This is an alternate universe to Persona 5 where the protagonist is female. I do not own the characters and only write this for the sake of pleasure.

This is a work of fiction thus, any relation to persons, living or dead in the real world is purely coincidence

Pulling out her plain black smartphone from her skirt pocket, she takes note of the time and sighs deeply, looking up at the darkening sky. Her heavy sling-bag, resting on her right arm shook as she replaced the phone in her pocket, alerting her to the large work pile that awaited her. It had to be her unlucky day that she was assigned to class duties on the last day of the week where the classroom would be in a complete mess. Her sore muscles ached from the strain of her fervent cleaning earlier in school but there was no rest as she still had to hobble home and finish homework.

"Really not my day ..."

She mumbled as she pressed on down the lit streets of her hometown. Using one finger to play with her braided black hair, she pondered taking a different direction home as she passed by an alleyway which she figured would be a shortcut to her home, cutting through a few streets and traffic lights. While she had been warned that as a high school girl, she was supposed to avoid dark places at night where the uncouth and lower denizens of society lurked for her own safety, she figured it wouldn't be a problem. After all, this would be an urgent one time exception to get home quicker and get some well-needed rest.

Sure enough, down the rarely-taken path which the teenage girl took, she understood why minors such as herself were lectured time and time again to avoid such places. It was a miniature adult paradise, the toned-down version of Shinjuku, the red-light party district in Tokyo. Bars with provocative names that should warrant police investigation, night clubs, brothels and ... she hastened her pace to a brisk walk as her discomfort grew and her chastity increasingly felt threatened.

"Just get in the car!"

"Stop it!

That didn't sound good. And now especially in these perverse and unguarded streets, a woman's shrill voice crying out against the slurring rough shouting of a definitely drunk-sounding man was a clear sign of trouble. Ignoring this would follow Akari's self-imposed creed of avoiding any unnecessary nuisances in order to attract the least amount of unwanted attention. But some small sense of justice kindled within her just for this one day thus, she crept forward towards the supposed pair and peeking out from behind a wall, she sees the issue.

"How dare you resist!"

"Let me go!"

Akari can probably assume why the poor victim would be targeted with her loosely buttoned office shirt and oversized chest ... at least compared to Akari's own rather unimpressive ones but besides the point, it would probably be a bad idea for her, a weak girl of 16 years of age to struggle against a dangerous looking drunkard which had the woman's arm held surprisingly firmly despite his giddy steps. So instead, Akari returns to her skirt pocket and takes out her phone, dialing for the police and quickly explaining the details. She had not put down her phone for long before she heard the sirens of impending justice blaring in the distance.

"Tch ... so someone called the cops. Get in the car!"

Pulled by the man's strong grip, the woman was forced forward, towards the vehicle he was trying so hard to shove her into. The screeching sirens were still too far away and so after a moment of hesitation, Akari stepped out from behind her hiding place. She had to just buy a little time, the drunk would probably forget that the police were coming if she distracted him.

"Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!"

Oh ... damn. Was what Akari thought as she heard the words. So this was karma for opposing the rule she had set herself to steer clear of any sort of trouble. But it was too late for her to step back into the shadows as the drunkard and probably important political figure noticed her, glaring at her with the bloodshot eyes of a maddened beast.

"What are you looking at little bitch? Get out of my sight!"

But she couldn't move as fear had her frozen in place. She couldn't cause any trouble. None at all. If word of this got to her parents ... if she could even call them that, then she might have one less by the end of the day. Her family situation was in shambles with her father and mother constantly at each other's throats. One incident to do with their daughter who till now had a clean slate of a model student would break them apart.

"Damn you women! Are your brains so stupid that you can't obey an order from your master?!"

He let go of the woman he had been harassing, stumbling over to Akari with his hand outstretched to seemingly grab her but in only falls forward as she had stepped aside out of his reach. With the alcohol propelling him forward, the man hits the pavement with an audible crack and a gasp of pain. It was soon followed however, by anger as he slowly stands up, one hand holding his forehead where fresh blood trailed down his face.

"You fucking bitch! ... I'll sue! ... And you! You will say that she attacked me, you hear?!"

Please no ... Nothing more was supposed to happen today ...

Glancing behind her in fear, Akari's eyes met that of the woman's terrified ones. To her dismay and despair, the woman nodded, refusing to look upon Akari and instead, at the ground in police car soon came, the flickering red lights and siren once beacons of hope, now turned into noise and excessive glitter to the eyes. The officers who most definitely can infer from the situation that this whole fiasco was a crappy staging, complied silently to the demands of the drunk politician, accepting the lousy confession of the truth from the woman and locking up the adolescent who was guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Really ... not my day."Akari whimpered to herself as she was violently pushed into the rear seats of the police car and her head cracks against the other door.

Saturday, April 9th

The train creaked against the rails, bumping the passengers slightly and waking up the girl who sat in the seats. The carriage she was on was scantly packed with just a few adults and students. After all, in the middle of a Saturday early afternoon, schools were still running and work was ongoing. Still freshly awake from her nap, she finally noticed a strange pressure on her left shoulder and turning to look, the man seated beside her, dressed in a smart office suit had his head nested comfortably on her arm. Hurriedly standing up, she instead stood by the doors, looking outside at her new temporary home ... or actually, she prefers the term, area of residence.

Tokyo, a sprawling city which was the capital of Japan. Once, she had dreamed of getting a scholarship in her former high school to study in a university in the main city which would be a delightful change of pace from her quiet hometown. Never would she have imagined going to the same city except this time with feelings of sadness and loss. Everything went wrong in just one night.

Her scattered memories vaguely remembered the police station which she sat, stunned for emotion or words till her father came to pick up their lost daughter. They spoke no words as they returned to their measly home but even as Akari tried to sleep that night, loud arguing from her parents could be discerned then. The next day, she found her room partially emptied, essentials from her wardrobe such as everyday clothes missing and a new set of school uniforms to which school, she did not know. Then onto the train she went, in an unfamiliar black blazer and checkered red-black skirt, with instructions to go to Tokyo and stay there for probation.

"Next stop, Yongenjaya."

It took her awhile, navigating to the backwater alley of Yongenjaya where a couple of residents prowled around, occasionally throwing glances at her as she probably looked like a truant student skipping school. Not the most cleanest of districts she observed, old-looking shops, walls with peeling paint and even a slightly obscure shabby-looking cafe A police officer kindly guided her to the address marked in her instructions which yet again, redirected her back to the cafe she had found.

Her earlier assessment of the cafe had not been wrong however as when she entered, there was no air-conditioning like that of your normal modern cafes you see nowadays. A few ceiling fans provide ventilation for the plain interior which contained three booths that had little extravagance to show for itself and even the kitchen was in full view of the customers, the sink cluttered with dirty dishes and cups that could take away one's appetite. A middle-aged man, supposedly the owner of this establishment sits at the bar, reading the newspapers.

"... Oh right."

The owner had looked up from the papers. Adjusting his glasses, he folds the paper and looks at her.

"They mentioned you would be arrive today."

He said simply, getting off the bar seat and walking towards her. Despite the questionable condition of the cafe, Akari was impressed by his appearance as it was rather stylish. Clearly old as evidenced by his receding hairline, the slicked-back dark hair and goatee gives off a cool first impression.

"Are you Sakura-san?"

"I am Sojiro Sakura. Akari Kurusu, you'll be in my custody over the next year."

He was supposed to be a friend of a friend of her family that had agreed to take care of her. His eyes scanned her, as if sizing her up and when he was done a few seconds later, his face lights up in a cheeky grin.

"I was wondering what sort of unruly kid would show up but you're quite the looker ... if you go without those glasses."

Her glasses weren't too terrible. They were just slightly larger than average ones and fully-framed but others had commented before she would look better if she wore contacts. Akari never really minded her appearance though, there was no ones attention that she was trying to catch.

"Follow me then."

As he led the way to the back of the shop, a grim feeling overcame Akari. Dreading the worst, she followed Sojiro Sakura up the stairs and into her room, the dusty attic of Leblanc. Looking at Sojiro, hoping for it to just be a late April Fools joke, her feeble hopes were dashed.

"This is your room. I've provided you sheets and a curtain so that you can make a private area for yourself. Its the least I can do."

The least you could do is at least maintain the damn attic. Akari kept the thought to herself as she waved her hands before her face to keep the dust away which only worsened her problems as her nose began acting up.

"You'll need to clean this up if you want to live here properly."

It was impossible to hope that Sojiro would offer to help make the room bearable for living thus Akari did not try hoping for him to find it in the kindness of his heart to assist her.

"I get the gist of your situation. You tried to intervene between a man forcing himself on a woman. He got injured, you got sued and expelled from your high school."

Akira silently faced Sojiro, declining to comment for nothing good would come of it. The truth of the issue was decided by that of the powerful and nothing she could say would change that.

"That's what you get for sticking your nose into the businesses of two adults. A criminal record and the court ordered you to transfer here with the approval of your parents. This meant they just got rid of you for being a pain in the ass."

While Sojiro does look fashionable for his age, his remarks just pushed him near the top of her hate list, close to the politician that landed her in this mess. The smug look on his face and the unnecessary taunt fueled her anger but reason told her to stay her rage as it would only be a year.

"Behave yourself and your probation will end in a year. Cause any problems and its straight to the police you go. We'll be going to your new school tomorrow."

Sojiro Sakura finishes his lecture and starts for the stairs. As he nears the bottom, his voice carries up, sounding a little apologetic.

"You were just unlucky. Not to be harsh."

Rid of her annoying new guardian, Akira takes in her new living environment. Unfit for living at the moment with dust and litter about. She had a desk and small table to work with, an old-fashioned sofa, a couple of shelves and a mattress stacked on top a few wooden blocks to serve as a bed. Musty sheets and a plain white curtain lay on top of the makeshift bed as part of Sojiro's gifts. Thankfully, Akira thought to herself, she had done alot of cleaning back in her school, having been marked out in the cleaning roster an oddly large number of times thanks to her classmates which she never did show her gratitude for.

Hard ... horrible ... hate

These thoughts ran through her mind as she felt the rough surface of her bed. But then she realized that no longer was she on a cloth mattress but instead, a cold, solid stone bed. Not only that, her soft nightdress had been replaced by a scratchy stripped black-white overall. Most shocking of all was the iron chains that bond her hands. This was all a bad dream she thought as she tried to hold her knees against her chest, only to realize that her left leg was locked to another chain that ended with a menacing heavy ball. This was a nightmare, she somehow calmly thought to herself. All her experiences in such a short period of time must have had broken her mind, she oddly thought to herself. Refusing to even try and investigate her surroundings, she remains staring at the bluish stone wall before her.

*Slam*

"Wake up inmate! Our master wishes to speak with you!"

The voice of a girl, probably not more than twelve yet, sharp and jarring. Again, the sound of rattling metal echoes in Akari's little cell yet, she does not move.

"It is advisable that you face us soon before our master gets impatient."

Another girl, same age but the voice was more softer, calculated and even a little soothing. Yet, the nature behind the words reinforced Akari's resistance as she disobeyed once more.

"Justine, Caroline, leave her be. She will face us eventually."

A raspy voice, that of an old man. But in his words, she could feel a strange invisible power in them, as if those words themselves carried an immense weight that she could not fathom. Tempted as she was to turn around, she steeled herself to remain defiant.

"I am Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Right now, you are fast asleep in the real world but I have summoned you within your dreams to speak of important matters."

Her own dream summoning her to speak within a dream. She concluded that indeed, she was going mad, probably.

"Still, I am surprised. Doubly so. Long has it been since we had a female guest and even more so, the state of your very room which is the state of your own heart. You are worthy of your title of being a prisoner of fate. But more importantly, we must speak of your future. For soon enough, you would be met with ruin, and thus you must be rehabilitated towards 'freedom'."

Something in her snapped. Her own dream mocking her was the last thing she needed in the messy life she was in.

"And who are you to decide? Who are you to order me as you please?!"

Having turned around, she could see what the Igor had called, her room, her own heart. No more was it an attic but now a dark dour prison. From inside her cell, looking through the bars, Akari sees the two girls she heard earlier, both wearing little blue uniforms akin to that of police officers and wearing eye-patches on one eye. One held a clipboard while the other held a baton and currently, the clipboard holder, Justine has one hand on the other, Caroline who was struggling to swing her weapon against the bars.

"Please listen to our master as he wishes only to aid you."

"Indeed. I wish only to observe your rehabilitation and help you attain the strength to overcome this ordeal."

Looking at her as if a unique and utterly interesting specimen, Igor maintained a creepy smile that he never removed since he first saw her.

"But our time grows short. I will explain more another time. Now, return to your world of mortal rest."

Her field of vision began spiraling and soon, the prison melted into a swirl of pitch black darkness and soon, her consciousness was lost in sleep.

Sunday, April 10th

Daylight seeped through the window and straight towards her closed eyelids, provoking her irritation and causing her to wake up. Gazing up at the dusty ceiling made her realise she was in an attic in a cafe called Leblanc. Nothing around her had changed for the better. Her thoughts were in a mess thanks to the weird nightmare she had.

"Oi, you awake up there girl? We're leaving in five minutes."

Sitting up on her bed, Akari's messy and unkempt hair drapes down to her waist and holding part of it up with her hand, she contemplates whether to abide to Sojiro Sakura and visit whatever new school she would be attending. Deciding that any more trouble was not what she was looking for, she begins changing into her uniform and tying her hair up in her standard braid before heading down.

The day went by quickly. As she had expected, the principal of her new school, Shujin Academy spent most of the introduction lecturing to her about her luck in being admitted to his school despite her records and how she should abstain herself from causing any trouble or risk expulsion. Her homeroom teacher was no better, seeming wholly uninterested in her and even adverse to taking her as a student.

Back in her attic room atop Leblanc, Sojiro leaves her with her diary where she had to record her daily activities by herself as part of her compulsory tasks. She had nearly three quarters of her mind to just throw the tiny book out of the window or go downstairs and flush it down the toilet but as usual, her deteriorating sense of reason convinces her otherwise that it would be wise to do as she was told.

The one year wasn't looking any easier with her criminal record sticking on her harder than any boyfriend she imagined would have. The unfairness of her situation made her want to cry out, to just curl up somewhere and disappear where she never had to be bothered again. But the tears she wanted to leak out were long dry, exhausted by the tyranny of society around her. Thankfully this time, her sleep was dreamless.

Chapter 1 End, Take Your Time

Thanks for reading the first chapter of this tale! I've always fancied writing stories with darker themes behind it and Persona 5 sure was awesome in appeasing my morbid desires ( I'm sure I could have found a better way to express this ). If you want to show support, leave a comment or even a review!