Takane no hana. A flower at the top of a tall mountain. A Japanese idiom, used when referring to something unattainable, out of reach. Most of the time, the love of a woman out of one's league.
For a man, one of the worst things to go through is being in the presence of an attractive woman yet having no chance to do anything to her. Nothing unusual about wanting to bed beautiful women, that's just how men are. But when such a desire is blocked, one can only suffer in silence, unable to satisfy the urges raging inside.
One unfortunate man found himself in such a position on a daily basis. His name was Sam Sanderson, a twenty-six-year-old brilliant scientist, one of the few left on earth. Though he had intellect beyond what normal humans are capable of, luck had it that he'd be stuck doing a low-level job in a small, nearly abandoned military base. And as if that wasn't enough, what this job entailed made his life a nightmare.
"Hey, are we done here?"
A female voice shook him out of his daze. Closing his eyes, Sam let out a long sigh before shifting his gaze to meet the pair of golden eyes glaring at him.
Standing in front of him was a girl who barely looked sixteen, though looks were deceiving, with her being much younger than that. She was 1.56 meters tall with long brown hair extending all the way to the back of her knees, and spotless skin the color of almond, though a few details revealed the truth of it being a tan she'd obtained after spending too much time under the sun.
"Now, now, no need to be rude to the doctor." Said another from beside her.
Compared to the first, this one looked much older; an adult in her mid-to-late-twenties, despite the age gap between the two being only a couple of years. She was a bit taller, with a much thicker and well-endowed form.
No. Saying she was thick would be an understatement. Her breasts, for example, were so huge that one could only wonder how she was able to stand. Beautiful was one of the words that could be used to describe her face, blue sparkling eyes, and the sweet smile that never disappeared. Her golden hair was long as well, though unlike the other one, it only went down to her plump behind.
Looking at the two, Sam couldn't help but sigh. His eyes then went to the third one standing nearby. Though she was the tallest among the three, her most noticeable feature would be the long raven hair tied into a ponytail. Her body wasn't as exaggerated as that of the blond one, but her breasts were fuller than most, resting slightly above a pinched waist and broad hips. Adding to that her beautiful face, silent demeanor, and the strong vibes she gave, she was the very picture of a supermodel who'd make regular appearances on the cover of some fashion magazines.
"The examination is already done." Said the first, her arms crossed as she continued to glare. "He's wasting our time daydreaming like that."
"I'm sure Doctor has a lot on his mind." The second followed with a wry smile.
"Does it look like I care? I just want to go swimming already! These examinations are a waste anyway. Not like we're doing much around here."
"Don't say that. Making regular reports is part of our duties, you know."
Scenes like this had become a regular occurrence, and to the one forced to watch them, it was nothing short of psychological torture.
Three beautiful women stood in front of him, all dressed in leotard-like tight suits that left very little to the imagination. Everything about them seemed designed to bring out the worst in any man's heart. When faced with such outstanding beauties, even the gayest of men would turn straight.
However, there lies the problem. No matter how much one desired any of them, no one was allowed a single touch. It wasn't a matter of their standards or them being too prideful to accept anyone. Simply put, they were too valuable to let any man use them as an outlet for his desires.
"Alright." Taking his eyes off the three, Sam looked down at the tablet in his hands. "As usual, nothing out of the ordinary. You're free to go."
"Finally!" The first raised her arms in celebration.
"Ah, Zero Three, the HQ sent a word back after the last report." He said, pouring cold water on her excitement. "They said to use the outdoor pool less often."
"EEEEEH!! But I don't want to!"
"Well, I'm only the messenger. As for you, Nine. Refrain from consuming junk food as much as possible." He said, turning his sight to the blond one.
"Eh!? But why!? It's not like I'll get fat or-" Coming to a sudden stop, the blond one blushed and lowered her gaze. "Um… well, I'll try…"
"The only one to cause no trouble is Zero Five, huh." Sam turned to the last of the three. "You two should learn a little from her example. Anyways, you're dismissed."
"You can keep your advice to yourself, old man." The first to go was the tanned one, Zero Three. Though she didn't like being compared to the much more disciplined Zero Five, her mood got much worse after she was ordered to stay away from the outdoor pool.
"Doctor, thank you for the hard work." The one he referred to as Nine bowed politely before taking her leave as well.
The only ones remaining in the room were Sam and Zero Five. Expecting her to follow the others without saying a word as she usually does, he turned his chair and went on with his work.
A couple of minutes passed as he typed his daily report. With it being another peaceful day, it didn't take long for him to finish, but just as he was about to save the file, a voice called for him.
"Doctor…"
Sam jumped in his seat, his glasses almost falling off. Turning around, he put them back on with shaky hands and smiled nervously.
"It's... It's unusual for you to speak without being addressed. Is something amiss, Zero Five?"
"No… well, yes…"
He noticed the conflicted expression furrowing her brows while pondering her answer and realized this might be the first time her mask had fallen.
After a moment of hesitation, the girl took a deep breath. She tried to compose herself but failed in the end. Not only was the way she acted out of character, but to Sam, the person tasked with observing and keeping a close eye on her, she seemed strangely human.
'The results of the examination showed nothing…' he thought to himself, eyes still on the girl. 'Why is she acting so… strange?'
A few seconds passed before she spoke again, and with each word that came out of her mouth, the strange feeling Sam got grew stronger.
"Doctor, there is a question that has been on my mind for some time now." She said, her eyes going down.
"Ask away," he said, fighting the suspicion clawing at the back of his mind. "It's part of my job to answer any questions you might have."
A look of surprise flashed on Zero Five's face as she looked up, and relief followed it right after. Whatever it was she wanted to tell him, it must have been pretty important for her to become this expressive just from thinking about it. Sam couldn't even begin to imagine what it was, but even if he tried to guess, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to hear.
"Doctor," raising a hand, Zero Five placed it on her ample bosom, "Do you see me as a human?"