Sojiro Sakura's house was somewhere around here, wasn't it?

Akira scratched the back of his head as he examined yet another alleyway barely wide enough to walk through let alone drive a car through. This was the right street… probably. At least he wasn't entirely lost at this point. He was still in Yongen-jaya.

Man, living in the city was going to be confusing how on earth was he ever going to find anything. Oh, right smart phones have maps. He should probably put in the address but he doubted that his phone would recognize "go to Sojiro's house in Yongen-jaya".

"Let's see here, Man it doesn't look like Sojiro is home right now." Akira overheard a delivery man with a package complain, near the end of the alley, he had a rather large package, heavy to from the way he was carrying. The box was label fragile as well, probably some kind of computer thing.

"Is this Sojiro's house?" pointed to the modest two story building, even as his eyes read the nameplate of Sakura near the gate. Huh, the door was open too, if Sojiro really wasn't home that could be problematic.

"Yea, and you are?" The delivery man shifted the package around on his knees, muttering under his breath how heavy the damn thing was. "Oh wait, you're the kid he's going to be taking in right? Akira something or other."

"Kurusu, and yea, that's me." He should probably tell Sojiro that his door was open.

"Right, well I'm going to leave this with you then, if you break it Sojiro will have your hide, I got like thirty other deliveries to make before two!" It was two thirty.

Before Akira could so much as get his barrings the delivery man had shoved the package into his arms and sped away in his truck. Leaving him a delinquent standing in an alleyway with an expensive piece of electronics. Only he wasn't a delinquent, at least not on purpose.

"Stupid sense of morals," Akira grumbled as he waddled towards the open door. He caught a motion from the upstairs window. Was someone home? Was it Sojiro? Did someone else live here? Was there a way to get that delivery drive reported?

Using his knee to push open the door Akira came face to face with an ugly old toad statue. And some really dark hallways. Seriously, did anybody even live here? Setting the box down on the floor Akira glanced at the label in the little light that managed to leak in through the door.

"Futaba Sakura, is she Sojiro's wife? Or maybe a sister could be his daughter, weird how nobody mentioned her." Akira mumbled to himself. He pulled out his phone, huh, that weird app was glowing again, he should delete it later, but first the flash light. "If I was a spare key where would I be?"

Akira checked under the frog, the only thing that greeted him there was a ring of dust and a could spiders. "Man, this place is like a tomb, like he hasn't bothered to clean it in months."

One of the many aspects of him that nobody knew about was that he was a neat freak. A compulsive cleaner. "Maybe if I clean up around here he'd thank me and forgive me for trespassing?"

Or he'd find a key. A key would be great.

Placing his phone down Akira walked to the closet intent on showing Sojiro Sakura that he was closer to a maid than a delinquent… though calling him a delinquent maid would also be acceptable.

The moment he entered the closet he fell forward.

The darkness was replaced by a light coming from a furious sun high in the sky. The Cool air of the closet was replaced by air baked in a furnace. Dust turned to sand, lots and lots of sand.

Akira stood up, his entire body was already sweating to try and cool off, his eyes felt like they were boiling. He had gone from the middle of Tokyo to the middle of a hot as fuck desert by walking through his caretakers closet! Said closet was nowhere to be seen, nor was the house, all there was was a giant pyramid surrounded what looked like a small town.

"Futaba! You killed me!" A voice like a lawnmower on a chalkboard pierced through the sky as a giant shadow covered the land. A flying cat the size of an airplane with the head of a woman was currently in the sky.

Akira blinked as the sphinx like creature made another pass. "I don't remember licking the toad, maybe the spider bit me."

XXXX

Sure the fact that he didn't have water in the middle of a desert was probably going to kill him, but what Akira wished he had right now was his phone. He just had to set it down! He was a teenager! What teenager just sets down their phone? He should have just put it in his pocket or keep it in his hand.

If he had his phone he could call for help, or at least find out where the hell he was. And probably take a picture of the annoying Sphinx thing that. Or try and find out exactly what he was on to make him hallucinate, dying of heat stroke.

Though the fact that the sand was actually hot and actually sandy meant he probably was dying from heat stroke.

Who the hell keeps a freaking desert in their closet?

"You killed me! I wish I never had you!" Apparently the same person that kept a giant annoying Sphinx in said desert? Seriously was that Sojiro's pet? It didn't seem very house broken, maybe that's why it was kept in its own giant litter box.

So far as he trekked across the sun scorched land scape he had gathered many things. One, Futaba Sakura apparently the daughter of the giant sphinx thing. Two, His Shuujin Academy jacket was excellent at providing shade. And three, he was going to die.

It wasn't even going to be a fun death, just a pathetic "died of lack of water in the desert." That's like dying from poisonous animal in Australia! Where was the fun and excitement in that? Maybe that was why he was walking towards the pyramid with the giant flying sphinx circling around it.

"Eaten by giant sphinx," just sounded so much cooler for his obituary.

Akira looked down on the ruined city that sprawled out before him. If he wasn't so thirst that drinking is urine was fast becoming a good idea then he might have been able to no doubt appreciate the ancient architecture.

If he had his phone he'd love to take a selfie with it, he could get the angle just right so the sun shined on his glasses, and pool of the "I'm too cool to be here look."

Something caught his eye, it was motion, a girl was being chased but what looked like a group of bandits, with a few mummies mixed in. But more importantly a well of water! Okay, plan of action, save the girl drink the water!

Maybe she knew how to get out of here!

Another hidden aspect of Akira was that he was a natural hero. His mother had several photos of him running around with a red cape and trying to punch bad guys. It was likely going to get him killed one day… probably today actually.

It was fairly easy to run down hill in sand, especially once he started to use his hands, arms, and face. Falling, he was falling.

Fortunately for whatever dignity had survived the desert, Akira managed to land on his feet, just at the base of random wall. And apparently right next to where the bandits and mummies had cornered a short girl dressed like an Egyptian with the most beautiful ginger hair he'd ever seen.

Another fact about Akira was that he had a soft spot for redheads.

"No, please don't hurt me." The girl cowered as the creeps closed in on her. Shadowy tendrils extended from the masks that they all wore like a miasma.

Well, that settled it, time to save the damsel and try not to die, but most importantly look cool doing it. Grabbing a loose brick Akira through it at one of the creeps, missing the one he was aiming for but still hitting one of them.

"Hey!" Akira stood in the middle of the street. He should probably say something cool, but what could he say to something that took a brick to the head and just looked at him like he kicked his dog. Oh hell, it was too late now, just own it and stand there ready to fight.

They swarmed him; the girl completely forgotten. Akira smiled as she took the moment to run away before he drew upon his ones fight worth of experience and got hit right in the face. And then in the stomach, and the face again.

Noble sacrifice was another thing that sounded cooler than dehydration at least.

"Ahh" the damn girl screamed again, Akira's eyes flashed just in time to see two more of the masked creeps carrying her back towards the rest of them. Damn. it was all for nothing.

"This is truly an unjust game…" The light faded so that only a blue butterfly could be seen, floating hopelessly about. Please don't be called Navi. "Your chances of winning are almost none."

As long as they weren't zero it was practically a sure thing!

"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you."

The pain of his beating was pushed aside as his head felt like it was going to explode.

"What's the matter…? Are you simply giving up just like that?" The pain grew with every where behind his eyes like he was growing a second skull. His body was sweating more than before, and his vision became blurry. "Are you just going to sit there and let them win?"

"Death awaits you if you do nothing." He knew that. "Was your previous decision a mistake then?" No, doing the right thing was never a mistake. Not before when he threw his life away, and not now when he was on the brink of death.

"It was not a mistake," Akira growled against the pain, even as another punch landed against his body, odd how he didn't really feel that.

They were going to hurt the girl! He had to do something! Akira struggled against the creeps otherworldly strength, digging his feet in the sand as he managed to push forward slightly.

The voice chuckled. "Very well… I have heeded your resolve."

Pain and understanding ripped through him, thrashing wildly as his body spasmed out of his control. It felt like his skull was about to explode.

"Vow to me." Every single cell of his body was exploding in pain. A thousand times worse than any beating he had received, like every single one of his teeth had been ripped out. "I am thou, thou art I…"

His arm broke free from their grasp as he stumbled forward, gripping his forehead. "Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice. Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"

With a manly scream, he stumbled forward, still standing on his own two feet. Their eyes were on him, and he couldn't care less. The name was becoming clear. The voice it was… it was.

"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to hell itself." The pain in his body stopped, and he regained control over his body.

One of the creeps was about to hit him.

Arsene

The name was power itself. The mere awakening of the name was enough to make these pathetic creeps stumble away from him.

A mask? Why was he wearing a mask? And why did he need to tear it off? It felt like ripping off his thumbnail as he dug underneath it pulling away where the skin and mask met. Blood began to cover his vision.

But there was power in the blood, just as there was power in the name. Akira began to laugh, this, this was amazing, this was who he truly was, who he truly desired to be. Blue flames engulfed him as he ripped the mask off.

"Pillage them! Arsene!"

AN: hey look! Persona 5 fic! (I'm still obsessed with his game) So yeah, I hope you all enjoy it. As this is the first chapter it's a bit short as I set up for the next chapter. (Plus it lets me skip a fight scene in a cool way with a cliff hanger)