Work Text:
“Shinguuji-kun!”
Shinguuji looked up the mythology book that he was correcting- er, “reading.” Kiibo stood before him with an uneasy, yet determined look on his face.
“Yes?” he answered. Honestly, he had never really talked to Kiibo so he couldn’t fathom what it was the robot could have wanted.
Kiibo snapped down into a bow, a stiff and humbling bow. “Please teach me more about humans!”
That piqued his interest. He waved a hand up to get Kiibo out of his bow so that he could take a better look at him. Shinguuji’s eyes thoroughly scrutinized Kiibo, who squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze.
His posture was stiff and militant. While his facial expressions were convincing enough to pass as a human’s, his odd eyes and markings gave him away. His form was protected by metal plates that made him seem more like he was made for combat rather than high school.
“Um, Shinguuji-kun?”
Shinguuji’s eyes met Kiibo’s again. “Why are you asking me for help?” he asked him. “Wouldn’t this be a task suited for someone more… sociable? Like Akamatsu or Momota?”
Kiibo shook his head. “You’re the Super High School Level Anthropologist. Your field of expertise is people. Who better than to teach me about humans than you?”
“... You wish to study anthropology?” The skepticism was clear in his voice.
“Yes.”
One would almost think that Kiibo didn’t even know about the nuances of lying if it weren’t for Ouma. But, he was sure that there was no reason to lie to him.
Shinguuji snapped his book closed suddenly. That made Kiibo nearly jump from surprise. Shinguuji got up.
“Follow me.”
When they finally stopped, they started practicing how to do fieldwork. The two of them sat off to the side of the main entrance; not quite hidden but still out of the way. Kiibo was staring at the passersby intently, recording them.
Shinguuji, meanwhile, was observing Kiibo. His posture was starting to relax and emulate the postures of those around him. And his… antennae was twitching? Curious…
Shinguuji flicked it with his finger. It let out a light metal clink and stayed stiff. Kiibo’s back straightened up and Shinguuji could hear the click of the recording function turning off.
“What are you doing?” Kiibo asked. He turned to look at the taller boy with confusion clear on his face.
“Nothing,” Shinguuji answered. Just satisfying a curiosity.”
Kiibo looked uncertain but he didn’t say anything. He turned back towards the passing students. The antennae started twitching again.
The more he tried to pay attention to Kiibo observing… the more it distracted him. Finally, he reached a breaking point. In one swift movement, Shinguuji removed his hat and slapped it onto Kiibo’s head.
Kiibo jumped at the sudden contact. He looked up to Shinguuji indignantly. His odd blue eyes were barely peeking out from beneath the hat.
Shinguuji held back a chuckle.
For the next week, every day at lunch, Kiibo went to Shinguuji for anthropology lessons. Shinguuji sounded almost like a professor while Kiibo recorded all the information. He wasn’t surprised that anthropology included so much but he didn’t realize before how much Shinguuji could actually talk…
“...and that’s how the folktales adapted by the kabuki theater still perpetuates in society today.”
Kiibo paused to see if he would continue or jump onto another topic. When he didn’t, he spoke for the first time in a while.
“You seem to really light up whenever we have these lessons.”
Shinguuji’s eyebrow went up. “Oh? Is that so?”
Kiibo tensed up. “Ah! Sorry! Was that a strange thing to say?”
Shinguuji brought his hand up to, presumably, where his mouth was and let out a deep chuckle. “Kukuku… Not in particular. Thank you for acknowledging how passionate I am about my work. It’s not often that I hear that.”
“Well, I…” Kiibo thought for a moment. “I guess you don’t. You don’t really talk with the others often.”
“That’s because for the most part, I prefer spectating. So it’s not often that I get to educate others in the joy of anthropology. Say for that…”
Kiibo couldn’t properly express his surprise when Shinguuji bowed to him. It was slight and he grabbed the bill of his hat as he did so, but he did it with a sort of grace that Kiibo wouldn’t have been able to copy.
“Thank you for allowing me to teach you.”
Kiibo put his hands up. “T-There’s no need to thank me. I was the one who asked lessons from you .”
Shinguuji straightened up at that. “Right. Now… where were we?”