[Day 15, afternoon: Akechi]

[purrtagonist]

[Ichigo sleeps the day away. and honestly, Akira almost does, too. but at some point he manages to disentangle himself from his napping buddy to sneak out and pull a certain someone aside, right into an empty classroom]

[once they're there? Akira leans his shoulder against a wall, crutch tucked underneath one arm, back facing Akechi]

I need your help.

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[blinks at him for a bit, slowly, processing, as though he's realizing something for the first time]

. . . we really are complete opposites. . .

[afailedmurder]

[cocks his head to the side]

Are we? Here I was starting to think that we're rather alike.

[purrtagonist]

In stubbornness. In our want for justice. For a place to belong in the world.

[ain't gonna deny that]

But not in the way we've responded to this place. You've made friends.

I'm about to make a corpse.

[S. . . SO]

[afailedmurder]

You've made more friends than I have, and I'll be an accomplice in making a corpse. Is that really so far off?

[purrtagonist]

[a snort]

Got me there.

[still, he feels like Akechi's at least improved since he got here. but as for Akira himself? he feels like he's gone nowhere but down. and when he thinks about it that way, he can't help but wonder, a bit sardonically, if the universe had always designed for their fates to be inverted like this]

[. . .]

[maybe he's putting too much thought into it. fuck the universe]

Speaking of friends-- [SUBJECT CHANGE] -- I told you Shuichi liked you.

[afailedmurder]

[look man, he's been trying to tell you about the universe the whole time]

I needed to hear him say it.

[purrtagonist]

[FUCK THE UNIVERSE!!]

I'm glad he did.

[afailedmurder]

[there are about a hundred million sincere things he could say on this topic. he doesn't say any of them]

Poor thing. Everyone is bullying him now.

[purrtagonist]

[there has been enough sincerity in this conversation already]

He made it so easy that I almost felt kind of bad.

[afailedmurder]

I wasn't going to say a word, but he's simply too easy to read.

It's cute, but I hope it doesn't come back to bite him.

[purrtagonist]

I don't see how it would. Unless people tease him so much he gets fed up with it.

[Akira's had his fun, though. he's going to let it be]

[afailedmurder]

For their sake, I hope they don't tease him so much that I get fed up with it.

[he's joking but........... kinda also not]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . . . . . BUDDY. . . . .]

[opens his mouth to make a comment about how jealous boyfriends aren't attractive, before deciding. . . yeah, he still doesn't want to piss his alibi off. so. shutting his mouth immediately and quirking a brow at him instead]

How ominous. . .

[afailedmurder]

I prefer "noble." I only want to protect him.

[yyyyeah that's a jealous boyfriend right there]

[purrtagonist]

[yep absolutely]

What a knight in shining armor you are. . .

[afailedmurder]

Maybe for once, I can be.

[why yes, he IS that serious about his three-day-old relationship where they still refer to each other by family names]

[purrtagonist]

[he wants to give dating advice so badly]

Why do you still call him Saihara? Even I call him Shuichi.

[but that's because fuck formalities, he dropped all his honorifics like after the first murder. faux politeness is hard]

[afailedmurder]

Huh? Well...

[his excessive confidence evaporates immediately]

He and I have never discussed it, so...

[trails off]

[purrtagonist]

Soooo, call him Shuichi and see what happens.

[that easy! though he lapses into quiet contemplation aftwrwards]

Goro. . .

[afailedmurder]

[FEELS WEIRD, MAN]

Nobody calls me that...

[purrtagonist]

[FEELS REAL WEIRD]

. . . yeah, I'll stick to Akechi.

But if Shuichi calls you that, it'll be like. . . a special name.

[afailedmurder]

S-special, huh...

[actually looking a little bashful at that]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . aw]

Just a helpful suggestion.

[Akechi gives murder advice while Akira gives relationship advice??]

[afailedmurder]

[teamwork!]

I suppose I don't mind if he wants to, but I don't want others to hear him and get the same idea.

[purrtagonist]

So use the names in private only.

[he is suave]