Chapter Text
Goro tries to keep his cool as Haru Okumura continues her 19 slide presentation titled ‘Reasons Why the Gardening Club Should Keep the Roof Garden’. It had already been twenty three minutes, and Okumura was still on her third slide. For someone whose father was the CEO of a multi-billion food chain, Okumura was rather dreadful at giving speeches.
From the very beginning of her slideshow, he had been mentally preparing himself to reject her. Unfortunately for Okumura, there was no way he was going to be convinced. Especially now since he had recently gotten Kurusu’s agreement to join the ant counting club. He did not agree to those three favors for nothing.
“Okumura-san--” He starts, but Makoto Niijima, student council president and also the bane of his high school life, cuts in.
“That’s a fantastic idea, Haru!” Niijima nods appraisingly, because of course she would. She and Okumura were close friends.
Nepotism, thought Goro despairingly. Corruption everywhere, even in the student council.
“Okumura-san,” He begins again. “I’d like to remind you that you are currently the only remaining member of the gardening club, and that by next week, if you do not have 2 other members, your club will be disbanded.” Goro pointed out. “So I believe there is no need for any more space.” He tries his best to look concerned, as if he wasn’t the one who had… persuaded the gardening club members into joining other clubs so the roof was free for Yoshizawa and him to use.
But to his annoyance, Niijima speaks up. “Akechi, don’t you understand?”
Goro understands enough to know she’s already taken Okumura’s side, and he’d have to fight for his rooftop rights against both of them.
Niijima continues. “She means that if the gardening club were to gain access to the roof’s facilities, that way more students would be inclined to join.” Okumura bobs her head up and down vigorously in agreement.
What.
That logic made no sense to him, and it took all of his willpower not to gawk at her, confounded by the uncharacteristic idiocy she was displaying.
“Apologies, Niijima-san,” he replies impatiently, “but if a student’s interest were to be gardening, I believe they would join the club regardless of the amount of space available. Furthermore, the ant counting club has already claimed the roof.”
“I don’t mind sharing the roof with another club!” Okumura pipes up cheerfully, and Goro wants to scream. He forces it down with a polite smile.
“I see. That is indeed very kind of you, however this is not your decision to make.”
“Akechi!” Snaps Niijima. “Be more considerate of other students as the vice president!”
You’re already more than considerate enough to her for the both of us , he bites back.
“Nonetheless, it still is up to the ant counting club to decide whether to share the space.” Goro says brusquely. “And as a member of the ant counting club, I refuse, and my decision is final.”
Normally he would have been a lot more indirect, weaving niceties into his speech, but today he could not be bothered to do so. On top of his part time jobs and homework which today consisted of a three page essay, a science report and his calculus practice problems, he had an unplanned Metaverse trip with Kurusu as well. Lunchtime was when he usually did his homework whenever there were no student council meetings. The more time he was listening to her, the more time he was wasting.
“Excuse me, but who’s the president here?” Niijima glares at him. “Last I checked, the authority of a vice president is inferior to the council president’s.”
The last of his already little patience died out. “Glad we can come to the consensus that you’re abusing your authority, then.” Snapped Goro, standing up.
“That’s not what I was talking about.” Niijima scoffs and she puts her hands on her hips. “I believe that your clubs should and will be able to coexist with each other!”
She didn’t deny it, Goro dryly notes. Why did she insist on being so stubborn? “Unfortunately, we are occupying the entire roof.” Goro raises his voice, “And as previously mentioned, Okumura-san’s club won’t last for long anyway.”
“Really?” Niijima raises her voice as well. She booms, “Your ant-counting club will disappear once I bring out a vacuum cleaner and suck them all up!”
“Oeuh, noe , not the ants!” Goro made his voice go a few octaves higher with sarcasm, mimicking Niijima’s voice, before rolling his eyes. “Look, you just threatened to destroy my club, and I could get you into trouble with the teachers for that.”
“Guys, let’s not fight!” Okumura tries to protest, but her voice is tiny and insignificant, nothing more than white noise in the background. Goro is standing face to face with Niijima in a standoff, and the both of them are glaring at each other, refusing to blink or back down. He will not waver.
This wasn’t about Okumura anymore. This was about his pride, and he was going to win this argument. Maybe next election time he’d try going for the position of student president. He’s sure the members of the Goro Akechi fan club will be able to aid him with the votes necessary to win. Then he’ll get rid of the garden girl and Niijima altogether and demolish the garden and make them watch, powerless from their status as normal students.
He’s still thinking about stripping Niijima from her position as president when there was a knock at the door.
“Uh, hello?” A quiet voice came from it, behind them.
“What.” Snapped Goro, turning around.
“What.” Snapped Niijima, turning around.
Kurusu, with an arm on the door handle, was nervously shuffling his feet outside the room. Under their gazes, Kurusu seems to wilt. “Oh. Uh, sorry.” He took a half-step back meekly, as if he was a kitten that had stumbled into the den of lions. Kurusu swung the door closer to him, partially shutting it, but he was still visible. “Akechi-senpai, can I ask you something?”
Goro took a deep breath, before exhaling, calming himself down.
Perhaps it was for the best if he checked what Kurusu needed, since he’d also need to tell Kurusu to meet him after school for their trip to the Metaverse. Niijima and his conversation could wait.
“Alright, Kurusu-kun. I’ll be with you in a second.”
Kurusu shrinked away from the door once he had his answer, waiting for him outside.
Goro turns back at Niijima, who was settling back down on her seat. “As I’ve repeated, as a member of the ant-counting club, the gardening club will not be sharing the roof with us.” Goro gives her a frosty look. “Rule 21 of the student handbook states once a club is entitled to a location, any other club that wants to use the same place must have its permission, and I’ve clearly refused.” He glares at her, daring her to say something.
And of course she does. Niijima crosses her arms and shakes her head. “And yet rule 3 says the student council president’s word is final.”
“Only if the vice president agrees in accordance.” Goro counters. “...and vice versa.” He muttered after a heartbeat. It was mainly due to this specific rule that the school could never properly be reformed, as he and Niijima would constantly quarrel, making it impossible to come to a decision about almost anything.
Niijima’s face soured. “It would seem that we are at an impasse.” They regarded each other coldly, while Kurusu and Okumura exchanged nervous glances.
“Very well,” says Goro finally. “I suppose we will have to resume this conversation somewhere else. For the time being, I’ll be with Kurusu-kun.” He sweeps past her and Okumura, grabbing his bag on the way out.
“Close the--”
Goro shuts the door before Niijima can finish her sentence.
Robin Hood protests, You can’t slam the door on a lady! but Loki cackles. What lady?
Goro ignored them and grumpily made his way to Kurusu.
Kurusu studies him curiously. “Argument with the prez?”
Goro pinches the bridge of his nose and groans. “Niijima and I have never been on good terms, and now it seems that she wants to kick the ant counting club out of the roof.” Goro rolls his eyes in what feels like the fifth time today, and he sees Kurusu hiding a small smile with his hand.
“Let’s go somewhere else.” Suggests Kurusu. “Like the fountain?” They usually met there after school on days when his ant counting club duties weren’t calling him, since most students often steered clear of that area as it was rumored to be bad luck. Something about a curse or something, but it was just all plain superstition.
A quick glance at the clock in the hallways told him there was a little over seven minutes left. “Lunch will be over by the time we reach, so we might as well discuss while we walk.” Goro hadn’t packed himself anything, but the bread he had eaten for breakfast was enough to last him the whole day.
Kurusu gave him a sideways glance. “I’m guessing you’ve already heard about what happened today morning?”
“Of course.” Goro takes out his pencil and flips his calculus notebook open while walking. “Everyone’s been chattering about it.” He looks over all the questions briefly. It wasn’t too hard, so he started working on them, using his right hand to steady the book as he did so. “Go on, I’m listening.”
It was normal for him to be talking to Kurusu whilst doing his homework whenever the latter sought him out at lunch, in order for him to make best use of his time. Goro had long mastered the art of multitasking, so it wasn’t a huge deal for him, although sometimes he’d bump into obstacles whenever they were walking.
“Uh-huh. So I was thinking that the cards could’ve somehow changed Kamoshida’s Palace.” Goro nods, humming to ensure he was still listening to him. “Like, you know, after our letters are sent, shadow security levels usually increase dramatically.”
“Mm. I’ve also come to a similar conclusion.” Goro concentrates on his handwriting, trying not to allow his arm to shake too much. “It unnerves me to know there's a chance of another party in the Metaverse evading our sight the entire time, though unlikely.” Goro curses as the mechanical lead breaks, and he clicks the cap furiously, to no avail. He lets out a sigh as he rummages through his bag for lead while still walking.
“It could just be a prank.” Kurusu nudges him to the right, and they both avoid a group of passing students. “You might just be overthinking things again.”
“Certainly, that might be the case, then why now? Why not try scaring him earlier?” Goro counters, his brow furrowed. “It stands more chance if they had just done it from the beginning if they wanted to scare Kamoshida.”
“Maybe they just wanted proof? The wording of the letter, especially about the part on stealing desires still sounds like something a seven year old would make up.” Kurusu shrugs, pulling his bangs. “‘Course, you have a point there.”
“You’re way too nonchalant about this.” Goro shakes his head and goes back to solving his math problems while Kurusu continues tugging him to avoid walking into obstacles. “Are we anywhere near the fountain yet?”
“Almost.” Kurusu replies. "And, we are meeting after school, aren’t we?" He asked hopefully.
"Absolutely." Goro taps his pencil onto the book as he tries to concentrate, solving the next set of problems while talking to Kurusu. "Issue is that you’ll need to fill in the club form by today, and Kawakami’s only handing forms out after school, so we'll have to delay our trip for a bit."
"Oh yeah. Speaking about clubs, I couldn’t help but overhear the very not heated discussion you and Niijima-senpai were having, but..." Kurusu’s voice trails off. It’s only then does he glance up, to see Kurusu reach over to unlock the door leading to the garden.
“We weren’t very subtle about it, yes.” Goro scoffs, snapping his notebook shut. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole school had heard her.” The both of them never bothered to keep their mutual distrust a secret from each other, although in front of others he did try to tone down on the dislike, but lately it was becoming impossible to do so.
Kurusu tilts his head in a somewhat confused manner towards the left, squinting. "You know you guys could just choose different days to hold the club, right?"
Goro pauses.
The simplicity of the situation suddenly dawned on him: the solution had been straightforward, yet he had been so caught up in his bitter spat with Niijima that it never occurred to him. It was like a slap to the face, especially when he prided himself in his grades.
Kurusu laughs a little at his expression. “That never came to you, did it?”
Goro grunts, annoyed at having been outsmarted by Kurusu yet again. Though they were in different years, Kurusu had the intellect and wits to match him. There were times in which he’d feel slightly resentful over the fact that Kurusu seemed to have everything, from being stupidly good at everything he did to his flawless skin and sharp grey eyes, while Goro had to work his way up the ladder and fight to maintain his scholarship and social status.
A long time ago he would’ve bated himself into a hissy jealous fit over being outsmarted by anyone, much less Kurusu who was a year younger than him (junior year Goro had been a nefarious little twit), but now he had learnt there wasn’t much gained from doing so. He exhales. “Not really,” Admits Goro, adjusting his blazer. Then, just to be nice, he adds, “In fact, that’s to be expected from you.”
Kurusu nods, looking relatively pleased, and doesn’t respond. He instead nudges Goro to the left, and the fountain comes to sight.
“You know that you can rely on me for your student council duties or anything, right?” Kurusu’s grip on him tightened, maybe trying to squeeze him reassuringly. “Or you don’t even need to ask for my help. You can just tell me anything if anything comes up, and I’ll be okay to help you. We can’t exactly do anything if you’re stressed out all the time.”
Wait . Grip?
When did they start holding hands?
Goro stops walking. Pulled, Kurusu stumbles. "Akechi?"
“Kurusu…” He frowns and looks down. “What are you doing?”
At one part of their conversation, it seemed that Kurusu had grasped his hand because of the way their hands were intertwined. But Goro hadn’t noticed anything, which was somewhat concerning.
“Sorry!” Kurusu lets go of his hand as quickly as if it was fire. “Force of habit.”
Well, maybe that was to be expected. They had been holding hands in the Metaverse most of the time, after all. Perhaps he should have been more surprised that this was the first time an incident like this had happened instead. “No, it’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”
“Right. My bad.” Kurusu seems way too flustered for someone who had made one too many bad puns and bantered with him shamelessly in the Metaverse.
“The bell’s going to ring soon, so I’ll go over the details fairly quickly.” Kurusu doesn’t look at him, but his eyes pointedly darts around at everything else.
Goro mentally takes note of that, observing him closely. “We’ll meet in front of the teacher’s office on the 1st floor, then we’ll go together to the Metaverse after filling in the form for clubs.” Goro frowns. “Kurusu, are you listening to me?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Kurusu spares a glance down for a second, clearly distracted. “Teacher’s office. First floor. Clubs. See you later, Akechi.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and hurriedly speed walks away even before Goro could say anything in response.
Goro watches him go, a bit puzzled by the sudden change in behavior. Initially, it had seemed to Goro that Kurusu was fine with the whole hand holding situation, but perhaps Kurusu was more bothered about it than he let on.
Well. That would pose to be quite an issue if that were to be the case.
Goro sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. Why was it so hard to figure out the enigma that was Akira Kurusu?
“Here’s the form, Akechi-kun.” Kawakami hands him the paper, turning on her chair to look at him. Outside the teacher’s office, he can hear the muffled chattering of students as they passed the corridor as they headed to their clubs. The bell had already rang, and he and Kurusu were standing in front of Kawakami’s desk.
“Thank you, sensei.” Goro takes it, eyes skimming through the text to ensure there weren't any typos. Then, satisfied, he hands it over to Kurusu, who’s busying himself over searching for a writing utensil. “Sensei, do you mind if we were to hand in the form to you once Kurusu finishes filling the form, assuming you’ll still be here?”
“Huh? Oh, that’s all right…” Kawakami pokes the huge mountain of papers on the left of her table with her red pen. “I was planning to grade some work anyway. The second years had their tests today.”
Kurusu seems to not have any utensils on himself, because he carelessly grabs a pencil out from some other teacher’s desk, before leaning on the desk surveying the form. Goro suppresses a sigh at the act of casual negligence. How did he even get through the day without a single pencil?
“Kurusu-kun, don’t use Chuono’s pen without her permission,” sighs Kawakami. “If you don’t have a pencil, you can always borrow one from your peers or ask me instead.” She picks up one of the pencils from the pile of messily scattered stationery on her desk and offers it to him. “Here, use this one instead.”
“Sensei, please don’t trouble yourself over it.” Goro reaches into his pocket for the pen he always kept in his pocket for emergency purposes, like to scribble down mental notes, observations he made during the day, or to stab anyone else to protect himself if necessary. “Kurusu can use mine. It’s my responsibility as his senior, after all.” He balances the pen between his thumb and index finger before tossing it to Kurusu, who catches it, fumbling a little as he does so.
“If you will, then. Kurusu-kun, be sure to follow Akechi-kun’s example and be more prepared in the future, please.” Kawakami presses her fingers to her brows, rubbing them. “Hopefully snatching others’ belongings from their desks isn't a normal occurrence for you, Kurusu.” She says sternly.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kurusu hangs his head meekly, before going back to the form.
Goro briefly considers watching him fill it out, but decides against it. Kurusu would probably not appreciate him breathing down his neck watching him write. And it was a club form, not his living will, for heaven’s sake.
“Actually, Akechi-kun..” Kawakami sets down her papers and she averts her gaze to him. “Is it fine if I take up some of your time while Kurusu-kun finishes up, seeing as you’re waiting for each other?”
“Of course sensei, it wouldn’t be a bother at all.” Goro responds with a smile, but internally he’s already starting to panic. Why would Kawakami want to speak to him? He doesn’t recall anything that he’s done in school that guarantees a conversation with her, and his grades were still doing fine, barring the ‘A-’ he had received recently. “Is there any reason in particular?”
Kawakami purses her lips. “I’m not exactly sure how to bring this up to you, so I’ll be blunt here. It’s about your activities after school.” She props her elbow on the table, looking at him.
His throat suddenly feels dry. “I’m sorry?” His mind jumps to the worst possible conclusion. How had she figured out that he was Crow? Was it because he had been careless in erasing their tracks? He shoves his thoughts away, storing them for later. Not yet, he thinks to himself. He’d figure that out later. But firstly...
It was best to eradicate the threat as soon as possible.
Goro quickly takes notes of the security cameras embedded in the corners, which meant he’d need to lure her into a blind spot where the cameras couldn’t see. He still had another pen in his pocket. But how would he deal with the unfortunate consequences? Goro tenses.
Goro subtly watches Kurusu in the corner of his eye, who was still bending over, writing on the form innocently, as if this issue didn’t concern him. Well, no matter. Their relationship was probably close enough for him to convince Kurusu to help him hide a body.
“Your club activity. Ant-counting, was it?” Kawakami interrupts his thoughts. “Alongside your student council duties as well as the pressure to keep your grades high in order to maintain your scholarship.”
Oh. He relaxes. So that was what the conversation was about. Goro almost feels bad for contemplating genocide, but that was almost always the easiest option.
“And especially regarding your economic situation…” Kawakami gives him a look of concern, folding her arms. “All that must be stressful for you, Akechi-kun.”
His routine was so crammed that he had collapsed from overexertion just a few days ago, but he offered her a cheerful smile. “Oh no, not really!” Goro says like the liar he is. “But thank you for being worried about me.”
And he’s sincere about the last bit, because Kawakami was one of the nicer teachers in the school, although he wouldn’t hesitate to silence her even if it meant death.
“I see.” Kawakami doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she still seems a little less worried. “Glad to hear. But don’t overwork yourself, okay?”
“Of course, sensei.” He dips his head. “Although the same could go for you.” The hastily put on makeup that Kawakami wore did little to cover up the dark circles underneath her eyes. And maybe he did surprise her, because Kawakami’s mouth slightly parted, before she caught herself.
“Ha. Thanks for the concern.” She clapped him over the back, and Goro coughs. “But you should be worrying about yourself first.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He straightens up. “Would that be all?”
“Yes, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” She eyes him sternly, before looking over his shoulder and calling out. “Kurusu-kun, are you done with the form? You’re taking too long.”
“Just completed it.” Kurusu slides the form over to her. “Do I need to do anything else?” He wrings his hands nervously.
“No, you boys are free to go now.” She picks it up. “Have a nice rest of the day.” Kawakami waves a hand at them, shooing them away.
“Have a nice rest of the day,” Echoed Goro politely, and Kurusu mutters his goodbyes.
Once they were inside the alleyway behind school, Goro pulled out his phone.
“Kamoshida Suguru, Shujin Academy, and Castle.” Goro recites, then the world warps around them.
Kamoshida's Palace was a gigantic castle, tall towers looming and oppressive. The air surrounding the Palace was dull and dense, just like Kamoshida.
From what he can gather just by looking, there isn’t any difference in the outward appearance of the castle, but nothing ever changes in the appearance when they send their invitation letters anyway.
The interior was filled to the brim with nothing but lustful desires and self praising junk highlighting the characteristics of the twisted person Kamoshida actually was. In society’s eyes, a medieval castle was majestic, served by righteous and chivalrous knights, but this was definitely anything but.
A king knew his limitations and worked around it, but this?
This was the collective desire of an egotistical criminal still caught up in his past days of glory.
And it maddened him, a burning rage fueled by the unjustness of the situation, that people like Kamoshida were able to get away with horrendous crimes while tainting the image students had of teachers.
Not only was he ruining students’ lives, but also making the jobs of the real teachers to be even more difficult. By causing the victims to be distrustful of all teachers in the future, it resulted in students having a harder time to open up to them.
Kurusu, now fully Joker, dressed in his dark tailcoat and domino mask, heads towards the castle, before glancing back at Goro. “Looks the same.” Joker adjusts his mask, before holding out a hand to him, grinning. “Let’s go in further, yeah?”
Seeing as how he had been put off by the hand holding situation at lunchtime, Goro tentatively reaches out, but Joker snaps his fingers impatiently and actually rolls his eyes at Goro. “C’mon Akechi, we don’t have all day.”
The audacity of him, and especially when Goro was trying to be considerate…
Goro glares. He roughly grabs Kurusu’s hand and purposefully squeezes it hard. Kurusu yelps.
The same warm feeling floods through Goro as they venture deeper into the castle. Though the effects of the invitation letter should have raised the security level, there were less shadows than anticipated, even by a normal Palace’s standards, only a couple of them lurking in the hallways. They sneak past them easily, evading the shadows’ attention.
The objects inside of the castle were rather messy and unkempt, as if someone had been messing around with the interior. The banners that had been hung all over the place, once proudly glorifying Kamoshida, seemed to have been shredded, now nothing more than red strips of ribbons clinging onto the walls. Some of the windows had been smashed, glass shards scattered all on the checkered marble floor. They pass one of Kamoshida’s portraits leering at them, and Goro notices gigantic rips in the painting.
He eyes the tears in the portrait warily.
It was as if… something large and angry had lumbered into the Palace before them, damaging and destroying everything in its path, before scouring its claws over it. Or was it a metaphor of Kamoshida’s feelings? Perhaps his ego had been wounded after reading the message the Phantom Thieves had left him.
Behind you, Robin warns, and Goro spun just in time to see the shadow of one of the guards patrolling the area covering the wall next to them, casted by the dull lighting of the Palace. He crouches, dragging Kurusu down with him as well, effectively hiding their positions. The guard doesn't seem to have noticed them yet, continuing to clank down the hallway slowly in its suit of rusted armor.
Kurusu settles into a more comfortable position on the ground, the ends of his coat flapping as he does so. Kurusu leans over to him. “Shall I?” Joker murmurs, his voice a low rumble into his ear, nodding at the guard.
Goro is hesitant, lest he gets in danger, but they have to get past the guard in order to pass to the next point. So he nods, readying himself as well.
With his confirmation, Joker lets his hand go and slides down the hallway, pressing his back to the wall, sneaking up on to the guard. Then, when he was close enough, he lunged up with one fell swoop. There’s a horrible creaking sound as the guard tries to shake Joker off, the metal on its armor squeaking with its movements. All seems to be going well, before the shadow decides to thrash frantically, limbs flailing around in every direction.
For a second, Goro panics, thinking Kurusu had been hit. He almost summons Loki, but Joker dodges every of the shadow’s attacks, while impressively managing to stay on it the whole time, swaying wildly as it stumbles around blindly. Then with a loud crack, Joker tore off its mask. The guard groans, before it erupts, revealing three Pyro Jacks.
With a satisfied look on his face, Joker tugs on his gloves, before leaping back for Goro to take over.
Showoff, thinks Goro, sliding into formation with his gun aiming at it.
“What do you want, ho!” The first Pyro Jack chittered. “It’s not good for someone searching to hee hire me to be trying to threaten me, ho!”
Goro responded by firing a few shots. The Pyro Jack screeches, before dissolving into tendrils of darkness.
Well. That was more simple than he had expected. He turned to the others.
“Wait! You’re-” A Pyro Jack trembled. “They’re the ones, ho!”
“The ones that tried to force the dried pumpkin, ho?” Another one glances at them. Then, it continues, outraged. “We never recovered from that, ho!”
Furious whispers erupted from the shadows. “Dried pumpkin! Dried pumpkin!”
Great. Now Kurusu has got the whole entire Pyro Jack nation against them. Goro should’ve expected something like that. Next to him, Joker bats his eyelashes innocently.
“Shut up,” Goro grouches, even though Kurusu hadn’t said anything.
Loki hisses, pushing at the edges of his mind, impatiently demanding to be let out, but he ignores Loki, and continues firing at the Pyro Jacks, one by one, until they dissipate. He scowls.
The Pyro Jacks were merely pests in comparison to the previous times he had entered the metaverse. They weren’t worth the energy and effort to even summon a persona anyway. Goro couldn’t help but feel disappointed at how easy it was to have defeated them.
Joker bends down on the floor, examining the possible items that the shadows might’ve left.
“Huh. The shadows didn’t drop anything.” The other observes, fiddling with his dagger.
Nothing? Goro grimaces, feeling uneasy. The fact that there were barely any shadows included with the destroyed interior had given the Palace a quiet, almost eerie atmosphere. There was something very, very wrong with the Palace. He grips his gun tighter, and his right hand rests on top of his saber. He didn’t like this feeling one bit.
A metallic clang interrupts his thought. “Intruders!” Another guard was advancing towards them, probably alerted by the gunshots.
At the exclamation, Joker quickly stood up. Then, noticing the guard, he jabs a finger to the corridor behind them. “Time to flee?” They would undoubtedly win in a battle, but he really didn’t want to risk any injuries or time, especially if the shadows weren’t going to leave them with any items.
“There’s nothing else we can do.” Goro agrees, then they start running down the stairs together.
“Stop right there!”
“It’s on the left side!” Joker pulls them left. The stairs evolved into a steep slope, and the lighting in the hallway was even darker than the previous room. “Then we advance to the right at the intersection, where the library should be.”
Goro doesn’t question him, straining his eyes in an effort to see in the darkness.
By now, he’s learned to trust Kurusu with his life, but he’s not yet trusted Kurusu with things like efficiency and productivity. Those words just didn’t exist in his dictionary. “It’d better be right.” Goro growls, as they dash through another one of Kamoshida’s ripped portraits. “I’m not going to handle your bullshit today.”
Joker playfully sticks out a tongue at him. “Even so, you’ll have no choice but to trust me, senpai .” He slurs, with the emphasis on the last two syllables.
Goro grits his teeth in frustration. Kurusu’s memory allowed him to remember every single area that they had been through, but ever since it was apparent he had started to rely on Kurusu, Kurusu had taken advantage of that. Sometimes, when Goro disallowed him to befriend the shadows, Kurusu would purposefully make them run in loops around the Palace, despite clearly knowing the way.
They cut through a corner and land themselves in front of the library. Slightly breathless, Goro whirls around to make sure there were no more guards following them, before pulling Kurusu along with him into the library.
The library is massive, with shelves reaching up dizzyingly to the ceiling, full of books both thin and thick, but Goro ignores everything, trudging towards the bottom shelf. He squeezes his fingers in the middle of two books, searching for the button that would reveal the secret compartment that would lead from the library to directly where Kamoshida’s shadow usually resided.
“This time, I’ll go in first.” Kurusu volunteered, stretching his arms. “Time to display my amazing skills.”
One of them had to stay behind, because the secret tunnel was far too small for a battle, meaning if they were ambushed, none of them would see the light of day. Of course, the idea of sending only one person in was still rather risky, since there was no telling if they were ambushed on the other side as well. So Kurusu was usually the one staying behind, even though he could usually handle himself well with shadows.
But given the lack of shadows today, Kurusu would certainly be able to fend them away himself.
“What skills?” Goro dismissed him, finally feeling the familiar knob on the shelf. “You mean those skills when you failed to finish off the shadow that was literally in front of you?” He presses the button, and the bookshelf on their right silently shifted, revealing the tunnel.
Joker doesn’t reply, but looks up rather seriously, which was quite unusual for him to do so in the Metaverse. “Crow?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll see you on the other side.” Joker waggles his eyebrows, posing a peace sign, before ducking down into the darkness. Goro lets out a huff of amusement. He leans back on the bookshelf, crossing his arms over his chest.
Oh dear me, I hope the little Prince will be alright by himself. Robin’s voice echoed in his mind immediately the moment Joker left.
Little Prince? Just because Ren Amamiya and Kurusu looked alike didn’t mean they were the same person.
Hmph. Doubting our partner now, are you? Loki sneered venomously.
My partner. Goro cuts in sharply. His personas paused, momentarily surprised, maybe because he was never that straightforward with them.
… Sure. Robin manages and fills in the silence a few seconds later. I am thou, thou art I.
Our partner. Loki stubbornly insisted.
Goro shrugs. It was unlike him to be so worked up over something so little. Maybe Kurusu was starting to become closer to him. But he was still an acquaintance. Goro didn’t have any friends, and didn’t need any. And that was not going to change anytime soon.
He glares at the books next to the tunnel sullenly.
How long do you think Joker’s going to take? Loki stirs, already bored. I bet twenty minutes.
You’re the one doubting him now, sniffs Robin. I, however, based on previous records believe a mere five will be sufficient enough.
Goro scoffs. Kurusu was going to take however long he wanted, on his own sweet time, whether that may be five minutes or five hours.
It’s been like how long again… 4 months since he first followed us inside the other guy’s Palace, huh? Robin says wistfully. Look at him, all grown up now.
What are you, his mother? Snaps Loki. But then, with something that suspiciously sounds like pride, he added, But from time to time he’s proven his worth, like how he’s able to communicate with the shadows.
Why were his personas so contradictory?
Remember that time when he tripped while trying to fight that Shadow? I won’t lie, it was quite adorable. Robin sighs. Now he barely even needs us at his side 24/7.
He can’t even tie his shoelaces. Loki harrumphed. And in the face of danger we’re always the one protecting him.
Goro tries to tune out his personas talking, trying to concentrate on guarding the entrance.
Don’t bother, says Loki gleefully. We both know you’re still listening .
“Maybe the both of you should be concentrating on our task at hand instead of chattering to each other like old ladies exchanging gossip in the market.” Goro retorts.
I prefer the term planning for future purposes, thank you very much. Robin puffs out his chest. If this was supposed to represent the persona he built himself at Shujin, Goro marvels at how uniquely peculiar his classmates had to be in order to ever find anything like that likable.
“And I suppose you’d like the term lying by omission as well?”
Come on, don’t be like that! You know you love gossiping-- er, future planning with us! Chirps Robin.
Goro rubs his temple, exasperated with the both of them. “I have literally no idea what you’re saying.” He says honestly.
In a corner of his mind, he senses Robin and Loki mentally exchange glances.
“What.” He grouches.
Nothing , they chorus together.
How childish. He refuses to acknowledge their association with him.
I am thou- Robin begins.
Just shut up, please.
Serves you right. Loki gloats.
“You’re not exactly helping to disprove the narrative either--” Goro starts, before he hears a small noise behind him.
It was barely audible at first, a sharp crackling noise akin to the way paper would sound when crinkling, but with every passing millisecond it grew increasingly louder.
Instantly his senses were on full alert, and in one swift move he drew out his saber and whirls around, cocking his ray gun with the other hand. Loki and Robin tense, ready to face the new threat.
Goro whirls to see a trickle of cement, dribbling down from the corner of the room to the marble tiles.
It wasn’t a shadow after all. His guard lowered. Loki rumbles in disappointment, but Robin seems even more panicked. Quick, get out of here!
He blinks, momentarily confused. If it wasn’t a shadow, there was nothing else that was urgent enough to require escape.
Without warning, cracks started to spread all over the ceiling of the room.
“Shit.” Goro curses, but Robin isn’t done panicking.
Get Joker!
Joker? But he was in the tunnel on his way to the other room… The tunnel .
“Shit.” Goro says louder. He glances towards the compartment, where clunks of marble were starting to creak, lattice like fissures starting to form. And Goro realizes, with growing horror, it was about to cave in.
Just the other day the news channel had been announcing a mine collapse. No survivors were left. All 23 miners had died, either crushed by the earth or suffocating due to the lack of oxygen. And Goro, being Goro, jumps to the worst possible scenario.
“Joker!” His voice echoes through the passageway. “Get out of there!” There was no response from the tunnel, and a wave of panic surges over him. Did Kurusu hear him? Was he even in there? Goro’s about to run inside and get Joker out himself when Loki speaks.
Stop! Loki commands. If you enter, you’re going to go down along with him.
Goro hesitates. That’s right. It was far too irrational to be dashing headfirst into danger if it could be avoided. He grips the bookshelf tighter. For now, the most logical thing would be to stay out of danger himself.
Furthermore, Joker might’ve safely gotten to the other side already. There was no need for worry. He was capable of getting himself out safely anyway...
What if he hasn’t? Whispers Robin, his voice slowly rising, becoming louder. Can you really forgive yourself if that happens? He’ll die if you don’t do anything! Robin screams. We can’t just stand aside and watch that happen!
The ceiling above the tunnel groaned, sloughing off another layer of cement. Then, almost in slow motion, right in front of his eyes the whole thing collapses.
Goro feels his heart drop.
He had wasted far too long trying to assess the situation.
Ignoring Loki’s protests, Goro sprints, trying to get into the tunnel before the whole entrance is barricaded. “Kurusu!” He yells his name over the cacophony of noise, but it was futile. Goro could barely even hear himself.
Panicking, he tried to push the remains of the ceiling aside, but it’s too heavy for him. Try as he might, it refuses to budge an inch. Goro is all too aware of every second that passes by.
“Loki!” In a last desperate gamble, he rips his mask. “ Megidolaon!” Loki bursts out with a screech, and a huge blast of light erupts in front of them. The wreckage in front of the entrance explodes into dust, but another stack of debris quickly takes its place.
No! Robin shrieks. You’re speeding up the collapse!
Now it’s not only the compartment that has given way, but the whole room is shaking, threatening to collapse on him. But he’s panicking, too frantic, imagining Kurusu on the ground of the tunnel, unable to move with an injured ankle, Kurusu unconscious unable to hear him, or even dead--
Goro’s breath hitched, and the blood roared in his ears. Then he gags, the dust from the explosion clogging his throat. He can barely even see the compartment anymore, with all the dust hindering his sight. He reaches out blindly, trying to move the marble away, his nails scratching uselessly against the hard surface.
Goro should have never allowed Kurusu to accompany him to the Metaverse. Overwhelming dread, heavy and dense, settles in the bottom of his stomach.
Get a hold of yourself! Loki snarls, frustrated. You’re losing yourself!
He pauses in his digging, heavily panting for air.
Satisfied Goro was listening to him, Loki continued. Kurusu has the Metaverse app, if he uses a Goho-M, and clicks the app, he’ll be unharmed! And if he doesn’t, well, he’s going to be dead anyway.
Loki! Robin chides.
Just leave already! Loki is getting impatient.
“I can’t.” He can barely speak. While there still stood a slimmest chance Kurusu was still alive, Goro was not going to leave him behind. He was still partially responsible for Kurusu.
How about your mother? Loki questions. Are you still willing to stay for Joker? Willing to die for him?
That’s…not fair. Robin tries to say, but even he sounds uncertain.
At that, Goro clenches his fist. His mother’s heart would break if he never returned home. For a split second Goro was torn between them, hesitating, standing in the middle of the crumbling room. But in the end he knows what he has to do.
And was he really willing to go to such lengths to rescue Kurusu? Even at the expanse of his own life?
Goro would do anything he could for his mother, even if it meant sacrificing Kurusu.
He didn’t think this through. How ironic it was in this situation Loki was the rational one.
“Sorry, Kurusu.” He mumbles underneath his breath, hoping Kurusu would understand. “But my mother comes first.”
I’m not sacrificing myself for you.
For the first time today, Robin doesn’t protest.
Steeling his resolve, Goro turns, trying to find the exit of the library without his eyesight, supporting himself against the walls of the room. But the dust had thickened so much he might as well be trying to fight through a room full of cotton.
“Robin.” His voice sounds foreign to his own ears as he rasps the name of his persona. “Kouha.”
Goro feels Robin’s presence next to him before Robin lights the whole room up with a flash. Eyes stinging, Goro staggers towards the exit, hacking and coughing.
Every step seemed heavier than the last, and exhaustion almost entirely consumes him when he manages to stumble out just in time. Goro digs his fingernails into his palm, trying to keep himself awake. He still needs to leave the Palace.
When the library finally collapsed, it did so with a slow creak-creak-creak , as if the shadows of the Palace were laughing at him.
No hard feelings, Kurusu.
It’s just human nature.
“Good job, team!” Morgana is absolutely satisfied in every way the heist went. It was only thanks to him the Phantom Thieves had successfully managed to steal Kamoshida’s treasure, a gold medal that glittered like the stars with his assistance, and his plan was a success.
Morgana knew his instinct had served him well, when he had first met Ryuji and deemed him to be worth helping. Well, Ryuji had helped him escape from the cell first before they had made the deal.
“Woot, nice job, Mona!” Ryuji cheers loudly in response, bending down and raising his fist. “Fist bump!”
Morgana reaches out and reciprocates the gesture, his paw meeting Ryuji’s fist. Him and Ryuji came off on the wrong foot initially, but after a few lectures by Lady Ann, they definitely had a mutual understanding of each other.
“Well, nice to know you guys are finally getting along!” Lady Ann seems pleased, a huge smile on her face. “But while that’s sweet and all, we’ve all got to run if we value our lives!” She gestures to the crumbling Palace. “We’ll get crushed if we stay here longer!”
“Party pooper.” Ryuji mutters under his breath, but Morgana notices he looks slightly worried as he glances around.
“But before we go our separate ways…” Lady Ann reaches down to ruffle the fur on his head, and Morgana can’t help but purr, leaning into her touch. “I know when we made our deal we said it was just for a one time thing, but won’t you consider staying with us?” She pleads.
“Yeah, I don’t mind at all!” Ryuji says. “Well, only if you want to.” He hurriedly adds.
Morgana puffs his chest, a little proud. “It was an honor, Lady Ann!”
She claps delightedly. “Is that a yes, then?”
“Unfortunately not.” Morgana hangs his head, looking down on the ground so he wouldn’t need to see their disappointed faces. Though it was nice that they had offered, he had his own personal goal that he needed to accomplish, and no matter how tempting the offer, it wouldn’t be enough for him to agree
“Aww…” Lady Ann’s voice alone conveys how crestfallen she is, and Morgana guiltily studies his paws.
“I want to find out who I really am,” Morgana says firmly, feeling the need to explain himself. “Our goals don’t really match up, so this is where we’ll have to part ways.”
“That’s a shame…” Morgana is surprised to see even Ryuji look disappointed. “But we can’t force you.”
“We should leave now. Hopefully we’ll see you again!” Lady Ann calls, before she follows Ryuji, who was starting to jog away. “Bye!”
“Thanks for your help, Mona!” Ryuji yells one last time.
Waving to them, Morgana watches the last of the Phantom Thieves vanish as they disappear down the corridor. Then he sighs, ears drooping.
And after all this, Morgana can’t help but feel a bit… hollow inside. He had been too proud to admit it to Ryuji or Lady Ann, but a tiny part of himself had felt temporarily satisfied when he was with them, but deep inside he knew it was just a one-time gig. It wouldn’t have been very self-fulfilling in the long run. After all, he was on his own mission.
Nope, nope. He shakes his head as if he could clear himself of the negative thoughts that way. The Palace is on the verge of total destruction, but Morgana isn’t very worried. He has his own means of leaving the Palace, after all. Morgana’s about to make his way out of the Palace, when something in the corner of his eye catches his attention.
Curiosity pique, he bounds over for a closer look.
It was… a pile of rocks and marble.
And underneath the debris was a human arm.
Morgana jumps back in surprise, startled, before he realized the arm, thankfully , was attached to a body. “Whoa there!” Morgana yelps from behind a column of marble. “You scared me there.”
When there’s no response, he cautiously peeks out. The human ( or shadow? ) seems to be unconscious.
It’s then when he slowly creeps forward, still trembling a little.
Morgana scrutinizes the boy in front of him, who was lying on the floor face-first. The boy seemed to be no older than the Phantom Thieves. He donned a peculiar outfit, with a dark coat draped on his shoulders.
Unlike Lady Ann and Ryuji, however, Morgana couldn't help but feel this was exactly the visage he had envisioned a phantom thief should look like. A black and white domino mask was sprawled on the ground nearby him. Did he have a persona as well?
Morgana noticed with a wince that his legs were crushed by a few chunks of debris, and blood was seeping through a cut on the back of his head. A lot of blood.
But the strangest thing of all was that he couldn’t help but feel somewhat compelled by the boy. There was something about him that Morgana couldn’t quite help but be strangely drawn towards him.
It’s him. Zorro whispers. He’s the one we’re looking for.
For what? He tries to ask, but Zorro doesn’t reply back. He usually never did, so Morgana’s already used to that. But for this instance, he doesn’t need Zorro to answer. Morgana already knows what he means.
Morgana’s gaze trailed back to the boy once more. It would be troublesome for him if he was going to stay any longer. But if he really was capable of helping Morgana solve his origins…
He nods, finally coming to a decision. There was no more time for debate. Morgana would help this human.
Was relying on his intuition a risky gamble?
Maybe. But his instinct was the one which had told him to help the Phantom Thieves, and teach them how to steal hearts as well.
And his intuition had never failed him.
“Alright, Frizzy Hair.” Morgana mumbles, already starting to clear the rubble on top of him. “Don’t prove me wrong.”