2025-11-06: Slightly More Real
- Log: 2025-11-06 Slightly More Real
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Goro Akechi
- Where: Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: November 06, 2025
- IC Date: August 07, 2012
- Summary: Akechi stops by Leblanc for coffee, only to find that it's currently closed. An ill-tempered Ren gives him the cliff notes, then confronts him about Minako--leading to a surprisingly sincere heart-to-heart.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's a hazy, overcast August day today--clouds tease the possibility of a summer shower, but in the meantime mock the idea of cooling down with a heavy humidity. It's just as well that Leblanc is not open for business. Ren Amamiya is considering just spending all day in the bathhouse across the street, at least until heading out to join their friends the coming evening for a fireworks festival in Shibuya they've been looking forward to.
Right now, though, they're sweeping the street in front of Leblanc. It might not be open for business, and Sojiro might still not be answering his phone or texts, but there's no knowing when he might be back and it'd impress him if Ren has kept the place clean, right? That's something that occurred to them this morning when it occurred to them that they've cleaned the inside, but not the storefront windows or walk.
Ren came back to Leblanc even though Sojiro said not to. Technically he only said to stay away for two nights, but Ren can read between the lines; they're pretty sure they weren't supposed to come back at all. However, as long as Ren doesn't actually have somewhere else they can stay long-term, and as long as Sojiro is not responding, and as long as nothing is actually out of place at Leblanc (the power's still on, even!), they can make all the excuses they like to say they figured it was only supposed to be for two nights. Which they did. And now they're back.
They wipe their brow with the back of their hand and pause in sweeping to lean on their broom and look around the empty street. It does, admittedly, feel kind of pointless, to the point that they're wearing jeans and a black undershirt--only part of their usual casual ensemble. They aren't even wearing proper shoes, just their swimsuit sandals. The sign out front saying that Leblanc is closed until further notice is untouched.
After a moment's rest and reflection, they resume their sweeping. Just a little left to go. They may as well finish it up. Then they can spend the rest of the day soaking.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
He simply was craving a good cup of coffee, is what he'd say certainly- and it's not entirely untrue. Chagall pheromone coffee had left a rather bad taste in his mouth, and not because of the quality.
Yongen-Jaya wasn't so out of the way that it was unusual for him to swing by, especially in the summer. And so he's off at the station. It was too hot for long sleeves and the sweater vest he wore, but that hardly mattered...
... he intends to spend the majority of his day indoors, in the air conditioner. Granted, the Leblanc only had ceiling fans, but it was worth the sacrifice.
Ren is likely to spot Akechi at some point on his walk down the alleyway, as he raises a hand to acknowledge being spotted from afar- before.
"Why hello there. You seem to be working towards your rent, today." He flashes a broad smile, with such perfect teeth, "It's not a surprise that Sakura-san would want to keep you to himself on such a sweltering day. After all I can't imagine he would want to sweep outside."
He's completely wrong, of course, but he doesn't know about Sakura's absence. This is perhaps... for the best... for everyone that Sakura has been given significant lead time.
"I don't suppose you'd have time for a cup of coffee and a chat... it doesn't look particularly busy to-"
That's the moment when Akechi notes the closed sign, "... Curious. Has Sakura-san stepped out for a while? I thought he was in the habit of having you watch the place while he was out..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
All Sojiro has to do is imply he'll kick Ren out if they nose too much into his business and they'll leave well enough alone, after all. He's already done that plenty of times already. They are worried about it, but there's nothing they can do, so they're trying not to think too hard about it.
Or what it means if it turns out Sojiro could have answered all along and chose to ignore them and leave them worrying all this time.
Ren has started sweeping again by the time Akechi comes into view, because of course he has. It's just like Akechi to wait until after Ren's self-decided break is over, even if it's not on purpose and genuinely just coincidence. Still.
They bite back a sigh of irritation, especially at the comment on the rent, and decide in a split-second to keep sweeping. Akechi's not necessarily wrong about Sojiro not wanting to sweep if he could make Ren do it, but a bit of perverse spite makes Ren want to see the look on his stupid handsome face when he sees the cafe is straight-up closed today.
It isn't as satisfying as they'd hoped. They figured Akechi would stop by sooner or later after what happened at Chagall Cafe, but he only looks mildly perturbed. Did he know already? Ren studies his face before they resume sweeping.
"A while, yeah," they reply curtly. "That's just when he plans on coming back soon. He's out of town right now, so the cafe's closed." They nod, just as curtly, to the sign. "Family emergency."
At least, Ren assumes Sojiro's out of town for an emergency that may or may not be family-based. Ren kind of hopes he's out of town, even, whether the emergency is family-based or not. Given that he lives only a couple blocks away, what would stop him from swinging by and giving Ren some kind of explanation if he weren't? The obvious answer... hurts.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
As Ren doesn't even comment or reciprocate his greeting, Akechi doesn't seem to mind. After all, part of their relationship - whatever it may be, has him needling Ren for reactions.
It is true that Akechi looks only mildly perturbed, but there's something else now. Indeed, Akechi has a hand upon his chin, and it gives the impression to Ren of his mind attempting to connect certain dots on the idea of a 'family emergency'.
It would certainly take a lot for him to leave Futaba home by herself and there's no way he took her with him.
Not only that, he's quite certain that Sakura has no family other than her that would warrant leaving for an 'emergency'.
"I see..." Akechi trails off, as if just continually lost in thought on the idea of Sojiro's absence, before he looks towards Ren, "Well I suppose it can't be helped. I couldn't possibly ask you to open the store just for myself."
He says with a smile, "But given that he's out of town- and you're sweeping the walk, it would imply you're rather free for the day, wouldn't it?"
Of course, Ren can easily shut that one down if he desires, but he still places that idea forward, just in case.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It'll turn out later that Ren is wrong--that Sojiro isn't out of town, that the emergency isn't a family one--but there's that saying about assumptions, isn't there? Whether Ren is lying to Akechi knowingly, or passing on a lie that was told to them, or simply has the wrong idea... It's not like they can question Sojiro directly about it; he isn't answering their calls or texts.
That part, they keep to themself. Akechi doesn't need to know Ren's been abandoned. (Because, no matter how much Morgana tries to reassure them, that's how it feels right now.)
They do note that thinky-think look Akechi has on his face, and even though they don't stop sweeping, they do keep him in their peripheral vision. Eventually, he smiles and makes his conclusions. Akechi naturally wouldn't be dissuaded that easily, either--maybe Ren can't open the store for him, but they have plenty of free time, right? And it's true enough. Ren has plans for tomorrow, but today they've got nothing going on. Not even other part-time work--they've done a lot of that over the past several days, and they're in the position to set their own 'weekends.' Still, they don't speak at first, opting to keep Akechi hanging while they finish up sweeping. They kneel down to fetch the pan they'd been sweeping into, then stand with a faint, irritable huff of a sigh. They can usually keep their bad moods in check better than this--but it is so hot out, and part of their bad mood is Akechi himself.
Still, this isn't the only thing they've got going on. There's also what happened at Chagall Cafe. For Minako's sake, they can't just blow Akechi off.
"Fine. I guess we should talk," they eventually say, tone clipped. They stare at him with flat eyes, flattened further by their non-prescription glasses. "What do you want?"
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi of course realizes that he's upset Ren. He'd be surprised if he hadn't after what happens at Chagall Cafe- but that is a reaction.
He takes on a more serious expression, banishing that smile again, as easily as he pleases. Well-well.
Perhaps the approach here is to take him off guard.
"Oh nothing all that much, really. I was merely wondering if you'd consider assisting me on certain cases, from time to time."
That might put him on the back foot some.
"Not the Phantom Thieves, certainly, I wouldn't ask you to do that as their fan. But I do find your insight rather refreshing in such matters."
It does run the risk of being outright rejected, which does make Akechi certainly anxious, at the thought- but... well, he suspects it'll surprise him a touch, and be an... 'olive branch' of sorts.
Especially since he's not inclined to apologize for his treatment of the two of them. "I'm willing to pay a consulting fee of course, if that appeals to you. I'm not asking you to help me for free, certainly."
It might not defuse matters entirely, but it might head off a much worse outcome...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
As long as there's a reaction, that's enough, isn't it? The only bad result is if Ren doesn't say anything or emote at all--rather like that first day they met, right here at Leblanc.
At least Ren's talking to him and emoting something, even if it's still relatively muted.
And the actual offer Akechi makes... does take them off guard. Ren blinks widely, the surprise plain if subdued on their face. "What?"
Not against the Phantom Thieves, refreshing insight, consulting fee, blah blah blah. Ren can't deny that the offer is tempting in its own way--it would functionally be another part-time job, if they're getting paid, and they suspect Akechi will pay quite well--but they're not that easily duped. When the surprise wears off and they've heard him out, their eyelashes sink to half-mast. They lean the broom on the wall next to the storefront and, still holding the dust pan, turn to open the door.
"Akechi.
"What do you actually want?"
Then they let themself in to head to the garbage can. If nothing else, they leave the door open behind them so Akechi can follow them in--but maybe that reaction will put him on the back foot.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
At first, Akechi thinks it's going relatively well. Ren is on the back foot, he looks like he might be considering his offer, and well - it is an olive branch of sorts?
And then Ren asks that question, as if to say his offer wasn't genuine, and that does surprise him somewhat. "Oh? You don't believe that my offer was genuine?" Akechi says, as he follows him inside.
Unfortunately the inside of the Leblanc is only slightly less sweltering than the outside, by the thinnest of margins.
"Does this mean you've been developing your psychic powers? You might consider training harder, if that's the case..."
Akechi says, needling Ren lightly, because by psychic powers, he of course means to imply his Persona, but also to suggest why Ren would have cause to disbelieve him.
"I do believe I said what I wanted when I arrived- a cup of coffee and a chat." Akechi reiterates from before, "Have I given you any cause to suggest I want anything else?"
It's a difficult thing to challenge, in a sense, that Akechi wants anything other than just a chat, here.
In a sense, Ren's time, to hang out with him.
But he's hardly going to say that outright without additional nudging.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The inside of Leblanc at least is shaded, and has ceiling fans running... but yes, it's not really significantly cooler inside. Go upstairs to Ren's room and it's even worse than outside. Their Kingdom for an air conditioner...
Oh? Ren doesn't have a Kingdom? That explains a lot.......
Ren doesn't respond to Akechi's questions at first. They understand they're just deflections. They let Akechi follow them and needle them about "psychic powers"--if anything, they might've needled him about that if the conversation had progressed a little differently--as they dump out the pan in the garbage, tapping the side to get everything out. They set the pan back in its place, and head around the counter and to the door again to retrieve the broom. They return--they put that back too--they turn the faucet on in the sink next to the wall TV--they wash their hands and face and dry off with a hand towel, then wipe down their neck and arms. The cool water feels so good.
Then, and only then, do they turn, tuck their hands in their pockets, and stare Akechi down.
"Yes," they say curtly. And, when he inevitably asks what: "For one, that you're making this offer out of the blue--one that'd mean we'd spend a lot more time together--right after you met my girlfriend."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
It's a good thing Ren doesn't. Given the likely Sovereign, it would make Akechi's life much more difficult in short order.
However, the more important matter in the moment, is Ren's silence, as he empties out the pan, and Akechi places his briefcase on the counter. Like he's merely 'claiming territory'.
In the sense of it being slightly more difficult now to ask him to leave. However then he makes quite the accusation.
But if he admitted that, now, wouldn't that admit to 'jealousy' of sorts?
"Hmmm." Akechi hums at Ren's accusation, as if considering it. "Well it is true that you would likely have less free time to spend. And one might interpret that to have the ulterior motive of giving you much less time to spend with your significant other."
Akechi does give him a more serious look, "But there is a significant flaw in your logic. Namely- that I never said you couldn't refuse a consultation, as you saw fit."
He says pointedly, "Given that, if I was trying to deny you time with your girlfriend, that would be a rather silly plan on my part, now wouldn't it?"
Rather than admit anything, he is doubling down - but he's doubling down with what's actually a good point in a sense.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren glances at Akechi's briefcase only in passing. It could be a claim of space--Ren did let him come in here--but at the same time, Ren has never really pushed for Akechi to leave before, have they? Even now, they let him enter, they let him stay. If Akechi thinks they wouldn't just grab his briefcase and throw it out the door...
Well, maybe it's better for both of them that neither finds out if they really would or not.
"You didn't say that, no. But that doesn't mean you wouldn't have said it if I'd entertained your offer. It's not like we got int the nitty-gritty about it." Ren gives him a pointed look back. "Plus, just because you haven't said it doesn't mean you weren't thinking it. And it'd be just like you to go, 'Oh, by the way...' after I'd already agreed. Kind of like how you went, 'Oh, by the way...' at darts."
Their bad mood seems to have improved some. They're actually engaging with the argument rather than giving terse, pithy responses. Cooling down, even if only a bit, has helped.
"Or are you going to try to claim this has nothing to do with her? Even though you asked her why she likes me, a question you usually save for girls you don't like who confess to you?" they continue, a touch waspishly, as they slip into one of the booths and fold their legs. "Don't try to insult my intelligence in the same breath you try to tell me you value my perspective soooo much."
Okay. Maybe not helped that much. But they're engaging!
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Yes, at most Ren has walked away from him when he was particularly upset with what he was doing, but he's never pushed for him to leave.
"Well I can't refute your assumption of an outcome. I might say that I intended no such thing, but you would still believe to the contrary."
It is still arguing that he wouldn't have done that, while Ren is arguing that he would. However, it is an acknowledgement that they're at an impasse at that point.
Akechi does have that behavior, and has exhibited it - but would he have exhibited it here? It can only be speculated.
"Ah. She told you about that, did she?" He doesn't sound particularly upset that Minako did. After all, it tells him something, that Minako reported it to Ren.
"I never said that I don't like the girls that confess to me." Akechi refutes Ren's point mildly. "Only that I had no feelings for them in particular... as typically we'd never even met prior to that moment."
It's hard to say otherwise, really. As in a sense, it's something even Ren can sympathize with. If a girl you don't even know is confessing to you, how do you even react?
"I asked because I was curious why she was dating you."
However, now Akechi does react with a touch more sharpness, "I won't say you're incorrect that I don't like her, but I realize it's not the most rational impulse... as we'd barely met. In essence, asking that question was my attempt to give her a chance to prove that I was wrong."
Is it strange that, it sounds like he's actually trying to engage with his point truthfully?
At the same time though, the question however is so high a bar, and so arbitrary a standard... how could Minako 'ever' meet his standards?
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren's eyes narrow when Akechi points out they're at an impasse. He can say something, but how much further can they get if Ren refuses to believe him? And there is a point in there, but at the same time, it's just running away from their point.
"She did," Ren confirms, back to some of that curtness. Minako reported it because Ren asked--but that isn't really what's important here. Especially not when Akechi once again falls back on the 'I never said that' defense, complete with a reasonable counterpoint. Ren can understand that, they do understand, but it's a distraction from the real issue. Ren touches their fingertips to their forehead and shakes their head in irritation.
"A lot of your arguments come down to 'I didn't explicitly say that,' huh? You're always hiding behind plausible deniability--it can't be proven, so that's the same as it not being true at all. Even though there's lots of things in life that are true whether they can be proven or not." They fold their arms and glare at him. "It pisses me off."
Even if they are starting to step a little closer to the true heart of the matter as Akechi admits an irrational dislike of Minako--even if it is a step closer to truthfulness--it's only a step, and it's only because Ren's fighting him about it. Didn't Ren comment to Umie just the other day that Akechi likes it when people argue with him? And yet, at the same time, he doesn't actually like losing those arguments.
So: "Who cares if you're 'wrong' or 'right'? She's my girlfriend. Why we're dating is none of your business. It's not your place to interrogate her on if she's good enough for me."
There's even more cutting things they could say--things that address why Akechi would think it's his business--but they reel themself in there. Even now, they don't... hate Akechi. They don't know how to define the relationship the two of them have, but they're not throwing him out. They're not stonewalling him. And even as they glare at him for a moment longer, they breath another soundless sigh, shoulders rising and falling.
"...Just so you know, we only started dating recently. Right after finals," they continue quietly. In other words, shortly after Ren set the no-more-flirting boundary with Akechi. Minako had asked them out sooner than that, sure--but Ren had asked her to wait for their response, and they'd settled up with Akechi accordingly. ...Playing around is one thing, but they didn't want to toy around with either of them. They still don't.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi says nothing to Ren confirming Minako did. He already figured that. His tone shows he's especially irritated at least over this one.
However his gaze sharpens as Ren notes that his arguments are oft couched in plausible deniability, "I would venture instead that you're simply hearing what you wish to hear. Do you think I'm any less upset that you are using what I told you to claim I'm arguing in bad faith here?"
Indeed, it does rankle him somewhat, like it is 'dirty pool' in a sense, and no he does not mean the billiards table.
"If you wish to claim it's none of my business, fair enough. It is not as if I came here to convince you to cut her loose... that would be absurd. However, I would point out that you were the one who shared stories about your prior experiences dating- and the scars they left upon you."
A beat.
"I believed thus, that it was in fact 'my business' to understand what kind of person she was, even if merely for my own edification on the matter."
Ren does however cut to the heart of the matter - and Akechi, finds himself both jealous - and disbelieving.
"That doesn't make any difference." He says, letting those feelings smolder beneath the surface, "You're under no obligation to inform me that you've started seeing someone."
Even as the two set that boundary - and discussed that aspect of their lives.
No, he's definitely upset, but he's trying his best not to show it.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Oh, Akechi's doubling down again--even getting offended by Ren calling him out and trying to turn it around on him. Their dark eyes smolder, and this time with anger.
"You would venture that. That's how you get away with it," Ren argues back. "You deliberately do and say things to hurt people, but not so flagrantly that they can call you out on it. Like that first time you invited me to Penguin Sniper, then looked at what I was wearing and acted all snooty about it, then was like, oh, you're not trying to insult me, you're just thinking about what your ~fans~ would say. You do that kind of thing a lot, and not just to me." Like that policewoman in Yongen-Jaya. Ren didn't walk away so soon that they didn't notice he was making her uncomfortable too.
However, then Akechi makes an argument that actually does hit home--that he behaved that way to Minako because Ren had just talked to him about how they'd been hurt by their first girlfriend. That was years ago, but Akechi had just heard about it. Even if he were partially motivated by jealousy, his behavior had been merely obnoxious as opposed to vicious or confrontational; Minako had even said it wasn't that big a deal at first. So maybe...
He was worried about me?
Ren hesitates for a second... but Akechi makes his claim, and they lean back in their seat to fold their arms. "That's right. I'm not."
This is the problem, isn't it? Maybe Akechi was worried about them, and maybe he was just jealous after just getting obliquely turned down for someone else. Ren can't know for sure because he isn't sincere with his feelings, and so they can't trust what he says at face value. It's arguably part of what makes their interactions exciting, but it's also... why they're in this position.
Every time Ren thinks they have Akechi figured out, he does or says something contradictory. At this point, the only thing they fully understand about him is that he's contradictory.
And unfortunately for everyone, that's part of the allure.
"Look... Akechi," they start again, biting back most, but not all, of the frustration from their voice. "Just..." For a few seconds, they search for words they fail to find; then, shoulders sagging into their usual hunch, they murmur a difficult piece of sincerity of their own:
"I just wish I could trust you mean me well."
But I can't.
The unspoken words ring like tinnitus between them.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
It's an interesting feeling to get called out. As a child, it meant he was soon to get beaten up.
But he doesn't feel a fight coming on here.
Instead, it's an argument - and as always, he has a need to win. "Obviously that's not the case. Because even if it were as you're insinuating- the fact we're having this conversation implies that I do not actually get away with it."
Why continue doubling down? Why, when it's so very obvious that he does this to people?
Simple. If he had to explain the reality, he thinks the truth would condemn him far worse than the lie, to Ren Amamiya.
But his words hit home, even if Akechi isn't certain why they did. He can merely see that Ren isn't pushing back further against them.
And he steps back, arms crossed, as he continues to stare at him. The agreement that he's not under any obligation to tell him stinging far worse than he imagined.
It makes no sense why. They're certainly not friends... much less anything else.
Indeed, that is the problem. In a world where he could just say he was a friend, trying to vet his girlfriend for his sake, it would be far simpler. But instead - he can't admit that, even to himself.
He is merely a rival, an opponent, someone to best - to win against.
'Look... Akechi,'
'Just...'
'I just wish I could trust you mean me well.'
The silence may stretch longer than is even comfortable for Ren. As Akechi breaks eye contact, looking down. And there's something in his eyes...
... does he look faintly sad? Intermingled with the anger, the irritation, the complicated stew of emotions he finds himself in. It's not that Ren is wrong of course. He does mean him harm. He means him worse than merely harm. He remembers of course, Joker saving him from the cognition of himself.
At the time, he expressed surprise, because he's his enemy. The behavior isn't surprising - in a sense, it fully fits Ren Amamiya's character.
Save in one respect.
"Well... that makes two of us." He says, quietly, but audibly, and perhaps that is shocking enough to Ren, that he feels that way about Ren.
That it doesn't sound like it's something spoken merely out of anger or spite... something said thoughtlessly.
Ren Amamiya saved him- but he knows in his heart- that he shouldn't have. And that if he truly knew him, then he wouldn't have.
He cannot fathom anyone meaning well, towards them.
"It seems I'm unwelcome, no matter where I go." He adds quietly, after the moments stretch on, longer, and reaches out to grasp his briefcase, as he turns as if to leave.
Worst of all, it doesn't sound like he's being overtly manipulative here. Like he's hoping for Ren to tell him not to go.
Like the outcome is already a foregone conclusion.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Oh my god," Ren groans, palming their forehead again, when Akechi argues that getting called out here and now means they don't get away with being an asshole. No, they're not going to throw a punch at Akechi. Ren isn't an inherently violent person. They are tempted to ask, And how often does that happen?, but Akechi disrupts their argument first and the conversation heads in a different direction.
And... it's weird. Akechi says a thing. Ren agrees with him. And... he looks hurt. Stares at them, takes a step back. Ren stares back.
What are they to each other?
It's a question neither of them asks the other--Akechi because he's convinced himself of the answer, Ren because they can't trust whatever answer they'd get. Nonetheless, there's no missing, and no faking, the hurt that flickers in Akechi's own eyes just before he averts them.
'Well... that makes two of us.'
Ren's own eyes flicker with confusion. It doesn't sound like something he's saying to try to hurt them back, either. It sounds more like... something he really feels. And if that's true... it doesn't make sense.
Once again, Akechi upends Ren's understanding of him. Why would Akechi feel like he can't trust Ren means him well? Ren's not the one out to expose and arrest him. Ren's not the one constantly barging into his life. Ren is the one who protected him from the Black Mask, because however negatively they sometimes feel about him, that still doesn't mean they hate him or even want him gone. There's so much both of them can't overtly say to the other, but if Akechi knows Ren's secret identity and therefore knows Ren protected him, surely he understands that much.
...But maybe he doesn't. Maybe a childhood full of rejection and loss and conflict keeps him from being able to trust that, either. Isn't that the fundamentals behind his Detective Prince persona--shaping himself into someone people will admire and respect and want to have around? That thought occurs to Ren after that agonizingly long silence--and just before Akechi murmurs something and turns to go.
"....."
That's the thing about manipulation, though, isn't it? How do you know when someone is saying something sincerely and when they're saying it to try to provoke a certain reaction? For a moment, Ren neither speaks nor acts, watching Akechi as he grabs his suitcase and moves to leave the store.
Then they make a noise of frustration and slip out of that booth to hurry after him.
"Wait," they call, just before trying to catch him by the wrist. "What do you mean by 'that makes two of us'?"
However things go after this point, they want it to be because the two of them correctly understand each other. He deserves at least that much. And if they're ever going to correctly understand Goro Akechi, if that's even possible, they have to at least put in the effort.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi had already made it to the door by the time Ren grabs his wrist, there's already a chime of bells as the door cracks. And his forward momentum doesn't arrest as Ren grabs him, like he's not expecting it at all.
If he's manipulating him, this is a very good act. Instead his head whips around as his momentum takes him nearly one step out the door, before it's stopped by him grasping his wrist.
And he stares at Ren as if in disbelief, or distrust of this. He's not exactly the type to let people grab ahold of him and then keep ahold of him.
And for a few moments, things are tense, just like when Ren first spoke those words on 'I just wish I could trust you mean me well.' That tinnitus of all that isn't being said right now.
Those brown eyes of his stare into his gray eyes and it's like there's even greater distance again. But then, he closes his eyes, like he's taking a moment to make a decision on whether to keep walking or not, before opening anew.
"... It's nothing you should really take personally."
How could anyone not!? "I'm accustomed to everyone wanting to do me harm, sooner or later. That I do quite well for myself these days means little, because once the cameras are off... nobody truly wants an orphan brat around that doesn't behave as they're supposed to. Not my peers- not my co-workers- not my fans-"
His brown eyes sharpen subtly, "-and not you either." It might sting, despite Akechi indicating he shouldn't take it personally. "Eventually, everyone finds my presence to be an inconvenience. It's rather inevitable... which is why I've become quite good at defending myself."
Perhaps he'd said 'provoked' in the past - but provoked is another word for 'a behavior which brings someone to anger.'
It perhaps becomes understood, that Akechi grew up as a person who rarely threw the first punch. But he often has become the one who throws the last.
"If you think that's unreasonable of me, well - you'd hardly be the first to think so."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren can feel that surprise in Akechi's wrist, the way he's still moving forward when they grab him, even after asking him to wait. Their eyes meet as he stares at them. They do let go of his wrist when he stops, but only to give him his personal space back. No attack follows. They ask their question, and they wait--however long it takes--for Akechi to answer.
And it does take time, but he gets there, prefacing with a 'nothing personal.'
What he says next is... well. More or less what Ren has already concluded, or at least suspected. They don't look away when Akechi calls them out back as not wanting him around, no more than anyone else in his life. It's almost laughable that he thinks of himself as the victim when so often he makes jabs first, unprovoked--but only almost.
It's his sincere feelings, drenched in the despair of perceived inevitability. If nothing else, Ren does feel like they can believe that.
"So... you don't trust me."
They laugh a little from the sheer irony of it all, rather than because anything about this is funny, as they look away and rub the back of their neck.
"You're right. That does make two of us."
They shake their head and drop their hands as they give him a sober look. "No, that makes sense. That's the way you grew up. You're probably always waiting for the other shoe to drop--and I'm guessing that's how it feels to you now, too. We had... a talk, and then you saw me on a date, and you acted based on things we said during that talk, and now I'm mad at you, and... maybe now you think I'm being unreasonable."
They pause to let that sink in, for both of them. That last thought is one that just occurred to them. Whatever the nature of their relationship, Akechi is always the one who's reached out first. Maybe that weighs down on someone after a while--especially when his crush talks about how much they were hurt by their first girlfriend, then turns around and goes on a date with some girl he doesn't even know. It isn't his business who Ren dates, and Ren doesn't have any obligation to update him on their love life or anything else, but...
But there is a fundamental reason here, and Akechi did share it with him, even though it must hurt. Ren shakes their head a little and focuses, the irritation gone from their expression as they look him back in the eye. "Akechi, your past has nothing to do with why I'm mad at you. I've never known the you who was an orphan. I've only ever known the you who's a glitzy celebrity detective who acts one way for the camera and another way in private. Whoever you were before we met doesn't matter to me at all. I only care about who you are now.
"And the person you are now is an asshole who hides his assholery behind plausible deniability."
It's the kind of remark that sounds like a joke in a movie, or get followed up with a laugh or a 'just kidding.' However, Ren is deadly serious; there isn't a hint of humor in their expression. "But I think I get it a little better now. You're like that because you expect me to reject you sooner or later. Because why wouldn't I? We don't see eye-to-eye on a lot. Us not agreeing is literally what our whole relationship is based on."
It's only now that a touch of agony enters their expression--in the clench of their jaw, in how their lips twitch back into a slight grimace. "But... like... you get that I'm waiting for the shoe to drop with you too, right? I..." They swallow hard and bow their head. "...don't know... when you might decide you want to hurt me. For good."
Silence. There are a lot of ways that could be interpreted--but surely Ren means when Akechi decides he's done playing and arrests the Phantom Thieves--arrests them--and moves on with his own life like nothing between them has ever mattered while Ren rots in jail. They couldn't possibly know how true and final for good could be.
After a moment, they clutch their forehead. "...I'm sorry," they murmur, eyes averted. "The girl you met--I like her and care about her a lot. The last thing I ever want to happen is for something bad to happen to her because she started dating me. You have a lot of clout with the public and the police, and you could make my life a living hell if you really wanted to--and I can deal with that if it's just me. But I can't stand the thought that you might do that to her too."
...Which might explain why, even now, they still haven't told him her name. Who knows what a vengeful detective armed with a name could do?
The question of why Akechi would do any of that isn't even addressed. They both know why--both the plausibly deniable reason, and the real one.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Not in the least," Akechi replies on the idea of trusting him, even as Ren laughs. However - it's not merely that Akechi thinks he's the victim. The mess of contradictions he is, he thinks he is - and isn't.
Because he is a cursed child. His mere presence in this world is violence, violation that he commits upon other people by existing.
What happened to him is both unjustified, and wholly justified.
Which is why...
"... No, I think you'd being eminently reasonable." Which might be even more sobering for Ren, if he parses through the context.
It's not a matter of whether Ren was right, or wrong - or Akechi was right, or wrong - even if it is as well.
It's always reasonable to want him to leave, to be upset with him, for someone to want him to leave. Even if he's angered by it. Even if he himself is upset.
If it were merely that he was the victim, it would be so much easier... at least then, he would be justified.
And Ren explains that he doesn't know him as an orphan. "And? What does that matter?" He says a little more sharply than he intended, though Ren may never get to hear why he thinks that.
It's because he believes he is bound by his past, while Ren - isn't. Not really. Even if Ren is right he's also wrong. Because...
... saying he's an asshole is not truly any different from anyone else who didn't think he was behaving correctly. He thinks his being a 'Shitty Kid' of 'Shitty parents' really follows him around, that it is an intrinsic quality, that he cannot escape.
Why bother thinking you can change from being an asshole, if you think it's an immutable quality of your blood?
But, it's not true that Ren doesn't get it too, because he's correct on the premise of why he acts that way. "You believe I'm going to see you arrested one day. I've given you no reason to believe otherwise. ... And you've given me no reason to believe you won't see me out the door, if not today, then next week - or three months from now."
It is perhaps jarring for him to put it that way, because it can be taken in several ways. See him arrested as a teenager on probation, or see him arrested as the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
Does it matter which way?
He looks bewildered, then subtly consternated by his apology. Even now, acting to protect her, over himself. It's irritating... over someone he's hardly even started dating.
He has a feeling he'd say the same for the girl who took his first kiss from him, even years later.
"It would seem then, that we're at something of an impasse. You wouldn't believe my intentions- no matter what I said, and I in no way believe you."
As he watches him, with that same scrutiny within his gaze, "Rather than make some tired platitude trying to persuade you when you have little reason to trust my sincerity... what I'll swear instead is that if I ever were to arrest you, that I would leave her out of it... and treat it as a matter between you and me."
Placing a hand upon his chin, he actually does seem to be giving this a great deal of thought.
"And perhaps you have no reason to trust my sincerity there either. But if we are truly in a stalemate of this sort, then the only move to admit it - and both of us part ways. Or to take a step towards starting over, with this understanding in mind."
A beat.
"This is mine."
Perhaps it would be easier for him to consider him sincere if he didn't use a chess term and consider their relationship a chess match of sorts.
But... perhaps he is trying, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Akechi responds bluntly, and with another little laugh, Ren replies, "I appreciate your honesty."
They're only being partially ironic. They really do appreciate it.
As long as Akechi keeps things from them, they'll never really, fully understand him. They may know he's an orphan, and that he had a relationship with his mother at some point, but as long as they don't know about his father--as long as they don't know that hatred and thirst for vengeance that fuels them--Akechi will forever remain an unsolved mystery.
Akechi telling them they are in fact being reasonable doesn't entirely help that. It does help calm Ren down further, though--and help convince them that he really is trying to be sincere with them, at least in this moment. If he thinks it's reasonable for them to be upset, even if he's upset too... then--well, he already said it, didn't he? He always expects the people around him to reject him eventually.
That's why, when Akechi snaps back, Ren blinks at him in telltale confusion. What does it matter that Ren has never known him as an orphan? "Because... that's not you anymore? You might not always succeed, but you're at least trying to be a different person. At least some of the time." They pause, mulling over this assertion, and continue slowly, "...So it must be really frustrating to have someone see this and tell you you're not different enough."
They mull on this a little longer before sighing in frustration and digging their fingers through their hair. "Akechi, you know there's a difference between making a genuine effort and bullshitting people, right?" They lower their hand, sobering. "...Well, you obviously know. You're showing me that right now."
Akechi, too, understands their feelings, restating it in more direct terms. It's refreshing, actually. Akechi saying their feelings out loud is an acknowledgement that he knows about their criminal record and/or that they're a Phantom Thief. Either way, it's an admission of a truth they've left unsaid until now--are still leaving unsaid, considering more of that plausible deniability. Ren can't even criticize him for it, because they're doing the same thing. They only nod once.
Apologizing here probably is confusing. Ren sure didn't plan on it. Still... it felt right in the moment. Akechi should at least get to understand why they're reacting so harshly to him. Again: if they're going to correctly understand each other, Ren has to put in an effort too.
(They would do the same for that girl. They don't feel very good about that first kiss, but they don't think she was trying to manipulate them, either. It takes a lot of courage to tell someone you like them and ask them to be with you--especially if you only have a little time to be together in the first place.)
"Yeah," they concede of an impasse, tone resigned. Maybe they said too much. Part of the reason they started hanging out with Akechi was 'to keep the enemy closer.' With that in mind, this is probably too much sincerity, too many cards on the table. They find it hard to regret, though, when Akechi is responding in kind.
Their eyes soften as they search his face. They don't respond at first as he offers that promise--and that gives him time to continue on and acknowledge that maybe they still don't believe him.
The only move is to admit it and part ways... or start over with this understanding in mind.
Ironically, the fact that Akechi does coach it in a chess term goes a long ways towards convincing Ren. Beneath his polished exterior, he's an awkward person who wants to play a game, and a rival to play it with. This is the 'real' him that Ren wants to see--has already seen--but has so much trouble parsing between the white noise he throws up.
Maybe the smart move is to make a clean break while they still can, but...
"....All right."
They raise their left hand and offer it to shake.
"Let's keep this game between us."
Us is not necessarily the same as you and me, considering Ren has a whole team at their back as Joker--but in terms of their girlfriend, it may as well be.
When Akechi's accepted their shake, they take a slight step back into Leblanc--but also tilt their head back into it in non-verbal invitation. "Speaking of... you came all this way," they offer, a hint of a smile at the corners of their lips. They've got plans for the evening, but right now... "Feel like a match of chess? Winner gets a cup of coffee."
Not that Ren can't just fix themself a cup, and in fact did this morning after their daily work-out in their attic room, but it's the principle of the matter.
Playing is more exciting when you have something to play for.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi feels a little more seen, as Ren follows through the logic, but it's obvious Ren still doesn't quite get it. He's not going to say more, really. But Ren was a rather privileged child from a rural town.
Akechi was... a cursed child. That their positions are reversed, doesn't change some things. Akechi's past weighs him down, while Ren's past has in a sense, made him more free than he's ever been.
Akechi had to work hard to become who he is- and it doesn't matter, because he wears his anger and resentment and hatred like a layer of clothing.
He knows, he's always known. But it's so difficult to shed how one feels, to move past it. Even in genuine moments, it's like moving against that weight, and being so easily borne back down by it.
Either way, he has no expectation of Ren acting one way or the other here. If Ren told him to get lost, he'd expect it even more than what happens.
There's a subtle surprise on his features as he instead accepts it, a contraction of his eyebrows- then a more thoughtful expression, like he's considering it, then he allows himself to turn back around...
"... Why not? I'd prefer not to leave empty-handed. So I see no reason to refuse." It's not an instant shift back to putting on that mask of that overly confident, smug Detective Prince, boasting fake smiles and plausible deniability.
He does say 'empty-handed' like it's a foregone conclusion that he'll win, but it feels like a more honest assessment rather than rubbing it in maliciously.
He was hurt here, whether rational or not, justified or not - they both were.
But it is, perhaps, slightly more real that way, isn't it?