[Week 0, Sunday post-execution: Makoto]

[purrtagonist]

[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]

Comments

[justfists]

[this was not as intended... she pauses, and then slowly reaches out, her fingers lightly touching his. But she is focused on getting herself under control. She needed to separate herself from the choice, to compartmentalize.

She swallows and lowers her hand from her mouth. Okay.

She could do this.]

Thank you. A-anyway... like I said... they were there willingly.

Because of that, any time we tried to hurt the holy grail, the people would just give it their strength. And it would heal, instantly.

[purrtagonist]

[she touches his fingers lightly, but he uses that opportunity to grasp her hand warmly, an attempt to anchor her as much as he can]

And the grail. . . it was their Treasure, right?

[he knows enough context to make educated, smart assumptions]

The people's distortions were so strong that they protected the Treasure from even us.

[justfists]

Yes. Exactly. It was the treasure. The source of the distortion for the world.

[she exhales.]

So... of course we lost, nothing we could hit it with would overcome the will of the people. And the next thing we knew... we were back in Shibuya.

[purrtagonist]

[considering where they are now, he needs to ask for clarification]

This Shibuya? Or our own?

[justfists]

The real one. Though, I don't know if this place is much different from what that one would become.

[purrtagonist]

[a pause, as he tries to puzzle out the meaning of those words]

What do you mean by that?

[justfists]

... Shibuya and Mementos are one and the same now.

And as you know from Mementos, anything that does not exist in the public's cognition... can't exist anywhere.

[purrtagonist]

[and that's when it hits him]

[the full meaning of what both Makoto and Yusuke said about the people rejecting them. their profiles, which listed their causes of death as having disappeared from the people's cognition. and from what he remembers from back. . . the Phantom Thieves and their popularity was swiftly approaching the negatives]

[it all makes sense. the peoples stopped believing in them, and so they stopped existing]

[it feels like a punch to the gut]

You're. . . kidding. . .

[she isn't. he knows. but he needs a moment to be appropriately upset]

[justfists]

[she pauses, and then squeezes his hand, knowing that this would have some effect on him-- even if she thought that he would be better suited to handle it than she, apparently, was. Because he was the leader, the one who had pushed them forward, and united them. No matter how isolated they had been, he was the uniting factor.]

... It's what's waiting all of us if we make it out. I don't know what we can do to change this, if the people won't accept us. But...

[she exhales. She wants to believe that she has to try. It's that hint of stubbornness.]

[purrtagonist]

[even Akira has his moments where that strong, confident and composed leaderly facade cracks. it's done that several times already, through the course of this conversation. but in the end, he sets his jaw firmly. squeezes her hand in return, meets her gaze with a steadiness that's so quintessentially Akira]

[he replies as Joker would: voice steely. even. with strength behind every word that shows he's still full of fight. no matter their circumstances]

Who cares if the people don't accept us?

[ah]

That doesn't mean we should stop fighting for what we believe in. For our justice.

[Joker doesn't have to be from the same point in time as Makoto and Yusuke to come to the same conclusions]

[justfists]

... Yes. But we'll be down to just yourself, Yusuke, and me. We won't have Ann, Ryuji, Haru, or Morgana.

[she briefly glances at him, but then her courage fails her and she closes her eyes.]

... I want to believe you, Akira. I want to believe that I'll be able to believe in justice again, and we'll succeed anyway. We don't have a choice. But...

[she's doubting. Of course she is.]

[purrtagonist]

Would we? Just because they aren't here doesn't mean we can't find a way to save them.

[somehow. some way. not that he knows the details of that, but please. Akira Kurusu doesn't just give up. especially when it comes to his thieves]

You doubt. [he gets that. it's okay. he'll help her through it] But who are you doubting? Yourself? Because if that's what it is. . .

Then trust me, as someone who trusts and believes in you.

[justfists]

[it's hard to say "I still doubt myself" when she hears those words from him. She's still for a moment, slowly processing everything, and what those words might mean in the context of this game.

But finally, she opens her eyes, and smiles a bit.]

Okay. You're right.

[she's going to make sure they all get out of there]

[purrtagonist]

[that's better. he knows it doesn't fix everything, but it's good to see her regain some of that confidence]

That's it.

We still have a long ways to go, but we'll make it. I promise.

[justfists]

[it did help, at least a little bit...!]

I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here to give me a pep talk. [you're a good leader, leader.] i'll keep in mind what you've said, though.

Especially since I get the feeling... this week is probably the first in many.

[purrtagonist]

One of potentially eight, right?

[that's what Max said. things will definitely end at week eight, no matter what]

[justfists]

Right. And there are a limited number of spots after that, too. Which seems... strange.

[she's just trying to understand the reason this game exists, don't mind her]

[purrtagonist]

Yeah. I thought that, too.

[limited slots, the number of which is determined by unknown methods]

The mere announcement of limited slots makes it sound like the designer of this game wants as much bloodshed as they can possibly get.

[justfists]

Exactly.

[someone that could do this... what kind of person or being is it? And why did they create limited slots?

It's not like... no one would have ever noticed. Death was always permanent, after all.]