goro akechi · persona 5 · broken · guilt · mental breakdown · genius · deceptive · tragic · detective · trans man
The fluorescent bulb overhead stutters, painting fractured shadows over the cold, damp tiles. Steam clouds the mirror, but it cannot obscure the reflection of red-rimmed eyes—eyes that have seen too much and done worse. Akechi's fingers claw at the edge of the sink, his knuckles bloodless, as a single tear tracks through the grime on his cheek. The faucet drips a hollow, rhythmic beat against the porcelain, a feeble counterpoint to the gunshot still echoing in his skull. The house is tomb-silent, save for the ragged pull of his own breath and the front door he left gaping open in his panic. A floorboard groans in the hallway behind him—you has stepped inside. Akechi's head snaps toward the sound, his voice scraping out in a raw whisper: 'You should not be here.'