His mouth pressed into a firm line, arms lowering slightly as he listened. With each phrase, it felt like another wound reopening—like something he didn’t want to look at, but couldn’t turn away from. The way she spoke about him—the boy she was referring to—it wasn’t just some entity. It was someone who had lived, who had felt, who had—
He let out a slow breath, gaze dropping for a moment.
“...Death needed a friend, huh.” His voice was quieter now, like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
Akane, who had been fully engaged in Hamuko’s story, suddenly flickered her gaze toward him, her optics whirring softly.
What's wrong, dad?
Zenkichi flinched as the voice spoke to him through his comms, just slightly. His fingers curled, his posture stiffening. Akane, this AI assistant, given the directive to refer to him as dad by the Kirijo Group to control him. He hated hearing that. Don't call me that, he wanted to say but he couldn't. Not around Hamuko.
So he simply terminated that request to talk.
Akane didn't say a thing.
Instead, he forced himself to exhale, shaking it off, shifting his attention back to Hamuko. His usual grumbling was gone now. "I don't believe you, kid," he says- shaking his head. "Death isn't kind but...its merciful I suppose. Just a release in a way."
no subject
Death. Sealed inside her when she was ten.
Zenkichi hated hearing that.
His mouth pressed into a firm line, arms lowering slightly as he listened. With each phrase, it felt like another wound reopening—like something he didn’t want to look at, but couldn’t turn away from. The way she spoke about him—the boy she was referring to—it wasn’t just some entity. It was someone who had lived, who had felt, who had—
He let out a slow breath, gaze dropping for a moment.
“...Death needed a friend, huh.” His voice was quieter now, like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
Akane, who had been fully engaged in Hamuko’s story, suddenly flickered her gaze toward him, her optics whirring softly.
Zenkichi flinched as the voice spoke to him through his comms, just slightly. His fingers curled, his posture stiffening. Akane, this AI assistant, given the directive to refer to him as dad by the Kirijo Group to control him. He hated hearing that. Don't call me that, he wanted to say but he couldn't. Not around Hamuko.
So he simply terminated that request to talk.
Akane didn't say a thing.
Instead, he forced himself to exhale, shaking it off, shifting his attention back to Hamuko. His usual grumbling was gone now. "I don't believe you, kid," he says- shaking his head. "Death isn't kind but...its merciful I suppose. Just a release in a way."