Nested Insecurities/Story

***WARNING!!***
***This article contains spoilers for*AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative *from this point on.Proceed with caution!***

## Details

### Persons appearing

* Shoma Enda
* Andes Komeji
* Shoma's sister (mentioned)
* Robota

## Chapters

**Nested Insecurities** is a dreamworld featured in *AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative*, based on the Enda Residence.

It is the fourteenth chapter of Komeji and Shoma Route; Chronologically, it is the fourth Somnium in the game's storyline, exclusive to Komeji and Shoma Route and being its final Somnium. It is a Somnium world created from Shoma Enda's dream by the Psync System. ABIS investigated his Somnium in order to learn about his connection to the Horadori Institute of Genetics.

## History

During Kuruto Ryuki's investigation into the Half Body Serial Killings, he discovered that Shoma had some sort of connection to the Horadori Institute of Genetics, a highly dubious genetics research lab that was led by the second victim of the case, Chikara Horadori. Shoma was nearly kidnapped by a group of Horadori researchers that were apparently being led by the culprit of the case, Tearer, and was only saved in time thanks to the actions of Ryuki, Mizuki Date, Kaname Date, the Masked Woman, and Shoma's father, Andes Komeji. However, even after being rescued, Shoma was hesitant to reveal how he was connected to the institute. After being convinced by Mizuki, he agreed to be taken to ABIS and Psynced into to learn his secrets.

Shoma's dreamworld was based on the Enda Residence, his home. Unlike the actual residence, it was devoid of any sort of color, and had a melancholic feel to it. As Ryuki and Tama progressed in the Somnium, they encountered several of Shoma's painful memories: of the other kids bullying him at school because of his father's job, and how that fostered his resentment of Komeji. Shoma began to believe that the world around him was fake, and thus the pain he was experiencing wasn't real either. This manifested in his Somnium as multiple different Enda Residences, nestled within each other like matryoshka dolls. By delving into the "fake" residence that Shoma created, Ryuki and Tama found the memories that he was trying to keep locked away, the happy times where his friends laughed with him and he enjoyed Komeji's comedy. They realized that Shoma felt conflicted, torn between his old feelings of support for Komeji and his new feelings of hatred.

As they dug up Shoma's memories, both good and bad, Shoma retreated even further into his idea that the world was fake, desperately trying to escape his pain. His feelings were so potent that Ryuki almost believed them, thinking to himself that the world was fake and there was nothing they could do to help Shoma, and had to have Tama snap him back to reality. They discovered that Shoma didn't like his name because of the other kids at school making fun of him for it, and used that information to dig up a happy memory: Shoma asking Komeji why he had given Shoma his name. Komeji explained that he had originally wanted the kanji of Shoma's name to read "laughter" and "shine", like a shining smile, but Shoma's sister had teased him for it. Instead, Komeji wrote his name with the character for "happiness", because he was so happy when Shoma was born that he made it part of Shoma's name. Even still, he liked to think that "laughter" was still a part of Shoma, because he wanted Shoma to stay smiling forever.

Shoma fought back against the happy memory, saying that smiles didn't suit him, that he didn't need his name or his memories, and that it all hurt too much for him to keep. He took one of Komeji's trophies and destroyed it in rejection of his dad. While they couldn't fix the trophy, Ryuki and Tama instead found pieces of the origami medal that Shoma had made in support of Komeji - and which he had torn up a few days ago in the real world when the two got into an argument. Ryuki and Tama pieced the medal back together and unlocked the memory of when a young Shoma first gave it to Komeji. However, Shoma harshly rejected the memory, which caused the fake Residence to destabilize and knocked Tama out into the monochrome world that Shoma decried as fake. Shoma was in agony as he tried to escape the reality of the world, too scared of how much it hurt. This left Tama confused as to why a happy memory had hurt Shoma so much. Ryuki, with a notable sense of empathy, explained to her that happy memories could make the painful ones feel even worse; that Shoma didn't want to think about the times that he was happy when he was in so much pain.

The two of them picked up the origami medal where it had fallen, which continued the happy memory of Shoma giving it to his father. The memory helped them realize what they had to do, and they used it to fix Shoma's toy robot, in turn helping to fix Shoma's tormented heart. Shoma remembered when Komeji first gave him the robot, as thanks for making him such a nice medal. He stopped trying to run away from his feelings, and instead confronted the tormented version of himself. The monochrome Shoma insisted that he hated his dad, he hated comedy, and that he didn't care about anything, but the real Shoma broke through all of his arguments and dug down deep to what his true feelings really were. The monochrome Shoma broke down in tears as he managed to finally say what he really wanted to: "Dad, I love you."

The real Shoma placed his hand on the monochrome Shoma's chest, and the two of them merged into one. Monochrome Shoma regained his color as a beaming Komeji burst into the home, bragging about the laughs he'd gotten at work. Shoma admitted to Komeji that he understood the both of them a little more now, and apologized to Komeji for how he'd acted. He said that a comedian was the coolest job in the world, and that he was proud of his dad and his work. Komeji began to cry, and Shoma broke into a warm smile as he realized that the world wasn't fake, and that everything he was feeling had to be real.

Ultimately, Ryuki and Tama didn't learn anything about Shoma's connection to Horadori Institute. However, they helped him through the worst of his trauma, and left him a happier person who was more willing to be honest with himself.

## Name

* The name "Nested Insecurities" refers to Shoma's traumas and how he keeps them repressed deep within his mind. It also refers to Shoma's perception of the world as "fake", and how that's symbolized in his Somnium by various different versions of his home being nested within each other.
* The name of the Somnium's achievement, "Svabhava", is a Buddhist term that refers to the unchanging, intrinsic self. This relates to Shoma's struggle with identifying his true feelings, and how they haven't changed despite the hardships that he's gone through. Not only that, but the concept of *svabhava* is opposed to Buddhist concepts relating to emptiness and enlightenment, which is the sort of ideology that Naix attempted to instill into Shoma.

## Navigation

 Locations | **Tokyo**
*Chiyoda District*: Police Headquarters (Boss's Office, Psync Room, Interrogation Room) • Sunfish Pocket • Sekiba High
*Chuo District*: Horadori Institute of Genetics (Underground, Hostage Room) • Naixatloz Japan Branch (President's Office, Cathedral)
*Koto District*: Harbor Warehouse District • Date Residence
*Minato District*: Studio Dvaita • Aioen Orphanage • Ikume Shrine • Kumakura Office • Sejima Residence • Central Hospital
*Shibuya District*: Lemniscate Entertainment Offices • Yoyagi Park
*Shinagawa/Kabasaki District*: Matsushita Diner • Sagan Residence • Enda Residence • Kabasaki Chemical Plant
*Shinjuku District*: Golden Yokocho (Marble, Brahman World Cuisine) • Misetan Department Store • Tokyo National Stadium
**Side Ryuki:**
Dispossessed • Anyone Imagines • Ought to Know • Nothing to Be Done • Go • Farewell
**Komeji and Shoma Route:** Joy for Anguish • I Found Me • Past Its Ken
**Explosion Route:** Smiles for Tears • Well-Known • The Mind of God • Not All A Dream • She Was the Universe
**閭｡陜ｶ荵句､｢邱ｨ Route:** 遐ｴ邯ｻ逋ｾ蜃ｺ • All This Happened, More or Less
**Side Mizuki:**
Alone • Pass Mildly Away • End Where I Begun • Traveler • Left Behind • The Expense of Spirit
**Gen and Amame Route:** All Living Things • Of Arms and Of Man • Who's There • All That We Are
**Kizuna and Lien Route:** Bid the Soldiers Shoot • Sweet Silent Thought
**Resolution Route:** Hell • Visions • In Truth • Births • The End of Craving • Braver Than All Flowers