expiationlogs | [closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

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[closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

Who: Akechi, Akira, Ken, Kotone, Shinji, Yoshizawa, Astralin
Where: Astralin's farm
What: Meeting of SEES and the Phantom Thieves! (sleepover)
Warnings: blood and violence, thanks akechi

It honestly feels a little overdue to get all of the Persona-users together in one place, but in fairness to them, there's been a lot going on! With Ken's arrival, though, it feels more important than ever to get everyone together -- if something happens again and they need to fight together as a team, it'll be good to have moments like this.

Hopefully.

Also, like, it's a chance to just relax and have fun with the others. Kotone's close friends with all of them, so it only seems natural to invite them to what's essentially a sleepover. There's nail polish, drinks, snacks, games -- it's not a party, but just a chill hangout session to her. An opportunity to sleep out under the stars with her friends while still being close enough to a house that they don't have to worry about monsters outside.

Everyone please be on your best behavior?

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[Yeah, he's definitely in the mood at the moment, wanting to go all out and tear his opponent into pieces. God, it's been far too long since the last time he allowed this side of him show. Kotone had gotten only a slight taste of the madness within him during the Dazai Incident.

And once she hits the ground Akechi follows, unarmed had extended forward to grab her throat as he raises his weapon again and aims to land the finishing blow at her. Better think fast because if he hits she will not survive with just a mild scratches or surface wound.]

[This has gone way too far, way too fast, the madness in Goro's eyes terrifying in its intensity. In a flash, she knows that even if she tried to say something, it probably wouldn't get through. She has to end this now, or they're both going to get seriously hurt.

The advantage to wielding a two-handed weapon is that she can let go with one hand and still use it. Rather than lean backward in a vain attempt to break his grip and dodge, she lets go with her left hand and uses her naginata in her right to absorb some of the sword's blow. She can feel and hear her shirt and the flesh of her shoulder tearing, but it's not a lethal blow, and she doesn't scream, not yet. As he's distracted with that blow, her left hand draws the knife Chuuya had given her as she uses the momentum of her lunge forward to press the flat of the blade against his throat.]

Enough!

[It's a shout backed by the force of someone who's led her team through Tartarus on dozens of missions, the blade pressing warningly into the soft skin of his throat, enough to draw a few drops of blood. Her hair is loose and disheveled, breath coming hard through her mouth, and she's covered in dirt and blood, but her eyes are set.]

Edited 2023-06-25 00:56 (UTC)

[He's on top of her, pressing her much smaller body down with his own. And he's sure he has this in his hand when the blade manages to draw blood for the second time. But this is also the danger in allowing himself to go too far, because there's always the chance that he gets lost in the moment and turns blind to smaller details. Such as Kotone swiping out a knife and pointing the sharp tip against him, carefully pressing it on his throat.

Yeah that's enough for him to stop. His body freezes, going so terribly still while his eyes are wide and staring down at Kotone's.]

Have you ever killed anyone, Kotone? I have. [His voice is rough and hoarse as he speaks, still clearly lost in his own head. Then, he turns his head to the side and gently presses forward, allowing the knife cut along the delicate skin on his throat. The blade draws a wound that looks like a gruesome and gross imitation of a red smile. There's more blood now, but not enough for it to be serious yet.] Do it.

[She yanks the knife away before the cut can get that far, refusing to be party to whatever macabre fantasy is playing in his mind. Instead, she takes a page out of Shinji's book.

She snaps her head forward and slams her forehead into his nose. If it takes her breaking his nose to get him out of whatever the fuck is going on, so be it. Healers can fix that. Maybe it breaks his nose, maybe not, but-]

I said enough!

Hey-- [His shout is turned into a painful yelp when her forehead makes contact with his nose. The impact is enough to make his head throw back and he brings his free hand over his now very bloody nose that's definitely broken.

Akechi leans back, giving her room to move away from him if she so desires.]

Shit! Fucking fuckfuck [His groans are followed by soft 'crunch' sound as he fixes his nose back to it's place. Yeah, it'll take healer to get it properly fixed but this is better than nothing.]

That was low, Kotone.

[She scrambles back, almost falling from the sudden shock of pain in her shoulder from the wicked gash pierces through the haze of adrenaline. There's still enough to drive her backward, hands shaking as she clutches both of her weapons with an open glare.]

Shut up!

[Her voice is raw, ragged and emotional as she uses her naginata to push herself back up to her feet.]

Why does everyone around me want to be dead?!

[He picked the wrong night to try to taunt her into murdering him.]

[Geez Kotone, chill.

Her scream is the last straw to make him snap out of his previous state, the bloodlust fading away from him and leaving him with a perplexed expression as he watches her to struggle up.]

What-- [He starts off, wiping the blood off his nose to his sleeve.] You're the one who pulled a freaking knife on me.

[He wouldn't have let her kill him. Not really, he would've done something if she had actually taken up his bait. All he wanted to do was to see if she, as a fellow Loki-user, could fall as deep as he can. But then again.. She's not like him. She can't hear the call of the chaos within her.]

Yeah, and you lost. Get up. We're going to a healer.

[There's a scream building behind her lips, one of anger, confusion, hurt, exhaustion, frustration- a lot of emotions she hasn't been able to express in the last several months. Coupled with the fading adrenaline leaving her shaking and the pain from her injuries, her eyes are starting to blur with tears she hasn't allowed herself to shed since arriving here months ago.]

I didn't lose. [As far as he's concerned it was more of a draw than anything.

But his expression softens a little when he sees the state she's in. Shaky, weak, injured and tears in her eyes. Which he bets are not all caused by the pain.]

No. You sit down and take a deep breath, Kotone. You look like you're about to faint.

I'm fine!

[She clearly isn't, but she isn't taking this from him, not now. Not when he's the one with a broken nose. Her nostrils flare with the effort of holding back her emotions, and she forces herself to wipe the blood off her knife onto her shirt before slipping it back away, hidden behind her back.]

It was a duel, right? I could've slit your throat, which means I won. You didn't set any stupid terms for your stupid fight, so my terms are that we go to a healer.

[God, why is she always like this? Akechi sighs, and struggles up to his feet.]

But you didn't. So, I call a draw. [He huffs out and takes a tentative step towards her. His grip on his sword is loose enough and he hopes that's enough to signal her that it's over now.] Let me see your shoulder at first. I'll tie it up and then we can go find the healer.

[Hopefully her incredulous look in response to, "you didn't kill me so I didn't lose," is answer enough, because she isn't wasting her breath trying to answer it. And maybe there is still a little bit of Loki in her, because as much as she'd like to scream to let all that emotion out -- it's the middle of the night. Someone might be able to hear, all the way out here.

She takes a few more steps, gripping her naginata in both hands and viciously driving the feather-like blade deep into the closest tree. Her wordless scream muffled behind closed lips is equal parts frustration, upset, and pain as she yanks the weapon back out and just tries to regain control of herself.]

Fine. Whatever gets you there sooner. I'm tired.

[Her voice is still shaking, and in spite of her best efforts, a few tears are threatening to escape, but she's still holding it together for now.]

Edited 2023-06-25 02:34 (UTC)

[He just watches that display of frustration and anger, and how she takes it on the poor tree nearby. Honestly? That's an expression he recognizes, something he finds himself often dwelling in.

Now that he has her permission Akechi walks up to her, places his weapon down to lean against the same tree she had just stabbed, so that he can have both his hands free. Then, he gently pulls the the torn fabric of her shirt to see the injury better. It's not the worst thing out there, but still bleeding and definitely something that needs to be taken a proper look by a doctor or a healer.]

Do you. Um. [He starts, suddenly finding himself strangely bashful. If he's to tend to her wound he will need to have her shirt taken off. And that's.. not something he can really just do??] Do you-- I mean, can you take your top off? Just enough that I can see the wound.

[Were she in a better mood, she'd tease him -- and rest assured, in the future, this moment will come back to haunt him -- but for now, she just starts to reach with both arms, only to let out an involuntary noise of pain from the injured shoulder. With her good arm, she untucks it from her skirt and starts to undo the buttons as best she can one-handed. Stupid old-fashioned clothing without elastic, few zippers, just buttons...

She doesn't undo all of them, but undoing about half of them should be enough for him to pull the fabric down out of the way.]

Your nose?

[Her voice is softer now, if hoarse and ragged from the scream she hadn't been able to fully release, and her body is still shaking from the residual adrenaline.]

[Look, he'd be happy to help her with the buttons but really can't bring himself to do so. It'd feel only inappropriate, especially since it's not life-or-death situation. So, sorry Kotone. You'll have to deal with his loser ass.]

Stopped bleeding. [His nose is still hurting and has already started to swell up. It looks much worse than it is, though. But he's too vain to leave it alone and risk a crooked nose!

Once she's done with the buttons he reaches out to pull the fabric out of the way, revealing her bloody shoulder.] Sorry. [He mumbles awkwardly and carefully lowers the strap of her bra. Then he digs out a handkerchief from the back of his pocket, because yes, of course he carries one with him. With a focused yet gentle expression on his face, he begins to wipe her shoulder clean from the blood, making sure not to add too much pressure around the injury.]

It's not that deep. I don't believe any nerves were damaged here.

[Honestly? She laughs, a snorting, helpless laugh that after everything, it's moving her bra strap that gets him to apologize. Of all the emotions roiling beneath the surface, that's finally the one that breaks her into laughs that sound more like sobs.]

What was the point of all this?

[That laugh makes him stop for a bit. He's doesn't quite understand the reason behind her laughter but it does resonate something within him, making his chest feel tight. What is this? A genuine care and worry?

Akechi stays quiet for a few beats before continuing cleaning her. This duel was important to him. He needed it to happen to get peace, so that he could look at Akira again without all those hurt feelings after knowing the scar he was carrying. One that he got from her. The issue here, however, is to see if he can make her understand him without making him sound vengeful or petty.]

Akira is my rival and you defeated him. [He says eventually] I couldn't accept that.

[It's so stupid. It's so stupid. It's all so stupid, and she can't stop laughing. Or crying. She can't tell which it is now, vision blurred with tears as she tries in vain to keep it together.]

I didn't even want to fight him. [As gentle as he is, she can't help but flinch as the handkerchief brushes a deeper spot, sniffling and trying to blink past her tears.] I keep hurting people I care about, and I don't want to.

[And that includes you too, Goro!]

Maybe. But it still happened.

[He says, voice so soft that it doesn't even sound like him.]

He's.. [Akechi begins but closes his mouth, not really knowing what he was about to even say. He's what? Important to him? Maybe, but he's not going to admit that out loud. Besides, that has nothing to do with Kotone here. So, instead he just allows her to let out the pent up emotions. Just listening how her laugh through her tears and watching her small frame shaking in front of him.]

No one is mad, Kotone. Akira is the only one who's ever been able to best me in a duel. So, I had to see your strength. [Is it stupid? Maybe, but extremely important to him.

He's quickly done with the wound and proceeds to wrap the now bloody handkerchief around her shoulder. It's not ideal but beggars can't be choosers and so on.]

How are you feeling?

[Maybe no one is mad -- the little sticky-note with the poorly drawn Koromaru had helped with that realization -- but it doesn't mean she didn't hurt people. Akira, Shinji, Goro, Deku, Scott, so many townspeople... She hates it. She just wants to sleep.

She rubs her less-injured hand across her eyes, trying to sniff back her tears in lieu of a tissue. If this was a test of strength, then she failed it miserably, probably.]

Can we go to the healers now? [The laughter's gone, replaced by just a bone-deep exhaustion that she couldn't hide right now even if she tried.]

[Once he's done tending to her wound he almost reaches for the bra strap to fix it but stops. No, somehow dressing her up would feel like too much of a violation of her personal space.

But despite finding something simple as that hard he still reaches out to place his hand on top of her head, gently pulling her into half-embrace. Akechi is generally bad with people, especially when the genuine feelings are on the table. He doesn't know how to deal with crying people. Even with Akira he feels like had made it worse.

So he just.. hold her for a while and mumbles to her messy hair. ]

Sure.

[She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn't a hug. She goes still, almost not sure how to respond. How's she supposed to reconcile this with the boy who was daring her to murder him just minutes ago? She can't understand it. She misses her team. Her whole team.

Another laughing sob, but she lets herself relax in his arms, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. If she wasn't in so much pain, she might have thought this was a bad dream, but...]

C'mon. [Her voice is still shaky, but they both need medical attention before she can finally let herself go back to sleep.] Let's go then.

Yeah. [He agrees with a nod and let's go of her. If he remembers correctly the owner of the farm, Astralin, was one of the healers. So going straight to him was the smartest move. They'd just have to make sure not to wake up the others. He can only imagine the reactions they'd get if they arrived there all bloody and beat up.

He gives her yet one look at her.]

I can carry you. If you promise to keep it as a secret.

I can walk.

[Her injuries are mostly to her arms and back, not her legs. Fixing her bra strap and pulling her shirt back on with one hand, she simply doesn't bother messing with the buttons. The only one around to see is Goro, anyway.

And maybe if she stumbles a little as she grabs her naginata again, well, that's fine.]

Let's go into town. I can pay a healer there.

[It would be free to go to Astralin, but she doesn't want him to see her like this. That's her dad.]

If you say so.

[He doesn't doubt her. And it's true that he's not in his top condition either after that duel, his nose is one thing but his neck and throat are still covered in blood. He doubts his injuries are that bad but yeah. He'd rather not face others with cuts and bruises.

Besides, Kotone isn't only one who's tired and coming down from the adrenaline high. There's barely any color left on his cheeks, the moonlight making him look like pale like a ghost.]

We'll pay together. [He corrects her and bends down to pick up his sword. ]

And thank you. [For humoring him and allowing him to do this. Even if it was at the cost of herself.

Akechi is going to hate himself just a little bit more after this, isn't he. Oh well]

non-sexual use for this icon

incredible

cw: mention of a murder & slight self-harm

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