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Horror. Ice shooting through his veins. The weight of his would-be victim turned savior’s body was crushing him, squeezing his lungs tight. Staring at his left hand, the blood covering it slowly running down his arm, dripping methodically. It felt like the whole world had been turned upside down- in more ways than one.
Death had come, but not in the way he had planned.
A constant beeping in her ear. The feeling of a hand, gentle but shaking as it clasped onto hers. A heavy weight on her lungs, as if she were breathing in thick, viscous fog. Her own strained voice, calling out to those she loved the most. Even though she wanted to hold on, the world was slipping away.
Death’s haze had surrounded her.
The ringing out of his own gunshot, the blaring of alarms, and the slamming down of a giant floodgate. Voices calling out to him, as he dismissed it all for a promise. A certain fool having the gall to remind him of a promise that should mean nothing now. His own enraged face staring him down, with a gun pointed at his head.
Death was the only thing left for him.
…
And then, a white light.
But in a flash, everything changed.
There were no blaring alarms, voices shouting out to him, or even the distant sounds of waves crashing. They had been replaced by the sound of cars honking, distant music playing, and the low drone of a city’s chatter.
Akechi blinked. He was staring at a brick wall, some graffiti coloring it, as an external set of wiry stairs climbed up its surface. His eyes shot off to the left, giving him a glimpse out of what he now realized was an alleyway, and into a city’s nighttime street. Cars passed by, as well as some people on the opposite side of the road. An ordinary sight, but it felt like a slap in the face compared to the monumental circumstance he had just been through.
A quick glimpse down showed that he was no longer sporting his “Black Mask” attire, replaced now by his normal princely clothes, albeit scuffed up. How the hell was he back in the real world? His entire life and plans had just fallen apart, and now… nothing?! Was this some sort of sick joke, mocking the foolish words he had just said to those damn thieves?! Had he ended up in purgatory or some shit?!
A sudden sound coming from his right ripped Akechi out of his thoughts, and he whirled around to find its cause. There on the ground, of all fucking things, were children.
Both were laid down on their backs. The first was a boy, likely around ten or so, who had curled brown hair. He wore an orange hoodie with a larger black jacket on top of it, along with a white sash and a red armband. His eyes were wide as he stared in horror at the empty space above him, as if something should be there, but wasn’t. The other was a girl who looked about half his age, with similarly brown hair pulled up into pigtails. She wore a simple white gown that seemed more befitting of a hospital than sleepwear. Her eyes were shut, and she remained unmoving compared to the boy’s shaking.
…At the very least, he could rule out this place being hell. There wouldn’t be children there.
For once, Akechi had no idea what to make of this. That disgusting wistfulness he had felt just moments ago in another world was now being superseded by a disoriented rage. There had to be some trick to this - by Shido, by the Phantom Thieves - anyone. There had to be some sort of trap he had missed; a ploy to mess with his head. But who- …No, to hell with that, they all were pieces of shit! Shido saw him as nothing but a puppet, and the Phantom Thieves just wanted to pacify him for their own ends! It was all lies! Why else would he be beaten down and have to face death, only for it to all get thrown in his face?!
A small gasp reminded him that he wasn’t alone. The boy had noticed him; he was sitting up, staring into Akechi’s furious eyes. The detective rushed to regain control over his face, but he quickly realised that right now, he had absolutely zero drive to put back up the mask of a kind, righteous prince. Indifference would have to do.
“Wh…” the boy’s voice warbled out, “wh-where’s Aragaki-san?”
“Tch, don’t know, don’t care,” Akechi attempted to say as evenly as he could, but the fury welling up inside him couldn’t be fully contained.
The boy tensed at his thinly-veiled aggression, and shakily, he quickly pushed himself to his feet. For some reason, he seemed to grab at the ground for something, but there was nothing there. The boy grimaced, but he held steadfast, switching to a combative stance as he puffed his chest out, trying to make himself look larger. Akechi may have found the pathetic display cute if he could care about anything but his enemies right now.
“Who are you?” the boy demanded, fists shaking. “D-do you work for Strega?”
Akechi furrowed his brow at the strange accusation, but then shook his head. “Again, I don’t care, and I don’t have time for this.”
With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk away. Each step was staggered due to his injuries gained in battle, but he pushed forward in spite of that. The boy called out something, but Akechi wasn’t paying attention anymore. The bizarre circumstance he had fallen into didn’t matter anymore; he had a revenge plan to remake. Then again, if he had half a mind, he’d just barge right back into Shido’s palace right now and kill his shadow as quickly as possible. Well, if the Phantom Thieves didn’t get to him first.
Those damn kids, making him feel… such pointless things! Stealing away his one purpose in life! Why had he passed the torch to them?! Why hadn’t he been able to see through their hollow pity?! Oh, when they next met, he’d make sure not to misstep again, and then he’d finally–
Another, larger gasp came from back down the alleyway, and despite himself, Akechi’s head turned instinctively. Looking back, he saw that the boy was crouched over the young girl, shaking her body helplessly.
“No no no- c'mon…” the boy breathed, his eyes wide with panic.
It was hard to see at a distance, but just barely, Akechi watched as the girl’s eyes cracked open. Relief watched over the boy’s face, but it only lasted a moment as the girl began to cough, each breath sounding weak and pathetic as her eyes flickered back shut.
“No- Hey! Stay with me, please!” the boy cried out desperately.
…Oh. What. The. Hell.
Akechi watched dumbfoundedly as the boy put his hand under her back, propping the girl up slightly. There was a dying girl in front of him. A small, weak, helpless dying girl who only had another child to keep her company. A fucking. Dying girl.
The boy’s eyes met his again. “Sh-she needs to get to a hospital immediately!”
Akechi did not respond, simply staring at the two children. This really had to be some sort of sick joke. Now, of all times, to be put into a situation like this. It was utterly asinine. Had he stumbled into some stupid PSA for kids, or a hypothetical situation made up for a class on the basics of morality?! It was so utterly, idiotically blatant, it made him want to kill something! Oh nooo, what should he ever do? Ignore literally everything and continue down his quest for revenge, the only thing he actually wanted to do, or save a dying girl? Which would it fucking be?!
A furious smirk was creeping onto his face. God, how he wanted to just say ‘fuck it all’. To turn away and never look back. To spite fate for throwing this on him. To choose the wrong option at the most painfully obvious of moral crossroads.
He’d already done unforgivable things. He was a murderer, a criminal, a bastard who only lived for himself.
A puppet, something in his mind thought.
The boy was still staring at him with desperate eyes. A child, looking for any sort of adult figure to guide him. But slowly, that look of horror on his face started to morph into a particular kind of horror: one of someone who knew that they were about to be abandoned when they needed help the most.
For a split second, Goro saw the face that stared back at him in the mirror, all those years ago.
…God. Fucking. Damnit.
“GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!” Akechi screamed through gritted teeth, clutching his hair as he slammed his foot down on the concrete.
The heavy footsteps didn’t stop as he stomped his way over to the two children. A jolt of panic went through the boy, and instinctively, he put a protective hand around the girl. It didn’t mean much, though, for as soon as Akechi reached the pair, he snatched the girl right out of the boy’s arms.
And then, he turned and ran.
“Hey!” the boy called out from behind him, but Akechi didn’t stop to look back. Each step made his injured body ache, but he ignored the pain, rushing out of the alleyway. Quickly, he scanned over his surroundings, trying to get his bearings. Oh, he actually recognized this part of the city. There should be a hospital nearby, just a couple of blocks to the left.
Not wasting any more time, Akechi took off running again, adrenaline running through his veins. Barely over the sound of his own heavy breathing, he could hear another set of footsteps running after him. Something in his head was still screaming at him about how stupid this was, but he ignored it. He just needed to get this done, and then he could go back to doing literally anything else.
The night air was cold as he kept moving. As the wind resistance blew his hair back, the girl stirred ever so slightly in his arms. Akechi glanced down and adjusted his grip, making sure she wasn’t about to fall and turn this whole charade into a pointless endeavor. But then, her tiny eyes cracked open, coughing weakly again as she looked up at him.
“Big… bro…?” she spoke barely above a whisper.
That same, horrible feeling he had felt not long ago in Shido’s palace came crashing back into his chest.
“...Don’t ever call me that again.”