A grunt left me as I settled my back against a building before leaning my head out and looking down at the open field I had quickly gotten out of. Just in time for the odd machine lifeforms that had been tirelessly chasing me to come rushing out from the tree line that lead into the massive forest. Their makeshift medieval knight armor clanking loudly as they stomped around in search of me.

It also wasn't lost on me that there were now fewer of them here compared to the group that had chased after me. Their red glaring eyes swept around the area, and I slowly inched back a bit further behind the building while keeping my eyes on them as one of the small biped's gazes passed over where I was hiding.

My hands tightened their grip on my rifle as they kept searching the area. Before my eyes narrowed in confusion when one of the normal machines in the area walked too close to one of the 'knights'. Only for the latter to yell something before it cut down the other machine without a second thought.

Which then led to all the other cantonic machines that were doing nothing to basically spring to life. Their yellow eyes turned red in an instant before they charged at the 'knights'. Leading to an all out brawl. Or, slaughter, I suppose would be more accurate. Considering the wannabe medieval machine lifeforms seemed to be using actual tactics, which… was a worrying prospect.

Eventually, the forest machines came out on top. Before a medium biped wearing similar armor bursted out from the trees. And yelling something I couldn't quite make out to the others, and they all quickly huddled together in tight grouping before slowly backing away from the smoking wrecks they had made. Before disappearing into the tree line.

My glare lingered on the spot where they had gone, as I waited to see if I could spot any movement from them in the foliage.

Though after a few minutes of nothing besides the trees gently waving in the breeze and the smoke rising into the air from the dead machines, I eventually relaxed. A deep groan leaving me as I pushed myself off the wall and walked over to a broken wall. Carefully stepping over the pieces of rubble.

"So much for exploring the forest…" I muttered, walking down a set of old and slightly broken up concrete stairs before I was on the street.

My small expedition out to the forest next to the city hadn't gone as planned and had been cut short by the machines living there. Every one of them wearing some kind of mockery medieval armor. More concerning and somewhat bewildering to me though was how much they kept yelling random nonsense. It wasn't the first time I've heard a machine talk, but I still couldn't get used to it. Considering the damn things just a few years ago, I never heard the damn things make a peep.

Reaching up and rubbing my eyes with another groan, I stopped for a moment before eyeing a large tree that had grown in the middle of the street. Lowering my hand, I took a look around for any machines before sighing once I saw nothing and walked over to the tree. Slipping my backpack off, I set it down next to one of the large tree roots peeking out from the ground.

An exhausted sigh left me as I then eased myself down next to my pack before leaning back against the tree and closing my eyes for a moment. My shoulders slowly fell as I blew out a breath, resting my rifle on my lap, my thumb slowly running over the polymer handguard before I opened my eyes and stared at it with a tired and slightly irritated gaze.

With a grunt, I grabbed the bolt and pulled on it, only for it to resist slightly. I pulled a bit harder on it before the bolt finally pulled back, ejecting a round that had been trapped inside.

Frowning, I leaned over and grabbed the round off the ground before holding in front of my squinting eyes. Though I couldn't really see anything wrong with the bullet. Sighing, I put it away in one of my pant pockets, and flipped the safety on. "Well, that's not a good sign." I grumbled. Tapping my fingers along the rifle.

A loud growling sound came from my body. Glancing down, another went off followed by a gnawing feeling in my stomach. "Right... Guess I would be hungry after all that running." Leaning my rifle up against the tree next to me. I grabbed my backpack and sat it in front of me.

Opening it, I dug my arm in and pulled out an orange I had managed to grab back in the forest. Grabbing my knife, I quickly peeled it before putting my knife and pulling down the lower half of my scarf. I took a piece before chucking into my mouth and biting down on it, only to grimace and shudder at the overly sweet taste. Though I forced myself to keep eating despite my dislike for oranges.

Tilting my head back and relaxing further against the tree. I took a look around at my surroundings as I ate.

Around me were various buildings, all rebuilt by the androids at some point during the war with the machines. The buildings had seen better days. Which wasn't surprising since no one was here to repair or maintain them.

Most of them were in various forms of disarray, slanted to the side from shifting earth or chunks of them blown out from constant battles that happened.

Some even had gigantic trees growing through them. Others were in better structural condition, though their stability was questionable and I didn't feel all that comfortable being inside them. Then again, it's been a long time since I felt that way, and I couldn't be picky about where I slept.

Eating the last bit of pulp from the orange. I gathered up the orange peels and chucked them away from me before crossing my arms over my chest and closing my eyes.

I let my body loosen and relax while heaving out a sigh as I took in the surprisingly peaceful atmosphere around me at the current moment. A nice breeze brushed against my exposed face, whilst the warmth of the sun was felt on most of my lower and upper body.

After some time, chirping from right above caught my attention and I opened my eyes to look up and see some birds sitting on a tree branch sitting above me. I don't know what kind they were, thousands of years of evolution did god knows what to the animals on this planet. They were fairly small though, enough to probably fit in my hand. They bounced around, chirping at one another before they flew off. Disappearing from my sight once they flew past a building.

Rubbing my eyes, I yawned as I slowly sat up. "Hm, guess that's my cue to leave." I mumbled as I stood up with a grunt.

"Hnn!" Pressing my hands against my back, I pushed, getting a satisfying pop. "…Ahhh, that's good." I groaned, rolling my neck side to side before I leaned down and picked up my backpack and rifle. Slinging my pack on, and keeping my rifle in my hands. Taking a deep breath through my nose, I exhaled slowly and pulled the cloth back over my face befire I rolled my shoulders and got moving.

Bits of concrete and dirt crunched under my boots as I walked on the old broken paved roads. With debris and junk blocking some parts of the road. A few paths were even blocked by a few barricades, built mostly from scrap and makeshift fences.

Honestly, I am still kind of surprised there were even any buildings still standing here. Considering how long it's probably been since the androids had a stronghold in Japan and some other cities that weren't under android control I've come across during my travels. Which were usually never fortunate enough to survive the constant warfare that goes on. Mostly being reduced to only a handful of standing buildings and rubble. Though the battle lines were always moving in some shape or form, though never by much for the androids, unfortunately.

Major strongholds for both the androids and machines have been the same for a long time now, while lesser, 'unimportant' areas, were sometimes exchanged in battles between the two groups. Rinse and repeat for thousands of years and that's the war the androids were stuck in.

I frowned at the thought of the nonstop war the androids had found themselves. The battle between the androids and machines had been raging for a very long time.

Though I couldn't remember the exact date that one android had given me of when It all started. I was mostly just too busy trying to survive and do... Whatever the hell it is I do anymore, just wander around like some old fool. But it has been going on for thousands of years, and from what I've seen, it doesn't look like it'll be ending anytime soon.

Climbing up the small hill of rubble and destroyed machines, I grunted as I kicked at the wreckage of a small flyer, dislodging it and sending the dead machine falling to the other side with a loud crash. Sliding down onto the ground, I glanced to the side when something caught my eye and saw a small brick building. I slowed my steps when I looked through the still standing front windows to see a bunch of shelves inside. Along with a good amount of books on them as well, from what I could see.

Coming to a stop, I grabbed the straps of my backpack and gave it a good shake. There was quite a bit of heft to it from the random items I've collected throughout the day, but I doubt a few books would add too much weight to it. Stepping around some rusted signs, I grabbed the handle for the door and gently pushed against it.

A loud and drawn out squeaking hit my ears and had me wincing, followed by a pitiful ring from a bell above the door frame, but the door managed to open without falling apart. Aside the handle wobbling in a loose manner.

Looking around the entrance with a wary gaze. I nodded my head with a sigh when it didn't come tumbling down on my head. I pushed the door further and squeezed past, and headed inside. The door slowly closed behind me on its own.

(-)


(-)

A page of illegible words greeted me for the sixth book that I opened. It was written in that odd language that I've seen a couple of times all these years during my traveling. And unfortunately, I still couldn't understand a single damn letter.

Sighing, I put it back on the shelf before grabbing another and opening it, only for this one to be in Japanese.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I exhaled and chuckled. "Yeah, what the hell I was expecting." Really, I shouldn't have been surprised. This is or used to be Japan after all and the androids would have tried to rebuild it to the best they could with what frame of reference they probably still had in this day and age. Even if they did slip up a couple of times.

Placing the book back on the old shelf, I looked down at the floor, which had books and pages scattered all around, all of them showing their age with their worn out covers. I pursed my lips as I looked at them, stepping over a few and nudging some with my foot, before stopping when I saw a cover with English words on it hidden under a pile.

Humming quietly, I squatted down and pushed the other books away, and scooped the one that had caught my attention up from the floor. Holding it up in front of me, I wiped away the thick layer of dust on its cover with my other hand, only to grimace at the thick layer now coating my glove.

"Ugh, damn it," I grimaced while coughing a bit and flicked the dust off my hand, and wiped the rest off on my pants before opening the book. Thankfully the pages were in English and in somewhat okay condition, enough for me to read the words on them, which was good enough for me as I stuffed it in my backpack. Looking at the other books all scattered around, all of their titles were only in the weird language or Japanese. Tapping my finger on my chin I looked around the store again, my eyes stopping on the large desk near the back of the store.

Standing up and grabbing my backpack, I walked over. Pulling out the rolling chair with my foot before easing myself down on it and resting my backpack against the desk, along with my rifle. Rolling myself forward, I leaned down and started opening the drawers. "Let's see," I said out loud as I dug through them. "Paperwork, paperwork, and just more paperwork." Slamming it shut I opened the one under it, only for it to also be filled with letters and documents. All of which were useless to me.

Leaning back and using my knee to close the drawer, I turned my attention to the computer on the desk. Pulling myself over, I ran my hand across the old keyboard. Course, nothing happened, even when I pressed a few keys on the keyboard repeatedly or pressed the power button for the old CRT monitor and tower next to it. Only for neither to turn on.

A sigh left me as I leaned back in the seat, resting my head on my fist. "And here I was hoping I could play a bit of solitaire." Scratching my nose with my finger, my eyes lazily looked around the desk before something caught my eye. I quickly looked down to my left under the desk, where I saw a bin full of books all neatly stacked on top of each other.

Humming and raising a brow, I pushed myself away a bit from the desk and scooted myself closer to the bin, leaning my head a bit under the desk so I could get a better look at them. Pulling the bin towards me, I grabbed one of the books and looked over it. The front and back dark blue and black covers were completely blank. Opening it, the book's title was on the first page in English along with the next few pages. Nodding to myself, I closed it and reached behind me, and placed it down on the desk before going back for more.

A minute later, I froze when I heard the quiet bell at the entrance ring. Signaling that someone had pushed the door open, along with the sound of metal snapping. Causing me to jump and slam the back of my head into the desk. Hissing quietly in pain, I clutched the spot on my head and groaned as I slowly pushed myself back.

Carefully peeking over the desk and looking at the entrance. I saw a female android standing in the doorway, with one hand holding the door open, while the other held the now broken metal door handle. She stared down at it with an awkward frown.

The girl huffed before she tossed the handle away behind some shelves. The loud clattering sound it made echoing through the shop. She then turned her eyes up and looked around, a childlike look of excitement visible in her eyes as they roamed over the shelves with obvious wonder, before they landed on me. Her eyes stared at me for a moment before they widened in surprise. She continued to look at me for a few moments before she gained a more cautious expression as she looked around the shop again warily while her right hand inched towards her rifle.

But after a few seconds of nothing, her wary expression turned into one of confusion before she looked back at me. Her eyes slowly blinked at me as she tilted her head. "Uh… hello?" She spoke, breaking the silence. With an inflection of uncertainty in her young sounding voice that was fitting with her youngish appearance.

Still rubbing the back of my sore head through my scarf. I slowly blinked at her before returning the greeting with a small wave. "Morning." I grunted out before placing my hand back on the aching spot of my head and sucking a sharp breath through my teeth.

The girl's shoulders slowly fell as she relaxed, though slightly. Her expression became more confident as she pushed the door open a bit more so that she was able to fully step inside.

Taking a closer look at the girl's appearance. She had a young looking face, with brown chestnut hair that stopped just a bit past her jaw. Her clothes were the standard muted earth toned camo colored resistance member attire for the kingdom of the day. With a hood laying on her shoulders and ending at her waist. And hanging from her side was a short barreled AK rifle.

"Um..." I looked up at her as she glanced around, a single finger tapping against her thigh. "Sorry for intruding, I had found this place a while back and thought it would good spot to collect some stuff and-"

"I don't live here, miss." I interrupted the girl with a tired smile that she couldn't see due to my scarf. "I'm just a scavenger grabbing some stuff, same as you. If something catches your eye, go ahead and take it. It's what I'm doing." I told her, gesturing to the shelves and the books that were on the floor.

She blinked in surprise before smiling slightly and nodding. "Oh, okay!" Her gaze lingered on me for a moment before she quickly turned and disappeared behind some of the tall bookshelves, leaving me to myself again.

Squeezing my eyes shut with a sigh, I sagged into the chair while I massaged the spot I had bumped for another few seconds. While my other hand felt around the desk before I grabbed and opened one of the books I had picked from the bin and looked over the pages for the next few minutes.

There were a few creaking sounds coming from the chair every so often as I shifted around on it, though I paid little mind to the noise. However, a loud creak from the chair did get my attention as I leaned a little too heavily on the side of the chair, before the arm suddenly snapped and I had no chance to react before I fell to the floor. The chair followed along with me and slammed onto the tile floor with a loud crash.

"Gah! Shit..." I groaned out, a bit of pain coming from my shoulder where I had landed on it, my right arm laying over my head with my body completely sprawled out on the floor and still sitting on the top half of the chair. The wheels of the bottom end just barely visible past the cushion seat from my position on my back.

My head titled when I heard hurried footsteps come rushing over before I saw the girl leaning over the desk. Her head looked around before she focused on me, a bewildered expression on her face as she took in the position I was in. "Are you okay?" She asked as she pushed herself off and slowly came around. Before kneeling down next to me as she looked over me.

An amused and slightly exasperated sigh left me. "I'm still in the land of the living. If that's what you're asking." I told her in a dry tone, letting my left arm flop onto my chest.

She blinked at my response before scratching her cheek and looking away. "...I guess that means you're okay..." She mumbled to herself before shaking her head and looking back at me. "Do you need help getting up?"

"...Please?" I sighed, lazily waving one my hands at her.

The girl nodded once before she leaned down and hooked her hands under me and pulled me back a bit before sitting me up on the floor.

Shaking my head and kicking the broken chair away, I grabbed onto the desk and pulled myself with the help of the girl. Standing at my full height. I dusted myself off and turned to her, giving her a slow nod. "Thanks..." I mumbled.

She stepped away seeing as how I wasn't falling over before returning the nod with a small shrug of her shoulders. "You're welcome." She murmured before stepping close to the desk while I leaned against it and rubbed my sore shoulder.

This is just not my day... I looked away from my shoulder to see the girl picking up one of the books I had grabbed and flicking through the pages, stopping occasionally and reading a few lines before flicking through more.

I'll admit, it was nice to interact with someone again, even if we haven't really said much to each other. Since it had been a while since I last talked or been near another person. The last time being when I had made it onto the coast by boat. Where the guy who owned said boat and had ferried me over, promptly told me to, 'Have a nice day and get the fuck off my boat.' after I had paid him in some high value machine scrap, which he was appreciative of. Though he had been polite in saying it, so I suppose that was a plus.

And when I had the chance I would make visits to android camps or the towns set up by them to trade or just to... mingle with them for a short time, which wasn't too difficult considering how human they were, at least on the outside, visually. Or just occupy myself with the buildings that they built from a familiar time. If only to help keep my sanity.

And I knew there was a camp or base somewhere in the city, where else would the androids I've seen be coming from? I just somehow hadn't found the place yet.

"So…" I turned to the girl, she placed the book neatly back down and leaned on the counter, crossing her arms together on top of it and tapping her finger on the cover as she stared at me. Her bright orange eyes looked at me with curiosity, making me quirk a brow at her. "You like to scavenge for human relics too?" She asked quietly. Tilting her head to the side.

Humming at her question, I nodded as I reached down for my backpack and lifted it up, before placing it down on the desk. Grabbing one of the books, I checked its condition as I flipped through the pages. "You could say that," I shrugged. "It's more just collecting stuff for personal use really." I answered. Closing the book shut and stuffing into my pack before grabbing another.

The girl's eyes widened with interest as she leaned closer towards me. "Really!?" She asked, her eyes wide in surprise, I couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "A lot of the androids around here never really give this stuff the time of day or just use it for..." She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling with a frown. "I'm not sure, really. I think some people just like having the stuff…" She mumbled before sighing.

Offering her a quiet hum in response while idly while I thought of something to say, I grabbed the book she was leaning on and pulled at it. She huffed quietly and stood up. Allowing me to stuff the book into my pack. "Some people just don't have the time for any of it or the interest. That, and the machine lifeforms makes it dangerous to go scavenging." While my collecting of items could be seen as a hobby or preservation acts by androids. It was more of a way of just trying to deal with the occasional boredom, and so I would be physically active.

"What about you?" I decided to ask her. I knew that androids would sometimes collect items from the old world. Be it because they want to salvage what they can of the past. Or because they want to feel closer to humanity, their creators, even if they didn't understand the purpose of some of the things humanity had used.

She scratched the back of her head and glanced to the side. She held a hesitant look as she gnawed on the corner of her lip before she sighed. "I… I started doing this kind of stuff because of another android I met a few years ago…" She said quietly, almost a whisper. She turned her gaze down to the counter with a slightly wistful smile on her lips. "He was a bit odd, but he meant well. He would collect lots of old stuff, even when he wasn't supposed to." She smiled. "One of the things he used to collect was postcards. One of them he showed me had a picture of a place called London." She sighed. "It was... kind of mesmerizing seeing what the old human cities used to look like. So I started collecting some myself. I found one of a place called Paris a while back."

I hummed and wiped some dust off a book. "Yeah, it was a beautiful place." I hadn't been to the current one, but I had seen a video feed during my stay over at some camp years ago. The buildings all looked surprisingly the same as I remembered them looking like, so the androids had up to date information on what the place looked like.

Though the only major differences I saw were the rising pillars of smoke, fire, and a major battle going on within the city. So I didn't exactly make plans on spending a vacation there. Alaska had been more than enough for me…

Checking the last book in my hand one more time, I ran my thumb down the spine before stuffing it into my pack and zipping it close now that it was full. Hefting it up I placed it on my back and reached down for my rifle and stepped around the desk and the girl. Stopping, I turned to her and straightened out my jacket and shirt before giving her a nod. "Well, it was a pleasure talking with you, miss. But I'm gonna head home. I've had a long day." I told her as I turned on my heel and made my way to the door.

The girl started sputtering behind me and quickly caught up with me, stepping in front of me slightly. "W-Wait, you're leaving already?" She stuttered. Making me stop and look at her while I gestured to my pack.

"Sorry, but I ain't got much reason to stay here anymore now that my pack is full." Said pack was full of other miscellaneous items I had collected throughout the day. And now with the books in it, it was almost overflowing and heavy as hell. So I definitely wanted to get home and offload this stuff before I keeled over from it.

"Oh…" She faltered at that, rubbing her arm. She suddenly perked up and looked at me. "I'll come with you!" I raised a brow. Which she took notice of and cocked her hip to the side with a smile. "Walking around by yourself in the city isn't exactly safe y'know?"

A flat stare was all I could give her in response. "Aren't you also doing the same thing?" I asked, looking outside the front windows to not see anyone else standing around waiting for her. "Since there doesn't seem to be anyone else with you?"

That wiped the smile from her face as she flinched and looked away. "Uh, well…" She paused and obviously tried to think of something, before she sighed. "Yeah…"

Snorting softly with a roll of my eyes, I fiddled with the velcro strap for one of my ammo pouches as I mulled over it. It wouldn't hurt to have someone travel with me, even if it was for just a short distance. And even if she was a bit odd. But she wouldn't be the worst person I've traveled with.

Tapping my foot, I sighed gently before I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. "Alright fine, you can tag along," I told her, opening my eyes to see her doing a fist pump for some reason. "I'll be waiting outside, so grab what you want. But don't take too long." I told her before making my way out the door.

"Kay!" I heard her say from inside, followed by the sound of multiple books falling onto the floor and a panicked yelp from her.

Pausing for a moment in the doorway, I waited, listening for anything else before smiling with a snort and leaving the building and headed over to the body of a medium biped, with the intent to sit on it.

"Ooh…" My joints popped quietly as I sat down and started to ease myself into a comfortable position. And to my quiet dismay, just as I had settled, the front door of the book shop was practically yanked open before the girl came running out. A few books were tucked under her left arm. Walking up, she stopped in front of me, all ready to go with a smile.

My tired eyes bore into her for a moment before my shoulders sagged. "Could've at least let me take a moment to relax…" She tilted her head and frowned at my words but said nothing as I sighed and sat back up with a bit of effort thanks to my aching muscles.

Rubbing my temples as I felt a bit of a headache coming on, I lowered my hand and looked at the girl who straightened up when my eyes landed on her. "Alright, as I said before, you can tag along." I brought my finger up. "But only for a while, and then we go our separate ways. Sound good?" I asked her. To which she nodded rapidly with a quiet sound of agreement.

"Alright then." Taking my rifle from my shoulder, I gripped it with both hands and started walking, eyeing the large skyscraper in the distance which I've been using as a landmark to tell which direction my home was. The girl did the same and grabbed her rifle, but just held it in one hand. Since her other arm was preoccupied holding the three books she had grabbed.

(-)


(-)

The girl and I crept through the ruined streets, the area we were in was relatively silent. Save for the sound of the rustling leaves from the wind and the idle noises coming from the Machines nearby. I'd even seen a few on some of the alleys, behind the buildings or inside them. Thankfully, so far, they had all been the weird ones who would just walk around, staring blankly at everything, doing nothing.

Despite their… "passive" behavior though, I didn't let my guard down for a second. If anything, it just put me on edge. Since normal machines you'd know what to expect. These ones however… I still couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with them.

My new temporary companion, however, seemed to be at relative ease compared to me. I wonder how long they've been acting like this for her to be this calm around their presence. Thankfully, the girl wasn't completely relaxed, she'd still occasionally aim her rifle at any of the machines that were close by. As well having her head on a constant swivel at our surroundings.

We kept moving for a couple more blocks. As I kept an ear for any odd sounds, a lack of one certain sound quickly caught my attention though. The kid, I didn't hear her footsteps anymore. Stopping in place, I quickly turned around, only to jump and bite my tongue before I could cuss when I found the girl standing right behind me.

She stared up at me with confusion. "Is something wrong?" She asked quietly as she began looking around for a threat that wasn't there.

Geez, she was still behind me the whole time? I thought, mildly impressed. I hadn't met too many androids that could practically make zero noise while walking after all. Let alone at the pace we were moving.

Shaking my head, I waved off her worry. "Ah, no. It's nothing, come on." I told her before continuing on, I had to peek over my shoulder to make sure she was following, and she was. Her footsteps were completely silent to me again despite straining my ears.

A few minutes later, we were both leaning against a building, my head poking out to look down the street. Which was crowded with a pretty sizable group of machines. It was a group of the 'dumb' ones. But there was no way in hell I was gonna try and walk through them. Not with the risk of bumping into one and possibly pissing them all off. Getting the girl and I killed.

Leaning back, I glanced at the girl and shook my head at her, before peeking through the still intact windows of the building we were pressed up against. One thing that immediately caught my attention was a back entrance it seemingly had as sunlight poured in through it. The back door was missing, which revealed a small and grassy alleyway behind the building.

"Come on." I said to the girl as I pushed the entrance door open. The girl slipped right past as I held it open before gently closing it.

Stepping further inside, I pushed some knocked over chairs and other junk aside and made my way to the back door. And just as I reached it the girl broke the silence.

"Hey, can…" The girl trailed off before she could finish whatever she was going to say.

Grunting as I peeked my head and looked down the ends of the alleyway, I looked back over my shoulder at her, a slightly hesitant expression on her face. "Yeah?" I replied before stepping out and going left from the road we had been following.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked when she caught up with me. I eyed a hopefully dead small biped that was covered in moss before I turned to her. She walked up next to me before sitting down on a large branch. She stared at her boots for a few seconds before looking up at me. "Do… Do you know anything about humans?" She asked tentatively, staring at me with a curiosity that I had long grown used to.

A sigh slipped out of me at her question, one that I had been asked countless times over the years. "I do..." I answered slowly before I crouched down in front of her. And I saw her perk up at that. "Why do you ask?"

The girl shrugged and glanced down again as she tapped her foot on the torn arm of the dead machine. "...Curiosity?" She suggested hesitantly, her shoulders hunching up while her eyes flickered between me and the ground.

Regarding her for a moment, I hummed as I closed my eyes. "Curiosity, huh…?" I repeated softly. It was something all too common with androids. Always clamoring to know more about their beloved creators. Especially the younger ones. I sighed and smiled at her. "Alright kid, you've got a question in mind?"

The girl blinked at me owlishly before she started looking around rapidly, I watched silently in amusement before her gaze focused on the books she had tucked under her arm. She looked back at me with an uncertain look before gesturing . "Uh… can you tell me what humans used books for?"

Huffing in amusement I nodded. "Well, it's a given, but humans would read them." I teased, before chuckling slightly when the girl froze and her cheeks gained a red tint and she glared at me. Fuming in silent embarrassment. "Sorry, Sorry." I apologized, though I couldn't hold back my laughter when I said it. Which only made the girl glare harder at me. "Alright, like I said, books are for reading, those ones and the ones I have are meant for entertainment." I told her, her scowl melting away as she slowly nodded her head. So I continued. "But books were also used for other things. They could also be used for recording information, be it the history of a person, country, or the planet itself. They were essentially used for archiving. And they could also help in learning." I answered her honestly. Or, at least as honestly as I could in my tired state.

By the end, the girl was looking at me with wide eyes, her mouth agape like she hadn't expected an actual answer.

Her reaction made me smile softly. "Weren't expecting that kind of answer were you?"

The girl blinked a few times before she shook her head. "N-No! Er, not really, I… Honestly, I wasn't expecting an actual answer. Most of the androids I know wouldn't be able to even answer that question. Let alone with that much detail!"

My expression slightly fell at that. Sure it wasn't something new to me, but it still bothered me all the same that most androids didn't really have a broader understanding of well… basic things humans did. Of course, it depended on what false memories said android had implanted in them when they were made. But the fact they still didn't understand humanity after thousands of years…

Then again, I've spent the most time around military androids, who were busy with a planetary wide war for their survival. So understanding what humans used to do isn't exactly isn't their top priority, save for a few curious outliers.

"Can..." I was brought out of my thoughts and glanced at the girl, the sparkle of curiosity practically visible in her eyes. "Can I ask more questions?" She asked, obviously holding herself back from doing so.

Mulling it over, I glanced at the girl. Who was giving me a pout with a silent pleading look. After a couple of seconds I looked away with a weary sigh. Oh what the hell, why not? I nodded my head at her before making my way down the alleyway. I did smile though when I heard a quiet and excited 'yes' come from her.

(-)


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The girl asked a plethora of questions, some were simple, while she asked about whatever was in our immediate view if only to satiate her sudden appetite for knowledge and just to distract herself. To which I answered all of them to the best of my ability.

We had to take a short pause though when we had to climb over a barricade, this one built around the wrecked frame of a bus. The girl climbed up some of the scrap and before launching herself up in a large jump. Landing on the roof of the bus without any problems.

I, unfortunately, didn't have the same strength to pull off the same as androids were able to. So I had to get a bit of a running start before I could jump onto the bus. Though I did manage it, as I jumped to a height that was past what an average person could manage.

And when I landed, I saw the girl eyeing me with confusion and a bit of worry when I had stumbled on the landing. Though that only happened because of all of the gear I was wearing and how heavy it was, hence I tried to avoid jumping around with my gear, after doing it a few times and biffing it when I was younger. I rolled my neck and shook my legs. "Hah…" I looked at her before gesturing to the end of the bus. "Shall we?" She nodded silently, her eyes lingered on me as I walked past.

Hopping down, I grunted and winced when I landed. "Umph! I'm going to feel that later..." I muttered to myself, rubbing my now aching knees. This is what I get for jumping at that height while wearing all this gear, along with the stuff I've got sitting in my backpack.

The girl landed next to me with little problem. Standing up with a small twirl, and giving me a childish grin. I just huffed and rolled my eyes as I walked past her. "Show off…" I grumbled, before huffing when I heard a small giggle from her.

We were at least a quarter of a distance away from my home when she suddenly stopped, making me do the same, and turn to her. "...You alright?" I called out before quickly walking back over to her.

The girl stared at the ground, having the look of someone who just remembered something important and it was something they shouldn't have forgotten. Before she hissed through her teeth and she grabbed a handful of her hair in wince. "Crap! I've been out for too long!" I opened my mouth to say something but she was already running off.

"Sorry! I have to go! Bye!" She yelled, breaking out into a sprint before quickly disappearing around a building within moments. Leaving me standing there in slight bewilderment. Staring at the spot she had just been occupying a few seconds ago, I couldn't help but snort in amusement and shake my head before turning around and continuing on my way home.

It didn't take long before the familiar sight of four large trees entered my view, which acted as the entrance and natural camouflage for my home. Stepping between them, I entered a courtyard. The building I had taken shelter in was a simple four story building. As far as I could tell, it hadn't been finished, with it missing windows and the doors. And no furniture inside it, when I had found it. With only a small bit of green paint on the front. Around it were also some tall office buildings. Which were ten stories tall. Providing good shade from the constant sun that hung overhead.

Pushing past the tarp I had set up in the front doorway, I stepped over a scattered pile of broken glass and walked upstairs to the second floor where I had set up my bedroom.

A yawn escaped me as I stepped in, before I started removing my scarf. And wrapping it around an old beat up coat hanger I had found a while back. Before doing the same with my backpack and combat vest. I released a loud sigh of relief at the removal of all of the heavyweight on my shoulders and just dumped them down on the floor.

Fiddling with my equipment belt, I set it down on my chest drawer and leaned my rifle against the wall before stumbling forward towards my bed, my exhaustion finally having caught up with me. Sitting down on my makeshift bed, a soft groan left me as I stretched my legs, before pulling a few small stools I had found closer and resting my legs on them. With piles of cloth on top of them to act as cushioning. Laying down on my 'bed' which was just an old cushioned chair, I grabbed one of the blankets hanging from the side and threw it over me.

Two damn months in this city so far, and I still haven't found a damn mattress. I grumbled internally, as I began to fall asleep.

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And there we go. I only ended up wanting to make this story because I was inspired by A Man Rants at a Camera, for Hours On End. I just really love the idea of a human wandering around for years, "blending" in with the androids and teaching them a few basic things they can't completely understand. Whilst they just think the poor guy is an android who's slowly breaking down.

That, and I wanted to make a story where the human character is basically a father figure for the majority of the androids. So hopefully this turns out decent and to people's liking because there are a few scenes I thought up that I love. The only problem is figuring out how to get to them.

2023- Did some more revisions for this chapter, since it still had some leftovers from when I first started writing. Meaning the quality was really poor.