tabularasa_rp | (open) where have you been? been searching all along 𝅘𝅥𝅮

... Yes...?

(Obviously yes? He doesn't get why the whole tone or why the question. Soap is perfectly fine for that, isn't it?)

[He looks at the soap in Ren's hand and then back to him with a disgusted sneer.]

Unbelievable. You can't mean to tell me you wash your hair only with soap?

[He beckons in an impatient come here. Let him look at your hair, you fucking disaster of a man.]

(... Yes???? Ren gives a shrug, it has never been a problem? But sure, fine. He approaches, a mix of curiosity and confusion as he does so.

You know, some of us just have ridiculous, protagonist, effortless fluffy hair and great skin.)

[It's admittedly rather odd, having Ren so close to him when he's in nothing but towel, but Akechi only permits himself a cursory glance over the other boy's body -- looking for injuries, he tells himself -- before returning to his primary objective.

He tugs his gloves off and reaches across, tugging a lock of Ren's hair between his fingers not quite gently. It's not as fine as his own hair, and certainly much curlier.]

I don't know much about what's suited to your hair type, [he admits, grudgingly. It hadn't mattered, but he's trying to remember anything he might have read while researching what products were best for his own. It's unfair how soft it is, considering Ren doesn't seem to take care of it at all. Unbelievable.

Ren's treated to another derisive scowl as he turns and pulls two bottles out of the basket, holding them out for Ren to take.]

At least try using something like this. Shampoo, then conditioner. let the conditioner sit in your hair for at least a few minutes, will you? Honestly, what kind of leader...

[The last part is mostly mumbled to himself, though intentionally loud enough for Ren to hear as he turns back to keep searching for the Perfect Product for his own hair.]

(Every single action from Akechi confuses him. From the glance to him removing the close and...

Ouch. The pull is received with a gasp, "only" due to the unexpected factor, both from Akechi touching the hair and the strength of the pull. Akechi only gets a frown, though, which he can take as the complaint for the pain inflicted.

Is it time to show his two braincells? It is.)

... Specific curly hair products? Is there such a thing?

(He takes the bottles in his hands, rotating them with his wrist to inspect... Why...

It's when he hears the mumbling.)

What does my hair have to do with my leadership skills?

Yes, Ren, though I suppose I should have guessed such a thing was beyond you. Hopefully what I gave you is an all-purpose, but anything is better than soap. Soap will only dry out your hair and render it brittle.

[Please, take it from him, the boy who carefully crafted his entire image into being as likable as possible. There are different products for everything.

Now, as for his leadership skills... finally satisfied enough with the texture of the conditioner he'd chosen, Akechi moves to set them both aside with the bar of soap and head toward the lockers to start undressing.]

People are judged by their appearance, first and foremost, before they even open their mouths. No one is going to take someone with a rat's nest atop their head seriously. There's a certain standard of conventional attractiveness that should be met. Did you know there have been studies proving that people who are considered beautiful or handsome are often considered more trustworthy?

[He's not saying it's right, but it is a fact.]

... If you say so. You're too pretty to be wrong.

(The tone is maybe a little flirty, but it is giving Akechi credit for all his knowledge. Ren has zero on this department, so, way to go, Akechi.

... But then he continues proving that indeed, he is not wrong. Ren rolls his eyes while Akechi can't see it.)

... I think I'm not so bad. I only appeared to the public once, I don't think it matters so much in my case.

(Who's gonna complain, a Shadow??)

[Please don't say things like that when he's taking off his clothes. To his credit, Akechi only pauses a moment before continuing, setting his shoes in the locker, followed by his neatly-folded clothes. Unlike Ren, he doesn't have a second outfit to change into, so avoiding wrinkles, even if they'd be washed out later, is ideal.]

So I've heard.

[Not acknowledging the compliment beyond that, though the back of his neck is flushed with red.

More importantly-]

Your name and picture wasn't publicized after your arrest, so I can only assume you mean you did something after the two of us parted ways in Shido's Palace?

[Yes, he'll still insist on describing it that way, thank you very much.]

Get back to me about the importance of appearance when you're appearing in magazine spreads and television programs. In any case, taking care of yourself isn't a bad idea.

We hacked the TV station as a Calling Card.

(He snorts a little - he remembers how Futaba was excited about the prospectives and just how amused she was at being much better than the police, fighting with much ease at all attempts to take their video down.

The fact that his compliment was met with a 'so I've heard' doesn't quite surprise him. Akechi is, after all, a celebrity. Of course he heard people bringing up his good looks often.)

Oh?

[Now that is interesting. Akechi wraps his towel around his waist and heads toward the showers, snagging his products as he goes.]

Are you certain that showing your face was a wise move? While crimes in the Metaverse cannot be proven easily, hijacking a television broadcast is a very tangible crime.

[Still, it is satisfying, knowing that the Thieves' Calling Card was done in such a grandiose fashion. Imagining Shido and the men around them panicking at the prospect... oh, how he wishes he could have seen that, and it's that feeling that feeds his satisfied smirk.]

Metaverse silhouettes. All they saw at most were my eyes behind the mask.

(Because having gray eyes is just super common, but sure. Fine.

He wishes Akechi had seen it. It was glorious, powerful to challenge the most relevant, rotten politician to the entire country to see. The memory brings that smug smirk to his lips, but it was soon washed away by Akechi's reappearance.

Eh-... Ren blinks a few times. It's not the first time they've bathed together, but he surely does not remember noticing the definition in the muscles or the overall good-lookingness the other holds.

Time to avert gaze and pretend he's much busy doing anything else! This shampoo bottle is surely interesting, isn't it? Wonder what the product smells like.)

Edited 2020-08-23 03:32 (UTC)

How very dramatic. "The Show's Over," is it?

[He can't help but snort a laugh at that, shaking his head as he moves into the shower and sets his towel aside to turn the water on. Shido would rage, as is his wont when things don't go according to his plan. His researchers would panic, the other politicians connected to him would panic... oh, what a sight. What chaos. Loki practically purrs in his blood.]

It isn't what I would have done, but it sounds like quite the spectacle, Joker.

[He tosses the codename almost playfully as he works the shampoo into a lather in his hair, raising his voice to be heard over the running water.]

It was epic. He probably had a heart attack.

(He just has to admit it, another snicker leaves his lips alongside it. The battle itself that followed it was equally as thrilling, having taken Shido's Shadow by himself at some point. He had revenge for the both of them.

He smirked at the codename when it reaches his ears, finding a shower and... Proceeding to apply way too much shampoo to his hair. Way too much. It's now a mountain of white on his head.)

I can almost guarantee he smashed several extremely expensive things, and potentially people.

[There's an unbecoming amount of pleasure in the thought of other people being abused, but what does he care? Every single person in Shido's inner circle deserved it, from his cohorts to his secretaries. Fuck that man, and everyone associated with him.

He glances sideways to see if Ren's smirk matches his own, and almost immediately scowls.]

You've never washed your hair properly in your life, have you? Your hair isn't that long, you look absurd.

Edited 2020-08-23 04:01 (UTC)

I smashed him one-on-one at some point, so I guess we win three times.

(One for making him this nervous, two for getting them personal revenge, and three for the success of the mission. God, he's beaming at this, the smile even hurting his cheeks.

So much that it doesn't leave when Akechi laughs at him.)

I have a lot of hair.

Edited 2020-08-23 04:43 (UTC)

Fighting his Shadow isn't the same as utterly destroying the real man in the real world, but I'll give you that.

[Akechi's grudge was far older and more personal, after all. And while he'd very much considered fighting his father in his own Palace, he'd determined it too much a risk. Yet another thing to be jealous of Ren for, for achieving that kind of closure.

It doesn't help his scowl as he shakes his head.]

Not that much. You're wasting it.

(Ren makes that note for the future, if he continues to use the shampoo, that is. It smells nice, at least. The effort that will take to get all the product is epic, but eventually, he manages, combing his hair back with his fingers and out of his face just so he can actually see without the curls adjusting the size of his bangs.)

The conditioner, the same?

(He squeezes the bottle, product on the palm of his hand and he shows Akechi for Amount Control.)

[Akechi's already moved onto the conditioner stage by the time Ren's done getting the absurd amount of shampoo out of his hair, his head leaned forward a little to keep it out of the water as he lets the conditioner (he hopes) sink into the hair itself. He glances toward Ren at the question, and there's a moment where he could swear his heart skips a beat at the sight of his bare forehead.

It shouldn't matter that much. It's just the top of his face. But it's all too easy to imagine the silencer of a stolen pistol pressed against that criminally smooth skin.

His eyes flick down quickly to the offered hand, and he nods.]

Yes, that should do. It's better to overdo it on conditioner than shampoo, as the conditioner needs time to set into the hair.

[Don't mind him just washing himself as he lets the conditioner soak, very intently not thinking about the way Ren looks with his hair slicked back.

I wonder how my hair will look like.

(Visually? Not very different. Texture? Unfairly smooth. Goddamn it, Protagonists.

While Akechi has that existential crisis that Ren is not aware of, he happily slams the conditioner on the hair, combing the locks and when he releases them, they make their little curls and twirls at the tips. Should look nice, he thinks... Maybe the other is right. While the conditioner sets, he proceeds to wash himself, eyes falling to where his previous injury was - seemed to be healing well.

Conditioner... Is a pain... He feels his hair slippery for way too long in attempts to remove it.)

I commend your patience.

(With a huff.)

Who knows?

[Perhaps Akechi's unlocked a whole new hairstyle for him... just kidding. He'll look the same, but hopefully it'll help ward off split ends.

Ren just gets a bit of an odd look and a shake of his head.]

It's just part of a normal routine, though I have to wonder if it means anything, here. Considering we only started to require food recently... have you noticed your hair even growing at all?

Edited 2020-08-23 05:15 (UTC)

The curls make it difficult to tell.

(But Akechi's straight locks seem to be the same length he has always had. Ren is done with the showering, and he finally stands up to move to the... Bath... With the fish.

But a bath nonetheless. Stripping of the towel, in he goes. The temperature was nice, so he just tries to shoo the fish first and now he can sit.)

[Akechi is a little longer in the shower, because of course he is, but he does watch Ren leave. He really does seem so remarkably carefree, even in a situation such as this. It's too easy to think about the time they spent together before all hell broke loose, when they went to the bathhouse together on Sojiro's recommendation and Akechi spilled his sad excuse for a backstory while they soaked.

He closes his eyes and exhales through his nose as he finally washes the conditioner out. Well. At least he's already done that once and won't have to suffer through it again.

Finally satisfied, he enters the bath after Ren, neatly folding his towel as he gets in across from him. In spite of himself, he can feel his muscles relaxing in the warm water, memories of his childhood mingling with the pleasant time he'd spent with Ren in the past.

Then a fish brushes against his calf, and he yelps, reflexively kicking at it.]

Gah, these fucking fish!

(By the time Akechi joins, Ren was already soaking in the calmness, almost immune to the fish moving up and down and sometimes booping his ribs. He might even take a very quick shower again before leaving... It almost makes him feel like a person after months of not feeling like one! Sleep would definitely be the next big thing for him to feel less emotionally exhausted, but it would be a lie to say this isn't helping.

Akechi's reflexes break him from the trance, though! He jumps a little, eyes snapping open.)

Did they bite you?!

Of course not.

[He's very still for a moment, then lunges into the water where he thought he saw a shadow. Unfortunately, he doesn't catch a fish with his bare hands, and he hisses another curse through his teeth.]

Perhaps later we should remove them to the river? Or cook them and eat them for their intrusion.

Things don't die. I am not eating something alive.

(Also, what's this 'we' should cook it... Are you lending a hand...

Ren shakes his head, trying not to let his laugh show.)

You're too tense. Relax.

(A tentatively hand on his shoulder. Either Akechi hisses or he allows it and they never speak about it again.)

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