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frickin-sumi-from-persona-5 · 10 months

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i need to get p5r post-canon headcanons (some of these aren't really headcanons they're just me making my own b plots lmao) off my chest. i finished royal last night and i have so much i wanna talk about. its headcanon dump time i guess

(obviously huge spoilers for persona 5 royal)

fyi- these are all super unorganized and some of them don't make a lot of sense without the others. Sorry this is a mess lmao i just wanted to throw my thoughts out there.

also! i named my mc Ren

- akechi didn't die that's not canon. when the wish star thingy turned mona into a helicopter it did so because of ren wishing hard enough for all his friends to be safe. this extends to akechi & maruki and both of them made it out alive

- when he goes into the velvet room after grabbing maruki, ren thinks akechi geniunely did die and starts having a full on breakdown and then akechi just says something to the effect of "you never change" and ren turns around to see akechi leaning against the wall in the velvet room and ren is relieved

- meanwhile akechi is just like "well. i'm alive and i have to accept the consequences of my actions long term now. what the fuck. i hate this guy" but is secretely happy ren cared that much

(fwiw i ship ren/sumi/akechi as a poly trio but they aren't together as of the end of royal, just ren/sumi with akechi kinda third wheeling from time to time)

- after maruki's palace, he still has azathoth as his persona but decides to discontinue any further research.

- on that note, the metaverse wasn't erased. lavenza hand waved that well enough the first time. it takes a little bit for it to get back to normal though. the new path in mementos is still there and mementos just kinda changes gradually over time anyhow

- ren actually did let maruki go through with his plan originally, but lavenza was able to help him go back and make the right choice. because of this ren deeply wants to see a future where him and all his friends are alive and happy

- after the battle with maruki he begs sojiro to let him stay at leblanc and sojiro really does try but ultimately joker has to leave

- Akechi being revived after everything went to normal means he's basically homeless, ren makes sojiro reluctantly agree to let Akechi stay in the attic.

- Akechi has to work at the cafe at first but he can't make coffee for shit so Sojiro just lets him off the hook.

- Ren is heartbroken on his return to his hometown (somewhere close to but not specifically Inaba, maybe Okina?)

- Futaba and Sojiro make a good case for him to come back, and Shujin academy actually backs this up because of his performance last year (also Kawakami)

- after a few months away Ren moves back to youngen. The metaverse has kinda settled and it's back to normal, and the phantom theives resume business as usual

- im. basically just writing fanfic here lmao

- Haru and Makoto move in together to save on costs. Is this gay? time will tell

- Ryuji transfers to a different school due to the move but still hangs out with the gang

- Ann does study abroad after all, and she's sad to go but she wishes the theives luck from wherever she goes (maybe Los Angeles?)

- Haru keeping Okumura foods never happened either. She was able to mostly dissipate the company in an effort to try to distribute the wealth better. Of course, this didn't actually work completely and there are still many powerful ex-okumura foods executives out there, but Haru is happy she did her part.

- Around the time or Ren returning, the phantom theives go through a big transformation of trying to determine their values (as well as who they are).

- Ren makes Akechi stay around with the phantom theives and the entire team kinda hates him except Ren and Sumi, although eventually people start warming up to him.

- Ren convinces the Phantom Theives to let Akechi stay around because he thinks that the phantom theives of all people should believe in letting people change. They agree on the condition that they check if Akechi has a palace. He doesn't and so he stays around. He does come to geniunely regret his actions and tries and makes up for them.

- After spending YEARS not dare letting anyone see any flaws with him, Akechi becomes just kinda burnt out. He's just a pathetic little failboy now and he knows it and hates himself for it. He's not good at asking for help

- Also Akechi 100% has some kind of trauma disorder/personality disorder. I don't know too much about it but from what I know i wanna say i headcanon akechi with npd

- ren is transmasc. there's not much of an in-universe explanation that would make sense here but he's trans. he has tboy swag.

- ren is kinda fucked up but has grown used to the horrors(tm) and doesn't give a fuck anymore.

- there's no good headcanon i can make with ryuji. like he's just a guy and we love him for it

- ann absolutely has a crush on shiho and i ship them. ann thinks she's "just an ally lol" until one day it hits her and she's like. oh. i'm gay.

- yusuke is probably bi or something. you cannot tell me he doesn't like men in some capacity. actually wait maybe he's aro/ace spec. i don't even know with him i just think my man's funky.

- also yusuke is 100% autistic. i think most of the phantom theives are kinda neurodivergent in some way, but Yusuke & Futaba stand out as being the Autistics of the bunch(tm)

- Makoto wanted to be a police commissioner but kinda comes to the realisation that won't do anything so she kinda just has a crisis. Both hee and Haru spent their lives accepting oppressive systems and they're kinda just recoiling at what they'll do now.

- Futaba doesn't make any new friends in school but she's happy things are back to normal. She's in the same class as Sumire.

- Haru has no idea what to study in college and neither does Makoto. She ends up taking Psychology and Makoto ends up taking intro to law even though neither of them are sure what they want for the future.

- Akechi ultimately resigns from going to school but helps Ren & Sumi out with homework when they ask

- Sumire and Futaba get Kawakami's class as their homeroom. Futaba calls Kawakami a "milf" and it annoys Sumi. Futaba knows it annoys her and she does it on purpose.

- Sumire is trans. Kasumi isn't. Sumire looked up to her sister and wanted to be a girl so when she finally got the chance to be someone she looked up to and erase her guilt of course she took it. A big part of the reason why she didn't want to stop being Kasumi was gender dysphoria. Sumire wasn't her name prior to this I can only assume she had a deadname. Maybe she chooses Sumire to honor her sister.

- Hifumi becomes a phantom theif eventually. I've speculated about this too much and now I want it to be real.

- Akechi and Sumi have a showtime attack. I'm not sure exactly what It would entail but I can picture Akechi saying something like "I can be elegant when I want to"

- After Hereward forms, Akechi is no longer a wild card. As Akechi grows and recovers as a person, his metaverse outfit changes, and eventually it looks like something along the lines of his White Suit, but with a different color palette. The top mask part of his helmet/mask is the only part that sticks around, now my boy has his hair out and can breathe (and take off his mask dramatically like the theater kid he is)

- The Royal Trio probably become a proper trio like sometime in the early fall (after ren comes back to yongen). Akechi and Sumi are initially very jealous of the time they spend with Ren but come to realise that the time spent with the three of them is the time that matters most of all.

- The Phantom theives ultimately decide that because of the money and treasure they get from Infiltrating Mementos/Palaces, most of them don't need jobs. They spend their money cautiously so they don't like. Fuck up the economy and/or tip off law enforcement.

- Eventually members who were undecided with their lives ultimately resolve to be one of the phantom theives and just do that full time. Sumi, Yusuke, and Ann are exceptions right now, with Sumi chasing her dreams to be a Professional Gymnast. Somewhere much later down the road I think the phantom theives decide to follow these goals as a team. Sumi and Ann traveling for work could probably make a great cover for the Phantom Theives.

(although i'm not thinking about their characters beyond ren graduating high school. this is more their POV and what they aspire to do for the future)

- I imagine the phantom Theives kinda just become like Tokyo's superheroes in that they have threats come up from time to time and just kinda deal with it as necessary

- People can talk to their personas at any time, but can only summon them in the metaverse. A lot of Personas have things to say throughout the day that they make some commentary on. Most of them are fairly reliable for advice, but don't technically know any more than the person they're apart of.

- Joker is a bit of an exception to this rule, due to having more than one Persona. If he wants to talk to them he kinda has to tap into his mind and see them all. It's not particularly difficult it just requires a little bit of focus, and there's usually not much of a reason to do it.

- Also his personas manifest physically in the velvet room as well.

- At a certain point Mona just kinda comes into the velvet room too and just fucks around while joker is working his ass off to fuse the most overpowered persona

- i don't really know anything about strikers but quite frankly if i ever get around to playing it i'm gonna disregard half of it as not canon and then just take the most important story elements and also sophie and just incorporate it into my perception of persona 5

- Maruki considers teaming up with the Phantom Theives, and ultimately decides against it, although he helps them out every now and again.

- Personal favorite. Maruki was able to manipulate mementos to his will and create a whole new path, and The Phantom theives are curious in seeing if they can do the same thing. After a bit of work, they end up creating a safe room that takes on the appearance of theives den. This has the effect of the cognition believing the Phantom Theives are safe and out of the way, making it easier for them to slip by the radar.

- If Futaba is ever really busy Lavenza subs in for her and does the navigating.

It's kinda funny how canon-divergent all of this is. Because I'm normally someone who religiously sticks to canon and doesn't like it when fanworks stray too far from the established canon. That said, Persona 5's ending felt kinda sad and I want some copium. not me casually rewriting their reality in my mind the day after beating dr maruki

anyhow now i gotta play strikers :3

#persona 5 #persona 5 headcanons

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spypidgeon · 4 months

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At a Cost Chapter 2

First Chapter

“We’re here, girls!” Shinichi told Sumire and Kasumi as they pulled up beside Shujin Academy.

Sumire looked out her window at the school she’d be going to for the next few years of her life. Ordinarily students would have time to familiarize themselves with the school layout before their first day, but due to the accident, Sumire and Kasumi weren’t able to come here in person until today. Thankfully, they were both given a map and had a basic idea of how to get around.

Shinichi opened up his door and got out, then walked over to the trunk of the car where both Kasumi and Sumire’s wheelchairs were stored. Sumire wasn’t sure if they’d fit at all at first, but they managed to get both of them in there nonetheless.

Shinichi first got Sumire’s wheelchair out of the trunk, then brought it to the door facing the school. Sumire opened the door and Shinichi helped her into her chair. Despite being glad for the help, Sumire was still a bit ashamed about being reliant on her parents for so many things.

Once Sumire was comfortably in her chair, Shinichi went back to the trunk to get Kasumi’s chair. Sumire courteously got out of the way so he could place the chair in the same spot and help Kasumi.

Once Kasumi was comfortable in her own chair, Shinichi got both of their attention.

“Now, I have to leave for work, please be safe.” Shinichi then gave Sumire a stern look. “Especially you, Sumire. We don’t want a repeat of what happened yesterday, now do we?”

“I know…” Sumire shamefully looked away.

“Good.” Shinichi sighed. “Well, the teachers should be able to help you with anything you can’t do on your own. So ask them if you need it, okay?”

“Got it.” Both Sumire and Kasumi replied to their father.

Shinichi nodded with a smile. “Alright, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Bye, Dad.” Kasumi waved to him.

“Goodbye…” Sumire said.

Shinichi then walked back to the car and drove off, leaving Sumire and Kasumi alone.

Sumire sighed as she turned her wheelchair towards the school. Here goes nothing…

She felt a pat on her back and she turned her head to see Kasumi next to her with a gentle smile.

“Hey, we’ll be alright.” Kasumi assured her. “Now let’s get to school!” She announced cheerily.

Kasumi went on ahead of Sumire after saying that. After a brief moment of hesitation, Sumire followed after her.

As they went up the ramp to the school, other students began to take notice of them.

“Hey… Aren’t those the gymnast honor students? What happened to them?”

“Why are they in wheelchairs?”

“They aren’t wearing any casts… Are they permanently disabled?”

“They can’t be though, right? Like they’re honor students because of gymnastics aren’t they?”

Sumire continued on through the hallways as the whispers continued. Some seemed sympathetic, others concerned, but all were confused. The reaction was justified in Sumire’s mind though, it’s not like everyone would know what happened.

Eventually, Sumire and Kasumi arrived at an elevator. Thank goodness the school had one, since their classes were on the third floor. One of the perks of being a prestigious private school, Sumire thought.

The twins entered the elevator and Kasumi pressed the button for the third floor. As the elevator slowly ascended, Sumire’s mind couldn’t help but drift back to the true severity of her and Kasumi’s situation.

Sure, they could still get to school for now, but what about after school? After they graduate?

Their whole lives were built upon gymnastics and, despite Sumire’s personal lack of meaningful talent in the sport, she still ruined it for Kasumi.

“Kasumi… I-”

“Sumire if you’re about to apologize for the millionth time, stop.” Kasumi shot her down immediately. “It’s not your fault. Neither of us knew this would happen.”

“B-But I still ran off! This is still my-” Sumire got cut off again.

“And?” Kasumi gave Sumire a look. “What happened, happened. Okay?” She then looked down at her legs with a somber expression. “...The best we can do is… adjust to the aftermath.”

Sumire looked at her own legs in turn, she still felt guilt but… Kasumi was right. The best thing to do was… adapt, she guessed.

The elevator finally arrived at the third floor and the doors opened. Kasumi got out first with Sumire following behind. As they looked for their classroom number, the whispers started again, causing Sumire to sink in her wheelchair a little.

Eventually they find their class number and a student courteously opens the door for them. They politely bow their heads in thanks before heading inside one after another.

“Ah, you’re here.” The teacher greeted as the two entered. “Once classes start we’ll introduce you two, so stay here.”

Kasumi and Sumire both nod and get out of the way of other students entering the classroom.

Each of the students that entered after Sumire and Kasumi noticed them and whispered amongst themselves, wondering who they were or what happened to them. Eventually, all the seats in the classroom are filled but two in the back, presumably hers and Kasumi’s.

The teacher then stood up in front of class and began to introduce Sumire and Kasumi.

“Welcome to class, everyone.” She then gestured to the twins. “As I’m sure you’ve heard, we have a couple of new students in this class. Please, introduce yourselves.”

“I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa!” Kasumi wasted no time in introducing herself. “I hope we get along!”

“I’m Sumire Yoshizawa…” Sumire introduced herself after a moment’s hesitation.

At the mention of their surnames, everyone in the class began whispering amongst themselves. The whispers were all similar to what Sumire had heard on the way up, so she simply tuned them out.

“Alright, you two will be sitting in the back.” The teacher then pointed to their seats. “We’ve moved the chairs from those two desks so you two should be able to position your wheelchairs properly at those desks.”

“Thanks!” Kasumi cheerily told the teacher.

“Thanks…” Sumire replied in turn.

The two carefully navigated between the rows of desks, their wheelchairs barely fitting in the space. As they passed by the other students, said students moved their bags and legs out of the way, staring at Sumire and Kasumi as the two passed by.

Eventually, Sumire and Kasumi got to their desks, orienting their wheelchairs so they could lean over their desks properly to take notes. Once in a good position, the two took their textbooks out of their bags and set them on their desks. All the while the only sounds to occupy them were the whispers of their fellow students.

Sumire awkwardly fidgeted with a strand of her hair as she tried to tune out the continued whispers. Even as the teacher officially started class, Sumire could feel the glances and stares of her fellow students.

Not even an hour into the school day… And Sumire already wanted to go home.

Nevertheless, Sumire began taking notes.

***

Sumire sat bored out of her mind in her wheelchair as she watched the volleyball game in the gym. She didn’t even know why she and Kasumi were required to go to this rally, it’s not like they even could participate.

Sumire looked down at her legs with a scowl.

“...This sucks.” Kasumi spoke up from beside Sumire.

Sumire glanced over at her sister, who looked more bored than Sumire had ever seen her before.

“Wanna explore the school instead?” Kasumi offered.

As much as Sumire would rather do that than this, she was still worried.

“Don’t they want us to stay here until the rally is over?” Sumire couldn’t help but ask.

Kasumi shrugged. “I’ve seen other students leave, besides, they only want students here so that they can participate in the rally.” She then gestured to each of their legs. “...but I don’t really think it’d make much of a difference if we were here or not.”

Sumire sighed. “Sure… I just hope we don’t get in trouble…”

“We’ll be fine!” Kasumi insisted before turning her wheelchair. “Come on.”

Kasumi started heading towards the doors, Sumire was still a bit worried about getting into any trouble… but she followed along anyway. Thankfully the doors were left open so Sumire and Kasumi could simply leave.

After exiting the gym, Sumire and Kasumi began simply wandering around the school checking things out. Come to think of it, Sumire hadn’t really had the opportunity to do so yet. Generally she would just eat her lunches in the classroom and simply wait outside the school for her father when classes were over.

Today though… They weren’t really allowed to leave the school until the rally was over… so there wasn’t much to do besides explore. Unless she wanted to study, and oh did she hate studying.

Eventually, the twins found a glass door to the courtyard. It had bars to pull on, but thankfully they were on the side where they could simply push it open as they passed through. Kasumi went first, but held it open for Sumire instead of letting her push it open herself.

Ordinarily, Sumire would appreciate the gesture, but now, even from Kasumi, she can’t help but be slightly irritated by it. Not wanting to upset Kasumi though, Sumire said nothing about it.

Sumire and Kasumi then entered the courtyard. Sumire had to admit, it was a nice change of pace from how dull the school itself looked.

There was well tended grass, bushes, even some trees. There wasn’t anything on the ground that seemed like it’d inhibit moving around in a wheelchair, so Kasumi and Sumire had no problem exploring the small outside area together.

That is to say… If there was even anything to explore.

While the outside area added a splash of color to the otherwise drab school, that was all it did. It didn’t take long for the sisters to realize there really wasn’t anything special at all about the area.

Eventually, Sumire heard Kasumi sigh.

“Kasumi?”

“This isn’t as interesting as I’d hoped it would be.” Kasumi replied before going back onto the concrete walkway. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”

“O-Okay…” Sumire followed along.

Of course, on their way back they had to pull open the door this time…

Kasumi sighed again as she repositioned her wheelchair to be perpendicular to the doorway. Once there, she grabbed the bar on the right door and started pulling. Her wheelchair was in the way, however, and she had to back up slightly until she could reach the door handle with her right arm.

Once the door was in her right arm, she was finally able to open it up all the way and head inside, holding it open for Sumire to pass through once again. Once they were both inside, Kasumi and Sumire started heading back to the gym.

As they were going though… Kasumi seemed oddly quiet, and she wouldn’t look at Sumire.

Sumire was confused, but that confusion soon turned into concern when she heard a sniffle come from her sister.

“Kasumi!? Are you okay!” Sumire asked with worry.

“I-I’m fine…” Kasumi sounded like she was very clearly holding back tears.

“Kasumi!”

Kasumi sighed and turned her chair around to face Sumire. There were very clear tears running down her face, and she was clearly forcing a smile, which alarmed Sumire. She hadn’t seen Kasumi cry in a while… She was always confident, always caring.

“What’s wrong?” Sumire asked, though she was sure she already knew the answer.

Kasumi dropped her smile and sighed yet again.

“...I’m tired, Sumire.” Kasumi admitted. “Everyday I… I keep trying to forget about what happened, to forget about all this.” She gestured to her legs. “...but I just can’t. Everything I try to do just reminds me of it all over again.”

Kasumi leans all the way back in her chair, no longer making an effort to sit upright.

“I just wish that it never happened…” Kasumi told Sumire. “That we could just be doing gymnastics together, jogging together, even just walking together… But it won’t ever be that way again.”

Kasumi broke down into sobs in front of Sumire. This is… the first time Sumire has ever seen her sister get so emotional. Yet her mind only goes to one place:

This is all her fault, isn’t it?

If Sumire hadn’t run off… Kasumi’s wish would have been reality.

The sound of Kasumi turning her wheelchair around snaps Sumire out of her head, but it’s too late. Kasumi left, but not in the direction of the gym. As much as Sumire wanted to go after her sister, to apologize, to comfort her, to do anything…

Sumire felt too ashamed.

Her head hanging low, Sumire returned to the gym. Alone.

***

The next day… the situation hadn’t improved. Kasumi seemed wary of Sumire after dropping everything onto her, and Sumire was too ashamed to reach out to her sister.

First their legs, then their relationship… Sumire really has a way of screwing everything up, doesn’t she?

At least she hasn’t ruined their education yet, but how long until she does?

Sumire couldn’t pay much attention in class as her mind kept returning to these thoughts. She figured it’d be fine though, she could just read up on the material later.

Suddenly someone rushed past her, snapping Sumire out of her thoughts. She looked around and saw most of the class getting up from their desks and rushing out the door. Sumire didn’t understand why, however.

“She’s going to jump!” Someone yelled.

That alarmed Sumire, and she quickly backed up with her wheelchair, turned, and went through the classroom door to the window. She followed everyone’s eyes to the rooftop and saw a black-haired girl with a ponytail standing on the edge.

Sumire’s eyes widened as the girl jumped.

Sumire put her hands to her mouth as she watched the girl plummeting towards the ground. The girl landed on her legs and Sumire swore she could hear a snap when she did. A very similar snapping sound to when she was hit by the truck…

The other students cleared away from the window to go downstairs, leaving Sumire and Kasumi alone on the third level. Sumire inched towards the window and nearly vomited as what she saw.

The girl was now lying on the grass, but her legs… Sumire couldn’t look.

She backed away from the window and simply went back to class. Her hands were shaking when she got back to her desk. She just couldn’t… process what she’d seen.

The girl falling through the air and that noise were all she could think about as they kept echoing in her mind. She grabbed her head with both hands and leaned over her desk as she tried to get it out of her mind.

Even after she’d heard the ambulance arrive and drive off, presumably with the girl, the event remained in Sumire’s mind. Even as she was leaving the school that day after it was abruptly canceled, the event remained in Sumire’s mind.

***

Even days later, the event remained in Sumire’s mind. She’d heard several rumors about it too.

The delinquent transfer student bullying her into it felt the most believable… but she also had the feeling that the people saying it had no idea if that actually was the case. There was also one about Kamoshida… sexually assaulting her… Which Sumire prayed wasn’t the case.

Well, assuming the delinquent transfer was actually responsible… There was also a rumor about him being expelled which would serve some kind of justice, Sumire supposed…

Perhaps Sumire shouldn’t be focusing so much on what’s going on with other people. For all she knows, she could end up just making an already bad situation worse.

Like with Kasumi…

They’ve still barely talked since the rally… It feels like Kasumi’s been avoiding her. Has she finally realized how much of a hazard Sumire was? Has Kasumi finally abandoned her?

Sumire knew it was probably for the best at this point… but she couldn’t help the tear that trailed down her cheek at the thought.

Sumire wiped the tear away, thankfully there was nobody around to notice as she ate lunch by herself. Not even Kasumi.

She quickly took a bite of her meal to distract herself from the thoughts that inevitably would repeat themselves upon thinking of Kasumi.

Sumire had mixed feelings about her lunch too. She was used to eating a lot more, but without gymnastics to balance out her diet she’d just get fat… and on top of that her mother actually prepared this lunch. Sumire wasn’t as fast with cooking as she used to be, as the wheelchair has continued to prove a great challenge in navigating the kitchen, so she simply didn’t have time in the morning to cook herself a lunch.

Sumire loved her mother’s cooking… but she missed the days when she could cook her own meals. At least she was allowed to cook dinner with supervision…

Sumire let out a painful sigh and leaned back in her chair, unable to take another bite of her food. Tears began rolling down her face once more.

She just wished she could turn back time… Never run away from Kasumi in the first place… Maybe quit gymnastics too just so she wouldn’t be in a position to hurt Kasumi like that again.

It would’ve gone against their dream… but it’s not like their dream meant anything anymore.

“Are you okay?” A deep voice asked from nearby.

Sumire quickly looked over to the source of the voice, wiping away her tears. It was a boy… She recognized that boy.

It was the supposed delinquent transfer student, Ren Amamiya. Sumire wasn’t sure what to expect if she ever encountered him… but this definitely wasn’t it.

He looked… concerned? Like he wanted to help if he could.

This was the delinquent transfer though… And if he could have driven a student to suicide, then his concerned gaze made him seem even scarier to her.

“U-Uhm… I’m fine.” Sumire looked away from him.

“You were crying though, are you sure?” Amamiya asked.

“Y-Yes!” Sumire attempted to say with confidence, it fell short of course. “Please, leave me alone…”

“...Okay.” The boy responded.

Sumire heard footsteps walking away from her and looked up. The transfer student was walking away from her, but there was a cat in his bag staring at her? Sumire was just… confused now. Confused and worried. What if the boy came back?

She shook her head and got back to eating her lunch. It’s not like she had anything better to do…

***

Kasumi felt extremely guilty. She was supposed to be the confident older sister, the person Sumire could always rely on, but she wasn’t being that person.

Kasumi was hiding. She was hiding from her sister… and she was frustrated with herself over it.

Ever since she dumped everything she was feeling, all of her emotions, on her sister… She just couldn’t get the confidence to speak to her again… but she’s seen how all of this has affected Sumire.

Sumire’s been sulking even more than before, and there’s always this distant look in her eyes…

Kasumi shook her head, she had to do something. She didn’t want to simply watch her sister suffer in silence again, that’s what led to this in the first place, after all…

With that thought in mind, Kasumi started looking for Sumire. She wasn’t sure exactly where Sumire ate, but she imagined it’d be somewhere secluded.

Hmmm…

Kasumi headed towards the elevators and went down to the first floor. From there, she began heading towards the courtyard they’d found before. Despite being arguably the nicest area of the school, she didn’t often see a lot of students eat their lunches there.

On the way though…

“Yoshizawa-san?” A voice called out.

Kasumi stopped and turned her head towards the voice. It was the school coach, she believed his name was Kamoshida.

“Kamoshida-sensei?” Kasumi replied.

“You were one of the gymnasts transferring here, right?” Kamoshida asked.

Kasumi flinched at the mention of gymnastics.

“Y-Yes.” Kasumi answered in a neutral tone, already not enjoying the direction of this conversation.

“Yeah, what a shame...” Kamoshida responded. “It must hurt, being at the top of your game only to be taken out by some bullshit.”

Kasumi’s eyes widened. “H-Huh?”

Kamoshida laughed at her. “Now your career is over and you’re practically worthless.”

Kasumi opened and closed her mouth several times as she was filled with despair. Why was a teacher mocking her like this?

Kamoshida simply laughed and walked off. Kasumi suddenly didn’t feel very confident about finding Sumire…

She just wanted to go home.

***

Sumire wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear at this point. The rumors about Kamoshida sexually assaulting Suzui? All true, he'd just confessed them after all… and Sumire blamed it on Amamiya. She treated him so poorly over it too when he didn’t deserve it.

She was incredibly standoffish in their first meeting and she’d been avoiding him in the halls ever since. Over rumors. When she of all people should know how dishonest those can be.

As the other students slowly began exiting the gym, even Kasumi, Sumire soon found herself alone. Well, almost alone.

She saw Amamiya talking to a couple of other students. Sumire didn’t know who they were but… She felt she had to at least apologize to him.

Sumire turned her chair and went over to Amamiya. As she approached, all three students turned towards her. Their curious stares filled Sumire with anxiety, but she turned toward Amamiya anyway.

“Uhm… I’m really sorry, Amamiya-senpai!” Sumire forced herself to say whilst bowing her head.

“For what?” Amamiya replied, looking confused.

“F-For believing the rumors about you were true…” Sumire continued to force herself to talk. “P-Plus I was rather rude when you tried to talk to me…”

Amamiya remained silent for a few seconds.

“I mean…” He started. Sumire looked up at him as he was scratching his neck. “It’s not really a big deal? I’ve gotten far worse from pretty much everyone else here…”

Sumire winced at his response. It must be tough…

“In any case… I should have known better than to trust rumors.” Sumire told him. “My sister and I are pretty used to those since we used to be competitive rhythmic gymnasts.”

The blonde girl’s eyes widened when she said that. “Oh! You’re the gymnast everyone’s been talking about?” She then frowned. “...but you’re stuck in a wheelchair?”

“W-Well we got hit by a truck after I-” Sumire cut herself off, they don’t need to know that. “A-Anyway… When we woke up we were told we’d never walk again…” She quickly explained.

“Damn…” Was the blond boy’s only response.

“That must suck…” The girl empathetically replied.

“It’s fine…” Sumire replied.

It was not fine.

“Well regardless,” The girl said. “Being stuck in a wheelchair all the time can’t be easy, so if you need any help with anything, we’d be willing to!”

Thanks for reminding me I can’t do anything myself anymore…

“It’s fine.” Sumire assured her. “Thanks.”

“If you’re sure…” The girl didn’t seem to agree. “Oh, we haven’t introduced ourselves, have we? I’m Ann Takamaki.”

“Oh right! I’m Ryuji Sakamoto.” The blond boy added.

“Ren Amamiya.” Amamiya said, though Sumire already knew his name.

“I’m Sumire Yoshizawa.” Sumire told them.

“Ohhh! That’s a pretty name!” Takamaki complimented her.

“Uhm, thanks…” Sumire wasn’t expecting that and she brushed her bangs with her pinky shyly. “You too?”

“Thanks!” Takamaki happily replied.

Sumire honestly wasn’t expecting this level of positivity… She figured Amamiya would be upset with her, and she certainly wasn’t expecting any sympathy from his two friends either.

Well… It’s not like they know how negatively she could affect them yet…

“Uhm… I really just wanted to apologize so…” Sumire looked for a way to end the conversation. “Bye.”

“See ya!” Takamaki and Sakamoto replied.

“Take care.” Amamiya waved.

Sumire bowed her head once more before turning her wheelchair and leaving. She wasn’t really sure what to think… Amamiya forgave her and there didn’t seem to be any bad blood… Was it worth continuing to feel guilty over?

Of course she should. She still judged him based off of rumors that she very well knew were likely false. She needed to make it up to him somehow… but how?

What could she even do?

Nothing, at least not anymore. Sumire clenched her fist as she looked at her legs.

Nothing…

Next Chapter

#persona 5 #shusumi #sumire yoshizawa #ren amamiya #fanfiction #kasumi yoshizawa

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miyos-multiverse-express · 5 months

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Pelipper mail! To Tohru!

A nightmare! Its not yours!

You walk into Shujin Academy, overwhelmed. It's your first day of school, and you're late. You had just ripped your face off about two hours ago, and you're trying hard not to think too jard about what you just saw in the castle.

You can feel everyone's eyes on you, and you can hear them whispering... something about you.

Well, that wasn't your biggest concern right now. You needed to get to the faculty office.

...Which you had no idea where it was. That's fine. You'll just ask someone.

You walk up to a couple of third-years, and put on your most comforting smile. In a quiet voice with a thick country accent, you ask, "Ex—excuse me... do either of—of y'all know where the faculty office is?"

The two third-years look at you with absolute fear in their eyes, as they point away from themselves. You bow, and thank them, and head that direction. You can hear them quickly scramble away from you whome your back is turned.

...You're used to people seeing straight through you. Pretending you dont exist. You're used to people being slightly intimidated by you. You're used to people being disgusted by you.

...But this? The pure terror? That was new. What were you, some kind of monster? What was wrong with you?

When you get home, you get chewed out by Sojiro. As soon as he leaves, though, you rush straight to the bathroom.

You smile into the mirror. That smile didn't look as comforting as you thought it did. No wonder they were afraid of you. You looked like a creep.

You practice smiling into the mirror, until your smile looks perfect enough to fool everyone. Perfect enough to convince them that you were normal.

Mmm. Think I can guess who this one belongs to.

You good?

More or less. Guess practicing smiling is a wild card thing...

#text to speech active #bulbadachi talks #rotomblr #pokeblogging

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persona5anotherstory · 9 months

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Oh hey... it's been a while since I haven't posted that much on this account since I have done the Morgana design for the AU itself, but since it is almost the end of 2023, it's the holidays and I recently started playing Persona 5 Tactica this month and with me thinking... Man I should make more AU designs on the characters again and well, I'm doing it again!

And it's not one, not two... but three character designs I have made for the AU as like a early Christmas present for you guys, so I hope you like my own take on them!

Do note that there are stuff that I might have to change for both the character designs, their codenames and their descriptions too!

Ryuji Sakamoto (Codename: Athlete)

Here's everyones favourite bro character that always likes to say "For Real?!?", which he is the AU swap version of Ann Takamaki, I wanted to keep "some" of the appearance of his original game counterpart, but giving him casual clothing.

Ryuji is a first year in Shujin Academy and is part of the track team, where he has been looking out for his childhood friend, Takeishi since they were kids (Yes, it's the same Takeishi that was seen in one of Ryuji's Confidant event in the game), but after what happened in the incident with Takeishi taking the very same fate like with Shiho in Persona 5, he has decided to join The Phantom Thieves to also help reform society itself!

Sumire Yoshizawa (Codename: Coach)

The character that was introduced in the re-release of Persona 5 in the form of Persona 5 Royal, and will be the AU swap version of Yusuke Kitagawa!

She's both a second year student and a sports coach at Shujin Academy that helps out the different students for sporting activities in the school's gym, Sumire really has been interested on the Phantom Thieves ever since they were being talked about in the school, but the reason for that is because she has requested them through the Phan-site all because of her own father forcing her on getting into fashion instead of sports.

Goro Akechi (Codename: Mysterious)

Now to finally end it off here is by showing off Goro Akechi in the AU itself where I have taken the whole "Detective" thing too seriously for him lol, but he's the AU Swap version of Makoto Niijima.

He's a third year in Shujin Academy and is also the prince detective that everyone has been awing for (especially his own fangirls on different Internet forms), he actually has been cousins with Futaba ever since his mom and Futaba’s mom, Wakaba are in good relations with each other due to them being researchers back when they were college students ages ago.

Akechi is quite suspicious on the whole Phantom Thieves thing since they were being spreaded around like wildfire and has been talked around in school, but after soon finding about his cousin is the leader of The Phantom Thieves after spying on Futaba, he has been wanting to join them is due to him currently on an investigation on a problem that has been going on with a new type of drug that has being secretly shared all around the school from some students.

I wanted to carry elements for Akechi in the AU with stuff like him being based on Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 and even wanting Akechi in the AU to be inspired by Sam from Sam & Max because I just find it a perfect fit for him in my take in this AU itself.

And that's about it, with next year in 2024 I do plan on wanting to draw the next few characters that I really wanted to try and do, which would be Ren, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru, but maybe I might draw the characters that we're in the Persona 5 spin-offs, and even the Persona Q games too!

So I hope you all have yourselves a Happy Holidays!

#persona #persona 5 #p5 #persona 5 au #p5 au #persona 5 another story #p5 another story #p5asau #persona au #ryuji sakamoto #ryuji persona 5 #sumire yoshizawa #sumire persona 5 #goro akechi #persona 5 akechi

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akirawrites24 · 7 months

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Full Name: Tammin Mikuriya

Kanji: タミン御厨

Alias: Star

Girl with glasses

Weird Girl

Age: 16 (both in Persona 5 Vanilla and Persona 5 Royal)

17 (In Third Semester, Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 5 Tactica)

Persona: first form: Serena

Second form: Vanessa

Third form: Aishi

Weapons: Bazooka and Dagger

Looks:

Tammin is seen with her long brown hair down that stops at the end of her back and wears black glasses and blue eyes. In her free time, she wears black gloves, a black T-shirt that says “I Love Hardrock” while wearing a black and red skirt with black boots.

As a Phantom Thief, she wears a black mask and a dark blue outfit full with stripes that share the same color shade. Her shoulders are exposed while everything else is covered and has a star shaped lock on her belt.

Biography

Tammin is the sixth member of the Phantom Thieves and is a second year student at Shujin Academy, she is in Ryuji’s class.

Tammin is raised by a single mother while her father had an affair with another woman and doesn’t seem to be in contact with him at all, this has only been stated once in the game.

She has her first appearance when she showed up in Leblanc, eating curry there and meeting Ren Amamiya, the protagonist for the first time. She showed no worries at the rumors that are going around him, she even said not to react to them, that would mean giving them a reaction, which is what they wanted.

She isn’t to be seen again until the studio trip, where she seemed to be talking with Goro Akechi, who is later revealed to be his help in certain cases, as her mother works with the police, so Tammin is around them sometimes.

When she was walking in Shibuya, she accidentally got dragged into the Metaverse when Ren, Ryuji, Ann, Morgana and Yusuke were entering Mementos, not noticing her passing by while she wanted to say hi.

Tammin managed to escape Mementos through the exit and had the app ever since on her phone, but she confronted the others, who had no choice but to admit that they are the Phantom Thieves, only for her to admit that she already knew as the changes of hearts begun when Ren arrived back in April.

Despite not understanding everything yet, she asked the Phantom Thieves to change her best friend’s Candy heart due to her being in a depressed state and she was scared to lose her forever.

Despite being told not to tag along, she sneakily followed them anyway, and seeing the Palace, her heart was breaking, seeing how her best friend is losing herself more and more.

She awakened to her Persona later when confronting Candy, who swore to make her find happiness again in this distorted world after almost giving up hope.

Her Arcana, Justice, can be unlocked when she comes to Leblanc, this can happen at any moment.

Arcana: Justice

Personality:

Tammin seems to be the girl that keeps to herself most of the time, but won’t hesitate to tag along in a conversation in class if it is about something that really interests her.

She speaks up to people about how they can’t say anything about Ren’s situation as they weren’t there and couldn’t have possibly known what happened, implying she can be hot headed and hates it when rumors are spread, especially when it is only there to cause hatred.

Tammin is concerned at times when it comes to her close friends, who are clearly hiding something, and is shown not to give up on them at all.

She makes very sarcastic remarks, especially when it comes down to Ryuji, but that is just the playful banter between them, which neither of them seems to mind.

As reckless as she can be sometimes, she actually thinks first, but her sharp mind and short temper is what makes her act and think at the same time.

She gets angry when people are picking up on the innocent, needing to be held back before a fight happens.

Her biggest insecurity is that she can’t help anyone that needs it, and abandonment as it happened to her. She and Ren make it a mission to change this in her confidant.

Arcana biography: a second year and fellow team member. She resents people who hurt others for their own pleasure.

Arcana end: with a clear mind, she lets go of the past and focuses on the future and present.

Love interest: Ren Amamiya

#one shot #persona 5 #goro akechi #ren amamiya #female reader #oc #akira kusuru #request #original character #persona 5 royal #fanfic #fanfiction #author #authors of tumblr #digital artist #digital art #female original character

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chronicbeans · 1 year

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Yandere Maruki and Reader short

I can't even tell if this is crack at this point because I can totally imagine a serious version of this, but here is a goofy version, so let's a go!

TW: Yandere Behaviors, Mentions of Coma/Reality Warping

Well isn't this just fantastic? The third semester just came up, and already some of the students decided to warn you about weird stuff going on. One of which being Akiren mentioning how Maruki has been acting weird. That, combined with all the weird family and friend situations have made the third semester a huge tire already.

Now, NORMALLY, you would blow off a student explaining how a fellow faculty member has some sort of cognition changing, reality warping powers. Akiren, however, seems dead set on that being the case. There is also the fact that ever since he started going to Shujin Academy, the school year has gotten a LOT more eventful, from every scandal and crime that has been exposed. Plus, whatever the heck happened on Christmas Eve. So, for once, you are going to take a weird claim with a heavy pile of salt, and go investigate it.

So, here you are now, sitting at a bench in the park as you wait for Maruki to show up. You have been able to tell that he has a huge crush on you ever since he started working at Shujin, so you expect him to be extremely nervous. Then again, the more you think about it, the more Akiren's weird explanation of things make sense. Weird events in your personal life only began once Maruki showed up.

"Ah, (L/N)-san! It's lovely to see you again! It's been a while, hasn't it?" You look over, seeing that Maruki has finally showed up. He's smiling with the most nervous expression on his face that you have ever seen. He also looks extremely exhausted. And pale. Actually, he just looks like a mess. You force a grin, waving him over "Maruki-sensei... it's nice to see you. I was hoping we could talk about something. Have a seat!"

You watch as he hesitates, before practically bouncing over and sitting next to you, a wide happy grin on his face. "So, what do you want to talk about? Is something wrong? Do you need me to get you something?" You take a deep breath, wondering how exactly to go about this. How exactly do you ask someone if they have weird, reality warping powers, or if they are behind every strange event in your personal life? Well, you guess you should lay it on him straight.

"Maruki-sensei, are you some sort of reality or cognition warper? Also, are you behind the weird events in my personal life?" You watch as his face goes from a bright pink to a paper white color. He coughs, clearing his throat, before saying "I umm... maybe- well, for the first one. Umm..." This was not the reaction you expected. So, you push a bit further. "You don't have to lie to me. One of the students brought something like this up. A trustworthy one. One who has, apparently, been helping you with research?" Maruki sighs, nodding "Yeah... I am. So... what now?"

Your mind is blown. You stammer, waving your hands in meaningless gestures, before you say "So, you are saying that you are, somehow, behind the fact that people who disliked me suddenly began avoiding me instead of acting rude, my friends suddenly avoiding me, my family becoming a bit distant, and my ex-boyfriend going into a coma of some sort?" He fiddles with his sleeves, looking around, as if caught red-handed commiting a crime. He then speaks very quietly "And his dad." "WHAT? What did his dad do?!" "I had to get rid of the witnesses." "Oh my god..."

You place your face in your hands, sighing heavily. What the heck is even going on? You then hear him ask "So... umm... I guess you aren't going to say yes if I ask to go on a date with you...?" You look over to him, a slight glare in your eyes "A what?" "A date...? Please, give me a chance!" He looks at you with puppy dog eyes, clearly trying to, somehow, win you over after everything. You think for a moment, before standing up and walking away, saying "I am not payed enough to deal with life right now. I am just going to go to bed."

#crack post #persona 5 royal #persona 5 royal maruki #takuto maruki #p5r maruki

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howhow326 · 2 years

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Persona 5 Thiefsona

Picture made using お隣男子メーカー Picrew

Howie Mizuki

Age: 15 (06/28)

Highschool: Shujin Academy

Codename: Angel

Theif outfit: His thief outfit is a navy leather body suit with a studded leather jacket(of the same color) and boots. His gloves are bright cyan(like yusuke but less saturated) and go over his sleeves. His outfit also has a blue devil tail attached to it and a black wings print on the back of his jacket. His mask is cyan and has to devil horns protruding above his eye brows.

Thief Weapons: Tridents and Pepperboxes

Backstory: A half African American, half Japanese first year at Shujin Academy. Because of his heritage and shy demeanour, Mizuki dosen't have many close friends, which makes him desperate to prove himself to others by acting like a morally upstanding student. Mizuki also has a special interest in Detective work, having looked up to the original detective prince since a young age.

After Kamoshida has his heart stolen by the Phantom Thieves, Mizuki believes this is his chance to solve a great mystery like his hero. Having witnessed the day Kamoshida confronted Ryuji over the calling cards, Mizuki guesses that Sakamoto is the Thieves leader. Mizuki then follows the Thieves into Mementos, which gives his phone the Meta-nav app.

After feeling rebellious, Mizuki gains a thief outfit but no persona. Mizuki then encounters the Thieves and challenges them to a battle... and loses. However, Mizuki's will to rebel against the Thieves and bring them to justice awakens within him a persona, Saint. His persona has power over truth, which grants Mizuki a minor navigation ability, and power over deception, which grants Mizuki illusion based powers, reflecting Mizuki's unconscious belief that the truth is more subjective than he thinks it is. Before the Thieves can properly explain what's going on, Mizuki uses his persona's power to escape.

From then on, Mizuki works to stop the Phantom Thieves by fighting them in Mementos, but losing each time. Mizuki decides against telling the police on them because he dosen't have any solid evidence on them and because he secretly wonders if the Phantom Thieves are right.

When Akechi makes his deal with the Phantom Thieves, Mizuki approaches him with the small amount of evidence he collected during his journey. Akechi then "introduces" Howie into the Phantom Thieves as another member that will also "disappear" after Sae's heart is stolen. During the mission for the frame up, the Phantom Thieves position Howie in a safe place where he could see for himself that Akechi was corrupt. Howie then realises that he was wrong all along, and joins the Phantom Thieves of his own accord to help take down Shido.

Arcana - Moon

Persona - Saint

Stats at lv 99

HP- 495

SP- 355

Str- 30

Mag- 82

End- 50

Agi- 72

Lck- 70

Persona trait - Illusionary Trick (Increase allies chance of inflicting mental ailments by 50%)

Strong- Ice/ Weak- Fire-Psy

◇Skills◇

Innate: Bufudyne

Innate: Mabufudyne

Innate: Psiodyne

Innate: Brain Jack

Innate: Kougaon

Innate: Evil smile

Innate: Ice Boost

Innate: Freeze boost

Lv. 46: Abysmal surge

Lv. 47: Invigorate 2

Lv. 49: Eigaon

Lv. 53: Ali dance

Lv. 55: Ghastly wail

Lv. 56: Ice amp

Lv. 58: Concentrate

Lv. 61: Invigorate 3

Lv. 66: Diamond dust

Lv. 69: Ice age

Ultimate persona - Melek Taus

Drain- Ice/ Block- Bless-Curse/ Weak-Fire-Psy

Ultimate skill: Angelic grace

Third Semester Persona - Dismas

Upgraded Persona trait - Phantasmagoric Trick (Increase allies chance of inflicting mental ailments by 75%)

Third Semester skill: Cocytus Waves - light ice damage to all foes 4 to 8 times

#persona 5 #persona 5 oc #thiefsona #shujin academy #phantom thieves of hearts #p5 joker #p5 morgana #ryuji sakamoto #ann takamaki #yusuke kitagawa #makoto niijima #futaba sakura #haru okumura #goro akechi #persona 5 spoilers #sae niijima #this oc has been sitting on a shelf for a long time #so now hes on tumblr!#to sit on another shelf...

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zorkaya-moved · 2 years

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Anyways, seems like I deleted my post with a basis for Persona 5 and I’m very sad about it. But basically:

I’m setting it up in P5R timeline / route. I’ll be including P5Strikers later after finishing watching the playthrough.

She is an international student from Russia who is in the second year of Shujin Academy despite being 18, all due to the fact that she turned 18 during summer period before coming to Shujin. She’s in the same class as Sakamoto Ryuji, not Ann and Joker. TBQH, still up to decide. Zarina as a genius can already easily get into any college but she’s just chilling with classes. So I’m trying to decide her year in school rn. International students usually are allowed to join second year of high school to give them time to get used to school and then third year is for entrance exams.

Zarina hasn’t been attending classes in the beginning of the school year up until post-Kamoshida’s change of heart due to ‘family matters’. Said ‘family matters’ happen to be dealing in shady dealings because she’s still coming from a criminal background. Specifically, being the daughter of a Russian mafia leader but, of course, it’s not common knowledge or something known to anyone aside from herself. She lives with her grandparents who are 98% absent from home as they are also extremely busy people but they are working in a hotel industry as owners of a hotel chains within Japan, they’ve been living in Japan and living ‘normal’ for decades after receiving their citizenship.

Zarina’s Arcana is Death. Her Persona is Morana, the Slavic goddess of winter and death. She is a double element character: Ice and Darkness (blocking both elements). She is weak against Fire. Basically, a more hardcore version of Yusuke in terms of battle experience.

She awakens her Persona not like all Phantom Thieves. Similarly to Akechi, it’s awakened off screen so to speak. Phantom Thieves after opening Mementos find her fighting shadows and come to her rescue. What’s later learned is that she was following the group and accidentally got herself trapped in Mementos. She refuses to join Phantom Thieves but offers them help with training and in exchange for helping her learn more about the meta world. She is able to join the party on certain days of the month but she is available for all days when needing to deal with Kaneshiro.

Speaking of Kaneshiro, real!Kaneshiro and Zarina actually knows each other and Zarina is the only person who was able to speak with him face to face without an issue due to her role in Japan and due to her being from a true dark background. Meaning, two criminals be speaking there. She actually scared Kaneshiro quite a lot which allowed her to get information on the dealings within Shibuya and gave her access to places others wouldn’t have.

Zarina travels through Mementos and Palaces alone on certain occasions to study the world and understand it’s dealings. Sometimes, when she states she isn’t going with the Phantom Thieves, she’s actually watching them and following them. Basically, she’s lying on certain occasions and just gathers intel.

Similarly to Akechi, she acts friendly and charming before others but actually is a far more apathetic and cold hearted individual. She’s the frigid prodigy so to speak, she’s a genius who hides her true nature for the sake of being underestimated and for the sake of using it for her advantage, which is something that starts to be ten times more prominent over the course of the game and through her Confidant alongside her battle style.

Zarina was forced to visit Maruki, where she proved herself to be someone in a very stable and calm state of mind but she did give Maruki the chills as they were speaking, the therapist noting how charming her distant Zarina has been during the session and how she refused to come in again. Just like Joker and Akechi, she withstood against Maruki’s change in the world, wishing to return everything back as a ‘happy life for everyone without pain’ is bullshit and she hates being controlled. And in her eyes, Maruki’s act is nothing but controlling and oppressive which is, well, her personal thing to do. Dominate and conquer. :’)

#mobile.#persona 5 verse tag.

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satoshi-mochida · 1 year

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Persona 5 Tactica details Yoshiki Kingdom, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, battle techniques, enemies, difficulty settings, Persona fusion, and day one DLC

Gematsu Source

ATLUS has released new information and screenshots for Persona 5 Tactica introducing more about the Yoshiki Kingdom; characters Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, and Haru Okumura; battle techniques, enemies, and difficulty settings; Persona fusion and Lavenza; and day one downloadable content featuring Goro Akechi and Kasumi Yoshizawa.

Get the details below.

■ Yoshiki Kingdom

A stark contrast from the French Revolution vibe of Marie’s Kingdom, The Phantom Thieves and Erina now find themselves in a Kingdom reminiscent of mid-1800s Japan.

Before they can even catch their breath, the Phantom Thieves see a woman in crisis. While they successfully save her, they become wanted criminals in the process. According to Yuki, the woman they saved, the Kingdom’s ruler, Yoshiki, is seen as a moral and loving leader, but she claims this is only a façade.

In truth, Kingdom citizens are subject to constant surveillance, excused by a need to watch over the citizens. Anyone who shows a whiff of dissent towards Yoshiki is captured immediately and taken away to perform labor under force.

Joker and the team decide to stand up to Yoshiki. To do so, they must free the imprisoned citizens in military posts throughout the Kingdom.

To avoid the watchful eye of Yoshiki’s Legionnaires, who he calls the Aizen Squad, the Phantom Thieves are led by Yuki to a local kimono shop.

After disguising as samurai, geisha, and other citizens, the team decides to enact Toshiro’s diversionary strategy so as to escape with the imprisoned citizens unharmed.

While the team’s plan is successful, their joy is short-lived. Yoshiki descends from the sky, his serene demeanor now replaced with a terrifying rage. Now the Phantom Thieves and friends will face the full might of this Kingdom’s ruler.

■ Characters

Yusuke Kitagawa (voiced by Matthew Mercer in English, Tomokazu Sugita in Japanese)

A second-year art student from Kosei High School, well known for his artwork. Although his trusted mentor used to take advantage of those skills, once Yusuke met the Phantom Thieves, he finds the strength to stand up to his mentor. In the process he awakens to his Persona and joins the Phantom Thieves. Although his good looks often draw the attention of others, because of his artistic inclinations, his behavior is eccentric enough to be off-putting to some people. His Persona is Goemon.

Makoto Niijima (voiced by Cherami Leigh in English, Rina Sato in Japanese)

A third-year student and the class president of Shujin Academy. Influenced by her strict sister, she always felt she had to be a responsible student. She used to be a floormat to the staff at her school, but after breaking out of her shell, she awakens her Persona and joins the Phantom Thieves. She assumes the role of the reliable, older sister in the group, and is a physical brawler who uses her fists to fight in battle, which can make her scary sometimes. Her Persona is Johanna.

Futaba Sakura (voiced by Erica Lindbeck in English, Aoi Yuuki in Japanese)

A genius hacker who, at one point, grabbed the attention of the world. She initially lived a life of recluse, as adults around her made her believe she caused her own mother’s death. Although she initially struggled with social interactions and talking to people face-to-face, by regaining her true memories, she awakens her Persona. In the Phantom Thieves, she provides a navigator role, supporting her teammates from the sidelines. Her Persona is Necronomicon.

Haru Okumura (voiced by Xanthe Huynh in English, Haruka Tomatsu in Japanese)

The daughter of the CEO of Okumura Foods, a large fast-food chain. At one point, she was forced into an arranged marriage agreement from her father, and she wasn’t free to live as she chose. After awakening to her Persona, she finds the courage to stand up to her father. In the process, she loses him, but continues the fight after overcoming her grief. Although she is gentle and well-mannered, she’s can also be a bit scary at times. Her Persona is Milady.

■ Character Swapping

During your turn, you can switch between the three active party members whenever you desire.

Until you finalize your actions, you can switch between characters and experiment with their positions, so take your time making your decisions.

Switching between characters is vital to setting up the all-out attack called a Triple Threat!

This can turn the tide of battle in your favor, or even finish it in one fell swoop!

■ Strike Down Enemies

In this title, standing at a higher level yields certain advantages. Strike down enemies with melee attacks to knock them down!

In addition, if you knock an enemy toward a party member, you can trigger follow-up attacks! Aside from additional damage, these can even provide extra turns. Keep these in mind when strategizing!

Before you knock down an enemy, try to position a party member nearby! Keep an eye out for the FOLLOW! icon! This will allow you to trigger a follow up attack! And CRITICAL score! An Extra Turn is activated!

■ A Diverse Range of Enemies

Aside from the standard ranks of Marie’s Legionnaires known as Musketeers, enemies like Grenadiers, who strike back immediately when attacked, and Drummers, who use buffs and healing skills, also await you.

Charge into battle without a plan and they’ll make you regret it!

—Musketeers specialize in ranged fire.

—Grenadiers excel in melee, and leap at any attackers.

—Drummers aren’t a threat alone, but with their healing and buffing skills, they make for challenging groups.

■ Difficulty Settings

If your party member’s HP reaches 0 during a battle, don’t lose hope—you can immediately Baton Pass to someone else in your reserves!

There are also five difficulty settings that can be changed at any time. If you’re struggling with a certain fight, or if the battles feel too easy, try changing the difficulty!

Even when your HP is 0, you can swap between non-active party members. Always keep an eye out for Baton Passes!

Difficulty levels include Safety, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Risky.

■ Persona Fusions

The Velvet Room resident of this game is Lavenza, now dressed as a blacksmith! Experiment with Persona fusion in an all-new industrial setting!

Fuse Personas obtained in battle to power them up!

Lavenza (voiced by Carrie Keranen in English, Aki Toyosaki in Japanese)

A resident of the Velvet Room in the form of a young girl. She possesses the role of assisting and watching over the protagonist. She is polite, a hard worker, and sometimes eccentric. In the story of Persona 5 Tactica, she wears a blacksmith outfit and is in charge of Persona fusion in the smithy-esque Velvet Room.

■ Downloadable Content

◆ Repaint Your Heart Challenge Pack

Release Date: November 17, 2023

Price: 1,690 yen (western pricing to be announced)

▲ Story

Goro Akechi and Kasumi Yoshizawa appear in the downloadable content! Uncover the truth behind the strange Arsene graffiti and the mysterious artist Guernica!

Guernica, a pseudonymous street artist, somehow creates enormous murals without being spotted, let alone caught.

As the world buzzes about this bold artistic activity, strange graffiti begin appearing in the city. Among those is a concerning rendition of Arsene, something only Persona users would know…

Joker heads to the scene after receiving a call from Kasumi, which leads to a chance encounter with Akechi Goro. Joker then hears a strange voice call out:

“Phantom Thieves of Hearts… I need your help…”

▲ Characters

Goro Akechi (voiced by Robbie Daymond in English, Souichirou Hoshi in Japanese)

A third-year high school student and detective. He has solved numerous cases and has built a reputation even among professional investigators. With his sharp intellect, amiable personality, and good looks, it’s no wonder people pay attention to what he does. With frequent media appearances, his fans tout him as the second coming of the Detective Prince. In his pursuit of the Phantom Thieves, a certain incident triggers him to cooperate with them. His Persona is Robin Hood.

Kasumi Yoshizawa (voiced by Laura Post in English, Sora Amamiyain Japanese)

A beautiful junior student, admitted to Shujin Academy the same year the Protagonist transfers. With an excellent track record in gymnastics since middle school, the Academy has high hopes for her athletic career. Her Persona is Cendrillon.

◆ Summons Pack: Picaro Personas and Raoul

Release Date: November 17, 2023

Price: 1,390 yen (western pricing to be announced)

The set includes:

Persona: Thanatos Picaro

Persona: Orpheus (f) Picaro

Persona: Athena Picaro

Persona: Messiah Picaro

Persona: Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro

Persona: Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro

Persona: Kaguya Hime Picaro

Persona: Ariadne Picaro

Persona: Asterius Picaro

Persona: Tsukuyomi Picaro

Persona: Raoul

◆ Weapons Pack: Enemy Series

Release Date: November 17, 2023

Price: 990 yen (western pricing to be announced)

The set includes:

Enemy’s Sand Hawk

Enemy’s Levinson M31

Enemy’s Slingbow

Enemy’s Machine Gun

Enemy’s AR

Enemy’s Revolver

Enemy’s G-Launcher

Enemy’s Machine Pistol

Enemy’s Mevius

Enemy’s Roosevelt

◆ Downloadable Content All-In-One Pack

Release Date: November 17, 2023

Price: 3,960 yen (western pricing to be announced)

The set includes:

Episode: Repaint Your Heart Challenge Pack

Summons Pack: Picaro Personas and Raoul

Weapons Pack: Enemy Series

Persona 5 Tactica is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on November 17 worldwide. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass. Read more about the game here and here.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

#Persona 5 Tactica #Persona 5 #Persona Series #Atlus #SRPG #Gematsu #Chill with the DLC Atlus. =U

15 notes · View notes

vgckwb · 9 months

Text

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 187: Cultural Festival

The Phantom Thieves arrived at Shujin academy for the Cultural Festival. “It’s even bigger than I imagined!” Futaba said, nervously.

“Don’t worry,” Sumire said. “We’re here for you.”

“Th-Thanks…” Futaba said.

“Should we stick together?” Ren asked. “For Futaba’s sake?”

“I’d agree, if Akechi wasn’t here,” Makoto lamented. “He’s already onto you. If he suspects that all of us are in on it, that could be disastrous.”

“So, what’s the plan then?” Ryuji wondered.

“I guess we just go about things as normal,” Ann said. “Just split up, and have fun.”

“Well, I’ll stay with Futaba,” Ren said.

“Me too,” Sumire offered.

“I dunno,” Futaba said. “I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“It’ll be fine,” Sumire said.

“Besides, this is only day one,” Ren said. “We’ll help you today, and tomorrow you can go with someone else while we do girlfriend stuff.”

“That sounds fun!” Sumire chimed in.

Morgana popped out. “Maybe you should bring a bag for me,” Morgana told Futaba. “I don’t want to be a third wheel either.” Futaba chuckled.

“I’m meeting with Goro,” Lena said. “He has that speech tomorrow, so we figured that we’d have today to do boyfriend/girlfriend stuff.”

“Nice,” Ryuji said.

“Plus someone having eyes on Akechi at all times isn’t so bad,” Makoto said.

“But wouldn’t that make Lena a little suspicious?” Yusuke pointed out.

“Well…” Makoto wondered.

“It’s fine,” Lena said. “I won’t do anything to tip our hand.”

Makoto nodded. She looked at Jose. “So, Jose.” Jose looked up. “Do you want me to show you around?”

Jose nodded. “Of course!”

“Great!” Makoto replied. She turned to Yusuke. “What about you, Yusuke?”

“Ummm,” Haru interjected. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring Yusuke with me.”

“Sounds fair,” Yusuke said. “Besides, the more split up we are, the less likely Akechi will suspect a thing.”

“I guess that’s true,” Makoto said.

“So, does that leave just us?” Ryuji wondered.

“I guess so,” Ann said.

“Alright then!” Futaba said. “I’m joining you tomorrow!”

“Huh?!” Ryuji said.

“Um, why?!” Ann asked.

“If I’m third wheeling Ren and Sumire today, I’m third wheeling you two tomorrow!” Futaba declared.

“Figures,” Ryuji said.

Ann giggled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We have today.”

Ryuji smiled. “Yeah.”

“Well, it seems like we know what we’re doing,” Makoto said. “Let’s head off!” They all nodded, walked into the school, and split up.

“So,” Ren asked, “What do you want to do?”

“I dunno,” Futaba. “I haven’t been to one of these in a while.”

“Well, my home room is doing a tea ceremony room,” Sumire suggested. “Why don’t we start there?”

“That sounds delightful,” Ren said. “What do you think?”

“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Futaba said. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind some tea to calm my nerves.”

“I’m fine with it, just so long as we can do something I can partake in after,” Morgana pointed out.

Sumire nodded. “Very well. Follow me.” She led the group to her homeroom.

Meanwhile, Principal Arai was in the halls supervising. He smiled. “Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself,” a voice said from behind.

Principal Arai turned around and saw Akechi. “Ah, Akechi!” he said. “I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Akechi said.

Arai grinned. “You know, being back here, it feels like I’m finally home. Not that I didn’t like Kanshu, but…”

“Trust me,” Akechi said. “I understand.”

“Hm,” Arai smirked back. “So, do you have a sneak preview of tomorrow’s presentation for me?”

“No, but I have the next best thing,” Akechi said. He took out a box.

Principal Arai was confused. “What’s this?”

“I told Principal Fujimori that I was stopping by. She wanted me to give this to you.”

Arai opened it up. It was a pristine watch. He was astounded. He put it on. “Hm. I gave her something similar when she became principal two years ago. I’ll give her a call.”

“She’ll appreciate it,” Akechi said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find someone.”

“GORO!” Lena yelled. She jumped into him.

Akechi was a little unprepared, but he caught her nonetheless. “Or they could find me.”

Arai chuckled. “I take it you’re close.”

Akechi nodded. “This is my girlfriend, Lena.”

Arai was a little surprised. “I see… Well, have fun you two.”

“We will!” Lena said. The two of them headed off.

“So, what do you want to do first?” Akechi asked.

“Well, my homeroom is doing a haunted house!” Lena said.

“Sounds fun,” Akechi said. They started making their way there.”

Meanwhile, Ryuji and Ann were making out behind some stairs. “Wait,” Ann said.

Ryuji was confused. “Am I not doing it right?”

“No, you’re fine sweetie,” Ann said. “But we can’t just spend all day doing this.”

“Why not?” Ryuji countered. “It’s fun!” Ann pouted. “OK,OK,” Ryuji caved. “Well, um, my homeroom is doing a haunted house. Wanna do that?”

“OK!” Ann said, cheerily. The two headed off.

Hiroki was waiting in the hall. “Hey!” Haru called out. Hiroki looked to see Haru walking up with Yusuke. They met up with Hiroki. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s…it’s alright,” Hiroki said.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Haru said, “but my friend Yusuke came along, and I thought he’d like to come along with us.”

“Oh. Oh not at all,” Hiroki said.

“So, what is the plan then?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, Hiroki offered to take me to every food stand during the festival,” Haru said.

“Hm,” Yusuke said. “You know me too well. Let’s go!”

Hiroki nodded. “Alright then. Follow me.” He started moving, and Haru and Yusuke followed.

Haru caught up and whispered to Hiroki. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted it to be just the two of us, but he goes to Kosei, and I just-”

“Relax,” Hiroki said. “It’s fine. I get it.”

Haru nodded. “Thanks. They kept moving.

Makoto was taking Jose around the school. “How are you enjoying your tour of Shujin so far?”

“It’s interesting,” Jose said. “It’s like Kosei in a lot of ways, but it’s so different at the same time.”

“I didn’t know we had that much similar,” Makoto said.

“Well, it is a school,” Jose said.

“I guess that’s true,” Makoto replied. “Some things are universal, I suppose.” Makoto looked away for a second and frowned slightly.

Jose caught this. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Huh?” Makoto said. “Oh, sorry. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Jose continued.

“Of course,” Makoto said, lying. “C’mon. Let’s keep going!”

“OK…” Jose said. The two kept going.

Ren, Sumire, Futaba, and Morgana arrived at Sumire’s home room to partake in a tea ceremony. As they prepared, Kisa walked out. “Oh look! Kisa’s hosting,” Sumire said.

“Welcome,” Kisa said. “Please be seated.” The group knelt. Kisa came around pouring tea for everyone.

Futaba was having trouble staying on her knees. “Woah-eh-woah-eh,” she mumbled. Ren and Sumire helped her regain balance. “Eh heh,” Futaba laughed. Once all the tea was poured, they started drinking.

Once the ceremony was finished and everyone was standing again, Futaba looked a little pale. “Sorry,” Sumire said.

“It’s hard!” Futaba said. “I don’t normally need to balance like that. How do you two manage to do it?”

“Well I’m a trained gymnast,” Sumire said. “Balance is the first thing you need to learn.”

Futaba turned to Ren. “What about you?”

Ren shrugged. “My mom used to take me to tea ceremonies all the time. I guess I’m just used to it.”

“Ugghhhh,” Futaba moaned.

“Sorry again,” Sumire said.

“Hey,” Kisa said, coming up to them. The three looked at her. She seemed a little nervous. “Um, do you think you can take over, Sumire?” she asked. “I haven’t had a chance to walk about yet.”

Sumire smiled. “Of course!” She turned to the other. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Ren looked at Futaba. “Eh. I’m fine with it. Based on what I’ve seen, you'll do well.”

“Hm hm. Thanks,” Sumire said.

“We’ll catch up with you later,” Ren said. They started walking out.

After they exited, Kisa said “Hey.” Ren and Futaba looked at her. “Has…Makoto seemed different?”

“Ummm,” Futaba said, not sure how to answer.

“She has a lot on her mind,” Ren said. “Something happened yesterday, and while her basic goal was achieved, it wasn’t a victory in all senses.”

“I see,” Kisa said. “Alright, I’m going to try and find her.”

“Is that why you wanted to leave?” Futaba wondered.

“Well, mostly,” Kisa said. “My mom does tea ceremonies for a living, and so I was chosen to run it. I don’t mind doing it, but I would have liked a little more help.”

“I’m sure Sumire would have been more involved if she wasn’t at gymnastics practice a lot,” Ren assured her.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kisa said. “I’m aware. But thanks. Seeya!” She headed off.

“So, what’s next?” Ren asked.

“I need a break,” Futba said.

“And you promised me something I could do,” Morgana said.

Ren thought about it. “Well, my homeroom’s doing a takoyaki maid stand.”

“Takoyaki?!” Morgana said. “Sounds yummy!”

“I agree!” Futaba said. “Let’s roll!”

Ren nodded. “I’ll lead the way.” She led Futaba and Morgana to her homeroom.

Meanwhile, Lena and Akehi arrived at the haunted house at the same time as Ann and Ryuji. They were shocked by each other. “Huh,” Akechi remarked.

“Well…” Ryuji said.

“Oh right,” Ann said. You two do share a homeroom.”

“You don’t say,” Akechi said.

Lena chuckled nervously. “I guess we had the same idea.”

“I guess so,” Ryuji said. “Great minds think alike, huh?”

“I agree,” Akechi said.

“Well, shall we enter?” Ann asked.

“I can’t wait!” Lena said.

“Let’s go!” Akechi said. The four entered the haunted house at the same time.

Meanwhile Makoto and Jose were walking around when Makoto bumped into someone. “Sorry,” they both said.

Makoto looked and it was Dr. Maruki. “Dr. Maruki.”

“Oh, Niijima-san,” Maruki said. He looked at Jose. “And who might this be?”

“My name is Jose,” he said, introducing himself.

“He goes to Kosei,” Makoto added. She then whispered “And he’s a fellow Phantom Thief.”

“You don’t say,” Maruki replied. “How goes that, by the way? Things are looking complicated.”

“You’re not wrong,” Makoto said. “But we’re making headway."

“Well that’s good,” Maruki said. “I’m sure the festivities are a nice break. How are you enjoying the cultural festival by the way?”

“I’m loving it!” Jose said.

“I’m having a good time too,” Makoto said.

“Liar!” Kisa shouted.

They turned to look at her. “Kisa?” Makoto said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you,” Kisa said. “Ren told me what happened yesterday.”

“She did?” Makoto wondered.

“What happened yesterday?” Maruki inquired.

“Well, she didn’t give me details,” Kisa said. “But she gave me the impression that things are going a little uneasy.”

“Why’d you lie?” Jose said.

Makoto was bereft. “Well…I’m sorry. I didn’t want to drag you down. Today’s supposed to be fun!”

“We can still have fun,” Jose said. “But I don’t want you to be worried.”

Makoto sighed. “Do you ever…feel like you’re doing the right thing, and then you just aren’t?”

“Are you really asking me this question?” Kisa asked back. “Who was it that I talked with after going on my own to try and get dirt on Kaneshiro?”

“Woah, you did that?” Maruki said.

“Kisa…” Makoto replied.

“I don’t know what happened,” Kisa said, “but I know you. You’ve come so far since we first met. Since you became student council president. Heck, even since the Kaneshiro incident! I know you can do it! Just relax.”

Makoto took a deep breath. “You’re right. Thanks Kisa.”

“Of course,” Kisa said. “What are friends for?”

Makoto let out some more air. “Sorry about all that.”

“It’s fine,” Jose said.

“Yeah,” Maruki added. “It’s OK to talk about this kind of stuff. I do that for a living. And you know if you need anything, my door is always open.”

“Right,” Makoto said. “A lot’s been weighing on my mind as of late. But I’m going to take it one step at a time.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jose said.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Makoto asked Jose.

“I guess I am getting a bit hungry,” Jose said.

“Well, I know just the place,” Makoto said. “Ren and Ann’s homeroom are doing a maid takoyaki stand.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Jose said.

“I’ll come too,” Kisa said. “I’ve been busy all day, and I could use some energy.”

“Hm hm. Follow me,” Makoto said. They started walking off.

“Later!” Maruki called out. Everyone waved back at him. He smiled. He went off in the opposite direction.

Ann, Ryuji, Lena, and Akechi emerged from the haunted house. “He he. That was fun,” Ann said.

“No kiddin’,” Ryuji added.

Lena, still clinging to Akechi, looked up at him and asked “What did you think, Goro?”

“Well…” Akechi said. He wasn’t entirely impressed, but he did like the fact that Lena was holding onto him the entire time. “It was wonderful!” Lena giggled.

“Well, I dunno about you, but I think I’ve worked up quite an appetite,” Ryuji said.

“I know!” Ann said. “My homeroom is doing a maid takoyaki stand!”

“I love takoyaki!” Lena said.

“Me too,” Akechi said.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Ann said. “I’ll show you the way.” The four of them headed off.

The four of them arrived just as Ren and Futaba showed up. “Oh. Hello,” Akechi said.

“Whatcha doin’ here?” Ryuji asked.

“Well, we were getting a bit hungry,” Ren said, “and this is my homeroom too.”

“I see…” Akechi said.

Just then, Makoto, Joe, and Kisa arrived. “Oh!” Makoto remarked, seeing the group that had amassed.

“Hello Makoto,” Akechi greeted.

“Hello,” Makoto replied.

At that moment, Hiroki was leading Haru and Yusuke over. “And the next stop on our food tour is…” they noticed the large group that had amassed. “Oh!”

“Hey Hiroki,” Makoto said.

“Hey boss,” Hiroki replied.

“Well, I take it we’re all here for the same reason,” Akechi said. “So, why don’t we all head inside?” The group nodded, and they headed in to have a seat.

Once seated, Makoto looked at Hiroki and said “So, you’re doing a food tour?”

“That’s…” Hiroki replied. “That’s correct.”

“It’s been wonderful so far,” Yusuke said.

“I agree,” Haru said.

Makoto smiled. She then looked at Ren and asked “So, um, where did Sumire go?”

“Oh!” Kisa interjected. “She took over for me at our homeroom.”

“Oh, I see,” Makoto replied.

“What are you doing, might I ask?” Akechi wondered.

“We’re doing a tea ceremony room,” Kisa said.

“Oooh! Sounds like fun!” Ann said. “Maybe we should go!”

“I dunno,” Ryuji said. “My leg still gets a little wonky in certain conditions. I don’t think kneeling for an extended period of time would do it any good.”

“You’re telling me,” Futaba said.

“She…didn’t have the best time there,” Ren admitted.

“I see…” Makoto said.

“What about you Goro?” Lena asked. “Would you like to go?”

“Well…how should I put this?” Akechi said. “I don’t have the fondest memories of tea ceremonies, so I’d rather not.”

“Oh,” Lena said, reading the subtext. “I see.”

“But if you and Ann want to go, I think Ryuji and I could wait outside,” Akechi said.

“Really?!” Lena said.

“Certainly!” Akechi answered.

“Is that OK with you?” Ann asked.

“I guess so,” Ryuji said.

Ann gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“Eh heh,” Ryuji smirked.

“Hmmm,” Yusuke said.

“Is something the matter?” Haru asked.

“I’m just trying to think about what to order,” Yusuke answered.

“Oh,” Haru replied.

At that moment, one of Ren and Ann’s classmates walked out wearing a maid outfit. “Welcome!~” she said. “How may I serve you today?~”

“I think some regular takoyaki will do,” Ryuji said.

“I’m sorry,” the maid said. “We just sold our last regular one.”

“Huh,” Hiroki replied.

“Well, variety is the spice of life,” Yusuke said. “In that case, I’ll have the mentai cheese taokyaki.”

“Sorry,” the maid said. “We’re all out of cod roe.”

“OK…” Makoto said. “What about the squid-”

“Sorry,” the maid said. “We’re still trying to catch squid! It’ll be about five or six hours.”

“You can just get some from the store…” Futaba pointed out.

“Actually,” Ann admitted, “we spent most of our budget on the maid outfits. Don’t they look cute though?”

“No offense, but I think you need to get your priorities straight,” Hiroki said.

“Well, in their defense, they do look cute,” Lena said. “Right Goro?”

“I guess so,” Akechi said.

“I mean, I’d look cute in those outfits, right?” Lena pressed on.

Akechi imagined that. He smiled. “Of course.” They shared a quick smooch. Lena chuckled.

“Um, well then,” Haru said, “what do you recommend with what you have now?”

“That would be the Russian takoyaki,” the maid said.

“We’ll have that then,” Haru said.

“OK!~” the maid said. “It’ll be just a minute!” She went back behind the screen.

“What makes a takoyaki Russian?” Hiroki wondered.

“Maybe it’s from Russia?” Makoto pondered.

“I guess we’ll find out one way or another,” Kisa said.

“By the way Jose,” Yusuke said, “how are you enjoying things so far?”

“Oh, I’m having a great time!” Jose said.

“I see,” Yusuke said. “If we split up again, should we figure out a time to meet? Or do you think you can make it back yourself?”

“I think I can make it back myself,” Jose said.

“Sorry,” Akechi interjected. “Make it back where?”

“Oh,” Jose said. “Yusuke and I both go to Kosei. We both live in the dorms as well.”

“I see,” Akechi said.

“We became friends once I started living in the dorms,” Yusuke said. “Most people tended to avoid me, but Jose is in a league of his own.”

“Oh right,” Akechi said. “You’re…” He stopped himself. “Right. Hmmmm.” He glanced at Ren. He looked over at Haru, and then back at Ren. “Hmmm.”

“Is something the matter?” Lena asked.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Akechi said.

“Here you go!~” the maid said, arriving with the takoyaki. One of them was piercingly red. “Enjoy!~”

“Wait…” Kisa said.

“Don't tell me… Makoto said.

“I guess THAT’S what makes it Russian,” Hiroki remarked.

Akechi smiled. “Well, let’s dig in,” he said. With his mind still working on connecting the dots, he didn’t pay attention as he grabbed the red one and popped it into his mouth. Everyone was stunned. “Hrk!”

“Goro?” Lena wondered. “Are you OK?”

“Heh,” Akechi laughed. “Fine. I’m fine. Eh heh.”

“I almost feel bad,” Futaba said.

“Well, with that one out of the way, I guess the rest of these will be normal,” Yusuke remarked.

“So they lied? Ryuji wondered.

“Well, this was fun in its own right,” Ann said.

“Still!” Ryuji protested.

“Well, no matter,” Ren said. “Let’s dig in!” They started grabbing some takoyaki. Ren grabbed some for Morgana as well.

Once they finished, they walked out. “Are you sure you're feeling OK Goro?” Lena naked.

“Fine,” Akechi said with a raspy voice. “I just need some water.”

“We’ll get some on the way to the tea ceremony room, OK?” Lena said.

“Sounds great!” Akechi said.

“I think I’ll head over too,” Ren said. “I want to check on Sumire.” She turned to Haru. “Do you think you could take Futaba and my ‘bag’ on your little food tour as well?”

“Why certainly,” Haru said.

“WOOOO!” Futaba cheered. “Food tour!”

“Hm,” Hiroki replied.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Haru said. “I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine,” Hiroki said. “I mean, it’s not what I imagined it, but it’s still fun. And that’s what’s important, right?”

Haru sighed. “Thank you.”

“Well then, shall we head off?” Yusuke said.

“Sure!” Hiroki said. Hiroki, Haru, Yusuke, Futaba, and Morgana headed out to finish their food tour of the cultural festival.

“I think I’ll go back to the tea ceremony room as well,” Kisa said. “I’m sure Sumire is doing a good job, but I think I need to take over once again.”

“We’ll come too,” Makoto said. “It sounds like fun.” They all headed off to the tea ceremony room.

Once there, Ann, Lena, Ren, Makoto, and Jose headed inside, while Akechi and Ryuji stood outside. “Feeling better?” Ryuji asked.

“Oh, yes,” Akechi said. “Eh heh.” Ryji smirked. “By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, why is your leg, as you put it, ‘wonky’?”

“Oh!” Ryuji said. “Well, it's a long story…”

“Is it too personal?” Akechi said.

“Well, kind of,” Ryuji said. “But then again, practically the whole school knows it, so why not? You’re familiar with Kamoshida, right?”

“Of course,” Akechi said.

“Well, he and I didn’t get along,” Ryuji said. “He wanted to ruin me. One day, he started spoutin’ shit about my personal life, and then I just cold clocked him. In ‘self defense’, he took it upon himself to practically smash my leg in.”

“Oh my! I’m sorry,” Akechi said.

“Eh, it’s alright,” Ryuji said. “Well, I mean, it sucks, but things are better now. Look, I know you have your qualms with The Phantom Thieves, but they gave Kamoshida what he deserves and then some. After all he put me through, I’m glad something happened.”

“Ren brought this up as well,” Akechi said. “She said that they punish people that the law overlooks. Although I guess since you’re friends, it’s not surprising that you share that sentiment.”

“Hm,” Ryuji smirked. “What about you?”

“Hm?” Akechi seemed confused.

“Why don’t you like tea ceremonies?” Ryuji asked. “I mean, I guess it’s not the most masculine thing, but…”

“Well, I guess in a way, you hit the nail on the head,” Akechi said.

“Hm? How so?” Ryuji wondered.

“Well…” Akechi said. “I dunno. It’s a bit personal.”

“What?!” Ryuji replied. “I told you my shit!”

“You did,” Akechi said. He sighed. “Well, you are friends with Ren, so I guess it'll be fine. The truth of the matter is that when I was younger, I was forced to partake in tea ceremonies. Ryuji was confused. “Of course, when I was younger, I was treated more like a girl.”

“Did…your parents want a daughter?” Ryuji wondered.

“Well, first off, my dad wasn’t in the picture,” Akechi said. “But secondly, my mom thought she had a daughter.” Ryuji was more confused. “You see, I’m a trans man.”

“Oh!” Ryuji said, finally putting it all together.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone,” Akechi said

“I promise,” Ryuji said. “You know, you said that you felt fine tellin’ me because I’m friends with Ren. And while I get that, don’t forget I’m also friends with Lena too. I mean, if somethin’ happened to you, she’d feel the brunt end of it. And I wouldn’t want that.”

Akechi was stunned. “My, you are just full of surprises.”

At that point, Ann, Lena, Ren, Sumire, Makoto, and Jose exited. “That was fun!” Ann said. “You did SUCH a good job, Sumire!”

“Hm hm. Thank you,” Sumire said. “But I am glad Kisa took over once again. It is a lot.”

“True,” Ren said. “But you did it so elegantly.”

Sumire nestled up to Ren. “Thanks.”

“How did you enjoy it Lena?”Akechi asked.

“It was wonderful!” Lena replied. “My first Japanese tea ceremony!”

“Oh, I see,” Akechi said. “Well, there are plenty of other places that do such things. And I bet most of them will be better than some school event.”

“I guess,” Lena said. “But I’m glad this was my first. I got to be there with my friends, so I was a little more relaxed.”

Akechi nodded. “I see.”

“But I’d like to try it out some more!” Lena said.

“Well, I know your host mom knows some good places,” Akechi said. “Perhaps she can make some recommendations.”

“Really?!” Lena said. Akechi nodded. “Wow.”

“We should do that some time,” Ann suggested. “Just us girls!”

“Yeah! Just you girls!” Ryuji said. Akechi looked at him as if to say “That might be a bit much.”

“Well, in the meantime, what should we do next?” Makoto wondered.

“Oo! I know!” Ann said. “Shiho’s homeroom is doing a karaoke stand!”

“That sounds like fun!” Jose said. “Let’s do that!”

“Lead the way,” Makoto said. Ann nodded. She led the group to Shiho’s homeroom. Everyone spent the rest of the day having fun.

The next day, practically the whole festival arrived for Akechi’s speech. Akechi looked out from the wings. “My, that’s certainly a lot of people,” he remarked.

“Are you nervous?” Makoto said.

“No,” Akechi answered. “Are you?”

“No,” Makoto said.

“Well then, let’s get this started,” Akechi said.

Makoto nodded. She walked out on stage with a microphone. “Attention everyone! Today’s presentation is about to begin! Please be seated! Now then, please give a warm welcome to the man titled ‘Japan’s Second Prince Detective’, Goro Akechi!” The crowd applauded as Akechi arrived on stage.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Now then,” Makoto said, “I know there are some things you can’t say, but what can you tell us about The Phantom Thieves?” Akechi was a little stunned. “Or in case you happen to be working on,” Makoto said.

“No, it’s quite alright,” Akehi said. “After all, it is the thing everyone’s talking about. Besides, I find it interesting as well.”

“Well, it is an unusual case,” Makoto said.

“Certainly,” Akechi said. “Not only that, but the case was recently turned on its head. Now, I know you know that The Phantom Thieves and I don’t see eye to eye, but I do believe that they aren’t as reprehensible as the SIU director.”

“On that, I think we can agree,” Makoto said.

Akechi smirked. “But I’ve been over all of this before. Perhaps it’s time to reveal some new information.”

Makoto was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Truth is, I was recently contacted by The Phantom Thieves,” Akechi said. The crowd stirred. “I had previously said that the arrest of the SIU director wasn’t the end of the road, and The Phantom Thieves agree.”

“How did they contact you?”Makoto asked.

“They seemed to have hacked my phone,” Akechi said. “Even now, they are a secretive bunch.”

“Well, I can’t imagine that that’s not warranted in some capacity,” Makoto said.

“True,” Akechi said. “Although I imagine things might be easier if they let me in a little more. Though not that I blame them. This is an uneasy alliance at best. But I am a man of my word. I just hope The Phantom Thieves return the favor.”

“Well, I think they will,” Makoto said. “After what I’ve seen and heard, I think they’ll hold up their end of the bargain.”

“How do you figure?” Akechi wondered.

“Well…” Makoto said. “Similarly, they contacted me during the Kaneshiro incident. As uneasy as I felt, I helped them, and they ended up taking down Kaneshiro. So I think their deal with you is one you can honor.”

“Well, that’s certainly interesting,” Akechi said. “The Phantom Thieves continue to become an even more fascinating mystery. I hope for the sake of everything, you’re right. Although I will say that you’ve given me even more confidence. Perhaps once everything’s said and done, The Phantom Thieves could talk with the both of us.”

“I’d like that,” Makoto replied.

“Well, I’ll be sure to tell them,” Akehi said. “If they contact me again, that is.”

“Right,” Makoto said.

“Although,” Akechi said, “I have some suspicions on who they might be.” This got the crowd even more excited.

Makoto grew panicked. She composed herself and asked “W-Well, do you think you can share your findings?”

“Sorry,” Akechi said. “All of this is speculative anyway, and if I’m wrong, I don’t want to unleash that kind of attention on people who’d rather not have it. But I will tell you that I’m not the only one looking. And for their sake, I hope they know how to avoid detection. At least, until I can catch them first.”

“Aren’t you working with them?” Makoto asked.

“Well, like I said, this was an uneasy alliance,” Akechi reminded. “Plus, regardless of if they are criminals or not, I still would like to have a face-to-face conversation with them.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Makoto said.

“And that’s all I can ask for,” Akechi said.

“Well, it looks like we've ran out of time,” Makoto said. “Thank you for coming.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Akechi said. The crowd erupted into applause. Akechi and Makoto bowed and headed back into the wings.

Once the mic was off, Makoto said “Well, that was certainly something.”

“Indeed,” Akechi said. He took out a piece of paper.

Makoto was confused. “What is that?”

“Just a copy of my notes,” Akechi said. “I worked on it last night. I think you may want to discuss things.” He handed it to her.

“Why is that?” Makoto said.

“You’ll see,” Akechi said. “No, if you’ll excuse me, I have to catch up with Lena.” He left.

Makoto looked at the paper and turned pale. It was Akechi’s list of potential Phantom Thieves, and it read out “Ren Amamiya. Futaba Sakura - Know aliases: ‘Alibaba’. Makoto Niijima,” with a scribbled out question mark by her name, and then “- too many coincidences. Yusuke Kitagawa - Madarame’s pupil. Jose? - Yusuke’s friend at Kosei. Haru Okumura - daughter of Kunikazu Okumura. Ryuji Sakamoto - Hated Kamoshida. Was there during initial meeting about Lena’s mother. Ann Takamaki? - Close with Ren and Ryuji. Hiroki Sugimura and Kisa Hagiwara? - Makoto’s juniors on the student council. Perhaps they know something.” She took out her phone.

Makoto: I think our plan backfired.

Sumire: How so?

Makoto: Akechi gave me a list of his Phantom Thief suspects.

Makoto: And while he’s not 100% right, it is concerning.

Ryuji: What should we do?

Yusuke: What can we do?

Ren: For now, I think we stay calm.

Ren: We all heard Akechi’s speech. He’s being cooperative.

Ren: Besides, we’re still here. It’d be a little suspicious to just break off now.

Ren: Why don’t we discuss this before we head into your sister's palace.

Makoto: Good thinking. It’ll give us time to collect our thoughts.

Ren: In the meantime, let’s just enjoy the cultural festival, OK.

Ann: Sounds good!

They put their phones away, and continued to enjoy the festival.

Just as Lena put her phone away, Akechi started walking up to her. “Goro!” she said. They hugged and kissed. “You were amazing!”

“Eh heh, well, it’s not my first time talking to an audience,” Akechi replied.

“But you’re so amazing every time!” Lena counted.

“Well, if you say so,” Akechi said. So, is there anything else you’d like to do?”

“Well, there are a few food places I’d like to hit up still,” Lena said. “But after that, it could be just you and me”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have that much time,” Akechi said. “I have some work to take care of. But we can hit up those food stalls if you’d like.”

Lena pouted. “No!” she said. “This is the first time in a while that I get to spend this much time with you! We aren’t wasting it.” She gave him another kiss. “Come.” She grabbed onto his tie, and led him to a secretive place here they could make out in peace.

Once they finished, Akechi noted “Well...that was certainly something.”

“He he,” Lena laughed.

“I will say, that was better than any food stand,” Akechi said. “But sadly, I must be off.”

Lena kissed him on the cheek. “Take care.”

“You too,” Akechi replied. He left.

Once the evening hit, everything was wrapping up with the cultural festival. Yusuke and Jose had left earlier. Ren, Ann, Ryuji, Sumire, Futaba, and Morgana were about to head off. “Oh wait!” Sumire said. “I just remembered something.”

“What is it?” Ren asked.

Suddenly, the PA turned on. The student managing it said “Attention! The post-festival party is about to begin in the gymnasium! Please join us everyone!”

“I…promised I’d do something for this,” Sumire said.

“I see,” Ren said. She looked a bit bummed.

“Eh, why don’t you stay too?” Ryuji offered.

“Yeah,” Ann said. “We’ll take Futaba and Morgana home.”

“Are you sure?” Ren said.

“I’ll be fine with them,” Futaba said

“Not to mention I’ll be there as well,” Morgana said.

Ren smiled. “Thanks everyone!” She gave her bag with Morgana in it to Ann, and then left for the gym with Sumire.

“So, ready to go?” Ann asked.

“Why aren’t you staying?” Futaba asked.

“We did it last year,” Ann said. “It’s nothing special.”

“Besides, I’m a little tired as is,” Ryuji added.

“True,” Morgana said. “We did have an eventful two days regardless.”

“Anyways, let’s go home!” Ann called out. The four of them headed off.

Once in the gym, a student was on stage with a mic. “Alright then! Normally, this would be the time where I introduce our school’s special.” The people there groaned. “However, before that, we have a surprise!” The crowd perked up. “Come on out, dance team!” The school’s dance team, wearing pink shirts with a paint splatter design on it. They started dancing and the crowd cheered. A little ways in, the MC told everyone “Don’t leave the dance team hanging! Dance everyone!”

The students in the crowd began dancing. “Well, shall we?” Sumire offered. Ren smirked. The two of them started dancing among themselves. Sumire was good, but Ren decided to break out some of her fancier moves. “Ooo. Not bad.” Ren was confused. “But you haven't seen anything yet.”

“Yoshizawa,” one of the dance team said. “It’s time.”

Ren was confused. Sumire chuckled. “Sorry. This is the surprise.” The dance team organized a circle for Sumire to dance in. She readied herself. “3, 2, 1, go,” she whispered. She then got into the circle, and danced her heart out. The crowd was impressed, but Ren was especially impressed. She had seen Sumire’s routine before, but never this close up. She could feel the wind moving through Sumire as she danced.

By the end of it all, Sumire was sweating a little and breathing heavily. However, she was on cloud nine, as everyone watching her erupted into applause, and her girlfriend was blushing incredibly hard.

Once Sumire got out of the circle, not after getting thanks from the dance team and some cheers from people, she and Ren met up away from everyone. “What’d you think?”

“That…was amazing!” Ren said.

“Thanks,” Sumire replied. She let out some air. “I think I need a drink.”

“Well then, let’s go,” Ren said. “You deserve it!” Sumire giggled, and the two headed off.

Back on stage, the MC said “That was a treat! But now, it’s time for Shujin’s favorite tradition: The Student Sharing Special!” The audience groaned. “Come on, who wants to come up?”

Haru was looking on. She had decided to stay behind because she never had the chance to before. “What’s this?”

The MC looked through the crowd and saw Haru looking up. “Ah, why don’t you come up? In the pink sweater!”

“Me?!” Haru wondered. She wasn’t sure, but she’d hate to let anyone down. She reluctantly got on stage.

“Please, introduce yourself,” the MC said.

“Well…” Haru said. “My name is Haru. Haru Okumura.”

“Okumura?” the MC said. “As in?”

“The very same,” Haru said. “Truth be told, I didn’t divulge that information before because I wasn’t proud of what my father was doing. But now I’m working hard to turn things around. Of course, it won’t be easy, but I would appreciate your confidence.”

“Well, you certainly have mine,” the MC said. “What about the rest of you?” The crowd cheered. Haru felt a little more relaxed. “Is there anything you can tell us specifically?”

“Well, no,” Haru said. “This all happened rather suddenly…”

“I see, I see,” the MC said. “Well, I’m sure you have your work cut out for you. But if you can’t tell us that, is there something else you can tell us?”

“Like what?” Haru asked.

“Are you interested in anyone, for example?”

“Oh!” Haru said. She started to blush. “Well…”

“Don’t be shy,” the MC said.

Hiroki entered the gym and saw Haru on stage. “Haru!” He started rushing towards the stage.

Once he got on, Haru was stunned. “Hiroki?”

“Haru!” he said. “Are you alright?”

“Well now, what’s all this?” the MC said.

“Shut up,” Hiroki said. “You know no one likes this.”

“That’s not true,” the MC said. “I’m having fun.”

Hiroki groaned. “Haru-”

“Wait!” Haru said. “There is something I can share!”

“Oh?” the MC said.

Haru aggressively took the mic and said “If you want to beat the Big Bang Burger challenge, don’t starve yourself beforehand! It will only shrink your stomach. You need to eat a little more if you want to try it properly. Also, chewing gum before taking the challenge does work up your jaw and chewing muscles, but make sure you don’t get lockjaw. If you do, please do not attempt the challenge at least one month from recovery. Lastly, my personal pro tip is to try and get accustomed to eating the ingredients separately. It feels weird to eat a giant burger piece by piece, but if you break it down, you’ll get over that mental block. I say this not only as the heiress of Okumura Foods, but as someone who has won the challenge three times!”

The crowd was surprised. “Well, THAT’S certainly something! Thank you, Okumura-senpai, for that wonderful knowledge!” Haru giggled.

Once she got off the stage, Haru and Hiroki met up in the back. “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d be put on the spot like that.”

“Does that happen every year?” Haru wondered.

“Yeah,” Hiroki said. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Haru frowned. “It’s alright. I should be the one who’s sorry.” Hiroki was curious. “I need to be a little more honest. I knew what you were doing yesterday, and I purposely invited Yusuke to disrupt it.”

“Huh,” Hiroki said.

“It’s just,” Haru said. She sighed. “After everything that’s happened, I need some time to think. I don’t know what I want next. I mean, I know some things, but everything else is a blur. I just-”

“Hey hey,” Hiroki said. “It’s alright. I’m sorry too. I should have understood that. But I guess I thought that after so long not saying anything, and after the whole weird experience, I thought now was the time. But it’s not. And I get that.”

Haru smiled. “It’s not a ‘no’. It’s ‘not now’. But thanks for being there anyways.”

Hiroki smiled. “You're welcome.” Haru gave him a kiss on the forehead, and she left. Hiroki was stunned, but smiled and walked off.

Meanwhile, Sumire had gotten a drink out of the vending machine. She sat down next to Ren on the bench. She took a drink. “Ah!” Ren giggled. “You really put it all out there, huh.” Sumire nodded. “It was a delightful surprise though.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Sumire said.

“What made you agree to that in the first place?” Ren wondered.

Sumire slightly frowned. “Well, this is going to sound a little insensitive…” Ren was curious. “But…Kasumi was a little adamant about not showing off just randomly. So I thought I needed to establish myself as me a little.”

Ren smiled. She pulled Sumire in. “I don’t think that’s insensitive at all.”

Sumire smiled. “I love my sister, and I miss her every day, but for a while now, I’ve been in her shadow. If I really want to break through all of this, I need to step into the sunlight. I like doing stuff like that.

I took up gymnastics because I thought it was fun, and I wanted to share it with others. I know Kasumi had a point when she didn’t want to do that outside of events, but I disagreed with her. Still, I followed her. I guess as much as I love her, it was a bit stifling at times. I wish it didn’t take an accident to help teach me all of this, but I’m glad I’m learning.”

“Sumire…”

Sumire smiled. “Besides, as much as I disagree with my sister about certain things, if she were here now, she’d tell me to have fun. And I agree. So, thank you Kasumi. And I’m sorry. But I have to let you go. Not completely, but enough to be free. I hope she understands.”

Ren turned Sumire’s head towards her. “I’m sure she'll understand.” Sumire smiled. “And if she doesn’t, I’ll take it up with her. But hopefully that won’t be for a long time.”

Sumire giggled. “I’m really glad I met you.”

“I’m glad I met you too,” Ren said. They looked into each other’s eyes and gave each other an impassioned kiss.

Faith-Sumire Yoshizawa: Rank 9

They kept making out for a bit. Once they stopped, Sumire said “Well, it’s getting late. Shall we head home?”

“Yeah,” Ren said. They stood up, linked hands, and walked out of the school to head home for the evening, leaning on each other the entire time.

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