[open] someone once said burn my dread, babe

[simulatio]

Who: Goro Akechi + y'all 👀
What: early December prompts + future catch-all
Where: Throughout the Void
When: "December"ish
Content Warnings: N/A (yet)



A. Wall Market Bathhouse

[Whilst in the Mementos-that-wasn't-Mementos, Goro Akechi died.

He's no stranger to death; people die all the time. In his experience, rarely do they come back. He'd spent the time after his death with the other Phantom Thieves, doing his best to pretend that everything was normal. If he'd been more withdrawn, less prone to smile his princely smile and converse pleasantly, perhaps he could be excused. The deepest, darkest parts of his soul had been wandering around without him for a time, after all.

But he certainly can't hide forever, and the lack of showers in the apartment he shares with Ren drives him to the bathhouse. It's one of the most comfortable places for him, especially now that there aren't fish swimming in the bath. He sinks up to his chin in the warm water and closes his eyes, as relaxed as he can be in a public space.]

B. Mortis Lake

Stop following me!

[Akechi is trying his very best to sound as pleasant as possible, even as he waves his arms in an attempt to frighten off the winged giraffe-like creature that's taken to following him through the forest of trees. It's almost comical how annoyed he's getting as the animal continues to follow him, large doe-like eyes wide with interest as it pads along behind him. Every now and then, it flaps its wings to glide awkwardly over the ground to make sure it keeps up, plaintively letting out a mournful cry whenever Akechi gets too far away from it.]

Would you go find the rest of your herd already? [he snaps as it catches up and tries for a friendly nibble at the back of his hair.] What the fu-

[He freezes upon realizing that he has an audience nearby and clears his throat with a cough, correcting his tone to a more pleasant,] Pardon me. Could you give me a hand?

C. Heavenly Blanc

[Some time ago, Ren had sat outside the bar/café working on a shogi board. Now it's Akechi's turn with the same piece of wood, though he's taken over one of the tables inside. He's working on the other side of the shogi board to create a grid with fewer squares, tracing thin lines with one of the large knives from Heavenly Blanc's kitchen while using his cell phone as a guide.

Once he's done outlining the board with the knife, he goes back over the 8x8 grid with a marker, the cap held between his teeth as he concentrates. Beside him are gemstones from the Academy's store, separated into two sets of what look like clear diamonds and deep red rubies, marked with English letters: several marked with the letter "P," two each labeled "R, B, Kn," and one each "Ki" and "Q."]

A chessboard, [he'll explain to anyone who happens to glance over curiously, though he doesn't stop working.]

D. Gymnasium

[Akechi's never really been one for team sports, but the cycling machines attract special attention. Dressed in a spare gym uniform from the Academy (washed beforehand, of course), he's currently working through a rather challenging-looking course on one of the bikes. Loose strands of his hair, the parts that escaped being drawn back into the small ponytail at the base of his neck, stick to his cheeks as he huffs for air, pursuing an invisible finish line that only he can see.

It's only once he's finished that course and is taking a drink of water from a water bottle that he notices he has company, and offers an easy smile.]

Care for a race? They may be stationary machines, but we could always compare times.

E. Wildcard!

[I'll be adding additional prompts in comments as needed throughout the month, but feel free to use this post for just about anything involving Akechi! Feel free to chat with me @jaderhade if you want to do anything with this nasty man. As always, I have a screened spoiler opt-out page for anyone looking to avoid Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal spoilers!]

Comments

C

[blue_eyed_obsession]

... It's... debatable. [As a chess board that is. The pieces all looking the same wouldn't make it the easy to differentiate between them, the letters didn't do much for them. At least the guy had used capitals, otherwise the pawns and bishops would have been impossible to tell apart.] ..but passable. [It would serve in a pitch, Kaiba assumed.]

Are you any good at the game..? [Suspecting that Akechi might be, because why else would he go to all that trouble otherwise? That and he just seemed the sort.]

[simulatio]

I'm so pleased to have met your approval. I was thinking of marketing it to you as the latest product for your company.

[The sarcasm is hidden beneath the thinnest layer of saccharine earnestness. A token effort not to sound rude, really, but Akechi's enough of a perfectionist to be a little offended to hear his work described as "passable."]

I never had time to fully dedicate myself as a "champion" or anything of the sort, but I'd say I'm quite good at it, yes.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Chess in general is archaic, and overdone. Try Milton Bradley.

[Said with his characteristic smirk. Although Kaiba still doubted the sincerity behind Akechi's words, he answered it straight. Besides it let him get in a dig at another company for good measure. If the other male truly wanted to impress him then try engraving, or making your own molds to give the pieces some individual character. That or invent an entirely new game.]

Underselling? [Asking a bit curiously since Akechi had a tendency to leave out key details when it came to his abilities. At least if their discussion months ago about combat strengths was any indication. For his part, Kaiba had utterly destroyed a chess champion- it's how he'd arranged for the adoption of both himself and his brother. He was confident in his capabilities.]

[simulatio]

Never heard of them.

[There is a popular board game company where he's from... what is it called again? Bilton Madley, perhaps? But it doesn't matter overmuch. He rests his chin in his hand, elbow on the table, and matches Kaiba's smirk with one of his own, as if to say whatever company you're talking about is insignificant, just like your own.]

Care to play? You can determine my abilities for yourself, if you like.

[And he is confident in his own abilities. He's telling the truth, he's never played against a professional, or really dedicated too much of his time to it, but it's an engaging past-time about tactics and strategy -- excellent training for combat and a worthy use of his time.]

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[It was peculiar how some aspects of their points of origin lined up and other's didn't. Balk as he might have about the merits of the other company, even Kaiba was surprised that it was also unknown. In hindsight, he shouldn't have been. You're lucky there isn't a thunderstorm in the vicinity, because a lie like that would have warranted several lightning strikes. At least he was unable to read the other's thoughts]

Why not? What else is there to do?

[Shrugging a bit. Tactics and strategy were important in other avenues outside of combat as well.]

Which set would you rather play as?

[simulatio]

I'll take black.

[-Is what he says, but when he separates the pieces, he takes the rubies for himself and separates out the diamonds for the other boy. Improvisation and necessity and all that.

More importantly, he's more interested in seeing Kaiba's skills than impressing him with his own ability. Going second works better for that purpose. He sets his own pieces on the board, careful to avoid the marker in case of it is still drying.]

Thank you for indulging me in a... how did you put it? "Archaic and overdone" game.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[Nodding to that as a sign of acknowledgment he awaited the divvying of the pieces. Given the choice, he would have selected white anyway. Has to be white for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon afterall. Not taking the small advantage lightly he sets his pieces on the board and aims for a strong opening move.]

No problem. [Lips quirking upwards to have his own words thrown back at him. Suppose he deserved it, as he really shouldn't have complained about something he knew inside and out]
[Moving the Queen's pawn up two spaces, he sat back half expecting to have to explain why he moved two spaces instead of one, but it was likely unnecessary. He was keen on asserting some control over the proverbial field, front and center. A good chess player would understand precisely why] Your move.

[simulatio]

That is generally how a turn-based game is played, yes.

[Ah, he's starting to see how Kaiba gets under Ren's skin so much. He has all of the Detective Prince's arrogance with none of the false humility.

Still, he doesn't hesitate to move his own Queen's pawn forward two spaces, cutting off that particular piece's forward advance for the moment. The nature of playing black is to start on the defensive, to gauge the opponent's skill and respond accordingly, while waiting for the chance to strike. It's not his preferred way of doing things, but it is effective.]

I understand you prefer card games to board games, [he continues conversationally, without bothering to echo your move. Entirely unnecessary; though it could be funny to get under his skin by playing the fool, that was never a role Akechi played intentionally.] I must admit, I'm not sure I see the appeal of one over the other. Is it the portability? Or perhaps the pictures?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[The announcement of who was up was an unfortunate carry over from his more dramatic card-game playing days. It was somewhat amusing when his opponent seemed to take some mild exception to it]

[Nope. Not an ounce of false humility in this one]

[In chess as in cards, Kaiba preferred offense himself. It's why he gravitated towards the most powerful monsters and traps in the whole of duel monsters. He tended to remain aggressive no matter the media. In keeping with that, he moved a different pawn from C2 to C4 (or in other words the pawn that would have been to the immediate left of the queen's pawn in the starting position was now at that piece's side again)]

Mm, yes I do. Video games as well. [Essentially anything that was more interactive or a better test of his skills. Both were preferable for the more sedate manner of board games.] It's the immersive nature associated with the game's evolution, and the infinite combinations and potential for it's strategies. In chess, there are only so many moves and scenarios that can play out. Duel Monsters is able to change over time, so it never becomes stale. [The pictures, really]

[simulatio]

Queen's Gambit?

[Akechi doesn't sound impressed with Kaiba's move; he simply states what it is, to make clear to the other boy that he does know what's going on, thank you, and simply counters by moving one of his pawns one space, from c7 to c6.]

Unfortunately, I had little time for games before my arrival here. Most systems were quite expensive when I was a child, after all, and by the time I was old enough to afford them for myself, I simply had too much to do. I preferred to spend my time in more meaningful ways.