"Actually you can..." Shiro disagreed softly. Concluding from his teenage psychological database: if Nanoka could refrain from opposing her mother and agree to be more cautious, Nanoka might make Makie feel more at ease - which in the end might be better for both parties, for there might be less reason for arguing.

However the persocon was interrupted by Nanoka's complaint concerning the nightly TV program. He blinked, completely thrown off. 'Parking' the data he had collected into a temporary memory, he looked at the TV. There definately ~was~ sth on. And according to the TV program guide there were going to be a lot of broadcasts on any of the many channels all through the night.

"I beg your pardon?" Shiro asked puzzled.

Nanoka gestured to the TV screen, even as she picked up the remote control and began flicking through the channels. "There's... nothing... on," she repeated, speaking slowly and elaborately. "Nothing to watch. Why don't they ever show anything good at this time of night? Look! It's, it's news and infomercials and crappy dramas... Never anything good!"

She looked at him, pouting. "I'm bored, Shi-chan."

"I see." Shiro replied meekly. 'Nothing' was not the same as 'nothing good'. However in human speech omissions were seemingly usual.

The persocon looked at Nanoka. She had taken a nap. No surprise that she was awake now. They had also eaten and played a game...

"Do you have any homework you could do?" He inquired.

"Homework?" Nanoka laughed. "Sure, lots of it! I'll take care of that tomorrow. For now, though..." She smiled as inspiration came to her. Getting up, she headed into the kitchen and took the leftover bento box out of the refrigerator, then headed back through the living area. "I'll be on the computer, Shi-chan."

"Wakarimashita." The persocon confirmed with a nod. Shiro watched Nanoka as she went into the kitchen and returned to head for Makie's study.

"Let me know when you need anything." The persocon would stay in the living area and recharge and do the usual self-maintenance.

"I will," Nanoka said, going into the study and turning the computer on. Bringing up a search engine in the web browser, she started a search for the phrase persocon sex parts. She placed the bento on the desk next to her and ate another onigiri with her left hand as she navigated through the various website hits. There didn't seem to be a lot of accessories of this sort for Kobayashi persocons. The best she could come up with were so-called 'generic' attachments that could be fitted to a variety of persocon brands.

She quickly became engrossed in comparing the respective statistics, functions and appearances of the available appendages. Once she remembered how to turn the search engine's censorship mode off, she could feel her cheeks warming as she looked at some of the pictures and read about the features on offer. Variable heat settings, in-built vibration mode, different hardnesses and textures... What would it be like? What was it like to... to 'have sex'?

After an hour or so, Nanoka grew tired of looking at and comparing the persocon accessories, and reverted to her usual Internet behaviour - checking her mail, reading the more interesting posts at various BBSs, and so on. At about 1:30 in the morning she realised she was yawning a lot and having to squint at the screen, so she turned the computer off and took the now-empty bento box to the kitchen, leaving it soaking in the sink.

Without brushing her teeth, she pulled off her pants and crawled into bed in her sweatshirt and underwear. Sleep didn't take very long to come.