tabularasa_rp | [open] because i can only be me

(???? Is that what the calling out what about?? Ren doing the one thing he does, but not the flowers themselves?

He's not about to give Akechi a bullshit excuse, so he just raises his shoulders and drops them.)

You need a better lock. I'm sure anyone could break in anywhere with effort.

[Patience, Ren! That's coming.]

Spoken like a true thief.

[He takes a careful sip from his coffee before meeting Ren's eyes.]

Then I suppose you'll simply have to craft a better lock then, won't you? If "anyone" can break in, that is.

(False sense of security!

He is what he is, no talk backs on the comment until the last one.)

Huh. Maybe. I don't mind that as much.

(He didn't even have a door before, Akechi.)

I do.

[Well, whatever. If anyone breaks in, finally maybe Akechi can have some fun. Surely neither Cole nor Ren could fault him for self-defense? In any case, he'll need to find a good hiding place for his briefcase when he's not in his room.

It's almost deceptively calm as he takes another sip from the coffee cup, inhales briefly through his nose, and glances back to Ren.]

You can have the flowers back, by the way.

[Considering Akechi did reject his feelings, he thinks.]

You have no idea what they mean, do you?

(Makes sense to him that Akechi wouldn't want them there given the circumstances, but also... Maybe the fact he doesn't know about something as gentle as flowers comes in handy for Ren to have the upper hand at this one.)

I'm not an idiot, Ren.

[He might not know what the colors or blossoms mean, but he knows what giving someone flowers means! Which is precisely how he's taking this question.]

(So sorry, Akechi, but he wants to laugh so badly.

People give flowers all the time, for many different meanings other than the one he chose.)

Flower sending like this is not my style. You've misread it.

(So no, this isn't about the fact Ren very much wants to drag him to the attic.)

Oh?

[Okay, now his annoyance does show clearly on his face, because he doesn't like being proven wrong. He sets down the coffee cup and rests his chin in his hand, eyes meeting Ren's in a challenging, stony glare.]

How so?

(The glare is welcomed by one of his own, equally defiant in manner.

He does feel the blood boiling on his cheeks, giving them a rosy blush - he hates it, but there's no way he's pulling back.)

I'm sure you can figure it out, Detective.

(Ah, it's satisfaction that paints the grin on Ren's face.

It's just delicious to know something Akechi doesn't, as ridiculous as flower meanings.

Less so considering it was a confirmation for their rematch.)

[His hand drops to the bar as he keeps his gaze on Ren, and he can feel a heat rising to his own cheeks as Ren rebuffs his question. Fuck. It's too easy to fall into challenging him again, thinking about how he could reach across this bar right now and kiss him, and Ren wouldn't even protest. He could silence that sharp tongue of his so easily...

He forces himself to lean back in an attempt to break the tension building between them, shaking his head.]

Fine. You're unbelievable, you know that?

(Ren won this round, but there will be many more to come considering who they are and how they are.

The grin only stretches more at the comment. Like you're actually doing something about how the bar feels at least 5 degrees hotter, Akechi.)

And what does that make you?

Fed up with you.

[He scoffs and finishes off the last of his curry, pushing the plate back across the bar. Are things back to normal? They certainly don't feel normal. But at least Ren is speaking to him.

He wants to just ask, point blank. Will Ren risk his death to destroy Maruki's false reality? Will Ren let him go? All evidence points to it being too risky. His teeth worry at the inside of his lip for a moment before he forces himself to stop and steel his expression once again.]

Don't break into my room again.

As per usual.

(At least it makes Ren chuckle a little, just a tad before the command reaches his ears.

It sucks, because unless Ren has a reason, he will respect it and can't even lie about it just to tease Akechi. It's his privacy after all.

He's not making promises, though. The plate that comes his way is immediately taken to the kitchen before he comes back.)

Akechi.

(Is it time?)

Somehow, he can't help but feel a vague press of that tension returning as Ren comes back, though as usual, Akechi's face is a careful study in neutrality.

He sets the cup back down in its saucer to meet his eyes, searching his face for what stupidity he's about to say this time.]

What?

You're terrible at this.

(It's honest, at least. If Akechi thinks Ren can't notice the glimpses, the tension or just how hard he stares at him sometimes, almost in trance before his scrambled brain pulls him back - he's deadly wrong.

Not like Ren is much better, but alas.)

I thought we made a deal.

Tch.

[Immediately his lip curls in distaste, even as he feels a familiar fear fluttering in his heart. Fuck him, and everything he stands for.]

I thought I already made my feelings quite clear. It's distasteful to keep begging.

(Who's begging? Ren did not go after him, so of course the words were received with a frown.)

No, you idiot. Something is not adding up.

(Aside from the whole UST, that is. Why is Akechi's first reaction to it a 'stick to the mission'? Why is he so particularly interested in this? Surely the reality back home was terrible and it makes sense that Akechi would like to challenge it, but if fighting in these sort of situations was from the goodness of his heart, where was him when Mementos melded with reality?)

Don't blame me for your poor math skills.

[He allows himself a final sip of coffee before pushing the cup away, signaling that he's had enough.]

Which part, exactly, are you struggling with?

How come you show up to take my place to juvie, but weren't fighting by my side? Where were you?

(Let's see the answer, calm. He must keep calm.)

[Oh. This? This, Akechi can answer. He'd been prepared for this question since the first time Ren questioned how he was alive,weeks ago. Perhaps even a month by now.]

Do you think I enjoyed being left out of revenge against the one person who wronged me most? [he hisses, eyes sharpening as he meets Ren's.] After I'd spent years planning it? It wasn't by choice that I wasn't there. Do you think I'm happy with the way things turned out?

[And that, at least, is painfully true. Whatever Ren's grudge against Shido, it's nothing compared to Akechi's. There really is a part of him that will never forgive him for stealing his revenge.]

But don't you remember what I said about slowing you down?

[His eyes don't waver as he keeps them on Ren's, holding him captive as best he can.]

Dragging along an injured, half-dead enemy out of a misguided sense of righteousness would have just gotten you and all of your friends killed. As much as I disagree with your methods, it's better than nothing, which is what would have happened to Shido if you'd taken me with you.

[There. It's not a complete lie, but nor does it directly answer Ren's accusation. Instead, it allows him to fill in the blanks with his own suppositions.]

(Akechi speaks and what he says is nothing new, nothing short from what he expected to hear when it comes to Shido.

Except. That's not what he meant.

It's that unmoving expression that Akechi sees, eyes as per usual focused on the other's until Ren spoke.)

I meant God. Where were you when we took down Yaldabaoth.

I thought we agreed on no personal questions.

[His jaw clenches, but it's not because he's caught. It's because he wants Ren to think he's been caught. This is one of the most important lies he's told in his entire life, after all.

His eyes slide away, as if he's having difficulty admitting it, because if it were true, it would sting his pride immeasurably. He doesn't even like the weakness this lie implies, but it's necessary.]

Christmas Eve, yes...? [he says finally.] I couldn't move. Most injuries heal upon leaving the Metaverse, and yet these lingered. Perhaps because they were so severe. Shido had one thing right about me, at least -- his puppet version of me was not to be trifled with.

I assume my rapid recovery was due to Maruki's powers. What kind of "ideal reality" would it be if you went to prison, after all? How "convenient" that I recovered and went to Shibuya in time to overhear your conversation with Sae-san.

[His lip curls, because again, all the best lies have an element of truth, and that is true. Poetic justice, to have Ren's once-dead rival take his place in prison, only to be released out of pity.]

(Ren starts to deflate, little by little.

Akechi's lies don't have a hole this time, and trust that he's listening very attentively, word-by-word analysis. The only thing that raises a suspicion was the injuries, but even then. Ren is exhausted when he leaves the Metaverse, and he hasn't had half the struggle Akechi is illustrating to him.

He falls into it, hand curled into an fist under the table - God, he cannot even put in words how much he hates Shido. For him, for the country, for Akechi... Almost makes him wish he had made his Shadow suffer some more.

He takes a second, looking at the table instead of Akechi, a mix of grief and anger coloring the gray eyes.)

Was that all? I didn't go to prison?

(What else could Maruki have possibly done for him?)

Edited 2020-08-24 09:16 (UTC)

[It's a deliciously fine tightrope he's walking here, but once he realizes Ren believes him... it's a rush of power like he hasn't felt in a long time. Finally, finally he has the upper hand, and it makes it hard to feel bad for the lying. The more lies you tell, the easier it gets, and the less it hurts to tell.

He exhales and shakes his head.]

I don't know, [he says, and again that's an honest answer, because he was in prison. He wouldn't know the full details of what Maruki had given Ren, other than him.] I can tell you that after they released me, I realized that somehow Maruki had erased our records completely. Not just deleted from records, but made it so that you and I had never committed any crimes. Erased it all from reality.

[Okumura, Wakaba Isshiki, and who knows how many others of Akechi's victims Maruki had brought back to life? All people Akechi would see dead once again if it meant freeing himself from that manipulative bastard's clutches.]

... Excuse me?

(Ren's eyes almost snap back open in surprise. It makes sense, ultimately, that Maruki could do it with all the power he had - bringing people back to life as an example.

He just never imagined being without a record at home. It feels... Dirty? Like the whole purpose of his living in Tokyo suddenly didn't matter. Like all the uphill battle he went through to prove himself didn't matter. He's infuriated. All of this because Ren helped him with his research, on top of all.

Shit.)

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