"Who is that Android anyway? I've never seen a type like him." The next day arrived and Devola's mind still thought back to the Android that arrived with A2. "You think he's part of YoRHa?" A new YoRHa model?
"An unusual YoRHa model if that were the case." Popola said to her sister. "The others speak of him as well. It turns out that he appeared a few days ago."
"So when we were out?" Devola asked as Popola nodded with confirmation. "That makes sense. We haven't seen him before leaving and it's also confusing why Anemone knows him." The look that Anemone gave the Android yesterday was one of relief as if she was glad that he was alright. She also spoke with a happy and excited tone. Anemone isn't one that acts that way with others. Was she acting like that because of the new Android? Or because of A2 given both of them have history together? Either way, Anemone sounded happy when responding to the male Android.
"I've heard a few of the others speak about him with curiosity." Popola said as she recalled hearing the rumors. "Some think he's a YoRHa Android. Others are amazed at how tall he is."
"He was quite tall wasn't he?" Devola recalled Shirou up and close. "Whatever, doesn't matter. What else did they say?"
"Some wondered what must've happened to him before he arrived. He was being carried by A2 as she had him on her back while he was unconscious. Some say it was an amusing sight seeing such a big Android be carried by a smaller Android." Popola said as she looked at her sister. "Turns out No. 2 brought her to the leader without saying anything. She rushed to her house making others wonder what relationship A2 and Shirou have."
"Relationship?" Devola raised her brow at the things the other Androids are muttering about. "Now that I think of it, A2 isn't the one who would care about others in general. She's known to just hunt machines and is bash."
"Where do I know someone who acts bash?"
"What are you saying, sister?" Devola looked on with irritation as she stared at Popola who smiled her way causing her to smile back. "You know, I wonder something about him."
"What is it, Devola?" Popola asked her sister with curiosity as to what she thought of the new Android.
"If he is a YoRHa unit, isn't it odd of them to have him use a bow?" Devola recalled the giant black bow that the Android had gripped in his hand. "I doubt arrows can penetrate through the metal of a machine. Also, all YoRHa units wear visors." And this specific Android does not.
"You're right Devola, that is a strange weapon. You're right about him not wearing a visor too." Popola said with confusion. "He's also dressed quite differently, isn't he? He has black and white on him like YoRHa units, but he doesn't have the usual outfits like them." She recalls the red scarf, black jacket, and pants.
"Why is he the talk of the camp anyway?" Devola wondered.
"He's been taking quest left and right ever since his injuries have been repaired. Many are grateful for his help that he has done in such a short time." Popola said as her eyes blinked as she saw the Android they were talking about as he entered a building and shut the door.
Was he holding a plate of food? She thought to herself at the oddity of an Android taking food with him. Maybe he's feeding an animal... She waved it off without much wonder.
-~-
"What are you doing?" A2 looked at Shirou who sits on a chair while he was working on an object that was placed on the table by him.
"I'm seeing if there's a way to repair this AC machine. I bought it from the Maintenance Shop Owner when I took notice of it lying around."
"You bought something broken?" A2 raised a brow as she stared at the man. "You are strange." She paid more attention to his face as she saw how Shirou didn't bother looking at her.
"The Shop Owner always says the same thing. I've bought a few things from him that have been broken. This is just one of those things." Shirou said while focusing on the circuits of the conditioner.
"Have you fixed many things before?" A2 gazed at the man as he worked.
"I have. I think it started back in my home because I fixed things as a way of training and improving."
"How so is it training?"
"When I was still clueless about my magecraft and what I've been doing wrong, I wasn't very strong you can say. I had two different variants of magecraft at my disposal before I fully developed my tracing to its current level. Back then, my projection abilities were still weak. The other two pieces of magecraft that I had at my disposal were reinforcement and structural grasp." Shirou said. "Reinforcement is one of the most difficult magecraft as its purpose is to strengthen an object to its limit. An example is a branch. A branch doesn't require much strength to snap it in half correct?" He looked at A2 in question.
"Of course not. A twig is so fragile that you don't need to put much strength into destroying it."
Shirou nodded at A2 as he turned back to the conditioner. "When pouring magical energy and reinforcing the branch, its durability increases, and its strength as well. Reinforcement isn't just for physical strength and durability, although it can also be used on your body such as reinforcing your legs to spring faster, or hardening the skin and increasing your strength, it's also able to be used to increase the nourishment of food, sharpen a knife... However, at the end of the day, it's still hard to use. If you mess up and pour too much magical energy in a part of your body, it can potentially kill you and sometimes reinforced objects can explode."
A2 stared in alarm at the information. "Kill you!? Then those who reinforce their bodies will be fools if they know they can potentially die." She scoffed as she saw the man widen his eyes while scratching his head lightly. "Are you insane—"
"It's fine. Back then I was quite incompetent with reinforcement and injured myself a few times, but even then I was slowly able to grasp how to use reinforcement. I'm better at controlling it but I don't use it on my body too much because it's still a risky move. However, when it's necessary, I do." Shirou said with a smile as he looked at A2.
"That still doesn't make things better." A2 gritted her teeth with slight agitation. How can he smile while speaking of his near-death experiences so casually?
"Hey, who said walking down the path of a magus was safe?" Shirou asked as he fixed the problem with the conditioner. "'To be a magus is to walk with death.' That is the path that every magus knows when deciding to remain a mage. Inevitable, we understand that if we wish to trudge the path of a mage, then we will be at death's door... That was the first thing I was taught and I accepted it despite knowing the consequences."
A2 frowned at the knowledge of what it means to be a mage. Humans willingly follow the path of a mage despite the breath of death on your neck waiting to claw down at you. Their supposed creators are even more idiots than she imagined!
"Moving on, structural grasp is the ability to help me understand both design and structure of an object. You can say that the reason I'm able to fix this conditioner is because I used structural grasp on it and a 3D image was produced in my mind."
"That sounds useful."
"It's very helpful." Shirou agreed. "Thanks to it, I'm able to find out problems that might need repairs or are faulty in objects. Although not everything can be fixed, structural grasp makes things easier to learn where the problem exactly lies."
"..."
"You must've come here for a reason I presume?" Shirou stopped working on the conditioner as he stared at A2.
"Machines. Kill." A2 simply said. "I'll be back soon."
"I'll come with then—"
"You'll stay here." A2 cut the man off before he can get up from his spot as she saw his gaze on her. "You stay here and relax." Although she may not know much about their creators, she knows that them taking constant tasks without much of a break isn't normal.
"...Relax?" Shirou raised a brow at the suggestion.
"What I mean is that I wish to go alone." A2 looked away. "You haven't gotten proper rest. Don't try to lie to me." She glared at Shirou quickly.
"Well, I won't deny your claims. However, I'm feeling well."
"No." A2 shook her head with refusal of whatever he will suggest. "Just stay here. If I find out you've continued to take on missions while I'm gone, I won't forgive you."
"A bit crude don't you think?" Shirou asked with a cocky smirk causing A2 to twitch her eye.
"I don't care about you. It's just...you're a human. That's all." A2 looked away again. "Parts of my system are still programmed to make sure you're not in harm." She said with a scoff.
"Is it really the program or are you simply concerned? I think it's the latter."
"I'll be going now." A2 turned around. "Last warning. I will hate you if you don't follow what I said." She walked off agitated. It's just the programming... It's just the programming. She repeated in her head with a deep frown.
Shirou watched the figure of the deserter slowly become distant. He sighed as he didn't understand the concern. So long as his body doesn't shut down on him it doesn't matter, right? He grabbed his neck as A2's words rang in his mind for a bit.
Although she is right, I have just been taking quest and doing nothing else. He glanced at the conditioner as he closed his eyes. His muscles do ache a bit from the constant work he's put himself against. However, he feels not much fatigue despite how much he's worked. He rolls his shoulder around as he looks at the sky. His gaze directly focused on the moon with a blank look.
-~-
"—"
"HoPE."
["Depletion of ***** order. Threat Level: CrITiCaL.]
"HElP uS..."
["W***e Ch********** ****ro** cONtiNueS to kill ****** and incrEasE Leg**** forCes..."]
"I don't want to die."
"Save us."
["HU******* **RV**** prObABIlitY rATe... *%"]
As time goes on, an increase of voices cry out. They get louder and echo even more each time. Voices ranging from all groups of different ages echo with despair. In pain, they plead for hope.
H******* has no chance of survival. Project *******, the last hope they had to survive failed.
["H******* is calCuLAteD to peRisH in ****"]
The co******** un************* of ******* failed. In this world, ****** will ce*** to e*i**.
The cries of anguish and despair all the while they pray. The collective mass of thoughts from the people sought a miracle. A miracle to give them a chance. A miracle for them to keep on existing.
In a deathlike sleep, a man lays on the ground without response. A man that should've perished. Unaffected by the events remaining in the world. However, he was prevented from obtaining *****. He can't *** because—
"HopE..."
"LasT hopE..."
"[PrObaBilitY of **man**** fuLL extinction......]"
But...so long as one ***** remains, then that's all that matters. They need hope. They need someone to carry on. Someone strong. One that can carry the weight of all of ********...
The co******** un************* of ******* calculated the perfect ******. One that the people have determined as worthy.
Their hope. Their despair. Their dreams. Their salvation. All that they are... If one is to remain, then they have chosen the perfect ******.
A burden that one such as him can carry. One that has pursued endlessly. One that has done the best he can to not falter.
["You shALl be the LAsT of ********..."]
A burden like no other. The only one that everyone placed their faith in. What better choice than—
"A hero..."
-~-
I'm back to school and it's tiring already... Especially now that I'm officially a college student.
That is all for now everyone. The chapter has sadly reached its end. Thank you all for reading again. Thank you for your support as well as always!
That will be it for now. Until next time, bye.
Word Count: 2,119