purrtagonist | [Week 0, Sunday post-execution: Makoto]

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[Week 0, Sunday post-execution: Makoto]

[truthfully, out of his two thieves present for this game, Makoto was the one Akira found himself most concerned about at the moment. he had always known that Makoto had a more heated, fiery side, something to balance out her levelheaded calmness. and part of him had been impressed with the methodical way she had handled herself at the trial-- that was the daughter of a cop, for you]

[but when everything had ended, she had seemed. . . stressed? unhappy? it was tough to put a name to the emotion, but something was off. that, coupled with her being slightly off-kilter during their first thief meeting, meant that something was up. right?]

[once the execution is over, Akira seeks Makoto out, greeting her with two fingers pressed against his temple in a mock salute]

I kind of wish they had more restaurant choices than McDonalds and Starvi-- Starbucks. Where's a cheap diner when you need it?

[he'll get to the point soon enough, but he's absolutely going to ease into it slowly]

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[it's definitely not Sae he blames for his failure. emphasis on his, because he blames no one but himself (and Akechi) for what happened in that room]

[he watches her scrub at her eyes, before he holds out a hand, palm facing up, for her to take. if she chooses. and truthfully?]

[he totally prefers it when she just calls him "Akira"]

You're not alone. You haven't been, since the moment you joined the Phantom Thieves.

I'm here for you. Yusuke is, too. Always.

[she pauses, and then... eats the fry. At least she's feeling well enough to eat a fry? But her red eyes lock back onto him, studying.]

... You're right.

But it's... really concerning that we aren't here for the same reason. You made it out of the police station. I know that it didn't go as smoothly as we were hoping. Sis filled me in on some of the details but...

What happened?

[ah. right. it was always going to come to this. don't mind as his own gaze drops from hers, towards the pile of fries sitting between them both]

. . . I didn't make it out of the police station. [he didn't even come close] It was the drugs. Too many shots, all of them messing with my memory. Sae asked about our targets, our methods, our. . . everything, and I could barely recall the details well enough to relay them to her. I know I was telling her about Futaba's Palace, but then everything just went-- blank.

I couldn't remember what else I needed to say.

So she left.

[she got fed up with his inability to remember and left. he didn't tell her about the phone. and that was all that needed to break down for their plan to fall apart around them]

[hearing it confirmed causes a pit to form in her stomach, and... well, so much for eating. The drugs... but he'd made it out? He'd gotten her to take the phone. How...]

I... I hadn't wanted to think about what I'd do if that plan had failed.

[she's still.]

When you came back, I was so relieved. I thought I'd never have to ever consider that possibility again, and all we had to do was figure out the truth...

[something about what she says makes him feel like she's disappointed in him. like. . . compared to the Akira she knows, he's the one who failed. the one who let everyone down. the one, out of the three thieves here, who didn't belong]

[didn't belong?]

[no, that's not right. is it? he belongs. doesn't. . . he?]

[he shoves that thought aside]

I asked Max why my memories were different from yours and Yusuke's. He said even the slightest difference in events can create different timelines.

I guess that's what this is. In my timeline, I failed. In yours and Yusuke's, I didn't.

[it wasn't disappointment. It was being face to face with a thought she thought she'd put behind her, being aware of what failing there would have meant for all of them. He was too important to lose. It was fear.]

No, in our timeline, you were lucky.

given everything he was fighting against... none of them could've anticipated that drugs would be used-- or that they'd be so strong. He was lucky, and now she's more convinced of it.]

Akira, I'm sorry. I wish we had planned for more contingencies, for your sake.

[luck. . . is that what it was? one stroke of good luck versus one stroke of bad? somehow, he can't convince himself that was the only factor]

Don't.

[but what he does know is that he doesn't want Makoto to blame herself]

We did all that we could. What happened to me-- that wasn't your fault.

[and, even more than that? he reaches for a fry himself, twisting it between his fingers, steadily meeting her gaze with his from over the table]

We'll make it right.

[they'll survive, and take their second chances, and fix what went wrong. he believes that. he has to-- because the alternative is unthinkable]

Right... we have a plan, even if I didn’t keep my head down the way I should have. [a brief pause] I’m hoping Dahlia is t an example of what we have to look forward to with all of the Reapers. We might have our work cut out for us.

[strategy is less heavy to talk. It’s more natural, and it reminds her of home. She could talk it all day, instead of timelines, or... well. The question that naturally invites with her and Yusuke.

She places a hand to her chin, giving up on the fries for now.]

But if they were, that would be too predictable. Junko would be a reaper for sure. [exactly how many reapers were there...?]

Edited 2018-03-12 16:14 (UTC)

[DON'T THINK YOU'RE ESCAPING MAKOTO JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE TURNING THE CONVERSATION TO STRATEGY. he's going to ask! but for now, he follows the flow of the conversation]

Max did say the reapers were "usually sadists." [quoting him on that] If anyone still alive fits that bill, it's definitely Enoshima.

But that's the thing-- "usually," not always.

[and when does "obviously" turn into "so obvious it can't be true?"]

. . . but then again, thinking like that could easily cause us to pass over a reaper who is right under our noses.

It's a rule of thumb, and rules can always be broken.

[she stares hard at the tabletop, thinking.]

We're going to have to speak to people and find ways to probe-- ticks. Something like that. And we should take note of the people who are sadists, as well. It wouldn't be wise to completely forget a Reaper's typical profile. And Dahlia most definitely fit that profile.

[his gaze narrows distastefully the more they talk about Dahlia]

She did.

[and boy, did he get some serious Akechi pings from her. which just made it worse]

There's another problem, though. If what Max said about reapers is true, and they're all like Dahlia, then. . . I doubt my plan to talk to them for more information will work.

[Dahlia did not seem like the kind of person to be helpful at like, all]

Edited 2018-03-12 20:10 (UTC)

... Perhaps not.

[she's quiet, and then earnest.]

But we can still try. It's our best option right now.

Mmmm.

[that, and sniffing them out at trials, right? even if doing so makes Akira feel like a pawn in a larger scheme]

. . . Makoto.

[also, he hasn't forgotten the original point of this conversation]

Yusuke told me the basic gist of what happened to you two. But even then, I don't have specific details.

... Right. [a shaky exhale, and she leans back in the booth, wrapping her arms around her midsection.] You should know.

What, exactly, did Yusuke tell you? I'll try to fill in any gaps.

Something about a Grail. About traveling into the depths of Mementos. About the will of the people.

[he had been a bit too overwhelmed to ask about it in detail]

But that's all.

What were we trying to steal in the depths of Mementos?

Morgana explained once that Mementos is a palace. We were trying to steal the treasure of that palace.

[which doesn't explain why, Makoto knows. She needs to go back farther, back to right after Sae's palace.]

We figured out that Akechi was working for Masayoshi Shido, who had started running for Prime Minister after snap elections were called. Someone who would use a teenager that way, and also abuse the cognitive world... Someone like that had no right to be Prime Minister.

That's what we'd agreed.

The people's. . . treasure?

[he says to himself, words slow. but then she backs up, and does as well, to follow the entire story]

Ah. So that's who. . .

[. . . was behind the mental shutdowns that Akechi caused. he set his jaw tightly]

Masayoshi Shido. Did you steal his heart?

... Yes.

[she considers whether she should tell him about his own connection to Shido. He deserves to know, but also it complicates an already complicated story.]

We did. And Shido wasn't just connected to Akechi: he was connected to you, too. He was the man who claimed you'd assaulted him... The entire reason for your record.

[that one knocks the wind right out of him]

What?

[his response is breathless. give him a moment to process this]

[She pauses, staring down at the table for a moment, and then back up at him.]

I'm sorry... I didn't think it would be fair to not tell you, if I was going to tell the whole story.

You deserve to know, no matter what.

No, don't-- don't apologize.

[don't feel bad for telling him Makoto, it's something he'd want to know!!]

. . . thanks. I knew he had to be powerful, whoever he was. But I had no idea. . .

[that he was connected to Akechi, too? that he was running for prime minister?]

[even without all of the context, Akira feels like everything seems to slot together a little too perfectly, and he can't help the furrowed frown that follows]

Yes.

[she pauses, and then continues with a certain levity]

We stole Shido's heart, and he had a change of heart. Just like everyone else in the past. But... he still won. He was still elected prime minister.

[she locks eyes with him]

It was like everything we'd done... our calling card for Shido, our past acts... No one remembered it anymore. No one wanted to change course, even when Shido himself had admitted to his crimes.

[the final piece slips neatly into place. not to complete the entire puzzle-- he isn't there yet-- but to at least let him see the bigger picture it creates]

And that's why you were trying to steal the Treasure in Mementos.

[they were trying to change the hearts of the entire general public]

[. . .]

[a low, impressed whistle]

Damn.

[that's a big undertaking, even for them]

[it's so strange for Akira to be so impressed with this, when he was as much a catalyst in their decision as anything else. Makoto's smile at that is weak.]

Yes. That's where the trains were going... they were taking everyone's shadows to the center of Mementos and trapping them.

We... even ran into Kamoshida... Madarame, Kaneshiro, and even Shido. We found all of their shadows trapped like everyone else's.

[it's hard not to be impressed, when he's hearing this story as an outsider. as someone who hasn't yet partaken in it (who hopefully will, if he survives this game, when the time comes). it does cause a bit of. . . uncertainty? to yank at his heart. here are his teammates, doing something amazing, and here he is, still reeling from his biggest failure ever]

[. . . what is this weird, pervading feeling of not belonging? of not being good enough? he's managed to brush it off the past few times, but it's so uncharacteristic for him that the fact that it keeps popping up is. well.]

[a bit disconcerting]

[god, he needs to focus]

Why were their Shadows trapped in the center of Mementos?

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