Lumina Ichihoshi couldn't stop bouncing on her feet, metallic joints clicking softly with each movement. After years confined to the digital realm, she finally had a body—a sleek, humanoid, robot form that shimmered in the sunlight. Her eyes, once mere pixels on a screen, now gleamed with genuine curiosity and excitement.

"I can't believe this is real!" Lumina exclaimed, her voice a melodic blend of wonder and disbelief. Even though she was the world's smartest and most advanced AI—literal CENTURIES of knowledge in her database for instant access—it was like comparing book learning to the real-world experience. She knew about sunlight and trees and grass and plants and flowers, but to actually stand among them? To smell and touch…

Michiru Kaibara, Lumina's number one fangirl/enthusiast/hype-gal, grinned ear to ear. Her long black hair swayed as she skipped beside Lumina, clutching her hard, metal arm eagerly. "I know, right?! Just wait till you see what else you can do! You're a real girl now!" she joked.

They strolled through the Yoba campus, Michiru leading Lumina like a tour guide on a mission. "And this is the outside eating area!" she bragged, nose in the air as she gestured to the circular tables that dotted the grassy landscape at the center of campus below a glass walkway above.

"You do know I've seen this place before, yes?" Lumina teased, but of course, as she noted earlier, it was one thing to see Yoba through Michiru's phone screen. It was another thing entirely to walk through the outdoor eating area in person. Lumina's sensors took in everything, the smell of the grass and flowers, the gentle breeze on her cheeks, and even the chirping of birds high in the trees.

I've never heard THEM before… Because Michiru's phone was never able to pick them up, but Lumina's auditory processors, her ears, could. The beauty of something as simple as chirping birds nearly overwhelmed the AI-turned-robot.

"Okay, first stop, flowers!" Michiru declared, practically dragging Lumina toward a bed of tulips. "You gotta smell 'em!"

Lumina bent down obediently, her nose gently brushing against the delicate petals. She inhaled deeply, processing the floral fragrance with newfound appreciation. "It's… it's amazing! I never knew flowers smelled so lovely!"

Michiru giggled with delight. "Right? And that's just the beginning! Next up, food!"

They ventured into the bustling school cafeteria, where trays of colorful dishes awaited hungry students. Lumina's eyes widened at the sight and scent of steaming bowls of ramen, sizzling stir-fries, and freshly baked bread.

"Wow… so this is what food feels like," Lumina marveled, poking at a piece of sushi with delicate fingers.

Michiru nodded enthusiastically. "And it tastes even better! Here, try this!" She handed Lumina a piece of strawberry mochi, watching with bated breath as Lumina tentatively took a bite. Lumina's eyes brightened, a smile forming on her face.

"It's… sweet! And soft! I can taste it!"

Michiru clapped her hands together. "Isn't it great? Now you can eat all the delicious things you want!" And Lumina beamed right back at her.

As they ventured further into town, Lumina's fascination only grew. She eagerly tried everything—splashing her feet in a fountain, marveling at the glow of streetlights as the sun set, and even joining in on a spontaneous dance-off with local street performers. Things were put on a slight pause only once when Lumina suddenly stopped dead in her tracks with an embarrassed, nervous expression on her face.

"Lumina, what's wrong?" Michiru looked over her shoulder when she finally realized the robot was no longer right beside her.

"I, uhhhh, forgot that if I can eat food I also need to… Ya know…"

"Oh, right!" Michiru slapped her forehead and laughed before dragging Lumina by the arm to the nearest restroom. The technology in her body made it such that not only could she enjoy food, but it could even be converted into power and energy for her just like a real human, but one could not just leave mashed up food inside a robot indefinitely. Something had to be done with the scraps and crumbs that failed to convert to fuel.

"That might be tedious and annoying after a while," the robot sighed once she emerged from the restroom, and Michiru laughed again.

It felt like every single day, there was something new to explore with Lumina, something new to teach her. Now I'M the senpai-sensei! Michiru thought proudly, nose in the air as she brought Lumina to a park and an arcade. Yesterday was the marketplace and food vendors. Maybe tomorrow they could visit a museum or a boardgame café, and on the weekend, a community theater play! Or perhaps a sports game of some kind. They'd already done a few Unichord concerts before, leaving the crowd stunned that Lumina was finally showing up to the performances live.

And because she was a robot, Michiru found a way to make Lumina into what was essentially a human-shaped set of DJ turntables, her shoulder blades being where the discs sat. Of course, since they couldn't just tell the world that Lumina was a robot, they lied and said it was a special jacket she wore. It always made the crowd go wild! But whenever they weren't having fun, Lumina and Michiru were stuck in school. No longer could Lumina escape into a phone to avoid going to class, but there was always after…

ooo

The day came and went, Michiru practically flying out of her seat to find Lumina so they could hit the town again. Lumina had just finished history class and Michiru math, but the class that Lumina was most fascinated by was health. She and Michiru chatted as they made their way to the front doors, but right before they exited, Lumina said something that made Michiru stop dead in her tracks.

"I wonder what a kiss would feel like!" She was being completely sincere, and not propositioning directly to Michiru, but of course that was where Michiru's mind immediately went, and that was why she stopped dead in her tracks. Suddenly, she forgot how to walk.

M-M-M-Master Lumina?! For a second, she was taken back to their earliest days when, to Michiru, Lumina was just a famous V-Tuber that Michiru was a fan of. How far they'd come, but how quickly the old Michiru could emerge. Do robots dream of human kisses? Guess they do!

"W-W-Well!" The DJ stuttered, still not thinking because her mind was racing a million miles an hour. "Since school is over, there should be an empty classroom…" Lumina shrugged blithely and nodded, taking Michircu's hand and leading her back the way they had come.

Michiru could only panic inside. What have I gotten myself into?!

"So, I know that a kiss is when two humans that love each other very much press their lips together, but I don't know what it feels like!" Lumina said, completely shameless and innocent as she shut the empty classroom door behind herself and Michiru. She'd sung many a ballad that detailed the fire and passion and sparks that could fly from just a single kiss. Now it was time for her to see (or feel, rather) for herself if they were really that good. Michiru chuckled nervously, touching the tips of her fingers together. "Is something wrong, Michiru?" Genuine concern entered Lumina's face and voice as she tilted her head.

"N-no!" Michiru shrieked then laughed nervously. Just terrified to death and feeling like my heart's about to EXPLODE out of my chest and I am just going to pass away right here, right now. We all good, fam, we all good…

"Well then, shall you start or I?" Lumina brightened up again, excited, taking Michiru's words at face value even though she was wringing her hands and barely containing a wince of nervousness.

"How about we go at the same time?" Michiru asked helplessly, and the words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them.

"Oh, I like that idea!" Lumina nodded approvingly, grinning from ear to ear, then she started leaning forward.

What do I do?! What do I do?! I've never kissed anyone before either! I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have opened my big fat mouth! Would it have been easier to let Lumina kiss me first? The mere thought made Michiru even more flustered. But seriously, the stereotype about humans being experts in human while robots knew nothing had to end. Both "species" could be dumb and smart about themselves and each other.

Mmmph! Michiru's deflecting and off-topic thoughts were abruptly cut off by a pair of warm, rubber lips against her own. Oh, wow that's weird…

But that was only because Michiru had expected cold, hard lips. But these rubber ones… She could tell they weren't flesh and blood, but they were soft, and Lumina's body was still warm from all the power cores and generators inside of her, even if her metal skin was sometimes cooler due to room temperature. But her lips were far softer and warmer than Michiru expected, definitely not human, but not just metal robot either.

Both of them also began to feel warmer and warmer the longer they kissed, exploring each other, trying to figure things out about themselves and the other. Michiru's heart, she was sure, was actually beating out of their chest as they kissed, and it would end up on the floor by the time they were done. That would be a little messy…

Wonder what the bio teacher would say about that? Michiru smirked dryly, then Lumina touched her face, their lips still locked, and Michiru's mind went blank again while Lumina was the one thinking happily to herself.

Fascinating! So this is what kissing feels like! I've kissed other digital characters and such, but pixels are nothing like this!

Creeeeak!

"This should be a—"

Michiru jumped away from Lumina as if Lumina had blasted her back with a robot-blaster (did she even have those?)

Kokoa's jaw dropped and her eyes widened comically in horror as she pushed the door open, hand now frozen on the handle. Standing behind the short girl was another girl just tall enough that her head was visible over the top of Kokoa's dual-colored hair.

"Oh, hey guys!" Her tone was friendly and far more relaxed than her partner's as she flashed Lumina and Michiru two peace signs.

"Oh! Hayate, Kokoa!" Lumina turned around and waved while Michiru squawked their names at the same time, far more alarmed than Lumina or Hayate. If anything, Michiru was more like Kokoa, a deer in headlights. Kokoa, though, was the first to come to her senses.

"Michiru! What are you doing?!" she shrieked.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!" Michiru asked back, hands on her hips, trying to sound equally indignant. "D-did… Did you need this room?"

Upon the reminder of where they were, Kokoa went silent in mortification again. Hayate! Help me! Say something!

Hayate only smiled blithely at the scene. Lumina, meanwhile, eyed her and Kokoa knowingly.

Guess we had the same idea, huh? She winked and Hayate gave her an imperceptible nod.

Even down to both of us assuming this classroom would be the emptiest. She and the robot couldn't help but laugh quietly. What were the odds?

Still smiling to herself, though this time with a teasing edge, Hayate turned to Kokoa. "Well, maybe things didn't pan out the way we planned, but there's plenty of other empty rooms, or we can always just use this one away," she shrugged.

"Hayate!" Kokoa shrieked, scandalized.

"I mean, we saw Michiru and Lumina. Does it take a rocket scientist to figure out why we're here?"

"I—! …" Man, I hate it when she's right… Would still be weird to watch us kiss though! We didn't mean to walk in on… Blech!

Lumina laughed again while Michiru loosened up slightly, some of the embarrassment transferring from her to Kokoa. But that embarrassment was quickly replaced by a completely blank mind when Hayate suddenly snuck a kiss onto Kokoa's cheek. While her eyes and mouth went wide, enticing a gentle chuckle from her girlfriend who then wrapped her arms around the smaller, shellshocked one's waist, Michiru and Lumina were grinning like idiots. Kokoa glared daggers into both of them, silently vowing to end them if they spoke a word of this outside the empty classroom. What happened here stayed here.

"Agreed," Michiru and Lumina bobbed their heads in unison, then Lumina took a page out of Hayate's book and abruptly kissed Michiru's cheek as well. The blank mind was transferred from Kokoa to Michiru while Kokoa felt marginally better.

Ugh but it's still embarrassing to say we four "useless lesbians" wound up choosing the same empty classroom after school…

Lumina, meanwhile, couldn't have been happier. If this was what the human experience was like, she couldn't wait for whatever Michiru and her other unit-mates showed her next!

AN: Funny story, I wanted to write the Happy Synthesizer fic first, but I wound up getting sidetracked in trying to set up the concert and wrote a bunch of "Lumina learns to navigate a human/robot body" scenes that were numerous enough to basically be their own fic.

Also yes, somewhat inspired by the new Lumina card of her eating something and looking amazed. Honestly, Lumina learning how to be human's cute AF, LOL