[ Akechi watches the displeased look that comes over her, having put that information out in the open. wonders, a little, at her having told him at all. she could have dismissed it as hypothetical, and she surely knows that he wouldn't have pressed for a confession; he's always been vague, even playing the detective, and he only has to be more so now, when he's unwilling to offer anything about his own life from before the station. she didn't have to tell him the whole truth of it.
but she did tell him, and it's obvious that she doesn't like the request she has to make for secrecy. it's a vulnerability. emotional blackmail, however, is not a currency he's ever dealt in. he's not interested in it. and what good would it do him here, where he's not only alone but trapped against any enemies he might make, where there's nothing to reach for but thin threads of connections, and even then, grasping those only to keep himself secure?
a smile crosses his face — fake, only because it's a wry kind of smile, no real mirth in it. ]
I won't. [ he doesn't need emotional blackmail, or the exchange of petty favours. what Akechi has always prioritised is manipulation. ] After all, I'm the same as you.
[ never mind that it is an honest relief to be able to say that out loud to someone he's fairly certain will understand it, without preaching to him about hope or telling him that he's giving up. never mind that, if it's Erika, he's comfortable sharing this with her for no gain at all. it's manipulation. it will always be manipulation, because if it weren't, she wouldn't stay. ]
no subject
but she did tell him, and it's obvious that she doesn't like the request she has to make for secrecy. it's a vulnerability. emotional blackmail, however, is not a currency he's ever dealt in. he's not interested in it. and what good would it do him here, where he's not only alone but trapped against any enemies he might make, where there's nothing to reach for but thin threads of connections, and even then, grasping those only to keep himself secure?
a smile crosses his face — fake, only because it's a wry kind of smile, no real mirth in it. ]
I won't. [ he doesn't need emotional blackmail, or the exchange of petty favours. what Akechi has always prioritised is manipulation. ] After all, I'm the same as you.
[ never mind that it is an honest relief to be able to say that out loud to someone he's fairly certain will understand it, without preaching to him about hope or telling him that he's giving up. never mind that, if it's Erika, he's comfortable sharing this with her for no gain at all. it's manipulation. it will always be manipulation, because if it weren't, she wouldn't stay. ]