Hey– careful.

[ Like with Aubrey shoving herself up too fast after being healed, Maruki reaches out to steady one of Akechi's shoulders. Only briefly, lightly. He knows Akechi has much more experience pushing his own boundaries, but still.

As for the rest of that, well– ]

Not the power of friendship. The power of grief, yes. That's what I was getting at.

[ It's said quietly, plainly. Maruki is exhausted too; there's no real deep well of sentiment behind it. They already saw one another's memories. If he can begin to guess, he's sure Akechi can too.

And then, after a moment, he tacks onto that thought. ]

The woman you saw. Azathoth's voice first made itself known to me on the day that I lost her.

[ It was the reason he lost her. ]

It's– I don't want to discuss it now, we both need sleep. I'm only telling you because I want you to know where... all of that stems from.

[ A vague gesture with his free hand at all of that, and then he rubs it against his forehead, huffs a worn out laugh. ]

I guess, anyway. I certainly never intended to fight with it, but here we are.