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[Yu was glad that he remembered to refill the first aid box the other day. He grabs it and, before he goes back to his room, he locks the front door. He's not sure for how long his visitor will be here, so he doesn't want to be disturbed by an old granny who likes to borrow a cup of sugar from him every now and then.

He goes back to his room and closes the door behind him. After placing it on his desk, he goes through it to find a fresh pack of bandages, gauze and alcohol.]

You need to take this shirt off, of course. [Yu says while preparing the stuff he needs.]

Also... you didn't tell me how to call you. It's kind of rude to call you "hey, you".

[Right. Shirt. He can't fix the bandage up again with all this clothing on. He lifts the fabric up, the neck getting caught at his chin, steadying his mask with the other as he manages to get it off. His frizzy hair falls everywhere because of it, and it takes a second to fix it so that it's not directly in his eyes- shaking his bangs downward, and then separating the strands again so they fall correctly.]

I don't know. 'Thief-san' had a nice ring to it.

[He's smirking again. That little cocky shit.]

My friends call me Joker. We use codenames and masks in that world so that the palace rulers don't have a cognition of who we really are.

Edited 2017-05-02 18:25 (UTC)

[Yu gives him an eye-]

...you do know I will be wrapping you up again, right?

[He has "weapons" at his disposal. But of course, Yu is not like that. He just smiles and shakes his head. Joker... that doesn't sound bad at all.]

That's memorable name I have to admit. It makes an impact. [He takes the scissors from the box and very slowly, on Joker's side, starts cutting the bandage up. It won't be used again so it doesn't matter that he cuts it off. Once done, he tosses it on the floor and slowly takes the gauze off.

The cut is still red, still very deep, but it's not bleeding and, very luckily, there are no signs of infection.]

You're lucky. There's no infection. But, I have to clean it again, [he nods at the gauze with alcohol in his hand,] so it will sting. We can't put clean bandages on the dirty wound. [And with a nod of warning, he starts cleaning the edges of the wound, easing his way over the wound in time.]

[Akira has a gun. Don't play around Yu.

Okay, so it's not a real gun, but it's close enough. That would turn breaking and entering into armed robbery. Another thing to add to the charges.

He looks down at the floor at the bandages as they're peeled off of him. It looks absolutely disgusting, in that way that makes his stomach kinda turn just seeing it. In the dark, in the haze of nearly fainting from all the loss of blood, he didn't realize how much he had actually soaked up the inner layers of that wrapping. He tries to play it off cool, right up until the moment when the alcohol touches his skin.

Akira looks to the window, longing to jump out of it.

Gritting his teeth, he tries not to make noise at the sensation on his chest. It wouldn't be very becoming of his cool, outer exterior, but there are telltale signs on his face that betray him, even hidden behind the mask. Yu, as gentle as his touch is, as great as a job he's doing at cleaning up the area, is making him wince, and the frown on his lips is the most prominent feature about him right now. He tries small talk. It's better than focusing on the pain.

We have to go back in. Tomorrow's our last chance. - No, that's not the right type of small talk.]

Think I'll make it through, doc?

[Yu knows it hurts despite him being gentle about it. So he makes sure to blow some cool air at the irritated, stinging skin. He's not sure if it will help or no though. And even if he winced and complained loudly, Yu wouldn't mind. The wound was very serious and there's nothing to be ashamed about.

He takes another gauze with alcohol to do the final clean up. He chuckles from his crouching position-] I think you will. The wound is clean and not bleeding. You'll probably have a scar but I think that's the last of your worries.

[The final cleanup didn't take too long. He was taking out mostly the dry blood. After disinfecting, the wound looked really red and raw. It will take time to heal up.]

I suggest you eat red meat. Or drink blueberry and blackberry juice. To replenish the blood from the loss you suffered. If you feel dizzy from time to time, it's because you're anemic from blood loss. [He might or might not want to be a doctor.]

[To get the blood pumping, huh. He's pretty sure it's starting a little more when Yu starts to blow on his chest, and Akira looks upward, to the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. He's sure this would be funny to someone else, like Morgana, to watch him sitting there, enduring it, but for the moment, he's trying to not think of what Yu's doing to try to make him feel better about how much his chest stings.]

Blueberry juice... blackberry juice...

[He's pretty sure some of those things are available at the shake stand in the Shibuya underground passageway. He makes a mental note to stop by some time and grab either one if they're available.

Akira eventually comes down to look at the wound that's there. He had been putting that off ever since the bandage was discarded. That was unpleasant. His first scar, though. At least there's that.]

You're pretty smart. I'm guessing you're a bookworm.

Well, yeah. A bit. [Yu smiles.] I like reading. Especially medical books. Hopefully, I'll go to med school if my grades allow it.

[He puts away the gauze he was using and takes clean, dry one. He nudges Joker to lean back a bit-]

Okay. Stay like that for a bit and raise your hands so I can bandage you.

[He opens the new pack of bandages and starts wrapping the wound up. Again, he makes sure it's nice and tight, covering the whole cut. Once he's done, he checks them once more and nods.]

This will be it. You, uhm, [Yu fiddles with his hands and then starts picking up dirty bandages from the floor,] should come again in two or three days. To change bandages again.

[It shoots through him when he hears the words med school. There's a really complicated feeling that rises up within him, and as he obeys Yu's advisement to move so that he can be bandaged up again, all he feels is a pang of guilt. This is a guy who's doing his best, has dreams and aspirations, wants to go somewhere in life. And here Akira is, a poison to all of that. No college will accept someone with a criminal record. Then there's the issue of getting caught as a Phantom Thief- and how all the people who helped him will come crashing down with him.

Yu would be one of them, now. He's harboring a fugitive by aiding him and nursing these scrapes back to health, and Akira can't help but feel depressed and selfish over it. His composure stiffens up a little.]

I... can't.

[He stretches his arm a little, testing what level of mobility was lost by the tightness of the wrapping.]

I shouldn't come back here.

[The bands were wrapped tightly, but not so much to render him immobile. After all, Yu knows what Joker is doing. Being unable to move properly could cost him another injury like this, maybe worse.

When Joker refuses his proposal to come back here, ever, Yu feels... well... he doesn't know what he feels. He just knows that he needs to help him. Somehow, in any possible way. Yu's hands clench tightly around the bandages he picked up-]

Yes. That would be the most reasonable thing to do. [He looks up from the carpet and catches Joker's gaze with his own determined one.]

But, if what you do is true, I know what you're going through. I know it's not easy. And I also know that if you try explaining it to someone, they wouldn't understand a single word you're saying. It feels... isolating. [Yu bites the inside of his cheek.] Even when you find people to talk to about it.

[He walks over to the trash bin to throw the bandages away.] Last year. I pulled into this world where shadows raged. Where people couldn't come to terms with what they are. When they wished to live in denial about themselves and gossip about everything else. [He goes back to sit on his bed, suddenly feeling exhausted.]

The town, the World... almost got swallowed by the fog of ignorance. If.. by any chance... I didn't manage to get rid of it all- then it's my duty to help you.

Edited 2017-05-02 21:18 (UTC)

[It sounded incredibly farfetched. The type of thing that just doesn't happen in real life. And Akira wouldn't believe it to be true for a second before awakening to his own persona, but now he's not so sure about the fragile boundary between the world and what people think of it, or rather, how it should be. He sees that determination in his eyes, and it speaks from experience. There's not a bone in his body that doesn't believe Yu when he starts to talk about what he went through. The conviction in his voice has all the timbre of a horrible recollection of things that should have never happened, and it does get through to him.

Akira moves to get his shirt back on. There is nobody to talk to about this. Yu's right- it's the most isolating feeling in the world, only made worse by the fact that he was the chosen leader among the Phantom Thieves- because his decisions affected the lives of people he was starting to care about. People he thought deserved better than him, because let's face it- when you're discarded like trash from the rest of society, you can't help but feel like you are exactly that... garbage.

Raising up from the chair, he goes and sits with him on the bed. He takes a deep breath, and takes off his mask.]

It's not your duty to do anything... [He can't look at Yu right now, not like this.] Helping me is only going to ruin your life. You just said you wanted to go to med school. If... I get caught. When I get caught, I can't live with myself if I end up dragging you down with me.

You're too nice a person to do that to.

[When Joker removed the mask from his face, Yu was and wasn't surprised at the same time. He was surprised that it was Akira and that he decided to reveal who he is. But then again, he wasn't that surprise because of his talk with Yosuke earlier. And what do you know- he was right.

He needs to keep calm- for Akira's sake. And convince him that he won't be "taken down" that easily. Nor that he will ruin Yu's life at all.

Reaching out, he grabs both of Akira's hands that are still holding the mask and squeezes them tightly.]

Look at me. And please, listen to me closely. [He waits for Akira to do so- no matter how long it takes.] I will not be able to go to said med school if this continues. I don't want to be left on selfish, ignorant people's mercy, who turn blind eye to the crimes. I do not want to live in the world with fog. I fought against it with my teeth and nails.

[He gives him a short nod-] I'm not asking you to take me with you to do whatever you do. In fact, I'm not sure if I can summon my persona anymore. What I want you to do is, [he gives Akira's hands a squeeze-] is to not hesitate to ask me for help when you need. When you're injured, for example.

Please.

Edited 2017-05-02 22:22 (UTC)

[Honestly, at some point or another, Yu was going to find out. Rather by hook or by crook, he wouldn't be able to hide the limp at school from him- even if he tried to stay away and keep distance from the other. Then, it was only a matter of time. He left himself open in so many ways that... part of him wanted to be found out, but for all the wrong reasons. This at least felt like it was right. Yu takes his hands, and asks him to look at him squarely.

It's not fair how well this works against him, and all his senses of better judgment. He feels like that anonymity gave him a special power to wall him off, but when it's like this, when he's quietly sitting on his bed, in his room, it's just Akira. No Joker, no thief, no mysterious person creeping into his window and playing with him.

This all got so much more suddenly real. Everyone eventually has to take responsibility for their actions, and if Yu's choice, he can't say no to him.]

Okay.

[He drops the mask to the ground, turning his palms upward slightly to give a squeeze back.]

It's a deal, then. In exchange for keeping my identity, I'll keep stealing hearts and you'll have to keep nursing me back to health.

[In the end, Akira is just human and he doesn't deserve to go through something like this alone. He probably already has a group of people he works with, but having some kind of backup always helps. Even if it's just minuscule things like fixing up scratches and bruises, or just empty chat.

He gives Akira a wide, gentle smile and nods-]

It's a deal.

[Now that Akira accepted to come here when he's injured, Yu feels calmer. He'll probably be able to have a decent night's sleep tonight. He lets go of his hands and stands up-]

If you have free time, you can stay for dinner. I'm preparing ravioli.

Oh...

[This definitely had a change of events. One moment, Akira is quietly trying to sneak into his room, scare the living daylights out of him, and take back what is his, and then the next, Yu is inviting him over to dinner. Not that he's particularly complaining about this string of action though; good food is hard to come by unless you're looking for a good bowl of curry or a cup of coffee back home at Leblanc.]

I can stay for dinner.

[He looks over, smiling somewhat. Who in the world invites their robber to eat with them afterward anyway? The deal is about stealing hearts and bandaging up, not keeping him and feeding him.

But maybe Yu is lonely too. His parents weren't around. He didn't really seem to have a wealth of new friends around from his transfer to Shujin. It would be rude to turn him down at this point. Akira looks down at the floor, picking up his mask and leaving it on the bed. Yu can really do anything, huh? Researching first aid techniques, take down shadows in his day, cook dinner.

This is the type of person he wants to be one day, even if his future's been sealed.]

Just... this once, though. The others would be jealous.

[He pauses.]

...Nevermind. We went to an expensive buffet when we stole Kamoshida's heart. They should still be kind of full after all the stuff they ate.

[Well, to be honest, if Akira didn't reveal himself to Yu, there probably wouldn't be a dinner invitation. But since he knows him, it would be very rude of him not to do it. Besides, after talking about the whole thing of feeling 'isolated', he can't just say 'go home'! And he doesn't want to. Akira can leave whenever he wants. Yu will never tell him otherwise.

Also, it didn't look like Akira had to go somewhere tonight, so again. Dinner. There's no reason pointing against it.]

You went to a buffet? That's a way to celebrate things. [Yu chuckles while they make their way to the kitchen.] We usually celebrated with beef bowls, Chie with steak and lots of ganmodoki.

[The kitchen was bright, clean place, separated from the sitting room with a low bar. There are high chairs around it and Yu usually sits there when he eats. There's a nice view at the TV from there as well.
He pulls out tomatoes and spices to make a sauce for the ravioli who are already in the pot, cooking on low heat.]

Do you like spicy food? Or should I hold back on pepper?

Yeah. We actually sold Kamoshida's treasure to pay for it. It was his Olympic gold medal.

[Considering that the next night the gang would have to reach the treasure room to secure a route for infiltration, spending tonight eating dinner and relaxing is probably the most normal thing that he could do. Akira finds the seat near the island bar and sits down, watching him grab various sundries from the kitchen.

Sojiro was slowly teaching him how to make a good cup of coffee, and maybe he'd even let him in on his secret curry recipe one day. Apparently, he had said at one point that the entire combination of the two was scientifically worked out to maximize the flavor complements. Akira didn't know if he believed that, word for word, but generally speaking, he never would've thought curry and coffee should go together.

Which reminds him...]

Pepper's fine. If this might be my last meal, at least it'll be flavorful.

[He scratches the back of his head. Where did all that confidence go?]

Do you like coffee? I live above a cafe... Maybe you could come sometime and try a cup.

[After putting the sauce to slowly cook, Yu joins him at the island and leans on it.]

Really? I was curious what kind of treasure are you stealing. Nothing like that happened in Inaba.

[Yu feels like Akira opened a lot to him without Yu actually saying anything about what happened in Inaba. It wasn't a pleasant thing to remember, but it is something that shaped him into what he is today.]

The, uh, killer, had a power to shove people through the TV. Once there, there is no way out unless there's someone with that world's power to let you out. The victims were left there by themselves and, after some time, their shadow would appear. And without any powers to fight back the shadow... [Well, Akira can fill in the blank. When Yu first found out about it, he felt sick. He was glad he could help out later when his friends got in danger.]

Coffee? Yeah! I like it. I'm not expert to tell the difference, but I like having a cup, especially when studying. [...that's...too cute. And Yu shouldn't be thinking that.]

I will definitively drop by. Where's the cafe?

[He puts two and two together from an earlier conversation he had with Yu about shadows. Those with the ability to accept their inner self don't appear on the Metaverse app. That much is true about himself and his friends, and... Yu. So those strings of murders back in Inaba all over the news last year were actually people who were thrown into their own version of the Metaverse and were killed by their own, repressed selves.

That was dark, and this is coming from someone who goes inside peoples' hearts to reveal how wicked they really were. Akira's eyes wander to the TV. Wait- he actually went through a television? That shouldn't be so weird, considering theirs is just some version of Google Maps on steroids, but still.

For a second, he's not entirely listening to Yu, instead, standing up to walk over to his TV set and knock on it. Nope. Glass. Then he realizes he's being weird, and stops, turning to Yu.]

I'll uh... make you some. I'm just learning blends, so it might not be perfect yet. I'll put extra effort in it, for you. [He reaches over to a piece of paper and a pen from the living room, returns to the island, and writes down Leblanc's address.]

Sojiro won't let me behind the counter until after it's closed though. You can come any time though, of course.

[Yu watches with curiosity when Akira walks over to the TV and knocks on the screen. It must sound so bizarre, entering another world through the TV.]

I'm sure it'll be great. [Yu takes a look where the cafe is. Yongen huh. He knows where it is. One train away from here actually. He'll definitively stop by.]

I'll send you a message before dropping by. In case it's a bad time. [With all the stealing stuff. He doesn't want to interrupt anything important. Finding time to do sneaky stuff like that must be extremely difficult. Especially in huge city like this, where there are so many people.]

Come. [Yu smiles and brings Akira back to the TV. He places his palm against the screen and looks at Akira, wanting to see his reaction. The ripples around his hand already appeared and after a second, his palm sinks past the screen, making whole TV screen ripple like water.]

[Akira has a calendar on his desk- he's marked all the days down that he knows people are usually free. There's a reporter who hangs out at a bar, a fortune teller that reads tarot cards in the red light district, a politician who gives speeches at the subway station, a shogi player who practices at a church... so many different people that he's met and became interested in knowing more about. And yet, he'd probably end up canceling seeing any of them if Yu texted. That's a new kind of way of thinking for Akira.

Following the other, he watches him walk up to the TV and place his hands on it. When it starts becoming less like a solid structure and far more wavy, Akira pushes his glasses up on his face. That... is definitely something he's never seen before in his entire life.]

That must get annoying. Trying to change the channel.

[He smiles, coming closer and testing the waters himself, now that the screen has a liquid quality to it. Akira presses his hand into it to see what it would feel like. This is so absurd, crazy, unbelievable. He wonders what it looks like inside there, but there's no way in hell he's going to stick his head in.]

[It really must look odd and completely insane. The kind of wavy feeling like you're underwater but not really wet. Their hands are completely dry inside.

Yu laughs-] Imagine trying it out for the first time and your body getting stuck in the screen because the TV is too small for you to go through. [He pulls out his hand-] That's why I use TV remote ever since.

[In fact, his now best friends didn't believe him either when he told them. But the looks on their faces when they saw it was priceless. Yu still has a fond smile on his face as he goes back to the kitchen to finish up the cooking. He gets out two bowls and fills them with ravioli and sauce and places them on the island, along with two tall glasses of juice.]

Dinner's ready!

Or, you could always get someone who can do it for you.

[It's the lightest amount of flirting ever, but Akira feels pretty self contented with pulling it off, turning his attention to the fact that Yu is pulling out- and he's terrified of the prospect that maybe if his hand isn't in there when Akira's is, that it'll get stuck and he'll be attached to the screen, or have his arm chopped off or something. He pulls it back quickly. Just in case.

It's not that long after that dinner is being readied and plated, and Akira can't help but love the smell that the sauce is giving off into the kitchen around them. He didn't really have to explain, because Yu probably already knew this about him, but relations between him and his parents had become incredibly strained ever since the charges were filed against him. There wasn't much in the way of a homecooked meal in ages, so... he appreciates it and the aromas it's giving off.]

This... looks really good.

[He remembers that when he gets to make that cup of coffee, he's really going to go all out. Drip the boiling water on the pour over device as slow as he can so it takes in all the flavor of the roasted beans. Cull the acidity through straining. Really, it's the least he can do. And dishes. He could probably do the dishes afterward.]

Troublemaker, bookworm, TV world conqueror, and chef, huh? I'm beginning to think there's nothing you're not good at.

[There he goes again. Light flirting- but he hides his cocky smirk by sitting down and savoring that first bite. It's as amazing as it smells.]

Is that an offer?

[Ah, he's getting those vibes. Yu has to check himself several times from just staring at Akira's face. There's just something that draws Yu's eyes back at it and he can't help himself. Thankfully, he's hungry as well so the staring isn't consistent.

And ravioli seem to have turned out just fine. Sauce too. He clasps his hands together-] Dig in!

[It's been a while since he had a guest over. Having Akira stay for dinner is making Yu so incredibly happy that he can't find words to express it. After the whole incident with the cut, the "thief" disappearing, the discussion out of shadows, Yu feels more close to him than ever. They are... almost the same. In regards to their obligations towards the shadow world. It's hard to go through it alone, so Yu is really happy he can help him out.]

There are things I'm not good at! [Yu laughs, cheeks slightly red from the compliment.] I can't sew for the life of me. I know nothing about cars- I can drive a scooter, probably a car. But I wouldn't know a thing to repair them if they broke down.

And elevators. [Yu makes a dramatic pause.] Elevators are a true enigma for me.

Elevators? Those are your weakness... hm...

[He thinks about that for a second. He knows some basic things about them, like how a motor typically pushes traction against cables and hoists to pulley the carriage up through the shaft.]

It's like a see-saw. Except instead of your body weight moving either side, there's an engine that does it for you.

[Akira is fully committed to solving the mysteries of the Yu-kind... even if the joking around went a little over his head- and as he shovels half a ravioli in his mouth, he looks up at the other and thinks that he was probably trying to seem humble and admit to not being good at something. Oh well, missed opportunity.]

What? Have I rocked your world already?

Oh-!

[Yu definitively didn't expect his question to be answered. He was aiming it to be a joke but the way it flew over Akira's head was inexplicably cute. And he had no heart to correct him and point it out. That would be too mean.]

Is that so? Sounds interesting. Maybe I should take a look into it. [What if he gets stuck in an elevator? It could be great if he knew a thing or two! Of course, that's farfetched but Yu enjoys doing things like these.

...and the blush is back again. But he laughs happily-]

Isn't it obvious? I don't get to save people with huge cuts across their chest every day. [It kind of leaves a huge impact.]

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