It was difficult to read Goro Akechi. He was clearly an adept liar, having fooled all of Japan with his charm and modesty, and Makoto couldn't yet discern whether or not this Akechi was the one who had sacrificed himself for their group and was alive all this time, or if he was from the past and had yet to betray them all. She squinted her dark red eyes at him, he did look to be quite tired, although the reason for that had yet to be seen. Makoto wanted to trust him-- it wasn't fair what the world did for him only for him to die in the end. All he wanted was to be a hero, but he had gone about it in such an awful way. In the end his downfall wasn't just his own, it was due to that wretched Masayoshi Shido.

A thought tugged at her mind that almost made her smile. Akechi-kun had wanted them to give up being Phantom Thieves after her sister's Palace, and yet if they went through with defeating the Grail and saving Japan, they would lose their powers permanently. If he had only joined them for real instead of to orchestrate a master plan, perhaps he would have gotten his wish in the end anyway. It was too late to say. In her version of her world, Goro Akechi had died. ...Right?

His story seemed to match with her own, and his memory loss could also be a bluff. Makoto put her hand to her chin in thought. "Yes, I've seen the portals too. They're very strange, unlike anything we've ever seen before in the Metaverse." She looked at him curiously-- was she the real Niijima-san? Of course. He thought she might be a cognitive version of herself. This place certainly looked odd enough to be a Palace, but there were no Shadows, and neither of them were deigned as threats. No, this place had an entirely different atmosphere than a Palace. This was a different universe entirely.

"Guess I would have to say something the real me would say then. That being said I don't think this is inside anyone's cognition-- or at least I hope it wouldn't be." Makoto said thoughtfully with a bit of trepidation. "This place reminds me of Destinyland a lot. The Phantom Thieves went there to celebrate Haru joining our group and to watch her father confess on live television. The park was empty because it was supposed to be used for an Okumura Foods retreat." Makoto blinked at Akechi, her voice even. "I know you know that to be factual. Does that suffice as evidence? I believe I could ask you the same question as well." Her tone now had a bit of an edge to it, not quite threatening, but bold nonetheless.

Are you a threat or not, Akechi-kun?

notes: makoto, inwardly @ sae "WHO'S THE NIIJIMA-SAN NOW"
tags: momo ; Goro Akechi

It put Makoto at ease that she didn't have to go to further lengths to prove that she was herself. Although she, like the rest of her teammates, extended a hand to him even after all he had done, she was quite sure he didn't exactly consider them friends, and for that very reason she was relieved she didn't have to divulge personal information to convince him that she was not a cognitive double. The last thing he needed to know was she still had a Buchi calculator that she held dear.

While she was well-read, Makoto did not always excel at emotional intelligence. Her analytical look at the world could cause her to oversee things such as the shame in his eyes and his post-death lethargy. She squinted at him carefully, trying to ascertain his purpose, was he a past Akechi hoping to corner her, or was he truly relieved? She 'hm'd thoughtfully at his statement. It was a wonder why the Phantom Thieves were being dragged into this mess when they clearly wanted no business with gods of any sort. "Perhaps the gods wanted to make use of our infamy. So far everyone's gone Neutral, but only half of the thieves have been recruited yet. None of us are too keen to let a god control the will of people ever again." The words came out of her mouth with a sinking feeling-- that's right. Akechi didn't know he was not only a pawn of Shido's but that god's as well. Her heart sank with pity. Telling him that would not be easy.

It was then that he spoke of his relief and Makoto immediately knew this was an Akechi-kun she could trust. Although overly emotional people tended to overwhelm her, like her older sister, she had a penchant for knowing when others were lying to her, and Akechi was truly, honestly glad they had made it out of Shido's Palace alive and well. Her expression softened and she nodded, agreeing to go to a place to speak more privately. She followed him and once they were out of earshot of anyone that could be listening, she affirmed the good news, but not before admitting to her earlier deceit with some embarrassment. "Akechi-kun, I... lied to you earlier about not remembering anything. I'm sorry. I had to make sure you weren't your cognitive version, or a past version of yourself before Akira's arrest. I know that you are truly worried though, I can see that now." Makoto said apologetically, her gaze a little regretful. "All of us made it out okay. There were some complications after Shido's Palace though... It wasn't enough to change anything. So we had to go change the heart of Mementos, the Palace of the people." It was such a bombastic idea she was not sure if he would believe her, but he would have to.

Makoto tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "There is a god that's powered by peoples' desires to give up and let someone control their life. He had become so powerful Mememtos began to fuse with the real world. We all agreed we would go fight him before I ended up in that... Elysium place. Returning home wasn't an issue though-- it was like time stood still. So I decided to go and check out a couple other places." She laughed lightly. "A Destinyland vacation wasn't exactly what I had bargained for though, but I am glad you're back. The others will be too."

notes: tfw your trip to didneyworl gets sad
tags: momo ; Goro Akechi