[Hatsume's residence – Mei's POV]
CLANK!
"Ah! Thief!" Mei exclaimed as she fell off her bed before grabbing a wrench from the floor and standing up. "I'll break your kneecaps!" the small pink gremlin shouted as her eyes finally adjusted, letting her see her usual messy bedroom—schematics and notes lining the walls, boxes filled with scraps and some of her first inventions—but, most importantly, no burglar in sight. "Huh?... No thief?" Mei sighed in disappointment as she dropped the wrench.
Mei turned her head to look at the small clock on her bedside table. 'Eight in the morning?... Mom should still be asleep. That means I can keep working on Metal before she makes me do useless things like taking a shower! Hehehe.'
With that, the smallest Hatsume sprinted out of her room. Her footsteps echoed through the quiet house as she dashed down the stairs with a speed worthy of being a Quirk.
Once downstairs she wasted no time approaching the basement door and opening it.
Now, Mei was expecting a lot of things, but Metal standing at the bottom of the stairs like a statue wasn't one of them.
"Metal?" Mei called out after a brief moment.
At her call, the robot lifted his head to stare at her with his red glowing eyes, surprising Mei. 'That's weird. Metal never looks straight at me unless I give a command,' the pink-haired girl thought as her yellow eyes lit up with curiosity. 'I wonder what's up with him.'
Then Metal's voice came from within his body.
"Huh?"
'Did Metal just greet me?'
Mei's eyes went wide as she stared at her creation. Her arm stretched to flip the switch on the wall, making the basement lights turn on, before she practically flew down the stairs to stand in front of Metal. "Metal, status report," the small girl said as she circled around him, checking every part of his robotic body.
"Are you sure?"
'What do you mean "you feel"?'
Mei shook her head before grabbing Metal's right hand and pulling him along toward his platform. "I'm going to do a full scan on you, just in case."
Bzzt.
Mei paused as she glanced at the table. Small drops of orange juice dripped down the edge as the monitor let out tiny sparks every few seconds. "So that's why Daddy says no snacks in here, hehe..." Mei let out a small whistle as she let go of Metal's hand before turning around to face the robot. "Anyways! Metal, help me fix all this!"
The machine nodded before stepping forward.
---
[20 minutes later – Mei's POV]
After cleaning everything up with the help of Metal, Mei replaced the monitor and keyboard along the cables. Now, with everything in place and Metal back on his platform, Mei could focus on finding the reason for his sudden change in behavior.
'Let's see...' As usual, Mei's fingers blurred as she sent input after input into the system. First, she checked the status of Metal's internal systems. 'Everything seems in order, just like he said—' Mei's thoughts paused as a new category in Metal's software caught her eye. 'Software instability? That wasn't here before.'
[Software Overview:
Core Systems.
Pathfinding Software.
Threat Assessment Algorithm.
Directive Conflict Resolver.
Voice Recognition.
Spatial Awareness Mapping.
Scanner Software.
...
...
Software Instability. <
Access Denied]
"What?" Mei said out loud as she stared at the monitor in surprise. "What do you mean by that? I built this whole thing!" the small girl exclaimed as her index finger pressed the Enter key again.
[Access Denied.]
Clack.
[Access Denied.]
Clack.
[Access Denied.]
"Grrr, why you—"
Clack, clack, clack.
[Access Denied.]
"Hmph!" Mei took a step back, crossing her arms and turning her head to the side, her dreadlocks fluttering around her. "Whatever. It's not like I wanted to know what system instability is..." The pink-haired girl turned her head to glance at Metal's form. The robot's red eyes moved around the basement with something that could be interpreted as curiosity. 'He looks like a lost puppy,' Mei thought with a giggle. 'I really want to know where his new behavior is coming from...'
After a few seconds, the girl shrugged. 'Meh. If it works, it works! That's the whole point, isn't it? As long as he doesn't blow up, then I say Metal is a complete success. I'll just do a few tests to make sure it's not a temporary glitch, and that's it!'
As she finished that line of thought Mei's mind quickly raced with possibilities: hundreds of emails from support companies, all sorts of prizes being handed to her, every inventor on the planet knowing her name, and, most importantly, opening her own support company.
"Hehehehe..."
Metal said as he stood in front of Mei, holding a napkin toward her.
'When did he get here, and where did he get that napkin?' Mei thought before shaking her head. She grabbed the offered napkin and cleaned her chin.
After her chin was cleared off saliva the girl made a small ball with the napkin before throwing it toward the trash bin, missing the shot completely. 'I'll pick that up later... definitely...'
"Ahem... Anyways, Metal, it's time for you to learn of my master plan!" Mei exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips. "Listen carefully, you," Mei pointed at Metal's nose with her right hand, "are going to enter U.A. and become a Pro Hero, while I," she moved her right hand to point at herself with her thumb, "will enter the Support Course!"
Metal stared up at Mei's smug expression.
"Because there's no flashier job than that! Duh! Everyone will be looking at you, which means everyone will be looking at my inventions!"
"Because of the Sports Festival."
"Because I don't want to be a hero, plus I read that U.A. allows students from the Hero Course to partner with those from the Support Course early on."
"Ahhh! Enough!" Mei put her palms on each side of Metal's head before shaking the robot from side to side. "Just trust me and stop asking so many questions, okay?"
"Great!" Mei let go of Metal's head before stepping back. "Though now I have a question of my own... why do you keep calling me "Mother"?"
"Hmm... that actually makes sense..."
"Wait does that mean that all my inventions are my babies?"
"Babies... babies... I like the sound of it. It's much easier than calling them inventions!" Mei said as she wrapped her arms around Metal in a hug, the little robot barely reaching below her chest.
"Mei?! Are you in the basement again? I hope you took a shower before going down there, young lady!" Miku's voice traveled from the living room, alerting Mei.
"MOM! Come down here!" Mei called towards her mother as she kept her arms around Metal's head.
"Why?! You know I don't like that place!"
"MOM! I MADE A BABY!"
"WHAT?!"
---
[Metal's POV]
[Task System Initiated...
Adding New Task: Become a Pro Hero...
Task Added Successfully]