they say knowledge is your best weapon

For once Maki sat quietly and listened, her miss matched gaze flitting between the items in question. There was just so much she didn't know, and though it would have helped flesh out the worlds in her stories, made them seem more grounded and realistic, she just-fiction seemed kinder. Easier to cope. She didn't need medicine or healers in her stories, because even if someone got hurt real bad, coughed up blood for dramatic effect, they were always okay in the end. But what if things didn't work out quite so neatly? She was naive, and her head was constantly stuck in the clouds, but she wasn't stupid. Trying to ignore that something was clearly wrong was maybe childish, but understandable.

Akito always seemed so calm, always had a sense of togetherness. Like a cool protagonist, she'd always emulate but forever fall short of.

She made a thoughtful noise in her throat, Oki had told her a lot about her Grandfathers homeland, but since he'd never been there himself his stories were always...not very grounded. And she'd loved that, the fantasy element to them, so mysterious and out there- but the way Akito spoke about the things he was transporting made it feel so much more real. Unsurprising really.

Keep talking, don't think so much. Don't worry. Easier said than done, certainly for her when her mind was always ticking away at something. Needling away like busy bees.

"Yeah, course. What's Tojo like? Dad don't really talk about Hattori much at all, said he was a real hard ass."