Chapter 6: Running from the birth place of sinners.
You panted as you and Astro ran from the horde of robots. You looked behind you, and saw that the robots were catching up. You groaned, and took out your sword.
"We should just beat em all to a pulp!" You told. Astro shook his head.
"No, that'll take too long! We should just focus on trying to escape this place." Astro reasoned. You rolled your eyes, and looked ahead.
"Have I ever told you that you come up with the worst ideas?" You questioned. Astro grinned. You both then saw the exit, and smiled. As you both got closer to the exit, another horde of robots blocked your path. You sighed, and took out your sword. "So, plan B?" You questioned. Astro turned towards you, and nodded.
"Like we have any choice." Astro then faced one of the robots, and started taking them down. You were about to face a robot until you noticed that they only went for Astro. You looked at them in confusion.
"Hold on, why are they only going after you?" You questioned.
"It must be because of the bet!" Astro told as he struggled to take down the robots who were ganging up on him. You nodded as you sliced the head off one of the robots. You then kicked a robot off of Astro, and stood behind him.
"There are too many of them!" You cried as you took down another robot. Astro narrowed his eyes as he looked at the robots. He then raised his arm.
"Stay behind me." Astro ordered. You nodded, and leaned on his back. Astro then fired up his laser canon, and fired it at the robots. You made sure to stay behind him as he turned around, obliterating all the robots. Once all of the robots were obliterated, you stood back, and high fived your robot friend.
"Nice!" You exclaimed. A robot then appeared behind you, and knocked you to the side. Astro gasped.
"Y/N!" He then turned to the robot who knocked you out of the way. "Hey! Did you know that it's against the robot laws to harm a human!?" Astro shouted. The robot didn't respond. It only attacked Astro. Astro growled, and defended himself from the robot. You groaned, and slowly sat up. You shook your head, and saw Astro destroy the robot who knocked you to the side. Your eyes widened.
"Oh, so it's okay for you to destroy your own kind but not me?" You questioned as Astro helped you up.
"Robots can be fixed and rebuilt." Astro stated as you both ran towards the exit. You rolled your eyes. You then saw a laser narrowly miss you, and paled.
"You know, if I had never met you, that near death experience wouldn't have affected me." You admitted. Astro sweat dropped.
"Well, that's a little concerning." Astro told. He then ducked, avoiding a laser. He then turned around, and fired his own lasers at the robots behind you. You raised your eyebrow.
"Why not use that omega laser that you have?" You questioned. Astro shook his head.
"Can't, consumes too much energy." Astro stated as you and him reached the doors. Astro kicked the doors down, and grabbed you. You both then flew out of the guild. You looked back, and saw that the robots didn't follow you. You sighed in relief. Astro looked at you, and smiled. Suddenly, he started to go lower. You raised your eyebrow at Astro.
"What's wrong?" You questioned. He gave you a tired look.
"My... energy..." Astro told. Your eyes widened. He then lowered himself to the ground, and collapsed. You fell to the ground, and quickly crawled over to him. You then started to shake the robot.
"Astro, ASTRO!" You called. You then saw him look up at you, and smile tiredly.
"I'm... okay... but... I'm really... low on... energy..." Astro told. He then closed his eyes. Your eyes widened. You then sighed.
"Great, now I have to carry him back to his house." You muttered. You leaned down, and picked him up. You then buckled at how much he weighed. "Geez! How much does he weigh!? Well, at least I can carry him." You then started to make your way towards his house.
Once you got there, you panted, and knocked on the door. You then saw Astro's home robot, Nora, open the door, and gasp. You gave her a weary smile, and collapsed, dropping Astro. You felt so tired that you could barely keep your eyes open. You then closed your eyes, and all went dark.
You felt yourself lying on something soft, and fidgeted. You then heard shuffling next to you, and groaned. You then heard a gasp next to you.
"She's awake!" You heard a little girl's voice cry out. You then heard hurried footsteps come closer to you. You opened your eyes, and saw Zoran smiling at you. You then saw Astro next to her, beaming. You slowly sat up, and rubbed your head.
"Ugh, what happened?" You questioned.
"You passed out right outside our door step while carrying Astro." Nora told as she entered the room with a tray of pancakes and some milk. Nora then looked to Astro. "You should really not leave while cooking a meal, Astro." Nora scolded as she placed the tray on your lap. You looked around, and saw that you were in Zoran's room. Your mind was still a bit foggy. Astro gave Nora an apologetic look, he then looked at you.
"Sorry for making you carry me back here." Astro apologized. You gave him a confused look.
"Carry you back here...? What are you talking about?" You questioned. Astro stared at you in disbelief.
"What? Don't you remember?" Astro then leaned towards you, and rested his hand on your forehead. "Are you sick or something?" You frowned, and pushed his hand away.
"Maybe you should explain to her what happened?" Zoran suggested. Astro nodded.
"Yeah, but do you mind leaving us alone?" Astro asked. Zoran groaned.
"Aw, but I wanna hear what happened too!" Zoran complained. Nora grabbed her hand.
"Now now, Zoran. Let's leave them alone, and bake a cake." Nora suggested. Zoran sighed, and nodded. Astro waited for them to leave, then turned to you.
"Okay, here's pretty much what happened. You were given a false order, and I had to chase you down. You then asked for my help, and together we stormed into the assassination guild. We then faced Bartus, and had to run away from a horde of robots. It was a game that Bartus made up. If we both made it out of there alive, you were allowed to quit the guild, but if I died, then you would have had to stay as an assassin for the rest of your life. We made it out, but I ran out of energy. So, you had to carry me back here, but passed out due to exhaustion." Astro summarised. You slowly blinked at Astro. Your eyes then widened.
"Wait, so what you're saying is that I quit the ASSASSINATION GUILD!?" You cried. Astro quickly covered your mouth.
"Yes, not so loud!" Astro scolded. You calmed down, and held your head as the events from last night came back to you.
"Oh yeah, that's right." You muttered, your voice muffled from Astro's hand. He took his hand away, and nodded. You then looked up at him. "You... saved me." Suddenly, tears poured out of your eyes. Astro looked at you, alarmed. He then cupped your face.
"Hey hey hey, why are you crying?" Astro questioned as he used his thumb to wipe away your tears. You sniffled.
"I don't know. I guess I was just afraid that no one would save me from that prison." You hiccupped. Astro gave you a look of sympathy.
"All that time, you've been alone, haven't you?" Astro questioned. You nodded, and hugged him. Astro's eyes widened as a blush spread across his face. He then looked at you, and hugged you back. After a few minutes, you both separated from each other. Astro then scratched his head. "Um, so what now?" You looked down at your lap, and saw the tray that Nora had handed you earlier, and felt your stomach rumble. You held your stomach.
"I guess I'm a bit hungry." You admitted. A look of realisation crossed Astro's face, and he nodded.
"Oh, yeah! Go ahead and eat." Astro told. You nodded, and looked at the pancakes and milk. You cut a piece of pancake, and put it in your mouth. Astro watched you eat, and rested his chin in his hands. You chewed, and your eyes widened. 'Woah, this is really good!' you thought. You then noticed Astro staring at you, and raised your eyebrow.
"What?" You questioned. Astro smiled.
"Nothing. Do you like it?" Astro questioned. You looked at the pancakes, and realised that Astro must have made them. You nodded.
"Yeah, I guess." You told. Astro beamed at you. You had to shield your eyes at his happy glow. You then took another bite as Astro continued to stare at you. You were starting to get weirded out. You put your fork down, and deadpanned at him. "Okay, stop staring at me. It's creepy." Astro's eyes widened, and he sat up.
"Oh, sorry." He apologized. You nodded, and continued eating. Once you were finished, you put your knife and fork on the plate. Astro smiled, glad that you had liked the meal. He then noticed that you hadn't drunken your milk yet. "Um, aren't you going to drink your milk?" You eyed the glass of milk, and shook your head.
"I hate it." You stated as you turned your head away from it. Astro's eyes widened. He then raised his eyebrow.
"But, you should drink it. It's got calcium in it to help your bones grow big and strong." Astro told. You glowered at him.
"I aint gonna drink it." You gritted out. Astro raised his hands in defence.
"Okay, okay, I won't force you to drink it." Astro then started fidgeting. You moved the tray onto the side draws next to the bed, and removed the covers. You then realised that your cloak was gone.
"Where's my cloak?" You questioned. Astro looked up.
"Zoran was playing with it earlier." Astro told. You raised your eyebrow.
"I'm surprised that you let her wear that thing. Considering what my past occupation used to be." You muttered the last part. Astro frowned. He then watched you as you walked over to the windows, and felt the breeze against your face. By the positioning of the sun in the sky, it must have been midday. Astro's eyes widened.
"Beautiful." You heard Astro mutter. You turned towards him.
"What's beautiful?" You questioned. Astro jumped.
"Uh, the curtains! The curtains sure are beautiful, aren't they?" Astro played it off. You raised your eyebrow at him, and slowly nodded.
"Uh, yeah, I guess." You then turned towards the view. "If anything were beautiful, it would have to be this city." You told. Astro nodded.
"Yeah, you are." Astro told. His eyes then widened at what he said, and he covered his mouth. Your eyes widened as you turned to him, and you blushed slightly. You then walked over to him, and pulled on his cheeks.
"What the heck are you saying? Are you broken?" You questioned.
"N-no! I jusht couldn't help shaying the trush!" Astro cried. You released his cheeks, and took a step back. Astro rubbed his cheeks, and gave you a serious look. "I've actually been meaning to tell you something for a while now." Your heart started to speed up. You mentally screamed for your heart to stop beating so loudly. You then looked to the side.
"Geez, look at the time! My parents must be worried. Well, gotta go now, see ya!" You waved as you walked towards the window. Astro's eyes widened. He then grabbed your hand.
"W-wait!" Astro called. You slowly turned towards him, your face heating up. Astro looked down. "I just want to tell you something." Astro then looked you straight in the eyes. "When we first met, I had no idea who you were, or what you were doing on those building tops. But I wish I did, that way I could have saved you earlier. Ever since that night in the hospital, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. At first, I thought it was just because you were an assassin, but now..." Astro took hold of your hands. You glanced at your hands, and then at Astro. "I know the reason why I couldn't get you out of my head. It wasn't because you were an assassin. It was because I'm in love with you." You snatched your hands away, and stepped back in shock while shaking your head.
"No, you're wrong! It was because I was an assassin, a killer! You could never love me!" You cried. Astro shook his head.
"No, I'm pretty sure that this is love." Astro then looked down in sorrow. "But... I understand if you don't feel the same. After all, I am just a robot." Your eyes widened. You then looked to the side.
"It has nothing to do with you being a robot." You told. Astro looked up at you. You started to rub your arm. "In fact, it's not you, it's me. I'm not right for you. If you were going to chose someone, then you should chose someone who's not... a killer." You told as you looked down. Astro's eyes widened. He then smiled, and walked towards you. You looked up in alarm, and slowly walked backwards until your back hit the wall. Astro stood in front of you, and smiled.
"I don't care what you were. That was the past, you're not what you used to be." Astro then took hold of your hands. "Before, when we first met. Your hands were cold, they held no warmth. But now, they're so warm." You looked at your hands, and thought back to the time you ran out of the classroom. Astro then looked up at you. "I don't care what you were before, I love you because you're you. When I first realised my feelings, I didn't want to be apart from you. I always wanted to be by your side. But, because of what you were, I couldn't do that." Your eyes widened.
"Wait, so the reason you were so angry at me for leaving, was because I was leaving you?" You questioned. Astro nodded.
"Yes, and no. I didn't want you to leave because I didn't want to be separated from you, but I also didn't want you to go kill anyone." Astro explained. You looked into his eyes, then looked down as you felt your face heat up. Astro's eyes widened. He then smiled. "Do you feel the same?" You froze, his question piercing you like a knife. Did you love him? You were heart broken when he was mad at you, your heart pounded like crazy when he would do certain things and actions. Your eyes widened in realisation; you were in love with him.