ɪɴʙᴏx [ᴇxᴘɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ]

[chemex]

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[chemex]

[He blinks, looking her over carefully, his eyes searching behind his lenses.] Yeah? What makes you say that? [He's fishing for a hook that lets him Explain without getting in trouble.]

[nullificates]

Were-tiger! Your age!

[murderingjustice]

[ok, don't blink now because!! Yes, Akechi kinda allows Akira to keep touching him as they walk towards their shared residence. He's too tired to put up a fight and once they reach their destination the fever or whatever has caught up on him, leaving him with barely energy to give out a disapproving stares.

He's sweating more than he should be and all he wants now is to take a hot bath and go to sleep. Fixing his hand is important, but there should be healers enough around them.]

Let's just go upstairs for now. Your face looks awful.

[foundheart]

[She thinks about it for a long moment, trying to put the feeling into words] I don't know... I guess she kind of feels like you? Um-- N-not that I really think of her like I think about you, or anything. And not that it's anything--Weird. Uhm.

[She shakes her head quickly, face red]

A-anyway! What I mean is, she's just... comfortable. Like I want to talk to her and be.. teammates. I think we'd get along well. She would probably fit in with the other Phantom Thieves too. I think they'd all like her.

[chemex]

[He laughs, but the sound is far from mean-spirited.]

Well, she is like me. [He leaves it at that, rocking from side to side just slightly.] And you don't have to justify who you think about and how to me, you know. [Is "she is like me" enough for Sumire to connect the dots? He's not sure, actually. It's pretty fuckin' vague.]

[orphne]

[If she has to try harder, she simply Won't. That's a lot of effort to go through right now, and she can justify it as being for Akira's sake. But as a professional sleeper-in-places-she-shouldn't, she knows his arm is going to cramp up and his elbow is going to hurt if he stays like that against the hard roof, so she scoots just a little closer and tries to coax his head to her shoulder or chest, wherever it lands.]

[chemex]

[Part of why Akira has maintained contact is that he can feel the subtle shift in Akechi's temperature, and the slight tremor to his movements. He's less sure of himself, and he's sweaty when it isn't that warm. He has enough of a cursory understanding of first aid to know that broken bones can cause fever, and if nothing else, Akechi is his teammate. He'll look after him.]

I might wind up with a black eye, but most of it's probably just blood. You look worse, [Banter seems to keep them somewhat afloat.]

[chemex]

[He mumbles something about Mona, but he curls with her, pressing his face into her shoulder and looking... actually more uncomfortable than before, but settling again in no time. Listen, he's an eighteen year old boy who may also be part cat, he will nap in the weirdest positions.]

[orphne]

[Well, she tried. She'd rather sleep on someone's shoulder than on her own arm, but alright, you do you, weird cat man. She'll have to ask about who Mona is later. Girlfriend, maybe?

She starts to gently comb fingers through his hair, but stops after just a few seconds with a pang of uncertainly. Dazai always wanted her to do that, and thinking about him right now is kind of... difficult. She'd rather not.

For now, she just stares up at the clouds above them, watching them form shapes and listening to the gentle sound of Akira's breathing.]

[foundheart]

Well, I just... [She trails off, mumbling and embarrassed, twisting the hem of her shirt around her fingers. It takes her a minute to really connect the dots there.

She looks at Akira with a slightly furrowed brow. 'she is like me'...??] ...Is she a phantom thief too in her world?

[chemex]

[He grins, proud of her in some strange way.]

Sort of? Their version. She said she has a bunch of them, like I do. [It's kind of exhilarating to say, actually.]

1/2

[foundheart]

[foundheart]

She has a persona too?! Or-- More than one?! How? I haven't seen her in the Metaverse or anything! Is she from the time after I know of, or--?

[chemex]

[He naps another fifteen or so minutes, curled up like a weird catboy pretzel, before he stirs, stretching his limbs out and not fully realizing what he's mashing his face into until he registers a heartbeat where he's smashed inward against Kotone's neck from his stretching. Heartbeat...?]

[He flops backward and squints up at her, his glasses askew.] Oh. Hi again.

[chemex]

[He scrunches his nose up, chuckling and shaking his head.]

I kinda forgot to ask for many specifics, but she doesn't use the Metaverse. She called it... shoot, something. I'll ask her again.

[orphne]

[It tickles a little where he's mashed himself up against her neck, but she still doesn't move until he does. Even then, it's only to huff a little breath through her nose in almost a laugh as she turns her head to offer him a small smile. It's still lacking the brightness that had seemed to come so easily to her, but at least it's a smile. It might even be genuine.]

Hey. Sorry for falling asleep.

[foundheart]

[Sumi sits there for a few moments, stunned, before she turns to him again] That's so cool though! How exciting! We have more people that would understand this, right? That's great!

It feels a little less lonely now.

[chemex]

[He shrugs his shoulders up by his ears, smiling, and nods.]

Yeah, a little.

[chemex]

Mmnuh, 's okay. [He rolls onto his back, stretches, stares up.] I did too, I guess, mm?

[orphne]

Yeah.

[No judgement, just a statement of fact. They both just fell asleep on the roof together, and you know what? They needed it after the day they've had.]

I'd say let's do this again, but I don't think the roof is the comfiest place.

[A joke, kind of, but she can't quite land it right without being able to summon one of her normal teasing smiles to her lips. Eh. Close enough.]

[chemex]

[He just hums, shaking his head.] Not really, I dunno if my spine can do this again. [He reaches over and taps the back of his knuckles against her shoulder.] But naps, I can do.

[murderingjustice]

[He scoffs a silent 'fuck you' and moves to climb up the stairs. In mid-point he turns around to look at Akira behind him, almost asking if who's room they should go to. But trusting that he won't be going anywhere without him Akechi just chooses his own room over Akira's.

Once he enters his room he begins to undress, fingers fumbling around the buttons of his blazer. His left hand has almost gone numb altogether at this point, making it harder for him to move even his healthy fingers. He struggles himself out of his blazer and hangs it up. Then he kicks off his shoes, not even bothering placing them neatly like he normally would.]

I think.. [pause.] I'll go and take a bath. You can go, too if you want.

[orphne]

Mmm.

[Skill issue. She could sleep here fine if she had to. Again, not the most comfortable, but not the least, either.]

Are you gonna go back to jumping around the buildings again?

[chemex]

[He frowns, thoughtfully.] Not after napping on the roof. Spine, and all. [A laugh, short and not entirely humorous.] Nap probably did me more good than bad attempts at parkour, anyway.

[foundheart]

[Sumi chuckles and leans back a little, looking up at him. He really is something to look at when he's smiling and happy like that; it makes her heart feel lighter just to see it.]

Senpai, I... [She trails off, blushes brightly, then turns away with a wave of her hand] I-I'm really glad we have all this time to spend! It's almost like a vacation, right? Haha...ha...