Here's another chapter that's pretty heavy with development. But not exactly plot development. Let's call it development of a different kind. Development of the human condition, how about that? That should work.
Tambry96bj: Well for starters, she probably has to get her abilities under control first before she can really get stronger.
Hellraiserphoenix: Yeah, Raizer isn't just a filler member, he's going to hopefully get into focus soon enough. When will we meet the Commander, I wonder?
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Mirar and Rafe are both Seniors, and they're both graduating this year, hence the need to fill in their seats. All the other members of the Eight Leaders are Juniors.
Duskzilla: But will they get strong enough in time for when they need strength the most?
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 102
"It's done," Oscar sighed, putting down the tools he'd used to seem together the last of the synthetic flesh he'd grafted over Misato. The robot girl rose sat up, getting off the table and standing silently. Will was surprised at how she looked exactly the same when all was said and done, like the damage she'd sustained was nothing. He was also a little flustered; it was one thing to look at a lifeless sack of flesh and machinery lying on a table, but seeing it in motion somehow made everything seem a little more… wrong. Even if her anatomy was essentially like that of a mannequin. Misato wordlessly slipped clothes on over her body without being prompted, suggesting that this was a natural procedure.
"Will, I will call you when it is the time to put the plan into action," Gabrielle stated. "Until then, remain vigilant and under the radar. We can't let anyone catch wind of our plans, understood?"
Will nodded. He wasn't all that enthusiastic about kicking Gerard out, but if it would advance the Phantom's plans, it was all for the best. He was holding back from fully investing in this enterprise; all that mattered was making connections with people who could someday help him become a gym leader. So to that end, he had no need to keep hanging around, and politely excused himself.
…
"Why are you following me?" Will asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"I am under orders to accompany you at all times," Misato explained. "There have been reports of escalation among the factions of the other Daevas. If you are to be compromised it will prove troublesome to the fulfillment of the Phantom's plans. In addition, your loyalty has not been guaranteed with 100% certainty. There is a statistically significant probability of you reverting to your prior loyalty to Gerard and compromising the details of Gabrielle's plan. To that end you will be monitored by me until I have ascertained that the likelihood of your betrayal is statistically insignificant."
She tapped the side of her head.
"Everything that I observe will be recorded and then reviewed. You may rest assured that if your intentions are honest that I will be able to discern this with complete objectivity."
"Uh, okay," Will sighed, shaking his head. Then a chilling thought crossed his mind.
"Wait, you said you were going to accompany me everywhere, right?"
"Affirmative."
"And you'll be recording everything."
"Affirmative."
Will's face went pale.
"Wait… so you mean… you're even going to be recording me in class and stuff?" The image of Misato quietly looming over him like a ghost while the rest of the class watched awkwardly emerged in Misato's head.
"Affirmative. But you need not worry. My observation will not interfere with your daily life. I am capable of stealth."
Somehow he doubted that.
"Then… what about when I'm sleeping? Or the shower and the bathroom…?"
"Affirmative."
Will felt his head start to hurt. His roommates were not going to understand, and his naked body was going to be recorded… he felt like he was an animal in a zoo.
"You can't just do that!" Will exclaimed.
"Negative. It is necessary for the fulfillment of my orders."
"Yeah, but think about basic human decency! You can't just watch me while I… that!"
"…" Misato paused.
"Elaborate."
"Wh-what?"
"Those parameters are unfamiliar to me. If my assessment is in error then I require confirmation of which actions I am incapable of performing."
"It's just… you can't!"
"Why?"
How do you explain common sense to a robot? Will shook his head.
"It's embarrassing."
"Do not worry. No one but me will have access to my recordings."
Will glanced away from her emotionless face, his cheeks getting a little red.
"Yeah, but… you know, you're… still seeing it."
"…" She didn't respond.
"You do not need to be concerned. I am not human after all. If it will make you comfortable then you may consider it the same as changing clothes in front of your computer."
Yeah, but… she looked human. Will shook his head. It… it was just weird.
"Yeah, uh… still, just, I can't. Even if it's just you, it's still embarrassing!"
"Understood." Misato said, her head giving the barest flicker of a nod of understanding.
"Good," Will said, sighing in relief.
"My instructions are to disregard any potential discomfort you may experience. The success of the mission is more important. Sylvia instructed me to relay to you the message 'just grow a pair and let it go, it ain't like you're going to be losing nothing by it'."
Will nearly burst out laughing at the perfect playback of Sylvia's voice. He shook his head, and turned away from her. It was like arguing with a brick wall.
"Whatever," he muttered, giving up on pressing the matter further. He'd have to change under the sheets from now on, it seemed. Might as well get on to business. Classes were starting back up soon, and that meant he'd have to worry about midterms. Which meant he had studying to do. And the best place to do that was the campus library.
Will walked into the library, Misato three steps behind him, matching his pace flawlessly. He could feel her gaze piercing the back of his head. As he passed the scanners, he paused when the machines behind him started going a little haywire.
"Sorry, sorry," one of the library assistants cried, running up to Misato, fumbling with the two grey pillars on either side of her. "These things act up all the time, it must be responding to electronic feedback or something, do you have, like, a bunch of Swabluetooth devices or something?"
"Of a sort," Misato confirmed in as vague a terminology as Will had ever heard from her. And was that… annoyance in her voice? No, it couldn't be. It was as flat as it always was. But the closer he looked at her, her face seemed to have the slightest hints of… emotion? Like a human? No, it couldn't be. She'd always had that look of bland discomfort, right?
The bookish girl stepped away from her and Misato caught up to Will. He decided to try some fishing, out of curiosity.
"You okay?" He asked. Immediately he wanted to slap his face with such a terrible wording.
"Affirmative. After my repairs my systems are operating at peek efficiency."
"No, I mean, you look sort of… mad."
"…" She stared at him. Was that another flicker he caught?
"Elaborate." He really couldn't.
"It's just… I mean… the air around you, you know?"
"The change in our location from outside into the library has resulted in a transition to a different atmospheric composition. I can begin with outlining the different percentages that make up the two environments-"
"No, no, not the actual air, just… is there something wrong with the library?"
"Of course not. I am merely expressing my lack of understanding of your motivation for coming to this location."
"To study?"
"That is not a logical decision. This building is obsolete." There it was again, the note of… irritation?
Will crossed his arms and stared at Misato, but his probing gaze washed off her like a splash of water against an empty screen.
"What do you mean?"
"Books are an outdated medium of containment and dispersal of information. Data storage and transfer is a far more efficient model. A building that exists for the purpose of containing something such as books is not something that I can understand with the information I am currently operating on."
Now Will was mad. He loved reading. Sure, a computer was faster, and a computer like Misato was certainly more efficient at storing, processing, and retrieving information than he could probably ever imagine. But still… nothing could beat the feeling of opening up a good book. It… it was just unexplainable.
"You wouldn't understand," Will said, shaking his head. "Books are… books are amazing!"
"Elaborate. The current data I have on printed media suggests that digital information is superior by every significant metric. If my assertion is in error then I request you provide me with the data you are basing your assertion on so that I may readjust my assessment to more accurately represent an objective state."
"It… it's just a feeling, I can't explain a feeling!"
"Understood. I will update my assessment of the value of printed media to include human irrationality."
That felt like an insult. He wondered how much of this emotionless affect was actually how Misato was, and how much of it was put on to annoy people. Or just him in particular.
"Whatever," Will sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. He stormed off into the depths of the library, Misato following after him, and dropped his backpack down next to one of the tables.
"Oh! Will!" Will glanced up to see a common study pal of his, Nikita. She smiled and sat across from him, glancing up at Misato. "Who's this?"
"Misato Daisan," she introduced herself. "Spelled 'Beauty' and 'Wisdom' as well as 'The Third'."
"Uh, hi, I'm Nikita Willow," Nikita said.
"I am aware. I have looked at all information regarding students aspiring to join the Research Course."
"Oh, uh…" Nikita blushed, glancing away. "Anyway… Will, let's get to studying?" The two pulled out large textbooks from their Pokemon Type Advantages class, and got to work.
…It didn't end up going so well.
"Why is she staring at us?" Nikita hissed, glancing up at Misato's watchful gaze.
"She's, uh…" Will wasn't exactly sure how to explain the situation to her, so he gave her a look of exasperation.
"Misato…" Will said, turning to her, "can you go… somewhere else?"
"Negative. My duty is to watch over you. Under no means am I permitted to leave your presence, and most certainly not while you are spending time with someone whose allegiance is unknown."
"That's a… clingy girlfriend you got there, Will," Nikita giggled.
"Negative. I am not his girlfriend. We are associates. Nothing more."
"Most associates I know aren't this clingy," Nikita replied.
"Look, we can't study with you here staring down at us all judging like that," Will said. "And the longer it takes for us to finish our studying, the more time we're going to be spending in this library."
"…" Misato considered this. After a few moments, she walked over to him and held her hand out.
"What?" Will asked, confused.
"Your phone."
"What about it."
"If you would like for me to leave you alone then I require the use of your phone."
"Will, just give it to her," Nikita sighed. Will nodded reluctantly, reached into his pocket, and handed Misato the phone.
Misato took the phone and opened it, breaking through his lock like it was nothing. She typed something into the screen and then propped it up so the camera was facing him.
"I have now turned your phone into a beacon signal. Anything that occurs around it will be broadcast to my network."
He reached for the phone to turn it over.
"If you make contact with it I will receive a signal and then return."
Of course she would.
"Also if you move out of view of the camera I will receive a signal and then return."
Nikita looked sympathetically at him, and he sighed. So this was his life from now on.
The two resumed their studies, but there was still something wrong.
Misato had yet to actually leave.
"I have not been provided with any additional instructions. What is it that you would like me to do while you are studying?"
"I don't know. Go read a book or something."
"Affirmative," Misato said, although she seemed even less enthused than she always was about everything. "I will go read a book."
She turned a precise 180 degrees and walked into the tall maze of shelves, and finally Nikita and Will could get some real studying done.
"Okay, I think that should be good for today," Nikita said, closing her textbook. "I've got to go meet up with Reiner for some studying in our Pokemon Myths & Legends class."
"Yeah, sounds good," Will said, nodding. "Same time tomorrow?"
"You bet," Nikita said. She frowned. "Uh… will she be here?"
"Probably," Will sighed, shaking his head.
"You've really found a bad one," Nikita said sympathetically. They exchanged goodbyes and she walked back towards the front of the library, Will closing his book and getting up to leave.
Misato still hadn't returned. He probably should just leave her here, that would be for the best. Of course, she knew where he lived. So she'd just show up. And she probably wouldn't let him live down the fact that he'd tried to ditch her. They might as well go together, right? He picked up his phone, knowing that it sent a signal to Misato, and went to go find her.
It had only been a few hours since they had started studying. In that time, Misato had… gotten busy.
Will found her sitting in a chair, in the sci-fi section of the library, a pile of books built up around her like a shrine. Ten shelves behind her head were empty, and she was well through shelf eleven. She was staring intently at a book, turning page after page in the time it took to glance at it. Her eyes would glance left, then right, then turn the page. Then the same thing, left, right, turn the page. Left, right, turn the page. She was going through three or four pages a second, and was done with the book in a minute. She reached for the next book in a stack to her left, and began flipping through it.
"Uh… Misato?" He called attention to her. It seemed her actions were not consistent with the attitude she had expressed previously.
"…" No answer. She finished the next book in a few minutes, and reached for the next one, flipping it over and beginning the process again.
"Misato!"
Misato paused, and raised her head.
"I am reading."
"I thought that books were outdated and unnecessary," Will smirked. Misato didn't answer him.
"I am revising my previous assessment with the new data provided." She glanced down at the book in her hands. "Although receiving data for immediate review is more efficient… to observe what is going on one page at a time… constantly readjusting your perception based on new contexts of information… it is a notable experience that I did not fully grasp the value of. I had not expected books to contain stories such as these. It is baffling. I cannot find the words to describe the sensation I experience when I am reading. I will have to update my understanding of the positive benefits that books can offer."
"Well… that's nice, then," Will shrugged. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little happy to see her change her position on books. "I'm gonna head out, so…"
"Negative. You cannot leave yet. I have not finished." Well that explained why she didn't come to get him when he picked up his phone.
"Yeah, I'm going now, so you can come or not."
"I cannot leave until I have reached the ending."
Will sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You know you can just take the book with you, right?"
"Elaborate."
Did this girl really not understand what a library was?
After dragging Misato through the process of getting a library card and helping clean up the mess that she had made of the sci-fi section, Misato walked out with a book in her hands and another nine in her backpack, the absolute maximum a student could check out at any time. She'd probably be done with them all in a good half hour, damn robots.
"…Well, it looks like you had fun, at least," Will offered, Misato's eyes still flicking through the book as the pages flipped past her as fast as she could upload the information.
"It was a pleasant experience," Misato confirmed, the closest thing to an emotion he'd heard from her. Will shook his head. He was in for a very long and annoying future. He could only hope that Gabrielle put her plan into action soon, so he could get away from this robot girl and back to his normal life. This whole thing was quickly starting to become not worth the hassle.
Yeah, Will, sorry to break it to you but a robot following orders isn't the easiest thing to avoid. Seems like you're going to have to put up with it, sorry.