Disclaimer:
I do not own the story and the concepts represented in the fiction written. This fiction and all Persona-related fictions belong to Atlus, the fantastic company that created the games.
Author's Note:
Hey everyone,
I want to say thank you to everyone who Favorited and Followed my story, as well as making a comment. I really appropriate the feedback, and the follows/favorite because it lets me know that I'm doing a decent job. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I haven't updated as frequently as I'd like for two reasons: I was doing this business/work certification that took 45 hours, and the latest chapters are getting harder to write. Nonetheless, things are advancing well, and I plan to invest more time now that I'm done with this certification. Lastly, any errors, grammatical or story-wise, please inform me. I am a crazed perfectionist, so it makes me happy to correct any shortcomings and improve!
Comments to Reviews:
Ganheim: Hey, thank you so much. I am thrilled that you've enjoyed my story. Furthermore, I'm overjoyed at the feedback. I went back and made all the corrections you've recommended, and I'm happy with the improvements. As I mentioned in notes, if you notice any other inconsistencies, please notify me, and I'll correct them immediately. I want to make this story an enjoyable read for readers like you that give me the chance to improve.
emma-nyaaan: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. When it comes to emotions, they are wild, uncontrollable forces of nature, so I try my best to convey that. On the theories you've made, well, I hope you stay tuned and enjoy the craziness that follows.
Faneto Knight: Thank you so much for your praise. I definitely will continue this story and try my best to provide an excellent quality story for dedicated readers like you.
prince of underbrush: Hey, thank you for the review. I wish I could be more consistent with my writing, but little things keep on popping up. I am very appreciative of your continued interest in my story, and I plan to provide the best story I can. Also, I hope you are healthy, too!
codywhite162: Hey! Thanks for the review. You have great taste, my friend. Ann and Kasumi are fantastic and engaging characters as well. Though I can't add Kasumi, since I haven't played royal yet, I might make a side chapter in the future with her involved.
After
11/28
Akira wakes up from his sleep feeling only marginally rested.
Despite having eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, a necessity when Morgana is his bedmate, and not experiencing any nightmares, Akira feels worn and dazed. The frequency of his dreams decreases as the team progresses through Shido's cruiser. He's thankful for this since sleep is one of the few things that put his anxiety to rest nowadays.
Nonetheless, he's beginning to want more of it. Not as a means to reciprocate but to escape reality. He vividly recalls another time when he used to sleep and stay in bed as a means of withdrawing and how ineffective it was.
Akira sighs. He thinks about yesterday, his journey to Shinjuku, meeting Chihaya Mifune again, and hearing her reading of his future. It is easy to downplay the ominous premonition in Mifune's presence, but now, it wreaks havoc in Akira's mind.
He knows what the Tower represents. He has numerous personas of that arcana, and all their stories are tragic or heinous.
The Empress is usually a good omen. He can rely on those personas, and their stories are often related to influential feminine figures. However, he has never seen it reversed before.
Then there is the Death arcana. For Akira, Tae Takemi represents the Death arcana. His punk-rock confidant is many things, but dangerous is not one of them. When their bond grows, the personas she strengthens are worrying. While meek and silent in his mind, their existence reeks of misfortune and death.
Together, the three arcana in Chihaya's reading spell out a troubling future involving the Empress, Haru. That much is plain to him.
Akira feels the urge to thrash around or throw something against the wall in frustration. Still, a distinct figure rests on his abdomen. Morgana, curled in a small ball, sleeps happily away. Despite Akira's predicament, he is happy to see the feline. It was strange when Morgana disappeared. So weird, in fact, that Akira's sleep schedule was nonexistent from worry.
Akira closes his eyes and tries to consider his situation. He is a fugitive, wanted for crimes he has and hasn't committed; if caught, he gets executed.
Akechi's betrayal, being almost shot and discovering the man who ruined Akira's life. Akira gulps. His circumstances are too bizarre and distressing to feel real.
"He isn't satisfied with ruining my life. Now, he wants to take it."
It hits Akira when the words leave his mouth, the panic of his situation settling in like a monster slowly coiling around his body, squeezing the air from his lungs. Suddenly he is not in his bed but sitting in a chair with his hands cuffed behind him. The two police officers loom over him like shadows straight out of Mementos. Somehow they approach but do not actually touch him. The suspense, the never-ending unknown of their intentions, deepens his panic, making him feel like he's drowning in his fear.
It doesn't last. Akira's personas respond to his growing panic: Titania, King Frost, Barong, Seth, Seiryu, and Lilith. The scene melts away, and Akira stares at the ceiling until he is completely mindful of his surroundings. Thankfully, he hasn't awakened Morgana in his panic.
"One problem at a time," he reminds himself. "One problem at a time…."
Later in the afternoon, once Morgana is awake and stretching his back, Akira creeps down the stairs and pokes his head to see whether there are any customers.
He shouldn't be impatient; he knows Sojiro will fetch him breakfast, lunch, and dinner; but his stomach wags a mini-war with itself.
Leblanc is empty, save for Sojiro, who gestures at a plate of curry with a nod. Akira feels relieved and smiles, walking over to collect his meal. Sojiro eyes him, smiling with his eyes, but doesn't say a word. He usually waits until closing to check on Akira.
Otherwise, he acts like Akira doesn't exist. It's safer this way. This way, they can't raise suspicion, and life goes on.
Akira walks up the stairs as Morgana travels down them. Unlike Akira, there is no witch trial for the feline, so he can come and go as he pleases.
Sometimes Akira feels irrational jealousy about that so powerful that he wants to scream. Other times he forces his mind to shut down and focus on something else.
"Hey there, little Prince!" Sojiro calls.
"Hey, boss! Some of the usual, if you please," says Morgana as if Sojiro can understand him.
Akira breathes, sits down at his makeshift workshop, and begins to eat. Really, he's shoving food in his mouth more than anything.
X
The light outside starts to dim when Akira dons his hoodie. He picks up his duffel bag and dumps its contents onto his bed to make room for Morgana. When he walks downstairs, it is close to closing time, so he doesn't have to worry about last-minute patrons. Leblanc isn't that popular, after all.
Sojiro looks up from his magazine behind the counter and smiles wanly. "Hey, how you holding up?"
"Good," Akira says. "Just wish I could…."
Sojiro shuts his magazine. "What is it? I know this situation isn't ideal, but tell me."
Akira sighs. "Just…wish I didn't have to wait until nighttime to bathe."
He isn't lying, per se. He does wish he could bathe like an average person. He wants to wake up early, wash at the bathhouse, get ready for school, and go back to something reminiscent of high-school life.
"I know this isn't easy," says Sojiro grimly. "But…you can pull through, right?"
A pang of guilt hits Akira's chest. How could he be so unaware? On the chance that they fail, that they can't change Shido's heart, his friends are next. That means Futaba.
Akira realizes that, more than anyone, Sojiro feels the most hopeless. And, just like everyone else, he's placing all his hopes on Akira.
Akira shallows the knots of fear, uncertainty, and hopelessness down. For Sojiro, he smiles and says, "Of course. This is just another day in the life of a Phantom Thief."
The tension melts from Sojiro's shoulder. "Ha. You're right. You kids are in a position to handle this more than anyone else. I believe in you."
You shouldn't, Akira wants to say. Instead, he nods, pulls up his hoodie, and walks towards the door. "I'm heading out for a bit. I'll be safe, and…See you later."
"Gotcha. Be back for closing."
The bell chimes when the door closes behind Akira; he waits a moment before moving to the side of the building and leaning against the wall. Comfortable, he pulls out his cell phone.
The group chat is buzzing with conversation. Ryuji is arguing with Makoto about studying, while Ann adds an occasional response. Meanwhile, Yusuke and Futaba are engrossed in discussing the different art styles in anime. Haru is absent from the chat.
Akira forces himself to breathe and bury his worry. He can't handle the imaginary thoughts of Haru in danger on top of everything going on.
Pushing himself off the wall, he heads to the train station, his destination: Shibuya.
The train is surprisingly brimming with people. It takes him a moment of shuffling around, but he eventually finds an empty seat. Pulling his duffel bag to his lap, Akira slouches forward and allows his hoodie to fall further down his face. Pressed against a corner and covered in layers of clothing, he feels like a needle in a haystack – present but invisible.
He realizes then that Morgana, snoozing peacefully in his bag, is his only companion in this metallic cart filled with bodies. Without Morgana, Akira is alone while surrounded by so many people.
Akira hugs the duffel bag tighter.
X
Returning to Leblanc, after buying Morgana sushi, Akira walks in and sees Ryuji, Yusuke, and Sojiro appraising the Sayuri. It would have been a comical scene not for how horrible Akira felt inside.
Ryuji can't usually sit still; Yusuke is a chatterbox. The boss knows enough about art to converse with random women.
"Right on time," Sojio says, noticing him. "Mind closing up? I need to start heading out, and talking to these two is like talking to a hyperactive kid and an alien."
"I'm not hyperactive," Yusuke mummers.
"I think he means you're the alien," deadpans Ryuji. "Wait! Have you been talking to Ann because I'm no kid?"
Sojiro laughs while removing his apron and walking towards the exit.
Patting Akira's shoulder, he says, "Good luck. They're your friends."
"Ah! Come on, Boss! We're not that bad!"
Sojiro exits with an amused huff.
Akira turns to obverse his departure and the bell as it swings to-and-fro, the chime echoing absently in his mind. When turning toward his friends again, Akira sees their pensive gaze on him. It worries him because contemplative and Ryuji don't belong in the same sentence.
"Something on my face," Akira ventures, smiling.
"Ah, what? No, it's just…."
"Your expression carries the essence of melancholy," says Yusuke. "Like a rose wilting from the change of seasons."
Ryuji stares at him in disbelief.
Akira snorts back a laugh. Leave it to Yusuke to overcomplicate human emotions. "I'm fine. I'm more of a wildflower ready to bloom in the summer."
"Ah," Yusuke nods, "I see."
"Anyways," Ryuji says, shaking his head. "Enough of...whatever that was. Let's go upstairs! Play cards!"
Playing cards are on the list of the top five things Akira needs to distract himself. Ryuji loses a lot. Even to dense Yusuke and the feline-human Morgana. With poker, though, Akira destroys them all.
After the tenth-consecutive loss, Ryuji grumbles, reshuffles the deck, and says, "Things at school have been weird without you, bro."
"Yes," Yusuke agrees. "It truly has."
"You don't even go to our school!"
"Yes, but the situation is distressing regardless of my location."
Ryuji shakes his head. "Well, yeah...I can see that. Everyone at school talks shit about us, the Phantom Thieves. It's freaking aggravating! They talk about how we're villains and that it's great that our leader - you - got caught and executed! It's so messed up!"
Ryuji deals with the cards. They are playing goldfish at the blonde's request.
Yusuke sighs deeply. "It saddens me, as well. My fellow classmates seem neutral or overjoyed at the news, not considering how it affects everyone."
Akira can feel the gloom hanging over his bedroom like a poisonous mist, slowly killing him from within. He doesn't need this - not now when his head feels full of negativity.
"Got a three?" Ryuji asks.
Akira waits until the tremors in his hands subside. "Nope, go fish."
After another game of cards and another loss for Ryuji, he and Yusuke prepare to depart.
"Damnit, I swear you guys were cheating."
"Nonsense," Yusuke resorts. "I didn't even know how to play."
Akira changes the conversation before Ryuji can internally combust. "Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it."
"Anytime, man," says Ryuji.
"We will always be at your side at a moment's notice," Yusuke agrees.
At that moment, affection for his two friends is so profound that it breaks through his gloom and strikes his chest.
"I...I know things are the greatest right now with everything going on, but we can turn it around."
Akira shakes his head. Confidence fills his chest. "No, we will overcome this."
He sticks out his hand. It's almost childish, but he feels immense relief when Yusuke, Ryuji, and even Morgana place their hands over his.
"So, we're doing a chant?" Ryuji asks with excitement oozing from his grin.
"What should we chant?" Yusuke questions.
"For the Phantom Thieves, of course," Morgana proclaims.
It probably isn't the brightest idea considering they're supposed to be hidden. Still, Akira is too swept in the group's energy to care.
"On three, Phantom Thieves."
"One, two, three! Phantom Thieves!"
When Yusuke and Ryuji leave, making sure their chant doesn't wake the neighborhood, the room's energy drops considerably. For a while afterward, Akira and Morgana lounge downstairs in a booth, taking turns on a crossword puzzle.
Their peace, however, ends when Akira's phone beeps. He reaches for it, pausing in his attempt to fill a word when he sees the text from Haru - her message very straightforward: "I want to see you."
Morgana peers at the message and shakes his head. "Well, Futaba's bed is much fluffier."
Akira stares at Morgana. "What?"
Morgana jumps down from the booth and walks toward the door. "See you tomorrow, maybe!"
"Wait, Morgana, it - it isn't what -"
The feline is out the door before Akira can formulate a proper response. Not too long later, Haru appears. She's in her winter outfit, a white dress shirt under a pale green fluffy coat, a pink skirt, white tights, and brown shoes.
Akira feels his breath hitch; she's beautiful, and he's reminded of that every time they're together. But, the hopelessness in her gaze is so apparent that it physically hurts.
Akira wonders if she can see his despair or if it is as hidden as he imagines it is.
He assumes it's the latter when she eventually crashes her lips on his.