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[earphoned]

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[earphoned]

I get it. Actually... [ A pause. Why this is so difficult, it shouldn't be. ] Someone from back home was here when I arrived. But he's gone now.

[ Did you see that Shinji... ]

Do you want to tell me about them or not really? This is not a museum.

[infiltrationtools]

[Akira did not see that Shinji, but he nods quietly.]

[At the second part, though, he looks off to the side, almost compulsively checking the area when Minato brings it up. No one seems to be paying too much attention to them, aside perhaps from a waiter who is watching in fear from the other side of the room.]

I can tell you about them. I just didn't want to tell you about... you know. Why I knew so much about museum heists.

[You can put two and two together, can't you?]

[earphoned]

It's fine, we both know you watch too many movies.

[ Minato doesn't plan on getting too attached to this official version, but he's willing to roll with it for the time being. ]

So there's Yusuke and...?

[infiltrationtools]

Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Futaba, Haru, and Makoto.

That's the group. Not all of us go to the same school, or are in the same grade, but we all kind of hang around together.

All of us have a Persona, too, so there's that.

[earphoned]

So you have to deal with the shadows too...

[ His assumption might be wrong, but it's difficult to imagine someone awakening their Persona for no reason, just like that. ]

I hope you meet someone from home soon. I can imagine that you're a fun bunch.

[infiltrationtools]

[Akira nods. So, so many Shadows...]

Maybe I'm biased. But I think they're all really great.

[Don't lie, you're definitely biased— but at that moment, the first round of food arrives, and Akira's attention is promptly ripped away. It's almost comical, how quickly his head whips around.]

[earphoned]

Lucky you.

[ Not that Minato himself doesn't think his friends are the best. It's just...been a while. Lost in thoughts, he doesn't even notice the waitress coming with their food at first. Even with the plate in front of him, Minato doesn't start eating right away.

But when he does...he sure stuffs his face with two slices of pizza at the same time. ]

That's in case you start stealing my food.

[ Speaking with your mouth full isn't too polite, man. ]

[infiltrationtools]

[....did he say something wrong? He probably said something wrong.]

[Akira goes quiet after that, just reaching for some of the pizza and breadsticks.]

I'm not gonna steal food off your plate, Minato, chill.

[What's left on the serving dish is first come first serve, though.]

[earphoned]

That's the kind of thing people say before stealing your food, you know. I'm not gonna steal food off your plate, Akira.

[ There's a reason why he's not telling him to chill. ]

Thanks for coming along.

[infiltrationtools]

[He was being serious, though... this is just getting more and more awkward. For a while it was fine, he was able to talk to Minato like normal, but that's starting to fall apart. He chews on some pizza for a little bit, mostly to avoid having to speak immediately.]

...you invited me, so.

[He shrugs.]

I'm... sorry. About everything.

[earphoned]

[ The thing is, Akira didn't have to tag along. And yet, he did. ]

From now on, if you say sorry then you owe me one drink. [ Minato offers him a smile. ] I'm sorry, too. I just started wondering how my friends are doing.

[infiltrationtools]

[Instead of going into his hair, interestingly, Akira's hand goes to his other wrist, where he starts pulling on the sleeve of his sweater.]

I— yeah. [He nearly said it again.] I've been getting better. Mostly just hanging out with Yusuke the past couple of days.

[Why is he still feeling so weird about all of this? And why does Minato seem so altogether unaffected?]

It's getting better.

[earphoned]

[ Because he's exceptionally good at bottling things up :) ]

Distractions are good. [ Minato was the person to drag Shuichi into a surprise camping trip on the edge of the island after what went down with Sosyne, after all. ] I'm glad Yusuke has your back. We can hang out together some time, too.

[ If he'd like to. Well, they're doing it right now, but Minato was the one offering to go out. As far as he knows, he might be forcing Akira to do something he doesn't want again. ]