His back hit the ground.

His leg felt like it was burning.

Everything was swimming.

He picked himself up. Grabbing the edge of the only table in the room Akira pulled himself to his feet in defiance of the police in the room.

Bad decision. The policeman closer to him reared back and slammed a fist into his jaw, sending him flying back to the ground. His head hit the ground hard. Everything was turning black. His ears were ringing with a frightening intensity.

Holding his hand in front of his face, he couldn't even see how many fingers he was holding up. He could barely recognize that it was a hand. Everything hurt.

The man was trying to shove a clipboard in his face. He was saying something too, Akira honestly couldn't understand him. He seemed to get frustrated and slammed his foot on Akira's knee.

Pain shot through his body. He shot up and grabbed onto the leg and cradled it. Tears threatened to spill out. Hot, angry, tears.

The man grabbed his hand and forced a pen into his closed palm. The man then rubbed the tip of the pen against the clipboard, it kind of looked like his name, and dropped Akira again. He hit the floor again.

The blur was letting up. The adrenaline in his body was doing its job and clearing his vision. Akira could make out the man's face. He couldn't see much, but he could make out the man's face. That was important. He would remember that when he got out of this.

A commotion caused him to turn his head to the side, leaning up and twisting his body on the ground to look at the only entrance of the room. Though mangled vision he saw a tall silver haired woman arguing with the officers and forcing them out of the room. He knew that woman. He lived with that woman. What was her name?

His vision was blurring up again, but he let himself smile a little. He had memorized the man's face. The two officers left the room and Akira finally let himself slump to the ground. His eyes began to close, one eye drooping shut. Everything hurt.

Then the woman grabbed him by that hand. He was pulled upwards, which only failed as his leg collapsed and he was sent back onto the ground. He hit the back of it hard. His skull pounded. His vision swam even more and the black around the borders of his eyes grew even stronger. The ringing in his ears grew louder.

He could give up now. No one would blame him. He wouldn't blame himself. If he closed his eyes he doubted he would open them again. But he couldn't do that. He wanted to so badly. But there was something he had to do. Why couldn't he? What was it?

Oh right. That. Thinking of it made the rage inside of him begin to boil. He couldn't die like this.

The woman grabbed him by the arm again. This time she supplied more weight and helped lift him. His leg was in tatters. It felt like something might be broken, at least torn or dislocated. It hurt too much. He was placed on a chair and the woman stood up straight.

With his good hand Akira grabbed his leg and felt around. It wasn't as bad as he thought. He pushed. His knee snapped back into its socket. The policeman had only dislocated it. Good. He could deal with that. The woman looked at him, a little shocked, before clearing her throat. She grabbed his now empty hands and put chained them to the table.

He was beginning to fade again. Think. Think. THINK. Get mad. He thought of the policeman. He thought of everything that had happened to him. Thinking of this sent a river of rage flowing through him. He wanted nothing more than to find the man and show him how to really hurt someone. But now wasn't the time.

The woman took his hands and locked him to the table. His eyes focused on her face. She was very beautiful, long silver hair and red eyes were the predominant features he could make out. Her red eyes held an incredibly sadness in them. The look faded quickly and turned into a stonewall expression. She took a seat on the other side of the table. She was saying words, but Akira was only making out every other one.

"We … tell me … I need you... Are … attention …" She snapped her fingers in front of his face. His eyes cleared up a bit. He needed to focus.

"What did they… drugs … disgusting." She was looking more and more enraged as she talked. His head wasn't swimming as bad as it used to be and he was able to focus a little better.

"Can you hear me?" The woman asked. He nodded his head in response. He could finally hear her.

"Good, now, you have to tell me everything. Every bit of your history as the leader of the phantom thieves." Akira nodded his head. He was barely conscious. Telling this woman every bit of his life seemed like a good idea, it was right?

She pulled out a manila envelope from her bag and placed it on the table. Out came a picture of him standing in front of a large gate and a profile of a man with a strong chin and wavy hair. "Let's start. Were you a member when I picked you up from Juvenile Hall on the ninth of April." Was he? He began to tell his story.

There was a loud buzz as the last of the gates leading to the outside world was opened. Akira stepped out into the light with all his worldly possessions on him. His pair of fake glasses, all three shirts he owned, and all two pairs of pants. The glasses had been a fleeting thought he had when he went to trial, maybe they would make him seem more innocent? It didn't work. Lastly, he felt around for the insignificant amount of yen he owned. It was kind of sad how little he had.

He was wearing one of those sets of cloths. A grubby pair of jeans that was too small on him now, and a shirt that showed off a small amount of midriff due to how much it was being stretched. When he lifted his arms, it seemed to show his entire stomach. He had tried to keep the shirts he used every day in Juvie, but they wouldn't let him take them.

He looked back on the monumental building. It had been a full year. A full year of his life in this hellhole. A full year wasted.

Akira walked out on the street. They were a little far from proper Tokyo so there was only a single road leading to and from the building. Standing in front of a slick looking black sedan parked to the side of the road was a tall, beautiful, silver haired woman. She was wearing a form fitting black suit that covered her entire body. Seeing as how she was the only person in the area he walked towards her.

"Akira Kurusu?" She called out as he got close, "I'm Sae Niijima. Your probation officer." She looked him over. He was a lot bigger than she expected him to be. He was taller than her by a decent amount, even with her heels on. Something that not many people in Japan could claim. He was also a lot more muscular than she thought he would be. His tiny shirt didn't hide much. She had to be more careful then she thought she would need to be.

"Hello, nice to meet you." He walked forward and nodded his head slightly towards her. She nodded back and walked around the car to the trunk and popped it open.

"Come put your stuff in here." He walked over and put his small backpack in her trunk. She looked at him expectedly for some reason. They stood like that for a few seconds before her eyes widened in surprise. She coughed into her hands and walked towards the driver's side door.

"Sorry about that, my mistake, I thought you had more for some reason. Come get in. I'll tell you about your plans on the ride." He got in the passenger side of the vehicle and they took off.

Looking back, he could see the prison fade into the background. It might have been the most beautiful thing Akira had ever seen.

"Thank you Niijima-san." He couldn't help but feel appreciation to this woman for getting him away from there.

She sighed "I appreciate it, but this is all a pretty big inconvenience if I'm being honest. You really owe your grandfather more than you could ever know. I only agreed to this because of him."

"I would thank him if I could."

She tsked at herself "I apologize. He was a great man. I'm sorry for your loss I just thought you should know what he's done for you. He set up lodging for you for the next year of your probation. You're going to be spending a week with an old acquaintance of his, and then spending a week with me, in that pattern for the next year." Akira nodded in understanding as they drove. There was a brief silence.

"How was your time in juvenile hall."

"It was acceptable." He lied.

"Did they treat you well?"

"Well enough." He lied again, but she accepted his answers and drove on. She could probably tell he was lying but didn't feel the need to push. She attempted to play some music softly in the background, but got frustrated with the lack of any good options.

She turned it off and they sat in silence for a while as Akira watched the passing scenery.

"Look, before we get there I want to explain something to you." Akira cut his concentration from the scenery and looked at her. "If you step one foot out of line, no, one toe out of line, I will throw you back in there before you can blink. I will accept zero tomfoolery, zero problems, there will be zero tolerance." He nodded his head.

"While you're in my apartment you will be on your best behavior. I live with my younger sister and if I think for even a second you are doing something inappropriate to her you will be locked away for the rest of your life." She looked away from the road for a moment to stare into his eyes. "If you once, just once, do anything to her. Anything. From even just using her toothbrush without permission. I'll put an end to your entire life."

"I won't be a problem." He turned his eyes away from hers and looked at the road.

"Good." She paid her full attention to the road now. He really didn't have anything to say after that. An awkward silence filled the car after that.

After a while Sae interjected "Your grandfather told me a lot about you. He spoke very highly of you and defended your innocence, he said there was no way you did what you were accused of."

Akira smiled at that. The first genuine smile, he thought to himself, that he had had in months. "I wish I could thank him for that." Sae didn't smile.

"Your record while in North Tokyo Correctional Center didn't show any of that." Akira stopped smiling, "You were a troublemaker. The guards were shocked at how you even managed to survive."

Akira sighed and resumed looking out the window. "There's a lot more that goes on in there then a record can say."

"I understand that. But I don't like it. I don't like what I saw at all. I would prefer to not have you in my residence, ever, if we're being candid." Akira's frown dropped even further.

"Why are you then?"

"I owe your grandfather a life debt. He helped me out more than anyone could have, or should have, at a low point in my life. He spoke so highly of you I'll look over your past infractions. However, if you ever, and I mean ever, seem to even become slightly threatening, I won't just put you in prison. I'll do worse." He nodded his head. She stopped making any noise and they rode in silence.

They parked in a parking lot and walked towards "LeBlanc", where he would be staying. A man named Sojiro Sakura would be his caretaker for the weeks he wasn't with Sae. They passed through bustling Yongen-Jaya on their way there. The sights were a shock to Akira, who had grown up in a mid-sized coastal city. The number of people just walking through the streets were insane.

LeBlanc was a small cafe on a side street connected to the main street. Entering the cafe, with the small ding of a bell, there was an overwhelmingly strong sent of coffee. The place seemed inviting and quiet. Only one person was in the cafe at the time so Akira relaxed. Standing behind the counter was an older man with a thin pointed beard. He was well dressed, with his most prominent feature being the fedora that rested on top of his head. They met eyes and he made a slight sneer.

"So. This is the kid." The man, presumably Sojiro Sakura, asked.

"Yes, Akira Kurusu, your new ward." Sae waved her hand at him as he stood behind her. She placed her bag down and took a seat at the counter. Sojiro nodded at him and then at the stairs.

"Well, why don't you go upstairs and put your stuff away. Where's the rest of it?"

"This is it sir." The man's slight sneer turned into a frown for a moment before setting into an unreadable expression. Akira took some time to head upstairs while the two adults began to converse.

Rounding the corner of the stairs, Akira stopped and stared, "What the…" Akira looked stunned at his room. It was a mess, there was trash littering the entire room. Dust was on everything. He avoided the trash bags and bike resting against the wall. Maybe he could use that later, might as well ask at some point. Akira set his bag down near the bed, he didn't even have a dresser to put his cloths in. He snorted to himself, not like he needed it.

The bed was alright. It was basically bare, only a small sheet on it. It was decently comfortable he noticed. The blanket seemed to be a piece of paper, so thin he doubted it would provide any warmth. Well, Juvenile hall was worse, so he didn't mind. He made his way back down the stairs.

The two adults stopped conversing and looked at him. He couldn't make out what they were saying but Sae picked up her bag and Sojiro started talking. "Well kid, not much left to say. Here's a key to the store. I live down the street from here if you need anything. Don't need anything. I don't think I need to warn you but just to be sure. If you take one step out of line, a single guest you don't warn me about, a single missing item from the cafe, the register not adding up, anything. I'll have you out of here in a second." He stared up into Akira's eyes with an intensity that would intimidate most people. Akira simply nodded and accepted his key. Sae's glare was harsher anyways.

"Thank you for the ride Niijima-san and thank you for the room Sakura-san." He nodded his head at both of them. Sae had already made it to the door and waved her hand at him from behind. She was staring intently at her phone with a frown on her face. Sojiro simply sighed and grabbed his hat from the table and followed her out the door. Akira went back upstairs.

Exhausted, Akira passed out within seconds of hitting the bed.

He woke up.

What time was it? Blinking his eyes open, Akira starred up. The ceiling was a black void, the walls were made of cinderblocks. Why was he surrounded by cinder blocks? Looking around some more he saw a lidless toilet and a set of sturdy bars in front of him.

He was in another prison cell.

In a moment, he was on his feet and whipping his head around, looking for an escape. Where was he? Was he in his old cell? No, there was too much blue here. it wasn't just all grey.

Wait. This is just a dream. A sigh escaped his lips, this was just a dream. He let himself relax and take in what was going on.

Looking down he noticed that he was in a tattered old pinstripe prison outfit. Another reason it was just a dream, his actual prison outfit had been bright orange.

It's just a dream. Saying that didn't make him feel better. It felt too real. It was making him scared, and that was making him angry. He didn't like being in a cell.

The room surrounding the cells was circular and quite nice. There was a huge blue circular rug with a desk in the middle. In front of his cell was two young girls in warden's outfits. They couldn't have been more than 11 and both had eyepatches on, one with the right eye covered and the other with the left eye covered. This might have been the weirdest dream he'd ever had.

In the center of the circular room, at the desk, sat a balding man with an unnaturally long nose. He called the thing a man, but it didn't feel right describing this creature as a man. Its eyes bulged unnaturally. It had no irises, just a single, strained, dot staring straight at him. His mouth was too big, the smile monstrous in a way. It looked hungry. It looked wrong.

Its body was unnaturally thin. Long arms that seemed too long for his frame. Sharp jutting elbows and very long slender fingers. The thing looked wrong.

They met eyes. It spoke. Its voice was deep and unnerving. "Trickster," it's face light up some, mirth showing in its expression, and sat up straighter. "Welcome to my Velvet room."

April 10

Cloudy

Akira woke up in a cold sweat. That dream was too real. What was that thing talking about? Rubbing his eyes free of the sweat he sat up.

Akira looked at his phone and saw he had half an hour before Sojiro was supposed to arrive to take him to school. He made his way down the stairs and stopped at the center landing. Sojiro was behind the counter of the cafe. He looked up at the noise and they met eyes.

"Hey, kid, you're awake. Get ready, I have some curry here you can eat before we leave." Akira noticed the food on the counter and could smell it now that he saw it. It smelled really good. His stomach rumbled to remind him how hungry he was.

"Thank you, I'll take a shower and be right over." Sojiro nodded and Akira went on the other direction on the set of stairs. It was a split staircase, one side leading to his room, the other leading to a small bathroom. It was reasonable, it had a toilet, a sink, and a small bathtub/ shower combo. There was a window that looked out on the street in the center of the wall above the bathtub. The window was glazed over, but there was still a curtain that could be pulled over it if one wanted more privacy.

After a small shower Akira head downstairs in his Shujin uniform. It had been given to him by Sae who had it stored in the back of her car. He nodded to Sojiro and ate his food quickly. It was even better than it looked, he accepted the small cup of coffee as well. Akira was honestly surprised at the hospitality of the man.

"Thank you for all this. I appreciate it." Akira mentioned in between bites. It was delicious! He almost shed a tear at the flavor. After eating gruel for a full year, this was like heaven on earth.

"Well, I couldn't have you hungry on your first day and you don't have any other food." He rubbed the back of his head and looked at him sheepishly, "In a few days you can run to the store and pick up some groceries. There's a second fridge under the stairs that's normally empty you can keep your food in."

Akira nodded but wasn't sure where he would get money for those groceries. Eating hid his frown. He would need to get a side job to afford food.

"Your grandfather left you some money to pay for your groceries. I'll give you some of it every week. It's not a lot but it should cover basic meals."

At the mention of his grandfather not even eating could hide the look of sadness on his face. Sojiro noticed and glanced to the side.

"Oh, I apologize for bringing up bad memories. Respects to your grandfather." Akira thanked him and then continued to eat in an awkward silence.

The ride to school went well. They didn't talk much but that was alright with Akira. Arriving, the first thing he noticed was that the school was massive. It was way bigger than his old school. He looked up, awed, at the school as he walked up the stairs. At the top Sae was talking to a young, pretty, brown haired girl. She was about his age. She was holding books in her arms and was talking excitedly to Sae.

She looked at him and he was able to get a closer look at her. She had the same piercing red eyes that Sae had. That wasn't something easy to forget. A small, strained, smile forced its way onto her face. She was very cute, even with the strained look, she gave a small wave towards him and Sojiro and him made their way over. This must be Sae's younger sister. She wasn't happy to see him but he inwardly thanked his luck that the first girl his age he would interact with outside of Juvie was so cute.

"Hello, Akira Kurusu I presume, I am Makoto Niijima, younger sister of Sae Niijima and student council president of Shujin Academy." She placed both of her hands in front of her and gave an informal bow. He gave her a small bow back. Standing close to her he was forced to look down on her. She was shorter than him by quite a bit. Sae, in her heels, actually was the only one in the group close to his height.

"How was your first night?" Sae questioned. She nodded at Sojiro and turned around to make her way into the school with all three in tow.

"It was nice, Sakura-san makes great curry too." Akira stated as he followed her.

"By the way, please just call me Boss, Sakura-san makes me sound too old." Sojiro cut in from behind him.

"You may call me Sae-san as well. If we're going to live together it wouldn't be comfortable to sound so formal." He nodded at the two of them and they began up the stairs. "I wanted to introduce you to Makoto before we all live together." They stopped on the third floor in front of a room labeled Principal's office. Knocking on the door they heard a loud "Come in" from inside.

Entering the room Akira was happy to have glasses that kept people from seeing his eyes as they bulged. A huge man sat behind the desk near the window. He must have been at least a few hundred pounds. The man's bald head didn't make him look any thinner. His hairless face hid any chin that he might have possessed at one point. His head seemed almost more neck than face.

Next to him was another pretty woman. She must have been in her late twenties, and looked exhausted for some reason. Probably stressed with school starting soon. She didn't seem happy to see him however when they met eyes.

"Sae Niijima! Welcome!" He sat up straighter, "I wasn't expecting for you to be here today too. Makoto Niijima, what a welcome surprise." He put on a huge smile that didn't make him look any better.

"I wished to be here to introduce Makoto and Akira to one another."

"Well, welcome, and you must be the Akira Kurusu I've heard so much about." His smile dropped as he looked at Akira. He gained a deep scowl as he looked at him, trying to look intimidating. It didn't even phase Akira. Just another person who didn't want him there.

"Akira Kurusu, I cannot stress this enough, if you cause even a single problem within this school I will have you expelled and put back where you came from." His scowl deepened, "I was incredibly hesitant to even accept you, but there were circumstances that made us let you in. Keep your head down and don't make even a whiff of trouble if you want to avoid any problems. It will be better for Shujin, and better for you, if we don't have any problems with each other." The woman to his side sighed.

"Why do I have to take him? There have to be better candidates" She asked.

It was a simple question but it made Akira tighten his jaw. Every single person he had met so far didn't want him. Why had any even said yes to having him? The complete neglect to his very existence when they would say they didn't want him, or how much of a bother he was, was pissing him off. He was in the room with them when they were saying this, just because he went to Juvie didn't mean he wasn't a person too.

"You were the only teacher with a spot open. I apologize." He tried to look comforting when he said it too.

"Well, I'm Sadayo Kawakami, I'll be your homeroom teacher." She gave him a small wave and looked to the side again, biting her lip slightly. Something was troubling her, probably him, it just made him even more upset.

"I would like to emphasize again just how bad of a situation you're in. A single mistake and you will be out. After Shujin there will be nowhere left. Make full use of this opportunity." He clasped his hands in front of him.

Kawakami pulled a small card out of her pocket and walked towards him. She grabbed a few items off the front of the desk as well before reaching him. "Here's your student ID, treat it with care. Here is also your class schedule and the guidance book. Read that through, any mistakes will have you sent to the guidance office and in your case, it's not going to be three strikes and you're out kind of situation." She reached down again and picked a backpack up off the ground and handed it over to him.

He nodded and tightened his jaw more. He would have to go on a run after this to let off some steam or something. Being reminded every few minutes how bad a situation you were in, how lucky you were for their help, and implicitly how little they trusted you, was wearing on him.

"Sae-san dealt with your paperwork earlier." Kobayakawa mentioned. "So, you're free to go." The four of them made their way out of the room. They left in silence.

Sae's phone began to ring as they reached the entrance to Shujin. She picked it up and began to talk to someone. "Yes, uh huh, I understand. I'll be there." She put her phone away. "Looks like I have some business to take care of, Makoto you can find your way home correct?"

"Yah sis, no problem." Her smile seemed to drop more, but Sae paid it little mind.

"I can give her a ride, if you want." Sojiro offered.

"Our place is in the opposite direction of Leblanc, thank you for the offer but it will be easier if Makoto just takes the subway. Just to reiterate once more. If you step out of line in any way at school, at LeBlanc, at my apartment, or anywhere. I will have you thrown back in Juvie within seconds." Her red eyes glared at him with a frightening intensity. Akira met her gaze for a moment before looking away, no need to challenge the woman or put her on edge. It didn't make him feel any better though. Being treated like a criminal was getting old. He thought he might have had less angry stares outside of Juvie compared to inside, but looks like that wouldn't happen. Sae turned her back and walked away, waving to the group and saying goodbye. Makoto followed afterwards, giving a general goodbye and not meeting Akira's eyes. She was cute but she didn't like him. That was fine, par for the course so far.

Kawakami came out of the building and chased her down before she made it to the main street, and the two began to talk. Akira and Sojiro followed them down the stairs and began to walk in the opposite direction towards his car. With a final look back at the school, Akira couldn't help but recognize just how much the school resembled a prison. Would this be another year of confinement?

Makoto sighed as she walked away from the school. Another night of dinner by herself. Well that's going to change soon she snorted out as she thought of her new housemate. The criminal she had been waiting anxiously for weeks to meet. He didn't really meet all of her expectations though.

He was tall and strong enough looking to fit her ideal criminal. But she really thought he would seem more… threatening. He just stood there and accepted all the indirect insults thrown on him. He didn't lash out once at all the implications.

He was also missing the face tattoos and large scars she thought he would have. He actually had no tattoos. Her movies had always made it seem as though the bad guys were covered in tattoos. He also had those dorky glasses too. And his messy hair. He looked more like a tall, kind of buff, nerd then a guy who had assaulted someone and just gotten out of prison.

Lastly, she blushed a bit as she thought about it, he was better looking than she expected too. He was pretty good looking for a guy who had just gotten out of Juvie. He wasn't nearly as terrifying as Sae had made him out to be. She had been training her aikido too for when he was going to be a clear-cut yakuza member. Well exercise was never a waste and they always say, 'Never judge a book by its cover'.

"Niijima-san! Wait up!" Turning her back Makoto saw Kawakami racing up to her. She had had the woman for a class the year before, but they were never close.

"Thank you," She breathed out, catching her breath slightly, "I need to ask you a favor."

Makoto's breath caught in her throat Oh no, she really hoped it wouldn't be what she thought it would be.

"Can you please tutor Kurusu-san after school." She bowed her head a smidgen, "I really need him to do good in this class."

Makoto sighed, she knew this would happen, "Why me? And why does it matter? He'll only be here a year anyways."

"We get paid based on how our students do, if one fails I'd have to take a pay cut." She was leaving out the part where it only really affected her bonus, "Please! There's no way he'll be able to keep up with the material, he's been out of the school system for a year."

"How did he even make it into Shujin?"

"Somehow he passed the entrance exam. It was close but he did qualify academically, but qualifying is a lot different than succeeding."

Makoto rubbed her head, but nodded. This would take time away from her own studying but she was the school council president. This was kind of her job in a way. Help any student she could, right? "Well, alright, I'll try for a bit but if he's a bad student I'm going to have to drop him."

"Thank you! I knew I could count on you! If you ever need anything just ask, I'm sure I can help you out some way!" She bowed a large amount, turned around, and left back towards the school.

This was going to be a headache.

"Kawakami-san!" A boisterous voice called out. A large smiling man came walking towards her. If Akira was tall, then this man was monstrous. Kawakami seemed to remember his height being labeled as somewhere from 6'8 to even 7 feet tall. It made sense for a volleyball player she assumed.

"Did you check out the new student?" He had a very brash voice. Standing near her he completely towered over her. The man, Kamoshida, was the star of the school. A celebrity within the community and possibly the most successful man in the school. A gold metaling Olympic athlete who had brought the teams volleyball program to nationals twice now, and was prepared to win it this year. Everyone loved the man, even if he put them on edge sometimes.

"I'm not sure why I have to deal with him." She sighed

"I'm not even sure why we accepted him. If its prestige, my volleyball team gives enough of that." He wasn't wrong. School recognition and funding had increased dramatically after he had arrived. Every person in the area wanted to have their child's name on that team, it could make the difference when applying for university.

Not everything about him was so great and grand though. She had heard the rumors and seen the injuries of the students on the team, but Kamoshida seemed like an alright guy. She didn't know much about volleyball, and no one had ever complained before. There was that track team problem a year ago, but it was that problem student that started it. Kamoshida couldn't be blamed for that. He had made her uncomfortable a few times but nothing too serious. None of this was her problem anyways. She was done interjecting herself into her students' problems.

"Yeah, why him too? He went to Juvenile hall for year! Why not someone with like, minor burglary? Maybe like loitering or theft under a thousand. There's gotta be a kid out there with less of a record" She shook her head solemnly.

"It's a mess, I'll talk to Principal Kobayakawa about it and see what I can do." He moved forward and clasped her on the shoulder. "If he gives you any trouble, any at all, you tell me and I'll have him on his ass and out the gate faster than I can spike a ball." He smiled brightly at her. It was the smile that had charmed the school, but she didn't really see why. Nodding her head, he let her go and made his way off towards the gym. School would be starting soon, and with-it volleyball would be coming back.

She walked towards the entrance to the school rubbing her temples. She just had to get the problem student. Why not Ms. Chouno? The nosy woman deserved it, always trying to see what she was doing, looking over her shoulder at her phone. But no, this was her problem. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad.

"Come on! You could have merged hours ago!" Sojiro slammed his hand on the dashboard and sighed. "You're a quiet kid, you know that." Akira wasn't this quiet by nature, he was just watching his words.

"Sorry Boss, just taking in the scenery." Akira leaned back and looked out at the standstill traffic again. Sojiro snorted and reached over to turn on the radio.

"Breaking news! Another mental shutdown has been confirmed! A driver has caused a 14-car pileup on the Shibuya highway system. Traffic will be delayed…" Akira stopped paying attention and looked out the window.

"Another one? This has to be the 5th in a month. Jeez, someone needs to get on this." Sojiro sighed, "I bet that's one thing you miss about your home. People aren't just dying and accidently killing innocents once every week. Wait, you know about the mental shutdowns, right?" Anything he was about to say was cut off when his phone went off. He picked it up, "Yeah. I'm stuck in traffic. Well, I won't be home for a few hours. There's ramen in the cabinets above the fridge. I'll make it as soon as, look I'll make it as soon as I can. Can I call you back? We're moving a few inches." He hung up and put his phone in his pocket again.

"Women, right?" He snorted.

"Was that your wife?"

"What? No, no way kid. Do I look like the kind of man to settle down?" He looked annoyed at Akira "You need to watch what you say kid, you're being a little presumptuous." That had seemed to set him off a bit. He turned the radio up a little and watched the road some more. A painfully awkward silence filled the car. This continued on for nearly half an hour as they inched forward, barely making any progress.

Jeez, that was a sore spot. Akira thought as he looked out the window and spotted a subway entrance, "Uh." He cleared his throat "I think I'm going to go take the subway home. I need to go get some reading done. Might as well get a lay of the land too"

"Yeah, you do that." Sojiro still seemed miffed about the wife statement. Akira grabbed his small backpack with 'Shujin' printed on the back he had been given and left. What a weird man. He had been so kind to him that morning too. It hurt a little that Sojiro was so upset at him, but Akira steeled himself. He knew that people wouldn't like him coming in, he shouldn't have let his guard down so quickly.

The subway station was within walking distance and soon he was on his way to his new home.

Akira made it back quickly and put his bags upstairs. He quickly changed into his one pair of workout clothes, his only pair of workout clothes, a ratty pair of basketball shorts and a simple white T-shirt, and went for a run.

A quick jog found him in a park nearby. There was a medium sized pond in the center and a trail around it. It was rather empty at this time of the day so he began to make his way around the pond.

He thought back over the past two days. The hell of his last year was over. He had been released from the prison he thought he might never escape. But was life any better now? Well, yeah it was, people didn't like him but he wasn't in jail.

But, in juvie he knew who hated and who only tolerated him. It was easier to understand and predict, you could judge people at face value. Here? It was a lot more confusing. It seemed like everyone was both. Maybe he was giving everyone too much credit, maybe they only hated him. He had too much hope coming out of juvie, he should have expected this much resistance rather than the blind hope he had had. He wiped at his eyes as he thought about it. It was making him mad. What might discourage and sadden others, seemed to only make him angrier. This was something that had grown over the past year. His rage was something quick and seemed to almost consume him from time to time. He had to get back to running to burn it off.

He wanted to explode so many times that day. Just tell someone, anyone, to stop looking at him like he was about to kill them. He really needed to move more before he did something he would regret. He didn't want to yell at Sojiro and be back in Juvie before even two days had gone by. He started to sprint at the thought.

Everyone saw him as a criminal. Not a single person so far had expressed even a single desire to have him around. Sojiro tried, but that was still confusing, why even try if he actually didn't like him? But he was ready for this now. He knew this would happen. All he had to do was keep his head down and not bother anyone.

He knew who he was now though. Some resistance wasn't going to change him, he would keep his head down for a year, but it wouldn't break him. He was stronger than that. He wouldn't cry, he never would again. He wouldn't stop trying to be him, he wouldn't become someone his grandfather would look down on.

He picked up his pace more somehow. At least, he thought, next time he was going to save someone, he was going to be sure he didn't get caught, and he was going to make sure the other guy didn't get back up after being knocked down.

When he made it back Sojiro was waiting outside scrolling on his phone.

"Boss?" Akira questioned as he walked up.

He seemed a little startled before he answered, "Kid, god you need a shower." He pinched his nose, "I forgot to give this to you when you left. Me and Sae need you to write in this every day to give us an update on what you've been doing." He handed over a small diary which Akira pocketed.

Sojiro looked hesitant for a moment, "Sorry about earlier," He breathed out "I overreacted. I'll tell you about the other person on the phone eventually. I'm heading home, I'll see you later. You're in charge of getting to school tomorrow so don't forget. Don't leave the cafe." He backed away and walked down the road. Akira shouted his thanks and goodbye as he entered the cafe.

Sojiro had just made everything even more confusing. Sighing, he made his way upstairs. A quick shower and he was ready for bed. His pajamas were a simple set of cotton long shorts, it was too hot for a shirt and he didn't even have a good one. It was only a few moments before he was asleep.

A/N Hello! Thank you for reading! This is my very first story I've ever published, so I apologize for any new writing errors or simple things. I've always wanted to write a fanfiction but I never had the guts or storyline set out really, but I got a spark when I played Persona 5 and came up with this story.

Basically, this will be a retelling of the main story, with a large amount of differences. I want to redo the whole thing with the premise of Akira actually went to Juvie for a year before the story began, and then he began his probation. So, the assault took place a year before it did in canon and had wild implications. This story will deal with an Akira who had been in prison for a year, dealing with all of that, before even beginning at Shujin.

I plan on changing up a lot of the main story. Confidant storylines will change, being moved up or moved back, the routes they take will change up a bit too. I don't want to just rewrite the game, the most boring parts to write are the parts I already know but have to be done that way for storyline purposes, I really want to tell new stories and have new moments between characters.

There will be a lot more phantom thief interaction as well. I didn't like how little they hung out in the games, so expect a lot more hang out sessions and friendships to develop throughout the series. New group plans have already been planned out with many more in the works. A lot of scenes of the thieves being teenagers and not just phantom thieves are being planned.

The pairing, which I'm sure a lot of people want to know, is still up in the air. I want to write the series out and see who has the most chemistry and go from there. The game has a lot of flirting and romance and I hope to translate a lot of that to this series.

There will also be a lot more intense moments in this series, it will be more violent in the real world than it was in the game. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to have more real-world confrontations and actions.

I do have to thank some other writers who have given me a lot of inspiration Crimson by Dowdz made me think I could write a fanfiction too. His story really gave me the feeling that I should try too. Persona 5: Trials of the trickster by Black Fuego Rio also made me think about having Akira live with Sae and what that would do. Both really got me into Persona 5 fanfiction, so go give them a look!

Fanfiction doesn't give you many options for character listings, a max of 4. There's too many characters in this story to try to say which are the most important at the moment so I'm going to leave it with just the protagonist. The story will be a lot of genres so I'm going to keep it as General.

Overall, I'm very excited to write this story and I hope you're excited to read it. I don't have a timeline set for updates but I want to try for one a week or so. So please review and tell me what you think! I have high hopes for this series.