Persona 5: Daywatch

Thursday, 8 September 2016
Early Morning
Hawaii, Waikiki

Mishima Yuuki yawned into the back of his fist as he stepped off the bus. Crickets chirped, the cool of night dampening summer's heat. His watch said it was morning, but despite a cat nap on the plane he still felt wiped out. An ocean breeze brought relief Tokyo lacked. He turned around and double checked the classmates assigned to his group were there – Akira, Ann, Toyoguchi, Shimofusa and Iida.

Hashida-sensei and the other teachers marched up and down the broad sidewalk in front of what looked like a towering resort. With his usual effortless thunder he bellowed, "Group leaders, is anybody missing from your group?"

"Nishiyama-kun!" a girl cried out from somewhere to the right. A few seconds later, "Never mind, Hiruta-sensei!"

A beat later, Sakamoto came to a stop next to Ann and Akira. "Heya, guys!"

Kawakami-sensei, one of the teachers patrolling in front of the lined-up students, scowled. "You're already disrupting headcount, Sakamoto-kun?"

At least the dyed-blond looked abashed. "Usami-sensei said it was okay s'long as Mishima-kun's good with it."

Toyoguchi-kun perked. "Oh, then is it okay if I go join Ishikawa-chan?"

Kawakami-sensei let out a short sigh and rubbed her nose. "I don't have the energy to care if you moon over your girlfriend after head count is done. Just make sure her group minder is willing to take responsibility for you." She stepped as if to continue patrolling, then returned. "And no hanky-panky. Shujin doesn't want any police reports of misconduct. Your classmates won't appreciate the entire trip being canceled because insurance withdraws from rumors of sneaking into girls' rooms at night."

He whipped out his phone and shot out a text, almost bouncing on his feet. "Her class rep said it was okay!"

The runner nudged the 2-D class rep. With great reluctance, Mishima said, "As long as I'm not trying to look after a bigger group. Is it okay, Sensei?"

Kawakami grunted and walked on, so the black-haired student took off like a sprinter under the starter gun.

Sakamoto threw a fist in the air and said at far too high a volume for this hour of morning, "Awright! Hawaii!"

Akira rubbed a hand over his bleary face, then replaced his glasses. "I don't think the tourists at the top of the hotel heard you, Ryuji."

Ann cradled her face in her hands.

Sakamoto sniffed at the air, then stuck his head up further from his slight hunch and sniffed again. "So this is what Hawaii smells like?"

"That or you forgot to shower before coming here," Akira said as he pulled up something on his phone the class rep couldn't see.

"Eff you, man." He pulled his hands from his pockets and sniffed again.

Now curious, Mishima sampled the air. There was a distinct note to the scents, something that felt too… sharp for a completely natural smell. Maybe fully synthetic, maybe just scented products. "Most likely carpet cleaner. Coconut-scented. Maybe you're also picking up on the plumeria amplifying the tropical atmosphere. They're used for leis."

"Mishima, font of trivia," Akira declared without looking up from his phone.

Ann nudged him. "It's not a bad thing to look things up and be prepared beforehand."

Ryuji sniffed once more, then elbow-tapped the transfer student. "Well if we can't go pick up some cheap grub, you wanna hit the hay?"

Now Akira looked up from his phone and took one of the runner's hands in his own. "Why, Ryuji. I didn't think our relationship was that far along."

The runner ripped his hand from Akira's.

Kawakami, already on the way back on her patrol, glared at the runner. "Room assignments are non-negotiable, Sakamoto-kun. Shujin's policies were clear and sent out to all student email accounts before the trip. Get back to Class 2-B and find your assigned room partner."

Ryuji turned plaintive eyes to the literature teacher. "We'll keep each other out of trouble."

"I've heard that one before," Kawakami said. "Kurusu, Mishima… I don't care which of you picks up the room key, just don't let there be any trouble. Having to take care of all you kids, I didn't get any sleep on the flight over here. Shujin has a full schedule, so don't cause any trouble." She walked off.

Ann nudged the runner with an elbow, a smirk on her face. "Poor Ryuji, in the cold again. Hey, at least you've got an assigned roommate."

"Shuddap," he shot back. "Ain't like both of us don't stick out even when we ain't tryin'. So why bother?"

Noticing the other groups starting to break up and filter into the lobby, Shimofusa stopped messing with her split ponytail, met the class rep's eyes and raised a hand. "Can Ann and I get our room keys?"

"Yeah, I guess swapping Toyoguchi for Sakamoto is enough for arrival head count."

Ann gave a brief wave. "I'll be right there."

Having napped during the flight, Mishima pulled out his phone. While he had two other administrators helping him with the Phansite for now, Futaba and Kintome218, he felt like he needed to keep up on the requests pouring in. They may have voted down his idea to put up a poll, but hundreds of people now were submitting names for changes of heart and he needed to narrow that down for the others so the Thieves could get maximum impact for their efforts.

Akemi, part of the building stream of students heading for the lobby, paused. "Hey, Ann-san! My English isn't so good and it's kind of intimidating being overseas. Would it be okay if we grouped together tomorrow when we have free time?"

Mishima was starting to wonder if any of his original group would be left by the end of the trip. Wouldn't be his responsibility if it was free time, however, so he shrugged. He pointed the runner at the lobby. "Might as well get to your room, Sakamoto-san. We need to be out early tomorrow. The tour busses will be taking us around the downtown before lunch."

"Fi-i-ine." The runner slunk off and the students broke for the desks to get their keycards, then up to their rooms.

Early Morning
Hawaii, Waikiki, Wariott, Room 417

Mishima paced inside, scrolling through requests on the Phansite with one hand and pulling his luggage with the other. The transfer student, burdened only by a half-full black duffel bag, slid the room key card into the slot above the turn-handle-style knob and led the way inside. Mishima followed inside and stretched his arms high, cracking his back before going back to the Phansite. "I guess I could get a little more shut-eye, but that was a nice flight. Forecast says the nasty weather is all moving east."

Akira opened his duffel and pulled out a toothbrush, bottle of water, and some toiletries. "I hope it doesn't delay Hifumi's flight."

Mishima stepped back to the door to get a photo of the whole hotel room.

Akira paused his teeth brushing preparation to point. "What's with the photographs? I noticed you do that as everybody was getting off the bus, too."

Mishima felt heat touch his face and he shuffled a bit before deciding the other boy had more than earned the story. "Shiho and I were really looking forward to coming here. Hawaii's not just a famous vacation spot… you know… it's kind of… the honeymoon destination?" He paced to the door to stare out beyond the meager balcony. "I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend here. To make it official. Promise ring and everything."

Akira glanced down at his toothbrush, then slipped them back into the sandwhich bag. He paced closer and came alongside the class rep, the two of them standing less than a pace from the balcony door. "Make her feel like she's involved, present in your life, even when she's not."

Mishima nodded. "Y-yeah! I want her to be here." He looked at the darkness beyond the door. "Maybe one day I'll even be part of her life, part of her thoughts, again." He reached for the door and swung it open. The smell of the sea wafted into his nostrils with almost no contamination by the smell of oil, chemicals or other human civilization. "For a while that distance seemed so wide it was like I'd never cross it. But I've got to start where I am, right?"

Bright grey eyes stared out into the darkness. After at least a full second of silence, the corners of his lips curled up. "Yeah. It's where we've all got to start." He stepped outside.

Following behind, Mishima stared down at the smaller buildings. This hotel was inland a ways, but their room was high enough to get a hint of the vast expanse of the sea and waves. "Shiho would've loved it here. She loved the open sky. It's part of why she liked volleyball. Most other sports are very two-dimensional, but volleyball requires not just three-dimensional tracking and movement of the ball, but of the players." He huffed out a laugh, but it didn't hurt like some. It wasn't as forced. "Her favorite part was serving the ball. It was that one pure moment when you had enough to spare for imagination and you'd hit it and the ball would be up there like the moon hanging in the sky."

Akira crossed his arms on the balcony rails and leaned.

"Are…?" Mishima hesitated, but he already started the question. They were close enough to have shared being in love with the same girl. "What about you and the Ve—Togo-san? Things still seemed a little… tense at movie night."

The transfer student drew in and let out a deep breath. "I think that's why I'm feeling a bit out-of-sorts right now. We just apologized, and then had to go separate directions." He ran a hand through his hair. "We had a few false starts, and it's kind of like… the we of us had just started. But her class trip's going to be leaving to Los Angeles the day after…" He checked his phone. "Well, tomorrow."

Mishima stepped out onto the balcony and took a short video of the night-time cityscape. "It'll hurt even more when you're not with her as you start getting closer. But after a while, it'll get easier." Laughter bubbled up from deep within. "It's almost like we have to learn object permanence all over again."

Akira snorted. "It does feel like I keep going round and round."

Strange birds chirped and they both just breathed in the salty coast air for a few moments. "So what are Niijima-san and the others back in Tokyo doing?"

"They had a couple things in Mementos to check, but otherwise they were going to investigate some potential future targets."

"Oooh," Mishima said. "Like the Defective Detective?" He grimaced. "He is such a villain for trying to make you guys look bad."

"He's not a detective, just an investigator."

"Same thing," Mishima countered.

Akira tapped the balcony railing a few times. "I haven't talked to him in a while. I should touch base when we get back."

Mishima straightened, his eyes widening. "You know him? Like… first-hand?" He rocked back, keeping hold of the balcony rail. "Why would you know a villain like that? He just pretends to be a hero of justice. I'm glad his official blog's on fire."

Akira side-eyed him. "You and Futaba aren't hacking him, are you?"

"No," Mishima said, a faint tremor in his voice. He couldn't be completely certain of Futaba, she seemed to take boundaries as a challenge instead of zone to respect. "But he would deserve it."

The transfer student frowned, his gaze distant. "That sounds an awful lot like 'down with anyone who isn't like us'. That's what got me a criminal record in the first place." He flicked at a speck on the rail. "We've got to be better than that."

Mishima patted the other boy on the back. "That's what makes you such an excellent Phantom Thief." He headed inside and a minute later, Akira followed.

Thursday, 8 September 2016
Afternoon
Hawaii, Waikiki, Judiciary

Full from spam musubi, Ryuji chatted about the other foods they saw near the place selling other Hawaiian variations of proper foods like sushi. He couldn't see what the fuss was about, but meat was meat. "Dunno what you're so excited with 'bout poke. Jus' looks like boring seafood to me."

"I didn't get a lot of seafood growing up, Ryuji," Akira tossed back from the seat next to him as the bus turned a corner. Instead of more buildings on both sides, a green field opened up. The boys sat up to peer out of the window at it and the statue in the middle, a man of dark stone – or at least dark in contrast to the gold robes on the statue. Its left hand held a spear, the other reached out.

The students piled out and lined up, some almost asleep on their feet from jet lag despite sleeping most of the morning. The tour guide joined Kawakami-sensei at the front of the arranged group and yammered about the great unifier of the Hawaiian Isles.

Ann, behind the transfer student, crossed her arms. "Ugh. I feel more tired than before we stopped at the hotel. Why's this such a great tourist spot?"

Mishima pointed to the statue. "Well this is a class trip and we're at a site depicting a man of significant historical stature."

Ryuji, having abandoned his assigned group to join the other Phantom Thieves, scratched his head. "From the way the pamphlet talked about it, I kinda thought it was gonna be big as the Buddha statue in Nara."

Mishima slipped his phone out and took a few steps to the side for a better angle.

Ann poked him in the arm. "Oh, you should post that to the group chat. Futaba and the others should be up."

While the class rep tapped away, Ryuji scratched his head. "What's the big deal? Looks like some dude wearin' a loincloth in fronna some fancy building."

"It's the Hawaiian judiciary," Mishima said.

"Right you are!" the tour guide said, his voice carrying loud and clear. "King Kamehameha isn't just respected for unification of the Hawaiian Islands. He is also one of the most progressive kings these islands have seen – even moreso than many later rulers. He gifted us with the law of Kanawi Mamalahoe, protecting the rights of non-combatants in warfare, one hundred and fifty years before the Nuremberg Code."

"I bet Makoto would find this interesting," Akira said as he tapped away at the messenger on his own phone.

First the transfer student was checking out Ann and definitely getting something on with her when nobody else was around. Then he's all about Togo. Was he into Makoto now? Ryuji opened his mouth to ask the guy to make up his mind.

Before he could decide what to actually say, a woman who'd rushed out of the fancy building waved to Hashida-sensei and jogged to a stop to talk to him. The new English teacher then turned to the assembled students and bellowed without need for a bullhorn, "All right, everybody! The Hawaiian supreme court is in session today, so we are going to begin a modified tour which will skip a few areas on the planned schedule. In the event we finish early, you will be permitted some free time before the busses take us back to the hotel. I expect everybody to remain on their best behavior."

Thursday, 8 September 2016
Early Evening
Waikiki Beach

Ann trotted out onto the beach. Ryuji was right about the downtown tour being boring, but all school trips seemed to require dull portions to try to prevent the students from having too much fun. And at least the busses weren't too late, allowing them some time to themselves after final roll-call. She spotted a familiar head of dark, frizzy hair, and as she made her way around the landscaping picked out Mishima's black, then Ryuji's scraggly blond hair.

What was it with boys and not taking any pride in their appearance?

"Hey, guys!" Ann let her arms dangle loose as she came to a stop. "So this is Waikiki."

Mishima continued a long, slow pan around the beach. A quiet heaviness settled at the reminder of who couldn't be here. He was still going out of his way for Shiho. This was supposed to be the trio's highlight of their time at Shujin.

Ryuji's gaze continued to drift across the many tourists strutting about the beach. "There are a ton of people here. And a lot of tall… buildings."

Akira, still in dark pants and long sleeves, rolled his eyes. "You're not looking at buildings."

Ann felt like ribbing the runner for slobbering over girls, but he wasn't actually doing anything and it wasn't like he was worse today than any other day. She sighed. "Ryuji… being Ryuji." She tapped her foot in the sand, the first out-of-place rock beneath her sandals since she'd set foot in Hawaii. "I'm surprised at how clean things are. It's all… too much. Too sculpted and tended. I was looking forward to partying in the tropics, but… it feels artificial."

"Is that why the ocean is so clear you can see the sea floor?" Akira said.

Ann snorted with laughter. "How would you know? You don't seem ready for swimming."

He tilted his head. "Why would I? I don't know how to swim."

Mishima finished his pan and started tapping his thumbs on the screen to tweak the recording. "I like it. There's always a greasy spot or something no matter where you go in Tokyo. It's kind of nice to finally be in a place where it feels totally and truly clean. Maybe it just feels weird to see that." He looked out over some planters protecting some native trees and shorter plants. "Especially the palm trees. I can see why they're a symbol of tropical destinations."

Ryuji leaned closer to the transfer student, the only one lacking swimwear. He pointed at a brown-haired woman near the water's edge further down in a blue cross-halter bikini. "Whaddya think of her?"

Akira held a hand over his glasses to shield his eyes. "Eh."

Another woman got up from a beach towel and walked toward the water. Ryuji slapped the transfer student's arm and pointed at her. "Oh! Oh, that one!"

Akira shrugged.

Ryuji did his over-dramatic slump. "Man. Why'm I surrounded by a buncha whipped dudes? Just 'cause you're on a diet don't mean you can't check out the menu." He stood out of his slump… at least, as much as the always-casual runner would. The natural blonde couldn't help but notice his eyes rove over her for a moment. "I thought Ann was a definite ten, but compared to foreign ladies…"

Ann stomped a step closer and raised a fist. "If I'm so 'meh', stop looking!" God damn he was good at pissing her off sometimes. It's one thing to ogle a girl and call her beautiful, but another thing to eye her and then call her second best. Note to self: get Makoto to teach her to throw guys.

Ryuji may have shuffled a half-step behind the transfer student and went right back to checking out the girls on the beach. "These ladies are massive. How often do you see Callipygian quality like this?" he said as he spread his hands out at the shore-goers.

"How do you even know enough Greek to…?" Ann groaned. "Why are you only smart when it's about looks?"

The track star turned on her, eyes narrowed as if she said something truly insulting. "Oh, come off it! I know plenty o' stuff 'bout guns, an' history—"

"About guns," she interjected.

"Still history," he retorted. "I also know 'bout physical fitness an' health, an' all kinds of stuff."

"You scored in the top forty-five percent in finals," Akira pointed out. "That's milquetoast."

Ryuji stomped a foot down in a wider stance. "Oh, like it's all about scorin' on tests? All that tells you is you're good at tests. Rankin' in the middle is effin' amazing at a fucking university prep school."

Mishima stepped between them all, hands held up. "Whoa! This is getting way too heated. Think about all you've accomplished together." He waited for them to glance at each other. "Think about all the criminals you've fought. Those were monsters. You guys aren't."

A heavy moment of silence passed before Ryuji scratched his neck. "You totally got us, Mishima. I guess part of it is I'm so ticked off a trip overseas feels like just another day at Shujin. Boring lectures an' boring places." He turned to her. "Eff, before you got here we were all on our phones lookin' stuff up. I don' even remember what we were—"

"Diamondhead," Akira and Yuu-kun said at the same time.

Ann tapped her chin. "Well, if we're not going swimming, there's got to be other places in Waikiki. Any one have sweets?"

Akira and Ryuji pulled their phones out. Tapping sounded for several seconds before a familiar girl's voice called out, "Heeey! Ann-chan!"

Ann looked up from her phone to her new friend from class 2-B. "Hi, Akemi."

Ryuji grunted. "Ugh. We might as well be back in Japan. We're jus' talkin to our school mates an' lookin' stuff up on our phones."

Akemi came to a stop nearby, a wide grin on her round face. "Speaking of phones, Miss Hot Stuff isn't content with us li'l peeps from Shujin and had to go out and snag the prettiest girl from another school?"

The heads of Ryuji and Mishima both snapped up. "What?"

Akemi poked the blonde. "C'mon, you don't have to pretend with me. The Phony Princess?"

Ann blinked, bewildered as to what the girl in short shorts meant.

Akemi blinked, taking in the group's total confusion. "I've already got mine, I don't care which team you bat for. But you guys don't already know?" When she was met with silence and arched eyebrows, she fished her phone out of an arm-strap-holder and held up a tabloid with the headline 'Phony Princess Back to Old Flame?' and a picture of the blonde with her arms around the strategist back at that small street in Gaen-Mae.

Ann took the phone and read for a bit. The usual vapid celebrity gossip and baseless speculation didn't bother her, and it wouldn't be the first time a tabloid tried to claim Ann was going out with a model she was in close proximity to once, but 'back'? "Uh oh."

"Really, Ann-san," Akemi said, "It's not a problem."

Ann handed the phone to Akira. "Second sentence. And it says they've got a photo, just that the photo's owner hasn't sold yet."

He took the phone and skimmed the paragraph. When he spoke, he almost breathed flames, "Secret lover?"

Akemi took her phone back. Sarcasm dripped from her lips with, "Right. You're the Phony Princess' fling."

Akira drew himself up to his full height. "We're not lovers. Hifumi-san's my friend."

Shuffling back a step, Akemi regained her courage when she found herself shoulder to shoulder with the blonde. "How would you even meet her?"

"She goes to my parish," he said, then realized the intimidating display he was putting on. He slipped his phone in a pocket, muscles in his neck still taught but not radiating a menacing aura like before. "We're both Catholic."

"You're religious?" Akemi blurted, incredulous.

Ann turned on her friend, hands on her hips. "You remember how bad you felt about spreading mean rumors about me when you found out lots of them came from Kamoshida?" When the other girl opened her mouth, Ann cut her off, "You think I was the only one he was spreading rumors about? Would Akira even be here if he was some gun running yakuza hit man? He works hard to earn his place at Shujin. Ryuji and I both owe our marks in the finals to Akira's help."

Akemi's gaze dropped to the ground and she clutched her left arm with her right. "Sorry, Ann-san."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

A couple beats passed before the girl with hunched shoulders turned to the transfer student with shuffling steps. She didn't raise her eyes, but did say, "Ann-san's right. I never thought about any of those rumors, just that if there were so many of them they had to be based on something true. I won't do it again."

A heavy pause passed before he said, "Then go in peace."

Akemi's gaze flicked up. "Huh?"

Akira's eyes held hers for a brief moment. "Jesus did say in the book of John, 'Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.' If you're real about being sorry, then that's it. I need to set aside my dubious expectations, too. I don't think if I'll ever be able to live up to His example, but I know I wouldn't be here to even try were it not for Hifumi and them," he gestured his hands vaguely at Mishima and the other Phantom Thieves. "So if you're gonna go on and prove you're better, I'm gonna let you." He added, more quietly, "That's all I really want, too."

Bowing at the waist, Akemi said, "I'm sorry. You're not anything like the rumors make you out to be." When she came up, she added, "I should've figured that much just by the fact that you're Ann's friend."

The blonde patted her friend on the shoulder. "C'mon. I think it's time for ice cream."

As they turned to head away, she heard Mishima say, "Yeah, that got heavy. Let's do something more Hawaii like."

"What's Hawaii like?" Ryuji babbled.

"Tropical and volcanic?" Akira said well enough for Ann to hear the smirk in his tone. The other guys groaned and the blonde stepped out her pace. They'd do fine.