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[secrowtary]

Comments

[actus]

[ ughhhhhhh. he can only rant so much at ann. ]

i know. i get that. it's just...
he's hurt people im really close to. and i can't forget that. it's hard to pretend i don't know.
sleeping with one eye open sucks.

[secrowtary]

Are those people here?
And do you think he's up to something? Maybe he'll show his true colors soon enough and you won't have to pretend anymore.

[ He's low-key trying to find out if it's Haru, clearly. ]

1/2

[actus]

what im about to send you is top secret. super classified.

[actus]

she doesn't know what he did. or that he hurt her. ann and i are going to tell her. just... it's not safe to yet.
the last thing we need is for him to go off the deep end again and try and kill me.

1/2

[secrowtary]

[ This is a lot to process, especially since he doesn't know the whole story. It's difficult to tell what made a bigger impact on him—both Akira and Haru are important to Hibiki, after all. His reply doesn't come right away, as he blankly stares at the ceiling, trying to calm himself down. There are so many questions he'd like to ask, but it might not be the best idea to flood Akira with them now.

There's something he needs to make sure of right away, though. ]

[secrowtary]

Your secret is safe with me, I promise.
Do you think he might be after you or your friends even here?

[actus]

he never was out to hurt haru or ann. they're fine. i promise.

[secrowtary]

If he even lays a finger on you, I'll...

[ What is he exactly going to do? Why does this upset him so much...? ]

[actus]

i mean it can't be worse than trying to kill me two times.

[ he probably shouldn't have said that but he's really annoyed with the whole situation. ]

10 minutes later

[secrowtary]

You'll be staying at my place for the time being, I've decided.

[ Does Akira even get to say anything on this subject and why not??? ]

[actus]

wait what.

[ usually he'd be ecstatic but this isn't exactly how he pictured it happening. ]

[secrowtary]

I mean it. Forget about what I've said before.

[ It's not like Hibiki changed his mind on that—it still feels a bit rushed, but given the circumstances, it might be better for Akira's safety if he stayed with someone. Or that's what he thinks, anyway. ]

[actus]

[ that just annoys akira even more. blame akechi for him already being in a bad mood. he knows hibiki is only trying to help, but... ]

i can take care of myself.

[secrowtary]

I don't recall saying that you cannot. Are you going to take up on my offer or not?

[actus]

[ akechi's dangerous, he knows that much, and staying with someone is going to put them in potential danger, too. not like he's expecting akechi to pull anything yet. but ... he can't imagine he'll just quietly bide his time forever. ]

... it's better for me to stay in my hut.

[secrowtary]

It's not!

[ Baby's first exclamation mark in a telepathic conversation. ]

It's not...I can take care of myself too. Who do you take me for?

[actus]

[ oh my god. ]

i don't know.
all i know is he wants me dead and i don't want him dead.

[secrowtary]

You should know that I don't want you dead. Neither do your friends, I believe. But if you're turning me down, so be it.

[ He's surprisingly worked up about this, but as much as he'd rather drag Akira here, there's nothing much Hibiki can do about without the boy's approval. ]

1/2

[actus]

hibiki i know you don't. that's not what this is about.

[ he sighs... ]

[actus]

can we meet up?

[secrowtary]

Only if you come over to my place.

[ He doesn't even bother with being subtle. ]

[actus]

[ ugh..... ]

just for tonight.
be there in ten.

[secrowtary]

[ What if he bought the handcuffs. What if. Maybe it's not safe to come there. ]

I'm waiting.

[actus]

[ then he'd require certain distractions. anyway, he shows up as promised, hoodie and all, hood tugged up over his head. it's been his thing ever since he was suspected dead in tokyo. whenever he was feeling awkward or out of place, he tugged the hoodie up and kind of disappeared into the world. this is no exception. so with a slight hesitation, he knocks. ]

[secrowtary]

[ Hibiki doesn't open the door for him right away. Keeping himself in check during a telepathic conversation was much easier, but here comes the real thing. He takes a deep breath and welcomes him with quirked up lips. It shouldn't be a revelation that it's a forced one—how could he smile after learning all these things. ]

Hey, come in. [ There's no need to beat around the bush, probably. ] What do you want to talk about?