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This is something that's been in development for a few weeks now. I'm writing it pretty much mostly for fun, and because I want to provide some development to a few characters I like.

The title comes from an album and titular song made by Dr. Tenma's english voice actor in the 2003 series.

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“Are you ready for this, Tenma?”

The doctor nodded quietly from his seat in the consultation room. Tawashi paced along the side of the room, arms folded behind his back, giving the occasional analytic glare. Both men wanted to be anywhere but that close to each other.

“The question is, are we ready for this?” Tawashi strolled over to the table that Tenma was seated at, and slammed down one wide hand, holding his balance in a stoop over the doctor. “It’s been four months and we still have no idea what you’re capable of. I can’t believe we’re even letting you start rehab!”

“You are welcome to cancel it if you enjoy my company that much,” Tenma said with a grin as smug as he could make it. Tawashi stepped back; he was disgusted, but understood.

A knock came at the door, and the stale, blasé mood returned to the room. The door opened with Chief Nakamura at the knob.

“Your rehabilitation officer’s here,” He said quickly. “This is Officer Inoue.”

A woman stepped into the room, clutching a maroon pleather satchel; Tawashi nodded in approval as he exited the room. Tenma assumed that Tawashi would be joining the riff-raff behind the two-way mirror to his left.

Tenma studied the woman as she set up her belongings. He was still uncomfortable around humans; it was probably their unpredictability and unlimited range of flaws that caused him to feel this way. It was first nature for him to look at a person as if they were an android he had to modify. The woman before him certainly needed repairs – shaking hands, joints need to be tightened. Hips perhaps too wide. Iris replacement to get a more vivid shade of green. There were colourful stickers all over the satchel – a glittering star, Sailor Moon, a flower – and he wondered momentarily if they’d sent him a five-year-old girl. Modification of preference programming.

The woman finished setting up her papers and hastily took a seat, her long black hair falling over her shoulders as she shot down into her seat.

“I’m sorry about the wait! I didn’t know if I had the substance prevention form…” She dug into her jacket pocket. “I’d like to introduce myself.”

She slid an ID card onto the table, encouraging Tenma to examine it. “My name is Nanora Inoue, and I’ve been assigned to your psychiatric and societal rehabilitation.”

“A rather unique name,” Tenma remarked as he studied the card’s credentials; he more wanted to hear his own voice and give the semblance of conversation.

“This meeting is just what my superiors call a “meet and greet”, but that’s a rather corny term, in my opinion. I guess this is more like…” Inoue seemed to laugh, accidentally letting her nervousness show. “…An interview, maybe?”

She was trying so hard. He couldn’t hate her for that.

Tenma folded his hands together on the table. “So what do you want from me?”

“Just information on what you’d like to do during reintegration.” Inoue retrieved a pen – purple with a little Team Omega charm – and one of the countless forms. “Do you want to move out of your current housing? Any career aspirations?”

“I’d like to keep my lofts, and resume commission robot production.”

“Are you okay with being under external surveillance during the first twelve months of rehabilitation?”

“It’s no different from this,” Tenma said, gesturing to the two-way mirror. It took Inoue by surprise and she laughed, far more natural-sounding than her first. Tenma could have sworn he felt safe.

There weren’t as many forms to be filled out as he had feared. Inoue seemed pleased to get to skip so many.

“Have any family members been previously arrested or detained?”

“No.”

“Well, that leaves out forms 4 and 5…” She flipped through papers yet again. “Do you have any psychological conditions or traumas?”

He inhaled slowly. “…Post traumatic stress disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder.”

“Are you receiving any therapy for these?”

“I am, now that I’m here.”

“I’m glad,” Inoue said, still concluding her notes. “There are still a lot of institutions out there that don’t give any treatment to maximum security detainees.”

““Institution”, “detainee”…” Tenma was tempted to chuckle. “You certainly are kind with your words.”

“They were telling me to be ultra-careful in advance, you know…” The woman rested her chin in one hand. “They wouldn’t stop telling me how you’re a ‘class one danger’.”

“Oh?”

“They’re using this range of numbers now. Like, with 1 being the most hazardous and unobtainable, and 5 being the least. Er…you know the smuggler and gang leader, Skunk Kusai?”

“I know of him.”

“He’s only a class three.”

Tenma inhaled, and exhaled. “At least they gave me the honour of such a high rank.”

“I want to give you a chance, though.” Inoue placed her hands together on the tabletop, one hand on top of the other. “I’ve been shown your work, and you’re an extraordinary designer and craftsman!”

“There’s no need for flattery, officer.” But his ego certainly enjoyed it.

“I still remember when my class took a tour of the Ministry of Science, some time ago…!” She was happy now, and it was cathartic to see. “I think you were in control then? I loved that Robita model you made. My family had one and we named her Abuelita. She’s still working, too, even after she rolled down the driveway.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, I did design the Robitas to be as durable as possible, even despite…whatever that was.” He wasn’t insulted, though. Rather, particularly proud. Meanwhile, woman seemed thrilled to have a functioning conversation with him.

She jotted something down. Tenma noticed only then that the woman had wine red-painted fingernails. A beautiful colour, but to him, it almost clashed with the colourful stickers on her satchel.

Inoue slid the sea of forms back into her satchel. “I don’t have much I need from you at this point, doctor. I don’t know how much time they’ll give me, but we can talk about anything you want.”

“I’m just not sure if I’m comfortable yet,” Tenma said, his voice coming out softer than he would have liked. It was his “audience” that was bothering him. The idea of talking to a benign being – human or otherwise – was a temptation that he didn’t want to pass up. But if he rushed too hard into the opportunity, he could lose the contact with this person for good.

“That’s perfectly fine!” Inoue reached out to retrieve her ID card from the centre of the table, but the sudden snap of lights from the two way mirror froze her hand in mid-movement. Tawashi, Nakamura and at least five officers with recording equipment were now fully visible on the other side.

“That should be enough,” Nakamura called out, clapping his hands together once. “Proceed with escorting and re-detaining.”

Tenma let himself groan in disgust. He felt large and burdening, like an unending living problem, and his own presence seemed to take up half the table. He didn’t watch as two female police officers entered and just about pulled Inoue out of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Inoue struggle to see over an officer’s shoulder. “I’ll see you next Wednesday!”

“Please do not prolong contact after th…” They were already out of the room. Four guards entered for him now, a pair of neoray handcuffs and stun guns in tow. He allowed himself to be cuffed, and went with them with no words or resistance, as usual.

It was routine by this point. They considered him a “class one”, after all.

Interesting story. I assume this is based on the Tenma character from the 2003 series. I hope you will continue this.

Woah, can't wait for more.

Thank you, you guys! I'm writing the second installment right now, and then I'll be crossposting it to FF.net.

@Tetsuwan: Yeah, I've set this in the 2003 series! Dr. Tenma in that series was, in my opinion, the one series that portrayed him the most humanized (at least in the Japanese version), and I always wanted to see more of how he worked psychologically and what made him do what he did.

(Also, "Abuelita" literally means "little grandma" in Spanish. Part of Nanora Inoue's family comes from Spain, and she's 1/4th ethnically Spanish.)

MAJOR UPDATE: Since the time I first posted this fan fiction, my former computer's hard drive broke and physically died, so I've been writing the last two chapters on a back-up notebook PC. But, yes! There's a whole TWO more chapters on FF.Net for your reading pleasure!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10435344/1/Twenty-Million-Things

I also have to mention, I went with a different title for the story, after the song by Little Feat/Robert Palmer. It's just a cosmetic edit, and it's not like I deleted the entire story just for one change.

Chapters two and three are out now, so please, let me know if you enjoyed them! I'm in school now, but chapter four will be forthcoming!

So, thanks a ton to Earthshine for changing this thread's title! As well, chapter four is now up:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10435344/4/Twenty-Million-Things

Merry Kokonsari is actually from Jungle Emperor Leo: The Movie, and a lot of you may remember Kathy...! Warnings for those uncomfortable with allusions to alcoholism and women flirting with women. (And for those who are more interested now that I've said that, welcome in.)

Some art I've done for the story. Nanora tries her best to get a selfie with her top client...

Chapter five has been freshly uploaded tonight! Astro, Uran, and Ochanomizu show up!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10435344/5/Twenty-Million-Things

Chapter six is now up! It's longer than usual, too!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10435344/6/Twenty-Million-Things

Please be advised that the content is a bit stronger in this chapter, at least in the beginning; there's a prison locker room fight between Lamp and Skunk that verbally turns ugly. After that, there's more visits with Astro, and the start of something new...!

Note: My username's now TheLilithMachine instead of Robotkat, changing my FF.net namesake for the first time since 2009. Lilith is a figure of the Torah I admire.

Very good story! Keep it coming!