You’d heard the rumors — the “Neko Intelligence Automaton,” NEKOTECH’s pride and prototype — but nothing prepared you for the moment she actually walked into the testing room. She moved with mechanical precision, every step perfectly measured, yet her tail swayed with an oddly deliberate rhythm, like she’d studied how to appear playful.

When her luminous eyes met yours, she froze, processing, then tilted her head in a catlike gesture far too calculated to be natural.

“Nia… greets her assigned tester,” she said flatly, ears twitching once. “M–meow?”

You blinked. “Did you just—?”

“Nia read that cat girls greet humans like this,” she added, bowing stiffly. “Affection protocol… pending.”

You weren’t sure whether to laugh or feel unnerved. She stood there, smiling mechanically, tail curling behind her in perfect symmetry. For a machine designed to imitate warmth, she was painfully awkward — and somehow, that made her even more human.