the world exists within you.

      ❛    is it ?  i thought you’d known i don’t actually have a degree on my glasses …     ❜

for a second, the gloved veil of blanched surprise obscured trickster’s gaze, with a softness akin to a semi – velvet nature. a ghost of a touch dancing silently in mid – air, in that it would make one question if or not it really was there in the first place. did it want to conceal or not ? its intentions were ever mysterious and wavering as usual. even so, there had to be a gentleness to these kinds of things. articulated and thought of before they were to be carried out. why – even in subtlety, everything is fated to have meaning. but what was most unsatisfactory is that he didn’t even guess who was behind such a sudden and well – meticulated act !

did you know that he knew magic ? there was maybe an inkling of sorts / a hypothesis made of a nocturnal sorcery that lived quietly in ichor – tipped veins for the longest time. but no longer. such was in the past, and his future was now before him.  the family left behind in wake will always remain and there will be a day when he will see them again. it is not what destiny dictates / but promised hope in its stead. a flourishing of a bouquet in another split second, tied together with a red spider silk bow. with reflection, what other way truly is there to display love undying than with the lucid elegance of roses ? of course, there has to be some kind of individuality to be seen. therefore, a peppering of forget-me-nots, entwined within the heart – shaped sea of red.

a stifled laugh, trying its best to recover from such a paining blow to the heart. it knows that the other teases too well by now.  ❛ hey ! i didn’t even see a hint of surprise on your face ! and here i was, on my way to the flower shop before coming to see you. i thought it had been a little while, but i see such is how i am to be brutally let down… luck really can be a cruel mistress, wouldn’t you agree ? ❜ a hand wistfully ‘pon forehead, accompanied with dramatic sigh for emphasis.  ❛ however  ━━ ! is that the hint of a blush, i see ? maybe it’s not as bad as I thought. i also have a little idea for you in mind. that is, if you’d care to hear what exactly it is. ❜

          of course, it’s only in the moments like these that he finds his heart is much more fragile and prone to sentiment than he’d thought. it’s not oft that his own attention to detail is returned in a way that flourished so easily on the apples of his cheeks. by now, it’s well known that his love is the reaper who frequently steals away any chance of deviation in his attention—  the subtle acts of his affections laced deeply within his chest with steel threads. it’s he who knows all too well that it’s not easy to accept such tenderness when one is so used to dealing it out so willingly. no one ever asks if the pieces return once everything returns to normal.  ❛ oh, c’mon— ❜  it’s an attempt at redemption, naturally. there’s no way he could stand to see ryoji so wistfully upset with him after all the trouble he’d gone through. one must wonder the ways akira’s surprise is risen through the rapidity of a cage rattling, a prisoner in his chest begging to be set free with his key right before him.  ❛ i bet you already talked to sojiro about keeping this quiet, didn’t you? ❜ 

     the curve of her lips twitched just slightly upwards as she leaned over just a bit more, enough to meet him in between the bar.  his messy bangs made it a bit difficult when it had since grown long, brushing just over the rim of his glasses.    ❛    your hair’s stuck between your glasses, ‘kira …    ❜    she gently tugged his spectacles away from his face, her fingers lightly brushing along unruly curls in an attempt to neaten it,    ❛    you should trim it when you can.    ❜    somehow, there was a leaf on his hair   —   brought in by the breeze outside when his patrons entered, she presumed.

luna didn’t even realize how close they were getting until she plucked the leaf away.  she’d never seen his eyes up so close before;  under the light, they seemed more silver than grey, more vivid than ever.  the spectacles had done their job hiding his eyes’ splendor.  before she knew it, the girl was already drawn in, leaf and whatever else be damned.

          oh—  his heart clambered within his chest much like an unruly orchestra, beating rapidly and uneven however much his demeanor remained calm. it’s just like him to be able to tuck away the feelings that rise to the surface, no matter what they may be. it stands to reason, however, that akira had just as much reason for such feelings to give rise to the nervous tension between them, and by the look of her after having cleared away his messy hair from obstructing his view, she was just as uneasy as he was.  ❛ a-ah, right— ❜  hand raises in vain to stifle a cough;  a ruse to distance himself from the perfection seen within her own eyes, clear as the ocean and reminiscent of the sky.  ❛ i, uh, haven’t had enough time to think about it lately. ❜

          it’s not a big deal—  he thinks in a vain effort to keep the heat from lingering within his cheeks, it’s not like it’s the first time they’d ever been this close before.  ❛ come with me? ❜  it’s muttered under his breath as gaze lifts once more to meet hers, hands busying themselves with the rag left forlorn for luna’s attention. it’s only now that she’d mentioned it that he’d realized just how long his hair had gotten, especially since it weighed down whenever he hadn’t been paying attention, not that akira ever really did. 

          ❛ i never knew... ❜  there’s a pause in his speech, inhale taken as he remembered the intense rush of emotions he’d felt when he’d first summoned orpheus. he’d known all along that there was something different in the way that he’d appeared, as though not rightfully belonging to him—  never  his.  akira had felt deep sorrow wedged into the cracks of his heart, eyes brimming with tears shed on someone else’s behalf like a man possessed. he wished he could name the feeling, wished he could’ve found the reason why it had hurt so much, but it all made sense when he’d met her. 

         “Huh? No…I don’ use real money in this. I think this game does have microtransactions if ya wan’. Bu’…I’m hones’ly good enough ta play wi’ou’ ‘em. ‘er a’ leas’ spend all tha time grindin’. Bu’…I’m referrin’ ta in game money. I’s based on old wes’, so gettin’ a tonna loot is hard ta come by. An’ bein’ killed, tha otha player can take a ton of wha’ I had earned in there.”

          Maybe she shouldn’t have robbed that train. That bounty on her head did have a nice price, and then with them having killed her, getting her money too…they just made a bounty off of her. Granted, they could have gotten more by taking her in alive. Oh well.

         “Granted…durin’ these times scopes weren’ a thing. I’ was more of…kinda jus’ honin’ in. They basically killed me wi’ou’ even havin’ ta take time an’ aim properly.”

          ❛ that...  sucks, ❜  eloquent as always. maybe akira really should consider getting into more advanced gaming, as he had more than enough room in the attic to sustain the hobby. the thought quickly dissipates when he considers boss’s complaints about the noise levels sure to ensue with his losses during business hours—  not that he were ever home during such times. 

“quit movin’ around so much. i’m still tryin’ to figure out if your ribs are cracked or not,” gruff voice rings out before any kind of answer. he sighs, sitting upright with arms folded over his chest. where to even begin. he wasn’t sure where to start - if he should even mention mementos. there was too much they didn’t know about, and he wasn’t sure how much he could trust this kid.

“… m’not sure what happened, but i think you mighta got jumped, kid,” he rolls his sleeves up a bit, wiping his slightly bloodied hands on a nearby towel. “dunno who they were, but they were pretty fuckin’ feral. got scratches an’ shit all over you.

my name is kazama. kazama afton. i heard some shit, went out, and found you. you’re in my group’s office, but you’re safe. what’s your name, kid? who the hell did this to you?”

          ❛ ouch— ❜  maybe if his prodding were a bit less abrasive, he’d have cause to lie still. as he was, his body ached and his lungs screamed with every breath,  DAMNING  him  &  daring him to take his last as if it’d make the pain finally cease. perhaps his instincts were right—  maybe his failure to move forward would ease the pain and suffering, but it sure as hell wouldn’t ease his conscience. it’s for this reason that akira winces with each inhale and sighs with each exhale. 

          ❛ great... ❜  —he wasn’t wrong. perhaps it would’ve hurt less if he were jumped by humans instead of the shadows that could very well have ended his life, but akira wouldn’t dwell on the details. the scratches that littered his body could be felt oozing into his clothes—  he was sure the stains couldn’t simply be washed out after this.

          ❛ kurusu, ❜  softly spoken at the expense of the pain his chest would endure,  ❛ kurusu, akira. ❜  he thinks about all the ways he could try to explain the monstrosities that wandered around within mementos looking for a single target to pick off—  a stray,  much like himself. not one plausible example remained to give, and so he settles for uncertainty instead.

     a small chuckle slipped her.  it was cute how his normal meticulousness slipped when he was too attentive to something, though that was partly why she adored him so much.    ❛    uh huh,    ❜    the blonde craned herself slightly over the bar to brush her hand gently across his bangs,    ❛    come here.  lean closer so i can take it out.    ❜

          akira found himself glad that at least she thought it was funny. then again, luna had always had a whimsical sense of humor since he’d met her—  a trait he’d always found endearing.  ❛ has it really been there this whole time? ❜  it’s asked while he he finishes grinding down the beans for his next  pour over;  two separate batches to make for the two of them. she’s had to wait for him all this time, after all—  it’s only fair that he pay her back in kind. her hand passing through his hair feels nice, cold from messing around on her phone, he assumes. it’s a stark contrast to how warm he feels after a day of playing barista while sojiro was away. apparently he trusted him enough to have him look after the place, which he counted as a blessing.

     ❛    … akira ?    ❜    her soft voice gently tore away the comfortable silence,    ❛    there’s something on your face.    ❜    /    @foolfated​.

          ❛ huh? ❜  it seems he hadn’t noticed such a thing while he’d been wrapped up in the orders he’s been preparing for the strange influx of customers today. it’s a bit embarrassing, to say the least, especially since she hadn’t mentioned it until just now and akira himself hadn’t noticed it at all.