lempereur | IC Contact; MoM

[ Yusuke sets the brush in his hand down on the fold out table he has set up, covered in various colors all muddied together, and holds one paint-speckled hand to his forehead, as if his impatience can simply be massaged away. What is Akechi even trying to do? Blackmail him? For what possible purpose? ]

Positively riveting.

[ Akechi, you are exhausting. Truly. ]

Tell me what you know, and what you're getting at. I am not playing this game with you.

Edited 2017-08-09 01:07 (UTC)

You should pick up on subtleties more.

[ Of course he'd be short with him. Of course he wouldn't pick on what he's saying. Of course he'd assume he's trying to play a game.

He told Akira he wanted them to rely on him. He'd need to get better at this. ]

It might surprise you that I'm actually worried about you.

[ He can pick up just fine, but what he wants are details. Not vague threats or insinuations of knowledge he shouldn't have, Yusuke needs to know what he knows and how he knows it. Surely, Akechi was not a member himself. If so...well, so much for redemption, then. ]

Why would you be worried over me?

I'm sure it hasn't escaped you at how similar this situation is to the election of the Prime Minister.

[ He hates having to spell things out especially when it meant being involved with dangerous individuals. If you wish to trick your enemies, you must first trick your allies - isn't that what he said before? It's like the tables have turned. ]

[ It has not. How could it? The way Yusuke sighs, the way his expression softens without him meaning it to, should convey that understanding without him having to say so.

The paranoia that he was being watched has faded, for the most part, the closer he works with Dooku on all this propaganda. The information reveals, the Swear-Out, and all the little details that go with it. Still, as if it's become a force of habit, he tugs and scratches roughly at his ears before he goes on. No deep and probably irreparable issues, there. ]

I am keeping an eye on things. It will not get out of hand.

You cannot be serious. Are you acting alone?

[ He feels like he's looking into a mirror as he watches Yusuke. Had he said those words before? Things would not get out of hand? How deep down the rabbit hole did he go until he lost control of himself and tried to murder the very people who made him feel like he was not alone in the world? He crosses his arms, frowning despite the action being about his own thoughts. ]

You and I both know this is not an ideal situation. I ....cannot stand by knowing that he is--

[ Like Shido. Like Madarame. Like all of the damn adults who ruined their lives and took them for everything. He bites his lip, chewing on it in thought before he decides to finish his sentence, his name coming out in a whisper. ]

Like Shido.

No, I am not.

[ Not technically. He has Adachi, who brought him into it all in the first place, but ever since he was found out, he's been more of a burden than a partner. Having to "check up" on him, make regular reports to confirm that yet another clueless, fool of an adult is behaving himself - it sure isn't the kind of support he needs, with an undertaking this large.

Futaba is helping, at a safe distance, as her support is meant to be. ]

I know he is. I knew from the first time we spoke.

[ And truthfully? Thinks have already gotten out of hand, try as he might to ignore that fact. What he did to Adachi was not fine by any measure, but he's getting over it, they have both moved past it. He's reigned in. Complete control. ]

Then why do you subject yourself further? What sort of support do you have?

[ Akira must have known -- which granted they obtained Adachi's notes together and helped clean up the mess in Futaba's apartment -- but he had to know more. He knew Yusuke was getting involved with Dooku and what? What was he doing? What could he do?

He drags his fingers through his hair, losing his cool. He doesn't know why he's bothering. Yusuke didn't trust him. Yusuke didn't like him. But here he was, wanting to yell at him until he would listen. He wanted to shake him, tell him to run, to find a way to back out -- what had Dooku seen already? There were so many questions that had no answers and this was not the place to ask them. ]

You are going to get yourself killed -- let me help you.

[ This was going to go well. ]

Because.

[ He pauses, finally unsure of what to say next, or how to say it. Yusuke isn't sure if he knows that with Akira's power, they can still change hearts. He clearly knows plenty of things that he shouldn't, but that was something they hadn't used yet.

Unless Akira told him. Would he really downplay the seriousness of what the two of them were doing that much?

Yusuke's own frustration shows through, his hands tapping nervously against the table. ]

They have to be taken down from up close. You can help me by telling me what you know, and how you found out. I can't afford any more slip ups.

I have Adachi's notes. I know names and one face.

[ He pauses for a moment, giving him a hard look.]

I helped clean up blood.

[ Futaba didn't need that dumped in her lap. What was he thinking? ]

Are you going to allow me to aid you in cleaning up your mess, or are you going to continue to struggle to keep it all contained?

[ If he was frustrated before, now he's just alarmed, his eyes flying wide open, betraying his need to keep a cool head. Yusuke stands tall, taking a step closer towards Akechi. He's too thin to be intimidating, at least without Goemon, but the other boy knows he's stronger than he seems, he can at least convey his seriousness with the way his eyes sharpen into icy daggers. ]

And why do you have his notes? Snooping around is a funny way of trying to convince us that you've changed.

[ The answer, he knows, is something he doesn't want to hear or believe, and it creeps up on him, forcing his hands into fists so that he can't cup them over his ears to block out the truth. Akechi isn't just pushing his buttons, he's clawing at them, and whether he knows that or not is beyond Yusuke, but they are being plucked off all the same. Even the suggestion of more lies, more secrets, has his blood boiling. ]

The mess got dumped onto my lap. It is not mine, and I am not struggling.

[ Half truths, at best, but when Yusuke feels defensive, be pretends he doesn't. Poorly. ]

[ Goro couldn't believe it. If his intention was to make him feel threatened then he seriously was mistaken. He narrows his eyes, chewing on his lip a little harder. Intimidation was something he would do -- was the irony lost on him that the tables are currently turned between them? ]

Joker asked for my aid considering my expertise as a detective.

[ He had no reason to lie about that. On the off chance someone was watching him it was likely better to use code names. ]

You make a poor murderer, Kitagawa-san. Your act is sloppy, you pretend to have the air of not caring, but that is clearly not the case. You left a bleeding man in the hands of your teammate but did not stick around to help clean up the mess -- what aren't you struggling with?

You have no control of this situation.

[ Akira asked him for his help.

While Yusuke was crumbling on the floor, bloody hands shaking from the weight of guilt as Goemon's screams rattled through his brain, Akira was, what? Playing some reckless game with Akechi while the people Yusuke cares about have their lives endangered?

It isn't a thought he wants to entertain, not while he stands in front of Akechi, and this mural about the good and the hope in the imPort community that he isn't even sure exists anymore. His blood is boiling hot, like he's dug himself a hole and filled it with hot coals, and Akechi is just stoking the fire. His words seep slowly from between his teeth, sharp and precise. ]

I apologize, then. We can't all be as naturally gifted as you are.

That wasn't my--

[ He rubs his face, clearly frustrated as he cuts himself off. This is a lot more complex then he was led to believe and he was at a point where he realized he was losing his cool. He needed to be calm. Needed to reign in his frustration that this was something Yusuke as clearly taking lead on.

Akira trusted him, but was it going to pay off? There were so many risks involved and he knew how to play the game better then all of them (despite the fact he was starting to believe he was really dead. He deserved death for his crimes).

He drags his fingers through his hair, his expression seriously, cold suddenly as he looks over Yusuke. ]

You are clearly capable, I don't doubt your ability to do it. I'm simply...worried about you. This isn't something so easily done.

[ He considers what he is going to say next, the words caught in his throat as if he was choking on them. He was struggling with the reality that this might be the only way he can find peace with himself. It would be easier to die.

Dying is easy, living is harder. ]

Constantly looking over your shoulder is no way to live. Let me help you.

I never thought it would be easy.

[ Back when he agreed to join with Adachi, slurping his curry and udon, he knew it would be hard. He knew he would have to compromise himself, do things that he didn't want to so that he could continue the Phantom Thieves' mission of forcing out evil and exposing abuse. Propaganda and stockpiling skill cards, he could deal with, but when Adachi was caught, he had gone further than he ever wanted to. Further than he even thought he could. Yusuke knows he needs help, it's been pointed out by all the important people in his life.

But dragging someone else into it, someone who is supposedly trying to make a fresh start for himself, is not the answer. He is so heated with fury at even the nerve of him to suggest such a thing, showing up with not-so-subtle threats and then claiming to be worried about him. How could he possibly be? ]

You are not joining. Believe me, I will make sure of that.

I am not asking to join.

[ Well he was, but that was before he truly thought it through. If he joined, he might end up back in the same state he was with Shido. He didn't want to go back to that. He wanted to take back his life and he doesn't know the first place to begin. He shifts, taking a deep breath to calm his shattered nerves.

Goro had to take back control. He needed to be in control.]

But I can still help.

[ Yusuke might have dealt with a care giver who used them for monetary gain, but Goro had a wealth of knowledge of a depraved mind. ]

[ Yusuke feels his fists unclench, his blood cool down from hot enough to cook to merely comfortably warm. He takes a step back, reaching again for the terra cotta orange covered brush that Akechi distracted him from on his arrival. He twirls it between his fingers, as Goemon twirls his pipe. ]

How do you mean to help?

Edited 2017-08-10 04:45 (UTC)

Anyway I can. I have access to the police database, which granted might not be much use considering, but it would be helpful to you specifically. Especially with who you are dealing with.

[ What else could he do? Without direct contact in Constellation itself he has nothing else he could offer. He was a much better liar then Yusuke, better at acting the role of the dutiful pawn, but how long until he succumbed to it? He almost looks defeated, his mind racing with all of the possibilities of how this would play out. ]

If the police had anything useful on them, I wouldn't have to do it myself.

[ That's how he had gotten into this from the start, wasn't it? The adults supposedly in power were unable or unwilling to do what needed to be done. Here, especially, the idea that the police would do anything to stop the Constellation, or any other dangerous imPorts, was laughable. ]

They could have something useful if you'd allow me to help you. Why are you being so stubborn? It's like you aren't being logical about this situation.

[ He knew what kind of person Dooku was better then any one of them. Yusuke was just a stepping stone to power, easily disposed of when he was bored with him, or felt like he knew too much. He would send someone after Yusuke, and no one in Constellation would care that he was a child. ]

I could start an investigation, look into suspicious criminal activity -- I can aid you in keeping your cover!

Yes, do that, so I can be sent to do to you what I did to Adachi. Or worse, he sends someone else who will not be as concerned over whether you live or die.

[ He isn't being stubborn. Or, he is, but he isn't trying to be. The net is too wide, and he trusts everyone who knows already to keep their mouths shut, but it would only take one stupid mistake by any of them, and everything he's done, everything he's had to do, will have been for nothing. ]

Stealing their hearts, making sure they confess of their own will, that is the best way.

As if it matters. I clearly did not survive our last encounter, what is another?

[ That's not a concerning statement at all. ]

That can still happen but you need more than simply trying to continue this facade without much aid. I can offer you support within the law so something can at least be started.

What is your plan, Akechi? Since you know about as much as I do, surely you must have one by now?

If they are a criminal network, then there has to be a trace of them somewhere. I would think we could start with searching through the database to show some sort of pattern involving imPort related crimes. By starting through a different route we can see if there are known instances of the name being used to promote an agenda and dig for their names.

[ He pauses. This isn't how he wanted this conversation to go but.... it was something. Maybe he can still salvage it. ]

What is your plan, Kitagawa-san?

[ That all makes sense. He hates how much sense it makes, but he's more opposed to the involvement of Akechi or anyone else not already in the middle of it, more than he is to having his assistance now that he does. He shouldn't know, and he is still seething with rage at Akira for letting him know in the first place, but he does. It can't be changed, any more that Yusuke joining in the first place can be changed.

He sighs, staring him in the face for a long moment before saying anything. ]

There have been two instances of explicit propaganda by the Constellation. The first was publishing a government watchlist of imPorts they find suspicious. I do not know who made it. The second was just the other day, that was me.

[ He...is not proud of it. Most of the things he said, he felt, legitimately, and that scares him, especially now, looking at Akechi and knowing what he's been through. And what he's put other people through as a result. Some of the things he said were even worse, and still, he said them. Anonymously, like a coward. ]

My plan is to earn his trust, and with it, access to information. Plans, the names of the others, where the money is coming from. I will not settle for just Dooku, I want it all gone.

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