[ Shinjiro's a good sport, allowing Maruki to come badger him about his housing options. He never really had a say in the matter, of course, but still – there is nothing Maruki values more than giving someone the illusion of choice!
He arrives at their appointed meeting place outside Stellari's Royal Quarter with that ever-present satchel slung over one shoulder and a takeaway cup in each hand. One gets held out to Shinjiro, offered with his usual wide, warm smile. ]
An acquaintance of mine runs a tea and coffee shop, so I got you something there. It's on the sweeter side, so hopefully that's okay...
[ Knowing Erwin's creations as he does, it's likely a sugar bomb in coffee form, but the hot cup is nice to hold in the mild winter weather, and it's not like Kuchel's makes anything truly bad. ]
But if you hate it, you can have my Americano instead!
[Ultimately, he did mean it when he said it was too much energy to worry about housing. If it turns out that it'll be more energy to avoid it, he'll take the path of least resistance. Maruki never said anything about how much time he's expected to spend in there, after all. Should keeping a set of keys on his person put him largely out of sight and mind, that's alright with him.
Maruki shows up with coffee and offers Shinjiro his own if he doesn't like his, and without the filter of text, the older man is treated to a full-on teenage eyeroll as he takes the cup.]
This is fine. I said you didn't need to bring me anything, anyway.
[And he does actually like it sweet, honestly, though he couldn't imagine complaining in either direction nonetheless.]
It's a goddamn rabbit. Akechi squeezes through a barely open door. Whether Shinji was just walking out or coming in - doesn't matter. There's a rabbit inside now.
Akechi isn't sure what in his deranged bunny mind made him bolt - it might be the hawk circling overhead.
He could take it.
Anyway, he's in the middle of the living room and using this pseudo safe room to prepare for the ultimate boss battle with Big Bird. Don't bother him in his Bunny Thoughts. He's doing some big stomps about it.]
[As it happens, Shinji was just coming in. So it's not at all a problem to just...gently close the door behind him. He certainly isn't in any frame of mind to have a pet, but he doesn't live close enough to the forest that it's likely to be wild anyway. It probably belongs to someone else, and at any rate ... it's cold out. He can figure out what to do with it later.
For the time being, though? Shinjiro heads into the kitchen, getting out some of the leafy greens and vegetables he had for cooking, and chops them up into a bowl. He pours some water into a second bowl, and leaves them both a respectful distance away from bunkechi. A few minutes later, he also leaves a small box line some scrap paper and a blanket, and settles on the couch to check the network. Maybe someone's said something about a missing rabbit. It'd save him some effort asking.
His expression is uncharacteristically peaceful, though. He even smiles in its direction on occasion.]
[ At some point during the week, Shinjiro receives an invitation:
I'll be hosting a dinner party on March 22 and would love to see you there!
Feel free to come to the Horizons farmhouse any time after 5 PM.
Please do not bring anything! No food, no drinks, nothing but your presence. I appreciate the thought, but for me, the joy of this is being able to cook for a group of people, and I would like to handle it myself.
Hope to see you there!
Dr. Maruki
One gets the impression that if you go against his wishes to bring something anyway, it might stress him out...
When the mingle log goes up on the 22nd, please feel free to come tag around! ]
[Ah? Shinjiro doesn't exactly get visitors often; there's only a very few people it could likely be. So when Shinjiro opens the door to see Qifrey, he's not exactly surprised, though he does look a little guarded.]
[Unfortunately for Shinjiro, no good deed goes unpunished. And unfortunately for Shinjiro, in this case, it's in the form of Millions Knives taking an interest in him. There are a few reasons for this, but chiefly, it's because the young man assisted him and kept to his word to leave him be thereafter. There was no ulterior motive, or at least, not an immediately obvious one he could discern. The people here at least play a convincing act of being a bunch of bleeding hearts and meddlers, like he'd said.
Another reason is because Knives is largely ineffective at fending for himself. He'd learned how to behave like a human, but that had been a long time ago, and he'd only ever needed to learn to feign things like eating and sleeping, not actually do them. It's annoying and inconvenient.
So, whenever Shinjiro is next out at the market, or returning home from shopping, he might notice he has a not-so-subtle stalker. Knives keeps his face hidden under a hood to hide his still-healing injuries, which only makes him even more suspicious.]
[Living on the street for a couple years in the sketchiest part of town does have one advantage of sorts, and it's that he's not at all unused to other shady figures and their bullshit; he figures out pretty quick that he's being followed, and while he probably could make the effort to lose him in the crowds, it seems like more trouble than it's worth. Especially since he's not about to start changing up his routines or trying to hide from whoever it is.]
Alright, the lurking is gettin' kinda old, honestly. What d'you want? For the record, I ain't got shit worth mugging me for.
[It's a mess and his half filled survey reflects that. It's now a matter of pride to complete it - he needs to get this shit filled out and get the prize promised, perhaps brownie points towards whoever started this whole ordeal.
The point is he sees Shinji and he becomes a target.]
[Shinjiro himself has a survey in his hands, which is a sort of activity he normally wouldn't be especially into -- but the magic feeds into the natural competitiveness he already has, so he is genuinely giving it his best effort here.]
Yeah. ...Asking each other shit seems like a pain in the ass, should we just trade 'em?
[He ... doesn't take it well. After Qifrey's death, Shinjiro stumbles back to his own apartment in a daze, the older man's crystal in hand, and all but collapses on the couch when he gets there. The next couple days pass in a haze; if it weren't for Nao's break-in during that time, he'd probably still just be sitting there in the dark zoned out by the time Qifrey arrives.
Even now, it takes a while before there's any response, and Shinjiro looks -- worse for wear, like he hasn't slept much recently. He opens the door without checking who's there, halfway through a cranky answer--]
You don't gotta check up on me again, Mizushita, I told you m'fine. Least you ain't breakin' in this--
[...]
[Oh.]
[It really is true, then. Death has no hold over this world at all. Qifrey stands there intact and uninjured, just as he was when he woke up in the garden. Shinjiro stares at him, deer-in-headlights.
( Participating in a competition with others feels nostalgic and new all at once. The last time Chara had a chance to play with someone else was with their brother, and that was a long time ago -- decades and dozens of RESETs ago. After all is said and done and the initial games are finished, Chara has decided to take place in the Scavenger Hunt as so many others had.
When they spot Shinji, they'll make their way to them -- though, their footsteps are almost silent before they're right behind them. )
[ They'd had a brief flurry of an almost-fight shortly after Akihiko was mobile again. They'd been talking, and he started asking about Persona suppressants and insisting Shinji not take them again, only to be told Castor had already faded away, like the collar on Aki's neck he'd scrubbed through.
That was one problem solved, then. With the turning of the month came Caesar departing, the wreaths around his wrists disappearing. Akihiko felt the loss in a way he didn't expect - Caesar was familiar, comforting, almost paternal in a way.
He's lost and unmoored a little, again... but he has an apology that Shinjiro is due. If not for the suppressants, then for forcing him to take Castor on again, however brief it was.
Akihiko skulks around until he finds a decent recipe for marinated chicken to use in oyakodon. He might not be great in the kitchen, and the look on Minato's face when he asked how to make pancakes will always stick with him.
But Shinji does have a rice cooker and a nonstick pan. He figures it can't be too hard to simmer chicken in dashi broth and pour egg over it, right? Feigning confidence for himself, he wishes some specific items from the crystal - because he doesn't know where Shinji keeps his stuff beyond a couple basics - and gets to work while he's out.
It's not a disaster. He thinks he cooks the thighs a little too long, but they're supposed to be forgiving. He's using instant dashi instead of making his own because he didn't trust himself to do it. He almost burns the onions, too, but he saves most of them and scrapes what he couldn't into the trash.
The rice comes out fine. He adds the egg in two layers, the way he's seen the cooks do at Umiushi, but that makes some of it cook a little more while the rest is runny.
It's ... good enough. He does taste it and while it's not as good as Shinji's (or even Umiushi's) it's not bad, either. He resists the urge to throw in some protein powder - if he wants any, he can put it on his own bowl.
Anyway, it's his apology meal and he's not going to swap it out.
He's cleaning off some of the utensils when the door to Shinji's apartment open, and he - jumps a little, clears his throat so the other teen knows he's there. (As if he can't tell from the rice cooker being on the counter.) ]
Hey.
[ He tries for casual and misses it by several meters. ]
[Shinjiro isn't quite sure what to make of it at first, when he opens his door to the smell of something recently burnt. Leaving the stove on isn't the sort of mistake he usually makes, but it's been a hell of a month and if he needs to accept that he's wasted a bunch of cords of food or will need to spend some shards fixing his kitchen, so be it.
...Apparently, that's not the case. Aki's face has nervousness written all over it, and he's about to ask what kind of misadventure occurred while he was out when the other teen speaks up, and Shinjiro's brain short circuits a little. Now that he's aware of it, he can smell spices in the air, too. Aki ... made food? An entire, proper meal, with actual seasoning, instead of the bare minimum?
If he weren't already a dead man walking, he might have assumed this meant something had gone terribly wrong with his state of existence, right about now. He wanders into the kitchen to see for himself, and he's honestly a little shocked at how nice the presentation is, despite the slightly burned sections. He even tried to caramelize the onions? Damn. The edges of his mouth pull, into something that's only almost a smile, but definitely affectionate.]
This really ain't bad, for a first try. You pulled out all the stops, huh.
[Maybe he's not such a hopeless case after all ...... if he's open to it, maybe he can even wean his friend off the boiled chicken and protein powder with the promise of tastier, meatier dishes on the horizon `_`]
[ Akihiko is tired. He's had a long shower, stealing Shinji's hot water, scrubbing at the mark on his neck that he'd already scrubbed through once already. The mark was a miserable reminder of what he'd done to Shinji.
More than that, it was a blade hanging over both their heads. Shinji didn't want Castor. Would he start taking the suppressants again? What would the side effects be here?
Would he have to watch Shinji slowly waste away again?
He's stewing in the thought while Shinji's checking the wounds on his back. When he replaces a bandage and Akihiko has his shirt in his lap, it finally bursts out of Aki. ]
Are you taking the suppressants?
[ It comes out more like areyoutakingthesuppressants, his back and shoulders tense. ]
[They haven't talked about it. In the initial period after Akihiko had come free from his corruption, while he was recovering at the crystal itself, Shinjiro had barely been around. If he had no choice but to hold Castor's leash again, he had to ... make it count, somehow. He's tried, failed, even had a couple of successes.
He made a second wish for the suppressants, while Aki was still out of it. Hidden the mark on his throat that had followed with turtlenecks and his high-collared coat, but -- it shouldn't surprise him that Aki noticed anyway. That was the natural conclusion to come to, after all. Shinjiro was terrified of what his Persona was capable of, and he had no other options to corral it, if push came to shove. Considering his wish stacked upon Aki's, he's not sure what would happen if he tried to unwish it, so he won't. It's something he bears under without a single word of complaint. He's just about to ask what his friend wants for dinner after they're done with changing his bandages, when that outburst comes out of him.
Shinjiro sighs, hands stilling at Aki's back. He doesn't answer until he's reapplied the disinfectant ointment and tied off the bandage completely.]
I wished for 'em, yeah. Haven't needed 'em yet, bein' able to come out during all this mess seems like it's satisfied him for now, but you never know.
Shinjiro -- has complicated feelings on this, really. None of them are anger at Oda, and yet, he doesn't feel right simply brushing off the apology with a "don't worry about it" like he might usually, or an "it wasn't your fault". After all, he of all people understands how messed up it feels to hurt someone outside of your own control.]
i ain't mad about it
[Which doesn't mean he's not accepting the apology, because he'd have done the same thing if their positions were reversed.]
glad someone else was able to help, at least
[If anything, he feels worse about having failed in that than being shot.]
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> post-sleepr !!
He arrives at their appointed meeting place outside Stellari's Royal Quarter with that ever-present satchel slung over one shoulder and a takeaway cup in each hand. One gets held out to Shinjiro, offered with his usual wide, warm smile. ]
An acquaintance of mine runs a tea and coffee shop, so I got you something there. It's on the sweeter side, so hopefully that's okay...
[ Knowing Erwin's creations as he does, it's likely a sugar bomb in coffee form, but the hot cup is nice to hold in the mild winter weather, and it's not like Kuchel's makes anything truly bad. ]
But if you hate it, you can have my Americano instead!
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Maruki shows up with coffee and offers Shinjiro his own if he doesn't like his, and without the filter of text, the older man is treated to a full-on teenage eyeroll as he takes the cup.]
This is fine. I said you didn't need to bring me anything, anyway.
[And he does actually like it sweet, honestly, though he couldn't imagine complaining in either direction nonetheless.]
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gosh i thought i'd hit this ages ago i'm so sorry
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hehe dassawrap from me.... see you in the event :3c
midmarch
It's a goddamn rabbit. Akechi squeezes through a barely open door. Whether Shinji was just walking out or coming in - doesn't matter. There's a rabbit inside now.
Akechi isn't sure what in his deranged bunny mind made him bolt - it might be the hawk circling overhead.
He could take it.
Anyway, he's in the middle of the living room and using this pseudo safe room to prepare for the ultimate boss battle with Big Bird. Don't bother him in his Bunny Thoughts. He's doing some big stomps about it.]
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[As it happens, Shinji was just coming in. So it's not at all a problem to just...gently close the door behind him. He certainly isn't in any frame of mind to have a pet, but he doesn't live close enough to the forest that it's likely to be wild anyway. It probably belongs to someone else, and at any rate ... it's cold out. He can figure out what to do with it later.
For the time being, though? Shinjiro heads into the kitchen, getting out some of the leafy greens and vegetables he had for cooking, and chops them up into a bowl. He pours some water into a second bowl, and leaves them both a respectful distance away from bunkechi. A few minutes later, he also leaves a small box line some scrap paper and a blanket, and settles on the couch to check the network. Maybe someone's said something about a missing rabbit. It'd save him some effort asking.
His expression is uncharacteristically peaceful, though. He even smiles in its direction on occasion.]
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me looking at this timestamp like i could've sworn i tagged this yesterday rip
RIP JFDPISJFPD ohh it happens
invitation - no need to respond!
One gets the impression that if you go against his wishes to bring something anyway, it might stress him out...
When the mingle log goes up on the 22nd, please feel free to come tag around! ]
( action, early april )
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What do you want?
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post-tdm
Another reason is because Knives is largely ineffective at fending for himself. He'd learned how to behave like a human, but that had been a long time ago, and he'd only ever needed to learn to feign things like eating and sleeping, not actually do them. It's annoying and inconvenient.
So, whenever Shinjiro is next out at the market, or returning home from shopping, he might notice he has a not-so-subtle stalker. Knives keeps his face hidden under a hood to hide his still-healing injuries, which only makes him even more suspicious.]
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Alright, the lurking is gettin' kinda old, honestly. What d'you want? For the record, I ain't got shit worth mugging me for.
[Are shards even transferable? He has no idea.]
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may tdm shenanigngngs
The point is he sees Shinji and he becomes a target.]
Are you participating in this affair too?
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Yeah. ...Asking each other shit seems like a pain in the ass, should we just trade 'em?
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think we can wrap this one!
( post-death )
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Even now, it takes a while before there's any response, and Shinjiro looks -- worse for wear, like he hasn't slept much recently. He opens the door without checking who's there, halfway through a cranky answer--]
You don't gotta check up on me again, Mizushita, I told you m'fine. Least you ain't breakin' in this--
[...]
[Oh.]
[It really is true, then. Death has no hold over this world at all. Qifrey stands there intact and uninjured, just as he was when he woke up in the garden. Shinjiro stares at him, deer-in-headlights.
He doesn't know what to say.]
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cw: passive SI
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post may sleepr
are you still mad about the sleepr conversation?
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ah. how to. answer this. an entire five minutes later:]
i aint mad
[nailed it.]
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onto action?
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the way i got distracted looking for a katsudon recipe
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Early June; un: stampede
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what's up?
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as promised....
When they spot Shinji, they'll make their way to them -- though, their footsteps are almost silent before they're right behind them. )
Greetings.
Are you participating in the next game?
> early july, post event
That was one problem solved, then. With the turning of the month came Caesar departing, the wreaths around his wrists disappearing. Akihiko felt the loss in a way he didn't expect - Caesar was familiar, comforting, almost paternal in a way.
He's lost and unmoored a little, again... but he has an apology that Shinjiro is due. If not for the suppressants, then for forcing him to take Castor on again, however brief it was.
Akihiko skulks around until he finds a decent recipe for marinated chicken to use in oyakodon. He might not be great in the kitchen, and the look on Minato's face when he asked how to make pancakes will always stick with him.
But Shinji does have a rice cooker and a nonstick pan. He figures it can't be too hard to simmer chicken in dashi broth and pour egg over it, right? Feigning confidence for himself, he wishes some specific items from the crystal - because he doesn't know where Shinji keeps his stuff beyond a couple basics - and gets to work while he's out.
It's not a disaster. He thinks he cooks the thighs a little too long, but they're supposed to be forgiving. He's using instant dashi instead of making his own because he didn't trust himself to do it. He almost burns the onions, too, but he saves most of them and scrapes what he couldn't into the trash.
The rice comes out fine. He adds the egg in two layers, the way he's seen the cooks do at Umiushi, but that makes some of it cook a little more while the rest is runny.
It's ... good enough. He does taste it and while it's not as good as Shinji's (or even Umiushi's) it's not bad, either. He resists the urge to throw in some protein powder - if he wants any, he can put it on his own bowl.
Anyway, it's his apology meal and he's not going to swap it out.
He's cleaning off some of the utensils when the door to Shinji's apartment open, and he - jumps a little, clears his throat so the other teen knows he's there. (As if he can't tell from the rice cooker being on the counter.) ]
Hey.
[ He tries for casual and misses it by several meters. ]
I made lunch.
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...Apparently, that's not the case. Aki's face has nervousness written all over it, and he's about to ask what kind of misadventure occurred while he was out when the other teen speaks up, and Shinjiro's brain short circuits a little. Now that he's aware of it, he can smell spices in the air, too. Aki ... made food? An entire, proper meal, with actual seasoning, instead of the bare minimum?
If he weren't already a dead man walking, he might have assumed this meant something had gone terribly wrong with his state of existence, right about now. He wanders into the kitchen to see for himself, and he's honestly a little shocked at how nice the presentation is, despite the slightly burned sections. He even tried to caramelize the onions? Damn. The edges of his mouth pull, into something that's only almost a smile, but definitely affectionate.]
This really ain't bad, for a first try. You pulled out all the stops, huh.
[Maybe he's not such a hopeless case after all ...... if he's open to it, maybe he can even wean his friend off the boiled chicken and protein powder with the promise of tastier, meatier dishes on the horizon `_`]
late june
More than that, it was a blade hanging over both their heads. Shinji didn't want Castor. Would he start taking the suppressants again? What would the side effects be here?
Would he have to watch Shinji slowly waste away again?
He's stewing in the thought while Shinji's checking the wounds on his back. When he replaces a bandage and Akihiko has his shirt in his lap, it finally bursts out of Aki. ]
Are you taking the suppressants?
[ It comes out more like areyoutakingthesuppressants, his back and shoulders tense. ]
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He made a second wish for the suppressants, while Aki was still out of it. Hidden the mark on his throat that had followed with turtlenecks and his high-collared coat, but -- it shouldn't surprise him that Aki noticed anyway. That was the natural conclusion to come to, after all. Shinjiro was terrified of what his Persona was capable of, and he had no other options to corral it, if push came to shove. Considering his wish stacked upon Aki's, he's not sure what would happen if he tried to unwish it, so he won't. It's something he bears under without a single word of complaint. He's just about to ask what his friend wants for dinner after they're done with changing his bandages, when that outburst comes out of him.
Shinjiro sighs, hands stilling at Aki's back. He doesn't answer until he's reapplied the disinfectant ointment and tied off the bandage completely.]
I wished for 'em, yeah. Haven't needed 'em yet, bein' able to come out during all this mess seems like it's satisfied him for now, but you never know.
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me getting into bed: wait, one more
hehehe
me when i wrote oyakudon starter: almost fight. me now: we'll be lucky if nobody gets punched
lmao someone probably will be
on nyx i'm willing for it but here's Caesar trying to help in his own way
text; un: odasaku (post-june event)
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Shinjiro -- has complicated feelings on this, really. None of them are anger at Oda, and yet, he doesn't feel right simply brushing off the apology with a "don't worry about it" like he might usually, or an "it wasn't your fault". After all, he of all people understands how messed up it feels to hurt someone outside of your own control.]
i ain't mad about it
[Which doesn't mean he's not accepting the apology, because he'd have done the same thing if their positions were reversed.]
glad someone else was able to help, at least
[If anything, he feels worse about having failed in that than being shot.]
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wrapt i think?
sounds good!
Text, un: koromaru
Are you doing okay?