Pew Pew

[justicesfool]

 [The thing about being somewhere new is that usually, you were supposed to be able to use it as a fresh start. This... is not that. This is a place full of faces he knows - his own face, and Akechi's - and especially with the way the Mona who'd seemed like he was from his other life had reacted to him... it's giving him flashbacks of his record being leaked in Shujin. He keeps almost saying the wrong thing to people, too, used to everyone already knowing.

It's a while after all of that, and he hasn't risked going anywhere near Leblanc. He's scouted around a few places, though, and now he's wound up here at the arcade, playing a vicious game of Gun About. What can he say? It's good for getting rid of all that stress, without risking anyone walking in on him slaughtering shadows in a non-Joker-like way.

That said, even this isn't quite... right. He's too focused, for one thing. A bit too accurate. Nowhere near showy enough, either.

Poke him anyway?]

Comments

[cognicat]

[You know what Mona really, really likes? Automatic doors. Absolutely one of the best inventions humans ever came up with.

So when he walks down Central Street, sidestepping the people with their fixed, blank faces, and watching the crows with a fixed stare of his own, and the door of that arcade Joker went to every week opens up beside him...

... he takes a peek inside. And huh, there's that other one. The one in Akechi's uniform. Using that game controller like he was born to it. Morgana's heard a story like that before.

He slips inside to watch. The door whirrs loudly shut behind him. So much for feline phantom stealth.]

[justicesfool]

[The doors have opened and closed a few times, but Mona's caught him at a good moment, and his last shot clears the round with a high score, letting him turn around, looking for someone familiar- part of him instinctively expects to see Shinya, or Akechi. Maybe even Ryuji.

Then he looks down and sees a familiar feline form, and-]

You can watch if you want. Just don't mess up my scores on purpose, got it?

[cognicat]

[Mona flicks his whiskers, coming carefully closer.] By the looks of things, your scores would be just fine even if I tried.

[He doesn't say this like it's a good thing.]

[justicesfool]

[That- actually makes him pause.]

You never care about that back home.

[And then a shrug. After all, the Morgana he knew knew him just well enough to know when and were was safe to poke and prod. And Akechi outright enables him.]

[cognicat]

Not your Mona. [He takes another step forward, unsheathed claws tapping quietly on the arcade's tile floor.]

Joker's good, I'll give him that. But he's not that good.

[justicesfool]

No, you're not. But if you're allowed to make comparisons, so am I.

[He presses the buttons for another go around. Not like he can't talk around it, and now he has an audience, he might well start playing up the showmanship. If he feels like it.]

I bet he isn't. [Game music starts. Ready, fire!] I'm still Joker, by the way.

[cognicat]

Is that right. [Colour him highly doubtful, not-Joker, in every shade and hue a cat can see.

He hops up onto the pedestal, where the gun rack is. He's not in the way, probably.]

I'm surprised you're so bored. Would've thought you had no end of things to investigate. [Like a detective.]

[justicesfool]

Did you expect me to have a different codename, or something?

[Akira- starts shooting more carefully while Morgana gets up there, compared to his usual rapid-fire pace. But he doesn't stop or tell him off or anything.]

I'm not bored. There's plenty I could be doing. And who's saying I haven't been?

[cognicat]

You're not doing it here. [His ears flick back again; his tail is hanging down behind the pedestal.]

If anything, I'd say it looks like you're hiding.

[justicesfool]

[He has- so many things he could say to that. He bites back on some of it.]

Why are you so interested in what I'm doing, anyway? [Pew, pew.] I feel like I could tell you anything you want, and you'd still suspect me of something.

[It's bad enough back home, looking for Mona only to find he's being watched - not in the same way, but close enough.]

[cognicat]

[He doesn't reply to that, just growls, low and deep under his breath. Akira has likely heard similar growls before.]

Someone needs to keep a close eye on you. There are children here. [Ah, trust.]

[justicesfool]

[And- miss.]

Do you really think I'd hurt kids? That I'd want to?

[He's had to, in the past, by proxy if nothing else. But he stopped feeling things after a while, and now he's really himself again? Absolutely not. It's a special kind of self-hatred.]

[cognicat]

[... and Mona's ears flick back again, as he considers not-Joker. He's pretty sure Akechi would have hurt kids. Pretty sure he did. But.]

I guess maybe not if there's nobody here to tell you to do it. [But here's the problem: you never know, with some people, what they'll decide is necessary.]

[fogbornphantom]

[It's still taking some re-acclimating. Even if time hasn't marched on as swiftly here, it has for Akechi, and juggling the new (old) memories upon his return is a lot.

The familiarity of Tokyo is at least somewhat grounding inasmuch as it's similar enough to the genuine article that he doesn't feel so out of his element.

His decision to enter the arcade is one born of aimlessness more than anything. Ryuji isn't here to drag him into "acting his age," nor is Ren here to challenge him to friendly compet-

Oh.

Oh.

No, not Ren. The other one... with the uniform that, come to think of it, he'd seen on another version of him. But that memory is hazy.

He approaches quietly, not wanting to shatter Akira's focus. He'll wait until there's a break in the level progression before speaking.]

It's funny. Without the need for currency, these arcade cabinets take on a whole different feeling, don't they?

[Games designed to squeeze as many coins out of your pockets as possible, now free to play. Would that not expose flaws in the design, in a sense? At least compared to console counterparts.]

[justicesfool]

[He notices that someone's watching him, someone more real, but since they're not interrupting his focus he does finish the level first, his posture and accuracy perfectly efficient.

And then he finishes, turns around, and- fumbles the gun, as he puts it back.]

Akechi?

[He actually sounds vulnerable, hoping, until he takes everything in and- something seems off. Most people are, here. He swallows it all down.]

It's a good way of letting off steam, so you won't find me complaining. It does run the risk of losing track of time, though.

[fogbornphantom]

An Akechi, but likely not the one you were looking for.

[Best to nip that in the bud. It's less complicated that way.

Still, best to keep the conversation from getting too dour. He nods along, eying the cabinet with mild interest.]

But time is a luxury in surplus here. That's the "beauty" of this place- no rules, no restrictions. Someone even vandalized the Good Morning Japan set, but with the only people here empty cognitions, it hardly mattered.

[justicesfool]

Don't worry, I figured.

[He's a little bitter, but mostly sad, about that. He's still Akechi, though, and there's no good in getting hung up over it now.

He's just kind of listening along until-]

They did that, huh? [Tries to hold back a snrk. Fails.] I can imagine at least one person who would do that.

[Though- well, like he said, there were other Akechis. It still didn't have to be his.]

[fogbornphantom]

I admire the bravado. The screaming face was an excellent touch. It really evokes the underlying horror of this place...

[How behind the pleasant smiles, there's just... emptiness. They aren't 'real' people. They're just automatons going through the motions.

Suffice it to say, there's a wry little smirk on his face as well. The humor isn't lost to him.]

Really, what's to stop any of us from running wild? We could turn this whole town into a deranged art exhibit.

[Does he recommend this? Not necessarily. But the fact that it's possible, that there are no consequences... It's easy to imagine others following suit.]

[justicesfool]

[He bites back on "You would think that, wouldn't you" but then- it doesn't seem like this Akechi has the same feelings about the TV set.]

Now that's something I could imagine Yusuke doing. He'd disagree with 'deranged,' though.

[He doesn't even think that Akechi might not know Yusuke. He's in the uniform, of course he should know Yusuke.]

[fogbornphantom]

Kitagawa-kun would be more inclined to bring out the "beauty," I think. I can already picture him trying to redecorate the Velvet Room with some added flourish, much to Igor-san's chagrin.

[Honestly, he'd love to see that. It'd bring some liveliness to an otherwise eerie room.]

[justicesfool]

He could try.

[Akira would like to see him try. It'd be nice to see Yusuke again regardless.]

I don't think any of us would be able to do anything to the Velvet Room itself, though. At least it's already better to look at than its usual.

[Anything is better than the jail cells, chains, and methods of execution he'd become used to. That Akechi had needed to get used to. Comparatively, the blue room with the doors is kind of peaceful.]

[fogbornphantom]

I don't know. I rather liked my Velvet Room. The film noir aesthetic was rather fitting for a young, wannabe detective.

[Blue rather than black and white, of course, but it was about the atmosphere. The aesthetic.]

Alas, I've no clue if it would even take on that form for me now. Comes with being "locked out" by an impostor Igor.

[justicesfool]

Film noir...? Lucky you. [He shakes his head. There's a smile in there, too.] You're right, it does suit you.

[Sighs. He's sure this Akechi's going to learn sooner or later- huh. That's a lot to unpack, actually.]

If you're locked out, who's he keeping in? And how do you know Igor's an imposter?

[He's used to the idea of it being one or the other, so... if Akechi's at Shujin, shouldn't he be- wherever he is? Not that he wants it, but... that's just the way it goes.]

[fogbornphantom]

Ren, unfortunately. But he's aware now, which means we can plan accordingly, and he can help the rest of us assess what is truly going on.

[It's a risky gambit, of course. Concealing answers from his 'attendants' and the mastermind assuming Igor's form. It requires them to leave their phones behind more often than not, lest prying eyes uncover their schemes...]

As for how I know, I figured there was something amiss with the Velvet Room years ago. Margaret-san and her brother were abruptly thrust into the "real world," while their little sister Lavenza went missing. My own attendant, Marie-san, was also unable to reach the Velvet Room, though she'd since left her duties behind to watch over Inaba as a local goddess.

[He pauses upon realizing this all probably sounds confusing. The majority of Akiras and Rens alike are less versed in the matters of Inaba.]

...In other words, I've been a guest of the Velvet Room for years, know some of the other attendants, and through them we learned something was off.

[justicesfool]

[Yeah, a lot of that goes over his head. Mostly everything about goddesses and attendants. What he did catch, though, was-]

Wait, Ren? You mean, your version of me? [Hands in pockets. Leaning back against the machine.] You're... working together. It must be nice.

[Maybe he sounds wistful, but there's also a fair bit of anger and bitterness coming back up that he'd thought he'd worked through already, because why couldn't they have had that? If he'd only been able to remember from the start... but that's in the past.]

Mm. You'd be right about there being something wrong. Though with the two of you, I'm sure you'll get through just fine.