Chapter Text
The War of Words between Reko and Sara only served to make the former angrier. Everyone watched with bated breath as the two shouted at each other, continuing the heated debate until the singer loudly clicked her tongue.
"Argh, enough! It's useless to discuss this any more!"
"Are you trying to run away?!"
Reko firmly shook her head. "No...! But no matter how much we talk, you can't clearly tell me who this fake or whatever really is!" Watching Sara recoil, a slight smirk started to grow on her face. "So come on...say it already. Who am I?! Don't tell me you're tryin' to say I'm not a human?!"
Those words seemed to make the high-schooler pause, and [Name] could almost see the gears starting to turn in her mind.
“The revelation that she turned out to be a doll the whole time was surprising for me, at least.”
"If..." Sara started. "...If you could combine an artificial intelligence with a doll...you could create a completely perfect fake!"
Reko blinked, a bewildered expression starting to form on her face. "H...Huh?! Sara, settle down! Do you know what you're saying...?!"
The brunette put a hand to her hair, closing her eyes. "I was...I was always wondering...why did something like an AI of Professor Mishima even exist...? Why were there dolls made to recreate us in such perfect detail...? Maybe...this facility...the kidnappers' organization...is making doll copies of humans...!"
Everyone's eyes visibly widened, as far as [Name] could tell. They were all looking straight at Sara with various expressions, ranging from confusion to shock.
Reko's jaw dropped. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAA?! You've lost your marbles, Sara!"
"A doll that looks just like Reko...and an AI that recreates Reko's personality. The result of combining those two things is..." She pointed straight at the singer, the fire in her eyes showing her determination to prove who the true fake was. "An impostor Reko!"
"Are you being serious, Sara Chidouin?!" Alice yelled, startling the high-schooler.
"I am...! That's how she could fool even her own brother! She's not someone else impersonating her, she's a duplicate!"
He laughed at her wild theory, shaking his head firmly. "Your claims are an utter mess!"
Reko took advantage of the interruption to look at the rest of the group. "Guys, Sara's lost her cool! We should drop this whole thing!"
No one said anything in response, as most were having a hard time taking in the conclusion the high-schooler led them to. [Name] sighed once more at the hesitancy everyone seemed to always fall back to.
"Everyone..." Sara's face dropped, finally looking back at the doubt on everyone's face. "I—"
"Sara!" [Name] yelled out, interrupting the high-schooler.
"Y-Yes?"
"You really, without a doubt, believe that's the truth, right? All the evidence points to it?" After a moment, the high-schooler nodded.
"...Yes, I truly do."
"Then...you should stick with it, to prove everyone else wrong." [Name] shakily exhaled, a grin growing on their face. "As crazy as it may sound, I'm sticking with Sara on that one."
"[N-Name]?!" Reko stammered.
"Do you even understand what you're saying, [Name] [Last Name]?!" Alice joined in, grabbing their shoulders. The intensity of his glare made them falter for a second. "You're saying that the fact that I am her brother and known her for this long is all a lie, is it not?!"
"The fact that you are her brother proves that very fact, god damn it..." They grit their teeth, swatting his hands away. "Agh, but there's no time for this now. Does anyone else here agree with us, or not?!"
"Heh…well, it’s an interesting theory, that’s for sure.” Keiji spoke up next to [Name], craning his neck to look at both of the high-schoolers. “I’ll take your word for it. I’m on board with this.”
”Keiji…!” Sara’s eyes widened, watching as the policeman gave a reassuring smile in return.
Sou rolled his eyes. “Sheesh…nothing for it. I can’t think of any other way to break the deadlock.” He eyed the two still on the target, his expression turning serious. “Listen, Gin’s at his limit. This is the end…we have to decide.”
“Sara and [Name],” Said person flinched at the mention of their name as well, “…Give us some proof that Reko’s a doll with an artificial intelligence.”
The two nodded, dead set on proving the theory correct to the others.
Keiji cleared his throat. "I'll sum it up simply. The Reko who broke Mishima's monitor was real...and in the Room of Lies, the real and the fake Reko got swapped. So this Reko here is a fake...and the two infer she's actually a doll copy. But, she won't recognize it."
Mishima nodded. "It's true, my AI was exceedingly similar to myself...it was like talking to a double of some sort."
"Perfectly replicating a human is impossible...!" Alice insisted. "There absolutely must be a difference somewhere!"
Reko turned to Sara and Nao with pleading eyes. "I'll prove that I'm a human, alright?! What do you want?! I'll do anything!"
"Why didn't the AI of Mishima...have any memory of us, I wonder...?" Kanna mumbled.
"Naturally, the personalities of the AIs are based on the real people's, right?" Sou asked, thinking to himself.
Keiji hummed. "Real humans change in personality and gain memories. The AIs should need updating, too..."
"Another progress section..." [Name] thought, looking around at the options. "If I remember right, I chose..."
"Reko, you'll do anything, right?" [Name] called out, gaining the singer's attention. She firmly kept eye contact with the high-schooler, her fists clenched tightly.
"Of course! Tell me something a machine or doll definitely couldn't do, and I'll do it with ease! I'll open both of your eyes, Sara, [Name]!"
"Understood. Let me make a request..." Sara closed her eyes, then opened them, her steel-like gaze unwavering. "I want you to sing a song!"
Reko looked surprised for a second, before her expression morphed into pure, unadulterated confidence. "A song?! Okay, got it! Singing is my life...so open those ears!"
She took a moment to clear her throat, before belting out the song that [Name] was waiting for. Her song echoed through the room, making everyone freeze, their thoughts halting at the amount of emotion poured into it. The tone of her voice, the expression on her face, everything seemed so...
"...human." [Name] faltered at their own thoughts. "The amount of hard work and passion put into it makes it seem so...lifelike. This is really what ASU-NARO's been working on...?"
"How's that?! This is the big hit I play at concerts...Samurai Onna!" Reko declared, a grin on her face.
And just like that, [Name] could almost sense the mood flip, watching as Sara inhaled sharply, along with Alice out of the corner of their eye flinching slightly. They both noticed the discrepancy in her wording, of course.
"Of course...so I shouldn't be hesitant about this at all. This is..." [Name] took a deep breath, spotting a glimpse of the old article being taken out behind Sara's back.
"...the right decision to make."