estoria | Candroid wrangling [Open]

Entry tags:

Candroid wrangling [Open]

Who: Eiji (

powertotearer, some little robots, and you!
When: IC 7/26
Where: Around the residential district
What: Little robot octopi don't like CYbuddies. Eiji tries to keep them under control
Rating/Warning: None

Eiji discovered something the past couple of weeks--the Tako candroids really didn't like the CYbuddies.

He couldn't figure out why, since after all, they were both small animal robots, but the problem had gotten worse after CERES kindly delivered broken fox CYbuddies to his and Ankh's apartment. Now, they were a threat.

Put simply, the candroids were jealous. And it was war.

So on an otherwise peaceful day, you might see three robot octopi chasing after various CYbuddies in the park or on the sky bridges while Eiji chased after them, with a little robot hawk trying to cut them off before they annoyed another neighbor.

"Takos, stop! Leave them alone!"

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On said otherwise peaceful day, a certain eight-year-old was mostly minding her own business when she heard a shout that startled her. And a sight that...

Okay, it wasn't the strangest thing she'd ever seen in her young life, but it almost certainly ranked in the top ten.

A small giggle escaped her nevertheless, and she rose a hand to her mouth in vain attempt to muffle the sound.

"They're awful loud," Tailmon commented beside her.

"They're probably just having fun. Playing tag or something." Though, when she looked up and saw how...enthusiastic the game was looking, her smile wavered. "I hope nobody gets hurt."

Nobody got hurt, at least, but when Eiji stepped in to protect someone's pet dragon, a spray of ink got right in his face.

"Are you kidding me?"

The Takos, in response, tried to hide behind one another, clearly trying to pin the blame on each other while Eiji wiped his face clean and Taka screeched at them.

Her jaw dropped. Oh...dear...

Glancing quickly around, Hikari realized she had no other option, so she reached up and undid the handkerchief around her neck. She held it out, tentative, as if nervous it wouldn't be accepted.

"Here. For your face."

"Huh?" And there was a little girl handing him her handkerchief, and he felt oddly guilty.

"Are you sure? It's really going to get dirty."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

And even if she did...handkerchiefs could be cleaned. At worst, replaced. It was only a piece of pink fabric.

He smiled. "Thank you. I'll make sure to wash it for you."

Once he was done wiping the ink from his face, he looked over at the sheepish Takos (who were still sniping at each other a little when he wasn't looking).

"You guys owe her an apology."

They balked for a moment, but he gave them a stern look until they finally floated over toward Hikari, bowing slightly.

Hikari's brows rose slightly as the little creatures came over to her and bowed, not having expected that. A moment later, however, she clasped her hands in front of her and offered a slight bow in return, acknowledging their apology.

At her side, Tailmon watched the girl's actions before she, too, placed her paws in front of her and bowed.

"It's alright. I promise you didn't scare me any." Thinking that was the main issue. "Are you two CyBuddies?"

That just delighted the Takos, and they circled around her and Tailmon for a minute. Even Eiji couldn't stay mad at them for long.

"Ah, no, they're called candroids. They're from my world. There's a lot of different versions, but these are the only ones my friend and I have with us."

"Ah..."

She nodded, accepting the explanation for what it was. So like CyBuddies, only with a different name and from a different place. It made perfect sense to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, little candroids." She smiled warmly, first motioning to herself and then to her companion. "I'm Hikari. And this is Tailmon."

The Takos circle around for a bit while Taka perches on Eiji's shoulder, apparently just as relieved for a break from them as he is.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Eiji."

She gave him a nod in greeting as well.

"Have you been in the city long, Eiji-san?"

"Not really. I came out of the most recent game, I guess."

And he wasn't looking forward to any further ones, after what he'd gone through.

"What about you? Do you have your parents or anyone here?"

Another nod, this time more eager. And accompanied with a bright smile. She didn't have her mother and father with her, no, but she did have someone. The best someone to have, in her opinion.

"Oniichan's here with me."

Eiji grinned. "That's good. At least you're not here all alone."

She shook her head.

"I was never alone. Not even before Oniichan came here." Because there had been a few months' delay between her arrival and his. "I have other friends here, too. And Han-san lets us all stay in his apartment. He's really nice."

"Wow, that's really lucky. He must be really nice to do all that for you."

"He is." She reiterated. "We would have been okay by ourselves. We're used to it. But...it's still nice to have someone like that looking out for you."

He nodded, still smiling.

"How long were you on your own for?"

It wasn't that he was naive enough to think kids could be left to themselves for a while--rather, he knew better than to think that kids could always be expected to have someone take care of them. He'd met enough that he had a healthy respect for them, even if he just wanted to protect all of them.

She shook her head.

"I was never alone." Gently correcting him. "Takeru-kun found me in my first ViViD game. And I have Tailmon, too."

"Good, I'm glad." And looking at Tailmon, he asked, "Keep taking good care of her."

This time, when Hikari smiled, it was directed right at Tailmon.

"We'll take care of each other."

...to which Tailmon gave a reaffirming nod, closing her eyes to hide the fact that she was blushing slightly. "Hikari and I are partners. I will be there and protect her for as long as I am capable."

Eiji smiled. "Good. If you ever need anything, though, just let me know, okay?"

She nodded.

"That's very kind of you to offer."

"It's okay."

Then a thought--what if he's not the one to answer the door? "Just, if you ever end up running into my friend, Ankh, don't worry about him. He might seem mean or like he doesn't care, but he's mostly just doing it to be a pain."

The name brought about a glimmer of familiarity to her eyes that he might not have been expecting. Surprise, at first, followed by recognition. Then, she even smiled.

"Oh! I know Ankh-san. He's the one with the pretty wings."

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