[closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

[orphne]

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?

Comments

[orphne]

[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.

[murderingjustice]

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.

[orphne]

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.]

[murderingjustice]

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]

[orphne]

[The sooner she can get them both to the healers, the sooner they can both get back to sleep, so she just starts walking as he collects his sword. She's just so tired of making the wrong choices, saying the wrong things. Shinji, Dazai, now Goro. Maybe the only reason she was any good at talking to people before was because of Theo and Igor...? No, that can't be true, she had friends before Gekkoukan. Nobody she kept in contact with after the move, but...]

Are you disappointed with the outcome?

[From the weary tone in her voice, it's clear she thinks she already knows what he's going to say. If it's about someone who defeated Akira, he probably wants someone cool and collected, someone who doesn't freak out at the idea of people around her wanting to die. She should be used to death, after all.]

[murderingjustice]

Not necessarily.

[Maybe a little, yes but that has more to do with this place than with her. To have a true test of a strength between them they would have to use their Personas, let them clash and see who's heart and skill truly is superior. But while being stuck like this, capable only drawing the fragments of their influence they are left to deal with their weapons, and limitations of human bodies.]

You are rather good with that weapon. Did you choose it yourself? [His own sword had originally been a reflection of his own heart, curated specially for him and his fighting.]

[orphne]

[She shakes her head, picking her way carefully down the hill so she doesn't stumble on the incline.]

Mitsuru-senpai gave me my first one. It didn't make sense to pick a different weapon after, so... [Shrug! Naginata it was. Or hockey stick. Sometimes it was just a really good hockey stick.] This one was fused from one of my Personas. Kartikeya. It's called Vel Vel Muraga.

Chuuya gave me the knife.

[murderingjustice]

Hmmm, I see. Our weapons originally manifests to us during wakening of our Personas. Which is why each one is unique.

[He looks at her weapon again. Now that it wasn't pointed at him anymore he has a chance to focus on the fine details of it and admire the craftsmanship behind it. If this one was truly born from her personas then it was just the same as his own. Something made just for her.]

Was this your first time using it? [The knife, he means.]

[orphne]

Oh. No, ours don't do that. We have to buy them.

[It must be like, way cheaper if you can just summon a weapon from a Persona. It was so expensive to buy stuff off Officer Kurosawa. Even this one, while she didn't have to pay money for them, she did have to surrender one of her Personas, along with fusion material that was hard to find in Tartarus.

Another one-shouldered shrug at the mention of the knife.] Against someone who isn't Chuuya. I'm still not very good at it.

[murderingjustice]

So do we, eventually. The deeper you travel into metaverse the stronger the shadows grow. In order to defeat them we have upgrade our weapons. Buying them was usually Akira's task as a leader but there were times when we could find them hidden in the palaces along with the other gear.

[it is kinda funny to be able just to talk to someone about this stuff so casually, knowing that the other party is able to understand and relate. there's something freeing about not having to hide that part of yourself. (is this what it's like to have friends??).

he walks right beside her, but when they arrive at a rather short but steep part of the hill he hurries to slide down before her, and then turns to offer his hand at her. She had been reluctant to receive his help before but it feels just the right thing to do, considering everything.]

You'll get used to it eventually. I use a gun outside of metaverse.

[you know, against real people]

[orphne]

Yeah. I got to keep most of the money we found in Tartarus, but I also had to make sure to buy everybody's weapons and armor, too. I ended up doing a lot of part-time work in the beginning.

[It is nice to talk about it with someone else, isn't it? She'd talked about it a little with Akira and Sumi, hardly at all with Shinji, but it's easier to talk about it with someone who really does get it and has been through it all before.

If he's offering, she'll take his hand, picking her way more carefully down the steeper incline. Her legs are shaking a little, and as she passes him, he'll be able to see just how drawn her face looks, exhausted beyond what the exertion of combat in the middle of the night really should be.]

You said you killed people. [Maybe a long time ago, before this place, that would have been horrifying. Now, she just sounds tired. Spending time with people like Dazai and Chuuya will do that.] Why?

[murderingjustice]

Hm. If only people knew how much money it takes to defeat the shadows. [A small attempted joke. One that barely has any energy behind it.

Akechi does catch a glimpse of her expression when he helps her down. He doesn't comment on it, allowing her to have that piece of privacy. Still, a light frown appears to his face as he remembers her words from just a moment ago. Why does everyone around me want to die. His mind goes immediately to Dazai and his depressed antics. He exhales deep and continues to walk after her.

This is why people like them don't make good friends.]

It was something I needed to do. [He admits, not wanting to sugarcoat the truth.] I believed that in order to achieve my goal people needed to die.

[orphne]

[The joke does at least bring the faintest of smiles to her lips, and even once they clear the steeper part of the path, she keeps her hand in his, holding it gently unless he pulls back himself.

The smile doesn't last, though, fading away into something resigned.]

People like Akira.

[Yeah, she didn't forget about that.]

[murderingjustice]

[He only briefly glances down at their joined hands, unsure what to do. For some reason she doesn't pull away from him despite her earlier avoidance. With a slight confusion creeping on his face he let's it be. They can walk hand-in-hand, all bloody and carrying weapons. They must be a sight.]

Yes. People like Akira. [He confirms immediately, voice sounding more distant. The one that his little jaded dark heart truly regretted. The one murder that had kept him awake at nights.] We needed someone to take the blame for all the crimes committed. Akira was making himself a problem to our cause and thus worked perfectly for it.

[orphne]

[What a mess. Considering Akira hadn't been shy about calling themselves the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts," it only makes sense that they'd be painted as criminals sooner or later, even if they were doing the right thing.

As for his hand, well. It's one thing to hold it as an admission that she needs his help, it's another to simply offer it as companionship. Even if he's a jerk, and kind of a freak, she doesn't want him to think she doesn't want to be his friend anymore. She can't lose another friend.]

Do you plan to kill people here? I don't mean the people who brought us here, I mean regular people.

[murderingjustice]

[This time he doesn't answer right away. It'd be so easy just say something like "of course not" but would that be honest? He knows Akira's wishes for him to be better and get out of the abyss where he has driven himself in. And who knows, maybe Kotone wishes that, too, for some extend. If her hand in his is any indication.

But then he thinks back to the bar episode, where he had been fully ready to kill Dazai with any cost. That feeling had been real, and one where he kept finding comfort. As much as it'll tear him apart from the few connections he has established he can't make false promises.]

I can't say for certain. But if I do it'll be my own choice. Not someone else's. [He's done playing murderous puppet for others.]

I wouldn't have killed you tonight.

[orphne]

[She looks sideways at him, expression pinched, but without judgement. Someone was making him kill, at least at first, and now he thinks it's the only thing he can do? Or the only thing that makes him happy. Her fingers tighten, just briefly, around his. If it comes to it, she'll just have to stop him again. That's all.]

No, you wouldn't have. [Just a statement of fact. Even if he'd intended to, she wouldn't have let him kill her. She has too much to do to let herself die like this.] You wanted me to kill you.

[murderingjustice]

[It is a little mixture of both. All of his previous achievements as a Detective Prince were nothing but sham, fabricated and staged by him and the other people involved in the conspiracy. In truth he was nothing but a murderer. Despite his seemingly arrogant attitude he holds no illusions about himself and what he's truly like deep down. Someone who only breaks and ruins things. Someone who really doesn't deserve to have his hand held like this.]

Ah. [A quiet hoarse and humorless laugh escapes from him and he shakes his head a little.] Truth to be told, I don't think you would have been able to do it.

[orphne]

You're right.

[Just a shrug, again with her one good shoulder as she looks on ahead. Even if she'd wanted to, she wouldn't have. Looking someone in the eye and killing them, when she'd watched Shinji come close before her eyes... isn't something she can do.]

We've had to leave people for dead before. Enemies. Friends. [Her voice is that curious flavor of neutral that it falls into when she doesn't know what emotion she's supposed to express.] I had to watch someone I cared about walk away knowing he'd disappear forever, and I'd have to fight and destroy what he became.

[Her voice cracks a bit, and even if it hurts, she raises her free hand to rub her eyes.]

I'm tired of it.

[murderingjustice]

[Akechi looks down at her, trying to read the expression that just isn't there. She had told him about the 'duplicity' earlier, thinking that this must be part of it. While he can understand the brain work behind it he's still not sure how to comfort another.]

Teammates, huh. [That's all he says to that. What she describes here is something he can't personally relate to. He's not prone to such sentimentality when it comes to others.

He stays quiet for a bit and then lets go of her hand, bringing it on top of her head in a soothing gesture.] I wouldn't have made you a murdered either. You're too good person for that.

[orphne]

Being a good person has nothing to do with it.

[It's her circumstances more than anything. Maybe she hadn't killed anyone with her own hands, but they'd known what was going to happen when they left Jin to the Shadows. Takuya, too. It's hard to muster up any sympathy for either of them after what they did to Shinji and Chidori, but...

Ryoji, too. They'd had to let him walk away to disappear alone, only to fight what was left of him a month later in the desperate attempt to stop the Fall. There's blood on her hands, even if she hadn't pulled the trigger.]

[murderingjustice]

Hm. You're right about that.

[After all, not everyone has the luxury to be the hero of their own story. And sometimes it doesn't matter just how good of a person you are when you're presented with only bad options. Something that they had talked before during one of their long conversations.

He gives her head a few pats and removes his hand from her, focusing on the walking.]

Still, I don't think I'd like to put you through that.

[orphne]

[Headpats... her weakness. He keeps doing it in spite of everything they're talking about, and without realizing, the set of her shoulders eases a fraction from the camaraderie as she sighs.]

Thanks, I guess. It'd be hard to go back and sleep in the tent with the others if I had, I think.

[murderingjustice]

[And that's one of the major differences between them. If their roles were switched Akechi would have been able to do it. Of course, he'd have to figure out what to do with the body. Probably drag it to the caves and hope that the dragon takes care of the rest.

If he could pull a trigger on Akira he definitely could bury Kotone. Even if he wouldn't like it.]

See? That's the part that makes you a good person. You have heart.

[orphne]

[Would he have, though? Over something like that duel? She doubts it. Something more serious, maybe, but she'd like to think that if the circumstances weren't serious, he'd hesitate.

For now, she just huffs and shakes her head.]

Sure.

[Most people do, she's found. At least her teammates had had more heart than most.]

Maybe I just don't want to deal with Akira being sad.