Persona 5: Daywatch

Friday, 10 June 2016
Evening
Shibuya, Underground

Stepping off the train, Akira pushed out of the stop and up to the walkway where more people churned back and forth but at least had dead zones to stop for a breath. With Makoto still dealing with testing, Ryuji and Ann both still seething from the battering Hashimoto and Akechi gave the Phantom Thieves, and Mishima collating information from the Phansite, he had little to do but study. Maybe somebody disconnected could help clear his head. He slipped his phone out and called Hifumi.

Long rings plagued his ear before she at last picked up, speaking in a low hush, "Akira, I—"

"Pay attention, girl!" a woman's voice snapped from somewhere in the background on her side. "That bottle would smudge your lipstick. You can have some water after this next set." Sharp clapping echoed in an enclosed space. "Makeup, are we trying to make her look like a skeleton or the face of shogi?"

"I…" Hifumi cracked, a tremor of too many things piled on top of her in it. "I'm sorry." The line went dead.

A frown twisted his face and Akira slipped his phone into his pocket. "Whoever's jerking her around needs a good slap across the face." His conscious mind knew it was illogical to act like he had any right to Hifumi's time. She wasn't his family or his classmate no matter how pleasant her company was. She wasn't actually his shogi partner no matter how thrilling their games were. And she wasn't his teacher no matter how brilliant she was.

Akira let out a harsh breath.

Morgana poked his head out of the satchel. "What's up, Joker?"

Akira scowled. "No tutor today. So much for catching up on math." He turned for the door and pushed into foot traffic to get out of the Teikyuu Building. Halfway across station square, two men shouted at each other like animals baying for blood.

"Selfish bastard!" a nasal voice yelled.

Turning to spot the disturbance, he noticed a man in a three piece suit grabbing another in a grey sweater-vest with both fists, getting the same treatment in kind. His gravely voice snapped over the quieting crowd, "Selfish monkey, you just want to drag everyone back so they're all as bad as you!"

That politician making speeches came around the old-style train car mockup and thundered, "That's enough!" Not stopping at words, he shoulder-checked both, driving them apart. Once they both had their feet steady under them, he snapped at the suited man still clenching his teeth. "The solution to society's apathy isn't to replace it with rage. That kind of wild energy can only harm Japan."

Three Piece Suit pointed at Sweater Vest. "It's communists like him harming Japan."

He gestured his hands out at the station square, one of them pointing almost straight at the statue of Hachiko. "Just look at you two. While you were so focused on hurting each other, you took this square intended for all Japanese away from everyone. And what benefit did you achieve from it?"

Both aggressors glared at each other, but either the politicians' words were sinking in or the number of cell phones up taking video were reminding them of shame.

The politician carried on, his voice carrying over the whole crowd but without the ear-piercing volume Hashida-sensei used. "All you have done is inflict scuffs and bruises on yourselves. Whatever party you espouse, neither one of you have honored them by your actions here. Even when not your party, the people of Japan are not your enemy."

Sweater Vest took a few steps closer to gather a few fallen yellow fliers with red ink, but gave Suit a wide margin as he rushed into the crowd in the direction of central street. Three Piece Suit himself glared, but never quite met anybody's eyes as he descended into the subways.

Morgana gawked from the transfer student's shoulder. "He's impressive."

From the sounds, the crowd had the same sentiment, but once the possibility of fists flying in public was gone the circle disintegrated and the video-takers moved on.

Waiting just long enough for the team leader to retreat to the satchel, Akira ran through the crowd to catch up with the politician before he got back up on his little wood box. "Say, uh… that was really good. You weren't afraid to get involved bodily, but sent two dudes in a fist fight walking without having to put one in the hospital. Name's Akira."

"Toranosuke," he said with a smile. Against the transfer student's expectations, it even added a glint to his eye. "It's a delight to have made a positive impression on someone so young." He stopped, eyes making a quick scan over the student. "I recognize you…" He snapped his fingers. "The beef bowl shop a couple weeks ago. You were running ragged in there. I'm sorry to have been a contribution to that."

"Oh, no, you were the most patient person there," Akira said. "It's just a really demanding job."

Peering out from the satchel, Morgana let out a breath of awe. "Ten seconds and he's even got you trying to say nice things about him. This guy's good."

"Shh!" Akira hissed at the diminutive team leader. He re-focused on the politician. "You, uh, really have a talent with words."

Toranosuke let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Oh, I'm afraid I'm not nearly so talented. Any ability I do have comes from many years of hard practice. But what can one do when you fall but to pick yourself up?" When the student stood silent, Toranosuke asked, "Is politics a field you have any interest in?"

Akira's mouth opened to give an automatic no, but Hifumi and Morgana both emphasized his need to move beyond his old boundaries. He scratched behind an ear. "I would have said no earlier… I hate crowds and I don't like speaking to people. But I can't avoid it, and trying just makes me a liability to my friends." He gave a nod towards where Sweater Vest walked off. "But you have it figured out. I want in on that."

Toranosuke gave a small, thin-lipped smile and brushed his white-gloved hands together. "Well, legally I can't employ a student. But I certainly wouldn't want to stop a young man wanting to better himself. Especially if he's willing to assist a few of my speeches."

Akira squared his shoulders. "I'll do my best. What do you need, perimeter security? I can get a bat in ten minutes."

Morgana poked up out of Akira's school satchel. "He's even getting you to volunteer to help him? I should start taking notes."

"He's why we came this way," Akira growled under his breath at the team leader.

Toranosuke's eyes widened and those white gloved hands came up. "Good heavens, no, boy. There's too much of that outside United Future Party rallies. Just hold up my sign and this old man won't have to worry about it falling over. Would you mind telling me your name and contact information? I'll send you the release forms." He drew his smart phone.

Akira took out his phone. "Kurusu Akira. But I would prefer to go by Akira." Their phones synced, and a moment later the politician sent a consent form.

As the transfer student filled it out, the politician introduced himself. "Well, nice to meet you. I am Toranosuke Yoshida."

Akira paused. "No kidding? I knew a Yoshida at my last school. Did a ton of stuff together."

Nodding, the politician gave the kind of nod indicating he understood but wanted to be the one talking. "I used to be a member of the diet, but that was a long time ago. I haven't won an election back in for almost twenty years." He rubbed the thin hair remaining on the back of his head. "Look at me now, I'm indulging in negativity before I've even begun. No solution comes of pessimism." His phone dinged when the student sent back the consent form and he gave a polite smile. "Well, on to business, Akira-kun."

Stepping up to the box, a handful of people stopped to lean against the planters as he began. Few others stopped, leaving the chaotic stream of people and noise assaulting his ears. But when Toranosuke stood up on that box ahead of him, they seemed a little smaller and further away. His speech went on for two hours, but his resolve held fast despite repeated hecklers.

Akira's arms grew tired and he couldn't even hold the sign up over his face by the time the politician stepped down.

Toranosuke dabbed at his forehead with a sweat rag and leaned against the car mockup. "So, Akira-kun. What did you think of tonight?"

Akira bit his tongue when the first thought to spring to mind is that he would have preferred shogi. "Well, you handled the hecklers without having to tackle anyone. Even to that dumbass who said nothing mattered until you were elected." He leaned the sign against the mockup. "Seriously, who's going to get elected without a party?"

Toranosuke uncapped a water bottle and sipped. Despite the slump to his shoulders, the upturn at the corners of his mouth seemed genuine. "Well, election season proper is still several months away, but this is a make or break for me. More people are noticing me, but some are starting to view me as a fixture of Station Square like Hachiko there," he gestured his water bottle at the statue. "If I can get some serious notice, I might finally get elected where I can do some good. If not, I fear I may become a part of the terrain." He looked to the student. "You think my speech today did a good job on that?"

Akira straightened his glasses and let his arm flop back to his side. "Well… there's really nothing controversial about 'the best interests of all'. Nothing specific to it either. Doesn't sound like a promise to do anything."

Toranosuke let out a breath, but despite his eyes staring out they looked sharp as ever. "There are many things this nation needs if it wants to do more than survive the near future. Infrastructure, education opportunities…"

"Judicial reform for a system better than the Gestapo at putting people behind bars, as long as they're not rich," Akira said, his lips tensing. At the politician's arched eyebrow, he cleared his throat and looked out at Hachiko. "My old bastard was an authoritarian. I spent a lot of my childhood finding arguments against the kind of society he wanted to make."

"You are a man of many surprises." Toranosuke took another sip, then capped his bottle. "I hope to see you again next month."

Akira shouldered his school satchel and headed to the subway lines to Yongen. "You've been quiet for a while, Morgana. What'd you think?"

Those blue eyes stared up at him from within the bag. "I think you ran into a man who has a real way with words. This'll be good for you."

Saturday, 11 June 2016
After School
Ginza Sushi Bar

The dark wood paneling gave a soft, intimate feel despite the open layout. The last time the Phantom Thieves celebrated, everybody Akira saw was either in a fancy suit or dress. Here a wider variety of suits and dresses represented the middle class splurging on a rare treat. It made him feel less like an ill-fitting transplant, though all of them still being in their Shujin uniforms helped. Having the group gathered around a table in a booth reminded him of the homey feel of Leblanc, adding to the relaxed feel of the place.

Ryuji swallowed, letting out a pleased hum. "I never thought flounder could taste so good. Man, I can see why sushi chefs gotta be in trainin' for years. This texture's amazeballs."

Akira closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Please don't say that word again, Ryuji."

"Yes, thank you," Makoto said from her seat next to Ryuji. She looked across the table to the class representative picking at his food with little energy. "Everything okay, Mishima-kun?"

He pulled his head up, but his back remained hunched. "I was just thinking… not that Kaneshiro's confession isn't a definite victory… it's just that I can't get over the bitter taste in my mouth from that KFTV segment with Hashimoto-sensei calling the Phantom Thieves just another criminal. Is that really how the rest of the world views us?"

Morgana stared at the saucer on the seat in front of him. "Well, we've changed dozens of hearts, but the wider world only knows about the two we left calling cards for. As long as we keep on changing the hearts of the corrupt, the world will come to understand. You'll see!"

Makoto's back straightened. "You're right. We can't let ourselves get disheartened by the limits of others' vision. Before I met you guys, I was doubting that there even was true justice out there. Now I know for sure I'm part of it."

"Speaking of patience," Morgana said, sniffing at the air, "where's my fatty tuna?"

Ann swallowed her last bite of her crab sushi, then flashed a grateful smile at the waiter stopping at their table to deposit another rectangular tray of elegant sushi rolls. "Right here." She plucked one for herself, then took another and set it on the team leader's plate.

Morgana gave her a smile. "Not just getting delicious fish, but being graced with it by Lady Ann's hand. This day couldn't get any better."

Makoto sat back just a little in her booth seat, her face twitching like she wanted just a little more distance from Morgana. When the class representative shot her a questioning look, she tried to wave it off. "Anyway, do we have any idea what we're going to do next?"

"Video games!" Ryuji said, pumping his hand in the air. "We used to play Mario Kart after track meets. We tote gotta have a tournament, just us!" He looked around and lowered his hand. "Oh, but there ain't nearly enough room for all'a us at my place."

Akira swallowed his bite of fatty tuna sushi. A dark part of his mind whispered that these good times couldn't last, that Hashimoto and Akechi's condemnation should've been reminder enough, that he'd mess something up if it didn't come from the outside. But he didn't want this day to end. Making it through a school day without anybody yelling at him, only a handful of people whispering about him as if he were a leper, sharing delicious food with the best people he ever met… the only thing missing would've been a couple of the nice people from the parish. Maybe Big K, just to see what the tailor thought of him now. "There's plenty of room at my pad."

Setting down his glass of water, Mishima looked at him. "Your pad?"

Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's basically a crash pad for as long as I'm on probation, but you guys are welcome any time you want."

Mishima gave a hesitant smile. "That's very generous. I just hope you guys get the recognition you deserve some day."

Ryuji finished a drink and brought his glass to the table hard enough to splash water back up at him. "One day the whole world will know how awesome the Phantom Thieves are!"

A woman walking by tucked her brown dress closer. "Ugh. I'm hearing about hoodlums everywhere."

Ann gave the fakest laugh Akira ever heard. "Yeah, that's all we are. Huge fans of the Phantom Thief."

The woman rolled her eyes and sped up her pace into another section of the restaurant.

Makoto elbowed Ryuji and all the others joined in her glare. "Idiot!" she hissed. "Have some awareness of where you are, Sakamoto."

The track star deflated. "Sorry dudes. I di'n' mean nothin'."

Morgana cleared his throat. "People are starting to look at us. Let's make this next roll our last one and go for that change in venue."

Saturday, 11 June 2016
Evening
Yongen, Leblanc Loft

A blue shell slammed into Luigi's cart, allowing Yoshi to zoom ahead. Ryuji cursed, boosting back into the track but not in time to keep from falling back three places.

When Yoshi crossed the finish line, Ann threw her fists in the air. "Woo! Still the undefeated champion." She threw herself into a victory dance, skirt shaking and breasts jiggling.

Akira and Mishima both blushed and looked away.

Makoto, having lost to Ryuji the last round, continued browsing the books on the transfer student's bookshelf. "You've got a lot of books on psychology. Is it a family heritage?"

Glad to have an excuse to divert his attention from his sexy, dancing teammate, Akira stood to join her by the bookshelf moved to jut out into the room. "Not really. Well, I guess kind of. My old bastard's a neuropsychologist, so it's not like I had a choice but to pick up on things. Most of these books were already up here, collecting dust. For all I know, they're remnants from whoever owned this place before Sakura-san moved in."

Makoto took off her braided hairband to brush at her hair. "I know what you mean about wanting to break from the family line but feeling like you can't. Big Sis went into law, but I always looked to my father no matter how much mom took care of us." Her eyelid twitched and she took out her phone to check the time, then glanced at the purple light coming in through the windows. "It's been fun, everyone, but I better get home. I didn't tell Sae that I'd be out anywhere, so I don't want to be late."

Standing up from the chess board he was sharing with the transfer student, Mishima nodded and checked his phone. "Me too. I sent dad a text that I'd be eating with friends after school, but he hasn't wanted me out late since Kamoshida's confession hit the TV news."

Ann pouted, swinging the wii-mote on its strap around her wrist. "C'mon, just one more."

Ryuji sat down in a chair next to the couch and wiped sweat from his forehead. "At least you had a rest. I'm as sweaty as the end of a run."

Akira gestured his chin at the windows. "There's showers and everything at the public baths right across the street."

Ann pouted, but took the wii-mote controller off her wrist. "I'll take a rain check. I only use public baths if I can change into clean clothes afterwards."

Ryuji shrugged and stepped aside to let her grab her bag and leave. He turned a sweaty grin to the transfer student. "I'm the same way, but I hit the gym so often I always got a change in my bag. Let's go."

Akira grabbed a change of clothes for himself, then a pair of towels for the two of them. He waved to the team leader. "Catch you later."

Saturday, 11 June 2016
Late Evening
Yongen, Bath House

Ryuji stretched out his hands to revel in the sheer amount of space. The bamboo siding gave a natural feel contrasting the stainless steel in the scrub area. The runner took in a deep breath. "Man, you are sooo lucky to live like, five seconds away from a bath house. Huge bathtubs are great."

Akira let himself sway back and forth in the hot water, enjoying the relative silence with the runner the only other one in the men's side. "Except when it's crowded. I'm kind of shocked every day at all the luxuries in Tokyo."

Ryuji tilted his head. "Whaddya mean?"

Akira stopped, letting the faint current run over him and took in a deep breath of the warm, moist air. With his glasses sitting on his folded-up clothes, the imprints in his nose felt hot. "Back when I was stuck with my old bastard, we only had those group-style showers. I always waited until real late to take mine because I didn't want anybody else's water on me."

Chuckling, Ryuji looked Akira over. "Heh. Glad you're over that." Pausing to glance left, then right, he swam a little closer. "Hey, you an' the girls've been spendin' a lotta time together, right? Which one's more your type…Ann or Makoto?"

Akira swallowed, glad the already hot water gave him cover for being red-faced. "Well, Ann's a very reliable teammate. Even when she doesn't know what her goal is, she never loses sight of her morals." Pausing, his throat felt tight and the runner held an askance look. "Also very good with English."

Ryuji slapped a wet palm over his face. "C'mon, can't you act like a guy our age? This is the prime time of our lives to check out babes. Even if you're on a diet, there ain't nothin' wrong with checkin' the menu."

Crossing his arms, Akira felt shaken by how much his friend sounded like his mother. But he would never admit how much sense it made. "I'm not like that!"

To his credit, Ryuji didn't even flinch. "Dude, I see you blushin' around Ann. It makes tote sense. Even if she's kinda domineerin', the hair an' body make up for it. There ain't nothin' wrong with thinkin' a girl is hot."

Akira turned away, but couldn't put together an argument as the cognitive Ann in Kamoshida's castle sprang to mind. He'd be repeating Hail Marys for Father Sugiyama for sure.

Ryuji reached up and scratched at his scalp for a moment, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Uh, well. My old man wasn't the best pa, but he at least gave me the same talk as ma. Bein' attracted ta girls is how all guys are." His eyes rolled up for a fraction of a second. "C'mon, seriously. Somebody had to talk 'bout this."

Father Motoori's reading of Genesis sprang to his mind. "Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, for she was made from Man. That is why a man leaves his father and mother…" The blush returned as he recited the rest of the verse in his mind.

Ryuji blinked. "Uh, yeah. Like that, I guess." He slipped through the water to sit next to Akira, his trademark grin returning. "So whaddya think of Ann? As a girl? Like, the first time you laid eyes on her." His boldness and focus made the transfer student's protestations seem petty. The energy in his friend drew out a need to share something normal for once, and the runner seemed so certain what that was.

Averting his gaze, Akira moved his hands so the runner couldn't see him getting stiff. "My heart skipped a beat when I first saw her standing under the awning that rainy morning. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen." When Ryuji gave a triumphant laugh, he glared. "And she isn't domineering, she's confident. She's honest. She wears her heart on her sleeve, knows it, and goes with it. She and Shiho are quite the duo of friends."

Ryuji let out a proud laugh and gave a playful punch as his grin grew. "I gotcha." He slipped closer and elbowed Akira underwater again. "Whaddabout Makoto? She's tough as nails if that whole motorbike of awesome was anythin' to go by. You should'a seen her throw this ganger right in front of Kaneshiro. Smart too. An' you can't say she ain't a looker."

A lower portion of Akira's brain understood what the runner was getting at, but as easy as it was to imagine Ann as sexy and exotic, he couldn't imagine Makoto in the same sense. It wasn't her threatening the only friends in his life, her selflessness in the bank balanced that out. But something about her felt too much like him. "I can't really think of Makoto as being… available."

"For real?" Ryuji leaned closer, scrutinizing the transfer student like a doctor struggling to discern symptoms of an exotic disease. "I'd'a thought one'a them would be your type. From the way Ann an' Morgana went on, you an' Makoto were on the same wavelength all through the bank." His brows knit together. "An' it ain't like she's goin' steady with anyone."

"We're not together, Ryuji," Akira said, his gaze hooded but body relaxing in the hot water. Even as he said it, he couldn't explain why.

The track star clapped his hands together underwater, causing a shimmer in the water surface above. "Aha! You got a girl from your old town!"

Akira sat back against the side of the tub. "I was never close enough for anyone to leave me." He wrapped his arms around his knees. "Probably better that way. Nobody to answer to, but nobody to get caught up in my morass of problems."

Ryuji punched the transfer student in the arm. "C'mon. Every dude's got a type. Like, for me, she's gotta be nice. There's no bonerkill faster than a mean girl." He elbowed the transfer student. "So what's your type?"

Sitting up, Akira looked over the runner. His breath caught in his throat, then he breathed in and the tickle grew into a laugh. "You're trying to play the personality guy? The only thing you ever talked about was girls' body parts."

"Tch." Ryuji waved off the statement. "That's just how you tell the good ones apart. Ain't like it's worth datin' a girl who's gonna bite your head off."

Akira leaned against the side of the tub and tried to let the hot water relax him. The runner's questions brought up a lot of sleepless nights. "What if there's no girl out there for me?" He rubbed the sides of his head. "No, more like what if it's better if there isn't?"

"Dude," Ryuji began, eyes wide. "Every guy wants a girl. An' as many problems as we got, even dudes like us deserve a shot at the right girl for us." The runner held a pearly-white grin and the squared shoulders of a man who said exactly what he meant.

The transfer student stood, but halted short of getting out of the tub. "Hey, Ryuji?"

"Yeah?" came the confused reply.

"Even when we don't see eye to eye, you always know what you're going for." Akira took in a deep breath. "Thanks for not letting me get away with being totally stupid."

Ryuji chuckled. "Course, dude. That's what bros are for." A hand splashed out of the water. "And to be your wingman!"

AN: Thanks for reading and commenting! Hearing what you all think does a lot to keep the next chapters coming.