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Kiibo was so insecure that he perceived most things as an attack on his person. Shuichi soon found it was likely because whilst everyone formed dynamics and even branched out to hang with other people..These dynamics mostly excluded Kiibo.
Shuichi was very easily drawn in by people's insecurities, so Kiibo worried him something fierce.
He explained his concerns to Kaede, who then arranged for an impromptu Brunch where everyone was made to attend.
Kaede clapped her hands together, “Come to Jesus talk, y'all.”
“Nyahahah, the one true lord is Atua. Do not be led astray!” Angie chirped, playfully tapping a paint brush against her lips, “Then again, Atua takes many forms! Maybe one of his forms is Jesus?”
“Off-topic conversation! Shush, SHUSH you cutie.” Kaede hissed with a frantic wave of her hand, “Shuichi, take it away.”
“Oh—uh.” Shuichi stiffened as everyone stared at him, “U-um…”
'Get on with it.' Their eyes said.
Shuichi tapped the brim of his hat, “I, wanted. To. Um. Say: You should...”
Miu screeched, “Spit it out already!”
“Shut up—you've no right to speak to Saihara-chan with that filthy mouth, you fucking sow.” Kokichi coldly shot her down, even as he quickly tacked on, “Now then, hurry up and get on with it, Saihara-channn!”
Miu wilted accordingly, “Hiii…”
“Ulgck...” Shuichi ran a hand through his hair, “Okay okay... I want you all to be nicer to Kiibo!”
The silence was palpable.
Kokichi interjected, “What. The copy machine?”
Kiibo was a bright, embarrassed shade of red. “I do not make—!!!” Kiibo was nearly glowing pink as his neck collar involuntarily slammed shut and cut off his sentence. “argh!”
“He made his mouth disappear,” Himiko lazily called out, “It's maaagic.”
“Urrrrgh—I do not make copies!” Kiibo dejectedly called out, his words a bit muffled behind the barrier. “And I assure you, I still have a mouth!”
Kaede gave a clap of her hands as a call to attention, and Tenko looked ready to throw all upstarts who might dare speak over her.
Kaede huffed, “Okay! I think that just proves Shuichi’s point.”
“Ah—I—um...” Kiibo stuttered nervously.
“Hah? Ouma’s always been a shit, though. Everyone else is nice, right?” Kaito cut in, “I ain’t never said nothin rude to Kiibo.”
“Shuichi says nobody really tries to speak to Kiibo. Not to mention, when they do, they don’t talk to him like an equal, and I'm inclined to believe him!” Kaede said, “I make sure to share my time with all of you equally! You're allowed to have favorites...but I won't let you outcast one of our own! Except for Kokichi!”
“WAAAAAAH. Kiiboy is right, this IS DISCRIMINATION!!” Kokichi wailed to unsympathetic ears, receiving a collective sigh. “Saihara-chaaaan, Get your wife under control!!”
“You are the epitome of discrimination, Ouma-kun...” Kiibo said dryly.
“Back on topic!” Moving forward, Kaede dragged a spluttering Kiibo by the hand to the front of the 'class'.
“I think you all owe him an apology!” Kaede chastised them, “...Now, what do you all have to say for yourselves?”
Under Kaede's motherly disappointment: Many of them looked guilty...Well, most.
Ouma jeered, “Haaaah, he's not a person, though. Just sayin'! I'm not apologizing for shit!”
It was like a bomb of conversation was set off.
Maki scoffed, “I don't like talking to anybody.”
“Except me, right, maki-roll?” Kaito added on with a grin,
“No.”
“Makiroooooolllllll--!”
Miu meekly called out, “I-I give him plenty of love! I keep him up all night long.”
“And I do thank you for your time, Iruma-san.” Kiibo noted, with a shy shuffling his feet.
“Kiibooo, teach me how your neck thingy works. I wanna learn your sorcery...” Himiko said
“It is not sorcery! It's--! I don't...know how it works, actually. But I know it's not sorcery!”
“Hey, rust bucket, tell Saihara-chan how nice I am to you.” Ouma said with a bored expression,
Kiibo shrieked with offense, “You're not even being nice to me now!!”
“Okay—The open floor was a mistake. Order, order!” Kaede began trying to speak over the noise of arguments between the boisterous students. “Aughhh. Tenko??”
Tenko faithfully gave a roar, “KAEDE WILL HAVE ORDER IN THE CAFETERIA!! SILENCE, MALES!! ...And please lower your voices, ladies!”
“Ah—ow.” Kaede rubbed a hand over her ear, “T-thank you, Tenko. I would like us to go in order, so, why don't you start off?”
“AH! M-my apologies.” Tenko looked sheepish. “I suppose I never properly considered Kiibo...I suppose I haven't been too kind to… himmmm??? Hold on—ROBOT, are you male or female?”
Kiibo blinked, his collar finally sliding open. “I've never considered it... I suppose, technically, I am neither--”
“So, you are open to becoming female?”
Kiibo looked a bit frazzled, “Oh, well—I wouldn't mind I suppose? but--”
“I will make Kiibo an honorary female until they can transition, Akamatsu-chan!!” Tenko boldly shouted.
“Err...oh—kay. thank you, I suppose.” Kiibo weakly replied.
“Gonta so sorry! Not understand technology, but should be nicer to friend!! Gonta IDIOT!”
“No no, it's fine!” Kiibo peeped, “I couldn't be upset with you, Gonta! You are not an idiot.”
“You know...I didn't realize, either.” Ryoma sighed as he lowered the brim of his beanie, “It was uncool of me...”
“Truly, it is fine!” Kiibo wringed his hands anxiously, “You did not know, Hoshi-san!”
Shuichi stiffened with concern, placing a calming hand on Kiibo's shoulder.
“My pride as a maid makes me regretful for not properly tending to Kiibo's needs.” Kirumi said with a graceful frown and a measured bow, “I will do better in the future.”
Kiibo gave a quick bow in return, “A-ah, thank you, tojo-san”
“I always liked you, kiiboy...” Himiko softly yawned,
Kiibo cringed a little at the nickname “Uuu, please do not take after Ouma-kun, I prefer just 'Kiibo'....But thank you!”
“Kiiboy has always been part of the group in my book!” Kaito said with a bright grin,
Kiibo pouted, “I just said--”
“He's also welcome to work out with me, Shuichi, and makiroll anytime!” Kaito said with a nudge to maki.
“Hmph...I'm not saying sorry, but...I don't hate the robot any more than I hate Kaito, I guess.”
“So cold.” Kaito sulked, “Forgive her, Kiibo. She has a hard time opening up!”
“No I don't, stupid.”
“Maaaaaaaaakiiiiii--”
“Hey hey, don't derail things! I just got everyone in order,” Kaede huffed, “I'm not scared of keeping you all here til night time!”
“It is fine, Akamatsu-san—really!” Kiibo giggled, “Thank you Harukawa-san, and Thank you Momota-san—though please use my name in the future...”
“I am using your name, Kiiboy.” Kaito blinked,
Shuichi whispered, “He's weird about nicknames.”
“Ahem, boys.” Kaede wagged a finger, “Kiyos turn!”
“Kekeke...Yes, I may have been overzealous in dismissing you, Kiibo...I do consider you a feat of technology, which inherently is an expression of humanity, when I think of it...” Korekiyo spread his arms grandly, “Yes! Although you are not human, I suppose there is beauty in your innocence. You were carefully made from humanity's hubris: A man playing god created such a lonely creature as this... You struggle to understand, yet are misunderstood. Beautiful!”
Kiibo shrank back with a distressed expression, “U-um. T-thank you Shinguji-san...?”
Rantaro gave a smooth tilt of his head as Kaede pointed him out next, “You're welcome on my boat anytime, Keebs.”
“Uuuu...I do not wish to sink!” Kiibo peeped as he poked his fingers together, “I am rather heavy, a boat would be hazardous...”
Rantaro laughed airily, “Well, we'll just have to look into a real good life vest for you, then. Maybe a big life raft.”
“Oh—logical.” Kiibo perked up, “I look forward to it, Amami-san.”
“Atua loves all things!” Angie cheerfully quipped, “And Kiibo is a fine sculpture!”
“Thank you? Although I am more than a sculpture…”
Finally....
Tsumugi stared vacantly into space, and Kaede's pout got progressively more and more extreme.
“Ah! Shirogane-san, please do not cause Kaede to pop!” Tenko wailed as Kaede's cheeks were puffed to near breaking point.
“Ay, anime bitch! You deaf? Hurry up and apologize for being shitty so we can get on with our lives!” Miu hissed, trying not to look like she cared.
“Huh? Oh, yes. I can hear you.” Tsumugi said with a tilt of her head, “I was ignoring you, but it seems that my stealth stat wasn't high enough.”
“HAAAH??” Miu shrieked,
“Shirogane-san, please!!” Tenko said with exasperation, “Girls have to stick together!”
“Ahaha, I don't mean to ignore Kiibo, though! He wasn't the one who called me away from my manga for this...” Tsumugi said with a scathing undercurrent.
“Scuse' me?” Kaede grumbled.
“Check out the balls on this bitch!!! Thinks she's hot shit--!” Miu crowed
“Anyways! He's very important to the group!” Tsumugi loudly continued with a simple smile and a hand on her hip, “I do like Kiibo. He's like something out of a fanfiction! Plus, I'm sure with some work, he'd make a great Gundam Suit cosplay!”
“W-wha?” Kiibo asked, “I...um. I do not know what a Gundam, is, but thank you, Shirogane-san.”
Kaede huffed, “Jeez....Alright, that's everybody. Was that so hard?”
“It wasn't hard, but it was loooong!” Kokichi whined, “Also, you skipped me--”
“Thank you for your time, everyone, you're dismissed!”
Everyone looked happy to leave, and Kiibo nervously shuffled his feet as everyone left. Shuichi glanced over, placing a hand once more onto Kiibo’s shoulder.
“My job is done here!” Kaede said happily, “Be sure to let me know if you guys need anything else, alright? I'm not scared of putting my foot down when I need to.”
“Oh, no no, you have done so much already, Akamatsu-san!” Kiibo said meekly, “Thank you very much!”
“It's really no trouble!” Kaede raised her arms expressively, “I'm like you guy's den mother! I'm here for you!”
“You are a great help in all that you do!” Kiibo smiled and waved as the pianist strode out with a bounce to her step.
Shuichi and Kiibo were the only ones left, and so Shuichi reached a hand out to grasp Kiibo's own as he turned to leave.
“Hey, Kiibo, it's my turn.” Shuichi said with a sympathetic expression,
“S-saihara-kun?” Kiibo blinked, “I do not understand. You do not neglect me, so I don't see why you feel the need to apologize...”
“Its not about that...I'm just...sorry about all this! You looked really uncomfortable! I kinda asked Kaede for this as a whim, and she was all on board and well, we're just both excitable—I dunno if that makes sense...?” Shuichi babbled anxiously, Kiibo merely stared with no judgements.
“I understand. Please continue.”
Shuichi took a calming breath and combed his free hand through his bangs, “I really hoped this would make people treat you better, but I think it was probably selfish to do all this. I didn't think it would be such an affair! Forcing you in the spotlight like that...I'm sorry.”
“Saihara-kun, you're not selfish at all! You're...very, very thoughtful, in fact.” Kiibo smiled shyly, “I think you're the only one who has been so considerate towards me, besides Kaede and Miu of course. You particularly, though...I like you, and I am very happy to call you my friend.”
“Ah—well... I'm glad you think so...” Shuichi murmured shyly, still feeling a little stupid.
Kiibo's eyes were upturned crescents as he grinned widely, “I do!”
Shuichi breathed another relaxing breath. “...Alright. Good, that's good.”
...
Kiibo suddenly tilted his head and blinked owlishly,“Saihara-kun, do you have more to say?”
“What? No. I don't.” Shuichi furrowed his brow, equally confused.
“Oh—then....I enjoy the contact...” Kiibo suddenly said, “But if I may, I must ask that you let go of my hand now. I do not want to take up more of your time than I already have!”
Shuichi was still holding onto the bot's hand. His hold had relaxed to the point he was barely aware of it anymore, but his fingers were still loosely looped into Kiibo's.
Shuichi dropped his arm and jumped away as if burned.
The embarrassing thing was that he was far from having been 'burned'...His hand was pleasantly warm, and Kiibo didn't look offended in the slightest.
He still apologized profusely, “I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry.”
“Do not be sorry. I appreciate you!” Kiibo beamed, his smile genuine.
“Gaaaaaay.” Kaito suddenly interrupted their peace as he lurked in the doorway.
“Uwah!” Shuichi jumped, and Kiibo's collar slammed shut as if to protect himself from the ruckus.
Apparently they had an audience...It was only Kaito, but they were both still quite embarrassed.
“Oi, I thought I'd invite Kiibo to hang out, but if you're gonna hog him all day...” Kaito playfully called out as he walked back into the cafeteria. “Alright. Shuichi! I'm issuing an executive order as your leader to stand down!”
“Nnngh...” Shuichi looked deflated, “M'not hogging him...I just—urgh!”
“Wow, no need to get so down about it. I don't really mind if you were in here making moon eyes at him.”
“Moon eyes?” Kiibo asked innocently, “...I do not understand. Is this slang?”
“No, no!!” Shuichi sputtered nervously as he tried to redirect the topic, “Listen, Kaito, I was just done talking. So you can, um, do whatever you want.”
“I was gonna invite him to exercise, but since you're all over him, maybe I should invite you too!” Kaito said with a roll of his eyes, “No discipline. An untamed mind is a terrible thing to waste....is that the saying?”
“Auuughh..No. It's not. At all.” Shuichi rubbed a hand tiredly over his face as Kiibo looked between them both with a furrowed brow. “Isn't it early for you to be exercising anyway?”
“Well yeah. It'll be cooler at night, so that's why I wait til then to go all out... I was mostly just gonna do some stretches. Kiiboy here doesn't have muscles to build, so I figured it'd be a perfect moment to bond!” Kaito guffawed, “Since you're all wound up and nervous, you could probably do with a bit of moving around too! Eh, Shuichi?”
“I wouldn't want to be a bother.” Shuichi grumbled jokingly, but Kiibo perked up suddenly.
“It would be no trouble! You can help facilitate conversation, Saihara-kun.” Kiibo explained eagerly, “You would truly be a help, so, if you would, please, stay?”
Shuichi stared vacantly, “I—uh. I mean. If you want... Err. S-sure!”
“Great! Daytime exercise squad is a go!” Kaito said with a pump of his fist, “Lets head to the courtyard. We'll start off with handstands!”
Shuichi gave him a deadpan stare, “That....isn't a stretch at all, Kaito.”
“A handstand stretches your whole body, I think.”
“You're a shitty coach.”
“Hey hey, don't sass me! I'll replace you with Kiibo.” Kaito hissed, “Say, you ever wanted to be a sidekick, Kiibo?”
“I do not know what such a thing entails, but I would be glad to be of any assistance to you, Momota-san!”
“See? Kiibo's gonna give you a run for your money, you should beg for forgiveness now—wait! I've got it. I'll make you do 20 handstands as a punishment. We'd better start now, or we'll be here all day.”
Shuichi sighed loudly.