thephantomthief | IC INBOX

Man, I don't wanna think about fur ever again...

[ ryuji's been staring at the locked door for...a while now. there wasn't much to say when the cubes were updated and everything seemingly returned to normal.

nothing really feels normal anymore. ]

I dunno if it's really
safe
to do that.

You'll probably get some fur eventually. But it could also be wings or scales.

[Ren is outside that door too, just typing.]

I'm sure it will be fine.
I trust you.

Also I have a strong persona ;)

Still...

I tried to hurt you, you know? That ain't right, strong or not.

I know but sometimes here you end up doing things you don't like.

I mean I'm not even sure how I'll make it up to Ann with that...stunt I nearly pulled.

What's important is you know it was bad.

And Sanguis can get pretty aggressive. One time I got kidnapped by some friends who had turned into giant dragons, and they tried to raise me as a dragon child.

[ this would almost sound unreal if he hadn't already seen a bunch of weird stuff firsthand. now he knows nearly anything is possible here. ]

She'll get over it! She's seen way worse than that!

[ come to think of it, ryuji should speak with her as well. he's got bigger issues at hand, however, and it's kept him pacing his room for most of the day. ]

Sounds a lot better to me than just gettin' wailed on...

Maybe but it's still very rude in front of her. When you can't control what you do...it can be the worse.

[Ryuji please :(]

Well I fought one of them very violently once too...what I'm trying to say is, I can take it, and I know you weren't doing it on purpose.

That's easy for you to say when you're the one who's already been through this shit...

Even when I got crazy mad with a Shadow, I almost never turned on our team,

[ almost, with exceptions here and there, but never joker. ]

and definitely not on you.

I know.

[He already knows all of that. He wants to tell him more but...he's not sure how it would go. Maybe he should ask Ryuji first.]

What can I do to help?

Not much you really can do, man.

I just wanted to apologize...

[ like it's his fault, somehow, for getting stuck in a beast-cube at all. ]

Well I can give you tips and maybe introduce you to Kanji I'm sure he'd help you out.

Well, I still don't think you need to since I know you didn't mean it, but for the record, apology accepted.

Now get out before I make you ;)

*I'm kidding if you want to stay inside your room I won't force you.

[ this guy...

in hindsight it's easy for ryuji to take a look at himself and realize what got him so riled up. ren's well-meaning, always is, but every once in a while... ]

... [ ... ] ...

[ he almost wants to tell him to shove off right here. tips, however, sound a little interesting. ]

Tips?
Wuzzst?

Kanji Tatsumi is a friend that is also a Sanguis and has been here as long as myself.

Also he is dating....

...wait for it....

Naoto Shirogane*.

*If you don't know who she is, that's the original detective prince, aka an actual detective who didn't kill people. Which means, yes both of them are Persona users.

Right, but
we're talking 'bout tips, so...

[ or are there none...ryuji's starting to think he's been had, here... ]

Oh you mean from me.

Well the biggest tip is preparation a few days before the moons hit. For me it's loading up on a lot of food because Cordis can eat a buffet out of food. For you, it might be setting up a room that you can lock yourself in or a place you can go that's away from everyone. Especially if you go into a frenzy uh...yeah.

Fortunately it's not something that you'll never see coming, it's predictable.

You're the one who had 'em, dude.

[ knowing a little more about who kanji is has its own uses, of course. he has no idea what this detective prince stuff is about, though...in a world before goro akechi came along, he never paid attention to it. ]

Well, yeah, why'd you think I'm stuck in here?

Figured I'd get a head start and all that...

[ it's the end of the month. ryuji's remembered this much, at least, thanks to the notes he's held onto. ]

It won't work in here. Especially if you get your strength too.

[You're gonna break down the café.]

I think it's also partly because you're guilty of what happened.

Sanguis are all about being free and fighting and uh...other things...

[ oh, no. he wasn't scared before, but now... ]

Crap!

Uh
do I gotta go?

I'm gonna go!!

[ where's his stuff, where's his bag, he can do this! ]

Now you're panicking hold on, I'm coming in.

[The fun part about owning the place is you have the keys to everything.

And now after a single warning of a knock on the door, Ren is inside, the glasses slightly fogging and giving him an almost sinister air. Not on purpose, mind you.]

[ and to think, this entire time ryuji was never safe from the start...harsh... ]

Renren! [ in fairness, he's not. upset at the intrusion, but he is upset he's not already out of here and gone. he needs to hurry— ] I gotta go, dammit—

[ and he does.

for about a meter or less.

before getting tangled up in the strap of his bag, and falling down onto the floor.

perfect escape! ]

[For a single second, Ren stares at the scene before him, before disappearing in a flash and reappearing less than a few seconds later with two cans of soda. He kneels down to his friend and gently taps his head a few times trying to calm him down before attempting to pull him up and offer a soda.]

Can we talk?

[ for a split second, it almost looks like ryuji can get away with it—wait, no, ren's already back. his window of opportunity's open and shut right before his eyes. ]

... [ ... ] ... [ even if he wanted to say no to ren, doing so is immensely difficult. he can at least sit up on his own, though he goes no further than this.

ryuji lives here now. on the floor. this is his life. ]

... [ can we talk, like it isn't what they've been doing. ] Thought we were talkin'... [ except now the intimidation level's cranked up from a five to a solid eight. ]

[He plops to the ground.]

Yeah, but we weren't having a drink while doing so. It's nicer to see each other too.

[The last thing he wants is to be intimidating...]

[ maybe for you, he wants to say, but being mean and being petty is what put him in these metaphorical shoes from the beginning.

so in the absence of saying anything nice, ryuji says nothing at all, picking at the tab on a can he hasn't popped yet.

at length, he begins to open his mouth: ] Look, I... [ and stops. he can't do it, this is why he went into hiding once the fur had melted and he shrunk back down. he can't face ren after a string of stupid mistakes, can't tell him to leave, either. ]

[Part of him knows. But Ren also knows that hiding and being bitter will just continue to make things worse. He's ready to rip off that band-aid and help him in any way he can.]

...I know you feel guilty...and....look I'm just happy you're around, you know that, right? The last time I saw you was months ago. And even if that you then isn't the you of now, it still hurt a lot when you disappeared.

So I'm asking. Please don't run...but if you do, I promise I won't chase after you.

... [ ouch. if this is supposed to make ryuji better, it's kind of having the opposite effect. perhaps the wires between them are simply getting crossed. ] Wow, man...

[ what do you say to it? all he can do is shoot from the hip, as it were, like always: ]

I just didn't wanna trash the place, not like I wouldn't come back...

[ he isn't. pouting, because ryuji doesn't do this (it's uncool), but he might be on the verge, sprawled out all over the floorboards helplessly. ]

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