[He shuts his eyes and breathes, as steady as he can manage. Tries to think of Morgana's warm weight against his stomach when it's time for bed.
The others he spoke to didn't know what had happened. But he does still know the only people that could see that... were the ones he forged a bond with. Twenty-one strings of fate, neatly tied around his heart and holding him upright as he threw himself against the might of a god.
Akira opens his eyes. Fights against every instinct that fights bitterly within his soul, fights with every ounce of him that was able to take hold of Sophia and Zenkichi's hands and never, ever let go.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.]
What you saw was the aftereffect of a terrible battle the Phantom Thieves were in the middle of. [Akira's voice has shifted; something stiff lost, yet something else... something that Maruki may find familiar is there. It's not quite trust yet, but-] Most people were unable to see it, but I have some suspicions. When I talked to others later, the only ones who could see the sky change were... people that had a connection to us.
[A beat, and then...]
They were people that had a connection to me.
[His bonds, his true strength, the only thing between him and the enslavement of the world.]
I CAN MAKE FUN OF MYSELF IF I WANT TO!!!
[He shuts his eyes and breathes, as steady as he can manage. Tries to think of Morgana's warm weight against his stomach when it's time for bed.
The others he spoke to didn't know what had happened. But he does still know the only people that could see that... were the ones he forged a bond with. Twenty-one strings of fate, neatly tied around his heart and holding him upright as he threw himself against the might of a god.
Akira opens his eyes. Fights against every instinct that fights bitterly within his soul, fights with every ounce of him that was able to take hold of Sophia and Zenkichi's hands and never, ever let go.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.]
What you saw was the aftereffect of a terrible battle the Phantom Thieves were in the middle of. [Akira's voice has shifted; something stiff lost, yet something else... something that Maruki may find familiar is there. It's not quite trust yet, but-] Most people were unable to see it, but I have some suspicions. When I talked to others later, the only ones who could see the sky change were... people that had a connection to us.
[A beat, and then...]
They were people that had a connection to me.
[His bonds, his true strength, the only thing between him and the enslavement of the world.]