[ After locking the door, he leads Daisuke to their living room. Morrigan meows in greeting, trailing after them to greet family. Or maybe he just wants to judge Daisuke some more.
Once they're seated, ah. Ah. Small talk. Akira nervously chuckles as he rubs his neck. ]
All right? It's been weird, but... All right. [ Yeah. ] What about you?
[ That's what he's banking on, even though the more Retrospec glitches, the less inclined he is to believe it. ]
It would be nice if there's something we can do.
[ Always being stuck in a state of helplessness never sat well with him... For some time, they haven't had the chance to take control and make any lasting impact. When they stabilized the layers, something else breaks.
[ Recolle has always been a cesspool of strangeness and such, but when Akira asks that question, it makes him think: which death? which, in a way, really unnerves him. People die everyday somewhere in the world, but when it hits a little closer to home, it feels horrifying.
... I remember there was a series of deaths, mostly from heart attacks. All of them were covered by the news, if only for a bit, and they were coincidentally from the same crime ring.
[ Akira understands what Daisuke means by the question. He has seen death take hold of his own friends before, so he shines some light on the context. ]
The ringleader dropped important information about the group's dealings that would put an end to them, then suicides.
It's hard to fool an autopsy report... But you can induce heart attacks within human means. However, based on the news, it sounded like they're real.
[ It's too much of a coincidence... And awfully weird, either way. Even if they're being threatened—suicide? Unveiling their trade secrets to the world? ]
Ren thought it was out of character for the leader to do such a thing, then the Retrospec post later to announce Zee's death played it as one of us being the culprit and it's because we received something from our memories.
[ ... ]
I can't confirm if that's all true because Retrospec is down.
[ Daisuke's face falls a little. So if the culprit really did kill someone with something they got from the app, that's sad. And a little ironic. He remembers when Zee said that he was kinda like one of them. And he actually responded to the people with the app. Feels bad, man.
He looks up at the ceiling for a second before looking back down. ]
You're not going to go look into it, right...? It sounds really dangerous.
[ ... He is going to look into it, but he doesn't feel the need to mention it when his cousin looks so worried. His eyes roll to the ceiling, thinking of how to transition out of this. ]
[ Daisuke is about to say that isn't what he asked!! As someone who's bad at lying who tries to get out of situations by not answering the question directly, this is something that he's all too familiar with. In a way, Daisuke decides that this is the answer he's getting from Akira... and well, he hopes that he's careful. He wouldn't be sure how to break it to his parents in jail--
Wait a minute.
Daisuke squints as he looks in front of him, but then looks over at Akira when he asks about his girlfriend. ]
Fi...ne. [ He sounds unsure, but he doesn't mean to be. ] We went on a date yesterday.
[ They are experts at avoiding things, it seems like... Though Akira less so. It's a dangerous thing to be dabbling in real or not and that's. Why. He has to. He doesn't want to see his friend dropping like flies.
Onto Chiyo, though. Akira isn't exactly nosy, but he is a tad curious about how things are going. Daisuke really is a shoujo protagonist after all.
It was fun. I got to treat her this time at a starry night cafe. [ He smiles a little, recalling yesterday's events. But then his thoughts travel to something else as his eyes roam the house a bit. ]
... She figured out quickly that it wasn't me in the group chat.
[ Yes, he frequents other cafes instead of always going to Catmosphere. Shaking it up sometimes is nice! The date is now cousin-approved. He was going to ask what else they did, but.
Yeah... My housemate had his last name changed, so it really is weird.
[ Weesely? Like, really? Craig just seems better, but no one asked him. Either way, he shrugs. Ren seems to be an important name to him if it keeps coming up, but he can't seem to remember why. ]
[ Daisuke repeats, slowly, and looks at Akira with the same dubious look he's been giving him. ]
That's a weird thing to say... [ BECAUSE HE HAS THIEF POWERS. KIND OF. He vaguely wonders if Akira is taking shots at him just because. Well, that's not so important anyway, he guesses. ]
Anyway, I feel like I'm getting a headache whenever I try to connect some events together. Like... it feels like a dream, unreal. But at the same time, I know it happened because Retrospec has been weird all the time. I can't even give it the benefit of the doubt anymore... but it's really hard to think about recent events without feeling like I have to draw a crime scene diagram on a whiteboard.
... Well, Ren was trained by his parents, so I thought he was quick on figuring that stuff out from seeing it once.
[ And they're cousins?? So he must have seen Daisuke unlock his phone at different angles, though probably never having seen the lock pattern himself. It comes with keen observation.
He is not taking shots at you, shhh. ]
I know that feeling. Some of it seems so wild. [ How can body swaps be a normal thing? ] ... Also, I think Ren may have used that purple guy's appearance for things.
[ Is there regret and dread in your shoujo body yet, Daisuke? ]
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Once they're seated, ah. Ah. Small talk. Akira nervously chuckles as he rubs his neck. ]
All right? It's been weird, but... All right. [ Yeah. ] What about you?
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[ After sitting down, he glances over at Morrigan and reaches out to pet him. ]
Been trying to keep myself busy. Doing all sorts of stuff to try and keep my things in private too just in case.
[ Like actually putting a passcode in his phone now. ]
I hope this month won't be as crazy.
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I hope so, too... But the year has been progressively becoming worse.
[ Then there's Retrospec slowly losing control. He's worried how things will glitch now, seeing that they were different people for 2 whole months. ]
We didn't get a post on the first, either.
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Mm... Well...
[ How to stay optimistic in this kind of situation-- ]
Things always go back to normal eventually though.
[ That's the only thing he can think of. ]
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[ That's what he's banking on, even though the more Retrospec glitches, the less inclined he is to believe it. ]
It would be nice if there's something we can do.
[ Always being stuck in a state of helplessness never sat well with him... For some time, they haven't had the chance to take control and make any lasting impact. When they stabilized the layers, something else breaks.
Then there's death. ]
Hey. Did those deaths actually happen?
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Right here, in this very city.
... ]
... Which ones?
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[ Akira understands what Daisuke means by the question. He has seen death take hold of his own friends before, so he shines some light on the context. ]
The ringleader dropped important information about the group's dealings that would put an end to them, then suicides.
[ Odd, isn't it? ]
Then... There's Zee.
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[ much of a coincidence? Daisuke squints, trying to put the things together in his head. ]
Do you think... they were threatened? And they're saying it's heart attacks to cover it up? Maybe... do you think someone with the app did it?
[ He looks contemplative. ]
Since it gives people all sorts of powers and stuff. I'm not sure about Zee though. I thought he was a decent guy...
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[ It's too much of a coincidence... And awfully weird, either way. Even if they're being threatened—suicide? Unveiling their trade secrets to the world? ]
Ren thought it was out of character for the leader to do such a thing, then the Retrospec post later to announce Zee's death played it as one of us being the culprit and it's because we received something from our memories.
[ ... ]
I can't confirm if that's all true because Retrospec is down.
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He looks up at the ceiling for a second before looking back down. ]
You're not going to go look into it, right...? It sounds really dangerous.
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I'm not a detective.
[ Boom. ]
How are things with your girlfriend?
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Wait a minute.
Daisuke squints as he looks in front of him, but then looks over at Akira when he asks about his girlfriend. ]
Fi...ne. [ He sounds unsure, but he doesn't mean to be. ] We went on a date yesterday.
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Onto Chiyo, though. Akira isn't exactly nosy, but he is a tad curious about how things are going. Daisuke really is a shoujo protagonist after all.
always falling for fellow redheads. ]
How was it?
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... She figured out quickly that it wasn't me in the group chat.
[ He looks at Akira, looking a little dubious. ]
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[ Yes, he frequents other cafes instead of always going to Catmosphere. Shaking it up sometimes is nice! The date is now cousin-approved. He was going to ask what else they did, but.
Ah.
Suddenly, he's in the hot seat? ]
... Yeah. Ren couldn't help himself.
[ Akira may have had more self-control. ]
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[ It shouldn't be such an afterthought, but it is. At least, from how the situation has been treated and how his mind puts it as. ]
As if it was no big deal.
[ ... ]
How did he know my phone passcode anyway...?
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[ Weesely? Like, really? Craig just seems better, but no one asked him. Either way, he shrugs. Ren seems to be an important name to him if it keeps coming up, but he can't seem to remember why. ]
Thief powers.
[ Akira actually has no clue how. ]
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[ Daisuke repeats, slowly, and looks at Akira with the same dubious look he's been giving him. ]
That's a weird thing to say... [ BECAUSE HE HAS THIEF POWERS. KIND OF. He vaguely wonders if Akira is taking shots at him just because. Well, that's not so important anyway, he guesses. ]
Anyway, I feel like I'm getting a headache whenever I try to connect some events together. Like... it feels like a dream, unreal. But at the same time, I know it happened because Retrospec has been weird all the time. I can't even give it the benefit of the doubt anymore... but it's really hard to think about recent events without feeling like I have to draw a crime scene diagram on a whiteboard.
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[ And they're cousins?? So he must have seen Daisuke unlock his phone at different angles, though probably never having seen the lock pattern himself. It comes with keen observation.
He is not taking shots at you, shhh. ]
I know that feeling. Some of it seems so wild. [ How can body swaps be a normal thing? ] ... Also, I think Ren may have used that purple guy's appearance for things.
[ Is there regret and dread in your shoujo body yet, Daisuke? ]
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W-What?! [ Daisuke's eyes are wide. ] For what??
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... To do a delivery?
[ Does this sound shady? ]
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[ He's squinting here, because, yes, it does sound shady. ]
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...
Okay. ]
One where I need to hide my identity?
[ It's fine if it's shady. ]
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[ He's really curious, but it doesn't look like Akira will tell him, so he won't be as adamant in going after the answer. ]
It looks like you're always doing something too, so it's not like I can guess...