PRIVATE Izanagi

[Yorinobu Arasaka]

Arasaka Tower - Executive Office
Night City, 2081

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The dim glow of the office's recessed lighting bathed the room in cold, sterile hues. Yorinobu Arasaka sat behind the imposing desk, his silhouette a mix of sharp edges and shadows against the sprawling cityscape visible through the panoramic windows. Except this was no longer the same man who had held his father by the throat, not the same man who once commanded the Steel Dragons, not the same Yorinobu who sought to bring his family's corrupt legacy down—not in spirit anyway, not in soul.

That man was trapped, stuck in the role he now had to play. A slave to the ambitions that were predetermined for him long ago. Yorinobu's hands rested calmly on the desk, fingers interlocked in a steeple of control. His eyes, a piercing glint that betrayed the wisdom and ruthlessness of several lifetimes, settled on Hanzo Arasaka standing before him. The room was silent, save for the faint hum of Night City's never-ending chaos, muffled by the reinforced glass. The Chief Executive Officer studied Hanzo for a moment longer than necessary, measuring the man not as a relative but as a tool—an asset to be used for the betterment of the family empire.

"なぜここにいるのか理解している /// You understand why you are here," Yorinobu said finally, his voice calm yet weighted with the authority of a powerful patriarch.

"荒坂の名は不名誉を許さず、失敗も許さない。しかし、償いには可能性がある /// The Arasaka name does not tolerate disgrace, nor does it forgive failure. Yet, in atonement, there is potential."

He leaned forward slightly, the motion deliberate, calculated.

"そこには、監督と慎重さを必要とする繊細な問題であるプロジェクトがあります。イザナギ プロジェクトです ///
There is a project—a delicate matter that requires oversight and discretion. Project Izanagi." He allowed the name to linger in the air, its weight palpable.

His voice sharpened, slicing through the stillness.

"この取り組みは、ブラックウォールさえも封じ込められないほど私たちの影響力を再定義するでしょう。これは単に不正な人工知能を制御するためのツールではありません。人工知能を制御し、私たちの意志に従わせ、デジタルフロンティアの優位性を再び確立するための鍵なのです /// This initiative will redefine our reach beyond what even the Blackwall can contain. It is not simply a tool to control rogue artificial intelligences. It is the key to harnessing them—to bending them to our will and reasserting dominance over the digital frontier."

The Patriarch stood, his presence towering even in the understated elegance of the room. He gazed forth with the same ambitious eyes of his father.

"これは意志の弱い人や気の弱い人には向かない仕事です。イザナギ計画は、アラサカのビジョン、つまり絶対的な精度によって達成される完全な制御を体現したものです。あなたはその開発を監督し、完成を妨げるものがないようにします。干渉も妥協も許されません /// This is not a task for the weak-willed or faint-hearted. Project Izanagi is the embodiment of the Arasaka vision—total control, achieved through absolute precision. You will oversee its development, ensuring that nothing disrupts its completion. No interference, no compromises."

He stepped closer to Hanzo, the glow of the city painting lines of cold fire across his expression. Yorinobu's voice softened, though it carried an iron edge as he added, "Tatsu no ochiru tokoro o shiru /// A dragon knows where it falls. Never forget your place, your role, and the legacy you uphold."

@Hanzo Arasaka​

 

[Hanzo Arasaka]

What does it mean to be Arasaka?

Whenever Hanzo stood before this man he felt his tongue go dry and the hairs on the back of his neck stand. As a boy before his cybernetics had been implanted into his palm they would sweat terribly. It was a horrible feeling, to stand before the head of the family. In a world where the very name of Arasaka was synonymous with respect, power, and grandeur Hanzo never felt so miniscule as when he spoke with Yorinobu.

He stood tall, rigid as a great oak during the storm that may finally sweep its roots from the earth. He kept his eyes locked on Yorinobu as the man spoke to Hanzo.

"なぜここにいるのか理解している /// You understand why you are here," Yorinobu said finally, his voice calm yet weighted with the authority of a powerful patriarch.

He knew better than to respond. This was a statement, not a question. Still, the urge to speak was there. For when you dealt with the man before you, every word, every silence, was a movement of a piece on a chess board and your moves had better satisfy.

Yorinobu spoke of disgrace and Hanzo tensed. Though he personally had made no offense of note against the family, both his father and grandfather had been...rogue elements in the eyes of the family. Their actions had caused Hanzo's life to be what it was and for that, he would never forgive them. Instead, he only sought to drown away the stench of their history with his own legacy, and in the end there was only one person who could see that black mark removed from his family.

Izanagi.

As he explained what Hanzo was to be placed over there was a moment of surprise that came to him. Why would he entrust this too him?

As soon as the thought came, Hanzo banished it. There was no place in his mind for these thoughts. He finally had the opportunity that he had been waiting for, he would not ruin it.
"私はあなたを失望させませんし、あなたはこれで心配しません。/// I will not fail you and you will have no worries in leaving this to me." Hanza stated in sure response to Yorinobu. Even as the man approached him, Hanzo did not falter. He would ensure that this project, Izanagi came to fruition under his oversight.

He leaned forward, bowing in deference to the elder Arasaka.
"誓ってこれ /// I swear this to you."

He stepped closer to Hanzo, the glow of the city painting lines of cold fire across his expression. Yorinobu's voice softened, though it carried an iron edge as he added, "Tatsu no ochiru tokoro o shiru /// A dragon knows where it falls. Never forget your place, your role, and the legacy you uphold."

"私の手は、家族を守るために必要なところにいつも落ちます。私は、1つの弱いリンクがチェーン全体を粉砕する可能性があることを理解しています。私は決してそのリンクにはなりません。/// My hands will always fall where necessary to preserve the family. I understand that one weak link can shatter the entire chain. I will never be that link." In saying this there was a fire of surety to his words.

"Please. Tell me what I must do and see it be done."

@Yorinobu Arasaka

 

[Yorinobu Arasaka]

The elder Arasaka regarded Hanzo with the cold calculation of a predator circling its prey. The young man's words were measured, deliberate, and laced with the fire of conviction—a fire the Executive both respected and sought to harness. Hanzo was still green, still desperate to prove his worth, but the foundation of loyalty and ambition was undeniable. As Hanzo bowed, Yorinobu's gaze remained fixed on him, his expression unreadable. The words of family echoed in the room, but the Daimyo knew well that words were fleeting.

Action was the currency of loyalty.

"よい," Yorinobu said, his voice low and steady. "よかった。あなたの決意はよくわかりました、ハンゾー。しかし、決意だけでは帝国は築けません。家族の伝統を強化できるのは、行為だけです /// Good. Your resolve is noted. But resolve alone does not build empires. Only deeds can fortify the family legacy."

He gestured subtly, activating the holographic interface embedded in his desk. A schematic flickered into existence—an intricate lattice of connections representing his ambitions for the future.

"これはイザナギプロジェクトです /// This is Project Izanagi," he began, his voice low but unyielding.

"単なる道具ではなく、支配の鍵です。それはブラックウォールを突き破り、それを私たちの支配下に置き、私たちのネットランナーが妨害されることなく通過できるようにヨミに門を刻みます /// Not merely a tool, but the key to dominion. It will pierce the Blackwall, make it ours to control, and carve gates into Yomi for our netrunners to traverse unchallenged."

He gestured subtly, and the hologram shifted, displaying the simulated process of a psyche fragment imprinting upon the Blackwall AI, tricking it into allowing unrestricted passage.

"ブラックウォール自体、つまりファイアウォールに偽装した人工知能が我々に屈し、そしてオールドネットの奥深くにある我々の手の届かない不正な人工知能も屈するだろう。我々は人類から奪われたものをアラサカから取り戻すだろう /// The Blackwall itself—an AI disguised as a firewall—will bend to us, and then those rogue AI beyond our reach within the depths of the Old Net. We will reclaim what was stolen from humanity, from Arasaka."

He let the weight of his words settle, studying Hanzo's reaction with an unblinking gaze. After a long pause, he continued, each word more deliberate than the last.

"プロトタイプは完成に近づいています。その試験は秘密裏に行われるものではなく、シミュレーションで行われるものでもありません。ナイトシティで実際にテストされる予定です /// The prototype nears completion. Its trial will not be in secrecy or simulation. It will be tested live—here—in Night City."

Yorinobu stood, his shadow stretching across the room as he approached Hanzo. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, a gesture both commanding and intimate.

"あなたの仕事は簡単です。プロトタイプを準備し、成功を確実にし、すべての障害を排除します /// Your task is simple. Prepare the prototype. Ensure its success. Eliminate all obstacles."

He withdrew his hand and turned toward the cityscape, the cold light of the skyline sharpening his silhouette. "今があなたのチャンスです、ハンゾー。あなたの価値を証明してください。あなたがアラサカであることを証明してください /// This is your moment, Hanzo. Prove your worth. Prove you are Arasaka."

He paused, his voice carrying the weight of centuries of family legacy as he finished:

"竜は影に潜む。影は我らの道を隠す /// A dragon hides in the shadows. The shadows will conceal our path."

@Hanzo Arasaka​

 

[Hanzo Arasaka]

Hanzo's eyes lit up with the reflection of the hologram in the desk before him. His optical implants let out the faintest purple shine in response to the drastic change in hue before him. In a fraction of a second, the optics recognized that the additional lighting did not trigger any change in his optical settings and again the lights died down. The young man stepped forward as his eyes took in the form before him. Holographic pixels flew around the space before him, creating a simulation that Hanzo was not sure he could believe. He understood the basics of the Black Wall and one thing came to mind.

"これはどのように可能なのでしょうか /// How is this possible?"

His optics triggered his neural implant on silent command. In the scroll of his eyes, he would see various boxes of text scroll before him. All of it, information on the Blackwall that had been compiled by Arasaka. Nothing within their data told them how taming such a beast would be possible. "データが多すぎる...。とてもランダムで、独自のパターンシステムに従っています。 /// So much data....so random and following its own unique pattern systems." The text boxes would all disappear at once as he turned his attention back to the head of the family.

"プロトタイプは完成に近づいています。その試験は秘密裏に行われるものではなく、シミュレーションで行われるものでもありません。ナイトシティで実際にテストされる予定です /// The prototype nears completion. Its trial will not be in secrecy or simulation. It will be tested live—here—in Night City."

"テストが完璧に進むようにします。すべてのセキュリティとリソースのニーズは一度に満たされます。/// I will ensure the test goes by flawlessly. All security and resource needs will be fulfilled at once." When Yorinobu's hand fell on Hanzo's shoulder it was a moment that commanded his full attention.

So, this was it. He forced himself to hide the twitch of a smile that had come to his lips. It was an unbecoming expression before those who were your betters. So he bowed his head in polite understanding.

Hanzo stood tall in this moment. He listened to Yorinobu's words and though he did not speak, his mind certainly raced.

I will finish this and when it is over, my name will ring through the ages of the family.

 

[Yorinobu Arasaka]

"見てみましょう /// We shall see." he said simply, his voice low and measured.

Yorinobu stepped forward toward the massive window overlooking Night City, hands clasped behind his back. The reflection in the glass showed Yorinobu's face—his face now. He turned slightly, his gaze settling on Hanzo Arasaka.

The heavy silence hung in the air as the double doors to the suite swung open. A figure stepped in, tall and imposing, clad in sleek armor with crimson accents. Cybernetic enhancements gleamed under the room's muted light, and a katana, humming faintly with energy, rested on his back. @Nakahara "Nightblade", moved with a predatory grace. His cybernetic eyes scanned the room, calculating, dangerous, turning fully, regarding the cyborg ninja with the faintest of nods.

"ブロックされました /// Nakahara," he said, gesturing toward Hanzo with a single deliberate motion. "私に奉仕するように彼に奉仕してください /// Serve him as you would serve me."

Yorinobu turned back toward the window, signaling the conversation was over. "以上です /// That is all."

With that, Nakahara straightened and stepped closer to Hanzo, bowing honorably. awaiting his orders. The chief executive on the otherhand remained silent, the city lights reflecting in his eyes, his mind already calculating the next move.


@Hanzo Arasaka