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"You did what now—?"
Kohane cleared her throat. "I updated AkiRobo's AI to an experimental one… i-it's supposed to make him act more childlike, but—"
The four of them stood around the currently deactivated AkiRobo.
"Have you tested it, Kohane?" Toya asked, bending down to AkiRobo's level.
"Uh— no…"
Akito sighed, following suit in bending down to AkiRobo's level.
"You could've atleast cleaned him up or somethin' before you got here." he said, before fussing over his child robot look-a-like.
Toya watched him for a second before helping him remove the stray leaves somehow stuck in AkiRobo's metal cap (hair piece).
An walked over near him and bonked him on the back of his head, resulting in an "Oi—"
"Don't blame Kohane for that! You know how heavy AkiRobo is to move around when he's not on—" An defended the younger girl.
"S'not like I was tryna bully her." he muttered, flipping her (An, not Kohane) off.
An stuck her tongue out at him.
They did all end up trying to clean up AkiRobo to pristine condition before—
"We have… a-around two hours?" Kohane checked her phone. "Two hours!"
Toya nodded. "That's enough time to test the new AI,"
"Bubu~! That's more than enough time to test Kohane's awesome updates!" An added.
"Ehe… An-chan…" Kohane said, flustered.
Akito, meanwhile, did the useful thing and booted up AkiRobo while An was busy attempting to flirt.
"'Kay, he's on." Akito stepped back from AkiRobo, slipping his hands into his pockets as the robot's power indicator finally shifted from amber to a steady green.
The familiar electronic hum rose in pitch for a brief moment before settling into a quiet idle, signaling that the boot sequence had begun.
Unfortunately, nobody else seemed to notice.
The moment Kohane lowered the tablet from in front of her face, An had already thrown an arm around her shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.
"I still can't believe you rewrote his AI that quickly! Kohaneee, that's seriously amazing—!"
"I-I just made a few adjustments... An-chan..." Kohane laughed nervously, hugging the tablet a little closer to her chest as her cheeks pinked under the praise. "It wasn't anything that incredible..."
"It wasn't 'just a few adjustments,'" Toya corrected with a small shake of his head. Even he sounded quietly impressed. "You managed to integrate an entirely different behavior without losing his existing data. That's no small accomplishment."
Kohane shrank even further into herself. "Y-You're making it sound way cooler than it actually is...!"
Amazing.
What a productive practice.
Akito pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Oi."
None of them heard him.
An was still enthusiastically insisting Kohane deserved more credit while Toya nodded along in complete agreement, leaving Kohane caught helplessly between trying to deny every compliment and accepting them politely.
Akito inhaled through his nose.
"Oi!"
His voice echoed through the old stage loudly enough to finally pull everyone's attention away from Kohane.
Three heads turned toward him at once.
"Oh!" An blinked, as though she'd only just remembered why they'd all gathered here in the first place. "Right! AkiRobo!"
"S-Sorry..." Kohane rubbed the back of her neck with an embarrassed laugh.
Toya cleared his throat, looking mildly ashamed himself. "My apologies."
Akito let out a long, suffering sigh. "You guys done?" he asked sarcastically.
Almost on cue, AkiRobo's eyes flickered to life.
Soft green light illuminated the bulbs inside the robot's eyes as the quiet hum inside his frame steadied. For several long seconds, he didn't move at all, standing exactly where Kohane had left him as though the system was still waking up.
Then, with a gentle mechanical whir, his head slowly turned.
"...Hello."
The synthesized voice sounded exactly the same as it always had.
The four of them instinctively leaned in ever so slightly.
AkiRobo looked at everyone—one by one.
"Hello."
Silence lingered.
"...That's it?" An asked, breaking the silence.
Kohane hurried over, crouching until she was eye level with the robot. She waved both hands in front of him, as though checking whether he was fully awake.
"AkiRobo? Do you... feel any different?"
The robot stared back at her.
His head slowly tilted to one side, the movement continuing until it had reached an angle that looked deeply uncomfortable for anything with a neck.
"Different?"
"Ehh..."
An scratched her cheek. "I kinda expected him to suddenly start calling Kohane 'Mama' or something." she admitted.
Kohane's entire face instantly flushed crimson. "M-Mama?!"
"Yeah! Like— Mama Kohane~" An said, about the youngest member in the troupe.
Kohane spluttered. "I-I wasn't trying to make that happen!"
While the girls were preoccupied, Toya quietly knelt beside the robot instead, studying him with genuine curiosity. AkiRobo's gaze followed the movement almost immediately, tracking him far more smoothly than before.
"He does seem..." Toya murmured, "...slightly more reactive."
Akito raised an eyebrow.
"That's because he's lookin' at ya."
"No." Toya shook his head thoughtfully. "Before, he typically waited for direct commands before responding."
Almost as if determined to participate in the discussion, AkiRobo slowly lifted one hand.
The tiny metal fingers reached toward Toya with deliberate precision before lightly poking the sleeve of his jacket.
He withdrew his hand just as carefully as he'd extended it.
"...Soft."
Toya blinked, lowering his gaze to his sleeve. He stared at it almost as if it were alien—unfamiliar and never seen before. But alas, it was a mere touch from their sentient(?) robot child. "I see..."
Akito stared at both of them. "The hell does that mean?"
"I'm... unsure."
"It means your jacket's soft!" An laughed. "He touched it and thought it was soft—"
"Oh."
Toya looked down at the fabric again, absentmindedly rubbing it between his fingers as though verifying the robot's observation for himself.
"That would make sense."
Akito slowly covered his face with one hand. And let out an incredibly long, incredibly done and tired, sigh.
Kohane remained crouched in front of AkiRobo, studying him with the concentration of someone waiting for a machine to explode at any second.
Which shouldn't be possible for AkiRobo anyways, but she could never take any chances.
The robot simply stared back, head tilted just enough to suggest curiosity rather than confusion, before returning his gaze to the rest of the troupe.
"So..." Kohane murmured, shifting onto her heels. "I-It worked...?"
"I believe so." Toya folded his arms, observing AkiRobo just as carefully. "Something has definitely changed."
"But not enough!" An announced.
She clapped her hands together once, eyes suddenly sparkling with an idea. Akito recognized that look immediately. "That face means trouble."
"It means genius." An corrected.
"I've known you long enough to know those're usually the same thing."
"Trust me!"
"I don't."
An paid him absolutely no attention, already turning toward Kohane instead. "Kohane! You brought your tripod, right? The one you use to record practice?" she asked.
"My..." Kohane blinked before remembering. "Oh! I did." She pointed toward one of the benches, where the folded tripod rested against her bag.
An's grin somehow widened. "We're gonna test who AkiRobo likes the most."
Akito's shoulders visibly slumped. "What." he said flatly. He did not know what she was talking about, but not a single idea that came out of the future star was a good one.
An spread both arms as if the explanation were completely obvious. "We'll all stand around him..." She jabbed a finger dramatically toward the middle of the stage. "And then we run!"
Silence.
Akito stared at her, absolutely baffled at the uselessness of this so called test.
"That's your experiment?"
"Yep." An exclaumed.
He slowly turned to Toya, silently hoping at least one other person possessed common sense.
Toya met his gaze, thoughtful enough that, for one hopeful second, Akito thought he was about to object.
"...I admit," Toya said after careful consideration, "I am rather curious to see the result."
Akito stared. "You too?"
A small giggle escaped Kohane before she covered her mouth. "I-It... does sound a little interesting..." she said sheepishly.
Akito looked from one face to the next in complete disbelief.
"So I'm the only sane one here. Again." he sighed.
"Oh, no way!" An answered without missing a beat.
"...That's somehow even more insulting."
A few minutes later, the tripod stood firmly planted near the edge of the old stage. Kohane made one final adjustment to her phone, checking that all four corners of the stage fit neatly within the frame before giving a satisfied nod.
"It'll record everything." she said in confirmation.
"Perfect!" An gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up before spinning on her heel to face the others. She thrust one arm into the air. "Everyone!"
AkiRobo remained exactly where Kohane had positioned him, standing quietly in the middle of the stage with his hands folded in front of him. His glowing eyes followed the four of them as they began spreading out into a rough circle around him.
Well...
Three of them did.
Akito stopped after taking barely two steps, crossing his arms as if that settled the matter.
An looked over.
"Akito."
"What."
"You need to move farther away—"
"No."
"Akitooo."
"'M standing, ain't I?"
"You know that's not what I meant!"
"Well sucks to suck—"
Kohane glanced anxiously between them. "A-Akito-kun..."
"I'm not sprintin' across the whole stage because you saw some dumb trend online." Akito said firmly.
"It isn't dumb!" An tried to argue back.
He scoffed. "It absolutely is."
"U-uhm, AkiRobo's recognition software is still programmed to prioritize Akito-kun..." Kohane explained.
An gawked. "What!?"
"So the results would inevitably be biased." Toya concluded, putting a hand to his chin.
Akito pointed harder. "See?" He looked back toward An with a grin that practically screamed I win.
Three pairs of eyes settled on him almost simultaneously.
An clasped both hands together beneath her chin. "Pleeease?"
Almost on instinct, Kohane mirrored the exact same pose. "P-Please...? Akito-kun—"
Toya watched them for a moment before, with complete sincerity, folding his own hands together as well. "Akito, please?"
Akito looked at the three of them. All staring at him with matching puppy eyes. Evil, evil puppy eyes that would melt him.
And unfortunately for him, he was a loser for his troupemates. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, defeated sigh. "You three are the fucking worst."
An gasped. "So you'll do it?"
"Just once. Don't get ahead of yourself"
Her triumphant cheer echoed across the empty stage.
"I already regret agreein'."
Within another minute, the four of them had spread themselves into something resembling an even circle around AkiRobo. Looking at it from a distance, the arrangement was almost strangely symmetrical, with the little robot standing perfectly still at the center of the old stage as though he were the world's most overqualified referee.
Kohane glanced around one last time to make sure everyone was ready before turning toward the robot.
"U-Uhm... AkiRobo?"
The robot's head lifted with a soft mechanical whir.
"Ready."
An bounced on the balls of her feet, unable to hide her excitement.
"Okay! Three..."
She swept her arm dramatically through the air.
"Two..."
Nobody moved.
"One..."
The four of them instinctively leaned forward.
"Go!"
An shot toward stage left almost immediately, laughing as she ran. Toya headed in the opposite direction with long, measured strides, while Kohane hurried backward with considerably less confidence. Akito, meanwhile, looked like he was only participating out of obligation, jogging just fast enough to be around the same distance as his troupemates.
In the middle of it all, AkiRobo remained completely still. His head slowly rotated around the stage.
A series of electronic beeps chirped from somewhere inside his processor.
Everyone slowed to a stop almost simultaneously, turning back toward him.
"So...?" An asked, hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath. "Who's he gonna pick?"
Once again, AkiRobo looked at each of them in turn.
His head lowered.
Then, to everyone's complete confusion, AkiRobo carefully bent his (surprisingly flexible for a thing made of metal) knees. Not because he was preparing to run. Or jump. Or malfunction.
He simply—sat down.
"...Huh?"
The robot remained perfectly upright for exactly one second. Then he slowly tipped forward.
Thunk.
His head gently bumped against the wooden stage. Both arms lifted. His little legs kicked around.
Then he began flailing in the most pitiful way imaginable.
His tiny metal fists patted uselessly against the floor while his feet made slow, uncoordinated kicks through the air, resembling less a sophisticated artificial intelligence and more a toddler who'd just been told he couldn't have candy before dinner.
"No."
One arm slapped weakly against the stage.
"Cannot choose."
Silence. Then—
An folded. A wheeze escaped her before she doubled over, clutching her stomach as laughter overtook her. "He's—he's throwing a tantrum!"
Akito stared.
Even Toya looked utterly baffled. He blinked twice before instinctively covering his mouth, as though doing so might somehow help him process what he was seeing.
He paused, watching AkiRobo continue kicking around. "I think he's overwhelmed."
That only made An laugh harder.
Kohane, meanwhile, had gone sheet white. "I-I didn't program that!"
As though hearing her, AkiRobo rolled awkwardly onto one side.
One little arm reached toward Akito.
The other stretched toward Kohane.
His motors whined faintly before both arms stopped halfway, unable to decide which direction to commit to.
He flopped back onto the floor miserably.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then a snort escaped Akito before he could stop it. "Pfft—" He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, but it was already too late.
An's head snapped toward him.
"You laughed!"
"I didn't"
"You absolutely did!"
"Shut up!"
By now even Toya's composure had begun to crack. A quiet laugh escaped behind his hand as he watched the little robot continue his remarkably unconvincing meltdown.
"...It appears," he managed between chuckles, "that the update... was successful."
Nobody stayed where they were for very long.
Almost instinctively, all four of them hurried back toward the not-so-little robot at nearly the same time. An was the first to reach him, laughter still bubbling out between breaths as she crouched beside the dramatic heap of metal on the stage. "Oh no, AkiRobo!" she exclaimed, still unable to wipe the grin off her face.
"Ehehe... we're here!" Kohane quickly knelt down on the opposite side, looking equal parts amused and horrified by the unexpected outcome of her experiment.
Toya followed almost immediately, lowering himself beside the robot with the same calm composure he usually wore, though the corners of his lips still refused to settle completely.
Akito arrived last.
He crouched beside the others with a long-suffering sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the past five minutes.
"...Seriously."
The instant the four of them had gathered around him again, AkiRobo's tiny tantrum came to an abrupt halt.
His kicking stopped and his arms rested quietly against the stage.
Slowly, his glowing eyes swept around the circle. Then, with surprising dignity, he pushed himself upright until he was sitting properly once again.
Before anyone could comment, AkiRobo leaned sideways without the slightest hesitation until his little metal shoulder came to rest against Akito's arm.
Akito looked down at him. "Oi."
The robot didn't react.
He simply remained leaning comfortably against him.
Kohane could barely hold in her giggle. "A-AkiRobo—"
Across from her, An's eyes practically sparkled. The grin spreading across her face somehow managed to become even wider than before. "Aaah—!"
Akito, meanwhile, slowly looked from the robot leaning against him to the three people staring back at him.
Then he looked down again. A long, defeated sigh escaped him. "...Great."
Three heads immediately turned toward him.
"We all got guilt-tripped by a damn robot." he grumbled.
As if recognizing his victory, AkiRobo tilted his head ever so slightly.
"Yay!"
That single word shattered whatever composure they had managed to recover. An burst into another fit of laughter, clutching her sides as she nearly tipped over onto the stage. Beside her, Kohane couldn't hold back her own giggles anymore, the nervous sound escaping despite her continued embarrassment.
Even Toya caved. A quiet laugh slipped free as he lowered his head, one hand rising to cover the smile he'd been unsuccessfully trying to hide.
To which of course, the others noticed anyway.
And Akito—made no effort to move away.
Despite all the complaining...
He never once shifted himself out from under AkiRobo's weight. The little robot remained happily leaned against him, perfectly content with the outcome of the experiment.
"Mission accomplished."