Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!

The information below is important, so please read it:

This fan fiction was inspired by Gameplan (千方百计), a show back in my country. However, majority of the events would still be inspired from Persona 5. On the other hand, the plot itself probably wouldn't follow Persona 5. All the Phantom Thieves are around their mid-20s for the sake of the plot. Certain characters have a change in their appearance and personality too such that they can suit the plot better (so beware of OOC). At the same time, not all of the Phantom Thieves are on the good side anymore. Some of them have been shifted to be a part of the Conspiracy team, while others have been moved to be a part of the Police Force. Morgana is also a human in this AU.

Please do note that I can't update the chapter often as I'm also busy with another fan fiction called 'Persona 5: Behind the Scenes', which is the main fan fiction that I'm working on. Some of you may have read it before too. Do check that one out if you want something more light-hearted!

Most importantly, please take this story as an entirely different story and universe altogether.

With that, enjoy the story!

With her lungs aching for air and her throat parched and begging for water, Makoto Niijima took off as fast as her legs could bring her through the white misty world, her bobbed brown hair flying behind her. Turning back, she saw the shadowy figure still chasing after her before she continued to run.

Suddenly, the red-eyed girl felt a half-wall barricade her way. Shocked, she was unable to stop the inertia and felt her own body flip over the wall. Screaming, she could feel her own weight dragging her down before she felt another hand grab onto her and a familiar male voice yelling after her.

"Grab my hand! Whatever you do, don't let go!"

Looking up, Makoto could only see the shadowy figure looking down at her as he tried to drag her up. Her heart palpitated madly in fear. Was she going to fall?

"Don't worry… Even if it costs me my life… I'll protect you all your life! I won't let you come to harm!"

Yet those empty promises began to fade away as she felt her hand slipping from his and began to pummel down into the darkness below…

"GYAH!" Makoto screamed as her eyes flew open in shock from the nightmare. Panting heavily, she slowly got up from her bed as she tried to process what just happened back there. Taking a deep breath, she sighed before she muttered. "Ugh, just a dream…"

Suddenly, her alarm clock blared into her ears, scaring poor Makoto out of her wits once more. Slamming her alarm clock down, she quickly hopped out of bed. As she washed her face, brushed her teeth and applied some faint makeup, Makoto began to ponder on what she would be doing today.

"Most likely, I'd be helping out with Sis' current case once more…"

Sae Niijima, Makoto's sister, was a prosecutor who was helping the Police with a certain case that has got to do with a Mafia group which was involved with blackmailing people to smuggle drugs. Yet despite all the evidences and leads they had, the Mafia Boss was still unable to be found or even identified.

Stepping out of the bathroom and changing into her casual clothes, she walked out of her bedroom and greeted her sister. "Good morning, Sis."

The lady in the suit and long grey hair nodded curtly. "Good morning."

Makoto sighed internally. She was still as serious as professional as before. Couldn't Sae at least lighten up for once?

Grabbing a sandwich from the table, Makoto sat beside Sae and asked, "So… How's the case going right now?"

As she continued to stare at her laptop, Sae told her, "It seems the Mafia is targeting mostly high school students, but there are other victims of different age groups as well. The teachers at Shujin Academy have made the students who were victims of the blackmailing to confess, but none of them were willing to give a name."

Makoto nodded, absorbing the information. "So, are you going to the office today?"

She shook her head. "Probably not. I'll be busy with this case for quite a while. I don't think I have time to take any other cases. I guess you're going to be pretty bored at home, hm?"

She giggled. "You got me, Sis."

"Why not go outside and get some fresh air, then? I'm pretty sure being cooped up in here isn't going to help you. Or better yet," Sae closed her laptop for a moment and focused on Makoto. "You can try to get a job in a law firm like me by taking the bar exam and getting your license. You do have a degree in Law too, after all. I won't stress you out too much, however. After all…"

Makoto bit her lip when Sae's voice trailed off. Sae must have been still disturbed by the fact that her sister is amnesiac. Makoto had lost all of her memories of the past a couple of months ago due to head trauma, but thanks to her sister, she was starting to live life as a normal person once more.

"I guess… I'll have to consider that for a while first before I decide on what to do," Makoto said as she stepped back towards her room. "Well, I guess the only thing I can do right now is to go outside and take a quick breather. Later, Sis."

Sae nodded as she opened her laptop once more. "I'll see you later."

Yet Sae didn't realise that Makoto had a hidden motive as to why she decided to leave the house.

The cool water cascaded down his lean, slightly muscled back. The man with black hair which became white at the tips sighed in relief as he flicked the water droplet's out of his hair. Opening his sky blue eyes, he stepped out of the glass shower cubicle in the hotel room and dried himself out with a towel.

"Sweetheart, are you done?"

Smirking to himself, the man wrapped the towel around his waist and yelled back at the lady in the room, "Alright, alright! I'm coming, honey!"

Drying his feet on the carpet, he stepped outside of the bathroom and was greeted with the sight of the girl in the plush hotel bed. Smiling coyly, she whispered as she seductively pushed away part of the covers to reveal bare shoulders, as if beckoning to him. "Come here, dearie. I can't wait, you know~"

He gave a deep chuckle as he dived into the bed and caressed her face. "Be patient, and maybe you'll have your reward…"

Gently, he dipped down and began to kiss her neck, causing soft moans to come out from her throat. In return, her hands went down his back, as if to pull the towel off him.

BANG! BANG! SLAM!

Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud noise, and a couple of burly men stepped into the room. The blue-eyed male and the girl turned towards the door in horror as the main one quickly dashed over and smacked him over, bellowing in a furious voice,

"You! How dare you try to take my girlfriend?!"

He stared in terror as he lifted his hands in a begging gesture. "Wh-what?! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know that she was your girlfriend! I thought she was…! Please don't beat me up…!"

The burly man gritted his teeth. "You made a cuckold out of me, you bitch! I'll lose face if this news spreads, you know?! … Oh, you know. Never mind. I guess this is just the perfect opportunity."

Then he turned to the blue-eyed male once more. "As compensation for my psychological losses, you'll just have to pay me 5 million yen."

"What?! That's like asking for the sky, you leech!"

Suddenly, the girl stood up and draped her arms over the burly man. "Come on, sweetheart. Didn't you say that you were the son of a boss of a listed company? You can easily ask for money from your father, no? If you don't… well, we'll just post the news of you being a third-wheel! How about that?"

He stared at them in disbelief. "So… So this is a set-up! You guys are a part of that Mafia which was involved with those blackmail!"

The man gave a deep chuckle. "So what if we are? If you want to play the field, have a gumption for it! Or if not… you can always take part in the part time job that we give to gullible students in Tokyo."

The blue-eyed male looked back in confusion. "And that is…?"

The mafia member gave a loud, hearty laugh which sent shivers down the other male's spine. "Why? Don't you know? It's the drug trafficking deal, of course! I'm surprised you don't know about it even though it's all over the news right now! But of course, no one is willing to tell the police who are the ones involved with the case…"

He raised his hands as a form of surrender. "I-I'm sorry, big boss! I can't taint my record, and I don't have that much cash with me right now! How about… How about this! I'll use this card as collateral first! Is that okay?!"

Curiously, the mafia member looked over at the lean man as he reached to grab his wallet and pulled out a card before showing it to him. He stared at it in confusion, until the blue-eyed male grinned a cat-like grin and turned the card over.

"Police?!"

The door burst open once more, and a hoard of police members came dashing in to apprehend the crooks, including two young female twins with golden eyes and silver hair. Grabbing his shirt, the blue-eyed male announced to the mafia members as he put his clothes back on,

"You're under arrest for alleged caught-in-bed frauds, blackmailing and for being part of the Yakuza that we are after. You may remain silent as everything you say will be held against you, or you may hire a lawyer to defend your case."

The burly male screamed in anger as he was pulled back by one of the police members, "You fucker! You dare set me up?!"

He chuckled back. "You should have been prepared for this day. Take them away!"

As he tied his trademark yellow bandana around his neck and watched the police officers take the crime syndicate members away, one of the twins grinned, "Great job as always, Morgana."

Morgana tilted his head and smiled back. "Same to you too."

Makoto wandered around the station, the words that the homeless man said echoing in her mind.

"They use some weird phrases. Code words, you know. That's how they communicate with each other. Anyways, watch out of you hear any of that stuff. They'll try to come for you even during the day. They may be relentless to teens especially, but I doubt they'll let go of anyone who potentially looks like they'll be of use to them."

She had to find the mastermind of this entire syndicate - her sister had been too stressed out on that stupid case for far too long. She had to help her in any way possible… and for Makoto, there was only one way for her to do that.

Stepping out of the station, she walked down the street. Whatever she did, she must find out about the Mafia! As she entered Central Street, she turned down towards the alleyway - somewhere she would describe as the most suspicious place in all of Shibuya.

Makoto soon realised that she hit jackpot when she saw a dirty blond-haired male in a blue flowery shirt walk towards her.

"Hey, do you have some time? I have a great job for you. It's real easy. Guess you could call it a delivery job!"

Looks like she didn't have to look very hard in the end.

Makoto grabbed her bag as she took a deep breath and asked. "By delivery, do you mean that of suspicious materials?"

He chuckled. "Heh, you're a funny girl."

"… So, you won't answer me?" She stood her ground as she eyed the man very carefully and added, "Then I was right."

Suddenly, he shoved his face right into Makoto's, causing her to hold her breath in reflex. Who knew what that guy was eating earlier on…

"What's up with you anyway? Why are you asking all these questions, huh?"

Calmly, she replied, "Violence isn't the option, you know."

The guy took a deep breath before he stepped back and put on his overly-friendly demeanour once more. "Come on, lady. It was just a joke! I wouldn't get worked up over such a lovely lady like yourself. Anyways, I can't hang! See ya!"

Makoto gasped as he turned and began to stalk away. No, she couldn't just let her chance slip by like this!

"Hang on, if you don't want to deal with me, I could always go and see your boss myself. You guys are part of the mafia who have been blackmailing people in Shibuya, haven't you?"

He looked back at her with a dumbfounded gaze as he growled, "You're really going to say that, knowing who he is?! … Wait, actually, stay put for a little while, won't you?"

Stepping over to the side, he fished out his phone from his pocket and dialled someone's phone number before placing the receiver to his ear. "… Hello? Boss, a girl wants to meet you. I think that this time… we may have gotten ourselves a good one. … Okay, yes Boss. I'll bring her over."

Snapping his phone shut, he turned towards her and grinned. "He says he'll meet'cha. Let's move over to the car."

With her heart pounding in anticipation, Makoto followed the guy and got into the shiny black car. Now all she could do was to hope that they were really going to bring her to the crime syndicate's Mafia Boss.

"So, you're the one who wanted to talk to me?" The short, chubby man with orange-brown hair questioned her in his deep rumbling voice as his eyes roamed up and down her body, causing her to suddenly feel a sense of vulnerability.

Makoto gritted her teeth as she tried to wrestle herself free from the men who were holding her down onto the carpet floor. "Yeah… but I didn't ask to be pinned down by your men, Junya Kaneshiro!"

She was held hostage in a private pub room, where Junya Kaneshiro, the mastermind, had an arm around a girl with chin-length curly light auburn hair and brown doe-like eyes. He was decked in a rather exquisite set of designer clothing and had pierced ears. Makoto still couldn't believe that anyone, especially that mellow-looking girl sitting beside the boss, would actually be attracted to this revolting man.

Kaneshiro swirled the wine glass in his hand as he smirked. "You know what happens to anyone who snaps at me, don't you? Anyways," he turned to the girl and asked, "That bag you saw the other day — that crocodile one. How much was it?"

The girl giggled and said in a whiny, high-pitched voice, "About three million?"

Chuckling, he handed her a giant wad of cash from his suitcase of money, causing the girl to squeal in delight. "Oh! For real?!"

He nodded. "Better thank those guys. I'm royally pissed right now. Can't you tell? You know how spending money relieves stress? See that empty space there? I'm so pissed right now that there's a three million yen gap right there. It pisses me off more if I don't fill it up. After all, I'm a perfectionist. So… good luck. Release that girl."

The men quickly backed away from Makoto, allowing her to stand up. However, there was a huge flash of light in front of her, causing her to quickly shield her eyes. "Wh-what the…?"

He began chuckling even deeper and darker. "Come on, don't look so tense, my girl. I think I'll call it 'Debauchery at a Club'… Do you want me to send this to the media?"

Makoto gasped in horror. "That's—!"

However, he completely ignored her. "Oh, damn! I got booze and cigs in the shot too! Maybe even some drugs too…? Ah… this is hilarious! I feed on dumb shits like you, do you understand? Ms Makoto Niijima? Now listen up, if you run off to the police, I'll break you, starting with your family. Don't you have that beautiful sister on my case? You know, Prosecutor Sae Niijima?"

It was then when she snapped. "Don't you dare hurt my sister, you…!"

"I won't hurt your sister… if you can bring me three million yen in a month. Understand, Makoto Niijima?"

She trusted her own better judgement. No, she was definitely still going to run to the police after they released her.

Makoto turned to the side such that her red eyes were focused on the police station in front of her. This was it, wasn't it? This was the end… She couldn't even go and seek help from the police. What if he were to find out?

"Now listen up, if you run off to the police, I'll break you, starting with your family. Don't you have that beautiful sister on my case? You know, Prosecutor Sae Niijima?"

Raising three million in a month… How on Earth was she going to do that? Thanks to her amnesia and hence her lack of knowledge of the past, she couldn't even get a job to feed herself and had to rely on her sister! True, she could go and proceed to get a part-time job, but that wouldn't be enough for her to earn three million yen even if she were to scrimp and save!

Disheartened, she turned away and began to walk down the concrete path like a zombie, her eyes starting to fog up.

CRASH!

Looking down, she realised that she had knocked over a metal garbage can. Slowly, she squatted down and began picking up all the waste and throwing them back into the trash can. That's right…. Her life was just as miserable as those bits and pieces of paper that she was picking up then, wasn't it? She had to fall into amnesia, and now she had an even worse problem to deal with! Why couldn't she be of any use to her sister, who was a much more commendable and remarkable person than she was?

Makoto began to feel tears slip from her eyes and roll down her rosy cheeks. Biting on her lower lip, she tried to keep her sobs in, but it was too difficult. Why? Why did this have to happen?

"… Hey, are you alright, Miss?"

Sullen, the red-eyed girl looked up to see a blue-eyed male with a yellow bandana around his neck. She looked down at his hand only to realise that he was offering her a handkerchief. Smiling softly, he added, "You may need this."

"… Thanks," she replied as she took the handkerchief from him and wiped the tears from her eyes and continued to pick up the remaining pieces of rubbish. Yet when she stood up and waned to return the handkerchief back to the guy, he had totally vanished.

She splashed her face with cold water as she stood in her bathroom once more. Turning off the tap, Makoto wiped her face with her towel and stared at her own dishevelled self in the mirror. She sighed. She had literally just went and threw her life away like that. What will they do once she's unable to pay the debt?

After washing up for bed, Makoto stumbled out of her room, causing Sae to look at her in worry. "Are you alright, Makoto?"

She nodded and smiled weakly. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, Sis. Thanks."

Sae looked back at her in skepticism, but decided not to say anything. However, just as Makoto went to get a glass of milk to calm herself down, Sae launched into a conversation with her.

"Hey, do you remember that professional con artist whom I had prosecuted against a couple of years ago?"

"… Oh, you mean, that man? Akira Kurusu, was it?"

Sae nodded. "Apparently, I just received news that he's going to be released tomorrow. His prison term is quite short, probably because he had confessed to his crimes."

"O-Oh, I see. Why are you telling me this, though?" Makoto asked as she took a drink of milk and continued to hold the mug in her hands.

"I just thought that it'll be better if I could take your mind off your troubles and distract you for a while… But I guess that didn't help. Why not you head off to bed after finishing your milk?"

"Yes, Sis."

Yet as she began to wash her cup, an idea began to form in her head. The only thing she could hope is that her plan would actually work this time.

It was a huge gamble, but she had no other choice.

Though it was morning, the sun was already shining down brightly onto the courtyard at the front of the prison buildings. The bright blue sky was just another indicator that it was going to be another hot, sweltering day again.

Stepping to the side, one of the prison wardens went over to one of the cells and yelled at one of the prisoners, "Prisoner 8954! You're free to go!"

One of the prisoners, a male with short, curly black hair, stood up and walked out of the jail cell with a bag in hand. Decked in a black collared shirt, long black pants and belt, he put on a coat and a pair of sunglasses before officially stepping out of the prison gates. Looking back for a moment, he smiled briefly before he continued to moved forward.

"Hey, you're going to wear all of that on a hot summer morning?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, he turned to the police officer. "Long time no see, Lavenza."

Lavenza chuckled as she ran her fingers through her own hair. "You know, I still don't understand. You were literally toying with the police by showing them your location through pictures, then proceeded to even threaten me when I found out where you were. You could've fled right there and then, but you still handcuffed yourself and turned yourself in?"

Akira smiled. "Well, would you have believed me if I said that I wanted to redeem myself?"

"You think?"

"Then why did you ask in the first place?" He asked back as he stepped past the lady officer and walked down the street.

However, she still turned towards him and yelled, "Hey, Akira Kurusu! Lead a decent life and don't run afoul of the law again! Or I'll send you back in there again!"

Akira simply smiled and gave an 'OK' signal before he continued his way down.