Play: WE ARE
Early morning, well past midnight.
Anis had volunteered to take the night watch since she needed to get her mind off things.
Marian, as usual, had taken her place as the commander's personal guard, sleeping in his room and cuddling with him.
Rapi was discussing battle plans and strategies with Nami and Hana since the latter were still fresh and new to being Nikke. Since Rapi was formerly a mass-produced model, she could relate and help them avoid major obstacles, so she was doing that right now.
Neon, after some chatting with Hoopa, had gotten inspired and was holed up somewhere making a giant railgun for her massive bullet.
Which left Anis and Suri free.
Like her, Suri had volunteered for night watch as well.
But the two had a mutual agreement to not see each other, so they took positions on opposite sides of the Outpost, keeping parallel patrols.
...At least, that was Anis's intention.
But as she patrolled, she subconsciously found herself drifting towards where Suri was.
And it seemed like Suri... No, 'Yoyo' thought the same.
Eventually, the two met in the middle of the Outpost.
Anis spoke up first. "What? Couldn't just stay away, could you?"
Yoyo was quiet. Then she averted her gaze.
Seeing that, Anis clicked her tongue. But she deliberately relaxed. "...Whatever. Just wanted to check if you were alive. Commander would be pissed if he woke up and you were a pile of scraps."
Yoyo cracked a smile and said, "I suppose he would be. That man's a bit too nice for his own good."
"Tell me about it. Considering he's even bothering to care for someone like you, he's a veritable saint."
Yoyo's smile faded.
Anis noticed. Then she let out a long sigh. "...Sorry."
"You're apologizing to me?"
Anis rolled her eyes. "I hate you. But I know when I'm crossing the line. Besides..." She stared at Yoyo for a long while. Then she said, "...It's not fair, you know? You can't just die and come back different."
That was what was really pissing Anis off. Not so much that Yoyo was back here. But that she was back but different. Softer. More thoughtful.
Yoyo let out a thin smile and said, "Well. When you're nothing but a brain for decades, you have a lot of time to think."
Anis paused. "...What do you mean?"
Yoyo was quiet. Then she said, "I DID die back then. A week after you smashed my face in with your fists. Mister Hanson was furious and personally made sure my memory was wiped. Then my brain was packed in a spare Nikke body and tossed to the surface. A Rapture tore my head off." She rubbed her neck. "...I don't know how he did it. But my father apparently had men keeping an eye on me. He threw a lot of them away to drag me back. And he spent a fortune to try and put me back into another body. But he couldn't. Not with Mustang suddenly shifting gears and changing all of Tetra. So instead, I was kept as a brain in a jar, put on ice for a long time in Tetra storage."
"...Oh."
Anis wanted to hate Yoyo. No, that was a lie. She definitely still hated Yoyo for what she did.
But Anis ALSO understood how terrible that could be.
It was a Nikke's worst nightmare. Stuck being conscious while nothing more than just a mind in the void...
Anis shivered and stared at Yoyo. "...No wonder you're different- Wait. How did you remember who you were if your brain was wiped? That doesn't add up."
Yoyo let out a bitter laugh. "Because I was corrupted at the time."
Anis froze. "...That's a lie." She rejected it. But even as she did, Anis's mind went back to that time.
The way Yoyo had acted even more sporadic. How she had been completely unhinged, saying she killed Riss. But then how she was confused when Anis punched her, almost as if she didn't know what was going on.
Yoyo was quiet. "You can believe what you want. It doesn't change what happened. I know I'm a bad person, Anis. I like seeing people get hurt. I like the nicer things in life. I enjoy status, wealth, and glamour. But... I also know where I stand right now." She shrugged, her dirty blonde hair, once a pure white blonde, shifted as she did. "I'm disposable. Although I got lucky in having our Commander... I was supposed to be dead by now. So I'm just grateful."
"...You don't deserve it."
"I know."
"You SHOULD be dead."
"I know."
Anis stared at Yoyo.
Yoyo looked back, her face obscured by her visor.
Anis reached out.
Yoyo tensed, but she didn't move.
Anis unhooked the visor and stared at Yoyo's face- No. Suri's face.
Because Yoyo WAS dead. For all intents and purposes.
"...Similar. But different." Anis stared at Suri's face.
It looked like Yoyo's. Haughty and aristocratic. Beautiful to a fault.
But it also looked different. Tired. Resigned. Like a walking corpse instead of a wannabe celebrity. A woman whose emotions had burned out long ago and was just walking until she tripped into her own grave.
Those clear blue eyes were murky. The light in her eyes was long gone, leaving behind just a fatigued gaze.
Anis was quiet. Then she chucked the visor aside and said, "Keep it off. If 'Yoyo' is dead, then 'you' shouldn't hide your face. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
"...Anis?"
Anis turned her back on Yoyo- No, on Suri and said, "...Just answer me one question. Honestly."
"Anything."
"...Did you really kill Riss?"
"No." Suri shook her head. "...That was the CEO. He knew how fragile your manager was. So he made sure those posts were at the top. Just so he could get rid of her."
"...I thought so." Anis clenched her fists. "...It was too convenient."
It was a question that Anis had mulled over for a while.
Just why did Riss die? What tipped her over the edge? Were people really that cruel back then?
And while Anis knew that they were... while Anis had experienced firsthand how cruel people in the Ark could be.
Those posts had always stuck out as particularly vicious.
Suri stared at Anis' back and quietly said, "I'm sorry."
"I don't forgive you."
"I know. I just wanted to say it."
Anis laughed, bitter. "...Selfish as always. But fine. You said it. So let's just... leave it. From now on."
The past had happened. Nothing would change it.
Like how Anis's idol was killed on stage despite shining the brightest.
Like how Anis herself had died during the aftermath of that.
Like how Anis's first fan and brightest star had taken her own life.
And like how Anis had ruined T.T.STAR's debut by attacking Yoyo in a rage on that day.
Anis took a deep breath and let out a long exhale. "...Commander Hoopa took you in. For better or worse, you're a part of Squad Brave. So let's get along. We won't be friends. I don't think we ever can be. But I'll at least not let you die while you're in my sight." She turned around to glare at Suri and said, "The only one allowed to kill you is me. Got it?"
Suri stared at Anis. Then she let out a soft smile. "...Got it."
"Tch." Anis looked away and started marching back to her patrol area. "Keep working. Don't slack off."