Valentine's Day continues, with another date! Let's see what our favorite Mechadoll is up to today!

Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile! The story is finally completed! Thank you for reading!

The Semi-Final Round of the second Pokemon Academy Best Girl contest has begun! Which three of these six girls will make it to the Finals? So far we've only got a few votes in, so show your support for your best girl and vote on the poll in my profile! We want this competition to be close, after all! Who's going to win?!

Semi-Finalists: Ayame, Sylvia, Marion, Sango, Elaina, Valerie

JoshGamerV: Shouldn't have tempted fate.

KedharS: Assuming they actually get to the date, of course.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Definitely. That's the thing about drowning, it can happen before you realize it.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep, that's definitely something to be thankful for.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 663

When Will had woken up to a text message from Misato asking him if he was free to meet the next morning, his first hazy thought was confusion that Misato was texting him. Usually, if she wanted something, she would barge into his personal space and drag it out of him, or occupy him with so much technical talk that he would give in out of sheer exhaustion.

But texting? No, she never did that. Which was curious enough for Will to be tempted to agree to meet up with her, when factoring in how much different she seemed to be nowadays compared to when he had first met her.

Before, Misato was very clearly abnormal. Even before Will had learned the truth that she was a Mechadoll, the way she talked and acted was so clearly robotic that her being a full-blooded human woman would have been the more Farfetch'd idea.

That was how Misato had been before. But now?

…

Okay, well, she still wasn't anything at all like a normal human, and no one would ever think that she was. Every word out of her mouth was cumbersome and direct, like a computer seeking input without any nuance or social grace, and her voice was stilted and robotic, with no inflection or tone, or even the use of contractions.

She was a Mechadoll through and through.

But even with that in mind, recently the times that he spent with her, she seemed a little bit more… well, just more. It wasn't quite that she was behaving more human, but there was just something about her, like…

Like she was trying harder to be human, if that made sense. Which it didn't, not really. While Misato expressed an interest to learn more about humans, Will couldn't accept the idea that it was something that she wanted, or desired.

Misato couldn't desire things, right? She was a Mechadoll. And while Will had no idea what exactly made that computer of a brain of hers tick, he assumed from his interactions with her that her actions were motivated by logical reasoning derived from her preprogrammed goals, not because she, personally, could want.

And yet she had been behaving in anomalous ways more and more frequently in the time that they had spent together, and it was starting to unnerve him. He knew it couldn't really be the case that she was developing emotions, she was still a machine, and machines, no matter how well they've been programmed to emulate human behavior and emotional patterns (as proven by Misato's amazing ability to realistically mimic emotions if tasked to do so) they couldn't actually experience or express those things themselves.

Right?

Still curious, Will texted her back. "What's up?" He asked.

With speed and precision that could only belong to a machine, Misato quickly responded "Up is a word that is a noun, an adverb, an adjective, and a preposition. It is most commonly used to denote direction."

While Will was surprised by neither her literal-minded thinking or her speed, he was surprised that her response had been so brief. Knowing Misato he would have expected her to unload the entire passage from the dictionary onto him.

Half a second later, he got a second text that was even more surprising. Not just because of what it said, but because the concept of a "follow-up text" from Misato Daisan was a complete shock. Misato had a computer for a brain, she would undoubtedly formulate her response to contain all necessary data; she didn't "forget things" and have to send another text to include them.

"I request no further questions lacking in relevance. Your reply to my query is necessary," she followed up.

Wow. Without hearing her emotionless voice, and only seeing her text him like anyone else (although, admittedly, with just the same level of wordiness as to be expected from a mechadoll) it almost made Will forget he was dealing with Misato. She came across as rather… impatient with that last text.

Confused, Will briefly considered the idea that a Mechadoll that was processing all stimuli that she was encountering could actually feel impatience. That was another emotion. He quickly dismissed it as a possibility.

But then he came up a rather amusing idea. It was certainly a mean thing to do, but considering how much Misato irritated him (even if it wasn't really on purpose) it wasn't THAT bad, just a little bit of fun he could have.

Besides, it wasn't like she really had emotions or feelings to hurt, so this wasn't really mean, in fact, he could even consider it as an experiment to see just how human she was becoming, if that's what this was. He might not have believed it, but if it was true, it was certainly something to think about, a breakthrough in what it meant to be human.

So really, this was for the sake of science!

Convinced that he wasn't a total asshole, Will left her on read for a little bit. Just to see if she really was feeling impatient.

Five minutes later, and Misato still hadn't responded. Well, score one for being a Mechadoll, she certainly had the patience of a computer.

"Why are you asking to meet?" Will finally asked, curious to see her response. As he expected, it came immediately.

"It is Valentine's Day," Misato's text explained. "I have arrived at the conclusion that spending Valentine's Day with you will be an important step in my process of understanding more about humans and their relationships."

Will was surprised. Valentine's Day, right, he had been hearing about that for the last few weeks, but he hadn't given it any serious thought. After all, for someone like him, with zero romantic experience or prospects, this wasn't a holiday that he could get all that excited about.

Before he could respond, she sent another follow-up text. Another oddity.

"I want to spend Valentine's Day with you."

The text was only eight words, but those words completely shattered Will's expectations. His mind was blown as he looked at his phone. He had to reread it several times to make sure that he wasn't misunderstanding. But no, the words were clear. Misato didn't make errors like this, she couldn't. But she had said "I want to spend Valentine's Day with you."

Misato Daisan "wanted" to spend Valentine's Day with him? How was that possible? She wasn't capable of that… right?

If his curiosity had been piqued before, this was enough to convince him to act. He sent a reply, expressing how he wasn't that busy, and that he could meet up with her for breakfast if that was what she wanted.

Misato didn't need to eat, but she still replied in the affirmative, which was only making Will more confused. Just reading her responses, telling him that she wanted to meet with him, for a Valentine's Day breakfast, seemed unlike the Misato that he knew.

In fact, the way she was acting, the situation that she was suggesting, it reminded him of some of the more… stimulating activities that he had spent with her recently, the moments when she had seemed almost human.

Like when the two of them made out.

Valentine's Day. A blush spread across Will's face as he wondered, if it was at all possible, that maybe they would make out again? They hadn't gone any further since that first day, nor had they made out at all since then, either.

But, well… it was Valentine's Day, so…

Will shook his head, clearing his thoughts. That was about getting to understand human experiences, like kissing, there was no feeling involved in that, and this was just more of the same, getting to understand what Valentine's Day was about, to aid in her understanding of human interactions and relationships, particularly in a romantic sense.

…Then again, stuff like kissing was part of understanding Valentine's Day, so it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, and-

Wait, why am I getting excited?! Will had to check himself. It wasn't like he was going on a date. She was Misato Daisan, a Mechadoll, he couldn't let himself forget that. So rather than treating this like a date, he was just going to spend time helping her with her test, just like he had done the last time she had asked him out on a "date".

Well, the ambience of the breakfast certainly was like a date. The restaurant was a nice little café, not to different from their last… date, decorated with red and pink hearts in celebration and filled with a lot of couples.

If Will had any doubts about Misato's intentions in meeting up with him, they were blown away when he laid eyes on her, sitting there in a table in the corner and staring at the door, waiting for him to walk through.

The last time she had asked him out like this, she had altered her appearance significantly, cutting her hair and wearing clothes that actually looked casual.

Well, this new change in image made the last one look like child's play.

Misato's hair was still short, of course, and brushed straight instead of its usual waviness. But what really caught his attention was her face.

A big part of the eeriness of Misato that made it difficult to ignore the fact that she was a Mechadoll and not a person was the fact that her skin color wasn't quite right. She was very pale, almost unnaturally so, more of a white than a hue of pink, due to her lack of circulation.

Right now, though, her face looked vibrant, alive, like he wasn't staring at a robot but at a real, human girl. Will had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn't just a trick of the light, and as he approached her, getting a clearer look at her perfect, doll-like features, he saw a line of black ringing her eyes, and figured it out immediately.

Mascara and blush, along with light blue eye-shadow. And lipstick, a red color not so deep as to be striking, but notable enough in contrast to her normal appearance, and bright enough where it would be noticeable even on a woman with a usual coloration.

What happened next was an even bigger surprise. On his last date with Misato, she had waited patiently for him to show up, and allowed him to observe her when he sat down with her. This time, though, she had another method.

Misato rose from her seat and stepped away from the table, standing clear with her arms out to give Will a clear look at her.

And boy, was there something to look at, alright.

Will had thought Misato looked nice in her outfit before, a backless sweater and tight leather pants, her current clothes, well…

She was wearing a dress.

It was sky blue, the same color as her hair, and accented in gold. Noticing his eyes on her, she turned, spinning slightly to show off. It wasn't a cocktail dress or anything fancy like that, just a dress for going out in the day, light and airy and fluttering as she spun. It even covered her back and shoulders, which was surprising.

She looked… well, it wasn't that her previous style of dress was sultry, but right now she looked wholesome and sweet, like she had actually been looking forward to a date like this, which was completely out of character.

Will had to take a second to think about what to say, his brain wasn't working properly as he looked at Misato Daisan in her current state.

Luckily, he was able to remember something from the last date they went on.

"Hey, Misato. You look nice," Will said, coming up to her while wearing the best approximation of a smile he could make, given the confusing circumstances.

The last time, Will had pretty badly screwed up. He had ignored her new looks completely, instead pretending that nothing was different, and she had somehow taken offense to that, which had surprised him. She had been acting testy due to his oversight, and he wasn't going to make that mistake a second time.

Then, Misato did something that she had only done when she was acting. Something Will never expected her to do, even on a date.

She smiled.

"Thank you," Misato said, her lips curling upwards. It wasn't a very expressive smile, and it would have barely passed for one on a normal girl.

But for Misato Daisan? It was the most raw emotion that Will had ever seen from her, even if he knew it was just an approximation. There was no joy in her eyes, after all, there was nothing there. But still, Misato was smiling.

It actually left him at a loss for words.

The smile quickly left Misato's face and she resumed her normal appearance, staring at him with those dull eyes and emotionless face.

"The rhythm of your heart is distorted," she observed. "Approximately 15 seconds ago your heart skipped a beat in its normal cycle and is now accelerating. This physical response suggests- no, never mind."

Will blinked, taken aback. Had Misato just… cut out the technobabble? That was almost as unlikely as her smiling. How many strange things was he going to see today, and why was he seeing them? It made no sense, there was no way she could have changed this much in the time since he had seen her last, she was almost like a real human!

"Misato, what's going on?" Will asked, confused. He suspected that she was putting on another false role, like when she had pretended to be flustered, or a deredere. "Why are you acting like this, I don't get it."

"What is going on is a date," Misato calmly explained. "As for the anomalous actions that you are observing, that is because I am acting on suggestions provided to me by Sylvia Driscoll in performance on this date."

Will sighed. Misato was listening to Sylvia again. This could only end badly. He thought he had resolved this the last time.

Misato gestured to her seat. "It is customary for the man to pull back the chair of his date to allow her to sit. Will you be observing this dating custom?"

There was no emotion in her eyes, but Will imagined she was looking at him expectantly. With a sigh, he trudged over to the table and pulled her chair out. With mechanical fluidity Misato took her seat, and Will sat down across from her.

"Before we start, what, specifically, did Sylvia advise you?" Will asked, hoping to head off any unfortunate incidents before they occurred. He really didn't want to be embarrassed on this date, especially since it was now definitely a date.

"Sylvia informed me that a dress would be an appropriate outfit to wear on a date for Valentine's Day," Misato explained. "She said that you would enjoy seeing me in one, because you have never seen that before. Your previous response indicates that her assessment was correct."

"Well, you look lovely," Will had to admit. "But really, something like that isn't necessary, honestly, neither is that fake smile you wore. I don't know what sort of character you were trying to put on, but you don't have to-"

"Negative," Misato interrupted him. "It appears that there is a need for clarification. I was not attempting to perform a specific role when I smiled previously. I smiled because I was informed that when someone pays you a compliment, it is considered appropriate etiquette to smile while thanking them. Is this incorrect?"

Will was surprised again, but it made a strange amount of sense. It wasn't like Misato had smiled because she was happy, but because it was something that she had been told to do. He opened his mouth to tell her she didn't need to, but thought better about it. He was curious what she meant, and what this meant for her.

"So why didn't you smile before?" Will asked. "Why haven't you ever really smiled before?"

"From my research I have determined that the primary motivation of smiling is to convey happiness to another party," Misato said. "As it is not possible for me to experience happiness, I determined that there was no statistically significant reason to smile prior to now."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. "So why are you smiling now?" Will asked. "Has something changed? Or is it just about trying to seem more human?"

"I have recently been informed that humans also smile when they are motivated to have other humans enjoy their presence," Misato explained. "Factoring in this information I have reached the conclusion that it would be useful to smile for you on occasions like this in order to have you enjoy my presence and continue to desire it."

Will was surprised again. Today had been a day of surprises. Misato… she was smiling for his sake? Why? So that he would spend more time with her?

"Misato, that's not… you don't have to do stuff like that, I'll still spend time with you," Will assured her, not sure why he was sparing feelings that she didn't have. Because it was the polite thing to do? If he actually saw her as a Mechadoll, there would be no reason to hide the truth from her, telling her that he did enjoy her smiling more than her blank face.

"It is important," Misato said. "That is why I have set up a special subroutine. If I begin explaining things in too much detail, my programming will abort the conversation, as you observed earlier. It is a method to prevent you from becoming irritated with my conversations as I have observed in our previous interactions. That is why I have been practicing my smiles."

"Again, Misato, you don't have to do that," Will said. "Yeah, honestly, I would like it if you smiled more and didn't talk as much, but you don't have to change those aspects of yourself."

"But it is imperative that I continue to engage with you in my studies of humanity and romance," Misato replied. "These adjustments to my protocols will improve my performance in that endeavor and ensure our continued interaction."

Will sighed, shaking his head. She just didn't get it, apparently.

"Okay, Misato, but you don't have to," he said. "I'm going to keep interacting with you no matter what, okay? Because I do enjoy your company."

His words surprised him. Misato was annoying, but… she was interesting. Being around her, seeing the way she interpreted the world, it was interesting, and he wanted to spend more time around her, getting to see more sides of her.

"Understood," Misato said. "I will factor that into my interactions from this point forward."

She smiled again. "Thank you."

One step at a time.

So, Misato and Will are going on a date for Valentine's Day.