stealhearted | are you hurting the one you love?

[He stands horribly, terribly still and does his best not to flinch, but to succeed he has to curl his fingers into his palms and dig little indentations into his skin with his fingernails. He manages, and keeps his expression mostly impassive, because he didn't pretend to be everything he was not for two solid years just to completely lose the ability now.]

Your space isn't that big, how can you lose something so integral to personal hygiene?

I never really needed it. Ann'd fix my hair at school if it looked too bad. [ Ann, who always has a brush on her in case of emergencies and has fought with Akira's hair more than Akira's own mother, at this point.

At any rate, Akira flattens Akechi's hair down to the best of his ability and then stands back to survey his job. It's... passable.

Of course, Akira thinks Akechi looks great at all times, but he declines to voice that opinion. ]

[He doesn't bother voicing how irritating that is, both that he never needed it and that part of the why is that he, again, had someone to support him if he did. He allows Akira to flatten his hair into some degree of decency with only a slight frown, and takes a decent step backward when he's done.]

[At least they were hopefully going to claim his belongings from his apartment, so it was just for now.]

That's quite sweet of her. [His tone is entirely bland, because he realizes that being caustic would likely invite Akira to remind him he had just done what Ann would do for him for Akechi to some degree.]

She'll fix yours, if she catches you. [ Ann doesn't really have anything against Akechi, other than the fact that he killed Akira. She's one of the ones with the least grudge against him, save for Sumire and maybe Yusuke, and the mental image of Ann dragging Akechi clothes shopping with her temporarily makes itself known in Akira's brain.

Cute. ]

Well, you look--

[ And about then is when there is, unannounced, a THUD on the front door in the morning dew that takes the form of one (1) Futaba Sakura, cupping her hands to the glass and peering inside. ]

[He squints slightly, pawing at his hair in an almost self-conscious gesture.] I'd prefer she didn't. [He will absolutely be dragged clothes shopping at some point, and he'll actually gripe about it far more than he'll actually dislike it. He has to keep up appearances, after all.]

[She'll probably also be the one to suggest he tie his hair back, so thank her for that, Akira.]

[He bristles as Akira starts to tell him however he thinks he looks, but blessedly for them both, Futaba chooses that exact moment to gremlin smash her face into the door. Akechi sucks in a startled breath and takes a step sideways, shifting almost entirely out of view of the front door, until he catches sight of her orange hair. He relaxes, but only slightly.] Should I go let her in?

Nah, she's got a key. [ Which she doesn't use -- Sojiro does, a moment later, his voice faint through the door. He sounds fondly exasperated, and once the door is open she's inside like a bullet, stopping just short of actually jumping onto Akechi. She drops her hands onto a stool so she can lean in closer as leverage, eyes wide behind her glasses. ]

「 Holy wow, you're really alive again! 」 [ It's not that she's pleased by this, persay -- she's just fascinated.

Sojiro, for his part, just rubs at his head. ] 「 You kids can have your reunion, but take it upstairs if the customers come in, alright? 」 [ That said, he busies himself with starting to open, but it's clear he's keeping an eye on them.

Akira, meanwhile, just watches the entire thing happen and makes absolutely no effort to save Akechi from Futaba. ]

[God All Mighty he was not prepared for Futaba in any way and was a fool to think he would be. He tries very hard to stand still, but winds up leaning back on his heels away from her, just a hair. He glances over at Sojiro, frowning, and ducks into a shallow bow.]

Excuse my intrusion.

「 Well look what the cat dragged in, again! 」[And now he's leaning farther away from the stool Futaba is leaning on, as Morgana has jumped up onto it to add his own two cents. He grimaces slightly.] I dragged myself in, actually.

[ Akira steps forward, a little in front of Akechi, to try and save him from quite such intense scrutiny. ]

Think you can figure anything out?

[ Futaba looks at Akechi very intently, and then looks at Akira and nods. ] 「 If there's anything to figure out, I'll figure it out! 」[ She leans a little further forward, looking Akechi up and down. ] 「 How do you feel? Any pain? Headaches? Weird connections to the MetaVerse? Bleeding masks? 」

[ Helpfully, Akira offers: ] We can't move more than a few feet away from each other.

[ There's a deeply beleaguered sigh from Sojiro as he finally processes why Akira isn't in his school uniform and what this means. ]

[Akechi almost mentions the only pain he's experiencing is the headache that is Akira Kurusu, but with him standing just enough between them that he feels a little less overly scrutinized, he figures he'll let him be for now. He shakes his head, thinking it over.] Nothing abnormal except that I should be dead, and... Yes, that I can't stray too far from Kurusu. It's nothing visible, but when I try I'm met with something solid preventing me from going farther.

「 Nothing visible? Sounds fishy. 」[Morgana stretches forward, too, trying to paw idly at Akechi's sleeve. Akechi frowns and allows this, holding out his arm and dully realizing he's still wearing Akira's hoodie. Morgana's paw sets against the back of his wrist and he leaves it there, smiling, but doesn't say anything. Akechi's frown just deepens, but he doesn't move because he would send the cat to the floor for the way he's standing on him.]

No fish involved. [ Akira offers, and then starts to slowly head towards the door by way of demonstration. Before he can get all the way there, he can see the exact moment that the invisible forcefield seems to slam into Akechi, pressing him forward a few inches.

Akira immediately stops. ]

It's like that.

[ Sojiro shakes his head, and Futaba stares for a long moment, then gets up to flap her arm through the space next to and behind Akechi. She meets no resistance, and after a moment she whips her laptop out of her bag, sets it down, and starts opening a bunch of programs that look like she's trying to hack into the Matrix. ]

「 Okay, wait, wait, I have all my old programs, let me get set up and then do it again-- 」

[Akechi watches him move away and visually protests, but doesn't actually say anything, because he can't just move to follow or the cat will fall-- though oddly, when he's forced to move, Morgana doesn't feel a thing, just sits back on his haunches and watches Akechi get smushed flat on one side and shuffle closer to Akira.]

[He huffs, dusting himself off and taking two steps closer still, just for good measure, glowering at Akira for making a display of it. Morgana follows Futaba as she dives for her laptop, climbing up onto her shoulders and laying across them like a sentient scarf.]

「 Do you think it has anything to do with them being the only two who could use more than one Persona? I always thought that was unusual. 」

「 It'd be pretty weird for it to be about the Persona when we collapsed the whole Metaverse and all, but I guess this is already pretty weird... 」[ Futaba sounds a little skeptical, but she taps her fingers on the keyboard and then looks at the two of them. ]

「 Okay, Akira, first you move and make it move him, then-- 」 [ She points at Akechi, triumphantly. ] 「 You try to move away from him. I'll see if I can get any readings. 」

[ Akira looks at Akechi and gives him a look that's half apologetic and half amused, and then takes another few steps backwards until the wall slides into Akechi again before he takes the step forward. ]

「 I've been wondering about that, myself. We destroyed it, but can something like Mementos that represented the collective cognition of the world really be destroyed?」[Morgana's tail lashes curiously, and he sits up on Futaba's shoulders to watch the boys in their weird little circus act.]

[Akechi, for his part, tries to be a good sport about this, but Akira just had to go and give him that vaguely amused look. He glares approximate daggers and stands still, waiting for the wall to bump into him, and then follows it when Akira steps back within his figurative bubble, pressing his weight into it. His feet slide against the floor when he can't walk further.]

「 Okay, stop! 」 [ Futaba doesn't elaborate further, and Akira takes a few quick steps forward. Sojiro is watching them while he sets the rice cooker going and refills all the water, but given the conversation is half unintelligible meows to him, he's clearly not focused.

Almost automatically, Akira drags his phone out. There's still no familiar app installing itself on his phone, even if he swipes through all the pages. ]

I think Mementos is gone, but not the Metaverse. [ He says this and thinks of Lavenza, who had said something similar to him, after all -- she and Igor weren't dying, they were just going somewhere Akira couldn't access. Which makes sense... kinda. ]

「 Hmmm. Hmmmm. I'm getting some readings that're kinda familiar but -- hmmm. 」

[ Akira looks at Akechi, idly. ] I never asked, but did you ever meet a guy with a long nose who liked to talk to you about reality being a game and the world coming to ruin? [ He doesn't call him Igor, since he wasn't, really, but also the entire thing was so indescribably weird.

Futaba glances at Akira, briefly baffled, before turning back to her computer. ]

[Akechi does not pinwheel, but nearly, staggering to regain his balance with the way Akira seems to delight in moving back into his space just quick enough that he looks a fool. He stands very straight, eventually folding his arms over his chest, and watches Akira fiddle with his phone. His eyes slide to Futaba when she speaks, then back when Akira addresses him, and he squints.]

...You mean the Velvet Room. What does that have to do with anything?

[ Akira sticks his hands in his pockets, a little awkwardly. He hasn't really talked to anyone else about the Velvet Room, and from Futaba's side-eye, he's definitely going to get questions about it later -- but it confirms something he'd thought about.

He wonders if Lavenza had anything to do with this. ]

Just wondering. [ A beat, and then: ] It was a prison for me.

「 Ohh, it's like a metaphor! Got it. Anyway -- there's some weird readings here, but like, I think you're alive? Maybe get that doctor to look at you? But -- it's weird -- it's kind of like when I do a scan on Mona. 」

[ Akira looks at Akechi. Looks at Morgana. Looks back at Akechi. And suddenly has a distinct sinking feeling that he knows exactly what's happening. ]

[Akechi really did not need to learn these things about you, Akira. He scrunches his face, tsks, and shakes his head, waving a hand.]

And it was far more tied to the Metaverse than my being alive again could possibly be, so it's pointless to bring up. [He gives Futaba a sort of baffled scowl for "I think you're alive" and rolls his eyes.] I am a breathing organism with a heartbeat, I believe that qualifies me as "alive", yes. Perhaps this has left your area of expertise.

[Morgana hops off Futaba's shoulders and moves to stand, and then sit neatly at Akechi's feet.]

「 How "kind of" are you meaning? 」

「 Well, remember how we all thought you'd died, but you came back as a product of our cognition? Like we basically loved you back into reality? 」 [ Futaba looks at Akechi, making a vague gesture to the entirety of him. ] 「 That's my best guess. You're back to life because too many of us decided you shouldn't be dead, or something. 」

[ That's not entirely what had happened with Morgana, Akira thinks, but more importantly, Akechi is going to shank them all. ]

And the barrier?

「 That I have no clue on. There's some weird readings -- kinda like the barriers in Mementos, I guess, but not really -- but I can't figure that one out at all. Cognition! 」 [ She throws her hands up, like it explains everything. Psience! ]

[Akechi hates literally everything about this entire series of words Futaba is speaking. His expression twists up and then so does his posture, and Morgana has the sense to trot over to Akira, vaulting himself up to his arm and then his shoulder to settle in safety.]

That's absolutely preposterous--

「 Watch it, Akechi. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck here, and if you throw too big of a fit, you'll trouble the Boss. 」

[He stops, seething, but looks from Futaba to Morgana, skips Akira entirely, to Sojiro, and lets the way he'd balled his hands into fists and pulled his shoulders tight ease back to folding his arms over his chest. He leans against the wall, not wanting to try and stalk away and walk into the one nobody can see.] So if this barrier is like the ones in Mementos, can we throw the cat at it and hope it'll break?

「 Hey! 」

「 Not unless you want Sojiro to kill you. 」

[ Akira rubs at his head. This is a lot to take in, even for him, and he's used to this kind of thing. But the cafe is pretty much open and the morning is getting on, so after a second he just shrugs helplessly. ]

Let's take this upstairs before he gets any customers. [ In the interest of not having to explain that Akira is starting to think he brought Akechi back with sheer teenage emotions, which Akechi is going to hate. ]

[There's a reason Akechi is refusing to look at Akira outside of the fact that Morgana is on his shoulder. There's a lot of reasons, really, but-- it occurred to him, probably about the same time it occurred to Akira, that he's probably why they're in this situation. And there's not an easy way out of it, this time, either.]

[He schools his expression to careful neutrality, not meeting anyone's eyes, inclining his head toward the stairs.]

By all means, lead the way.

[Assuming Akira does so, Morgana absolutely sticks his tongue out at Akechi on the way by, for which he only receives a roll of the former detective's eyes.]

[ Akira leads the way, and Futaba is the one who follows up the rear, darting into the attic to set her laptop up and commandeer the desk for her own purposes. Akira doesn't mind her being around, but it suddenly feels even more invasive. He can only imagine how Akechi feels.

He really doesn't want to, actually. ]

So... He's just alive again?

「 I mean, probably. Like I said, have a doctor give him a check-up, but Morgana's been fine this whole time. Welcome back, loser! 」 [ Thus said, Futaba gently punches Akechi in the arm. "Gently" is a bit of a misnomer, because she uses most of her strength for it but it's basically akin to a gentle pap, given how out of shape she is. ]

I'd like to thank the Academy, [He deadpans, having taken up leaning against the half-wall below the window as he typically did when they would meet in the attic when he was actually a part of them-- which he will not be resuming considering himself at any point, thank you. He stares dutifully at his feet, arms folded over his chest and posture clearly guarded, and the punch doesn't result in much of any reaction except for him to lean very slightly in the direction she would have pushed if she had more than the strength of a kitten.]

[Morgana hops off Akira's shoulder in favor of walking in a few circles and then loafing on the bed, looking between the three of them.]

「 I've not suffered any sort of adverse effects, but being what amounts to a creation of the Metaverse to begin with probably means I'm sort of easy to conjure wherever is best fitting. You've been human from the start, Akechi, make sure you let us know if something feels wrong. 」

[The cat cares, okay.]

[And it really just gets under Akechi's skin.] Oh, of course, because this doesn't all already feel wrong. But sure, I will be most certain that I come running at the slightest ill effect. [His tone is still... starkly deadpan, but maybe that's what's so unpleasant about it. Sarcastic. He's fuckin' pissed.]

[ Akira and Futaba make eye contact and both shrug a little. ]

「 Sucks to suck, I guess. You could try just enjoying being alive. Works pretty well for the rest of us. 」

[ Akira runs a hand through his hair, sensing that this is going to escalate rapidly if he's not careful and unlike him punching Akechi, he thinks it's going to wind up in cat scratches and tears instead.

So he intervenes. ]

If you don't need to run anymore tests, we need to stop by his apartment.

「 Ooh. Roger. Hope you paid in advance. 」

[He closes his eyes, inhales slowly, counts backward from ten. If he focuses on counting, he can remain impassive. He did it for years. He can continue to do it for years. He's so, so tired of pretending to be something and someone he is not, but it's easier. They've put up with enough of his malice, and he's trapped in the care of a boy in the care of someone he doesn't want to inconvenience in any way, because Sojiro Sakura has done absolutely nothing wrong.]

[Akira's voice makes his jaw set and his arms break out in goosebumps under the sleeves of his hoodie, and Morgana shuffles to the foot of the bed to watch Akechi for a moment.]

「 I mean that. If this is something to do with the Metaverse, despite everything... Things could go very badly, very quickly. You don't have a choice but to trust us, Akechi. 」

[Akechi's teeth grit mostly for Morgana's tone, because it's gentle in the same way it had been when he accused him of not really hating Joker at all. They can all see right through him, and it makes him sick. Still, he fakes it. His tone is clipped, but carefully reigned in.] Sure.

[Morgana is obviously not convinced, but he hops off the bed and winds himself into a figure eight around Futaba's ankles.]

「 Let's go, then! You owe me a marathon of that one show you were telling me about. 」

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