48 Let Him

Arakawa Sesen's footsteps rang with particular clarity in the deathly silent conference room, each step seeming to tread upon Hanako's taut nerves.

She instinctively backed away, her shoes making panicked, faint sounds against the floor, until her body reached the edge of the hall and she could retreat no farther.

Oda stood in front of her, his right hand already resting on the gun holstered at his waist, but the cold sweat on his brow exposed his bluff.

Even the security personnel who had come with Hanako Arasaka made no move—their loyalty had faltered before reality. Should they pledge themselves to a living Chief Executive Officer, or to some illusory Digital Saburo? The answer was obvious.

"Hanako."

Yorinobu's voice was terrifyingly calm. He even stopped three steps away from her. He did not look at Oda or anyone else; his gaze was fixed solely on her.

"What are you still waiting for? Waiting for Father's data to 'teach' you again? Or for someone who will never return to give you orders?"

He shifted slightly aside, allowing her to see past his shoulder at the two opposing projections—Johnny Silverhand's undisguised mockery, and Arasaka Saburo's image violently flickering and warping from extreme rage.

"Look at what you brought back to life with your own hands." A trace of nearly imperceptible pity entered Yorinobu's voice, but that pity hurt Hanako more than pure cruelty. "Is this all you have to rely on? A string of code that distorts whenever its emotions fluctuate?"

"You're wrong, Brother!" Hanako's voice trembled. Instinctively, she still used the name she had always been most familiar with for Arakawa Sesen.

Her voice turned shrill with the fear of freedom. "That is Father! That is his will! You don't understand—you don't understand Relic—" Her defense seemed pale and powerless beneath