Written for the Yuletide fic exchange.

"Wha- Hold on a minute-" Hinata sputtered in confusion as Nidai held him in place, while Owari tied the blindfold over his eyes.

"We have a very special surprise for you, Hinata-san!" came the voice of Sonia, as the other two lead him forward.

He could hear the sound of many different sets of footsteps following behind them, accompanied by conspiratory giggles and shushes.

"Ibuki thinks it's a surprise so amazing, that's like the surprise had a baby, but the baby is up for adoption and Hajime-chan is the lucky new surprise daddy! ...Only, it was Kazuichi-chan who made the surprise, so I guess he's the daddy! Congrats to the both you!" Hinata felt hands that he assumed were Ibuki's grabbing one of his own and shaking it vigorously.

The girl's chattering had lasted for long enough that the group had reached their destination. Hinata heard the sound of a door opening, followed by the sensation of the blindfold being untied.

He blinked, adjusting to the brightly lit room. The morning sun was bursting in through the window of Souda's workshop room. Souda himself stood beside an office chair, beaming with so much pride that Hinata imagined that the bright light might be radiating from him. Then again, it could just be that god-awful yellow jumpsuit.

Once his eyes had finally adjusted, Hinata noticed that someone was seated in the rolling chair, back turned toward him, dusty-pink hair reaching not quite to the figure' shoulders.

…Was this some sort of cruel joke? He turned back to look at the group of friends waiting eagerly behind him. Everyone from the island was there, grinning as if they were all throwing him a surprise party- everyone, that is, except for Chiaki Nanami.

The Super High School Level gamer had been so clever and kind. She had always kept her cool, no matter the situation, yet at the same time, she was always warm and caring.

…But she hadn't been real. She had been nothing more than a program, created to relate to humans. Yet, every moment they had shared all felt so real to him. She had been a beacon of hope amidst all the despair on the island. Despite all that, no matter how real his feelings towards her were, she didn't have a body to return to in the real world.

"What are you waiting for, man? Get over here!" Souda beckoned him closer to the figure in the chair. The hair, the way she sat, it was all so familiar, but it couldn't be… Her's was clearly the only permanent execution. Chiaki Nanami had lost a game, for the first time in her short 'life', in that program.

Hinata felt his feet carrying him closer to the chair, slowly, as if they were stuck in that invisible muck that slowed one's progress in dreams.

Unsure about how to precede, he placed an experimental hand on the shoulder of the person in the chair. His heart sank for a moment- it was cold and hard, like a lifeless doll. However, the chair finally spun around, causing him to lift his hand.

"Good morning, Hinata-kun," Nanami greeted with a smile.

Looking up at him was the face that he had grown to treasure so much.

"…How?" was all he could manage, turning back to Souda for explanation.

"I knew you'd be happy! It was the least I could do for my Soul Friend! I'll leave you two alone to catch up!" Souda proclaimed, giving Hinata a friendly slap on the back, but not before adding in a low voice, "She isn't built for, you know…that, so you two take it easy in here, okay?"

"Er, sure thing…" Hinata replied.

His friends all left the room with waves and smiles, leaving just himself and the mechanical girl.

"Nanami…is it really you?"

"I think so."

There was no mistaking that reply. Hinata gathered the resurrected girl into his arms, holding on tight, as if he expected her to be whisked away to a second death at any moment.

Nanami squirmed a bit, gently pulling away as she stood from the chair.

"I'm sorry, Nanami. Did I hurt you?"

"That's not it. I didn't feel…anything. That time I fell on you in the storeroom, you were so warm, just like that cow we petted…I think. Now there's nothing," her voice was filled with a confused curiosity.

Hinata wasn't sure how he felt about being compared to a cow, but he understood her meaning. That incident in the storeroom was much different for him as well. That time, the gamer's body had felt soft and warm, and her hair had carried the scent of the nearby ocean. There was none of that now.

"Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure Souda can add some kind of sensors or something. I'm just glad to have you back," he tried to reassure her.

Nanami shook her head matter-of-factly. "Souda-kun says that this is all he can do for now. He'll keep researching new technology, but he says it's more a matter of programming than of mechanics. Hey, Hinata-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you remind me what people feel like? I know the word 'warm', but I can't remember that feeling anymore…I think."

Hinata thought for a moment before her taking both her hands in his.

"You see that sun coming in through the window?" Nanami nodded. The boy continued, "Touching a person is like that. Energy passes between the two people, in the form of warmth, just like the sun giving off energy. It feels nice, just like touching you now, like this." He rubbed his thumb in a circular motion against the artificial skin of her own hand, that would have perhaps been soothing, had she any feeling.

"Even though I'm not warm anymore?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Being able to touch you is something I never thought I could do again. So, yeah, it makes me happy to be able to hold your hands like this, no matter what."

As he looked into her eyes, something behind the girl caught his attention. There was a blinking light on the wall. Dropping Nanami's hands, he walked over to inspect it. There was a little box the same color as the wall with a blinking light attached.

"Dammit, Souda," he sighed. Of course, he would install a camera before leaving them alone together.

As Hinata frowned at the device, Nanami wriggled out of her hoodie and hung off of the box, blocking the view.

"I think I understand what you were explaining." Standing on tip toes, she placed her lips on his for a moment as brief as a shooting star, which was, coincidentally, pretty similar to what Hinata saw in that moment.

"Touch…warmth…it's like that, right?" she asked with a smile as warm as the touches she could no longer feel.

The end