#but no. he comes back and sojiro mentions being worried but BARELY and ryuji just throws his arm around him like he isnt probably in extrem | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

auncyen · 1 year

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Even with his friends cheering around him, Ren can't shake off his headache, or the feeling that something is wrong. Well…his friends' cheers might be encouraging the headache, a dull pounding in the front of his head. He doesn't want to kill the celebration of Shido finally being dealt with though. That last Palace was so difficult. Their excitement is well-earned.

It almost seems premature, though. With Shido's victory speech having reached that abrupt conclusion, the remaining broadcast time is being filled with evening news…none of which mentions what just happened. Maybe the broadcasters aren’t talking about it because they don’t know what stance they should take? There’s not even a suggestion of nervousness though, no hesitation as they discuss the election results.

They’re professionals, he reminds himself, rubbing his forehead as the pounding worsens. They shouldn’t be so easily revealing whatever shake-up is going on at the news station anyway.

“Ren? Are you all right?”

And he shouldn’t be buckling under a simple headache. “Fine, fine,” he says, smiling at Haru’s concern. “Just a little tired.”

“We should call it an early night,” Makoto says, rising from the table. “You need your rest since you’re coming back to school tomorrow…and my sister was right that we all need to study, with tests starting soon.”

She says ‘all’, but gives pointed looks to both Ann and Ryuji. Ann beams in response while Ryuji seems to miss Makoto’s eyes completely, focused on Ren. “You good?”

“It’s fine,” Ren assures him. “It’s not—“ He’s about to say it’s not from the injury he got in the interrogation room, because he knows they’ve all been worrying about that but that usually hurts at the side of his head, while this pain is radiating at the front. Then he realizes saying he has a new source of headache would probably not be reassuring. “I’ll be good with some sleep. Sorry to cut the party short on you guys.”

“I think the mood died soon as studyin’ came up,” Ryuji groans. “Don’t sweat it. Just rest up so you feel better, alright?”

Ren has absolutely no objection to that; within twenty minutes of his friends filing out and Sojiro saying good night, he’s in bed with the lights out, Morgana curled up by his side. The pounding of his head eases with the oblivion of sleep.

It doesn’t last long enough, some small sound drawing Ren’s attention. “So we were all slaves,” a voice says. There’s a silhouette in the dark attic. “How pitiful.”

The presence of an intruder makes Ren want to jerk up, put distance between them, but his body barely twitches. Like his limbs are paralyzed.

The figure approaches Ren’s bed, and the hair bunched around the neck and practiced movements make it obvious before it’s Akechi even before he steps into the moonlight coming through the window. He smiles at Ren with a familiar falseness as he casually tugs at his tie with one finger, loosening the knot. “Say…want emancipation?” Ren tries to say something. When that fails, he tries to yell. Nothing will come out of his mouth.

Akechi undoes the knot and slips the tie off his neck, holding the black-and-white piece of cloth in his hands and examining it before his dark red eyes return to Ren. “Do you want emancipation?”

Ren tries to speak again, and fails again as well.

Akechi’s eyes narrow. “It’s not a difficult question,” he says, putting one knee on the bed to lean above Ren, the tie slack between both his hands. Morgana’s gone. Where? Ren wants him here. “You are a slave. Want emancipation?”

He wants emancipation, sure. He wants out from this entire situation. When his mouth refuses to work again, he tries to at least nod, and his body at last responds. His head jerks forward—

And Akechi loops the tie over his head, around his neck in one fluid motion, crosses his hands, and pulls the fabric taut. Ren chokes and wildly swings an arm, trying to knock Akechi off, and Morgana screeches.

“Ren!”

The room’s still dark, and Ren’s eyes search frantically in the darkness for Akechi before something leaps at his side and he sweeps an arm out before realizing it’s Morgana. Luckily, his friend is faster than his arm, making another jump over it… onto his stomach, sinking Ren back on the bed with the wind out of him.

Akechi would be killing them both by now if he was actually here, so he must not be. Ren focuses on getting air back in his lungs, and Morgana is gracious enough to get off so he actually has space to breathe, at least for a few seconds. Then whiskers tickle his face, Morgana peering at him. “Are you calm now? What the hell was that?”

Morgana sounds even grouchier than he usually is to be awake late at night. “Nightmare. …Did I hit you?”

“You knocked me clean off the bed.”

“Sorry.”

Morgana’s blue eyes, dark in what little light they catch and reflect, back away. “Well, I guess if it was a nightmare, it’s not like you meant it. I’ll accept an apology in the form of sushi.”

Morgana’s not seriously hurt if he’s bargaining for sushi, but Ren still feels guilty enough to agree without protest. Maybe Morgana was expecting some, because he cocks his head.

“You okay? You had that headache earlier… we should get back to sleep. You need all the rest you can get.”

“Sounds good.” His heart rate’s almost back to normal now. Akechi isn’t going to break in to kill anyone. He wouldn’t, not after Ren fulfilled the deal they made.

He can’t.

Ren stares up at the ceiling until he feels Morgana tucking himself in by him, purring. Purring’s been a much more frequent occurence since the interrogation, because Morgana insists he’s not a cat, but it’s his self-assigned duty to make sure Ren’s at 100% and supposedly purring promotes healing. It’s calming, at least, and Ren closes his eyes to fall asleep.

You are a slave. Want emancipation?

His throat feels choked tight.

#writing #the scene I finally finished last night lol #(it's been floating around for a while)#(unsurprisingly. was supposed to be working on a different fic)

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takirasu · 4 years

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Why I cannot understand how a huge majority of the Persona 5 fandom ships Akira/Protagonist with Akechi if you’ve played the game and what is possibly wrong about it

First and foremost: I do not mean to offend or hurt anyone personally with this. This is purely analytical from the viewpoint of someone who is interested in analysing characters and character dynamics. The group of people mentioned that I dislike regarding this ship is targeted to certain types of people in the fandom that will be explained at the end, meaning if you ship this No, I don’t automatically dislike you and even if I would, who cares? It’s just me. I don’t know you and it shouldn’t matter to you. I also want to mention that obviously Persona 5 will get spoiled in this analysis as well as slight mentions and spoilers of Royal, especially the third semester. Read at your own risk! Without further ado, let’s jump into a very interesting dynamic between two characters that had potential, but – in my opinion – leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth due to what fans did and do with it most of the time and how Atlus ends it in both Orginal and Royal. I will try to be about this as neutral as possible, since an analysis shouldn’t take a side and then put my opinion about it at the end, because the aspects and whys about this matter more than one person’s opinion alone. Also, the analysis will help form an opinion and back it up. There is nothing worse to me than giving an opinion, but not having anything to back it up with.

To analyse the relationship between the two I will be taking important parts of the story in this dynamic and analyse it as well as analyse the characters briefly according to the situation and towards each other. I will be taking the Anime and Manga into this for certain parts as well. I would like to do a whole character analysis one day if I find the time and fans are interested, but since the main focus of this is a ship and what is up with it I will only analyse the moments that they either have together or that further underlines the topic.

Starting with Akira, it is clear from the very first hour on that he has a strong want of helping other people – in need or not - and cannot stand injustice. To underline how important it is to him you have to understand that in Japan’s society it is considered incredibly rude to interfere between two adults in whatever situation given. It is not your business, like Sojiro Sakura – his guardian in Tokyo during his probation – explains to him and much more the player at the beginning of the game. In short, Akira knew what he might possibly get himself into. Even if Shido wouldn’t have tripped and hurt himself. Even if Shido wouldn’t have threatened the women to tell the upcoming police Akira apparently assaulted him. The only thing important to those who found out about the incident and know that he did not push him was still this: You do not interfere between two adults, keep your business. People who do that are considered delinquents and you really do not want this stamp on your forehead in Japan. Further, I assume Akira might be suffering from a Saviour complex. In all three media – game, manga and anime – he puts other people’s needs over himself and gets incredibly upset if he is not able to help someone or better, in Akechi’s case, save them. As helpful and kind a someone can be by nature, you have to understand that not everyone will either want your help or will be able to accept it. Not everyone can be saved and you do not have to save everyone. People who have trouble with accepting this suffer from a Saviour complex. A moment to justify both this and my first point is during the beginning of Madarame’s Palace, with one of my favourite quotes of Akira being,

“I want to help. I just want to be sure what we're doing is right. Trust me I'm not saying we should turn a blind eye and do nothing...”

After this event, Ann and Ryuji call him out for being both too timid and yet in haste at the same time. They’re barely out of the Metaverse and obviously have a private life that they need to care about when he already wants everyone to gather information on if Yusuke is really being abused and used by his teacher as fast as possible; on the same day. Again, he puts others over himself. While of course Ryuji and Ann aren’t any less concerned, to him someone might be getting hurt and there is no time to waste on matters like this. When they do find out through Nakanohara, a former student of Madarame, that he steals his pupil’s art, threatens everyone that leaves him and makes students even hurt themselves, Akira as the Phantom Thieves leader decide on saving Yusuke. Said complex also feeds his need of wanting to protect others, shown and explored more in two major scenes in the anime. When Phantom Thieves meet Akechi for their finale encounter they captured it very well. Akechi reveals he has the power of the Wild card, being able to handle more than one Persona, like Akira does. When the Thieves try to either talk to Akechi or attempt to walk up to him and handle it, Akira as Joker takes his role seriously. He tells the others, “He’s mine. Hold. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” knowing full well that nobody else would be able to take him on other than another Wild card. Another scene is when he protects Sojiro from a few police men. He knows he shouldn’t step in between two adults and he is still on probation, but the want of protecting the person that offers him shelter and that warms up to him is stronger than his own desires. He stands in front of Sojiro and shields him.

Akechi on the other hand is one of the most interesting and misunderstood characters I have seen in a long time. While not outright admitting it himself, Akechi has this immense and unfulfilled need of being loved since his past was pretty much empty of it. His resentment towards Akira is fuelled by this since he sees how said one has a lot of supportive friends when he’s nothing special in particular. This possibly means that in Akechi’s eyes you have to have a certain standard to achieve to be special and lovable, which would explain the way he made himself for the public. He further insults Akira as a criminal who lives in an attic during their last meeting and asks himself what he has that Akechi lacks, not knowing that it is something he never grew up learning. He hates Akira, but deep down he does not. It pains him to see the exact opposite of himself and how out of place it is for him. Akira is nothing yet loved, while Akechi build up this perfect self that is special, but not actually loved. It messes with him whenever Akira is in front of him and does better than him. He is the reason he gets reminded of the things he hates the most about himself. Similar to Akira he is an outcast to society – just carefully sealed and hidden behind his Ace detective mask. Shido, who is actually his father and he only works with to get revenge on, did not care that he got someone pregnant and left, which lead to Akechi’s mother giving him away and committing suicide. In Japan these kind of families are frowned upon on, being the kid of a possible one-night stand gives no meaning to your life and only tarnishes the mother, which is most probably the reason why the women took her life. It wasn’t bearable for her in this society and she couldn’t life with Akechi’s existence. He was given from foster home to foster home, never had any parents that would give him love and that he could look up to as well as forming actual bonds with people. You see him both struggling to form an actual friendship with Sae, an adult, as well as adapt to people his age, for example the Phantom Thieves. He feels odd and has this unpleasant aura of superiority around him, since he has never learned anything regarding love and how to work and be with other people. So Akechi decides he needs to build his mask to be lovable to the public since his actual self, in his eyes, is not. He’s smart and basically reforms himself completely new for the public. His public self is near to perfect for the role of a student detective. Justice driven, charming, funny and smart. During the game while he is on stage it slips his thoughts during the moment everyone cheers for him and adores him, that none of these people know he’s an unwanted bastard child, which means that he does not think as highly of himself as the player tends to think at the beginning of the game. He is sure nobody would like him and he would never be able to become a detective if it was him as his true self that is worthy of nothing. These two things lead to him being able to be cold-blooded and cause the mental shutdowns, as well as try to kill Akira. First, he has never gotten love and affection. These things are needed for a child to grow and learn empathy, which Akechi lacks. It might almost sound mean, but from a neutral viewpoint this is why it was so easy for him. He does not feel for other people as openly as others do. Also, you have to keep in mind that every shutdown being demanded by Shido would eventually bring him closer to his goal. His father to acknowledged his existence in the perfect moment, the apex of his power, and to take revenge on him for the life he has to live and most possibly for his mother to be driven to suicide. Lastly important for this analysis, Akechi knew what he did when he decided to let himself get killed by his cognitive self, Shido’s so-called security system. First, it would have either been him and the Phantom Thieves who were the only ones able to use the Metaverse next to him and change Shido’s heart, or only him which means that there was a possibility to at least ruin his life and not make him the new Prime minister of Japan. He knows that they won’t kill Shido, but taking everything from him that is important to him, his only desire, and the reason Akechi had to live life like this to begin with seems enough in the moment he faces death. Second, he does not believe in second chances and he does not believe in forgiveness. Akechi’s believes that are present during the whole game aren’t just towards others, but also himself. He hates his true self the same way he dislikes Akira. Both his true self and Akira are nothing in society therefore neither worthy of love or forgiveness. To him, there is no other way to atone for his sins. When the Phantom Thieves defeat Akechi he states,

“You (Akira) are so lucky to be surrounded by teammates who acknowledge you. Once Shido confesses his crimes, you’ll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish. In the end, I couldn’t be special…”

The only place he could eventually feel loved was when he faked those crimes and fake investigated them, since they were his own the public didn’t know about. He could feel important and respected, have a place in Japan’s society while working on his goal of his father’s downfall. The moment the Phantom Thieves won over him, he knew this would be taken away from him since to him the only possible outcome of this is the Phantom Thieves winning over Shido and either turning Akechi in or Shido spilling during his change of heart. People relying on him and trusting him, people acknowledging him. That is what the trust and fame was about to him. The moment they meet in Shido’s palace and Akechi is defeated, it would all be taken away from him. Putting this together is the reason he decides to trap himself with the summoned shadows and his cognitive self. His father would lose everything that was important to him if he saves the Phantom Thieves and he has no reason to live in a world where he has no fame and trust from the public, since in his distorted mind he will not be worth of love and worth of existence. He wouldn’t be special. When the Phantom Thieves do reach out and tell him all the things they admire about him and give him a chance to join them against Shido, he laughs about them. His true self is out and to him, it is not lovable or special no matter what they say.

From the reasons shippers bring up for these two, Akira being devastated about Akechi’s death and wanting it revoked is a big one and the first one I want to analyse and explain. As analysed earlier, it is important to Akira to save others and help them, especially when they cannot help themselves. In certain parts, the two aren’t far from each other yet polar opposites. Akira knows that and despite everything feels empathy for Akechi after said ones tells the whole story. Witnessing someone’s death whether it is hearing or seeing it is traumatizing and it’s normal to think about it later back at home in the real world how Akira does, but taking his character analysis into consideration it probably messed with him more than it would with other people, like the other Phantom Thieves. In the anime, Akechi throws a chess piece with Akira catching it. Akira, who is not someone to have emotional outbursts, gets so worked up and angry that he hits the wall that came down in front of them with his fist before he quickly catches himself back in the role as the leader who always had and has to stay calm and collected. If you look at it, Akechi is the only one Akira couldn’t save when he knew he needed it and, to Akira, deserved it. Because throughout the whole game with so many different cases of people not being able to save themselves or being in unjust situations not once does he care about how the people are or if there is any certain character trait etc. to them in particular. Akira probably shares the same belief like his friends. Everyone is special in their own way and so was Akechi deserving of a better life like everyone else is. It messes with him so much, that in Persona 5: Royal, a game that came out 3 years after the original game and it is still tightly being fought about if it is canon or an alternative reality to which the developers have yet to make an official statement to, he tells Maruki, the school’s therapist who is interested in cognitive science, that if he could change reality, his wish wouldn’t be that all of this had never happened, but that Akechi would still be alive. While this is the number one situation people who ship the two use ever since Royal has come out, it just further underlines Akira’s character and my suggestion of him having a Saviour complex. He cannot live with the fact that he couldn’t save Akechi, when this is what the Phantom Thieves stood for. It pains him so much that his wish is actually beneficial to someone else. We know nothing about Akira’s past, but it is impossible that there isn’t something he wishes wouldn’t have happened that is outside of the game. Instead, he chose something that helps someone else and puts himself back to ease. He knows, this is what pains him the most and will for quite some time. Having Akechi back would ease his complex and give a person he thinks that deserve a second chance another tries. This is once more better shown in the anime during the last confrontation when Akira tries to talk to Akechi multiple times during Akechi’s small monologue, but eventually realizes it will be of no use. Akechi is too far gone and Akira tells the group to finish it.

Second are the moments we got early in the anime. While the game doesn’t allow this, the anime explores Akechi’s detective side a bit earlier and more for the viewer. In game, we only see Akechi working on the cases he created while he is actually really good at “real” cases as well and able to solve them. During Yusuke’s arc, Akira and Akechi work together on a few of those and Akechi teaches him how not to be fooled by rotten adults. This all goes quite wholesome, but at that point the interrogation nor the black mask reveal had happened yet. The story is early and fresh, not even having picked up the pace. It almost feels like Akechi either tried learning how Akira’s mind works, or honestly just wanted to spend time with someone he felt like was similar to him. All of this gets revoked though when he massively insults him at the end of the game, making it hard to put this in canon. It might be that Akechi was trying to give himself a chance, because Akira was probably the first person who could handle Akechi just like how he is and also accepted him just like that - since that is what Akira does with everyone throughout the game and also gets complimented and aknowleged for - but instead Akechi couldn’t stop himself and pulled through with the rest of his plans. Looking at it from another side, taking this from the anime into consideration makes the next thing and points even worse.

Last is the interrogation, probably one of the most well-known scenes in the whole game, that I want to analyse further. To begin with, Akira finds himself getting arrested due to Akechi’s betrayal. While it is not exactly explained how, it is obvious that Akechi lead the police in since only Metaverse app users can enter the Metaverse. If you have a non-user nearby, you can pull them into it. Akechi probably did this beforehand, told them to hide and gave them either a time limit or symbol. After the fight against Sae Futaba picks up enemy readings, so many that they’re being surrounded. Akira and the Phantom Thieves part ways and the leader makes all the attention go to himself so that the others can escape. In the end he gets ambushed, cuffed up and knocked out by drugs. What the player does not know is that the group had known about Akechi’s plan all along and they had to play along. All throughout Sae’s palace, Akira knew he would most probably be cuffed up by the end, but it was necessary to let it happen. Otherwise they would never be able to defeat Akechi. I would like to add that this in particular sounds pretty traumatizing and stressful as well. Moving forward and the Phantom Thieves’ plan succeeding, Akechi is unknowingly being dragged into the Metaverse. He outright plans to kill Akira, which reveals his true motive on why he worked with them on Sae’s palace in the first place. The Phantom Thieves are blocking his path of the mental shutdowns and destroying his father. It is so soon that he cannot lose due to them. He is smart about it and wants to kill their leader. Once again and as stated earlier, Akechi doesn’t feel empathy and he has killed before. He gets things done so that they are beneficial to what he needs to do further, just like how it was beneficial for him to work with the Thieves together for at least a while. Be that figuring out how they work, or just messing with them. What he doesn’t know is the person in the interrogation room is the cognitive version of Akira. He is only in there, because he just entered Sae’s palace and in her cognition Akira is in the interrogation room, which she does not have much control of. Therefore, it keeps being the interrogation room instead of anything Casino related. Akechi proceeds to shoot an innocent guard and then Akira. While doing so, he seems like on a high, fully enjoying it getting rid of him and it is almost uncomfortable to watch that is how good it is made. It is Akechi’s first time he kills someone in the real world, but it doesn’t seem to be much different for him. He shoots Akira right in the head when he has nowhere to go, tied up and completely drugged to a point that both in the game and anime he can’t talk properly and even passes out. The state Akira is in is portrayed very well and just underlines the atmosphere further. A murderer just aiming at their helpless victim. Akechi puts the gun in his hand to report it as a suicide and leaves. He never shows any remorse when they meet again, only throwing in that the two might possibly would have become friends if having met earlier. He does not mention the faked death, because there is nothing to say. It might be, because both know Akechi wanted to do it. It was necessary for his path and nobody, especially not someone like Akira, would be standing in his way. Shippers defend this situation, saying Akechi had to kill Akira. To some extent, I would analysis this as true and say that it was a possibly way of getting rid of the Phantom Thieves and continuing his plan, but is your first idea really murder to this? In such a special way? Concealing it as a suicide and not have any respect to the person you just killed? It is unlikely as smart as Akechi is that this was the only possible option he had regarding on how he would get rid of the Phantom Thieves or their leader. Killing the person is just probably the most convenient one to Akechi and again, he does not feel for others properly, since he has never learned how to. This is why he is able to plan this, kill someone he acted like a friend with, saw multiple times for weeks and just walk away. In conclusion that means it is not because he had to and also not because he wanted to in particular, but because Akechi did not care and therefore made it possible to just shot him and continue with his life. It is one of the most important scenes in the whole game and does a lot to the development for all three characters involved (Sae, Akechi and Akira) yet shippers throw it under a bus with the sole statement that he had to.

Putting everything above together, the major moments these two had, shipping Akira and Akechi is complicated and probably not the best.

To finally conclude my opinion to this. In another world, Akechi could learn a lot from Akira. He has a lot of empathy for others and wants to help, which Akechi lacks. It would have been good for him and the part where Akechi mentioned that they might have become friends if met earlier made me emotional as someone who does not support it in a romantic way. In this moment, I thought of them as friends. I thought myself thinking of what would have been if they had met one or two years earlier. Two people who get better through each other and learn from each other. As much as I love this character trait from Akira, I have had my personal fair shares that having this can be negative at times. It would be good for him to have someone that shows him the opposite or at least a middle path. Both characters go All-Out on this. It is either full on empathy or complete lack of empathy. Either you want to save everyone or you’re okay with killing whoever as long as you obtain your ultimate goals.

Many people have stated already that the ship is quite abusive. Anything that comes out of Akechi’s mouth towards Akira in both game and anime (I’m only referencing the anime since the last two times because the manga is barely at Futaba’s arc yet) after revealing his true motives, is negative. Either he insults him directly or the way he lives, just because he found someone that reminds him of himself deep inside if he wants to or not. That gives him no right to act like this, even when psychology is complex. And if you want to defend this, it gives him no right to shoot him and actually visibly enjoy it – which you cannot deny and a lot of people in the fandom stated as well. He didn’t have to, but he did. He wasn’t forced to, but he did it. I wonder if Akechi tells Akira he hates him for the fact that he did make him feel something. Not in a romantic way, again, but more in a way of empathy and this feeling of friendship and he knew he had to stop this.

There are a lot of good people in the fandom fan of his complex character. I don’t necessary like Akechi as a character, but I find him interesting and good to talk about. As for liking or hating him…the interrogation scene happened the way it happened let’s just leave it at that. Sadly, there are also a lot of people in the fandom who will shove this ship down your throat. Somehow, it is superior to them and it should be canon. I have seen so many tweets and Tumblr posts, especially with Royal and its’ third semester that genuinely leave me concerned. What started as 3AM ramble to my friend ended up being this 5000 words essay on why the situations and character traits stated above get taken out of context or misunderstood by shippers. It goes further when you find out that some people ship it because it is abusive to begin with. They acknowledge it and love it and while there are more important things in life than this, I just found it too concerning and also very annoying at one point, I had to make an analysis about it and clear some things up. I have blocked a lot of tags regarding this ship and I still see it every day in the fandom and get attacked if I say something against it, so I just made this post, knowing that people will eventually get mad at it. But, I honestly really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed writing about Akechi’s character. He is interesting, complex and there is so much to talk about him, but do I ship him with my favourite video game character? Hell nah.

If you want to add something to this, feel free to. I also enjoy respectful and normal discussion about this! I researched a lot for this, re-watched a few anime and game scenes and wrote for a total of 7 hours. If you enjoyed it or it made you think a little, it would be kind to let me know. I haven’t written anything in a while and my last character analysis was years ago, so this was quite a challenge, but knowing how popular this ship is and how much worse it got with Royal’s existence, I had to put this out. I’m going to be honest here. If they would’ve met a few years earlier, who knows if this wouldn’t have become one of my ships (I don’t interact in a lot of shipping to begin with so), because the basis of it is nice. But then the actual plot happens. All this stuff from the interrogation until the end happens and shippers just dismiss it or try to make it sound less bad. Like it’s the actual plot. It’s there. This is how P5 goes down. Akira’s one of the most traumatized characters I’ve come across in fiction and Akechi does a fair share to that. Don’t just dismiss that so your ship can be cute. It won’t, I’m sorry. And if you want to come at me for shipping in general, I as well ship something with complex and interesting dynamics within this game. It’s appealing, but not like this.

Thank you for reading this if you got through all of it! I seriously appreciate it and my non-existent sleep does to! - May

#persona 5 #p5 #persona #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #goro akechi #video game #analysis #persona 5 analysis

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yusuke-of-valla · 3 years

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like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt 6.

intermission ii

<-Previous Next->

AO3

“What the hell.” Akechi is the only one to speak as everyone staying in Takemi’s apartment stares at the TV and the news of Sae’s arrest. “What the actual hell, Sae?” Akechi runs a hand through his hair and starts pacing. “How could you get arrested? How.”

“Makoto’s here.” Akira mutters, more to himself than anyone else.

“We need to deal with Shido. Tomorrow.” Akechi says.

“Akechi, how many times do we have to tell you. We can’t be hasty,” Morgana snaps.

“We don’t have any more time to stall.”

“We have to find Makoto first, at least.” Akira insists. Akechi scowls and Akira rolls his eyes. “Don’t give me that look, if Sae got captured then Makoto’s hear, and our time limit just got that much shorter, we’ll need as many healers as we can if we’re going to finish the whole thing.”

Akechi grumbles. “Fine. Fine, but that’s it. Then I’m going in without you because you’re clearly no use otherwise.”

Akira sticks out his hand “Deal.”

Akechi takes it firmly.

Tae’s apartment only has one bedroom, but she’s let Akira use an air mattress and given the Akechi the couch to sleep on, not that either of them really sleep that night.

Akira stares at the ceiling, thoughts swirling around in his head. Where could the others be? It’s been about a week since Shido called for their heads, and he hasn’t heard anything from half of his friends. He should be able to protect them.

His thoughts drift around some more, though they keep returning to the sinking feeling that he’s failed as leader for not being prepared for this, until Akira doesn’t so much fall asleep as feel his consciousness be ripped away from him.

With a gasp, Akira sits up on a familiar blue cot, with his wrists shackled.

“Trickster.” There’s something... off, about Igor’s tone. Caroline and Justine look more serious than usual too.

“Look, unless you’re here to tell me that you know where my friends are, I don’t care.”

“This is very serious, Trickster. Ruin is approaching faster than expected.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“Show some respect, inmate!” Caroline shouts, slamming her baton against the bars.

“Our master is trying to assist you.” Justine says.

“You seriously can’t fail! You already messed up letting this Shido guy get the upper hand on you.” Caroline says.

“Our master personally contacted you to make sure you’re aware of the circumstances.” Justine adds, and Akira realizes that she’s nervous. Her eyes keep flitting to Igor, and Akira takes a good look at him.

His air of perpetual smug confidence is gone.

Igor is scared.

“This is different from the other ‘Ruin’ I’m supposed to be avoiding, isn’t it?”

“This was not supposed to happen. An unfortunate miscalculation, but you must understand the gravity of this situation. Ruin may befall us all if you allow your current opponent to go unchecked.”

“Alright. I won’t fail any of you. I promise.”

Just before Akira feels himself wake up, he smells the faintest scent of seawater.

“Akira, come on!” Morgana is patting his paws against Akira’s face to wake him up, and Akira slowly shoves him off.

He checks the time on Tae’s oven and realizes it’s almost time for them to meet the others. Akira gets up quickly and throws on a hoodie and jeans, then grabs his bag as Morgana jumps in and runs past Akechi, who’s been standing by the door the whole time.

They meet in front of Takemi Clinic, and the knot in Akira’s chest loosens up a little when he sees Ann.

Ann’s face lights up when she sees him, and they hug.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” Akira says.

“Same to you.”

“Good to see you again, Akira.” Shiho says.

“Yeah, you too.”

“So, what’s the plan,” Ann asks. “We saw the news last night.”

“We’re going into Shido’s Palace tomorrow.” Haru’s eyes widen and Akira shoots her an apologetic look. “I know we said we’d take a couple more days to look for the others, but with Sojiro and Sae going on trial, we don’t have time.”

“The plan for today is to start preparations,” Morgana says.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on looking for the others,” Akira adds, giving Haru an reassuring look.

Shiho nods. “I know Ann and I are going to go to Ryuji’s house and try to talk to his mom.”

“Right,” Morgana says, “we also need you to pick up some crafting supplies so we can make tools tonight.”

“I have no clue what you just said, Morgana,” Shiho says, “but I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll try and ask around for Makoto,” Haru offers.

“Can you stop by the church in Kanda too? I want you to ask Hifumi Togo if she knows anything about Yusuke.”

“Absolutely.”

“And while you’re walking around, maybe hit up some vending machines for energy drinks. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

“Sure. And you?”

“We’re going to Kichijoji to talk to that friend I mentioned before.”

“Alright.”

“We’ll meet back at Tae’s apartment tonight, and then we meet in front of the Diet Building and secure the route to Shido’s treasure, for better or worse.”

Ann, Shiho, and Haru all nod, and as brief as their reunion was, they split up again.

Akechi is silent for the ride to Kichijoji station, but once they arrive at the promenade he speaks up.

“I thought we weren’t worrying about Kitagawa.”

Akira stops. Then he grabs Akechi’s arm and pulls him into an alleyway. “Morgana, can you go on ahead, I’m going to talk to Akechi.”

Morgana leaps out of Akira’s bag and shoots him a concerned look before heading off.

Akira turns to Akechi, dead serious. “Look, I get it. You want to get back at Shido, or whatever. But we’re going tomorrow, just like you want. So can you stop complaining for five minutes?”

“I’m trying to give you perspective. If you’re distracted, he’ll kill you without hesitation.”

“I don’t think we’ll run into Shido’s shadow-”

“I wasn’t talking about Shido. I’m talking about Shido’s cognition of myself,” Akechi says, “who’s responsible for this.” He points to the wound at his side. “I suspected you were messing around in Shido’s Palace and went to confront you. Instead I found that thing that Shido thinks I am.” Akechi’s nose scrunches up in disgust and he bangs his fist against the wall beside him. “A damn puppet who’ll do anything for him. And who unfortunately is powerful enough that even going all out, I barely escaped with my life and arrived at your doorstep.”

“That’s how you knew Shido was about to put out the arrest.”

“Yes.”

“What did you even get from working with him?”

Akechi takes a deep breath. “He’s my father, and I wanted revenge. It was because he abandoned my mother that she killed herself and I was thrown into the foster system. Moving from home to home, completely unwanted. Until I awakened to my Persona. Suddenly I had powers unlike anyone else. I was special. So I made a plan. I approached Shido and offered him my services. I spent countless nights dreaming of the pure satisfaction of the moment when he won, when he was at his highest. And then I, the son he threw away, would force him to admit that he could only achieve his goals with my help, force him to acknowledge me, and then I’d cut him down.”

Akechi’s hands are shaking.

“So that is why I can’t afford to have you hesitate. It seems he would never acknowledge me as the reason for his success, since he thinks I’m some mindless weapon that he always intended to throw in the trash.”

“If he had a change of heart he’d acknowledge you,” Akira says after a moment. “He’d even apologize. Sincerely.”

Akechi snorts. “Yes well, I wasn’t aware of that option at the time. Maybe if I’d met you sooner, things could have been different.”

They fall silent again. Akira sighs. “Look. It seems like we both underestimated Shido. You thought you’d earned his respect, we thought we’d avoided his suspicion. We were both wrong. But the reason he wants to get rid of us so badly is because somewhere, deep down, he’s scared. Even the smallest threat to his power has to be stamped out, even if it’s a random teenager who stopped him from harassing some woman.”

Akechi’s eyes widen. “Wait, that was Shido?”

“Yeah. Your dad sucks. But he’s also a rattlesnake, trying to appear bigger than he is because he’s cornered and scared. We have a chance to beat him, but only if we work together. And we can’t work together if you’re constantly complaining about how I’m not doing things on your timetable. As much as we both want Shido out of the picture, we’re not the ones he’s hunting right now, so you’re going to sit back and let me worry about my friends.”

“You truly don’t give up on anyone, do you?” Akechi asks, tilting his head. “No wonder they adore you. Very well, I’ll refrain from any commentary for the rest of the day.”

“Thank you.”

“Senpai! Akechi-kun!” The two young men turn around to see Kasumi Yoshizawa running towards them, Morgana in her arms, who she lets jump to the ground to throw her arms around Akira. “I’m so happy you’re okay! I’ve been so worried but I had no clue how to get in touch with you.”

“Good to see you too, Kasumi,” Akira says with a smile.

Akechi looks between them. “Yoshizawa-san? You understand Morgana?”

“Yep,” Morgana says, “she’s a Persona user, but not a Phantom Thief. She’s still pretty new to it, but she’s strong.”

Kasumi nods. “Yes, although I’d like to change that middle part. Senpai, please let me accompany you on your current heist. You’re targeting Representative Shido, right?”

“Well, at least you pick up on things quickly.” Akechi says.

“It’ll be really dangerous, Kasumi.” Akira warns. “I mean, you’ve probably seen the news, we’re not in the best position right now.”

“I know the risks. I can’t turn my back on someone who needs my help though. So, please let me join you! Or actually-” Kasumi stands up straight and looks Akira in the eye. “I’m not asking. I am joining you on your next heist.”

Akechi nods. “Alright then. Welcome aboard.”

#alto writes #on the run au #akira kurusu #goro akechi #wordcount: 1500-2000

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akirakurusuimagines · 4 years

Text

Bedding - Akira + Morgan

Morgan is @donkeykongismyfavoritemarvelhero‘s Persona 5 OC and an absolute sweetheart who is also rich and is another sister figure to Akira

Those who have been invited into Akira’s humble little accommodation in the attic of his guardian’s coffee shop, Leblanc, probably realized after several visits that Akira’s bed consisted only of several large plastic crates previously used to carry and transport fresh ingredients used in Sojiro’s impressive curry, topped with a thin mattress that Akira slept on. It would be fine, for a very temporary stay, however, after months of using this ‘bed’, Akira was beginning to feel the effects that improper sleeping arrangements actually have on the body.

He was beginning to constantly feel tense in his neck, and his back began to ache, causing him to rely heavily on Kawakami’s skillful hands to massage each bundle of nerves that distracted him throughout the day. However, even her massages could only help so much. Even his friends were beginning to notice the way he continuously rolled his shoulders back and rubbed his neck, an uncomfortable expression twisted onto his usually charming features.

Today was a particularly bad day⁠— whether he had just slept wrong the previous night, or whether it was a problem with his bed itself, Akira didn’t know, but he could barely concentrate on what Morgan was saying while they drank some freshly brewed coffee. His left hand seemed to be permanently rubbing his tense shoulder, his eyebrows knitted with frustration as the stiff feeling wouldn’t go away. He barely even touched his cooling cup of coffee.

“Referring back to my earlier statement, I learned that was the reason that the connections between varying religions and their consumption of food in otherworldly scen⁠— …..Are… you alright?” Morgan had stopped her interesting lecture on the fascinating topic of comparing religions, considering the manifestation of her heart took form Dionysus, one of the gods that exist in ancient Grecian religion, concern etched on her face as she watched Akira space out. She had asked him the same question not long ago, which he had dismissed with a wave of his hand and a sheepish chuckle, though he truly couldn’t deny it this time.

Akira sighed and let his left hand fall to his lap as his right hand gently twisted the bangs in front of his eyes, a strange habit he had developed. “My neck and back are killing me…” His eyes shifted away from Morgan, as if he felt guilty admitting that his mattress was… less than ideal, especially knowing Morgan’s impulsive behavior at times. “I thought it would go away, but it’s just been getting worse and worse these past few weeks.” There was no point in trying to lie, not when anyone could see the way Akira had been acting.

“Your bed is uncomfortable?” Morgan tilted her head and seemed to urge Akira to clarify⁠— he was one of the people she held close to her heart, so seeing him suffer was nothing short of unacceptable.

“If you could even call it that.”

Morgan’s eyebrows knitted together, clearly displeased with Akira’s answer, and waited for him to elaborate, which he did with a sigh. Her eyes widened a tad bit, not having realized Akira’s dilemma was something she could so easily fix⁠— considering she was blessed with the funds to do so. And it was the least she could do for him, after everything Akira’s done for her.

Akira’s cautious protesting and falsified reassurances fell on deaf ears as Morgan abruptly stood up and gathered her things, seeming determined⁠— though Akira may as well have thought that Morgan was angry at him, with the way she didn’t utter a word and the unwavering steeled expression despite Akira urging her to sit back down. She waved it off, however, and set down a bill far too large for one cup of house-brewed coffee, and rushed out the door with a quick “Goodbye!” before Akira could give her the change she was owed, leaving the poor boy confused and truthfully worried, hoping that she wouldn’t do anything rash.

He sighed and slumped back down in his seat, running a hand through his hair, knowing there was no use in thinking about it right now. There was nothing Akira could do when Morgan got into this state, and he was more than aware of that. He couldn’t help but feel culpable, well aware that his intentions fell far away from taking advantage of Morgan’s affluence and pushing her to take action on his behalf for his bed, but still letting that pit in his stomach worry him, wondering if he did so unintentionally. “Better take my mind off of it…” He muttered, standing up and taking the cold cups of half-drunk coffee and shuffling towards the sink, washing out the beverage of the gods and watching it flow down the drain.

The following evening, Akira had found himself staying out later than usual, having spent time with Chihaya in Shibuya, and the affinity reading he had asked for and overseeing one of Chihaya’s eccentric customers took longer than he initially expected, though he was extremely curious about Chihaya’s ecstatic reaction during his own fortune reading, and her—perhaps slightly ominous—words that described that he “will find a wonderful gift waiting for you back home,” and despite Akira knowing that fate can be changed, he also knows better than to doubt her extremely accurate readings.

He pulled his bag a little higher on his shoulder, feeling Morgana’s soft paws cling to him to steady himself as he walked towards Leblanc, anxiety resting on his chest despite Lady Fortune favoring him today. “Hey, lighten up!” Morgana scoffed, swatting the back of Akira’s head, hoping to snap him out of his tension. “Chihaya said it’ll be good, so stop worrying so much!”

Akira rubbed the back of his head, grumbling that Morgana had hit him, but kept his brisk pace back home, wondering what disaster he’ll likely find. “I know, but I can’t help but feel like it’s related to what I was talking about with Morgan the other day…”

“What you were talking about with Morgan?”

“I accidentally told her how we don’t have an actual bed, and you know how Morgan can get sometimes.”

“You… did?” Morgana blinked owlishly at Akira, though his gaze wasn’t returned. Still, Morgana couldn’t help but cheer loudly, figuring the good news was something along those lines as well. He paid no attention to Akira asking him desperately to calm down, exclaiming “we’ll finally have a bed to sleep in! No more backaches! I can finally rest like a king!”

Akira’s face flushed with embarrassment as the attention Morgana garnered with his loud meowing caused heads to turn from every which way, and he picked up his pace and kept his head low, trying to avoid the stares of the neighbors. He made a sharp left into the small area of Yongen Jaya that he knew like the back of his hand, cautiously peering up when closing in towards the cafe. The lights are on. Did Sojiro not go home yet? Or is someone else in there…? Akira bit the inside of his cheek and walked up to the door, taking in a deep breath as if to brace himself for whatever he may find, only to be greeted by a cheerful Futaba, who had beaten Akira to it.

“Hey! You’re finally home! God we thought you got yourself kidnapped or something, with how long it took!” Futaba exclaimed, pulling on Akira’s arm and jumping excitedly, tugging the stunned thief into the humble cafe, who just barely avoided stumbling over his own two feet. “Sojiro, Sojiro! Look, Akira’s finally home!”

“Just what were you doing out so late anyways?” Sojiro interrogated, taking a drag from his cigarette as he leaned against the counter, clearly tired. It was close to being 10:00, after all. “I want to get home soon, so just⁠— go upstairs and look at what your friend brought you.” He sighed, looking away and grumbling, though he wanted to make sure that Akira gave people proper thanks when he sees it.

“Aww, c’mon Sojiro, at least come with us to see his reaction!”

“I don’t think that’s⁠—”

Futaba’s glare shut Sojiro up quickly, and the elder man rubbed the back of his neck and snuffed out the cigarette, walking around the counter to meet with a dazed and confused Akira, a cheerful Futaba, and an excited Morgana.

Akira managed to pry himself free from Futaba’s clutches, shaking his arm a few times to relieve the slight ache from how hard Futaba had been tugging his arm. “Who else is here?” Akira asked cautiously.

“Oh, it’s just Morgan and Ryuji. Nobody super special, if that’s what you’re asking.”

That caught him by surprise. Morgan he had been expecting, but Ryuji too? Wasn’t shouldn’t he be home with his mom? Akira stared at Futaba quizzically, but said nothing, only nodding. He swallowed and took a few steps forward, feeling the Sakura family’s expectant gaze on his back, watching his every move with anticipation. Slowly but surely, he climbed the steps into the attic⁠— his bedroom.

“Dude! Finally! I thought I was gonna have to dip because you were taking forever!” Ryuji jumped off the couch, stretching as he stood up and rolling his neck with a grin. “Come on in to your new and improved crib!” He seemed to be glowing with pride, and Akira was almost scared to look. “You better thank Morgan, she was the one who did most of the work!”

“She… what?” Akira asked, clearly surprised. He finally mustered the will to look over to where his bed usually lay, only to find a larger, and much nicer replacement staring back at him, with Morgan comfortably seated with a large smile. A bed⁠— a genuine, bonafide bed. Akira’s chest tightened, and he suddenly felt extremely guilty, knowing that Morgan bought it on a whim all because Akira mentioned the sorry state of his previous one. “You… really didn’t have to⁠— I can’t… pay you back for this, you know.” He set his bag down, ignoring the looks from the others as he walked towards Morgan.

“You do not need to worry about paying me back, Akira.” Morgan countered, shaking her head and standing, brushing off the wrinkles on her clothes and giving him a cheerful smile, excited to see his genuine reaction, now that she’s forced away⁠ Akira’s guilt— or at least attempted to⁠. “Besides… I can’t let someone I care for sleep like an inmate.” She explained, seeming a little sheepish. Morgan did think of Akira extremely highly after all, and in a familial sense, she wanted to take care of him, just like he did for her.

“I… ah…” Akira pushed up his glasses, doing his best to hide the fact that he was overwhelmed with emotion⁠— both from having his back saved, and from once again realizing that he is cared for deeply by Morgan and his other friends. “Thank you… really, I⁠—” He stopped himself before he could add “don’t know how to repay you” and instead just smiled, taking a shaky breath in and pulling Morgan into a hug, burying his face in her hair and holding her close.

The spontaneity of the act took her by surprise, but she slowly began to relax in his embrace, finding it warm and comfortable. “I’m happy you liked it. But don’t forget to thank Sakura-san, Futaba, and Ryuji too.” Morgan peeled herself from an emotional Akira, who could only nod at her instruction.

“Aww, come on you big dork!” Futaba exclaimed, tackling Akira from behind and causing him to yelp as he stumbled to catch his own weight, before laughing loudly, snapping out of his sappy state.

Akira tried to turn around to hug Futaba properly, but was subsequently caught by Ryuji, who slung his arm over his shoulder and grinded their heads together with a hearty laugh. “I can’t stay long, my mom’s comin’ home soon, but I’m glad you liked it! Made those hours of actually fixin’ it up worth it, my man!”

“Thank you⁠— all of you.” Akira spoke, his expression soft and gratitude immense.

“Of course.” Ryuji snorted, and Futaba simply cheered on about how it was a successful mission. Morgan and Sojiro watched the trio with amusement, glancing towards each other momentarily and nodding in acknowledgement.

He felt Futaba jump off of his back and saunter around to the bed, where Morgana had passed out almost immediately upon touching the much more comfortable surface. “Kitty~ sleepy kitty~” She cooed, occupying herself while Ryuji let go of Akira as well, beginning his round of goodbyes.

“Alright Futaba, we had better go too.” Sojiro cut her off before she could bother Morgana anymore.

“Aww..”

“You want him to test out his new bed, right? The only way he’ll do that is to sleep on it, and he can’t sleep with you bugging him.”

“Fine.”

Sojiro turned to Morgan and Akira as Futaba and Ryuji walked down the stairs, already encompassed in an interesting debate on which Featherman character was truly the best. “Goodnight, you two, and don’t get her home too late, understand?”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Sojiro. Thank you, too.” Akira flashed him a smile and Sojiro merely scoffed, but the smile on his face was undeniable.

Morgan waved goodbye as well, watching Sojiro’s retreating form down the steps, only to sit herself back down on the bed, gently stroking Morgana’s soft fur. “You should have said something about your bed sooner, it would have saved you a lot of pain.”

“I don’t like when people buy me expensive things… a new mattress and bedframe are pricey.” Akira mumbled and turned his head away. “But I really am grateful you did this all for me. If you ever need me for something, or want my cooking or coffee, just let me know, okay? It’s on the house.” He offered, yet Morgan declined it with a proper smile.

“You forget I have the money to buy these things without worry, and this cafe isn’t exactly swarming with customers, so I’ll keep buying my orders. But thank you. I’ll take you up on your offer, especially when I want to go look around Tokyo.”

“Alright, I can live with that.” Akira glanced at his clock and back at Morgan. “Do you want me to walk you down to the train station, or would you rather spend the night here, or…?”

Morgan shook her head quickly. “No, my escorts should be here soon, so in the meantime, I would just like to chat with you.”

Akira sat himself down on the bed, feeling the stark difference in comfort immediately, and quickly understanding why Morgana passed out without so much as a word. “I can do that.” He chuckled, twisting his bangs. “Why don’t you continue telling me about the different mythologies relating to foods and stuff? We didn’t finish it.”

Morgan’s eyes seemed to brighten at the invitation to continue one of her long lectures on subjects she found fascinating, and eagerly began to talk Akira’s ear off, who did his best to not fall asleep on the comfort of his new bed until she was picked up.

#morgan #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #persona 5 #p5 #joker #p5r #persona 5 royal #akira #kurusu #ren #amamiya #platonic #fluff #persona 5 scramble #p5s

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it-will-not-last-the-night · 5 years

Text

-Oil and Water-

4 AM

“Woah, geeze, that was so close,” Ryuji fell back against the wall, tossing his controller aside, and deflated. A sense of palpable relief was evident on his features, alongside a bleary-eyed look of fatigue.

Futaba did not share his same state of fatigue.

“Whew, c’mon, it wasn’t really that close, we had him from about halfway, you just always pop your ulties to early!” She hurried to collect the controller even as she spoke, absently inspecting it for damage.

The two sat in her room, on her bed, magazines, drinks, snacks and pillows spread about them as they faced the monitor they’d been playing on, hooked up to a console. The screen still flickered on the game briefly as Futaba idled through stats and scores at her own leisure.

“I was gonna die! I had to drop the shield!” He protested, weakly, cutting himself off with a rather obnoxious yawn, earning an eyeroll from his younger companion.

“Your health was dropping well within my expected parameters, you wouldn’ t have had to activate the shield for at least another 2 minutes and, then, it would have lasted all the way through his final phase, instead of us having to dodge like crazy for the last bit,” there was no arguing with Futaba on it, in no small part since Ryuji doubted anything she said wasn’t absolutely correct. As a result he settled for just waving a hand at her dismissively, groping about for his phone.

“Whatever Miss Queen of Games-”

“Goddess, if you must,”

Ryuji made an unflattering snorting sound and finally located his phone. “Seriously? 4 in the morning? That was, what, five hours playing? Geeze, no wonder my ass feels numb,” Ryuji remained classy as always.

“That’s nothing, I’ve been on raids that take up to 9 hours solid playing. Of course most of that is when there’s some trick to the raid, so you gotta play over and over on the same parts till someone figures it out, then it’s always way easier in hindsight,” she turned off the console as she spoke, hearing Ryuji’s neck give an audible crick as he stretched out. Stupid, muscled, boy.

“Seriously? That’s like...the whole day. There’s no way I could sit still that long, it’d drive me nuts,” Futaba could only scoff at his plebian constitution.

“You can’t sit still for a minute without complaining so you aren’t a good bar for this at all. You were shifting around so much I thought you were just going to push me off! Not to mention now you rubbed your numb butt all over my precious bed! I’ll have to disinfect the sheets!”

“It isn’t my fault your room has almost nowhere else to sit, okay? Also you’re in school now so you gotta get rest, remember what Makoto said? No more sleeping in the day and staying up at night, ‘ight?”

“Sleep is for the weak, I prefer to just turbocharge with sugar and power through school then stay up all night, it’s a perfect solution!” A perfect solution it was not, and Futaba knew this. Adjusting to her first year at Shujin had come with a number of obstacles. One of those was trying to get back into a normal sleeping pattern, something she hadn’t done for years. Even now she struggled falling asleep any time before 2 or 3 in the morning, leading to more than a few incidents of passing out at Shujin and getting lectured by Sojiro. There was, of course, no way Futaba was ever going to admit that to a bonehead like Ryuji. Even struggling to sleep she still managed considerably better scores than him so, when you think about it, her way was clearly better.

“What are you, a vampire? Seriously Futaba, sleep’s important for a growing kid, even a pipsqueak like you could still pack on a few inches,” he tauntingly held his hand above her head in the air, grinning crookedly.

Vampire’s weren’t really Futaba’s style, she prefered aliens or orcs, but more importantly; “A few inches? Ryuji! My breast size is not something you should be worrying about! You just want me to grow up like Ann and Haru and Makoto don’t you? Admit it!” If he was going to open the door to taunting than Futaba would give as good as she got and, if history was any judge, she gave considerably more than he could handle.

“W-what? No! No! I meant height! Height! Taller, taller Futaba! I didn’t...I wouldn’t...you’re fine how you are I...not that I care! Or...as long as you’re happy then...I just meant...” he devolved into a Ryuji-esque meltdown, cheeks tinged pink, eyes wide as saucers, babbling and wavings his arms about in an incoherent mess. She couldn’t help but giggle. There was almost no-one as fun to tease as Ryuji, his unique blend of earnesty, foot-in-mouth syndrome and idiocy was simply unmatched.

“It’s okay, doofus, but let that be a lesson to you not to make comments about a lady’s physique! Stick to what you know; meat and muscles and punching stuff,” she poked a finger into his chest accusatorily and tried to ignore how irritatingly solid it was.

“You know I am good at other stuff too,” he sulked, a hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Evidence would beg to differ,” she shot back, sticking a tongue out at him and earning another amused snort from the blonde...well, only partly blonde, darker roots were beginning to show again. Ever since Ren had moved away his dedication to keeping his hair blonde had been fading.

“Whatever, look you sure it’s still cool if I crash here for tonight? Sojiro’s cool with it while he’s out?”

“Nah, I didn’t tell him, so when he comes back and finds you here tomorrow morning, er, later in the morning he’ll probably kill you,” stringing Ryuji along was just to easy for her, how could she blamed for pulling his leg when he basically stuck it out for her every single time?

“W-” was as far as Ryuji managed, leaping to his full height, voice dangerously high, before Futaba’s familiar cackle clued him in on what was yet another instance of her messing with him.

“Relax, geeze, obvs I told him,” she shook her head as he calmed down; “Besdes, he’s okay with any of you being here, Inari, you, Ren, so long as it’s you guys it’s okay, so ease up on the paranoia, will ya?”

“Hey! If I’m paranoid it’s cause you keep messin’ with me!” Ryuji shot back weakly, grumbling all the while. Futaba simply shrugged.

“So what do you wanna do next?”

“Sleep?” He said it as if it was some obvious conclusion she should have reached already. She tried to make sure her disappointment didn’t show and, luckily, Ryuji was one of the people she was rather good at hiding things from, though that was probably more just because Ren, Makoto and Haru were, by comparison, far more perceptive than him.

“I mean it’s already way past my normal time and I like gettin’ up early, sleeping in the whole day, just feels like I’m wastin’ time, ya know?” He didn’t mean it as a question, not a real one, Futaba knew a rhetorical question when she heard one.

“So that’s what I’ve been doing, huh?” She kept it to a whisper, not exactly wishing to inject bitterness into what had otherwise been a fun night. There was nothing really for it in the end, he was an early rising, workout obsessed, extroverted meathead, she was a nightowl, introvert, who could barely make the walk down her own stairs without panting. They were just like oil and water, night and day and other cool sounding metaphors.

For some reason that bothered her a bit.

“Okay, okay, fine, yeesh, can’t believe you still have a bedtime, and you call me the kid?”

#persona 5 #p5 #fanfiction #ryuji sakamoto #sakamoto ryuji #ryuji #futaba #futaba sakura #sakura futaba #ryutaba

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