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[ All it took was one word from Akira for Ann to come rushing home as fast as she could. She bursts through the door, quickly kicking off her shoes before charging towards the living room, following Yusuke's voice. ]

Yusuke? Yusuke! Oh my god, your face.

[ Her eyes widen when she sees him. No offense or anything, but it looks pretty horrible right now, even with the bandages covering it. She sits on the edge of the couch, her eyebrows pinching together as she gets a closer look at his face, the edges of the burns peeking out from underneath the gauze. She's dying to ask him what happened, but first things first— ]

Here, let me fix it.

[ spams dia ]

[ Yes, yes. His face is all shades of messed up, he's aware, though thankfully the worst of it isn't exposed to open air or in plain view. They've seen their face share of injury before, but it was different in the Metaverse, like everything was a degree removed from reality

He regrets that she has to see it at all, but her magic douses the wounds with cool relief, and slowly the burns shrink back behind the bandages as he sighs. ]

...Thank you.

[ He reaches up, carefully hooking a thumb under all the dressing to try and lift it as the wounds recede. No dice—seems that Akira might've done too thorough a job. He searches blindly for a knot to untie instead, speaking quietly in the meantime. ]

Don't overexert yourself. [ She's probably had a long day too—they all have. ]

[ She shoots him a peeved look. She's fine!! It's been a long day, sure, but he's probably had the longest—not to mention he's the one that's actually injured here. All she has to do is spam Dia. ]

Hey, stop it.

[ She smacks his hand away and takes over for him, carefully feeling around the bandages and searching for a way to unwind them. Her bedside manner might leave a little bit to be desired, but her touch is gentle as she picks at the knot and starts unraveling the dressing, slowly revealing his face. ]

What happened?

[ Now that she thinks about it, the burns were where his mask usually sits... ]

[ He blinks a few times, squinting until he readjusts to the light and a bleary image shines through the last few loops of bandages. Ann's always been radiant, and she really is a sight for sore eyes now. ]

They used some sort of poison to ward us off from getting close. It must've reacted when I called my persona.

[ He traces out where the lower lip of his mask would rest against his face, skin no longer shriveled and cracked as Ann's magic courses through it. There's remnants of whatever medicine Akira used, and a mild sting beneath that, but she's healed through the worst of it all. No major harm done, though that's only due to his friends' diligence. Even if it weren't, ]

It's but a small price to pay to save the people being held there. [ He frowns, whatever fever he's still had starting to break with each spell, thoughts and realizations slowly creeping back to equilibrium. ] Though I'm not certain how successful we were...

[ Poison? She didn't pay attention enough in chemistry to even begin to guess what kind of Persona-chemical reaction could've caused this type of burn.

While he speaks, she leans in a little closer to inspect his face, watching as her spells slowly heal his skin. With the bandages gone, she finally notices that he looks a little flushed—or is that just from the burns? Either way, she gently brushes his hair aside and places her palm over his forehead, her frown deepening a little. ]

What do you mean? Like...

[ It hits her then, and she can't bring herself to finish the sentence. Already, she can feel the Dia spamming start to take its toll, her energy flagging—but she keeps going anyway, until he's all healed up. ]

Was it that bad?

[ After the repeated dia doses, the burns have shrunk away to nothing, though he still looks wan and troubled beneath it all. It's not like they need to act tough around each other, and Ann is an especially attuned listener, as sensitive as she is fiery. But it's difficult to figure out what to say, and how to say it—he gently shakes off her hand, sinking back against the couch. ]

Worse than I could have anticipated.

[ He fusses idly with the now-defunct bandages, smoothing them into folds where they've fallen in his lap, as though keeping his hands busy might sort out his mind at the same time. Finally, ] They were... tortured. Some of them killed. Who's to say the others aren't victim to the same atrocities...?

[ Sandra, Percival, Cain, amongst so many others. Still out there, fates in limbo while he's laying around on a couch and she's stuck nursing him. ]

[ She can't help it—she winces, hearing him talk about it, her expression pinching in sympathy. Her gaze lingers on his hands in his lap, watching him fold the bandages, before rising up towards his face again.

She wishes she could've been there with him. Or Akira. She wishes she could've helped more than this. It's fine when you're in control, invading Palaces and stealing Treasure and calling all the shots, when the only casualties are Shadows and everything feels dreamlike and unreal. But this is real. ]

Hey. [ Her voice is gentle, to match the smile just touching the corners of her mouth. ] I'm sure the others are okay. Everyone is doing everything they can to help, right?

[ It might not be the truth, but Yusuke is a naturally melancholic soul. She feels like the only thing she can really give him right now is a little optimism, even if it's cock-eyed. ]

You did everything you could too. It sucks, but we can only wait and see what happens now.

[ It seems a little too idealistic, but she's not wrong. Everyone was scouring the city, and that's an effort that shouldn't be taken lightly. The results are—infuriatingly—out of their hands, and there's nothing to be done about that either, not without a metaverse to jump into and wreck their usual havoc on.

It makes sense when all the cards are laid out rationally, though he looks just as defeated as before. Sadness is a hard emotion for him to shake; he at least makes an effort to sound level. ]

...Seems so.

[ (Relatively) rejuvenated, he swings his legs over the side of the couch, though he doesn't have a destination in mind yet. They were still putting the house together, so while most of the furniture is set up (though there's some mishaps—the kotatsu is fine, but some of the chairs are more... avant garde), everything's in a bit of disarray. ]

Though there isn't much to be done here, either.

[ Disarray is probably a good word for it. While he shifts, her gaze lingers on him for a moment, her brow furrowed with worry. Yusuke is hard to read, but she's gotten good enough at it to see the subtle fluctuations in his mood. Now, he inches forward one step at a time—maybe not even that much. Though she understands that too—these kinds of things are not so easy to move past.

At least Yusuke is simpler in other things. He needs rest, if he can get it—and maybe some food. Or is that her own self talking? ]

Don't worry about it. Just get under the kotatsu—it'll be good for you!

[ ...How.

In the meantime, she gets to her feet and starts heading for the kitchen. ]

I'll make some tea.

[ He's not sure what the medical benefits of burrowing under the kotatsu is, gazing over at Ann a little hopelessly as she darts off to get them some tea. If she says it'll help though, may as well give it a shot. It's not like the kotatsu is much of a journey, and he sticks his legs under the covers as he drapes himself over the tabletop. ]

I could go for green tea, if there's any left.

[ He may feel like he's been hit by a semi, both physically and emotionally, but that won't stop him from being picky about his drinks. He watches her from where he's sitting. ]

...Is this how you typically cope, Ann?

[ He's genuinely curious. Maybe this is just how the Average Man deals with a bad time. ]

[ Green tea it is. She putters around the kitchen, taking her time—pouring hot water from the coffee maker, brewing the tea, adding a little lemon and honey (okay, more honey) to her cup. While she works, she makes a soft humming noise in response to his question.

The first thing that pops into her head is Kamoshida, and that excruciating length of time before they'd changed his heart. It all seemed to blur together into a haze, even now. She'd simply gone through the motions like a marionette, each day a growing line of indignities, and at night she would bury herself under her covers to shut the world out and wish it would all just end.

But that isn't her anymore. Now— ]

Yeah. I mean, I like to eat a lot of sweets and stuff too [ not that that's too different from normal ] and maybe watch some dramas or play games.

[ While she speaks, she brings their two cups of tea into the living room and places them on the table. Then she crawls under the kotatsu with him, her legs stretched out underneath the blanket. ]

You probably like to paint, right?

[ The transition between everything today was jarring, but the fragrance of tea and idle conversation is still a welcome respite. He warms his palms against the mug as the kotatsu melts away the aches in his legs. It's all a comfort, cozy, and most importantly, distracting. ]

Right.

[ They're both pretty predictable, though he tries not to sequester himself in his room to paint his feelings away as often as he used to. His old pieces were just bastions of anger, bottled frustration. Sometimes he'd wonder how long it'd take for people to notice, how many of Madarame's galleries that he'd fill before anyone sensed his unease. Though Ann had spotted it right away, he doubts others would be the same way.

But things are better now. There's room for the both of them under the kotatsu, where they can mope and drink tea and natter away instead, maybe argue about the proper sweets for the occasion and end up having both anyway. ]

Though I'm not opposed to expanding my horizons.

[ They can watch something together, sometime. ]

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