Persona 5: Daywatch

Saturday, 27 August 2016
Evening
Yongen, Leblanc Loft

Morgana allowed himself to stretch out, his forepaws – hands! – clutching the floorboards and his tail stretching to the sky. He yawned wide, the air thick with humidity from the downpour still falling outside. He'd have to thank Oracle-chan again for bringing him to Leblanc before she went home.

A subtle tremor passed through the floor, though as loud as the rain was he couldn't be sure if the door downstairs would be clear. Sure enough, a few moments later, Joker trudged up the stairs. His eyes stared a million meters into the distance, mechanical steps drove him to the laundry basket hamper.

Morgana slipped off his bed-cushion. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you and Hawk had a fight."

Joker sat down to pull off his socks. "We talked. She's got so much going on and now it's all piling up on her on the eve of the biggest game of her career." He browsed through his new messages, and let out a breath of relief. "Father Sugiyama secured ex-shogi federation member Shinohara, and even Makoto will come help. Neither of us were feeling sharp enough for a real back and forth, so I'll see her tomorrow. At least I can help her get ready for her title match."

Morgana stretched forward, then backward. "Good. The Phantom Thieves are just hitting our stride, I don't want internal spats to mess things up." He looked over the transfer student as he changed into summer sleeping clothes. In the darkness of the downpour, it was hard to see the scars running down his forearms. He seemed much like a regular boy tired from a long day of whatever normal people did. That thought brought Morgana's thoughts back to the fragment of a memory which resurfaced during their battle against Togo's Shadow. "Do you remember… that moment when Togo's Shadow used curse magic on all of us?"

Joker tugged on his pants. "I guess. It felt like I closed my eyes and everything just slipped away. Why?"

Morgana hopped up to the bed and felt his body sag. "I caught a flash of my past." He tried to think of how to explain that it didn't feel like there was anything before that moment, but there were so many holes in his past he couldn't be certain. "I heard a man and woman. Or maybe girl, it's hard to tell from voices when I can't remember all of the context. They were running. Or being chased by something that caught up to them. I think she died."

Joker yanked on his shirt and sat on the corner of the bed next to the team leader. "That's rough. Were you there to help them? That seems like something you'd do."

The team leader blinked. He hadn't even considered that. "I… don't know. I don't know where or when it was, just that it was a place that was peaceful until some entity started breaking in. The man said something about a torch in the darkness." He shrugged, feeling all the more helpless for having come so close but having no idea what happened next. "I didn't have a chance to try to work it out at the time because that was right after Togo's Shadow…" Morgana swallowed, unable to say 'killed you'.

Joker cleared his throat. "Well, we can work it out now."

Morgana smiled. Maybe he was rubbing off on the transfer student. He recounted what details he had of the memory. "So that's why I haven't been here… or maybe looking out for you like I should've. I've got a purpose I'm not living up to. I can't even remember what it is."

Before he could go on, Joker lay back on the bed. "You know how people see faces in the clouds?"

Morgana wrapped his tail around his feet to try to mask his nervousness. "Yeah, pareidolia."

Joker hummed. "Humans are built to look for pattern. Meaning. But sometimes there's just no pattern."

Shooting to his feet, Morgana's tail rose straight up and twitched. "You went out against your father's wishes to be baptized in Catholicism because it offered you constructive purpose in life. You know there's more to life than random happenstance."

His stare bored up as if he could peer beyond the clouds pouring down on the roof. "I was an abandoned child turning into a wild animal. Not to discount Big K, a Catholic priest was basically the first human being to believe I could be something better than the child who burned down his school." He cleared his throat. "Not that I did, but I might have if I never met him."

Morgana breathed in and through force of will sought calm. "Humans can become better. Humanity can become better. That's why we feel that righteous indignation and challenge the offenders. I guess we're similar in more ways than one." He paced to his cushion, but didn't hop on yet. "You're not certain about your purpose in life, and I don't even remember mine."

Joker stretched his arms up above his head. He sounded casual as he pushed out through a yawn, "Sounds like a pain in the neck."

Turnabout was fair play, so Morgana twisted his head as if in deep thought. "Maybe you should look into physical therapy."

Joker smirked. "What, like Victoria?"

The flier appeared in the leader's mind. "Oh, yeah! They did have massages, didn't they? That could be an option to get physical therapy for yourself like you give to the team."

Joker's face went red. "I… don't think they mean real physical therapy-type massages." Joker got up to retrieve his phone and sent out a good-night text to Hawk, then plugged in his phone and returned to bed. He might have glanced at the disapproval from the team leader, because as he sat back down to bed he granted, "Guess it can't hurt to check next time."

Sunday, 28 August 2016
Late Morning
Kanda Catholic Church

Already sitting against the wall, Akira let the other parishioners file out after the benediction and read through Hebrews to try to get a better sense of the context of the day's reading. The day's theme of humbleness felt like a cosmic joke when he wanted to help Hifumi practice for her big day and get the recognition she deserved for years of study and hard work in shogi. If nothing else, it proved God had to have a sense of humor. With Mass done, he shot out a text to let Makoto know the service was over and it was time to start practice.

Once his pew cleared out, Akira closed his Bible and scanned the sanctuary, feeling butterflies in his stomach when he spotted Hifumi a couple pews ahead. She already had her travel shogi board set up with a special formation, and a thrill passed through him as he slipped closer and saw her eyes dart over the board, planning move and counter-move before even reaching a hand out.

Her eyes snapped up, those deep green orbs drawing him in with inexorable force. "Good morning, Akira-kun. Thank you for coming."

He plopped to the pew next to her. "For Queen Togo? Anywhere, any time." Akira glanced out and didn't see any sign of the fellow parishioner Father Sugiyama said he'd rope into practice, but the crowd was taking longer to dwindle than most days and he chatted in the narthex just outside the sanctuary. That could come later. "So what do we have here?"

She had a stack of books to her side and a pamphlet in hand. "This is Kubo Toshiake's game last year against Hirose Akihito. As a Class A league match, it's above my competition, but I've been neglecting my practice so I need to step up. Analyzing the strategies of past masters is a great way of challenging my own play."

Akira nodded. "Shogi is all about setting up multiple beneficial outcomes and escapes so no one setback can ruin a whole game."

She flashed him a warm smile. "Exactly!" She handed him the pamphlet detailing the moves taken in the 2015 game. It was all over the place, even more than his games with her.

Noon
Kanda Catholic Church

Father Sugiyama approached the pair of energetic youth chatting away in the pews. It was technically more noise than his agreement with Togo-chan when he let her practice in the sanctuary, but God demanded His followers put Him first, not only. And this was the first time he'd seen Togo-chan look so energized and yet so focused. So soon after her mother disappeared into protective custody, this could only be a good thing. "Good day, Son, Daughter," he said with a bow. He knew Togo-chan knew all the shogi-practicing members of the parish, but for the sake of the new boy, the Father introduced the man trailing a step behind, "This is Shinohara. He was a member of the Shogi Professional Players' Association until family health required him to withdraw several years ago."

Hifumi shot to her feet and bowed. "Shinohara-san! Please excuse me for taking up time in your busy schedule."

The middle-aged man with wiry hair gave a shallow bow back. "I only made it to first dan before I left, but to see the next generation take off would make this day well worth it."

Afternoon
Kanda Catholic Church

Makoto swallowed, feeling a coil of trepidation at setting foot in somebody else's place of worship. While she knew many people who followed both Shinto and Buddhist trappings, even Mother wasn't a devout practitioner. And Catholicism was a whole different creature. Still, she was invited in, so with a steadying breath, she hauled open doors which swung much easier than they looked, and continued to the sanctuary. Colorful stained glass windows depicting men in halos broke up the long walls and let in streams of light like a prism, giving the sedate space an ethereal quality. Rows of benches lined an aisle, terminating just before a cloth-covered table in front of a cross. A couple people lingered, praying at the benches or kneeling at one of the niche alcoves at the back wall, but Makoto recognized the frizzy black and long, luxurious hair of her fellow Phantom Thieves.

"…but that leaves room on the right flank for the knight…" Akira said, leaning across the back of one of the bench ahead of Hifumi's, before he noticed her. "Oh, good! Niijima-san, Shinohara-san."

Makoto shared an acknowledging nod and sat down next to Akira to comment on the unfolding practice match with Hifumi.

Early Evening
Kanda Catholic Church

Akira scanned the board between Hifumi and Shinohara-san, A grumble rolled out and Akira levered up from his slouch across the back of the pew. The class president at the pew behind the board had a hand on her stomach.

Contrary to expectations, Shinohara-san clutched his belly. He checked his wristwatch, then stood. "Apologies, kids. I haven't met such intense love of shogi before, but my nephew's recital is at seven and I need to grab a bite to eat if I'm going to make it."

"Of course," Makoto stood up from the pew behind the board to give a bow of thanks with the shogi maestra to him as he left. She checked the time on her phone. "Actually, we've been at this for hours. We should all take a break. Big Sis is going to be home for dinner, so I should get going to make sure it's ready for her. Did you two want to join? I mean… unless you're just going to go make something at home."

Hifumi blushed and fidgeted with the skirt of her beige dress. "I… wouldn't have much at home."

Deflating a bit, Makoto tried to meet the other girl's eyes. "Oh, because of your mother? I'm sorry."

Hifumi shook her head, her posture prim but a pretty pink lingering on her cheeks. "Oh, no. I don't want to diminish what all you did to help save her heart. It's hard because home is so empty now. To keep Papa's nurse, we had to let go of a lot of the family employees like Rei-san. I hadn't realized how dependent I was on her wonderful cooking before discovering I can't use anything more complicated than the rice maker. I simply haven't had time, and won't for at least a few weeks between court visits and preparing for my title match."

Makoto jumped in before he could finish processing. "That's a pity. Ryuji's been gunning for a beach trip and I was looking forward to seeing you there. Both of us could really use some time to cut back and catch some sun."

Akira blinked, and for a moment his mind transported him to a sandy beach where the girls frolicked in risqué swimsuits. Makoto in a high-cut one-piece flaunting her developed musculature. Ann in a microbikini that flaunted sensual curves. Hifumi bursting out of the water like a dolphin, a slingshot bikini casting all inhibitions aside in the way only her regal manner could, droplets cascading down her lithesome body.

"Aki?" her fingertips pressed against his arm through the formal shirt sleeve.

He jumped to his feet. "S-sorry." In a scramble to try to bring himself to something that wasn't sacrilegious in a church sanctuary, he blurted, "W-wait. You've only been eating rice since your mother's change of heart?"

Hifumi averted her gaze. "It's fine, I hardly have the time to make anything." She picked up a silver general. "I have been buying apples from a snack vendor on the way to the station." She began packing away her shogi board and the others stepped in to help.

"I understand what it's like to be too stressed to want to eat, or even cook," Akira commiserated. "Do you want me to bring you something?"

Her blush returned with extra force. "I couldn't ask you to do that!"

Makoto scrolled down the group chat. "Leblanc has coffee and curry as regular menu items."

Hifumi's eyes widened a bit. "I love curry!" A shy smile eeked out. "I even have katsu kurry for 'good luck' before each match."

"You have victory curry before your games?" When she nodded, he felt his stomach flip inside. Even her puns were stealthy!

Makoto summarized from the group chat. "Ann's asking about swimsuit shopping and Ryuji wants to know when we're heading to the beach." She started typing. "I think I have one, but I doubt Futaba-chan does."

"Make sure Ann doesn't go crazy," Akira said, handing the shogi maestra the last tile. "Futaba's been a shut-in for a year and just going out is going to be stressful."

The smile faded on Hifumi's face. "Kosei is resuming on Wednesday, so I won't have a free day before school is back in session. But you all should enjoy yourselves." The blush on Hifumi deepened, though the twist to her face increased as she struggled between embarrassment and a smile. "You've already done so much, helping me get in my first really good practice session in months." She settled her folding board in her purse and held out a hand. "But it's been exhausting, so… walk me to the train station?"

Swallowing, Akira reached out a hand to take hers and savored what warmth he could get from her touch through his gloves.

Sunday, 28 August 2016
Late Evening
Shibuya, Station Square

Akira still felt light-headed as he trotted over the square from central street, the crowds still thicker than he liked but more people moving with a purpose than rush hour when it seemed like direction was forgotten. It and the night sky made it easier to navigate the dense city. His hand still tingled and he wondered how much stronger it might have been if his glove wasn't in the way when she slipped her hand in his.

As the transfer student neared the statue of Hachiko, he heard a familiar voice call over the crowd hubub, "Passing on societal ills reinforces them, and does not guarantee that we ourselves will not face the suffering we are attempting to avoid. Just like a torn coat must be mended or the winter wind will blow through, we must come together and start making the small changes necessary or we will all become sick."

One of the people slowing with the transfer student to listen spotted the politician, his sign, then scoffed. "What's he gonna do without a party? Even the LDP ain't gonna have a majority after the UFP wins the next election."

Hearing the exchange, Yoshida called out louder, "You must not base your decision exclusively by the party a candidate aligns to. Every party needs to be mindful even to people that aren't members, for our youth who have yet to enter any party are part of our society. If we ignore the strife of those coming soon, we give up prosperity for all."

He continued speaking to a crowd with intermittent interest for the next few minutes, some stopping with interest and more to heckle. After long minutes the people stopping to listen ended, so Yoshida stepped down from his soap box and downed a deep glug from his water bottle, then gave a nod to the transfer student, leading them to a quiet spot beside the train car mockup to the student's relief. "I'm pleased to see you again, young man. It might have been nice earlier, but on a hot day like this I doubt a sign holder would have made much difference."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck, half of his mind engaging Yoshida and the other half trying to think of what kind of food to bring Hifumi. "Sorry, one of my friends has a tournament coming up and I had to wrangle some help so she could practice."

Yoshida smiled and took another gulp of water. "It's good to see the youth networking and helping each other. Never forget how useful that will be later on in life."

Akira fell silent for a moment, expecting more anger from the politician. He sent a message some time late afternoon and Akira shot back a 'busy' since he was focused on Hifumi's game. "You're not mad I couldn't come help earlier?"

Yoshida huffed, but his smile didn't disappear. "Quite the contrary, young one. You've heard the number of people who think I have less than small chances to win my election. I'm more curious why you'd come to me when you've got friends to share these days with. Maybe even a special lady friend?"

It felt like flame blossomed over his face. "M-me? No!"

Yoshida chuckled. "Well, you're in high school. That's a time when most young people are beginning relationships." He must have spotted the trepidation in the transfer student's face, because his positive expression cooled. "You might not have found one yet, but don't reject the opportunity. Why, if it wasn't for the support of my wonderful wife, I may have given up on Tokyo, politics, maybe even life. She has been the voice correcting my mistakes – gently – and supporting me even when I lose sight of the opportunity in my life. If you run across someone like that, never let her go." He grinned and uncapped his bottle. "Or him. I may have come from the past, but I'm not stuck in it."

Akira tapped a toe on the ground, still feeling distracted by trying to guess what Hifumi would like. She bought Japanese curry at the tiny diner in Jinbocho when they met Makoto, a spicy noodle hut, Kanaoka's Stir Fry… what would she like the most?

"If I may ask," Yoshida said, capping his bottle, "Why come to me?"

Akira felt his phone buzz and slipped his hands in his pockets but left them there. "You've got good technique. A fearlessness to go into as exposed an environment as I can think of," he slipped out his empty hand to gesture at the streaming crowds, "and you seem to genuinely believe that not only is society everybody's responsibility, but that people can rise to the occasion."

Yoshida chuckled. "Well, the elderly can be a little hasty to cast aspersions on the youth, but there wouldn't be such a furor about the Phantom Thief trouncing Medjed if the youth didn't hope for better. Even if the Phantom Thief doesn't exist, it's not a bad thing for society to have role models to look up to as we move into an uncertain future. It would be hard to be better than a figure who stands against corruption and remembers the littlest members of society, just as we in the Diet should."

"We?"

Yoshida rubbed the back of his neck. "Force of habit, though I have been helping my wife make ends meet by serving as a consultant for advisory boards and various Diet caucuses. It's about seeking out the individuals and connecting to them, no matter how large a unit they may be in. The same as in public speaking. Don't just talk at the crowd, convey your thoughts as if speaking one-on-one. Look at one person when you drive home a point. It's a bit of a juggle to speak personally without making any member feel left out, but practice will help smooth that out." He tapped a white-gloved finger on his water bottle for a moment. "I remember you said you came here for public speaking rather than politics, but have you ever thought what you might do if you had the chance at politics? To change the world? Who might you be?"

Akira leaned against the rail car mockup. "When Jesus approached the Temple Mount and saw money changers cheating the faithful pilgrims, he flipped their tables and drove them out with an improvised whip."

The politicians eyes stayed wide for long moments before he forced himself to blink. "That… sounds rather extreme."

"The scales were balanced the next day," Akira said, shrugging without taking his hands from his pockets. "And He healed people everywhere He went. A billion people today follow Him. Even if you don't believe in what He said, He changed the world. I don't think I'll ever make an impact that big, but that's the kind of thing I want to do. Better than my last exemplar."

Yoshida chuckled. "Well, I must admit you've stoked my curiosity. I've met very few people whose hearts burn in their eyes like yours. I even feel a little bad for taking your time, you looked like you were deep in thought when you stopped to listen."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Akira shrugged. "Just food, actually. Hifumi hasn't been eating well since her family had to let their cook and housekeeper go. She's helped me understand Catholicism so much better, having grown up in it to my less than a year. Making her something seems so little in comparison."

Yoshida's warm smile spread. "Not just ambitious, but considerate. You're quite the lad, Kurusu-kun."

Akira blinked. "No comment about cooking being a womanly thing?"

The politician let out a laugh. "Not even all women are master cooks, I wouldn't frequent the nearby beef bowl if my wife was one. And my youngest son rejected the family tradition of social services entirely to become a sushi chef. If cooking is the gift you can contribute to your friend, that's just using your gifts." Before the student could think of how to respond, he lifted his water bottle. "You've stoked my curiosity, though. If you only converted recently, who was your role model before Jesus?"

Akira chuckled. He'd never spoken about his role models before, though most of his examples were what not to be. He straightened, hands closing into fists at his sides, feeling a little more like his Metaverse self. "The master of disguise: Arsène Lupin. No wall could stop him. No chain could bind him. The corrupt and powerful all over the world trembled at the sight of his calling card."

Yoshida let loose a laugh, one which resonated with his whole body and pushed back the cacophony of the crowds still churning around. "Well, nobody can doubt your conviction. And you don't seem to either ignore or long for popularity, which puts you far ahead of where I was when I was your age. It can be quite the double-edged sword."

Akira hummed, but the pride he felt as he described the fantasy he once clung to before meeting Father Motoori faded in the face of the wizened man in front of him. Until coming to Tokyo, most of his life was pushed by what he rejected than what he emulated. "It's easy enough to want something vague like 'change the world', but I need more than that to get started."

Yoshida nodded. "Politics, public speaking, even life in general relies on a central philosophy to help us navigate. Or draw others to our cause. I don't blame you for not feeling like you have a full road map, but it sounds like you have an honest goal you aren't giving up on. Tenacity and clarity are both vital in communication." He chuckled. "Ah, you remind me of the fire in me when I was a lad." A generic text notification tone floated from his pocket and he checked his phone. "My apologies, I didn't intend to keep you so late. I hope you've taken something useful from this old man's example."

Akira slipped his hands back in his pockets. "A bit. To be honest, I hadn't thought much about what I wanted to be for a long time. My life's been consumed by what I didn't want. I didn't have a lot of people who gave me room to be anything but their preconceptions until Big K. And he knew all about getting judged, he's a tailor now but he says he got a lot of crap when he was in school because he knew how to sew."

Yoshida gave another smile, a bit practiced but warmer than the social script gesture. "Well, I'm glad to have helped even if it was a small way."

AN: In Japanese, the verb 'to achieve victory' is 'katsu'. That is the same pronunciation of 'katsu' a breaded cutlet often made of pork and served on a bed of rice or curry. I didn't actually know this the first time I saw the Jinbocho event because my study of Japanese hadn't gotten that far (it's N4 level vocabulary), but once I did I realized Hifumi's punny.