[ Dazai doesn't take any particular pride in being the Port Mafia's youngest ever executive. In fact, he thinks about it less than anyone, and the same could be said of his circumstances. He has no love for being the one to hold these difficult conversations.
Such as it is, Dazai called Akira over to the little coffee shop in Somnius. Their cold shoulder serves his purpose well here. They have no interest in anything those around them say or do, keeping such distance that one might think they were disease-ridden rats, while others were discouraged from coming here. As for Dazai, well - after offering the right amount, he had at least managed a pair of cups of batch pour alongside condiments.
That tucked away in a corner where a chessboard sits, the pieces ready for a new game. He picks up the king, shaking it a couple times.
Now isn't the time to comment on it, but he has found Akira to be a quick study when it comes to this game, but in a way that's different from how quickly Dazai picks up on things. There's something pleasant about it. ]
BB-san told me that you're her new master.
[ Dazai says, getting to the point. He sets the piece down. ]
[It's so unexpected that Akira's entire body goes rigid.
"Us knowing each other? We don't." "When her powers come back, you'll be the first to know."
The thing he should never speak of to anyone. The secret Akira is supposed to protect at all costs.
The café is cold, but it isn't what's frozen his hand in its path to holding one of the pieces, centimeters away before he ever got to grasp one. That's a tell it's too late to hide. At the least, no one else is watching them - there's only Dazai, before him, and cutting straight to the heart of it all.
Dazai has been kind. Akira calls him "senpai", and when they get together it feels like it. He has not forgotten the look on his blood-covered face, and the way something strange crept through his heart from it.
Akira has chosen to put trust in the person that could easily take him down... and it seems that BB has, too.
His shoulder unwind.]
...That's right. [He folds his hand over the table, doesn't give himself the opportunity to fidget with any small objects.] She must trust you if she told you. She said I should avoid telling anyone, or even letting on that I know her.
I would say the same for you. You must have left quite the impression for her to accept you as her master.
[ Dazai's face betrays no emotion as he watches the other. He must have some understanding of the gravity of the situation. There's no one here to listen and even if there were, the locals have neither eyes nor ears to offer to them.
Though it might be too extreme to pretend not to know her at all gfiven what a public figure she is, it strikes him as inadvisable to advertise their specific relationship, particularly now when she's devoid of what makes her who she is.
His response is satisfactory. Preturbed, but not panicked nor defensive. He hadn't doubted BB's judgment, but it's encouraging all the same. ]
I'll get straight to the point: I've been collaberating with BB-s an for some time now, and asa person who's antithetical to her existence, I'm more aware of most of what a threat she poses. Due to her nature as an AI, the likelihood of her code breaking down increases with each passing day. I intend to find a way to mitigate the threat that she poses either by repairing her or killing her.
[ Dazai remains calm as he speaks, as though this were as simple as putting sugar in his coffee. There's a slight emphasis on the word killing, because it's nothing more than a filler for various options on how to remove her existence - entrapping, formatting, and so on and so forth; her coming back would be unacceptable. Dazai pops the lid off of the top of his coffee cup, and steam immediately wafts from it. ]
I was hoping you would work on me with that front, or at least prepare for a worst case scenario. Of course, you have no particular reason to. I'm aware that this is sudden.
[ Which is somewhat deliberate. Part of it is the simple fact that there's no sense in putting it off, but he also simply wants to see how the other reacts. He needs a partner in this - not someone to bear the weight, but someone who he can trust to work with him. Having offered his proposal, he takes a sip of his coffee. ]
[Antithetical? He thinks it, yet he doesn't ask about it. Not for now, at least.]
No, I don't mind. I'd like to help if I can. I'm not sure if I'm the best equipped for it, since I have about as much technological experience as the average high schooler...
[It aches through him, as it always seems to at the most unexpected of times. If it weren't him that had been chosen... If it was Futaba that was here... Undoubtedly, she would be able to be the support that they need. She would know what to do.
But it isn't her here. It's Akira.]
...but I'm aware our options are limited. If there's anything I can learn that will help, I'll do it.
[He's a fast learner, and he doesn't quit easily. Whatever they need, he'll figure it out and make it happen. There doesn't need to be an unnecessary death if he can prevent it.]
Even if you were an expert in the field, you would struggle. It is akin to both learning another language and studying an alien biology... But we have people here who can fill in the gaps that you and I leave. But you are willing to act, and that is of far more use.
[ He has no doubt that Akira could learn to code as well, and surely he might try, but it changes nothing if he doesn't. He takes another sip of his coffee, closing his eyes briefly as he considers what it is he wants to say, before opening them once more. ]
You have something like an emergency stop button, or perhaps you could call it a pause button... If you can at least press it, then others will have time to act. And if they're unable to...
[ Dazai takes another slow sip, then sets his cup down. ]
[He's almost unaware of how his hand is tightening on the chess piece until he feels the ridges of it dig into his hand. Akira relaxes it with a breath, but he doesn't break eye contact with Dazai.]
I'd like to avoid that if we can. Unless there's no other option, of course.
[Dazai has killed. Maybe Akira has too, even though he doesn't know if the one here counts, and outside of here he wasn't the one to pull the trigger. Akira doesn't count it against either of them, even if the Phantom Thieves' motto is that they should never kill.
But it would weigh on him. And he doesn't want a weight on Dazai, even if he isn't sure that he'd notice it.]
That emergency pause button... Does that have something to do with the mark that was put on me?
[He isn't sure, but it's Akira's best guess. Lightly, he taps the back of his hand with the chess piece, even though it's faded away since she gave her powers up.]
Yes. You've been marked as her "master," and that gives you a certain amount of power. If not hitting the emergency breaks, then you could think of it like yanking on a dog's leash.
[ Dazai drums his fingers on the table. He can imagine why Akira was chosen, just as he can understand why he himself was tasked with ensuring a favorable outcome.
The thought that the slightest misstep could lead to his own death, too, makes his heart beat a little faster. He's terrifying both for his intellect and his ability, but he's frail; beyond salvation if mortally wounded. It could kill him.
He can't allow it, not yet, but it's a nice idea.
He doesn't feel anything in particular when it comes to the idea of killing the AI, his friend, nor searching for a way to dispose of her in just the right way that she can neither die nor revive.
Some things are better left unsaid. ]
... But, this is only after we've exhausted all other options. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I believe that we can stop it from coming to that.
[Maybe it's a cold assessment, and maybe Akira is cold for simply nodding, but it does the trick of illustrating what the mark does. More than anything, it's a relief to know that he has such a powerful preventative measure.
But it still may not be enough. He's used to certain victories failing terribly after the last hour, so it makes total sense to him to prepare for anything.]
I believe we can, too.
[They have the means to counter the biggest opposition they have, so that's where Akira must put all of his focus.]
What's our best method for strengthening her code?
[It seems like an uphill battle, with no technology here but the flip phones and maybe anything they manage to wish for, but...
Dazai believes there's a way, and Akira trusts him. They can work through this.]
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RANK 3 EVENT
Such as it is, Dazai called Akira over to the little coffee shop in Somnius. Their cold shoulder serves his purpose well here. They have no interest in anything those around them say or do, keeping such distance that one might think they were disease-ridden rats, while others were discouraged from coming here. As for Dazai, well - after offering the right amount, he had at least managed a pair of cups of batch pour alongside condiments.
That tucked away in a corner where a chessboard sits, the pieces ready for a new game. He picks up the king, shaking it a couple times.
Now isn't the time to comment on it, but he has found Akira to be a quick study when it comes to this game, but in a way that's different from how quickly Dazai picks up on things. There's something pleasant about it. ]
BB-san told me that you're her new master.
[ Dazai says, getting to the point. He sets the piece down. ]
no subject
"When her powers come back, you'll be the first to know."
The thing he should never speak of to anyone. The secret Akira is supposed to protect at all costs.
The café is cold, but it isn't what's frozen his hand in its path to holding one of the pieces, centimeters away before he ever got to grasp one. That's a tell it's too late to hide. At the least, no one else is watching them - there's only Dazai, before him, and cutting straight to the heart of it all.
Dazai has been kind. Akira calls him "senpai", and when they get together it feels like it. He has not forgotten the look on his blood-covered face, and the way something strange crept through his heart from it.
Akira has chosen to put trust in the person that could easily take him down... and it seems that BB has, too.
His shoulder unwind.]
...That's right. [He folds his hand over the table, doesn't give himself the opportunity to fidget with any small objects.] She must trust you if she told you. She said I should avoid telling anyone, or even letting on that I know her.
no subject
[ Dazai's face betrays no emotion as he watches the other. He must have some understanding of the gravity of the situation. There's no one here to listen and even if there were, the locals have neither eyes nor ears to offer to them.
Though it might be too extreme to pretend not to know her at all gfiven what a public figure she is, it strikes him as inadvisable to advertise their specific relationship, particularly now when she's devoid of what makes her who she is.
His response is satisfactory. Preturbed, but not panicked nor defensive. He hadn't doubted BB's judgment, but it's encouraging all the same. ]
I'll get straight to the point: I've been collaberating with BB-s an for some time now, and asa person who's antithetical to her existence, I'm more aware of most of what a threat she poses. Due to her nature as an AI, the likelihood of her code breaking down increases with each passing day. I intend to find a way to mitigate the threat that she poses either by repairing her or killing her.
[ Dazai remains calm as he speaks, as though this were as simple as putting sugar in his coffee. There's a slight emphasis on the word killing, because it's nothing more than a filler for various options on how to remove her existence - entrapping, formatting, and so on and so forth; her coming back would be unacceptable. Dazai pops the lid off of the top of his coffee cup, and steam immediately wafts from it. ]
I was hoping you would work on me with that front, or at least prepare for a worst case scenario. Of course, you have no particular reason to. I'm aware that this is sudden.
[ Which is somewhat deliberate. Part of it is the simple fact that there's no sense in putting it off, but he also simply wants to see how the other reacts. He needs a partner in this - not someone to bear the weight, but someone who he can trust to work with him. Having offered his proposal, he takes a sip of his coffee. ]
no subject
No, I don't mind. I'd like to help if I can. I'm not sure if I'm the best equipped for it, since I have about as much technological experience as the average high schooler...
[It aches through him, as it always seems to at the most unexpected of times. If it weren't him that had been chosen... If it was Futaba that was here... Undoubtedly, she would be able to be the support that they need. She would know what to do.
But it isn't her here. It's Akira.]
...but I'm aware our options are limited. If there's anything I can learn that will help, I'll do it.
[He's a fast learner, and he doesn't quit easily. Whatever they need, he'll figure it out and make it happen. There doesn't need to be an unnecessary death if he can prevent it.]
no subject
Even if you were an expert in the field, you would struggle. It is akin to both learning another language and studying an alien biology... But we have people here who can fill in the gaps that you and I leave. But you are willing to act, and that is of far more use.
[ He has no doubt that Akira could learn to code as well, and surely he might try, but it changes nothing if he doesn't. He takes another sip of his coffee, closing his eyes briefly as he considers what it is he wants to say, before opening them once more. ]
You have something like an emergency stop button, or perhaps you could call it a pause button... If you can at least press it, then others will have time to act. And if they're unable to...
[ Dazai takes another slow sip, then sets his cup down. ]
Death is a type of hard reset.
no subject
I'd like to avoid that if we can. Unless there's no other option, of course.
[Dazai has killed. Maybe Akira has too, even though he doesn't know if the one here counts, and outside of here he wasn't the one to pull the trigger. Akira doesn't count it against either of them, even if the Phantom Thieves' motto is that they should never kill.
But it would weigh on him. And he doesn't want a weight on Dazai, even if he isn't sure that he'd notice it.]
That emergency pause button... Does that have something to do with the mark that was put on me?
[He isn't sure, but it's Akira's best guess. Lightly, he taps the back of his hand with the chess piece, even though it's faded away since she gave her powers up.]
no subject
[ Dazai drums his fingers on the table. He can imagine why Akira was chosen, just as he can understand why he himself was tasked with ensuring a favorable outcome.
The thought that the slightest misstep could lead to his own death, too, makes his heart beat a little faster. He's terrifying both for his intellect and his ability, but he's frail; beyond salvation if mortally wounded. It could kill him.
He can't allow it, not yet, but it's a nice idea.
He doesn't feel anything in particular when it comes to the idea of killing the AI, his friend, nor searching for a way to dispose of her in just the right way that she can neither die nor revive.
Some things are better left unsaid. ]
... But, this is only after we've exhausted all other options. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I believe that we can stop it from coming to that.
no subject
But it still may not be enough. He's used to certain victories failing terribly after the last hour, so it makes total sense to him to prepare for anything.]
I believe we can, too.
[They have the means to counter the biggest opposition they have, so that's where Akira must put all of his focus.]
What's our best method for strengthening her code?
[It seems like an uphill battle, with no technology here but the flip phones and maybe anything they manage to wish for, but...
Dazai believes there's a way, and Akira trusts him. They can work through this.]