Feelings Bloom in Secret

On the fifteenth day of training, No. 18 sat on the roof of the base, gazing at the distant mountains. The setting sun dyed the sky a deep orange-red, and the wind caught her long, silver-white hair, causing it to flutter gently. She had already adapted to her body as a Super Android. Earth's energy flowed within her, warm and fulfilling. She could perceive the lights of a city hundreds of kilometers away, hear the sound of water flowing deep underground, and feel the earth breathing slowly. Yet, there was one thing she could never adapt to: the presence of Kashu.

Every time Kashu drew near, her heartbeat would accelerate, and the frequency of her energy reactor would shift. She did not know why, nor did she want to. She told herself this was merely a side effect of her Super Android body, having nothing to do with Kashu. But her No. 17—Lapis—had already noticed. "Big sister likes Kashu," Lapis had said bluntly one day. No. 18's face turned red instantly. "Talk nonsense! I am just... just grateful he helped us." "I've never seen you blush before," Lapis said with a laugh. "You are Lazuli, No. 18, the cold-blooded killer. Why are you blushing?" "Shut up!" No. 18 threw a punch at Lapis, who dodged it easily, laughing even harder. "Admit it, sister. You have feelings for Kashu."

No. 18 did not answer and turned to leave. But sitting on the rooftop now, No. 18 had to admit that her brother might be right. She truly held a special affection for Kashu. It was not just gratitude, not just trust, but something deeper. Perhaps it was understanding? Like her, Kashu was a victim of Dr. Gero. Like her, he was someone abandoned by the world. Like her, he had found his own light in the darkness. Perhaps... this was fate? "What are you thinking about?" Kashu's voice suddenly came from behind her. No. 18 was startled, nearly falling off the edge of the roof. Kashu reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back.

"Be careful," Kashu said, though a trace of a smile played on his face. "How do you walk without making a sound!" No. 18 patted her chest, her heart pounding—if she had one. "I walk with sound just fine," Kashu said. "It's you who were too lost in thought." No. 18 turned her head away, not letting him see her burning face. Kashu sat down beside her, and the two watched the sunset together. After a moment of silence, Kashu spoke. "Lazuli, there is something I want to tell you." No. 18's heart beat even faster. "W-what is it?" "It's about your energy reactor," Kashu said. "Although it has synchronized with the Earth's core, there is still a hidden danger."

No. 18 froze. "A hidden danger?" "Your energy reactor was built by Dr. Gero using alien technology. That technology has a flaw—the reactor will slowly decay over time, and it will begin to become unstable in about ten years." No. 18's expression changed. "Then... what will happen?" "If it becomes unstable to a certain degree, the reactor will explode," Kashu said. "The force of the explosion would be enough to destroy a city." No. 18 fell silent. She suddenly felt a deep sense of despair. She had just gained her freedom, just found a place to belong, only to be told she had only ten years to live? And that when she died, she would take a city of people with her? "However," Kashu shifted his tone, "I have a way to fix it." No. 18 looked up sharply. "I need to access your energy reactor core to reprogram it. This process requires you to trust me completely, because I will temporarily lift all the safety restrictions on your reactor. If something goes wrong during this process... you could die," Kashu looked into her eyes, "and so would I." No. 18 stared into Kashu's eyes. In those deep purple eyes, there were no lies, no deception, only sincerity. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked. "Because I was waiting for the right moment," Kashu said. "Repairing your reactor requires your energy and mine to be perfectly synchronized. This synchronization requires both parties to... be of one mind." No. 18 understood. Of one mind. It was not just a technical synchronization, but an emotional one. Kashu was asking for her trust—complete, unreserved trust. "Are you willing?" Kashu asked. No. 18 took a deep breath. "I am."

The repair ritual took place in the basement of the base. There was no one else there, only Kashu and No. 18. The basement was a spherical space, the walls covered in glowing runes, and the air was filled with a unique energy fluctuation. "Take off your outer garment," Kashu said. "The reactor is located at your chest." No. 18's face flushed again, but she removed the outer layer of her combat suit, revealing the bodysuit underneath. On her chest was a palm-sized circular device, emitting a faint blue light. Kashu sat cross-legged in front of No. 18, his hands stretched out, palms facing her chest. "Close your eyes," he said. "Relax your body. Do not resist my energy as it enters you." No. 18 closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Kashu's palms began to glow, and the white light flowed like water toward No. 18's chest. As the light seeped into the reactor, No. 18's body trembled slightly.

"You are... you are inside my consciousness..." No. 18 murmured. "Yes," Kashu's voice came from the depths of her consciousness. "I am accessing your reactor's core code. It is complex, but the structure is intact. The flaw lies in a circular logic error—Dr. Gero made a low-level mistake when writing the code." "A circular... error?" "Yes. The reactor's self-repair program periodically scans for damaged areas, but the scanning program itself has a bug. During the scan, it incorrectly marks normal areas as damaged and then attempts to repair them. The repair process then creates new bugs, leading to an infinite loop. This is the root cause of the reactor's instability. In ten years, once the bugs accumulate to a certain point, the reactor will collapse." No. 18 understood only vaguely, but she trusted Kashu. Kashu began to modify the code. His consciousness wandered through No. 18's reactor core like a careful gardener pruning tangled branches. Every bug was found and fixed, every line of code optimized to its best state.

Suddenly, an image jumped into Kashu's mind. It was a laboratory with white walls and a cold operating table. No. 18 was strapped to the table, covered in tubes. Dr. Gero stood nearby, holding an instrument, recording data. No. 18 was crying. Crying silently. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto the operating table. Kashu's heart tightened painfully. He continued to browse her memories. More images surfaced—No. 18 being forcibly activated, ordered to kill, not wanting to kill, but her body refusing to obey her will. She watched her own hands stained with blood, sobbing uncontrollably. She was not a killer. She had never been a killer. She was just an ordinary person turned into a weapon. Tears streamed down Kashu's face. No. 18 suddenly felt Kashu's consciousness within her memories. She knew Kashu had seen those images, and she wanted to stop him, but she could not refuse his access. "Don't..." she cried out in her consciousness, "don't look at those..." "I must look," Kashu's consciousness replied. "Only by fully understanding your past can I fully repair your future." "But those... those aren't me..." "Those are you," Kashu said, "but they are not all of you. You have more, better memories. The swing in the orphanage, your brother's laughter, running under the setting sun... those are you, too." No. 18's consciousness suddenly went quiet. Kashu continued to repair the reactor, while simultaneously healing No. 18's heart. He browsed every one of her memories, good or bad, and bore them in silence. The good memories made him smile; the bad ones made his heart ache.

He could feel every acceleration of No. 18's heartbeat, every quickening of her breath. He could feel her fear, her sorrow, her anger, her despair, and the sliver of hope buried deep within her heart. The repair lasted for three hours. When Kashu finally fixed the last bug, their consciousnesses slowly separated. No. 18 opened her eyes to find herself covered in tears. Kashu opened his eyes as well, his own eyes red. The two looked at each other. No words were needed. Kashu reached out and gently wiped the tears from No. 18's face. "From now on," he said, "I won't let you cry alone again." No. 18 threw herself into Kashu's arms and finally sobbed aloud. It was not a cry of sorrow, nor a cry of pain, but a cry of release. She wept out all the grievances, fears, anger, and despair that had been suppressed for over a decade. Kashu held her gently, his hand stroking her back. In this moment, two lonely hearts had finally found each other.