[Week 0, Sunday post-execution: Yang]

[purrtagonist]

[if there's any emotion that Akira understands, it's anger]

[that's why he hadn't scolded Yang when she had lunged at Max, even though he would have stopped her had Maya not stepped in first. it's why he seeks her out, once Dahlia and Anthy and Maya are double dead, once they've had a little bit of time to process how real these "erasures" actually were]

[wherever Yang is this evening, she'll find Akira holding a carbonated beverage pilfered from the vending machine towards her. peace offering!!]

Are you a soda fan? Personally, I've always found it a bit too sweet.

Comments

[sonnen]

... Thanks.

[ In this order: Yang takes it, pops it open, drinks down the entire contents in a matter of moments, crushes the can in her prosthetic hand... and then drops it on the ground.

It's not aimed at him, this dismissive and sullen form of aggression. He's just providing her the outlet.

Yang looks over at him, eyes wide. Slightly vulnerable, maybe. ]

Soda's fine. It doesn't help, but I doubt anything will right now.

[purrtagonist]

[the only other person he has ever seen destroy a can of soda in that amount of time is Ryuji]

[the OTHER blond ruffian in his life]

[lets out an impressed whistle, before he pulls up a smile, soft and understanding]

. . . no. Nothing will.

[except for true justice. but how the hell do they even achieve that? what happened to Dahlia. . . that didn't feel like justice]

But there are outlets. Ways to alleviate that pressure.

[sonnen]

[ Hey, you're talking to the original flavour blonde ruffian! Yang certainly isn't up to her usual boisterous, outgoing self. It wouldn't be incorrect to call her a shade of that. There are faint purple shadows around her eyes: like bruising, or the hints of a storm in a rumbling sky, or even the cloudy residue of what's left of her Semblance. If her natural strength was available to her, or the unbridled power of her exquisite rage--

Well. Yang knows if she contemplates those possibilities for hours on end, she'll drive herself mad. With grief, or guilt. ]

I could have done something, you know. If I was at full strength... [ Her hand tightens, balling into a fist, and then releases just as slowly. ] Maybe I could have saved them.

[purrtagonist]

[that's a familiar feeling, too. failure. guilt. helplessness. the same things that had plagued Akira since his arrival to this shadow of the Shibuya he knows. and when she brings them up in relation to Utena, Anthy, and Maya. . . he can't help the new wave that suddenly closes in around him, closing up his throat and causing him to swallow thickly to keep his composure]

[he keeps his gaze on her, but doesn't force it, if she looks away]

I thought that, too.

[he admits, voice a bit raw]

There are so-- so many things I could do to fix this, if I had every tool that was available to me when I was alive.

[but they aren't. and all they can do is think in terms of "what ifs"]

[sonnen]

Yeah...

[ She kicks at the ground with a toe.

They left her her arm, but disabled its autofire properties. Her eyes still burn red when she's angry, but the helpful parts of her Semblance is locked away. Even her Aura feels muted, dull and grey. Locked. ]

And I'm definitely not in the business of killing, or... erasing.

[ IT'S LAME ]

So where does that leave us?

[purrtagonist]

. . . in the business of sniffing out reapers.

[what other choice do they have? he doesn't like it. doesn't like falling into line with rules he deems unjust or unfair. doesn't like acting as someone else's pawn for a game that he thinks exists for glorified entertainment. but what else can they do?]

I don't-- I won't erase anyone. [he reiterates firmly, because he absolutely refuses to compromise who he is for the sake of this game] But the sooner we find them, the sooner we can end this.

Right?

[sonnen]

Right.

[ She starts to hold out her hand... And then pulls it back at the last second. Naked suspicion tints the violet of her eyes. She hasn't forgotten their first (last) promise, but that had been so offhand. She keeps making deals with this guy. By logic, by all odds, she's going to get burned. ]

You're not one of them, are you? [ Her tone tightens a bit. ] Don't lie to me, okay.

[purrtagonist]

[truthfully, he finds her suspicion refreshing. people who are unwilling to give their trust so easily rarely every have anything to hide. and not a single deal he struck back home was done for reasons of "friendship" or "trust." everything started off as something utilitarian]

Of course not.

[he lifts his chin up, head tilted, gaze searching her expression carefully. he echoes the question]

Are you?

[sonnen]

Nope.

[ There's a deceptively casual note to her voice. She means it. She's just... weighing the value of that truth.

Her hands untense, spread out. Open. Skin on one, metal on the other. ]

Look, you've seen me with my pants off. [ Technically, everyone did. ] Do I seem like a good liar to you? [ How are those things related... Yang... ]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . oh my god]

Technically, everyone did.

[echoing that meta text, his mouth twitching into an amused smile]

But-- no. You don't.

[and that's a truth. her anger, out of anyone's he had observed after Utena's death, felt the most genuine. the most raw. the most. . . pure]

You seem. . . [a breath] Earnest.

[sonnen]

[ At that, she perks up a little. Earnest... Definitely not a word anyone would ever use to describe Raven. The realisation is enough to cheer her up, even if it's only in the mildest of degrees. (People have died, after all!) ]

You can blame my dad for that. I got my earnest genes from him.

[ This time, she does put her hand out...

And doesn't retract it! ]

So let's try to trust each other, alright?

[purrtagonist]

[his own gaze flickers down, studying that hand carefully. and then, after only a brief hesitation, he reaches out]

[and takes it firmly in his own]

. . . all right.

I hope it'll be a pleasure doing business with you, Yang.

[no honorific this time]

[sonnen]

[ She did see that hesitation (if it tinges her resolve, it's only in the smallest of amounts)-- and good, because these honourifics are weird and she has zero interest in hearing them.

That said, for a moment, the handshake is genuine. Her metal fingers are skinnier than a human's, and colder.

One, two...

Three...

Abruptly, the arm shoots off, dragging him back a few feet through sheer velocity of the takeoff. When the dust clears (metaphorically) he will be left standing there, holding hands with a dislodged and limp prosthetic.

Yang will be over here, laughing her ass off. ]

1/2

[purrtagonist]

[OH MY GOD YANG PLEASE]

[purrtagonist]

[needles to say, Akira is left reeling from that sudden surprise, stumbling back and wobbling to and fro as he tries to catch his balance. he almost drops the prosthetic in his attempts to not trip and fall right onto his ass]

[but when he does steady himself, he blinks down to the arm in his hand, then back up to the laughing Yang, then down again.]

[and then he smiles]

You really do get a kick out of scaring people with this, don't you?

[sonnen]

It's all about the little joys in life.

[ With the arm ejected off, the reason why it is necessary is painfully apparent. Underneath the rolled up cuff of her coat sleeve, there's the space where an arm should be, but isn't. Yang isn't ashamed.

(Not now, anyway.)

Wearing a cocky grin, all her own, she'll take the arm back from him. ]

[purrtagonist]

The little joys are what keep us sane, especially in circumstances like this one.

[she shouldn't be ashamed!! she has no reason to be, in his mind. either way, he hands the arm back to her, that smile transforming into a small, amused grin]

Take what we can, when we can get it, right?