•How to Not Confess Properly for Gun Dummies!•
4) Go hunt game, grab explosive rounds.
In the dark and cold bedroom, its windows covered and door closed shut as the air-conditioner does its job, Uni lets a smile cross her lips as she admires the being before her.
A thin, doll-like entity is right in front of the girl, its gray, metallic body completely devoid of features as it stands on its two legs, several centimeters higher than the ravenette herself.
Amidst the silence, a single chuckle sounds. This thing cost quite a bit, and Uni will have to put off buying pretty much anything for a long time, but as long as everything works out, this will definitely pay off in the end!
The plan is quite simple: impress Nepgear with the one thing she loves the most, then go on to become the one she loves the most!
... By confessing, that is. Not converting herself into a robot.
Uni's still not desperate enough for that.
Holding in the urge to chuckle a bit more in eagerness alone, the ravenette turns towards the wide table by her right. A book of instructions alongside all sorts of tools and materials are placed on the wood, all waiting for their chance to shine.
It wouldn't do to show Nepgear somethating as plain as this gray thing, obviously. Uni needs something to leave an impact.
Scarlet eyes wander over the featureless robot for a moment. Maybe she could start by a basic image change...
Black Sister is now doing her best. Please wait warmly.
Letting out a huff, Uni lifts her welding mask and places the tools back on the table. With that out of the way, she eyes her handiwork.
The robot, which once had a definitely male physique, now has curves unmistakably female around its hips.
At the confirmation that her attempt was a success, the Lastationite Candidate lets a prideful smirk reach her face. She didn't do this out of some irrational dislike for beings with two different chromosomes, no; that'd just be dumb. Instead, this was done to... Um... Well, maybe change the atmosphere a bit for the eventual confession? Make the mood a bit more...
... Homosexual?
Just like that, Uni's smile falters a bit. What the hell is she trying to get here, some sort of confirmation? Is her subconscious lacking in self-confidence, that's it?
Does she even know what she's doing anymore?
It's then that the ravenette shakes her head, trying to dispel these thoughts. She literally changed a robot's gender on a whim, but that's okay; this is her confession being prepared here, following whims is part of it, right? This doesn't need some sort of reason at all.
With that out of the way, the girl proceeds to inspect the robot once more. Its curves are fine, but maybe she should do a bit more...
Black Sister is now adding features. Please wait at a slightly higher temperature than usual.
A sigh of relief escapes the ravenette's lips as she leans away from the robot. It took a few tries, but she did it.
Now, the construct's metallic body is nowhere to be seen, an outer layer of a soft, skin-like white substance completely covering it. Furthermore, it now sports a considerable bust – although featureless in that detail – and even a bellybutton to complete its image!
At the sight, Uni can't help but smile. She didn't really expect to find instructions on how to do this sort of thing, but they certainly came in handy! Now, if the manual was telling the truth, the robot should feel just like a real person!
"..."
It's then that a thought crosses the girl's mind.
Slowly, her hand reaches forward, and, in a single motion...
Uni squeezes the robot's bust.
"..."
It does feel real, the ravenette muses as her hand tests the artificial substance a bit more.
One second later, Uni realizes what she's doing and promptly lets go of the robot as if it was made of lava.
Coincidentally, her face certainly feels like it's made of lava.
"..."
Choosing to forget this just happened, the Lastationite Candidate proceeds to analyze the robot, doing her best not to stare specifically at the pair of notable features on its frontal torso.
It certainly is unmistakably female now, that's for sure. Still, maybe Uni could do something about its color...
Black Sister is now doing art. Please wait at approximately 37°C.
Just a little bit more, and... done!
With a big smile, Uni moves away from the robot, placing the toothbrush on the table before doing he same to her dirty apron. The robot is gray no more, its artificial skin now a light, natural color much like the girl's own.
Scarlet eyes observe the newly painted being for quite a while, the ravenette carefully drawing her conclusions about the sight.
And then, she frowns.
It looks bad. Well, not bad bad, but more unsettling than when the whole thing was gray.
The skin really looks real. And that really doesn't mesh well with having no features.
In other words, she just made the poor construct into the textbook definition of Uncanny Valley.
A big sigh escapes the girl's lips. She can't show something like this to Nepgear, at all. It'd either creep her out or just elicit no reaction, both of which would hit Uni pretty damn hard considering it'd mean she managed to make Nepgear dislike a robot of all things.
Nepgear. Disliking. A robot.
That's like making a pudding not even Neptune can bring herself to eat!
At that thought, Uni clenches her fists.
She can't let that happen.
Black Sister is now playing mechanic. Please wait with your air-conditioner turned off during summer.
Uni places a hand on her chin as she observes the newly made changes on the robot.
Once featureless, it now sports a mostly decorative nose made of the same substance as its skin, two of fully functional black eyes, and a pair of lips which hide the inner mouth and speakers from which the voice is supposed to come from. Needless to say, the ravenette found it weird at first how these last few parts came separated alongside the doll-like construct, but right now she can certainly understand the reason.
Most people would probably want to make a cool combat robot, but there are quite a few who'd rather make the thing look as human as possible, aren't there?
Just like Uni, for one.
Taking a step back to look at the construct in full, a wide grin comes to the Candidate's features. At this point, this is pretty much a cyborg; that's bound to impress Nepgear, isn't it?
Especially if Uni takes her time to install weapons afterwards!
The ravenette can't stop a few giggles from escaping at the thought. She might be nearly broke now, but this is insanely impressive!
Now, to make the final touches!
Black Sister is now winging it. Please wait in front of the stove as lunch is made.
"..."
Uni blinks.
Slowly, she takes a few steps back.
And blinks yet again.
"..."
In front of her, Nepgear, clad in her usual outfit, stares back with a blank, unending purple gaze.
Except it's not Nepgear, as the ravenette is fully aware.
"... H... How did it turn out like this...?" Uni asks herself in a quiet, disbelieving voice.
A useless question if there ever was one. The one and only Lastationite Candidate knows very damn well how this happened.
And, little by little, she does her best to erase the memories.
"T-There's no way I can show this to her..." Uni whispers in horror, taking yet another step back. "No way, no way, no way..."
How could she lose herself like this?! To think that she, of all people, would let her own desires get in the way of her own freaking desires!
That's just plain embarrassing!
"..."
Staring at the Not-Nepgear she created, the ravenette grits her teeth. Obviously, not all is lost; she can just make some changes and dress it up on one of Noire's maid cosplays or something.
Still, that line of thought doesn't erase the faint feeling of utter defeat.
"N-No... I can't falter now of all times...!"
Clenching her fists, Uni takes two steps towards the second Nepgear lookalike she has ever seen. Hesitantly, her hand reaches out to it, the girl intent on taking off all that makes the construct look like the object of her affections.
Just as she grasps the hem of its outfit's skirt, however, something hits Uni.
This robot really, really looks like Nepgear.
And she's about to undress it.
"...!"
Just like that, red explodes all over the ravenette's face, her breath hitching in her throat at the mere thought.
No, no, she can't freak out now. This isn't Nepgear, this is something she bought online, definitely not Nepgear at all.
Still...
Uni gulps as she looks at its face, its expression still as blank as ever.
It really looks like her.
"..."
After a long moment, the blushing ravenette lets go of the dress, letting out a long breath she didn't know she was holding.
Maybe... Maybe she could do something here... Just once...
Slowly, attempting to hold in her pure, unadulterated embarrassment, Uni makes her way to the open manual on the table besides her, flipping its pages a bit until she spots something. Following that, the girl summons her phone and brings it to her reddened face, furiously typing on it for several moments.
When that is finally done, the ravenette turns towards Not-Nepgear once again.
And then, she presses something on her phone a last time.
Instantly, the robot's girly face changes, courtesy of the muscles Uni had to painstakingly install. In just a moment, an expression of pure happiness overtakes what once was blank, sporting a wide smile and a light blush for good measure.
And then, Nepgear's lips move.
"I love you Uni!"
It's a simple phrase taken out of context, recorded by a girl who would surely be called creepy should this information leak.
And yet, Uni can only stare blankly, her blush completely gone.
She touches her phone once more.
"I love you, Uni!"
And again.
"I love you, Uni!"
And again.
"I love you, Uni!"
One more time, two more times, three more times. The Candidate repeats the same action over and over until she loses count, and then she continues. Nothing matters at this point, and so she does it again, and again, and again. Time goes by, but she finds herself not caring in the slightest as her beloved's voice reaches her ears.
And eventually, a single thought crosses the ravenette's delirious mind, one she's more than happy to voice.
"Is this... Heaven...?" the girl mumbles, and despite being the one to ask the question, she feels as if she can answer it just fine-
"Uni?"
"?!"
In that second, in that accursed second, it's as if the ravenette's very soul freezes solid, the most horrible of chills descending her spine and paralyzing every single member of her body.
As slow as a dying turtle, displaying much more courage than when she faced Sin incarnate, the damned Candidate turns around to face the one who shall bring about her death, her scarlet eyes ready to see Death itself looming over her shoulder.
The elegant, wooden door is open, that much is obvious.
And on the doorway, mouth agape and eyes wide, is none other than K-Sha, as stunned as Uni herself.
"..."
"..."
This is it.
Image, gone. Credibility, torn to pieces.
Self-confidence?
Did Uni even have that in the first place?
"..."
"..."
It's then that, as if a flash of lightning, her mind returns from oblivion for a last stand.
No, no, no, she's not done in yet, the ravenette thinks. This is K-Sha, K-Sha, not some random maid who'll spread rumors!
Even before thinking, her lips start to move. An excuse, a plea, anything works right now-
However, before a single sound exits her lips, Uni freezes. All because of a sudden, simple thing.
K-Sha is smiling.
It's not a mocking smile, much less a pitying smile.
She. Is. Just. Smiling.
"I'm just here to tell you dinner will be ready in twenty minutes," the girl happily says, definitely a bit too happily. "Try not to be late~"
With the cheery announcement out if the way, K-Sha then turns around, closing the door behind her before sauntering away if the irregular footsteps that follow mean anything.
And that leaves the Candidate alone with Not-Nepgear, staring at the door with a mixture of shock, disbelief and just about all other emotions which lead to a heart attack.
A minute passes silently.
Two minutes go by in an instant.
Uni finally walks forward...
*Click*
... and proceeds to lock the door.