this is already so, so much harder than he could have anticipated. under the table, akira reaches for magilou's hand, squeezing it tightly. he's grateful, so, so grateful that she's here.
he's not sure he'd be able to tell this story alone.]
When the last Siren was executed, the game ended. A win, and the conditions meant that everyone who "died" were given their lives back. It was a game within a dream, so... things like that were possible.
[...]
Maybe we should start closer to the beginning, though. [casually avoiding telling her about the part where magilou executed him. yet. they'll get to that, but he needs futaba to understand how those choices were his own—he doesn't want magilou to shoulder the blame when she did nothing but try to protect him at the end, after all.]
[her return grip is snug, but not too tight, her own fingers threaded with his own. nice way to artfully dodge the question, Kurusu, but hey. she won't be the one to press him to answer it honestly]
. . . which beginning? We explained the island, the number of people there, the dream, the rules of the game, the fact that we won. . .
[... Yeah this isn't making her feel any better about anything, but she just frowns a little.]
I think I already know the rules. The Mafia--Sirens, in this case--would win if they managed to kill more people than there were Mafia members, and the Villagers' win condition would be taking out all of the Sirens. There might've been other win conditions, but those were probably the two main ones. Obviously, you ended up taking the route of the Villagers finding and killing all of the Sirens.
[She's not here for role and mechanics talks, she's here to figure out why Akira looks so sad, dammit!!]
There might've been other roles--that's what usually makes the game more tactical.
Closer to the beginning. We started talking about the end without... some of the important parts.
[like the other roles. how they operated, and how they got people to play along.]
I don't really know the other roles by the names you would, Futaba, but we can explain some of them. I think we need to cover some of those bases before we tell you exactly what we experienced, and how Magilou can even be here right now.
[it'll be important.]
Aside from the Sirens, there were the Wickies, who knew every means to end the game and were meant to seek out the Sirens. There was also the Nymph, who could help or hurt our cause with items.
[hey, guess who isn't jumping at the chance to talk about the hangmen! it's akira. and he really knew next to nothing about the waylayer, so.
[he's still dodging the subject, and Magilou wonders how long he can get away with it before Futaba notices. also plz, she isn't about to bring up the Hangmen, either. but she can talk more about the Wickie and the Waylayer!]
The Wickies could "check" people to see if they had a role or not too, but their primary purpose was eliminating the Sirens and guiding us all home.
In addition to the Nymph, there was the Waylayer, who-- well.
[okay backing up a bit]
Everyone on the island had a partner, you know? If you died, your partner died, and vice versa. The Waylayer could "break" one partnership per week, so if one member of that partnership died, the other half would be spared.
The poor sap in that role never really managed to put that ability to good use, though.
[poor Prussia. breaking partnerships each week, but only the ones consisting of people who weren't being targeted]
[Yeah, she definitely notices, because she doesn't actually give a flying fuck about any of the roles.]
Okay, so a detective, an item role and a partner break role? That's weird but not that out there, I get it, I don't really need a play-by-play here of the rules.
[More importantly--and almost plaintively:]
Akira? You're starting to worry me. [He hasn't said a single thing about himself here.]
[you know, magilou. you could have made this like. .0001% easier for him by at least saying the name of the role.
he frowns; futaba has every right to worry here—he doesn't talk about himself very much normally, but he's rarely ever evasive.
so in he draws a breath, closing his eyes.]
There was another role, known as the Hangman. They worked under the... "game masters" directly, following their direct order to remove anyone from the game that didn't play to their liking. They were the only role, too, that could carry out a kill themselves without sacrificing the victim's partner.
[ugh.
ugh.
ugh.
this is why futaba has reason to worry.]
There were two Hangmen. And... I was one of them. [and he can't even look at futaba to see how she reacts, because having to even tell her that, when knowing she will immediately understand what it means for what he's done and how he's broken their creeds is...
a big deal. especially with what futaba's been through in her past.]
[she didn't know how much he wanted to say himself!! she ain't gonna tell his story for him]
[. . . also, he'll feel the faint brush of Magilou's thumb against his knuckles, too. but she doesn't have anything to say, so. . . she stays quiet, watching the both of them with an even, seemingly unfeeling expression. this part is between Akira and Futaba]
For a second, it doesn't even feel like the words are real. This entire situation... it has to be a joke, right? Because Akira's sitting here next to some weird lady that looks like she's wearing cosplay for a cheap 90's game, saying that he participated in some weird dream Mafia session--
And.
That he was.
One of the killers.
Her breath hitches and then hiccups a little, but the only words she can really breathe out are a soft and somewhat ragged:]
[and just like that, he can feel his heart sinking directly into his stomach. he knew it. he knew that telling the phantom thieves would be painful. he knew that he was risking having them turn their back on him the same way many of the people in that game had when they learned the truth about the things he'd done.
but there's no denying that it cuts through his heart even harder than magilou's knife had when she killed him.
he can't even look at futaba; he hadn't been able to as soon as he really started talking, but hearing that reaction, that disbelief—it's too much.
his head dips low, shame obvious in a way that would never have been fiting for the cocky, confident joker before. but of course there's shame—even if it was a "game," he had betrayed people's trust. he hurt them, he killed people with his own hands. a dream that felt real, a dream that truly left him having bad blood with people in a warranted way.]
They—They would have... They did—
[okay, so he's struggling to get the words out here. it's a strange sense of panic that rises in his chest, because he's used to being the one to keep futaba calm, and he can't when he's the one causing her to react this way.
he squeezes magilou's hand tightly enough to a silent indicator. please. please explain the conditions they put over his head, even if briefly so he can try to get himself in order here.]
[she picks up right where he left off, a smooth transition with little hesitation. she doesn't even need him to squeeze her hand to know what she has to do]
. . . go easy on him. Technically I killed more people than he did, and I didn't even have a role.
[THAT'S. . . probably not the best impression to make with?? one of his friends?? especially when she says it so easily, like she's completely detached from the situation. and especially when she doesn't offer an explanation for her own actions. Akira had five weeks to come to understand how she deals with things, but poor Futaba? totally new at speaking Magilou]
You have a friend named Haru Okumura, right? She was there, too. Maybe not the same one in this world and timeline--
[Akira had mentioned to her that the Haru here hadn't remembered much of anything form the island, after all]
Her life, her safety. That's what they threatened to take from her should he not cooperate.
People. . . will do a lot, even willingly break themselves into pieces, in order to protect those they love. Right?
[Yeah that's not 100% helping there Magilou, could you slow your roll a bit--
That is.
Futaba's brain is...a little too quick even for her at moments like this. She doesn't want to process it. She doesn't want to understand, not yet, not immediately--but she does.
She has a brain for finding connections, after all. For analyzing information. And she can tell--
Premise: Akira had a role. It was a role that was intended to kill people not participating properly in the game.
Premise: They were holding Haru hostage to ensure that Akira did what they wanted.
Conclusion: Akira...killed people. To protect Haru.
That's...
She clutches her head, breathing unsteady, eyes narrowed. In truth? She's never been about the lofty ideals of the Phantom Thieves. Of all of them, she knows she's the most selfish--she only cares about them, and about finding her mother's murderer.
But to think that Akira--her sweet older brother figure, the only who always lifts them up when they're down, the one who was so certain of the Phantom Thieves' form of Justice and who would never back down from that... to think that he'd kill people--
It feels a bit like an important cornerstone to her stability is crumbling a bit, and she needs a second to handle it. Sorry friends.]
W-wait... I-- [...She doesn't know what to do with this information at all.]
[there's still so much more. so much that makes this worse—like what they did to haru. how the rest of the phantom thieves were used as leverage.
how the people he killed were both his partners, how he betrayed them. how he was really no better than akechi, sans the legitimate remorse and guilt that still weighs on him.
how he confessed, and doing so caused people to turn their backs on him, and how in the end, magilou had to execute him for it.
but how can he tell futaba any of that?
even telling her this much, betraying everything he's ever been to her feels like having his heart cut in two.
he gives futaba time to process this, but mostly it's because akira doesn't know what to say. what he can say. worse than when he confessed, akira's hands are trembling a little—this is the worst reveal yet. head dipped, jaw clenched tight; if he looks up at futaba right now, he might cry.
there's no doubt, at least, that he has no pride at all in what he's done.]
[Akira stays quiet, but Magilou is watching is watching them both with her own sharp, attentive gaze. between Futaba's reaction, the way she curls in on herself immediately, struggling to process the story. . . and Akira's, that trembling hand tucked desperately into her own as he refuses to look at his teammate. . .]
[she breaks the silence]
Hey, kiddo.
[she addresses Futaba, first]
He's still the same idealistic, foolish do-gooder he was before, you know? It's actually kind of annoying. [MAGILOU. . .] Do you think even a crummy mutual killing game on a deserted island could change that? That even being backed into a corner where he had to choose between his do-gooder ideals or the people he wanted to protect could extinguish that spark in his soul?
[Magilou's not really one for motivational speeches, but in hindsight, she sure did give a lot of them back on the island. accidentally, of course. and even then, they weren't really good. but mostly?]
[after watching so many people immediately turn their backs on him, she just wants to make sure it won't happen again]
[She doesn't lift her head immediately when Magilou starts talking, but...she's listening. Those words that she's saying...even if the way Magilou says it isn't exactly the kindest, it still resonates. Of course Akira's still all of that. Of course he'd never change. He's... Akira.
He's Futaba's Key Item, her rock, her stability. He's never supposed to leave her inventory--can't be discarded or sold or removed--and that's...
Still true...right?]
A-Akira...
[She looks up but he's looking away, and... more than anything, for a moment, all she can feel is dread at how he looks. He looks so tired, so beaten down and broken, and it's...automatic the way she reaches for him, because he's precious to her, and even though she knows she's no good at this, she knows she can't really provide support like he does--
She reaches for him anyway.
She'd never turn her back on him. He's her family. And even if this is a lot to process... Futaba knows that Akira would only ever break those morals for them.
And, fiercely, because she has no idea how else to process or deal with the emotions she's feeling right now:]
[magilou's words aren't stated in the most tactful of ways—but it's something he's grown used to with her. and he knows how she frames her words best, after all—
but akira also knows that they come with purpose. that her words... they're meant to remind futaba of something important. but they're also there to remind akira that there's still always going to be one person who stands by his side and doesn't turn their back on him.
somehow... it works.
works enough, at least, that when futaba looks up and starts fussing—akira does lift his head to look at her. quiet, lacking some of that fire because he is beaten down in a way that not even anything they'd experienced as phantom thieves could have done to him. now, probably more than ever, he needs support and seems... almost willing to accept it.]
...Should I come sit on that side?
[it means he'll have to take his hand back from magilou for now, but... he thinks he might need this, if futaba is that willing. she owes apologies, and other explanations—especially about everything magilou is to him now—but first, he needs to try and do his best for futaba. he needs to calm her down as best he can.
he has a pillar in magilou, but it's still his responsibility as family to help futaba, especially when this is his fault to begin with.]
[tact isn't Magilou's strong point. she doesn't always have the patience to put things delicately, after all. but she does have a tendency to tell people what they need to hear. and when her words help do the trick, she lets out a relieved breath]
[she pulls her fingers from Akira's, and curls both hands around her coffee cup]
Go, go. I'll be fine all by my lonesome. Actually-- do I need to talk a walk while you two have a moment?
[she doesn't mind giving them a bit of family time, if they need it!]
[She just rolls her eyes at that, expression irritated and flustered in many ways, and then she just hops out of her seat to skitters over to Akira's side and just kind of.
Shoves her way onto the seat neat to him.
Sorry, Magilou, you'll probably have to squish over.
And then, leaning against Akira, she mutters into her arms on the table:]
You gotta be pretty dumb if that was your first solution.
[Muttered off to the side!!! Of her mouth!! At Magilou!!]
Obviously Akira needs you to stay there, so stay there. Jeeze.
[Jeeze.
But she just...squeezes herself a little closer to Akira's side.]
Don't...be sorry. I'm sorry too. That... you're sad. And that you were stuck in a stupid situation like that. And that we weren't there except to be used against you.
[he almost wants to laugh. for all that futaba can be bad at dealing with other people, she seems to see clearly how important magilou's presence is for him right now.
though honestly, futaba's is helping too. he leans a bit against futaba in turn, keeping his hand atop her head and. maybe giving magilou just a little bit of room here.]
I'm glad you weren't there. I'm glad you didn't have to see the things I saw, or... the terrible things I did. Or anything related to it.
[and boy, did a lot happen, which is obviously the implication here.]
If it meant keeping you and the others as safe as I could manage, I had to. Even though...
[it caused him a lot of pain.]
I hurt a lot of people along the way. [your big bro is a moron, futaba.]
[Futaba's verbal reminder practically petrifies Magilou in the spot. her thoughts are already racing-- she isn't!! needed!! she is just. here. because she wants to be here. she's never needed!! she's just a remora who attaches herself to people and hangs out with them for the ride and the experiences. nobody would ever miss her if she decided to cut herself off and bolt. that's just how things have always been!]
[there's too much going on here, too much she feels like she's intruding into when it comes to their relationship, too many feelings that she is no good at dealing with, even if she's gotten better and she still wants to try. so she is just gonna]
[melt into a Magilou puddle]
[slide out of her seat]
[and plop on the ground underneath the table]
[. . .]
[i'm sorry. she's still here. she isn't leaving. she just needs a moment]
They're trying to have a serious talk here, Magilou...
Futaba is taking Akira completely and utterly seriously here, but it's kind of hard when Magilou just oozes.
Futaba's brow furrows a little, but in the end--]
It was Mafia though, right? Or...Sirens, or whatever, whatever stupid name they gave it. So...lots of people hurt people. That's the point.
[... It's not like it was just Akira.]
Akira... you guys won, right? You won the game, and everyone came back and... that's what matters. Sometimes winning really is the most important thing.
[... Okay but also:]
The person you brought home is super weird. [And that's coming from Futaba, so that's saying something.]
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no subject
this is already so, so much harder than he could have anticipated. under the table, akira reaches for magilou's hand, squeezing it tightly. he's grateful, so, so grateful that she's here.
he's not sure he'd be able to tell this story alone.]
When the last Siren was executed, the game ended. A win, and the conditions meant that everyone who "died" were given their lives back. It was a game within a dream, so... things like that were possible.
[...]
Maybe we should start closer to the beginning, though. [casually avoiding telling her about the part where magilou executed him. yet. they'll get to that, but he needs futaba to understand how those choices were his own—he doesn't want magilou to shoulder the blame when she did nothing but try to protect him at the end, after all.]
no subject
. . . which beginning? We explained the island, the number of people there, the dream, the rules of the game, the fact that we won. . .
no subject
I think I already know the rules. The Mafia--Sirens, in this case--would win if they managed to kill more people than there were Mafia members, and the Villagers' win condition would be taking out all of the Sirens. There might've been other win conditions, but those were probably the two main ones. Obviously, you ended up taking the route of the Villagers finding and killing all of the Sirens.
[She's not here for role and mechanics talks, she's here to figure out why Akira looks so sad, dammit!!]
There might've been other roles--that's what usually makes the game more tactical.
[So!!]
I wanna know. What happened to you, Akira?
no subject
[like the other roles. how they operated, and how they got people to play along.]
I don't really know the other roles by the names you would, Futaba, but we can explain some of them. I think we need to cover some of those bases before we tell you exactly what we experienced, and how Magilou can even be here right now.
[it'll be important.]
Aside from the Sirens, there were the Wickies, who knew every means to end the game and were meant to seek out the Sirens. There was also the Nymph, who could help or hurt our cause with items.
[hey, guess who isn't jumping at the chance to talk about the hangmen! it's akira. and he really knew next to nothing about the waylayer, so.
go for it, mags.]
no subject
The Wickies could "check" people to see if they had a role or not too, but their primary purpose was eliminating the Sirens and guiding us all home.
In addition to the Nymph, there was the Waylayer, who-- well.
[okay backing up a bit]
Everyone on the island had a partner, you know? If you died, your partner died, and vice versa. The Waylayer could "break" one partnership per week, so if one member of that partnership died, the other half would be spared.
The poor sap in that role never really managed to put that ability to good use, though.
[poor Prussia. breaking partnerships each week, but only the ones consisting of people who weren't being targeted]
no subject
Okay, so a detective, an item role and a partner break role? That's weird but not that out there, I get it, I don't really need a play-by-play here of the rules.
[More importantly--and almost plaintively:]
Akira? You're starting to worry me. [He hasn't said a single thing about himself here.]
no subject
he frowns; futaba has every right to worry here—he doesn't talk about himself very much normally, but he's rarely ever evasive.
so in he draws a breath, closing his eyes.]
There was another role, known as the Hangman. They worked under the... "game masters" directly, following their direct order to remove anyone from the game that didn't play to their liking. They were the only role, too, that could carry out a kill themselves without sacrificing the victim's partner.
[ugh.
ugh.
ugh.
this is why futaba has reason to worry.]
There were two Hangmen. And... I was one of them. [and he can't even look at futaba to see how she reacts, because having to even tell her that, when knowing she will immediately understand what it means for what he's done and how he's broken their creeds is...
a big deal. especially with what futaba's been through in her past.]
no subject
[. . . also, he'll feel the faint brush of Magilou's thumb against his knuckles, too. but she doesn't have anything to say, so. . . she stays quiet, watching the both of them with an even, seemingly unfeeling expression. this part is between Akira and Futaba]
no subject
For a second, it doesn't even feel like the words are real. This entire situation... it has to be a joke, right? Because Akira's sitting here next to some weird lady that looks like she's wearing cosplay for a cheap 90's game, saying that he participated in some weird dream Mafia session--
And.
That he was.
One of the killers.
Her breath hitches and then hiccups a little, but the only words she can really breathe out are a soft and somewhat ragged:]
W-what? What are you...?
[...What are you saying?]
no subject
but there's no denying that it cuts through his heart even harder than magilou's knife had when she killed him.
he can't even look at futaba; he hadn't been able to as soon as he really started talking, but hearing that reaction, that disbelief—it's too much.
his head dips low, shame obvious in a way that would never have been fiting for the cocky, confident joker before. but of course there's shame—even if it was a "game," he had betrayed people's trust. he hurt them, he killed people with his own hands. a dream that felt real, a dream that truly left him having bad blood with people in a warranted way.]
They—They would have... They did—
[okay, so he's struggling to get the words out here. it's a strange sense of panic that rises in his chest, because he's used to being the one to keep futaba calm, and he can't when he's the one causing her to react this way.
he squeezes magilou's hand tightly enough to a silent indicator. please. please explain the conditions they put over his head, even if briefly so he can try to get himself in order here.]
no subject
. . . go easy on him. Technically I killed more people than he did, and I didn't even have a role.
[THAT'S. . . probably not the best impression to make with?? one of his friends?? especially when she says it so easily, like she's completely detached from the situation. and especially when she doesn't offer an explanation for her own actions. Akira had five weeks to come to understand how she deals with things, but poor Futaba? totally new at speaking Magilou]
You have a friend named Haru Okumura, right? She was there, too. Maybe not the same one in this world and timeline--
[Akira had mentioned to her that the Haru here hadn't remembered much of anything form the island, after all]
Her life, her safety. That's what they threatened to take from her should he not cooperate.
People. . . will do a lot, even willingly break themselves into pieces, in order to protect those they love. Right?
no subject
That is.
Futaba's brain is...a little too quick even for her at moments like this. She doesn't want to process it. She doesn't want to understand, not yet, not immediately--but she does.
She has a brain for finding connections, after all. For analyzing information. And she can tell--
Premise: Akira had a role. It was a role that was intended to kill people not participating properly in the game.
Premise: They were holding Haru hostage to ensure that Akira did what they wanted.
Conclusion: Akira...killed people. To protect Haru.
That's...
She clutches her head, breathing unsteady, eyes narrowed. In truth? She's never been about the lofty ideals of the Phantom Thieves. Of all of them, she knows she's the most selfish--she only cares about them, and about finding her mother's murderer.
But to think that Akira--her sweet older brother figure, the only who always lifts them up when they're down, the one who was so certain of the Phantom Thieves' form of Justice and who would never back down from that... to think that he'd kill people--
It feels a bit like an important cornerstone to her stability is crumbling a bit, and she needs a second to handle it. Sorry friends.]
W-wait... I-- [...She doesn't know what to do with this information at all.]
no subject
how the people he killed were both his partners, how he betrayed them. how he was really no better than akechi, sans the legitimate remorse and guilt that still weighs on him.
how he confessed, and doing so caused people to turn their backs on him, and how in the end, magilou had to execute him for it.
but how can he tell futaba any of that?
even telling her this much, betraying everything he's ever been to her feels like having his heart cut in two.
he gives futaba time to process this, but mostly it's because akira doesn't know what to say. what he can say. worse than when he confessed, akira's hands are trembling a little—this is the worst reveal yet. head dipped, jaw clenched tight; if he looks up at futaba right now, he might cry.
there's no doubt, at least, that he has no pride at all in what he's done.]
no subject
[she breaks the silence]
Hey, kiddo.
[she addresses Futaba, first]
He's still the same idealistic, foolish do-gooder he was before, you know? It's actually kind of annoying. [MAGILOU. . .] Do you think even a crummy mutual killing game on a deserted island could change that? That even being backed into a corner where he had to choose between his do-gooder ideals or the people he wanted to protect could extinguish that spark in his soul?
[Magilou's not really one for motivational speeches, but in hindsight, she sure did give a lot of them back on the island. accidentally, of course. and even then, they weren't really good. but mostly?]
[after watching so many people immediately turn their backs on him, she just wants to make sure it won't happen again]
no subject
He's Futaba's Key Item, her rock, her stability. He's never supposed to leave her inventory--can't be discarded or sold or removed--and that's...
Still true...right?]
A-Akira...
[She looks up but he's looking away, and... more than anything, for a moment, all she can feel is dread at how he looks. He looks so tired, so beaten down and broken, and it's...automatic the way she reaches for him, because he's precious to her, and even though she knows she's no good at this, she knows she can't really provide support like he does--
She reaches for him anyway.
She'd never turn her back on him. He's her family. And even if this is a lot to process... Futaba knows that Akira would only ever break those morals for them.
And, fiercely, because she has no idea how else to process or deal with the emotions she's feeling right now:]
Ughh--why are you so far away!
no subject
but akira also knows that they come with purpose. that her words... they're meant to remind futaba of something important. but they're also there to remind akira that there's still always going to be one person who stands by his side and doesn't turn their back on him.
somehow... it works.
works enough, at least, that when futaba looks up and starts fussing—akira does lift his head to look at her. quiet, lacking some of that fire because he is beaten down in a way that not even anything they'd experienced as phantom thieves could have done to him. now, probably more than ever, he needs support and seems... almost willing to accept it.]
...Should I come sit on that side?
[it means he'll have to take his hand back from magilou for now, but... he thinks he might need this, if futaba is that willing. she owes apologies, and other explanations—especially about everything magilou is to him now—but first, he needs to try and do his best for futaba. he needs to calm her down as best he can.
he has a pillar in magilou, but it's still his responsibility as family to help futaba, especially when this is his fault to begin with.]
no subject
[she pulls her fingers from Akira's, and curls both hands around her coffee cup]
Go, go. I'll be fine all by my lonesome. Actually-- do I need to talk a walk while you two have a moment?
[she doesn't mind giving them a bit of family time, if they need it!]
no subject
[She just rolls her eyes at that, expression irritated and flustered in many ways, and then she just hops out of her seat to skitters over to Akira's side and just kind of.
Shoves her way onto the seat neat to him.
Sorry, Magilou, you'll probably have to squish over.
And then, leaning against Akira, she mutters into her arms on the table:]
You're both dumb.
no subject
Yeah. I'm pretty dumb, I guess.
[he says quietly, taking his hand and placing it gently atop futaba's head.]
I'm sorry, Futaba.
for which part? who the hell knows. all of it, probably.
but still—he's glad she's here next to him, not turning her back on him despite that story.]
no subject
[and now she's stuck, one of three people squished in a booth seat meant for only two]
Hey, I actually consider myself to be fairly intelligent.
[:/!! RUDE FUTABA]
no subject
[Muttered off to the side!!! Of her mouth!! At Magilou!!]
Obviously Akira needs you to stay there, so stay there. Jeeze.
[Jeeze.
But she just...squeezes herself a little closer to Akira's side.]
Don't...be sorry. I'm sorry too. That... you're sad. And that you were stuck in a stupid situation like that. And that we weren't there except to be used against you.
no subject
though honestly, futaba's is helping too. he leans a bit against futaba in turn, keeping his hand atop her head and. maybe giving magilou just a little bit of room here.]
I'm glad you weren't there. I'm glad you didn't have to see the things I saw, or... the terrible things I did. Or anything related to it.
[and boy, did a lot happen, which is obviously the implication here.]
If it meant keeping you and the others as safe as I could manage, I had to. Even though...
[it caused him a lot of pain.]
I hurt a lot of people along the way. [your big bro is a moron, futaba.]
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[that isn't]
[Futaba's verbal reminder practically petrifies Magilou in the spot. her thoughts are already racing-- she isn't!! needed!! she is just. here. because she wants to be here. she's never needed!! she's just a remora who attaches herself to people and hangs out with them for the ride and the experiences. nobody would ever miss her if she decided to cut herself off and bolt. that's just how things have always been!]
[and. . . yet. . .]
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[melt into a Magilou puddle]
[slide out of her seat]
[and plop on the ground underneath the table]
[. . .]
[i'm sorry. she's still here. she isn't leaving. she just needs a moment]
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Thing.
They're trying to have a serious talk here, Magilou...
Futaba is taking Akira completely and utterly seriously here, but it's kind of hard when Magilou just oozes.
Futaba's brow furrows a little, but in the end--]
It was Mafia though, right? Or...Sirens, or whatever, whatever stupid name they gave it. So...lots of people hurt people. That's the point.
[... It's not like it was just Akira.]
Akira... you guys won, right? You won the game, and everyone came back and... that's what matters. Sometimes winning really is the most important thing.
[... Okay but also:]
The person you brought home is super weird. [And that's coming from Futaba, so that's saying something.]
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