An Encounter

"Also, thank you for agreeing to help with my maintenance." Tsuruko let out a deep sigh; though she was still embarrassed.

"I still don't know how much help I could be." Deen said. "I really don't know anything about how to build robots."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Tsuruko assured him, attempting a soothing voice. "I have a subroutine installed so that I can walk layman through it, and you'll simply be doing routine refinement. There's a screwdriver right on the left."

Deen reached for the screwdriver, before looking at Tsuruko's power conduit. Tsuruko broke eye contact with Deen and started looking at the floor. Tsuruko blushed and turned away. She hated the blushing sensation, simply put in to replicate human reactions with embarrassment: An emotion Tsuruko was still unfamiliar with.

"I simply mean to say they are underestimating your positive and progressive qualities." Tsuruko said, adopting a robotic voice... come to think of it her emotions preceded her battle with death. She worked to force the thoughts aside, though it was somewhat harder when you had three petabytes of instantly accessible memory space. "Shall we begin the maintenance?"

"Errr, right." Deen said, clearly eager to change the subject as he picked up a screwdriver. Tsuruko began to feel a lot less confident about commiserating with Deen in private than she had initially. She hadn't expected to make him feel uncomfortable with a compliment. People were still very hard for her to understand.

"Stand behind me and look at my shoulder joints." Tsuruko said. There should be some visible screws there. They simply need to be tightened."

Deen nodded and began and fit the screwdriver into the grooves of the first screws. Then there was a twinge. Tsuruko kept herself from shaking as Deen slowly twisted in the screws. As he went to the next screw Tsuruko had to suppress a small gasp. After the fourth screw the tension was too high and Tsuruko let out a small, decidedly non-robotic squeak.

"Are you alright?' Deen asked quickly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-no!" Tsuruko said quickly. "There's just some issue I'm trying while you're me with maintenance."

It wasn't strictly speaking a lie. However, it was not the complete truth either. Tsuruko's brain racked as she tried to understand what was going on. Her regular maintenance always had a relaxing and pleasing element to it, but this...

...this was significantly more intense of a sensation.

For some strange reason, Tsuruko wanted to feel more of it.

"Please continue." Tsuruko said. "We're only a quarter through."

Tsuruko's brain began racking for a solution. Her hip joints were even more tacitly sensitive than her shoulders. Being more sensitive pieces of machinery and more vital to her survival she was designed to feel the sensations there more acutely. She quite dearly dreaded it….and at the same time, anticipated it.

In her dalliances with many romance novels, some involving supernatural creatures, there seemed to be an attempt to create an air of emotional and physical tension between two people. Was this the tension that those stories tried to create?

Tsuruko's mind became clouded as the intense sensation came over her as Deen continued obliviously tightening the screws. At Tsuruko's soft sighs he would ask if something was wrong and Tsuruko would assure him otherwise.

"So now your legs, I guess?" Deen said, signifying the part that Tsuruko was dreading yet anticipating.

"Yes. They need some oiling." Tsuruko said. "There should be a jar and rag near where you found the screwdriver."

Deen nodded. He kneeled down, in front of Tsuruko this time, (Tsuruko felt the position was odd for reasons she found herself not wanting to voice why) and began to apply the oil. Tsuruko's mind exploded in a rush of information. Ones and zeroes exploded across her mind. For a brief second she think she even saw a two. Sensations filled her information processors until she couldn't take it anymore.

"A-ah!" she cried.

"Are you alright?" Deen asked, an urgent tone. Clearly he was worried he had caused Tsuruko serious damage.

"I-I'm fine..." Tsuruko said, her voice now feeble, directly contrasting to her usual steady voice. "Please continue."

"A-are you sure?" Deen asked hesitantly.

"Please." Tsuruko said, trying to sound like herself and instead sounding much firmer than she intended. "Continue. I only have one leg joint to go."

"R-right." Deen said. It was clear things were awkward for him, but he decided to continue and Tsuruko's mind was having trouble focusing on his social cues. Tsuruko steeled herself this time but the expectation seemed to have intensified the sensations.

Tsuruko's knees buckled a bit she let out several sharp gasps, trying to keep her voice down to not startle Deen anymore. He didn't seem startled, but he certainly did seem put off.

"Is... is that everything?" asked Deen. Tsuruko nodded, her legs wobbling a little bit. Deen nodded. "I guess I'll be going then."

Deen turned for the door, and Tsuruko knew if she just let him go without another word she'd regret it.

Her legs still had trouble functioning from her processors having been a little jumbled. Even so she managed to lunge for Deen and grab him by the shoulders. She almost fell over, but Deen caught her. Deen himself almost fell over, surprised by her weight.

It was another reminder that Tsuruko wasn't actually a normal girl.

"Oof!" Deen said, working to steady Tsuruko. "What was that all about?"

"I... I'm not Pinocchio." Tsuruko said.

"...What?" Deen said, steadying her.

"I said I'm not Pinocchio!" Tsuruko replied, giving more emphasis to her voice. "I'm not just a puppet that exists to try and become like other people." Tsuruko paused. "It's true I envy many of you for many of the things you have and your familiarity and how easily you laugh... but it's because I want them. Not because I'm attempting to become human, but because I want them. I'm alone, Deen. There's no one around in the world like me. I'm the only one of my kind. People say that I can't be hurt or killed, but I was reborn with a heart -a true heart and not simply something to keep me functioning- and I've learned that loneliness is a true and sure poison."

Deen looked at her, not sure what to say. "I feel less alone when I'm with you, though."

Tsuruko said. "Y-you are very precious to me Deen, and not simply because of some programming. I'm a human at heart! You are precious to me because of the value you have given to my life. When you became Zero just then, I was somewhat more frightened because I didn't know you'd be able to handle becoming a Soul Armour Knight." Tsuruko paused then looked away. "Don't make me so scared! I was crying even more!"

Deen paused and then began to laugh. Incredibly hard.

Tsuruko felt heat come up to her circuits again. "Wh-what do you find so amusing?!"

After a few final wheezes, Deen finally stood up straight and walked towards Tsuruko, not saying a word.

"W-what are you doing, De-" her words were cut off as Deen kissed her. The heat in her circuits began to become even more pronounced. She was worried they would go aflame. For other women it was a metaphor but for her it was a genuine concern. As Deen pulled out of the kiss, Tsuruko felt herself feeling just as drained as when he had worked on her joints, even if the sensations were not as intense. "Wh-what was that for?"

"Don't worry, Tsuruko. I got the power of Zero so that I can help ease your pain, that and, I don't want you to worry as much." Deen assured her.

Tsuruko nodded then embraced Deen as well. "I... enjoyed our time together today."

"It sure sounded like it." Deen responded.

It took a moment for Tsuruko to understand what he meant, how the sounds she made sounded similar to those of people in physical ecstasy. "O-oh." Tsuruko said. "Th-that hasn't happened before. Before, my maintenance hasn't inspired... sensations like that."

It was Deen's turn to blush. It occurred to Tsuruko that the full implications had just reached him. One thing she realized is that, like herself, sometimes human emotional processers would be slow on the uptake as well.

"That means I-I was your first ummm..." Deen paused. "I'm not even sure what to call it."

Tsuruko's cheeks turned red as she realized what just happened. "...Ehhhhhh! Y-You're my first—" She began to shake her head as she cried, "Ohmigosh, I can't believe this—!!" It took a few minutes for her to calm down.

Deen turned an even deeper crimson.

After she calmed down, Tsuruko was deeply enjoying this for some reason, perhaps for petty reasons. She had to admit there was a part of her that enjoyed the reversal, for having that power that he used to have. There was a larger part that just enjoyed that she was the source of the embarrassment. That such intimacy seemed to instill panic in him.

"I-I'm glad you enjoyed it." Deen said, looking away.

Tsuruko felt emboldened by Deen's sudden vulnerability. "Deen, I think it would be preferable for you to continue my maintenance rather than anyone else." despite her recent bold feelings, she still felt anxiety asking such a thing.

"Y-you're sure?" Deen asked.

"Yeah!" Tsuruko said. She then couldn't prevent a smile as another comment came to mind. "Although I would appreciate it if you took me to dinner and a film the next time," she pressed her fingers together, "Otherwise it's not fair for me!"

Deen paused. "I uh... can you even eat?"

"That was a joke, Deen." Tsuruko said, not even bothering to hide how much she enjoyed the reversal. "I've never seen a film in a theater though. I'd love to have that experience together if you don't mind."

"Sure." Deen said, a smile coming onto his face. "How about tomorrow night?"

"I'd like that." Tsuruko said. "Until then?"

Deen nodded, "Good night, Tsuruko."

"Good night, Deen."