Akira "chaotic extra" Kurusu [Jᴏᴋᴇʀ] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
purrtagonist) wrote2017-12-18 12:24 am
purrtagonist) wrote2017-12-18 12:24 am
Entry tags:
[Day 4, Night: Akechi]
[taking Dazai up on his offer for coffee is awfully tempting. as is seeking out Ichigo, who is quite possibly the person Akira's come to trust the most in his four days trapped in murder school. but as tempting as both of those options are, a sense of unease and concern causes him to take a leap of faith he isn't sure he would've taken in any other circumstances]
[he finds Akechi fairly quickly. relief struggles with wariness, and although his posture seems relaxed with his his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped, there's still a certain tension in the lines of his body]
[Akechi said he wouldn't kill him. he wants to believe that. and so. . . here he is]
What a coincidence.
[he says lightly, voice dry]
Come here often?
[he finds Akechi fairly quickly. relief struggles with wariness, and although his posture seems relaxed with his his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped, there's still a certain tension in the lines of his body]
[Akechi said he wouldn't kill him. he wants to believe that. and so. . . here he is]
What a coincidence.
[he says lightly, voice dry]
Come here often?
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That is such naive bullshit! What do you think is going to happen to me when I go back? Everyone must know by now that I'm a fraud, that I'm Shido's son, everything I've done! Assuming whoever filled the power vacuum he left behind doesn't cover everything up and quietly kill me, I'll probably be tried as an adult, life or maybe death, depending entirely on the political aspirations of whatever lucky prosecutor ends up with my high-profile case!
[ssssomebody's spent a lot of time obsessively thinking about this. much of it while justifying to himself exactly why he needed to kill you, once upon a time.]
And you're telling me I don't even have my Personas anymore? Why the hell do you think I would want to survive?
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[but the sad thing is, he isn't exactly wrong. and Akira's natural distrust for the system (hope, there's hope, Shido was held accountable and his own record was wiped clean, Sae is just one of many adults who will be doing their best to clean the system up) keeps him from even trying to refute it]
. . .
[a deep breath to compose himself. he tilts his head up, leans back so his elbows are propped on the countertop]
Akechi.
[ah, he's reined himself in]
When we fought in the hull of Shido's ship, you wondered why we couldn't have met a few years earlier. You said that under different circumstances, we could've been rivals-- or even friends.
[guess what words really resonated with him, buddy. guess!!]
Do you think it's too late?
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That's what they offered me. Not just the chance to go back...
[he trails off, not wanting to articulate the rest. well, Akira's smart enough to get the point]
...Of course it's too late. It was too late before we'd even met.
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[a breath. he closes his eyes for a moment, brows furrowed, like he's thinking extremely hard about something. like he's reaching deep within himself and trying to figure out what his own justice means]
It's not.
[opens his eyes again and affixes Akechi with an even stare]
I don't think it's ever too late.
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[Akechi's own gaze wavers. He doesn't want to back down, but he doesn't want to start crying, either, y'know? Where's his berserker state when he really needs it?]
Even if you really mean that, I... my life is already...
[the effort to not break down overtakes the effort to assemble coherent conversation]
I can't.
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[Akira's calm, but he has that luxury. this isn't his life they're talking about. and it may be naive, but god damn does he want to believe that something better exists for Akechi than death, than having to murder again to turn back time and achieve a new life]
I'm not saying it won't be hard. I'm not saying it'll be easy. But you can rebuild, you know? And for the first time, you wouldn't be alone doing it.
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[he quietly steps forward, extending a hand and dropping it lightly, warmly, on Akechi's shoulder]
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S, sorry. I'm fine.
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It's just me.
[he won't tell]
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Even after everything, would you really...?
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[that's a pretty quick affirmation, hand tightening on his shoulder ever so slightly]
You owe a lot to Haru and Futaba. I can't just forget their pain, and it isn't my place to offer forgiveness, either.
[not for that. but. . .]
None of us wanted you to die. And in the end, even after everything, we all know that you're just like us. That all you really needed was a place to belong.
I'll give you that. We can give you that. But you have to give us the chance.
[aka no murder!!]
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I'd like that.
[the prospect is terrifying, there's no hiding that, but something about Kurusu being the one to say it makes it seem possible. he'll remember to be properly envious later]
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All right. Then let's both do our best.
[he drops his hand back to his side, but not without one more comforting squeeze for good measure]
But until then, we've got a nurse's office to investigate, don't we?
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[wiping his eyes on his sleeve]
I'll leave no Qtip unturned.
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Good to know that if one of us is bleeding out in the future, we can stuff our wounds full of qtips, right?
[SO DRY, as he opens another drawer and starts rummaging again]
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Somehow I feel less than reassured.
[Akechi's digging produces a box of Band-Aids, which he holds up with one hand, still rummaging with the other]
Never mind. As you can see, we'll be just fine.
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Well, I feel safe now.
[AND HE HAS FOUND. . . a scalpel huh]
Extremely safe.
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Does it have a cap? That might be a more practical than carrying around a kitchen knife.
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I don't see one. But if I'm being honest, I'd prefer a kitchen knife.
[THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT SELF-DEFENSE RIGHT]
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I made a sheath for mine out of cardboard. Still, it doesn't seem like the safest thing.
[opens up the closet and pulls out a collapsed wheelchair]
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[tilts his head towards Akechi to give him an "of course you have one already, I should have known" look]
Maybe not, but they're easier to wield than scalpels.
[only because you have experience with knives, Akira!! but he does manage to find a scalpel cap after some intense digging. and so, after sticking it securely on the scalpel, he tosses it at Akechi]
Heads up--
[giving a known killer more sharp things isn't a bad idea at all]
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Thanks. It seems like something that might be useful. Though you're probably right that the kitchen knives are better as weapons.
[pockets it and goes back to pulling things out of the closet]
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[. . . oh hey, a syringe. he actually pauses when he sees that one, hand hovering in the air, gaze narrowed. but then he gives his head a quick shake buries said syringe deeper in the qtips. THEY DON'T NEED ONE OF THOSE. . .]
[there's silence, and then--]
The opportunity to send everyone, even the dead, back home when this is over, by the way.
[???]
That's what they offered me.
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...I suppose they'd have to offer you something like that for you to even consider it.
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