CHAPTER 6:

SOJIRO, AKIRA, AND MORGANA

The café was small and homely. Harry couldn't say he was an expert on Japanese culture, but it looked closer to something he would've found in London than in Tokyo, he was sure. He just hoped that the owner wouldn't cause trouble.

As they entered, the café thankfully free of customers, he heard a by-now familiar voice intone, "Irashai…Futaba?!"

"Hey, Sojiro," Futaba said with a tired smile. "Can you speak in English, for Harry's sake? And I need coffee and curry."

The familiar form of Sojiro bustled over, though instead of Egyptian clothes, he was wearing a light pink shirt, beige trousers, and an apron. "But…you're out of the house! And with a boy I've never seen before!" he said, shooting glares Harry's way.

"Sojiro, it's a long story, I'm running on fumes, and I medically need that coffee. Could you brew up some tea for Harry too? I don't think he likes coffee."

"Not until I get an explanation!"

"You'll get one," Harry said. "It's a very long and fairly unbelievable story. Futaba?"

Futaba, who was slumping into a booth, pulled out the letter from her Shadow Self-turned-Persona, and handed it to Sojiro. "Read this, please. I promise you, I'll explain the rest once I'm less under-caffeinated."

After a moment, Sojiro took the letter, and began reading it, even as he bustled around. Eventually, he brought their beverages. "It's going to be a wait on the curry, Futaba. Do you want to have some made for him?"

"Sure. He's been through a lot. Did you read the letter?"

Sojiro nodded, returning to the counter. He looked perturbed. "You said Wakaba's research was right on the money, and that this boy had been stranded far away from home. Oh, and he apparently has magic, of all things."

Harry rolled his eyes. He hoped he wouldn't get in trouble with the local Ministry, assuming they existed, before taking out his wand, and using a Levitation Charm on a sugar bowl, bringing it over to the table. Sojiro's eyes were bulging right out of their sockets. "Yeah, I have magic," Harry said.

Futaba chuckled, while Sojiro, after a moment, returned to work at the counter. "…I need a drink. Okay, I want to hear the full story…"

"You know how unbelievable that story is?" Sojiro asked as Harry and Futaba finished their curries. "I'm only willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because firstly, you levitated a sugar bowl in front of me, and secondly, I knew a little about Wakaba's work, enough to maybe follow it. But even so, a wizard from a parallel timeline, magically curing my daughter?"

"He didn't magically cure all of my neuroses, Sojiro," Futaba said. "It's not a Remedy from Final Fantasy, curing all status effects. All he did was remove my suicidal tendencies and my guilt at causing Mom's death. Besides, here. See this app?" She punched up the history on the sinister app. "There, my name and stuff. It seems to be voice-activated too. Umm…Youji Isshiki?"

"Destination not found. Target does not yet have a Palace. However, Target 'Youji Isshiki' has a Shadow in Mementos," the app intoned.

"Okay, what the hell is a Mementos, and why the hell hasn't that tub of lard got a Palace?!" Futaba snapped.

"Help Service: Mementos. The source of all Palaces, born from the collective unconsciousness," the app intoned. "Would you like to travel to Mementos?"

"No! Not now!" Futaba snapped, shutting down the app, before rubbing her forehead. "I'm still a mess, Sojiro. I only made it to Leblanc because I was too tired to pay much attention to the crowds."

"Still, it was very brave of you, Futaba. I…I'm sorry I couldn't help you, but…"

"You tried, Sojiro, far more than my so-called blood relatives did," Futaba sneered, albeit at the thought of her family rather than Sojiro. "I just…I was in a really bad way. What those bastards did, reading out a fake suicide note…they hit me with the status effect right when I was at my most vulnerable to it. And I couldn't accept your kindness…just take advantage of it while I spiralled downward. But I'm better than I was. Hopefully, that means you'll see me more often."

"…Then I'm glad," Sojiro said, reaching down and hugging his surrogate daughter, albeit a little awkwardly, given the booth she was sitting in. "I think we'll have to have a heart-to-heart talk later. But for now…" His eyes sharpened, and his gaze went over to Harry. "What is your relationship with my daughter?"

"…I'd like to say we're friends, but we literally met only an hour or so ago," Harry said. "I'd known her Shadow for longer, about two weeks I think, and she was pretty much Futaba, but…even then, we were only on the level of friendly acquaintances."

"Eh, that just means we'll have to work on relationship values," Futaba said.

"I'm glad you said that rather frankly, kid," Sojiro said. "Futaba is as dear to me as if she was my own flesh and blood. To see her in the company of a strange boy, and a foreign one at that, is concerning to say the least. And I'm already dealing with a troublesome teenager."

"You mean Kurusu?" Futaba asked.

As Sojiro nodded, Harry turned to Futaba. "Who?"

"Akira Kurusu. Sojiro's agreed to act as his probation officer. Apparently, he went to save some woman from being raped by some drunk asshole, but the drunk fell and hurt himself…and managed to sue for assault. Now he's on probation."

"Should've been given a medal," Harry muttered.

"It's what he got for sticking his nose in other people's business," Sojiro said.

"Even though if he didn't, a woman could've been raped?" Harry asked coldly.

Sojiro opened his mouth, seemingly set on disputing the issue, before he subsided. "That's enough about that matter. The woman turned on him on the drunk's say-so, despite Kurusu playing the knight in shining armour, so it was a moot point. What matters now is that Kurusu has to keep out of trouble for a year. He's already dancing on the line by being late on his first day of school, and I don't think he had the excuse of the supernatural being involved…"

At Yongen-Jaya station, a teenaged boy with a messy mop of dark hair sneezed. "What's the matter, Akira?" asked a high-pitched, boyish voice from within his bag. "You can't be allergic to me, so what's wrong? Was it something from those attacks Kamoshida used?"

"Nothing, Morgana. I think I'm just allergic to someone talking smack about me behind my back…"

"The real matter is how to deal with you. You're a foreign kid with no passport or anything, I'm sure, stranded in Tokyo, and if your story is true, you're a whole timeline away from home. You think that this Sirius Black guy might be somewhere else in Tokyo, assuming he hasn't ended up in one of these Palace things. I have contacts from my former work that could help with the identity papers, and I'll try to find Black. Of course, how you'll get back home, if you are from another timeline or the past, I've no idea."

Harry was still angry with how Sojiro dismissed the issue about Akira Kurusu, but he had to admit, he was trying to be helpful at least. "What about accommodations?"

"…I've got Kurusu sleeping in the attic," Sojiro said. "There's a couch up there you can sleep on for now, until we can make other arrangements. Don't take this the wrong way, but I feel uneasy about having a strange boy sleep in the same house as my daughter. Even if you did help her, I can't help but be cautious. And if you steal anything, I'll kick you out."

"Fine," Harry bit out, irritated.

Sojiro, after a moment, sighed. "Look, kid. Try and see it from my viewpoint. Even with what I have heard of Wakaba's research into Cognitive Psience, it still sounds pretty unbelievable, not to mention suspicious. For what it's worth…if you really did help Futaba…then thanks. I owe you."

"…Look, one of my oldest friends back home told me, rather exasperatedly, that I have a saving people thing," Harry said, wincing at the thought of Hermione, possibly dead from Dolohov's curse. "She was right. Actually, Hermione was quite a bit like Futaba. I reckon they would've gotten along well. But my point is…if someone needs help, I'll try to. I just happened to end up in Futaba's Palace and help her."

"Like Shirou Emiya, only a little less suicidal, and with no Reality Marble," Futaba said. "Seriously, your Persona and stuff were cool, but it'd be really cool if you could use Unlimited Blade Works. But…thanks, Harry."

The door opened, and they heard a voice say, "Konban…huh?"

Harry looked up to see a teenager about his age. The boy standing there looked similar to Harry: same lanky frame, messy mop of dark hair, the glasses…true, he was Japanese, his features were a bit more feminine, and his eyes were a dark grey, but he seemed not unlike Harry in appearance. He was looking at Harry and Futaba in confusion.

"Yare yare…" Sojiro muttered in Japanese, before saying, in English, "Kurusu, your timing is impeccable as always." His tone was heavy with sarcasm. "We've just had an incident, and this boy will be sleeping in the attic with you from now on. His name is Harry Potter, and he's from Britain. As for the girl…I…she's my daughter, Futaba Sakura. Don't get any ideas."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Boss. I'm sure there's a long story behind it, anyway."

Futaba shrunk away slightly, but Harry stood, and offered his hand. "Harry Potter. Sojiro told me a bit about you. Honestly, I'm sorry you got a raw deal for having the balls to stop a rape."

After a moment, Akira smiled. "Thanks. You're one of the few people who cares." He then turned to Futaba, and held out his hand. "And you're Boss' daughter, huh? Nice to meet you at last."

Futaba stammered slightly, before taking it. "L-L-Likewise. Sorry, I'm…I'm a hikikomori normally. Charisma is my dump stat."

Akira chuckled. "I know the feeling. I'm guessing you had an eventful day, huh? Had one myself earlier."

"What do you mean by that?" Sojiro asked suspiciously.

"One of the teachers suddenly announced he had put himself on suspension today. The PE teacher," Akira said, before scowling. "I heard quite a few rumours about him before, and I think he was connected to the suicide attempt I told you about."

Sojiro's eyes widened. "What? That poor girl who jumped from the roof? He might have been involved in what drove her to do that?"

"Yeah. Listen, I'm going to put my bag away, and feed Morgana."

"What, that cat you took in? Go ahead…"

The attic of Leblanc was about the size of a bedroom, with shelves filled with coffee and boxes and the like, with a TV on a table, a workbench, a couch, and a bed. It wasn't great, but compared to the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys, it was luxurious. Harry and Futaba followed Akira up the stairs, Futaba staying close to Harry as they did so. Sojiro was watching the store after Harry and Futaba put their cups and plates in the sink, though he told Futaba to call for him if anything untoward happened.

Akira put down his bag on a shelf and opened it, and a furry form leapt out, stretching. "Oh, it's so great to be free!" it exclaimed in a high-pitched, vaguely boyish tone. "I've got such a crick in the neck from being in that bag, Akira."

Harry and Futaba stared, exchanged looks, and then stared some more. "…Did the kitty just talk?" Futaba asked.

"…Umm, meow meow meow?" The source of these rather unconvincing cat noises was…well, what looked like a cat. A tuxedo cat, mostly black, but with white paws and muzzle, its eyes a startling sky blue. It had a yellow collar. It was now staring at them with a wonderful 'deer in the headlights' look.

Akira, meanwhile, was looking at them. "…Wait, you can hear him too?"

"What do you mean, we can hear him too?" Harry asked. "It's a bit hard not to notice a talking cat!"

After a moment, Futaba stilled, and then touched Harry's arm. "…Harry, you're hearing him speak in English, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"…I'm hearing him speak in Japanese." Her eyes flicked over to the cat.

After an awkward silence, Akira pinched the bridge of his nose. "How is that possible, Morgana?"

"Hey, I dunno, Akira! It's normally only people who've been to…those places who can do so!" Morgana protested. It was eerie hearing the boyish voice come from the mouth of the cat. Harry didn't fail to notice that he caught himself before he said something.

Futaba sighed. "You know, this is literally not the weirdest thing to happen to me today, and I'm still grossly under-caffeinated. So, before we continue, I need to ask if the following words mean anything to you: Metaverse, Palace, Shadow, Cognition, Persona, Velvet Room."

Judging by the increasingly wide eyes of Akira and Morgana, those words meant something to them. Well, except on the last one. Morgana looked confused when Futaba listed off the Velvet Room. But Akira still seemed to recognise the name. Futaba held up a hand. "Okay, I'm guessing we're all pretty confused right now. And I dunno about you, but I'm low on stamina points, even with that coffee. Tomorrow's Showa Day, a public holiday here in Japan. Hopefully, I'm not gonna crash too hard, so I should be awake. I dunno if I'm gonna be up to meeting in person tomorrow, today was pretty much a fluke, but I'll get your deets."

Futaba held her smartphone to Akira's, who frowned as only hers beeped. "I didn't get yours."

"I know. Look, I'll message you guys if I'm not up to emerging from the Batcave, 'kay? Let's say…you goin' anywhere at 9 AM?"

"Not yet," Akira said.

"Great. Hopefully, I'll be awake and able to talk to you guys, even if it's over the phone. Otherwise, I'll send an automated message," Futaba said, before swaying a little. "Crap…I'd better get back to the house and crash. Time to make like a tree and leave. See ya." She then turned to Harry, and gave him a brief hug, blushing. "…Thanks for everything."

As she all but fled, Akira observed, "I'm sensing a long story behind that."

"A very long story. I'm guessing Futaba and I will be discussing it with you two tomorrow." Harry went over to Morgana and gently petted him. "Let's just say I've seen weirder than a talking cat, even before I met Futaba, and leave it at that."

"Mrow…not a cat, but…ooh, right there…" Morgana said, enjoying Harry's ministrations, even purring a little as he stroked him under the chin.

"Sorry, what do you mean, not a cat?" Harry asked.

"It's a long story, just like yours, I reckon," Akira said, chuckling at Morgana's antics. "Morgana claims he used to be human, but somehow got stuck in the form of a cat. He doesn't have that many memories of his past, though. Normally, people can't hear him speak, at least coherently. They just hear meowing."

An Animagus stuck as a cat, then? Harry mused to himself. That could explain some things. He was yet to see any signs that this world had wizards and witches as he knew them, but he hadn't had the local Ministry of Magic coming for him for using magic in front of Muggles, and it was possible he was in another timeline. He certainly hoped so, and this wasn't the future, at least of his timeline.

Out loud, he said, "I see. Well, it looks like the three of us are stuck together in this room for the night. You okay with that?"

"As long as you don't snore, sure," Akira said with a smirk. "By the way, thanks."

"For what?" Harry asked as he sat on the couch, finishing his petting of Morgana.

Akira sighed. "When I got sued for assault, few people would believe me back home that I was trying to stop a rape. My mother was the only member of my family who did. She's British, actually, like you. I had few friends, and most of them turned on me. The only ones who didn't, well, they've been told to stay away by their parents. When I came to Shujin Academy, the high school I've been transferred to while I'm on probation, someone leaked my record, and they keep looking at me as if I'm about to lose my shit if they so much as cough at me. I've managed to make a few new friends there, but it's hard, and Sojiro…well, I get he needs to keep me on the straight and narrow, but he's a bit of a hardarse about what happened to me, even knowing the truth. But from what you were told…I…I'm glad you said that. Sorry. I'm just used to people judging me."

"Yeah, I know that feeling. Again, it's a long story, but…I've had people turn on me because they were idiots too, Akira." He grimaced, looking away. "And I'm far away from home, and the last time I saw my remaining friends, they were in a LOT of trouble. I guess the only bright side is that I may have made another friend in Futaba, though I'm not sure about that. The poor girl's a shut-in, or at least she was. And given what happened to her, she's definitely a sore point with Sojiro, so try not to bring her up, unless you want to ask about whether she's well."

"Yeah, I got it. He seemed like the sort to keep this stuff to himself anyway. It explains those phone calls. I'd bet at least some of them were Futaba calling him," Akira said.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Morgana said, hopping off the shelf he had been on. "The Chief seems pretty protective, but he seems like a kind guy beneath it all. Still…we definitely need to talk tomorrow. It seems we have a lot to discuss."

Harry nodded, even as the blue-eyed cat shot him a serious look. Indeed, they did…

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and Futaba have explained things to an understandably sceptical Sojiro, and have inadvertently revealed their knowledge to Akira and Morgana.

Now, unlike canon, Futaba's just going to crash into bed and sleep for a while overnight. She won't have fully recovered, but she'll be up to talking. The reason why she was able to overcome her social anxiety is that, when she realised Morgana and Akira have a connection to the Metaverse, her mind latched onto that. And given that she overcame her Palace months ahead of schedule, that's why she isn't as exhausted physically and mentally.

Review-answering time! Aust Sakura Kryzor: I'm glad you enjoyed my choice of Persona for Harry. People forget that the Doctor not only stole the TARDIS, but does have sticky fingers at times, having nicked items vital for his misadventures. You see him pickpocket people at least twice in the TV Movie, even going as far as to steal a police officer's gun and threaten to shoot himself. As for Sirius', well, wait and see. As for Hedwig, she does not have a Persona, at least not in the way you'd think. There's already a hint as to what her role will be.

As for what the Persona Doctor looks like, it's as I said, he resembles one of the designs Nelvana made for the Doctor for their abortive animated series from the 90s. For those curious about that, go to this page here: wiki/Nelvana , and then look at the gallery. It's the second and third images in the article's gallery that I had in mind for the clothing. Though I do reckon he'd be wielding the Seventh Doctor's umbrella. The Seventh Doctor is my personal favourite Doctor, which is no doubt an unpopular opinion amongst Whovians, but hey.

As for his ranged weapons, Harry has magic. However, as a back-up weapon, I see him using a rifle, not unlike Sumire/Kasumi, or rayguns, a bit like Akechi.

7 Winds: I have no idea what his second Persona form will be…but his third, I do.

Guest (complaining about my choosing the Doctor as a Persona): And why not? It makes way more sense than some Personas in the game. What does Pope Joan or Milady de Winter have to do with theft? They may suit the characters of Makoto and Haru respectively, but they're not thieves, and Milady de Winter doesn't seem like a rebellious character, just a treacherous one (and certainly crueller than Haru, who can be summed up in four words: rebellious corporate princess moeblob). Whereas the Doctor started his adventures with an act of theft, and he's kept in practise, as I mentioned above.

If Harry had been darker and more angsty, then I would've chosen the Count of Monte Cristo. While not a thief himself, he was still a (wrongfully) convicted criminal, and one who took down his foes masterfully.

Jostanos: The Shadows of those who have formed Palaces are known as 'Rulers'. Futaba's Shadow Self was (relatively) benign compared to other Rulers. She still antagonised the Phantom Thieves and Futaba, but she was trying to force Futaba to realise the truth about Wakaba's death, and was actually the embodiment of her self-preservation instincts. She was certainly better in that regard than the Shadow Selves in Persona 4, who were often bosses, from what I've heard.

No numbered annotations this time.