A/N: own nothing but way too many OCs. Sorry that I'm not the best writer but thank you for reading anyway.

EDITED: Added years to the dates to make prevent any confusion. I'm very sorry for any trouble that slip-up of mine has caused and thank you to reviewer Angryboy13 for bringing it to my attention. (Let's pretend everything's the same except the year, ok? I forgot to factor new technology stuff in when planning this out.) Set 18-19 years after P5's main story in 2016.

Chapter One: Odd Notebook (Jay's POV)

"Don't forget to clean out that old storage room!" Mom loudly reminded me. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes. Man, new babies are a pain even before they're born! "Ryuji, did you find the old crib in the shed?" She moved on to lecturing my dad instead.

See, two months ago, my mom found out she was pregnant for the third time...so we're already setting up the nursery. I don't remember a single second of it last time, mostly cause I was still in the womb, but apparently they fight more when she's pregnant. Better to get him to do work for you before you kick him out, right? Not that it lasts for long...As they fawned over an old piece of furniture ("oh, remember when...!" and "Man, babies are so tiny!"), I picked up my towel and bucket.

Immediately after opening the door, I turned my head to avoid the rain of dust...but there wasn't one. For a family of people who hate cleaning and have a completely neglected extra room, that's actually a bit surprising. Pleasant, but surprising. "Weird...Did we have the room set up like this?" Last I checked, it was storage for the stuff we didn't want to unpack after moving (and pretended to forget about). It was a mess of rummaged through boxes! Not...this.

There was a desk under the windowsill with paper and books still laid out as though someone had just been there studying. The floor was vacuumed, the window only just a bit smudged, and a dresser full of girl's clothes sat in the corner. Though a tad empty, the unused room seemed almost lived in. That made no sense; it was only ever me and my parents here.

Chills ran down my spine and I lunged for the notebooks. A doodle, signature, or something! Anything that could be used to identify this weirdo! Flipping through the books at a furious pace, my eyes finally fell on that short stack of spiral notebooks the mystery girl had poorly hidden under the desk. The short stack of notebooks that changed my life forever...the least she could've done is hide them somewhere cooler!

I think I started to become consciously aware of it that day...that horrible day when one of the people dearest to me nearly got killed.

February 2nd, 2035:

"Naught but death and pain lie ahead if you continue down your current path. Are you still unable to shatter the chains that bind you to this road of calamity?"

"Talk in plain Japanese, please." I told Lavenza with an obviously forced, weak smile. "I know you can. You always slip up when you're mad at me..." My attempts to tease her were painfully forced too. 'Ah, I feel sick. So sick,' I thought to myself. Knowing that the most important person to me is in pain and might even die because of me...It's unbearable.

"Does it truly hurt that badly? You've forged quite strong bonds in this short time, haven't you?" Lavenza's smile almost felt...mocking. "These bonds will aid you greatly in breaking free from the chains of captivity but do not forget...creating those bonds is not your mission, Trickster."

"I know. Saving the world and reforming society...That's why I gained these powers." I glared at her. Lavenza sometimes says blunt and insensitive things but never before has she said something that felt cruel. Until now anyway. As if I'm a fool for worrying about my little brother! "But tell me something, would you? How are these powers supposed to help me save the world when I can't even protect one person?!"

"Sacrifices are necessary for the better good, prisoner." Lavenza tensed up. Her voice had gone cold and hostile. Without seeming to realize it, her free hand clutched at her other arm as though reassuring herself of something. "Were your words all those years ago only lies? You said you wanted to be a hero at any cost. Were those the empty, foolish words of a young child?!"

"I'm no hero." I spat back, "I never wanted to be one either." Her words echoed in my head...Had I really said that? Lavenza had said once that I'd been a guest of the Velvet Room since I was born but I had no memory of it. 'Memory loss strikes again?' "Lavenza, since you're so keen on giving advice today, how about you also tell me who not to trust? Who's th—"

Alarms immediately started going off throughout the room, blaring louder than I'd ever heard them before. I covered my ears, wincing in pain. My eyes met his; they shined in that knowing way...he had a secret. He had answers. Igor knew. "Who is it?!" I tried to scream over the alarms. "Who's the traitor?! Who hurt Jay?!"

"It's time, prisoner! Return to your fleeting time of rest!" Ignoring her, I continues to scream my questions at the long nosed man. I had to know! I had to know! Who tried to kill my little brother?! "Leave, Setsuko!"

For the first time, I experienced the sickening feeling of being forcibly thrown out of the Velvet Room. That's when I knew they were hiding something. They knew. I knew they did.

I dropped the strange notebook—which was full of carefully written entries—and covered my mouth with my hand until the nausea faded. "What the hell?" Tears stung my eyes. "Some kind of prank?"

Looking back on it, I wish I had known what I was getting into that day. It probably wouldn't change what I did or stop me from smuggling the notebooks to my room but at least I would've realized that there was no forgetting any of this again. Once I read them, there's be no going back.

Everything started on April 6th, the year before my first entry. That's when everything started to take a bizarre turn.

I held my flashlight in my left hand and ran my fingers over the words with my right as I read in the dark. Mom and Dad had finally gone to sleep so there was no risk of them interrupting me and finding the notebooks.

April 6th, 2034:

Jay was starting his second year; I was repeating it. Pretty silly, huh? Oh well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of both of us. He got the highest grade of any first year on the end of the year exams last year, and my reputation seemed to be getting better. Sure, being held back means I had to call my best friend 'Senpai' and stuff but he's be pretty pleased with that,I think. He likes that sort of stuff; I called him 'Master' once when my class hosted a maid café, and he asked if I'd repeat it for a recording. (He said it was just as a reminder of our days as first years but that seems a bit fishy to me.)

Speaking of important events, that day was Dad's first day at his new job! Coach Sakamoto! Coach of Shujin Academy's track team!

I froze. That's Dad and me for sure. I remember getting that top score! But Dad's first day? Somehow...that seemed hazy. Did anything happen that day? Maybe it was just the power of suggestion, but suddenly, I wasn't so sure what happened that day.

'Second year of high school...' I thought back, tapping my left index finger against the flashlight. 'What happened that year?'

I froze. My whole body felt like it'd been doused in ice water. "I don't remember." I whispered, unaware that I was thinking out loud. "I don't remember anything that happened last year."

A/N:Sorry for any typos, this was originally written out on my phone. Like I said, nor the best writer but if you've made it here, thank you for bothering to read it. :)