Restoring Mankind (NieR Automata) Chapter 14 preview 3/4 (Patreon)

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"Can you drink?" 

A2 looked up and saw Dr Naoka looming over her, a mug with something steaming in her hand. Her nose took a sniff of the air and she smelt the strong beverage that was in the mug. It smelt bitter, with a whiff of something light and sweet in it. 

"I...no thank you," A2 admitted. Naoka shrugged her shoulders and took a sip from the mug before sighing. 

"I hope that in time, we'll get to planting coffee beans again. This stuff is atrocious." Naoka said, her head shaking as she placed her mug by her side as she sat on a chair before a table. A laptop was opened up on it, multiple lines of something displayed on the screen. A2 leaned forward. 

"How...can you tell?" A2 asked. 

"Oh, this is the swill that the Americans love to drink," Naoka explained, typing down onto her laptop. "I spent years working as a volunteer in the Middle East, caring for refugees from the wars there. The local Arabs brewed their coffee in a way that has left me addicted." 

"I see," nodded A2, not knowing how to react to that or what to say. Silence descended in the room, the clacking of keys the only sound that was heard, other than Naoka's soft breathing. 

Since her internment here, A2 was keenly aware that her conversational skills weren't exactly the best. Being on the run mostly alone made sure that her socialization skills was severely underutilized and forgotten. That and her frustration at her fugitive status made her all the more unhinged in terms of conversation. She really had nothing else to talk about than how to kill machines or find the best spots to get spare parts for herself. Actually, how the hell does one even talk to a human? 

Naoka and the others had been surprisingly accommodating to her. Some were even going out of their way to get to know her. A fact that made A2 feel awkward as she had no idea how to respond to that. Out of the others though, she preferred Naoka the most. The Japanese doctor provided conversation that was new to A2 and she also respected her space. 

Now, she was being assigned to her as a bodyguard of sorts but from how Naoka conducted herself, it became clear to A2 that the doctor really didn't like someone looking over her shoulder. 

A fact A2 could relate to. 

"You're just going to stand there?" Naoka asked. A2 blinked. She was just standing in the corner, looking like a still statue. 

"Uh...could I sit?" A2 asked. A small smile crept on Naoka's face. 

"There's a couch. Lie down on it." Naoka said, leaning in and pointing at the furniture in question. 

"Are you sure that can support me? I'm heavy, you know," A2 said, looking at the thing held up by thin metal legs. 

"Hm. Give it a go anyway. One way to test a hypothesis is to experiment," Naoka remarked, going back to working on her laptop. A2 took a note of the doctor's advice and tentatively lowered herself on the couch. The furniture creaked slightly but held her up nevertheless. A2 blinked. 

"Wow," Naoka remarked. "How much do you weigh again?" 

"A hundred and thirty nine kilograms," A2 answered, her hands resting on her knees. 

"A hundred and thirty nine and you still have a figure like that. Women would die to have a body like yours," Naoka whistled, leaning forward and resting her head on clasped fingers. 

Bemusement crept on A2's face. "Bullshit. I am an android. No human would want to die for me. I was built to die for humanity." Confusion replaced her bemusement as Naoka laughed, shaking her head. 

"I assume you hadn't heard what has happened in the ruined city?" Naoka questioned, tilting her head to the side. 

She immediately shot up to her feet. "What has happened? An attack? Tell me!" A2 barraged, her fingers twitching incessantly. 

"Calm down, A2-san. And yes, an attack did happend. Those big Engels type machines rampaging through old Tokyo," Naoka said, leaning back to type down on her laptop. "The Resistance was nearly destroyed there but the Sergeant and YoRHa turned the tide." 

Hearing this, A2 fell back on the couch, a bitter taste in her mouth. Hearing this, a barrage of emotions coiled through A2. Missing a battle as dire as Naoka described made her feel shame. Her very programming demanded her to fight but that would have meant going to battle alongside YoRHa. She...didn't want to fight with them. Too much bad blood had happened, some things were simply unforgivable. 

Naoka watched her quietly. 

"How do you feel to all this?" she quizzed A2. The long-haired android glanced up at the Doctor. 

"Why the hell would you want to know?" the android bit back blithely. Her programming screamed at her for her disrespect to a human and her cheeks reddened in punishment. Naoka however merely ignored her jab. 

"You look constipated just hearing about what I told you. Something is bothering you, clearly. Why not tell me about it?" Naoka explained, her head still tilted. 

"Why should I tell you? You're not my friend," A2 said, crossing her arms. 

"Well, correct. I am not your friend. However, I am the doctor in charge of this facility which means I'm your doctor now. And what the doctor says, goes." Naoka said, putting her foot down. While she was willing to let A2 have her space, she wasn't going to let her wallow in whatever problem was facing her. She did not keep the android around her for aesthetics. She was here to keep watch over the clearly traumatized android.

The fact that she and the other androids she had spoken to still functioned as people was frankly, surprising. 

"Why are you so invested in taking care of me?" A2 asked quietly, looking up at Naoka. 

She answered quickly. "Because I am the doctor and taking care of people is my job. My duty. And you clearly haven't had someone else take care of you in awhile." Naoka observed. Despite being clad in new clothes, utilitarian fatigues that was a bit too large for her, it was clear that underneath those clothes A2 still had her battle damage. The Twins had attempted to fix her up but there was only so much they could do. They were gone now, returned to the city to help in the reconstruction efforts. 

Smith did not take Devola's departure lying down and he was off somewhere in the facility busying himself with work. 

Understandable considering she was pregnant with his child but right now, it still baffled Naoka that they were in eleven thousand years into the future and the men were impregnating androids that would have given models a run for their money. 

A2 had no idea of what Naoka was thinking. All she could think about was this human offering her help. No one had given her a helping hand before let alone a human. This was a tremendous honor her old squad would have given everything to get. A2 sighed. Naoka was earnest enough, she supposed. 

"I...just feel," A2 sighed, struggling to put her feelings to words. "I feel shame that I wasn't able to fight. I'm built for battle and war. And now you tell me that a major operation has happened that drove back the machines. I...I just feel shame that I wasn't doing what I'm intended to do." 

"And didn't the Twins say you needed urgent repairs? It's not as if you could go and make a difference when you need to be repaired by YoRHa," Naoka pointed out. A2's fists tightened some more. 

"I...I will not be going back to YoRHa. Never again. Not while she is there." A2 whispered. 

Naoka raised a single brow. "She?" 

"Commander White," A2 said her name with revulsion and disgust. Once, she respected her. 

Once. 

"Commander White. Your old CO, as the Americans refer to it," Naoka said. She had been privy to the details behind the Pearl Harbor mission and goodness, what a sinister series of events. The handling of this event ought to have earned its planners a crucifixion, Naoka reckoned. 

"Y-yeah. That one," shuddered A2. 

"You have a dilemma, though. If you don't return to the bunker where YoRHa can actually truly repair you then you will be unable to fight." Naoka pointed out. 

A2 bit her lip. That was the problem that fucked with her head. If she wouldn't return to the Bunker, the one place on the planet that could fix her up or hell, improve her, then she was basically out of commission. But there was also something else. This Naoka sensed. 

"I am sensing a but here," Naoka said, eyeing A2. 

Their eyes met. 

A2 for the first time found a place where she wouldn't have to worry about getting stabbed or shot or blown up to bits. There were humans here. Actual living breathing humans she could go talk to or simply be around with. Her programming went haywire in sending her brain the feeling of satisfaction. After so so long, she was finally around her creators, her gods. 

And she didn't want to part from that. 

"I...I am safe here," A2 quietly whispered, vulnerability on her face. "I don't have to run. Not anymore." 

But it still shamed her that she wasn't fighting. 

God damn it. Why were emotions so fucking complicated? 

Naoka took in all in, processing A2's mutterings and confessions. She hummed, wondering how to respond. The more she did, the more she realized she wasn't cut for this sort of thing. Comforting people and inspiring them was Smith's handiwork, not her. She took on this role to keep her interactions with people as minimal as possible. 

Well. 

A2 wasn't people in the traditional organic sense, she figured she could work with that. 

"I am not here to judge, only to listen and accept," Naoka said carefully, choosing her words. "Yes, your programming is telling you to fight but you are not your programming. You are more than that, beyond that. You are desiring something else, wishing for it. If staying here is what you want, you are more than welcome to. But if you wish to go and fight, I am sure the Colonel would be more than happy to support and protect you. He's simply that sort of man." 

Naoka was no soldier by any means but she had seen war. Lived through it. "When I chose my career, I did so because all I wanted was to live a peaceful life. Yet, the Legion came and threw the entire world into chaos. I was forced to fight. The one thing I learned from that is if you want a peaceful life, you need to go and fight those that do not respect your wishes. We live in a wide world after all, not a island. Sometimes, extraordinary events happen beyond our control and we have to deal with it." 

Naoka had no idea if she was making sense but it felt right of her to say it. She turned to A2. "So, what will you chose, A2-san?" 

A2 glanced at the ground. 

She didn't know how to respond. 

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A/N: 2booty next huehuehue