[Day 12, afternoon: Akechi]

[purrtagonist]

[ANYWAY, he's totally pushing himself down the hallway. . . with one foot. . . again. aiming for the kitchen this time. which is, incidentally, right where he was coming from, so it isn't far off]

Right or left?

[???]

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[JUSTICE ACHIEVED BY HAVING POWER]

[he misses that aborted movement, too busy focusing on his lap, on scrubbing away whatever emotions threaten to spill out with his hand. he already cried on Ichigo last night, he's not going to cry again!!]

. . . make no mistake, I'm not giving up. I'm not throwing in the towel. I'm not quitting.

[a breath. and once he feels like the moment has passed, he lifts his head again, eyes sparking]

I can do it.

[do what, though?]

[afailedmurder]

[that's a good question. let's ask it]

Do what?

[purrtagonist]

[smart kid. his answer isn't very specific, though]

Survive.

[afailedmurder]

[no, no it isn't!!]

I don't suppose you'd care to be a little more specific.

[purrtagonist]

[slowly, a crooked smile curves up the corners of his mouth]

Well, tonight I'm going to be stuck in the nurse's office with an alien doctor-slash-babysitter.

He could probably take down a killer before they got to me.

[a joke. . . he jokes. . .]

[afailedmurder]

[this, at least, puts Akechi a bit more at ease]

...That's a very good point. At least for tonight, you would make a poor target.

[purrtagonist]

[are you still worried about him getting himself killed, buddy]

I'd make a great target, actually. Ichigo, too. But as long as Ulaz finds someone trustworthy to partner with, it'll probably be fine.

[won't stop him from being jumpy as fuck, though]

[afailedmurder]

No, it's just the opposite. The act itself would be much easier to perform, but actually getting away with it would be incredibly difficult. Everyone knows that Ulaz has been tending to you; he won't be able to do anything else tonight without garnering immense suspicion. His best course of action is to do as you said; find a trustworthy partner and bunker down with his patients.

In fact, even if Ulaz were to find an untrustworthy partner, that person would not be able to act freely. They would have to wipe out all three of you to get away with their crime, and there are only meant to be two murders tonight.

[pausing thoughtfully]

I suppose if one of you were to be simply incapacitated and somehow made unable to witness the murders of the others, that might make for a compelling mystery... but listen to me, I'm beginning to sound like Furudo. No one with the slightest amount of sense would attempt a crime like that.

[purrtagonist]

[s-soft snort]

Thanks for the pep talk, detective.

[but he can't really deny that logic, so. . . he'll relax just a little bit]

[afailedmurder]

You're welcome.

[helping!!]

By the way, I'm planning on staying in tonight.

[purrtagonist]

[alarm bells]

. . . by yourself?

[afailedmurder]

No, of course not.

I'll be with Baxter.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . HAAAAAA. . .]

Funny.

[said in a dry tone which makes it obvious he doesn't think it funny at all!]

You know you could bring Baxter and yourself to the infirmary, if you want. I could vouch for you.

[afailedmurder]

I'm not going to kill anyone. I'm simply... not in the mood. For any of this.

[purrtagonist]

. . . that's not the only thing I was worried about. Although that does make two of us who aren't in the mood for any of this.

[#mood, honestly. and Will did tell him to stop thinking the worst of Akechi. . . now would be a good time to start]

[although, when he thinks of Will, he can't help but grumble]

All that stuff you said earlier, about me having "power" over you, or whatever. . .

You got that form Graham, right? That's what he told you?

[afailedmurder]

[a little grudgingly, as it is embarrassing to admit just how much he and Will have talked this over]

...He's been helping me work through some things, yes.

[purrtagonist]

[to be frank, he isn't surprised, considering how much he and Will have talked about his Akechi problems]

[also? bluntly]

I think that's bullshit.

[afailedmurder]

[immediately defensive]

Well excuse me if these things don't come naturally to me!

[purrtagonist]

[holds up!! a hand!!]

No, no. I get that. I'm actually really glad he's been there for you. Really.

[truthfully! he's very sincere about that]

And I don't think everything he says is bullshit, either. But that part about power. . .

[ugh why is that grating on him so much? maybe it's because Wills toddler-parent metaphor didn't sit well with him]

I told you I wanted to be someone you could fall back on. I told you I wanted to be someone who could guide you, and call you out on what I thought were questionable choices. Because that's what friends do, Akechi. They pay attention to each other, and tell each other not to do something stupid, even though sometimes it doesn't. . .

[get through? well. YOU KNOW. GESTURES TO HIMSELF]

But in the end, I can't tell you what to do. I don't want to tell you what to do. The choice I made to enter that room-- stupid as it might've been-- was a choice I made because I know what kind of person I am. And I have to live with the consequences of my actions.

. . . and in the end? No matter what I say, only you can decide what kind of person you want to be.

That's a bit of freedom you deserve.

[afailedmurder]

[honestly, Kurusu's power over him feels more real than ever. it's in the gap in their respective concepts of friendship, the things that Kurusu takes for granted, the morbid thoughts inside of him that only Will Graham seems to understand.

But all the same, this makes him a little happy. Kurusu isn't messing with him on purpose. On the contrary, he's offering a nice dream.]

...I can't say it doesn't sound appealing. That kind of friendship.

[purrtagonist]

[it's a gap that'll probably take a lot of work to close, and those morbid thoughts may be something that Akira can just never understand. for all he denies not trusting Akechi, there's a reason Will told him to stop assuming the worst]

[and there's a reason Akira told Will in return that he absolutely wouldn't let Akechi take him down with him, in the end]

[(although right now, after the previous night, when his guards are lowered and he's finally discovered the limits of his own brazen nature, he can't help but wonder if he'll be the first one of them to take the plunge)]

. . . then think about it, all right?

[a pause]

Ah, right. And there's one other thing I wanted to tell you.

[afailedmurder]

[nods. he will think about it!! probably also many other, stupider/crazier things. but friendship will be among them]

...What's that?

[purrtagonist]

[as long as friendship is among them, then everything is okay!! maybe. possibly]

Shuichi really likes you.

[afailedmurder]

[???]

I suppose we've been getting along well enough...?

[purrtagonist]

[OOOOOOH BOY, GODSPEED SHUICHI]

Well, good. I hope that continues.