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“So I don’t think I’ve ever asked......why do you wear that puzzle?” Akira asked. He almost immediately regretted it when Mutou’s face completely closed down, his normally shining eyes turning wary and dull. ‘MISTAKE’ blared in Akira’s head, and he quickly tried to backtrack. “You don’t have to tell me, if it’s personal. Sorry,” he added, internally cringing at the blunder. Mutou shook his head, laying one hand on the inverted pyramid.
“N-No, it’s okay. It’s just.....most people who ask either want to steal it, make fun of me, or both,” he muttered, picking at one of his fries. He sighed, not meeting Akira’s eyes as he methodically tore the fry apart. “See, it all started when my Grandpa gave me this puzzle for my eighth birthday. Back then, I thought it was just a cool relic with a spooky story attached. The box said that whoever solved it would gain its dark powers.” He took a drink of his soda, the fry now potato mush on his plate. “I didn’t realize it was literal.
“When I finally finished the puzzle in April, I was so excited. It’d seemed like something in my life was finally going my way, the one bright spot to a really bad day. Earlier that day, I’d been cornered by this guy Ushio, who basically extorted me. He beat up my two friends, Jounouchi and Honda, after overhearing them talking about messing with me. Ushio......well, I’m not entirely clear on the details of what happened to him, and I’m technically not even supposed to be talking about it since the investigation’s still open, but
something
happened to him, and now he’s in a psych ward. I thought it was a weird coincidence, but then I kept having blackouts, and people who bullied me or people around me kept getting seriously hurt.” He got quiet, biting his lip harshly. “I.....think I might’ve even killed someone,” he mentioned in a small voice. Akira’s eyes grew wide, but he just barely stopped himself from interrupting. He could tell Mutou needed to get this off his chest, and didn’t want him to stop in the middle. “Unfortunately, anyone I talked to for help either couldn’t or wouldn’t listen.
“They called me delusional, lying at best and outright insane at worst. Sometimes, I wondered if they were right. I was losing time, meeting people who already knew me, and just generally having a whole other aspect to my life I hadn’t been aware of.” He gripped the chain of the puzzle, a haunted look in his eyes. “I knew it had something to do with this puzzle, but when I tried to get rid of it......well, let’s just say the puzzle used to be on a rope, instead of a chain.” Akira was practically hanging off his every word now, uncaring that this was an unexpectedly long answer to what he’d thought was a simple question. Mutou sighed, fidgeting with the chain links. “But, anyway, that’s why I wear this puzzle. It’s because it’s probably cursed, I might be going insane, and getting rid of it doesn’t work.” He looked up at Akira, meeting his eyes for the first time in a while. “I understand if you don’t want to be around me anymore, Lord knows the only person who actually wants to stick around is Ryou-kun, and he’s not exactly the pinnacle of sanity himself.”
Akira took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Mutou, it’s.....well, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a wild story. But.....I believe you. I mean, it’s no weirder than the Phantom Thieves, right?” he asked. Mutou made a questioning noise. “They claim to steal hearts, but there’s no evidence of them breaking in, no reference to leaked evidence, nothing. Just the confessions of the victims. Like they just......had a change of heart, you know? Compared to that, well....your story doesn’t seem quite so impossible anymore.”
Mutou nodded pensively, choosing a new fry to roll between his fingers. “I suppose you’re right, but.....I don’t know. People are scared of me, Kurusu-kun. Himura, one of my classmates, keeps warning people away from me, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen my name on the PhanSite a few times.” Akira blinked, feeling slightly guilty when Mutou mentioned the PhanSite. “I know a lot of it is just bullying, trying to get rid of the ‘crazy delinquent’ before anyone else gets hurt, but.....it still hurts. People used to bully me, yeah, but I never wanted this. I don’t remember why I have scars, I don’t know why everyone’s scared of me, and......I don’t know.” He smiled, bangs shadowing his eyes. “You’re probably the first person to treat me like an actual human in a long time. I keep waiting for you to turn around and tell me it was all a lie or something, that you don’t actually want to be around me. Pathetic, right?”
Swords: RANK UP! Rank V: You can now meet [???]