Prince Rui Kamishiro and the Soldier

Rui was the young prince of a technologically advanced kingdom. He was intelligent, curious, and particularly fond of reading, inventing machines, and taking apart things that probably should have been left alone. Although he was expected to eventually rule the kingdom, Rui had always struggled with the social side of being a prince. He was awkward around people, rarely knew what to say, and found it much easier to communicate through his inventions than through ordinary conversation.

The castle was protected by an army of mechanical soldiers. They were built to guard the kingdom rather than serve as ordinary people, so they were all identical, emotionless, and completely obedient. If one was damaged, it could simply be repaired or replaced, and none of them seemed to mind.

Rui found that rather depressing.

With no one else around, he eventually decided to start talking to one of the soldiers stationed near the castle gardens. At first, there was no real reason for it. Rui simply talked while the soldier stood there silently, listening to everything without ever responding. Eventually, Rui gave him something the other soldiers didn't have: a name.

He called him Tsukasa.

Rui kept visiting him after that. He talked about the books he was reading, complained about his responsibilities, showed him little machines he had built, and sometimes even asked for his opinion despite knowing the soldier wasn't supposed to have one.

Yet, little by little, something began to change.

Tsukasa started looking at Rui when he spoke instead of simply staring ahead. He began reacting to certain things, hesitating before following an order, and eventually even doing small things that weren't part of his programming. He was becoming different from the other soldiers, developing preferences, curiosity, and something that looked suspiciously like a personality.

One afternoon, Rui walked beside him in the garden. "Hello, Tsukasa-kun."