A/N:

Welcome...to the Velvet Room...nah, I'm just messin'! Welcome to this new story, based on Persona 5. Yeah, I've been trying to continue my magnum opus, my Ever After High story. But after writing 100 chapters straight, I burned out...so I literally have no ideas for it. I hate to do it, I really do, but I'm going to take a break from the series for a bit and work on this.

I've been meaning to write a Persona story for awhile, I wanted to write a Persona 4 story but I never got a good plot. Persona 5 was a wonderful game, I've played it a few times already, I'm on like my fifth play through, I lost track really, hehe. But I'm not gonna start at the beginning like most others...well I am, but not the Kamoshida stuff...I'm gonna try to make this my own while following the plot of Persona 5 as best as I can. This is my first time writing something like this, so bear with me here. It may sound a bit cheesy, but I will be including some stuff that will extend Persona 5's story a bit. The main character is a failed actor, who's father ruined his career because he wanted him to take up the family business instead of acting. This story starts after Madarame's change of heart, but before Kaneshiro's change of heart. It will feature some new characters among the main cast.

Since in my play through, I didn't do the Tower or Sun confidants, don't know how I missed them, but I did, I will be making my oc, Takumi, Ren Amammiya's Tower Arcana. He will still get the gun benefits from him. As for the Sun Arcana, well I'm not sure. I will have Takumi have his own confidants, but he isn't a Fool like Ren, he will still be the Tower Arcana, but he will have his own confidants. After all, the Phantom Thieves need a lot of help for the stuff that they do, so it makes sense to have a wide circle of friends they can trust, Ren himself can't do everything, even though he is Joker. You'll all see the people Takumi befriends, though half of them are the same people and Arcana that Ren will get, so only a few people will be different than the ones that Takumi will meet.

Takumi is actually related to someone from a past game, you'll know who when you read his last name. As an actor, he is well acquainted with a few people, which will be making a cameo, or might even become a mainstay in the story, I haven't decided yet. So I do hope you all look forward to this story, updates will be sporadic, as I am working on an original plot before the game's actual plot starts to kick in. I heard, that in April, the P5 anime is supposed to start airing, so I get to finally hear Joker's suave voice. I can't wait to see the best waifu ever Futaba finally get animated, for all those who like Makoto, fuck you, fite me! Though it would be great if Cherami Leigh reprises her role in the eventual dub...but still fite me!

Well, I'll see you in the next update, let me know in the trust review section what you think, and if you wish to insult me for some reason, feel free to do so, that only serves to motivate me further...also what do you think? Do you think Haru is a closet sadist? I think she is...I might use that in this story actually...hmm...

Persona 5

Codename: Songbird

Chapter 1

The Beginning

Date: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Location: Unknown

Threat Level: 100%

xxx(Take Your Time)xxx

He licked his lips as he peered through the scope of his rifle, firmly pressed against his shoulder. The far off sound of choppers were starting to come closer and closer. Though everyone's nerves were through the roof, he had been rather calm about everything. He had to be, after all if his aim was off even a fraction of an inch, it could alert everyone to his location, and he didn't want that to happen. It had happened once to him already, and that was something he didn't want to live through. He had plenty of ammunition, a steel sword on his back and two handguns at his hips. But even then one could never be too cautious, especially when exploring someone's palace. From beside him, he could hear the feverish typing of one of his cohorts, a young woman who's code name was Oracle. Her eyes were scanning the holographic screens floating in front of her, checking on every live feed around them, constantly pouring in from the Casino that they had infiltrated.

Beside them was another one of his cohorts, a young man named Fox though his friend Oracle called him Inari whenever she was annoyed. He was rather tense, especially after what had happened. After getting the briefcase that they had found deep within the casino they were at, they had been forced to evacuate. They had been separated from the sheer amount of guards that had showed up, all of them dressed in fancy suits, bearing firearms that could do quite a lot of damage. Fox was always the calmest one of the group, most times thinking with a level head. His skills were as sharp and as deadly as his katana, which he was holding in his hand, ready to be drawn at a moments notice. The three of them were in a high balcony, hiding in the shadows trying to find an exit. There were several guards on the floor below, the only exit being a door on the other side. And while normally taking a leap of faith would have been good, with all of the Slot machines and other casino games between them and the window, and all of the guards currently searching for them, they had no exact route outside.

"What are the odds of this? Do you believe it was planned?" Fox asked smoothly, causing the brown haired boy to look at him, his hold on his rifle loosening a bit.

"Like what? Someone ratted us out? I doubt it. That Shadow probably prepared for this...it's a casino after all. In a place with literally millions being tossed around, it makes sense for there to be high security. Still, there wasn't that much security when we took down Shimizu." he replied.

"I can't think straight with all of these alarms! Queen, status report?" Oracle called out, tapping a finger on her custom made headset. She had gone out of her way to create special com devices for their infiltrations, and they had been quite helpful to them. The young woman on the other line sighed, he could almost picture the look on her masked face.

"I should be asking you that question. Our status is just as yours, Joker is on his own, I'm with Noir and Mona. Panther and Skull are together, I'm not sure where Crow went."

"Great, just what we needed. Oracle is going to plan a route to your location, remain in place and we'll meet up soon. Panther, Skull do you still have the briefcase?" the brown haired boy called out.

"Yes, you actually think I would drop it? You know Panther would beat my ass if I did."

"Don't worry Songbird, we've it secured. The crowd down here is riled up, I think it was because of Joker."

"Sorry, I saw my chance to taunt the guards and I took it." the smooth voice of their leader said, causing them all to laugh.

"Leave it to you to show off to the crowd Joker. I gotta say, it was a brilliant move. It's lowered security in all the other areas." Mona said, an almost playful tone in his voice.

"Uh oh, we've got company." Fox said, drawing his sword as the door beside them opened. He drew his katana, faster than a bolt of lightning, slicing the guard apart. Just as quickly, it morphed into its true form, a shadow. Songbird lowered his rifle, resting it against the railing of the balcony they were at, drawing his steel sword, taking the shadow on the left. With a nod, he and Fox moved forward, attacking them methodically. They both burst into smoke shortly after, earning a sigh of relief from them.

"Songbird, if you wanna make a break for it, now is your chance." Oracle said, earning a nod from the young man, who slipped his sword back into his scabbard. He grabbed his rifle, once again taking aim at the farthest guard. He smirked as he lined his shot.

"I got one, right in my pocket!" he said, squeezing the trigger. The silenced pop of his gun filled their ears as the high powered round flew through the air, hitting the Guard through the temple. He pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent casing. Quickly lining his next shot, he took out a second guard, then a third, and a forth. With his last bullet, he took out the final guard, clearing the floor beneath them. He popped the magazine out, placing it inside his pocket.

"I still can't believe pellet guns shoot real bullets in places like this. It's really rather amazing."

"Yeah, whatever. It's time to skedaddle, our stealth skills aren't that highly leveled yet. We'll be found in no time!" Oracle cried. Fox took point, keeping a firm hold of his assault rifle as they moved through the floor, racing toward the other window.

"Alright Joker, Get Moving. We'll handle everything on our end!" Queen said firmly.

"Alright, the enemy's focus is on him. Looks like we can slip away!" Oracle said, glancing at the phone in her hands, which showed her where the higher concentration of enemies was.

"You all remember where we're meeting up right?" a meek voice said, causing almost all of them to nod.

"Yup, now we just gotta get from point A to point B." Songbird said, opening the door, their only exit. They moved down the stairs, reaching another hallway. They silently crept through it, reaching a locked door. Oracle pointed to the air vent on the high wall, and Fox reached for it, being the taller of the two. He pulled it with ease, helping Oracle up into it.

"You better not stare at my butt Inari, or I'll swear I'll use my Ult all over your face."

"Pardon me Oracle, but we don't have much breathing room in here. I suppose I can just look at the shaft itself."

"Hehe, shaft."

"God Songbird, you are such a perv!"

"You love me anyway Panther. You probably enjoy the sound of my heavy breathing whenever I line up my shots."

"Hey, don't get weird. We gotta stay focused!"

"Yeah yeah, you can ride my ass later Mona." the boy said, slipping into the vent after Fox. They continued moving through it, heading downward instead of upward as they had been expecting.

Oracle had somehow managed to turn herself around in the vent, and used all of her strength to kick the grating. It flew forward, hitting the side wall with a band, causing her to quickly move out of the vent. Songbird and Fox quickly drew their weapons, taking aim at both sides of the hallway, their aim trained on wither side. Oracle took that chance to scan the area, quickly telling them they were clear of enemies. Finding the nearest exit, Songbird took the lead, keeping his silenced pistols raised in case he needed to shoot.

"Enemy Spotted." Joker said, causing Oracle to stop.

"Hang on, checking power levels...no threat detected, take'em down Joker!" she cried cheerfully. Songbird held his hand over his com, listening to the slashing of Joker's knife as he easily took down his enemy.

"Arsene! Eiha!"

"Tch...leave it to him to show off."

"Hey, he is our trump card after all." Queen uttered, causing the boy to roll his eyes.

"Everyone, I finally got this thing to work right."

"Crow! What the hell happened to you? We lost contact after we left the Treasure Room!" Oracle cried.

"My apologies...some of the guards here are trained with interference devices. I couldn't get a good signal until I had gotten away. I passed by the Entrance Hall earlier, the place is packed to the brim."

"Ugh...that's just how it is. After all of the commotion, it's obvious the main entrance would be blocked. Joker, are you sure you can handle this?" Songbird asked, earning a chuckle from the teen.

"I can handle it. You and I both know I'm the stealthier one of the two, I didn't get caught with Risette's panties in my hand."

Everyone started laughing through the com devices, causing Songbird to flush, in both embarrassment and anger. He growled angrily, almost wanting to sock his friend in the face. They reached a hallway near a control room, seeing several officers within. He pressed himself against the side of the wall, a frown on his face.

"I'm gonna get you back for that one, you rat bastard. Just you wait." he said, hissing his threat through his speaker. Joker's chuckle only served to egg him on. He dashed toward a large crate, using the shadows to blend in.

"Uh oh, enemies. Stay to the shadows." Oracle said softly. Songbird reached for a Stealthinol Grenade, keeping his hand wrapped around it in case he needed it. The guards ran past them into the opposite hall.

"Intruders...detected...upper hall..."

"Looks like they're talking about Joker." Fox muttered, once they had slipped past the doors.

"Joker, quick get through the doors!" Oracle commanded, her eyes firmly on her screen. She watched as their leader burst through the door, the suave leader of the Phantom Thieves reached a balcony above the entrance hall, seeing it was filled with guards and patrons, all of them looking scared.

"Fuck, there's a lot more of them then I thought." Songbird muttered.

"It's as I said...I managed to get away unscathed, but I'm not sure if Joker will be able to make it." Crow said, causing the black haired man to chuckle.

"You haven't been with us long enough Crow. Trust me, I can handle it...everyone else, get out while you still can. We'll meet up later."

"Alright, be safe Joker. Everyone, we're pulling out." Queen said firmly. Songbird took a breath, only for Panther's voice to cut through the line.

"I swear to god, if you make another fucking joke, I am going to whip you until you cry uncle!"

"See, this is why I call you Dominatrix. You got the spandex and the whip, with that attitude, you will charm any man who ever lays their eyes on you."

"Dude, have you got an effing death wish?"

"I like to try my luck Skull, you know how my RNG works." Songbird said, earning a giggle from Oracle.

"Freeze, don't move!"

"There's nowhere to run! Give it up!"

Joker just gave them a smirk, flipping onto the railing. He started running across it, with trained skills. His coattails billowed behind him as he ran, the soft clacking of his winkle pickers hitting the wooden railing. He moved toward the stained glass window, a smirk on his face.

"That's your exit? Are you insane?"

"Just a little." the boy replied. Before he did, he stopped in front of the guards, almost bowing. If he had a top hat, he likely would have taken it off. With one trained jump, the boy burst through the glass, flipping through the air elegantly, the soft glow of the moonlight hitting his mask.

"Tch...what a show off." Oracle muttered dryly.

"You are so wreckless, you know that?" Panther's worried voice called, earning a soft laugh from the boy.

"I try."

He landed gracefully on the floor, glass shards falling all around him. He looked around, smirking a bit as he was planning to run, only for him to be blinded by hundreds of lights. He was surrounded, hundreds of police officers were trained on him, blocking all possible escape routes.

"Enemies, here?"

"He's surrounded!"

"Joker's got this!"

Joker moved toward the nearby fire escape, avoiding the gun toting officers as he jumped up, giving them a grin as he started climbing up the ladder. As he reached the top, he was met with even more police officers. He let out a sigh, bowing his head in defeat.

"Aw, Crap."

Just like that, the officer struck him in the face with the butt of his gun. Joker fell to the ground rather roughly, all of the officers converged on his location. He was apprehended, his hands being placed behind his back, as the Chief of Police walked toward him, a smirk on his face.

"Tch...I can't believe the leader of the Phantom Thieves is just some stupid kid. You have your teammate to thank, you were sold out."

Joker's look of surprise made the man smirk. He told the other officer to cuff him, it wasn't the first time he felt the cold steel of handcuffs wrapping around his wrists. He struggled against his captives, trying to break free, only for an officer to slam a shotgun stock to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"Joker!"

"There's nothing we can do Songbird, those are real officers. We gotta go." Fox said, grabbing a hold of his arm. Songbird growled, following after Oracle and Fox, heading toward the opposite side of the Casino.

Due to Joker's capture, all of the officers had moved in that direction, making it easier to leave the Casino. Songbird burst through the door, almost falling to the ground over the fire escape.

He jumped down first, holding his arms out to catch Oracle, setting her to the ground. Fox joined them after, aiming his rifle in all directions, in case the shadows were around. They broke into a sprint up the street, heading in the opposite direction of the casino. As they did, the rest of their friends joined them, all of them running for their lives. Songbird paused momentarily, the flashing blue and red lights in the distance being the only remainder of their friend, who was taken into custody. Panther took a hold of his arm, giving him a small smile, with a nod the boy started running once more, being forced to leave his close friend and leader behind.

As he ran, he couldn't help but to think back to how it all started, at least for him. The Phantom Thieves had already formed when he had first arrived in Japan. They weren't as popular as they are now. It was all the way back, in the early part of the year, June 1st. It was the day he realized how twisted society could truly be.

xxx(Take Your Time)xxx

Wednesday June 1st 20XX

Daytime

Location: Shibuya Station

xxx

He sighed as he leaned against the wall. He was currently in Shibuya, after his long flight from the United States of America to Japan. He had spent some time over there with his father, in the city of Los Angeles. In fact, it had been an entire year since he had gone to live with his father. It had started out mostly because he had been offered a part in an American Sitcom. Since he was half American, he knew English, and he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to be in American television. It hadn't been what he had expected, the script wasn't good, the show wasn't funny and in the end, they only filmed a thirteen episode season which wasn't even picked up by a Network. He was still payed sure, but since it was aired on Netflix instead of on television, his pay wasn't as big as he had thought it would be. He had been forced to spend his time with his father, being schooled by a tutor.

It wasn't that he hated his father, he just didn't see eye to eye with him. The man was, for lack of a better term, a man whore. He dated frivolously, and used his money to attract women. During his life, since his mother had passed away, he had dated several women. The first and only love of his life, had been a woman named Rika. He had met his wife in Japan and had fallen in love with her. She had just gotten out of an abusive relationship with her previous boyfriend and wanted to leave the country on the first plane out. His father, Takarou, had taken her out on the town, and they had fallen head over heels in love. When he said he lived in America, she begged for him to take her there, and he did. They got married weeks afterwards, and as it turned out, Rika had been pregnant but from her previous boyfriend.

She had given birth to a beautiful girl, which Takarou raised as his daughter. But he had thought she had cheated on him, and divorced her after three years. Rika had been broken hearted, and moved back to Japan to raise her daughter in her homeland, though legally she still shared Takarou's last name due to their marriage, so that her daughter didn't live without a father, even though he was never in her life. It was then that Takarou met his second wife, another Japanese woman named Naotaro, who was his mother. He had always said she had been the true love of his life, and between them, he, Takumi, had been born. But at the age of six, his mother had gone out grocery shopping and had been in an accident, that had cost her, her life. Takarou never recovered from her loss. It was why he had become so strict with his only son, the heir to his company.

He had always wanted to teach his son about business, but Takumi himself didn't want that. He wanted to be an actor, so with the help of his grandmother, he had gotten a minor role in a Japanese sitcom, and he had been a hit. After his popularity, companies from all over had wanted a piece of the young actor, and he had been in everything, from movies, to television shows, he even had his own anime characters, voiced entirely by him. He had been happy, his father had not...he had done something horrible to his son. He had used his money to hire someone, that would ruin his career, and just as he had hit his peak, he had fallen straight to the ground. No one wanted to hire him, and just like that, his fifteen minutes of glamour were over. Now, he was just known as that boy who was famous back in 2012, but is a total loser now. The scandal was, that he used Steroids and various other drugs whenever he filmed action movies.

It had been proven wrong, but the doctors were bought by his father, so even they did what they could to ruin his career. His grandmother and manager knew he was innocent of this, and they tried to get him new roles, but that didn't happen. His grandmother passed away in 2014, and in 2015, he had quit acting all together, dismissing his manager, who was sad to see him go. He still loved to act, and would perform in plays whenever he could. But it wasn't until last year, in 2016 that he got a role in that sitcom and was forced to move in with his father in America. It hadn't been the best time of his life...but now, he was back in Japan, hoping to put everything behind him, and start fresh. If Risette could rise to stardom after a year of hiatus, then he definitely could reclaim his acting career. He just had to work for it. But since he was still a minor, he had to have a guardian. His father Takarou didn't trust his sister, or her mother Rika. So instead he sent him to Shibuya, to meet one of his previous step-mothers, a sweet woman named Billerica, who had been his step-mother after his mother Naotaro passed away.

He is a young man with spiky black hair, sunkissed skin with crimson colored eyes. He is a pretty tall young man, standing at five feet, nine inches in height. He has an average build, with a lean body from the time he spends skateboarding. He was wearing a black tee shirt with the words "Get Bent" on the front. He wore a pair of tight fitting dark blue jeans, with Converse Sneakers. Around his belt loop, he has a silver chain, attached to his Legend of Zelda wallet. He was wearing a pair of bright green Beats around his neck, attached to his Sky blue Galaxy S8. He has a boyish face, with thin brows, through his most alluring feature was definitely his eyes, a trait that was recessive in his family. Not a lot of people in the world actually had eyes like him, so he was quite lucky to have them. He was currently watching a news report that had happened a few days prior to his arrival.

"The Court Trial for the famous artist Ichiryusai Madarame has already been set. As you all know, he was set to have an art exhibition in Ueno this week, but in a surprising twist, during the unveiling of his latest master piece, he had a sudden change of heart. He admitted to abusing his pupils, stealing their art and claiming it as his own, as well as replicating several paintings and selling them for profit. But the biggest scandal was behind the famous painting "Sayori" which he admitted, wasn't even his own. He has been arrested for his crimes and will be sentenced soon. This, comes after the arrest of Olympic Medalist, Suguru Kamoshida, who was arrested for abusing the students of Shujin Academy, and sexually assaulting several female students from the school's volleyball team."

"Jesus Christ, what the hell is this world coming too? Are kids just people's playthings nowadays?" Takumi muttered, turning off the news report. He decided to check his Chat ID, to see if he had gotten a message from Erica, who was set to pick him up from the Station.

"Hey, is that him?"

"It looks like him, but I'm not sure. He looks different."

"No, it's definitely him. He was in that movie with Risette, Fleeting Angel! It is totally him!"

Takumi sighed, trying to ignore the people speaking around him. He didn't mind it, since he was once a famous child actor in Japan. But most of the comments nowadays were about his career and how he took a nose dive. He had hit the ground flying, and left a crater on the ground, which was then filled in with nothing but rumors. 2013 was just that, people talking rumors about him all over the place. Social media, the news, magazines, newspapers. It was why he couldn't land a single serious role, aside from minor roles in anime that were so obscure, only Hikikomoris would watch. Recently, he had been in the news, because of the sitcom he had done in America, which was called New Age. It was a futuristic setting, based mostly on the Jetsons, just a futuristic family dealing with problems and wondering if time traveling to the past was worth it. The premise was, the future was so easy to live in, that it wasn't fun, so the dad built a time machine and went back to the year 2016, to live in an era without technology, and them struggling to fit in. But, it never caught on, so it was just a flop, just like every other thing he had been in.

"Come on Erica...hurry up!" he thought to himself, sifting through his old chats.

"Um excuse me...are you perhaps Takumi Mashita?" a young girl, about fourteen years of age asked. The boy glanced up, his ruby eyes locking with her bright green ones. He sighed inwardly, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"That's me, is there something I can do for you?" he asked politely, lowering himself a bit so that he was more at her level.

"I um...would you sign this for me?" she asked, handing him a small notepad and a pen. He rolled his eyes, opening the cover, clicking the pen.

"Who should I make this out too?"

"Huh? Oh my name right...it's Hana."

"Alright then. So Hana, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you like about my acting? The movies? The shows?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, my brother is an otaku. He loves anime, so we always watch Captain Mars, he said you nailed everything perfectly. I'm inclined to agree." she said happily. He smiled a bit as he finished writing his message on the pad, handing it to the girl.

"Well, I'm happy you loved my performance. Captain Mars was one of my favorite mangas during that time. So I channeled all of my reading into that. It's a bit of an obscure anime though, still I'm glad you liked it!" he said. The girl grinned, wrapping her arm around the boy, snapping a selfie with her phone.

"My friends are gonna be so jealous! Thank you so much!" she cried, running off just as fast as she had showed up. Takumi smiled a bit.

"Well...I guess even after all the crap I've been through, there are still die hard fans. I'm glad, though that girl wasn't that much younger than I am...what kind of anime is she even watching to run into Captain Mars though?" he thought to himself. His phone started ringing, the ringtone coming out of his headphones. He swiped the screen, pulling them from the jack as he held it up to his ear.

"Takumi-kun, are you in Shibuya yet?"

"Mom, I've been waiting for like an hour. I'm in the Underground Mall."

"Okay, just get to the Square, we're near the Teikyu Building. Do you know where the statue of the dog is? We're right around there."

"Uh...alright then, I'll see you soon." he said, hanging up the call.

He grabbed a hold of his suitcase, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Once he had placed his headphones back in his phone, and put the device in his pocket, he started walking toward Shibuya Square.

It had been awhile since he had actually been in Japan. Though he still remembered his way around Tokyo. He was eager to head back to his old hangout in Akihabara, since he was an anime geek. He just loved spending time with his friends off set watching it. After all, if you were gonna be voicing in an anime, you may as well delve into the genre. He had several favorite series he liked keeping up with, and loved finding doujinshi as well. There were other places he liked to hangout at, Inokashira Park being one of them, along with some shops in Ikebukuro, the Ueno Art Museum, and Dome Town, even the Sky Tower in Asakusa. He had been almost everywhere in the Japanese capital.

As he walked toward the nearby escalators, he couldn't help but feel a sharp twinge of pain in his head. He looked around for a second, seeing everything distort for a fraction of a second. He blinked a few times, and everything returned to normal. He shook his head a bit, choking it up to the long flight he had, and continued walking up the stairs, almost regretting not taking the escalator. As he finally left the Underground Mall, he was assaulted by the piercing rays of the sun, striking him right in the face. He blinked a few times, eyes widening at the sheer volume of people walking around. Central Street was the biggest place in Shibuya, smack in the center of the city, and had the most foot traffic. In fact, the vehicle traffic was bad due to all of the people that cut across the street. He continued walking, dragging his suitcase behind him, passing by a large billboard.

He stopped when he saw exactly who was on it. It depicted a beautiful young woman, with copper colored hair, tied up into twin tails. She had a beautiful face, with fair colored skin, a small button nose and full pink lips. Her head was bowed slightly with her eyes closed, and she was wearing a brilliant sapphire blue sequin dress, showing off quite a lot of her shoulders and her cleavage. On the bottom of the poster, the name Risette could be seen, the top had the name Sapphire on it. He smiled a bit, seeing the small release window on the bottom.

"So, she finally finished her album. She was rather excited about it too, wonder how she's doing?" he thought, almost considering texting the idol, though he figured she was most likely busy.

"Aha! There you are, you thought you could hide from me eh? You little sneak!"

Takumi looked away from the billboard, seeing a familiar woman standing nearby, holding an umbrella in her hands, using it to shield herself from the sun. Erica's smile was ever present, and she moved her umbrella a bit to give the boy a hug, which he happily returned. He looked her over, seeing she hadn't changed much from the last time he had seen her.

She had the same bright colored eyes as her, and the same soft features. Her hair was far longer and a darker tone of violet, which seemed to shine in the sunlight. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, which was a bit low cut, exposing a bit of her cleavage. She was wearing a pair of jeans, which were a faded blue color, and wore a leather belt around her waist. She wore a pair of leather cowboy boots, which had a slight heel to them, and had a horse stitched to the sides of it. He noticed she was wearing a thin gold necklace around her neck, with a small silver coin as a charm, though he didn't see anything special about it, other than a weird cross. Even then, she hadn't changed much from the woman he had once called mom.

She had been one of his father's many wives, the only person he called mom in the past, but just as long as he had gotten used to her being around, his father cast her away. He had been extremely mad at that, and had started hating his father from that moment on. He recalled, only being nine when all of this happened, he also remembered she had a little girl named Ayumi, a daughter from another relationship. He was surprised he didn't see the young girl with him.

"I wasn't really trying to hide you know. So, where's Ayumi? I'm sure she would have been with you."

"Oh, she and Mitsuhide are at the arcade on Central Street. I figured I could let them have a little fun while I bore the grim task of finding you."

"Sheesh, you make it sound like I'm the worst thing that could have happened to you." he replied, a cross look on his face. She gave him a smirk, ruffling his hair a bit.

"I'm just teasing you son, you know I love you!"

Her demeanor hadn't changed at all either. Out of all of his step-mothers, Billerica, or just Erica as he called her, was the best one. She had taken to the boy, especially when she heard about what happened to his mother. She had treated him like a son, played games with him, ran around in the mud, and even let him sleep with her whenever he was scared. That's why it hit him hard when his father filed for divorce, and sent her away. The man wasn't even aware that he fathered a child with her, and as far as he knew, Erica wanted to keep it that way. He had met Ayumi before, when they had all lived together, but today would be the first time he would be meeting Mitsuhide, aside from hearing her voice over the phone, since she had always been too shy to video chat with him.

"I still can't believe that deadbeat father of yours did this to you. I knew he hated your career, but seriously, hiring people to lie so that you could be forced to live with him? It's total bullshit!"

"I know Mom, I know. But I've grown used to it, the last two years were total hell, the first was spent living with him, the second was mostly me being on site in Montana to film the show. But after it failed, I was back in LA, learning the tools of the trade as he named it. Why doesn't he just understand, that I'm not going to be a fucking businessman like him? Acting was the best part of my life, and he took it away from me." Takumi said with a frown, his hair falling over his eyes.

"Hmm...well, you'll be happy to know that I've gotten in touch with some people. The kind of people that know people, and these people know the right people to get you back in showbiz. Trust me, a lot of managers for Idols and Boybands come to my store for instrument repairs, so I was able to ask around."

"Really?"

"Mhmm...there's a director who's famous here in Japan, for making powerful dramatic romance movies. His name is Ryoutaro Shimizu, rumor has it, he wrote the script for a new movie, and is holding auditions in Akihabara in a few days. Since you don't have school, how about I take you there for you can try out?" she asked, giving him a grin.

"Of course! I'd love that mom, thank you!" he cried cheerfully, not caring if people around him were watching. She smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Alright then, my little man is going to soar into stardom again. Don't worry, I'll help you as much as I can. We all live in Shibuya, not far from the station here, so you'll be familiar with this area. Have you thought about heading to school?"

"I dunno...I mean if I'm gonna try out for a movie, then school will just get in the way."

"I know, but the filming is slated for the summer. One thing that makes Director Shimizu famous, is that he manages to put his movies together in as few takes as possible. He usually releases two movies a year because of this, so the time off you get for the summer should be enough to film it. And since his movies are always critically acclaimed, you will definitely get attention. Maybe what your father did will finally fucking die."

"Yeah...alright, any good schools around here?" he asked curiously. They came to a stop at the crosswalk, waiting for all of the cars to zoom past them.

"Well, there are two that you might be interested in, Kosai Academy, and Shujin Academy. Shujin is closer though, you can take a train to Aoyama-Itchome and be there in about fifteen minutes. There's uh...been a lot of drama surrounding the school. Your little sister Ayumi is a Freshman there, and Mitsuhide is entering next year."

"Whoa what? Mitsuhide is gonna be in high school? But she's only nine!" the boy cried, his eyes widening a bit in surprise.

"Yes, I was quite surprised too. But it seems my little girl is actually a genius. She was able to complete all of the elementary school level material in the fourth grade. So they moved her to the sixth grade, and she's been in middle school since. She was able to get higher scores on the tests than anyone in her class. They are actually moving her to 10th grade, they say if she keeps going at that pace, she'll be a college graduate by the age of twelve."

"That's amazing...I'm so happy to have such an amazing little sister. Maybe I can teach her a thing or two about acting, she might actually like it." Takumi said, a look of pride on his face.

"I doubt it, she's an introvert, so she doesn't like big crowds. She also prefers books over movies, though she does read quite a lot of manga. You have that in common at least. Well, here we are, Shibuya's Central Street, and your local hub if your bored."

Spanning before him was the most popular area in Shibuya. Central Street boasted quite a lot of places, including a bookstore, a DVD rental place, and a Gigolo Arcade, which was always filled with teenagers. There was a Big Bang Burger, as well as a more humble diner for those who didn't want to get fat from taking a single bite out of a Big Bang Burger. There was a gym, as well as a small grocery store and clothing store. Finally, the biggest attraction was the ToYo Cinema, where most people went to watch movies. Takumi knew then, that he was definitely going to enjoy living in Shibuya. Of course, Central Street didn't beat Electric Town, but he was down with giving it a chance.

"Not bad, not like I remember it, that Big Bang Burger wasn't there before. They're freaking everywhere now, even in America."

"Okumura Foods is quite the big business here. Not on the level of your father's tech business, but still pretty up there. They're starting go international, you might be seeing this place knocking McDonald's down a few pegs. Anyway, let's go find your sisters." Erica said, happily leading the boy into the complex. Her phone started vibrating, rather loudly, causing her to stop. She pulled it from her back pocket, frowning when she saw the number.

"Hey, I gotta take this real quick. It's a buyer from my store, really important. Mind getting the girls for me? I'll watch your suitcase." she said, taking a hold of the sky blue case by his side.

"Uh...sure." he said, grabbing a hold of his bag. He watched her move toward the nearby diner, leaning up against the wall, looking quite distressed. He hoped nothing bad was happening to her store, he knew she loved it very much.

Gigolo Arcade was a lot bigger on the inside than he he remembered. He used to go to the one in Akihabara, but and to him it had seem so small. This one was at least twice as big as the one he was used to. The sound of retro games filled the air along with loud voices, gunshots and various other joyful sounds. This place was a local teenager hangout. He could see people wearing uniforms, most likely skipping school or off for the day. He saw one girl killing it on DDR, her movements so methodical that he doubted anyone could mimic her. As he continued walking, he kept his eyes peeled for his little sister Ayumi, as he had never seen Mitsuhide before. It wasn't long before he found her, playing at a claw machine, struggling to get the claw around a plush toy that had caught her interest. She carefully maneuvered the claw over the toy, hitting the red button.

"Come on, this is the fourth time, I got it this time!" she cried, watching the claw, wrap around the plush. She let out a groan when the toy fell out of the claws grasp, returning to it's starting position. She pressed her face against the glass, glaring at the toy.

"You know, glaring at it isn't going to make that claw snag it any quicker than you think." Takumi said, causing the girl to whirl around, her eyes becoming wide. She let out a gasp, hugging the older teenager.

"Big brother, you're finally here!" she cried, rather audibly. The boy bowed his head a bit, a flush on his face.

"Hey, isn't that the famous actor from that movie? What was it called? Angel's Lament or something?"

"Fleeting Angel you moron."

"I didn't know he had a little sister...she's so cute!"

"Nice on sis, I was trying to stay on the down low." he replied, ruffling her hair.

Ayumi was a girl around fourteen years of age, with long blackish purple hair. It was straight and fell down to her mid back, her long bangs were pulled back and held in place with white barrettes. She was wearing a long sleeved pink shirt, with a wide collar, showing off a bit of her shoulders. It had three stripes on the top half, and was decorated with bright yellow musical notes on the bottom of it. She was wearing a short blue pleated skirt, which reached down to her knees. She wore knee length black socks and pink high top sneakers.

She had grown quite a lot since the last time he had seen her. They used to play a lot as kids, climbing trees and running around the house. She had a game they liked to play, where he was Prince Charming, and she was the Damsel, and he would be forced to climb the tower, which was actually a tree, to rescue her. They had a lot of fun doing that, until she fell out of the tree and ended up breaking her wrist. From that moment on, they didn't really play that game anymore. It wasn't long until Takarou filed for divorce, and he didn't see her much anymore. Erica had moved back to Japan to start her music business, so their only form of communication was through video chat.

"Sorry big brother, I thought you weren't that famous anymore. I'm just happy to see you, but I would be a lot happier with that panda bear, but he's being a little stubborn." she said, her attention back to the small plush she was trying to get. Takumi rolled his eyes, pulling his wallet out of his pocket, grabbing some loose change from within. He slipped the two 100Y coins into the machine, getting control of the claw.

"This is a piece of cake. I used to get prizes all the time from how much I played this game." he said, slowly moving the claw above the panda bear. He narrowed his eyes a bit, making sure the claw was in place before hitting the button. Ayumi watched as the claw snagged a hold of the panda bear's head, pulling it up with it. It fell into the prize shoot a second later. The boy didn't stop, using his remaining credit to get a small bunny charm that was in the center of the machine.

"There we are." he said, pulling both prizes out of the prize chute. He handed the panda bear to Ayumi, who hugged it tightly.

"Thanks big brother, what's the charm for?" she asked curiously.

"A peace offering, where's Mitsuhide? I've been wanting to meet her forever now." he said. Ayumi smiled, taking a hold of his hand, pulling him toward some booths at the back. Ayumi knocked on the table top, pulling the girl out of her reading, her gaze trained on Takumi.

There was a young girl sitting at the booth, all by herself, being no older than nine years of age. She had the soft features of her mother, her ivory colored skin, which was slightly pale from being inside all the time. She had long black hair, resembling the same color as their father. She had bright crimson eyes, matching those of his father, he could see her judging look, that piercing gaze of uncertainty as she looked him over. She wore a white ribbon, which was tied into bows at the sides of her head, her bangs fell over her eyes, slightly shielding them from the light. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, which was a little too big for her, as it was covering her small hands entirely. She was wearing a pair of black jean shorts, with some black leggings underneath it, which were rolled up a bit, revealing part of her legs. She was wearing a pair of black shoes, the laces tied firmly and stuffed inside.

"She's beautiful, just like Erica said...but there's a lot of my father in there as well. I wasn't expecting her to have crimson eyes like me though, I thought that was a recessive trait?"

"Mitsu, this is Takumi. He's your older brother, remember how momma said he was gonna stay with us?"

"Indeed, I recall her making plans to throw a small party for him. Though I don't particularly agree with festivities, I think them to be quite boisterous. I would rather sit in my room, reading my books in the solemn peace and silence."

"You've got a mature way of speaking, I'm impressed."

"There are over a million words in our language. If I do not improve my vocabulary, then what would be the point? I wish to expand my mind. Having knowledge on our language and the vast uses of it in day to day conversation is something that I wish to master. Sadly, most imbeciles nowadays can't even comprehend the most basic of well structured sentences."

"Mitsuhide once read a dictionary when she was bored. She won her school's spelling bee and went to the regionals, but she didn't make it past that because some older students, who had more resources, ended up winning. Didja know? Mitsu is going to high school next term, we're going to be in the same class! Isn't that neat?" Ayumi asked.

"It is...I was impressed when Erica told me. You are a bright child Mitsuhide, don't let anyone beat you down because you are smart. Trust me, when I was little, I used to read a lot. My dad said that books would never help me become a businessman. But I just loved to read...how about you, do you love to read?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, I adore reading. I could curl up in my bed and read a book for hours on end, losing myself in the dreams and aspirations of the characters. Visiting the worlds behind those leather covers, they are the most precious things in my life. People underestimate me, because I'm young, but I will succeed in life. I wish to be a Philosophy teacher when I grow older, and at the rate I'm going, I might be teaching at the university level by the age of fourteen." she said, a happy look on her face.

"Keep at it then, here I got this for you. It's a little bunny charm for your phone, Ayumi told me you love bunnies. So I figured you'd like to have it." he said, handing her the small pink bunny charm he had won. She looked at it, pulling her cellphone from her pocket, attaching the charm to it.

"Whoa, is that a flip phone? Can I see it?" Takumi asked. The girl shyly handed the phone to him, and he looked it over.

"It's the latest model of flip phones from Samsung. It's all the rage now, this model is called the Galaxy Folder 2. I'm a little jealous of her, since my phone has a huge crack across the screen and I don't have money to fix it." Ayumi said, glancing at the phone. Takumi looked it over, seeing the metallic pink color scheme it had. It had a smooth surface on the front, along with a bright screen.

"It's pretty cool, really wished I had seen this before I dished out 800 dollars for my Galaxy S8." he replied, handing the girl her phone back. He felt his phone vibrate and quickly reached for it, seeing it was a text from Erica.

"Oh...mom's waiting for us outside, come on. We don't wanna make her wait for too long." he said. Mitsuhide jumped down to the floor, grabbing a hold of the book she had been reading, tucking it into her satchel. The two girls followed the boy toward the doors, as he did he started sifting through his Apps, seeing if he had any messages on Facebook or on Twitter, though he almost never answered those. He did however see a rather peculiar Application on his phone.

It was bright red, with an eye in the center, bearing black markings. It was the most ominous app he had ever seen in his life. It was just there, among the others he had on his phone, which aside from games, weren't much. He held his finger over it, dragging it to the trash.

"I must have randomly downloaded it during the last update. The Google Play Store loves doing that to me sometimes."

"So big brother, are you going to school? If so then you should come to Shujin! It's an okay school, despite what's been happening lately."

"What has been happening lately? Nothing serious right?"

"You haven't heard yet? There was an incident involving a teacher, a man named Suguru Kamoshida. To say he was a scumbag was an understatement. He was physically abusing the students of Shujin, sexualizing the girls. Even big sister wasn't spared from his wrath." Mitsuhide said, causing the boy to look at the older of the two.

"Is she serious?"

"Yes...I wanted to try out for the girls volleyball team, thinking it was going to be fun. But he told me I would never be good, and to make things worse, he spiked a volleyball into my ankle, spraining it so bad that I needed a cast for it. It pretty much ruined my chances of ever being on the team. I decided to try out for cheerleading when I was better, but he told the head cheerleader not to let me on. He...said a lot of mean things about me too." she said.

"What a scumbag piece of shit. I'm glad he got arrested then, the fucker."

"You can thank the Phantom Thieves of Hearts for that! They sent him a calling card one day, and soon after, he started confessing everything! He had sexually abused a girl from the second year, and she tried killing herself too. He said that he would atone for his sins, but then one of the older girls, Takamaki-san, totally called him out on it. She was so brave too, she's my idol!"

"You should be aware of this big brother. Ayumi tends to idolize a lot of people, she is quite aloof when it comes to it. In fact, ever since Kamoshida was arrested, she has been quite the active student. She always brings me books from the school library as well." Mitsuhide said, earning a smile from the boy.

"I think it's perfectly fine for people to have idols they like...I actually have two of them. But I'm keeping them a secret!"

"Aw, come on...tell me who they are? I probably know who they are anyway. I'm your little sister, so you have to tell me!" Ayumi cried.

"Maybe later...promise." he said. The three siblings made it outside, where Erica had been patiently waiting for them, a smile on her face. She was still holding her umbrella above her head, using it to block the sun.

"Alright, there are my beautiful children! Come on, it's time to head back home to help Takumi settle in. We'll be having Pizza right after."

"Yes! I totally love pizza, this is the best day ever."

"Sister, you say that every time mother purchases pizza for dinner. It tends to lose meaning whenever this happens." Mitsuhide said, earning a pout from her sister.

"You just say that because you hate pizza."

"I don't hate pizza."

"Yes you do, I call dibs on your slices!"

"You cannot! Calling "dibs" on anything is immoral and unfair to the parties involved. If you wish to attain ownership of my pizza, we shall hold a fair and just contest between the two of us. The winner will claim the uneaten morsels for themselves." the black haired, crimson eyed girl snapped, glaring at her sister.

"You are on! RoShamBo." the girl replied, holding her fist out.

Takumi rolled his eyes, knowing he was in for quite the interesting time. As he walked, he felt that sharp pain in his head again, a familiar distortion appearing around him. He blinked a few times, but the world remained unchanged. He frowned a bit as he tightened his hold on his suitcase, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Once is nothing out of the ordinary, twice is a coincidence...if it happens a third time...then something is going on...something weird."

"Come on big brother, let's play a game, I call dibs on your pizza too."

"Absolutely not! All I've had is airplane food for the last eighteen hours. I'm starving, and I'm not letting you eat my pizza!" he cried back, causing Erica to smile fondly at her kids. Despite Takumi not being her biological son, she treated him as such. She knew it was going to be a wonderful time having him around, she only hoped nothing bad happened to any of them.