Persona 5: Daywatch

Thursday, 9 June 2016
Early Morning
Aoyama-Itchome Station

Akira trotted up the stairs toward street level, salarymen and Shujin students choking the passage. The sound of hundreds of feet and dozens of hushed conversations echoed off the tiled walls.

A familiar stride fell into the mass of dark-haired Shujin students beside him. "Hey, Akira," Mishima said with an automatic nod before a yawn crawled out of his mouth. "You're a little early today." He paused to look down at the book in the transfer student's hand. "New novel?"

"Cook book, actually," Akira side-stepped and slipped the book into the side of his school satchel next to Morgana. "Everybody else already has family members to get them started on the tradition of cooking, so I've got to play catch up."

Mishima rubbed his neck. "That's dedicated. All I do is eggs or miso every morning." The crowd broke as they reached the street-level exit. "Speaking of dedicated, there have been a lot of thank-yous posted on the Phansite. A lot of people had the chance to repent thanks to what you all did."

Akira let a hesitant smile spread over his face. "I see you've been reading about Catholicism. I better step up or you'll leave me in the dust."

The wind howled as the latest train pulled up, so the two lined up to wait for an opening.

Thursday, 9 June 2016
Afternoon
Television Station, Studio Two

Holding the looped heavy cable in one hand, Akira paced from the technician at the industrial outlet and around the back of the flimsy audience seating to an enormous camera, letting out length as he walked. Another station crew leaned against the camera so bulky he wouldn't have been surprised to see it fitted between anti-air batteries on a battleship. He handed the end of the loop to the crew hand.

The transfer student heard Hashida-sensei before he saw the teacher step out of the halls. The teacher continued chatting with the station manager with a volume Akira associated with trying to talk over heavy traffic. Akira wondered if that was his equivalent of whispering. The teacher clapped his meaty hands together in a thunderous sound that hit the painted wood paneling intended to prevent echoes. Akira rolled his eyes but joined the students filling out a rectangular formation in front of the audience seating. Hashida looked over the assembled students with an inscrutable gaze for a moment before speaking in his usual bellowing tone, "The station manager tells me he is eager to see Shujin again for filming tomorrow. Excellent work, students. Acting Principal Takahashi has granted you leave without having to check back in at Shujin. Don't cause trouble." He swept his gaze over the assembly, everybody tense with eagerness to get going. "Dismissed!"

"Yes, Hashida-sensei!" the students shouted in concert before breaking up.

Akira couldn't see any grime on his hands, but felt it anyway and headed to the nearest bathroom to wash.

He spotted Ryuji heading to the sinks from the inside as the transfer student came from the outside. The track star whined, "Effin' slave labor is what this is." He fastened his pants and waved his hands under the faucet to get water running. "Yo, Akira."

Akira nodded to the track star and, seeing the side-to-side motions weren't triggering the faucets, tried up-and-down. Water flowed and he began scrubbing. "Truth. Serfdom never left Japan. The big-shots just wear suits and sit on corporate boards now." As they stepped out, the transfer student jerked a thumb back at the bathroom. "You at least feel better?"

Ryuji kicked at the linoleum floor. "Nah."

Ann rounded a corner, the pace of her rapid walk slowing. "Good, there you guys are." She came to a stop less than an arm's length away. "At least when I'm with a couple classmates the managers stop trying to ambush me for 'photo specials'. Like I don't know what that means."

Morgana popped out of the transfer student's satchel, paws gripping the shoulder. "Those fiends tried to take advantage of the maiden of the Phantom Thieves?"

Ryuji shot a smirk at the team leader. "Oof. Way to throw Makoto-senpai under the bus."

Morgana's blue eyes widened. "T-that's not what I meant!"

As if just to tease him, Ann flipped a voluminous pigtail off her shoulder. "At least tomorrow's just sitting in on a studio audience."

Akira straightened his long sleeves. "Since we don't have to check back in to Shujin, is there anything in the area to do? I'm starting to get a feel for Tokyo, but I've never been up here before."

Tail swishing as if he scored some victory, Morgana smirked. "You were gawking at that pancake place."

"I was not," Akira whined, about to launch into a counter before somebody wearing a beige peacoat dashed behind him and into the bathroom. The transfer student glanced back, then shook his head. "I guess some people don't get warning signals from their bladders. Anyway, how about that park in business town?"

Ann held a finger to her chin, those frosty blue eyes swiveling up for a moment. "Business… Oh! You're probably talking about the amusement park around Dome Town."

Ryuji brightened, straightening out of his usual slouch. "Oh, yeah! Ma took me to one of the baseball games in the stadium – the round part in the middle – the day we finished the move. Said she wanted to have good memories of our own in Tokyo."

Akira forced a mild smile over his face at the casual ease. How could Ryuji be so chill about a forced move? Even if it was his mother's decision, he knew he'd have very short and loud words to say about his father if he let the family situation get to that point. "I've never been to an amusement park before."

Ryuji's brown eyes widened and he slipped his hands out of his pockets. "Never? Dude, we gotta get you caught up on all the adrenaline-junkie bait in Dome Town." His eyes slid down to the team leader's and he let loose a smirk. "Tough luck, catboy." He held his hand flat about midway up his chest. "I don't think you make the height requirement."

Morgana's tail stood up, the end twitching, and his claws sank through the fabric. "I'll show you! Your heroic leader will conquer every one of those scary rides!"

Ryuji burst out laughing. "You don't go on rides to show how macho you are, you do 'em for the thrill of feelin' your body goin' fast as a train. The wind whippin' through your hair an' the harness tuggin' you left an' right like a baby in the hands of a British nanny."

Akira waved a hand in warding, his grey eyes flicking to the diminutive team leader's form on his shoulder. "Well skip that part. You almost threw up in my bag yesterday."

The men's room door swung open and the young man in the peacoat strode out. Now that he moved slower than a sprint, Akira had the chance to examine him. His fashionably shaggy brown hair lit a pang of jealousy and despite his run and just coming out of the bathroom, his crisp uniform was as immaculate down to the ironed creases in his dark trousers. He tugged dark brown gloves back over his hands, and his red eyes fell on the transfer student. "Ah, Amamiya-san. What a surprise to see you here." His gaze jumped to his teammates, flicking down to Ryuji's pants and Ann's skirt before coming back up to their eyes. "You three are Shujin students?"

Ryuji chuffed. "What's it to the Defective Detective?"

Ann pressed her palm against her face. "Ryuji."

Too late, Akechi drew himself to his full height. Not much taller than Ryuji, but his countenance flipped from a smile as wide and unwavering as any fake idol to a hot glower and tense shoulders. He took a sudden step forward, driving the track star back to the wall. "Then why don't you tell me how many court appearances you've made? How many hours you've spent filing legal motions? How many doors you've knocked on or social media feeds you've trawled for plutocrats no attorney would prosecute?"

Akira glanced between them, then took Ryuji's side, but left his focus on the track star. "Where do you know Akechi-san from?"

The dyed blond swallowed under the sudden ire of the red-eyed sentinel. "The chicks at ma's clinic always had the lobby tuned in whenever he's on TV."

Leaning against the wall, Akira slipped his hands in his pockets and looked to the red-eyed student detective. He pasted a goofy smile on and loosened his stance. "You never told me you were some kind of celebrity."

Akechi stepped back, rubbing the back of his head with a gloved hand, back to the faux-bashful smiles. "Oh, nothing grand. I've only appeared on television a couple times. It's necessary to put pressure on specific communities in the scientific, business, or judicial sectors."

Ann held a fist on her hip. "Well, whatever." She gestured her thumb towards the door. "C'mon country boy, you've got a whole new part of Tokyo to make memories in!"

Akechi's smile strained and he looked on. "You're very fortunate, you know. I had to skip lunch and breakfast, so a few pancakes would really hit the spot right now."

Eyebrows rising almost to his dyed, unkempt hair, Ryuji scratched his scalp. "Huh?"

A gurgle floated out from Akechi and the unofficial detective covered his stomach with a gloved hand. His wooden smile wavered, but held. "Well… I have briefings to attend and papers to file." He stepped between the others and disappeared down the hall to the studio offices.

Ann waited until he was gone before she turned an arched eyebrow to the transfer student. "Amamiya?"

Akira shrugged and flashed her a toothy grin. "You thought the only names I had were Kenny Dewit?"

Thursday, 9 June 2016
Late Afternoon
Dome Town

Akira and Ryuji left the roller coaster at a slow trot, the former helping the latter walk. Both glared at Ann when she came skipping out from behind them. Pop music pumped through the speakers with enough volume to drown out most of the conversations in the crowds, though the cohesive beat and melody felt like less an assault on Akira's ears than the cacophany in Shibuya Station.

Ann paused, and for a brief moment Akira noticed her hair didn't stand out against the bright colors of the amusement park structures. She flashed them an eager smile. "C'mon, guys. That was only the third ride. We've got more roller coasters to conquer!" She finished with a fist pump.

Ryuji took a seat on the bench next to Akira's bag, taking the look of commiseration from the team leader sitting inside it. "For real, my stomach's tryin' to send lunch back up."

Akira set himself down on the other side of the satchel. "Shouldn't have had three hot dogs as soon as you came."

Morgana shot a quick glare at the transfer student. "Don't provoke him when he's that green and looking right at me, Joker." He swung a worried look back on the dyed-blond.

Ann crossed her arms, thrusting her hip out to the side. The raise to her eyebrows drew a little away from the tension in her posture. "I just want to have a proper celebration for Kaneshiro's change of heart."

Morgana's ear twitched. "We should probably have Nightrider with us for that, Lady Ann."

She cringed, but the reminder gave Akira the thought to call her about it. A spasm shot through his neck as he pulled his phone out and he paused to rub the stricken spot. "When you said these rides were gonna be like getting shaken by a British nanny, I didn't think you meant straight up."

Ryuji pressed a hand over his stomach. "They ain't that bad. I just should'na ate right before."

When the team leader shot him a glare, Akira shrugged, then rubbed a muscle twinge. "Well, if we're going to celebrate, might as well have everyone here. Makoto-senpai earned it too." He tapped and listened to the phone ring.

And ring.

And ring. Akira shrugged and closed the call. "Busy."

Ann shrugged. "Think it's student council work?"

The eerie strings and wind instruments of David Arnold's theme for the Goa'uld resonated from his phone. Akira swiped to answer. "Wayne Deer, where can we deliver your sleigh?"

"Oh, come on. You just called!" Makoto said, her breath just a little quick even if she kept her volume hushed. "Is everything okay?"

Akira rubbed his neck, still feeling stabbing tension. "Social studies trip is finished. We're at Dome Town, and Ann brought up that we never did celebrate Kaneshiro's changed heart."

He could just hear Makoto's footsteps through the halls of Shujin. "Well, isn't Ann still holding onto the briefcase his treasure turned into?"

Akira looked up. "You sold that briefcase, right?"

Ryuji grinned, a lot of the green fading from his visage. "Oh, we hit jackpot with that thing. I talked my man into a hundred fidy."

Morgana shook his head, ears flapping against his skull for a moment. "So what was in it?"

Ann's face twisted into a frown. "Monopoly money with Kaneshiro's face on every note." One corner of her lips curled up as her azure eyes slid to Ryuji. "You should've seen the look on his face when the guy popped open the case and he thought it was full of legit cash."

Ryuji slumped, his color clearer but regret etched into every line. "Would've been enough for ten lifetimes of beef bowls."

Akira set his phone to speaker so he wouldn't have to relay conversation.

The sound of the door to the roof swinging closed clanged from the phone line. "After Kamoshida, it seemed like all of Shujin came alive like it was hiding in the dark before. The effects are even wider in Shibuya, partly because of all the other hearts we changed along the way."

Finger twirling through the tip of a pigtail, Ann gave a shallow smile. "That's true. If saving Shibuya was such a big deal, we'd better have a party to match."

Akira frowned, rubbing his teeth on his lower lip. "I'm not against celebrations, but I don't like big, extravagant productions. Maybe something none of us have done in a while? I keep hearing about good ramen places in Ogikubo."

Ryuji leaned against the concrete walls of the planter behind them. "Maaan, ramen's good but that's a once-a-month thing. We gotta make this somethin' special!"

"There's…what about a nice sushi place?" Makoto said, a strange guarded quality to her tone.

Morgana stood up, starts in his eyes. "What a spectacular suggestion from our newest member!" He closed his eyes, his tail still swishing back and forth. "Roe, tuna…"

Ryuji clutched his stomach. "Ugh. Please don' talk 'bout the food right now."

Makoto let out a small cough. "Oh, would sushi be a problem? I didn't know anybody had an allergy to fish or—"

"It's fine," Akira said, waving to dismiss the concern despite her not being able to see. "Ryuji just ate a bunch of food cart grub right before we went on a couple roller coasters. So when do we do this? We get off early tomorrow, too."

"Maybe you do," she said, the grump slipping out of her aloof tone. "Seniors are still in exams all day tomorrow, and there are more exams on Saturday so I'd rather make sure I have time set aside to study."

Ann let her hand down, her shoulders slumping. "I'm on a shoot Sunday afternoon."

Akira glanced from the model to runner. "Well, we do still have the rest of the day after classes on Saturday."

Ryuji shrugged.

Makoto's tone brightened. "I wouldn't mind a bit of break after school. I'll try not to wear out too much on exams, but I should be able to make it on Saturday."

Morgana purred. "Then it's decided. The Phantom Thieves will savor succulent sushi on Saturday."

Akira straightened his glasses. "I guess it's mostly decided. Keep an eye on the chat room tomorrow and we'll nail down the place."

"Right," Makoto said, sounding more chipper than before. "I'm going to be studying late tonight, so have a good evening." The line closed with a click.

Akira put his phone away and looked to the runner still looking just a little pale in the face. "You have nobody to blame but yourself for eating before getting on."

"More harping isn't going to take away his upset stomach," Morgana reproached. When Ann's eyes widened at the rebuke, he puffed out his chest. "Well, it's the responsibility of a leader to maintain the integrity of the team. Joking is okay, but we can't let things get too serious." He looked up at the runner. "But this isn't the first time you've done something physically… okay, maybe today wasn't dangerous, but risky when you didn't need to, Reaper. Joker has been reckless as long as I've known him, but I know why he does it. What are you trying to prove?"

Ryuji scratched his head. "Damn, dude. You just brought things straight from party town to downertown."

The small team leader glanced at Akira, his small blue eyes locked onto the transfer student's steel grey behind glasses. After a beat, Morgana glanced back to Ryuji. "Joker's gotten better after he started going to his church. I guess religion really helps some people. I just want to make sure you've got something like that too, Reaper. We've all seen embarrassing weaknesses of each other. The Phantom Thieves should be the one group of people you don't need to pose in front of. Our enemy has to be Shadows, not other humans."

Akira stood so he could speak with Ann in hushed tones without interrupting the others. "Hey, I almost forgot about Mishima. He helped us out a ton, you think you could bring him to the party?"

Ann jerked back, pink dusting her cheeks. "W-what?" She swallowed and straightened. "Oh, right. Uh…" She looked down. "I don't think so. He's still been avoiding me."

"Still?" Akira pushed up his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "Damn, I was going to talk to him but forgot between all the upset with Kaneshiro and the social studies trip. Sorry."

She shook her head, her shoulders still drooping and eyebrows drawn taught. "No, he's my friend. And he only sits, like, three seats away. I've had tons of chances to talk to him if I hadn't been too embarrassed."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck.

Before he could say anything, Ryuji cleared his throat. "So, uh, I'm gonna go 'round talkin' with Monamona." He gave a smile too wide, something too expectant in his eyes for comfort. "Peace out."

Morgana sat down in the runner's school satchel, held at his side. "I'll meet you at Leblanc. Don't you do anything to besmirch Lady Ann's honor."

"Morgana!" they both shouted, faces tinged with red.

Ryuji gave the transfer student a wink, then disappeared into the crowd.

Akira straightened his glasses. They had the wrong idea, but no reason not to put time to good use. "So… Everything going okay with you two? Or at least with you? I'm sorry I haven't really been there to help with things lately."

"No, everything's okay," she blurted. She clasped her hands behind her back. "Even besides your family hangups, I know you've got tons of stuff going on. I don't want to make any more trouble for you."

Most days and with most people he would have taken the out to leave on neutral terms. But Ann was with him almost since day one, and had a strong enough soul to leave Kamoshida alive to repent. "Ann… I'll drop it if you want, but… neither of us have a lot of people to go to. You backed me up with Kamoshida and Kaneshiro. I want you to know I'll back you up too."

Her face twisting as a smile fought with embarrassment, she finally let out a breath and unclasped her hands to let them swing at her sides. "Let's get something to eat."

"My treat," he said, and followed her to one of the food courts.

Once there, Ann sat with a large cup of green ice chilling some fancy berry flavor of soda. "So, uh…" Her eyes cast down to the miniscule round table between them. "I hate how you never really understand how much you treasure something until it's gone." She held up her free hand. "Not that Shiho's gone! But… things have only been getting more tense. I used to be able to talk to her about anything, but never imagined that I'd want to talk to her about falling for her boyfriend." She traced her finger over a napkin on the plastic table top. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm just making the same mistake again. I took so long to apologize for not being there for her with Kamoshida." She glanced up to him, but could only hold eye contact a fleeting moment. "You remember how Kamoshida threatened to take Shiho off the team if I didn't…?"

Akira nodded, glad she didn't finish that sentence. He saw that in too many nightmares already. "I hope you know by now that Kamoshida betrayed you both with your own kindness. She cared too much about you to just walk away from it all, and you cared too much about Suzui-san's dreams to walk away from her."

She gave a twisted, hesitant smile, twirling a finger through her pigtail. "That's true. Now that I'm out of it, I'm sure he never would've risked that damn trophy by benching her." She gave a tight smile, a spark in her eyes like a blizzard's swirl. "I should've dared him to do it." The spark extinguished. "But now I'm scared about how Shiho's going to get through this." Her lips turned down. "Shiho was always the strong one."

"Hey," Akira said, his legs tensing. "Don't discount yourself. Even with Morgana and Ryuji, we'd never have made it to Kamoshida if it wasn't for you. Knowing when to hold back is a quality, too. You didn't go berserk during that fight and kill him."

Ann barked out a laugh, but her eyes looked like she wanted to cry. "Come on, Akira. Remember when it all started? The day of the volleyball rally, you didn't even know who Kamoshida was but you still had the strength to chase me down when Yuuki got hurt. You were willing to start all that just for him." She looked down, her finger tracing paths on the napkin again. "I was so weak I didn't even believe Shiho's ability outweighed Kamoshida's authority. I felt like I was alone, like even Yuuki was too far to truly trust."

Akira scratched his scalp. "Well, I never did know when to put something down or quit." He steepled his fingers. "So you need me to club Mishima over the head and drag him over so you two can sort things out?"

Ann chuckled. "That's so you, Akira. I can't even take names like 'prissy bitch' or 'Kamoshida's girl' without feeling my heart tremble." She paused to drink through the neon-pink straw. "It took you, Morgana, and Ryuji to help me take Kamoshida down. I could never have done that on my own." Her hand clenched the napkin. "I want to change that. If Personas are the power of the heart, I wanna have the strongest one, the dancer who is strong enough to save anyone. But I don't even really understand what 'strong' is."

Akira stood and reached a hand at her. She looked from his hand to his face several times. He cleared his throat and held his arm straighter. "Then let's figure it out together."

Smiling, Ann left her cup on the table and stood, clamping a firm hand on his own. When they separated she picked up her large cup of berry soda. "I'll start by… not getting refills. That'll mean I'm strong enough to resist, right?"

Akira felt a drop of sweat trickle down his neck. "Uh…"

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