Persona 5: Daywatch

Monday, 18 April 2016
Early Morning
Shujin, Hall in front of Guidance Office

Akira trailed his homeroom teacher to the guidance office, wondering if Shujin had decided to give him the boot early. He and the others hadn't even found Kamoshida's Treasure yet.

The door slid open and the brute himself stepped out and mirrored the snarl on the transfer student's face. Kamoshida's eyes met Kawakami's, then he relaxed as a man and miss Cute But Annoying walked out behind him. He gave a smug smile angled more at the transfer student than the frazzled teacher. "Good to see you getting to the problem I mentioned, Kawakami!"

The red-head inclined her head to the transfer student. "Thanks again."

Kamoshida stiffened and turned to the first-year, his smile vanishing. "You know this guy, Yoshizawa-chan?"

Either missing out on the hostility radiating between the two or choosing not to acknowledge it, she gave the square-jawed teacher a smile. "Mm-hm. He helped me earlier."

Kamoshida's eyes flicked to the suited man, then his face collected into a wooden mask of calm. "Steer clear of the likes of him. There are some students in this school you shouldn't get involved with. This one's at the top of the list."

Akira's composure cracked and he felt a snarl twist his face. He forced it into a smirk, then clasped his hands in front of his chest. "I'm number one in your book? Why, that makes me so proud."

Kamoshida's snarl returned. "Of troublemakers."

Yoshizawa blinked. "Oh, the delinquent?"

Akira shoved his hands into his pockets and curled them into fists. Kamoshida wanted to poison him before he had a chance to make his own impression? See how he handles this. Akira turned to the red-head as if the coach wasn't there and smirked. "Be careful, I'm apparently bad to the bone."

Kawakami groaned behind him. "Just get in there." She shifted to the coach. "Pardon the interruption, but I need to use the guidance office."

Kamoshida forced himself to give a too-wide smile. "We should be going. Wouldn't want to get in the way of guiding a delinquent." He marched off and the suit followed.

Yoshizawa gave a stiff bow. "Please excuse us," she said before trotting off, giving him a wider berth than before.

Kawakami motioned him into the guidance office and the transfer student stepped in, then sat at one of the two chairs on one side of the table. After closing the door, she took the opposite side. "Kurusu-kun, what happened between you and Kamoshida-san?"

Akira blinked. She sounded firm, but hadn't just assumed he had to be all in the wrong yet. "He drove Suzui-san off the roof."

Now the haggard teacher sat up. "Something so serious is not something to make light of, Kurusu."

Akira stood up enough to push his chair back before he realized it and forced himself back down. "Who's making light of it?" He took in a breath and added as an afterthought, "Sensei."

Kawakami rubbed at her eyes. "You're not even in one of his classes. You've had no other reports of misbehavior from any of your other teachers, you haven't even gotten a single question wrong during lesson." She lowered her hands but looked no less weary. "Just don't go causing trouble." She glanced at the door, then back at him. "Before we go. About that girl outside the office… did you make a pass at her in front of Kamoshida or something?"

Tisking, Akira crossed his arms. "She's cute, if you're into that 'doormat who believes perverts who leak transfer student's sealed records' type."

Kawakami rubbed at one eye. "Ugh. You've been getting involved with Sakamoto-kun and clearly have strong opinions about Suzui-san. Just… please get through the year and don't cause any trouble, okay? That's all I wanted to say. You're free to go."

Monday, 18 April 2016
After School
Shujin, Rooftop

Akira glanced at the flowers and tomato plants, little green bulbs just visible under some stems. With no sign of anybody else up on the roof, he returned his focus to the team. "Everybody ready?"

Morgana jumped up to one of the disused desks, giving a meaningful glance at Ann before facing Akira. "Are you sure everyone's had enough time to recover from the battle against that angel on Saturday?"

"We don't have time to lollygag around." Akira fought down a snarl. "Every day we leave Kamoshida be is a day he could be putting another person into a coma."

Ryuji wavered on his feet, unable to meet Akira's eyes. "I get you, dude, but the Shadows are gettin' kinda strong. What happens if we run into somethin' else like that angel in the gym?"

Akira slipped his hands into his pockets. "Oh, don't worry too much about that. I found a doctor in real life that can do some patching up if we get into a real scrap."

Ann looked up from the email on her phone, her stance tense. "Any idea where the Treasure is, Morgana?"

"No, but we were getting closer last time. There's just too much we can't know until we go in."

Akira stared down their companion-in-cat-form. "But once we find the treasure, the Shadow will be vulnerable and we can strike Kamoshida directly?"

Morgana squinted, as if unwilling to answer for a moment. "If we get into a direct confrontation with him, yes. But if we're not careful, we could end up causing him to go berserk."

Ann crossed her arms. "Don't worry. Revenge is a dish best served cold."

Kamoshida's Castle

Opening the ivory-edged door with a quiet click, Akira kept low as Morgana hopped off his back. Raising his sub-machine gun, he pushed the door open, holding onto the gold-filigreed handle to keep it from banging. Ryuji ran in with his shotgun up, sweeping left as Ann strolled in sweeping the center. Akira took to the right and they spread out through the one-room but still opulent library.

Ann's lips curled in disgust at the gold statuette of a nude girl holding up a stack of books on the shelf. "I'm surprised a pig-headed pervert like Kamoshida would have a library in his Palace."

Ryuji leaned in at one shelf. "Running Times of the Great Kamoshida. Magnificent Hair Care." He stepped away with a tisk.

Morgana kept his crossbow in hand, if retracted in its square-rod state. "I thought the Treasure was in this direction, but it looks like nothing's here."

Akira made a slow revolution, taking in huge library room for second time. Shelves lined the walls, the dark wood polished and all manner of colors and sizes of books arrayed on the walls.

Ann lowered her machine gun and read one of the book spines. "The Delicate Kiriko." She spat. "All of these are probably his sick fantasies." Stepping away, she stopped and noticed her staunch compatriot still scanning the large space. "What's up, Joker?"

"Something's wrong. Don't you guys see it?" Akira paced a small circle around the reading table in the middle of the room, eyes out on the walls and shelves.

Ryuji took his shotgun in both hands. "A lotta creepy books?"

Akira clenched his hand over his sub-machine gun, then lowered the weapon to his side. "No, not the books, something else is… wrong here."

Ann bared her teeth in a silent snarl. "The bookends are all naked girls."

Akira stopped, then closed on one of the support pillars separating the bookshelves. "No, it's this." He reached out for the candle in a gold holder jutting out of the pillar. "It's not straight. Honestly, am I the only one in the world who likes things straight and tidy?" He pulled it out to check the bottom when a click sounded. Wood scraped on stone as a bookshelf at the far end of the short wall spun around.

Morgana dove for cover under the table, crossbow snapping to the ready.

Ryuji gave a shallow nod. "Whoa! Good eye, Joker." He pointed his shotgun and the group looked at a heavy wood panel where the bookshelf was.

Akira lowered the candle back. A click echoed out of the wall and the bookshelf spun again.

Ann held up her pistol. "I'm not the only one who saw something behind it, right?"

Morgana hopped up on the reading table. "I saw it too, Panther."

Ryuji boggled. "Wha… you wanna go in there?"

Akira held his sub-machine gun up against his chest, finger out of the trigger well. "C'mon, Byakko. You can tell me if we're any closer to the Treasure in there. Panther? Keep watch with Reaper."

Morgana steadied his crossbow and swallowed. "Right." He followed Akira to the spinning bookshelf.

Ryuji lifted the candle out of the holder. The bookshelf spun, taking Akira and Morgana with it.

A small, stone-walled room lacking the fine plaster, polished wood paneling, or ivory filigree greeted them. A huge, wood desk dominated the small room beyond the circular scrape marks. Sitting on it rested a huge tome, less a proper book than loose papers sewn into a heavy wood cover. Walking around desk, Akira reached for book and pulled it open.

Holding his hand over heart as Japan's national anthem finished, a heavy medal weighed down on his front. Despite its significant pull, he felt a million meters tall.

Suguru tromped into the bustling bar and plopped onto one of the circular stools.

The bartender came to a stop in front of him with a towel slung over one shoulder. "You look like hell, Suguru-kun."

You deserve every recognition, every reward.

"Just leave the bottle this time."

"You're not usually a drinking man." The bartender set a bamboo cup and medium-size rice wine bottle on the counter in front of him. "What happened?"

Your subjects betrayed you.

Suguru threw back the whole cup, a burning heat sliding down his throat. "I won them a gold medal, and they kicked me to the curb." He tilted the bottle to refill his cup. "Do they think I'm just some hack who got lucky? If my talent's not carrying the day, what's the point?"

He threw back another cup.

Suguru looked down at the dangerously overweight man in mustard-yellow suit across desk.

Kobayakawa closed the file.

A pinch tightened inside Suguru's chest.

Kobayakawa looked up at him. "Kamoshida-san, I can't believe that somebody with such a stupendous record would apply to coach at Shujin Academy."

Suguru straightened, his breath hitching. "You… you mean…?"

It is only what you deserve. Does a king not deserve a kingdom?

Kobayakawa smiled. "Kamoshida, just the news of you joining our school would boost our ranking. If you could get a team to regionals… Well, we'll have donors lining up for the chance to contribute to the school."

Suguru scrambled to his feet, bumping his seat back in haste. "Kobayakawa-san, I promise you I won't stop at regionals. I will bring us all the way to nationals and put the golden trophy in your hands." He gave a deep bow.

Here you can reap your reward.

Phone ringing, Kobayakawa pulled it out and took a quarter turn away. "I look forward to it." Answering the line, his pudgy face smiled even more. "Yes, Shido-san. I've just secured an asset that will make your contribution to this school very lucrative."

Suguru slid the door open to Shujin's PE faculty office. Trotting to his chair, a knock pounded on the door before he can even plop into his seat. Sighing, he turned around. Kamoshida's voice came out of his mouth, "Enter."

The door slid open and a toned girl with wavy black hair stepped in, then closed the door behind her. Her skin glistened with sweat, giving her an ethereal glow, her bust straining under the volleyball uniform as she breathed from her run to the office. Whirling around on him, she shouted, "I'm on the bench? I was the team captain of a champion team at Green Ceder!"

At last, a fitting offering for a king.

Suguru sighed. "Himiko-chan, there are a lot of very talented players this year."

She took an aggressive step closer, chest still moving in and out. "But I am supposed to be the best!" She crossed her arms under her developing breasts. "I work twice as hard as all of them."

"Team size is fixed, Himiko-chan."

Himiko fell to her knees, a little theatrical but a definite fire in her eyes. "Please, Kamoshida-sensei. I have to be the starter. I'm good enough… I'll do anything."

See how they all want from you? It is only right to claim tribute back.

Suguru swallowed, feeling his member stir in his pants. "There's a lot that defines a volleyball player. Her strength, her constitution, her skill…" His eyes roved over her curves. "Her… dedication." He put a hand on her shoulders, hooking his thumb inside her shirt collar.

A momentary shudder passed through her before she breathed in, then out, and looked up at him.

Suguru smiled. "If you're willing to give enough, you can get anything."

She stood, and after he pulled she reached down and helped him remove her white gym top. Her lacy black bra jutted out, the skin all over glistening with sweat. Suguru pulled down her shorts even as her eyes clamped closed.

Akira surged back away from the tome, stumbling into the wall and slipping to the ground. He curled onto his side and dry-heaved.

Morgana rounded the desk, crossbow in hands and eyes wide in worry. "Whoa, Joker! What happened?"

Akira twisted onto all fours, focusing just on breathing for a while until the need to vomit was no longer all-consuming. His heart raced, and he felt defiled. As dirty as if his hands pulled that glistening girl's clothes off. "He… Kamoshida really does think all girls want to be with him."

Morgana lifted the crossbow to rest on his shoulder, the long bayonet jutting out the front and glistening in the dim candle light. "Joker, what are you talking about?"

Akira swiped for his sub-machine gun, stumbled up to his feet, and pointed a hand at the book. "That sick bastard thinks everything he wants is his for the taking." He lifted his sub-machine gun, but between the defiled feeling and wispy air getting into his lungs couldn't scrape together enough energy. "But… it's like something was talking to him, pushing him to that idea."

Morgana looked around, pulling at one of the drawers in the desk only to give up when the whole desk shuddered under his yank. "Well, I don't know what this room is for, but I don't see anything useful and that," his eyes stopped on the tome, "sure isn't his Treasure."

Keeping a maximum distance from tome, Akira moved around room to the bookshelf. "I don't see a switch or anything here. How do we get out?"

"I think they need to trigger it from out there."

Akira clawed at the books, throwing them from the shelf, then banged on the backboard. "Reaper! Panther! Listen to me very carefully. Put the candle back!"

Tuesday, 19 April 2016
After School
Shujin Library

When the door slid open to dense shelves of books instead of a student worker, Akira knew he opened the wrong door. Hoping that wasn't a bad omen, he kept his back straight and posture calm like he meant to do that and walked in. A set of round desks sat beyond the bookshelves, some students reading manga and more reading textbooks for class. Rows of small study cubicles lined the back wall.

Despite the short walk, by the time he reached the desk of the student librarian, he could already hear murmuring behind him. The many that glanced up kept an eye on him, but most remained quiet as he came to a stop in front of the brown-haired girl at the desk. She clasped her hands and looked up at him, eyes flicking over his uniform. "Oh, a second-year badge. You're the transfer student?"

"Akira," he said with a swift, shallow bow, sidestepping the question.

It wasn't enough to placate the students at the reading desks, many of them breaking into hushed conversations and shooting suspicious glances at him. Was Shujin really that hard-up for gossip that he somehow became a celebrity just by transferring in?

The student librarian glanced left and right, taking in the others at work. "I don't mean to be rude, but it might be better if you weren't here."

Akira's easy pose straightened, gaze hardening. "How is that not supposed to be rude?" Despite himself, his teeth ground and his voice rose as he continued, "This is supposed to be a place of learning open to all students, and I'd like to study."

A red-eyed girl with a braided hairband stood from one of the reading tables and walked over. She looked either annoyed or nervous, but kept a closer guard on her expression than most students. "Is everything all right?"

The librarian bowed in her seat. "Oh, pardon the disturbance, Miss President."

Akira slapped the piece of scratch paper in his right hand to the desk, flipping it when he realized his handwriting wasn't facing up. "I need this book, the online catalog indicated you have it."

The student worker took it and read, "Muscles and the Skeleton, Fourth Edition." She stood, eyes flicking to the taller brown-haired girl before she stood and beat a hasty retreat out to the shelves.

The girl in the sweater vest held a confident, even imposing stand against him. "I am the Student Council President. The library is a place of learning but it is a place of quiet learning. I don't mind if you're here to study, but please keep your voice down."

Akira tightened his already curled left fist, waiting without a single word back to the student council president. Leave some hoity-toity official to get on his case when all he wanted was to study.

The librarian returned with the book, took Akira's ID, scanned them, then handed him the book as if she feared he might tear her arm off. Akira sat down far away from everybody in one of the study cubicles and started reading. Minutes passed and the murmured conversations continued. When his phone went off, he gave up on the lumbar vertebrae and brought up the blinking chat function.

Ryuji's ID stared up at him. [Yo! Where you at?]

Closing his book, Akira focused on chat. [Trying to study in the library. I'd think you'd be here, too.]

[Dude, my grades aren't that bad. Besides, I realized something when we were running around the Palace. I feel like I'm way behind where I was back in track. We're running into tougher Shadows, so we should probably train.]

Akira blinked, trying to decide if Ryuji was that far ahead of the lesson plan or that determined to catch up with him and Ann. [Weather says chance of rain tomorrow. You have something in mind today?]

[Quick warm-ups behind the gym. Be sure to change into your gym clothes first.]

Tuesday, 19 April 2016
After School
Shujin, Practice Field

Back in the same uniform he wore when first discovering the castle of horrors with Ann, Akira walked onto the general-purpose field. When he heard Ryuji's heavy, certain footsteps he said, "You know, I'm starting to think the same construction and landscaping company does every school sport field in Japan. The one at Inuri High looked the same."

"Yo," Ryuji said in response. He came to a stop next to Akira, hands on his hips, eyes sweeping over the grass field with his chest puffed out. "Lotta memories here."

Akira tried not to think about the basketball fight. "The track team have a lot of good days here?"

"Yeah." Ryuji kicked the grass, his shoulders drooping a little. "We'd gather here before hitting a track, and just become one with the wind." He looked up at Akira. "You seemed pretty good on stamina back there. You sure you didn't play anything?"

Akira snorted. "As if anybody'd have me on their team."

Ryuji shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, anyway, that was actually what got me thinkin'. When we were fightin' in that other world, I felt slow and clumsy."

Akira gave an easy shrug, though a smirk slipped through. "Well, maybe you just are."

Ryuji jerked his hand out, thwacking Akira on the arm.

"Ow." Akira rubbed the impact.

"Anyway, I thought I needed to build back up again." Ryuji said, stepping out into the field before looking back with a grin, "Can't sit back with this flimsy body, right?"

Akira held his hand over the last punch site. "You're seriously going to leave me an open door like that? You make it too easy."

Ryuji closed in and elbowed him with a grin of his own. "Hey, maybe it'll help you, too. I seem to remember beating you back on the walkway in Inokashira Park."

Akira adjusted his glasses until he cast a glint on Ryuji. "Heh. You may find I'm not some sloppy amateur struggling to catch up to you."

Ryuji shot back his own grin. "An' I ain't some old man past his glory. You know what knee lift sprints are?"

Akira tilted his head.

"Well, I know you know regular ones. Let's take ten laps, an' I'll do the knee lifts."

Both charge around the field, both trying to out-do the other until they both come back to the grassy field closer to the buildings. Ryuji came to a stop, gasping and bracing his hands on his knees.

Akira flopped onto his back on the grass, spreading his limbs out as he heaved in breaths. "Man, you don't… know when to… stop. You must've… been a speed demon before Kamoshida."

Ryuji stood straight, clasping his hands on top of his head to expand his chest. "We were the big thing here at Shujin before Kamoshida disbanded us. Well, besides the scholarships for good grades and letters of recommendation. He was on our case as soon as he got here. He gave crazy workouts, then just piled more on."

Several moments passed as both did nothing but breathe. Ryuji plopped down next to Akira, crossing his legs and staring out at the setting sun. "He gunned after me. Prolly knew I'd snap sooner." He lowered his arms to his knees. "I guess… I was always the kinda guy who didn't really know when to hold back."

"You're not alone there." Akira pushed himself to a sitting posture. "You did pretty good back when I stormed in Kamoshida's office. I wasn't thinkin' at all. All I could see was Suzui's twisted body." He clenched his fists, remembering her perfect smile. Her graceful gait. Her luxurious, black-as-midnight hair in a practical ponytail. The rose-scented chapstick that drew his eyes to lips that smiled so easily. Her joyous laugh, the way it made her eyes sparkle. And the empty stare as she lay broken on the courtyard. "Whether I succeeded or failed, the cops'd have stuffed me in a hole so deep I'd never have seen the light of day again."

"Yeah, that was a weird day." Ryuji ran a hand through his hair. "You were so much like me I didn' know what I was s'posed to do. It was like you were really gonna kill him."

After a while of staring out at the skyline of the city, Akira looked back to Ryuji. "So what'd he end up doing? I know he screwed your team, but it sounds like you have a personal beef with him."

Ryuji rolled a twig between his fingers. "He brought up my parents."

Akira let out a sharp breath. "I'da slugged him too."

Ryuji looked Akira up and down. "What'd your old man do?"

Akira clenched his hands into tight fists, focusing on drawing in breath and letting it out through his grit teeth. After feeling his heartbeat slow back down from the flash-urge to kill, he spoke. "It'd be a shorter list to say what my old bastard did right. He was always more concerned with his research than me or my mother. For a long time, he did memory training when he wasn't with others. He'd strap me in a chair, jam electrodes in my scalp, and shock me any time I answered a question wrong."

Ryuji stared at him for a while. Then, eyes narrowing, he crossed his arms. "Are you for real?"

Akira shot him a flat stare. "Why would I lie about the bastard?"

"Wow," Ryuji said, scratching his head. "That's just… messed up. I mean, my pops… well, you know." He mimed tipping a bottle at his lips. "He'd be at work sometimes all week, and always promise to bring home somethin' nice to say sorry, but he'd almost always get home sloshed. Sometimes he'd pass out on the recliner, but sometimes he'd get all mad at somethin' I did, and hit me." The runner's hands clenched and teeth ground. "Or Ma." Ryuji blinked, then shook his head and looked at the transfer student. "But he never electrocuted me. Kinda makes us losin' our shot at the championship seem like small potatoes."

"Why?" Akira held up a twig and pulled off a strip of bark. "I'm just one person, your championship was a lot of people. A lot of opportunities, you'll never know what could've been."

"Yeah," Ryuji said, looking out at the skyline. "But lookin' back, I don't think he'd'a ever let us get in a win. Kamoshida. He always came at me twice as hard. Finally told the whole team about my drunk of a father." He clasped his hands on his head again. "In front'a everyone. I lost it, kinda like you did." Ryuji sat on his heels and ran his hand over the tended grass.

He hurled the twig into the wind. "You wish you could go back?"

Ryuji stood up. "To track? Nah. The other guys treat me like a traitor, and it's not like they're wrong."

Akira scoffed, and stood up next to him. "If they were just putting up with Kamoshida's abuse, they were the traitors." He let a breath pass. "You were the only one with the guts to stand up to Kamoshida, just as you were. That takes balls of steel, dude."

Ryuji smiled and nudged him an elbow. "Well, if you're gonna steal pages from my book, I might as well do the same. Who cares what happened before? That's the past, we got the future." He brought up his hand to high-five Akira, who barely responded in time to avoid a slap in the face.

AN: I don't dislike Yoshizawa, and I don't think Daywatch's Akira really dislikes her, but showing up and appearing to take sides with Kamoshida during a point like this is a great way to put a burning roadblock on their relations. I've always thought it odd that Kamoshida was interacting with her and wondered what it was for, as at this point in the game he's clearly still targeting Ann as well as thinks he alone is enough for Shujin's prestige. Just her existence at Shujin could be threatening to a fragile, ego-centric person like Kamoshida. I always thought when they brought up the school threatening her that it was a process started far earlier by Kamoshida trying to make her crack and transfer early so he remained the sole beacon of glory at Shujin.