Ishihara Residence

Kazu closed the door gently and quickly went back to the sofa, where his computer was sitting on the coffee table. The laptop still had his PET attached, with the screen displaying a three-dimensional rendition of the Emotion Window, except the face hovering above the PET was not Oberon's, nor was it Titania's. It was a face, a blank face, a featureless face.

Seeing that the battle was nearly over, Kazu gave his Navi a chip that he thought would help, and smiled at Oberon's stubbornness as he attempted to waste the remaining Metools with only one weapon, when in reality he could've recreated the lost blade at any given time.

Jean would be home soon. Kazu decided to abandon his post as Operator one more time, this time for a glass of water and a phone call to Jean. He typed a quick message to Oberon, which would be recieved as soon as the battle was over, stood, and walked, quickly, to the corner, where he always left the house phone.

Holding the phone firmly to his ear, so that he could hear every electronic chirp, Kazu returned to the sofa so that he could keep an eye on his monitor while he waited for Jean to pick up. She was probably still in SciLabs, so there would be no problem with her picking up.

Jean sat on the curgb above the Metro, waiting for the next one to her home to come by. She was hot, though her clothing was loose as usual. Her deep purple hair swayed lightly in the almost non-existant breeze as she talked to Kitt, her new navi.

"So I figured when I go home, I should stop at the store for groceries. Somehow I don't think Kazu went to the store since he got home, so we probably don't have a lot of food in the kitchen."

Her voice was light and cheery compared to usual, but it was still soft and breathy; as it had always been.

From what you've told me about him so far, it doesn't seem like he would've. Kitt smiled at Jean. It was the same smile Jean had seen Kitt make a countless amount of times before. A smile that Jean would never see Mitsue make again.

Kitt paused before she continued. Jean, I have a question. Now, I know I shouldn't question my making, but I was just wondering. Why am I made after the fourteen year-old Kitt instead of the twenty-two year old Kitt?

Kitt's question surprised Jean, though her face showed no expression of it. Her face showed no expression at all. One solitary tear trailed down her left cheek as she was reminded of her late sister, the only family member she had always loved.

"Because I remember Kitt best from when she was a freshman. She was my constant companion, much like you are now. She had other friends, but she always came to me for everything. Every insult she ever received meant that I would sit with her and console her for the next half hour at least." Jean laughed as she remembered the Kitt's silliness. "I best remember her that way, physically at least. She never really changed mentally since she was five years old. She just became smarter. So I made you exactly like her personality was when she was twenty-two, but I made your physical appearance after what I remember best."

There was a short and comfortable silence before Jean's cell phone began to ring. The ring was a song about a man growing old and the parallels of it were comforting to Jean. In the beginning and end, the man was just "counting the ways to where you are." Kitt had given the song to her, and she used it for when Kazu called.

Jean listened to the song for a little while before she opened her flip phone and said, "Hello. I'm just waiting for the Metro."

"Hello, Jean," said Kazu happily, folding his arms as he watched Oberon seal victory in his short battle. "I was just checking up. How did the Navi come out? I remember when I went through what you did, working with them on a Navi."

Twice, he thought, but didn't add.

Jean smiled a little when she heard Kazu's voice. It had always made her smile on the inside. She had not seen him for some time, so his voice was more valuable than it had been before.

"She'll do," Jean replied in her soft voice as her hand came to rest on her laptop case. "Is there any food in the kitchen, or should I go to the store?"

"Food... uh..." Kazu felt himself blush. This happened too often for his own good.

"Yeah, could you go to the store? Get whatever you want. Thanks, Jean." Kazu felt himself press the phone closer to his ear as Oberon grew still, obviously peeking into the room through the PET. Oberon would understand, right?

"What kind is she, anyway? The Navi, I mean."

"Elec/wind." Jean's answers were almost always short and to the point. "Just like the powers Kitt always wanted." Jean fell silent again, letting herself control the rhythm of her deep breaths.

"I see."

Kazu was silent for a while, and this time the mood was anything but comfortable. Oberon looked impatient, so Kazu waved the universal "just a minute" sign at his screen.

"I'll be waiting when you get home, so I look forward to meeting her. I'll see you soon."

After a few seconds, Kazu hung up and went to the fridge for a soda, only to find that they were out of sodas. What would he do without Jean?

Jean closed the flip phone and headed down to the metro. The train was coming soon, and she couldn't miss it.

The train ride was no more than twenty minutes long, and Jean spent the time pondering Titania and Oberon. She felt a little guilty that she had made a navi independant of them, but she also felt there was some justification.

Maybe there wasn't, and Jean was just slipping away from reality. She wanted so much to have her sister back, that she made her into a computer program. Jean did not care if the rest of the world thought she was crazy or not, just as long as Kazu still loved her. If she still had Kazu, it would all work out alright. That is what she believed.

She stepped off the train and started walking towards the store that was only two minutes away from their house. She made a mental list of everything she would need to buy.

She pushed the shopping cart along the aisles, watching it slowly fill up with all the items Jean was sure that they'd run out of. Knowing Kazu all too well, she pulled off case after case of soda, hoping that they'd last through the month.

"Hello there, Jean" She looked up to see the young man that had helped her with groceries almost every trip to the store. "Would ja like some help taking those home?"

Jean nodded and said thank you while the man, Jakob, push her heavy cart up the hill and toward the house.

Kazu sat back down on the couch, enduring quite the silence from a surly Oberon. It was just as well. Neither Oberon nor Titania were much for joviality in any situation.

When the knock came at the door, Kazu quickly told Oberon that he would be right back and closed the shell of the computer; hopefully no viruses would attack while he was with Jean. He wanted to meet her Navi... and he wanted to greet her.

Jean thanked Jakob again for helping her with her groceries and put them on the cart that she had in the shed for this exact reason. She knocked on the door, not in the mood to unlock it.

She got out Kitt and started to talk to her. "You get to meet Kazu now. You'll like him, he's really nice."

Alright, her navi answered, I'm ready.

Kazu opened the door quickly and held it open, beaming, for Jean, noting with satisfaction the new PET in her hand. "Welcome home," said Kazu, pulling Jean into an embrace. "I missed you."

As soon as he released her, he glanced down at the face on the PET, and paused for a moment as he recognized the face and remembered what Jean had said about her Navi's design. "Hello there," he said, still holding Jean around the waist. "What's your name, little one?"

Jean was happy to be home, and Kitt could tell. She wasn't sure how, as Jean showed no sign of it in her face.

I'm Kitt, the Navi smiled widely at Kazu. You must be Kazu! I've heard so much about you! Kitt was genuinely happy to be meeting Kazu. He looked just as Jean discribed, all the way from his messy hair to the chain wallet.

"Kitt," said Kazu, forcing himself to keep the smile on his face. "It's a cute name. As Jean held the PET up so that they could see each other, Kazu realized just how hard Jean must have taken the death of the real Kitt. This Kitt looked exactly like Jean had described her sister, and although Kazu had only seen the real Kitt a few times while she was alive, he sensed that this electronic incarnation was the very image of Jean's late sister.

"I'd love to stay and chat," said Kazu, to Jean as much as to Kitt, "But my Navi is waiting for me. Maybe you could join us, Kitt..."

Kitt grinned and said, Okay!

Jean looked at Kazu for a second before closing her PET and asking Kazu, "Will they take it okay? I don't want them to be upset over her." Her voice was quiet, but the worry in her voice was not unheard by Kazu. She knew it wouldn't be, he was one of two who was able to hear such things.

"Well, Kitt looks willing," said Kazu, giving Jean a reassuring squeeze. "My computer can handle two PETs. Go ahead and jack-in. I miss the old days anyway."

Kazu turned to Jean and smiled, staring into her eyes for a moment before breaking away and indicating the sofa and his computer.

"Alright." Jean walked over to the sofa and looked at it. Crumbs everywhere. Had Kazu lived off this couch since he got home? She brushed off a few crumbs and sat down. "We have to clean this house," Jean stated as she plugged her PET into Kazu's laptop.

Immediately Kitt appeared on the screen, saying hello to the ghost-like figure before her.

Oberon looked alarmed as he saw Jean.

"Damn!" said Kazu as he flipped open his chip folder and picked a few out seemingly at random, sliding them into the PET's many chip slots with the speed of a seasoned expert. "Jean, use the three battlechips they gave you to Keep Kitt safe!"

Jean quickly loaded the three battlechips into the PET. "What's going on? He's not going to attack her, is he? Kitt, watch out!"

"No," said Kazu, cracking his knuckles and typing a few commands, then ripping the earpiece's connector out of the computer so that Titania and Oberon's words were audible to all. "They're not going to attack Kitt. They are." He indicated the swarm of virii in the distance.

Jean was alarmed. Virii, already? Kitt hadn't been a navi long enough to figure out what chips she had, much less know how to fight.

"Kitt, you see those things? They are virii. You need to delete them. I loaded three battle chips into the PET to help you out. This is important. Beat them." Jean's orders were simple and fast.