The next morning, with Rin in tow, I reported to Kagamine's lab for my corrective eye surgery. Upon entering, Kagamine greeted us both with, "Ah, Rin! Corporal! Good to see you both! Come in please, I believe we have a lot to do." I took a seat on the operating table. Rin sat down next to me with her usual cheerful smile. "Well, it looks like you'll need some vision surgery today, yes Corporal?" Kagamine inquired. "Yes sir, can't be shooting like I did yesterday anymore." I replied. "Well I assure you that after today, you should shoot expert every time. Now, before we begin though, I'd like you to please slip this on for a moment." He said as he handed me a helmet that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. "What kind of a helmet is this?" I asked. "This is your personal helmet that you will wear with the rest of your Ground Air Tactical Recon armor, or GATR for short, after you have had the proper training and augmentations." "Augmentations sir?" I inquired. "Physical augmentations that will boost your muscle mass, stamina, thicken your bone density, and your sight and hearing will also be upgraded as well. Your augmentations on your eyes are being done today however." He replied. "Now, please put on your helmet so I can run a quick diagnostic, and so your combat chip can sync with your suits system." He said. Obediently I put on my helmet, and almost immediately the heads up display appeared. I could instantly see things like weapon information, ammo count, a motion tracker in the lower left corner, and strangely enough, a heartbeat sensor in the upper right corner. Instinctively I looked at Rin when I noticed this. She giggled at my appearance at first. Pt's with a powered helmet wasn't exactly practical. "Nice fashion choice you've got there soldier!" she said jokingly. "Aw hush Rin!" I teased back. It was then that I noticed something more. Upon looking at Rin, my helmet pulled up her vital signs as well. For tactical casualty care I assumed, but what was odd was that it was showing a heart rate. Could it be!? "Thank you Corporal, that will do. You can remove the helmet now." Kagamine said suddenly. I removed the helmet in confusion as to why he had instructed me to do so right as I had picked up on that strange anomaly. Or was it even an anomaly at all? Could Rin actually have a real beating heart? I snapped back to reality as Kagamine handed Rin a chip and said, "Rin please take this to the armory, and make sure the data gets off-loaded to John's armor." "Sure thing!" she said getting up. "Be right back." She said as she walked off. I looked at Dr. Kagamine strange for a moment, but he noticed my gaze and said, "Corporal I know what you saw on your HUD, and yes it is what you think it is." My jaw dropped in surprise. "You mean Rin, she has a real, I mean she's living!?" "Not quite Corporal, she's not entirely living, but yes she does have a beating heart just like you and I." Things finally made sense now. Why Rin seemed so real, and why I was so fiercely attracted to her. "You can't be serious Doctor! Why on earth would you put a real heart into an android though!? That's ri" "It's not ridiculous if it was already there Corporal." He cut me off. "You mean she was.." "Yes she was once very much alive as well." "How did she come into this program then?" I asked. "Because she's my daughter." He said. Again my jaw dropped in shock and awe. He then proceeded to tell me of the nearly fatal accident that had almost claimed Rin, Miku, and Teto, and how he had saved them in a manner of speaking by turning them into androids. "This is incredible!" I said as Kagamine prepared the machines for the surgery. "It would have been incredible if I had saved them in their complete living forms Corporal." He said. "But why model them after vocaloid characters?" I asked. "Rin was into anime and that sort of thing, and so were her friends. They were so badly burned after the accident that I had to re-construct their faces and bodies entirely. The vocaloid rin was always Rin's favorite, so I modeled her after that particular character." He said. "Miku and Teto were done the same way." He added. "Why do none of them know about this though?" I asked. "I had to erase their memories of their past lives completely in order to save them. It was the only way." "But you should tell them!" I protested. "All Rin wants is a heart to love with, but she doesn't even realize that she already has one!" I pleaded. Kagamine fixed me with a stern but saddened look, "Corporal, you must never tell Rin, or the other two of what really happened. It might be too much for them to handle, and it could overload their systems." "But isn't there anything that can be done?" I asked. "Not by me Corporal." He responded. My heart sank at this. "But YOU can do something Corporal." "What sir?" I asked. "Just treat her like you have been. Like a real living, breathing, human-being. Show her the love and compassion that I never could. Most importantly though, always remind her that her "Kokoro" is always closer than she thinks." I understood. All of the terrible things that had happened to Rin had nearly brought tears to my eyes. There are certain things like that that'll bring even a hardened soldier to the brink of tears. "And Corporal, one more thing…" Kagamine said as his voice became weak. "Yes sir?" I asked. "The one she spoke of that she wanted to be able to love…..that person is you." I was now completely in shock. "Me sir!?" I said in surprise. "Yes you son." The doctor said. "But, why?" I asked. "Because you've been the first person to actually treat her like a real girl in a very long time. Even though you two have only been together a short time, she's developed quite an affection for you because of the way you treat her. As her father, I'd like to thank you for that."he said weakly. "It's not a problem sir." I replied. I was at a loss for words at this turn of events. I couldn't believe that this was really happening. But then again, I knew that sometimes things like this happen for a reason, and that it is up to us to make a difference. "One last thing before we begin the procedure Corporal." He said finally. "What is it sir?" I asked. "Whatever happens, I want you to promise me you'll always take care of Rin if something should ever happen to me. She was assigned to you for a reason." "You have my word sir." I responded. "So what do I do from here though sir?" I asked. The doctor lowered his eyes, and then looked at me with a piercing gaze, "Just love her." He said. I was starry eyed once again. It was at that point that Rin came walking back in. Upon entering she asked, "Didn't miss anything did I?" Dr. Kagamine and I exchanged glances. I then turned my head to see Rin in a new beauty that I hadn't noticed before and smiled. "Nope. Didn't miss a thing." I said. I noticed a nod of approval out of the corner of my eye from Kagamine as I said this. "Well, now that Rin's back, are you ready to begin the procedure Corporal?" the doctor asked. "Yes sir!" I responded. "Very good. Now then, please look directly at this laser, and do not stop until I tell you." He said. I felt Rin squeeze my hand as the laser charged up. I couldn't help but smile once again. Then I saw the laser fire and looked directly at it. I felt a slight tingling in my eyes, and just as quick as it had begun it was over. My vision had somewhat blurred after all of this however. "That'll do John." The doctor said. "Now you'll need to sleep for a little while before you notice any improvement in your vision, but once you wake up tomorrow you should be seeing better than you ever have." He explained. "Sounds good sir." I said in reply. "Rin, would you take Corporal Adams back to his quarters please? I'd see you back myself Corporal but I have a few other matters I have to attend to." Kagamine said. I knew right away though it was just an excuse to give Rin and I more time together. Rin and I exchanged smiles, and then she helped me up . She took me by the hand, and walked me down the hall. "How do you feel?" she asked me. "Vision is still a little blurry, but I feel pretty good. Even better now that you're here here." I flirted. She blushed and said, "That's really sweet of you." Now I could really see what Kagamine had meant when he told me I was the first to treat her like a real girl in a while. She seemed so complimented by even the smallest thing. Finally we got back to my quarters, and Rin helped me into bed. "If you need anything, call me on the comms." She said. "Thanks. I sure will." I smiled. She was just about to turn to leave when I took her hand and said, "Rin?" "Yeah?" she asked as she knelt down beside me. "Remember when you told me about Kokoro?" "Yeah, why?" she asked. "Your Kokoro is always closer than you think it is…I just thought I should tell you that." I said following Kagamine's instructions. Rin seemed to tear up at this but then smiled brighter than I'd ever seen. She then wrapped her arms tightly around me, and kissed my forehead. "Thank you…so much. That really means a lot coming from you." She said affectionately. I really felt that this was how it was always meant to be. Rin and I were almost certainly made for each other, and we both knew it. It seemed like an eternity before she released me, and then said, "I never thought anyone else but the doctor would treat me like a real person, but today you proved me wrong, and I hope you know how much that means to me." "I do know." I replied. "But no matter what anyone else tells you, you're always alive in my eyes." I said. Rin hugged me once more, and then departed. I fell asleep shortly after, and dreamed of Rin. I couldn't believe it, but I already had extremely strong feelings for her. She was quickly becoming the center of every thought that I had. Little did I know however that Rin and I were really tied together in more ways than we knew…