The peaceful after-snack lull didn't last long. Just as I was getting comfortable, my favorite chips in hand, a familiar cacophony erupted from downstairs. Shouts, distinct and irritatingly familiar, echoed up from the street.
"Mitsuo! Hey, Mitsuo! Come outside!"
It was Kabao. And Sabu, Haruzo, and a few other guys from school, judging by the mix of voices. My heart sank. They were probably here to gloat about something, or worse, drag me into one of their ridiculous schemes.
I was still in the Perman set, hidden from their view. "They're here," I mumbled, gesturing vaguely downstairs.
The Copy Robot, who had been lounging on my bed, instantly sat up. His eyes, usually so calm, narrowed slightly. "Stay here, Mitsuo," he commanded. "I'll handle this. You're Perman right now."
Before I could protest, before I could even ask why he was going instead of me – because, technically, I was Mitsuo – he was already up and moving. He opened my bedroom door and slipped out.
I heard his footsteps descend the stairs, then the creak of the front door opening.
"Hey, Mitsuo!" Kabao's voice boomed, aggressive as always. "Where's Perman? We wanna talk to him!"
"Perman isn't free right now," I heard the robot's calm, even voice reply from below. "He's engaged in... ongoing duties."
I was already halfway to the window, the Perman suit feeling suddenly heavy. I had to intervene. I couldn't let him lie to them about me. But as I glanced down, they had already seen me. My reflection stared back from the windowpane: Perman, hovering just outside. Too late to hide.
With a sigh, I flew out the window, descending gracefully to land beside the Copy Robot. His expression didn't change, but I could almost feel his brain whirring.
Kabao, Sabu, Haruzo, and the rest of the gang stared at me, then at the Copy Robot, then back at me. Their faces morphed from expectant to downright furious.
"What the heck, Mitsuo?!" Kabao yelled, pointing a finger at the Copy Robot. "You just told us Perman wasn't free! You lied!"
The Copy Robot didn't flinch. His expression remained utterly unperturbed. "I am merely stating a current fact. Perman was not free. Now he is. What do you wish to discuss with him?" His tone was cold, almost dismissive.
Haruzo, usually the more articulate one, stepped forward. "That's none of your concern, Mitsuo! This is about Perman! You can't hear this."
The Copy Robot simply nodded. "Understood." He turned to me, his voice barely a murmur, audible only through the Bluetooth. "I'll be hearing your conversation via Bluetooth, Mitsuo. I'll provide instructions if needed. Don't worry."
I nodded back, grateful for the heads-up. He disappeared back inside the house, leaving me standing alone before the increasingly agitated group of my "friends."
The moment the front door clicked shut behind the Copy Robot, their anger truly erupted.
"Alright, Perman!" Kabao roared, stepping closer, his face contorted in a sneer. "What have you done to Mitsuo?!"
"Yeah!" Sabu chimed in, pointing a shaky finger at me. "He used to be a total loser! Our personal errand boy! Now he's acting all smart and fast, like some big shot!"
"It's all because of you, Perman!" Haruzo accused, his voice sharp with resentment. "You've been secretly training him, making him special!"
"And if you trained Mitsuo," another boy, one of the quieter ones, suddenly shouted, his voice cracking with indignation, "then you have to train us too! It's not fair! If he gets special powers, we should too!"
A wave of accusations washed over me. They were furious, their eyes blazing with jealousy and a sense of betrayal. They didn't see me as Perman, the hero who saved lives. They saw me as the one who had made their punching bag, their inferior, suddenly superior.
"You trained him, so you have to train everyone!" Kabao demanded, his voice thick with unearned entitlement. "It's simple, Perman! If you gave him an advantage, you owe us the same!"
"Yeah, come on, Perman!" another shouted, his voice rising in pitch. "What's the big secret? How'd you make him so fast?"
I held up my hands, trying to calm the storm. "Now, hold on," I said, my voice gentle but firm. "I understand you're upset, but I haven't—"
"Don't give us that!" Haruzo spat, stepping right into my personal space. "You just made him super smart and super fast, and now he's acting all high and mighty!"
The boy who had previously thrown a rock at the Copy Robot suddenly lunged forward, his face red with rage, and pointed a finger directly at my chest, almost touching my suit. "You owe us, Perman! You trained him, so you owe us! You have to share your secrets!" He was practically screaming in my face, his finger jabbing.
Suddenly, a blur of motion. A sharp, sickening crack. The boy's eyes widened in shock, and he went limp, collapsing to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He was out cold.
I stared, my jaw dropping under my mask. The Copy Robot stood beside me, his fist still slightly extended. His face was a mask of cold fury, completely unlike the calm demeanor he usually adopted.
"How dare you disrespect Perman?" the Copy Robot's voice was low, chilling, each word dripping with suppressed rage. "My best friend."
The boy on the ground moaned, slowly stirring, a trickle of blood already forming at the corner of his mouth. He started to push himself up, tears welling in his eyes. Before he could even get to his knees, the Copy Robot moved again, a swift, precise kick to his side.
"And how dare you point your filthy finger at him?!" the Copy Robot roared, his voice uncharacteristically loud, full of a fierce, protective anger. "You should know your place!"
The other boys, who had been yelling moments ago, were now completely silent. Their faces were pale, their mouths agape. They looked utterly terrified. The sight of Mitsuo – my copy – acting with such brutal, swift violence against their friend had clearly shocked them into submission.
The Copy Robot turned his chilling gaze on the remaining boys, daring them to speak. "Well?" he snarled, his voice still vibrating with suppressed fury. "Dare you disrespect Perman now?"
Slowly, almost in unison, every single one of them turned their terrified gazes to Kabao. The unspoken question was clear: What now, leader?
Kabao's ego, however, seemed to inflate one last time, fueled by desperation or sheer stupidity. He puffed out his chest, his eyes darting nervously between me and the Copy Robot. "If Perman has trained Mitsuo," he stammered, his voice wavering despite his attempt at bravado, "then he must train us! It's only fair! He owes us!"
The Copy Robot stepped forward, closing the distance between them. His voice dropped, becoming a low, dangerous growl that sent shivers down my spine, even from inside the Perman suit. "Dare say that again."
Kabao uttered a single, defiant word – "He—"
Before he could finish, a blur. A sharp, sickening impact. The Copy Robot's fist struck Kabao directly on the jaw, a brutal, bone-jarring punch. Kabao's eyes rolled back, and he fell like a stone, collapsing onto the pavement with a heavy thud.
The Copy Robot stood over Kabao's unconscious form, his breathing heavy, his chest still heaving with the remnants of his anger. He looked at the remaining boys, his eyes blazing.
"It's Perman's choice," he declared, his voice firm and unwavering, though still edged with ferocity. "He'll do whatever he wants. He doesn't owe you anything. And Perman came here because of Mitsuo. If you dare disrespect him here, outside his own house, then you must have expected the consequences." He paused, then looked down at Kabao's still form. "Kabao, do you want to say something else?"
Kabao, stirring slightly, didn't even open his eyes. He let out a muffled whimper. Without another word, he scrambled to his feet and ran, a pathetic, sobbing mess. Seeing their leader flee, the rest of the boys turned tail and bolted, scattering in every direction like frightened mice.
The street was suddenly empty, save for me, the Copy Robot, and the unconscious bodies of two bullies. The Copy Robot let out a long breath, the anger slowly draining from his stance. He turned to me, his expression softening to a sheepish look.
"Sorry about that, 'Perman'," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I perhaps... overreacted a bit. But they were really getting on my nerves, disrespecting you like that."
From inside the Perman suit, I giggled. He was crazy. Absolutely nuts. But he was my crazy, absolutely nuts robot. And he was always, always on my side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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