Hey everyone, Muk here with something new. Now here's a fact about me, I love Persona 5. I got the game a couple months ago and it has become one of my favorite games of all time. And I have completely fallen for best girl Futaba Sakura, she is just the best!

Now my good friend Pikatwig had informed me that this week was Shutaba Week, a week dedicated to the ship of the protagonist of Persona 5 and Futaba. I am thankful he told me about this cause I would have missed this. Now he wanted me to do a one-shot for one of the prompts this week but I can do better.

If any of you recall, I did something like this for Naegiri Week 2018. So I decided to go for the whole week, starting with Day 1's prompt, Promises.

One more thing to know, I will be using the name I chose for my playthrough of Persona 5 for the protagonist, Hatsu Hikikaeru. Hatsu comes from the word Kokuhatsu which means accusation, and Hikikaeru means redemption, so I think you can see why I chose this name.

So without further ado, let the beginning of Shutaba Week begin!

Christmas Eve.

Usually, this holiday is special to a lot of people. It's a day where families can come together before Christmas officially starts. It's a day where couples like to hangout on to be with one another. It's a day that is meant to be filled with joy and happiness.

That is not the case, however, for Hatsu Hikikaeru, who is starting to feel like he is hated by the universe.

After a long and tiring battle and shooting a literal god in the face, the leader of the Phantom Thieves just wanted to get back home and rest. But fate has other plans for him, other, sad plans. Even after destroying the Metaverse and having to say goodbye to Morgana, things weren't over for Hatsu. Once everything had been finished and everyone went home, Hatsu was approached by Sae Niijima, who informed him of some unsatisfying news.

In order to find Shido guilty, Hatsu has to testify against him. But this would also mean he would have to turn himself in to the police, where he will no doubt be sent to juvenile hall because of his record. However, if he doesn't then the police will go after the Phantom Thieves, his teammates, his friends.

"I'll ask again," Sae said, "I want you to turn yourself in on your own accord. I know this is unfair given all you have done, but it's the only way to not only prove Shido guilty, but to protect your teammates. Will you do it?"

He didn't even hesitate, "If it's to keep everyone else safe, I'll do it."

Sae smiled solemnly, "I had a feeling you would agree, I'll make sure they're safe. Let's get going."

Hatsu followed Sae for only three minutes before he got a text notification from his phone. Quickly taking a look at who it was, he saw that it was from Futaba.

Futaba: Hey hot stuff, I have a proposition! Let's spend Christmas Eve together, I wanna get some cake and fried chicken and hang out in your room.

Reading the text made him realize that he was about to leave the one person he cared the absolute world for. And he just couldn't do that, not without saying goodbye at least.

"Is something wrong?" Sae asked, seeing that Hatsu was upset.

"I just need some more time," Hatsu informed, "I'll turn myself in tomorrow I promise, but there's something I need to do first. Please Sae, just let me have this."

Sae could tell that whatever it could be was important to Hatsu. While she wanted him to turn himself in as soon as possible, she couldn't deny him this. He saved the world afterall, he deserves some leniency. "Very well. You can turn yourself in tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," he thanked, receiving a smile from Sae as she left. Not wasting anytime, he replied to Futaba's text.

Hatsu: Sure.

Futaba: :)

He couldn't help but smile at her use of emoticons. Futaba always had a way of making him smile whenever he felt down.

Futaba: I'm still in Shibuya. Let's meet up in front of Buchiko.

Typing a response in agreement, Hatsu put away his phone and made his way to the Buchiko statute. He knew that this was most likely his last night with Futaba, so he was contemptuous of making it count as much as possible.

"This is outrageous!" Futaba exclaimed as her and Hatsu made their way inside Leblanc, "I was really hoping for some fried chicken, but the lines were long everywhere we went!"

Needless to say, their night didn't start off well. But Hatsu couldn't help but let out a laugh at his girlfriend's rant. How he had fallen for someone so small and childish at time he will never know, but he wouldn't change it for the world.

"Curse you Christmas! Stealing my fried chicken from me, can you believe this?!" Futaba exclaimed towards Hatsu.

"What I can't believe is how you could stand being out there for so long with those shorts," Hatsu said, pointing towards Futaba's shorts which were nowhere close to reaching her knees, "It's practically 30 degrees out there, how have your legs not frozen off?"

"The thought of chicken kept me going!" she responded dramatically, before looking down, "But I guess it didn't matter in the end."

"I can make us some curry and we can hang out in my room," Hatsu suggested, which seemed to immediately make Futaba look in joy.

"That's an excellent idea!"

Hatsu smiled at just how adorable Futaba was acting. He proceeded to make curry for the both of them and they went up to his room. There the two ate quietly, just enjoying each other's company. It didn't take long for Futaba to finish her serving her bowl of curry, putting aside her bowl and leaning back on the couch.

"Man that curry was best," she sighed happily with a hand to her stomach, "How did you get your cooking stat so high?"

"I just did what Sojiro taught me, that's it," Hatsu answered as he finished the last of his curry.

"Well keep it up, I can't have my boyfriend be terrible in cooking," she said proudly, before blushing at what she said, "Boyfriend. We've been going out for three months now and it still feels weird to say it."

"I get what you mean," Hatsu said. Even now he still finds it hard to believe that he has a girlfriend, he thought any chance of being in a relationship was over after getting his record.

"Hey Hatsu, how many couples do you think are out there?" Futaba asked

"Hmm, probably a lot," he answered, remembering seeing a few couples together when they were out earlier.

"You know, with us together right now," she said, her blush deepening, "It feels like we're getting swept up in the romantic atmosphere. Don't you think?"

Hatsu smiled at how Futaba was blushing, he always found her blushes to be cute. Taking a chance, he wrapped an arm around Futaba and brought her close. She actually squeaked in surprise by this action, and her face turned even redder.

"Let's get swept up," he whispered into her ear.

"... o-ok," Futaba stuttered.

After this, the two just talked for the rest of the night. At one point, they decided to boot up Hatsu's game console and play against each other. To Hatsu, this was his last night with Futaba, so he made sure he lived it to the fullest. They're gaming session after Hatsu landed a combo string on Futaba, ending the game with him as the victor.

"No way, how were you able to read that?!" she gasped in shock.

"After playing against you a few times, I've seen how you play and learned your patterns," he answered proudly.

Her cheeks puffed up in annoyance, "Since when were you able to memorize patterns?"

"It was something I picked up while I was Joker," Hatsu answered. The two suddenly went quiet with the reminder that their time as the Phantom Thieves has come to an end. Not wanting to stay in the silence any longer, Futaba decided to act.

"Oh right, before I forget," she said, reaching into her pocket, "I got you something for you." She got out a nicely wrapped box and handed it to Hatsu.

He took it and examined it a bit before starting to unwrap the box. Once it was fully unwrapped, Hatsu opened the box, revealing a pair of headphones nearly identical to the ones Futaba always wear. "No matter how old you are, it's always great to get a gift right?" she asked.

"Thank you. I'm afraid I didn't get one for you," he said.

"It's fine, as long as you're glad, I'm glad," she assured. Her expression suddenly changed to one of worry, which concerned Hatsu, "But… I've been getting worried. This Shido incident has the web blowing up. Threads have been popping up everywhere, about Shido, the election, and even the Phantom Thieves."

"It feels like we're always being watched, and I'm afraid that we might get separated," she continued. Tears were starting to form at the edge of her eyes, which saddened Hatsu.

"If the Phantom Thieves are treated as heroes, who knows what they'll do to all of you. If anything, they will probably fabricate a crime and arrest you all."

Sae's words echoed in Hatsu's mind, reminding him of what the stakes were. He made up his mind that he had to turn himself in, in order to keep Futaba safe. He wanted to tell her, he hated to keep something as big as this a secret. But telling her would just cause her to worry, and might do something drastic. With her skills on a computer, who knows what she's capable of.

Futaba noticed that there was something different about Hatsu and grew concerned, "Hey, you ok?"

"It's nothing," he assured, "Just reminiscing about everything that has happened recently."

Futaba didn't say anything in response and just left it at that. She looked over at the time and saw that it was starting to get late, "I think I'm gonna go home."

"Want me to walk you back?" he asked.

"It's not far, I'll be fine," she answered.

"Well, at least let me walk you to the door," he requested, determined to stay with her as long as possible.

"Alright," she accepted.

Together, they walked down the stairs and he led her to the door of Leblanc. He dreaded every step they took, as it meant they were getting closer to saying goodbye for who knows how long. Once they had reached the door, Futaba turned towards him but was looking down.

"You know, I've been with you long enough to know when you're hiding something from me."

Those shook Hatsu to his very core, and Futaba's defeated expression only worsened the impact as she continued, "After all we've been through, how can you still be keeping secrets."

Hatsu couldn't bring himself to answer as tears started to flow down Futaba's face, "I know you probably have a reason, but still. It hurts." For a while nobody said a word, the tension between them being so thick it could be cut with a knife. Eventually, Futaba was the one who broke the silence between them, "I need you to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what, we'll always be together."

Hatsu was going to respond but Futaba continued, "I'm serious, promise me. You don't have any idea how important you are to me, just the thought of being separated worries me." Hatsu just let her speak, seeing her body shaking and understanding just how serious this was, "Promise me that even if we do get separated from each other, we'll always find a way back to each other. Please Hatsu, I need you to promise me this."

Futaba finally looked up at him, and the sight broke his heart. Her face was overflowing with tears, and her whole body was trembling.

"I can't live without you Hatsu, I just can't!"

That did it for him, he couldn't hold back anymore. He immediately wrapped both his arms around and held her close to him as tight as he could, letting her sob in his chest. His own tears broke through at just how much he was hurting Futaba.

"I promise Futaba, we'll always be together. No matter what," he promised.

The two of them just stood there silently for the next few minutes, not saying anything and just held each other close. Eventually, they finally separated and Futaba looked up at Hatsu.

"I think I'm going to call Sojiro and let him know I'll be spending the night with you," she informed.

"Will he be ok with that?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," she answered, "I just want to be with you, please."

The answer was obvious for him, "Of course."

She smiled and placed her head on his chest again, enjoying the moment they had together for now. With their promises made, Hatsu was determined to uphold it, no matter what.

And with that, the first chapter of Shutaba week is finished. I am so happy to finally be writing something Persona 5 related, and even more happy it involves this ship. So yeah, this is more or less my version of the Christmas Eve scene with Futaba, really it was the best thing I could come up with for this prompt. So anyways, day 1 is complete. Onward to day 2.

As always, hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and keep an eye out for the next one.

Sain'ofu.