No title yet
a story by Dot
***
It has come to my attention that no one has yet written a story
about Number 16, the nature-loving Jinzoningen that would
have certainly been brought back with the wish in vol. 35.
(Or, at least, I haven't come across one yet.)
I also noticed that I have yet to write a story starring Number
17, also a badly neglected character. So I decided to write a
'fic with the two together. (Saved me some time, heh.)
Things within [brackets] denote thought.
***
You'd think that it would be easy finding a seven-foot-tall
robot with a mohawk; actually, it was even harder than finding
a needle in a haystack. My elusive target--Jinzoningen
Juurokugou--had an annoying tendency of going from place to
place, stopping just long enough so that people would
remember him. I heard story after story of the gentlehearted
giant who resuced kittens, baby birds, and occasionally small
children, then disappeared as mysteriously as he came.
This time, I was again following a trail that would in all
probability end up in disappointment. I can almost imagine
what they would say:
"The robot man? He passed through here a few days ago.
I think he's heading out towards..."
I was starting to get tired of looking. I wasn't physically
tired, of course: Jinzoningen have an almost infinite supply of
energy. No, I wanted to give up my search because I was
beginning to doubt Juurokugou's existence. Someone once
said that despair was being at the bottom of a deep pit and not
being able to see the light trickling in from the top. Well, I was
getting pretty damn close to feeling that way.
As I scaled the mountain towards the small village in the
distance, I wondered for the umpteenth time why I was so
determined to find Juurokugou. Perhaps it was because he
had some of the answers to the questions that kept me awake at
night; perhaps it gave me a purpose; or perhaps I considered
him my kinsman. Whatever it was, something drove me to
keep going, keep asking questions, and keep looking in
unexpected places. So far, I've been chased by a mob of
townspeople who have been living in the 12th century for
Dende knows how long; nearly buried in an avalanche set off
by careless hikers; and gotten hopelessly lost in the Mountains
of Death, named so because no one before me had made it out
of there alive.
[All of this trouble had better be worth it,] I thought,
gritting my teeth against the freezing winds. (When it's
around forty below, with a wind chill factor of at least thirty,
even a Jinzoningen with nearly no neuron sensors can feel the
cold.)
I finally made it into the village. A few of its inhabitants
gave me puzzled looks: Visitors are not a frequent occasion
here. Some kind soul extended his hospitality; I declined
politely, and popped the Ten Thousand Dollar Question.
"Did you see..."
The man's eyes lit up at my description of Juurokugou.
"Yeah! He was here an hour ago!"
Damn. I missed him again.
"He went out to the far side of town," the man continued
hastily, seeing the look on my face. "I saw him standing
there."
"You think he's still there?" I asked eagerly.
"Probably. Just head out that way."
I ran so fast that I could have left a trail of fire.
Finally, I saw him: a grim, unmoving statue. I
approached him carefully, fearing that this was all an illusion,
and that he would melt away into the blinding white
background. He didn't.
"Hello, Juurokugou," I said when I got within speaking
range. "Long time no see."
"Hello," was the quiet response. "Why have you been
following me?"
I did a double take. "You knew?"
He nodded. "Dr. Gero implanted me with a device that
can sense other Jinzoningen."
[Lucky,] I thought. "I've been wanting to talk to you."
"About our lack of a prime directive?"
"That's part of it." I fiddled absently at my scarf. "I've
been having these..." I probed for the right word. "Visions, I
guess. Vague snatches of things and people, but I can never get
a handle on what they are."
"You should ask Juuhachigou about that, then. She is
more like you than I am."
I shook my head. "She won't talk about those kinds of
things. It's like she doesn't want to have anything to do with
her past."
"Do you?"
I blinked. What kind of question was that? "I-I don't
know. I guess I'm a bit curious as to who I was before I got
cyberized by Gero." The name still generates a great amount
of bile whenever I think about that madman, and I let that
bitterness show through. "Maybe I had family, friends..." I
snickered, remembering an earlier talk with Juuhachigou.
"Or some chick I used to date."
"And if you do find out, do you intend to return to that
life?"
I was starting to get annoyed. "What is this, Twenty
Questions?"
Juurokugou looked back at me with his ever blank
expression, causing me to shiver a bit. He then looked back
over the mountains. "I don't have a past to go back to."
It was a simple, plain statement without any intonation or
inflection. But somehow, it almost sounded as if he was
regretful of this fact.
I suddenly thought of something. "Actually, Juurokugou,
you do."
One eyebrow raised imperceptively. "Oh?"
"Yeah." I smirked at him. "You've had quite an
impression on the people you've met."
"That is true," he admitted. He suddenly smiled as well.
"It seems that you have answered your own question."
I blinked again. "I don't quite follow you."
"Anyone who knew you before probably consider you to
be dead," the large robot explained patiently. "But you still
have your twin sister." He smiled even wider. "And,
apparently, you think very highly of me as well."
I scowled half-heartedly. "Well, don't let that get to your
head."
Juurokugou let out a deep, hearty chuckle. Switching
back to his serious mode, he continued: "You want a past for
yourself? Make one. Start a business, for example." He looked
distant again. "Or a family."
I shook my head again to clear it. All of this deep
philosophizing was too much for me to handle in such a short
time. "I'll...think about it."
Juurokugou smiled, this time warmly. "You do that."
***
Wow! This is an OLD 'fic! I started it way back in August of
1998, and I chucked it in my "In Progress" folder and forgot
about it completely! ^^;
Well, at least it's done now...
(BTW, any suggestions for a title would be heartily appreciated.)
---
-"Dot"
Dot-Chan on #fanfic at bachman.newberry.edu (FFIRC Chatroom)
Proud member of CAPOW
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/italian/70
http://members.xoom.com/dotchan (mirror)
--Writer of Unnecessarily Long Author's Notes and Bad Spamfics. ^^;
--Bane of the FFML since 1998. ^_^
--Coming soon to your local inbox: Dragon Ball stories
with -gasp- plot! ^_^
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