Dosed with aspirin and the pain of the...Awakening? almost fully gone, Ashai once again found himself barely awake and leaning against ichiro's shoulder ("We have actual pillows that are probably more comfy then me you know, you have one pressed against your stomach" At the time his tired brain simply murmured something like "warmer...") Ichiro had since put a pillow between them mostly to avoid him being uncomfortable due to his shoulder being slightly pointy and Ashai let himself fade with the sounds of the show blaring in the background and ichiro's absent minded humming being the last thing he hears before he falls asleep.
Then he's back in the garden
He stays their laying in the grass and looking up at the sky, the same full moon in the deep dark blue sky that he wishes he could get a picture of it to look at outside of his dreams. A light breeze is circulating the location and despite the night-time setting a soft and warm light is bathing the place that makes it all the more pleasant. He stays their for a bit longer, just laying there and enjoying the calm of the garden before he feels a light tapping on his shoulder. Opening his eyes sees Arthur's face staring back at him. He jumped, letting out a startled noise (he did not scream, he absolutely did not scream like he was being murdered.) and moved back to stare at the offending persona "Jesus Arthur, what is it?" despite his face always being one, Ashai could tell that Arthur was smirking "I merely wanted to know if you wanted to play cards with us bunny. With four individuals we may play the game of tycoon which I think is popular in this area of the world, so do you oblige?" looking towards the table in the room , he had to hold in his laughter. Achilles was attempting to sit in the chair but the many weapons sticking out of him was making that difficult, then sitting across from him was a new persona who he guessed was Orpheus, the persona wore a simple and loose piece of fabric around himself held together by a strip of leather over his shoulder, in its hands it had a violin and on his back was a lyre on its head was a lorel crown but the most striking feature was that his limbs and head where detached from his torso with the only thing joining the limb and stumps was a collection of strings, Ashai guessed he could play Orpheus as a guitar. Asahi shrugged "sure why not , might be fun." standing up, he and Arthur moved to sit down at the table.
Achilles was still struggling to fit himself into the chair , causing Arthur to chuckle "My friend, isn't their a more suitable guise for the action?" The myrmidon rolled his eyes "Yes, I suppose your right ληστής." Then in a flash of blue flames Achilles had shifted form into...him? Achilles now shared the same face as he did and was now wearing the same armor that he wore while Achilles was in use but his eyes shone with a golden glow. With the warrior safely in his chair, Arthur dealt the cards out to all the participants, with Orpheus somehow still able to move his arms and hands despite the dismemberment in order to pick them up. He looked at his cards and hummed. not good and not bad, he wasn't sure how this game would go.
As the game proceeded, things went quite normally. Arthur, being utterly insurable, kept using 8 stops and even started a rebellion causing an uproar on the table ("Dammit ληστής! why must you make this game unfun","My dear warrior, its simply a game and I plan on winning , I apologize if me wining frustrates you so.") as the game came to a close Arthur of course became the tycoon whilst Orpheus had ended up rich ("I'm just as surprised as you Achilles, I really am" Asahi didn't think that was true.) he was poor whilst Achilles was a beggar and had to be stopped from flipping the table which...was difficult. The second game resulted in a better hand for Asahi and the next revolution Arthur played was swiftly countered ("You crafty devil! I am impressed.) ad this allowed the game to continue and actually be fun And in the end, Asahi achieved tycoon, Arthur was beggar as a consequence, Achilles was rich and Orpheus was poor.
Arthur's permanent smile blazed a deeper blue "It appears the finally is upon us hmm? lets make this game count."As the cards where handed out Asahi smirked...perfect. Arthur played a 3 of diamonds, this being followed up by Achilles playing a 4 of diamonds...hmm lets start low here, Asahi placed down a 6 of diamonds and then, Orpheus ended the round with an 8 stop "I am not sorry for that man-oeuvre this round is in my possession."The next round started with Orpheus playing a pair of threes, Arthur thought for a moment "Shaking off the disguise of a simple game for a moment, I have to say I'm impressed with how you are proceeding...Asahi." the persona then played his pair of 6's, wordlessly Achilles played a pair of 8's ending the round once more. He hummed as he watched Achilles play a single 5 before staring back at the persona "you don't usually use my name Arthur, what brought this on?" He then played a 7 and once again, Orpheus played an 8 stop...he should stop playing under 8's. Orpheus played a pair of 4's leaving it Arthur's turn "Well, you've made great strides in your pursuit of thievery and even secured your first heist...its a momentous occasion that should be celebrated by the removal of the monikers for the time being." then played a pair of 10's followed up by Achilles playing a pair of 2's..damn...they all had to pass. Achilles played a 6 and Ashai looked at his hand "Thanks Arthur...I literally couldn't have done any of this without you." With a light groan he played a 7 again, luckily, Orpheus seemed to be out of 8 stops and played a 9 followed by Arthur who played a jack "You needn't give me thanks, its unnecessary, I am thou and thou art I. My accomplishments are born of the strength of thy heart." and Achilles played a queen. with a slight hum of ]understanding, he played a king only to have Orpheus play a ace then Arthur placed down a 2 and Achilles placed down a god dammed joker and once again they all had to pass.
Achilles played a three of spade, Asahi placed his queen down on top of that card prompting Orpheus to use a king and Arthur to laugh manically before placing down his ace "Asahi, on the topic of achievements your crowning one is the acquisition of new selves with the help of those compatriots of yours! Our fine warrior and the new singer re quite fine editions to our arsenal." The blazing smile chiseled into his personas face somehow grew even more incandescent, He won the round and begun the next one, placing down an 8 stop, putting him to his final card and then finally he played it when the turn came back to him.
He had won
Arthur rose as he waved his hand, dismissing the other two persona's from the garden and approached where Asahi was still sitting "I still have the upper hand bunny, these games of luck and chance favor the skilled within this cognitive space...you lack the will, the drive...or perhaps you are still shackled, no that is a definitive truth. No matter the cause, despite your acceptance of me, the shadow, the compensation to your outward and conscious self, my potency will remain diminished until you shirk your shackles and embrace the freedom you truly crave. But today you have made great strives to doing so and some amount of my original strength has returned from my days of toil...perhaps you are deserving of an additional reward hmm...in what form shall...Ah! i know of the best vehicle to deliver it." the persona snapped its fingers and Asahi jumped in surprise when he felt time start to freeze
"I aMtHoU
thOU ArT I
thou HAst AcqQuiRedD new VOW
They bonds shall serve as a chain
that shall draw out your greatest aspects
with th3 1ntr0duct10n of th3 H0p3 4rc4num
th0u sh4lt g41n th3 p0w3r T0 0pp0s3 F4T3 1ts3lf.
Arthur.Hope
Rank:1
Ability:Flower bed:You know have access to the velvet gardens flowerbeds
Note: Arthur gained 3 magic and learned 'Bless boost'
Well that was unexpected. As the world unfroze Asahi stared at his persona incredulously "how do i have a bond with you? You are me!?" the persona chuckled "A part of yourself that formed due to the utter lack of my traits in you may dear boy! Besides, Isn't self love quite important to ones own mental health." Groaning Asahi looked around for the aforementioned flowerbeds and spotted them quickly, an empty plot having appeared right next to the blue bells "Hey Arthur, what do i do with this?" The persona approached then tapped the bridge of his nose and his mask formed across his face "place one of these in the soil and overtime they will gain experience and power.
Eh what the hell. Grabbing his mask he placed it in the dirt then buried it in the soil , almost immediately a sign appeared reading "Achilles, 3-4 days." reaching into his mind , the warrior in question was…strangely absent. Arthur raised a claw and gestured to around the room "Whilst you have been laid up, I've managed to obtain a limited dominion over this realm, if only for the time being. I've also gathered precious crumbs of information for you, would you allow me to inform you?" a nod prompted his persona to continue " This domain reflects your current state of being, my fellow thief. You have been withering away for a great amount of time, this garden is a place for nurture and growth. Fitting is it not? But i digress. I have some control over the facilities of this places and ill happily bestow you more, all in good time of course." when Arthur finishes talking the sound of birdsong fills the air prompting a hum of acknowledgement from the persona " The melody of those avians are a signal, meaning that our little parley is about to be ended, ill speak with you at a later date Asahi. Return to the world of wakefulness." and before he could say a word in reply.
He awoke.
Getting his bearings once again he took a cautious inhale through his nose and was pleased with the lack of congestion. However his damn chest wasn't spared from the remaining mucus, angrily reminding him of itself when he took a deeper breath then he probably should have. The tightness causing him to hack out a few coughs, starling Ichiro, who had apparently managed to pry him off while he slept. His brother patted his back as he coughed and brought him a tissue, which he took thankfully and spat out the gunk his body was so determined to get rid of (despite the annoying flesh prison putting that shit there in the first place.)..Gross. AS the fit subsided Asahi grabbed the cup of water that had apparently been left for him...still cold...nice.
Rubbing the water out of his eyes, Asahi turned his head to face Ichiro "How long was i asleep for?" his brother shrugged "Probably around 3 hours, i didst keep track. Lemme just..." He pulled out his phone and checked the time "Its around 4 so...yeah a bit over three hours." Asahi hummed "'Kay" he stretched out his legs and arms, satisfied with the soft 'click' from his joints and sat up...was school over yet? He wondered if the thieves had gone home yet or if Yuuki was coming home. Actually... he should probably check his messages. Searching around for his phone and glasses (He almost forgot that he needed those to read the messages) and found them on the coffee table. Grabbing the phone and putting on the glasses, Asahi opened his IM messages and was greeted with 3 separate notifications of new messages...that's more then he expected.
New messages: 1-'Thief group chat(Name in progress)', 2-'Yuuki' , 3-'Dad'
Dad texted? But he hates doing that. Asahi sighed, he should probably read that one first.
Dad -- Asahi
14:28, 4/23, 202
Dad:Hey Asahi.
Dad:Your brother says your fairing well.
Dad:Which is good.
Dad:Just telling you that when i get home i want to know what happened...according to your friends you just fainted.
Dad:Luckily the bosses are giving me a break, ill be able to spend the rest of the year at the house.
Dad:So you'll be seeing more of me from know on
Dad:Anyway. will talk with you more in person.
Dad:GtG
Dad:Did i use that right?
That's... actually correct. Looks like his dad was learning. Asahi left him on read, its what he usually did on the rare occasions he has been texted by his dad and sapped over to look at what Yuuki sent him.
Yuuki--Asahi
16:58, 4/22, 2022
Yuuki: You guys are going in now right?
Yuuki: Well good luck!
Yuuki: Please be careful..
18:45,4/22,2022
Asahi: Hey Mishima, Can you have the door open at Asahi's place?
Yuuki: Mishima? Who is this?
Asahi: Its sakamoto and we kinda got a problem
Asahi: Asahi just fucking passed out on us!
Yuuki: Wait, what! Why?!
Asahi: WE DON'T KNOW!!
Asahi: This shit isn't supposed to happen!
Asahi: We will be their in awhile, Luckily Ann is loaded enough to nab us a Taxi to kichijoji
Asahi: Just need you to have the door open when we get there.
Yuuki: O-OK
Did they pay for a taxi because of him? Guilt coiled in his stomach at the thought, taxi's in Tokyo are expensive...too expensive. He'll have to reimburse Ann somehow...How much money did it cost? Maybe that's why the put messages on the group chat, as a form of an invoice? Probably. He feels bad for Worrying everyone as well...he just had to have faint didn't he...idiot. Curling tighter into himself he switched to the thieves group chat, skipping the messages from yesterday and moving on the the new ones.
Group members: Panther,Skull,Joker and Asahi.
12:25
Skull: Holy shit
Skull:@Asahi
Skull:You need to come in tommorow!
Skull: Kamoshida's apperntly holdig some assembly, and he was looking all mopey today!
Panther: i know right! it was so satisfying to watch.
Panther: But anyway, i wonder if Asahi is ok.
Joker: Mishima said he's ok, he apparently had a fever so he stayed home.
Joker: Did he seem sick to you guys?
Panther: No, not really, I talked with him at lunch and he seemed fine.
Ryuji: Well...when we were hanging up the calling cards he looked like he was going to puke but he said that going out of the metaverse makes him bit dizzy
Asahi rolled his eyes and scrolled upwards ,why are they worrying about him? Yuuki told them he was fine. It shouldn't matter beyond that. He will get better and they wont lose any manpower, that's all that should matter to them. He catches up to the ones sent within the hour.
16:20
Skull:@Asahi, you awake?
16:45
Asahi changed their name to 'Apostle'
Apostle: I'm awake. How was school, did Kamoshida do anything else other then call an assembly and look sorry for himself?
Skull: Dude, how are you?! You just up and passed out! you doing ok?{
Apostle: I'm good. I'll be in tomorrow , don't worry about me.
Joker: That's good, Do you know why you passed out?
Apostle: Does it matter?
Joker: Yes
Apostle: Well then that's a problem
Apostle: Because I'm not sure
Apostle: Anyway i GTG, Yuuki's coming home, see you guys tomorrow
Closing the IM app, Asahi returns his focus to the TV. He didn't feel guilty for lying to them, it was the same song and dance he's used to. If they knew then they would probably not let him help them in future...if they where going to do thin in future. Them benching him would make him..."-useless, worthless, waste of time, they'll leave you if you aren't helpful, endure it, endure it endur-" unable to help his friends. Yuuki should actually be coming home soon, then dad would most likely be at work until late so he can put off his concern until later...what the fuck should i tell them...lying is complicated... but it is effective.
Speaking of the devil, Asahi heard the door unlock and open as the boy in question walked into the home. Ichiro gave Yuuki a big smile "Hey Yuuki! How's it going?" Yuuki perked and returned a half hearted smile "I'm good" he then looked towards Asahi, shit. Yuuki walked towards him, until he stood directly in front of him . Asahi sighed , he isn't ready to hear another (warranted) declaration of concern...how about... He gave Yuuki one of his better fake smiles "Hey Yuuki, how was Shujin? Did anything interesting happen" Yuuki's expression shifted to unimpressed. Hmm better then worried. Yuuki shook his head "Are you really trying t change the subject? Anyway, school was fine, nothing bad happened. How are you feeling?" Well that was almost a success, sitting fully upwards Ashai dropped the smile and returned his face back to neutral "I'm fine now, it wasn't anything that bad...just ran out of energy when i was with the others. Probably due to all the running around we did hmm." Asahi gave Yuuki a look when he was about to respond and gestured to ichiro with his eyes , Yuuki's eyes widened with understanding "Oh, sorry. I get it, so...did it go well yesterday, before the um fainting" He smiled "yeah, we did it, you could probably see the results today." Yuuki nodded and smiled while Ichiro looked perplexed.
After a while of him comprehending what what just said, Ichiro raised an eyebrow "What did you guys do Yesterday?" Before Yuuki could panic and give them away, Ashai let the immediate response roll of his tongue "One of my friends had an art thing they were doing at school, so we stuck around to chat while she drew, it ended up looking terrible though so...time wasted." seemingly placated with this , ichiro got up "Alright guys , I'm going to get us some take out, Any requests? Yuuki shrugged "Maybe MacDonald's? " Ichiro nodded "Sure" and then he was off.
Asahi watched Yuuki leave to his room in order to change out of his school clothes which left alone. Asahi needs to keep log of all the different lies that he tells others, mostly to avoid confusion, he could alternatively tell the truth but... Don't let them know, Don't let them know, keep it a secret. Shaking his head, Ashai shifted his train of thought. He wonders what awaits him at kamoshida's assembly will be like hopefully it will end well. Asahi pulls out his phone and decides to scroll through social media, he hasn't got much else to do until Yuuki or ichiro come back.
After probably 10 minutes (though it felt like 30) Yuuki emerged from his room, wearing his casual clothing and sat down beside him. Asahi hummed slightly before cutting it short, he clenched his eyes shut as Images entered his mind Yuuki lying on the ground of that damned castle, bones broken and piercing through his skin, bleeding out and covered head to toe with dark blue bruises, you did this, its your fault, its your fault, its your fault, failure, worthless , worthless, worth- . Asahi bit down a whimper as the thoughts petered out , he felt his heart accelerated as he snapped his head to Yuuki with a jerk of his neck that almost gave him whiplash and looked him over, are there any cuts? bruises? Scrapes?? A chocked exhale left his lungs as he found nothing, his eyes pricked with moisture, shit not now, please not now. A traitorous sniffle tore itself from his body prompting Yuuki to turn around to face him }" A-Ashai?! what's wrong? why are you c-crying?" Asahi felt hot tears running down his face and in a split second decision , darted towards his brother and gave him a hug that was quickly reciprocated "i-i just" his sentence was broken up by a sob that tore through him "when we where doing the change of hearth thing, we h-had to fight Kamoshida" looking at Yuuki's confused expression Ashai stuttered out a curt "ill t-tell you l-later" after sobbing again for half a minute Ashai took in his attempt pf a breath.
"A-any d-during this fight, I saw." his tears streamed down harder "I saw what he was going to do to you, he hurt you so much and then I tried to hurt him but he threw you in front of him and I killed you, I didn't do what I was supposed to do and I got you hurt and then I killed you and it was all my fault and you don't deserve to be hurt and I hurt you and now I'm crying like an idiot because I remembered that happened and panicked and I'm so released that your ok but I'm crying and-" Asahi was cut off by Yuuki hugging him tighter, pressure, pressures nice, his heart was beating, why was it beating so fast? was he breathing? he cant tell. He feels faint, is he dying? not now, he can't die now! Yuuki takes his left hand and places it on his head, its soft he gives him a slight reassuring smile "Breath Ashai, can you do that for me?" Asahi shakily inhales and barley manages to wheeze out an exhale Yuuki smiles "good job, now again breath in and out okay?" Asahi shakily nods and inhales a little less sharply and his exhale a little less strangled. Ashai lets out a larger puff of air as the panic laves him, fuck really, over getting too emotional? Weak, Worthless, Pathetic.
Asahi was tired, emotionally exhausted but he knew he needed to get this doe now "T-thanks Yuuki, good thing you read all those website articles...heh" he adds a bashful laugh to get rid of some left over tension in his body, Yuuki is probably blushing, he cant tell from his position , they are still hugging...he doesn't want to let go, contact is nice. Yuuki lets out an embarrassed squeak "H-how did you know that's what I did." Asahi scoffs "You fall asleep with your computer on too much, also clear your browser history." The panicked squawk he is rewarded with is worth the extra effort of speaking. Asahi takes a breath "Anyway...that's bout it...among other things, I just remembered what had happened and overreacted , sorry." Yuuki pulled away just enough to give him a look "Asahi... you saw me die. You thought you killed me...that's not an overreaction..." he exhaled and looked to the side for a bit "When...you Jumped that was probably the scariest moment of my life, I couldn't stop thinking about it for awhile... so i cant even imagine what its like to see that." Asahi stilled, then sighed in exasperation " Why are you always right..." Yuuki rolls his eyes "No I'm not." ,A amusing thought "Hypocrite" the other boy rubs the back of his neck "yeah." He shifted so he was using Yuuki's shoulder as a pillow, the other boy raised an ]eyebrow, asahi let out a sleepy hum "tired." and with that they fell into a comfortable silence
Yuuki Mishima
Moon
Rank 2
About 30 minutes later
Ichiro walked back into the house, placing three MacDonald's burgers on the table, then looked to where Ashai and Yuuki where sitting. Hmm they are being...strangely quite. Moving towards the two of them, he takes a closer look and he smiles at the sight.
Asahi is asleep again, his glasses still on and leaning on Yuuki's shoulder, who had seemingly fell asleep watching the tv that was still playing quietly
Ichiro laughed silently, then looked at the food, then too the sleeping boys on the couch, They look so...peaceful but...food...well it would mean more for him...but they should eat...how much sleep does Yuuki get? He groans...well they'll be less angry at him for waking them then they wou]ld be for letting them go hungry. Ichiro walked to be in front of them and immediately noticed the tear streaks on Asahi's face
what the hell happened while he was gone?
April 23, Saturday, 2023.
Asahi exhaled to relive some of his nerves. That morning he had rushed to school as fast as humanly possible, almost missing breakfast before Ichiro made him sit down and eat something, and after homeroom they where immediately herded into the gymnasium. Where the former king stood on a platform. Murmurs erupted from around him and where parroted around the room.
"What's with the sudden assembly?"
"Does it something to do with that girl from a few days ago"
Maybe its about that weird card from Thursday?"
"Kamoshida is the one who called the assembly, maybe he's freaked out or something"
"Good thing for us! That means morning practice is cancelled"
Asahi hums as he stands with his year, Ann, Ryuji and Akira where somewhere behind him. Good thing first years where put to the front...he couldn't see otherwise.
Suguru Kamoshida was right in front of the crowd of children, looking at him Ashai felt a sense of satisfaction coil in ]his gut. the former proud Olympic athlete had once brimmed with pride , maintaining his appearance with strange amount of care but now...his eyes had deep bags under them as if he hasn't slept recently , his hair was unkempt and splayed all over the place , not that different from usual but still and his face was greasy and rank. Kamoshida looked...like him on a bad day and you now what?
Asahi is happy with that.
Then after the hall had quieted down Kamoshida raised the microphone to his lips "I...have been reborn. That is why i have decided to confess my sins to all of you." A grin bloomed across his face as the broken man spoke one more "I have done thigs that are...unforgiveable, that make me a disgrace of a teacher. From verbally abusing students, Physically abusing my team simply because I felt like it...or sexually abusing the girls team.. I've done all of it. The reason Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself...was because I Sexually assaulted her." Kamoshida slumped to his knees, was it from guilt or shame? he couldn't tell but either emotion was fine "I thought of this school as my own castle of desires , there where some student I 'Sentenced' to expulsion...simply due to my own dislike for them. I of course will rescind those expulsions." Kamoshida let out a weak chuckle "That's not even the half of my crimes...I purposely caused the track team to disband and intentionally sought out to break the stars leg, so my volleyball team would have all the spotlight. Hell! I even violated the law and spread the transfer students criminal record across the student body just to hurt him. I am a truly loathsome and disgusting human being...no less the that and that is why I am going to take my ow life..to atone for what I have done for you all and face my judgment in hell!"
Asahi stills as he processes those words...he should feel guilty, shouldn't he. Those words...they should hurt shouldn't they. H shouldn't be relishing in the pain Kamoshida is planning on inflicting upon himself. shouldn't be happy that he will put himself in a coffin.
Yet he isn't
Asahi lets a coil of satisfaction bubbled in his gut, the rage that was dragged out of him by Achilles brought a wide grin to his face . He dies and he can feel safe, he dies and Yuuki can feel safe. He dies and he gets payback for what he did to the both of them. He doesn't eel guilty for that and to be honest?
It feels freeing
The principle apparently decides that now is the time to do something, despite that time probably having passed already, "Umm Mr Kamoshida is...uhm not well! Everyone return to your classes!" teachers scramble around the room trying to restore order to the students, Ashai doesn't mind, that bastard will do himself in anyway.
Then its ruined
behind him he can hear the Ann's unmistakable voice ring through the room "Don't run, you bastard! Shiho's still alive, even after all the shit you put her through! You have no right to run from this!" At kamoshida's agreement Ashai tunes the rest out. Annoyance replaces the satisfaction that as once there, annoyance and...something else. He tries to ignore it, it was Ann's choice to spare that bastard but...he still feels...
Unsafe, restricted.
Arthurs smooth voice others him a alternative.
"Perhaps we are merely... displacing our wrath on our more recent pain?" Asahi violently shakes his head...he could want that for her...not now...she was...
Asahi tuned back in to avoid those thoughts hearing the tail end of kamoshida's confession "Someone, please call the police!" Asahi sighs and stealthily pulls out his phone and smirks at the video attachment Yuuki sent him, putting in the polices number Ashai spares one last glance at the sobbing husk of a man.
Call the police, he'll happily oblige. Video evidence of a confession and all.
Lunchtime
Asahi sat in class and zoned out, his lunch on his desk, the others plan to meet up after school on the roof but for now he could be alone...well as alone as he can be.
Suddenly he feels a tap on his back
begrudgingly turning away from his food, Ashai got a look at the person trying to bother him. Red hair in a pony tail, red eyes...ribbon...oh she's that honour student girl...something Yoshizawa! Raising an eyebrow at the girl, Ashai let out a false sigh "Do you.. need something?" Yoshizawa shook her head and cleared her throat "I'm sorry for bothering you Chiakuru-san but...are you ok?" His sceptical expression quickly shifted into one of confusion...why would she care? Does he look bad or something? Maybe he bothered her somehow? thinking quickly he settled on a response "Why do you ask?" she looked him straight in the eyes "Well, M-umm Kamoshida just confessed to all of that and I just remembered that you were a part of the volleyball club...and awhile ago I saw some bruises.. on your arm and well...i got concerned." What the hell?! How did she notice that.. Kamoshida always hurt him where his...oh wait, there was that day where he forgot his blazer on the subway and had to get a new one but that was awhile ago, and she remembered it? why?
Asahi shrugged "I-yeah...he did hit me but that's... its over now anyway so why ask now?" The girl looked away briefly "I- to tell the truth i felt guilty, i ignored so many signs that something was wrong, that Kamoshida was a bad man" he suppressed a snort, 'bad man' understatement of the century. "And even now you still look down. So i wanted to know if your ok." Asahi feels...warm at that...why? She's just doing this to absolve her own guilt...she doesn't know him, why would she care?
"Why not get her to know you, then you'll ascertain her intentions."
Fair... Asahi let a fake smile grace his lips "I'm working on things...thank you for asking. Though I don't get how you can tell that i look unhappy...I've been told i can hide things pretty well." Yoshizawa eyes gained a vacant quality at that, like she was trying to remember something foggy, before clearing and regaining there brightness "Well recently I went through something that left me...looking similarly to you, so I can consider myself an expert at spotting the small signs." So she's also has baggage that's something, maybe she asked out of empathy.. rare yet possible... maybe he could befriend her...how does one befriend? most of the people in his life befriended him...
"Ask her if she wants to have lunch with you"
Ah! right, good start...how do you do that organically?? she seems nice...ok hmm maybe just straight up an ask? Giving out a hum of understanding Asahi gives her a small smile "Ah, I'm sorry to uh hear about that. I uh i need to eat lunch, do you want to go eat together or something Yoshizawa-san" The red head smiled warmly at him "Sure! I don't have any lunch plans myself so I'd be happy to eat with you. and please you don't have to be so formal with me."
"Call me Kasumi."
So that's her name. Kasumi Yoshizawa.
"I aMtHoU
thOU ArT I
thou HAst AcqQuiRedD new VOW
They bonds shall serve as a chain
that shall draw out your greatest aspects
with th3 1ntr0duct10n of th3 F4ith 4rc4num
th0u sh4lt g41n th3 p0w3r T0 0pp0s3 F4T3 1ts3lf.
Kasumi Yoshizawa:Faith
Rank:1
That means their friends right? He smiles as he picks up his bag and lunch and walks out to follow Kasumi.
He hopes so...she seems nice.
After school
leaned back on ...metal container? whatever that was he was leaning back on it. he watched Ryuji and Akira walk up the stairs with morgana in toe. He gave the older boys a small smile "So did you guys enjoy the show?" Ryuji flashed him a wide grin "Hell yeah man, the bastard really did have a change of heart and we didn't mess up his mind either!" Akira smirked in response "it was an A Job." Morgana perched on the table "Does this mean that although the palace disappeared they wont have a mental shutdown unless their actual shadow is killed?...So in future we need to persuade the shadow to return to its true self to avoid causing a cognitive collapse. Hmm I'd say this experiment is a success!" Asahi hummed as he regarded that information "So we can make people confess without causing them to die...if we want to anyway." Ryuji shrugged "That works for me."
Asahi flinched when he heard the roof door swing open only to relax when he saw it was only Ann. She sighed when she entered earshot of us "Do the Four of you have to be so loud?" Ryuji rolled his eyes "Eh don't worry about it! Anyway how did it go with shiho?" At that Ann beamed her face perking up instantly "She's regained consciousness! It was only for a little bit but I got to talk to her, I was even able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he did!" Her face then fell a sad edge to her eyes as she recalled the encounter "shiho...told me she was sorry...looks like she found out i was flirting with Kamoshida for her sake and here I was, waiting to apologise to her." She settled back into a neutral mood "Shiho's mom is thinking of transferring her to another school after she recovers...the whole sexual harassment and attempted suicide...people will label her after that and it sounds like shiho had the same idea
Asahi hummed...he was lucky that he didn't get that far down before Yuuki caught him, despite that rumours still spread around...he didn't want to imagine what would happen if shiho came back to Shujin...what would it be like if that was his situation. shaking his head Ashai reaches into his bag and pulls out the medal...this looks like a good way to change the subject. Raising the medal, Ashai titled his head "I just noticed this but, why'd you choose my bag to put the treasure in anyway?" snapping his eyes away from where he was staring out the ground, Akira met his eyes and shrugged "After you passed out, we kind of...scrambled to get you home...and we were already holding your bag and we needed to hide the medal before the cab came so we put it into your bag." he paused for a second "Actually can I have that back? I think I know a place we can sell it at." Thank god, Asahi tossed the medal to Akira, which hit him square in the chest earning a "oof" from the lanky teen , before being quickly caught just before it hit the ground. Ann perked up at the mention of the medal being sold " ooh! How much do you think we could get for it?" Ryuji put his phone down "Just looked it up, this thing could fetch us about 30 thousand yen. Could've been more expensive , we risked our lives for this damn thing!"
Ann got up from where she was sat and walked over to Ryuji "That should be enough to pay for the money you owe me, Plus interest of course~" Asahi raised an eyebrow in confusion. ...what the actual fuck had happened to cause him to owe that much? Turning his gaze to the now annoyed looking Ryuji...he decided to change the subject , while curious he doesn't want to..be here with people for any longer then he needs to be...he's so tired. Clearing his throat, Ashai git everyone's attention "So..what do you guys want to do with the money?" Ann's eyes brightened "I know the perfect thing! There was this all you can eat fancy buffet that me and shiho wanted to go to! its pretty expensive but with the money from the medal, we can go!" Ryuji perked up "Fancy food? I'm in! " Morgana spoke up from where he was curled up on the table "A fancy buffet is the perfect reward for phantom thieves such as ourselves. Asahi hummed, he didn't have any strong feeling one way or the other, but food sounded nice "Eh sure, why not" Ryuji groaned "Try to sound more exited man! were going to a fancy ass place, get hyped!" he then lightly slapped Ashai on the back, causing a flinch to spread through him, gritting his teeth he smiled "No"
shaking his head, Ashai cleared his thought "So, when should we go?" Akira thought for a moment "How about during the holidays...children's day?" Ryuji groaned "That's such a long time away!" A smile crept on Ashai's face "Think of it as something to look forward to and to be exited about." Ann nodded "So its decided, we'll use the money from the treasure to go to the buffet on children's day." after a chorus of nods and agreements the group broke up and left to go home.
Asahi sighed at the notification he was greeted with when he opened his phone
Dad
16:30
Dad: Come home now, i saw the news.
Yeah he should have guessed this would have happened.
