Chapter 1: Where it all began
The following story follows all of Persona 5 story and key events. Everything is mostly the same. Except the protagonist is Female, Social Links have been tweaked, certain section that were male focused were tweaked, ideas that the game presented are expanded upon, and more!
And at the end of every chapter a small diary entryou will be placed!
Small note: According to in game the Protagonist parents are getting divorced hence the mention.
Finally this is a novelization with some changes to the things mentioned above. At the time Akira love interest hasn't been decided.
I hope you enjoy this story!
This story is a work of fiction.
Similarities between characters or events to persons living or dead in your world are purely coincidental.
Only those who agreed to the above have the privilege of participating in this game.
- I agree.
I do not agree.
The contract had been sealed.
The world is not as it should be.
It's filled with distortion, and "ruin" can no longer be avoided.
Those who oppose fate and desire change...
From time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters.
You are the Trickster...
Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion.
The neon signs twinkled on the casino in the cold, calm night unaware of the panic inside. The patrons scattered around in fright as men in black burst through parts of the room. Up above a dark blur could be seen as the crowd tried to calm themselves as they sought to catch up to what was going on. Some of the people saw the black blur, and to their surprise, it was a woman?
Up above the panicking crowd, a woman with long black curly hair. She looked to be around 5'4, and was wearing a mask and black trenchcoat with a rose on her chest. Through the mask you could see grayish-black eyes. She looked at the bottom floor smirking with a briefcase in her arms as she admired the ground floor before she revealed herself off to the crowd. In her ear, she could hear her teammates as she jumps onto one of the many neon platforms. She hears a boyish voice shouting out first.
"Good. Now get running!. This is our only chance!" She nodded listening to her teammate's instructions.
"Stay calm! You can get away now! We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end."
One thing immediately concerned her as sounds of a mysterious transmission blared through her seemed she wasn't the only one to notice this.
"Hm…? What was that…?" A girl voice quickly asked.
"Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!" One shouted urging her to get moving.
She did as she was told quickly jumping over each neon light above the casino.
"But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move. " she heard complimenting her past action. She smiled a bit while looking for a way out. She was immediately spotted by the men. "There she is!" one yelled at her.
She hurried up jumping faster until she got to the balcony. Of course what greeted her were the men quickly transforming to figures with a mask. One jumped behind her as she looked back to it a voice shouted to her "Take' em down, Joker!" Quickly jumping up gracefully she and near his face quickly ripping the mask. The figure transformed into a giant Shadow bull. "Comparing power levels...No threat. Get'em Joker! She smiled summoning a figure behind her harnessing its power as red streaks of Eigaon attacked the bull. Fazed she pulled out her Dagger and quickly ended its life.
"Good you defeated them with ease!" a boyish voice cheered. It didn't last long as usual.
Suddenly more shadows appeared "More of them?! Be careful!" she heard a female teammate warn her. She quickly dodged one with a shock baton to jump up to another platform get to the other balcony. "Joker, behind you! Go through that door!" turning she bolts to the door into what could be the Casino staff tunnel.
She paused quickly catching her breath. This was quickly interrupted by her Teammates "You should be able to get out that way! Hurry!" Only for it to be followed up by a boy's voice "Dude, can she even hear us!? The female thief was going to respond before she was cut off by their oracle. "Don't worry, I'm picking up everyone's voices. Just go, Joker!" She urged the female thief. Nodding she took through the building quietly and swiftly As she passed by the security she smirked a bit as they had trouble finding them. She had indeed blossomed into a perfect thief, or so she thought at least.
Running down each hall, she quickly overheard a guard. "Where'd they go!? Damn it! I can't confirm the intruder's location." He said before rushing in the opposite direction.,
She moved on only to be stopped by the voice of the oracle.
"Up ahead! Stop!" The thief quickly identified why when she saw a guard near the doorway. "This is bad! Hide, Joker!" She quickly disappeared near one of the carts in the room. You'll never get away if you just keep fighting." she nodded to herself agreeing with the Oracle it would take more time and energy. "Hide in the shadows, and sneak past when you see an opening!" She waited a bit before quickly running to the different corner of the room before reaching the doorway.
She picked up on another conversation from an agent."...Hey, are you sure she came in this way?" questioning the person on the other side of the line? He obviously got his answer a second later "Understood. I will continue the search!" he said enthusiastically before running past her.
She sighed in relief as she saw him leave.
"Now's your chance! Run for the stairs!" The oracle instructed her. She nodded and bolted from her hiding spot.
Quickly darting in and out of every shadowy corner she leaned against the wall next to the main security room. She over heard some snippets of the conversation. 'She's not alone! Find the others and kill them!" a man she could assume was head security yell. She held in her anger for keeping her composure. Rushing away upstairs unknown her footsteps were heard by one of the agents.
She could hear them coming and ran faster immediately running towards and emergency door. She was greeted by a guard railing above the casino. She looked around for a means of escaping growing anxious before hearing the oracle's voice. "Something wrong?" she asked her. "The exit should be up ahead." She looked up to the big stained glass window "Through there...?" She asked the Oracle quickly with some worry in her voice. "Nhh…! That's just how it is. After that commotion, the bottom floor's completely closed off. Hey can you make it!?" The oracle asked with some concern. She smiled planning the jump in her head if she was right. Her thoughts were interrupted by the agents who spotted her. " Over there!" they yelled as she looked behind to see them. "There's nowhere to run!" They exclaim to her while readying their guns. She smirked a bit before jumping onto the railing towards the glass window. She quickly positioned herself for the jump quickly looking back at the agents before quickly saying "See ya!" As she jumped through the glass window.
The colors of the glass window sparkled as she heard gasps from the crowd in the casino, "What a showoff. You're so reckless. You know that right?" one of the girls said in a joking tone as she positioned herself in the air. She landed down with no problems getting up while smirking that she escaped so easily. Those word bit her hardback as lights switched on around her. She covered her eyes from the light while trying to comprehend the situation it seems she wasn't the only one. "Enemies, here?! There readings...It can't be!" The oracle panicked as well as her other companions trying to find out what was going on. All of them quickly asking if she could handle it and if she was all right. The voices were interrupted as on the police loudly yelled "Capture her!"
She quickly dashed trying to escape the police she saw a ladder and quickly jumped onto it thinking she could escape on the side. Right as she thought she got away she was met with more police. She stood there stunned and a tad bit scared trying to think of a way out before being butted down by the end of a gun falling down the ladder onto the hard concrete.
The police swarmed where she was quickly holding her down before she could escape. She struggled to get them off but to no avail. The head chief looked down to her a bit surprised. "Didn't expect to find some kid." he said while kneeling down. "You have your teammate to thank for this." he lifted her head as. "You were sold out." he simply told her as she gasped in confusion. He let go of her head as she tried to comprehend who betrayed them. She struggled a bit more as another officer was verifying the situation. They then cuffed her and then she knew her fate was sealed the last thing she remembered was getting mugshots from there it was blurry….
On the floor, a syringe sat as three officers were talking about the situation. They looked over to the beaten up girl handcuffed to the chair. "Guess the drug was too strong," he said with a small chuckle in his voice. "Wake her up," he replied. As cold water was thrown onto the girl. She jolted awake as she tried to let sleep escape from her eyes. She looked around the lone cold room, and she spotted three men and a camera. Her mind tries to reel in everything happening till she stopped on of the men. He was a tall brutish looking man smirking at her. "No dozing off," he said to her. She felt like her hand were bound and tried moving trying to release them looking behind she the handcuffs she a panicked a bit inside.
"You still don't get it, do you?" he readied to kick the girl "Give it up!" he kicked her hard as she collapsed onto the ground with pain. Her head throbs as her body tried to fight off the pain as he put his shoe to her head twisting it as he kept talking. "Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another ?" Her eyes looked over to the syringe then up the camera. The man caught on and looked up to it as well. "Huh? What about the camera?" he said in a mocking tone. "Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?" he kneeled down and picked up her head by her hair.
Her mind finally awake knew better not to piss off the cops even more so she complied with them.
"Of course not..." Replying with pain laced into her voice. "So you're not that dumb. Which is good, cause we get to take as much as we NEED!" He says before throwing her head to the ground hard. Before getting up and kicking her square in the stomach.
The kick knocked out all air in her she wheezed and coughed as she tried to grab the precious air around her all the while her body was pulsing in agony from the abuse to her body. Her vision took a second to fade in and her mind to stay concentrated as it passed. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons..." He paused for a second as she assumed these were the crimes she committed. After a short pause, he continued with a sickening grin "Manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works." He said holding up the clipboard with all the data of her crimes.
"To think that punk led all those crimes let alone a girl. You would believe it was a boy, but then again crime has no gender. And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it..." He stated in a matter of fact tone. The girl didn't believe it as a stray thought came into her head "I was...enjoying it...?" She tried to recall a few of her memories only to find it hard to remember anything at this point. "Everything's hazy... I can't remember..." she stated honestly in her head and for several seconds tried desperately to recall them it just ended up hurting her head. "Damn it why can't I remember anything!" She yelled in her thoughts with frustration.
Her thought was interrupted when the interrogator started talking again. "...You should know your place." He stated to her before sending in the other man to undo her handcuffs. They immediately pulled her up against a wall facing the interrogator. She looked down and tried to relax her wrist the cuff must have held them tightly as the mark were on her wrist she was sure they would be bruised afterward with how tight the handcuffs were. A clipboard was shoved into her face by the interrogator "Sign here. It's a confession under your name." she took a moment, not replying would make the situation worse than it is as she spoke up. "I understand..." she said very weakly.
She grabbed the clipboard as he took a pen out his pocket for her to use. He pushed closer to the girl with the pen at her chest "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. We're going to make you understand... One must take full responsibilities for their actions..." He stated in a threatening tone. For a second she was hesitant to grab the pen not knowing what to think about her situation. She then grabbed the pen as he backed up. Being scared at this moment wouldn't help much, for now, all she could do was comply. She looked down at the clipboard as the pen was about to hit the paper a name appeared in her thoughts:
Akira Kurusu.
She could only assume that was her name and without hesitation put it down. It wasn't much but it would help her out a name could be vital as anything as names had power. Afterward, she handed the clipboard and pen back, and the men in the room got her up seated back to the interrogation table.
Outside the interrogation room where Akira was situated in, a woman strolled down the hallway leading to her room. The woman was 60 with long gray hair and brown piercing eyes. As she almost reached the room, she was stopped by the detective of the building. "Excuse me. But this area's off-." he started to tell her. She quickly presented herself to the detective " I'm Nijima from the Public Prosecutors' Office." She stated quickly and directly. "The Prosecutor's office? What business do you have here?" he asked her.
"Just let me through; it's urgent. There's something I need to confirm with the suspect," answering the detective. "Nijima-San, I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides..." he was about to continue as a senior detective appeared interrupting him. "Are you Prosecutor Sae Nijima?" She nods to him. "There's a call from you director. Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you're an inconvenience." he stated in annoyance. The moment he finished, she felt a small vibration in her pocket knowing who it is she immediately picked up the phone.
An older man's voice could be heard confirming it was indeed her higher up. She could hear him sigh in frustration. "I thought I ordered you to stand by." The frustration is laced with his words. "I'm responsible for this case, yet I'm not even being allowed an interrogation!?" she asked with the same frustration yet calmly. "I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up," she answered her. "I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself. This is MY case." She made her point, and the director gave in with a sigh "Good luck to you then. I won't be expecting much though..." the director said before hanging up.
As she put her phone away, the senior detective approached her. "Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important. Your time will be cut short. We can't allow you to talk with her for long." He stated with caution. She looked to side collecting her thoughts about the situation with the girl. "It's for your own sake. Her methods are unknown. After all, we don't even know if it is safe to simply meet and speak with her." he said eyeing the room Akira was in.
Sae just nodded "...I understand. Niijima then walks to the door opening it bracing herself for anything. She walked up to the table as she heard the door being closed. In front of her was the suspect it was a little hard to believe. "...I didn't expect it'd be you," she said with some disbelief in her voice. That quickly went away as her eyes turned sharp.
"You'll be answering my questions this time" she had stated before the glint of glass caught her attention. Instantly she recognized it as a syringe possibly containing truth serum. She looked at the thing with disgust "Those bastards..." She looks at Akira up close noticing the wounds and bruises.
"Can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here... and I can't stop them." She explains with concern and gentleness. Slouching back as she sees Akira looking up at her. "That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either." Akira nods while looking at her, "What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident?" She looked at Akira face for answers.
"I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for a prosecution. It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it." Looking at Akira as she finishes she didn't expect a reply. "Why do you want to know...? " Akira asked weakly. "This isn't an issue of whether or not it can be used in court. I need to know. This is my case, after all. It seems you're coherent." she pauses to make sure Akira is still conscious before continuing. "When and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal another's, heart? Now, tell me your account of everything...Start from the very beginning." Akira was silent for a bit trying to gather her thoughts. She could recall when she first moved here. As she focused on her thought a mysterious voice appeared.
Looking up to find the voice. When looking up a Blue butterfly appeared carrying the mysterious voice from before. "...You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance." The voice said to her as it echoes around the room. "This is truly an unjust game... Your chance of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you... " Akira continued to listen to the mysterious female voice "...I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world..." But how she thought she was already stuck here in this interrogation room how was she supposed to save the world let alone herself. Her question was answered by the voice.
"The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds- the truth that you and your friends grasped." The voice said with a plea. "My bonds and my friends?" she silently said to herself trying to understand everything while recollecting her thoughts. "It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember..." The voice said with one final plea before flying off. She was left for a brief moment before some of her memories opened up. That fateful day of moving to Tokyo it was all coming back.
Akira jolts awake she quickly checks her surroundings realizing that she is safe. She relaxes while looking out the window. "Oh, right I'm on my way to Tokyo. I must have fallen asleep" She thought to herself. Akira then looks around the train noticing some advertisements mainly about shops in Shibuya.
She sighs before looking down at the floor thinking why she was even here. Her mind flashes scenes of the past to that man. She remembers him grabbing that woman while she screams for help. She quickly lightly pushed him away trying to put some distance between her and the man, The next thing that happened would make her regret her action as he tripped over his own feet falling to the ground. The scene changes with him glaring at her "Damn brat... I'll sue!" he yelled at her. Before flashing to another scene with her getting arrested trying to explain everything.
The memories end as she sighs. "What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown" A female voice replies back catching her attention. Looking up she sees two girls talking. "It's the truth," she says trying to convince her friend. "To a person though? That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?" She says laughing a bit while the two playfully fight. Already impressions weren't as good as they should be, hopefully her new legal guardian would be more welcoming.
After a long trip, Akira gets off and turns on her GPS. It wasn't like the country where she knew where everything and possibly everyone was. She was in the city. Tokyo to be exact which is an urban jungle compared to her home.
She stops checking to see if she was following her GPS right and found herself at the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing. All around her were people she never seen this many people in one place it was almost enough to make her claustrophobic.
A beep from her phone snaps her out of her thoughts. She looks down expecting a message or a notification from one of her apps instead she find something Different.
A large eye icon that had red and black enlarged on her screen taking the entire screen up. Surprised she tried to quickly get the thing off her screen tapping it several times. Her phone didn't respond for a second she thought it froze. She hears a man pass her by on her smartphone when something odd happened. As she turned around, he slowed down and stopped. Like time had stopped on him she quickly turns around checking the crowd to see it stopping. "What the hell," she thought. Quickly Akira looked everywhere freaking out a bit till something caught her eye. Blue flames erupted in the middle of the crossing blazing with tremendous life.
The flames seemed to form a silhouette of some sorts. The flame got stronger as it combusted. The flames reflected off her glasses while Akira stared at it with awe. A face suddenly appears from the fire revealing herself with grinning with creepy yellow eyes. The vision ended as she snapped back to reality. Looking from side to side she saw people walking across going about their day.
"I must be still tired from the train rides," she thought before glancing at her smartphone and quickly deleting the app. She looks at the time and quickly rushes realizing she will miss the next train to her destination.
Getting off the train, she looks around and spots a sign reading Yongen-Jaya. This was her stop. Akira then checked out all her belongings as she walked out of the station into the small neighborhood.
It was a tad cloudy when she walked out of the station into the little neighborhood filled with shops and loyal shoppers it was almost calming in a way, at least more so than she had been at Shibuya. For the next year, she would be living her with a man known as Sojiro Sakura as her guardian. If she was right, his house should be here somewhere in the backstreets.
She passed by several shops including a second-hand shop, a minor grocery store, and a food stand. She decided to ask a cop is in the area thinking she knew where she could find the address. She approached the cop "Excuse me, sir?" She requested to get the attention of the police "Yes?" he replied in an irritated tone. "Mind helping me out I need some directions?" She showed him the address. "Hm? You want to get to the residence at that address...?" He looks south and points "It's in an alley a bit further back. Take a right after that apartment with stairs." She nodded and thanked him before heading towards the direction she was told.
On the way, she passed by a mother and daughter listening in on their conversation. The mother was mostly explaining why the officer was there and something about an accident. She didn't linger too long and headed towards her destination. She reached a small two-story gray house with a balcony to look onto the street. It looked genuinely cozy, especially in this busy city. Akira checked the nameplate the last name Sakura was on it. "This look like the house. Ok, Akira first impressions are important. Be obedient and kind." she said to herself bracing herself
Akira rang the doorbell and waited. No response. Maybe he stepped out for a bit?
"Looks like no one's home.." She looked right to see the owner of the voice. It was a parcel delivery man. "Oh yeah... Sakura-san's usually at his cafe around this time. Leblanc is in the back alley so I should make my other deliveries first..." Akira heard him say to himself before deciding to check where his next package was located. "I should head to Leblanc then. I do recall seeing a cafe when heading this direction." Akira thought to herself. Akira started walking towards the cafe.
When she walked in front of the cafe, she checked the sign. "Leblanc Coffee and Curry" it read. Outside the shop were plants and another little sign with what looked to be what today's deals were. She stayed there glued to the floor bracing herself as long as she was obedient this would all be fine. Finally, after gathering the courage to, she grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. It was now or never. Inside it was homey. The coffee shop looked like a cross between a pub and cafe. Jars of coffee beans filled the shelves past the counter to the left of there was a kitchen she could only assume the curry was prepared there. There were signs with prices on the food and drink and small flat screen with the news.
Overall it was a nice little place. Akira's eyes the turned to a man who looked to be in his early 50s or late 40s. He has slicked back dark hair with a small beard. He was wearing Glasses. A pink dress shirt that went to his elbows, an apron possibly for his work, and Khakis with white shoes. To her left were an elderly couple watching the tv. The tv was blaring about an accident with a bus. Could it be the same one the girl was talking about? As the report came to a close, the elderly couple commented on the situation while what she could only assume was the shop owner was busy with his crossword puzzle. He sensed someone was there to look up and see a girl.
It had taken a second before he remembered. "...Oh, right." He put down the newspaper and got up facing her. "They did say that was today." His voice had a rough sound to her. The elderly couple got up at the same time leaving money on the table. "Thank you for coming" He replies to them. They made small chat before departing. "...Four hours for just a single cup of Joe." he sighs. He finally looks at the girl taking a good look at her. She was 5'4 with Black long curly hair with a hair tie giving her a ponytail, grayish-black eyes hidden behind glasses, and wearing a white shirt and a skirt with some black leggings. The way she looked at him was a tad hard to believe considering her circumstance,
"So you're Akira?" she nodded to him and replied back in a soft voice. "Yes, are you Sakura-san?" She asked back to him. "...Yeah. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year." He replied to her with a small smile. "I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?" She just nodded "I promise not be trouble," she said before bowing. He nods back to her and explains a bit more.
"Have you've been told? A customer of mine and your parent know each other and-" He pauses for a moment before shaking his head a bit. "Well, not that that matters... Follow me." She followed him upstairs to the attic. The attic was a mess it looked like it hadn't been used in years by the look of the dust. "This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed." She looks around the room some part of her knew she deserved this a bit after what happened. Who would want a criminal in their house,
He turned towards her catching that she was in deep in thought. "You look like you wanna say something."
"It's cluttered," she replied honestly. Sojiro sighed at the answer. "It's on you to clean up the rest. I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble." Akira nods "I'll be on my best behavior."
"Now then... I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right? "
She looks down to the floor and nods. "That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?" Akira for second wanted to say no but it best to stay on her guardian's good side as she reluctantly nodded. "...And now that you've got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The court ordered you to transfer and move out her, which your parents also approved of."
She mentally rolled her eyes. There were more things happening in that house mainly the threats of separation, but for her it would be unwise to unload her troubles on him yet. "In others words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass." He continues with a grin. Again Akira could care less what her parents now thought of her. After what happened it added too much tension in that house. It honestly felt good to be away from them and their constant yelling and fighting.
"It's best you do not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know." Sojiro said in a serious tone. "Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted." she nodded only to think about what he said "A whole year..." Akira said while thinking about what to do with such a massive timespan. Sojiro just decided to wrap things up with one final warning. "Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."
"Shujin?" she asked. She remembered vaguely it was mentioned by her parents before they forced her out. "Shujin Academy- the school you'll be attending. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there." Sojiro continues before sighing in annoyance.
"What a waste of my Sunday... Your "luggage" arrived earlier; I left them over there" he says before leaving the room.
She looks at the room and immediately takes a look around. Akira just stared at the ceiling before silently saying to herself "I should get cleaning before this gets any worse...". So got to work, she picked up things needing to be moved and started moving them as the room slowly but surely started lighting up from it's previous state. With moving out of the way she quickly got to dusting as her room became much more tidied. After a few hours of moving, dusting, and straightening out her bed the room was clean to her liking for now. She checked the time on her phone. "Geez, I was cleaning that long?" surprised by the time. She put her phone away and heard footsteps. Sojiro appeared shocked to see the room cleaner. He looked around approving of the rooms cleanliness.
"Hmmm, the place doesn't look too bad. Though it's only natural, you'd want to keep your room tidy. Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right?" Akira nods looking at her box thinking about finally sleeping after her long trip. "I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?" Sojiro said as he left her alone in the shop. After he was sure, she was gone she slipped into some black pajamas.
"Gee he seemed to be excited that I'm here," Akira said collecting her thought for the day. "Oh well, there is always tomorrow if I keep being obedient and stay out of trouble hopefully this will go faster." After a bit, she laid in bed stray thought appeared in her head. Eventually, she came back to the idea of what happened. Being arrested, the trial, and then her now criminal record. She couldn't let what happen to go no matter how much she wanted to. It all made her flashback to that day.
That day I had to go early from school. I overheard yelling a man and woman's voice. With the woman begging to be let go. I quickly rushed to where the voices were. When I arrived, the woman was struggling to get out of that man's grasp. The man looked drunk as he was forcing the woman into his car. I couldn't ignore it and jumped in to try to save her or at least put enough distance to where she could escape.
The man wasn't pleased to see me, and it made the situation worse. Off in the distance, we all heard police sirens. What happened next lead to her criminal record. The flashback was interrupted by her phone.
She picked it up thinks maybe her family texted her. Instead, that weird creepy eye app was back. "I thought I deleted this back at the Shibuya Crossing. Oh well let just uninstall this..." she quickly did a restart to her phone just in case before putting it down. Akira's eyes grew heavy as sleep took her away with its embrace.
Akira awoke she thinking she'd woken up earlier, but that was quickly corrected when hearing chains. "Chains...?" she thought.
Lying up she tried to make sense of the situation. Immediately she noticed her black Pajamas was now a prisoner jumpsuit...Or rather ones you see in Western movies from the US. She turned to sit down on the edge of the bed only to see chains on her hands.
"What the hell is going on?" she thought to herself. Those thoughts paused as something caught her eye to the left. She then heard footsteps. Looking toward the cell door which was wrapped with excessive chains. Two little girls appeared. Akira got up to get a view of the two. The two then got closer a bit, and she got a better view.
The two looked to be twins wearing matching blue outfits much like police wardens, Their hair was a very light blond bordering on white, they had eye patched with a V on it, and their eyes looked gold. She tried to get closer to the two twins but was stopped when she felt the weight on her leg. Akira found the source, being a ball and chain was restraining her from going too far. She walked towards the cell doors confused. The two twins parted to reveal a man sitting at a desk with his eyes looking at her in a creepy manor
The man finally looked up as if he was waiting for her. "Trickster. Welcome to my Velvet room," he said with a deep voice. Akira understandably started freaking out a bit shaking the cell a bit. She stopped upon hearing one of the twins speak. "So you've come to inmate," One said with a bossy voice. The other spoke with a softer voice "The you, in reality, is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream. " the softer one explains. "You are in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" The bossy twin yelled.
"Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bounded by a "contract" may enter. " The creepy man explains. "Contract?" Akira thought to herself. When did she sign any contract? She decided to wait and ask him as he heard him continue, "I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well." Akira nodded making sure to remember the creepy man's name
"It's been awhile since we've had a female guest. The last one here was a lively girl who was a joy to serve. Anyways, I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well." Igor explained to her.
Akira didn't know exactly what to say and how could she. She awoke in a prison cell with two twin girls and a creepy man named Igor only to be told she was summoned for some so-called important matters. "What important matters?" she asked. He briefly ignores the question looking around the prison room. "Still, this is a surprise...The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. " Akira's eyes widened at his words. It true that the situation made her feel like she was a prisoner. Especially with acting obediently to all just to stay out of trouble. But Akira didn't think it would reflect her heart.
"You truly are a "Prisoner" of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."
"Are you kidding me?" Akira said starting feel fed up with this, There were so many questions, and it seems this man was avoiding them all. Igor chuckled a bit at her reply " Worry not. There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be "rehabilitated." Rehabilitated toward freedom That is your only means to avoid ruin... Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"
Akira thought for a second and decided ruin would only make her life more complicated than it was, minor or major. "I'd rather avoid ruin." replying back in a monotone voice.
"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." The two twins turn and face her again. "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."
Akira looked at the two again, so she was right as to why they were wearing a Police Warden outfit. "Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like," Caroline said in a demeaning manner. "The duty of the wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. That is if you remain obedient".
Akira sighs in her head. That won't be a problem since it is what she does best now.
"I shall explain the rules of these two on another occasion." the two twins turn to face Igor as he finishes up.
"Now then, it seems the night is waning, It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."
Igor finishes as he snaps his finger an alarm rang. Justine quickly turns around to her "Time's up. Now hurry back and go back to sleep." she orders her as Akira loses consciousness.
Akira eyes open to her room in the attic. She quickly looks around to see if this reality. Once confirming she thinks about what happened in her dream. "Ruin,.Rehabilitation..What does it mean? And why me?" she asked herself. She then heard footsteps downstairs. "Hey is it safe for me to come up? Are you appropriately dressed" Sojiro yelled from downstairs?
"Yeah I'm fine you can come up!" she answers him.
The footsteps continue to her room. "Looks like you're up." Sojiro walks up to her seeing she was wearing the female Shujin Uniform. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama District. It'll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go." he motioned for her to get up before turning to head downstairs. "Geez.. and here I was hoping to open up shop today." Sojiro sighs in frustration.
They reached the school after a small journey. Sojiro turns to face her "Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right? Don't get me wrong- I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble. " Akira nods "Yes sir." They both headed inside to the Principal office.
Akira watched as Sojiro signed all the papers and staying quiet in a corner. She listened to the Principal as she stayed silent and nodded. "To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were circumstances on our side. You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind." The principal lectured in a serious tone. "Yes sir." she replied briefly to him.
The principal turned his head to a female teacher "This is the teacher in charge of your class." he introduced her.
"I'm Sadayo Kawakami." The teacher hands her a card with her picture. "Here is your student ID. Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by any chance you cause any problems. I won't be able to protect you at all." She makes sure to put as much force at the end. "That is your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?" She looks towards him. He nodded and looked back at Akira.
"She is responsible for all her actions."
Akira despite knowing this teacher for a few seconds had her respect for her dropped when she started complaining about her being in that class.
"Look I get I have a criminal record but could you try not judging a student by their past," She thought to herself.
"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to." It seemed Sojiro had enough of their bickering as well. "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on her. Don't let her cause any trouble outside."
"Well. I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation she's in." He replies to the principal. Her so-called teacher decides to say one more thing before they leave. "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom." Akira nods and the two finally leave. Both seemed equally irritated about the situation.
They stopped at the entrance of the school.
"They're treating you like some kinda nuisance... I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go.
Sojiro looks towards Akira who is just standing there with a thinking look on her face.
"By the way...If you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"
"I'll be careful" Akira replied while thinking inside her head that this guy would practically throw her out over anything it was incredible. Sojiro was either getting tired of her short responses or very monotonous voice as he just turned around doing a small grunt before sighing. "School never changes, huh...?" He shakes his head before giving the signal to come along.
"Come on; we're going home."
The two leave the school to head back to the cafe.
While those two left outside in the courtyard, Kawakami and another teacher met.
Kawakami looking not too pleased with the situation walked down the courtyard.
A teacher who liked like he was in charge of physical education stopped and made some talk with her.
"What a troublesome situation." Kawakami shifted her body a bit looking to the ground while she ranted.
"I can't believe they pushed someone with a criminal record on me. Another teacher would be better suited for this..."
The P.E teacher looked equally displeased.
"Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?" He says in some disgust.
"Who knows? It was the principal's decision. I was told it's for the school's reputation." She complains."I would've thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that." He replied with pride.
"That's certainly true" She agrees.
"Just be careful, ok? Then again, if anything were to happen. I'd kick out a student like that right away." He says while stretching a bit. "I keep wishing that she'd just end up not coming to school. Still, that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher..."
Kawakami said to herself trying to gather her thoughts
"Well, I should be returning to practice..." The P.E teacher replied.
"Oh, right. The tournament's coming up isn't it?" She asked him. He chuckled a bit with glee "Having such high expectations placed on you by other is quite a problem itself. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too. " he said with a smile.
"Yes..that's true." she quietly said before he left. "Why'd it have to be my class...?" she complained one last time walking off.
Sojiro was getting increasingly irritated with the traffic "Traffic's not moving at all... You're taking the train starting tomorrow."
"Yes sir" he replied to him. Sojiro looked towards her.
"...So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?" Sojiro asked her.
"Eh, we'll see. If it's anything like my last school, I should do fine studying and be getting the material." She replied
Sojiro stayed silent for a bit at her answer.
"Now listen up. Don't even think of doing anything stupid. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you."
She nods while thinking "I don't really want that anyways. False sympathy is the worst sympathy. I'm expecting people to judge me that how this world is. All I can do is brace for every rude comment." her thoughts ended when Sojiro began speaking again.
"...If that's what it was like at the school, people might say stuff about me in the future too... What a troublesome kid I've taken in..."
"May I ask why did you take me in? If you were concerned with things like this wouldn't it had been better if you rejected to take me in?" Akira asked him
His face lost it irritation after Akira asked him "I was asked to do it, and I just... happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all." He replied to Akira.
She was going to ask a bit more as his answer didn't sound entirely correct. Before she could the radio started reporting about the train derailing in another accident. That the 3rd time it been mentioned since she got here.
"...Another accident? So that's why it's so crowded. There been a lot of those lately."
Akira looked down thinking about this thinking it was kind of suspicious with this many accidents.
Somewhere else in the city a news report was replaying the footage of the derailing. The woman in the report explained the casualties and injuries, as well as there, have been no reasons found yet. An older looking gentlemen watching the new report as he talks to Niijima nearby in his office.
"It's less of an operating accident and more of a crime of the company and the government. Site inspectors apparently reported of all of this six months ago- The deterioration of the tracks and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth, There's no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top." He explains to Niijima.
The news report continues showing the other accidents around the city "Everything's linked- that's what you're thinking correct?" he asked Niijima. He looks down to think with his eyes closed for a second.
"...Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven't gone for a drink in a while." She looks to him graciously but declines.
"Thank you sir, but I have another meeting to attend. I must be going," she says while bowing goodbye to him and leaving.
He leans back in his chair after she's left and think about everything going on.
Sae walked down the stairs heading to her next meeting quickly. She passes by a young man with light brown hair, light brown eyes, and was wearing a uniform with some black slack. His gloved hand was carrying a briefcase. She stops by him. "Did you ask for me? Is it a case? He asks her curiously.
"Not quite. I want your opinion on something." He turns towards her and replies with a cheerful voice.
After what seemed like forever Sojiro and Akira made it back to Cafe Leblanc. Sojiro looked tired and even more irritated.
"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic...What a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the cafe today..." Akira turns to him and apologizes for being the cause."...Whatever. Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give to you."
Akra nods and heads up to her room.
On the way up Sojiro checks his phone about the train derailing. "Talk about a gruesome accident... Eighty people were involved." He says before putting away his phone looking at the girl. He then pulls out a little red book.
"It's a diary. Make sure you write in it," He tells her throwing the thing on the table with her bag,
"You maybe be under probation, but there's no special limitation on what you do in particular. Besides following the lie, that is," he explains about her probation.
"However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities." He explains to her before his phone started ringing.
He answers it and has a quick conversation with the person on the other side saying he was coming and not to wait. Sojiro had a genuine smile while talking to the person it must be someone close to him Akira thought. He hangs up the phone and faces her again.
"Well, I'm off, I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing. I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow. You better head off to bed, all right?" He lectures her before leaving.
Akra walked towards her bag and picked up the diary. She looks at it and decides maybe this would be for the best, At least she could write down her thoughts about life here. Though this felt less like a diary and more like a notebook for her to write in. She writes in it a bit to start and put it in her bag to get ready for bed.
Right before she lies down, she hears a phone go off. At first, Akira thought it was here, but upon closer hearing, it was from downstairs.
Akira walked down stairs with and went to the yellow phone at the edge of the counter. She picks it up only to head a familiar voice.
"Yo, it's me." the voice says. She takes a minute to realize it was Sakura-san.
"Oh, Sakura-san. hi. Did you forget something here?" she ask him,
"Uh... I closed up shop but forgot to flip the sign to CLOSED. It's too much of a hassle to go back, so would you mind flipping the sign for me?" He asked.
"Sure no problem. Also, why did you call me on the public phone?" She asks one more time while checking the door to see the sign.
"I was going to give it to you before leaving, but I had that phone call. I'll give you the number later but only call me if it an emergency nothing else. Other than that. I'm leaving you in charge of changing the sign to close." he says before hanging up.
Akira headed outside to switch the door sign but stopped after feeling the cold air of the night. Looking up in the sky it was dark with no stars in sight. She remembered back in the country she could see them going for miles. But being in a city with tons of light would cover them up, She hears the crowd of people past the alleyway passing through and heading home it almost made her feel a bit homesick. She was so far from home.
Akira shook her head a bit realizing she was standing there awkwardly in front of the sign. She quickly changed it to close and headed back inside to finish changing for bed. As she lied down, she gathered her thoughts about the accident. The schedule would be mixed up, so she quickly looked at her phone for the train line to prepare after she figured it out she exited to the menu. She gasped as she saw the creepy eye app icon again. She quickly deleted it without a second thought and did a quick restart. After a bit of checking, she put it to charge before finally grabbing the cover as sleep took her away.
Akira woke up early knowing the train lines would be a mess and quickly put on her Shujin uniform. Reminding herself to wear black leggings underneath her skirt it was still a bit cold. After confirming she had everything she needs in her bag she headed down.
She must've been busy getting dressed because when she went down she noticed Sakura was the with a plate that looked like curry.
Sojiro saw her, and with a sarcastic tone said "Oh, so you are going to school." She just nodded and got closer to the counter.
"Here, I'll feed you just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in."
Akira looks down to the curry sure she had weird things for breakfast but never curry it was a lunch or dinner meal.
"Curry?" she asks him. "What's that reaction for? Just eat it." he replies to her, She sits down and decided it was best to eat it. Upon first taste, Akira was surprised it was delicious. And before long she ate finished feeling full and ready for the day.
He reminds her after she was done that it was time for her to head out. She nods before showing her gratitude. "Thank you for the curry. It was delicious," she said. He gives her a small smile. Huh, it turns out you do have manners after all. ...Hurry over to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on the way." she nods and picks up her school bag to go.
Right before she opens the doors, he asks her to switch the sign to open she nods and leaves. Heading outside she was right it was still chilly, but there was still some warmth. Akira turns the sign to open before running off to catch her train.
Once on her train she was amazed at how crowded it was. It wasn't usually crowded unless it was on the bus during summer. Above she could see LCD screens telling the news and reports on the accident. Once off she pulls out her phone to get to her next train.
After a bit of walking and having to use another line to get to the school After she was finally out of the train station. She shivered a bit due to the crowds and walked out to a street close to the school. According to her phone it was on a few blocks away.
At the shop, Sojiro and one of his customer were having small talk. "Oh man.. Did it say it was going to rain today?" The customer asked Sojiro. "Huh? It's chilly outside?" He asked not noticing today's weather.
"It just started all of a sudden... This is why I hate the early spring." He replies back.
Sojiro looked to side while thinking "That reminds me... Did she take an umbrella...?" He asked out loud to himself. "Hmm, Who're you talking about?" Sojiro turns to the customer "Don't mind me. So, what'll it be?" he asked hoping for the client to ignore his last comment while taking his order.
"One house blend, please.." He requested. Sojiro got to work while preparing the coffee. The news blared on again about the accidents.
"There's been a lot of nasty accidents lately. You know, I mean the subway accidents that the news is talking about... My coworker got caught up in it and is now in the hospital now..." He ended with a small bit of sadness in his tone. "But that aside, it's kinda creepy. The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered a nervous breakdown during interrogation."
Sojiro who was focused on brewing the cup of coffee while listening to his customer gave him the cup. "Huh" he, said to him.
After Akira had stepped out of the station, she noticed it was raining. "I should have brought an umbrella," she thought.
She stayed there a bit wondering what to do
Looking down at her Smartphone to check the time her eyes widened when she saw the app there again. This was starting to get annoying with it constantly reappearing on here. This stopped when she heard footsteps next her. She turned around to see another person wearing a hoodie.
The person brushed off some of the rain from her coat before pulling down her hoodie. It was another female, she had very light blond hair, pale skin, bright blue eyes, and she was wearing the same uniforms as her. "Another student?" she thought and stared at her a bit. The girl looked around at the street a bit as if she was waiting on some before realizing she was being stared at. The two stared at each other for bit neither had anything to say before the girl smiled and looked back out.
Akira not wanting to seem like she was weird looked back to the street as well she could hear cars racing down the roads to their destination. She spotted a silver car slowing down where the two of them were as window rolled down. A man was in there and looking at the girl. "Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late." The girl next to her nods a little "Um, sure. Thank you." she replies walking towards the car. The man looks towards Akira offering a ride. "Do you need a lift too?" he asked her nicely. "No thanks but thank you" she replies back smiling.
The man nods and rolls up the window once the girl is in. Before it completely closes she caught a brief second of her looking down sadly. She thought nothing of it as the car moved again to its destination.
A boy then rushed by maybe he to be picked up by him too? This thought was completely thrown away as he yelled in frustration. "Dammit. Screw that pervy teacher." Akira looked a bit baffled before muttering "...Pervy teacher?" Unknown to her the app picked up on her voice storing the word pervert. The boy turns around realizing he was not alone looking at her,
The vulgar boy approaches her "...What do you want? You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?" Akira was confused who was this boy and who was was Kamoshida.
"Who is Kamoshida?" she asks him The vulgar boy was confused. "Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida." Her mind flashes back for a second to that man. Was he Kamoshida? The vulgar boy looks to the side "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is- the king of the castle? Don't you agree?" Akira was even more confused.
"The king of a castle?" she asks back "No, I mean..." he stops for a minute to think before realizing something. "...Wait. You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin, right?" he asked her.
"You go to Shujin too?" Akira asked hoping to change the subject. "What...? No other high school's got a uniform like this." He replies taking a look at her uniform. "A second year, huh... We're the same grade then. Never seen you before though," He takes a moment to think finally realizing something.
"Oh, you a transfer student?" She nods "I start today?" She replies. "Then no wonder you don't know him." He looks towards the street for a second then back at her. "This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late." She nods and begins walking with him before both get a small headache. The vulgar boy grunts in pain. While Akira feels light headed. "Uuugh, my head hurts...
Dammit... I wanna go home... before walking off and soon after she felt a bit better followed.
Time flashes forward to the present as Akira looks up at Niijima. She takes a minute to make sure she recalled everything so far correctly.
"...There was a terrible subway accident that day. You remember, don't you? I assume you knew of the uproar that the public calls "psychotic breakdown incidents."
Akira nods "I heard about them a lot when I entered the city up till that moment, and even afterward there were endless reports on a new one every other day. I mostly just ignored them a bit since there was so many." Akira answers Sae questions.
"You say that like it's none of your business. It was wall over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school. I've doubt you stopped ignoring them. On that day... were you still an "ordinary" student?" She asked back."
"What do you mean?" she asked a bit confused with the last question.
"...Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin Academy, correct?" Akira nods.
"An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city. That's what it should've been. What happened around that time? Tell me everything-truthfully." Akira looks down for a second getting ready to explain more as her thoughts go back to that day.
She was walking with that boy knowing he was aware that the direction of the school. Unknown to her the effect of the app started to shape the world she was walking in. She put it away as they approached a turn. While walking down the alleyway full of puddles from the rain. She heard a splash and turned around to see nothing maybe the rain was messing with her or her nerves of the first day were doing it.
Her phone pulsed with the app working. She suddenly heard a yell from the boy and rushed to him. At the end of the alleyway was something she thought she would never see in Tokyo let alone near her school. A giant castle was there with dark magenta clouds above it. "We didn't... come the wrong, wrong way though." as the boy looked back near the alley "Yeah, this should be right.." He said looking to the sign that clearly had her school name on it. What's goin' on here...?" he looks towards her. "Guess we'll just have to go and ask." She nods as the two walked into the castle not knowing what would happen in there would be the first step towards becoming the Phantom Thieves.
Akira Diary Entry #1:
So this is my diary now huh. Well, I guess I better follow Sakura-San orders and write in here. Even though this is less of a diary and more of a notebook since a journal is private.
Well, I guess I can be honest here so why not? I already feel a bit homesick the city is a lot different from the country. There so many people, it huge, and to top it all of the traffic is abysmal. So basically the city has too much space and everything people complain about nothing. Though it is nice to be out of that house, my parents fought a lot what happened to help ease that. It feels great to be in my room without constant yelling about divorce, it's obviously not the best feeling to be able to say I feel safer away from them, however as it stands that is the truth at the moment.
Sojiro is nice, to say the least. I can tell he doesn't want me here but he's still nice to me in his own way. The meeting with the school staff could have been better, and that teacher makes me regret having to transfer here. I get that my status labels me as trouble but could you try to get to know me before acting like that. She is a teacher, isn't she? Maybe I should keep a close eye on her.
Then there was that dream the one was the creepy old man and the two little girls their words still echo to me. Ruin, rehabilitation, and trickster. Maybe I was just tired from the trip but what was that about anyway?
So far though Tokyo been beautiful though it's accidents still worry me. Just in the few days, I've been here; there has been a total of three days. They seem to not wanna stop to. There also that creepy app on my phone that keeps coming back no matter how many time I get rid of it. Maybe one of the updates caused it to become a permanent feature, I'll look into it later.
For now, I'll head to bed. Hopefully, tomorrow at school will go well. I just need to mentally prepare myself who knows maybe this year will go quickly. I'll write about my first day tomorrow. Goodnight Diary.
