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[pheasantboy]

[God, he sounds so... pleasant.]

Hello, you've reached Goro Akechi. Please leave a message and I'll get right back to you.

[ooc: inbox for personavelvetroomdr]

contacts

Akira Kurusu. thedevilinyourdetails
Goro Akechi. fogbornphantom
Ren Amamiya. willowandoak

Comments

[pheasantboy]

That sounds like the voice of experience talking. [Because where is everyone else? Haru, Ren, Makoto, Futaba, Yusuke and the others? Sae-san will be fine without him; he was about to step back anyway—but....]

You sound very lonely, if you don't mind the observation.

[fogbornphantom]

[He cracks a rather strained smile. It is rather transparent, and this is another Akechi.]

I suppose it can't be helped. There are a lot of people who aren't here, and I'm sort of the "odd Akechi out" in some regards. My Ren and I are both Phantom Thieves, our enemy is not someone who has caused "psychotic breakdowns" or "mental shutdowns" en masse, and very few people here know Inaba the way that I do.

[pheasantboy]

... I see. [Something is buzzing in the back of his mind. His hands shift in their fold, as he stares down at the empty space between then....]

I, um. [What were they saying? He looks lost, before he blinks, and brightens.] You'll have me thinking I'm not supposed to be here. I am Goro Akechi—[Honest.]—but "odd one out" is starting to sound a good way of putting it.

[It's possible the terminal uncuriosity is the least Akechi thing about him.]

[fogbornphantom]

Are you sure you're all right? You seem a little...

[Hm, how to put it.]

It almost feels like you're in a daze at points. I mean no disrespect, of course. This is a lot to take in. Being pulled from the comfort of your home and thrust into a parallel reality with your own mirror image.

Why don't you tell me about your reality?

[pheasantboy]

[... but at that, he just laughs again, soft and charming.] You're right. I think I am a little dizzy. I didn't expect this when I woke up this morning.

I'm afraid there's not very much to tell. I'm almost nineteen. I've just finished high school—last week, actually. I've been working as a rookie detective, believe it or not. I... live in Kichijoji?

[His smile returns, too; he tilts his head.] It's just the world, you know. My world, I suppose; my life. I don't know what you expect me to say—though you made your reality sound quite dramatic.

[fogbornphantom]

That would make you the oldest one here, by a margin of at least a few months. There's another Akechi close to our age, but he's from November and, ah... Well, let's just say his world doesn't sound nearly as peaceful as yours.

[He chuckles dryly at the prospect.]

I don't know what sort of crimes you solve as a detective, but for a majority of us, our worlds lean heavily into the supernatural. Quite a few of us have experienced hardships one would think are exclusive to nightmares. It's... good you seem to have avoided that, I suppose.

[pheasantboy]

[Akechi's smile slowly fades. Because now he comes to think of it, doesn't he often wake as if from nightmares?—with the dream itself gone, and only its effects lingering...?] That sounds remarkable. Quite alarming, too. I'll try not to rub my good luck in people's faces.

[Something tells him that this is best not inquired into, though, so he does not. His smile returns, smaller and more distracted.]

People have such ideas about detective work. It's all very run-of-the-mill, and of course, I'm very junior. Mainly I help a colleague with her investigations. [Sae-san, of course, who he remembers as the most attentive mentor he could ever have asked for.]

[fogbornphantom]

Oh? So you never tackle more high profile cases, then? Murders, kidnappings, drug trafficking and the like...

[Not that this is bad necessarily, but certainly as a consequence of his work with Naoto Shirogane, he's seen some rather grisly cases, even if not all of them he tackled on the front lines.

Hell, he met Naoto during a supernatural murder case.]

[pheasantboy]

[His eyes widen as he hears this. But is it the same dazed look that's accompanied him through this conversation, or more genuine confusion?] Honestly, talking to you is like looking into a novel. All these supernatural and violent things.

You aren't telling me you come from a world where people really are murdered and kidnapped...?

[But he puts a hand to his temple, rubbing in a circle. His head is killing him.]

[fogbornphantom]

...And you don't?

[What. Already, his behavior was strange, but he could chalk that up to something odd with his cognition. It's not unlike the brainwashing cases he's been pursuing back home, but an entire world...

He stares, wide eyed, because this all seems rather peculiar.]

[pheasantboy]

Well, of course not. [But his other hand goes to his temple; he makes a discomfited sound in his throat.]

It's just—research. Data collection, matchmaking, missing cats, lost wallets. Unexpected items. Things of that sort.

[And yet, why does it feel like... no, his mind skips right off the idea that it feels like anything. Like a stone skipping on water, only to inevitably sink.]

[fogbornphantom]

And there are never any more severe cases? Never any exceptions to the peaceful status quo?

[It all just seems to... unbelievable. Too good to be true. There's an unease to his voice. He averts his eyes and inhales very slowly.

This is... hm.]

[pheasantboy]

Well.... [He trails off. Why does he feel like there ought to be exceptions? Every time he tries to think about it, his thoughts hit a brick wall.

And then he forgets. He blinks up at his mirror image.]

Sorry, what were we talking about?

[fogbornphantom]

Crimes. Specifically how your world is evidently devoid of high profile crimes, but that seems so... unbelievable, if you don't mind me saying. That's not to say there is no good in the world, but there are always those who will take advantage of others, or pursue their own greed, no matter what it costs...

[It all sounds so... Wait.

Wait a fucking minute.

That Akira warned him about this, didn't he? And even Maruki himself has mused about a world where there's no pain.]

What about Shido?

[pheasantboy]

... what about him? [It gets his attention; he scowls. It almost looks human. He doesn't like to think about his father.]

[fogbornphantom]

You said yours is a world without serious crime. What about Shido? Surely he, at least, is still guilty of one thing or another.

[He's unhappy. That's a good sign. It means this world, whatever it is, isn't some squeaky clean fairytale. Not entirely.]

[pheasantboy]

... he's in prison. [Contradictory? Who the fuck knows. Not Akechi, that's for sure.]

[fogbornphantom]

Do you know what he's in prison for?

[It seems odd. No murders. No heavy crimes, yet prisons still exist...]

[pheasantboy]

[And Akechi just blinks up at him, as if this is perfectly normal.] He wants to be there.

He—[What? What did he do? A little line appears between his eyebrows, before his face clears.]—felt he didn't do well enough as prime minister. So he went to prison.

[fogbornphantom]

...That's not how prisons work. Prisons are cages for criminals. Some who deserve to rot, some who are falsely convicted, as our country loves its 99% conviction rate.

If he simply felt he wasn't doing enough as prime minister, he would have resigned. For him to be in prison suspects he did something more egregious.

[But he can already suspect where this will go. His counterpart might wince, might grasp his temple, but then it'll be all sunshine and roses, won't it?]

[pheasantboy]

[It's a good prediction; he zones out for a moment, as if he's not quite there. You wouldn't notice unless you were watching him closely.]

That's how your prisons work. Trust me, I worked for him for two years. I know why he's there.

[Why was he so upset though, if everything in the garden is rosy?]

[fogbornphantom]

[Oh? He cocks an eyebrow, eyes fixed on the other.]

A few moments go, you looked angry when I mentioned Shido. Yet you claim to have worked for a Shido who did nothing wrong and who simply felt bad. Rather a glaring discrepancy, don't you think?

[pheasantboy]

[There's no conflict; he has this. Or he thinks he does.] Shido parted ways with my mother before I was born. She died when I was young, as an indirect consequence. Anyone would be unhappy about that.

[In truth, he feels very little about it if he thinks about it. A small sadness; a small anger. Then he forgets, and moves on.]

[fogbornphantom]

Then why did you work with him?

[This is just... argh. What happened to him? Is this what future awaits him if Maruki is allowed to have his way?]

[pheasantboy]

[... that's a good question, actually. Very good. Why did he work for Shido?

He just stares at his counterpart for some moments, like a dead fish. Then, of course, he blinks.]

... It was somewhere to go. I didn't have anyone else. [What? It's true.]