Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a very special week. For those of you who don't know, in the Persona fandom, there are various weeks and days where we celebrate something specific. This week, from the 16th to the 22nd, is Shutaba Week. Or, as I'm calling it, Akiba Week. This is for the couple of Persona 5's main protagonist and Futaba Sakura. While this is mainly a thing that is done by fan artists rather than fan writers… I really enjoy Akira and Futaba as a couple and I haven't really written much for them. Let's change that.

So, as you can tell by this story's name, I'm going to be writing a chapter per theme. I ended up writing these in advance since I would end up being a bit busy with classes, so… yeah. I'll admit that I'm a little worried about my ability to finish these in time, but one of my older stories eventually got so far along that I was capable of updating at least once a day for a while and, heck, three of the epilogue chapters were all written and posted on the exact same day. ...don't go tracking that story down, it's pretty bad. ...I had a point in this, right? *thinks* Oh yeah. I'll admit I'm worried, but given some of my skills back in the day… we'll see where this goes.

As for continuity… each chapter will have its continuity be kind of dependent on a couple different things. Some will end up ignoring Scramble, some will end up using Scramble for a bit of info, others will just be whatever happens. So, for sake of this one, it'll be that Scramble and Dancing Star Night/Dancing in Starlight are ignored. I'll be sure to give you all an idea of the continuity for these stories. As for whether or not these'll be connected… again, it depends. The chapters will have dates listed so that you'll have a general gist when these are all happening. And, for sake of simplicity, I'll be using the fan theory about the game's year.

Anyway, today's theme is "Promise". I have a very simple idea for this one. Well… without further ado, let's go ahead and begin.

Disclaimers: Persona belongs to Atlus, Sega, and its other owners. I don't own the characters in this story.

Sunday. March 19th, 2017

"Even if you're not here, I'll make sure I do my best…" Futaba told Akira before she looked down sadly, "So... you go do your best too, Akira!"

Futaba then moved her glasses and rubbed away some tears that were starting to drip down before she looked back to Akira, "Thank you… for everything…"

Akira could only look at her with a saddened look, "...this was the goodbye that I knew was going to be the hardest…"

"Do you two need a minute alone?" Sojiro offered.

"Yeah…"

Sojiro simply nodded in response before he gave a look over to Morgana, "Come on, you."

After a moment, Morgana simply complied with Sojiro's request and followed him outside Leblanc. Akira then walked over and pulled Futaba into a hug as tears began to drip down from his eyes.

"Hey… don't you cry too…" Futaba told him.

"Sorry… just…" Akira began to apologize before Futaba wiped the tears off of his face, "I'll miss you."

"I know…" Futaba whispered.

The two looked at each-other's eyes for a few minutes without saying anything. Akira eventually gave Futaba a kiss to the forehead, making her giggle, and soon return the kiss, but to his cheek instead of his forehead.

"It'll be hard to wake up every day and know you're not here, but I'll try my best…" Futaba told him.

"Same here," Akira stated before he gained a calm expression, "But… let's not make our last memories of each-other sad ones. Let's try to cheer up."

The orange-haired girl quickly nodded her head in response, then she pulled Akira into a hug, "I'll miss you… but I can wait. After all, you were in juvie for two months and I waited then…"

Akira could only nod his head in response before he returned the hug. Not long after that, he then leaned down and kissed Futaba right on the lips. The couple melted into the passion of the kiss for a while, only splitting away out of the need to breathe. Both of them simply smiled at each-other for a little while, then Futaba walked towards a booth.

"I won't keep you from packing up any longer," she informed, "I'll see you later, ok?"

Akira simply nodded a bit. Futaba then approached the door to head out, but then stopped when she was about to grasp the door's handle.

"I love you and I'll miss you," Futaba told him.

Akira was quiet for a moment to think of something to say in response. He eventually gained a smile, then spoke, "Hey, Futaba?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember this. No matter how far apart we are, our hearts are always connected," Akira told her in a comforting tone.

Futaba simply stared for a moment before she couldn't help but let out a small snicker, "Key to Hearts, really?"

"Ann insisted that I play it with her when she found out I never had before," Akira explained.

"Fair enough…" Futaba responded. She then proceeded to head out of Leblanc.

Akira let out an exhale before he headed up to his room in order to get packing, Morgana eventually slipped back inside and scampered up to Akira's room in order to help him out, while Futaba simply looked down to her phone with a small smirk...

Friday. March 24th, 2017

"Well… it may have taken a few days longer than you were expecting, but we've finally made it to your hometown, Akira-kun," Makoto informed as she pulled the car to a stop by the train station.

"Sojiro did say you were from the country, but this town looks a bit… boring…" Ryuji remarked.

"Inaba may not look like much, but it's my home," Akira responded as he climbed out, "Hopefully my parents won't be too angry about the fact I'm three days later than they were expecting…"

"Well… it's been a great time, guys. Keep an eye out on Tokyo for us, ok?" Morgana requested.

"We'll do our best," Haru smiled.

Akira smiled at his friends and was about to walk away, but was stopped when he heard somebody else exit the car. He quickly turned around to see it was Futaba.

"Akira… I want you to do one last thing…" Futaba quickly told him.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Promise me that you'll return at some point…"

"I will."

Futaba then reached out her hand with her pinkie extended. Akira could only smile at his girlfriend before he did the same.

"Don't forget…"

"I won't forget," Akira told her with a smile, then he quickly gave her a kiss, "See you."

"See you," Futaba told him before she climbed back into the car.

"Keep an eye on her for me, ok?" Akira asked of Ann and Ryuji.

"You can count on us!" Ryuji shouted.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Futaba quickly shouted in response.

Akira simply nodded a bit, then he began to walk away from the station. He could hear the car start up and begin to move away.

"AKIRA~!"

He quickly turned to see that Futaba had opened up the sun roof and was waving goodbye to him.

"DON'T FORGET YOUR PROMISE!"

"I WON'T!" Akira shouted as loud as he could.

Futaba smiled a bit before she climbed back into the car. She rubbed away a few tears that were beginning to form as the car moved further and further away from the station.

"Are you ok?" Haru asked.

"I'll be fine. Just… going to take a bit of getting used to…" Futaba told her.

Monday. March 27th, 2017

"Hey, Akira!" Futaba happily greeted as she climbed up to the attic, only to be reminded that the occupant she was expecting wasn't there, "...right."

She softly exhaled before she climbed down the stairs to see Sojiro was at the counter, working, and she sat down across from him.

"Sorry… force of habit," Futaba quickly apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Sojiro assured her, "I've had my fair share of moments where I've forgotten he's not here as well."

"Well… you're old, I'm not," Futaba stated bluntly.

All Sojiro could really do was sigh in response to Futaba's blunt statement.

"Right… sorry. Working on the tact thing…" Futaba added.

"As long as you get it in line before you start going to Shujin…"

Futaba simply nodded her head before her phone buzzed. She took it out to see a text from Akira, causing her to beam with joy, and quickly opened up his message.

[Akira: Heya. How are you?]

The orange-haired girl quickly typed out a response.

[Futaba: Gud. U?]

[Akira: Yeah, I'm 'gud' as you put it.]

Futaba couldn't help but giggle a little at his response.

[Akira: My folks and Morgana both say 'hi' to you and the others.]

[...]

[Akira: Hey, when are you starting to go to Shujin again?]

"Um… Sojiro, when's my first day?" Futaba quickly asked.

"April 5th," he told her.

[Futaba: April 5th. Why ask?]

[Akira: Just curious.]

[Futaba: Are you back in classes ATM?]

[...]

[Akira: Working on it. Some staff at my school are still a little wary. ...is what it is, I guess.]

[Futaba: Don't put up with that!]

[Akira: Plus, the school itself is having some issues. Not totally sure what's going on…]

[Futaba: Oh. Well… uh…]

[...]

[Akira: Gotta text you more later. Got something going on at home. Love ya. :) ]

Futaba only stared at the text message for a bit before she sent Akira a little heart emoji. She then tucked her phone away and had a lovesick smile on her face. She then headed out of Leblanc with a skip in her step.

Sojiro couldn't help but smile as he watched her leave, then he looked up to the sky, "If only you could see how happy he makes her…"

Wednesday. April 5th, 2017

Futaba let out an annoyed groan when she heard her alarm clock go off. She got up out of bed and managed to make her alarm stop.

"Well… here we go, first day of high school…" Futaba muttered to herself. She put her glasses on, took a moment to readjust her eyes to the lack of light, and then noticed there was a sticky note attached to her glasses. Futaba took the sticky note off and saw all it said was 'Come to the cafe. There's a surprise waiting for you.'

Futaba, now wearing her green jacket over her pajamas, walked over to the cafe. The sun had yet to fully rise into the sky, but it was clear that daylight was approaching. Futaba eventually arrived at the door, saw that it was unlocked, and proceeded to enter. Leblanc was still mostly powered off, yet the faint smell of curry was in the air.

"Sojiro, what's going on?" Futaba asked as she walked over to the counter. She looked over to see who was cooking and then gasped very loudly when she saw who it was.

"Hey," Akira greeted her.

All Futaba could do at that moment was stand at stare at her boyfriend with a shocked expression, 'He's… he's… he's here? But… how? Why? Wait… am… am I dreaming?'

Futaba then gave herself a pinch to the cheek before she looked around to see nothing was different. Her eyes then went right back to Akira, "...you… you're really here?"

"Yeah," Akira nodded as he set down some curry for them to eat. He then looked to see her stunned, silent, expression and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "This reminds me of when we got together… you were so quiet when I said I wanted to date you."

Finally, Futaba ran forward and pulled Akira into a hug. Akira managed to stop them from falling over before he returned the hug to his orange-haired girlfriend.

"I kept my promise," he told her.

"I know… I know…" she whispered to him.

The two finished eating not too longer after they finished hugging. Akira took the time to wash the dishes as Futaba simply stared at him with a smile on her face.

"What are you even doing here?" Futaba asked.

"Remember how I said that my school was having issues? Well… for some reason, the school needed to be fumigated…" Akira informed, "So we have a few weeks off while it's getting cleaned up. I was planning to visit when Golden Week happened, but this means I get to see you guys a bit sooner."

"What luck…" Futaba smiled.

"Now then… I have my own question," Akira informed.

"Fire away."

"...did you forget you have class today? Cause you're still in your pajamas…"

Futaba quickly recalled that fact, began to blush, and then gave him a 'one moment' gesture before she ran out of the cafe to get dressed.

Not long later, Futaba returned in her uniform. The uniform looked to be rather standard issue, but she notably still had her green jacket and her headphones on.

"You look great," Akira smiled.

"Thanks," Futaba blushed.

The two then heard somebody scamper down the stairs and looked to see it was Morgana. He looked over at Futaba in her uniform and smiled, "You look pretty cool."

"Thank you as well, Mona," Futaba told him.

"Mor-ga-na!" he reminded. The cat then looked up to the clock, "You got about another two hours before classes. You know how to get there?"

She was about to speak, but then realized that she didn't.

"I can take you," Akira told her.

"Really? You will?!" Futaba gawked.

"Of course. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help my girlfriend when she needed it?"

"You're the best, Akira!" Futaba beamed, "Alright! Operation: Get to School is now underway!"

Akira couldn't help but chuckle a little as he got out his jacket, then turned to Morgana, "Keep an eye on the shop until Sojiro gets back, ok?"

"Leave it to moi!" Morgana smiled.

One rather lengthy train ride later, the couple arrived just outside of Shujin Academy. Futaba nervously twirled a lock of her hair, but she calmed down as she felt Akira put a hand on her shoulder.

"...Akira?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me that you'll be here when class ends. Just for today…" Futaba requested of him.

"Got it," Akira nodded. He then looked to see Ryuji and Ann not too far away from the entrance, the duo clearly looking for Futaba, making the frizzy-haired boy smile, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Futaba responded. She then calmly inhaled and exhaled before she walked over to where Ryuji and Ann were…

Classes eventually ended for the day, a bell chime further signaling it, and Futaba walked out. She walked out without stopping to talk to anybody, making sure to ignore some of the whispers of the other students, before she finally reached the school's exit.

"I hope he's there…" Futaba whispered. She then headed out of the exit without saying another word and kept her eyes close to silently continue to hope.

"Hey~!"

Her eyes quickly opened up upon hearing the voice, to which she then saw a smiling and waving Akira right there. Futaba then quickly ran over and hugged her boyfriend once more.

"I kept my promise again," Akira told her.

"I love you…" Futaba whispered.

"I love you too…"

And, with that, we have reached the end of the first chapter. I'll admit that a few things did change while working on it… and most of them are related to the dates. The common fan theory is that Persona 5 takes place in 2016 and early 2017 during the ending. I decided to just run with it for ease of simplicity. Originally, Akira was going to arrive back in Inaba a week after the last day of the game, but then I looked up the distance between Shibuya and Inaba's real life inspiration and tacked off three days from the travel time. Then, originally, Futaba was going to start school after Golden Week to explain why Akira was visiting. I forgot when Golden Week actually happens, so that plot point was scrapped.

Finally, the last date change was when Futaba started class. It was originally April 8th, but then I decided to make it April 5th for no other reason than because the game IS Persona 5 after all.

I'll admit that this was one of the easiest ideas for me to think of. Akira making a promise to come back and eventually following through on it. I'll admit that I did end up looking up the game's cutscenes for the scene where Futaba talks to Akira before it transitions to the 20th just for the sake of accuracy.

Oh, and the "Key to Hearts" thing was actually the very first line I had written for this chapter. I honestly thought of Akira saying something along those lines, realized what it sounded like, and then made up what I think a good Persona universe equivalent to Kingdom Hearts would be. ...does make me wonder what their universe's version of the Destiny Islands would be called since their universe's version of Disney is clearly "Destiny". ...and I'm getting off track.

My favorite part has to be when Akira and Futaba reunite at the very end. It's just a sweet image that I can easily picture in my mind's eye.

I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter. Next time is the prompt that, I'll admit, I had the most difficulty coming up with content for.

Just Live More.