Chapter Text
“Foolish woman,” Goro couldn’t help but voice his thoughts aloud. Sae-san, while extremely intelligent, tended to believe all of Goro’s acting. He knew he was a fairly decent actor, along with a liar, but this was just rich. He savored his victory and began his descent along the rest of the empty corridor. His steps echoed off the walls.
Upon reaching the room, Goro eyed the guard. The plan was to ask him to come in, shoot the witness, then carry on with the erasure of the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
Easy, Goro thought. He tried to ignore Robin Hood who was going on about justice and this being far from it. Loki, on the other hand, was sure to mention how close they were to succeed in their revenge schemes.
Asking the guard to accompany him and spewing something about being afraid, the two entered the room. Goro’s movements were quick. He took the guard’s gun, fastened the silencer on it, and shot. He felt his hand tremble. Just like the metaverse. It’s not real. But it was and Goro couldn’t lie to himself for long.
Whatever. He glances at the other occupant in the room, schooling his expression into something neutral. Would Kurusu believe he came here to save him?
Probably not.
“Have you finally pieced it all together?”
It’s then that he gets a good look at Kurusu. The teenager has bruises scattered all over and a sort of … dazed look in his eyes. Eyeing the ground, Goro quickly becomes aware of the truth serum that must be running in Kurusu’s system. Those filthy bastards …
Kurusu remains silent and Goro steps closer. He waits for a reply.
None comes. Goro uses this as a cue to take out the gun and point it at Kurusu’s head. This, however, gets a reaction. Kurusu’s eyes are blown wide and he looks so very scared.
It’s then Goro reminds himself that this is real. This isn’t some shadow that will blow into a cloud of black smoke. While Goro may not have known the cop and has refused to look in his general vicinity, Goro knew Kurusu—and well at that. He considered Kurusu a friend. Even the thought of seeing the blood and the color draining from his face, which was actually happening as Kurusu seemed to be getting more and more terrified for his life.
“Case closed,” Goro finds himself saying, “this is how your—”
Kurusu is still silent. Why hasn’t he said anything? Begged for Goro to stop. Does he doubt Goro has any good left in him? Part of Goro is saddened by that thought, but another part is angry. How dare he?
Goro tips the gun towards Kurusu’s forehead, moving aside some of his bangs.
He gives Kurusu a smirk and says a small, “bang,” while throwing in a snarky wink. Then he proceeds to take the silencer off the gun, setting it down on the table. “I’ve shot you. Now it is time for us to get you out of here.”
Maybe he will regret this all later, but that is a problem for future Goro.
Moving around to the other side of the table, Goro begins to help Kurusu out of the seat. It proves difficult, as Kurusu seems to be still heavily under the influence of drugs and the cops probably broke some bones or something. Goro curses them in his mind and moves towards the exit. The two are practically limping out of the room with Kurusu saying nothing. It’s pretty unnerving, but Goro tries not to think about it.
When they reach the elevator, Goro sits Kurusu against the wall. He dials Shido’s number out of pure memory and tells him of his success in killing the leader. Keeping an eye on Kurusu is plenty satisfying, especially when Kurusu’s eyes seem to go large as saucers when Goro drops a “Shido-san” somewhere in there. He gets a snappy reply from his sorry excuse of a father, but the call is quickly over.
“It’s time to go now.” Goro helps Kurusu back up. He should be able to get him out fairly easily. Most of the cops were instructed to leave. Goro had told Shido it was best to be careful and have no one bare witness—he was glad for that now.
They take the elevator.
Goro’s head gets a jolt of some kind, a feeling of coming out of water or something. He shakes his head and figures it is only nerves.
By the time the two reach the end of the elevator, Goro directs Kurusu to a fire exit nearby. It’s a good thing he’d brought his bike today. He should be able to bring both of them to his apartment. Although, a glance at Kurusu and Goro tuts. He’s still covered in bruises and … what if someone spots them, even if they’re on a bike?
Taking off his blazer, Goro puts it on top of Kurusu’s head. “Try to appear less … on the brink of passing out.” He gets a nod in reply, but nothing much more. Goro takes that as a cue to get them both on his bike and then starts pedaling to where he sleeps.
Once they arrive, Goro locks his bike up and gestures for Kurusu to follow. The apartment complex was rather large. It had a modern appeal to it, but Goro never really considered it home. He heads to the elevator and Kurusu follows him inside, still awfully silent.
“I figured you’d need to rest on a proper bed. I can take a look at your wounds for today, but we should probably bring you to get looked at by that shady doctor of yours.” Goro also didn’t want to have to deal with the Phantom Thieves' looks if they were somehow at Leblanc. Along with Sojiro, since he was in the know, as well. He most definitely was at Leblanc and Goro was tired.
Kurusu gives a nod in reply, looking down at the ground. “I’m tired,” he mutters quietly.
“I would be worried if you weren’t,” Goro replies and heads for his apartment door. He quickly unlocks it and allows Kurusu to enter first. “Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” He heads to his kitchen to start the kettle, but before he gets far Kurusu says a quick,
“Tired.”
And that’s it. Goro eyes him curiously, before sighing. “Follow me. You can borrow some spare clothes and use my bed.” It is the least he could do considering everything. Kurusu’s current condition is entirely his fault. Speaking of … “We have to clean up your injuries first.” Without looking back, Goro heads for the bathroom and begins taking out his first aid kit. He has a variety for all of his metaverse escapades, so he should have something useful.
Kurusu enters and eyes all of Goro’s equipment. “That’s a lot,” he murmurs, eyes a bit large.
Shrugging in reply, Goro meets Kurusu’s eyes. His eyes lacked the usual … fire. He seemed almost lost and unsure. Probably because he is in his supposed assassins apartment … He directs his thoughts away from that and looks back at his toilet. Closing the lid he instructs, “Sit down so I can take a look.”
A flinch. Goro feels guilt wrack through him but remains silent as Kurusu makes his way to the toilet seat. After he’s sat down, Goro begins with his face. He first cleans the little cuts and bruises, then applies ointment. He asks where Kurusu is hurting and that eventually leads them to look at his stomach. Placing his shirt aside, Kurusu doesn’t even glance down at his stomach where a bruise is already beginning to form.
“Your ribs are severely bruised … We will have to visit that doctor of yours after all.” He won’t mention that no matter what they would have visited. Goro doesn’t make eye contact and instead works on treating the rest of Kurusu’s wounds. It takes about another hour before they’re done. Goro tells Kurusu he can shower and leaves to find him suitable clothes to wear for the night.
He ends up settling on a pair of joggers and a random t-shirt. When Goro heads back he knocks on the bathroom door. “I have some clothes,” he reports to the closed door. After a few seconds of no answer, Goro gets worried and opens the door. Kurusu is still sitting on the toilet, but—more worrisome—his head is in his hands and he is staring at the tiled floor of the bathroom. “Kurusu-kun?”
The ravenette startles and looks up from the ground. “Sorry,” he utters, seemingly withdrawn. Goro can’t really blame him after everything he’s been through.
Instead of showing his worry, however, he instead tosses the clothes next to the sink. “Take your time. There’s a spare toothbrush in the cabinet.” He thinks if he’s missed anything, then decides he hasn’t and moves to leave again.
“Uhm—” Kurusu starts before Goro can leave. He’s playing with his bangs. “Thank you.”
He shouldn’t be thanking me. Goro feels something like fury—which isn’t a foreign feeling, not really—wrap around him. Instead of replying in a socially acceptable way, Goro instead turns his head back towards the door and leaves, slamming the bathroom door behind him. He regrets the action after hearing Kurusu’s squeak of surprise from inside.
The regret fades once he hears the water start running.
To occupy himself, Goro starts on that coffee, gets his bed ready, and then ends up reading a book in the living room/dining room. He only gets one chapter in when he hears the water stop. A few pages later and Kurusu is exiting the bathroom and looking around. His hair is still sopping wet and getting on Goro’s hardwood floor. Goro should be angry—really, he should—but he can’t find it in himself to care. He never really liked his apartment anyway. It always felt like one of those showrooms that you’d see at a furniture store.
Kurusu finally spots Goro and gets a small, fidgety smile on his face. It feels different than usual, but Goro knows there are perfectly definable reasons for that. Walking over, the boy holds up his uniform. “What should I do with—”
“I’ll put it in the wash.” Practically ripping the clothes out of Kurusu’s grip, Goro opens a closet nearby with his washer and dryer. He throws the uniform into the washer, adds some random soap he thinks will suffice, and presses start. Turning back to Kurusu, he finds the boy watching him closely. “Come, I’ve cleaned the room for you.”
When they enter the room (Goro only really had to make the bed), Kurusu glances around.
“It’s nice,” Kurusu says.
Goro grimaces. “I know it’s plain.” He doesn’t need Kurusu to lie straight to his face. His home lacks any … homey feel. Strangely enough, Goro finds himself frowning at the thought. He never had any inclination to change it, yet now, with Kurusu here, he wishes he had.
The thief only shakes his head and heads for the bed. He eyes Goro as he sits on the edge of the bed.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” Goro leaves the room and goes back to making his coffee. Of course, it never actually started. He’d forgotten to press the power button. Heaving a sigh, Goro sets the coffee aside. It was rather late anyhow, and he should better get sleep if he was to deal with the rest of the thieves tomorrow.
He has spare blankets in his closet, luckily, so he takes those out and brings them to the couch—not before switching Kurusu’s uniform to the dryer. He doesn’t use the couch as often as he used to since he started going to Leblanc, but at least it was somewhat broken in. Goro sits down and sets his phone on the coffee table. He decides to turn on featherman to try and fall asleep too. It was always his comfort show—the one he used to watch with his mom as a kid.
A memory comes to him.
His mom had come home late and she reeked of alcohol from her job. She hadn’t been drinking, but the men she’d had to work around had. Goro hates that she had to work in such an environment all for his sake. He mentally curses Shido once more, before remembering how else that day had gone. He’d stayed up for her. It was his mom’s birthday the next day and Goro wanted to stay up until midnight so he could tell her happy birthday. He wanted to be the first, but well, his mom hadn’t arrived home until well over three o’clock in the morning.
Goro had tried not to be disappointed and when his mom came through the door he gave her a big grin and showed her a cupcake he’d made. It was one of the only ones that weren’t… too burnt. Goro wasn’t a good cook then and still isn’t, regretfully so. “Happy Birthday!” Goro had shouted, his grin getting just a bit toothier.
Instead of being disgusted at the cupcake—which Goro hadn’t even put frosting on, since the frosting he’d made was far too liquidity—his mom smiled a tired smile. She picked Goro up, taking the cupcake in her open hand. She was quick to take a bite and make a face of pleasure (Goro knows now it was more at his making it, rather than the taste). “Thank you, Goro,” His mom had said, her smile getting more and more gentle.
After that, his mom saw the mess in the kitchen, which Goro swore he’d clean up the next day. She seemed happy with his response and was quick to say they should head to sleep. At the time, Goro just wanted to celebrate with his mom and shook his head. He was firm and kept telling her they had to stay up. Eventually, his mom suggested they should watch featherman—it’d always worked to put Goro to sleep.
He was quick to agree, it was his favorite show after all, and they ended up on the living room sofa. Their television was rather old, but it didn’t matter much. As the two watched the show, Goro fell asleep at record speed. His mom had smiled down at him, before turning off the tv and bringing them both to the bed to sleep for the night.
Goro always appreciates this memory. Featherman had turned into a sort of comfort, as it was some of his last ties to his mom before …
Before his thoughts spiral onto that topic, he hears footsteps behind him. His head turns fairly abruptly, then his eyes meet steel.
“Sorry,” Kurusu says for the second time this evening. Goro is starting to get peeved. He raises an eyebrow at Kurusu and this seems to get him to continue on why the hell he isn’t asleep right now. He blurts, “I couldn’t sleep.”
Goro thinks to hold back an eye-roll but does it anyway. “Of course you couldn’t.” He scoots to the armrest of the couch and allows Kurusu to sit beside him. Kurusu seems apprehensive at first. He ends up sitting anyway after Goro eyes him with an impatient look and a pat to the open seat beside him.
Kurusu eyes the television. “Featherman?”
That catches his attention fast. “You watch it?” Goro doesn’t even catch his wide smile until it’s too late, but Kurusu frowns and shakes his head. The excitement decimates and he looks back at the television. Of course he doesn’t, it’s a stupid kids show.
“I’ve heard of it though.” Goro can feel Kurusu’s gaze on him. He tries to ignore it and pay attention to the screen, but Kurusu speaks up again. “Maybe we can watch it together?”
The thought makes him smile for all of two seconds before he shakes his head. “You’ll be going back to your friends tomorrow and I assume after that we won’t be…” seeing each other ever again, friends, I’ll probably be in jail, who knows? There were a lot of unknowns with how tomorrow could go. He fears Okumura’s reaction if he was honest with himself. The way she would smile at a shadow before slicing her ax into them was something to strike fear in anyone.
“Let's start tonight.”
Kurusu was never one to leave room for debate, was he?
Standing and grabbing the DVD box for the first season, Goro smiles to himself. He returns to his seat and the show begins. It only takes one episode to make Goro sleepy, but three until he starts falling asleep. His eyelids grow heavier and heavier and soon enough, he loses consciousness.
Waking up the next day is this:
Goro’s neck is hurting, he’s cold, and there’s sunlight in his eyes.
He is quick to sit up and sees Kurusu laying against the other armrest, fast asleep. What was the point of lending him my bed if we were both going to sleep out here? Goro is grumpy this morning, he finds.
Rather than holding that grudge, Goro stands and makes his way to the kitchen to make coffee. The microwave reads “ 8:30 ”. They should probably begin getting ready to head to Leblanc. The longer Kurusu’s friends think him dead, the worse the reactions will get. Heaving a sigh, Goro makes sure he actually starts the coffee this time, then heads to the dryer to retrieve Kurusu’s clothes.
When Goro has finished folding them and goes over to Kurusu on the couch, the thief is still sleeping. They don’t have all the time in the world, Goro decides, and drops the clothes on Kurusu’s face. He hears a sound of surprise and shuffling around, as Goro turns and heads for his room. He has to shower and get dressed.
Goro has learned to get ready rather quickly each morning. He’s back out in under ten minutes and spots Kurusu in the kitchenette. He’s pouring two cups of coffee and he’s in his uniform.
When Kurusu sees Goro he smiles and gestures to somewhere behind Goro. “I put the clothes you lent me in the wash.” Goro blinks in reply. “I—uh—I watched how you put this one … I hope you don’t mind—”
“I could’ve done that.” He won’t say thank you, Goro decides and grabs one of the cups of coffee. He chugs half of it down, keeping his eyes trained on Kurusu. The boy seems shocked for a moment before he sips at the cup leftover in his hands. “We need to head to Leblanc now. Get your shoes on.” Goro puts his empty mug in the sink and turns to his front door.
“Should I wash—”
“Come on, Kurusu, we don’t have all day.”
Hurried steps follow him.
The train ride to Leblanc is rather quiet between the two. Kurusu stares out the train window and holds onto an overhead handle. His face is blank and Goro hates that he can never read him. By the time they reach Yongen-Jaya, Goro is already mentally drained from all his thinking. He just knows this is all going to go poorly. He can pretend all he wants that his entire plan was to save Kurusu, but he doubts that anyone would believe him.
When they arrive at the cafe’s door, Goro waits for Kurusu to head in first, but he seems to wait for Goro. Glaring at the thief, Goro opens the door and enters to find … the thieves. What luck he had. Truly.
“Akechi?”
“What’s he doin’ here?!”
“Huh?”
And so on. Goro tunes all their overlapping racket out as he scans to see if everyone is truly present. Sae-san is here too, which Goro finds odd. Although what is even odder is when he meets grey eyes. Grey eyes he had just seen a moment ago, standing … behind him.
Goro feels his stomach churn as he turns behind him. Kurusu comes inside and blinks at everyone. His bruises are actually more prominent today, turning darker shades.
He turns away again. This Kurusu’s face looks less beat up, but Goro knows a makeup job when he sees one. Kurusu is gaping at the Kurusu behind him and—this is getting confusing, even to Goro. “What?” Goro says to the air.
“You—” Kurusu, the less beat up one, begins but stops suddenly. He glances at Sakura-chan and asks, “Could that be…?”
Sakura-chan seems to understand what he means because she gasps rather dramatically. “You’re right, Akira!” She gets a big smirk on her face that's as sharp as her intellect and begins typing away on her laptop. “This means … This can mean so many things!” She quickly meets Goro’s eyes and he finds himself shifting his feet. “...So, spill. What’d you do?”
“Me?” Goro slips into his Detective Prince mask, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t quite gather what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb, Akechi, this has everythin’ to do with you,” Sakamoto grumbles. He has his arms crossed and is pouting like a child. Goro resists rolling his eyes.
He meets Kurusu’s eyes again and their leader is looking away, seemingly trying to avoid looking at … the other Kurusu?
“Why are there two?” Goro looks to Sakura-chan for an answer. She and Kurusu-sitting-down both know something and he wants answers. Something isn’t adding up, this doesn’t just happen.
Sakura-chan makes a noise that sounds a bit like “eep!”, then pushes up her glasses, and squirms in her seat. She hugs her legs and answers, “N-No. Not until you answer my questions first.”
A sigh. Of course. Of course, he had to share first. He looks to his right where Kurusu has decided to stand now, rather than behind him, and raises an eyebrow at the thief. Kurusu looks away and starts fiddling with his bangs. Such a great help.
“I,” he couldn’t say saved, because it is his fault Kurusu was in there in the first place, so Goro quickly plucks a word from his mind, “got Kurusu-kun out of there. At least … I thought…”
Goro feels so unsure. He hates the feeling and wishes that Sakura would just explain what the hell is going on.
“Aha!” Sakura exclaims. “So you’re a fake!” She points to the Kurusu standing beside Goro. The Kurusu in question startles and looks around the room as everyone seems to have looked at him at once—well, except the other Kurusu.
Kurusu frowns. “I’m … I’m not..” but he doesn’t even finish his sentence, as other thieves cut in first, drowning out his voice.
“No way,” Niijima says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she eyes the thief. “So this must mean…” She glances at Sakura and the redhead nods in reply. The two seem to have their own secret communication going on.
“I still don’t get it,” Sakamoto comments, and Goro, for once, actually agrees with the vulgar boy.
Morgana mutters something about “that stupid idiot” or something along those lines.
Sakura heaves a sigh. “Remember our entire plan, Ryuji? Akechi saved Akira, but he saved the cognitive Akira. Our plan still worked, but Akechi apparently had a change of heart in the process. So when I brought him back to the real world using his phone, he must have been holding onto the cognitive Akira and brought him with.”
Suddenly the puzzle pieces in Goro’s mind were all clicking together. The random headaches he’d gotten down where the interrogation room was held, Kurusu being … off?
The Kurusu beside him was Sae’s cognitive version of Kurusu and Goro had been played. His entire plan from the very beginning was a bust. Part of him is slightly proud though, for having saved even a fake copy of Kurusu. It would at least give him some redemption in their eyes.
Said fake Kurusu was moving further and further behind Goro. “I’m—I’m not..”
But now Takamaki is talking over him. “Ohhhh, I get it! So the one Akechi saved is basically a fake.” She twirls a strand of her ponytail around her finger and is tapping a finger on her chin in thought. “Wow, that’s crazy. And I mean like … crazy crazy.”
Kitagawa hums in approval, eyeing the copy. “I do have to agree. Although, once again, I’m in awe at how exact the cognitive double is.” He begins doing that preposterous frame with his hands.
“You really do look just like Akira!” Okumura nods along, eyeing the copy with a look of awe.
“You’re all frightening him,” Goro says in his best pleasant voice. Almost like a placating parent.
Sae is the one to speak this time. “I have to agree, even if I don’t understand the circumstances, talking about such a matter in front of the person as if they weren’t here is quite rude.” She stands and faces Goro, or more so the person now hiding behind him. “I apologize.”
“‘s okay,” the copy says.
The real Kurusu stands. “We need to take it back to the metaverse.”
Everyone startles. Most of all, the copy startles.
“No!” Copy Kurusu exclaims, moving out from behind Goro and stands his ground to Kurusu. “And I’m not an it .”
Goro feels his lips twitching because this is just rich. Things truly are getting intense.
Kurusu huffs and starts pulling at his bangs harshly. Goro can see his tensed shoulders from the entrance.
“But we can’t really have two Akira’s walking around … that’d be super weird.” Takamaki chimes in, frowning at the copy. “And the metaverse isn’t that bad! You could—”
“The moment we bring him into the metaverse, he might actually disappear.” Sakura shoves her glasses up again. Her eyes are on her laptop, probably not wanting to see Copy Kurusu’s reaction. “He was made from Niijima’s palace … but her palace no longer exists, meaning he shouldn’t really exist either. If we take him to Mementos or some other palace, the cognitive world would try to right itself and, as a result, poof. Goodbye Cognitive Akira.”
This seems to frighten Copy Kurusu, as he moves back behind Goro.
Kurusu is still pulling at his bangs. “And? He isn’t real.”
Goro senses something there. He can’t help but be curious, but he also knows he will probably never get an answer.
“I’m right here. I am real.” He moves out from behind Goro for the second time, standing his ground. This is really the loudest Goro has heard the copy speak. Yesterday he was rather quiet and hardly said anything. Although, now his voice is firm with conviction. Truly Joker-like.
Kurusu seems to sense this and glares at the copy. “You’re just a copy made from Niijima. You’re not real .” He sounds spiteful and his voice is cold. It’s rather weird to see Kurusu having this tone with anyone—and himself, no less. He looks at his teammates. “Come on, guys. Can’t we all agree?”
Ah, their entire group vote system. So if one person felt they shouldn’t send Copy Kurusu back he’d be safe? Goro doubts he’d be able to vote, along with the copy. He feels his stomach drop a bit at the realization. He truly was no help, was he?
“I-I mean … I agree with our leader. It’d be kinda weird havin’ two Akira’s … ‘nd it’s not like he’s real, so…” Sakamoto chimes in.
Kitagawa tuts. “I cannot agree. It is fascinating to see someone else’s view of you, Akira. Whether he is real or not.”
“I have to agree with Yusuke-kun!” Okumura says, nodding. She smiles at the copy. “You really do look just like Akira,” she laughs a bit. “I apologize, I just can’t get over it!”
Sakura is hugging her legs closer to her chest, her glasses glaring only at her computer screen. She has a frown and remains silent.
“I don’t think we should either. Like, yeah it’s totally weird to have two Akira’s, but … he’s still a person. I mean, sure, he is a cognitive person, but he still thinks and breathes and all the stuff we do.” Takamaki adds, before smiling at Copy Kurusu. She then adds, “uh—I think.”
Morgana is staring at the table, frowning with his … cat mouth. “Exactly. From the cognitive world or not, to get rid of him would be..” he doesn’t continue.
Niijima nods along. “But that means we would have to help this Kurusu stand on his own two feet … he isn’t like Morgana, where we can simply have him tag along. Akira may be right. It would be too much for us to—”
“You’re telling me,” Goro begins, voice cold and laced with venom, “you all can change people's hearts, save countless from their clutches, but you won’t save one single person, because it’s … ‘too big a responsibility’? Really? Come up with a better excuse, but nice try, Niijima.” He rolls his eyes for real this time. Niijima is used to his more snarky replies, but never like this. Even Sae seems a bit shocked by his outburst.
“I … didn’t mean it that way. I just meant we need to give it more thought.” Niijima replies curtly.
Sae speaks up too, “I can agree. It will be a large responsibility. Although, this … Kurusu-kun did say he wishes not to be returned to the … erm … cognitive realm. Isn’t it ideal to save him?”
Heads nod in response, but Kurusu still seems off-put.
“Yeah, I mean, nothing is too much for us to handle!” Takamaki grins. “I’m sure we could handle it.”
“I could always put aside some money. Oh, and once I get this cafe up and running, I’m sure I can get you a job, Kurusu-kun!” Okumura seems absolutely elated at the idea, clapping her hands in glee.
Kurusu frowns. “But—”
“Oh, get over it, Kurusu,” Goro snaps. He truly couldn’t grasp why he was being so, absolutely stubborn. “Think of him as your long lost twin for all I care.”
“Ohhhh, yes!” Takamaki interjects. “We should give him a cool new name!!”
Sakura laughs in a mischievous way. “Already on it.” She whips her head to the copy. “How do you feel about Ren Amamiya?”
The copy pauses a moment, before smiling softly. “I … like that.”
“Whoo-hoo!” Sakura cheers. “First try! Man, it’s like beating the level one boss when you’re level 30! I’m OP, suckers!!” She pumps a fist in the air, then returns to her laptop.
Kurusu glances around, frowns again, then sits on the steps to the attic, away from everyone. He seems to be in thought and the others respect his boundaries, leaving him be.
Amamiya seems to accept the turn of events rather easily because his shoulders drop in a sigh of relief. Although it isn’t long until Takamaki is already by them and pulling Amamiya to sit in the booth seat beside her, welcoming him with open arms into the group.
Niijima eyes him from her seat. “We will get to you later. For now, I think we all need time to have things settle.” She turns to Amamiya and gives him a smile. “Everything will be alright now.”
He tries not to let the upcoming events fill him with dread, but the feeling is still there.
“I have to go. I have some work to take care of. Let me know if there is anything you all need, alright?” Sae informs, before looking at her sister. “Make sure you’re home at a decent hour. Please text me, so I can get dinner started.”
Huh. So her change of heart really did do a number on her. Goro was … happy. She seemed a lot healthier now than she did before. Still hard working, but not to the point of pushing injustices.
“Will do, sis!”
“Akira, make sure to lock up. I’m heading home for today.” Sakura-san heads out from behind the counter, grabbing his hat on the way to the door. “Oh, and be sure to clean up any messes.” With that, the two left.
Now it’s just the Phantom Thieves, Amamiya, and Goro. Although, maybe Amamiya is already considered an honorary member with how things are going. Takamaki and Sakura are bombarding him with questions, Niijima is trying to get them to give him breathing room, Sakamoto is cracking jokes and making Amamiya laugh, Morgana is quick to jump onto any of Sakamoto’s jokes, and Kitagawa is already sketching Amamiya out with Okumura watching over his shoulder in awe.
Goro decides to step away towards Kurusu, who is still sitting on the steps, only now his arms hang over his legs and his head is angled to the floor. He looks rather miserable.
“Ah, Kurusu-kun?”
“Oh so now it’s “Kurusu-kun”, huh?” Kurusu glances up with a fire in his eyes and a frown dipping on his lips.
Goro frowns right back. “Can we talk? Preferably somewhere private.” He makes a gesture up the stairs. He would rather no thieves try and listen in, thank you very much.
Kurusu is about to answer when someone shouts, “WHAT?” very loud. Goro turns back around, seeing Okumura with a hand over her mouth and Sakamoto standing (his chair is suddenly on the ground).
Panicked grey eyes meet his own and Goro grows even more confused. Amamiya says a small, “I want to stay with Akechi-senpai.”
Goro scoffs. “As if.” He hadn’t meant for that to be said aloud, but oh well.
“What? But you let me stay there yesterday!”
“WHAT?” Sakamoto again.
Takamaki drags Sakamoto to sit back down, but this time into the booth. “Where do you think he stayed, idiot?”
“And?” Goro replies, over Sakamoto’s reply of, “I dunno!! An inn?!”
Amamiya frowns. “I … I don’t want to live alone.”
Kurusu stiffens from beside Goro. He glances at him, but Kurusu is already heading up the stairs.
“But Akira lives alone?” Takamaki questions, unsure.
She’s probably looking too much into it. Goro sighs. He goes to explain, but Niijima beats him to it. “Sis might view that teenagers, or even Akira specifically, need someone to stay with.” She frowns. “Maybe I can see if she’d let you stay with us?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t mind, Ren-kun!” Okumura offers, smiling pleasantly at him.
First name basis already. Goro was impressed.
Amamiya glances from Okumura back to Goro. Eventually, he nods. “If either wouldn’t be a bother…”
Goro frowns. He didn’t like living alone either, but it’s not like that would have been a good idea anyway. The others would never have allowed it. Goro pushes it away from his mind and decides to head upstairs.