Data Synced

When the survivors of the final game were released, it seemed the majority of them were to live together, while there was somewhat of an argument on who would gain custody of Yun, Tomo initially wanted to care for her alongside Riku, but eventually bowed to popular consensus, and allowed Ren to become her caretaker. It was in her best interest… as well as the best interests of the others involved. Even so he couldn’t help himself from visiting her regularly. With Yun staying in the Watanabe household, it did not take long for her godmother, Momo Kokkaku to find her, and join the family. Momo attempted to become an anchor of normalcy for the kids, despite her life up to this point being anything but normal. Still, she strived to help acclimatize the survivors to the world that had left them behind.

To tell the truth, Hoshimi isn’t sure what to do now. She had a goal before - to prove the existence of aliens. Now, though… things weren’t as clear. There were more important things to focus on, her goals were muddied. She had Ren, and she had Seiichi as well. She even had Lucian, even if it wasn’t the same.

She decides to start there.

She finds Lucian’s grandparents quickly, with how worried they were about him. She brings him to see them, hoping that will help. She explains, says he essentially sacrificed himself to end the killing game, to save the rest of them. It’s not a lie, not entirely. It’s what he did, even if he didn’t quite understand the consequences of it all.

After that, she finds her friends. They survived, purely due to the distrust of the government many of them held, and the preparations Kiyoshi in particular made in case of the event of a government collapse. She was excited to see them, and introduce them to the family she had found. They, in turn, were overjoyed that Hoshimi was alive, and had somehow found happiness during this treacherous time.

Minori, or course, survived along with the rest of those friends. Above all, Hoshimi was excited to introduce Minori to Ren. The similarities her dearest friend outside of the game had to her datemate were fairly obvious, but their differences stood out the most. At the very least, Minori had skills and contacts that could aid Ren, adding to their already expansive repertoire that they could use to help them rebuild.

They wouldn’t rebuild alone, either. Hoshimi got involved, more involved than even she had expected. The two would rebuild together, make things better for everyone involved.

After everything was over, Seiichi left with Ren. He owed them his life, he owed them his new sense of self, and he loved them,with his whole heart. It was not a hard choice to make.

Though before he settled down, there were other things to be done.

He returned to his hometown, to reunite with his family, and to introduce his new personal additions to it, and was more than relieved to find them well, though more than saddened to find miss Kaede Inoue less so. His former boss had finally retired from all her business, and her zoo, never more than a plaything to her, was left in his very young hands. Yet Seiichi was never one to fret at big tasks ahead of him.

He rebuilt the zoo, cleaned it up, expanded, kept it open. Under his care, it became a beloved attraction of Sapporo over the years.

He never regretted not studying law.

Though in his private life as well he had many things to take care of. Seiichi travelled around the country to find the living relatives of those who had died, and to bring them the news and his attempts at comfort. He feels forever responsible for them, but then, he is a very responsible person.

And his responsibility is the safety and happiness of all who are under his care.

He moved in with and lived with Ren, Hoshimi, Yun and Lucian, though not in his original form, and his days, though keeping him ever busy, were filled with happiness, even as the shadows behind him never left his mind.

He kept his promises. Many a trip to the zoo was taken.

Riku Orikasa, also known as Riku Kondou, had dedicated themself fully to the war against Despair after their rescue from the Gardens killing game. With Tatsuo defeated at last, and the remainder of Despair being swept up, they found options suddenly opening up before them. There was still a lot to be done in the reconstruction efforts, but Riku struggled, unsure where or if they could fit in after the mental and emotional damage they’d sustained both during the game and during their work as a strategist for the Resistance. Reuniting with some of their lost friends as AI, Riku attempted to make peace where they could. They felt that they’d become a different person even in such a relatively short time, someone they weren’t sure they wanted their friends to know anymore, and so they mainly sought closure.

For a time they stayed on with the active remainder of the Resistance, continuing to combat any lingering cells of Despair and even consulting in some Defense work for the reconstructing government, but the work was continuing to take a toll. It wasn’t in their nature to show the effect it was having on them outwardly, but those they allowed close took notice all the same. Minako, the Resistance’s other top strategist, had become an good friend to them during their time working together. She was eager to distance herself from the war and government work as much as possible, and persuaded Riku to give themself a break and assist in the recovery… of Hope’s Peak Academy.

This proved to be a better path than they could have hoped, pun intended. Riku took to teaching quite well, it was something they’d noticed they enjoyed back when they’d first tried teaching Braille to Hanami during the first killing game, but they’d nearly forgotten about it what with the havoc of everything else. Focusing on teaching creative writing and English language courses, Riku found their niche in academia. Between their work with Hope’s Peak and furthering their own education, they had a positive focus and finally began to heal and rediscover themself. Their sister, Keiko, and her boyfriend Yuri (yes, that Yuri) were a staunch support system, as was Minako, though she developed a sort of wanderlust after the war and often took sabbaticals, especially when she decided to become a chess grandmaster. The two often play together, and Riku even wins… sometimes… occasionally… they’ve stopped asking if she’s letting them.

And eventually wounds became scars, and scars became faded, and several years down the line… Riku Kondou, the former Super High School Level Murder Mystery Party Host, became Riku Orikasa, the Headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy.

In the end, it wasn’t sadness or despair or a desire to give up that motivated Sorrel’s decision. Unlike some of his predecessors and classmates, Sorrel had never wanted to die… but he had still chosen to do so. It had been the right choice, if he’d had any doubts about it before they were certainly put to rest now - after all, if he hadn’t pressed the button, if it had been Chikako instead, then who would have swept in at the last minute to save everyone? Sorrel was at peace with his fate, he was prepared to face it, to accept his death and all that it entailed.

However, he’d always been deeply connected with nature. The life cycle was a strong part of his beliefs, and the prospect of being trapped in a machine, forever disconnected from nature, ungrowing, unchanging… did not appeal to him at all. On the contrary, his contentment to explore an afterlife turned into an overwhelming discomfort with the situation. So he spent the time they were trapped with Tatsuo making his case clear, saying his final farewells to friends both old and new, reassuring them that this was right for him - and that they were equally right in following their own paths, living their own lives, whatever forms those may take. He was done though, he was ready to let go, to move on, to find out what truly lay beyond.

After asking about the possibility, Ren recovered the memories that had been blocked prior to the killing game with the help of Kiku Sakaki’s machine and Tomo. And as soon as they were free of the Tower, they reunited with Mitsuko - their loyal guard, who had been anxiously waiting for an opportunity to contact them again. She expressed great relief and pride in her charge, and welcomed their new loved ones into her protection. With the help of her, their contacts, and Hoshimi, Ren was soon able to reclaim their family’s wealth and influence, rebuilding the Watanabe clan’s empire… though they did strive to legitimize most of the assets and practices.

Most.

This process was assisted through clever investments and support of the country’s damaged but recovering economy, particularly in areas of construction and reconstruction. It took a great deal of time and no little effort, but they found they enjoyed the work, and it certainly kept them busy - though not so much that they had no time for leisure. Ren’s head for business and their canny grasp of negotiations served them and their new family well. Yun, Seiichi, and Hoshimi live with them, as well as Mitsuko, and Lucian in his AI form. Tomokuma often resided with them too, for the sake of Yun, as did her Momo, and of course Sasaki, Yuki, Fran, and Matsuo (provided he was accompanying Fran) were welcome visitors and honorary family. All were well protected.

No one would be hurting any of Ren’s loved ones again, they made sure of it.

“I-I got permission from Anon-san to have him post this online…” Katsumi’s eyes stared at the screen as she played against a CPU. Kick, kick, punch, kick. “He said he’d have to go through the code before he would, b-but…” She turned around after winning the battle. She shrunk in her chair and clasped her hands together.

“I really think it’ll do well, s-since, uh… you’re the one who wrote the story. It’s better than anything I could do, you know?” She spent a few moments looking directly at Addy, before averting her eyes and covering her reddening face.

“Your hard work really made it stand out though, don’t sell yourself short.” Addy grinned brightly at her.

Katsumi shook her head. “N-No, really… This is the first thing I’ve made from scratch, s-so… I needed… the help. A lot. Thank you…” Katsumi’s hand twitched, as she found herself tempted to reach for Adelaide’s. She stopped herself. Ahahaha… ha. She was so disappointed in herself.

Instead, Katsumi turned around and moved onto the next round. “It’s different, though… F-fighting game dating sim, uh… I haven’t seen one before, so hopefully it will do well.”

“Well, I’m sure that there will people who will love it.  Everything has an audience.” Settling in next to Katsumi she gently bumps her shoulder with her own. “You worked hard and you should be proud.” She pauses before smiling. “I’m proud of you.” Watching Katsumi play she crosses her leg over the other and rests her chin in her hand.

“I think it’ll draw a good amount of people, your programing for the fighting runs very smoothly. I think it’s lovely.”

“aaaAAH!! YEAH! I-IT IS!” Katsumi froze upon the contact. It was a miracle she was still able to hang out casually like this without having a heart attack. She honed her eyes in on the game until she won the match. She was still a little unsure if she made the game a little too easy or not. Not a whole lot of beta testers to be had in a place like this.

Yuki sits in silence for a moment, just looking at Barako… She knew this was how she felt, but… She didn’t know it was quite that bad. Does she really rely on being useful that much? On this ‘Warui’ person? Yuki pondered what was said for a moment, before speaking up.

“…As if! Scandalous articles get made about me all the time! What’s the worst thing they could say? ‘You’re friends with an A.I.’ - So what?! If they don’t like my friends, they aren’t worth my time!” She does a very campy pose to emphasise her point. “…But really… I… I could never forget about you. You were a friend to me when no one else was… Well… Except Michi, kind of… but she’s… Michi.” Yuki laughed, pondering over the time Michi tricked her into saying ‘poopy’ and ‘fuck’ in english… Upon reflection, it was sort of funny… But anyway!

“…That’s not your purpose anymore. You don’t need to follow rules, You can be your own person! No one’s there to boss you around or tell you what to do, No one’s there to give you a schedule or guide you. You just have to do it on your own! What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? I’m not gonna tell you what to do, that’s for sure! You’re your own person! …So don’t sweat being perfect all the time, Perfect is boring anyway! You just have to do what you want, what makes you happy!” She smiled back to Barako.

Barako stood there and observed Yuki. Her face remaining placid as she simply watched her friend.

“To be honest Yuki… I don’t know,” she said, “it feels like everything I’ve done these past couple years has been fuck up tremendously. I killed Michi. I betrayed your trust in me. I… I fell for Nao’s lies.”

The last part she says with particular venom as she looks down.

“When I tried to frame him. It legitimately wore on my conscience. How could I frame someone for murder? Someone I liked? Now though… I just wish he’d been the one I hit with that stupid fucking hammer,” Yuki can notice Barako’s face take on a dark expression as she says that.

“…I …” Yuki looks over to Maki, who’s sitting nearby, and turns away from her as if to take Barako aside and have a more private conversation. “…I fell for it too… but… I-I don’t know… I-If anyone betrayed my trust, It was him. Not you. You need to just accept what you did and move on, Living like this isn’t healthy, Barako-chan. Y-You can’t take back what you did, but you can work to a better future. You need to trust me when I tell you that I forgive you. That I’m your friend. I’m here for you. It starts with you, You need to forgive yourself before others can forgive you, after all!” She smiles back to her, though it’s a sort of… bittersweet smile.

Barako simply blinks and closes her eyes… Yuki can see tears forming at the sides of them.

“Yuki… Thank you,” she tries to smile but it’s weak, “I’m… I’m sorry Yuki… I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here but… but if there’s any way for me to help you I will.”

Yuki lets out a hearty, yet bittersweet chuckle, wiping away a few of her own tears. “I think It’s about time the student helps out the teacher!” She smiles back to her. “How are you gonna help anyone stuck in there?! You need, like, a cool robot body or something! You wanna be a pink rabbit? Maybe I can ask them to reuse one of those… We gotta get you outta there somehow! Won’t hurt to ask, right?!” She pauses for a moment, thinking over her options.

“…I’ll just ask anyone but Sonoda-chan… She’s weird. Surely someone would be willing to listen though! Then you can help me. But in the meantime, You get to do what you want, So what do you wanna do?!”

Barako pauses as she looks up at Yuki again and simply… sighs.

“I don’t know,” she says “but… I suppose I’ll have time to find out.”

“…I-I guess…” She stops talking for a moment. “…Well, Since I’ll be going up to ask about getting you a sweet robot-body, How about I visit you while I’m there?! Maybe Tomo-kun will let me use one of the VR pods!”

“Ahaha…” Barako chuckles a bit and then smiles, “it’s a date.”

“Hi, Hi! ~” Yuki cheered, smiling back to Barako. She waved to her through the tiny screen, holding the device at a high enough angle to make herself look… presentable. “…I-Is thing even on? Barako-chaaaan? You there?” She smacked the device with the side of her hand. “O-Oh! Maki-chan is here too, Say hi!” She panned over the camera to get a view of her friend, Who was sitting with a book in her lap, drawing away. The girl nervously waved back, before returning to her drawing. “So, Anything interesting happen lately?!” She pulls out a pack of gum, shoving a wad of it into her mouth.

“… it has been quiet,” Barako said blankly as she looked at Yuki. That was really all she had to say. It wasn’t like anyone here made an effort to talk to her nor did she make an effort to talk to anyone herself. Slowly she inhaled.

“I feel like… I should be doing something but I have no idea what,” Barako admitted. Yuki was the only person she felt she could talk to.

“…O-Oh…” Yuki sort of looks down for a moment, before returning her focus to the girl on the screen. “S-Sounds complicated! Uh…” You can practically see her thought process on her face, trying to think of something that might bring comfort to Barako. “…Maybe you’re just a work-a-holic!” She laughs. “Just take some time to relax, Not like you’re goi–” She stops herself mid sentence. Jeez, Yuki. “I-I mean, like… Th-There’s not really anything you’re responsible for in there… Y-You don’t exactly have a job or anything… M-Maybe you’re just bored? You should let go and relax until you can get out!” Her plan isn’t exactly a great one, but it’s a plan. Yuki wouldn’t mind relaxing on a beach for a couple of months! Well, without the whole… dead thing.

Barako blinks and stares at Yuki. She let out a breath and looked down.

“Yuki dear… do you know why I killed Michi? Or at least… why I think I did?” Barako finally says. WELL THAT SURE IS A HEAVY THING TO BRING UP NOW.

“… there’s something wrong with me, Yuki. I think so anyway. My whole life I was told I was… important. Someone who could save the world. So I studied. I worked. I trained. I read books. Practiced Yoga. I trained and I worked and I tried as hard as I could to become… perfect,” Barako said, “and my schedule was built for me since I was little. Ever since I was young I always knew what I had to do. Where I had to be, what I should’ve been doing. When things went wrong and when I had no guidance I… I lost my patience. I became short of breath. I got anxious. I was worried I would lose precious time and I would become useless to Warui.”

She inhales again and looks to her friend. No emotion is clear in her expression.

Barako Sekisei sat on the digital beach, watching simulated waves as her eyes listlessly observed the artificial sky in front of her. Her memories had returned… mostly… but despite her memories seemingly returned to normal there was something uniquely different about her. The Barako that Yuki knew was a busybody. Punctual and constantly working. Always following her schedule of events and trying to study and improve herself. Then she died and when she was uploaded it all… fell apart. Why did she lose her memories? What exact part spawned it? Was it the fact she couldn’t accept death? Was it the guilt weighing down on her soul? Was it something more? She didn’t know. Couldn’t say really.

Barako simply sat now. Continuing to observe the ocean quietly. She had been completely still and placid since the trial. She hadn’t reacted much since it ended. Mostly gave terse two word answers and would occasionally go off on her own for a couple hours to be alone. She observed Nao’s execution with confusion, fear and apprehension but hadn’t commented on him or it since. The only thing anyone could say about Barako at this point is that she was… cooperative at least. If someone wanted something from her all they had to do was ask. Sometimes she’d even somehow dig into her linguistic skills to provide a very terse interpretation if someone wanted to communicate something in a language they didn’t share. But other than doing what was asked of her she seemed to almost completely shut down. What was going through her mind? It was impossible to say really. Michi… well she probably wasn’t gonna be much help let’s be real. And there really wasn’t anyone else who cared about her… well… that wasn’t completely true.

There was at least someone thinking about her, Constantly. The slightly taller girl was constantly on Yuki’s mind, even now. Especially now. She’d practically left her in some strange afterlife, Virtual-Reality… Who the hell knows what. How could she not be worried about her?! Was Barako really okay? Had all of her memories come back? Yuki’s honestly just worried that Barako is just telling her things to make her happy… well, sometimes it’s easier than the truth.

Even still, despite Yuki’s busy schedule after being kidnapped and thrown into a killing game with a bunch of SHSLs, The press was all over her when she returned. They wanted to know everything about the famous actress who came into contact with the evil mastermind himself. No, Not Nao Morita. The other one. She was bombarded with requests for interviews and television cameos. She even got offered to make a documentary based on the events… Not that she was dare say yes to any of these ‘lucrative’ business ideas. She honestly just wanted to be left alone, to return home and spend time with her mother, and he best friend, Maki. It felt like she hadn’t seen them in years – Well, she hasn’t, so that part makes sense at least.

Still, through all of that - there was nothing she thought more about than the people she left behind. Barako, Sachiko, Ochako… Michi’s fans must be really sad… She tried to keep in contact with… well, anyone she could, but specifically Barako. Barako was her teacher, after all! And more importantly, her best friend. She can’t just leave her behind, pretend like she doesn’t exist. Because she does. Even if it’s in a strange, cyber, afterlife way. She’s still here, and she needs someone to be there for her.

It was a balmy afternoon in the library as Komaka sat at a table and absently kicked the air. Sutori was asleep next to her. She had yet to meet Sutori… or well, her real parents. But she figured there would be plenty of time. And for now anyway there was still someone she was hoping to get ahold of! And that person was calling up riiiight now-

“Hello? Komaka?” the screen appeared in front of her revealing the face of a boy.

“KEN-SAN!” Komaka greeted as she raised her arms, “how’s the world?”

“Several governments are on the brink of collapse and war profiteers are hyenas… it’s hard to be a phantom of Hope out here,” the boy admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. His black hair jostling a bit as he did so.

“Yea that sounds about right. Also sorry I died,” Komaka said.

“Admittedly,” Ken responded as he stared at her, “I’m aware that the individual I’m speaking to is less ‘komaka’ and more of an exact copy of her created in a digital format. In a sense I’m speaking to a lie.”

“But if I’m indistinguishable from the real Komaka then isn’t drawing that distinction unnecessary?” Komaka asked.

“Up until the details are wrong,” Ken retorted, “but you seem pretty accurate so I’ll treat you like the real Komaka for now.”

“Yaaaaaay,” Komaka mutedly responded.

“Komaka… I want to apologize myself actually,” Ken said.

“Apologize? But you promised yourself you’d never apologize for anything!” Komaka responded.

“And I meant that. But this is different. Komaka… when you’re a hyper-trained vigilante who’s devoted himself to fighting the many crazed and wicked individuals in this world… it’s always nice to keep yourself grounded sometimes. You were… the closest thing to a friend I had,” Ken admitted somberly as he looked down.

“Oh,” Komaka sulked.

“The reason I suggested you take Hopes Peak’s little cruise was because I suspected Tatsuo to be up to something,” he admitted, “I never would have guessed that Senchamoto-san was so twisted as to try his own stunt.”

“You’re going to go after him next?” Komaka asked simply.

“That’s the plan,” Ken smiled at her, “and if I die… well Sonada-san tells me she can at least attempt at making a copy of me if it comes to that.”

“Ooooo,” Komaka sulks a bit, “I’m sorry Ken-san. I really messed up.”

“You didn’t,” Ken responded.

“Huh?” Komaka blinks.

“Remember your friend Chikako? It was thanks to her expertise we were able to stop Tatsuo from entering into the internet and destroying civilization. She’s a fascinating individual! Even though I’m not sure I totally trust her,” Ken laughed, “still the important thing is: if she weren’t here then we might’ve all died.”

“Ah… so?” Komaka asked.

“Well it’s just… she informed me of what happened on the boat and I just wanted to tell you Komaka that… in some way, you helped save the world with your sacrifice,” Ken said earnestly.

Komaka blinked. A tiny bit of water forming at the edges of her eyes.

“Not many men or women can say they died for the good of all… and you can,” Ken said with a smile, “in that way. Perhaps you do deserve the title of Super Highschool Level Hope.”

“… oh Ken-san,” Komaka closed her eyes, put her seifuku up to her nose and blew.

“Hahah,” Ken laughed, “so… who is that with you?”

“Oh. This is Sutori! She’s my sister,” Komaka said.

“… like- legitimately?” Ken asked.

“Yea. Least I’m pretty sure,” Komaka nodded.

“Wow. Well when she wakes up I’d like to meet her!” Ken responded as the two continued to talk to one another for just a bit longer…

[♫♬♫♬]

The Tailor cracks open the balcony door before placing his phone on the table beside his bed. He crawls into it, and into the arms of his handsome prince charmant laying there waiting for him. He presses himself in close to Matsuo’s chest, snaking his arms around him. He sighs, content. “Papa is going to be home late, so I’m not going to make dinner until he’s here with us okay?”

“Mm. That’s fine.” Matsuo replies, wrapping his arms around François’s body as he joins him. His hand brushes up against his back as it moves towards his hair, Max’s fingers combing delicately through it. “If I’m gonna keep living with the both of you, I can’t do anything but respect that. Even if I’m hungry.” There’s a short laugh for a beat, before the half russian boy shifts slightly to place a small kiss on his лучик’s head. “Soon enough we can have dinner on our own time, I’m sure. When we find a place of our own… How was your day?”

“Mh… slow. Things have been so slow at the store, I’m not used to it. I know it makes sense, because… what happened but it’s still weird to have so much time.” The smaller boy pulls himself up slightly to place a small kiss on Matsuo’s jaw in return. “I had so much time I made schedules for the rest of the month for shifts. You won’t be getting many days off even if it’s not busy though.” He laughs and presses another kiss into the taller boys skin, this time on his cheek. “Can’t let you get lazy now can I mon cœur?”

Another light chortle leaves Max as the Tailor kisses him, his fingers circling a couple locks of hair on the back of Fran’s head.  “Bluuhh. I just wanna stay in bed all day.” He jokes. “I gueeeess it’s better that way, anywayyys. Since… I stopped going to the Academy.” Matsuo lowers his eyes for a moment as he recalls his conversation with Katsu about… All of that. Everything that he had done to hurt him in the past. He can’t help but wish that Coach Takumi was still around, so then he could give him an apology, too. “I need to keep myself in shape, now. Pristine Gold Medalist Olympian Shape, just like before.”

François shifts uncomfortably at the mention of the academy, and presses himself further into Matsuo’s chest at the mention of the past he can’t remember. He still didn’t want to remember, he’s sure he’s happier this way but he can’t help but feel awful about it anyway. “Mh…” Wasn’t fair to her he couldn’t remember those last few days, the last time they would ever spend time together as a family. He wondered if he had been happy… He continued to sink deeper into Max’s chest, moving to scratch at his palms lightly. “You could join me in yoga… Or dancing. We should start learning dances together you know, sooner rather than later. I used to be um… I used to be a fairly decent dancer in America.”

Max can sense that there’s something off as the boy sinks closer into him, and all he can really do is tighten his grip in reassurance. Ah… He was trying to stop doing that, to bring up things that make François upset. Alas, thinking about what you say before you say them is still a difficult task. “Me? Yoga? That’s fuckin’ funny to think about.” Downward Facing Matsuo, pff. “…. Dancing sounds nice. I’m quick enough on my feet.” He pauses for a moment, before shifting one of his arms to take one of François hands in his own. “I bet you’re still a great dancer. Better than I am, I’m sure.”

“It feels good, and it is healthy to do, yoga.” It didn’t really seem that funny to Fran, after all yoga was good for plenty of things. He nuzzled against Matsuo’s chest. “Dancing was a lot of fun, I miss it…” He lifted himself up slightly, giggling softly. He brought their intertwined hands to his lips. “I am probably rusty. But perhaps I am, we’ll find out soon enough.” He leaned back against Max pulling their hands with him. “Do you think my aunt will come? I haven’t heard from her… We didn’t see her on our trip either…”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. I just bet I’d look kinda goofy doin’ it. Imagine a bulky 6 foot tall guy lookin’ like a damn twisted pretzel.” He continues brushing the back of Fran’s head with his free hand, his chest hopping lightly at the image in his mind. Nobody else usually looks strange doing yoga, but he’s set sure that he’d look bulky and awkward. “Well, if you’re rusty we can just get back into the groove together, yeah?” He lightly brushes his loose thumb against the Tailor’s hand as he stares out into the fading Tokyo sky. Ah…. It’s good to be home. “Mm… I’m sure she will. Maybe you just have to be a little more aggressive about getting her attention. Or, well…. Persistent seems to be the correct word, not aggressive.” He hums for a moment in thought. “Have you invited any of our ah, classmates? I know you call ‘em a lot, I’m sure they’d like to come and visit you.” He leaves himself out of the equation, there, for reasons understandable enough.

“You’d look goofy starting out anyway, because you haven’t done it before. It wouldn’t be in front of anyone else but maybe papa anyway.” Well the tailor didn’t seem to have plans on giving up trying to get them to do yoga together. He closed his eyes and let himself relax a bit more. “We shall, yes. Hm, I’ve only seen her a few times I think… Maybe she is just… busy.” François opened his eyes again, tilting his head backwards to look up at Matsuo. “I haven’t yet, I wanted to make their invitations special… I’m just… not sure how?” He felt a bit bad, trying to call them all the time, avoiding texting. He wanted to go visit them but often it was too much, it was still too much. There were so many people out here, it was overwhelming. Strange to think you could get used to your own confines so much that anything different felt scary. He pulled Max’s hand closer to himself. It was comfortable here in his shop with Max, papa, his cashiers and the few customers that came. The trip to Canada had been good, but overwhelming itself with the amount of people, the close proximity. It also worried him, that he couldn’t check on his classmates. Had to make sure they were safe, always. “I want to invite them all, I hope they will all come.” Wanted all of them to be there, be together again in person.

The Ex-Fencer waivers his head side to side for a moment, balancing the explanation in his head. “I guess so.” He mumbles. Of course, he hadn’t been against doing yoga in the first place, but he supposes it’s good to know he wouldn’t be in front of anyone. His ocean eyes flicker down to Fran as he goes into his thoughts. “Uuuhhhhhhh………….….. Well, maybe we can invite them through some sort of video chat thing. See them and all without actually being right fuckin’ there. I’m sure they will come, though, considering the situation.” He squeezes The Tailor’s hand gently for a moment, silent. Ah…. how surreal it all is. If someone told him something as joyous as this would ever happen to Matsuo, he would surely disbelieve it. “….. Fiancée’s a real pretty word, huh? A pretty word for a pretty fiancée like you.”

It had been… Something of a year, alright. Yoshiro had been mostly spending the time trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do now that he had barely any use for his first aid skills, anymore. As much as he hated that it had to be that way, saving people’s lives had made up his entire life. And it definitely wasn’t easy at all that he was able to… Well, live wasn’t exactly the word, he was dead, but survive forever, when he literally had no clue what to do in that time.

At least he was able to visit his dad. Even if… He wasn't…

Yoshi.app is booting up…

“Hey dad.”

He can see from his screen. His dad lies in a hospital bed, eyes closed, still breathing from what he could see. A nurse in the background leaves the room and closes the door, leaving him alone with his dad.

“First things first, like I say every single fucking time I visit, how fucking dare you get like this so soon after I come back from the fucking dead. I told you when I came back, you’re not allowed to die so soon.”

He pauses to consider what to talk about next. Seiichi? Lucian? The knowledge that he could pretty much live forever now that he’s digitalised? Damn, he was never good with one sided conversation.

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what’s going to happen to me next. In the next few fucking centuries that I may apparently be here. They’ll probably fucking delete me at some point, but…” He lightly shrugs. “I’m still going to be here for a while. And my first aid techniques will become fucking outdated with nobody to refine them on. Maybe I’ll just hang around Lucian. God knows that fucking idiot needs someone to watch over him.”

He feels a fond smile crawling onto his face. He’s way too attached to that guy. He shakes his head and lets out a sigh.

“But yeah. Maybe I could still teach people first aid while I can. Or help some other way. I’ve got until they decide to fucking delete me to think about it, right? And I have friends now to help me think about it. Lucian. Seiichi, when he comes to visit. Maybe even Sorrel.”

He focuses straight on the man in the hospital bed. His dad, who he had spent so much of his life trying to keep out of that damn hospital. Funny what happens when he dies. At least now he could… Try and do something about it.

“So… Wake up soon. The other option is death, and from personal experience, death isn’t fun. Besides… I fucking miss you, okay? So don’t just die on me here.”

Keiichi Ikuta leaned a tablet up in a stand and polished off the camera on the top of it. Around him sat a large meeting table with rolling chairs pulled up to it. For awhile, it was just him and the blank tablet.

He removed a chair from it’s space and took a seat, facing the screen, before he manually turned it on. A girl with shoulder-length baby blue hair turned around and grinned.

“Dad!! Hi! Oh! It seems I haven’t changed into a business outfit yet, sorry… I forgot there was a meeting today.”

Keiichi put his face into his palms, shoulders quivering. It had been a year, of course, but the smile, being called ‘dad,’ all of that… Being able to even see his daughter. It was like a miracle. To see her here and happy. “It’s ok, Kotori-chan. You’re like a face, I don’t think they’ll mind your outfit. I love you.” He lifted his head and smiled, before turning the tablet around to view the rest of the table.

The door creaked open, revealing a magenta-haired samurai entering the room. “Ikuta-sama…and, er, Ikuta-sama.” Takara greeted with a nervous if anticipatory smile. “Perhaps I should revert to calling you by your first name too, Kotori-chan… Would that be alright with you?”

If one were to compare the ex-SHSL Samurai with her class photo at the very start of her school year, they’d probably be surprised. The twintails she’d worn had been eschewed for a shorter side-braid, and she was wearing an all-too-familiar jacket over her crisp business suit. Didn’t hurt to dress too formal, did it?

“Yeah!! Kotori-chan is fine, Takara-chan!”

Kotori beamed, seemingly back to her previous cheerful behavior that she had held in the olden days, though she definitely held an air of someone wiser. Maybe a little less childish, too.

Keiichi, himself, smiled. His two proteges in one room, and other heads coming to meet them. “Hiiragi-san, would you like to take a seat over here?” He gestured to his other side. “I just want to formally introduce you both to the board, since you’ll be taking higher positions hopefully pretty soon.”

Kotori nodded with determination. Even a ghost, who’d been so willing to die just a year before, could find a reason to live.

“Of course.” She bowed, falling into old habits but coming back up with a pleased smile. Taking her seat, she sneaked a last glance at her phone in the few minutes they had left to spare, and sent off a quick reply to Chieko.

“What if we donated mass amounts of money to relief efforts?!” A man in an Italian suit stands up in the front of the press conference room. “Shouldn’t our donations be repaid?”

“I, uh… don’t think that’s how donations work, mister.” Hanami tapped her paws standing in a podium on a stage. Somehow, she had thought that if she were the one to speak, the crowds would be more receptive. She’d lost count of how many conferences she’d led where she had almost nothing but disrespect.

“The point is, making people into robots can cause problems, right? Some people might be harmless, but then if another Tatsuo Tomomi were to show up, the world—” She found herself cut off by a reporter who took a stand in the back.

“Aren’t you and your husband just the same?! You two both led one of those riot massacres, did you not?” his crew pointed a camera directly at her. As if the multiple microphones in front of her face weren’t intimidating enough.

She had wondered, from time to time, if being the speaker against AI production as the AI representative was the right choice. The idea had been if an AI who was forced to be an AI voiced against it, maybe others would follow suit. There was just… such a large population she hadn’t been able to get through to.

On top of that, her vocabulary wasn’t big, and she was in the form of a rabbit, and she was kinda sorta involved in one of the three massacres. She’d learned to hold her temper, and she was theoretically still decent at manipulating others, but it just… it didn’t work.

“I was 16 when I was forced to be an AI.” She lowered her voice. This wasn’t a new story, but she hadn’t recounted it in awhile. “16. My body was not done growing. I had all sorts of health issues. My less-than-ready mind was turned into artificial intelligence. That said, my body won’t ever grow, now. I’ll never have a fully developed brain. I’m stunted. I might learn and grow in other ways, but I’ll never be able to really be an adult.

“I can’t taste the foods I used to love before. I can’t drink tea. There’s a bunch of things I can’t do because of my form, ok? And I wouldn’t want anybody else to deal with that. I don’t want anybody with the wrong thoughts to become like this, either.” She sniffed, her eyes leaking. It was weird, how this body could cry.

“I know it doesn’t mean much to you coming from a kid, but, have you learned nothing over these past 2 years?” She pleaded to the crowd, pushing her paws together.

“Even if you don’t digitize minds for people, it’s been proven to be possible. Some other corporation will research it and make it possible. Go back to your murderer husband, you rodent.” A tall foreign woman in a middle row retorted.

Two weeks passed by, trapped with Tatsuo, but also together with those long lost, and some new faces as well. The head of the Tomomi Empire proved to be as taxing now as he ever was before, fully aware that there was no recourse to be taken against him lest he decide to retaliate by killing his fellow AI, he  caused as much annoyance and harm as he could muster. Finally however, Chikako Sonoda eventually pulled through, staying true to her word, and gaining control of him. Allowing Tomo to safely remove him from the servers completely. It was anticlimactic. The being that was behind the deaths of… all the AI, and so many more. Perhaps one of the greatest villains of humanity was defeated… And you were  still here.

That was a victory, perhaps the greatest victory you could have hoped for, but it wasn’t complete.

As the month the Resistance had given you came to an end, they finally managed to force their way into the tower, despite its many defenses. The survivors were rescued, and as promised, the AI was allowed to continue their lives on the servers here in Tomomi Tower. That of course caused somewhat of a stir. Despite their survival, they were still imprisoned, unable to leave… To see their family and friends, those they loved.

It wasn’t as though anyone could be welcomed within the building, to allow such a thing would be putting the lives of the AI in danger. Instead, three months after Tatsuo’s death, Anon developed an alternative. A small mobile platform. A device that would allow a single AI to be uploaded from the servers, but that could only communicate with the servers. The AI could never be permitted to escape into cyberspace. He had read enough crappy sci-fi novels to know how that would end… So this was the alternative he had to offer, and should someone circumvent his securities… The device would destroy itself, and the AI before they could cause harm.

It was harsh, but with what he’d seen the world was capable of… it was the only real option.

Kayo nodded. “Well then? It’s pretty reasonable, I think. We both get what we want, to an extent. Fair middle ground.”

“Tbh, all is fair in love and war, as they say. But I can get behind this. Just don’t keep thinking I’m some heartless backstabber, especially when my fuckin’ existence is stopping nukes.”

“We have a deal, then. Still can’t get inside the building yet, though, so yer on yer own. Assume the fuckwads know where to get food in there so it should be fine fer a month. Us gettin’ in shut down his control of the place so I think it’s pretty much sealed off til we stabilize everything.” Kayo sighed. “But we'll be watchin' ya, 'kay?”

“Don’t intend to cause trouble, tbh.” Walking back up to the monitor the camera is installed in, Chikako reaches to disconnect. “TTYL, we got work to do.”

So… that was it? You were saved? … With a month. You had a month to prepare yourself for either being saved or being obliterated. The choice seemed to be a sham, in the end, didn’t it? It was out of your control. You had no say in it, huh?

Then again, perhaps your hope bought you enough time, left you the chance to survive. The chance to survive with your deceased classmates, too.