"Come on Akira! We're gonna miss out on the Boss's special-made curry if we don't get there in time!"
Akira smiled lightly in response, casually pacing after the impatient cat back to Leblanc, the shade of evening pouring through the narrow alleyways leading back to the cafe and his temporary residence. Sojiro promised a special curry surprise should the Phantom Thief - or ex-phantom thief nowadays - passed his final exams. Morgana pushed Akira to call Sojiro earlier after they examined the results, and the stern chef was satisfied, asking Akira to come back pronto. The others would join them very soon.
"Let's go inside already slowpoke!" Morgana snapped by the the cafe door, shivering in anticipation. "I wanna be the first to try out that special dish Boss promised!" Akira chuckled, opening the red door which triggered the small bell attached to it, alerting anyone within they were back.
"Heh, back already." Sojiro, behind the counter, smirked at the boy taking residence in his establishment. "Guess you really can't wait to try out my special dish huh?"
"Morgana can't, actually." The cat in question perched atop the counter, blinking at Sojiro expectantly.
The Boss grunted, smiling still whilst attending to another customer. "Well done on passin' the finals, Akira. Guess working as a Phantom Thief didn't neglect you from your studies, pleased to know that." Then, Sojiro glanced over to the corner of the room, narrowing his eyes somewhat in curiosity and suspicion. "But that's not the only surprise today." Akira and Morgana followed his gaze, blinking in reaction at the sight before him.
They were expecting a surprise dish from Boss today.
What they weren't expecting was Futaba Sakura happily conversing with a stranger at a table by the corner of the cafe. The unidentified person's back head was facing them, dark brown hair with end edges of glasses poking out.
"Is... Is that Futaba, talking to a someone we've never met before?" Morgana asked in pure shock. Akira couldn't blame him; it seems Futaba's gained more courage today to willingly talk with some random customer.
Sojiro, not understanding the stunned feline, explained gruffly, "A foreigner - not sure from where, but he's got an accent to know - who speaks perfect Japanese, came in here earlier asking for 'the Leader of the Phantom Thieves.' When it turned out he you were still in school, he decided to approach Futaba and speak with her instead." The cafe owner rubbed the back of his head with a doubtful look. "Shockingly enough, Futaba didn't run away, although she was nervous at first. Guy seems harmless, bein' polite and all at first." Sojiro glanced to the black-haired high schooler. "Another friend of yours."
Akira tilted his head, uncertain. He'd have to see the man's face for any signs of recognition.
The Boss sighed, noticing the look. "Well, if something's amiss, give me a holler. Your friends will be joining us tonight, right? I better prepare everything. Store's been closed early for the celebration, anyway."
"Aww man, we have to wait until they show up?" Morgana complained briefly, staring longingly after the moving Sojiro. "Tch, I'm gonna be the first to try the dish, no matter what Ryuji said before!" Akira smiled, setting his bag to the counter for the moment and deciding to join the Futaba and the customer, curious as to what they could be discussing.
The young teen was regarding the stranger in open awe and wonder, her head tilted with elbows plopped on the table. At Akira's approach, however, she spotted movement from the corner of her eyes, looking to her friend with brightened eyes. "You are never gonna believe this." She simply said in resolve. And the stranger followed her gaze towards Akira, a warm smile present on the man's features.
Nope, not anyone he knew of. Akira would remember being acquainted with a bearded man of dark brown hair, a rather large nose and very tiny cyan eyes. Blue-white jacket with dark blue jeans and black shoes. Definitely foreign, as Sojiro said. That smile widening into a grin, revealing somewhat bucked front teeth, the short man stood up rather hastily and approached Akira, who raised both brows at the sheer joy and elation dancing in the man's eyes. They reminded him of Ann's reaction to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
For a very long moment, neither man nor teenager spoke, simply staring one another down. Morgana and Futaba watched in clear fascination, waiting for either to make the first move. But Akira needn't bother responding first, however, when the shorter man, looking somewhere about his early twenties yet roughly around Futaba's height, spoke with a deep, yet hopeful voice.
"I never thought I'd fine myself enjoying this, enjoying the adventure. I only played out of curiosity, to see what made you all so adored by people back home." Hands in his jacket's pockets, the stranger continued in a somber tone, "I never anticipated much, at the beginning. But knowing you all, after everything is said and done... I was saddened."
"What is he talking about...?" Morgana muttered. "Does he know us?" Akira wasn't sure, but something compelled him to listen to the stranger's words.
"Shush!" Futaba said to the curious feline, prompting the man to glance over his shoulder and grin in good humour, before looking back to the patient Akira.
"I was depressed, because... I wanted more. I wanted to see what happened next, I never wanted the journey to end. But it had, and I'm grateful for it." Cyan eyes behind the glasses gazed over to the sitting Morgana. "Curiosity often killed the cat, but sometimes, it shows us something beautiful instead. Thank you, all of you, for giving me hope, and reminding me what it means to be human once more." The man looked back to Akira with a wry chuckle. "You could say you changed my heart without even knowing it."
Akira was tempted to ask the necessary questions. Who was he? How did he know their identities? Was he acquainted with any of the other Phantom Thieves? Morgana expressed as much befuddlement, whereas Futaba was only smiling, hands clasped behind her back with a knowing look.
"You've reminded me all that, regardless how bleak life it appears, you can always find the will to fight back, and change your fate." Akira found himself shaking the man's hand after a moment, sensing no hostility from him. "One day, I will come back. Yes, I'll come back. Until then, there must be regrets. No tears, no anxieties. Go forward in all your beliefs... And prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."
"...Who exactly are you?" Akira finally asked, suddenly yearning to know the identity of the person they've apparently inspired so much.
With a tiny smirk, the man pushed up his own smaller glasses and answered jokingly, "Let's just say... I'm a recent Persona fan." Walking around Akira, the man called over his shoulder after a brief pause, cheerfully stating, "And I'm looking forward to what they have in store in next!"
...They...?
But the stranger left before he could even explain, leaving two teens and one cat to observe after him with mixed reactions. From the kitchen, Sojiro commented with a disgruntled amusement, "Glad to see I wasn't the only one lost here."
"No kidding!" Morgana exclaimed in agreement, despite the Boss unable to understand him. "Just what was that all about?! How did he know all that stuff?" The confused cat turned to Futaba, as did Akira, seeking answers. "Did he say anything to you?"
Futaba, in response, winked coyly and brought a finger to her own lips. "Let's just say, what that guy told me before you two got here, none of you guys would believe me in a million years." Before they ask further, however, the bell alerted their attention again, greeted by the blissful voices of their well-acquainted friends.
"Huh? You guys look confused about somethin'." Ryuji said in his own form of greeting, followed by the others expressing their observations.
"No kidding. Were you that surprised by your final results?" Ann inquired jokingly.
"I should hope not, you were pretty confident about your grades just yesterday." Makoto pointed out with a small smile.
"Or did something else happen?" Yusuke inquired with a deadpan, yet somewhat curious expression.
"Is it about the curry special?" Haru added innocent eyes blinking in small concern. "I hope it hasn't gone awry."
Sojiro emerged from the kitchen, grinning himself at the group of teens gathered. "Not at all. We just had... A very interesting customer just now." That's one way of putting it. Cocking his head to the side, the Boss of Leblanc said, "Curry will be in half an hour or so. All of you, take a seat."
"Alright, tonight we celebrate with some well-earned curry!" Ryuji, more focused on the food than about a mysterious customer. strode forward to an empty table jovially.
Yusuke smirked faintly. "Speak for yourself Ryuji; didn't your results barely reach the needed criteria?"
"Hey man, it still counts!"
"Please refrain from addressing me as 'man,' it's terribly informal."
And as he watched his friends converse/bicker, Akira found himself smiling slowly, both pride and accomplishment. Part of that, he can guess, was from the conversation just a few minutes back with the gratified stranger.
Tonight was gonna be something special.
AN: Yes, as some of you probably speculated, this is a self-insert fic of sorts. I wasn't a fan of Persona to begin with - I was indifferent about the franchise - but curiosity led me to seeing what the hype was all about through the recent game. Suffice to say, I have no regrets.
And finishing the game, to my surprise, oddly left me with some sense of dissatisfaction. I wanted to make my own closure to playing such a beautiful game with well-remembered diverse characters. This is basically me expressing my gratitude for how the game impacted me and touched my heart, in a sense.
The fic was mostly inspired by the famous "I shall come back" quote from Doctor Who, by the First Doctor. It was the only appropriate reaction sprung to mind regarding my overall feelings on the game. I wanna see these characters again, one day. I hope, in the future, they will come back.
I know I will.