Case 10 - LIAR


It was funny, how people could get used to the impossible.

How a person would get used to living in the streets even though they spent their childhood in a mansion. How they would eventually accept they lost their family in a terrible accident. How they would learn to cope with losing a limb or worse. How they would grow accustomed to being a murderer, as though this occupation weren't any less mundane than working in an office.

It seemed almost against nature that one could get used to something as twisted as the sensation of killing and yet, Akechi Goro was the proof it was very possible. He was aware letting murder become commonplace in his life was abnormal, but it wasn't like he enjoyed it. He didn't have the choice, and so he simply came to accept it as part of his routine. The whirlpool had sucked him in its deadly embrace, and while he could have resisted it, he had decided to let it overwhelm him instead – it would be worth it in the end, he had believed.

But when he realized he might have been wrong all along, it was too late. The whirlpool had turned to quicksand, and he was in too deep. Struggling would only delay the inevitable – he knew there was no turning back. Perhaps he knew he was beyond saving, as well.

Still, even if he was unaware of it, a tiny part of him had hoped. He had wanted someone to reach out a helping hand to him, and the hand did come… too late, however. Each time he came to Leblanc, Amamiya's presence managed to make him forget about the next lie he would have to tell, or the next target he would have to kill. Being by his side was almost cleansing in a way. This is why Goro had been so intrigued – Amamiya was almost like a case to be solved. He held the key to happiness in his hands, the key that Goro had sought for many years. He was the person blessed with freedom, and Goro could only stare at him, fascinated. The envy, however, the admiration, the awe, had been drowned out long ago. They had been replaced by months of repressed jealousy that had left Goro bitter. Amamiya was now nothing so much as an annoyance, a reminder that Goro had failed.

Still, despite his resentment, he did acknowledge Amamiya's worth. He had met many people throughout his life, ranging from unremarkable to outright out of this world, but Amamiya was on another level altogether. He was the only one that had managed to catch Goro's attention and made him realize that perhaps, life could have been different. He was the first and last person Goro had ever told about his mother. He was also the only target that didn't cower in his last moments, when the hitman was about to do his job.

It was difficult to tell what Amamiya was thinking in that very moment. He hadn't so much as flinched upon seeing the guard crumple to the floor like a rag doll. He hadn't tried to leave his chair and escape the room. Instead, he stared at his murderer with cold, defiant eyes, almost as if to challenge him to do his best. In any other circumstances, Goro would have congratulated his nerves of steel, but he wasn't thinking rationally anymore. The adrenaline was overpowering him; the knowledge that disposing of Amamiya would remove the last barrier between Shido and himself almost exhilarating. There had been something else, however. The sensation of winning against the person he had appointed as his rival was intoxicating him. It was petty and childish, but he was past caring at that point. The sole witness to his puerile behavior, the last person to witness the real Goro, would be gone soon anyway.

And now, he would finally show his true face. Everything that happened those past two and a half years had led to this moment. To the final obstacle. The final wall. The final door to Shido Masayoshi.

Goro raised his weapon casually – an undeniable proof he had done this many times before. His grip tightened around the gun. His index finger found the trigger. His back was straight and his arm still; if he hesitated, it didn't show. Amamiya refused to blink. Goro shot.

Or rather, he tried to. His finger refused to move.

"What…?"

This was all Goro could say. He tried to shoot again, to no avail. His heart stopped for a split second, only to suddenly race in his chest. His back suddenly felt slick with sweat, preyed on by a chill at the sight of Amamiya's lips curling into a victorious grin.

No, Goro refused to let this happen. He was so close, he couldn't allow himself to fail now. All those years of hard work would go to waste otherwise, and there was no way he would accept that. Once again, he attempted to press the trigger, but it wasn't just his finger that didn't cooperate anymore: his whole body refused to respond. Something was holding him in place, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't move any longer. It was almost as though a superior force was preventing him from killing Amamiya…

"Wake up."

A voice echoed from somewhere far away. It took Goro's brain a moment to register it, too busy trying to process the impossible. Choosing to believe he may have merely imagined it, he redirected his attention to Amamiya, whose facial features were now unreadable again.

"Wake up."

The command was louder this time, catching Goro very much off-guard. He frantically looked around, suddenly freed from the mysterious spell. It hadn't been Amamiya that spoke. But he was the only other person in the room…

"Wake up!"

"…Huh?" Goro muttered.

He closed his eyes, and opened them again.

The first, new thing that greeted him was a massive headache, but his surroundings didn't change: the dark and small room of the police station, the heavy atmosphere, the table, the two chairs, everything was as he had just seen them. There were two differences, however. The corpse of the guard he took out had vanished, and Amamiya as well. Instead, Goro had taken his place, slumped on the chair that was previously occupied by Amamiya.

He instinctively tried to straighten up, but a resistance prevented him from doing so. With a chill, Goro realized his wrists were handcuffed behind the back of his chair – and that wasn't all. An uncomfortable sensation stirred in his stomach at the realization that a sharp-dressed man was watching him from the other side of the table, his eyes piercing and cold. Goro's mind reeled, struggling to understand what was going on. What was he doing here? Why was he restrained? Was this a dream?

As if he had sensed his confusion, the man spoke, his voice slow and deep. "Sakamoto Ryuji is dead. He didn't make it to the hospital."

Goro's blood turned to ice.

With the whiplash came flashes of memories rushing to his brain, overwhelming him like a tidal wave. The sensation of the knife sliding in the flesh, the sickening noise it produced, the vision of Sakamoto's eyes widening in shock, watching his body collapse to the ground… a lump of lead replaced Goro's heart. He definitely wasn't dreaming and yet, what happened could only be described as a nightmare. He could feel his body get colder.

"This sure is a new low, for the Detective Prince…" the man scoffed, towering over him. "In the end, you are really a little punk like all the others, huh? And to think you were inked all along, too…"

Goro couldn't help but wince. The word 'inked' was akin to an unpleasant button being smashed, triggering the reminder of another memory he would have been much happier without. That's right, his body was completely scarred and marked, irrevocably, irreversibly…

He averted his gaze. He wasn't sure what to say in response.

"Someone's coming to interrogate you. You be a good boy and wait here," the man commanded, turning aside. "Well, not like you have a choice…"

A humorless chuckle left the man's lips, although Goro didn't feel so much like laughing – only glare. This didn't seem to faze the other much, though. With one last look of utter contempt, he left Goro alone in the room, the heavy door groaning shut behind him.

A long sigh escaped Goro's lips, more out of weariness than relief, while his shoulders slumped greatly. If he had been told the day before he would accidentally kill someone for a whole street to see and get a beating from the police in retaliation, then wake up handcuffed to a chair in an interrogation room, he would have scoffed in disbelief. There was a lot he hadn't planned, but this whole chain of events was so impossibly surrealist, he still had trouble believing it really happened. Why in the world didn't he use the ATN as soon as possible? It would have spared him so much unnecessary trouble, to the point that Goro clenched his teeth, embarrassed by his own negligence. This situation wouldn't be so alarming if his phone was still in his possession, but…

Goro listlessly glanced around, trying to distract himself before he brooded too long. This room sure brought back memories. Not the good ones, that is. It felt like ages had passed since the day he attempted to kill Amamiya. Now that he thought about it, how did Amamiya survive anyway? After all, he did crumple onto the table like a discarded rag doll, leaving a massive blood splatter on it…

Then again, since the Phantom Thieves were apparently aware they would be betrayed sooner or later, Goro figured they preemptively prepared some kind of trick in order to fool him. He racked his brain, but he couldn't think of anything that might explain how they proceeded. He was reluctant to admit it, but they had truly outsmarted him in every way…

Goro grunted in frustration and shook his head: now was definitely not the time to ruminate over things that didn't matter anymore (not to mention he could feel his temper rising dangerously at the recollection). In any case, he thought as he swept his eyes across the room once again, nothing here would be of any help. How could he find a way out of this mess?

Just as he was wondering, Goro's eyes stopped on the door. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he figured at least a good ten minutes had already elapsed since the man left him alone. The person interrogating him would probably come any moment now…

A single drop of sweat trickled down Goro's back. He could feel his heart start to beat faster.

It was almost like he were a criminal strapped to the electric chair, awaiting his imminent death. The executioner would then enter the room, followed by an ominous buzz piercing the air, and finally, the holy electricity would exact its divine retribution. But while he figured he might deserve it, Goro had no intention of meekly accepting this prospect.

"Dammit! I don't have time for this…" he groaned, but there was no one to hear him.

The sensation of the handcuffs digging hard into his wrists was getting increasingly less bearable as the minutes went by. He had to escape this room, and fast. Perhaps he could summon Loki and break out… but without his phone, what would the point of that be? What would he do afterwards? Hide? He would only get caught by the police again, and he would be lucky to make it out with only a blow to the head this time. Besides, summoning his Persona would be a sure way to give half the police station a heart attack, and he would rather avoid adding even more victims to his body count if he could help it. He wasn't even sure Loki could manage to break the handcuffs without chopping his wrists off in the process anyway, and that was one risk Goro didn't feel brave enough to take, no matter how much the situation urged him to be.

Come to think of it, Goro thought, straightening up slightly, would Loki even answer his call? He knew the giant Palace already existed as of September 13th, 2016, but would it already be in place in April?

Goro frowned. It wouldn't hurt to check, and since he was currently stuck here, he figured now was as good a time as any to make some progress in his investigation. He had wasted enough time as it is.

"Lo—"

But the rest of Loki's name died in his throat, stolen away as he suddenly noticed the security camera fixed to the wall and directed straight at him. No light came from the lens – it seemed to be out of service, possibly in order to hide any evidence of the potential police brutality that could happen in this room. Goro gulped, but then again, he couldn't deny this was convenient.

"…Loki," he whispered as quietly as possible, aware the room wasn't soundproof. The striped entity appeared immediately, hovering above Goro with grace, and with his appearance dissolved Goro's uniform seamlessly into his dark suit. His heart gave a little jolt at his realization: his vision was practically obstructed by the glass visor, but he didn't need it to understand the Palace was already in place by April 24th, 2016. Since only Amamiya, Sakamoto, Takamaki and Morgana were part of the Phantom Thieves back then according to his intel-gathering, those four were the key to the Palace's creation… and since they started operating at the beginning of April, the time frame had narrowed to less than one month only. This was a huge leap of progress, and in spite of the circumstances, Goro couldn't help but feel a point of genuine excitement. Finally, he was getting closer to the truth.

Something bothered him, though. Who was the host of the giant Palace anyway? This was one crucial piece of information he was lacking. Who could have felt emotions strong enough to generate a dimension that faked reality on such a grand scale? This Palace ought to be born from the mind of a powerful person, he figured. It would be easy to undo it by taking care of the host themselves, but then again, if Goro had no clue about their identity, perhaps it would be easier to prevent the creation of the Palace in the first place – although this wasn't ideal, either. Both options were hard to work with, really. Besides, how big was this Palace anyway? Did it extend to Tokyo only? To Japan? To the world? And what did the Phantom Thieves do that could have triggered its creation?

His mind monopolized by dozens of questions and theories, Goro was entirely oblivious to how Loki seemed to be observing him, waiting for the next command. It was only when the door handle moved without warning that Goro was torn from his thoughts, the rattle of it eerily loud in the silence. Letting out a gasp, he hastily called Loki back in his heart, sighing in relief as his suit immediately changed back into his school uniform. Behind the door could be no one but the interrogator – his executioner. Every single muscle in his body tensed, and Goro stared at the door with intent, anticipating eyes, only to gape at the sight of the person stepping through the frame. It wasn't an executioner at all.

"Sae-san?!" Goro exclaimed despite himself, but she merely glowered, as if to command him to keep quiet. The man that had woken him up followed behind her.

"Make it quick, Niijima-san—you're bothering us here. Be thankful we didn't turn you down."

"I have the director's permission to interrogate him!" she snapped back, outraged.

"Do you now. Well, to be honest, I think this interrogation is unnecessary, but who am I to go against the director's orders?" he replied curtly, not bothering to hide his annoyance at all. "I told the guard outside to be prepared in case something was to happen. You know, precautions and all that."

Muttering something inaudible under her breath as the door closed, Sae-san swiftly made her way to the vacant chair and sat down, facing Goro with an unreadable expression. The atmosphere in the room suddenly jumped in awkwardness. Clearly, she didn't intend to break the silence first, forcing Goro to speak up first – even if he had no idea what to say.

"Um… Sae-san—"

"That's Niijima-san to you!" she shouted, earning a jump from him in response. "We are currently not co-workers. You're the convict, and I'm the prosecutor interrogating you."

Her outburst was taking Goro aback. It seemed it wasn't only Sakamoto that had changed in this history… But then again, he couldn't blame her. He supposed he really was a convict, after all…

"What in the world has gotten into you? Broad daylight! Dozens of witnesses, and some of them recognized you! Do you realize that your life is practically over? Do you realize how big of an impact you will leave on your agency's reputation? On the police's?"

Goro furrowed his eyebrows. She had yelled at him more than once in the past, but unlike before, it now actually hurt a little. "It was an accident. I did not want this to happen."

Goro swallowed the urge to add he couldn't care less about damaging the police's reputation, or his agency's for that matter. He was much more concerned about finding a way to get out of this mess, for his sake, but for Sakamoto's as well. He did feel bad about him despite their history. The vision of his corpse collapsing to the ground was something Goro would take to the grave. Even so, a very small seed of comfort bloomed at the back of his mind, as he knew using the ATN would undo his death. He had to retrieve his phone no matter what.

"Well I heard it was self-defense, but that doesn't change the fact that you did kill him!" Sae-san was ranting meanwhile, shooting him daggers. "There is next to no chance that your case will win. You would be extremely lucky to avoid going to jail, but after this little stunt, I definitely don't think it will be possible to lessen your sentence by much. Even if we plead self-defense—"

"Huh? You want to defend me in court? But you are a prosecutor, Sae-san…" he interrupted, eyes widening in surprise. "I mean, Niijima-san…"

He couldn't help but clear his throat – her glare before he corrected himself had looked dangerous. There was something in those harsh, crimson eyes that could turn even the most ruthless murderer's blood to icy water.

Even so, a trace of hesitation eventually mellowed her hard features, translated by Sae-san biting her lip. Without much conviction, she mumbled something about asking a lawyer friend for help; not without reiterating her hopes weren't high, but Goro's heart fluttered all the same. He almost didn't dare believe it, didn't dare believe her devotion toward him, as though someone would soon tell him this was all a joke. The jolt of gratitude in his brain, however, was real. She certainly was different from the woman Goro had met on that day of January 2016. It was only a vague fragment of his past at first, but calling her 'Niijima-san" had jogged his memories to the point he could reenact their first meeting in his head like it happened yesterday.

Goro had been assigned to work with Sae-san as her partner (more like her assistant, he sometimes teased) under the director of the Special Investigations Unit. They were supposed to investigate the berserk incidents together, but Goro knew, just like the SIU Director, that he had been partnered with Sae-san only because Shido asked him to. Shido had figured being close to a prosecutor investigating the cases that were shaking Tokyo was a good way to spy on the police from the inside, and more importantly, cover their tracks. Goro had complied without a second thought, of course, and this is how he came to meet her. Their first encounter had been quite rocky, and while it didn't happen that long ago, Goro felt like years had passed since then.

"My name is Akechi Goro," he had greeted, bowing politely. "I might be a mere high school student, but I have sometimes been called a detective. Pleased to meet you, Niijima-san."

Sae-san hadn't reciprocated the bow. She had just looked him up and down, as though she were gauging his worth to get a proper greeting in return. In the end, her response was curt.

"I can't believe I'll have to babysit a kid from now on, prodigy or not…"

Goro had taken the insult in stride. Deep down, it had been another story: he hadn't thought of her in a much better light. She had been merely somebody to fool, after all.

"I'll try not to get in your way too much, Niijima-san," he had simply replied, forcing a smile on his lips.

The tension connecting this unlikely, mismatched pair had eventually turned to a professional bond of trust. She had underestimated his reasoning capabilities and came to appreciate his helpful insight and assistance. And while his initial assessment of her never really changed – she was still someone to fool and get advantage of – Goro had to admit he got used to her, and even found himself enjoying her company at times. Back then, his desire to surpass Shido had been stronger than any interest in getting closer to her, but now, things were drastically different. This is why disappointing her was as of today a prospect he would rather avoid.

"I still can't believe you did that," she kept ranting meanwhile, finally interrupting his line of thought. "What were you thinking? Do you even realize what you just did?"

"I already told you, it was an acci—"

"Do you think this excuse will be enough to help your case in court?! Involuntary manslaughter is still murder!"

Her heavy breathing was the only sound that pierced the otherwise silent room. Suddenly, she jumped out of her seat.

"And where did those tattoos come from anyway?!" she cried out, slamming her hands hard on the table. "The doctor that examined your body said they seemed new, when did you get those?"

Despite himself, Goro recoiled on his chair. He was at an utter loss for words.

As if to save him from further embarrassment, the door suddenly opened again. A guard entered the room with a wooden box in his hands, nonchalantly sliding it on the table without a single apology or even a greeting.

"Here, Niijima-san… His belongings, like you asked. A wallet, a key, and his cell phone."

At those words, Goro looked up.

"Thank you. I'll take a look at them later," she said without smiling, and with a nod, the guard left the room. With an annoyed jerk of the head, she sat down again.

Goro's heart began to race. In this box was his way out of this waking nightmare, but the resistance on his wrists reminded him that he couldn't simply extend an arm and press the ATN icon. An idea flashed across his mind before he had time to despair, however – an idea that made him instinctively gulp. He had no clue whether it would work or not, but with a bit of luck, maybe… just maybe…

But another part of him immediately put a damper on his recklessness, urging him not to go through with his plan. This was one hell of a gamble his brain had managed to come up with. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if his plan were to fail.

Something flipped inside his stomach. Even so, this might be Goro one and only chance. He would be a fool not to seize it.

As Sae-san sighed in weariness, Goro took a deep breath, steeling himself as he carefully chose his words.

"I sincerely appreciate that you are willing to help me despite what I did. But…"

The way he deliberately cut himself off in an attempt to catch her entire attention paid off. Her curious look only served to encourage him.

"But I don't think I have the right to accept your help. It doesn't make sense to defend the guilty in court."

She opened her mouth to reply, but he was faster. "And I don't mean that solely in regards to the accidental murder. I'm also talking about… all the other crimes I committed."

Sae-san took a moment to answer. It looked almost as though she wasn't sure she had properly heard him. "Your… other crimes?"

"Working as a detective was just a cover. I am actually… a professional hitman," he explained, trying hard to ignore his heart pounding in his chest. Sweat began to bead onto his forehead.

"What… did you say…?"

Sae-san would have looked more or less the same if Goro had announced he was preparing a one-way trip to the moon for them both. Her eyes were wider than he ever saw them look.

"I would understand if you went and got the guard outside, but… could you let me finish, first?" he requested, his heart rate rising by the second. He couldn't allow her to leave the room yet.

She peered at him for a very long time. Then, at last, she gave a brief nod. He answered with a grateful smile before going on, eyes narrowing at once.

"I work under Shido Masayoshi's orders," he whispered, earning a gasp in response. "Leading candidate for the seat of prime minister. He hired me to help him rise to power by disposing of his rivals and other inconveniences."

Sae-san seemed frozen in place. The shock was huge, that much was obvious. Goro knew there was no turning back. "I know this is going to sound unbelievable, but there is something I can do… that makes people go berserk. To gain influence, Shido put my power at the disposal of his allies so that their targets could, well, conveniently disappear. I would make them go berserk, resulting in them causing major chaos in Tokyo, and I would then arrest them as a detective. The target would be disposed of, and Shido would reap the rewards."

Goro stopped himself, looking at Sae-san straight in the eye. Deep wrinkles were now creasing the space between her brows.

"Did you say… berserk? Does that mean…"

"Forgive me, Sae-san," Goro said, his lips curling into a sad sort of smile. "All those incidents that gave you so much trouble and stressed you out… I was really the one behind all of them. I'm sorry for deceiving you the whole time…"

His apology was sincere. He knew the series of incidents he had perpetrated had put a great strain on her nerves, even if it was too far back in the past for her to be aware of it yet. This is why he was apologizing for the crimes he already had committed at that point, but also for those he technically didn't commit yet; the crimes that had made her daily life much more complicated than it needed to be.

At any rate, the effect was working. She seemed so stunned by his confession that she didn't even yell at him for forgetting to call her by her surname.

"And sometimes, when making a target go berserk isn't enough, I have to… dispose of them in a more direct way," he continued, his eyes never averting from hers. He was thankful she couldn't see his hands shaking behind his back. "Those are the mental shutdowns that plagued Tokyo recently… I make them happen at Shido or his allies' request.

A long, heavy silence filled the room. When Sae-san finally spoke, it was difficult to interpret her tone of voice.

"In that case… Are you behind Kamoshida Suguru's death as well…?"

"…That's right. He was yet another target that needed to be disposed of," Goro replied, eyes slightly wider than normal.

Sae-san stayed silent for a while, scanning his eyes in such a way Goro felt like he were being dissected.

"You are… being serious, are you?" she finally asked with a pleading note in her voice, as though she wanted him to assure her this was all a joke. "When you say you are a professional murderer…"

"I am. Everything I told you is the truth."

"You say that, but I simply can't believe you without proof," she shot back stubbornly, like she truly couldn't believe the boy who had worked alongside her this entire time had really deceived her all along in the worst of ways. "Do you have some…?"

Goro's stomach gave a huge jolt. This was the chance he had been hoping for.

"As a matter of fact, I do. The plans, the names of the targets, the additional notes for each assassination, the secret to my power… All the information you need is on my cell phone. It's in the application called… ATN."

"ATN?" Sae-san echoed, apparently unsure she properly heard. She reached out for the plastic box left on the table and cautiously examined the phone, her eyes narrow like it was a trap or something equally suspicious.

"That's right. It stands for… Akechi's Termination Notes," he blurted out without thinking.

Goro swallowed hard. He knew he was an above average actor, but it was still nothing short of a miracle that he had managed to maintain a straight face as he spoke. This was probably the stupidest lie he had ever told…

He didn't blame her for raising an eyebrow.

"Akechi's… Termination Notes?"

Goro stayed silent. He felt that one single wrong word could ruin all his efforts, and he would never forgive himself for messing up when he had come so far. He manufactured a complete neutral expression on his face (then faked an air of polite surprise as her stare upon him dragged on), hoping his eyes translated sincerity.

It felt like it took an eternity, but she finally averted her gaze from him to look down at the bright screen; his heart leapt in his chest. Her index finger slowly, almost painstakingly approached the icon. She gave it a quick tap, and her eyes then widened in what Goro believed to be confusion.

"The application opened, but… Another Time Navi?" she began as she lifted a puzzled gaze at him. "This isn't what you—"

But she immediately interrupted herself, taken aback by the mischievous smile suddenly brightening Goro's face. The smile of someone who knew they had won.

"Sorry, Sae-san," he said with a grin, completely forgetting her forceful demand as the now familiar – long-awaited – pins and needles prickled his nerves. "That was a lie."

Sae-san didn't react immediately, and by the time she figured out he was making fun of her, it was too late to berate him. Goro was gone, and with him the existence of this history that should never have been.