April 10th, 20XX

When Ren woke up, he was greeted by the smell of curry wafting up into his attic. He almost went downstairs in his shirt and boxers, before remembering it was a cafe. He hastily pulled on his school uniform. He walked downstairs to see a plate of curry next to a cup of coffee on the counter.

"Eat up, kid. You're going to meet your teachers today. I'm closing the cafe today to drive you there."

"Thank you Sa- Boss." The man nodded. Ren dug into the curry. It was pretty spicy, but the coffee strangely complimented the taste. "How do you get coffee to go so well with curry? I'm surprised."

"Old recipe of a… friend of mine that I perfected."

"Well, give them my thanks," said Ren. Boss's scowl deepened. Ren stopped eating. "Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't- I'm sorry." Ren stumbled over his words, looking away. Boss sighed and rubbed his neck.

"Whatever kid, just… hurry up. You've got a meeting to get to." Ren nodded, focusing on the plate. The coffee was bitter in his mouth. He washed his dish quickly and walked to Boss's house for the ride. There was light coming out of an upstairs window.

"Hey, Boss, I think you left a light on."

"Mind your own business," said Boss, sharply.

It was an awkward ride to the school. Heavy traffic, too. Seemed like the train schedule was still out of whack, and people had to drive en masse.

They walked to the school gate and had to ask a brunette girl where the principal's office was. She gladly pointed them in the right direction.

The inside of the principal's office was filled with plaques and shiny decorations. Behind the desk… Oh, that's a person? The large man behind the desk was wearing a mustard-beige suit, his tie bulging outwards, and the rolls of his neck almost obscured it completely. A tired-looking woman stood next to the desk. He'd assume it the bags under her eyes were fake eyeshadow, given how dark they were, but her slump said otherwise. Jabba the Hutt- The principal- monologued about good behavior and how Ren needed to take responsibility for himself. He nodded, having heard it before. Though, he didn't hear gunshots or collapse this time. The tired-looking woman introduced herself as his homeroom teacher but forgot to actually say her name.

"Here is your student I.D, Amamiya-san. Don't lose it. It's also your student pass for the subway." He took the plastic card, noticing a slip of pink paper falling on the floor. Miss Victoria's French Maid Service? What the- Ren had a sudden flash of a diminutive blond boy with a bowl cut and a fan. Strange. Is that gay? You never know with those damn Frenchies. Well, it is 20XX; Topic for a later- Oh, she noticed the paper. The teacher's eyes widened and quickly picked up the slip, shoving it into a pocket. Ren knew women appreciated having pockets. Must be handy for a teacher... What does any of this have to do with school? Hm, Boss must have put something in the curry…

Before Ren knew it, he was headed back home. Home is where the attic is, right? Should get that engraved on a plaque. While Boss stepped out for a minute, he ate some more curry but chose to just have water, to save him from a sleepless caffeinated night. The doorbell jingled.

"Hey kid, your family sent you some allowance. Don't get any weird ideas." Boss handed him a few thousand yen. "There should be a small fridge in all that junk upstairs. If you buy anything, keep it in there. You can use the kitchen equipment in here when we're closed. But don't touch anything in the store fridge, you got that?" Explained Boss, with force. Got it, don't mess with another man's food. If you want to live, that is.

April 11th, 20XX

Ren ate quickly that morning, wanting to get to school on time. He nearly forgot his umbrella but noticed the forecast on the café's television. The weather was clear on his short walk to the station. The trains were late again. Seems like there really was an accident on Saturday. Sure enough, it was pouring by the time he walked out of the station a while later. He passed a cute girl with red tights before walking through the underpass.

"Excuse me! Can I walk with you? I forgot my Umbrella!" Ren's head turned to the blonde at the edge of the rain cover.

"Yeah, sure, plenty of room." He tilted the wide parasol, sprinkling rain on his shoulder. Oops. The girl smiled and walked up next to him. Her long twin-tails bounced on her shoulders. He focused on keeping his eyes forward and not looking down to his left for anything else that bounced. Didn't want to make the wrong impression on a hot girl, his inner man nodded approvingly. How does something in your own head nod?

"Are you new to Shujin?" Ren nodded dumbly, keeping his eyes forward.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Uh, you're wearing the uniform," The girl laughed.

"Ah. Looks like I am. Just transferred in from the sticks."

"Really? You don't have an accent."

"Knew a lot of city folks. 'Course, they did a lot of the talking." He said.

"That sounds about right." The girl nodded, then sighed. "People do love to talk around here. Especially about others. But hey, that's how it is." Ren nodded. He thought rumor-mongering only happened in bad TV shows that needed cheap drama, but, hey, he'd keep an open mind.

"So," the girl leaned forward, wrapping her arms behind her back."Why'd you transfer in?" He shrugged.

"Felt like it." He lied. They walked a bit further. While Ann may have been oblivious to (or purposefully ignoring) the looks the passing students gave them, Ren noticed, and simply averted his gaze. He didn't want to start any trouble, especially since he hadn't even started at his new school.

"Next left." The girl said abruptly. Around the corner was a remarkably bland mass of boxes. Then Ren realized it was the school. A minor distinction, but important nonetheless. They walked through the gates. As they entered the campus, a mass of eyes turned towards him and the blonde girl. Embarrassed by the scrutiny, he struggled to keep his composure. The blonde turned towards him for stopping. She raised an eyebrow.

"Lighten up, Umbrella-kun!" She laughed, smacking the back of his head. Now, it didn't hurt, but it was a little embarrassing to get knocked over by a girl. Is that sexist? Ren didn't think he was sexist. Meh, inner discussion for a later date. He pushed himself back up, having managed to keep himself out of the puddles. He turned to the blonde, and raised his own eyebrow. No, not a euphemism; he's not a masochist. The girl blushed and rubbed her neck.

"Well, see you around." She giggled, then walked into the school. He looked around at the people staring at him. He coughed loudly. They all went back to their normal business. He walked through the doors, putting away his umbrella, but was nearly immediately stopped by one of the teachers. 'Twas a large man, with slicked-back dark hair with strands of gray.

"Amamiya!" The man shouted, only a few feet away.

"Sir." Ren bowed
"Random bag check, hand it over." Ren heavily doubted the randomness of the bag check but obliged. The older man sifted through his materials, looking for any illicit items.

"Hmph. You're clear. Keep it up, Amamiya." The man said, with a stern glare. Ren lightly took the bag back and started walking to the faculty office. He could feel the man's glare on the back of his head. Ren heard whispers from the other students as he passed.

"Oh, who's that?"

"I heard we were getting a transfer student this year." He hoped the bit about his probation didn't get out.

"What's his name? Mamamiya?" Ren snickered. The misspelling was as common as the word 'mother' in the Amamiya household.

"Oof, Ushimaru-sensei bag checked him on the first day, tough luck." Again, not-so-random random selection is not random.

"Why is his hair so frizzy?" Ren knew he forgot something that morning. Regardless, it did that whether he combed it down or not, and gel just made it oily.

Ren arrived at the faculty office. He opened the door and poked his head inside. The tired-looking woman, Kawakami, was rubbing her temple and doing paperwork. She looked up and saw him in the doorway.

"Ah, Amamiya-san." She gestured him over to her. The teacher stood up from the table. "You'll be introducing yourself to the class. Don't say anything embarrassing. Follow me." Ren nodded, following his teacher through the halls. The whispering quickly died off, as getting to class before it started became a priority. The teacher slid the classroom door open. Ren bowed to the class before turning to the board. He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name in Katakana. Students in the class started whispering.

"Oh, I did hear we were getting a transfer."

"Hey, you know why he transferred in?"
"Nah, I heard he was from the sticks."

"Ren Mamamiya? Is that your idea of a joke?" Kawakami said, in the tired monotone, glancing back to the board. Ren hurriedly turned around to fix the 'Ma.' He whipped around and bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, old habit." His classmates laughed lightly.

"Whatever. Take a seat… behind Takamaki-san, next to the window." Ren looked over to the blonde he walked with earlier. He nodded, and sat down at his desk. "Alright, time for homeroom…"

Ren had tuned most of the syllabus speeches out, nothing really stuck out to him. Nothing like that one Egyptophile teacher he had back home. The blonde girl, Takamaki, turned around in her seat after classes finished. "Mamamiya? Really?"

"It's Amamiya, Takoyaki-san." He said, stretching his arms. The girl laughed.

"That's a new one, ha!" She smiled, then lowered her voice. "I hope Shiho doesn't find out about that one…"

"Find out about which one, Takoyaki-san?" Said a teasing approaching voice. He could swear that Takamaki muttered 'shit' under her breath. A girl with a ponytail stopped next to his desk. She laughed at her friend's expense, then turned to him. "Oh! Are you the new transfer student?" Ren nodded. And so, the interrogation continued.

"Yeah, I'm from out in the country. Inaba."

"Huh, I've heard of it. Shiho, isn't that "hottie detective" that you're always talking about from around there?" said Tako- ahem, Takamaki, with air quotes. Ignoring Shiho's blush, Ren responded.

"Yeah, that guy with silver hair? I, uh-know him. Cool dude." Ren spoke while nodding, remembering the detective he had spoken to.

"Really? Are you friends? Could you introduce me?" Shiho said excitedly. Ren ignored the snickering blonde sitting to the side.

"Well, uh, we're not really friends, and he's probably really busy anyway, sorry," said Ren. Shiho frowned.

"Aw, tough luck Shiho. Well, you met him once, so it's not too bad."

"You met him? What'd you do?" Ren asked, then mentally face-palmed at himself for the typical 'what are ya in for?' line he'd seen on prison TV shows. Ann raised her eyebrow, and Shiho started looking nervous, crossing her arms and rubbing her elbows, averting her gaze.

"Ahm, well, after Kamoshida got murdered last year…" Ren let some shock slip onto his face. Takamaki mouthed 'gym coach' to him. "The cops, they… found a list next to the body. They went through his house, and found a- journal, i think it was- of things he did, and, uh, things he planned to do; to his students." Ren like the floor had dropped out from beneath him in his chest.

"Oh my- I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me," Ren hung his head in shame. The girl looked up with a trace of a smile.

"He hadn't done anything to me, don't worry about it. They, the cops, they said he had started writing a lot about me and Ann. Detective Seta was pretty involved in the investigation, said a massive string of murders with similar circumstances were going on. He questioned me, and it's the weirdest thing when he looks at you, it's like he's looking through you, and he can get the truth out of people without saying a word. He pulled a Phoenix Wright in the courtroom once on a mobster, y'know? He's so cool! I heard a rumor that he moonlights as a bartender when he gets time off." Shiho started smiling again. Ren pictured the serious-looking detective standing up and shouting 'OBJECTION!' in a Japanese courtroom. He started coughing, choking on his own laughter. The girls looked concerned, but he shook it off.

"I'd do an impression"- Ren coughed- "But I'm afraid the pajama pants would ruin the look." Ann looked down at his pant leg under the desk and giggled. Shiho hid a smile behind her hand.

"That guy would totally do it if it would get him another spin-off." Ren's head whipped around. That blue-haired boy hovered outside the window, smirking.

"Hm? What are you looking at, Mamamiya-kun?" Asked Shiho, leaning over to see out the window.

"Ah, nothing." But would you happen to have any Advil? I feel a headache coming on. The boy disappeared as he shook his head. "And it's Amam-"

"YO!" The three looked at the door. A boy with neon yellow hair had slammed the door open.

"Hey, Ryuji," Ann replied, with her inside voice, waving.

"Hey." He nodded. "Is Ren Mamamiya here?" Ryuji continued, bringing his voice up what felt like a dozen octaves. Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I swear to g-" Ren muttered- "It's AMAMIYA!" He declared loudly.

"You spell your own name wrong once and they never let you forget it…" Ann said, giggling.

"Right, right. Council prez wants to have a chat with you." Ren nodded. Shiho stepped back so Ren could get up.

"Later, Mama-miya-kun." said Ann and Shiho as Ren waved and closed the door on his way out. A few seconds later he slid the door open slightly.

"AM-AM-I-YA." Ren enunciated each syllable, then pulled the door shut tight. He shook his head to himself. "I can see why mother got annoyed by that," muttered Ren.

"We going?" Ryuji asked, leaning against the corridor's wall.

"Yeah, we going." Ren followed Ryuji up the third floor.

"So, what did you do so early to get on the Prez's bad side?"

"I dunno, probably just a transfer thing." It probably was a transfer thing, but one more specific to his criminal circumstances. "Unrelated, but why are you helping out with the Student Council? Not that I don't appreciate what they do! You just don't really look like the type." Said Ren, holding up his palms in defense. Ryuji stopped on the mid-stairwell landing. He scratched his chin and appeared to be thinking.

"Prez helped me out last year, there was some trouble with a teacher." Ryuji strained.

"Kamoshida?"

"Yeah, the gym coach. How'd you know about him?"

"Takoyaki- I mean, Takamaki-san, and her friend were talking about it." Ren really should have remembered his lunch. "Just a guess."

"Huh. I guess they were pretty shaken up after that whole deal came out." Ryuji said, continuing to walk. "He was rough on the track team. Fucker almost broke my leg." Ren suddenly had a coughing fit. He really should have expected someone who acted like a delinquent to speak like one, but he didn't from someone in the student council! "You good, dude?" Ryuji looked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, must be- ahk!- the pollen, I'm- huff -fine." Ryuji nodded and gestured to the student council's door.

"Whenever you're ready." Ren thanked him and slid open the door.

The student council room possessed a collection of the most uptight individuals the school had to offer. Unless Shujin also had a wet-blanket club, Hey, people get bored in the sticks. If it wasn't the American Football club, it was something like that. Or it was just Yasogami's actual student council. Eh, same difference. Ren was interrupted in his musings of correlations of making rules and being damp cloth by a brunette girl at the end of the student council's 'U' shaped table.

"Amamiya-san, welcome, please, take a seat." The girl, who was obviously the president, pierced his soul with bright red eyes, forcing him to obey. Or he simply fell prey to a pretty girl. He would never admit to the latter, of course. Ren sat in a chair in the middle of the 'U,' surrounded on three sides by student council members. He folded his hands in his lap. The president stared eerily at him, not even blinking. He heard the council members whisper, but he was too busy sweating under the president's gaze. It was like a t-rex and a paralyzed human in that one 'Triassic Pier' movie Ren watched years ago...

"Is this the right guy? Doesn't look like a criminal…"

"Nah, Prez is never wrong, come on…"

"We're not allowed to tell anyone, too…"

"He's not very threatening, but hey, you never know…" Ren was alarmed.

"Excuse me," asked Ren, meekly, looking down from the council president's gaze. The council stopped whispering, and all looked straight at him. Oh look, now it's the velociraptors. How nice.

"Em- Pleasedontleakmyrecord," said Ren, quickly, trying to keep his voice from cracking. He bowed forward in his seat, much like a certain shot of the Shinji Ikari near the end of Evange- wait, what? Anyway, he clasped his hands together. He chanced to look up. The student council president smiled down at him. Mutters.

"Prez does it again…"

"Her sister must teach her intimidation techniques…"

"It's kinda scary how she does that…"

"Alright everyone, cut that out." said the interroga- student council president. The room seemed to warm considerably. Ren sat up, keeping his posture straight. Once again, brought down by the power of teenage hormones. "I apologize if that was stressful to you, but thank you for coming today, Amamiya-san; or as I heard Sakamoto-san yell, Mamamiya-kun." The president spoke as if she was trying to reach someone in the hallway. Ren heard a snort from outside the door. "Seriously, Ryuji-kun, you didn't need to yell. I could hear you from here." Ren could hear some muttered apologies. "Anyway. Introductions before business. My name is Makoto Niijima, Student Council President." Ren did listen to the other member's introductions but didn't think much of it. "Thank you for coming today, Amamiya-san. We'd like to discuss your future at Shujin Academy." Ren nodded, and then remembered the staff list.

"Isn't that the guidance counselor's job? No offense," said Ren. Niijima shook her head.

"None taken. Of course, I mean your social behavior. Your school grades were decent enough in your hometown, so I don't think you'll find any trouble there. However, I am concerned you may be looking for trouble elsewhere."

"I don't intend to get in trouble, I understand the terms of my probation," said Ren, speaking clearly enough to make sure they understood.

"Very good. You can give a basic defense."

"Uh, yes, Niijima-san." Ren prepared himself for the mental brigade.

"I'm very curious. Why did you attack that man?"

"He was forcing himself on a woman."

"Did that woman not testify against you?"

"I don't know why, but yes." Ren shrugged.

"Did you not have knives and a disguise in your bag?"

"Inaba was having a costume party, I took off the clothes and accessories before I left. Inaba's in the middle of no-where, we rarely get any events like that. I wasn't going to miss it," said Ren, gesticulating to nothing as he spoke.

"Amamiya-kun, you have to understand that you can't make excuses."

"You asked, didn't you? The truth is the truth, no matter how circumstantial it may seem." Niijima raised her eyebrow.

"That is correct… in cases where the truth is told. I don't think anyone will believe that."

"Do you believe it?" Ren's voice began rising.

"Whether or not I believe you or not is inconsequential, it is the threat you may pose to the student body that matters."

"Niijima-san, I sew in my spare time. The sharpest thing I ever carried on me was a needle, or, or, or cloth scissors. I don't have the muscles to throw a right hook or any kind of punch. I'm not tall, just lanky, what threat could-"

"Amamiya-san, enough! There could be a perceived threat. The perception of the students is what matters. If they perceive danger, they feel fear. And I will not allow fear at Shujin Academy!" The president slammed a palm on the table.

"You can choose to not believe me. Just don't leak my record. Please. Things are looking up for me," said Ren, bowing again, however much he disliked the ruling.

"Very well. After all, you are also a student at Shujin Academy as well." She pointed at him. "If you feel the fear of the threat of your record being leaked, then there must be no threat." She crossed her arms. The student council followed suit. "I promise that your record will remain secret for as long as you behave in my school. Any students revealing such information will be punished to the highest degree. Do you accept these terms, Ren Amamiya?"

"Yes, Niijima-san. Thank you," said Ren, who was legitimately thankful. This was an authority he could rely on.

"There is no problem. Watch yourself. You are dismissed." Ren stood and bowed. He opened the door, walked out, and slowly closed it behind him. He nodded to Ryuji and walked to the nearest bathroom. Once inside, he locked himself in a stall and started wringing the sweat out of his undershirt.

Omake

Everyone in the student council room released a held breath. Niijima continued the meeting.

"So, Suzuhara-san, about the summer trip fund-" She was interrupted as Ren poked his head in.

"Yes, Amamiya-san? Did you forget something?" said Niijima, her hands held on the desk.

"Eh, sorry for yelling. Won't happen again." The door slid shut again. Niijima giggled.

AN:

Spot the lazy Evangelion reference. Not the overt one.

On a more serious note, which is only slightly less silly, this is the second chapter. It was a bit difficult working out the consequences the events of P3FES would have on canon, but I think I've got it down. Kamoshida is long gone and dealt with. How the palace roadmap is going to work? I don't have a clue either. It's going to mostly be showing the impact Minato/s has on the world for a bit. (A Third Impact, if you will.) Sorry if the pacing seems out of wack. A slight spoiler, you'll probably think Minatos is as much of a bastard as his older brother later. What that means, I don't know yet either. Sorry if you didn't find the Mamamiya jokes very funny, but they won't stick around for long.

First review segment on the show, happy to be here.

LuminousUrsidae- I do intend on keeping the themes of the original Persona 5/s intact. At least, I think. I'm pretty sure I know what to do with that. May change in the future. I plan on including a lot of stuff, including Royal additions, and some which aren't even from the original canon. Again, I intend on making this as, ahem, Batshit insane, as Fairly English Story. Thanks for the first review.

I plan on updating at least once a week. Maybe more, maybe less, but that's the standard I will try to hold myself to.