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[purrtagonist]

Soooo how's everyone feeling?

[THIS MESSAGE HAS A PURPOSE HE SWEARS]

Serious question, by the way. I talked to Astoria as soon as we got back, and she was pretty worried about the way I. . . felt to her?

[GOD PUTTING IT THAT WAY SOUND WEIRD]

She said that I brought something back with me from Struxta. Something dark, evil, heavy. . . wrong? I don't know about you guys but absolutely none of that is confidence inspiring. Wonder why.

[AHA]

She also told me that the wilting plants around the temple aren't normal. "Everything here seems to be just here. Present, alive, blooming," is what she said, word for word. She's never seen anything here die before.

[. . .]

I don't really know what she's talking about, especially because I feel just fine. I don't think she does yet either, though I imagine she's going to investigate. Just be careful, all right? And if you notice anything off about yourself, let me or someone else know.






Because if we all came back possessed by space demons or infected by robot tuberculosis I'm gonna be pretty pissed.

Comments

[purrtagonist]

Hey.

Don't waste salt.

We need that.

To flavor food.

[DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT FOOD FLAVORING IS TO AKIRA NOW. thanks six weeks of tasteless protein goop]

[ryuji]

Oh don't worry dude I produce that shit naturally

[purrtagonist]

Oh. Perfect.

So I'm going to need you to hang around the kitchen more often during mealtime.

[ryuji]

Wait but what if you get whatever you got in our grub

I don't wanna have a food demon in me

[purrtagonist]

I hear it's good for you.

Contains all nine essential nutrients.

[ryuji]

Dr. Salt, Mad Bull, 1UP, ramen, beef bowl, konbeni sushi, protein powder, your best friend demonized

Shit whats the 9th

[purrtagonist]

Eight hours of Power Intuition, co-op mode.

[ryuji]

Holy shit you need to be cleansed dude

[purrtagonist]

Don't be a hypocrite and tell me YOU haven't spent eight hours straight playing video games.

In your pajamas.

[ryuji]

This is a public place Akira DON'T DO THIS TO ME, NOT LIKE THIS!!!

[purrtagonist]

The public deserves to know.

What's your favorite title? Star Forneus? Gambla Goemon? Train of Life???

[ryuji]

[Grimacing in pain over letting his nerd status be front and center instead of his much (lamer) jock cred-]

Dude you know the answer to that's Star Forneus, it's always gonna be Star Forneus, and there ain't nothin' in the world that's gonna change that

[purrtagonist]

[wear your nerd cred with pride, Ryuji!!]

Heh. You've got pretty good taste.

Too bad you're still lagging behind my high score in that one.

[ryuji]

And look where that shit got you

Possessed by some deep, dark shit

I'm cool with bein' 2nd

[HE'S JOKING RIGHT NOW BUT also kind of dying on the inside, what's wrong with you Akira?

Is it contagious...]

[purrtagonist]

[HE DOESN'T KNOW!! HE SURE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!!]

[and although the urge to continue the joke is strong, on the other end of the line, Akira sighs and opts for something a bit more somber]

In all seriousness, I'm perfectly fine. If you're that worried about me, we could meet up?

[ryuji]

Yeah dude Dr. Sakamoto's office hours are in and I'll even do you one better with a house call

[purrtagonist]

For free, or are you charging for that service? Either way, you know where to find me.

[since they share a room]

[ryuji]

[So, he asks the bullshit ghost, uh....butlers? for a lab coat to go along with the whole imagery he's trying to set up here, but winds up with a little doggie vest instead, and this is definitely... not the type of lab or the type of coat he was asking for. He groans at it in his hands- because, REAL FUCKIN' FUNNY GUYS, and promptly decides it's way better to stop dwindling down on time to explain the difference via knowledge bomb drop and just go back to his room instead.

Like, really, what the hell is he supposed to do with this thing? With a sigh, he enters their shared quarters that he had briskly dragged a bed into just, what, two months ago? at this point.

And then toss the crappy spoils of his one-upped wordplay competition on Akira's bed.]

Sometimes I think they're just messin' with you, y'know? Like even when you're bein' completely, 100% dead effin' descriptive of what you want, you still get a steaming pile of unko delivered right into your hands.

[He looks up and down at Akira, studying.]

You don't really look any different, dude.

[purrtagonist]

[Akira is, as promised, hanging out in their shared room, sprawled halfway onto his own bed with his. . . uh. upper half hanging upside down over the edge. which means he gets a nice, front-row seat to upside down Ryuji entering their quarters and tossing the cute li'l doggie vest onto the bed]

[. . . . . . . . . an amused snort, and Akira pulls himself upright, raking a hand through his hair to tame tousled curls]

Did you ask them for a lab coat?

[HE SEES THE PUN. HE SEES IT. HE KNOWS IT'S THERE. the grin he wears is a bit cheeky]

And of course I don't. Pretty sure the horns and tail don't start growing until day seven of possession.

[okay soooo he's back to joking]

[ryuji]

Yeah, I definitely, uh. I asked for a lab coat--- man, shut up!!!

[DON'T CALL HIM OUT LIKE THIS.

Also, hey, what are you doing upside down? Are you letting your blood rush to your head on purpose or something? Ryuji doesn't get it as much as he just walks forward and stands, a giant, right in front of him.]

Good to know you're constantly still lookin' up to me, dude. Great for my confidence.

[He sees no sign of horns or a curly tail, so he knows he's a freaking liar.]

So... that space case witch told you that you got somethin' inside ya? Like, something deep and dark, right? I mean, we've always kinda known that--- [He laughs, and stops himself, eventually slamming his ass on Akira's bed and changing course.]

But uh, hey. Serious question here... do you still... have your personas?

[purrtagonist]

[naw he was just lazing about, and somehow wound up in that position. . . DON'T ASK, CAT-LIKE BEHAVIORS, ETC ETC. it's unimportant anyway once he rights himself. he's about to whip up a brief complaint about Astoria's vagueness when Ryuji suddenly changes course]

[and instead, he blinks, somehow. . . having not seen this question coming]

My Personas?

[slowly, he shakes his head]

No. . . I don't, though I guess technically I haven't since Christmas Eve. [since the Metaverse was destroyed and they both lost that power] Ann doesn't have hers, either.

[ryuji]

[Well, damn, there goes that sort of hope he had held in his chest.]

Was gonna say... if you have something that far down in ya, maybe it's like, touched your soul or somethin'? And then if you still had 'em with you, you could summon one and see what it looked like. Since they're like... swimmin' in the sea of your heart or some bullshit like that.

[Yeah, some bullshit like that.

He stretches his legs out in front of him, until he settles for hunching and bending with that familiar absolute shit-tier posture.]

Tch, Christmas Eve. Dude, that was... that was sure somethin' else.

[purrtagonist]

[a soft snort, because Akira sees the logic from which Ryuji is coming, but. . .]

Nah. I'm not sure it's anything that deep or serious.

[the more people he spoke with, the more Akira started to believe it was actually "robot tuberculosis," and not "space demons." he isn't sure if that's better or not. but either way. . . Ryuji's next comment draws him straight out of worry about this "dark, evil, heavy and wrong" presence and right into contemplating events from home]

[his mouth twitches into a tiny smile, and he nudges Ryuji's arm lightly]

It sure was. You still think about it?

[ryuji]

[Please, the scientific term is roberculosis. And yeah, his head was in the right place, but the application of it didn't quite pan out. It's cool, it was just a thought. And, say, what if he was some sort of sick? There's not much he could really do- he had a wealth of home remedies that his mom used to use on him to try to get him back in better shape, but he doesn't think biting into a lemon laced with honey is going to do much if he actually does contract something horrible.

He'll have to figure something out.

In the meantime, though, he can do this thing- sitting and chilling with Akira pretty much all day, just talking and doing whatever.]

Hm? Yeah. Like, a ton, actually. [The whole... not existing, the world merging with Mementos, their Last Heist, all that jazz.]

And then all the stuff that followed, too. I don't even know how many voice mails I musta left you while you were in the slammer.

[purrtagonist]

At least twelve. [comes Akira's quick answer, accompanied by the slightest quirk of a smile] I stopped counting after that.

[but he was counting. and the more Ryuji talks about Christmas Eve and the aftermath of same, the more Akira finds himself settling. there was something a bit. . . comforting, to know that the two of them were on the same page. it had taken him nearly two months to find out that he and Ann weren't, even though they had been able to quickly rectify that afterwards]

[huh. speaking of Ann. . .]

Hey. . . Ryuji. This is going to sound like a really weird question, but what month was it back home before you arrived here?