The Keeper of Worlds: Thanks!

KingJGamer: Naminé's single and ready to mingle

Guest: Probably because I didn't update it :/

Phori: Thanks!

Cold-heart-Angel23: Yeah the warped cognition of the masses is one of the reasons as to why the people can't *see* the heartless. The setting takes place in P5R but the timeline is currently at P5, I'll add in more P5R elements as the story continues.

MicCheck2121: It does take place at the beginning of September, I thought that would be a good place to start

Tokyo's Most Wanted

As soon as Kairi woke up the next morning, she turned on the news to see if she reached national recognition. Sure enough, videos of her brawling against 'gang members' were being broadcasted all over live television.

["This footage we've shown you has gone viral all over social media and for good reason. A mere high school student went against Japan's most notorious gang with nothing more than a bat and homemade weapons and protected hundreds of citizens last night."]

["Further details of this young woman are unknown but based on her uniform, it's likely that she attends Shujin Academy. I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering just who exactly is this young redheaded woman, what are her motives and where did she come from?"]

"Whoa, you've really hit celebrity status now," Naminé said as she walked out of the bathroom.

Kairi rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I know right? Ughhh, now everytime I do something gross there's gonna be like a billion posts about it."

"You're too carefree for your own good sometimes. Anyways, you should be getting ready, unless you want there to be a billion posts about your bedhead."

"Heh, good point, but you know this is actually kind of exciting, it's nice being the hero for a change!"

"Just try not to forget me when you're famous."

"Don't worry, if I start letting this all go to my head, make sure you talk some sense into me, okay?"

She smiled. "Sure."

Once they left for Shujin Academy, Kairi's public perception shot up tremendously, like night and day. She was getting chatted up on the subways, head turns as they were walking down the street and when they made it to Aoyama-Itchome, there were dozens of news reporters and tabloid journalists clamoring around the school gates.

"And here's where I get fed to the wolves," Kairi said.

The rush of popularity swept Kairi up like a wave, students and journalists alike were now crowding around her, waving their phones around or trying to get an interview from her. While Kairi managed to stay afloat amidst the flood, Naminé was left drowning.

"-Oh my gosh! This is so exciting, I can't believe you actually go to our school, Kairi-san!"

"-I'm so sorry for the way I treated you before! I thought you were just a delinquent girl, but you saved so many people from those gang members last night! You're my hero!"

"-Kairi-san, if you're willing to talk about your heroic acts last night, we have an open slot available for our talk show in the afternoon. Please give us a call if you're interested!"

Due to everyone wanting to talk to Kairi and Kairi alone, Naminé got pushed and shoved out of the way. To them she was no one special, just another foreigner student, so she eventually gave up trying to be by Kairi's side and went up to the doors of the school.

"Naminé! I'll see you after school!" Kairi called out.

She waved goodbye to her. 'Maybe I do worry too much. Kairi would never forget me.'

A nearby student saw this interaction between Naminé and Kairi and decided to stick her nose where it didn't belong. "Huh? How does someone like you know who she is?" She rudely asked.

"Oh uh, w-we're sisters."

"Must suck being stuck in her shadow."

"I-I don't mind, really! She deserves it honestly."

"Yeah, yeah. You're lucky you're pretty or you'd just be another nobody."

"A...nobody..." Of all the words she could've chosen to describe her, of course it had to be that one. She tried not to let it get to her, but she could feel a pit developing in her stomach.

"-Yo! What up Naminé?" Ryuji yelled across the hall.

"Ew gross it's Sakamoto, I'm out of here." The student left in a hurry as Ryuji ran up to Naminé's side.

"Man those girls don't know what they're missing out on. Anyways, how's life been treatin' ya?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Oh yeah? I see Kairi's gettin' a taste of celeb life, can't blame the media going crazy over her."

Seeing how down Naminé was, he decided to change the subject. "W-Well beating up bad guys is the easy stuff amirite? The real challenge is gonna be not falling asleep during Mr. Ushimaru's boring ass lecture."

She giggled. "Tell me about it."

As soon as they walked inside classroom, Ryuji was already met with hostility from Mr. Ushimaru. "Oh, you're actually on time for once Sakamoto, first time for everything I suppose," He grumbled.

"Not like I would've missed much anyways," He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Tch, nothing."

"Anyways, there's been a lot of ruckus going on as of late. Between the Phantom Thieves and this new 'delinquent girl', I can't say I'm optimistic for this country's future. Remember we have these systems in place for a reason, disrupting them just creates a headache for everyone else, furthermore..."

While the teacher droned on and on about boring school stuff, Naminé's head was way up in the clouds, she didn't even bother to take any notes and was just drawing in her sketchbook. The only thing that took her out of it was when the teacher called on Ryuji to ask him a question.

"Sakamoto, you should know this one, what age do you have to be in order to listen in on trial?"

'The hell does he mean I should know this one? I have no idea what he's talking about.' "Uhh...um..."

"Right, disappointing as always." He turned to Naminé next. "Hey, new girl. Why don't you help out Sakamoto here since he clearly wasn't paying attention?"

'How did he go from the Phantom Thieves to this?' "There's no age limit," She said right off the bat.

"That's right. Now that's what I'd like to see more of from all of you, someone who actually listens. Like she said, there's no age restriction to watch trials. They're open to the public, save for juvenile crimes. In other words you can go see one yourselves."

"-Wow I didn't even know that one, she's super smart unlike Sakamoto," One of the students whispered.

"-Yeah I know right? What is she even doing hanging around him?"

'Shiiiiiit.' Ryuji slumped in his seat. 'Crap I think Ann was right, she's miles out of my league.' Once class ended for the 10 minute break period, he was sure she would want nothing to do with him, but she smiled warmly at him like he didn't just out himself as the biggest idiot in the classroom.

"Ryuji," She went up and sat at an empty desk beside him. "Sorry that teacher was giving you such a hard time."

"Uh, yeah that guy's a dick, but I don't get worked up over him. He's just taking his failed marriage out on me."

She laughed at his dumb joke which made him smile.

"So what's up with you? What were you drawing?"

"Oh- nothing really."

"Come on, show me!"

"I...don't show other people my sketchbook that often. If I show you, then you have to promise not to make fun of me!"

"Dude, I suck at drawing! Whatever you got is prolly a hundred times better than anything I could come up with."

"If you say so." She reluctantly showed him an incredibly detailed sketch of their classroom.

"Whoa! That is so freakin' good, you shouldn't be wasting away here, you should be in one of those fancy art schools!"

She started to blush. "Thanks, oh but it's just a hobby so it's not like I'm serious about it or anything."

"Still though, this is amazing. You gotta meet my friend Yusuke, he's an artist too, he goes crazy over stuff like this!"

"—Hey, new girl. Did I just hear that you were an artist?"

Two female students approached Naminé, the student wearing glasses offered her hand to her. "Hello, my name is Satsuki Yukino and I'm the president of Shujin Academy's art club. We've been looking for new members so we'd love to have someone like you join us!"

"I- I'm not much of an artist so I probably wouldn't-"

"Have a little more confidence! I've watched you draw in your little sketchbook these past two days and I have to say I'm impressed! We need someone with talent like yours in our club!"

Ryuji pat Naminé on the back. "C'mon, you should totally go for it!"

"Uh ok, I'll do it!"

"Awesome! Just meet us by the cafeteria after school and we'll show you to where the art club room is, it's kind of out of the way."

"Sure thing!"

"Nice Naminé, I'm happy for ya," Ryuji said. "Hey you, got any more drawings you feel like showing me? I wanna see more of what else you got!"

"I was also working on this sketch the other day-" She began flipping through the pages of her sketchbook only to suddenly slammed it open. "A-Actually never mind! I don't have anything else, sorry!"

"Uh...huh..."

"Yeah, sorry, it's just a bunch of WIPs so you wouldn't want to see it anyways, they're super unfinished!" As she was backing away, she accidentally bumped into the empty desk and dropped her sketchbook.

"Oh, let me ge-"

"NO IT'S FINE!" She immediately picked up her sketchbook then shuffled back to her desk. 'Crapcrapcrapcrap. He almost saw THAT drawing, oh my gosh that almost became a super embarrassing situation.'

The rest of the school day was about mundane as one would expect. The most action anyone got was watching Kairi battle more heartless out in the courtyard during lunch, which was over and done as soon as it started then it was back to the same old routine. After school finally let out, Kairi caught up to Naminé who was heading to the cafeteria.

"Hey Naminé, guess what? Ya girl just landed a part time job at the flower shop and I start today!"

"That's great Kairi, but what about all the TV spots? I'm sure they would've paid you way more."

"I declined them."

"Really, why?"

"I didn't want to turn it into a thing where I help people for the sake of money or fame." She waved it off. "But that's enough about me, it looks like you have some after school plans. Did you join a club or something?"

"I did actually! I'm in the art club now!"

"OOoooh! Seriously?! You always used to be in the 'going back home' club, so I'm glad you're branching out now!"

"You're not wrong about that, but that all changes starting now! Guess since you'll be working, I'll see you in the evening back at the hotel?"

"For sure!"

Kairi's meeting with Naminé offered her a brief moment of normalcy before she had to put the mask back for her new public persona in celebrity life.

"-Hey Kairi-chan! Good luck with the rest of the day!"

"Thanks, don't forget your studies Kao-chan!"

"-Yo Kairi-san! You busy afterschool? Me and some friends wanna see you in action!"

"Sorry, maybe next time!"

While Shujin Academy was a popularity contest through and through, outside school grounds was another beast entirely. The media was still hounding her like fresh blood in an ocean full of hungry sharks. Fortunately, in her short time of being in the spotlight, Kairi perfected the art of deflecting so she could actually walk down a block without getting stopped for a 10 minute long interview.

"-Oh! Kairi-san, there you are, what're you up to next? Off to fight more bad guys?" One of the journalists asked.

"Uh no, I'm just gonna do some other things now."

"What type of things are you doing?"

"You know, the ...important type of things. Yeah, super important hero stuff!"

"Wow, truly an inspiration, well I wouldn't want to get in the way of whatever heroic acts you'll accomplish next!"

As Kairi took off, a young-ish camera-wearing woman with a bob cut stepped out of the paparazzi crowd, she crossed her arms in frustration. 'I don't think I've heard a lamer excuse, she may have these other guys fooled, but I'll get the scoop from her one way or the other.'

A short ride on the subway later and Kairi made it to Shibuya where she was able to more easily blend in due to the sheer number of people walking around. 'Okay, so this place is called Rafflesia and it's in the Underground Mall. The shift doesn't really cut too much into the day so I'll have to do something after work if I'm not too exhausted.'

She made her way to Rafflesia without too much of a hassle, unsurprisingly the store owner was gushing about her, but all she could focus on was Akira, who waved to her as he was arranging the floral display. The moment orientation was over and she got in uniform, she went up to him.

"Hey! I had no idea you worked here too."

"Yeah it's one of the four jobs I work."

"Four jobs? You're one busy guy."

"Heh, not as busy as you. I honestly thought you'd be all over commercials by now."

"It's not really my style. I rather do something more down to-"

"—Oh my gosh it's delinquent girl!"

Kairi turned to see a large crowd forming around Rafflesia.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but post about you on my social media," The owner said. "I know it's your first day but would you mind helping out?"

"Sure!" For the rest of her shift she posed in photos, signed bouquets, and adopted this larger than life personality to fit the expectations people had for 'delinquent girl'. Despite how exhausting it was dealing with the media and constant attention, she did genuinely love being appreciated and making other people smile, that was the part that made everything worth it to her.

Once the shift was over, the owner bowed to Kairi in apology. "I'm sorry again, I didn't think my social media post would blow up like that so thanks for being so considerate today!"

"It's no big deal, I'm happy I got to help!"

"Now that you're working here, Rafflesia will be much more busy now so here's a bonus-"

"Oh no you don't have to-" She handed Kairi a large lump sum of money. 'This is a lot of money, is it okay if I don't turn this down? Well I did work hard for it and it'll help pay for tuition so I'll keep it just this once.' "Wow thanks, I appreciate it!"

"That's a big cut, what're you gonna do with it?" Akira asked.

"Right now I'm super hungry so I was thinking about hitting up a restaurant in Shibuya. Know any good places?"

"Yep, there's this burger place down the street. I'll show you it."

"Let me guess, you work there too?"

"Nah, it's probably why I like their food better."

"Ha ha, yeah, that'll do it."

As they were walking out of the Underground Mall and into the streets of Shibuya, there was yet another panic going because of the heartless. Of course to Kairi, they were nothing more than a few low rank Surveillance Robot heartless.

"Ah, there's shooting going on now?! We have to get out of here, it's not safe!"

Hearing Akira's voice stripped of its usual calmness made Kairi fully understand the severity of the situation, but she'd be damned if a few 'bullets' would make her back down from saving lives. She wound her arm around, then summoned her keyblade. "Take cover Akira, Ill handle these guys!"

"No Kairi, this is something even you can't handle! They're armed, just leave this to the police."

"Armed? Then I just won't get shot."

"Wait- aaaand there she goes."

Just like last night, Kairi fearlessly stood up against what appeared to fully armed gang members and handed their asses to them like they were nothing more than schoolyard bullies. It was impressive just how fast she turned the fight around from a bullet hell raining down on the citizens to yet another performance where Kairi took center stage.

Morgana popped out of Akira's schoolbag, watching the spectacle unfold alongside him. "She's very confident in her abilities and unlike most people, she actually has the skills to back it up. I dunno, I think you can learn a thing or two from her, Akira."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

After Kairi finished her latest bout with the heartless, she managed to slip away using a 'flash bomb' so she could peacefully rejoin Akira.

"I stand corrected. You can pretty much kick anyone's ass."

"Yep and don't forget it."

"Trust me, I won't. So, where'd you even learned how to fight like that?"

'It's not like I can tell him I train under a magical wizard, what sounds the most normal?' "Oh um, back in my home town I used to take a lot of martial arts classes and I did some kendo on the side for fun. Who knew it'd come in handy huh?"

"Really? What made you want to get into martial arts?"

"Honestly...it was because I wanted to protect my friends. When I was younger, I used to get kidn- um bullied a lot and they had to save me all the time because of it. I guess I just got tired of being so helpless and having to rely on them so I started training so I could be the one to save them this time around."

"That's pretty admirable. You ever get to return the favor?"

"...No, not yet." She shook her head to clear her brief moment of self-doubt. "But I will soon!"

"That's good to hear. You could say I want the same thing for myself too," He rubbed the back of his head. "If you don't mind, I was kind of hoping you could give me a few pointers on your martial arts moves, whenever you're free that is."

"Oh?" She punched the air a few times. "You looking to kick somebody's butt?"

"Yep, got a whole list of people's butts I need to kick."

"Ha, then sure I can do that for you! On one condition that is."

"What would that condition be?"

She clasped her hands together. "Please help me with my homework, I have no clue what's going on in class!"

"Heh heh, you really live up to the delinquent girl name."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Akira I seriously don't think you wanna get on her bad side," Morgana hissed.

"Er- nothing, but I can definitely help you out. It's a deal."

"I am thou... Thou art I...

Thou hast acquired a new vow,

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Charity Persona

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

shall lead to freedom and new power..."

...

*Several Months Later*

Sae Niijima sat across Akira with a file of Kairi in her hand. She then threw it on the table for him to see, who was waking in and out of consciousness at that point. "A young woman who many called 'delinquent girl' gained popularity around the same time the Phantom Thieves did. Of course that same popularity soon became her downfall as well."

She continued. "It's not lost on me that she acted as a vigilante, she was even able to take on armed men with ease due to her remarkable skills in martial arts. Breaking and entering into buildings means fighting would be unavoidable, so I imagine someone behind the scenes aiding you in combat would come quite in handy for the Phantom Thieves." She slammed her hand on the table. "I know she was involved, now tell me everything you know about her!"

...

"So are you still up for that burger place you mentioned?" Kairi asked.

"Of course."

They went down the street, passing by a display case of TV's that broadcasted a particular talk show. Usually Kairi wouldn't of thought twice about it, but the particular segment was about her, no surprise there, and Akechi was the guest star host, another no brainer.

["As my views of the Phantom Thieves are already controversial, I'll try not to say too much that'll land me in any hot water. I've actually met Kairi-san in real life, better known as 'delinquent girl' and I have to say, she's quite the pleasant person."]

["I agree. She certainly has that idol-ish quality to her, wouldn't you agree?"]

["Ha ha, yes, she does, but I do find this situation to be more than a little bit strange. No one knows where these criminals have come from or why. Usually law enforcement would've kept tabs on potential criminal activity, but these events where Kairi-san's involved seem to happen spontaneously."]

["It sounds like the law enforcement haven't been keeping up to date with current trends if a high school girl feels the need to step up."]

["That's not exactly the main takeaway here-"]

"-Hey," Akira stood in front of the TV's, blocking her view. "Don't get caught up in what Akechi says, he's full of it most of the time. Come on, we got burgers to eat."

"Yeah...you're right. Let's go."

—

Once the talk show was over, Akechi immediately went to a private in order to call his 'boss'. 'Come on pick up, this is important.'

"What do you want? I told you I'm busy at this time."

"Yes I know, you just haven't been clear about what we should do about this Kairi girl. You know about her, don't you? The delinquent girl."

"What of her?"

"Although it's unlikely she's a part of the Phantom Thieves, don't her methods seem...unusual to say the least?"

"To be frank, she's just a girl who's currently popular for whatever antics she's involved in. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other how the media perceives her. Now, should you find she's directly getting in my way, then I will give you orders on how to deal with her, but otherwise, stop wasting my time with these trivial matters. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." His boss hung up on him, but Akechi was still deeply unsatisfied. "No, there's something off about that girl. I know I shouldn't get involved, but I'm very curious about her. Heh, who knows, I might actually get some enjoyment out of this..."

Kairi (7:30 p.m.): Sorry Naminé, I'm gonna be a little late

Naminé (7:30 p.m.): Aw, why?

Kairi (7:31 p.m.): Akira wanted to do this stupid Big Bang burger challenge. Big mistake, I don't think I ever wanna see another burger again in my life.

Naminé (7:32 p.m.): I...don't even wanna ask

Naminé (7:33 p.m.): By the way, did you catch the talk show segment with Akechi-san?

Kairi (7:34 p.m.): Yeah, UGH, that guy's so obsessed with me!

Naminé (7:34 p.m.): I guess they don't call him 'ace detective' for nothing

Kairi (7:35 p.m.): More like ass detective

Naminé (7:35 p.m.): Kairi!

Kairi (7:36 p.m.): Sorry, but he's acting like I'm apart of a conspiracy or something!

Naminé (7:37 p.m.): He is catching on to the fact that those criminals you fight aren't real people. I'm worried about what'll happen if he finds out their nature.

Kairi (7:38 p.m.): Def. Could mean trouble for us if the wrong people catch wind of the heartless.

Naminé (7:38 p.m.): Right

Naminé (7:40 p.m.): So recap of the current situation: no leads on Sora, we also still don't know why people can't see the heartless or who's behind it and now Akechi-san's suspicious of you.

Naminé (7:40 p.m.): Doesn't help you're constantly in the public eye now either

Kairi (7:41 p.m.): This is getting sad. Ok, tomorrow we're gonna buckle down and research as much as we can about the Phantom Thieves. No excuses!

Naminé (7:41 p.m.): Sounds like a plan!

A/N: Sorry for taking 4 months to update, I wanted to finish P5R first before I wrote anymore and then 80 other things happened. Anyways, I should be regularly updating from now on.

Confidant: Kairi

Arcana: Charity

Charity: Compassion. Empathy. Friendship. Reaching out to strangers.

Charity, reversed: Selfishness. Lack of compassion. Lack of empathy. Elitism.

Rank 1: A redheaded highschool girl who became a celebrity overnight due to her heroic acts. She appears to be a normal girl on the outside, but underneath, she's a fighter who is passionate about helping other people.