#A Cognitive Psientist (Pre Persona 5)

[oraclememehacker]

"Here we are Futaba dear, Inaba." The two were in the train station after a long ride from Yokohama to here. Wakaba was here for work related reasons and because Sojiro was going to be busy with his own work, she had no choice but to bring Futaba with her. It wasn't ideal, but she trusted her daughter to behave whilst they were out in a new, unfamiliar place. Plus, compared to home, this area was a lot less densely populated.

Now it was time to head to their place that they were staying at. Work got her hooked up with a place called the Amagi Inn. Apparently it was the premiere tourist destination and a really good place to stay in general. And had a hot springs, which sounded lovely. She hadn't gone to a hot spring in quite some time, and maybe Futaba could experience it for the first time.

They were going through the central shopping district on their way to the Inn, Futaba saw that there was a bookstore there and immediately became enamored. There was a place that she could go! She knew that they had to check in at the Inn but she really wanted to take a quick look in the bookstore. She had some money to spend and maybe she could get a book or two.

After a bit of pleading, Wakaba would eventually relent. However, as Futaba was making her way there, she bumped into a kid. That kid? Ren. It was an honest accident, since she had been so tunnel visioned by the prospect of books that she didn't pay as much attention as she should've. She pushed herself up and helped the other kid up, since that was only the nice thing to do, before looking all shy. "Um...hi..."

@silver-strings-of-fate

[oraclememehacker]

Wakaba is enjoying one of her rare days off and just deciding to take her daughter Futaba to a local restaurant. Along the way they find a capsule machine that has some featherman figures. Of course, Futaba wants one and is given the money to buy one or two. As she is watching her lovely daughter get her prize, she hears someone speak to her. "Oh...yeah, my daughter loves that series. Doesn't make any sense to me personally, as transformations don't make any logical sense but...ow. It's true dear! A-Anyways, hi."

[oraclememehacker]

“That bastard Shido came into my lab today and dared to threaten me. Ugh, I need something on him and quick. Or I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I just don’t want to get Futaba involved in any of this...”

[oraclememehacker]

Meeting up with an Old Friend

“I never expected to hear from them again. Of all the people...” Wakaba spoke out loud to herself, looking over the texts on her phone. It was a friend from high school, Himari Akechi. Those were the days, even though she had primarily had her focus on getting the best marks that she could, she did have the time to do some shenanigans with people. One of those being Himari. Unfortunately, as a lot of childhood friendships would do, they ended up separating after graduating, the promises to keep seeing each other going unfulfilled due to real life sneaking into it.

Now, she was at a café, wearing her research outfit since this was a rather last minute thing for her, her notes for that day sitting in a folder sitting on the small table. Normally she wouldn’t have them possibly exposed like this, but she hadn’t had the chance to head home yet to put them away. Plus, Futaba was going to be fine at home. Sojiro agreed to look after her until she got home, so she was being taken care of. Soon enough, she would see Himari and her lips curled into a warm smile.

“I never thought I’d see you again. It’s good to see you, Himari.”

@etherbonded

[oraclememehacker]

“If something ever happens to me, please make sure that Futaba dear is taken care of.”

[oraclememehacker]

"So much work...it feels like my work is never ending. And I can't stop until I'm finished with my metaverse research. I barely get to see Futaba some days. I hope I'm not doing anything wrong..."

[oraclememehacker]

Wakaba and Sojiro’s fateful meeting

Wakaba was currently a researcher for a research laboratory in Yokohama, her duties included finding new stuff to research and to get funding for by the government. She had her own little office and an area to test her hypothesis and such. Currently, she was in her office, an intense expression on her face as she was writing some stuff down into a journal. She had found something that could change everything. A world that was part of the subconscious. She didn’t know what to call it yet, just referring to it as the land of the subconscious.

What did this world entail? She wasn’t sure, but from what she had found, it could change everything. This was like where someone’s real nature could be seen, behind the masks that people put up for their own protection. However, she was going to need money to really be able to investigate this. And she was worried the government would just laugh her out of the building.

Apparently though, they were bringing in some sort of middleman. Whatever that meant anyways. Why they couldn’t just give her the money or deny her outright she didn’t understand, and it was causing her quite a lot of frustration and agitation. Pushing that aside though, she kept working on her current research, not initially hearing the knocking at her office door.

A few more knocks later and more forceful ones would finally snap her attention away from her journal, at least partially anyways. “Come in.” She stated simply, her eyes gazing up for a moment as she heard a light squeaking from the door. One day she was going to have that fixed. What she saw in the door must have had to be the middleman. It was a young man by the name of Sakura Sojiro.

He was definitely…something and was giving her a slight smirk as he was finding her to be quite pretty. He had been told he was going to be working with a woman, but man, he was finding her quite attractive. And there was no way he wasn’t going to shoot his shot, even if he got rejected. “You must be the middleman.”

“Indeed I am. Must say, I wasn’t expecting someone as pretty as you are to be a researcher.” He thought he was being smooth, and he flashed a grin in her direction as he was turning up the charm. Wakaba was having none of it, however, just giving him a glare that said she was not interested. That wasn’t going to stop him though. “You know, I’d love to take you out to dinner sometime after we discuss business.”

Wakaba just shook her head in annoyance at him and took her journal and hit it against the table, taking him out of focus he was on to be a flirt. “Focus please.” Her tone was sharp like a knife, slicing through his flirtatious tone with deliberation and precision. “I’m not interested in any of that. I am here to do work, simple as that. If you can’t do that, then I request that the government get someone competent to do their damn job.”

Sojiro took a step back, eyes opened wide as he was aghast at this. He wasn’t expecting to be struck down so harshly and precisely like that. She was quite the woman already that was for sure. After the shock from the takedown was over him, he got himself together and nodded, tone turning to a more professional one. “Ahem…I apologize. We’ll get to work.”

Somehow this just made him like her more. Fierce, focused and determined. Maybe he could get her when she wasn’t working. But she did say she wasn’t interested so maybe that wasn’t a good idea. Pushing that aside, he brought out his little booklet that he had on him and opened it up. “So, as you know, you’ll be getting a research grant, and a set amount of money every month to help you on your new research project.”

All of that, Wakaba knew. She nodded, showing that she was listening. He continued to talk about how this money was only to be used for research related things and that misuse of the funds would result in her having to personally pay it all back and the prospect of getting sued and jail time. Of course, she wasn’t going to use it for anything other than that. She was a respectable scientist after all.

He further went on to explain how things would work in regard to continuing to get funding. Basically, there was going to be a biweekly check in. It wasn’t going to be anything special; he would arrive and check in basically. All she had to do was explain what she had been doing and show an example of her work or something that she was making. If it was sufficient enough, then he would give the green light, and everything would go normally.

“So basically, I just give you a progress report and you keep the government happy and give me money, is basically what you’re saying.” That was what she got from this anyways. Sojiro would say that was basically it. Though honestly, he was excited to see her often. Just because of how jaw droppingly gorgeous she was. At least to him anyways.

He went on to explain that she would be receiving her first check soon enough once he gave back his report to the government and they signed off on it. With how much bureaucracy there was in the government, she was surprised it was going to be “quick”. Well, probably a few business weeks but still. Once that was all done, he closed his little booklet and went to apologize. “I do want to apologize for earlier. I did not mean to upset you. I got ahead of myself is all.”

Wakaba was taken aback by the sudden apology. Frankly she had almost forgotten about that situation earlier. “No need to apologize. Just don’t do it again, alright? Now then I must—” Her phone went off and when she checked to see who it was, she immediately answered. “Yes, this is Isshiki. What’s going on.” Sojiro wondered what that could be, since she seemed to be concerned heavily.

Her lips curled into a frown, and it was clear that she was quite upset. “Is she alright?” A pause on her end and the worry increased a bit before disappearing. “That’s good. Do I need to pick her up?” Sojiro realized that this may have been a daughter. Made sense really. “Okay. She just has a big bruise on her head then? Well, as long as she’s alright, then that’s fine. I’ll make sure to tell her that when she gets home. Thank you for telling me. Goodbye.”

“I didn’t realize you had a daughter.” Sojiro remarked, showing that he figured that one out quickly. “I do. Her name is Futaba. Apparently at school today she was trying to get a book from the top shelf, and it hit her head really hard. She has a bruise on her head but is otherwise fine. I swear that girl is going to be the death of me.” A good-natured chuckle escaped her. It was clear she loved her daughter immensely.

That made Sojiro feel good. She had a heart and soul after all! And it was all because of her daughter. “Futaba is a very smart girl. Probably smarter than me, and she’s only 7. She loves reading and learning new things. She’s a handful as a single mother, but I’ve managed so far.” She was a single mother huh? That was strange. Wonder why.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to her father?” He couldn’t help but to ask, but was regretting it as her face contorted into one that showed her disgust at thinking about it. “Her father…refused to take care of her. We were together for a while and I accidentally got pregnant, and when asked to help with her, he told me to shove it. So I told him to piss off. I haven’t talked to him since.”

Wow, that was…a story that was for sure. He couldn’t help but to feel disgusted at it as well. So he accidentally gets her pregnant and then doesn’t even want to take care of the child. What a despicable thing to do. He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry to hear that. Well, if it helps any, I can completely understand why you’d react at that. Also, can I see a picture of her?”

Before he could say anything else, she grabbed a picture of her and showed him. She was such a cute girl, holding a book in her hand and looking all happy. She also really looked like Wakaba, which made him chuckle. It was evident that Wakaba enjoyed showing her off and was ecstatic about the prospect. It was like she was practically beaming with excitement and joy. “Isn’t she so cute? I would sacrifice the whole world for her.”

“Heh. She is indeed very cute.” Sojiro said, having a big smile on his face. “Before I leave though, I have to ask, and I apologize if this goes too far but…can I see her sometime?” That made Wakaba’s expression change to a curious one. At least it wasn’t negative anyways. It was clear that she was deliberating this one before deciding why not. Sure, he was probably just going to flirt with her during this, but showing off Futaba was more than worth it. “Sure. Let’s exchange numbers first.”

They would exchange numbers via a piece of paper and then she looked at him. “Okay, I have to get back to work. I’ll text you when I’m not busy.” Wow, he was happily surprised that it worked so well. “I’ll be waiting for your text. Alright, I have other things to do myself, so I’ll see you later Isshiki-san. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you my name.” That was one thing he completely forgot to do in the moment. “I’m Sakura Sojiro. Sorry for not introducing myself sooner.” “Well, it’s good to see you, Sakura-san. Have a good day.”

“I will, thank you.” With that, he made his way out of the office and to his car outside the research lab. She had his number and was going to see a cute daughter. Plus, he had a feeling that despite the initial harshness, Wakaba was quite kind. And he was hoping that they could be friends at the very least. And thus began the tragic relationship of two individuals who would become close friends before her death…

[oraclememehacker]

come on, what the government doesn't know won't hurt them. Take him out on a date and make love to him! Quit being a stick in the mud!

"I am not going to do that! Have some tact and stop asking me to do inappropriate things. I am an adult and will do what I feel is necessary with my life. And unfortunately, romance is not part of that equation. I simply do not have the time. I merely expressed the idea of having another child further down the line."

[oraclememehacker]

Thinking of getting bizzay with Sojiro, huh?

"I suppose if there's anyone who I'd trust enough it would be Sojiro. However, I'm unfortunately gonna have to stay strictly professional with him. I don't want to lose my funding because of a personal relationship between us."

[oraclememehacker]

“I’ve thought about having another child, but I need to get control of my life first and finish this research before I do anything with my personal stuff.”

[oraclememehacker]

“You hear me, everyone? I don’t care what happens to me. But you so much as put a hair out of place on Futaba dear’s head? I will destroy you.”

[oraclememehacker]

"I'll make sure Futaba is 'taken care of'." *insert sound of a gun cocking here*

"You even so much as attempt to fire that gun, you won't live to regret it. You'll be plunged straight into the depths of hell."

[oraclememehacker]

“Sometimes I worry that I’m not there enough for Futaba. But I don’t know what else to do. I must get that research done. I have to for the sake of everything.”

[oraclememehacker]

“I had a government worker show up today. Said his name was Sakura Sojiro. Apparently he will be the middleman for anything relating to my research that I’m currently conducting. I will say, he’s quite cute. However, I can’t afford any issues with the government right now. I must keep a strictly professional attitude with him.”