Work Text:
I’m trying to help a friend and need someone to go on a fake double date with me after school. Akira just cancelled last minute. Please, someone?
You asking the girls too? Hott.
Makoto sighed. Of course the first person to answer would be Ryuji. He wasn’t exactly Eiko’s type, but at this point she would be willing to work with his ridiculous nature.
No, I very clearly said ‘boyfriend’ to her. Are you offering?
Oh, sorry… Mum isn’t on shift in the evening for once. It’s mother-son time tonight. At least he sounded a little sincerely apologetic about being annoying.
Yusuke’s DP popped up right before she could put her phone down and return to worrying. I’m afraid I’m going to a masterclass after school today. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for months. But I would if I could.
Honestly, she was kind of relieved Yusuke had turned it down, even though he might meet Eiko’s standards. If he avoided opening his mouth.
Ok, thank you anyway.
But who did that leave her to turn to? Morgana? Makoto sighed and massaged her brow. Maybe it’d be better just to cancel until Akira was available. But he was always so busy, especially now they had another palace in the works.
Makoto glanced down at her phone again and started in surprise when she saw the new message.
Are you going immediately after school? I should be able to fit it in.
She had entirely forgotten Akechi was now part of the group chat when she’d sent her call for help. They had only added him the other day, after debriefing the others. But it was a mistake she’d have to be careful not to repeat should it be about something more serious next time.
Makoto’s fingers continued to hover over the screen as she tried to figure out how to reply. If she thought about it objectively, he definitely looked the part. But he was also more famous than ever at the moment. Surely turning up with a minor celebrity would only distract from the issue and prevent her from achieving her goal of getting Eiko to see sense.
But this was all too difficult to explain in a group chat. And besides, the others already seemed to think it was a great compromise.
Should work. They’re basically the same person anyway! Futaba had written, clearly for the sole purpose of irritating Akechi.
Ok, thanks guys. I’ll call you Akechi. Makoto quickly replied before he gave Futaba the chance to stir him up further.
As entertaining as that might be, she had to make sure no one else let anything slip either.
Makoto shoved the books that she’d barely looked at in her bag before getting up and leaving the library. There wasn’t much of lunch time left, but she doubted Akechi would have replied if he was in class. She went into the fortunately empty student council room and made the call before she could have any second thoughts.
“So what’s all this about?” he asked lightly, seemingly bemused.
“There’s a student at my school who is dating a host. I’m concerned her life is going to take a sharp downward turn if I don’t convince her to reconsider. But I also don’t think she’s going to listen to anything I have to say about romance unless it seems like I’m dating as well.” When she said it out loud it seemed even sillier. But to her surprise, Akechi seemed to at least be willing to pretend he was taking it seriously.
“You think this person intends to lead her into doing sex work?”
“I can’t ignore the possibility,” Makoto replied flatly. “I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it’s all too convenient. And this girl is kind of vulnerable to this sort of manipulation.”
“Disgusting,” he spat, and she had no doubt it was directed at the host in question.
“It would be, yes,” she replied firmly.
Kaneshiro had tried it on her, after all. The last thing she needed was to see someone else be led or forced down that path.
Makoto glanced up suddenly when the bell rang. She needed to get moving.
“Anyway, Akechi, can you meet me near Shibuya crossing at four? We should probably sort a few things out before we meet up with them.”
“All right, but I’ll need to leave by half past five,” he informed her as he returned to his usual cordial delivery.
Most interesting.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Thank you for agreeing to help me.”
“Well, one of us needs to be dependable,” he said lightly.
“Uh, right,” Makoto replied slowly. Of course, he’d probably just agreed to this because she’d specifically said Akira couldn’t.
But it didn’t matter as long as she got what she wanted. Right?
“See you later, then.”
Makoto hurried up the station stairs and looked around for Akechi. It didn’t take her long to spot him. Two girls in Shujin uniforms were talking to him excitedly while he wrote something in what she assumed was one of their notebooks.
Part of her couldn’t help but wonder if they’d remained fans through the recent period of contention. But that didn’t matter now.
Makoto hung back, not sure whether she should approach. But after a minute it became apparent that the girls had no intention of moving on anytime soon, and Akechi couldn’t really go anywhere while he was waiting for her.
Makoto reasserted her grip on her schoolbag strap before walking over to them.
“Ah, there you are,” Akechi said the moment she was close enough to hear. His demeanour seemed to be as pleasant as ever, but that only tipped her off that he didn’t want to hang around.
“I’m not late, am I?” Makoto replied pleasantly, finding herself imitating his expression. The way his brow rose slightly somehow made her want to continue doing so. “I’m sorry to interrupt your meet and greet,” she added, speaking to the girls who appeared to be first years.
“Oh, Niijima-sempai. I didn’t know you knew him personally,” one of the girls commented. She was holding her recently signed stationery to her chest.
“Are you two dating?” the other asked, clearly more interested in the gossip than the subjects of it.
“No,” Akechi said a little too quickly. “I work alongside her older sister, is all. And now it turns out we’re applying to some of the same universities, so…” he trailed off, letting them fill in the gap.
“Oh, right. Well, good luck on your application…s,” the first girl said, turning to Makoto and adding the plural at the last moment. She nodded politely anyway and waved them off when they started walking away.
Makoto moved in the direction of the crossing so they could go to Central Street. “What do you mean ‘no’?” she asked lightly once they’d blended into the noisy crowd waiting to cross. “You’re not very good at this fake dating thing.”
He seemed affronted by the mere suggestion that he was lacking in some area. “That really isn’t a rumour you want to spread further than needed. I don’t expect you would be particularly popular amongst my fans if it did.”
“Oh dear, then I really would be holding out for the Phantom Thieves to win back public opinion, wouldn’t I?” she mocked in return. Before he could retort, the light turned green and suddenly they were trying not to run into other people or lose each other.
Once they’d found a relatively quiet corner to pause on, Makoto finally took notice of Akechi’s expression. He didn’t seem to be sure whether she was making fun of him or not.
“So, anyway,” she interrupted before he could ask. “We’re supposed to meet Eiko and ‘Tsukasa’ in the diner just down the street here. I’m going to say we only just started dating so it’s not too weird if we end up acting like we normally do.” That was, politely tearing strips off each other. “But the goal is to get her to question her relationship choices, ok? If she doesn’t do that for herself, she’ll just go find another boy who doesn’t have her best interests at heart.”
Makoto truly did worry that she wouldn’t be able to effect any real change in her attitude. If she wanted to go around dating hosts, then fine, but she had to do it in a way that didn’t leave her in a vulnerable position. Eiko, and every other girl, deserved better than that. But she knew it wouldn’t be easy when right now it looked like she was trying to take away something Eiko so clearly wanted.
“Shouldn’t we have a clearer story about how we met? They are definitely going to ask if they recognise me.”
“There’s no need to bend the truth too much. You work with my sister, we met when I dropped dinner off for her that one time,” Makoto replied with a shrug. “We’ll say we hit it off while you were down in the dumps, then say we want to keep it a secret for now. I’m sure she’ll understand why.”
Actually, she’d never had a reason to ask Eiko her opinion on Akechi. This could go very badly if she was some kind of mega fan.
Akechi looked like he was in some kind of physical pain, but eventually he nodded. “All right. I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, that story doesn’t exactly reflect well on my constitution or emotional stability, does it? Viewed the wrong way, it almost sounds like you took advantage of me.”
Makoto stared at him for a moment, but his earnest expression didn’t fade. If this ever got out, she really was going to be ruined, wasn’t she? Of course, other people never had the privilege of seeing him without all the bull attached.
But it was too late to back out now. She might not get another chance to speak to Eiko like this before everything went to hell. And if she’d learnt anything over the last month, it was that some risks were worth taking.
Makoto sighed as she checked the time on her phone. “Then try not to make it sound that way. We have to go,” she added as she led the way down the street. “If there really is something fishy going on, you want to put a stop to it as much as I do, right? I’m sure you can tolerate this for an hour or so.”
She glanced back when she only got a hum of agreement. He looked, for want of better phrasing, deadly serious now.
Makoto made a mental note to ensure he never become aware of Tsukasa’s real full name as she made her way upstairs to the diner. It was busy, but it didn’t take long to spot the other two at one of the booths. It looked like Tsukasa was going to head directly for the club when they were done here. She had to make sure he’d be going alone.
“Hello,” Makoto greeted, being careful not to use Eiko’s name. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“Oh, no, both of us happened to get here a bit early so we thought we should get a table,” Eiko said as she looked up from her phone. She looked past Makoto and her eyes landed on Akechi, who gave her a small wave. “Is… is this some kind of joke?” she demanded.
Already this was going about as well as Makoto had feared. “N-no, um, there’s a reason I wasn’t forthcoming with his identity,” she somehow managed to say with a straight face.
This was definitely not the reason, but it had to be better that she believed that over the alternative. That Makoto hadn’t been sure who she’d be able to convince to fake it until a few hours ago.
“You called the cops on my boyfriend!?” Eiko demanded loudly.
So, Makoto hadn’t been expecting that level of misinterpretation. But she guessed she could find some comfort in the fact her tentative friend wasn’t an Akechi Goro sheep.
“No! Of course not! Why would I?” Makoto began, but then she had to try not to jump when she felt a hand on her back.
“Is there something the police should be involved in?” Akechi asked in the same tone he used to tell his unfunny jokes.
He applied a little pressure until Makoto stepped forward to sit down in the seat on the other side of the booth. He followed her, sitting far too close, in her opinion. But she’d have to save smacking him one for later.
“Makoto seems to think so,” Eiko replied haughtily as she folded her arms.
“Yeah, it’s totally uncalled for,” Tsukasa added nervously.
Makoto and Akechi’s eyes met at that. At least they both seemed to be on the same page about him.
“It must be difficult to date when your job literally consists of flirting with women,” Akechi began innocuously. “Actually, I would be interested to know how you do it without hurting anyone’s feelings. It can sometimes become a point of difficulty between Makoto-chan and I too.”
Makoto would never admit it, but she was a little in awe at how he’d somehow managed to poke at the sore point between Eiko and Tsukasa while also ingratiating himself and annoying her all at the same time. She looked between the other two as they digested his words.
“Well, it’s easy! My princess knows she’s my number one!”
“Yeah!” Eiko agreed stubbornly. “He just does that for money.”
Akechi smiled viciously, but before he could deliver his next blow a waitress came to their table to ask what they’d like to order. Collectively they decided to just get drinks since it seemed both Akechi and Tsukasa were in a hurry.
“So, Tsukasa,” Makoto began as she poured them all some water while they waited. “What do you think of your girlfriend’s future plans?”
He gave Eiko a sideways glance before sipping at his water nervously. “Uh, I’m pretty carefree myself you know! Anything my princess sets her mind to will work out.”
But Eiko seemed to have clued into what they were trying to do now. “What about you? Aren’t you worried about being in a relationship with someone famous? What are you two even going to do after you graduate?”
Makoto needed a moment to remind herself she wasn’t questioning her because he was a violent maniac. “Well, Goro-chan and I realised we’re applying to a lot of the same universities.”
She tried not to show any reaction to the way his knee smacked against her leg in protest against the nickname. Somehow the lingering contact wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“But even if we don’t go to the same one, it’s likely we’ll both stay in Tokyo. I have asked him to step back from public life once this Phantom Thieves thing has been sorted out, though.”
“Right, being in the limelight does lose its lustre after a while, anyway,” he said with an insincere laugh.
There was another pause in their conversation when the drinks arrived. Makoto took a moment to sip her tea, but only after Akechi started talking again did she realise staying quiet might have been a mistake.
“Oh, by the way, did you hear about that host who got charged for scamming young women? He’d use the excuse of needing their help to pay for one expensive work-related item or another. Can you believe there are people like that out there, Tsukasa-san?”
“No, that’s super dodgy,” he muttered uncomfortably.
“Tsukasa isn’t like that!” Eiko exclaimed. “I thought detectives were supposed to figure things out based on evidence only.”
Akechi sat back, and Makoto was sure some parts of his pleased expression were actually legitimate this time. “You’re right, of course. But I wasn’t making an accusation. Why did you think I was?”
Eiko made a sound of frustration. “I know why Makoto dragged us all out here today. You don’t have to be a freaking honour student to get that!”
“Of course,” Akechi agreed easily. “I may be a bit of a hopeless romantic,” he began and Makoto tried not to choke on her tea at the sheer absurdity, “but can I ask what it is that drew you to Tsukasa?”
“W-well,” Eiko murmured as she deflated a little. She glanced at Tsukasa shyly and Makoto’s heart immediately went out to her.
They had to do something before her crush turned into something more serious. There really would be no reasoning with her then.
“I mean, he actually seems to care that I exist! No one else asks me about my day or my feelings…” she trailed off and looked away from them, embarrassed.
“And what about you, Tsukasa? Aren’t you a little… old to be with a high schooler?”
“What’re you talking about man? I’m not that old, and she’s mature for her age,” he snapped back defensively.
Makoto had only seen Akechi’s current expression a few times. And they had all been when he was caught up in finishing off a shadow.
“Even if that was true, it would still be disgusting,” he said emphatically. “And couple that with trying to profit off someone’s lack of emotional support…” He shook his head slowly. “Anyone would deserve better.”
Eiko stood abruptly, her fists and bottom lip trembling. “You know what? I believe that you actually are together now. You’re just as terrible as each other!” she yelled before storming toward the exit.
Tsukasa hastily got up and chased her out the door. “Wait up, Princess!”
“Call me by my name!” Makoto faintly heard Eiko demand. It seemed he’d hesitated too long because the next thing they heard was Eiko’s cry of frustration and a loud trample of footsteps on the stairs.
Makoto winced as she leaned back against the booth seat. She hoped they’d just done the right thing there.
She watched Akechi’s eyes scan the room before he looked back at her. “That didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. But we should leave now,” he said as he stood up and reached into his pocket.
“I’ve got it,” Makoto said flatly as she followed. She made her way over to the counter while digging around in her bag. “For better or worse, I’m the one who dragged you out here.”
Makoto paid for their table before he could protest, and then they both made their way to the stairs. She hesitated at street level for a moment before heading back toward the station. She was surprised when he followed her.
“You don’t have to hang around,” she said as they crossed the road once again.
“That’s a bit cold, isn’t it?” he teased. “I should at least walk you to the station, right?”
Makoto waved a hand impatiently, but she did pause before going through her ticket gate. It seemed he was going in a different direction. “Well anyway, thanks for coming along last minute. I hope she eventually gets something out of this other than being mad at me.”
Akechi smiled at her, but this time he didn’t bother to try and soften the sharp edges. Somehow it was preferable to what he usually threw out.
“You’re welcome. But where would the fun be in not making you a target?” he asked as he swiftly leaned closer.
Makoto barely avoided letting out an embarrassing squeak when she realised he was leaving a kiss on her cheek. As he stood up straight again she rolled her eyes.
“Are you quite done tormenting me?”
“Hmm, I think I have enough left in me for one more date,” he teased before turning away, presumably heading for the platform he needed.
Makoto sighed as she self-consciously ran a hand through her hair. Knowing her luck, that’d be on social media before she got home.
When she got on the train, she could feel her cheeks were still warm. She crossed her arms and ankles as she told herself to stop being stupid. That was never going to happen.
Sae’s shadow had better kick his ass on her behalf when the time came.