A/N: Check out the two Machina character cards.
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"Who is this?"
Jennifer walked over to Max's side by the road. She looked at Machina from head to toe, then her eyes paused for a couple of seconds on the arm that was closely locked with Max's. Finally, she looked at Max, and a smile slowly formed on her face.
"She's my relative… from far away."
"I am his stepsister. Nice to meet you. My name is Machina." (Makina)
Machina did not let go of Max's hand. She extended her right hand toward Jennifer with clear enthusiasm. Jennifer, on the other hand, glanced at Max with curiosity, but she still gently shook Machina's hand.
"Jennifer. Nice to meet you as well. I am his neighbor and friend."
"We were heading out to have our breakfast. Wanna join us?"
Max, seeing Jennifer was wearing a formal suit with a long skirt, assumed she was going to the university, so out of politeness he asked her to join them.
"Sure. I know a nice café nearby. I was heading that way anyway—let's have a coffee together. You look like you have a headache."
Jennifer grabbed Max's free hand and gently pulled him toward her. When she said the word "headache," she glanced at Machina. Max nodded; he really did feel a slight headache with Machina beside him.
Ever since Jennifer had come over, Machina had been pressing his linked hand more deliberately against her breast and body, making it clear and harder to ignore, especially in public.
"Follow me."
Jennifer smiled after seeing Max nod and then walked ahead. Max glanced down at her feet; she was wearing very high-heeled dress shoes, making her almost as tall as Machina beside him. At this point, Machina had nearly buried his arm against her body, so Max leaned closer and whispered to her.
~ I thought you were a robot, why are you so soft? ~
"I have a human body."
Machina didn't whisper back; she almost hissed those words out. She looked like she was offended somehow.
"What!?"
"Nothing."
Jennifer turned back when she heard Machina speak. Her eyes landed on the linked arm, but Max gently shook his head and gave an awkward smile.
~ Let go of me ~
"Is that an order?"
~ Yes!! ~
Machina pouted her face, then let his hand go in an instant. Max sighed with relief. He had been talking in a hushed tone all this while with Machina. Getting his freedom, he walked ahead and tapped on Jennifer's shoulder to make the situation less awkward.
"Hey!!"
"Hello, you big fat liar. You told me you were an orphan and had no one."
As soon as he approached her, Jennifer's sour face blossomed like a flower. She smiled but complained at the same time.
"He told the truth. He is an orphan. I am too. We are not blood-related. I found him just this morning."
Before Max could answer, Machina's voice came to back him up. She gently sped up and walked beside them. There was no mischief on her face this time. Then Machina described how she found that Max existed recently and that she came to find him as her sole family member on Earth.
"You poor souls."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Machina then linked her arm with Jennifer's. With a sympathetic look on her face, she appeared like a small puppy searching for warmth on a cold day. Jennifer glanced at Max, who only shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, this is how she is.
Jennifer and Machina walked ahead while talking to each other. As the footpath grew narrower, Max had to walk a step behind them. Seeing Machina's pitiful expression, even he felt a little bad for treating her this way—until Machina suddenly turned back and showed him her pink tongue.
They went to a very classy café and sat at a small corner table with three chairs. The sunlight coming into the café looked beautiful. For Max, entering such an establishment for the first time made him feel a little good, and the smell inside the café only made him feel more hungry.
*WHISTLE*
"Beauty."
A subtle but oddly audible whistle came from a nearby table. Four well-dressed, middle-aged men were seated there, wearing suits and ties. Max could tell they were looking their way—half of them staring at Jennifer, while the other half were sizing up Machina.
"You ladies, wanna join us?"
Jennifer looked unbothered and did not even look at them. A wide grin formed on Machina's face instead; she looked strangely excited for some reason. Max understood—she was a combat master, after all—so he lightly tapped her hand and shook his head.
*CREAK*
Max stood up, pushing his chair back. Jennifer looked up at him, panic and confusion clear in her eyes. Machina, on the other hand, only smiled at him. Max calmly gestured for Jennifer to relax.
"I am just going to have a word with our friends there."
"Sigh! Be careful."
"Just a word."
Jennifer, seeing the determined eyes of Max, couldn't help but nod her head. For a beautiful woman like her, things like this were very common. Usually, she ignored this kind of stuff.
As Max turned toward their table and walked over at a steady pace, he knew he was neither a hero nor a criminal. Still, if someone wanted to ruin a moment with the people beside him, he would be the first to stand up. Jennifer was now a dear friend, and Machina was his housekeeper.
"You have a problem, boy?"
"Snot-nosed brat."
They looked at Max and laughed among themselves. His tall frame was a little intimidating, but they clearly felt confident because they had numbers on their side. Max only smiled at them, then calmly pulled a free chair from nearby and sat down at their table.
"Unemployed fat uncles, bunch of bastards, catcalling a woman in a public café."
Their faces instantly changed from laughing to angry. Each of them gnashed their teeth in anger. Max stayed calm. He reached out, picked up one of their job papers, and slowly flipped through it, as if their anger meant nothing to him.
"You see… I am an orphan. I grew up on the street. There are several cuts like this all over my body. I was molded by fighting four to five people at the same time, but are you sure you want to fight a minor while misbehaving with a woman in public? I am certain I won't get any charges, but your unemployed asses will be over, no?"
Without looking at them, Max pointed at the cut on his face and smiled lightly. His voice stayed gentle, so calm that they hesitated for a moment. All the while, Max continued reading the file they had prepared for a job interview.
"Oh! Here, Mr. Peter, you see that round thing up there? That's a security camera."
Max stood up, placing the file back gently. Seeing that none of them were courageous enough, he knew people like this were all talk. He had learned that long ago. Catcalling women was not something a big gangster would do; this was done by the lowest of the low in society. To hit the nail in the coffin, he bent down and pointed at Machina, then whispered.
~ You see, my baby sister is here too. So garbage like you should shut up and let us enjoy our time… or I can make you shut up. ~
Max smiled, and this time it looked terrifying to the middle-aged men, because if Max was a minor, what was his baby sister? They had poked a hornet's nest they shouldn't have.