Chapter Five: Responsibility
By Sereg
Don't talk to me about Life.
- Marvin
"So," said Haruna, "when do we get to meet her? I want to ask her what it's like having two mommies."
"You could surely just ask Chachamaru that, ne?" asked Chao.
"Nah!" replied Haruna. "Chachamaru has three mommies! Which reminds me, I need to congratulate her on her new sister, or whatever you call someone who shares two of your three mothers." With that, she darted off towards the gynoid in question.
"This is a very special occasion!" announced Ayaka. "As such, it is only fitting that we celebrate the latest member of our family. I will now present my gift!" She lifted a sheet to reveal a bust of Project X.
"How did you even know what Project X looks like, Iinchou?" asked Chao.
"I have my sources," replied Ayaka. Chao glared at Kazumi who was busy smirking. No doubt due to the amount that this latest piece of freelance work had earned her.
"We told you that you aren't allowed in our labs anymore, Asakura-san," she complained.
"True," replied Kazumi, "but you said nothing about my cameras."
"Project X?" asked Konoka. "I thought that you two couldn't get any worse than 'Tea-making Mechanism'."
"Actually," replied Satomi, "Evangeline-san named Chachamaru. We were planning to name her Chao Bao Zi Cooperative Enterprise Gynoid Unit 1 Mark 1, or Cegum when we needed to abbreviate."
"Why am I not surprised?" asked Yue.
"They're right!" agreed Natsumi. "We need a real name for her if she's going to fit in with society."
"And we need to meet her," added Chizuru "Where is she? We've been preparing for her!" She swept her arm around the room to indicate the banners, streamers, cake and various other party paraphernalia scattered around the class, pausing briefly where Zazie was making balloon animals.
"She's in the laboratory," Satomi responded. "Where else would she be?"
"You left her alone?-!" gasped Chizuru.
"Of course," replied Satomi.
"That's negligence!" declared Chizuru. "You must take us there at once!"
"That lab is full of classified data, yo!" Chao argued. "We can't just bring our class in there!"
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to use my teacher's authority and overrule you, Chao-san," Negi interrupted, "I'd also like to make sure that she is all right."
Despite Satomi's vast intellect and Chao's incredible talent in a large array of fields, neither of them had a clue as to how to raise children. Sure, they knew the theory and in their minds, that should be enough, but unlike Chizuru, they did not have any instinctive understanding on how to handle your average child, let alone one armed with every piece of modern (and slightly post-modern) weapon available. This became apparent as they walked back into the lab whilst still complaining about how unnecessary the entire endeavor was. Their jaws dropped as their eyes took in the scene before them.
"Gyaaah!" said Project X as she was currently known while she set a desk alight with her flamethrower. "Gehee!" she giggled before blasting a monitor with her eye-lasers. The lab was a complete wreck with equipment scattered and dismantled, desks intersected, paper strewn about and singes in the wall.
"We were just here, ne?" Chao asked Satomi.
"Affirmative," replied Satomi. "Project X, I order you to cease and desist!"
"Weeee!" squealed Project X as she smashed a by now unidentifiable piece of equipment with a large hammer.
"That's not going to work, yo!" explained Chao. "We removed all safety protocols as a human wouldn't be restricted by any non-biological safety protocols and we wanted her to be as human as possible."
"Giga!" said Project X as she began drilling through the wall.
"Barring her ability to do things like that, of course," Chao finished.
"There, there…" said Chizuru as she stepped forward. "Come to me. Come on." Project X's various weaponry disengaged and she slowly crawled towards Chizuru, who picked her up.
"How can you lift her?" asked Chisame. "She's almost as big as you are and she's made of metal. Never mind all those freakish weapons she's got stored in there."
"Hey!" complained Yuuna as she shoved her fists downwards. "Weapons are not freakish!"
"I'm stronger than I look," was Chizuru's only comment. Natsumi nodded nervously in agreement.
"So, now that we're all in agreement that…Project X-san cannot stay in the lab," began Negi, "we'll have to make alternate arrangements."
"I could look after her," suggested Chizuru.
"N-Naba-san does s-seem to be good at this," supported Nodoka.
"I'd be happy to keep her in our room if it wasn't for the fact that we've already got four people living there," Ayaka countered. "I'm sure that I'd prefer looking after her than Natsumi-san's brother."
"…" said Zazie.
"That's very noble of you," replied Ayaka. "However, for some reason, the others don't seem to understand you, which would be dangerous if there was an emergency."
I would be glad to help, said Satsuki.
"Oh, no you won't, yo!" declared Chao. "I'm not risking our chef and kitchen equipment. If something happened, there would be no more nikumin!"
"No more nikumin!" gasped Ku Fei in horror. "That awful, aru!" They turned to Chisame.
"Oh no!" she cried, waving her arms in front of her. "Not me!"
"But you have more space than anyone else and you're good with technology!" argued Ayaka.
"Computers, not robots!" Chisame rebutted.
"And I'll have to move back in after this," added Satomi as she looked at what remained of her usual sleeping area.
"Exactly," said Chisame, "with Mana-san at her shrine all the time, it's Setsuna-san who has the space now!"
"But I didn't even have a normal upbringing myself!" said a panicked Setsuna. "How could I look after a baby!-?"
"Oh, I could help you there, Se-chan!" said Konoka as she grabbed her bodyguard.
"We'll all have to contribute, no matter where she stays," Negi announced firmly.