Persona 5: Royal

Codename: Songbird

Chapter 1

The Beginning

This story is a work of fiction…

Any similarities between characters or events living or dead in your world is purely coincidental…

Only those who have agreed to the above may partake in this game…

Do you agree? Or Disagree?

"Hgn… this voice… Why does it sound familiar? Have I been asked this before?"

That is up to you to find out…

I ask again, do you agree or disagree?

"I…" the voice paused for a moment, quivering slightly. After a moment, they made up their mind. "Yes, I agree."

Very well… the contract has been sealed…

You have been thrown into an unjust game…

Society has turned you into it's plaything…

Failure is commonplace, but it seems you have fallen far faster than most would…

This is your chance, your opportunity, to right what is wrong…

I have no doubt you will become a fantastic trickster…

Until we meet again..

Date: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Location: Unknown

Threat Level: 100%

Leitmotif: Life Will Change

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 whose 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 moment's 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, biting his lower lip. "I'm glad I asked Duchess and Princess to sit this one out, it would have been too much for them to handle,"

"Gah! 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 infiltration's, 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 got it secured. The crowd down here is riled up, I think it was because of Joker," the voice of Panther said, making him sigh in relief. He heard a chuckle on the other line, one that could only belong to their leader.

"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.

"Heh… preparing a decoy case was a good idea, I gotta hand it to ya Songbird, that little sister of yours is quite smart." Oracle said, making him chuckle.

"What can I say? She's a genius," the man said, as he peered through his scope. He felt a shiver down his spine, making him tense up a bit.

"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 rested his rifle 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 model guns shoot real bullets in places like this. It's really rather amazing." he said, shaking his head, still not believing what was happening around them.

"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.

"Looks like 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. Keep an eye on Queen for us Noir, make sure she doesn't get attacked!" Songbird said, earning a quiet reply from the girl. He raced forward, 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 almost dejectedly as he slipped 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 bang, 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 either 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.

"Hmm… I've run into a dead end, Oracle can you find me an alternate exit?" Joker asked, causing the young woman to stop. Songbird and Fox lead her to an area behind some crates, allowing her to search the map.

"Scanning… scanning… aha! Right above you, there's an overhang that should stick out enough for your grapple. There should be a door that leads to the upper halls!" she exclaimed. The audible zip of a line filled their audio, followed by the thumping of metal.

"Hey, you think I could get one of those? I am the scout and all, I should have one."

"Not the time, Songbird. I only had one grapple hook and I gave it to Joker before we met you!" Mona cried out, making the man roll his eyes.

"It's alright Songbird, me and your sister are working on some prototypes. We have to make use of my abundance in money somehow,"

"Jesus, Noir, I've told you not to waste money on…"

"Hold up! There's an unknown presence moving toward Joker's position! It's… it's familiar!" Oracle cried out, causing Songbird and Fox to jump a bit. Songbird scanned the area, just in case there were more enemies.

"Is it her?" the brown haired young man asked.

"Why are you asking if it's her, huh Songbird? Are you looking to spend more time with her than me?"

"Christ, Panther let's not start this again. You know who my special kitten is!"

"But you called her your Gym Goddess!"

"Can you keep the line clear? We don't need more relationship quarrels while we're on a mission!"

"Heh… sure is lively isn't it? I'm sure Duchess would be ranting and raving as well. I'm kinda glad the Squirt isn't here…" Crow added, ignoring both Queen and Panther.

"You've always helped me out Senpai, so now, allow me to assist you!" a female voice cried out. A familiar rush of power filled the coms a moment later. "Cendrillon! I summon thee!"

"Tch… show off," Songbird mumbled, shaking his head. Oracle giggled as she continued scanning the cameras, seeing the two Persona users easily take down their quarry.

"Alright, they've cleared the enemies. Joker is on his own, we're leaving!" the orange haired young woman cried, darting from behind cover. Fox and Songbird followed along, weapons drawn to take out any and all shadows that came their way. They passed through some doors, pausing briefly to check on their leader.

"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 The Dominatrix. You got the spandex and the whip, with that attitude, you will charm any man who ever lays their eyes on you." he said with a chuckle. "Now if only we could get the Gym Goddess along for the ride, I would be immensely happy!"

"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.

The small group of three turned into another hallway, which was thankfully empty. Songbird reached the door first, drawing his pistol from his holster. Fox leaned up against the door, giving him a nod. The two threw the doors open, with the brown haired man taking the lead, aiming his gun in all directions. He spotted a stairwell nearby and moved toward it, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"This is a cinch. Wonder if the Boss is having as much fun as I am?"

"Try not to let your guard down, okay Songbird? We might... Oh fuck! Look out!"

Before Songbird could react, a nearby door slammed open, a pair of armed men racing out. Songbird raised his gun, letting off a single shot before he was tackled. He groaned in pain as his body hit the railing behind him, his gun falling from his grip to the floor below.

"FOX!"

"I'm on it!" the blue haired man said, immediately engaging one of the men. Songbird growled, freeing one of his hands, a smirk on his face.

"You're dead!"

"You first!" the man said, grabbing hold of his mask. He tore it off with ease, revealing the shadow's true form. That of a large winged knight, holding a shield and a spear in his grip. He placed a hand over his own mask, his grin growing wider.

"Persona! Ravage them!" he called, mimicking his Leader's usual command. His other self was quick to oblige, tearing the shadow apart with blinding white light.

"Excellent work, Songbird. Now let's keep going. I sense even more Shadows coming our way."

"Thanks for the heads up, Oracle. Fox, are you good to go?" he asked, turning to his friend, who had just dispatched his own opponent.

"Indeed, let us not waste anymore time." he quickly replied. The three started moving on, climbing onto the railing and jumping onto the large chandeliers that hung over the Member's Floor. Oracle meanwhile kept an eye on their leader, gasping a bit when she saw him reach a dead end.

"Oh no, Joker they're coming for you!" she cried, only seconds later did she hear their voices.

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

"I do 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. The others could only watch in horror as their leader was taken away.

"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. With 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.

"We gotta go, Songbird." Panther said, as she 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.

A desolate landscape stretched out before him. A vast city, entirely empty. It was one that he didn't recognize. The buildings seemed to tower above him, endlessly stretching into the heavens. Large lights and screens were on, their incandescent lights flickering on and off, bathing the land in various colors.

Traffic was at a standstill, yet the lights continued changing. It was as if the city in its entirety had frozen in time, though it didn't feel that way. Thunder rumbled softly above him, as the clouds continued bathing the land in an endless torrent of precipitation. He walked forward, his footsteps echoing loudly as he stepped on the puddles.

His hair was drenched, covering most of his face as he walked. The water bounced off of his leather jacket, falling in little drips down the sleeves. His pants were soaking, and his shoes were flooded. Even still, he continued walking forward, as if someone or something was urging him.

He spotted a figure, standing before him. The exact same height as him, slightly hunched over, wearing a long hooded trench coat. The young man tilted his head slightly, feeling fearful as he approached him. He shivered, as lightning cracked the sky above him, sending another shiver down his spin. He swallowed the forming lump in his throat, taking a deep breath through his mouth.

"Do I… Know you?" he asked, his voice shaky and uncomposed. The figure nodded, lifting their hood slightly.

"Yes… you do."

"This seems so familiar…"

"You're in a dream…"

"Who are you?" he demanded forcefully. The figure before him remained silent for a moment, lifting his head slightly, his eyes glowing gold. The teenager's mouth opened slightly, a look of fear and realization on his face.

"I am your reflection… you've been asleep, for a very long time…"

The young man backed away, about to turn and run when something filled his vision. A glimmering blue butterfly, floating through the air. Despite the rain, it was flying with no issues. It flew around the two for a moment, small sparkles of light falling around the two.

He felt a comforting feeling at it's sight. He looked back at the figure, who held his hand out, allowing the butterfly to land on his finger. He gave the teenager a small smile, eyes firmly on the butterfly.

"It's so good to see you… La-"

xxx(Take Your Time)xxx

Wednesday June 1st 20XX

Daytime

Location: Shibuya Station

xxx

"Hgn… what the hell?" the young man mumbled, clutching his head in pain. He lowered his phone a bit, covering his eyes with his hand. For some reason, the light seemed to be hurting him quite a bit. He took a calming breath, firmly closing his eyes. "Did I not get enough sleep on the plane here? It's odd of me to be daydreaming like that."

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 paid 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, and fell heavily into drug abuse. 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 figured. 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 brown 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 had 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, for lack of a better term, eye-candy, a very handsome young man who could have had it all if his career hadn't tanked. Of course, he wasn't conceited, and he wasn't vain. He truly did have a passion for acting, one that even his looks couldn't surpass. But he had no choice in the matter, finding an acting gig as he was, was difficult. He was currently watching a news report that had happened a few days prior to his arrival, something that had overtaken the entire city of Shibuya, nay, all of Japan by storm.

"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 masterpiece, 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 charged with 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!"

"He's so cute! You know I never believed that whole scandal his father drummed up. Do you think he'd give me his autograph if I asked?"

"No girl, don't! I heard famous people really hate when fans come up to them. He looks annoyed already, let's just leave him be. But man, I would not mind him being my friend, or even more. Imagine me walking into the school with that hunk's arm wrapped around my waist? Everyone would be totally jealous!"

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 nosedive. 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.

Though it did please him to hear that some girls found him attractive, it annoyed him that they just saw him as a tool. It was obvious that girl wanted nothing but a means to get popular, and that was truly what disgusted him. When people abused other people for selfish gain. It was something he had been dealing with his entire life, and he didn't come to Japan for it to keep on happening. He sighed as he looked at his phone screen, wondering where his guardian was.

"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 twelve 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, Little Miss?" 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 Ritsuka."

"Alright then. So Miss Ritsuka, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you like about my acting? The movies? The shows?" he asked curiously. He was genuinely interested, especially since he didn't have many child fans.

"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?" a familiar voice asked, making him inwardly sigh in relief.

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

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

"Uh yeah...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 Skytree 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. He was so distracted he didn't notice the figure walking up behind him.

"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 he remembered, 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 L.A., learning the tools of the trade as he named it." he said, sighing angrily. "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,"

"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 Boy Bands 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 so 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 First Year there, and Mitsuhide is entering next term."

"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 you're 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 alright 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 to go international, you might be seeing this place knocking McDonald's down a few pegs." she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, let's go find your sisters, the arcade isn't far from here so it should be a cinch!" 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. She looked up from the screen, giving her son a smile. "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."

"Uh, yeah sure, I don't mind." he said, allowing her to take his suitcase. 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. He fixed his backpack as he entered the arcade, the cool rush of air making him shiver.

Gigolo Arcade was a lot bigger on the inside than he remembered. He used to go to the one in Akihabara, but to him it had seemed 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 playing DDR, her movements were 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 its 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 one sis, I was trying to stay incognito," 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," she said, making him frown.

"I'm not, believe me. I'm famous for all the wrong reasons, hehe," he replied, rubbing his neck. The young woman gave him another hug, a grin on her face.

"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.

"Indeed 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 cell phone 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,"

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 um... he said a lot of mean things about me too." she said, a frown on her face. She didn't want to remember the horrors of that foul man.

"What a scumbag, piece of shit. I'm glad he got arrested then, the fucker." the brunette said angrily. "Anyone who thinks it's okay to abuse children deserves to rot in prison, especially for hurting my cute little sister!"

"Heh! 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, and despite being a cheerleader, has tried to get into the Student Council. 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 with a wink. 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. Takumi just remained silent, not exactly knowing what was going on between them.

"You are on! RoShamBo." the girl replied, holding her fist out. Mitsuhide did the same, a fierce look on her face.

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.

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to this! A reworked version of Codename Songbird! I'm sure a lot of people were wondering why I abandoned Songbird for a long time. Well, I didn't exactly abandon it. I had plans of continuing from where I left off. I have the ending completely planned out and everything, I was just waiting for the mood to strike, and then The Royal was announced. So rather than finish Songbird, I decided to wait for the Royal to come out, so I could write a more difinitive version of Songbird. The First 51 Chapters are going to be recieving a major overhaul. I've improved a lot in my writing from when I originally wrote it, so I plan to make the necessary edits as well as add new events to coincide with the Royal as well as my own new additions. I also noticed from rereading Songbird that there are a lot of mistakes in these chapters. That of course came from my own excitement, I for whatever reason, decided to post two chapters a day rather than pacing myself. I suppose that lead to killing my motivation a bit. But seeing those obvious and glaring mistakes bothers me so much. I've decided to go ahead and fix those as well.

Fixing the first half of the story is going to be rather easy, I got the original chapters on here, so all I gotta do is put the edits in, fix the grammar, and Bob's your uncle, I got a new chapter. I will say, parts of my original story are going to be amended. I had a lot of things planned for the second half of Songbird that simply won't work in the Royal version, so those are getting nixed right this second. I've also removed the Death, Justice and Sun arcanas, and will be replacing them with better OCs. I liked Yukiko and Rise being back in the story, but they didn't need to be Confidants for Takumi. So they'll be replaced with others. I'm going to be adding a new Sun Arcana and a couple friends of mine are providing me with OCs for Death and Justice, so everything will be a-okay on that front.

Character arcs will be overhauled as well. I have most of the Confidant storylines written out, but I am adding a lot of things to them to make them more fleshed out. I really liked what I had going for certain Confidants, like Toni and Ayumi, and I never got to go in depth with Marry and Nick, two Confidants that I really really liked. But now is the time to do that! As per The Royal, I am adding the Faith and Councillor Arcanas, because those are the new additions to the game.

Regarding Kasumi, I have plans, that's all I gotta say on the matter.

I have plans for some original palaces as well. The next Palace after Shimizu was meant to be an original Palace, which would lead up to Kunikazu Okumura's heist. But I'm likely going to nix that idea entirely for something a bit more conventional. Though that Palace is necessary to complete half of Takumi's character arc, I might end up rewriting it entirely. Who knows? I have the ideas secured so all I need to do is rearrange them a bit.

Whatever the case may be, the Phantom Thieves have stolen my heart once again, and I wish to do this story justice while I have the motivation. This is but a sample of the new changes. I will begin working on the new edits as soon as I finish The Royal. I made it past Sae's Palace last night, so I'm approaching the point of new return, as they say. So, when I finish the game, and likely play it again to make sure the new events are hammered in my mind, I will begin posting updated versions of Songbird. Ignore the title for now, it's all I could come up with lol. Have a good rest of your day! And thank you so much for playing this game!