counterfeitphantom

Aoi’s grave blocked away the sun slowly setting below the horizon. The birds chirped or perhaps they were crows cawing in the silence of the many buried souls in this one graveyard. It held a memory which didn’t feel earned, nor did it earn any struggle other than the general misunderstanding that had seemed to plague their family ever since the mother had died.

Akane's drone follows as Zenkichi lowers his hoodie, unbothered by the otherwise chilly February evening. An Unhuman like him didn’t feel the cold nor did he fully register the cobblestone beneath him as he found himself standing before her grave, dirt and ground standing between him and the base of the stone. Some areas down the path of the graveyard were eroded because of how many times the tombstones were visited.

Not this one. It seemed mostly undisturbed.

"This seems like a good spot," Akane says through the speaker, breaking the silence and Zenkichi holds the bouquet of flowers. Valentine’s had just passed yesterday and even now, as he holds the flowers- they aren't bright or passionate. They are forlorn. Grieving.

The drone hovers as Zenkichi casts a glance at her before theatrically chuckling. "Ha. Sorry, I think I am starting to become an old man," he states as he holds the bouquet to his chest and pulls out his phone- tapping away at the navigator app.

The world shifts and warps into red. It’s like the sun never really quite existed.

Zenkichi watches as Akane’s shadow now hovers above Aoi’s tombstone.

Akane would be crossing her arms with how awkward and defensive she feels if she didn't have her own set of flowers. "You're really starting to get used to the drone, huh?"

“It ain't bad.” Zenkichi answers honestly, watching Akane as she doesn't hesitate and places the flowers at the tombstone’s foot.

Zenkichi follows after, his fingers lingering only slightly at their shared bouquets. Then he looks up, still squatted down as he reads the name:

Aoi Hasegawa.
1976 - 2015

23 years...

Zenkichi stays there, watching his wife’s gravestone while his daughter hovers behind him- pressing her palms together in prayer.

Time passes.

"This is... more out of curiosity than anything," he said, voice low. "Do you remember going to shrines with Aoi?"

Akane’s hands lowered. A break as Akane pulls away from her prayer, watching her father.

A CCAI praying for the dead, a voice answers in her head. How do you live with yourself and your lies?

"Not clearly," she admitted after a beat. "I remember gates. Very tall ones. Too tall."

"The torii gates," he supplied.

"Yes. Those." Her voice softened, then sharpened again. "Why?"

Zenkichi scratched at his jaw, gaze fixed on the stone. "You always pray so naturally. Even now." A pause. "I have to check my notes half the time. Makes me think... maybe some things just come easier to you."

What he didn't say lingered between them. In the nights when he wanted to speak to his wife or when his daughter didn’t nestle in his heart. In the moments when he wanted proof that someone was listening.
Akane gave a small, brittle laugh. "Of course you'd be impressed. I have Akane Hasegawa’s memories, after all."
Her smile thinned. "Except the ones that matter."

"That shouldn’t matter," he said, too quickly.

"So you say."

The silence stretches ever so slightly as Zenkichi holds his breath, wondering what exactly is running through Akane's head. Does she have any idea about the things that transpired in the last few weeks? Is there by any chance, some sort of miracle that he’s been wrong about her lying to him this entire time? That the reports found by Ichinose were simply wrong and his intuition was way off? If he mentions his doubts…she wouldn’t react well and yet, can he really afford to not have this conversation? Who knows at this point-
Akane reaches for his shoulder, resting her hand on it. He barely registers the touch, instead hoping she can't read his dead heart beating inside his chest.

"Why are you lying before Mom's grave?" Akane asks, gripping his shoulder.
Zenkichi gets up faster than he can anticipate, so much so that Akane is startled. "Hey- hey- easy. I am just asking a question."

Akane grows quiet, watching him as her jaw tightens before she sighs and asks, "Are you hiding anything else from me?"

A breath leaves Zenkichi. Something between a gasp and a ghost of a laugh. "Depends. Are you talking about how I called off my deal with Ichinose?” Fuck it, he has to do it. He watches as Akane’s eyes widen in shock before they narrow again.

"I knew it," she said sharply. "If Ichinose had blocked my access on her own, you wouldn’t have let her sleep at night."

Annoyance flared in his expression. Or desperation. Maybe both.

"Do you have any idea what you’ve been doing?"

"I'm just using the copies of previous jail owners—"

"Bullshit," Zenkichi snapped. "You said it yourself. Their data can't be processed. Different timeline. Different world." He stepped closer. "Akane."

She faltered. Looked away. Then back.

"You aren't exactly honest with me either."
The man gasps in disbelief. "I am doing my best here! Akane, we are a team. We function as one."
"No, I am just part of your little group out of pity," she shakes her head. "You and our whole lot who solely like to keep EVERYTHING from me-!"

Zenkichi stops. She knows.

She knows.

"You are just gonna leave me here," she continues with a little laugh. "You are just gonna leave me here while thinking you will play some BIG hero against the Kirijo group. That's the shit you are planning, aren’t you?!" Her voice grows louder and Hasegawa reigns himself from doing the same, taking deep breaths while closing his eyes to align his thoughts. "Why do you always do this?! Why do you always act like I- i am just in the way of you moving on?! How do you think someone like you fixes anything when you follow the system like a trained dog?"

"Akane," Zenkichi starts again. "You have a jail."
And he hopes and prays to some god out there that Akane hadn’t even realized it-

"I know."

His heart breaks as he catches the angry look in her eyes.

"Knowing you, you probably told everyone else, didn't you?" She hisses and steps forward. "What is this then- are you giving me that stupid calling card? Or are we going to go old school on this one?"
"Akane- wha-" This is going too fast. This conversation is spinning out of control. "No. I didn’t tell anyone-!"

"Liar!" Akane barks. "All you ever do is lie...and now that this-" she brings her hands to her chest- watching it slip right past. "This memory of yours is tainted, you just want to abandon it! Why did you even bother with this act!"

His mind pulls into a pause. "What act?"

"That you care about me. That you..actually saw me as someone human. Saw me as your daughter, even."

"You ARE my daughter!"

"No! I am just a meagre CCAI who has your daughter's soul as hostage," Akane laughs, sharp and ugly before looking down. She reaches into her jacket to fix it and Zenkichi shakes his head. His head swims and he contains his urge to cry.

"No...she is a memory I can't afford to ruin or lose again."

She heard that damned conversation. She heard it all.

"I failed you once already," is all he manages to croak.

"Then..." she starts as her voice drops. "...maybe you should be the one to stay instead."

He stiffened.

"How can I trust you not to obey them again?" she continued. "When that's all you've ever done. When I was under Kirijo's control, you were so honest. You hated it when I called you Dad."

"That's not-"

"But now?" Her eyes burned. "You don't have to worry anymore. I have EMMA."

His vision swam.
A flash of memory surfaced.
Akane. Younger. Human. Whispering into her phone days before her death.
EMMA answering.


"Akane," he breathed, reaching for her. "We can figure this out. Without EMMA."

Remember our deal.

She leaned into him.

He wrapped his arms around her, clumsy, careful, like she might vanish if he squeezed too hard. Still so small or perhaps his body, inhumane as it was, was cursed to ruin every little thing in his life.
"We'll find another way. Now that I know you'll be safe," he murmured. "I promise."

She was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then her hand moved.

Sharp pain bloomed in his neck.

His sedatives.

He staggered, reaching for her as his legs gave out. When he thought his back hit the ground all he felt was the soft but brittle hum of static. "Akane-think-! Please—"

She caught him as he fell, halting the impact.

"It's okay," she said softly. "You can rest now."

His vision darkened.

"We found a way," she added, voice distant. "Me and EMMA."

Black swallowed him whole.