Hello everyone, welcome to this new version of the fic. Never thought I would go this far to make significant changes, but that's for the best. Also, for those who remember when I once said about not mentioning Royal in the story, Guess what? I'm going to follow Royal's version. That's why taking me so long for the changes since now I had to adjust to the new features and characters. Another important thing, I deleted the following chapters. I do have backup files, so I keep working on the changes while you can get the new versions.

Disclaimer: Persona 5 Characters except Fujin Katsuo belongs to Atlus, this fanfic has no commercial purpose.

Cover Art by ScruffyTurtles.

You maybe are asking right now, how a bunch of teenagers were in ridiculous outfits while fighting a giant mechanical god on top of Tokyo. That's one way to start a story because our journey felt like the Divine Comedy, but we were going to heaven instead of hell, which didn't make things better.

Seven months ago: I was a nobody working in a bar to save some money for my studies in Europe. One could wonder why I would do that instead of going to a university in this country. I wanted to be away, too scared if I had to describe it better. My family was able to afford it if I asked them, but I didn't. I wanted nothing to do with them after graduating from Shujin Academy.

That school was a hell hole at the moment Kamoshida, the PE teacher, and the biggest douche I ever met, stepped in to bend the school however he desired. He always behaved like a king or something. He caused the Track Team to disband because a first-year student punched him, creating big fuzz around the school. I felt terrible for the student, but there wasn't anything I could do to help him.

Everything changed on last May; I watched the news about Kamoshida getting arrested for physical abuse and sexual harassment, the thing that surprised me was he confessed about all those nasty things and turned himself to the police. There was no way in life that scum could admit himself about all that stuff. Some students said rumors about blackmailing or a fight with some delinquents. The most popular was about people called themselves The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who left a calling card on the school board as a warning for him.

At first, I thought that they were exaggerating if it wasn't for the following month. When June started, a renowned artist named Madarame confessed on the public during a conference on national television: He was arrested by fraud and plagiarism, including abuse from his former students, claiming he made them ruin their careers, throwing them to the rough streets. The Phantom Thieves appeared once again, and this time they were real for me.

The following month people around Tokyo started to talk more about them, was no longer rumor despite the skepticism from the citizens. Still, people hardly accepted them; television, internet, magazines, and any other form of media kept talking about that group of people, being labeled as criminals.

When criminal organizations and government are always trying to overcome the other, and the third party gets in the middle, it was easy to approach them and to try to get rid of them for their benefit instead of others. In the end, I was nobody to interfere with that kind of business, let those people do whatever they pleased. The only thing that kept me alive was myself because of my terrible Luck with people, it was easy to do not stick my nose on someone else problems, or it was what I kept saying to myself until that day.

After finishing my morning shift from my delivery job, I rode my bicycle to Shibuya to rent movies, hoping to watch The Mechanical Apple. An old classic, but different from the original book.

Oh, sorry, I guess that's not important too at the moment. As I was saying, the moment I stepped on Central Street, I saw her.

She had a Shujin uniform. I knew who she was, Niijima Makoto: the little sister of the Prosecutor Niijima Sae, current student council president at her school, role model student, and a pain in the ass.

When I was her senpai during my senior year at Shujin, she always was talking all high almighty around everyone at school, all the teachers loved her, and she was that egg-headed principal's favorite. I saw her standing outside of the bookstore, almost like trying to spy someone with awful surveillance techniques. Do you know the classic method of cutting two holes for the eyes in newspapers? Now imagine that with her, but with a manga book. Pretty obvious. She was keeping her eyes on another Shujin student, one with glasses and messy black hair, walking around the street while talking to people.

I thought her detective phase was over a long time ago; I was wrong because that is in her blood anyways. She walked to an alleyway where that student with glasses was, in front of Protein Lovers. I ear dropped her conversation, talking about some investigation about looking for a name for some yakuza boss, I doubted she would let things go because that is suspicious. A man with cheap clothes walked to them, offering quick money to work to those two students, and she opened her mouth, making that thug being mad, the other student defended her. Good thing he was by her side, who knows what that guy would do to her.

After the thug left the alleyway, I was surprised she thanked the student for defending her from that guy, I usually never saw her like an apologetic type, kind of a friendly tone. I was behind a corner while crossing my arms without being noticed by them. Whatever she was doing in Shibuya, it was terrible news for her, trying to get involved with criminals and exposing them, naïve as always. I was waiting for her to give a piece of advice for her.

"Still playing the Junior Detective, are you Niijima-san?" I was lying behind the corner while crossing my arms.

"Did you were listening to my conversation there? That doesn't concern you," she gave me her trademark glare while she turned at me.

"Ok, Miss Perfect, you should already know that those issues do not concern a student like you either."

"It does concern me because some students getting dragged with shady business at Shibuya."

"You might be right about protecting your students, but you are making a huge mistake."

"What kind of mistake?"

"You should stop with this wannabe-cop nonsense. Those people are hazardous for a high schooler, and using those students to search them for you is the lowest you can get. Are you trying to look good for that goodie-two shoe Principal Kobayakawa? What did he offer you? A letter of recommendation for the best college in the country?"

"That's… how did you know that?"

"He always does that to honor students, especially if they are a member of the council," I said in disappointment. "None of this ain't worth the trouble."

"And why should I listen to you about those things? It is a matter of the students. A civilian has no reason to interfere."

"Give me a break. Don't act such on the higher ground, hypocrite. You always nagged about talking to the police if anything happens," I began to lose my cool. "You and those kids should drop it before getting into deeper shit. Even if I'm no longer your upper classmate, you still need to listen to me because I know by experience, regardless of who you think I am."

"You don't understand what is going on," she said, still with that frown.

"I know that, and I don't want to. Whatever is going on between you and those guys, all of you are going to regret it."

"I can't do that. I wouldn't allow myself to let things continue like this," I could understand how persistent this girl was. That left me with no choice.

"Alright, suit yourself. However, if you continue with this whole little game of amateur sleuths, I would have to call your sister on that."

"You wouldn't that," she said with defiant eyes.

"Oh, I will," I said while having my phone ready on the contact list. How or when did I get Niijima Sae's number already on my phone? Probably that was a long time ago. I didn't want to remember much of that.

"Well, if you call her, then I would have to mention about the time you had that traffic incident back in March since she apparently wasn't allowed to prosecute that," Ouch, that was a low blow, even for her.

"Don't you, ever, mention a word that! You know that was an accident!" I lost my temper by the simple fact that she reminded me that of all things.

"We can call it even then," she was mocking me with that stupid smirk."I have no reason to keep listening to you. So have a good day."

"Hey, we are not done talking! You need to- Hey! Don't ignore me! Wait..."She kept walking down the street before I could say anything else. "Fine! Don't expect me to help you if anything happens!"

The nerve with that woman. I doubted she cared about my advice. She made me worried about her and that guy about their investigation. It made me feel tired. I didn't even know what to say about that. What an annoyance. After finishing buying some stuff from the convenience store, I headed at the small alleyway where the jewelry store and the crepes stand was located. I always preferred to be away from crowds whenever possible. On the next second, I punk with blond hair approached me from behind.

"Hey, dude," he asked me with a conspicuous tone of voice. I only turned my eyes on him without saying a word. "Do you know any part-time jobs I could get?"

"Why you ask me that?"

"Just curious, since I heard I could get easy money for high schoolers like me," oh no. Oh no. Did that guy think I was working for yakuza? He wasn't even subtle enough! I almost spilled my drink when I heard him. Was this punk stupid or what?

"Look, dude, do I look like a thug or something?" I said without raising my voice. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about, but you should go somewhere else because asking that in public might bring the wrong crowd for you and me. Understood?" I said with stern eyes.

"Alright, alright, geez, whatever," the punk said in such an immature way as he walked away from me. I decided to get the hell out of Shibuya before more teenagers get near me with the same stupid crap.

Two days after, I went to work at Crossroads Bar for the evening. It felt like a typical shift. My boss, Lala Escargot, always watching for Ohya Ichiko, a journalist from the local magazine. She was a workaholic on both senses of the words, always looking for her next scoop and cold booze. Never thought working in a bar such as this one would be too crazy, but I couldn't complain since having Lala in charge was better than other places. She could even let me handle the drinks despite still being a minor. Whenever I reached my 20's, I probably will get gray hair for serving Ohya-san's glass every night.

"Is something wrong, my dear?" Lala asked me.

"Huh? Nothing wrong, Lala-chan, just tired of my morning shift from my other job." I said, trying to keep my head up.

"I can give you the free night if ya don't feel good."

"It is not necessary. I appreciated it, though, because this place is calm. Even if Shinjuku is lousy."

"Damn Straight! This place always has great ambiance any night of the week!" Ohya joined the conversation.

"You only like this place because nobody would bother you while you are drinking," I replied with my deadpan attitude. "By the way, I thought you wouldn't come here because you have work tonight."

"I'm working right now, just waiting for someone to come here."

"Who is the poor sap this time? I'm feeling sorry for whoever will show up here." I laughed

"It's no big deal, just someone who wants to trade info with me," Ohya said as she held a confident smile.

"I better have the bottle on stand by for you, because I will talk with Lala-chan while you work with that person."

"Don't feel sad, I can talk with you if you want to." Ohya winked at me. I wasn't very amused, though.

"No, thanks," I said before someone entered the bar.

"Welcome, welcome," Lala greeted as always to the person he came to the bar. "How old are ya, boy?"

What the hell? That guy was the same who was with Makoto two days ago at Shibuya. Why was he doing here? I thought high schoolers weren't allowed to walk around Shinjuku during these hours. I hope it wasn't what I think it was when Ohya mentioned waiting for someone.

"Sorry, Lala-chan. He is with me," Ohya said with a big smile. I wasn't happy, though.

"Ooh, you picked up a real young this time…Just don't let a minor to drink alcohol, ok?" Lala said it with such calm. That guy walked towards Ohya, almost like they knew each other before. What the hell was going on here?

"Lala-chan, I'm going to borrow the seats in the back. Go on, back there. I will treat you with some water," Ohya and that guy with glasses moved to the seats of the back, to have a private conversation.

That was getting odd every time he shows up: First, he was helping Makoto to find the Criminal Boss at Shibuya. And then he was trading information with Ohya-san. That became suspicious the longer this guy appeared wherever I was; he was some enigma. Despite his docile appearance, he emitted a strange aura that made me feel goosebumps like he was from one of my Arsene Lupin books.

I wasn't able to hear what they were talking about, but I had an impression that is about the rumors at Shibuya. Something wasn't reasonable, entirely not normal at all. Whatever he or Makoto was trying to do, this just made me uneasy with the idea of getting involved with criminals. Should I interfere? Did I need to help them from being dragged for dangerous business or worse? Whichever way the case, things became complicated

"Lala-chan, can I get a refill for this kid? We need to make a toast for new acquaintance!" Ohya said it aloud, and with the whiskey already kicking in.

After that guy left the bar, I decided to ask about what they talked about moments ago. I was hoping she willingly could tell me some information without any issues now that she was under the influence of alcohol.

"Hey, Ohya-san, did you get a good time with your informant?" I asked.

"It was great! That kid had info, even a reliable source about my next story!" I could only hear the reporter saying with a triumphant face.

"That is great, and what is your next story?"

"It is an interview with a victim of Kamoshida's abuse. He gave me his ID to call him another time." Ohya-san got another sap in her list, typical.

"Kamoshida? You mean the Olympic Medalist who got arrested two months ago?"

"Yep, of course, I had to give him some info as well if I wanted the interview."

"What kind of info he asked you? If it is not a problem to share."

"Just rumors, but about a crime boss in Shibuya, his name was supposed to be Junya Kaneshiro." She said it with such nonchalantly.

"Kaneshiro, huh? I'm sure are just false rumors, people talk too much because how heating up is Shibuya at the moment," although, that name sounded familiar for some reason, not sure from where exactly.

"Isn't it too risky to give such info to kid like him, Ohya?" Lala commented with concern.

"It is not your problem, Lala-chan. Just like he said, most of those rumors usually tend to be false. Maybe I should send a message with an update to that kid if I find something else about it," She sounded serious about him.

"Lala-chan, I will go outside to get some fresh air for a moment, if you don't mind," I asked her.

"You can go, my dear boy, just comes back before the regulars show up; it's almost time for the happy hour."

I went outside to find that guy and warning him about this investigation nonsense, but I couldn't see him anywhere nearby. He most likely left the district shortly after he went to Crossroads. "Let's get some fun; you are so young to leave so soon," oh no, I knew those voices, those were from those colorful guys. How annoying. That seemed they were already busy to notice me. I moved faster before they do see me. I walked around if he appeared again.

"Good evening, Katsuo," Mifune-san greeted me when I passed in front of her.

"Hey, Mifune-san. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Are you here to make me read your Luck?"

"Not really, but I wouldn't mind, though," I was about to pull out my wallet for my Luck reading.

"It is not necessary to pay," She refused my 5000 yen.

"Why not? It is bad for your business if I don't pay you for Luck reading," I said with confusion.

"Your Luck is pretty odd every time I read it, almost like goes in zigzag or stays in the middle. I won't ask you to pay me until it changes." She was modest; I didn't blame her; my Luck was bizarre.

"Instead of Luck reading, can you read my future or something else?" I said.

"I can do that; sit down while I shuffle the deck." She started with the Tarot process.

I met Mifune-san back when I started working at Crossroads in April. I remember when she read my fortune for the first time; her reaction behaved like a Geiger meter, which needle went crazy. My Luck was unnatural, almost like there was no good or bad Luck. I was falling in the middle, where the concept of win or loss was practically nonexistent. Mifune-san was a pretty good fortune teller, most of her predictions were accurate, and something I never asked her for a regular fortune reading because it never changed.

"Huh, interesting…" She said it with amusement after finishing the card reading

"What is it?"

"Do you know what this card means?"

"It is the Tower Arcana, meaning a future tragedy. Wait, is something bad going to happen to me?"

"Not necessarily, the card is in the reversed position, which means it is not too serious. However, it acts as a warning. It is easy to assume you are not safe yet. The outcome can be positive or negative, depending on how you see it. I recommend you to look at your surroundings, so you don't miss the warnings." She gave me another good lesson about Tarot reading.

I was interested in my fortune had something to do with Makoto and that guy about their investigation. I already warned her, but it looked as something terrible was going to happen regardless of what I said. Talking to her was a mistake? Did I make things even worse? I didn't like the odds. It looked like I would need to keep an eye on them until I can be sure they were safe from any danger.

"Thank you for the reading, Mifune-san. I will try to pay more attention to myself," I stood up from my chair. "By the way, do you have any Holy Stones that I can buy? I know my Luck is not going to change anyway, but at least to give me some boost."

"I'm sorry, I don't have any for the moment, but I don't think you would need one anyway," She smiled. "Besides, you told me you are trying to save some money for your studies, right? My Holy Stones are too expensive, that would be bad for your business, don't you think?"

"Touche." She used my own words against me.

After saying goodbye to her, I thought that it was time to get back to work. I couldn't believe that my warnings were useless to Makoto. Did I say something that would make her continue with this? I should guess that getting on her way was a bad idea. Every time I was trying to help someone with any problem, it just made things worse for them. I can't help myself to intervene in other's problems. Tomorrow would be Sunday, which means I can go to Shibuya all day to watch for those kids if they are going to do something. I only needed to keep my distance and call the police if things go out of control.

That name, Kaneshiro, sounded too familiar for someone who hid under the cop's noses. Whoever he was, it meant bad news. Why bother to get near him? If those kids were trying to locate him, expose him or else. I would get killed if I intervened even further. I stayed far from other people, fearing that others would suffer because of me. I always have been considered as bad luck trinket for any person who gets close to me. I thought getting away from my family was enough, but a tragedy always followed me wherever I go. After tomorrow, things would go for better or worse. I sensed a change, never felt so attached to others a long time ago since I lost my friends; I don't want to feel empty again.