oh boy i love spoilers for the ENTIRE GAME, all of PERSONA FIVE from BEGINNING TO END? the ENTIRETY OF PERSONA FIVE A GAME THAT HAS JUST BEEN RECENTLY RELEASED AND SPOILERS WOULD KIND OF REALLY SUCK TO THOSE WHO WOULD NOT LIKE TO BE SPOILED YES THANK YOU? thank you
also this is a sort of au you'll see in a moment if you're ok with being, you know, spoiled
It had been two years.
Two years since Yaldabaoth, two years since the world nearly came to an end. Two years since he'd nearly died in Shido's palace, two years since he'd all but retired from the public eye.
Life went on. The Phantom Thieves faded into obscurity, but he remained- Goro Akechi, second coming of the detective prince, illegitimate son of Shido, though nobody knew the last bit. He'd become a police detective, planning to lay low for a few years, if only to avoid Shido's remaining supporters. Life went on, there were cases to be solved, and he'd survived- he'd lived- so of course he had to continue on his own.
He'd graduated at the top of his class. The station took him in the moment he offered. Things were.. Oddly normal, now. There was still crime, a lot of it- Goro could no longer count the number of busts he'd participated in on one hand. But life went on, and so did he.
It had been two years since thinking about the Phantom Thieves, thinking about Akira, about the shadows; sometimes he woke up in a cold sweat, alone, heart beating as he remembered every single mental shut down; the gun in his hand, smoke wafting up from the barrel, black blood oozing from their eyes, Haru Okumura's father collapsing on live television, his fault-
Since surviving, he'd cut off contact with them. Transferred to a different school, tried to forget, tried to live. It was cowardly, but what was he expecting? Forgiveness? They'd forgiven him, sure, but that was probably just spur of the moment to give him the will to live. It had worked, but what was he supposed to do- show up at Leblanc after the fact and go surprise, I'm actually not dead?
It had been a cowardly move. He was sure they knew he was alive- after all, he'd said a few words about other large cases on television afterwards- but they couldn't contact him. It was fine. He was fine. This was his life, now.
Laptop on his desk, he scrolled down endless headlines- there were strange things rearing their heads again, things the police couldn't track. Not mental shutdowns or psychotic episodes, like before- these were murders, through and through. But there was another piece that the police just couldn't seem to get, things that didn't line up with forensics or anything witnesses gave them; it was odd, there was no suspect, and the police were struggling to come up with answers.
Part of him thought it was something other, something supernatural- another part of him wanted to forget those things altogether.
They'd figured out some things- it was a criminal organization, the members had to be young (going by what little physical descriptions they had- and, at the very least, the fact their killing schedules never clash with school events, which was probably pure coincidence), and they could get in and out of places like.. Phantoms, almost. Nobody knew how they did it. The victims were people who had commit crimes of their own, people who were technically wrong, but they didn't deserve to die, did they?
It was like two years ago- strange cases of people who'd done wrong suddenly changing, but instead of seeing their crimes and repenting, they just.. Died. There were rumors of calling cards, but they weren't found at all the scenes of the crimes. It was like a crudely made parody of two years ago, and...
He hated it. He'd been assigned to this case, but he wished he'd turned it down- there was no evidence, no way to find let alone catch the culprits in the act, and he didn't want to confront them for help.
He still had their contact numbers. Help was just a phone call away, wasn't it? A way to end the murders, make Tokyo a little safer for everyone, a way to find justice for those who had already died-
"Akechi? The chief needs you for something."
A voice- one of the older detectives- pulled him out of his reverie. Oh, right. They'd mentioned something about another detective coming in to help- someone young, like Goro. Probably some brainy nobody from a rich school, or something along those lines. They'd partnered them up with him- probably to make sure the newcomer was comfortable and ready to work on the case, or something along those lines; Goro nodded, closing his laptop and pushing in his chair.
The walk to the police chief's office was short, giving him little time to think. The glass dividing the office from the rest of the building was frosted, so all he could make out were the silhouettes of those inside- there was one standing and the police chief was most likely sitting down at his desk as always. Something felt oddly... Familiar about the way that they were standing- slightly hunched over, with arms at an angle that suggested that their hands were in their pockets.
He knocked on the door and waited to hear the "come in" before slowly turning the knob, pushing it open. His gaze met the police chief first as he bowed respectfully- he could look at the newcomer later. "Chief. Is there anything I can do for you today?"
"Do you recall when you were told you'd be receiving a partner for this case? He's finally arrived in the city, so we figured now was a good time to get you two acquainted. Kurusu, say hello- and be polite about it. He's your senior, after all." Quick to start on business, as always. If the police chief had to warn Kurusu about being polite, Goro couldn't help but worry about how well they'd work together-
Wait, what?
Goro blinked, looking up from his bow and staring at the police chief, his eyes wide. No, there was no way- Kurusu was a very common surname, it had to be a different Kurusu- or did the chief say Kurosu and he didn't hear it right? He hesitated in glancing over to where the third person in the room was standing, but his curiosity forced it out of him. Brown eyes met much darker ones as Goro tried to contain himself. Fluffy black hair, glasses, and that shy little smile that Goro knew hid so, so much more-
No, there was no way, it couldn't be-
"It's a pleasure working with you, Akechi-senpai," Akira Kurusu spoke up softly, giving Goro a polite little bow. His smile was friendly, gentle, but Goro knew there was so much more- questions never answered, racing through both of their minds. The air surrounding them was tense and for a moment Goro was back to who he was two years ago, staring Akira down, jealousy and hate running hot and heady-
No. He had to be cordial now. This was work, and there was no way he'd let a case like this fall through his hands because of his past. Forcing a gentle smile, Goro extended his hand to Akira, trying to keep himself from flinching when the bespectacled boy took it and they shook hands.
"It's... The pleasure is all mine, Kurusu."
Shit.
aaaaAAAAAA i have no idea how the police work there are like, doors in police places right,
it's not really a boy detectives club if there's two of them. but i wanted to make a reference and i'm the one driving the plane
i haven't written fic in 20000 years please be gentle