personavelvetroomdr | (Open) Lonely Daze

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(Open) Lonely Daze

Ren, the sleepy one in his pajamas (though he has grabbed some glasses now, he feels weird walking around without them at this point), has no idea what to do about his situation. He still feels somewhat dazed, but now there's this sense of... hopelessness weighing on his shoulders now that he remembers what happened. That he knows that he failed as a leader.

His eyes are somewhat hazy as he just wanders Tokyo, head somewhat lowered. He's conflicted about going to Leblanc again. The last time he was there, he ended up going to his room and sleeping for... well, a very long time. But it's all he wants to do, it feels like. It's easier than facing his failure. Facing reality.

...

...He's not sure where Arsene is. Perhaps he's gone, having faded away with his Will of Rebellion. After all, he can't make up his mind. He couldn't decide on a path to take, and that's perhaps worse than making a choice.

...What's he supposed to do?

Option 1:Inokashira Park is a lovely place. It's always good to go there, relax, and clear your head, and Ren does just that. He sits at a bench, watching as the cognitive people go by, and he just... tries to relax. Tries not to think about it all. It's hard not to think about his failure, but the cool air and bright scenery helps a little. He takes it in, as much as he can.

Option 2:He manages to work up the nerve to search for Akechi, specifically the one known as Dove, and heads to Jazz Jin. The atmosphere is painfully nostalgic, feeling as though it's been ages since he was here last. He steps in, and awkwardly sits at the table he and Akechi usually would sit at. What's Akechi doing now, he wonders...? Is he all right...? Is he happy...? He hopes Akechi's happy, at the very least. After all, if he had chosen to fight Maruki, then Akechi would have...

Option 3: A trip to Shibuya would usually get his brain going. He'd always be checking out the stores, trying to find something useful or cool, or eating at Big Bang Burger or working part time or... well, anything, really. The place has so much to offer, and it's lively. It almost makes him feel alive again. For now he just walks through the streets of Shibuya, wandering without a particular destination in mind.

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Oh man, that sounds like him all right... but the way Hannei is talking, it sounds like she and Akechi are rather close... and not only that, but she knows Futaba, too?

"Hahaha... Yeah, I can see it. He's so particular."

But he lifts his head up a bit, looking right at Hannei.

"...Sounds like you guys are close. Akechi was never one to have friends in my world, but it seems like it's different for yours."

She blinks once.
Oh.
She keeps forgetting akechi doesn’t have many friends.
Whoops.
“Well… I mean I won’t say he doesn’t have any friends. But he doesn’t have many.” She shrugs.
“He found me, and we made a deal so I stuck around. And futaba….” Oh, how does she explain this without going into that ordeal.

“Well, I found her and after some stuff she ended up being friends with Akechi. They also made a deal but we mostly watch featherman together. Futaba-Chan is cool” she teaches her about memes and stuff!

“Though uh, other than us he has maybe…” she pauses a moment, and counts on her fingers. “There’s Muhen-San, Yanagi-San, Sumire probably? I think he’s close with a coworker Sae? I haven’t met her much.. oh! And Shiho! I haven’t met her but apparently they meet up sometimes?”
Huh, well he isn’t a friendless looser. That’s probably better than most akechi if Ren is to be believed. Hannei shrugs.
“Though I think they’re his friends, but he’s weird about admitting he has friends so I’m not sure what he calls them.” They seem like friends to her.

Wow, sounds like he has a lot of friends in their world, even if he won't admit it.

"...Glad he has them. Really. In mine he... didn't have anybody, I don't think. Other than me, Sae, and maybe Sumire? I don't think he was connected to anyone at all."

...It was a lonely way for him to live. Awful, he imagines. Working for Shido, having no one to turn to, being consumed by that hatred and misery...

Isn't that reason for Dove to stay as he is now, apparently? Happy?

...He's not sure... He can't... He can't figure it out...

…oh
That’s a bit sad.
Hannei frowns. And then she wonders where akechi would be if he hadn’t found her.
And the thought of him having to go against Shido alone makws her frown harder.
“… Well Im glad he has you at least.” She tilts her head a bit.
“… I can only speak for my Akechi, what I’ve seen anyway, but… It’s hard for him to make friends, so the ones he does have really stick with him. Im willing to bet yours is similar in that sense.”
Is that reassuring? She doesn’t know this Ren’s akechi so she can’t say for sure.

Honestly? He's not sure what Sae thinks of Akechi at this point. Sumire's been sticking by him though. And as for himself...

"...Yeah. We've been sticking by him."

...At least, they were trying to. Now? Now it's hopeless.

His head lowers a bit.

… okay maybe they need to change topics this seems to be depressing him. Hannei to honestly so uhhhhhhhhhhh.

“So phantom thieves. Funny story, I’ve never heard of them! Have you?” Hannei asks, quickly switching to a overly sweet smile and wide eyes that blink in obvious curiosity.

Smooth. Totally natural way to change the subject. You’re doing akechi so proud Hannei. … Look if it works it’s not stupid!

"...The Phantom Thieves? Yeah, I've heard of them."

He knows them very well. Or... well, he did know them, he guesses.

"They fought to give people courage. To change the hearts of criminals. It was hard, but they kept at it. To make a difference."

Sure, it had its ups and downs, and it was a stressful time, but they helped people... and they settled things that needed to be settled.

"...Not sure what they're up to now..."

Probably living fanciful, happy lives, he guesses. Lives without him.

“They sound like superheroes” hannei hums. But oh, they change hearts? Hm. Well. Better let Akechi know that. Hannei tilts her head, she probably could ask about their targets, prepare for the potential future. But… “we’re they your friends?” She asks instead

"...Yeah. Yeah, they were."

Now? He doesn't know. None of them seemed to try to wake him up. The only person he knows that tried to wake him up at all is Akechi, and perhaps Sumire.

"Things might be different now. I'm not sure..."

She blinks once. Oh this is another topic that’s upsetting him. Man she sucks at this. “Can you tell me about them? From what I’ve heard it’s likely I’ll be running into them back home soon” you know, possibly as enemies. Best do recon early right? Does this even count??

Tell her about them... Should he? Should he really linger on them any longer?

"...There's only two Phantom Thieves still active in my world, from what I've heard. Akechi and Sumire. Don't know the details. Everyone else just kind of... stopped, I guess."

He doesn't know the whole story, but he gets a pit in his stomach every time he thinks about it. They were supposed to stop when it was all over and done with, but not like this...

She tilts her head, taking in this information.
And then, maybe to lighten the mood, she leans forward a bit and loudly whispers like she’s sharing a secret.
“Sumi-Chan becomes a phantom thief? That’s so cool!” She grins, a hint of mischief. She doesn’t know the girl super well, but she’s one of the last people she’d think would get into something like thievery.
Maybe that makes her the perfect thief!
Akechi being one isn’t as surprising. She’d need to find out more though, to see if she should consider looking into more help.

Ren can't help but smile just a bit.

"She didn't really join us per say, but she helped us out during our last big heist... Now I guess she's working with Akechi though."

He pauses, not sure if he should continue.

"...Akechi's a more complicated story. And a long one."

“When is akechi not complicated?” She deadpans with a slightly teasing smirk.
Yeah, that sounds about right.

She sits back in her seat. “Well, we’ve got time, If you don’t mind telling it?” She shrugs. Yeah she’s still fishing for info and long stories are her favorites.
It means there’s a lot to learn.

Ren can't help but smile a little, feeling a challenge. A shadow of himself, but better than sulking.

"It all started at the TV station where Sumire's dad works. I was on a field trip along with some friends of mine, but we ran into Akechi in the hallway. Let me tell you, he made a real impression. Heard us talking, and butted in suddenly. Introduced himself. Wanted to join in on our plans, and then... he left. Absolutely random."

He doesn't mention the pancakes thing, he's not going to reveal that so easily...

"But the next day we were back at the studio, and it turned out he was the special guest on the show we were in the audience for. Turned out he was talking about the Phantom Thieves, and he had some interesting things to say about them. I got picked out of the audience to comment, and... we had some back and forth. I must've stood out to him for some reason because he approached me after the show, and we talked a bit. Exchanged numbers."

...

"...It wasn't until later he became a Phantom Thief. Sort of. It was more he cooperated with us when we were in a tight spot. On the agreement that we'd disband after he helped us."

...Yeah. About that...

"...It was fun at first. He really helped us out during the next heist, but... it wasn't going to last. Turned out he was working for Shido. He tried to kill me. He failed, obviously. But... you know, I don't hate him after everything that happened. I can't tell you why, but..."

...Maybe it's because he gets Akechi on some level. That feeling of anger, of being alone, of not having anyone there for you-- no. No, he doesn't know the last part. That's the difference between them. But... he can sort of envision it. He can imagine all the hardship, everything that led him to where he was, and... for some reason, he values Akechi. As a rival. As a friend. As a confidant. As a...

...

He looks away, his face falling a bit as he thinks a bit too hard on what's become of his Akechi now.

As she listens to the story she’s slowly leaning forward against the table to rest her chin in her Hands. That doesn’t sound too out of character for her akechi, maybe their future will have this sort of guideline?

But
But also
It sounds like this Ren was close with his Akechi. And she’s reminded of the conspiracy board and how akiren and akechi are fated to be important to each other in some form.
Does that mean Akechi will get someone like that? Someone who will challenge him? Someone who’s spoken of fondly even after everything that happens.
She frowns a moment, thinking, then hums.
“It sounds like you both have a complicated relationship. Not in a bad way but, you know?” Akechi had to betray them, for the plan she’s sure, but if Akechi was also close to Ren.
She thinks of her Akechi
She thinks of Wakaba.
She thinks of how she doesn’t want him to hurt like that again.
She thinks of how her Akechi has her. So she can help.
“I hope if my Akechi does meet a Ren or akira back home they’ll be good friends too.” She mumbles.

Ren stops, pausing for a moment as Hannei mumbles to herself.

"...So what about your Akechi? How have things been going with you guys?"

He figures it's only fair to ask, and it will give her something to talk about.

She blinks once.
Oh an exchange? She can do that.
“Well let’s see.” She taps her cheek a bit.
“I think things have been going okay? He’s got a plan To take down Shido, but Alibaba and I are here so he’s not doing it alone.”
She’s starting to worry that akechi being alone is another constant, then why are they different?
Why is there only one of her?

“I can’t explain his side of things, but a couple years ago we figured out how to change hearts. Akechi is still tangled in the conspiracy, but Shido doesn’t know about me, or Alibaba, so we’ve been helping him get some wiggle room. You know?”

If he had to do that alone…
Something about that thought makes Fenrir growl at the injustice of it.
She doesn’t want to think about it.

“He’s got a few friends, and he moved to his school dorm last year, I think he’s still being stubborn about admitting he has friends but…” she shrugs. “It’s Akechi. He’s stubborn”

"Your Akechi learned how to change hearts?"

Something Ren thinks of is the look on Akechi's face back when Morgana told him about changing hearts, and how it worked. At the time, he thought it was part of the act, but... now, he's not so sure.

Would it have helped him? To find a way out from Shido's thumb?

"And you've been at it for a while... Interesting. Way different from my world, I can say that much. If you don't mind sharing, what led to it?"

“I’m guessing this isn’t as common as I thought?” Well that’s another reason to be concerned
And ask why her world is different.

Though what lead to it……
She thinks she owes him that much for all her pestering.
“Well, the short answer is it’s thanks to Wakaba” she replies.
“Akechi needed to look into the metaverse, you know? But he didn’t want to tell Shido about me so he dug around and found her name on a lot of papers Shido was invested in. So we went to her”
She can’t help but smile as she retells the story, she really did like Wakaba.
“We were trying to figure out what was wrong with me, you know? And Wakaba was super smart! I learned a lot while I was with her”
And then
And then
And then she frowns.
“… But then Shido ordered her hit.”
They weren’t enough
“Akechi tried to stall, I did a lot thanks to his plan but…”
They weren’t enough
“… Wakaba’s shadow told us she hid a full copy of her research for us. After she… Akechi told me to get it, I left him alone. But when I saw him again…”
She still remembers the look on his face when he sent her off.
She still remembers the first time she cried.
She shakes her head.
“I studied her notes vigorously, I didn’t want him to hurt like that again.” Never again.
She smirks again.
“And that’s how I got a hunch about changing hearts. Palaces are cognition right? If a treasure is a manifestation of their distorted desires I wondered what happened if you stole it. Though figuring out a calling card was needed was a stretch, honestly I didn’t know if it’d work. But it did! And the guy we targeted was confessing like we told him to”
She remembers how Akechi looked when they realized this plan worked. She remembers how he grinned like he just saw a new door open up for him.
She remembers being glad to be useful.
“… did your Akechi not have that?” And that’s what worries her isn’t it? If they didn’t find that option how many more lives would he have to take.
She knows Akechi wouldn’t give up on his plan. She knows she’d follow him to the depths of hell.
She wonders how far he’s willing to go.

So that's what happened, then... It was thanks to Hannei's presence that Akechi was able to find an alternate path, one with less bloodshed. A less dark, less lonely path.

"...My world's Akechi didn't have that. He was... stuck doing the hits. Whether he wanted to or not."

It doesn't justify his actions either way, but he knows that Akechi surely has-- had regrets of some sort. He was going to live with them, or at least... Ren thought he was going to. He sincerely thought there was a chance that he'd find a path to improve instead of just having his entire self wiped away by Maruki.

She’s frowning again.
Why, why is it only her akechi that has her. Why doesn’t any of the others have help??
She looks mad.

“…I won’t let my akechi be stuck. I promise”
She owes him her life.
She won’t let him be alone.
“Akechi-kun is smart. I’m sure yours will find a way out someday. He’s too stubborn not to try right?” Is this presumptive of her? Probably, but she’d rather think that than think of an akechi giving up without a fight.

...Perhaps her Akechi will make it out, but his? Well... Ren supposes he has. Just... not in the way anyone expected.

"...Yeah. I hope so."

It takes all his strength not to tell her that he's not sure his Akechi will ever be able to fight Maruki's influence, or even delve into all of that at all.

"It's good your Akechi has you and Futaba though. Really, I'm happy for you guys."

She gives a small smile at that.
“Thanks. It’s been hard, but he’s not alone.”
He has them.
He has her.
She won’t let him down.
“Maybe one day he’ll admit he even has friends” she giggles at her akechi’s expense.
He’s stubborn and she knows logically it’s hard for him to open up.
But come on buddy you can admit you have a few friends!
“But, he at least knows he can rely on me… at least I hope he does” he better.

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(Open) Lonely Daze

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