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Another day, another harrowing experience in Mementos. Ryuji wished Futaba would just wake up already and deal with Medjed. Fighting shadows and solving requests was only cathartic for the first three days, but now it's just stressful as hell.
Though… that stress could probably be pinned on the fact that there's a massive economy destroying deadline weighing down on them all. That, and they've been going on trips back to back to back! Joker’s been pushing everyone so hard and it's a little worrying. Ryuji knows that's just how this guy vents frustration— getting shit done— and he respects it. But the guy's been looking more and more haggard as of late; Mona too! He's been meaning to converse with the other thieves in secret about convincing Joker to take a break, but today Mementos ended up doing that job for them. Both Mona and Joker were struck down by a raging shadow gang that had caught the team off guard. Thankfully Panther was able to cast Agilao and knock them all down, allowing Fox to finish them off with a clean sweep of his katana, but man was it close. Poor Mona could barely transform and drag their asses back to the first floor.
Seems like that was enough for him though, as upon arriving the cat announced they’d all be taking a break from the deeper Mementos levels, much to Joker’s dismay. He waved it off as wanting to watch over Futaba, but Ryuji was pretty sure that was partially bullshit— not that he blamed the guy. That doesn’t mean the thieves were technically free of Mementos duty, though. The upper levels were free game if one was willing to walk and if the expression Queen sent him was any indication… then Joker was definitely willing to walk. She ended up dragging Ryuji aside to ask him to ensure that Joker got home okay and to also talk some sense into their leader.
He, of course, agreed.
So that's where Ryuji's at right now. Standing in the doorway of an empty Leblanc with a cranky Akira looped over his shoulder.
"...uuuuji. Ryuuuuji. Hey."
"Huh? Shit, you say somethin' man? I wasn't paying attention."
"Yeah, I can walk on my own."
Saying that, Akira pulls himself off of Ryuji, looking rather groggy while doing so. He stumbles a little, but smoothly makes it seem like he was just going to lean against the counter. Unfortunately for Akira, Ryuji knows most of his tricks by now.
"You sure? Leblanc's stairs are killer."
"Mhm." Akira pauses to stifle a yawn, "I'll be fine. Jus' made of wood. Nothing special."
Ryuji shakes his head. God, does exhaustion make Akira act like a moron and that's coming from him. It’s more endearing than frustrating right now, so Ryuji just silently takes Akira's arms and starts pulling him up the stairs. He complains, but not enough to actually try and bother to tear himself away, something Ryuji is grateful for. Even when tired he knows Akira could put up a good fight if he wanted to.
Finally they make it up the stairs with minimal error— Ryuji only tripped once— and into the attic. Akira once again pulls away, stretching the arm that rested on Ryuji’s shoulders
"...Are you seriously going to drag me into bed? I thought you were joking."
"I'm a man of my word, dude! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't follow up on that kinda stuff?"
"A good one?" Akira says with a roll of his eyes and a sigh of resignation.
What's his deal? Ryuji has never met someone who's so nap-resistant despite being a sleepy guy. Naps are great! Nothing like falling asleep after a hard thieving day, or a good meal, or during studying, or-
"Ryuji? You just gonna sit there and stare while I change or…?"
Ryuji's head snaps up to see Akira shirtless, an amused look on his tired, tired features. Shit, right. Changing. Akira’s not one to snooze in his uniform, something Ryuji finds himself doing more and more as their thievery goes on.
"Uh, no. I was just… Whatever."
Ryuji quickly turns around to stare at the dust-caked wood that makes up the back wall. Leblanc's dumping grounds, as the Boss calls it and it's easy to see why. Old supplies and trash seem to form a shadow-like mass that takes up the entire area; hell there's even a bike in the mix! He wonders if it's in good condition… Maybe he could add cycling to their training regime some time. They'd probably get a sufficient workout just from trying to wrangle the damn thing out of there though. Something to think about at least.
"Alright, turn around; thy eyes are safe from mine wretched form, mortal." Akira delivers with a dry tone.
Ryuji flips back to face him and is greeted with Akira's loungewear. His arms are spread out in a weak flourish, because of course they are. Even when exhausted he can’t seem to turn off the dramatics.
"Your form isn't wretched, 'Kira. Just could use a little work." Ryuji laughs, patting him on the shoulder and starting to lead him to his bed.
“Work, he says. Those’re fighting words. My form is perfect actually, ‘n you’re just jealous.” Akira says, trying to sound haughty, but the snarkiness falls flat due to his yawning. He lowers himself down onto his cot with little complaint, though. So Ryuji is taking it as a win. (how Akira manages to fall asleep nightly on milk crates is beyond him.)
“Fine, Alright. Your form is great, now just sleep already.”
Geez. There’s that sassy streak of Akira’s again. With how anxious Joker’s seemed as of late, Ryuji had almost missed it. Not that it entirely disappeared; Joker’s mania is still present in Mementos when he's behind that domino-mask of his and negotiating. He'll still proclaim that he bleeds green blood in front of a shadow without a shred of irony or doubt. Ryuji's well aware that Akira's saying all that bullshit just to get the shadow to do whatever he wants, but man does it make him double take. He almost coughed up his Dr. Salt when he heard Joker tell a succubus that he prefers men that one time.
Uh, this ain't really the time to be thinking about that though; he'd preferrably rather not think about it at all. Focus on getting his ass to sleep, damn it. Ryuji quickly falls in step to the familiar rhythm of putting someone to bed. He's used to doing it quite often for his mom. As a kid he used to tuck her in just like this— still does some times when she comes home real late, if he's honest. Get comfy, pull the blanket up. Banter. Say good night. Kiss his forehead—
Ryuji's lips freeze on Akira’s forehead where he's pushed the guy's bangs up. Oh eff. That was a little too much brainless action.
He's about to apologise, but Akira starts cracking up with laughter. Ryuji quickly backs away from the bed and tries to will the heat that's surely apparent on his face away. Akira's tearing up from how hard he's laughing and while Ryuji's glad to make his bro laugh, he really wishes it wasn't through something like this! Akira sits up to breathe, wheezing out a few stray laughs and garbled words that Ryuji isn't even trying to make sense of.
"Wha- What the hell was that, Ryuji?" Akira finally manages to force out between snorts, wiping away some stray tears with the palm of his hand.
Ryuji is not taking this.
"An accident! That's what. Don't think too hard about it." He shoves Akira back down. "Go the hell to bed already, asshole! I got a train to catch and a Queen to report back to."
"Wow. Here I thought you were kissing me out of good will, but you were just following orders?"
"She— No! She did not tell me to do that. God you're annoying."
"...So you wanted to kiss me?"
"This is what I mean. Ann wouldn't do me like this. You are obnoxious dude." Ryuji scoffs, pulling away from the bed.
He's stopped by a movement in the corner of his eye— Akira’s hand reaching out, perhaps? He thought he saw a serious expression slip onto his face as well; a little jarring with those tear tracks and all, but when he fully looks at Akira his expression is totally blank. Ryuji thinks the guy was gonna make fun of him for not denying it, but… He doesn’t say anything like that at all.
"...Sorry. Yeah, you should probably head back."
What? Akira sounds so… well, neutral. Which is the norm for him technically, but it's still raising at least five red flags in Ryuji's head. Did he offend Akira with that previous jab? Usually he just takes those things in stride; one of his more admirable traits. Any time Ryuji hears someone talking shit about that "transfer student who stabbed someone" he wants to deck 'em.
"Probably." Ryuji says, sitting back down at the end of Akira’s bed. "Never been good at doing what I'm s'posed to, though."
Akira looks a bit confused and like he isn't about to start talking again, so Ryuji just lays back on Akira’s legs and fills the silence.
"Well, that ain't entirely true. When the last train left an hour ago, I made sure to text my mom!" Ryuji shoots Akira a grin and chuckles at the sour look he gets before continuing, "Boss said any of us are welcome to stay at Leblanc whenever, sooo… I guess I was lookin' for an excuse to stay. You make it pretty easy to find one, huh?"
Akira's sour look quickly turns into one of embarrassment.
"So you were always planning to stay the night? That… makes sense for you."
For him? The hell kind of cryptic bullshit is Akira on now— or maybe he’s just trying to deflect? Damn, it’s kind of working. Ryuji shouldn’t let it happen, though… There's something that's been bothering him about Akira’s behaviour and he’d like to know the cause.
"Dude. Just spit it out. There's been something eatin' at ya for a while now, right? Even before you started acting weird tonight, I could tell."
Akira clicks his tongue, face cycling through a myriad of emotions before settling on plain, unmasked exhaustion.
"What do you think is eating at me, Ryuji. This whole Medjed thing is… stressful. Futaba not waking up is stressful. The implications of… of what happened to Isshiki-san is stressful." He rubs both hands over his eyes and takes a deep sigh, sounding like those worries actually are physically weighing him down.
"I just feel like… something bad is going to happen. Something we're not going to be able to worm our way out of. I'm… not above doing whatever we need to do but…"
Ryuji tilts his head towards Akira, silently urging him to go on. As their leader, it seems like Joker never really gets the chance to spew whatever’s worrying him… except for maybe at Morgana, of course. He kind of gets it, the track team was the same way. Grin and bear it for the greater good of everyone. The motive is similar, but Ryuji sure as hell hopes the outcomes aren't the same. He shudders at the thought of them all fighting and splitting apart like that. Going back to no friends at school after all this? Rough. Maybe even worse than the first time. Especially if it means losing Akira…
Akira nods his head, taking a small breath after Ryuji’s coaxing.
"...I'm just worried I'm dragging you all into this mess. Everyone joined of their own choice, obviously. Never have we forced a member in, but..." Akira looks straight at Ryuji, a strange pleading look in his eyes— vulnerable— that's what it is. It's… a bit uncomfortable. He's never seen their leader–- never seen Akira look so…
"...But do we really know what it is we're getting ourselves into? It was just us three protecting the Shujin students, but now… Are we going to attract the same attention that Isshiki-san did?"
For a moment there, Ryuji could've sworn that Akira sounded scared.
…Probably just his imagination.
Though… if it isn't… “Pssht. C’mon man, we’re pretty well known, but not that important. Everyone’s aware of the dangers and it ain’t like we’re doing this just for you. We all have our reasons.”
Akira nods along with his attempt at comfort, but still looks unsure. Is that not what he’s worried about? Maybe he could use some other reassurance…
“A-And even if we were just following you… I think that’d be alright. You’re our leader for a reason! If things ever came to something like… that; we’d be by your side ‘til the end. Not that you’d put us in a situation like that in the first place.”
Akira still seems to be questioning himself, but a small smile returns to his face.
“For a reason? I thought I was made leader because neither you nor Ann wanted to.”
Really? That’s what he chooses to comment on? Ryuji sputters, “Well, y-yeah, I mean it started like that… But you’ve really proved yourself worthy of the title y’know? Y’do a lot for us man and I promise, we really do appreciate it.” He sits up and ruffles Akira’s hair aggressively, not stopping even when his friend tries to swat his hand away. “We’ll follow you anywhere man; anywhere but an early grave, so stop trying to find one, ‘kay? You need rest.”
Akira sighs, closing his eyes and giving up on his attack against Ryuji. “You’re right. Sorry that my anxieties led to… this.”
“Could’ve led to something worse. Just try not to forget that you can rely on us too, alright? And maybe you ought to save that apology for Morgana.”
“Yeah, I will. An apology and some extra tuna won’t hurt.”
The room goes quiet and it gives Ryuji a chance to process their conversation. The way Akira reached for him earlier… It was definitely some sort of implied gesture, right? It’s kind of funny how bold he can be until it comes to things like this. Still, Ryuji’s glad he did it. Either way he’d have stayed, but he probably wouldn’t have probed like that. Ryuji shouldn’t be surprised by what was weighing him down, but damn did he not consider those consequences. As important as they are though… Joker needs some serious R&R.
A quick glance upward shows that Akira hasn’t moved an inch. If he’s seriously asleep that fast, then his Mementos injuries must’ve been worse than he was letting on. Ryuji lays back down, trying to push those worries to the side and get some rest himself.
G’night, Akira.