FG

Fool's Gamble

Life 96

Chapter IV: Someone's Flipped the Chessboard

2022, California

"Akira… why aren't I good enough? Everything I've… everything I've done, I helped kill god… and yet I'm still not good enough for her… What am I supposed to do now?" Ann asked quietly as her red eyes turned back to Akira, his eyes no better as he had finally opened up about how Haru's disappearance had affected him, about how he had to move because he couldn't go back to their apartment without the pain choking him deeply.

"All we can do Ann… We keep moving forward, and we don't look back. A wise friend once told me that no matter how bad things get… they always get better." Akira mumbled out as her hair blinded him, the two of them collapsed together on the hotel bed as soft jazz played from somewhere in the room, neither wanting to move and just letting it play out to remove some of the quiet from within their minds.

"Your wise friend sounds full of shit…"

"Yeah, he often is, but I like to think I wouldn't be here without Tora. He always had the answer to whatever was going on… But I can say this Ann, you are an incredible person, and I pray you believe that." Akira said with a serious tone then as he reached out to her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as she tucked herself into his embrace, the sound of his heartbeat dulling her mind as she began to drift off.

"Why couldn't I have just loved you…? You're perfect..."

"Because we bring out the worst in each other Ann, and while I may look good in drag, I'm not exactly your type." Akira said with a weary smile as Ann actually let out a laugh, her tired eyes shining at him as she began to caress his face, an exhausted aura to her as he just leaned into her touch.

"You're too good of a friend Akira. I'm sorry you ever met me…"

"Ann…"

"Because I don't believe you."

April 11th, 2016

This was the day that had started everything, the first day of the first stage of the Game, the day where everything had begun.

Akira had met Ryuji that day, seen Ann for the first time, and had sadly encountered Kamoshida as well.

The first domino had fallen, something had been bothering him because he knew something was off about Kamoshida, noticed a darkness hiding within that shiny smile…

And now, he lived that day again, yet everything was different.

He had met Ryuji the day before, his friend so very different and yet alike in so many ways, including his tendency to text him at three in the morning…

He was taking the train today, but it was taking far too long to arrive… and he got curious.

The Metanav shined like a siren as he pulled his phone free, the eye staring at him in seemingly hatred as he allowed himself to press the icon, the familiar splash screen stretching out as he took a breath.

"Please enter a destination to begin navigation." The same old voice he wished to hear for years, finally calling out to him as he longed to find at least some answers.

Time to give it a shot…

"Suguru Kamoshida."

"No results found."

Well, that was a kick to the gut, apparently Kamoshida wasn't distorted enough to have a palace, but maybe he had a shadow in Mementos, though Akira had no way of knowing without a Navigator or going there himself.

Which reminded him, he could technically recruit Futaba considering she wasn't a hermit in this reality and lived down the hall, but he wanted to be sure of a few things before he brought back the Phantom Thieves.

"Ichiryusai Madarame."

"No results found."

So, Madarame wasn't distorted either, which meant another palace that they wouldn't have to go through. A quick search on his phone revealed that Madarame was actually dead.

Apparently he had died of a heart attack about fifteen years ago… when Yusuke's mother would have been painting the Sayuri.

According to a news report, Sai Kitagawa had inherited Madarame's estate as his only remaining student, and was raising her son to love art as much as she did.

While a part of him longed to make amends with the Yusuke he had lost, he took no small amount of joy in knowing that the Yusuke of this world would never suffer like his old friend had.

Yusuke would never have his faith in art shaken, nor would he grieve for a mother he couldn't even remember.

"Junya Kaneshiro."

"The destination has been deleted."

Which… opened up yet another mystery. Kaneshiro had had a palace, unlike Kamoshida and Madarame, but someone had already stolen his heart or…

Today's news flashed across his screen, the answer staring him in the face.

"Infamous crime lord Junya Kaneshiro dead in the latest Mental Shutdown"

Akira began looking into the Shutdowns in this reality only to find himself confused.

Kaneshiro wasn't the only corrupt person that had fallen victim to the Black Mask, but it made no sense at all.

Akira knew Kaneshiro had been part of the Conspiracy, had been a close ally of Shido's, and several of the men that had died were backers to Shido's campaign… So why would Shido order Akechi to kill his own allies?

It made no sense at all, but he knew he couldn't leave it at that.

And for good measure.

"Futaba Sakura."

"No results found."

He had figured that bit out himself, sure that without her mother's death hanging over her she wouldn't have fallen victim to her depression, and he had been right.

It really warmed his heart that his little sister would never have to face such an aggressive version of her mother, having to confront her own demons so thoroughly before she was ready.

"Kunikazu Okumura.

"No results found."

Which meant he had also been right about his guess the other day, that Okumura was a better person in this world, and he could only hope that meant Haru was living an idyllic life without her father trying to force her around.

And while he wanted nothing more than to go and find Haru, spill his heart out to her and beg her to give him a chance, he wanted to get his Mask back first.

"Sae Niijima."

"No results found."

Did any of them have palaces in this world? Was he trapped in some paradise world akin to Maruki's, where everyone was a good person?

What had the Outsider changed to make so many awful people perfectly fine people?

And now, the big one, Shid-

"Now boarding the train to Aoyama-Itchome. All aboard for Aoyama-Itchome." The loudspeaker spoke out as Akira felt himself jolted into motion as the crowds pushed at him as he found himself packed into the train in a rush.

And as he stood there, looking out the window as he was packed in like a sardine, he wished Mona was there to whine about them not being able to read on the trip.

He couldn't wait to see Morgana again.

Even if he refused to be called a cat.

Just like in the last timeline, it had begun to rain as he arrived in Aoyama-Itchome, though he had been smart enough to remember to bring an umbrella along, even though the forecasts had called for clear skies.

Now he found himself standing on the side of the road like before, waiting for history to repeat himself as he took notice of the hooded figure to his left.

Ann Takamaki was right there, alive and breathing, though unlike the first time, she didn't pull her hood down.

And she wasn't alone.

It took a second to connect the dots, but Shiho Suzui stood beside her, but not as he had ever seen her.

Rather than bandaged and meek, Shiho stood tall and strong, her gaze warm and her arm thrown around Ann's shoulder as a smile came to Akira's face.

He was glad they had found each other so early in this life, rather than after everything they had gone through.

Just as he was about to say something to them, to try and start up a friendship, a car pulled up in front of them, but not Kamoshida's.

"Hi Daddy." Ann said warmly as the familiar sight of James Takamaki leaned through the car window as Ann and Shiho climbed in, the car taking off just as quickly as it arrived as Akira was left alone in the rain.

And he found himself confused, which was now a common occurrence in this new world.

Ann's parents traveled, but apparently not in this version of reality, as he would know Ann's father anywhere after having apologized to them in person.

Shiho was drastically different, Kamoshida wasn't grooming Ann, and he saw no sign of Ryuji running up and complaining of pervy teachers…

With an odd sense of disappointment, Akira started walking to school.

Alone, and with a wandering thought in his head, one that surprised even him.

He wondered if Arsène was okay, wherever he was.

"Good morning everyone. Today we have a new transfer student from Shishō Academy in Chi-Mura, please welcome Akira Kurusu." Sada- Kawakami, he had to get used to calling her that again, as he realized that she wasn't his favorite barista anymore.

She was the same overworked teacher he had met so long ago, and he felt how very little she cared, despite him having no criminal record this time around, it seems that Kawakami just didn't care about a transfer student.

The class applauded politely which was an odd experience considering his class had always badmouthed him, so it was odd to feel a sense of respect from them.

Though Kagome Parn wasn't clapping, she had always hated him anyway, so that wasn't much of a surprise.

"It's good to meet you all, I hope we all have a great year together." He said with a charming smile that he had learned from Goro, the edges of the grin just slightly raised with the sides of the cheeks raised into dimples to give off that boyish charm while also displaying a calm energy.

Goro had been a severely twisted person, but he knew wonders about body language and had been eager to teach Akira as much as he had wanted to know.

The end of the world as they knew it had been around the corner, his former counselor now lord over all of reality, and yet the two of them sat together in Leblanc, and Goro taught him how to fake a smile.

It had honestly been the closest the two of them had ever been, only for reality to literally come along and ruin everything… and he was supposed to take his seat, but instead he was remembering Crow and making himself depressed all over again.

With a sigh he realized that the seat behind Ann was actually taken by a student that had normally sat on the other side of class, leaving him sitting next to a person that he didn't recognize.

At all.

"Shujin's going to hell." The boy in front of him whispered back to him as Akira looked closer at him, something familiar about the dark haired student before him. "Get out while you can, before I have to write about your death."

Akira couldn't tell if that was a joke or not, but something told him it was, though his new classmate's tone was deader than Yusuke's on a bad day.

"What a lovely bit of advice, thank you."

"It's my job to tell the bad news, what else did you expect Kurusu?" The boy said with a scoff as he turned, and Akira should have probably been surprised that he was breaking dress code, but none of his friends had actually worn proper uniforms aside from Makoto.

"So you know me, but who are you?" Akira asked aloud as he honestly wanted to know, something about this guy bugging him as if he had met him before.

"Only the unluckiest bastard in Tokyo and the Editor of Shujin's newspaper." The boy said as he extended a hand to him, Akira shaking it with curiosity as he felt an energy growing within his heart. "Name's Mishima."

This cold and cynical boy was Yuuki Mishima? This was the man that would become his brother-in-law?

And yet, there was Lavenza's voice in his head.

I am thou… Thou art I…

Thou hast rekindled a lost vow…

It shall birth new hope and create a hold on this reality.

A bond that breaketh Fate's grip on the world.

With the rebirth of the Moon Arcana, you have obtained the strength that shall lead you to the end of this Game…

"But hey, if you like gossip, I got shit on everyone in this hellhole. You know Hino Takano? She's pregnant and it's Minami Kichiro's, but don't tell anyone yet. I wanna do an article on it first."

This Mishima was going to be interesting...

Ann had bruises on her face, the hint of a black eye through her makeup as Akira studied her from across the room at lunch, his body mindlessly consuming the curry Wakaba packed for him as his mind whirred in an attempt to figure out what could have happened.

As well, he had learned that Kamoshida didn't even work here. Apparently he had never chosen to retire from being a professional athlete, and had turned down the offer to teach at Shujin, which meant that the track team was never shut down and it explained why Ryuji's posture was perfect.

So who the hell was beating Ann, and who did he have to kill to fix this?

Though it went against every instinct of his, he found himself living the day without a single sighting of Ryuji, a part of him wondering what he was supposed to be doing if Kamoshida wasn't here?

Who's palace would they awaken within, if not Kamoshida?

As the last bit of the day began to drain away, he debated the merits of just heading to Mementos and trying to coax himself into awakening, but when he did he just felt the empty outline that Arsène had left within him and decided against it.

It didn't feel right, and the Mask he felt inside him was still transparent, it felt… wrong still.

So he began to walk out of the school gates, unaware that he was being watched.

Unknown to Akira, a man stood smiling in the shade, a curious glint in his eyes as he watched Kurusu walk off into the distance.

"And who might you be…?"

"Hey Aki, how was your first day at school?" Futaba asked him with a side glance from her laptop as he walked into the house, a part of him surprised to see her lounging on the couch rather than locked away in her room, though he did enjoy the smile that grew on his lips.

"My day was good kiddo, a bit boring though." Akira said with a huff as he sat beside her, Futaba giving him an annoying glance as he caused her laptop to shake a little.

A part of him was kinda annoyed if he had to be honest, that instead of returning from Kamoshida's palace with Ryuji, he was left clueless of what to do and what he should do.

When did the two become so very different things?

"You look sad. What's the matter, no seats on the train?" Futaba said with far too much insight as he laid back on the couch, his eyes clutched closed tightly as he took another breath.

"I just… I just miss some old friends of mine, and my first day went a lot different than I expected…" Akira said softly as he remembered flashes of his friends, wondering if they would ever be all together as they were, or even if they were still the same people.

Ryuji was already different, and Haru's father was a good man… How far had the changes spread, and was he going to be disappointed if they weren't the friends he loved?

Could he learn to love strangers with his best friends' faces?

He would certainly try.

"Aki, if I wanted to cry, I'd watch Phoenix Rangers Void." Futaba said with a hint of sympathy as he just chucked, as even Phoenix Rangers reminded him of all he had lost.

Black Condor had sacrificed himself in the Void OVA, and it just so happened to be a coincidence that Black Condor had been so very similar to Akechi. Practically identical helmets, dark grey suits with black accents.

Hell, Black Condor had even ranted about justice before he died.

Akira really needed a therapist, but preferably not Maruki, though he had grown close to the man, he wasn't sure if he could trust him.

"Well, this is my daily quota of conversation, good night Akira." Futaba said with a tired smile as she collapsed on the couch beside him, her breathing already even as she fell into a deep sleep, a smile on his face as he watched her.

God, he wished he could sleep like that.

But now he needed to know something.

"Please enter a destination to begin navigation."

He took a breath, hope in his heart as he hoped it wouldn't be what he feared.

"Takuto Maruki."

"Destination has been deleted."

So… Maruki had developed a palace in this world, but someone else had stolen the treasure already? Maruki wasn't dead, that much he knew since the man kept an active Twitter account and updated daily on his research.

Which meant someone else knew how to change a heart, and had already done so…

Not only did he have to find a Black Mask that wasn't following Akechi's MO, but now he had a proto-Phantom Thief running around that he knew nothing about.

And he still had to find a palace to awaken in, and somehow drag Ryuji along for the ride.

"Akira, let me sleep…" Futaba said wearily as she rolled over on the couch, Akira carefully draping a blanket over her as he smiled.

Only for the smile to vanish when his phone buzzed, the Metanav flashing.

"Destination has been deleted."

The search bar read Akira Kurusu.

Did… did he have a palace? How was that even possible? Mona had said people with Personas couldn't have palaces as they can't have more than one shadow, so what happened to him…?

And who changed his heart?

A Visage Darkened:

24 Hours Earlier

The Shadow of Junya Kaneshiro was doing what he always did, bathing himself in waves of golden coins as he basked in the warmth of the metal, the glittering brilliance warming his rotten heart as he found himself at peace.

Oh he had fought hard to get here, his bank having drained so many idiots that he couldn't even keep track, he was that good at his job.

Of course he had to dispose of the broken ATMs, for what use were they except to fill his pool with gold? There wasn't any use.

There was a clicking sound then, one he didn't recognize as his beady eyes opened slowly, the image of a pistol aiming right between his eyes.

"Wah, it's… it's you, isn't it? You're the one that got Koriome!" Kaneshiro stuttered out as he began to crawl away, the black clad figure merely following him slowly, his gun never wavering.

"I am the one who cleanses. You have distorted your heart, and destroyed so many others. Face your fate." The figure said with a dark voice as the pistol's barrel pressed firmly against the Shadow's forehead, the visage of Kaneshiro sweating buckets as he looked up with desperation at the assassin.

"Please, I can get you anything. I got connections, anything you want, I can give you!" Kaneshiro yelled aloud as the Black Mask actually lowered his gun for a moment, his head tilted in confusion as he seemed to consider the offer.

Kaneshiro hoped he could make a deal out of this mess, even if it was just to buy time until he could call his guards.

"Anything that I want?" The Black Mask asked in a curious tone as Kaneshiro nodded furiously, willing to sacrifice even his own soul just to never have this dark bastard in his bank again.

"Anything, it's yours." With a growing smile, Kaneshiro figured he had this done and dry, that the Black Mask was a logical person, of course they could make a deal.

And then he was shot between the eyes, black blood flying as the bullet cleaved through his brain, the Shadow dying instantly as it dissolved into murky sludge.

In death, Kaneshiro served only to dirty his wealth. Truly, this was blood money.

"I want you dead."

And another name was checked off the list.

On An Owl's Wings:

Mikage-cho, 1996

The book, or compendium as Philemon had once called it, was interesting.

I wasn't used to playing his role, but I was picking it up as I went along.

Creating Igor had been an oddly cathartic experience, having someone around that actually understood what I was supposed to do, and had good advice as well.

And with that done I found myself standing outside a high school with the compendium in hand, my latest objective highlighted in red as I scanned the grounds with a sharp eye.

"Find and Awaken the First Card. Bestow the gift."

Going off of what Philemon had said before he left me in charge, and from what Igor had known, I was apparently looking for some kid that would be the first Wild Card, and I was to give him the ability to use a Persona.

Apparently people with strong wills could manifest a Persona, but I could just skip that and awaken them myself rather than wait for them to do it.

Only issue was that I had no idea what kind of person I was looking for, and was just left standing outside as I watched the crowds of students.

Fortunately I had used a Notice-Me-Not and they just flowed around me, not a single person wondering why an odd man was standing outside the school.

I still wasn't used to the mask, the cowl of an owl shining in a brilliant light as I felt a cool embrace slip over me, and I recalled Igor's explanation for it.

"The powers within you may not be your own, but it is child's play to invoke it. There are many ways of reaching out to that power, and many methods, but I do have a suggestion Master."

"I told you not to call me master, Igor."

""And I believe I told you I wanted a new suit Master, but we don't all get what we desire."

"Igor, get on with it."

"I propose a mask. It can contain your energies and allow you to tap into the power Philemon passed onto you."

"I'm not really a mask guy Igor…"

And yet, Igor had created a silver Owl mask and I got stuck wearing it.

Course I could take it off, but things of course got a bit complicated, a usual aspect of the Potter luck that had stuck around long after I stopped being a Potter.

All of my power had gotten funneled into the mask, not just Philemon's power, and now I had to wear it at all times or make myself practically human without it.

"Who are you?"

A boy was standing beside me, his eyes scanning over me as I felt his curious gaze and I actually chuckled a little.

It was rare to find someone that could see through my Charms, but how rare it was.

"Would you believe I'm the Avatar of Death that was guilt tripped into being the living incarnation of the Hope of Humanity?" I said with a sloppy grin that I knew the kid couldn't see, the mask covering all but the light of my eyes as I delighted myself in screwing with children.

"What?"

"Exactly." I said as I held out one of Igor's cards then, a blank figure on it as I twirled it between my fingers as the kid tried not to focus on it.

"Why… Why can't they see you?"

"It's because I'm not human, really quite simple." I said in turn as my eyes turned a glimmering gold, the boy flinching back as I laughed, his earring shaking like crazy as his eyes went wide in shock.

"What… What do you want?"

"That's the question I have for you buddy. Name's Philemon, call me Phil."

Welp, I'm pretty sure I found the Wild Card.

How do I awaken him though?

"So, do you like freeform jazz?"

A.N:

Extended notes and character art now on the AO3 version of this story. That is all.