compnetwork | 7th Screw - two private calls

Hey, Nano!

[Atsuro pops up on screen with one cheek bandaged.]

I'm busy... resting. Aha. So no, not at all. What's up?

Oh! Um...! If you're still recovering, it's not that important...

No, really! I'm really bored...

[Atsuro gives a shrug.]

I'm glad you got out of there OK, though, Nano. It was getting a little rough near the end.

Um...

[...]

...Is it okay if I come and visit you in person? There's something I wanted to talk to you about.

Huh...? Oh, yeah, sure, come on over! I can have visitors.

You probably want to talk about... whatever it is that happened out there, right?

Well... yes, but there's something else too.

[Her eyes move nervously back and forth for a moment.]

I'll explain when I get there!

Sure, alright. Take your time; I'm not going anywhere.

[Atsuro waves to the camera before signing off to await the arrival of his friend... Now what could she possibly want to talk about?]

[Nano hurries straight over. She needs to get this out before she completely loses her nerve. Once she reaches Atsuro's room, she slowly peeks her head inside.]

...Hello? Atsuro-san?

Hey! Come on in.

[Atsuro has just been released from the hospital, but he's not totally recovered yet. He's sitting with his legs over the side of his bed, but he doesn't get up...]

You can... sit over there. Move all that stuff out of the way.

[He points to a chair currently occupied by a bunch of computer parts.]

It looks like you've been keeping busy, at least.

[Nano smiles a little as she gets a glimpse of the pile of parts, carefully piling them up in the corner and pulling the seat closer to the bed.]

Aha...

[He doesn't have the heart to tell her that's junk from when he first moved in and never put away.]

It's alright; you can just toss it anywhere. ...What did you need to talk about, Nano?

W-well...

[She blinks once or twice before looking away, eyes casting about the room to find anything to focus on except Atsuro himself. Looking right into his face is just making her too nervous. Eventually, she settles on folding her hands in her lap and staring down at those.]

There's something I wanted to tell you. About me. I-it's the first time I've told anyone myself without them finding out some other way.

Huh...?

[For all his genre-savviness, Atsuro is caught slightly off-guard and blinks for a few moments.]

Something about you?

...Oh, it must be that you're a world-champion cosplay celebrity, right?

[Lightheartedness usually eased some of the tension from this kind of thing.]

[Nano laughs a little, taking the joke entirely at face value. She definitely appreciates his attempts to keep the mood light, since this is something pretty serious she's about to say.]

Actually, no... I know I told you that before, but...

[And then she frowns, pausing for a moment to shake her head.]

...um, that wasn't really true. This key isn't part of a cosplay outfit at all.

...Right. You said... it was like a friend of yours gave it to you, right? And it was important in that way...

[Nano nods slowly.]

Yes, that's right. But she's not a cosplayer either. She's an inventor.

[Okay, almost there. Deep breaths.]

And I'm... one of her inventions.

[She very nearly glances away from him again as she makes the admission, but forces herself to keep looking into his eyes.]

Atsuro-san... I'm a robot.

[The nervousness and trepidation is plain on her face. It's the first time she's made this admission entirely of her own volition and without being forced into it by outside circumstances, after all, and she has no idea how he'll react.]

...

[This is indeed a momentous occasion. Atsuro's attention had been firmly fixed on Nano, of course, and at her words, he gives a slight - a very slight - start of surprise, blinking rapidly for a few moments. His eyes flicker to the side. His head tilts a degree or so. ...He gives himself a sharp nod.]

...Huh.

[...]

......Wow. For real?

[Did his pupils suddenly change shape...]

[The most momentous. He probably already figured it out himself a while ago, but to Nano, this is one of the most important moments of her stay here in Hinoto-Ri.]

...That's right.

[She gives a small nod to accentuate her point, still looking a bit nervous. He gave a much quieter response than most people who find out about this do.]

You were one of my first friends here, so I thought you deserved to know, and to hear it from me personally.

[Nano glances to the side for a moment, sighing and shaking her head before looking back at him.]

A few other people figured it out on their own or found out accidentally. So before too many other people know, or before I decide to tell anyone else about it, I wanted to tell you first. I hope you'll still support me even though I hid this from you.

Ahaha, Nano...!

[Atsuro can't help but laugh at the girl's obvious distress and seriousness over the subject, though he stifles it quickly.]

Sorry. It's just... I mean, I kinda thought it was something like that, but I didn't want to ask you straight-out or anything.

This is something you've really been worried about, huh...?

I promise, no one's gonna be upset or mad about this at all. And if they are, the problem's with them, not you.

Really?

[Nano seems shocked, to say the least.]

How long have you known? When did you figure it out? I-I mean... um... thank you for not saying anything about it!

[She sighs a bit, taking a breath and trying to calm down.]

...Thank you, Atsuro-san, really. I'm sure you're right. Everyone has been so kind to me.

Well...

I could buy that you were cosplaying the first time I ran into you. Every other time after that was a little...

[He gives a shrug.]

It didn't seem important, though.

[...]

Hey, Nano... You're probably not too keen on anyone looking at your programming or anything, right? Aha...

M-my programming?

[GOSH ATSURO WHY NOT JUST ASK TO SEE HER PANTIES OR SOMETHING]

N-Not that I... I mean it would be pretty awesome but I, uh, wouldn't do something like that!

[lying out of his teeth]

It's just really incredible, right? You're... an incredible person.

[blush blush blush]

You really think so?

Of course! I mean, you're obviously more than just a set of scripted functions or commands... It's hard to believe that humans could ever do something so complex.

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