[ For a few seconds, Maruki rubs cool fingers against his eyes, nodding along to what Akira's saying and letting the soothing sensation wash over him. It's fine that his persona is small and useless, about as powerful as a bug zapper. It's fine. Calm blue oceans. Everything will work out, as it always does, until the next time that it doesn't. It's fine. ]

More or less, yes. The only consolation, I suppose, is that we're all in the same boat. Although–

[ His hands drop.

His glasses are still stuck up in his hair, and they aren't that far apart, but his eyesight is so poor that he can't be one hundred percent sure what blurry motion he just saw. ]

Did you just...?

[ ... No, surely not!

Maruki forces a laugh, adjusts his glasses back down onto the bridge of his nose and raises his eyebrows at Akira holding his persona quite close to his face. ]

You might want to be careful, Takahashi-sensei.