personavelvetroomdr | a wild punk knitter appears

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a wild punk knitter appears

Kanji's just confused by this whole blue room thing. The... Velvet Room? Didn't Souji-senpai mention something like that once? Well, whatever; he mostly just wants to go home.

And home is where it sinks in that whatever's happening is real enough to take seriously, because his mom's not there.

Okay. That's. That's gonna be weird, but he can work with this. He'd still rather stay at home than anywhere else - it's familiar. And it has all his craft shit.

Once he's had a moment to be weirded out, he might even take some of that craft shit outside for a little project work somewhere. The hill, probably, since it has a nice view.

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"A good manager? That is lucky. But I still find it abhorrent how young girls are expected to be eye candy for much older men. I've heard even dating can get them in trouble."

He huffs at that notion, scowling down at his meal.

"It can. She tried weaselin' out of her manager asking her to come back to work by saying she was gonna marry Souji-senpai at one point. 'Have no private life of your own so other people can pretend you have it with them' is... fuckin' stupid, and I ain't even into the idol thing. And then there's the part where she was thirteen when she did that damn diet soda commercial."

Basically, the idol industry is a bunch of bullshit, and even having been very lucky Rise's had to deal with Some Shit.

He can't help but chuckle at the description. "I do wonder how that would fare in my world, when Narukami-san's earned the nickname 'No Girlfriends' thanks to me." There's an impish grin as he says it, as if it's a badge of pride. "Not my fault that Marie-san likes to grant people silly aliases."

The smile wanes soon, however. "Nonetheless, I had no idea it was that bad. Thirteen is barely older than me..."

"'No Girlfriends,' huh." Kanji snorts. "Guess it'd depend on whether she still thought she had a reason to try."

Long as she doesn't claim she's gonna marry him instead. She's not Kanji's type and he doubts that's very different across universes.

"Yeah, nobody needs that kinda pressure. She said she's gonna get that part of her contract rewritten. And that was with someone who kept the real creeps away from her, and she still burnt out bad."

"Celebrity life seems to exhausting, idol or not." He props his cheek up with his right hand, still nibbling at his food. "The moment you're in the public eye, you forfeit all privacy. Your life is no longer your own. That she's able to return to it shows remarkable fortitude..."

"She's actually enjoying herself, which... more power to her, I guess. I couldn't take it."

That stupid biker-gang special was bad enough. Not least because the film crew saw a tall punk with bleached hair and assumed he was involved.

"...That I can understand. You've a rather unfair reputation." He scowls at that fact. Things might be better now, but still. "I can only hope it's improved, but I know that some people can't see past the surface level."

Kanji shrugs. "Kinda. It's gonna take time, but I stopped runnin' from myself, and that'll help."

"We're still working on that back home." He shakes his head, chuckling lightly. "I want to say there's been progress? It probably helps that Nanako-chan and I have both been very supportive, and things are starting to improve with the others since we visited Amagi-san after her rescue. I wouldn't say the two of us are officially part of the team, but they're willing to work with us."

Then he's suddenly gazing across the restaurant, frowning. "It'll be interesting to see how he reacts once he learns that I obtained the power of my own accord. I'm sure they'll have plenty of questions."

Oh, they absolutely will have questions, kid.

"Yeah, well. Probably still gonna have to punch my own lights out to get anywhere on that front."

"Ah, your Shadow? He's been worrying about that. Knowing that it's coming doesn't necessarily make it easier to deal with, especially when mine ended up so different from my own expectations..."

How does one even prepare for that? You think you know yourself, and then you end up with a sparkling, benevolent little shit.

"Different how?"

You opened yourself up to that question.

"Exceptionally friendly, patient, polite... He didn't taunt me about my inadequacies and simply stressed that I needed to open up and accept that I want to make connections with others."

It's... a bit embarrassing to admit, and he avoids eye contact. What an odd thing, to be so afraid of connections.

"Mine wasn't that nice about it, but... otherwise? Sounds familiar."

And it doesn't sound that odd, when the kid apparently needed rescuing from a shit foster home in a string of other shit foster homes. How it happened makes perfect sense.

"I've heard bits and pieces about the other Shadows. Chie-san said hers was like a 'dominatrix,' and Amagi-san's clearly represented her sense of feeling trapped within the expectations of her community and family legacy."

He leans over the table, propping his cheek up with his right hand. "But it was frustrating, being pushed to accept these feelings. I lucked out, and mine didn't go berserk, but I also had the guidance of some of the people here to ease me into that begrudging acceptance. I'm not quite sure how my older self's experiences compare; he's been rather reluctant to tell me."

"No wonder they don't wanna talk about it." And he's not gonna talk about the ones Akechi hasn't seen yet.

Especially not the fact that Nanako-chan got fucking kidnapped.

"He probably isn't tellin' you because it's something you have to do for yourself, still. Also it ain't easy."

"True. If he simply hands me the answers, I won't act the way I might on my own without outside interference. We could already have split from a singular timeline, but it's rather difficult to say with certainty."

Ugh... The nature of timelines and time travel...

"I'm sure he could tell you all sorts of amusing anecdotes, however. If you're from after the case, he may even wish to compare notes on how his version of events transpired."

"Besides, would you have any fun with it if he just gave you all the answers?" When the kid's this much like Naoto? He doubts it.

Kanji shrugs. "I mean, I'd be down."

"No, it'd feel as though he was talking down to me. Like he didn't think I could handle it myself." So, fine, he'll concede, albeit with a little sigh. "That being said, I could forward your number to him if that's acceptable. He's... busy, a lot of the time, given how many children he's wrangling at any given time, but I can try to relieve him of some of the work."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a problem."

Not like there's anyone here Kanji knows, right now.

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a wild punk knitter appears

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