[Week 4, Friday: Setz]

[purrtagonist]

[truthfully, Akira had wanted to compare notes with Setz ever since Makoto, Miki, Yusuke and Magnus brought home those damp books. but considering the events of today (EVEN IF THERE'S NO BODY ANNOUNCEMENT YET), Akira is. . . uh. putting that on the back burner]

[for good reason]

[wherever Setz is, Akira is going to reach out to gently place a hand on his shoulder]

. . . hey.

[are you all right? no, he can't ask that. of course Setz isn't okay, and he doesn't need someone asking a question to which there is no real response]

Comments

[subordinacy]

[Setz stiffens at the touch, before forcing himself to relax. He looks calmer than he did before, though there's still something almost murderous lurking in his eyes.

He glances around to make sure no one else in the area, before his gaze ends up on a random point in space. Dully, he speaks.]

Your suspicions were correct. Jacopo was a Reaper.

[What does it matter now that he's gone?]

[purrtagonist]

[the murderous look doesn't miss Akira's gaze. he remembers their conversation right after the trial in which Junko was executed. the smirk Setz had shown him after insisting that most people don't expect much out of him]

[those people were idiots. Akira may not have seen Setz's true power, but he could see flickers of it. . . small hints, in that smirk, in that gleam crouched behind the red of his irises]

. . . yeah. I thought so.

[he'll never forget the dogged way Jacopo pursued Junko, after all]

But that doesn't matter. Reaper or not, he's important to you.

[subordinacy]

[He's quiet for a few moments.]

... He told me. He told me that he wanted to win—but because his partner just had to become obsessed with reviving the fallen, he had to switch priorities.

He—he said I wasn't going to like his methods, but...

[Jacopo had changed his goals, if nothing else, for Setz's sake.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . that's a little comforting, actually. Akira still has yet to hear back from that group of Reapers on what their next plan of action is. his conversation with Alex and Ichigo hadn't gone badly, but it also hadn't left him with much hope]

[even if Jacopo-- the person who decided to throw away his victory to revive the fallen, for the sake of his partner-- was dead now, at least it meant there was a chance the others felt the same way]

[maybe there was a little bit of hope, after all]

Did he tell you what his methods were?

[subordinacy]

... "I can't guarantee that you'll like how Mission Save the Erased will occur, considering the Composer's eccentric taste and flair for drama, but it'll happen."

My guess is that he was planning on stirring up drama, somehow. I asked Ichigo to keep an eye on him, but I suppose that no longer matters.

[purrtagonist]

[STIRRING UP DRAMA. . .]

I don't know the Composer well enough to say that that's what they'd be impressed by.

But. . . it's still good to hear that he was willing to try.

[subordinacy]

He wasn't a bad person. Difficult to... get along with, but...

[purrtagonist]

No one is ever a bad person just because they're difficult to get along with.

. . . I'm sorry, Setz.

[for his loss. because. . . yeah. it's hard. it's hard, and it sucks, and as much as he's been advocating for people to extend the game to the eight week time limit, right now?]

[he really just wants it all to end]

[subordinacy]

[... Yeah. He told Max that a few more weeks would be bearable, considering the scope of what was at stake, but... in the moment, it's so easy to forget those words.

Inside, a small part of him that he's desperately smothering—it echoes in his mind. I just want to disappear.

But he won't. He can't.]

... Jacopo was the type to work quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd managed to set a plan in motion already.

[purrtagonist]

That's good to hear, but what kind of plan? And does his death mean it's gotten derailed?

[Setz knew Jacopo waaaay better than Akira did, so. . .]

[subordinacy]

I don't know. Even I never understood him that well.

... However, I wouldn't be surprised if he incorporated his potential death into it. I think he's been expecting his erasure for a while.

[purrtagonist]

He was never in any danger from us.

[because it's stupid to approach a group for an alliance and then kill someone from said alliance?? like, that's not how to convince someone you want to be friends??? kind of friends. allies?? people who work together to save souls???]

But whatever his plan was, going forward-- even if we can't understand it fully-- I hope. . . it helps.

[subordinacy]

Was yours Chuuya, then?

[...]

Knowing him, it's probably bound to make either one of us miserable. I think he hated you personally, at any rate.

... I do know that he intended on keeping one of you alive, but he wasn't going to make things any easier for the other in trials.

1/2

[purrtagonist]

[. . . at the question about Chuuya, Akira just. pulls up a bit of a strained smile, tight and tired and extremely rueful]

Mmm. That one wasn't me, though.

[annnnd that's all he'll say about that]

[purrtagonist]

[especially when Setz points out Jacopo hated him]

You know, I got that feeling, but we never actually spoke before. [he just got the stink eye when he was talking to Monika once] What did I do to make him hate me so much?

[subordinacy]

[He won't press—though concern lurks, when he thinks of Shinssin.]

... I have no idea. He was the reason I advised you not to sound too idealistic, though. I honestly thought he'd choose to go the meeting.

[purrtagonist]

[yeah, he'll have something to say about Shinssin in a bit, once they get to that subject]

I can't blame him for not showing up. I halfway expected them all to think my request for a meeting was a trap.

[thank god they didn't think it was, though]

[subordinacy]

I told you—I would've pulled every string I had if they hadn't accepted. And Jacopo, at least, did learn from me that they'd be receiving a note, even if I didn't say what it'd be about. It... came out, when he confronted me about spilling Ichigo's role.

[Read: yelled in his face until Setz panicked a tad.]

Though I'm glad it didn't come down to that.

[purrtagonist]

So am I.

[. . .]

I hope to hear back from the rest of them when the trial is over.

[and he sure hopes it's good news. because while he's acutely aware-- thanks to Setz's second letter-- that the Players are the ones who have to meet the right condition for saving the Erased. . . the least he thinks the Reapers of this game could do is band together to give the Players the chance to meet that condition]

[subordinacy]

... As long as you make it out in one piece.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . . . . . .]

Shin knows I'm a Reaper.

[hm]

[subordinacy]

[Setz stares, frozen.]

... H-How...?

[Both like

how does he know

and how is Akira not dead already.]

[purrtagonist]

I don't know.

[that's]

[an answer to both of those questions???]

I told Yang shortly after I told you, and apparently soon after that, Shin approached her and "outed" me to her. She came to talk to me afterwards.

[. . .]

Something she said kind of worried me. I asked if she thought Shin was a part of the second group of Reapers, and she said that he insisted he wasn't. But he did tell her that "they needed him for messy jobs."

[so anyway this has been bugging him all week thanks???]

[subordinacy]

[... Ah.

And then, Setz understands—or at least he thinks he does. Guilt flashes in his face, before he looks away.]

That's... probably my fault. I convinced him of Jacopo's trustworthiness a while back, so he... asked me to pass on a message to Jacopo. That he was on standby and wouldn't kill without new information.

I... I think Jacopo told him about you, in that case.

[As part of his plans this week to stir up drama and motivate the Players into action, most likely.

God.

Setz really just keeps finding new ways to screw up, doesn't he?]

[purrtagonist]

[SETZ NO. . .!]

[Akira. . . makes a face, one of displeasure and frustration. it isn't directed at Setz, or even Jacopo himself, just. . . in general, because he knows he is in the danger zone as far as survival is concerned. he wipes it away pretty quickly though, and tugs at his bangs with a sigh]

Chuuya knew about me as well.

[. . .]

[he can't say too much about that one, though]

I'd bet there are probably several other Players who know who I am, too. It's-- [hesitation]

[and then he shrugs, a bit helplessly. what can he do? if they go after him at the trial, all he can do is defend himself to the best of his ability]

I think there are still some Players who don't think extending the game to eight weeks is the answer. Convincing them that it is should probably be our next priority.