WARNING! This Fanfiction deals with emotional Trauma, Self-harm, PTSD, abandonment and Depression, which may be triggering. This work of fiction may be disturbing to some. If you or a loved one are struggling with thoughts of suicide or self harm, I IMPLORE you to call your nation's suicide hotline. Find someone to talk to, and listen to what others are trying to tell you.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this :)

Deafening silence and pitch black overwhelmed the senses of the teen sitting inside an acrylic soaking tub. His parents had already left the home, and wouldn't return for hours. He had already made up his mind about this weeks ago but was still scared to actually go through with it. He didn't want to leave a mess for everyone so he was going to try to do it as clean as possible. The teen brought a hand up to one of the several discolorations on his chest, and tears began to well in his eyes again, flashbacks playing in his head on repeat ever since he returned home from the best year of his life.

He reached to the edge of the tub and grabbed the knife he had brought in with him. The blade was pretty pathetic compared to what he was used to using in the metaverse, barely more than an Exacto knife. But for today, it would more than serve its purpose. Fear engulfed him again, hands beginning to tremble. Akira Kurusu did not truly wish to die.

"How dare you cause such trouble for us!"

"We've become the laughing stock of the town because of you"

"You would be better off dead! Nobody wants you"

The words of his parents echoed through his head, and as his heart raced, the bruises and breaks covering his torso and legs began to throb.

"Sakura-san should have made sure you went to juvie straight away!"

"You're a disgrace! A shame to this family."

"You'll never get to see those so-called friends again. They don't even want to see you in the first place!"

The sensation of fists accompanied each word. The feeling of nails digging into his cheek after a slap, the gnawing hunger from withheld meals, the feeling of anguish from watching his phone which held all his memories be destroyed.

At first he was rebellious, thinking that he had perhaps matured and grew as a person. He had, after all, unlocked a Persona through his hardships and used it to help save the world with his friends. Slowly over time though, and constant reinforcement, he began to believe that they were correct, and that he deserved this for all the trouble he caused. Getting arrested and put on trial for causing the injury to Masayoshi Shido, being put on probation forcing Sojiro Sakura to take care of him, getting arrested again as the leader of the group known as the Phantom Thieves, daring to push back against his family's wishes: these were all things that were directly his fault.

And on top of it all, he could no longer hear the voice of his Persona, nor could he remember its name.

With a shuddering breath, he attempted to compose and remind himself that he was in fact doing the right thing. After all, It would be easier on everyone if he wasn't around. His last link to his friends, being quite literally kicked out of his house courtesy of his father. "Morgana…" The quivering whisper was deafening in this silence. He didn't even know if his friend was still alive out there, nor could he go in search. Bars on his window and locks on the doors prevented his exit. He was once again a prisoner.

He slowly brought the steel up to his wrist, his heart thundering in his ears, breath quickening, and stomach churning the entire way.

Whatever was left of Joker, the rebellious Trickster who connected with so many people's hearts, was begging him not to do this, to let his friends help, to escape. Flashes of his friends' words and faces echoed in his thoughts like a desperate plea for him to reach out and let them save him.

"Hey… this aint like me, but I managed to change because you were here helping me."

"You can lean on me too if you need it, I'm so glad I met you."

"I reiterate my promise to you: I'll extend my assistance to you, should you ever stumble" "Thanks to you I finally have come to realize it. My dream… you can rely on me when you need it. I won't go easy on you if you hold back."

"You gave me my life back, so it's my turn to risk my life for you. I want the right to not have to leave you"

"You showed me I have a family I need to protect. Not just Futaba, but you too."

"As long as you're here… I'll be okay. If you ever find yourself in trouble, I'll be there for you."

"At first I thought you were just going to be a useful tool for me… but now this is where I belong"

Those voices, those bonds, were just mere whispers now though, as the onslaught of abuse from his parents, relatives, peers and community reverberated through his mind as if these thoughts were bouncing around in an echo chamber, drowning out any positivity and warmth the memories of his companions brought.

He didn't want to be a burden on anybody anymore. And for that, Akira Kurusu needed to die.

"You're a dirty criminal Kurusu, How dare you come back to school like nothing happened!"

"We all heard about your probation, how you assaulted some poor dude."

"I heard he raped the girl that the guy was with too."

"I can't believe I ever thought that we were friends."

"People like you don't belong here."

Flashes of the torment of being ostracized by his peers and former friends, verbal harassment as he passed through the halls, shoe locker overflowing with vicious notes and foul waste and the after school assaults as he walked home: All of it repeating like a broken record.

They were right of course. He was nothing more than a criminal, someone who needed to be put down for the good of society. Maybe they would hold a celebration for his passing.

The pain was sharp at first, but quickly dulled as warmth flooded down his wrist and landed against the white tub. Now that it was happening, a strange sense of confidence and conviction enveloped him. It would be a relief to know all of this would soon be over.

Memories of his interrogation flooded his head next.

"Give him more drugs… let's make him suffer before he talks"

"We get to take as much time as we need!"

"You need your hand to sign… but I don't care if you end up losing a leg."

"No dozing off."

"Give it up!"

"Cooperate! Or do you want another shot?"

"To think all these crimes were being led by a punk like this. And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it huh?"

The cold steel of handcuffs dug into his wrists. The pain of his leg fracturing under the weight of a heel. The haze of truth serum attempting impairing his mind, the sheets of freezing water to the face. All of these woke him up in the middle of the night, triggered fear and caused him to shut down when similar phrases were used, and reminded him that the police would never save him.

With much more confidence, and a quick motion, his other wrist began to flow. Steady streams of crimson pooled in the tub and slid down the drain. A shuddering exhale and a relaxation of his muscles was all it took to calm his nerves. The hard part was over. He let the knife fall from his grasp, clattering on the ceramic tile, and he pressed his back against the tub. His eyes fluttered shut and he let his head lean back. All that was left to do was wait. He wondered briefly about how long it would take for his parents to find him, but decided that when they did it'd be the best day of their lives.

The years and years of disappointing his parents, forcing them to yell and beat him were now coming to a close, and Akira couldn't help but smile and try to fall asleep. It wasn't long before his consciousness began to fade.

He could swear though, that people were screaming his name, but it didn't really matter to him anymore. It was time to be free from this prison.

Akira opened his eyes, vision blurry for a bit, before focusing on a ceiling that was impossibly familiar to him. Horror filled the former Trickster, as he tried to shoot out of bed to no avail. A straight jacket binding his arms to his chest prevented any such movement. Looking down at his legs, eyes trembling with dismay and mouth going slack, were leather restraints binding him to the steel frame of a prison bed.. He looked around, and almost let out a sob when he realized what was going on, and an all too familiar voice tickled his ears.

"Ah you're awake. Welcome back… to the Velvet Room. Though I wish it were under different circumstances." Said Igor with his usual smile and politeness.

The former members of the group known as the Phantom Thieves were all sitting around a booth in a cafe called Leblanc. An emergency meeting had been called with the arrival of someone unexpected, and was still underway. Haru Okumura was trembling as she asked with a dry mouth, "He was forced to endure that much?" She didn't want to believe what news she was being told, however she couldn't just ignore it either.

The blonde boy known as Ryuji Sakamoto was bouncing his knee, getting increasingly more frustrated. "What the FUCK?!" He exclaimed loudly, clenching his fist and slamming it down on the table he was sitting at. "Those dirtbags have no right!"

Futaba Sakura typed with impressive speed and intensity, public records of the town known as Inaba flashing on her screen for briefest of moments, as she made modifications to her search parameters, trying to track down specific information.

Makoto Niijima sat with Haru, hands covering her mouth, with all the color drained from her face. "Akira wouldn't just... why didn't we see it?"

The boss of Leblanc, and surrogate father figure of the boy he once regarded as nothing but trouble, desperately tried to get in contact with the boy's parents. He sighed and glanced over to the group of friends. "Look… staying here and worrying isn't going to solve anything. If what Morgana was telling you all is true, then well… we don't have time to waste."

The black cat known as Morgana, covered in mud and soaked to the bone, laid on the bar counter of the cafe, a blanket warming him up. An exhausted look in his eyes betrayed the strength his voice was trying to project. "Believe me… I wish it wasn't true. But I knew if I didn't get here fast, he would only be getting it worse."

Yusuke Kitagawa leaned against the bar, which was the only reason he was still standing, legs long since turned to jelly. Yet now was not a time for weakness, as his dear friend was in desperate need of saving. He nodded at Sojiro and said,"Yes I agree. It would be best to go and investigate the situation ourselves. How fast can we get there?"

Makoto stood, a fire lit in her eyes. "Inaba is just a couple hours away from here. Sakura-san, if you can drive me to my house I can get the van so we can all go together." The older Sakura nodded and rushed rather quickly out the door, with the younger Niijima in tow. Normally someone would make a joke about how fast he could move for someone of his age, but no one was in a joking mood.

Ann Takamaki, sat next to Futaba watching her work with a dejected expression on her face. "Maybe he doesn't want anything to do with us anymore.."

This only prompted another loud crash of fist on the table from Ryuji, tears now pouring down his eyes. "No… that's wrong! He… We…!" This prompted Fox to place his hand on the blonde's shoulder, calming the storm that swirled inside the blonde's gut. He patted the hand appreciatively and managed to collect himself before he rose from his seat to address the group as a whole. "Listen up Phantom Thieves,our leader is in trouble. As his friends, it's our responsibility to pull him out of there and bring him home. And damn it that's exactly what we're going to do."

The others came out of their stupor and turned their attention to the track star. In a rare moment of level headedness, he began to issue orders to the rest of his friends. "Ann, get in contact with Zenkichi. We're going to need his help in case this gets dicey. Haru, please call Sae-san. I have a feeling that a prosecutor is exactly the big stick we ordered for this kind of situation. Futaba, just keep doing what you're doing! Yusuke, please hurry over to Takemi's clinic and get some first aid supplies. We don't know what kind of a beating he's taken recently so we're going to want to be prepared for a worst case scenario. When Makoto and Sojiro get back, I'm going to help load everything we need into the van."

A brief moment of stunned silence at a Skull that could take charge of a situation was all that stopped everyone from scrambling to follow the direction that they had been given.

Within 20 minutes, they were on the road with a destination to Inaba.

Akira tried to sit up in the bed with only his shoulder managing to find the air, only to collapse back into the bed with a defeated sigh before asking, "Why am I here right now? What do you want from me?"

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." The teen let out a dejected and defeated groan, not even paying attention to Igor's familiar words. "Only those who are bound by a contract can enter this place." He looked around, seeming to ignore the anguished wails from a broken trickster. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. Intriguing that a jail would still be present after all your trials"

The former leader of the Phantom Thieves was suddenly upright, as if his bed had become vertical, before he realized he was being rolled out of the cell and was now looking at the long nosed man. "Trickster… please calm yourself. I am only here to offer you any assistance I can. You once saved my life, and I intend to return the favor.

Akira felt sick. "So… the fact that I'm here now means…" The master of the Velvet Room's unnerving grin broadened, as his hands folded together under his unusually large sniffer.

"Indeed. It means your body and soul are still alive. Your mind and spirit however are a different , would you please assist our dear Trickster from his restraints?" From seemingly nowhere, the blue garbed resident approached the Phantom thief and placed a hand on his chest.

"It saddens me to see you in so much pain I'm afraid I can only do so much to ease your burdens." The straight jacket burnt away as she finished her sentence, and he was able to move his arms once again.

"Please… I just… want the pain to stop." He begged Igor for a release, glanced at Lavenza for mercy, but none was to be found in the way he wanted it.

"Heed these words carefully. The power of the wild card still rests within you. The promise of endless possibilities.I implore you… do not squander this needlessly." An alarm sounded and Akira's eyelids grew heavy, realizing he was starting to fall asleep. "Ah… looks like our time here has been cut short. We will meet again when you come upon another one of our guests. Remember, the bonds you have nurtured will sustain you. Until next time, farewell."

Akira wanted to shout and cuss him out, but he was so weak, and cold, finding breathing difficult. He couldn't move at all, and it was suddenly very loud.

He forced his eyes as open as they would allow, and he saw multiple figures over him. He couldn't make them out but he could hear crying. Trying to focus was putting a strain on his eyes, and felt like as much effort as doing pull ups in his room. The images came into clarity and sounds became more distinct as well.

"He's waking up!" A feminine voice declared, and the room began to vibrate as if many people were moving all at once. With the rest of his effort, he attempted to open his eyes the rest of the way, and was convinced that someone was playing tricks on him. All around him, his friends could be seen. Some of them smiling sadly, some of them still crying and a few that wouldn't look him in the eye, but here all the same.

"Hey Kid…" A familiar gruff voice graced his ears and he felt a comforting hand brush his bangs away from his head. His pupils fell onto a man wearing a white button up, with glasses and a pointed beard. "You're safe now… we've got you. You aren't going anywhere."

Akira tried to speak, his voice coarse and something strapped to his face was drying out his already chapped lips and left no moisture in his mouth. It was painful, but he needed to make sure that this wasn't a trick.

"So…ji…ro?"

It was very strained and barely audible, but all the same music to his ears. His eyes watered, as a soft but sad smile grew on his lips. "Yeah… I'm right here." He sniffled after this, trying to contain the whirlwind of emotions. His eyes settled on the rest of the figures around his bed. All the members of the Phantom Thieves surrounded him, including Zenkichi who was standing at the door, talking with a man with an unlit cigarette hanging out his mouth, with a coat slung over his shoulder.

"Y…ou…guys. I…m…sor…ry" Was all he could muster before Akira once again slipped back into unconsciousness.