[After playing the masterpiece that is Persona 5 twice in the last 6 months, I think I can confidently say that is a Top 3 game for me. The story, gameplay, style, soundtrack, and most importantly it's characters really struck a chord with me that no game has since Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy VII. As you can probably already tell, this is a Ren/Akira/Joker x Ann fic. Out of every romance option in P5, Ann's felt the most natural and fitting to me. She was also incredibly adorable, sweet, pure, and beautiful, so absolutely best girl in my agenda. I want to take their love story in a more realistic direction in this fic, while still retaining romantic elements. In this fic, I'm gonna really reflect myself on Ren as a person. Personally, I'm pretty introverted and keep to myself, but I'm not terrified at the idea of social interaction. But I get confident and comfortable in relationships (friendship ones at least) very quickly after they begin. In the real world, Ren will be pretty down-to-earth and realistic, but still has a charismatic, goofy, and sarcastic side. In the Metaverse I plan to make him very confident and a big showoff, as he is in the game. Ann will pretty much be note-for-note as she is in the game. As the description says, this will be more of a chronicle than a full on love story (though I might develop that into the story in the future), so time will jump around fairly frequently to significant points in Ren and Ann's relationship, as well as important story events that emotionally affect both characters. An important note, this fic will probably get fairly explicit later on, not in a lustful or purely erotic way mind you, but in a more intimate, and personal way. I'm considering also posting an "uncensored" version of the fic on another site with more lenient rules than , but we will have to see in the future. I'll post a link in the future if that comes to be. Lastly, I want to give a HUGE shout out to the fantastic A Joker's Panther by BlackDomnus500, which inspired me to write my own fic. My fic will follow the original story much closer however and I won't take so many creative liberties, although, these fics will probably hit the same beats. And just to clarify, if you notice any significant parales to this fic and AJP, I'm not "stealing" it's ideas, it's just purley my own spin on it. And to BlackDomnus, if you're reading this, keep up the good work man! I'd never thought I'd would be writing a fanfic in my life, but you're the one who inspired me, so thanks man, and I look forward to the rest of AJP. In any case, let's begin on the fated April 11, 2016…]

Prologue: A rainy April morning

Outside Aoyama-Itchome Station

It was around 8:10 AM in Aoyama-Itchome in the bustling Japanese capital of Tokyo. The streets were rampant with Shujin Academy students rushing to get to school for shelter from the pouring rain.

16 year old transfer student Ren Amamiya, emerges from the metro station looking at his phone for the quickest route to Shujin. As he walks into the crowded street, he feels the rain pour down on the back of his neck. The water sliding down his back gave him a sudden shock of irritation.

"Ugh, seriously! It just had to rain today didn't it?", he whispered to himself. The young man looked around quickly to find the least crowded form of shelter he could, and noticed a storefront with an awning without anyone underneath it, he began to walk towards it.

After getting out of the downpour, he unlocks his phone again to see the route to the school. While looking at the home screen, he notices the haunting red app once again. "What is with this app, why won't it go away? Does it have to do with the Igor guy? No way, what am I saying? It's probably just an app the phone companies install on your phone that you never use. Although, it still is pretty ominous…"

A hooded, female figure then comes underneath the awning next to Ren, which immediately catches his attention. After brushing off her arms, she removes her hood, and large blonde pigtails flop out. She's revealed to be a gorgeous young woman with cream blonde hair, blue eyes, a slim physique, wearing a Shujin uniform, with a baseball jacket and bright red leggings. Her striking beauty takes Ren off guard so much that he couldn't form coherent thoughts and unintentionally began to stare. She looked down slightly with some sadness in her eyes after removing her hood, but soon noticed the young man next to her, and turns her head.

"Why is this guy staring at me for this long? He doesn't seem like a bad guy though, and he's a second year to. Should I say something?"

"Um hello there." She spoke softly.

Ren almost immediately snapped out of it and responds with, "Oh uh hi there. Sorry for staring."

She gave a small smile and said "Oh, no it's okay. So you're a Shujin student right? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Oh actually I'm a transfer. This is my first time attending here. My name is Ren Amamiya, nice to meet you." He responded in a kind hearted tone.

"Nice to meet you too Amamiya-kun, name's Ann. Ann Takamaki." "So he doesn't know about the rumors? This could be a chance for at least someone to get on my good side besides Shiho…"

"So where did you transfer from?"

"About a few hours north from here in a country town called…"

"Wow, that's pretty far. And a country town as well? That's a pretty big lifestyle difference from there to here huh?"

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure I'll manage. It's just something you gotta get used to."

Ann nods and says "You're right. Well, I hope everything goes well for you."

"Thank you Takamaki-san."

She smiled in agreement as a beige colored car pulled up in front of them. The front passenger window rolled down and a square-chined adult man smiled and spoke, "Morning, you want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late"

Ann responds, "Um sure, thank you."

As she approached the car, the man turned his head towards Ren and asked him "Do you need a lift too?"

"Uh, nah, it's fine but thank you." He responds.

Before stepping in the car, Ann turns her head towards Ren and says cheerfully, "See you round Amamiya-kun!"

"Yeah." Ren says in agreement.

After Ann closed the door, while the window was being rolled back up, he senses an uncomfortable look in her eyes.

"Was it something I said that made her upset? No, it couldn't have been, she seemed pretty cheerful while I was talking to her, and she did say goodbye. Maybe it was that guy in the car? He seemed pretty nice though, so I don't see why she'd be upset. Hm. Must be something going on in her personal life. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it? Yeah, probably that…"

As the car pulled away, a skinny blonde teenager around the same age as Ren, passed by running after it, and stopped in front of Ren.

"Dammit… Screw that pervy teacher." The young man said.

"Pervy teacher?" Ren asked.

The young man turned around and responded, "Huh?" He slowly walked towards Ren and aggressively asked "What do you want? You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?"

"What do you mean? Kamoshida?" Ren responds slightly annoyed.

"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida." The boy responds in a confused voice. He continues, "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is-the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"

"Really, that guy thinks he's a king of the castle? He seemed pretty nice to me, I mean, he even gave that girl a ride."

"You messing with me?" He once again aggressively responds. "Do you seriously not know about the rumors with that asshole? You ARE a Shujin student right?"

"I'm a transfer student actually."

"Oh, then no wonder you don't know him. Well, I'll tell you right now, that he's a real piece of shit. And that girl who he gave a ride to, is his girl, so don't get on either of their bad sides." After he gave a slight pause he continued, "Oh, and don't go for volleyball tryouts if you were thinking about it. He's the coach and I heard the players have it pretty rough at practice."

"Aren't all these rumors though?" Ren asks.

"You got no idea the kind of shit I've put up with him." The boy responds angrily. "Anyways, this rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up or we'll be late. Here, I'll show you the way."

"Thanks."

The two students then have a sudden, piercing headache at about the same time.

"Why am I so lightheaded all of a sudden?"

"Ugh, my head hurts. Dammit, I wanna go home." The vulgar boy whined.

"Maybe there is something up with that Kamoshida guy. This kid seems like he's had some pretty rough history with him. I wonder why Takamaki-san would want to get with him. Maybe she's not as innocent as she seems, and she did seem upset being next to him. Maybe it was something I said…"

As the two walked through the narrow alleyway, Ren heard an odd sound in the back of his head. He looked back and noticed a weird pink lens flare, covering almost the whole alleyway.

"How bizarre… Guess the big city is weirder than they say."

"Wha-!?" Ren hears while looking back.

After turning the corner, he sees his peer standing in awe at a humongous, medieval castle with sinister, purple clouds forming what looked to be a vortex around the tip.

"What the hell…" Ren says quietly next to the boy. He turns to see his mouth agape and asks, "Is this supposed to be the school?"

"Um, yeah it should be. It said Shujin on the sign." After a slight pause, the boy says, "Guess we should check it out."

"I guess there's no other option then…" Ren agrees hesitantly.

The two began the approach the large castle, completely unaware that the next 11 months would change their lives forever...