-Chapter 175: Love Really Really Makes Me Silly Silly
"So, what do you intend to do about Horobi and the others? With whatever is going on, we need to come up with a solution."
I look up from the papers in front of me, my eyes going straight to Nina's pretty face. "You don't think I know that we need to come up with a solution immediately? Nina, I'm trying to come up with something to solve the problem without killing anyone."
"I didn't say that you had to kill them. I'm just wondering and it seems like you won't hurt any Humagears unless you have to. You're really dedicated to them."
"I am." I nod, agreeing with her words. "Don't ask me about that again. I will not be doing anything to hurt them unless I need to." I will only aim to put Horobi down if I have to put him down.
"What did I think of Horobi when I first laid eyes on him?" That is a complicated thing to give an answer to when she doesn't really know him. "Why do you want to know about that? Is it important to know how I felt towards him?"
"I am curious about him a bit since you're interested in him. It is amazing how that he came back from dying. He isn't human, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be amazed by it. He could have came back wrong if something got ruined internally." Nina is right on that. However, nothing happened internally really to him and he's the same person he was before basically.
"I see." I look away from her and nod. "I thought he was mysterious and very cold when I met him. He wouldn't let me know if he was a human or not for some reason. I think he did it so he could keep me following his orders without getting too close to each other. It didn't matter if he wanted me in or not." I fell for him anyways.
"Cool and mysterious?"
I look back at her and nod. "Yes, Horobi used to be very mysterious then. Now that I know about him a bit more, he's not as mysterious to me. I know where he came from and what he was designed for." He would have been an amazing father to many kids if he would have gotten the chance to do so, but he ended up with Jin for a reason.
"He created his own son didn't he? I heard that he is the one who made Jin and that is because he wanted a son."
"Horobi never got over his original programming despite the Ark's wiping out his original programming. I don't think the Ark totally wiped it out due to the fact Horobi still wanted a child. Jin was created by him in order to have his own son." I think it is cute that he did that.
Nina nods her head and smiles. "I guess Jin made you two closer."
"Yeah, Jin brought us together as well. If I didn't bump into Jin, I am sure that I wouldn't have met Horobi. I am thankful for the Ark in that sense. It made me get closer to Horobi without really trying to get us closer." Horobi and Jin...they're the best thing to have came from the Ark in my life.
"I think it is neat that you love a Humagear," Nina comments, smiling softly at me. "I think that is a beautiful thing. I figured society would head this way and I wish I could find me a nice Humagear sometimes."
"You already have enough people to love in the world." She doesn't need anymore of them. "I fell for Horobi because of who he is. It isn't because he's a terrorist, but because there is more to them than that. That part of him isn't the real part of him." That is what he thought he was.
"Sometimes you need to have more than one love in your life," Nina tells me, grinning. "Seriously, you do. You love Aruto don't you? You also love Horobi, right? So, you have two men you love."
"It is a complicated situation." I didn't mean to end up loving two wonderful beings. "I thought Horobi had died and Aruto was a nice comfort to me. I'm not trying to say that Aruto is just someone I love because I thought Horobi died, alright? I cared about him before that and I'm sure if Horobi wasn't there, we would have gotten together naturally at some point."
I am pretty sure if I never met Horobi, I would have naturally paired up with Aruto. He would have been someone to turn to after everything I experienced with Allen. Of course, I'm sure Gai still would have inserted himself into things and forced me to get with him.
"Don't forget Gai. If Gai didn't marry you, you wouldn't have had to wait so long to be with Aruto. It is a shame you two broke up."
"Everyone appears to know about that kind of thing. Jin is the only one left out of that loop and I'm sure it is for the better that way. I don't want him disliking Aruto for it because Jin is biased towards Horobi naturally." Horobi's his father, so he would want to be on his father's side.
Despite Jin wanting to kill Horobi for the sake of the world at some point, he still loved his father. He just wanted to do what is best for the world. At the end of the day, it didn't happen and Horobi seems to not care about that. Horobi just wants to be a good parent to Jin and to protect him.
"You really do love him. Your eyes light up when talking about Horobi."
I laugh. "I don't think they light up at all when I talk about Horobi."
"They so do! He has you completely whipped for him by just existing. He must be really special if he is able to do that." Nina, it isn't just Horobi that does that for me. I'm sure I light up when speaking of Aruto.
"Why are we even talking about this right now? We should be working." I want to get back to what we need to do so I don't have to focus on Horobi so much right now.
She laughs. "Mari, I just wanted to know more about how you fell in love with him. Most people don't fall for Humagears. I guess it is natural that one would grow to love one since they are among us in society."
"I feel like people will judge me for loving him sometimes. It isn't that I mind having people dislike it, but I don't want them disliking Horobi for it. Horobi didn't do anything wrong. I am the one who fell for him."
"Horobi loves you back, right?" Nina stares at me curiously. "He would save you if you were in trouble wouldn't he?"
"Horobi always has my back. He has allowed me to be Jin's mother. We're a family." We will always be connected whether we want to be or not.
"It is cute that he's making a family on his own. He looks cold, but he isn't that cold after all. I hope that he realizes that killing humans off isn't the way to go about things. I assume that he's paranoid about the Ark coming back and possibly harming everything that he cares for."
I look down and nod. "Yeah..." She gets it unlike most people.
I am glad that she's not misunderstanding me right now and thinking I'm odd. Most people would think I'm odd for even being around someone like Horobi the way I am. Most wouldn't dare to be a family with a Humagear. Most of them don't see them as a person and I can understand why, but I don't like that kind of thinking. Humagears are like people and can grow into their own free person.
"I don't think he knows any healthy way of how to deal with things. Mari, he is definitely someone who will explode if he gets harmed in any way. Try to keep anything bad from happening to him and his precious son."
I lift my head up and nod. "I will try to do that, but I can't promise that I will succeed in that matter. Anything can happen." Anything and everything is a possibility right now. Okay, not everything.
Nina smiles and laughs. "It is cute that you like him a lot. I can tell that you do from the look on your face."
"Please don't say that. It isn't cute that I do at all." There is nothing cute about liking someone right now during these times. Everything is quite tough for us right now and we need to only focus on things we need to get done.
"Mari, stop being all business right now!" Nina whines. "You're not being fun."
"Life isn't meant to always be fun." I look down, smiling a bit. "So, Nina, let's get back to work and not focus on my relationship with Horobi." She doesn't need to know too much about my relationship with Horobi right now. It isn't her business.
"Alright, bossy woman." Nina will get over this. She'll probably try getting with the VP of Hiden Intelligence later tonight and forget this conversation ever took place.
I am glad that she is able to focus on something other than my relationship with Horobi for once. It isn't something that I need to constantly think about. I love Horobi, but my entire life isn't Horobi. It is just like how my entire life isn't Aruto. There are bigger things that need my full attention right now.
I just hope we can do what we need to and put an end to this cycle of pain.
~.~
I stare at Aruto as Izu serves him some tea. It looks like it isn't too hot. I hope he doesn't burn his tongue on it. That would be tragic to have happen to him. He doesn't deserve to have bad things happen to him at all.
"Mari, would you like some tea?" Izu asks me, finally speaking to me again. The only time she spoke to me earlier was when she greeted me and checked on how I was doing.
I shake my head as my lips curve upwards into a soft smile. "No, I'm good for now. Bring me some water please. I might have some of that soon." I am in the mood to drink some plain water at this time.
"How did your Halo Horizons meeting go?" Aruto asks me. "And yes, bring her some water, Izu. She could really use some. Thank you."
"I will do that now. I'll be right back, Aruto," Izu tells him as she turns away, heading towards the exit of the room.
"My meeting went as expected, Aruto." Nina was getting into my love life. "So, Aruto, how is it going here? How are things for you?"
Aruto picks up his tea cup and stares at me, his eyes warmer than they've been recently. "Everything is going well so far here. I was hoping that we would get some intel on how to handle Horobi."
"But you didn't."
"Yeah, I didn't." He nods. "I wish that would could somehow get inside his head and put an end to what he is doing. It is a shame he was connected to the Ark for so long. He's completely brainwashed."
"Yeah..." Horobi is. "Aruto, just know he doesn't know what he is really doing. He has been taught one thing for a long time now and it has made him believe that is the only thing he should be doing. While he is aware of right and wrong, his brainwashing has completely severed ties to that region of his Horobi brain." He makes impulsive decisons because of the Ark and uses the Ark's logic still.
"You really do get him."
"I know him very well. You know that."
"I know, but I didn't want to say it in case it bothered you." He brings his cup to his lips and takes a sip of the liquid, swallowing quickly.
"It doesn't bother me too much to talk about that kind of thing." I move forward and stop in front of his desk. "So, Aruto, has Gai taught you about the current stuff going on inside of Hiden? I am sure he has something up his sleeves."
"Nope, nothing." He shakes his head. "He's been tough to deal with at times because he just wants to hang out with his robotic dog."
"That sounds about right." I wonder how things are going over at ZAIA. "Aruto, I'm truly sorry for what happened that-"
"I don't need to hear you apologize again for it." He puts down his cup. "Mari, I get why it happened. I don't blame you for it happening. You're a single woman who is allowed to explore her sexuality." Damn right I am allowed to do that.
"And you're allowed to do that as well."
"There is only one woman I want though." He smiles softly, pointing a finger at me. "You."
I turn my head as my face heats up. "Oh, Aruto..." How do I respond to something like that? So cheesy and yet so cute.
"I am back with your water," Izu's voice says, disturbing our conversation. "Is something the matter with you two?"
"It is nothing, Izu. Please give her the water quickly so we can all get back to work. We have a lot of work to do." Aruto is right on that one. We do have a lot of work to do because of Horobi's antics.
"Yes, Aruto."
I look up as Izu holds out a bottled water to me. "Thank you," I say, reaching out and taking it from her. "This means a lot to me, Izu."
"It is only a small thing to do for someone though. It is my job."
"I know it is, but it is nice that you still serve him after all we've been through as a team. You got shut down and then restarted. It is amazing how you're happy here at his side."
"It is what I want to do with my life. It is like how you want to be at his side as well." Izu...
I nod my head. "Yeah, you're right." I look over at Aruto as he stares at Izu, a weak smile on his face. It is best if I don't say anything to hurt her feelings because she'll get really protective over him having his heart crushed into pieces by me.
"Mari, let's get you back to work now." Aruto is moving this on now.
I nod my head and look at the water. "Yeah, alright."
A/n: The end of the this chapter didn't originally exist, but I'm trying to add more Aruto/Mari scenes into this story before it ends. I felt like there was too much Horobi/Mari scenes due to the storyline at the end of the series, so I am changing it a bit to have some bigger impact for a Mari storyline that will lead up to the epilogue.
Thank you for reading and enjoying this story! <3 I appreciate you all.