Floor 1, Room 3

[jokey]

AKIRA

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A couple days post-party

[dyingtohealyou]

[Knock knock time to pay up neighbor.]

[jokey]

[Oh, Akira knows what Ahito is here for, but he's going to pretend like he doesn't. From the other side of the door, Akira yells out:]

No one's home! Try again later.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Silence.

And then, a teeny tiny white kitten's paw scrabbling under the door as it mews pitifully.]

[jokey]

Huh? Again?

[No way. This has got to be some sort of trick, and yet Akira can't resist the siren call of a sweet little kitten. He opens the door in search of the needy little thing.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[There is in fact a cute little white kitten! It looks up at him and mews sweetly, bright green eyes and pink nose and all.

Anyway Ahito's going to take advantage of the opportunity to try to grab the edge of the door and open it more so he can, you know, get in.]

Wow, look at that, looks like you were home after all.

[The kitten, too, attempts to leisurely slink inside. Akira wouldn't shut the door when there's a chance of hurting an innocent kitten with it, right??]

[jokey]

[Gasp! A decoy kitten! Akira's so curious where the cat came from as he's sorely missing having a feline friend of his own, but he has to deal with Ahito first. He made him a promise, more or less...

Akira sighs and steps to one side, pulling the door open wide. Come in, cat and cat-coded guy.]

You're a cruel man, Ahito, luring me out of my lair with your secret weapon. Where'd you find the cat?

[dyingtohealyou]

[Thanks, he's just gonna stroll right in.]

What cat?

[He snaps his fingers, and the illusion of a cute kitten dissipates. What a rude boy.]

[jokey]

[ssssssSSSSSSSSSSIGH,]

That's what I figured. I'm not sure I want to reveal my secrets to a filthy cheater.

[So he says, but he's closed the door behind them and is wandering over to his kitchenette to fix a cup of coffee for Ahito.]

[dyingtohealyou]

Bold words from someone who decided to say they weren't home to begin with.

Or would you prefer I broke in through the window again?

[Casting about for a chair to grab for now.]

[jokey]

[Akira motions both to his comfortable leather couch and to the simple wooden chair tucked into his desk. Take your pick, Ahito. Wherever he goes, Akira follows shortly after to hand him his coffee.]

Neither, but let me guess: you actually want to hear my tale of woe and triumph from beginning to end.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He'll go ahead and take a seat at the couch this time, no delinquent sit while he enjoys coffee today apparently.]

Thanks. And that was the agreement, wasn't it?

[Sip.]

[jokey]

[Akira will join him, heaping himself onto the couch with a groan.]

Just making sure. Alright then. I told you I was arrested for assault, right?

[dyingtohealyou]

Framed for it too, yeah.

[jokey]

Did I tell you the guy I cheesed off was some bigwig politician with a boatload of skeletons in his closet?

[dyingtohealyou]

Politician, yes, skeletons in the closet? Nope.

What were they?

[jokey]

He has a savior complex a mile wide, but that's nothing strange for a politician. He thought he was chosen to run the country.

Not all politicians abuse their power to kill their enemies, but he did. I'm sure he would've disappeared me too if he thought it wouldn't cause a stir... and if he had the right weapon for the job.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Listening to this and taking a long drink.]

I'm starting to get the impression our nobility was surprisingly, well... noble, compared to other worlds.

[jokey]

Professional's the new noble. In either case, people act one way when they're in the public eye and another when they think consequences won't apply to them. I'm sure you've figured this out, but in the end, that politician lost all the money and status that meant to much to him.

[dyingtohealyou]

Good. Sounds like he deserved it.

Did you pull it off with that power you were given?

[jokey]

Ding ding. You know it.

[And if he sounds proud of himself, that's probably because he is.]

It would've been one thing if he'd only messed with me, but he had a plan to rule over Japan like his own personal island. I couldn't let that happen.

[dyingtohealyou]

How ambitious of him.

[Dryly.]

How does someone end up in that position in your world, anyway?

[jokey]

The same way people like that always end up in power: they're bold, confident, and can easily sway the masses with their sugar-coated words. Human nature doesn't really change.

[dyingtohealyou]

That can only get you so far in my world when everything's decided by lineage.

[jokey]

Being a nepo baby gets you pretty far in my world too, but most things aren't about lineage anymore. Does lineage mean anything more than being from a rich and powerful family in your world?

[dyingtohealyou]

I'm from a kingdom, so that's pretty much it. The royal family handles matters of the state, and the princess is the leader of the military - along with pretty much every other position of power, too.