The answer Akechi gives is both illuminating and a bit of a relief. An outright refusal would have been a giant red flag to Ren that he’d severely misjudged the current situation. The mention of previous deals signals that Akechi is aware of their win against Maruki. Akechi being alive with that knowledge is a more complicated question, but one that can hold for the moment. Ren releases his hair and slips his hand back into his front pocket.
“Fix the van with me, and tell me everything you know about this place.”
As for what Ren can offer in return … he’s not sure. He has very little information about this locale, and none of it would be of value for someone who has been here longer than he has. Ren has numerous useful skills at his disposal, but are any of them currently useful enough to appeal to Akechi as a trade for what he’s asking? Why not let Akechi decide for himself what he wants from Ren.
“And you can name your price.”
If anyone who knew them from Tokyo were present, they’d think Ren had lost his entire mind. Not only is this offer all but an outright admission that Akechi has the upper hand here, it’s also a huge extension of trust to give him carte blanche in whatever he’d want to ask of Ren in exchange. Akechi had manipulated, extorted, and betrayed the Phantom Thieves; he’d spent years breaking minds and committing murders on Shido’s instruction. None of them would trust Akechi not to use the advantage Ren’s offering for grievous ill, but none of them understand Akechi like Ren does.
Or at least, he thinks he does. No, Ren is confident he does, and he doesn’t believe Akechi is truly so evil he would abuse the trust Ren has presented to him. In fact, Ren doesn’t think Akechi is evil at all. He has certainly done evil things, but it’s not hard for Ren to see why he did them. The two of them are similar, after all, and if not for the support of his friends and the chances he’d been given by sheer blind luck, Ren could’ve turned out much like Akechi did - alone and angry and vengeful against a world that was all too ready to throw him away like so much garbage.
Maybe that was a large part of why Ren cared so much, despite how illogical it is to trust someone who has such a history of misdeeds. In Akechi, he sees so much of the person he could’ve become, under different circumstances. And Ren is living proof of what wonders can grow from the seed of just one second chance. All it takes is someone willing to extend trust that the chance they offer will be put to good use.
He’ll find out soon enough if his gamble is likely to pay off or if he’s made a fatal misjudgment. For the moment, all he can do is wait for Akechi to either accept or reject the proposed terms.
no subject
“Fix the van with me, and tell me everything you know about this place.”
As for what Ren can offer in return … he’s not sure. He has very little information about this locale, and none of it would be of value for someone who has been here longer than he has. Ren has numerous useful skills at his disposal, but are any of them currently useful enough to appeal to Akechi as a trade for what he’s asking? Why not let Akechi decide for himself what he wants from Ren.
“And you can name your price.”
If anyone who knew them from Tokyo were present, they’d think Ren had lost his entire mind. Not only is this offer all but an outright admission that Akechi has the upper hand here, it’s also a huge extension of trust to give him carte blanche in whatever he’d want to ask of Ren in exchange. Akechi had manipulated, extorted, and betrayed the Phantom Thieves; he’d spent years breaking minds and committing murders on Shido’s instruction. None of them would trust Akechi not to use the advantage Ren’s offering for grievous ill, but none of them understand Akechi like Ren does.
Or at least, he thinks he does. No, Ren is confident he does, and he doesn’t believe Akechi is truly so evil he would abuse the trust Ren has presented to him. In fact, Ren doesn’t think Akechi is evil at all. He has certainly done evil things, but it’s not hard for Ren to see why he did them. The two of them are similar, after all, and if not for the support of his friends and the chances he’d been given by sheer blind luck, Ren could’ve turned out much like Akechi did - alone and angry and vengeful against a world that was all too ready to throw him away like so much garbage.
Maybe that was a large part of why Ren cared so much, despite how illogical it is to trust someone who has such a history of misdeeds. In Akechi, he sees so much of the person he could’ve become, under different circumstances. And Ren is living proof of what wonders can grow from the seed of just one second chance. All it takes is someone willing to extend trust that the chance they offer will be put to good use.
He’ll find out soon enough if his gamble is likely to pay off or if he’s made a fatal misjudgment. For the moment, all he can do is wait for Akechi to either accept or reject the proposed terms.
Your move, king.