Vibrant brown eyes-belonging to Goro Akechi- fluttered closed as a wave of pain shot through his entire body. His breath hitched as his right hand slowly and gently hugged his left side where he was shot. His body trembled slightly and he breathed out as the pain dulled just a little but he knew that wouldn't be for very long. For a moment he let his eyes remain closed. Let his mind wander but not too far. He opened his eyes a moment later meeting those of Cognitive Akechi who was in the same position as him, only he looked far worse. Cognitive Akechi rolled his eyes and pushed himself up from laying on the hard ground. Dragging himself to the wall, he chuckles darkly leaning up against the wall.
"You're pathetic. You know that?" Cognitive Akechi practically spat at him maliciously.
The insult flew over his head when another wave of pain washed over him. Perhaps if instead of Cognitive Akechi his old self, the one too enamored with gaining approval, was here he would say the same thing. That he turned into a pathetic sap that lost sight of his original goal...but that wasn't the case. Revenge was still his goal, his resolve to see it all through, the one thing that he was so close to accomplishing. Only the Phantom Thieves...his friends? No, he knew that was wrong. His acquaintances. They had beaten some sense into him that...revenge didn't always need to end in death.
"Your friends will fail, you know. They have no hope." Cognitive Akechi claimed his voice full of utmost confidence. The confidence he once held and knew all too well only...this was how Shido had seen his confidence. It almost made him laugh but he held it back. "Oh wait. They aren't your friends, are they? I mean they just left you to die here miserably. I bet they won't even come back for you."
"That doesn't bother me." He replied curtly not bothering to indulge the Cognitive version of himself any further. Wincing at another wave of pain, Akechi looked down. Removing his right hand from his side, he sighed quietly at his now blood-soaked hand.
"Are you sure it doesn't bother you? I mean I saw how you looked at Joker." Cognitive Akechi sneered and slowly stood up. Cognitive Akechi used the wall to keep himself up. His facial expression revealed nothing as if the pain of being shot was nothing to him.
Eyeing Cognitive Akechi warily, when the entire room shook causing Cognitive Akechi to fall. A genuine smile graced his lips when he realized what had happened. The Phantom Thieves had fulfilled his wish...they had destroyed Shido's shadow. His eyes drooped sleepily as his body was slowly turning colder and the feeling in his arms and legs were disappearing. The moment he has been waiting for has almost finally come.
Goro Akechi's Death.
Before him, the Cognitive Akechi let out a strangled cry in frustration. It ringed through his ears until eventually, it turned silent, and the Cognitive version of himself disappeared. Leaving him alone in silence, Akechi took the last minutes he had to think back on his life.
He didn't particularly regret much but one thing he did regret was: The Phantom Thieves. Letting out a sigh, Akechi was reminded of his own words before he sacrificed himself.
"Perhaps if we had met earlier...we could have even been friends," Akechi said as he aimed his gun straight at Akira. Akira was about to say something in response but Akechi wouldn't let him. He wouldn't let his heart jump in hope and instantly shot at something behind him. Pushing all of the Phantom Thieves out of the room, the door slammed shut and provided a barrier between them."Akechi!""Crow!"Akechi, despite not wanting to be hopeful, their screams from the other side provided him hope. Hope that if it were any other way they might have wanted him as a friend. Might have wanted him as part of their small family that was the only real place he felt like he belonged. With those thoughts in mind, Akechi smiled and turned his gun on the Cognitive version of himself. Not wasting a single second two gunshots rang out and both of them dropped to the ground. Guns flew out of their hands across the ground too far to reach for either of them."Watch your friends die! They could never hope to beat Shido!" Cognitive Akechi growled through gritted teeth.
His resolve had and will always be revenge for as long as he lived. At one point he thought that would never change...but without him realizing it had changed. Instead of revenge, his resolve was simply to make sure the ones he grew too attached to had survived himself. Survive his self-destructive, Suicidal, Lonely, angry, and hurt self that would have killed them.
Akechi's body had gone completely numb when he heard footsteps and a door opening. Not having enough strength to keep himself up he fell to the side but a pair of hands caught him. His eyesight was blurry but he didn't need to see them know they had managed their way back to him.
"Akechi! Stay with us...we will get you out of here!" Akira's voice was soft yet strong. He was using his leader tone of voice asking something of me I couldn't possibly follow.
"I'm...sorry," I murmured, using the last of my strength to lift my arm. My hand connected with soft skin that was unmistakably Akira's. Giving him as much of a smile I could muster, I wiped a few tears away that I could feel falling down his face.
"We are supposed to have our duel don't you remember? I still have your glove…" Akira's voice for the first time sounded broken. Akechi didn't know what to make of it so he opted to ignore it and focus on the fact that his naive friend held onto that promise.
"y-you're so s-stupid."
After that, his eyesight went dark, and all his senses dulled.
The Phantom Thieves we're all rushing quickly through Shido's crumbling palace. Joker- their leader- was leading the charge surprisingly not falling behind despite carrying Goro Akechi. As the palace slowly crumbled they managed to make it out but we're hit with a roadblock! There was nowhere out that they could see and a few of them started freaking out. Skull eyes eagerly assessed their surroundings before noticing a ship a few feet in the sky floating in the sky. Pulling their attention Skull pointed at the ship, and murdered them to follow.
"Everybody come on! I have a plan!" Skull yelled running to the edge. Once everybody had caught up Skull put his plan to action calling out his persona. Everybody attached themselves to Captain Kidd preparing themselves when they took off.
Flying through the sky was kind of fun except it was not all that fun as soon as they hand landed on the ship. Each one of the Phantom Thieves groaned in discomfort slowly getting up one by one. Akira stayed on the ground clutching Akechi's body that had no heartbeat, no pulse, and nothing to signify that he was okay. Hugging his body closer to him, Akira buried his face into his neck and let out a muffled sob. His friends remained quiet not having the heart to break their friend, their leader, their brother out of his grief.
Akira had lost someone precious to him and couldn't help but blame his inability to help. His inability to see that Akechi was practically just like all of them.
"I...I fulfilled your revenge Goro. You can...you can rest peacefully now." Akira choked out. "I love you."
"In another life. In another time. I often find myself with the same thoughts and I can't do anything."
"Then I will do it for you...I want to do something good."
"...you have already sacrificed yourself once are you sure you want to do that again? This could be a second chance for you."
"Even if it was a second chance...I do not see the value in my own life. The only reason why I'm offering now is that you deserve anything but this."
"You certainly have changed…"
"In a bad way yes I suppose I have."
"You're just the same as the little boy I met. You're just covered by too many masks to see that."
"Maybe so…"
"You will find meaning in life. I know you will Goro Akechi. But until then...let us meet in a time I was not considered dead."
"Yes let's."
"One more thing…"
"Yes?"
"Please befriend me. That's all I ask, "
"Alright, I will."
Disclaimer - I do not own the Persona series or any of the characters in this story. The entire plot besides the few points that follow canon is completely from my imagination. Anything else is owned by Atlus and the amazing world they have created.
Greetings Readers, I've recently gotten into loads of Fan Fiction for the Persona series and was eager to write something of my own. for those who are waiting for a Sniped for Time update, I want to apologize. it is currently on Hiatus as I am a bit at writer's block for the story. If anything improves I will be sure to let EVERYONE know. However, for now, I have inspiration in this field right now so I am gonna follow it. A little question for everyone...What do you think happened towards the end? Can anyone guess who it was and perhaps what is gonna happen next? If you would like to see anything please feel free to suggest it!
