[Week 4, Sunday: Makoto]

[purrtagonist]

[like others, Makoto won't be able to find Akira for a few hours after the execution. that is by purposeful design. but eventually? he'll emerge from whatever hiding spot he had curled up in to deal, mostly composed and back to normal]

[keyword "mostly."]

[Makoto will find Akira at the bookstore, draped over one of the couches with an open book propped over his face. he's holding a bottle of chocolate milk. fancy that!]

[time to bother leader, y/n?]

Comments

[justfists]

...

[she exhales, and then sums up what the totality of her feelings were]

I wish you'd tried to tell us before, but... We're close to the end, and it may somehow work out for the best.

[purrtagonist]

[he tilts his chin up, determined. . .!]

I think it will. We'll all fight to make sure that it does.

[he hesitates]

[. . . and then he reaches out towards her, fingers extended]

I'm sorry. For everything.

[since he hasn't actually apologized yet]

[justfists]

[that was nice to hear, though she still felt... at least a little unsettled, her eyes locked on him. Then, she moves to sit next to him again.]

... I'm not the only one you'll need to apologize to.

[she doesn't even realize that she'll be getting another apology from him in a few days, for something entirely different.]

[purrtagonist]

I know.

[HE OWES SO MANY. SO MANY. . . so. . . many. . . and after the weekend, he will never feel like he can apologize enough]

[justfists]

You have to tell Yusuke. Directly.

[don't use the oblique hints, basically. She isn't sure if... anyone besides the girls would figure them out, bless the boys.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . SHE'S RIGHT. and he can't help but huff in response]

Extremely directly, without room for doubt or uncertainties.

[which he does, but then fails to really clear up what the expectations of him as a Reaper are, which leads to awkwardness?? THIS WHOLE THING IS AWKWARD]

Don't worry, though. I'm not going to leave him in the dark any longer, either.

[justfists]

[SHE ONLY FOLLOWED YOU GUYS FOR A MONTH. SHE KNOWS ALREADY. She isn't... useless...]

Please make sure that you don't. We agreed to follow you, trust has... always been important.

[now it's her turn to lean back into the couch, not sure where to start]

[purrtagonist]

[SHE HAS NEVER BEEN USELESS?? she knows the team just a well as Akira does, if not better!!]

[he tilts his head, because he senses she is going somewhere with this. and he'll let her, wherever it ends up, because he wants to know how his deception has made her feel]

It has been.

[a thoughtful pause]

And still is.

[justfists]

[SHE'S TORN BETWEEN TWO SEPARATE EMOTIONS, and honestly this is complicating every single gy conversation she's having. Because in this one moment, she doesn't feel prepared to talk about it frankly.

She's second guessing her feelings, just like she has ever since the first trial. So, after a brief pause, long enough to let the current topic feel dropped:]

... So, we defeat the grail.

[purrtagonist]

[A-Akira Kurusu, making things complicated]

[. . .]

[he doesn't like that she drops the topic, but he knows better than to push. he's always been the type who preferred people come to him on their own accord, after all]

Mmm. We do.

[he'll answer that instead]

Turns out, we're pretty unstoppable when you put all of us together.

[justfists]

[the most unfortunate decision Makoto has made this game...]

It explains why you seemed so calm at the beginning. I thought that was just you're natural disposition, but now...

[purrtagonist]

[ISN'T THAT TRUSTING ASSASSIN]

Mmm. Bit of both?

[but it's true he had the benefit of remembering what happened after the grail]

[justfists]

[TECHNICALLY, BEING ANGRY WITH HIM FOR EVERYTHING... MAY HAVE DRAWN OUT HER TRUST OF ASSASSIN AS A HUGE RED FLAG.

we will never know]

Mm... I'd agree. A bit of both feels right.

[purrtagonist]

[YELLS]

. . .

I meant everything I said back then, too.

[ah]

I lied about who I was-- [a Reaper] -- but not about that.

[not about his encouragement, or his feelings. he was careful not to lie about those]

[justfists]

I know you weren't.

I like to think I would've been able to tell if you had been for something that important.

[she doesn't mind revealing that ultimately, no matter what horrors are visited on them here... her thoughts are still that the battle waiting on them back home is the more important one.]