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Futaba had been wandering around. She was a lot more careful than before, but her persona had given her some more freedom since she wasn't completely helpless if she ended up in the metaverse.

She did not expect a robot however. She wandered over, eyes wide as she looked him over. "You've got a lot of robotic parts showing."

That. Is a kid Futaba.

That is a small kid Futaba.

For a moment, Falcon's not sure what to say, dumbly looking at her. Then, she speaks, her excitement palpable about- well, him.

... Awkward. Stay cool, Falcon!

"That would be because I am a robot, yes," he ends up saying, a little less gracefully than he intended. "My name is Goro Akechi, but you can call me Falcon."

Edited 2024-06-17 17:39 (UTC)

"Oh! Like Phoenix!" She smiled. Then nodded. "Futaba Isshiki!"

He was looking at her like she was a foreign object. Did he not have any experience with kids?

"Ah- in that case, hello, Futaba-chan." He shoots her a smile. "Nice to meet you."

He does, indeed, have very little experience with small kids. Still-

"What are you doing out here alone?" Even if other little kids run around here, they're usually at least somewhere near the Dojima household, if not accompanied by- well, not an adult, but as close as they get, around here.

"I'm pretty safe by myself now after we've been through tartarus." She was certainly more sure in protecting herself. She still stayed close though. If that was a personal space thing or something else that was up for guess.

"Why are you all alone?"

... aaaand the child has been to Tartarus! This is great. That is totally not worrying. Why is the 10 year old going to Tartarus again? You know, the fucking Shadow Death Tower?

He might need to have a word with Phoenix.

"... I see. You have an evoker, then?" Please do not let the little kid have an evoker.

"I'm alone because I wanted to be," he says. "And I'm just running an errand. I heard there's a good gardening shop in Shibuya, so, here I am."

His new garden isn't going to shape itself, after all.

She blinked. "No, but I've got a gun!" She said way too cheerfully for a child.

"Ooo a garden! What are you trying to grow?" Her mind already off the scare she's given him.

She's got. A fucking gun.

Yeah, he and Phoenix are definitely having words.

"Not a real gun, I ho-" but she's already moving on, whirlwind of a child that she is. He blinks once. Twice.

"I'm... trying to rewild my garden. It's a little too sterile for my tastes right now. Give it some color and invite some native insects and wildlife back in," he says- wait, no- "But Futaba-chan, can we backtrack a bit? You have a gun? A toy gun, yes?" Please say yes.

"Oh you can get like butterfly garden seeds and throw them." She smiled.

She stared up at him. He was funny. "No. It's real. I only use it on shadows tho."

Nonono, fuck the gardening stuff, because holy shit? Holy shit?

"You have a real gun."

It's a deadpan. He's looking at her, dumbfounded. Why, why does she have a real gun. Who the fuck-

"Who decided that was a good idea?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, grandpa sit down. Let me tell you a story." She led him over to a bench.

"Everyone here, or mostly, one or two people excluded, have supernatural powers. We use those to fight with supernatural beings." He should at least understand that part.

"I used to not have a persona. I got trapped in mementos," the word still sent a shiver down her spine as she toyed with the sleeve of her hoodie. "I promised never to let myself get in that situation again. I don't trust that I'll be able to summon my persona in a time of need. I know she's there. I can feel her. But if it comes down to it. I don't trust it."

He sputters. "Grandpa?!"

Still, he follows her to the bench, sitting down next to her. He resists the urge to roll his eyes; he knows what a Persona is, thanks.

But...

God. That should not have happened to a kid. A lot of unfair things happen, have happened to the people here, but she must be- well, his bio scanners say 10, so how old must she have been when she stumbled into Mementos...?

He... still doesn't think she should have a real gun. No, really, who gave that to her.

He's silent for a moment, before speaking up.

"... What's the name of your Persona?" he asks. "Why do you think she won't answer your call if you need her?"

"Hildr." She answered simply. She didn't really understand what he was thinking or why he was asking these questions. She'd just go along with it. Sometimes it lead somewhere. Sometimes it didn't.

"It doesn't feel as sturdy. I don't know. I don't feel sure of her. I know I do when I want to protect others but not myself. I guess what's what she manifested from anyways."

That's...

He doesn't know what to think. Loki and Robin have always come when he needed them, from the moment he awakened. They stopped being as talkative after... Shido, certainly, but they've never failed to heed his call.

A Persona is a soul manifest. If Futaba's Persona doesn't appear consistently, then...?

"Well," he says, after hearing her out, "I don't know for sure, but... don't you-"

Wait, fuck, backtracking, he is talking to a small child, he is not asking her if she doesn't want to protect herself.

"-don't you think that you shouldn't have to protect others?" He course-corrects. Nailed it. "Or yourself, for that matter. You're still very young, aren't you? I think..." he pauses, briefly, trying to find the words, "... I think you shouldn't have to, anyway. I know it doesn't always work like that, in the real world, but..."

He trails off. He's not sure where he's going with this.

"I don't want to be helpless. I want to protect mom!" She shouted. Before covering her mouth and taking a breath.

"She's scared of the men in black. I want to be able to protect her from them. I want to protect Phoenix and Renée like they protected me." Tears welled up in her eyes.

He almost winces. Yeah, maybe he should've expected that outburst, but also... god. She's just a little kid.

A little kid whose mother he killed- not in her timeline, not yet, but-

Shit, she's crying. What does he do?

"I'm sure Phoenix and Renée wouldn't want you risking yourself to protect them," he says gently, carding his hands together. "I'm sure your mom doesn't, either."

Still, it's not like he doesn't understand how she feels. All he ever wanted himself was...

... Well. Maybe he can still do something right.

"I can help you, if you'd like," he tells her, "protect the people dear to you, I mean. That's what my mom made me for."

Edited 2024-06-18 17:45 (UTC)

She looked at him wiping her eyes. "We can't travel across worlds. I have to get stronger on my own."

She wanted to travel. She wanted to meet Phoenix's family, he felt like he safe place now and she didn't like the idea of being apart from that.

Renée was a special case, she was a velvet room attendant, so she didn't know if the same rules applied but at least she met her family.

"I have to protect mom on my own."

"..."

She's not wrong. He can't deny what she's saying, but even so...

"How about this?" he says, looking at her. This feels like the stupidest thing he's ever going to say, but maybe, just maybe- "I'll help you grow stronger. I'll even see if I can teach you how to use your Persona properly. You like Phoenix and Renée, yes? I'll try to protect them too, until you are strong enough to do so on your own."

Ideally, that's not for a while... but if nothing else, it's important that she stays safe until she can properly protect herself. Not that power is everything- he learned that the hard way, but still. She's just a little kid- he'll put aside his own... discomforts.

If she wants it, that is. It sounds like Phoenix and Renée are looking out for her already, in their own ways, but- well. He doesn't trust that as far as he can throw them, and he can throw an entire car out of the way, just to illustrate.

"And then, you can protect your mom too, right?"

"You mean it?" She asks softly. A little hesitant, a little nervous. She didn't know if she could rely on someone else. But he was another version of Phoenix. He hadn't led her wrong yet.

She could start to trust him. He had to prove it first. Then she could.

"If you want me to," he replies gently. Tries to, anyway, he's still a little awkward about it.

"It could be nice to have help." She said softly, glancing away. He was being strange so she really didn't want to force him into anything.

"Then, if you'll have me, I'll do my best to help you out," he says, "in return... you do your best to stay out of trouble. That is to say- tell someone if you're going off somewhere on your own."

He gives her a small smile, encouraging. Or he tries, anyway.

"How does that sound?"

She nods. "Okay, I can agree to that." She's a little nervous still, but it's better. He's there to help. And Phoenix will have more help too. Everyone gets help. Is there a downside. Maybe. She'd find out later.

"How do you feel about Phoenix anyways?"

He nods, relieved. He feels a little better knowing that she's okay with him keeping an eye out. "It's a deal then."

(A blue butterfly flutters near her shoulder. Magician, it says, before disappearing once more into nothingness.)

And then she asks about Phoenix, and Falcon doesn't flinch. She's direct, and he likes that, but...

"It's...," he trails off, because how does he start to even explain the whole situation? How does he tell a 10 year old 'oh yeah, he had a hand in hacking me. He did it for my own good, but goddamn did it fuck me up and I still don't completely trust that he's not going to turn around and fuck me up even further, despite all the evidence pointing against it'?

"... complicated," he settles on, folding his hands together. "It's complicated."

She now, more comfortable, moves to sit next to him. "What do you mean? Do you need my help pranking him?" Yes, because that's what she thinks fixes everything. Or at least can be a bonding experience for the both of them.

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