[Action]

[southpaw_senpai]

It had been a little while since the incident at the Midnight Channel, and a lot had happened in the intervening time. Mitsuru had been sent back home already, leaving Shinji, Junpei, Minato and him to try and get settled into the city without her. A rather herculean task considering of the group Mitsuru had always been the responsible one. Akihiko had attempted to step up, but the wounds he recieved from Shinji's shadow had slowed him down. However, now that he was confident that everyone was settling in and he was able to walk across town without pulling out some stitches, he made his way over to the Attleton Guardian's office.

He didn't want to be there, but he didn't really have much of a choice. They deserved to know what was going on. When he opened the door, he was wearing a surprisingly stylish suit, in stark contrast to the look of the shirtless super hobo that had gone charging through the deputies.

"Um... hello? My name is Akihiko Sanada. Guardian Ondore wanted to talk with me regarding the recent incident..."

Comments

[captain_by_the_book]

"I understand," though it feels like his actual understanding of Akihiko's thought process remains mediocre at best. He still has a problem with his chosen actions, has kind of accepted already that the best they can hope for is to agree to disagree. This must be how General Draven felt when dealing with him disobeying orders. "Please keep in mind for the future that actually introducing yourself would take less time than a fight, in which you run the risk of being incapacitated or imprisoned." He sighs. "But the fact that you're here now makes me hope you understand that now."

Cassian falls silent again. This is probably the time when he should admit to some wrongdoing of his own. It grates when he still believes himself wholly in the right here, and he knows General Draven would never back down in his stead, but in the end it has to be about duty. They need good working relations with the resident experts on TV World.

"We should have been the ones to contact you and the other experts Blaze had named."

[southpaw_senpai]

Akihiko sighs as well but shakes his head. The whole thing was a mess and his charging in headlong into the fight only served to make things worse. "There was no real way of you knowing myself or my friends were even in this world. The last time I was here, it wasn't for very long, and I had no idea Blaze had left any kind of report. As much as I don't regret my actions, I fully admit I could've made better decisions. It's just..."

He trails off for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he should explain things further about his relationship to Shinjiro, ultimately deciding Cassian deserves a full explanation.

"Shinji and I grew up together, we met at the same orphanage and were inseparable for years. My sister died in the fire that claimed the orphanage and Shinji was the only family I had left, and I was forced to hold him in my arms as he bled out in a back alley after taking two bullets to the chest protecting someone who had called him out there to kill him..."

[captain_by_the_book]

For the first time, his iron determination softens a little. Cassian may not be a man who is very willing to see shades of grey between right and wrong, but he knows a lot about being scared to lose what little you have left in life - and the lengths you would go to to protect it.

He sighs heavily and runs a hand through his hair. "I can't say it's alright. But I can..." Another moment, an internal struggle, before he nods sharply. "I understand your actions."

Deep down he suspects he might have done the same, he knows he has made similar choices to shoot - unlike Akihiko, to kill - when he could have tried to talk.

"I wish we had met under different circumstances."

[southpaw_senpai]

Akihiko nods, sighing a bit. "I wish we had too. Especially considering the presence of the Shadows here. If you like, I can give you the names and contact info of the people from my world that have the same power as I do. There's four of us - that I'm aware of anyway - right now, including the leader of our own campaign against the Shadows. We've had extensive experience fighting them and I'm sure the others would be happy to deal with any Shadow related incidents that would arise in the future."

[captain_by_the_book]

"I would appreciate that. Blaze left us a list of people he trusted and should be given access to the subarchway, but it'd be good to know which of these are actually here, or which others we can turn to if there's a repeat."

He gets out Blaze's files from underneath a pile of other files and checks for a name. He gives Akihiko a scrutinizing look. "You don't happen to know anything about a Tohru Adachi, do you?"

[southpaw_senpai]

Akihiko shakes his head.

"I only know the name, and what was in the reports that came across Mitsuru's desk. I know he was here for a time before, but I've never met him or even know what he looks like."

He pulls his device as he brings up the contact information for the other SEES members. "There's myself, Shinji should be fine to help us after a few days of recovery, then there's Junpei Iori, and Minato Arisato. Minato was our squad leader in our world. He has a unique ability in that he can house multiple Personas and shift what he can do to better counter our enemy. We all would be more than happy to deal with any incidents the Shadows might pose."

[captain_by_the_book]

Cassian takes notes while Akihiko speaks, jotting down the names to later be added to Blaze's file. When he's done with the names he looks up again, gaze on Akihiko once more.

"Yes, I would appreciate that cooperation. How about this, we secure the subarchway, and yes we'll have to think of stronger security measures, but if there's a breach next time we'll inform you right away. Your people handle what happens inside the archway and have full authority over that, we handle the outside as we did last time."

[southpaw_senpai]

Akihiko nods, glad that they can come to a good compromise for both sides.

"That'd be fine. And I'll keep you updated on anyone that comes in that has a Persona, or if we find out anyone else here has one. I'll be honest, it could be that there are others from our world that has the power that we're not aware of. My friends and I thought we were the only ones until we bumped into a handful of students out in the country."

[captain_by_the_book]

"I understand, and I'm not going to hold it against you if more show up or others are revealed. Just share what intelligence you have with us, that's all I ask, and I'll do the same."

He stands up, offering his hand to Akihiko. "I think we have made a good compromise for how things have started out between us."