Disclaimer: Yui doesn�t own Chobits or Angelic Layer.
Forever Yours
By miyamoto yui
Part 11 � Probability and fact overturned by intensity.
�I didn�t expect anything less,� I smiled to myself as I said my thoughts aloud to the maid.
I nodded my head understandingly and thanked the maid. I closed the doors behind me and turned around to my grandmother.
Grandmother, who was sitting behind her desk, nodded her head with an all-knowing smile on her lips and hands folded. �Have a seat, Minoru-kun.�
�No thank you, Grandmother.� With a polite shake of my head, I walked up to her desk and planted my hands on the cold wood. �I will be leaving shortly.�
�Minoru-kun, I know what you�ve come for,� she calmly told me as she patted my left hand with a sorrowful face.
�So, please grant her to me,� I answered in exasperation. �I don�t want anything else if she taken away from me.�
With tears in my eyes, I squeezed my grandmother�s cold hand. �I don�t want to lose another person. It hurts so much��
At that moment, I let go as I went on my knees and bowed my head toward her. �Please give her back to me, Grandmother.�
�Minoru-kun�� The tough exterior that my grandmother gave even in emotional matters all these years was crumbling as her voice became even more grave. �I didn�t want to hurt you in any way. You are my favorite grandchild. And you understand me the most, both as an adversary in business and as a person.�
She got up as I found her kneeling to me and hugging me. �Please don�t remind me of your late father�s broken hearted face�
�Your sister had begged in this same manner before us�� she started off.
I held back my breath as my eyes opened. �Onee-san?�
My eyebrows twitched as my eyes wandered from side to side in confusion. Grandmother held my shoulders as we both got up. Looking into my eyes, Grandmother told me, �Before her last Angelic Layer tournament, your sister bowed like you did. She asked your father and me for permission to live with Sai.�
�She had?�
I didn�t know�
That�s how close they were�
�Sai didn�t know about any of this until your sister�s heart failed. She was going to tell Sai after the tournament, but it was never to be.� Grandmother�s hands cupped shakily onto my cheeks. �I didn�t want your heart to break too�with mine also��
�Then please let me know where Yuzuki is. I know she was here.� I closed my eyes in great pain as I gulped and looked deeply into my grandmother�s eyes. �I know she had to come here��
My grandmother shook her head as she smiled wistfully. �You must be connected by the red thread of fate��
She let go of my face as she said, �She was here.�
�Where is she?� The restlessness inside of me was taking over as I placed my hands on my grandmother�s shoulders. �I have to find her before it is too late.�
�She came her saying, �If there is a way to make Minoru happy without me causing him pain, please tell me.� Yuzuki knew that one day I would come to get her if she got in the way of the family.�
I sighed with nothing to say.
That�s why I had wanted to disown myself first�
�Yuzuki came here freely to save your future, don�t you see?� my grandmother tried to explain as I shook my head with a response of, �No��
�The poor child bowed her head and told me, �He is better off without me.�� But at that moment, my grandmother�s eyes became soft as she said, �But that�s not true, isn�t it?�
She began to cry. �When a persocom thinks that the logical reason is to �disappear� when you cause the one you love and serve pain.�
�Grandmother�� I sighed in bewilderment.
�Tell me this is not true, Minoru-kun�� Her eyes blinked at me with tears. �Prove to me this isn�t the way of the world��
She continued while placing her hands firmly onto my elbows. �You can defy it. I couldn�t do it, but you can, Minoru.�
�I�I don�t understand what�s going on�� I blinked at my grandmother.
For the first time, I had seen her vulnerable and weak�
�I couldn�t die off without seeing you happy,� she told me. �I�m holding on while my batteries are letting me��
Batteries�?
Wha�what is going on?
My eyes opened wide. �What did you say?�
Almost ashamed, my grandmother pushed her hair over her ear like a young girl with a disease of the skin. Just like Yuzuki, there was a port�
�Grandmother???�
�I�ll tell you later when it�s time.�
At that moment, she pushed me away. �You don�t have much time, Minoru-kun. While Sai is dissuading your Yuzuki, you�ve got to get to her.
�Before she goes berserk because she doesn�t know who she wants to be.�
Grandmother stood tall again as she let her long, meshed black and white hair fall on the sides of her face once more.
I nodded my head as she encouraged, �Tell her that disappearing makes the problem worse than better. And prove to me that the world is wrong when it comes to our kind. Probability isn�t always the best solution.�
She then kissed me on the forehead and I turned around with my head up high.
But even grandmother didn�t know where Yuzuki was�
What else could I rely on?
I blinked my eyes as if concentrating in seconds while walking outside of the house. �Where would you be with Sai Nee-chan?�
They could be anywhere�
As I walked out of the front entrance, there was someone waiting for me.
�Chii?� I asked as she nodded her head and motioned for me to get into Hideki�s car. �I�m the only one who can help you now.�
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Author�s note: Things are getting very interesting, aren�t they? ^_^
Chapter 10 -
Chapter 12