They're a way in. Ultimately, those who hold power are the ideal ally in this situation. Working our way up, forging connections to that source with these nobodies, is mandatory.
[Kazuya's intelligent and resourceful enough to understand why. The man's a resource too. Nothing more.
With the dog on its divine rat munching mission, Akechi uses the flashlight on his phone to look under the large can - one rat remains, terrified and pressed into a corner. What a shame. He assumes the dog will get it.]
If I may - what's your plan, Kazuya? For this place, this reality, this world - what's your end goal?
[ That's true. But numbers also tend to sway power, if he knows anything. The more of the citizenry that look to them with respect, the easier it'll be to use that pressure later.
And it's true, once the rat is backed into a corner, Garm lunges into the can, jaws snapping wildly as the animal squeaks in terror. ]
I'd like to know who holds this contract of mine. The only way for a demon to be free of such a thing is death of the contract holder. Freedom from that is the end goal, of course.
[ He hums, thoughtfully. ]
I've already told you that demons are bound to serve the one who holds the contract. And even if I didn't mean to, and don't know how it happened, the fact remains that I signed one, and am bound to serve a master.
[ He looks at Akechi out of the corner of his eye as his demon violently tries to shake the garbage can off of itself once the rat's cries go silent. ]
It's why I'm trusting you to find a way to kill me. You have a strong drive, and you're quite intelligent. There might come a time when we actually have to fight and I'll have a proper leash and collar. I expect you to be smart enough to have fogured out how to put me down efficiently by then. Whether temporary or permanently.
[ He doesn't want to be the slave of some unknown master. ]
Catches his attention in full. The grotesque munching sounds lost to Kazuya's words in this dim, disgusting alleyway.]
Are you that weak that you need to rely on another to kill you and keep you sane?
[He will - without hesitation. Akechi thrives in putting the powerful in their place and soaking the ground with their rot.]
A contract may bind you, but you're still a king. You still hold power. If you can't break the chains that control you, use them. A master controls a puppet's strings. The puppet still has a connection to exploit.
[A gun to the head, a knife to the throat, Loki and Robin Hood in tandem - Akechi will kill Kazuya someday]
The elite will always find ways to hold you under their thumb. Take advantage when they do. Make them regret tying down the King of Bel.
You make something so complex sound so easy. [ It's not his fault. He doesn't know. ] It's not a matter of keeping sane. I've likely long since lost my chance to make a bid for freedom by killing whoever amd whatever it is holding the strings.
[ Back when he was first summoned. If he had been able to find out who it was then, then maybe he could have done something about it. A breif period between being summoned and signing that peice of parchment. ]
You should already be aware that a demon can't attack the person who holds it's contract. They're absolute, beyond even my power. For me to obtain freedom from it, the holder has to die. For me to do that, they'd have to offer their life.
[ Like how the Founder of the Shomonkai had with Belberith, though then again, he doesn't think an actual contract was involved. More mutual agreement, he shploses. Something easily broken. ]
And beyond the fact that I don't want to be anyone's puppet, I want to know if it's even possible. You're around the same age as me. What would you do if you had eternity with no end to look forward to? What happens when you complete your goals? What about when the world changes and you're forced to stagnation? You could say find another hobby, but eternity as a concept all on it's own is frightening, isn't it?
A puppet is a puppet - asking Akechi to kill him isn't a mercy, it's an obligation and it ties him down just as much as Kazuya.
The questions that follow-
Don't matter.
Nothing matters outside of Shido's fall from grace. Once it happens, who cares.
Akechi will die, through the hand of a cabal looking for scraps of power. Stagnating. Eternity. It's out of reach - as impossible to fathom as two years from now.
He keeps one palm pressed against his waist, the other laying at his side and expression bordering on irate.]
Let me be blunt - you made your choice and the consequences that follow are all your own. You may have felt forced into your position. May have thought there was no other way to proceed, but the simple fact is that. If you stagnate, if you're kept under a thumb for the rest of time-
[Forced into an ideal world or a dystopian one-]
It's up to you and you alone to figure it out. Not that girl holding you together, not me, not the innumerable amount of people who come and go from this reality - it's you, Kazuya.
[Akechi will kill him, but not because Kazuya wants it.]
Your will is stronger than whatever binds you. You become a god as a nobody. Kept a world from tearing itself apart. I won't say this again - your power is greater than what you think binds you, so use this opportunity to find a way to free yourself. To accept what you feel is inevitable isn't an option. I won't allow it.
You have all the time in the world, after all. Why give up so soon?
He didn't feel forced into being Overlord and King of Bel. He'd make that decision every single time except for in the worlds where he doesn't. Where he lives instead under the thumb of God and plays the part of Messiah.
It's a deplorable thought, to not rally and fight against such oppression. The desire for freedom above all else echoes in that empty spot that once have must housed a soul. Demons are creatures of Desires and Wants. They do what they want. Whatever that Want may be.
A contract is in direct conflict of that. Kazuya knows that now, that it's also an acceptance that whoever holds it is stronger than the demon it has power over. That's the part that bothers him. Has bothered him since he arrived, that he would have signed such a thing, and signed away his freedom with it. All for a wish that in the grand scheme of things, probably won't ever come true.
So Akechi is right, in that he needs to find the power to stand on his own two legs somewhere. To figure his shit out on his own, because at the end of the day, relying on people is only going to get them into trouble. He's right in saying that he should find a way to use the contract against the holder, but then the problem becomes that he still doesn't know who it is. Vaeros is dead. If he was the one who held that power, then he should have been freed from that control. Should be able to do and go where he pleases as he pleases, and he can't.
Which means there's someone else.]
I get it.
[He does. Akechi isn't wrong. But it also feels like he doesn't quite understand what Kazuya is asking of him either. He can't simply kill himself, and if there comes a day when his contract is held in hand, if it happens before he figures out his freedom, then he needs someone on the outside who can at least temporarily remove him from the picture.]
I don't think of it really as giving up, though. I have all the time in the world, but the truth is at any point that contract I have can be called upon for any number of reasons. Maybe I've figured something out in that time, maybe I haven't. It's the latter I'm more concerned about. It's one thing to have a plan, but having a back up in case things go awry isn't necessarily a terrible thing, is it? Cover all your bases. Gather knowledge, make the best choices you can in that moment.
[It's logical. It's methodical. It's a plan b, c, d, e and for the inevitable failure of plan a. It doesn't change Akechi's stance in the slightest. There is no singular path that allows someone to rely on another. There's no reality where Akechi will turn around to help save a king, when there's another pound of flesh he's after.
The snarling demon and the crunch of bones pull his attention to the alleyway for a moment. Kazuya's words drag him back.]
But a word of warning - you can't rely on anyone. Not your cousin, not me, not that girl waiting for you, not the friends you think will stand by you or anyone in this reality you feel a bond with. They're fragile, unreliable and unnecessary.
[The message clear enough - Kazuya will have to take matters into his own hands. Akechi won't stop him. Might-]
Though in saying that -
[Akechi will-]
If your failure stands in the way of my goal, I won't hesitate to put you down. You have my word on that.
[And that's the truth of the matter. He can trust Naoya for certain things, but something like this? No, there's no way. Besides, he feels confident that most of the time Naoya's love for him isn't for him, it's for someone who he resembles. Someone who he had the soul of, the brief memories of. Someone he killed, and someone he feels bad for killing, even if he'd never apologize for doing it.
That much is alright with him.
And as for Yuzu... Fragile does seem like a word to describe their now relationship too. He'd hurt her, unknowingly, unwittingly. Made her think that he'd become the worst possible version of himself, even if that's the last thing he thinks that he'd ever want.
But the truth is, she'd left him. She'd left him, when he'd needed her the most. He's not angry about it. Upset, yes, it's a wound that will forever be raw and open, he feels, but he doesn't blame her for it. Could never blame her for it.
But Atsuro... Atsuro didn't leave him. Wouldn't leave him. Followed him as far as he could, and was only stopped when he was physically unable to, and even then, he'd made his complaints heard loud and clear. He'd have followed him down any path he'd taken. He feels that much deep in whatever shredded pieces of his soul that remain.
So again, Akechi isn't necessarily wrong to say what he's saying for the most part. People can be unreliable. For any number of reasons. Some selfish, some out of love. Some out of fear of being hurt.]
Then if that's the word I'll get from you, then that's the word I'll hold you too. Though it's possible that if your goal is to escape this place, then I might end up standing against you at some point unwillingly. So take my apology for that here and now for whatever you think it's worth.
I can assure you - if you stand between me and my goal, I won't hesitate to do all in my power to rip you apart. You won't survive. I'll take you down, no matter the cost. No matter how long it takes.
[That's the heart of the matter, the end of the whole discussion. Kazuya will die by his hand. Better find a way to avoid it because he isn't interested in facing off against someone controlled like a goddamn puppet.]
[Akechi says that he means nothing to him. If that's true, then that's a rather honest thing for him to say.
For something like that, Kazuya appreciates the honesty. Appreciates the blunt nature of Akechi's words where they might be a knife to the throat for someone else. After having dealt with someone manipulating him, and knowing that he was being manipulated, it's refreshing.
Maybe that's not healthy.
It's probably not healthy. And yet, when Kazuya speaks, there's no malice, only acceptance in his words. Akechi's are something he can live with. He'll think fondly of the other no matter what happens, he's sure.
Garm makes a grand reappearance from the trash, trotting to Kazuya's side and making an attempt to headbutt him fondly covered in garbage juice and rat viscera, only to be stopped by Kazuya's hand pushing it's head away. ]
I appreciate knowing where I stand with you. [Just so Akechi is clear.] I consider you a friend, though.
[Back to the task at hand, though, Kazuya turns his attention to the demon in full now, and it wags it's tail far too excitedly at the attention.]
Did you catch the scent of any others? An infestation has to be more than six rats.
[And of course, the demon barks. Loud. Obnoxious and sudden, with it's response.
"YES. ME GOOD HUNT DOG. ME CAN FIND MANY HIDING PLACES FOES ARE IN. TEAR THEM TO SHREDS. DEVOUR THEIR BONES. AWOOO."]
Then lead us to them, would you? We're not going to get paid if you just stand around here.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Kazuya's intelligent and resourceful enough to understand why. The man's a resource too. Nothing more.
With the dog on its divine rat munching mission, Akechi uses the flashlight on his phone to look under the large can - one rat remains, terrified and pressed into a corner. What a shame. He assumes the dog will get it.]
If I may - what's your plan, Kazuya? For this place, this reality, this world - what's your end goal?
no subject
And it's true, once the rat is backed into a corner, Garm lunges into the can, jaws snapping wildly as the animal squeaks in terror. ]
I'd like to know who holds this contract of mine. The only way for a demon to be free of such a thing is death of the contract holder. Freedom from that is the end goal, of course.
[ He hums, thoughtfully. ]
I've already told you that demons are bound to serve the one who holds the contract. And even if I didn't mean to, and don't know how it happened, the fact remains that I signed one, and am bound to serve a master.
[ He looks at Akechi out of the corner of his eye as his demon violently tries to shake the garbage can off of itself once the rat's cries go silent. ]
It's why I'm trusting you to find a way to kill me. You have a strong drive, and you're quite intelligent. There might come a time when we actually have to fight and I'll have a proper leash and collar. I expect you to be smart enough to have fogured out how to put me down efficiently by then. Whether temporary or permanently.
[ He doesn't want to be the slave of some unknown master. ]
cw: violent thoughts
Catches his attention in full. The grotesque munching sounds lost to Kazuya's words in this dim, disgusting alleyway.]
Are you that weak that you need to rely on another to kill you and keep you sane?
[He will - without hesitation. Akechi thrives in putting the powerful in their place and soaking the ground with their rot.]
A contract may bind you, but you're still a king. You still hold power. If you can't break the chains that control you, use them. A master controls a puppet's strings. The puppet still has a connection to exploit.
[A gun to the head, a knife to the throat, Loki and Robin Hood in tandem - Akechi will kill Kazuya someday]
The elite will always find ways to hold you under their thumb. Take advantage when they do. Make them regret tying down the King of Bel.
cw: suicidal thoughts
[ Back when he was first summoned. If he had been able to find out who it was then, then maybe he could have done something about it. A breif period between being summoned and signing that peice of parchment. ]
You should already be aware that a demon can't attack the person who holds it's contract. They're absolute, beyond even my power. For me to obtain freedom from it, the holder has to die. For me to do that, they'd have to offer their life.
[ Like how the Founder of the Shomonkai had with Belberith, though then again, he doesn't think an actual contract was involved. More mutual agreement, he shploses. Something easily broken. ]
And beyond the fact that I don't want to be anyone's puppet, I want to know if it's even possible. You're around the same age as me. What would you do if you had eternity with no end to look forward to? What happens when you complete your goals? What about when the world changes and you're forced to stagnation? You could say find another hobby, but eternity as a concept all on it's own is frightening, isn't it?
no subject
A puppet is a puppet - asking Akechi to kill him isn't a mercy, it's an obligation and it ties him down just as much as Kazuya.
The questions that follow-
Nothing matters outside of Shido's fall from grace. Once it happens, who cares.
Akechi will die, through the hand of a cabal looking for scraps of power. Stagnating. Eternity. It's out of reach - as impossible to fathom as two years from now.He keeps one palm pressed against his waist, the other laying at his side and expression bordering on irate.]
Let me be blunt - you made your choice and the consequences that follow are all your own. You may have felt forced into your position. May have thought there was no other way to proceed, but the simple fact is that. If you stagnate, if you're kept under a thumb for the rest of time-
[Forced into an ideal world or a dystopian one-]
It's up to you and you alone to figure it out. Not that girl holding you together, not me, not the innumerable amount of people who come and go from this reality - it's you, Kazuya.
[Akechi will kill him, but not because Kazuya wants it.]
Your will is stronger than whatever binds you. You become a god as a nobody. Kept a world from tearing itself apart. I won't say this again - your power is greater than what you think binds you, so use this opportunity to find a way to free yourself. To accept what you feel is inevitable isn't an option. I won't allow it.
You have all the time in the world, after all. Why give up so soon?
no subject
He didn't feel forced into being Overlord and King of Bel. He'd make that decision every single time except for in the worlds where he doesn't. Where he lives instead under the thumb of God and plays the part of Messiah.
It's a deplorable thought, to not rally and fight against such oppression. The desire for freedom above all else echoes in that empty spot that once have must housed a soul. Demons are creatures of Desires and Wants. They do what they want. Whatever that Want may be.
A contract is in direct conflict of that. Kazuya knows that now, that it's also an acceptance that whoever holds it is stronger than the demon it has power over. That's the part that bothers him. Has bothered him since he arrived, that he would have signed such a thing, and signed away his freedom with it. All for a wish that in the grand scheme of things, probably won't ever come true.
So Akechi is right, in that he needs to find the power to stand on his own two legs somewhere. To figure his shit out on his own, because at the end of the day, relying on people is only going to get them into trouble. He's right in saying that he should find a way to use the contract against the holder, but then the problem becomes that he still doesn't know who it is. Vaeros is dead. If he was the one who held that power, then he should have been freed from that control. Should be able to do and go where he pleases as he pleases, and he can't.
Which means there's someone else.]
I get it.
[He does. Akechi isn't wrong. But it also feels like he doesn't quite understand what Kazuya is asking of him either. He can't simply kill himself, and if there comes a day when his contract is held in hand, if it happens before he figures out his freedom, then he needs someone on the outside who can at least temporarily remove him from the picture.]
I don't think of it really as giving up, though. I have all the time in the world, but the truth is at any point that contract I have can be called upon for any number of reasons. Maybe I've figured something out in that time, maybe I haven't. It's the latter I'm more concerned about. It's one thing to have a plan, but having a back up in case things go awry isn't necessarily a terrible thing, is it? Cover all your bases. Gather knowledge, make the best choices you can in that moment.
cw: suicidal SOMETHING
[It's logical. It's methodical. It's a plan b, c, d, e and for the inevitable failure of plan a. It doesn't change Akechi's stance in the slightest. There is no singular path that allows someone to rely on another. There's no reality where Akechi will turn around to help save a king, when there's another pound of flesh he's after.
The snarling demon and the crunch of bones pull his attention to the alleyway for a moment. Kazuya's words drag him back.]
But a word of warning - you can't rely on anyone. Not your cousin, not me, not that girl waiting for you, not the friends you think will stand by you or anyone in this reality you feel a bond with. They're fragile, unreliable and unnecessary.
[The message clear enough - Kazuya will have to take matters into his own hands. Akechi won't stop him. Might-]
Though in saying that -
[Akechi will-]
If your failure stands in the way of my goal, I won't hesitate to put you down. You have my word on that.
no subject
[And that's the truth of the matter. He can trust Naoya for certain things, but something like this? No, there's no way. Besides, he feels confident that most of the time Naoya's love for him isn't for him, it's for someone who he resembles. Someone who he had the soul of, the brief memories of. Someone he killed, and someone he feels bad for killing, even if he'd never apologize for doing it.
That much is alright with him.
And as for Yuzu... Fragile does seem like a word to describe their now relationship too. He'd hurt her, unknowingly, unwittingly. Made her think that he'd become the worst possible version of himself, even if that's the last thing he thinks that he'd ever want.
But the truth is, she'd left him. She'd left him, when he'd needed her the most. He's not angry about it. Upset, yes, it's a wound that will forever be raw and open, he feels, but he doesn't blame her for it. Could never blame her for it.
But Atsuro... Atsuro didn't leave him. Wouldn't leave him. Followed him as far as he could, and was only stopped when he was physically unable to, and even then, he'd made his complaints heard loud and clear. He'd have followed him down any path he'd taken. He feels that much deep in whatever shredded pieces of his soul that remain.
So again, Akechi isn't necessarily wrong to say what he's saying for the most part. People can be unreliable. For any number of reasons. Some selfish, some out of love. Some out of fear of being hurt.]
Then if that's the word I'll get from you, then that's the word I'll hold you too. Though it's possible that if your goal is to escape this place, then I might end up standing against you at some point unwillingly. So take my apology for that here and now for whatever you think it's worth.
no subject
[That's the heart of the matter, the end of the whole discussion. Kazuya will die by his hand. Better find a way to avoid it because he isn't interested in facing off against someone controlled like a goddamn puppet.]
You mean nothing to me, after all.
no subject
[Akechi says that he means nothing to him. If that's true, then that's a rather honest thing for him to say.
For something like that, Kazuya appreciates the honesty. Appreciates the blunt nature of Akechi's words where they might be a knife to the throat for someone else. After having dealt with someone manipulating him, and knowing that he was being manipulated, it's refreshing.
Maybe that's not healthy.
It's probably not healthy. And yet, when Kazuya speaks, there's no malice, only acceptance in his words. Akechi's are something he can live with. He'll think fondly of the other no matter what happens, he's sure.
Garm makes a grand reappearance from the trash, trotting to Kazuya's side and making an attempt to headbutt him fondly covered in garbage juice and rat viscera, only to be stopped by Kazuya's hand pushing it's head away. ]
I appreciate knowing where I stand with you. [Just so Akechi is clear.] I consider you a friend, though.
[Back to the task at hand, though, Kazuya turns his attention to the demon in full now, and it wags it's tail far too excitedly at the attention.]
Did you catch the scent of any others? An infestation has to be more than six rats.
[And of course, the demon barks. Loud. Obnoxious and sudden, with it's response.
"YES. ME GOOD HUNT DOG. ME CAN FIND MANY HIDING PLACES FOES ARE IN. TEAR THEM TO SHREDS. DEVOUR THEIR BONES. AWOOO."]
Then lead us to them, would you? We're not going to get paid if you just stand around here.
wanna wrap here <3
[Go on, little Garm.
Akechi will follow for however long it takes to clear this shithole and earn some points with the locals.]