Nope's Peak Day 17 Post-Voting - Akira

[truthstranger]

[ It's a few hours after everything settles down that Shuichi tracks down Akira, but he's not going to not talk to him again before tomorrow. ]

Comments

[purrtagonist]

Nobody is "good" at those sorts of decisions.

. . . it's just, sometimes? People know that if they don't make them, no one else will.

[truthstranger]

[ He laughs, weakly. ]

Yeah, I know. I... admire people who can step up to do that, even if I don't necessarily agree with the decision. I wouldn't be alive now if not for friends who were much more decisive than me. And there are no right answers.

That's... what I mean, I think. That's why I'm not mad at you.

[purrtagonist]

[heh. . .]

I am, if anything, decisive with my decision-making. Wherever. . . it may take me.

[leader of the Phantom Thieves for a reason]

[truthstranger]

Yeah.

[ Thinking about where it's currently taking him makes him sad again, but at least it's just a chest-aching melancholy this time, so his eyes stay dry and he just leans a little closer into his hug. ]

So... I don't think you should spend too much time wishing you would have done things differently. You made a decision, and it's done now.

[purrtagonist]

[makes a sort of. noncommittal noise]

That is true.

[although the truth doesn't quite stop the guilt. especially when he'll find himself face-to-face with Erika again]

You're not so bad at giving advice, Shuichi.

[truthstranger]

A-Ah, well... I’ve heard enough of it by now. It’s good to hear I’ve learned something, at least.

[purrtagonist]

Keep on improving. I know you said before that you felt like you were.

[truthstranger]

Yeah.

...Thank you.

[purrtagonist]

[drops a hand on his head, and ruffles his hair]

Anytime.

[even when on the brink of death, apparently]

[truthstranger]

[ //// ]

Ah, I got in one piece of advice and you're the one comforting me again. I guess that's fine, though...

[purrtagonist]

[Shuichi is cute and Akira will never tell Akechi about this conversation]

Old habits are hard to break. Supporting people was my job back home.

[truthstranger]

[ Probably for the best. ]

It was?

[purrtagonist]

[. . . aw, what the heck. he's dying tomorrow, right? there's no reason to keep any secrets]

I was the leader of a group of thieves back home. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. That's what the public knew us as.

[truthstranger]

Phantom Thieves...

[ That sounds kind of unbelievable, but probably not more unbelievable than some of the other things he's heard. Which it seems likely are related. ]

Why 'of Hearts'?

[purrtagonist]

Because that's what we stole.

The hearts-- the distorted desires-- of the corrupt and powerful.

[truthstranger]

Mm. Akechi-kun has mentioned a bit to me... about a world of the collective unconscious, where desires are physical things...

[purrtagonist]

[. . . a slow nod]

That's right. Those with particularly distorted desires had things called "Palaces," which were maintained by a "Treasure," which was the very core of someone's warped cognition. Steal the Treasure, and the Palace falls. When the Palace falls, the distorted desires disappear, and the wicked individual is so overcome with guilt they confess their crimes to the public.

[truthstranger]

[ It's a good thing that at this point Shuichi is beyond thinking about how little any of that sounds like a real thing that is real. ]

I see. So you were the leader of a group that induced those people to confess.

[purrtagonist]

[welcome to Persona, Shuichi]

Exactly.

It was actually through our work as Phantom Thieves that Akechi and I crossed paths.

[truthstranger]

He told me... his specialty as a detective was investigating crimes committed in that world.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . WELL THAT IS A LIE. . .]

Ah. . . well, he was the lead detective consultant on our case. . .

[partially a lie???]

[truthstranger]

[ To be fair, that was one of the things he said very early on. On the other hand, the later things were a lot of stuff about being a hero of justice that Shuichi was even more unsure on. ]

...What... happened, exactly?

[purrtagonist]

[hesitates]

You should ask him.

[truthstranger]

...He’s mentioned... in vague terms, some things. And that he’s worried I won’t like him if he’s honest. I assured him I would, but... mm.

You’re probably right. I’ll ask him... eventually.

[purrtagonist]

[a satisfied nod]

On your own time, of course.