[closed] said the joker to the thief duhuhuh

[hellrisen02]

WHO: Duo Maxwell/Shinigami, Akira Kurusu/Joker
WHERE: a church and pantry in Maurtia Falls
WHEN: waves hands vaguely probably sometime in June but shh
WHAT: An alliance of idealist sneaky (former??) children
WARNINGS: shooouldn't be any



[When Duo'd had his little talk with Adachi, from the moment he sent the message, he had always intended for it to be merely a manner of connecting with the Phantom Thieves. It had taken him long enough to set the inevitable meeting in motion- maybe too long, he thinks, his eye always on the movements of the former Constellation. But once his message was passed on, he left it entirely on them to take the initiative and come to him at their own pace. If they weren't interested, they weren't interested. And that was that.]

[He wasn't sure how the operated; if they were a loose gathering of like-minded, independent thinkers like himself and his fellow Gundam pilots had been, never vocalizing their organization under a single banner but simply falling into it out of necessity and mutual understanding, mutual ideals. Or maybe this was all the doing of one charismatic person, recruiting as they saw fit towards their goal. He had done all the snooping he could, but if there was one thing they had been decently mum about, it was their own goals.]

[Hopefully, their goals aligned. It'd be a shame to have to stop them.]

Comments

[crimeboy]

[The Phantom Thieves had never worked alone. Even in Tokyo, they'd needed help- medicine to heal the injuries they sustained in the metaverse, weapons, information, strategy. So while Akira was decently cautious about meeting someone with the technical know-how to pique Futaba's interest and prior connection to Constellation, he knew her could use more assistance.

He showed up at the church, looking for '02', clad in his black thief outfit and adorned with his mask, if only to preserve some amount of his identity.

But he wasn't Batman or anything, and so as soon as he was sure there was just one person left in earshot, he simply approached the man he suspected of being the one Adachi had told them about.]

Hello. Are you '02'?

[hellrisen02]

[Duo wasn't hard to find, if you knew who you were looking for, which was exactly why he'd left it up to them to come to him. By this time in his old age Duo's got a sense of when he's being watched, when he's being followed, so as that feeling creeps up ever stronger on him, he purposely manages to casually stroll himself to a corner office inside the church building, as if busying himself with some paperwork. In truth, he's hidden himself away from the rest of the world now- save that one presence he can feeling making the hairs stand at the base of his neck.]

[He turns towards the voice he's been expecting to call out to him- young, so that answers who it probably is before he's even gotten a look at him- and rests his eyes on... a mask.]

[And then gives the rest of his outfit a once over with a raised eyebrow, pursing his lips.]

Superheroes... [He shakes his head, pushing open the office door.] Come on in, I've been waitin' for you guys!

[crimeboy]

[Thankfully, Adachi had kind of kept Akira in the loop as far as knowing how to find the guy. Having informants was nice, and that was of course why he was here to meet this guy.

He actually laughs a little at the appraisal of his outfit and the almost tired way that he sounded upon simply saying 'superheroes'. Akira paused for a moment as the door was offered to him, assessing the risk versus the reward here. He had to give trust to get it though, right? Hm...

Akira decides that the privacy was more important than the possibility that this guy was rotten. Adachi had vouched for him, and so Akira heads into the office, hands in his pockets as he went in.]

I hear you're offering to help us...?

[hellrisen02]

[That's right. Duo doesn't let it show on his face- not specifically, anyway, but he sees it plain on the boy's- the Phantom Thief running the risk-reward of following him inside through his mind, and settling on trust. That was good; he aware, he was thinking about it, but he understood the necessity. Trust and wariness were both good qualities.]

[He gestures to a comfy seat across the desk and flops into his own chair; a nondescript office not belonging specifically to him, but rather used by whatever clergy required use of an office in the pantry. He rests his chin in his hand, his posture casual, almost a slouch. He had the physical appearance of a man in his 60's, but by no means much of the mannerisms.] Hm. A decent opening...

Let's start with this, though: determining factors, right? Namely... Who's us? [He already knows.] And who's helping who? Alliance is a two-way street, you know.

[Haha get it, 02, come on] ...Alright, alright. At least gimme a name, first. You know at least one of mine.

[crimeboy]

[Considering Akira's methods were definitely not legal, and he'd been burned before, it was only natural to be wary. And yet of course he can't help but be trusting. At the least, he knew how to recover when someone betrayed him.

This was still a very strange way of going about things. He didn't often meet with people who were not already allies, though Futaba had not only known who they were when she contacted them, but was a complete unknown at the time- and she turned out to be one of their most valuable assets.]

Well, that depends on what's being offered and what your goals are. The Phantom Thieves aren't hitmen or hired goons, so if you're expecting to just send us after your enemies, you're going to have to have a really good reason for us to want to.

[Basically- he's not going to just be told who to go after and then just do it unquestioningly, but if they're wicked... they'd at least investigate it. It takes a moment, but Akira does take a seat after a moment.]

You can call me Joker.

[hellrisen02]

[Duo gives a half-amused reaction to everything Akira says, which seems to be his continual state of being, and so is probably not very surprising- but the corner of his mouth does curl into a slight cringe at his name.] Better you than the other one, am I right? --I'm right, trust me on this.

[Duo leans back in his chair, finally, going from a slouch forward to a slouch backwards.] Pleeeease, as if a Shinigami needs hitmen. Well anyway, we seem to have the same interests in terms of who the enemy is, me and you guys do. I mean, starting off with Dooku wasn't exactly an insignificant move. But I like that- you guys mean business. Sitting around talking about justice is empty if you can't put your movement where your mouth is.

[Their methods? ... Well, that was something else, but he could talk about that after they established an understanding.] About that... What do you plan on doing now that he's free to come back for revenge pretty much whenever he wants?

[crimeboy]

[Akira doesn't looks as amused, though he's not really grim-faced at it all either. Seems he didn't get his codename for a tendency to crack jokes.

Though he does that plenty when he's not in this kind of a situation.] I'll take your word for it.

[His posture isn't rigid, but it is attentive. He wasn't quite relaxed here on his own, despite the things he was capable of. Satanael was likely able to protect him, but he couldn't be too sure.] Dooku was an enemy of many, and not always for the right reasons. However, we do not take kindly to those who lie and use their status to manipulate and subjugate others. It likely benefit not only the good people to have stolen his heart, but also those who fancy themselves his rivals.

[Akira was sure of that, well enough. But it had done what he wanted it to. Constellation was no longer a 'pro-imPort' organization, instead being seen as the terrorist organization it was, and those good people who had been involved were now informed on what they'd been roped into.]

Honestly though... we've never had anyone 'come back' from having their heart stolen. We're doing our best to take precautions, but this is a new experience for us. [He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly at that. They were well organized for the most part, and surprisingly experienced now, but there were always new things to learn.]

[hellrisen02]

[Hm. Maybe he isn't used to these kinds of in-person negotiations? It was smart to treat any imPort on first meeting as a threat, so he couldn't fault any wariness. You could never know what powers they had up their sleeve.]

Yeah, and trust me, I've heard the scritching and scratching about of trying to fill the shoes he and the other Stars left behind... well, whatever is going on with the remnants, it's hard to say if it'll hold up. I wasn't privy to everything going on throughout the organization, but it seems most key players are out- what pieces there are left for a rival to pick up may not hold. [Duo's eyes turn elsewhere for a moment.] Dooku was a good leadership figure, I'll give him that. There's a power in charisma that can't be discounted.

[Duo's fingers tap on the arm of his chair as he deliberates on asking further questions about the heart-stealing business, but ultimately he allows it to hang. It would be better to simply observe from the inside, he thinks, the next time they strike.] That's the fun part of a new universe, isn't it? All the rules you've lived by have changed. ...That's sarcasm, by the way.

...Do you mind me asking how long you've been at this? [He holds up a hand, almost immediately, to preempt.] --That's not why I'm asking.

[crimeboy]

[No, this was really strange for Akira, honestly. He didn't do negotiations like this in person, ever. The one time he even 'negotiated' with someone who knew who he was, it was Futaba, and done over the phone in text. Of course, he circumstances were different.

Akira still didn't even know what this guy wanted out of the deal.]

A year before we arrived here, with five major targets who made media attention, and innumerable smaller targets. We've been here since June of last year, and have only successfully made waves with Dooku, but we have not been resting in the meantime.

[He frowns a little more at that. The whole new universe thing is weird. It really makes his powers... different. Things feel messier in some ways, but better in other ways.]

So. Two years then, I guess is the answer.

What are your goals in contacting us, other than to point out that someone's lips are a little too loose...? What did you want to meet me for?

[hellrisen02]

[Pretty impressive, all of that. It wasn't taking down a starsystem-wide dictatorship, but hey. Baby steps. And they had sure accomplished more in one year than most imPorts did.]

[He flicks a glance towards the boy at his question, though there's a pause before he answers.][Duo leans back in his chair, staring off at a point over Akira's head, and makes a face like he's trying to deliberate how much he should tell.] ...You guys're what, like. Sixteen? Or something. No that's right, you had birthdays and you said a year. Maybe eighteen going off'a your timeline.

Anyway, I was already like, retired by then. Or I was supposed to be. Things didn't really... work out that way. [He frowns to himself, brow flattened in a sort of tired way before vanishing again.] It's kind of a stereotype, young people being the force of change for better in the world, but things end up like that for a reason. When the world's at its worst, kids who've seen it the worst are the ones who know the best... They can see things with unclouded eyes, they haven't formed their biases and prejudices yet, they haven't got scared yet. People who are scared are cowards. They make decisions to save their own hides. They try to cling onto power at the cost of anyone around them.

So I guess... the point of my long-winded story is that yes, I'm really just that altruistic. [He flashes a grin again, meeting Akira's unsure expression.] But I guess since I got the impression you guys were too, that's why I contacted you. And I guess, it helps that you've already proven yourselves competent enough to get something done.

[He waves a hand] My goals are... the same as yours, I think, if I've been observing you guys under the right lens. Peace, and stability, and that the kinds of cowards that try grind others down to meet their own ends get the comeuppance they deserve. As... frustrating as that is to achieve under this government.