I still don't know how people find this story or why they even like it. I reread the older chapters and they're honestly horrible /cries

Either way, I hope you enjoy this apparently yearly update.


Sure he was glad that apparently the friend he thought was dead wasn't so dead after all. But the whole being a full robot thing wasn't such good news. Plus he still had his missing memories and not to mention being in the huntlist of one of Teikoku City's highest ranking nobleman. Shindou Takuto couldn't even imagine being in deeper shit, really.

"Why Raimon?" he asked Tsurugi, who's walking a few paces in front of him.

The robot man turned his head around, and Shindou caught a faint smile.

"Because it's the safest place."

Shindou's copper orbs widened before his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't understand. Raimon's people hated robots. They hated robots down to the very core of their hearts. He didn't understand why Tsurugi would choose to reside in a place like this after his 'death'. It barely made any sense to his mind, unless of course, things changed while he had been a captive slave in Teikoku City. But as far as he's seen, nothing has.

Tsurugi must've expected his confusion or at least seen it through his face, because he said, "When you have your memories back, you'll understand."

The brunet could only hope he was right.

The two of them walked together in almost complete silence. Almost, because Shindou would once in a while remember something and ask for Tsurugi's confirmation, in which he gave. And sometimes Tsurugi would ask Shindou if he remembers something—be it information or a memory—in which he would either nod or shake his head. It was nearly lunch and admittedly Shindou was hungry so he's glad they were going back to the apartment block. Around this time Kirino would be back from his trip into the forest too.

Shindou realized something. Did anyone else know about Tsurugi's fullmetal body? It seemed likely not. It wasn't too hard to hide your robotic parts (in Tsurugi's case, his entire body) but it'd also be good if he had some help on the matter, risky as it is. Perhaps Tsurugi did, for being able to live here…

He stopped himself from thinking any further. If he didn't, he'd want to know how Tsurugi stayed here for so long. And when he did, he'd want to stay here just as long too. He couldn't afford to do that. Not until things in his life calmed down, at least. Then maybe… maybe after that… he could—

Shindou turned his head sharply to the left, where barren grass and tall trees grew. His eyes squinted, while his mechanical one scanned the area and gave him the information it collected. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Strange, he was sure there had been something there… When he turned around and saw Tsurugi looking anxious just as much as he was feeling, he knew he wasn't wrong.

Their eyes met and Shindou didn't need to think twice to know the two of them understood each other. They walked with quick steps and entered the village on high-alert. Whatever was following them if it had no intention to hurt others then they were perfectly safe. But if it didn't care who was in its way, then the two of them were putting lots of innocent lives in danger.

So far, things went good. Neither of them felt something strange afterwards, just many village people going through with their lives. They would have dismissed it as their imagination but they knew better than that. Nothing in this world was coincidence.

A million possibilities ran through Shindou's head, each one worse than the last. And the worst possibility he has…

The brunet gripped his fists. If his previous master tracked him down, then he has to leave. He couldn't stay here and risk the lives of everyone. And he'd have to do it in secret. He couldn't tell anyone where he was going.

But that's the question. Where would he go? Where could he go? He arrived here by mistake, weakened and injured but then healed and cured by Kirino… He ran away when he got the chance, unprepared and clueless. He was lucky that Kirino found him. He wasn't sure if his luck would repeat itself in another place.

He had no choice. He had to leave.

When the two of them entered the dining hall, most of the residents were already seated and eating. Some greeted him and Tsurugi, and he tried to reply as normal as possible. Tsurugi gave him a funny look—which was a sign he didn't quite succeed. No matter. It wasn't like he was sticking around long enough for the others to notice and question his change in behaviour. If he could only slip away into his (temporary) room, he could study the map a little and figure out where it was best to go.

Before he was able to continue with his thoughts, a small four-legged critter made its way between his legs in an excited rush. Shindou stopped walking just in time, or else he could've tripped over it. The brunet looked down in surprise, all previous intentions or matters gone from his mind. All he could think was 'How did a fox get in here?'

He lifted the apparently tamed fox into his arms, scratching the back of its ears like he would with a cat. "You… are you lost…?" he asked it softly.

"No, not at all." The fox didn't answer him, someone else did. Shindou and Tsurugi turned their attentions away from the animal to the male approaching them with a smile on his face. It was Kirino. "He followed me here, so he's not really lost. I'll take him back to the forest tomorrow. Unless he doesn't want to leave," he said. There was something in his blue eyes, however, that said something along the lines of 'Unless you want to keep him.'

Shindou couldn't. He obviously couldn't. So he laughed a little, handing the fox back to Kirino whilst saying he preferred cats. While Kirino asked him what he had been doing while he was gone, Shindou noticed Tsurugi staring absentmindedly at one point on the wall not far from them.

He turned his eyes to the same point and nearly at once the alarms in his robotic system went off.

WARNING: Heat signature detected—reaching dangerous levels.

With a gasp of realization, Shindou lunged towards Kirino and the fox, using his body as a shield against the blast that tore the wall apart.


InfoBot: *meme voice* what does the fox say (it says Floric1434 deserves jail) So! This chapter doesn't show much Kirino, huh? That should change soon! Stay tuned, robotic readers.