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“Case closed. This is how your justice ends.”
The gunshot echoed through the dimly lit room. Then, total silence.
Goro watched deep red blood trickle from the bullet wound on Kurusu’s forehead down his jaw before his head crashed onto the table with a loud thud.
Goro held his breath for a second, waiting for something to happen. Anything. The oh so great leader of the Phantom Thieves couldn’t go down so easily, could he? Goro fully expected him to reveal something, anything, his last trump card to escape from his inevitable death, surprise him like he always did, because he was Akira fucking Kurusu.
Nothing. Kurusu was dead.
A few more seconds passed before an ugly sneer made its way onto Goro’s face.
Kurusu was truly dead.
Goro had won.
The last obstacle on his way to take down Shido had been eradicated, lying completely still in front of him on that interrogation room table, more and more blood coming out of the bullet wound on his forehead.
Goro had won.
Goro had won.
Why didn’t it feel like he had won?
He unscrewed the silencer, placed the gun in Kurusu’s hand ( it was still warm, Kurusu’s hand was still warm) and swiftly left the room, taking out his phone so he could call Shido.
Everything felt like a haze. Goro talked to Shido, putting on the mask of Shido’s loyal subordinate, saying words he himself barely registered. At one point he slipped up and called Shido by his name, but he was too distracted to care, the scene he had just witnessed playing in his mind over and over again, and Kurusu was dead, he was really dead, and Goro had won, he had wiped that self-satisfied smirk off Kurusu’s stupid face for good, and he was so close to getting his revenge on Shido, and he felt euphoric, so euphoric, and Kurusu was dead—
There was an ugly weight settling deep inside Goro’s stomach, like he had just made a big mistake that could never be undone.
As the call ended and Goro was greeted by the time display on his phone, he realized he had a live show scheduled in just a little over an hour. Of course he was going to attend it, this wasn’t the first time he had murdered someone in cold blood just to smile at a camera mere hours later. He wasn’t so pathetic that he would let something as insignificant as Kurusu’s death affect his mood, of course he wasn’t.
And yet, for some reason he barely registered anything that happened after.
The death of the leader of the Phantom Thieves hadn’t been made public yet, so the TV host only asked him empty questions. Goro gave empty answers.
He couldn’t remember anything he had said during the interview later.
Of course they had asked him about his love life once again, naturally, as he was a teen idol and being a heartthrob was part of his appeal.
“Is there anyone special in your life, Akechi-kun?”
The host’s question played in Goro’s mind on repeat as he took the train home. He had no idea what answer he had given, probably the generic reply about having no time for romance between school and his detective work, but he certainly hadn’t told the truth: That he had murdered the one person in his life who he considered special in cold blood a mere hour ago.
He left the train at Kichijoji, deciding to walk the rest of his way home. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but when he passed Jazz Jin he was spotted by Muhen who was currently taking a smoke outside.
“Hey, Akechi-kun”, he said with a genuine, kind smile.
“It’s been a while. You must have been quite busy, huh? You should come visit again one of these days, drinks are on me. Oh, and bring your friend again, will you?”
Muhen laughed warmly, putting out his cigarette before he headed back inside the jazz club.
His friend? He must have meant Kurusu. Muhen was right, it had been a while since he had last brought Kurusu here. They should meet up at Jazz Jin again.
Oh, right. They couldn’t meet up anymore. Kurusu was dead.
Goro made his way through Kichijoji. He passed Penguin Sniper, then the café where Kurusu had gotten the inane idea to disguise him.
Kurusu would never thread his fingers through Goro’s hair like that ever again.
He would never examine Goro with his smart eyes again, silently encouraging him to talk about Goro’s past circumstances without any judgment, he would never again make Goro feel so seen , so heard .
They would never again share a game of pool, or darts, or chess, or have their rematch in Mementos.
But it was fine. It was all a farce, anyway. Nothing of it was real; just another game they had played. And in the end, Goro had won.
He made his way up the stairs of his apartment complex, greeted the elderly neighbor with a bright smile, unlocked his door, stepped inside his apartment. The moment the door slammed shut, he let out a loud sob.
____________________
Akira was feeling restless.
Sure, their plan had worked. He was currently lying on his milk crate bed in Leblanc’s attic, Morgana rolled up on his stomach and snoring contently, and his mind was starting to clear up from the drugs. His friends spent a good while doting on him before finally letting him get some rest, though not without making Morgana promise that he would keep an eye on Akira. Their concern for him was touching, and more than anything Akira was glad to be out of the interrogation room, far away from the cops hitting him and kicking him and forcing drugs into his system. But there was just one thing that felt like a loose end, one person he wished he could talk to more than anyone else right now.
Akira’s “suicide” had been announced on the news, so it was safe to assume that Akechi had went through with his plan of killing Akira. There was a small part of him that had hoped Akechi would change his mind at the last second, or that he was some kind of double agent all along. He didn’t want to believe that, after everything they had been through, Akechi could kill Akira and feel nothing , no pain nor remorse. But maybe that was just his stupid crush on Akechi speaking, the one that he couldn’t get rid of, no matter how hard he tried.
Akira didn’t enjoy deceiving Akechi. He had proposed to the Phantom Thieves more than once to let him talk to Akechi first and only use their plan as a last resort, but they had unanimously decided that it would be too dangerous and, if it didn’t work, could potentially ruin their plan for the interrogation room as well. But even now Akira was feeling the itch to talk to Akechi, to ask him why he did it, to understand him.
Akira sighed. He knew what he was about to do was unbelievably, incredibly stupid and dangerous, yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Whatever. He could always blame the drugs later. Maybe they were to blame, actually.
And so, he picked up his phone.
[22:02] Akira: hey
[22:02] Akira: can u do me a favor
[22:03] Futaba: >:( go to sleep idiot!!!
[22:03] Akira: sorry cant sleep
[22:03] Akira: but im in bed right now dont worry
[22:03] Akira: morgana’s asleep if that counts
[22:04] Futaba: it doesnt!!!
[22:04] Akira: anyway
[22:05] Akira: you have akechis phone bugged right
[22:05] Futaba: ye
[22:06] Akira: can you like, track his location?
[22:06] Akira: i wanna know where he lives
[22:07] Futaba is typing…
[22:08] Futaba: uhhh
[22:08] Futaba: i could but
[22:08] Futaba: why???
[22:09] Futaba: youre not planning to go talk to him are you?
Akira bit his lip. Futaba just knew him too damn well. He didn’t want to lie to her, he really didn’t, but he also didn’t want to back down now. He decided he would make it up to her later – if he even survived his plan. If not, well, maybe that was his punishment for lying to the girl he basically considered his little sister by now.
[22:11] Futaba: akira
[22:11] Futaba: akira.
[22:11] Futaba: answer me now
[22:12] Akira: no no dont worry
[22:12] Akira: i just rly need to get some fresh air, im feeling kinda nauseous
[22:13] Akira: and like i need to know what place to avoid
[22:13] Akira: wouldnt wanna accidentally run into him now
[22:14] Futaba: hmmm
[22:14] Futaba: i mean true
[22:14] Futaba: ok gimme a sec
[22:16] [ Futaba Sakura sent you a location]
[22:16] Futaba: located his phone in this apartment complex
[22:17] Futaba: its near kichijoji so just dont go there ok
[22:18] Akira: haha funny i was just thinking about going to kichijoji
[22:18] Futaba: akira im being serious
[22:18] Futaba: you better not think about doing anything stupid
[22:19] Akira: im not, dont worry futaba
[22:19] Akira: really just wanna take a walk to clear my head
[22:20] Futaba: just making sure because its you were talking about
[22:20] Futaba: you like doing stupid things
[22:21] Akira: love you too taba <3
Well, Akira didn’t lie. He did just want to take a walk to clear his head. The fact that he ended up in front of the very apartment complex Futaba warned him about, well, she didn’t need to know about that. And to make sure that she didn’t, Akira had turned off his phone so she couldn’t track him. Sneaking out without Morgana waking up was surprisingly easy, the poor cat-not-a-cat seemed to be so exhausted after today’s events that he wouldn’t wake up even from an earthquake. Akira just hoped that his friends wouldn’t blame Morgana if he didn’t make it back in one piece.
He took a few deep breaths, then studied the gray, unassuming walls of the building in front of him. He didn’t have a plan in the slightest. He wasn’t even exactly sure why he came here instead of sending Akechi a text, considering how the latter would be the safer option. Then again, sending him a text would be kind of a confirmation that he’s alive, right? If he broke into Akechi’s apartment and left without a trace, maybe Akechi would chalk it up to a ghost, a hallucination, a phantom– it may have been a stupid excuse, but it made sense to Akira’s drug-dulled brain. In reality, he just wanted to see Akechi, have this conversation face-to-face. If it even came to a conversation. Maybe Akechi would just shoot him again.
The apartment complex seemed fairly large from the outside. Akira would probably have to bother some neighbors to find Akechi’s exact apartment, and then he just needed to get inside. Ringing the doorbell might not be the best decision when confronting your almost-murderer, so he would get the element of surprise on his side by sneaking in.
Good thing he could pick locks.
_______________________
Goro’s hands were trembling when he prepared himself a cup of instant noodles. They were still trembling when he peeled off his clothes and entered the shower, scrubbing and scrubbing and still feeling like he had Kurusu’s blood all over his body. His hands were trembling when he brushed his teeth, and they were trembling when he slumped down onto his sofa, picking up the remote and turning on the TV in search of something that would take his mind off what happened today.
God, he was so pathetic. Kurusu’s brainlessness must have rubbed off on him. He hated him, he hated him so much. Next time he would see him– wait, no, there wouldn’t be a next time–
Goro huffed, hiding his head in his arms. Some kind of detective drama was playing on TV, the kind of show Goro liked to follow and try figuring out the culprit alongside the detective character, but now it was just background noise in an otherwise silent apartment, the TV being the only light source illuminating the dark living room.
He didn’t understand. He had murdered many, many people before, and he normally didn’t feel like this. Was it because it was a real world murder, not one that happened in the metaverse? But he had killed the guard too, and he certainly didn’t give a shit about him.
It was Kurusu. It was always Kurusu, stupid little perfect Kurusu, who managed to surpass his expectations again and again, even in death as it seemed.
It was fine. It didn’t matter. Goro just did what had to be done. He wouldn’t live much longer anyway, not after taking down Shido. Rather than acting pathetic about it, he should savor his win over Kurusu while he still could.
That’s right, he had won .
Goro flinched when the sound of a gunshot reverberated through the empty apartment, the characters in the TV drama shouting something he didn’t understand, couldn’t understand, because suddenly, his mind went completely blank.
He did not win. Kurusu was dead, Kurusu was fucking dead, and it was all Goro’s fault, and once again Goro had ruined everything, he had killed his mother, and now he killed the only other person who ever meant something to him, because that’s all he could ever do, he could only destroy and ruin and—
God, he couldn’t breathe. Goro clasped at his throat as he realized with rising panic that he could not breathe and he was choking on Kurusu’s blood and he was shaking and his skin felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time and his heart was racing and there was so much blood, Kurusu’s blood everywhere and god he just needed air air AIR—
He barely registered the sound of the door opening, distant footsteps, something that would have normally triggered his fight or flight instincts immediately, would have made him grab his gun, but how could he when the gun was stuck to Kurusu’s forehead, and he was drowning in Kurusu’s blood, he couldn’t breathe, when did he end up on the floor? He needed to hold onto something, anything–
“Oh my god”, a distant voice muttered, more hurried footsteps, and suddenly there were hands on his shoulders, and when he lifted his head all he could see was Kurusu, Kurusu, Kurusu, haunting him from the afterlife, gripping his shoulders firmly, could ghosts do that? It didn’t matter, nothing mattered, not when he was still unable to breathe because Kurusu’s blood was everywhere, in his throat, in his nose, obstructing his vision—
“Breathe, Akechi. Please— breathe”, the voice pleaded, sounding close yet so distant, as if they were speaking through a thick fog, and Goro wanted to breathe, damnit, but how could he when he was drowning?
The grip on his shoulders tightened to a painful degree.
“God, I— Akechi, what’s wrong?”, the voice asked, laced with something Goro couldn’t decipher, was it fear? He did not know why the voice was speaking to him, but he felt the urge to reply something, anything, giving his thoughts an out—
“I— I killed him”, he finally managed, finding that his throat allowed a few breaths again.
“I killed him, he’s dead, and it’s all my fault— He was the only person to ever get me and I still— I put the gun to his head and I pulled the fucking trigger and now he’s gone and I— I probably loved this fucking idiot but I still—”
His throat was closing up again and his desperate attempts to push air into his lungs were futile. The phantom of Kurusu that had appeared in his vision looked taken aback, and his grip on Goro’s shoulders weakened, and the phantom was probably going to disappear too, just like Kurusu did, just like his mother did, and it was Goro’s fault, it was always his fault—
Suddenly, there were soft, warm lips on his.
Slender fingers combed through his hair, one hand coming to rest at his nape and pulling him closer, as close as possible, and Goro felt his entire body relax as he melted into the gentle kiss. The phantom’s lips tasted like coffee and curry and home, and Goro never wanted it to stop.
They stayed like this for what felt like years to Goro but was probably just a few seconds, and when the phantom pulled away Goro found that he could breathe again.
The phantom sighed as his arms reached around Goro to pull him close, hands rubbing gentle circles onto his back as the boy regained control over his breathing.
“I’m here. I’m not dead”, he heard the voice say, and belatedly, far too late, realized it was Akira Kurusu’s voice, and those were Akira Kurusu’s arms around his back, it was Akira fucking Kurusu who was pressed against him, solid and real and alive, and those had been Akira Kurusu’s lips—
Goro pulled away.
“What the fuck. ”
Kurusu laughed, the real laugh of a person who was alive, bruised and battered but alive , a laugh Goro had thought he would never hear again.
“That’s more like it. You know, I was wondering when I would finally hear the detective prince snap and swear like this.”
Kurusu took Goro’s hand in his own and Goro didn’t resist, too flabbergasted to do anything but stare at those all-consuming gray eyes mere inches from his own face.
“How are you— I thought you are—”, he finally spluttered, voice still strained, and Kurusu, that fucking bastard, just smiled at him sheepishly.
“Metaverse”, he said softly, and suddenly everything clicked in place for Goro. Why Sae had shown him that phone, why Kurusu – the cognition of Kurusu – was eerily quiet, the dizziness he had felt when he approached the interrogation room that he had attributed to his state of mind, when it must have been him getting pulled into the metaverse – it all made sense now.
God, Goro hated Kurusu so fucking much.
Equally, never in his life had he felt more relieved to have his plans foiled.
Goro barked out a laugh, high and unnatural, and shielded his eyes with one arm as he felt the sting of tears – from anger or relief or whatever, he did not know.
His other hand was still resting in Kurusu’s.
“Of course. And here I thought I had won. I should’ve seen it coming that you would one-up me once again. I thought I deceived you, and here you were deceiving me, and I didn’t even notice.”
Kurusu tugged at his hair with his free hand, his gaze avoiding Goro’s.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to. Deceive you, I mean.”
Goro gave him a tired look.
“I shot you in the fucking head, you absolute imbecile. There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”
Goro knew he would rather die than ever apologize to Kurusu in a more straightforward manner, but as he felt Kurusu’s hand reassuringly squeezing his own, he had a feeling that he didn’t need to. Kurusu understood him. Kurusu always understood him.
Goro, however, absolutely did not fucking understand Kurusu.
“I would like to know why you came here and essentially decided to wreck your own damn plan, but knowing you it’s probably something embarrassingly sentimental, so at the same time I don’t really want to know”, he muttered, and Kurusu just chuckled before tugging Goro closer.
“Who knows. Maybe I just came here to murder you back?”, Kurusu offered, and Goro watched him through half-lidded eyes as he stifled a yawn.
“Somehow I don’t think that’s the case.”
“And you would be right, detective.”
Goro hummed, letting his head drop on Kurusu’s shoulder. He was suddenly feeling beyond exhausted, and he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when Kurusu had just kissed him, and god, they really needed to talk about that, just how stupid was Kurusu?
“I thought it might help you calm down”, Kurusu said, and Goro realized he must have said his thoughts out loud. “...and excuse you, I’m very intelligent. I’m at the top of my class actually”, Kurusu grinned and Goro rolled his eyes.
“Besides, you said that you love me first.”
Did he? Oh god, he did. Wait, first ?
“You can’t possibly tell me you like me back when I just tried to kill you”, Goro groaned and earned a chuckle from Kurusu, and suddenly Kurusu’s fingers were combing soothingly through his hair again.
“Okay, then I won’t tell you. I could just show you instead?”, he offered.
“You’re right though, we should talk about all of this. Later maybe.”
Goro closed his eyes, nestling up to Kurusu, unable to resist the temptation of sleep any longer.
“Later then”, he murmured, and Kurusu hummed in affirmation.
The room fell silent; Kurusu must have turned off the TV at some point during their talk. One of Kurusu’s hands was still holding Goro’s while the other was thoughtfully petting his hair.
Goro blinked, looking up at Kurusu’s face to say one last thing before drifting off to sleep.
“Akira?”
Kurusu– no, Akira– flinched slightly upon hearing his first name spoken by Goro, but then his lips curled upwards and he leaned in to place a soft kiss on Goro’s forehead.
“...what is it, Goro?”
It was the first time since his mother’s death that Goro had heard someone address him by his first name, and he couldn’t suppress a tired, fond smile.
“Wanna kick my father’s ass together?”