-Chapter 63: That One Person, You
**This chapter contains spoilers for the show. Continue on if you can careless for spoilers**
"Here he is. He's been here the entire time since he got found," Isamu tells me, pointing ahead in the giant room. "Not like I should be showing you him. About his voice...it is a bit messed up for whatever reason. At least he is in mint condition on the outside. Maybe you can help us get information from him about whatever he is possibly hiding from us."
"Mint condition? You mean refurbished, right?" He got repaired to what appears to be an almost perfect state, so that certainly makes him refurbished. That is...that is if he really is him. "And you think I can help you guys? That's pretty dang doubtful with how he is."
I look ahead, my eyes landing on a familiar figure, and I gasp. He really is alive! Horobi! I don't know what to feel right now. Should I be happy or should I be freaking out?
"Can I go to him?" I ask as Horobi sits there, not staring at us.
He looks pretty much the same as he did before. So, he really was refurbished like an iPad for sale on the internet, huh? That's neat. I wonder how someone managed to get their hands on him and do that.
"I give you permission to as long as I stay in this room. If you send me out, you'll have to stand up here. I can't risk you letting him go despite knowing that you wouldn't dare to." He's right, I wouldn't dream of it.
I nod and hop over the railing, landing a bit close to Horobi. He lifts his head up a bit, eyes scanning the room. He's just so cute in that stray jacket. I wish I could get a picture of this because it honestly is super adorable.
Horobi looks at me as I move closer to him, no emotion on his face. I haven't seen him since that day when he got 'destroyed' by Isamu. I see that they fixed up him. Did Gai have something to do with repairing Horobi? Yes, he certainly did and maybe Yua helped. And she didn't tell me he was alive?
I lean in a bit and place my hands on his face, cupping his cheeks. "I see that you're okay," I say lowly. I am so glad that nothing is wrong with him and he seems to be fine.
"Gross," Isamu says, coughing a bit. He doesn't need to voice his disgust towards my feelings towards Horobi. I already know how he feels about it.
I turn my head a bit, looking over my shoulder at Isamu as he leans against the wall. He shrugs his shoulders, acting innocent. I know he said. He's the only person in the room other than me and Horobi.
"How is the married life treating you? I don't see a ring," Horobi asks, his voice is a bit off like Isamu said it was. I can tolerate his voice because it is him. "Also, he took my chair from me."
I turn my attention back to Horobi. "I'm not wearing a ring because I don't want to be married to a tyrant any longer." At least Isamu didn't steal Horobi's chair and is letting him sit on it.
"Tyrant? Is he hurting you?"
"He locked me up in a mental institution and now I'm acting like his perfect little wife to remain out of it." I remove my hands from his cool face. "I feel strangled when I'm around him." It is like he's sucking the life out of me at home. Gai is really something.
Horobi smirks. "Perfect little wife? We all know that you're far from perfect, but that is how we all like it."
Even when Horobi reboots himself after getting fixed, he's still a jerk. Horobi is probably still hooked up to the Ark so I can't fully trust him yet. I just know he won't hurt me due to what the Ark has in it. Gai has manipulated it fully and will keep doing so now that it is alive and needing him.
"How you slept with him yet?" Now he's getting into my business. "You know how humans reproduce, right? You did that, correct?"
"Once."
"Even more gross," Isamu comments, sounding like he's holding back from spitting out more word venom. "Who would want sleep with that asshole who makes Yua act and do weird things? That guy is a huge jerk."
"It was before I figured out what he wanted and what he told me." I hate explaining this to him. "Can I whisper it to you, Horobi?"
"Go on."
I lean in towards him a bit more. "He decided my face and he knew that I would come to Japan." I hate having to reveal this to him, but I can completely trust him with that. It does him no good to know about that.
Horobi looks into my eyes, face stone cold. "Did he now? Like you needed his help in that."
"I figured out that my fate was decided by him and I don't know how it'll end. I was so confident about myself before."
I thought I could decide things for myself and the world would help pull me to what I need to do, but no. Some person is using me for his own goals. He knew what I would do and he acted like he had no clue about anything about me falling into his hands. He has been keeping from using my keys for an unknown reason.
"What about the children thing?"
"I don't want them with him. So, I'm not going to do what he wants. I've stopped the hormones to increase fertility and switch to birth control. It provides a bit of protection," I answer, keeping my voice low. "I have no choice."
He nods his head. "I feel bad for you."
"Sure you do. You don't have actual feelings, Horobi." I'm not going to state that he's being used by Gai because of the Ark. How is the Ark not hurting me in the first place? Is it really how Gai said it was?
"I do not like seeing you unwell, Mari."
"He decided my face, Horobi. This face...I didn't get a choice in it." And I'm starting to want to hate it like my old face. Can I get the other one back like Allen wanted?
I know I told the doctor any face would do, but I never said someone else could pick any face out for me. Who makes a face for someone like that? It did the job, sure, but that doesn't matter when it is screwing me over. This is worse than having Elise's face.
"I want to stab that bastard now."
"I'm afraid that you can't go around stabbing people. All your things aren't with you right now," I state. I doubt he'll be able to stab Gai when he's pulling the strings. He's a puppet.
He smirks. "Maybe you can help me."
"I can't, Horobi. He's making me his wife because I helped you out before." I shake my head. "I can't help you ever again and I'm sorry."
"But you love me."
"I know I do." But I thought he was gone for so long and my heart just can't decide on what to do right now. "You're locked up though and my hands are tied, Horobi. I can't do anything for you."
"Oh, Mari..."
I put my arms around him and embrace him, placing my head on his shoulder as I close my eyes. "Horobi, I do love you. I really do, but I can't do anything for you now. I'm in a terrible position myself."
"BLEH!" Isamu shouts, practically screaming. He sounds like he is going to vomit if I keep doing this. In that case, I want to keep making him suffer.
I feel Horobi's head against mine, touching mine lightly. He really is someone I wish to be with, but there is no way for us to ever be together. There never will be a way for us to be together unless he gets free and somehow avoids the charges against him. However, this is reality and he'll be destroyed if Gai wants him to be destroyed.
"You're worried about me. Do you worry a lot about me?" he asks me, sounding a bit curious.
"I always worry about you. I thought you died, so I stopped worrying about you for a bit. There isn't much I can do in worrying about those who are deceased."
"Can you two quit making me want to vomit? It is disgusting to think that someone can love a robot so much! He's scrap metal, Mari!" Isamu exclaims. He's handsome scrap metal.
"Says the man who keeps Mari's HumaGear at his side constantly. Does she do everything you want her to do like your perfect ideal woman?"
I pull back and look at Horobi, who is now staring at Isamu. His face has a huge smirk on it and he looks happy with himself. He really wants Isamu to come up to him and beat the crap out of him.
"Like you know anything about me, piece of junk!" Isamu shouts, trying to clap back at Horobi. If Isamu could use twitter, he would be putting clapping emojis right now with that and post it.
"Horobi, ignore him." He shouldn't have to worry about what he has to say.
Horobi turns his head a bit, looking me in the eyes. "Do you want me to give you attention? Does it suck for you that I'm giving him my attention right now?"
"I always have wanted that from you. I love it when you look at me and cherish me in your own unique way." Or whatever way Gai wants him to. I can't let Horobi know that he's not doing what the Ark wants, but what Gai wants.
"How is Jin doing?"
"I will let Isamu handle that." I lean forward and and he turns his head a bit. My lips crash against his and Isamu screams.
"Hey, I didn't say that you could kiss each other!" Isamu is probably going to come over the rail now and drag me away because of Horobi being a jerk. He intentionally did that just to make Isamu react and I fell right into it.
Horobi's lips aren't warm at all and they aren't hard like one would think a robot's lips are. His skin is a shell around the inside of him, which is the robotic part of him along with a few other things. Despite being a robot, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. He could be Gai. I don't like the idea of kissing Gai ever again.
Horobi pulls his head back and smirks even wider, looking really handsome. "Oh, my mistake, man I don't care about." He looks so sinister right now and I can't help but love it.
I feel something on my back and I fall backwards. Isamu has me by the shirt right now and he is going to keep me off of Horobi. I can't hug someone now? I didn't even come here to kiss him!
"You know that wasn't my fault right? I didn't come here to make-out with him, Isamu," I say. Not like he is going to care about what I said because he just saw Horobi laying the moves down on me. "I really had no intention of having our lips touch just now. You know that, right?"
"That pile of metal is really something, huh? How could he just do that to you when you obviously just wanted a hug!"
He's blaming Horobi for that? Good! That is what he should be doing. And a hug? Really? I just wanted to make sure he was fine.
"Oh, did that upset you? I don't care if it did since it is nice watching you suffer. How does it feel to know that someone can love a HumaGear like me romantically? She wanted to kiss me."
Okay, I can't deny wanting some form of intimacy with Horobi, but nothing like kissing. I just don't think it is right to be making moves on a HumaGear that doesn't have as many rights as I do in the eyes of the law. I also don't want to end up in prison over it. I am better off and happier with humans who don't hurt other people like Horobi does.
Isamu pulls me to my feet and I gasp. "Watch it!" I exclaim. "Seriously, you're too rough! Okay, I do want to kiss you, but not like that. I just wanted to give you a kiss on the cheek for good luck so you can get your sorry butt in order." I want to see him get free and start living life to the fullest.
"That's too good for him," Isamu tells me. "Anyways, your visit is over. You two lovebirds have had enough time together. I don't know what you see in that piece of junk, but it isn't anything I care about."
"It bothers you for her to be around me. Do you like her?" Okay, he really just likes making Isamu mad at him. I think this is payback for him hitting him with that finisher that he took for Jin.
"I don't like her because I do not have the time to like anyone!" Isamu turns to him and points his finger at him. "Shut up and sit there where you are until someone finally destroys you for good. And when she goes, you better get talking!" I bet Isamu is wishing that he did destroy him. He came so close and it didn't matter because someone fixed him up. That must suck.
"I'll go." I don't want to, but I have to.
"Take care, Mari," Horobi tells me. "And I'll talk when I need to talk." He's really something. Really, he is.
Oh, time to get going and to have a good time in my life. Nothing can possibly go wrong today other than a HumaGear forcing a kiss upon my precious lips. Yep, nothing!
A/n: The title of the chapter comes from an OST that I like called That One Person, You by Jessica (the drama is called Dating Agency Cyrano (I think that is the name, I might have it wrong and I still need to finish it)). I love that song and it honestly was how I felt when I experienced my first heartbreak (from the first guy I ever truly really liked a lot. Not that I don't like other people, but I have a hard time actually liking guys in my inner circle).
Anyways, what do you think about what you found out in this chapter? Yep, Horobi is still alive and is refurbished (well, to Mari he is so we're going with it)! Horobi is one lucky evil HumaGear, huh? Do you think he'll come between Mari and anyone else? I mean, anything is possible. Maybe... ;)
And that isn't me giving spoilers, honestly I haven't gotten to any part like that yet. So don't freak out at all. Okay, you can do so but at Horobi.
Oh, I still love my Shuya Sunagawa calendar and Horobi plush (I would get an Aruto plush, but that costs tons of dollars (not really a ton, but more than I want to spend myself) and I'll just wait for Christmas so someone else can do it). For Valentine's day, I just sat down with my plush and chilled on the computer typing. Good times, good times. What a lovely date, right?
Anyways, I'll stop talking and let you all have your predictions in mind. Thanks for reading!