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[What he'll find is a very disgruntled lil' Akechi quite audibly smacking his palm with his face.]

Fucking macaroni...

[This night is not getting any less fucked up. He clears his throat, aiming for avuncular, and landing somewhere around I know where you sleep.]

[Oh.

Shit.

He hastily tucks his phone under the big, comfy quilt.]

...I was hungry?

[That does not sound convincing.]

You don't seem as unwell as you were making out.

[He's silhouetted in the light from the corridor; his face is almost blacked out.]

I was typing without proper capitalization and punctuation.

[He's pouting, but he'd call it more of a stern, serious look. Hmph.]

...hard to sleep with a headache. And Haru-san wanted to go with me, but I went alone, and...

[Yeah.]

"Rose", I take it.

[Why, yes, he's talking to her as well. Good to know the kid's getting it in the neck from multiple directions—it might keep him alive.]

Since you aren't at death's door, I was going to make some soup, if you'd like some.

...Yes, her.

[Well, he doesn't seem mad. That's a good sign.]

But, yes. That would be appreciated, if it's not too much trouble.

[So he turns for the kitchen again, without a word. Cooking may be for the birds, but he can at least squeeze miso soup concentrate into a mug.

It only takes a minute or two and then he's back—with a tray, an actual tray in brushed steel, on which sits a white ceramic mug thinly banded in shades of blue. Two steel chopsticks stick out of the cup, for it to be whisked up. The mug is on a coaster.

He sets the tray down next to the futon.] Spill that, and you're cleaning it up.

[But then he fetches his own mug, complete with chopsticks, and comes back to stand in the door.]

Was it necessary to share what you learned with her?

Thank you.

[He very carefully accepts the try and the food that comes with it, but... ah.

His head droops.]

...I wasn't thinking straight. But nobody knows about the TV. I didn't tell her everything that's happened between us.

[But he sighs. He's not really angry.]

Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm not even sure our promise is binding any longer. Everyone here knows everything I might have wanted to hide.

Not everyone. I won't say anything to Hawk or Akira-kun. If anyone so much as dared, I think they'd have every Akechi in this place ready to eviscerate them.

[It's an attempt at a joke, but... agh. Right. Soup. Hot soup is good. He'll take a few moments to sip that.]

I did text Akira-kun to apologize for my disappearing act, but I didn't say anything about what I was doing. I'm sure my older self will make up some acceptable excuse.

[Look at him flapping, as desperate for attention as a starving chick. As desperate as Akechi himself, the joke of a creature that he is.]

How is Akira-kun? He seems a little afraid of me. [Like anyone would be, his tone suggests.]

Akira-kun can be a little shy until he warms up to people. I think what helped with me was when I showed him my notes. Suddenly, I was the most interesting person he'd encountered.

[Ah, the warm broth. It's nice, to be sure...]

I suppose he may have also been perplexed by the stark difference in demeanor between you and my older self, who is... well. Around kids, he gets incredibly soft and doting.

Yes, I've noticed. [Akechi, you just brought the kid soup.]

But children are adaptable. A little more time here, and I'm sure he'll forget there were ever more than three or four people in the world. Just like that other-us.

[And he sips his own soup, giving it a little whisk. Some days he would have starved if it wasn't for this shit.]

...Something has to be done about him. It isn't right for him to be split like that. Hollowed out, with everything that defines him locked away in some dingy tunnel.

[He says that, and yet there's an air of resignation to his words. He knows he can't be the one to fix this, deep down.]

You don't have to tell me that. But plenty of the rest of us seem set on giving that lobotomised shell agency it can't possibly understand.

[He is being quite unfair here. Does he care? No.]

It's possible the information you brought back will shift some minds and hearts. I hope so.

I hope so-

[Suddenly his phone vibrates. And of course it's a text from his older self.]

It goes without saying that the Shadow matters, too. And obviously, fuck "Dr. Macaroni."

Oh my fucking god...

[He shows the text to his other self, more than a little miffed.]

Oh, for....

[Obviously the solution is to send off a message to their group chat, Akechi Alliance.]

Goro Akechi (Magpie): You know, the tactically advantageous move would be to let me forget you're listening at all times.

Goro Akechi (Crow): I saw an opportunity to embarrass my younger self and I took it as punishment for his little escapade.

Goro Akechi (Raven): For your information, I was very helpful! Magpie even said as much. You should be thanking me.

Goro Akechi (Crow): You had no guarantee that it would work. It's good that it did, but there are no circumstances under which pursuing something so dangerous alone is advisable. Even Magpie was apprehensive, and for good reason.

[The younger Akechi sighs and grumbles and sips more soup because fuck this.]

Goro Akechi (Magpie): I was cautious, yes. [Not apprehensive.] But since it *did* work out so spectacularly, perhaps we should trust to Raven's untamed recklessness to investigate in future. Goro Akechi (Magpie): I'm not serious, of course. It was extremely stupid and endangered everything else you wish to accomplish.

[And yes, then he winks deliberately at younger-him. Why? To wind up Crow, that's why.]

[Oh, that wink has him grinning. He can play along with this.]

Goro Akechi (Raven): You're the responsible adult! You should have known I'd wait until you fell asleep to enact my master plan.

Goro Akechi (Raven): Also I think Magpie likes me better. We resonate with each other.

Goro Akechi (Crow): I am thou, thou art I.

Goro Akechi (Raven): And I'm the one enjoying soup that he made for me, while you're

[...]

Goro Akechi (Crow): Currently in your room, keeping Hawk company as he sleeps so he doesn't wake up alone.

[Huh. Trouble in paradise. He takes a long sip of his soup, then sets it down on the bedside table so he can use both hands.]

Goro Akechi (Magpie): Children, children. Behave. Goro Akechi (Magpie): Are we calling Maruki "Dr. Macaroni" now, by the way? Is that what I'm to take from this discussion?

Edited 2023-09-23 01:02 (UTC)

It was an honest mistake! Autocorrect betrayed me.

[Huff. And he knows Crow will have heard that, so he doesn't feel the need to text that into the chat as well.]

Goro Akechi (Crow): I think it would be amusing, if only to see how he reacts. Though I admit, he's been rather scarce of late. Perhaps our first meeting intimidated him into hiding, seeing as I am from his world.

Goro Akechi (Raven): We should kidnap him and force him to talk. >:)

Goro Akechi (Crow): Is that a smiley I see?

Goro Akechi (Raven): Don't get used to it. I wanted to better evoke my feelings. My point still stands, though.

If you want to better evoke your feelings, you should write better. [But he grins, one of the little ones that touches nothing but the corners of his mouth.]

Goro Akechi (Magpie): Do you two realise you're almost like a married couple? Functioning as a single unit, as you do. It's beautiful to see.

I'm perfectly adept at writing! You saw my notes.

[GrumblegrumbleWHAT.

He almost drops his phone. Almost.

Then an idea hits. He snickers.]

I thought you two were closer to that, to be honest. You do spend an awful lot of time together, and you butt heads quite often, and you both frequently fuss over me. What am I, your child?

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