(open) if you don't want to, i can live with that

[jokey]

Whomst: akira and you~ ✨
What: akira wandering around doing akira things
Where: various places around campus
When: late january
Warnings: none, will update as necessary

i. CHATTY CATTIES

[The resident cats seem familiar, their toe beans pleasantly plump beneath his thumb and their fur silky soft... but something is off. Something doesn't feel quite right, and it's neither their beans nor their silky soft fur, so what could it be?

Stooped in the hallway, Akira turns to the black cat and shakes his head.]

I could've sworn you had a name. [Akira taps his chin, brows scrunched up in thought.] ...Miyuki? No. Morris?

[Akira's been here trying fruitlessly to converse with the cats for the better part of an hour. Crazy? Possibly.]

ii. STEAL BOOK, GET NAILED

[Incidentally, if you're studying hard (or hardly studying) in the library, you'll bump into Akira sooner rather than later. He's quiet, if not exactly shy, and strides up to eye the book in the other student's hands.]

That's a new one. Let me guess, another novel no one's heard of?

[The sharp-eyed might notice that all the fingertips on Akira's right hand have been thickly wrapped in bloodied bandaids. Curious!]

iii. STORE LOSER

[Should someone be headed towards the student store late in the evening, they might coincidentally find Akira giving the vending machine a nice, solid kick. He looks he might fire off a second when he feels the gaze of another student all but boring into him.

Turning, Akira brushes his blazer into place a little too casually. This is exactly what it looks like, and so Akira doesn't bother trying to save face.]

Sorry. The vending machine ate my homework. [Stepping aside, Akira flippantly motions to the machine.] All yours.

Comments

for pancake judas

[jokey]

[Coming around in Yogen had been some flavor of unpleasant, yes, but it was Akechi whose rude awakening was far stranger. According to him, he'd awoken to find himself outside of the science lab and aching from head to toe with no recognition of how he'd gotten there. Frankly, strange doesn't even begin to describe it.

Quipping that Akechi smelled like a camp fire lead to them making their way to the science lab for the purpose of investigation. Akira has his own mystery to untangle, but they're going to tackle Akechi's first, he'd decided.

Stood before the door to the lab, Akira recalls one other detail Akechi'd mentioned to him.]

Got that key on you?

[The one that was hot to the touch when he'd first happened upon it in his pocket, right? That key.]

that is a cruel and unusual and unfortunately true moniker

[forfeited]

[When you weren't quite sure if you were dead or alive, and suddenly woke up in what you quickly realized was a school, singed but unharmed and with even less of an idea if you were dead or alive-- well, one could call you Goro Akechi. His mind was still reeling, but the inclusion of one Akira Kurusu had resulted in an abrupt factory reset of his attempts to figure out what in the hell was going on. He could only assume Akira was somehow responsible, largely because it was always easier to blame him, and because he truly and sincerely couldn't come up with a better reason for the mounting number of oddities about the current scenario.]

[He supposed there could be worse things to endure, but he would certainly act like this was the absolute top of his list. He let the mop-haired teenager take the lead, following him with no small amount of acerbic complaint. He came to stand a rather uncompanionable distance from him near the door, assessing him and then the door itself for a moment. He did, in fact, still have the weird hot key, and slid a gloved hand into his pocket to curl his fingers around it. It wasn't hot anymore, and hadn't been for some time, so he saw no harm in extracting it.]

Go figure, the key I've done nothing to displace is still exactly where I left it.

it was either that or the late great pancake fucker of yore

[jokey]

[Akechi's as snitty as expected, but given the circumstances, there's no blaming him for his little bitter baby ways. Things could always be worse, and that's one thing they can easily agree on.

At any rate, they've got a mystery to... well, pick at. There's no guaranteeing they'll solve a damn thing, but that's certainly never stopped Akira from trying.

The door to the lab doesn't appear locked, so Akira simply pushes it open. After you, M'kechi.]

I'm shocked. [/s] I'm sure it unlocks something here in the school, but I have a hunch it won't unlock anything here. That's not how these things work.

[And he'd know. He's played at least one RPG in his life.]

he would not fuck a pancake, thank you

[forfeited]

[He takes a solid look into the opened door without really listening to Akira while he talks, determining whether or not he's willing to be the first to walk inside. Ultimately, he sees no immediate danger, because he can't actually see overmuch, and putting Akira behind him gives him a better reason to ignore the things he prattles on about. He slips the key back into his pocket and strides into the lab, not turning to make his voice any easier to head from behind.]

Likely not, but it's still worth it to investigate where it potentially came from. [He wouldn't quantify their knowledge of the Metaverse as an RPG, but if he's played others it probably hasn't been since he was aged single-digits, so he doesn't specifically remember the rules. Not that he particularly cares, either way.]

his loss

[jokey]

[As ever, Akira's eyes are trained to land on anything that looks suspiciously out of place. The model skeleton, while vaguely creepy in that Halloween-ended-four-months-ago sort of way, is all that immediately stands out to him. That doesn't bode well for their investigation, but there's no harm in having a look around.

Leaving Akechi to do his own thing (it's best this way), Akira starts pawing through drawers and cabinets. All the usual suspects are there — beakers, flasks, stirring bars and more — but nothing reads as being clearly out of place within the science lab.]

Honestly, our best bet is asking the other students what they know. They're bound to know more than we do.

[And Akira's prepared to handle the socializing, but all this is supposing Akechi will humor teaming up with him once more. The circumstances are pretty far from ideal, but what better option do they have?]

verily

[forfeited]

[Akechi takes to perusing papers and then the cabinets along the walls, finding frustratingly little. He angles his head toward Akira without completely looking at him, opening another cabinet despite his suggestion, and then closing it quietly.]

Must this be a "we" scenario? Or have you forgotten that our deal is once again overwith?

[jokey]

[Whoomp, there it is. Akira knew Akechi wasn't going to make this easy.

He pauses his perusing to glance in Akechi's direction, but only just. Whatever he's thinking or feeling won't make it as far as his face.]

Of course not. I just thought you'd like to leave sooner rather than later.

[Whatever leave entails in relation to Akechi is nothing Akira wants to discuss in any detail. He'd rather not think about it.]

Two heads are better than one.

[forfeited]

[Does he ever make anything easy? He's a touch surprised that Akira takes that gracefully, but he still keeps it at a conceptual 'working together is better than working separately', which draws a short sigh from him.]

[He turns to face him, looking him over critically.] I think I'd prefer a more "gather intel separately, regroup with findings" approach. [Because of course he would.]

[jokey]

[Of course he would. Teamwork was an easier sell when they had no other choice but to rely on each other, else their chances of toppling Maruki would have been slim. There's no such incentive now, but that doesn't mean Akira will relent and leave Akechi to his own devices. They both know how that's liable to end.

With little by way of evidence to be found, Akira turns, pocketing his hands, and stares Akechi down. He ought to know better than most how relentless Akira is when he's set his mind to something, but he isn't so foolish that he'd aim to bend Akechi's will.

As ever, as always, trying to win him over to his side is a careful dance, and a single step out of place will send them both right back to square one.]

I know you would. [But who's to say that's the best course of action?] Say we divide and conquer. What would you be doing while I'm hitting up the other transfers?

[forfeited]

[The familiarity of it all has him swallowing the faint taste of bile at the back of his tongue, and he leans carefully backward against the counter behind him, folding his arms over his chest. He recognizes the question as not a direct one-- he isn't specifically questioning Akechi's ability, but what he would be doing should the concession to work separately be afforded. That Akira is even considering it is a strange salve on Akechi's constantly overstimulated skin.]

Checking written information, likely. Libraries, any books on the area, computers. There doesn't seem to be any internet equivalent, but there must be written record of something.

[jokey]

[Don't worry, Akechi. Akira's looking out for the interests of both you and your chronically overstimulated skin.

Leaning back against the counter, Akira nods, hands firmly trenched in his pockets. He's silent for a moment, thinking, before he settles on a compromise of sorts.]

That's fair. [Oh? Is he actually backing down?] We can share our findings when we come across anything notable. Does that work for you?

[See? A compromise! He won't have Akira breathing down his neck all the time, only some of the time. Sounds good, right?]

[forfeited]

[It works for him a little too well, Akechi thinks. He stares Akira down with a faint squint, as if trying to leer through the addendum to the agreement that he hasn't said yet. As if he expects him to correct himself.]

...I don't see why not, [He pulls his arms a little tighter across his chest.] Why bother sharing findings, though? It's not like you need anything more from me, nor I you.

[jokey]

[Give this man an inch and he'll be gunning for the mile, won't he? It's not enough to simply posit a reasonable compromise— certainly not with Akechi. He could handle this all on his own and find his fair share of answers in due time, but if Akira were the type to work alone... well, he wouldn't be himself at all, now would he?

For now, what matters is that Akechi's agreeing to some manner of teamwork. It may not be an ideal arrangement for either of them, but this is what compromise looks like: finding a solid enough middle ground to settle on.

In contrast to Akechi's tight-knit arms, Akira loosens his posture, freeing his hands from his pockets to palm the counter behind him.]

We see the world differently. You might catch onto something I'd normally overlook and vice versa. Isn't that reason enough? To put it another way, if we cooperate, we stand a better chance of getting out of here sooner.

[forfeited]

[There's a sudden rush of air from his lungs that bubbles up out of his mouth in a harsh chuckle, and Akechi shifts his weight from one foot to the other, then pushes off the counter entirely to stride past Akira toward the door.]

That's an understatement if I ever heard one. Fine, we'll reconvene after our individual information seeking. Where should we meet?

[jokey]

[That little laugh warms him in the strangest of ways. It's not exactly accurate to call it pleasant, nor does it bring a smile to Akira's face, but it warms him from the inside out and reminds him that he's not as far from home as he feels. Fellas, is it gay if your rival makes you happy to be alive?

Straightening up (for the express purpose of falling right back into a comfortable slouch), Akira lets Akechi take his leave first, calling out to him as he goes.]

Here. I've got a hunch people don't gather here often.

[It's no secret hideout in the attic of a popular cafe, but it'll do in a pinch, right?]

See you later. Don't set anything on fire.

[Or fucking stab someone. Bye for now, Akechi... See you back at the dorms some hours later..............]

[spongebob narrator voice] many hours later

[forfeited]

[He had nothing to say to Akira's specifically friendly note of "see you later", just raising a hand to wave as he left the science room and strode off down a hall to make an attempt at Learning.]

[Learning, which unfortunately did not go well at all. He actually learns approximately nothing, despite digging and hunting and coming up with very, very little information. He learned more about the stupid superstition of a fingernail-thieving ghost in the library than he did about anything else, and while he thought very hard about stealing every book he attempted to find useful just to test the damn thing, he put all his books away for how utterly useless they were, deeming them unworthy of lost fingernails, superstitious or otherwise.]

[As such, he doesn't even notice a one Akira Kurusu lounging about on the bed in his corner of the dorm room he just so happens to share with him as he walks into the space, carefully inspecting his fingernails as he goes. He stops a few paces into the room as the door closes, looking up, and is promptly doused with dread.] Oh you must be kidding.

[jokey]

[Ladies and gentleman: dramatic irony. Settled in bed (the first real bed Akira's slept on in over a year), he turns his attention from his book and onto the call of a familiar voice. Oh. That voice doesn't sound too happy, but when does it ever...]

What's up? Got lost?

[What're you doing in his dorm room, Akechi McKecherson? Akira thought they agreed to go their separate ways until they'd found enough evidence to warrant meeting up. It's not like Akechi's also boarding here, right? ...Right?]

[forfeited]

[He pulls out his PDA and scowls at it rather than responding to Akira, tapping and swiping his thumb furiously for a few seconds. He backpedals to the door of the dormitory, looks from the number and emblem on it to his PDA a few times, and finally clicks the button on the side of it to turn the screen off before pocketing it.]

I'm choosing to blame you for this disastrous turn of events. [And he scans the room, finding the only unclaimed bed and striding to it, setting the items he'd brought from his locker at the foot of the bed, his back to Akira.]