[ Maruki doesn't startle, not at the sight of Robin Hood – cakes! cakes in the kitchen!! – nor at the attack on the cookware. He only looks over at Akechi, unimpressed. ]
Interesting...
[ One raised eyebrow. ]
So in the end, you chose the pot for yourself, not the kettle.
Robin Hood appears again in another flurry of blue flames, Akechi resisting the temptation to bomb the whole kitchen. His kitchen. The kitchen with food Maruki, for all his shitty comments, cooks for him in.
Another Kouga will make the point. Akechi prepares for another 'accident' and-]
An issue occurs - he can tell that immediately by the way his chest starts to ignite. Heart racing. Soul thriving. A little cackle escaping his lips before he can even hold it back because Robin Hood vanishes under a pixelated glitch. Erased from existence and replaced with-
Loki.
A Loki who immediately uses Riot Gun on the kettle. Sparks hitting stir fry, plate, a static residual hitting Akechi's own arm from lack of distance.]
[ That does get a reaction out of Maruki. The cackle is familiar– the persona, and the attack it produces, not at all.
He throws an arm up in front of him as the static shrapnel strikes him too, glancing off with a jolting burn. Not enough to make Azathoth claw its way out of his soul, but it's certainly awake now, and Maruki–
Stares at Akechi.
Just stares.
Screw the kettle. Forget the mushrooms. ]
That wasn't a glitch. That wasn't a different appearance. What was that?
[ Akechi gets one chance to not treat Maruki like an idiot about this before the conversation takes a very different turn. ]
I'm unsure - it disappeared before I could see, though I did sense a shift. Your guess is as good as mine.
[A mushroom dug out and plopped into his mouth - Akechi should be feigning surprise. Acting concerned. He tries to force the hesitation to his expression and-
An act lost the second he felt that comfortable within Loki's rebellion.
It's unlikely Maruki will brush this off entirely, but his persona wasn't out long enough to study. If he can answer the attack-]
If you mean the ability itself - it's one Robin Hood had back in our reality. I didn't think it worked here.
[A beat. Some vegetables. He doesn't meet Maruki's eyes at all.]
[ Chopsticks balanced on top of the bowl, napkin set down on the counter. ]
Those were some interesting anecdotal hypotheticals you told me earlier about what it might take to have multiple personas, if such a thing were even possible.
[ And then he pushes the chair away and stands, grips the back of Akechi's shirt between his shoulder blades to yank him to stand as well. ]
It must be a side effect of the enthrallment era - his body doesn't even fucking react to having a hand curl around his shirt and pull him up.
His mouth does though. An immediate -]
Aren't you bold today. No, I don't think I will.
[Coming out of his mouth, despite being completely off the chair, standing straight.
The hell does Maruki think he's doing?
Now it's his turn to have once goddamn chance to let him go. Akechi's arms reaching for the arm behind him to drag him off - all nail and erratic movement to peel him away, feet plastered to the ground and muscles tense to stay put for the long haul.]
[ Sure, try to grapple! Maruki's not about to get into a wrestling match with him.
Azathoth is summoned instantly, silently. Two tentacles snake around Akechi's torso as Maruki lets him go and stares at him, brows raised, eyes wild. ]
Would you like to be dragged outside or are you going to walk yourself?
[Azathoth is the bane of his fucking existence. His fingers drop to dig into the shitty tentacles - an effort he knows is wasted from every other time these stupid appendages have dragged him. No Almighty. Nothing. Bless works on the healing one - it's not coiled around him. Even if it was, that removes one of many.
He's about to mouth off again when-
Being dragged out isn't an option with their housemates somewhere. One particular annoying fly on the wall doesn't need the goddamn ammo.
Tense and wound tighter than the persona around his body-]
Fine. I'll walk. We'll go outside - remove your annoying leash.
[ To his credit, he does. The tentacles retract as soon as Akechi relents, though Azathoth doesn't return to the collective unconscious ether. It hovers besides Maruki as he makes a broad, sweeping gesture with one arm and doesn't otherwise budge.
He never walks in front of Akechi anymore for a reason, after all. ]
Akechi has half a mind to make him lead the way, since he's so adamant about confirming this whole ordeal.
He turns as requested - a pair of shitty leather gloves grabbed from the counter as he moves. Petulant. Irate. He opens the front door with force - tries to slam it in Maruki's goddamn face to prove a point about bossing people around. 'The hinge is broken' muttered under his breath when that doesn't work and-
Around they go. A familiar backyard. A training ground. The same place Akechi dragged Maruki with a certain degree of intensity when he realized that man helped killed the Green Knight.
And he stands there - arms crossed over his chest. Defiant. Rebelling. For no reason at all.]
If you were so eager to train, you should have said so. We could have avoided the distressing loss of our only kettle.
[ Maruki's simmering the whole way, his blood a low rolling boil in his veins. The nonsense Akechi has pulled on him while trying to keep the wool over his eyes – repeatedly speaking to him about the purely hypothetical idea of a psyche so split that it manifested two personas, as if Maruki's too stupid to realize that nothing he's ever said has been purely hypothetical – it absolutely infuriates him.
He can tolerate a lot from Akechi. A nearly infinite amount of bullshit. He can take verbal abuse, threats of all kinds, physical violence, sleepless nights, endless training, thankless work, mutual lies–
He can no longer tolerate Akechi faking certain things. His personality. His knowledge of the cognitive world. His estimation of what Maruki can observe and analyze.
There is a fundamental respect between them. And to Maruki's mind, if Akechi respects him at all, then he had better start respecting him enough not to treat him like a goddamn idiot.
They make it to the clearing behind the castle, partially obscured by a hill. The site of so many nighttime training sessions. The place where Akechi lay on the ground after the Green Knight was defeated, panting and staring up at the sky as Maruki admitted that it was in fact grief over a friend that drove him to discovering new heights of power.
Here he rounds on Akechi, the first part of what he's said drawing a couple wry quips onto the tip of his tongue to try to lessen the tension between them before they do battle, but then–
We could have avoided the distressing loss of our only kettle.
Maruki blinks.
Smiles at him, quick and sharp and nowhere near reaching his eyes before it drops away again.
Takes a step back.
Brings his hand up to adjust his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose– ]
Let's begin.
[ Bitten out. Harsh. Far more so than Akechi's likely to have heard before, two words even more acidic than whatever Maruki barked when he would break up fights in the forest.
And without further ado, there's a nice Piercing Strike headed straight for Akechi.
He's furious - a vile sort of righteous anger that takes the appearance of a disease and Akechi can see the infection course through his veins, corrupt his mind, unleash something new.
It delights him - an all too familiar attack catching him off-guard only because it's not the norm for this one to come out immediately. It's meant to end their sessions, temporarily stop a barrage, or force their hands into the final phase of training. Maruki never uses it first.
Akechi gets hit in quick succession - five rapid hits landing before he manages to guard. The pain miniscule - covered up by his own joy at a provocation finally breaking Maruki down. A honey coated smile meant to needle further spreads over his face, in a light, joyous tone full of feigned benevolence Maruki hates more than anything.]
Oh my - I didn't realize how mad you were. My deepest apologies. It's not my intent to cause such anger. I hope you can forgive me.
[And he knows what Maruki wants to see and-
'Robin Hood' appears in a barrage of light instead, a smug smirk peaking through Akechi's fingertips that are pressed against his face. Flames. Fire. A beam headed for the one weak point he knows about.
A Kouga, but one not directly aimed at single tentacle or Maruki - he needs to find that shitty healtacle first in the swarming mass of lookalikes.
The bright light is headed for the center of many, in hopes of sussing out healing one by the differences in damage.]
[ Of course it's the Prince disguise. Of course it's Robin Hood. What did Maruki really expect?
He isn't going to make demands now that they're out here and the battle has begun. He's going to ferret out the splintered, unstable parts of Akechi that he's managed to keep hidden until tonight using every tool in his arsenal. The same way he can get people to easily open up and tell him anything, he can draw out the jagged edges of a broken mind. If they slice his palms in the process, all the better. In the history of mankind, there's never been a martyr that didn't bleed.
He clocks the intent of Akechi's attack as soon as it makes contact with its target. Maruki has spent enough time with Azathoth now to recognize the different tentacles despite their identical appearance, but without the benefit of that connection, Akechi defaults to the easiest way to determine which is which. It's smart. He gets it.
He hates it.
Watching the Tentacle of Healing crumple from one attack irritates him every single time. It's the most important one; it shouldn't have such an easily exploitable weakness. The others don't, as far as he knows. Azathoth certainly doesn't.
It isn't knocked out of the battle yet – it always takes at least a few attacks before they get to that point – but it's down, twitching weakly among the writhing mass. The other two alongside it react in kind, nullifying or reflecting the attack back at Akechi and rearing up–
So that one can buff Maruki's defenses, for when Akechi inevitably switches his target, and the other can–
Maruki wants to see something. ]
You don't know what I'm really like, Akechi.
[ Normally, the Tentacle of Assistance acts as a sort of energy source for him, ramping up his power at steady intervals throughout their training. It's a reliable friend.
This isn't training, though.
Maruki knows the tentacles don't attack, necessarily, but if he can shift his intention to using them against Akechi rather than for himself, he thinks he might–
Ah. Yeah. There it is. Get Tarunda'd, idiot. ]
To borrow a turn of phrase... If you were holding back on me this whole time, I'll never forgive you.
[ It's time to Amplify Force! Enjoy the free turn, Akechi! ]
[It crumbles - writhes and shudders on the ground. A pathetic skill able to fell a power that destroyed a god. It calls back every moment in Mementos where bleeding, cowering, pathetic little creatures writhed, begged, pleaded under his heel while he crushed the life out of them. The tentacles don't do any of that. He wishes they did. Azathoth is unphased as ever. Maruki-
Resolute. Intense. The real Maruki Takuto drug out to rot in a fake world.]
As if I care about your forgiveness.
[The debuff hits - an annoyance. Attack down. A new power. One turn. Three turns. It doesn't matter in the goddamn slightest. He won't stop - won't ever stop and Loki thrums in his chest. Debilitate ready. Debilitate there, but-
Not yet. He doesn't need it. Loki is Akechi - it's his true self. Akechi won't give it easily or freely.
Maruki buffs himself. Whatever. Akechi will be pummeled with an infuriating powerful attack that sparks life into him as it takes it. Glee. Hit after hit of an unmatched power he wants to grasp and rip apart with his own hands.
He doesn't even brace for it.
Almighty doesn't work - not well. He doesn't fucking bother Megidolaon - the explosive SP gouging attack does little.
Instead, he moves closer to make up for his lack of power - Kouga unleashed against the downed healing tentacle and-
He pivots - knife sliding out of pocket and into his hand, moving to get as close to Maruki as possible to stab anywhere he can. Robin Hood preparing for another Kouga at his back.
That physical damage is impossible to avoid with the range of Maruki's attack - getting close won't change a goddamn thing, but if he's lucky, the man will be hit by his own ability or Akechi's fucking knife.]
One: Maruki's mind goes perfectly clear. Still and quiet. Placid as the surface of a pond. He wonders, sometimes, what it's like to be inside Akechi's mind. What a labyrinth (hah) of confusion and deception and desperation it is. How loud it must be. His own can get crowded at times, an overthinker even when he's at rest, but he's learning that when the chips are down, silence takes over.
It was the same against the Green Knight– mostly. In the heat of battle, his mind would slide into pleasant blankness to meld in with Azathoth. But it was his first true battle, and he couldn't maintain that flow state at all times.
He's trained quite a lot since.
It's easy to slip into. Easy to stay in. His mind turned to one great white palace, cavernous empty rooms, spiraling stairs. A bird flapping its wings the only motion. Peaceful. Eden.
Two: He calmly steps out of the way of Akechi's incoming barrage to let a mass of the lesser tentacles come between them.
Azathoth is fast. Brutal. Doesn't need to be told what to do, because who's in control when they share the quiet of his mind like this is always in question and always in flux. The tendrils wrap around Akechi's ankles and feet to anchor him to the ground and stop his advance on Maruki – around his torso to keep him from trying to lunge forward with the momentum he has left – around both arms, because Maruki knows by now that he can wield just as efficiently in his non-dominant hand–
And then one snakes around the hand holding the knife. Not to get him to drop it, to keep him gripping it tight as they bend his arm back until the blade points toward himself.
Force sufficiently amplified, he could easily strike Akechi when he's temporarily a sitting duck.
Doesn't. The attack lingers in the back of his mind. Maruki tips his chin down, brows coming together to meet in the middle, voice taking on an edge of placating sympathy. ]
How it feels for an ego to splinter so unevenly that multiple personas form from it... What kind of stress a psyche must undergo to develop not one, but two senses of rebellion against an unjust world. I wonder what that's like, Akechi?
[Trapped. It doesn't matter - tentacles coiled tight around his flesh and a knife about to be twisted from his grip.
Twisted from his hand.
Twisted towards his body with a sickening
disgusting
sickly
Tone meant to be a taste of his own fucking medicine from a goddamn doctor who dispenses without restraint.
The real Maruki Takuto and-
The real Akechi Goro.
A blade's tip pointed at his own body like a-
Puppet. Mannequin. Body distorted to follow the whims of whoever has Akechi Goro.
He's supposed to hold the power. Control. Conquer. A manipulator not meant to be tied down by the weight of his own fucking strings.
Maruki's words ring in his ear. His own statements thrown back in his face.
He's the one in control. Akechi Goro. Not Shido. Not Maruki. Not any other goddamn person in this shitty reality.
He laughs - vile, hateful and monstrous without a goddamn care who hears because the only thing left is Loki, Loki, Loki forming from red hot fire. Loki, Loki, Loki who gives him freedom and Loki, Loki, Loki who doesn't make a single goddamn appearance as-] You piece of shit - always a goddamn showoff. You think I'm bothered by the crap you're saying? Shut the hell up!
[Robin Hood appears.
He isn't controlled. Not a puppet. He won't be held hostage. Not by Shido, Maruki, anyone. A blade pointed - that's fine. Akechi's always held a knife to his own neck, carved splinters into a board holding a noose he's tightened, a serrated blade ripping at his own flesh again and again and hitting others again and again and pull Maruki up to dangle under ten splinters with a chair kicked out from under his feet, ten splinters that Shido won't have the benefit of seeing, because he would never taint his last remaining image of her with that man's bloated corpse hanging, hanging, hanging-
A Kouga hits the end of the blade, sending it straight into Akechi with force. He's not a hostage, he's the hostage taker. Not a victim, he's the aggressor. He won't be tied down by a piece of shit like him.
No pain, then burning. No pain, then it surges. No pain, then Loki drums and drums and drums and Robin Hood drums and drums and drums and Akechi can barely breathe through the gagging sort of crackled laugh. One he can hear. Can't. It's painful - adrenaline surging, body slumping, he's in the depths of Mementos and Joker ripped through him with an arsenal. Loki wanted to come out then.]
I hate you - I hate you! You piss me off and I'll rip you apart until nothing's left!
[Fuck him - Fuck him.
Another Kouga to keep the blade twisted into gut, muscle and bone, pierced somewhere near his rib. He's never felt better. Never breathed easier. He's laughing - wild, free and acidic and-
There's nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing.
and-
Blue flames vanish for red spirals climbing high, high, high into the sky above them. Robin Hood falls like a lost prince - a hero rises from the ashes of it.]
[ He expects Akechi's knife turned toward himself to become an attack. Would never force it himself, merely laid the trap to see what Akechi would do.
He'll never forget that first night exploring the forest together, Akechi trying in vain to fight against the Green Knight's thrall and driving his blade into his own shoulder. Whether it had been because of the entity attempting to control his mind or a purposeful ward against it, Maruki still isn't sure. Is it right to experiment with Akechi while they're mid-battle? Probably not, no, but there's very little of Maruki that cares about being right at the moment.
The blade sinks in with all the force of the attack behind it, the vile words spill forth, then it drives deeper, and Maruki's not training with him at the moment, no, but Akechi is still his ally. He's half a second away from directing the weakened Tentacle of Healing to do what it can before it's lost to the next attack directed at it when–
Loki.
The tentacles rip, tear, fall away from Akechi with the force of this new manifestation. Some wither and dissipate into the ground only to be replaced by twice as many new ones.
They don't lunge for Akechi, though. They move away from him as Maruki does, two or three steps back with an arm curled protectively in front of him, the same arm that took the brunt of the teakettle shrapnel earlier. Azathoth remains stalwart behind him, and they both watch as this new persona takes abrupt, violent shape.
It isn't fear that Maruki feels. It isn't anger, either, despite the rage that's driven him every step of the way so far.
There's a sick twist of pride through the center of his sternum, that bright, warm spot that exists only for Akechi and recognizes that he's finally beginning to see more of the whole of him.
And there's intrigue for all the unknown that Akechi represents, all the things Maruki can still learn from him.
And there's catharsis, after months spent suffering Akechi's false personality in order to better learn and perfectly uphold it.
And there's the soul-deep thrill of a better-matched fight.
Maruki folds his arms over his chest and grins. ]
Good. Show me who you really are.
[ Now it's time to hit with him the good old 2.5x Raining Seeds. ]
Edited (oh i guess i should add a cw lol hey how about just don't read this thread if you aren't cool with guys destroying themselves and each other) 2024-07-27 06:14 (UTC)
Free from the tight coils of persona contorting his body, latching him to a spot and
Free from the Robin Hood's leash, image, a false personality hidden behind a just prince manifest.
Maruki's smiling. Akechi is too - manic and ferocious with his fingers wrapped around the handle of a knife in his chest, the other threading through his hair and-
Loki is strong. Loki is unburdened. Loki doesn't have limits. Loki is wild and alive - floats behind him without intent to protect from the upcoming attack. Akechi's hit head on with it - doesn't bother to block or move. Laughter that -
Mocks. Thrives. Coats the sensation of blade sliding from his guts as he rips it out in one swift motion. Red blooming across his shirt, like an ocean made of thick crimson viscera. Like a boy turned god about to unleash his wrath on an unknowing world. He isn't in the Metaverse - a deep, twisting wound embedded and pulled out makes him dizzy, sick, and-
Happy - joyous.]
God, I live for this!
[Loud. Blooming like the spot on his chest. Riot Gun comes easy - Loki is strong. The healing tentacle will go down and everything, everything, everything will be hit and-
Akechi wastes no time in moving closer again, undeterred by a wound, emboldened by Loki behind him and-
Debilitate focused directly on Maruki - the only image his unblinking eyes are focused on.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ He squints. Removes his glasses. Cleans them. Replaces them on his face and squints again. ]
Well, if you're sure, you're welcome to put them away yourself.
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[Because he doesn't care at all if they're in front of him. At all. Not one bit. It's about putting up clutter and cleaning while you work and -
His meal's temporarily abandoned for the stupidest argument of all time.
Pot. Kettle. Dabi. He isn't fucking touching either one.]
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[ Maruki's continuing to eat his stir fry! He can do that and argue at the same time. Yummy yummy baby corn. ]
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[Happy. Chipper, even.
You know that feeling when a cat jumps on a table and chooses to perch next to a particularly full cup of water by the edge of it?
That happens, in this moment. Akechi's absolute silence after an easy agreement an ominous warning.
Robin Hood appears behind him. A second later-
Blue tinted fire. Blinding. Bright. Kouga hits the pot and forces to the ground with a clatter. It doesn't sound like anything breaks, at least.]
My apologies. I don't know what happened - ah, this world is strange sometimes, isn't it?
no subject
Interesting...
[ One raised eyebrow. ]
So in the end, you chose the pot for yourself, not the kettle.
1/3
Akechi's eyes don't leave Maruki's face for a single moment - like there's a target between his eyes he's trying to catch in his vision.
He sure did say so much with so little. An intentional act. The audacious goddamn comment.
Fuck Dabi.]
no subject
No goddamn problem actually!
Robin Hood appears again in another flurry of blue flames, Akechi resisting the temptation to bomb the whole kitchen. His kitchen. The kitchen with food Maruki, for all his shitty comments, cooks for him in.
Another Kouga will make the point. Akechi prepares for another 'accident' and-]
3/4 actually
An issue occurs - he can tell that immediately by the way his chest starts to ignite. Heart racing. Soul thriving. A little cackle escaping his lips before he can even hold it back because Robin Hood vanishes under a pixelated glitch. Erased from existence and replaced with-
Loki.
A Loki who immediately uses Riot Gun on the kettle. Sparks hitting stir fry, plate, a static residual hitting Akechi's own arm from lack of distance.]
Stupid piece of shit!
no subject
Loki vanishes. The kettle shatters. Dead silent and-
Akechi stares at his plate.
Picks up the chopsticks. A little static shock - ouchies.
And proceeds to take a bite with only a-]
That was odd. Though it makes sense glitches can happen in that manner - Robin Hood chose an interesting appearance.
[He plucks a piece of kettle out of his vegetables. Unfortunate.]
Did you put mushrooms in this?
no subject
He throws an arm up in front of him as the static shrapnel strikes him too, glancing off with a jolting burn. Not enough to make Azathoth claw its way out of his soul, but it's certainly awake now, and Maruki–
Stares at Akechi.
Just stares.
Screw the kettle. Forget the mushrooms. ]
That wasn't a glitch. That wasn't a different appearance. What was that?
[ Akechi gets one chance to not treat Maruki like an idiot about this before the conversation takes a very different turn. ]
no subject
[A mushroom dug out and plopped into his mouth - Akechi should be feigning surprise. Acting concerned. He tries to force the hesitation to his expression and-
An act lost the second he felt that comfortable within Loki's rebellion.
It's unlikely Maruki will brush this off entirely, but his persona wasn't out long enough to study. If he can answer the attack-]
If you mean the ability itself - it's one Robin Hood had back in our reality. I didn't think it worked here.
[A beat. Some vegetables. He doesn't meet Maruki's eyes at all.]
I'll clean up tonight.
no subject
Don't bother.
[ Chopsticks balanced on top of the bowl, napkin set down on the counter. ]
Those were some interesting anecdotal hypotheticals you told me earlier about what it might take to have multiple personas, if such a thing were even possible.
[ And then he pushes the chair away and stands, grips the back of Akechi's shirt between his shoulder blades to yank him to stand as well. ]
Outside. Now.
no subject
Oh. He does not like that.
It must be a side effect of the enthrallment era - his body doesn't even fucking react to having a hand curl around his shirt and pull him up.
His mouth does though. An immediate -]
Aren't you bold today. No, I don't think I will.
[Coming out of his mouth, despite being completely off the chair, standing straight.
The hell does Maruki think he's doing?
Now it's his turn to have once goddamn chance to let him go. Akechi's arms reaching for the arm behind him to drag him off - all nail and erratic movement to peel him away, feet plastered to the ground and muscles tense to stay put for the long haul.]
Go test your goddamn theories on your own.
no subject
[ Sure, try to grapple! Maruki's not about to get into a wrestling match with him.
Azathoth is summoned instantly, silently. Two tentacles snake around Akechi's torso as Maruki lets him go and stares at him, brows raised, eyes wild. ]
Would you like to be dragged outside or are you going to walk yourself?
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[Azathoth is the bane of his fucking existence. His fingers drop to dig into the shitty tentacles - an effort he knows is wasted from every other time these stupid appendages have dragged him. No Almighty. Nothing. Bless works on the healing one - it's not coiled around him. Even if it was, that removes one of many.
He's about to mouth off again when-
Being dragged out isn't an option with their housemates somewhere. One particular annoying fly on the wall doesn't need the goddamn ammo.
Tense and wound tighter than the persona around his body-]
Fine. I'll walk. We'll go outside - remove your annoying leash.
[He isn't taking a STEP until it goes away.]
no subject
He never walks in front of Akechi anymore for a reason, after all. ]
Lead the way. You know where we're going.
no subject
Akechi has half a mind to make him lead the way, since he's so adamant about confirming this whole ordeal.
He turns as requested - a pair of shitty leather gloves grabbed from the counter as he moves. Petulant. Irate. He opens the front door with force - tries to slam it in Maruki's goddamn face to prove a point about bossing people around. 'The hinge is broken' muttered under his breath when that doesn't work and-
Around they go. A familiar backyard. A training ground. The same place Akechi dragged Maruki with a certain degree of intensity when he realized that man helped killed the Green Knight.
And he stands there - arms crossed over his chest. Defiant. Rebelling. For no reason at all.]
If you were so eager to train, you should have said so. We could have avoided the distressing loss of our only kettle.
no subject
He can tolerate a lot from Akechi. A nearly infinite amount of bullshit. He can take verbal abuse, threats of all kinds, physical violence, sleepless nights, endless training, thankless work, mutual lies–
He can no longer tolerate Akechi faking certain things. His personality. His knowledge of the cognitive world. His estimation of what Maruki can observe and analyze.
There is a fundamental respect between them. And to Maruki's mind, if Akechi respects him at all, then he had better start respecting him enough not to treat him like a goddamn idiot.
They make it to the clearing behind the castle, partially obscured by a hill. The site of so many nighttime training sessions. The place where Akechi lay on the ground after the Green Knight was defeated, panting and staring up at the sky as Maruki admitted that it was in fact grief over a friend that drove him to discovering new heights of power.
Here he rounds on Akechi, the first part of what he's said drawing a couple wry quips onto the tip of his tongue to try to lessen the tension between them before they do battle, but then–
We could have avoided the distressing loss of our only kettle.
Maruki blinks.
Smiles at him, quick and sharp and nowhere near reaching his eyes before it drops away again.
Takes a step back.
Brings his hand up to adjust his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose– ]
Let's begin.
[ Bitten out. Harsh. Far more so than Akechi's likely to have heard before, two words even more acidic than whatever Maruki barked when he would break up fights in the forest.
And without further ado, there's a nice Piercing Strike headed straight for Akechi.
Better act fast. ]
no subject
He's furious - a vile sort of righteous anger that takes the appearance of a disease and Akechi can see the infection course through his veins, corrupt his mind, unleash something new.
It delights him - an all too familiar attack catching him off-guard only because it's not the norm for this one to come out immediately. It's meant to end their sessions, temporarily stop a barrage, or force their hands into the final phase of training. Maruki never uses it first.
Akechi gets hit in quick succession - five rapid hits landing before he manages to guard. The pain miniscule - covered up by his own joy at a provocation finally breaking Maruki down. A honey coated smile meant to needle further spreads over his face, in a light, joyous tone full of feigned benevolence Maruki hates more than anything.]
Oh my - I didn't realize how mad you were. My deepest apologies. It's not my intent to cause such anger. I hope you can forgive me.
[And he knows what Maruki wants to see and-
'Robin Hood' appears in a barrage of light instead, a smug smirk peaking through Akechi's fingertips that are pressed against his face. Flames. Fire. A beam headed for the one weak point he knows about.
A Kouga, but one not directly aimed at single tentacle or Maruki - he needs to find that shitty healtacle first in the swarming mass of lookalikes.
The bright light is headed for the center of many, in hopes of sussing out healing one by the differences in damage.]
Maruki-san - this really isn't like you.
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He isn't going to make demands now that they're out here and the battle has begun. He's going to ferret out the splintered, unstable parts of Akechi that he's managed to keep hidden until tonight using every tool in his arsenal. The same way he can get people to easily open up and tell him anything, he can draw out the jagged edges of a broken mind. If they slice his palms in the process, all the better. In the history of mankind, there's never been a martyr that didn't bleed.
He clocks the intent of Akechi's attack as soon as it makes contact with its target. Maruki has spent enough time with Azathoth now to recognize the different tentacles despite their identical appearance, but without the benefit of that connection, Akechi defaults to the easiest way to determine which is which. It's smart. He gets it.
He hates it.
Watching the Tentacle of Healing crumple from one attack irritates him every single time. It's the most important one; it shouldn't have such an easily exploitable weakness. The others don't, as far as he knows. Azathoth certainly doesn't.
It isn't knocked out of the battle yet – it always takes at least a few attacks before they get to that point – but it's down, twitching weakly among the writhing mass. The other two alongside it react in kind, nullifying or reflecting the attack back at Akechi and rearing up–
So that one can buff Maruki's defenses, for when Akechi inevitably switches his target, and the other can–
Maruki wants to see something. ]
You don't know what I'm really like, Akechi.
[ Normally, the Tentacle of Assistance acts as a sort of energy source for him, ramping up his power at steady intervals throughout their training. It's a reliable friend.
This isn't training, though.
Maruki knows the tentacles don't attack, necessarily, but if he can shift his intention to using them against Akechi rather than for himself, he thinks he might–
Ah. Yeah. There it is. Get Tarunda'd, idiot. ]
To borrow a turn of phrase... If you were holding back on me this whole time, I'll never forgive you.
[ It's time to Amplify Force! Enjoy the free turn, Akechi! ]
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Resolute. Intense. The real Maruki Takuto drug out to rot in a fake world.]
As if I care about your forgiveness.
[The debuff hits - an annoyance. Attack down. A new power. One turn. Three turns. It doesn't matter in the goddamn slightest. He won't stop - won't ever stop and Loki thrums in his chest. Debilitate ready. Debilitate there, but-
Not yet. He doesn't need it. Loki is Akechi - it's his true self. Akechi won't give it easily or freely.
Maruki buffs himself. Whatever. Akechi will be pummeled with an infuriating powerful attack that sparks life into him as it takes it. Glee. Hit after hit of an unmatched power he wants to grasp and rip apart with his own hands.
He doesn't even brace for it.
Almighty doesn't work - not well. He doesn't fucking bother Megidolaon - the explosive SP gouging attack does little.
Instead, he moves closer to make up for his lack of power - Kouga unleashed against the downed healing tentacle and-
He pivots - knife sliding out of pocket and into his hand, moving to get as close to Maruki as possible to stab anywhere he can. Robin Hood preparing for another Kouga at his back.
That physical damage is impossible to avoid with the range of Maruki's attack - getting close won't change a goddamn thing, but if he's lucky, the man will be hit by his own ability or Akechi's fucking knife.]
The true Maruki? You're nothing but trash!
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One: Maruki's mind goes perfectly clear. Still and quiet. Placid as the surface of a pond. He wonders, sometimes, what it's like to be inside Akechi's mind. What a labyrinth (hah) of confusion and deception and desperation it is. How loud it must be. His own can get crowded at times, an overthinker even when he's at rest, but he's learning that when the chips are down, silence takes over.
It was the same against the Green Knight– mostly. In the heat of battle, his mind would slide into pleasant blankness to meld in with Azathoth. But it was his first true battle, and he couldn't maintain that flow state at all times.
He's trained quite a lot since.
It's easy to slip into. Easy to stay in. His mind turned to one great white palace, cavernous empty rooms, spiraling stairs. A bird flapping its wings the only motion. Peaceful. Eden.
Two: He calmly steps out of the way of Akechi's incoming barrage to let a mass of the lesser tentacles come between them.
Azathoth is fast. Brutal. Doesn't need to be told what to do, because who's in control when they share the quiet of his mind like this is always in question and always in flux. The tendrils wrap around Akechi's ankles and feet to anchor him to the ground and stop his advance on Maruki – around his torso to keep him from trying to lunge forward with the momentum he has left – around both arms, because Maruki knows by now that he can wield just as efficiently in his non-dominant hand–
And then one snakes around the hand holding the knife. Not to get him to drop it, to keep him gripping it tight as they bend his arm back until the blade points toward himself.
Force sufficiently amplified, he could easily strike Akechi when he's temporarily a sitting duck.
Doesn't. The attack lingers in the back of his mind. Maruki tips his chin down, brows coming together to meet in the middle, voice taking on an edge of placating sympathy. ]
How it feels for an ego to splinter so unevenly that multiple personas form from it... What kind of stress a psyche must undergo to develop not one, but two senses of rebellion against an unjust world. I wonder what that's like, Akechi?
cw: violent thoughts, graphic violence @ self, suicide reference, murder
Twisted from his hand.
Twisted towards his body with a sickening
disgusting
sickly
Tone meant to be a taste of his own fucking medicine from a goddamn doctor who dispenses without restraint.The real Maruki Takuto and-
The real Akechi Goro.
A blade's tip pointed at his own body like a-
Puppet. Mannequin. Body distorted to follow the whims of whoever has Akechi Goro.
He's supposed to hold the power. Control. Conquer. A manipulator not meant to be tied down by the weight of his own fucking strings.Maruki's words ring in his ear. His own statements thrown back in his face.
He's the one in control. Akechi Goro. Not Shido. Not Maruki. Not any other goddamn person in this shitty reality.
He laughs - vile, hateful and monstrous without a goddamn care who hears because the only thing left is Loki, Loki, Loki forming from red hot fire. Loki, Loki, Loki who gives him freedom and Loki, Loki, Loki who doesn't make a single goddamn appearance as-] You piece of shit - always a goddamn showoff. You think I'm bothered by the crap you're saying? Shut the hell up![Robin Hood appears.
He isn't controlled. Not a puppet. He won't be held hostage. Not by Shido, Maruki, anyone. A blade pointed - that's fine. Akechi's always held a knife to his own neck, carved splinters into a board holding a noose he's tightened, a serrated blade ripping at his own flesh again and again and hitting others again and again and pull Maruki up to dangle under ten splinters with a chair kicked out from under his feet, ten splinters that Shido won't have the benefit of seeing, because he would never taint his last remaining image of her with that man's bloated corpse hanging, hanging, hanging-
A Kouga hits the end of the blade, sending it straight into Akechi with force. He's not a hostage, he's the hostage taker. Not a victim, he's the aggressor. He won't be tied down by a piece of shit like him.
No pain, then burning. No pain, then it surges. No pain, then Loki drums and drums and drums and Robin Hood drums and drums and drums and Akechi can barely breathe through the gagging sort of crackled laugh. One he can hear. Can't. It's painful - adrenaline surging, body slumping, he's in the depths of Mementos and Joker ripped through him with an arsenal. Loki wanted to come out then.]
I hate you - I hate you! You piss me off and I'll rip you apart until nothing's left!
[Fuck him - Fuck him.
Another Kouga to keep the blade twisted into gut, muscle and bone, pierced somewhere near his rib. He's never felt better. Never breathed easier. He's laughing - wild, free and acidic and-
There's nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing.
and-Blue flames vanish for red spirals climbing high, high, high into the sky above them. Robin Hood falls like a lost prince - a hero rises from the ashes of it.]
Manifest, Loki!
cw referenced self-harm
He'll never forget that first night exploring the forest together, Akechi trying in vain to fight against the Green Knight's thrall and driving his blade into his own shoulder. Whether it had been because of the entity attempting to control his mind or a purposeful ward against it, Maruki still isn't sure. Is it right to experiment with Akechi while they're mid-battle? Probably not, no, but there's very little of Maruki that cares about being right at the moment.
The blade sinks in with all the force of the attack behind it, the vile words spill forth, then it drives deeper, and Maruki's not training with him at the moment, no, but Akechi is still his ally. He's half a second away from directing the weakened Tentacle of Healing to do what it can before it's lost to the next attack directed at it when–
Loki.
The tentacles rip, tear, fall away from Akechi with the force of this new manifestation. Some wither and dissipate into the ground only to be replaced by twice as many new ones.
They don't lunge for Akechi, though. They move away from him as Maruki does, two or three steps back with an arm curled protectively in front of him, the same arm that took the brunt of the teakettle shrapnel earlier. Azathoth remains stalwart behind him, and they both watch as this new persona takes abrupt, violent shape.
It isn't fear that Maruki feels. It isn't anger, either, despite the rage that's driven him every step of the way so far.
There's a sick twist of pride through the center of his sternum, that bright, warm spot that exists only for Akechi and recognizes that he's finally beginning to see more of the whole of him.
And there's intrigue for all the unknown that Akechi represents, all the things Maruki can still learn from him.
And there's catharsis, after months spent suffering Akechi's false personality in order to better learn and perfectly uphold it.
And there's the soul-deep thrill of a better-matched fight.
Maruki folds his arms over his chest and grins. ]
Good. Show me who you really are.
[ Now it's time to hit with him the good old 2.5x Raining Seeds. ]
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Free from the tight coils of persona contorting his body, latching him to a spot and
Free from the Robin Hood's leash, image, a false personality hidden behind a just prince manifest.
Maruki's smiling. Akechi is too - manic and ferocious with his fingers wrapped around the handle of a knife in his chest, the other threading through his hair and-Loki is strong. Loki is unburdened. Loki doesn't have limits. Loki is wild and alive - floats behind him without intent to protect from the upcoming attack. Akechi's hit head on with it - doesn't bother to block or move. Laughter that -
Mocks. Thrives. Coats the sensation of blade sliding from his guts as he rips it out in one swift motion. Red blooming across his shirt, like an ocean made of thick crimson viscera. Like a boy turned god about to unleash his wrath on an unknowing world. He isn't in the Metaverse - a deep, twisting wound embedded and pulled out makes him dizzy, sick, and-
Happy - joyous.]
God, I live for this!
[Loud. Blooming like the spot on his chest. Riot Gun comes easy - Loki is strong. The healing tentacle will go down and everything, everything, everything will be hit and-
Akechi wastes no time in moving closer again, undeterred by a wound, emboldened by Loki behind him and-
Debilitate focused directly on Maruki - the only image his unblinking eyes are focused on.]
You're next in line to die!
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cw: violent thoughts, murder
cw brainwashing lmao here we go
cw: violent thoughts, gore, murder, self harm (???)
cw gun violence, murder, physical assault
CW: VIOLENCE!!!!!!!!! of all kinds
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cw: violence, eye damage, graphic violence. mmmm just dont click.
cw eye trauma, graphic violence - truly you should not be reading this thread, stranger
cw: ohhhh graphic violence oooo eye trauma, self harm (??), rock based violence!
cw graphic violence, eye trauma, near death experience
cw: emeto, murder, suicide, graphic violence! suicidal ideation (????)
cw get cared for after ALL THAT, IDIOT
DIRE DIRE DIRE OHHH EVIL CAITLIN
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cw injury descriptions (i don't think they're graphic, but. shrug)
cw: injury description cont!
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cw: flaying fun fact!
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cw eye trauma, graphic violence