[Despite this being a world where no one cares—where no one is allowed to care, released from the burden of emotions weighing them down—Akechi still tries to look as if he appeals to others. It's not as if acquiring clothing and looking well put together is a difficult task. He wears a button-up T-shirt with a tie, everything perfectly tailored—undoubtedly the result of him being able to try on as many shirts at possible, rather than getting the right shirt thanks to an actual tailor. His pants, his gloves, his shoes. It's all habitual, a sign that he can't depart from the impression he tried to give the world.
Old habits die hard, even when the world strips away the need for approval. Akechi knows he lives in a world without approval. Who can approve of something if they don't care? As he walks by someone, half expecting them to point out that he's Goro Akechi, the Second Coming of the Detective Prince, it never happens. Their eyes glaze over. Sometimes they blink. Sometimes all they can do is blink, like their body can still react, even if their mind has left them.
They're subdued.
The TV station acts as a stage for Akechi, just as it did for the past year. Even as the world flung insults at him for his unkind words about the Phantom Thieves, he knew the game he played. Perfectly dressed on every occasion, he waited to see the results of his interviews. He saw the art featuring him. He signed multiple autographs. There was even a line of posters that was due to come out!
None of that matters now. No one can care for him. He removed the question of acceptance and rejection. No one can use him, use anyone.
He doesn't spot Akira before he steps into view, and Akechi turns toward him, eyes studying him at the same time. Unlike the version of Akira that's Joker, a dashing Phantom Thief, he looks so small here. Then again, so does Akechi. Desperate to look proper. To look good.
Perhaps he dressed like this for this day, fortifying the divide between them.
(Even he doesn't know.)]
I wouldn't be so quick to act like you're surrendering, [he tells Akira. Akechi doesn't bother to feign the softness that followed him before. It's still there—a natural part of the intonation of his voice—but there's a quivering, constant edge to every word.]
After all, Joker, I doubt that's what you're here to do. Do you tire of the mess I left? It was the only way things could be once it was done.
[Never mind the direct contradiction to his plans, the feeling of flying into a rage.
Of killing his father, and then watching him die on television.
Of picking ruin because that was the only way it could be.
Then again, Akechi has always been a result of chaos. What else can be born from that but ruin itself?]
[ There's a flash of something in Akira's eyes, then-- impossible to read and gone the second it arrives. Then his face is back to being as carefully neutral as it ever was. For a moment he's quiet. Then, rather measured and unruffled-- ]
... It's not like you to mistake parley for surrender.
[ He has no intention of ever surrendering. Surely Akechi him well enough to know that. To know that beneath his mild exterior, Akira is as stubborn and foolish and bullheaded as Akechi himself, that even drowning he'll resist and fight tooth and nail until his final breath. ]
A temporary white flag, then. [Akechi never thought he'd be here to surrender—that Akira of all people would ever let the world remain like this. It only speaks to the power of Akechi's desire to leave everything to ruin that it's been left this way for so long.
It's hard to defeat a god whose power has been amplified by Akechi's hatred of the world.]
Though ... I admit even calling it that is a way to bolster myself, and not you. It's hardly the compliment you deserve. I've seen what you've done to try to undo my decision. [Never going to the point in which he kills the so-called amplifier of the power itself. Akechi is certain his death would stop this ruin. But he already had his opportunity to die and didn't take it. Now it feels like giving up a game he's already won.]
[ Akira's brow furrows ever so slightly. For some reason, that reaction feels irritating. He doesn't want to be complimented by Akechi right now. Condescending after he's won, is it?
It's tempting to rise to the bait, to snipe back, but he knows better than to actually do it. Focus on what you can do, he thinks. ]
... So it was you, then.
[ As if there was ever any doubt. But, well-- you know what they say about assumptions. ]
Was there really any question? It turns out that we were fated to be rivals, but the wager revolving around you was the one that was never meant to win. [A hint of bitterness seeps into his voice—he's confident that it would have gone differently if Akira hadn't decided to take pity on him. Hadn't invited him back. He should have known better.]
I told you what needed to be done with my father. It was the only way.
Somehow, Akira keeps his voice calm and nonjudgmental. Merely challenging. Like this were a simple hypothetical. No hint of the fact that a not-insignificant part of him wants to reach across the distance and just throttle Akechi right now. (He wonders if Akechi can hear it anyway. Probably.) But then, that wouldn't be taking responsibility for his part in all this. ]
... Either way, I suppose we can't find out now.
[ What's done is done. For all their power, neither one of them can take it back. Turning back time is a power that eludes even the Phantom Thieves. They can argue about whether it was right or not until the cows come home, but it wouldn't change anything. Akira sighs. ]
To my eye, at least. Frankly, I find myself surprised they were able to replace him so easily. So quickly. By my estimation, there weren't very many worthy candidates left. [The joint efforts of Akechi and Masayoshi Shido took care of that.
If it sounds as if he's bragging, it's because Akechi's decided in this moment to do just that. Standing in the ruin of his mistakes, he can't see any other way. Shed responsibility for his actions? Walk away from it?
The only person who he'd want to care about it is standing in front of him. Akira deserves to feel his anger toward him. Should feel anger toward him.]
You called this a parley. Do you truly think it's safe to meet me alone? Especially considering our last time together. [Or what should have been. Bragging, with that rumble of an edge in his voice, acting as if he's fully and firmly standing by his actions.
[ Akira is silent for a moment, turning that over in his head carefully, considering it from every angle in that way that he does. Nothing about Akechi is every truly "safe," is it? But if Akechi really wanted to kill him, he's had plenty of opportunity to do so. But he hasn't.
But perhaps spelling that out for Akechi isn't the wisest move, even if it would feel satisfying for the split second he'd spend being a smart-alec. It'd be so typical for him to die with his last words being "You haven't killed me yet, have you?" Truly embarrassing.
Besides, there's something else to it, too. ]
... Maybe. Maybe not. But a calculated risk is still better than an automatic lose.
[ Because from where Akira's standing, coming with the others in tow would be an auto-fail. Once the whole squad turns up, they're no longer on equal footing anymore. Whatever Akechi would do, it would be because his hand was forced. Any words exchanged would be false. Akira... doesn't want that. If they need to settle this between the two of them-- so be it. Akira's prepared for that possibility. But this started between them, it should end between them. Nothing else would have any meaning. ]
Quite true. [And then, without truly knowing what Akira is thinking, he adds:] Plus, coming alone means that you've preserved my life for another day. While most of your teammates were quite set on giving me another chance, I doubt that's the same case now. [They had acted together against him. In unison. It was a very thorough scheme, one that he began to put together when time allotted that capability to him.
In that way, Akechi isn't an incompetent detective, at least when given the opportunity to truly detect. Had his life gone a different way without the same power, he may have ended up in that role in the end.]
You do have to wonder. Why is it that the God of Control allows such a wild variable such as yourself to live?
[ "The God of Control," huh? That's a new one. Is Akechi referring to something real, or metaphorical? Where Akechi is concerned, it could easily be either. ]
... My rugged good looks?
[ Despite the seriousness of the situation, he can't quite resist. ]
[It's the seriousness of the situation and the lack of serious response that clues Akechi in to Akira's lack of knowledge regarding the situation. His eyebrows pinch together curiously.]
Something tells me that you're not to his tastes.
[A bit of humor.]
But that you said that at all means you're unaware of the circumstances at hand, aren't you? What caused all of this.
In the mystery that lied at the heart of it, apparently. In the cages of those who were set "free" from having to think for themselves. I never saw it for myself—circumstances never made that necessary. I could see the freedom he offered would be vicious for mankind, proof of the kinds of mindsets that would get a man like my father elected. At the heart of Mementos, the need to be ... controlled was gathered together. The true wish of humanity. It was on me to grant it, and let the world be as it always was.
[Leave to Akechi to explain it this way.]
The wish granter was that god of control. But again, why you? And why are you here at all?
... You're wrong. People deserve to be able to choose for themselves.
[ Akira looks a little bit heated as he says that-- quiet, but challenging. ]
... As for your question, I couldn't say. Why not ask him yourself?
[ From anyone else it would sound goading, but from Akira it only sounds curious. Actually, maybe it's a little bit goading. He never can resist being a little bit glib with Akechi. They always get under each other's skin like this.
But more importantly, if Akechi has a line to whatever it is that's caused this, maybe it's not too late. Maybe it can still be undone. ]
Is that so? And yet, everything that's happened with the Phantom Thieves only served to prove how easy it was to persuade society one way or another. Their attention spans were short. That's why we easily took advantage of it. [There is a hint to what he says that makes him sound—not quite contrite, that isn't the right word, but sad. Distant. Like he's stating these things because he's told himself them a hundred times before.]
Unfortunately, as you may have guessed, once a god gets what he wanted all along, a pawn can easily be discarded. [Like before. Like always, at least with him.]
I'm afraid that reaching him seems to be out of the question. [It's not like Akechi ever had access to the Velvet Room.]
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no subject
Old habits die hard, even when the world strips away the need for approval. Akechi knows he lives in a world without approval. Who can approve of something if they don't care? As he walks by someone, half expecting them to point out that he's Goro Akechi, the Second Coming of the Detective Prince, it never happens. Their eyes glaze over. Sometimes they blink. Sometimes all they can do is blink, like their body can still react, even if their mind has left them.
They're subdued.
The TV station acts as a stage for Akechi, just as it did for the past year. Even as the world flung insults at him for his unkind words about the Phantom Thieves, he knew the game he played. Perfectly dressed on every occasion, he waited to see the results of his interviews. He saw the art featuring him. He signed multiple autographs. There was even a line of posters that was due to come out!
None of that matters now. No one can care for him. He removed the question of acceptance and rejection. No one can use him, use anyone.
He doesn't spot Akira before he steps into view, and Akechi turns toward him, eyes studying him at the same time. Unlike the version of Akira that's Joker, a dashing Phantom Thief, he looks so small here. Then again, so does Akechi. Desperate to look proper. To look good.
Perhaps he dressed like this for this day, fortifying the divide between them.
(Even he doesn't know.)]
I wouldn't be so quick to act like you're surrendering, [he tells Akira. Akechi doesn't bother to feign the softness that followed him before. It's still there—a natural part of the intonation of his voice—but there's a quivering, constant edge to every word.]
After all, Joker, I doubt that's what you're here to do. Do you tire of the mess I left? It was the only way things could be once it was done.
[Never mind the direct contradiction to his plans, the feeling of flying into a rage.
Of killing his father, and then watching him die on television.
Of picking ruin because that was the only way it could be.
Then again, Akechi has always been a result of chaos. What else can be born from that but ruin itself?]
no subject
... It's not like you to mistake parley for surrender.
[ He has no intention of ever surrendering. Surely Akechi him well enough to know that. To know that beneath his mild exterior, Akira is as stubborn and foolish and bullheaded as Akechi himself, that even drowning he'll resist and fight tooth and nail until his final breath. ]
no subject
It's hard to defeat a god whose power has been amplified by Akechi's hatred of the world.]
Though ... I admit even calling it that is a way to bolster myself, and not you. It's hardly the compliment you deserve. I've seen what you've done to try to undo my decision. [Never going to the point in which he kills the so-called amplifier of the power itself. Akechi is certain his death would stop this ruin. But he already had his opportunity to die and didn't take it. Now it feels like giving up a game he's already won.]
no subject
It's tempting to rise to the bait, to snipe back, but he knows better than to actually do it. Focus on what you can do, he thinks. ]
... So it was you, then.
[ As if there was ever any doubt. But, well-- you know what they say about assumptions. ]
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I told you what needed to be done with my father. It was the only way.
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[ The only way?
Somehow, Akira keeps his voice calm and nonjudgmental. Merely challenging. Like this were a simple hypothetical. No hint of the fact that a not-insignificant part of him wants to reach across the distance and just throttle Akechi right now. (He wonders if Akechi can hear it anyway. Probably.) But then, that wouldn't be taking responsibility for his part in all this. ]
... Either way, I suppose we can't find out now.
[ What's done is done. For all their power, neither one of them can take it back. Turning back time is a power that eludes even the Phantom Thieves. They can argue about whether it was right or not until the cows come home, but it wouldn't change anything. Akira sighs. ]
no subject
If it sounds as if he's bragging, it's because Akechi's decided in this moment to do just that. Standing in the ruin of his mistakes, he can't see any other way. Shed responsibility for his actions? Walk away from it?
The only person who he'd want to care about it is standing in front of him. Akira deserves to feel his anger toward him. Should feel anger toward him.]
You called this a parley. Do you truly think it's safe to meet me alone? Especially considering our last time together. [Or what should have been. Bragging, with that rumble of an edge in his voice, acting as if he's fully and firmly standing by his actions.
It's all Akechi can do.]
no subject
But perhaps spelling that out for Akechi isn't the wisest move, even if it would feel satisfying for the split second he'd spend being a smart-alec. It'd be so typical for him to die with his last words being "You haven't killed me yet, have you?" Truly embarrassing.
Besides, there's something else to it, too. ]
... Maybe. Maybe not. But a calculated risk is still better than an automatic lose.
[ Because from where Akira's standing, coming with the others in tow would be an auto-fail. Once the whole squad turns up, they're no longer on equal footing anymore. Whatever Akechi would do, it would be because his hand was forced. Any words exchanged would be false. Akira... doesn't want that. If they need to settle this between the two of them-- so be it. Akira's prepared for that possibility. But this started between them, it should end between them. Nothing else would have any meaning. ]
no subject
In that way, Akechi isn't an incompetent detective, at least when given the opportunity to truly detect. Had his life gone a different way without the same power, he may have ended up in that role in the end.]
You do have to wonder. Why is it that the God of Control allows such a wild variable such as yourself to live?
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... My rugged good looks?
[ Despite the seriousness of the situation, he can't quite resist. ]
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Something tells me that you're not to his tastes.
[A bit of humor.]
But that you said that at all means you're unaware of the circumstances at hand, aren't you? What caused all of this.
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... I've been trying to figure it out.
[ He sifts through all the strange things Akechi has said to him in the last five minutes. Things he hadn't known how to respond to. ]
I know some of it leads back to you and Mementos. But I'm missing a piece, aren't I?
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[Leave to Akechi to explain it this way.]
The wish granter was that god of control. But again, why you? And why are you here at all?
god sorry my life never gets less busy
[ Akira looks a little bit heated as he says that-- quiet, but challenging. ]
... As for your question, I couldn't say. Why not ask him yourself?
[ From anyone else it would sound goading, but from Akira it only sounds curious. Actually, maybe it's a little bit goading. He never can resist being a little bit glib with Akechi. They always get under each other's skin like this.
But more importantly, if Akechi has a line to whatever it is that's caused this, maybe it's not too late. Maybe it can still be undone. ]
no subject
Unfortunately, as you may have guessed, once a god gets what he wanted all along, a pawn can easily be discarded. [Like before. Like always, at least with him.]
I'm afraid that reaching him seems to be out of the question. [It's not like Akechi ever had access to the Velvet Room.]