#╡ MAKOTO NIIJIMA ╞ The Brain Of The Team | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kareofbears · 3 years ago

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plainly in truth, chapter 4/5

“Without you around, it’s sorta like stuff is just kinda…bleh.”

—

Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.

read on ao3 or below the cut

Niijima Makoto doesn’t know what she’s doing.

It’s rare, but it happens. Sometimes she doesn’t understand the material in university. Sometimes the trains close down before she can catch the last one. Sometimes she has a breakdown because what does it mean that the system that got her father killed is the same one that she’s working so hard to get into.

But there’s always a way to find a solution—ask the professor after lecture. Call Sae and, as humiliating as it was, ask for a ride home. Convince herself that maybe she’s what the system needed in order to get real change. (She’s not quite there yet.)

She doesn’t know what she’s doing with Ryuji, and the internal tug-of-war is almost getting too much for her.

Makoto can help him; how many students has she worked with to help get them back on their feet? But each of those students she had tutored wanted help—she didn’t need to convince them to focus on school. How do you convince someone to get academic help? Duct tape them to a chair and show them a PowerPoint about how their life can fall apart if they don’t take this seriously? Then she’d be blatantly ignoring his mental struggle, and be no better than the adults who want to push kids through a meat grinder that’s the education system and turn them into mindless workers, existing solely to earn them profit.

Then she can leave him alone. That’s what he wants, anyway, and it’s by far the simplest option.

However, if she leaves him alone, would that mean that she’s still the same person who let Shujin students sell themselves to Kaneshiro? Convinced that they can handle it on their own, but only letting their debts pile higher and higher on themselves until they get crushed?

Sudden laughter and shouting from behind pulls Makoto back to reality. They were all in a heated game of Tycoon, and it sounds like Akira’s been on a winning streak for the past half hour.

She grips the steering wheel tighter, forcing herself to focus on the road and not the whirlwind of thoughts. The highway is nearly empty, despite the sun being high in the sky, not a single cloud blocking its rays. They’re on their way to Okinawa, and it’s her turn to drive.

Makoto may not know what she’s doing, but she can at least do this.

—

Okumura Haru has always had a bit of a guilt complex.

It started with refusing to give her hand to an abusive man for her also abusive father’s business, and it had only escalated even further once she realized that it’s technically her fault that her father had been killed; that one in particular had been crippling. Not only because he died due to her poor decision making, but it was another reason why the Thieves had fallen for Shido’s trap last year.

She respects herself enough now to understand that most of it is misplaced, but it doesn’t erase any of the guilt she still carries today. Far from it—that guilt has only grown to be bigger, looming over her as if it were ready to consume every inch of her body and spit out a bag of bones.

This situation, though, she can’t help but feel that her guilt isn’t quite as misplaced as she likes to convince herself it is.

They were all having lunch at the ferry’s restaurant; it’s small, given how little people want to go all the way out to Okinawa, but it’s still selling ludicrously overpriced coffee and pastries. Nobody seems to mind, though. All of them were sharing one cheese omelette, each with a plastic fork in hand, tapping them against each other to get the best piece and assert dominance like animals at a watering hole.

A way to soothe guilt is to somehow find a way to remedy the situation. Employees of Big Bang Burger have been unionized, her father is now remembered for the man he was rather than the man he became, Sugimura has long since been a problem (how he stopped being a problem, she legally cannot speak about), and Shido isn’t even in the public’s conscious anymore.

But for Ryuji, there is no way to soothe that guilt. Not in a way that matters.

It’s not just because Haru had essentially been the reason why too many people know his secret, but because the secret should have never happened in the first place. She’s his senpai, she was supposed to be the one looking out for him. Ryuji was struggling, mentally and academically, and she hadn’t realized it until it was far too late. He had been there for her, ready to knock Sugimura’s teeth into his throat, but she couldn’t have done the same for him when it truly mattered.

How do you soothe that guilt? Buy out the entire school? Forge his grades? More cram books? That’s ridiculous.

There’s no way to soothe that guilt, she realizes, because the only real way to do that was to turn back time.

—

Kitagawa Yusuke understands pride better than most people.

Without a cent to his name for most of his life, pride was all he had. Pride of being the pupil of someone great, pride of turning money away in the name of art. Being able to withstand enormous pressure and stick to his guns has always been one of his strongest abilities.

They’re in the Okinawa jail, tearing through Shadows and screaming Sophia’s name, over and over again until all of their throats are torn raw. He calls for Goemon, and ice crawls over the narrow corridors of the facility like ants covering every inch of a buffet. They’re all strong, because they have to be, but the Shadows here are cunning; fast and magic-infused, drunk on the strange, thick air that’s bled into every inch of cement in this building.

But pride can be an unforgiving catalyst that can change you from the inside out, like a parasite hijacking your brain stem and compels you to bow down to it. He had refused to see the truth, turned a blind eye to the evils of his sensei, and it made him into a lesser version of himself. It had made him weaker.

A crack of lightning strikes, emanating light so bright that he instinctively raises a hand to block it out. When it dims, any smell of the cold, dry air is gone—in its place is the distinct scent of ozone wafting around him, and a light buzz that settles atop his skin like a second layer. The hair on his nape stands, but Yusuke’s positive it didn’t come from the electricity still buzzing from the ashes of the Shadows.

Ryuji had obliterated all of their foes with one, clean strike.

—

Takamaki Ann can tell that something’s off.

Her toes are buried deep in hot sand, taking refuge under their big umbrella. The sun is just about setting over the horizon, casting an orange glow on her skin, and she idly hopes that she had put on enough sunscreen. They’ve tired themselves out for the most part; some were taking naps on beach towels, some had retired back to the RV where air conditioning awaits them.

Only Akira and Ryuji were left, standing where the sand meets the tide, water lapping at their ankles. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she recognized the look on Akira’s face—with his glasses hanging from his button up, his eyes sparkled brighter than the ocean does, not quite smiling but his lips are curled up as if unable to completely restrain itself. It’s the look he reserves for Ryuji.

She digs her feet deeper into the sand, enjoying the way it tickles her calves. Ann’s been thinking about this whole thing in her head ever since she found out the truth, and something just isn’t adding up.

As absolutely insane as it all is, if she closes one eye, tilts her head, and slams her head against a wall, she can sort of, kind of, maybe understand where he’s coming from. She’s known him too long not to. The whole actively lying to his friends thing is still unforgivable, but the need to hide it? Understandable. She barely scraped by second-year herself with a prayer and English-speaking parents, and even then her grades are nothing to write home about.

Ann could barely believe that Ryuji really thought that Akira would leave him over something as stupid as flunking school, but even that she can understand, too. Everyday, she wants to be a better person for Shiho, and everyday, she goes to bed thinking that she didn’t try hard enough. Ann gets it. Love screws with your brain, swirls it up until you can barely stand up straight, and definitely messes with your perception of yourself. Ridiculous, crazy, but still somewhat coherent.

There’s still one piece in this whole puzzle that hasn’t clicked yet, and it’s been bugging her ever since that night in the cafe.

As perceptive as he is, as smart and observant and unstoppable as he is, as kind and knowledgeable as he is, as much as he adores Ryuji to the moon and back—

Why hasn’t Akira said anything yet?

—

Sakura Futaba knows that something’s off.

As the navigator, she sees everything she needs to make sure her team makes it out of every battle alive and victorious. Necronomicon can see stuff that no one else can, can predict two, three, four moves before it can happen. She eats stats for breakfast and spits out results by second breakfast. She knows her team’s moveset like the back of her hand and then some. Futaba takes this seriously, because if she doesn’t, someone’s not walking out alive.

The best part is that she’s good at this. So good that the eternal worrywart, Joker himself, can still walk out of the Metaverse with a head of thick, black hair.

But something’s been off. She felt it in her bones and that feeling only gets more prominent with every passing Jail—no, not even Jail. With every battle, that feeling only gets stronger in her gut.

When it started is still a mystery to her, but she started picking up on it in Sapporo. Sapporo. Her mom told her never to pray, but by god she’s hoping that it started in Sapporo, because this—this thing, is too big to have missed.

Futaba isn’t sure what it is yet, but she has no idea what’s happening with Ryuji.

To be more specific, she has no idea what’s happening with Captain Kidd, but that’s basically the same thing; Personas are the extension of the user, I am thou, et cetera. The weirdest part is, she knows something’s off, but she doesn’t know if it’s necessarily a problem.

It’s as if Ryuji’s been hitting the gym while they weren’t looking, or giving Kidd a stern talking to. His attacks, which used to be around the same baseline as the rest of the team, is nearly outputting double the amount of damage than the rest of them. His hits are buffed to the wazoo on a level she’s never seen before in any other Persona user, even Akira.

She’s considered bringing it up with him dozens of times. The two of them have to be honest with each other, not because they love and respect each other or any of that bullcrap—it’s because it’s the only way anything can ever function in the team. Between the navigator and the leader, if they ever hide anything from the other, no matter how small, things would never run smoothly. Or worse: it’ll crash and burn.

And then Ryuji comes along and makes them all take a blood oath to never, ever tell Akira a really big secret.

Technically, she doesn’t see an issue with it. It’s more of an unspoken rule than any kind of signed contract, and it’s mostly about Metaverse stuff instead of real world problems. She’s not eagerly telling Akira about her private Pixiv account or anything. But it’s not impossible to think that Ryuji being strong enough to be wearing ten Gilded Vests stacked on top of each other is somehow connected to his very real, very heart-affecting situation. If she really thought it was a problem, she’d tell Akira right away. It’s better to have Ryuji hate her than to have him dead.

But when she sees Akira’s face flash with relief in Akane’s Jail when Ryuji all but annihilates a mega-super-high level Shadow, one that Akira’s been stressing about the entire time since they’ve been here despite him trying his best to act cool about it because he has to be, it’s kinda hard to consider this to be a problem at all.

—

Between Konoe’s attacks and relentless bolts of ions getting shot up every few seconds, the static is so thick in the air that their hairs are all frayed and heading skywards.

The blast from Konoe’s mech, once a symbol of their triumph and had pulled no small amount of whoops and cheers from their throats, is only the first stage of their fated battle. They hadn’t planned for an extra phase, and the only reason they were able to escape was that steam from the busted metal and machinery had given them a few seconds of cover.

All of them are huddled behind a wall, outlined with neon blue that only served to blend them in with the futuristic technicholar that is the Osaka Jail.

“We’re clear,” Makoto announces, voice low as she returns from peeking around the corner. “No chance he knows our location.”

“Thank you Queen,” Akira says, mask pushed far up his head, clear eyes rapidly checking over each of his teammates, nodding. “Good work out there with the mech, now let’s figure this one out. What do we know?”

“Not a lot,” Futaba’s goggles reflect data as her fingers dance over the screen. “If we assumed that his weaknesses would be the same as his mech, then it would be lightning and nuclear.”

“Only if we assume that his physical form reflects his robotic form,” Yusuke points out. “What are the odds that that’s the case?”

Morgana taps his paw on the ground, deep in thought. “High, I’d say. Remember, he didn’t even think anyone could actually get into his Jail. He was worried enough to give himself two forms, but I doubt he’d go much deeper than that in terms of protection.”

“Look, my math might be a little off,” Ryuji starts. “But it’s literally a ten-on-one, right? I vote we kick his ass from the get go.”

Akira grips his arm. “Don’t. It might be a ten-on-one, but I don’t want to be walking out of here with only nine or less. We take this slow, like we always do.”

“...Fine.”

“What I’m worried about is that big sword of his,” Ann says grimly. “It looks like one hit from that thing I can kiss my entire torso goodbye.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Eyes flickering to Futaba, Akira asks, “Possible defenses?”

“I’m not seeing anything special from it other than it’s huge and sharp and could kill us if he really wanted to, which, he does. So it looks like it’s physical, unless he has something up his sleeve.”

“Which he probably does, because that’s just how things usually go for us,” Ann sighs.

“We’ll go with what we know.” Akira gets on his feet, taking another peek, black coattails swishing around his ankles. With blood-red hands he pulls his mask back down, and they all straighten up. His voice is barely above a mutter, but they all catch every word he says. “Panther, how’s your energy?”

“Nearly full,” she answers.

“Use Concentrate on Queen and Skull on their call, double their magical attack whenever you can. I know it takes awhile to reuse when you’re using it for anyone but yourself, but try your best. Ryuji, how you holding up?”

“Like everything’s zero gravity, leader.”

“Then I want you to do the same with Charge for Fox, Noir, and yourself. Don’t overdo it though—only do it on my call.”

“Got it.”

“Sophie, Morgana: healing duty. Especially for those of you who drain your health like an open tap. Noir, try to get a vantage point and use Milady’s arsenal. Catching Konoe off guard can be what we need. Oracle, watch our backs. Everyone else, on standby. Are we all clear?”

With a nod, Akira takes a deep breath. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”

He takes the first step, knowing full well that ten more are right behind him.

The minute Konoe spots where they were hiding, he takes a slow pace towards them, confident in his own abilities. He swings his lightsaber around him with ease, footsteps heavy and sure.

They take his lethargy to their advantage. “Split!” Akira calls, and immediately they head to where they need to be. “Let’s take this nice and—”

In a split second, the unhurried pace that Konoe was taking dissipates and he dashes forward, a blur to their eyes, heading straight for Ann, who just barely dodges out of the way.

“What the hell?!”

“He’s fucking fast now!”

“This guy’s speed just cranked up!” Futaba yells. “If he could do that without me even realizing it, then who knows—”

“Stay sharp, we know what we’re doing.”

“How on earth are you still so calm, Joker?!”

“Because I believe in all of you.” Dashing left, he brushes his mask. “Neko Shogun, help me out.” A black cat with eyes bigger than his hand materializes from the monochrome mask, and they all suddenly feel lighter on their feet, ready to dodge anything that comes their way. “Queen, Skull.”

“Roger that!”

Makoto scales one of the neon walls, grip strength insurmountable, and runs across the wires that are tied from each platform, boots barely touching the cord, before jumping down. “Johanna!”

An explosion, or something more akin to a nuclear bomb getting set off mere meters in front of them, occurs where Makoto lands, hitting Konoe head-on.

He staggers back, obviously shaken but he recovers quickly. Lightsaber buzzing red, he’s about to strike at her when she hops on the back of Johanna, engine revving. “Lucky us, he’s weak to nuclear.”

Ryuji hops on his feet, hyping himself up. “Not all of us have cars for a quick getaway,” he snarks, before he’s gone, sprinting so fast that he’s nearly a blur to anyone looking his way. Racing behind a wall, he gets the jump on Konoe. “Come on out, Captain!”

A storm brews even without a single cloud over them as ozone reeks and lightning strikes, the deafening sound of thunder makes their ears ring.

“Holy crap,” Futaba breathes.

“Is he weak?” he asks.

“Uh,” Ann says. Konoe uses his lightsaber as a makeshift cane to get himself on his feet, shaking his head aggressively. “Yeah, I’d say he’s weak to it.”

“Comms are set,” Futaba announces. “Noir, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Oracle,” a bright voice chirps in their ears. “Joker, it’s an easy shot.”

“Take it.”

“With your help, Milady.”

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rings out, and their heads swivel to see if it hit, but there’s no one there.

“What the...?” Ann wildly spins around, eyes widening. “Sophie—!”

Without turning her head back, Sophia instinctively ducks sideways, bits of red locks falling to the ground as Konoe’s lightsaber slices through the edges of her hair, and again when it grazes past her head, and another when it slices through the metal flooring like it was butter.

Panic grips her. “Pithos!” Sophia shrieks, voice high with fear. Blinding light shines from her hands, but Konoe walks into it like it was nothing.

Yusuke grips his katana, and silent as a gust of wind on a winter’s night, cuts through the air in front of him to deliver a myriad of slashes over Konoe. It does little to him, but it’s jarring enough that Sophia can escape where she was cornered.

“He’s very speedy,” Sophia says shakily. “Thank you, Fox.”

He nods, touching his mask in preparation. “That speed is nothing to jest about.”

“And we can’t do anything about it by just standing here! Makoto, back me up here.” Ann throws her mask in the air. “Carmen!”

“Find me an opening, and I’ll handle the rest,” Haru’s voice crackles.

“She’s right.” Akira touches his mask as it burns bright with the strength of dozens, maybe even hundreds of Personas. “She needs cover, and we need the element of surprise. Fox, Morgana.”

“Not a word more.”

“You got it!”

Ann takes a leaf from Makoto’s book, using her whip to grapple herself onto a ledge, running to take the high point behind Konoe, grazing Haru’s shoulder on the way there.

Konoe turns, but before he can take a counter measure, Akira calls out: “King Frost.”

At the same time, Yusuke says, voice loud and clear: “Goemon!”

Together, pillars of ice, meters and meters high surround Konoe, high enough that he can’t see anything past a few feet. But that height comes with a price; they can only make it so thick, and the lightsaber didn’t hesitate to crush it into bits.

“Panther, we don’t have too much time.” Already, sweat begins to pool and roll down Akira’s skin, using up his magic rapidly. “Are you in position?”

“Just—” she hops, heels clicking rapidly against the floor. “—About! Ten seconds!”

“We can hold it. Sophia, stay close on standby.”

“Understood!”

Motorcycle wheels screech next to Ryuji, and he doesn’t hesitate to hop on the back before they’re off again, leaving tire marks where they skirted off. “I swear to god, you play the racing games in the arcade. How the hell else would you get so good at this?”

“Would you shut up?” Makoto snaps.

“Roger that.”

“I’m in position!” Ann announces. She’s almost directly on top of the ice pillar. “On your signal.”

Gritting his teeth, Akira wipes the sweat away. “Hold.”

Yusuke swivels his head to him, knees shaking. “I can hold for as long as you need me to, but I might not be as much use afterwards.”

“It’s fine.” His eyes narrow at Konoe, still tearing through their ice blockade as the pile of shards only gets higher and higher. “Just a little bit longer. Sophia, use the biggest, most pinpoint bless move you have on my word.”

“Yes,” she responds, before hesitating. “He’s immune to it, I’m afraid.”

“I know.” Even Akira sounds breathless, his footing becoming unsteady.

“Joker, you don’t have much left,” Futaba warns. “You better hope this ends things, or we’re gonna have a real big problem on our hands.”

Once the shards of ice have piled high enough that it would surpass Konoe’s height twice over, and despite his hands beginning to turn blue, Akira's grin is wide. “Three—”

Yusuke’s vision begins to blur, but he refuses to relinquish Goemon.

“Two—”

Haru rearranges her finger on the trigger, palms drenched in sweat but they don’t shake. Not anymore.

“One—”

Ann takes a few steps back, sucking in a breath before sprinting forward, jumping straight over the open-chasm of ice and death beneath her.

“Now!”

Carmen releases a blaze of flame intense enough to encompass an entire neighborhood and then some, taking the shards and bits of ice that was piled high on top of each other and turning it into a cloud of fog and hot mist, shooting straight up and turning the visibility of the whole area to zero.

Yusuke crumbles to his knees as Ann tucks and rolls onto the floor, hissing as she feels her ankle twist into something nasty. “Shit!”

Akira staggers back, gripping his head like it hurts for him to stand, but that doesn’t stop him from yelling out: “Sophia!”

“Makougan!”

Like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm, there shines a beam of light so bright, so concentrated into one area, that they all know exactly where to aim their fire.

It all comes tumbling down, a perfectly set-up domino trap; Haru pulls trigger after trigger, bullet shells flying, ignoring the way her shoulder is inching further and further from where it’s supposed to be by taking the brunt of the recoil. Ryuji hops off the bike, crossing his arms in front of him calling two, three, four bolts as Makoto calls another nuclear blast.

From inside the whirlpool of thick clouds, where the fog is most dense, a figure sways, coughing and lurching forwards and back, trying desperately to escape.

“Oh no you don’t! Zorro!”

Wind, so thick you can almost see it, swirls around most of the mist, locking it in and dragging everyone else’s attacks right in the center.

Futaba’s clacking can be heard even now. “He’s losing health fast! Eighty percent, seventy percent, sixty—”

The ground trembles ominously.

“What in the world…?” Yusuke pants from the ground, elbows barely able to keep his torso up.

It happens again, stronger this time.

“Fifty, forty—” she continues, voice small and desperate. “Thirty! Twenty!”

Akira presses his palm against the ground, eyes closed before snapping open. Despite his exhaustion, he compels himself to stand, arms outstretched defensively. “Guard!”

They do so, and a streak of pure light flickers from the inside, before rapidly getting larger and larger until it turns into a scintillating sphere that grew and pulsed, eating up everything in its wake and blowing away the captivating fog. Try as they might, there’s nothing they can do to stand up against a Megidolaon.

Bruised and battered, Konoe stands tall as the Phantom Thieves can do nothing but look up from the ground, energy and options all but dried up until neither was left.

—

“Stop, I can walk, let me up—”

“Panther, stop struggling, your ankle is already too injured to—”

“Fuck! Oracle, does he know where we are?”

“Not yet; looks like that vanish ball Joker threw out gave us some cover but it’ll last for a way shorter time considering he blew through our plan in less than—”

“Whoa, Fox, you’re not looking good.”

“I’m afraid I can’t keep going, everyone. Goemon has reached his limit, but I don’t necessarily need him to keep fighting. Judging by my vision, however, my accuracy might be much lower than usual.”

“Man, shut up and stay down.”

“Sophia? Can you hear us?”

“Yes, but—ow!”

“Okay, stop moving, you’re only going to make it worse.”

“Joker, we still have plenty of items that we’ve accumulated from previous Jails. We don’t have much time before he can find us again, but if we put our heads together—”

“Are you talking about the scraps of grilled corn and the three life stones we have left? It would be suicide. We have to go in, guns blazing. It’s the only way it can work.”

“You’re talking about suicide, Mona, and the ‘guns blazing’ strategy you’re talking about would be literally lead to us serving our heads on a silver platter.”

“So what’s your plan, Queen? I’m all ears, I’m serious.”

“G-guys, stop fighting! We’ve barely got enough time as is. Just let me scan—”

“We’re pulling back.”

All eyes turn to Akira, posture straight despite the sheen of sweat clinging to his forehead. It’s obvious how he was barely able to stand.

Ryuji takes a step forward. “Are you crazy?”

"More than half of us are running on fumes, and half of those people are injured to the point where they can barely keep going. Our plan was shattered like it was nothing, he has a super move that’s so powerful that it tears through our defenses like tissue paper. We’re retreating.”

“Like hell we are! Do you know what’s gonna happen if we leave?”

“We heal our injuries, we get more items, we prepare better this time, and we come up with a better plan.”

“And that gives that bastard—” he jerks his thumb behind him. “The exact same advantage.”

“And what advantage do we have?” Akira’s voice is calm but they all feel the edge to it. “Who can even fight?”

“I can,” Morgana answers quietly. “He takes wind like concrete, though.”

“So can I. However, I can’t do as much as I normally can.” Haru rolls her shoulder, wincing. “I may have dislocated my shoulder earlier.”

“And me, obviously,” Ryuji finishes. “That’s nearly an entire team. We even have support and a distance shooter, and Futaba’s still in this too, so—”

“No.”

“What?”

“I said no,” he says, hard. “Don’t be stubborn about this. You know damn well why we can’t.”

Akira turns on his heel, only the slightest wobble in his movements. “Let’s move out. We only have thirty seconds left before the vanish ball wears off.”

“We’re not leaving.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Is it because you’re not on the team?”

A hush falls on them, and for a second, everyone forgets that they were even in the middle of a battle.

Akira glances back, hair covering his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Ryuji takes another step forward, chin tilted up. “That you don’t think that we can handle this without you.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it really? When was that last time you weren’t on the A team, Joker? Does anyone remember?” He glances at the rest of them. “Anyone? No? Yeah, I figured.”

He stares at him. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”

“I just don’t like that you’re implying that I can’t do shit for myself.”

“Ryuji…” Ann tries quietly.

“Yourself?” He faces him, expression blank. “I thought this was about the team.”

“And I’m part of the team, ain’t I?”

“You’re not dragging the rest of them into your petty, nonsensical argument, Skull,” Akira goes toe-to-toe with him, neither one blinking. “That’s final.”

“You know it would be dumb as shit to give that guy even more time to prepare. It’s like Shido—he was the toughest guy we went up against because he gave himself a billion counter measures since he knew we were coming. Konoe barely knew jack but he handed our asses to us. We finish this now or we don’t finish this at all.”

“I’d rather lose the battle than lose my friends,” he hisses. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“You’re too fucking blind to see that this is more than just us, leader,” Ryuji spits the word. “I can do it—no, I will do it.”

Akira grabs the bandana around his neck. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” he says through gritted teeth. “But you’re not going anywhere near Konoe.”

But it’s useless, and they both know it—Akira’s far too drained and Ryuji’s far too strong for it to be much more than an empty threat.

Ryuji wraps his fingers around his wrist. “I’ll prove to you that I can fucking do this,” his grip is tight, before forcibly peeling Akira’s grasp from him. “Believe in me. I’m strong, Akira.”

“Don’t do this.” Any anger from his words dissipates, and desperation takes its place. “I’m commanding you, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts—do not do this.”

With a wide grin and lightning behind his eyes, Ryuji’s gone, and Akira’s hand is grasping thin air.

“Fuck,” he clutches at his head, body shaking with exertion. “Fuck.”

“Oh my god,” Makoto breathes. “He’s going to fight Konoe alone.”

“Over my dead body,” Akira touches his mask. “Come out, Yoshits—” Before he can finish, a gutteral sound from deep in his throat cuts him off, and he crashes ungracefully on the ground. “God dammit.”

Makoto shakes herself out of her stupor, taking a deep breath. “Alright, we can’t leave Skull. We’ll work with what we have.” Instinctively, she looks to Akira for advice, but his eyes are glazed over. Whether or not it’s from exhaustion or shock from what happened, she doesn’t know. “Noir, range attack. Shoot down the broken limbs from the mech, pray it still has nuclear running through its pipes. Mona, you’ll be on the support. Noir is already down in health, and Lord knows Skull’s going to need it. I’m down energy wise, but I have a good visual from above.” Eyes sliding sideways. “Oracle?”

“Comms are set up, I’m scanning for weaknesses, and Skull’s almost there,” she replies instantly. “If you’re going to join him, it’s now or never.”

“Alright.” Makoto swallows. “Everyone else, stay back. You two—go.” Morgana and Noir dart out.

“Thank you,” Akira says quietly. “I was just…out of it.”

“You don’t have to explain. That was…” she trails off when he looks up at her. His gaze in the Metaverse is sharp, always sharp, but now they’re dull. From knives to pebbles.

“Why did he do this?” he whispers. “What did I do wrong?”

The floor begins to rumble again, and they all lean over the edge to watch the battle playout.

“Everyone’s in position,” Yusuke narrates with a frown. “I don’t doubt Skull’s skill, but even at our full power, Konoe couldn’t be beaten.”

“He’s there,” Makoto says, and Akira watches, perfectly still. “He’s about to hit first.”

Ann leans forward, as they all did, at how Ryuji calls Kidd, voice ringing so loud they can hear it from where they sat on top of a wall. “Can he really do it?”

“Well,” Futaba heaves a deep sigh. “He’s right that this is probably our best shot, considering that we already got Konoe down to twenty percent of his health.”

Captain Kidd materializes, and his cannon is leaning back, glowing with power, and Konoe takes a step sideways, about to dodge.

“But Ryuji isn’t the same fighter that he was before.”

Instead of shooting forward, the cannon is swiftly raised skyward and thunder cracks before lightning strikes Konoe, followed by Ryuji lifting his pipe and slamming it straight into his skull and dodging just as another Megidolaon grows where he stood.

All of them stare, wide-eyed, at the spectacle before them like it was a sporting match; a back and forth happens, where Konoe would use his immense speed and power to try and get the leg up on Ryuji, but he would only hit thin air as he dodges and parries, shifting and ducking with a finesse they’ve never seen before, calling up Kidd and using electricity so potent that they feel can its static. Konoe grips his saber and swings and swings, triple-attack rolled into one but everytime he tries he only gets cut off when Ryuji slams his hand into the ground and calls dozens of wildly waving purple hands, each of them clawing at Konoe mercilessly.

“I knew he was stronger than he was before,” Makoto’s eyes are wide with wonder. “But it's like I don’t even recognize him.”

Ions and plasma strike as lightning meets saber, causing a violent cascade of sparks to fly frantically around the two of them. Bullets ring out whenever Konoe takes a step back, only to send him flying as a mini nuclear blast explodes behind him; Haru’s aim is impeccable.

This dance plays out for a long time, with Ryuji calling earth-shaking attacks and dancing around Megidolaons while Haru finds weak spots.

“Has he grown even faster?” Yusuke wonders aloud.

Futaba is struggling to watch all the data, attention straying to watch the fight. “He’s shaved off another ten percent off his health!”

“He’s incredible,” Ann says, awe-struck. “Isn’t he, Joker? He’s totally kicking his ass, pretty much by himself.”

“There’s something wrong.”

She peels her eyes away from below to stare at him, perplexed. “Things couldn’t be any better.”

Akira’s eyes are trained on Ryuji, on the way he’s limboing, countering every single attack rather than guarding. “I’ve seen his style since the very first day he got his Persona, and I’ve never seen him dodge so fluently. So desperately,” he says, eyes narrowed. “Something changed. And I didn’t notice.”

“Guys, am I crazy,” Morgana’s voice crackles in their ear. “Or is he really, really good at dodging attacks? I’ve only healed Noir this entire time, and she’s not even down there.”

“I just think he’s being cautious,” Haru replies, cocking her gun before continuing her assault. “Oracle? Report, please.”

“Five percent left,” they all hear the grin in her voice. “He’s actually going to do it.”

“Panther.” Ann blinks at Akira. “Help me up.”

She does, pushing his shoulders up until he’s sitting straight. “Needed a better view of him being a badass?” she teases.

Instead of answering, his gaze focuses, irises turning into a bright shade of blue.

Third eye, she registers with surprise. “We already know his stats.”

“I don’t care about Konoe’s,” his brow furrows slightly. “I care about his.”

“Two percent!” Futaba calls gleefully.

Suddenly, air catches in Akira’s throat. “What?” Ann startles.

“His endurance,” his voice shakes so intensely that she almost can’t understand what he’s saying. “His endurance.”

“What? What does that mean? Joker?” He tries pushing himself on his feet, crumbling and spewing obscenities when he can’t. “What are you doing? There’s nothing you can do, and Mona’s already got the healing taken care of.”

“One percent!”

The look in Akira’s eye is wild, and he’s paler than she’s ever seen him—whiter than when he came back from the interrogation room, and it’s enough to make her stomach drop all the way to the ground. “By the time they heal him, it’ll be too late.”

Everyone cheers and they both turn their attention back to the battle below them, where Ryuji summons one last bolt at Konoe, and finally, it’s enough to take him down.

Ryuji turns his back to Konoe, arms raised in triumph and drenched in sweat, immense pride clear on his expression.

It all happens in slow motion.

Akira jumps down, ignoring the protests from above, limping and scrambling towards Ryuji. Behind him, Konoe tries for one last, desperate attempt to win by swinging his saber weakly at Ryuji’s ankles, grazing his flesh ever so slightly.

“No!” Akira cries out.

Despite the cut being as shallow as a paper cut and as wide as a bee’s sting, Ryuji crumples to the ground, all life seeped out of him like he was struck through the heart.

#p5 #p5s #mine #fic tag #plainly in truth #persona 5 #persona 5 strikers #ryuji sakamoto #akira kurusu #akiryu #pegoryu #chapter four...how the time flies

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tinyhacker · 7 years ago

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yay another tag thingy, ignore this

#{4'11 full of whoop ass (ง •̀_•́)ง} | Futaba Sakura #{his curry is somehow better than sojiro's} | Akira Kurusu/Persona 5 Protagonist #{does he use his brain at all} | Ryuji Sakamoto #{has a better bod than me} | Ann Takamaki #{do you still want those doujins inari} | Yusuke Kitagawa #{would her spikes impale me} | Makoto Niijima #{looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you} | Haru Okumura #{trust or not to trust} | Goro Akechi #{the doc's got legs so hot they could fry an egg} | Tae Takemi #{hello fellow geek} | Yuuki Mishima #{let's team up together} | Hifumi Togo #{looks like we both need some sleep} | Sadayo Kawakami #{why is the prosecutor salty} | Sae Niijima #{what kind of teacher beats up his students} | Suguru Kamoshida #{so much for being an 'artist'} | Ichiryusai Madarame #{i can't believe that they actually swatted a fly} | Junya Kaneshiro #{all of this for a toy} | Kunikazu Okumura #{i can't stop seeing him as a particular senator} | Masayoshi Shido

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krisseycrystal · 5 years ago

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rated: t

fandom: Persona 5

prompt: “Soulmates” + Shuake

requested by: @ardentknight

hello yes i’m back w/ more shuake for you plz enjoy

- o - o - o -

Too Many Video Games [Read on AO3]

- o - o - o -

Because Ryuji and Akira were the kind of “thick as thieves” that meant no secrets, not ever, Ryuji could be understandably miffed that when it came to the ever-controversial topic of soulmates, Akira only said, “I’ve already met mine.”

Ryuji, who still had no idea who the long, crooked line on his wrist was supposed to represent, scowled.

“What the hell?” and “How?” and “Who is it?” fell together in a messy jumble over his tongue and out of his mouth. He could hear his mother’s voice now, scolding, “Slow down, Ryuji. Breathe. You’re the only person I know who could drown simply by speaking.”

Akira smiled enigmatically and did that thing he always did when he was thinking: pinched a strand of curly dark hair between his fingers and twisted.

Ryuji wasn’t impressed. “Really, dude? You’re not gonna tell me?”

So finally Akira chuckled and pulled down his sleeve to reveal a boxy and cool-as-fuck looking Hercules gleaming on the underside of his wrist. The constellation was boxy, with legs that hurricaned outward. It was sick.

“And that is…?”

“The who is private.”

“What, really?!”

“Really.”

But no matter how hard Ryuji pushed and begged and pleaded, it was the one and only secret Akira kept from him.

It was infuriating.

- o - o - o -

Most people wore bands around their wrists; others didn’t. That wasn’t anything new. It was one of those unspoken understandings that the stars your soulmate was born under was a piece of private information you decided who and when to share with and how. Some people were like Ann who always changed out her wristband to match her outfit and had who-knew-how-many bangles and scrunchies and other accessories she’d gathered just to look cute and keep the stars on her wrist secret. Others were like Mr. Sakura who had no interest in the business of soulmates and kept his wrist bare for anyone to see the Ursa Major there.

Some people, on the other hand, were like Akechi, who always wore long sleeves no matter the weather and usually gloves and never were caught swimming. Ever.

It was those people who typically had more than one constellation, but that wasn’t a very common occurrence.

It was rare when a person had a whole piece of the sky chunked out and wrapped around their hand, winding up their arm, gorgeous and multi-faceted. In ancient times, theories had been that those unique individuals were able to call nearly anyone they met a soulmate who was born under at least one of those stars; in modern times, more theories were coming out that the more constellations on your body, the more specific your soulmate had to be. That soulmate had to have been born under that exact window of the sky.

At least, that’s what Ryuji heard on TV.

He figured that’s what Akechi had and why he wrapped himself up so much and so often and so tightly.

And then the day came when they were meeting to plan an infiltration into Sae Niijima’s palace. Ryuji, who arguably knew Akira better than anyone else, thought he was acting strange. Usually, Akira had the window seat in the LeBlanc booth the Thieves unofficially claimed as their own. It wasn’t as though Akira wasn’t allowed to sit anywhere else, but the instant he swung a hand at Ryuji in a very gentlemanly, You first, Ryuji felt something was off.

But it wasn’t a big deal and he wasn’t a sissy so after Ann climbed in, he scooched beside her and Akira sat on the outside. Haru, Yusuke, and Makoto clambered over into the opposite bench and Akechi and Futaba pulled up a few tall chairs from the counter.

They talked.

And they had talked about this plan so much lately that Ryuji felt like he already had it memorized, so he slouched over his crossed arms and let his chin dig into the purple of his jacket sleeve and closed his eyes and thought man, no wonder Morgana likes taking naps in sunlight; this is great--

--when Akechi, jokingly in response to a jibe from Makoto, hummed, “By the strength of my stars, are you doubting me?”

And it wasn’t like Ryuji had never heard people make those kind of expressions before. By the strength of my stars. The sprawl of my stars. Let no one but my stars be the judge of me.

It was just that people usually said something like that because that phrase held a connotation with the stars they were born under. Ryuji heard the word “strength” out of Akechi’s mouth and he remembered there was that old, animated Disney movie he used to love as a kid about the super-strong son of a god and his back snapped ramrod straight.

He would have probably talked his own self out of it all, too, if Akira hadn’t reacted the way he did, pressing his glasses up his nose and sharing a humored Look with Akechi, his arm close enough to brush against Akechi’s knee.

Akechi met his look in turn, a distinctive curl to his mouth that looks almost handsome and--

--oh my god.

Akira fucking took the outside seat for a reason.

Ryuji’s mouth dropped open, brown eyes enormous. He thought he might get whiplash from how fast his head spun back and forth and back and forth between Akira and Akechi and the dopey-eyed, disgusting Look they were still sharing while Makoto was still talking and oh my god. Oh my god.

Akira’s soulmate is Goro Akechi.

“Ryuji?” Haru chimed from the other side of the table. Her head tilted, pretty mouth pinched in concern. “Are you all right?”

“You--”

Akechi and Akira took one look at him and without needing to look at each other, they moved.

Akira’s hand slammed over his mouth before he could say another word; the other hand fisted into the back of his purple jacket and yanked him out of the booth so quickly and messily, Ryuji’s knee banged up against the bottom and nearly upended all of the team’s coffee and notes spread over the table.

Makoto squawked. Futaba yelped, feet jumping up onto the edge of her tall chair. Akechi hurried the both of them around the counter. They nearly ran into Mr. Sakura on their way into LeBlanc’s kitchens while he was on his way out, toweled hands laden with a fresh, steaming pot of curry. The man swore wildly as he lifted the giant pot, stumbling back out of their way. Then the door swung shut and Akira finally released Ryuji once his back was pressed to one of the two steel ranges lining the back.

“Wha--” But Ryuji didn’t get a chance to ask a damn thing because nearly immediately afterward, Akira and Akechi spared another glance, and then Akira turned around and fucking left him there in the kitchen with his soulmate, who, last Ryuji was sure about, they weren’t even really sure about. “What the hell was all that for?!”

“You don’t know how to be subtle,” Akechi muttered as if it was supposed to be enough of an explanation.

It wasn’t.

“You!” Ryuji sputtered. “You and Akira!”

“We--” Akechi looked like he was about to say something else but then thought better of it, biting the words back before they had a chance to slip free. “--yes.”

“You and Akira.”

“You said that.”

“I can’t fucking believe--”

“--you don’t have to say it that loudly, do you?”

That set Ryuji off again; he nearly screeched. “And you guys are keeping it secret!”

“Of course,” Akechi said as the kitchen door finally swung open again and Akira wandered back in. His slender fingers were wrapped around the handle of a small, ceramic cup of coffee. “I should think even someone as monkey-brained as you knows that it’s our business when and where and how people know the nature of our relationship.”

“Y-yeah, but--”

And then Ryuji’s entire front turned cold because Akira fucking dumped the coffee over his front.

“What the hell, man?!” Ryuji shrilled. He would have backed up further, trying to get away from this horrid abuse of their friendship, but the edge of the range still dug into the small of his back and his shoes squeaked uselessly against the floor tiles. “What’d you go and do that for? That’s fucking cold!”

“No. It’s hot,” Akira coolly said and Ryuji’s first thought was that he’s been playing too many video games.

“The FUCK?”

Akechi somehow picked up whatever it was Akira put down because he sighed like this entire conversation was taxing. His arms crossed over his chest. Akira handed a paper towel roll to Ryuji. “Consider it our cover story. The three of us looked rather conspicuous running into LeBlanc’s kitchens as fast as we did.”

Ryuji tore the paper towel roll out of Akira’s hand. “Excuse you. I was dragged.”

“Regardless, you will tell them you spilled coffee on yourself and it was so hot you could have suffered severe burns, so you are grateful Akira and I were as quick-thinking as we were to cart you off to the kitchen sink to resolve the situation and help you as fast as possible. Understand?”

Ryuji looked up, squeezing his yellow shirt dry and dimly realizing his mother was probably going to make him do the laundry (again). “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Akechi confirmed. Akira nodded.

“You’re not gonna say anything else?” Ryuji swung a hand at his ruined shirt. “Not like, ‘Sorry you had to find out this way, Ryuji,’ or ‘Hey, bud, I know this is like, breaking news, but if you keep this a secret, I’ll make it up to you.’” Ryuji stopped and gasped loudly. “Blackmail.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I could!” Ryuji tried to meet Akechi’s hard stare with his own but hated how transparent his own damn heart was. He sighed. “Fuck.” Then, he thought better of it. “Actually, speaking of--”

“--we’re not talking about our sex life, Ryuji.”

Of course Akira knew what he was thinking. Of course that whole “knowing each other better than anyone else” and “thick as thieves” thing was being turned around to bite him in the ass. Of course.

Damn.

#persona 5 #p5 #shuake #akira kusuru #goro akechi #soulmate au #fanfic #fluff bingo!#it's all really silly #ryuji sakamoto #but picture that one scene from friends where joey finds out about monica and chandler #that's basically what this is #krissey writes a thing

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pandamancer11 · 6 years ago

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Makoto’s Story - Chapter 1

**This is the first installment in a series I've dedicated to telling Makoto Niijima's side of the story in the events that take place through Persona 5.

It's been a ton of fun to explore the everyday life, turned adventure of a lifetime, of one of my favorite characters in the game! This series will loosely follow the plot of Persona, but I will be throwing a healthy batch of headcanon and my own narrative.

So if that's your thing, please join me as we see the world of Persona through the eyes of the Queen herself! **

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

I placed the papers back on the table and rubbed my sore eyes.

‘No matter how many times I run the numbers, the board has simply hasn’t given me the funds I need to pull this off…’

Lifting my face from my hands, I gave a tentative glance to the clock.

‘Five thirty already? I’ve been at this for hours, but there is still so much to be done.’ I drew in a deep breath ‘I hate to complain to the school board. They have lent a great deal of trust to me. Trusting me to be able to budget and plan this year’s up-coming student festival for the school. I just wish they had given me a little more to work with here…’

I grouped my scattered papers together, stacked them nicely and placed them neatly back in my bag. ‘I guess I’m just going to have to come back in again this Sunday to try to figure this out. Though I still don’t know what use it would be. I’ve been working on this every day for the past two weeks. I’m afraid I may end disappointing principal Kobayakawa and the whole school at this rate.’

My bag in hand, I stood and slid the chair back in its place. ‘I simply can’t let that happen. I knew, going in, becoming school president wasn’t going to be an easy task. I’ll just have to double my efforts tomorrow morning.’

I shut and locked the door to the student council office behind me. The school hallway was barren. Not a student or a teacher in sight. Most of the hall lights were off, and the only source of illumination was coming from the dwindling sun through the large bay windows overlooking the courtyard. It’s not like I was unaccustomed to being the only one left in the school.

It was just part of the routine at this point. Get to school early, hold meetings, go to class, check in on clubs, have a meeting with principal Kobayakawa, continue planning for the festival, and now, go home to get my studying done. I won’t say it’s been particularly easy since I became a third year here at Shujin Academy, but it’s all a part of ‘growing up’ as Sae told me.

How could I complain about my workload when my sister has not only come up against all expectations of her as an unmarried woman in the male-dominated work environment that is the SUI office but has blazed a path for me.

Not only did she graduate at the top of her class in law school, but she was even invited to be a prosecutor for the special investigations department. Becoming the first woman to do so. I’ve learned so much from her and would be privileged to live up to being even a fraction of what she is.

“Well hey there miss school president!” A man’s voice called to me. I looked towards the source and found the school’s volleyball coach, Mr. Kamoshida, was walking in my direction from further down the hallway. Probably fresh from the team practice considering the time of day.

“What has you at the school this late hour Niijima? Classes ended a few hours ago.” He grinned and rubbed the back of his head “Probably up to some student council business eh?”

I gave a smile back and a slight bow “Good evening Mr. Kamoshida. Yes, sir, the council has needed me to stay a little later after school to help organize the student festival that is coming up in a couple of months.”

“You are already working on that thing?” he let out a slight chuckle “You big brained students never cease to amaze me! Showing such initiative and dedication will surely be in your favor when it comes to college applications.”

“Thank you, sir. We are certainly trying our best to provide the best experience for our fellow students here at Shujin!”

“Well, I’m sure it will show when the time comes” He shifted his weight to the opposite leg and crossed his arms “You know Makoto, we could really use someone with your talents on the girls’ volleyball team.” Mr. Kamoshida suggested, “Now I know you have a lot on your plate at the moment, but we are holding tryouts for next semester’s team soon.”

I clutched my bag “Thank you for the offer sir, but I’m not really the athletic type-”

“Nonsense! Volleyball is more than just raw physical skill. It’s all about strategy. Having the ability to out-think as well as outmaneuver your opponent.” He mimed serving a volleyball “Strength means nothing without the ability to read the opponents weaknesses” Kamoshida spiked his imaginary ball “then exploiting that weakness to gain victory!” He dusted off his hands and smiled widely “And I think you’re just the girl to give us that much-needed edge! Besides, I can tell from just looking at you. You have quite the physic. I’m sure your body is capable of more than you give it credit for!”

My shoulders tightened “That’s very kind of you to say, sir. But as you did point out earlier, I do have quite a lot on my plate at the moment-”

He crossed his arms once again “Oh! No need to make a decision now! Just promise me you’ll think about it. I can assure you, you’ll be one of my first picks if you try out! I know you wouldn’t need another letter of recommendation from a teacher, but one more certainly couldn’t hurt.”

I nodded “It’s a very tempting and generous offer sir. I will certainly give it a great deal of thought when the time comes.”

He shot me a knowing grin “Now, we talked about this, no need for the sir stuff ok? Just call me Suguru. And hopefully soon, coach!”

“Yes si-, sorry, Suguru. I will do well to remember in the future” I faced the door that left the hallway “Well, I should be going or I’ll miss my train.”

He gestured to the door “Oh of course! Sorry for keeping you! Have a good rest of your day Makoto. See you tomorrow.”

I nodded in return “You as well!” and pulled open the door and hastily walked through. I watched the door slowly close behind me and took a breath. I could feel my palms moist with sweat. ‘Now now Makoto. You’re being ridiculous.’ I assured myself ‘You know they are all just rumors. We were simply having a friendly conversation, nothing more.’ I gave myself a moment to recompose. Once I had my legs back underneath myself, I made my way out of the front hall and towards the subway station.

The apartment looked the same as it did that morning when I left for school. I examined the clock on the wall ‘Hmm. Sis should have been home by now.’ Locking the door behind me, I placed my bag and jacket on the sofa and headed to the kitchen. ‘She must be pulling another all-nighter at the office.’

I pulled out a Tupperware of leftover homemade ramen I made earlier in the week. Being sure to make plenty and to portion out some for Sae as well. She works so hard, and she’s kind enough to house me at her apartment after all. The least I could do is make her a meal. However, when I opened up the fridge, I saw her container of ramen still full and untouched after sitting there for days.

‘Come to think of it’ I silently considered to myself ‘when was the last time I saw her home?’ I poured the last of my soup into a pot and let it heat back up on the stove top. ‘Maybe I should just shoot her a text and make sure she’s fine…’

I tapped my phone's screen back to life and opened up the messenger app. ‘Evening Sis. Sorry to bother you. I know you must be hard at work at the office. Just haven’t heard from you in a while and wanted to make sure you were well. Please let me know if I can do anything to help!’

The ramen had already started to steam, so I took a bowl from a nearby cupboard and set my place at the table. I pulled my seat up and let the aroma of the warm soup fill my lungs. It still smelt delicious. In this batch, I played with the ratio of chili sauce to broth. It absolutely paid off.

After a few spoonfuls, I noticed just how quiet it was in the house. I wasn’t particularly sure why it stood out to me just then of all times. Ever since Sae let me move in with her, it’s always kind of been like this. The apartment was beautiful. Matching cream-colored sofas in the living room. Lovely gray and black colored curtains. Even a couple of potted ferns and lilies to brighten the room a little. And under a stunningly hand carved coffee table laid a gorgeous ornate rug.

Sae’s apartment certainly didn’t lack a sense of taste. When she moved in, she even hired an interior decorator to give the place its distinct style and character. It gave off a sort of beautiful minimalistic feel.

Still, I had to admit, it lacked warmth. Can’t say I’ve ever complete felt comfortable in it. Though it was a near art piece, it still felt hollow somehow.

The stillness was putting me on edge, so I clicked on the TV in the living room a listened while I ate. The large screen popped to life, and the SNN breaking news logo streaked across the screen.

‘-Experts are still baffled as to what caused the trains to crash earlier this April. The subway’s conductor had cleared all tests for narcotics, or any substances of any kind, in his system. Even after extensive interrogation, he still cannot recall why he would have sent his train speeding down the track, far over recommended speeds, causing the massive crash into Shibuya station, killing dozens and injuring even more.-’ A reporter announced

‘Oh right, that train crash that happened earlier in the school year. It was fortunate it was on a Sunday, or Shujin students very easily could have been on that train or at the station.’ I stirred the noodles while listening to the broadcaster continue.

‘The conductor is still awaiting his court date to face a judge over whether the matter is to be considered criminal neglect or manslaughter.’ Another reporter chimed in ‘Now why isn’t he just being thrown in jail for murder? He wasn’t under any sort drug as you said, then he had to have been in a clear state of mind when he killed all those people’

‘Many have asked the same.’ The first reporter retorted ‘However, after the incident, it was confirmed by a doctor at the scene that the conductor had had a seizure of some sort behind the wheel. He was said to be foaming at the mouth, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was said to be lucky to recover from such an accident-’

I clicked the tv back off and sighed “I really don’t feel like hearing about train accidents right now” I murmured to myself while getting up. I grabbed my school bag and sat back down at the dinner table. Undid the latch and brought out my notes from the day. Segregating the binders and papers into separate piles by classes, I cracked open the first.

Before starting, I grouped a few noodles together and chomped down on a mouth full. My stomach growled with desire for more. “Hmm. Forgot how long ago lunch was. Guess my stomach didn’t.” I rubbed my tired eyes and got to work on my homework ‘Ok. Question one: according to the philosopher Plato, the soul is composed of appetite, spirit and what else?’

#persona 5 #persona #Makoto #fanfic #Makotosstory

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artificervaldi · 7 years ago

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I was gonna write fics for the last day of Persona Week but that fell through because of... Reasons. So Instead, have a post about an AU.

So, Persona AU that’s basically a mix between those cop dramas on TV and a buddy-cop comedy movie. I’m sure it’s pretty obvious that it’ll involve characters involved in the legal system/medical field mostly.

I mean, I could give everyone a role in this, but seeing as I don’t wanna get attached enough to write for it... We’ll stick to (some of) the characters involved in the legal system/medical field (ones I can come up with headcanons for, anyway)

Not accurate to real crime solving because, um, it’s based of things like buddy-cop comedies and the like.

So, this post’ll include: Maki Sonomura, Katsuya Suou, Tatsuya Suou, Akihiko Sanada, Naoto Shirogane, Chie Satonaka, Ryotaro Dojima, Tohru Adachi, Goro Akechi, Sae Niijima, and Tae Takemi!

Maki Sonomura:

Therapist who doesn’t exactly directly work on most cases with the police. Often supplies therapy for victims of crimes that do not result in their death.

Drinks with Katsuya and Tatsuya on occasion. Tries to give advice when they’re stumped on a case (the advice usually ends up helping them, too. No one knows why her advice is so good).

Friends with Tae due to chronic health problems. Tae’s medication usually keeps her out of the hospital. They don’t mention it to any of the legal team in this AU.

Lives with Eriko and Yukino in an apartment near her office.

Katsuya Suou:

Police Detective who isn’t the type to give up on a case when one is given to him. Overworks himself often, despite the worry his coworkers voice at this.

His bosses don’t seem to take him seriously, no matter how hard he works. Been at the station longest and is still the one sent out on silly errands.

Knows Maya and Ohya due to often having to chase them off from crime scenes. Gets pulled into drinking and chatting with them more often than he’d like to admit.

Lives with his brother in an apartment. Might as well live in the station at times.

Tatsuya Suou:

A normal cop, often tries to be quick to respond to emergencies when he can. Not good at dealing with the press, but is decent with civilians.

Goes on errands with Katsuya when he can squeeze it it. It’s about the only time the brothers can bond when things are getting hectic at the station.

Friends with Jun, Lisa, Eikichi, and Anna. Tries to keep them away from his work as much as possible. When really stressed he might even avoid his friends.

Lives with his brother in an apartment. Sometimes crashes at friends’ places when he doesn’t want to make the trip back.

Akihiko Sanada:

A police officer who likes to be the first on scene when he can. Always looks for those in need and tries his best to keep any causalities to a minimum when it comes down to it.

Chie’s partner, been working a little longer and doesn’t know what to think of her antics at times. Other times he’s just as bad as she is and they both end up getting scolded.

Friends with government agents Mitsuru and Aigis, sometimes gets information from them when the leads dry up. Lies about where he gets the info, Mitsuru helps make sure the story checks out.

Married, lives with his spouse in a house. Lives fairly far from the station (spouse can be whoever you imagine, since I’m not writing this lmao. If I did write it tho, would probably be Minato as the spouse)

Naoto Shirogane:

Detective who often finds herself working with the police on tough cases. Usually not greeted with much warmth when working with them, so she tries to avoid trying to make friends.

Often looks for clues and information among the regular populace. Known for being able to use the smallest thread to find an lead that can be used. Gets caught up in it.

High school friend of Chie’s. Doesn’t know how she feels when she ends up working at the station Chie works at. It really depends on the case and Chie’s mood at the time.

Married, lives with her spouse in a nearby apartment (spouse can be whoever you imagine, since I’m not writing this lmao. If I did write it tho, would probably be Kanji as the spouse )

Chie Satonaka:

New police officer who’s way too excited to be working with Akihiko. A bit hot headed and is known for rushing into things a lot of the time. Has been scolded a lot for this.

Great with civilians. Has a huge following of women who bring her snacks and sweets at work. She doesn’t seem to be interested in actually getting to know any of them past perhaps friendship.

Admires Akihiko, Naoto, and Dojima. Always follows them around the station, as long as they don’t find a way to lose her. When they do she usually defaults to Katsuya instead.

Dating Yukiko, long distance relationship. Lives in a small apartment. (You can imagine what you want with Aki and Naoto, but YukiChie is There).

Ryotaro Dojima:

Police detective who gets more caught up in his work than Katsuya does. Has more trouble staying out of it emotionally than Katsuya does, however. It makes him blind to clear answers sometimes.

Smokes and drinks like a motherfucker. Spends a lot of time drinking with Ohya, due to them both trying to drink their stress away. This worries his daughter.

Adachi is still his partner and still gets pushed around quite a bit. Thinks Adachi transferred out of Inaba because of this pushing and will mention it often.

Lives with Nanako and Yu in a small house.

Tohru Adachi:

Police detective who transferred out of Inaba when a now cold case went unsolved. The case happened to be the deaths of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, which Adachi is actually linked to.

He seems to be hiding a lot, but only a few really notice it. The few being Katsuya, Naoto, and Goro. He’s good at dodging questions that could incriminate him, however.

Tries to be friendly with Yu and Nanako. Yu is willing to go along with it, but Nanako has no interest in playing nice with him. He acts like he doesn’t understand the dislike, when he does.

Lives in a ratty apartment far from the station.

Goro Akechi:

A detective known for solving cases that lead to political repercussions on certain parties. This is due to the fact he sets them up on behalf of Shido, in order to further his plans.

Afraid of Maki, who has taken an interest in him and has noticed something is up with him. Tries to keep her from picking at his brain too much. This also goes for Naoto and Akihiko.

Spends most of his time with Sae, working on bigger cases to help her set up evidence. Usually sets it up to ensure the outcome he wants is the outcome, Sae usually seems to be none the wiser.

Lives alone in a nice apartment. Made sure it was far from Maki’s apartment.

Sae Niijima:

Prosecutor who does her best to ignore the conspiracy she is part of in order to make it big and supply for her sister. Has lost sight of many of her morals due to this.

Often butts heads with people such as Katsuya, Akihiko, and Chie. Doesn’t see the point in relying so heavily on what they feel is the right thing in a dog-eat-dog world.

Spends a lot of time away from the station due to the stress headaches it causes her. Relies on Goro to deliver most of the information to her because of this.

Lives in a home with Makoto, doesn’t come home often.

Tae Takemi:

Medical examiner for the police. Has a fashion taste that wouldn’t point to this, but she takes her job as seriously as anyone probably should.

Used to be a practitioner, but after things fell through she changed aims and ended up working with the police. Ended up being able to thrive with the small group she got to know.

Friends with Tatsuya and Dojima, lets them vent to her while she’s doing her work. She always knows what to say and never seems to mess up on what she’s doing.

Lives in an apartment near the station.

#Persona 1 #Persona 2 #Persona 3 #Persona 4 #Persona 5 #personaweek2k17 #maki sonomura #katsuya suou #tatsuya suou #akihiko sanada #naoto shirogane #chie satonaka #ryotaro dojima #tohru adachi #goro akechi #sae niijima #tae takemi

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cuban-feminist-that-gives-a-hoot · 8 years ago

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Okay! (MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5)

So, I beat Persona 5 a few days ago and I have thoughts. Lots of them. They’re going under the cut because spoilers! Seriously, there are spoilers in here. Do not read until you’ve beaten the game. Short answer for what I’m about to say is this: I love Persona 5. It is the best Persona game ever and makes Final Fantasy XV look like a goddamn weak shit of a game (well, more than it already does)

On to the spoilers!

Now that we’re under the spoiler category, let’s talk about the twists and everything else in it.

1. Akechi’s plan to get back at Shido is probably the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard of a supposedly smart person come up with. So he hires himself out as an assassin for him in order to get close and gain his trust, and decide that, once he becomes Prime Minister, he’s going to shame him with the knowledge that he’s your dad?

*takes a deep breath* Why in all hells on this earth did he think Shido would feel shame for abandoning him and his mom? Hell, Shido’s shadow flat out admitted that he was going to kill him after becoming Prime Minister. What the fuck was he going to do about that? This plan of his is convoluted and dumb and he is dumb for coming up with it in the first place. The only reason why the plan isn’t any dumber is simply because Akechi’s a teenager and even the smartest of teenagers do not always come up with great plans.

2. The twist about Akechi being the one selling you out and the killer is, well, one that is obvious if you’re paying attention. Yes, it’s mainly the Pancakes bit in June and it’s the biggest clue the game throws at you. Remember this about Persona 5: If something in the game seems off, there’s a reason for it and it will be explained.

3. Getting on the path to the true, good ending is far easier than in vanilla Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden. In Persona 4, you had to stop them from throwing Namatame in the T.V, name Adachi as the culprit, and don’t go home when you’re prompted to on the last day that you’re in Inaba. However, the answer choices are not so simple and clear-cut in that game compared to Persona 5. In Persona 5, it’s easily just this: Don’t cut a deal with anybody and don’t sell anyone out. You do those two things and you’ll get the good ending with no trouble at all.

4. Goddamn, Shido’s a fucking prick. This asshole wants to do all this shit simply because he wants to be Prime Minister? Seriously?! When the most minor of shit that he’s done was frame you for something you didn’t do, it makes all of Shido’s other shitty actions all the worse for it. I will say, however, that it was sweet, sweet retribution when I kicked his ass for all the shit he put our beloved Trickster through. Also, I can’t be the only one that felt massive shades of Donald Trump in this entire thing with Shido, right?

5. The playable characters: Holy fucking shit, I love them. There is not one character in the Phantom Thieves group that is boring or bad. Everything about these characters are lovable and I want to protect them. There was some neat stuff too, like Ryuji having his moment in Shido’s palace by getting the lifeboat for the team or Makoto coming up with the plan to trick Akechi at the police station to Futaba using a character quirk to bug Akechi’s phone. Like, I am so happy that this team is not a bunch of idiots. Akechi’s smart, but the Phantom Thieves are way smarter than they appear to be. They almost figured out that Akechi was sketchy since the Pancakes incident and they planned for the Trickster to get caught and be interrogated by Sae. This is some meticulous planning done by the team and I love it. <3

Now, onto the characters themselves:

- Ryuji’s a sweetheart. He’s a lovely mix of Yosuke and Kanji. Not exactly an idiot, but someone loyal and determined to stop Kamoshida. He is someone that would’ve sacrificed his life if it meant saving someone. He’s a hero and someone that didn’t deserve the bullshit he went through. I didn’t realize it at first, but after @ominous-musings mentioned it, he also reminds me of another blond, secretly smart hero: Zell Dincht from Final Fantasy VIII. And no, I am not kidding about Zell being smart. Because he is. He’s very smart.

- Ann’s a sweetheart and watching her tear her mask off and getting her Persona was so, sooooo satisfying (hell, just about all of them were). I like her. She’s amazing and the only reason I didn’t date her was because Morgana was so in love with her and I honor the bro code immensely.

- Speaking of Morgana... OMG, I am so, so glad that Morgana’s origins were explained. He is such a darling and, despite the name and the voice, is male. He clearly identifies as such, so no need to assume that Morgana’s anything but male. Cutest Persona mascot ever. Teddie has lost his throne as the cutest and, so has Koromaru (and don’t get me wrong, I love them both. Who doesn’t love Combat Dog and Pun-making Shadow Bear?). I am so happy that he didn’t die in the end. Also, he gets the best moment in the true ending. Clearly, he could work as a mechanic in the future. XD

- Makoto, holy shit. She is awesome. Her codename is Queen and she exemplifies it. She is the goddamn queen and brains of the operation. She is amazing. Were it not for the next character, I would’ve made her my girlfriend. Everything about her is amazing. <3

- Holy fucking shit, Futaba is a darling, protect her from all the evils in the world! She is such a sweetheart and I love her. I made her my girlfriend in my first playthrough and I do not regret it. She is amazing and darling. I love her persona, both initial and ultimate. I just love her. *_*

- Yusuke is a goddamn weirdo. He is also a bit judgy as hell, but you know what? I like his weird, judgy ass. He’s got some of the best lines and his weirdness just fits in so well. Also, his mask is really nice, merely because I am a sucker of the fox motif he has going on with his costume.

- Then, there’s Haru. Now, Haru unfortunately got the short stick in characterization, but the little bit we do get is that she’s sweet and kind. She probably has one of the best Thief costumes out there, but her civilian outfits are... well, even with money, you can’t buy good style and fashion sense. Also, her hair is nice. I like her hair. <3

- Goro Akechi. *takes a deep breath* How dare he presumes to be the second coming of the Ace Detective?! There is only ONE Ace Detective out there and that is Naoto Shirogane! If anyone should be the second coming of the Ace Detective, it’s Makoto Niijima. *clears throat* Beyond that, Akechi can be an irritating tit even before his betrayal comes out. Too bad the twist of him being a villain doesn’t surprise the more observant. I mean, for hell’s sake, his codename is Crow. I have learned to never trust anyone named Crow in any context. Also, apparently Akechi/MC is the most popular ship on Ao3. I get why, I really do, but I don’t like it. :P

- And finally, we have the Trickster himself. And wow, he is pretty. He’s prettier than both the P3 and P4 protagonists and has a bit more of a personality to him. I’m glad he does say a bit more too. He’s cocky, a show-off, and has one of the best smirks around. Also, he has an amazing sense of justice (Hell, all of the playable characters, save Akechi, do). The reason why he got probation was just to save someone else that was being attacked and yet, because of Shido’s dickishness, he got arrested and charged for something he was innocent of. His thief outfit is so damn slick and very well-designed. Also, Arsene is one of the most slickly-designed starter personas ever. And I can’t wait for a 2nd playthrough, just so that I can have Satanael in my party. *_*

6. The Confidant links are also amazing. Just about all of them are good people. My favorites was the Sun, Hierophant, Moon, and Star arcanas. Mainly because all the people with them are just amazing, especially Yoshida and Sojiro.

Holy shit, Yoshida’s entire link is amazing. He’s a politician that has fucked up in the past, but is determined to become an honest, truthful politician that wants to do the right thing. Given the political climate, we need more politicians like Yoshida.

The other one, Sojiro, is the dude that took you in and stuffed you in the attic above his coffee shop. He, like all the other adults, does not have a good first impression, but holy shit, by the end of this game, you want him to adopt you. This is the kind of dude that would’ve adopted the entire group and have them as his own misfit family if he could. He’s such a sweetheart with a gruff exterior. He adopted Futaba after the last relative, a shitty uncle, treated her so horribly that he paid a lot of money to get her out of there and give her a loving home. And then when he finds out that they’re the Phantom Thieves, he’s worried for them, of course, but he’s also accepting of them. Sojiro Sakura is, without a doubt, the best parental figure in a Persona game. Move over, Dojima, we have a new parental figure. <3

All in all, if you haven’t played this game, then what the fuck are you doing reading this? Go get this game and play it! If you only have a PS3, I promise you that it doesn’t look bad on the PS3 at all. It looks excellent on both systems and is worth your time in playing and beating it. If you want to see what a good story and good character development looks like, play this game. Unlike FFXV, where I kept asking myself, “WTF did Squix spend their time on with this game?!”, I don’t have to ask where Atlus spent their time on this game. How they spent their time was making a masterpiece. *_____*

#persona 5 #persona 5 spoilers #seriously I am warning about the spoilers #I'm not spoiling the other big twist #but the twist I am spoiling about is still pretty big #seriously do not read this if you have not even beaten this game

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