"S-So... you see... Um..."

"Do you wanna study?"

"Well... I was think... maybe we could study some things we don't have experience in yet... Would that be ok?" At that moment, she leaned in, her piercing, yet mesmerizing, eyes shutting as she closed in on her boyfriend. Wrapping his arm around her, bringing her closer, embracing his Queen and taking in each other's aura. " ...I want to be with you.", she said with a soft, loving tone that made his heart skip a beat. Indeed, while his time in probation was rough, and while he'd made many friends and colleagues during his stay thus far, to Ren, she made it all worth it.


Flashing forward to the present, as his memory of him starting his relationship came to an end, his tired, battered form was met by another pair of crimson eyes, yet these eyes weren't the warm, welcoming eyes of Makoto, but were instead the cold, dagger-like eyes of the woman interrogating him. Tokyo's most renowned prosecutor and Makoto's very sister, Sae Niijima. For what seemed like hours, she sat listening to his account of the last half a year, about the Metaverse, his friendships with societal rejects, his power to change the hearts and minds of the corrupt, even a talking cat. Yet of all he's discussed thus far, none have brought her more anger than the supposed revelation that her little sister, the hard working student counsel president of Shujin Academy, was not only one of the criminals she'd been hunting for the last few months, but was also dating their leader behind her back. Enraged, she slammed her hands on the table.

"You son of a bitch!" She roared with fury in her voice, "Using my family as leverage won't help your case! Are you trying to piss me off?!"

"You said you wanted me to tell you everything. I haven't had any reason to lie up to this point."

Sae scoffed, "Oh, So not only is my sister the vice-leader of this criminal organization, but she's been dating my most wanted suspect? Don't make me laugh." Yet despite her dismissal, he just gave her a look, a sincere look that showed no sign of breaking or cracking. Sae's eyes widened, the truth hitting her like a truck. What she thought was him either joking or trying to get under her skin was actually the truth. Trying to dismiss what she slowly began to know was true, she shuck her head, trying to make sense of the situation laid out before her. "No, s-she would never have... Her studies would have prevented her from even... If even half of your testimony was true, she would have known about your record. If those college professors knew she was dating..." As she tried to process what she heard, the room fell silent, her steely gaze once again shooting its way into the Phantom Thief before her. "What did you do?"

"Excuse me?" He asked in genuine confusion.

"What did you do to get my sister to date you?" The prosecutor spoke with venom in her tone. By this point, she didn't care about his testimony, all she wanted was him to be six feet under. "I know Makoto is inexperienced in romantic affairs. Did you bribe her? Extort her?! Maybe you collaborated with one of Kanashiro's men to get her to agree."

Ren, offended by the mere suggestion that he was tied to that fat bastard, temporarily snapped out of the trance the truth serum had placed him under. "Don't even think I'm anything like that bastard!" He snapped back at her. "I fought trying to make sure men like him and Kamoshida would NEVER come anywhere close to Makoto, Ann, Suzui or anyone ever again!"

"Really? Because as far as I know, you've been erasing the competition from Shibuya if not Tokyo at large! Maybe if your plan had worked and everyone saw you as heroes, you would have pulled the veil off and revealed your true intentions!

"We would never..."

"Then tell me, if you cherish your sense of righteousness and justice, what is Makoto to you? What is my sister to you?!"

"She's not useless!"

Once again, silence fell onto the interrogation room. This time however, cracks began to form on the prosecutor's face as she failed to take in what he just let out. "What?" The only thing she could muster trying to get an understanding of what just transpired.

"Remember how I told you that Makoto led us to Kaneshiro? Before doing so, she said she was not useless." Tired, yet filled with a new found energy, he continued on. "After we started dating, she told me about your argument the night before." Sae was shocked. True, she long regretted what she said that night, a night where she was exhausted and wasn't thinking straight, but she never imagined he'd learn about it. Now his gaze fell onto her, but unlike the cruel look she'd been casting upon him, his was one of sadness, understanding, and something else, something the experienced law woman had little experience with.

"I..." Trying to find some way forward, she sighed in defeat. Turning away, she took in the information he'd given, and recalled how Makoto seemed a lot more at ease since June, more so since August where she swore the girl almost seemed to glow with happiness. She was so wrapped up with the Medjed and Phantom Thief cases that she'd just dismissed it as her sister just excelling at her school work or even a visiting professor giving her praise. True, she wasn't against the idea of Makoto dating, but she always stressed to put her studies first and that if she did get with someone, she'd choose someone who could support her financially and emotionally. This man however, this Ren Amamiya from the countryside who had a criminal record, this was not what she'd expected as her sister's first boyfriend, let alone someone her sister would consider in general. Yet as she recalled his story thus far, many of the allegations lobbied towards him seemed off. Was this man really the criminal mastermind she's been chasing? No, there had to be more. What he'd told her was the story of a boy falsely charged and labeled by his family, caretaker, school, peers, and even friends early on and having to fight to clear his image. There was more to this story, yet before continuing, Sae broke the almost deafening silence with a single, yet humbling question. "What is she to you?"

Once again confused, Ren replied, "I'm sorry, could you repeat?" Trying to get a better understanding of what she said.

"My sister, Makoto, what is she to you?"

Taking in what he heard, he simply gave her his honest answer. "A woman who deserves happiness."

Right there, Sae turned to him, looking at him to see if he was in anyway, shape or form that what he just said was a bluff. Once again, he showed nothing, just what she was hoping for. "Her happiness." She lightly muttered back. She remembered the last few years she'd watched over her sister, how as the years went on, Makoto seemed more and more distant. But more so, she thought back years earlier, before she became a prosecutor, before entering college. There was a man, one she and Makoto both knew they could trust. A imposing and strong, yet kind and tired man who represented everything they wanted to be when they grew up. This man was gone of course, but still, she remembered years ago, when she was still a third year herself, how he told her how dangerous his job was, how one day he might never come home. He told her that if anything were to happen, she should try and be as successful as she could, but also remember to find happiness for her self, and most of all for her sister. Sae agreed, but at the time, she secretly brushed off those concerns, thinking nothing could happen. But then one day, three years ago, his words came to pass. A single tear slid down her face as she remembered her vow to him, a vow she'd forgotten, yet this frizzy-haired man before her seemed to pick up.

"Are you ok, Niijima-san?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Wiping away her tears, she composed herself and sat back into position. "For the sake of this investigation, we need to continue. However, know this..." She stopped to stress. "If I hear anything that hints that you made Makoto unhappy or exploited her, I'll make sure you never see sunlight ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded, sensing none of the ire she'd radiated earlier, but instead more a harsh, yet oddly playful tone to her voice. He lightly chuckled.

"Hmm, what's so funny?"

Smiling, he sighed, "Nothing, it just seemed for a brief second you actually had some humanity."

Chuckling herself, she responded, "Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. We still need to hear your full story." Sae proceeded to pull a file out of her bag, ready for the next chapter in his testimony. "Now, are you ready to continue with your account, Amamiya?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." He said while straightening himself into a more comfortable position.

"One last thing before we continue," she interrupted, wanting to make one last point before going forward. "If at any point you tell about your time with Makoto, please don't bring up anything too private. There are some things even I don't need to know about."

A wide, cocky grin creeped up on his face as he imagined any jokes he could throw her way, chuckling at the thought. "Sorry, I can't promise everything."

*sigh* "So this is the kind of person Makoto is into, huh? Hope she knew what she was getting into. Now then, after returning to from your summer break, your class was preparing for a trip to Hawaii, correct?"


*Author's note*

Hey guys, thank you for reading my first fanfic on this website. Hopefully if all goes well, I can continue with the Ren x Makoto story I've devised, and maybe even throw in some post game stuff, and some Ryuji x Ann stories. Thank you for giving this story your time.

*I do NOT own any of the characters or settings featured in this story, nor do I intend on making any form of money from this story.*

*Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Persona 3, Persona 4 and Persona 5, as well as all it's characters and story elements are all owned by Atlus Co., Ltd and Sega Games Co., Ltd. Please support the official release.*