Akechi steps into your room, and for a brief moment, he just stares. His usual composed expression falters ever so slightly as his sharp eyes scan the walls plastered with anime posters, the shelves overflowing with figures, and the multiple monitors displaying some kind of niche forum discussion about an obscure series he’s never heard of.

“…I see,” he finally says, crossing his arms. “This explains.. so much about you.”

You shift on your gaming chair, kicking at the stray manga volume on the floor. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Akechi chuckles, stepping further inside with a deliberate slowness, like he’s afraid he might knock something over and set off a chain reaction of falling merch. “Not necessarily… though I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room that exudes ‘loser’ quite as intensely as this one.”

You throw a plush at him, which he catches with an annoyingly effortless reflex. “I mean it endearingly, of course.” He inspects the plush before setting it back down. “But I do wonder… how did someone like.. you.. end up entangled with someone like me?”