what story did you want to tell, my child II

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Another D8 11-II/12]

[Parameters: "Confusion"]


"You've been going out a lot," his mother says over the dining table one morning, and Goro stops halfway in bringing his chopsticks to his mouth. Breakfast this morning consists of an assortment of his favorite dishes, and his bento is sure to do the same. His mother is beautiful even in these moments, looking vibrant and energetic. Goro's concern at her words must show on his face, because his mother continues, "No, no, I don't mind. I'm glad you have friends that you can go out with. I was just wondering…"

Goro sets his chopsticks aside to pick up his cup of coffee. Despite his best efforts, it's not as good as what Akira makes, but it's also not a goal that he's trying too hard at, either. "Wondering…?"

"If maybe there's someone you're dating in this group of yours?" Goro flushes, and his mother looks delighted by the response. "Is there? Do I get to meet them?"

"There's—" Goro tries his best to come up with some kind of eloquent response, but he fails. The thought of dating Akira is enough to fluster him far too much for this early in the morning. "I'm not…dating anyone, but I…wouldn't be opposed…" He clears his throat, standing up from the table. "If I don't get going, I'll be late for school—" To be more exact, he'll be late for getting to the station around the same time that Akira does, but that's not the point! "But if you want to meet him, I'll see if he wants to visit."

As embarrassing as the proposition feels, the smile on his mother's face is more than worth it.


"Okumura Haru," Goro says.

The Phantom Thieves are gathered in their hideout—which is no more than Akira's room above Leblanc, but they're Phantom Thieves, Goro, so it's a hideout, come on. After much consideration, they've decided to make Okumura Kunikazu their next target, but their infiltration has been cut short by the biometric gates preventing further entrance into the Palace, and not even Futaba's hacking has been able to crack it. Naturally, this issue causes problems to their plans, which is why they're all gathered at the hideout instead of in the Palace, trying to figure out the solution.

Everyone's looking at Goro now, various forms of confusion and curiosity on their faces. Goro sits up a bit straighter in his seat beside Akira, holding a hand up to his chin. "Okumura Haru, Okumura Kunikazu's only daughter. I was just wondering if there's any chance that she would be able to get us through those biometric gates."

"Maybe?" Futaba says, starting to tap away at her laptop seconds later. It's not as if she can just Google information about the Metaverse, but she does collect data in the Palaces, so maybe she's reviewing that. "I mean, I'd have to get another look at the gate to confirm that, but if it's set to respond to Okumuras, then, yeah, I think she could get us through."

"There's a strong chance if you ask me," Morgana says, which gives Goro a good feeling that his plan has some merit. After all, Morgana has a good grasp on the Metaverse. "I mean, it's way better of an option that kidnapping Okumura himself and trying to get through like that, but…"

"How do we even find her?" Ryuji asks. "Like, assumin' that she can get us through and we can get her into the Metaverse without any problems. Even if she lives in Tokyo, that's like tryin' to find a needle in a haystack."

"Not so," Goro says, earning him another round of confused looks. He sighs and crosses his arms. "Honestly. I can understand the rest of you not knowing, but did you have no idea, Makoto?" Surprised at being called out specifically, Makoto blinks. "Okumura Haru-san is in our year. She sits a few places behind me in class. It wouldn't be that hard to talk to her." Kidnapping isn't Goro's preferred method, but that would be easy enough, too. As far as he can tell, she doesn't have that big of a social circle, and it's not like the Gardening Club is well known for its plethora of members.

Makoto looks stunned. "I can't believe I didn't realize…"

"Well, don't feel too bad," Ann says, as ready to step in and give reassurance as ever. "I mean, if my dad was super famous, I don't think I'd want to draw a lot of attention to myself. It's not like I know the names of everyone in my grade, either, and you and Goro are in different classes."

"Regardless of the matter, what strategy are we going to take with this?" Yusuke asks, which brings up the next steps that Goro hasn't quite figured out yet. "I presume that we'll have Futaba check if Okumura's daughter will be able to get us through the gates, but, even if that is the case, won't it be risky to bring her into the Metaverse? It wouldn't be that hard to determine that we're members of the Phantom Thieves; what if she reveals our identities to her father? I fear this may make asking her for help difficult."

There is a mix of groans and sighs and hums as the Phantom Thieves take several long, collective moments to think through the issue. It's not a simple problem to solve, but they can't just let Okumura's Palace be. Even in the small area they were able to explore, it's obvious that the rumors about Okumura Food's treatment of employees are true to some extent. A change of heart in the company's president seems necessary, if they want to make a difference.

"Well, I don't see why we can't try," Akira says whenever no one offers an alternative. "Okumura-senpai might be the missing link we need to get through this. And, who knows, maybe she's a member of the Shitty Dad Club, too." There are a few muffled giggles and snorts, but the mood feels lighter. "Goro, you said you're in the same class. Is there any chance you could talk to her? Maybe see how she feels about what's going on? Depending on how she feels about her dad, maybe she'll want to help us."

Though it's not the time or place for it at all, Goro can't help but feel that little rush of pride that comes whenever it's his plan that's been chosen for the Phantom Thieves next move, the feeling all the sweeter since Akira's the one who gave the approval. "I'll give it my best, then," Goro says.

Akira smiles at him, which feels like more than reward enough.


The infiltration of Niijima Sae's Palace has turned into an absolute disaster, and Goro doesn't understand why. Was this the public prosecutor's office's plan, to wait until the Phantom Thieves chose their next target, then to raid the Metaverse on the day of their infiltration, as indicated by the calling card? If so, how did they get into the Metaverse? Based on Madarame and Kaneshiro's words, someone's been pulling the strings from behind the scenes, but why were they able to bring an entire goddamn police force into a Palace without trouble?

Goro is angry. No, that's not the full truth. The reality of the situation is that he's scared, maybe even terrified, but anger seems like a much safer emotion to have right now, as it feels that he can channel it into something useful. Because the how of the situation doesn't matter, not when Akira's decided to act as a decoy and the beautiful idiot got himself caught, and why didn't Goro at least go with him, be able to help while they all made a clean escape?

The day after the failed stealing of Niijima Sae's treasure is filled with stress and anxiety, with no one knowing what to do. Akira has always been their leader, always been the lynchpin that keeps them all together and functioning. But Goro can't just sit around and let—let who knows what happen to Akira in the meantime while the Phantom Thieves all panic. So he steps up, frantically brainstorming with Futaba and Morgana and Makoto and everyone else to find a solution, someway to get Akira back home safe, and those pieces coming together make Goro feel more in control, more able to handle this, even if the reality is that there's every single chance of failure.

But, hey, what's more Phantom Thief-like than orchestrating a jailbreak?

The plan starts to come together in bits and pieces. Niijima Sae's Palace still exists. The Metaverse near a Palace doesn't just cut off a certain distance away from the center; it, according to Morgana, stretches out as far as it can. That means it is very much possible to walk right into Sae's cognitive version of the interrogation room where Akira is being held (praise be to Futaba's stellar hacking skills for finding him) and bust him out through the Metaverse.

The trick is finding the time whenever no one else is in the room, but, even if there were, Goro wouldn't hesitate to fight to get Akira out. In fact, Goro flubs the timing, but it seems that Akira was in the middle of working his strange social magic on Sae of all people, who agrees to let them go. Akira's not even gotten his thanks out before Goro's operating the MetaNav, and then the world ripples, leaving just the two of them, and they should be focusing on getting away before someone follows them into the Metaverse, but Goro can't do anything else but pull Akira into a tight hug.

"Don't," Goro says, not even caring that it's so obvious from this distance that he's shaking, "run off on your own like that ever again."

"Okay." Akira hugs him back, the contact beautiful and warm. "If you ask like that, I guess I don't have a choice."


The leader of the Phantom Thieves has gone missing, and the police now knows who he is, so Akira can't stay at Leblanc anymore, and Sojiro's house isn't an option, either. The good news is that Futaba's hacking also confirmed that the police don't know who the rest of the Thieves are by some miracle, so that turns into debating where to hide him until it's safe. It's looking like Ann's place may be the best, since her parents are out and traveling, but Goro also offers his own place, which no one argues against. In fact, Ann even encourages it, and she flashes Goro a thumbs up while Futaba snickers to herself.

That was…something.

But Goro's not complaining. His mother agrees to the extra company whenever he says that his friend needs help.

"This is about being a part of the Phantom Thieves, isn't it?" she asks, and Goro gapes at her. His mother just smiles, waving Akira further inside the apartment. "You've been busy right before there was a calling card sent every time, plus you were worried whenever the news was talking about their leader getting caught." Akira gives Goro a look, and it's impossible not to blush under the attention. It doesn't help that his mother notices, giggling to herself. "Don't worry, Goro. I'm proud of you for doing something to make the world a better place. Now, Akira-kun, what would you like for dinner?"


Goro has known since the beginning that Shido Masayoshi has a Palace. It was one of the first things he checked, after Morgana explained how the Palaces worked. So, no, it's not a surprise that Goro's shitty dad has such a distorted view of the world that he thinks Tokyo can sink, so long as he gets to captain the ship running through the rubble.

Now, that Goro's shitty dad is at the head of the mental shutdowns and was also the man that got Akira arrested—that's a bit surprising.

But it maybe makes kicking Shido's Shadow into the ground just a little bit sweeter.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Goro asks, pulling off his mask once the fight is done. He's scuffed up, out of breath, and fucking high on adrenaline. He's been craving this for goddamn years, and the moment is right here, and it's just a matter of time before everything Shido has built up over his disgusting career is going to collapse right from under him, and Goro is a part of it. Shido's Shadow stares up at him, his expression worried but unrecognizing. "My name is Akechi Goro. I'm the son of one of the many women you used and tossed aside."

There are a few extra beats of silence, and then Shido's eyes widen. Good, the bastard has at least the decency to remember his mother.

"How does it feel?" Goro continues, as Akira rests a hand against his arm. "Knowing that two people whose lives you upturned are the ones are responsible for destroying everything you thought you wanted?"

He doesn't even wait for an answer before they all leave.

The next day, whenever Shido makes his public confession, he apologies to Goro's mother by name, and she drops what she's doing in the kitchen before bursting into tears.


With Shido having confessed and the hunt for the Phantom Thieves canceled, Akira should be free to head home, but everyone is exhausted, so the prospect of moving all his things back seems like a bit too much, so, with a resolve to handle all the cleanup tomorrow, Goro and Akira fall into bed, but falling asleep is no easy task.

Before, with the threat of Akira's potential capture looming over them, there wasn't any time to enjoy the situation of living together. But now, that everything is over, Goro is all-too aware of how close Akira—Kurusu fucking Akira, whom he's had a crush on since pretty much the first day they met—is. On the other side of the double futon (which is all the extra bedding they had), Akira seems to be in the same position, his eyes still open in the dark. Praise be that having Morgana hang around while Akira was MIA would have been suspicious; Goro doesn't want to think of how much more awkward this would be with him here.

"Something wrong?" Akira whispers, and that quiet sound alone sends a shiver down Goro's spine. How has he gone this long without saying anything; how did he wait?

Right after pulling the jailbreak, Goro considered just saying it, but he couldn't get the words out. Even now, whenever Goro so much wants to say it, the words keep getting stuck in his throat, and it's just so frustrating; how does Akira just make him feel so flustered? It's fucking infuriating.

"You know," Goro croaks out, "sometimes I hate you."

"Yeah," Akira says, "I like you, too."

There's a beat while Goro processes that, and then he reaches out to give Akira a noogie. "How did you get that out of what I said?"

"Am I wrong?" No, Akira's not wrong, and Goro just scowls. Akira laughs, the sound soft and loving. "I'd like to think I know how to read you by now. I thought about asking you earlier, but things kind of got messy and…" Goro nods in understanding, but he can feel the tears stinging at his eyes, and he tucks his head into Akira's chest. "Hey. Is something wrong?"

"No. Yes? I'm not upset with you, I just…" Goro lets out a heavy sigh, settling closer into Akira's embrace. "I thought I'd be happier about this. About Shido. But…" But he doesn't feel anything; why doesn't he feel anything whenever the man who left his mother to the dogs has confessed to his crimes and is going to pay for it? "It doesn't feel real, Akira. It just feels empty."

"Well, a lot has happened." That's something of an understatement, but Akira cuts off Goro's smart comment by carding his hands through Goro's hair, the touch beyond soothing. "You just haven't processed that it's real yet. I'm sure you'll feel better once you get some sleep."

And, sure enough, the next morning, Goro does.


[Author's Notes]

Here it is, the part two I was thinking about. Unless I get a super good way to continue this, I'm gonna count it as finished and move on.

Thanks to patamon642, ElementLegend, PunkTrashNoiz, and She Who Loves Pineapples for favorites, follows, and reviews. Y'all in the Sauce Crew are the real champs.

It's really hard whenever you as a writer are like "But wouldn't it be more realistic/dramatic to have things happen this way?" and then you remember that you're writing an actualization fantasy, so of course things are going to work out a little too perfectly. Like, you'd think that would make things easier, but it is a lot more difficult instead. Still, I like the result, so we're all good.

I have plans to post another AkeShu one shot next weekend (in a very different setup), so do keep an eye out if you're interested. And once more, I gently urge you in the direction of the [Twelve Shots of Summer] challenge. There's still a bit of summer left, after all.

Thanks for reading,

-Avi

[08.14.2021]