The summer sun shines its rays upon the modestly sized urban town during clear, cloudless skies. The sounds of birds, insects, trees, and vehicles calmly fill the air, giving a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. A train can be heard passing by, further enhancing the town's overall vibe.

"Hakase, please help me fold the laundry!", called the voice of a black-haired teenage girl.

The immediate response of "Hai!~" was heard sounding in the household by a voice of a young child, a girl.

That teenager was none other than Nano Shinonome, the robot high school girl created by the 8-year old professor, Hakase. Wearing her morning getup, she happily hums a tune while taking the laundry off the line and folding them into a basket, patiently waiting for the young genius for assistance. Sakamoto, the black cat with a scarf that allows him to speak, idly sleeps in the shade on the back porch. It was much too early for him to rise up from his calm snooze. Unfortunately, he is about to be subjected to a very rude awakening.

The blonde-haired child professor was heard running across the house hallway at very high speeds.

"Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Na-"

BUMP, THUMP.

Hakase, without seeing Sakamoto in the shade, clumsily kicked the cat in the gut, causing her to trip and fall down to the ground. The black feline, grunting and wriggling in pain, was not amused in the slightest.

"Oi, kid! Watch where you're running! I'm gonna feel that all day!"

Nano approached Hakase and Sakamoto in concern. "Hakase, Sakamoto-san, are you alright?"

Hakase looked up with teary eyes. "My elbow, it hurts…" she said while crying a little.

Nano inspected the damage. A scrape was bleeding from the little girl's elbow. The robot sighed in disappointment. "Jeez, this is what happens when you run in the house like that, Hakase. Come on, let's straighten you out." She picked up Hakase to her feet and noticed Sakamoto still squirming painfully. Petting his head and scratching his ear, Nano said to him in a comforting voice, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you in a bit." Turning back to Hakase in a scolding tone though, "Hakase, apologize to Sakamoto-san."

"I-...I'm sorry…" said the girl, upset in pain and shame.

Sakamoto sighed, "Whatever, it's fine. Just watch where you're running next time." As he said that, he returned to his much deserved morning nap.

—

Hakase was sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink, still all teary-eyed from the previous incident. Nano brought out the first aid kit from an upper cabinet, rubbed a bit of peroxide on a piece of gauze, and focused on her cute little patient.

"Nano, is it going to hurt?", asked Hakase.

"Only a little bit," replied a smiling Nano, "but it will make you feel better afterwards, I promise!"

Hakase got scared, covering her scabbed elbow. "But, but I don't want it to hurt!"

"Hakase, be a big girl, now. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," consoled Nano as she applied the peroxide to her wound. The little girl inhaled sharply in pain, but relaxed after a few seconds. Nano washed her wound a little more and applied a shark-printed bandaid. "There, all done!"

"Thanks, Nano!" Hakase was much happier after looking at her bandaid. "Laundry time!"

The robot laughed, "It's okay, Hakase, you don't have to help me now. Go work on your research now, okay? I'll cook you breakfast when I'm done."

Hakase looked at Nano curiously, tilting her head. "Oh… okay." This was unusual to hear this coming from her guardian. However, her eyes brightened as she remembered why she was running in the house in the first place. "Nano! Nano!", she excitedly said, jumping up and down.

Nano looked back at Hakase, "What is it?"

"There's a moving truck across our house! We have new neighbors!" Hakase couldn't contain her excitement.

Nano blinked. After processing what she just heard, she gasped, eyes wider. "Wait, we do?!"

"We do?" said Sakamoto from the backyard porch, overhearing what Hakase just announced. Even he was curious. He got up quickly, probably shouldn't be doing so due to the pain, but he didn't care at the moment.

In an instant, the Shinonome household got out from the front door of the laboratory and looked to see a family of four unloading various furniture and items from a moving truck. For the first time in a while, they have new neighbors!

"Sugoi! You're right, Hakase!", exclaimed Nano. "We should say hello!"

Hakase didn't even hesitate, "OHAYOU!~", she loudly called out to the family, waving her arm rapidly.

—

"Ohayou gozaimasu!", called the family out in unison.

A teenage boy with black hair, who looks about the same age as Nano despite not being a robot himself, came up to Nano, Hakase, and Sakamoto, bowing. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!", greeted the young child professor, bowing back along with Nano and Sakamoto, "are you our new neighbor?"

"Yes I am!", greeted the boy. "My name is Tadashi Fujiomi. Over there," Tadashi said, pointing, "are my parents, my older sister Tamiko, and our cat, Kiko-chan." An orange tabby cat was seen sitting at the gateway of their front yard.

Hakase, who was even more excited, further brightened her smile. "You have a cat too?! Cool! Does it talk?"

"Eh?" Tadashi was confused, but a bit amused at this question.

"Please excuse Hakase, she's a bit excitable at the moment." said Nano, slightly embarrassed. Bowing, she introduced herself. "I'm Nano Shinonome. This is Hakase, and our cat, Sakamoto-san. Nice to meet you."

"O-oh! N-nice to meet you, too!", replied a flustered Tadashi, bowing again in a bit of sweat.

"What's with these neighbors?", asked the boy to himself. "The young girl is being called a Professor, this cat got addressed as San, and this cute girl talking to me... has a screw on her back?"

"Tadashi!", called a glasses-wearing girl who looks and sounds to be in her early 20's. "Where do you want your manga collection?"

"T-T-TAMIKO!", yelled the now panicked Tadashi, "DON'T ASK THAT OUT LOUD FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR!"

"Like you're able to hold any secrets." Tamiko deadpanned, much to Nano's amusement and Tadashi's embarrassment. Turns out, he's an otaku.

Tadashi sighed in defeat. "Just… just put it to the side."

Tamiko, expressionless, put down the box to the side of the front entrance. Then, she picked up an unusually large signpost and stuck it in the ground aside of the box. It reads:

TADASHI FUJIOMI'S
"CRAZY AWESOME SUPER COOL"
MANGA COLLECTION

An arrow drawn below it points at the box. Tadashi's body and clothes turned completely white in an instant. At that moment, Nano, Hakase, and even Sakamoto had a hard time containing their laughter, covering their mouths.

"Uhh… anyways!" exclaimed a color-returned Tadashi, turning back to the Shinonome household, "We've been here since dawn, trying to move into our new home, and we still got a lot of work to do. Would you mind lending a hand?"

Nano clapped her hands together. "Sure! We'd be glad to help! Right, Hakase?"

"Right!", exclaimed Hakase in response, fist in the air.

In what seemed like a spontaneous coincidence, loud stomach growls could be heard from all four beings standing together.

"Actually, uhh…", said Tadashi, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "We didn't have a proper breakfast this morning, just a bunch of energy bars..."

A light bulb popped over Nano's head. "Oh! Good timing! I was actually going to make breakfast before Hakase told me we have new neighbors! We'd like to invite you and your family over, Fujiomi-san!"

To no surprise, Tadashi was thrilled. "Wow, are you serious? That sounds great! I'll go let everyone know! Hey Mom, Dad, Onee-chan!"

Nano smiled to herself as Tadashi ran over and called to his family. "He's really nice… and cute, too~", she thought as she let out a little giggle. Once again, her stomach, along with Hakase's and Sakamoto's, growled. No more time to waste. It's time to eat.

—

The Shinonome and Fujiomi family all ended up eating breakfast together at the laboratory. Unfortunately for Nano, she has to take a trip to the grocery shop because almost all of the food in the fridge and pantries were used up. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Fujiomi offered to give some money to her as thanks for offering to help move in.

"Oh, no! I can't take the money," said Nano, bowing repeatedly, "It's what I'm supposed to do, a-as a neighbor and-"

Both parents chuckled, interrupting the kind robot. Mrs. Fujiomi calmly replied in a loving voice, "Please, Shinonome-san, it's the least we could do to say thanks. Use it to buy your groceries!"

Nano nervously reached out with both her hands and accepted the envelope containing the money. "A… arigatou."

She didn't really know how to handle this kind of situation. That escalated even further when she slowly pulled out the money from the envelope, containing thousands of yen. Out of shock, steam blew out of her ears and her key started turning violently.

"S-S-SERIOUSLY?! THIS MUCH?! I-I CAN'T ACCEPT ALL OF THIS!", she screamed loudly. Both Fujiomi parents beamed a smile at the flustered girl. Nano didn't have a choice. She had to keep all this money. "A-A-A-ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU! ARIGATOU!", blurted Nano while repeatedly bowing quicker than before.

As the parents bowed back, Nano hurriedly ran into the laboratory to put the money in a safe location. A trail of steam followed her.

Mr. Fujiomi looked at his wife, "Nano-chan is such a sweet girl. Don't you think so, Kumiko?"

"Um… Takeo…", replied Mrs. Fujiomi, "how much did we give her, again?"

Both stared at each other in awkward silence.