[ Compliance, a retraction -- so it seems as Goro relents. ]
A limitless capacity for control that not even the most imprudent and disagreeable of adults can break. Should it be considered comically shameful or a pleasant moment of bewilderment that someone like you manages to do so instead?
[ All mirth, little antipathy, contrary to way back when he declared a semblance of ennui over Akira's ongoing presence. But here Goro is anyway with the usual approach and conversational hook, fishing for Akira's attention -- ulterior motives withering into jarring sentiments retreating from hate. So it goes. ]
But after all this time, it's still nice to see a familiar face. Yours in particular. [ If words are meant to behave as decoys, that's for the beholder to decide; Goro pulls on the attache, but only to benevolently coax Akira into the attic, right in the center of his home; the only thing missing are his friends. ]
Enigmatic as you are, I still assumed all the while that I had you figured out... Suffice to say that the past couple of months have been an invaluable eyeopener, but it's not my place to unravel somebody else's story.
[ Then again, their lives, once linear, are anything but. God or demon may insist on separate scenarios to occur: Akira could acquire mercy, hands absent of blood even as the Phantom Thieves are celebrated and revered, forcing a certain conspiracy to be along its way, and somewhere down the line, whatever 'bond' forged between Akechi & co. will become less so. He'll settle more into his own skin than some role's beckoning, haul Akira back where he belongs because Goro owes him that much; it's not like he cares or anything. ]
... I've caused you a lot of trouble, haven't I? [ Like a belated surrender, arriving way too late, probably no longer matters to begin with. His gaze finally drifts away from Akira's face, studies the blotted dissonance of time and space, how this gradually imploding world will eventually swallow them whole, spit them back out farther away or closer to each other. It's been several cycles for him since Okumura's survival; he had plenty of time to reflect, reconsider experiences past, both braved and secondhand -- ]
But I won't ask for your forgiveness. Just a modicum of your understanding will do... because you're not a murderer, Akira, and I'm not the one your friends need... Why don't I make good on what was imparted to me during that time when I had my fortune read?
[ Akira is more inclined to leave, but he's drawn up to the attic, anyway. Curiosity and nostalgia take the reins despite the heaviness that weighs on his shoulders as he spots the fissures in reality. They're pressing their limits, thoroughly ruining this rare chance to rewrite their story to something happier. His brow furrows as he listens to the new protagonist go on, finding it hard to not imagine it as Goro crawling back to what he remembers and knows best.
A part of him can't quite digest the thought that maybe those words are completely genuine, that this may be his choice of atonement... A frown laces his lips as he forces his eyes shut, frustrated beyond belief with the prospect offered to him. He runs his hands through his hair, finding the feeling of strands grounding. ]
... Goro.
[ When he opens his eyes again, his expression isn't so pristine and polished. It's riddled with exasperation, unexpectedly crestfallen now that they've stowed away from the public. It felt like ages where they had an actual conversation, even if he has spoken to several Goro Akechis in between.
They were all the same yet not the one he's looking for... And now that Goro finally shows up, he's seeing that, in the end, they're no different. They make the same decisions despite their pretty words like a sweet aroma hiding poison. ]
Why should I trust you—?
[ His hold on the attache's handle tightens. Justified doubt stirs; why should he trust that anything will change if he gives this mantle back? Akira isn't quite at the point of raising his voice yet, but it's almost there until he stops himself with a thought that makes his shoulders stiff. How can Goro ever show him he can trust him if he doesn't give him a chance? He bites his bottom lip as he casts his eyes to the ground, seeing that there's barely any of it left. Even his voice betrays him. ]
I d░▓'t w░nt yo▒ to go thr░░▒h a▓▓ of th░▓ a░a▒▓.
[ To grow up in such a cold environment, to live in an empty carapace of a room, to bloody his hands, to push others away—he doesn't want any of his friends to cycle through their suffering again, either. Those were things he couldn't stop, but this time he's in the position to at least allow Goro to enjoy a small portion of his life as a regular student. Nothing is stopping Akira from joining in, either.
Yet he gives that up. He offers the trademark attache back. ]
[ And when Goro laughs, the sound is barbed and muddled before cutting into a flash of a wistful frown, gaze downcast and pondering. He pretends to not have caught any of that. ]
Smokes and mirrors. You never should. Experience will tell you so.
[ So he says, but Goro seems a touch distracted. A slight tilt of his head, eyes focused on Akira again, like if he were to look at him hard enough, the blueprint of the boy's being will sustain itself a little while longer. He figures it shouldn't be made into such a big deal, at first; with every cycle where his consciousness sits dormant, it'll just seem like a bad dream, a little break from another year of gradual decay. But these little reunions are hardly a promised thing anymore; it takes longer now to find him again, and one day, he might wake up to newer 'worlds', realizing that the Akira he has always known will never return to him again.
Back then, Goro may have reveled over that: Akira, seemingly saturnine and miserable. Not today -- or ever, perhaps. ]
My life doesn't require your consideration. You're better off forgetting all about me, remain content in the ending you've worked so hard for. Anyone else would have. They'd realize that I've nothing to offer. Just a plethora of losses, emptier gains, if any. It's pointless to humor this superfluous bullshit more than you already have, especially with someone who has never hesitated with their attempts in killing you.
[ His eyes are less round with feigned schoolboy innocence, more slanted and brooding, even as they shine -- knowing. ]
... But I've learned the hard way, again. So it seems. No matter what I've said and done, you're that fool, the only fool, to keep me around, who never treated me differently despite how I'd deserve it anyway... Thanks, and -- [ Finally, Goro reaches for the attache -- ] I'm sorr --
[ A touch of the case's handle, then nothingness. ]
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no subject
A limitless capacity for control that not even the most imprudent and disagreeable of adults can break. Should it be considered comically shameful or a pleasant moment of bewilderment that someone like you manages to do so instead?
[ All mirth, little antipathy, contrary to way back when he declared a semblance of ennui over Akira's ongoing presence. But here Goro is anyway with the usual approach and conversational hook, fishing for Akira's attention -- ulterior motives withering into jarring sentiments retreating from hate. So it goes. ]
But after all this time, it's still nice to see a familiar face. Yours in particular. [ If words are meant to behave as decoys, that's for the beholder to decide; Goro pulls on the attache, but only to benevolently coax Akira into the attic, right in the center of his home; the only thing missing are his friends. ]
Enigmatic as you are, I still assumed all the while that I had you figured out... Suffice to say that the past couple of months have been an invaluable eyeopener, but it's not my place to unravel somebody else's story.
[ Then again, their lives, once linear, are anything but. God or demon may insist on separate scenarios to occur: Akira could acquire mercy, hands absent of blood even as the Phantom Thieves are celebrated and revered, forcing a certain conspiracy to be along its way, and somewhere down the line, whatever 'bond' forged between Akechi & co. will become less so. He'll settle more into his own skin than some role's beckoning, haul Akira back where he belongs because Goro owes him that much; it's not like he cares or anything. ]
... I've caused you a lot of trouble, haven't I? [ Like a belated surrender, arriving way too late, probably no longer matters to begin with. His gaze finally drifts away from Akira's face, studies the blotted dissonance of time and space, how this gradually imploding world will eventually swallow them whole, spit them back out farther away or closer to each other. It's been several cycles for him since Okumura's survival; he had plenty of time to reflect, reconsider experiences past, both braved and secondhand -- ]
But I won't ask for your forgiveness. Just a modicum of your understanding will do... because you're not a murderer, Akira, and I'm not the one your friends need... Why don't I make good on what was imparted to me during that time when I had my fortune read?
no subject
A part of him can't quite digest the thought that maybe those words are completely genuine, that this may be his choice of atonement... A frown laces his lips as he forces his eyes shut, frustrated beyond belief with the prospect offered to him. He runs his hands through his hair, finding the feeling of strands grounding. ]
... Goro.
[ When he opens his eyes again, his expression isn't so pristine and polished. It's riddled with exasperation, unexpectedly crestfallen now that they've stowed away from the public. It felt like ages where they had an actual conversation, even if he has spoken to several Goro Akechis in between.
They were all the same yet not the one he's looking for... And now that Goro finally shows up, he's seeing that, in the end, they're no different. They make the same decisions despite their pretty words like a sweet aroma hiding poison. ]
Why should I trust you—?
[ His hold on the attache's handle tightens. Justified doubt stirs; why should he trust that anything will change if he gives this mantle back? Akira isn't quite at the point of raising his voice yet, but it's almost there until he stops himself with a thought that makes his shoulders stiff. How can Goro ever show him he can trust him if he doesn't give him a chance? He bites his bottom lip as he casts his eyes to the ground, seeing that there's barely any of it left. Even his voice betrays him. ]
I d░▓'t w░nt yo▒ to go thr░░▒h a▓▓ of th░▓ a░a▒▓.
[ To grow up in such a cold environment, to live in an empty carapace of a room, to bloody his hands, to push others away—he doesn't want any of his friends to cycle through their suffering again, either. Those were things he couldn't stop, but this time he's in the position to at least allow Goro to enjoy a small portion of his life as a regular student. Nothing is stopping Akira from joining in, either.
Yet he gives that up. He offers the trademark attache back. ]
no subject
Smokes and mirrors. You never should. Experience will tell you so.
[ So he says, but Goro seems a touch distracted. A slight tilt of his head, eyes focused on Akira again, like if he were to look at him hard enough, the blueprint of the boy's being will sustain itself a little while longer. He figures it shouldn't be made into such a big deal, at first; with every cycle where his consciousness sits dormant, it'll just seem like a bad dream, a little break from another year of gradual decay. But these little reunions are hardly a promised thing anymore; it takes longer now to find him again, and one day, he might wake up to newer 'worlds', realizing that the Akira he has always known will never return to him again.
Back then, Goro may have reveled over that: Akira, seemingly saturnine and miserable. Not today -- or ever, perhaps. ]
My life doesn't require your consideration. You're better off forgetting all about me, remain content in the ending you've worked so hard for. Anyone else would have. They'd realize that I've nothing to offer. Just a plethora of losses, emptier gains, if any. It's pointless to humor this superfluous bullshit more than you already have, especially with someone who has never hesitated with their attempts in killing you.
[ His eyes are less round with feigned schoolboy innocence, more slanted and brooding, even as they shine -- knowing. ]
... But I've learned the hard way, again. So it seems. No matter what I've said and done, you're that fool, the only fool, to keep me around, who never treated me differently despite how I'd deserve it anyway... Thanks, and -- [ Finally, Goro reaches for the attache -- ] I'm sorr --
[ A touch of the case's handle, then nothingness. ]