Name: Akari Kurusu
Height: 160 centimeters /5' 3"
Sex: Female
Prisoner ID: P508954TS
My mind floated freely as I drifted in and out of various levels of consciousness. Sometimes, I could feel a gripping sensation around my wrists or the steadfast presence of something against my back. Other times, I was a cloud of nothing, floating around on nothingness.
Splash!
My mind instantly returned itself back into my body as icy pricks of cold water assaulted all over my face. I'd been floating just a few moments ago, but now I was an anchor at the bottom of the sea. The dulled sensations I felt earlier struck me now in full force. The gripping around my wrist was handcuffs, maliciously fastened as tight as they would go around my slender wrists, and then some. The steadfast presence propping my back up turned out to be a cold, uncomfortable metal chair. My body began to throb and ache all over.
I slowly began to open my eyes, to confront the horrific reality that my unconsciousness had granted me a respite from. At first, all I could make out was a red light sinisterly staring right back at me. But, as my eyes adjusted to the dim lightning, the grim face of a man came into focus.
"No dozing off," he said, smirking at the sorry state I was in. I pulled at my handcuffs, wanting nothing more than to slap that stupid smile off his face. He seemed amused by my futile attempts. "You still don't get it, do you?" Then, all pretense of pleasantry disappeared as pure malice spread across his face.
"Give it up!"
A sharp pain tore through my abdomen as he planted his shoe there, kicking me so hard he knocked me and the chair to the ground. A surprised gasp exited me as I hit the floor on my side, hard. I only had time to tilt my head up before the shoe came down on me again, this time against my cheek.
"Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?"
I kept my mouth closed, knowing that anything I said, be it a defense of my innocence, a plea for mercy, or an admission of guilt, would do nothing to improve my situation. I could only endure the pain for now.
Not wanting to grant even eye contact to the interrogator, I focused my eyes on the red light that had stared back at me. It was...a camera?
His gaze followed mine and he turned around to see what I was looking at. "Huh? What about the camera?" He turned back to me and crouched down. Pulling me by my hair to look at him, he asked, "Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?"
I stared into his dark eyes, looking for any sign of compassion or humanity. I searched for so long that I didn't answer, clearly displeasing him. Slamming my head into the ground, he snarled. "Didn't you hear my question? Answer!" Then, another jab to my ribs as he knocked the wind out of me with a powerful kick. I coughed and sputtered, desperately trying not to choke.
He walked away, taking a clipboard from another interrogator. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons..." He turned to look at me, a look of slight surprise crossing his face. "Manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works. And to think that all those crimes were led by a punk like you...You seemed to be enjoying every second of it...Huh?"
'I was enjoying it?' My mind sluggishly moved to consider his question. But I wasn't lucid enough to know what he was talking about.
He flicked his head and the other interrogator walked over to me and undid my cuffs, throwing me to the ground when he was done. I sat up and looked down at my wrists. Where the cuffs had shackled them together, there were now dark purple rings.
"Sign here."
I looked up to see a clipboard thrust into my face. "It's a confession under your name." I scanned it.
"I, _, have been charged with obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons, and manslaughter. In signing this confession, I waive arraignment in open court and the aid of an attorney. I plead GUILTY to the offense as charged and request a fine or penalty be fixed by the court.
Signed: _"
I looked back up at him. Was it worth resisting?...'No. People that would use such harsh methods wouldn't stop at forcing a signature.'
"I understand," I rasped, throat and chest sore. I took the clipboard as he took out a pen from his suit. As I reached out to grab the pen, he moved it back, instead bringing his face right in front of mine. "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece," he hissed. "We are going to make you understand...One must take full responsibility for their actions." He gave me the pen.
I signed it.
He took the clipboard back and walked to a metal table in the center of the room. "There's a prosecutor that'll come by to talk to you. Get over here and sit down."
'Prosecutor...' For some reason, that seemed significant.
The door opened and the distinct clacks of heels on hard concrete sounded closer and closer. Finally, the noises gave way to a pretty woman who sat down across from me. I looked up to see her staring at me, arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were sharp with suspicion and intelligence, but simultaneously bright with guarded curiosity.
"...I didn't expect it'd be you," she started out, voice soft. Her tone quickly took a harsher edge. "You'll be answering my questions this time."
Her gaze found an empty syringe... "Those bastards..." she hissed. They'd injected me with that syringe. While I was waiting for her to show up, I began to recall the events of this night. I remembered running through the casino, fighting Shadows. I remembered my arrest, and how they'd beat and drugged me. Just thinking about what they might've done when I was unconscious...I shivered slightly, realizing how dire my situation was.
She must've noticed. "Hey, can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot." These sympathetic words were not backed with a sympathetic tone. "Almost anything can happen here...and I can't stop them. That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either. What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution because I couldn't figure the method behind it."
"Of course you couldn't," I said, hoping my voice was clear and steady. Given the circumstances, it was pretty good.
She let out an amused grunt, although nothing else about her suggested she found any humour in that. "True. There's no way I could be convinced of such a... "world" just by reading the reports. It seems you're coherent, at least," she changed the topic and began the interrogation. "Where and when did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal someone's heart? Now, tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning."
Somewhere in that monologue, my head had begun to ache. I clutched it with my right hand, summoning all my willpower to push through the pain and remember. I didn't know why, but somehow, I knew it was crucial to tell the prosecutor the truth.
As I sat there, trying to recollect my thoughts, time froze for a moment. The prosecutor (Sae Niijima, I remembered her name now...although I had no idea from where) stopped blinking, breathing, moving.
A blue butterfly fluttered its wings as it flew in front of me, leaving a trail of cool dust behind. I closed my eyes in bliss as the dust soothed my wounds, even if temporarily.
"...You are held captive."
A mysterious voice emanated from the direction of the butterfly. It was definitely a feminine voice, and sounded quite familiar.
"A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game...Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."
The voice took on a pleading note as she went on.
"I beg you. Please overcome this game...and save this world...The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds - the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day...when the game was started half a year ago...For the sake of your world's future, as well as that of your own, you must remember..."
Half a year ago...
In the Persona 5 fanfiction sphere, novelizations are not uncommon. A fic using a female protagonist are not uncommon. However, there aren't many female protagonist novelizations around, and it was something I became personally interested in after seeing how Persona 3 had a two gender plot. Also, it helps that I'm female myself.
Please let me know if there's anything I could work on, such as pacing, word choice, tone, etc. Persona 5 starts very slow. Should I mirror that, or should I skip past that? What are your thoughts?
