[ ow! but he's smiling. finally. even behind all the tears, denji couldn't hold it back anymore. it came naturally, a smile that was genuine and heartbroken at the same time. power just had to take a jab and remind him of their last conversation together, then ask if he ended up dead after he lost them both — honestly? it probably would've been better than being left alone without them, but he knew if he said that out loud, it would do nothing more than upset them.

so he shakes his head. ] ... no. I lived. [ ah, there is a sense of urgency to talk about something important first. when she gets distracted by aki's arm, denji tries to collect himself, freeing one hand to wipe his face clean, smudging the tears all over in a flustered mess. there was a brief, tentative peek in aki's direction before smiling back at her. ] Yeah, yeah ... we will totally get the magnets and stick 'em all over his arm! We will ...

[ uhh. ]

But we need to tell you about ... Makima. You know she's here, right?

[ he glanced at aki, hoping he'd have some plan to ... deal with this. the control devil has been cooperative so far, maybe because of her private deal with denji, but they shouldn't trust her. ]