Prologue

"I’m home!" Seventeen-year-old Nobuhiko, his satchel slung over one shoulder, bent down to remove his shoes. Walking down the hall, he peeked into the living room. "Where did everyone go?"

Something tugged on his pants and he looked down. Standing there – looking at him like he was some sort of savior – was Chibi-Signal. "Ah, Chibi!" He exclaimed, picking up his robot friend and sweatdropping. "I completely forgot to change you back before I left for school…"

"Ne, ne, Nobuhiko-kun! Choco choco!" Chibi gave the teen his best set of puppy-dog eyes.

Nobuhiko smiled, chuckling a bit. "Alright! I think there’s some chocolate in the kitchen." Cradling Chibi like a doll, he made his way down the hall. But then he sneezed.

The light accompanying Chibi’s transformation engulfed Nobuhiko, a sudden breeze teasing his long ponytail. Within a few minutes it was over and Signal, startled by his unusual position, forgot to include one of his customary speeches.

Nobuhiko stumbled forward at the sudden increase in weight. Glaring, he whipped his head toward Signal. "Oi, Signal, why do you hafta be so he – " he cut off with a strangled croak as his nose brushed Signal’s cheek, startled by the unexpected contact.

He could dimly feel the heat rising in his face as he stared at Signal. ‘You know,’ a small voice whispered, ‘ with his eyes wide like that Signal really does look like a girl.

A look of sudden comprehension flitted through Signal’s eyes and a mischievous grin formed on his face. "Nobuhiko, your face is all red – ittai!" He exclaimed, wincing as he made contact with the hard, wooden floor. However, the pain was soon forgotten in favor of teasing the blushing teenager. Nobuhiko had whirled around in panic, presenting his back to Signal.

Still grinning, Signal stood up and walked over to him. Draping his arms over the teenager’s shoulders, the robot gave him a knowing, sideways look. "Ne, Nobuhiko, why are you blushing?"

Nobuhiko, his face a fierce shade of red, kept his eyes firmly planted forward. "None of your business, baka!" A vein popped on Signal’s forehead and he trapped Nobuhiko’s head in the crook of his elbow, nooging the helpless teen.

"Tell me, tell me! Who’s the unlucky girl?" Nobuhiko thrashed about helplessly, unable to break the robot’s strong grip.

"Ano…am I interrupting something?"

Both boys looked up, goofy grins on their faces. "Elara-san!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Signal lay underneath a tree, staring at the night sky with a serious expression on his face. The memory of a blushing Nobuhiko caused him to chuckle. ‘Nobuhiko looks so cute when he blushes…’ Signal remembered how it felt to be held by him – a feeling that would have alarmed him if not for the events of a year ago.

"Don’…call me *Yawn* don’t call me that. I’m taller than *Yawn* you are." Signal contemplated cuffing the teen on the head for a moment, but he felt too lazy to move.

"I think," Nobuhiko replied drowsily, "that…you’re lying. What…do you really…want…"

A touched disturbed, Signal stared up at the fading sun. What he really wanted? The robot could only frown as he realized he was unable to truthfully answer the question. What did he really want?

Signal smiled faintly. It had taken months, but he had finally come across the answer to Nobuhiko’s question – he had his answer now.

"Boku wa…suki da.

Authors Notes~ You know it's really discouraging when you get into a new anime/manga only to find out that out of the twenty sites you found, only five are in english! And it's such a good manga too! (From what I've seen, anyway)