[Week 4, Wednesday: Yang]

[purrtagonist]

[when not hanging around the arcade practicing his Dragon's Lair moves, Akira can be found at the bookstore. and that's where he is today-- curled up in a cozy chair, glasses resting on top of his head, a book on the theory of morality (wow, that's some heavy reading) open in his lap]

[he's engrossed in said book (or is he just staring into space emptily?) but that doesn't mean he can't be bothered]

Comments

[sonnen]

[ Yeah, he's definitely going to be bothered. Yang props herself on the back of the chair and peers down at him, arms falling rather intrusively into his personal space. She'd like to smile, but... ]

... we need to talk.

[purrtagonist]

[he must've been dead to the world, because her sudden intrusion jolts him out of his trance. his glasses fall back onto his nose, completely crooked, as he looks up at her]

Ah-- sure.

[gently, he closes the book in his lap]

What's up. . .?

[sonnen]

[ Now that he's awake, she's going to force her way into a sitting position on the arm of his chair. Enjoy Very Close Yang, she is a being without much concern for personal space. ]

After you told me about - you - so did someone else.

... made me work for it, too.

[purrtagonist]

[Akira is usually pretty protective of his personal space, but as Yang moves in, he doesn't move away. perhaps to keep this conversation as surreptitious as possible. perhaps it's because Yang is a force of nature, and he knows better than to fight it]

[her words knock the air right out of him. he opens his mouth, then shuts it with a click. his surprise melts into resigned understanding moments later]

. . . of course.

[why isn't he surprised]

I-- [. . .] Can I ask who?

[not because he thinks they're a threat. not because he wants names to add to a hit list. but because then he can confront them with all of who he is, and try to convince them to keep him alive. just. . . just long enough, to save the Erased]

[this is why he was so sure he is going to die this week]

[sonnen]

[ Yang really hates this. Playing one side opposite the other, navigating lies and loyalties... She isn't subtle. Her prosthetic hand clenches into a fist atop her lap. She's thinking she'd much rather have something she could hit. ]

... [ Swallowing, a muscle moves in her throat. ]

You can... But he doesn't have a name. [ That's Akira's one decisive clue. ]

[purrtagonist]

[her and Akira both. he was never much for subtleties, either. and her hint. . . it's more than enough to tell him what he needs to know]

[he exhales deeply. he remembers how Terra was so insistent that Shin make it through this Game, just so he could get his true name back. Akira feels the same, truthfully. there's no animosity no anger, and no frustration levied towards the nameless assassin at all. doesn't Shin have just as much of a right to be angry at the Reapers as everyone else?]

I wonder how he figured it out.

[it's not a question to which he expects an answer]

And how many other people he'll tell.

[sonnen]

He said-- he trusts me, he wants to protect me, and he talked the second group of Reapers off of me.

[ And she had played that trust to the hilt, soothing Assassin with her righteous indignation. It had been an easy act, in the end. Akira's lie had hurt her. More than Terra's soft, remorseful duplicity. More than Junko's abrupt turn in mannerisms, stripping off the mask and showing only ugliness. It had been simple to claim the price of that, to find fire in feigned ignorance.

She had never been a Reaper, but she kept being blindsided by them. It's a wonder anyone remains on her side. ]

You know, I'd probably be Erased this week if he hadn't intervened.

[purrtagonist]

[it isn't fair to Yang, to be slotted in the middle like this. just as it wasn't fair to Akira's other Player contact. he was fortunate enough that some people here believed in his sincere desire to save the Erased enough to at least work with him. . . even if they couldn't forgive.]

[but forgiveness was something Akira would never ask for, anyway]

"Talked the second group of Reapers off of you."

[he repeats, shifting in his seat to face her fully. he doesn't actually believe that; it was him the other group of Reapers were suspicious of. and he knows who comprises that second group, too. he knows they're far too cautious to go after someone they merely suspect, without confirming their status as a Reaper first]

. . . do you think he's one of them, Yang?

[sonnen]

Said he wasn't.

[ By now, she furls even closer into herself. Turtling, in the wake of all this. Her jaw is a bit tight, though. She succumbs to frustration a lot faster than despair. ]

Said they needed him for the messy jobs, but... I can't confirm that, you know? He's still paying his entry fee.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . and that is what gets him to pause. to stiffen in his seat, gaze level with her, brows furrowed]

He isn't.

[he can confirm that much. Assassin is as much of a Reaper as Yang is. which is to say, not one at all. but that second part?]

He said they "needed him for the messy jobs." [he repeats that slowly, testing the words in his mouth. the implication isn't lost on him; it makes his stomach churn in his gut] Messy jobs like eliminating the Reapers from my group.

[does he not realize they aren't on his side? he thinks to himself]

[sonnen]

... like Ranpo?

[ As the pieces fall into place, Yang blanches. ]

[purrtagonist]

Maybe.

[he isn't sure]

Shin didn't kill Ranpo. That was Chuuya Nakahara, and of that I'm certain.

[based on physical evidence. based on what Akira knew of Ranpo's relationship with Chuuya]

But if they're manipulating Players into killing us faster so they can win, then. . .

[he trails off. was. . . was his hope for an alliance with all three sides of the Game so they could reach the time limit and revive the Erased misguided afer all. . .?]

[sonnen]

[ Yang groans loudly. It has more of her previous spirit in it than Akira's heard all day. ]

Oh my gooood.

[ this is such SHIT ]

Can everyone stop Erasing everyone else for five seconds so we can sort this out?

[ And then, her flare of temper dampening, she adds-- ]

... Do you think one of us can actually take the Composer's place?

[purrtagonist]

[PREACH IT, YANG. Akira groans as well, slumping in his seat to rub his temples]

Say that again, please.

[AND PEOPLE PLEASE LISTEN]

And yeah. I do. People killing Composers to take their place isn't uncommon. [and here, he pauses] I considered doing that myself, back when this Game first started.

[. . .]

But I met the Composer on Monday. [oh] And now, I'm not sure. . . that's the right answer.

[sonnen]

[ Yang looks away from him. Her hand - her real one - traces some indecipherable pattern on the armrest, just by where she's seated. ]

Who is it?

[purrtagonist]

[. . . his smile is apologetic. she probably expected this response]

I can't say.

But if you'd like to meet with them, I'd suggest writing a letter, you know? They might heed your request.

[it's totally how Akira got his in]

[sonnen]

I'm not exactly good with words.

[ She kind of... got angry the last time she tried to write to the Composer and littered aggressively!! It was the non-answers that did her in. ]

Look, I gotta go. Probably best we're not seen alone together while all this goes down.

[ ... She doesn't move right away, though. ]

[purrtagonist]

Neither am I.

[but it worked!!]

. . . if you do ask, make sure you give the letter to Max in private. If you try to ask about it in public, he might just turn you down.

[because that's how Max is, he thinks. but with that piece said, he gives Yang a nod, even though he doesn't quite move away from her just yet either]

And, Yang?

[a pause]

Thank you. For telling me.