stealhearted | are you hurting the one you love?

[He allows it-- he's getting more tolerant of Akira's mindless affection. It's not like he has a choice, really, but... Maybe, just maybe, he likes it a little, too.]

The concept of bathing and changing into clothes I haven't been wearing for going on four days is probably the most exciting thing I've had to look forward to in recent memory. [A beat, and he frowns, nodding.] I suppose they don't allow cats in the bath. [Not that he wants to explain the marks on either of them.]

He also does not, generally, like large bodies of water. [ Morgana minds them less than a lot of cats, but he's still not terribly fond of the idea of being in a bath house...

Last time he had to groom his fur for like three hours. Akira timed it. ]

But he can hang out here. [ Akira grabs Akechi's hand to pull him upstairs to get his bath things -- notably, he does not let go of Akira's hand when they get there, not until they're halfway across the attic. ]

[This, he figures, is less something he allows and something he will adjust to happening regularly, especially. It's easy contact, especially without his gloves, so he doesn't mind it when it stays, keeping pace to keep their joined hands lax between them, fingers tangled together. When released, he looks down at their hands and blinks, flexing his fingers a moment and moving away to get his bag of toiletries from Sae, and then frown around until he finds the laundry from before.]

Would you be opposed to me getting a dresser of some sort? Or-- oh, I could just fold my things on this shelf, here. If that's permissible. [He doesn't know why he's still asking-- he knows Akira is likely to fuss at him for not allowing himself to be comfortable. For not assuming he belongs.]

They make these little fabric boxes you can put on the shelves as a dresser. That might work. [ It's not that Akira doesn't want Akechi to have an actual one, it's just that space is at a premium in the attic and he doesn't know how much Sojiro will allow him to just move random pieces of furniture into the attic.

Maybe he should get a bigger bed, though. ]

I've seen ones with your sweater pattern on them.

[He blinks.] Yes, like the organizers. That would do nicely, I think...

[He frowns thoughtfully, looking back at Akira.] ...my sweater pattern? You mean the argyle?

Yeah. The one that made you look like a British boarding school student. [ The way Akira says it doesn't make it sound like it was a bad thing at all. He dug the look.

To be fair, Akira has liked every look Akechi has ever worn, even the Loki hotpants.

Perhaps especially the Loki hotpants. ]

[He snorts, rolling his eyes and folding a set-- a literal set --of pajamas over his arm, the bag of toiletries from Sae tucked under it.] I suppose with my hair and the blue argyle, it did give that effect.

It was cute. [ Akira steps over to Morgana. ]

We're going to take a bath. [ And then he waves, because he knows Morgana won't want to go with them for several reasons, and heads back out. ]

[And so things went.]

[The implementation of Akechi accompanying Akira to Shujin and becoming the school's resident roof haunt pushed a lot of good things. He periodically spent time with each of the other Thieves-- Ryuji would skip class and come up onto the roof, Makoto would come find him with a terrifying sixth sense that he wasn't in class, he learned (slowly) how to garden. On lunches, they would all congregate on the roof and Akechi (also slowly-- very slowly) learned how to manage the overwhelming cacophony that was six teenagers on a rooftop talking over one another. Sometimes it was more, whenever Sumire came up to visit, though she didn't, terribly often. She would come up before and after classes, specifically to say hello and goodbye to Akechi, at least once a week, but was otherwise often busy, he assumed. Regardless, he was learning how to handle being adopted by a group of misfits, if at a markedly slow pace.]

[As such, he handled Akira's presence better as time wore on, and got better about sticking close to him around Leblanc, especially, but on the roof as well, from time to time. They hadn't had any particularly bad bouts of him mismanaging his tethered life expectancy, and he supposed for a dead guy recently brought back to life and thrown face-first into rebuilding his life from the ground up, he felt pretty okay. They were headed over to the local grocery, at that particular moment, Akira promising to make something other than curry for dinner only if Akechi swore to not tell Sojiro.]

[Unfortunately they didn't quite make it to the grocery store.]

[Rounding a corner about three paces ahead of Akira, Akechi pivoted on his heel to walk backward, opening his mouth to make some undoubtedly snide comment as Akira came around the corner after him, but the words die on his tongue as one of his steps makes the whole world ripple in a sinkingly familiar way. It's not the same, not quite, as stepping into the Metaverse by the navigator, and it couldn't be-- neither of them even had their phones out --but it's just similar enough that he stops dead and spins back around, taking two steps backward instead, reaching a hand back to take Akira's wrist as soon as it's within reach. His clothes stay the same, which he's not entirely sure what to think of-- except that they're not specifically in a palace, and/or wherever they are, the overlord hasn't deemed them a threat.]

[He's never wished so much for the familiar blues and greys of the Velvet Room.]

...if you say "Toto I don't think we're in Kansas anymore", Akira, I will eviscerate you here and now.

I was actually going to say-- [ Akira cuts off briefly, offering Akechi a smile that's definitely a little too excited to be in the MetaVerse even if this place shouldn't, by all rights, exist, and then he raises his hand. ]

Persona! [ It works: he can feel the rush of Arsene materializing behind him, the familiar tugging at his mind, at his heart. He can also feel that Arsene is it: any hopes of calling on Satanael or Alice or Titania are dashed immediately, reaching for anything else leaving only an empty space in his mental filing cabinet.

He's sure that he could get them if he went to the Velvet Room -- probably? -- but there's no familiar entrance, no Lavenza or even Igor.

So. They're on their own, but only kind of. Akira reaches into his bag and there's a strange sound like fabric tearing before he produces a knife and a very small (toy, but now real) gun, which he offers to Akechi, keeping the knife for himself. He tucks the flap of fabric back down.

Yes, he sewed a false base in his bag just in case; don't come for him.

It's only after that that he finally pulls his phone out. There's no app, predictably; no service, either. ]

Guess we'd better take a look around, huh?

[He's turning slowly when Akira abruptly goes full and 100% Joker, no cap, and he releases his wrist with a startle, not so much flinching as he squints and turns his head away from the burst of light that brings forth Arsène. His expression becomes a grimace when it dawns on him that that's not a bad idea, but he isn't entirely sure he wants to figure out who would present-- Robin Hood, Loki, or the strange amalgamation of them both, Hereward. Briefly, he closes his eyes to mull the concept over, sort of look into the same mental filing cabinet Akira utilizes, though probably a different color, finds both Loki and Robin Hood, and feels a little sick about it for a reason he can't quite determine.]

[Deciding Arsène is probably enough for now, he gives Akira a withering frown when he tears up the base of his bag, but accepts the gun without protest.]

[He doesn't answer Akira verbally, immediately, clicking the safety on the pistol and tucking it into the back of his pants in favor of taking a few steps forward again to do just as suggested and look around. He moves with purpose, his posture tinged with anxiety but overall wearing confidence like he isn't bothered-- he's not, really. He was traversing the Metaverse solo for over a year before the Phantom Thieves even turned up, all that has caution in his step is the fact that this isn't quite the Metaverse.] Arsène is all you have, I assume? [It's a harmless question-- perhaps allows him to follow the stronger tug of Loki's instinct should he need his own.]

Edited 2021-04-15 22:41 (UTC)

Mmhmm. Until I get to the Velvet Room. [ It's not so much an "if", for him, as a "when"-- if there's a MetaVerse, he's sure Lavenza and Igor know about it and he's sure they're actively trying to get through. It just might not be that easy.

Akira's footsteps don't bleed pink when he moves, though, which is interesting; he still finds it easy enough to slot himself behind the corner of a building and disappear from sight.

It looks like Tokyo. Seems like it, for the most part, and it isn't until Akira looks at it again with his third eye, and then he slowly lets out a breath so that he doesn't make any other signs of alarm. ]

I think I know what this is. [ There's signs, now that he's looking for them: election posters with Shido's face still on them; televisions playing to announce how the new political uprising has led to peace and a purge of criminals; the streets clean of any debris.

Akira sees a newspaper celebrating six months since the downfall of the Phantom Thieves, and feels a particularly vile roll of his stomach. ]

[Funny you should mention those posters, they were the first thing pulling Akechi's shoulders taut.]

[He leans against the wall beside Akira, letting him do his Leader thing, letting him figure out what they're looking at-- Akechi wasn't any good at that part. He'd never really done much to understand what the Metaverse was, or what it wasn't, to where he could look at this (which obviously wasn't) and have any suggestions. He angles his head toward Akira, toward Joker, but doesn't look entirely at him.] I'm all ears.

It's a fake. [ It makes sense, now that he thinks about it: that's why there's only Arsene within him, that's why things seem a little off and their clothes haven't changed. ]

Probably from... the remnants of the conspiracy. I don't know if this is their idealized world or if they're trying to overwrite our reality. Futaba might know. [ Ever since Maruki, it's a little hard to judge if people are just fucking around with Palaces or if it's bigger than that. This sure looks like they're trying to rewrite history, though, which sours Akira's stomach.

He wonders where Akechi would be, in that false history. ]

[One of the posters with Shido's face has blown off its placement, and skuttles by their feet-- Akechi wastes no time in stepping away from the wall to stamp his heel neatly between his father's eyes. He grinds his heel there a moment, just for good measure, his face entirely without expression.]

[His eyebrows crease together once Akira is done speaking, and he raises his head, lifting his heel and letting the imprint of his shoe on Shido's face pull his shoulders square.] They did have access to the original research on the Metaverse, so that makes enough sense. Given we haven't been detected as a threat, it's likely fine for us to check it out on our own a bit. Gives us more to report back to Navi.

[ Akira nods, taking a look around again -- there's people, but only the vague outline of them, each one looking like the others. He imagines it's because they're unimportant to the cognition, a mass of voters and people under the sway of the popular party, but...

Well, hopefully two highschool students don't draw any attention. ]

We'll keep an eye out for shadows. Do you have any idea where they'd be conducting the research?

[He scans the shadows with a bland look, eyes narrowing. If they're all an assumed faceless mass of voters under the sway of his father... He needs a hat. Moving away from where they were standing, he walks down the street without sticking to the walls or sneaking in any way-- walking like a normal person without any need to hide or focus on where he's going seems to be a clearer way to blend in with the other "people", and gives them a better chance of actually seeing more of the city without getting noticed.]

Here, or in the real world?

Both. One usually leads to the other. [ It'll be easier once they have Futaba, but since Akira doesn't immediately know how to get out of this MetaVerse, they might as well do as much exploration as they can so they aren't going to her empty handed.

Akira seems to catch onto the same thread of thought as Akechi, and he stops after a second, offering over his fake glasses and a hair tie. It's green; it's one of Futaba's. Akira, for his part, steps over to buy a water bottle from a vending machine and uses it to slick his hair back a little on the side -- the effect makes him immediately look like someone different to anyone who doesn't know him. ]

I've got a couple of bandages left in here, but we should avoid fights if we can.

I'd figure it was somewhere in the Diet building, though I'm not certain if that stands true now. [He gives a briefly perplexed look to the glasses and hair tie before sliding the glasses onto his face (they look sincerely ridiculous) and finger-combing his hair to pull it back. It's only long enough for something of a rat tail at the base of his neck, but it's passably different enough. He still wants a hat, solely for the specific color of his hair and the fact that none of these shadow people share it.]

[He gives Akira a vaguely appraising look for his attempted hair styling, and then strikes back out onto the street.] Somewhere underground would be my next best guess-- especially once they understood more of Mementos.

Okay. We probably can't get into the Diet building. [ Not with just the two of them, not when they're not entirely sure what they're up against. Akira thinks they're both extremely strong, but Akira doesn't know how much of that strength is viable when they're both minorly handicapped.

Akechi, at least, is used to not having access to the Velvet Room; he's definitely stronger on his own merits than Akira is. ]

Should we start with the underground and see if we can find anything?

[Strength and unrelenting tenacity are two very different things. Akechi had little care for what happened to him in the Metaverse-- he could just heal and there would be no ill effects once he left again. He could just leave and go back another time, and wounds inflicted within would typically not follow him out. If they did, they were never half as severe as they were within. It hadn't been his best moments, but he would argue he wasn't stronger than Joker, just less bothered by things that might slow him down.]

[He didn't have a team to keep in mind the entire time, so he'd never really bothered with prioritizing safety.]

[Even now, he struggled to focus on the fact that he needed to not fuck up and get hurt. That was more for Akira's sake than his own, so he tried to keep the thought present in his mind despite the dull thrum of power from Loki tempting him to act up. He hummed around it, pausing and looking at his feet. Underground...]

Sewers, you think?

Guess we were going to the bath anyway tonight. [ Not that dirt from the MetaVerse really transfers, but the thought of it does, and Akira has absolutely no intentions of being covered in cognitive sewer gunk even in the real world.

That said, he pauses, looking around for a moment and down the alleyways with fewer of the shadows. ]

So, manhole covers? [ Akira asks, idly, stepping over towards one of the alleys that clearly has one -- and very few "people" around it. ]

[He's glad Akira mentioned that so he didn't have to, nodding and meandering after him.] Before that, it might be beneficial to congregate somewhere and people-watch a bit first. Make sure there isn't surveillance we aren't noticing.

Hmm. I've got a plan you're going to hate. [ Which is all the warning Akechi gets before Akira reaches out to entangle their hands, automatically stepping closer to Akechi. Some of the other shadows going about their daily business don't look dissimilar; couples and children, all in vague shapes, making their way through the city.

Akira uses his Third Eye again, glancing down the street. ]

There's a lot of cameras, but that's not unusual.

[He doesn't hate it as much as Akira might assume, but he doesn't state that, either. He doesn't step out of his personal bubble, tilting his head conversationally while he scopes out the area and just watching him. Seeing Akira, still visually the slender teenager who shakes over unplanned run-ins with cops, behave with Joker's confidence is doing things to the pit of his stomach, and he's not sure he likes the warmth settling there.]

Busy area of town, there would be. Where's that water bottle? [Assuming Akira still has it, Akechi carefully uncaps it in a way that removes the plastic ring under the cap as well. Rolling it between his fingers for a while, he folds it in on itself and then slides it over his ring finger.] Even someone voting for the worst prime minister Japan has ever seen would be upset if a beloved's ring fell into the sewers, am I wrong?

[He absolutely saunters away from him, then, every bit the Detective Prince.] Come on, then, walk with me. [He speaks with his hands, surreptitiously flicking the plastic ring around his finger until it's loose, so when he drops his hand to his side just over a manhole, it slides off and slips through the gap in the center of it.] Oh! How awful. [His tone is equal parts convincing and excessively put-upon, and he throws himself at the manhole to wrench it out of place.]

Edited 2021-04-16 01:16 (UTC)

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probably timeskip,

timeskip get

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