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Episode 2

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Two Android Hearts Beat as One Episode 2: Broken Voice Training

The cold sensation of the floor jolted Riku awake. His body was stiff as a board. The tension from yesterday—or maybe even longer—had never fully released its grip on him. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been able to truly relax. He scanned the room. Windows sealed with iron plates. A few old books on a shelf against the wall. Musty air. The same gray room as yesterday. "…So it wasn't a dream." He murmured the words quietly and pushed himself up. The center of his chest felt faintly warm. Right around his heart. But it was a strange sensation—as if something that wasn't his own heart was there. —Just then. BANG! The door flew open with tremendous force. Riku jumped. "Wake up, brat! It's morning!" Her red hair swaying, Olga burst into the room. Her right hand was a silver mechanical prosthetic. Her golden eyes pierced straight through the still-groggy Riku. "Uh… um, Olga-san…?" "Starting today, you're not playing around anymore. This is training to survive." She strode right into the room, grabbed Riku's arm, and hauled him to his feet. "Ow—! W-wait, please!" "I'm not waiting." Olga grinned. But her eyes weren't smiling. "Listen up, Riku. As long as you're in this camp, everyone works. That's the rule. Human or android, it doesn't matter. Those who don't work, don't eat. Got it?" Riku could only nod. Olga pulled something from the pouch at her hip and pressed it against Riku's chest. It was a small knife. "This… for me?" "Basic gear for ruin exploration. It's not for self-defense—it's a tool for cutting things and prying stuff open. But if it comes down to it, use it to protect yourself." Riku accepted the knife with trembling hands. It was surprisingly heavy. The blade was dulled, bearing the marks of repeated use. "You want me to fight… with this?" "I didn't say fight. I said survive." Olga clapped him on the shoulder with a loud smack. "Come on, breakfast. We're heading out as soon as you're done eating." --- In the camp's mess hall—originally a corner of an underground lobby—Riku wolfed down hard bread and soup. The soup had almost no flavor. Around him, androids were eating their breakfast. They all kept sneaking glances at him, then looking away. They still weren't used to having a human around. Riku wasn't used to it either. He'd only arrived here yesterday. He'd lost consciousness and woken up standing in a ruined building. Humans had fled to the moon, and Earth had become a battlefield between androids and machine lifeforms. He couldn't believe it. But it was reality. "Finished eating?" A cold voice. Riku looked up to find Nigou standing there. White clothes, silver hair, blue eyes. The same expressionless face as yesterday. "Y-yes…" "Let's go. Today's destination is the southeastern sector of the ruined city—Silent Mall." She turned her back and started walking. Riku hurriedly shoved the bread into his mouth and chased after her. Olga called out to Nigou's retreating back. "Nigou." Nigou turned around. "Don't protect him. Train him." For an instant, Nigou looked like she wanted to say something. But she quickly lowered her gaze. "Understood." Riku didn't fully grasp the meaning of those words. --- The southeastern sector of the ruined city. Perhaps this had once been a shopping district. Faded signs were visible among the collapsed buildings. Silent Mall—. The letters on the sign were half worn away. Nigou pointed at the mall entrance. "It's inside here. Old shops are lined up. There's a high probability of well-preserved supplies remaining." Riku peered inside. Gray light filtered in through narrow gaps in the collapsed ceiling. The floor was littered with glass shards and the remnants of what had once been merchandise. A bleached-white mannequin leaned against a fallen shelf. The air was cold and dusty. "Scary…" The word slipped out before he could stop it. Nigou paid him no mind and stepped inside. Her white footsteps echoed quietly. "Walk behind me. However, check your surroundings yourself. I will not intervene." "But… what if there are machine lifeforms?" "In that case, make your own judgment. Run, or fight." Nigou said it without looking back. Her voice was as cold as ever. But to Riku, it felt like she was pushing him away. (It's because Olga-san told her not to protect me…) Riku took a small breath and followed Nigou's back. The corridor was dim, and glass shards crunched underfoot with every step. The shadows of shelves, the collapsed walls—they all formed eerie shapes. —Click. Riku stopped in his tracks. "…What was that just now?" Nigou didn't answer. —Click. Click. From deeper within, the sound of metal scraping. Gradually drawing closer. Riku's hands began to tremble. The moment they emerged into the mall's central plaza, Riku's breath caught in his throat. Over a dozen small machine lifeforms were crouched ahead of them. Iron-colored round heads, red eyes. Just over a meter tall. Their thin arms moved with clattering, mechanical jerks. "Uwah…!" His legs locked up. He couldn't move. Nigou didn't enter the plaza. She remained standing in the shadow of a pillar. "Riku, make your own judgment." "I-I can't! Not against this many…!" The machine lifeforms all turned to look at Riku at once. Over a dozen red eyes lit up simultaneously. —In that moment. A voice flooded into his head. **(do not approach)** **(we must protect)** **(protect what is here)** Riku clutched his head and crouched down. A voice. The voices of many—no, of many machines. Overlapping, echoing, pounding inside his skull. But he understood it more clearly than yesterday. This was language. Not noise. It had meaning. **(do not approach)** **(protect)** "Protect…?" Riku lifted his head. The machine lifeforms still weren't approaching. But their red eyes were fixed intently on him. The voice in his head repeated desperately. **(what is here)** **(protect)** **(withdraw)** As if pushed by that voice, Riku took a step backward. The next instant, Riku had turned his back and broken into a run. "Nigou-san! We're running!!" Shouting desperately, he fled back the way they'd come. His feet tangled, nearly tripping him over and over. Glass cracked under his soles, shards stabbing into the bottoms of his feet. Even so, he ran. As he passed a corner of the corridor—something flickered at the edge of Riku's vision. A machine lifeform lying on its side. Its legs were broken, scattering orange sparks. Its red eyes flickered weakly. —In that moment. A different voice flowed into his head. **(broken)** **(scared)** **(help)** Riku's feet stopped. "Huh…?" He turned back and looked at the machine. **(help)** **(it hurts)** **(scared)** The voice sounded like it was crying. "Are you… scared…?" As Riku took a step closer, the machine lifeform's red eyes glowed faintly. —Its hand reached out toward him. "What are you doing!!" Nigou came running from behind and grabbed Riku's arm forcefully. "We're going!" "But, that one—!" "It's a machine lifeform. An enemy. There's no way it has emotions." She forcibly dragged Riku along and broke into a run. Riku looked back just once more. The broken machine lifeform's eyes were fading. **(help)** He felt like that final word echoed in his head. --- By the time they returned to camp, Riku was completely battered. Glass shards were embedded in his feet, and blood was seeping out. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling. Without a word, Nigou sat Riku down in a corner of the repair workshop, pulled out a first-aid kit, and began treating him. "…Does it hurt?" "…Just a little." Nigou said nothing as she extracted the glass fragments, disinfected the wounds, and wrapped them in bandages. Her hands were precise, without a single wasted motion. Riku gathered his courage and spoke. "Nigou-san… that voice wasn't just noise." Nigou's hands stopped for just a moment. "Those machine lifeforms earlier… they were saying things. 'Do not approach.' 'Protect.' And the broken one at the end… it said 'Help.'" Nigou raised her head. Her blue eyes looked straight at Riku. "Machine lifeforms do not have emotions. That was your auditory hallucination." "But—!" "However." Nigou paused for a breath, then continued. "Machine lifeforms do construct a vast network for sharing information between individuals. It is certain that they possess something akin to language. Even so, the fact that you can directly perceive it is abnormal." She stood up. Her hand unconsciously touched her own chest. "Why am I the only one who can hear it?" "…Don't ask me." Nigou turned her back. Watching her retreating figure, Riku thought to himself. Nigou knows something. But she doesn't want to say it. --- That night. Riku couldn't sleep. Even lying in bed, the scene from earlier wouldn't leave his mind. The broken machine lifeform's fading red eyes. The voice crying for help. (Were those really words?) (Machines aren't supposed to have emotions.) Riku got up and walked through the underground passage. Cold concrete walls. Occasionally, the sound of steam leaking from a pipe. At the end of the passage—a gap in the wall overlooking the ruins—Nigou was standing there. Her white clothes floated faintly in the moonlight. She was staring intently outside. "…Nigou-san." When Riku called out to her, Nigou turned around slowly. "It's you." Riku stood beside her. Through the gap in the wall, the ruined city was visible. Collapsed buildings. Rusted steel towers. And an endless, stretching darkness. "You can't sleep?" "…No." Nigou gazed outside again. A long silence. "Riku. Do you… want to know what you are?" Riku held his breath. "…I want to know." Nigou looked down. "Knowing might destroy you." Saying only that, she walked away. Her white back disappeared into the dark passage. Watching Nigou's retreating figure, Riku felt it. She, too, was carrying something just like him.—A secret she couldn't tell anyone. The center of his chest grew steadily warmer. "Am I… human?" He murmured the words in the empty passage. No answer came. —Just then. "What the hell are you doing out this late?" A voice from behind made Riku jump. Olga stood at the entrance to the passage, arms folded. Her golden eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "Ah, Olga-san… um…" "Whatever. Actually, I had something to talk to you about." She walked up and stood in front of Riku. "Tomorrow, we're doing training that assumes real combat. A battle simulation against machine lifeforms." "Training…" "And about that abnormality with your ears. There's a collaborator who's knowledgeable about machine lifeform ecology. An individual named Pascal." "Pascal…?" "He's a machine lifeform, but an oddball who rejected combat. Right now, he lives in a village in the forest with other pacifist machine lifeforms. If we go there, we might be able to verify whether your ability is real or not." Olga clapped Riku on the shoulder. "You did well today. Just surviving is more than good enough. But tomorrow will be tougher. Be ready for it." Riku nodded. Deep in his chest, the warmth still lingered. He felt like he could still hear the broken machine's voice. **(help)** (That wasn't an auditory hallucination.) Holding that thought, Riku returned to his room. From somewhere down the corridor, he sensed Nigou's presence—alone, staring at something.