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[foolishjustice]

Moshi moshi!

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[foolishjustice]

I'd thought I was given the Nav to free myself, but I was still someone's plaything...

[He glances back at Shido, noting the way he's staring at the ground. And his thoughts...]

...All of Japan was nothing but his chess board.

[makejapangreat]

[He was someone's plaything... someone's chess piece...

He got those visions so long ago. Those visions that warped his view, making him arrogant and foolish... and brutal. His personal life fell away in favor of his goals. His morality... everything did.

Everything, including the woman he loved.

A breath of disbelief escapes him, and his hand tightens around his water bottle, causing a loud crinkling noise. There is something livid entering his gaze, and the hand holding the bottle trembles slightly.

It was him.

It was him.]

[foolishjustice]

[He jumps at the sudden noise, staring at Shido in open alarm for a second. That look of anger brings to mind past conversations, moments when Shido would lash out at him.

But...he has nothing to fear from Shido's temper anymore, right? The anger...probably isn't even at him. Yaldabaoth is the one who treated them both like pawns.]

Did...you ever notice the public acting...strangely?

[makejapangreat]

[If Shido notices Akechi's reaction or words, he doesn't make any indication of it. Instead he's lost in his mind, a fire growing in his eyes by the second.

The water bottle crackles more in his hand, knuckles turning white...]

[foolishjustice]

[He falls silent when his question goes unacknowledged. The next step would obviously be saying Shido's name, but...he's not sure he wants to draw his attention if he's so angry he can't even pay attention to simple words.

Instead, he sits up, back to the armrest and legs folded. He'll just...take this moment to drink some more of his soda.]

[makejapangreat]

It was him. It was him all this time...

[A little smirk comes to his face, something incredibly dark in the expression.]

I found the woman of my life, and so many times... so many times, I thought to myself... that she was the one. That I could live the rest of my life, happy, with her.

And then I started to get visions, and at first I thought I was just going mad, and yet... Slowly.. surely.. I was pulled in... by the promise of greatness. Of power.

He... that entity... he took her from me! [His voice raises.] From us!

[foolishjustice]

[He flinches away as Shido raises his voice, capping his soda again as he tucks his legs further under him.]

...That's how he works. He...makes you think you can accomplish your goals, but arranges things to tempt you to the kind of behavior he wants. It's technically your own choice, but the deck is stacked the way he wants it.

[makejapangreat]

How could I have been so stupid?!

[He stands up, then, water bottle clenched tightly in his hand as he gestures.]

Of course it was just a damned ruse the whole time! Being god's chosen one— hah! I fucking knew it was too good to be true, but did I listen? No, why the hell would I, when I could've finally had all the power I finally needed to fix everything my way!

[foolishjustice]

[His eyes go wide at Shido's sudden move to his feet, and he immediately shifts so that he can manifest his wings, secondary feathers hanging over the edge of the couch, to fold one of them between him and Shido. It's not much of a shield, he knows, especially since any sort of harsh movement of the feathers would hurt...but it's a comfort to have something opaque between them. He doesn't bother saying anything this time...Shido doesn't seem to be paying attention, anyway.]

[makejapangreat]

If only I'd taken enough time to get my head out of my ass, maybe then everything wouldn't have gone to hell, and—

[He trails off when he sees the white wing covering Goro, and he feels his stomach drop out. The anger drains out of him quickly as he takes in his son... hiding away from him behind his wing.

What is he... doing? He's... acting exactly like the kind of monster he used to be, isn't he? He swallows thickly and squints his eyes closed for a moment, then lets his gaze flick to the bottle in his hand, which he quietly sets on the arm of the chair he'd been on. After a long, hesitant moment, he breathes out.]

Akechi, I...

[His hand comes up and rubs down his face roughly... before he looks over, mouth thinning for a moment... For a moment, he glances away, thinking about just leaving, but... hah. He'd see Akechi later again anyway, wouldn't he?

No, he... he needs to address this. To confront this. This is part of the consequences of his sins.

He swallows, then walks over to the couch where Akechi is seated. He gets down on his knees in front of him.

Quietly, he reassures him:]

Akechi. It's okay.

[foolishjustice]

[His feathers part just enough for him to peek between them, before quickly closing again with a ruffling noise. He'll just...talk from behind here, alright?]

It's not even directed at me, but...I probably look pathetic.

[makejapangreat]

[He takes in a deep breath, brow pinched as he looks at those white feathers. He shakes his head.]

It's not you.

[He closes his eyes briefly, releasing a frustrated, tense breath before he looks back at that wing.]

Do you want me to leave?

[foolishjustice]

I...

[He pauses to swallow, wings shifting with the motion of his body.]

I think I want to be alone, at...least until I calm down.

[makejapangreat]

[His gaze flicks down, and then he gives a little nod.]

...alright. I'm sorry.

[He gets to a stand, looking at that wing for a few more seconds.]

...just message me, later on, if you still want to continue the lesson tonight.

[And with that? He's going to walk off.]

[foolishjustice]

[Hours later, but not quite when they'd agreed to try again, Shido will be getting a text from Goro.]

We should talk about what happened earlier.

[makejapangreat]

[It takes, perhaps, a full minute for the answer, but then:]

I'm so sorry for losing my temper earlier, Akechi. I should have been more considerate of how it might've affected you. I was so angry when I realized I'd been manipulated, but that's no excuse for letting my anger get the best of me. I should be better than that now.

[foolishjustice]

You have every right to be angry. I was infuriated too, when I found out the real reason I was given access to the Metaverse.

[There's a faint delay before the next message.]

It's my reaction I wanted to talk about.

[makejapangreat]

[A bit of a delay on his end, too, before:]

Of course.

Where do you want to talk?

[foolishjustice]

How does the library sound? Somewhere quiet.

[makejapangreat]

I'll be there shortly.

[And sure enough, he'll make his way down to the library...]

sliiiiiiiiiiiides in here

[hairpincurves]

[And thankfully, Akira manages to miss Shido walking off.

She's coming back from the library and when she notices-- wait are those wings?

It takes her getting a bit closer to see the ponytail and identify that as Goro and that... has her worried. So, immediately she's going to the kitchen and about fifteen minutes later, she's returning with a plate of freshly baked chocolate cookies.]

... Akechi-kun...

[foolishjustice]

[The smell of cookies is enough to get him to peek back between his feathers. He doesn't lower the wing entirely, but there is enough space between his parted feathers to confirm it's him. If she leans in to look through the gap herself, she'll see that he's curled up, with something dark held tightly in his arms.]

Sorry, I must look ridiculous...

[hairpincurves]

No, you don't. And... you don't have to apologize. [She does want to ask what happened, but that can wait.

She sets the plate down as she considers something, and then--]

... do you want a hug?

[foolishjustice]

It...would be nice.

[He does lower his wing now, unfolding it from around his shoulder. The thing in his arms, apparently, is a plush crow that he returns to his inventory as he holds his arm out to Akira.]

[hairpincurves]

[And with that, she scoots closer in order to wrap her arms around him.

She doesn't say anything for the time being, she'll wait until they've settled into the hug or until Goro says something, whichever of those comes first.]