As I gazes upon the Outpost, she continues to think about how her life is going to be until the relative peace is broken up by a voice she didn't recognize approaching from behind.  It was Anis carrying an arm full of drinks and snacks.  She had a very big smile on her face. I snaps her head around as she didn't even feel her presence. 

Anis:

"Oh, who are you and why are you up here alone?"

I:

"Oh...hi.  You must be Anis."  I straightens up her posture and stretches out her hand with a soft smile.  Anis put down some of the bags and shakes I's hand officially meeting for the first time.  Anis was in a very good mood it seemed.

Anis:

"Are you coming to movie night?  A bunch of other Nikkes are coming."  I's smile grew bigger when she realized Anis was clearly in the process of preparing for this movie night.

I:

"If that's alright.  I guess I'll go.  When does it start?"

Anis:

"Wait, you're the new girl right? Syuen's new "it" girl.  I think this is our first time speaking." I nods her softly maintaining eye contact with Anis.

I:

"Yeah, I'm one of hers.  I was just assigned officially today.  I'm glad I got the chance to say hi to you."

Anis:

"Hey, if you want to come tonight then by all means come.  We managed to reserve the theatre just for tonight." I with a smile on her face gave a slight bow to Anis.  I felt 100 times better now that she was starting to engage more with the squad.

I:

"Great."

Anis:
"Well I need to go.  Make sure you bring a pair of sleeping clothes.  We're doing a sleep over kind of thing.  You know "girls only."  Anis then picks up her haul again and starts to walk off.  The sounds of bags and random clinks and clangs in the bags echoing into the area. I felt a surge of heat fill her cheeks when she thought about her sleeping clothes.  She wasn't sure if Anis meant they'd be up all night watching movies. Still with the invitation, I felt confident about the event and made plans to attend.  After a while, I looks at her phone and sees that she was added to the Outpost blah group chat.  A ping from Anis indicates that the movie night is starting soon.  I then runs to her room and changes into her pajamas.  She hadn't really unpacked all of her clothes just yet so it left her room a mess after she changed.  She grabs a pillow with a giant cat face as the pillow case.  As she runs to the theatre, she can see a decent influx of Nikkes.

As I entered the theater, she quickly scanned the room looking for Anis.  When Anis is found, Anis is talking to Rapi and Neon.  They must have arrived a bit earlier than everyone else.  Neon brought a pillow as well.  It really was starting to look like a sleep over.  I carefully avoids the large crowd and finds a spot in the back and sits to herself holding her pillow tightly in her arms.  I was obviously nervous.  She didn't know anyone else here.  A handful more of Nikkes arrive.  A white haired Nikke with dark armor and red eyes walks in with a oversized collar shirt and holding a small plushie is a human.  Another walks in with all pink pajamas with bunny ears on her head holding a giant carrot shaped pillow.  Lastly, a shorter Nikke walks in with pink hair.  Her pajamas are...unique to say the least.  All it is is a single leather strap across her breasts and some tight looking leather shorts.  She has no pillow, but a small blanket.

I looks around as the other NIKKES arrive and look at their outfits. Each one is different, which is fascinating. I notices that all their clothing choices seems to reflect their personalities. Yet She can't help but stare as she notices the 3rd one's outfit. It seems really revealing compared to the normal outfits she'd seen before. She wonders if she should say something but decide to settle down in her spot in the auditorium. 

Anis then stands up on a small platform and begins to formally start the movie night. I eagerly giggles waiting for things to begin. The leather strapped pajama wearing Nikke sits next to her. She stares I down before focusing back on Anis as she continues to talk.  I keeps her face forward not trying to attract attention to herself and letting the short pink haired Nikke be to herself.  I's goal was to have fun and socialize.  Not fight.  A few minutes of awkwardly sitting next to I the pink haired Nikke finally speaks.

Short, pink haired Nikke:

"So you're Syuen's new project huh?  Yuni's comment caught I off guard.  What a way to introduce yourself.  Yuni didn't immediately seem hostile but her eyes were piercing.  I decides to engage her, but keep it simple.

I:

"I am.  Who are you?"  I said softly still holding onto her pillow.  

Short, pink haired Nikke:

"Shame you don't know who I am.  I'm Yuni." Hearing that name made I look at her fully, but she couldn't quite figure out where she'd heard that name before.

I:

"This is my first time being around other people.  I'm sorry.  Are you a friend of the Counters?"

Yuni:

"No. My only friend and partner is Mihara.  We both from the Battle Dress squad." Yuni said with a very stern tone. Despite that, hearing that full explanation helps I suddenly remember where she'd heard the name from.  Yuni and Mihara were Missilis like her.

I:

"Ah I remember now.  You're also Missilis.  Nice to meet you.  I was assigned to Counters today."  Upon saying this, Yuni turns her heard showing every bit of attitude she had when she walked over to I.  She look annoyed at this information.  

Yuni:

"Why did she send you here of all places?" I kind of took that question as being rude, but now that Yuni brought it up I was wondering that too.  Why not Wardress?  I was frowning as she thought about it harder.  Perhaps this would be allow her to get more combat experience judging from the logs she'd already read.

I:

"Maybe it was for combat experience? I'm not sure myself right now."

Yuni:

"And you believe her?" Yuni sounded very doubtful all of a sudden. I raised her eyebrow slightly to the comment. It sounds like a slight accusation in her question.

I:

"Why wouldn't I believe her?  Is something I should know?"

Yuni:

"Don't worry about it." It sounded like she was hesitant to say more, so I decided to try and pry for info. But I know not to push too hard when someone doesn't feel comfortable talking about something.

I:

"Is Syuen a good person?"  I asked innocently.

Yuni:

"Listen here sweetheart, I don’t trust you. I don't know why Syuen made you so special but it annoys me. I came here as a favor to her to check on you." She sits up as the movie plays. She starts to nibble on a piece of candy hidden in her cleavage.  She crunches on it hard, but chews normally.  Yuni calling I "sweetheart" threw her off.  She wasn't used to nicknames or words of affection.  I was upset that Yuni didn't trust her for something she had no idea about.  The candy in the cleavage was odd too.  I kept making glances as Yuni ate her candy.  How much was she hiding?  I shakes her head before she was caught peeking.

I:

"Why don't you trust me?  I didn't do anything to you."

Yuni:

"We'll see won't we?"  Yuni said with a slight frown on her face.  Yuni ignores I and continues to focus back on the movie. With an unamused frown, I focuses her attention back on the movie. I keep thinking about the fact that Yuni doesn't trust me. Was it because I'm a new model? Is she envious of me? I look back over at her. She has gotten more comfortable. Her being here like this made I be on her guard. After a while the movie shows a romantic scene with a girl and her seemingly boyfriend. They have a long kiss. I hear multiple variations of excitement and disgust. I giggle to myself. The romantic scene caught her attention. When I look around, I can see the other Nikkes also having strong reactions to the kissing scene. Some are giggling and others are scoffing and frowning. I just sit and watch the scene with amusement. It seems romantic kissing scenes always have different reactions. In the back of my mind, I feel like this would normally be awkward to watch with others, but it isn’t. It’s entertaining.  I even imagined how'd it be to kiss the Commander.  Even just one time.

Anis jumps up and says pop quiz time and asks everyone who all would kiss the Commander.  I looked on in disbelief.  Was she serious? Almost instantly everyone's heads turn towards Anis once she says the questions.  They look around to see if anyone is going to answer.  I was waiting anxiously as well.  The silence in the room was deafening.  The white haired Nikke stands up and says she'd do it.  Everyone laughs and teases her.  She turns bright red and sinks into her pillow with embarrassment.  I heard her name for first time.  It was Marian.

I tries to hold back a chuckle.  She didn't want to be mean, but it was kind of funny how she said it.  To have that kind of confidence was admirable. Everyone seemed like they were enjoying themselves except Yuni.  She was glaring at Marian.  Ignoring, Yuni I thinks to herself if she should say something next to participate.  After a few seconds, the crowd seems to have calmed down a bit.  I still has the urge to say something.  I weighed how the others would see her.  A fun person?  Just to make herself known to the class?  I felt her heart rate pick up as she mulled the thoughts in her head.

Anis:

"Anyone else?  Come on now, it's just us girls."  I finally decides to stand up.

I:

"I suppose I would."  I said shyly.  Her voice was soft, but everyone definitely heard her.  The pink pajama wearing Nikke says awww and repeats what I said.  Everyone else giggles at the cuteness of the moment. My face flushes bright pink. I can feel everyone looking at me. Oh, how embarrassing! Just when my confidence was starting to rise, that pink pajama Nikke had to ruin it. She giggles at my response, which prompts others to laugh as well. I don't even want to look at the audience at this moment. Just my lap where my hands are shaking. I can hear soft footsteps walk towards her and Anis is bending down on her tip toes in front of I.

Anis:

"Do you want to tell the class why I?"  Anis was smiling with a slight blush on her face.  Had she been drinking this entire time? Her pajamas was a tank top with simple boy shorts on.  Her breasts were fighting to be released from the shirt as she leaned down.  I couldn't help but glance quickly at Anis' breasts but quickly looked up into her eyes.

I:

"Well...the Commander seems like he's a respectable guy.  He strikes me as a take charge kind of person too.  And he's handsome, at least to me.  As I finishes her words, she hurries her face back into her hands and waits for the impending laughter.

Everyone else:

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Oro's face glows as red as a crayon when she hears everyone else's reaction.  Did she just admit to everyone she liked the Commander?  The embarrassment was too much at this point.  Oro quickly thought about what Rapi was going to say now.  She looks up through her hands and catches a glimpse at Rapi.  Rapi was all smiles.  She seemed glad everyone was having fun. Rapi then walks over to check on Oro.  She could see everyone was still laughing and having a good time.  Rapi gives Oro a hug before she walks away with Anis back to the front of the venue to resume the movie.

She felt a bit relieved after Rapi hugged me. It's nice to have someone that is being supportive of me. After watching the movie in silence, everything settled down again. Maybe the humiliation is getting worse as time passes? Hopefully it'll fade away and she could  enjoy the movie. Yet I am still wary of the others. Especially Yuni, still nibbling on that candy in her cleavage. after another long duration the movie ends.

The movie finished before I could process it ending. Maybe it's a good thing that I was not paying attention to the screen the entire time. Oro then remembered that the movie is a romantic one, and everyone including her had different kinds of reactions to the kiss scene. Yet no one laughed at me when I admitted to having the courage to kiss the commander. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much about what others think about me.

Anis make another announcement to use the bathroom if needed. We’re not done yet with movie night. Oro am startled by the announcement. Are we not done yet? I had thought that a romantic movie such as the one we just watched would be the last part of our movie night. I stand up from my spot and take this chance to relieve myself. I go towards the restroom and when I arrive, I take a minute to catch my breath and try to collect my mind. The pink pajamas nikke runs up to me, full of energy.

Alice:

I’m Alice. It’s cute that you like rabbity too. She then scampers off. Rabbity must be a nickname for the commander.

My interest is piqued Alice call the Commander rabbity. The name is cute and sweet. Did she always call the Commander that? Is she possibly also interested in him? That was unexpected. I let the thought sink in for a moment. Yet there's no time to dwell on this thought. I finish using the bathroom.

Anis:

"Time for a scary movie girls!" Anis yells.

After hearing that announcement, I quickly washed my hands and start making my way back to my seat. I feel much better now. The embarrassment was gone, and I am starting to feel a bit of anticipation for the upcoming movie due to its dark and mysterious nature.

Oro goes back to her spot on the floor. I lay on my cat pillow and get comfortable. I notice that Yuni has left. Maybe all she wanted to see was the one movie.  Then again she was only there to check on Oro apparently.

The feeling of being watched and judged by her was still lingering in Oro's mind. But I can't find her when I look around. She was a little bit relieved to not see her here but she couldn't help but wonder if she went to report to Syuen.

The next movie starts with a loud bang. Oro hears several screams followed by laughs.

I can hear screams coming from others in the room due to the movie. It also seems like a good scare has broken the tension and stress from before. I start to hear more laughter going on from the others which is relieving. Oro began to relax her body a bit.

After a while the movie gets dark. People are dying left and right but the suspense keeps Oro engaged. The darker theme of the movie is exciting to Oro for some reason. Despite that, Oro getting scared to see what kind of deaths occur next. The suspense is building up quite nicely. She can hear the other Nikkes shouting when characters are killed. The horror themes of this movie are giving her quite a few chills.

Suddenly I feel a tap on my thigh and scream loudly. My eyes are glued to the screen when someone touched my thigh in the darkness of the theatre. My senses alert and my eyes look away from the screen towards whoever tapped my thigh. I see a blurry figure before me, and it was the white haired Nikke from earlier.

Marian:

"Hi. I’m Marian. Is this movie scaring you too?" She sits very close to me.  Almost touching. When Marian gets close to me, Oro tenses up more due to her being close. I also notice that her voice is not filled with judgement either. Just concern. 

Oro:

"Yeah, it is pretty scary... I pause for a moment before continuing. Does it scare you?"

Marian:

"Yes. Seeing these people die bothers me. I wish I could have protected them." I nod my head and agree with her. Watching innocent people die in such terrifying ways bothers me greatly. It's also great to know that our mission is to prevent that from happening.

Oro:

"What squad are you part of?"  Oro said to Marian as they sat together.

Marian:

"I'm not part of an official squad yet, but I am here with Counters." She said with a warm smile. After hearing her answer, I realize that she knew Anis, Rapi and Neon too.  Then Oro considered her to be a friend.

Oro:

"Oh okay.  That's great.  We should all be friends then."

Marian:

"Yay! I'd like that very much and I just wanted to check on you.  I know how it feels to be new to everything here at the Outpost." Marian walks back to her spot on the other side of the room. She’s very pretty up close as Oro watched her walk away. Her face is very angelic. She has a very feminine yet caring air about her. She also thinks of how kind she was to me during our short, small talk. Even though we are in the same team kind of.

Another 30 minutes pass and the scary movie is over. The theater is full of whining and crying. I guess some of the others really can't handle horror movies. I myself am just relieved that there were no jumps scares in the ending. Oro begins to look around and sees that some of the other Nikkes have already left. Yet Marian is one of the few that stayed behind. I wonder if it's worth it to strike up a conversation with her.  Marian was very nice to me Oro thought to herself.

I slowly approaches Marian. Marian is still sitting down. Probably processing the movie probably. I tap Marian on the shoulder. She turns with a smile. It's hard not to stare into those beautiful eyes. I then try my best to speak but the nervousness gets the best of me, and I can't get a single word out. Yet my lips form a small smile as I stare back at her, feeling embarrassed. We are both just quietly staring at each other with only looks and no actual talking. Yet the silence is starting to feel a bit awkward.

Marian:

"Hey you.  Did you need anything? Did you like the movie?"

My lips twitch a tiny bit and I clear my throat as I gain back my courage to speak. I then look back at Marian and speak in a gentler tone.

"I did like the movie. Even though it got very scary and a little gory at the end. The suspense was the scariest part to me. How about you?"

Marian:

"It’s hard to describe. I felt sorry for the monster at the end. It wasn’t their fault they became like that."

My heart breaks hearing her words. She felt bad for the monster. I could see her expression having compassion for the monster. This girl is truly kind and caring. A gentle soul even though she is a death machine on the battle field probably.

Oro:

"So, you felt empathy towards the monster at the end? What made you feel that way?"

Marian:

"The screams of the monsters were screams for help. I noticed that. Alice said the same thing before she left." Oro realizes that Alice is now gone.  That bundle of energy managed to sneak away quietly.  How Oro wondered, but her attention went back to Marian.

Oro:

"So, you're very sensitive to those types of things? Are you very emotional about these kinds of movies?"

Marian:

"Only around the commander is when I'm super emotional.  The movie didn't affect all that much." Oro started to tense up a bit when Marian mentioned she also gets emotional around the Commander.  Did Marian like him as much as she did?  Oro pondered on this for a few seconds being suddenly distracted.

Marian:

"Well I'm going to go now.  I'm really sleepy.  The Commander says when it's night time, you have to sleep.  It was nice talking to you." Marian gets up and sashays away with her pillow and small man plushie. Before Oro could say anything else, she's already walking away.  Before she totally disappeared, Marian turned back around and waved at Oro.  Oro waves back.  She made a new friend easily with Marian.

Oro then walks back to her room alone after leaving the theatre.  Anis did really good tonight.  It was fun and I got to socialize with a lot of people all at once.  Upon turning the corning on the walkway, Rapi was standing outside of Oro's room, also in her pajamas.  Rapi was wearing a simple shirt with black short sleeves.  She also had on black leggings with slippers on with flappy dog ears. I take note of her happy demeanor when I see her. Her body language also seems to be more laid back as well. Despite this, I was interested in what she had to say after what we discussed earlier.  It was late at night so I figured things would be okay.  Oro waves at Rapi as they both lock eyes briefly.

Rapi:

"Hey, did you have a minute? I wanted to talk."