Ann awoke with a start, breathing heavily as she frantically checked her surroundings. She was in her room, faintly illuminated by the Tokyo morning sunlight peeking through her window blinds. The chitter chatter of the early morning birds filling the late-summer air.
She had the weirdest dream, last night. The whole thing was a bit fuzzy, but the parts she could remember were oddly vivid. Her, Akira, and… someone else were locked away in some weird circle jail. She could've sworn that, at one point, dream Akira told her she was dreaming. She found it pretty off-putting that the dream called itself a dream. Probably just a coincidence she was reading too much into.
Ann threw off her covers, grunting as she stretched her arms to the heavens; ready to start the day and put this whole dream business behind her.
Pi
Pi
Pi
Pi
Her phone chirped; its cheery tone overpowered by the churning sounds of vibration against her hardwood bedside table. It was a little early for texting; it must be important. The girl swiftly pulled up her SMS app. It was Akira.
Morning Ann. How'd you sleep? :AK
Not quite the emergency message she was expecting… but that weird dream was still really eating at her. She'd probably sound super weird bringing this up out of the blue… But Akira was pretty much the least judgey person she knew. Screw it!
AT: I had this super strange dream last night.
Really? What about? :AK
AT: I was in some kind of jail with you and
someone else.
AT: And there was this weird looking man
who was warning us about something.
AT: But what really freaked me out was that
dream you actually told me I was
dreaming!
AT: Is that normal? Has anything like
that ever happened to you?
No. Sounds pretty crazy to me. :AK
Ann felt her face heat up with embarrassment. She should've just kept it to herself! Just before she could begin to type out her apology… A new message.
Ann, I'm messing with you! :AK
I was there, and so was Futaba.
The blonde just stared at that text. She would be absolutely furious… if she wasn't so, so confused…
Long nosed man with a deep voice? :AK
Twins with eyepatches? Dark blue
Velvet interior? Any-a these
ringing a bell?
AT: Those do sound really familiar…
AT: And yeah, it definitely was Futaba!
Can't remember a lot, right? :AK
Happened to me the first couple of
times, too.
It gets better the more you show up. :AK
But hopefully we can keep your visits :AK
to a minimum.
AT: So it was all real?
Hope so. Either that or you're really :AK
starting to lose your marbles.
Maybe this is all still a dream. :AK
ooOOOoo :AK
AT: Ignoring that
AT: So Futaba's roped into this whole thing
too? Have you touched base with her
already?
Mm-hm. Tried to at least. :AK
Haven't gotten a response
back yet.
My guess is that she went back to :AK
sleep.
AT: Ug! The perks of a schoolless life!
Oh, hey Ryuji! My bad. I coulda :AK
sworn this was Ann's #.
She was ashamed to admit that that got a laugh out of her.
AT: So, what? You're NOT jealous of the
girl who gets to sleep in all the time?
I get up at 6 everyday, Ann… :AK
AT: For real?
Yes. :AK
AT: Even on breaks and weekends?
Yep. :AK
AT: You're insane.
I'm a busy man. :AK
AT: All the more reason to pull a late
night or 2.
Morgana doesn't let me stay up late. :AK
AT: Your cat decides your bedtime?
It used to be annoying, but if I'm :AK
honest, it's done wonders for my
daily energy level!
Also, he's not mine and he's not a cat. :AK
Your Ryuji's showing again.
I digress :AK
You wanna have a chat about this :AK
later today? If you're still confused
about the velvet room, I can offer
what little insight I have.
AT: That'd be great! Thanks!
Lunchtime, Shujin rooftop sound :AK
good to you? Morgana's usually
fallen asleep in my desk by that
point.
AT: So we're keeping this a secret?
I'd say so. Explaining this whole :AK
"world between worlds" thing to the
rest of the team would be more
trouble than it's worth.
Best not to complicate things, right? :AK
AT: I guess.
I'll see you there, then! :AK
~ ~ ~ LUNCHTIME ~ ~ ~
"So that's where the meta-nav came from?"
"Props to you for paying attention and all, Ann. But I said that a good 10 minutes ago."
"And I always wondered how you kept summoning personas we've never seen before. So that room fuses personas to make new ones?"
"Again, that was all towards the beginning, I don't know why you've decided to save up all your comments for now."
"Because first I was listening to you talk and now I'm thinking back on it! What's wrong with that?!" Ann barked.
Akira put up his hands defensively. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong with that! I was just curious, is all. You don't do that sort of thing normally."
Ann let her body fall back down to the metal backrest. "Well, this topic isn't very 'normal' is it?"
"Is it that much weirder than the metaverse?"
"I dunno, it just feels… different than learning about the metaverse. I can't put my finger on it, but something inside me sensed the, I dunno, the weight of the information being told to me. So I felt like a needed to pay extra close attention."
"Weird. I get that same kind of feeling whenever Igor talks to me about my 'coming ruin.'" He said, putting on his best Igor for those final words.
Akira had told her everything that he could about the Velvet Room, its purpose, its abilities, its occupants, and his time there; while also filling in the memory gaps from her own visit, the night prior. Or, at least… most of it…
Akira took a deep breath, thoughtfully looking around the school roof. "The OG thief hideout. Just being here really brings back memories, huh."
Ann looked over to the boy whose gaze was now lost in the distance. "Y-Yeah." She said. "It… really does." The girl sank in her seat, a bit. Not very good memories, though. As her mind reflected back to the Kamoshida incident, all the pain came flooding back with it. The loneliness she felt as the foreign student outcast. The hurtful rumors about her and Kamoshida. The helplessness she felt toward Kamoshida's continued pressuring to sleep with him. The disgust in herself for not doing something when she saw the signs. The overwhelming hate in her heart for that despicable man; a drive for vengeance that nearly consumed her, for what he did to…
The girl's tightening fists loosened as she was pulled out of her head by her friend's voice. "Feels so long ago, doesn't it?... Hard to believe it's only been a few months."
Ann smiled. There was something about that man… like he always knew exactly what to say without even knowing it! Those few choice words completely slapped Ann out of her emotional tailspin. The past was the past, and despite the impossible odds stacked against them, everything worked out! Kamoshida confessed everything, the volleyball team was freed from his abuse, she made some life-long friendships, the Phantom Thieves banded together to help the powerless, and even Shiho's supposed to get out of the hospital soon!—Ann looked over to the frizzy haired boy gazing at the horizon; probably just as lost in his own thoughts as she was.—And it's all thanks to him: the quiet new kid with a criminal record that hung around the troublemaking Sakamoto.
He may have stayed that way, in her eyes: that awkward, unassuming character, if he'd never come across her in the subway station. Had Akira not chased her down that day—after the call from Kamoshida—that moment when all she wanted was to be left alone; had that nosey, fugitive new kid not put her wellbeing over all else that day… she may have never truly found herself, or a place where she belonged. He didn't have to help her that day, he had nothing to gain from it. She even told him to buzz-off. But, for some reason, he deemed her worthy of his time. He knew she needed help before she knew she needed help.
Who knows what would've happened if the Phantom Thieves didn't take on Kamoshida. What would she have done without Shiho by her side? Without the closure of defeating Kamoshida? How could she face life with that weight of guilt on her shoulders? The alternatives scared her. A life without Akira… was a life of misery…
Her train of thought was violently derailed when Akira noticed her staring at him. He gave the blonde a quizzical look. "Is… something wrong?"
"Ummm no. No. Nothing in particular. Heh heh heh." The blushing girl said, nervously playing with her hair. "Just lost in my own head there, for a minute."
The boy chuckled. "I hear that." Akira paused, clearly mulling something over. "Hey, you wanna hang out, tomorrow? If you're not busy that is."
Ann felt her heart flutter in her chest. She couldn't think of a better way to spend her Sunday! "Um, s-sure! I'm totally free. Did you have anything specific in mind, or…?"
Akira stroked his chin. "Hmmmm… I dunno. Tell you what, why don't you decide?"
"Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure. Surprise me! I may have been living here for a while, but I guarantee you still know the area better than I do! So how 'bout it?"
Ann smiled, giving the boy a confident nod. "Leave it to me!"
"I only have one condition." He said, whipping out a single index finger. "We both get up early!"
"Ugh! Why?" She moaned.
"So we have more time together, of course." He said with a big, heart-melting smile. "Also I'll need to get up extra early to sneak out of the house before Mona wakes up…"
This time, the blonde delivered the quizzical look.
"Listen, I love the little furball, but he's too much, sometimes. He does his best to give me my space when I'm hanging out with you guys, but I still hate having to tell the little guy he can't tag along. Plus, I'm not sure how he'll take it; us spending so much time together, and all… I don't know if you knew this, but…" Akira looked to his left and to his right, before leaning in towards her. "He's kinda got a crush on you." He loudly whispered.
Ann rolled her eyes. "Thanks Akira, I get it…" Smartass…
Bing
Bong
Ding
Dong
The two heard the school bell, indicating the end of lunchtime.
"Shoot! Already?" Ann said, checking the time on her phone.
"I'm glad we had this talk! I'm feeling much better about our rehabilitation." The boy said, getting to his feet. "Let me know, sometime tonight, where you want to meet-up tomorrow. Okay?"
"I barely even touched my lunch!" She whined, still hung-up on what time it was.
Akira shrugged. "I've seen you eat. I'm sure you can get something in your system before class starts up again."
"Yeah, you're probabl- H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
~ ~ ~ AFTERNOON ~ ~ ~
Bzzt
Bzzt
Bzzt
Bzzt
Akira felt the phone vibrate in his pocket. Luckily, the teacher was in the middle of a particularly long stretch of the textbook reading. The boy slipped the phone out from his checkered school pants; holding it stealthily under his desk. It was Futaba. She finally responded to the text he shot her this morning.
AK: Hey, how'd you sleep?
Same as you… :FS
In a prison cell with Ann :P :FS
AK: Wait. You remember?
I remember most of my dreams: FS
It's the only thing that's come out of :FS
my lucid dream training
Still can't control them, but I'm :FS
thiiiiiis close to lvling up.
I can feel it!
AK: Fair enough.
AK: But how did you know it was real?
Easy! My eyes :FS
AK: ?
In my dreams, my eyesight's always :FS
perfectly fine. So when I woke up in
that place with my lame starting
equipment, I knew something was up.
AK: Very sharp!
Mwehehe! Maxed-out perception! :FS
Expect nothing less from your expert
navigator!
Also you said it was a dream world… :FS
So it wasn't that hard :FS
2+2=4 :FS
But feel free to praise me anyway! :FS
I'm guessing you've discussed all :FS
this with Ann, already.
AK: CRITICAL HIT!
The girl practically swooned at the nerdiness of that response.
AK: So, I take it you'll be wanting an
explanation too?
Eh… not really :FS
I pretty much gathered all the info :FS
I need from last night
AK: So you know what we got
to do, then?
Spend a whooooooole lot of :FS
time together! :D
I'm stocking up on all the best :FS
co-op titles as we speak.
So get ready to farm some EXP!
AK: I look forward to it! I've got plans
for tomorrow, but how's Monday
sound for you?
Perfect! I gotta get some of these :FS
puppies physically shipped over
here, so they should be here
by then.
AK: I didn't expect you, of all people,
to be buying their games, Futaba.
The nerve! You think I :FS
would pirate?!
I'm not a criminal, Akira! :FS
AK: Futaba…
AK: You're a hacker…
For justice, Akira! For justice! :FS
Meanwhile, the girl seated in front of him was also utterly zoned out from the lesson. She wracked her brain for good ideas. Things that Akira would like. Somewhere nice, but fun at the same time. Somewhere she could get laid-No! Damn it! Akira was relying on her for a fun day out, tomorrow, but all her stupid perv brain could think up were ways to get the evening to end with Akira inside her!
Ann's eyes lit-up as her mind happened upon a stroke of genius! Sure, it'd be super weird and sudden for Ann Takamaki and Akira Kurusu to have sex tomorrow. But what if… they weren't them when it happened? Yeah… Yeah! She could totally make this work! But it's going to take some serious planning, and maybe even some rehearsal.
Ann smiled to herself.
Just you wait…
Joker…
I say "Expo!" You say "Sition!"
Expo!
[Sition!]
Expo!
[Sition!]
Immersion breaking author's notes!
I've taken some liberties with Akira, as the actual Akira is a six-foot plank of wood painted anime, and planks of wood do not transfer well into third-person, character focused, back-'n-forth style narratives. There are quite a few snarky dialogue choices Akira has in-game, which I fucking love, so I've upped his snark value considerably, and now we're left with this fucking goofball.
I hope I'm doing the rest of the cast justice in terms of characterization, though. Since only one person is in charge of both sides of the conversation, it can be easy to make an exchange between two people sound like they're the same person. I have a particular way of speaking, so I hope that doesn't bleed too noticeably into the characters.
I'm sorry if there are inconsistencies. Persona 5 is so fucking jam-packed with content, it's really hard to juggle it all convincingly within the confines of a smutfic. I do my best!
I'm SO fucking glad this site has banned fun with creative formatting! It's not like I spent a lot of time spacing out the text message segments to look like a text conversation or anything! No, its fine! if they allowed extra spaces, that's a slippery slope to the destruction of the site as a whole!