[He definitely doesn't feel like owning up to the booze and smokes. As much as Neil hates to admit it, Akechi is a bit of a Cameron. He doesn't feel like being lectured. As for the cave, that...will have to remain a secret at least for now.]
Just a couple of minor things like you said. Books, a radio. I finally wished for my prescription reading glasses back.
[ Maruki's answer doesn't come as a shock. A variation of what he spoke predicted in Akechi's own mind - though it's interesting he says I don't know where to start instead of the I don't have anything Akechi's own heart recited for Maruki. Maybe for himself. It doesn't matter.
He doesn't look over - keeps his eyes on the perpetually dead garden. ]
I couldn't begin to fathom where you of all people should start. [ A beat, then two, and- ]
My best ideas often came from listening to others and you're surrounded by many who never stop speaking. Overhearing conversations around town or in your own home - ideas will form from that naturally.
Edited (on until thicc arms wrapped around shadow the hdghog and he said what do u plan to do u insufferable shitbiscuit) 2025-06-21 15:58 (UTC)
I'll bet that's made a world of difference for you - the glasses, that is.
Why did you wait so long to get them? I can only imagine the strain that was on your eyes. Had I known, I would have been more cognizant of my recommendations at the library.
[ It's joy. Temporary, fleeting and hits like a brick to the skull. The monster's blood soaks his hands and lets out a guttural, vile sound as its death knell. He slices it over and over and over with a wild cackle, crystal chipping and giving life to a blood soaked ground.
And then it happens.
Kazuya attacks.
Akechi can't sense the origin of the skill or the type it is. Maybe it's curse. Maybe it's something special to a king alone. It's the vicious intensity - the merciless way they're all wrapped up in dark flames and reduced to nothing that makes him happy.
He brushes a hand through his hair in frenzied glee. ]
Damn, Kazuya! You wiped them out! That's what I love to see! Look at these pathetic things - oh wait - there's nothing left!
[ Don't mind him laughing like this is the best comedy he's ever seen in his life. It's fine. It's enriching. ]
[ Joy is what he smells as Akechi's blade digs deep i to the monsters and rips them apart. Unrestrained, feral glee is what Kazuya sees and scents as Akechi takes stock of the damage he'd caused.
His left eye flicks red, and he grins, sharp and a little wild. Egged on by the apparent praise he's recieved. Every last speck of demonic energy inside him buzzes, all too pleased.
He takes a bow, like hes the best showman in the world, and looks up at Akechi from his spot.]
I can do so much more than that, you know. Would you like to see a real show?
[ Any other day, Maruki might write that off as flippant, sarcastic...
But this does seem like genuine advice. He nods slowly, considers it. Akechi biking around Tokyo, eavesdropping on conversations – they've talked about that once before, haven't they? It's a blessing and a curse that they've had so many conversations over such a long year of knowing one another that some things have begun to blend and fade.
He doesn't want that. He wants it all to remain clear and sharp as crystalline glass in his mind. He wants–
More time.
More experiences.
More.
If he had a bucket list, that might be all it said, really. More. He really can be such a selfish man when he lets himself go. ]
You're right. People certainly talk enough here, whether they realize someone's listening or not.
[ It's idle conversation, acknowledging Akechi's words, but what he really wants to say cuts in quick. ]
I got the idea for bouldering from listening to you, after all. [ His voice is quiet, low. Just in case another resident happens to be outside tonight, this conversation shouldn't carry. It's only for them. ] Perhaps I could think of more things for us to do together. A list like that doesn't really appeal to me if it's done alone.
[ Maruki's words are punctuated with the hum of insects, wild animals crying and calling out miles away. The silence isn't due to hesitation or weighing his options - no, they both know Akechi will acquiesce to this. It's a matter of when, not if. He keeps his voice equally low. ]
If I'm interested, I'll join you. I won't guarantee it.
[ There are few in this world, less still in their true one, that he would ever do this for. In a world where he can finally pull the strings and be the puppet master over his own life-
It's inevitable. Of course he'll be at Maruki's side each and every time a request comes out of his mouth. ]
Unless it's similar to the curry contest, that is. I refuse to do another event like that. You can take Akira instead.
Edited (akechi wishes he was a piece of lost media so that someone will constantly want him) 2025-06-22 21:41 (UTC)
[ The reality of the judicial system is difficult to explain to those embedded in it, let alone someone with no concept of one. A harbinger of justice, a person who brings the truth to light no matter what - Akechi held such idealistic notions when he was rewarded with this fame and fortune.
It's false - as always. Convictions, coverups, those in power - justice is an illusion. Akechi couldn't care less.
But he's supposed to care. A prince offers a quiet laugh, thinks of a humble, thoughtful response. A brownie is plucked apart with his fingers. ]
I can only hope so. You understand my intent well enough and even if it's difficult - well, it's my duty to society and my obligation to my own morals to ensure the truth is always brought to light. [ Sheepish, he wipes his fingers on a napkin. Looks away, as if truly troubled and- ] Though despite all my attempts, even I have to admit good intentions aren't enough and sometimes such a moral standing makes things incredibly difficult. Not everyone wants to see the truth, after all. Even those who will benefit most from it.
[ There's edge of aggression in his tone, as if he can't believe Kazuya had the audacity to ask. As if Akechi doesn't want and seek out those with power. As if he doesn't willing look into a light that blinds for the smallest peak. ]
Don't expect me to watch from the sidelines though. We're going to make this bloodbath one they won't forget. So go on, your highness - start your little show.
[All at once, everything is chaos. That's how it seems to go every couple months.
Last time, he'd been caught flatfooted, with nothing to defend himself from the danger but his fists. It wasn't enough. Qifrey had died. This time ... he still hadn't meant to be caught up in the thick of it all, certainly not to fight. Everything had changed in the space of a wish. A mistake Shinjiro needed to undo before his oldest friend ended up just like him, a shell hosting a broken spirit.
Nothing for it, now. The idea of scrubbing the tattoo clean hasn't occurred to him, and so the mark of shackles remain on his wrists, poorly covered even by long sleeves, and if he has no choice but to bear with his Persona's return to his soul, well -- he won't shrink from it. So when he sees a familiar young man seemingly cornered by one of the corrupted crystal beasts lunging at his throat, too far to reach, Shinjiro doesn't hesitate. He removes the evoker from his coat and fires it at his head in a smooth motion, as though it hasn't been six months since he's done such a thing.]
Castor!
[The Persona bursts forth, charging into the corrupted individual with the force of a tank. Shinjiro runs over afterward, offers Akechi his hand.]
C'mon, let's get outta here.
[He makes no comment on his Persona's presence, or that he had met Akechi's desire to see it with refusal and suspicion. There's larger concerns now, as far as he's concerned.]
You want a bloodbath, huh? I'll have to change up my tactics a little, then.
[After all, most of his preferred method of magic leave nothing left of whoever it is who happens to be on the receiving end. Though if it's a bloody show that Akechi wants, perhaps a more physical method of attack is the best.]
Though I'd like to see you keep up with me.
[A wink, and Kazuya is off towards the next gleam of moving crystalline monsters, and he's fast. Akechi will have a hard time keeping up, though not impossible either. Kazuya wants him to bear witness, after all]
Yeah... If you want people to listen, sometimes you have to make them. Even if they believe it, the truth isn't doing them much good if they don't care.
[ He says it in the same tone that a parent might use when describing a child's bad habit - casual and flippant, and just a little bit irritated by the entire thing - and shakes his head as he finishes. Then he lifts his cup off the table, stares down at it, then sets it back on the table without drinking from it. ]
[ It's on the cusp of a decision that another makes one for him. Robin Hood had been incapable against this beast - the temptation to pull out Loki, even in this populated area, had been at the forefront of his mind. He settled on close combat instead. Fighting against an enemy like this is its own thrill and while he lacks his normal blade -
A knife works. Could work. He's excited when the creature lunges for his neck - hope its claws scrape the edge of his skin to try and infect. Fortify Spirit is working better than ever. He wants to see the disappointment on a grotesque beasts expression before it's ripped apart.
Then he hears it. The same telltale shatter, the flash of gun - he saw it with Minato, then again with Akihiko. Another persona user added to the fray is all too fitting and Akechi's starting to wonder if there's a new reason they were all pulled to this world.
A blade stays hidden against his thigh and he graciously takes the hand of someone playing hero. It's funny. Castor - he'll have to look up what that's referencing. ]
Not planning to clean up the trash? It would be easier with the two of us.
[ But he moves with Shinjiro anyway - guided by a hand, tugged forward on an invisible path before them both. There's not an ounce of fear or concern in his voice. There's no sense in faking it right now. ]
[ A predator darts to new prey and Akechi struggles to keep up - can't manage to stay toe to toe with Kazuya and as much as it irritates him, it invigorates all the same. He tries to match his speed anyway. It's a challenge to accompany the line of issues ahead of them, only moments away from slaughter.
And with that -
He readies his blade to slash at the first creature that makes it past Kazuya's potential massacre, eye on him, not the beast, from his spot at few feet back. ]
God, I live for this - show them no mercy, Kazuya!
1. stop that, 2. should we wrap... howls miserably
[ That's as much outright acquiescence as Maruki expects, and the true depth of it hardly needs to be spoken for it to be known. Of course Akechi will join him. He didn't ask, because he already knew the answer.
It's a rare gift, to have time given so freely by someone who never wants to be seen giving at all. Rarer still when all that time is borrowed if fate can't be defied.
He doesn't give voice to any of it. Just grins up at unfamiliar stars, their joint misery searing hot through his memories like the curry that nearly killed them, and then fishes his phone out of his pocket to start looking for the most horrible pictures he can find. ]
I seem to recall you enjoying yourself. [ No, Akechi didn't. ] Let me see if I can jog your memory about how much fun you had...
Truthfully, I didn't really wear them as much as I was supposed to back home, either. I found a similar pair at one of the shops in Stellari, but they give me a headache after too long.
[Indeed, Shinjiro looks far more interested in escaping than hanging back to fight. He doesn't dismiss Castor right away if only to provide them cover as they start to go. His Persona may not have many versatile abilities, but it is just as good at dishing out damage as it is absorbing it, ultimately.]
Two of us, huh? And here I thought you were just some detective.
[Phrased perhaps just a little pointedly, but he's not unhappy the other teen isn't defenseless here, honestly. Less responsibility, that way.]
This place will throw enough at you without warning. Please take better care of your wellbeing - eye strain, however limited the exposure is, could lead to many issues with your sight down the road.
The most important things in life rarely are. I do all I can to make those around me understand the gravity of the situation and accept the truth as it is.
[ That, in itself, isn't a whole lie, not the entire truth. He did his best to make even his stubborn boss understand her vile she actions weren't-
Her.
Though it didn't matter in the end. His begrudging respect towards her exists despite his best efforts to shake it. ]
For all its tedium, there are aspects and moments that are challenging and fulfilling. Sometimes, I think it was what I was born to do.
A detective that can defend myself. I wouldn't have survived long in this world without such capabilities.
[ And to that -
Castor packs a punch. So does Robin Hood. It appears with a flurry of blue flames at Akechi's heel and forehead, a resounding 'Robin Hood' from his lips bringing it to life behind him.
And without warning, he pulls his hand free and turns to face their forgotten foe. Kouga targeting the enemy they're leaving behind. It's crumpled. Distorted. A mess. Castor managed to pummel it into temporary submission. Akechi isn't content with that outcome.
Not while it still breathes.
It lets out a roar, a cry, and starts to make its way to them.
Could they have gotten away? Who could say. ]
We won't be able to outrun this one and there are monsters to either side, though far enough away we can avoid their ire. Let's take out this one to save ourselves the grief.
Shinjiro does freeze for a moment to stare at it, at the way the creature just appears with no need for an Evoker. He's not sure what he assumed Akechi could do, a moment ago, but somehow -- it wasn't this. He finds himself thinking -- of course. He knew there was something being held back in that last conversation, knew Persona wasn't the kind of thing a person just stumbled on out of the blue, without being involved somehow. Maybe it really did involve his cases, though somehow, the same way Yamagishi had awakened to her power after being locked in Tartarus for a night, or maybe this guy was just messing with him. It doesn't really matter now, he supposes. What's important is getting somewhere safe.
...Except then Akechi stops, turns, and attacks, and Shinjiro can't help but find himself thinking of Akihiko, lingering in Tartarus to finish fights with Shadows even after Yamagishi sensed a Reaper coming.]
This is reckless.
[He has to offer the warning, even though they've lost the element of surprise that would've given them an edge for running now.]
...But if we're gonna fight, we oughta at least lure it toward the crystal. Chances are this is one of us.
[Even with their lives in danger -- with these creatures no longer recognizable as the people they were, Shinjiro's...reluctant to actually kill them.]
cw: violence and guro..... and unfortunately ig npc based specisim/racism
[A few make it past his massacre. Only because instead of using magic, instead of immolating or vaporizing the crystalline monsters where they stand, he opts for physical violence. A Piercing Strike as he slams his fist into one beasts chest hard enough to not only shatter the crystal, but puncture through its body entirely, leaving a gaping, bloody wound and coating his arm in viscera.
And then he pulls his arm back, shoving the stumbling creature into another before he strikes again, just as brutal, just as fast. They're all weaker than him, there's no contest as he strikes them all without mercy, the force of his Deathbound enough to sever limbs just from the sheer impact, leaving shattered crystal and scattered limbs around him from the onslaught. And-
He's enjoying it.
The scent of blood is strong in his nose. The feelings of elation rising higher and higher as the savagery of Bel is sated. Nowhere else could he let loose like this. No other targets would be appropriate.
But these are monsters. They're not people. They're not human. These ones aren't even former dreamers to worry about.
They're gelflings and goblins and dragonkin all caught up in the rapidly spreading ailment, and the cure is death. There's no reason for him to bring those he doesn't care for, doesn't know to the crystal to cleanse them. He doesn't care except to flaunt his power, his superiority and brutality on those that are clearly underneath him.
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