[Day 12, afternoon: Will]

[purrtagonist]

['sup, Will. you, too, are treated to the sight of an injured kid wheeling himself through the hallways with a coffee maker in his lap]

. . . Graham.

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[theyregooddogs]

[going to offer the bare courtesy of stopping]

Akira.

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

Yesterday, you asked me who I was worried about most.

You already know my answer, don't you?

[theyregooddogs]

No. I don't.

[purrtagonist]

Akechi.

[the first person he thought of when Will asked that question, honestly. the one name he wasn't willing to say aloud in public]

[theyregooddogs]

Huh. That wasn't my first guess. Or second or third.

[purrtagonist]

[blinks in surprise]

Ah-- [a pause] Then what was?

[theyregooddogs]

Ichigo, Dazai . . . Kaiba? He's in there.

[purrtagonist]

. . . Ichigo makes sense.

[that was name number two, and only because Ichigo was, you know. dying]

I'm worried about Dazai as well, I won't lie. He was pretty drunk when I saw him.

Why Seto?

[theyregooddogs]

[rubbing his face with his hands before eventually dragging them down, sighing]

Because I don't pay that close attention to who you talk to. It was an insult, not a fact.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . oh]

[a soft snort, surprisingly understanding for being told he was insulted]

. . . not exactly an ineffective one.

[he admits, somewhat blandly]

[theyregooddogs]

Give me time to get warmed up, and I'll start drawing blood.

[he hopes]

Why? Why are you coming to me with the right answer after the fact? Are you trying to impress to a now accepted authority figure, Akira?

[purrtagonist]

[taken aback by that, and he immediately makes a face]

I don't really consider you an authority figure. . .

[also, gross, trying to impress authority figures!]

I thought-- I'm going to try to talk to Akechi myself, of course. But I thought you could try, too.

He trusts you.

[theyregooddogs]

I'm an adult and you're a teenager. That makes me an authority figure to you, technically speaking, even if you don't acknowledge it.

What do you want me to say to him?

[purrtagonist]

Age is just a number.

[cheeky kid, isn't he]

. . . nothing specific. I'm going to say everything I want to say to him, anyway.

I just want him to have another friend at his side, that's all.

[theyregooddogs]

Tell that to your unconscious mind.

[considering akira before going on, glancing off]

Tell me something about Akechi that doesn't have to do with his circumstances.

[purrtagonist]

My unconscious. . .

[squints at Will, but he goes along with the subject change]

. . . he hates spicy food, and prefers his coffee with sugar.

[theyregooddogs]

Shallow but appropriate for an off the cuff question. Try again.

[purrtagonist]

[pauses]

He reads German philosophy. Hegel, specifically. He runs a food blog back home, although I always kind of got the feeling he did it more for show than anything else. He enjoys rock climbing and cycling, too.

He worries a lot about how the world-- how people-- perceive him. As such he finds it very difficult to show people his true face.

Why are you asking?

[theyregooddogs]

I'm testing you to see what you will do and in turn what I will do.

What's his true face?

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

Akechi's secrets are his own to reveal. If he hasn't shown it to you yet, then I can't say.

[theyregooddogs]

Better. Not helpful, but that's a start.

. . . He's not willing to kill for you anymore. At least, he wasn't when I talked to him.

[purrtagonist]

[EXHALES DEEPLY. . .]

. . . I'd be more relieved if I didn't think that was because he's mad at me.

[that's a TERRIBLE way to put things, Akira]

[theyregooddogs]

His anger is healthy. What he wants and what he is going to receive aren't matching up, so he's responding emotionally then he will learn how to reconcile those two.

We wouldn't be worried if a toddler was upset they couldn't have a cookie. Why be worried about Akechi in a similar position?

[purrtagonist]

[with a bit of heat in his words, fully defensive]

Because Akechi isn't a toddler.

[theyregooddogs]

How so?