**I don't own Persona 5 and that includes all its characters, events, etc. Well, genuinely I do own a copy of the game…a cracked copy. Anyway, I was frustrated with most of the "Persona 5" fanfics on this site. Some were excellent, some were simply mesmerizing but most of them were what-I-Could-Call-In-Two-Words Dog's poop. And after reading the good ones I decided to write one of my own. And I am not a hypocrite nor am I a narcissist. I may end up writing a fanfic that maybe even poor than the one's I described but I would still keep on writing.

Warning – AU This story is going to go with the flow of state of my mind and development of characters according to me and the ending may change drastically compared to the canon ending.

P.S – This story will start from the time when Akira is well aqainted with Ryuji and is yet to meet Ann in her depressed state, and as many of you persona fans know most of the events it will tire me and you to write each and every one in detail, so don't complain when certain parts feel rushed.

On that note, I hope you may enjoy the story. Please read and review.**

"Suzui…" someone called out to her and she turned back to see who it was. A boy of average height with a blue-tinted black hair stood in the hallway. "Mishima-kun…" she said and when she had fully turned to face him, she saw him avert his gaze. He was too ashamed to look her in the eyes because of what he was going to say next "Were you leaving…? Actually was asking for you. He's in the PE faculty office" he muttered out and looking down he thought Sorry Suzui, I wouldn't even dream about hurting you or anybody for that matter but if I didn't he…I don't know what he'll do to me. "Well, I have to go" he muttered softly but the intensity of pain that his words carried weren't hidden from Shiho. One thing in which she excelled the most was her intuition, her abilities to read body language. What was he going to do now? Beat her again like the last time or was he going to grope and squeeze her body, the kind of things that he has been doing recently. She would have never thought of going but she had to for Ann. She knew, she always knew he wanted to have her. She could feel his disgusting gaze towards her most special friend, and she always knew he would do anything to have her. So, taking a brave front she eventually reached for the doorknob to PE faculty office with twitching fingers.

"Lock the door and come over here" Kamoshida ordered with a firm voice and clearly on the verge of snapping at her. She slowly made her way inside closing the door and reading the atmosphere, she knew she had entered the gates of hell. But one thing that she didn't know was unlike recent times, the hell was too keen on enveloping her into its nightmares.

Some say that real Tokyo is seen especially at night. Beneath the entire glimmer, lies a malicious dark hour which is a heaven for those who stay awake at night. Pimp lords, prostitutes, teen girls working their ass off in their depraving jobs in various red light districts, teen girls getting drunk not knowing what kind of drugs went into their liquors, people trying to take a shortcut by solemn alleys - only to get mugged or raped or in most severe cases both. On one such night in Tokyo, a man clad is black is running for his life from somebody. You can expect his chaser to be a hitman, a thug, a serial killer maybe but it was a surprise for few people who looked at their chase, to see that the man was being chased by a teenager – a handsome teenager with jet black hair that reached till his neck and some even covered his eyes. It was a miracle that in spite of this he was running with such vigour. The man after running some more was about to jump down the bridge where they both had gotten till now. He made a leap for it. And the next instant his eyes became wide with fear, and his eyebrows arched back showing a pure look of confusion on his face. The boy had leaped into the air but then pivoted his left hand onto the railing and swung his leg on the man's stomach. The kick gave him jolts of pain, and the man was thrown on the road. Before he could get up the boy had successfully pinned him down and showing his detective badge. Three to four cars stop abruptly on the either side of them, and as the boy gasps for air police sirens are heard incoming from a distance.

"That was quite of a show you gave to onlookers" Fujiyu Akimitsu, the Superintendent General of MPD asks "isn't that right Adrian". The teenager is still gasping for breath and is clearly intending to snap at him, if only I could do so, he thinks.

"He gave me one hell of a chase. He wouldn't stick to less populated areas."

"No excuses. I have clearly told you, if you intend to stay here with me as your guardian, you have to stay in the shadows as much as you can. Now better go to the interrogation room and get him to confess, or you could forget the allowance for the next week."

"Yes, sir" Adrian replied with a stoic expression that wouldn't convey how dead he was feeling inside. If only he had managed to get some source of income, so sort of savings so that he could think to manage on his own. But from the time he has come to Japan, the only time he has ever gone out was during the investigations. And for that too, he was only allowed to go out if he wasn't able to draw any logical conclusion from the reports of Fujiyu's selected few. Fujiyu did kept tabs on him time to time as he was his golden goose, whom he couldn't afford to lose at least now. But he could have wandered anywhere at night and Fujiyu would have never know. That comfort too wasn't in his fate as he had to visit a special place every night. For the first time he was so late in visiting that place. I have to end this quickly, with that resolve he entered the interrogation room.

"Don't mock me" the culprit in questioning Eita shouted "Atleast send some real man to do the interrogation. That cat and mouse game we played was won by you, just because of sheer luck"

"Don't mind my age. First of all, if you think it was luck, then that was that. Secondly, I doubt any of them are man enough to get you to confess" Adrian told him, First trap set – A little boost to ego, acting natural. It will either lead him to be at ease or become dumb enough to be confident. I hope he acts on the latter. I really have to go there…

"Humph…And you think you could"

"I would"

Eita arched his eyebrows.

"Well first of all, the entire alibi that you gave to the police was forged and honestly, you did a shabby work of forging them. You could have at least tried to watch one or two documentary on Ted Bundy. Seriously who keeps recipts and tickets of each and every bus he goes by, and every mall he goes to."

"Boy, I don't know about you but Tokyo is not a city for those who earn less and spends more. I have to keep a check on things my money is being spent on"

"And why that doesn't include the various Places in the Shinjuku district. Several club owners complained about you harassing the girls working in their clubs."

"Tch, well they do deserve that kind of treatment"

"And why is that?"

Eita furrowed his eyebrows "What do you think they are? Whores, sluts. They sleep with anyone for money. Their pussy is all used up all the time, would it be such a pain to give some of us poor chaps a free ride once in a while"

"That's it"

"Huh"

"That's your motive for killing." I don't know how this one will end. Second trap is what I am best at but this is the first time I have went for a serial killer. I don't know how this will go. I have to lure him with my assertion of him being a culprit until he thinks that I have some solid framework to frame him. He has to concede defeat otherwise…I don't want to get to the third trap, its too much of a gamble. Adrian went on

"If what you are speaking is truth, that you do keeps tab on your things where your money goes. That means you are not well-off"

"Certainly"

"And a hard-working man needs some Special Services time to time, isn't it"

"What are you aiming at?"

Adrian slammed his hands on the table which made Eita jerk a bit in fear.

"You raped and killed these girls because they wouldn't give you what you needed for free, the thing you think you deserve. You tried to get them too, with various tricks you potentially could have up your sleeves. The first victim, Yukaari was killed because she worked in a strip club you regularly visited and she wouldn't reciprocate to your advances for free. Second…"

"That's not it" but this didn't kept Adrian from going on.

"You tried to flirt with Minami thinking that as a quiet and shy one working her ass off for her ill sister, you would try to persuade her to have sex with you for a large amount of money you never intended to give. But still, she wouldn't and that's why you raped and killed her."

"And the last victim…"

"Stop it, I am telling you I didn't…"

"You killed Himeko because, you told her same thing you said to Minami, but in this case, she agreed only to find later that she was cheated and threatened you that she would go to police and file a rape complain against you if you didn't gave her the amount. And then she happened to succumb to the same fate as the other two. Now tell me what you have to say."

"Fuck you, I didn't kill them. I never knew them."

"Then how did we find your number in Minami's and Himeko's phone."

"We were friends"

"Eita-san are you even getting what you are trying to do. You just said that you didn't even know them. Whatever you are trying to pull stop it, people like you should stop taking police for fool" Adrian said thinking, huh! Police, if it hadn't been so urgent, I wouldn't have brought that distasteful word on my mouth.

"You thought that watching a few movies will make you a master of How-to-commit-crime-and-not-to-get-caught. We have your surfing history, so don't try to protest against it." Adrian took a quick glance at his watch, Tch! C'mon say it fast, I don't have all day.

"This doesn't prove anything, it's all vague and I can give thousands of reasons for them. I think you should check for the thing you are trying to pull." And then, Eita flinched, every expression that Adrian was had been showing him, anger, surprise and a few fake smiles were overshadowed by a new expressionless face. I have to do it, there's no other choice. And then Adrian took out his smartphone and quickly tapped an app with a red eye as its icon. The atmosphere around Adrian took less than a second to transform into something new, something unusual, something known as

METAVERSE

**That's it for today. I would be writing this fanfic weekly without fail and if I do need to take more time, I would inform beforehand. Thank you for reading this. Please read and review. Positive comments are welcome and negative comments are more than welcome, as they will help me get better. Cliché! But it does work for me that way. At last, I am sorry if it was boring or didn't attract you at all. But one thing I am certain about is the fact that I will work my ass off to make it better. Thank you once again.