Akira heard the familiar tune as soon as he drifted into the realm of Hypnos. He smiled; it's good to be in Velvet Room again. He rose from the bed and walked outside of his cell toward the ever smiling Lavenza and kind Igor.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, my dear guest." Igor spoke with his elderly voice. "I assume you have made acquaintance with him?"

"You mean Minato? Yeah I did. He still does not awaken his Persona, but he is aware of the phenomenon that you called 'Dark Hour' and seems to either adapt to it well or just ignore it. He has huge potential." Akira expressed his early analysis of Minato, earning a nod from the Master of Velvet Room. But then Akira narrowed his gaze.

"Igor, you and your master do understand my hesitation, don't you? The butterfly effect, that is."

Igor nodded solemnly at the statement. He had anticipated this from the beginning. The elder man gestured Akira to take a seat before folding his hands.

"We sent you to the past, yes, but we also isolate this timeline from the mainstream without Mahakala knowing until you defeat him or his underlings sent to kill the Messiah. But beware, it is only due time that the god will be aware of this. I advise you to keep a close eye on the boy, not helping him directly of course, to make sure everything is the same or at least similar to what had happened. You may receive visions before you do anything that can alter the course of time but it is entirely your decision whether to act or not. Remember, my guest, the fate of this world is in your hand. Do not allow Mahakala to kill the Messiah."

Lavenza gave him the Velvet Key, but before he asked that he had already had one, Akira noticed that the key was crimson, his favorite color, and had some patterns that really reminded him of Arsene, his very first Persona. The attendant beamed upon his gaze, knowing well what he was going to say.

"As I have my duty of assisting the Messiah, I decided to make a separate door to avoid confusion. You still can use the old one for the door at the back alley of a place called Paulownia Mall. You may run into him or my other assistant, who is Lavenza's sister. That's all I want to say." Igor waved his hand as everything around Akira became brighter. "Time passed as we discussed. You have your own matters in the real world as well. Farewell and stay strong."

Akira nodded before his vision faded.


Minato had another dreamless night but for some reasons, there was a voice in his head screaming about 'Satan saving Christmas'.


-Next day-

Yukari went to the new members' room, intending to make acquainted with them further by showing them her school. Last night, aside from the misunderstanding between her and the fizzy haired teen, what made she so scared was a gigantic silhouette that was leveling its own gun, no, cannon toward her as well. She could deal with burglars using her Io, overkill as it sounded, but against a monstrous thing like that? Not in million years, especially how inexperienced she was at the moment.

Inhaling, Yukari brought her hand to the door and knocked. No answer. Sighing, Yukari knocked again and this time, someone opened. It was Minato, already in student uniform with bag and stuff, behind him was a half-sleepy Akira busy fixing his hair and clothes, which was rare since he always got up early for school back then. Well, to be fair, he hadn't gotten used to this timeline.

"Oh, Takeba-san, what are you doing here?" Minato politely asked, getting Yukari's attention.

-Skip towards Gekkoukan-

Akira admitted, this place lived up its name as a prestigious school. The schoolyard was huge, the buildings were exotic and stuff but all of that could not sway his mind from Shujin. Sure, it was almost a shitty place but thanks to that shitty school, he had gained a lot of friends and allies alike. Those bonds, to him, were impossible to replace.

'Well, might wake around to get familiar then.'

Excusing himself from Minato and Yukari, Akira decided to take a stroll around the school yard. Things seemed pretty normal and peaceful from a group of junkies running around the field, a male student painting a large oak tree in the courtyard, a teacher with a… samurai helmet? talking with a foreign student. He was walking near the faculty office when he saw a boy with blue short hair in matching blue shirts, cap and yellow ties. He seemed to be a faculty member's son since he looked so young. Not leaving a confused kid in this place, Akira decided to act.

"Hey little guy, are you lost?" He gently asked, using his maxed Kindness to its fullness. The boy in question startled and turned to him before gasping in shock.

"Y-Y-You are?!" He took a step back, trembling. Akira raised his eyebrow and advanced with good intention. He flinched at the sight of tears rolling down on the boy's face before he launched himself into Akira with a big hug.

"W-Woah there, you alright there?!" Akira asked a bit loudly. Maybe the kid did get lost and was glad to see someone asking? Nah, he internally dismissed. The boy kept hugging him until Akira noticed that the duo had attracted a lot of stares.

"H-Hey, I don't like breaking your mood but people are staring. Let's go somewhere quiet, okay? Should be about 15 minutes until the opening ceremony." Akira suggested while mumbling the last part. The boy nodded as the larger teen led him to the courtyard.

Akira sat on the stone bench across the boy, the former staring at the latter in awkward silence. The latter kept stiffing nonstop which made Joker even more nervous. What did I do? He asked himself that. Muttering courage, Akira spoke up.

"Well, um, what was that earlier? I mean, why did you go all teary on me like that?"

"D-Don't you recognize me, Ichirou Nii-san? It's me, Naoto!" The boy finally spoke, but what he said shocked Akira. Wait what?

'There must be some sort of misunderstanding, cuz how the heck am I having a sibling in the past?! Not to mention, I don't have any from beginning with!'

"U-U-Uhhhh, Naoto isn't it, you must be mistaking me to someone else as my name is Akira Kurusu, not Ichirou."

Naoto looked mortified but then calmed down after taking multiple breaths. Despite displaying a perfectly poker face, Akira was super worried inside. Butterfly effect already, now time paradox? What would his existence bring next?

"It must be amnesia, it has to be." The boy said to himself but loud enough for Akira to hear. "Don't worry Nii-san, now I have found you, I will make sure to help you restore your memories. I swear in the name of Shirogane House!"

That nailed it. He had to kill this fucking God so that all of this could be fixed and he could return to his own time again. Akira's eyes darkened at the thought of facing something like Yaldabaoth again, his body leaking killing intent so potent that Satanael nearly materialized in the real world. Luckily, the Persona alerted him in time to control his rage.

'That was close! But how? The Dark Hour was one thing, now I can summon Persona in real world too?! What the hell is going on?'

"Um, Nii-san, you looked so scary just a moment ago. Did I say something upset you?" Naoto asked worriedly, his voice sounded even more feminine that Akira started doubting his sex. Wait, was that he or she? Akira took a long inhale and then released it to calm his mind down, though it did little to the turmoil. He muttered the best smile he could do right now to Naoto.

"Ah, I probably remember something unpleasant. Not you, of course."

He went to Naoto's side and patted his head gently. "You are right, I don't have any memories prior my 10th birthday. Must be amnesia, right?" He lied. Naoto's mood brightened up clearly. "I can trust you with helping me find what had been lost, right little bro?"

"Um, Nii-san, actually I am a g-"

The school bell interrupted Naoto as Akira mentally sighed in relief.

"Ah, it's time for the ceremony. Yakushiji-san is going to pick me up. Um Nii-san, can I ask for your number? I'd like to meet you again."

"Oh, of course." Akira and Naoto exchanged phone numbers. "Feel free to call me. I live in Iwatodai Dormitory by the way. Well, I'm almost late now. Stay safe okay?"

Akira waved at his younger sibling and walked away. After making sure that Naoto was out of sight, he dropped the whole acting and replaced it with a deep scowl. He hated lying to children but what could he have done back then? Not to mention, he was a good actor so... He shook his head; thinking about this only worsened his mood.


After reuniting with Minato and Yukari with Akira having to skip the opening ceremony since, well, he arrived late and wasn't allowed to enter the hall, they went to their class. Akira had to apologize to his homeroom teacher for not showing at the faculty office to receive his class, forcing her to find him herself. Worse, he was scolded in front of the class with Yukari snickering and Minato slightly twitching his lips.

"So much for first day at school…" Akira mumbled in his seat, defeated. A soft buzz from his pocket snapped him from his sleepiness as he checked his phone. It was Naoto. He was asking for Akira's first impression in class and his wellbeing etc. The former mentioned that their grandfather sent his regards to Akira and then ended the message with 'I love you Nii-san'.

'Sounds too emotional for a boy, eh?' Akira smiled lightly. Judging from Naoto's outburst of emotion earlier, she must love her brother Ichirou a lot, whom Akira happened to reside in. In his head, the Leader of Phantom Thieves began to list possible theories about his situation. Igor did confirm that this period of timeline had been separated from the time flow and remained isolated until Akira defeated the perpetrator so yeah, he time-travelled. Another one was about his status as brother to Naoto Shirogane. Akira thought of a normal time paradox situation with him being Akira Shirogane but when he recalled Naoto calling him Ichirou, not Akira, he thought of worse scenario: he was possessing the body of Ichirou Shirogane. If the latter was correct, then he was in a deep trouble.

'Amnesia is a better option though, since I basically inhabit someone who happens to look like me against his will.'

Stay calm, Trickster. There are too many theories and hypothesizes, I suggest leaving them be until we reach the Prison. Don't you feel it, Trickster? That your essence has been modified, either intentionally by the Masters of Prison or accidentally by travelling to the past.

Satanael spoke in his head. Akira blinked but then closed his eyes and smirked lightly; Satanael was always the one to calm his mind when he needed it most.

However, I have a feeling that neither the two above is the cause. Remember, the god Mahakala is the mastermind after the destruction of future, our future, so there should be a possibility that he caused your change. But no matter, we shall punish any gods that play naughty, as the feline once said.

Akira laughed internally at the mention of Morgana. Ah the mascot of his team, the one guiding him into the path of rebellion unlike Yaldabaoth. He still hated the cat for those times though. Fucking cat literally banned him from going out at night…

"Hey Kurusu-san, you alright there? I hope Toriumi-sensei wasn't too hard on you." Yukari said after tapping his shoulders few times. His seat was beside the windows, his favorite spot. To the right of Akira was Minato talking with a fellow classmate with a baseball cap. Judging from the former's tired face and the latter's dragging on tone, Akira decided to do something. He stood up and walked to Minato, who sent a 'thank you' look to him. The capped teen noticed the other transfer student and immediately put his grin back on.

"Heeeey there, New Guy number 2! Heard you and Minato going to school along with Yuka-tan this morning. You guys are the talk in this school right now!"

"…First, I can't find any reasons why it's a big deal. And second, who are you?" Akira asked with a raised brow. The man in question made a double take at how unfriendly Akira was before coughing.

"The name's Junpei Iori. But hey, you have to feel proud of walking beside one of the most popular chicks in Gekkoukan you know! The rumors are that many Yukaricchi's fanclubs are gunning for you!"

Junpei said with an excited tone. Akira blinked, looked at Minato who shrugged and then sighed. Well, to be honest, he found Yukari quite cute so this kind of reaction was within expectation. He did get a lot of unwanted rumors back in Shujin for chatting with Ann, Makoto, Haru or hell, even his own teacher. It was not like he denied having an intimate relationship with Kawakami but were they that transparent?

"That would be inappropriate. Me and Minato here owned her a favor after all, isn't that right, Minato?"

Minato quickly nodded, much to Junpei's further curiosity.

"What favor? C'mon, give me the dirt!"

At this point, Yukari had had enough. She landed a hard slap on the teen's head to shut his mouth. Junpei then spent the next fifteen minutes being scolded by the brunette for 'butting into people's business too much'.

"Well, now he and I got the same treatment today." He yawned. "Let's go home, I'm really sleepy now."

"Couldn't agree more."

They left the bickering duo behind and exited the classroom. On their way back to Iwatodai, Akira discussed with Minato about their respective background and other stuff. It was then he discovered that the soon-to-be Messiah had had a sister but she along with his parents had long died in the incident at the Moonlight Bridge 10 years ago and he had been in and out from relatives over and over again until this month. Poor guy, Akira thought.

"What about you? Junpei said this morning your brother came to school to see you. I remember you said that you were the only child." Minato inquired. Akira briefly narrowed his eyes; that loud mouth…

"Apparently, I was involved in an accident some time ago and got amnesia as the result. Naoto, my sis –err brother recently heard news of someone looking like me entering Gekkoukan and, well, you already know the rest." Akira told Minato a quickly-made fabricated story. Again, this left a bad taste in his mouth as he again had to lie. Irony for someone who had defeated the God of Lies and Darkness.

"You got caught in an incident too, huh." Minato said, his tone out of character which was sympathetic. He raised a fist to Akira. "So, bros?"

Akira blinked in confusion but then shook his head, finding this kid even more interesting.

"Yeah, bros." He reciprocated the act, ignoring how awkward it looked.

When they reached the Port Island Station, Junpei's voice could be heard from behind.

"Waaaaaaait uuuuuuup!" The teen finally caught up with the duo and was almost out of breath. Out of pity, Akira gave him his water bottle with a chuckle. Junpei chucked the whole bottle down on his throat and let out a satisfied breath.

"Daaamn, that was so good. Hey, why did you leave me behind with Yuka-tan?! She tortured me for the whole half an hour, dammit! My ears weren't so hurt until this day."

"Your fault for provoking her, duh." Minato nonchalantly replied, prompting Junpei to relent. Akira watched the scene with mild interest as he was busy with the earlier revelation.

'Strange, I did ask Igor for the full information about Minato but there was no mention of him having a sibling. What's going on? Did my arrival cause a massive time paradox? Or maybe these are Mahakala's doings? Too many questions…Yeah yeah I know, you don't have to remind me, Satanael.'

Good, since I don't like being annoyed by those paranoid thoughts of yours.

'Hey that's cold!'

Satanael let out a laugh before fading again into the Sea of Souls.

After taking the train back to Iwatodai and saying goodbye to Junpei, the duo arrived at the dorm. Mitsuru was reading in the lounge when they entered the building.

"Welcome back, you two." She greeted them. Minato nodded before heading the stairs, Akira was about to follow when Mitsuru addressed him. "Kurusu, I want to resume what was left last night. Are you free?"

Akira stayed silent for a moment before taking a seat opposite to the Kirijo. She presented to him a briefcase and opened it. Inside was a silver Luger-lookalike pistol with 'S.E.E.S' engraved on the side body. It took him few seconds to figure out her intention and it seemed she knew it as well.

"Kurusu, while I don't agree with your conditions, we SEES still welcome you as our newest member. Please accept this Evoker."

"Evoker…From its name, I assume it is the device to summon Personas?" Akira asked. Mitsuru nodded until she realized the last part.

"What do you mean by Personas?"

"You don't know? There are few people that can summon multiple Personas, like I do. In fact, there are other ways to invoke them, not just using a conductor like this Evoker." Akira explained as if it was a matter of fact. To him, at least, but to Mitsuru was a whole new revelation. The Kirijo Group and extension, the Nanjo Group, had been experimenting thorough the years up to now but other than Kei Nanjo himself, no one could summon a Persona without external means like the Evoker. She must look into this more. Any helps would be appreciate.

"Do you have proof of what you said? Summoning a Persona without the Evoker, I mean."

"Ah, you have to wait for the Dark Hour. Though in my experience, you can bring out a portion of your Persona or use their abilities in the real world, though very subtle it will be. That's the reason last night, you can sense Satanael as he always materializes in some ways alongside me. I can sense yours as well. A hybrid of navigatior and offensive Persona, am I right?"

Mitsuru widened her eyes at this information. But in other hand, she did suspect this in the recent years, for an instance, that one accident with Akihiko stepping in her room while she was changing and Mitsuru froze him on the spot with the help of Penthesilea. The chairman might want to hear about this.

Akira analyzed her expressions from the beginning and to be frankly, he had just discovered the second one lately. Back in his original timeline, Morgana stated that Personas could not materialize out the Metaverse, true, but with his coming to this timeline, everything just fell apart. From Yukari seeing Satanael after the Dark Hour passed, Mitsuru sensing the Demon Lord, Akira almost summoning him in front of Naoto earlier in the day with his sheer rage. After an hour of discussing about the matters of SEES, Shadows and Dark Hour, Akira excused himself but without accepting to join the group 'temporarily'. Mitsuru reluctantly accepted that.

"Talking with you was entertaining, Kurusu. I'd like to continue this later."

"Heh, likewise senpai."