[nope] Killing night 12 - Shuichi

[afailedmurder]

[Akechi is taking Baxter out for one last walk before he holes up, which is to say he's lurking around the infirmary without going in until the raccoons start badgering him. It's only when he catches Shuichi's eye that he tries to act cool and casual about it.]

Good evening, Saihara-kun! I'm not interested in exploring tonight, but if you need an alibi, you can drop by my room.

Comments

[truthstranger]

[Due to keen detective instincts, Shuichi suspects Akechi is not particularly cool or casual about this. Still, that only makes him more likely to agree, so he only shoots a very brief glance down the hallway towards the infirmary before attempting a smile.]

Sure, of course. I’d... like that.

[afailedmurder]

[noting that infirmary glance]

They'll be fine. They're better off in there than left to their own devices.

[he scoops up the puppy and starts to head back]

[truthstranger]

Mm.

[he walks with him quietly for a few paces before speaking up again]

...Are you upset that Kurusu-kun got hurt by being reckless?

[afailedmurder]

Of course I am. He even had the gall to tell me he'd be careful.

[grumblegrumble]

But he's his own person. I can't tell him what to do.

[truthstranger]

No, but you can tell him you're worried about him.

[afailedmurder]

I did. That was when he said he'd be careful.

He cornered me afterward. He admitted he was wrong, but also that he wasn't going to change. What do you think, should I still be mad at him?

[truthstranger]

Mm... I think it's fair to be mad. But I also think he'll probably be at least a little more careful. I talked to him too.

[afailedmurder]

It's kind of you to do so. Perhaps if he hears it from enough people, he'll reconsider doing anything reckless in the future. Though I doubt it.

But I think if nothing else, he understands now. He accepts the situation that we're in. I'd have been extremely irate if he'd expired out of sheer stupidity... but if he decides to continue to risk his life in adherence to his principles, that I can respect.

[opens his door when they get there, like a gentleman]

[truthstranger]

Yeah. We talked a bit about what we can do here, and there's no point in being reckless until we know more, at least.

[he walks into the room, and is distracted for a second by the renewed realization that he's going to spend the night in Akechi's room, but he shakes it off]

... At some point, it's likely all of us will have to take some risks if we want to get out of this, but... we should try to know what we're getting into as much as possible.

[afailedmurder]

I agree completely. I won't hesitate to act when the moment comes, but for now our time is better served in preparation.

[Akechi sets the puppy down, takes off his shoes and his tie]

...Although that having been said, I still don't feel like doing much of anything tonight.

[truthstranger]

[he also takes off his shoes.]

Ah, that's fine. I was actually also telling him that taking care of ourselves and each other is one of the most important things we can be doing right now...

[afailedmurder]

No wonder he likes you. I'm certain he was much more happy to hear an argument like that than my thesis on his foolishness.

[truthstranger]

[an awkward laugh]

Maybe so. Though, he clearly also cares about you.

[afailedmurder]

[Anyway, when it gets to be like 3 am and it's a bad idea to sleep, or maybe it's just hard to sleep]

Say, Saihara-kun? Are you still awake?

[truthstranger]

Mm? Yeah? What is it?

[afailedmurder]

Since we're not sleeping anyway, I had a sort of... idea of what we could do.

Though it's a little embarrassing to say out loud, to be completely honest.

[truthstranger]

[what could be embarrassing at this point...]

I'm sure it's fine.

[afailedmurder]

Well, we still have all that money in the closet.

What if we... took it out of the closet?

[truthstranger]

[not what he expected]

And did... what with it?

[afailedmurder]

Anything we want!

Even if we survive this, when are we ever going to see that much money again? Don't you want to touch it?

[truthstranger]

Ah... I guess... that would be kind of exciting.

[certainly, at 3am, after having already let loose a certain amount of inhibition, it seems like an interesting idea]

[afailedmurder]

Let's do it.

[drags himself out of bed and heads for the closet]

The other world is full of people's desires, so it isn't my first time seeing large amounts of cash... but there's usually something wrong with it, like it'll have the person's own face on it or be a "10 gazillion yen" note or some such nonsense. Grown adults!

[truthstranger]

[he sits up at the edge of the bed]

Ah, well, I imagine that people's subconscious desires are less concerned with accurate details and more the general feel of things...

[afailedmurder]

Fat lot of good that does me.

[at any rate, he digs out the suitcase and returns with it, plopping it on the bed]

And yet the creatures scurrying about in there all carry real money. Isn't that strange? I never managed to figure out why.

[things to say to make your crazy JRPG mechanics sound more real: probably not that]

[truthstranger]

[fortunately it already sounded pretty unreal and 3am is a terrible time for existential crises.]

That is strange. Maybe because you wanted them to...?

[he glances at the suitcase, weirdly nervous and excited]