[CLOSED] won't you shine in my direction

[lakebrat]

[[OOC: NB, this thread is closed to Sunflowkechi and Girlren. Also backdated to after Sfk and Bmtaba's initial Palace survey, but before Crow and Falcon have made contact.]]

Goro is going to Mementos later. Actually, he was in Mementos yesterday. And the day before. And last night, he was in Tartarus with Phoenix and the crew (and the less said about working with Magpie the better).

Either way, he needs food, and would anyway. And so will Ren, and Morgana, and Phoenix's team. And cooking takes some of the stress off him; always has. So he's at Leblanc's small sink, peeling and quartering potatoes like his life depends on it. There are the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. He's got to save Ren, and he can't even set foot in the Palace.

Comments

[phantomlotus]

Speak to Crow, hmm...? Is he the one that has those Evoker things she's heard about? It's just a matter of actually meeting with Crow that may be the problem though...

But to remain focused on the task at hand, her eyes narrow a bit when she hears that he's gained a Palace.

"A Palace... So that's what you've been training for."

That explains it. Every single bit of it. She'd be doing the same, in his shoes...

"What can you tell me about it?"

She crosses her arms, leaning against the counter now. She needs the details. At the very least Akechi's been scouting... but she hopes that he didn't go alone. Surely he didn't, that'd be ridiculously reckless, to say the least.

[lakebrat]

Certain of his path now, he joins her at the counter, leaning over it in turn. What does he need, after all, if he's to take this Palace on? He needs allies. "It takes the form of a deserted house, in the middle of nowhere. A desolate landscape—England, I think. I went in as part of a pair, which was for the best, because"—and he glances down, remembering how the whole of his cognition had screamed with one voice—"I certainly would not have got out again alone. It was like...."

He shakes his head, meeting her eye, almost jaded. "Did you ever have a dozen Personas all scream at you at once, to run for your life?"

[phantomlotus]

...Oh. That sounds bad.

"I'm gonna have to see it for myself, but from the way it sounds... this is making me think of Maruki's Palace already."

That place was always leaving her mind buzzing with an underlying unrest. Her Personas were varying levels of disquieted, not to mention the rest of the party...

But this sounds worse. So she needs to be on her toes for this one, and put her best foot forward.

"You've got an ally already. Good, that's a start. More allies, the better. Who've you got so far?"

[lakebrat]

"Just myself and one of the Futabas. But she can both fight and navigate. She took on the Shadow pack we ran into and got us both out. She's an asset." And she's close to Ren, which makes her essential—but this Goro does not mention.

"It's only been four days or so since we scouted. Since it unlocked. I was considering asking Crow, as a first step." Whether Crow's meant to be sitting on his ass or not. He sighs. "And, of course, away and above everything else, we need to talk to Ren. Who certainly must know he has a Palace."

Who'd used a Persona Goro had never seen, every time they met since Goro arrived here. Did he do that voluntarily? Would he be able to do it now? Goro suspects not, and the idea fills him with horror.

[phantomlotus]

A Futaba took them on? It takes a second for Ren to wrap her head around a combat-oriented Persona belonging to a Futaba, but she manages to do so quickly enough to keep up.

"So you've already got the first steps sorted out..."

She thinks for a moment, considering it. This is only... what, four people? That's enough for a main party, but frankly, she's not convinced four people alone would be enough to handle it.

"...We need more people. There's no way just four of us would be enough."

From everything she's heard though, Crow seems like the kind of guy that knows everyone. So chances are that if he gets involved, then there's going to be someone else involved as well.

"You think Crow would know some people?"

[lakebrat]

"Crow knows everyone. I've barely been here a week, and I know that." But his lips purse. This is the nub of it—the reason he's driving himself so hard, the reason he's torn about bringing others in, far and away above his concern for Ren's privacy—which is considerable.

[phantomlotus]

...It's true, entering a Palace is certainly a rather serious thing. You'd see things this Ren never wanted others to see, something that's understandable.

"...I get you. No easy answer to this. Less people means less privacy breached, more people means making it through easier."

So what to do then...?

Is it just a matter of having to make a choice? Less or more people?

[lakebrat]

"And the more people we bring in, the greater the likelihood someone will try to steal this from under me. Which I absolutely will not stand for." Perhaps rather unexpectedly, his voice has dropped to a growl.

"He's on my team. He's my—" and he breaks off, changing track almost without a beat. "I'm responsible for him! I won't let them run riot through his Palace doing who the hell knows what without me!" And yet, even after days of work, he's still too weak to even dream of going in there.

Huh, look at that. His hands are trembling on the counter. Maybe he really has been overdoing it.

[phantomlotus]

Well, she wasn't expecting that sudden shift... but she takes it calmly.

"Breathe."

She doesn't rest her hand on his shoulder or anything, not without permission, but she does look at him with a slightly softer expression.

"Nobody's going in without you. You know him better than anyone, you're going to be there."

She knows he wouldn't have it any other way, either. That's why she's not fighting against him going at all. He needs to be there, for both of them.

Heck, if she has to, she'll act as a bodyguard for him during the Palace visits if she has to. She just knows that he needs to be there.

But even so... She can tell he's not in a good state. He's getting riled up, he's trembling... He's wearing himself thin.

So she speaks a bit more softly this time.

"But you do need rest. You've been pushing yourself way too much."

She doesn't bring attention to Akechi's trembling hands, though she does clearly see them.

She just looks at him with that vaguely concerned look, eyes remaining on him as she straightens herself up off of the counter.

"...Go get some sleep. We can talk more later. I can finish dinner."

[lakebrat]

And he looks up from his now-tightly clenched hands to glare at her, except now his lips are quivering instead. The patronising—

He takes a deep breath. He's better than this; he's got this. And, shit, he really can't do it alone. Isn't that the lesson this whole year has taught him?

"You're right," he admits, looking away. "I just... I've never been carried, you know. Even before the Metaverse. If I don't do things, they don't get done, and if I can't do them, or won't do them...."

The potatoes in the pot stare back at him with their countless eyes. "I can't leave all this cooking to you, Amamiya-san."

[phantomlotus]

And she accepts the glare, letting him do so until he finally breaks said glare away from her.

No point in getting angry about it on her end, she knows he has to feel like absolute garbage about this, and she's not going to add more to it if she can help it.

Honestly, trying to get him to rest is adding enough as is.

"...I get you. That was the way things were."

She had to do a lot on her own, too. Maybe not like Akechi ever had to, but when your parents are always busy and then you get dropped like a sack of hot potatoes because of a false arrest... well, you kind of have to be self-reliant.

"But you don't have to do it on your own. You've got your team. The one back home and the one here."

She glances at the potatoes in the pot... but shrugs nonchalantly.

"This? This is nothing. Easier than taking orders at Ore no Beko. Besides, I've got a knack for it. Cooking."

She cracks another small smile at Akechi, stepping towards the pot of potatoes, looking it over properly.

To say she has a knack for it might be overselling it, but she's learned quite a bit about working in the kitchen since living at Leblanc. Mostly about curry, but she can make the meal no problem.

"...I mean you can stick around if you really want, but I'm convinced you're gonna fall asleep standing up if you do."

She can't really stop him, she just doesn't want him suffering for it. That was the point of her telling him to go get some rest.

[lakebrat]

His lips purse again, as he struggles with his pride. Taking a hand held out, rather than offering it. Being part of the team, rather than the leader. Letting go.

He doesn't let go. But, looking into her face, of course he thinks of Ren. Ren, who Goro is asking to do this exact thing—to at least depend on one other for everything that matters most, if he can't bring himself to trust them all.

Taking off his green apron, he hands it to her, passing the baton. "Um. Don't forget the mushrooms. Most people don't add them, but the added umami...."

[phantomlotus]

She takes the apron with a small smile. There's a quiet look in her eyes that says something she doesn't.

'I won't let you down'.

Instead, she says something else along with a small nod.

"Mushrooms. Umami. Got it."

She gets to putting the apron on, carefully making sure the collar goes around her hair all right.

"Anything else?"

She wants to make sure he shares everything he needs to. Let him have that.

[lakebrat]

Again, he scans her face. There are a lot of things he could mention, but won't. "I don't want to make work for you. Besides"—and his smile begins to creep back—"I'm anxious to see how you do it. I've tasted your curry, after all."

And he liked it a lot. He heads for the stairs. "I won't be long. I'll just nap."

Once he's gone, she may or may not notice, next to the carrots he's already peeled, a sakura cutter that he neglected to mention.

[phantomlotus]

"OK."

She watches him go, knowing full well that things were left unsaid... but she can't help but crack a confident grin. She's going to knock his socks off with the food, he can count on that much.

...But as she turns back to the food that needs to be handled, her eyes linger on the sakura cutter that happens to be there.

"..."

She picks it up, looking it over... before the smile fades a bit.

'...Looks like you didn't tell me everything', she thinks to herself. She has to decide how to go about this... Try to surprise him with its use and possibly use it for the wrong thing, or just keep it quiet and know for next time...

...

...Maybe she should ask him about it later...

[lakebrat]

As for Goro, he steps out of his shoes, falls onto the bed, and blacks out almost right away. But as he does, he hears the butterfly voice in his head again. Sanctuary, rank two.

Huh, he just has time to think, before he passes out entirely. He'll sleep far longer than he meant to.