Chapter 19 #2
“It matters to me. When you show me your body, it feels intimate, but when you do it that way, I don’t know what to think.”
Her shoulders lowered as she sighed heavily, turning. I dropped into a crouch, and our eyes met.
“I don’t know, either,” she said, the words coming slowly like she had to search for the right ones. “Look, I… We had sex, I know. But your life—and my life—they just don’t fit very well, do they?”
She sighed, shaking her head. My collar pinged, and I silenced it impatiently. Sera’s lips quirked in a smile.
“What made it go off?”
“You’re sad and that makes me sad. Sadness is forbidden, you know. Good bots are either horny or neutral.”
Her face softened, and she lifted her hand as if to touch my face, then pulled back. “You’re a good person, Dean. You deserve good things.”
I helped her get in the hammock and plugged myself into the charging station, which was faster than a regular wall socket.
Sera’s breathing was slow but shallow, and an hour passed in silence before it deepened, indicating she was asleep.
I opened my torso compartment and got a few motion detectors.
They were tiny and inconspicuous, and I set them up all around the room and outside.
They’d inform me as soon as anyone approached the shed, and I was confident I could make it back in under thirty seconds.
I set out for the heap of miscellaneous trash.
“I see you on the cameras,” Gokiburi said on our private channel. “A midnight stroll?”
“I need an upgrade.”
She was silent, following my progress through the security system. When I reached the area I marked on the map, she sent a signal of amusement.
“Really? Let me guess. You’re after the vibrators Isamu talked about.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is, since everything in the landfill belongs to the tanuki, and I guard their property. But that pile is useless to us. Take what you want.”
I thanked her grudgingly and started searching.
Charlie called in the late hour just before dawn when I had three models picked and couldn’t decide between them. They were all sealed and brand-new, and promised a sensual rapture, if the information on the packaging could be believed.
“I’m checking on you. Are you safe? How is Sera?”
I told him about our current situation and plan. He got worried and showed it in a way my algos defined as “fatherly”.
“I’d like to come over there and help you. It’s unfortunate Japan has such a stringent anti-sentient policy. But I have a friend who’s spending his second honeymoon over there. I just saw him and his wife off at the airport yesterday. I’ll give you his contact information in case of an emergency.”
“A friend?” I asked, coding a quick random choice algorithm that would help me pick the right hardware. “Who?”
“His name is Asan. He’s a retired shehru agent. He and his wife have twins who moved out for college last year, so the parents felt brave enough to go on a longer trip alone. If anything comes up, you can call him, okay? He can still pack a punch, and he won’t say no to a little action.”
“Thanks.” I put Asan’s information in my contacts under “Japan Emergency” and hesitated. “Charlie, do you have sex?”
He paused. I launched the randomizer, and it picked the large, red vibrator called Dezztroyer. I launched it again. I liked the look of the red one, but wasn’t sure Sera could take it.
“Yes,” Charlie said. “What do you want to know?”
“How?”
“I built myself a custom detachable penis that I carry in my torso compartment. It’s equipped with multiple pleasure sensors.”
“So it’s similar to a human one?” I asked, looking at my first option, which was a pale-skinned, average sized human cock called Thruster. It wasn’t too exciting but felt safest.
“Mostly, though I tinker with it sometimes. My partner likes to be surprised.”
“So it’s okay if it’s not human-shaped?”
I glanced at my third option, a flexible, purple vibrator resembling a tentacle. The information on the packaging said it had an additional anal stimulator. It was called Monzzter and I liked it as much as the red one, but it was probably too freaky.
And hardly smaller than the Dezztroyer.
“Who’s your partner?” I asked, picking up the Monzzter. It weighed over a pound.
“Adele from work. We’re not a couple, just friends.”
I thought I detected a wistful note in his voice. “She doesn’t want to be with you?”
“We’re not compatible,” Charlie said, his voice turning sharper. “Is there something else I can help you with?”
“No. Thanks for everything.”
“Dean,” he said just as I was about to hang up. “Be careful. I’d like to see you again, possibly in one piece. Call me if you’re in trouble. Call Asan. All right?”
“I will if I can,” I promised.
I picked up all three vibrators and got back to the shack, where Sera still slept safe and sound, and got to work.
The vibrators were made rather simply and not for the purpose I had in mind.
I grabbed my self-repair toolkit and took apart the Dezztroyer first. I had to change all the wiring to the kind used inside me since it was more reliable under the strain of high energy currents.
I’d hate for my cock to fail me mid-orgasm.
When shuffling sounds came from the hammock, I grabbed everything and stuffed it in my backpack, deep under all the clothes.
“Morning,” Sera said through a yawn. “Oh God, this is the least comfortable way to sleep ever.”
She rolled out of the hammock, landing with a thud, and rubbed her eyes. Outside, the sun already blazed, but it was early.
“We have two hours until the first shipment is scheduled to arrive,” I said. “What do you want to do?”
Sera yawned, looked at me, and grinned. “It feels like a cardio day. Let’s go.”
My core burst with static. Bro Signal called sex cardio all the time. Did she mean…?
Sera put on a pair of socks and her sneakers and ran out of the shack still wearing pajamas. I realized with profound disappointment her version of cardio meant running.