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- !event,
- akashi kaoru,
- akiko yosano,
- akira kurusu,
- aqua (kingdom hearts),
- arsene lupin,
- cairngorm,
- caramia,
- clark kent,
- damian wayne,
- dave strider,
- dextera,
- dirk strider,
- eliot durant,
- elizabeth,
- gaku yaotome,
- gandharva,
- ginko,
- goro akechi,
- guren ichinose,
- haru okumura,
- honebami toushirou,
- ignis scientia,
- izuku midoriya,
- john egbert,
- jonathan kent,
- joshua bright,
- josuke higashikata,
- kairi,
- kamui,
- kei nanjo,
- keigo asano,
- koriel xiii,
- kyrie,
- maribelle,
- maya amano,
- michael mell,
- mikleo,
- minato arisato,
- misaki yata,
- mutsunokami yoshiyuki,
- ochako uraraka,
- okuni kumou,
- okuyasu nijimura,
- percy jackson,
- phoenix,
- prompto argentum,
- riku,
- riku nanase,
- rin okumura,
- ryo asuka,
- saruhiko fushimi,
- selina kyle,
- shiho sannomiya,
- sora,
- sorey,
- summer moran,
- tenn kujo,
- tonbokiri,
- zelda
Event Eight.
 | |
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there. No more from the cottage again will I roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. | |
Welcome to Awash's eighth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. | |
he Town is quiet this week. No sudden quests on the forum post, no roars of werewolves in the distance... just peaceful, peaceful quiet. Of course, it's
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[Akira really did mean it, that he didn't mind if Akechi just dumped his things and was done with it, but the fact that he's actually going to do something with them is really nice. It makes Akira feel... well, content.
He's felt content since he came here. And that's a good feeling.
He looks over Sojiro's spices and the ingredients he has on shelves and in fridges, taking note of what looks important and what they might be able to get or substitute in town. He's working pretty industriously until in reaching for something on a high shelf he accidentally lets the notebook slip out of his hand.
He retrieves what he was reaching for, then bends to retrieve the notebook. In its fall he lost his page, and as he's sifting through to find it again, something in Akechi's handwriting catches his eye.
Dextera reported coming back to life.
He pauses, staring at the line. He knows he shouldn't, this is Akechi's personal notebook and he shouldn't look through it, but now that he's seen it he can't stop himself. He skims the page, his eyes widening.
It's clear what this is. Akechi was researching the circumstances around his death. It seems he questioned Dextera extensively.
He was trying to find out if it was real.]
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Eventually, he decides the best place to leave them is on the bed itself and just cover them with a blanket, but as he starts to take the out of the box one by one, he finds himself fighting the urge to hold on to them a little longer, a little closer-- and even from this distance, he can still get a whiff of that unmistakable scent of coffee, still permeating every stitch and thread. For an illusion, this is certainly awfully detailed.
Once he reaches for the last item - Akira's summer uniform - he presses it against his own chest for a second too long, under the pretense of dusting it off and straightening it out with his hand before folding it into a perfectly neat square, then deposits it on the mattress with the rest of Akira's now equally arranged belongings. Lastly, the blanket that Akira keeps by the edge of his bed is unfolded and draped over them. That should take care of it.
For someone who said he wouldn't be long, he sure took his sweet time patting and inspecting Akira's possessions. Just... doing a thorough job again. ]
Sorry for the wait! [ He calls out from the stairs, a now empty cardboard box in tow. ] It took me a short while to figure out what to do with your belongings, but I do believe I came up with a good solution...
[ Hopefully Akira isn't still peeking at his notes by the time he actually makes it back to the kitchen... ]
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Hm? Oh. [And he hopes Akechi takes that distraction as Akira being absorbed in his task.] Thanks. That'll work great.
[He wonders what Akechi did with his stuff that took him so long; he'll have to go look later. For now, he comes over to the counter and sets down the notebook, open to the list so Akechi can see it too.]
The bags of coffee are heavier than the rest of this stuff, so we should start there. Make sure the box isn't going to break and nothing will get crushed.
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So he doesn't say anything on the matter, and instead takes his usual seat back as he gives the list a cursory glance. It does sound like quite a lot, and they only have the one box... ]
Is there anything we can use to make the box more resistant? Perhaps wrap it in duct tape?
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[He goes into the little alcove in the back, rummaging around on the shelves and in drawers. Finally he returns, holding up what looks like packing tape.]
This'll probably work, you think?
[He sets it down on the counter next to the box, then leans forward to look at his own list again. A little into Akechi's space, now.]
Maybe I picked too much... we can start smaller.
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Hmm, I believe that will work just fine. As for starting smaller, though...
[There's a hum, and he brings a hand to his chin. He knows he said they may take several trips doing this, but now that he's given it more thought, another hypothesis has come to mind. ]
Have you considered the possibility this illusion might not be here a second time? We have been running into them for a couple of days now, and there's no telling when they'll disappear. A single trip might be all we get.
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[The idea that the shop will be gone soon, possibly any moment, pains him in a way he isn't expecting. Maybe it's just the homesickness he's been feeling every now and then now amplified by being in this place, but he doesn't want to see it go away. Wants to go up to the attic and sleep and have the cafe still be here in the morning.
That would be nice. But with the way things have gone so far, he doubts that's the case.
So he nods, determined.]
Then we'll have to take as much as we can.
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We can always return at a later time, of course, but I do believe it is best to be safe than sorry.
[ Under different circumstances, this would be just the kind of situation in which Akechi would try to offer some reassurance in the shape of an awkward shoulder squeeze, and his hand even moves over the counter out of instinct, though halts and closes into a fist before it ever has the chance to proceed very far. Definitely not his place. ]
Are you all finished with selecting what you wish to take? If not, I can get started on the box in the meantime.
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[He returns to the shelves, looking at his list before starting to grab bags off coffee, sifting for ones that are unopened or mostly full. No sense filling up space with half end bags.]
I wonder if the TV still works... we could turn something on to pass the time.
[He says it idly as he gathers bags and sets them on the bar.]
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[ He agrees with a nod, then heads over. It's better than falling into an awkward silence, anyway.
So he grabs the remote and flips through channels, though it would seem there's a single one available-- and it just so happened to be airing one of his TV appearances. Maybe it's just the channel that was usually on, back in the real Leblanc? Who knows how these pocket dimensions work... ]
... ah, I can't seem to find anything else. [ He turns back to Akira with a bit of a sheepish smile. ] Should I... turn it off?
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Ah. That must be why it's the only thing on.
Suddenly, Akira feels his face heating up, and he quickly looks away to focus on the coffee, hoping Akechi doesn't notice.]
Uh-- up to you. [Flawless.] Do you, um... is it weird watching yourself on TV?
[Yeah, that's a good save.]
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... unless Akira has begun to suspect they are based on their memories, like one of the hypotheses Akechi, himself, has been working with. And if that's the case-- ]
Ah, I don't particularly mind it. [ A shake of his head, both in response to Akira's question and as a means to ground himself back to reality. It's best not to get his hopes up, then set himself up for disappointment. ] I've been told I'm the kind of person who likes the sound of his own voice, haha.
[ Self-deprecating joke and rueful laugh out of the way, he sets the remote back where he found it, then makes the short trip back to his seat, where he quickly engages in wrapping the cardboard box in packing tape. He wants to do a thorough job, like everything he does, so he spends a good amount of time working on the bottom alone, since that's the area that's more likely to break the easiest.
Occasionally, he takes a peek at the television, and he can't help but let his own thoughts wander again, his own memories taking over. One of his earlier interviews, was it? ]
It feels like forever ago, doesn't it?
[ And for just that brief minute, he keeps his eyes on the screen, distracted from his task, a wistful flair in his voice. It's nostalgia, mixed with the knowledge that very moment set their fate into motion. ]
"They do more than the police." [ A chuckle, and then his gaze is back on Akira. ] With an answer like that, it's no wonder I've had my eyes on you from day one.
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It really was forever ago. Back before everything went to hell; back when he thought Akechi really was a good guy, if a little arrogant.
Back before he knew the pain he was truly in. Back before Akechi...
It was simpler then, though Akira didn't know it at the time. Sometimes he wishes he could go back.]
Sorry. [A shrug.] I have good reasons to distrust most police.
[Have, not had. He hopes Akechi doesn't read more into that than his faulty arrest.]
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... hmm. I understand.
[ While not a member of the force, Akechi himself does work alongside the police. And right now, with only this tentative truce between them, he can't blame Akira for not trusting him.
(As it turns out, it's hard to be an Ace Detective when he can't look directly into someone's heart.) ]
Regardless, to think I would so vehemently oppose the Phantom Thieves, only to later wind up joining them... [ And he busies himself with the cardboard box again, willing away whatever feelings of disappointment had begun to crawl out of the woodwork to haunt him. ] It has surely been an unexpected turn of fate.
[ Much like right now, with the two of them cooperating against all odds, truly working towards a common goal. Even now, the thought still feel surreal to him. ]
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Present company excluded, of course.
[Hopefully, Akechi takes that at face value; Akira is extending this truce in full, no matter their past.]
You did say we were fated to meet... You've said that more than once.
[He lines up the coffee bags neatly on the counter, ready to be transferred to the box whenever Akechi is done, with a quiet efficiency.]
Maybe it wasn't so unexpected after all.
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And for once, he didn't mind that at all. ]
That is true; I do believe fate brings people together. But it doesn't mean they always will be.
[ He can't tell Akira why or how he knows that, but that is the truth as he has learned it; even if they were meant to meet, had they stayed back in Tokyo and each followed through with their lives the same as usual, then surely by now they would have been on opposite paths again. By now, Akira might not even have been alive anymore.
Had nothing changed between them, then that thought wouldn't bother Akechi as much as it does now. ]
You, on the other hand, always said you believe only in yourself, and in the power of your bonds. Perhaps free will might be the other half of the equation.
[ Even now, they are thesis and antithesis. Separately, at least. ]
If it is true that fate brings people together, then could it be that choice is what keeps them that way?
[ Together, they could be synthesis. ]
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Perhaps it was fate that brought each of the thieves in contact with each other, but it was by choice that they are a family now. Perhaps it was fate that he and Akechi met, but by their choices...]
I think so.
[He says it with strong conviction.]
Saying that you're fated to part... That's just giving up, right?
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... well. I was never very fond of giving up.
[ It's low, and peaceful, and so unlike the weight of the feelings and meanings battling it out inside his psyche.
All his life, Akechi has been a fighter, surviving against all odds, thriving and making a name for himself - even at the cost of his humanity - and challenging a world that all but wanted to see him gone, like he had never existed at all. He was fueled by hatred, and revenge, and kept on living out of spite, renouncing any chance for happiness just to have the satisfaction of triumphing over his greatest enemy. It's toxic, and surely it will poison him beyond salvation, but it has kept him moving all this time.
... and then there was this town, and Akira, and the impermanence of death itself. It should have forced them apart, once, and then twice even after his return, and yet here they are, making plans and amends, joined by coffee and a bond that he couldn't touch or comprehend. This, too, was a challenge. This, too, was about not giving up.
He finishes his job and pushes the box aside, just slightly, timing his moves so the sound of cardboard on wood would cover up the lightest of sighs. It's only then he can look up at Akira again. ]
So. Choice, is it?
[ And while one might figure this is simply the natural conclusion to a philosophical exchange, his eyes are inquiring in the same measure as they are resolute. It's a question, as much as it is an answer.
This is their choice, isn't it? ]
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He believes that.]
Mm. I've already made my decision.
[He made it a long time ago, and while he won't pretend that it didn't get hard there after his death, ultimately he's never changed his mind. He knows what Akechi's true feelings are, buried so deep maybe he can't even reach them yet. He thinks they can be brought out, and that the choice Akechi ultimately makes will be the right one.]
Thanks for getting the box ready. [And he scoots it over, so he can start putting jars inside.]