Chapter Text
It had been a while now since Goro had infiltrated Akira Kurusu's life. Everything was going just as he had planned: He had earned his trust. He had even gotten him to open up about his most personal problems, which were as mundane as they were incoherent for Goro's taste. Still, there was something that didn't quite fit into his mental framework...
How was it possible that someone so stupid was the leader of a criminal gang? Looking on the bright side, it wouldn't be difficult to frame him later, but he didn't understand how someone like him, a mere social outcast, had managed to gather a team to follow him in that life-or-death game. Maybe that was it, right? They were all misfits in this cruel world, scum who hadn't found their place and never would, no matter how hard they looked.
He couldn't stop thinking about how much he despised them, sitting in one of the seats of that café, sharing a table with such uninteresting people. For a few weeks now, Kurusu had been insisting he wanted to introduce him to his friends, for reasons Goro himself didn't know. When he asked, the brat in glasses simply laughed as if he were embarrassed.
"What a pain," he thought to himself that day before nodding with one of his perfect, believable fake smiles. He had perfected them so much that sometimes even he was fooled when he saw himself in the media, answering absurd questions that gave him nothing but a migraine.
“Are you okay, Detective?” Akira asked, interested in the thoughts of the young man sitting beside him, staring blankly and paying no attention to the conversation happening around him.
“Oh, I was a bit distracted. Just tired, I guess,” Goro said, plastering one of those well-practiced smiles onto his face. “What were you talking about? Please excuse my rudeness.”
It went without saying that most of the group was not particularly happy with the presence of Akira's new "friend". However, they acted like a normal group in front of him to avoid suspicion.
“We were talking about celebrating the end of exams all together here at Leblanc,” Ryuji said, always reluctant when speaking to him.
“I’m sure you’re too busy to come, with all the work your new case is giving you and your own exams. What a shame...” Futaba said, unable to modulate her words to keep from sounding aggressive.
Goro feigned a certain disappointment hearing how the rest were practically telling him "we don't want you to come" to his face, though the reality was he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with them. The only one he found remotely interesting was Akira, because at least he competed with him in whatever nonsense Goro could think of, fulfilling his need to constantly prove he was better than him.
“The truth is, it’s a rather bad time for me, yes...” he murmured, still smiling.
“I’d like you to come,” Akira replied directly, causing his friends to frown in confusion. “Is it really impossible? Think about it. It’ll be fun.”
Ann gave Akira a subtle kick under the table, not understanding what was happening. It was one thing to pretend they were friends, but another to invite him to every plan the group organized. This way, it would be impossible to make progress with their "vigilante" tasks.
“I'll think about it,” Goro lied professionally. “Thanks for including me, Kurusu. You're a good friend.”
He felt his stomach churn as he said that sentence. He didn't need friends, especially not ones like them, so pathetic and uninteresting. They were barely capable of following a reasonably simple conversation, much less were they up to the task of entertaining someone like him.
The afternoon progressed as it usually did. They talked about classes, about how sick they were of studying, and Mona made completely unnecessary comments toward Ann that Goro had to pretend not to hear, no matter how much it disgusted him to see that 'thing' desperately try to flirt with her.
He had never needed to grovel after anyone, nor would he ever. He had girls all over him, even the occasional guy strangely interested in him... The perks of being famous, or so anyone else would think. He clearly had no interest in any of that. He dedicated himself to rejecting the advances of anyone who approached, politely and courteously, excusing himself by saying he didn't have time for that right now, when the reality was that the mere thought of entering such a close relationship with someone filled him with disgust.
The closer the relationship, the more likely that person would become an obstacle to his plan. He would have time for a normal life when this was all over. Until then, this was his normal.
When the absurd group hangout—organized mainly to waste time in the middle of exams—ended, they all said their affectionate goodbyes to each other, although it was obvious the affection was more than faked when directed at him.
The last one to say goodbye was Akira.
“Are you really not going to be able to come celebrate the end of exams?” he asked, giving a light kick to a stone on the ground as if he didn't want to make eye contact.
“I have so much work. I rarely get a day off to relax... You know if I could, I’d join in a heartbeat,” he lied, again.
“Take a night off, Detective. If you don't rest, you won't perform well at work,” Akira insisted with a lopsided smile that made Goro feel rage, though he couldn't show it.
“I'll try to come if you insist... It had better be a fun night after you practically forced me to accept,” he said, forcing a laugh that anyone would have thought was genuine.
“See you in a few weeks, then,” Kurusu nodded, apparently excited. “Good luck with your exams... Oh, and good luck with the case, too.” As he said that, the boy smiled with an arrogance that was impossible to ignore.
Before Goro could reply, the other boy had already headed back into the café.
What was that about? Was he silently challenging him?
"Damn you, Kurusu. I hate you more every day..." he thought, heading for the subway that would take him to the residential area where his lonely apartment was located.
Once in his "home," he could finally rest from being a fake. The smile vanished from his face as soon as he walked through the door, and his upright posture changed to a much less elegant, tired one. He was exhausted. No one could imagine the weight he carried on his shoulders daily. One false step and he could end up dead or, worse, fail his plan after so many years of suffering to get where he was. He could almost smell the finish line from where he stood; he couldn't afford a single mistake.
As soon as he collapsed onto the bed, his phone started to ring. He stared at the screen for a few seconds without answering.
Shido
He sighed, reluctant to start pretending again, but he had to answer. And so he did. After a rather short conversation, he hung up the phone before sighing again with exhaustion.
“One more day is one day less...” he repeated to himself to motivate himself to open that app on his phone, the one that would take him once more on a life-or-death mission without anyone losing sleep worrying about his well-being.
Just as he was about to tap the phone's screen, he saw a message come in.
Kurusu: "Hope you got home safe. Remember our plan, in two weeks at Leblanc at 21:00"
He read it and, for a fleeting second, he was glad that someone showed a minimum of concern for his well-being. But just as that thought arose, he forced himself to bury it in the deepest part of his mind. Kurusu was the enemy. What did it matter what he thought? He was going to have to finish him off at some point in the mission anyway. He couldn't get attached to him as if he were some stray dog.
He tapped the icon of that app, without hesitating another second, wanting to get "the day's task" over with so he could go to sleep. He was sick of Shido, of his problems, and of having to solve everything himself.
He couldn't stop thinking about the day it would all finally be over.