This chapter was once again beta-read by the amazing Kokodoru. I hope you enjoy!

Dinner was a tense affair. Rin and Len tried to make conversation with their elder sister, but the scavenger was in no mood to talk. The children couldn't help but notice the android's absence, and when it was brought up, Meiko bluntly explained that Miku was not human, but a robot, and that she didn't want anybody getting close to it.

This only made Luka's mood drop even more. She didn't acknowledge any questions, barely looking up when Yuki started asking her about her life, eating morosely. Rin and Len, who had been so happy to see her, reigned in their enthusiasm with newfound caution.

Even the delightful taste of a home-cooked meal had turned bitter.

After dinner, Piko cleared the table while Rana and Una placed all the silverware and dishes into the dishwasher. Rin and Len busied themselves with the things that didn't fit into the machine, while Yuki placed all the leftovers in Tupperware. Oliver did what he could, holding things when there was no room, while Aoki clung to Meiko's skirts, taking in the activities with her big, watery eyes.

Luka stayed at the table.

"It's now playtime, so I'm going to go tell the robot to find an outlet in the basement," Meiko told her.

"Ok."

"Then I'm going to sit here and listen to your story."

"Fine."

At that, she picked up Aoki and left the kitchen. The rest of the children followed suit as their tasks came to an end, eventually leaving the scavenger alone in the startlingly quiet room.

After a minute, Meiko returned, sans Aoki. She sat down across from her, leaning heavily on her elbows. Her glare was wholly unlike Miku's; her brown eyes didn't glow, and the woman had never laid her hands on her. But she still felt vulnerable, almost afraid. She had been through this far too many times. It was exhausting, harrowing, belittling, and Luka couldn't leave.

"Ok. What happened."

Luka glared at the table. "So, uhm. I was at the Sapphire Shores. You know the Sapphire Shores?"

"I know it's controlled by the Shion family, and a hub for criminals."

"Well, that's the long and the short of it, yeah. I wanted to sell Miku, you know? She wanted a real audience for her music and I don't really care about company, so I found her a buyer. Turns out it was Kaito, and he, well, wanted me dead."

"Why?"

Luka hesitated. "He just wanted me dead. And Miku came to my rescue—"

"I want the whole story."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that they were going to kill me and without Miku, they would have succeeded."

"Luka."

"...yes?"

"I'm going to ask nicely only once. Tell me the whole story, from A to Z, please."

"Starting from where?"

After some thought, Meiko said, "From when you found that robot of yours."

Luka fidgeted, but complied. She told her of her touristic visit to Earth, the accidental discovery of the bunker, the way she activated Miku's release. Then there was the trip to the freighter of spice, the pirate attack, how Miku had gotten her out of the situation and back to Earth in time to patch her up.

She didn't tell Meiko that the android had killed the pirates to secure their escape.

Then she told of their trip to the Sapphire Shores, how they had sold the spice, how she was this close to retiring for good.

She didn't tell Meiko of their violent altercation, how Miku had worsened her injury in exchange for basic respect.

She didn't want to tell Meiko of another episode, but this one was too important to skip over.

"So, while I was selling the spice, I had also put Miku on the market. I didn't know exactly how much she would be worth, but I figured it would be a cosy little addition to my fortune. And, well, one buyer came forward. And he tripped a really big red flag."

"How so?"

Luka hesitated: until that point, Meiko had listened without intervening. "He was a slaver, ma. He wanted to buy Miku and make her do terrible things. So I snitched and got him arrested. Once all the spice was gone, I found a real buyer for Miku, or at least I thought I did. Turns out it was Kaito, and the slaver had been one of his men. That's why he wanted me dead."

Meiko's glare returned. "And then?"

"Kaito was going to do Stars-know-what to Miku, and he was going to have me disemboweled and gored at the trash pit. Miku heard my scream for help and saved me."

"How does this make the Shion family run after you?" Meiko asked.

"Well, uhm..." Luka sighed. "They had guns. They were firing at both of us. And, well. Miku killed them all."

Meiko stood up so fast her chair clattered to the floor. "She did what?"

"She saved my life!"

"She murdered the Shion's eldest son!"

"So he wouldn't kill me!" Luka shot back. "I thought you didn't care about—"

"She killed!" Meiko interrupted. "I don't care who she killed, or for what reason, but she killed! You brought a murdering machine into my household!"

"I would be dead without her, ma!"

The brunette paced around the kitchen. "No, you wouldn't have been in such danger if you hadn't angered him in the first place."

"Like I knew he was Kaito's man of all people! Slavery is illegal there too! Why would I have ever su—"

"That doesn't matter! It's a robot, what would it care?"

Luka did a double-take. "What?"

"If you hadn't snitched, you would have been rich, retired, and that would have been one less real person subjected to slavery."

"Are... Are you telling me I should have let Miku go to the slaver?"

"Yes."

"Ma. You're not hearing me. That was a slaver for sex trafficking."

"One less real person being subjected to such horrors, then."

Luka stood. "And enable them to keep going?!"

"Like you really care."

"Just because I'm a scavenger doesn't mean I don't care about forced prostitution," she hissed. "I have a moral compass too, you know!"

"And look where it got you!" the woman shot back. "You're on the run, exposing my children to a cold blooded killer!"

Luka saw red. "And I'll do it again a thousand times over if it means that those sick bastards get what's coming to them. I'll—"

"Did I hear that right?"

Both women whirled around, finding Miku in the doorframe. Wide-eyed, shaking, she slowly shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Meiko hissed.

"Did I hear that right?" Miku repeated, eyes on the scavenger. "That night you left the ship... You turned in a slaver? Who wanted to buy me?"

Luka gulped, nodded, her heart beating in the burning acid of her stomach.

"And that... That is why Kaito wanted to kill you?" the android asked, stepping closer. "For revenge?"

Another nod.

"I... I wasn't headed to a casino, was I."

Luka shook her head. "No."

"And... That was where you got the money from. When you turned in the slaver."

"...Yes, and no. That was the reward money for tipping the authorities," the scavenger explained. "The money for you was evidence."

"You didn't keep it."

"No."

"And the cigs..."

"I couldn't fucking stomach it," Luka spat. "The things he had said... I needed to forget. I don't think I can ever really forget what he had said though. I can still remember what it made me feel. I just... Needed to soften the blow somehow."

A tense silence filled the kitchen.

"It didn't know about this?" Meiko asked.

Luka shook her head. "No, I didn't tell her. I never wanted her to know."

Before Meiko could speak again, Miku asked with a shaking voice, "How much money was it?"

"You mean..."

"To buy me the first time. How much?"

"I don't know. I don't really remember, the cigs took that. But, uhm, I vaguely remember it being about the same as for the spice. Maybe more."

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"You would have doubled your fortune."

"I guess."

"And you didn't."

"Of course not. I hate slavers. I can't stand them. What they were going to do to you—"

Miku shook her head, stepped closer still, getting a flinch in response. "But you didn't think anything of me, then."

"I don't know what I thought of you. I just knew that there are some things nobody and nothing deserves. AI or not, I knew even then you were still something that, no matter how sentient or autonomous you are, can experience things and react to them. I wanted to keep you far away from that. Nothing deserves such a fate. And nobody deserve to live, subjecting that shit to others."

"I—"

"So, yeah. Kaito was probably behind all of those new buyers. All fake identities made to secure your purchase. They were all the high-profile ones, the only ones that actually replied to all my questions... Normally people aren't so open to questions—"

"You did all that for me?" Miku asked, her voice wavering. "You— You protected me, even though you could have—"

"It's no big deal."

"And then I tortured you..."

Luka stilled, while Meiko only grew more alert.

"It did what?"

Miku clasped her hands in front of her chest, shaking from head to toe. "That was the thanks I gave you. I gave you pain and suffering to thank you for your anxiety, your anguish, your sacrifice..."

"You're crying."

"Of course I'm crying!" the android exclaimed.

"I didn't think..."

"Of course I can cry! Crying is one of the most distinctly human traits out there and...! Oh stars, Luka...!"

"It's ok."

"It's not!" Miku protested. "It's really not! I know how afraid these confrontations make you, Luka! Yet you dove into one, unprompted, unasked, and shrugged off my questions again and again simply to spare me of even the information! And then I almost strangled you!"

Luka hurried to say, "You only threatened to."

"I had considered it. I had seriously considered it," the android confessed, tears streaming down her face. "And even then, even after all that, in that moment when you learned that I would be able to be completely devastated by this knowledge, you still didn't tell me!"

Luka didn't know what to say while the android slowly folded in on herself. She stepped closer, wiping the tears from her face with her good hand. It was actual, real water. So cold to the touch.

"I... I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry."

"I'll admit... It wasn't ok. At the time," Luka started. "The day when I met the buyer? I wasn't ok. The day you hurt me? I wasn't ok. And I wasn't ok for a few days after that. Right now, I'm just glad we're alright."

Miku's crying only exploded into outright sobbing. With shaking hands, she reached forward to cling to the woman, burying her face into her good shoulder.

Luka closed her eyes, holding the android close with her free arm. She repressed the memories of her weight on her, pushing her into the bed, the pain. Through clenched teeth, she managed almost neutrally, "It's ok."

"What did it do to you," Meiko hissed.

"It doesn't matter," Luka shot back.

"It hurt you."

"It doesn't matter," she repeated.

"Even after it hurt you, you saved it from slavery and let it kill—"

"Yes, I let her kill Kaito. And gladly, too!" Luka said icily with a glare. "And not just because my life was on the line! He was going to start a slaving empire. He was going to legalize it on his planet and make a fortune from it. Now that he's dead, it's not happening. Her killing Kaito didn't just save me, but saved potentially hundreds of thousands of people. Of children."

Meiko froze.

"Miku only did good things," Luka went on. "Ever since I found her, she only did good things. Even when she hurt me..." She took a moment to breathe, closed her eyes to push away the memories again. "Even then, she was doing a good thing."

The brunette stared for a moment, watching the android sob into Luka's shoulder.

"And now you're on the run."

"A small price to pay," Luka muttered. "As I said, I'd do it again. If I had to run from the most important family of the criminal underbelly every time, I'd hand over every single slaver out there."

"It—"

"She, Meiko! Stars damn it, Miku is a she," Luka growled. "She's her own person with her own dreams and goals and if you can't see or respect that then damn it all, I'll make you."

The brunette's jaw clenched. "If you're going to threaten me in my own house..."

"We'll get going," the scavenger grumbled. "Just say the word and we'll fuck off."

"No, please," Miku begged, watery eyes finding the woman. "Please, just a day."

Meiko stared for a moment before sighing deeply. "Fine. You can stay tonight. As for extra days, I'll sleep on it."

"Thank you," the android blubbered, tucking back into Luka's shoulder.

"Thanks, ma," Luka muttered a second later. "We'll stay out of your hair. Away from the kids."

"I would appreciate it," Meiko said, her voice hard as steel. "There is no guest room available, but I'll have Rin and Len set up a cot for you in the living room when it's bedtime for the little ones."

"Thanks."

"Don't go telling the twins about any of this," the brunette added. "They... They really look up to you."

The woman scoffed. "They do? Despite all I've done?"

"They... I never told them what you do."

Luka's amused smile wavered. "Ah."

"It might be best if it stays that way."

"...Maybe."

Meiko stared for a bit more. She opened her mouth a few times, and Luka could already hear the questions, the endless worrying, the insisting, but no. After a minute, all she did was leave the kitchen.

This time, the only sound they had to listen to was Miku's subdued cries.

"I'm so sorry," Miku repeated once they were alone.

Luka sighed. "I didn't expect you to hear any of that."

"I couldn't help but overhear. I wanted to know how the conversation would go. I wanted to be able to intervene in case she would deny our stay again..."

"I'm sorry you had to learn this way."

Miku shook her head. "I'm sorry for hurting you. For my incessant questions. I was...stars."

"It's alright, now."

The android abruptly pulled back, tears still dripping from her chin. "I'm sorry. I know you aren't—"

"It's ok."

"Are you sure?"

"I was getting used to it."

"...May I hug you a little more, then?"

"Sure."

Miku dove right back into the embrace.

"Where do you get your tears from?" Luka asked, needing the conversation to ground her in the present.

"Water in the air," Miku muttered. "It's not filtered, though. Don't drink it."

The woman chuckled. "Understood."

"I'll be running out of my reserve soon. But... Stars, I feel like I could cry for hours."

"It's alright. We have time, now."

"You don't have to keep holding me."

Luka hummed. "It's fine."

"...Thank you."

Playtime took forever, but eventually, the noise at the ground floor quieted down. With Aoki, Oliver, Rana, and Una off to bed, Piko came in to announce that they could get ready for the night. There was a small bathroom on the ground floor, but if Luka wanted to shower, she would have to go upstairs. While the suggestion was tempting, the scavenger politely declined in favor of taking a shower while getting her bandages changed the following day. By the time they arrived in the living room, Rin and Len had just finished setting up a cot in the far corner, towards the back of the house, across from the door to the dining room. It was next to an outlet, so Miku went to the basement to go retrieve her charging plug.

"Are you staying?" Len asked when the android left the room.

"For now, just for tonight," she told the twins. "Meiko needs to sleep on letting me stay a few extra nights."

"I hope she lets you stay," Rin said. "We could go and visit the zoo together!"

"It's been so long!"

"The last time we went together was when we were just six years old. Remember?"

Luka sighed. "I won't be able to leave the house."

"Why not?" they asked in unison.

"I'm supposed to lay low."

Len muttered, "Why? What's going on?"

"Are you in trouble?"

Luka looked at the teens, unsure how to respond to their hopeful expressions.

Last time she had seen them was years prior. They were ten at the time, if she remembered correctly. But when she had left the house, they had been younger still. As one of the older kids in Meiko's household, she had helped with taking care of the younger ones. She had always liked watching over the twins because they always preferred babbling with one another, and they tended to keep one another in check. They were easy charges.

Right then, though? They were teens. She didn't know them just about as much as they didn't know her. They had probably developed their own hobbies, preferences. They would start dating soon, most likely. They were probably choosing their careers, or just starting to deal with typical teen angst.

"I guess you could say that," she finally muttered, adjusting her sling.

Rin looked over her shoulder and leaned forward. "Is Miku really a robot?"

"An android, yeah."

"From Earth?"

"Yes."

"She's yours?"

"She doesn't belong to anybody," Luka said. "She's her own person."

"Is she dangerous?"

"Not at all. Meiko doesn't trust her, but I do. With my life."

The two twins looked at each other.

"Are you two living together?"

Luka looked up at them again. In their eyes, she spied that tell-tale curiosity, that thirst for private information.

"Yes, but not because we want to," she told them, voice a bit more firm than she had intended.

They smiled politely, masking their disappointment. "Ok."

"I hope we have time to hang out while you're around," the boy whispered.

"Yeah."

Miku returned right then, armed with her charging plug.

"It's been so long since you visited for any length of time."

"We really ought to catch up," she finished.

Luka nodded, watching the android as she approached. She didn't want to tell them that Meiko didn't want her to spend time with them at all. "If I stick around, I guess we can chat a little."

The two twins fist-bumped. "Awesome!"

"Bedtime first though."

Rin chuckled. "Alright, mom."

"Don't call me that."

They stuck out their tongues before wishing the two of them a good night and disappearing into the cloakroom. Both scavenger and android kept their eyes trained on the closed door until they heard their footsteps go up the stairs.

When they heard their bedroom door close, far away up the stairs, Luka let out a sigh. "Man..."

"They look up to you," Miku commented. Unlike any person who had just suffered an emotional breakdown, her eyes weren't red and puffy. It was impossible to tell that mere hours prior, she had sobbed her tear reserves dry.

"I guess. They shouldn't."

The android hummed at that. "How is your injury?"

"I want to change the bandage, but I could just as well do that tomorrow when I shower."

"Can you wait that long?"

After some thought, Luka shook her head. "The bandage is pinching me in the armpit and I can't stand it."

"Very well."

Without waiting, Miku started unpacking the first aid kit, while Luka shed the sling, then her shirt. After listening to the house one more time, she took off her bra as well, letting the android access the adhesive tape wrapped around her torso.

Like a ritual, Miku helped her unwrap it. At that point, Luka could do it on her own, but they had agreed to let the android keep helping her with it: the more exposure she got to proximity with Miku, the better.

Still, that didn't stop her from feeling that familiar anxiety.

"How does it feel?" Miku asked quietly as she peeled off the compress.

"It's mostly a dull throb right now," Luka muttered, eying the wound. The pink area shrank down to the center area, which still looked mangled, unpleasant, and ready to leak puss at the drop of a dime. In the low light, it was almost impossible to see the surrounding bruise, yet both knew it was still very present. Miku gingerly reached up nonetheless.

"May I?"

Luka nodded, biting back another reflex to recoil as the android gently, oh so gently pushed on her collar bone.

"Does this hurt?"

Luka shook her head, so Miku's finger moved down to hover over where her ribs where, avoiding the site of the main injury. She pressed again, and Luka winced.

"Yeah, that still hurts."

"Your bone is still healing," the android commented, voice sullen. "And your back?"

"It's the worst when I raise my arm."

Miku reached behind her, poked at her shoulder blade, and Luka bit down a groan.

"Yep, the worst."

"The sling will stay for a while, then."

"Looks like it."

The android huffed, all noise and no real breath, before unpacking the new compress and adhesive tape.

"How did I do it wrong last time?"

"Not sure," Luka mumbled. "It started pinching after a bump in the bus."

The android hummed and applied the compress, avoiding pressure on the wound. Luka held up the compress as Miku started wrapping the tape around her. She worked much more slowly this time, careful, her hands smoothing over the tape as she went.

Her hands were cold, soothing.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both jumped at the voice, Miku immediately picking up the hoodie to cover the scavenger. Meiko stood in the doorframe, a frown on her face.

"Stars, ma..." Luka grumbled, grabbing at the hoodie to press it to her front. "You used to knock, back in the day."

"I did," she deadpanned. "What's going on?"

"What's it look like? She's helping me with my bandage."

The woman didn't reply, staring silently.

"I thought you went to bed," Luka grumbled.

"I was helping Aoki go to sleep," the brunette replied, stepping closer. As she did so, Miku worked to make sure the hoodie really covered Luka's form. "That can take a while sometimes."

"Right," Luka muttered. "You wanted to ask something? Or did you want to surprise us doing something criminal?"

Meiko stopped a few paces from the cot. "I wanted to wish you a good night."

"Good night, then."

"I also wanted to tell you that I decided."

"Yeah?"

"I am going to let you stay for up to a week. Eight local days."

"Eight? Why?"

Meiko's scowl deepened, eyes occasionally going to the android and back, before she inhaled and said, all in one breath, "Because I care about you and I want to know a few things before we part ways again."

After a tense silence during which the two women stared at each other, Miku quietly said, "That's very generous. Thank you."

"Only because days here are a little shorter than rotations," Meiko said. "Information takes time to travel, and I want you to leave here with the best possible knowledge going forward."

"...Thanks," Luka said.

"Do you need more help with your bandage?"

"No, it's fine. I trust Miku to help me."

Meiko nodded, turning on her heel. "Sleep well."

"Good night, ma."

She shut the door behind her, and once again, the duo listened to her as she slowly made her way up the steps.

Luka glared at the android. "I thought you could hear anything."

"I was... Distracted," Miku admitted. "Focused. I'm sorry."

Her opal eyes downcast, her grip on the hoodie weakening, Luka couldn't possibly keep up the glare for very long. "It's fine, really. Meiko raised me. She patched me up a few times. It's nothing she hasn't seen before."

"Ah."

"Thanks though," Luka added, lowering the hoodie.

Miku worked on the tape, straightening and unraveling it from the mess it had become when she had dropped the roll. "I'm sorry for letting her surprise us. I'll—"

"It's fine, Miku," Luka insisted.

The opal eyes met hers, glowing in the dark, and Luka immediately grew tense. "Don't look at me like that."

"Right, I'm so—"

"It's fine!" the scavenger hissed. "It's..."

She sighed, raised her arms when the android started wrapping her up again. When she finished and cut the roll, Luka grumbled, "Where's Dexter."

"Here..." Miku reached over behind the cot, and handed the woman the plush.

Luka wrapped her arms around the stuffed animal and lied down, turning to lie on her good side, her back to the android. She heard Miku plug herself in, saw the faint blue light fill the space.

"Miku?"

Only a hum in response.

"I might be a little more snappy these next few days. I'm not going to be any fun. More than usual. In a perfect world, Meiko will ask me to be isolated, but that's not how things work around here. There's no free lunch; if I'm going to stay, I'll have to participate. And, well, we know how that makes me."

Another hum.

"I just want you to know..." She trailed off to take a deep breath. "It's ok."

There was no hum that time, so Luka sat up, purposefully setting Dexter aside. "I mean it."

Miku looked up at her, and Luka averted her gaze before the opal eyes met hers.

"I have caused you so much pain, and continue to inflict fear on you," Miku whispered.

"Like that's anything new to me. You're the only person to save my life, though. Twice, to boot."

The android didn't reply.

"Despite everything that's happened between us, even though we both agree that parting ways would have been ideal, right now? You're my favorite person to be around. So... It's fine. You still scare me a bit but it's fine. We'll work on it. So..."

"I understand," Miku whispered. "I won't let what I learned today change my behavior."

"...Thanks."

"Do you have the energy to do another exercise?"

"I don't think so."

"Very well. We may find time for that tomorrow."

"Maybe..." Luka sighed. "You do know that Meiko's going to question us about what exactly you did to me, right?"

"I gathered."

"I'm betting it's forty percent part of the reason why she's letting us stay for so long. She also wants to get to know you too, see how exactly you tick. Maybe convince me to ditch you, who knows."

Miku nodded. "She will be questioning you most of all, I think."

"Most likely."

"We should tell her about how Dexter works."

"Out of the question."

Miku scooted as close as her cable would allow. "The more we allow people to talk to you when you are not ready for it, the worse our stay will become."

"I know I'm a party-pooper—"

"You are not as disposed to being in such a social environment and there is nothing wrong with that," Miku insisted. "You are allowed to use methods that will make you feel better. We will all feel the benefit, you most of all."

"Like they'll listen."

"I can make sure they do, to the best of my ability."

Luka looked at the android, repressing a shiver at the sight of the blue orbs. "They won't respect it."

"I do."

"I know."

"I'll share. I'll explain. And if that doesn't work, well, provided we have the information we need, we can leave early."

The woman couldn't take it any longer and averted her gaze again. "Alright."

"I shall explain it to Meiko at the first opportunity," Miku offered. "I would like to think that she will listen to me."

She smirked, laid back down. "I'd like to think so too."

"Luka?"

"Yeah?"

After a short pause, the woman felt a cool hand grab at hers. She recoiled slightly, but forced herself to stay put as the android's fingers smoothly found and rested in the hollow of her palm.

"I know our stay here won't exactly be fun," Miku started, voice low. "But I'm going to make sure that it will be tolerable."

After a pause, Luka squeezed the android's hand. "For both of us."

"Yes."