Zenkichi listened, but it only made him feel worse.
Worse than before. Somehow, guilty.
He had seen the way Hamuko’s eyes had lit up when Akane first mentioned how the Kirijo Group used the name Arisato, how they flaunted it to claim their ongoing success in society. He had seen the hope there, fleeting and fragile, a desperate kind of grasping at the thought that maybe something of her, of her name, still existed in the world.
And yet, now, listening to her talk about it, about how Death had been kind, about how it had wanted to spare them suffering—he couldn’t stomach it.
Not when she smiled like that. Not when she spoke like this.
Not when it reminded him too much of how Akane used to look when she was being “upgraded.”
Zenkichi turned away, jaw tightening. He couldn’t watch her. He couldn’t listen anymore.
“I don’t want to hear any more of that.” His voice was quieter, but firm. He exhaled sharply through his nose. “I know how higher entities act when they don’t want others to suffer. You have no idea what-”
He didn’t want to elaborate more. She just came here and whoever he spoke to were past dwellers of this place he wanted to sort help from or derive connections with. The memory of EMMA was burned into his mind—how she had convinced the world that eternal sleep was a mercy. Eighty fucking percent of it. So what if it needed a fucking friend to understand humans better? She ruined his life. She ruined so many people in the long run how dare does Hamuko think-
Before he could say anything else, though, Akane thwacked his arm.
Zenkichi stopped mid-thought, turning to look at her with a sharp, confused glance. The first time she did something like...
1/2
Worse than before. Somehow, guilty.
He had seen the way Hamuko’s eyes had lit up when Akane first mentioned how the Kirijo Group used the name Arisato, how they flaunted it to claim their ongoing success in society. He had seen the hope there, fleeting and fragile, a desperate kind of grasping at the thought that maybe something of her, of her name, still existed in the world.
And yet, now, listening to her talk about it, about how Death had been kind, about how it had wanted to spare them suffering—he couldn’t stomach it.
Not when she smiled like that. Not when she spoke like this.
Not when it reminded him too much of how Akane used to look when she was being “upgraded.”
Zenkichi turned away, jaw tightening. He couldn’t watch her. He couldn’t listen anymore.
“I don’t want to hear any more of that.” His voice was quieter, but firm. He exhaled sharply through his nose. “I know how higher entities act when they don’t want others to suffer. You have no idea what-”
He didn’t want to elaborate more. She just came here and whoever he spoke to were past dwellers of this place he wanted to sort help from or derive connections with. The memory of EMMA was burned into his mind—how she had convinced the world that eternal sleep was a mercy. Eighty fucking percent of it. So what if it needed a fucking friend to understand humans better? She ruined his life. She ruined so many people in the long run how dare does Hamuko think-
Before he could say anything else, though, Akane thwacked his arm.
Zenkichi stopped mid-thought, turning to look at her with a sharp, confused glance. The first time she did something like...
"What?"