[Hey, to be fair, Ryuji had no idea what he was doing either. Things were kind of hit or miss with this entire thing, but he just didn't want to sit still and do nothing. Boredom easily gets under his skin, and it makes him start thinking too much about stuff. And nobody needs Ryuji actually trying to think about something too hard.

Also, it's a weird feeling, but if this is Akira's girlfriend, he instinctively cares about her well being, too. Not that he wouldn't otherwise- but it's more like a compounding feedback loop of "if shit hits the fan, two people are gonna be rekt."]

Yeah, 'm pretty good. I kinda hate that my actually cool powers got traded off for something totally effin' useless. Coulda absorbed all the electricity like one lanky ass lightning rod.

[He also doesn't know if she knows about personas, about their role before coming here- he's ruined this sort of exchange enough in the past that he's getting better at being cagey over it, even if Ryuji Sakamoto is not a cagey person.]

Ugh... man, you know what would be super chill right now? A really hot shower. [He raises an eyebrow up at her, noticing how roughed up she looks.

And, well, if she's gonna put up with him, time to start being relentlessly himself.]

I'm guessin' you could use one too.