Chapter Text
Goro blinked once. Then a second time, then a third.
Surely, something must have been wrong with his hearing — perhaps one of those damned Shadows during his last Mementos run hit him in the head a tad too hard, and his ears were still ringing. No, that couldn’t be it, but… oh, dammit, he was silent for too long. He could actually feel Shido’s impatience with him through the crackling of the cheap burner phone.
“I’m… sorry, I was in the middle of some busy pedestrian traffic.Could you repeat yourself, fa- Shi- sir? ”
Shido groaned on the other end, and continued. “Don’t play dumb with me, Akechi.” He hissed, putting particular venom into the last name to emphasize his very clear feelings on the near slip. “Your popularity is plummeting, fast. A tabloid romance has potential, both to bolster your own numbers, and to silence the growing support for those pesky Phantom Thieves.”
Goro had no earthly idea how in the fuck that worked, logistically, but he never did care to understand the ravings of a madman. “Ah, but… wouldn’t it be best to keep it… close to home?” Goro hoped that not only would Shido pick up on his hidden meaning, but would then dismiss the idea out of hand. He had no time for such frivolous bullshit, not when his plans were getting so close.
Sadly, he was… only half right.
“You’d be correct, boy.” Shido continued, sounding almost like he was preening. Goro wanted to throw up at the thought, but it wouldn’t do to cause a public scene. “Which is why I’ve called in a favour from an old friend — you’re familiar with Kanako Asahina, correct?”
Goro wracked his brain, trying to recall why the name did actually ring a bell. One of Shido’s former aides, who left his service a few years back to focus on her family. Something about wanting to “properly nurture her young daughter”…?
Purple hair, dead eyes, screaming, so much screaming— Fuck.
“Right… the one you intended to be your treasurer, correct?” Goro said, instead of dredging up the memories of his… experimentation. The image of the girl was vexing, but he didn’t dwell on it more - it was rude to do mid-call. Especially when he was in a part of Tokyo where he knew Shido had some particularly… unscrupulous connections.
“The very same. I’ve heard she’s having some… difficulty with her daughter of late.” The way Shido said that word — difficulty — brought some unease into Goro’s brain. Not unlike how he chastised the boy for his difficulty in complying with those damnable experiments two years ago. It was another thing Goro had always wished so desperately to repress, but couldn’t — not until he was done what he needed to do. “Evidently, this difficulty extends to suspecting her daughter is… a lesbian. ”
The sheer disdain Shido held in that one simple word made Goro have to stifle back a barking laugh. How disappointed Shido would be if he learned that his own progeny, the same one who all his grand designs seemed to hinge upon, was every bit as gay as Asahina suspected her daughter to be. Goro almost wanted this daughter to kiss her girlfriend right in front of her mother, just so she could have something he couldn’t yet.
But then that biting jealousy of his came back, and with it, the thoughts of a certain curly-haired boy, with ebon locks, a charming smile, and the faintest scent of coffee beans. Damn that Amamiya.
“And you believe it would be beneficial to quash those beliefs… why?”
“If we do this, I’ll have my trusted treasurer back when the election is over.” Shido was definitely preening now, and Goro covered the microphone so he could retch without being heard. Disgusting, bald motherfucker. “I’m sending you every bit of information we have on this daughter. You have a reservation at 8, the address will be included.”
A finality; a command, rather than a request. No getting out of it, then. Not even time to stop at Leblanc beforehand, so he could get some actual good coffee for a change. “And, Akechi?” Shido asked, voice sounding oddly sweet — before the bile erupted once more. “Don’t fuck this up.”
Ah, Shido’s rare (in public) foul mouth. Serious, then. A sharp click sounded in Goro’s ear, before a little beeping — the file he’d mentioned. Taking a moment to read it, Goro noticed two very important things.
One, this file was far too detailed for someone who was just the child of an associate. Whoever this girl was, she must have been important enough to keep tabs on.
Two, this girl — reading the file again, he only vaguely registered the name Mafuyu — felt painfully familiar.
“Mother, I’m home!”
Mafuyu slipped off her shoes, leaving them at the front door — routine, ordinary. But what wasn’t ordinary was the lack of a response to her greeting — had her mother stepped out? Was she free to shed this troublesome mask? Could she- ah, no, there she was, lost in thought at the coffee table, a crossword book in hand.
“Ah, Mafuyu! Welcome home, dear!” Honeyed words from one who was supposedly out to kill her feelings. Mafuyu couldn’t quite believe what Kanade & the rest of Niigo had told her about her mother, but the signs… No, no, Mafuyu couldn’t think such things. This was her mother she was talking about; surely, her mother just wanted the best for her little girl, right?
(She didn’t even know what that meant to her anymore.)
“Working on a new crossword, Mother? Can I help?” Mafuyu slipped the mask back on, snugly. Just a bit longer before she could go back to her room, and shed this facade of hers — before she could hop onto Nightcord and speak to the others. The ones who gave her real warmth, even if she didn’t know why it was them and not her mother who made her feel this way.
(She’d been doing her research, at least when it came to Kanade — how her chest grew that little bit tighter when Kanade was worried or sad, or felt that little bit looser at Kanade’s joy and laughter. It sounded like what people called “love”, but how could she love Kanade so? She wasn’t family.)
“No, no, it’s quite alright, dear. I just needed a little break before supper.” Her mother smiled sweetly, getting a smile back in return. Mafuyu made her way to the stairs, but before she did…
“By the way, dinner will be late for you. After all, you have a date tonight!”
Mafuyu froze. A… date?
That made no sense. When would she have thought to ask someone out? Was this something her mother had arranged? Maybe she finally gave up on the notion of Mafuyu being a daughter, and simply wanted her life to be cushy and on the arm of some politician? No, that didn’t make sense — surely there was something more to this. Something far greater than her brain could process now.
“Oh? Won’t that get in the way of my studies?” Mafuyu asked, tentatively. Studying left her more hollow than usual lately, but at the very least it provided some respite from the frigidity she felt around her mother. Ever since that mock exam she’d skipped out on…
No, no need to dwell on that. It was… inconsequential.
“Nonsense. Akechi-san is a smart boy, I’m sure he’d be more than able to help you study!” Her mother replied, returning to her crossword.
That name… why…?
Mafuyu said nothing else but a quick “Alright!”, before going up the stairs, the slow trudging walk turning into a jog as she rushed back to her room. Slamming the door shut behind her, Mafuyu slumped against the hard wood and fell, seated, to the floor below, as though her feet couldn’t support her any further.
Mafuyu wasn’t sure why, but her breath was shallow, raw . Why did she feel this way at just the name of the boy she was supposed to see tonight? And why did things feel far colder now than ever? Why, why, why?
Brown hair, mad eyes, a guttural roar against the world, black & white swirling into a maddened flame—
There was an odd sensation of wetness against her cheek. Was Mafuyu… crying? That couldn’t be right. She didn’t… cry for anything. Not in years… two years, it must have been, since she cried last. An odd thing to remember, yet one memory Mafuyu holds onto nonetheless.
A memory of a time Mafuyu knew how to feel about things. Of a less confusing time. Of a… warmer time.
Rushing quickly to her laptop, Mafuyu hopped onto her Nightcord voice call — unsurprisingly, Amia & Enanan were already there, bickering, waiting for her and K to join them.
“I’m telling you, Enanan, those Phantom Thieves could do wonders for your life~” Amia — no, Mizuki — teased, once more eliciting a low growl from the other end of the conversation.
“Oh yeah? So what, you want me to get them to change your heart so you’ll stop being a pain in my ass?” Enanan — rather, Ena — snapped back, barely biting back more swears. Mafuyu surmised she was trying to hold back so K wouldn’t scold her when she joined their call.
“Ouch! You would me, Enanan~ I’m just saying, maybe you could get Lil’ Bro to start being nice to you~”
“And why the hell would I want that?!”
“Am I interrupting?” Mafuyu said, most definitely interrupting. A squawking sound from Ena’s end, and a giggle from Mizuki’s. Nothing out of the ordinary here. For a moment, Mafuyu felt more at ease, slipping into the role of Niigo’s lyricist, Yuki, once more.
Problem was, things were anything but easy at the moment, and evidently something in Mafuyu’s voice tipped the other two off. At least K — or, Kanade — wasn’t here.
“Ehh? Maf-uh, Yuki? You doing okay?” Mizuki inquired, immediately picking up on the added turbulence in Mafuyu’s heart.Was she truly that obvious to everyone but herself? “Did your mom do something to your stuff again? Do I need to call my Big Sis to get you a new synthesizer?”
“Or I could get Akito to scare her.” Ena added, nonplussed. Mafuyu could never tell what she was thinking, especially where it concerned her younger brother. “I bet he knows a bunch of scary women over on Vivid Street that’d do the job.”
“Ooh, Enanan’s even getting Lil’ Bro involved~ She really does care~!”
“Shut up, Amia!”
A ding, and the fourth member of their group let out a soft groan. Kanade must have just woken up, given how drowsy she sounded. Mafuyu almost wanted to slip back into the ‘good girl’ mask just to scold Kanade, but now wasn’t the time for that.
“Nn… morning, everyone. Yuki…” Mafuyu could hear the happiness in Kanade’s voice at her presence, and there was that blooming warmth again. “I’m glad you’re here. I got the lyrics you sent last night… they were wonderful, even more than usual.”
“Mm.” Mafuyu didn’t want to speak much more, but evidently, even that grunt of acknowledgment was enough to warn Kanade of the tumult within her.
“Yuki? Is everything okay?”
Mafuyu wasn’t sure how to respond. Would the others be excited for her, or…? Either way, may as well tell them — after all, she wasn’t exactly trying to hide what her mother was doing to her anymore. This time, she might even agree with the confusion of the others at what was going on.
“My mother is attempting to set me up with a boy. Apparently, I have a dinner date tonight.”
All at once, Ena and Mizuki erupted into a cacophony, yet perfectly in sync. “HUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!”
“Oh…” Kanade, meanwhile, was much more muted, yet the sound of disappointment was palpable in her voice. Mafuyu didn’t know why, though — unless Kanade truly needed her help with the new song? It couldn’t have been so tricky to compose the song now that she had the lyrics, right?
“Hold on! Who’s this guy trying to pick up our Yuki?!”
“ Our Yuki? You mean K’s Yuki.” Mizuki snickered on their end of the call, prompting Kanade to let out a little squeak of embarrassment. Which, in turn, got Mizuki teasing Kanade further over it, much to Mafuyu’s confusion. She never did understand the dynamics between the others, aside from Kanade liking all of them in some capacity.
“What’s this guy’s name, though? Between the three of us, I’m sure we could find out more about him.” Ena finally cut through the teasing to ask Mafuyu, silencing Mizuki for the time being — likely to Kanade’s relief.
“Mother mentioned an… Akechi-san, I think?” Mafuyu sounded almost tentative in saying it, but if the others noticed, they didn’t comment. Instead, Ena and Mizuki seemed shocked yet again.
“How the hell would your mom get you set up with The Detective Prince? ”
What?
“Seriously. That’s kinda freaky…”
“I’m confused.” Mafuyu interjected, before the others could speculate more. She really didn’t know who they were talking about, despite what the odd feeling in her head was suggesting every time she thought about the name Akechi . Strangely, the others didn’t seem so surprised this time.
“Oh, right, I bet you wouldn’t really care about famous people.” Mizuki said, snapping Mafuyu out of her thoughts. “Akechi Goro,” they began, with Mafuyu feeling… an odd twinge of something at the name. Nostalgia? She didn’t know. “Is this super famous detective. He’s been solving all these cases lately, about the mental shutdowns.”
Mafuyu had heard about those, at least. When her mother mentioned them, fretting over her safety, it was one of the increasingly rare moments where Mafuyu felt genuine warmth in her mother’s presence. It did lead to her mother planning her schedule a bit more tightly over the next few weeks after, though, so it wasn’t entirely ideal.
“Oh yeah, didn’t he just do some interview about those Phantom Thieves?” Ena chimed in, almost lazily. She must have been focusing on her drawing, and was only really poking into the conversation because she could. Mafuyu didn’t mind so much, but now she was just getting more confused.
“Yeah! Hold on, lemme grab the video.” Mizuki replied, before they muted for a bit. Mafuyu hummed thoughtfully, before noticing that Kanade was also muted — and, in a rarity for her, deafened. She must be focusing very hard right now, hard at work to finish their new song.
(On Kanade’s end, she was muted because trying to bite back tears, though she herself wasn’t sure why. Only that it involved Mafuyu, and the news of this date. Maybe she could ask Honami the next time she came over.)
“Here!” Mizuki began sharing their screen, which was opened onto a tab of the interview this… Akechi fellow had done.
As soon as Mafuyu saw his face, she hung up the call. Her phone was pinging constantly with notifications — likely, Mizuki & Ena panicking over the swiftness with which she left the call, and probably blaming her mother for it somehow — but Mafuyu couldn’t answer them. Not right now, at any rate, with her mind swirling uncontrollably.
That face… it was unmistakably the same from those weird feelings — visions? memories she’d repressed? — she’d been feeling. It… couldn’t be right. If he had anything to do with those, why was her mother chasing her into his grasp? Did she even know? Did she even care ?
As Mafuyu began to panic — something she didn’t even feel like she could do — another thought, much more hopeful, yet infinitely more traitorous, crept into her head.
Could this… Akechi Goro…
Could he help her rediscover her true feelings?
There was only one way to find out. But first, Mafuyu needed to get changed into something more… appropriate for her supposed date. It wouldn’t be fitting for a ‘good girl’ to look slovenly when going on an outing with a celebrity, after all.
And Mafuyu was nothing if she wasn’t a good girl.