You Were The Path I Chose | A Goro Akechi Romance

#SPECIAL: Broken Trust

... In which I, after reconciling with my friends, go all out to prove my sincerity to Akechi too, regardless of how much I'm fought along the way. Success may bring about benefits for both him and me . . . and mark the start of something truly genuine.

. . . T-19 days

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A/N: If you've been wondering why this fic is rated M, you're about to find out at the end of this chapter. It's not too intense, but we're entering territory that justifies the rating (and yes, there will be more instances like this in future chapters).

Please enjoy at your own comfort level. But if you've seen the rating, you're probably already anticipating it. :)

***

I'm used to initiating, but now I'm waiting. Waiting . . . for who knows how long?

The next day goes by in more or less a blur . . . I find myself grateful to Ann for her request to see me after school, as her heartfelt promise distracts me from my uncertainty. Yet as soon as I return to Leblanc and Sojiro closes up shop, my unease swallows me once again.

You do not control me. Not you. Not Maruki, and not any other force, in this or another reality.

"Rin, are you okay?" Morgana asks, jumping onto my bed beside me. "I know that all this waiting is tiring you out, but maybe it'd be best to just sleep for now. Tomorrow, things might be better."

I don't resist the suggestion. It's not like I have anything better to do, anyway. Yet after changing into my pajamas, I lie on my bed and shut my eyes, replaying the words over and over.

I've asked you before . . . But maybe I should ask again, just to make certain. For you to say such things, what am I to you, really? A side piece in your story? A love interest?

You're not! I wish to scream. I've never seen you as anything other than my equal. But then I suddenly wonder if the world—the gods that set us up—have too. Whether we were ever . . . meant to be equals at all.

But we must have, I think instantly. Otherwise, the game wouldn't have been fair.

"Are you really okay?" Morgana asks, following my gaze to where my phone lies beside me on the mattress. "You know, you can always call him if you really want."

I nod absentmindedly, yet I do not move.

A side piece in your story.

. . . My story? My eyes snap open when that detail suddenly stands out to me. Why even is it . . . my story to him?

I rise a little to ask Morgana if he has any ideas when I'm startled by the ringing of my phone. I jerk around so abruptly that I nearly hit my head on the windowsill, and when I reach for my phone, it slips off the bed and crashes to the ground.

Morgana startles, and I groan, catching sight of the long crack that now adorns the display. But my frown vanishes immediately when I recognize who is calling me.

"Is it . . . ?"

I cannot even answer Morgana. All I can do is pick up and press the cracked screen to my ear. ". . . You usually call around this time of night," Akechi says, and for a moment I'm so overjoyed to hear his voice that I don't even catch how . . . blank it sounds.