Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!
Happy New Year, everyone! Take this chapter as my New Year gift to y'all, okay? I don't think I can upload very often anymore since my school year is starting again soon, so I hope you all can understand. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story by the end of next year, though!
Just some things to take note: I'm not planning any ships based on whatever happened in Persona 5, so any couples that surface out will come from how the story develops.
With that, enjoy the story!
The entire situation was settled in fifteen minutes flat. By then, the wails of sirens of police cars had already echoed around the entire streets. The police officers were able to easily arrest them since... well...
"Um, Ryuji?"
"What is it, Akira-san?"
"... Uh..." Akira was at a total loss of words as he stared at the brutal wounds that the blond boy whom he always knew as the most gentle guy in the group had given to the Yakuza members who were slowly limping into the car.
"It's not just Ryuji," Yusuke added as he rubbed a punch wound he had obtained from the fight. "Even the girls are brutal when it comes to avenging their friend..."
Ann shrugged. "Duh! We can't just let them go like that, you know?"
"Um... your punches weren't light either, Yusuke..." Futaba added.
"I'm... highly worried about Mako-chan, though..." Haru muttered softly as she watched the unconscious girl being hoisted onto the stretcher and being placed into the ambulance, about to be whisked away to the nearest hospital.
"We all are," Goro frowned. "I wonder what gave her the motivation to decide to come here and beat these guys up all on her own. If not for the fact that there are so many of us here, those Yakuza members would have probably destroyed us individually."
Akira would have remarked that Goro didn't do much himself since he could barely self-defend, but decided that now wasn't the time to do so.
"Based on her injuries, Makoto should be fine by the end of the day," Ryuji replied. "What matters most now is her mental condition, to be honest..."
Akira snapped towards him. "M-Mental condition?! What?!"
"I don't mean it as a medical term. What I mean is that I don't know if Makoto will be really upset by this and just give up on herself..."
Yusuke groaned, "Aw, come on! It's Makoto Niijima we're talking about! If she's gonna be upset about something, she'll be fine in a couple of days!"
"But Makoto-Senpai seemed really upset recently..." Futaba muttered softly.
"That's what I'm worried about," Haru sighed. "And it's not just that. You all did see Makoto's leg earlier, didn't you?"
Ann nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, she twisted her ankle, didn't she..."
"A twisted ankle usually takes around two weeks for recovery..." Goro pondered. "That means that our acting timetable is thrown off-schedule. But the worst part is not the fact that our schedule is thrown off-balance, but rather..."
Haru nodded sadly. "... The fact that Mako-chan's probably going to blame herself, knowing her personality."
There was a bit of silence, before Yusuke suddenly spoke up. "Hey, hate to break it and all, and you guys may yell at me for saying this, but to be honest, I think it's her fault that she recklessly went to try and beat the crap out of those guys."
Haru quickly snapped towards the blue-haired boy, but before she could argue back, a policeman began walking towards them.
"Were you students involved in the fight earlier on too?"
One by one, they all hesitantly nodded.
"Well, then please come to the police station with us. We'll have to take your statements."
"Thank god our records aren't going to be tainted, holy shit..." Yusuke sighed in relief as they stepped out of the police station.
"At least those Yakuza members got what they deserved after doing such things to the civilians," Ryuji nodded.
"I would say they deserved it, but damn, the wounds you gave them," Ann shivered. "I would have never expected that from you."
"Oh, by the way," Haru suddenly quipped up, "Where's Sae-san?"
"Probably in the hospital, waiting for Makoto's injuries to be treated," Akira replied. "I mean, it seems like the most logical explanation."
"Regardless, I think it's best if we all go home today, and check on Makoto-kun's condition tomorrow," Goro told them. "I don't think we would want to disturb her today either, would we?"
"No. You're right. We should all just go home for the time being, even though I'm really worried about her," Haru nodded. "It won't do us any good if we were to go and see her when she's unconscious."
Walking on the path back home after saying goodbye to his friends and leaving the subway, Akira couldn't help but sigh. Ever since he stepped into Shujin Academy, it seemed that his life had been turned upside down by these friends of his.
First, Ann, then Yusuke, and now Makoto. Who else was going to end up flipping out due to some sort of stress that they had?
Or maybe the next person was going to be him?
Akira groaned to himself. Things were going worse than they thought. He could even figure out what motive Makoto would have to just go and beat up all of the guys. Maybe it was as they had suspected, and she really wanted to seek justice. Or maybe it was for a slightly more selfish reason?
But what other reason could there be? He couldn't understand at all.
With a sigh, he fished out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment. Opening the door, he frowned when he realised that no one was home.
Oh right, he had forgotten that his parents had gone out to meet with some colleagues or friends for dinner to discuss about work matters. He had gotten the message just a couple of minutes ago.
Sitting at the dinner table after heating up the food that his mother had cooked for him before leaving the house, Akira checked his phone for any updates. Most of them seemed to be messages from the Persona 5 group concerning what just happened to Makoto. For obvious reasons, Makoto wasn't online, but it still hurt to know that a friend was in the hospital.
As he picked up a spoonful of rice and brought it to his mouth, Akira was about to continue the conversation that was going on when his phone suddenly rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Akira was a little surprised. "... Goro-Goro? Why would he be calling me at this time?"
Accepting the call, Akira lifted the receiver to his ear. "Hey. What's up?"
"Hey, Akira! Are you free to talk right now?"
"I wouldn't have answered the call if I wasn't free, Goro-Goro..."
He heard a huff from the othet side. "Alright, Sarcastic Smarty-Pants, I get it! Anyways, I just want to check with you about our schedule because I don't have it with me right now. How many other scenes do we have to film that don't involve Makoto-kun?"
"Uh, hang on, let me check..." Akira quick placed his phone on the glass table before rummaging through the bag and pulling out a file. "Well... Madarame Palace's arc is pretty much completed... I think Kamoshida's is mostly done too... Chariot, Lovers, Fortune, Moon and Strength Confidant scenes are all completed... Church scenes too... Emperor's scenes are half completed... We barely even touched the rest... Oh man, I remembered Lavenza being so freaking scary that I couldn't afford to bring in any bloopers..."
"Alright, alright! Just answer the question!"
"Chill, let me see! ... Only the rest of the confidant scenes, at this rate. All the rest of the scenes all involve Makoto," Akira quickly replied upon noticing Goro's impatience, then paused when the realisation hit him. "Wait... how long is Makoto's injury going to take to heal...?"
"That's what I'm really worried about. Considering that Makoto-kun's leg is injured, there's a high chance that she's going to be out of commission for a long time..."
Akira nodded, but then something came up to his mind as he continued to look through the Confidant scenes. "But it shouldn't be that bad... right? I mean, even if she takes an entire month to heal, we still can film all of the other confidant scenes first, right? I mean, we still have a lot of Arcanas left... Oh wait a minute. Crap."
He heard Goro's confused voice. "Huh... I think you may be right, but why that sudden reaction?"
"Most of the Confidant scenes are filmed at much later dates. Does this mean the rest of them aren't very free to take over our Palace scenes?"
There was a thump on the other side of the receiver. Akira assumed that Goro had face-palmed. "Oh, no. That's bad. We probably need to tell Director about this... Let's tell the rest of the group first. I'll inform them. If I miss out anything, you can add in, okay?"
Akira nodded. "Yeah. You can count on me for that."
"Thanks, Akira. Knew I could depend on you for anything. See you tomorrow!"
Click.
Akira's face fell. Placing his phone back on the table, he sighed. This was going even worse than he thought...
The next day...
"R-Ren Amamiya...?"
Akira stared at the Director in disbelief. Just earlier, they were doing some filming for the Hermit and Empress Confiant scenes, but then the Director also wanted the rest of the cast present for a briefing about a Persona 5 TV Series.
The Director nodded. "Yeah. We hae given a name to the Joker for the animation. It's Ren Amamiya. Didn't you know that we always give the protagonists of the Persona Series names for the TV Series?"
Akira was indignant about it! "Amamiya?! More like Ma Ma Mia! What the heck?! Why do the rest of my friends get to keep their names while I don't?!"
"Don't worry, we'll be using your real name in the Manga. It's the tradition, you know?" The Director added as he tried to appease the raging raven-haired boy.
"Don't worry, Amamiya! You're a hot Mamasita!"
"Goro, you're not helping!" Akira screamed back at the brown-haired boy who was wriggling his eyebrow at him while everyone started cackling madly in laughter.
As the laughing died down and they finally went to pack up their things, Haru sighed, "I wonder if Mako-chan would enjoy herself during filming today just like we did. It feels so different without her..."
"I mean, without her boisterous laughter, everything seems a little more quiet than usual," Ryuji nodded. "It's a little weird, to be honest."
Ann shrugged, but her expression looked a little sad. "Who wouldn't find it weird today? Makoto was always the loud one here who makes us smile."
"...? Are you guys not goin'?"
All of them turned towards Yusuke, who was already at the door with his bag in tow. The delinquent was staring at them with a raised eyebrow.
Akira quipped up, "Uh, Yusuke, have we all planned to go somewhere or something? Or am I just being dumb?"
He frowned a little in confusion. "Um, are we not going to visit Makoto today?"
Ryuji snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! Sae-san messaged me and told me that Makoto has waken up! She's allowed to have others visit her!"
Haru's eyes widened as a smile grew on her face. "That's fantastic! Come on, guys! Let's go and visit her!"
However, Futaba quietly muttered, "I can't go today..."
Everyone paused and looked at her. Goro immediately asked, "Is something the matter, Futaba-chan?"
"Um... here's the thing..." she pressed both index fingers together as she explained, her voice growing softer by the second, "I have a music competition to take care of..."
Ann got curious. "Music competition? Wow... Did Iwai-Sensei request for you to participate in one?"
The bespectacled girl nodded as she looked down in disappointment. "I'm really sorry..."
Ryuji chuckled lightly. "There's no need to apologise, Futaba. We all understand, okay? Just do your best, though. Don't stress yourself out too much."
Surprisingly, Futaba's eyes lit up. "Th-Thank you, Ryuji-Senpai..."
Ducking around them using her small stature, Futaba quickly made her exit as she headed towards the Music Room. Ann stared at the orange-haired girl for a while before she started giggling.
"Oh... I see how this is..."
The blond-haired boy could only look at her quizzically. "Huh? What's wrong?"
She quickly shook her head, but her smile was still plastered all over her face. "Oh, no. It's nothing!"
However, Haru was starting to get anxious as she hurriedly walked out of the set. "Come on, guys! We got to go and visit Makoto before visiting time ends!"
"Makoto, are you feeling okay today?"
Makoto, who was lying on the hospital bed, groaned in agony and shook her head. "No. And it's not because of my sprained ankle..."
Sae sighed and nodded. The cuts that those Yakuza members had given Makoto were rather severe and had caused painful infections and inflammation which led to a high fever. Seeing her sister being in such a state, her heart really ached for her.
Why did she not protect her sister? She should have known that something was wrong with Makoto when she wanted her to go back home first!
Makoto stared at her sister before she sighed loudly. "Sis, don't blame yourself. It was my stupidity that caused me to be in this state. It's not your fault."
"But if only I had taken notice, then maybe I wouldn't have let you go. How am I going to answer to our late parents?" Sae clutched her head and closed her eyes. "Dad... Mom... I've failed you two. I couldn't protect Makoto..."
However, the brown-haired girl still shook her head, a guilty look in her red eyes. "No, I'm serious, Sis. I was stupid. Stupid to let my desires and emotions take over."
"Your sense of justice is commendable, Makoto, but you have to sometimes know what you can do, and what you should just leave..."
"It wasn't just my sense of justice. It was for a much more selfish reason too..."
Sae glanced at Makoto with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
Makoto took a deep breath, then looked back at her sister. "Sis, do you remember about how I kept complaining about my role in 'The Dragon', about how I got the role I hated the most?"
Sae frowned in confusion, trying to link both incidents up before she gasped. "It can't be... You only went after the Yakuza members because...?"
"I know it sounds nonsensical, but I thought that if the Producer realised how capable and sincere I was, then maybe he would allow me to actually get the role I want... But look at where that stupid plan brought me to." Makoto shook her head. "I'm such an idiot, Sis. I really don't know what the hell happened to my head. I must have been drunk when I thought about it..."
Sae stared at Makoto in disbelief while she continued, "But of course, it wasn't just for this selfish desire. I really did wish to help out Ryuji's father because he was being harassed by those people, so I thought that it would be killing two birds with one stone, you know? But I overestimated myself, and I paid the price."
"M-Makoto..."
However, a sudden shout filled the entire room. "So that was the fucking reason you went after them?!"
Makoto was jolted out of her wits as she looked around the open ward. Wasn't that's... Yusuke's voice?
"Y-Yusuke! Pipe down with that language! This is a general ward! Everyone can hear you!"
Loud footsteps thumped towards them, and Makoto could immediately tell who was in the group. There was no doubt—they were all here!
Right at the front of the group was Yusuke Kitagawa, who's face looked as black as a thundercloud. Man, he was really angry… She could clearly see Haru's worried face as well.
Haru quickly brushed past the furious delinquent, running towards her and collapsing in the seat beside her bed. "Mako-chan! Are you alright?"
"You think?"
Sae sighed once more after regaining composure and explained, "Makoto received rather severe injuries from the Yakuza members. Not only is her ankle sprained, but the cuts on her body have caused her to gain a fever due to infection and inflammation. She's still going to stay here for at least three more days until her wounds recover."
Goro brought a hand to his chin. "That's awful… you're going to be missing a lot of days in school. Are you going to be alright, Makoto-kun?"
"I hope so. This is gonna suck… aren't our Common Tests in two weeks?" Makoto groaned and flopped back into the bed.
Ann nodded. "Don't worry, we'll help you as much as possible to catch up!"
It was at that moment when Yusuke spoke up. "Oi, don't mind me for being rude here, but what the hell? You went to beat up those fuckers just to get the role you want in the movie? I mean, I know about all that justice mumbo-jumbo that you were talking about and all, but seriously?! That's your other reason?!"
Ryuji sighed sadly as he leaned against the wall. "Maybe I shouldn't have spoken about our issues back home… If I hadn't, you wouldn't have ended up like this?"
Makoto shook her head. "No, it wasn't your fault. It was my own crappy idea that harmed me. I deserved all of this. And it sucks, because now my retribution is to be unable to even act in the movie anymore."
Hang on, did Makoto just…? Akira whipped his head towards her. "M-Makoto, did you just say that you aren't acting in 'The Dragon' anymore?"
She nodded. "There's just no way. Have you really not realised it? This sprained ankle is going to just delay the entire filing process. And it's not just that movie. Even Persona 5 is going to get delayed thanks to me and my stupidity."
Yusuke groaned. "And it's thanks to you that the Director said something about changing the script for the later parts of the game…"
"Wh-what?" Makoto turned towards the blue-haired boy and stared at him for a while before sighing and turning back to looking at her pristine white bedsheets. "God damn it, this is all my fault. I should have known…"
"Calm down, we don't even know what the Director is planning to change," Akira quickly replied, trying to appease them. "It could be a scene that we haven't recorded, for all we know."
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Well, I hope so! If not, it would have all been for nothing!"
Ryuji hurriedly slapped Yusuke's arm. "Come on, don't be rude! Can't you see now upset she is?"
He piped down real quick. "S-sorry. I was just pissed…"
"At least you shouldn't be as pissed as I am…" Akira sighed as he folded his arms, causing everyone to remember what happened just earlier and start snickering.
Highly confused, Makoto could only ask, "What? What happened? Anyways, where's Futaba?"
"She's practising for a competition that Iwai-Sensei asked her to take part in," Ann replied before giggling, "And as for why Akira's so mad… let's just say he's gotten another name because of the TV series that Atlus usually launches a while after the game's release…"
"Huh?"
"Say hello to Ren Amami-YAAAAA~! MA MA MIA~!" Goro sang out loud before breaking down in laugher with everyone else. Even Makoto and Sae, who was listening to her sister's conversation with her friends, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Poor Akira could only sigh and mutter, "Here we go again…"
OMAKE:
Sighing, the Director slowly packed up his items on the set. The Persona 5 cast had hurriedly left because one of the members, Makoto Niijima, had been injured after fighting some Yakuza members… How foolish could she be to make herself so ill during the course of filming?
Staring at the schedule, he could only shake his head. This is going to be bad… there were going to be some scenes at the end of Persona 5 that he had to discuss with the other higher-ups to be scrapped, or else the release date was going to be delayed by a large margin.
"We had already scrapped the idea of Hifumi Togo being a part of the Phantom Thieves because there wasn't much time left… what are we supposed to do now?"
"Hey, Director! Is something bothering you?"
Shocked to hear someone suddenly call him out, he turned towards the door and had a pleasant surprise. "Hey! You two are here!"
Entering the room was a blue-haired male with a light build and headphones around his neck, and another tall silver-haired male wearing a pair of grey glasses. Souji Seta smiled back at the Director and asked, "How's it going, Director?"
He sighed. "Not so good. One of the cast members obtained rather severe injuries and is down with a fever and a sprained ankle. That isn't good for all of the action scenes. Still, I didn't expect you two to still look the same as before."
Minato Arisato groaned in dismay while Souji simply chuckled. "Ten years later, and you still tell me that I look the same as before?! Anyways, why did you call me here, Director?"
"The thing is… our company is planning to add another Dance game to our franchise. I think you know what this means, don't you?"
"… Are we going to have another Dancing All Night with Persona 3 characters instead?"
The Director nodded, while Souji started chuckling. "I'm glad I'm past that period. Good luck, Arisato-Senpai."
"Not Dancing All Night, but Dancing Moon Night. I haven't told the Persona 5 cast about it yet since I don't want to stress them out, but we're planning a Dancing Star Night game for them as well. But that's not all. We're also planning to have another Persona Q series: Persona Q2."
Minato turned towards Souji. "What was that about relaxing?"
He sighed and flopped onto the ground. "Oh, man… Director. why are we having so many games this year?!"
He chuckled, "I mean, you got to ask Atlus about that, Narukami-san, Makoto-san."
Suddenly, an air of awkwardness filled the air. Souji sweat-dropped and chuckled nervously, while Minato fell silent.
"Uh… Director…? You do know that Arisato-Senpai is really sensitive about this, don't you?"
The Director gulped, then turned towards the blue-haired boy, who slowly looked back at him with an evil glare before screeching,
"MY NAME IS MINATO FUCKING ARISAT—"