Persona 5: Daywatch

Wednesday, 25 May 2016
After School
Kaneshiro's Palace

An overcast sky roiled over the dark, dingy depiction of Shibuya. The ever-present wind blew money and shreds of paper outside. Akira craned his neck to see the biker as she came to a stop, then her Persona burst with a flutter of blue flame and she fell to the ground.

Morgana transformed out of his minibus form and the Phantom Thieves gathered around the student council president back to her Shujin uniform.

Ryuji placed his studded gloves on his hips with an appreciative smile. "That was effin' awesome, Miss Biker Babe!"

Groaning, Makoto rolled onto her side, then accepted Ann's hand to help stand before she looked up to the blond. "Do you want me to smack you?"

Ryuji cringed back. "Please, no. I'm still tender from yesterday."

Ann took her distance too. "Welp, I sure don't need a reminder not to cross Miss President. She'd rip my arm off and beat me to death with it."

Makoto cringed. "Please don't say things like that." She lifted her arms, looking at where the spiked pauldrons, then knuckle dusters used to be. "So what was that flame and costume thing about?"

Folding up his sub-machine gun, Akira looked over the street for signs of pursuit. "Don't worry about it. Awakening to your Persona takes a lot out of you and your power might not be stable right away. Same thing happened to me. You should have a steady Phantom Thief… uh, form next time you visit the Metaverse."

Ryuji nodded. "Don't forget you'll have the best sleep a'yer life, an' you'll wake up feelin' like a billion yen."

Akira gave the track star a momentary arched eyebrow. His experience was nightmares of Kamoshida killing him and brutalizing Ann in her sexy costume, then waking up sore. The transfer student focused back on the group. "Too bad about the problems this is gonna create with your sister. I hear most people are pretty close to their siblings."

Makoto shook her head, the left corner of her mouth quirking up for a beat. "This was going to happen one way or another. My sister and I never quite… synced. Don't get me wrong, she works so hard and I'm grateful for so much, but… I'm sorry for her, too."

Morgana folded his crossbow and gave the dark-haired girl a nod. "You've certainly shown the strength of your heart. Welcome to the Phantom Thieves."

She gave a faltering smile. "I… do feel better than I have in years." Makoto's lips turned down. "But I've also never felt this tired."

Even Akira felt the corners of his lips quirk up. "Well, you're certainly not a slave to society anymore."

Ryuji gave a beaming smile filled with white teeth. "Awright! The Phantom Thieves have a new hot chick!"

Blushing, Makoto blinked. "Wha?"

Akira patted her on the back. "Ignore him."

Morgana looked over the awakened humans. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but I think we're all spent for the day. Get home safe and get some well-deserved rest, everyone. We'll reconvene and explain things tomorrow."

Thursday, 26 May 2016
After School
Shujin Rooftop

Shielding his eyes, Akira strode out, squinting until he could make out his smart phone screen again. Moving up his lance to capture an opponent's pawn, he hit 'end turn' and looked up, surprised to see Makoto already there, sitting at a chair and reading something on her phone. "Oh, I, uh… didn't expect to see you up here so promptly, Senpai."

Makoto closed her browser and set her phone down, then straightened her skirt. "Well, as the newest member of the Phantom Thieves, I'm sure I have a lot to catch up on before I'm ready to join operations."

Morgana hopped out of the transfer student's satchel to the desk in front of Makoto. "Well, we might as well begin with the basics the others already know. Kaneshiro's Palace represents his heart. Somewhere inside it is his Treasure, an object symbolizing the core of his corrupt desires, the thing that his entire life has come to revolve around. As Phantom Thieves, our objective is to find and steal his treasure. Without that, his cognition will have a collapse and reorganization."

She nodded. "So that's how you made Kamoshida confess his crimes."

Akira found it impossible to meet her gaze, and pulled up another chair to brush off and plop down in. Talk of Kamoshida just brought up why he went in, and while comeuppance was a part of everyone's motives, in retrospect his beef with the coach seemed weakest and he was the only one who wanted to kill. Akira tipped his chair back and looked to his shogi game. "Well, we're no SG-1, but there's a time for blasting and a time for sneaking."

Makoto's brow furrowed, eyes focusing intently on a point on the fence as she pondered. "What about those strange guards turning into monsters?"

Morgana scratched at an ear with his hind leg. "Shadows. Whenever somebody's desires become warped enough to break off into their own Palace, it draws in fragments from the collective subconscious around them." Morgana said. "They're encapsulated in a shell dictated by the warped thoughts of the palace ruler. That transformation you mention is them breaking into their unrestrained forms."

The door swung open and Ryuji walked out, his pace much shorter and more controlled than usual. "Yo." He lowered himself into another chair, began to tip it back like the transfer student was doing. His eyelid twitched, then he set it back on all four legs. "Where's Ann?"

Akira slid a pawn up to capture his opponent's knight. "She wanted to talk to Mishima. They both have pretty good cred in my book, so I figure it's worth her being a little late to an introduction session."

Ryuji shrugged, the motion looking smaller and stiffer than his usual brazen self. "As long as we can get back to kickin' some tail in that jerk's palace." He gave a wide grin, showing off rows of even pearly whites. "Prez's got a sweet Phantom Thief getup and her Persona's a motorcycle. What could be cooler than that?"

Akira shrugged. "I have a feeling Big K would just say something about leathered-up pansies. But what are you so jealous for? Your Persona is a skeleton pirate riding a ship like a surfboard!"

Ryuji let himself flop back, then grunted and sat back up. "For real? Motorcycles rock so much more than a dumb boat."

Akira decided to change course before Ryuji could take the conversation into any stranger territory. He looked over the assembled group. "So does your Persona impart some knowledge or skill about how to do things like ride a motorcycle?"

Morgana's ear twitched and he reached up a paw to scratch it. "No more than your Phantom Thief forms give you special knowledge about lock picking or other thieving." His tail swished and brows drew together.

Makoto brushed at her uniform. "I do have a license." A momentary smile slipped over her face before embarrassment smothered it. "There was just something easier about pushing the edge over there."

Ryuji laughed. "Yeah, you rode like a champ back there." He cast a narrow gaze and smirked at the team leader. "An' bikes are way cooler than some dumb van, too."

Morgana stood, his tail held up and almost vibrating. "They also can't carry large numbers of people." He stopped, his tail going still in a heartbeat and his eyes widening. "Carry…" His tail drooped. "Something just crossed my mind." His ears curled down and he let out a frustrated growl.

Makoto looked between them. "Is everything all right?"

Akira moved his silver general and tapped 'end turn'. "Morgana was a human, but something in the Metaverse twisted him into that cat form. And took away most of his memories."

The door burst open and Ann walked out, her aquamarine eyes distant and a tinge of rose on her cheeks. A beat passed as those gathered looked up at her before she gave a tense smile. "Hey, guys."

Ryuji drawled, "I see your acting is as good as ever."

Ann's faux friendliness evaporated in an instant and her cheeks turned redder. "Shut up, Ryuji."

"Don't start something pointless, Ryuji," Akira shot out.

Tip of his tail twitching, Morgana cleared his throat. "Anyway, now that we're all together we can discuss our line-up and plan for Kaneshiro's bank. Given the security we saw, I suspect that Kaneshiro's going to reinforce the front door, maybe even try to seal it. We'll have to look for another way in."

Akira sent in his next move and looked up. "Well, if a thief is like a good spy, you never want to go out the same way you came in, right?"

Ryuji crossed his arms, glaring at the transfer student and cat-leader. "We'd better get a move on if we're gonna get there in time. Prez doesn't even have a gun yet, and she's gonna need one or she's gonna knock herself out, relyin' on her Persona."

"Me?" she said, holding a hand to her chest as she looked to their school satchels. "I can't carry a gun."

Akira smirked. "Sure you can. Real ones aren't even half a kilo."

Ryuji groaned, his eyes rolling back. "Ugh. We don' even know what kind of gun she'd use." He slipped his phone out of his pocket. "You got any favs when you play shooters?"

Brushing her hair over her ear, Makoto's eyes fell to the rooftop. "I don't really know. There's just not enough time between all of my other responsibilities."

Looking up from the gun search on his phone browser, Ryuji focused on the transfer student. "You two sure are peas in a boring pod."

Akira adjusted his glasses with his middle finger.

Morgana's ear twitched. "Focus, everyone. True, she'll need some kind of weapon to back up her Persona in the Metaverse, but once we get in there it won't matter as much what her choice is as much as how well she can handle it. Same as her Persona." He hopped up on a desk and looked over Ryuji, the bruise on the track star's cheek still purple. "On the other hand, your Persona was dissipated in one blow from Kaneshiro's Shadows when it's normally our toughest. And you were wheezing when we split up."

Ryuji's brow wrinkled. "Was not!"

"Were too," Akira tossed back, eyes on his shogi game.

Makoto pressed her palm against the side of her head. "Are these really the Phantom Thieves that took down Kamoshida?"

"The point is," Morgana shouted over the spiraling conversation, "that you aren't back up to top shape, Skull. As our first foray into Kaneshiro's palace should have made clear, things can get really hairy really fast."

Akira nodded, his face the picture of solemnity. "Indeed. Just look at our leader."

Ryuji and Makoto both groaned, but Ann just rolled her eyes.

Morgana gave a narrow stare at the transfer student for several seconds before flicking an ear and looking back at the track star. "I want you to sit this one out."

Ryuji shot to his feet. "Da eff? We just got into this prick's palace an' you want me ta go home?"

Akira tapped 'end turn' and looked up from his phone. "It's a smart call, Ryuji."

Curling one hand into a fist, Ryuji took a step at Akira. "Eff that."

The transfer student stood, closed the two paces between them, then poked Ryuji in the chest. The track star stumbled back, wheezing. Akira looked down to his game, seeing opponent resigned, and closed it. "We're not going to give courage to the downtrodden by getting killed in his palace, Ryuji. That'll just bring a premature end to the Phantom Thieves."

Ann nodded. "Right."

Makoto took her chin in her fingers. "For the downtrodden. You sound like my father."

Ann crossed her arms, a wariness in her eyes as she looked at the upperclassman. "You say that like it's a past-tense thing."

The upper-classman closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "He… Dad was a cop."

Akira pursed his lips. Best to leave that aside unless she brought it up again. Akira glanced from Ryuji to Morgana. "So do we try another break-in today? Makoto could use Ryuji's gun."

Ryuji bent forward like he wanted to charge. "I ain't sittin' back. Ya don't need to baby me."

Morgana shook his head. "Fine. We'll take today to ready our supplies. As long as nothing in the conscious world affects his cognition, the reprieve might even allow Kaneshiro to relax a bit, lowering his guard."

Akira glanced at his email app, something about conscious world affecting cognition stirring in the back of his mind. "So how do we figure out what weapon Senpai uses?"

Ryuji settled into a relaxed slouch, a smirk on his face. "Heh heh. You should know just what would make the best simulation. We've been practicin' on it every week."

The upperclassman's eyebrow twitched up, but Akira slapped himself in the forehead. "Of course! Gun About has pneumatic feedback so you get a feel for recoil, and several controllers for different grips."

Morgana's tail swished. "That's… a very good idea, Reaper. My paws in this world can't handle them, but now that we have four Phantom Thieves with human hands we could all take a day of training."

Ryuji pumped a fist in the air, then flinched. "Gun About, here we come!"

Akira had no idea what they were about to unleash as they led Makoto down to the arcade in Shibuya.

Thursday, 26 May 2016
Early Evening
Shujin, Library

Ai stood up, brushing her pageboy-cut hair over her ear before waiving goodbye to her cluster of friends around the round table next to Makoto's. With her departure from the library, the rumor-mongering at last quieted. Scratching of pens made for a peaceful relative silence for Akira to finish his homework. Clicking his pen closed, he set it down on his literature notes. Akira reached up, interlaced his fingers, and stretched his hands high. His back cracked several times and he made sure to let his arms down slow.

Alliance Force, Assemble! sang out of his phone and Akira pulled it out, wondering who would call him at this time of night.

When he saw Queen Togo on the caller ID, he rushed to the hall for some privacy from prying ears. "Mike Easter. Rubber chickens half off with the purchase of a T-shirt gun."

"O-oh, sorry," Hifumi stuttered. "I must have gotten a wrong number."

"No, wait!" he shouted, standing up from his lean so fast he almost tripped himself. "Sorry," Akira resumed at a more normal indoors volume. "I'm Akira. Th-that was a joke." He felt a droplet of sweat roll down the back of his neck. "I do stuff like that a lot. It's just supposed to break up the monotony of the social script. Open up conversation."

"Oh," Hifumi said, sounding unsure if she believed him. "Well, I finally finished everything for cram school today. Would it be acceptable to sit down together for a game or two? I have a few scenarios I want to try."

"Yeah," he blurted before even checking his calendar. Well, the beef bowl place already fired him, and he hadn't found a new night job yet. "I'm just five minutes away from Aoyama-Itchome station. Where'd you like to meet?"

A huff came from Hifumi's side. "Hm. I was hoping to visit the Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, but Madarame's art is still packed until his special show is done." Then a sharp intake of breath. "Oh, I know. Have you been to Nijubashi Square?"

"Not yet," he answered.

Marunouchi, Nijubashi Square

Dodging his way through the people of Nijubashi Square like the crowds in Shujin's halls, Akira even managed to avoid pushing most of them. High-rise business towers rose up on three sides of the square, restaurants on the ground floor wafting the smells of grilled fish, tempura, and more exotic aromas. Store fronts blazed with advertisements, but must of the night time square remained dark in a cozy sense. Metal tables and chairs gave plenty of seating in the middle of the square, too many for him to pick out his shogi nemesis.

Akira pulled out his cell phone and sent a text. [I'm here at the northwest corner, but I don't see you.]

[East side, right next to Fried Delights.]

Turning around, it took him until just a few paces to the source of the tempura smell to spot her. Her straight brown hair looked gold in the blazing yellow from the shop's sign. Unlike her conservative Sunday dress, now she wore a dark blazer jacket with an even darker skirt showing off legs for days.

Akira shook his head and approached. "H-hi."

Hifumi gave him an expectant smile and they settled into a couple games of shogi, starting from weird formation arrangements. Even with most of them putting her at a significant disadvantage of power pieces, she still won every time. "That's check again. Third time. You really should protect your king better."

Akira took off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying a wounded gazelle gambit. It usually works against players online, as soon as they see an opening to the king they'll throw their most powerful piece and I turn the whole game around." He set his glasses on the board and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, maybe I'm just stupid."

She brought up her hand with unexpected speed to flick him on the nose. "I've been enjoying our games shared together. Would you have managed that if you were stupid?" Once he donned his glasses again, Hifumi's now-clarified stern expression drew a nervous gulp out of him, and she held the stare until he mumbled a negative. Her posture relaxed, but her brows drew together and her beautiful, dark eyes gazed into his. "You've always taken the games to be a challenge. What's this really about?"

Growling, Akira sat back against his thin metal chair. "I'm just worried about school right now. I passed the midterms, but only ranked thirty first." He took his glasses back off and brought out a cloth to clean the lenses, leaving the world outside arm's reach blurry. "I have never been worse than nineteenth. It's… it's embarrassing." He took in and let out a deep breath, but could still hear the echoes of his old bastard's ranting. "The only good thing I could do was grades. It was the only thing my old bastard approved of."

A few seconds passed before Hifumi reached for the pieces on her fold-up board. He couldn't make out her expression, but her tone sounded calm when she said, "What's your most problematic area?"

Akira set his glasses back on his face. "Math. I swear, it was invented to make schoolkids suffer."

Hifumi raised a fist to attempt to cover up her smile, but couldn't keep a quiet chuckle from slipping out. "Well, you may be in luck. I've always scored near the head of the class in math. I could tutor you, if you would like."

He felt his mouth start to drift open. An excuse to spend more time with the smartest girl he'd ever met? "Sign me up!"