Persona 5: Shots Through the Heart

Shot 28: Test Run

The temperature is just right, the cherry blossoms are dancing in the wind, and the sky couldn't be clearer. Spring at its finest in the month of March.

It's noon on a perfectly normal Saturday at Leblanc. Akira is helping Sojiro out at the shop, Futaba is preparing for her new school life starting in April, and Ann and everyone else are most likely studying for their spring finals. Naturally, Akira is bored out of his mind being stuck in an empty hole-in-the-wall cafe.

"Ugh, I forgot how boring it is to be stuck here," he groans as he fiddles with his phone at the counter with Mona napping next to him.

"Well, at least you have something to do, unlike back in November when everyone thought you were, and wanted, you dead," Sojiro says.

"Yeah. You got a point… when there are actually customers here…!"

The two hear a knock on the door and Akira goes to answer it, jogging towards it with anticipation when he sees that it's a delivery man through the glass.

"Is that for Akira Kurusu?!" he immediately asks after opening the door. The man pulls out a small box from his bag.

"Right here!" he says. "All I need is a signature." Akira signs off on the package and thanks the delivery man before closing the door.

"What'd you get?" Sojiro asks, stroking his goatee with curiosity. Akira opens the cardboard box, pulls out a smaller black box, walks over to Sojiro, and shows him the contents inside. The old man puts on his usual smirk, impressed by what he sees.

"Whoa! Those must've cost an arm and a leg!" he laughs.

"Try a couple internal organs," Akira chuckles. "You wouldn't believe how much money I had leftover from my Phantom Thief job. And like I always say: My girl deserves what she always is, and that's the best." Sojiro rubs the back of his neck as an awakened Mona hops up on the counter.

"Still, don't you think you already got her enough?" Mona says.

"Hey, you know the couple's rules of Valentine's Day and White Day. The girlfriend gives her boyfriend lover's chocolate in February and then the boyfriend has triple return with all sorts of junk in March."

"Yeah, but you're doing a triple return on almost everything," Sojiro says. "So you're basically doing a return times twelve." Akira sighs as he puts the box away.

"I know… Still, I'm heading home a week after tomorrow and White Day comes before then, so I wanna show Ann how much she means to me before I go." He groans as he plops down in a nearby booth.

"What I wanna know is why the hell it had to be during Shujin Finals Week?! We won't be able to do that much of anything!"

"What did you want to do with her?" Sojiro asks.

"Go all over the place! Chinatown, the park, the Ferris Wheel where we had our first kiss, a fancy dinner at Wilton, and a night trip to Destinyland to top it all off!" Sojiro shakes his head.

"Yeah, there's no chance of you two doing all that in one day. A week, yeah, but not just one day." Akira sighs, annoyed by how little time he'll have with Ann on White Day… then his eyes pop and he gasps.

"Hm? What's up, kid?" Akira shoots a big grin at his guardian.

"Boss… I think you just gave me the best idea ever."

xxx

After school in the middle of Inokishira Park, the blonde Vague model is taking a long jog with her catty rival, Mika. Or, at least, that's what it started out as. After a little banter, their competitive spirits sparked and it turned into a race.

Mika glares at Ann's back in frustration as the blue eyed beauty happily laughs.

"Would you stop laughing?!" she barks.

"Ha ha ha! Sorry! I can't help!" Ann shouts. "The justice is too sweet!" As the two are speeding down the asphalt path, Ann hears the voice of her lover call out to her.

"Woooooo~! Lookin good, Panther~!" After a few seconds, she makes a U-turn towards Akira with a big smile and a tinge of pink on her face.

"Mika, you win!" All her rival does is groan out loud as she sprints towards him. He happily spreads his arms out to receive her attack hug, but the rainwater from earlier this week that had soaked the grassy soil made it slippery, so the force made him slip and fall to the ground.

"Whoa- Uwaaaaah~!" After he falls to the ground, the happy couple laugh as she pushes herself up.

"Ha ha ha ha… Ow! Hey, you!" Ann gives him a smooch on his lips before getting off him.

"So, whatcha doin~?" she giggles as he gets up.

"You said you were going on a jog after school, so I thought I'd wait here and catch you. And I literally had to. Didn't expect you to be running with Mika though."

"She just so happened to be taking this route and we ended up racing." Akira smirks at her.

"I couldn't help but notice you were happily kicking her ass," he chuckles.

"Payback for the Skytower shoot. Like I said, I can't bring myself to hate her, but, y'know… Vengeance!" Akira laughs and wraps his arm around her shoulder as she gets snuggled in. He pulls a sports drink out of his bag, takes off the top, and offers it to her.

"Thirsty? Here." Ann stares at the bottle, then shakes her head.

"You don't expect me to drink it out of the bottle, do you?" she asks with a smirk. Akira's eyed widen a little, then shrugs before taking a big swing in his mouth and kissing her so she can drink it straight from his lips. After finishing, her face turns pink as she giggles.

"Around a year ago, that would've been impossible," she says.

"Just shows how far we've come since then."

"Yeah... So, what were you up to today? Things still boring at the shop?" Akira rolls his eyes.

"I seriously don't get why the old man wants me to help him when no one shows up!" he groans. "Plus, Futaba starts school in April, so he could just have her help and get her more used to crowds."

"It's gonna be a lot of fun hanging out with her at school." Akira pats on her head.

"I'll be counting on you to look after her at Shujin. She'll need a "big sis" to make sure no one messes with her since Makoto and Haru won't be there anymore."

"Leave it to me!" Akira warmly smiles at her as he plays with her fluffy right pigtail.

"By the by… I figured out what we're doin for White Day." Ann suddenly squeezes his waist in excitement.

"Ooooh! Tell me!"

"Well, it's actually a lot of things. I wanted to go all over the place with in one day, but exams are gonna keep that from happening." He smirks at her.

"So I figured… we could spread it out over the whole week. One special event each day, like a White Week." Ann giggles.

"That sounds like fun… Then again, being with you is always fun."

"Hang on. I haven't told you the kicker yet."

"Hm? What kicker?" Akira scratches his pink cheek with his finger.

"Y'know how I said I was really looking forward to living with you one day? Well… how about… we try it out… for White Week?" Ann looks up at him with a narrow eyed look.

"... Akira… Are you telling me you wanna stay over at my place for a week…?"

"Uh… Maybe? I mean we've been together for how long and never seen it." Ann's biggest grin shines on her face.

"Is there any time you don't have an awesome idea?!"

xxx

Early in the morning the next day, Akira arrives at the apartment complex Ann is living in with two borrowed suitcases full of his stuff for the week in tow. Sojiro gave him the OK to blow off helping him out at the store and Morgana is staying at the Sakura house, so he's devoting the whole week to spending time with her.

He gets to her floor, finds her apartment door, and rings the doorbell. There's no answer. He rings it again. Still no answer. He does what he did to Mona's head one time and button mashes until he gets a phone call. It's Ann.

"Hello-"

"I'M COMING! God!" He chuckles as she hangs up. Around a minute later, she opens the door with crusty, bloodshot eyes, dried drool coming down her mouth, and a less than pleased look on her face.

"... It's almost 6 o'clock in the morning…" she groans.

"I told you I'd be here bright and early, didn't I?" Ann scratches her head.

"Yeah. Guess you did…" she yawns. "Well… come on in. Shoes off and don't turn the lights on yet." Akira follows her inside, taking off his shoes as she requested, and looks around the room, closing the door behind him. He can't see much in the barely lit room, but he could tell the place was spacious.

Ann walks over to the kitchen area, turns on a little light, and grabs a box of toaster pastries out of an overhead cabinet.

"Want some?" she asks.

"Sure. I actually skipped breakfast to catch the first train down here." Ann pulls out four treats and pops them in the toaster, then pulls out two glasses and a carton of orange juice. Meanwhile, Akira is sitting at the island counter observing her.

Y'know… I really did fall for her cuz of her heart.

A dirty smile pops onto his face as he stares at her loungewear. A pink hoodie, small white T-shirt, and frilly light blue short shorts.

But damn, can I not get enough of that body. Her outfit for lounging around the house is… hot as hell! I like that ponytail too. It's playful. Girl Next Door meets… uh… Aw, who cares? Let's look at her cleavage. Hello, sexy mounds. The three of us are best friends. Oh yes, we are.

Ann, noticing his perverted gaze, palm strikes him square on the nose.

"OW!"

"Mind turning down the perv?" she grumbles.

"C'mon! You and I both know I've done more than just stare. On multiple occasions." She palm strikes him again.

"I don't wanna hear that right now!" Akira growls, then stands up and marches towards the door with his luggage.

"Okay, if you're just gonna keep hitting me, the plan's off! See ya!" Ann gasps, overcomes her grogginess, and sprints after him, leaping forward to pounce on him.

"WAIT!"

"WHOA- NGH!" She ends up pinning him to the floor and he blushes when he sees her chest hanging over his face.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY, DON'T LEAVE!" she begs. "I didn't mean to! I just turn into a terrible person when someone wakes me up so early in the morning!" Akira stops staring at her love melons and meets her gaze.

"S-Still, you know I was just joking around, like always," he says.

"I know~! I'm sorry~! I was being a bitch and you didn't deserve any of that~!" Ann grabs her boyfriend's head and hugs it tightly to her breasts, rubbing her cheek into his frizzy hair.

"Please don't go," she begs in a cute voice. "Please?" Akira's face lights up like a Christmas tree as his face is engulfed her soft springiness.

H'oh man! I'm sinking face first into two cake smelling puffs of Heaven!

He looks up and his heart skips a beat at the sight of her red, puppy dog eyed face as she begs again.

"Pretty pleeeease?"

And damn her atomic bomb level cuteness!

Steam starts flooding his brain and his eyes start spinning as she squeezes his head tighter.

Deadly combo! Horniness… reaching critical overload!

A silly laugh bursts out of his mouth and his voice cracks.

"Ahahahahahaha~! Whatever you want, Ann-pan~!"

"Yay!" Ann quickly pulls away and showers his left cheek with kisses before getting off him. She rushes over the toaster after hearing it go off while Akira returns to the counter, still feeling her boobs on his face.

"Alright. I'm awake now," she says. "Lemme go turn on the lights," she says as she slides Akira's pastries and orange juice over to him. She walks over to the door to hit the lights to light up the spacious room. A smile appeared on Akira's face as he admires the decor.

"Nice digs!" he says.

"Aha ha… It's uh… one of the perks of having parents who work as global fashion designers. So, this is the kitchen and the living room, obviously. Down the hall is the bathroom, the guest bedroom, and my room. You can put your stuff in the guest bedroom, but you'll be sleeping with me in my room, of course." Akira chuckles mischievously.

"Sleeping's gonna a lot of fun," he says.

"Can you quit being a perv for ten seconds?!" Akira smirks at her.

"C'mon. Don't try to tell me you don't like it."

Fun fact: Akira and Ann's couple tradition changed drastically after their first time on Valentine's Day. Their weekly light make-out sessions were upgraded to daily adult ones and max intimacy is now a weekly basis. Though none of max intimacy moments were planned.

Ann narrows her eyes at him.

"It's how often it is that pisses me off!" she exclaims. "And you always weasel me into it!"

"No, I don't!"

"Really? What about the time I stole your glasses?"

xxx

One Sunday afternoon, Ann stopped by Leblanc during Akira and Sojiro's lunch break. Everything was pretty normal when…

"Hey, Boss?" Akira calls out. "You seen my glasses anywhere?" He suddenly hears Ann giggling and figures it out.

"Alright, you. Give 'em back and I'll consider not… Eh…?" When he turns to look at her, her sexiness seems to have been increased tenfold by his glasses on her face.

"Left speechless, I see," she chuckles. Akira's jaw dropped down to the floor as he gazes at her bespectacled eyes.

"Oh, here. Watch this." Ann tilts the glasses slightly and cocks an eyebrow with seductive smile, giving her man a severe chill throughout his entire skeleton. And it only gets worse with the use of one word.

"... Molecules."

Sojiro, seeing Akira biting his lip, trembling, and whimpering, smirks and starts walking to the door.

"I'm gonna go buy some cigarettes and check on Futaba. Akira, you've got fifteen minutes." As soon as the door closed, Akira snatches Ann by her wrist and pulls her towards the stairs.

"Whoa, where are we going?"

"TO MY ROOM, SO I CAN YANK EVERYTHING OFF BUT THOSE GLASSES!"

Ann was shouting… but only .5% of it was in protest.

xxx

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do?!" Akira protests. "You looked way too hot with glasses on!"

"And then there was that time I showed you I could speak more foreign languages than just English."

xxx

On a day Ann decides to sleep over, she and Akira are watching a TV series depicting the lifestyles of the rich and fabulous.

I think I'm in love with you!

Let's go out. I hope you don't mind that I have another girlfriend.

The couple sit up in outrage.

"BULL!" Akira spits. "BULLSHIT!"

"WHAT A DICK!" Ann barks. "THAT DOES NOT WORK!" They groan in absolute disgust as they lay back on the bed.

"TV celebrity dramas, I swear to god!" Akira growls.

"Believe me when I say there are way worse!" Ann rambles. "Just thinking about it makes me sick." Akira smiles at his girl as he squeezes her tight.

"Well, don't worry. When you take the world, you'll be the only woman I wanna get in trouble with." Ann blushes as she pecks at his lips and nuzzles on his cheek, then whispers in his ear.

"Je t'aime tellement." Akira turns to her with flushed cheeks.

"... Did… D-Did you just-?"

"Say "I love you so much" in French? No~."

"When the hell did you have time to study French?!"

"There are programs that can help you study online. I've been studying at home and when I go out for runs. Plus, I've been having Haru tutor me. I did tell you I was gonna start learning more languages so I can do overseas events, didn't I?"

"I didn't forget. How could I when it was the day we started dating?" Akira narrows his eyes as he presses his forehead on hers.

"That aside…" he says in a seductive tone. "You sounded really sexy just now. What else can you say?" Ann narrows her eyes and blushes.

"Well, since French is the language of love, I started learning phrases related to that." She bites her lip.

"Like… "You are my world." Tu es mon monde." Akira shivers.

"Ohhhhh! Say something else." Ann giggles.

"How about… "Never leave me." Ne me quittes jamais." Akira shivers again.

"Ooooooooh-hoo-hoo-hoo! One more." Ann places her hand on his cheek.

"... "Be mine." Sois à moi." After another severe shiver, Akira takes a deep breath, turns off the TV, and starts taking off his shoes.

"What're you doing?" Ann asks.

"Shoes and jacket, off. I'm gonna yank off the rest." Ann's face glows red.

"Wait, NOW?!"

"Sois à moi, goddammit!"

It didn't take too much to truly persuade her.

xxx

"I call bullshit on that one!" Akira protests. "You were staying over anyway! Of course it was gonna happen!" Ann crosses her arms.

"Need I go on?" she asks. Akira scratches his head.

"Can you try to look at this from my perspective? Since our first time, which was freakin' amazing by the way, we've only had a whole month to spend together before I move back. I won't be able to see you until Golden Week. You really think one time would be enough to hold me over til then?" Ann starts blushing.

"Well, I get that! But you know how embarrassed I get when I'm forced to strip out of nowhere!" Akira chuckles, remembering the Yusuke nude model incident back in May, then sighs.

"Yeah. You got a point there… Sorry…" Ann chuckles and grabs a stool next to him.

"Hey, don't get all mopey on me. I'm not saying I didn't like, okay?" She wraps her arms around his waist.

"I'll admit it… Despite all my yelling, I… really like it. And you do make a good point, so I'll let it slide til you move back next week. Just try to show some restraint after that, okay?" Akira takes a bite out of his first pastry.

"Deal. So, you come up with your set of ground rules, like I asked?"

"Nothing too extravagant. Just make sure you clean up after yourself and don't go looking through my stuff." Ann points one of her pastries at Akira's face.

"Oh! And stay out of my Sugar Cabinet! That's where I keep all my sweets! I see one crumb missing and I'll make you sit in the corner to repent and sleep on the couch, got it?!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"So, what're you gonna be doing while I'm taking finals?"

"Probably working at the convenience store or the flower shop. But only if I'm bored and not doing any housework." Ann's eyes widen at the word "housework".

"And "housework" being…?"

"Cleaning and cooking. What else?" Ann shakes her head.

"You don't have to do that! You're the one staying with me. Let me handle it."

"Did you already forget it's White Week? I, the boyfriend, am supposed to be doing stuff for you, the girlfriend. Plus, if we're gonna live together one day, I gotta show that I can pull my own weight, like making things other than curry for dinner." Ann smiles and throws her hands up.

"Alright! Then, I'll let you handle it for the week!" Akira, having finished his light breakfast, walks over to his bag and pulls something out.

"Speaking of which… who's ready for their first gift of White Week~?" Ann's eyes sparkle as she rushed over and kneeled down to him.

"Ooh! Me, me, me! What is it, what is it, what is it?!" Akira pulls a big white heart shaped box from behind his back and hands it to her.

"A big heart full of sweetness! Just like yours!" Ann squeals in delight as she receives her gifts.

"Ha ha ha! "Isn't it heavy? I filled it with love"," Akira chuckles as he makes a heart in the air with his finger, mimicking what Ann did on Valentine's Day. "And I mean it. I made this a week prior to today." Ann pulls him in to smooch his cheek.

"It is~! Thank you~! … Wait, first gift?"

"I got you a lot of stuff, so I'm gonna give you gift every day this week. And, of course, I'll save the best for last." Akira wraps an arm around Ann as she leans onto him.

"This is gonna the best week ever!" Ann exclaims. "I can already tell! … So hey… this is kinda like a test run for when we move in together, right?"

"Pretty much." Ann grins and blushes profusely.

"Then… I guess that makes me… your wife for a week, huh?" Akira smiles at her over his shoulder.

"... That okay with you?" She rests her chin on his shoulder.

"Of course. So I guess… make yourself at home… Honey~." With a passionate kiss, their one week of blissful wedlock begins.

Target: Hit

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Funny story. Remember that B-day chapter I did a while back and I made Ann's b-day Nov. 14th. Well, Atlus just released her official b-day... NOVEMBER 12TH! I was TWO DAYS OFF! Can u believe it?! Lol XD

That being said, I went ahead and made some very slight changes to the B-day chapter. It was way too close NOT to. Just so you know.

Also, for ReallyLazyReader, it's kinda yes and no. My first love in P4 was Yukiko cuz she was a brainy cutie with adorable laughing fits, but Rise's flirty nature towards Yu (P4MC) gradually got to me. So, yeah. She's my waifu in the vanilla version.

But if we're talking the Golden Version, I can't resist Marie. Yeah, I know she almost doesn't have any romance events outside her SL and she can come off as mean. But her curiosity about the world makes me wanna teach her all I can. The way she says that no matter what she is doing, finding her memories or making new ones, she's just glad she be with Yu struck home for me.

Her romance actually has a little relevance in the main story with her saying "I love you" to Yu when she says farewell in his sick dream and her saying it again on the news when he comes back to Inaba months later. And she has something that Persona series romances desperately need more of: Kissing scenes! More plz, Atlus!

I'm thinking about making a YuxMarie fanfic, but I'm already dealing with Shots Through the Heart and need to get back to True Protector, not to mention I'm stuck on the plot for my Reborn from the Sea project. If I could just get some help with RftS, I could focus on other things. I'd ask CosmicGuardian for advice, but I wouldn't want to trouble him/her.