A Place I Belong: A Persona 5 Prequel/AU Quest

Persona Part 2: Welcome

"I don't have one. I don't think I ever will." The words left your mouth like a dull monotone, the energy quickly leaving the room.

Makoto looked sad at your answer, and turned away, the protests she might have made were silenced by a look from her father. "Eat up Kamuai, we'll talk later."

Sae gave you a look of pity as she ate her food, while Makoto bombarded you with a barrage of questions.

"Where did you live before you move to Tokyo? Did you live in the country, with a lot of farms, or did you live in other cities?" Each one of her questions only made you feel bitter, and angrier. But you did not unleash and outburst of emotion or anger. She was a curious child.

"I'll tell you all about that later, okay Makoto." You politely told Makoto. "I just want to get settled in right now."

Clearly Sae and Jiro were going to stop her if you had asked, but Jiro's nod and Makoto's silence afterwards clearly showed he was about to get involved.

You ate dinner quickly, though for what it was worth, it was different than any of the meals that you had. The sushi was unappetizing store bought food, but with the funny glances and quirky nature of the family itself, the dinner felt more life than you had ever seen at a dinner table.

Most meals you had at the table were alone, with silent glares from your caretaker as they ate away from you, their conversations about politics, money or some other crap. They never involved you in their lives, and you never really tried to involve yourself in theirs.

They saw you as a means to a paycheck from the government, while you got a roof over your head and a warm place to sleep.

But here, although Makoto's questions made you uncomfortable, you were part of the conversation, even if you were mostly glossed over due to not wanting to talk about yourself.

"Tomorrow I am going to be taking you to Shujin Academy." Jiro stated as he took a sip of tea. "Hopefully, you can get your class schedule and meet your teachers."

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" You asked. Your caretakers always worked on Sunday's, so that they could have Friday and Saturday off instead.

"I never work Sunday's, unless they call me in." Jiro stated. "I try to have the same day's you kids have off from school so we can all be together. In case you need help with anything."

You nodded. "Thank you."

Jiro gave a small smile. "Ah, think nothing of it. Sae needed all the help she could get when she was in high school."

Sae looked back to her father with an annoyed glance. "I didn't need that much help dad."

"Your math scores for the first month said otherwise." Jiro replied, making Sae cover her face in embarrassment.

Makoto than shouted. "I got a 10 on my first test today dad!" She was smiling with pride.

"Out of ten i suppose?" Jiro smiled, as if he knew the answer already.

"Yep!" She replied.

The dinner was nice. It felt like for the first time in your life, you had an actual family dinner.

Reward: Gain Trait: Aimless: You have no goal in life, no dream of the future. You are not bogged down by the weight of ambition… but you are bogged down by the weight of doubts. (You are without purpose. You can become anything you wish to be, if you gather the strength to choose what you wish to become.)

No EXP for Stats gained.
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Jiro was standing on the Balcony, looking over the city of Tokyo. "I'm here." You said quietly. The noisy city seemed almost silent from above, there was no honking of the horns, no planes in the sky flying overhead, no helicopters, no sirens.

The city seemed almost peaceful in the night, at least on this night.

"Shut the door." Jiro ordered. "I don't want the girls eavesdropping on this."

You shut the sliding door and stood next to Jiro, leaning forward on the railing and staring at the Neon of the city's nightlife.

"The Social services gave me your file." Oh great. "Your quite a case. Five families over the past 10 years have been using you to commit fraud, and using government funds on their own personal escapades, instead of caring for you. You yourself have very poor social skills, with barely passable grades, no friends, no clubs, and you have trust issues."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm lucky that I've been tossed around like a check waiting to be cashed in?" You asked, feeling some anger rising in your blood. "That every time I move, I have to leave everything I know behind and start over!"

"No. Far from it." Jiro replied. His voice was stern, his gaze hard. But he put his arms on your shoulders so that you would face him. He could see the anger in your eyes. "A kid like you should never have been put into that kind of situation. And I'm going to do everything in my power to give you the chance you deserve to do well in life."

He was sincere… but all the caretakers he's known were sincere at first, before they saw the money in the mail.

"So what are you going to do that will make me trust you?" You asked.

"I've already set you up with a Psychiatric counselor next Saturday after school. You are going to be going there every Saturday for the foreseeable Future." Jiro replied. "And I'm also giving you this." He reached into his pocket and revealed an Iphone, one of the newest models too. "My number is inside, along with Sae's. If you need help, or just want to talk to either of us, just call."

"Showering me with gifts… that's not going to get me to trust you." You replied, looking at the phone suspiciously. You did admit, however, that the protective case that protected the screen far better than having it without it, your cracked and broken screen attested to that.

"No… I am giving you a tool to help you when you need it." Jiro replied, handing it to your hand. "I'm not going to buy your affection. I'm going to help you."

"Why?" You asked.

"Because you it's the right thing. And I always do the right thing, even when it seems like it's impossible to do." Jiro replied.

Reward: A New iphone: you got it as a gift from Jiro. You can use it, but try not to stream videos without Wifi, you don't have unlimited data.
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Sleep came easier tonight than it ever had before. There was a calm, you no longer had to worry about tomorrow, and what your caretakers did.

But in your dreams… they were different.

The Hue of Blue overtook your vision, you could not see clearly in the dark or blue. But you heard music playing, a beautiful song that seemed peaceful, despite how confusing the world seemed to be. The piano in the background played slowly, as if mesmerizing you, and calming your mind.

It was than you saw the world clearly.

What did you see:
[]A Prison, with you behind Bars, with a figure sitting at a large desk.
[]A Plane, high in the air. You are sitting in first class with a stewardess walking towards you.
[]A Pirate Ship at Sea. You were on deck, next to the wheel that controlled the rudder. An officer was walking towards you.
[]A Rest Stop, You were at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Behind the counter was a woman in a blue uniform.
[]A Train Station, where the train had not arrived yet. The Oshiya was standing patiently by the tracks.


And the first words you heard sent shivers up your spine:
[]"Welcome, To The Velvet Room."

[]"Welcome to My Velvet Room."

AN: Enjoy.