Hey everyone!

This isn't an exact retelling of Persona 5 from start to finish, this fic will focus primarily on the ship because I absolutely love the idea of Joker x Panther (^.^) and also the relationships all of the Phantom Thieves have with one another. But be warned that I will take some liberties here and there as far as dialogue and the inclusion of certain scenes that aren't in the game etc.

Disclaimer: The characters represented in this story, the game that this story is based on and the quote in the description are all property of Atlus Co, etc.

A droplet of water fell from the sky above and coursed its way through Akira Kurusu's shaggy ebony hair. The feeling of water coming into contact with his skin tore through his cognizance as he emerged from the underground walkway annexed to Shibuya Station, waking him from the monotonous commute to his new school. The droplets of rain began to multiply, obstructing his vision as the drizzle bounced off his glasses. Groaning, he shielded his face with his forearm and sought refuge underneath the narrow red awning of a nearby building, hoping to wait out the lousy weather.

Around him, students scurried for cover so that they could ready their umbrellas, busy trying to remain dry and entirely immersed in their idle chatter. Akira's back stiffened, feeling awkward as he watched them alone from his vantage point. He liberated his phone from the confines of his pocket, in an effort to portray nonchalance, but he knew full well that no correspondence awaited him on the screen, not even from his parents. Perhaps Sojiro, but even that was unlikely. The grouchy cafe owner who was now acting as his guardian only really communicated with the boy out of necessity, constantly exhibiting that he was not interested in a relationship with Akira that extended beyond what he deemed as necessary to fulfil his duties as the boy's guardian.

It was to be expected of course, given his recent branding as a juvenile delinquent, courtesy of his friendly neighbourhood prosecutor.

Tch, didn't even get an appeal, he thought, resisting the urge to laugh at himself out of self-pity.

Akira had already steeled himself for the onslaught of caution and disdain that was about to be directed at him, upon his soon-to-be classmates finding out about his criminal record. At his previous school, he hadn't been prepared for his classmates to recoil away from him when he passed them on his last trip down the hall to clean out his locker, their statures cowering in his presence as though he had always been the hardened criminal this lawsuit portrayed him to be. The passing thought was enough to make him grit his teeth in frustration, as images of the events that had brought him here began to flash through his mind like his own personal slideshow of misfortune.

Buttons flew from the woman's blouse as she cowered, revealing the thin layer of lace separating her modesty from her abuser's calloused touch.

Her shrill voice pierced the silence of the night as she pleaded with the tall, menacing figure looming over her.

Akira searched the quiet suburban streets, frantically trying to locate the source of the screams, a cold sweat trickling down his back as the ruckus became more audible.

When they came into view, he felt his legs move independently from his brain, propelling him forward before he could comprehend what was happening.

In front of him, his hand reached out to create distance between the man and the woman before placing himself between them as her protector.

The man's face collided with the pavement in a loud thud as he screamed a slew of profanity and held his face in agony.

When he stood back up, Akira saw a gush of blood trickling between his fingers as he held his hand over the wound.

Then…

"Damn brat! I'll sue!"

Akira shook his head violently in an effort to free himself from his memories.

"Fuck this…" he mumbled to himself, trying to contain all of the familiar emotions that twisted and turned in the pit of his stomach.

He cradled his phone in his palm, eyes immediately drawn to the re-appearance of the mysterious mobile application that had kept downloading itself onto his phone over the last few days, despite Akira distinctly remembering that he had deleted it himself on several occasions before. The app's creepy logo never failed to capture his full attention, with the solitary large red eye staring directly into his and causing his own gaze to falter under its prominence. A large black star was fashioned in the middle of the eye in place of a regular pupil, with jagged black protrusions emerging from every inch of the eye. His thumb hovered over the icon, primed and ready to remove the app from his phone, yet again.

He pressed down on app's icon, fully intending to drag it back into his phone's trashcan, when he became distracted by a hooded figure brushing past him to retreat under the same small red marquee where Akira stood, presumably to also seek refuge from the downpour. He and the mysterious hooded figure stood a metre apart from one another, Akira quickly discerning that their attire and physique were far too feminine to be that of a male's. His eyes began to act independently from his better judgement, immediately scanning the length of the girl's slim legs, as they stayed clothed beneath crimson coloured tights. He noted her blazer and how it bore the same unmistakable Shujin Academy school crest that his did.

Akira's eyes stayed glued to her profile as he watched her fingers clutch the rim of her hood. She pulled it down slowly, unveiling her face inch by inch. Akira felt his breath immediately hitch in his throat as he felt himself gaping at the girl in awe, entirely captivated by her overall aesthetic.

Her features could not be likened to that of an ordinary Japanese girl, he knew that much. Her hair was long and bore the colour of straw, cascading over her narrow shoulders and held together in two pigtails. Her eyes managed to gleam, even against the backdrop of this bleak day. They stood out amongst all of the grey that surrounded her, doe-eyed in appearance and azure in colour.

Something inside of him stirred, whether it was instant attraction, innocent curiosity or a mixture of both, Akira would never know – but whatever it was caused him to exert more effort than was necessary just to tear his eyes away before she started to think that he was some kind of pervert. As much as he tried to conceal it, he felt a small measure of excitement at the prospect of having their fates intertwined by the mere fact that they attended the same school, but the feeling dissipated as quickly as it came. Akira had never been unlucky with girls, being on the receiving end of a confession here and there had assured him of that. But he had also never attempted to put himself out there enough to cultivate what could be considered as a high success rate. However, something in the back of his mind told him that girls of this calibre would never spare even an iota of interest towards him – criminal record or not.

The harsh jolt of reality finally brought him back to his senses and it dawned on him, quite painfully, that he had been staring at her for the entire length of his inner monologue. He tried to evade her notice but it was too late. She peered at him from the corner of her eye and before he could turn his head away, she turned to face him and boldly met his gaze.

Now would be a great time to look away, he told himself but to no avail.

His eyes were fixed on hers and now operating in accordance to their own will. He expected her to scowl, call him a creep or just turn away in disgust, but he never expected that their staring contest would result in her offering him a small smile. The corners of her mouth curved upward ever so slightly and her features relaxed as she tilted her head in acknowledgement. Akira could swear that he heard a faint laugh escape her whilst doing so. The smile was fleeting, with the girl turning her attentions back to the busy street in front of them almost immediately after the fact, but it had happened – Akira was certain of this.

It was almost as though the smile possessed an immeasurable power in disarming the slight tension that permeated between them and Akira soon found himself able to finally regain control of his senses. They stood together in silence for a few more moments before a silver car halted to a stop in front of them. The window rolled down and a man with a ridiculously squared chin and equally severe features poked his head out from the driver's seat.

"Good morning!" he called to the girl beside Akira. "Do you want me to give you a lift to school? You're gonna be late."

In an almost imperceptible manner, Akira caught the girl hesitate before she answered.

"Um, sure. Thank you," she told him, smiling as she left Akira alone underneath the small roof. He stood there watching the girl walk slowly toward the car before the driver finally acknowledged him.

"Do you need a lift too?" he asked Akira, noticing the school's crest on his blazer.

The man exuded an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance. Akira could tell that he carried himself proudly, disregarding all of the traditional Japanese formalities and communicating so casually with both him and the girl, as though he had already decided that both of them were beneath him and not worthy of the effort. Technically the man was not doing anything untoward, and the lift could even be construed as a thoughtful gesture. But something about the entire situation felt off and Akira already found himself smiling politely before waving his hand to decline the man's offer.

Seconds before the passenger window closed, Akira saw the girl's expression shift. Her brows furrowed and her eyes were downcast, their earlier gleam shrouded by something much darker as she wore a pained expression. Akira's gut swelled with uneasiness as his fist slowly began to clench. It wasn't long before the car drove off and his nails began to dig into the flesh of his palm, his other hand still cradling his phone. In the distance, he heard the clamour of footsteps as they rapidly approached him.

"Dammit… screw that pervy teacher."

"Pervy teacher?"

K: Hey u ;)

Ann: Hey…

K: So u free 2nite?

Ann: I can't.

K: Y? Cmon…

Ann: I'm not feeling well... sorry.

Ann increased the intensity of her grip around the phone, not even remotely afraid of it shattering into a thousand tiny pieces whilst in her grasp. Her jaw tightened in anger as her eyes lingered over Kamoshida's messages.

He couldn't even text like a decent human being, she thought to herself.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, trying to regain her composure before stepping out into the chaos of the Shibuya streets. The rain pummelled violently to the ground in front of her, impeding her exit from the underground walkway. Around her, Shujin students scattered underneath their umbrellas, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Her stomach tightened at the sight of seeing everybody around her interact so easily with one another. It was a feat she had been unable to accomplish herself, save for the times spent with her only friend, Shiho Suzui. As she continued forward and emerged within full view of her fellow Shujin students, she spied several shifts of demeanour around her.

The groups of students who had been so absorbed in their own trivialities just moments before halted any conversation they were having just to eye her pointedly. A boy to her right with slicked auburn hair nudged his friend before they began whispering to each other, Cheshire cat sized smirks plastered across their faces. A nudge to her back startled her into coherence as she was propelled forward. She grimaced as she glanced behind her shoulder to spy who the culprit was and immediately caught sight of two girls from her class, making it a point to glare at her before linking arms and laughing cruelly amongst themselves. Her jaw began to ache from being clenched for such a prolonged time and she felt water start to well up in her tear ducts. Ann grit her teeth, willing herself to hold them back as she pulled her hood over her head.

She scanned the Station Square, trying to locate a haven where she could wait out the rain in peace. Ahead of her was a narrow red marquee, annexed onto the side of a clothing store that she frequented. Underneath the covering she spotted a tall boy with unkempt black hair and thick-rimmed glasses leaning against the wall of the store, gawking at the smart phone in his hand. His body was lean but had a natural slouch that portrayed him as lankier than he may have been. She concluded that he must have been new to the school, as she was sure that she hadn't seen him once before today and she had spent a lot of time observing her classmates when sitting alone and waiting for Shiho to finish volleyball practice.

Ann found herself inadvertently shuddering at the mere thought of volleyball as she weaved between the groups of Shujin students scattered around the Station Square, likening them to landmines that she was trying to avoid stepping on before they could harm her. She tried to block out their whispers, but to no avail. Each word stinging her ears as though she had just walked faced first into a hornet's nest.

"Look, it's Kamoshida's whore."

"Who does she think she is…? What a slut."

"C'mon, man! She's gotta be easy! I mean, look at her…"

She brushed past the boy that she had already deemed 'Glasses Boy' in her mind, taking her place a metre away from him as she planted herself underneath the red awning and faced the congested Shibuya streets. She removed her hood, trying to get a better view of the situation so that she could judge how long the rain would keep her marooned underneath the covering. In the corner of her eye she could detect Glasses Boy's eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, but for the sake of avoiding more conflict, she chose to ignore it.

Once he gets his fill, he'll look away, she thought to herself, angling her head so that she could acquire a better view of the clouds.

The rain exhibited no signs of relenting. She sighed and resigned herself to being stranded there for a few more minutes whilst a complete stranger ogled her. Unable to stand being treated like a solitary fish on display at an aquarium, she turned toward the voyeur, expecting to come face to face with the same predatory gaze and demented smirk that Kamoshida sported every time that he looked at her. Instead she was met with eyes bearing a hue akin to dark steel, enigmatic and inquisitive, as they stayed shielded beneath the lens of his spectacles.

Messy strands of jet-black hair hung lazily around the edges of his face and his thin lips were parted ever so slightly. There was no malice in his gaze and his overall demeanour did not betray any signs of a salacious intent, rather, he exhibited an almost childlike curiosity as continued to hold her gaze. Outwardly, he portrayed the visage of nondescript adolescent boy, evoking a mild air of mystery. But upon closer inspection, Ann took notice of his refined features, juxtaposed with a devilish aura that was only accentuated by the faint glint in his charcoal grey eyes.

Try as she might, she could not muster the anger and annoyance required to glare at him or berate him for staring too long. Instead she found herself smiling, a reflex that was almost unnatural for her when she was in the presence of anybody that wasn't Shiho. She allowed a soft giggle to escape her lips before she swiftly turned her attentions back to the road ahead of her.

Who is this guy? She asked herself, unsure as to why such a brief exchanged had suddenly piqued her curiosity.

She allowed a few moments to pass before she begun to wonder if she should strike up a conversation with him, perhaps she could even befriend him before his opinion of her became tainted by the vicious rumours and gossip that surrounded her and dictated everyone's disposition toward her. But ultimately that seemed inevitable and soon, he would just be another student snickering behind her back when she passed him in school.

Before she could speculate further, a familiar vehicle parked itself in front of the two students. The window began to roll down slowly, but it needn't have gone down all the way for Ann to ascertain who the driver was. She had seen this car stop alongside her almost every afternoon when she left school, it's beige leather interior an all too familiar sight as its driver beckoned her to enter. Realising that she was in the company of another student, Kamoshida wore a congenial expression to disguise his carnal intent.

"Good morning!" he called to her. "Do you want me to give you a lift to school? You're gonna be late."

Ann knew what would happen if she refused and she didn't have the energy to conjure a reason as to why she couldn't. She mustered an artificial smile as she politely accepted his offer, leaving her perplexing companion to wait out the downpour alone. She was not surprised when Kamoshida extended the offer to him, it was the 'beloved' volleyball coach's way of maintaining appearances. Ann found herself slightly amused at the boy's refusal, his pensive demeanour instantly replaced by a bashful smile as he waved off Kamoshida's offer.

Lucky you, she thought, feeling Kamoshida's hand snake against her upper thigh as he brought it back onto the steering wheel.

She began to buckle up, the weightless fabric of the seatbelt feeling uncharacteristically heavy against her body, as though it were pinning her down into the passenger seat. Ann's emotions betrayed her when she rolled the window back up. She was no longer able to mask her melancholy, lamenting the sounds of the city as they began to recede until all that she was left with was the feeling of suffocation that was all too familiar to her.