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Behind the Clockwork Mask

Summary:

To save a struggling steampunk cafe, shy Nene Kusanagi takes the lead in producing a weekend dinner theater. But when her fellow troupe members become obsessed with an anonymous, high-energy digital idol named "Echo"—Nene’s secret alter-ego—she must balance her two worlds before her energetic online persona is exposed.
Also Nene is a robot in this. Love you guys!

Chapter 1: The Introduction

Chapter Text

Booting up… Loading… Welcome NENE_UNIT4.

Huh? It’s morning already? I guess I have to head to work now. I have a show tonight as Echo. Oh right. I’m NENE_UNIT4, or Kusanagi Nene. I’m just your average teenage girl. Well no, not average. I’m actually part robot. I’m Echo, one of the most famous and energetic singers. I’m an Utaite, like that one singer Ado. There’s also-

It’s Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 8:01AM, you have one reminder. REHEARSAL TODAY for WONDERLANDS X SHOWTIME in 20 minutes, Unit 4.

Shut up systems, I’m trying to talk. Anyways, that’s my troupe, Wonderlands x Showtime. There’s Tsukasa, our leader and the loudest. Ugh, he sometimes manages to fry my audio processors. There’s also Emu, the silliest but also kind of… childish? I love her either way. There’s Rui, my childhood best friend, director, and inventor. But he’s kind of insane, and way too smart. He’s catching up to what I am. And finally Shikae. She’s quiet, cold, distant, but she normally plays our narrator role, she’s so good at it. I’m half certain she’s caught up to me though. Not sure. Anyways, something about me, I like those things humans call grapefruit, I hate mint, I have to avoid water, and my favorite human thing is video games. I also love to sing. Rui says my singing "VOICE" is pretty, I tell him thanks, though I had the urge to correct him and say "Voice module". Anyways, this time around, I have to be careful, recently, Tsukasa and Emu found out about Echo, and as a Utaite, I can't let them know it's me under that mask.

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