stealhearted | after me comes the flood;

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after me comes the flood;

[ It starts like this: Akira dreaming that he's in his high school, following a butterfly and feeling the strange tell-tale feeling of the metaverse shifting around him despite the fact that the metaverse should be gone. Akira follows along as best he can when it feels like his body is moving through air denser than ice, and he wakes up with a start to the weirdest day he's ever had in his life -- which is saying something.

So, after some consideration, having talked to his friends and seen how happy they are with what Akira can only assume is some sort of fake reality, Akira settles on the one person that probably can't be fooled either. Akira can't be the only one, right? Akechi could use multiple persona, Akechi was like Akira, so --

He texts him. ]

Hey. Has your day been weird at all?

[ Which Akechi will probably respond to with the most acerbic possible text, Akira assumes, because he can't -- he can't imagine anything else. Even though Akira phrased it like Akechi might not remember, just in case. ]

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[By the time Akira is stirring, Akechi has worked himself in and out of three separate crises. He didn't nap, he barely dozed, so to Akira's slight improvement he looks worse, but it's fine. He doesn't have to face people he cares about the opinions of for supplies, and maybe if he looks completely awful in Maruki's stupid fake reality the idiot counselor will rethink his methods.]

[Doubtful.]

[His breath hitches in alarm when Akira shifts, and he's immediately disentangling himself from his warmth. The shift in temperature is almost painful, for how sudden it is, but he draws away and sits up, getting off the bed completely and stepping out of sight just inside the small condo bathroom. He steadies his breathing, focusing on the cold as it seeps back into his body, and moves to the sink to wash his face, methodical.]

[ Akechi still leaves a spot of warmth in the bed, and Akira pets his hand down it in mild confusion before he finally sits upright. He scrubs at his own face. He doesn't feel better, exactly, but he does feel a little more like he'll be able to cope with seeing people for more than three seconds.

He gets up, hovers outside the bathroom door for a minute before he goes to get some water. He really needs to get some coffee in his system.

He waits until Akechi finally actually joins him before offering him a smile. ]

Shibuya or Yongenjaya first?

[Akechi probably looks like he hasn’t slept in a week, but he stands in the doorway to the kitchen, frowning.]

It doesn’t specifically matter to me.

...Yongenjaya, then. Everyone else is probably in school. [ Should Akira be skipping? No, but this is a fake world where no one cares if he plays delinquent. They probably all think he's off doing something romantic with his honor student boyfriend.

Anyway, the point is, he doesn't want to have to see anyone if he doesn't need to. Not yet, anyway.

He looks at Akechi for a moment, and then smiles in a fondly exasperated way, stepping over and reaching out to gently pull at some of Akechi's stray hairs until they lie flat with the rest of his hair. ]

You didn't sleep, did you? Thanks for staying with me anyway.

[He doesn't resist Akira's fussing, just quietly allowing him to rearrange his hair until it lays nicely. He hadn't bothered to even really assess it in the mirror when he washed his face.]

I didn't figure you'd stay asleep if I left.

Might have. I'm still used to sharing a bed with a cat. [ Even though he hasn't been home in a couple days; even though Morgana hasn't been a cat in longer than that. He has almost a year of habit built up, practice not waking up when little paws are shoved into his back or Morgana manages to put all of his kitty weight directly on Akira's left nipple (it's always specifically the left one) or forgets that his back claws don't retract when he tries to cuddle with Akira's head.

Akira never thought he'd miss the morning routine of checking himself for mysterious cat paw shaped bruises in the morning. ]

But I probably slept better with you there.

[He makes an affirmative sort of sound, hearing him but trying to not dissect the words. He didn't like the notion of Akira "sleeping better" with him present, outside of the obvious risks of such a thing.]

Do you need anything else before we go? [He anticipates "coffee" to be part of the answer.]

Nah. [ Akira never got the peripherals he needs for coffee, and at this point, his body just needs Something, so he's intending to just pound back a couple cans of vending machine UCC and count it as good. He's not exactly the poster child for being picky right now. He didn't even let his curry stew properly earlier. ]

Figure it's better to get as much of a headstart as we can.

[He nods, standing still for a moment before moving toward the door for his shoes.] On the way back... there's a department store, and a recycle shop. I figure you might want some clothes beyond what you're wearing.

Ah... Yeah. [ Akira turns a little red, because he isn't exactly embarrassed, but it isn't like he can easily wash his clothing when he's wearing the only outfit he has ready access to.

He's grateful, though; he could go back and pack a bag at Leblanc, but he just... doesn't want to. He just doesn't want to. He's got the money to spare, at least. ]

It's too bad this reality doesn't just work on cognition rules. I could just think my clothes clean. [ Akira grabs his jacket before he goes to tap his shoes on, scrunching his feet into them in blatant disregard for the health of the backs of his shoes. ]

[He tilts his head a moment, considering the concept of cognitive cleansing, and just grimaces after a while.] I suppose that works well enough within the Metaverse, given we can't clean our costumes... It's lucky they don't behave like normal, for all the stains they get.

[He sucks on his teeth a moment at Akira's... starkly teenager-like treatment of his shoes, sitting to pull his own on like the stuffy old man that he is.] I'd loan you something of mine, but our styles are... quite different.

You look better in your clothes, anyway. [ Akira offers him a smile that's soft and small and helps offset the way it sounds like a flirtatious advance, settling it firmly into "genuine compliment" territory, instead. It's not exactly any safer, but hey. ]

I'll just grab a couple things. I haven't really gone shopping much anyway, since I got here.

[He takes it better than he could have, pursing his lips and shrugging his shoulders as he stands up.]

There's an affordable laundromat nearby.

Cool. Between that and your shower, I'm set. [ He flashes Akechi another grin before he finally shoves himself back up to head out. It's brighter now, and Akira squints for a second at the sun. It seems entirely too sunny for January, but he supposes that's probably part of someone's perfect world.

How far does Maruki take these things, anyway? ]

Yongenjaya first... Takemi'll stock us up on any medicine we need.

[Akechi squints in the sun, himself, moving to stand behind Akira so when he ducks his head at a certain angle he serves as a point of shade.]

Don't let this statement make your head too big, but... I have to say, the number of relationships you forged to further your ends is actually impressive.

Ah. Don't give me too much credit. Yaldabaoth told me I should "forge bonds" to "gain greater power", or something. [ Akira is very, very aware that Akechi got virtually nothing in the way of advice, which really makes Akira wonder how Akechi was supposed to win and why Yaldabaoth was so certain Akira would lose.

Well. He almost did, he supposes. ]

And I've been told I can be pretty charming.

[He hums, nodding.]

It's a wonder I got as far as I did. That's a pretty clear means of assisting oneself, after all.

You really underestimate yourself. [ Akira says it so calmly, because it's still so obvious to him, that Akechi is amazing; that Akechi is so strong. He could have done so much if he'd had even a fraction of the support Akira did.

Akira is the one who has all that support and can still barely manage to function right now. ]

I always say I wish I'd met you earlier, like I'd have been able to stop you from anything. You've always had so much determination. You always knew exactly what you wanted to do... I really envied that.

[His expression stays carefully neutral.]

I suppose tenacity born from resentment is still tenacity. I don't wish my ambition even on you, however.

Sorry. I know it didn't really get you where you wanted to go. [ The murdering thing was definitely not cool, and Akira can't imagine himself ever killing anyone anymore than he can imagine himself managing to talk Akechi out of committing murder. Still. ]

I've never really... There's not much in my life I've ever felt like I needed so badly I had to get it. [ There's really only Akechi, and when Akira thinks about Akechi being gone in any real capacity he feels like he can't breathe. ]

I always thought I was too passive.

Your ambition seems to lie more in inaction than action, if your willingness to shake your friends from their mind-rotting slumber is any indication.

[If he'd met Akira before he'd awakened to his Persona and understood it as a means to get to Shido, things may have gone differently. But he didn't, so here they are.]

...I really do plan to do it. I just -- can't face them yet. [ Akira looks down at his hands, taking in a breath and letting it out, slowly. He's not going to let Akechi get under his skin like that again, and especially not when they're boarding a train to go to Yongenjaya.

Akira does stop and get a canned coffee from the vending machine, though. ]

I just -- [ He can see Akechi's face in his memory, that moment where Akechi realized, and how broken he felt. He wants his friends to remember without him. He wants them to do it on their own, so he doesn't have to see it. He knows he's a coward. ]

After we infiltrate it today, I'll talk to them again. It'll help if I can see Maruki. [ Because if it's Maruki's fault, it isn't Akira's. ]

[He gets a hot drink of some sort, himself, but doesn't drink it, just holds it between his hands.] You're foolish, but I can't claim I understand the bonds you share with them. As a result, I've no idea how this affects you.

You know I like you, right? [ It seems a little like a non sequitur. ] I've told you that I do, and I've made it clear through my actions. But you still can't really wrap your head around it, because you've gone so long not being able to trust anyone. [ Akira offers him a small little smile that's a little more sad than anything else. ]

It's the same for me. Even though I know... they're my friends. I know they'd want to wake up, even if it cost them the things they wanted the most in life. I know they'd want to make the decision for themselves. It's just...

[ Akira's voice is very quiet. ] I've never had friends like that before. I'm scared I'll wake them up and they'll hate me for it.

[There's at least a thousand things he could say to that. To all of that. But he just sits down on the train and lets his posture make him small and closed off.] If our functional ability to handle friendships were the same, you'd understand why I've yet to call you as much. [His tone is mostly flat-- it's not even sharp, really. He sits back in his seat.]

I don't know any of them well enough to say with conviction, but with the way you've all fought thusfar, the choices you've made and stuck to, it seems foolish to fear their ire.

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