah, I love hearing you talk. We can’t live without any communication with one another, after all. And, if I have to say it myself, I prefer you've talked to me about this sooner.”

“Haha. You really are strong-hearted."

"Am I? I'm just learning from you." 

"I learned from you too. Guess that makes us equals." 

Suddenly, the notification bell went off on Sonny’s wristband. Lucy was requesting a reply to her call. 

“Lucy? Is there something you need from me?”

“Please come to the conference room right now.” 

*****

“I would like everyone to come to the conference room, please. Vox Akuma requested your attendance.”

“What could that mean?”

“He wants us to be there.”

“I’m not dumb. I'm just worried we did something wrong.” 

“Where’s Luca?” Mysta asked as soon as he saw his fellow Psyborg friend.

“He’s got some business meetings to attend today, so I’ll be in charge of the house for the meantime.”

Lucy was no joke to mess with, so they all obediently did as they were told. Being the Consigliori of Luca, she was simply the secret holder and the scariest person in the block. One time, Yugo tried to flirt with her just to be shut down miserably.  

“So you mean to tell me that all of our Psyborgs were Shu’s fruits of labor?”

“Yes.” Lucy explained. “Except Vox’s Ike, we’re all created by Shu. But it’s just our group though,  registered household Psyborgs in the government’s files are all mass manufactured by companies that have bought Shu’s technology.” 

“How small does this world have to be…” Uki sighed, glaring at Alban and Mysta. 

“So we’re… siblings?” Fulgur asked. "Come here, Albanyan. I gotta give you a cheek kiss."

“Ewww no! I don’t wanna be brothers with Fulgur! You stiiiiink, your parts are rusty, you smell of old oil ew ew get away from me!” Alban wriggled as Fulgur approached him, acting as if he was going to give the young Psyborg a kiss on the cheek. However, in the end he did manage to kiss him, though he himself received a few scratches from Alban. 

“Now, all humans, please go out. I need to have a word with your Psyborgs.” 

“All of us?”

“Yes. Now please hurry.”

As Uki, Yugo and Sonny exited the room, they walked along the hall for a few minutes before coming to a sudden halt. Exchanging gaze with one another, they needed no words to know what was going on in their partner’s head.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah.”

And thus, the trio made a sharp turn and went straight back to the closed door of Vox’s room just to stick their ears on and listened to the conversation happening inside.  

“Do you know the reason why Psyborg and human romances are forbidden?” Vox asked. 

“Is it because that will reduce the global birth rates?”

“Precisely. Anything else?”

“Is it because Psyborgs were developed to be… human-like? Like, it’s because we were specifically designed to look like humans, but are not human enough since we cannot reproduce, therefore eloping with a Psyborg will only result in a childless relationship. Isn’t it too obvious?”

Vox sat straight up. 

“What did you say your name was?”

“I did not.”

“Well, can you please tell me your name?”

“Fulgur. Fulgur Ovid.”

“Ah yes, experiment number 1.0, Fulgur Ovid. The Adam of all Psyborgs. No wonder you looked strangely familiar to me. Yes, yes, Fulgur Ovid… the one modeled after me.”  

*****

"What? You can't be serious!" Alban yelled. "Fulgur is who he is, he wasn't modeled after anyone!"

"Were you there when he was created?" 

Alban was officially cornered. Without any convincing arguments to support his rebuttal, the young Psyborg gave in to silence. 

"Relax. I only said his model was built after my appearance. His heart was completely different from me, can’t you see? You have Shu to thank for that.” Vox nodded, as he walked around the room. As he stopped in front of Fulgur, he forcefully grabbed his face.

“What a fine, young man… Words spoken like a true archivist, yes… You really are one of the finest creations, though I wonder where you developed that cocky attitude, boy?”

“Archivist? Did you say he was an…”

“An archivist. Shu’s setting, of course.”

“So that’s where he got that introduction line from! Wait, then the name Fulgur Ovid was also…”

“It was actually chosen by himself. When he was created, Shu wanted to test out a few things. This big boy was created from Shu’s desire to create a homunculus-like machine, so he shoved all kinds of knowledge into his memory disc. From his comprehension of the books that Shu let him read, he managed to pick out “Fulgur” and “Ovid”.”

“You talk as if you were there to see it.” The main character, Fulgur, finally spoke up.

“As a matter of course, yes. Luca too. Our memories can differ in small details, but we did remember how excited Shu was for you. Luca, too… He was eager to see more from Shu.”

*****

Somehow, Shu had predicted beforehand that he was going to see Luca again, sooner or later. Given how much of their lives they’ve spent together, he was quite certain of it. He didn’t think it would happen at a time like this. When he and Luca locked eyes for the first time in forever, the feelings struck him like a wave. Being reminded of the feeling when the mafia boss's skin laid on his skin, Shu could feel shivers running all over his body like a flower that stemmed from guilt stabbing its roots into his flesh. He hated himself for it more than anyone else. Luca's part to play was important, but it was also his fault for giving in so easily. 

“Shu.”

The scientist was startled. The mafia boss had approached him from behind. 

How could he not know? In fact, Shu’s research was entirely funded by Luca. It was the Kaneshiro boy who gave him his hand when he was in a tight spot. Luca gave him a way out, a solution to his misery. In exchange, Shu had to give Luca everything he wanted - love. All of his life, he wanted Shu to look in his direction. The scientist, who already had the hearts for Luca himself but never confessed, immediately agreed to it. Together, they were invincible. Shu was unstoppable with the endless resources from Luca, and with Vox's help in advertising and pitching ideas, they formed the BioShock corporation. 

But Luca became greedy. The more he had, the more he wanted. Of course, that’s what human nature is - to be greedy. That’s how they evolved. Shu understood the assignment, but it was because of that that he realized he cannot keep up with it. He decided to abandon all research once Mysta was completed, as he was the last of the Psyborgs created from the Lux - Nox program. Shu hid - like a coward, but he definitely was not going to run away this time. 

“Does it still itch?”

“What?”

“Here.” Shu’s fingers slid on every inch of Luca’s skin, feeling up his tattoo. Every line, every scar… the tattoo was like an open wound on Luca's rich-boy-white skin. 

“I don’t let anyone touch it but you.” Luca remarked, seeing how enthusiastic Shu was. 

“How sweet.” 

"How hard is it for you to express your emotions, Shu?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"You're not communicating your feelings well. Was it because you've relied on Mysta for so long?" 

He knew. Luca could read anyone, especially Shu since they have been together for such a long time. Pausing for a moment, Shu asked, with the intimate tone now gone: 

"And what does that have to do with you?" 

Luca started from softly touching Shu’s face, just enough to make him yearn for more. His fingers - still not stripped off of his black gloves - played with the scientist’s sidebangs, then moved to the purple highlights at the end of his hair. Soft, black strands like satin fell off of his hand, but was then grabbed with a bit more force and passion. 

“Ow.”

Wrapping his arms around Luca’s waist, Shu also pulled the mafia boss closer to him. Burying his face in Luca’s shoulder, he slowly surrendered to the pleasure of skin-to-skin contact. Shu knew it was rather wretched to cling onto Luca, especially when he was the one who kicked him out of the relationship last time. Nonetheless, he had been fighting with himself on whether he regretted it or not. He convinced himself that it was for the better good, but was it really? 

“How long has it been since we last held each other?”

“I don’t know. But that doesn’t matter now, does it?” 

“Have you ever held Mysta like this?” 

“…not in this way, but I do hug him pretty often. I crave touches too, you know?” 

“Look at me, Shu, look at me.”

Deep down in his heart, Luca was the wound Shu was trying to hide all along, simply by pretending that he wasn’t hurt by any mention of him or even his presence. As soon as he took off the cast, the pain would pierce through his skin like tiny paper cuts. Letting their fingers intertwine, time seemed to have actually stopped in the scientist's mind. Shu’s eyes, deep and dark as that of a black opal, stared straight at Luca’s quiet tanzanite hues. Everything went black, as their lips brushed against each other, breaths mingled, hands roaming everywhere. When Luca finally opened his eyes, his hair clip had already been taken by Shu, who was twirling it around with his index finger. 

“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”

“My bed always has a spare spot for you.”

Chapter Text

When Shu opened his eyes, Luca was still asleep, drool dripping down from his mouth. Shaking his head, the scientist carefully wiped it away for the mafia boss before getting prepared to get down from the bed to exit the room. But he didn’t want to leave just yet. How long has it been since they last lied down next to each other like this? Visions of last night ran through Shu’s head like a film, as his fingers tenderly played with Luca’s golden locks of hair. 

Luca was like a curse to him. A sickeningly sweet, to the point it became bitter, curse. As he felt Luca’s hands wrapping around his neck, choking him, removing him of any air,  Shu quivered on the bed in pleasure. He hated the agonizing euphoria that only Luca could give it to him on demand. Wanting to clear his head, the scientist finally got up and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower, before putting his clothes on and leaving the room hastily. 

As the sound of Shu’s shoes hitting the floor started to fade, Luca finally opened his eyes. His eyes did twitch a little bit when his ex lover brushed the hair off his cheek, and he wondered if he noticed him being not fully asleep. Probably did, because he left right afterwards. Still, it was a pleasurable feeling, great for starting a new day. 

*****

Shu didn't think the first one he bumped into first thing in the morning was his final artificial intelligence creation, none other than Lucy Kaneshiro. Just when I got away with one Kaneshiro , he kept the thought to himself. The woman stopped in her tracks, staring at Shu with the same eyes that Luca had. The awkward silence between them made it even harder for him. 

"Lucy, hello…"

"Hello Shu, long time no see." 

“How… how are you these days?”

“I’m doing fine. I hope you are as well.” 

“Aha. Still the same with your manners? You can relax when you’re with me, I’m your creator after all.” 

“Ah… alright…” 

Lucy hadn’t gotten used to interacting with Shu yet. In spite of the fact that she was literally crafted and perfected by him, she’d spent most of her time with Luca as she was gifted to him only two days after creation. Being unable to find a topic both of them had in common, Shu and Lucy could only communicate with their looks.

“I…” However, they were amazingly synchronized as soon as they started to speak. 

“No, uh… you go first. Ladies first, after all.”

“Okay, then… Look, Shu… I just think you gotta sort out things with Luca, once and for all.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I know you two had a fall out, but please find a chance to talk to him. Don’t you think you should talk face-to-face with him about your problems?”

“I don't know how you felt when you told Luca you wanna break up with him. Hell, I don’t know, and he didn’t know either! If you don’t want to address it now, it’s fine. But sooner or later, you’ll have to do it.”” 

It was the first time Shu’d ever seen Lucy being so emotional. Even when she was chased by the Metropolitan police, Lucy’s calm and collected self had never once waned. 

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.” 

Lucy’s tiny side ponytail seemed to wiggle a lot more today, as she quickly walked away from her original creator. 

“Hey, Lucy! If I were to do that, would you be by his side?”

The Psyborg turned her head to a 90 degree angle. Without any hesitation, she nodded.

“Yes.”

*****

“Damn it, why are you… why do you keep acting up! Stop. I said stop!” 

For a moment, Ike couldn’t see the scenery in front of his eyes without feeling a banging headache. It was his monitor that was acting up this time. Unable to see what was in front of him without having some kind of static filter, the Psyborg had grown impatient. 

Fulgur thought it would be rare to see Ike bat an eye, so it was explicable that he was rather amazed to find Ike on the balcony of la famiglia Kaneshiro shedding his precious tears. Steadily and surely, he did not make any sound as he approached his fellow Psyborg mate, but Ike had already noticed his presence when he'd only taken five steps. 

“Fulgur?”

A beat. 

"Fulgur, don't pull the deaf card. I know you're there." Ike’s voice grew louder. 

“Ike…”

“How long have you been there?”

“I just arrived.”

“Sorry for making you see it. That was… very unkempt of me.”

“No, it’s okay… Are us Psyborgs not allowed to have our own emotions?”

“Well, not exactly… I’m the representative for Vox, so if I show someone else my weaknesses, it would cause trouble for him, would it not?”

“You seem to adore Vox very much.”

“It’s natural for Psyborgs to have a connection with their masters, no?” It was Ike's turn for questions now. 

“I mean yeah, but how do I put it… your fondness towards Vox suggests something more. Oh wait, I’m sorry, that was very insensitive of me.”

“It’s okay. I’m surprised you even found out. If you really wanna know that badly, then let me tell you a story…”

It was from the tale that the fellow Psyborg told him that Fulgur knew Ike’s career actually didn’t start as a household Psyborg. Like Lazulight, he was assigned to be a musician/idol Psyborg in a smaller production company. But his manager deemed his voice to be “too high pitched, too squeaky” and therefore, unfit to be a singer. He was left to work on his own - from producing and mixing the music to advertising himself. Starting from a Psyborg with plenty of hope in his shining heart, Ike watched himself slowly becoming the empty shell of his former self. He was desperate. But in his worst times, when all hope was lost, there was one person generous enough to take him in and give him a place he could call home. Vox helped him sign contracts and provided him the financial support he needed while Ike went on to make himself famous with his own uniqueness and pure talent. His songs were everywhere, showing up in numerous playlists and a few famous TV series as original soundtracks. The name of the Akuma Production was leveled up even more with the influence from Ike's fame. 

“I guess it benefitted both sides in this situation, but… Truth be told, Vox actually kept me as a companion rather than a servant. He helped me from a big slump, and kept me beside him to assure that I’m safe. I’m grateful to him.” 

Fulgur was too stunned to speak. Moreover, he was also thinking of his own relationship with Uki. What was Uki to him? Of course it was more than that, but the fact that Uki was more vulnerable, more fragile somewhat drew Fulgur to him even more. Uki could easily be killed with just enough force and pressure, whereas that was nothing for a Psyborg. There were nights when he had found himself unable to control his emotions towards Uki - and that was when he was soundly asleep. He had to give himself a few moments alone as an effort to stop acting up. A heart full of affections? Yes, of course. A desire for possession? A little bit, yes. 

Fulgur did not know what to do. If he continued to let these emotions take over him, one day he would surely lose himself. That's why he was afraid to love in the beginning - Fulgur Ovid was looking for who he was as a— 

A what? A human? Now that sounds way too superficial. 

“I’ll go to bed now. You should get some sleep too, or at least go back to Uki. Don’t let him be worried for you.” 

“… Thanks for the advice, Ike.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Ike wanted to work on a novel to reflect on himself. “Still waters” was the one he chose, as its chaotic dream-like theme soothed him every time the pen was on the paper. Though humans have developed reading technology to the point that one can have an access to books only by wearing special glasses, thus making hand-written manuscripts unappreciated because they won’t last as long, nothing could beat the feeling of pen-on-paper.

“Hey Ike, can I sleep with you?” As Ike looked up, Mysta was already standing at the doorway to the novelist Psyborg’s room with a pillow in his arms. Quickly putting his unfinished work away, Ike invited his friend inside. 

“Do as you please." 

“I’ll have this side of the bed! Dude, your bed is even comfier than mine…” 

“Is that so? You can ask Lucy to make some rearrangements. I’m sure she wouldn't mind.” 

“Nah, it’s fine. If Shu’s fine, I’m fine too. But it’s been a long time since I got to sleep with you! Sheesh, I missed you.” 

“Aww, I miss you too Mysta. How is Shu?”

“He had no trouble sleeping and eating, I believe. Before, there were nights when I could hear him breathing heavily because of nightmares… and he didn’t eat anything except sweets and drink 12 shots of espresso a day. But the Kaneshiro house didn’t allow him to keep up that lifestyle so he had no choice but to eat healthily.”

“Have you ever tried to cook him something?”

“I… tried. But it became too much of a hassle when I had to plan out his menu and try to make something suitable to his taste everyday, so we just got UberEats or jumped on random takeout apps.” 

“Aaah… that sounds tough.” 

“But you know, I love him. So it’s fine.” 

“I once gave Vox only a tube of caviar when he made me mad, you know? You sure care a lot about Shu.” 

Mysta stopped talking for a bit, laying his head on his arms to rethink everything that had happened. He might seem like the kind of cheerful, positive, energetic and somewhat dumb Psyborg, but deep down Mysta harboured his own thoughts where he made sure to only show a selected few. 

“Hey Ike?” 

"Yeah." 

“Have you ever… kissed someone before?” 

“Hmm? No, up to this point, not yet.” 

“Why not? I thought you were experienced in this!” 

“What makes you think so?” The edge of Ike’s glasses shined, hiding the olive shade of his eyes.  

"You live with Vox, right?" 

"Just because my master is a sex bomb doesn't mean I am." Ike explained, his tone getting a bit grumpier. His bedmate was a little disheartened, muttering a soft "sorry" while making a face akin to that of a dog who just got scolded. Pitying him, Ike offered: 

“Do you want to hold my hand to sleep?”

“Can I really?!” Mysta almost jumped at the opportunity. Ike’s hand was smaller than his, and it was also colder. He could easily hold the novelist Psyborg’s hand in his palm. Somehow, it made both of their heart rates increase. Exchanging looks, there were so much that Mysta wanted to tell Ike when they can still spend their time together like this. Mysta was one of the only few who knew of Ike’s inevitable demise. He knew what was going to happen to his darling Psyborg friend, and it pained him. 

“Are you still mad, Mysta?” Worried, Ike asked.

“Huh? No, I was… thinking about something, that’s all.” 

“Can you kiss me then? It’ll probably calm you down.” 

"I'll give you a peck on the cheek then. If you wanna kiss someone on the lips, do it with Vox." 

“Alrighty.” Ike chuckled. Immediately, Mysta leaned in to plant a kiss as soft as brushing a feather against one’s cheek. But that alone was effective enough to make Ike blush rather hard. Giggling childishly, Mysta whispered to Ike: 

“Sleep tight, Ikey.”

“Mmm… sweet dreams, Mysta.”

*****

Prior to living in the same house as Yugo, Ike never thought he was the type to rise early. Seeing the young man leaning against the balcony, almost to the point of falling out, he called out in a panic: 

“Yugo, watch out!”

"Ah! It's okay sensei, I'm perfectly fine! See?" 

"Please don't do that again. My brain's gonna short-circuit from the shock."

However, the DJ immediately walked away from the balcony to assure the Psyborg. 

“Ike-sensei…” Suddenly, Yugo timidly asked. “Are you mad at me because I said I was not going to rely on Psyborgs?” 

“Not at all. I really admire your strong sense of individuality.” 

“You know, when I first started DJing, you were one of my biggest inspirations." 

"Your music saved me countless times too. I'm glad I've found you, Yugo." 

“Ah… really? Was there any song you liked?”

“Wait, but that version was the initial version… the one that only people who’d followed me since the first days knew. So you’ve been supporting me from that time?!”

“Ah, eh… well, I guess if you put it like that then that's how it is.” 

Yugo slurped on the strawberry milkshake a little bit as he was reminiscing about the past. When he was still a rookie DJ, the young man had struggled to create an audience and to pitch his music out to the world. Even so, back then every time he finished a performance, a bouquet made entirely of blue flowers would be delivered to him. There was not a time when it was missed. It soon became part of Yugo's routine to expect that blue bouquet to show up. However, when Yugo finally made his name known to the nation by showing up on billboards in every big city, the final blossoms were delivered to him with a letter congratulating him on his success. 

"The blue bouquet… it was you, right?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

"It was you! The blue bouquets sent after every performance, with a handwritten note!" 

Ike chuckled. Knowing there’s no way out for him, the Psyborg nodded as confirmation. 

“I never missed any of your DJ sessions. You create such a creative atmosphere, in fact. And it’s… pretty distasteful of me, but I recorded some of them.”

Yugo blushed, shaking his head furiously:

“I’m nothing like that. I’m meek, overthink often, and I make mistakes so regularly… Are you mad to see me being such an awkward guy offstage? Did it pop your bubble?”

“Not at all. You’re a sweet child, Yugo. And for the mistakes part, don’t worry. I do, too.” It didn't take long for Yugo's hair to become a mess as Ike friveled it up. 

"I see you've stopped smoking, haven't you?" 

"You know I smoke?" 

"I can easily tell from your voice. I've listened to you for a while, so…" 

"Oh, that's right… ehe. I'm actually living with other people so I can no longer smoke as I please… even so, back then, I only did a few hits per cig, so I think I kinda got away with it…." 

A rumbling that matched the sound of distant thunder suddenly came from Yugo’s stomach as he was chatting. Embarrassed, the young man screamed:

“Ahhh, no! Please pretend you didn’t hear anything… god I'm so embarrassed…." 

“You haven’t had breakfast yet?”

“I… no, I don’t usually eat much because it’s so troublesome…”

“You only drink milkshakes or some kind of protein shake, right?”

“Well… you’re not wrong…”

“Yugo, I know you’re not a child so I have no authority over what you should and shouldn’t eat, but please do pay attention to your body. You’re given a better body than what us Psyborgs are stuck with, and I would do anything to have it.”

“Sounds pretty ominous, but I get your point.”

Ike giggled. “Yeah, I suppose my words can be rather weird. Do you want me to get you something? I’ll return immediately.”

“Yes please! Anything is fine, as long as there’s no sweet chocolate and there’s a ton of strawberries in it.” 

“Roger that."

When Vox returned from his morning stroll outside la casa Kaneshiro, watching Sonny and Alban riding a segway and screaming like five year olds, the only thought remaining in his head was what to eat for breakfast. He found that little playtime between the youths pretty charming in particular, but his morning hunger had finally reminded him to return to the house. Ike, who seemed to be in a jollier mood than usual and was busy stacking up on vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting and other strawberry-flavoured sweets for Yugo, did not even raise his head to acknowledge his master's presence. It was only when Fulgur also walked in that he said hi to both of them. 

"Ike? Where are you going?" 

“Yugo and I are bonding on the lanai. Excuse me.” With elegance that matched that of a ballet dancer, Ike took the tray and moved past Vox and Mysta. 

"Ohhhh someone's being left out…" Peeking from behind Vox, Fulgur said like it was an announcement. "Someone's jealous, ain't he?" 

"Fulgur, how come we never bond?" Vox asked without even trying to hide the fact that he was being sulky towards Ike’s treatment of Yugo. 

"We don't bond. We just stick together because we don't have a choice." 

But Vox was not going to let Fulgur get away from him that easily. Grabbing the Psyborg's arm, he smiled, a smile that sent shivers down Fulgur's mechanical spine. 

"While we're at it… why don't you and I have a little chat together? Seems fair, yeah? We can have fish and chips together while cracking open a cold one…."

"Yeah uh, I'm not very hungry at the moment…"  

“You. Are. Going. To. Bond. With. Me.”

Seeing no way out as Uki and the others were already out on their own field trip, Fulgur reluctantly agreed to Vox’s request. 

To Ike, Vox and Luca were similar in many aspects. Their financial availability was one, but their generosity towards those they love was similar (though Ike himself was not sure what Luca and Shu had with each other was love or not). Second, no one, apart from those who they kept beside themselves, know what goes on inside their heads. 

He supposed Luca was easier to read than those two. Being very outwardly spoken, he didn’t have to interpret his speech the way he read Shu's. However, after seeing how Shu became rather uncomfortable around Luca, he suspected there probably were many more going on in their relationship, though. Of course, all of these thoughts were kept to himself. 

“Ah, Ike. Glad to see you’re doing well.”

"Shu…" 

There he was, the hardest to read out of the trio. Even Vox had once said he couldn’t see everything that goes on in the scientist’s “big-brained” head. 

“Shu, pardon me if I sound like I’m being intrusive to your personal life, but why is it that you chose to abandon Luca when you’re clearly still… for the lack of a better word, in love with him? I’ve always been curious about that.” 

“Break ups happen as naturally as love comes.” 

“... But you can’t just… shut them out altogether like that.” 

“Who do you think knows more about love, Ike? You, or me?” Pointing a finger at the Psyborg then at himself, Shu asked. 

“Um…”

“If you aren’t certain about the answer, then let me ask you another question. Have you ever gone through a breakup?”

“I… haven’t.”

“When you fall in love, it’s unavoidable that you risk getting a breakup. And you, who aren't even sure about your very own feelings towards your master… What do you know about it?" 

Ike’s eyes tensed up immediately.

“You had me beat.”

“See? That’s something even a household Psyborg who’s been with Vox for so long couldn’t even answer.” 

“Hah… "

Under the pale moonlight, Vox Akuma walked along the halls of la casa Kaneshiro. He did not need an escort nor someone to show the way, as he had been here enough to know where to cross, which stairs to take and which turns to make. As he reached the room with its window facing West, the voice demon knocked three times on the wooden door. 

“Come in. It’s not locked.” 

“Luca.”

“Vox!! Hey, you made it, pog!” 

“Hello Luca, long time no see.” The voice demon greeted his old friend, the mafia boss, by taking his hand and kissing it as a gentle gesture to pay respect. Luca just giggled as he pulled Vox in and kissed him on his cheeks. It wasn’t long before Vox eventually sat down and made himself comfortable in Luca’s room. After all, he’d been here numerous times, looking way back when he, Luca and Shu were merely boys who grew up together. 

“I heard that something happened, and now you’re housing… Shu, of all people.” Vox started the conversation. 

“There is no other choice for both of us. We simply have to go by this, but he’s cool with it so no worries. It was very pogchamp of him.”

“Very pogchamp huh… He’s a sweet guy. Oh, thank you darling.” Two glasses and a bottle were delivered to them. 

“How about some cham-pag-ne?”

“I told you, it’s cham-payne. You don’t have to pronounce every single word, it’s French.” 

It wasn't sure if Luca heard him or not, but he took no interest in trying to correct his pronunciation of the alcoholic beverage. 

“Even I… No, I think I was the one who got the biggest shock when Shu announced that you two were broken up. I didn’t know how to react to that news. I thought…” Vox stopped to contemplate for a bit, “... you two seemed so happy together. You were so complete, like the TV-perfect couple in my imagination. Shu loved you more than anyone else in the world.” 

“He was my dearest, too.” Mindlessly shaking the flute in his hand, Luca replied. The image of himself being reflected on the glass with the addition of the soft golden hue from the alcohol felt like a dog drooping his ears was staring right back at him. And those bubbles reminded him of the bubbling rain that fell on the day when Shu coldly told him he should no longer fund his research, and he would cut ties with him to make sure no rumor will stir up from their relationship. Luca was, understandably, completely heartbroken when Shu abandoned both his creations and the relationship he had. But the past was in the past, so the mafia boss had decided to leave it where it is. Vox, however, had a different thought.

“What if something really detestable happened during research and the Psyborgs went off-the-rail?” 

He only had Ike as a reference for his observation though, and even then Ike was not a product of Shu. The methods and manufacturing process was the same as Shu’s since of course, no one before him had ever thought of applying the same methods to make artificial intelligence tools so lifelike in order to help humans develop their own emotional intelligence from interacting with them, but something could be going on behind the closed doors of Yamino laboratories. 

“Vox? Aren’t you gonna drink some more?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. Pour me some, please.”

“Do you like… this world that we are living in?” Out of the blue, Luca asked something that sounded a bit too superficial for him.

“What prompted the question?” Vox replied, half joking. 

“I was just thinking… What was life really like, 500 years ago? If we lived back then, what could we have become? And was it more worth it to live in that period than now?”

“I'm not sure, but something I know is that I wouldn’t exchange this life for anything.” 

“Because you’re already satisfied with your life that you don’t feel the need to change it.”

“What about you, though? Are you dissatisfied with something?” 

“...Not really. For now.” 

*****

“Fulgur Ovid, Archivist. Ah, we’re finally so close to each other, yet so far away… I can’t wait to meet you.”

Sitting on the roof of a nearby church, a teenage-sized Psyborg silently shifted through his files projected from the implanted chip in his wrist. With his hazel shaped eyes that glimmered like silver, he scanned the entire area. The body parts painted with red were now dyed to a blood-like shade under the night sky. Though, he didn’t mind it in particular - the person he was dying to meet would probably bear just the same color. 

Sooner or later, he and Fulgur Ovid would have to meet, whether the latter wanted it or not. 

Chapter Text

From Lucy’s observation, Luca had been more agitated and air-headed than ever. Feeling the need to relief him of his distress, the Psyborg spoke up:

“Do you need a massage? Or a quick rest? I can book an appointment for you.”

“No. It’s nothing big, Lucy. This is just a me problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Come here, honey.”

Lucy did as she was told, standing right next to her boss. Resting his head on the consigliori’s shoulder, the mafia boss asked as he played with a strand of her hair - the hair that bore the same color as his:

“Do you… hate me?”

“For what?”

“I don’t think I was being good enough to you. I… kinda made you do too much under my name.”

“But that’s my job, isn't it? My duty is to work for you, and stay loyal to you. Why would I be mad over it?”

“I still don’t think it’s fair for you…"

“Hey. If you weren’t a good owner, I wouldn’t be in such good shape. You did great.

“I’m sorry for making your life bound to me. Even when it comes to your identity, you can’t choose your own…”

“It’s okay, whether my identity is tied to you or not. I love you as a master of mine, and…”

“What is it?”

“I believe that, when Shu created me, he poured a lot of himself into my heart. Not literally, but still… Which is why…" Grabbing Luca's hand and placing it onto where her heart was supposed to be, Lucy wanted to make her master realize what he truly meant to her, "... I understand Shu's love for you and your love for Shu as well. I’ll love you in his stead, if it has to be that way."

Luca's eyes widened. Deeply moved, he slowly pulled his hand away.

“Shu's love, huh… Thank you, Lucy. Thank you for showing me.”

As Lucy remembered yesterday’s conversation, she couldn’t help but feel a sharp but fleeting pain where her heart lay. No matter how much she tried, she cannot love Luca the way Shu loved him - it was much too different. The least she could do is provide him the support he needed from the darkness, since it was her assigned job.

"I would like to meet up with all Cyborgs today. That includes you too, Lucy."

Just what could Vox possibly want from them? They've barely gotten any interaction with one another, yet this man was already requesting for their appearance? It must have been something important.

“Psyborgs are being produced in mass numbers at a rapid speed. At this rate, in 2450…” Vox opened a slideshow from his wristwatch, “... The human population will be reduced to only half of what it is now.”

“So this planet will turn into a Psyborg planet in the end?”

“Though I do want to see how things will turn out, I cannot live until then. You guys…” Pointing at Mysta, Fulgur and the rest of the Psyborgs, he continued. “... Will be the witness of that brave new world. Do you think you have what it takes?”

Ike didn’t budge. Having worked for Vox for so many years, now he did not try to even understand what was going on in Vox’s mind. The only thing he found joy in anticipating was the answers of his fellow Psyborgs. Being the only one not created by Shu Yamino himself, Ike couldn’t read them as easily as he did with ordinary household borgs. They were literally built different.

Surprisingly, Alban was the first to step up. Facing Vox directly, he replied:

"We believe that… with the right guidance, we do. Right now, we don't know what to do that will not only benefit us but also benefit the relationship between Psyborgs and humans as well."

“Even when us humans have failed you?”

“Huh?”

“Alban, you do know who separated you from Sonny, you knew very well who did not hesitate to humiliate you. If you're persistent on creating a good place for both Psyborgs and humans, you gotta be careful."

“Vox…!”

“This world is not a warm place like the little bubble that Sonny created just for you.”

With that argument, the voice demon was successful in shutting Alban down.

“Voxxy, I think you’re being too harsh on him!”

“Then, what do you think?”

“Me?”

Everyone’s eyes were all set on Fulgur. The Psyborg was not used to having all the attention on him. Still, he did not want to look like a failure as Uki’s representative. Stepping up to face Vox as if facing a king on his throne, his voice was rather shaky but determined:

“This world might not be really warm, true, but that’s why we need relationships! That’s why we need someone to communicate with, that’s why we have people that we stay close to. We… no, not we. You! You humans, especially those of the upper class, might have retreated from direct communications with one another to protect yourself from being hurt, but in truth you’re just yearning for what your race once had.”

Vox’s face lit up with every word coming from Fulgur. Finally, he bursted into a chain of laughter that sounded rather too sarcastic to the latter’s taste. However, his reply assured them that he had no intention on hurting them:

“I see that you’ve understood things pretty well. I didn’t expect anything less from Shu’s creations. Thank you. Good day, everyone. You can leave now.”

“Alban? You okay now?” Fulgur asked.

“Why did he ask us that just to break my hope so quickly? I, I mean… wasn’t he expecting an answer that’s, like… hopeful? Or was I looking at things the wrong way?”

There must be a reason behind Vox’s bitterness, Fulgur thought. Asking the one who was closest to him probably was a good idea, so he decided to contact his fellow Psyborg. They have been talking to each other many times, so it wasn’t long until Ike responded to him. They eventually met up in an unused room of la casa Kaneshiro.

“Ahh, Vox… well, Vox’s speech and his way of thinking can be cynical at times, and I apologize for that. He also has this little emotional conflict regarding you guys since… something happened between Shu and Luca, call it a fallout, if you will, that was originally about…"

“Me, isn't it? I get it. But there’s no need for him to be such a killjoy towards the rest. Alban did nothing wrong!”

“He will warm up to you eventually, when he sees your worth."

“Ike… Your hand.”

“Hmm? Ah…”

Ike’s left hand was twitching and turning like a spinster. Reluctantly, he grabbed it with his right hand and pulled the thing off of his own arm, leaving a few integrated circuits and connective coils exposed to Fulgur, who was utterly stunned.

“IKE?! What are you doing?”

“This is just some regular occurrence, Fulgur. No need to get so worked up.”

“Did you break it? Should we take it to Shu?”

“No, no. Everything’s fine. Please… don’t let anyone else know about this, Fulgur. I don’t want to make this a fuss.”

“Alright… But can I have a brief explanation, at least? Since I’ve already seen it anyway.”

“I’m afraid my time is running out. As you can see, my parts are breaking down and a few of my functions act up from time to time… Even though Shu has been doing a wonderful job repairing and restoring me, it couldn’t cover up the fact that I was simply nothing but a Psyborg recycled from different parts of other Psyborgs. I am doomed to break down completely and return to dust, as a matter of fact.”

“Then… You’ve been living like this your whole life? It must have been painful as hell… But also, is there no way to help you? Like, preserve your heart and rebuild the model…”

“No… I appreciate your thoughts, but no. If there was, I wouldn’t have to live like this until now.” After reattaching it to his wrist, his gloved hand - now motionless once again - was raised to check if it could respond properly. Ike embraced himself in an effort to ease his pain. Under the glowing pearl moon, the Psyborg looked just as beautiful as a statue carved out of marble, adorned with the finest jewelry and clothes. But most important of all… he looked more human than ever.

“I… We… no, I don’t want you to go.”

“I know. Fulgur, you have one of the best hearts I’ve ever seen. I still remember that day when you helped me bring Vox inside, even though he wasn’t your owner to begin with. I’m very grateful to have met you… and everyone else.” Ike’s smile was less like a denial, and more like an understanding of his own fate. Before anyone even told him, naturally he himself would have known. No matter how hard Shu supplied him with good materials, the core metal that was needed to construct a Psyborg that matched the Fulgur-Alban-Lucy-Mysta quartet was missing. In actuality, Ike’s ability to sustain until present was a miracle.

“I don’t regret it at all. I’m grateful to have lived my life to the fullest. Though, there is something… I do wish that I can live as long as Vox, even longer than him. I wish to be with him as long as he wants me to.”

“Are you afraid he’s going to be alone?”

“More than that.”

Sure enough, Fulgur understood what Ike meant, though in his case it was more of a selfish wish than a selfless one like that of Ike. If Uki was gone before him, he would be the one left behind. Knowing that Shu no longer cared after creating him was already painful enough, he did not want to foreshadow his own despair that was bound to happen in the future.

"I think you should tell Vox how you really feel, Ike, before your time runs out like you said. We never know what's gonna happen, so why not live our lives like there's no tomorrow?"

“Tell him my feelings?”

“Yeah. From what I’ve seen at least, you’re the one closest to him. He surely will have to listen to what you say. Plus…” Fulgur’s eyes reflected the moon, but his mind could only reflect Uki, “...if you don’t do it quickly, you might not have enough time to show him that you really love him and make him appreciate it. From the romances that I’ve read, it’s a very regrettable thing, being unable to let your loved ones know you truly treasure them before you cannot do it again.”

It lit up something inside the Psyborg’s mind. Determined, he made sure to tell Vox about what he truly feels on the next night. As he was about to open the door to his and Vox’s room, his gloved hand hesitated. Do I want to? How will he react to my confession? If all of his flirting were not affections and, say, it was just him playing around with me like he did with everyone else? Will he laugh at me for being such a big fool?

Well, he thought, at least I tried. And the door creaked open.

“Ike? Oh my, where have you been?”

“Vox, I want to talk.”

“What’s wrong, darling?”

“It’s something pretty serious. After thinking long and hard, I think I really need to tell you something.”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you like this. Come here.” Pulling a chair out for his Psyborg to sit on the opposite side, Vox Akuma had once again proven himself to be extremely gentlemanly, just like what one would expect from the manners of a man who was raised to be an aristocrat. Making himself comfortable on the velvet, Ike looked at Vox, a look that could pierce through any metal.

"Please listen to me closely."

"Alright alright, you know I don't listen to anyone else as much as you. Your voice is the true music to my ears."

"Vox Akuma, my master… I know that… the whole time, as you keep me around, I've continuously let you down by declining your advances. For that, I'm sorry."

"What's with this… sudden confession?"

"Let me continue."

Clearing his throat for the first time, Ike stopped for a bit as if he was carefully choosing his words, before continuing:

"I’m very thankful for the time we’ve spent together. I truly treasure it, as much as I treasure you. I just want you to know that I, as Ike Eveland, love you as well. It could probably not be “as well”, since you might not love me like I’ve suspected, but… This is not the kind of affection that was pre-programmed in our hearts, it's the emotions that truly defines who I am. I adore you, I cherish you, I love y… oh."

Burying his face into the Psyborg's soft, fluffy hair, the voice demon's voice has grown weak and teary:

"Why are you suddenly telling me this…? Are you going to…"

"No! No no, I'm not going to! In fact, I planned to stay here for much, much longer." It was no time for Ike to tell Vox what he actually knew about himself. Despite that, he could feel his own voice almost breaking, his eyes blinking to stop tears from rolling down his cheeks.

Vox was sobbing even louder than before. Unable to contain itself for any longer, his emotions broke out like a swarm of butterflies being kept in a rusty cage for twenty years. As he struggled even to stand, Vox's grip on Ike became tighter and tighter, his weight on the Psyborg was also heavier as he was leaning entirely on him.

“Vox, you’re kinda heavy…”

“I… Ike, don’t leave me…”

“I’m not. I’m still here, see?”

"Please don't leave me alone. I don’t want to be alone."

"Que sera sera. It's gonna be alright when daybreak comes." Wrapping his arms around Vox, Ike whispered. Finally, the voice demon had gotten the kiss he was waiting for years from his beloved Psyborg.

Chapter Text

After thinking about Lucy’s words, Shu found himself not being able to stay in a good headspace. And god was not having mercy on him either - right when he decided to discuss the matter with Luca, the young boss of the Kaneshiro family was summoned to another place for some errands. 

“Hey, Luca… I know this is sudden, but I wanna talk to you about something when you come back. So, if you see this voice message, please respond.”

Love you? Nah, that’s too cheesy. 

And the message was cut off at that. As he was walking across the garden, still thinking about how to complete Ike’s repairment process as well as how to work with limited resources, a sudden gust of wind almost knocked him out. 

“Seems like the wind isn't with us…” 

“Shu Yamino, my archnemesis… my creator.”

Fulgur’s voice reverberated in the air.

“Fulgur? Where are you?” 

Just as he suspected, a sinister figure was standing on top of the roof, with his hood covering most of his face. An unsure inauspicious made Shu’s stomach churned, still he remained as calm as ever, only raising his voice slightly to call out:

“Hey, get down! How did you manage to go up there?” 

“So you’ve been hiding here all this time like a weak dormouse? What a shame. I thought someone who had the balls to create an entirely different brand of Psyborgs like you would be dauntless enough to stay at the Democratic City.” The figure pulled down the hood from his head, revealing a face that, strangely and uncannily, resembled that of Fulgur Ovid, even down to the minor details such as the way his bangs were parted. 

“What…?”

“Hey, Shu! It’s lunch ti… Fuu-chan? Oi, how did you get up there so fast?” 

“You just met Fulgur, right? Where did you last see him?”

“In the dining room. And I doubt he could get up here in such a short time…”

“There’s literally no way he could get here from there in such a short amount of time… Who are you?” 

“Why don’t we play a game? You guess who I am, and I’ll reward you if you’re right. It’s okay if you’re wrong, though!” But something in the tone of this mysterious figure suggested he was not going to stick with his words. 

“Shu, what the hell did you make this time?!” Yugo emitted a squall.  

“No, I don’t… I don’t recall making this second… Fulgur.”

“You don’t even remember who I am? Now that’s disappointing… And how dare you call me by that name!” The Psyborg, who looked exactly like a teenager-version of Fulgur, declared. “Well then, since no one can guess who I am… My name is Legatus. The pleasure is all mine.”

“Shu, what’s wrong?!” Fulgur and the others were immediately alerted by Yugo as soon as the intruder came. “Wha…!”

“Ah, now that’s THE Fulgur Ovid, isn’t he? Hello, Fulgur. I believe this is our first meeting.”

“What the…?” 

“Fulgur, why does he…”

“He looks exactly like you!”

Everyone except the main character spoke up. Still as a statue, the Psyborg wanted to study this uninvited guest more before making his first move. 

“Well, Fulgur Ovid, or shall I say… Archivist? What do you think? It’s pretty rude to leave me the only one talking, no?”

“... Where do you come from?”

“I’m glad you didn’t ask things that I’ve already said, but I am NOT going to tell you everything about me either. Unless you… entertain me enough.”

Fulgur was already sick of this bratty child’s behaviour. Still, he didn’t budge, no matter how badly Legatus wanted to see him losing his temper. They soon engaged in a staring match - Fulgur’s lightning grey eyes calmly followed the movements of Legatus, as the little Psyborg pierced through the skin of everyone in the room, cornering them into a circle as he jumped off the roof to stroll around, enjoying every moment of rising tension. 

"We can have a little chit chat here and there… Why don't you introduce me to everyone here? I'd like us to become friends. Especially…" Sneakily, Legatus came up to Uki and grabbed his chin, "... this one. What a pretty face, don't you think?" 

"Keep your hands off of him." Fulgur grabbed the Psyborg's wrist, squeezing it with all of the strength he could gather even though he knew it wouldn't leave much of an impact. Being covered partially by his steel gray hair, his facial expression had now turned darker and more stern.  

“Now that’s the thing that gets me hyped! But relax, I only came here because I have valuable information that would surely benefit everyone here.”

“Then, can you give it to us and take your leave? I like to take my time with things, but not business.”

“Only if you give me something first.”

This was the first time Legatus got noticed by so many people all at once.

“What should we do?”

“I mean… usually nothing good comes out of immediately jumping to violence, so why don’t we offer him a few gestures of hospitality?” Surprisingly, Fulgur was the one who suggested that.

“What?! Are you crazy? I doubt he’s gonna stay put when someone offers him so much…” Yugo clicked his tongue.

“We aren’t sure of his nature, but I’d say it’s always better to be kind towards someone you’ve only met for the first time rather than trying to pin him down and send him to the police. Just… try to treat him well first? If anything bad comes of it, I’ll take responsibility since it was my idea after all.”

Uki had never stopped being surprised at Fulgur’s thoughts. Even when facing a potential threat, he was kind towards them. 

And thus, Legatus was escorted to the dining hall to have a meal served by Luca’s household Psyborgs. As he sat and ate, no one dared to take their eyes off of him. Even Yugo and Ike, who seemed nonchalant at first, had their attention on the Fulgur lookalike. 

“What? I came here on my own. No one’s with me, so you can ease up on that “hidden ally” thing.” 

More than anyone, Legatus seemed to be enjoying the meal, as if it was something he deserved. It probably would be, were he to be in a different situation. Though he had never been to a fancy restaurant in his life, the Psyborg was quick on learning how to use his cutlery like a member of high society. He even knew how to wipe his mouth properly after a meal as well as how to set his utensils when he'd finished. In Sonny's words, not even Yugo was this good when he first tried his hand on silverware. 

“I’m done. Thank you for the meal, I’ve never had any human food in my system. I’ll surely remember all these textures, taste and smell.”

“He has rather good manners, don’t you think?” Ike whispered to Mysta as they watched Legatus like a one man show. 

"He's a Psyborg like us… someone probably had taught him." 

"That doesn't seem to be the case, though…" 

“Now that I’m well-fed and well dressed, I will do as I have promised.” 

Tapping on his wristband, Legatus smiled, as the screen projected scenes of Psyborgs attacking civilians and wreaking havoc everywhere. Being an officer, Sonny couldn’t bring himself to watch all those scenes as he averted his gaze to the floor, his hands shaken. This didn’t go unnoticed to Alban, who just silently wrapped his fingers around them to ease his owner’s pain. 

“Well, have you ever heard of… I don’t know, the attacks that happened in The Grand Sagar? Or Psyborgs going rogue lately?”

“Psyborgs… rogue…” Alban recalled. It was the same thing that Luca told them about when they first arrived here.

“It’s the reason why we came here in the first place.” Uki's voice grew cold and emotional. "And the reason why we can't leave. What do you know about that?" 

"I'm just saying… I know a lot. I know everything about those Psyborg attacks, because… I was the one who organized everything." 

Chapter Text

“So you’re the one behind those Psyborg attacks in the city!”

“Yes!” Smiling mischievously, Legatus replied as he took a few steps back. Alban felt weird, having to look into the same face as Fulgur, but with more menace and malice. 

"All those affected were household Psyborgs. They all have this little… mechanism that can turn them against their owners, once properly  hacked. 

"There is no place for two Fulgurs, is there?“

“Oh no, I’d like to see you live, but only as my equal.”

“Then you’re going down with Joe today!” Fulgur said, as he faced the impostor Psyborg. 

“No, you! Wait, who’s Joe?”

“Joe MAMA!” 

“Screw that! We’re gonna take these matters into our own hands. Don’t let anyone interfere!”

“Fulgur!”

“I don’t want him to hurt you guys, so do as I say. If anything happens, it’s better if you have weapons on hand.”

“How lovely. Friends caring for each other… very well. I'm not a coward either, so you better not be and bring them to your fight sneakily. This showdown is just for you and I." 

"Where do you want to fight?" 

"A place where no one can find your body." 

Fulgur did not want to fight Legatus unprepared. Figuring he might as well take something with him as protection or insurance, he went straight to Shu’s place to ask for a few things. 

“Shu, can I ask for something from you?”

“Anything for you.”

“I’ll need a vial of water.” 

“... So that’s how you want to take him down? Alright.” 

*****

“I see you’ve really come here without any support. Afraid I will hurt your friends?”

“More like afraid they’ll see your carcass. That’s too distasteful, even for a low-life household Psyborg like me.” 

“It might not be my  carcass that they have to see. I’ll take your head back to THEM!”

Legatus immediately jumped in without any hesitation. Being programmed with a setting closer to that of a child than an adult, he had an advantage when it comes to agility. Dodging Fulgur’s attacks, but also striking back like a viper, he was basically a fighting machine - a warrior at heart. 

"Come in, do you read me?"

"Son of a…”

Somehow, the impostor Psyborg had not only learned Fulgur's movements, but also his pattern of speech. He even copied Fulgur down to his every minor gesture like the way he cracks his knuckles and his occasional swearing. Just when Fulgur thought he was about to overpower Legatus, the rogue Psyborg immediately gave him a blow, either to his face or his body. Probably due to the fact that he was one of the newer Psyborgs, Legatus was immensely strong, with speed that even the champion F1 cars will have to be jealous of. One, two, three. A blow almost to the head, a blow to the shoulder, then chest. Though, Fulgur’s battle skills weren’t no match for his rival either - his stamina was appalling, and he did manage to land a few hits to Legatus's arms, legs and hips. Though, after calculating and estimating his chances at his rival, Fulgur hadn’t tried to attack him for once, only defending himself as best as he possibly could. 

"What's the matter? Did your parts get rusty? Or did your fuel dry up?" 

"Shut up."  

They continued to strike, punch, and kick. Fulgur noticed every time he tried to go for Legatus’s chest, the Psyborg would do everything to stop him from coming close. Though, the confidence in his eyes had never once faded - he even provoked Fulgur at every chance he had. 

“Archivist! You’re too weak for your own good. And for that, you’ll have to pay!” The sanguinity in Legatus’s voice was clearer than ever. He wanted to complete this fast and hard, to bring back Fulgur’s head and throw it on the ground in front of his so-called friend. He yearned for the devastation 

“But I have something that you don’t, though…”

Legatus did not know where the Yamino Psyborgs’ fatal points were. No one did, except for their creator. 

“You DO! You have a lot that I don’t! Which is why I’m here to take them away from you.” 

“Because you wanna make us equals?”

“ Precisely. You really are quick-witted, aren’t ya?” Like a wolf, Legatus went for Fulgur’s neck, his jaw unhinged as if he was trying to bite it off. But with his energy reserved from the start of the fight, Uki’s Psyborg immediately stopped him with his metallic arm and threw him aside as hard as he could, resulting in a fracture in the spine of his copy. 

“You gotta kill me with something else, bitch!” Legatus screamed, as he took out the knife embedded in his arm and swerved it at the archivist’s face. Fulgur could narrowly dodge it, feeling his heart missing a beat from the shock. Lucky it wasn’t any of the guys here, he thought. But this wasn’t time to lose concentration on the fight, his focus was all on Legatus. He had to take him down - only one could survive in this colosseum. 

Trying his one last shot, Fulgur grabbed Legatus's chest and ripped it out, pouring the vial of water that he asked from Shu into it. Water was the source of life for the Yamino Psyborgs, but it was exactly the downfall for this impostor - his body was not built to withstand the water going into its veins and mechanical details. With an agonizing scream, he fell to his knees, before Fulgur stopped it by grabbing his head and slammed it on the ground, face down, so hard that a part of his jaw fell off. 

"Well, it seems like my guess was right! I really do have to thank Shu for building us so differently. It’s time for you to die!" 

Legatus's body was twitching and convulsing as Fulgur turned him around and stared at him from above. Still ravening in his bloodlust, he placed a foot onto Legatus's exposed stomach, applying more and more force on it. 

“Fulgur, get yourself out of this. He’d had enough.” A voice suddenly came up. It was none other than his own. As he snapped out of the trance, Fulgur realized he was now covered in scratches, broken slates of metal, fluids and all kinds of colors. Staring down at the miserable body of the younger Psyborg, he was horrified to find what he had turned into. 

“Ha… how heartless. In the end, we’re basically the same, aren’t we?! You and I… yes… you and I!” 

"I told you, I didn't want everyone to see your carcass." Fulgur’s hair was dripping with the fluid coming out of Legatus’s body. Lying on the ground, a part of Legatus’s jaw was lying six feet away from him, his eyes unable to shut, and his exposed chest was making all sorts of sizzling and buzzing noises. He was beyond reparation, so thoroughly damaged that it was practically impossible to recycle him. 

Fulgur was about to turn and walk away for good, but his carbon copy’s words pulled him back. 

“Please stay… I don’t want to be alone…”

“...Huh?”

“You’re going back to them, right…? At least you have them. No one cared about me. No one would care about me…”

Thus, Fulgur sat down, right next to the fellow Psyborg. He looked more like a lost, unfortunate child than ever. The archivist could hardly see the bratty kid who joked around and taunted him before. Unable to bring himself to deny the dying Psyborg of his beseech, Fulgur decided that he should stay by his side in his final moments. 

“Can you do me a favour?”

“What is it?”

“Please… put my head up higher… it hurts so bad…”

There was nothing Fulgur could use as a substitute pillow. But of course, his legs were quite useful. Gently setting Legatus’s head onto his knees, he tried to make it as restful as possible for the little Psyborg.  

"Better?" 

"Mmhmm. Thanks…" 

As the wind softly caressed Legatus's face and hair, his facial expression became more tranquil than ever. Fulgur was surprised to see the boy being so mellow. Despite the fact that his mobility fluid was leaking like crazy and sticking everywhere, Fulgur didn’t mind it all that much. Suddenly, Legatus spoke up. His voice was strained, warped with emotion.

“... I just…”

"You just…?”

“I… just… want someone…” The fluid kept leaking out of his body as the Psyborg struggled to activate his speech box, but Fulgur didn't seem to mind, “...to teach me… about this world…”

“... You just wanted to find someone who could love you, right?” 

“How could… know? You’re…ved… them…”

You’re loved by them.

All Legatus wanted was to be able to love and be loved. 

“I know. But it took me time to get to know them and befriend them, and I wanted to protect them with every last bit of my power." After pausing for a bit, he continued, "Which is the exact reason why I was so willing to kill you.”

“I see… ahaha! Haha, hahahaha… ha…” Upon this realization, Legatus’s eyes widened. His following laughter was a chain of broken, laced with a creakily eeriness but also extremely sad and pathetic at the same time, kind of sound. As it came to an abrupt end, the Psyborg finally shed a tear with his wide-opened eyes: 

“I just wanted to be like…” 

His sentence was never finished. And that marked the last words of Legatus, before he went 500. A penny rolled out of his pocket, as Fulgur slowly set him down.

“May you find peace in the afterlife, Legatus.” Putting his hands together, Fulgur prayed for the Psyborg who he couldn’t bring himself to completely resent. If Uki did not pick him up,  showered him with love, and showed him the ways to become human, he might just have ended up the same way that Legatus did. All and all, Legatus was simply a broken child who did not have the correct guidance that he deserved. If only they had met in a different timeline, at a different state… things might not have turned out so bad for the both of them. But there’s no time for regret - it’s all been and done. No matter what Fulgur did now, Legatus could never come back.

Alone, Fulgur walked back to where his friends were waiting. Feeling no need to run, he decided to take a little stroll, as he contemplated his own life. Before he even noticed it, his friends were already rushing towards him.  

“Fulgur!” Alban was the quickest to run to Fulgur’s side. “Are you okay? Are you fine? How much did he hit you…" 

“Alban, we cannot be sure who this one really is.” Standing in between an eager Alban and a very-much-worn-out Fulgur, Sonny raised his arms as if he was trying to shield his Psyborg from an underlying threat. “Uki, ask him something that only you and Fulgur know.”

"If you really are Fulgur, you would know this… what’s the one function that differentiates you, Alban, Lucy and Mysta from the rest of the registered Psyborgs?" 

“Defects in our autodelete system.”

Uki stared at him intently, as if to double check the legitimacy in his looks, before turning to the crowd: "He's real." 

“Welcome back, Fulgur!”

“Fuu-chan! Do you need to rest? We can…”

“...I need some alone time, guys.” 

Alban, Sonny and Yugo - the trio that just ran up to check on him - were visibly dumbfounded. Never in their friendships have they seen Fulgur deliberately pushing everyone away like this. Even Shu, his creator, was rather puzzled. Only Uki didn’t say anything and just silently followed him. 

“I’ll catch up to him, don’t worry. We’re all safe now.”

“Well, you heard him.” Ike turned around. “Let’s go back to our rooms.”

“But… Has something gotten into him? I wanna meet him.” Alban still hadn’t gotten over his worrying for Fulgur, but it was already out of his reach to help him since Fulgur was the one who deliberately pushed everyone away.  

“Fuufuuchan?” Uki called out on the hall. 

“Oh, Uki… hello.”

“Yeah, we just met earlier. Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“...Nothing, really. I need a bath, I’m drained.” 

*****

"Ughh… no, please, I don't want to kill you…" 

It was getting harder for Fulgur to fall asleep, and whenever he had the chance, Legatus’s broken face would show up in his dreams - nightmares would probably be a more suitable word to call them. It was extremely preternatural how the impostor Psyborg’s face was so similar to him, even the red marks that had become his brand were similar. His death, which Fulgur was entirely responsible for, had left doubts inside Fulgur's heart. He wasn't sure how to deal with it either. Was it grief that he felt, or was it just the trauma from having to put one's life to an end? Technically, Legatus didn't have a life, but Fulgur didn't either. 

“Uki…!” Fulgur jolted awake, the compartments in his chest and head vibrating since his heart couldn’t beat the way a human heart does. That was enough to wake a sleepy Uki up, who quickly searched for Fulgur’s hands in the dark and tenderly held them. 

“Fuufuuchan, I’m here. I’m right next to you.”

“Can you see me?”

“I can… Is something the matter?” 

“I hate my imprint and autodelete defects. Good grief.” Heaving a hefty sigh, Fulgur buried his face in his hands. “That scene… it just kept replaying in my head. The pain felt so real. And… although I thought and said that it was the best thing to do, I’m not so sure anymore.” 

Uki could vaguely make out what Fulgur was talking about. Concerned, he leaned in closer to his Psyborg:

“...I’m sorry for asking, but… Do you think you wanna let it out?”

As Fulgur’s hand slowly dropped, his head also did a motion akin to a light head shake. 

“I’m not ready.” 

"Then, do you want me to hug you as we sleep tonight?" 

“Yes… please. Gladly.”

“Come closer.”

And thus, they lay down with Fulgur being the small spoon. The only sound remained was the tick tock of the old clock that Luca still kept in his house. Fulgur turned around, shuffling the sheets as he tried to find a comfortable position. Was Uki asleep already? He didn’t want to be the last one wide awake, with no one to ease his anxiety. 

"Uki? Are you asleep?" Feebly, Fulgur asked.

"I'm not." Rubbing Fulgur's back, Uki assured his lover. Being the big spoon gave him a weird feeling, as Fulgur had now become the one in his arms, quietly snoring away. Before, he used to be the one relying on Fulgur for protection and tranquility of mind, but now Fulgur needed him more than ever. 

Uki knew he could not go back to the way things were before. It was impossible for him to go back to that lonely life, wasting his time away between the blank walls of his home. He had to be strong, not only for Fulgur, but for himself. 

"... Fulgur? You're back outside now." 

"Albanyan…" 

"I don't know what happened to you that day, but… I know you're in distress. It's okay if you don't wanna talk, I'm just gonna sit next to you, if it helps." 

"Thanks." 

Fulgur found it ironic how he used to always be the one helping others, but now he was the one who needed help. What an interesting turn of events, almost laughable even , he thought. 

"I just… I don't know, it changed something inside me, yet I'm too scared to tell Uki. I don't want to let him down, and I don't even want to accept the fact that I am changing… I have changed. I want things to stay the way it used to be, without having to feel all this burden. Aaaah, that sounded really stupid, doesn't it?" 

Fulgur’s tea kettle laugh showed up once again, in an effort to mask his trauma. 

“Fulgur, listen, listen.” Alban placed a hand on his friend's, trying to console him. “I love you as a friend, and as a person as well… so let me tell you something." 

Fulgur's eyes were still and calm once again. Alban always had this energy that could calm people down whenever he's with them, and that was something not only Fulgur but Sonny, Yugo and even Uki were grateful for.  

“I know that… what happened to you could People change, you know? I changed, you changed… so, um… I might not be good with words, but the fact that I won't leave you remains the same, no matter how I put it." 

“Your words are succinct and effective. Have you ever considered a career in therapy and consulting?”

“Don’t say that. I don’t know any better than you, it’s just the blind leading the blind."

As soon as Fulgur came back to his and Uki’s room, he could feel his master’s arm wrapping around him. Uki’s wavy hair brushed against Fulgur's face as he leaned down to return his embrace. This surprised Fulgur, as it was the first time Uki had ever hugged him with so much force. He knew his lover wasn’t as weak as one’s impression of him, but even so he had never held him so tightly. 

“Uki? Were you lonely when I was away?” Gently playing with the man’s purple locks of hair, he asked. 

“I was, yeah. But that’s not the point. Fuufuuchan… Please let me be your protector. I’ll be the one keeping you safe this time.”

*****

"So I saw that you've asked me to have some serious talk with you. I'm all ears." Luca said, as he poured Shu some of his favorite liquor. 

"You still remember this thing? But I thought this bottle was already discontinued…”

“A boss has to do everything in his power if there is something he so desires.” 

“When we broke up… how did you feel?”

“... You want to ask me that , huh?”

“You know me. I’m no good at beating around the bush. Plus, there’s no use in doing so right now.”

“Of course, when you pushed me away without a proper explanation, I was heartbroken. I kept asking myself what went wrong in the relationship, was I not caring about you enough, did I make you jealous or something… But I couldn’t find anything. So then I turned to doubt myself.”

“Meeting you again sure was awkward.”

“It is, it is, yeah. But now that you’ve heard the story on my side, I’d like to hear it from you too. Just why did you decide to call everything off?” 

“When we were at the height of everything, both our love and our business, I came to realize that people were relying more and more on Psyborgs, which turned the community into nothing more than a technology nightmare. I felt like… Everything was wrong. And I don't think I was in a straight mind either. I doubted myself, day after day after day.” 

"I see. Well, I'm glad to finally hear your opinions from you. I don't really believe what people say, until I get confirmation from the real deal." 

"... I've been lying my whole life. How could you trust me so easily?" 

“Because that’s what love is.” 

Luca held Shu's hands in his, but his fingers were not fully closed. Shu too, just lightly tapped his finger on the back of Luca's hand, playing with it, tracing his veins - he did all but locking his fingers into the gaps between Luca's. That was enough for them, as they let the smell of alcohol slowly fill the air. 

"Let's just keep things the way they are." 

"You've once told me you like twilight best, and I've never understood until now." 

Chapter Text

Mysta was wide awake all night to think about everything that had happened. He thought about Shu. He thought about Vox. Then it was Luca who came to his mind. 

Just why did they create them, exactly? As he lay and thought about his creators, his thoughts soon drifted to his other Psyborg siblings. All of them were abandoned or freed by Shu, depending on how one views it. 

"Are these my everything?" Mysta asked himself. "Well, guess I'll just never know." 

Albeit being one of the special kinds of Psyborgs, Mysta never really thought of defying his master's orders. It didn't matter how much anyone deemed him worthless - he would just always strive to be a better version of himself. Like Ike once said, Psyborgs were, essentially, the representative of their owners. A master's status as well as personality can be seen through their bond with their own Psyborg, since they were the closest one to them. Many trained their Psyborgs to be the most perfect versions of themselves, pushing them to their utmost limits. In that process, some were completely wrecked and became nothing more than dogs with a speech function. Shu, however, was never that kind of person. Always kind and supportive, he had never once ordered Mysta to surrender to him completely or go out of his way to do something, even though it was literally in his rights, both as a creator and as a master. 

But nothing in this world exists without flaws. There was one day when him and Shu finally snapped at each other. He didn't remember what the cause of that fight was, because it was probably too minute to remember. It wasn't even normal of either of them to cause a scene, but Shu, in a fit of rage, finally raised his voice: 

“Mysta, there are things in this world that can never be changed! We’re bound to rules, and therefore it is impossible to gain complete freedom. What you just said, many times might I add, is practically impossible.” 

“I can change. We can all change, if that were what you truly wanted. It's possible. The problem is just that you probably don't want that, and that I never know how committed you actually are about something.”

“Serious? What do you mean by that, I am always committed aren’t I?” 

“If you were so committed, you wouldn’t have abandoned them like that. You got bored of your imperfect products, didn’t you?”

"I do not want you to mention this ever again."  

“Why, Shu? Because it touched your pride? Because you knew you made a mistake when you made us and you don’t wanna admit it? Face it, Shu. You’re the creator.” 

When he got mad, Shu just became dead quiet. He was never the type to yell, to quarrel, or to make a scene. Leaving behind nothing but an upset Mysta who was standing as still as a statue, Shu walked out of the room, trying to avoid contact with his Psyborg. Though, Mysta could feel him slamming the door a little bit harder than usual. 

He did it. He put Shu into a rage. 

But why didn’t it feel like a victory? Mysta had finally told him what he’s been keeping in his heart forever, yet why did it feel more like it ricocheted at him? Wasn’t he supposed to feel satisfied because he was able to shut Shu up with….

Wait. Did he ever want to shut Shu up?

And that was when Mysta realized he had dug his own grave. It was too late for a proper apology. 

After the argument, it seemed to be harder to grab a hold of Shu than before. Disappearing and reappearing at the most unexpected places, he was making an effort to steer clear of Mysta. Devastated, Mysta became gloomier than ever, which was easily noticed by Alban.

"What happened, Mysta?" The phantom thief Psyborg asked. 

"Alban…" 

"Did someone or something upset you? You can tell me. I'm pretty free at the moment." 

"Where's Sonny though? Aren't you always with him?" 

“Hey, don’t make Sonny the first thing you ask about when you see me! He’s going on his own today, by the way. Didn’t wanna keep him down by having to stay with me the whole time.”

“So even you guys have days like this, huh…”

“Well… we gotta have our personal space. He needs alone time, and I respect that. I felt like I’ve been too much of a burden to him.” 

“Oh?”

"And I also figured… I was probably pulling him down. I made him stoop so low. He had to set aside his own desires in order to be there for me… when it should have been the opposite! I’ve failed as a Psyborg on that aspect, so the least I can do is offer him emotional support when possible… I think giving him some time on his own will be good for him. He can finally be himself, without feeling the need to cater everything to me.” 

Leaving a few minutes of unspoken understanding between himself and Alban, Mysta asked: 

“Is this a part of a normal master - Psyborg relationship? Am I supposed to act like you?”

“No, this is not… a relationship between a master and his Psyborg. If anything, it's more of a loving relationship between two people. Mysta, let me ask you something. Just exactly what is Shu to YOU? What do you see him as?”

Alban challenged something in Mysta. 

“Shu? He’s my… he’s my…”

My creator. My master. The one who gave me a soul and a heart. The one who takes control of my life. That was what Mysta wanted to answer. Those were good answers to a Psyborg. However, there was much more about Shu to him. Not only were there times when he obeyed Shu's orders and catered everything to his likes as best as he could, there were times he found himself defying Shu. Alban's questioning gaze made him feel even more uneasy.

“I’m sorry, I think I need to have some time to myself.” 

"Alright, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here." 

In the first place, Mysta, Alban, Fulgur and Lucy’s existence were not supposed to be. Created with faults in their programming that made them more “humane”, it rendered them unable to fully take control of their own emotions to act on “what is best”. Unlike other household Psyborgs who might seem like they have absolutely no control over how they feel but are perfectly manipulating their neurons to feel the way they had to, Psyborgs of the Lux-Nox line's emotions were changeable, depending on every factor that crafted one's feelings. He hated Shu, for creating them so imperfectly and acted like it was the right thing to do.

Though, Mysta wanted to know if other humans would think if they were put in a situation like him and Shu right now. Sonny Brisko seemed like the most perfect person around the block to ask. 

“Hey Sonny, can I have a word with you after dinner?”

“Yeah sure.”

Finding himself and Mysta on the lanai just a few hours after, Sonny asked the blue-eyed Psyborg standing in front of him: 

“So, what is it, Mysta?” 

“What… Just what do you think about Alban?”

Somehow, Sonny seemed to have been able to foresee this. 

“Alban… he’s like a younger brother to me. Yeah, he’s family. Just like with Yugo, I’ll do whatever I can to keep him safe. Although I know he’s a Psyborg so he’s… practically never a child, I can’t help but want to protect him. Though, I respect him as a person so I am trying not to pry too much into his life. Everyone’s born with a free will, and no one has the right to strip it away from them.” 

“You… think of him like that?”

“Mmhmm. Although I’m not his creator…” Mysta almost flinched upon hearing that word “... I’ve felt a deep connection with him. I believe he feels the same way towards me too, that's why I try my best not to hurt him. There's nothing as painful as being hurt by the person you love the most, in the end. Even though relationships can't be one hundred percent perfect since we fight sometimes too but hey, that's what communication is for! We'll talk it all out.” 

“What if he does something that you think is unforgivable?”

“ I think?”

“Yeah. Like… something unforgivable in your relationship.” 

“Uh…” Sonny leaned backwards, laying his head on his hands, “well… I’ll probably have to slow down… and think about what went wrong with us. Usually, when a crack or a conflict appears in our relationship, both are in the wrong. I won’t put the blame on Alban entirely.” 

“Is that so… damn, you guys are rational even in your relationship” 

"Well, emotions are not always about the heart. Rationalization can solve many things, but it's not always been like this, by the way. We've had hard times with each other too, but from those occasions we learned how to forgive, how to understand, and how to love each other properly." The VSF officer's last words were simply knives pointing at Mysta's already aching heart. 

“Mysta”, Sonny asked, “did something happen between you and Shu?”

Getting all teary eyed, the Psyborg nodded. “I had a big fight with him. We haven’t looked or talked to each other for days, and now I don’t know what to do.”

“Really? May I ask, why did you fight?” 

“Because I don’t know how human emotions work. I don’t know what went on in his head that drove him to become the man he is… And I tried to please him! I tried to make him happy, yet my efforts just seemed like they were for nothing… I just want to understand how humans feel, how… humans like you and him, our masters , feel like.” 

“It’s okay. Not even us can understand what goes on in our head, sometimes. If I’m being serious though… I’d say, you and the other guys are very… human. Probably more human than some of the folks I’ve met throughout my time working in VSF.”

“Really?”

“Really. Deep down, humans are all faulty creations. It’s okay if you’re incomplete - you’re still capable of being human, after all. I think Shu probably needs a little more time to fully come to terms with his feelings. You’ve done so much on your side though Mysta, good job. You deserve to be respected.” 

*****

Needless to say, the Psyborgs were rather surprised to hear that Shu requested them to meet him for some "talk". Everyone showed up, including Mysta, even though he was hesitant to go at first. With Lucy's promise to be his insurance in case things go south and his own willingness to face his creator, Mysta went anyway. 

"So what's this talk that you wanna have with us?" Alban asked as soon as everyone was gathered. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Shu?”

“What for?”

“I’m the worst creator ever. I shouldn’t have abandoned all of you and sent you away like what I did in the past. For that, I deeply apologize to you all.”

“That sorry seems a little late now, doesn’t it?” Fulgur asked. “After you’ve created us like what we are now…”

Stepping towards Shu, Fulgur clenched his fist as tight as he possibly could. Though his eyes were calm and quiet, the ever-shifting grey suggested a raging hurricane inside him. Slicking his hair back, Fulgur was ready to fight his creator more than ever. 

"Fulgur…!" Lucy wanted to stop her mechanical sibling, but Shu was the one who stopped her: 

"Lucy dear, Fulgur has every right to be mad at me. Let him do his job." 

Alban didn't say anything. His eyes, heterochromic as they were, remained the same. He was waiting for Fulgur and Shu's answer to decide how he should react.

Fulgur, however, only ruffled Shu's hair a little bit, awkwardly, like he was reuniting with a long lost family member for the first time.

“It’s okay. Apology accepted.”   

Shu was actually anticipating something worse. Expecting Fulgur to throw the worsts insults at him or something, hitting him with the force of a gladiator or something of the sort, he was surprised to see his first creation - the one he’d thrown aside - coming to his side, offering his hand like an olive branch:

"What, you think we're seriously gonna hold a grudge? Well…" 

"Fulgur…" 

"Shu, I did harbor a bit of resentment towards you from the day you sent me away, but now that you knew and admitted to your mistakes, I'd rather let it go. Plus, I do have you to thank for creating me so that I could meet Uki. Let's be friends from now on." 

"Wait. I haven't had my say yet." 

It was Alban who spoke up this time. Quietly, Fulgur backed down, leaving the stage all to his best friend. 

"You might not… think of me as much as you think of Mysta and Fulgur, but I don't hate you that much, Shu. Thanks for creating me, and letting me meet wonderful people like Fulgur, Sonny, Yugo and Uki." 

"Alban… thank you for forgiving me." 

Mysta was the only one left who hadn't resolved with Shu about their fight. Hesitantly, he just stared at his creator from a distance. 

"Mysta?" 

"Sh-Shu… hey…" 

Without any need for words, Shu immediately walked straight to him as fast as he could. Pulling his Psyborg into a tight embrace the moment they were close enough to each other, he buried his face into Mysta's shoulder and started to sob: 

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry! I didn't want to hurt you… I'm sorry for putting you in pain all those years… I should have known…!" 

"I… I'm sorry too! I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to say all the mean stuff to you… Shu… I'm sorry…" Mysta's sobbing got even louder as if he was trying to mask his creator's crying behind it. 

Only them could have hurt each other so badly, but it was only them who could soothe each other's pain in their hearts so easily. 

******

It was a city crisis when everything fell into darkness from the sudden electricity loss. However, in a hidden corner of the world, the boys managed to find and evacuate themselves. Sitting on top of a hill was a secret spot where Vox, Luca and Shu used to hang out all the time as children. 

“Just like the old days, huh?”

“Yeah. I remember one time when wee wittwe Luca came here to hide after he angered his mother… And we were the only ones who could find him.”

“We even held your hands.” Vox joked. Luca only laughed it off like it was no big deal. 

As they stared at the sky, a glimmer of hope sparked in Uki’s heart. Oh, how long has it been since he last saw the stars! He couldn’t remember how beautiful each and every constellation was. And what’s more, there were shooting stars. Excited, Yugo jumped up and down, running and pointing at every celestial body he could see. It was as if the stars had fallen into his eyes. Even Alban, who was telling him to calm down at first, couldn’t contain his excitement for any longer. 

“It’s the stars…!”

“I can’t believe it. How long has it been since we last saw a star?” 

“This… this is not any of your inventions right, Shu? Not out of a projection or stimulation?”

“No…” Even Shu was staring in awe now, and that confirmed Sonny’s question. 

"It's as if… I can hold the stars in the palm of my hand. They're so far away, yet…" As Uki reached out a hand towards the sky, the heavenly bodies seemed as though they fit in the gaps between his fingers. 

"I wish this could go on forever." 

"It can't. But because it's so fleeting, that's what makes it beautiful. Just like a human's life." Shu commented, as Mysta turned around to sneak a glance at him. 

******

“Do you miss Uki?” Alban asked, placing a hand on Fulgur’s shoulder. The year was 2600. The Psyborg, Fulgur Ovid, was the only one left in the Violeta household. Alone in the world… Well, not completely, at least. He was now living with Alban Knox and the other Psyborgs, who immortalized the name and legacy of Shu Yamino after his inevitable death of old age.

“I wonder when we will be able to meet them again.”

There they were. The spheres of memory. Staring intently at the scenery with Sonny and him being replicated in one of the little glass-like balls and a memory with Yugo and him in another, Alban couldn’t help but shed a few tears for those who were gone. 

“It’s gonna take another one hundred year until we can find a mind as brilliant as Shu’s…" 

Mysta never gave up on his hope in the darkness, though. Through and through, he kept on experimenting, inventing, failing and started everything all over again at square one. Psyborgs practically do not get tired since they’re artificial intelligence, and so he worked day and night to find the answers. 

“Uki?!”

“...Fuufuuchan. I… thought I died… What happened?"  

"You did, yes, technically. There's a lot to explain, but… Mysta helped us bring you back." 

"Am I the only one?" 

"No, because as you can see…" 

"Yugo! Sonny!" Alban was the happiest of all. He only had the two of them, which meant when Sonny and Yugo, one by one, left him all by himself, the Psyborg soon lost his raison d'etre. Were it not for Fulgur who also just lost Uki not long before, he wouldn't be able to cope with the grief on his own. As the five embraced, they could feel each other’s salty bitter tears. An abundance of emotions was bursting out, and it soon became unintelligible what they were trying to say to each other. 

“Shu…”

“Mysta, hello.”

“...Hello. Did you sleep well?”

“I did, yeah. Well, I didn’t expect to meet you here…”

A beat. 

“I am not who I’m supposed to be, am I?” Shu finally brought up the automata elephant in the room.

“No.” Mysta shook his head. “I just wanted to do this to hear your voice once more. I just want to see you and everyone interacting one more time…”

“But you know that you’ll never truly see me again.” 

“Yes. And that’s where the beauty of life lies, isn’t it? Like you’ve told me before.” 

“Haha. You remember my words well.”

Mysta wanted to hold Shu’s hand through the glass one more time, like they always did before going to bed when Shu was still alive. Seeing his Psyborg’s curled fingers, the illusion Shu realized what he was trying to do. In return, he placed his hand at the same position. 

“I’ll forever love you, Mysta.” 

"I love you too, Shu. Goodbye." 

By closing the sphere, Mysta also cut off the holographic Shu off forever. He no longer needed to cling onto the fragments left behind by his creator. It's time to move on. 

A brave new world was waiting for them. 

The End. 

“Phew! That simulation really was exhausting… who would’ve thought!” Shaking his head, Shu stared at the black mirror on the computer. Seconds ago, it was still showing him a simulation where he and his friends were thrown into a futuristic world, with creations made to resemble humans on an extreme level. Seeing how that mini society turned out, he thought it would be best to call off the project. The sentiment was too much for him to handle on his own, especially after seeing how things would turn out in that direction. To a certain degree, it was fun to see them do all the fun things like driving a flying car or DJ-ing with a virtual board, other than that… Grabbing his fifth pot of coffee, Shu thought it was time for a break.

“Hey Shu! Wanna grab lunch together?” From outside the laboratory, Luca called out to his tech wizard friend, who had been so absorbed in his research he hadn’t gone out to eat in days. The blonde, puppy-like chap strolled confidently straight into the room as if it was his. Seeing Shu dozing off next to the machine, he scolded:  

“You’re still working on that simulation? C’mon, take a break! They just opened a new BBQ place down the street, you should come with us!” 

And that was enough to pull Shu Yamino back to reality. 

“Alright alright, I’m only going because it’s you who invited me. By the way, I’m already done with it by now… simulator? I hardly even know ‘er!”

What's with that simulation that you were working on?” Luca asked on their way out of the laboratory. Nonchalantly, Shu replied:

“Oh nothing, I just wanna test out what would happen if something that’s supposed to be in the uncanny valley goes towards the “humanlike” side. Turns out, it’s rather scary. I’ve gotten my answer, so now I’m satisfied.”

“Does that mean you’ll have more time to spend with us?”

“Of course.”

"POG!!" 

Playfully hitting Luca's full, broad back, Shu laughed. “Hey, did you miss me that much when I was gone?”

“I did, I did! The guys did too. They really wanted to meet you, so I have to directly come here to pull you out of there.”

“Ahaha, sorry, that won’t happen again… Eyyyyy!” 

“Shu!”

“SHUUUUUUU!”

“Hey Shu!” 

Vox, Mysta and Ike were all waiting for the duo to meet up with them. There would be a lot to catch up on, but for now, Shu decided he was going to keep that simulation program a little secret. 

SIMULATION: COMPLETE. 

Chapter Text

Ever since he was a child, Uki knew his life had always been quite different from other people. He was dressed differently, given different food to consume, and everyone listened to what he said. The moment he opened his eyes and started a new day, there were already people standing around his bed, waiting to be of service. The adults would beautify him before supper, where his blessing job started. Firstly, they would take him to the bathroom to wash and cleanse. This was the stage where the priests would scrub him down nicely before lathering him in oil in order to preserve his virginal looks, a virtue exceptionally vital to the gods of this church. Then, the waves of his hair - which had never been cut, even for once in his life - would be combed for about a hundred times before braided up by the maids to be adorned by a special headwear that concealed part of it under a layer made from a light material, such as chiffon or satin. Finally comes the changing room, where Uki’s tiny figure was to be adorned by the most delicate muslin and or silk, with gold and jewels to decorate his limbs like an idol. Though, his face would then be concealed by a veil, only allowing those who were closest to him to see it. Without letting his precious feet touch the ground, the devotees would then take him to the grand dining room, where the morning feast would be, to bless the food that everyone would consume.

The blessing process was quite simple - Uki only had to dip his fingers into a crested bowl of water, then sprinkle it onto the table as he said the prayers, after which he would have the first bite. This would be the time when the church’s devotees started their day. If he was done eating before everyone else, Uki would then be escorted to the meeting room, where people would wait in lines outside to meet the child god. There were many reasons as to why they sought him, but it was mostly for blessings - for love, riches, and success. Some sought him out for guidance, but in actuality his true words would never reach them. His mouthpiece - the head priest of the church - was the one who gave them the advice as well as services the church could do to soothe them. The first and only time Uki tried to actually give some advice, the head priest

“My highness Uki,” the head priest walked in. “We are here at your service. Do tell us what you want to do.”

“Do as you please.” Waving his hand dismissively, the young boy sighed. As if the head priest was just waiting for that, he nodded and signaled for his followers to bring into the prayer room. That would be the events that happened on a normal day, as Uki’s routine played out. On festivals however, things were definitely much busier and crazier. Uki would have to be carried around the neighborhood around the church as part of a ritual.

Bored, the young Uki Violeta covered his right eye so as not to see any of those church people anymore. He didn’t like the eye that much, not when it was the root of these events. All because he was born with one special eye, everyone in the church thought of him as a living saint. Even when he learned how to speak, the priests and lecturers wouldn’t find any spare time not to enforce the idea that he was destined to perform the role of a representative for what the church called “Saviour gods”. There was not a day when Uki did not doubt himself over the fact that whether being born as the god was actually good. He didn’t have to do anything to please the people’s heart, but it was what they believed in that made him perplexed. The god who everyone had been convinced of the fact that he “loved people with all of his heart”, in fact, did not do so. He did not love them as much as he was supposed to. Deep down in his heart, Uki knew he couldn’t bring himself to love just everyone, and that, disgracefully, had made him more human than anyone among his devotees. As a divine being, he should have acted more forgiving than anyone. There was no room for a selfish god, as the priests told him all the time. And young, naive Uki wholeheartedly believed in everything they say just as much as his followers put their faith in him.

Things, however, took a turn for the different as the living god grew into his teenage years. When he became all alone at night in his “altair”, the young deity had plenty to think about. how could he act in any different way? Uki was put in child lock, so he did not have any real friends to speak of. Everyone he knew practically worshiped him. Uki didn’t even have to do anything other than going around to give people his blessings, or sitting on a throne of gold for an entire day, only leaving when he needed to take care of “personal business”. One thing though, the church taught Uki how to use technologies, which are essentially gateways to achieve supreme divinity. But it wasn’t like godhood came as easily as one putting a piece of cotton candy into their mouth - Uki had to learn how to control himself, suppress his lust. Every piece of his desires, no matter how minor they were, were stigmatized. He could be acting in any way he liked alone, but there was definitely no one who he could talk to if he felt like the priest’s words were boring as shit. The more he read about children who were able to go to school and make connections, the more he longed for the day he could run free on a schoolyard, sitting behind a friend’s bike or just sharing gossip with them. That would have been more than enough.

“I want to go to school.” Uki told the head priest with great assurance while the thought was still fresh in his mind.

“May I ask what prompted the idea, Your Highness?”

“I want to gain knowledge. I need to learn about people, not just about… the church people.”

“Your Highness, you belong here. You do not need anything more than what we’ve provided for you.”

“No. Let me go to school. I am old enough to process information now, surely you don’t think I’m so dumb as to not understand anything they teach at school, no?”

“The cruel world has tainted you with its gaslighting information. Your Highness, surely you haven’t forgotten the news about industrialized foods that everyone out there ate, right? For the longest time. The food we have here is grown for us, catered to us! We must worship our gods with our very body.”

“But if I were really a vessel… a representative for the old ones, I should have been able to experience and know what human suffering is like. Yet, I know nothing, therefore I couldn’t do anything to help the church and the followers.”

“Your existence is already sustaining the church.”

“I don’t believe so. Can’t you give me a chance to learn? I won’t run away, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

But Uki’s effort to negotiate with the priests was for nothing. Why of course, what could a child possibly do to the people who’d been raising him from birth?

“Lock the doors. Our god is angered, and I must do something to purify him.”

The first time he spoke back to the head priest was also the first time he got a taste of physical pain - a slap landed across his soft, white, delicate cheeks which no one had ever dared to lay their finger on. Stunned, Uki just quietly sat on the floor, hugging himself as if to find some comfort. But the priest had already grabbed his face hard, pulling the young boy closer to him as he spit out every words:

“Has being a god for the past thirteen years affected your mind? If you go mental or decide to rebel against us like all you filthy teenagers do, we have no other choice but to throw you away and replace you. Don’t forget who put you up to this position, Your Highness.”

The priest then threw him down on the cold floor, just like that. Being left all alone, crying, with an aftertaste of bitterness in his mouth, the idol was to repent for his sins in the room for hours before finally being brought out to bless the food he wasn’t allowed to eat that day. They thought that was enough to extinguish the fire in him. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect - it was the first time Uki was able to experience something different from the continuous pampering of the church people. It had become his first time crying ever since he knew what to do with his emotions. Weeping and weeping for about an hour, for the first time, Uki Violeta actually felt… alive. Knowing that the stinging pain was there, sitting on his face, made him understand that this is the proof of him living and breathing. He wanted to indulge in more of it, but not in painful experiences like this.

That was the first time Uki touched himself. It started as a form of self-pampering at first, until the young god discovered how it truly felt as his soul devoured the pleasure like a hungry beast. His eyes blazed with the ugly desire to be embraced, to be loved, to be kissed. Shameful resentment ate him from the inside as he gasped for air, his face and body flaming hot as if he was being set on fire. Being reminded of how to live had turned something in his head, something that the church wasn’t prepared to perceive. For the longest time, Uki hid himself in the darkness, alone he waited until the time was finally right for him.

Everything made an even sharper turn when Uki knew what puberty was, because he was already hitting it. No one had ever told him that his body would be going through so much changes that he could no longer recognize it. The holy saint now deemed himself impure, even having thoughts as he was blessing his devotee. Finding out that his body was now tainted every time he opened his eyes, Uki was ashamed to let the devotees touch him. That was the first sign for the head priest to finally think about finding a replacement for the holy saint, with a perfectly fitting story to follow. Still, the church people still did a great job keeping him inside and taking care of him, as if nothing happened. For the first few weeks, he made an effort to forget about it even happening, but eventually he remembered.

Uki decided to give himself one entire night to think. His life was special, it had always been special since the moment of his birth. But it was only a vague idea of “specialness” that existed in his yet-to-be-enlightened. In order to search for that one answer to his life and how to live it the way he should, Uki must stand on his own two feet. Free from the priests, free from his worshippers, free from the church. Forever.

But now wasn’t the right time yet. To be able to execute the perfect plan, he had to wait for his time to come. And so the god obediently listened to the priests for a couple more months as he studied the tower he was kept in. There were seven flights of stairs in total, with an elevator in the middle of the tower. If he could somehow manage to break the elevator after escaping the place, there would be no stopping him.

Uki had planned out the escape route - in the dead of night on his 16th Walpurgisnacht, he would run away from the church, never to be seen again. With just a little bit of money enough to buy him the train ticket and food to last for a few weeks, the old god shed himself off his old skin, of the linen, muslin, of a treasure’s worth of jewelry and the long, thick, violet hair. Stripping himself bare of every single trace of his godhood, Uki heaved out a sigh of relief as if his burden was gone, all of a sudden. Being able to live “normally” for the first time in years was an experience of a lifetime. Slowly, he walked into the outside world, which was then filled with the cold night air. With every step Uki took, he could feel his body weight more clearly. It started off as a mere stroll, but then his feet quickly took up its pace.

More than anyone, he understood what freedom meant. By every means, he must hold onto that concept till his last breath. Racing away into the night, never did he turn his head, even for once. In the darkest depths of the night, his hair danced under the twinkling stars as his feet became lighter with every step. His ear was ringing. The breaths he drew quickly became short and rapid. His tender feet - which has never experienced anything more than the comfort of his shoes - were grazed, bleeding. Pain was bleeding towards his body but it was proof of him living. Seeing the light along the railways, his eyes started to pool with tears.

With that, Uki had grasped freedom into his hands.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Luca! Come out and play with us.” The young boy with long black hair called out from outside the window. His honey golden eyes glimmered as he tried to climb inside the room where his sick friend was lying. His name? Vox Akuma. And there was no doubt that the sickly boy holding a lion plushie in his arms was Luca Kaneshiro. 

Timidly, Luca looked at the door that lead to the hallway, before turning back to Vox:

“But what if mom or papa comes in?”

“They wooon’t! But if they do, we’ll tell them that it’s me and Shu who lead you outside. We’ll take the blame.”

“Shu’s here too?” That name being mentioned was enough for Luca to immediately make up his mind. Quickly tying up his blond hair, the boy jumped out of the window and landed on the grass yard like a fox jumping over a lazy dog, where Shu had already been waiting for him. With a large, warm coat in his hand, he hurriedly but neatly wrapped it around Luca. 

“Careful, Luca. Walk slowly.”

“Where are we going?”

“To our secret base.” 

“Secret base” was a small hut on the hill that Luca had built for the trio to hang out whenever they wanted to. If their parents panic when they couldn’t find their child, they would most often find them inside the secret base, either curling up in a corner alone or with their best friends. As they ascended the hill, Luca’s breaths became shorter with each step. He wanted to stop so badly, but it would be unpog to make his friends wait for him - or so he thought. 

“You okay? Luca?”

“I’m fine! Let’s go!” Grinning brightly like the sun, Luca tried to brush his friend’s worries away. Though, nothing went past little Shu Yamino’s gaze. Pressing on his friend’s shoulder, the black-haired boy effectively convinced his friend to pause their journey.

“No, let’s rest for a bit. Then we can continue walking.” 

When they reached the base of the hill 

“I don’t think I can walk anymore. My chest kinda hurts. Are we there yet?” 

“Almost there. Walk slowly, then sit down. Then close your eyes.” 

Patiently, Luca did as he was told. But not every 8 year old could be patient, and he was one of them. Opening his eyes, he was met with the warmth of rainbow-coloured candles and a birthday cake made from muffins being stuck together, which were brought by his two friends in cone party hats. 

“We prepared a party for you here. Happy birthday, Luca! Sorry we had to take you all the way up…” 

Even before Vox could finish his sentence, Luca had already hugged him and Shu. Being bedridden for many months, he had somewhat lost his hopes for a normal birthday party with candlelights, a big cake and lots of guests, but Shu and Vox had helped him with the first two. As one may have guessed, the day afterwards Luca immediately went down with a fever instead of a mere sore throat. Lying on his bed, Luca quickly found it uncomfortable to be covered up with a blanket, putting an end to it by throwing the covers aside. He missed the feeling of Shu’s sweaty hand holding him under the night sky. 

When Luca entered high school, it slowly got to him that he kind of had a crush on one girl. Being in different classes, the childhood friend trio didn’t speak to each other as much as they did, though Luca confided in him every time something came up. Without fail, Shu would come up with something enough to keep Luca entertained, or some kind of advice that helped him through times. However, there was one day when Shu finally no longer found himself calm when Luca talked to him about his worries. Sitting on the stairs at the backdoors of their highschool, they each had a popsicle in their hand. 

“Hey, Shu.” 

“Mmhmm?” 

“You know how prom’s getting closer, right?” 

“Uh huh.” Nonchalantly, Shu replied. He couldn’t be bothered to come to the prom like everybody else. 

“So there was… oh, no. This is gonna be long. You wanna hear it?” 

“Do tell.” 

“So I wanted to ask my friend in theatre class to be my partner…. But I found out that she’s already gotten a date. But like, there had been people who actually asked me out to be their prom mate, but I turned all of them down because I said I wanna invite someone else. Then my theatre teacher noticed me not having anyone to go with, so she… asked a girl out for me. I really appreciate it, but I dunno if it was like, the right choice. Man, I just feel stupid.” 

After a long pause, Shu asked in a quiet, almost bitter voice: 

“Do you wanna go to prom with a date that badly?” 

“Yeah? Everyone’s had a date to go with, so I felt like I should have someone too.” 

“Huh. I see.” 

“Do you have anyone to go with?” 

“Me? Nah. Totally not.” 

“Oh. Then, are you…” 

“I’m not coming. Have fun.” 

Shu’s answer left Luca lost like a puppy. With his popsicle slowly melting off to the ground, he quietly thought about Shu, about the prom. He had been looking forward to dancing with Shu since Wednesday, but if his best friend wasn’t even going… he would miss out on the fun, of course, but why was Luca the sad one instead? He had a prom date that the teachers even picked out for him, he shouldn’t be feeling this way. But Shu was quick to change the topic into something more lighthearted, not giving him much time to be sad about it. He even almost forgot about the prom night. 

But it eventually came. Dressed neatly and handsomely, Luca showed up to the dancefloor, his hand gripping on the partner. With no prior experience with girls whatsoever, sufficed to say that Luca was a total dork. It wasn’t until the DJ played some loud, hyped-up pop music that he managed to take the lead and invited his partner to dance with him. Along with the music slowly fading, the girl softly pulled her hand away from Luca’s waist. Though he was arguably an airhead, it didn’t take long for Luca to realize he was left to be all alone. Awkwardly, the big boy strolled straight to where his friends were to have a chat. Just as quick as he was to droop his ears, he was quick to get back on his feet and jammed to the music. In the height of that very melody, he turned around and called out: 

“Hey Shu! You gotta…” 

It was now that once again, he realized that the boy he had waited to see all well-dressed in a suit didn’t even have any intention to show up on the dance floor. He, who only realized the fact just now, had become the biggest fool of all. 

The prom turned out to be fine. Fine, because Luca couldn’t find any better word to describe it. Not necessarily boring nor was it terrific by any means, but the experience was quite different from how filmmakers portray it on screen. In all of the highschool flicks Luca had watched, prom was made to be this wonderful one-of-a-lifetime kind of thing that one’s youth would be such a throwaway if they never experience it, whereas he just found it to be a casual occasion where one could just dance, have some snacks, talk to their friends… like any other party. Though he did wonder, if one was accompanied by the partner of their choice, would it have been more exciting? Would the experience have turned out differently? Thoughts were quick to surround him like a swarm of butterflies as the next track on the DJ’s playlist came up. 

 After the quick foxtrot he had with his lovely young lady, Luca once again went off the dance floor to grab a drink. As he poured himself a bit of the non-alcoholic punch specifically prepared for the students, his thoughts drifted off and into oblivion. The colour of the punch seemed oddly interesting to him. He wondered, had the lights in the gym always been like this? Then his attention was on the way some girl’s dress moved like waves as she walked around the dancefloor, almost as light as a little bird. Amidst that infinite train of thought, a face suddenly popped up in his mind. That black-haired boy with the eyes bearing the same color as his. He suddenly realized he couldn’t remember his face as clearly as he thought he should. 

He should go back to him. No. He had to go back to him. 

“Going home so soon?” A boy in the group was quick to notice Luca sneaking out alone. 

“Yeah, I think I kinda feel sick. You guys have fun!” Luca waved at his group before making a run out of it. 

“Bye Luca!” 

“Byeeee!” 

Grinning like an idiot, he waved at the boys, not forgetting to take another look at Vox. He was dancing on the floor with the weirdest rhythm one had ever seen, almost looking like an old man while doing so. At least he was enjoying himself to the fullest. And with that out of the way, off to Shu’s house he went. 

Even though he’d had everything planned out on the school’s balcony, Luca found himself questioning whether his scheme would work or not immediately after he’d sat behind the steering wheel. What if Shu wasn’t home? Worst of all, what if Shu didn’t want anyone to bother him right now? 

But if he never tried, he’d never know.

So try, he did. 

Shu opened his door in response to the happy chiming, rather annoyed. The show was just about to get to the good part, and that doorbell just had to ring at the worst moment for him. But seeing who the young man standing in the threshold was, he couldn’t help but gasped out loud: 

“Yes… Luca?! What are you doing here, isn’t the prom still going on?” 

“I know. I came here, because I… kinda miss you.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me the first time. I missed you, so I came to spend tonight with you here. Is it okay?” 

Shu found the situation they were in to be quite the hilarious one, especially with Luca - being dressed up like a proper gentleman - was standing at his front door with the saddest eyes he’d ever seen. Meanwhile, the main character himself was in his shorts and coffee-stained T-shirt, in his hand a half-eaten banana. 

“I… well, I mean…” 

“I’ve already told my parents that I won’t be coming home anytime soon.” 

“You wanna stay?” 

“Yeah. I can’t exactly go back to the prom now, can I?” 

Sighing, Shu’s hands turned to unlock the door and fully fling it open for Luca. Unable to hide the giddiness in his voice, the blonde thanked his best friend before eventually waltzing straight in like he owned the place.

 As he dived head first into the comfiness of Shu’s bed (and also making it creak a little bit), the blonde rolled around in pure joy while his friend apologized: 

“Sorry, my room’s not the best right now.” 

“It’s okay, it feels comfy. Come here, sit next to me.” 

Though he acted all shy on the surface, Shu was barely keeping himself together, drowning in bliss knowing that Luca chose him over the prom. Their hands almost touched as Luca scooted in, but before he could notice it, Shu had already pulled his hand back. 

“Wait, what are you gonna wear to sleep?” Raising an eyebrow, Shu also raised a question Luca didn’t even stop to think about. He was far too focused on coming to meet the boy who didn’t dance at prom that every other matter had become meaningless. But now, they’d gone back to bother him as unwanted troubles. 

“I… don’t know. Oh, I’m wearing my boxers under these pants, that should be good!” 

“You know, sometimes you just have the wildest of ideas that I don’t even know where you got them from. But alright.” 

There was only one bed for them to share. Though, with Shu’s smaller stature, they could squeeze in and be quite comfortable with each other. Still, having been used to sleeping in a bigger place, Luca begrudgingly turned to lay on his side after a few tossing and turning. Midway through the night, he suddenly tapped Shu on the shoulder and asked: 

“Hey, Shu?” 

“Yeah?” 

“We used to sleep together as kids the whole time. Vox’s parents would let us have sleepovers, remember?” 

“I do, yeah. We used to play with my toys until all of us were exhausted.” 

“I’ve always found it amazing that you managed to invent so many things for us to play with. Say, where did you store all of them? Can I come and take a look?” 

“Of course.” 

Though he did find it pretty odd that Luca recalled such an old memory, Shu didn’t mind taking him back to the old magical land of their childhood. As soon as the switch was turned on, the attic presented itself to the duo with an array of toys from their childhood. Luca’s eyes were immediately at the sight of their old toys. Shu explained in an apologetic manner while scratching the back of his head: 

“My parents donated some to charity, but I believe the best ones are still here. I kind of hid them here and there, so.”

But Luca didn’t mind. Even if it was only the attic that remained, he would still love this place just the way he did before. Nostalgia suddenly went back to them, especially Shu, who hadn’t gone back to his family’s attic in years. Sitting down on the dusty floor, they examined each and every piece of toy that they used to play with all the time. Without Vox, it didn’t feel the same… No. It could never be the same as things were before. 

They went back to bed again afterwards. 

“I still wanna talk with you. To think that we’ve been through all this together, elementary and whatnot… I don’t know how it’s gonna be when we go to college.”

“We’ll be fine, if we believe in ourselves. Well… I believe in you!”

“Really?! Pog! I believe in Shu too, y’know? Do your best!”

But Shu had already turned his back towards Luca, making it difficult for him to see his face. 

“Shu?”

No response. With a voice he had never let anyone hear before, Luca softly uttered: 

“Nighty night, Shu.”

A few minutes later, Shu knew only him was awake. Luca was probably too tired from all of the dollying and dancing around, that’s why he decided not to reply. He knew he’d already drifted to sleep by now, signaled by the steady breaths. Quietly and carefully, the painfully lovestruck child murmured the words coming from the bottom of his heart: 

“… I love you, but I don’t know if I wish you knew, or not.” 

*****

When the red leaves fell from La Casa Kaneshiro's old maple tree, it was finally time to submit college admissions. Being the inseparable trio they were, Luca, Vox and Shu didn’t miss the chance to ask for each other’s opinions on their choice of education. 

“I’m aiming for Robotics.” 

“Ro…botics? You’re gonna learn about robots?”

“Yeah. It’s in the name.”

“Oh… Well, good luck, Shu! I’m sure you’ll make it great!” 

“I just hope I’ll graduate unscathed.” With the smallest hint of sarcasm in his voice, Shu laughed. “What are you going to do after highschool, Luca?” 

“I’m not so sure… probably just a business degree or something along those lines. For the family’s business, you know?” 

“But why did you decide to pursue robotics out of all things? I thought you’d be more into IT or programming…” It was Vox who asked this time. 

“I do like those, but I want to… Wait, do you guys remember what I said when we were little?”

Luca and Vox turned to look at each other in the eye, before turning back in unison: 

“Yeah, we… don’t.” 

As Shu closed his eyes, the sight of three young boys huddling together to solve a particularly hard problem appeared. Luca wasn’t the best when it came to physics, and Vox wasn’t particularly enthusiastic with the subject as well. Yawning, he tried to persuade his friend to let them go with one closed eye: 

“Shu, I’m bored… Can we put this aside and go play?” 

“We’re almost there! Just multiply this by seven… and done!” 

“Multiple seven… seven…” Luca was starting to doodle on his homework. Seeing his friend already shifting his focus away, the young heir of the Akuma family also took that chance to slack off as well. 

“Why do you like studying so much? Isn’t it better if we can play all day?” 

“I have to study hard, so I can do what I want!” 

“Really?” 

“Uh huh! I want to create the most perfect AIs! And you guys will be the ones who get to experience them first.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah! I’ll make an AI that's just like Vox and Luca! They’ll do our homeworks for us, play with us, and take us wherever we want!” 

Luca’s eyes widened with fascination while Vox seemed to be deep in his imagination from Shu’s words. The idea of a Psyborg that could give them more time to play and even play with them seemed more like heaven than anything, but as time went on it just slowly became just much too superficial to be real. Even Luca had dropped that childhood dream to move on with more realistic goals. Despite all that, Shu was still clinging on to his promise with as much determination as ever, and his friends knew there was no stopping him from pursuing what he wanted. Day and night, Shu had been building himself up along with his crafts. Now that they were old enough to go to college, he was finally one big step closer to his dreams. 

Thus, it was the last goodbye to their innocence. Entered adulthood. 

Ever since he started his university life, Shu was almost too busy to hang out with his friends. Putting full concentration in his research about the fantastic robotics and how to create them. Not only that, he was also studying human psychology as a second degree. For many years, Shu did his best to put aside his never fading fondness for Luca, telling himself he’d forgotten about those feelings. Keeping his emotions locked inside the casket of his heart, he stayed quiet. As his affections grew, so did the pressure it had on him. With every day, every month, and every year that passed, love only weighed down on his heart even more. The young scientist feared that one day, when he couldn’t contain it anymore, the pressure would pop that little bubble. It made him shiver, just imagining it alone. 

“What did you wish for, Shu?” Luca’s voice reeled him back to reality. It was New Year’s Eve, when fireworks were going off in the distance. The sky was filled with fire flowers blooming ever-so-beautifully, but as always they were soon to fade into drifting clouds of smoke. They were miles away from the firework, but somehow Shu still felt like his eyes were about to tear up.  

“I think you already knew what I wanted. It’s far too obvious.”

The fireworks were amazingly brilliant. Lighting up the whole sky with their colors even for a fleeting moment, it was a wonder of chemicals being mixed together at just the right amount to be blasted upwards into the night sky. Most would see this as a moment to be romantic, and even the workaholic scientist thought so. But he just thought that it was very possible that he could never be with his first love - his mind was like a barren land. As the fire flowers bloomed and reflected themselves in his eyes, he suddenly recalled Vox’s words in one late afternoon: 

“Shu… you like Luca, right?” 

“Huh? No.” Quicker than one could say “cheese”, Shu replied. 

“You can’t really lie, you know?“ 

Knowing he was being cornered without any possible escape, Shu sighed, burying his face into his hands. Seeing his friend ruffling up his own bangs, Vox just softly relented: 

“I…I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it, then I’ll stop…” 

“No, you’re right. And I guess I shouldn’t really keep this in my heart for too long. Sit down.” 

Vox’s eyes widened with each secret unveiled from Shu’s mouth. But in the end, with every last words spoken, his brows stopped furrowing and his face returned to a tranquil expression again in order to hide something behind it: 

“So let me get this straight. You're madly in love with Luca and this thing has been going on for years, yet you cannot be bothered to tell him what your feelings towards him are? Look me straight in the eye and tell me you’re just joking." 

"It sounds bad when you put it like that..." Shu made an effort, albeit weakly, to defend himself against Vox’s incoming rant. He knew this “calm before the storm face” quite well. 

“That’s because it is bad! Do you know how many opportunities you could have missed just because you never opened your mouth for one simple sentence?! Shu, I’m honestly, honestly quite mad right now you fucking idiot. Please, promise me you’ll actually tell him how you feel on your next outing.”

“But what if I make things awkward between the two of us…” 

“I WILL take your hair and strangle you with it. And that’s not a threat.” 

Even though Vox himself had encouraged him to tell Luca his true feelings, Shu wasn’t exactly positive about it. Above everything else, he was afraid that what they had built up would come crashing down onto him. The worst possible outcome was that they couldn’t remain friends, making every meeting awkward from that point onwards. 

Out of every moment he could have chosen, Luca turned around with the biggest, most childish grin Shu had ever seen: 

“If you ever need money, just tell me! I’ll give you as much as you want!” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah! Promise!” 

Shu laughed. But the sudden warmth from Luca’s hand grabbing him stopped it midway, as their eyes met. The little ray of hope reflected in his eyes gave him a sense of safety, thus spurring in him one of the craziest ideas he’d ever had. More than anything, he wanted to be with this boy for the rest of his life. Slowly but surely, he scooted over, little by little getting closer to Luca. 

“Hey, Luca?”

“Yeah?”

“I… uh…” Luca’s puppy eyes cornered Shu. Finding himself at a loss for words, he quickly turned his face away. Would it be better if he just concealed these affections in the bottom of his heart? What will Luca think of it? In fact, has Luca ever looked at him as anything other than a friend, a brother? 

“Nothing. Sorry for calling you so suddenly.”

“Uh… okay. But if you don’t feel well, just tell me, okay? I’m always by your side.” 

And that was the final straw. It became too much for Shu to handle - every little piece of his heartstring felt like it was about to be torn away from his body. If he didn’t tell Luca now, there would be no better chance to do it. He loved Luca. He’d always loved him since the tender age of sixteen. That love had carved a hole in his heart, left him bleeding as it went inside his heart to ravage it. Even if the fireworks were going off louder than ever right now, he had to tell him. 

“I… I love you, Luca! I’ve loved you since we were in highschool. I…” Being confronted by Luca's innocent puppy eyes, Shu found all of his courage suddenly disappearing all at once. “I just thought you should know. That’s all.”

“You… love me?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Like… love, love?”

“Yeah. Romantic… love.”

Shu closed his eyes right when Luca leaned in closer. He was afraid to even look at the face of the boy he had a crush on. But to his surprise, he could feel his blond hair brushing against his forehead as well as their lips brushing against each other for a hasty moment - dried, a bit shaken. Before Luca parted, Shu could feel his cheeks warm, and his chest tightened as the air he breathed in became colder. So this is… love? 

“… I think I love you too. Not like the way I say all the time. I love everything about you! I know I might be stupid at times, but I’ll try my best for you.” 

Clumsily taking Shu’s hands into his, Luca squeezed them tight. Just as he let go of those slender fingers, he reached out once again to brush the bangs out of Shu’s face while sneakily trying to stroke his hair and face. With this being his first gesture as Shu’s boyfriend, Luca had officially established himself - in his thoughts, at least. Having known each other since childhood, the young scientist knew how special it was for Luca to run his hand through his very hair, and he was glad they’d finally gotten the chance to do this. Thinking it was probably too early for a kiss, Shu refrained himself from something as minute as a peck on the cheek. Though Luca was a man of many surprises - with his eyes completely shut close, his lips were locked with Shu’s as his arms were wrapped around his head, covering their faces. With Luca now weighing down on him, Shu’s back arched while his hands gripped on the slightly crinkled fabric of the former’s jacket. The kiss was strong, clumsy, and left both of them lightheaded. 

“I didn’t want anyone to look at us when we…” Luca explained. His Retriever-like gaze almost made Shu laugh out loud. 

“It’s okay. Thanks for covering me up, I appreciate it.” 

“Yeah! I’m glad you liked it! Liked me… eh.” 

Oh, how Shu had become so fond of every minor thing that Luca did. From the way he laughed, his breathy talking, even his clumsy words filled his stomach with fireflies. Again, he cupped Luca’s face into his hands. For once, he was sure there would be no one who would love him more than this man ever would. That alone was a blessing greater than anything in his life would ever be, and they both wished it could stay that way till the end of time.

Chapter Text

Inside the white chamber infamously known as the execution quarter, alone Sonny Brisko stood. Checking on the ammo in his gun, an indescribable expression - somewhat like a mix between depression and confusion spread across his face. Inhaling a deep breath, the young officer recalled the words of the senior who insisted on him taking this mission.

“You’re tasked to destroy this Psyborg. His name is Felis, an unregistered Psyborg who was caught in the middle of a crime scene - a break-in. Luckily, there was no loss except for a broken window. All evidence was against him, and so we have decided to terminate him for the better good.”

Thus led to Sonny’s first termination mission, but it wasn’t the first one he witnessed. He had accompanied his seniors in the force when they ended multiple Psyborgs and cleaned the remains with his hands. Everytime, it was the exact same procedure. Take them to the secret base where only VSF officers could have access to, then shoot them straight into the heart - essentially the powerhouse of every Psyborg, take the remains of that very heart out, crush it, then destroy the bodies. The leftover bodies weren’t necessarily destroyed every time; sometimes, if the Psyborg hadn’t been used for very long, it could be taken apart and the leftovers would be repurposed. That was one of the ways for VSF officers to make some extra money (if they manage to get away with it somehow). Sonny was supposed to be the supervisor and assistant for the officer he was accompanying but everytime, without fail, the mission would be done in a heartbeat. All that was left for him to do was cleaning up, then write a report to be sent into the data room. After collecting the scraps, Sonny would then deliver them to the waste processing plants, where the leftover Psyborg parts would be recycled to make a new one. Afterwards, when a report was done, the Psyborg’s existence would fall into oblivion, and no one would bother to remember them as they were never heard or spoken of ever again.

Sonny didn’t remember each and every single mission - no one had the time nor brain capacity for such trivial matters. He’d heard countless pleas from the ones his senior had killed before. Moments just before the trigger was pulled, the Psyborgs would try to beg for mercy, but to no avail as the cold, sharp, ear wrenching sound of gunshots echoed, just to be followed by a series of metal scraping against each other as Sonny destroyed every part. Psyborg crime is a very rare occurrence, but when they did get reported, things always ended up in scraps, smoke and burnt metal along with some fluid. Not once had Sonny seen a Psyborg being spared after their plea of innocence, since the moment they opened their mouth, a bullet would go straight into their heart.

The blood pumping through his veins suddenly ran cold. Sonny inhaled once again, hoping to ease the lack of heat. Breathing in slowly surely does work. He suddenly felt an urge to go home, have a big hearty meal and a hot bath then lay on his couch like a potato for a whole day after this mission. Lately, work had made him a little bit overwhelmed, especially after the mission at the chemical factory. He expected some of the fumes to have gotten into his system. Gotta get that checked too, Sonny reminded himself.

Reeling himself back to reality, Sonny got a grim reminder of his temporary duty. It was as hard as it sounds - to exterminate the Psyborg who’d caused some unrest in the city, then finish things off by taking his heart apart. A Psyborg’s heart was just like a human brain - they were both where the central nervous system lay. Though he expected to be confronted with a ferocious Psyborg with murderous tendencies and absolutely no regards for law and rules, his to-be victim was quite the opposite. His eyes reminded him of that of a lost child - despair, defeat and exhaustion were all present in the Psyborg’s gaze. Seemed like not even God wanted him to kill this Psyborg. His hands trembled. Great. His first independent termination mission, yet he was too much of a pussy to pull the trigger. Just kill him, just kill him, just kill, kill, kill. The voices in his head demanded, cornering him and his weak psyche. He studied the Psyborg a little bit before finally putting an end to his life. Somehow, he could feel a weight pulling on his gun as he stared at his to-be victim’s silhouette. Sonny was already forcing himself to make a decision.

The Psyborg’s hands and legs are tied. He could just go behind his back and give him a quick, painless death. Shutting him off should be an easier task than shooting his cords and chips out. But the way Felis looked up at the officer - his executioner - suggested there was more than meets the eye to him. However, this would not be the first time Sonny did things deliberately ever since joining the VSF. Fixing his wristband, the officer reminded himself of his duty, and the reason why he worked here. One, two, three, keep your breaths steady. Sonny watched and tapped on his wristband to keep himself from giving in to his empathy as the Psyborg’s head hung low while soft whimpers escaped his throat.

“I’m sorry little guy. But this is for our own good.”

His voice had unconsciously become warmer as an effort to calm the Psyborg down. Gently, Sonny took out his bandages to cover up the Psyborg’s eyes as he went around him. Kneeling down to make himself and Felis’ eyes on the same level, he tried to ease him before he cut the deal. Schuck. The blade went in fairly easy once the Psyborg was put to sleep.

*****

“… Here’s the proof. I’ve completely destroyed that Psyborg and wreck it to pieces.” In Sonny’s hand was a scrap of metal taken from the Psyborg. The head of the investigation team did not seem to faze one bit, as he listened to Sonny’s detailed report about the Psyborg, even down to the most gruesome details about how his core was taken apart. Examining the cut edges of Sonny’s mission result, a smile almost flashed on his face.

“Good. I know we can count on you. But you don’t really need to go that extreme, Brisko.”

“I have to. Any Psyborg who’s a threat to society doesn’t deserve to live.” Sonny replied without even a weight of sentimentality in his voice. His expression remained cold as steel, just as any VSF officer should be. No mercy nor hesitation is needed for the executed Psyborgs. But the chief officer’s next question almost made his heart jump:

“Given that once in a while, one Psyborg would decide to go rogue and rebel against its master, I think there should be some new laws made to keep these things in check. Do you agree, officer Brisko?”

Sonny’s eyelid almost twitched, though he quickly toned that down, keeping himself calm and collected to find a response that his senior would like to hear.

“Absolutely, sir.”

Though, he wasn’t on board with what he said - if anything, Sonny’s idea was the total opposite of that. Instead of enforcing new rules, he wanted to work on his own compassion for Psyborgs and find a solution that almost everyone could be happy with. People from this timeline advocate freedom of choice, workplace ethics and such, trying to make themselves perform better than their predecessors did (even though everything was still based on systematic capitalism) but they still failed miserably. The more Sonny thought about it, the more he found himself stuck in a position he couldn’t escape from. He could only do whatever small acts of kindness he could in an effort to save himself off of that everlasting guilt.

As soon as Sonny got home, the soft tip tap akin to that of a cat’s footsteps was there to greet him. Even before he saw his face, his new housemate’s steps had already greeted him.

“Onii!” The little Psyborg cheered. Though one of his eyes was taken away by Sonny to prove that he was “officially dead”, he was doing much better than before. Now, being officially named Alban Knox with a new, upgraded green eye in replacement of his original smoky gray eyeball, the brunette had left his past as Felis the rogue server Psyborg behind to live happily with his saviour and new owner, Sonny.

“Alban!” Opening his arms for Alban to jump in, Sonny’s face beamed immediately. As soon as the brunette was in his arms, he threw him up halfway as they spun around. This part of his daily routine had Sonny looked forward to the most, now that he’s gotten himself a companion in this lonely house. Alban too, would wait for him to come home every day. Away from his days of stealing and lying, the Psyborg now had a place he belonged to. His heart felt much lighter, being lifted off of the burden. Every once in a while, when the days when his creator just created him and was putting him to test came back to him as a dream, Alban would lay down next to Sonny like a little cat. If his master found him sleeping by his side in the morning, he would silently and quickly pull the blanket out with a big smile on his face.

With that out of the way, into the kitchen Sonny went. It wasn’t long until the smell of something creamy began to draw Alban in, making him drool at the possibilities that he could have for dinner. Carbonara seemed nice. Or a pizza. Or just scalloped potatoes baked with some cream, cheese, all that stuff. Luckily, he wasn’t lactose intolerant. Before Alban could find any more spare time to contemplate on the matter for longer, Sonny’s voice calling out from the kitchen had already pulled him back to reality. Wearing a seemingly normal apron except for the large “kiss the cook” heart plastered at its front, Sonny walked straight to the dining table with a pan full of pasta.

“Your pastas are the best!” Said Alban, in a mouthful of fettuccine alfredo as they both sat down at the dinner table with a large dish of freshly made, piping hot pasta.

“They’re nowhere near as good as my mom’s. I’ll ask her to make some then bring them home for you… but I’m afraid you’ll stop liking my pasta when you have a taste of hers.”

“No! I’ll love your cooking no matter what. Because it’s…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s… it’s the proof of your… care. And love. I’ll love it no matter what.”

Sonny could feel his heart beating a little faster. He grinned, trying to cover up his excitement.

“When I retire from the force, we can open a pasta restaurant together. And you can be my waiter! We’ll do what we want and be as happy as we could be.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! We can make pizza together too! Like when a big pizza pie hits your eye like a moon, it’s amore!”

“I love you, Onii!” Alban wrapped his tail-like cord around Sonny’s arm as he leaned into him.

“Me too.” Sonny replied, planting a big, loud kiss on Alban’s puffy cheek. His chest had already felt warm and fuzzy just from seeing his housemate, of whom he now considered his own baby brother. He knew he’d made the right decision. Watching Alban enjoy the meals he made for him and smiling silly as he accidentally left a piece of food on his cheek was part of Sonny’s serotonin boost.

At the end of the meal, Sonny could clearly see the tablecloth being gripped on Alban’s side, to the point of almost tipping a glass down. Worried that his Psyborg may be malfunctioning, Sonny immediately reacted and sat down by his side.

“Alban? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine…”
That wasn’t enough to make Sonny believe his words.

“Tell me straight away if something’s wrong, alright?”

“Of course.”

That was a close call. If Alban had let his emotions take over any more than that, he would have come dangerously close to overheating and had to be taken to some professional to be taken care of. Just picturing himself lying motionless on a stretcher to be analyzed and “cured”, he shivered. He wasn’t ready to leave Sonny, wasn’t ready to be thrown away like a bag of trash. Even when they had already settled to sleep together at night, thoughts kept surrounding him, ready for a long, crescending nightmare.

“Sonny…!” The Psyborg cried as he tried to look for a place to grab onto. With the care and understanding Alban was looking for, Sonny held him close to his chest. Burying his face into Sonny’s shirt, he wept and wept without any regard for the officer’s gaze on him. He wanted that comfort, and he shall have it. Sonny didn’t have any unnecessary words in store either - tenderly, he patted and rub the back of his Psyborg while blaming himself for the melancholy and anxiety he was going through.

“Promise me you won’t throw me away, okay?” With a tearful expression, Alban begged Sonny, his hand still gripping on the shirt, in fear that he would be gone in a blink of an eye if he were to let go of him. To soothe their hearts, Sonny embraced Alban with all of his strength and affection.

“I won’t, I won’t. If you were to break down, I’ll do my best to fix you. I won’t throw you away, by any means.”

“Promise?” Alban sniffled.

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

He had a vague vision of what had happened to Alban before they formed a bond. Being thrown away like an unwanted cargo had left a scar in his psyche, however Sonny couldn’t help but wonder just who was Alban’s former owner. Every Psyborg ever made in this world would be stamped or carved with a permanent QR code that contained every information. Alban was a different case - when he brought him back home, Sonny was appalled to discover that his Psyborg had absolutely no QR code - printed, carved, whatsoever. He suspected it was probably the reason why Alban was deemed faulty and had to be terminated for good.

Sonny knew he was, in no way, a good cop. But having Alban changed his mind about working. He had to work hard for Alban, for both of them.

Was it already too late for him to change everything? The moment Alban was already well asleep was when Sonny actually had time to reflect on himself. Everything used to be much easier when he only had himself to worry about. He didn’t have to work too hard, though it wasn’t like he was doing the bare minimum either. At least, that was what he told himself everyday.

“Hey Sonny!”

That loud, brash voice calling his name came from none other than Bonnivier - Sonny’s long time friend. He was also the reason why our officer even joined the force, though Bonnivier just retired a year ago to pursue his passion. Sonny was more than glad to be able to meet up with him, whom he so dearly called Bonni, in these hard times.

“What happened to you?”

“Stuff.” Sonny shrugged. “But uh… I think I’m kind of overwhelmed by work lately. I don’t know. I just didn’t think the force would be like this, especially not when I was a kid.”

“Whatever you do, Sonny… don’t forget why and how you came here in the first place. And don't be afraid to ask for help.”

“From you?” Sonny almost snorted at this advice. Though, Bonni didn’t seem like he was joking in particular.

“Anyone. I’m sure there are lots of people who are willing to help you.”

“Yeah… by the way, I need you to help me with one thing.”

“What is it?”

Sonny understood how stupid it is to drag Bonni and himself into this, but he had no choice. If he wanted to get the sword from the lake, he himself gotta jump into the water, else it couldn’t be done.

“Please do me a favour, and investigate this particular Psyborg. I cannot entrust this to anyone but you.”

“Is it for a secret mission? Anne, isn’t she?” That was the codename for “annihilation”, one that only people in the force would know.

“...Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best to deliver some good stuff to you. Only the finest could qualify for mister Brisko here, huh?”

“Mmhmm. Thanks, Bonni. I knew I could always count on you.”

“Of course you can! But is there something wrong, really?”

Sonny did not bat an eye as he lied to his best friend’s face. But he’d rather do it than letting him know the truth. If somehow this got leaked, Bonni wouldn’t have to take up the blame because after all, Sonny lied to him. This is for the greater good. For the greater good. For the greater good…

Chapter Text

As he did every other weekend, Vox came to check on Shu in his laboratory. He wanted to make sure that the young scientist ate, exercised and went outside for a healthy dose of serotonin. After that one incident where Shu got sick from going outside for a walk after a long time just shutting in and sustaining himself with a large pot of coffee, he and Luca couldn’t risk having their best friend falling ill again. Today, the young Akuma heir came in with a bento box filled with his own homemade meal. He even packed some donuts as a little treat, knowing that Shu won’t ever be able to say no to them. 

“Passionate as ever huh?” Sneaking up behind his friend, Vox commented. The scientist almost dropped his calculator when his shoulder got tapped and Vox’s husky voice came up right next to his ears. 

“Eyyyy! You know, I was waiting for you to come. Currently we’re in the process of giving him some flexibility in movements! I’m trying to get the recipe for this mobility fluid right, but the biggest problem here is that no one knows what the right density for this thing should be….”  Fixing his glasses, Shu let out a hefty sigh. Vox himself was no technician by any means, so as a result he felt like he shouldn’t have any say in Shu’s specialized field. 

“And you’re doing all of this alone? Without anyone’s help?” 

“Of course! I’m fine with it.”

After a pause, he eventually admitted: 

“I don’t know if this is gonna make it, and I’m… not the best at giving instructions to others… Like, this is some improvised and adapted new technology that people hadn’t seen before.” 

“I see. You really are a trailblazer.” 

“Thanks, that’s what I hope to be.” 

Upon taking a closer look at the robot, Vox realized his face had the same structure, and the shape of their eyes were quite similar as well. Though, his hair - which Shu was growing and experimenting in a smaller container - seemed to have taken a different shade. It was shiny and metallic, almost like every thread was made from the finest streams of moonlight. Vox couldn't help but admire it - he wanted to have a touch so badly, but he had to tell himself to keep it down and wait for the finished product. Shu’s craft had never been better - it was like even the gods were on his side. He couldn’t wait to finally see the finished product, to finally meet an artificially produced human-like being. 

“Did they teach you all of this in school?” 

“Hmm? The fundamentals, yes. But going deeper, it’s all me. Actually, my thesis was about whether it is humane or not to create something that was not only humanlike, but they do also had the capacity to handle negative emotions on behalf of humans. That’s what I wanna achieve.” 

“I see. But if I recall it correctly, aren't sentimental human-like beings a controversial creation? I believe there used to be debates about a human-pig hybrid and its humanity but that didn’t go too well… Aren’t you afraid?”

“Technically, robots, androids, and artificial intelligence get a pass because of a point made in the law: Any living being with a vein and a beating heart will be covered under the Scientific Laws on Biology. My robots are programmed to have an ability to perceive human psychology and process them, plus they’re created with cords and mechanical details, thus making them far from being living things.” Shu grinned. 

“And you successfully defended it?” 

“Of course! It was quite the controversial one, but I digress. Which was why it took more than two years for me to finish that thesis and graduate, but all of that effort, and everything I had to go through… I believe it was worth it.” 

Tenderly, Vox listened to his friend as he gushed enthusiastically about his passion project. 

“How did you even come up with such an idea, Shu?” 

“It’s from a meeting with someone that happened long ago.” Shu pressed his fingers against the cold glass surface of the robotic limbs’ container. “I happened to have an exchange with a very special someone, who actually inspired me to incorporate a few risky elements into the making of this guy here.” 

“Do I know him?”

“I don’t think you do. He’s special to me, though. Escaped from a cult, educated himself, once regarded as a god…” 

“A god? Does something like that still exist to this day?” Curiously, Vox asked.

“I know people like us find it strange, but out there lies many hidden cults, especially among people of the middle and lower class, and the one I talked to was the “representative of all gods” in that cult. The way they operate is beyond our comprehension as well. But from what I can tell, as long as humanity stays, beliefs will remain no matter how advanced we’ve become.” Shu explained. 

“So let me get this straight. Although we have been living our lives differently from our ancestors because technology was already by our side since birth, some remnants of that age remain.”

“Not… exactly, I might say. In my opinion, people have been, are, and always will need something to believe in, be it god or just themselves. It’s just standard human behaviour and psychology.” 

Vox didn’t respond. Watching Shu crafting the robot’s internal organs soon bore him, resulting in him trying to find a way to entertain himself on his own. The laboratory was quite tidy, except for a few unused and unusable robot parts. It was then that he stumbled upon Shu’s blueprint, which illustrated the construction ideas for his robot’s face. From the metal frame to the required materials, everything was noted down to even the most minor details.

“Why does he look like… me?” Curiously, Vox asked. 

“Probably because I’ve been looking at you for too long.” A light hearted laughter came out.

“Well, at least that’s something I can be proud of. Your first creation is modeled after me… he does look like a charming lad, doesn’t he?” 

“Are you complimenting yourself?” 

“I’m not. Well, but if you want him to be like me, give him a long, detachable and transformable dick. Then he’ll be perfect.” 

Shu scoffed, fluttering his hand in a hasty manner. Vox didn’t feel the need to tease him any further after that god forbid response. They both left that story into oblivion, until one day… 

It was only six in the morning when Shu called Vox over to his laboratory. The constant ringing of his wristband forcefully pulled the heir of the Akuma family out of his sweet, sweet dreams. Though cranky at first, he did eventually pick it up: 

“Hey Vox, come quick!” Shu’s voice was frantically blasting from the other line even before Vox had the chance to say “hello?”. Surprised and awaken, the heir of the Akuma family replied:

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is there any problem with the robot…”

“No, no, you gotta come here, quick! It’s finally done! Everything’s come together, you have to see it’!”

Not even having the time to match his socks, Vox came in just in time to witness the very moment that would go down in human history as the dawn of a new era. Inside Shu’s small laboratory where all kinds of machinery and scraps lay, sat the fruit of his passion project - a robot with wires around it like a web. His torso was made to look like that of an adult man, while his limbs were painted a striking cherry red and was seemingly metallic, highly contrasting with the human parts. His silver bangs were so long that it partially covered one of his eyes, of which they bore the color that resembled smokey quartz. From his mouth, a seemingly deep voice with warm and raspy undertones came out to the witnesses’ astonishment. 

“ Come in, do you read me?” 

Upon hearing the robot’s first words, Shu couldn’t contain himself any longer. As the young scientist carefully took every step towards the robot, his eyes contained a loving gaze, his mouth - though trembling - softly curled up into a grin. 

“… I read you.” 

A tear silently fell. Proudly, Shu touched the Psyborg, from his face down to the left side of his chest - where the heart lay. His first successful creations, after years of trial and error… he’s finally here, right in front of him. And he was just as beautiful as Shu expected him to be. Even Vox was stunned to witness the robot moving and communicating right in front of his eyes. But before they could both celebrate, Shu had already fainted right into his friend’s arms after weeks of straining his own body for the final product. By the time he was able to sit back up, the scientist received a good long lecture from his friend and family while he swore by his very pot of coffee that he would not touch it for the next month as he took his time away from the laboratory to rest. 

That weekend, however, was a blast to the trio. As a treat for Shu’s great success, Vox had decided to take all of them out for a party and ordered a bottle that had the same age as them all to open first. 

“So what are you gonna do with him?” Luca asked, after downing an entire glass of wine. 

“I don’t know, but I assume he’s gonna be closer to a baby than an adult right now. His psyche, that is. Which means I’ll have to teach him lots of things later on, but I’ve programmed him to be able to comprehend university-level texts and problems so I think it shouldn’t be too hard of a job.”

“I still remember you telling us that you weren’t a fit for teaching others. Now look at how the tables have turned.” Vox exclaimed, swirling a bit of pasta onto his fork artistically, “Have you named him yet?”

“I wanna let him name himself. If we weren’t allowed to choose our own name, then at least he should be given that opportunity.” 

“All for freedom, huh?”

“And freedom for all. By the way, I don’t think we should call him a robot. I wanna call him…” Taking out a sharpie he’d accidentally brought on his way to the restaurant, Shu wrote on the tablecloth to Vox and Luca’s astonishment before they even had the time to stop him, “... a Psyborg. Cyborgs capable of processing information psychologically, Psy-borg.”

“Aren’t they more like androids though?”

“Technically, to a certain degree they’re made with organic matter and are wired to have the emotional intelligence nearly matching that of a human. We might have to do some rebranding later on, but I’m not that good with names so let’s just put that aside to deal with later.”

“I see. I respect that. Now, let’s get to something important but all of us seem to have forgotten about it.” Vox sighed. 

“What is it?” Luca asked, curiously. 

“Our food. If we push this topic any further, we’re gonna have to ask the chef to microwave it all.”

It was only until then that each had their first bite of the food. But the conversation about Shu’s creation was yet to leave - as they tasted and chewed, they each gave their own opinion on the subject of Shu’s creations. 

“When am I gonna have my own Psyborg?” Luca asked, jokingly. Shu wasn’t keen on giving him an answer to be sure of - instead, the young scientist just laughed and brushed the matter aside, “Just wait until your turn, Luca”. 

“Wait, then what are you gonna do next with this project? Now that you already have the technology, are you going to sell it to potential manufacturers or do something of the sort?” Vox asked before taking a sip off of his glass of wine. 

“I am going to pitch it. Let’s just hope for the best and see what investors may think.” 

“We don’t have to hope. I’m sure you will be able to land a deal.” Smiling, Luca assured a rather puzzled Shu before taking their desserts. At the end of their boys’ night out, Shu had to pay for the tablecloth he’d unknowingly ruined in the moment.

*****

“So, have you decided on a name for yourself yet?” Shu asked in anticipation. The Psyborg was still very diligent in his studies - binging through about a hundred books a day, it didn’t take him very long to take in all of the information present in the lab’s e-library. He even went as far as to ask for more books to read, a request which Shu was more than happy to oblige. Though being a bookworm at heart, he very much enjoyed the company of Shu and wouldn’t miss a second when the scientist chatted with him. 

“...Yes. From now on, call me Fulgur Ovid. ”

The name seemed rather difficult to pronounce, but Shu didn’t mind. Fulgur had proven himself to be a capable Psyborg, being able to perform every task given to him. Though, there was a minor fault in him that was deliberately created by Shu: As part of his personal experiment for the humanoids, Shu had decided to give him an imperfect heart, so that his interactions with humans would feel more “human-like”. It didn’t make him worse - in fact, the longer Fulgur existed, the more fascinating Shu found him. In his free time, he’d sit by himself and think of different scenarios to write into a book, or try to create different characters and put them into his stories as a way to entertain himself. He was capable of creating stories not even Shu had ever thought about. Since Fulgur was a good “child”, his creator was now free to move on and start his work on a new project, this time with some help. 

Another six months have passed, and Shu’s next creation was born. Created with the same properties as Fulgur, except this one was more cat-like, more fitting to be a housemate or someone who works in the service industry rather than a battle machine. His small stature walked around the laboratory, doing some small errands for Shu. He was built with a great sense of humor (though Shu didn’t claim any responsibility for that, saying “he just picked it up from someone”), which meant every now and then the trio would be entertained by his colorful stories. When the test period was over, Shu deemed the Psyborg to be usable, and just as he did with the one that named himself Fulgur Ovid, he took the process of creating the cat-like Psyborg to the High Council of Scientific and Technology Researches to get it approved and copyrighted. This new brand of Psyborg was even more well-liked than the first, due to the great difference in their properties. Suitable to be applied in household works, this one was compared to “Alexa”, the previously existing virtual assistance of the 21st century as a more advanced artificial intelligence creation. 

After Shu’s creations were made accessible to the public, they quickly became a phenomenon. Unlike what humans had previously gotten used to, these machineries were actually capable of handling emotions and communications for their owners. For the upper class, they immediately became a sensation like those once-trending facemask fashion. Unlike those masks though, the Psyborgs weren’t here to leave - they were to stay, and to become a crucial part of human life for many, many years to come.

“Man, I wish I could buy one of those. Would be quite neat, don’t you think?” Uki complained to Sonny one weekend as they went out together. 

“Yeah, but we don’t have the money for that…” The officer shrugged. They both knew far too well what the salary of a techie and a mid-rank officer could provide them. 

“I remember you telling me that you grew up in a cult where people treated the world like it was still the 2000s. Is that why you’re so keen on technology nowadays, Uki?” 

“I guess. Apart from the access to technology. I’ve always wanted to try out new things with my senses because I’ve never been able to experience them when I was younger.”

Sonny recalled that one time when he brought Uki to a cat cafe for stray cats. Having never been able to play with animals in real life before, the young man was understandably amazed at the sights of cats crowding around him, asking for pets and treats. Holding a kitten in his hand, he almost cried while turning to Sonny to show him how cute that little creature was. His first years of living in the city had helped the former “god” blend in with society, but there were many things about him waiting to be changed. Fortunately, Sonny was still a patient young man back then, even helping him enrolling in a fine highschool of the city with a scholarship. It was back then and there when he met Shu Yamino for the first time, who showed great interest in Uki after the young man actively struck up a conversation with him.

“So you’ve never actually been to school before? How is it?” Curiously, Shu asked. It was only one amongst a sea of questions waiting to be asked. 

“It’s great! Well, there are things that are quite different from my expectations but overall, I love it. I hate studying though, I just like the atmosphere and watching people as I finally live my dream. And being able to find a friend who gets me, that’s what makes it fun too I guess.” 

“A friend who gets you…”

“I’ve never had one. People in the church… sorry, the cult, think of me as a literal god, which makes it hard for me to talk to them about my worries. And the priests, my former guardians, separated me from the real world, resulting in me being heavily traumatized because there was a lot that I never knew.” A mixture of grim, sweetness and nostalgia presented itself to Shu in the form of Uki’s smile. 

“So one can say that you ran away for freedom?”

“Uh huh. Grabbing knowledge with my own hands is also freedom. I used to be spoon fed whatever people wanted me to believe, but not anymore.”

“You have a natural knack for this.” 

“I know more than you might think.” Uki didn’t seem to be the most pleased as he insolently answered Shu. 

“Ah, sorry, my apologies.”

“If I didn’t know any better like you might assume, would I have escaped from the cult and come here to be a normal citizen?” 

The teenager’s assertiveness had struck Shu as a surprise. 

“You seem to know a lot more than what people may assume from you. Don’t let anyone take away that sassiness of yours, okay?” Shu smiled, gesturing as if he wanted to ruffle Uki’s hair. But before he could pull his hand back, Uki had already put his hand on his head. They both noticed how their hands have an unignorable gap in size. 

“Touch me if you want.”

“Huh?”

“Touch me like this, if you want.”

“I was afraid you’ll be uncomfortable.” 

“I won’t.” 

Shu softly laughed as he ruffled this unruly child’s head. Little did he know, this would later become the start of an unlikely friendship between a scientist who believed in no supreme deity and an ex-god. 

****

“Fulgur… Ovid.” 

Was the name that he gave himself. He felt like he deserved to pat himself on the back and say “good job” for acquiring such a cool-sounding name. Fulgur, in Latin, means “lightning”. And Ovid was the name of a famous Roman poet that he happened to remember from that one time when he spent the whole day reading through the lab’s library. Being given the access to knowledge helped the Psyborg know he was more special than anyone. Having been created to be on par with Shu when it came to knowledge, Fulgur was assigned to be the archivist of the laboratory. He knew each and every single book by heart. 

After Felis was created, the laboratory seemed even more delightful. The cute cat-like Psyborg was like a little brother to both of them, closely listening and memorizing every story that was told. He was insanely good at reading the room, though Fulgur was better at taking care of emotional turmoils. Unlike Fulgur’s more rigid and no-nonsense surface, Felis was much more laid-back and adorable, much like a cat. This aspect of him was also the reason why Shu made a mistake when naming him, saying “you’re just like a cat!” which caused the Psyborg to call himself Felis. Flexible in his interactions, it didn’t take too long for the Psyborg to gain the love from the lab’s workers and his “family”. Him, Fulgur and Shu were “family”, in a sense that both of the Psyborgs were created by the same person. But those minor details could not conceal the fact that he loved them all very much. Shu would tell him jokes, ask him about some problems he had with his friends and praise him for being a well-adjusted Psyborg. Though he was the best-selling model in the market, Felis sometimes felt like Shu’s favourite was still Fulgur, given how he was the first successful creation that he had been through his blood sweat and tears to create. 

“Hey, what do you think Shu’s doing?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t come in with us since yesterday…”

“Do you miss him?”

“I don’t think so… Probably.”

“I just hope he’s okay. Shu didn’t seem very well last time…” 

They both turned to Lucy. The lovely lady was still yet to be done. If anything happens to Shu, then…. 

“No, he’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Fulgur ruffled Felis’s hair the way an older brother would do to his younger sibling. The younger Psyborg was even more inattentive than usual, fiddling his fingers and tapping his feet. Even Fulgur knew he himself was just putting up a front to keep it together. He feared that one day, when the facade of their peaceful life was to be broken, he wouldn’t be able to face the people he’d loved. 

Although they were created in the form of two grown men, Felis and Fulgur never missed a chance to let their childish mentality run free. It could be a harmless prank being played on Shu, or just asking to be pampered. But there was absolutely no malicious intention, only for the sake of fun. To them, this man was someone akin to that of a higher being, since after all - he created them. Like children waiting for their parents to come back from a trip, Fulgur and Felis patiently prepared the lab as best as they could, so that when Shu came home he would be greeted with a pleasant surprise. 

And Shu did come back about a week later. All the while, it was just Fulgur and Felis together, but they’ve had loads of fun entertaining themselves. Mostly from the books, movies and games they’ve managed to dig up from the depths of the laboratory’s e-storage since none of them were allowed to venture outside. 

“Shu!” Fulgur greeted. 

“Hi guys. How has… it been?” 

“We had lots of fun entertaining ourselves!” 

“Is that so? You’re very good children. I’m glad I’ve created all of you.”

“Why are you suddenly saying all of this?”

Shu’s regretful expression slowly morphed into a grimace-like smile. Caressing Felis’ cheeks in a dear manner, his mouth softly mumbling something unintelligible. Felis’ instincts were on alert mode - just as he suspected, when he turned to Fulgurl the Psyborg was already asleep. 

“Shu?”

“I’m sorry boys. But this is for our own good.” His voice almost cracked. And everything went blank. Not black, just… blank. Nobody remembered anything. 

Chapter Text

It was Uki’s first ever live concert. Finding himself standing amongst the rockaholics with lightsticks in his hand, he was more than thrilled to witness this in flesh. Back when he was still in the cult, rock was considered impure and lustful, combined with the priests constantly teaching him to suppress his own ego. He couldn’t enjoy rock the way it was supposed to be, not until he finally made a run for it and started living in the city as a normal everyday man.

Back to the neon-shimmering stage, Uki’s attention was all on the vocalist who was singing and shouting passionately, as if pouring every last drop of his soul into the performance. Uki figured, if one’s soul can be visualized as something, then this boy’s will equal molten lava - burning, fiery and fierce, with a density that was three times that of water. Watching the droplets rolling down his neck, Uki found himself already taken away by the band’s music. He only came here from a friend’s invitation, but in the end it was more than worth it.

“You have a nice voice. I think it really suits today’s songs.” When the performance was finally over, Uki broke away from his company to approach the band, and complimented the young man. Not only was his voice special, but his sharp features were eye-catching as well. Eyes that were as blue as the autumn sky, sharp brows and long lashes combined with a serious expression made him all the more remarkable. Uki thought he’d never seen anyone quite as wild and childish as that. The very existence of this man had breathed some new air into his seemingly tedious life. With great enthusiasm, the vocalist voiced his gratitude:

“Thanks!”

“If possible, may I… come to hear you and the band more often?”

“What do you mean? Our performances are open to everyone!”

“Well, I want to be updated on your shows, so having something like… contact information would be great”

“I get it! In that case, erm… wait here.”

Giving Uki the business card with the band’s SNS and website address, the vocalist’s face beamed with joy. They exchanged a few laughs and chats, before both eventually had to part ways. Ever since Uki went to see that show, Yugo hadn’t stopped thinking about his words. It gave him a sense of security and pride, knowing that someone enjoys his band so much. Starting from a dwindling ray of hope in the dark, they slowly climbed from an indie group to signing their first contract with a record label. They were allowed to continue their performances in small live houses, but that was enough. With every concert, their popularity only rose more and more. And Uki, without missing even any of their performance, went as a regular.

“Hey, Yugo! Thanks for the show, you guys did great.”

“Ah, thank you… Uki.”

“I’m glad you remembered my name.” Uki’s face immediately lit up. Ever since escaping the “church”, even encountering minor things like this could make him happy. Back when he was younger, the church was not so cruel as to completely prohibit him from having any access to the outside world’s artistry, but even so he only had access to the products regurgitated by the numerous artificial intelligence software that people had tried to incorporate since the mid-21st century. It was only until he got out of that mental prison when Uki could learn about what art made by humans, with passion, meant. Many artists, no matter how small they were, put out their efforts to preserve artworks that could represent their era most accurately. Centuries after the start of the now-extinct NFTs (due to their devastating impact on the environment), debates were still spurring up now and then on art forums on whether AI should be used to produce art. However, one undeniable thing was that AI art had actually gotten better, just like every technological gadget that had existed before that era (though they were still faulty, of course). As a result, AI “artists” were put into use when drawing in-between frames of animated movies (or any form of animation videos). Even though human aesthetics have gradually changed, over 300 years many of its values still remain.

Then there was one day when Yugo actually took Uki into the backstage billet, which doubled as his accommodation. Contrary to the latter’s initial impression of it, the billet was actually quite comfortable, since its inhabitant had learned to make use of every single inch of space he had. Uki told Yugo he truly liked the way the guitarist took his playing up a notch for every different performance, and that was enough to make Yugo like him even more. Everytime he thought about Mine - the guitarist - his heart became happier than ever. Being the first person to actually find him and sharing the same passion with him, that young man had made his way into the most special place in Yugo’s heart. He wanted Mine to know, to be more confident in his playing. More than anything, he’d fallen in love with his sound, ever so wishing to hear his music for as long as possible.

“I guess we’re not too far from each other. I mean, you were taught to suppress your desires, and I was taught to suppress my voice.”

“Haha, yeah.”

“Here, for you.” After rummaging in the chest, Yugo handed Uki a little bloom that he’d dried by himself between sheets of paper, turning it into a cute dainty bookmark.

“Forget-me-nots? These are amazing… where did you even find this?”

“Someone had been sending these in every performance, with a card. I tried to ask for the sender, but they wished to remain anonymous so I have absolutely no idea who that could be… but whoever they are, I’m sure they’re kind no matter what. I don’t want to waste the flowers, so I’ve been learning how to preserve them. I’m forever grateful for these.” Toying with the blossom, on his face a gently secure smile presented itself to Uki.

The bundle of flowers in Yugo’s hand were all blue, each coloured with different shades. Uki noticed there were some nemophilas, cornflowers as well as bluebells and gentians. Being quite well-versed in the love language of flowers, it wasn’t too surprising for him to suspect this person held a special place for Yugo in their heart, painstakingly taking their time to pick out every shade of the same color. Naively, the young DJ dreamed about a future where he and the band finally gained popularity from their hard work. He dreamed of a billboard advertisement, of people listening to their songs with awe, of the ever-shining light of the Budokan and the deafening cheers of their fans…

But reality struck him like a Fast and Furious car.

Yugo couldn’t believe what he was hearing when he stepped into the studio. The manager was yelling at his bandmates - his friends whom he treasured the most. His ear-grating words forced themselves into Yugo’s ears But as he turned to his guitarist to confirm what he was wearing was only false information, Mine stayed silent, only shaking his head in defeat. Yugo was forced to accept this as part of the reality he was in.

“You can’t do this to us…!” His weak protest was immediately shunned. But the orders and decisions were already made, any other opinion would only render useless.

“Come on, Yugo. You have such a sweet voice, you couldn't possibly waste it for rock screams now could you? Listen to me, dear boy.” Gently placing his hand on the vocalist’s slender shoulder, the manager tried to assure his treasured talent. Being the youngest and most impressionable out of all of them, he could easily force him to work at his will. And they will be unstoppable.

One by one, Yugo could only watch as his bandmates left. Even Mine did, eventually. The day he went away, the vocalist was left alone in the studio.

****

Uki went to the live house as usual. But the live house was not as usual. The band was not performing.

“May I ask when Shibuya Panic will perform?” Going up to the registration desk, Uki asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

“Oh, they’re not performing here anymore. The manager told me to cancel every pre-booked concert already.” The Psyborg registrar's voice was calm, but it was enough to stir up a whole storm inside Uki.

“Every…?”

“Yes, every.”

“I… understand. Thank you.”

Leaving the place, Uki felt like both his chest and head had weighed ten pounds more. For the first time in his life, he’d never felt any more empty than now - not even when he escaped the cult. Nothing was lost back then, but it felt like his little piece of joy was snatched out of his grip, forcefully, like a child with his favourite toy being taken away from his hand. He was about to head straight home, until a silhouette languidly leaning against the wall caught his attention. Squinting, Uki could make out to see that it was none other than…

Yugo.

“Hey… Uki.”

Immediately after he saw Yugo, Uki became alerted. Every little detail about the singer - from the way his hair was bedraggled, to the bags under his eyes and the thinned down shape of his figure - worried him. Gently touching his face to brush his fringe aside, Uki felt like his anger could boil over at any time. Who did this to him? How could he just leave himself slowly withering away like this? Yugo used to be that eclectic flower nobody dared to touch, yet why was he reduced to nothing more than mere broken fragments of his old self?

“Have you been eating properly?”

“Not really.”

“Sleep?”

“I wake up at 3 and go out for a jog, sometimes.”

“What about singing?”

“I quit.”

“Yugo… You’re not going to pursue the band anymore?”

Yugo didn’t give Uki a clear answer. In his hand, the cigarette continued to burn itself to ashes as the young man hung his head low. His eyes, once burnt bright with passion, were now reduced to nothing more than. But that was only for a short moment, when all of a sudden Yugo’s eyes returned to their lively state. But now, his eyes were filled to the brim with tears. Throwing the cigarette to the ground, Yugo stomped on it like crushing a bug under his heels, venting out the frustration from the unfair treatment he’d received. No longer able to contain his anger to himself, he blasted:

“A lot of things… happened. Our music house’s owner changed, and the record label we were signing with forced me to sing the way I hated more than anything. Not only that, the producer tampered with my guitarist’s sound so much that he lost confidence in himself. That was fucking… foul! It’s so unfair! God, I wish everything could just perish right now!”

Uki didn’t say anything. He did not know anything to say that could possibly console his friend - and it was probably for the better. Yugo didn’t have the need for pointless comfort words, it would just drive him crazy. As such, Uki’s hand only patted Yugo’s slender back, before pulling him into an embrace. Sitting under the moon, away from the brilliant city lights, the two leaned onto each other. After what felt like forever, Yugo whispered:

“Uki, I don’t know what to do… Now that even the music house is gone, I don’t have a place to stay. What should I do? I can’t even think!”

“Why don’t you stay with me, then? Until you get a new place, you can stay with me.”

“But wouldn’t that be too troublesome for you?”

“It’s fine. My home’s quite empty anyway. And I can always use a hand with the chores.” Uki winked. It somehow eased up the tension in Yugo’s heart. Not more than five days later, the DJ had packed up everything he did and moved into Uki’s house, a decision that made him able to get his first homemade meal in a while. Uki was a great cook, proven by the clean plate Yugo handed him.

“Not even the sauce, huh.” Uki laughed.

“I’m sorry. It’s too good, I can’t help it.”

“Don’t say sorry. I’m just glad you like my food. Please, if you ever need anything, just tell me and I’ll be more than happy to help.”

“Why are you so nice to me? We haven’t known each other for long, yet you accepted me into your house. Shouldn’t you be afraid of stranger danger?” Yugo suddenly asked after a long pause, his hand holding a towel was still wiping one particularly clean spot on the dining table.

“... I grew up in a cult, so I’ve never had a true friend. So I guess when I find one, I wanna show them that I care and I love them.”

“Oh, I’m so… sorry… I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay. Knowing is better, after all. If I didn’t want you to know, I wouldn’t tell you.”

But the problem was only temporarily solved by giving Yugo a shelter. Even when he was living with Uki, Yugo still seemed somewhat troubled. His routine, which consisted of waking up at 10 AM and going out at 10 just to return at 5, wasn't exactly the best thing to have when living with a roommate. Uki didn’t mind it, but Yugo couldn’t help but feel guilty whenever Uki asked him out for a meal to be politely declined. Moreso, his housemate was worried for him like a family member, which wasn’t exactly the type of treatment he was used to receiving. Living with a different Yugo was afraid of everything, but most of all - he was afraid of failing. Failing Uki, and himself. With every declined entry of his job hunting, Yugo could find himself slowly reclining into the shell he’d built for himself. He was almost giving up, but every time he thought about Uki’s effort and how much he’d supported him, the DJ had to pick himself up.

Lady Luck finally heard his prayers, and blessed him with a. But then a new problem arised. Yugo’s job required him to travel long distances if he continued to stay in Uki’s house. Reading the email from his wristband, Yugo contemplated while rubbing his chin a mile an hour.

“How’s it going with the job hunt?”

“I hunted a big one. But it’s gonna be quite a chore to travel from here, so I’m still worried.”

“That’s nice! We gotta celebrate then. When are you starting?”

“Monday next week, which means I’ll have a week to take care of things….”

“It’s okay, we can always figure something out in a week. For now, relax with me, okay? All’s well that ends well.”

It was then that Yugo remembered a certain man. Sonny Brisko. The club was actually quite close to Sonny’s place, and it didn’t seem like he was living with anyone. If he asked to live with him, he probably wouldn’t mind all that much since they used to know each other, even having lived together a while back.

“Hey Sonny, can I ask you for a favour?”

“Mmhmm.”

“May I live with you?”

“Why so? Did someone evict your house?”

“… I guess that’s not too far from the truth.”

With the story that followed afterwards, Sonny finally had a full grasp of the situation that Yugo was in. After pondering for a little while as Yugo took his breath once again, the officer slowly restarted the conversation:

“I’ll let you live with me under one condition. We’ll mind our own business, and you’ll stay silent with whatever I do in the house. Now, you will be living with someone else, and that’s my housemate, but remember that one condition and go with it. Understand?”

“Oh, you know how I fly under the rules the whole time. Chill, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“So… is that a yes?”

“Of course. You’re the only one who agrees to house me right now, I won’t do anything that could cause harm for both of us. Don’t think I’m just some kind of moron who goes around and flails his hand madly while doing crimes, I’m gonna be terribly offended.”

Sonny laughed, “Never change, Yugo. Never change.”

They both have their own motives, but it should be fine as long as nobody was harmed. Now that he was able to take a closer look at his friend, the officer noticed that he did change a bit. His cheeks were rosy, plus his complexion and overall shape seemed to be quite well. The light in his eyes remained the same, but that feeling of a wild animal seemed to have faded.

“The person who you lived with must have taken pretty good care of you. You’re much less skinnier than last time.” Sonny remarked. Unknowingly, he reached out his hand, and Yugo’s hair went from slightly unkempt to messy in a minute.

“Yeah, but I haven’t been paying the rent. I want to repay them.” Yugo sighed. “I’ve found a new job, but it’s too far to travel everyday so I have to seek a new place. Conveniently, you’re there.”

“So that’s the reason? Fine by me, I can switch up the rooms a little bit. When do you want me to come pick you up?”

“Wednesday please. I need time to pack things up.”

****

“I can’t believe you’re already leaving. Still, I’m happy for you.”

“Bye Uki. Thanks for letting me stay at your home for so long. I’ll pay you back when I get my first paycheck.” Before leaving for good, Yugo didn’t forget to give Uki a peck on the cheeks. Though he was reluctant to let him go, Yugo’s promise to visit him every once in a while softened Uki’s worries a bit. Ruffling the young man’s hair,

“It’s just what I have to do. I wish you all the best in your new journey.”

“... Please stay safe.”

“Alright, off you go then.”

“Is that all of your stuff?” Was the first thing Sonny asked as he went to pick Yugo up at the train station. He didn’t bring much, only a suitcase along with a backpack.

“Yeah. When you’re used to hitchhiking around, you don’t pack much.”

“Uh huh… good. Well, you’re gonna live in a house from now on, so tryna get used to that.”

“Alright. Now let’s go back to your pla…”

“No need to take the train. We have my VeloCar right here.” Sonny had already grabbed Yugo’s collar before he could march back into the train station.

Even when he was riding his VeloCar with Yugo behind, Sonny didn’t hesitate to make sharp turns that almost threw the DJ off the vehicle.

“Ow! Stop pinching me, bitch!” Sonny yowled.

“How about you focus on the road then, you almost threw me out back there!”

“I am focusing on the road!”

“I thought if you’re an officer, one would expect you to be more law-abiding.”

“I’m not on duty so that doesn’t apply. Plus, when I’m the only officer around, I make the rules.”

“Outlaw much.” Yugo whispered. He then proceeded to be quiet for the next ten minutes as they became closer to Sonny’s home. As soon as they landed at the front yard of Sonny’s house, Yugo hurriedly hopped off the officer’s VeloCar before he had the chance to park it.

“Alban! We’re back!”

From his room, the cat-like Psyborg dashed towards the front door like a bolt. As soon as their eyes met, Yugo scanned him from head to toe to Sonny’s nervousness. However, the DJ didn’t seem to hold any malicious intentions towards his new housemate. Just as Sonny was about to let out his sigh, he immediately had to hold it back in as Yugo’s question came out:

“Is he a Psyborg?”

“Uh… Yes.”

“Hmm. Alright, then. Yo, I’m Yugo Asuma.”

Contrary to Sonny’s beliefs, Yugo was rather fine with having a Psyborg living in the same house as him. Alban didn’t seem to mind sharing their house - on the contrary, he was happy above everything else.

****

Their first week living together was fine. Everyone got along well. Yugo appeared and disappeared in the house even more like a cat than Alban was, and no one minded any business outside theirs.

Then came the second week. Then the third week.

A sock came flying across the room, hitting Alban straight in the face. From his side, a loud, almost cartoonish scream could be heard, before he returned it by throwing Sonny’s boxer briefs at Yugo. Everyday, without fail, there would be something that could slowly but surely spark an argument between the two of them. It can be anything, be it Yugo’s jacket on the floor or Alban borrowing his earphones without asking. Everytime, it would be Sonny who stepped in between and calmed the boys down gently. If words didn’t work, then came the force but fortunately, there weren't many occasions when Sonny had to enforce anything on either of them. Though, there was one time in particular that Yugo couldn’t forget. Yugo and Alban were barely putting up with each other due to some silly reason that even they couldn’t recall, then Sonny appeared like a golden bolt with the scariest grin Yugo had ever seen, a belt in his tight grip.

“Go to bed, now. Both of you.”

Alone with himself backstage, Yugo was deep in thoughts about what he had been through for the past month. It was only then that he actually realized how much he’d been through - losing his comfort place, had two moves in a row, living with his cop friend and his Psyborg, given his first homemade meal by Uki… Somehow, before he even took the time to notice it, a smile was already drawn across his face. Giggling, even Yugo found it quite amusing that he didn’t have much reaction to the events that happened before. He supposed now that he’d had the time and space to wind down, he could manage his emotions better. Just then and only then, the young DJ realized just how much he loved these people - one could say he had a deeper bond with them than with his family. But in the end, the one who took over his thoughts was Uki, reminding Yugo of how much he missed him. Getting out the texter app on his wristband, he quickly typed a message in to send to his friend.

Back at the Violeta household, Uki was, undoubtedly, very pleasantly surprised.

“One new message from Yugo Asuma. Read?”

“Read.”

The message was then read in an almost-realistically robotic Yugo voice. Technically, it was created using a Yugo voicebank from the government’s database, a technology called text-to-speech that was introduced from the first years of the 21st century.

“Uki, how are you doing? I’m actually very happy at the moment, my job’s going very well and I’ve had loads of fun making music! At the same time, I really do hope you’re taking care of yourself. I’ll visit you sometimes.”

That was more than enough for Uki’s day to go from fine to over the moon. He’d finally seen the day when a free bird like Yugo could break off the many locks and chains that held him back to soar off into the sky. Once saved by the kindness of his friends, he wanted to repay it.

“Hey, Yugo…” He started to speak into the mic, ordering it to transcribe his words, “... I’m glad to hear that you’re fine. The house is quite empty and quiet without you around, but the neighborhood has gotten very lively. Please do come, my house will forever be your home.”

As he headed back home where Sonny and Alban were waiting, the young Dj couldn’t help but think about what he wanted to buy for his friends. Stepping on the puddles that had formed after the fresh rain, he was delighted to see the rainbow over the roofs. Taking a picture, he didn't realize his cheerful smile had become even more brilliant than the rainbow itself.

A new day will shine its light on them.

Chapter Text

The rain was pouring hard. Soaked from head to toe, the Psyborg begrudgingly took his glasses down to wipe the rainwater away as he silently suffered in his miserable loneliness. With only a small suitcase in hand, he’d been traveling for days without any stop for rest. He hadn’t even gotten proper maintenance for months. Before the VSF managed to find him and list him as an out of order Psyborg or something of the sort, he must find himself someone who could be kind enough to let him work. 

Once again, Ike Eveland found himself all alone in the crevices of this cyber town. His extraordinary voice - a choice of engineering by the man who put him together had once again put him out of work. Ike knew he was in no way perfect, but to the point of being denied every access to a job was just plain cruel. When one Psyborg couldn’t work, they were nothing more than a reusable pile of metal, ready to be taken apart before their existence as a “person” was forever forgotten. 

Involuntarily, Ike reminded himself of the day he came (back) to this world. The day he opened his eyes, just to quickly realize he was just an amalgamation of different Psyborgs being built back together by a delusional scientist who abandoned him just as easily as he came up with creating him. His eyes, which bore the shade of labradorites, gloomed as he tried to look over the fact that he was nothing more than the definition of the phrase “reduce - reuse - recycle” that humans have always been so proud of. Trying desperately to get a job, he finally found one but it was a small service job in a shopping mall, quite literally a waste of his talented self. With the minimum wage he made at this job, the Psyborg slowly got himself some savings to invest in musical softwares. His days went on as follows: waking up, going to work, then coming home at the dead of night and using what little time he had left to make music and post it online, advertising it if he wasn’t too tired by the time everything was finished. In the end, being unsatisfied was better than getting killed then tossed away, so he just quietly did what he was assigned to in the basement of the studio, while hoping for a better future like the main girls in those Broadway shows that dated all the way from 400 years ago. 

But it wasn’t like all hope was lost. Soon, Ike discovered that the Akuma Corporation was opening auditions for new, indie artists. Believing it was his only chance for a way out, the Psyborg immediately signed himself up. After multiple rounds of auditioning and interviewing, he finally made it to the official interview with the chairman, Vox Akuma. 

“Hello, sir Akuma.”

“Good day, mister Eveland. Please have a seat.” 

Albeit this being their first meeting, Ike didn’t find Vox intimidating at all. Either because he’d already kind of given up on hoping for a nice boss, or this man wasn’t as scary as people made him to be. 

“It says here in your resume that you can sing metal. Can you perform a short section of a metal song for me?”

Ike happily complied. He was glad the employer actually got straight to the point and not wasting any of their precious time. Using all of his strength, he gave Vox one of, if not, the best performance he’d ever had. The chairman listened closely, putting all of his attention on the Psyborg until his song was finished without even making the slightest of noise. Finishing his own performance, Ike discreetly glanced at the laptop on Vox’s table (which he hadn’t touched since the beginning of Ike’s performance), slightly swallowing. What kind of criticism would he receive in the end? 

But Ike’s mind was soon to be crowded by other questions that Vox gave him. He didn’t even have the time to think about that performance. Throughout the interview, Ike tried desperately to prove everything he’d done to ensure his survival while watching Vox’s changes in expression. What was he thinking? Will he approve of his employment? 

“Alright, you showed some great potential, very good…” Vox nodded. He didn’t need to lift a finger to type into his laptop, as the chip planted in his head had already transferred every thought into the digital document opened in front of him. 

“I’m very glad to announce that from now on, you’re part of our company. You can start working right from tomorrow.”

“Well, er…” Ike fumbled. “I don’t have a house, so may I stay at the company’s dorm?”

“You don’t?”

“Yes. I've only been living on the streets, or in the basement and storage room of the company I worked in. So by any chance, if you have a company dormitory or something of the sort…”

Vox seemed to be more troubled than Ike thought he would be. Rubbing his chin, the CEO's gaze dropped as he seemed to be lost in thoughts. Ike couldn't do anything but watched and stood awkwardly and tried to maintain some eye contact. 

“No, we don’t have a formal company dormitory yet, but I will discuss this in meetings later on. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Oh.”

“I’d say not a formal dormitory since the paperworks needed to legalize that building is still being processed, but you can move in now. If you have any luggage, you can go back to your current apartment and I’ll wait for you to get them…”

“I, uh, I don’t have much. I’ve brought all of my stuff here with me.” Ike’s backpack was the stuff being mentioned. His music-making gadgets were just enough to fit inside. Awkwardly, Ike rubbed the hem of his shirt while looking away from Vox’s peering gaze at the quite-too-full backpack. 

“How about… You come to my place, and live with me as my assistant? We’re currently pretty short-staffed on my side, so having an extra employee who, I’m sure, is perfectly capable like you would be wonderful. What do you think?” 

“What?” 

“Currently on the market, I’m one of the biggest patrons for all forms of social media and entertainment. If you agree to come with me, I’ll give you everything you want. In exchange, you must give me the exact amount that I gave you. Is that clear?”

Ike’s eyes widened as he stared back at the overlooming presence standing in front. But they quickly went back to normal as he nodded enthusiastically: 

“I agree.”

“That’s fast. Are you sure?”

“I’ll do anything you want. Please, just let me work.”

Seeing the determination firing up in Ike’s captivatingly despairful eyes, Vox knew he couldn’t possibly resist him. The tone in his voice was just the cherry on top of everything. Taking the Psyborg’s hand into his, he unknowingly squeezed it tighter in the heat of that moment. Vox wanted to nurture his talent, to protect him. Pulling him up just enough for Ike to use his own strength and stand up, Vox claimed: 

“Then, Ike Eveland, Psyborg… From now on, you will be mine.” 

Ike nodded, his hand signing the paper. But before he could say anything, Vox had once again announced: 

“There’s actually something that I forgot to tell you.”

"What is it?"

"We gotta agree on something… I just want to be transparent with you that we will have to respect our boundaries, our rules, and be loyal to each other. Understand?" 

“Do you, Ike Eveland, swear by your heart to stay truthful and loyal to Vox Akuma? Will you remain by his side even when he got nothing?” Vox asked, putting himself in a third person position. Albeit he was more nervous than anyone else, his voice didn’t tremble even for once. 

“I will."

“Will you, Vox Akuma, swear by your heart to stay truthful and respectful to Ike Eveland no matter the circumstance?" It was the Psyborg's turn to ask now. He wasn't really keen on rituals, but somehow this hit home. 

"I will."

"And that is… the end of it?" After waiting for a response and getting none, Ike asked. Vox just simply nodded. Pulling away from the man's grip, a swift wind of guilt blew over his heart as he saw how reluctant Vox was to let his hand go. 

“Are you hungry?”

“... Not really. Us Psyborgs don’t really have that big of a need for food. We do need the bare minimum, but that’s about it.” 

“Do you want to sleep now?”

“Do you have anything for me to work on?” It was Ike’s turn for questions now. 

“For now, not yet… but if you need anything to work, feel free to tell me. I’ll make sure your requests are managed by the time you’re available. So please don’t worry, and go to sleep for now.”

“But is it really okay?”

“It is, it is, don’t worry. Just go to bed, I’ll take care of the rest.”

And thus, Ike's first job in the Akuma company was to get plenty of sleep to make up for his time spent outside. As soon as Ike’s soft snoring could be heard, Vox immediately and quietly left like a cat. Coming from a life of comfort, he knew there was in no way he could understand what Ike had gone through.

*****

“No, I told you - caviar toast is the best! You definitely should give it a try.” 

“Uh uh. No. I am SICK just from smelling it.” 

“Well HOW would you know if you’ve never even tasted it?! Open your mouth, Vox….”

“No! Not even Shu nor Luca had given me this kind of torture.” Still shutting his eyes closed, Vox shook his head at a remarkable speed, as if doing that would spare him from the fate of having to consume the caviar toast as a whole.  

“...Vox. Pretty please?”

Dang it, it’s the look again. Ike knew just how hard it is for Vox to resist him when he’s in this state, so he would take this to his utmost advantage at any chance he had. Reluctantly, the heir of the Akuma house opened his mouth to let the caviar spread in, introducing it to his taste buds. Just as he expected, it was like nothing he’s ever tasted. The blend of flavours was so similar to that of a horribly failed musical piece performed by an unrehearsed ensemble that not only has his mouth gone tasteless, he could actually feel his ears going numb at the same time. Setting the toast down, Vox immediately ushered to the kitchen to spit any bit of the caviar toast left into the bin. From the living room, Ike’s voice echoed: “You’ll eventually see the goodness of caviar, Vox!” 

With that being said, he and Vox still took turns cooking for each other. Their culinary experiences differ a lot from one another, which meant Vox was the one who introduced Ike to various flavour profiles and ingredients used in worldwide cooking, while Ike showed Vox how to make the best food from scratch. Ike would also give Vox an occasional massage, should he ever find himself beaten from the excessive workload. Even though Ike was introduced to Vox’s acquaintances as his new butler psyborg, in reality the way he treated him was closer to that of his spouse, lover, or something along that line. Vox never forced Ike to do anything he wasn’t pleased with; he always seemed to be head over heels for the Psyborg like none other before. Even Luca and Shu noticed it, and they didn't miss their opportunities for jokes whenever they could. Vox’s affections remained still, with every day that passed. 

“Hey, Ike, can I give you a kiss?” With the most seductive voice he could muster, the man asked as he leaned down to face his housemate. As one would expect, he was turned down quicker than publishers turning down my manuscripts.

“No.”

“Blimey. Not even a little peck? A smoochie?” 

"Vox, keep that act up and I'm going to give you nothing but bread butts for your breakfast. I'm serious." 

Ike felt more than comfortable with his new life - unlike his old job where he had to come in to work at as early as 7 in the morning, he could get to work at the same time with Vox, and either leave for home later (which meant Vox would wait in his car no matter what his assistant said) or go with the chairman himself. Vox’s company was a great environment for Ike to meet people who were on the same page as him, be it Psyborg or human. Most remarkable to him are the diva group Ethyria, who were under different management but were a jolly bunch to be around. He was especially close to Miss Reimu Endou, who was also acquainted with Vox.

“Reimu recorded her part in one go, and Millie helped me fix a little bit of the melody…” Ike told Vox as they loaded their cart with groceries. “We’ll be able to proceed with recording in no time. I believe that you’ll find it fit to your liking.”

“Hey Ike. Do you think that our house isn’t enough for the two of us?” Vox randomly asked as his hand reached for a bottle of cooking wine.

“What’s with the sudden question?”

“Well, I was thinking… Do you want to move out of this neighborhood, into somewhere more peaceful with a bigger house? Our house is quite lovely, but it can get noisy from time to time, so I thought we could, um… travel around and fuck around to see all the choices we could have. What do you say?”

“I mean… it’s up to you.” Ike had never considered living in a bigger house. All his life, having just a shelter to keep himself warm was already good enough as it was. He initially decided to leave the choice of their apartment all to Vox, but the latter insisted on him choosing as well, so they took a day off to visit their new apartment. It had everything Ike had secretly dreamed of, which included an office where he could make music and sleep in. 

“This seems like a nice place. Don’t you think so?” Ike asked. 

“You like this house?” 

“I do, pretty much.”

“Alright, we’ll take it.” Vox smiled at the real estate agent. With a few signatures, the house was officially sold to them. Immediately after, the Akuma heir hired a moving service to get all of their things into the house. 

That night, after a lovely little dinner made by Vox himself, they huddled together for a movie night with some alcohol. Their film of choice was quite odd - an extravagantly twisted film featuring top-tier directors of their time. Without noticing it, Vox had poured Ike his fifth glass of wine by the time they got to the first plot twist of the film. It wasn’t until Ike leaned onto him, wrapping his arms around him that the man realized how much they've drunk. 

“Mmm… Hey Vox, you’re kinda cute.”

It was the first time Vox ever heard Ike compliment him right at his face, without any sarcasm. After letting the information sink in for five minutes, he could feel his head exploding as the universe collapsed around him. 

“I-Ike?!”

“Hmm…?”

“A-Are you drunk?”

“I don’t know… I think I’ve had… five or six drinks something? I’m not quite sure…” 

“Do you want to head to bed now?”

“Yeah… but I’ll just sleep here.”

“No, I’ll lead you to your bed. You’re gonna wake up with a sore body if you sleep here. Come on, up you go.”

With that, Ike was carried off to bed by Vox himself. Though he was still in a state of half-dreaming-half-awake, the Psyborg contentedly murmured before he went back to snoring.

“Nighty night Vox. Sleep tight.”  

Vox knew he missed the opportunity to be kissed by Ike, but he would rather the Psyborg do it when his mind was clear. It would feel like taking advantage of a completely defenseless man, and being Vox Akuma, he wanted none of that. Softly, he brushed the hair out of Ike’s face and watched as his chest rose and fell, mimicking the motions of a sleeping person's body. His soft breath and rosy cheeks made him all the more adorable. 

That night, something pretty unexpected occurred. Having been rumoured to be the “rich new money family who just moved in”, of course Vox and Ike’s home had become a good target for some desperate burglars. Even though he was drunk off his ass just two hours ago, right now Ike was more awake than ever. With his senses heightened, the Psyborg readied his voice, and….

A mighty, dark, nerve-wracking growl shook the earth. The burglar, who was foolish enough to infiltrate the house, dropped to his knees as he covered his ears. It was in times like this that Ike was prouder of his voice than anything. 

“You dare challenge me to a knife fight? Do you know who I am?” Marching slowly towards the intruder while wearing the most menacing smile on his face, Ike’s words were deadly quiet. Somehow, he enjoyed it quite a bit, seeing the terrified look on that man’s face as if he was facing death itself. By the time Vox got to the crime scene, the Psyborg was already sitting on top of the burglar with his hands and feet tied up, having him completely in his control. It seemed, to the heir of the Akuma family, that he should’ve been worried about the intruder instead of his Psyborg. The scene took the words out of his mouth for a couple of minutes, before he could finally come up with something to compliment Ike: 

“I do not know whether to feel like you’re incredibly sexy for this, or to be incredibly terrified.” 

“Better be the latter because I’ll strangle you if you truly find this hot.”

“Mmhmm. I’ll call the police.” 

The incident had made Vox even more careful of his surroundings. Even so, Ike remained unbothered, as if it was nothing more than a little pest that came into their home. As a reward, Vox eventually bought him an entire collection of flavoured sodas from his favourite brand. It wasn’t Vox’s first time going to the grocery’s, but somehow to him, it felt like it was. He quickly got lost in the abundance of goods, walking around in the maze of isles. As he looked for the brand of soda that Ike had always liked to drink, Vox finally managed to navigate around the store. His first errand was a great success… or probably even a little more than that. The Akuma heir was pumped as he thought about Ike’s face when he showed him the fruits of his labour. 

“Aah… I haven’t had any carbonated beverages for three days straight. I feel like my body is shutting down…” Ike groaned in ecstasy as he downed an entire can in big gulps. Patting his own back repeatedly like an old man, the Psyborg yawned before falling back onto the couch with one of the funniest pose Vox had ever seen - his left arm latching onto the couch’s back while his legs were spread like an eagle, not caring for a single thing in the world. Every now and then, they would celebrate a milestone with soda, alcohol, or both at the same time. But not every time soda became the start of celebration. One day, Vox stumbled into the house, narrowly escaping from the irritatingly hot weather outside:  

“Ichael! I got your favourite soda again, let’s drink!”

The house remained quiet. Thinking Ike must have been sleeping, Vox slowly walked upstairs to wake him up. Surely, the Psyborg was still there, sleeping like a log. But the problem was that he'd been sleeping for 13 hours, from what his master recalled. 

“Ike, Ike?” 

No reaction as of yet. When Vox attempted to wake Ike up in a panic, he was entirely limp. The head of the Akuma house then lifted his Psyborg's eyelid up and pointed a flashlight in, just to find him unresponsive. 

“Ike, Ike, I’m not joking. Please, wake up…” 

But Vox’s desperate calls were unheard. With Ike in his arms, Vox headed straight to Shu’s laboratory, panicked. 

As soon as Shu opened the door to a series of chimes, he was greeted with an unforeseen situation: his friend was standing there at the doorway, with another man of smaller stature in his arms. Taking a step closer, he realized that was none other than Vox's Psyborg, whom he’d only met a few times. 

“Vox? What’s wrong?”

“Ike suddenly collapsed, then he fell unconscious. I need you to take a look at him… please.” The usually calm and collected Vox couldn’t even hide the distress in his voice. In response, Shu guided Vox straight into his working space to perform an urgent diagnosis on the Psyborg. This, of course, was meant to give his friend an easement of mind. Opening up Ike's shirt, Shu was quite a bit shaken and a bit fascinated to see the way his skin creased like a real human.

“Oh no, poor thing… he’s just exhausted. Let me patch him up real quick.” 

Strapping Ike to his contraption, the scientist started to unscrew a few compartments in order to open him up, like a surgeon. 

“Are you working on a new project again?” Vox asked, his hands examining the fine Psyborg details built from a material that seemed to be bone china. Shu’s resourcefulness had never cease to amaze him. 

“Yeah. I’m trying to find some more environmentally-friendly alternatives to build the Psyborgs. Currently, I’m thinking about replacing some of the plastic with degradable material, but… hmm?” Shu paused mid-sentence to look into Ike. Examining the little details, he noticed there were quite a few massively important things out of place that he’d overlooked at first, thinking they were just minor faults. Ike's central monitor system was recycled from that of a high quality Psyborg's, but the rest were quite hard to identify the origins. 

“But?”

“I forgot… what I was about to say. Yeah, these needs to be looked at closely.” Shu shook his head. 

“Is there something wrong?”

“He’s overheated. Watch over him for me, I’ll get some water.” 

Vox watched as Shu used his screwdriver to open up the Psyborg and pour water little by little inside him, his face not showing any other emotion than great concentration and mayhaps… a slither of anger. After a few rounds of check-ups and installments with Shu’s nanomachine, Ike was fine enough to open his eyes with a confused “Hello?” and have a conversation again. In the end, Shu advised his friend to let Ike stay with him for a few days for a final diagnosis. 

“He’s the first case of malfunctioning I’ve seen in a while.” Shu explained to a concerned Vox. ”But it’s not too severe. I was able to fix a few things in his system. I just… want to keep an eye on him until he gets back in shape.” 

“Will he be completely fine though? I doubt that it was just something like overheating.”

“It’s more than overheating, but he is fine now.” 

Thus, Ike stayed with Shu for a while as he tried to analyze him based on his materials. In a way, things were similar to how scientists of the 21st century identified humans based on the contents of their remains. Being the worrisome owner he was, Vox couldn’t afford to make him get up to work right after. Ike was allowed (read: made) to stay home for a week until he got well enough to handle things. It was during that time when he and Uki Violeta had their first conversation in a rather unlikely situation - Ike was taking out the trash when he spotted Uki’s violet hair over the fence as he quietly peeked over. Intrigued by the young man’s heterochromic eyes, he couldn't resist but call out: 

“Good morning!” 

“Morning… ah, you’re the Akuma household Psyborg, right? I remember you.” 

“That’s right. My name is Ike Eveland, I believe we’ve met before, Mr. Violeta.” Ike offered his hand to the lad.

“Call me Uki, please. The pleasure is all mine.” The neighbour smiled as they shook hands. Ike remembered talking to him when they just moved here - a fairly young man with a delightfully handsome face, and though his voice was quite soft, Ike thought of it to be remarkable due to how sad it sounded. He couldn’t be bored conversing with him. Though, after that one time they’ve never talked to each other again, mostly because Ike hadn't been going out for much yet. 

“You have a soothing voice.”

“You think so? Thank you.” Uki blushed, making him all the more soft-looking.

“Do you want to come over some time?” Ike offered.

“May I?”

“Sure! It gets lonely here sometimes, so I do hope to have company while we're at it." 

“You seem happy today. Did something happen while I was away?”

“Yes! I happened to talk to our neighbour, Uki. He’s a nice person.”

“Is he? Should I visit him some other day?”

“Ike?” 

“Yes, Vox?” 

“Gimme a kiss.” 

“… Anyway, regarding your meeting with chairman Volk, it’s been rescheduled to Thursday next week. Therefore, we have… Tuesday and Monday are free.” 

“Perfect. Then, I would like to propose a meeting between the two of us… How about some tea time together?” 

Vox was prepared to be turned down like always. But to his surprise, Ike was quick to take on his invitation. 

"Sure. Do you want me to prepare it or should I?" 

“I was expecting my invitation to be politely declined, but I’m glad to have my expectations subverted.”  

“Your kissing request may be a bit out of hand sometimes, though I don’t mind having a chat with you, Vox.” 

Their tea time was more like a brunch than a normal tea party. The dining table was filled with little pastries that Ike could eat comfortably, along with a whole toaster, a bag of bread and two tubes full of caviar for him to spread as he please.  

“I hope we can spend the rest of our lives together.” Quietly, Ike started off the tea party by pouring himself and Vox some of the apricot tea he bought earlier. Now that he’d taken a good look at the treats, Ike almost snorted. A pot of apricot tea, a dish full of lemon candy, little jars of blueberry jam and a bowl filled to the brim with cube sugar. A peculiar set of sweets, quite charming nonetheless. In his eyes, a hint of soft affection was reflected in them. 

“Why are you suddenly saying so?” 

“You’re a good person. If I can serve you until I break down, or… Well. It's right to say that I would be happy to stay with you.” 

“Wha…?”

“I’m not dumb, Vox. Although you behave like a weird drunk uncle all the time, I knew full well what happened to me, and what you did. And I was truly moved by how you treated me even when I’m such a faulty creation. Not once did you try to ditch me.” 

“What? No, that was simply what I had to do. If you have a problem, then as your master I must do my best to help you.” 

“Not many people can think the way you do.” Ike shook his head, wistfully. “They’ll dump their very Psyborgs the moment they can no longer work. It's like we're a pet of some sort… though that isn't very far from the truth.”  

A man and a creation of artificial intelligence stared at each other, tenderly. Vox knew he had so much to say, but it was as if a lump in his throat was keeping his words from coming out. 

"Though I can not kiss you the way you want me to… give me your hands.” 

Taking both of Vox’s hands into his, Ike leaned down to kiss them. Just a simple act it was, but Vox could already feel himself being transported to a new Cydonia. Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and the angels were calling for him at that moment in time. 

“There we go. Take it, as the proof of my affections.” 

Vox had never been in a giddier mood. Fiddling around, he never expected Ike would actually return his feelings, not much thinking about him actively showing his affections. 

“I’m never washing my hands again.” 

“No. Give me back my kiss then, I can’t live with someone who won’t even wash his hands before touching his food." 

Vox didn’t react, as he simply watched Ike with a loving gaze. Everyday, he prayed for Ike to stay with him until death eventually comes to pull them apart. 

Chapter Text

Ever since Shu landed a great business deal with the fruit of his labour, he’d become much busier than ever. Adding to that, there were newer projects for him to finish, one of which involved Luca in it. Named “Project moving out together”, it took the effort from both sides to properly carry out this event. Luckily, both the Yaminos and la famiglia Kaneshiro were very understanding and supportive of their sons’ decision, even going as far as to give them their “blessings for a new life together”.

“This is the first time we’ll be living with each other!” Luca exclaimed, his face beaming even brighter than the morning sun as they both stared at the room they set up themselves. “What do you think, Shu? Are you happy? Nervous?”

“I don’t know. I’m still quite not sure what to think.” Shu laughed. “What about you?“

“All I know is we’re gonna have this place all to ourselves, and I’m thrilled!” Lifting his boyfriend up, the young mafia boss showed some great ecstasy. Being hurled up in the sky out of the blue was quite hair-raising for Shu, but he could still laugh childishly. As he quietly ran his fingers on Luca’s new tattoo on his arm, a sweet, endearing smile was drawn. His hand traced the line on the drawing, as if trying to figure out the pen strokes of the artist who made the engravings on Luca’s skin.

“Another one, huh?”

“For every big goal I finish, I’ll get one tattoo.” Luca nodded.

“Then what goal does this stand for, finally grabbing a hold of the mafia boss position?” Shu asked, half-jokingly.

“No, it’s actually for something bigger. It’s… you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. This is my reward for finally being able to live with you. With the one I love.”

That answer was more than enough to send Shu to cloud nine. Blushing red, his eyes gazed at Luca, more longingly and tenderly than anyone else could have been at that moment. The warm, musky smell of the late afternoon pulled them closer together. As Shu turned to face the window to take a glimpse at the sky, he was quick to forget what he was in the middle of doing, leaving Luca hanging.

“What are you looking at, Shu?”

“... You know, I’ve always liked twilight.”

“Why?”

“There’s just something about that interlude between day and night that seems quite nice to me. I like the uncertainty. There’s not much daylight left, but it is yet to be night.”

“I see… I love twilight too! Pog!”

“Ahaha.”

Luca had always been as simple as that. When he’s with anyone - be it Shu, Vox or even Ike, he would just happily go with whatever they say. Except for any topic involving vegetables, because then he would make the face of a five year old being told to finish his Brussels sprouts. That was also a charming point about him, as Shu supposed. Deep in his thoughts as he were, it wasn’t a stretch to say that he was taken by surprise when his boy pulled him down with him, laying on the bed together while giggling silly. As Luca held Shu close to him in his arms, the scientist buried his face in the creased fabric of his boyfriend’s shirt, taking in the strong smell of the detergent used in an effort to wash away any trace of his past jobs. He knew for sure, as long as he stayed in this man’s arms, he would be safe from the whirlpool of madness that is the world.

They took turns cooking, but in the early mornings, since he was the first to rise, Luca would be the one who prepared lunch for Shu before he headed to the laboratory. One particular morning, they decided to take things slow and have a short chat before heading to work.

“Hey Shu, I was wondering…” With a mouthful of bread and sausages. Luca tried to ask.

“Yeah?”

“You know, I wanna ask if you take commissions?” The mafia boss asked, after he’d downed his glass of juice with the help of Shu before he could choke.

“Commissions on the… Psyborgs, you mean?”

“Yeah. Because I’ve always wanted one, so I wanna place a custom order. Is it okay?”

“Oh no, you don’t need to. I’m actually preparing one for you right now.”

“Huh? But I haven’t asked you to…”

“It’s okay. If it’s you then I can do everything. Because I want all the best for you… Luca.”

“P-pog!” Squeezing Shu with a big hug, the blonde cried out. Before he realized, Luca’s eyes were filled to the brim with tears.

“Are you crying, Luca?”

“Ah, no, I’m not… something got into my eye, that’s all.”

“If you ever feel like crying, just do it. I’m here with you.”

“Yeah.” Sniffled, Luca wiped away his tears as he pulled Shu in closer.

That morning, as he stepped into his workplace, Shu had gotten a clear vision of what he wanted his latest creation to be. Before Luca even got up to work, he’d already left the house (not after leaving a note for his boyfriend). He’d spent days in the lab, crafting and programming the first female Psyborg to perfection.

But every good party must come to an end.

Shu’s Psyborg project was his very own party - he started everything himself, yet when everything had been going on for a long time, he started to have… thoughts. Thoughts that he wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be there or not. He didn’t plan ahead the fact that Psyborgs could very well evolve to the point of blending in with humans well enough to slowly replace them. There weren’t any laws made to specifically state that “humans and machines aren’t allowed to have feelings for each other” in order to stop the end of mankind.

Though his lover had changed to the point of no return, Luca was still the same as ever. But it had gotten to a point where Shu remembered himself walking outside of the room he and Luca just argued in. Even in his sleep, the sound of their argument still gradually grew larger, until he had to force himself to wake up. He knew he’d hurt Luca and himself. Luca didn't understand what he's working on - but why of course,

In an effort to say sorry and mend things between them, the next day Luca came home early to surprise Shu. Setting his foot in the house, the first thing Shu noticed was an appetizing aroma drifting from the kitchen.

“I tried to cook something special.” Smiling coyly, Luca explained while wearing a “kiss the cook” pink apron that couldn’t possibly be bought by anyone other than Vox himself. “Have a seat, Shu."

To which, Shu responded with a tender peck on Luca's cheeks. It all seemed like they could have their lives going on a steady road until one day, when Shu was invited to an interview for a nation-wide broadcast. It wasn’t unusual for a prominent figure like him to be invited to major events such as these, so of course he was willing to take it.

“Doctor Shu Yamino, you were the one what do you think will become of artificial intelligence as well as the development of human emotions in the next five years?” The interviewer asked with a smile, which Shu noticed was rather industrialized.

“I believe the human race still has lots to discover. Talking about discovery, I believe that soon enough artificial intelligence will be able to perform many tasks other than just just detecting human emotions. As for us… There have been studies showing that human emotions evolve alongside the development of sciences, since it tackles philosophy and therefore shapes the general idea of morality in us. It may be hard to see, but it has always been and will be present. Humanity was a race born specifically to change, after all."

“There have been some debates surrounding the influence of Psyborgs on human’s psychology in the future. Some argue that…” Seeing the interviewer flip her pages, Shu quickly got some cold sweat, all of a sudden.

“Psyborgs could affect human’s ability to process complex emotions in the long run. Without this ability, it will be harder for us to empathize with others. We would like to hear your opinion on this matter, if you may.”

Shu pursed his lips. How many people are watching this show right now? One wrong move and his career will go down the drains. Think, Shu, think!

"I think… It is a proven fact that humankind and technology’s development, or evolution, whatever the word you may choose, goes hand in hand. So…."

On the other side of the TV, Luca was watching it with Shu's Psyborgs. Fulgur and Felix were silent everytime Shu gave out an answer, while Luca pondered on his answers. As the young scientist turned to look at the camera, his boyfriend unconsciously smiled, an assuring grin that might have put his heart at ease if they were in the same room as each other.

Taking a deep breath, the young scientist calmed himself down before giving his answer on a spree:

“These concerns are actually not too far-fetched, as I’ve also thought about it while creating the Psyborgs. Though, I would say that one should not be worried too much about it - Psyborgs function as psychological aid for people, not one’s personal thought processor, so of course mankind would still maintain their ability to sense and empathize with complex feelings that others have. Besides, our kind was proven to have been evolving perpetually in our psychology in order to adapt to the rapid development of technology, so I doubt the Psyborgs would hinder these progress. If anything, they would contribute to our development…”

“Thank you very much for your cooperation!”

What he said was just to barely get away with the interview unscathed. Looking at the Psyborg who had been interviewing him from the start, Shu suddenly felt a bit hesitant as his stomach turned. Still, in one way or another he managed to suppress the feelings and took his hand for a friendly handshake, smiling all the while. But as soon as he got home, Shu could do nothing but lock himself in his room. Throwing his bag on the bed, he frowned at how bright the light seemed as soon as the switch was turned on.

After the interview, Shu began to slowly close himself off from his circle. It used to be big there, and he knew so many people - his colleagues, mostly, then the professors, even the people at parties that Vox introduced him to. What does it mean to have a relationship with someone? Should he even try to make new connections, now that he’s had his Psyborgs? Back when he was still the young, unknown Shu Yamino, people could freely make connections to him just because they feel like they could click. Now, when his creations are known, more and more people who wanted to poach him started to appear. It was hard to see through each and every layer of a human’s face, so he’d rather stay in his room and create the faces for his Psyborgs.

“Woah.”

Luca’s voice startled Shu, whose eyes seemed to be focused on something he couldn’t see. In front of Luca was the carbon copy Psyborg version of him, with long blond hair streaming down her back and a plump, full body. Eyelids closed, muscles relaxed, it was clear that she was still sleeping. Her beauty could even remind the beholder of the Norse goddess Freyja, of the Abyssinian goddess Ishtar. Bewildered, Luca almost stepped backwards and fell over as he marveled at the sight of this close-to-perfection creation.

“Have you named her?”

“I thought I’ll just let her proceed the same way I let Fulgur and the other guys name themselves. But…” Turning briefly to look at Luca, Shu added, “... with how alike you she is, I might call her Lucy.”

“Lucy?”

“Nah, just joking.”

“You have a point though. She does look like my twin…” Luca softly remarked after a few minutes of silence. “Pog! But when are you going back? Are you going to stay in the lab tonight?”

“Cook us something, will you?”

“What do you want for dinner? I can gladly make anything for you.”

“Something… hearty. Something we haven’t had in a while.”

Luca knew just what he wanted to make. Pulling Shu in a big, hearty hug, Luca gave his boyfriend a loud smooch on the cheeks before finally releasing him from his hold.

“Alright, you go home first and be careful.”

That was enough to make Luca happy. As soon as the golden shimmer of his hair disappeared behind the closed door, Shu turned his back to the door, his hand squeezing the skin on the Psyborg’s slender arm. This shall be my last invention known to the world.

****

“How much do I have to pay you?” Luca was prepared to pay Shu double, or even triple the price he had in mind. With just a swipe with the little piece of plastic he had in hand, Shu could begin his new inventions without having to worry about any financial problem.

“No Luca, she’s yours, free of charge.”

“Just… completely free? Like that? Surely there has to be another way that I can pay you…”

“No. She’s free.”

Taking off his goggles, Shu turned to face his lover:

“Luca, listen… we need to talk.”

Luca didn’t like the sound of that. The look on Shu’s face suggested something bad. Unbearable, probably. Just as he tried to move in closer to touch Shu’s face, the scientist quietly stepped back lightly with his head hung low. It was hard for Luca to get a proper look at his lover’s expression, but he could somewhat anticipate it from the way light was hitting against his face.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t. I did, and that’s the reason why I want to end things with you now.”

“Hey, w-what do you mean “end”? You’re joking right, Shu? C’mon, we can talk about this.” Worried, the young blonde tried to have his boyfriend looking at him in his face, but Shu was so cold that it even made him shiver a bit and had to eventually back down. This was not the Shu he was used to. It was the first time in years when Luca actually had to take a closer look at his lover

“I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m breaking up with you.”

“What? Shu, you must be joking right? There’s no way…”

“And because we’re breaking up…” As Shu turned his back and walked away from
Luca, his words slowly got louder “... I will no longer be relying on your funds. I will also be pulling out my ownership of the company.”

“You can’t be serious about this! What’s wrong? Talk to me, and we can figure this out!”

The scientist turned to look at his lover, the one he’d held so dearly for so long. Seeing his puppy-like face only drove him even madder than he was, but Luca just didn’t seem to notice this. His eyes were as happy as ever, like there had never been an ounce of worry in them. Biting down on his teeth, it was obvious that Shu’s short and ruthless reply quickly became a huge turn-off for Luca:

“No. We can’t. My existence will do nothing but hinder you from what you should achieve… We should separate. Please go home, Luca.”

A few days later, Luca received some unwanted news from the laboratory. Shu had quitted, leaving only the contracts behind. Taking the Psyborgs with him, everything played out as if he’d vanished from the world. In the wreckage of his creations, the mad scientist had disappeared for good. Whose good was it for, nobody was sure, and Luca was the only one who remained with a broken heart. He might haven’t been the loser in that game of love with Shu, had he been cruel enough to quickly forget just like with every other instance before.

And just like that, doctor Shu Yamino had completely abandoned the Psyborg Research facility and the Psyborg development scene as a whole. No one had heard of him ever since - aside from the countless rumours, that is. Some said the man was ashamed of his final creations, others said he’d decided to step back from the business scene after selling the technology to the world’s biggest manufacturers. Before finally fleeing from the world, Shu had made sure to deliver Luca’s custom-made Psyborg, which was also the last one of the first ever Psyborg line to be created - LuxNox.

Luca wasn’t sure what to feel about this sudden gift. Being given to him, completely free of charge as a way to atone for what her creator had done to him, the Psyborg just seemed too good to be true. Or too painful, he couldn’t decide which one between them. When Shu sent the Psyborg in, he’d made sure to give him the full instructions on how to activate, how to deactivate, and how to perform maintenance on her. With that, the young leader of la famiglia Kaneshiro started his first steps on legally owning a Psyborg.

First, he gotta activate her. After taking her Soph (heart) out and record his voice into it for the voice recognition function, the mafia boss carefully placed it inside her chest, blushing all the while. To his surprise, Lucy’s skin was delightfully cool to the touch.

After a few blinks, the Psyborg opened her lively violet eyes. Luca was so drawn into her ethereal beauty that he forgot that she was already awake and aware of her surroundings. Trying to break the awkward silence between them with a friendly greeting, Luca reached out a hand to her:

“Hello, Lucy… It’s nice to see you. I’m Luca Kaneshiro, and I’ll be your master from now on.”

“Hi Luca. It is my pleasure to serve you."

It was then that Luca realized he’d never actually seen Lucy’s eyes since their first meeting. They were designed to resemble his eyes but somehow, they seemed oddly alike to the violet hues in Shu’s eyes. Quietly, he pulled her into a hug, burying his face into her shoulder as he squeezed her tight. As for Lucy, she was surprised by the sense of unknown familiarity he gave. Someone might have hugged her like this before she was given to Luca. Shyly, the girl started to wrap her yet-to-be-warm arms around her master, cradling him as they embraced. Softly, she placed a kiss on Luca’s cheek to ease him up as soon as she saw a single crystal droplet falling from his eyes.

“I’m here with you. If you ever feel like crying, you can cry to me.”

Those comforting words were magical - they prompted Luca to completely give in and act the way he wanted in front of the Psyborg. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried like this, but Lucy felt so much like home that he couldn’t hold back anymore. He was glad that she was there. Completely holding Luca in her arms, patiently Lucy waited for her new family to get things sorted while also sharing his emotions. This was her job - emotionally-available Psyborgs must be able to handle their master’s mentality, both when it’s good and when it’s bad. But she knew there was something more - deep down, the urge to help Luca let his emotions out came from a feeling of familial love.

“Hey. Welcome home. Let’s live together happily.”

*****

As Shu was cleaning up some of the old stuff from his laboratory, his personal Psyborg, one with ash brown hair walked in. His aviator glasses, shaded with orange, made it quite hard to figure what could be hiding in those blue eyes of his. Not even turning his back, Shu called out:

“Mysta. There you are, I was just about to call you.”

“Do you need help, Shu?” The Psyborg, named Mysta Rias, replied.

“Yeah. Take these boxes outside for me, will you?” Shu’s finger was pointing at an array of boxes full of instruments and substances that were used in the making of his Psyborgs. “Tomorrow the garbage truck will come to collect them, and you don't wanna miss it.”

“Aren’t you using them? These equipment still look new… such a waste.”

“No, I’ve already sorted out what I needed to work with. And donating these blindly would just be too risky, better terminating them all at once.”

“Then what about…”

“Hmm?”

“What about… Luca’s old room?”

Shu almost dropped the tape in his hand. Contemplating, he sighed:

“Just leave it be. When we move to our new place, I’ll… pack his things up.”

Mysta gave his owner one last glance, before heading outside to put out the trash. Right, Shu had never really gotten over Luca… And it wasn’t like he told him about it, either. The only way the Psyborg managed to find out about his master’s ex-boyfriend was through a housecleaning session, when he dug up some old stuff from the cupboard to reorganize it.

As Mysta woke up in the middle of the night thirsty for a cup of water, he could feel the weight not only in his throat, but also of something pressing on his stomach. It was Shu, cuddling up against him. Burying his face in Mysta’s back, he squeezed him in tighter as the Psyborg shifted to move out of the bed. His long, slender fingers clinging on to his very own creation even in his sleeps, murmuring something Mysta couldn’t hear. His lashes fluttered - he couldn’t bear to leave the scientist alone. But his throat was still thirsty, and staying here with Shu would only make it even more dry. He had to decide - to get water and quench his thirst, or to stay in bed and allow Shu to hold onto him just a bit longer.

Eventually, Mysta settled on the latter. He would wake up early tomorrow morning for a big glass of water to make up for tonight.

At breakfast, no one mentioned last night’s incident. Shu was pretty much full of energy, as opposed to his bedmate - who was staring at his eggs and bacon with a blank expression.

“Shu…”

“Yes, Mysta?”

“Do you want to sleep together tonight?”

“Hmm? No. I’ll sleep alone tonight, thank you. Yo go ahead and sleep first.”

The answer puzzled Mysta and also vexed him quite a bit. Just yesterday, Shu was still clinging onto him, so that sudden change didn’t make much sense to him. Or could it be that he was embarrassed to admit that he had clinged onto his Psyborg? Eventually, Mysta had to give up on trying to guess the intention behind his master’s actions. He’d rather put his time in enjoying the moment for the best of it, not for fretting over every little thing. When those thoughts did come back though, he would beat himself for it.

Mysta knew he wasn’t the first creation - on the contrary, he could very well call himself Shu’s youngest child. Being created when Shu had abandoned most of his prior projects to live a peaceful life in the shadows, Mysta was the one Shu gave all of his affections to. He could never quite understand

****

Vox was surprised to see the changes in the Yamino household - greeting him this time was a completely unfamiliar face. Unlike last time, Shu had made himself a new Psyborg, who was in charge of greeting the guests. With ashy brown hair and large, inquisitive doe eyes with long soft lashes and round cheeks, Vox could quite confidently say that although the Psyborg wasn’t as much of a hunk as Shu’s first creation, he was possibly one of the cutest ones. Nonetheless, it surprised him to see that the scientist himself, who’d abandoned his ideas, actually still clung onto it.

“Hello, Shu.”

“How did you manage to find my new place?”

“I have quite a few useful connections.”

“... I see.” Shu’s eyes suggested a sense of defeat.

A beat. In an attempt to ease up the tension, Vox continued:

“I think Luca could just manage the same thing. He just didn’t want to do that to you. I’m not like him though, plus I have my reasons to rely on you later on.”

“… Ike, right?”

“Yeah.” Knowing he couldn’t possibly lie to his friend, Vox exhaled deeply. His long, black lashes dropped, partially covering his warm honey-butter eyes. Even Shu couldn’t resist the urge to come over to softly rub his back.

“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll do my best to cure him.”

Shu wasn’t the type to easily back away from things. But still, it baffled even Vox when he learned of his friends’ now strained relationship. He’d seen everything - the way Shu used to look at Luca when their affections were buried deep in their hearts, how Luca talked about Shu so proudly, the laughter they shared, each and every little act of service they perform for each other… Their lives had been woven so deeply since childhood that it felt wrong to think otherwise.

One thing Vox didn’t know was that Shu had merely saved him from having to acquire the knowledge that Ike was merely a byproduct of his invention. He blamed himself more than anyone else for the creation of Ike Eveland himself - his technology, his ideas, his material… and the reason why he fell into such a state was also because of him. No matter how he looked at it, he would always be the biggest hypocrite of all. Advocating for a future where the lives of people from all classes would be made easier, he had to watch as his empire of emotional intelligence brought only slow-burning havoc to the table. He was the one who brought the poisoned turkey to the Christmas dinner.

****

Mysta was tasked to help Shu tidy up the workspace for future projects - by the time he realized it, the laboratory was already a mess. Sleepless nights after sleepless nights had led him to neglect the habit of cleaning. As they busied themselves with the tedious work, Mysta had decided to put on some TV to entertain. It was fine when the news first started.

“Oh, I simply don’t vibe with those who want Psyborgs to completely take care of their emotions and day-to-day communications! I don’t want to rely on my Psyborgs too much, you see, and that is because not being able to communicate was actually a huge flaw that our former generations have talked about, yet we’re still repeating…”

That distinctive out-of-breath voice blasting on the speaker forced Mysta to take a glance at the TV he only turned on as background noise to work in Shu’s workshop. The blonde man shown on the projector was none other than the person Shu used to gaze at so lovingly while he secretly held his picture frame. Mysta didn’t realize his master had stopped working just to watch the man being interviewed with him. That was until Shu eventually spoke up, startling him:

“Mysta, turn off the TV please.”

“But it’s Luca…”

“Yes, I know. Turn the TV off, please.”

Mysta had done a few brain scans on Shu, technically (since it was originally the scientist’s idea to perform that on himself as a test subject). Shu’s memories about Luca had always been somewhat of a mix between delight and anguish, usually being shown in the form of a rom-com film that would have a terrible twist that came in the climax and ended the film abruptly right at that moment. Mysta thought it might be just him who thought of it that way, but he would later discover that might not be the case after a chat with none other than Vox, when he came in to check on Shu.

“Shu’s awake, but he’s headed outside to grab breakfast for both of us now.” Mysta said while leading the way for Vox into their living room. “I’m sorry we don’t have much to do here, as of now. Would you like some tea?”

“What a shame, because I’ve bought breakfast for you both,” Setting down his brown paper bag, Vox comfortably sat down on the lounging chair. Mysta went over to open the bag and see its content - there was an array of breads, pastries and some donut rings, Shu’s favourite. He glanced at Vox and watched every movement of his, trying to learn and analyze his expression.

Sensing Mysta’s curious gaze pinning on him, Vox couldn’t help but burst out a laughter which was then followed up by a question:

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, I was just thinking what do you know about Shu.”

“What do I know about Shu? I know a lot, ‘cause we have been friends since childhood. What do you wish to instigate me about?”

“What exactly is his relationship with Luca?”

That question was certainly out of Vox’s expectation - for quite a while, he sat still to reflect carefully on his answer. There was a lot for him to talk about when it comes to Shu and Luca, his dearly beloved childhood friends. But if he were to put wrong ideas into Mysta’s head, sure as hell they both wouldn’t forgive him. He was still in the process of learning - something that took a longer time than Alban and Fulgur due to how his emotional maturity affected him. The Psyborg who was allowed to stay by the inventor’s side was even less of a perfection than Fulgur in everyone’s eyes, but to Shu there was none other who could replace Mysta.

“I can give you a brief description, not an exact one. But… for a long time, Shu and Luca used to be head over heels with each other. There was not a man who could love Luca any more than Shu did and vice versa. For the longest time, they were the invincible power couple. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. After that, they had a fallout, and that’s where we are now.”

“They haven’t talked to each other ever since?” Mysta’s curiosity peaked as his face came close enough for Vox to count his lashes. Slightly pushing the Psyborg away, the latter continued:

“Not yet. Everyone knows it would have been better if they could just put their ego aside, but some things are easier said than done. I’m sure you know that too, Mysta. It might take a while until they could start talking to each other as friends again.”

“Even though Shu had once considered Luca his whole world…” Mysta’s words left both of them in a melancholic state until Shu eventually came home with his own bag. They had their meal afterwards, though in Vox’s case he was only having some tea as he watched the Psyborg-owner duo do their thing and reminisced about what had happened between all of them. Vox had gotten used to checking on both Shu and Luca as a habit. He knew they could take care of themselves, but the heir of the Akuma family couldn’t help himself. Luca was more of an airhead than Shu, but the fact that he was cut off of his life so abruptly did leave him more than just a single man.

Their wounds could never heal and never did they see each other’s face ever again, but their lives went on until one day, when a panicked Uki Violeta came to find Shu to seek help for a problem caused by his very own mistake, and that was when he realized everything had gone back to square one. He caused all of it, so now he had to be in charge of fixing everything.

But unlike last time, he wasn't going to do it alone.