Chapter Text
"So we're all clear on the plan then?" Akira asked for the final time.
Voices chorused with varrying levels of confidence from around the little table they were huddled at.
"For the record," Futaba spoke up, "It's terrifying that this is the less insane plan. Have I ever told you I think you're nuts? Cause I think you're nuts."
Akira couldn't help smile at her despite himself at that.
"Might've been mentioned to me once or twice."
"I still don't get how we're just supposed ta... befriend the least friendly dude we've ever met." Ryuji sighed, running his hands through his hair as he slumped against the table, " You're barely friends with him and everybody likes you."
A familiar sense of importance leeched into the silence that had drawn itself up around them. Knowing that his words could easily make or break his team's resolve, Akira chose his them carefully.
"I've spent a while getting to know Akechi, just like I have with all of you." He began, already dreading the sheer amount of speaking this explanation was going to involve, "He's a hard person to get a feel for, but it isn't impossible. The most important thing you can do is be genuine. He'll see through anything else in an instant, and with him, trust is going to be the hardest and most important thing to establish."
The group leaned in nearly as one, hanging off of Akira's words. Even Haru, who had seemed ambivalent at best towards their latest scheme.
"He already thinks of every interaction as a potential trap, he'll be on the lookout for any ulterior motives and his guard will be as high as possible. But that also means he won't be expecting sincerity and...that's his weak point."
It almost felt like a betrayal to say all of this so plainly. Some jealous, secretive part of him enjoyed knowing Akechi best, enjoyed having him to himself. He loved being the only person who could read him, know him, see him the way he did. But he couldn't be selfish like that, not now. Not if they were going to get the flawless victory he'd spent hours agonizing over. No, he had to push those feelings aside and fulfill his role as leader. Leaders deligated.
"Stay on your toes though, he won't take anything you give him lying down, even if it's something good. Hell, especially if it's something good. He'll try to turn it back around on you, but if you stay honest, it'll throw him long enough to make him actually think about what you're saying and doing. It'll take time, but he will crack."
"Wow," Ann breathed, "You really did spend a lot of time getting to know him."
Akira tried not to get flustered, and when that failed he at least tried not to let it show.
"I told you guys, I've been through this before." He shrugged.
Telling his team that he'd lived this year before had been...a hit or miss venture. He could tell a few of them still didn't quite believe him. Or Makoto actually, specifically, didn't. But that was alright, he'd expected as much. It was a lot to take in on top of everything else.
He'd considered not telling them at all, for a while, but if there was anything he'd learned it was that he needed to trust in the strength of their bonds. That was what had led him to this insane idea in the first place.
"Well, it certainly sounds like a daunting prospect." Yusuke murmured, his calm, even tone doing wonders to soothe Akira's nerves, "But the Phantom Thieves have never once bowed before a challenge, and I do not think this is the time to break that precident."
"Yeah, it's just hanging out! We can totally swing that!" Ryuji agreed, "Even if it is with Akechi."
"While I don't really like this plan, it does feel better than plan B." Haru spoke up for the first time in the better part of the last hour, "I will admit, I have mixed feelings about Akechi-san, but... I'll never get the chance to resolve those feelings if he dies."
Akira released a little bit of tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He sent her a soft look that she returned with a softer smile.
"Sounds unanimous to me! Operation Change Akechi's Heart: Manual Override Edition is officially a go!" Futaba cheered.
"We're not calling it that." Makoto sighed.
"Way too long." Ann agreed.
"We should call it-"
"No." Morgana cut over Ryuji with no hesitation.
"You didn't even let me say it!"
As odd as it was to recieve contact from one of Kurusu's cronies without the man himself present, Akechi had to admit his interest was slightly piqued.
Ordinarily, he would have found a way to weasel out of it, claiming prior engagements (not that that was even generally a lie, rare was the day he wasn't booked solid), but curiousity got the better of him. He was certain it was some sort of trap, but then of all the Phantom Thieves, Ryuji Sakamoto seemed the very least capable of subtrifuge.
If anything, Akechi might be able to get the group idiot to spill their plans.
Plus, he'd even managed to suggest an activity that Goro enjoyed. He suspected Kurusu was behind that.
"Hey!" Sakamoto's boisterous voice called as he jogged over to meet Goro unnecessarily, "You actually came!"
"I said I would." Goro's forced civility brightened up every word, "And I happen to like bouldering."
"Yeah?" Sakamoto's brows shot up as he did a quick once over of Goro's physique, ah, Akira had definitely made the suggestion then, "No offense, but I'd never've guessed a pretty boy like you would be into it."
It took more than a little work to refrain from verbally biting his head off for his stupid bias, but refrain Goro did, "You know what they say about books and their covers, Sakamoto-san."
Sakamoto frowned for a moment as if it honest to God took him work to recall the phrase before nodding, grinning like the moron he was.
"Right! I mean yeah, judging people is kinda stupid anyway." He scratched at the back of his head, "No way to know someone just cause of how they look."
If he'd been anyone else, Akechi might have been tempted to think there was a double meaning to his words, but as it was he took it for a trite recitation of what he'd already said.
"Shall we head in?" He suggested instead, head cocked and smile in place.
Sakamoto all but jumped to attention, energy spreading from seemingly nowhere to manifest wildly in his eyes.
"Hell yes, lets go!"
Goro couldn't help a yelp of shocked indignation when Sakamoto took him by the wrist, dragging him toward the gym like touching so casually was something they just did. If it wouldn't arouse more suspicion than it was worth, Goro would have yanked his hand back immediately, as it was he was still sorely tempted.
"So this is like, mostly about your arms and your core, right?" Sakamoto began, seemingly heedless of Goro's boiling distress, "I've been lookin' for a new way to work out that's not so rough on the legs."
"Uh, yes," Goro was suprised his voice was as level as it was, but years of faking comfort while under duress weren't so easily stripped away, "Bouldering relies heavily on upper body strength, but it is a full body work out. I suppose the toll on the legs is less intense however."
Strange, when he'd looked into the rest of the Thieves, however briefly, he was certain he'd seen mention of Sakamoto being involved with their school's track team. That had been part of what had led them to their first target, after all.
"Bangin'!" Sakamoto cheered, finally releasing Goro's wrist as they approached the front counter, "Physical therapy is goin' okay, but I'm sure switchin' gears for a bit can't be a bad idea."
"Physical therapy?" Goro asked, honing in on a weak point with practiced nonchalance.
For the first time since he'd known him, Sakamoto hesitated. The moment didn't last long though his posture closed further in on himself. He kicked at the ground lightly, his eyes anywhere but Goro. Interesting.
"Yeah." He said, like he would simply leave it there before he drew in a breath and continued talking, "A while back.... one of the, uh, shitbag ex-teachers at my school broke my leg. Fractured it in a buncha different places. I didn't go in for it right away, cause y'know, couldn't really tell 'em what happened. Not like they woulda believed me anyway. But I waited too long, it healed up wrong, and when I did finally go get it checked out the cost for everything they'd need to fix it up right was way outta my league."
The honest confession took Goro by surprise. It wasn't that he thought Sakamoto was prone to lying, on the contrary, the boy seemed to say just about everything he thought. It was more that he hadn't expected to be allowed to become privy to such a glaring weakness. Or for Sakamoto to be intelligent enough to omit the name of the teacher who had injured him. It was easy to surmise that it had been Kamoshida, but the lack of direct phrasing allowed for plausable, if flimsy, deniability.
Maybe he wasn't quite as brain dead as Goro had thought.
"Well," He replied, looking appropriately chagrinned, "I am sorry to hear such a thing happened to you."
Sakamoto gave a sad smile, before it morphed into something warmer, brighter, and altogether more baffling. What did he have to smile about, after admitting he'd been victimized so thoroughly?
"Eh, it worked out okay! Shit sucks sometimes, but if none of that had happened, I wouldn't be where I am right now. Never woulda made the friends I've got right now, and for them, I'd give up being a trackstar any day."
The sentimentality of it made Goro want to heave. He couldn't understand that at all. For him, there could be absolutely nothing in this world more fulfilling than achieving his goals. He couldn't imagine watching years worth of his hard work, his sacrifices, go down the drain and smiling about it, just because he'd found 'friendship.' It was as laughable as it was inane.
"Then it sounds like perhaps you found where you truly belong." He returned the sentiment with a mindless platitude.
Sakamoto looked at him oddly and for a moment he thought maybe he had slipped, or perhaps there was something on his face. But the moment passed before he could question either and Sakamoto was smiling again, big and wide and dumb.
"Maybe I did." He agreed, turning to the check in counter, "C'mon buddy, let's climb some rocks!"
To Goro's immense surprise, not only did Sakamoto keep up with him, he challenged him. Clearly his injury hadn't kept him down too badly, because his stamina seemed untouched. He was still every bit as atheletic as Goro would have expected from someone who'd spent years just running.
He scaled their innitial wall with little trouble, managing to yammer all the while like breath control wasn't a concern. He'd tackled the next one with equal fervor, taking only a few minutes longer to complete it than Goro had.
It was... exhilarating. Unexpectedly so.
Goro found that the familiar spark of competition had begun flickering just beneath his breastbone. It wasn't as insistent as it was with Kurusu, but Goro had always loved a challenge.
"How about we make our next climb a little more interesting?" He asked, reclining in his harness as Sakamoto turned his attention to him.
A wide, unexpectedly electric grin plastered itself across Sakamoto's face. Goro could see a twin flame in his eyes, just as bright and voracious as his own. Of course an ex-track star would be the competitive type.
An unfamiliar sensation tugged at him, almost like blood-lust but...neater somehow?
"Last one to the top ponys up for lunch?" Sakamoto suggested.
"Sounds amendable to me. But be warned, I have expensive tastes." Goro replied cheerfully.
"Hey now, don't go counting your sushi before it's rolled." Sakamoto flexed an arm, "I've just been gettin' warmed up."
Goro nearly laughed, to his continued surprise, but he held it in check.
"Bold of you to assume I haven't been holding back as well." Just the slightest taste of maliciousness glazed over the top of his words, light enough to be mistaken for teasing.
Rather than being deterred, Sakamoto doubled down, smacking a fist against his own chest.
"Bring it."
Akechi would be lying if he said the prospect of a challenge didn't excite him immensely.
To his credit, Sakamoto didn't make it easy.
He was deft and incredibly quick when he wanted to be. He seemed to excel at physicality in a way Goro was slightly envious of. He'd had to work for years to condition his body to what it was now, but it was obvious just from watching him that things like this came naturally to Sakamoto. He wasn't graceful like Kurusu or Kitagawa, but there was a single minded focus to him that Goro himself could relate to. Relentlessness in place of skill, drive in place of practice.
Nonetheless, they were in Goro's domain, and he refused to lose to anyone, no matter how begrudgingly tolerable.
"Man!" Sakamoto exclaimed as they touched back down to their starting positions, "You move like a goat or something!"
The comparision took him by surprise once again, startling a genuine laugh out of Goro that he stifled at once.
"A goat?" He cocked his head pleasantly instead.
If Sakamoto noticed the outburst he didn't show it, "Yeah! Y'know how they can just," he mimed a complex series of movements with his hands that conveyed nothing, "up walls like gravity isn't freakin' real. You're so fast, it's crazy man!"
"Well, I have been coming here for a number of years now." Goro unstrapped himself, speaking with an affect of humility, "It's only your first time, and you were very much giving me a run for my money."
Sakamoto grinned at that, like the loss didn't sting quite as much, "For real? You're not just sayin' that to make me feel better, right?"
I'm not that nice. The words were on the back of his tongue and he swallowed them like bitter medicine.
"You need only recall how close you were to see the truth in my words." Goro replied instead, placid and mild, and sickeningly sweet.
Sakamoto tipped his head, mirroring the tilt of his own albeit in the opposite direction.
"Y'know, it's weird." He began, but after a pause to begin unlatching his own equipment, didn't continue.
"What is, Sakamoto-san?"
"You." he replied, easy as anything, "I didn't really like you much when we first met for real, so I wasn't really expecting to actually have a good time, but this has been hella fun."
Goro cut his eyes over to the other, taken far enough aback by the sincerity in his words to abandon his efforts at freeing himself for the moment.
If Akira had caught him off guard, then it stood to reason that his entorage of flying monkeys could potentially do the same. It was unlikely so many differing personality types could gather without something in common, but he hadn't expected that audacious sincerity would be the unifying factor. What a terrible trait to share.
But as he stared at Sakamoto, he couldn't find an ounce of deception in him.
"I..." He cleared his throat, making the effort to smile back at him the way the Detective Prince should smile at someone who should be considered a friend, "I find myself quite in agreement."
It wasn't a lie, not exactly. He had been enjoying himself, much more than he'd expected to as well. But whatever joy he might have gotten out of it was sucked away by the knowledge that Sakamoto's enjoyment of him was built on an illusion. Of course the Detective Prince was likable , Goro had built him to be.
"So where am I taking you?" Sakamoto stretched then slipped out of his harness.
Taking...? Oh right, their little wager.
"Hmm," He hummed as if pretending to think, "Well, there's this cafe I've been meaning to try in Harajuku~"
The groan that tore it's way out of Sakamoto was almost enough to lift Goro's spirits again.
"Harajuku?! That's gonna be like, a million yen per person!"
"I told you I have expensive tastes~"