Disclaimer: Persona 5 Characters except Fujin Katsuo belongs to Atlus, this fanfic has no commercial purpose.
It was on Sunday at Shibuya. I was sitting next to the Lottery Booth while watching the people passing by from the train stations. If my intuition were correct, they would reunite around Station Square because it was stupidly crowd. People would not mind about teenagers hanging out around here. I saw him, being accompanied by another two guys and a chick, but Makoto wasn't with them, though. They were standing in front of a dog statue, just talking, and sometimes, saying random words that I couldn't get. They were standing for an hour, which became tedious.
The only words that they kept repeating were; "Kaneshiro," "Bank," and "Shibuya," which I had no idea what those words were. Just bored out of my mind, I stood up and bought a lottery ticket despite my bad streak. I felt a chill when I turned to see them.
They disappeared out of the blue.
How the hell that just happened? Was I losing my mind? Because the moment my sight was in another direction away from them, and suddenly I missed. Maybe they moved to Central Street if they were still looking for information. I spent an hour and a half of wandering around the area; they ultimately left Shibuya without a trace. What was going on? Teenagers couldn't move so fast without being noticed by any human being. I walked around the area. The only area I didn't check was the alleyway behind the arcade.
"Yo! Looking for easy money?" A thug with exercise clothes approached me on the same alleyway.
"Sorry, not interested," I refused his offer; it was obvious who he was.
"Why not? You look like someone who can accomplish any job right," He insisted despite my previous answer.
"I said I'm not interested." I scoffed while trying to leave the alleyway. "Besides, I already have a job. Don't bother me again." I was starting to lose my patience.
"Hey, Smart-Ass, I offered you easy money, you can't reject me just like that!" He was easily pissed off. I guess he was one of those people where they one of those neanderthals who wouldn't understand the word no.
"I just did it," I walked away from the thug. He grabbed me from the collar, trying to threaten me. His face was too close to mine.
"Seems I have to force you to take this job, don't you think?" He was trying to behave like a hotshot, and he spitted every time he opened his mouth. I head-butted his nose, making him bleed because I hated it when someone invaded my personal space. "Owww, you ass! I will make you change your mind with my fists."
"Go ahead. I was getting bored anyway," I used my intimidating glare. I put fear in the thug's eyes, making him stumble like a bitch. I saw his legs shaking. Too easy.
"Tch, whatever, I'm not going waste my time. Better watch your back, asshole!" He ran away from me, all words but can't hold on his own.
There was no such thing as easy money in this life. I couldn't believe students fell for that bullshit. Central Street was a no-go for me; my next option was the underground walkway and the mall. I was sure they would be there. But alas, how wrong I was. What was my experience?
Typical salarymen were walking back and forth while changing lines with sleepless eyes. Slaves to the corporations. To the PR. Politics came first and foremost. Wasn't that style of life great? Absurdism at its finest. What a depressing thing to watch those poor shmucks thinking of how one must live. Well, at least for most of them.
I saw a homeless guy sitting next to unassembled boxes on his side—Gray unkempt beard and hair, gray jacket, stinky. You know, the average hobo you could find on the streets. Well, at least he seemed much better than other places. "Excuse me," I approached the homeless man. "Have you seen a group of teenagers passing by?"
"Sure, I see them five minutes ago."
"Great!" I said, probably got a clue.
"And an hour ago, and yesterday, and last week, and the previous month, and..." He kept saying until I couldn't take it anymore.
"Alright, I get it, you didn't see the ones I meant," I was disappointed, back to square one.
"Tell me, young man, why are you looking for teenagers? You don't seem that young anymore," That guy shouldn't remind me that. "What purpose you have of seeing them?"
"I... I'm not so sure," I looked down. "I mean, one of my acquaintances is getting involved in some dangerous business. I'm trying to warn them, but they kept eluding me."
"Dangerous business, you say? That's probably better to tell them anyway," the old man said as he pulled a bottle of water among his belongings, or whatever he still owned at that point. "Getting involved will make you lose everything one posses." He said, evident to his words.
"You say as if already got some experience," I replied.
"Well, let's you say that was one of the many mishaps in my whole life," the old man chuckled. "And from what I can see about yourself at a simple glance, you seemed like someone who lost a lot as well." Was he a psychic or too obvious?
"I don't know how you guessed it right," I turned my head sideways. "But yeah, my family lost so much because of yakuza. It was six painful years of my life."
"And that young? Well, I suppose people don't get it easy, regardless of who you are."
"You don't have to remind me twice," I scoffed, rolled my eyes, and still unsurprised. "I must go on, sorry to bother."
"Nah, it was no bother," the old man smiled, seeing him with a satisfactory expression. "Youngsters like you nowadays don't even bother to stop and talk with a homeless person like me. You are the second person who ever said a word to me instead of passing by without giving me the stinky eye."
"Second person? Who was the first one?" I asked.
"I don't know his name, but he was a student," He tried to recall, but did weird faces. "All I can say is that he had messy black hair and thick glasses."
"Is that so?" I pulled a 1,000 yen bill and handed it to the homeless guy. "Here, for the troubles."
"Oh? Not so sure if I should accept it, I'm not that desperate even if that's a nice gesture," the old man said with hesitation.
"That's not charity. I'm paying for the useful talk. You say it is not necessary, but I'm just doing an exchange of services. I don't give money because I feel like it."
"Well, if you put it in that way. Probably can get a nice meal for today," he took the bill, confused yet grateful. "Hope you can find those teenagers in time."
"I hope so too," I said while heading towards Station Square.
At least I got some lead. Despite not being much info, the homeless guys gave me a faint idea about those people. If my guess was correct, that guy with glasses came with frequency to Shibuya. At first, I would discard the clue because a lot of Shujin students were always coming through the area. Not the case anymore. I had the hypothesis that he came much more frequently after school, even being aware of the dangers—another member of 'Going Home Early Club' to describe it.
I looked at my phone for the time. I already spent too much time looking, and I was starving. Central Street was the only place where I could find something to eat and quick, but the options weren't that great: Beef Bowls? Too greasy for my taste, Crepes? Not a fan of sweets, not even a proper meal; Big Bang Burger? A vast 'Hell No' that I didn't need to explain myself. The only option left was the diner that reopened not too long ago. I saw from outside that the dishes were simple and not too expensive. It was better than nothing.
I entered the place, seemed comfortable enough, and even had a motorcycle inside. How or why? Who cares? Probably just decoration for some random reason. I walked around, not a single table available. Did I choose the worst time to eat there? Perhaps. Any other day, I would just leave the diner and find food somewhere else. Of course, something, or better say, someone kept me from going: Light brown hair, grey jacket, and black gloves. I knew who this person was.
"Hey," I approached the guy who was sitting while reading a book. "Aren't you Akechi Goro? The Detective from TV?" I said with surprise.
"It looks like my cover blew," He said while doing his trademark smile. "And you are?"
"Just a bystander," I said. "Sorry to interrupt your reading time, but I couldn't help myself of talking to you since I couldn't find empty tables."
"It is no problem; you aren't the first fan who spots me and want to talk."
"Oh no, I'm not a fan. I just saw you some of your cases in the news. Kinda impressive of solving most of those at a young age." I said, probably too enthusiastically, which I tried to behave myself from annoying him. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Depends. I can let you sit with me, but not without a price."
"You want me to cover the bill?" I asked, but he laughed it off.
"No, I was thinking more interestingly," Akechi looked at his book. "How about you guess this book's title and the author? The only hint I will give you is the quote I will read it for you."
"What a weird idea, but I can't complain if the Charismatic Detective challenges me." I sat on the opposite side. Akechi covered the front's cover with his right hand.
"Alright, I will start," he said while looking for the perfect quote in the book. That didn't take too long to make his choice. "Thus, for example, a feeling normally as individual as the ache of separation from those one loves suddenly became a feeling in which all shared alike and — together with fear — the greatest affliction of the long period of exile that lay ahead..." Akechi stopped reading.
I tried to recall that quote as it sounded familiar. I was sure I read it from somewhere. Maybe I read too many books in my life that started to forget some from my memory.
"Giving up?" Akechi said.
"Not yet, I know what that book is," I replied while thinking deeper: Separation; Fear; Exile; those were the words that triggered my mind from six years ago. I finally got the answer. "That book you are reading is The Plague, by western writer Albert Camus," I said, confident of my answer. I waited for the detective's reaction. After a couple of seconds, he chuckled.
"Correct!" Akechi said, joyfully. "I'm surprised you knew which book it was. Pretty old work."
"Nah, was nothing special. I read it when I was thirteen," too bad that to remember the book. I also had to recall painful years. "Are you a fan of books, too?"
"Well, a little, but due to my duties as a detective and a student. I barely have time to read for myself," he handed me the book. I saw a label from the public library on the book's back cover. "I'm reading this book because one of my classes required it. Although I find it fascinating that I decided to reread it on my own."
"I know, right?"
"Although, I'm more surprised that someone as you could even know about classics. Maybe it's true the phrase 'you can't judge for its cover.'" Akechi told me most harshly, what a total prick. "What's your name?"
"Fujin Katsuo," I said.
"Fuijn? Sounds familiar."
"Nah, it's just a forgotten name. That's what it is," I refuted.
"Well, Fujin-san, I hope you like the chicken they are serving here. I would recommend it with soup," he said while looking at the menu.
"I will take you word for that," I turned my eyes at the menu, too.
We ordered the same meal and did some small talk. We mostly about the most challenging cases Akechi worked in the past year. We laughed and discussed some of the culprits' motives. I lost track of time until we finished eating, we paid the bills, separately, and left the diner. Just at the moment, we stepped to the street, the same thug from earlier showed up with his friends looking for revenge. Another huge mistake for them, it would not take too long before they noticed who was with me.
"That's the asshole that broke my nose!" He said to his friends.
"What is the problem, gentlemen?" Goro intervened between those thugs and me.
"This guy broke my friend's nose, and I'm not going to stand here without making him pay for what he did," the second thug said that to Akechi.
"Ok, just to make it clear, it was self-defense. That guy threatened me in the first place. That is stupid of you are looking for a fight with me in public," I replied.
"I agree, not the smartest choice for them," Akechi said with such calm.
"Nobody asked for your opinion, dumbass," The broken-nosed thug said it.
"OH SHIT!" The third thug noticed the Charming Detective, shaking in fear.
"What are you afraid of?" The second thug asked his friend.
"That guy is the Detective from TV!"
"ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?" It was a new record; they took longer than expected to recognize him.
"Oh, crap! Let's just leave, dude. I don't want to be arrested by him!" The second thug said with panic.
"Tch, fine, I got enough for this day to deal with him now," the thugs left the street afraid of us.
"Picking on fights, are you?" Akechi stared at me with guilt.
"What? As I said, it was self-defense," I replied with confidence. "Or isn't it legal?"
"I don't have any problems as long you don't disturb anyone else," Akechi said. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Fujin-san."
"Same thing, good luck with the Mental Shutdown cases," I said as he went in the opposite direction.
I couldn't believe it. Despite not making much progress in my investigation, I met Akechi Goddamn Goro in person! That's something you wouldn't say every day. What were the odds of meeting a local celebrity in a simple diner? Although it was weird that he chose to eat there instead of a much fancier one. I supposed too much work cuts his option of where to eat. If I were in his place, I would either eat at home or make lunch.
Thinking about, I doubt that would be the case. I couldn't cook anything complicated or else.
It was on Monday. The traffic in Tokyo was the worst thing during the morning. My stress levels were rising per second; trying to look for those kids, and stopping them from going even further before things go fucked.
That was a total nightmare. My mind kept the priorities on the following order: Jobs, Makoto and those teenagers, bills, groceries, bike maintenance, the monthly Ultra Jump, Neo Featherman's new episode.
I never mentioned what kind of delivery job I had; it was a courier job. Despite being outdated, people still order things around the city when they don't have the time to get themselves. It doesn't pay as much as working in Crossroads, but being able to ride around the city with some fresh air is never a bad idea, except when it comes to traffic.
I didn't have to worry about those kids because they were at school. I doubted Makoto would skip classes just to walk around Shibuya without getting attention from any cop. I put a reminder to myself to bring a book if the case of waiting for hours like the last time.
When I stopped in a nearby park to catch my breath, I checked my phone to see the hour. I noticed something weird on it: A strange-looking app with the form of an eye appeared on the main screen. I pressed it to see what kind of functions had.
"Please enter a name, a place, and a keyword" it was a navigation app. Why would I need another navigation app if my phone already had one? It must be downloaded by itself, damn you, advertisements. I deleted the app like the trash it was. After stretching my limbs, I headed back to my work with even more deliveries than before on the way. It took me hours until it was already afternoon. I finished with my job, which made me my legs numb. When I was passing near Shibuya, something caught me off guard.
I finally found those guys while getting into a cab. They looked in a hurry; I couldn't let them see me, so I stayed far from a reasonable distance while riding my bike. The traffic was crowd than earlier, so I started to lose them again, so many cars from the same color as the cab. Even with the line for bikes, I had to stop on every red light, wasting valuable time. I rushed, more cars kept coming and probably blocked my way. I tried shortcuts, but it was a mistake because I couldn't get an idea of where they were heading. Time has passed, and it got dark.
I lost them from my sight. So close yet so far.
Why was it always that hard to find them? That was getting ridiculous for me trying to stop them. The time wasn't right; almost make bash my head against a wall for my bloody luck. I ended up just going circles without results, already evening, and I was starving. "That's it! I'm going home!" I shouted before I got the idea to drop that shit and continuing with my life. I got the jackpot. Makoto, the guy with glasses, and the others walked outside of a nightclub.
So they finally appeared, judging by their faces they looked worried, Makoto was disconcerted. She looked apologetic to them, whatever she was saying, nothing good came out of that place. I never saw her behaving like this with me or others. I was hiding behind a vending machine, but I couldn't hear what they were talking from the distance I was. They talked for a couple of minutes.
After they finished talking, Blue-haired guy started walking, while the others followed him. I decided to follow them as well, without being noticed. The students kept walking until they stopped in the middle of Central Street. I didn't know what they were planning to do next, but I won't let my sight separated from them this time. "Please enter a name, a place, and a keyword."
That voice, they were using the same app I found on my phone early morning. What the hell is wrong in this life? The blue-guy started to say the following words to his cellphone: " Kaneshiro Junya," "All Shibuya," and "Bank." Those words, things became clear: The app was using those words to locate specific people and places. They most likely had an idea of where Kaneshiro was.
Why did they want to go after him? It didn't matter; right before I could leave my hiding place to warn them, I felt that chill again like yesterday. 'Starting Navigation,' the phone said it.
From one second to another, something shocked me that my eyes weren't able to comprehend what I saw from that moment: They disappeared out of nowhere, like illusionists in a show. Was I losing my mind? Became delusional? Whatever was the case, there was only one thing that got stuck in mind: Are they the Phantom Thieves?
Whatever it was: Smoking mirrors, voodoo, black magic, stunt doubles, or a good elaborated a prank. No matter how many things I came up to answer about them, nothing like that could ever happen in this life.
If those guys are the Phantom Thieves, probably Makoto was dragged into this shit too. I made up my mind if she is now involved in a risky business, and that guy was one of them; I would not stop until I find answers.
