Hello once again everyone! Have you brought tissues? Because I would like to officially welcome all of you to the true beginning of Futaba's arc. Why the tissues? Because this arc is going to have some of the saddest moments I've ever written, for Futaba, for Goro, for Akira, for Miku and many others.
Before I continue, thank you to RosyMiranto18 (As always, you are much appreciated) and streetlife34 (even though you will never see this, thank you for your honest critique.) for reviewing, all 34 followers, 24 favorites and 6,468 readers!
Now, as for this chapter, I won't keep you guys very long. All I want to say is that you guys should listen to Days When Mother Was There and Maya's Theme (Sad) for this chapter, especially the last scene. I mostly listened to Maya's theme myself when writing this chapter actually, though occasionally the openings of IS and EP slipped in as well.
Also, there are some character name drops in this chapter, just to add more connections and lore to the story (and because I've finished watching P2: EP in like three days...heheheh…)
Anyway, I think that's everything, so on to the chapter. Enjoy!
The sushi outing was as normal as could be expected, including Ann sighing in happiness over how good the sushi was, Yusuke worrying about the lack of prices, Morgana sneakily asking for food, Miku tapping her fingers as she ate, Goro carefully eyeing Miku's every mood, Ryuji almost exposing them as the Phantom Thieves again until Miku stopped him halfway through the word 'phantom' with a good kick to the shin and Akira quietly mediating the group, until Makoto asked a question he hated having to answer again, even if was glad that someone was catching onto the fact that it was weird how Alibaba cut off their deal.
"By the way, Akira-kun…is Boss really the kind of person who would abuse someone?" She asked, her voice quiet to avoid others overhearing.
Akira could see Goro and Miku stiffening imperceptibly from the corner of his eye. He could even feel his own shoulders stiffening at the question.
"That again?" Ryuji sighed, preventing Akira from answering.
"I can't get it off my mind. Especially if it means he could be taken to court…" Makoto explained.
Goro stiffened even more, the lines of his body drawn taunt. Ann seemed to notice this as well and carefully laid a hand over Goro's, trying to give him support even if she didn't know why he needed it. Akira appreciated that, since he himself couldn't be there for Goro now. What Akira could do, however, was clear Sojiro of these suspicions Makoto held and he could warn Miku from speaking with a subtle squeeze of her hand.
"What kind of person is he? Do you truly believe he'd do such a thing?" Makoto asked.
"There's not a chance in hell." Akira firmly answered, his voice soft and his face blank in order to hide his emotions. To any on looker, it would appear he was having a perfectly normal conversation.
"Hm…" Yusuke hummed.
"If it's really true about the abuse, he'd be a no-good jerk pretendin' to be a guardian." Ryuji commented.
"Well it isn't, so stop being suspicious of him." Miku snapped, the waves in her eyes becoming stormy.
Akira didn't blame her. Sojiro took her in for no other reason than that she needed a place to stay and her only friends in town were his recently adopted children. He most likely knew of her episodes too, so it was obvious Miku trusted him a great deal. He was allowed to call her Miku, for crying out loud! It made sense that she was protective.
Goro himself seemed even more tense than before, if that was even humanly possible, which Akira didn't think it could be. Ann was gazing at him in open, honest concern before she spoke up.
"Actually…I got curious after our conversation…and checked his name in the Nav." She said. "He wasn't a hit at all." As she spoke, Ann squeezed Goro's hand, as if she knew what this meant to him. At the same time, Goro relaxed imperceptibly to everyone save Akira, Miku and probably Ann. "Anything beyond this is his family's problem. We probably shouldn't get any more involved."
At that, the cresting waves in Miku's eyes calmed, even more so when Ryuji suggested that Alibaba was Sojiro's ex-wife, to the belief of nobody. Akira struggled to hold a chuckle back, honestly. After all, he knew for a fact that Futaba, and by extension Goro but not all the thieves knew that, was a very different sort of bastard child than they were thinking.
With that, the conversation returned to normal and, eventually, Makoto even apologized for bringing up Sojiro, to both Akira and Miku if the way she flicked her eyes between them said anything.
Once they finished with their sushi, and received their carryout for Morgana to enjoy at home, the group of friends left the shop and made their way to the train station to head back to Shibuya.
"Makoto-chan? Akira?" A familiar voice called and the group turned to see Kuro approaching them. Unlike the last time they had seen him, he was dressed professionally and his hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Akira couldn't help but think that Kuro had been more…real when he had let his hair down.
"Kuro-kun?" Makoto said in surprise as she turned to face him. "Ah, my friends and I went out for sushi. I'm sorry, we would've invited you if we had known you were in the area."
"Ah, think nothing of it." Kuro smiled. It was clear he was in his 'Analytical Detective' mode to Akira. After all, they were in public. The Second Coming of the Detective Prince couldn't be seen as a dork in public, after all. "It's nice to see all of you again."
"You as well." Yusuke nodded amicably.
"Did you just get off of work, Kuro?" Miku asked, concern in her voice.
"Ah, I must admit so." Kuro smiled sleepily. "I had a case I was helping wrap up and it took longer than expected."
"During summer vacation?!" Ann cried, shocked.
"Actually, they work me more in summer because I'm available more." Kuro explained.
"Wow…that must suck." Ryuji said, his face empathetic.
"I'm used to it." Kuro shrugged helplessly.
"Would you like to join us? We're just going to Leblanc to hang out." Akira offered, honestly concerned for Kuro's health. He looked absolutely exhausted as it was.
"It'd be a nice way to relax after a long day. Boss makes some good coffee, as I'm sure you know." Goro added, a welcoming smile on his face.
"Ah, I'm afraid I must turn the invitation down." Kuro shook his head. "I have another investigation to attend to, this one involving the Phantom Thieves."
"The Phantom Thieves? Why?" Makoto asked, her brow furrowed. "Kuro-kun, it's not good if you're working yourself to death."
"I'm fine, Makoto-chan, really." Kuro smiled. "And, as for the Phantom Thieves, it appears Medjed has declared war on them."
"War…?" Ryuji and Akira repeated in unison.
"Yes. Their website was recently updated, it seems." Kuro sighed. "I honestly don't know what Medjed wants with the thieves…and yet, that's all anyone ever wants to speak to me about these days." He chuckled humorlessly.
"For real?" Ryuji asked, staring at Kuro as he took out his phone. "Don't you have other stuff to talk about?"
"It seems, with the popularity of the Phantom Thieves rising, and my stance that they need to be brought to the law, I'm coming to be seen as their rival, despite that I've had no contact with them at all." Kuro shook his head, an unnoticeably sad smile on his face as his eyes lingered on Makoto.
"Kuro-kun…" Makoto started to say when Ryuji groaned.
"English again…" He sighed, having pulled up Medjed's website, from the sound of it.
"Let me see." Ann said as she pulled her own phone out and read over the updated website. "Wait, what…!? They'd go that far!?"
"It appears so…" Kuro sighed.
"It's quite curious, honestly. Medjed hasn't been in the news recently and, as far as I've heard, has had no contact with the Phantom Thieves." Goro commented from where he read over Ann's shoulder. "So why are they making a move now?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Kuro chuckled.
"You don't seem to have any theories about it, Henso-san." Yusuke commented.
"Well, I suppose I do, I'm just trying to decide which one is most likely." Kuro explained.
"Anything we can do to help?" Akira asked, worried about how tired the ravenette detective looked.
"Only one thing." Kuro said. "If you were one of the Phantom Thieves, what would you do with this whole Medjed commotion?"
"I don't really care. What the Phantom Thieves do is up to them, not to me." Akira said, hating how easily the lie slipped through. He counted Kuro as a friend, after all, and Akira hated lying to his friends.
"Huh…well, I suppose that is unsurprising, you don't seem like the kind of person to listen to gossip." Kuro chuckled, a somewhat real smile forming on his face.
"Kuro…if you ever need a break from work and everything, you're welcome to join us." Miku offered. "I'm sure Makoto would be happy to tell you when we're getting together and I think our other friends would like to meet you as well."
"Mishima would sure be excited." Ryuji laughed to himself. Considering how the Phansite admin had acted on their trip to the TV station, Akira didn't doubt that.
"I think Hifumi would enjoy playing shogi with you." Akira added thoughtfully, laughing at the mental image that produced.
"Shiho would be thrilled to meet you!" Ann smiled. "So don't be shy about asking Makoto about when we hang out!"
"W-why me…?" Makoto stuttered as her cheeks tinted pink and she played with her hair in order to hide that fact.
"You're the closest one to Henso-kun, alongside Akira, so I think it makes logical sense that it's you." Goro explained with a knowing smile.
Kuro's own cheeks tinted pink.
"Thank you…I will keep your invitation in mind." Kuro nodded. "I hope to see all of you again soon, enjoy the rest of your Sunday."
"You as well, Henso-san." Yusuke smiled as the rest of the thieves waved goodbye to the detective good-naturedly.
You could hardly tell that they were waving goodbye to the boy who was the number one candidate to catch them. And yet, at the same time, it didn't feel like they were waving goodbye to the person closest to catching them; it felt like they were waving goodbye to a friend.
Even still, once Kuro was gone from sight, the thieves made their way to a quiet alcove and gathered around Ann's phone as she read Medjed's update aloud, quietly of course.
"We are disappointed in the people of Japan and their belief in the Phantom Thieves' false justice. Hence, we shall proceed with our plan to cleanse Japan. This process will commence on August 21st. As a result, the Japanese economy shall suffer devastating damages. However, we are magnanimous. We will give the Phantom Thieves one final opportunity to repent. As proof of this repentance, we demand that they reveal their identities to the public. We will attack if these demands remain unmet. The future of Japan rests with the Phantom Thieves. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil."
With that said, a cloud of worry seemed to hang over the shoulders of every Phantom Thief. The future of Japan's economy was now put on them and their actions would determine whether it was affected or not.
Akira felt sick to his stomach. This…this was bigger than anything else they had gone up against so far. If they messed this up, the entire country was going down.
Of course, he knew 'with great power comes great responsibility', but…this…it was so much bigger than anything he'd ever imagined.
They needed Futaba now more than ever…the question was, could the other thieves figure it out or was Akira going to have to betray the trust Goro had placed in him?
Thankfully, in Akira's opinion at least, Makoto was able to finally piece together that Futaba was Alibaba and he, Morgana and Miku didn't have to break the trust Goro had placed in them.
The entire conversation, Goro was silent, which was unusual for him when the Phantom Thieves were trying to figure something out. Akira knew the rest of the thieves noticed it, and Goro knew it too. But, at the same time, it was starting to seem more and more likely that the truth of Goro and Futaba Sakura would see the light of day, so there was very little point in hiding how uneasy he was.
Miku stayed by Goro's side the whole time, holding his wrist to ground him.
In the end, the thieves decided to try and meet with Sojiro, using the sushi Akira had brought home as an excuse (to Morgana's disappointment), in order to get to the bottom of why Futaba would want her heart stolen.
When they reached the Sakura residence, Goro felt as if his heart was in his throat as Yusuke rang the doorbell.
He knew this wouldn't be a secret forever, but he had hoped…well, he had wanted to keep Futaba a secret so the risk of either of the bastards related to them getting involved with their lives would decrease. But it seemed as if revealing her to the thieves, to his friends, was inevitable.
Of course, it was made even more so by the fact that the gate and front door were both open and the lights were on and it was obvious a storm was coming. Having an excuse prepared, the thieves proceeded to break in to Goro's adopted father and Akira's guardian's house.
"Hello, sir?" Makoto called as they entered the house.
There was no answer.
"He's not out, is he?" Makoto asked, concerned.
"No, last I saw him, he was heading home when Miku, Goro, Morgana and I came to meet you guys for sushi." Akira shook his head.
"Someone is obviously home, if the door ahead and the TV we hear is anything to go by." Yusuke commented, waving at said door.
"I hope he didn't pass out or something…I mean, Boss is kinda old, ain't he?" Ryuji said.
It was only the honest concern in his voice that seemed to keep Miku from snapping again, like she had at the sushi place. Goro was glad, he didn't want his secret to drive a wedge between the rest of the group and him, Miku, Akira and Morgana.
"I'm a bit worried. Should we go in and check on him?" Ann suggested.
"There's no harm in it and the rain is coming down pretty hard now." Akira commented.
Makoto winced at the idea of breaking and entering even more, but she didn't say a word as Akira led the way down the hallway where they could see the light of a door.
As they made their way down the hall, however, lightning suddenly flashed, covering the entire hallway with white light, and Ann screamed as she instinctively grabbed Goro's arm. Goro fought the blush that wanted to be made known on his cheeks as valiantly as he could.
"A scream!? What was that!?" Makoto cried, her voice high pitched and scared as she turned to Morgana.
"H-how should I know?" Morgana stuttered.
"Metaverse reflex." Miku excused. "You usually have the answers, Mona."
"Oh…right…" Morgana looked down.
Suddenly, a loud noise startled the thieves again.
"Did you hear that!?" Makoto whispered, fear hugging every word.
"Let's get out of here, please? Can we just go?" Ann begged from where she clutched Goro's arm tightly. She was trembling, Goro noticed, so he placed his free hand over hers.
"It's okay, I promise…" He whispered, just as he always did for Futaba when she suffered from nightmares. Ann looked up at him, her blue green eyes meeting his own mauve ones and they were filled with so much fear that Goro felt his heart quiver.
He wished he could reassure her, tell her it was just his sister being cautious of unknown people being in their house, just as Sojiro and he had taught her, but he couldn't. His first instinct is to keep Futaba safe and he couldn't compromise on that.
"What're you freakin' out for?" Ryuji asked, not understanding why Ann and Makoto were so scared.
"I-I-I'm not freaking out!" Ann protested, clinging to Goro's side even more. If it weren't for the fear in her eyes, most would assume they were a couple from the position they were in and that…was not a thought Goro needed right now.
"Give them a break, it's dark and we just heard someone moving around." Miku shook her head.
"Could it be Alibaba…? I mean, Futaba?" Morgana asked, turning to the source of the sound.
"I-I think right now we should go." Makoto stuttered, Ann frantically nodding in agreement.
The two girls led the way out of the house with the boys and Miku taking up the rear.
"Eek!" Makoto squeaked in fear as she and Ann froze at a sudden sound.
"I can sense someone's presence…" Yusuke commented.
"Who is it…?" Makoto whispered as she looked around, now clinging to Ann tightly. The blonde, for her part, returned the hug in full force as fear overrode both of their thoughts. "Who's there…!?" The whole time Makoto looked around, Ann was whispering 'don't look don't look don't look' under her breath. "I can't take this anymore! I'm leaving!"
"Me too!" Ann quickly nodded in agreement before she froze. "My…legs won't move…"
"Mine either…" Makoto whispered.
Goro was starting to think they'd have to pick the girls up to take them out when-
Makoto and Ann turned around and suddenly there was Futaba and then three girls were screaming as Futaba ran away and Makoto and Ann clutched each other as they knelt on the floor together.
Goro was on his sister's track in an instant, running straight to her room and knocking on the once again locked door, but it was futile.
"Futaba! It's okay! I promise! Those are my friends, we won't hurt you, you know that! Please, open the door!" Goro begged, feeling tears form in his eyes. This was the first time in so long that he had seen his sister, actually physically seen her instead of her texting him. It hurt, more than it ever had before, to see her run away from him after the first time he'd seen her out of her room in months.
He could hear Ann yelling after, could hear Makoto chanting in fear and could hear Sojiro running inside, yelling in worry for Futaba. He could hear the thieves giving Sojiro their prepared excuse, could hear Sojiro's confusion and concern.
But Goro didn't move, didn't want to move. All he did, instead, was lay his head against his sister's door and whispered pleas over and over for her to open the door, to answer.
He didn't get a response, but he didn't move until he heard Sojiro saying he didn't want the thieves to get the wrong idea. Gathering himself up, Goro took a deep breath, laid his hand over Futaba's door once more, almost reverently, and made his way back to join his friends and adopted father.
"Goro?" Sojiro asked, his eyes wide as they landed on his adopted son.
"It's okay, Sojiro…you can tell them." Goro whispered. There was no sign of him having cried, but he could still feel the worry in the eyes of everyone around him as well as the curiosity from Ann, Ryuji, Makoto and Yusuke. He felt Miku take his hand in her own and Akira move to stand by him in order to offer support, his hand landing on Goro's shoulder. "They…can be trusted."
"Alright." Sojiro nodded as he turned to the door. "Let's talk at my shop. She'll hear us if we stay here."
The thieves were silent as Sojiro led the way back to the shop, Goro right behind him and Miku and Akira acting as his protective guards to any possible questions.
Once they returned to Leblanc, the thieves gathered around Sojiro and Goro, who sat in two of the seats at the counter. Miku and Akira had not left Goro's side once, and he appreciated that. This conversation…it was going to be a painful one, but it was one that needed to be had.
"Now, where do I start…?" Sojiro sighed to himself.
"How about I do?" Goro asked.
"You sure about this?" Sojiro asked carefully.
"Yeah." Goro nodded before he turned to his friends. "Futaba…is my younger sister and Sojiro is our father."
"For real!?" Ryuji cried. Goro couldn't bring himself to look at the thieves.
"Yeah." Miku answered for him. "Goro's name, legally, is Goro Sakura. He goes by 'Akechi' for a specific reason, however. But, to understand, you guys need to hear this story from the beginning. Sojiro?"
"Right." Sojiro nodded. "Goro and Futaba's mother and I knew each other long before the two of them were born. Their mother was a bit of a weird one, but we got along well for some reason…she was sharp-witted, somewhat stern, a little socially inept, but always carefree…she truly was a great woman."
Goro had to physically stop himself from crying. No matter how long it was, the pain of losing his mother would never fade. He missed her every single day, but you can't bring back the dead…you can only remember them as they were when they lived.
"Goro…" Ann whispered in concern.
Miku squeezed his hand and Akira did the same for his other one. Sojiro laid his hand on Goro's knee.
"When something piqued her interest, that'd be all she focused on. She always worked deep into the night." Sojiro continued, the bittersweet smile never leaving his face.
Goro had not a single doubt in his mind that, had things been different, he still would've ended up right here, with Sojiro as his and Futaba's dad.
"I thought that would change after her kids were born, but having Goro and then Futaba didn't do much." Sojiro said. "Even with that, she always took good care of them."
"Working and watching two children at the same time sounds rough…" Ann commented, her voice empathetic.
"That's where my parents came in." Akira piped up. "Before they moved to Tokyo, Goro, Futaba and Isshiki-san lived in Sumaru City, where my parents and I used to live. Goro and I became friends and if Isshiki-san had a prior engagement or couldn't get home, she'd call up my parents to help out with Goro and Futaba. The three of us were really close…I…never really thought anything was wrong…"
"I guess raising Goro and Futaba alone turned out to be tough on their mother in more ways than one…" Sojiro sighed forlornly. Goro stiffened, he knew what was coming.
"What about their father?" Yusuke asked, his voice honestly curious and Goro couldn't fault him, couldn't fault any of them. But this was so painful…
"We have no father." He spat out, anger sparking his eyes.
"Do you mean…" Yusuke trailed off.
"Well, there probably was one. I didn't know him though. She never said a word about him either." Sojiro sighed. Goro knew he was lying for Goro and Futaba's benefit.
After all, if it got out that he had not one, but two bastard children, from the same woman at that, who knows what he would do to them. It'd be worse than what their uncle could ever do to them, that was for sure.
"She was single when she gave birth to Goro and Futaba, and single when she raised them." Sojiro stated. "They were an ordinary, loving family. You could really tell how much she cared for them. But one day, she left…leaving Goro and Futaba behind."
Goro bit his lip to stop the sob that wanted to come out. That day would forever be imprinted on his mind.
"She left…?" Ryuji repeated.
"Yes. She committed suicide." Sojiro stated.
Instantly, Goro flinched as the memories flashed before his eyes, feeling Miku's hand tighten in his own.
"Suicide…!?" Ann repeated in shock, her eyes instantly going to meet Goro's. He knew the first day they truly talked, the day he met her in Shiho's hospital room, so soon after Shiho had attempted just what his mother had done and what Miku has attempted to do as well so many times…he knew, without a doubt, that she was looking at that conversation with entirely different eyes now.
"Threw herself into the street, right in front of Goro and Futaba's eyes…" Sojiro continued, his expression as pained as Goro's own.
"Shocking doesn't begin to describe that…" Makoto whispered, her hand covering her mouth.
"That's gotta be devastating for a kid." Ryuji said in agreement, bowing his head.
"It was horrible, the worst thing you could possibly imagine." Goro said. "And the worst part was that…we had no idea."
"Goro…you don't have to-" Miku started to cut in.
"It's alright…" Goro took a deep breath. "I'm alright…"
"So…" Sojiro cut in. "well, a lot happened after that, but I ended up taking custody of Goro and Futaba with Miku-chan joining us some time later…first, Futaba was so depressed she…she wouldn't even talk to any of us. Goro was in a similar state, but he trusted me and did what he could for his sister…"
"Did Futaba-chan not speak because she couldn't get over her mother's suicide…?" Ann hesitantly asked.
"We kept talking to her though, and she started opening up again little by little." Sojiro nodded.
Goro could hear the undercurrent of concern of how Goro had reacted so differently. Sojiro had always been concerned that Goro hadn't grieved for his mother, but…Futaba was always more important, always needed Goro more. Besides…Goro didn't deserve to mourn their mother…
"That's when I found out…Futaba blames herself for her mother's death…" Sojiro said. Once again, Goro flinched at the words.
"What…!? But why!?" Ann and Akira cried in unison.
"That part she's never told me." Sojiro shook his head. "I wanted to know what led her to believing that, but I decided not to rub salt in the wound. Then, a few months ago…she started getting real scared, even when nothing was happening. She'd say things like, 'I hear voices…' and 'Mom is looking at me…'"
"Visual and auditory hallucinations…" Yusuke realized, empathy and sorrow clear on his face and in his eyes. "Have you taken Futaba to a doctor?"
"I wanted to, but she refused. Even when I had a doctor come, she locked herself in her room." Sojiro explained.
"I even asked one Chika knows to come and see Futaba once, but…not even Maki-san could get through to her and…I see her a lot…" Miku said. Goro remembered that therapist, Maki Sonomura. He brought Miku to see her once every couple weeks now, since it had been a while since her last attempt. He had hoped Sonomura would've been able to help Futaba, but his hopes were proved to be in vain.
"Since then, she's become what you'd call a shut-in." Sojiro said. "She won't take a single step outside the house, or even try to see other people."
"What about you two? Or Mikumo and Akira?" Yusuke questioned.
"She doesn't even let Goro or me come in her room." Sojiro sighed.
"All Miku and I have heard from Futaba is through texts." Akira added.
"That's pretty harsh…" Ryuji commented, sympathy in his eyes.
"Futaba is, well, a unique girl." Sojiro explained. "She's so quick-minded that conversations with her tend to jump from one topic to the next…it seems like she's always coming to conclusions in her head. There's a lot I don't get about her…"
Makoto hummed at that.
"So, yeah…her situation is why I couldn't let you in my house. I knew, even if you were her childhood friend, it's too delicate to bring another person in." Sojiro explained, turning to Akira.
"Don't worry about it. Futaba should come before me." Akira insisted.
"Thanks." Sojiro smiled. "I can see why she looked up to you as a brother, you're a lot like Goro and Miku-chan."
"We got an apartment of our own so Futaba and I could have our own space to recuperate about six months after I moved in with them." Miku explained. "It was…a complicated situation."
"What Futaba needs is a safe place where nobody will threaten her. Somewhere she can be at ease." Sojiro said. "That's why I won't do anything she doesn't want. I don't make her do anything she's unwilling to either. Then again, I know that's no way for her to live. It's all I can do though…" As he spoke, Sojiro stood and patted Goro's knee, where his hand had stayed the whole conversation.
"What does Futaba want?" Ann questioned.
"I don't know." Sojiro shook his head. "She just asks me for things that she wants, like food or these complicated books…"
"She gets some human contact by texting the three of us, but it really isn't the same." Goro added. "And she's as good as hiding her emotions as the three of us are, so…we can't read her well."
"Well, that's that." Sojiro stated as silence fell. "So, can you just…leave her be? I'm fine with the three of you texting her, but…I don't want to push her too much."
"Sure thing." Akira nodded.
Goro could hear the lie a mile away.
"I'm gonna head back. Goro, you're welcome to spend the night in your room, if you want." Sojiro said, turning to face his son.
"Thanks, but I think I'll keep an eye on Miku for tonight." Goro smiled, though it was strained.
"I understand." Sojiro nodded. "Miku-chan, keep an eye on him too, okay?"
"Of course." Miku nodded, squeezing Goro's hand. That's what they've been doing for a year and a half now, after all, taking care of each other when no one else could.
"You all had better head home soon too." Sojiro added, looking at the rest of the thieves before he left Leblanc for the night.
"We're gonna head home too." Miku said, pulling Goro to his feet as she spoke. "I think Goro needs some time to himself, so just contact us through the chat if you need something."
"Of course." Makoto nodded.
"Be safe." Akira wished them as he hugged both of them good night.
"Thanks." Miku smiled.
Goro nodded. He felt like he couldn't say anything right now, not when he could feel the thieves eyes on him as the words his dad just said repeated in their mind.
When they returned to their apartment that night, Goro curled up in bed, Miku by his side and holding him tightly.
They'd spent several nights like this, one or both of them needing the comfort of a familial embrace when the cold of an empty bed seemed to be as terrifying as the thoughts racing through their minds.
Goro knew both of them were trembling something fierce, Goro from memories and Miku from the thoughts that were no doubt racing through her mind. Goro suspected she might need to see Sonomura again soon.
Still, now it was all out in the open and soon, they'd find out about Futaba's Palace too.
Soon, he knew, it would be time for him to step into Futaba's Palace, to confront her distorted desires and her Shadow, to try and save her.
Goro just hoped this was the right thing to do, for Futaba's sake.
That night, memories of his mother haunted Goro's subconscious. He wasn't sure why, he hadn't dreamed of his mother in such a long time…he didn't deserve to see her, after all, because, as much as Futaba may blame herself for their mother's suicide, Goro knew part of the blame fell on him too.
After all, what kind of mother would want to live with, not one, but two bastard children? Goro was surprised his own existence didn't cause his mother to die sooner, no matter how grateful he was to have Futaba as a sister.
And there we are. Did you guys cry at all?
First off, a few changes I need to explain. The conversation with Kuro is a HEAVILY reworked version of Goro's Rank 2 in game because Kuro is different from Goro and thus handles things differently. Second, Makoto's dialogue in Sojiro's house. I'm going to be honest with all of you: the amount of screen time/dialogue Makoto had in this arc bugged the absolute shit out of me because other thieves would understand Futaba just as well, yet they remain silent. Ann would've fit from her experience with suicide, Yusuke was in basically the same situation as Futaba and yet these two rarely talk to Futaba or do anything outside of obligatory lines. So, a lot of Makoto's things this arc are gonna be reworked for other thieves, especially for Goro, Miku and Akira. And I'm sorry, but all Makoto/Akira shipping moments are being cut entirely. Makoto being scared became a commonality between her and Ann and someone being in danger from Cognitive Wakaba is gonna be cut entirely because nobody on this team is that weak or ditzy when you're being attacked. Sorry, that just makes me mad.
Phew, anyway, now that that's over with, we're starting to explore Goro's mindset more this arc, because this is his story as much as Futaba's, though the next couple chapters have him taking a small backseat as I'm adding an element that I've been wanting to add since I wrote...chapter 5. Only took me around 25 chapters to get there, but I made it.
Okay, that's all for now then. I'll see you guys in a week with another exciting chapter that I loved writing! Bye!
