[open] because i can only be me

[simulatio]

Who: Goro Akechi and YOU
What: catch-all for august
Where: heavenly blanc, wall market; others tbd
When: yes
Content Warnings: threads with p5r spoilers will be tagged as such! please toss a comment on my spoiler opt-out post if you'd like me to avoid mentioning any p5/p5r spoilers in tags with your character.

Comments

[forethinking]

She isn't a part of it, but I care about her just the same.

(Similarly to how Akechi would not ever be a Phantom Thief, but it never stopped Ren from caring about him, thinking about him and feeling for him all the same.

If only he knew that he mourned. Would he believe it in the first place?)

I see. I imagine she did well.

[simulatio]

She did.

[And there's an odd note of pride in his voice at the assessment. Was she weak and a liability, and stumbled more often than not? Of course. But even when she was fighting against them, she was fighting with her full belief, willing to embrace even Maruki's power in an attempt to make herself stronger and win at any cost.

It didn't make her any less wrong, or any less weak. But there's a part of that Akechi can understand. Her ability to move past that and start striving to be herself and stand on her own is something he'll wholeheartedly support.]

[forethinking]

(All Ren can do is believe Akechi and his words. Not remember being there does cut the conversation short, as he cannot comment and Akechi did give him enough information to calm his mind for a while.

Just the confirmation that, overall, things were as "okay" as they could be given the circumstances.

After all this picking at Akechi's brain, it feels only fair to give Akechi the same courtesy.)

Anything to ask me?

[simulatio]

[He finishes his glass of water and sets it on the bench beside him, reaching for one of the towels to dab at the sweat on the back of his neck. There are so many things he wants to know, but then, most of it isn't important. Some of it he's managed to infer from the conversation of the Phantom Thieves around him while they fought, some of it he's deduced on his own.

Eventually, he sighs and pulls the towel away from his neck, looking Ren over carefully.]

For all you know about me and my story, you've always played your cards quite close to your chest, [he says finally.] Shall I consider this a "blank check," of a sort, to ask you any question I so desire?

[forethinking]

Go ahead.

(They have made a deal that if they don't want to answer something, it should be respected, so Ren is not exactly worried about being trapped in any form with the question to come.

After all, Ren is quite curious to hear what is the One Thing Akechi would ask him, after all this time and so much in the open as it is now.)

[simulatio]

Hm.

[He keeps his eyes on Ren's for a few seconds later as if to gauge his sincerity, then finally shakes his head as the corners of his lips twitch up into a smirk.]

I'll remember that.

[He'll save it for when it becomes more important. For now, he just cracks his neck and sets the towel aside.]

Shall we go again?

[forethinking]

(Not expecting that! It does get a very genuine, amused laugh out of Ren, the low tone voice even becoming just a tad higher.

For now, he stands up, nodding and taking Baselard into his hands.)

We shall.