There is never truly an end
20/3/20XX, Monday
[Kuoh Town, Outside Akira's House]
"Everything will be alright, after all, you will only be away from us for a year." His queen reassured him, "You will still have Mona with you to keep you company you know?"
"Yeah! You tell him Makoto! Just because I'm not your girlfriend does not mean I am bad company you know?"
"Shut your trap you damned cat! Don't want us to get chased out because of your meowing!" Ryuji shouted.
"Shut up Ryuji! You're also contributing to the noises!" Ann chastised.
"Is this really your hometown? It feels so… boring…"
"Nonsense, it has a truly artistic feel to it. I may come visit one day with my canvas and paint a truly beautiful image!"
"Makoto-chan is right Akira! A year will surely fly by and we will see each other again in Tokyo!" Haru chirped, attempting to lighten the mood.
Nodding, Akira Kurusu got out of the navy blue van and turned towards his family home. It looked like a fairly standard house, a two storey bungalow and with a plate reading 'Kurusu' at the entrance. Sighing, Akira turned back to his true family. To think that it would be an entire year before he could see them again. Although he was off probation, the new Tokyo government had added an additional clause into his release from prison. He was not allowed to leave his hometown of Kuoh for this entire year.
"This is gonna work out fine Akira. Besides, this ain't a good-bye and more of a see ya later, ain't it Akira?" Ryuji declared, before flashing his trademark grin and a thumbs up at Akira. Smiling, Akira replied, "Yeah. I'm certain I will see all of you again when I return to Tokyo for college. I'll message all of you later. You all might want to head back to Tokyo before it gets to late."
With a final chorus of goodbyes, Makoto started up the engine for the van and drove off back to Tokyo. Akira watched as the van slowly grew smaller into the horizon before finally disappearing. Sighing again, Akira turned and entered his home with Morgana by his side.
20/3/20XX, Monday
[Kuoh Town, Akira's Home]
"I'm home!" Akira shouted as he entered through the doorway. Moving out from the kitchen, Akira's mother entered the hallway. She was dressed in her usual business suit with her hair in a bun. Instead of welcoming Akira home, her eyes narrowed at the sight of Morgana and she questioned, "What is that animal you brought home?"
"What did she just call me? Can't she tell that I'm a cat!" Morgana screeched. Glaring at Morgana, Akira's mother raised an eyebrow at him in question. Calmly slipping off his shoes, Akira answered, "He's my cat and his name is Morgana. Sakura-san allowed me to keep him during my stay in Tokyo."
"Well, if it is fine with Sakura-san then it is fine with me as well as long as you take responsibility for it. Now then, your old school refused to accept you again due to your criminal record, so I have decided to enroll you in Kuoh Academy. Their pamphlet is upstairs in your room along with the uniform that is laid out on your bed. Tomorrow will be your first day and I am afraid you will have to go yourself as I have a business meeting. Now, dinner is as per normal…" Akira's mother rambled. Akira had already shut her off and began to climb the stairs to his room. Seems like his mother never changes, still nagging non-stop as per usual. It appears that his father was on another business trip overseas again. Opening the door to his bedroom, he found that the place had not changed one bit. The posters for the new Shin Megami Tensei game was still tagged on the wall, the bed was still in its original position, the closet still lined against that same wall and his desk, as barren as ever, lay beside the window. As Morgana hopped onto his bed, disturbing the Kuoh academy uniform left there, Akira removed a photo frame from his bag and placed it on the desk. The photo displayed a group picture of the Phantom Thieves at Leblanc. It had been taken a few days before entering Sae Niijima's palace and all of them were beaming from ear to ear in the picture, even Akechi. Morgana's voice snapped Akira out of his reverie as Morgana demanded, "I'm hungry Akira! Can we have dinner now?" Chuckling, Akira nodded as he picked Morgana up and returned to the kitchen.
[Phantom Thieves Chat Group]
Ryuji: You settled in Akira?
Akira: It would appear so. Although I probably won't be putting up any of my old decorations. A gigantic Phantom Thief poster will be a little hard to explain to my mother.
Yusuke: Indeed.
Ann: I can't believe you are stuck there till next year! Tell you what, how about we come visit you during summer vacation? Doesn't that sound like a great idea?
Haru: That's a great idea Ann! Just because he can't come to us does not mean we can't go to him!
Makoto: Glad to hear you're fine. I think we should all get some rest. Especially you Akira, your first day is tomorrow.
Futaba: Yeah! Let's get some rest guys!
Akira: All of you are starting to sound like Morganna… Good night.
Ryuji: What's that supposed to mean?
Ryuji: Hey! Don't just ignore my message Akira! I know you read it!
20/3/20XX, Monday
[Kuoh Town, Akira's Home]
"That Ryuji is as demanding as ever." Morgana sighed as he read the message on Akira's phone. Both of them were currently lounging on Akira's bed. Picking up the pamphlet his mother had placed with the clothes earlier, Akira skimmed through its contents briefly. Turning to Morgana, he said, "Looks like Kuoh Academy is just like how I remembered it. A previously all girls school that turned into a co-ed one. It appears that even now, the number of girls still greatly exceeds that of the boys. Their uniform is still really weird looking though."
Stretching his body out, Morgana yawned and began to lick his paws. Akira turned to look at the what he felt was an old fashioned uniform. The long sleeved shirt worn inside of the blazer was a long sleeved button down one, unlike the turtle neck that he had worn in Shujin. "Well, I think you should be going to sleep now. Your first day is tomorrow after all. You know where your new school is right?" Morgana said with another yawn.
Nodding his head in affirmation, Akira placed his phone, glasses and the pamphlet on his table. He set his alarm on his phone for the next day before switching off the lights and going to bed.
XX/XX/XXXX, Xxxday
[?]
Akira was no stranger to weird dreams. After all, for the entirety of his time in Tokyo, he had been too many times to count transported to the Velvet Room in his sleep. Yet, this time as he sat up, he found his surroundings truly startling. He found himself in the centre of a gigantic water body, a water body that for some odd reason he was floating above. In front of him, a bright red Shinto gate loomed over him. At the centre of the gate stood a figure.
Frowning, Akira stood up and moved closer towards the figure. He found that the figure was in fact a lady. The lady had long blonde hair that tickled the water and was clad in a white gown. The lady's back faced Akira, preventing him from seeing her face. "Who are you?" Akira asked.
"I think a better question would be what am I," the lady replied, "my dear Satanael." Akira's eyes widened in shock upon hearing that name. That had been the name of his final Persona, the one that he wielded to destroy the false god. Akira questioned the lady, "How do you know that name?"
Chuckling, the lady said, "I do not believe the time is right for me to reveal that to you, Satanael. And yet, was your appearance in this town a coincidence or fate? You truly are a Joker, a wild card that has found your way into a game you do not understand. Do not be so wary of me, I do not intend to harm you. In fact, I wish to give you a chance to once again partake in a game. So will you accept Satanael… no, Akira Kurusu?"
"Sorry to disappoint you lady but my days as a Phantom Thief are long behind me. We chose to give up that power and entrust the future and safety of this world to the adults. I would rather keep it as such."
"Why do all the Wild Cards have to be so noble. The ones that came before you were also just like that, even the one that remains behind that seal. Unfortunately for you though, Akira Kurusu, fate appears to have more lined up for you than you think. I shall grant you this power as a means of defending yourself, think of it as nothing more than that. Now until we meet again, my dear Akira Kurusu, Joker or Satanael, or whatever foolish name you choose to call yourself."
Upon hearing those words, Akira's body began to feel heavy as he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he could remember was the ringing of bells before the blacked out.
21/3/20XX, Tuesday
[Kuoh Town, Akira's Home]
"Akira? Akira? Akira! You better wake up at this instance! You need to go to school to meet the Student Council President now!" His mother's shrill cry jolted him awake. Rubbing his eyes, Akira crawled out of bed and proceeded to grab the school uniform he hung on his door knob. Morgana was still sound asleep in bed. How lucky of him, to be able to sleep in. Akira pulled on the new school uniform, only to find it a bit too tight for his liking. He had grown bigger in his time in Tokyo partially thanks to his extra curricular activities of being a Phantom Thief and also thanks to the amount of training he had done with Ryuji. Frowning, Akira realised the uniform was indeed not to his liking. He did not enjoy having something like that black ribbon to constrict his breathing, causing him to ditch the ribbon. After grabbing his bag and phone and putting on his glasses, Akira left his room only to get chased by his mother out of the house without any breakfast.
21/3/20XX, Tuesday
[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy]
Akira was shocked at the massive campus sprawling out in front of him. The academy looked so grand and it so much resembled a mansion from the entrance. Entering through the gates, Akira could not help but feel a sense of grandeur emanating from the building. Since it was still a good hour before school began, the number of students at the moment was scarce. Luckily he managed to get here early on his first day of school without any castles to mess it up. Tucking his hands in his pocket, Akira entered the school building.
It had taken Akira a good fifteen minutes to locate the Student Council Room. He still could not believe how big the school was. He wondered where on earth they could have managed to get the funds to even build a school of this size and scale. Raising his hand, he knocked on the doors of the room. "Enter." A female voice rang out from the inside. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Akira entered the Student Council Room.
The room definitely looked different from its Shujin academy counterpart. The room was well furnished with many sofas at its centre along with a glass table. There were quite a few book shelves in the room as well. Yet, it was not hard to tell that the main focus on the room was that of the large ornate wooden table. At the table sat a bespectacled girl with her black hair styled in a short bob. Her violet eyes surveyed Akira as she said, "You must be the transfer student, Akira Kurusu. I am Souna Shitori, the Student Council President of this school. You shall address me as Kaichou, Kurusu. I see that you have already ditched the school ribbon and have left your blazer unbuttoned. However, due to our lax dress code, I will not criticise you about that, Mr Criminal Record."
Upon hearing that, Akira stood up straighter and pushed up his glasses. Before he could say anything, Kaichou continued, "I am aware of this due to the school governors informing me of it. In case you do not know, this school does not have a principal and is run by a board of governors. They have informed me of your situation so that I can observe you to ensure that you have truly been rehabilitated. Due to this, you have also been forced to join a club. Do inform me of your choice by the end of this week is that clear? Your class will be class 3-A which can be found on the third floor of the main school house. Now then, do you have any other questions?"
Akira shook his head and replied, "No, Kaichou."
"In that case, have a nice day Kurusu. I hope that your time in Kuoh Academy will be a memorable one. You may go." Kaichou said. Without another word, Akira turned and left the Student Council Room in search of his class. As he left the room, Kaichou muttered, "That boy appears to be completely normal. Yet, why do I get the feeling that there is more than meets the eye about him?"
21/3/20XX, Tuesday
[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy, Class 3-A]
"Class, I would like you to welcome Akira Kurusu, he will be joining us for his third year of highschool. Can anyone offer to show him around the school?" Akira's new teacher said.
Looking around the class, Akira found that the school did have a larger number of girls than boys. In this class, the ratio of girls to guys was around seven is to two, and that was including him. A girl with crimson red hair raised her hand and told the teacher, "I'll show him around Sensei!"
"Excellent. Now then Kurusu, Gremory will be showing you around the school later during lunch break. As for your seat, there happens to be one open beside Gremory, you can seat there! Now, let us begin today's lesson." The teacher said. Moving towards the seat beside the crimson haired girl, Akira head the whispers among the students: "He is sitting beside one of the great ladies of our school!" "He looks rather plain doesn't he?" "You know he does look kind of cute…"
Akira sat down at his desk. Out of habit, he opened up his bag and half expected Morgana to leap out of it. However, he opened it to only find his books and pencil case. Sighing, he slid the bag underneath his table. From his side, the crimson haired girl smiled and said, "Nice to meet you Akira Kurusu, my name is Rias Gremory. I hope we can get along!" Somehow, Akira could feel the glares of every other male student in class and even some of the female students. Akira smiled at Rias before turning back to face the teacher. So what if she was a beautiful girl with big breasts, Akira already had his own girlfriend back in Tokyo and he knew that his Queen does not like to share.
21/3/20XX, Tuesday
[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy]
Akira stretched his arms above his head as the final school bell that signalled the end of the school day rang. It had been a hectic day. During lunch time when he was getting shown around by Gremory-san, he could once again feel the dagger like glares coming from most the male population. Especially with how familiar Gremory acted around him. She had grabbed his arm and even hugged it at one point of time. That had caused him to be stopped by three idiots who had told him to get his "claws" off of their great lady. Thankfully, they had buzzed off by request of Gremory. Grabbing his bag, Akira left the class. He had better search for a club to join as per Kaichou's order. He also had to buy some groceries on his way back home. He did not have to eat instant food anymore after his time at Leblanc. However, as he walked down the hallway, he was once again stopped by the three idiots from lunch break.
The bald one shouted, "You punk! You have definitely stolen the great lady Gremory-sama from the rest of the school! I heard you even seat beside her in class! At least share her with the rest of us guys!"
"Exactly!" The brown haired one declared, "She should be glorified and shared by all of us males! Do not keep her to yourself you transfer student!"
Their loud shouts had managed to attract a crowd. Since it was the end of the school day, students came streaming out of their classes to view the commotion.
"Is that the perverted trio?" one of the students said.
"Yeah, it is. Those three perverts are the ones who kept peeking on our kendo club!" a female student said.
"I wonder what they are trying to do with this transfer student?" said another girl.
"We shall attain justice for the other males of this school! As a great lady of this school, Gremory-sama should be shared by all of us!" the now dubbed perverted trio roared in unison. Akira, already irritated from an entire day of people glaring at him, said, "Look guys, I don't know what the big fuss is about but I am just trying to get through the day. Would you three kindly get out of my way?"
Akira's response only seemed to tick off the perverted trio even more. "I will not allow this to continue! I will stop him from going further with Gremory-sama!" The bald one roared. Akira narrowed his eyes and waited for the bald student to come running at him but nothing came. Tilting his head to the side, Akira said, "You know, people normally come charging at their enemy after a declaration like that. What's wrong boy, are you suddenly too scared to attack your senpai?"
Everyone in that corridor would not believe what they saw next. They saw a complete 180 turn in the transfer student. The previously slouching Akira was now standing up straight. The smile that had been on his face previously had also disappeared. As he removed his glasses, all the students could see the dangerous glint in his eyes, along with the killing intent rising around him. As he took a step forward, the perverted trio took a step back. It almost seem like it was a predator stalking its prey. With a smirk on his face, Akira calmly said, "Now, why don't all of you be good little kouhai and move away?"
Upon hearing that, the perverted trio gulped in unison and scrambled to get out of the school building. Sighing, Akira placed his glasses back on and continued to walk in the direction of the clubs. He still had to find one as soon as possible. Ignoring the suddenly shell shocked crowd, Akira took out his phone and checked the time. That little incident had wasted his time once again and if there was one thing he learned from his time on probation, time could mean everything.
21/3/20XX, Tuesday
[Kuoh Town, Main Street]
Akira had decided on the club he wished to join. He had found that Kuoh Academy did possess a track club, albeit a small one. After talking to the club's president earlier, he had managed to confirm a place for himself in the club. Apparently, they met every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school. Tomorrow, he would inform Kaichou of his decision and go for training at the club. As he moved throughout Kuoh's main street, Akira smiled at the nostalgia. He still remembered how he had ran around the street in his youth and the festivals that he partook in back in the day. He had happened to walk past a gym on his way to the supermarket, causing him to enter and get a membership for a month. It was a good thing to keep fit and he still had a large amount of leftover funds from his time as a Phantom Thief, even after splitting it with the rest of the group.
After buying the groceries necessary to cook Sojiro's famous curry, Akira began to make his way home. As he took the familiar path back home, he walked past the street that had started it all. The street where he had first met Shido. Yet, he did not regret his decision that day. If he had not met Shido, there was no way he could have met the Phantom Thieves. As he entered his neighbourhood, Akira saw the brown haired pervert entered a house a little bit down the street. Akira could not believe it. He and that pervert he scared off were neighbours?! Shaking his head at the coincidence of it all, Akira entered his house.
[A/N] Sorry for the immense amount of time it took me to update. I will be doing a complete rewrite of this fanfiction as I did not like the way the previous story was going. Will hopefully update soon. I intend to keep to a schedule of one update per month so I hope that I will be able to do so.