Reload [Nier: Automata Fanfic]

Chapter 2

9S watched with fascination as his container– body– slowly changed. 9S' brain works differently from humans'. It was probably due to the fact that he was not human. So 9S could instantly spot the changes around him. Yesterday, his fingernails were freshly cut. The next day, 9S saw that it had grown by a millimeter.

What was extremely jarring was how oblivious humans were concerning such details. 9S found out by talking to Ventuna one morning. The girl had looked refreshed and seemed to glow slightly. Her eyes were brighter and the creases around her face looked smoother. 

"You look nice today." 9S had complimented her.

Ventuna raised an eyebrow before looking towards the closest mirror. Her expression turned into a frown. "Really? I don't think I look any different than usual." 

9S blinked. No, he definitely saw the difference. He decided to take a shot in the dark. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Ventuna smiled and brightened up her entire face. 9S' sharp eyes caught how much stronger it looked compared to the day before. "Yeah! How'd you know?"

9S shrugged. "Lucky guess, I suppose." He ended the conversation at that.

Since then, 9S had stored that information in his head. Humans weren't as precise as Androids were– or least, Scanner types. It... unsettled him. How were these creatures the same ones as the humans that created Yorha? Everything about humans seemed like polar opposites to how YorHa was like. 

Before 9S had found the truth (The humans were long dead. They weren't hiding in the moon and they were protecting no one), 9S had speculated and pondered what the humans up on the moon were like. Living, breathing creatures that wielded things that Androids could never hope to achieve. How did they function? What were their personalities like? How did they behave?

9S had thought that humans were much more and the same at the same time. Perhaps it was because of how often he spent around the ruins, but 9S had looked up to the humans. When he went exploring and found the remnants of what used to be civilization and society– he couldn't help but be envious. Humans were more than Androids– more than YorHa. They had lives, family, friends. YorHa existed for the purposes of war. 

However, 9S, judging from the daily notices they received ("For Mankind."), 9S couldn't figure them out. He couldn't imagine how vastly different or how similar humans might be compared to Androids. Despite knowing so much of how they used to live, 9S knew nothing. The fact had frustrated him. The connection he felt whenever he learned more and more about them at times felt fake when he truly knew nothing. So 9S liked to daydream about the possibilities. How much more or less curious were humans compared to Scanner Types? What if they were equally curious? Such speculation had excited 9S. 

Not anymore. A part of him was disappointed at how... inferior humans were. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was the truth. It was knowledge. 9S observed and observed, but it didn't change a thing. Humans were much more inferior than Androids– heck, even Machines were more capable than humans were. 

But was that a bad thing? 9S had come to a conclusion: No. 

It didn't matter how long 9S lived alongside the human race– they still fascinated him. They always managed to surprise him. Their weaknesses only made their strengths shine even more. And at times like that, 9S knew that humans are also far more superior than Androids.

"Hey!" 9S heard a voice. He looked up to see Operator 21O– Ventuna. She's Ventuna– open his door with a grin. 

9S smiled back, lifting up the pile of junk in his hands. "Sorry. Still not finished." 9S had overestimated himself. Creating things was no easy feat.