They were surrounded by the crowds of Shibuya. The world just seemed to go on as if some fierce battle for humanity hadn't happened just moments ago. Goro looked at everyone as the main group of Phantom Thieves looked heartbroken over the loss of their feline companion. Goro could empathize with them but for the moment he knew more things needed to be done. He'd let them morn their feline.
Stepping back carefully he moved through the crowd and disappeared from the people who had just fought alone side. He continued to move away from them until he was certain they either couldn't find him or see him anymore. It felt a bit scummy running like this but truth be told, Goro wasn't good with goodbyes, and there were too many people he had fought alongside that he cared about. It was a strange feeling still to him about having people he could rely on.
Stepping through the crowds Goro reached for his phone. The first thing he checked was for the MetaNav, but just as Morgana said, once they took the treasure the whole Metaverse had collapsed. Goro never wanted that to happen, there were still many wrongs that could have been made right if they had been able to keep it for a while longer. All that was no longer in the cards it seemed, so that left Goro with one option for bringing down the hydra that was his father's organization. He needed to turn himself in now and work with the authorities to bring in as many of Shido's people as possible. They had loads of evidence and hopefully, with the public's change of heart they could finally move forward on the case.
Scrolling through his contacts, he picked out Sae Niijima's number from the list. Ducking into an ally way to get away from the noise of the crowds, Goro pressed called. For a minute his heart lurched at the thought of not being able to see Naoto, Futaba, Ren, or any of the other people he had felt a connection with. Putting the phone to his ear he tried to choke back those feelings, but he could feel his eyes start to dust with the emotions he wanted to shed.
"Niijima here." Came the curt voice of Sae Niijima on the other end of his phone.
Goro let out a long soul-crushing sigh. He had found people who cared about him, and he in turn cared for them. Everything he did after his change of heart was all working for this last step. Salvation also meant he would need to pay for his crimes, only after that step was complete could he truly be a free man; mind, heart, and soul. There were still 17 deaths on his hands, and well he may never get out of prison for his crimes, these last few weeks would stay with him for the rest of his life.
"It's me Akechi… The Thieves have stolen the hearts of the masses, if there ever was a time to take down Shido's organization it needs to start today. Right now. I'm going to turn myself in." Goro announced.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "No not tonight. Tomorrow morning, I had to pull a few strings but I'm going around the SIU. I have someone ready to work on the Shido case tomorrow morning. Shido's people are still pulling strings in unexpected places, come with me tomorrow you can turn yourself in then."
"How did you find a way to work around the SIU?" Goro had to know.
There was a small chuckle on the other end of the line, Goro had never heard Sae make such a pleased sound. "With the evidence you and Naoto gave me; it led me to find out that there are some internationally wanted people. I've been in touch with agents from both America, China, and England. This sent me to the Japanese International Police Task Force, and surprisingly they don't have any connection to Shido's group. I already sent them over some of our evidence, and a few of them are familiarizing themselves with it so we can strike. They'll need the night however to get acquainted with the information and tomorrow you can turn yourself into them."
"What time tomorrow?" Goro asked.
"You can be a free man until 8. I'll call you at 7 to pick you up to bring with me." Sae explained.
"So I'm a free man for the next 12 hours." Goro sighed.
"12 hours to get your affairs in order, sounds about right," Sae said. "You don't sound happy about that."
"… Sae-san how do you say goodbye?" Goro quietly asked.
There was a sigh on the end of the line from Sae. "I've never really been good at it either, to be honest. Maybe don't say goodbye and just go enjoy the brief time you have left with them."
"… Alright… Thanks, Sae-san." Goro forced a smile on his face before he hung up.
Goro leaned against the alley wall and just looked up at the sky. There were so many emotions he just wasn't used to dealing with coursing through him at the moment. He had become a master at dealing with his own loneliness, but now he was more concerned about the loneliness he was going to bring to others. He didn't want to see anyone he cared about give him that heartbroken look once they realized he was leaving them. It wasn't the image he wanted their last memory of them to be. Sliding down the wall he collapsed there in the alleyway letting his head fall between his knees as his arms rested upon his knees.
What was he going to do now?
Maybe he just sits there in silence for the next few hours. He then wouldn't have to face any of them, he wouldn't be forced to say goodbye. Goro knew that wasn't really fair to any of them, but could he be just a little selfish in this once instance. Maybe it would have just been better if he would have died during that fight in the clouds.
"I'm such a coward." Goro reprimanded himself.
"Why's that?" A voice cut through Goro's self-loathing.
Goro perked up as Futaba appeared in his line of vision. She stepped deeper into the alleyway and squatted down next to him so they were sitting eye to eye. Goro had made sure he slipped out of the group and hadn't attracted any attention with his departure, so then how was she here now in front of him? The only answer was that she had managed to track his phone. What couldn't Futaba do with tech in this rapidly digital world?
"Futaba…" Goro started before he sighed and let his head hang once again.
He was powerless against people he cared about.
"So yer gonna turn yourself in?" Futaba asked as he felt her gaze bore into him.
Goro didn't want to answer so he glared at the ground instead. He didn't want to face her, he didn't want to face her or Naoto the most honestly. Ren would probably understand and be fine if he just disappeared. What was he going to do now that Futaba was here? Looking at him with those eyes. Since when did Wakaba's daughter have such an effect on him?
"Yes." Goro curtly answered.
"Right now?" Futaba asked.
"No tomorrow." Goro sighed gripping his phone.
"Good, cause I don't know how to get home from here… So you can walk me home from here." Futaba stated.
At that statement, Futaba grabbed Goro's arm and forced him to his feet. Goro wanted to resist but once again he was powerless. Maybe it was because deep down, feelings he didn't want to be there honestly wanted him to go. He would never admit to such things, but with a sigh, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at Futaba. She seemed pleased at her accomplishment of getting him to his feet.
"You can track my phone but you don't know where you are?" Goro asked looking at the navigator.
"I never said I didn't know where I was. I said I'd know how to get home from here, it's pretty scary out there and I'd probably freak out if I went home on my own. So I've elected you to bring me after all I'm giving you the honor of being a key item." Futaba declared. "Or if you can get to Rise's place. That would be fine too."
"Key Item?" Goro questioned.
"Yep, so let's go on one final adventure together before you have to leave my party for a while," Futaba explained.
That had to be some sort of video game reference but Goro didn't understand it. The second coming of the detective prince never really had time to play video games. The future wasn't looking so great for him either to start to understand even half of Futaba's references to pop culture. Goro shook his head and looked up at the navigator. Futaba offered Goro a smirk, but behind it, Goro could see there was a sadness to her eyes. A sharp pain rang in Goro's chest, and it wasn't the kind of pain he could simply ignore.
"I'm sorry." Goro felt he needed to say.
Futaba shook her head and suddenly grabbed his arm and cuddle up next to him, a similar position a couple might take. Goro was once again unsure what to do about the contact. Futaba seemed too as she dragged Goro out of the alley and into the busy streets of Shibuya. Goro didn't fight her and soon they were just calmly walking down the street as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Futaba would glance down at her phone every now and then and respond to a text but kept extremely close to Goro. With his Teddie glasses and lack of uniform no one seemed to recognize him, this allowed them to walk unhassled through the Tokyo streets. Reaching the subway, they got aboard a train heading for Yongen-Jaya.
"Who are you texting?" Goro questioned wanting to break the silence between them.
"Naoto and Ren. I'm delivering you to them." Futaba informed him in a matter of fact tone.
"I see," Goro responded.
A new silence lapsed between them as Futaba drew closer to him as the subway car became more crowded. He could feel her apprehension at the crowd by the slight tightening of her grip on his arm. It was a solemn reminder of how frail a person she was still emotionally. Sure she could help them all fight a god without any problems, but inside he knew she still struggled with mundane things like this. He was bitterly reminded of that when he and Ren were pulling her out of her own cell of regression.
"I don't want you to go…" Futaba suddenly said.
"I don't have a choice." Goro sighed.
"I didn't get enough time with you… I use to think you were a scummy murder, but now I realize it's more complicated than that. I want to be your friend. I want to know about my mom's relationship with you. I want to know more about you…" Futaba was starting to look upset as she looked up at him.
"Trust me, you know all you need to know about me. It'd rather be remembered as the person I am now and not the person I was." Goro reached out with his free hand and put his hand on the top of Futaba's head like he had seen Ren do in the past to calm her down.
Futaba looked down squeezing his arm. "Okay, I'll remember you like this. Do you think you'll ever get out once you go in?"
"I don't know, I definitely qualify for capital punishment." Goro didn't want to sugar coat anything to Futaba.
"So this might be the last time I see you…" Futaba's voice was starting to break.
"Yes…" Goro wished he could give her some other answer but the truth was important.
The train pulled up to the station nearest to Leblanc and they both got out. They walked in silence towards the small café just up the street. It was getting late, and the sun had gone down by now. Even if these were Goro's last few hours, admittedly he was happy to spend them with Futaba. To know that there were still people out in this world that cared about him was a treasure in itself. As they approached the café two figures came into view. Ren and Naoto. Once in view, Futaba broke away from Goro and ran up to them. Admittedly Goro kind of miss the contact as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat.
"See I told ya I'd bring him back." Futaba grinned to the other two.
"Don't you all have some victory party for defeating a god or something?" Goro asked trying to sound light-hearted despite the circumstances.
"Everyone is tired and wanted to go home and rest," Naoto responded.
"What about you guys?" Goro countered.
"We have other business we need to see to." Naoto smiled warmly.
"Come on let's get inside," Ren told everyone. "The coffee should be about ready."
Ren motioned everyone into the small café. With nowhere else he needed to be, Goro followed after him and entered. The smell of freshly brewed coffee infused every corner of the small coffee shop. A familiar warm smell that would forever remind him of this heartfelt moment. Naoto pushed Goro into one of the stools at the café's counter as she took a set to his right. Ren moved around the counter and pulled off a green apron from a coat rack. He slipped it on before serving the coffee that was percolating in the glass coffee makers at the end of the counter. He set a cup down in front of both Goro and Naoto before pouring one for himself. Futaba joined him behind the counter moving around seeming to collect stuff.
"Do you know what you are doing?" Ren tentatively questioned the feisty navigator.
"Yes…" A slight pause from the girl. "Maybe…?"
Ren shook his head, a small smile perking up at the corner of his lips. "Go take a seat, I'll make your cocoa."
Futaba gave Ren a heated look before she sighed and moved around the counter to take a seat next to Goro. Goro couldn't help but smile at the interaction. If Goro didn't know better the two acted exactly like brother and sister. Ren moved through the kitchen with ease as he got the hot cocoa prepared. Goro watched his friend work before he took a long sip of the coffee that had been given to him.
"So how long do we have you until you go?" Naoto's voice was calm but there was a hint of sadness to it that she wanted to hide but couldn't.
"8 am tomorrow. That's when Sae-san is going to pick me up and we are going to start to try and bring down Shido's organization." Goro explained as he set his coffee down and stared into the dark brew.
"Well then, let's enjoy each other company until morning then." Naoto reached over and pulled Goro into a hug.
Goro allowed himself to be pulled in. Naoto's hugs were always warm, the kind Goro would expect a sister to give a brother. In all honesty, Naoto was probably his angel. She was the one that had decided he was worth saving in the first place. She could have just left him, who knows where he would have been if she had not decided he was worth saving. Dead most likely. Shido was already planning his demise. Goro could have been given two lives and to him, it wasn't nearly enough to pay for the kindness and love Naoto had given him this path month or so.
Emotions that were foreign to the once assassin started to bubble up in his chest. He really didn't want this all to end here but he knew he'd had to atone in some way. For all the lives he had taken under the orders of his father. Hopefully, there would be one day in the distant future where he could sit down like this again surrounded by the people he cared about. Naoto released Goro and returned her attention back to her coffee cup and took a long slip. Ren stepped back up to the counter and put down a cup of hot cocoa in front of Futaba. The navigator snatched it up but didn't drink. Ren picked up his own coffee and looked among his three guests before he tipped up his coffee cup.
"To the next 12 hours and the downfall of Shido's organization." Ren toasted.
Goro couldn't keep the smile off his face as he raised his cup. "I think I can toast to that."
Naoto and Futaba also raised their cups and with so Goro last 12ish hours as a free man began. Even if everyone was tired from the battle the day before Ren, Naoto and Futaba came to the silent understanding that they would be staying with him until the morning. Coffee and curry fueled them long into the night as stories about days past filled the small café. Naoto apparently had quite a few stories about her work as a detective and her family's work. The fact she was a pretty good storyteller only made the evening more special. Ren entertained them with tales about their first few adventures as Phantom Thieves.
At about three o'clock in the morning, stories had run dry and Ren turned on the television at the back of the store. The new was nothing special, just a drone of what had been on the day before. To think everything had been remade just a few short hours ago but no one was the wiser. It was honestly a bit anticlimactic. The world could have woken up today in the same hell that they had ended yesterday but they never realized exactly the danger they had been in. All that was erased.
A yawn from Futaba signaled the beginning of the end for the tech geek. Well everyone else had been drinking coffee, hot chocolate doesn't didn't have the same amount of power to keep the navigator up. It was much longer before Futaba moved to one of the booths and fell asleep. Ren the ever caring one ran upstairs and got his sister a blanket. Because of that, their conversations became a bit more hushed until the 6th hour approached.
At almost 7 oh clock sharp Sae Niijima called him. His time was nearing as Goro easily explained where he was to be picked up. Sae knew Leblanc's café as she was another regular to the establishment. Goro sighed as he put his phone down on the counter as Ren started to clean up the café, surely Sojiro would be coming in soon to start for the morning rush. Naoto moved around the counter to help him and even though Goro too tried to help pick up he was shooed away by Ren and Naoto. Leaving him to slip into the other seat of the booth across from Futaba.
At 7:45 the bell on the front door of the LeBlanc rang as Sae Niijima stepped into the café. Not more than a few steps behind her was her sister Makoto. No doubt coming to see Ren. Sae wore a grim expression as she looked towards Goro, signaling the end of his freedom. Goro got to his feet, collecting the jacket he had gotten from Naoto from its place on the back of one of the high back chairs along the Leblanc counter. Pulling on his coat soundly he looked back towards Ren and Naoto.
"Good luck Goro," Ren said simply offering him an accepting look.
"Thanks," Goro replied with a nod.
Goro's attention turned towards Naoto. She had a look of pain echoing in her eyes no matter how hard she tried to hide it. It hurt but the fact he got to spend these last few moments in her company had meant more to him than he ever thought it would have. She had that look because she cared about him and despite as hard as it was to look at, it meant that he must have done something right to make her care for him this much. A small comforting thought despite the situation. Naoto stepped up to him and pulled him into a warm hug, Goro threw his arms around her and squeezed her.
"Remember Goro-kun, you may have misstepped in the past, but you are now on the correct path. I believe in you, probably more than you believe in yourself. You are a good man now." Naoto whispered before she stepped back from him and looked up at him. There was a smile on her face as if she was honestly proud of him. "I promise this won't be the last time you see me."
"Thanks, Nee-san. I love you." Goro smiled.
"I love you too Goro-kun." Naoto returned, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Goro turned and looked towards Sae. "Alright let's go. I'm ready."
"I want to thank you for doing this Akechi. With your testimony and the evidence you bring with you, I promise I'll do everything possible to bring down Shido's organization." Sae bowed to Goro as she spoke.
"Please Sae-san… I should have done this long ago, but I appreciate all you are going to do to help see everyone be brought to justice." Goro returned Sae's bow with one of his own.
"Well let's go. Have you said all your good-byes?" Sae asked, her vision sweeping across the café.
A pair of arms snaked behind Goro as Futaba pulled him into a backward hug. "I won't forget you,"
"I doubt I could ever forget you, Futaba," Goro replied. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too… But I promise I'll write to you once you can get letters okay?" Futaba announced as she tightened her grip around him.
"I'd like that," Goro nodded.
Futaba reluctantly pulled away from him allowing him to go. Again the urge to want to say tore at his heart, but his sense of duty bid him go. He turned around one last time to look at every one. He didn't want to leave them looking sad, so he gave them one final smile. As honest of a smile as he had ever given anyone in his whole life. Everyone returned his smile with one of their own. Goro tried to commit this last moment into a memory. Turning, he nodded to Sae before she turned and headed out of the café. Goro followed after her, giving one last look back before he disappeared through the door and to the judgment that awaited him at the end of all this mess.
A fleeting thought came to Goro's mind, at the end of this... Will he have done enough? Will they have acted fast enough? Will those who deserve justice be brought before it? These questions raced through the young man's mind as he slipped into Sae's car. His only real answer was, he would have to make sure it was enough...
One more chapter after this, the epilogue. Gonna put the story into complete and send out the epilogue once it's done in a few days. Shouldn't take more than a day or two.