personavelvetroomdr | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

[It's a perfectly ordinary day in Tokyo, if you ignore the fact that Akechi just got done enduring a horrific, white palace with crumbling architecture, creepy tentacles everywhere, and scraps of memory locked away and scattered like puzzle pieces, culminating in battling a tentacled abomination to free Wakaba Isshiki's Shadow from the prison of her mind, and... well. A mother-daughter reunion is always nice, he supposes.

He's on the phone when he stumbles in, deep in the midst of a conversation.]

Isshiki-san's condition is stable, but we'll have to relocate her before he notices anything amiss. ...Yes, Dad, I'm all right. Not that I don't appreciate the concern, but-

[The signal cuts out, and... ah. The Velvet Room. And not the Velvet Room of his childhood, but... this one.

At first he bristles, eyes narrowed into a razor-sharp glare. He has half a mind to complain to Igor about locking him out, but all signs point to Ren's "Igor" being impostor, and... no. Wait.

Recollection flashes before him. With that recollection, he grimaces.]

...Of course I'd end up back here.

[He shuts his eyes, brings a hand to his face, and breathes in deeply. He was such a stupid tween, and if people connect him to said tween... Who even knows how much time has passed here?]

[ooc: Older version of

fogboundcrow for the funny. Some info on his profile. Yes, he's wearing a Shujin uniform.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?

[Okay. He needs to breathe. He needs to compose himself. He's got another idea...]

I am calling as a part of the top secret Akechi Alliance. Our purpose is to...

[Damn it. This is stupid.]

To connect with our fellow selves to form a support network in this unsettling domain we've found ourselves in.

[He's trying so hard to keep a level tone of voice. It's not as though it's a terrible idea, anyway.]

Even if I were to believe that, you still haven't explained how you got my phone number. Are you that version of me with the striped tie and the olive colored uniform? Your inflections seem... different.

[Ah... Right. There was one of those, wasn't there?]

I'm afraid I can't reveal my true self, save for those who swear their undying loyalty to the cause. But, should you accept our mission statement, you will receive a heavenly order of pancakes as a welcome gift.

[There's a bit of a grumble.]

I'm not stupid. If there was truly an 'Akechi Alliance,' I'm certain I would have heard about it. And seeing how you are the only version of me that's made contact, that's highly suspicious. I haven't given my number to anyone yet.

[Ah, the impetuous preteen mind... Good to see he's as sharp as he remembers.]

Well, I'll let you think about it. Take care, Akechi-san.

[He hangs up, and then... Finally, the laughter bursts free.]

That may be the stupidest thing I have ever done.

[ The moment Akechi hangs up, Ren bursts into peals of laughter. ]

Holy shit. Undying loyalty to the cause. The cause of a support network. A heavenly gift of pancakes. [ He slumps forward against the table, still snickering. ] Your voice. You were so mad.

We couldn't even make one of those. What would it be called? Amamiya Association? Kurusu Club? It'd never even get off the ground, we'd just argue about the name.

"Akiren Anonymous"?

[It's said with a light chuckle and a wry smile that suggests he isn't completely serious, at least.]

But yes... I forgot how squeaky I used to sound. I really was like a feral kitten back then...

[Ah, how his child self would hate to hear that.]

That name would make us even less stealthy than the Phantom Thieves, and that's saying a lot.

[ He straightens up and rolls his shoulders. ] You can see it from my point of view now, right? You were funny. [ Sorry, Akechi. ]

To be fair, "Akechi Alliance" isn't particularly subtle.

[He was bullshitting, but hm... What will his little self do? He can imagine him going on some dramatic hunt for the mystery prank caller. Heh.]

But yes, I can see it. The benefit of age is the ability to reflect on your own stupidity. And I haven't even gotten to the worst of my story.

Oh, yeah. [ He'd almost forgotten about the story for a minute. ] You made that guy you hated take Shirogane into the TV world, right?

Said I hated because I was petty and jealous. But yes. And then Kanji had to get on the news, and we decided we'd use the opportunity to do a stake out once we saw his silhouette on the Midnight Channel. So Naoto-san, Kanji, and I waited...

He got kidnapped and thrown into the TV world, and his Shadow...

[Akechi briefly averts his gaze and plops a piece of sushi into his mouth.]

Well, let's just say it wasn't pleasant to see something so... deeply personal showcased to all of Inaba who tuned in.

I still hadn't accepted my Shadow, but I was adamant that I had to be there. So I took Naoto-san with me, and we trailed after Yu's group. Kanji-san at least had the glasses, and while we lacked Personas, our weapons and Naoto-san's skills with stealth aided us for a bit.

Then Yosuke had to open his mouth, piss Kanji off, and cause him to reject his Shadow and make it go berserk. And then I had to try and fight despite being woefully outclassed, and... it didn't end well.

So I ran, screaming for my Shadow to come out of hiding.

[He'll pause to let that all sink in. It's... quite a bit, after all.]

[ Ren starts to frown; as Akechi keeps talking, the frown only deepens. He's all for taking risks, but. ]

That sounds... reckless. [ Also very in-character for baby Akechi, unfortunately. ]

Beyond reckless. I was too exhausted, and Yu had to drag me out of the TV world... which only pissed me off, because of course it did.

[He pauses to enjoy a bite of his unagi.]

And because I couldn't accept such a humiliating blow to my ego, I left a note basically daring Yu and the others to follow me back into the TV to prove that they gave a shit. Then I dived into our own television, forcing their hand.

[It was so, so stupid. Selfish. Reckless beyond belief.]

[ Ren is too engrossed in this train wreck of a story to eat yet. ]

... Maybe I don't have room to judge. [ Since he stabbed a man when he was that age. But still, dude... It's not even that baby Akechi ran off into the TV world alone that's getting to him. Preteen Ren was alone in the Metaverse all the time. But he had a Persona when he was there. ]

Oh?

[Well that's an interesting remark.]

Are you saying you have your own share of embarrassing childhood escapades?

[Oho. Then again, kids can be... well, dumb. They're still growing, after all.]

I don't know about embarrassing. [ More like really fucked up, and the pivot point on which his whole life turned. ] But I did stab a guy when I was that age.

[Give him a moment to process this, because wow, that's a swerve.

On the other hand, he was in the system as well, and far less fortunate. Akechi hardly condones murder, but self-defense is still a very legitimate thing, and sometimes it's a requirement to survive.]

I'm guessing he deserved it?

[What a horrible thing to say.]

Orphanage director.

[ That could mean all kinds of awful things. Ren doesn't choose to clarify. ] I'm kind of surprised more of the kids there didn't carry knives. It seemed like the obvious solution to me. I think the word was he was going to be okay? I didn't, like, stab him to death. But that's when I ran away. [ He gives Akechi an easy grin, like it doesn't bother him anymore.

None of that's even a lie. He's left out the really gruesome parts that culminated in killing the guy after all in the Metaverse, and you could argue that those are important elements of the story. But the words he's said are all true. ]

...Abusive, I assume.

[That would explain so much. The comment about knives. The necessity of stabbing and running away.]

In that case, it sounds like you did what the other children were too scared to even attempt. There are times when the law will not listen, and it's necessary to take drastic measures for one's safety.

[ A shadow flits past across Ren's expression. He meets Akechi's gaze with a strange, dark glimmer in his eyes. ] You're not wrong.

[ Or maybe you imagined all that? Because there's sure no sign of it now. He tilts his head with a rueful smile. ] But my point is, I was a dumb preteen, too. Nowadays I'd skip straight to running away.

Fair. Sometimes the best strategy is an escape strategy.

[That dark look wasn't lost to him, but he won't press it for now. This was meant to be his embarrassing story time, after all.]

At any rate, my Shadow was understandably irritated. Yu at least had the foresight to call my school and claim I was too ill to attend, but Nanako-chan...

[He blows a heavy sigh, a deep frown lining his lips.]

I think Yu lied and said I had left the house early, but it wasn't fair to do what I did when it could have led to her and our dad- Dojima-san- panicking given the prior kidnappings and the ongoing serial murder case.

[ No room to judge, he reminds himself. ] Quick thinking.

He's always been good at that.

[He always did envy that about him, even if he himself was intelligent. Yu was just so... perfect.]

So, my Shadow saw me in my dungeon and decided that rather than chastise me, he'd bring the others to me safely. It's my understanding that he led them through my dungeon, providing context where needed as my memories bled into the environment.

They came all that way to find me, weren't even all that angry, but I was just so scared. I didn't know what to say or how to react...

So my Shadow decided it was time to take the kid gloves off. He engaged the others in a fight to prove to me, once and for all, that they gave a shit.

Your Shadow put up with a lot. [ It was only a few days ago that Ren met him, so the memory is fresh in his mind. Akechi's weird, friendly Shadow. He smiles a little. ] Mine would've probably lost patience way sooner.

To be honest, I'm lucky mine was so patient. I dread to think what would've happened otherwise...

[He visibly shudders. There were so many ways it could've ended, and none of them pretty.]

But I'm here, and in the end, I called off the fight myself. My Shadow was powerful, and I couldn't bear the sight of them suffering because of my stupidity.

Was that what made you accept it in the end? Seeing them get beaten up?

[ He finally remembers to eat some of his sushi. ]

...Yeah. They put up a valiant effort, but my Shadow utilized almighty skills in addition to bless and curse abilities, which made him a nuisance.

And the funniest part? As soon as I told him to stop, he just... healed everyone. They were never in any real danger.

[He rubs his forehead before taking another bite of his sushi.]

...That's nice, actually. Like, too bad about all the crazy shit that led up to it—[ Sorry, Akechi. ]—but that's almost kind of cute.

[ He does mean it, although there's a certain wistfulness in his voice. He can sometimes appreciate what closeness provides for people. It's kind of like being broke, and looking through a shop window at a pretty display, and being in a mellow enough mood to just admire it. ]

Cute, hm?

[He smirks, his tone a tad teasing.]

Ah, that's right. You'd said you were "fond" of your world's version of me. Do I detect a hint of bias?

[He doesn't mean any ill will, it's really just some light ribbing. Ah, the things he doesn't know...]