A/N: Hi, I had another idea. Basically, this is gonna be one big AU novelization of Persona 5, and will contain MAJOR spoilers Good news, though- I'm not sure about pairings yet! Which means at a lot of points, I'll be letting you choose (kind of) who to date! (If there are enough of you, that is.) So there's that.

Note: I'm on mobile at the moment, and fuck I am slow at typing on a touchscreen. And autoscjrrext is a douche sometimes, so warning ahead of time if something doesn't sound right. Try and correct me if possible.

For the record... I don't have a consistent update schedule. And I'm not going to piss people off by trying to make one only to miss one day and give up for good.

Finally, a serious trigger warning- this story is labelled angst for a reason. It shouldn't be too bad, but just in case. Persona is an M 17+ rated game after all. Best to be careful. Who knows?

Summary: She lay at his feet, breathing shallow. She managed to pull her head up for a moment, staring up at him with glassy eyes- and damn her face was worse than it'd ever been before. "Sorry," she whispered, smiling weakly before falling to the ground and going still.

The title is a reference to something. Anyone know it? And, this chapter is also a reference. Spot it if you can!

Enjoy.

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Akira hadn't even seen the guy who had shoved him.

He didn't have the time to try and identify any one particular, suspicious looking person from the bustling crowd surrounding the tracks. But somehow, time slowed just enough as he fell to find his friends in the mass of people.

Ryuji, Futaba, Yusuke and Makoto, having been available for the night, went out to dinner with Akira- no particular reason, just because they could. And since Akira was only visiting for a month, it wasn't exactly a waste of their time or his.

As they walked to the train station together, Futaba had taken Akira's bag to get Morgana, who had gradually gotten used to being pet by the resident tech master. She had been listening to Yusuke talk about something Akira hadn't been paying attention to. Makoto and Ryuji were talking with Akira about one of their classes for the upcoming year, which Makoto had already taken and was supplying excessive descriptions about the immense workload- which, of course, made Ryuji groan.

All in all, a perfectly normal evening.

As the sounds of the train began to get louder, Akira looked up, just in time to turn his back to the people behind him- including the one who decided to suddenly shove their elbow into Akira.

And since Akira had been standing right next to the tracks- why? He didn't remember getting so close- his foot had flown forward, and down into the tracks.

I'm about to die.

And then time slowed. Behind him, his friends were yelling, and he was almost certain Makoto and Ryuji had tried to rush forward to catch him, but had been at the back of the crowd, too far away to do anything.

Is this how it ends?

Instead, he turned around just enough to catch a glimpse of the tops of their heads.

I came all this way, went through everything else and this is how I go out?

Instead, he shut his eyes as his foot hit the ground at a weird angle, making him fall flat on his ass as the tunnel brightened from the headlights of the rapidly approaching train.

... I don't want to die yet.

And for a moment, everything was silent. Akira kept his eyes shut, waiting for what was sure to be a painful impact.

And waited.

Instead, the quiet sound of ambient muttering reached him as something brushed against his shoulder.

Something almost like an arm.

Akira opened his eyes.

Around him were many people, crowding the tiny space of a single train car. Murmuring to each other, talking, laughing. Some stood, some sat.

Almost like nothing had happened- except, a lot of the ones around him were looking at him.

Akira looked down at himself, and noted he was on the floor of the train car, somehow. Blushing lightly, he stood, and noted the miraculously empty seat behind him. He sat, avoiding the eyes of the other passengers as he brushed off his pants.

How... How am I still alive? How did I get inside the train? Why didn't it stop at the station?

Shaking his head, Akira realized that aside from being sore from having fallen weird, there was no pain in his body. Was this what it was like to be dead? He looked out the window, noting that it was suddenly bright out again.

What time is it?

Akira fished for his phone, turned it on, then froze.

No way.

His eyes stared at the time and date, hands beginning to shake.

It's not...

4/9

How?

He could hear the laughter and chatter of a certain pair of girls. "Mental shutdowns? For real?"

2016

Akira stared at his phone, which was telling him he was now almost two years into the past.

After having walked out of the train, Akira checked his phone. All his old texts, his friends' numbers, everything from April 10th on, was gone. When he tried to look on the internet for any recent news, all he got was events from 2016- the train accidents. Mental shutdowns. Petty crimes and the occasional uplifting story. But nothing else. He tried searching for Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, even the Phansite- but nothing appeared except glory stories woven in praise for Madarame and Kamoshida, and forums rumoring about Kaneshiro. And the Phansite didn't exist.

For a moment, he stopped to sigh, shutting his eyes. None of this made any sense...

His phone buzzed, and Akira looked at the screen.

The icon of the Metaverse Navigator stared back at him, right in the middle of his map.

He tapped it, and it grew to fill half the screen.

Don't you remember?

Akira's head flipped up, and watched as the people gradually came to a stop. Everywhere, all around, was silence and people stopped in the middle of a step.

And in the middle of the square, just like before, was the beginnings of a familiar blue flame.

As it took shape, Akira gripped his phone. He recognised the faint form of Arsene, and his own grinning face looking back at him-

And then time unfroze.

Akira looked around, at the sudden motion, and everyone going about their business.

To himself, he wondered if this had happened to any of the other Phantom Thieves before they got their Personas.

Slowly, he made his way to Sojiro's house, even though he was pretty sure it was pointless- and was greeted by a postman Akira was pretty sure he had met on the very same day he'd been sent to start his probation.

"Looks like he's gone out... Oh yeah, Sakura-san's usually at his cafe around this time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley, so I should make my other deliveries first..."

Akira turned and began walking towards the cafe.

Was he really back at the beginning of his probation again? Was this just an elaborate memory, and he was just walking through it? And what if it wasn't? What could possibly teleport him inside of a moving train, without anyone getting scared of him falling in out of nowhere, delete his phone data, block his access to any article from after April 9th onwards, and restored his bag (sans Morgana) to him in less than four seconds? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

The only thing that really made Akira believe that this could be April 2016 was the lack of thoughts in his head- and the fire in the square.

Even after the Metaverse had vanished, Akira could still feel Arsene in his mind. It made sense- after all, the parts of himself didn't disappear just because the Metaverse was gone. But still, even up to the present day, his Personas had always been there, fitting into his thoughts as seamlessly as possible. A presence just behind his eyes, watching and encouraging when needed. Steadying, helping. But they'd never left.

Not until now, when the only presence in Akira's mind was his own.

Not to mention the fire in the middle of town. That had happened on the day he'd arrived, hadn't it? He hadn't understood before, but now it was almost comforting.

Akira sighed, staring at the weathered cafe front, wondering exactly what awaited him within. A strong sense of apprehension nearly made him turn right back around and just walk away, but where could he go? It's not like any of his friends were nearby, and if Futaba had been at the Sakura residence she would have opened the door. Even so, the idea of just jumping back on the trains and going as far as his meager change would take him sounded like a great idea. Traveling all the way north, maybe hopping into a different city and exploring to his heart's content.

He opened the door regardless, met by the familiar jingling of the bell.

The sound drew some of the tension from Akira. It was kind of like a safety bell- he'd gotten through the day, and maybe now things would be calm. Maybe he could lay down for a while, listen to Morgana whine about staying up too late. He'd made it this far, and tomorrow was a new day. It was nice to hear, a bit of normalcy in this confusing moment.

Akira looked around, instantly noticing the Sayuri missing from the wall near the door.

There was an elderly couple sitting in a booth, currently the only patrons present. They were talking quietly, and Sojiro Sakura sat at the bar, concentrating on a crossword in his hands.

"...A public transit bus was driven down an opposing line with its customers still in it," a TV host was saying. "The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up."

"How frightening." The old man muttered.

"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" The old lady, who was probably his wife, murmured right back.

"Vertical is... The name of a shellfish used for farming pearls..." Akira nearly chuckled at Sojiro, who wasn't paying the least bit of attention to his customers. It was a welcome sight, but it wouldn't make Sojiro happy if he laughed. Akira instead shifted his bag, biting his lip and taking a deep breath.

Sojiro looked up. "Oh... Right. They did say that was today."

Just then, the couple stood up. "We'll be going now. Payment's on the table," the old man announced.

"Thanks for coming."

"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here."

"...A what now?"

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here."

Sojiro sighed. "It's none of my concern."

"Haha, we'll see you next time." With that, the pair finally left.

As soon as the bell chimed, Sojiro sighed. "Four hours for just a single cup of joe." He then looked at Akira. "So, you're Akira?"

Even though he already knew, Akira asked quietly, "Is Sakura-san here?"

Sojiro relaxed a little. "...Yeah. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh? Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and- well, not that that matters... Follow me." He walked towards the stairs, Akira trailing behind.

Upon walking up, Akira was met with the dusty attic, exactly as it had been when he'd first arrived. Everything covered in tarps, layers of fluffy filth, a cleaner box of his necessities sitting in the middle of the room.

So am I really in the past...?

"This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."

Eventually, after talking about his probation and Shujin for a while, Sojiro left.

I kind of forgot how on-guard he was when I first arrived... He probably thought I was going to be some beefed-up jock with his head up his ass. Or something like that.

After staring out the dusty window for a minute, and at the room in general, Akira winced, feeling a pang of loneliness. Ryuji wasn't here to talk to, Futaba was still hiding in her room, Yusuke under Madarame's watch, Makoto, Haru and Ann has no clue he existed... All of his friends from home had ditched him the moment they heard he'd gotten arrested- birds of a feather flock together but only for fair weather type crap, he supposed.

He sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall.

It all added up to one thing- he was alone. As fear as he could tell, his friends in the present thought he was dead- hell, maybe he was. Maybe this was what people meant by the whole, 'life flashing before your eyes' thing.

For a moment, Akira pulled out his phone as if to text them, but upon opening the IM app stopped. Not a single number remained in the chat except his own.

If only he could have. Maybe Makoto or Futaba would have some type of explanation for it. Maybe Ryuji would have been confused right alongside Akira. Maybe Ann and Haru would have said something comforting. Maybe Yusuke would have had some type of interpretation of the situation. Maybe Morgana would have sat up to help contribute to the conversation.

God, it hadn't even been three hours and he was already sounding sentimental.

Sighing, he stood up. If this really was the past, then he should really get his room clean- the sooner the better. Besides, the work might take his mind off the crippling loneliness from all your friends suddenly being inaccessible and not even knowing you exist-

Yeah, it was time to clean.

It's late. Seems I've been cleaning for a while...

Akira looked around again, feeling satisfied. Most of the room was cleaner now, which brought a sense of familiarity. The trash bags were gone, most of the layers of dust were banished to the netherworld, and his box of stuff was back on the shelf where it belonged.

Sojiro came up, grumbling. "What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here, but I didn't think you were cleaning..." He looked around, then nodded. "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad. Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy."

He took a moment before continuing. "Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right? I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. And... I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?" Sojiro turned and headed back downstairs.

After changing into something that could serve as pajamas, Akira sat down on his bed, and could almost hear Morgana murmur for him to go to sleep. He laughed humorlessly, laying down and pulling the covers over himself.

As he waited for sleep to take him, he began to recall the events leading up to the present, his Confidants, and-

For a moment, he paused as he recalled someone he hadn't thought of in a while.

What exactly had happened to Goro Akechi?

Futaba had stated that his life signs had vanished, but what did that mean? Could he have just exited the Metaverse? Ryuji had somehow made it out, even when he had been unconscious... And if Akechi had indeed escaped before being killed, where had the famous detective gone? He'd been missing for well over a year... And, if worst came to worst and they had to face him again, was there a way to save him...?

What if he really had just been left to rot in Shido's empty heart?

Shaking his head, Akira shut his eyes- these kinds of thoughts had stayed away after a couple months, but now they were back. And that could prove to be distracting when he met the man, especially if he knew things about the detective not even his coworkers knew of, and judged him off it.

Akira kept his eyes shut, trying to ignore the memories of the events leading up to Shido's palace in favor of sleeping.

Instead, his phone buzzed.

Opening one eye, Akira looked up at the Nav icon that had returned to his phone.

Of course...

In order to try and keep things like before, he had attempted to delete the app. Of course, he thoroughly searched it first- and once more, Kamoshida's palace had returned. And so had all the others.

This time, though, he just sighed and put it down without deleting the Nav.

My eyelids are starting to get heavy...

Eventually Akira's body melted into the bed as he fell asleep.

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A/N: Oh boy, I really hope I can write Akechi soon. I gots many ideas. ;-;

About the whole 2016 thing, that's the most common year I've seen P5 get placed in. So I went with it. Sounded accurate... (Not that it matches with the present, but hey! It's April 2016 again, anything goes. In the past again. I'm sure by the time I finish this story, it'll be 2019...

I'LL UPDATE SOON OKAY? OKAY THANKS SORRY THIS WAS SO SHORT. ORIGINALLY iT WAS EVEN SHORTER BUT THE NEED TO OVERCOMPENSATE WAS TOO STRONG SORRY

Explanation comes in the next chapter! ...whenever that is. Ask me questions if you have any!

For the record, I am terrible at naming things. Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. Seriously.

(Also I wrote down all the events for the days on paper so I didn't have to keep switching windows on my tablet... Eight pages, just for the first day... Damn.)