Chapter One

Ryuji yawned as he stepped into LeBlanc. He had to meet up with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, he had no options. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, he loved reforming society as the Phantom Thieves, it was that they were sitting on their rears too scared to take action. He entered the attic, where Akira Kurusu lived, and took a seat around a decently sized folding table. The cat scoffed.

"Late as usual, Ryuji?" Morgana shot with serious snark.

"Shut up MonaMona, we're all here so let Aki talk." Ryuji snapped.

"Thank you, Ryuji." Akira smiled. "Now then, about Okumura, are we going to take his heart?"

"He's gained some serious traction as a target." Makoto commented. "So I did some digging, apparently he abuses his employees and has them working terrible hours."

"And to think I thought Big Bang Burger was bad enough as it is…" Ann commented.

"I ate there quite frequently for a while, the employees always seemed burned out." Akira sighed.

"So what are we waiting for?" Ryuji asked. "Let's go steal his heart!"

"We can't rush this, Ryuji." Morgana spat. "We need real evidence, and a few online confessions is not sufficient enough. Not like a monkey like you would understand." And then something just snapped. It was like a combination of emotions and instinct flooded him and cumulated in what he did next.

"Is that what I am huh?" Ryuji shouted. "A damn monkey? An idiot? What am I, Morgana? Tell me!"

"Ryuji, what the hell?" Ann asked.

"This cat's been abusing me, ridiculing me, and I've had enough." Ryuji spat.

"That's simply not true, Morgana's just a harsh teacher." Yusukue tried to reason.

"You're being stupid, Ryuji." Futaba snapped.

"Oh, and another thing." Ryuji shouted. "You guys have been acting the same way! You make fun of me, you talk behind my back, and you think I'm useless."

"Ryuji, calm down, you're not thinking straight." Akira said in his soothing voice. Ryuji would live the rest of his life not believing what he did next.

He hit him. It had been in a flash, an instant. One second he stood trying to comfort his friend, the next he was on the floor with a bleeding nose and mouth. Akira could see the rage filling his face.

"What the hell Ryuji!?" Makoto yelled.

"Shut up!" Ryuji screamed. "You're the worst offender, Akiria. You used me to pick up chicks. You used me to scare jerks off at Shinjuku. And when those creeps showed up, you abandoned me. You left me to get abused by them, groped, what happened to Shiho almost happened to me."

"Ryuji-" Akira began. Ryuji got louder.

"Don't 'Ryuji' me." he screamed. "You don't care about reform, do you? You only care about the attention being a Phantom Thief brings you. You all do."

"Not that you're any different!" Morgana spat.

"I joined because I wanted Kamoshida to suffer for what he did." Ryuji spat in a calmer tone. "The attention was nice, but what was best was helping people, seeing what our actions led to. And you people have been engulfed by greed and pride." Ryuji turned and faced the stairs out.

"Ryuji, what are you doing?" Akira asked. Ryuji glared at the Phantom Thieves.

"I'm leaving, I hope I never see you in the Metaverse again." Ryuji spat. Akira heard a voice ring in his head.

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou hast seen how a vow may change into a rivalry.

This change will bring you closer to liberation.

With the change from the Chariot, to the Jester,

You shall awaken to new found power.

Haru watched the blonde fiddle with his phone. Was this kid going to take her request? She vaguely recognized him, well, a lot actually. Not many people were known for being blonde and wearing their school uniform at night. She was rather confused as to why this kid would be fiddling with his phone outside of her dad's workplace, but she hoped it was good. The blonde pumped his fist and pressed a button on his phone. The blonde suddenly seemed to dissolve in a red vortex no one seemed to notice. Haru had no idea what to do, she could hope he would be able to steal her father's heart on his own, but another part of her told her to help him. And so she held her breath and rushed into the vortex.

Ryuji hated himself for being such an idiot. There was no way he could handle it on his own. He ran to the nearest safe room and took a breather. He pulled out the basic first aid kit he took with him and opened it. As he was about to wrap his arm in bandages, a girl ran up to him with a concerned face.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?" The girl asked in a high pitched voice that made her seem younger than she was. Her brown hair was very fluffy and she seemed to be very posh.

"I'm fine, just need to-" Ryuji caught himself. He grabbed his shotgun. "How do I know you aren't a Shadow?"

"Is that what those are?" The girl asked. "I can help fix you if you need it." She really seemed oblivious to the danger surrounding her. Ryuji pushed the gun aside.

"Alright, go ahead." he sighed. The girl crouched down next to him and started by applying some kind of cream on the cuts on his arm.

"Your clothes are amazing." She randomly commented. "They're very well crafted."

"Uh, thanks." Ryuji flatley responded.

"Why are you here though?" the girl asked.

"I uh, I'm exploring?" Ryuji bluffed. The girl shot Ryuji a look.

"I don't think so." she said. "I saw you using your phone to get here." Ryuji sighed.

"I'm a Phantom Thief." Ryuji admitted. The girl's eyes went wide.

"You are! Are you here to steal Father's heart?" She asked. She suddenly looked confused. "I thought there was more than one person in the Phantom Thieves?"

"I'll tell you everything." Ryuji sighed. He told the girl about what happened, why he left.

"I'm very sorry, they should not have acted that way." Haru sincerely stated. "I think we should leave before you get any more hurt."

"You're right." Ryuji sighed. He pulled out his phone and left the Palace. The girl insisted she was okay on her own, but Ryuji insisted she let him walk her home. They parted ways a short walk from Shujin and Ryuji took a walk home. He could almost hear someone talking as he stalked the Tokyo streets.

"I am thou." The voice uttered.

A/N: Nani!? Another new project!? Yeah, I realized the concept of the Star Wars one was kinda stupid, forgive me, so I decided to make this instead. I allways thought that it was stupid that Morgana was the one who left the Phantom Thieves. So I made this. I know it's not exactly an original Idea, but I liked the thought of making this. Besides, it gives me a chance to show what I think is one of the cutest Persona ships! Alongside Haru x Makoto, Akira x Ann, Akechi x Akira, FeMC x Shinjiro, and best boy Junpei x Chidori (oh, wait, that one's cannon). I'll be updating this quite a bit and I will make it kinda interactive. I'll ask chapters each question and if I find any answers that seem like they'd work, I'll implement them into the story somehow! So feel free to answer.

Question: I plan on Ryuji getting a new Persona and a maybe the Wildcard due to a change in resolve. The issue is, I don't have a new Persona planned. I have his new final planned (Terminator from SMT) but not his new initial. So what do you think would be a good alternate initial Persona for Ryuji? (Bonus points if you say Speedwagon from JoJo, I love that guy)