[Akechi's laugh, Akechi's words - they rattle through his bones with so much nostalgia that he thinks his vision blurs.
Akechi.
Blades catch and sing against one another, a symphony that his brain remembers the dance steps to.
I waited to see you for so long.
Blue flickers at his feet, flame ready to take, a soul remembering how to rebel.
I wanted this for so long.
It doesn't matter how much time passes between summoning his Persona, or how long it's been since he clashed with Akechi Goro completely unrestrained.
I buried it down so far, but it still... never changed how much I missed you.
It doesn't matter if the playing field is different. It doesn't matter if they're different, because one thing will always remain the same. Kurusu Akira will always, always
be trapped by the weakness of his own heart.]
Ghk-!
[The flame at his feet cuts off, and red paints the ground at their feet.
His hand goes up to staunch the blood rushing from the wound, but Akira knows it's deep. It burns as he holds it. It's my right side, too. Goddamn it.
He has to hurry, now. Akira has no way to heal, and that means he's on a time limit. Beneath his fingers, he can feel his life beating away.
He should be worried - and he is. He should feel his veins fill with adrenaline, fear, animal instinct - and they do.
But it's everything that he wants, and that's why he can grin, wild and manic and without a single chain holding him down. The one that stands before Akechi Goro is Joker.]
If you wanted to lose so quick, Crow- [The grin doesn't falter. The blue resparks and swirls.] -all you had to do was ask me nicely.
[A god has wiped him out of people's minds before. He's had to make a victory out of a complete and total defeat. Akira has made something out of nothing.
He won't lose now, even if he has to drag his body mangled and bleeding across the ground to land the final blow.]
Come, Arséne!
[And there, at his back, he's here.
His soul is here, a laugh echoing whispers of dragging the enemy down to their demise. Akira hasn't been parted from him as long as he was before, but it still feels like a puzzle piece clicking back into place. And just in time, because they have no choice but to give it their all if they're going to survive.
cw: blood, violence, stabbing; smacks ur face with a d1 til it does something
Blades catch and sing against one another, a symphony that his brain remembers the dance steps to.
Blue flickers at his feet, flame ready to take, a soul remembering how to rebel.
It doesn't matter how much time passes between summoning his Persona, or how long it's been since he clashed with Akechi Goro completely unrestrained.
It doesn't matter if the playing field is different. It doesn't matter if they're different, because one thing will always remain the same. Kurusu Akira will always, always
Ghk-!
[The flame at his feet cuts off, and red paints the ground at their feet.
His hand goes up to staunch the blood rushing from the wound, but Akira knows it's deep. It burns as he holds it. It's my right side, too. Goddamn it.
He has to hurry, now. Akira has no way to heal, and that means he's on a time limit. Beneath his fingers, he can feel his life beating away.
He should be worried - and he is. He should feel his veins fill with adrenaline, fear, animal instinct - and they do.
But it's everything that he wants, and that's why he can grin, wild and manic and without a single chain holding him down. The one that stands before Akechi Goro is Joker.]
If you wanted to lose so quick, Crow- [The grin doesn't falter. The blue resparks and swirls.] -all you had to do was ask me nicely.
[A god has wiped him out of people's minds before. He's had to make a victory out of a complete and total defeat. Akira has made something out of nothing.
He won't lose now, even if he has to drag his body mangled and bleeding across the ground to land the final blow.]
Come, Arséne!
[And there, at his back, he's here.
His soul is here, a laugh echoing whispers of dragging the enemy down to their demise. Akira hasn't been parted from him as long as he was before, but it still feels like a puzzle piece clicking back into place. And just in time, because they have no choice but to give it their all if they're going to survive.
The timer starts now.]