#rousseaucrow

It wasn’t like Akechi to be so careless as to leave behind a confidential piece of information such as part of a case file. At least, that was what Ren would have thought before their outings were becoming more and more frequent as of late, rare moments in which he would manage to catch the briefest of glimpses of who Goro Akechi might truly be behind the mask of a punctual and polite Detective Prince. It might have been hard to believe for some, but even Akechi was as human as the rest of them, even going as so far as mistakenly leaving behind something important. Maybe it wasn’t really as surprising as it seemed, though; at Leblanc the night prior, Ren had noticed the stressed out expression on Akechi’s face over his usual cup of coffee. Was that really all because of detective work? Though that was the obvious conclusion, Ren’s intuition begged to differ.

Regardless of Akechi’s stance against the Phantom Thieves -- as the single biggest threat to the place where Ren belonged -- Ren still had half a mind to return his file to him. After all, they were... friends, maybe? Certainly not confidants, even if Akechi’s promise to teach him deductive reasoning was enticing as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. They stood at opposite ends, but connected somewhere halfway in between through their games and debates. It was fascinating.

Lately, Penguin Sniper in Kichijoji had been the stage for their battles, so it was the usual place for them to meet up when Akechi wasn’t stopping by for a cup of coffee. Ren spotted Akechi waiting outside the entrance, and pulled out a manila folder from his bag to hand over to him.

“Sorry, but I peeked at it,” Ren admitted. How could he not? The more confidential it was, the more he would want to look. “You won’t arrest me, will you?”

At the moment, Hifumi just wished that the ground would swallow her whole. For some reason, when Akechi looked at her she just felt like he was looking right through her - and she didn’t even know why.

“Sooo-ooo-hooo-hoooo...” Futaba was already talking in a sing-song voice when she pushed open the door to LeBlanc, the bell ringing to herald her arrival. She wasn’t sure that she trusted Akechi, and she certainly wasn’t keen on him hanging around the cafe so often, but this was something he really ought to know - no matter how she felt about the Detective Prince.

☠ - Oh look at him, Mr.Prim and proper and ready to be a good influence on the world. If it had been for any other reason than this thief would’ve found his blood rendered to a boil and fist prepared to fly in the blink of an eye. (Something that may be frightfully within this bastard’s expectations.) Yet Skull keeps himself stuck underneath this metaphorical spotlight as he glances towards him, mischievous eyes burning bright underneath that steel mask while complying on one hand, raising up his hands as the lightning like color sticks out in comparison to the shadow filled backgorund.

Well hot damn. Placed into one hard place with a detective thief at the front. Why whatever would he do?

Skull manages to keep his gritty edge as a defiant smirk flourishes upon that face of his. Each step echoing in this hall makes it clear of his opponent’s arrival, who said that couldn’t have any fun with this on other hand? Those spiky teeth bare themselves in a way that can be taken as a threat, proper of the vulgar type such as himself. “Sweet talkin’ me while getting a gun out too? You really know how to lay it on thick, don’t ya?”

”All alone and not even getting any dinner set? You’ve really been eager as hell to give those cuffs of yours a workout, huh?” Oh he hadn’t forgot since that last altercation of theirs. It was a ‘innocent’ enough quip driven with enough questionable ideas that would have anyone wondering. So for this hard working man of the law to go and corner him on this certain day? He’d have to be a fool beyond a fool not to go and ruffle up those metaphorical feathers. Taunting him further, he even gives a testing wiggle of his fingers.

[ TEXT: Akechi ] Saved a bunch of curry that Boss was about to throw out. [ TEXT: Akechi ] Want some?

@rousseaucrow​

February 2nd. It had been a lot to take in at once.

Defying the peaceful and happy reality that Maruki had delicately crafted for each and every one of them was already an incredible task to overcome on its own, one that put them in a position to literally fight for their own suffering. Ren could already see how much it had hurt Futaba to accept a world without her mother again, or for Haru to once again realize the burden of her father’s sins, for Yusuke to be left without a guiding hand through his pursuit of true beauty -- and so on. Regardless, it was the right thing to do, or the efforts and struggles of all of mankind would be stifled, becoming a world of utter stagnation. From the beginning, Ren had been keenly aware of his place in Maruki’s world, seemingly the only one among them who had realized the extreme distortion going on. Up until now, he hadn’t even imagined that Maruki had granted his wish, too.

Another chance with Goro Akechi. The opportunity to keep their promise. Ren still felt the space that Akechi’s glove took up in his pocket every day due to that regret of his. But this new world wasn’t the one where their promise had been forged. Here it was null and void, under someone else’s manipulation. But... keeping their promise in the real world didn’t seem possible, either. After all, it seemed Akechi was...

Before Ren could continue to mull over how conflicted he was feeling right now about his choice to keep walking his own path, now that he knew he was the reason that Akechi was still standing here before him -- and that he was also the reason Akechi would be gone after tomorrow -- it seemed that Akechi was already on his way out of the cafe, leaving Ren alone with his thoughts. So, that was it? This was the last time Ren would be able to talk to Akechi like this ever again? Somehow, Ren couldn’t stand the thought of it. Not yet. Before Akechi was just out of his reach, instinct had Ren’s hand reaching out for his wrist, stopping Akechi right his tracks.

The look of confusion Akechi shot him as a result of his sudden actions had Ren feeling oddly exposed, like everything he felt towards Akechi was laid out all across the table. And for all intents and purposes, it basically was. Especially considering that Akechi had understood their unique situation before Ren did. But Ren wasn’t ashamed of it. Absolutely not. Their promise was his strength to keep going. If Sumire could move forward despite the painful reality without Kasumi, then so could he. Still, letting Akechi slip through his grasp hurt more than words could describe.

@rousseaucrow​ said: I think you’re an incredible writer and it’s an absolute pleasure to write with you. Your portrayal of Joker is genuinely thoughtful and well considered, I feel like you draw from canon and extrapolate in a way that makes him feel like an actual person. When you’re not asking for feet pics, that is. 100000/10 would recommend, I think you really convey all the depths and nuance that Ren has in your writing.

Another cigarette burned to ashes, the ash tray nearly bursting. What would tokyo say, with their future prime minister being this much of a person who smokes too much. 

 “What do you want.”