Because every time you ask a question like that and I give a real answer, you hit me and lecture me on how I'm wrong.
[Which is kind of the point of this whole exercise, to show her that his answers are so different from hers because of his life experiences.
And he has a lot more he would like to say on the matter, but he holds back. Because he's so sure that Inaba isn't doing it on purpose.]
...sorry. I know you're not trying to start fights. That's why I wanted to show you all of this. I'm not so good at words, so I thought maybe showing you would answer your questions better than anything I could say.
[ She takes a deep breath in, and a deep breath out before speaking up, her voice low and her gaze not exactly meeting Atsushi's own. ]
To be honest, I just simply braced myself for disappointment. [ Her head raises towards the ceiling of the elevator as she folds her hands together, fiddling with her thumbs idly. ] It's less that you're wrong whenever you say things like that. . . and more--
It pisses me off that you have to actually think in a way, because I-
[ She shakes her head. ]
Never mind.
It's just that if I did say I had expectations, and if I did say them. . . I don't want you to just. . . agree with me or follow through with what I say for any reason. Anyway, are we there yet?
[He's silent for a while, listening to what she has to say. He's reasonably sure that he knows what she had wanted to say. "Why do you think you're so bad when I'm the bad one here?" And it's actually better that she stopped herself, because he has Feelings about her thoughts on that. But just as he has trouble getting over his own hangups, she's got to have trouble getting over her own, right?]
Blame Dazai-san. He's the one who insists on living at the top for of an 80-story building.
[No seriously, the elevator ride up is a good 3 minutes at least. Plenty of time for this conversation.
But then the door dings, and they can step out of the elevator and into a long hallway.]
[ She speaks quietly, just barely audible enough for him to hear. And while yes, she does have a lot of hangups and even considers herself as terrible at times, that surprisingly wasn't what she wanted to say!
Not that he'd know.
She sighs heavily before straightening herself out once she hears the sound of the elevator ping. ]
But if you're mentioning him, does that mean we're going to "meet" him. . .?
[ Because if that's the case, she needs to brace herself. ]
We are, yes. He's a big part of who I am today, so I wanted you to see him.
[She'll have a few moments to compose herself, as the door they're looking for is at the end of the hall. When they reach it, he puts his hand on the doorknob but looks to Inaba before opening it. Is she ready?]
[She's not going to die, Dazai doesn't just kill people like that. Usually.
But yes Atsushi will open the door, and in the office there is Dazai sitting at the desk on the far side of the room. But unlike the others Atsushi has shown, which weren't paying attention to either Atsushi or Inaba, Dazai is looking right at them.
This Dazai is different from the one in Prisma, too. In addition to the black suit and purple scarf, he has bandages covering his left eye.
Atsushi feels a bit intimidated, seeing Dazai like this, but he swallows his doubts and steps into the room. He's expecting Inaba to follow after him too.]
[ "You don't know that," she opens her mouth to retort but keeps her mouth shut instead. But she'll follow him with a stern look in her eyes, her gaze fixed seriously on Dazai while trying to keep her cool.
There's recognition in her eyes for a flicker of a second but she soon realizes that this is definitely different from that man she's only met once before.
Naturally, she remains silent, waiting for any responses as she decides to observe. To see what happens now. ]
[ Ah, she knew that this might be bad. . . which is why she just smiles in return, even if it doesn't reach her own eyes, taking a step in front of Atsushi as if to shield him. ]
Well, Atsushi [ she's putting the hard emphasis on calling him without any sort of honorific ] wanted to introduce me to you, Dazai-san. After all, it's not fair to just sleep with a cute guy like him and not meet his boss, don't you think?
[Atsushi is actually going to tense up and reach for Inaba's hand as he whispers harshly to her.]
Inaba, don't mouth off to him!
[The AI Dazai, for his part, makes a 'hmmmm' sound as he taps his chin.]
How interesting. Isn't it dangerous for you to be with anyone anyway? One slip up and, well, you know what happens then. How many of your crushes have you killed before in such a way, hmm? Are you just adding to your body count?
[Atsushi's eyes go wide, and that hand that's holding onto Inaba's wrist starts to tighten uncomfortably around it.]
[ She's warned not to 'mouth off' but a part of her decides that backing down is not an option right now. Inaba sees exactly what this AI version of his boss is trying to do, so she places her free hand on his hand that's around her wrist in an attempt to reassure him. ]
. . . I don't plan to die.
And even if that did happen, that would also be on me for being unable to prevent it. I won't allow one of the people I love to be sad for doing something like that.
I don't, no. But that's a better question for Atsushi-kun there, isn't it?
[And that's where Atsushi makes a gesture with his hand and abruptly shuts off the simulation he made. It looks like he didn't expect it to get like that.]
[Atsushi nods to Inaba, and he turns the program back on. This time they're right in the office, with Dazai smiling at them just as before. But this time, Atsushi is the one to speak up first.]
Dazai-san. This is Inaba. She's very important to me.
[As he did before, the Dazai program turns his attention to Inaba.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Which is kind of the point of this whole exercise, to show her that his answers are so different from hers because of his life experiences.
And he has a lot more he would like to say on the matter, but he holds back. Because he's so sure that Inaba isn't doing it on purpose.]
...sorry. I know you're not trying to start fights. That's why I wanted to show you all of this. I'm not so good at words, so I thought maybe showing you would answer your questions better than anything I could say.
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[ She takes a deep breath in, and a deep breath out before speaking up, her voice low and her gaze not exactly meeting Atsushi's own. ]
To be honest, I just simply braced myself for disappointment. [ Her head raises towards the ceiling of the elevator as she folds her hands together, fiddling with her thumbs idly. ] It's less that you're wrong whenever you say things like that. . . and more--
It pisses me off that you have to actually think in a way, because I-
[ She shakes her head. ]
Never mind.
It's just that if I did say I had expectations, and if I did say them. . . I don't want you to just. . . agree with me or follow through with what I say for any reason. Anyway, are we there yet?
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Blame Dazai-san. He's the one who insists on living at the top for of an 80-story building.
[No seriously, the elevator ride up is a good 3 minutes at least. Plenty of time for this conversation.
But then the door dings, and they can step out of the elevator and into a long hallway.]
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[ She speaks quietly, just barely audible enough for him to hear. And while yes, she does have a lot of hangups and even considers herself as terrible at times, that surprisingly wasn't what she wanted to say!
Not that he'd know.
She sighs heavily before straightening herself out once she hears the sound of the elevator ping. ]
But if you're mentioning him, does that mean we're going to "meet" him. . .?
[ Because if that's the case, she needs to brace herself. ]
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[She'll have a few moments to compose herself, as the door they're looking for is at the end of the hall. When they reach it, he puts his hand on the doorknob but looks to Inaba before opening it. Is she ready?]
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[ She pauses when she sees his hand on the doorknob, her voice quiet. ]
If things somehow go to shit in here, I'm immediately logging out, alright?
[ Even if it's virtual reality, she really doesn't want to die. ]
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[She's not going to die, Dazai doesn't just kill people like that. Usually.
But yes Atsushi will open the door, and in the office there is Dazai sitting at the desk on the far side of the room. But unlike the others Atsushi has shown, which weren't paying attention to either Atsushi or Inaba, Dazai is looking right at them.
This Dazai is different from the one in Prisma, too. In addition to the black suit and purple scarf, he has bandages covering his left eye.
Atsushi feels a bit intimidated, seeing Dazai like this, but he swallows his doubts and steps into the room. He's expecting Inaba to follow after him too.]
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There's recognition in her eyes for a flicker of a second but she soon realizes that this is definitely different from that man she's only met once before.
Naturally, she remains silent, waiting for any responses as she decides to observe. To see what happens now. ]
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[The computer Dazai says that with a smile and a friendly voice, all while wearing a smile that doesn't reach his exposed eye.
Meanwhile, Atsushi is sufficiently off-put by his own mental creation that Inaba can speak up first if she wants to.]
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Well, Atsushi [ she's putting the hard emphasis on calling him without any sort of honorific ] wanted to introduce me to you, Dazai-san. After all, it's not fair to just sleep with a cute guy like him and not meet his boss, don't you think?
[ I N A B A ]
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Inaba, don't mouth off to him!
[The AI Dazai, for his part, makes a 'hmmmm' sound as he taps his chin.]
How interesting. Isn't it dangerous for you to be with anyone anyway? One slip up and, well, you know what happens then. How many of your crushes have you killed before in such a way, hmm? Are you just adding to your body count?
[Atsushi's eyes go wide, and that hand that's holding onto Inaba's wrist starts to tighten uncomfortably around it.]
I-I-I-
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. . . I don't plan to die.
And even if that did happen, that would also be on me for being unable to prevent it. I won't allow one of the people I love to be sad for doing something like that.
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Oh? 'One of the people you love'?
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You got a problem with that?
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[And that's where Atsushi makes a gesture with his hand and abruptly shuts off the simulation he made. It looks like he didn't expect it to get like that.]
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[ She isn't really surprised that the simulation is cut off, although when she manages to get out and speak properly again to Atsushi— ]
Um, did I say something wrong?
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Dazai-san just gets really scary sometimes.
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I was just worried that maybe I shouldn't have said what I did just then.
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[And Atsushi is still intimidated by him, even if he's just a computer program.]
We can try again? I think I'm calmer now.
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Let's go.
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Dazai-san. This is Inaba. She's very important to me.
[As he did before, the Dazai program turns his attention to Inaba.]
Oh? Is that so?
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Well, best not to mention that potential problem. ]
. . .
[ She bows her head politely. ]
It's-- [...] nice to meet you, Dazai-san.
[ Honorifics on purpose here. ]
If he considers me to be important, I'll consider it an honor, although I couldn't tell you why myself.
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[It's not quite as venomous as before, but it's clear that Dazai isn't being particularly nice.]
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