He's allowed the opportunity to speak, to say what needs to be said, what has never been said, never, not to Shibusawa, not to Akira, not to anyone, not until now, and–
The words spill forth with hushed, pained, raging conviction that only grows stronger the longer he goes on. ]
Rumi.
[ I was going through a lot at the time, and I had a bit of a breakdown. I cried out for help. ]
I became aware of this power when I inadvertently used it on Rumi.
[ The woman you saw. Azathoth's voice first made itself known to me on the day that I lost her. ]
Her mind and heart were broken. They had been for months. She wasn't functional, she didn't want to live. There was no way out. I was going to lose her no matter what. I heard its voice, and I begged it to help me put an end to Rumi's suffering.
[ She would be proud of you and what you've accomplished, but not for the reasons you think. ]
I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know how it worked. I only knew that I wanted to use what I had learned about cognitive psience to heal everyone's emotional wounds, and that I had never seen someone in as much pain as her.
[ You are strong. Facing pain is difficult, but necessary. You've shown you can handle almost anything thrown at you. It's an admirable quality that you've grown into and it's impressed me.
It was as if her parents' murder never occurred. She believed that they died when she was too young to remember them, and that she'd grown up without them all her life. She was in the hospital because she'd been sickly since birth, not because of her mental state. And she was– fine. Healed. Happy. And she didn't remember me. Not at all.
[ If only Rumi could see you now, with such a powerful gift, she -
I saved her, and I lost her. I walked out of that room, and–
[ You failed her and now her life is in shatters. ]
And I was glad that she had a second chance at a happy life that she never would have gotten. But I was lost. For years. I think I was lost until the day I arrived here. Still, though... If given the chance to change what I did, Akechi, I wouldn't. I would make the same choice again, and again, and again.
[ I only understand the extent and repercussions of this power because of what we've discussed here. ]
But I know better now. I know how dangerous this is. How dangerous I am. I can't change what I've done, and I never would. I can only change what I do going forward.
[ In the end, we have to live with the choices we make. ]
I can feel it. I know I have the ability. It didn't work once, but I'm not going to risk trying it on anyone else. Not on gelflings, not on goblins, not on dreamers, and not on you. Never again. Not until I get to Vaeros and use it to rip his own reality to shreds right before his eyes.
[ He stops.
Breathes.
Flexes the hands clenched at his sides.
If Akechi chooses to fight him after this, Maruki will put him in the goddamn ground before Loki can even finish taking shape. ]
[The confession is a braid of barbed wire pulled taut and tight the longer he continues, the more emboldened he becomes.
Rumi - fiery, strong Rumi with pain removed, an ideal world created. Akechi resists the temptation to point out she had no place for him in it.
Accidental. Unintentional. It doesn't matter. No regrets. Decisions made over and over-
and over and over and over.
'I can only change what I do going forward.' and-
Meaningless. Actions have consequences.
Begging an unknown power for help had its price. Moving forward is irrelevant when the wrong decision was made when it mattered most.
A life lost in a bright, blooming day instead of rot and smoke is still dead.
By all accounts, Rumi is dead. Maruki killed her and what's in her place is nothing more than a carbon copy with her face. Her name. A false reality consuming her mind and soul by the man who supposedly loved her most of all.
Akechi says nothing, shows nothing, in voice or expression. The information is absorbed with clinical ease - freedom pulled back with leashes and chains around a heart. A life altered by a man who claims to love.
It's not so different from freedom allowed, leashes and chains of the heart shattered. A life altered by a man who hates most of all.
The ambient noise around them grows in intensity the longer no one speaks. It's not silent - far from it, despite the lack of conversation.
'Not until I get to Vaeros and use it to rip his own reality to shreds right before his eyes' - A promise. An echo. A resounding declaration that overcomes the shitty ass chirping of unknown bugs, breeze hitting leaves, stone and rock jostling out of place.
Akechi doesn't speak - not yet. Face neutral and nothing to glean from it. He's a performer first, and Akechi Goro second. Loki and Robin Hood both smolder and blaze in tandem, pressed in the back of his chest. No battle to be fought on a muddy, dingy ass trail, but
In a castle, someday.
A hand presses against Maruki's shoulder - not gentle, not kind and
he
pushes
him
Forward. To walk. To keep moving.
They don't stop.
People like them won't stop.
They'll never stop.
A hand forces Maruki forward if he ever moves to stop, speak, or falters in his pace.
And Akechi says nothing. Not for awhile - not until an area with a declaration made, a promise confirmed, the world given a warning for its inevitable end vanishes into a dark speck behind them.
Only then, does he speak. Voice twisted with a bitter bemusement, an acidic tinge. Nothing kind. Nothing malicious. Only Akechi Goro. ]
Quite frankly, given your description of her, should she return to her senses someday the least of your worries will be myself and Shido's pathetic henchman.
[But-]
To remove someone's agency in such a way - it doesn't matter that it was an accident. There's no going back. There are no 'what ifs.' You don't have the choice to redo or renege and you never will.
[It's hilarious - Fitting. No boundaries. A bleeding heart. Altruism and kindness. A liar and manipulator. A man who spends his life healing wounds given an easy out. A lie.
Maruki is a liar.]
A power to remove pain that can't occur on the user - perhaps that's your punishment for forming such an ability. You will never be free of your own - a curse that only makes it worse, I imagine, for someone who gives a shit. The temptation to use it constantly - my, that must consume you.
[Maruki is-
Rotten.
Maruki is-
Cruel.
Maruki is-
Something else.
A force of nature that gets up after hands cinch his throat, gets up when glass pieces eye, rock collapses throat, gets up at the petty slights this world digs at him and gets up with dark shadows under eyes from a restless sleep, from conversations had under the safety of dusk.
Maruki is not Joker. Maruki is not Akechi Goro. Maruki is not a counselor. Maruki is-]
Maruki Takuto - you never cease to amaze me. I wonder what new abilities will show themselves when we're able to crush this goddamn world, piece by fucking piece.
[ It isn't gentle, no. But it is perhaps the greatest kindness one could show him in this moment: A hand braced against his back to keep propelling him forward, no matter what.
Years spent stuck in that moment, unable to move past it even as he spent long days and sleepless nights working himself to the bone. Years spent idling, without anyone to shove him along.
Maruki walks. Gladly.
Doesn't stop. Speak. Falter.
Listens, when Akechi opens his mouth, and keeps putting one foot in front of the other.
Of course there is a part of Maruki that wants tenderness, empathetic understanding on this matter. To be held and comforted. But it's a festering, rotten part of him. He knows he doesn't deserve it. No matter how much he suffered, Rumi and her family suffered infinitely more, and his part in the pain caused means none of the rest of it is his pain to claim.
He doesn't want pity. He thinks he'd rip his own eyes out if someone heard the full truth of what he's done and came out of it pitying him.
No, what he wants– needs– is exactly what he gets:
Akechi tells him Rumi has every reason to seek revenge against him if she's ever wrenched back into the true reality, and he knows.
Akechi calls it what it is, a forced removal of control over one's own life, one's own right to all the things that have happened to them, good and bad alike, and he knows.
Akechi accurately identifies the constant desire to give in to the unlimited power of an easy, instant fix that goes against everything he does in his work, and he knows.
Akechi needles him for the drawback, the caveat, the punishment that he deserves, and he knows.
Akechi echoes the very worst of all of his own thoughts, and through the torrent of roiling, miserable self-loathing, it's only gratitude that he feels, rising like bile in the back of his throat.
And Akechi–
Praises him. Allies with him. Seals the deal of a bonded threat with him.
What else can he do? Maruki laughs. Genuine, sharp, bitter, relieved – all at once, a hand coming to press against his forehead, fingers tangling and snarling in his own hair. ]
I could say the same for you. Call of Chaos– you're one of a kind.
[ He drops his hand, shakes his head.
The lake isn't far off now. He can see the fading sunlight reflecting off the surface in the distance. ]
I was furious about it. That's the only reason I said what I did. The threat was always empty.
[ A beat, a breath. ]
The doll didn't matter. If it still works on you, it can work on others. We'll see it through.
That's a disappointment. I wanted to see your power fail and the look in your eyes when it happened. That shit wouldn't work on me.
[An undertow of anger always persists - intersects below all other emotions at all hours. Impossible to stop. Contained only when there's a board plastered over it with a mimicry of a prince etched on its surface.
Akechi isn't mad about the threat. It means nothing to him because he is stronger than some half assed statement. There's truth in every lashed out word, even if Maruki doesn't want to admit it. It's irrelevant anyway.
But Maruki laughs - hand through hair. A gesture that's more grounding than it seems when all thoughts are spinning, spinning, spinning and nothing's there to tether it down but your own two hands, your own power.
Akechi's arms stretch in front of him - tense muscles looser with no battle on the horizon. Irritating and-
A promise. Call of Chaos can be easily set on whoever catches their eye and he could give a shit about who it is - a stranger, Eren, Aubrey, a sushi eating cat or Maruki himself. This reality will die by any means necessary.
And it feels like -
Nestled in a safe room between numerous thieves, voices prominent and confident. Talking around him, to him, pressing canned coffees into his palm like his stamina needed the help. Tended wounds he allowed himself to receive to maintain the act.
It was fun.
He hated it.
This is different.
He doesn't mind.
Maruki
is
always there.
So it makes sense to align against an unjust world.]
Any other sordid confessions you would like to get out? I have to admit, I'm getting tired of learning about things this way. It would be better if you could be more upfront.
Oh, is it irritating when someone doesn't present their whole self in an easily digestible manner? I had no idea.
[ Mild. Joking. If he had a crossword book, he'd whap Akechi upside the head with it.
And that question–
Doesn't have a true answer. Not one that isn't a question itself, anyway. And not one that Maruki is willing to ask now, or even any time soon.
Besides, what would it reveal? A common connection that he's all but certain of. A student he sought out for his own motives but grew attached to, a Phantom Thief he put all his faith in to deliver him to where he needed to be. He died, but he didn't. A guiding light. They were going to catch up after the new year.
Irrelevant. Maybe one day, but not today.
Off the dirt path, into the perpetually damp soft grass that surrounds the lake. Hands back in his pockets. ]
Well... Sometimes I climb trees to rescue cats.
[ And a grin breaks out over his face immediately. ]
I'm just kidding, of course. About that being a sordid confession! Not about doing it. I really do.
[ If he's naturally gravitating toward the area he chose as his stakeout spot night after night in the Forest of Dreams, well, that's his business. ]
But no, Akechi. At this point, you know more about me than anyone does. In either reality.
[Akechi ignores the first pointed comment - his personality was incredibly digestible, actually. It was manufactured to be that way. Maruki not accepting that and prodding means everything that happens beyond that picture perfect image is his problem. It's easy to swallow - he just spit it back up.
The cat comment - all Akechi can do is stare directly at his back while they both move towards the lake. Tension gone. Secrets revealed. The reason for Maruki's bad back the final sordid reveal after brainwashing a past lover.
Incredible. There's a half exhale, half snort at the reveal.]
You really are a fool. I bet you're the perfect target for scammers.
[Imagine Akechi betraying him in the worst way possible - by revealing his cat climbing story to the whole network. The scandal.]
Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you about my third persona.
[A beat - a kick of his shoes against the ground. He lets the moment sink in with a placid, neutral expression that covers up the bullshit he's spewing.]
[ Oh, he's hilarious. Maruki comes to a stop at that familiar spot at the shore and looks over at Akechi, equally placid, evaluating. A curled hand comes up to rest beneath his chin – it's a very Venat-like gesture. ]
Robin Hood, Loki, and... Sherlock Holmes?
[ You know, the guy from Sleepr!
He laughs at his own stupid joke, turns back out to face the water. ]
Unless there's something you'd like to get off your chest, don't force it. Despite everything that's happened, I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.
[ It's probably irritatingly sincere, coming from a guy who tends to get a murder attempt free with his New Akechi Information these days.
Maruki feels scrubbed raw, unsure of how to proceed when someone here knows all the worst secrets he's kept hidden for so long. Having this conversation in the castle would have felt too confined; having it outdoors means that now there's nothing to contain him at all. Out here under the open sky, he's a sitting duck. A vulnerable speck in a vast world, though their access to it remains minuscule. A town too small, a universe too huge – everything shifts, vacillates, leaves him feeling unmoored.
He wishes Akechi was still anchoring him with an unkind hand on his shoulder. ]
But it isn't normal, is it? For us to be able to do what we can with our personas.
[ It can't be normal. He can't imagine every Phantom Thief has the power to change a cognition in some way like they do. ]
Who's to say what's truly normal? Warping a cognition isn't exclusive to us. Change a heart, cause a mental shutdown - all are done without specific powers. I may have neglected to mention this since it's the one thing you seem to lack, but ailments in the Metaverse work on a short term scale at a similar degree to both our abilities - brainwash, forget, rage, and a handful of others. It's all innate to that world, for obvious reason.
[Thank god MARUKI DOESN'T HAVE THAT, says local man who doesn't remember being confused over konbini store items.
Akechi hovers a few feet from shore, a few steps from Maruki and a few thoughts away from 'I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.'
It's best he stuck to himself for an interminable amount of time, rotting away in an apartment instead of being destroyed by the world around him. That attitude would have gotten him killed long before a mysterious voice appeared to save him.]
Powers can be honed too. Changed to the suit the need of the user, to an extent.
[
The looming shadow of a megalomaniac consuming him while a sunset captures an entire city.
Promises whispered about utilization, using skills properly accompanied with offers of fame and fortune.
Praise uttered in an office that felt more valuable than all of it combined. Shido painted over his monstrous rot with a coat of fool's gold. Needed. Valued. Wanted.
Akechi can remember the moment with vivid clarity. The memories before and after too far away to muddle through.]
Even I had to be taught to use my abilities effectively in the beginning. The fact you're able to operate with such efficiency on your own puts you at a level above most. Who knows what your power may become someday and who knows what rival will set their eyes on you in the future. Nothing is 'normal' in that world.
[ It's on the tip of his tongue. Swallowed back. Focus.
Akechi is– odd, in the way he talks about these things. It isn't unfettered, untainted praise because he understands better than anyone the rotten core of this power. Operating with such efficiency untaught isn't necessarily a good thing. Being at a level above most endangers as much as it impresses. There are barbs along the edge of every word that might be considered kind.
It's no less than what he deserves. He just isn't sure how to respond to it.
Luckily, there's something else he can focus on. ]
Backing up, though... Those ailments that you mentioned. You said that one makes you forgetful? What's that like?
[ A beat, and then he huffs a sigh that might one day evolve into a laugh. ]
No, I won't ask a leading question like that. I'll be direct. One of Azathoth's attacks – that weak one, the one that I was using for target practice a few weeks ago... I'm now pretty certain it has that effect.
[ A tiny, pinched in smile. Ask him how he knows! ]
Reflecting back to their recent training sessions - there are no gaps in his memory or a foggy recollection that would imply he was hit with the ability. Loki and Robin Hood certainly don't have that at their disposal.
He must have gotten into a fight with someone else. Akechi's curious.]
[Oh. This conversation is heading a direction he hates.
He tries to reflect on the day - attacking Aubrey, being restrained, Azathoth doing an ability he can't recall with the enthrallment fraying his mind.]
Seeing Azathoth, I suppose. My assumption is I was attacked and knocked out after. I had gotten into a fair number of battles before confronting Aubrey, so I wasn't surprised at that outcome.
[ Credit to Maruki, he isn't taking any pleasure in recounting this. It was more than a little unsettling, actually. Now that he has an explanation for it, it makes sense, but at the time... ]
It didn't knock you out of your enthrallment, but you did turn... ah, docile...
[ An awkward scratch to the stubble along his jawline. ]
And rather forgetful.
[ Well. ]
Entirely forgetful, actually. You kept mumbling to me about Triple Seven and your homework... Various attack names, too...
[ Well! ]
And even after I dunked your head in the lake, you didn't snap out of that. You don't even remember me putting you to bed...?
Makes sense. Made sense even without this additional information. Makes more sense given how he woke up, with Aubrey a few feet away from him, tightly wrapped with blankets on the couch.
Forget in the Metaverse is short lived - brief. Akechi can still attack if there's a target.
Oh, he can't think about it. The embarrassment is unreal, but it's not the first time he's been afflicted near someone. It's par the course of traversing the cognitive world.
He looks so goddamn annoyed - briefly tries to slot nothing into place because he can't remember homework or triple seven.]
No, nothing. Robin Hood and Loki both have an ability to help me avoid affliction, but this reality is seems to not care about such things.
[And Maruki has ailment inducing abilities! Woah, what a shock! Wonder what Brand New Thing he'll gain next.]
Often, if you can grasp some kind of awareness, you can override almost any ailment with pain. I suppose that was beyond my capabilities at the time. How irritating.
Forget is a minor, if irritating, ailment. There are far worse you'll have to deal with that will do more than 'unsettle' , but yes - for whatever reason, it can be knocked out of a person.
[God he cannot wait for the day Maruki is inflicted with whatever this bullshit world's version of Despair is. Oh, how he'll love to beat the shit out of him.]
I'm sure you won't have any issue hitting me as hard you as can. I look forward to doing the same for you someday. I'll do my best to avoid your glasses.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cw brainwashing
It's the most chilling fear.
He's allowed the opportunity to speak, to say what needs to be said, what has never been said, never, not to Shibusawa, not to Akira, not to anyone, not until now, and–
The words spill forth with hushed, pained, raging conviction that only grows stronger the longer he goes on. ]
Rumi.
[ I was going through a lot at the time, and I had a bit of a breakdown. I cried out for help. ]
I became aware of this power when I inadvertently used it on Rumi.
[ The woman you saw. Azathoth's voice first made itself known to me on the day that I lost her. ]
Her mind and heart were broken. They had been for months. She wasn't functional, she didn't want to live. There was no way out. I was going to lose her no matter what. I heard its voice, and I begged it to help me put an end to Rumi's suffering.
[ She would be proud of you and what you've accomplished, but not for the reasons you think. ]
I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know how it worked. I only knew that I wanted to use what I had learned about cognitive psience to heal everyone's emotional wounds, and that I had never seen someone in as much pain as her.
[ You are strong. Facing pain is difficult, but necessary. You've shown you can handle almost anything thrown at you. It's an admirable quality that you've grown into and it's impressed me.
Rumi would be impressed too. ]
It was as if her parents' murder never occurred. She believed that they died when she was too young to remember them, and that she'd grown up without them all her life. She was in the hospital because she'd been sickly since birth, not because of her mental state. And she was– fine. Healed. Happy. And she didn't remember me. Not at all.
[ If only Rumi could see you now, with such a powerful gift, she -
Oh, she wouldn't even recognize you, would she? ]
I saved her, and I lost her. I walked out of that room, and–
[ You failed her and now her life is in shatters. ]
And I was glad that she had a second chance at a happy life that she never would have gotten. But I was lost. For years. I think I was lost until the day I arrived here. Still, though... If given the chance to change what I did, Akechi, I wouldn't. I would make the same choice again, and again, and again.
[ I only understand the extent and repercussions of this power because of what we've discussed here. ]
But I know better now. I know how dangerous this is. How dangerous I am. I can't change what I've done, and I never would. I can only change what I do going forward.
[ In the end, we have to live with the choices we make. ]
I can feel it. I know I have the ability. It didn't work once, but I'm not going to risk trying it on anyone else. Not on gelflings, not on goblins, not on dreamers, and not on you. Never again. Not until I get to Vaeros and use it to rip his own reality to shreds right before his eyes.
[ He stops.
Breathes.
Flexes the hands clenched at his sides.
If Akechi chooses to fight him after this, Maruki will put him in the goddamn ground before Loki can even finish taking shape. ]
cw: graphic violence, brainwashing
Rumi - fiery, strong Rumi with pain removed, an ideal world created. Akechi resists the temptation to point out she had no place for him in it.
Accidental. Unintentional. It doesn't matter. No regrets. Decisions made over and over-
and over and over and over.
'I can only change what I do going forward.' and-Meaningless. Actions have consequences.
By all accounts, Rumi is dead. Maruki killed her and what's in her place is nothing more than a carbon copy with her face. Her name. A false reality consuming her mind and soul by the man who supposedly loved her most of all.Begging an unknown power for help had its price. Moving forward is irrelevant when the wrong decision was made when it mattered most.
A life lost in a bright, blooming day instead of rot and smoke is still dead.
Akechi says nothing, shows nothing, in voice or expression. The information is absorbed with clinical ease - freedom pulled back with leashes and chains around a heart. A life altered by a man who claims to love.
It's not so different from freedom allowed, leashes and chains of the heart shattered. A life altered by a man who hates most of all.
The ambient noise around them grows in intensity the longer no one speaks. It's not silent - far from it, despite the lack of conversation.
'Not until I get to Vaeros and use it to rip his own reality to shreds right before his eyes' - A promise. An echo. A resounding declaration that overcomes the shitty ass chirping of unknown bugs, breeze hitting leaves, stone and rock jostling out of place.
Akechi doesn't speak - not yet. Face neutral and nothing to glean from it. He's a performer first, and Akechi Goro second. Loki and Robin Hood both smolder and blaze in tandem, pressed in the back of his chest. No battle to be fought on a muddy, dingy ass trail, but
In a castle, someday.
A hand presses against Maruki's shoulder - not gentle, not kind andhe
pushes
him
Forward. To walk. To keep moving.They don't stop.
People like them won't stop.
They'll never stop.
A hand forces Maruki forward if he ever moves to stop, speak, or falters in his pace.And Akechi says nothing. Not for awhile - not until an area with a declaration made, a promise confirmed, the world given a warning for its inevitable end vanishes into a dark speck behind them.
Only then, does he speak. Voice twisted with a bitter bemusement, an acidic tinge. Nothing kind. Nothing malicious. Only Akechi Goro. ]
Quite frankly, given your description of her, should she return to her senses someday the least of your worries will be myself and Shido's pathetic henchman.
[But-]
To remove someone's agency in such a way - it doesn't matter that it was an accident. There's no going back. There are no 'what ifs.' You don't have the choice to redo or renege and you never will.
[It's hilarious - Fitting. No boundaries. A bleeding heart. Altruism and kindness. A liar and manipulator. A man who spends his life healing wounds given an easy out. A lie.
Maruki is a liar.]
A power to remove pain that can't occur on the user - perhaps that's your punishment for forming such an ability. You will never be free of your own - a curse that only makes it worse, I imagine, for someone who gives a shit. The temptation to use it constantly - my, that must consume you.
[Maruki is-
Rotten.
Maruki is-Cruel.
Maruki is-Something else.
A force of nature that gets up after hands cinch his throat, gets up when glass pieces eye, rock collapses throat, gets up at the petty slights this world digs at him and gets up with dark shadows under eyes from a restless sleep, from conversations had under the safety of dusk.Maruki is not Joker. Maruki is not Akechi Goro. Maruki is not a counselor. Maruki is-]
Maruki Takuto - you never cease to amaze me. I wonder what new abilities will show themselves when we're able to crush this goddamn world, piece by fucking piece.
no subject
Years spent stuck in that moment, unable to move past it even as he spent long days and sleepless nights working himself to the bone. Years spent idling, without anyone to shove him along.
Maruki walks. Gladly.
Doesn't stop. Speak. Falter.
Listens, when Akechi opens his mouth, and keeps putting one foot in front of the other.
Of course there is a part of Maruki that wants tenderness, empathetic understanding on this matter. To be held and comforted. But it's a festering, rotten part of him. He knows he doesn't deserve it. No matter how much he suffered, Rumi and her family suffered infinitely more, and his part in the pain caused means none of the rest of it is his pain to claim.
He doesn't want pity. He thinks he'd rip his own eyes out if someone heard the full truth of what he's done and came out of it pitying him.
No, what he wants– needs– is exactly what he gets:
Akechi tells him Rumi has every reason to seek revenge against him if she's ever wrenched back into the true reality, and he knows.
Akechi calls it what it is, a forced removal of control over one's own life, one's own right to all the things that have happened to them, good and bad alike, and he knows.
Akechi accurately identifies the constant desire to give in to the unlimited power of an easy, instant fix that goes against everything he does in his work, and he knows.
Akechi needles him for the drawback, the caveat, the punishment that he deserves, and he knows.
Akechi echoes the very worst of all of his own thoughts, and through the torrent of roiling, miserable self-loathing, it's only gratitude that he feels, rising like bile in the back of his throat.
And Akechi–
Praises him. Allies with him. Seals the deal of a bonded threat with him.
What else can he do? Maruki laughs. Genuine, sharp, bitter, relieved – all at once, a hand coming to press against his forehead, fingers tangling and snarling in his own hair. ]
I could say the same for you. Call of Chaos– you're one of a kind.
[ He drops his hand, shakes his head.
The lake isn't far off now. He can see the fading sunlight reflecting off the surface in the distance. ]
I was furious about it. That's the only reason I said what I did. The threat was always empty.
[ A beat, a breath. ]
The doll didn't matter. If it still works on you, it can work on others. We'll see it through.
no subject
[An undertow of anger always persists - intersects below all other emotions at all hours. Impossible to stop. Contained only when there's a board plastered over it with a mimicry of a prince etched on its surface.
Akechi isn't mad about the threat. It means nothing to him because he is stronger than some half assed statement. There's truth in every lashed out word, even if Maruki doesn't want to admit it. It's irrelevant anyway.
But Maruki laughs - hand through hair. A gesture that's more grounding than it seems when all thoughts are spinning, spinning, spinning and nothing's there to tether it down but your own two hands, your own power.
Akechi's arms stretch in front of him - tense muscles looser with no battle on the horizon. Irritating and-
A promise. Call of Chaos can be easily set on whoever catches their eye and he could give a shit about who it is - a stranger, Eren, Aubrey, a sushi eating cat or Maruki himself. This reality will die by any means necessary.
And it feels like -
Nestled in a safe room between numerous thieves, voices prominent and confident. Talking around him, to him, pressing canned coffees into his palm like his stamina needed the help. Tended wounds he allowed himself to receive to maintain the act.
It was fun.
He hated it.
This is different.
He doesn't mind.
Maruki
is
always there.
So it makes sense to align against an unjust world.]
Any other sordid confessions you would like to get out? I have to admit, I'm getting tired of learning about things this way. It would be better if you could be more upfront.
ƎpNOW Ǝ˥ YOURSELF YOU RAT BASTARD
[ Mild. Joking. If he had a crossword book, he'd whap Akechi upside the head with it.
And that question–
Doesn't have a true answer. Not one that isn't a question itself, anyway. And not one that Maruki is willing to ask now, or even any time soon.
Besides, what would it reveal? A common connection that he's all but certain of. A student he sought out for his own motives but grew attached to, a Phantom Thief he put all his faith in to deliver him to where he needed to be. He died, but he didn't. A guiding light. They were going to catch up after the new year.
Irrelevant. Maybe one day, but not today.
Off the dirt path, into the perpetually damp soft grass that surrounds the lake. Hands back in his pockets. ]
Well... Sometimes I climb trees to rescue cats.
[ And a grin breaks out over his face immediately. ]
I'm just kidding, of course. About that being a sordid confession! Not about doing it. I really do.
[ If he's naturally gravitating toward the area he chose as his stakeout spot night after night in the Forest of Dreams, well, that's his business. ]
But no, Akechi. At this point, you know more about me than anyone does. In either reality.
no 💗
The cat comment - all Akechi can do is stare directly at his back while they both move towards the lake. Tension gone. Secrets revealed. The reason for Maruki's bad back the final sordid reveal after brainwashing a past lover.
Incredible. There's a half exhale, half snort at the reveal.]
You really are a fool. I bet you're the perfect target for scammers.
[Imagine Akechi betraying him in the worst way possible - by revealing his cat climbing story to the whole network. The scandal.]
Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you about my third persona.
[A beat - a kick of his shoes against the ground. He lets the moment sink in with a placid, neutral expression that covers up the bullshit he's spewing.]
I'm joking, of course.
[Isn't he so funny?]
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Robin Hood, Loki, and... Sherlock Holmes?
[ You know, the guy from Sleepr!
He laughs at his own stupid joke, turns back out to face the water. ]
Unless there's something you'd like to get off your chest, don't force it. Despite everything that's happened, I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.
[ It's probably irritatingly sincere, coming from a guy who tends to get a murder attempt free with his New Akechi Information these days.
Maruki feels scrubbed raw, unsure of how to proceed when someone here knows all the worst secrets he's kept hidden for so long. Having this conversation in the castle would have felt too confined; having it outdoors means that now there's nothing to contain him at all. Out here under the open sky, he's a sitting duck. A vulnerable speck in a vast world, though their access to it remains minuscule. A town too small, a universe too huge – everything shifts, vacillates, leaves him feeling unmoored.
He wishes Akechi was still anchoring him with an unkind hand on his shoulder. ]
But it isn't normal, is it? For us to be able to do what we can with our personas.
[ It can't be normal. He can't imagine every Phantom Thief has the power to change a cognition in some way like they do. ]
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[Thank god MARUKI DOESN'T HAVE THAT, says local man who doesn't remember being confused over konbini store items.
Akechi hovers a few feet from shore, a few steps from Maruki and a few thoughts away from 'I don't mind learning about you in the ways that I usually do.'
It's best he stuck to himself for an interminable amount of time, rotting away in an apartment instead of being destroyed by the world around him. That attitude would have gotten him killed long before a mysterious voice appeared to save him.]
Powers can be honed too. Changed to the suit the need of the user, to an extent.
[
The looming shadow of a megalomaniac consuming him while a sunset captures an entire city.
Akechi can remember the moment with vivid clarity. The memories before and after too far away to muddle through.]Promises whispered about utilization, using skills properly accompanied with offers of fame and fortune.
Praise uttered in an office that felt more valuable than all of it combined. Shido painted over his monstrous rot with a coat of fool's gold. Needed. Valued. Wanted.
Even I had to be taught to use my abilities effectively in the beginning. The fact you're able to operate with such efficiency on your own puts you at a level above most. Who knows what your power may become someday and who knows what rival will set their eyes on you in the future. Nothing is 'normal' in that world.
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[ It's on the tip of his tongue. Swallowed back. Focus.
Akechi is– odd, in the way he talks about these things. It isn't unfettered, untainted praise because he understands better than anyone the rotten core of this power. Operating with such efficiency untaught isn't necessarily a good thing. Being at a level above most endangers as much as it impresses. There are barbs along the edge of every word that might be considered kind.
It's no less than what he deserves. He just isn't sure how to respond to it.
Luckily, there's something else he can focus on. ]
Backing up, though... Those ailments that you mentioned. You said that one makes you forgetful? What's that like?
[ A beat, and then he huffs a sigh that might one day evolve into a laugh. ]
No, I won't ask a leading question like that. I'll be direct. One of Azathoth's attacks – that weak one, the one that I was using for target practice a few weeks ago... I'm now pretty certain it has that effect.
[ A tiny, pinched in smile. Ask him how he knows! ]
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[That's a new one.
Reflecting back to their recent training sessions - there are no gaps in his memory or a foggy recollection that would imply he was hit with the ability. Loki and Robin Hood certainly don't have that at their disposal.
He must have gotten into a fight with someone else. Akechi's curious.]
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Still, though– it's unnerving. ]
That fight you had with Aubrey in the forest. What's the last thing that you remember before you woke up the next day?
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He tries to reflect on the day - attacking Aubrey, being restrained, Azathoth doing an ability he can't recall with the enthrallment fraying his mind.]
Seeing Azathoth, I suppose. My assumption is I was attacked and knocked out after. I had gotten into a fair number of battles before confronting Aubrey, so I wasn't surprised at that outcome.
[AKA he wasn't shocked he was knocked out.
Keyword - knocked out.
Knocked out.]
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[ Credit to Maruki, he isn't taking any pleasure in recounting this. It was more than a little unsettling, actually. Now that he has an explanation for it, it makes sense, but at the time... ]
It didn't knock you out of your enthrallment, but you did turn... ah, docile...
[ An awkward scratch to the stubble along his jawline. ]
And rather forgetful.
[ Well. ]
Entirely forgetful, actually. You kept mumbling to me about Triple Seven and your homework... Various attack names, too...
[ Well! ]
And even after I dunked your head in the lake, you didn't snap out of that. You don't even remember me putting you to bed...?
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The gap-
Makes sense. Made sense even without this additional information. Makes more sense given how he woke up, with Aubrey a few feet away from him, tightly wrapped with blankets on the couch.
Forget in the Metaverse is short lived - brief. Akechi can still attack if there's a target.
Oh, he can't think about it. The embarrassment is unreal, but it's not the first time he's been afflicted near someone. It's par the course of traversing the cognitive world.
He looks so goddamn annoyed - briefly tries to slot nothing into place because he can't remember homework or triple seven.]
No, nothing. Robin Hood and Loki both have an ability to help me avoid affliction, but this reality is seems to not care about such things.
[And Maruki has ailment inducing abilities! Woah, what a shock! Wonder what Brand New Thing he'll gain next.]
Often, if you can grasp some kind of awareness, you can override almost any ailment with pain. I suppose that was beyond my capabilities at the time. How irritating.
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[ Forcefeeding him some soup before bed... ]
I have to admit, it was unsettling. So next time it happens to you, all I have to do is hit you?
[ Because there will be a next time! Inevitably! ]
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[God he cannot wait for the day Maruki is inflicted with whatever this bullshit world's version of Despair is. Oh, how he'll love to beat the shit out of him.]
I'm sure you won't have any issue hitting me as hard you as can. I look forward to doing the same for you someday. I'll do my best to avoid your glasses.
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[ From above both their heads:
Chance to cure status ailments inflicted upon party members
Maruki blinks up at it. ]
Huh. Alright.
1/2
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This particular brand of shit.
And the fact none of this gets him any closer to killing Shido.
Anyway, he's fine.
Then he isn't!
Loki makes a sudden appearance with a riot gun aimed for both achievements.
Duck! ♥]
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Duck he will.
And roll away.
Right
down
the
bank
and
into
the
water. ]
No–!!
[ HE'S WET ]
God dammit, Akechi–
[ But he's laughing.
Absolute foolish insanity. He bared the absolute worst part of his soul not but half an hour ago, and Akechi has him laughing.
Maruki staggers up to his feet, clothes soaked through, Azathoth nagging at the back of his mind to come out and play too, laughing.
This fucking place (affectionate.) ]