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Sakura was jittery as she cleaned the last of her messes up at her apartment. She had given Aloysius the address and let him know when she was free, and eventually they'd agreed on a time for him to come by. She was thankful for enough of a heads up that she could clean, could hide the disaster she had become lately, and at least make the apartment look presentable.

An eye roll and a snort sounded from her couch and she shot her brother a foul look. “If you say one sideways thing to Aloysius, I'm gutting you and incinerating what's left of you. Got it? I'll starseed your sorry a** so damn fast your head will spin.” She narrowed her eyes in warning before going into the kitchen to set her kettle on in anticipation.

With the visit coming up and the new project he had been working on, Aloysius took his husband’s advice and brought some of the cannoli he had made for this meeting. The fact that it was another apartment building had him internally cringing a bit. Even at his lowest, he still had a home to himself without neighbors able to hear or look into his business. But he kept those comments to himself as he took the elevator, something he was glad this building had, so he wouldn’t have to climb any stairs.

There was a bit more energy in him today, coming from the fact that Desiree was testing something for him today, and the fact that Liam had given him an all-clear on his ventures into his new project. There were plenty of leads he could look into, including two senshi Sakura had mentioned before that he hadn’t gotten to follow up on yet. It would be something he needed to look into later, but today’s focus was on this “sibling” of theirs.

Making sure he was at the right apartment number, he knocked lightly on the door and waited patiently as he adjusted a few loose strands of his hair and straightened his scarf slightly. Perhaps he would be considered overdressed, as Liam often said, but this was how he was most comfortable.

Akito stayed seated on the couch, lounging as he watched curiously. He had met Liam before, and found it amusing how much Sakura’s demeanor changed around him. But this? This was someone she respected and was unquestioningly devoted to. Seeing her go from threatening his life to offering a man tea and cakes was giving him a bit of whiplash. Had she always been like this? So eager to please? Oh, he remembered bitterly. Yes. She had. A long time ago before it all crashed down around her. That set off warning bells in the back of Akito’s head. For now, he would simply watch and stay silent until spoken to.

Akito watched with mild amusement as Sakura froze when the man spoke to him. Standing up in one fluid motion, Akito smiled brightly as he shook the offered hand. “Guilty as charged. And you must be Aloysius. You're definitely far more handsome than my sister ever let on.” He couldn't help the cheeky wink he threw in, knowing it would make Sakura squirm. He didn't even have to look over to know she was glaring at him.

“Yes, though the flattery is unnecessary.” Smiling lightly in response, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment from Sakura. It partially reminded him of his own sister, though it was questionable if the threat was real or not.

“Oh, it is quite alright, I hear things like that enough on stage during my shows. Of course, from students as well, but that has calmed down since the wedding.” Breaking the shake, he took the mug and handed over his coat.

“Of course, I just rather not set it somewhere randomly, so if you have a place, then that is fine.” Taking that as his cue to sit, he sipped at the tea for a moment and just enjoyed the warmth it brought him. The quickly cooling weather was less than desirable, and it meant that he might catch another respiratory bug again, as he always did this time of year.

“Aloysius Sharp, though I am sure she has let you know that as well.” It was pleasant enough here, but he could already tell this man would be troublesome. If left to their own devices, he was certain the headache they could cause would be record-breaking.

“So, Akito, have you been in this city your whole life, or have you recently moved here?”

At that, he did give them that look he gave unruly students, but didn't say anything further about the matter. It would fuel the fire and get tiring quickly. It wasn’t a new problem or a difficult one to deal with, so he just shifted to sit a bit more comfortably with his tea as they let him know a bit more.

The history of where Sakura had come from wasn’t exactly surprising; he’d gathered at least some of her ties to Japan through name and appearance. But the situation was still interesting, and in a way, it made him wonder if Agatha would have similar annoyances following post-corruption.

“Oh yes, I have always lived here, though it only started to feel strange once I knew what was going on behind the scenes, as it were. Ignorance seems to be the path of choice for the uninvolved; otherwise, I doubt many people would live here.” Pausing to drink a bit more, he found it slightly funny that Sakura was tense. In his own experience with his sibling, this would be a cakewalk. Though Liam handled Melody at this point and it had been going smoothly enough since.

“I would recommend being careful during this time of year, especially, it seems to be more… bothersome than other seasons are.” Personal experiences aside, he’d heard enough about the rest of things from those under him as well as from his husband.

Sakura’s smile tightened as her brother talked, her shoulders tensing further as he spoke of her unfortunate encounter with the damned gameboard. “I'm sure Aloysius doesn't need to be bored by my misadventures.” She couldn't stop herself from glancing at her hands, memory of the melting flesh flashing through her mind. It had been fully traumatizing and she had immediately found a bar to drown it out in. She didn't need Aloy to know, not about that, not her feeling so pathetically shaken and weak.

“Three encounters actually….. once with an Order senshi, once with Saleeite, and once with an absurdly tall civilian woman after I left your home.” Her voice was quiet as she spoke, glancing at her hands once again. The latter two encounters had been harrowing for her, and aside from showing up at Akito's place afterwards from the last encounter, she hadn't spoken of it much.