pullmeoutalive | P5 Voicetest; Makoto Niijima, Ann Takamaki

[ Okay, so she hasn't been working out as diligently as Ryuji has, or been trying to do pull-ups in her bedroom, and Akira is definitely bigger and heavier than she is, but she's Takamaki Ann and she is not going to fall today!!

And neither is Akira, if she's got anything to say about it, so as he falters, Ann shifts and carefully wraps an arm around his waist to steady him. ]

It's okay. We'll take it slow.

...Sorry.

[that's the sort of thing that doesn't come easy to akira at all. to apologize is something he really only does when he has to—

though his friends come before he pride enough, enough so that he will in this case.

the truth of the matter is that putting weight on his right like feels awful right now, so he needs to use her as a bit of a crutch here. it's honestly kind of embarrassing to akira.

he's joker, leader of the phantom thieves. he moves about stealthily, he can jump from high distances and land on his feet like a cat, he can do backflips in the middle of battle—being battered and bruised and relying on one of his teammates to get up a dinky flight of stairs just feels bad, man.]

I was hoping you wouldn't have to see this. [but there's no hiding it now, even if...

well, he'd like to at least avoid telling her about his ribs.]

That's a funny thing to say. [ Ann says this lightly, even as she makes sure to take slow, ginger steps towards the stairs and onto them so Akira doesn't have to suffer any more than he already is. ]

I'm pretty sure you've seen us in some pretty bad states too. You know, one Garu spell too many on Ryuji, or that time Yusuke fell in love with a Shadow, or that time I got turned into a rat--

[ She's inwardly cringing. MOVING ON. ]

You've held us up and helped us out so many times, you know? Maybe I've been bad at it before, but isn't friendship supposed to be supporting each other on either end? You're my friend before you're my leader.

It's a little different.

[those things happened in the metaverse and were often rectified so easily. this happened in the real world, in a very real way without a diarahan to save him or a harisen recovery to snap him out of things.

right now, he's left pretty beaten and battered, with that limp he still wants to hide—

but it's also a matter of pride. he's their leader, and he can't turn that off even if they're friends first. he took this beating to protect the rest of them—he doesn't regret it, but he doesn't want them to see him in a state of suffering, either. he wants to be their strengthand their guide, even though he knows deep down beneath it all that they would drop everything to look after him in a heartbeat.

he just doesn't want ther to have to be situations like that at all.

that part, at least... he doesn't deny. it's too much energy to do that.]

My ego's more bruised than my ribs right now. [ha. ha.

(it's not really funny, and neither of them are laughing.)]

[ Ann can't really give him an entirely unimpressed look, given that she needs to stare ahead so she doesn't actually guide him into a wall instead of further up the steps. Progress is slow, and with Ryuji nowhere around to put himself to good use, Ann is stuck using most of her strength to carefully ease Akira onwards and upwards.

So for now, he just gets a sigh. ]

It's fiiine, I won't tell anyone how I singlehandedly carried you up the stairs.

[ Because that would be a lie. And if he's embarrassed because she'd seen through his paper-thin guise of Being Okay, well. That's just silly. ]

You can tell them. Just frame it as you working on your incredible superwoman strength.

[well, at least akira's dry sense of humor never seems to falter, even at times like this. but maybe that's because if he keeps making stupid quips, he can...

deflect.

it's an odd feeling, especially when he fundamentally knows that he can rely on ann and the other phantom thieves. in a lot of ways, he does; his trust in them is what allowed their plan to succeed—his injuries came from a snag in the plan that none of them could have really anticipated.

...even if maybe they should have.

but he's still their leader. he's joker, and he definitely bears th weight of that responsibility on his shoulders. it's why he allowed himself to be caught, it's why even with his memories hazy and that sick, drugged feeling that made up so much of that interrogation sitting over him, he didn't even once consider selling them out. he protected them, and he wants to keep protecting them.

even if sometimes, it means that his way of protecting them is also to try and keep them from worrying about him entirely too much. he's fine. his wounds will heal and they're finish their goals without a hitch, he's resolved to that.]

Nah, I'll save that announcement for when I can actually demonstrate it for real.

[ Ann, you will probably never be able to lift Akira.

Even though she really wishes she could right now, because she's sure maneuvering him upstairs isn't any level of comfortable for him when he's already in pain. But she does manage, and never has the sight of a mattress on a bunch of crates looked more beautiful than her own bed. Because that, at least, means he can finally lie down. ]

Here we are! You've been an excellent passenger.

[ Except for the part where he's still trying to act like he's fine, but Ann already knows better. Arguing that he isn't... well, that's not important right now. What is is that he gets the time to rest and the care he needs, even if she may not be the very best person for the job. ]

[it's definitely not any level of comfortable at all, that's for sure. much as he masks the pained expressions (or at least turns away or dips his head when he can't), there wasn't a single moment of that trip up the stairs that didn't hurt.

even as they make their way to the mattress and he can finally sit again, everything hurts. his leg aches, his ribs throb, his lungs feel like they're on fire because of the exertion it took to pull that off.

he sits there, unable to move for a moment; he needs to catch his breath and the thought of actually trying to make himself horizontal sounds terrible right now. but..

well, he'll give ann some credit here and stop denying the sort of shape he's in. for a moment.]

Just... keep this between us. [well, sans morgana, who shares a bed with him and futaba, who probably figured it out between her bugging his phone and sojiro's everything.]

[ Ann glances down at the bed, before she lowers herself down to perch on the edge of it, close enough that she can support him if he needs it, but also poised to move the instant he flops over. Or eases himself into a flop, more likely. ]

This isn't something I have to pinky promise, is it?

[ Her tone is casual enough, but the worry is plenty palpable in her eyes. Ann's never been a very good actress, after all. Honestly, if she had the choice, she'd have the whole gang back here to help take care of him, but Akira doesn't want this spreading too far.

... Which she thinks isn't going to work in his favor, even if she keeps her mouth shut, because Makoto is observant and Haru is nurturing and Yusuke is fussy and Ryuji is... well, even Ryuji's been worried. Still, she can probably hold her tongue on this one. ]

No pinky promises.

[he offers ann a weak smile, shaking his head to that. he knows she's worried—can can read it pretty plainly in her expression, after all.]

I know they'll all have suspicions. They'll get in touch and ask questions. [they're probably all going to figure it out and fuss in their own way.

if ann caught on easily enough to stay behind just for that alone, there's not getting around the fact that the others are going to pick up on it. they're probably just waiting—which, well, probably works out for the better right now.]

Just the part about getting up the stairs. And the walking, just don't bring up that. [she doesn't have to lie about him being hurt, he just doesn't want to spring those worries on them needlessly. the whole thing is unsettling for him too, after all.]

Okay, okay. You have my word, I won't say anything about the stairs or how heavy you are-- you've been putting on muscle, haven't you?

[ She thinks maybe Morgana had mentioned something about him and a treadmill, but that had been a while ago. But now that Akira's at least in a position where he can rest more easily, Ann can breathe a little more. ]

I've gotta up my game, then!

You could try out my workout routine.

[he jokes lightly, though he doesn't really expect ann to do anything like that. it's true though, that he's been putting on muscle; he's lean, but very toned as a result of their metaverse endeavors and his own personal workout.

he motions, slowly and vaguely towards the ceiling beams over the sofa and the work desk.]

Pull-ups. [among other things.]

...

[ Ann sure is staring dubiously at the ceiling. ]

Actuaaaaaaally, maybe I'll just kind of improvise on that.

Ah. Maybe I should have left a piece of cake up there.

[he's joking, but it would probably be a good motivator, right?]

... That'd be such a waste. Pass.

[ Leave it to their leader, still sassy while suffering. ]

[if he wasn't sassy, it would really be time to worry. he's clearly doing his best to give her reasons to worry less, even as he suffers.]

No? I thought it was a pretty good idea.

You know what's a better idea? Getting some rest.

[ She doesn't say it as firmly as Makoto would have, but... well, she does still mean it. ]

I didn't know there was a situation where you'd think anything was better than cake.

[look at that masterful avoidance of the topic.]

Please don't say it like I have a one-track mind. My friends are definitely more important.

Cake sounds pretty good right now, though.

[ Ann is just going to give him a Look. A rather tired one. ]

...What.

[don't give him that look...]

... I should let you rest. You've had a rough time.

[ Understatement. ]

It's okay.

[honestly, ann.]

I like it just fine this way. [even if he didn't really want her to catch on to his problems, being able to joke around a little and ignore them for a bit is nice. better than being alone and having time to stew over how mad the situation makes him, right?]

You're honestly not just saying that so I won't worry?

[ ... because Shiho was also like that. Still, she can't say her two friends are completely the same, and she's grateful for that. ]

P5 Voicetest; Makoto Niijima, Ann Takamaki

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