View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26lSlN5Ca0w
Tuesday, May 3rd — Constitution Memorial Day — came and went.
Wednesday, May 4th — Greenery Day — also came and went. Nothing of any real note happened...other than Sae Niijima showing up in the morning, making small talk about the most recent subway incident.
(Sae had looked at him with a strange aura of suspicion and concern. "Where do you go to school?")
("Shujin Academy," Akira had calmly answered.)
(Sae, doubtless thinking of her little sister, had made some remarks about Kamoshida and school life being stressful before moving on.)
(
Man, it would be nice to avoid getting interrogated by you...would the Ruin mind if that changed...?)
Oh, and being used as a proverbial (model) gun trafficker by Iwai to avoid heat from a pair of nosy cops.
(
Break~ing the law~, for~fun and pro~fit, he had musically mused to himself, carrying the bag nonchalantly.)
("Man, you are one unflappable guy, Joker," Morgana had mewled from his book bag.)
And
apparently, Ryuji had gotten fed up with Ann's moping over the Shiho situation, so he unilaterally demanded that they actually
celebrate their victory over Kamoshida while they still had school-free days.
("Our leader's been holding onto the cash from selling the medal for
days; who knows how much longer he can resist the temptation to spend it?!")
("Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Ryuji," Akira had snarked.)
Ann had relented...but only because she got to pick where they ate.
(And of course she would go for the
Wilton Hotel's legendary buffet...)
Thus came Thursday, May 5th: Children's Day, and the last holiday of Golden Week.
xxxx
/Thursday: May 5, 2016/
Akira, without really meaning to, arrived first. As such, he avoided a repeat of the 'plate full of beans'. (Which was kind of sad, because that had made for a
really great running joke as they had gotten older the Last Time Around™...)
Ann was visibly
happy with all of the desserts, and Ryuji was on the verge of a carnivore's coma. "Dude," said the latter between bites, "You need to get more!"
"I like to
savor my food, thank you very much," retorted Akira, calmly taking a bite of grilled chicken.
"Gosh, you're such an old
man, sometimes," grumbled Ryuji. (Oh, if only he knew!)
"Then if he's an old man, that makes you a
toddler," joked Morgana, sneakily swiping stuff from the table when no one was looking.
"Hey!" retorted Ryuji, much to Ann's laughter.
"No fighting at the dinner table, kids," lectured Akira with an air of faux sagacity, playing up the 'crotchety old man' angle to sell the humor.
Alas, fate still had its way...and when Ryuji suffered '
The Revenge of the Stomach Attack™', Akira accompanied him to the restroom out of solidarity.
That's when the encounter happened.
And then there's THIS asshole, idly thought Akira as a suited thug pushed Ryuji away from the elevator. Amidst the men in suits was a bald man with a goatee and shaded glasses.
If it isn't 'Worldwide-san' himself, thought Akira, remembering Futaba's old nickname for
Masayoshi Shido. (A nickname he honestly couldn't remember the origin of, at this point; it had had something to do with a
gaijin rapper, right? Eh, whatever...)
Needless to say, Ryuji was utterly
infuriated by Shido's dismissiveness. "The hell was with that bossy guy?!" he demanded after Worldwide-san and his goons departed on the elevator. "That dick really
pissed me off."
"...his voice sounded familiar," intentionally muttered Akira, cupping a hand around his chin. "...hmm."
"What, you've met him somewhere before?"
"...maybe."
It's only natural to consider such things, after all...but maybe I'll put a little
more effort into finding out about him...at least around the others. (After all, a plausible excuse to take down Shido
earlier than usual would be just fine...right?)
It was upon rejoining Ann in the buffet lounge that their conversation turned towards the Phantom Watch website, and whether or not they wanted to continue being Phantom Thieves. "I mean, like that asshole we just ran into...and all the shitty adults lookin' down on us," grumbled Ryuji, looking over his shoulder at the affluent people moving about. (After all, their snide looks had been all too apparent; Akira just honestly didn't
care about their disapproval, so it washed off of him like water.) "There has to be
loads of people who are dealing with crap like we did." Pulling out his phone, he added, "And there are all sorts of users on Phan-Watch who left comments thanking us...and wondering if we're even real..."
"...and if I had had someone in my corner...even if it was just something small...maybe I wouldn't have given in to Kamoshida," admitted Ann with a downcast expression. "And maybe Shiho would have had more faith in herself...it was all so
messed up..." She briefly wiped at her eyes before putting on a fierce expression. "If we ignore the people that we're able to help...I'd go back to being that same
weak person..."
Akira's heart trembled with compassion for them both. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he rested his chin on his hands. "I was going to help Morgana with exploring Mementos anyway...but if you two want to continue on...then I'm all in. No matter what Shadows we face or what Palaces we have to infiltrate." With a smirk, he said, "My codename is Joker. But outside, you can just call me Akira."
Ryuji grinned with excitement. "Skull. And I know we're on first name basis, but the same goes for you, Takamaki. After all we went through, hearing you just say 'Sakamoto' feels kind of weird."
Ann looked between them both, smiling genuinely. "Panther. And...you guys can just call me Ann."
Thus were they sworn to working together: helping the weak and downtrodden by stealing the hearts of criminals.
Just like old times...
(
It's strange how young this makes you feel...)
(Later that night, Ryuji would text a selfie that captured everyone at the
Wilton Buffet.)
(It was so striking an image, that Akira genuinely couldn't remember if he had gotten it in his Last Life™...)
xxxx
Day: May 5th, 2016
Me, Blond 1, and Blonde 2 managed to pool some spare money together to go to a swanky buffet.
We stuffed our faces in a very childish manner.
In other words, it was a fitting way to celebrate Children's Day.
xxxx
When Joker opened his eyes within the Velvet Room, Yaldabaoth's voice had a tinge of amusement. "
I congratulate you, for managing to cleave to such a familiar road...even as our Ruin prepares to act more openly."
"Is that so?" He glanced over at Caroline and Justine; although still filled with trepidation about his presence, they were at least less openly fearful. "I wonder...it wouldn't have anything to do with a kid called Jose, would it?"
Fake Igor did not answer.
Joker quietly pulled Jose's gift out of his pocket; although the star did not glow, it seemed to resonate within the Velvet Room, in time with the unseen woman's wail. "Or how about this?"
The false deity outright
glared at the star, his shoulders visibly vibrating with irritation. "
An interesting artifact that you possess..."
"Who is he? And what
is this?"
The False Igor's fingers tapped with palpable frustration. "
The rules of the game prevent me from saying more...but know that whoever gifted you that trinket, is not our Ruin...but be wary of the gift-giver, nonetheless."
"Why?"
"
Because it reeks of a meddler," audibly sneered the God of Control. "
And meddlers rarely act with subtlety..."
"...hmm."
How interesting. "Fine. Since I'm here, I might as well fuse some Personas..."
This, at least, was a sufficient enough distraction. (Genbu and Saki Mitama gave way to Shiisaa; Archangel and Eligor to Shiki-Ouji...and, most importantly, Berith and Silky to Jack Frost.)
(
Hee ho!)
xxxx
/Friday: May 6, 2016/
Rumors were rampant that day of a new faculty member that had been hired during the Shujin board meeting on May the 2nd.
Not a new P.E. teacher, alas; at nearly two weeks since Kamoshida had turned himself into the police, a more PR-friendly avenue had been taken. "
-we believe the mental health of our student body is absolutely vital, so we've acquired the services of a therapist," said Principal Kobayakawa at the school-wide assembly that afternoon. "
The floor is yours, Doctor."
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXJRIAvaEY0
Akira watched with suspicion as a bespectacled man — in his 30s at least; bearing unkempt brown hair and some stubble on his goatee; wearing a white lab coat over a business casual outfit; wearing
open-toed sandals (how informal!) — approached the mic stand.
This is definitely new.
"
It's nice to meet you all." He sounded genial and kind. "
My name is-" The mic shorted out. "Huh?" After briefly fiddling with it, he continued his introduction. "
My name is Takuto Maruki."
Takuto Maruki. He could not help but think of Yaldabaoth's words from the prior night.
Is he part of the Ruin...?
"
Thank you for welcoming me to your school." Maruki bowed-
THUMP.
-and winced as his head bounced off of the microphone, causing a high-pitched squeal of electronic feedback.
Akira blinked.
Yeah, I'm not getting many 'Ruin' vibes from this guy...
xxxx
(Ah, if only Akira had known what awaited him...)
xxxx
/I am aware that some of the dates for events have changed
//like Maruki being introduced now instead of during mid-terms on 5/13 like he did in-game
///but I'd like to chalk it up to it being due to how much earlier Kamoshida's confession happened
////so if some things aren't happening on
exactly the same day as they did in P5R, know that it's on purpose
