More than a year has passed since Akechi Goro cut himself free from his puppet strings and tore the dream reality asunder. With Shido imprisoned and Maruki done away with, Goro finds himself without purpose - a faceless man in a world that has forgotten his very existence. As if pulled by the strings of fate themselves, Goro is drawn to Inaba. When he is approached by enigma Minazuki Sho, a man with a similarly mysterious past and ties to an organization known as the Shadow Operatives, he is offered a road towards atonement - and potentially, a place to belong.
Written for #GoroBigBang2020, cover art by ruruuuundesu on Twitter. Warnings for: descriptions of child experimentation, past child abuse, panic attacks, and suicide ideation. Major Spoilers for Persona 4: Arena Ultimax (and the games it spoils) and Persona 5: Royal.
June 2nd, 2018. It was odd to see the date staring up at him, considering Goro never thought he'd live past eighteen. He should have been dead two times over, but here he was - camping out in some backwater country town in order to stay under the radar. He didn't need the Phantom Thieves discovering that he was alive; that would mean confronting Akira, confronting what happened in that fake reality, confronting himself-
Goro took in a sharp breath. Did he really need to think about this every goddamn day?
No, he thought as he hitched his backpack further up his shoulder, I left Tokyo behind. I left Akira behind.
After stopping at the rehab he and his mother had stayed at, knowing he'd at least be safe from the public eye and Shido's dogs, he said his farewells to the only city he had ever known. Goro had always wanted to travel, a childish dream he never managed to squash; now, with Shido's blood money and his revenge plan thoroughly forfeit, he was backpacking around Japan. Maybe he'd fly to America or Europe once he got tired of his home country.
He had been staying in Gifu for the past few months to accumulate more funds; swallowing his pride, he had taken on a job as a grocery clerk. Plastering on a customer service smile and biting back his curses reminded him too much of his Detective Prince days, so it was unsurprising he couldn't even last a year. The income was mediocre, especially considering the mental Olympics Goro had to put himself through on a single day of the job. With his apartment bills and the cost of food, he had ended up with even less money than he started with.
So. After leaving behind Gifu, he planned on stopping in Osaka, and somehow ended up in a sleepy old town in the middle of nowhere. The name sounded familiar and Hereward thrummed under his skin, silently goading him forward.
Maybe it was destiny, or perhaps it was the pull of fate stringing him along; whatever the reason was, he ended up in Inaba.
And hm. His money was starting to run low. Gifu had done him no favors, and he was too far from Osaka to turn back now. Finding employment in Inaba before he reached the ends of his funds was probably his best bet.
He pocketed his phone and entered the shopping district. The area was desolate, compared to the chaos of Tokyo's downtown streets. Inaba was much quieter than the city and Goro could acutely hear the patter of his own footsteps; back home, he was lucky to hear his own thoughts. It was... different, to say the least. Goro wasn't sure if it was bad just yet. He filed it away for later introspection.
Striding past a tofu restaurant, he noticed a bulletin board covered in fliers. Out of curiosity, he approached it. Inspecting the pages, they looked to be job listings. Well, that was convenient.
Dog walker... no. Origami crane folder - is that even a job?
Goro sighed. He should have expected a backwater town to have inadequate employment. He was out of luck back in the city too, considering he never finished senior high school or started university. His work experience under the SIU was null; no one besides the Thieves and a small handful of other city dwellers even remembered his existence. What a fall from fame.
Maybe he would just have to bite the bullet and take on a dead-end job. He would have to swallow his pride, but considering he had no reputation anymore, what did it matter? Money was money and he needed a place to stay.
His garnet eyes stalled on one of the pages, its wrinkled and slightly-torn edges barely peeking out from underneath the newer listings. Gas station worker? The town was so small, the residents probably didn't even drive around too much. That was... doable.
Goro glanced back towards the southern area of the shopping district. He passed the gas station a few minutes ago, didn't he? It had been close to the bus stop. He adjusted his bag, turned on his heel, and began to head back.
If this didn't work out, there was always heading back to Gifu or actually going to Osaka as he planned. Even riskier was spending the last of his money on a one-way flight to America. English to Japanese translators were popular, weren't they? His English was fairly decent so the option wasn't completely off the table. Besides, a change in scenery would be nice, especially after spending most of his life confined to Tokyo.
As he passed the alleyway right before the gas station, goosebumps ran across his skin and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Hereward buzzed under his skin in warning, and certainly not for the first time, Goro wished he still had his gun on him.
Someone was watching him.
Goro came to a stop, schooling his face into neutrality and burying his anxiety deep within his chest. Channeling his old Detective Prince charisma, he stepped towards the entrance of the alleyway and pulled his lips into a disarming smile. "Can I help you?" he asked the darkness, standing his ground.
In the dim lighting of the alleyway, he barely made out the glint of a blade. They're armed and my gun is buried somewhere under Metaverse debris. Fucking wonderful.
"Yeah, actually." The voice coming from the darkness sounded like it belonged to a young male adult; it was slightly nasal, as if the person had a cold. "You look like a city boy. What brings you to shitty ol' Inaba?"
Goro forced his face to remain passive. This was... not what he was expecting, frankly. He blinked doe-like eyes, feigning innocence. "I'm on summer vacation and wanted to sight see a little," he lied, pitching his voice up slightly higher. Maybe this dumbass would attempt to mug him.
Wait. He had no weapon. What the fuck was he doing?
The man in the shadows scoffed, and from his tone of voice, Goro wouldn't be surprised if he had also rolled his eyes. "Dunno why the hell you'd come here. You'll be bored out of your goddamn mind within a week."
"If you don't mind me asking," Goro began saccharinely, plastering a trademark television smile on his face, "why do you live here if you hate it so much?"
"I'm here for work," he answered, and another flash of silver was enough to enlighten Goro on what kind of work this man did. Hell, Goro wasn't much different a few years ago; those were the days Shido held him on a leash, days where Goro was sure he would be victorious in their game. God, he was such an idiot back then.
Goro grabbed hold of those memories, smothered them, and gathered his thoughts. Adding a playful lilt to his voice, he asked, "Am I your next job, mister?"
If he was going to die, he could relish in being a little shit in his last moments. And besides, wasn't this what he deserved? When he had killed for Shido, most of his victims never even knew who held the gun. Whoever the man in front of him was, being killed by a faceless hitman was karma for his past actions.
He'd never see Akira again. He'd never fulfill their promise. He would die here, in some dark alley in some backwater town, and he'd never see Akira again.
The sharp point of a katana stretched out from the darkness, edge barely touching the exposed skin of Goro's throat. With years of practice in hiding his genuine emotions, Goro hardly flinched.
"Depends on your answer," the man's voice raised in amusement, smirk evident in his tone. "I'm gettin' a weird vibe from you. You ever been to that world?"
That world. Goro's mouth was suddenly dry. This man was undoubtedly a Persona user. If Goro were to lie and feign ignorance, the katana would strike forward before Goro could even blink. If he were to tell the truth...
He'd be back where he started - tangled in the web of fate, retying his puppet strings.
Suddenly, the man lowered the blade from Goro's neck. Goro could hear the sword slide back into its sheath, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"No normal person would be that calm with a blade to their neck," the man said, and Goro realized that his answer would have made little difference. "You must be that Akechi kid."
Unable to help himself, Goro's eyes widened slightly at being recognized. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised, considering the latent ability of Persona users. Perhaps they were immune to the mind wipe that occurred due to Yaldabaoth and the collapse of the Metaverse.
Tentatively, he asked, "You know me?"
"You're that detective, aren't you?" There was a rustle of fabric, perhaps the man crossing his arms. "I've been lookin' for you for like... a few months now? You're a real sketchy guy, Akechi."
Goro bit back a groan. It wouldn't be the first time he was called a variation of Sketchy Akechi. Now that the jig was up, he allowed a frown to tug at his lips as he spoke in his actual voice, "Hilarious, aren't you?" He crossed his arms across his chest, narrowing his eyes at the darkness. "Care to reveal yourself? You already know who I am."
When Goro received no response for a few lengthy moments, he wondered if he overstepped.
"... Ugh, shut up, would'ya?"
Just as Goro was about to comment on the delayed response, the figure stepped out of the shadows. The man was a few inches taller than Goro, with a short spiky mess of bright red hair, eyes a stormy blue-gray, and a prominent X-shaped scar across his face. He was abnormally pale, as if he had never seen the sun in his life, and a multitude of scars decorated his skin. He wore a black tank top, a yellow crossbody bag, and white capris, and the yellow and black hilts of his katanas crossed behind him at the hip. How this guy could ever blend into a small backwater town such as Inaba was beyond vexing to Goro.
"Name's Sho. You ever heard of the Shadow Operatives?"
Goro had never heard the term before, but like hell he'd admit that and lose ground. Every conversation was a game of chess, and his silver tongue had been honed during his stint in the public eye. He couldn't lose.
"Perhaps," he said without missing a beat. "Are you a member?"
He was assuming that the Shadow Operatives were a bunch of Persona users, considering the use of the word Shadow in their name. If this Sho guy was a Persona user, it was easy to deduct the other members would be the same. In Goro's experience, Persona users had a tendency to congregate - as if destiny brought them together.
Sho scowled. "Only recently. Needed the money." His eyes trailed down Goro as if to size him up before meeting his gaze. "Where the hell've you been all this time, anyway? Case bring you here?"
He averted his eyes, frowning as if in thought. Honestly, it looked more like he was listening to something. Goro strained his ears but he could only hear the quiet humdrum of Inaba's shopping district. Maybe his Persona talked to him, just like how Robin Hood and Loki used to; Hereward was more of a silent sentinel, only making himself known when Goro was in danger. While Goro had been annoyed for all those years of dealing with Robin and Loki's bickering, it was quiet without them. As if spurred by his pang of melancholy, Hereward's energy burned in Goro's chest, a silent but welcoming reminder that he wasn't alone.
Sho glanced back to Goro with a blink. "Never mind. Forgot you weren't a detective anymore. Guess that makes you a little defective?"
Goro allowed the irritation bubbling in his chest to climb up his throat and coat his words. "Are these excuses for humor necessary?"
"What? Come on, they're funny!" He genuinely looked surprised that Goro failed to find his jokes humorous. Was this guy serious? "Ugh, whatever. Your loss, man."
He tilted his head slightly, as if he were listening for something again. "... Yeah, nearly forgot." He turned back to Goro and reached behind himself, resting his hands on the hilts of his blades. "Are you gonna come with me willingly or do we need to do this the hard way?"
Goro held his ground, Hereward pulsing in his veins as an ubiquitous reminder. Even without his serrated blade or his gun, he still had combat experience and his limited real-world Persona use. Adrenaline shot through his body and his heart rate picked up into a steady fast-beat rhythm.
"Oh, good," Sho's grin was lopsided, causing his scar to stretch unevenly across the bridge of his nose. "I haven't had a good fight in ages!"
Goro glanced behind himself. Even if nobody remembered him, he would prefer to not draw unwanted attention to himself with a fight out in the open. Searching for a compromise, he gestured behind him and said, "We better avoid the residents."
Sho looked ready to rebut; he opened his mouth and... froze for a moment. His eyes were unfocused and the tension in his shoulders vanished completely. When his gaze returned back to Goro with a blink, his eyes were half-lidded and his previous grin morphed into a small smirk.
"You're unarmed," he said coolly, voice deeper than it had been a moment ago, "do you truly plan to fight like that?"
Suddenly, Hereward bristled in warning. While his instincts screamed at him to put as much distance between himself and the man before him, Goro stood his ground, masking his unease with a neutral expression. Even though Sho had had a katana millimeters from his throat a few minutes ago, he was loud, obnoxious, and brash; he acted like a preteen, even if his sword skills were precise. It had been like flicking a switch; right now, he radiated a murderous aura and looked as if he'd slice Goro's throat without a single moment of hesitation.
Sho reached into his pants pocket, metal glinting beneath his fingers. In a split second, he threw something in Goro's direction. Goro caught it with a practiced ease and brought his eyes to whatever sat in his palm. The familiar shape caused his eyes to widen.
"There's your weapon. Are you ready now?"
The sleek silver of a gun stared back at him. Emblazoned on the side were the letters S.E.E.S.; Goro had never heard of this model before, and he assumed it was a custom-made model for the Shadow Operatives. Interestingly enough, there was no safety - only a trigger. That was the only necessary part, after all.
Goro adjusted his grip on the weapon and detested the familiarity of his fingers wrapping around the gun. In a blink, he was fifteen again, prowling the Metaverse with Robin Hood by his side; he didn't have Loki back then and Shido had given him a gun to get the job done. Loki had come after - and it had only been a few months after Isshiki Wakaba and the other scientists were able to artificially force him to awaken to Loki that Shido ordered the hit on her.
After a moment, Goro frowned. Further inspecting the weapon, he realized a major flaw - there was no magazine to slide off. Narrowing his eyes at Sho, he deadpanned, "This is a model gun."
Sho tilted his head with a haughty smirk. "It looks as if you cannot fight then," he said smugly, drawing out his words condescendingly. He fixed Goro with an unamused stare, his previous immaturity and boisterousness a distant memory. "Let's stop wasting time and head back."
Goro cocked an eyebrow. "Do you seriously expect me to follow you?"
"Considering I have two katanas and you have a model gun," he began to step past Goro, walking out into the sunlight with a new-found swagger, "I believe you would be at my mercy."
With a heavy sigh, Goro slid the gun into his pocket. "Fine," he huffed, "lead the way."
Once they had begun walking, Goro used the moment to observe his surroundings. Inaba was a quiet town with a population likely smaller than Shibuya. If Sho were to slice his neck out here in the open, he would probably get away with it. This shitty backwater town offered him no protection. Even if he were to run, Sho looked agile enough to catch him. Unfortunately, it was in his best interest to follow the redhead until he could figure out an escape plan.
Hearing the sound of rummaging, Goro's eyes snapped back to his unlikely guide. From the small yellow bag on his back, Sho retrieved a cellphone. It was a flip phone, certainly incapable of installing apps, and Goro wondered how one would enter the Metaverse with a device that outdated. He typed out a short message before flicking it closed and putting it back into his bag.
Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, he asked, "How do you enter the Metaverse with that?"
Sho glanced over his shoulder at Goro. "What?" Despite the muted nature of his emotions, he seemed genuinely confused.
He asked Goro if he had been to that other world. ... He had been referring to the Metaverse, hadn't he?
Goro lowered his voice. "You're a Persona user," he said slowly. "How do you enter the Metaverse?"
Sho slowed his pace, allowing Goro to catch up. "Is that what you've been calling that world?" His eyes widened slightly, as if in realization. In a quieter voice, he murmured, "Shit. That must have been what Kirijo was talking about."
From his earlier haughtiness and careful countenance, Goro could tell Sho was not one to slip up like that. According to his accidental admission, there was another place that Persona users would go besides the Metaverse. He filed the information away for later.
"The other Persona users and I would enter a place called the Metaverse," he said carefully, observing Sho for his reaction. "Your... boss knows about it?"
Sho turned his head back, leaving Goro to become acquainted with bright red spikes. Goro expected to walk the rest of the trip in silence, considering how long their footsteps were the only sound accompanying them. Glancing around, Goro noticed they were entering an area with more people compared to the barrenness of the shopping district. Plastered on the giant building before them was a large sign that read: JUNES.
"We have been to a different world," Sho finally said, and Goro's gaze trailed reflexively to the man's back. While he had noticed the countless scars adorning Sho's skin earlier, he found his eyes tracing all of the small marks covering his arms, his neck, and his shoulder blades. Under the man's shirt, Goro noticed even more scars poking out from beneath the fabric. What the hell had this guy done to earn all of those?
Sho opened the door to the building and stared at him expectantly. "Something interesting catch your eye?" he asked, his raised eyebrow hidden behind the bangs covering his forehead.
Goro blinked, meeting Sho's gaze. Deciding to keep his thoughts to himself, he shook his head with a resolute, "No." He stepped forward, holding the door open for himself as he walked inside.
The cold blast of air conditioning paralyzed him for a brief moment; he hadn't realized how unbearably hot it had been outside. It was only the beginning of June, why was it so damn hot? Sweat clung uncomfortably to his skin, despite his t-shirt and slacks.
Taking in his surroundings, Goro belatedly recognized this place as a department store. Food and other grocery displays stretched onward for as far as he could see. Truthfully, Goro hadn't been to any shopping places besides convenience stores in his recent experience, so the expansiveness of Junes was a pleasant surprise.
"Ah," Sho said, breaking the long stretch of silence between them. "You're curious about the scars."
Goro was too prideful to admit that yes, he was curious, so he continued to hold his tongue. Perhaps Sho took Goro's silence as an affirmation because he continued talking.
"His-" Sho cut himself off, shaking his head. "An awful man did this."
Goro continued to follow Sho, expecting a follow-up to that comment; surprisingly, it never came. His thoughts trailed to his own scars; they had been born from experimentation and his injuries sustained in the Metaverse. According to Sho, his scars came from... a single man? Once again, Goro noted the deduction, adding his observation to his growing knowledge of Sho. His anxiety goaded him to continue building up a case file of sorts, perhaps out of habit.
Clearing his thoughts, he took in his surroundings once again. They were nearing the end of the produce section and… entering the electronics department? There were TVs as far as the eye could see, and Sho stopped in front of a particularly large one.
Goro blinked owlishly at him. "Why are we stopping here?" he asked, fixing the redhead with a confused look. "Weren't we going back to your headquarters?"
Sho allowed a small smirk to play across his lips. "This is the shortcut. Have you ever travelled by TV before?"
Unable to voice his thoughts, Goro silently worked his mouth. Travelling... by TV? Was this guy insane?
Before Goro could speak, Sho stole a sweeping glance around them. Seeing as the department was nearly empty besides the two of them, he reached his hand towards the flat screen of the television. To Goro's horror, his hand went right through the screen.
Sho's arm was in the TV, the screen rippling around the crook of his elbow. What the fuck.
"Don't make me shove you in here," he said calmly, as if this were a normal, everyday occurrence and Goro's apprehension was the oddity.
Tentatively, Goro stepped forward. He reached his arm towards the TV, and to his surprise, his fingers went through it as if it were water. He flexed his fingers, disliking the odd sensation against his skin.
He turned towards Sho. "So you just... go in?"
Without any preamble, Sho grabbed Goro by the collar and stepped through the screen, dragging Goro with him.
Goro's vision was filled with white, and black rectangles in the rectangular shape of the television flew past him. Sho's hand was no longer at his neck - rather, his fingers were ready at the hilts of his katanas. Goro's breath caught in his throat; would they be attacked on the other side?
He squeezed his eyes shut, stomach churning uncomfortably. Entering the Metaverse felt similar to this, the way nausea would overwhelm him and his vestibular system would take a painstakingly long minute to readjust.
After a few moments of working through his disorientation, Goro realized he was laying on his stomach. He opened his eyes, forced down his nausea, and took in a deep breath. Pushing himself to his hands and knees, he looked around. He was on a metal platform, yellow in color and decorated in what looked like a crime scene with black circles and white silhouettes. There were TVs stacked to his side, fitted on top of each other like building blocks, and Sho stood in front of him, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Hey." Once again, he had a katana pointed toward Goro in a split second, the silver of the blade glinting at the tip of Goro's nose. His voice was higher pitched, just like it had been when they first met, and it held a tinge of annoyance. "I don't got all day. Get up."
Goro forced himself to his feet. He noted absently that he was still wearing his casual clothes and that his attire hadn't morphed. It made sense, considering this wasn't the Metaverse, but feeling Hereward so intimately close to his heart and only a breath away, it was odd to not be swathed in the blacks and blues of his Metaverse outfit.
Once he was standing, Sho turned his back to him and began to walk away. "Kinda a long walk," he drawled as he rolled his shoulders back. "Better hurry up or your time'll surely be up, Clockechi."
The man laughed boisterously, as if he just told an amazing joke. Ugh. This was going to be a long walk, that was for sure.
Once Goro's stomach settled and he centered himself, he rushed to catch up with the redhead. As much as he hated following Sho's orders, he didn't want to be left alone in this strange place. He fell in step with the man, fingers itching for their usual weapons. He settled for crossing his arms across his chest, hiding his discomfort. Just being in this place made his skin crawl.
"This is inside the TV?" he asked to break the silence and satiate his own curiosity. Honestly, considering the existence of the Metaverse, something as supernatural and absurd as a world inside of a television shouldn't have fazed Goro.
Sho reached a hand up to the back of his neck and rolled his head around, either to stretch his neck or out of boredom. Maybe he was antsy, too. "Yeah," he cracked a smile, "freaky, isn't it? You're lucky you already have your Persona."
Goro's eyes flicked to Sho in interest. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"
Sho regarded the brunette with a quick glance before returning his gaze forward. "You ever hear about those murder cases from a few years back?" he tilted his head away from Goro, falling silent for a moment. "Hmm. Maybe you were too young for that."
The reason why Inaba seemed familiar burst to the forefront of Goro's mind. When he was thirteen, there had been a string of murder cases that happened in some random small country town; it had been the only notable news from a place like that. Once he had started working in the SIU, he had come across a report on the case, despite it occurring all the way in Inaba. While many of the case's details remained unknown, the corpses hanging from telephone poles without a discernible cause of death prodded at Goro's curiosity for years to come. The only concrete evidence listed was a confession by the culprit: one of the detectives working on the case. If that detective was actually the one committing the murders in the first place, it was disturbingly reminiscent of the duality between Detective Prince and Metaverse Hitman Akechi Goro.
"I've heard of it," he said finally, frowning slightly. "A detective killed those people, correct?"
Sho barked a laugh, a far cry from his earlier emotional subtlety. "Yeah, and his name isn't too far off from yours, kid."
Goro wanted to rebut that he wasn't a kid, he was twenty years old god damn it, but he smothered the juvenile remark with a composing breath. Instead, he racked his brain for the details of the case. "He was a detective named..."
"Adachi," Sho spat the name as if it were venom, disgust coating every syllable. "He's an absolute bastard. He's lucky we didn't..." he paused, narrowing his eyes at the ground. "Whatever. Anyway - he was throwin' people into here and their Shadows would kill them."
Goro kept his eyes on his companion, watching the constant mood swings and noting how the cadence of his voice would change. It made him wary, to say the least. In stark contrast to his careful countenance from earlier, Sho seemed to speak without thinking, every emotion flicking across his face; the guy was easier to read than a stop sign. Compared to someone as poker-faced as Akira, reading and understanding Sho was child's play.
"That'd be such a fuckin' awful way to go out, huh," Sho continued, hands resting on his swords. "Killed by someone who looks just like you, tellin' you everything you hate about yourself."
Goro frowned slightly, memories of Shido's ship and his cognitive double resurfacing in his mind. While Goro had never faced his Shadow, staring down that puppet spouting out the flaws in his plan… It was an unpleasant memory, to say the least. And the cherry on top? Akira and his merry band of Thieves heard it all.
He took in a breath, burying his thoughts. Recomposing himself, he realized he could use Sho's explanation as a segue. Drawing on the charisma from his Detective Prince days, Goro's hand moved to his chin and he crossed his arms in contemplation.
"So they were thrown in and killed by their Shadows… how interesting." He glanced at Sho's figure out of the corner of his eye, seeking a reaction as he continued. "I presume you Persona users who solved the case awakened to your Personas by surviving a battle with your Shadow selves then. Would I be correct in that assumption?"
The redhead's shoulders tensed but he kept walking, not bothering to look in Goro's direction. Silence settled in the air between them as Goro waited for a reply or change of subject. Maybe this was too personal; Goro's own experience with that thing from Shido's ship was rather sensitive, even if it wasn't exactly his Shadow. Perhaps the better plan of action was to hold his tongue instead of interrogate the man beside him. Sho was unpredictable, and to Goro's disadvantage, armed.
Despite that, the redhead breathed a sigh. "Sort of, yeah. Not me specifically, though; I'm a bit of a special case," Sho replied jovially, turning to him. A grin stretched momentarily across his face before dipping into a thoughtful frown. The man faced forward once more, fingers idly drumming against his sheathed blades. "A real shit stirrer, that bastard," he huffed a small laugh and glanced towards Goro out of the corner of his eye. "So - what about you?"
Goro had never fought his Shadow; he had awakened to Robin Hood on his first trip through Mementos. It had been a fire in his chest, a growing pressure threatening to crush him from the inside out. He couldn't breathe, his head felt like it was splitting in two - and he had ripped off the mask as it burned against his skin. The second time around, Loki had crawled out of his soul, sharp talons piercing Goro's insides, forever marring his heart. Madness slipped into his veins as if it were always at home with him. Isshiki and her team had been successful - and Goro had the scars to prove it.
It was funny, then, how he had removed two different masks and was still uncertain of where the real Akechi Goro fell. In the no man's land of his heart, did it even matter?
Hereward hummed, a baritone rendition of Goro's own voice. Goro recomposed himself, swallowing down his indecisiveness.
"I never had a Shadow," he said simply.
Sho regarded him with a quick glance, cloudy eyes flicking back to the path before them. "How'd you get your Persona then?" he cracked a smile, "Rip it out of your soul or some shit?"
Goro smirked a little. "Something like that, yes."
The redhead tilted his head to the side, as if he were listening for something. Goro noticed the man did it frequently; it could hardly be considered a coincidence at this point. Perhaps Goro's initial deduction had been right - Sho's Persona must have been talkative, just like Robin and Loki had been.
"Hm," he hummed to himself, fingers tapping idly against the hilts of his blades. He turned back to Goro. "We're almost there. Though - I'm afraid your time with me doesn't end so soon."
"Wonderful," Goro deadpanned. His wrist brushed against the fabric of his slacks, gloved fingers ghosting over the gun hidden beneath. Perhaps summoning Hereward and knocking Sho into the dark abyss beyond the railings was his most favorable option. He had no particular interest in following Sho to the Shadow Operatives' headquarters - it was merely to save his skin back in the real world. Now that he was in the TV World, he could feel his Persona a single breath away. While he may not have been armed, it hardly meant he was without a weapon.
"Hey," Sho called, stopping in his tracks. Goro paused a moment later, ever the obedient dog; his hands clenched into fists at his sides. They stood before a particularly large TV screen, spanning six or seven feet. "We exit through here. D'ya need me to throw you in there or are you gonna go in willingly?"
Goro was done with this caricature of camaraderie. If he were to go through the TV, the Shadow Operatives would never lessen their hold on him. He'd be forcefully dragged back onto the stage of destiny, a gun shoved into his unwilling hand. They wanted a weapon. Why else would a group of Persona users be searching for him?
When Goro reached inward, Hereward met him halfway; the black-clad Persona burst into existence at his back. Goro's very soul flared to life, the fire of rebellion rekindled in his heart. He narrowed his eyes and steeled his resolve, scowling at the man before him.
"I'm armed," he said.
Sho's fingers tightened around the hilts of his katanas. He seemed ready to draw his weapons, legs sliding into a fighting position. In a practiced motion, his blades were released from their sheaths. He brandished one in front of him, pointing directly towards his opponent.
"Hi, armed," he cracked a grin, "I'm Sho."
Goro faltered and Hereward flickered, fading back into his heart. Sho cackled, throwing his head back. For a brief moment, Goro wondered if the redhead would strike while he was defenseless, but the thought was brushed aside once Sho resheathed his blades.
"That wasn't lame," Sho muttered to himself, head tilted to the side. Goro could only assume the man's Persona was thoroughly opposed to its user's sense of humor. "... Yeah, yeah, okay."
Goro debated on sprinting back in the direction they came from. They entered through the TV at the department store - it would make sense to exit through there as well. Sho was obviously distracted in his bantering with his Persona, and the man clearly wasn't meticulous enough to catch wind of Goro's escape plan.
As if hearing his thoughts, Sho's head snapped towards Goro upon his first retreating step. "Hey, Akechi kid!" His hands were at his katanas again. "Did I say you could leave?"
"I decide when I leave," he glared at the man, black-gloved fingers curling into fists. Hereward flickered back into existence, resolve strengthened once again. "Let me go or I strike."
Sho met his gaze, cloudy blue eyes unreadable. His lips tugged into a frown, fingers idly drumming the hilts of his swords. "You're such a brat," he groaned. He sounded tired, if anything. "Really that eager for me to beat the shit out of you?"
"Not particularly," Goro cocked his head with a small smile reminiscent of his Detective Prince days. It was easy to hide the fangs behind how tightly-pressed his lips were. In a brief moment of wishfulness, he brushed his fingers over the model gun in his pocket. If Personas were summonable here, perhaps...
The redhead shrugged with a scoff, drawing his blades. "Sho time."
The air shifted. A ghostly figure appeared behind Sho, red eyes glinting behind a golden mask. In the blink of an eye, the Persona and Sho vanished into a void of darkness. Goro drew the gun, focusing on manifesting bullets within the chamber, and breathed past the frantic rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Behind you!"
Goro stumbled a few steps forward, narrowly dodging the sweep of Sho's blade. He spun on his heel, aiming the gun at where Sho should have been. Goro's eyes widened at the empty space before him. His breath hitched and-
A foot was pressed to his back, sending Goro sprawling to the floor and his gun flying out of his grip. Hereward rushed into action, drawing his bow and aiming a shot at Sho. Goro struggled for breath and he pushed himself to his hands and knees; his pistol had been thrown a few feet away on impact, metal lying innocently by the flat screen TV he was meant to travel through.
Hereward hovered by his side silently, defending Goro from further attacks as he scampered towards the gun. When he snatched the weapon, he channeled the adrenaline in his veins into something different, something darker. Hereward regarded him with an emotionless gaze, as if to ask, doth thou truly wish for this?
Goro nodded and Hereward glowed an ominous black and-
madness swam through his veins, burning him from the inside out. the world inside the tv became redredred and all goro could hear was the frantic pounding of his heartbeat. the gun in his hand was still light, lighter than the one he used in the interrogation room, but it surged with power. goro snarled, knuckles flaring a dangerous white beneath the leather of his gloves. as soon as his eyes spotted a shock of red hair, he pounced.
sho cussed loudly, but goro was deaf to everything besides his heart. thumpthumpthump-
he cocked the gun, metal shaking beneath his fingers. he pulled the trigger.
sho dropped to the ground in a roll, narrowly avoiding the bullet. as goro stumbled back a step from the recoil, he narrowly missed sho pushing off with his saffron sneakers and rocketing himself towards goro in a tackle.
hereward manifested rebellion blade, aiming a slash where sho had been a moment ago; the redhead vanished into darkness, leaving behind a disoriented goro. the chaos in his blood was beginning to dilute, his breathing starting to even out. he clenched his right hand into a fist, fingers of his left hand wrapping around the pistol with his index ready on the trigger. where was sho?
in the span of a short breath, a well-placed kick to the small of his back sent goro tumbling to the ground, metal burning against his exposed skin. the air was knocked out of his lungs, ribs reverberating due to the impact. he couldn't breathe.
a katana was pointed at his throat, not unlike his first meeting with sho in that back alley in inaba. was this it? is this how his pathetic life finally ended?
a quick slice of the air and - sho returned his blades to their sheaths before reaching a hand out to goro.
"█████████."
goro watched as sho's lips moved, but his blood was still pounding in his ears. he squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on regulating his breathing, attempting to dispel the madness surging in his heart. call of chaos was too risky to use. it was fine when akira was with him. (akira, akira, akira.) what the fuck was he doing?
"... You good, kid?" Sho asked, hand still outstretched. "I didn't rough ya up that badly, right?"
The world snapped back into focus. Goro's breath hitched, lungs burning in his chest. He placed the palms of his hands against the floor to brace himself, and he pushed himself up. Sho was still staring down at him but had drawn his hand back upon the realization that Goro would not be taking it.
"Is that your Persona?" he asked after a moment, slowly getting to his feet. Sho's eyes never left him. "Your teleportation trick. It must be a useful tool in assassinations."
Sho scoffed, as if insulted by Goro's observation. "I wish I was allowed to do that kind of stuff." He kicked at the ground idly, tilting his head back. "Ice Queen likes to give me dirty work like finding missing in action detectives."
Goro hid his surprise and kept his face neutral as he absorbed that tidbit of information. He was missing in action. It was evident, considering how he dropped off the radar. Regardless, the revelation itself was absurd, considering the fact that Goro had been wiped from public cognition. Aside from the Phantom Thieves and apparently the Shadow Operatives Sho worked for, Akechi Goro didn't exist.
Goro's lips pulled into a frown. Seeing Sho, another Persona user, caused a resurgence of all of Goro's memories of his time in Tokyo. He left Tokyo to escape his past. Rather than put a bullet in his brain in the apartment from Shido, he decided to leave and atone for all that he had done. He certainly hadn't done any atoning yet, but he planned on doing so once he made enough money to settle down in a half-decent apartment somewhere.
A better atonement would be to kill himself. It would be fair to his victims. It would be retribution.
But here he was - out in the middle of nowhere, drawn back into the supernatural world. He had forcefully been dragged back onto the stage of destiny. What was left besides to perform?
Hereward settled back into his heart, a lone feeling of warmth in his chest. Maybe this was his fate.
He drew in a deep breath, banishing the final remnants of chaos from his veins. "I'll do it."
Sho cracked a grin in response. "Had a change a' heart, kid?"
Goro focused on Hereward's presence and allowed determination to settle on his face. "Something in that vein, perhaps. Now," he allowed a smirk of his own, "who are these Shadow Operatives you work for?"
The redhead began to stride towards the TV, back to Goro. He rolled his shoulders back lazily before glancing back to the former detective. "A buncha pains in my ass, that's what. You comin'?"
Goro stifled a laugh. Maybe Sho wasn't too different from him, after all.
He took a step forward, reassured by Hereward's warmth in his veins, and jumped into the TV.