Author's Note: This is likely the last story of the Digital Human Series. Likely, but not set in stone. I've wanted to do a concept like this since I decided to make it a series but never had a story idea to fit so well until now. Yes, people, this is a Persona 5 Crossover!
But of quite a different take, now, let us watch as Hakuno Kishinami proceeds with her quest to prevent the flame from devouring her, to halt a deletion of her person.
THIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS for Persona 5 and Fate/Extra.
What lies in the body, the heart, and the soul? Are they but physical and metaphysical? The flame caused by her actions now seeks to devour her, but the road to her deletion is yet to be paved. Can this Digital Human change her path?
Digital/Culmination
Chapter 1: Inbetween
A massive flame that engulfed a city, ashes to ash, rain to stone, steam to smog, all coming together to a series of events that which she had awoken too after the dreaded path's end on the moon, within the core of the artifact stretched before reality. A terrible sight, plagued by death and the warring nature of humanity, observed through the ages by the object circling the Earth.
The sixteen-year-old brown-headed girl awoke inside a classroom, which's floorboards and walls were painted in the octagon design of the Moon Cell's datascape. Her eyes glance to a wide window, which's outside was only a picture of fire, a desolate city, yet with a sky that sparkled with dim starlight across that scarred picture lacking a covering blanket of clouds.
She briefly examined herself, a plain brown academy uniform garbed her slim, small figure. Her white skin unblemished by acts the girl knows to have done and a mobile-like device that remained in her pocket, a Private Terminal.
Once again, her eyes trailed to the surroundings, there was a series of closed doors on the right side of the classroom, where it contrasted the windows on the left that shown only its dreaded images. Finally, a line of school desks that separated the room in two, she stood alone on one side where behind lay an assortment of the chairs and tables arranged in a makeshift bed.
It all had the eerily appearance of the Private Room in the Moon Holy Grail War.
On the other side, a large desk stood in the middle, there sat a strange individual in business attire, his face seemingly malformed with an elongated nose and pitched widened eyes. He was slouched yet sitting in a professional manner, observing her every action with a critical eye.
Then, as if knowing he had the young girl's attention, spoke.
"My, my, a potential guide of humanity stands before me. A lost individual born of the near moon."
She blinked in confusion.
"Welcome, Hakuno Kishinami. This is the Velvet Room, a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter, and for your case, a parallel trunk between a multitude of branches."
"Velvet Room...?" She questioned.
This wasn't in the Moon Cell?
He continued, "All that you see around you represents the state of your heart. As you can tell, the outside exterior lit aflame speaks volume of the closing deletion that awaits."
He chuckled, "There is much work to be done if you are to avoid it consuming you."
Hakuno didn't understand, question upon question piled in her head, asking how, why, and for what purpose did this all mean? What did this stranger mean by avoiding deletion? Was not a moment ago, she faced such demise within the Moon Cell's Core? The fault of her very being as a self-aware artificial intelligence given life as a Master in the Holy Grail War?
Did there exist a way for a Digital Human to avoid such a grim fate as her erasure from existence?
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I am Igor, in the pretext of our surroundings, you can call me the Principal that will guide you on the path to enlightenment," He uncupped his closed hands and pointed each to either side of his desk.
It was then Hakuno Kishinami had noticed the presence of two children, identical twin girls, each a years younger than herself and both garbed in the attire of a teacher's uniformed clothing. Their pale skin and golden eyes gave a mystifying appearance that matched with the blue paint that decorated the entirety of the classroom. The key difference in appearance being their hairstyles, one in a braided ponytail, the other in a duo bun.
"And them…?" Hakuno asked.
"Girls, introduce yourselves," Igor ordered.
"I am Justine, a teacher in service of our master," The girl with the braided ponytail said in a subdued tone.
"Caroline! You best remember it, student!" The other bun-haired child shouted with authority.
Teacher… Student…?
He did mention in the pretext of this place, which also according to Igor, represented the state of her heart? It must relate to a more metaphysical interpretation of the term, a source of personality and feeling, where logic and emotion intwine to form her character, the source of her cognitive being.
As a magus, such terminology wasn't beyond her comprehension. Rin and Rani had used different words to describe mystical arts conducted using digital magecraft via the transference of souls into the Moon Cell's deeper layers by use of magic circuits.
A mouthful of information, but relevant.
Still, something felt off…
She narrowed her eyes at the two twins.
"I see you have noticed," Igor nodded. "But there is little I can do, my power has been mostly subdued for now as the game progresses. But it seems your unique nature and the connection to the lunar entity has allowed us to meet."
"Subdued…?" Hakuno said.
The twins' attention seemed glossed over; as if they could not hear everything that Igor has said, only bits and pieces, like their attention was divided between two places at the same time.
"Your presence has opened a new road, but you lack the experience needed. Fortunately, there is still time to nurture your strength, as the Trickster has only recently awakened. The moon observatory has granted you access to this parallel Velvet Room, but it lacks much, functions that shall appear with due time."
"I do not understand," Hakuno said.
"Unfortunately our time is fleeting, there is only so many times I will be able to appear before you. But the girls shall assist you," He said.
The chime of a bell signaling the school day's end echoed.
She felt very tired all the sudden.
Caroline suddenly spoke, "Looks like your class period is over, student!"
"It is time for you to awaken in the real world," Justine said.
"Your Private Terminal shall serve as the key to this parallel Velvet Room, use it wisely," Igor spoke. "Until we meet again, Inheritor of the Moon Cell."
Hakuno's vision was encased in darkness as she fell into slumber on the makeshift desk bed…
A physical motion shook Hakuno Kishinami awake and she opened her eyes to see the elderly figure of a woman above her, the magus girl was immediately confused, not only because of this strange but also her newfound surroundings similar to a proper bedroom.
"Hakuno, dear, it's a bit late in the morning to continue sleeping," The elderly lady spoke. "We have to get you situated in your new school today."
"Huh…?" Hakuno said as she pushed herself upright. She took immediate notice that her usual brown academy attire had taken on a black coloration and its prior symbol had changed entirely.
"Did you sleep in your school uniform? You were that excited and still slept in late?" The elder questioned.
"Sorry…" She apologized, still confused. "I'll be ready shortly."
"Meet me downstairs when you're ready, dear," The woman stated as she turned and vanished behind a door leading to a hallway.
Now alone, Hakuno Kishinami stood upright out of the bed she'd apparently slept in. She had to gather her bearings, there were many questions and few answers, best gather information as to what occurred in order to make sense of events.
So what had happened so far?
She had become the victor of the Holy Grail War, defeated Twice H. Pieceman and entered the Moon Cell's Core. There, before her closing deletion, had made her wish to halt the Holy Grail Wars from occurring ever again, sent a message to her friend, and then awaited her erasure.
Only the latter hadn't happened, instead, she had some strange dream sequence and awoke in an unknown household.
She patted across her uniform, the familiar shape of a rectangular device caught her attention and she pulled it forth to reveal the Private Terminal. A device given to Masters in the Holy Grail War to aid in information management and be informed of announcements. It took the shape of a smartphone device.
Hakuno set it aside on a nearby nightstand, her eyes examined the room around her. It was a rather simple place, the walls were painted a pleasant brown hue that matched with her hair, the wooden floor was well-kept and the decoration around her befitted what society expected of a girl her age.
It was like this place actually belonged to her original counterpart, the real Hakuno Kishinami on Earth instead of the digital recreation that she is…
Wait, was she on Earth?
Did… Did she take over her counterpart's body?
Her magic circuits switched on, channeling inner magical energy, od.
So, she still had her magic circuits.
"Code Cast: View Status," She spoke the magecraft on her person.
It denied her prior assumption, her body was still an entity of data, a Digital Human as it were the term she'd used to define what she was. Besides, if that wasn't the case, then Hakuno would not have been able to use Code Casts without a digital medium.
Her magic circuits switched off, returning to a prior state.
Hakuno noted the dulled dormant Command Spells on her left hand, of course, she should have just checked for them in the first place for her answer beforehand, now she felt a bit silly.
She shook her head.
Well, best start off by writing down what she knew and continue along until she figured something out.
The magus grabbed hold of the Private Terminal again and turned the device on. She was immediately greeted by a slightly changed menu, new options had appeared on it titled 'Velvet Room' and 'Metanav'.
She dared not experiment with them right now, instead opened her personal journal application.
"Let's see what I should write…"
After finishing, she slipped it back into her pocket. Hakuno walked to the nearby mirror and tidied herself up, smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothing and brushed her hair. Satisfied, Hakuno Kishinami left the confines of her newly classified 'Private Room' and into the hallway, the staircase right next to her room allowed her to traverse down it soon after.
Hakuno heard voices as she approached the lower floor, she stopped herself short of being in view and listened in.
The voice of a young man was speaking, "So you won't be able to provide the money right now? That's fine, I can hold off a bit. Though I am curious as to what happened, you were fine a few days ago, Miss Yuyi?" The tone was rather nice, but it seemed a bit off in Hakuno's head.
As if it was false.
In reply, the voice of the elderly lady responded, now Hakuno knew part of her name, Miss Yuyi.
"Sorry, Wakasa. But my granddaughter has moved in recently, I'm going to have to redo my financial list."
Granddaughter?
Did Yuyi mean her?
Was this some sort of hypnotism done to the elderly woman to alter memory and perception of Hakuno? Rin Tohsaka had mentioned how hypnotism had been used to conceal magic on Earth in the past.
"I understand, then I'll speak to you at a later point," The sound of movement echoed but faded with each passing moment. "Until later, Miss Yuyi!"
"Goodbye, young Wakasa," Yuyi replied.
The sound of a door closing indicated the man was gone.
How should she refer to Yuyi as?
Perhaps in a comfortable manner, Hakuno didn't want to feel bad and Miss Yuyi didn't seem like a bad person.
"Grandmother," Hakuno spoke aloud as she revealed herself, the words coming from her mouth felt so odd to say. It wasn't like she had any sort of parental figure before.
"Hakuno, dear," She looked positively ecstatic to see her. "I see you are prepared, did you settle in nicely? I know Yongen-jaja isn't too far from Odaiba but you can get lost."
Now that Hakuno Kishinami had a decent view of Miss Yuji, the woman's dress was rather well done, well-kept and sporting plain colors with a few decorative symbols. Her age was likely somewhere in the sixties, evidence by the weariness apparent on her body. Hakuno noted that she seemed to have lived alone beforehand.
Also she's in Yongen-jaja? Does that mean in Japan?
"I'm fine, I can use GPS if I get lost," Hakuno replied, knowing she could easily use the Private Terminal's mapping software to her advantage. "Though it would be nice to know things around here?"
"I'll give you a local map, it has all my favorite places highlighted!" Yuyi chuckled a bit. "If you feel sick, head to the local clinic, as for something to relax there is the Leblanc Cafe, the coffee and curry is simply divine, dear."
"Okay, I'll check them out later…" Hakuno trailed off.
"Oh, we best get going! I'm sure you'll want a tour of your school before starting. Also to meet your teachers!"
"What's the school name, again?"
"Shujin Academy."
It was the quite different chance of pace for Hakuno Kishinami. Shuji Academy didn't have the same expansive area as the one within the Moon Cell, making it feel more compact and busy with its equal or greater amount of students what went to-and-fro class periods. They had arrived at the lunch break, so Hakuno found herself being the center of attention for some students, either due to her being a new face or being accompanied by Miss Yuyi.
They had made a straight walk into the school's Principal Office. There at the desk was a rather large man of particular girth, overweight and dressed in a professional manner of a light tan suit. He looked at them with a smile.
"Mr. Kobayakawa," Yuyi greeted. "My granddaughter, Hakuno Kishinami," She introduced.
"Ah, yes, it's a pleasure having such an esteemed honor student transfer to Shujin Academy," Kobayakawa said. "Here at Shuji Academy we'll further develop your gifts and provide you ample opportunity for growth as an adult."
Hakuno bowed in respect, "Thank you, please take care of me."
The door opened behind them, revealing a rather fit tanned-skinned man with black messy hair dressed in a gym shirt and jeans, a timer and pen hung around his neck with a string.
"Mr. Kamoshida," The Principle spoke. "Hakuno, this is our volleyball coach."
"Please to meet you," Hakuno said. "I'm Hakuno Kishinami."
"Yes, I'm pleased to meet you too, Kishinami!" He replied with a bright cheery smile.
It felt wrong.
"How about you give our newest transfer student a tour of the school grounds while I converse with he guardian?" The Principle suggested.
"I'm glad too," Kamoshida responded, opening the door for her. "I'll guide you around."
"Okay," Hakuno replied.
She left the office and Kamoshida immediately began retelling stories about Shujin Academy, all its rewards and benefits, but mentioning nothing in a negative light. He guided her through each floor, mentioning in passing how she was transferred as a second year into the school. His eyes were occasional glance over her as if to check she was still listening, but they had a strange look to it.
Like he was eyeing her, he hid it well, but she was experienced at noticing small details.
"You know, Hakuno, I say you'll do rather well in the volleyball team," He stated.
"Like hell, you'll just say that!" A sudden voice of a boy with bright blond hair shouted. "You just want another one to molest!"
Hakuno looked at the boy in question, his uniform was rugged and purposely altered to give a rebellious look.
"Ryuji Sakamoto, those are some serious accusations. I'm a respected teacher in this Academy, of course, someone like you would say such things," Kamoshida's disdain was apparent. "Don't be concerned for that boy's words," He sweet talked to Hakuno. "I'm sure you'll be great."
"Don't ignore me you bastard," Ryuji stepped forward but was halted by a hand from another, black-haired boy who shook his head. He seemed averse to his friend's decision, "But, she's new?
"Yes, that means she shouldn't interact with a rebel and a criminal record holder," Kamoshida stated. "Run along now, I have to give Kishinami her tour."
Hakuno Kishinami could feel the tension between these two sides, there was a history there and it wasn't a kind one. She had already been a bit wary of Kamoshida, but the sudden accusation by the boy further solidified her assumption about the coach's true nature. She'd have to watch herself, but there wasn't any reason to head with the boy either or his companion if they had a bad reputation.
The magus girl didn't hold it against them, but she was just here for a tour, her time was limited as is until Miss Yuyi finished.
"I'm fine," Hakuno said with a passing glance towards them, then at Kamoshida. "Thank you for the offer, sir, but I'm not too interested in sports. I'm more of a reader."
She did see the library they'd passed by earlier, couldn't contain a bit of excitement at checking it out tomorrow.
The blonde boy did seem to be a bit calmer after her statement, "Whatever, Kamoshida," He grunted then looked to his companion. "Come on, let's head somewhere else."
As they left, Kamoshida said to Hakuno, "You are best to avoid them, they are bad influences around here. If they give you any trouble, just come to me, alright?"
"Okay," Hakuno lied.
She had no intention of interacting with either them or Kamoshida.
"Let's finish the tour then, Miss Kishinami."
Hakuno Kishinami slumped on her single bed, exhausted from the day's events, it had been hours since she left and touring around the school grounds had made her a bit weary. Already the girl appreciated the comfort of having actual sleeping furniture instead of makeshift desks like in the Moon Cell. She rolled over, her eyes trailing to the ceiling, the only light being the sunlight coming from the window.
Her supposed guardian, 'Grandmother' Yuyi, had already left the premise to go shopping in Shibuya. She had informed Hakuno that she can journey outside, but should return before evening hours. Hakuno didn't have the intention of heading out just yet, as she wanted to experiment with the applications on her Private Terminal.
She pulled out the device, sitting back up and letting her legs dangle over the bedside. Hakuno Kishinami put a finger over the 'Metanav' application, hesitating slightly on tapping it, but decided to do so.
The word 'meta' had a variety of different meanings, putting it alongside a shortened version of 'navigation' made it very strange.
Speaking of it, the application seems to require certain information. But there seems to be a generalized location that was already available to her, out of curiosity, she activated it.
["Beginning navigation to the Mementos."] A feminine voice rang from her Private Terminal.
"Huh?" Hakuno questioned.
The world changed to a shade of red and black…