bakerstreet | Paradox

"It's alright, it's just... awkward to bring up. It's kind of what wrecked the fresh start I was hoping for at school, so..." He stared down into his mug and took a deep breath.

"... I came to Tokyo on probation. I got expelled from my last school and Shujin was the only place that would take me." He let out a deep sigh. "Boss is my probation officer. I was arrested for assault--that's the official story anyway." He curled in on himself a little before continuing. "On my way home, I'd heard a woman screaming. When I looked into it, a drunk guy was trying to force her into his car. I tried to stop them, the guy took a swing at me, and toppled over when I dodged. Hit his head something nasty, I'm pretty sure he was bleeding. So... he made the woman corroborate his version of the story to the cops, and I got arrested."

Damn brat, I'll sue!

The mental image still stuck out in his mind so clearly, despite the fact that it was so dark. Akira lifted one hand from his cup and pressed it against his head.

"It was dark, so I couldn't tell you for sure what the guy looked like... but I swear... that guy at the buffet... that voice sounded like..."

Goro just drank his coffee while listening to him. On the outside, he seemed fairly put together, but as the story went on... he could feel his anger coming back to him. Of course. Of course Shido would be that shitty. It almost made him laugh; not because it was funny, but just the actions he chose.... It was definitely something Shido would do. He was doing his best not to let his anger get the best of him, but it was hard when you hated the guy as much as he did. Working alone obviously wasn't the answer, so maybe it was better to help Akira out instead? Especially after hearing this.

He would be lying to say he had all of his control on his emotions in check at this time, so Akira might hear Goro whisper quietly under his breath, "Of course he would...." It took a moment for him do say anything. "I'm sorry to hear that. You were just trying to help someone out...," which made him feel even more conflicted. This whole thing started because Akira was a good person stuck in a bad situation. Meanwhile Goro had never been a good person because he'd never really had the right support for that. "That's Masayoshi Shido, a politician looking to advice his career," maybe it would be a bad thing to bring that up now and so soon when it would take several months for Akira to find out otherwise, but anything to fuck Shido over. "He holds a lot of influence and power over the country, unfortunately."

"Masayoshi Shido..." The name sounded vaguely familiar, but as Goro kept going, it was clear why. Akira kept quiet, taking a long drink of his coffee. And it was just going to get worse if they sat and waited... but... well, no, he couldn't bother the other Thieves with something like this. Not at this point.

"Figures he's a goddamn politician, though."

"I don't recommend taking him on alone," he said bitterly. He knew that first hand, "It doesn't matter how strong or smart you are about it, he's not an easy guy to get to."

And quite frankly.... Goro hated that. He hated knowing that everything his did all of these years meant nothing. That even in the end, nothing in his life had meaning. Shido had single-handedly ruined Goro's life and took away any possibility of having a family to even have his back these hard years. He hated realizing the hard way that nothing he did alone would matter and in the end he'd probably need the help.

'I wouldn't be alone,' was what Akira wanted to say, but even trying to case his Palace--because Akira was certain the guy had one--sounded like it'd be difficult.

"Yeah, I can't exactly do much of anything like this." He scrubbed at his face with one hand. "But... I said exactly the same thing about Kamoshida, and luck turned out in my favor. Maybe I should just hope the Phantom Thieves go after this guy, too."

Hah.

Was it because Goro knew he was involved in Kamoshida's change of heart because he was involved, or the way that he had said that? Either way, that comment made Goro raise a brow and glance over to him.

"Are you suggesting something, Akira-san? The way you worded that made it sound like you had something to do with it," he said it jokingly. Of course he knew the truth already, but he decided to say it as if trying to crack a joke, "I'm sure they will, eventually."

Shido definitely had it coming, after all.

Oh, whoops. Akira let out bit of a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't be ridiculous, Akechi-san. I couldn't risk getting into more trouble like that, you know? Boss'd have me out on my ass in the street if I did." Hopefully that sounded more convincing than he actually felt...

"Mm, I guess we'll see."

"Right, of course. It was just a joke," Goro said with a small chuckle. It really wasn't, but details really. "So that's your reason to target Shido then...."

Probably one of his first slip ups aside from his reaction to seeing Shido again... Thinking out loud. It all made sense though. He hadn't bothered to look into this before. Hearing his motives made sense as to why he'd even start targeting him, even if they didn't start with that in mind at first.

Psh, details.

The last part earned a blink as Akira looked over. "Eh? Akechi-san?" What did he mean by that...?

Shit.

"Ah, nothing. I was just saying you would have a good reason to target him," Nailed it. Definitely a good cover up, right?

"Um."

Akechi... did hear the part about Boss throwing him out on his ass, right? Right?

"The way you're talking, that just makes it sound like you're still suspicious of me..."

Oh god, this was going badly.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I guess it's just in my nature to consider every possibility. I am a detective, after all," that wasn't exactly a lie, anyways. Either way, it just made Goro that much more convinced that Shido needed to go down, but maybe not in the same way that Akira would approve.

Akira rubbed the back of his neck and glanced off to one side. "Right..."

Yeesh, that was a close one.

"Ahaha... sorry I got a bit defensive there." But, all things considered, given what information had been exchanged before, it wasn't really all that surprising, was it?

Goro simply shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm suspicious of you really. I just have a bad habit of picking at every thread when it could lead me somewhere." Nowhere in particular, mind you, but fake detective or not, it has become a habit for him.

Finishing up his coffee, "Thank you for talking with me. Sorry to bother you about this, it was just... concerning. Thank you for the coffee, I should probably get going. Essays won't write themselves, after all." He was hardly concerned about his homework right now, but it seemed like a good time to leave. Doing his homework would be easier now than it was before (not that it was a problem to begin with) with coming back into the past. It was mostly said as a way to lighten the mood.

"Still, I can't help but feel a little bad about it..."

Akira sheepishly smiled as he finished his coffee and stood up. "I can walk you to the train station, if you'd like." So... maybe he didn't want to part ways just yet, was that so wrong?

This boy.... He was too good for his own nature. Fuck. And it just made Goro that much more conflicted on how to really feel around Akira. He should still be angry at him... Hate him even; But no, it was too hard to hold the grudge against lately. Why? Why was it so difficult? No one's offered something like that before, but than maybe it would help if he had people he could call friends to begin with. Maybe this was a normal occurrence? Who knew?

"Ah," what did he say to that....? Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "I wouldn't want to trouble you. Only if you want to." But there was something in him that wanted him to. What was wrong with him lately? Aside from the obvious problems that he's had to adjust to. Re-adjust maybe? Something like that.

"It wouldn't be any trouble at all." He set his coffee cup down, making a mental note to get both his and Akechi's taken care of when he came back. He smiled gently at Akechi, gesturing towards the stairs. "Shall we?"

Wait, was that a real smile? Even if it was a faint one, he didn't even realize it himself. Would he still act this way if he knew what Goro has done in an alternative universe?

"Of course, thank you," he said heading down. It was so surreal to have been shown this kindness. All he's ever really known was distance from people he should be close to and gawking from fans. He didn't deserve it. Even so, it was... surprisingly pleasant. While at the station, he was about to leave when he turned to him before stepping on.

"Akira-san..? Just... If you ever need any help... let me know, okay?" he said, very hesitantly. What made him think to offer that? He had no idea, but now it was out there.

Akira blinked at the offer, then nodded, smiling. "I will... thank you, Akechi-san. Be careful on your way home, okay?"

"I will, thanks," with that, Goro waved goodbye to him as he headed to his apartment. He had to plan his next moves carefully. Last time he'd been messing with other palaces for his own purposes as well as Shido's orders. Now that he was avoiding Shido, he had no reason to threaten all of his previous targets. If nothing else, maybe he can intimidate the shadows into giving him some more insight on Shido. He assumed that more than likely, he'd get nothing new from this, but any information was good at this point.

He'd known about Madarame for a while now, besides being from the future. He also knew it was around this time that the others started to poke into matters. If he wanted answers, he had to do it before they popped into his palace. So a few days after his visit to Leblanc, he'd been pretty busy trying to get what he needed from Madarame's shadow. Going directly to Madarame would be both foolish and pointless. There was a chance that Shido would catch wind of his recent activities, but it was sure as hell safer than going directly to him.

Paradox

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