Today's classes are over, and Fukami is on her way home, when Ayaka approaches her while she is about to open her locker. This time she's not alone.
"Hey, Fukami." She greets. "Oh, are you busy?"
"I'm okay." She sees the few fellow classmates behind Ayaka. "Um, why are they here?"
"Them? They wanted to ask you something." A small hubbub over who will ask follows, then someone, Rumiko, takes the lead.
"Well, are you busy this weekend?"
"No, but why?" Fukami opens her locker.
"We thought it would be great if you joined us next week... do you go to cons?"
"I haven't been to one yet."
"Then this will be a great first time for you. We we're looking for someone who could cosplay this." She shows the cover of a comic book. "And we thought you'd fit."
"If you need me, I can join."
"Thanks! We'll go Saturday, is that okay?"
"Sure, I can go Saturday."
"Sweet, we'll meet by the convenience store at nine."
"Okay." She takes her gun case and puts it inside her bag.
"See you then!" They leave and Fukami returns to what she was doing.
"Ayaka," another girl speaks up. "Does Fukami always bring that box with her?"
"I think she does, I haven't seen her without it whenever we talk by her locker."
"What could be inside that thing?"
"I asked her once but she didn't want to answer. I don't want to press her too much about it."
Fukami returns home. She walks to her room, changes to her house clothes, and takes out her homework after holstering her gun. For a while now the thoughts of someone finally knowing where she is keep bothering her, she's also worried if this meant Asakasa has her pinned down.
"Fukami?" Asuka tries to get her attention.
"Huh?"
"Everything okay?"
"Oh, yes, I'm just... the guy..."
"Don't worry about it so much, you might not complete your homework."
"Right, sorry!
"Relax, you'll be fine. How was school?"
"It went okay." She answers. "But my friends are planning that we go to the mall this weekend."
"Well, do you want to?"
"I want to, but I'm a bit scared."
"Just stick around with your friends. Are all those who will come your classmates?"
Fukami nods. "And Ayaka will be there, too."
"If she's coming then that's even better. What were you planning to do?"
"They said they wanted to bring me to a convention next week."
"What sort of convention?"
"A cosplay one. They said I could dress up as, um, her!" She points at the TV.
Asuka watches the anime in question for a few seconds. "I can't say they're wrong."
"Do you think I'll be able to dress up like her?"
"I'm sure you will. I should probably leave you to your homework."
"Oh, about that new robot, is there anything new about him?"
"We're still waiting for info from our insider friends, but it does look like Eikichi went out of his way to launch him and send him out to get you."
-----
Wearing his new tank top, Tetsuya walks into Eikichi's office unannounced.
"Will you at least knock? You can't just barge in just because the door's unlocked." A miffed Eikichi stands up from his chair. "Now that I see you wearing that in the flesh, I must say, that does fit you well."
"Nothing short of awesome for me, boss." Tetsuya answers with a grin.
"Tell me where you saw 191."
"Right around... here." He points at a map on the screen with his sword.
"Hmmm..." Eikichi stares at the screen. "We can't just launch an offensive, the residents will spot it quickly."
"What say I go mano-a-mano agains-"
"No!"
"Why, just cause everyone in there knows each other don't mean they're gonna do anythin' 'bout 191."
"Don't forget that we don't want to attract any attention."
"I'll just keep stalkin' her? Lame."
"Sadly, yes. Since I can't track her you'll have to do the footwork. You'll start at the same place again."
"Of course, like she'll go outta town today, right?"
-----
"Fukami!" Ayaka greets Fukami upon the latter's arrival at the meeting place. "Finally, we're all waiting for you."
"Sorry, I had to ready myself. It took... a while."
"Is it the dress?" One friend comments, to which Fukami nods.
"At least you prepared for this." Another says.
"Everyone's here now," Ayaka tries to get everyone's attention. "you guys brought some money for this, right?" Everyone says yes.
"Is it far from here?" Fukami asks as the group starts walking.
"It's just over at the next station." Someone answers.
"We'll have fun, Fukami, don't worry!" Ayaka assures her.
"Everyone's here, then, let's go!"
Right on their tail is Tetsuya, already taking as fast a run as he can to the station. "Fuck, she's actually goin' outta town." He mutters under his breath as he evades both being seen by the girls and anything that will impede him. He hides somewhere upon his arrival until he catches sight of Fukami and continues his stalk.
The girls take the train, unaware that someone is watching them in the same car.
"Do you go out often?" Ayaka asks Fukami.
"Not really."
"What do you usually do when you're not doing homework?"
"I... I watch Katsuhiko working sometimes."
"Don't you watch TV that often?"
"No, there's nothing interesting on it for me."
"So you stay home most of the time?" Someone else, Subaru, interjects. "Don't you have any hobbies?"
"I just do whatever I can with what's in the repair shop."
"You're quite the weird one, aren't you?"
"Maybe..."
"Don't mind her, Fukami." Ayaka assures her. "You're still okay."
The train arrives at the station and Tetsuya waits it out till he can before alighting and walking to the next stop. His phone rings.
"Yeah?"
"Are you still keeping an eye on her?"
"Yep, she ain't alone, though."
"Who's with her?"
"I dunno, but there's like a group of em, all gals. Guessin' they're schoolmates."
"Okay, I'll get back to you later."
-----
"Wow, it looks pretty big from here." Fukami says as the girls walk to the mall's main entrance.
"We could even check out the streets, but mom says I should be home by seven." The girl who invited her says. "But there's already a lot in this one mall alone, so let's go!"
They enter the mall, a bustling marketplace on a weekend. Greeting them past the door is an anime launch, with memorabilia and merchandising on display, a sight the girls approach first.
"While you guys check out the shirts, we'll take pictures of the displays." Ayaka brings Fukami along. "Those antennas make you look like that mecha over there, let's start with that!"
A few snaps later and they along with the others buy a shirt each before starting running through other stores.
Tetsuya soon arrives, experiencing some slight snags over his sword. He slows down his pace to keep any attention from himself. The girls disappear into a clothing store, and taking some discretion about fitting in, Tetsuya watches from afar by checking out a nearby comic store. The two parties soon take differing paths.
"Don't forget what kind of clothes to look for." Rumiko reminds everyone.
Fukami ponders through a row of dresses, pulling one out at a time.
"Check this out," Subaru shows her a blouse. "I found this, maybe this is what you should wear at the con?"
"Really? Let me try it on."
"Wait, you haven't picked anything yet." Ayaka says. "You should try on as many as you can at a time."
She quietly pulls out a couple of shirts and skirts before walking to the changing room.
"Do you think that's the right size?"
"It's probably just slightly larger."
Fukami returns from the changing room wearing the blouse and a different skirt. "What do you think?"
"It's perfect!" Ayaka exclaims. Everyone agrees.
Lunch time comes, and they settle on a restaurant on the basis of Ayaka's recommendation.
"Oh, I forgot to get something at the store," one the girls says after checking her purchases. "can you wait until I come back?"
"Ah, sure." She nods as she looks at a menu board.
Tetsuya, upon seeing that Fukami's back is on him, does something he had been planning to do. Releasing a shuriken from a chamber in his arm to his hand, he does some quick aiming before he swings out his arm, throwing the star straight onto Fukami's shoulder.
The projectile embeds itself into her shoulder enough for her to notice, but her concern is less about having a shuriken deep inside her shoulder than how the damage looks like, as the shuriken is stuck at the back of her shoulder.
"Fukami!" One of her friends comes to her aid as soon as she sees the star dug deep inside her. "Are you okay?"
"It... hurts." She says.
"We have to get something for that! Ayaka!"
"What's going on!" Ayaka looks at the sharp object stuck in Fukami. "Oh no, what happened?"
"Take a good look at her, I'll buy her bandages." She runs off.
"Tell me, where did that come from?"
"O... over there, I think." There's no one there, as Tetsuya had already fled.
The girl returns with the bandages. "Here you go."
"Um... I'll just do this myself."
"Don't you need a hand?"
"It's okay, I can do it. Excuse me..."
Fukami walks to a spot where she can't be seen: inside the nearest restoom. With a single tug she pulls out the shuriken from her shoulder. With no blood coming out of her wound she makes quick work of giving herself a convincing patch-up with the paraphernalia at hand, all the while keeping an eye on anyone that might see her. She returns to the restaurant front, hand on her bandage.
"Thank goodness." Ayaka says relieved. "Does it still hurt?"
"Yeah, it's a lot better now, though." Fukami answers.
"Can I take a look?" She moves the hand out of the way to see the bandage.
"This is what hit me." She shows the shuriken that she removed.
"That really looks sharp." But more than how sharp it is, few can't help but notice how pristine it is for something that had lodged itself into a human. There also seems to be no sign that Fukami wiped it clean either. "But if you're okay now, maybe we can go back to getting lunch."
They enter the restaurant from before. A staff member directs them to a table.
"I assume the lady's no longer hurt?" A waiter asks the group.
"I'm okay now, miss, thanks." Fukami answers.
After deciding on their orders, one of the girls get in line while the rest of them start asking about the incident.
"Did you manage to catch a glimpse of who did this?" Ayaka asks.
"I didn't."
"Do you have an idea why anyone would do this?" Another girl asks.
Her own guess will only net more questions. "I... I don't know... but I think it might happen again."
"Should we call it off?"
"No!" She exclaims. "There's no need."
"But something might happen to you again."
"I'll be fine, besides, I don't want you guys to worry about me too much."
"We still have an afternoon ahead of us." Ayaka says. "If she says she's fine then let's continue."
-----
For the rest of the day the girls continue their mall tour, a bit more careful not to hurt Fukami, at around 5:00 PM they head back to town and each go back to their homes.
"How was your day?" Asuka asks upon Fukami's arrival.
"It was fun." She answers, laying down the single bag of items she bought. "But something happened when I was there." She shows Asuka the bandage on on her shoulder.
"What happened there?" Asuka quickly peels off the bandage, showing the gash. The shuriken dug deep enough to pierce her hull, but didn't hit any important wiring.
"I was hit by this." She pulls the projectile from her pocket. "I don't know who did it, though."
"Did anyone suspect anything?"
"No, I hope I did a good job, though."
"It's fine, it's not too obvious a wound. I'll ask Katsuhiko about having that fixed."
"How long will it take?"
"Not too long, I guess."
"I'm scared, what if they find out I'm not human?"
"We'll deal with that when it finally happens. If they haven't noticed yet it's fine, but I know you'll have to reveal yourself one day."
Later, Katsuhiko drops by while the two girls return from buying meat. "Hey, what is it you're telling me a while ago?"
"Fukami got hurt."
"If she can join you it can't be that bad."
"It isn't, but now there's this mark on her shoulder."
He takes a quick look at the metal scar under the bandage. "That's an easy fix. But just in case, I know where I can get a replacement for her shoulder hull."
"Wouldn't that be almost impossible?"
"Fukami herself is proprietary. Her materials aren't, to make her easier to fix and return to battle quickly."
"Is every other model like this?"
"Yeah, almost every bit of their hardware is made of standard parts. Let's do this at the shop."
Behind a door Katsuhiko examines Fukami in a room usually dedicated for larger projects. He has taken out the contingent piece of Fukami's hull that has the gash. "If it came from this," He looks at the shuriken. "It would have dug in this far."
"Did it hit any of her internals?" Asuka curiously stares at the mark
"It would, but it's only this cut here that I can see. I can solder this, I can even do it without turning her off."
"Wh-what?!"
"Don't worry, Fukami, it's not going to hurt." He reaches for his soldering gun and visor. She doesn't even notice the process already finishing by the time Katsuhiko tells her that he's done. "There, should be better."
"Huh? Thanks, I guess."
"As for this one, I can weld this myself, maybe by tomorrow I can make it look like new again."
"But I can't go out like this."
"You bought some new clothes, right?"
"Yes."
"Get them for her, Asuka."
While Asuka is out to retrieve the clothes, Fukami looks at the mechanism that make up her shoulder, even touching it a bit.
"Isn't that something? That's what's... inside you." Katsuhiko watches Fukami staring intensely. "Why, is there's something wrong?"
"Nothing, I just don't know what to feel about this."
"What do you mean?"
"I should know I'm a robot, but why does looking at this feel so weird?"
"It's probably because it's your first time seeing it."
While not fully satisfied, she "I don't know if my friends noticed."
He ponders on it for a while. "That you didn't bleed out?"
She nods. "What if they find out?"
"I can't tell you what they'd think, but that wouldn't matter if you're a friend to them, right?"
"I guess... I can't stop thinking about what they'd think once they find out I'm a robot."
"They haven't caught on yet, have they?" Asuka returns with the new clothes. "Here are the clothes you bought. Did you pick these yourself, Fukami?"
"I picked most of them."
"They're nice." She unfolds the blouse. "You can wear this to hide that frame for a while, the sleeves are long enough."
Fukami takes a look before taking the it, hides somewhere to change and returns after a while wearing the new blouse.
"See?"
She checks for it herself by standing in front of a mirror.
"What do you think?"
"I can't see it from here, but it feels so thin, someone else might."
"It's fine, it's definitely hidden."
"If you say so."
Asuka takes a look at the rest of the clothes. "It looks like you picked some of these because they have bunnies."
"But aren't they cute?"
"They are. By the way, you did buy something for the convention, right?"
"I'm wearing it."
"Then that covers everything." She smiles. "How long until the new hull arrives, Katsuhiko?"
"In a few days, but I know these guys so I'll get it ASAP."
Fukami finally gets comfortable enough in the new shirt. "I kinda like this, actually."
"That's great, it looks like I won't be going to the store alone tomorrow."
-----
"How's your shoulder now, Fukami?" Ayaka asks the next day. The two met by the front of the arcade and are on their way to a bookstore.
"It's getting better now." She answers.
"Thank goodness, it looked horrible seeing that thing stuck in you. Good thing you bought that blouse before it happened."
"I guess I'm lucky."
Ayaka tries to lay her hand on her shoulder but Fukami quickly flinches away.
"Still hurts when you touch it?"
She nods.
"Oh, do you still have the shuriken with you?"
"I kept it at home."
"What do you plan to do with it?"
"I don't know, maybe Katsuhiko will find a use for it."
"Have you tried throwing it around yourself?"
"No, I don't want to break anything."
They enter the bookstore, Fukami careful not to exert her right arm too much. "What is it you're looking for?" She asks.
"I'm missing a book from a manga I'm reading." Ayaka ansers. "Maybe they have it here."
As each of them scan different parts of the store, Fukami stumbles upon a book sitting on a shelf. An Asakasa catalog from last year.
"I found it!" Ayaka returns with the book in hand. "What's that?"
"It's a catalog." She opens the book and flips through the pages.
"Asakasa Robotics? What do they make?"
"They make... robots." She falls silent as she continues scanning through the book.
After a while Ayaka notices. "Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes, I'm okay." She shuts the book.
"Are you going to buy that?"
Fukami nods.
"I didn't know you're into that stuff."
"Well, not really, I just got curious. I wasn't really thinking of buying anything, but this looked interesting."
"If you say so. I was expecting that book to be filled with cool robots, though."
"Maybe it does?"
"Ooh, good thinking."
"Let's buy it first."
-----
"I don't know if I should reprimand you over going off the plan, or laud you for sending 191 a warning." Eikichi says to Tetsuya while he sits at a bench by a grassy field, one used for general outdoor activities.
"I got bored, okay?" Tetsuya pitches his new ball, with an empolyee catching and returning it to him.
"Bored enough for you to acquire a baseball." Eikichi sighs.
"Can't say no, the kids liked my sword."
"I hope your little chance encounter wasn't a mere waste of time."
"Dontcha worry, boss, they wanna hang out with me again." Tetsuya walks to the bench and sits. "And I wanna hang out with 'em too."
Eikichi's ears perk up. "If they want to be friends with you you should use it to your advantage."
"Already did."
"I assume you didn't tell them about 191?"
"My lips are sealed."
"Good." He stares at the field for a while, looking at his watch from time to time. He soon finds something else to say. "While you wait for what to do regarding 191, what say you do something else for now?"
"Like what?"
"I can assign you some other jobs."
"Other jobs?"
"I can't say what they are outright, but what I can say is that you'll enjoy them."
"Am I gonna get to kill?"
"I'd rather not escalate, you'll find a use for that sword, though."
"Ya really don't have a hit job for me?"
"No, the last thing I want is a death with my name on it. I do have something else in mind, though. For now I have nothing for you to do." He leaves and enters the main building.
With practically a day off, Tetsuya walks out of company grounds to meet up with the gang as agreed on. The noodle shop in question is mostly filled with people in the same casual wear as him in his tank top. He quietly approaches the gang.
"Hey!" Junichiro says after noticing him. "Never thought you'd come."
"Boss was okay with this, sorta. Ya guys ordered already?"
"Not yet, do you want anything?"
"Whatever their usual ramen is."
While one of the boys orders on their behalf, Tetsuya starts asking.
"So whaddya guys usually do?"
"Start up trouble, get in to fights, sometimes we steal stuff."
"Huh, ya guys get into shit a lot?"
"Yeah, but not really a lot. We have enemies, at least."
"Wait, don'tcha guys go to school or somethin'?"
"We do, for those who still have to, anyway."
"Wait, dontcha parents know?"
"My dad knows, I'm not sure about the rest."
"Ya dad knows? What's he say?"
"He doesn't want to talk about it."
"Oh. I'm guessin' ya guys had some..." He looks around a bit. "...records on ya."
"I got caught twice."
The order finally arrives. "Here you go, guys."
"Yeah, let's not mope too much, let's eat!"
-----
Meanwhile, Yoshiya visits Katsuhiko's shop.
"Oh, Yoshiya, didn't expect you to drop by."
"I had just finished my shift." He hands a paper bag. "Do accept these, even as a pretext."
"Thanks." He takes the bag and looks inside, as expected it's bread. "Why did you come, by the way?"
"I heard about what happened to Fukami yesterday. How is she?"
"She's fine, I'm still waiting for the materials I need to replace her shoulder hull, but I should be able to patch her back up."
"Do you still have the weapon?"
"Yeah, want me to get it?"
"Please do."
Katsuhiko disappears into his workshop, and the two girls arrive on her way home.
"Ah," Fukami stands surprised. "You're from the bakery, right?"
Yoshiya nods. "Indeed I am, miss."
"Why are you here, sir?"
"I was delivering an order by Mitsui." What he plans to say next is cut short when his eyes fall on the catalog that the girl is carrying. "What is that book you're holding?"
"This?" She holds it up. "I found it in a bookstore."
Yoshiya ponders how it landed in a bookstore. "Is there a reason for you to pick it up?"
"I guess it's because it's from Asakasa Robotics." Katsuhiko ponders.
"May I have a look?"
Fukami nods and hands him the book. Yoshiya flips through the first page featuring a written message by Eikichi, the picture on the page contrasting the man he knew.
"You know him?" Ayaka asks Fukami.
"I see him sometimes whenever I go to the bakery."
"The one over there? Huh, I don't think I've seen him anywhere before."
Katsuhiko then returns. "Here it is- where did that catalog come from?"
"It came from her." Yoshiya points at Fukami.
"Didn't realize you've returned. How did you get this?"
"I bought it at a bookstore."
"Funny place to get something like this. Eikichi sure looks young in this one, huh?"
"Who's Eikichi?" Ayaka asks.
"Eikichi Asakasa, the current CEO, main man, grand poobah, you get the idea. Oh yeah, can I borrow this?"
"Oh, you can. I'm going to change my clothes." She continues walking home.
"As I was saying, here's the shuriken." He pulls out the item in question from his pocket. "I didn't find anything remarkable about it."
"It does look rather generic, then again these are meant to be covert weapons."
"I've been poring over the specs of the new robot, 442, in his arm's a container that loads in shuriken for him to deploy, and that kind of star fits the sort that he can equip."
"Can we safely say this came from him?"
"Yeah, it's the most probable answer."
"On second thought," Yoshiya takes a deeper look at one part of the weapon. "there seems to be a better proof of provenance on the surface." He checks one more time. "There is an engraved message on this part, albeit a shallow one."
"What's it say?" Katsuhiko tries to find it himself. "Watch... out."
"Then below it is his name, Tetsuya."
"There we go, but I think this might not even be the only kind of throwing star we'll encounter."
"What do you mean?"
"I just remembered about the expandable mechanisms I worked on; where they were developing things that can be shurnk or expanded and still be useful. Just look at these drafts here."
"That is interesting to say the least; they are indeed still researching that."
"Oh yeah, can I look at that book Fukami bought?"
Yoshiya hands him the catalog. "To think this only covers items that Asakasa is willing to offer to the public."
"Oh man, no wonder, this year's from when Eikichi became CEO."
"Has it been that long?"
"Yeah, I remember the ceremony, he made a speech not at all different from what's written here. We didn't think much about it until he started focusing on trying to make convincing AI."
"When did you leave, then?"
"A few years ago, I think it's around when he's just hinting about developing her."
Yoshiya chuckles. "To think Tsunami was developed before Fukami, but we had both been launched while Fukami was still being worked on. Eikichi could not stop talking about her, even though we were not even authorized to see any part of her."
"I bet he's still talking about her right now." The two men laugh at Katsuhiko's comment. "Seriously, though, that's policy that no one who isn't involved with making an RT model sees the robot until launch day. Tsunami can vet me on that."
"That might explain why she was so enamored when we first met. At the very least he would stop talking about the robot and start talking to it."
"But he's definitely still yammering on about Fukami after her launch."
The two exchange another bout of laughs.
-----
"...I didn't spend years on her for nothing, you know that." Eikichi speaks over the phone. "I'll talk to you later, I have something else to get to."
"Ya called?" Tetsuya asks.
"I finally have something for you to do."
"Cool, what's it gonna be about?'
"You'll have to retrieve something for me, something a bit overdue, even." Eikichi's phone rings. "Give me a second, this is from my wife. Hello?" He disappears into a corner. He returns with a different gait in his walk. "I'll explain the details later, sudden personal matter."
"What?"
"It's my daughter. Once everything's fine I'll call you back here. You may go." With that, he exits the office, leaving Tetsuya confused.
After making sure that his boss has left the area, Tetsuya strolls outside once more, looking for something to pass the time. Someone walks up to him.
"Cat's out, huh?"
"Yeah, boss had some stuff to deal with."
"It's got to be an emergency."
"I guess." He shrugs.
"What's with you, anyway? You got assigned to stuff so soon."
"Ya know why, it's why I'm even on in the first place."
"I get that, but the only other guy I've seen Eikichi talk to as often as you is 235."
"235?"
"Yoshiya Omona, he left just before you were launched."
"Like leave leave?"
"Yep, he with his girlfriend 134, Tsunami Yamanaka."
"Ain't that not allowed?"
"Why do you think they left? That, along with... other reasons apparently."
"Is this why this is the first time I'm hearin' of 'em?"
"The boss is reasonably angry about what happened, yeah."
"Well, ya know anything to do 'round here at night?"
"There's always that arcade there. Wanna fight it out?"
"Oh, ya on."
-----
"I apologize for coming home late." Yoshiya arrives. "My conversation with Mitsui went longer than expected."
"How is Fukami, though, is she okay?"
"She is doing alright, though her shoulder is still exposed and has to be covered in other ways. She also saw me at the shop, and she was carrying an old company catalog."
"They don't just hand out those catalogs, where did she say she found it?"
"At a used bookstore. Apparently it was from the very year Eikichi took over as CEO."
Tsunami pauses for a while. "That's quite a while, and before any of us were launched."
"We should ask Mitsui more about this, whenever it is most convenient."
"You know, when will we let her know about us?"
"Not now, but we must do it soon, we do not know what Eikichi has planned, so it would be best if we tell her as soon as we can. When are you most likely free this week?"
"I think I'm avaliable this Friday."
"I can arrange for my work to be shifted around, then I will also have Friday morning."
"That settles it." She looks back at Yoshiya taking off his apron. "Hey, isn't that your old work shirt?"
"It is."
"Why haven't you thrown that away?"
"It is a perfectly servicable shirt. Why, does it still remind you of my tenure?"
"I guess... Eikichi seemed to treat you as one of his best."
"I was his most loyal solider, 'was' being the key word."
"Who do you think is taking your place at the top?" She jokingly smiles.
"That sort of politic is behind me now, but I doubt anyone can come close." He smirks.
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