His silver-accented outfit was a far cry from his usual getup—sleek, refined, but still undeniably his style. The double bandolier belts sat snugly across his torso, and the holster at his waist rested where his firearm was secured, ready for whatever trouble they might run into.
Floating just above his wrist, Akane’s holographic form flickered, her pink Argus mask tilted playfully as she spoke.
“I’m just saying,” Akane insisted, crossing her arms in midair, “we haven’t introduced ourselves on the conspiracy board yet. And I think that’s a missed opportunity!”
Zenkichi exhaled through his nose, half amused. “And your big idea is a QR code?”
“Uh, yeah?” Akane’s eye lights blinked with mock exasperation. “People could just scan it and boom! Direct access to my server! Makes networking way easier than just scribbling our names.”
Zenkichi shook his head but didn’t argue. Akane had been getting more and more excited about connecting with people here, and really, who was he to discourage that? “Alright, alright. We’ll see what we can do.” He adjusted his vest, feeling slightly at unease for walking around without his coat or his hat, too utterly exposed for his own good but he figured this would just be a bare five minute trek.
Akane beamed, her projection flickering slightly as she spun in the air. “Great! I also think we should be more social! There’s a lot of interesting people here, and I wanna learn more about them.”
Zenkichi smirked then added sarcastically, “You? Socializing? Never would’ve guessed.”
Akane giggled. "Hey, atleast I am not introducing myself as an ex-cop in a global hub full of cop haters."
"Hey-!" The words hung between them for a moment—Akane seemed to realize what she’d said and quickly averted her gaze, but Zenkichi didn’t comment. Instead, he just gave her a knowing look before turning towards the door that would lead them into the Velvet Room.
At the threshold, Akane hesitated.
Zenkichi, already knowing why, turned back to her and extended his hand. “C’mon, kid. I got you.”
Akane lingered for a beat longer, then—reluctantly—reached out. The moment she crossed the threshold, her form glitched, flickering between light and solid matter before suddenly dropping into a real, human body.
Zenkichi caught her easily, steadying her as she wobbled. “Alright, deep breaths,” he coached, his grip firm but reassuring.
Akane squeezed her eyes shut, taking a moment to feel. She wasn’t used to this—existing outside of a digital or cognitive space, moving in ways that weren’t dictated by lines of code.
Zenkichi gave her hands a light squeeze. “You good?”
Akane took another breath, nodding. “Yeah. I think so.”
Zenkichi stepped back slightly, still holding onto her hands as she adjusted the mask and the red headphones over her head. Akane let out a small hum, her scanning senses kicking in—but not nearly as smoothly as she was used to. She’d been spending so much of her processing power adapting to this human body that even basic scans felt sluggish. Still, she caught something.
“There’s someone here,” she murmured, eyes flickering to the side.
Zenkichi followed her gaze—and sure enough, there was a red-haired girl at the conspiracy board, doodling something onto a piece of pink paper.
He didn’t recognize her. No matches in his database.
New, then.
Akane hesitated again. She wasn’t sure what to call Zenkichi now...maybe Wolf will still stick?
Instead, she simply let go of his hand.
Zenkichi glanced down at her, silent but questioning.
Akane nodded. I got this.
Zenkichi gave a small grunt of acknowledgment, stepping back as Akane walked forward, adjusting the Featherman mask still perched on her face. She stopped a short distance away, her gaze shifting to the pink paper the newcomer had just pinned to the board.
Her eye optics (which were just a normal pair of eyes) whirred slightly behind the mask as she magnified the image. “Oh. That’s really cute,” she commented, tilting her head at the doodle. Drawing...she could draw too, couldn't she?
Zenkichi, meanwhile, huffed lightly, crossing his arms which revealed cybernetic greys in a way that was equal parts protective and casual.
"Lot to take in, huh?" he finally asks- careful as the suspicion in his eyes is concealed with a solid mask. "We just made it in the last few weeks of the previous year and it was sheer chaos that time. Still is to be honest."
no subject
Floating just above his wrist, Akane’s holographic form flickered, her pink Argus mask tilted playfully as she spoke.
“I’m just saying,” Akane insisted, crossing her arms in midair, “we haven’t introduced ourselves on the conspiracy board yet. And I think that’s a missed opportunity!”
Zenkichi exhaled through his nose, half amused. “And your big idea is a QR code?”
“Uh, yeah?” Akane’s eye lights blinked with mock exasperation. “People could just scan it and boom! Direct access to my server! Makes networking way easier than just scribbling our names.”
Zenkichi shook his head but didn’t argue. Akane had been getting more and more excited about connecting with people here, and really, who was he to discourage that? “Alright, alright. We’ll see what we can do.” He adjusted his vest, feeling slightly at unease for walking around without his coat or his hat, too utterly exposed for his own good but he figured this would just be a bare five minute trek.
Akane beamed, her projection flickering slightly as she spun in the air. “Great! I also think we should be more social! There’s a lot of interesting people here, and I wanna learn more about them.”
Zenkichi smirked then added sarcastically, “You? Socializing? Never would’ve guessed.”
Akane giggled. "Hey, atleast I am not introducing myself as an ex-cop in a global hub full of cop haters."
"Hey-!" The words hung between them for a moment—Akane seemed to realize what she’d said and quickly averted her gaze, but Zenkichi didn’t comment. Instead, he just gave her a knowing look before turning towards the door that would lead them into the Velvet Room.
At the threshold, Akane hesitated.
Zenkichi, already knowing why, turned back to her and extended his hand. “C’mon, kid. I got you.”
Akane lingered for a beat longer, then—reluctantly—reached out. The moment she crossed the threshold, her form glitched, flickering between light and solid matter before suddenly dropping into a real, human body.
Zenkichi caught her easily, steadying her as she wobbled. “Alright, deep breaths,” he coached, his grip firm but reassuring.
Akane squeezed her eyes shut, taking a moment to feel. She wasn’t used to this—existing outside of a digital or cognitive space, moving in ways that weren’t dictated by lines of code.
Zenkichi gave her hands a light squeeze. “You good?”
Akane took another breath, nodding. “Yeah. I think so.”
Zenkichi stepped back slightly, still holding onto her hands as she adjusted the mask and the red headphones over her head. Akane let out a small hum, her scanning senses kicking in—but not nearly as smoothly as she was used to. She’d been spending so much of her processing power adapting to this human body that even basic scans felt sluggish. Still, she caught something.
“There’s someone here,” she murmured, eyes flickering to the side.
Zenkichi followed her gaze—and sure enough, there was a red-haired girl at the conspiracy board, doodling something onto a piece of pink paper.
He didn’t recognize her. No matches in his database.
New, then.
Akane hesitated again. She wasn’t sure what to call Zenkichi now...maybe Wolf will still stick?
Instead, she simply let go of his hand.
Zenkichi glanced down at her, silent but questioning.
Akane nodded. I got this.
Zenkichi gave a small grunt of acknowledgment, stepping back as Akane walked forward, adjusting the Featherman mask still perched on her face. She stopped a short distance away, her gaze shifting to the pink paper the newcomer had just pinned to the board.
Zenkichi, meanwhile, huffed lightly, crossing his arms which revealed cybernetic greys in a way that was equal parts protective and casual.
"Lot to take in, huh?" he finally asks- careful as the suspicion in his eyes is concealed with a solid mask. "We just made it in the last few weeks of the previous year and it was sheer chaos that time. Still is to be honest."