Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Synthetic Emotions ❯ Phase 11: Kissing Cousins?! ( Chapter 11 )

XxXxXx

Synthetic Emotions

By: Melissa Norvell

Phase 11: Kissing Cousins?!

XxXxXx

"Ha!" Kisame shouted as she leapt out of a nearby tree and attempted to land on her unsuspecting target. The dark-haired man moved slightly to the side as his assailant smashed into the tree with a loud crash as several leaves fluttered to the ground. He gazed back her, looking quite unamused at her futile efforts and sighed.

Moments later, the determined girl tried again and made a flying leap out of the tree, and again landed on her face.

The man turned. "Honestly, we've been doing this every day this week," the black-haired man sighed.

"I'll catch you yet!" Kisame swore, holding her fist up in a ranting way.

"I'm not your prey. What do you want with me anyway?" Susumu really didn't see the point of her trying to 'capture' him as she was and to be honest, it was getting rather redundant.

"I'm here to gather information," she stated proudly and with great determination.

"You must be a rookie ninja-wannabe."

The girl glared at him at the very thought of being compared to one of her lower classmates who had fantasies of being ninja and pretended to jump through the tree and throw shirukens. She was actually serious about being a modern-day ninja and he totally mocked her.

"If you want to know about me then why don't you just ask instead of playing this cat-and-mouse game?" Susumu asked in that same cold tone.

"Like you'd tell me," the girl snorted.

"Perhaps, I am new here and I don't have any friends," he said simply and turned. Susumu began to walk away casually. It was as if nothing had truly affected him- not the fact that she was trying to catch him or anything! What a guy!

"Hey!" Kisame shouted after him, causing the tall, stoic boy to stop and cast his sights toward her. "Can you at least tell me your name?" She asked. At least it would be a start and it was a good way to gather information.

"Kikijouji Susumu, I am known as the Bird Fighter Ninja."

The girl blinked in confusion. "You're actually a ninja!? Wow!" She had felt really stupid about insulting him for telling her that she was a rookie, wannabe. Compared to him, she probably was. 'No wonder he thinks I'm stupid.' She sweat dropped. He was so cool and composed and she probably seemed spazzy to him.

"And yours?" He asked. It was only proper to introduce yourself after someone has introduced themselves.

"My name is Kisame."

"Alright, Kizame," Susumu began to walk off again before he was stopped.

"Hey, want to do something together?" The brown-haired girl ran up to him, her flipped up hair bouncing with every step.

"I have no intentions to date,” he began to walk.

"What!? I never said that I'd date you! Where did that come from!?" What kind of girl did he think she was? She definitely wasn't like her sister at all and never wanted to be confused with her either.

"Incase you were asking."

"Well, I wasn't!" She fumed with her hands on her hips. 'The nerve of this guy!' Her thoughts berated him. Before she sighed and began a sentence. "By the way…" He looked at her, his red eyes shone in a deep red against the sunlight. "Do you know a guy named Eros?"

"He's in the Sayatouya Martial Arts Club."

"Yeah, he was wondering if you'd spar with him sometime."

"Of course, he seems strong and he's definitely got the skill worth of being my opponent," Susumu stated. After all, like Asagi and Eros, he was at the top of his class and the lower level fighters were easy to defeat and boring in combat.

"Awesome! I'll be sure to tell him you said yes," Kisame beamed. This was not only a perfect opportunity to gather information, but a chance to see his skills. This man was a real ninja after all and they were very scarce in Japan. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Why couldn't he ask me himself?" The man wondered out loud. Eros did beat their teacher, so why wouldn't he have the guts to challenge him outwardly? It didn't make any sense to him, unless of course, Eros was shy.

"Well, he more like said he wanted to sometime and I decided to ask you myself," Kisame replied.

"What do you want to do?" Susumu asked.

"We can always go and practice together or eat lunch or see a movie…I don't know, you don't seem very social."

"People are an annoyance."

"What?" She didn't know whether to take that as an offense or a compliment.

"Human foolishness and the desire to punish and kill is what drive a ninja to do their jobs and ultimately die…Humanity is their own undoing," he frowned and looked towards the ground and while his face held an emotionless air, there was something sorrowful about him for that moment in time that Kisame couldn't place. The sadness caused her to go quiet for a moment as the two walked in silence for a few moments.

"You really think so?" She asked, looking to him with a small amount of sympathy in her eyes.

XxXx

Noel, Eri and Hanamei sat on a blanket, sharing bento boxes and talking about the subject of the new popular guy in school- Eros and their competition- Aroura. The girl's were sat a few feet apart from each other as they spoke to each other. Each distinct voice could be heard. Eri's was high-pitched and very catty. Noels was soft and seemed unsure and quite shy. Hanamei's was a low-toned and more mature voice compared to the other two.

"He's absolutely dreamy. Don't you think so, Noel?" Hanamei asked, looking towards the pink-haired girl in question.

"He's really not my type," Noel told the other girls in an unsure tone. She didn't know how they were going to take what she had just said, since they both loved Eros and wanted her to think highly of him.

"What?" Eris exclaimed. "You don't even think he's at least a little cute?"

"I never said that he wasn't cute, I just don't like those types."

"Do you even have a type, Noel?" Eri asked and looked to the pink-haired girl in question.

"Of course I have a type. I just don't like the type of guys you do," she told her friend, her voice doubtful but kind.

"Okay, what is your type?" Hanamei decided to pop the question.

"I like kind, sweet guys who give their women respect," Noel told them as a small smile crept to her girlish features. Simply thinking of a man like that made her blush a little. It was like a fairy-tale prince.

"Those Romeo types?" Eri arched a white eyebrow at the smaller girl.

"I guess you could call them that."

"Forget then. Give me a bad boy, tough guy any day," Hanamei smiled.

"I want someone who would protect me. I like the strong but kind men, which is exactly the man Eros is," Eri stated.

"He is always protecting Aroura though," Noel informed.

"What's so special about her anyway?" The very mention of that name made her fuming angry. "What does he see in her anyway?" She folded her arms around her well-gifted chest. Aroura was a strange, quiet girl who wasn't nearly as popular as she! She hung out with geeks and misfits for crying out loud!

"She's his cousin, or something," Hanamei replied, running her hand through her long, slightly wavy, dark hair. "So there's really no competition, Eri."

"I know but I don't want to be related to her. It'll cramp my status."

"Well at least they are cousins and not brother and sister," Noel stated.

"Thank God! I'd just die!" Eri wailed overdramatically.

"You should ask him out some time," Hanamei suggested, a little confused as to why she hadn't asked him out in the first place. Eri was always fawning over Eros, so much so that she tended to blank out and simply freeze when he walked by. It was a little off of her not to have asked him out by now, since she usually was so forward about men she liked.

"Yeah, I just have to get him away from Aroura for a few minutes." So that's what she was waiting for.

"Maybe you should just try and get close to him," Noel informed.

"What do you mean?"

"If you just ask him out of nowhere, then you'll just seem like those swooning fangirls of his and anyone who's famous knows that fans like that don't even care about you as a person they just care about how you look or how rich you are. By getting close to him you can learn things about him that other people wouldn't," the pink-haired girl told her. It was a good way to get close to him without seeming like an idiot or obsessed fangirl. She needed to show him that she was serious.

"You know, Noel, you have a good idea and I think I'll just try it." A cat-like smile crept to the girl's face.

"What are friends for?" Hanamei asked.

'Aroura is going down!' The white-haired girl was consumed with a malicious aura as her cat-like grin widened. Ideas began to grow and morph into what would be an upcoming contest for Eros' affections.

XxXx

Kisame and Susumu walked out of a noodle shop that had been across the street from their school. Susumu had thanked for the udon and yakatori that the two had eaten. Kisame stated that being in a restaurant was a lot nicer than being outside on a blanket. The black-haired man told her that he preferred being outside.

"Me too, except in the winter when it's cold and-huh?" The girl looked ahead and stopped her sentence. Interested in what she had been looking at, Susumu directed his attention towards the direction she was looking. They both saw a small girl, looking to be only thirteen in age. She had pale skin and short, black hair. Her fuku didn't look like theirs at all. She skirt was white and had a strip of navy that ran across the bottom. She wore black dress shoes and white knee socks. Her shirt looked to be a sailor that was navy with a white collar and long, red bow in front. There was a small pocket on her left breast with a crown symbol and an 'A' in the middle of it. She also wore what looked like a large, round hat with a ribbon around the middle of it. This girl was odd and had two different colored eyes. One was black and the other a jade green. Kisame wondered who she was.

"I never had seen her before," Kisame stated.

"Perhaps she's new to this school, as I am," Susumu told her.

"She's so small…She doesn't even look like she's in high school, does she?"

"Looks can be deceiving," the stoic man stated. 'I sense a strange presence about her. She's definitely no ordinary human. I'll have to do some investigations on her.' He thought as the young girl looked at the two of them and walked around the corner, disappearing out of sight.

XxXx

Eros lowered the book he had been reading and stared at Mizuki and Hyobe, who were engaged in conversation. Mizuki looked as if she was angry and Hyobe was sweat dropping when he had approached them. He could hear their conversation grow louder with each step.

"So, I punched him," Mizuki stated as she held up her fist. Then Eros had mumbled something that completely confused her.

"Kiss."

"What?"

"I think he said kiss," Hyobe was even a little confused at what he'd uttered.

"Who's he asking?" Mizuki wondered.

"What are you looking at me?" Hyobe felt a little uncomfortable at the fact that the robot had uttered such a word and he was now being stared at by the blue-eyed blonde as if Eros was talking to him about kissing something- or someone.

"He was probably asking you," her calm, collective voice said.

"But you're female."

"You look female," Mizuki noted, pointing at his mass of wavy, snow-white hair that was pulled into a low ponytail. The pretty boy looked overly offended and drew back with an over-exaggerated look of surprise on his face and ordered her to take it back. "Hey, some people are just like that."

"What is…a kiss?" Eros asked, more in the form of a question this time.

"Huh?" The blonde stopped in the middle of her conversation and looked at him in question.

"I told you he wasn't hitting on me," Hyobe affirmed.

"It depends on what kind of kiss it is," Mizuki stated before Mariko cut in.

"I can tell you about kissing. Watch! Hey Asagi!" She called for the spiky-haired man, who had been walking towards her. He turned up his nose, still angry at her about the couch incident but before he could make it past her, she turned him and gave him a sensual, passionate kiss. Surprised, he made a noise but it was captured by the short-haired girl's lips. Grey eyes watched intently as Eros studied this 'kiss'.

"Uh…okay…visuals are good…I guess…" Mizuki said, not really expecting Mariko to do something that unexpected.

"What the hell was that about?" Asagi blushed as he broke their kiss.

"I was showing Eros what a kiss was," Mariko stated.

"Well, you shouldn't go kissing people. You might go stealing someone's first kiss," Asagi fumed. She had some nerve to treat him like every other man she's slept with.

"Like that was your first kiss."

Asagi's cheeks flushed a burnt red as he turned his head away. "No but I haven't been kissed in a long time," his voice turned out a bit shyer then he had intended. For that he cursed himself.

"Gathering data…I must go and gather more input on this kiss," Eros said lowly to himself as he walked away.

Mizuki watched him leave. "Okay, does anyone think he's being stranger than usual today?"

"Well, aside from trying to open a soda can the wrong way not really," Hyobe stated.

"What?" Mizuki was confused. There was really only one way to open a can of soda so how could one open it the wrong way? It had a tab. You pull the tab and punch in the perforated mark. You drink the soda. It seemed simple enough.

"Well, he pulled the tab off of the soda and then tried to think it, even though it wasn't open," Mizuki sweat dropped at his explanation. "I had to teach him how to open it." The white-haired boy then sweat dropped in return.

"I really don't know about him sometimes," Mizuka could hear a sharp 'hmpf' as Asagi quickly exited the conversation and tried to put as much distance as possible between he and Mariko, who was following him.

"It's not like I meant it like that. Jeez, we're just friends," Mariko tried to explain.

"So don't do that," Asagi refused to look at her.

"You act like you still hate me."

"You did that guy on the couch while you were supposed to be taking care of me," Asagi replied coldly.

"You act like I never tried to make it up to you and you know what? Maybe that kiss was just trying to express it further," she was a little upset that it didn't turn out the way she wanted it to. Instead, Asagi just asked like she had violated him and it wasn't like that at all! It made her so angry that it was the only emotion she could show him at the moment. The spiky-haired man was silent.

XxXx

Eros and Aroura walked together as he read and she simply looked around at the scenery. Since he'd been reading she didn't think it would be too polite to talk to him. He might lose his page or train of thought. Besides, reading was a good way for him to possibly gain back some of the vital information that he'd lost. After what seemed like an hour, she'd finally gotten curious enough to wonder what the Syntacom had been so engrossed in and finally asked him what he was reading. He told her that the name of the book was called Expression of Love. The girl blinked and asked him why he was reading a book like that.

Then Eros did something that she didn't expect. He turned to her and called her master, stopping and holding the book downward with a finger marking his place. Aroura stopped and looked at him with innocence in her eyes and asked him what he wanted. Before she could think she was touching those synthetic lips with her own in a gentle, unsure and slightly shy kiss from the robot. Her red eyes widened and she blushed as a mix of emotions surged through her. She could feel butterflies rise fourth from the pit of her stomach and fly around within their caged, bouncing around within their fleshy sanctuary.

'What is going on? Why is he kissing me? Maybe it's innocent like the sauce incident. Yeah…messing with my head. He's just a computer, right? No matter how human he is, he doesn't really have emotions…does he?'

Her thoughts ended as Eros pulled away from the kiss slowly. Aroura's thoughts flew past her head at 100 mph as she was desperately searching for something to say to him.

"I am very fond of you, Master."

"Do you have to call me master?" She asked, it seemed like he was her slave or something!

"But you are my master," he blinked, confused as to why she wouldn't want to be called his master. It was a very endearing term to him. It showed his loyalty and her importance to him. He really didn't see what was so wrong with it.

"Why did you kiss me anyway?" She asked, trying not to show what she really felt. Aroura didn't want him to see her confusion and dismay.

"The book read that if you're fond of someone then you can show them by kissing them," he explained. He had a feeling that he was registering some sort of anger from his master, or that he would be scolded again. He was only trying to show her that he cared about her.

"What are you trying to say?" She asked, confusion leaking out.

"I'm fond of you," his eyes were soft as they reflected the sunlight. Even though they weren't real, they were dazzling against the sun's rays. They even seemed kind.

'Why do I have a strange tingle when he says that?' Aroura wondered, and then replied. "Eros, you only kiss people that you love."

"Love is a feeling of fondness, right?" He asked. The question was almost too innocent…and yet, he seemed to know what he was talking about all the same. Aroura had no choice but to nod in response. He was right but a part of her didn't want to believe what she was feeling. They were similar to the feelings any high school girl would have when they were crushing on a boy that they liked. There was no way! She couldn't love a machine! There was no way that she was a Technosexual! (1) Her expression saddened. She didn't want to hurt Eros in any way, but she couldn't deal with his growing feelings for her. She had to tell him in some way that she wasn't attracted to him.

Now was as good of a time as any.

"You're a machine, Eros. As nice as it would be, you can't feel any emotions. I can't fall in love with you," she stated, all while looking at the ground. She couldn't bear to see his reaction.

"Machine?" He questioned, confused.

"You look like a human but you're not. We don't feel or see the same things," she explained.

"I can reproduce certain emotions- joy, anger, surprise and sorrow," Eros had emotions. He didn't really see how they weren't similar to humans. He could feel any emotions that a human could feel. Why did his master doubt him?

"I can't!" Aroura said in an outburst of sorrow and disbelief! "Eros, I can't love a machine! There's no way!"

"Master…" The robot went a little wide-eyed, and then looked down. "Registering sorrow…"

That simple phrase caused the girl to feel immediate guilt. "Oh, don't say that…" She herself felt like crying for some reason. "Look, I just…I'll see you later…" She took a few steps forward. "Besides, we're supposed to be cousins so you shouldn't kiss me like that. People will think we're incest."

Eros watched her leave, not noticing that Noel had been a few feet away and had noticed the whole thing. Noel didn't know what to think but she knew that Eri would definitely not like what was going on. The pink-haired girl dreaded telling her the news.

XxXx

"Did you see them kiss?" Noel asked. "Eri won't like this for sure."

'She'll hate Aroura even more now, I just know it.' She thought. As soon as Noel's thoughts had ended she heard the shrill voice of Eri exclaim 'what' in an overdramatic voice. It was just as she'd thought.

"Gross, are you sure?" Hanamei replied, not quite sure of what to believe but she knew that Noel wasn't the type to spread propaganda.

"That's what I saw."

"No way! No way are they kissing cousins! It just can't be! It had to be a mistake!" It just had to be!" Eri wailed.

"Are you absolutely sure that they kissed?" Hanamei asked, trying to get the story straight but Noel nodded. She didn't waiver from anything. 'This isn't good. Eri is totally flipping out here.'

"It isn't true!" Eri said in a fit of denial. "It just isn't!" There was no way that this could happen! Eros was entirely too attractive to love his own cousin like that!

XxXx

Aroura stood in front of the school, waiting for Eros. She asked where he was to herself as her mind still reeled in thought over the kiss. She didn't mean to be so harsh on Eros and a part of her was still confused from what she felt. There were so many things to take into consideration. She felt so many things- denial, pain, sorrow, and something else…could it be love? But wasn't falling in love with a machine wrong? How could you love something that had no real feelings for you back? It was just a machine. It wasn't alive at all. There's no way that it could be normal.

She sighed. 'I hope I didn't hurt him by saying what I did earlier but I freaked out. I didn't mean to say it and I know he's confused and doesn't remember anything….I feel horrible and I hope he'll forgive me.'

Eros walked out of the building and came towards her with Hyobe and Sonata, who told him their good-byes. The new student was exiting a few feet away from him and caught his eye. He told her his greeting.

"Hello, I am new here. Would you like to talk with me?" The girl had a mature voice for someone who looked so young. Eros liked to talk to new students so he nodded in response as they walked together. "This school is charming, isn't it?" The girl asked.

"Yes, it is…" The robot replied. His voice seemed a little down.

"You seem hurt," the girl stated.

"It's nothing," Eros shrugged the matter off. He didn't want to trouble her with his minute feelings.

Aroura walked the opposite way of the other students, looking for Eros. "I hope I can find him." She said as Hyobe walked by her. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he glanced down to see the black-haired girl. He told her hello and she asked if he'd seen Eros. The pretty boy told her that he'd been talking with him earlier and stated that he'd probably be coming over towards them. She thanked him and walked away with a worried expression.

'I wonder what's wrong with her. Come to think of it, they were both acting strange…I hope they are alight.' Blue eyes watched the girl as she blended in to the mass of students.

Finally, after looking for about ten minutes, she caught sight of him. "Hey! I see him…but who's that with him? Isn't that the new girl from earlier?" Aroura had remembered that she'd seen her as well.

The girl saw Aroura and decided that she should end her conversation with Eros. "It's getting late. I must go. We shell speak again."

Eros nodded and told her good-bye. She said good-bye in response and walked forward. She and Aroura passed each other, which caused the girl to look back at her. Still walking, she failed to pay attention and ran straight into the Syntacom's chest. Upon the realization that she'd smacked into someone she apologized but didn't get to finish her sentence before she realized who it was.

"Master I-"

"I'm sorry for saying what I did when you kissed me. I was just frustrated. Please don't feel sad."

"I thought you didn't want me."

"Why would I not want you?" Aroura looked straight into the robot's eyes, hoping that he could see the emotion she felt for him.

"You acted displeased," Eros looked down.

"I didn't mean to. I really like you, Eros," she reached up and wrapped her arms around him. After a few moments of silence, he hugged her back.

"I like you too, master," he said in a low voice. 'But there seems to be so much more to it then that…'

Behind one of the nearby buildings, the new student was speaking into a head set with a long mouth-piece. "Sir, I have sighted the 07 Syntacom. Yes, I'll continue to keep surveillance over him until otherwise instructed." She replied in a serious tone and glanced at the hugging pair. 'I look forward to battling against you, 07 Model Eros.'

To Be Continued…

NOTES:

1: Technosexual- Yes, this is an actual term for people who are turned on by machines. It seems our Aroura is denying the fact that she may be in this category of people.