Persona Days
Disclaimer: I do not own Atlus's Persona (including Persona 5) or 0verflow's School Days for that matter. This is a story created just for fun.
Bedroom, Sekai's House. Tokyo, Japan. Evening
Sekai sat near the bed, dressed in her blue pajamas, waiting for tomorrow's day at school. She got up not only to get ready for another day at Shujin but to call one of her friends, Okumura Haru. Sekai had known Haru since their first meeting and was another close friend of hers with Haru's awakening and the subsequent heist on her neglectful father Kunikazu for sending her off to marry the greedy and manipulative Sugimura. Her connections to Big Bang Burger formed the basis of the friendship between Sekai and Haru when Kunikazu met Youko during an inspection of her Big Bang restaurant in the Tokyo area, followed by a meeting inside her home, thanks in no small part to the efficient management of her restaurant, as efficient as it could be under Kunikazu after he toured Big Bang Burger restaurants in the Tokyo area including Youko's. During this meeting, he allowed Haru to spend time with Sekai while he spoke with Youko. Here, Sekai learned every personal detail about Haru, including her status as a Shujin student and her class. She also knew that Haru had no other friends and took it upon herself to become her new friend, thanks to Youko's amicable, if not pragmatic, relationship with her father. Five days after Kunikazu met with Youko, Sekai made her first phone call to Haru as a gesture of friendship and hospitality to her. It was during this phone call that Sekai offered to meet Haru for lunch at Shujin and the Big Bang heiress accepted this offer. The next day, she began holding lunch with Haru, whether at the cafeteria or on the rooftops. Neither looked back and both began to spend more time with each other. Kunikazu even supported this newly forged friendship and allowed Sekai to visit his daughter.
After the defeat of Yaldabaoth, Sekai took Haru on a summer vacation to Paris, accompanied by her friends Setsuna, Hikari, and Nanami. Thanks to her wealth, Haru bought some fancy gifts for Sekai and her friends, such as champagne or a snow globe of Paris itself. When the vacation ended, Haru began to spend less time with Sekai due to the road trip with the other Phantom Thieves across Japan, though the two kept in contact through phone texts. Since the end of the road trip, Sekai resumed her time with Haru at school and home. However, Sekai did not reveal every secret to Haru and chose to keep her role in the pairing of Itou and Kotonoha a secret as she considered this a personal matter specific to her and only her. However, the fact that Sekai began to develop feelings for Itou meant that she had to find a way to be with him without causing great offense to his would-be boyfriend, Kotonoha, or worse, the Phantom Thieves. Luckily for Sekai, Haru was there and turned to her for advice on romantic relationships when she made the call. Haru picked up her phone and began to speak with her friend.
"Moshi Moshi, Haru-san."
"Yes, Saionji-san. What do you want to ask?"
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you something very important that I've been...let's just say I'm rather shy about sharing with you."
"What is it?" asked Haru.
"It's me playing the role of matchmaker to a student in my class. His name is Itou Makoto."
"Who is this Itou Makoto?"
"He's a recent friend of mine from Class 1-3 who is Katsura Kotonoha's boyfriend from Class 1-4," Sekai explained to Haru.
"As in that Katsura Kotonoha?"
"Yes. That Katsura Kotonoha, the same girl on the Shujin Student Council with Niijima-san."
"So what do you want me to do for Itou and Katsura?" Haru inquired Sekai.
"Actually, I want you to help me get closer to Itou," Sekai told Haru.
"Do you mean intimacy?"
"Yes. I want to be Itou's boyfriend over Katsura?"
"Really?" Haru wondered. "Why would you want to do this?"
"It's just that I want a good and faithful man in my life. Makoto is my best chance at getting the ideal man for my future."
"But aren't you the matchmaker for Itou and Katsura? Wouldn't becoming his girlfriend be a conflict of interest?" said a concerned and skeptical Haru.
"Listen, I really love Makoto and want to be his girlfriend. When and if he breaks up with Katsura-san, I want her to be with another boy of her choosing," Sekai told Haru.
"And what will you do if Katsura rejects any other boy besides Itou?" Haru asked again.
"I don't know. Either way, I want to be Makoto's boyfriend. My friends want me to be with a good boyfriend, too, and I'll seek their help."
"Still, I want your help in making Makoto my boyfriend. You understand the importance of helping a friend in need after all."
"Fair enough. But I'm still not sure if this plan of yours will work," Haru told Sekai.
"For the specifics of the plan, we'll slowly convince Makoto that Kotonoha isn't the best choice for him and explain why I am the ideal girlfriend. Once Makoto's convinced, he will send a breakup message to Kotonoha and I will be with him. We'll do this together with Setsuna, Hikari, and Nanami," Sekai outlined.
"Well, if your friends wish, then I'll join."
"Thank you!" Sekai commended Haru. "Just remember, this plan must be kept a secret from anyone but ourselves."
"Yes, Se-chan."
Haru finally accepted Sekai's proposal to make Itou her new boyfriend, if only because of the possible involvement of her other friends. What Haru didn't know was that Ren, Ann, and Ryuji were involved in the pairing of Itou and Kotonoha with Ren himself promising to ensure that the two were together. Had she known this was the case, she would have never agreed to such a proposal. Haru was now on board with Sekai's proposal and this would cause further troubles for her down the line.
9/20. Tuesday
Class 1-3, Shujin Academy. Morning
Sekai was quietly seated in her homeroom class with her friend Itou next to him alongside Ren, Ann, and Ryuji. Itou was now on her mind like last night's phone call with Haru-san. Sekai promised Haru that her plan to get Itou to break up with Kotonoha would work with the cooperation of Setsuna, Hikari, and Nanami at some point. As the girl responsible for the pairing of Itou and Kotonoha, she would also be responsible for its end and the journey would not be instant but gradual as far as she knew. Itou was an easygoing and nice student, so convincing him to become his girlfriend wasn't too difficult, hopefully. That is if Ren, Ann, and Ryuji didn't notice Itou was trying to make her his new girlfriend. Luckily, Haru was on board with her plan and would cooperate with the others to ensure that this plan went as smoothly as possible. It also helped that Haru was personally close to Ren, Ann, and Ryuji, so she could keep the most damaging secrets away from them or provide a convenient spin when asked. This was no easy task, to be sure, given that the trio were an observant bunch and might catch onto their facade, which would cause problems for not just her but Itou, Kotonoha, and especially Haru, so it was important to remain careful.
While quietly sitting to prepare for today's lesson, Sekai heard a little buzz in her phone and pulled it out of her Shujin uniform's pocket to see who it was. That buzz was a message from none other than Haru-san. When Sekai read the message, it was about the plan to make Itou her boyfriend with the assistance of the others. As soon as she read this message, Sekai provided her responses.
Chat Log Key = Chat participants are listed by their initials
H.O: Konichiwa Se-chan! I am here to discuss the plans to make Itou your boyfriend
SE.S: Haru-san! I didn't expect to see you send a message about it so quickly.
H.O: Well, you got my approval to participate in this plan and so I thought it would be appropriate to discuss them since we're from different classes.
SE.S: Okay.
H.O: So, we will plan how to win Itou for yourself during lunch with Setsuna, Hikari, and Nanami in the cafeteria hall.
SE.S: Really?
H.O: Yes. I don't want the other Phantom Thieves to learn about these plans. Remember, it's a secret kept only to us and our friends.
SE.S: Right.
H.O: When the bell rings and lunch gets started, meet us at the cafeteria.
SE.S: But what about Itou, Katsura, and the others?
H.O: I'll come into this classroom and tell my friends about our lunch.
SE.S: Good.
H.O: We've got everything in place for what I would like to call "Operation Boyfriend." What do you think of the name?
SE.S: It fits.
H.O: Inform the others about "Operation Boyfriend" through messaging.
SE.S: Thanks. Anyway, Ms. Kawakami's class will start soon so bye.
H.O: Bye, Se-chan.
End of conversation
Sekai closed her phone and put it back into her pocket to focus on not just Itou but Kawakami's lesson. For Itou himself, Sekai had his attention when he spoke up after the conversation with Haru.
"Makoto."
"Yes, Sekai?" asked Itou.
"I just have a feeling that something significant will happen," Sekai predicted to Itou.
"And what is that?"
"I think it has something to do with our current friendship."
"What do you mean by this?"
"Oh, there will be some string of events that will change our friendship," Sekai explained. "It may or may not be good for us."
"Can you elaborate on what those string of events are?" Itou asked again.
"I'd rather just keep it a surprise for our sake."
"Okay," Itou said.
While Sekai was contemplating his relationship with Itou and Haru's forthcoming "Operation Boyfriend," there was another important matter pertaining to both subjects, and it was in the class of one Katsura Kotonoha. Kotonoha was grateful to have a boyfriend and real friends for the first time in her life. Though she was from a wealthy family and could buy many things of interest, the one missing aspect was a friend or any friends to speak of. The men who wanted to become her boyfriend were too pushy and a bit perverted, while the other girls in her class and elsewhere in Shujin, particularly Otome and the girl posse, were jealous of her good looks on par with the hafu Ann, who was not coincidentally one of her new friends.
However, there was one girl in the entire classroom who wasn't jealous of her looks and was seated next to her. The girl's name was Yoshizawa Sumire, a passionate gymnast whose hair was auburn brown with a crimson tint and wore glasses to improve her vision. Much like Ann, Sumire was a Shujin student moonlighting as a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts codenamed Violet and had a traumatic experience in losing her more successful sister Kasumi to a car accident, leading Sumire to impersonate her deceased loved one under the guidance of former counselor and would-be tyrant Maruki Takuto only to come to terms with her trauma to embrace her true self in the final battle. Since then, Sumire has been content with living without Kasumi and learning from past mistakes. Like Kotonoha, Sumire had feelings for Ren, whom she would refer to as "Senpai" in the hopes of becoming his girlfriend, though such hopes were otherwise futile as Ren himself was committed to Ann. Still, Sumire had no plans to concoct a scheme to lure him away from Ann and break up with her as she accepted the reality but wasn't against courting the thief again when and if this would happen.
As Kotonoha waited for her class to begin, Sumire started a little conversation with her no less.
"Katsura."
"Yoshizawa-san?"
"We have some time to speak together so why not do this?"
"Alright," Kotonoha responded.
"This class is fairly easy for many for us. I mean, we do these assignments like it's no tomorrow and we pass all of them in no time," Sumire told Kotonoha. "When I went into this class, things weren't always easy for me especially when I lost my sister to a reckless jerk as I struggled with many of my classes but I got the hang of them. We've got this one in the bag."
Though Kotonoha had no real friends in this class, Sumire was perhaps the only student she was willing to talk to because of her kindness and curiosity before and after her time as Kasumi. Even then, she was just a mere acquittance rather than a true friend, and the two didn't spend much time together outside of class as a result of Kotonoha's shyness. Kotonoha was open to any conversation with Sumire now that she had friends and listened to more of what she had to say.
"From what I know about you, you're really into books, as in lots of books. When you're in class, I see you with a book if not a whole pile of them! It's good to develop productive hobbies like this. My favorite hobby is gymnastics and I'm training to become an Olympic athlete when I graduate though obviously not Kamoshida of course. What is your future career once you graduate?"
"I guess it's joining my father's property development company, Katsura Realty since he wants me to be part of it when I'm an adult," Kotonoha told Sumire.
"Not exactly the most exciting job, but it's still pretty cushy and high-class," said a curious Sumire.
"You seem to be a fascinating individual even if we aren't around each other that much outside of this class. Maybe we can be friends someday."
"Actually..." Kotonoha said. "I do have some friends."
"Who are those friends?" Sumire inquired.
"Their names are Amamiya Ren, Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji, Mishima Yuuki, and Suzui Shiho."
"Hey! I actually know Ren-senpai pretty well," Sumire informed Kotonoha.
"Really?"
"Yes, we spent some time together in and outside of Shujin. I even wanted to be his boyfriend, but he chose Ann. Still, I wasn't too upset about this and reassured Senpai that I would remain an important person in her life."
"I have a boyfriend as well. He's Itou Makoto."
"Who is he?" Sumire asked.
"Itou Makoto is a student of Class 1-3 who takes the same train as me. I became Itou-kun's boyfriend through Saionji Sekai and my new friends."
"Good for you. I wish you good luck with your new boyfriend!" Sumire congratulated her classmate.
"Thanks."
As Sumire and Kotonoha exchanged words in Class 1-4, another female student wrote something in her notebook. The student had bright orange dyed hair and wore the usual Shujin school uniform. Her name was Sakura Futaba, a second-year schoolgirl of Shujin Academy who enrolled thanks to the help of the Phantom Thieves after confronting her Shadow self. Like Sumire, she was a personal friend of Joker, if not his step-sister, as the adopted daughter of his caretaker, Sojiro. Unlike Ann or Sumire, Futaba always saw Joker as his big brother and had no romantic feelings for him. Becoming a student at Shujin was perhaps the best thing to ever happen to Futaba, as it meant she could be with her Phantom Thief friends and improve her life. She was seated next to another student but not far from Sumire and Kotonoha enough to listen to the essential details and sketch them out in the notebook. The details on the notebook contained written text about the relationship between Kotonoha and Itou, Sumire, the Phantom Thieves, and Sekai with the former couple and the latter written with question marks since she did not know who they truly were or their ties to Ren, Ann, and Ryuji. Still, she was curious and wanted to learn more about this Itou-Kotonoha relationship, especially concerning the Phantom Thieves before and after class.
Inside Class 1-3, Sugimoto Kentaro sat quietly in his seat with a smug and confident grin on his face.
Shujin Academy. Morning
"And that was our national language lesson today. I'll see you again Thursday!" Kawakami told her students as she departed the homeroom.
"Sayonara, Kawakami-sensei," said everyone in unison.
Kawakami's national language class was over and the homeroom was in a state of recess as every student spoke with friends or checked out their phones until the next lesson from Mr. Hiruta began. Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Mishima were spending time with Shiho on topics that were personally important to them. Conversely, Itou remained silent and waited for Sekai to speak with him about Kotonoha and relationships.
For Sekai, it was not yet the time to enact Operation Boyfriend, and she chose to bid her time through homeroom class for the time being until lunch came without speaking to anyone, not even Itou, as she didn't want to spoil too much of her plan. First, Sekai pulled her phone out of her pocket to send three messages to each of her friends just before lunch began, as Haru intended. It ensured that everyone knew Operation Boyfriend and would prepare for this plan by the time lunch came. Sekai was pleased and continued to bide her time for it to come to fruition.
However, Sekai had an unexpected visitor coming into her class. That student was none other than Futaba, holding a notebook in her hands and ready to discuss publicly the Itou-Kotonoha relationship relating to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts in front of Ren, Ann and Ryuji. She was less than pleased with a Phantom Thief barging into the classroom to discuss a highly important topic and ask her questions she didn't want to answer.
"Konnichiwa, Saionji-san," Futaba greeted Sekai as she stood up to await the answers. "My name is Sakura Futaba and I am here because I heard from Sumire about the whole Itou and Kotonoha relationship thing. I know you're involved in this relationship with my big brother Ren, Ann, and Ryuji."
Sekai was less than pleased that someone was learning about her involvement in the relationship between Itou Makoto and Katsura Kotonoha. The very fact that this was leaked by someone who knew Kotonoha was rather embarrassing, as Sekai felt that the other Phantom Thieves weren't ready to learn about this, let alone understand it. More importantly, Futaba might be the one to sabotage Operation Boyfriend and cause a rift within the Phantom Thieves, given that her plan had Haru's involvement. Worse, it might cause Ren and the others to expel her as a friend and have Itou remain with Kotonoha forever, and she was against such a scenario she was adamantly against. When it came to curious individuals outside of her circle like Futaba, Sekai had to make the right move to ensure that Operation Boyfriend was kept a secret to only herself, Haru, and her friends, respectively, as Futaba waited for an answer to come out of her mouth.
"Ummmm...Are you going to say something?" Futaba asked Sekai, lightly tapping her left shoulder twice.
"Fine, fine, fine, fine!" Sekai yelled at Futaba. "I'll talk about this whole relationship between Itou and Katsura-san as long as you don't tap my finger!"
Futaba was surprised at Sekai's apparent rudeness and not pleased with such behavior.
"You know, I just wanted to simply ask you about the relationship between Itou and Kotonoha since you made this possible. You don't have to act so rude about it!"
As Sekai continued her outburst at Futaba, Ren and his friends pondered what to do next.
"Hey, Sekai is acting a bit rude towards Futaba. Should we intervene?" Ryuji said.
"Yeah, things might not end well for the two," Ann told Ren.
Likewise, Mishima and Shiho favored intervention on behalf of Futaba.
"Shouldn't we be doing something to help her?" asked Mishima.
"The situation might get worse if we don't do anything," said Shiho.
For Ren, the possibility of intervention on behalf of Futaba seemed rather enticing, given his brotherly relationship with her, and he was ready to do this. However, he heard something different.
"I'm sorry about that. Can we get into the whole relationship thing?" Sekai apologized to Futaba.
"Please?" Futaba told the student.
"Please..." Sekai said.
"Good. Let's get started because I've got some stuff to share with you," Futaba informed Sekai. "But first, can I take a seat?"
"Okay," Sekai simply said.
With Sekai's apology, Ren decided not to intervene for Futaba.
"Looks like the situation won't get as bad as we thought. Let's stay out of this."
"Agreed," Ryuji seconded.
The formerly reclusive hacking prodigy took a seat and laid down her notebook for Sekai herself to read. Futaba opened her notebook so the brunette-haired student could look at her writing. The text in the notebook was a collection of writings mixed with gamer terminology. On Itou and Kotonoha, Futaba wrote "Possible star-crossed lovers?" with their names inside a heart and the mathematical plus symbol on the top of the notebook. This writing was accompanied by the hikikomori mentioning "Relationship level up?" and "Gathering romantic EXP points." As for Sumire, Futaba wrote that the gymnast was "A questgiver of sorts who told me about the Itou-Kotonoha relationship" with a little cartoon sketch of Sumire herself. Finally, as Futaba put it, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji were now "Playable characters in this relationship game," with their faces drawn together in a row. For Sekai, this text was strange and rather childish, not helped by her lack of understanding of gamer slang and terminology even after her first meeting with Futaba. She wasn't impressed with what Futaba wrote but was nonetheless aware that another Phantom Thief knew the relationship and that it would spread beyond just the trio, Mishima, Shiho, and Haru, as it did with Sumire. She was unaware that the details of her involvement in the Itou-Kotonoha relationship were known to Ren's pet cat, Morgana, as well, and it would not stop with him either. For now, Sekai had to be concerned with Futaba possibly sabotaging her plans to claim Itou as her boyfriend, as she might accidentally reveal them to the others.
Sekai wanted Futaba to leave Class 1-3 and end the discussion on the relationship, so she had a solution in her mind for this to happen.
"These writings are nice and all, but I think I need to get going...So can you please go back to your class?"
"Why? Don't you want to spend more on the relationship you made?" asked Futaba.
"Well...I'm a private person myself and I don't want every secret of mine revealed to others who might want to exploit me," Sekai told her.
Futaba briefly paused for a second on a response but came up with one or as appropriate as a response could get from her. "Before I go, can I just ask one question, please?"
Sekai quickly came up with a response of her own.
"Alright, but make it quick!"
Futaba was on the question and shortly provided one for Sekai to answer.
"How much do the others know of this relationship besides Ren, Ann, and Ryuji?"
Sekai was uncomfortable answering such a question for fear of leaking Operation Boyfriend to others and facing harsh repercussions. For her answer, she chose a false one for Futaba to know.
"Nobody else know about this relationship or my involvement."
Futaba wasn't easily fooled by Sekai's answer and demanded if this was true or not.
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes," Sekai insisted. "To my understanding, no one outside of the trio knows such details."
Sekai was anxious for Futaba's forthcoming response as she stared into her eyes for a few seconds. When the response came, Sekai was afraid of the consequences.
"Okay. That's all I needed to know. I'll be going then," Futaba answered Sekai. The hacker quickly left Class 1-3 for further business.
Sekai was relieved that Futaba bought into her lie and didn't leak Operation Boyfriend to the other Phantom Thieves even as it could have easily happened. Still, Sekai had to speak with Haru about this so that she would be prepared for events like this.
The encounter between Sekai and Futaba caught the attention of Itou and Taisuke who were in the middle of a conversation when this occurred and provided their own commentary.
"That orange-haired chick just spoke with Sekai about you and Kotonoha and it has something to do with relationships and Amamiya, Takamaki, and Sakamoto," Taisuke told Itou.
"What? How does this student know any of this?" Itou wondered.
"It's probably this Sumire student," Taisuke replied.
Itou himself was content with having his relationship with Kotonoha kept a secret to only him and his closest friends because of Kotonoha's status as a friend-less outsider. He did not want anyone to learn this relationship without his consent and knowledge and so another student knowing such crucial details wasn't a great thing because that outsider might want to use this to spread harmful rumors about him and Kotonoha. Worse, that someone might be an opportunistic bully and Itou found such a person to be absolutely detestable. As for the other Phantom Thieves, they might not welcome one of their own knowing this relationship without understanding the situation. As such, Itou got up from his seat to speak with Ren with Taisuke watching.
As soon as Itou approached Ren, he brought up Futaba even if he didn't know her name.
"Amamiya-san."
"What it is, Itou-kun," said Ren.
"Some student came into Class 1-3 and spoke about my relationship with Kotonoha. I don't know who she is but this student isn't ready to know this just yet. I want the relationship to be known through me and only me as well as you and the others."
"That student who spoke with Saionji-san is one of our own, Sakura Futaba," Ren informed Itou.
"Really?"
"Yes, she's part of a special circle and probably learned this from Sumire."
"Who's Sumire?" Itou asked again.
"Yoshizawa Sumire is a gymnast from Class 1-4 who's been with us for a while. She posed as her deceased sister Kasumi right down to the ribbon on her hair but we were able to break her guilt and embrace her true self," Ren explained.
"So she's part of your circle?"
"Yes," Ren answered. "Sumire is part of our circle, and she does spend time with us after school, so don't be worried if she learns about the relationship we made."
"Worried? What if she or any other student uses my relationship to spread defamatory and false rumors about Kotonoha and me?" Itou told Ren.
"Rest assured, Sumire isn't that kind of person and neither is Futaba," Ren reminded Itou. "I've spent time with her, and there are no indications she would engage in such behavior, much less act like a bully towards you and Katsura."
Itou was not convinced by Ren's remarks and reminded him of what he wanted people to know about his relationship. "Look, I only want to allow people to know about the relationship with Kotonoha through me and only me."
Ren and the others were now aware of Itou's true thoughts on the relationship with Kotonoha, specifically knowledge spreading from student to student, and this included even his loved ones. Like Sekai, Itou was unaware that Ren's cat Morgana knew about the relationship alongside his caretaker Sojiro. However, neither was particularly interested in such a romance and were otherwise skeptical of any Phantom Thief involvement in them. Nonetheless, Itou was adamant in only wanting him and him only to spread information of his relationship.
"Whatever they are, I want to be present and ask my permission on the relationship!" Itou reminded the Phantom Thief.
"Okay, okay, okay. We'll try to get the others to know more about this relationship with you," Ren reassured Itou one last time. "Besides, everyone in our circle shall know because of us."
"Thanks," Itou told him. For the Shujin student, the relationship with Kotonoha was perhaps the most important event in his life since his lustful and deadbeat father, Tomaru Sawagoe, abandoned him and his mother. It was the first time that he was in a serious relationship, one that might be beneficial for his family in the long run and boost his standing in life. Whatever the case, Itou was relieved that his new friend would at least preserve his secrets until they were ready to be released.
Elsewhere in Shujin, Futaba walked into Class 1-4 to share news on the relationship with Sumire. She stood up and held the notebook while Sumire simply sat down.
"Hey Sumire! I just wanted you to know that I've spoken with Saionji-san about her role in the relationship between Itou and Kotonoha."
Sumire was surprised that Futaba knew about the relationship and wondered how this could happen in her eyes.
"How do you know that Itou is Kotonoha's boyfriend?"
"Easy, I heard every detail about your conversation with Kotonoha about him," Futaba told Sumire.
Kotonoha was equally surprised that someone outside her circle knew about her relationship with Itou.
"Um...Shouldn't you be seated for today's lesson?" asked Kotonoha.
"Well, I know that you're not just with Itou but Ren, Ann, and Ryuji!" Futaba declared loudly.
"Can you take a seat and focus today's lesson, please," Kotonoha kindly asked her.
"On behalf of my big brother, I will!" Futaba told Kotonoha.
Like so many students in her class, Futaba returned to her seat as Kotonoha asked to focus on the lesson. However, the relationship between Itou and Kotonoha interested Futaba, as she wanted to play her part in their lives.
Shujin Academy. Afternoon
After the bell rang around 12:30 pm, every student in attendance headed out to have lunch and socialize with familiar friends or new acquaintances. The Phantom Thief trio, alongside Kotonoha, Itou, Mishima, and Shiho, brought their favorite foods to eat at the rooftops of Shujin as usual though Kotonoha brought black tea as a refreshment. Like what happened, the lunch was going well for everyone involved with nothing particularly troublesome happening. One notable absence from the lunch was Sekai herself who went off to be with her circle of friends. Still, her absence didn't stop the lunch from becoming great for Kotonoha, and her new friends, who were growing closer and closer together.
"Another great lunch like yesterday!" Ryuji praised the lunch.
"Yeah, this lunch is just as wonderful as before," Itou told his friends. "I hope we do this again."
"Of course!" agreed Ryuji.
"Who knew that lunch on the rooftops could be such an invigorating experience for all of us," said Ren. "I've never really thought that the best way to bond with friends was here and Sekai made the right choice."
"The lunch is great and all but I'm not into black tea. I tried it before at the Wilton Hotel with you guys and it tasted terrible. But hey, if Kotonoha wants to try black tea, she's in her right to do so," Ann opined.
"I mean, Saionji-san isn't here for this lunch and it does leave a gap for us," Ren noted. "Still, the lunch is going very well."
"That's what she told us before the bell rang. It's got something to do with her friends and Haru's involved so it's up to her and not us for obvious reasons," Ann reiterated to her friends.
As the group had lunch, Kotonoha shared some important news with her friends.
"Thanks for coming out. You've all been great friends so far," Kotonoha told the others. "I just want to share something very important."
"What is it, Katsura-chan?" asked Itou.
"Well, someone is coming to our school to conduct an interview tomorrow. It's going to be tabloid reporter Ohya Tachiko," Kotonoha informed everyone.
"Really?" Itou added.
"Yes. He's going to come here so he can talk with a certain someone." From Kotonoha's nervous expression, she knew that this someone was basketball superstar Sugimoto Kentaro, the same person who had bullied her relentlessly the day before. Mentioning him by name was not something she wanted to do, but it was necessary so that everyone knew this someone, so it had to happen.
"Who exactly is that someone?" asked Ryuji.
"It's...It's Sugimoto."
"Seriously? That's the same asshole who knocked you over and taunted you! Why is he getting an interview and not one of us!" Ryuji complained.
"He is one of the top basketball superstars in Japan," Ann told her friends. "I mean, Kentaro's not going to bring up his bullying habits on Good Morning Japan when he's in the spotlight."
"Starting to sound like another Kamoshida," Shiho noted. "He's a kid but not a particularly pleasant one either."
"Like Ryuji said, it's the same guy who relentlessly bullied Kotonoha and yet he's still getting an interview from Sumire's father over us," Mishima concurred.
"On the upside, we get to at least speak with Ohya again," Ren snickered. "She is interested in whatever story sells to the masses and Kentaro is the kind of person that will do this for her easily."
"You're familiar with Ohya?" Kotonoha wondered.
"Yes. I met her once to let Ohya interview Mishima on Kamoshida's abuses within Shujin," Ren noted calmly in a serious manner. "Her journalism skills have improved a bit though she's not entirely rid of her sensationalism."
"I hope she doesn't get bullied by him offcamera," Kotonoha wished the journalist.
"Probably not since Kentaro isn't stupid enough to do this to a well-known reporter," Ann noted.
"Still, I hope she's not victimized," said Kotonoha.
As Kotonoha and her friends continued to have lunch on the rooftops of Shujin, another group of friends was holding a lunch of their own. This lunch was held not on the rooftops but in the cafeteria halls of the school with other students. The organizer behind this lunch was Sekai herself accompanied by the likes of Haru, Setsuna, Hikari, and Nanami. The purpose of the lunch was to take the first steps in enacting Operation Boyfriend with Sekai naturally being the first to come up with an idea. That idea was giving Itou a kiss at the train station in Aoyama-Itchome after school. Haru and the others were skeptical of this plan as they weren't sure if Itou could accept a kiss from her especially one that was done without his permission.
"Um, Se-chan...Do you really think that Itou would accept a surprise kiss from you?" questioned Setsuna.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if this would even work for Operation Boyriend," replied Haru. "For all we know, it might even backfire and lead Itou away from you."
"You really sure you want to kiss Itou at Aoyama-Itchome?" Hikari asked.
"Sekai, it's one thing to get a guy to fall in love with you and another to make a kiss he might not want," Nanami noted. "It might not be a good idea to do such a thing."
Sekai was still adamant in wanting to kiss Itou and convince him otherwise as part of Operation Boyfriend.
"Listen, Makoto is the kind of guy into romance and I believe that it will be very effective in making him my boyfriend," Sekai told her friends. "I'm confident this will happen."
"I understand it's your choice, Sekai," Haru admitted. "But if this fails, don't blame us for these warnings."
Sekai understood her friends' skepticism but was moving forward with taking the first step in Operation Boyfriend. "I know you care for my well-being and that these plans might fail but I'm confident in them and I won't let them fail. I'm counting on all of your support for Operation Boyfriend and I hope it's there."
"Whatever happens, we will there to help you out," Haru reassured Sekai.
"Yup!" Hikari yelled.
"Thanks everyone," Sekai complimented her friends. "We'll work hard to make Operation Boyfriend a reality. Put your hands together and reiterate your support."
Sekai, Haru and the others placed their hands together in a show of unity and cooperation before raising them to declare "Operation Boyfriend or bust!". After the first step of Operation Boyfriend was solidified, Kentaro appeared behind Nanami with Kiyoko to tell her something.
"Hey, Kanroji-san," Kentaro smugly said. "Whatcha' doing?"
"Oh, it's just us declaring our support for Sekai's Operation Boyfriend. We're basically trying to get Itou to breakup with Katsura so that he can be with our friend," Nanami replied.
"You mean that stupid whore Kotonoha. Yeah, good luck on those plans which I already knew just by hearing about them."
"What was the point of asking your previous question?" Nanami grilled Kentaro.
"Oh, just a little fun," Kentaro told her.
"Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to be interviewed by Ohya Ichiko tomorrow as the basketball star Japan has to offer," Kentaro told everyone.
"That's a bold claim," Nanami remarked.
"Either way, it's going to be so good!" Kentaro said. He would then leave Sekai and her friends to speak with her girlfriend, Kiyoko, near one of the tables. Unbeknownst to him, the others watched Kentaro forcibly kiss Kiyoko with her only accepting this to remain on good terms with the arrogant basketball superstar. The others deduced that she was rather uncomfortable around him and simply played the part of his girlfriend.
"Sugimoto-san seems to be forcing a kiss onto Kiyoko to show his love for her," Nanami noted again. "Probably just Kiyoko playing a part."
Class 1-3, Shujin Academy. Afternoon
Itou and Sekai were in the middle of an English language lesson in the homeroom class after lunch by Filipino-born teacher Ms. Chouno alongside the trio and Mishima. English was one of the subjects taught at Shujin and other Japanese high schools for the purpose of teaching young students for the wider world since English itself was one of the most widely spoken languages to exist, along with Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, which were also taught but less frequently. However, English was one of the most difficult subjects for many Japanese students, given the differences in grammar, intonation, the absence of articles, and the omission of subjects, and most graduated from high school or college without becoming fully fluent in the language. For many students, English was difficult and a pain in the ass for some students who were more interested in Japanese. Whatever the case, most wouldn't be able to fully speak English to foreigners unless they were the foreigners themselves or were able to master the language such as Ann.
"The word romance is a word used since the dawn of Middle English," Chouno told her students. "It's a word used by just about every English speaker to denote love and I want all of you to work on the pronunciation so you can use this for the same purpose."
While the Filipino delivered the lesson, Itou decided to talk with Sekai about her apparent absence from the lunch with Kotonoha. Since the English class was still in session, he had to write down his responses similar to the fateful phone charm, though with far less tension between the two. As the class went on and Chouno delivered information on important English words, Itou used his notebook to write a message to Sekai on said absence in the typical kanji. Once the message was sent, Sekai glanced at Itou's writing and had to come up with her own response.
The message to Sekai itself read, "What did you do with your friends during lunch?". Sekai was distraught to see such a question, especially in the midst of Operation Boyfriend. In response, she wrote a message to Itou asking why he asked said question.
"Why do you want to know?"
Itou continued to ask Sekai about this and sent another message.
"Well...I'm just curious and nothing more."
Sekai wrote back and chose not to reveal the details of the cafeteria lunch with her friends.
"It's none of your business. Just please don't intrude into my personal life too much."
Itou was unsuccessful in getting Sekai to discuss the details of her lunch and her true motives. For the rest of the class, Itou and Sekai listened to what Ms. Chouno had to say about English, even if they mostly hated it.
Shujin Academy. After School
School was finally over for this day and most students went home while others stayed inside for special activities. Those who stayed inside for these special activities were Kotonoha and her new friends, who went to the Shujin library to read more books before they retired for the night. Among the books read by Kotonoha were those recommended by Ren and Ann, which included the French novella Carmen by Prosper Merimee and The Papess Joane by Emmanuel Rhoides. Much like "The Arrest of Arsene Lupin," Carmen was written by a Frenchman and was adapted into stage or theatre. The novella itself became one of Ann's favorite stories. As for The Papess Joane, the book was chosen as a tribute to Makoto, specifically her previous Persona. The story in question was about a female Catholic Pope from European legend who ascended into a position of authority just like Kotonoha. Like the lunch, Sekai was nowhere to be seen as she chose to go home because her friend Haru wanted her for a phone conversation but kept the exact subject a secret from her and her friends. Still, her absence did not impede the hangout at the library, which was going very well like the previous one. Furthermore, the school librarian, Yuuki, joined in to spend some quality time with Kotonoha and her friends. He was seated next to Kotonoha first as she read one of the books before Ann, Ren, Ryuji, Itou, Shiho, and Mishima. It was exciting to see Kotonoha again as he considered himself a friend of the beautiful student and wished her the best.
Kotonoha finished the last pages of The Papess Joane and closed the book as she began speaking up first to everyone present.
"Such interesting books," the student remarked. "I'm glad that I came here to learn something new and grow closer together."
"No problem," said Ren.
"With us together, you'll make amazing discoveries," Ann assured Kotonoha. "You and I might even read books beyond just the library."
Kotonoha was flattered by the praise and wouldn't be opposed to such stuff in the near future.
"This is just so wonderful...You know, I think these library hangouts are the happiest moments in my life," Kotonoha noted. "I want this to continue in the library and maybe even elsewhere at Shujin during lunch as much as we can even if Saionji-san isn't here."
"Of course! We've got plenty more things to share with you, Katsura-san!" said the blonde hafu.
"Hey guys, what about me?" asked Itou.
"Well, you'll come along with us," Ren told his new friend. "As long as we stick to each other."
"Good."
Yuuki came into the conversation and voiced his thoughts on the new friendship.
"I'm so glad you finally have friends to hang out with at the library. I'm the top librarian of Shujin and I don't have much free time to spend with you and your friends so after school is the best bet. However, maybe we can meet outside of the school someday with my sister."
"Perhaps," Kotonoha told the bespectacled librarian. "If this were to happen, I think we need to find the appropriate time and place to do this."
"Sure. Though I'm not so sure about Sakamoto-san. He seems a little too rough," Yuuki opined.
"What? I'm a little too rough?" Ryuji yelled. "I'm not a little too rough, I'm actually a fair and decent friend for real."
"Hey, can you keep things quiet in here? This is a school library and I don't want someone to cause trouble," Yuuki reminded the faux blonde.
"Okay, okay, okay," Ryuji backhandedly assured Yuuki. "We'll try to keep things quiet as possible."
"Are you sure?" Yuuki asked.
"Yes," Ryuji said in a lower and more genuine manner.
"I see."
Shiho then looked at the library's clock and noticed that after-school activities were coming to an end.
"Um...Look at the time. After school is going to end and we have to go home."
"Yeah, what she said," Mishima concurred.
"Well then, it's time to go," Ren remarked as he got up from his chair first with the others following him. As the group made their way to Aoyama-Itchome, Kotonoha made sure to give Yuuki the books she read by handing them over to him.
"Here are the books I borrowed."
"Thanks, Katsura-san!"
"You're welcome! Ashikaga-kun."
Kotonoha left the library and Shujin Academy with her friends, not saying a single word to Yuuki.
Aoyama-Itchome Station. Tokyo, Japan. Evening
Kotonoha and her friends stood patiently for their trains to arrive. The group was standing near a row of seats for passengers but preferred to simply be up. It differed from the previous one in that Sekai was absent and went home earlier than usual for personal reasons. Ann was beginning to feel that Sekai's presence made things rather strange.
"You know, it's weird that Sekai isn't with us for the train ride back home. That and her name literally means 'The World.'"
"I mean, Sekai is one of our new friends and she's just abandoning us!?" Ryuji pondered.
"She said that it was for her friend Haru. Haru is part of our inner circle so she should have no problems with her," said Ren. "Sekai was rather secretive about what this conversation was about, and she doesn't want her privacy impeded, which I can understand."
"Yeah, she didn't want to tell me about her lunch with Haru and others," Itou retorted. "We still don't know what her intentions are."
"Sekai is pretty protective of her plans, and I understand her right to privacy, so let's not inquire further about her actual intentions unless she wants to," Ren told Itou.
"I understand."
"Whatever Haru's doing, it's got to be about her personally," Ann predicted. "Sekai's been with us since Haru became part of our inner circle but even we have our secrets to keep to ourselves. I'm sure you have ones too, Itou-kun."
"Wh...Why of course!" Itou awkwardly replied.
"What about you, Katsura-san?" Ann asked her new friend.
"Well, me? Uh...I guess I have a few secrets but I don't feel particularly comfortable to share them," Kotonoha responded.
"Yeah..." Ann remarked.
"This whole secret stuff isn't making me comfortable either," Shiho noted. "I just don't want to speak about my personal life all that much for now."
"Why?" asked a curious Kotonoha.
"You don't want to hear it," Shiho reminded her.
"Is it something related to your friendship with Ann or the whole suici..."
"Just please don't speak about this!" Shiho shouted. "It's just too much to go into..."
"I see why you don't want to speak about this awful event so I won't bring it up unless you want me to," Kotonoha confirmed to Shiho.
"Just be sensitive about it."
"Understood."
"Yeah, it's not easy to reveal secrets like this especially the embarrassing ones and it's a guarantee that you have one, Katsura-san."
Kotonoha was still nervous about this topic and responded no further to Mishima's comment.
After 17 minutes, the trains finally approached Aoyama-Itchome, with Mishima being the first member of the group to see this.
"Our train is here, everyone," Mishima told his friends. "Be prepared."
"Thanks for the advice, Mishima," Ren complimented Mishima.
The train on the right slowly came to a stop until it was still for the group to see it's doors open. With the train's doors open, everyone got inside and sat at their preferred spots similar to the ones before albeit with Ren, Ann, Ryuji, Shiho, and Mishima much closer to them. The doors closed and the train was set for it's destinations. Before it started again, Ren had a few words to say to his new friends.
"See you tomorrow!"
The train started and made it's way to the homes of every friend on board. The day ended normally as usual but this saga would take some unexpected turns not foreseen by anyone in this reality.
Bedroom, Sekai's House. Tokyo, Japan. Evening
Sekai was back at the same place where she made a phone call to plan "Operation Boyfriend" with Haru, wearing the same blue pajamas as before. This time, the pieces were in place for the operation and Sekai would discuss the plan's specifics during her call.
"Thanks for picking up the phone," Sekai told Haru.
"You are very much welcome, Se-chan!"
"As we know, we're going to carry out 'Operation Boyfriend,' and we need to be careful on how we do this as there's always a risk that we could screw this up," Sekai informed the Big Bang Burger heiress. "So we need to find a way for me to properly kiss Makoto and not get caught."
"It's still risky, but I'm not going to veto such a move, so it's your choice," Haru noted to Sekai.
"So we know that this whole kiss will happen at Aoyama-Itchome. I'm guessing that you'll meet with Itou before my friends and Kotonoha get here?"
"Exactly," Sekai responded. "Remember, we don't want to caught."
"Noted."
"And once I kiss Itou, he will begin to develop some romantic feelings for me and we will discreetly lure him away from Kotonoha," Sekai explained. "Soon, he will begin to spend more of his casual time with me and eventually break up with her."
"Hmmm...The plan might work but Itou might not instantly fall in love with you," Haru reminded Sekai. "Besides, he might just find the kiss weird and unusual."
"As I said, Makoto is the kind of guy into romance and so he'll consider me as a girlfriend," Sekai guaranteed to her friend.
"Well...If this kiss of yours works, the plan might just succeed and I'll probably get involved more. Anyway, best of luck on this kiss," said Haru. "Oh, and there's also the whole Sugimoto interview at our school to consider when doing the kiss."
"Yeah, that too. Anyway, we have to go to bed to remain well-rested, so goodbye, Haru-san."
"Goodbye to you, Se-chan."
Sekai turned her phone off and sat on the bed to sit quietly and ponder her post-Shujin future. For much of her life, she never had a boyfriend to call her own, much less a spouse that she could marry and produce more children at her mother's behest. To her, there was no one who could serve as her ideal candidate for a boyfriend than Itou Makoto and the only girl standing in the way was Katsura-san.
"Makoto...I want to have him so that I can make my mother proud. But, Katsura-san is the one trying to stop me from achieving true happiness. She needs to separate from Makoto so he can be my boyfriend. If I want to have a faithful man in my life, I must become his girlfriend."
The Velvet Room
As Sekai continued to think about Itou, Igor and Lavenza observed the day's events unfold. They were intrigued yet concerned about what would happen next between Itou, Kotonoha, and Sekai even with the Phantom Thieves present as the latter was making plans to ensure that this Itou was only with her.
"Saionji Sekai is making her first true moves into claiming Itou Makoto as his boyfriend," Igor noted to Lavenza.
"It might bring disastrous repercussions to these young lovers if nothing is done to quell these issues," Lavenza replied. "They are from another reality devoid of Personas and less than mentally stable in dealing with romantic situations like this."
"However, the reality that these students and their loved ones find themselves in is closer to our own and their fates might be changed by the Trickster and his friends," Igor told the Attendant.
"Sir, the reality of note is one where the male student is rather indecisive and will do something shady next," Lavenza predicted.
"If so, then you shall be sent to the Earth to provide assistance to these students on behalf of our clients," Igor instructed Lavenza.
"Yes, master."
The pieces were now in place for the larger romantic struggle between Itou, Kotonoha, and Sekai and an eventual awakening.
And that was the third chapter of Persona Days, a crossover between Persona 5 and School Days. Sekai is trying to make her moves for Itou by consulting Haru Okumura for assistance in Operation Boyfriend. This chapter took quite a while to get released due to personal projects, college work, Writer's Block and some admitted procrastination similar to the next chapter of Infinity Crisis: Neon Genesis Evangelion. But still, I want to make good on promises and put out quality work, so remain patient.
I would also like to announce that you can officially PM me ideas and feedback on Persona Days and I will consider them for future chapters or side content. Your feedback is necessary in improving this story after all as I declared in the very first chapter. I will credit anyone willing to PM me ideas after this.
The depiction of the text messages between Haru and Sekai is a reference to the text messages seen in Shocker's Vanishing Act, a Fusion Fic crossover between Persona 5 and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It's a great mashup between these two franchises and I recommend checking out this story.
Futaba learning about the Itou-Kotonoha relationship and Sekai's role is no surprise since she already knew about the visual novel and anime adaptations of School Days prior to the incident within Mementos. Like the other Phantom Thieves, Futaba will play a major role in the story of this Fusion Fic. Speaking of Phantom Thieves, I placed Sumire in the same class as Kotonoha since she wasn't in Class 1-3 or Class 2-D in the original timeline. Canonically, Kotonoha has no friends to speak of, whether in Sakakino or Shujin, so Sumire is just an acquaintance of hers despite sitting next to each other and doesn't care much about the other outside of specific topics, sort of how Itou and Sekai are classmates but not friends. In other words, Kotonoha knows Sumire but isn't personally close to her. Of course, that will change once Kotonoha becomes a Phantom Thief.
Speaking of Futaba, there's a character in the School Days franchise known as Futaba Nijou. For those not well-versed in this character, Futaba is the twin sister of Kazuha and Hanon Nijou, as well as the daughter of Wakaba Nijou and Shun Hazama as depicted in Summer Days and its remastered remake, Shiny Days, respectively. Now, Persona already has a character named Futaba, which means the one from Shiny Days will have a different name to avoid confusion between the two, and the same will apply to her mother, Wakaba, when and if they appear in this story. I haven't decided on their names for Persona Days but it will be chosen. Similarly, Yuuki's older sister Chie Ashikaga will have a different first name to distinguish her from Chie Satonaka from Persona 4 which also exists in the merged reality.
As for Kentaro, originally it was Otome's younger sister Karen from the aforementioned Summer Days and Shiny Days sitting inside the class alongside her. But then I realized that Kentaro served a greater purpose for the story than Karen, so he is in the same class as his target Kotonoha alongside Sumire and Futaba.
The inclusion of Carmen and The Papess Joane are references to the books about these figures that Ren/Joker can read in Persona 5, but also because the former two are the actual stories and an indicator that this isn't the normal reality the Phantom Thieves know.
The conversation between Sekai and Haru happens after Ren's visions of the previous events from Episode 1.
The last few words of the Velvet Room segment foreshadow future events in Persona Days, which are drawn from School Days itself, and it's anime adaptation.