[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia and [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color] [/center][/h2]
[center]Midgar- Sector 8, Detroit -> S.O.U. Building [/center]
[center]Lvl 9 (163/90) -> +5 Battle Reward Lvl 9 (171/90) [/center]
[center]Lvl 1 (4/10) -> +5 Worthy Opponent Lvl 2 (2/10) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 2,414 words[/center]
[center]Power Gained: -Kaja Suite: Zenkichi gains Tarukaja, Rakukaja, and Sukukaja, which can temporarily boost one ally's attack power, defense, or agility for a short period of time (roughly one minute). These buffs share a collective cooldown of one minute. [/center]


With the fight winding down with Chemtrail’s destruction, Zenkichi was finally allowed to get to his feet when Geralt sheathed his blade. While he was dusting himself off, Giovanna came over, gave a quick ‘This is much more important than you realize’ speech, and [i]gave him the address of their hideout[/i]. They really were trusting him on this. Unless it was a trap, of course, but the things he’d remembered…no, this…this was real. At least, as real as anything got here. Where even was here? Midgar? He’d never even heard of a city like this on Earth. They certainly didn’t have this kind of technology anywhere. 

No, this was real. He needed to….he needed to do a lot of things. Was Akane even safe? Would Konoe even consider Zenkichi a threat? Did he remember their real lives, before this place? And what was with that weird, hyphenated name? 

Shaking his head, Zenkichi sighed. [color=BFBFBF]“Yeah, I’ll be there.”[/color] He said, thoughts still going a mile a minute. Geralt, meanwhile, nodded at the Persona User and ran off with Giovanna and the other Seekers, taking the sky-rails away. 

Sighing and jogging from the scene of the crime, Zenkichi headed home with fears, worries, and a dozen half-baked plans in his mind. He had to make sure Akane was safe, first and foremost. 

[hr]
Things with Akane went…in a word, poorly. Not poorly enough that she wasn’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but suddenly explaining to your resentful daughter that you magically understood all of the issues she’d had with your behavior since your wife’s death and were now going to be the perfect hero of justice typically wasn’t met with cheers and immediate belief. No, Zenkichi knew that he’d have to earn his daughter's trust all over again, but he was willing to do that. What he was less willing to do was ignore the red glowing of her eyes, and the mutedness of…her everything. It disturbed him, and his first order of business was undoing whatever had been done to her. 

Or, well, getting Giovanna and Benedict and their new friends to do that. He just hoped it didn’t require getting as thoroughly thrashed as he’d been before that double sword guy had done whatever he did last night. Some of that was still blurry, hazy. A lot of things were, but other memories were much more clear, like the Phantom Thieves. God, was he worried about those damn kids, too. But he had to trust that they could take care of themselves. And, he had a vague recollection of one of the robots they had with them mentioning Joker, Panther, and others with similar powers. No way that was a coincidence, they must have run into the Thieves. 

So, as Zenkichi entered the SOU Hideout with his daughter in tow to see the assembled Seekers, Geralt included, he came out swinging. [color=BFBFBF]”Before I hear out [i]anything[/i] you are planning, you need to do whatever the hell it is you did to me for my daughter. Make her remember. Remember everything.”[/color] Akane’s reaction to this was, honestly, predictable: confusion and anger.

“I’m sorry, remember what exactly? How we had to move Districts after mom died so you could play cop and hide like a coward? And how are these…people…” Akane’s tirade cut off when she realized who exactly was in the room: Vernon Groubitz himself. “Dad? Why…why is he here? Isn’t he one of them?! They killed mom! You [i]just[/i] told me that these people would help us, but he’s ONE OF THEM!” Zenkichi desperately grabbed Akane’s shoulders as she tried to point at the former President, kneeling and looking into her eyes, trying not to cringe at the redness inside them. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Akane, honey, please, I need you to listen to me. These people know more about what’s happening in Midgar than anybody. I trust them. I trust Benedict. And…honestly, I don’t have much else left to do. I got demoted yesterday. This morning, technically. This…this is our last chance, Akane. To get justice for Aoi and for everybody else those bastards have hurt. Please. I know I’ve screwed up, over and over since she died…but I promise, this time is for real. Please, Akane.”[/color]

Clearing his throat, Geralt took a few steps forward. “Normally, removing Galeem’s influence requires…pain. Physical injury. I think we can get around it, though. Roxas, you managed to free somebody before without hurting them, right? With those…keyswords you have? I didn’t get a good glimpse, but would you be able to do it again?” In typical old man fashion, Geralt messed up the name of the Keyblades, but still got the jist of it. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not would remain a mystery. Thankfully, Roxas could do it, but he warned them that it wasn’t pleasant.

Akane looked around, realizing that these weren’t typical government types that her father had shacked up with, confused and a little scared. “W…what does he mean, dad? Why do they need a sword? Why…what’s going on?!” With the only options being her screw-up of a father and big, scary, armed people (including some robots, what looked like a kid only a few years older than her, and a weird floating person-thing), she defaulted to the one person she knew for protection. 

[color=BFBFBF]”It’s…complicated. And I don’t actually know all the details. It’s why I came here, to get more answers. But somebody is messing with our heads. Like Akane did before.”[/color] 

Expectedly to all but Zenkichi, this only confused Akane more, who was about to speak when Geralt cut her off. “I think it’s best we leave the explanations for after Roxas takes care of this. It’s…like mind control. You can’t understand that it’s being done to you until it’s over. She’s only going to get more upset and confused if we keep talking about it.” Geralt was speaking in a softer tone than the others were used to hearing from him, his paternal instincts on full display, unbeknownst to him. 

Akane, meanwhile, was nearing a full-blown panic attack, causing Zenkichi to hug her close, gently rubbing her back and rocking her side to side for a minute or two until  she calmed down, before standing up. [color=BFBFBF]”Alright. Let’s…do this, I guess.”[/color]

With a warning to hold her, and that things would get rough before it was done, Zenkichi stood behind his daughter, who started to thrash side to side when Roxas summoned Oathkeeper, and pressed it into her chest, causing a bright light to begin glowing from the point of contact. Akane cried out, causing Zenkichi to almost loosen his grip, but he doubled down, wrapping his arms tighter around her as she screamed and thrashed, and Geralt stood behind Roxas, ready to keep him up if the process proved as exhausting to the boy as it had been last time. The light grew brighter and brighter still, watering the eyes of all who looked on it.

After a short while, the light abated, and Akane slumped in her father’s arms, exhausted and panting, memories slowly coming back to her, while Roxas heaved a sigh and took a seat, a little winded but not much worse for wear all things considered. 

Zenkichi hefted Akane up in his arms and plopped her down in one of the chairs, taking a donut for each of them, and coffee for himself. [color=BFBFBF]”I’ll start with the bad news: I’ve been demoted to Petty Officer. My own fault. I got too focused on you all, and let the target I was following get away. They…it’s bad. They stole classified information and returned it to the Machines. Public Security thinks they’re gonna attack today. This morning. They’re planning to keep it under wraps and let DespoRHado take the blame. Disgusting…I can’t believe this is the justice I was fighting for. At least Japan wasn’t nearly this bad…but this damn city…it’s sick. It’s sick from the inside out. I still believe in the rule of law, but PubSec is compromised from the top down. Which brings me to another problem…Akira Konoe.”[/color] Zenkichi’s attitude became even more serious, if that were possible, and he put both hands on the table. 

[color=BFBFBF]”I don’t know, exactly, what Galeem did. But Konoe being in charge of this city’s police means nothing good. He’s…he thinks he’s a hero. That he’s leading people into a brighter future, that he’s their only hope. He was brainwashing people by the millions in Japan, along with a researcher of Cognitive Psience, Ichinose. I…don’t actually know if she’s here, or working with him, or what, but if she is…it could be bad. And I need you to understand that I am not understating this when I tell you how bad it is. They made a god. An honest-to-goodness god, that could control people’s hearts and minds if they weren’t a Persona user. It took all of us to beat that thing, and it wasn’t easy. Maybe Galeem’s worse, but…he can’t be trusted. Not with PubSec, not with Midgar’s safety. But…the message I got indicated that the Southern Undercities would be the most likely target of the attack And that’s the most important thing right now. Helping those people.”[/color]

Pushing up a little from the table, he looked around. [color=BFBFBF]”I’ve probably got more, but that’s all that’s coming to mind right now. Sorry.”[/color]

Geralt frowned, finishing the donut he’d taken. “Well, that makes two gods we have to kill then. Great. Gods I kill are usually a lot more local. Lot smaller, too.” 

[color=BFBFBF]”He’s not kidding, is he?”[/color] Zenkichi deadpanned. 

“Aren’t real gods. Monsters that fancy themselves gods, maybe. Monster hunter by trade. Mutated human called a Witcher. Fused with a couple Spirits a few days back, hence the claws, the height, the…weird things on my shoulders.” Geralt introduced himself.

[color=BFBFBF]”Uh…Public Security Investigator. From Japan. I have a Persona, called Valjean. It’s my inner self. The rebel in my heart, I think Mona called it?”[/color]

“Uh…huh. Alright, then. Big guy you summoned? So that’s not a Striker? You can just…do that?” Geralt asked. He never did learn too much from Joker and the others. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Well, normally they can only appear in a special Cognitive World, called the Metaverse, but whatever this Galeem did…made it all real. Unless this is somehow the Metaverse…would explain why people dissolve into those weird Spirit things when they die…”[/color]

“I’m not going to pretend to understand any of that, but don’t go around thinking this world is any less real than the one you came from. Our job is to help people.” Geralt scolded. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Oh, no! We, uh, only ever fought shadows really! Kind of..cognitive constructs. Intentionally killing a person’s shadow could kill them, but we didn’t do that. Murder isn’t our style. We stole their warped desires and freed their minds, giving people their conscience back and showing them the wrongs of their ways.”[/color] Zenkichi explained heroically.

“Sounds like mind control.” Geralt very bluntly retorted. “Tricky thing to mess around with. Not that I’m one to talk…” He muttered the last bit.

[color=BFBFBF]”Excuse you! Not mind control! We were freeing people from unhealthy psychological obsessions and traumas that were controlling their behaviors, letting them see past themselves to understand what their actions were doing! Everything after that was up to them! And we didn’t just do it to people we didn’t like, the Phantom Thieves only targeted people who were abusing their authority and harming people! Ugh, why am I even telling you people this…Joker’s gonna kill me…”[/color]

Geralt just chuckled at Zenkichi’s frantic defense of himself and the Phantom Thieves. “Relax. We already know them. Bit…guarded. Only ever use these odd names for themselves. But we’re on the same side, at least I think we are. They ran off last time our group all met up and we haven’t heard from them since, though it’s only been a day or two since then. Figure we’ll run into them again eventually.”

“Dad…did you just say you were a Phantom Thief? But the Phantom Thieves are so cool…” Akane mumbled from her seat, her donut finished and her mind still ringing from trying to mentally reconcile two lives. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Way to make your old man feel bad, Akane…”[/color] Zenkichi mumbled, slumping.

"If you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we still have the problem of being arrested if we try to do anything." Geralt grumbled halfheartedly, crossing his arms. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Uh, right, that. Sorry. So, as for starting your own agency, that...could [i]maybe[/i] work, and having a skilled hacker might let you break in and backdate some paperwork making it all official. I might've been demoted, but I'm still a Public Security officer, so I could head to the office and try and get you access somewhere, though it'll have to be quick. As for me and Benedict going AWOL, well...to be honest, I'm not sure if they've even noticed Benedict being gone, but if they have, they're not making it obvious. I'm not the only one who got demoted yesterday, so they've gotta have some candidates in mind to replace us if they're clearing house like this." [/color] Zenkichi stroked his stubble with his thumb and index finger, thinking. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Way I see it, I can make up some details, maybe blame my screw up on those gangsters you folks wiped out. Long as Khamsin doesn't try and clear the air, and I highly doubt he'd be caught dead answering to any PubSec investigators in any real capacity, I can keep my job for a few more days until they realize I'm actually going rogue. I'd prefer not to lose it completely, but...well, we've got bigger fish to fry right now. Though, I...gotta favor to ask. Is there somewhere safe for Akane to stay? This...isn't like before, where I was still technically in good standing with my bosses. If somebody gets wind that I'm working with you, I don't doubt that they'd go after her for a second. I already got threatened to back off my personal investigation before this."[/color] Zenkichi was really putting it all in their hands. 

Geralt frowned at that, though he couldn't blame the man: he'd gone to much greater lengths to make sure Ciri was okay. "Midna, those portals of yours...they go anywhere we can be [i]certain[/i] she'll be safe? Alcamoth would be better, but if it'd risk you going back through the Metro, we can't be sure if those cats are still after us or not."