Fanfic #200 Every Great Detective Needs A Watson by mewrose(Persona)

This fanfic is an au following Akechi Goro with a dog in Persona 5. I really like this fic because it examines Akechi's character and develops it using a fun jumping off point and I also like the fluffy moments.

Synopsis: Shido orders Akechi to get a dog because it'll be good for the Detective Prince's image. This ends up being Shido's downfall, and Akechi's salvation.

Rated: M

words: 40k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35250715/chapters/87845548

Here's the first chapter:

Out of all the borderline impossible orders Shido had given, this had to be the most outrageous.

More than ordering him to shut down a particular train operator in the middle of rush hour, and still get to school on time. More than the increasing number of breakdown and shutdown requests on top of all his TV appearances, school work, cram school, work with the SIU, and everything else that piled up until some days he barely had time to sleep. All that was manageable, if barely. But this? It was so baffling that Akechi couldn't help repeating: "You want me to adopt a dog?"

Shido narrowed his eyes, leaned over the desk he was seated behind and growled, "Do not make me repeat myself. Or are you questioning my orders?"

Standing in the middle of Shido's office was not the time for Akechi to even hint that he was any less than a perfect servant. He backpedaled hastily, "Oh, not at all, sir. I was simply surprised because it was so unexpected."

Shido snorted and actually deigned to offer some kind of an explanation. "It'll be good for your image, like the interviews and that food blog of yours. You do plenty of that sort of thing anyway, what's one more? Frankly, you should have thought of this already."

Akechi would have loved to protest that all the media appearances were at Shido's direct orders, and that the food blog was something he could fit in whenever he found time around his many other obligations. Not to mention neither of them cost him much. But caring for a dog would be an entirely different matter. He'd heard enough from his classmates talking about their pets to get the impression that anything more than a goldfish would take more time and money than he could afford.

But unfortunately, Shido's orders were absolute. So Akechi could do nothing more than bite back his protests and agree, "Of course, Shido-san."

Waving a hand dismissively, Shido said, "See to it as soon as possible. The sooner you can start showing it in public, the better."

With Shido, "as soon as possible" actually meant "yesterday." And so it was that the day after that meeting, Akechi found himself at an animal shelter inquiring about adopting a dog. In the intervening time, he'd decided that if this was for the sake of his image, a cute puppy would be most likely to appeal to his target audience of young females. Therefore he'd asked the shelter worker to show him the puppies, but as he looked them over she kept asking him questions. While he considered the available dogs, he absentmindedly responded to her barrage of 'Have you ever had a dog before?' and 'How much space does your home have?' and 'On average, how much time per day will you be spending away from home?'

He'd just decided that the cutest dog was a little brown-and-cream puffball and was about to ask about it when the shelter worker said, "Unfortunately, I don't think a puppy is the best choice for your lifestyle. They require a lot of activity or else they may grow bored or destructive, and will need more frequent walks so they can relieve themselves. If you'd still like a puppy, you should consider having a dog walker come by a few times a day to take care of it, or leaving it in the care of a doggie daycare service."

That brought Akechi up short. He could immediately picture that puffball tearing up his apartment and leaving messes everywhere if left unattended. And he certainly didn't have the funds to hire any kind of nanny for the damn thing. He had to admit, "I don't think I would be able to manage such a service."

The lady nodded and suggested, "What about a cat, then? They're far more independent and better suited to being home alone for most of the day. Alternatively, an older dog may be a better fit for you."

Frankly, a cat did sound more like something he could reasonably handle. But Shido was quite clear that the objective was not just to have a pet, but one that he could bring to public appearances. And he could always spin the story for the media as 'everyone wants a cute puppy, but there's so many wonderful older dogs who make excellent companions.' So he replied, "I'm afraid cats have never agreed with me, but I'd be happy to look at any adult dogs you have."

The lady was eager to show off a selection of other dogs, making comments like 'this one has a short coat, it won't require a lot of grooming' and 'this one is a smaller breed, it would be better suited to living in an apartment.' Rather than looking for the cutest, this time Akechi spent a while inquiring about care and activity requirements, and examining each dog to get a better idea of whether he could tolerate it. He didn't want a senior dog who would have a lot of extra healthcare requirements, or a yappy, energetic one that would jump on everything, or that wrinkly, drooly one that would make him look bad.

In the end, he ended up selecting a little 5-year-old dog that barely came up to his knee, colored mostly white with some brown-orange patches on his back and head, along with some freckle-like spots on his legs. His fur was mostly quite short, and only a little longer on his floppy ears and along his slightly feathered tail. The shelter lady said, "He's a mix, but has a lot of spaniel in him. They're hunting dogs and tend to be active, but he's on the quieter side and would be fine with a short walk a couple of times a day and a little time chasing a ball around. He's also fully paper trained, so if you can't come to walk him in the middle of the day, you can set up a tray for him to do his business in."

That sounded like something Akechi ought to be able to manage. He also liked that the dog seemed disinclined to bark or lick, as many of the other dogs did. So after taking care of the necessary paperwork and taking a trip to the pet store to pick up the necessary supplies, he brought the little dog into his home.

As the dog started sniffing around the apartment, Akechi told him, "Don't get too comfortable. You're only here until Shido is either gone or realizes that this was a terrible idea." The dog, of course, didn't answer, just found his water bowl and started gulping it down eagerly.

Akechi spent the next half an hour watching the dog like a hawk, making sure the creature wouldn't start messing up the place. As he watched, he considered what to call it. The shelter had given him the frankly unpalatable name of Wasabi, but was quick to assure him he could call the dog whatever he liked. The problem was, he had no idea what to call a pet, having never had one himself. He ended up looking up lists of popular dog names, only to sneer in disgust at the top choices. Kotaro, Cookie, Lucky...was this really the kind of thing people liked?

He shook his head and tucked his phone away as he followed the dog, who was now wandering between the living room, bedroom, and tiny bathroom. If this whole thing was supposed to be for his image, then he needed a name the Detective Prince would pick. Like...Watson. Though that still seemed almost unbearably cutesy to Akechi. Given his choice, he probably would have picked something to match his Personas, like Little John. Or...he had to review his knowledge of Norse mythology for a moment, but couldn't immediately think of someone who would qualify as a "sidekick" for Loki. Instead he settled on Fenrir. Yes, that was a far more palatable name, but the bound wolf who was supposed to someday break free and consume the king of the gods was not a suitable name for the Detective Prince's pet. Which meant...

"You will be Watson," he informed the dog, who perked up his ears and turned to look up at him. Since he apparently had the beast's attention, Akechi said, "Don't you dare make me look bad." The dog just sneezed and went back to poking around.

When Akechi was moderately satisfied that the dog wouldn't immediately destroy anything, he decided to catch up on his homework and spread it out on the kitchen table. The dog was blessedly quiet as he got to work, and he was able to get quite a bit done. By the time he'd gotten absorbed in some required reading, he actually forgot the animal was there.

Until an unfamiliar, drawn-out noise broke his concentration. Instantly his head snapped up, scanning his surroundings for the source. Traversing the Metaverse for so long had drilled into him that unfamiliar sounds were dangerous, and he needed to stop the source or evade it immediately. He quickly cast about the apartment, only to find nothing was moving. Except…

Sitting beside the table staring up at him was the dog. When he locked eyes with it, it whined again and started to wag its tail.

Akechi just stared at the beast. So it had made that unfamiliar sound? "I thought you were supposed to be quiet," Akechi complained. The dog leaned over to sniff a bit at his leg, then looked back up at him. "What?" Akechi asked irritably.

As if in answer, the dog got up to trot over to his bowl, looked down at it, then back at Akechi. "You still have plenty of water, what're you bugging me for?" The dog whined again, trotted back and forth, then looked back at the bowl.

Wait...bowls, plural. There was an empty bowl beside the one with water. That's right, he would need food twice a day. A glance at the clock showed it had gotten later than expected. So with a sigh, Akechi got up to grab the bag of dog food out of the cabinet. He'd picked up the cheapest possible brand because he figured there wasn't much difference, and anyway it was all he could afford. Judging by the fact that the dog gobbled it so fast it couldn't have possibly tasted it, the cheap stuff was just fine.

Seeing the dog eat reminded Akechi that he ought to have dinner sometime, as well. He didn't have anything in the house, so he decided to stop by the conbini and pick up something quick. But before he could even get to the door, that dog was getting in his way, running around and making little panting, whining noises.

"What?" Akechi snapped. "What could you possibly want now? You already ate." The dog started pawing at the door, and Akechi promptly swatted it away. "Don't do that! I can't have you scratching this up. If there's any damage to the apartment, it'll be on me to pay for repairs." The dog stopped pawing, but still seemed unusually excited about the door.

Finally Akechi realized: "You want to go out?" At the word 'out,' the dog whined more sharply and tried to paw at the door again. Akechi swatted the dog away and considered maybe he should trim the beast's nails at some point. But more immediately, he did recall that dogs needed to be walked a couple of times a day. Well, the shelter lady had said short walks should do with this one, so he'd just bring it along when he went to the conbini a couple of blocks away. At least that way it wouldn't cut into what little time he had. So he fetched the animal's leash and headed out for his first walk with his new dog.

It turned out to be a thoroughly unpleasant experience. The dog kept pulling on the leash and trying to get into garbage that was scattered along the side of the streets, which slowed their progress considerably. Then when they finally got to the conbini, they found pets weren't allowed inside. Akechi ended up having to walk farther away to find a street vendor so he could get something to eat without worrying whether animals were allowed in the establishment. He came home in a more foul mood than when he left, and promptly started researching dog-friendly stores and restaurants so he could figure out where to go when he was forced to have his dog with him. He refused to have another unpleasant surprise like today.