9S watched with fascination as his container– body– slowly changed. 9S' brain works differently from humans'. It was probably due to the fact that he was not human. So 9S could instantly spot the changes around him. Yesterday, his fingernails were freshly cut. The next day, 9S saw that it had grown by a millimeter.
What was extremely jarring was how oblivious humans were concerning such details. 9S found out by talking to Ventuna one morning. The girl had looked refreshed and seemed to glow slightly. Her eyes were brighter and the creases around her face looked smoother.
"You look nice today." 9S had complimented her.
Ventuna raised an eyebrow before looking towards the closest mirror. Her expression turned into a frown. "Really? I don't think I look any different than usual."
9S blinked. No, he definitely saw the difference. He decided to take a shot in the dark. "Did you sleep well last night?"
Ventuna smiled and brightened up her entire face. 9S' sharp eyes caught how much stronger it looked compared to the day before. "Yeah! How'd you know?"
9S shrugged. "Lucky guess, I suppose." He ended the conversation at that.
Since then, 9S had stored that information in his head. Humans weren't as precise as Androids were– or least, Scanner types. It... unsettled him. How were these creatures the same ones as the humans that created Yorha? Everything about humans seemed like polar opposites to how YorHa was like.
Before 9S had found the truth (The humans were long dead. They weren't hiding in the moon and they were protecting no one), 9S had speculated and pondered what the humans up on the moon were like. Living, breathing creatures that wielded things that Androids could never hope to achieve. How did they function? What were their personalities like? How did they behave?
9S had thought that humans were much more and the same at the same time. Perhaps it was because of how often he spent around the ruins, but 9S had looked up to the humans. When he went exploring and found the remnants of what used to be civilization and society– he couldn't help but be envious. Humans were more than Androids– more than YorHa. They had lives, family, friends. YorHa existed for the purposes of war.
However, 9S, judging from the daily notices they received ("For Mankind."), 9S couldn't figure them out. He couldn't imagine how vastly different or how similar humans might be compared to Androids. Despite knowing so much of how they used to live, 9S knew nothing. The fact had frustrated him. The connection he felt whenever he learned more and more about them at times felt fake when he truly knew nothing. So 9S liked to daydream about the possibilities. How much more or less curious were humans compared to Scanner Types? What if they were equally curious? Such speculation had excited 9S.
Not anymore. A part of him was disappointed at how... inferior humans were. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was the truth. It was knowledge. 9S observed and observed, but it didn't change a thing. Humans were much more inferior than Androids– heck, even Machines were more capable than humans were.
But was that a bad thing? 9S had come to a conclusion: No.
It didn't matter how long 9S lived alongside the human race– they still fascinated him. They always managed to surprise him. Their weaknesses only made their strengths shine even more. And at times like that, 9S knew that humans are also far more superior than Androids.
"Hey!" 9S heard a voice. He looked up to see Operator 21O– Ventuna. She's Ventuna– open his door with a grin.
9S smiled back, lifting up the pile of junk in his hands. "Sorry. Still not finished." 9S had overestimated himself. Creating things was no easy feat.
Ventuna's smile didn't waver. She sat down beside him and eyed the parts on the ground. She whistled, impressed. 9S didn't know how to whistle. "It's okay. This is a lot more than what I could do, anyway."
9S shrugged.
"You do that a lot, you know?" Ventuna said, nudging him by the side.
"What?" He replied, slightly annoyed. He rubbed his side. Human bodies were so sensitive.
"That shoulders thing."
"You mean shrugging?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever it's called." Ventuna made a vague gesture. It was still so weird to see Operator 21O's face look so carefree. 9S wished he could program his mind to just accept that Ventuna and Operator 21O were separate people.
9S huffed and rolled his eyes. Something warm was building up near his torso. He... felt something like this before. His mind flashes and 9S is reminded of 2B. 9S playfully punched Ventuna's arm.
"Jerk." She stuck her tongue out and 9S imitated the childish action.
A moment of silence fell upon them before they burst out in laughter.
---
9S met them a few days after. In this world, they were born as twins. Their snow-white hair and piercing red eyes sent 9S' mind reeling. It was like seeing Ventuna for the first time all over again.
Adam and Eve.
The twins were around the same age as he was, albeit slightly older. Their hands were held tight together but they both smirked the same smirk 9S had seen before.
"Say hello to your new classmates!" The teacher's normally sweet voice sounded like poison in his ears. New classmates? Them? 9S gritted his teeth together.
Adam spoke first, "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Adam." He said with elegance. The atmosphere around him radiated charm, but 9S could only remember the look of mockery that seemed permanent on his face. How he treated everything below him and used 2B and 9S for his purposes. "And this is Eve." Adam gestured to his brother.
Eve grinned and waved. 9S found that odd. He expected Eve to say something– anything, really. But the boy stayed silent. Nothing like the loud rage Eve emitted back in the ruins.
9S blocked out what was happening around him. Adam and Eve were his classmates. He wondered how much different they were compared to the pair he had met in the abandoned Alien base. 9S looks up from the random spot he had been staring at. He finds Adam and Eve sitting diagonally from him, curiosity building up.
When the lesson started, he observes them. He observes the way Adam would focus on the lesson and nothing else, taking down notes. He observes how Eve would drift off, obviously daydreaming. Eve's leg bounces up and down to a rhythm only he can feel. Adam's feet were placed firmly on the ground.
9S doesn't know what to think.
Finally, the bell rings, signaling lunchtime. 9S looks up from his desk and finds the twins above him.
"Hello. Are you by any chance–"
"Nines." 9S cuts Adam off. "You can just call me Nines." 9S had discovered his alternate self's name and 9S isn't happy with it. He'd rather have people call him 'Nines'.
Adam smiles. "Okay then. Nines it is." His voice was soft and calm. "Forgive me for asking, but why are you here?"
The suddenness of the question catches 9S off guard. What did he mean? Did.. Did Adam know? Panic starts to fuel his system. His hand twitches, ready to grab something that could possibly protect him. Instincts that he had to develop and hone were prickling at the back of his mind. For a split second 9S is back in the wastelands like he never left.
Eve's expression turns sour. He elbows his brother and Adam winced. "Ah– sorry, sorry," Adam says and 9S blinks in response. That seemed so out of character. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. I could've phrased that in a different way."
Eve looks satisfied.
"You are obviously far more intelligent than everyone in this room, so why are you here?" Adam asks and 9S' heart calms down a bit. Was that it? If that was all he wanted to know, 9S could provide an answer.
But he wasn't going to give it away so easily. "Isn't it your first day? How can you be so sure of that? I barely did anything in class today." Something in him wanted to fight against the twins. Perhaps it was the cold embers of vengeance waiting to be stirred into life.
Adam smiles and there is something in his eyes that reminds 9S of the Adam that tried to kill him and 2B. It wasn't the same, though. It was tamer. More innocent. It was more amused than amused. Adam gestures to the entire classroom. "Rumors." He simply says.
"Didn't think of you to be the gossip type." 9S casually comments.
Adam ignores his remark. "The teachers also speak quite highly of you."
9S is walking information. He strives off knowledge. He cannot help himself from using such knowledge– he was trained to use whatever he has. He may be trained to be well informed, but he didn't want to skip years. He's already skipped enough as it is– from his Parents' insistence. 9S wanted to experience what any child his age would. 9S looks directly into Adam's red, human eyes. Adam is smart, but he is still human. There is a difference between them– a large one. 9S didn't know if he liked that or not.
"I want to be here." 9S says, "That is why I am here."
Adam stares at him. Firey Red met icy blue. Eventually, Adam smiles and it's a smile 9S had never seen before. It was a small smile that held a lot in it. "I see." He nods in understanding. 9S wonders what is going through his mind. What did Adam find?
Adam shares a look with Eve and the two looks satisfied. Eve makes a gesture with his hands. 9S doesn't understand. However, it seemed like Adam understood and immediately said, "Eve said that we should have lunch together."
Suddenly it hits him. Eve is mute. That is such a big difference from the Eve he knew. The Eve 9S knew had always let his brother talk through the complicated things, but that didn't mean that Eve wasn't vocal. Eve had made it perfectly clear that he was enraged and deeply saddened by Adam's death. He was so loud and rampant. His mere presence was suffocating with how vocal he was.
9S knew little about human dysfunctions and disabilities. He was interested. "Sure." He replies easily.
It seemed like they had made peace. He saw Eve beam and Adam grin. It was an odd sight to see.
Things were so different.
---
9S sat on his bed as he stared at his hands. A sudden question came to mind: who was he? No, no, that was a bad question. What he meant to ask himself was: who was the person that lived in the body he currently inhabited?
9S had pushed that sense of wrongness from the start, instead choosing to focus on his current existence. However, who was the boy that everyone knew? 9S felt sick. He was so selfish to only think of himself and not whoever 'Nines' was.
Did he die?
It was a terrifying thought. What if the boy had died? 9S had woken up on a bed– how could he have died? There was nothing that could've caused a death.
Perhaps it was 9S' fault. It was him who was dying– him who should've died and stayed dead. 9S didn't know where Nines' went. Nines' was human. Where do dead humans go? 9S silently scoffed at himself. He didn't even know where dead Androids went– how could he possibly know where deceased humans go? Humans wielded more than Androids did. One of those things were souls. 9S had read about souls, somewhere deep within the bunker. It was a hard concept to wrap his mind around. He thought about it day and night until he finally understands the basics of the concept of the soul. It was difficult, seeing as he could not relate to it.
9S had never killed a human before. There was no possible way to do so. Humans were already dead. Out of all things, killing a human was something 9S expected himself to do the least. He might have killed a human, the thought is traitorous in his head, An innocent, living creature. One that held more value than he had.
9S couldn't forgive himself for that.