A/N: Here's Chapter Four of "Artificial Friendships!" Please read, review, and enjoy!
Artificial Friendships!
Chapter Four: The Naegis Learn the Truth!
*Knock Knock*
"Kiki?"
"C-Coming, Dad!" Kiki hurriedly turned off the monitor and ran to the door, smiling awkwardly as she opened it ajar. "What is it?"
Though Makoto smiled at his daughter, his eyes shone with concern at her secretive state. "Your mom and I are gonna drop off your brothers and sister at Jii-chan and Baa-chan's befpre we head over to Aunt Komaru and Uncle Hajime's for a bit. You gonna be okay for a little bit by yourself?"
Makoto's worry only grew at the relief that practically radiated from Kiki's aura. "Yeah, Dad, I'll be okay. Tell Aunt Komaru and Uncle Hajime I said hi, okay? And tell Jii-chan and Baa-chan that I love them, won't you."
Makoto nodded. "Sure, we'll do that. Have fun, Kiki." Please, let that be all you're doing…
"Okay, bye, Dad." Kiki closed the door to her room, sighing in relief as she walked back to her computer and turned the monitor back on.
"Hey, didn't your parents teach you it's rude to hang up on people like that?" Junko teased as she reappeared on the screen.
"Sorry, but my dad was there." Kiki explained. "So, you wanna continue your explanation?"
"Eh, alright, I guess I can pick up where I left off. Just tell me where that was."
"Well…the last thing you said was…"
"Thanks for taking the kids, Mom." Makoto smiled gratefully at his mother, who smiled back at him.
"No problem, your father and I are always happy to have our grandchildren over." Hana's brow furrowed as she wondered "Where's Kiki, though? I'm surprised you didn't bring her over too."
Makoto and Kyoko glanced at each other, frowning before Makoto turned back to his mother. "We'll…explain later."
Kyoko nodded. "It's a bit complicated, so just please keep an eye of the others, okay?"
Hana frowned worriedly before she nodded. "Alright, I won't pry until you're ready to tell me."
Kyoko smiled gratefully as Makoto knelt before his three children. "Alright, your mother and I have an important errand to run. So make sure you behave for your grandmother, okay?"
"Hai." They collective chanted, nodding.
"Well then, shall we go?" Kyoko suggested before Makoto followed her out the door.
"…What are you thinking, Hajime?" Komaru asked hesitantly as Hajime bit his lip in dread.
"Hey hey, what is it, Hajime?" Chiaki asked, frowning in concern. "What did you find out?"
Hajime sighed, telling them "I'll…tell you guys when Makoto and Kyoko get here…I don't really want to give this news more than once if I can help it."
The trio fell into an uncomfortable silence as both of the girls tried to guess for themselves what Hajime had deduced. The tension was so palpable that it could have been cut by a butter knife.
*Ding Dong*
"Oh, they must be here!" Komaru exclaimed, volunteering "I'll go get them."
Hajime and Chiaki watched as Komaru walked out of the room without another word, leaving the two former lovers alone.
"Komaru!" Makoto greeted warmly as he wrapped his arms around his younger sister. "How're you and the baby doing?"
"Not that I'm not interested either, but I believe that catching up on Komaru's pregnancy can wait." Kyoko interjected before Komaru could open her mouth. "I believe you and Hajime said you had something important to tell us?"
Komaru frowned and nodded. "Yeah, this way."
Frowning at Komaru's subdued tone, Makoto and Kyoko followed their sister, their steps heavy with anxiety as they dreaded what Hajime had to tell them.
"Hajime."
The former Reserve Course student turned in his chair and smiled at the ex-detective. "Kyoko, Makoto, thanks for coming."
Kyoko nodded and inquired "What do you want to show us?"
"Right, to business then." Hajime frowned as he wheeled back to the computer, Makoto and Kyoko peering over his shoulders. "The other day, Komaru was on the computer when something strange appeared."
"Strange? What do you mean strange?" Makoto asked as his brow furrowed.
"Well…see for yourself."
At that moment, Chiaki's face appeared on the screen, yawning as she mumbled "Hey hey!"
Makoto and Kyoko's eyes widened in shock as Makoto stammered "Ch-Chiaki…? H-how is this possible? Y-you're…dead!"
Kyoko hummed as she cradled her chin in her palm, deep in concentration. "I don't think this is the actual Chiaki Nanami…this might be the AI based on her personality that we developed for the Neo World Program."
"B-But still!" Makoto objected "She was deleted; we saw Monokuma execute her!"
"So was Usami, and yet she reformed temporarily. It's possible the remains of her code reformed into a new entity somewhere in cyberspace."
Hajime nodded. "That's what I was thinking, too. When she appeared in our PC, she had lost a lot of her memories, possibly the result of her RAM being corrupted. She did say that she recalled that she was searching for an Izuru."
"Y-Your alter-ego?" Makoto pondered.
Hajime nodded as he continued "So, I used my Ultimate Programmer talent to try to reproduce her memory, though it took me all night to reformat her code."
"The poor guy was so dedicated that he fell asleep on the keyboard last night."
Hajime's cheeks flushed as he defended. "G-Give me a break! Just because I have every Ultimate Talent known to Hope's Peak, doesn't mean I'm not human. I get tired just like everyone else, and I haven't pulled an all-nighter in a while!"
Makoto and Kyoko sweatdropped as the husband and wife continued to teasingly bicker. "…Excuse me…" Chiaki's voice finally interrupted, breaking up the argument. "But weren't we talking about my missing memory…I think?"
Hajime and Komaru blushed as they averted their eyes. "Sorry, Chiaki…please continue." Hajime mumbled.
"Okay, so I don't have every memory of the Neo World Program…I do have some of them, just not everything my predecessor experienced…"
"Makes sense…" Makoto reasoned "…You're a new program, not just a copy of the one we created. It wouldn't make sense for you to have all of her memories."
"But I was able to recover my memories of when I was reformed." Makoto and Kyoko stared curiously at the screen as Chiaki answered "I saw this other girl-like program. I couldn't hear what she was saying at first…but when I got closer and more aware…I knew I had to stop what she was planning to do. So I tackled her, and we had a tussle before she kicked me away. I must have lost consciousness along with some of my code, because the next thing I knew I was waking up in this dark void."
"Chiaki, this other program…" Hajime took out his phone and scrolled through his photos before he tapped on one. "Did she happen to look like this at all?" He asked as he flipped the phone around.
That's Junko! Makoto and Kyoko realized with widened eyes as they saw the dread-inducing image.
Their dread only intensified as Chiaki's eyes brightened. "Yeah, that's her!"
"Wait, so Junko Enoshima's AI reformed too?!"
"…It must have happened around the same time…" Kyoko muttered, as she gritted her teeth anxiously.
Hajime nodded in agreement. "When I heard about Kiki's strange behavior, I started thinking, and this is just a hypothesis, but…" Hajime frowned grimly as he mused "…What if Junko made her way into Kiki's computer, just like Chiaki wound up in ours?"
"Ju-Junko's in my daughter's computer?!" Makoto nearly shrieked, officially panicking.
Though more reserved and in control of her emotions, Kyoko was in no less of a panic. "It…does make sense…if she met someone like Junko, and Junko pressured her to keep her existence a secret, then it explains perfectly why Kiki's been so closed-off and secretive lately."
"But…why…?" The pain and horror was evident in Makoto's voice as he muttered "…Kiki knows better than to keep secrets from us. So…why didn't she tell us…?"
"…It's likely Junko used some kind of false name to deceive her, and she's never seen what Junko looks like, so it's not out of the realm of plausibility to think that Junko would trick Kiki like that." Kyoko grimaced as she admitted "It just goes to show how manipulative Junko was, especially with kids."
"Yeah, she's especially good at manipulating kids…" Komaru agreed, frowning as she recalled the backstory of the former Warriors of Hope.
"So…what do we do…?" Makoto wondered. "If Junko managed to convince Kiki to not even tell us about her…will she even listen to us now?"
"I don't think she's been in contact for very long…" Kyoko commented hopefully. "So there might still be a chance she hasn't completely sunk her fangs into Kiki's mind. So we might be able to reason with her and inform her of the truth."
"Then let me help, too!" Surprised, everyone turned to Chiaki, whose eyes were narrowed in determination. "If Hajime can send me to Kiki's computer, I can confront Junko head-on and expose her for what she really is…I think."
"You…think you can do it, Hajime…?" Komaru asked hopefully.
Hajime hesitantly nodded. "Well…it's certainly possible; it's as simple as hacking into a computer and sending a trojan horse…but Chiaki…are you sure about this? She did fight you off last time…"
Chiaki smiled reassuringly and nodded. "I know the risks…but I can't just sit by and do nothing. Junko and I reformed together, so it's my responsibility to restrain her…I think. So if there's a way I can help protect a little girl from Junko's worst impulses…then I wanna help, no matter the cost!"
A moment of silence passed as Chiaki and Hajime stared intensely into each other's eyes. Hajime was the first to break off, sighing in concession. "Alright, I'll send you in while Makoto and Kyoko are en route to their house. Just be careful, okay?"
Chiaki giggled "Got it, just leave it to me…I think."
"Thanks, Chiaki." Makoto smiled gratefully. "If this works, I'll owe you one…you two as well." He amended as he glanced to Hajime and Komaru.
"Don't worry, guys! We'll make sure Junko's stopped before she causes any more damage!" Komaru assured them excitedly.
"Let's hope so." Kyoko nodded as she turned towards the door. "Now then…shall we go…?"
Makoto nodded and followed his wife out of the room, praying that this plan would stop Junko in her tracks before she succeeded in her despicable plan.