re / justice.

“...it’s been over a while ago.” he admitted, and was surprised at himself at how simple it sounded, even to him. the truth could sometimes be just that. simple. a shame that never translated into ‘easy’. “that i can accept it doesn’t mean i wanted it to end like this.”

❝ we have work to do, ❞ comes instead, clipped and unsurprised. sei realized, too. ❝ you can work with us or sit on the sidelines quietly. ❞

❝ i can’t tell when you’re joking and when you’re not. ❞ ❝ you look ridiculous in that outfit. ❞ ❝ when we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. ❞ ❝ go on, pull the trigger. ❞ ❝ guess you’ll have to chalk it up to bad luck. ❞ ❝ whatever happens, happens. ❞ ❝ how long were you there? i didn’t hear you come in. ❞ ❝ some promises are made to be broken. ❞ ❝ you’ve already caused me enough trouble. ❞ ❝ i’m fully aware of the danger. ❞ ❝ why do you do all of this? for money? some sort of revenge? or perhaps just for fun? ❞ ❝ the more you know, the shorter your life will be. ❞ ❝ let’s just say my past is catching up to me. ❞ ❝ go ahead and run. how far do you think you’ll get? ❞ ❝ i want to get out of this life. ❞ ❝ i’ll be with you. until the end. ❞ ❝ you’re lucky you got away with only this scratch on your arm. ❞ ❝ stick your neck out too far, and you’ll get it cut. ❞ ❝ i was starting to worry about you. ❞ ❝ i thought i’d say goodbye, since it’ll be the last i’ll be seeing you. ❞ ❝ you know the first rule of combat? shoot them before they shoot you. ❞ ❝ you’ve never told me anything about yourself. ❞ ❝ hey there, having a little trouble? ❞ ❝ do you have any idea what you look like? a ravenous beast. ❞ ❝ this is strictly business. ❞ ❝ are you pleading for your life? ❞ ❝ i love the kind of woman that can kick my ass. ❞ ❝ remember: a snake cannot eat a dragon. ❞ ❝ you came all the way here to see me? ❞ ❝ belonging is the very best thing there is. ❞ ❝ there was no place for me to return to. this was the only place i could go. ❞ ❝ they lead you like a lamb to slaughter. ❞ ❝ if we had met earlier in life, do you think that we would have been friends? ❞ ❝ i’m not a criminal. woah…that makes me sound more like a criminal, doesn’t it? ❞ ❝ you know what they say. easy come, easy go. ❞ ❝ no one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. you move that line as you see fit for yourself. ❞ ❝ don’t try to talk anymore. we’ll have a doctor in a few minutes. ❞ ❝ why do you have to go? ❞ ❝ i know who you are. i’ve heard about you. ❞ ❝ you should see yourself right now. ❞ ❝ so, you’re finally awake. ❞ ❝ either way, we were destined to end up like this. ❞ ❝ that threat doesn’t work on me anymore. ❞ ❝ a star just fell from the sky. ❞ ❝ we should’ve never taken such a risk. ❞ ❝ your heart is colder than any planet. ❞ ❝ of the days that i have lived, only those i spent with you felt real. ❞ ❝ what’s wrong? lost your nerve? ❞ ❝ hello there, my friend, welcome to hell. ❞ ❝ how long were you in there listening? ❞ ❝ i have no fear of death. it just means dreaming in silence. ❞ ❝ you’re kidding yourself if you think every person is like you. they’re not. ❞ ❝ you told me once to forget the past, but you’re the one still tied to it. ❞ ❝ before i knew it, the dream was all over ❞ ❝ angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become devils. ❞ ❝ having ourselves a little nap, huh? ❞ ❝ time never stands still. ❞ ❝ you are a part of me that i had lost. ❞ ❝ you’re a good shot. ❞ ❝ let’s go somewhere. just the two of us. ❞ ❝ so, there is no place for me after all. ❞ ❝ there is nothing in this world to believe in. ❞ ❝ when this is over, i’m getting out of it. all of it. ❞ ❝ shit. this whole thing gives me a headache. ❞ ❝ the same blood runs through both of us. ❞ ❝ if there’s anyone who needs pity here, it’s you. ❞ ❝ why are you still alive? ❞ ❝ so, how about it? you’ll have a little drink, won’t you? ❞ ❝ once you let your teeth in something, you never let go of it. ❞ ❝ i’m not in a great mood right now, all right? ❞ ❝ what, you think you’re too good to talk to me? ❞ ❝ everything’s broken around this place. ❞ ❝ didn’t your grandmother ever tell you to finish what you start? ❞ ❝ i’ll meet you at the end of this world. ❞ ❝ you were always waiting for me. and that’s all i needed. you. ❞ ❝ what are you spacing out about? ❞ ❝ what are you going to do? throw away your life like it was nothing? ❞ ❝ i’m watching a dream i’ll never wake up from. ❞ ❝ i’m not the type to be led around. ❞ ❝ it’s so like you to worry about things. ❞ ❝ come on out. you can’t run anymore. ❞ ❝ don’t give me that art of war crap. ❞ ❝ you’re a strange one, aren’t you? ❞ ❝ this could be a trap. ❞ ❝ for some reason, i didn’t feel sad. it just didn’t seem real. ❞ ❝ if i tell you, i’d have to kill you. ❞ ❝ now, don’t get hotheaded. ❞ ❝ there’s something you’re looking for, isn’t there? something you need to find? ❞ ❝ if you wanna know something, let me see some cash. ❞ ❝ hey, i said i was sorry. ❞ ❝ i don’t know who you are and i don’t really give a damn. ❞ ❝ if you want to receive, you must first give. ❞ ❝ i had a little trouble, but it’s nothing i can’t handle. ❞ ❝ tell me what you’re doing here. ❞ ❝ we either deceive or are deceived. we flourish or perish. ❞ ❝ you don’t give up, do you? ❞ ❝ if you want to survive, you’ll have to betray me at times. ❞ ❝ i had no idea the view from up here would be so breathtaking. ❞ ❝ damn…all that work and no reward. ❞ ❝ don’t come back. there won’t be a place for you. ❞ ❝ i haven’t committed any crimes. well…at least not bad ones. ❞ ❝ doing things like this won’t bring you any good. ❞ ❝ what happened to your generosity? ❞ ❝ i’ve never had anything good happen to me when i trusted others. ❞ ❝ little by little, i felt something inside of me go numb. ❞ ❝ thank god i can finally relax. take a little breather. ❞ ❝ come on, hang in there, you hear me? ❞ ❝ do not fear death. death is always at our side. ❞ ❝ you’re in a good mood today. ❞ ❝ i don’t know why i’m telling you all this. i feel like i’m in a confession booth. ❞ ❝ you’ve never listened to anyone in your whole life. ❞ ❝ we’re supposed to be a team here, you know. ❞ ❝ you’re avoiding the subject and you know it. what are you trying to hide from me? ❞ ❝ to our new alliance, and perhaps even friendship. ❞ ❝ when something goes wrong, someone must take responsibility. ❞ ❝ what’s your problem? you wanna fight? ❞ ❝ don’t try anything. ❞ ❝ you’ve got a bit of mercy in you, haven’t you? ❞ ❝ i want to be strong like you. ❞ ❝ what’s all this? isn’t this a little risky? ❞ ❝ it’s no use playing innocent. ❞ ❝ you have something beautiful deep inside you. it’s hard for some people to tell, but it’s there. ❞ ❝ you’re trembling. ❞ ❝ how do you know so much about me? ❞ ❝ i’m okay. it takes more than to kill me. ❞ ❝ ‘survival of the fittest’ is the law of nature. ❞ ❝ i want to live my own life, make my own decisions…even if they are terrible mistakes. ❞ ❝ hey, thanks a lot for the warm welcome. ❞ ❝ what makes you think you can do whatever the hell you like? ❞ ❝ you’re just walking trouble, so stay out of it. ❞ ❝ i said i don’t feel like doing this. ❞ ❝ you’re just afraid they’ll abandon you, so you abandon them. ❞ ❝ and you trust me just like that? ❞ ❝ i never did understand you, right to the very end. ❞ ❝ unfortunately, we quickly forget the lessons we learn, and then we have to learn them all over again. ❞ ❝ you’ll survive this. be strong. ❞ ❝ how many lies are you going to tell me before you’re done? ❞ ❝ remember: i will always be cheering you on. ❞ ❝ what do you get by running away? ❞ ❝ do people ever tell you that you’re the silent type? ❞ ❝ i get a strange feeling when i look in your eyes. ❞ ❝ this time, i hope you have sweet dreams. ❞ ❝ will you rescue me if someone goes wrong? ❞ ❝ do you want to know a secret about my past? ❞ ❝ even if you play by the rules, nothing gets solved. ❞ ❝ you’re gonna carry that weight. ❞ ❝ so, you were going to betray me? ❞ ❝ that arrogance of yours will be your ruin. ❞ ❝ you’re the only one i can turn to for help right now. ❞ ❝ i’m not the delicate cautious type. ❞ ❝ i…can’t come with you. ❞ ❝ my love for you burns strong. ❞ ❝ they say ghosts appear in places where they have regrets. ❞ ❝ in this world, people must cherish whatever ties they have. ❞ ❝ you’re the one person i could never forgive. ❞ ❝ serves you right. this is poetic justice. ❞ ❝ i’ve got no place to stay. ❞ ❝ we’ll leave here and get out of this. ❞ ❝ what makes you think that you know anything about me? ❞ ❝ i’m telling you this for your own good. if you’re smart, you’ll stay out of it. ❞ ❝ of course, i can see now how stupid i was. ❞ ❝ did you sleep well? ❞ ❝ keep dreaming. it’s never going to happen. ❞ ❝ sometimes it’s good not to ask ‘what’s in it for me?’ ❞ ❝ does it look like i’m joking around? ❞ ❝ all is fair in love and war. ❞ ❝ i’m just glad you’re safe. ❞ ❝ maybe this is the one i won’t come back from. ❞ ❝ it’s no use. there’s nothing we can do. ❞ ❝ what a smile. so sad…so beautiful. ❞ ❝ i know why you’re here. ❞ ❝ well, it looks like all my good karma is finally paying off. ❞  ❝ could you be a little quieter, please? ❞ ❝ if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity. ❞ ❝ i’ll take care of this. you can go back. ❞ ❝ this is the real world. this is no place for pretty ideals. ❞ ❝ i’m just watching a bad dream i never wake up from. ❞ ❝ for once, just stick to the plan. ❞ ❝ this is the first time i agree with you on something. ❞ ❝ you haven’t changed, huh? ❞ ❝ maybe…or maybe that’s just part of the legend. ❞ ❝ if i get caught, nothing can save me. nothing. ❞

❝ i understand the character just fine, ❞ he interjects, curt and yet absent, ❝ but that isn't enough. there's a problem with the model. i can't seem to draw you smiling. ❞

“i don’t understand,” the character says, lips still politely quirked upward. remember your role, he reminds himself, clamping down tight on the irritation that was beginning to bubble up. it was always these damned artist types. “i’m smiling right now, though?”

❝ he asked me what i wished for, ❞ a pause, the words straightforward and vulnerable, ❝ then he granted it. ❞ with the sun bowing, the halo of color begins blackening into a speckled void. the stars are visible in this reality, ringed in a faint and eerie glow. what would akechi wish for, given the chance? all of it wiped clean and vacant, another blank canvas scorned? ❝ lukewarm, ❞ he decides, lifting hands and tracing where the night contorts and frays and peels back, ❝ yes, desperate to mend, heal. that’s how i know it will hurt akira to face him. i hope you can help him in the ways we cannot. ❞

“and,” akechi continues before he can second-guess himself, thoughts running a mile a minute somewhere along the tracks of trust and openness and placing his cards face-up on the table, thinking if they figure it out then at least the ball will be in their court, “i care about kurusu. i do, against my better judgement. but at the end of this, i can’t help him.” he lets that simmer, using the moment to slip a smile back on. “still, i’m sure the rest of you will figure something out. that’s what you guys do, isn’t it?”

❝ so don’t patronize me either. ❞ he will never let a frame inform his reach again, regardless of who hangs it. there’s too many regrets already. ❝ what we lack in experience we make up for in tenacity. that’s something you know quite well. that tenacity broke our disillusionment with reality, though i wonder if maruki wanted subjugation at all with how simple it was. i barely knew him, yet he struck me as sure in his convictions, desperate to be of help. in some ways, not unlike akira; in some ways, not unlike yourself. ❞ a smile, private, almost teasing. ❝ stubborn. ❞

using his budding, newfound respect for kitagawa, akechi tries for civility. speaks, with a wry smile, “you know how it goes: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. but i can’t say i’ve had the opportunity to get to know him, so i’ll require more from you than tenacity. care to share what else you have on him?”

"...i can tell you've rehearsed it," a way of not calling it believable outright. and akira should know— he dares to say unthinkable (ridiculous) things with a straight face. never quite that, however. “who knows, maybe they chose you as a challenge of sorts.” he pauses, lifts his coffee, leaves it there, hovering under his lips. “i wouldn’t immediately think of casting you as a villain, either,” and takes a slow sip, breaking eye contact briefly. “but maybe being the hero would be too on the nose. in their minds, that’s probably what you’re like every day anyway, right? heroic and whatnot.” he leans on the table, and knows he’s stalling something, only he can’t name it with precision. it almost makes him smile, the amusement he feels at himself. “but nevermind what they want for you. what role would akechi-san want for himself?”

something about the phrasing gives him pause, spooling his thoughts around it into a tangled knot. “in their minds?” akechi repeats slowly, tasting the words before he lets them go. in spite of the lack of caffeine, the implications leave behind a bitter aftertaste. (the question: what role does he want for himself? the answer: as if akechi has ever belonged to himself. the answer: it doesn’t matter. hero, villain, martyr or soldier, he would be a puppet either way. what he wanted was to run a blade through the strings.) akechi ignores kurusu’s question in favor of posing one of his own: “you have a way of implying things, kurusu-kun. i suppose the logical question i should be asking next is: what do i look like, in yours?”