akira/akechi w/ secondadvent

[wildcardjoker]

[Akira Kurusu didn't consider himself a troublemaker. He didn't goof off in class, went to cram school, spent time in town with his friends, did his chores when asked. He could be reckless on occasion, certainly, but his everyday life rarely gave him much opportunity to take that much further than the occasional nap during class. If pressed, he would wager the people in his life, from his parents to teachers and friends would agree with such an assessment.

Of course, his arrest changed all that.

It had happened so fast that at first, Akira couldn't say how he had gotten to this point. The incident he recalled clear enough, but the aftermath was a blur to him. The arrest, the trial, his expulsion, all blazed by him, a quick yet destructive firestorm, burning away the life he once knew. His friends abandoned him, the adults looked at him with disappointment, anger, and consternation. How could such a bad egg have hidden within their community for so long? their looks seemed to say.

Without school to occupy his time, and while he awaited the final decision on his punishment, Akira found himself spending plenty of time with his thoughts. The incident that night especially plagued his mind; yet no matte how many times he replayed it in his mind, Akira found that, despite the consequences, he wouldn't have changed a thing. He knew he stood on the side of right, of justice...if only the adults who steamrolled over his life could understand the same.

Being cooped up in the house day after day didn't suit Akira, so he'd often take long, meandering walks throughout town during the day. His feet led him wherever they chose, with no clear destination in mind; it was as though he might, eventually, outpace his thoughts. It was on one such walk that it happened; he found himself someplace utterly new.

He didn't notice at first, as the landscape barely changed. But soon it was hard to miss; he was just strolling through a quiet little neighborhood, so why should he be standing in front of Tokyo Tower...displaced in the middle of the suburbs of another prefecture?]

What the-?

[He stared up at the structure, surprise clear on his face.]

Comments

[secondadvent]

[ Saburo Nagamine. A local politician with a lot of clout and popularity, and an inflated sense of importance that Shido wants to puncture before he becomes a thorn in his side. So naturally, he sends Akechi off on a train to the man's hometown to take care of the problem - in a non-lethal manner, of course. Murder is a solution to a lot of Shido's problems, but sometimes it's better to deal with them in other ways.

Like gathering sensitive information from Shadows and using it for extortion or to stain a career with a scandal. His constituents will surely appreciate it.

After dropping off his bag at the hotel, Akechi immediately heads to the location of Saburo's Palace and pulls out his phone to figure out the remaining keyword. It doesn't take long; he's been doing this for almost two years, after all, and soon his surroundings between to distort and rearrange themselves into the iconic structure known as Tokyo Tower. Looking up and down the tower, he slides his phone back in his pocket and takes a step forward - he doesn't get any further before he's engulfed by bright blue flames, swapping his clothes out for the skintight attire with the black mask.

Let's see... the tower itself is likely where the Shadow is, but it doesn't hurt to check out the surrounding areas first and see if there are any dangers or gimmicks he should be aware of. But before he can do that, something peculiar catches his attention - a curly-haired boy standing about sixty feet away, staring up at Tokyo Tower.

Probably just a cognition - Saburo has a teenage son, if he recalls correctly, but this warrants a closer look nonetheless. He flips the visor of his helmet down to conceal his face and approaches with guarded caution. ]

Who are you?

[wildcardjoker]

[Akira takes a step back, staring at the masked stranger with suspicion. For a quiet walk out, this day is spiraling quickly into the bizarre.]

...I'm Akira Kurusu.

[He considered, for a brief moment, refusing to answer; he didn't exactly seem like the person he ought to actually engage with under normal circumstances. Then again, Tokyo Tower appearing hundreds of miles from its proper place? Not exactly normal. After his recent run-in with the law, he decides it may be best to just cooperate for now.]

I'd ask the same thing, but I'd have my doubts how truthful your answer would be.

[So he leaves it at that. There are more important questions to ask, at any rate.

He glances back up at the tower, as though to verify its continued presence.]

Can you explain how that got here? I didn't just blink and wake up in Tokyo, right?

[secondadvent]

Call me 'Mitsuhide.'

[ He knows better than to give out his actual name to a stranger in the Metaverse. It's a not so subtle reference to Mitsuhide Akechi, the most infamous traitor in the history of Japan. ]

And no, this isn't Tokyo. You're currently in another dimension.

[ A reply that doesn't answer how Tokyo Tower got here, but he isn't about to launch into an explanation on how the cognitive world works. This is a stranger who shouldn't be here - it's his world to conquer and use in his quest for revenge and it would be bad if people outside Shido's inner circle learned about it. ]

[wildcardjoker]

'Mitsuhide'. ...right.

[He doubts that his real name, but then, he expected no less. He has no reason to pursue it further, so he accepts it as better than no name at all.]

Well, that certainly explains it. I walk into other dimensions all the time. Forgot to change the setting on my phone, I suppose.

[He looks at Mitsuhide with a deadpan expression, wondering if he'll be any more likely to be forthcoming with an explanation as he was with his name. Akira waits for a moment, then starts to walk toward the tower.]

Guess I'll take a look then. It may not be the real one, but I've never been to Tokyo Tower before. Wouldn't want to waste the opportunity.

[secondadvent]

[ For a second, Akechi doesn't move and watches Akira walk away as he turns over his options in his head. The safest option would be to kill Akira right away; he's seen the Metaverse, and that's something only Akechi, Shido, and his inner circle should be aware of. On the other hand, Akechi isn't that fond of that particular course of action. He's a murderer and a hitman, but that doesn't mean he enjoys it - and he'd prefer to keep the collateral damage to a minimum when possible. ]

Wait.

[ Akechi follows, reaching out to grab Akira by the wrist when he catches up. ]

This place is dangerous. You should head home and forget this ever happened.