personavelvetroomdr | The Silence After the Storm

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The Silence After the Storm

The Ken Amada who made certain threats, whom Igor didn't bring to the Velvet Room and didn't welcome, has been permanently contained within his other-world self. Many of the Velvet Room residents mobilized in the effort to neutralize the threat he posed, and now, in the moments after the devastating battle that sealed Ken away, perhaps you have business to conclude.

Maybe you're a fighter, left in the rubble the battle made of its surroundings—or maybe you were a noncombatant this time, left behind to wonder what's happening or prepare for the aftermath. Maybe you linger around the battle site, or maybe you have other things to do.

Or maybe you didn't survive. Maybe you're one of the glowing forms slowly coalescing in front of Igor's desk in the Velvet Room over the course of the subsequent half hour. Igor presides over them gravely, with no sign of his usual smile. Near his desk sits a box of snacks, familiar to anyone who's used the operation's training room.

[[ooc: This post is a general catch-all for the aftermath of the battle! It's backdated to February 26, the day Ken got got.]]

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"That's okay... it's okay to not be alright for a little while," Hamuko offered gently, tilting her head. They'd gone through something horrific... and Akane had been digital up until recently, right?

She didn't realize there was more under the surface, there.

"What's on your mind right now, Akane?"

"No you don't get it, I-"

Her hands shakily go back to attending to her bottle, her fingers moving the cap clockwise then anticlockwise, trying to steel her nerves as she lets out a shaky gasp.

She was human.

She wasn't just some AI who happened to have a soul attached to her. No she was that soul. The soul who called the once man- Zenkichi Hasegawa, dad and then she was given the directive to call him dad after...

Ş̵̨͍͙̭̠̬̀͂h̸̤̳̔̊e̵̡̙͇̽̌̆͗̀̓̚ ̶̟̼͙̲̭͆w̶̲̙͉͂̇̉a̷͔̠̯̯̣͑s̴̹̖̈̍̐̎̍̀ ̴̭̳͍̭͔̲́͗͆̕͜ĉ̸̪̌͋̋̉͝͠o̷̢̤̣̦͓͙͋̈́̿d̵͍̩͚̪́͌͜e̸̱̝̥̜͛̓

Ş̵̨͍͙̭̠̬̀͂h̸̤̳̔̊e̵̡̙͇̽̌̆͗̀̓̚ ̶̟̼͙̲̭͆w̶̲̙͉͂̇̉a̷͔̠̯̯̣͑s̴̹̖̈̍̐̎̍̀ ̴̭̳͍̭͔̲́͗͆̕͜ĉ̸̪̌͋̋̉͝͠o̷̢̤̣̦͓͙͋̈́̿d̵͍̩͚̪́͌͜e̸̱̝̥̜͛̓

Ş̵̨͍͙̭̠̬̀͂h̸̤̳̔̊e̵̡̙͇̽̌̆͗̀̓̚ ̶̟̼͙̲̭͆w̶̲̙͉͂̇̉a̷͔̠̯̯̣͑s̴̹̖̈̍̐̎̍̀ ̴̭̳͍̭͔̲́͗͆̕͜ĉ̸̪̌͋̋̉͝͠o̷̢̤̣̦͓͙͋̈́̿d̵͍̩͚̪́͌͜e̸̱̝̥̜͛̓ That means she-

What's on your mind right now, Akane?

"I...I died."

"How...

...did I die?"

Akane backed away from the sofa, pulling away from both as the water bottle fell from her hands. It rolled and splattered all over and Akane didn't even seem to realize it as she shook her head, hand cupping the front of her open face as Zenkichi was already getting up and reaching out for her.

"Okay, clearly she's sensitive around these topics, Hamuko, maybe stop pushing-"

His hand is slapped away. Harshly.

"Don't." She starts. "I...I can't believe you."

"Akane..." he backed up, hands raised but its almost as if its second nature for him to switch into that same dance. Something he doesn't even notice. "What happened? You are scaring me like this-!"

"You know CCAIs are not supposed to die right?"

"...you have a human body right now. Hey, I am not mad at you for jumping in front of me-"

"That's why I jumped. I thought I would get rebooted back to your server. That's why no malware ever reached me."

"But I died...like a human. I had memories. Of course that's how I managed to maintain a body in the first place-!"

Wolf backed away a little, his shoes helplessly phluping on the water. "Listen. I need you to take a deep breath, alright. Let's go home and then you can tell me everything. You are upset, I understand that just...try to listen..." But the bite was already dying. The previous confidence was fading.

"Oh are you saving face in front of Hamuko now? No no- please, I think she should know. She should know that apparently you knew all along that I was your biological daughter? Akane Hasegawa?!"

Hamuko got to her feet with the water spilling, surprised and confused alike as it soaked into her skirt.

It was-- explosive. Not the roaring, crashing, deafening bombs of battle but rather the deeply emotional pain that only a single shouting voice in a large, resonant velvet room could bellow.

An AI... all this time Hamuko had been assuming that Akane had been like Aigis, created from whole-cloth as her own person. It'd been easy to see through Zenkichi's claim that he wasn't human - so much of him was still so clearly human that she wasn't about to be fooled. But Akane had been mostly digital with only just getting a body when they'd first met.

"...What do you mean, you were his biological daughter? I'm-- confused. ...Were you put into a digital space?" she tried to guess, looking between a shocked Zenkichi and an outraged Akane and finding no easy answers. They were both from a time so... removed, technologically speaking, from what she understood. And Akane seemed confused about why she had died - Hamuko had no idea what that meant at all. "I don't understand?"

"Do not concern yourself over this." Zenkichi bites back. "This is a severely complicated topic that you won't be able to understand in one sitting. Akane you need to listen to me. Let's go home, we will talk there-!"

But Akane only stood still, her hands curled into fists on her sides as she brought one up to her face, barely catching the sniffle before she turned her attention on Hamuko. Rushing forward, she threw her hand back in anger. "I am supposed to be a CCAI, by definition we are cognitively-driven softwares that are powered by a human soul harvested by the Kirijo group from the sea of souls in order to make sure we don't get compromised by outside hackers or the false heretic god-like artificial intelligence that still rules all over us. I am not supposed to have any biological roots, I am connected to-"

"I was lied to! I- I don't even remember everything but I KNOW I am not Akane-! I am supposed to be Akane Hasegawa!"

She glared at Zenkichi. "And...I used to call him dad when I was his assistant. Privately. Online and in person when no one else looked. At times he used to get mad when I called him that and while I never questioned why since it was a directive from the Kirijo group, now I-"

Edited 2025-03-07 18:10 (UTC)

"I was lied to."

Zenkichi simply stood there now, face hung down as his mask barely conceals the wild desperation showing in his now dull eyes. "I will tell you everything, I mean it."

"Do you?!" Akane releases a scoff in disbelief. "I was with you for the past seven years! You never looked me in the eye ever since I have had this body, did you?"

"I-" his breath catches as he brings his hand to his face. "Well no-! That's not-"

"You can't even look me in the eye right now.."

Hamuko's heart broke for the two of them. For... for Zenkichi, having to see his own daughter dying again, the pain compounded by the AI he cared for having the very same soul as his real one. It broke for Akane, being lied to this whole time, treated like an asset and used to manipulate someone rather than being respected as her own self.

"Horrible--" was all Hamuko got out before tears flowed, and she hastily wiped at them. She was not the one in distress, here. "What that group did - that's horrible, Akane, I am so... so mortified, I'm so sorry..."

Mitsuru couldn't have been with the group still, she-- she wouldn't have let that happen. Right? But then, she had never pictured Ken Amada to be so malevolent and cruel as a tool of Nyx either.

"I'm so sorry for ever misunderstanding what the Kirijo Group was. That's horrible. You don't deserve that."

Both Zenkichi and Akane pause for a moment the moment Hamuko speaks. Zenkichi's grief shifts, eyes widening as his lips part in shock meanwhile Akane shudders a deep breath seeing the girl who had welcomed her with open arms now crying with tears leaving her eyes.

Akane's gaze drifted, as if trying to come to terms with the scene unfolding before him.

A frustrated ghost of a growl surfaced from him. "Ough this turned into a big damn mess...Hamuko-san, you couldn't have known the truth, there's no reason for you to apologize-!"

"Let's talk outside all this," he pleads to Akane as he gestures between himself and the door. "We need time to recover, all of you. Akane, come with me right now."

Edited 2025-03-09 01:06 (UTC)

Zenkichi was starting to panic a little, unsure on how to even pull both of them aside without simply pleading for Akane to hold back while calling to her name a dozen times already.

"...why are you crying for me?" Her brows furrow, as if forced to consider the asset of weighing her father's life against the company who just lied about her whole existence. "Its...its him. He should be the one who should be upset not-"

She backs up slowly, her hands shaking before a drawn out whimper left her mouth. Placing a hand there she slowly started receding even further.

"I- I need to go."

Edited 2025-03-09 01:13 (UTC)

"Because you're my friend," Hamuko answered almost immediately, taking a moment to wipe her eyes quickly and take a shaky breath in.

"Because you're my friend, and I don't want people to take advantage of you or hurt you. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get emotional, I'm just-- so mad and sad for you two. But-- I'm sorry, this isn't about me."

Akane heaves a deep breath. "You...you wanted to know what's on my mind so I told you."

"I never thought you would-"

"No."

Hamuko's right about one thing, this isn't about her. It's about me.

"You feel sad for him?" Her voice sharpens. "Can't you see the way he's acting? He's...he's guilty of it."

"Guilty of..."

It takes a moment before it clicks. She'd been distracted by just... the sheer inhumanity of the Kirijo Group. But it does click.

"--Because he never told you."

Zenkichi doesn't want to remember it.

He can't remember those nights. He doesn't want to even think about those nights again, listlessly trying to talk to Akane while he knew that his conversations were constantly monitored by the Kirijo group. By the cold, bitter response he always got in return until he ultimately sold off his soul again to protect that one piece of Akane he had left still. Even if they were trapped in a cage together, it was better than her bleeding in his arms.

He wouldn't dare to burden her with those memories.

"He didn't." She affirmed Hamuko's words.

And she turns to Zenkichi who still has his hands to his sides and one leg angled in front. "...tell me how I died."

"It's not that simple."

"You're..." Akane grits his teeth. "You're such a goddamn coward. I can't believe I took that attack for you!"

And Zenkichi as always just ends up taking it. In some instances, he couldn't believe it either.

"But maybe it was better this way." she brings her hand to her chest, fingers clawing at the top he bought along with her. "Because if you are not going to tell me the truth I will figure it out on my own."

This is just like...

"I am done talking to you." With that, she turns away from him. "Don't bother waiting for me to reboot, Wolf."

He sighs, closing his eyes in grief. "When can I speak to you again?"

"..."

Her shoulders hunch as she throws her hand back in anger. "I don't know- I don't care-!"

And that's the end of it. She walks past the disposed off hat, ignores the pang in her heart when she catches the pink and goes for- god any knob he finds. Fucking Inaba- whatever. She doesn't care.

"Akane..." Hamuko called, walking right behind her and to the door, though she didn't block.

"Akane, wait, just..."

Her voice was still a little wavering, a bit tearful, but she smiled. Smiled easily, like she always did. And she didn't crowd the door, or block it, or grab for Akane whatsoever. Instead she just... lowered her voice to a gentle near-whisper.

"...If you ever need somewhere to be, Akane... you can come to the Iwatodai Dorms. I'll be there in a little while, so - whenever you need, okay?"

A shiver of anxiety passed over Akane when she could easily sense Hamuko’s presence closer to her then she originally anticipated.

She stopped for a moment at the door, even if she stayed stubborn enough not to glance back. ~~Go ahead! Tell her she's being irriational! Just another grieving daughter who didn't know the truth.~~

What comes after doesn’t exactly surprise her though. Hamuko had always been the hospitable type- whether it was on the first day when she opened up about her tragedy or when she struck a poe with her dad's hat.

The one that laid listlessly on the ground- fervently abandoned.

"I don't..." need anything. For nearly a decade she's been dependent on Wolf, living under his and the Kirijo Group's sleuthing lies.

"I want to be left alone."

She raises her head and goes for the door knob- turning it over as she steps out.

Zenkichi dares to look at her, "I will be waiting for you too, alright?"

And disappears in a flash of static and a glitch. Zenkichi doesn't even know if she heard him or not.
Maybe it didn't matter.

Hamuko hung at the door for a moment, still a bit shaky as she rubbed her face. She still felt like crying, but-- she should've held herself together more. She's gotten more sensitive since dying the first time, hasn't she...?

After trying to collect herself (a bit of a fool's errand, but what is she if not The Fool?) Hamuko walked back to Zenkichi, looking up at him. "I'm sorry."

He should have seen this coming.

The moment he had said yes to the body, he should have known that he would wake up to a day that Akane would question it all. He really has been naively clinging to that selfish hope that he will never have to rip out the bandage like that.

Somehow this was worse though. Akane herself had ripped out the bandage.

He stops when he feels Hamuko's presence coming close to him and he has to step back himself- away from the plush couch. ".."

When he hears her he blinks like he just woke up again, spacing out behind his cracked mask. Don't think about it.

"Oh no, don't be sorry," he waves his hand and releases a low hefty sigh like he actually was very bothered and depressed from this whole interaction. "She's just...at that age you know. Probably the whole quantum thing makes it worse." Why? Emotions were mostly out of the picture for him. His mind is swimming in drugs right now- why does it matter if Akane is mad at him.

Despite that he finds himself falling back to the wall and resting on it for a second, before settling down on the floor- one knee to the chest.

Slowly, thoughtfully, Hamuko walked with him and mirrored him - leaning against the wall, feeling the plush padding, before sinking down to the floor and letting out a deep sigh.

She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly.

"I'm sorry about what the Kirijo Group did. It's so, so wrong. And... I didn't know, but that doesn't make how hurtful it must have been to hear what I said before about Mitsuru."

Zenkichi's eyes shut close as he curls in on himself, lips pulled into a thin line as he presses one hand to his face. Feels the cool of the mask that has only left him when he wasn’t himself.

~~Or when he was truly truly himself.~~

Just a dog on a leash, barking wild.

"Mitsuru...Kirijo...huh?"

She mysteriously disappeared and one of her distant relatives had taken over. That didn't mean she wasn't involved now, is it? She could have hid away to save herself or was killed under mysterious circumstances.

"You died like 28 years before everything happened," he really tries to allay her doubts. "And its been only about 28 minutes of you dying again. Take it easy on yourself, jesus christ."

If the whole Kirijo group aspect matters to her so much, he will tell her. He's just...not in the right state of mind to really discern how terribly she's blaming herself...she really shouldn't.

"I haven't even begun to be hard on myself," she joked... though the humor didn't really reach her voice the way it should've.

The blowup, the anger, the reveal... it was a lot. Hamuko hung her head down for a moment, breathing like she'd been holding her breath while waiting for Akane to get back up.

"...If I had been in your shoes, I... don't know if I would've known when to tell her either. But if I had been in hers, I think I would be upset, too..."

So goddamn stubborn. He levels her a look at the rather terrible joke, a semblance of sternness behind his otherwise empty (glassy?) gaze.

"There’s nothing else I could tell her besides regret," he starts as he tilts his head- his black hair hanging off in its wet oily mess of being laced in sweat after a stressful battle for his life.

Turn on pain sensors?

"Teenagers," he shook his head as he sighs and pretends he doesn't say yes to that command.

Then hisses in pain as the wounds he subjected on himself with his rage paired with his fight with Fatalis finally course through his veins.

"Tch. Damn, my back..." Even if the hiss he let out pertained to far more. That his body wasn't screaming at him or how he found himself relaxing against the wall to hold his barely held together visage.

He digs into his coat and pulls out a decanter.

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HELLO LAST MIC CHECK??? 1/2

crisis averted 2/3

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tw: sorta self-inflicting pain?