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[ Meowy doesn't even use her cat bed most of the time, snuggling into any open crook on someone's mattress depending on who she's favoring that night. This is injustice! And also the most upsetting part of this conversation to him. Bell peppers, sure, fine. His sleep?? DUDE. ]
ughhhh i dunnooo i barely remember what the hell was covered
maybe the circle stuff i did kinda alright on cuz some of the problms looked like uhhhhhhh yknow
[ Don't make him say it… ]
[ He doesn't even let Angel answer that one, his expression twisting a bit, as if an abrupt realization punches him square in the face as soon as the words are out of his mouth. Earnestly, before he can hear any wrongful conclusions drawn about him: ] I wipe, too, by the way. It's Power who doesn't!
[ Somewhere in the city, a certain blood fiend drinking from an emptied tin of wet cat food pauses in her slurping from an to sneeze. The stray cats she'd been sharing her meal with eye her. ]
Anyway, it's not as cold, right? With that thing on.
[It still smells weird. It's not the smell of balls or shit, just Aki Hayakawa's smell. Learning Power doesn't wipe doesn't suprise him. One time Aki complemented Angel on his flushing of the toilet after using the bathroom and he couldn't help but wonder what kind of image of devils he had thanks to the blood fiend.]
Are you really gonna buy all that stuff you listed? I heard people say that he cries a lot, you know. [Seems like a waste, in other words.]
[ He hasn't. But still. How much difference could there be from his imagination and the real thing… Anyway, Denji immediately outs himself by continuing on to say: ]
and youve never seen one either!!! youd tell me
man i bet youre just picking on me cuz of this morning
[ …Well, Denji's not without his selfish reasons, either. He wants to see the flash of shock and gratitude on his face when they get back at him being able to plan and execute this super secret thing right under his nose. Not to mention, from being able talk his partner into tagging along, too! Then he'll be able to get a good night's rest, wake up to some grub, and Aki might even smile at him a bit. That might be nice. ]
Since he cries way too much, we gotta get him a buncha stuff to keep him from crying for at leeeast a month. Maybe two months! Plus, he's your partner. Isn't it easier to work with him when he's not all mucked up in the head?
You'll be punished for that separately.
[Extremely stupid of him to bring that up when Aki is already mad.]
Whether or not I've seen them, I wouldn't tell you. I'm not a pervert like you who would tell everyone I know.
[He has never seen a boob.]
Also you still need to tell me how you're going to improve this without cheating. I don't want you to have to take summer school again I can't handle Power on my own in the summer.
He's always kind of mucked up in the head. [If it's not one thing, it's another with him. He's either upset about the world or upset about all the dead people in his life. Or upset that Angel isn't doing something or other. Man, that guy never stops being upset, it sounds exhausting.]
I can tell when he's had a fight with you or the blood fiend. [Very easily.] ...But I can tell when he had a nice, quiet evening at home, too. Even his topknot looks a little peppier.
[He pulls his sleeves over his hands. It's not too crowded, but when they enter a store, he always does this by habit. Once done, he looks at Denji to deliver his conclusion.] I think you affect him more than you realize.
[ He really has no basis to be this cheeky when he's in so much trouble. Leave it to Denji not to read the room. ]
fine fine!! have it your way killjoy
ill just ask the teach if she can tutor me during lunch. shes pretty hot
[ n…Implying that's the only reason he doesn't mind have his free time infringed upon. ]
happy?
[Teacher... Oh, no, no, no. Aki knows exactly what teacher he's thinking of. He'll spend more time calculating the curvature of her ass than doing any of his homework.]
You shouldn't bother a teacher during her lunch period.
[He thinks he's being obvious about this, but maybe he needs to push harder...? Ahh, it's such a pain with this kid. He's so dense in some ways yet so intuitive in others.]
I'm older than you, you know. I already took that class.
But when Angel finishes positing his deduction, Denji stows that thought, along with his amusement, away, to look down at him from the narrow bridge of his nose. Gauging. ]
…I think you sure pay a lotta attention to him.
[ It's not accusing, just his own drawn conclusion set side-by-side with Angel's and his strangely clinical breakdown of his observations of Aki's behaviorisms. Truthfully, he's not sure what to make of the idea — that Aki takes all the crap that happens at home with him to work, that it can dictate his day and his performance. The dumb and inconsequential, the restful and carefree. It makes sense that it'd have some influence because, like, they live with each other. But that's nothing special.
Feeling awkward, he rubs at his neck and begins to continue leading them back on their way. ]
The same could be said about work, right? Like if there are days where he's able to chill out, it's only because the job wasn't too shitty for him. And stuff like that only happens when things are goin' good between you and your buddy.
[But he shrugs when he brings up the idea of work affecting him in turn. An endless cycle. Wouldn't he know about that.]
I don't think he ever has days when he relaxes at work. ...You've seen him.
[It's part of why their partnership is so strange. Strained at the same time as it is productive. It's very weird. Leave it to Makima to put together the laziest and most fastidious members of the division.]
It's not like he wants comfort from me when he's in a bad mood. [Nor would he offer it. Not really his jam. He definitely doesn't care at all about human suffering. Almost as an afterthought, he adds,] But I guess he doesn't really want it from you, either...
I'll be ten times as busy if you fail out of high school.
[...He didn't really want to put it like that. He hurries to send another text.]
Not that I think youre going to fail out I just mean you cant take this stuff lightly
[Okay. That sounds better.]
would that mean you wouldnt be able to go to tokyo?
[ Just curious. This definitely isn't him taking his education lightly seconds after Aki told him not to, nor is it him being inconsiderate of the goals Aki's been steadily nurturing since their days picking fights with one another at the orphanage. Ha ha ha… ]
[ Hunched forward, fists shoved into his pockets, he kicks at stray pebble in his way. One of his hands plays with the flaps of the stolen wallet. It kinda is cold out, he thinks to himself, perhaps forcefully, to keep himself from putting too much thought into the conversation at hand. ]
Good thing, too, because I wouldn't hand that sorta thing out for free. I'm not runnin' a charity for sad saps here.
[ And yet, look at both of them risking their hides and Aki's hard-saved earnings to do just that. Who knew hypocrisy could be so heartwarming. ]
And I'm not sayin' he relaxes at work. Work sucks! Anyone who loves work is a dumbbell. I'm sayin' that when nothing happens, when stuff goes well, he brings less of work back home with him.
[...Damn it. He didn't want to put this kind of pressure on him.]
Schools in Tokyo are harder to get into. You have to study hard to keep up.
[That's not really true. The issue is that the school he's been working on getting Denji and Power ready for transfer into thanks to the proximity to Public Safety requires a certain kind of student. It's nothing that either of them can't achieve. But if Denji keeps fucking up like this... Then what does he do, send them all the way to another ward for classes? But even so, he still doesn't want to pressure him that badly. Especially since he never even went to school before Aki was able to get them out of the orphanage in the first place.]
If you had to commute all the way back here every day to keep going to this school because you need to take year one math again, I'd just make you live here by yourself.
[He wouldn't. He never would. But he hopes saying that will make Denji think about his plans a little better.]
[He decides not to think about it and instead stops suddenly, turning his head to look across the street. There's a vendor on the opposite sidewalk at a cart of kebabs of beef and pork. Angel stares openly at it before looking towards Denji, expectantly.]
Maybe he wouldn't be so depressed if he had more meat in his diet.
[Just an idea. They could even test the meat to see if it's good enough.]
Briefly, he glances up in time to catch Power trying to haggle down some magical girl prop with the store clerk, wildly gesticulating to punctuate whatever nonsense it is she's spewing this time. She's always so feisty and loud, would Denji miss her? His buddy-in-crime, his ever unparalleled Powy? At the same time, he thinks about coming home to an empty apartment, without someone already having run the laundry before he arrived, no sticky notes on the fridge with instructions on how high to heat up dinner, no one to steal shirts to wear to bed from.
Denji's reply doesn't come immediately, since he has to step in to help talk Power down from leaping over the counter, but when it does, all it reads is: ]
fine. you win
i dont wanna be by myself
And then belatedly, the unmistakable waft of cooking skewers hits his senses, which is a kinda funny sight to behold because his eyes immediately bug out at the scent of food. That's right, he hasn't gotten to have his usual nightly snack yet. ]
Oh! Yeah! Maybe he would. [ … ] But you're carrying this bag.
[ Denji drifts toward the cart without even bothering to look both ways to make sure there are no incoming vehicles. There are only a few people ahead of them waiting in line. It wouldn't take that long. Plus, the glaze on the kebabs look really good. ]
[He shouldn't feel guilty. Denji knows this is important to him, and he knows the sacrifices Aki has made to make sure this all happens exactly how he wants it to. Weekend jobs, posing as an adult to get more hours, maintaining a perfect track record so nothing will come up during his interviews with Public Safety... All while making sure Denji and Power have a full dinner every night and a roof over their heads. He shouldn't feel guilty about asking Denji to actually study and try hard to make sure it doesn't drag Aki backward. Their situation isn't unique, not in a world with people dying from devils every day. But...]
I'm just kidding about making you live out here alone
[...But if he had to delay everything for either of them, he would.]
Just ask me for help instead of making it harder on yourself. I know you don't want to sit around doing math problem sets all weekend.
[Even though he can tell the guy manning the cart knows he's a devil and looks a little freaked out by the sight of him (or maybe it's the get-up), he doesn't try to conceal his nature and instead holds up three fingers and looks to Denji expectantly. Like he said, no money. Denji is his bank for the evening.]
He taps call, anyway. ]
[If he knows Denji, he knows he's calling to ask him to repeat that out loud, to say what he wants to hear one more time so he knows he really means it. He's such a needy kid. Aki stares down at the call screen and sighs heavily before answering.]
Denji. [He sounds tired. Vaguely annoyed.] I'm not going to leave you to do math here for two more years while Power and I go to Tokyo.
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