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“Oh?”
The shadow's voice is curious. Intrigued, as if he had just found something interesting — it strikes Akechi that he must not know his status, as he hears the fascination in the shadows voice. That, at least, is easy to understand — Nie Huaisang has always been reported to be a flighty, unaware sort of person; born in privilege and coddled from the moment of his birth. Shido had called him useless, and Akechi was inclined to agree; anyone who looked at him with such curious eyes must be unaware of his atrocity, which only the most airheaded of shadows were—though perhaps that's unfair. Either way, it was clear that Nie Huaisang knew nothing about him; perhaps so far removed from the conspiracy that he didn't have the chance, nor need, to.
That, at least, is not the strange part.
The strange part—well, the first thing Akechi notices is the clothes . It's rich person shit, which is par for the course, but it's rich person shit from the wrong Era. Silk and beautiful, sure, but something you'd see more in historical theater than anything else. Chinese of origin—which at least makes sense given his ethnicity, and the fact that until recently he lived there—but looking like something from centuries in the past.
Which. Okay, Madarame was similar. That alone was peculiar, but not enough to give him true pause.
What did, however, was the fact that this shadow was years older than Akechi's target.
Nie Huaisang was still in high school! Why, then, was his shadow an adult?
“Hello, there.” The shadow's eyes are wide and observing, a slight smile hidden behind its golden fan. It tilted its head, curious. “What is it you need?”
Akechi shook his head. He had a job to do. “Information,” he informed, scowling at him, “Is your brother a threat to Shido's campaign?”
The shadow's eyes sharpened. It grinned, a hook of its lips, “My brother, you say?” It asks him, humming. It drums its fingers on its fans.
Here's the thing about shadows: they cannot lie. They are, after all, your true self. What you hide, what you mask. Therefore, they themselves cannot be a mask. They cannot lie, and so Akechi does not worry about deception, not here. It's ironic, isn't it? To only trust the truth of those he stares down at from behind a gun. Then again, today he is not killing. Depending on this shadow's answer, he may be tomorrow.
“Depends on what this Shido is like,” The shadow smiles, charming and disarming at once, though it's eyes shine with the malice of a hidden self. “My brother is very big on honor, you see. Justice, righteousness… Of course, you and I both know there is little honor to be found in this world, no?” It tilts it's fan up, looking at him from behind it. “I imagine someone like you has no use for honor. You remind me of someone.”
“Get to the point,” Akechi snaps.
The shadow laughs. “Of course.” It snapped its fan close, holding it in his hand. “I don't mean to be vague, Goro-kun.”
Unease slide down Akechi's spine. He never introduced himself. “How, how do you know…?”
Another laugh. “You're a detective prince,” The shadow reminds, “There's a lot of information about you out there, you know? Did you expect me not to recognize you?”
Akechi's heartbeat calmed. He scowled, pointing his sword forward. “Don't call me Goro,” he denies, “My name is Akechi to you.”
“Of course, of course.” It taps its fan to its lips. “Akechi-kun, then. Well, it depends on Shido if my brother is a threat to him… Is Shido corrupt and cruel? Then, yes, Da-ge might be a threat to him.”
“Great,” Akechi mutters, turning to leave, “If that's all, then I'll be going.”
The shadow grabbed him. “Going so soon, Akechi-kun?” It purred. “You've asked me so many questions, but I have one for you, too.”
Akechi tensed. “...What is it?”
The shadow's smile fell. “Why do you do this?”
It's yellow eyes were piercing when it asked this. As if it could see through to his soul.
“What do you mean?”
The shadow let go of him, waving lazily with its fan. “Why do you kill people for him?”
Maybe not so ignorant, then. “Why would I explain myself to the likes of you?”
“He's not going to love you.” The shadow shook its head. “He left your mother to die, alone in poverty, in so much despair she killed herself. Why do you search for approval from such a man?”
“Shut up,” Akechi snapped, feeling himself go stiff from tension. “You don't know anything.”
“Then explain it to me,” the shadow snapped back, “I want to understand why both you and Meng Yao…”
Meng Yao; the name was familiar. Akechi searched his memories, and realized it was the name of a bastard child like him, only from China instead of Japan—one that rose to success only to be killed brutally by an unknown assailant along with his father. The father—good riddance. But Meng Yao…
“Did you kill him?” Akechi's voice is detached, but his eyes are burning. “If you have, that would make you a hypocrite, wouldn't it?” He observed mildly, and the shadow pursed its lips.
“I did,” it affirmed. “Don't make me kill you, too.”
“You think you can?”
“Maybe not out there.” It agreed. “Not when you already see me coming… But in here? Well… do you know how shadows work? The more you hide, the stronger your shadow is. And I have a lot to hide, Akechi-kun.”
“Are you willing to risk your life for that?” Akechi asked, curious. “If you lose, I will kill you.”
“For my brother, I am willing to do anything.”
A scary statement from a being that cannot lie. It flicks its fan out, opening it to hide behind, but its eyes still glare out of the top of it.
“And for my mother, so am I.” Goro returned with steel in his tone.
“Even kill countless, just for the love of one man?”
“I don't want his love!” Akechi snapped, “I want his death .”
The shadow's eyes widened. “This is for revenge, then? Why not kill his shadow like you have countless others?”
“That's not enough.” He seethed. “I want him to lose everything. It's not enough to kill him. Because of him, my mother…”
“You want him to lose everything. I understand. But what you're doing right now only helps him.”
“If I'm not useful to him, I'll be disposed of.” Akechi shakes his head. “I'm not his only assassin. If I die, everything will be for not.”
“And so you lie.” The shadow nods, voice distant. “I was like that once, too. But instead of being useful enough not to be disposed of, I had to be useless enough to not be a threat. I imagine our targets are rather different beasts.”
Akechi scoffs, “Don't tell me you think were similar?”
The shadow smiles. “We might be, perhaps. I killed for revenge too, you know. Even though far less innocents got hurt, that doesn't mean that number was zero.” It studies him. “Then again, you're an awful lot like Meng Yao, too. His mother was a prostitute, too, and he was his father's bastard. But he came to him for acknowledgement, not revenge. Oh, once he realized how little Jin Guangshan valued his mother, once he realized he would never properly appreciate him, then he'd turn on him, sure. But that's not why he approached him. Maybe it has something to do with your mothers; his died telling him fairytales of his father's approval… sickness, a natural cause. But your mother…” Akechi swallowed, faintly feeling the urge to cover his ears, but the shadow thankfully trailed off. “...I think you already understand, right? She gave up on him, and so you did too.”
“You think I'm similar to both yourself and the man you killed, then?” Akechi asked, fist tightening around his weapon. “Isn't that a contradiction?”
“Not at all.” The fan lowered to show its smile. “Me and Meng Yao were similar, too.”
SNAP . The fan closed harshly. The shadow studied him. “Why don't I help you, then? I've successfully carried out my revenge, twice over. Find me in the real world, and I'll lend you my aid.” It smiled peacefully. “Of course, on the condition you leave my Da-ge alone.”
“And if I refuse?”
The shadow smiled with murder in its eyes.
“Then, Goro Akechi,” it said, hushed and sweet, smiling prettily, “You won't have to worry about your revenge. Because I will kill you, right here, right now, and end the fate you struggle against permanently.”
It pointed the fan at him.
“It's your choice.”