ANXIETY FINDS A home in his stomach : there was so little to do in this dormitory of his, and as safe as it seemed, away from potential murder and unlikely suspects, it was so boring as well, lacking any of the amenities that might have made his comfort here more believable, or made the possibility of his LIVING here just that, a possibility. It secures in him the belief that, despite the illusion of livability, he and his peers are not intended to live here for longer than what their minds would allow, before all of them were pushed towards murder not for the guarantee of an escape but instead for the chance at one. Stuck with those thoughts and no way to vent them through books or video games or homework, nothing to bury himself within, it did nothing to ease the way in which Akechi’s whole body vibrates with unease, down to his bone marrow and the places between them.
It was late enough that he knew he could have slept – the clock was ticking closer to midnight and NIGHTTIME had been announced within the past hour, but every time Akechi laid down he could think of nothing but the last victim. Last victims, he corrects himself; hard to consider the killer as much an innocent as the one BLUDGEONED to death, but in a game such as this, that was the truth – there were no masterminds or murderers in this game aside from the person puppeteering it all / the children forced to kill or be killed were merely contrivances in this. The thoughts beckon Akechi to pluck the dead skin from his lips : a habit from childhood he’d previously discarded which had risen up again in response to his imprisonment here.
He felt like a man forced down into an oubliette who was merely waiting to die. The soft cushion of the bed he laid on was akin to cold, damp stone floors. There was no escape. No light limned down on his form to provide any kind of hope – not even a facsimile of it. Akechi hadn’t even removed his school uniform, sans the outer coat, which pooled in the middle of his floor in an uncharacteristic, slovenly display. This only furthered the impression that he were a man readying himself for death, a prisoner secured to a fatal fate; the thought had something physical attached to it, like an arrow into his heart.
There was a way out, he knew. Take the life of one of his peers, GET AWAY WITH MURDER. The possibility rattled loudly and tantalizingly within his skull, meeting with the anxiety, dancing with it. It made his palms sweat, and he wiped that away on dark pant legs. He knew he couldn’t / knew he wouldn’t. Violating that trust would have been wrong – but … he needed –
The sound of the door being rapped woke him from his reverie.
Akechi jerks himself from bed, fingers finding the knot of his loosened tie : he had no idea who would bother him this late, way past the nighttime announcement, and given the state of his thoughts it was no wonder he would immediately turn them to NEFARIOUS MOTIVES. He sat on the edge of his bed, worked his legs towards movement, and approached the door as though it were some monstrosity, rather than a panel of metal that could be easily opened. After working himself up for a few brief seconds, Akechi opened it, but slowly, and hesitantly, the knuckles of his free hand tightening into a fist.
Jun was on the other side of the door. Just Jun. The fear in his body popped like a balloon meeting a needle, and the smile that came to Akechi’s face was instinctive / more importantly, GENUINE, and so was the way Jun’s name left his lips, hung on surprise, ❛ Ah, Koizumi - kun … ❜
In a way, it was like seeing the sun come up on the east side of the campus they were all bound to – the way the sky painted itself a variety of colors, how the world turned from twilight to dawn. Jun’s sheepish smile and messy countenance were, in every way, the best thing he could have turned the door open to see. He stood in the doorway for a moment, listening to Jun’s suggestion – to spend the night. It made the heat rise in his face, and the suggestion of frisking him made his NAILS dig into the door pane.
He couldn’t decline. Not because Jun was frightened, but because he was frightened, too. Even seeing Jun here made him feel better, however slightly. ❛ You’re not bothering me, no, though it’s … certainly interesting that you’d come to me, first. Sakura - san isn’t available? ❜ What a stupid question to ask. He found himself looking down at his shoes and shifting the weight from one ankle to the other, his confidence waning. ❛ – But I suppose you wouldn’t want to burden her with your fear, correct? I understand, and … ❜
Frisking him – Akechi imagines it. Patting his hands up and down the length of Jun’s body, laughing, grabbing at whatever the other boy had on his person, and … best to stop there, he thought : no reason to make it weirder than it already was, and Jun didn’t need to deal with such things as Akechi’s pining. ❛ No, there’s no need to say any more. I understand perfectly your intention, but … I trust you, Koizumi - kun. You intend to end this killing game, don’t you? Killing me would put quite the wrench in those plans. That may make me sound a touch arrogant, but – my skills are exceptional, when it comes to detective work, at least. ❜
But Jun knew that. Had likely had more than enough of his detective work in action. Akechi swallows the dry spot in his mouth, smiles again, all sharp teeth. ❛ Unless – you wanted me to frisk you? Ah, for my comfort, that is. ❜
HE HATES TO ADMIT IT , EVEN IF ONLY TO HIMSELF , but there’s a certain degree of calm that comes simply from hearing akechi’s voice , like a tether that pulls him back , away from the storm and to less choppy waters. fluttery little butterflies , all throwing themselves against the walls of his stomach ; they’ll no doubt be swallowed by the very stomach acid they call a home with the dawning of a new day but for now he’ll allow this , allow the feeling of safety and peace and excitement that the detective’s presence elicits.
❛ no , i -- i think we can skip the frisking , if that’s something you’re okay with. ❜ he says , an embarrassed laugh escaping him , unable to help the smile that stretches itself unto visage and unwilling to let his mind wander to what may have happened if he’d agreed. unless you wanted me to frisk you ? he can’t say he doesn’t want that , but this is not the time nor the place ------- frankly , this might not even be the person to say such a thing to. detectives fall for petty thieves only between the pages of his novels , and they pat them down with unnecessary vigor in only the raunchiest of them. ❛ but i ... i’m glad you trust me , akechi - kun. i know that with the situation how it is ... ❜ he hesitates , the mangled body of the recently deceased playing through his mind again , the terrified expression of the peer they’d all cast a final judgement upon ------ the screams , pleas , before the silence. the boy before him makes a career in corpses and cadavers , piecing together the final moments from the grisly aftermath ; he wonders if that’s tiring / he wonders if this is more than even he can comfortably swallow down.
❛ ... --- sorry , just ... thinking. ❜ at some point he’d started frowning ; he doesn’t remember , but he shakes it off.
❛ but it would be easy for you to distrust me , is what i was getting at. and i wouldn’t blame you for it , either. so that you don’t ... i appreciate it.. and i appreciate you letting me stay here tonight. ❜ thanks is added as frown is eased off , small nod given to boy who has so graciously stepped aside to permit him to enter his room , something jun does a little quicker than he might normally and as much as he’d like to chalk it up to an excitement to be alone with akechi ... truthfully , he simply wants to be out of the hallway at this hour , doubtful anyone would kill him when he’s clearly engaged in a conversation but ... you never know.
it’s just an ordinary room , he notes , the same style as that of all the boys’ with no frills or real originality attached ------ he shouldn’t be surprised , and he isn’t , but some part of him feels disappointed that there isn’t more to this room and he wonders for a moment what akechi’s real room might look like. he imagines bookshelves , nonfiction , a mix of historical accounts of gruesome murders and more technical based books , maybe files and old letters from various cases. a desk , cluttered but not messy necessarily , a plain coffee cup with several pens in it and a bottle of white out beside it because a pencil and eraser just won’t do and everyone makes mistakes. there’s a carpet and a small ceiling fan , no pets ... one bedroom , rarely used kitchen ... if he thinks about it any longer he’ll start feeling creepy so he stops , slips his hands into his pockets and turns to face akechi once he’s far enough inside. he smiles , a soft , warm little thing ; no , he wasn’t just imagining your house.
❛ but you’re right , i do just ... want to bring an end to this. i wish i had a more useful talent for this kind of thing ... but i’ll figure something out. something ... ❜ pause , gaze shifting downward toward the floor for a moment ; it’s not that he’s useless , but in terms of forward progress ... just because he can stay out of sight of the cameras , doesn’t mean everyone else can. or that he’s going to do anything with that. but he’ll ... work on it. work something out. self - disappointment is shaken off , attention returned to present company and there’s a gentleness , a hope to his voice when he speaks again.
❛ but if nothing else ... i have you , don’t i ? or , i mean --- we , have you , and your talent. i wouldn’t say that i’m grateful you got locked up here , i ... wouldn’t wish this on anyone. but i really think we might be able to get out of this , because of you. if anyone can figure out what’s going on and how we should stop it ... you’d be the guy for the job. and you ... you want this to stop too , right ? so ... ❜ he breathes in , feels like the first real breath of fresh air he’s taken in longer than he cares to consider , and that smile grows , something earnest and trusting sparkling in the depths of his eyes. ❛ i can’t promise i’ll be the most helpful partner , but i’ll do what i can to help i ... hope that we can work together , to get everyone home safe. to stop all of this. ❜
