bakerstreet | Paradox

There he was.... standing in front of his shadow.... Was this what Shido really thought of him? Sure, they'd never had a homey, happy family life and things had been definitely strained between them, but how could he have not realized it sooner. Just as Goro was doing his best to find the perfect moment to strike and take Shido down, Shido had never cared about him. He never once cared that they were technically blood, as much as Goro hated to admit it. He had always wondered what Shido would do if he tried to tear his palace down himself. He thought that he was prepared for anything that could and would happen when that day came.

So how did he not come to think that he meant so little to his 'father' that he'd create a cognitive version of him to take the fall for him so willingly. All of his life he'd molded himself into being the perfect student and someone like-able, but it was never for the right reasons. He didn't do it because he really felt that way. He only did it to feel wanted or even needed. What happens when you force yourself to live like someone else? Did he even know who he -- himself -- was anymore at this point? Behind a fake, pleasant smiles and small talk, he was really just a bitter teenager who never really understand the feeling of being loved by anyone much less had a healthy family in his life to support him. Who needed friends, really? He only needed himself and the people he used along the way for his own goals. Only when he could accomplish what he'd worked so hard for could he really say it was worth it.

So how did it come to this? Wall closed off behind him and facing his own shadow. Seeing how obedient his shadow was to Shido was sickening to him. Is this what he saw him as? He wasn't stupid, but this was a huge oversight on Goro's behalf. What did it matter anymore. What he worked for his entire life was instantly destroyed in a matter of mere moments. Everyone would know he was a fraud soon. Everyone would realize just how undesirable and broken he really was. What did he have to live for if he was just going to die here to himself of all people?

He wasn't going to make it out of this and it was something that he should have seen coming sooner. He might die here, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

"It's over," the shadow said with a smug shit-eating grin as if he'd won. It only served to unnerve him even more, but more than that it just pissed him off even more that he thought Goro would just accept this fate without a fight. "You're right. It is over. I'll see you in hell," was all he said when he pulled the trigger. At that moment, things went dark. Was he dying? That had to be it. It was pitch black, all for a strange blue butterfly suddenly lighting up the area it was flying in.

"Is this really what you wanted? Was it worth it?" came a voice. Was it the butterfly? "What does it matter? That question is irrelevant now. I've lost. Now all I can do..... is hope that he holds up his end of the bargain," he responded back with a flat tone, brooding about how bitter he felt. "Perhaps it is not too late. Perhaps there's some use for you yet." a voice echoed back in the darkness. "What are you going on ab--," wait.... What was going on.

The darkness was quickly going away with the rise of a bright light. It was out of no where and bright enough to catch him off guard. Shielding his eyes, the next moment that he tried to glance around him, he found himself at the Shibuya subway. What.... was he doing here? Was he dead? He didn't see his shadow and he was clearly in the normal world. He'd been fooled once with believing he was in the right world, so he quickly pulled out his phone to see that all was normal. The Metaverse Nav icon was still there, but not activated. What was.... going on...? Glancing around, he happened to catch a glimpse of the familiar mop head entering the train.

The train... Wait, what time was it? He barely had any time to really register what was going on before having to hurry inside. Briefcase in hand, his gun was no where to be found. What day was it? "Man, did you see that broadcast last night?" a random man asked his friend. "Yeah! That was crazy! What kind of teacher does that to his students. Gross. And here and was a huge fan of his before this." she responded back to him. "Yeah, this will definitely kill his career." Wait. Were they talking about.... Kamoshida? That teacher from Shujin Academy? Why was this happening now? That happened ages ago...

He glanced over to Akira, seeing him talk to Morgana when he thought others didn't really notice. He knew that cat was Morgana, but Akira was.... here. Why? He should get going to school, given his timeline, but... he couldn't be bothered to do it right now. He had to get to the bottom of this. He may not really be an ace detective like he pretended to be, but it was definitely reminding him of what it felt like. Even if they were staged to make him look good, he couldn't just completely let that persona go. Not after this long of pretending to be like-able. He decided to stay on the train to follow him to Shujin Academy. If nothing else, what the others say about what's happened 'recently' -- if you could call it recent -- was just as beneficial for him to be aware of.

And there Akira was, none the wiser of Akechi's inner turmoil. His mind wasn't even really focused on the murmured conversation with Morgana he was having, not when he was still reeling from the shock of success.

Kamoshida was done for, all because the Change of Heart was a success. Because he, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann had made it one.

It... felt good, actually being able to do something for once. To not have his attempts be for nothing. Still, though... having that kind of power over someone was... a lot. He hadn't thought about it much during the time not since Suzui-- after that, there was no question that whatever risks were worth it. At least... that was what he thought at the time. Death could have been so easy and they all just... would have let Ann do it. Sure, the world may have been just that much better off without that scumbag, but it was because of Ann's particular brand of vindictiveness that Kamoshida was still alive, and not...

... He found himself jarred from his thoughts not by Morgana batting at his neck with a paw, but by the feeling of eyes on him. He looked up and over at Akechi, tilting his head. That guy looked kind of familiar, but Akira couldn't quite place it. Maybe he'd spotted that guy on TV while flipping through channels or something...?

He'd gotten off the subway train and come all this way, but his head was still reeling from everything. Was this real? Was he dead and just hallucinating this shit? None of this made any sense! He was caught in his own thoughts so he didn't recognize that Morgana had noticed him and got Akira's attention right away.

Oh... Uh... Shit. He 100% did not think this through. This was so unlike him to come unprepared. But.... was this really him, or just the persona he'd molded for himself all these years? He really couldn't say. It had never affected him in this way realizing that before, but now that he was really thinking about it.... It weighed on him. What was he supposed to do now? What was he going to do to get the deets from the other students here? Could he just say he was investigating the case or something? It would fit with what he was becoming known for at this moment, anyway.

Putting away the troubled, uncertain feeling aside, he put on his normal facade that everything was alright with a quick sigh to snap himself out of this daze he was in.

"Uh, hello there. I was just in the area to...," think..., "investigate the recent events. You're a student here, right? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Was that natural enough? Did that even make sense in this particular context? Maybe? It might be passable. Akira didn't seem to recognize him either way.

... Investigate recent events? That made him sound like...

Wait, this guy wasn't that far from his age. Didn't he remember from the news that the media had singled out a successor for Shirogane Naoto? So this guy was a detective...

Well. That made this a lot more... tricky. Hm. Well, it wouldn't do him any good to just say no--that'd look suspicious. He brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck and glanced off to the side. "Uh, sure, I guess."

Now that Akira was getting a good look at this guy... huh. Kind of handsome...

He really had no idea who he was. Goro's reputation preceded him, it seemed at this moment though. Okay, so he wasn't flying totally blind here. Don't give him a reason to suggest that that you know more than you do, Goro. He didn't actually need to ask anything, considering everything that happened, but that seemed like the most logical approach here.

"Great. What was your relation to Suguru Kamoshida? He was your teacher, correct? Can you tell me what he was like before he confessed to his crimes?" he'll just move on. Maybe he might get some answers that he needs this way as well. Maybe it was just subconsciously an excuse for him to speak to Akira to begin with? He had.... mixed feelings about all of this.

It was mostly weird to think that he'd somehow survived an otherwise unescapable death. Or maybe he didn't? Maybe he really was dead, but it sure as hell felt weird.

"You mean besides a raging asshole?" Akira coughed into one hand briefly, then scowled. "More seriously, though... I didn't really know him very long, just transferred in and all, but... You know those people who act decent in front of a group of people and then the minute you're alone with them they turn into a complete jerk? That was it, basically. Except he wasn't even that great at the whole 'acting decent' part, either, it was passive-aggressive comments and being an obvious slimeball all the way down." Akira ran a hand through his hair, pretending to be oblivious to Morgana hissing something to the effect of "Don't be so candid!"

"He was the type to try to get students he didn't like suspended or otherwise in trouble. He broke a student's leg in 'self-defense' after goading the guy into trying to punch him." And yes, there were air quotes at "self-defense."

Look, Goro knew he didn't like Kamoshida (clearly), but that question definitely got a reaction out of him. He knew of Kamoshida, but he didn't know it from the perspective of a student, much less Akira. He didn't know Kamoshida's personality that well. He never cared, to be honest. The type he would go after too, more vindictively than Akira would. Goro wasn't a good person, so that wasn't much of a surprise.

Hearing the second part made him raise a brow, "I see.... So overall, he has a bad personality." He would have said he was a shitty person, but that would be a bit out of character, "I'm assuming that you've been directly impacted by his actions." The more you know. Goro never took the time to get to know Akira or the others in the past. They were just pawns for him to use until their usefulness ran dry. It was a bit strange to actually find out more about him personally.

Edited 2019-08-03 10:32 (UTC)

"I mean, he called me defiant garbage to my face, so. Make of that what you will." Akira shrugged. "But, yeah, you're right. I transferred to this school because it was the only one that'd take me because of..." He hesitated for a moment. "Because of some stuff that was out of my hands and... well, I was hoping for a fresh start with only select faculty knowing the reasons I transferred in, but I wasn't even allowed that. Kamoshida had a student dig into my info and release a select bit to the entire school. And, well, I'm sure you know how vicious rumor mills can get. I'd say he was probably trying to get me to not bother coming to school with that."

His scowl faded after that, giving way to an expression tired and sad in equal measure. "He did some other really awful stuff that... I can't really say. It's not my place to disclose what he did." For the briefest of moments though, the haunted expression was as clear as day on Akira's face. He didn't even know Suzui that well, and still thinking of that day... it made his stomach turn, and he clenched his fists a bit thinking on it now. "But a couple other students and I tried to confront him for what he did after that, and he threatened to have the three of us expelled." Honestly, Akira wasn't even sure why he was being so forthcoming with this detective, but there was something about him that just... made him feel at ease, and compelled him to talk, somehow. "I have to say, whatever it was that actually happened to him was... uh, really conveniently well-timed."

Goro has done some horrible shit for the sake of his goals, but hearing that he wasn't really accepted anywhere made him think about what he had done. "Was it worth it?" that voice came back to his mind, recalling that question. After everything that he'd done and what little good it did him.... Was it worth it? Goro was silent for a moment, thinking on his own life.It was a reminder that everything he worked for was all for naught. It was all a waste of time in retrospect. He was back in time for some reason, but now that he was here.. Did he really have to do what he'd done in the past? Knowing what he knew now, wasn't this a second chance to change his fate?

What should he do? The way he'd lived was just so ingrained in his life now that he didn't know how to stop, even if he wanted to. He was lost and confused, meanwhile bitter and upset about how his life turned out. He'd been lingering on these thoughts for too long now. In the end, Akira should have hated him. Absolutely despised him for sort of "killing" him. And yet at the end, he still wanted to be friends? Why? Why would anyone want to be friends with him, knowing how shitty he really was? Maybe he could use this chance to change somehow...?

"Yeah, I'm well aware of how rumors can ruin things," he finally said, trying to keep himself looking calm and collected while dealing with a lot of internal issues, especially after coming off of a death (?). "It sounds like it was a turn for the better then. I'm sorry to hear about that."

There was something... troubled, in this other guy's eyes, and Akira would've been lying if he said it didn't worry him somehow.

Hah. Worrying about strangers is what got him into this entire mess.

He shook his head a bit at the apology and offered the detective an awkward smile. "I'll live, at least. People making vicious snap judgments about me isn't exactly new." There was a pause, before he added, "I appreciate the sentiment, though." He paused again. "Was there... anything else you wanted to ask?"

Goro had just come from the brink of death, but he still needed to watch his mannerisms. His head was still reeling when it came down to what he should do next, but he'll try his best to pretend everything was fine. "Ah, it's not exactly a comforting thing to get used to," he wouldn't exactly know. He's molded his life to be someone that everyone liked, even when that wasn't who he really was in the first place. He was just a piece of shit who couldn't even tell when he'd been a pawn this entire chess game. Just when he though he had checkmate, he was so easily dethroned...

Ah, right... Questions...., "I'm assuming the others had no idea of his true nature. How did they perceive him?" questions he didn't care about, but the detective in him still felt it was a good thing to touch base anyways. But aside from that..., "Oh right. I never did introduce myself, did I? My name is Goro Akechi." Seeing Akira when he had no idea about what was really going on... It was strange. He was confused as to why he wasn't just irritated seeing Akira like he'd normally been. Maybe it's knowing what his fate was that made him reconsider his options?

"Well, you know what they say about the nail that sticks out." Akira's smile turned bitter for a brief moment, but he shook his head, as if to rid himself of that line of thought.

The question... actually managed to make him cringe a bit, though. "... Yeah. About that. What Kamoshida was doing was... pretty much an open secret. Everyone knew it was happening... students, teachers, hell, even parents... but nobody wanted to say anything because 'oooh, how cool, an Olympic medalist is teaching at our school and making our volleyball team look good' when he was nothing but a washed-up, unprofessional, entitled piece of shit who tore down any athletic team that had any hope of outshining the volleyball team and probably couldn't get a real date if his life depended on it!" He realized how fired up he'd gotten and shrank back a bit sheepishly, scratching at one cheek as his face slowly tinged pink. He, uh... certainly didn't mean for all that to come tumbling out at once. Oops.

He coughed into one hand again and offered Akechi a grin. "Akira Kurusu. Nice to meet you, Akechi-san."

Goro couldn't help but let out a laugh in the face of all of this. Wait. Did he do a legitimate laugh? That was a surprise. It was just so uncanny to actually hear his thoughts about.... anything really. Especially something that was something that made him so fired up. The amount of roasting Kamoshida was getting from this conversation was intriguing, but it was understandable why he felt the need to "steal his heart".

"And no one bothered to say anything... It's no wonder why this school has gotten such a horrible reputation...," said without thinking about it, "Ah, sorry. No offense intended."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Kurusu-san," he said, offering his hand to shake.

Edited (Kun didn't make sense here whoops) 2019-08-03 11:56 (UTC)

Akira couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the laugh--that was a really nice laugh? He's cute. Akechi's really cute. And listened to him ramble... although, that was because said rambling was relevant to the questions he'd been asking, so...

(Still... Akechi was cute and had a nice laugh and was listening to him ramble... As if Akira needed a reminder of exactly how bisexual he was. This was no time for a minor crisis of that nature!)

He snorted at the offhanded comment and shook his head before delivering in perfect deadpan: "Don't you know? Shujin's known for its compassionate students and caring faculty." He chuckled to himself after that. "... In other words, none taken. It wasn't exactly my choice to attend this school anyway, remember?"

The grin came back as he took the proffered hand, shaking it firmly. "You don't have to be so formal. 'Kurusu-kun' works just fine."

What was this feeling...? Not that long ago, he hated Akira for getting in his way all of the time. For his friends ruining his hard work. But in the end, did it even matter? Did he even have a valid reason for hating Akira at this point? Isn't all of the reasons why he disliked them moot by this point? Still, even if he told himself to hate Akira, he was finding it harder to hate him... It made him think of the talk before the wall... "You don't really hate Joker, do you?" That's something he didn't have time to think about.

If he had to think about it now though.... He did have hesitations at the end... He should have killed them then, but part of him couldn't do it. Seeing how he had so many people there for him sort of pissed him off. Could you even call it jealousy if you always told yourself that it's pointless to make friends at all? When you faced the world alone, it became hard to really open up to people, and yet Akira had always made him feel like he could say anything to him. He had actually had self-restraint issues at times, telling himself not to be so open.

If this was a second chance, taking the deal in account, wouldn't it be more beneficial to join them and actually mean to stick around? Maybe they would even help him take down Shido, knowing just how well his last attempts went.

"Ah, well... If you don't mind," he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He'd never actually tried to make friends with people. Not without a motive. Well, he sort of had a motive, but not quite the same way as he had before. "Thank you for your time, Kurusu-kun. I suppose I should be heading off," he said.

He should go to school, but what's the point at the moment. He just came back from death and somehow ended in the past... He could probably just call in sick and use the day to recollect his thoughts.

"Ah, alright. I should probably be getting to class, anyway..." Akira paused before offering Akechi a small smile. "... See you around?" He certainly hoped that'd be the case at least. Maybe if the two of them caught each other again, he could extend an invitation for Akechi to come to Leblanc sometime. He could have a place to easily meet up with the cute guy he wanted to talk to again and potentially get more business for the cafe. A win-win situation, if you asked him!

Morgana just grumbled from Akira's bag, griping about how open Akira was being and that he'd better not make a habit of this, especially with a detective. The commentary went ignored.

"... Yeah. I'm sure we'll probably run into each other eventually," Goro said after a short pause. There was something strange about him wanting to see him around again. With a final faint smile and and wave, he went towards the subway to head home for the time being. He had... a lot to think about. Like what that blue butterfly was referring to and how he even ended up in the past somehow. Maybe he'd subconsciously wished for a reset button.

He still didn't know how to feel about everything, but at least he could think it over finally. He'd called in sick to the school. It wasn't likely that he'd be able to concentrate on his studies right now anyway. How was he supposed to live like a normal teenager after what happened? How can he just pretend that everything was okay with a fake smile when his life had literally just fell apart in front of him in a matter of mere moments. How do you even recuperate from a blow like this?

His whole life was a lie... and in the end he had nothing left. Nothing mattered when you got down to it, he had always lived a life where everyone liked him, but not for the same reasons why he did it for. He wasn't a nice guy. He didn't care about anyone else to smile and small talk them if it wasn't for appearances. He didn't keep up his grades because he wanted to be a honor student. His entire life had been calculated the moment he lost his mother and his "father" didn't give two shits about it. He'd built his entire life to get revenge and in the end, he fell short anyway due to a miscalculation.

Take that away, and what else did he have? A false personality and no idea about who he really was anymore after so long of living a certain way. Being all alone all your life made you build a fortress around you're heart. Once those walls were up, it was hard to take them down just like that. He'd changed into casual clothing and wandered around to gather his thoughts. He just didn't expect his feet to carry him all the way to Leblanc.

He stood in front of the cafe, uncertain of what to do. Why did he come here? Was it out of habit? Well, he was here, so he may as well go inside and order a coffee at least.

The rest of the school day passed normally, and it was... kind of boring, honestly. Akira trudged home from school, and decided he may as well help out at Leblanc that afternoon--nobody he really wanted to see was free, and there were some people that were just... too tiring to be around right now.

Time had passed quietly, as it always did on the slower nights, and Akira was almost a little surprised when he heard the bell over the door ring.

... And he was even more surprised when he saw who it was coming in. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Ah, hello again!"

Honestly, Akechi knew that Akira worked here from the previous times he'd come here, but today it wasn't exactly on his mind at the time. He didn't even realize that he was going to end up here to begin with. Maybe it was a good cup of coffee and curry that made his mind decide on the destination. Maybe it was unintentionally seeing him again?

Either way, there was slight surprise before realizing that fact. He just gave him a faint smile, taking a seat at his usual bar stool. "I didn't realized you worked here," he said, carefully selecting his words. He nearly gave it away that he was well aware that he was here, but he does have a cover to worry about until he could think of what was going on exactly.

"Mm, talk about a lucky coincidence you found this place." Akira found himself a bit more animated as he hurried over, much to Sojiro's... well, the man was somewhere between amusement and exasperation. Probably.

"Anyway, I'm just a part-timer... Ah, but I am here a lot, so..." After lapsing into silence for a moment, Akira pipes up again. "Oh, um, what would you like?"

"I guess I was in the mood for a good cup of coffee," Goro said with a small chuckle, "I'll have to keep that in mind, then."

What was it about Akira that made it so easy to talk to him about...? Even back then when he'd come here, did he come here for the coffee, or just because he knew he'd find Akira here? He was still stuck on about how he had "hated" him, but yet moments like this made it hard to really truly hate him.

Akira glanced over at Sojiro, who was already working on making coffee for Akechi, before turning his attention back to the detective. "Well, you picked a good place for it--and I'm not just biased because I work here. It was only after trying some of the coffee that Boss made that I ended up sold on it." He made a show of looking around before lowering his voice to a stage whisper. "I actually preferred tea before I came here."

Sojiro snorted and rolled his eyes, but continued working.

"You would make for a decent salesman, you know that?" Goro said jokingly as he glanced over to Sojiro making the coffee for a moment before glancing back to Akira. The whisper made him chuckle slightly, "Nothing wrong with liking a variety, right?"

Edited 2019-08-03 14:01 (UTC)

He let out a somewhat melodramatic sigh and shrugged exaggeratedly. "I guess." It was clear that Akira was joking, though, with the way he grinned after, cracking open one eye to look at Akechi. "Actually, come to think of it, the case must have been I hadn't had any good coffee up to this point."

Sojiro rolled his eyes as he brought over the coffee for Akechi. "Now you're just laying it on thick."

"Inexperience does lead to a naive train of thought, after all," He chuckled lightly. It was just a small jab towards Akira, but he was mostly joking. Honestly, the fact that he could even sort of put on his facade at all right now was more impressive than anything else. Maybe it was because he'd been doing it for his entire life at this point that it was second nature now? When the coffee was set down before him, he thanked Sojiro politely as he went to take a sip.

Things may have gone to hell and gotten extremely confusing, but a good cup of coffee was nice in a time like this. "... But he's not kidding. This is delicious," he said, addressing Sojiro. He already knew their coffee by now and he may as well have been a regular at that point, but they don't know that at this point.

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TMW you find spelling errors after the fact

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