Arcana: Charity

Chapter 1 Just You're Average SI, Don't Mind Me

"I'm absolutely fucked. I'm so unbelievably screwed. I'm talking six ways to Sunday levels of being shit out of luck. I don't think a word in any language properly describes the levels of 'OH SHIT!' panic I have reached. I am so…undeniably…BONED."

Yep… That sad excuse for a person that's curled up in an alleyway muttering to himself as he has a panic attack is totally me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation Well… It's a long story.

Scratch that. It's a pretty short one, honestly. But it makes no sense. Like straight out of a bad fanfic levels of nonsense. No, seriously, what happened to me is so tropey and cliche. I've read so many stories that start with this kind of trope. But now that it's happened to me, I honestly don't know what to think about it.

If you really want to know, I'll elaborate. Today was just supposed to be a normal day for me. It was supposed to be a normal day for me. The date was April 2nd, and I was finishing up a spring semester at my college. I was walking on campus after finishing a program I had to make for a class that I hated (A waste of my Saturday, that's what it was).

I remember yawning as I continued to walk to where I parked. I wanted to get home quickly since my parents were in town to hang out before they left again for work. We had plans to get sushi tonight, something I had been looking forward to for the whole week.

But as I checked my phone, I was hit with a brief spell of dizziness. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for me to stop and rub my head before looking back up from my phone. And when I did look up, I was no longer on my college's campus.

I was instead in a huge open street with hundreds of people walking around me. I blinked a few times as I tried to understand what had just happened. I stood there completely dumbfounded as people walked around and past me like I wasn't there.

What the hell just happened? That was the first question I had as I snapped out of my shock and looked around at where I was. Immediately I took note of the Japanese signs and how everyone around me was Japanese.

No… That couldn't be right.

Not knowing what else to do to prove myself wrong, I opened up Google Maps and checked my location. Imagine my shock when it told me I was suddenly in Toyko, Japan. Shibuya specifically.

That's about when the panic began forming in my gut, but I didn't freak out. What I did, however, was start walking around. If I was really in Japan from some kind of teleportation, I would find out exactly how and why. Also, I was in Japan, baby! Holy hell, Japan was one of the countries I had always wanted to visit, so I was going to try to enjoy this spacial displacement at the very least.

That was the plan, but that all changed when I saw some high school students as I was walking around sightseeing. Now, seeing high schoolers wasn't what set me off. It was what they were wearing. Their uniform was immediately familiar. The black blazer with the school emblem and the red and black checkered pants were the same as the uniform in one of my favorite video games. It was a Shujin Academy Uniform, the same uniform the characters in Persona 5 wear.

Oh, God…

This was when I was clued into what had potentially happened, although I didn't immediately jump to that situation. I would have to be crazy to jump straight onto the idea that I was now in a video game. I was more willing to believe teleportation had become possible and someone botched the procedure than being brought into a video game world. Hell, I would have believed that I had been in a drunken state and forgot everything that happened during it sooner than the video game theory.

So despite seeing kids wearing the uniform, I chalked it up to cosplay and continued walking around what I assumed was Shibuya.

As I walked around, I saw more and more things that only further pushed me to the extreme video game world theory. The first was the fact that I could suddenly understand Japanese for no noticeable reason. I had never taken a single lesson to learn Japanese, yet suddenly it's as easy to read it as English. Actually, the kanji characters sort of seemed to fade to English if I stared for too long, though I was probably just imagining things.

The second thing was how when I tried to find someone who spoke English to get some directions. I discovered that despite being in Japan, I hear people talk in English. When I pointed that out to the people I managed to talk to, they got confused and told me that I was speaking perfect Japanese. They told me I didn't even have an accent. Yet, I reiterate to you all that I was speaking English, just like normal, and was hearing them speak English.

Now thoroughly creeped out by that, I continued walking around before stopping outside of a restaurant that made me freeze up. Big Bang Burger. This was something I couldn't deny was an impossibility.

Big Bang Burger was a food chain that was owned by the Persona 5 character Haru's father and only existed in that fictional world. It didn't exist in the real world. At least, I was pretty sure. I don't live in Japan, so I can't say for certain, but I'm 90% confident I would have seen and heard something about 'Big Bang Burger' being real from Persona 5 fans online.

After seeing all this weirdness and having it all sink in, I finally cracked down. I couldn't push back the panic that I began to form when I had been teleported to Japan, and now it was bubbling over. I quickly found a quiet alley where I could be alone before sitting down and began my panic attack. Oh God, oh shit. I'm so screwed if I'm in Persona 5.

So yeah. My day's gone from decent to insane in about half an hour. How are you? Good? Good. Now that I'm done dropping exposition on you all, time to get back to my panic attack.

"Son of a gum-chewing funk beast! Why the fruit does all this funny stuff happen to me?!" I cursed under my breath as I cradled my head. "Forget my life! It's like this whole world just likes to bend me over and find me in the Alps! Like I'm some sort of slug receptacle! Well, as far as I care, these miserable cows can have a fancy barbecue with a goddamn pig!"

After reciting that rant on instinct (all from memory, too), I gathered my breath by panting and started to gather my bearings.

Okay. Let's review. I was suddenly teleported to Japan with no warning or explanation. Not only am I in Japan, but I am supposedly in Persona 5's version of Japan. Great. Awesome. So cool. So happy about all of this. Not like I was busy with my own life. I totally wasn't a few semesters away from graduating and getting a degree in computer science. There go all my plans for the future. Thanks, Random Omnipotent Being, for making the last few years of my life meaningless. Yay…

Vrrrm…

I raised my eyebrow when I felt my phone vibrate. I slowly took it out of my jacket pocket and turned it on. A text from an unknown number. With nothing else to lose, I unlocked my phone and looked at the text.

'Go to the address written below, where you'll find an apartment for you to stay at. You'll also find clothes, the required papers you will need, and other things you will find useful. Your train pass will be sent to your phone shortly.'

Another text then came with the mentioned train pass. I stared at the text for a good while after that. I think I've only really hated one person in my life, and that was one of my programming teachers. But that hatred was born after a few years of dealing with that teacher.

Yet despite how long it took that hatred to be born, I was slowly believing that an inkling of something similar was being born right now towards the sender of this text. This person teleports me here without consent, knowingly at that it seems, and they have the audacity to text me like we're pals. To give me orders like I'm some employee of theirs? Really? Is this really happening right now?

Sigh… They didn't even give me a name to hate. At least they prepared a place for me and personal details about me.

"But what else can I do but go along with their plan?" I grumbled to myself as I got up from the ground.

With nothing left to lose, I walked around until I found the nearest train station, catching sight of a familiar politician as I did. If I wasn't convinced I was in Persona 5 before now, seeing good ol' Tora pretty much sealed the deal for me. Great. I'm stuck in a video game world. At least I don't seem to be Joker. God knows how badly I'd mess up the story if I had somehow taken his place. It's the little things in life, y'know?

As I got on the train to this mystery destination, I repeatedly tried contacting the mystery person who seemed to be the one who brought me here. Unfortunately, no matter what I did, my messages never got a response. With a sigh, I continued testing my luck by trying to call other numbers I had on my phone. Namely, my family and friends. And once again, nothing I did went through.

All the numbers I called just gave me the automatic response of 'that number does not exist'. So I can't even contact my family and friends while I'm stuck in an entirely different country and world. This would have set me off again if I weren't already depressed and tired from a panic attack.

Now I really understand what loneliness felt like. It sounds cheesy thinking like that, but it was true. Despite how crowded it was on this train (seriously, I didn't really believe how badly crowded Japanese trains could get until now. I can't even move because there are so many people around me!), I was completely and utterly alone.

At least my phone worked perfectly fine aside from that. I can still read all my fanfictions and play FGO without a care in the world. Again, it's the little things that make it all bearable. To a degree, anyway.

After standing on the train, waiting to arrive for who knows how long, the train finally reached my destination. I still couldn't believe where this mysterious person had sent me. I didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated by the coincidence. Yongen-Jaya. The same residential district that Joker lived in during the game.

Getting off the train, I had to stop myself from checking out Cafe Leblanc and focus on getting to this apartment I was told about. It took another hour of just walking, but I eventually found it after asking a few people. It was a normal-looking apartment complex. Nothing too special at the onset, which only made me more suspicious.

With a raised eyebrow, I walked over and found who I thought was the landlord. I don't know how, but he seemed to be expecting me. The moment he saw me, he muttered something about 'stupid foreigner kid being late' before tossing me the keys and telling me I'd be staying in room 237.

Completely baffled, I nodded slowly as I walked to my room. Just how prepared was this person to set all this up for me ahead of time?

When I found the right room number, I unlocked the door and walked in to see a nice-looking apartment. It was pretty big, from what I could tell. After giving the place a quick once over, I noted how it was a one-bedroom apartment with a living room, dining room, and kitchen, each room fully furnished already.

The bedroom had drawers, a large bed, a desk with a journal lying on top of it, and a full closet with a bunch of clothes in it (clothes that, when I checked them out, I noticed all were my size and matched my tastes somehow).

The living room had everything you would expect in it, as well as a flatscreen tv and some game consoles that I owned back home with games to play. The kitchen's fridge and freezer were also fully stocked with food, showing me that whoever set this all up expected me to stay there for a while.

And that's when I found the last noticeable thing in the apartment on the dining room table. It was a couple of pieces of paper and a familiar uniform lying beside the stack of paper. A Shujin uniform. Not a good sign. I picked up the papers and saw they were actually important documents about my situation.

The first was the lease for the apartment, which showed the apartment had already been paid for in advance for a year. The second was papers detailing a new bank account for me which already had a good bit of money in it, enough to last as long as this apartment if I'm smart about it, I'm sure. And the last paper, predictably, detailed a school transfer for me to Shujin Academy as a third year and covered fake personal details that would act as a cover, I assumed. It even had a fake name for me to use, one with a surname that sounded a bit familiar, though I couldn't quite place it.

Seriously, who the hell brought me here, and how do they seem to know me so well?

Not a moment after I finished looking over the papers, I got another text from the mystery number that I immediately checked.

'Everything has already been taken care of. All that is left is for you to handle the rest.' It began before finishing with this: 'Please, help the Trickster. Please help him and his friends overcome this unfair game he is trapped in and help them save the world.'

I stared at the message for a bit before busting a gut laughing. Are you kidding me!? That's the reason I was brought here!? To help Joker and the other Phantom Thieves beat the game? Are you for real?

Why am I needed for that? They seemed to handle things just fine without me in the game. Why would anyone bring me in just to help them? It's not like I have any experience with this kind of stuff. This is really starting to creep into bad fanfiction territories again. Seriously, what am I? A Gary Sue that's supposed to befriend everyone and solve all their problems? That's not me.

Also, that bit about helping Joker and the others pretty much narrowed down the possible people who could have brought me here. Only two people call the Persona 5 Protagonist 'Trickster'. Igor and Lavenza. And considering Igor, or at least the real Igor, has been locked away in the velvet room, it must be Lavenza, right? The only thing that points otherwise is how Lavenza was split in two, with her separate halves becoming Justine and Caroline.

The date is April 2nd, so about a week or so until Joker arrives if the year is right, which it probably is. Because why would I be here years in advance if this was a bad fanfiction? It only makes sense for me to arrive right before the action starts. So if Lavenza has been split in two already, which she probably has, how could she teleport me here and manage to get in limited contact with me? And with texts to boot.

Another notification caught my attention, and I froze when I saw what was now on my phone. A very familiar red-eye app. The Metaverse app. I stared at it before laughing out loud again.

Nope. No way. Not a chance.

I deleted that shit immediately, even knowing that it would just pop back up later. Yeah, I'd rather avoid the crazy part of this world right now. I'm not a Phantom Thief, and my new goal is to prevent that from happening.

Now you might be asking right now, 'But Self Insert-san! This is a golden opportunity that anyone would kill for! You could be a Phantom Thief and meet all the characters from Persona 5! You could be their friend and be the hero! Isn't that something you would like?'

Here's the answer: no.

I don't need to be a Phantom Thief to meet or know the characters, which is something that I don't even really care about right now. I also don't want to play hero either. To me, this isn't some fantasy story where I'm destined to succeed and get everything I wanted in the end. I'm not going to immediately become the hero of the story. I'm not going to get the girl if I try to help out. I don't even want to be involved in romance right now.

All I want is to get back home, which I doubt is possible until all of this blows over.

I had a life I was working to improve, and I wanted it back.

Now, that thought does bring up another. The only way home might be through doing what Lavenza (or who I assume is her) wants me to do. If I don't help Joker, I might never get back home.

But you know what? Maybe they shouldn't have given me a good apartment and all the necessary papers after bringing me here. I have everything I need to be comfortable for at least a year, but I can easily find a way to manage long afterward. I just need a good job, and I'll have everything handled for the most part.

Is it selfish not to want any part in the Phantom Thieve's story? In my opinion, no. You can lecture me all about being selfish after you're unwillingly teleported into a game world where people randomly die from mental shutdowns on a politician's whims and are told to help the protagonists despite the risk of death and injury. The only compensation I got for all this was a decent place to live, something I already had back home! This is complete bullshit! Bullshit!

I sighed as I ran a hand down my face before my phone buzzed again. Turning it on, I saw that the Metaverse app had already reappeared. Not touching that anytime soon. Not wanting to play the deleting game at the moment, I just moved the app far off to the side so I could ignore it. After holding my head in my hands for a while, I turned my eyes to the school transfer document again and shook my head.

"Guess I have to redo high school again." I grumbled while shaking my head. "What a pain in the ass…"

April 3rd, Sunday.

"So you're Fumihito Ainsworth?" An older-looking male teacher asked me as I approached the Shujin Academy's gates.

"Y-Yes, sir." I nodded nervously as I stood as straight as I could.

I was so nervous I couldn't help but fidget with my uniform's collar. I hated suits, and this uniform was just like a suit, although it was comfier than I expected. At least I was allowed to wear the blazer open instead of having to button it up. That gave me a lot more breathing room. The teacher gave me a once-over before nodding.

"Follow me." He said. I didn't question him as I kept up with him as he led me to the principal's office.

I still couldn't believe this was happening. I'm about to retake fricking high school, something I hated the first time around. Now you may be wondering how I could get away with this if I were a college student before now. Wouldn't I be too old to go to high school?

Why yes, I would.

Good thing whoever teleported me to this world somehow DE-AGED ME!

Before, I was in my twenties, approaching 23 years old, but now I'm back to being 17 years old. It was actually a very noticeable difference, surprisingly. I was an inch or two smaller, and my face looked more youthful than before. I look like what a younger twin brother of mine might look like. If they saw me now, someone back home might even mistake me for that.

Freaking magic… I swear I might actually kill someone at this rate.

The only good thing that being back at this age did was make the transfer papers useful in getting me into Shujin. It wasn't something I was too happy about. I'd rather go to another school, if I'm honest, but I only have the Shujin papers and uniform, so I've got no choice in the matter.

Speaking of those papers, 'Fumihito Ainsworth'... Really? Was that the best they had? It's so over the top it hurts my head. Seriously, what the hell. And Ainsworth? That sounds way more foreign compared to you're average American like me.

Hell, it makes me sound sort of like some kind of high-class royalty whose family gained fame and fortune from medieval times. In fact, I think 'Ainsworth' is the last name of a few fictional characters with that same sort of background!

Urgh… If they wanted to help me keep a low profile, that kind of name does the exact opposite. It's like a spotlight is shining on me while the words 'Hey guys! I'm super different from you all!' appear right on my back. Great…

I just hope I can remember the stupid name while I'm here. The last thing I need is to slip up and say my real name accidentally. Actually, why didn't I use my real name? That probably would have been a lot easier. Then again, all the papers already use the fake name, so using my real one would only cause me trouble. Am I allowed to groan again, or would that be too much?

Once we were at the principal's office, the teacher opened the door and had me walk inside, we're the principal and another teacher were waiting for me.

"Ainsworth-kun, I presume?" Principal Kobayakawa asked me.

"Y-Yes, sir." I nodded with a slight stutter.

God, I was so nervous. Not because the principal was intimidating. No, it was because I knew he was connected to someone MUCH more intimidating. Just relax and act natural. You're just a transfer student. Nothing Shido needs to concern himself with. The principal nodded to himself before taking out some papers.

"Most of the work has already been handled already to guarantee a smooth transition into the new semester. I just need you to sign a few more things." He told me.

"R-Right." I said as I began signing my 'name' on the paper.

"So you're parents are off traveling the world for work, correct?" The principal asked.

"Y-Yes, that's right." I said, doing my best to hide the fact that I was lying. "It came as a shock to me, honestly. It's part of the reason why I joined my school's transfer student program. I thought it would be good for me to travel somewhere too."

The principal hummed a little as I finished signing papers.

"While I understand your situation, remember that you will be treated as any other student would be. I will not hesitate to expel you if you are too troublesome to handle. You are representing your nation, your old school, and our school now as well. Disobedience will not be tolerated at this school. Fortunately, you seem to be taking your new responsibilities seriously. I can tell since your Japanese is surprisingly good for being a foreign student."

He told me all of that in a stern voice, though his tone wasn't nearly as aggressive as when he was giving a similar talk to Joker. It came off more as 'business as usual' for him, which it very well might have been. Shujin was more on the high-end side of things due to their reputation, so it isn't all too surprising for him to lay down the ground rules to transfers like me. Gotta keep that reputation, after all, and unlike Joker, I don't have a criminal record to paint me as a red flag.

The principal was different than I expected. Right now, he just seemed to be repeating the basic spiel he had to tell me before I started school tomorrow. He actually seems a bit jubilant. Like he was happy that his school was involved in something grand like a foreign transfer student program. He almost seems like a decent principal at the moment because of that. Too bad I knew he really wasn't.

"Thank you, sir." I said with a small bow. That small gesture appeared to be the right thing to do, as the principal nodded again with a small smile at it.

"This is the teacher that will be in charge of your class." The principal said as he gestured to the man next to him.

"I'm Yuuki Kobayashi." He introduced himself. "Here's your student ID." I took the card with a nod and pocketed it as he continued. "As your homeroom teacher, make sure to come to me if you have any questions or problems."

"Right." I replied. "I'll be sure to read through the school regulations thoroughly."

"Good. That is all we needed from you. You're all set to start tomorrow alongside everyone else." The principal said.

"Thank you again for all of this." I reply.

"We're just doing our job. Now then, you're dismissed." After another bow, I left the principal's office and sighed heavily.

Everything is set now. I'm now a student at Shujin Academy. Now I've just got to get by without anyone of importance noticing me. As long as I can do that, I'll be set.

"Oh, are you the new foreign transfer student we'll see at the start of the next semester?"

I froze when I heard the voice. No… please, no. I slowly turned around to see who was talking, only to pale when I saw Shujin's PE teacher.

"My name is Suguru Kamoshida. I'm the PE teacher at Shujin. It's nice to meet you." He greeted as he introduced himself.

"Y-Yeah. Likewise." I told him while taking his hand, a reluctant action on my part. "My name is Fumihito Ainsworth."

"Ainsworth-kun, then. You're Japanese is pretty good."

"Thanks. I've been getting that a lot." I said. "Sorry, but I can't stay and chat. I just finished speaking with the principal about my transfer, so I need to get back home."

"I see. Well, just know that I'll be available in case you need anything. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you." Kamoshida told me.

Translation: he'll be watching you closely, so don't go off and ruin the school's (i.e., his) reputation.

"R-Right." I said before making my getaway.

I wanted to get away from Kamoshida as quickly as I could. Honestly, of all the villains of Persona 5, he was the one that disgusted me the most. Not surprising as his crime was abusing students physically and sexually.

Yes, all the villains in P5 were completely awful human beings (minus Sae in my opinion, if you want to count her), but as the first you encounter, Kamoshida has a special place in my heart for loathsome assholes. I can't believe I'm being forced to attend a school that willingly employs him despite knowing what he's doing behind closed doors.

I shake my head away from those thoughts as I exit the school. Stop thinking about that stuff. There's nothing that can be done about it. Not until Joker and the others steal his heart. But Kamoshida is despicable.

Maybe I could-No! Stop with that thought process. I already promised myself not to get involved. It'll solve itself in due time. It's not my problem. I didn't want any part of this in the first place, so I refused to get dragged into other people's problems, no matter how awful it was. I'm just going to keep my head down and keep my nose clean. That's all I need to do.

Negligence in reporting a crime is also a crime.

With a resigned sigh, I ignored that last thought and walked back to my apartment. Classes start at the beginning of April, so I have about a week to prepare.

Tomorrow is another day…

April 4th, Monday.

"More of those mental breakdown incidents are happening lately." I muttered as I looked at my phone's news feed as I leaned against the wall outside of the 3-B classroom at Shujin.

It was the first day of classes. Thankfully, as a transfer student, I got to skip all the boring entrance ceremony stuff. That was just fine by me. I only wanted to get in and get out regarding everything involving this school.

I was not going to go out of my way to create bonds or connections. I would stay out of sight until I graduated and got back on track with my video game maker plans.

I let out a small sigh as I put my phone away. This was such a drag.

"Alright. You can come in now." I heard Mr. Kobayashi call for me and did as he said. I opened the door and walked into the classroom.

The moment I was in view, the other students got to talking. Whispers about the new foreign student began like wildfire, and it all got garbled with how much the students were talking.

"Settle down." Mr. Kobayashi told the class before motioning to me. "I know it's the beginning of the school year, but I'd like to introduce a transfer student. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"I'm Fumihito Ainsworth. I'm from the U.S." I greeted the class with a quiet voice as I bowed.

Even after everything I've been through, being in front of a group still made me super nervous. The class began muttering among themselves again, but the teacher ignored them as I did.

"Now then, your seat will be in the back there." He pointed to a desk in the back corner near the window.

A far back seat in the corner next to the window. That's a win in my book. With a small nod, I walked over to my seat, keeping my head down the entire time before sitting down. I grabbed one of my textbooks before resting my head in the palm of my hand as I turned to look out the window I was next to.

This whole ordeal was going to suck. I just know it. At least things can't get any worse.

"Excuse me, but you dropped this."

"Hmm?" I turned my head toward the person sitting in front of me and felt my breath hitch as I stared at a girl with chin-length curly, light auburn hair and brown eyes.

"Here." Haru told me as he handed my pencil to me.

I absently nodded as I took the pencil back from her. She smiled back at me before returning her attention to the front of the class as the teacher began a lecture on Japanese history. I wasn't paying it any attention as I cursed my luck to hell.

Goddamn it. I just had to push my luck.

The rest of the day dragged on for what felt like days. I didn't pay attention to any of it. Aside from Japan-oriented classes like Japanese and Japanese history, I had pretty much done everything else already. Math, English, Literature, Science-all of it was old news for a college student like me. I even absent-mindedly answered some questions without really paying attention, surprising the teachers that thought I wasn't paying attention by giving the correct answers.

Let me tell you something. Being turned back to my slightly younger self just to redo high school was so boring. I already felt like school was repetitive before, and this was just too on the nose. So, instead of taking notes, I did was I usually did back when I was actually in high school. I took out one of my notebooks and began messing around by writing down a story idea. I'll always prefer typing for my stories, but that didn't mean I wouldn't write ideas and chapters down on paper if needed.

On a separate note, this world's media was pretty much the same but with slight differences like titles and other small stuff. Aside from the entire Shin Megami Tensei/Persona series, every other game and show I was a fan of was pretty much in this world with only slight changes. Of course, none of that applied to the characters and people represented by the Personas and Shadows. All those classic stories were pretty much the same. Guess there had to be a consistent factor somewhere.

On another side note, I can also write Japanese. For some reason. It's not the same as whatever might be happening when I speak. While I speak and hear English and everyone else hears Japanese, if I write in English, it will still be in English. Instead, I have to focus on making my writing Japanese. If I focus on ensuring my writing is in that language, I'll just know how to write it.

I don't understand anything that I'm doing or how I'm able to do it, but when I read it, it's all in perfectly legible Japanese. Seriously, how the hell does any of this work? Either way, I'm not complaining. It makes my life way easier. Do you know how hard it is to learn to write and speak a new language? It's hard enough with other easier languages, but Japanese is one of the hardest! So thank you, Lavenza or whoever you are for, for giving me an internal translator of sorts.

I mean, I'm only going to write in Japanese only when I have to since I'm way more intuned with writing in English, but still.

By the time I got going writing world details and spitballing potential plots for them, it was already time for lunch. The bell rang out, snapping me out of my trance as I noticed the other students getting ready for lunch. Just as I expected, this school was one where students could eat almost anywhere they wanted, whether it was in the classroom or outside.

Turns out, most of the class liked eating outside the classroom. Letting out a sigh of relief, I took out my store-bought sushi box and took out my chopsticks. At least in the end, I got the sushi I was supposed to have before I was kidnapped.

"So you said your name was Ainsworth-kun, correct?"

Just as I was about to pop in my first sushi roll, Haru turned around so she could see me. She still had that kind smile on her face. Okay, I guess we're doing this now.

"Yes, that's correct." I nodded as I set my sushi down. "May I ask for your name?"

"My name is Haru Okumura." She introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah. Likewise." I told her with a bit of skepticism in my tone.

I wasn't trying to be rude, but I couldn't help but wonder why she was talking to me. Wasn't Haru supposed to be really reserved? I remember the game mentioned that she had trust issues and trouble making friends because people only ever wanted to use her to get in touch with Okumura Foods and her father.

Now, I know that I shouldn't be comparing everything that happens in the game to what happens now. That would be stupid of me to treat this as nothing more than a game when I'm living in this world now. But a blatant discrepancy like that is something I need to think about. Did I already change something? I haven't even been at school for a day, though.

I got my answer when Haru examined my face for a moment and smiled.

"So you really don't know the name Okumura." She said softly. I'm not sure if I was supposed to hear that or not, but I did hear it.

Oh. Well, that makes sense. Despite Big Bang Burger having branched out into other countries, a foreigner like me wouldn't really care too much to know the chain owner or the original business, especially if the business started in a foreign country.

At least, not the average person. I'm someone who knows the name of the bigwigs at Nintendo since I'm a big fan and watch the directs, but I'm pretty sure I'm part of the minority of the general public with that.

Well, even if I do know her family and her connections, she doesn't need to know that. If she really wants me to be her friend, then I'll play the part of the ignorant foreigner for her.

"Nope. Should I?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, don't mind me. It's nothing, really." Haru quickly told me. "You said you were from America, correct? Which part of America, may I ask?"

"Florida." I answered her. "That means that it was hot and humid all the time and everyone was super weird. Well, that's the stigma people tend to have with the state, anyway."

"And what do you think about that?"

"Oh, it's 100% true. No doubt about it." That got a laugh out of her as I smirked and popped one of my sushi rolls into my mouth before swallowing and continuing. "What about you? Have you always lived here in Tokyo?"

"Yes. I've lived here with my father for as long as I can remember."

"It's definitely a nice place to live. I've only been here for a week, and I'm already amazed by the city. There's so much to see and do; I'm not quite sure where to start if I'll have the time to see everything."

"I can certainly understand that. I have yet to see everything myself."

"Really? I'm not sure whether that means Tokyo is bigger than I realized or if you're just a busy person."

We talked a bit more about Tokyo and cool places around the city for a bit after that. Aside from that, she asked a lot of questions about things overseas. How living in the United States was like, what kind of school did I go to before Shujin, stuff like that. It was a nice, simple chat between two students. Nothing we talked about was anything serious. It was just a nice little moment.

It was so nice that I hadn't even realized the break was over when the bell rang. I was so caught up in our conversation that time just flew by. At least I wasn't distracted enough not to eat my food.

And just like that, the nice little moment I had was replaced with boring lessons once again. At least I enjoyed the chat. Haru did, too, from what I could tell. I wonder if this makes us friends? Personally, I think it'd be too soon to call us that. 'Acquaintances' sounds like a more accurate term.

I wonder if we'll talk like this again. Haru was the one who started the conversation, after all. Maybe she'd start more. Would that be alright?

I rolled my eyes at the doubtful thought as I returned to pretending to take notes the moment class started again. It'll be fine. If I do end up as Haru's friend. Just because I know her doesn't mean I'll get dragged into Phantom Thieves shenanigans. And I doubt it would change too much.

I'm hardly important in the grand scope of things. Of course, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be too careful. I'll wait and see how things play out. I don't care what happens. As long as I don't get dragged into messes that aren't mine.

Is that heartless of me? Probably, but I can't seem to muster up enough emotion to care. I am adamant about staying as far away from the main story as possible. I'm not a perfect hero. I'd hardly consider myself a good person. You can say what you want. It won't change my mind.

Though, I will say that I still find it odd that Haru went out of her way to talk to me like this. I didn't expect it. While I can understand why she might have thought I could be her first real friend since, as a foreigner, it was unlikely that I would know the name of a Japanese business owner, it still seems odd.

Add that to the fact that I'm in the same class as her, and it almost feels like fate is at play here. If that's the case, then I have a feeling I'm going to be fighting fate itself the entire time I'm stuck here.

God. Freaking. Damn it.

It's never easy, is it? Good thing I consider myself an expert in blending into the background, especially considering Most of the students seemed to have forgotten me already due to how I kept to myself so much. That was my only hope in the matter.

After another few hours, my first eight-hour school day ended, and I was sure I wanted to die. I might actually die if I had to keep this up for an entire year. I won't need the Shido to give me a mental breakdown at this rate.

Urgh… Whoever brought me here is in for a world of hurt when if I find them. They had to de-age me back to a high schooler. I couldn't just be a teacher assistant or a real teacher. No, that'd be too difficult. I'm sorry for repeating myself, but I'm starting to hate how this feels more and more like someone's fanfiction.

Does that mean I'm a self-insert?

Oh god, I'm probably a self-insert somewhere in the multiverse. Kill me now.

With that horrifying thought now trapped in my brain, I gathered all my things and started walking towards the exit, only to be stopped halfway by one of the last people I wanted to see.

It was a girl with brown hair in a bob cut with blunt bangs, a French-braid-styled headband that matched her hair color, and sharp red eyes. Eyes that seemed to be looking right through me and piercing my soul.

Oh, come on! First Haru, now Makoto?! Christ, just leave me alone! I'm just your average self-insert! I'm not important!

"You're Ainsworth-kun, correct?" Makoto asked me.

"Yeah, that's me." I told her. She gave a brief nod before offering me a small smile.

"I'm Makoto Nijima. I'm the student body president here at Shujin."

"It's nice to meet you, Ma-er, Niijima…san?"

God, I had no idea if what I was saying was right. I was still thrown off at having to remind myself to call everyone by their last name. Worse yet, I had to use the honorifics like 'san', 'chan', 'kun', etc. It sounds so weird and cringy to hear that in English. It just bothered me for no real reason. Not to mention there are so many honorifics that I've seen that I'm not entirely sure I'm using them correctly. Thankfully, I didn't seem to screw it up too badly this time as Makoto gave a small nod.

"I just wanted to inform you of who I am since you're a new transfer student. As the student body president, it's my responsibility to help every student in need, so please don't hesitate to come and see me should you need anything." She told me.

"R-Right. Thank you, Nijima-san. I'll be sure to take you up on that offer if I need to."

"Good. By the way, it's a little surprising to hear you speak Japanese so fluently. I thought you would have more difficulty adjusting to the language."

"O-Oh, well, I'm not amazing with it. My Japanese class is a bit tricky for me, despite what you might think. it's sort of like how someone can enjoy a movie without knowing all the things that were needed to make the movie itself. I got lucky and managed to pick up Japanese well enough before completely understanding everything about it. If I'm honest, I still have some trouble with some things." I tell her.

I wasn't exactly lying. Just because I have this internal translator cheat doesn't mean I suddenly gained the knowledge I needed to really understand the language.

"Then, if you find yourself stuck with something like that, you can come by the student council room and ask for help. I'd be happy to help you if I have the time."

"Really?" I asked.

"As I said, it's my responsibility to help the other students here. I don't mind."

"Then I thank you again. If I ever get to that point, you'll be the first I'll ask for help." I tell her. "Well, I'll be heading home now. Thank you again, Niijima-san."

"It was nothing. Don't mention it." Makoto told me as I walked off.

Well, that happened. I'm actually a little happy that Makoto offered to help me should I need it, but now I was a little on edge. Seriously, what are the odds? What's next? Am I going to bump into Ann or Ryuji now?

I suddenly stopped, fear now creeping on my face as I looked around cautiously. Okay… Neither of them is around me. Good. I thought I had jinxed myself.

With a sigh, I walked off. If every day is going to be like this, I have no idea how I'm going to manage.

April 8th, Friday.

I managed quite easily, apparently. I barely blinked, and most of the week had already flown by. Nothing really happened the whole time I was there. It was just business as usual. Classes were always boring. That would never change no matter what day it was or what world I was in. I did manage to find a good flow with everything, though.

I was in quite a fortunate spot, actually. When I was in high school the first time around, I never needed to study or write notes. I always managed to slip by without trying. Yeah, that ended quickly when I started college, though it took a while for the lesson to really sink in.

Now that I know how to take notes (not great notes, I'll admit, but hey, it's a start), I already feel confident with the classes I have no experience with. Plus, I have Makoto to help me if I need it.

Aside from classes, life has been pretty normal. The other students seem to be avoiding me, though. Not in the 'they hate me or are scared of me' sort of way. It's more like the same treatment Ann got for being part American, except it's worse for me since I'm 100% American.

Being a foreigner here is a pretty big deal, making it so that nearly everyone doesn't want to interact with you for the most part. While they might not be rude about it, they still see me as different and want to stay away from me.

It doesn't help that these kids already have their clicks and groups at this point in their lives, none of which are willing to let some random stranger who'll only be here for a year join. Either that or they don't even care or notice me, causing them to ignore me unintentionally. I don't really mind too much, though. I'd rather stay away from all the nameless faces and be on my own anyway.

Haru has talked to me daily, mostly at lunch and sometimes after school. She's always the one that ends up starting the conversation, and so far, they've all only been simple things. Like how I'm enjoying Japan so far, if I'm having difficulty handling school…stuff like that.

I enjoy our little chats quite a bit. Even if I understand her thought process, I still don't really understand why she's going out of her way to talk to me, of all people, but it definitely makes the day better, so I'm not complaining.

Unfortunately, not everything is all rainbows and sunshine. There's a major elephant in the room that's hard to ignore. Yet despite how blatant and overbearing it is, no one is doing a thing. And honestly, it's hard for me to keep the status quo as well. The first time I saw it, I had to stop myself from doing something drastic and stupid. Damn my bleeding heart.

Of course, maybe it's less so that I have a bleeding heart and more so that Kamoshida is every bit the pile of shit that I knew he was. No, he was even worse than that. It's hard to describe just how loathsome he was in real life.

Let this be a lesson for everyone: fiction can never equal reality. A fictional physical and sexual abuser is nothing compared to seeing one in person. Worse yet, seeing others who know what's happening too and watching as they turn their eyes away from the scene to keep up the status quo. And knowing that I have to do the same, or else I'll be punished for doing the right thing.

I know that I told myself I didn't want to get involved with anything regarding the main story, including Kamoshida's bullshit, but…

"Hey there, Takamaki. Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents. Do you need a ride back home?" Kamoshida asked the beautiful blonde minor in front of him with a smile that hid a sleazy personality and other…intentions. The way he spoke to her with such a casual tone made my skin crawl.

"Sorry, I have a photo shoot today." The girl, who was clearly Ann Takamaki, told the teacher in a very uncomfortable voice.

"Oh… Well, if that's the case, maybe I could drive you to the shoot then?"

"No, no. I already have a ride. Thanks for…offering, though." Ann responded with a hesitant pause in the middle.

God, this is hard to watch. Honestly, this is a disaster in progress. Anyone with even a bit of decency in them should be hearing alarm bells blaring inside their head from looking at this scene. If anyone just thought a little bit deeper about what was happening, it'd be easy to tell what Kamoshida was after.

But, of course, people probably already have. There are rumors, after all. About Kamoshida's abuse, both physical and sexual, as well as rumors surrounding Ann and her…relationship with the former Olympic athlete. Yet nothing is done about it.

Someone really should at least try to stop it.

However, with a deep frown, I turned away from the scene and continued walking toward the school exit. Classes were done for the day, and I had no reason to get involved. I just want to go home.

"Come…on…!"

I stop myself once again the moment I make it outside. I hold back a sigh when I see Haru in front of me in her PE outfit, trying her best to carry multiple heavy-looking bags of fertilizer back into the school.

She was having a hard time considering that wherever she managed to start moving, it caused her to sway so much that I was starting to think she would soon fall over. And judging from the other three bags that were put off to the side, it seemed she would have to return to make the same trip once she got to her destination.

I stared at the stumbling Haru for a while, all while telling myself the same mantra. Don't do it, man. Don't do it. Don't get involved with these people. You just want to return home, so just turn around and-

"Hey, do you need some help?" I found the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

I hate you, me.

"H-Huh?" Haru stopped and slowly maneuvered herself in a way that let her see me. When she did, her eyes widened a little with surprise. "A-Ainsworth-kun! What are you doing here?"

"I was just heading out since classes are over, but it seems you could use some help. Let me give you a hand with this." I say, now hiding an internal sigh at my desire to help.

"O-Oh no. I couldn't possibly take your time like that."

"Okumura-san, you can barely move while carrying all that, and from what I can tell, you can't really see where you're going either. And you have three more bags to move, too. I'd rather not see you get hurt while overexerting yourself. I can at least carry the other bags so that you don't have to make a second trip."

"But-"

I didn't let her argue further as I went over and picked up the remaining bags of fertilizer. Not my brightest moment, as the moment I got all three bags in my hands and lifted them off the ground, I felt like my back was going to snap.

Holy crap, how the hell is Haru still carrying these things!? My arms already feel like they've been lit on fire! And-wait…oh god, did I just hear a pop? Did my back just pop!?

"Are you okay?" Haru asked me as she saw me immediately struggling. Despite my immediate regret and internal seething towards myself for getting myself into this mess, I flashed her a small, albiet shaky, smile.

"I-I'm fine! N-Nothing t-to it!" I tell her a bit forcefully. "N-Now come o-on! Wh-Where do you n-need this stuff?"

I spoke rapidly, as I needed to hurry to wherever she was headed. If I didn't hurry, I was afraid I would drop everything and collapse. I knew I wasn't the most physically fit person, but it was just depressing, knowing that Haru could handle this better than me.

Pride? What's that? Never heard of it! Pretty sure mine just died!

"Uh… Okay. We need to take these to the roof. Follow me." Haru told me as she hobbled into the school, only doing marginally better than me when it came to moving around while carrying these bags.

We certainly were a pair. I couldn't help but feel my face turn red as we stumbled through the school halls. Classes might be over, but many students were still inside the building. The thought of the other students staring at the two of us as we struggled along was enough to shatter any confidence I had prior to then. It was only the end of the first week, and already I'd made a fool of myself.

So yeah, everything was going just perfectly. So awesome and great and cool…

After what felt like multiple miles, we finally, FINALLY, made it to the roof. Somehow, Haru managed to open the door while still holding the large, heavy bags in her hands.

When the door was open, we staggered onto the roof and deposited our payloads. The moment I got onto the roof, I unceremoniously dropped the bags and proceeded to let my legs shut down, and I fell to the ground in a sitting position.

"Jesus Christ, that was awful." I muttered quietly to myself as I began to catch my breath.

Haru did much of the same as she set her bags down more gently than I had. She then sat down as well and slowly began panting a little.

"Indeed. That was quite the trek." She nodded.

"Trek is an understatement. Why did you need to bring these bags to the roof?" I asked, already having an idea as to why but asking anyway.

"It was a request a teacher asked of me." Haru explained as she motioned in front of her.

When I followed her gaze, I saw two large planters sitting on the roof alongside a few much smaller ones, all of them already having a few small plants growing in them.

"A teacher asked me if I could help care for these planters. I had doubts about whether I could do something like this, but after a few days, I must say I quite enjoyed it."

"Yeah, I'd say you'd have to like it a lot if you're willing to carry six giant bags of fertilizer up here for it." I said. "Why are there even planters up on the roof? Isn't there a small area with other planters near the school entrance?"

"Yes, but these were leftovers from the gardening club. They weren't allowed to use the school's planters that were near the entrance. Instead, they bought their own planters and set up everything on the roof. It's actually the perfect place for them since they'll get plenty of sunlight and rain up here. They won't be bothered by anyone either since they're far out of the way from the other students and teachers."

"Huh. That makes sense." I hummed. "I didn't know we had a gardening club."

"We used to." Haru corrected me. "It recently shut down since the last remaining members all graduated last semester. With no one else in the club, the school shut it down. Since the last members of the club left the planters for the school, the teachers were planning to either repurpose the planters for something or sell them, but the last members must have planted a few plants and forgotten about them. That's why one of the teachers asked me to take care of them. She didn't want to move or sell the planters before the plants were still growing."

"Yeah. Doing that might mess up the plant's growth." I nodded. "I wonder why no one else joined the club. I would think more people would be interested in gardening and such."

"Perhaps at one time, but the school has been focusing more physical activities and groups like the volleyball team as of late, so other groups have been getting neglected as a result."

"Oh, right. I heard one of the teachers was some sort of famous athlete that graduated from Shujin before coming back to be a teacher. What was his name? Kamoshida?" I asked, trying my best not to let the disgust that laced my thoughts on the PE teacher leave my mouth.

"Yes, I believe that is his name. I have only spoken to him a few times, so I cannot say anything about him." Haru said. I could hear a bit of sharpness in her tone.

She must be referring to the rumors surrounding him. Since she does not really know him as a person, she must not want to voice her opinion on the matter, but from how she spoke, it's clear that she also finds them disturbing, especially if they're true. Which they are, unfortunately.

"I've only spoken with him once myself." I tell her. Thank god for that. "I'm not sure I really have an opinion of him yet either. And I don't really care for sports myself. Still, it's a shame that other clubs that don't relate to sports suffer from a lack of interest and care from the school."

"I must agree. Focusing on sports is not bad, but it should not hinder others who want to do other things." Haru gave a small sigh before turning to me. "Oh, I'm sorry. You have already helped me with this. I shouldn't be bending your ear like this."

"Don't mention it. I don't mind. I actually enjoy these little talks of ours. I don't really have anyone else to talk to." I tell her. I then got up from where I was sitting and stretched my arms and legs a little. "So what's next?"

"Huh?"

"Well, we've brought the bags here. What else do we need to do?" I ask her. "I already helped you get this far. It would be pretty lame of me to flake out and leave you here by yourself now."

"You don't mind."

"Not like I had any plans for today." I tell her with a chuckle. "Besides, we're classmates, and you've gone out of your way to talk to me since I got here. Consider it my way of saying thanks."

Haru looked surprised at that before giving me a bright smile.

"Then do you know anything about garden work?"

"Nope. I'm completely clueless." I admitted bashfully. "Just consider me some muscle and another pair of hands that you can use, Okumura-san."

"Call me Haru." She told me. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

I nearly choked on my own spit when I heard her say that nerve-shaking word. The 'f' word. 'Friend'. I'd been avoiding that word for a while now. I didn't want to think about what it might mean if it really did apply to this situation.

Were we really friends? If we were, what did that mean for me? Would I get dragged into main story stuff regardless of my consent again? I really didn't want to address it, but now it was right in front of me.

Now I had to make a choice. And after a bit of debating, I sighed in my head. Curse my bleeding heart, and damn my own naivety in this matter.

"Yeah. We're friends." I nodded to Haru.

She beamed at that and clapped her hands together in delight.

"I'm so glad. Then, I'd be delighted with your help, Fumi-kun."

I nearly tripped when I heard her say that. I spun around towards the smiling girl with a dazed and confused look.

"F-Fumi-kun?"

"O-Oh… Do you not like it? It's just…I haven't had a proper friend that was my age before now, so I thought it would be appropriate to address you by a nickname. If you want, I can refer to you as-"

"N-No. No, that's fine." I tell her, hiding my own embarrassment at the nickname.

A nickname for my fake name, no less. Yet it still made me a bit more conscious about what I had pretty much agreed to.

"Fumi-kun is fine. You just caught me off guard with it." After coughing awkwardly into my elbow, I turn back to the planters. "S-So, what do you need me to do?"

"Ah, yes. First, we need to-"

As Haru began explaining everything that needed to be done before we left, I slowly felt myself regretting not taking my one out when I could. I just wanted to live a simple life. Why was everything so complicated now?

A/N: This is my Self-Insert/OC Persona 5 Royal draft. I have three chapters for this, but since they're each around 10K words, I'll be posting those chapters separately.

The idea for this story is simple. I always see OC Persona 5 stories, but never self-insert ones where the protagonist is aware of the Persona 5 game. I wanted to see that. I felt a character in this position would be able to do a lot, whether they ignore the plot, change it, or go completely off the script, all of which will happen in this story if I ever decide to finish it as its own story.

I also thought it would be funny if the protagonist knew about the OG Persona 5 but had no idea about Persona 5 Royal stuff. He's gonna meet Maruki and Kasumi and be like 'more unknown mob characters? My people!' while having no idea of their plot importance.

The protagonist's Arcana: Charity is also a real tarot card in the Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck, replacing the High Priestess in that deck like how Faith replaces Hierophant and Hope replaces Star. From what little I can find about the Charity card (since my go-to site is gone now), Upright it represents altruistic love, compassion, empathy, friendship and giving and accepting help. Reversed it means selfishness, lack of compassion, lack of empathy, prejudice and bigotry. Both meanings have themes with this character, I think.

Issue with this story that may or may not be changed: I really don't know how I feel about de-aging the protag now. Not sure I'm a fan. I might keep it, I might have him just be high school age at the start, or I might keep him as an adult and make him part of the school staff. Not entirely sure. Whatever I decide would decide any romance subplots, which aren't guarantee either.