Leaving the Professor

It had taken weeks for the professor to completely go over Kurou. When he finished, Kurou rested for days. Now, Jason watched as the biohumanoid packed his clothing in a duffel bag that his mother had provided.

“So…You’re gonna go live with Teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. You better not do anything wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not trying to bully you. I’m just warning you. Teacher may be nice when he’s happy, but when he’s mad, he’s got a wicked arm.”

“I will behave.”

“You’re talking all proper again. Are you worried?”

“Yes. Very much so. I might do something bad and he won’t want me anymore.”

Jason shook his head. “You won’t. Besides, even if you did, he likes you too much to just dump you.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because its true. He likes you. He’ll keep you safe.”

Kurou was silent.

“So…have you seen the new bio-whatever?”

“No. Professor hasn’t allowed me to.”

“Same here.”

Kurou put down his packing and Jason sat on the bed next to him.

“Are you finished, Kurou?”

Henry walked into his son’s room and looked over Kurou’s packing, pulling out a few clothes and refolding them.

“Oh. No, I’m sorry,” Kurou whispered, embarrassed he couldn’t even fold a few things correctly.

“That’s fine. We still have tomorrow.”

“Hey. Dad, let me see the new hybrid,” Jason begged.

“No.”

“Why not? I wanna see it.”

“I said no, Jason. Drop it.”

“But--.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Enough. Mind me, Jason.”

Jason crossed his arms angrily, huffing.

“Knock it off, Jason,” Henry warned. “Now. Kurou. Did you leave an outfit out for tomorrow? It’s Saturday tomorrow so he’ll be picking you up tomorrow afternoon. Jason. Help him with packing.”

Jason watched as his father left and grabbed a pile of Kurou’s clothes, folding them and tucking them into the bag.

---

Hiyase came to the house at exactly twelve o’clock. He smiled as Marie greeted him at the front door and followed her to Jason and Kurou’s room. Jason was sitting on his bed as Henry fussed with a few details on Kurou’s clothes, straightening up when Tanaka came into the room. They exchanged brief glances, Henry embarrassed to be seen as such a doting parent and Hiyase struggling not to smile at how silly it was to see the great Henry Sainon act like that.

“Well… Um, Kurou, I do believe you understand the situation we have, right?”

Kurou nodded nervously.

“Now, this isn’t happening because we don’t like you or that you’re not good enough. Its my fault this is happening so don’t you ever blame yourself.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Alright then. Well, your things are packed so I guess you’re ready to leave.”

Kurou looked back at Jason before grabbing his bag. Jason hopped off the bed and followed his parents and teacher, walking next to Kurou down the hallway.

“So,” he whispered, “still scared?”

“Yes,” Kurou whispered back.

“Don’t be. You’ll be fine. If ever there was a child for Teach’, it’d be you.”

“Really?”

“Of course! You’ll be perfectly fine. Stop worrying so much, you idiot.”

They were back at the front door and Hiyase smiled down at Kurou. Shy, Kurou looked away and accepted Marie’s tight hug as she said her goodbyes, followed by Henry’s pat on the back.

“See you at school,” Jason called as Kurou walked down the driveway with Tanaka.

Hiyase took his bag and put it in the backseat as Kurou waved one last time to his could-be family.

“Kurou,” Hiyase called. “Time to go. Get in the car.”

Kurou lowered his hand and climbed into the front seat, pulling the seatbelt across his lap as Teacher got in as well.

“Is your house very far?”

“Not really. Its much smaller than Henry’s, though.”

“Professor’s house was very big. It felt empty.”

“Well, my house will fell crowded, I’m sure.”

Kurou shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t be so nervous around me, Kurou. After all, you’ll be living with me from now on,” Hiyase reassured him, twisting the car away from the sidewalk as he began down the street.

“I know. Okay, then, um… What time do you leave for school?”

“Pretty early, I’m afraid. I hope you’ll be alright with getting up so early.”

“I will be,” Kurou assured him, smiling slightly. “I don’t think what I do at night counts as sleeping. Its more like regaining energy.”

Hiyase wrinkled his brow at that, unsure of how to reply. “Well,” he started, frowning again. “I suppose we won’t have any trouble in the morning, then.”

Kurou nodded, turning to stare out the window as he drove farther away from the professor’s house. In the rearview mirror, he could see Jason still standing at the curb, watching as the car drove away. He watched Jason shift his weight in front of his house until they turned a corner and his original was out of view. He sat back in his seat to watch the street signs pass by.

---

That night as Kurou lay on the small bed Hiyase had provided, he listened to the creaks of the old house.

Hiyase Tanaka’s house was almost rundown in comparison to the Sainon household, but Kurou preferred the modest setting to the emptiness that seemed to lurk in every corner of the mansion he was inhabited. And, best of all, there was no frightening basement converted into a laboratory to fear.

Kurou’s new room was once Hiyase’s office. The desk and computer had been shoved into a corner of the living room and piles of files and paperwork now occupied the space behind the couch. There were still a few boxes stacked in the corners of Kurou’s modest room, but he appreciated the filled space, now unused to the lonely feeling of not sharing a room.

His ears pricked up when he heard Teacher’s voice. Kurou slowly stood from the bed and crept to the door, listening.

“You’ve made another on, then?” Hiyase asked. He was quiet before a sudden burst of anger. “That’s what you should’ve done in the first place, you idiot! You abused that poor boy. You made him think he was one of the family and then rejected him when Jason returned.”

Kurou leaned closer. They were talking about him. And the new clone.

“Do you think you deserve this fame, you bastard? What would people think if they knew how you treated Kurou? You gave him human emotions and hurt him,” Hiyase snapped. “No. No, Sainon, he counts. He’s a child. You made him a child. The very idea! Sainon, you keep Jason away from that new model. I won’t indulge your little experimenting anymore.”

Kurou frowned, pressing his ear harder against the thin door.

“Why? Why? Because I saw a hurt child when he came to my classroom. You didn’t even name him! Don’t name this one. You sell him the first chance you can. Don’t let Marie or Jason get close to him. What? Me? I’m doing the right thing. Kurou will be treated as a human child. I won’t allow anything else. I’ll be his father because its obvious you can’t live up to it.”

Kurou pressed his palms against the smooth, fake wood of the door and smiled. Father. He had one again.

Hiyase laughed bitterly on the phone. “I hope you enjoy that. Goodnight.”

The phone clicked as it was hung up, but Kurou remained at the door. Hiyase’s footsteps stopped outside his door and the handle whined slightly as the metal gears grinded against each other.

“Kur—Oh!” Hiyase jumped slightly when he saw Kurou. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I don’t sleep,” Kurou replied, unable to full hide the smile on his face.

“Kurou? What are you smiling about?”

“Are you Father now?” Kurou asked bluntly. His eyes widened as he craned his neck back to look at Hiyase’s face.

“F-Father? I... I suppose so, Kurou. I suppose I am,” Hiyase stammered. “I... No. No, I am,” Teacher stood a little straighter suddenly, looking determined as he slipped a hand under Kurou’s chin. “I am your father, Kurou. You can always call me that if you want. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

“Thank you, Father,” Kurou said, smiling brightly. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Hiyase’s waist, hesitating before tightening his hold slightly. Perhaps only mothers did this, but he hoped fathers did as well.

Hiyase stared down at the shock of blonde hair atop the small boy who was clinging to his waist. He drew his arms around the small frame and hugged him back briefly before crouching down a bit to lift him up.

“Its late, Kurou. I know you said you don’t sleep, but I know you have to rest in some way.”

He carried the boy to the bed, surprised at how light he was. Honestly, he had been afraid he wouldn’t be able to lift the child for a while, but was relieved to feel the almost lightweight metal rise beneath his arms.

Gently, he laid Kurou on the bed and covered him with the thin coverlet.

“Stay in bed now, alright?”

“Yes, Father,” Kurou whispered, smiling.

He watched Hiyase nod and leave the room, smiling at him briefly before turning off the light and shutting the door. He rolled over on the bed, smiling to himself. Remembering what Jason said about the creepiness of laying up all night with his eyes open, Kurou closed his eyes and concentrated and regrouping his energy cells for the next day.

As the cells charged with a soft whirring noise, a small connecter cell struggled to work without its twin energy connector. It quickened its pace dangerously to that of a beating heart in the throes of a heart attack before automatically shutting off in an effort to calm the workings of the biohumanoid it inhabited, unaware that the back up valve meant to kick in if the connector cell was ever forced to shut off was no longer there.

---

Hello all. This is the second to last chapter of A Clone to Remember. I hope you all enjoyed it.

I’m so very sorry that this story has been ignored. I will, however, assure you all that I’m already working on the last chapter and should be up within the next few weeks.

Thank you.