Author's Note: Another chapter! On FGO I got NP5 Passionlip, NP1 Melt, and NP5 BB! Not Kiara though… Oh well! Also Maxed out all the new Hakuno CEs. Anycase, enjoy the chapter everyone!
TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere: More Rani! We need more Rani! True, it was never stated that she wouldn't work with them on occasion or vice versa!
Xirons20: Perhaps.
Simple405: With Hakuno, we never know! She sure does love changing canon on us!
Engineer4Ever: Flirting without it being flirting.
Achen5041: Doubtful. Joker and Hakuno have separate Velvet Rooms. Igor specifically states to Hakuno that she has a 'parallel Velvet Room'. Likely it has something to do with the Moon Cell, that troublesome OP supercomputer.
Ramenblitz: Thanks! I really don't like how stories just randomly give powers or abilities of one universe to a character from another universe. So I always make it a solid point in my Digital Human Series to never do that. I also know that doing a complete adaption of a show is super boring, like, what's the point of fanfiction then!? Anyway, I'm enjoying Persona 3 Portable!
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 9: The Fate Which Still Remains
Hakuno Kishinami glanced out the window from her room, the gentle natural rhythm of rainfall beating against the building and the streets outside created a pleasant relaxed atmosphere. The magus girl knew that later today she would be visiting the Atlas Corporation's main building in Akihabara, an event that admittedly felt anxious about. But, Hakuno had every intention of heading there to meet with this world's counterpart of her friend, Rani.
Of course, hopefully, the rain will let up before then. But if not, she should look around at what clothing she had for this weather.
She glanced at her Portable Terminal, there weren't any messages from Rani or Makoto. It was almost disheartening, a reminder of how lonely she was without the nearby presence of a Servant to speak to her. For most of the Holy Grail War, she was surrounded by dozens of Masters to a grim few towards its end before… Nobody except for her Servant and friend… And the lifelike NPCs created by the Moon Cell to act as staff.
The teenage girl sighed, it was evidently clear that the Moon Cell's kill-or-be-killed tournament loomed over her mind even after its decisive end. She kept making comparisons of her time within the cyberspace to her experiences here.
It wasn't her fault, the war made nearly the entirety of her memories. There hadn't been much of anything else save for perhaps the vague false memories of a high-school student beseeched to Masters in the preliminary round.
These thoughts filled her mind when hadn't anything to do.
After all, no school today, weekend's end.
Perhaps she should head out, even if it is raining, it'll be quite a novel experience, and it wouldn't be an efficient use of free time to only do one specific thing until evening. There was plenty to do in the morning light rather than just sit around.
Not to mention, there was also the need to visit the Velvet Room to summon another Servant.
But the only entrance to the place was located near the school.
Hakuno Kishinami sighed and decided to leave her Private Room and head downstairs, after dressing a bit warmly with an overlay jacket and long skirt with knee-high pantyhose. Hakuno headed to the ground floor, glancing around for her guardian but instead spotted a note on the dining table, which she picked up and read through its content.
"She's gone for today," Hakuno said and placed the paper back down.
The magus girl grabbed hold of a moderately-sized umbrella, slipped on her shoes. and stepped outside. She unfolded the tool to cover from the rainfall, before proceeding to walk into the main streets of Yongenjaya.
A few minutes went by…
The beating of the rain against the man-made structures and the umbrella was unlike anything in the Moon Cell. The scents, sight, and sounds all worked together to create a very relaxing mood.
Well, until a sudden sound of thunder nearly caused her to jump. After that brief second scare, any following cracks didn't falter Hakuno.
She trekked down Yongen, noting a few establishments and oddities that had only passed her eye beforehand. Such as a batting cage, closed movie theatre, an old local store, and also the entryway into that odd clinic that Miss Yuyi spoke of.
Hakuno Kishinami didn't have any reason to head into a medical facility and hoped that she never would need too. She did have some basic first-aid knowledge to tend any minor injuries herself. Though, she recalled that the shadows may aim directly at her instead of her Servant. As quick or defensive a Heroic Spirit can be, they couldn't be everywhere at once.
It wasn't a guarantee that battles will be one against one, she will have to think about facing against increasingly larger groups. It wouldn't be easy, but she would improvise.
A chime noise of a doorbell signaled Hakuno Kishinami's entrance into Leblanc Cafe. The aroma of ground coffee beans saturated the air, leading the teenage girl to sit at the long wooden bar instead of the booths.
Did she come here at a whim? Perhaps hunger led her?
Well, Caster did say something about food being a way into a girl's heart…?
Wait, what did that even mean anyway?
"What can I do for you?" Leblanc's owner, Sojiro, asked. There were a few other customers, apparently, the place didn't receive that many people according to Miss Yuyi.
"Can I have curry and…" Hakuno trailed off for a moment. "Something light for coffee?"
She had no clue about coffee, her first experience with the beverage had been when Miss Yuyi brought her here.
"New to coffee?" Sojiro said. "I'll get you a blend I recommend for beginners."
"Thank you," The young girl replied.
Hakuno Kishinami glanced toward the sound of somebody coming down the stairs, it was the now familiar individual known as Ren Amamiya.
He briefly looked her way, acknowledging her presence within Leblanc, "Morning."
"Morning," Hakuno replied. "Do you work here?" She questioned out of curiosity
He nodded, "Part-time," Ren answered.
"That's nice, you heading out now?" She questioned. "Errands?"
"Of a sort," He replied. "Take care," He waved as he walked to leave the cafe.
"You too," Hakuno responded as she waited for her order.
Hakuno Kishinami looked at the closed school gate, the entryway into Shujin Academy, the lone girl looked out of place in the rain. But the magus had a reason to take the trams here, she turned around and walked down the small passageway and eventually spotted the doorway into the Velvet Room.
Without any other place to access it, outside of Mementos, this left Hakuno Kishinami without a choice in how to enter the strange area but having to head back here every time. It was inconvenient to be sure, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.
She took a breath and pushed open the entrance, stepping into the blue light and arriving mysteriously into the classroom design with multiple doors and a long window.
"Looks like you're here to receive more lessons!" The authoritative, childlike voice of Caroline exclaimed.
Justine stood up from a desk, holding a clipboard in her arm, "Welcome back to the Velvet Room, student. Do you have need of anything today?"
Hakuno Kishinami noted the absence of Igor, but wasn't surprised. The 'principle' of the Velvet Room had informed her of his limited availability.
The magus spoke up, "You mentioned restrictions?" She was curious as to the limitations forced on to her due to the Wakasa incident.
"That's correct!" Caroline said. "Due to your mess up, Justine and I have discussed and enforced numerous restrictions. The Alteration of the Heart, Ascension, Soul Attunement, Servants, Mystic Codes, and other functions will be limited to our discretion."
Justine continued for her sister, "While you may access the Velvet Room's features, as is your right as a student, what you may do will be limited to the boundaries we've set."
Hakuno titled her head, "What would I have to do to lift these?"
Caroline and Justine faltered for a moment, the former glancing back at a wall with a pink tint on her cheeks while the latter hid her face behind the clipboard she carried.
The magus girl blinked, "Is something wrong…?" She asked confused.
"Nothing's wrong!" Caroline retorted, facing her again. "Just… We were going over that!" The young child tapped her foot against a nearby desk, then glanced to Justine. "Hey, do you have anything?"
"I guess we can help the student improve?" Justine inquired.
"Isn't that what we've been doing anyway?" Caroline stated.
A few seconds passed before they nodded to each other in some silent agreement.
"Alright, listen," Caroline directed towards Hakuno Kishinami. "If you can prove to us by doing particular tasks, we'll lift a few restrictions. Maybe if you get your grades all the way up we'll even add something special."
"As Caroline said," Justine continued with a smile. "The first task is to increase your Confidants, once you've achieved a certain milestone, we'll inform you."
Hakuno nodded in agreement, it wouldn't be easy, especially considering she thought herself not a very charismatic person, "Alright, I'll try my best."
She's made a deal with her twin teachers…
Hakuno's vision was engulfed in a sea of flames, a strange sensation tugged at her heart.
I am thou, thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow
It shall become the circuit of hope that empowers thy will to survive
With the birth of the ALTER EGO Class, I have obtained the pool of mana that shall douse the flames of deletion to reveal new mysteries
The flames dimmed as the unknown feminine voice faded away, returning her vision to normality.
"Now, what do you need?" Caroline asked.
This was it, Hakuno Kishinami's first voluntary attempt at contracting a Heroic Spirit. Her prior experience in partnering with a Servant in the Moon Cell had been completely accidental.
It had been a call for help, a desperate cry against her approaching demise. The willful defiance of death.
"I'll like to summon a Servant," Hakuno said.
"Justine, you handle this!" Caroline pointed her ruler at the twin.
"Here is the Heroic Spirit Compendium," Justine walked closer, Hakuno remarked internally at the child's small figure even compared to her own stature. "Currently available Servant Classes are listed here."
Hakuno noted that the available Servant Classes were directly tied to the Confidants she currently had: Rider, Lancer, Alter Ego, and… Ruler?
She didn't have anything for Ruler, she was curious as to why it was available.
Also, what was an Alter Ego and Ruler Class? They certainly weren't the seven Servant Classes she'd seen in the Holy Grail War. Then again, Twice's Savior was also something else… Perhaps there were more but she hadn't the chance to meet them.
Hakuno didn't know what to expect later down the line and considering that Rani's parent was a candidate for something Metaverse-related, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to try an unconventional Servant. She didn't know why the counterpart of her Rani's professor had something to do with the strange realm… But it likely wasn't good.
"I want to summon the Ruler Class Servant," Hakuno stated.
"Step forward near the summoning circle," Justine opened the pathway.
The magus girl breathed in deep and exhaled as she walked in front of the mystical carving. Justine came to her side and suddenly poked Hakuno's hand with a needle, letting a drop of blood fall to the ground. Hakuno winced a bit from the sudden pain but didn't voice any argument, this was magecraft after all.
Her Portable Terminal made a chiming noise. An emotionless, robotic voice escaped it.
[Inheritor Input Accepted.]
[Activating Summoning Matrix]
[Desiginating Specific Servant Class Container.]
[Summoning…]
The circle lit up with light, blinding Hakuno for a brief moment and forced her hand to cover her eyes.
Her magic circuits surged with od, inner magical energy.
She felt a connection to a new contract just as the light dimmed.
Hakuno Kishinami looked back at the summoning circle.
There was a humanoid figure, a white man standing over one-hundred and ninety centimeters tall, a boggling height that dwarfed the female Master. His black hair was covered by a white cap with a golden J attached to its front top. A pair of blue eyes nearly covered in the shadow by the hat, a long white trenchcoat and pants covered his entire body save for the open coat's center revealing a high-collared undershirt and a buckled strap going diagonally across.
He reached up to his cap, lifting it only a bit to allow him to gaze at Hakuno Kishinami, a brief examination that lasted only a moment before he shook his head.
"Good grief, you've gotten wrapped up in all this," His voice was deep. "I guess I'll have to stick around. Right, I'm Kujo, Jotaro. Ruler Class."
"Hakuno Kishinami, I'm the Master," She introduced herself in proper manners. "Thank you for answering my call?"
A soundable click echoed in the room followed the opening of a Path's doorway.
"Good job, student," Caroline complimented. "Servant summoning successful."
Justine nodded, "The Path of Culmination had also opened. Your Servant will rest there until you call from within the Metaverse."
"I'll put you as active," Hakuno said to the male Heroic Spirit. "Please take care of me."
"I'll get accommodated to my new room," He spoke. "I also need to know more about what's occurring. This Moon Cell only provided a bare minimum."
Hakuno nodded, "I've been writing a journal of the information so far. I'll make a copy for you." It was best to get him and any future Servants filled in with how the Metaverse worked for them and their Master.
He pulled down his cap and walked into the recently opened door, vanishing behind the dark void that obscured any view into its contents.
Another chimed echoed from her Portable Terminal, but she recognized this one as the timer alert.
She should be heading to the Altas Corporation building now.
"I'll visit later, please excuse me!" Hakuno said and proceeded to leave the Velvet Room.
Hopefully, she can learn more at Altas Corporation.