The Commander Who Cared (NIKKE x Male Commander)

Episode 3: The Team

Narrator:Now let's see who Nikolai will end up with on his team.

*The three CEOs guided Nikolai into a room with dozens of different Nikke*

Mustang:"Now then, time for you to choose-"

Syuen:"Hold it! Isn't this supposed to be 'community service'? Why are we giving him the option to choose who he gets?"

Ingrid:"Fair point, from a whiny child."

Syuen:"Call me that again, I dare you!"

Mustang:"Ladies, ladies. Calmez-vous, we'll let Nikolai here pick only one Nikke. The rest would be chosen by ourselves."

Nikolai:"Huh? But that would leave me with only 4 out of the required 5."

Mustang:"Correct, yours truly will choose for you twice."

Syuen:"I won't allow it! Let me choose two for him."

Ingrid:"If we each get one choice, he should get 2 then. It's better that way."

Mustang:"Oh, I absolutely agree."

Syuen:"Tch."

Nikolai:"I'm fine with whoever, I only know who I'm picking first."

Nikolai(mind):And it's definitely Rapi.

*Nikolai looked around at the other Nikke, then looked at Rapi*

Nikolai:"I choose Rapi first."

Ingrid:"Of course, after what you said it makes sense why you would pick her, however-"

Rapi:"It's nice to meet you, I hope we get along."

Nikolai:"Huh? Meet? But we met not too long ago, remember?"

Rapi:"...My apologizes, but my memory was wiped before I came here."

Nikolai:"W-Wait, seriously? You're telling me you don't remember me, or anything we went through?"

*Rapi shakes her head, and Nikolai collapsed to his knees*

Nikolai(mind):Everything we talked about...her goals, her dreams, her reason to keep living, all of that has been erased?! Why?! Why is it so wrong for these girls to be human?!

Syuen:"Huh? What's this? Now that your beloved Rapi now treats you like a stranger, are you still going to pick her?"

Nikolai:"I...I..."

Syuen:"She let her own commander die in battle, what says she wouldn't do the same thing to you?"

Nikolai:"..."

Ingrid:"Her memory wipe was under my order. Understand that when Nikke fail they grow sloppy, and we can't allow that."

Nikolai(mind):So what? People fail all the time, it's part of having emotions. Even for Nikke, I'm sure there's something inside each of them that lets out their emotions.

Nikolai:"I'm still picking Rapi, I'm not backing out of my initial choice."

Syuen:"Haha, why's that? Did my sarcasm hurt your pride, or did Ingrid's explanation get to your head?"

Nikolai:"It's neither of those reasons, let's just move on already."

Syuen:"Heh. Sure, sure."

Nikolai: *Whisper* "I will bring the old Rapi back, the one who had goals, ambitions that I have yet to hear from her."

Rapi:"Nikolai..."

Nikolai:"Huh?"

Rapi:"..."

Nikolai(mind):Wait...did she just say my name, but I haven't even introduced myself. I shouldn't get my hopes up, it was probably something else.