Kizuna cleared her throat, "Thomas-chan, I have something to ask you."

"Eh?"

"Thomas-chan, if any one likes you, and confesses their feelings to you now, how would you feel?" She asked.

"I'll feel...sad. I do not have no time for relationships. I just broke up with someone. I will need time to let go of it. Besides, I don't even know when I'll be ready for a next romantic relationship. Why are you asking me this, Ai-chan?"

She looked at him with a surprised look.

"Umm...I'm just curious, you know." Kizuna reasoned out, "As a robot, I never really thought of romance and those kind of stuff, so I'm interested about it." She then looked away.

"Do you...like me?" Thomas questioned. He suspected that Kizuna liked him from her reaction to his reply.

Kizuna held his hands and fixed her eyes on him, "Thomas-chan, I'm bad at hiding my expressions, so I'm just going to be frank with you. Ever since I met you, I felt you're an interesting individual. As I started talking to you, hanging out with you, and getting to know you better, I found out that you're a fun and funny guy, yet caring and kind towards me. I always feel happy and joyous when I'm with you. I really enjoy all the times that we have spent together, and I'll feel sad if I'm not with you. Thomas-chan, I...I...I've fallen for you. W...would you be my boyfriend?"

Thomas stared at her with a surprised look.

"I...I mean, you can take your time to think, Thomas-chan." Kizuna let go of his hands, "I know you still think of Penny, and I can understand. I will wait patiently for your answer. No matter what your answer is, I'll always have your back. I'll always be there for you." She then walked away. Thomas sat down on the bench.

"What should I do?" He thought, "Ai-chan just confessed to me. A robot just confessed to me. But, yet again, she has learnt human emotions. I mean, she is not bad at all. She's gentle, kind, and pretty. She has an angelic voice. But I still haven't gotten over Penny. And what would people think of me and her? I'm at a total loss."

---

Simon told his protestors to get ready with their weapons. Lucas sat down on the sofa in Simon's house, drinking a cup of tea.

"You're not following, Lucas?" Simon asked, "This is big lifetime opportunity. We get to kill the Master with our hands. Why are you missing out on such a deal?"

"I'm tired today." Lucas replied, "I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm catching up with it soon. Aaron's going to come with you though."

"If you say so." Simon said, "You'll regret missing this out." He then walked out. Lucas stood up and went to the kitchen. He looked from the window and saw the protestors preparing themselves. Lucas gave an evil smile and cackled.

Aaron dialed the police hotline outside Simon's house and placed the phone beside his ear. At this moment, Simon walked past him and saw him talking to someone on the phone.

Upon looking at Simon, Aaron started talking out loud, "Yeah, my dear friend. I'll be there by seven once I settle an important matter." Simon then walked away. Aaron heaved a sigh of relief and continued talking to the police about the details of the raid and Simon. Aaron had to lie to Simon so that the latter doesn't know the former's sabotaging him to go to jail.

Thomas went back home and saw his mother cooking in the kitchen. She came out with a plate of chicken wings, a plate of cabbage, and a plate of fries.

These three dishes are his favorite dishes and they hold a special place in his heart. He liked chicken wings because his mother would buy it for him whenever he scores well for his elementary school and middle school exams.

The cabbage. Back in his younger days, when his family is poor and he is forced to eat only vegetables and rice, he'd choose the cabbage because it was crunchy and has a certain taste to it that he likes. It is still crunchy and tasty to him 'til this day.

Fries. During the times where his family is poor, his father embezzled funds, and went to jail. Thomas was devastated that he would not be able to see his father for four years. His mother, feeling heartbroken as she saw her sad son, bought a packet of fries for him with some of the money she has. It tasted so good, Thomas wanted more. He then swore to work hard so that he could feed himself and his family comfortably.

Unfortunately, that wish was not fully completed. Thomas's father died from diabetes when Thomas was seventeen. Now, he only provides for his mother.

"Time for lunch." She told Thomas. He sat down and they both started eating.

"Mum." Thomas said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, dear." His mother smiled, "What's your question?"

"Someone confessed to me earlier on." He said, "Of course it's a girl, not a boy. Anyways, I'm quite close to her. We spent time together, and talk a lot to each other. She's pretty, she's cute, she's kind. She also makes me happy and at ease. I would like to date her, but there's Penny. I still can't forget her at all. Although I have broken up with Penny, but I still love her a bit. It's hard for me to make a decision."

His mother cleared her throat, "Thomas, I think you should accept the girl's confession, and be with her. I know I may sound like a bitch, but Penny is gone now. She didn't trust you in your relationship, and you guys broke up, so you can let go of it. There are always better girls up ahead, and you have fortunately found one. Don't let the chance slip by. If you're worried about thinking of Penny while you're with the girl, just tell the girl the truth, and let her decide. But this is just my two cents on it. It's all up to you."

Thomas nodded his head and stuffed a piece of cabbage into his mouth before proceeding to chew it.

Simon and the protestors are reloading their guns, holding knives, and took glass bottles from their houses. Simon is at the middle of the pack, while Aaron is at the back.

"So, we're going all the way to the Master's office before destroying it." Simon stated, "If anyone tries to stop us, we fight back. Except for the police. If we see them, we have to run away. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" The protestors shouted in union. They then marched forward while Aaron followed behind, looking around frantically.

Surprisingly, no one blocked the way. Perhaps the residents knew not to mess with Simon's crew. Or it could be for a totally different reason.

As they are halfway there, they stopped in front of a roadblock.

"Now, what's this piece of shit doing here?" Simon held the barrier and threw it away, "This is obviously blocking our way." Upon removing it, he saw police cars approaching towards him.

"Run, guys." Simon told his protestors, "Run to the police cars and destroy them while I get to the office. I promise all your sacrifices will be worth it because I'll be the Master by then! For now, charge!"

Simon ran to another direction as the protestors charged towards the cars. Aaron turned around and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Mike stopped his car and got out. He told some police officers to follow him while the rest deal with the protestors.

"Simon Costner, stop running!" He shouted as he ran after Simon. Some of the protestors tried stopping him, but Mike just carried theme easily and tossed them away like it's some lightweight thing.

"Never knew Sir Mike could do all these easily." One of the police officers running said.

"Well, he's a damn robot!" Another one added on, "Of course he could do it!"

Simon ran past residents and pushed them aside before hiding in a clothing shop. Mike walked into the shop and walked around, looking at clothes on hangers. He pushed the hangers to see if Simon's hiding behind the clothes, but there's nothing at all.

He slowly walked around the store, inspecting each and every clothes rack. He then went to the fitting room and opened the door. There was no one. Mike thought he heard a little creek sound, but he guessed he is hearing things.

Just then, Simon, who is hanging on the ceiling this whole time, jumped down on Mike and took his gun. Simon then ran out of the shop. Mike got up after a few seconds and started chasing him.

Simon squeezed through a crowd of people, with Mike running after him. Simon jumped through some food stalls and turning left and right a few times. He sometimes would fall down from leaping through stalls. However, Mike does it with ease. They both ran to the alley.

When Mike reached the alley, he looked around and saw no one.

"I shall switch my metal detector on." Mike said to himself. He then scanned his surroundings. His radar beeped red when something metallic was detected the rubbish bin.

Mike slowly walked towards it and quickly open it before taking out his gun. When he took a look inside, he is dumbfounded. A deactivated robot is lying on the piles of smelly trash.

"Damn it!" Mike kicked the rubbish bin and roared in anger. He can't believe he couldn't catch up with Simon even though Mike is a robot, has high-end technology, and has better running and jumping skills.

Jason is in his office, talking to Mike a few minutes after the failure.

"The high-end guns' at ninety eight percent." Jason told Mike, "Remember to take the weapons and hunt Simon down."

"Yes, sir!" Mike then ended the call. Jason placed his phone onto the table and leaned against his chair. He might had a plan to take Simon down.

At night, Simon returned home to see Aaron and Lucas sitting down on the sofa, watching television shows.

"You still have the mood to watch shows?" Simon asked angrily.

"Oh, hey, you've been gone for a long time." Aaron said, "How's the raid? I ran away quite fast, so nobody was able to catch me. I can't say about the rest, because I don't know where they are now."

"So all our protestors are gone?"

"I'm afraid so." Lucas replied, "We could only enjoy our time as much as possible. Rioting further will cause us to die."

"No, we can't give up just like that!" Simon stated, "We three can make..."

"A difference? I don't think so." Aaron said, "Three versus the Master and his dogs? We ain't gonna beat that. Case closed. I'm going to take a big shit." He then stood up and went into the toilet.

"He should be captured and arrested." Lucas thought, "How did he escape? Aaron didn't even do a good job. I have to do Plan B now."

Lucas took Aaron's phone on the table and gave it to Simon.

"Passcode's 556793." Lucas told him, "You can find your answer there."

"Why are you giving me Aaron's phone?" Simon asked. Lucas just smiled at him, "See it for yourself."

Simon unlocked the phone and browsed through the contents of the phone. His mind is in total shock as he saw Aaron's recent calls.

Thomas is in his room, contemplating on whether he should accept Kizuna or not. He has been trying to come to a decision for the whole afternoon. On one hand, he would like to be with her due to her personality, prettiness, and cuteness. But at the same time, he's scared he might hurt Kizuna because he will still think about Penny. He looked at the picture that he and Kizuna took together, and then took his phone out.

Meanwhile, Kizuna is in her room, sitting on her bed, thinking of what she could say to Thomas tomorrow. She could tell him that her feelings are true, and she would do anything to be with him. Or she could tell him it was just a joke, and that Thomas shouldn't take it seriously. Given the face Thomas had gave her this morning, she felt that Thomas wouldn't accept her, and that she would need to say the latter and keep her feelings for Thomas to herself for the rest of her life.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She immediately went to check, and it was a message from Thomas, stating that he wants to meet her tomorrow morning. Kizuna is surprised. She then became worried.

"What would be his answer?" She thought anxiously.

The next morning, Simon told Aaron to meet in the former's room. Simon then locked the door while Aaron sat on his bed.

"Have you seen my phone, Simon?" Aaron asked him. He shook his head.

"So, why did you call me here, Simon?" Aaron asked, "I'm in search of my phone."

"Aaron Powell, you clearly know what you did." Simon said, "Own up to it and tell me why you did it."

"What did I do?" Aaron asked with a confused look, "I've helped you lots of times, providing weapons to you, spending my money to assist you in protesting and raiding."

"Drop the act, Powell. I know what you've did, and you know it too. Why did you do it?"

"I have been doing nothing but constantly helping you, Costner."

"Alright, then what's this?" Simon took out Aaron's power and showed Aaron his call history.

"So you did take my phone!" Aaron exclaimed.

"That's not the main point." Simon threw his phone away, "The point is that you betrayed me. Why did you snitch on me? Why did you call the damn police? You wanted me to get the death sentence?"

"Look, Simon, believe me, but Lucas told me to do so." Aaron replied, "He..."

"Blaming people because you wanted to become the Master yourself?" Simon took out a knife, "I'm sorry, but that title's reserved for me."

Simon leaped quickly to Aaron and stabbed Aaron's chest. Aaron tried to push Simon's hands away, but the latter just held the handle of the knife with one hand and hammered the top of the handle with his other hand, which has been clenched into a fist. Soon enough, the knife went through Aaron's body.

"Since you're about to die, I shall tell you my plan." Simon growled, "I aim to kill you and Lucas so that I can be the Master everyone deserves. You or that blond bitch ain't going to stop me at anything. I'll kill him after I murder you."

Simon forcefully took it out, and blood spurted out of Aaron's body rapidly. A few seconds later, Aaron died due to the excessive loss of blood.

Simon washed his knife and kept it back in his pocket. He took the body and threw it into the trash bin outside.

He then walked to the living room and saw Lucas sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.

"Lucas." Simon went to him, "I would like to ask you a question. Hopefully it doesn't offend you."

Lucas placed his newspaper down on the sofa, "Go ahead."

"Did you tell Aaron to call the police?"

"If I said yes, would you have believed it?"

"I don't think so." Simon said, "After all, you are the one who set me free from jail and helped me a lot. You don't look like the type of guy to backstab me. Aaron blamed you for his mistakes earlier, so I had punished him."

"So, where's he now?"

"I threw him away. Killed him, before discarding his body in a dustbin. A traitor doesn't deserve to be alive."

Lucas nodded his head in response, "What about the weapons and money?"

"I don't think we need much of it anymore." Simon sighed, "There's some leftover money from Aaron's wallet. We'll take it to buy a weapon, I guess."

"Sure." Lucas replied. Simon then walked to his room. Lucas flipped the newspaper to the front page, and the headlines on it read, "Protestors arrested and placed in probation rooms."

"You want to kill me, Simon Costner?" Lucas thought to himself, "What a shame. I'll be killing you first. I'll become the real Master. It's easier with one person gone. You're next, Simon."

Kizuna waited for Thomas in the park. She is sitting on a bench, her legs shaking in fear. She is still feeling very fearful and uneasy.

Thomas then arrived at the park and went to her.

"Sorry for making you wait." Thomas said, "My mother called me back to do some work."

"It's okay. How are you?" Kizuna asked worriedly, "Are you coping well?"

"I'm fine, Ai-chan." Thomas told her, "Look at me. I'n alive and kicking. I'm just trying to get used to Penny's death sentence."

"So, um, Thomas-chan, do you have an answer to the question I asked yesterday?" Kizuna asked.

"Oh yeah, that one..." Thomas looked away from her. Kizuna looked at him with sad eyes before looking down.

"I get it, Thomas-chan." Kizuna sighed, "What was I thinking? A man and a robot can't be together. It's all my imagination. Anyways, I really hope you'll continue to be my best friend, and I'll see you tomorrow."

She turned around and was about to walk away when Thomas grabbed her hand and pulled her near to him.

"I didn't say I was going to reject you, did I, Ai-chan?" Thomas smiled at her. Her eyes widened, "Does that mean...you have accepted me as your girlfriend?"

"I found you a very nice and kind robot, and pretty too. I can't let you run away from me, can't I? But I hope you can understand that I might be thinking about Penny every once in a while. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, I am." Kizuna smiled at him before hugging him. Thomas patted her head with one hand and caressed her hair with the other.

At night, Kizuna sat down on her bed and smiled at the photo she had taken with him during the movie outing today. It shows Thomas kissing Kizuna on the cheek, and the latter smiling. They have finally became a couple, and she is super happy for not having to hide her feelings any longer. Now, her problem is how to continue it. She hasn't been in a romantic relationship before, and thus she is unsure of what to do. Perhaps Thomas could teach her a thing or two. For now, she can't tell Jason about her relationship. She's scared he will reject it.

Jason knocked her door, and she allowed him to come in.

"Why are you smiling so brightly?" Jason asked, "Did Thomas make you this happy?"

She nodded her head, "We had a fun time today."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your day." Jason said, "I'm here to check on you, but it seems like you're very joyful now. I shall sleep now, so good night, Kizuna."

"Good night, Daddy." Kizuna said before he went out of the room. She then lied on her bed and kept staring dreamily at the picture. She can't wait for more memories with him to be created.

The next morning, Kizuna invited Thomas over for breakfast. She waited for him outside her house. When he came over, she kissed him on the cheeks.

"Good morning, Thomas-chan." She smiled.

"Good morning, my pretty Ai-chan." Thomas kissed her cheeks, "Shall we go inside now?"

She nodded her head, "But before that, have you told your mother about our relationship yet?"

Thomas shook his head, "She will be furious if she finds out. What about your father?"

"I haven't told him yet too." She replied, "Let's wait for a while more before we tell them, alright?"

Thomas nodded his head and they both went in. Jason is sitting down on the sofa, reading some papers from a blue file.

"Thomas!" Jason saw him and waved hello, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Thomas answered, "You're doing work now?"

"Yeah." Jason then stood up, "By the way, can I speak to you? Privately?"

"Sure." Thomas told Jason. Jason then brought the university student to the kitchen. With nothing to do, Kizuna decided to clean the table.

As she was cleaning, she saw the files and was tempted to look at it. She wanted to know her father's occupation since he never told her about it before. She looked left and right to make sure Jason wasn't looking before she looked at the file.

In the kitchen, Jason is talking to Thomas.

"Thanks for taking care of her, Thomas." Jason told him, "I really appreciate what you had done for her."

"It's fine." Thomas replied, "She's my good friend. I just want to make her happy, you know. How's it going with the Simon case?"

"Not well." Jason sighed, "Mike can't even catch him. He's into hiding, so I sent people and robots to search for him. The good thing is, his protestors are all caught. Most of them didn't talk, but one or two of them gave us clues about Simon, like what he did, where he might be, and where his partner Lucas could be, and it is with the details of the people who was sentenced to death by me. They are all in my blue file..."

Upon saying that, a sudden realization struck him. Jason had left his file on the table. He is scared that Kizuna might have seen them.

"Oh shit!" He cursed, "My blue file is on the table!"

"What blue file?"

"My blue file that has the information of Simon and the other criminals that I have given the death sentence to! Fuck, I need to keep them before she sees it!"

Jason and Thomas ran out of the kitchen to the living room, only to see Kizuna gripping the file with anger. She glared at Jason.

"Daddy, why didn't you tell me?" She asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were the Master all along?!"

"Oh no." Thomas gulped.