(October 3, 11945)
The War against the Machines has finally come to a conclusion. With the destruction of N2, all remaining machines connected to the network stopped moving, and stayed in place, immobile. I was able to regain my thoughts and memories of myself after A2 showed mercy and killed me. From there, I was one with A2, as my memories were placed in her care via my sword. After waking up next to 9S lifeless body, I dug for weeks under all the rubble caused by the tower to find a way to revive 9S. I had to find a way.
I killed him so many times.
He knew it was my job to kill him when he got too close.
If I could do one thing, I wanted to save him this one time. I have nothing else to live for. There is nothing on the moon except a server containing the human genome. The Bunker...so many friends, so many allies. I didn't know that I would actually miss 6O's cheerful banter and useless pieces of conversation regarding plant life and flowers.
But I still have him.
"Nines..."
He looks at me with a silly grin. He is wearing his visor. He thinks it gives him a more mysterious air.
It's utterly useless garbage, and has no practicality in a post-war world, but it makes me smile, and he knows it does.
"Take off that obsolete mask. What are you going to use it for?"
"Aww 2B, don't be like that. It still has valid functionality. It acts as binoculars, shows us items to pick up to support the camp...shows us places to fish..."
"Fish? Out of the three possible choices you presented to me to sway my opinion on that visor, you pick fish?"
"Yea. I like spending time outside with you."
I'm flustered, but I can't show him that. Why? Why do I care that I am struck with emotion when he talks to me like that. Is this fear? Fear that I can show my vulnerabilities? It's okay. I can show how I feel.
"...We can go fishing later. It's never good to fish alone."
We've been living in the resistance camp for a little while now in the old store room in the back of the camp. It smells of singed clothing and machine oil, but it is a harsh reminder of what was a reality for us for many years. Through the thick concrete walls of the storeroom, I could hear the jukebox playing Blissful Death. 9S had his back against the door, and was looking at me. He kept fidgeting with his visor until he decided that he didn't need it after all. He reached back behind his head and untied the knot that kept it together. He grabbed his visor off his face, and I noticed that the inside of his visor was wet. He was still smiling.
"You know how much I wanted to kill you. Every time you killed me, I wanted to fight. I wanted to stop you. I wanted to know the truth, but I realized, if the truth were to keep me away from you, I'd rather die than to let the world know. YoRHa was not the reason I lived for."
I sat silently on the bed. I knew this was coming sometime after he was revived. This wasn't easy for me to hear, but he had every right to speak to me like this.
"When I saw A2 kill you, I knew why. I understood everything, but with you gone, there was no reason to live anymore except to kill everything that was responsible for your death. Instead of celebrating the fact that the one person in this world who kept killing me was dead, it was the worst moment of my life."
I sat quietly.
"When I fought 21O, it didn't help. She had started to have feeling for me, too. I had to reaffirm my resolve. I had to become the executioner, to the one who loved me. I was you."
"Nines, I..."
"I'm sorry, 2B. I put so much duress on your life."
He was apologizing to me. I was shocked. Why? Why? This is my fault. I should be the one apologizing. What right do I have to be apologized to? I was a blind follower of an even more ridiculous dogma. I executed YoRHa's will on someone who was always destined to find the truth of YoRHa. I couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Shut. Up." I clenched my fist. I held back tears, but I slammed my fist on the mattress. I caught 9S off guard. "Just shut up, Nines. I...We...don't have to do that any more. I am happy I am here with you."
I got off the bed and walked towards the door. I pushed myself on to 9S's body and placed my forehead on his. I interlocked my fingers behind his neck, and traced my thumbs along the back of his jawline.
No resistance. Always no resistance.
"Please, Nines. Let's go out. Could you...buy me that T-shirt?"
His eyes darted down my blouse past my cleavage, still embraced forehead to forehead.
"Yea... Let's do that."
