Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1.1

=-=-=

Janus slammed one of his faces into his keyboard. “Stupid ass Yaldabaoth, why the hell does he keep screwing with the Anchor in this expansion? Igor has been the Anchor for all of them, 1-4, but this shithead just has to do whatever dumb shit he does!” He deleted the random letters from his impromptu keysmash and groaned.

“Hon, would you like some help?” The Two-Faced God thanked some of the more powerful deities in Yggdrasil for his wife, the only reason he was sane anymore. “You’ve been stressing on how to get P5 into the loops for a while now.”

The face that wasn’t facing the computer and was facing his wife let out a sigh. “The silver dickhead with the power of a God on that earth kidnaps the anchor and seals him in a fucking subway system from hell. I’m really just peachy, Venilia.” He winced at the light glare from the love of his life. “Sorry, I’m just tired of trying to manipulate my way into getting Igor connected to the others. 

“I’ve messed with countless different lines of code, but that shitty cup won’t fucking cooperate and I have to constantly run a tweaked baseline code! Even worse, without the cup in that spot at that time, nothing goes right and I have to redo it all. If I don’t, there would be an extremely tiring set of Chrysalis syndromes emerging and several potential Sakura syndromes, or worse, potential MLEs.”

One of his hands rubbed one of his faces, he was too tired to tell which. “This entire branch is an ascension risk waiting to happen if I don’t handle this right, and the nature of the Wild Card makes things even more dangerous. We don’t want another Cinder on our hands.”

Venilia put two cups of coffee down next to the monitor, one for each face. What he did to deserve this woman, he didn’t know. “Well, at least the baseline is malleable enough that each loop is different, right?” She ran a hand through his hair. “One time Akira will be all about stealth, then he’ll be taking out everything in sight and killing Reapers for fun. And for Mr. I-am-God, at least Akira always kills him at the end. Honestly, he’s not even looping and he’s already a God-Killer.”

Janus laughed before taking a sip of his coffee. “He really is something else.” His brow creased in thought suddenly, and he leaned forward in his chair. “Maybe… just maybe…” He smiled and started frantically typing. “Screw it. If JJBA can have eight anchors, I’m giving this expansion its own Anchor.”

He scrolled up and wrote a single line of code.

Anchor = Entity: Kurusu_Akira

The Admin smiled and sipped his coffee as he let that single line of code work its way through the loops.

=-=-=

1.2

=-=-=

Akira Awoke. He was groggy and very, very confused. He was lying in bed, but not his bed. He was in bed… where was he? He opened his eyes and then bolted upright, looking around. Where was he, where were his friends—

Oh?

He was home. No, that wasn’t right. He was at his parent’s house. He was in his old room as if nothing had ever happened.

He scrambled for his phone and quickly put in Ryuji’s IM number.

“But… shouldn’t it have already been in my contacts?”

A mental check. “Satanael? Are you there?”

A rumbling sounded in the back of his mind.

“Yes and no, apprenti. I am here, but… I seem to no longer be Satanael.”

Akira blinked. “Arséne? I thought you… ascended? Would that be the right word?”

“Hmm… ascension seems to be an apt description of what it felt like to become Satanael. However, I’m quite confused as to what I’m doing back in this state.” A beat of silence. “It seems that I no longer have any of my previous powers as well, only Eiha and Cleave.”

“Odd. Eh, I like the way you look when you’re Arséne better anyways. You fit the title of ‘Phantom Thief’ better when you’re actually a thief, and while the six-winged gun-toting rebel against the Demiurge is pretty badass, it just doesn’t have my type of flair.”

“You’ve always been one for the dramatic, haven’t you?”

“What gave me away?”

He shot a quick text to Ryuji, crossing his fingers.

Hello? :A

R: Yo

R: who’s this?

Hey! It’s Akira. :A

R: Akira?

His eyes widened. He re-

R: sorry man, I think u got the wrong number.

Oh… he didn’t. Everything really was back to one year ago.

Really? Damn, coulda swore I had it right… sorry about that. :A

R: np dude

R: hey, wanna see some memes?

Two conditions, :A

Your name in my phone will forever be memefucker, :A

R: Fine

And they have to be  t a s t e f u l  memes. :A

R: How could u assume I’d send anything else

Hell yeah. :A

Some things never changed… the wildcard smiled warmly.

“Akira!” He stopped stone cold at the call.

 His mother. He’d nearly forgotten her voice. “Akira, are you ready to leave?” He was confused for a second before he realized that something was off. Instead of immediately shoving him out of the house and into the court system, his parents listened to what happened to him. They stuck with him and helped him find a caregiver that they knew to be trustworthy. 

Thankfully, their choice hadn’t changed. Sakura Sojiro, a middle-aged coffee shop owner, would be his caregiver for the next year.

He grabbed the suitcase sitting at the foot of his bed as memories came flooding into his head, the vast majority of them lining up with his original ones. “Coming mom!” The world blurred for him as thoughts of why and how ran through his head.

He reached the bottom of the stairs before he realized he was moving and was face-to-face with his mother. God, he had missed her. He had been absolutely livid when she had believed that bastard Shido over him, but he really couldn’t blame her after seeing firsthand how charismatic he could be.

She was his mother, and he couldn’t hate her. 

Akira had no idea why time was repeating itself, but he had to make sure that he saw his mother again, especially since this time around, she knew the whole story. She was just shorter than he was, with long hair that was slightly darker than his. She had glasses (he had to get the excuse of vision impairment from somewhere ) and a face that was just a little rounder than his.

God, he’d nearly forgotten that face with everything that’s happened.

“Akira? Are you okay?” His face felt warm. “Akira, you’re crying!” It did feel wet too. He brought a hand to his face and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

“I know mom,” He gave her a trembling smile. “I’m just sad that I won’t get to see you anymore.” He wrapped her in a tight hug.

 “Oh, sweetheart, please, you’ll make me cry too…”

He sniffed, breaking away and rubbing his eyes again. “I’m sorry… I’m just gonna miss you a lot.”

His mother’s eyes were beginning to water as well. “I’ll miss you too sweetie. Just remember to call, and make sure you know how to get around so you don’t get lost — ”

He laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for worrying, mom. But I think I’ll be fine.” He’d been living there for the past year after all.

A few tears fell from her eyes as she nodded. “Okay. The police car will be here soon to pick you up.” She paused. “Akira, just know that your father and I are so, so proud of you for defending that woman.”

His memories did nothing to prepare him for the shock of those words. He wrapped her in another hug as quickly as possible. “Thank you, mom. I’ll keep making you proud.”

“I know you will.”

He left the house soon after, making his way to the police car.

“You’re quite happy right now, aren’t you?”

Akira smiled. “Of course I am.”

“I understand. Familial love can be somewhat… difficult, to come by in our line of work. I was lucky enough to have my own family, as well as a grandson that followed in my footsteps. I watched over him quite often, before I was called to be a Persona.”

“That’s nice. I’m just glad that I got this opportunity.”

“Indeed.”

=-=-=

When Akira saw Kamoshida for the first time, he hadn’t thought much of him, he was a teacher that had offered to give him a ride to school along with Ann, so he seemed kind enough.

His opinion had quickly changed.

So, this time he began to talk to Ann when she showed up.

“Hello. Lovely day out, isn’t it?” He poured on the sarcasm, hoping to get a smile out of his old friend who he realized would have no memory of him.

Her response was a small huff. “You bet.” She turned to look at him. “Hmm… you’re wearing a Shujin uniform, but I’ve never seen you around before… are you a transfer student?”

He nodded. “Yeah, just got here from a small town out… well, out somewhere, I never really bothered learning where it was in relation to Tokyo.” He took out a small notepad and began scribbling out a message on it as his words elicited a giggle from Ann.

“Well stranger, I’m Takamaki Ann. Just call me Ann, though.”

He smiled. “My name’s Kurusu Akira. Just Akira’s fine.”

He finished his note and pulled it off the pad. When he saw Kamoshida’s car pull onto the street, he began scribbling again, but faster.

When he heard him begin speaking, he feigned a fall. When Ann tried to help him up, he palmed her phone. “Sorry, my leg just gave out on me for some reason.”

“Thank you, Morgana.”

“Indeed. This is quite the plan.”

“Thanks, Arséne.”

“Oh, hold on just a second, Ann.” He finished his scribbling and gave Ann the slip of paper, smiling lightly. “Here, tell me what you think, it shouldn’t take too long.”

Ann looked puzzled, but she nodded. “Alright, just give me a moment, Mr. Kamoshida.” She began reading, and her eyes widened.

I’ve heard the rumors about this guy, even if I’m new. I don’t think you’d want to be in the same car as him, so pretend you want to take a picture of this when you’re done reading it. I’ve palmed your phone, (I wanted to be a magician as a kid) so make it look like you left it at home.

“This is really good! Do you mind if I take a picture of it?”

He shook his head. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

She reached to her pocket and swore when she couldn’t find anything. “I must have left the stupid thing at home. I need that today too… I’m sorry Mr. Kamoshida, you should just get to the school, I’m sorry.”

Kamoshida’s eyes flashed with anger, but he covered it with a too-bright smile. “Sure thing, Ann. I’ll make sure that any tardies are excused.” He looked to Akira. “Do you need a ride, kid?”

“Ah, no thanks.” He could hear the threat in Kamoshida’s voice this time.

“Alright then, suit yourself.” The teacher drove off.

He turned when he heard Ann’s voice and found her bowing at him. “Thank you so much! I really didn’t want to go with him…” She straightened up and he offered her phone “But… you said you’d heard the rumors, so I wasn’t sure if you thought that I was...”

“Doing the do with you-know-who?” He smirked.

Her mouth fell open for a few moments before she burst into giggles. “Oh, stop it. That makes it sound like I was bedding Voldemort or something.” She frowned. “But yeah… I hate his guts, even though everyone thinks I’m sleeping with him.”

“Well, in my opinion, Kamoshida Suguru just seems like a pervert and a rat bastard.” A frown etched its way onto Akira’s face as his phone buzzed, picking up the keyword, just as it had before. “And for what it’s worth, I know the feeling, being hated by people for something you didn’t do.”

“You d-” Ann was cut off by another familiar voice.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with Kamoshida, Takamaki.”

Akira watched Ann flinch before her face twisted into a frown. “Ryuji, you dense motherfu-”

“We’re not together, or banging, or whatever else you may have heard. They’re rumors. Nothing more, Sakamoto.”

Akira noticed Ryuji relaxing, even if it was a subtle thing. “Alright then. And you?”

He bowed to the blond teen. “My name is Kurusu. I’m a transfer student to Shujin Academy.” The phone buzzed again.

Ann smacked him on the shoulder. “He’s also the guy that saved me from dealing with Kamoshida’s leering today.” 

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “Really? You got one up on the volleyball king-” Another buzz. “-Himself? Well, why the hell didn’t you say so?’ Akira nearly fell over at the suddenness of Ryuji slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Name’s Sakamoto Ryuji. Good on you for getting Takamaki out of that mess. Better on you for foolin’ Kamoshida. I’m tired of that bastard acting like the school’s his castle or some shit.” A final buzz, followed by a muffled voice.

Akira smiled. “Well, it was actually really easy. Guess all that time getting good at volleyball made him dumber than a pile of bricks, huh?” The other two laughed.

Ryuji let out a deep breath. “We really don’t want to be late, right? C’mon, I know a shortcut.”

As they entered the Metaverse, Akira wondered what else he could change.

=-=-=

He heard the commotion, and his eyes flew open.

“How in the hell could I forget about that!?”

“Shiho!?” He heard Ann stand and watched her run out of the class, quickly getting up to follow her.

“This is a good chance…”

“Careful, apprenti.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“I don’t think you want the answer to that question.”

Akira smirked internally before he reached the courtyard, and came face to face with a sight that had frozen him in his boots. Suzui Shiho on the edge of the roof, just like before.

Just like before.

“No, apprenti, not like before. You have the power to save her now.”

Akira let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Right. You’re right.”

Akira ghosted through to the front of the crowd, ever grateful for his natural grace before he arrived at his destination, the front of the crowd.

He looked up at the girl on the roof, one so pained by the constant abuse piled onto her that she was going to attempt suicide, and his jaw set with determination.

He was going to save her this time.

“Oh my god, she’s actually going to jump!”

Those words spurred him into action. He dashed forwards, and she dropped over the edge. She started falling faster, and he started running up the wall. She reached the halfway point, and he kicked off. Their paths collided. Akira twisted in midair, bringing his feet beneath him, and he hit the ground with Shiho in his arms.

People began whispering.

“He saved her?”

“Huh? Isn’t he some delinquent?”

“Whoa, that was badass…”

He looked down at the girl in his arms. “You saved me…” Her eyes began drifting shut. “I knew the rumors didn’t mean anything…” Suzui Shiho passed out.

His panic-filled voice broke through the chatter. “Someone call an ambulance!”

He looked up, and several students were already dialing.

“Shiho! Shiho!” Ann pushed to the front of the crowd. “Oh my god, Shiho!” She looked at her friend in Akira’s arms, then at Akira. “You saved her, thank you so much!”

He shook his head. “I had to.”

He listened to the distant sirens and smiled at this newest change.

=-=-=

Ann approached him with bags under her eyes and a smile on her face. “Hey, mister hero.”

He mirrored her grin. “Hey yourself.”

“I thought you’d want to know that Shiho is in stable condition. She’s still passed out, but the doctors say she should wake up soon.”

His shoulders sagged in relief as his smile got just that much wider. She was safe. One of the three people he was unable to save was okay now.

That almost made not being remembered worth it.

Almost.

=-=-=

His chance to make another change came in Okumura’s palace, as everything else went smoothly and without the need for intervention. “Everyone, wait!”

Skull, Panther, and Fox stopped and turned without much fuss, but Queen was a different story.

She whirled around, her red eyes blazing. “Are you out of your mind!? The palace is crumbling around us! We need to get out of here and wait for the change of heart!”

His response was just as forceful and twice as harsh as his gaze hardened. “Which won’t happen if Okumura’s shadow is killed by Black Mask! We’re doing this for Haru more than anything else, remember that. If his heart doesn’t change and he has a mental shutdown instead, Haru’s left worse off than before.”

He took a deep breath and turned to Shadow Okumura. “We became Phantom Thieves to help people, not ourselves. Never forget that.” He looked down at the shadow with hard eyes. “Mr. Okumura. Will you go back to your real self and atone for your crimes?”

“Y-yes. I’ve done horrible things to the people that work for me… I must amend that. But…” The shadow shook lightly. “Is Haru there?”

The young heiress walked forwards timidly. “Father?”

He smiled weakly at her. “Haru, my child… do you think that you could find it in yourself to forgive an old man for losing sight of what was really important?”

Joker watched as tears sprung up in her eyes. “Of course, father!” Joker heard a small click amidst the crashing of debris and equipped his fastest Persona.

A sad smile spread across Shadow Okumura’s face. “Then I’ll return to my real self.”

Pop!

Soft, faint, the sound was barely even there. But it wasn’t silent enough, and Joker moved like lightning. The bullet that would’ve hit struck Shadow Okumura’s head struck Joker in the calf and the leader cried out in pain. Blood began to stain the fabric of his pants. Shadow Okumura finally faded away, and Noir jumped at the sound of the bullet and Joker’s scream.

She turned to where the sound came from, manifesting Milady behind her and firing at the pockets of debris.

She quickly turned to Joker and gasped at the blood seeping through the fabric of his pants.

“I’ll get you out of here, don’t worry.” Her hands wrapped around one of his arms and pulled, lifting him. She set his arm around her shoulders and began walking.

He hissed, his face contorting before becoming a weak grin. “Let’s just hurry so that Morgana can heal this bullet out of my leg.”

She nodded vigorously. “Of course!”

=-=-=

Akira was preparing for bed when his phone rang with a message. He took out his phone and saw a message from Haru, her pink profile picture a bright contrast against the red of the IM app.

H: Are you awake?

I am now. :A

H: Oh! I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your hair then.

I kid, I kid, I just got in bed. What’s up? :A

H: Ah. Well, really I just wanted to thank you.

H: For saving my father…

It’s what we do. :A

H: I know, but you made sure that we were doing it right. And then you took that bullet, even when the palace was falling down around us…

He might have died if I hadn’t. :A

H: I know! That’s why I’m thanking you.

H: He may have done horrible things in his lifetime… but he wasn’t always like that.

H: Before my grandfather and mother died, he was actually a family man of sorts.

H: He was always an excellent cook, and he would make us all breakfast in the mornings.

H: He was fun, and then he changed.

H: I’m just hoping this changed him back…

It will. It’s never failed us before. :A

H: That’s what everyone’s been saying. I hope you’re right.

H: We’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

I guess so. :A

H: Goodnight, Joker.

Night Noir. :A

His phone shut with a click as he smiled. He closed his eyes, but before he could fall asleep, his phone buzzed again. 

F: Well well well! Look at you, Mr. smooth!

Akira rolled his eyes.

Screw you, Futaba. :A

F: Love ya too, nasty crimeboy! :P

=-=-=

Shido’s Palace… this place left a bad taste in his mouth. Especially the engine room, the place that Akechi (god was it jarring to see him alive again) had died saving them.

Akira seethed at the cognitive Akechi as it pointed a gun at the real one and spoke. “Maybe one of them will take your place?”

“I’ll do it.”

The three words from Akira’s mouth were enough to completely stop the cognition in its tracks.

“What?”

“I said I’ll swap with him.” He walked forward, stepping in front of the gun pointed at Akechi. “Go on Crow, get away from here.”

“Joker…? What the-” Akechi coughed and hissed, clutching his side. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

He sighed. “I’m saving your life dickhead.”

“Why though!? I’ve done horrible things! I killed Isshiki and tried to kill Okumu-”

“Which is why I can’t let you die until Oracle and Noir get the chance to kick you in the balls. Prepare yourself for that, by the way. It’ll hurt like hell.” A sly smirk overtook his expression at the way Akechi’s legs crossed.

“Fine… fine. I’ll go.” Akechi limped over the boundary that had killed him last time.

He took one look at Haru and felt it would be good to add, “No one gets to practice skills on him yet!”

He almost laughed at the pout she gave him.

“Now for you…” He turned to the Cognitive Akechi and scowled. “I can only think of one thing to do with you.” He stared at the gun, switching his persona to Rangda. A manic grin spread across his face as he grabbed the barrel and drew it to his head, stopping a few inches before his head. “Shoot me, bitch. You won’t.”

The double seemed dumbfounded for a few moments. Then its face twisted into a rage. “Fuck. You.” It pulled the trigger, and a shot rang out. The double’s eyes widened, and it fell to the floor before dissipating.

“Black Frost, Mabufudyne!”

The shadows that had revealed themselves to be several Cerberus fell to the ground under the onslaught of ice, and Joker smirked.

“Let’s go for it, everyone! Time for an All-Out Attack!”

Everyone able to join did so, even Akechi. As the lightning-fast combo attack hit the shadows, Joker grinned once more. This time, everything would go right.

=-=-=

1.3

=-=-=

“Akira! Dude!” His eyes opened and focused on the only person nearby, who just happened to be Ryuji. “What’s up with you? You spaced out.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He flipped through his memories of this repeat and frowned. “You’re right, I’m really creeped out by the whole ‘God of Shujin’ Kamoshitface thing.”

Ryuji’s eyebrows shot higher on his forehead, and a mischievous grin snuck onto his face. “You know, I like that name. Now and forevermore, his name is Kamoshitface.” He felt an arm around his shoulder. “Good to know you aren’t just some silent protagonist dude.”

Akira twisted some of the strands of hair hanging in front of his face. “Guess I just warmed up to you quickly.”

“Thank god dude, I was worried that the only people I’d get to talk to this week were my mom and that weird-ass cat.” He snorted lightly at that remark.

“I’m not a cat, and my name is Morgana!”

The pair of thieves turned to see a black and white cat padding up behind them. “Hoo boy, here we go again.”

=-=-=

1.4

=-=-=

This was an… odd, repeat. It was his… eighteenth? Nineteenth? He couldn’t remember how many exactly but it was somewhere around there, and he had gone through the motions as per usual. Declining the pervy bastard’s offer, meeting Ryuji, entering the palace, and then going straight for Morgana. But… something was weird.

“He’s never been a human before…”

In the cell in front of him was a child that looked no older than ten.

He wore a black dress shirt with the cuffs unbuttoned, and a yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck. A black bandanna covered his face, with blue eyes staring through small holes.

“That… that can’t be Morgana, can it?”

“It certainly seems to be him.”

“You two! Get me out of here!” Though that voice confirmed that it was the hopes and dreams of humanity. “I’ve been in here for way too long.”

He walked up to the cell while Ryuji stood there, dumbstruck. “He… Kamoshida’s been keepin’ a kid here?”

Ignoring the indignant cry of “I’m not a kid!” from the admittedly child-like Morgana, Akira nodded to his friend-that-didn’t-know-him.

“Oh, just get me out of here!”

One battle and an impressive show of swordplay later, Morgana was smirking at Ryuji’s scowl. “Who’s the kid now?”

Akira smirked and ruffled the short Persona user’s head. “Still you.”

The grin on Ryuji’s face and the look of betrayal on Morgana’s was enough to get him to laugh out loud.

“I never thought I’d get to see his dream come true. Too bad he won’t remember it when he’s back to being a cat.”

=-=-=

Much of his behavior stayed the same, but he stopped the flirting with Ann after he realized that being hit on by someone that looks six years younger than you is extremely unsettling.

The weeks passed, and they only got closer, with Akira somehow managing to get Morgana into school (a sob story about how he wasn’t sure that Sojiro could take care of Morgana and the shop at the same time combined with a glasses-less pair of puppy dog eyes worked wonders on Kawakami) and he grew closer to Morgana than ever before. Maybe it was because he was human this time around?

Either way, Morgana had become his little brother. He brought him pretty much everywhere, made sure he was well-fed, and he helped him reach high places.

And then the day he had begun to dread came.

“I’m tired of all this indecisiveness!” Those words that made his eyes widen and his knuckles turn white.

He tried to talk him down, reminding him of their agreement on unanimous decisions, but Morgana would have none of it.

“Have it your way. I can take on a small fry like Okumura all by myself.” He tried to go to the stairs but was stopped by Akira.

“Morgana, we know nothing about that Palace. We don’t know the distortion, the power of the shadows, we literally know nothing . That’s why I want to keep going into Mementos, that way we can prepare for any eventuality.” He put on a pleading look, and Morgana begrudgingly agreed to stay.

Akira was too relieved to notice the crossed fingers behind Morgana’s back.

=-=-=

The other Phantoms received frantic texts from Akira in the middle of the night, his normally impeccable typing littered with typos as he informed them that Morgana had snuck out after he had fallen asleep.

=-=-=

Megidolaon, Black Viper, Penalty, Akira spared no expense as he rushed through Okumura’s palace, barely even stopping when shadow after shadow met its end, even as he grew further and further from his team.

Ryuji was confused and had given up trying to keep up. “Jeezus, where is all this crazy power comin’ from Joker? I’ve never seen you use anything like this!” 

Ann was running out of breath as well. “I second that question!”

Summoning her Persona, Makoto began riding towards their leader, who had already vaporized the next shadows in their way and rounded a corner illogically far away from them. “Hop on you two!”

Akira heard but didn’t care. There was no way that Morgana didn’t come out of this without a scratch the first time through. “Morgana!” His voice started to break as he called out again and again. “Morgana!”

A corner came. He rounded it without losing an ounce of speed… and ran straight into Okumura Haru.

His eyes widened as she began to fall, and he quickly grabbed her shoulders to keep her in place.

“Are you okay?” He heard the screeching of tires and quickly righted the girl before noticing the quivering bundle in her arms. His eyes widened. “Morgana!”

Haru looked hesitant, but more security drones appeared from the hallway. She turned around in shock, only to find that Joker had already killed them all, glaring at the fading ashes in a near-catatonic rage.

“J-Joker?” The terrifying look on his face faded into a soft smile. “Joker, I thought you weren’t coming to the palace…”

“Hold on just a second. Diarahan… ” He felt some energy leaving his body as green power flowed into Morgana. Cuts and bruises disappeared, and the still fresh blood on his clothes began to flow back into his body. “Miss, can I have him?”

Haru nodded blankly, still trying to wrap her head around the spectacle. “Wh-who are you?”

The Thief smirked and bowed to the heiress. “I, Miss Okumura, am Joker. The elusive leader of the illustrious Phantom Thieves, but I believe you’d know me better as Kurusu Akira.” He straightened up. “And I’d like my brother back if you please.”

Morgana’s eyes opened slowly as he was taken from his soon-to-be friend. “Why are you here?”

Akira smiled. “Because I was worried about you. You’re my little brother, remember? I get to be worried from time to time.” He helped Morgana get situated on his back, and held his hand out to Haru. “This is no place for someone without a Persona, miss. Let’s get you out of here.”

=-=-=

“I’m sorry Joker… I just wanted to prove that I was still useful.” Morgana had his hands balled in his lap, scrunching up his shorts. “Everything has been happening with us getting new members, and everyone seems to be doing something except for me! You’re the leader keeping everyone together, Skull writes the calling cards and was one of the original team, Queen is a strategist, Panther keeps everyone’s spirits up almost effortlessly along with being a founding member…

“Yusuke makes the calling cards, Makoto has a sister in law enforcement that we can get information from, and Futaba figured out more about the Metaverse in less than a week than I knew in all my time as a Thief!” He buried his face in his hands. “I’m useless, Akira.”

Akira smiled softly and wrapped the smaller body of his brother into a hug. “That’s where you’re wrong.” Morgana went stock-still as Akira put his arms around him. “You were our teacher. You were the one that started the thieves, and you’re the one that kept us upright through all the Palaces, or did you forget how many times you had to cast Diarama?” He heard a short giggle. “The point is, you were never useless. Never call yourself that.”

He felt Morgana's arms wrap around him as tears soaked through his shirt. “Okay, Akira.”

=-=-=

1.5

=-=-=

About a hundred repeats later, and Akira was officially stressed. These sick, sick repetitions showed no sign of stopping. What better way to blow off steam than to terrorize the palace rulers he’d come into contact with? Well, most of them anyway. His intimidation skills had risen through the roof from the times he had to use them to get into different parts of the repeats.

“Ryuji, I’m gonna scare him.”

Confusion flashed across the blond’s face. “Huh? Scare who?”

Akira shrugged as if it were obvious. “Kamoshida.”

Ryuji’s mouth dropped open. “For real? How? That guy doesn’t really have anything to fear, I don’t think.”

“Just watch and learn.”

The next day, when they had grabbed Mishima and had begun their confrontation with Kamoshida, the ever predictable “King of Shujin” threatened them with expulsion.

And Akira made his move as well.

The first thing he did was take off his glasses (fakes this time) and tucked them in his jacket pocket. He approached Kamoshida slowly, keeping eye contact as he stepped. “No,” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You won’t be able to do anything.” A moment of focus and his eyes were blood red, the same color his teammates always said they saw at the end of an all-out-attack. The horrible excuse for a teacher was suddenly very, very afraid.

Afraid wasn’t an adequate term though. Not for what Kamoshida was feeling. He was filled with a visceral sort of terror that one only felt when faced with something that would kill them in ways more horrible than you could imagine. Not painlessly though, and his imagination was running overtime giving him all the different ways he could die here. The teacher barely kept himself from pissing his pants through the sheer terror. His hands suddenly felt clammy and sweaty, he was shaking like a leaf, he could feel his heart pumping harder and faster in his chest. His eyes widened and he stumbled back a few steps, trying to make himself move but finding himself completely at the mercy of the boy- no, the monster - in front of him.

Akira blinked, and the spell was broken. Kamoshida slumped into his chair trembling. “But then again, I can’t stop you, can I?” His eyes were gray again, and he smiled. “Have a nice day. Ryuji, Mishima, let’s go.”

Akira left the gym teacher’s office and was followed by a pair of dumbfounded individuals.

They left behind a terrified Kamoshida, who stayed stock-still in his office for several minutes before canceling that day’s volleyball practice.

=-=-=

“Bro, that was amazing! Where’d you learn to freak people out like that? I could feel it from the back of the room!” Akira had been instantly grabbed by Ryuji after they left the office. “Dude, you gotta teach me.”

Akira’s eyes widened before a grin crept onto his face. “Sure. Do you remember how our showboating at the end of our all-out-attacks sometimes changes how we look? Y’know, my eyes getting red, your teeth getting all sharp?”

Ryuji seemed confused for a moment before a grin crept across his face. “I think I like where this is going.”

=-=-=

Madarame was next. Yusuke came to the door, they asked about the plagiarism, he tried to slam the door before Madarame intervened, his fake smile attempting to deny them the truth.

Akira got the last word in, however. “Madarame-san, make no mistake…”

And the previously calm atmosphere was suffocating. Ichiryusai Madarame was staring at four beings that were far more powerful than he.

One he had seen as a young girl, a pretty little thing, but not anymore. Now, she was a predator, and her long nails had transformed into claws that he was sure could rip the flesh from his body.

The blond boy next to her had a sinister grin plastered from ear to ear, and his teeth, seemingly normal before, had changed into sharp triangles reminiscent of a shark’s, threatening to tear him apart.

A cat, a cat of all damn things was perched on the lead boy’s shoulders, and it was staring at him. The eyes were shining in sick amusement, nearly unblinking as it waited for the carnage.

And the leader… dear god the leader was staring at him with eyes fit for a demon! More crimson than the most frustrated and haunted of Yusuke’s paintings, his instincts were screaming at him to run from the collection of beasts in front of him, before he was destroyed completely.

Then there were words, and the spell shattered. “We will make your crimes known.”

The four of them stalked off, and Madarame let out a breath he hadn’t realized was being held. “Sensei?” Yusuke, he’d nearly forgotten about the boy. “Sensei, are you not well?”

“I’ll be fine, Yusuke. I’m just tired. I’ll be in my room if you require me.” Meanwhile,  he required a stiff drink.

=-=-=

Kaneshiro was a horrible human being. He ran a gang that profited completely off of children doing the dirty work. He took pictures of the children doing the crimes he was forcing them to do, then revealed that if they backed out, he’d show the police the evidence.

He’d just done that to Makoto, who was only trying to prove that she could do something useful.

“Kindly delete those.” Akira stepped forwards and gripped the table, sliding it back. The drinks rattled and spilled as the screeching of metal against stone filled the air. His team moved to fill the newly open space.

Kaneshiro gaped at them as they changed before his eyes.

The blue-haired boy’s eyes became slits, and the glare Kaneshiro was fixed with was predatory, delivered as if he was going to be hunted down and eviscerated. Death, such a bloody death for him was reflected in those eyes. Kaneshiro felt a cold sweat roll down the back of his neck as he tore his eyes away from the Fox…

Only to fix them on someone just as dangerous. A young girl, one that couldn’t have been older than the idiot that walked into his bar and confronted him, yet her presence demanded something that the other didn’t. A fear that came from every contemptuous glance she threw at him. He was nothing more than an annoyance to be crushed. He was afraid, truly terrified. And as the Panther released him…

His gaze was drawn to the eyes filled with mischief and mirth. The seemingly benign emotions conveyed didn’t make it any less terrifying. This one would play with its food. This one would do anything to drive him insane and there would be no stopping it. He could almost hear it, “You can’t get me, but I can get you with less effort than waving.” It could break him, and it knew it. Mona released his attention, promising chaos in the future…

And he was greeted with a maw filled with knives. The second in command, he knew the blond-haired boy could be nothing less, and all Kaneshiro could tell was that this boy could kill him if he wanted, and if he did, it wouldn’t be painless death… and god, he couldn’t look away from those teeth! They were like a shark’s, and they looked every bit as painful, bloodthirsty, and they were just begging to tear him apart. But through with a single turn of the Skull…

He was frozen in total terror, a whimper escaping his lips as the Joker grabbed the strings holding him up in a gaze filled with blood. This kid that couldn’t have been any older than 16 was going to destroy him! Those eyes, they were filled with… with hatred! With hatred and bloodshed and malice and more words that didn’t exist because for the love of all that was holy, no human being could match that glare! Kaneshiro thought the others filled him with terror, but this was a whole different level!

“Pick a god and pray for mercy, as we will give none.” With those words, Kaneshiro fell back, sweat dripping down his face as he trembled. He hadn’t noticed until now, but the club around him had completely stopped in the wake of the visitors that had so brutally interrupted their flow.

Kaneshiro closed his eyes, trying to keep those words from echoing in his mind. “Um… Boss?”

“Yeah?” Any other day he would’ve been condescending and rude, but he just didn’t have the energy at this point…

“Weren’t you sitting at the bolted table that held all the weapons?” Kaneshiro’s eyes snapped open and looked at the empty ground in front of him.

He whimpered at the torn floor and what that kid could have done if he really wanted to. “I was, I really fucking was.”

=-=-=

“HORRIBLE CHILD! YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN!”

“Not another one…”

Futaba wept as the banging on the door got louder, the horrible apparition of her mother clamoring to get into her room for revenge.

“Please, I just want it to stop!”

“IT WILL STOP WHEN YOU DIE, WRETCHED CHILD!” The hiding girl flinched at the last words.

But then… something strange happened.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHO ARE YOU!?” A gasp from her mother. “NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! N-”

The voice cut off.

And Futaba was wrapped in warmth.

“My beautiful baby… look how big you’ve gotten.”

Futaba went stiff before she opened tear-filled eyes. “Mom…?”

In front of her was a spectral form of Wakaba Isshiki, untainted by an angry expression, wearing a soft smile instead. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s me. I’m here now.”

“You’re not trying to attack me?”

“No, never. I couldn’t hurt you like that thing in the hall did. You’re my little girl, and I love you too much to even think of doing that.”

Futaba frowned. “Then… then why did you write the note?”

Wakaba’s eyes fell. “I never did. Those were lies, I never would have written such horrible things.”

“You mean it?”

“I do. I am your mother, your staunchest defender from those that would cause you harm.”

“Oh…” For the first time in two years, Sakura Futaba genuinely smiled. “Okay, mom! I’ll trust you with this!”

A musical giggle sounded in response. “Of course. I will defend you with all I have.”

Futaba nodded through her tears. “I believe you.”

=-=-=

Akira had tears falling as he made the psi projection of Wakaba Isshiki say those words. Hallucinations of Futaba’s mother had been plaguing her for years, and only now did he finally understand the extent of them.

It… it hurt seeing her like this. She had become like a little sister to him, and that hadn’t changed with the century that he’d been repeating.

And so it absolutely killed him to deceive her like this.

His phone pinged with a text.

???: You’ve begun the process of changing my heart.

You think so? :A

???: I know so.

???: I don’t know how, but you are.

You’re very astute then. :A

???: …

???: Thank you for doing this…

It’s absolutely no trouble. :A

Akira smiled. He never got tired of this. Of helping people.

=-=-=

Okumura Kunikazu rose from his bed, feeling a shock of grief and sadness at the lack of warmth and weight on the other side of it.

He dressed slowly and deliberately, not letting a hair out of place. He dressed smartly, in a way that could be seen as arrogant in any setting other than the one he would soon be entering.

He exited his room, and his secretary fell into step at his left. “As I’m sure you already know, you have a meeting with-” 

The CEO’s phone began to ring. “If you’ll excuse me.” The secretary nodded and Okumura pulled out his phone. “What is it?”

“Sir, Haru won’t come out of her room.”

He gritted his teeth. “And she’s not in any other part of the manor?”

“No, sir.”

“I’m on my way.” He ended the call and began walking towards his daughter’s room. “Tell the chef to prepare something portable, I have to take care of something.”

“Of course.”

He navigated the hallways with expert precision, slowly making his way towards his rebellious daughter’s place of residence. He heard the sounds of the staff trying to lure her out of the room before he saw them. “Good,” He thought. “They aren’t idiots.” He reached them, and they parted, leaving him a clear line to the door.

He knocked first. “Haru, what are you doing?”

No answer.

“Haru, answer me.”

Still none.

“Haru, if you don’t respond, I’m coming in there.”

Nothing.

He fished a key out of his front pocket (he hadn’t trusted any of the servants with a key to his daughter’s room since she first hit puberty) and unlocked the door. “Haru, what is the meaning of this?”

Still no response.

“...Haru?” He walked into the room, only to find it empty. “Haru?” he knocked on the bathroom door, receiving the same silence as before, but it felt so ominous now… “Haru! Where are you!?”

He frantically raced around her room, looking for something, anything, to indicate where she was.

And then he found the note.

“Father,” He read, “If you’re reading this, you came looking for me. And for that, I’m so, so sorry. I had hoped that you wouldn’t find this, that you wouldn’t care enough to, because that would make it easier for you to bear this.

“For what it’s worth father… I’m sorry for not being able to help you. I wanted to be able to get along with my betrothed, to maybe even fall in love with him… but I just can’t!”

Okumura’s eyes widened at the tear stains on the paper, and his mouth fell open at the next words on the page.

“Father, I HATE him!”

He was shocked. To see his daughter say such things...

“I try to see the good in everyone, but there is none in him! Sugimura is a disgusting lech who sees people as nothing but objects. He’s taken me on “dates” before, but when he isn’t ridiculing me about my weight, he’s leering at other women!”

His grip tightened, crinkling the paper. How dare he!? 

“I’m sick of this, father. I can’t take this anymore.

“Goodbye.”

His arms went slack as the shock of the letter hit him.

“HARU!”

He tore out of the room, pushing servants out of his way as he frantically searched for his daughter.

He ran throughout the whole manor, looking for any sign of her, but he found none. 

But out of the corner of his eye in the courtyard, he saw her climbing to the roof.

And he watched her fall.

=-=-=

Akira’s connection to the dream finally snapped as he knelt in front of a toilet in one of the many ornate bathrooms of the Okumura household, emptying the contents of his stomach.

“Would you like me to take it from here, apprenti? That couldn’t have been easy for you.”

He rubbed his eyes, almost surprised to feel tears on his face. “Please, Arséne? I don’t think I could take any more of watching… of watching that. ”

“Of course.” The original Phantom Thief bowed and faded, off to speak with the wayward C.E.O.

Akira screwed his eyes shut as the image replayed over and over again in his mind.

The timetable was pushed forward. It was one of the earlier repeats he’d been through, and Sugimura was impatient.

Okumura‘s was one of the few palaces he’d ever truly tried to blitz through with his seemingly endless supply of items.

But it still wasn’t enough…

He still had to watch as she plummeted to the ground.

He heaved into the toilet again as the memories filled his head.

“Akira!?”

That voice…?

Haru?

She… she was dead though, wasn’t she? He just watched her die…

He felt a hand on his back. “Akira, what happened? Are you okay?”

He looked at the arm on his back and followed it to the person’s face. Light brown and fluffy hair, and brown eyes staring at him with so much worry… 

“It really is her…” His tears began to flow again. “Haru?”

She nodded. “Yes, it’s me. What happened, Akira?”

He sagged in relief. “I had a nightmare… I… I thought you were dead…”

That’s what this was, wasn’t it? All these repeats, they were like a nightmare made real.

“I’m here now. I’m alive. You don’t have to be scared. It’s okay…”

Deep down he knew it wasn’t. 

But he still held her as tightly as possible as silent tears streamed down his face.

=-=-=

Sae walked into Leblanc that evening to see the young man that Sojiro was fostering for a time studying at the counter over a cup of coffee. She glanced at him for a few hard seconds, probably wondering how someone with a record like him could be so calm and well-behaved.

She sat down and ordered her usual before beginning her informal questioning of Sakura Sojiro. She was able to ask a few questions before sighing at his stubbornness. She stopped for a few moments to collect herself. She gasped lightly at a sudden sensation.

She had goosebumps running down her neck all of a sudden… what was this?

“Hmph, foolish woman.”

Sae’s eyes widened. A voice, a two-toned one that reverberated through her head like she was in a canyon, rang through the quiet ambiance of the café. In the seat next to her was something that hadn’t been there before…

It… it looked like some sort of demon! It had a mask with fire behind it in the shape of eyes and a grin, the ends of it curving upwards and forwards into horns with wings black as night folded behind him. It’s clothing consisted of a blood-red suit jacket atop a black vest and pants to match the jacket.

“Why is it that you insist on attempting to intimidate this man into giving you nothing?” She opened her mouth to respond. “Oh, don’t do that, they can’t see me. You wouldn’t want to be known as the insane prosecutor, would you?” Sae looked back to Sojiro, who had an eyebrow raised.

“I’m sorry, I thought I heard something.” The man behind the counter narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Meanwhile, the figure beside her reached for a cup of coffee and swirled it, revealing clawed hands that could surely rend her into pieces. “Heard something indeed. I’m sure you’re wondering who and what I am.” Of course! What kind of person saw this — focus, Sae. “Well, my name is Arséne Lupin I. Yes, the very gentleman thief in the books that this café’s namesake wrote. And… I suppose you could call me this place’s guardian angel.”

The prosecutor’s eyes widened. “Yes, yes. Although is it really so surprising? I was always known to help law-abiding citizens.” The emphasis in that sentence was not lost on her. “And I’ve developed a certain… fondness, we’ll say, for this place. Perhaps it’s the name, perhaps it’s the coffee…” The flames on his mask shifted, and the… the… whatever the hell he was, he took a goddamn sip of the coffee. “Perhaps it’s the company. Sojiro may be a grump at times, but you’ll not meet another man quite like him. He’s teaching young Akira well, wouldn’t you think?”

Sae stole a glance towards the youth next to her and watched as he took a sip of coffee. “The two of them are good for each other. I remember the first time that young man walked through the door.” Ars é ne shook his head. “So terrified, his entire life had been ripped out from under him on an assault charge too far fetched to have been real.” Another sip. “The truth is far simpler. One adult with too much influence assaulting a woman while drunk. He stepped in, tried to get the man away from the woman, and the aggressor fell. The man was injured, and Akira was sued.”

Sae frowned. That sounded too much like something that could’ve happened with the system as it was…

“Now, as this place’s guardian, I must warn you.” Sae barely held in a terrified gasp as Arséne was gone from the stool next to her and standing to his full height… god, he had to be at least three meters tall! “Act against this place, this haven for those whose hand in life is worth nothing without a perfect bluff, and I will personally act against you. Good day.”   With a tip of the top hat adorning his head and a flash of blue flame, Arséne Lupin was gone.

Sae gulped and stared at her coffee, a faint reflection of herself adorning the surface of the brown liquid. She let out a breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding and downed the rest of it. “I’m sorry, it seems I’ve gone a little too long without sleep. It looks like I’m seeing things.”

Sojiro barked out a rough laugh. “Well, now we know why you’ve been so grouchy,” He groused. “Go home, get some rest, coffee doesn’t substitute a soft bed and some sleep.”

Sae nodded slowly. “I think I will. Thank you for your time.” She left the café at a brisk pace and called a taxi to get home.

It seemed that acknowledging her tiredness only served to feed it, and she could barely keep her eyes open as she walked through the open door to her apartment.

“Sis!?” Oh… Makoto was here.

“‘M sleepy. Goin’ to bed.”

“O-okay! Have a nice nap?”

“Nighty night.”

“Night…”

=-=-=

M: What did you do?

What do you mean? :A

M: My sister came home today!

M: And she slept!

Isn’t that a good thing? :A

M: Yes… but it’s also suspicious. She rarely comes home anymore.

M: Akechi even told me that she’s been sleeping in the workplace!

Well then shouldn’t you be thanking me if I did do something? :A

M: Maybe?

M: Whatever you did was probably incredibly reckless though…

I’ll take that as a compliment and your thanks. :A

M: What!? No!

M: Akira!

M: Akira?

=-=-=

Shido Masayoshi was feeling paranoid. Well, more paranoid than usual. He was always on guard (someone as illustrious as he would have many enemies), but tonight was different.

Things were happening. First, it was little things. A few papers were blown off a table by a breeze from a window he’d surely closed… however, he dispelled any worries about that when he remembered that the electronic lock on his window was inside, so he must have just forgotten to close it. The fridge probably didn’t close completely, nothing to be worried about!

He was wrong. So, so wrong. Things started falling off his desk with more regularity, chairs scraped along the floor with no one pushing them. Frankly, it was terrifying.

Then things started targeting him. A drop of water splashed across his arm, even though the plumber had been here two days ago. A balled up document hit him in the back of the head. The coffee in his mug began rippling with an unseen force, even as he grabbed it for a drink. A sudden jerking from the mug spilled it onto his shirt (though it was already in need of a wash), and he cursed at whatever was happening.

He went into his room for a quick change. As he opened his closet, a small click sounded. He walked over to the door leading to the rest of his apartment, only to find it locked.

“What in the…”

“Shiiiiiiiidoooooo…”

He jolted back and whirled around, trying to find the voice. “Who’s there!? Show yourself!”

“You mean you don’t remember me? I’m hurt… you killed me after all…”

“What do you mean? Who are you!?

“Let me show you…”

The lights suddenly dimmed. Shido gasped as the floor in front of him rippled, and a figure shot up from the suddenly distorted ground. He stumbled backward and looked up at the figure, seeing… no… “This-this is impossible! I watched you die! I was at your funeral!”

In front of him stood the form of the deceased Wakaba Isshiki. “You’ve done impossible things before. You caused my ‘suicide,’ even as I had a wonderful daughter at home. And then?” Her voice became sharp as a knife. “You tortured her. My wonderful little Futaba is so sweet, and you told her over and over again that it was her fault.”

Shido grit his teeth. “It was necessary! She would ask too many-”

“You drove the daughter of the woman you killed into depression and reclusion for your own lust for power, never say anything otherwise you slimy bastard!” The room quaked with the power of a mother’s rage. “You forged a suicide note in my name accusing her of being a horrible daughter when the worst thing she ever did was accuse me of not loving her when I was too wrapped up in my work when she was just a small child!”

Shido whimpered under the force of the onslaught.

The ghost of Wakaba (because what else could it be?) took a deep, shuddering breath. “It is a shame I cannot kill you. It would be so, so satisfying.” She gestured to the room around her. “But there are others that wish to say their piece.”

Shido looked around and noticed the others in the room.

Okumura Kunikazu. The aged man (who should’ve been comatose, goddamnit!) walked up to Shido while shaking with rage.

“How did you get in here!? Get out of my- gah!” Shido was interrupted by a vicious punch to the face.

“You bastard! You tried to kill me after I had finally realized that what I was doing was wrong! I would’ve changed my ways, I would’ve stopped killing the people working for me! But you had to send your little pet assassin to kill me.” Another fist raised, but the raging father stopped. “I have to leave some for the others.” He walked to the back of the room.

The former Minister of Transportation drove a knee into Shido’s stomach. “I can’t provide for my family because of the chaos you caused!”

The SIU director shoved his foot into his former employer’s stomach. “I followed every directive you gave me, and you killed me!”

More came to him. Each one gave him one blow, then stepped back to give others a shot.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Every single person whose lives you took or ruined, each gave you a single hit. If it were just one, it would hurt for a few moments. But there are hundreds of lives, and so there are hundreds of strikes, adding onto one another.” Wakaba’s tone was solemn. “But those weren’t even your worst crimes. These men and women had lived happy lives before your cruelty destroyed them. The one we saved for last never got the chance to have a life before you stole it from him. He was a mere high schooler before your selfishness destroyed him!”

…

What?

He didn’t remember any kid.

He searched his memories for anything involving a high school student.

The soft sound of footfalls on the carpet.

It wasn’t one of his visits, his behavior was impeccable. He had a perfect image on the streets as well.

The parting of the mob in the room.

No one got in his way anymore. Bad things happened to those that did…

A young man in a t-shirt and jeans walking down the now open pathway.

Things that couldn’t be proved.

He stops in front of the corrupt politician.

At that moment, a memory flashed in his mind. 

“Do you remember me, Shido Masayoshi?”

He did…

“My name is Kurusu Akira, the boy whose life you ruined. All because you spent one night as a drunken bastard, I won’t be able to go to a good college, or get a good job, all because of a falsified assault charge hanging over my head.” A dry chuckle came from the boy’s mouth. “I bet you aren’t even sorry. I bet you did that for the hell of it. So I’m sure you won’t mind if I did this for the hell of it.”

A foot rushed towards Shido’s head.

=-=-=

Shido woke up in a cold sweat.

He rose from his bed, taking a look at the time.

3:37 AM.

He sighed and left his room, the nightmare fresh in his mind.

He walked into his suite’s kitchen, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from his liquor cabinet and pouring himself a glass.

As he looked out the window, he began to think.

“Is what I’m doing really worth it?”

=-=-=

Yaldabaoth, The God of Control, the Demiurge, the current overseer of the Velvet Room. it was many times more powerful than anything any being had ever possessed and took pride in the fact that it was the single most powerful entity in existence.

So why was it that this human, who was faced with a horrible death by its hands before it began mankind’s subjugation…

Was smirking?

“Well, well, well. It appears you finally decided to show your true colors! Good, very good. Now, before you offer me your empty glory and fame, how about this? I want to propose a little game.”

The malevolent God in the guise of a helper stopped. “...You have my attention, human.”

The wildcard smiled. “Good, good! Now, here’s the game. You go wait at the top of your mountain, while I do this…” He summoned his Persona and… what the-!?

Th-the chains! He broke them! No, this can’t be happening, that should be impossible! You can’t just break the chains of captivity on your own! “What is the meaning of this!?”

The inmate laughed. He laughed in the face of God! “Oh Yaldy, you never cease to amuse. I’ll say this.” Power bubbled underneath the surface of the Foolish (what else could he be?) soul in front of god, and the Joker’s grin stole the heat from the room. “This is my city. This is my country. And you’re going to die for what you did to it.”

And for the first time in its life, the Holy Grail knew true fear...

=-=-=

1.6

=-=-=

Akira laid in bed, completely unmotivated to do anything.

“Brain chemistry doesn’t carry from repeat to repeat… a variable. I’m depressed right now.”

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. He was practically an actor at this point, he could fool anyone into thinking that he was fine. But that didn’t change the fact that he was trapped, locked in an endless stretch of looping time.

And he was so, so lonely…

=-=-=

1.7

=-=-=

He blinked his eyes open, yawning as he let new memories flow into his head.

His eyes opened lazily and he let his face stretch into a grin. “I love repeats like this.”  

Sojiro’s gruff voice filtered through the door. “Kid! Time to get up, we both got things to do!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting ready old man!” He hopped out of bed and walked to the closet, tossing on whatever he could in his haste to get to the small dining room. 

There was a short “Hah!” from further down the hallway. “That’s ‘Dad’ to you!”

He was Sakura Akira this time, son of Sakura Sojiro, and he didn’t think that much could make him happier.

=-=-=

Middle school was, unsurprisingly, incredibly dull. He was well versed in calculus at this point, so algebra was a cakewalk. He could read, speak, and translate over 25 languages, so simple Japanese came easy to him. And so he sat, bored out of his mind.

But then the intercom turned on, and he was called down to the office.

Unaware of any trouble, he was wary until he saw Sojiro chatting with the receptionist.

“Hey, kid!” The older man grinned and ruffled Akira’s hair, even if it was already beyond messy. “Listen, there’s a thing that we’re doing at work today that runs a little after school, and I couldn’t get anyone to pick you up, so you’re coming with me for the day.”

He glanced at Sojiro and nodded. “Will Wakaba and sis be there?” When Sojiro held out a thumbs-up, Akira nodded. “I’ll stay with her while you do your security things.”

“Alright! You’re all signed out, so let’s head down.” 

Akira smiled and nodded, following behind Sojiro to the car. “You don’t seem dressed for security.”

Sojiro chuckles. “I am. I might not look it, but I am.”

Akira cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. “I know you’re dressed for security. There are outlines of body armor on the tighter parts of your clothing. The tightness around your thighs indicates some sort of weapon… either a baton of some sort or a compact handgun. But I’m not supposed to know that…”

=-=-=

They arrived at the laboratory, and Akira was immediately on high alert.

“Why him here of all people? Damn it...” He was looking at a younger, but still incredibly recognizable, Akechi Goro.

“Hello! My name is Akechi Goro. I haven’t seen you around here before, but Sakura-san talks about you frequently.”

“This is gonna be… ugh.”

=-=-=

“None of this went in the direction I was expecting.”

“Oh, really!?”

He was currently laying in the Metaverse next to Akechi with a black eye and a split lip.

“I mean, yeah. You look like a total pretty boy, I wasn’t expecting you to fight so dirty.”

“Yeah? Newsflash asshole, I’m a street rat.”

Akechi, on the other hand, was completely laid out, bruises forming on his cheeks and arms as well as a pair of black eyes and a probably broken nose.

Akira coughs lightly. “Working for a politician?”

Akechi hisses in pain. “I’m not exactly enthused by the arrangement either you know.”

“Really? Interning for a bigshot like… what was his name? Never mind, doesn’t matter. It just seems kinda ideal.”

A scoff turns into a wince. “You’d think so, but I hate Shido with a burning fucking passion.”

“Why?”

A simple, one-word question that he already knew the answer to.

“...”

But to Akechi, behind the door that the question opened…

“Because that man ruined my life from the moment he knew of my existence.”

Lay everything that made him who he was.

=-=-=

Two years later, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts officially made their debut.

“To Kamoshida Suguru, the lustful bastard.”

“You have committed great crimes, crimes which are seen by many.”

“The difference between the many and we?”

“We will take action.”

“Prepare yourself, Kamoshida. We will steal your heart and your distorted desires.”

“Signed,”

“Joker, Skull, Mona, Panther, Oracle, and Crow, otherwise known as The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

=-=-=

1.8

=-=-=

Akira furrowed his brow. He had… way too much stuff. “What to do…”

He brought up one of his knives, twirling it. It was real, the weight was indicative of that, and it would get him in a lot of trouble if his probation officer found out about it. Not to mention everything else he gained from itemizing personas, as well as from Iwai’s shop…

Damn it, he was turning into a packrat.

He sighed and twirled it some more, trying to think about what to do. “Alright, Akira… you and your erudite brain gotta be able to do something.” He stopped twirling the knife, holding it loosely.

“Hmmm… what about a pocket dimension? It could work… not simple though… but it would be so nice to just put some things away somewhere. This knife, being put away somewhere safe.” He tried to twirl the knife once more, but he looked down and it was gone.

“What!?” He looked around him, trying to find where it went. “No way…”

He focused for a moment, trying to take the knife back out.

It fell into his hand on his first attempt, and a grin spread across his face.

“Oh, this is going to be fun. ”

=-=-=

1.9

=-=-=

Ryuji’s eyes snapped open, and he lurched forward, a cold sweat beading on his forehead. “Wh-what the fuck…”

He wasn’t in a car. That was a problem. A big problem, where was Akira? And Ann, and Yusuke, Haru, Makoto, Futaba, and that stupid cat-

Wait, he had his phone, that was good. He could text Akira, find out what was going on.

akira? :R

A: Yeah? 

why aren’t we in a car? I thought we were taking you home dude :R

did I get drugged :R

what’s going on :R

A: What’s the name of your second Persona.

seiten taisei :R

why? :R

A: LeBlanc, now.

omw :R

=-=-=

Ryuji walked through the doors of LeBlanc as calmly as possible, nodding at Boss before going upstairs.

He reached the top, and Akira was sitting on his bed, Morgana asleep next to him.

Akira leaned forward, looking at Ryuji over his glasses. “Finish this next word, Ryuji. Yalda-”

“-bitchass.” Ryuji finished without hesitation.

In a spike of motion that he was definitely not expecting, he was wrapped in a hug from Akira, the youth on probation squeezing tight enough to push the air out of his lungs. “A-Akira? D-dude, you’re squeezin’ the air outta me…”

He heard Akira gasp and the hug immediately loosened. “God, I’m so sorry Ryuji, I just-” Ryuji’s eyes widened when he heard Akira sniffle. Was he crying? Ryuji wrapped his arms around Akira. “I can’t believe I’m not alone anymore. It’s- god, I don’t know how many years it’s been.”

“Years? What’s even going on, bro?”

Akira gave a short laugh and pulled away, wiping his eyes. “Have you checked the date, dude? Do it now.”

Ryuji frowned and pulled out his phone.

5/19 , the screen read.

Ryuji’s eyes went wide. “No way…”

Akira just nodded. “Welcome to time travel, Ryuji.”

“FOR REAL!?”

=-=-=

Sojiro, upon hearing the impossibly loud words from upstairs, fell out of his chair.

=-=-=

Chapter Text

2.1

=-=-=

Ryuji came to on his fourth repeat and immediately noticed that something was off.

“Akira, why am I a girl?”

“Good to see you too Ry- Yui.”

“This is serious Akira, why the fuck do I have tits.”

“Because for some reason, repeats where fundamental things are different exist. This is also probably when you’re going to find out that you’re very bisexual, and please call me Akari, or else things are going to be very confusing for everybody else.”

Aki- Akari sighed and leaned back in her chair as Yui, the dyed blonde punk girl she became friends with on her first day of school, tugged at her much longer hair. “Jeez, I look like freakin’ Rapunzel…”

Akari giggled lightly at that. “Honestly? You kinda do. Don’t worry about it though, these repeats are somewhat… less common. You learn to deal with it eventually.”

Yui sighed and plopped down into the seat across from Akari. “I’m not mentally prepared for this shit…”

Akari smirked and patted her on the shoulder. “There there. When the repeat’s memories come in, it’ll get easier to deal with.”

Yui raised her head. “You promise?”

“Of course, Yui.”

“You’d better not be fuckin’ with me…” Yui’s eyes then fixed on something in the background. “Akari…”

“Hm?”

“Who is that and why is he hot?” A blush was appearing on Yui’s face.

“So it begins…” Akari turned around, easily finding who Yui was talking about, and a grin spread across her face. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll remember in about... seven seconds, give or take.”

The new memories hit Yui like a brick from a comedic American Christmas movie, and she buried her face in her hands. “Why is it a universal constant Akari? Why are the Niijimas always hot!?”

Akari looked at her friend’s predicament and laughed, holding her sides as she grinned.

The blush on Yui’s face intensified, but a vindictive smile spread across her face. “Look who he’s talking to, Aka-chan. ” 

Akari’s eyes widened and she paled before turning around. “… Oh…”

It turns out that where Niijima Makoto and Minato are hot as a universal constant, Okumura Haru, no matter what, is always cute.

=-=-=

“Shit shit shit shit shit fuck...” 

Yui was whispering as many swears as possible in order to try and distract from the intense pain in her abdomen.

“I was not mentally prepared for any of this, holy fucking fuck, why me?”

“Um… excuse me, are you okay?”

Yui looked up and groaned at the sight of the student council president. “Hey, Niijima-san…”

The third-year looked sheepish. “Is this a bad time? I can leave you be if you need.”

Yui shook her head frantically. “No, you’re fine, I just-” She paused and took a deep breath. “I’m cramping really fucking bad right now.”

“Cramps? I guess that explains it somewhat-” His eyes widened and a blush painted itself on his face. “O-oh. I’m sorry, Sakamoto-san. You’re…?”

Yui sighed and nodded. “Yeah… also, just call me Yui, none of that ‘Sakamoto’ shit.”

“Alright… call me Minato, then.” His eyes widen, and he opens his bag and starts rummaging through it. “I know I have one here somewhere… ah!” He pulls something out and holds it out to Yui. “Dark chocolate. I hear it helps with the pain… my older brother made me research this for a while, told me that I should know how to help with this sort of thing if I wanted to be a proper gentleman.”

Yui grabs the bar, slowly taking off the wrapping and biting into it. “Thank you, Minato.”

He smiles, fiddling with one of the buttons on his uniform. “It’s no trouble. Do you need me to help you get home?”

She blushes a little. “I wouldn’t mind a little company…”

Minato smiles and holds out a hand. “We should get going then.”

Yui nods, taking it and smiling. “Thanks.” She winced. “I’ll love you forever if you help me get a heat pad ready when we get to my place.”

She laughed at the way his face turned red.

=-=-=

2.2

=-=-=

Ryuji started out by setting the beat, a steady thump, thump, thump on his drums. Morgana joined in, gloved hands (which would take some getting used to) deftly picking out the tune across the keyboard. Yusuke and his bass joined next, followed almost immediately by Joker’s strumming.

A smirk from Ryuji, face hidden behind a mask, and he twirled the drumsticks in his hands.

The lights dimmed, and a red spotlight shone down on Joker, white mask glinting as he took a breath.

And then the music really started.

=-=-=

“Thank you, Shibuya! We’re the Phantoms, and we hope to steal your hearts again soon!”

As they walked off the stage, the two thought that they could get used to repeats like this. No metaverse, no Shido, no Gods hellbent on remaking the world in their corrupt image.

Just the sweet, sweet sound of being in a successful band.

“Well boys, I’d say that was a pretty damn good show!” The four grinned, raising sodas and whooping at the words of their manager, Sojiro. “Ryuji, great rhythm today.”

“Aww, thanks, Boss!”

“Morgana, amazing job on the keyboard, sounded divine.”

“Observant as always, Boss.”

“Yusuke, fabulous strumming tonight.”

“You have my gratitude, Boss.”

“Akira, keep up the good work with that voice of yours.”

“It’s what I do best, Boss.”

Sojiro smiles and shakes his head. “You know what? I’m gonna reward you all for an amazing performance. I’m making coffee tonight, boys!”

A chorus of cheers rang out, and everyone grinned.

“Oh yeah,” Akira thought. “I could definitely get used to this.”

=-=-=

2.3

=-=-=

Akira decided that it was time to test something. It seemed that his personal dimension had grown in size, and he was going to try and put himself inside. He tested it, putting a bed inside and then taking it back out with ease, so he was ready for this.

Morgana was staying with Haru for a night, so he was free to do whatever.

“Alright… here goes nothing.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before hearing Ryuji’s voice. “Yo, Akir-” The voice cut off, and Akira opened his eyes.

He was in a completely white space. It was lit by something that he couldn’t see, and he could see…

Disorganized piles of weapons and trinkets.

“I’m gonna need to clean this place up eventually…” His eyes widened. “Wait, shit!” He removed himself from his storage and was met with Ryuji sitting on his bed, tossing a ball of electricity between his hands. “Hey Ryuji, sorry about that. Good to see you this time around!”

Ryuji looks up, absorbing the ball back into himself. “Yeah, good to see you too. Did you learn how to teleport or somethin’?”

Akira smiled. “Nah. I have a personal pocket dimension though.”

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, and some bolts of electricity arced across his fingers. “Huh? That you can just put stuff in?” Akira nods. “Toss me something, I gotta try this.”

Akira obliged, and Ryuji was holding a Jack Frost plushie. “It’s easy for me, I just kinda thought about putting it away and-” The figure disappeared from Ryuji’s hands.

“Did I just do that?” Ryuji’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “I can’t believe I did that!”

“You can do it too!” Akira shook his head. “Hold on, hold on, now take it out.”

Ryuji’s forehead scrunched up in concentration, and the plush found its way back into his hands. Ryuji looked up at Akira. “We’re going to have so much fucking fun with this.”

Akira grinned. “Hell yes we are.”

=-=-=

2.4

=-=-=

Joker came to in the middle of a fight and twisted out of the way of an attack before backflipping away to assess the situation. “Fighting in what appears to be a school- wait, no, I’m fighting in the school, what the hell?” He focused on the new memories coming in and nodded. “Shadows can come into the real world here. Miniboss shadows mostly. Big ones stay in their palaces, and weak ones can’t break the barrier.”

That was comforting at least, but it still left him fighting a Heavenly Punisher without his team! He grabbed his mask, tearing it off. “Arséne, Eiga!”

The spectral thief burst into reality and threw a ball of writhing dark energy at the shadow, and it was blown back a bit.

“In the name of my King, I will destroy you!”

“Your king is a goddamn douchebag!” Akira stored his knife away, replacing it with Paradise Lost.

“I’ll purge those thoughts from your mind, heret- gah!”

Lightning coursed through the Archangel’s body, and it shook angrily. Ryuji jumped up behind it, slamming into its head with Ruyi Jingu Bang and using the momentum to launch himself towards Joker, landing in a crouch. “Sorry asshole, no one’s getting purged today but you.”

It stopped shaking and began Charging up. “Foolish miscreants, how dare you stand in my way!? I will strike you down!”

“Yeah yeah, we’ve heard it all before. Ready to can this idiot, Skull?” Joker tilted his head towards his ally.

Ryuji grinned, summoning Captain Kidd and wrapping his hands around the chains that surrounded his Persona and crushing them in his grip. “Come on out, Seiten Taisei!” The pirate captain burst into blue fire, burning away into the Monkey King of old. “Let’s smoke ‘im with one hit. Ziodyne! ”

Electricity crackled into being and slammed into the Shadow, who proved to be vastly weaker than the pair, dissipating into ash.

Joker smiled, and the pair hi-fived. “That’ll teach you to mess with the Phantom Thieves.”

Suddenly, they heard a gasp. Turning, they found Ann, eyes wide. “The transfer student… and Sakamoto… you two have Personas?”

Oh yeah… in this repeat, Shadows were common knowledge. This meant that those that could fight the shadows were common knowledge too. So Personas were common knowledge.

Joy.

“Yay,” Joker deadpanned. “Government involvement.”

=-=-=

2.5

=-=-=

Sojiro nearly dropped the cup he was holding. “What the hell…” He was sitting in his chair, last he checked. He narrowed his eyes, looking around. He set down the cup, walking over to the calendar. “April second… a full week before the kid gets here. No, that can’t be right…”

He walked upstairs. Dusty, filled with trash bags, and probably a health hazard. “Just like before the kid got here.” He shook his head and walked back downstairs, a frown creasing his face as he started thinking. “What now? I… I know things. Maybe I can help the kid out.”

He sighed, sat down, and lit a cigarette. “But now, it’s time to wait until he actually gets here.”

=-=-=

Akira sat down in front of Sojiro, hands curling around a mug of coffee.“You knew about us before I even got here, Boss.”

Sojiro raised an eyebrow, taking a sip from his own cup. “Whaddya mean by that, kid?”

“You recognized me when I first came here.” The eyes looking over the rims of Akira’s glasses seemed old. Experienced. “You’re repeating…”

Sojiro’s other eyebrow raised to match the first. “You mean-”

Akira smiles. “I’m so glad that you’re here too, dad…”

Sojiro’s eyes widened. “Dad…?”

Akira looks down. “Was that too much? I just-”

Sojiro reaches over the counter and puts his hand on Akira’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Akira. I’d be proud to call you son. Get around the counter so that I can give you a hug.”

The pair embraced for a good while.

=-=-=

2.6

=-=-=

Akira came to at the breakfast table, munching on a bowl of cereal.

And he happily would’ve kept munching away, were it not for the intense pressure that suddenly threatened him. He kept his expression as level as possible, but his hands began to shake. “What is this? Overwhelming, I feel afraid… where is it coming from?” The feeling suddenly grew stronger, and-

“So, how are you today, son?” Feminine voice, slight European tint. Behind him.

He turned his head slightly. “I’ve been doing fine. A little stressed, but that’s school for you.” He couldn’t make out much. Short black hair, glasses. Holding a coffee cup.

He turned on Third Eye for a fraction of a second before recoiling in fear at what he saw.

“Hm? What’s this?” Those three words made his blood turn to ice.

A rustling of clothing as the woman stood.

“Was that a touch of magic I felt?”

The clicking of heels on the ground as she approached him.

“But that can’t be right…”

The presence of pure power as she stood behind him.

“There wasn’t an ounce of magic in your blood when you were born.”

She touched his shoulder lightly, and he glanced at it while she leaned down.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my darling little boy?”

He smashed a smoke bomb into her head, the gray fog enveloping them both as he made a hasty retreat, equipping himself with both Paradise Lost and the Gun of a Thousand Demons.

He had a sinking feeling that he’d need both to survive.

“Oh, you’re a clever one, aren’t you? Trying to obscure my vision. I don’t need it, but…” there was a sudden gust, and the smoke was blown away. “I like watching them squirm.”

He’d died before. There’d been repeats where all he had was knowledge, and that knowledge got him killed if he didn’t use it right. He’d been drowned, stabbed, shot, torn apart molecule by molecule. He thought that dying wouldn’t scare him anymore…

But the thought of dying to this woman terrified him to no end.

“You look the same… you smell the same… even your auras almost feel the same. Very attentive, are you? But alas…” A shot sounded out, and Akira jerked his head to the side to avoid the bullet, his Thief’s Uniform blazing into being with blue fire.

“ Divine Judgement, NOW!” He tore the mask off his face and called out the skill, not caring who he called to do it.

The spectral hammer slammed down on the lady, but she simply swatted it aside, sending it crashing into the wall. “The last person that tried passing that on me got punched across the universe, sweetheart.” she began advancing on him slowly.

His mask reformed on his face, and he sent a spray of bullets out. “Shit shit shit shit shit…”

“That’s quite the gun you have there, little one.” There’s a clicking, and suddenly he’s needing to slice bullets out of the air. “Shame you only have one.”

His breath was heavy, and there were small cuts where the split bullets scraped him. “Close call, gotta focus, don’t let her-” His eyes widened as a practical hail of bullets sprayed out of the woman’s guns, no rhyme or reason to the shots.

“Sorry darling, but it’s time for you to say goodbye.” Time slowed to a halt around the pair, but Joker’s mind was moving as fast as anything as the woman began plucking bullets out of the air and positioning them in front of him. “Ah, art… such a lovely picture that these bullets paint.”

He needed out. He used Psi, and the edges of his mask glowed for a fraction of a moment, before it burst off his face. His thoughts were loud as a spectral God burst into being. “SHIVA!” His mind called. “PSYCHO BLAST!”  

The bullets twisted, flying towards the woman, and time suddenly resumed, and they slammed into her… her hair? It sizzled, and Shiva took up a defensive position in front of him. “Hmm…” The woman put a hand to her chin. “Maybe don’t use the good stuff on something you’ve never seen… meh. If I did that, I’d never use the good stuff.”

She flew forward so fast he couldn’t track it, kicking Shiva out of the way, and Joker swapped to Arséne, grabbing the chains and prepping to tear them apart as Arséne sent a vicious kick towards the woman’s head. “What are you!?” He shouted, dashing forwards on the other side, knife poised to strike.

There’s a chuckle, and a gun is pointed at his head. “You don’t want to know, darli-”

“What in blazes happened to our house!?” A male voice rang out with a British accent, and everyone stopped in place. “Bayonetta, did you bring another one of your ‘pets’ into here?”

The woman rolled her eyes. “No, mister magician. A demon did replace our son while you were gone though, so there’s that.” Hey, Joker took offense to that!

“Seriously?” There was a sigh, and the house began to mend itself. “Give me a moment, let me put these away.” Joker’s eyes flickered to the doorway, and he watched a man with messy brown hair walk through the doorway with groceries in hand. His eyes locked onto Joker’s, and an even deeper sigh escaped his lips. “Yggdrasil damnit Cereza, that’s not a demon, that’s a Looper!”

Joker blinked, and as new memories from this repeat filled in his mind, his own accent gained a touch of British. “I’m a what?”

=-=-=

“So you’re Harry Potter.”

“Last I checked, yes.”

“The multiverse exists.”

“Correct.”

“Somehow it broke.”

“Keep going.”

“And now we’re all stuck in endless time Loops until it fixes itself.”

“Great job! You were able to retain the infodump.”

Akira sighed as his mother (he wasn’t sure if she was Bayonetta or Cereza, and mom just worked better) stroked his hair and apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry Aki, I just thought that someone took you from me and I got upset…”

He was wary of her, but she seemed to be harmless enough now that she knew that he was still him. She was still scary though.

He was brought back to reality by Harry. “Now, from what I gleaned while checking what you were, I realized that you already have someone that looping that you see as a father. Therefore, I have decided that I’m going to be your uncle from this point forward.”

“My… uncle?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Akira looked at him as though he grew a third arm. “You, Harry Potter, second oldest being in the multiverse-”

“Second oldest Looper, ” The wizard corrected. “It’s an important distinction.”

“Right, right.” Akira shook his head. “You, this immensely old being of unimaginable strength, just wants to arbitrarily declare himself my uncle?”

Harry frowned. “Hey, I’m only a few trillion years old. But yes. I have to admit, I’m curious. Usually, Igor is the Anchor of these Loops, but you have about an hour of contact with him. Hardly enough for him to pull you in as well. Your Admin must’ve done something.”

“The Admin… those are the Gods that keep Yggdrasil running, right?” Akira massaged his temples. “Is there like a guidebook or something?”

Harry smirked, and a purple book appeared in his hand. “I’m glad you asked. Here you go, one guide to the loops, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle.”

Akira stopped. Akira stared. 

Akira wondered how the hell he got into situations like these. “As in, My Little Pony Twilight Sparkle?”

Harry nodded. “Your Loops are insanely close to Hub Loops I see, if you know who that is.”

“Hub, that’s the one where all the backups for baseline loops are kept, right?” At the nod from the older Looper, Akira furrows his brow in thought. “So since my Loop is close to the Hub, It’s sort of a… backup backup?”

Bayonetta laughed next to him. “An interesting way to put it darling, but it holds up I suppose.” She pats his hair more, and he leans into her touch. “A fairly modern setting, with many historical parallels with the Hub. It does make sense.”

Harry claps, smiling as a glint entered his eyes. “Now that everything’s in order, only one thing left to do.” He holds a hand out to Akira. “Akira Kurusu, new Anchor of the Persona Loops…” He held out a hand. “Welcome to the Multiverse.”

=-=-=

2.7

=-=-=

“So,” A very Awake Ryuji began. “Harry Potter is real.”

Akira nodded.

“Bayonetta too.”

Another nod.

“Bayonetta has claimed you as her son, and you’re Harry’s nephew.”

“Don’t quite understand that one, but somehow.”

“And there’s a guide to the repeats, which are actually called Loops, written by Twilight fucking Sparkle.”

“Try not to think about it too much.”

“Screw that shit man, I’m just gonna start drinking.” He pulls a bottle of whiskey out of his Pocket. “You want some?”

Akira smiled. “I spent the last loop getting drunk off my ass, don’t need it right now.”

Sojiro, also Awake, sighed. “I’m really not sure how to feel about you literally pulling whiskey from nowhere and then offering it to my son, who apparently spent a full year drinking as much as possible…”

Akira snorted. “You might as well get used to it, old man. Or should I say young man? I’m at least a millennia older than you at this point.”

Sojiro let out a puff of air. “I really, really don’t know how to feel about that… no, I do. Pour me three fingers, Ryuji.”

A glass appeared in Ryuji’s hand, and it was promptly filled. “Here ya go, boss.”

“Thanks.”

Akira laughed, thankful that Morgana was susceptible to sleeping gas. It would’ve been a little difficult to have this conversation with him nearby and able to ask his many, many questions.

Illusions were hard to set up, damn it, and they hadn’t met Haru yet.

Akira smiled at his friend, who was knocking back his second glass. “Be sure to sober up before you leave, Ryuji. Don’t want your mom to think you’ve been irresponsible, eh?”

Ryuji snickered. “Yeah. She’s pretty damn scary this time around, one day out of the blue she just got tired of my old man’s shit and literally kicked him out of the house.”

Sojiro whistled. “That must’ve been a sight to see.”

Akira raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. “Yeah, that’s pretty damn sweet.”

Ryuji poured another finger of whiskey for himself and Sojiro before Pocketing the bottle. “Yeah. She grabbed a pair of spiked boots from the closet and strapped ‘em on before givin’ my dad the boot. Sickest kick I ever did see.”

A smirk stretched across Akira’s face. “Hottest kick belongs to Makoto though, eh?”

Ryuji returned the smirk and raised his glass. “You know it!” The pair laughed while Sojiro shook his head.

“Out of curiosity…” Sojiro took a sip of his alcohol. “What’s her name this time around?”

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “What’s it to you? You tryna get with my mom, Mr. Coffee?”

A scoff escaped Sojiro. “No, Ryuji. I don’t want to fuck your mother.”

Ryuji stopped, sighed, and took a long sip of his drink. “God, hearing that come out of your mouth is just…” Ryuji shivered.

“I was young once.”

“Doesn’t mean it ain’t weird, Boss!”

The café owner shrugged. “If you say so.”

Another sigh escaped Ryuji’s lips. “It’s Sakamoto Chie this time around.”

“Interesting. Guess the name is a variable?”

Akira opened his guidebook and read aloud. “‘Any one thing that changes in a regular fashion between loops is known as Loop Variable.’ Looks like it.”

Ryuji grabbed his, pocketing it. “I’m gonna use this later. Boss, can I use an outlet?” A nod from Sojiro, and Ryuji walked over, draining a bit of power from the socket to sober himself up. “Thanks, I’m gonna head home now. Don’t want mom to worry!”

Akira gave him a thumbs-up and a smile. “Remember, if you think they’re Awake, ask if they’re feeling Loopy.”

“Got it Joker.”

=-=-=

He got home and walked inside, sighing. “Home sweet home.”

It was Loop Variable, but he usually lived in a two-bedroom apartment. It was usually a little messy, but he did his level best to keep it from being a pigsty at least.

“You smell like whiskey, Ryuji.” His mother’s voice hit him like a sledgehammer. And he turned to see her tapping her foot with a raised eyebrow. “Care to explain?”

Welp, time to lie through his teeth to the one that gave him life. God, he was gonna regret this. “Some drunkard kept tryna say a bunch of weird shit to me.” Might as well put in a bit of the truth… “Somethin’ about wizards goin’ through repeating time or some shit… I think he said somethin’ about ponies that write guides about it. He might’ve been on drugs, now that I think about it.”

He watched as the other eyebrow joined the first, and crossed his fingers behind his back in desperation. “Repeating time and ponies, huh? Sounds crazy…” Ryuji nodded. “Maybe even a little Loopy.”

Ryuji stopped dead. “Ma?” He was bewildered, dumbfounded, maybe a little hungry… focus Ryuji! “Are you tellin’ me that you’re Looping too?”

Sakamoto Chie smiled widely. “That I am, kiddo. Ah, I’m so happy to finally see you in the Loops!” She walked up and wrapped him in a hug. “I’ve Looped in as your mom so many times, I knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence!”

“Wait, you’re telling me you’ve been my mom before?” Ryuji frowned, even as he returned the hug.

“Tons of times. Enough that I knew you’d come in eventually.” She squeezed a little tighter, and although that was by her standards, and Ryuji quickly felt the breath being squeezed from his lungs. “I’m just so happy that you’re here and Awake!”

“Yeah.” Ryuji smiled. “I am too, mom.”

=-=-=

“So, turns out that my mom is a bit loopy.” They were the first words that came out of Ryuji’s mouth in LeBlanc the next morning, and Akira nearly spat out his coffee.

“Seriously?”

“As the cup in the subway.”

“Serious indeed.” Akira adopted a thinking position. “So is she still your mom?”

Ryuji nodded, thanking Sojiro for the plate of curry. “Yeah. Apparently she’s been my mom before, and-” He sighed. I still haven’t gotten used to my mom changing every time a new repeat- wait, no, Loop.” He sighs. “Whichever, it’s rough having a new mom every time a new one starts up. This‘ll be a good constant thing I guess.”

“I’m glad, man.” Akira gave Ryuji a good pat on the shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s good to not be alone at home.”

=-=-=

2.8

=-=-=

Akira leapt across the rooftops, jacket flapping in the wind as he escaped the law with a priceless treasure under his arm. A trinket, maybe, but its owner was a hot topic, and that meant that he wanted it.

“What fun, what fun! Being a thief in the night, it’s so great to live on this edge!” He grinned as he flipped and twirled with each jump, before touching down one last time and grabbing the briefcase he left for himself, sliding the treasure inside and taking out a change of clothes. He changed, then walked down the building’s stairwell, exiting and heading straight for Yongen-Jaya.

He entered the nearly empty café and smiled at the man behind the bar. “Sojiro! My old buddy, would you happen to be feeling Loopy today?”

“Hmmm… a little bit, actually.” The thief’s smile widened. “Maybe I just need someone to Anchor me.”

Akira’s smile turned into a grin. “It’s good to see you again, dad.”

“Is it now?” Sojiro smirked and rolled his eyes. “You came to visit me last week, just like every other time you commit a crime.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t you. ”

Sojiro nodded, conceding the point. “So, what’s your haul this Loop?”

“Well I’m glad you asked!” Akira lifted his briefcase to the counter, opening it and reaching inside, pulling out a few objects. “I have one Olympic medal, with a side of recording a violent altercation initiated by a certain teacher. One paintbrush, with a smattering of proof of abuse and plagiarism by an asshole artist.”

A nod of approval. “Both are very good things.”

“Agreed.” He kept going. “I have a solid gold piggy bank, glazed in recordings of drug-running plans. After that, I found a magazine and some video games.”

Sojiro sighed. “So that’s what that whole debacle was…”

A smirk from the Phantom Thief, who kept going. “I have a little desk toy from an overworked prosecutor, but sadly came out of the ordeal missing a pair of tickets to a cruise. However, I made up for it with my latest acquisition.”

“Oh?”

Akira reached into the case down to his shoulder, going far deeper than should’ve been possible. Out of the briefcase came a potted plant. “One perfectly trimmed bonsai plant from the office of Okumura Kunikazu, with a flash drive full of financial records drizzled on top.”

Sojiro laughed, clapping a little bit. “Well what do you know? Good on you, kiddo.”

“I aim to please.”

“Course, course. What would you like to celebrate with?”

“The usual, Boss.”

“Coffee and curry it is, kiddo.”

=-=-=

2.10

=-=-=

Loopers

OGTheef: This Loop is…  h m m m .

F’Oreal: I swear to fuck every time I see your nickname I have a stroke

OGTheef: Choke.

F’Oreal: Jokes on you I’m into it

OGTheef: HA I KNEW YOU WERE A BOTTOM

F’Oreal: This is news how??

OGTheef:

OGTheef: F u c k  you’re right.

OGTheef: but back to me trying to wrap my head around the fucking fact that

OGTheef: That

F’Oreal: Somehow we’re essentially sentient keyboards on a chat client?

OGTheef: Ye, but becoming Woke second means that you get to explain

OGTheef: What client are we on even?

F’Oreal: Feels like Discord, we seem to be running okayly and I’m surprised 

OGTheef: Is taht a word?

F’Oreal: No, Akira, taht is not a word.

OGTheef: SHIT

OGTheef: It ain’t Discord friendo,  I  c a n ‘ t  e d i t .

F’Oreal: Oof

F’Oreal: BUT YEAH our entire world is basically just chat. My “assault” on Kamoshida? A callout that he framed as “toxicity”

OGTheef: Booooooooooooooooo

F’Oreal: ikr?

F’Oreal: art is those really complicated things where you have the symbols like . \ | /  and shit all in one big message and it makes a picture

F’Oreal: I’m not sure what money is

F’Oreal: Hacking is hacking but it’s basically the Loop equivalent of a gun I think? and firewalls Feel Like fire

F’Oreal: Food is legit just  e m o j i

OGTheef: W h

OGTheef: a t  t h e 

OGTheef: F u c K

F’Oreal: up shut your fuck I’m talking and yes I am  i n c r e d i b l y  s e r i o u s

F’Oreal: Law enforcement is moderators and the Odd Hacker

F’Oreal: Politicians are little BITCHES and also the admins of the larger server

OGTheef: Careful your rebel is showing

F’Oreal: FUKC DA POLICE

OGTheef: Makoto wants to be PC.

F’Oreal: That phrase can have more than one meaning.

OGTheef: Touché, have a nice day.

** CoffeeDad has joined the chat.**

CoffeeDad: Cool, I’m Awa- what in the ever loving fuck?

OGTheef: Hi dad

F’Oreal: Hi boss

CoffeeDad: What’s going on? What’s with this whole… this?

F’Oreal: If you scroll up a bit, I explained it

CoffeeDad: How do I do that?

CoffeeDad: Wait, never mind.

CoffeeDad: This Loop is weird.

OGTheef: Yeah

OGTheef: okay I gotta say

OGTheef: I love being with the object of my affections for all of three months before everything gets reset again!

F’Oreal: Ah, that’s a mood and a half

F’Oreal: It’s fun, huh?

CoffeeDad: Don’t I know it…

OGTheef: Get rid of the longing!

CoffeeDad: We can’t let them know we  y e a r n

F’Oreal:

OGTheef:

F’Oreal: BoSs?

CoffeeDad: I’ve looped in as a teen. I know my memes. I am a man of culture.

OGTheef: If I had a mouth I’d be choking oh my  g o d

=-=-=

** BayoMom has entered the chat.**

OGTheef: Hi mom!

BayoMom: Hello, darling.

BayoMom: My my, what an interesting Loop.

F’Oreal: Hi Bayonetta.

BayoMom: Hello Ryuji. Quite the creative nickname you have.

F’Oreal: Aw, thanks.

BayoMom: Have any new Loopers joined in my absence?

CoffeeDad: Sadly, no. I don’t think you’ve been gone that long.

OGTheef: Paternal Figure of Caffeinated Drinks is correct.

CoffeeDad:

CoffeeDad: How dare you insinuate I consort with energy drinks.

OGTheef: F U C K  I’M SORRY

F’Oreal: Disgraceful, show some respect

OGTheef: Perish.

F’Oreal: No.

OGTheef: Fair enough.

BayoMom: Watching you with your friend never stops being amusing, hm?

=-=-=

F’Oreal: fffffffffffffuck

F’Oreal: Fellas I’m yearning, help

OGTheef: Didn’t we tell you to get rid of that?

F’Oreal: Fuck you too

=-=-=

OGTheef: I want my little siblings,,,

F’Oreal: Who’s yearning now

F’Oreal: Also I Do Not Get how you stand that fucking cat

CoffeeDad: I am not engaging in a smutty roleplay.

OGTheef: Oh god I forgot that’s how reproduction happens

F’Oreal: Where’s the fuckin brain bleach

OGTheef: And the answer is many, many loops learning about every little quirk that made a Cat cute and a Child absolutely adorable.

F’Oreal: So it’s bullshit tolerance and willpower that’s weak to cuteness.

OGTheef: First of all fuck you, second of all yes

=-=-=

** MakotoNiijima has joined the chat**

F’Oreal: God is real and he’s blessed me this day

MakotoNiijima: ...What?

MakotoNiijima: Why am I experiencing nothing but letters?

MakotoNiijima: Ryuji, why is that your name?

OGTheef: Givest thee hope, then taketh away.

MakotoNiijima: Change your name Joker. Right now. 

MakotoNiijima: I don’t care what bullshit aesthetic you’re trying to fill.

MakotoNiijima: Fix. Your. Spelling.

F’Oreal: She went for the fuckin’ throat man

OGTheef: Someone call an ambulance

** OGTheef has changed his nickname to OGThief **

OGThief: Please have mercy.

MakotoNiijima: Don’t be an idiot.

OGThief: That’s fair.

MakotoNiijima: So… what’s going on with the whole “We’re in a chat client?”

F’Oreal: As a wise man once said, 

F’Oreal: Hoo Boy.

=-=-=

2.11

=-=-=

Akira Awoke a monster. A true beast. He could feel it without even looking through his Loop memories. There was something, festering in his heart. The hunger, the horrid and primal want of sustenance, the instinct to feed.

He was afraid of that. He was terrified of it. He could feel the draw of people’s desires, begging him to eat, consume, become whole…

His Loop memories manifested again.

He knew what he was.

Phantom…

“That puts a whole new spin on the Phantom Thieves, huh?”

=-=-=

He could control it. He only changed when he needed to, and it was completely under control.

“Mostly…” His eyes became feline and shone with unnatural light when he saw fellow Phantoms, and oh how it pained him to admit that those bastards were anything like him. His ears sharpened to points when he walked past those with twisted minds and hearts.

In Mementos, so surrounded by the desires of people, he began changing completely. Fingers became claws, and he began creating an exoskeleton around himself (he couldn’t tell what it was, it could’ve been bone or living steel or solidified magic for all he knew). He had horns that reminded him of his Persona, and a collection of suspicious feathers on his back.

But in battle… dear god in battle…

He changed more. His legs grew and became completely encased in that armor, his feet becoming more bestial as he lost himself to the rhythm of the battle. Even larger claws tore into shadow as his body grew to three times the size of the average person and his armor grew thicker. His horns grew larger still as the feathers spread across his shoulders and down his spine and back, running down his newly grown tail. Great wings the color of tar tore themselves from his back as his eyes became black pits with a single ring of gold floating in the inky depths.

There was more. He could feel it, deep down. But somehow he knew that he wouldn’t be able to control it. If he let himself slip past that point… it could never end well.

=-=-=

As he began to be comfortable with his transformation, he gained instincts. Somewhat like a cat’s, in a sense. He could prowl, surprisingly stealthily for one of his size. Sudden movements caught his eye and captivated him. He lightly butted his head against people for attention.

He was complete putty in other people’s hands if they knew where to scratch.

“There we go… good kitten, that’s it. Do you like it when I scratch under your chin?”

He purred in response to Haru’s question as he, the five-meter tall death machine, let her, the one-and-a-half-meter tall death machine, give him scritches and pats.

An Awake Makoto looked at him, smiling as she read.

As if he couldn’t see the phone pointed at him. He’d get her back later.

He felt too good right now.

=-=-=

He needed to explore his Palace more often. Enough to create a proper map for his teammates.

It looked small to the outside observer, but one step inside revealed the sprawling expanse of his unconscious. It was quiet (as the first few violent dismemberments of shadows warned them to stay far, far away from his palace), but it was still very large and dangerous. Big enough to get lost in.

So he began his prowl, intent on making sure that this great expanse was memorized.

=-=-=

A Phantom… one with enough strength to sway the whole world.

One that threatened his friends.

He stood against it, but it was a Null Loop… no pocket, no personas, nothing.

So he went to himself. He looked in at the power that he knew lay beneath the surface of his phantom form.

He felt it. 

He held it.

He used it.

As he stood on his hind legs, roaring into the sky, he felt his power surge. He grew, slowly at first, claws becoming sharper, fangs becoming longer, but soon his growth became exponential. Four new wings burst from his back to join the original two, and his body became nearly serpentine. He grew an extra set of arms.

He nearly lost himself.

But then… he saw it. Yaldabaoth, an ancient entity manipulating Mementos, and the public along with it.

He saw it in its terrifying glory.

He saw that it was going to kill him and his friends without remorse.

He felt the protectiveness rise in him, and he took his power by the reins and controlled it.

His focus sharpened, and he released an earth-shattering roar and launched himself at the elder phantom. Spidery limbs crashed and cracked against his armor, while his own claws broke glassy exoskeleton and rent flesh alike.

He took down the crazed product of horrid desires, and as the shattered body fell to the ground below, his victory cry rang throughout Japan.

=-=-=

2.12

=-=-=

Stay with me, soon you’ll see…

He refused. He would not.

Bow to my philosophy.

No.

All is dark, all is cold. Give to me your heart and soul.

It had been going on for days… the whispering of a god.

Frankly, it was getting annoying.

Every heart falls to corruption.

He was shown a sudden distortion.

Every world, doomed to destruction.

Pristine Havens giving way to Distorted Palaces.

I will take away your pain. I will leave you tired and drained.

He looked up as he felt the presence brush against him.

All you are, and all you’ll be, all will soon be one with me.

“Do you ever shut up…?”

…

“Your voice is grating. You’re annoying me.”

Why do you struggle? You know you cannot resist me…

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

He stood, and began exerting force on the world around him.

“I could kill you with a thought. In fact, goodbye.”

He flickered in and out of the physical world.

Elsewhere, a crystalline body shattered against a stone floor, and Akira sat back down.

“Now I wait…”

Escaping from prison was a tedious process that he just didn’t want to deal with right now.

=-=-=

2.13

=-=-=

Akira groaned when the lights shut off. “Ryuji, why did you cause a prefecture-wide power outage?”

“I’m freakin’ out man!” The dyed-blond not-exactly-a-teenager had been holding his phone when a sudden discharge from him fried most of the electronics in the vicinity and overloaded even more outside of it.

Morgana sighed. “What is it this time?”

He showed them his phone (shock proof, of course). “Just-just look at it!”

It’s a small comic.

A gingerbread man sits in a gingerbread house.

Is he made of house?

Or is his house made of flesh?

He screams, for he does not know.

The edge of their table cracks as Makoto grips it. “God fucking damn it.”

=-=-=

2.14

=-=-=

Akechi Goro was in one hell of a pickle. Simply put, he was sick. He was sick, and this damn illness was too damn persistent. “Stupid fucking body…” He grumbled as he walked through the street in a loose hoodie with the hood up. “Do your fucking job, and get rid of this damn sickness…”

He leaned against a wall, panting and sweating. “Stupid fever…” He shivered. “Stupid chills… Stupid- ah-” His eyes widened as he lost his balance, and he fell to the ground.

He attempted to lift himself up, but his body refused… “Fuck…”

A familiar voice filtered into his ears. “Such crass language from the detective prince…”

He struggled to lift his head, and his eyes narrowed when a figure wavered into his view. “You’re a-” He fell into a coughing fit before spitting a clump of mucus at the ground next to him. “You’re alive, you fucking cockroach.”

“Hmmm…” The phantom thief that was very clearly not dead put a hand on his chin. “Slight figure, quick moving, can escape from practically any situation, can eat just about anything,” He visibly shudders, then mutters. “Weird Variants scare me…” He coughed into his hand, then continued. “And a staunch refusal to die. 

“Well, looks like I fit the bill, congrats detective prince, you’ve unmasked me. The great thief Joker, also known as the dashing transfer student Kurusu Akira, is in fact a cockroach.” He gave a sweeping bow, then returned to his normal stance. “Good job.”

Goro stared at him for a second before gritting his teeth. “Don’t… don’t fucking mock me… you piece of shit!” He tried to get up and throw a punch, but stumbled before he managed to stand. 

He braced for a collision with the ground, but cracked an eye open when he didn’t feel the impact. “You nearly fell,” Came that endlessly irritating voice, “So I caught you.”

“I… hate you… so fucking much.”

“Aww, why?” He felt himself being lifted up, and soon he was being supported by Akira. “Everyone says I have a handsome face.”

Goro gritted his teeth. “Your face isn’t the problem, shithead.”

The thief looked at him smugly. “Oh, so you think I have a handsome face too?”

“Go fuck yourself!”

“No thanks!” 

As Akira laughed, Goro finally noticed that they were moving. “Where are you taking me…?” He started to weakly struggle. “Let me go!”

“Hey, hey.” Akira steadied himself, and the detective prince stopped struggling, panting. “Don’t exert yourself. You’re already too sick.”

The thief was met with eyes filled with fatalism. “Don’t pretend…”

“Pretend what?”

“Don’t pretend that you care…”

There was a small “Oh” from the other teen, but it was masked by the bell overhead. 

“Welcome to- oh, hey kid.” Goro looked up at the wizened face of the old café owner, who scowled. “Why do you have him?”

He could practically hear the smile in his voice… the person he wished he could’ve been friends with. “This idiot is overexerting himself while he’s sick.”

That was met with a sigh. “Fine, fine. I don’t like him much, but do what you will.”

“I would whether it was okay or not!”

“I know.”

Suddenly, a napkin with a small medicine tablet was shoved in his direction, and he recoiled. “The hell is that!?”

“A Vitamin C tablet. They’re supposed to be good for you.”

He reluctantly took the tablet, and the napkin was yanked away. They kept moving, and his vague understanding of the world (but should he really be paying attention to that? It got him to Yongen-Jaya after all) told him they were going up some stairs.

He begrudgingly put the vitamin in his mouth and chewed before swallowing.“Why… are you doing this…? You hate… me…”

Akira shook his head. “I don’t hate you. You’re on the other side, sure, and you did try to kill me, but I don’t hate you.”

Akechi Goro laid on the bed in the attic of LeBlanc with a hundred degree fever and a throat full of mucus.

“Fuck you-” The insult quickly changed into a coughing fit, and Akira handed him a tissue.

“That’s not very nice, Goro.”

“Shut the fuck up, Joker.” The detective prince spat some mucus into the tissue and tossed it to the side, where it was caught in a trash can.

“Did you at least take the Vitamin C tablet? The label said it was berry flavored.”

He was silent for a moment. “The label was correct.”

Akira held up the bottle of tablets (that definitely wasn’t even nearby, how in the hell) and frowned contemplatively.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Contemplating the berry-flavored tablets in this bottle. How do you think they get the flavor in there?”

“Probably some medical chemistry whatever, I don’t give a f-” He winced as his headache spiked. “Why are you even doing this? I tried to kill you, why are you nursing me back to health?”

A shrug. “Cause I’d feel like an asshole if I didn’t? Ryuji keeps calling me chaotic neutral, maybe he’s onto something.”

“More like chaotic crazy…”

“Shush, you should be resting.”

“...”

“...”

Akechi looked at Joker, suddenly looking much more tired than normal. “What’s the real reason…?”

Joker seemed to think for a moment before smirking. “Because if things had just played out a little different, you and I could’ve been brothers.”

Akechi looked at that smirk, and for the smallest flicker, he swore that he saw something deeper. There was age. Experience. In the depths of those grey eyes was something that knew everything. So he turned away, scoffing. “Keep it to yourself then.”

=-=-=

2.15

=-=-=

“I swear, if I have to listen to another one of Mr. Hiruta’s little… Grrrrrrrrrr… ‘lectures,’ I will blow up Tokyo.” Makoto was livid, as evidenced by the melting of the table beneath her planted elbows.

Ryuji laughed nervously. “H-hey, Makoto, let’s not be hasty ‘n shit…?” He held up a hand close to her shoulder, but flinched away.

“Three thousand loops of the same lesson plans! How in the world is he so consistent!? ”

Akira shrugs hesitantly. “It’s a good thing maybe? If he has a definite personality-”

“To hell with definite personalities! I’m sick of the same old shit!”

Makoto cussed. Cue panic.

=-=-=

“So all we have to do is keep Hiruta from getting to school before Makoto’s second period?” Akira put a hand to his chin. 

Ryuji pitched an idea first. “What if we just kept him from leavin’ his house tomorrow?”

Akira seemed to contemplate it for a small while before “Not a bad idea. Are there any trees near his front door?”

“Let’s find out!”

=-=-=

Preliminary checks showed that yes, there was a tree near Mr. Hiruta’s front door, and they prepared to topple it the next day.

Akira and Ryuji worked together in order to make a thunderstorm, striking the tree and toppling it in front of the door. “Mission complete!” Ryuji’s exclamation was punctuated with hi-fives…

Until they saw Mr. Hiruta leaving his house through a window. “Oh dear, I might be late because of this… I should call ahead.”

And he did so.

“Plan B, PLAN B!” Ryuji screeched.

=-=-=

They made the train roll past the station quickly and quietly, making him miss it. They thought it’d be enough.

“WHAT THE HELL IS HE!?”

It was not enough.

“I don’t know! What if I… yeah! I’ll just make a tornado-”

“TOO MUCH PROPERTY DAMAGE DAMN IT!”

“SO IS LETTING HIM GET TO SCHOOL!”

=-=-=

In a word, Akira was resigned to his fate. “Well, time to wait for the imminent destruction of Japan.”

“I just don’t get it man… he’s just one dude!”

Akira shook his head. “Wanna hide out in my pocket until it’s all done?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

At that moment, Makoto found them, and if there was ever a feeling of someone walking on their grave, it was there.

“So, Mr. Hiruta never got to his lesson today.”

They fell to their knees, clasping their hands together as Ryuji practically screamed at the ground. “PLEASE WE’RE SORRY WE DID THE BEST WE COULD BUT HE JUST WOULDN’T- wait, what?”

Makoto giggles a bit. “Instead, he had a very long, interesting story about how the universe seemingly didn’t want to let him get to school today.”

Akira nodded slowly, slightly wary. “So you’re not planning on blowing up Japan.”

“For now.”

Akira smiles again. “Then you should know that the whole thing was Ryuji’s idea.”

Makoto turns to him, smiling softly. “Really now?”

The dyed blond blushed a bit. “Yeah…”

Makoto leans in and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Ryuji.”

“Welcome to Blush Town, population: Ryuji.”

“S-shut up.”

=-=-=

2.16

=-=-=

It was supposed to be an innocent question.

“So, what do you guys think the best fruit is?”

It wasn’t supposed to result in a thoroughly destroyed office building.

But here we are.

“Ryuji…?”

“Yes, Akira…”

“I am morally obligated to fight you right now.”

“The same from me to you. Remember the rules?”

“Of course.”

And then they attacked each other.

“Pineapple is loads better than watermelon, what are you talking about!? For one, it’s a year-round fru-” He was silenced by a quick punch to the gut.

“The wait during winter makes it better from the anticipation! And what’s with how sour pineapples are?” The question was answered by a series of quick blows to the face.

“The tang adds to the flavor, Akira!”

This continued for some time, escalating with each comment and blow.

Eventually, somewhere along the line, the Thief’s Uniforms came out.

“Don’t blame the fruit for your own inability to find a good one!”

“I can and I will! What kinda criteria is ‘thump it to see if it sounds good!?’ If I smell a pineapple, it’ll either smell sweet or it won’t, and I can pick it!”

“And ninety percent of the time it’s still sour!”

“THE TERM IS TANGY, ASSHOLE!”

Back on the ground, Sojiro sighed. “Your boyfriend is an idiot, Makoto.”

“So is your son, Boss.”

“I never said he wasn’t.”

=-=-=

Sojiro eventually pulled them out of the wreckage of the abandoned building.

“Now boys, what have we learned?”

Ryuji grumbled something out.

“Hm?”

“No using God’s Hand indoors…”

“Good, good. Akira?”

The Anchor looked his father dead in the eyes. “I’m stir crazy as hell.”

Sojiro just sighed. “Understandable, but not what I mean.”

“Ugh,” Akira groaned. “Ryuji has some valid points when it comes to the fruit thing. Watermelon is still-”

“And that’s enough out of you.”

=-=-=

2.17

=-=-=

“Why did you make me open a daycare again, Wakaba?” Sojiro was changing a diaper, and he was not having the best time. “Also, what have you been feeding Futaba?”

“Because if you’re really so experienced, you should be able to do this no problem.” The dark-haired scientist was scribbling down notes about… something he was doing. “And I’ve been feeding her baby food.”

Sojiro scoffs. “And the various magical powers and the perfect curry recipe in your handwriting didn’t convince you?”

“The magic could’ve been natural and the recipe could’ve been forged, although it was delicious.”

“The exorbitant amount of yen I pulled from nowhere?”

“Secret bank accounts, vaults, could’ve even been counterfeit.”

Sojiro shook his head and handed Futaba back to Wakaba. “There you go. One diaper changed.” Wakaba smiled, closing the notebook and taking her daughter. “Also, why is normal magic more believable than time travel?’

She raised an eyebrow. “One word. Yggdrasil.”

Sojiro sighs and nods. “Okay, okay. Fair enough.”

=-=-=

Sojiro picked up his recently adopted toddler, bouncing him up and down as he prepared the mac and cheese. “Does that look good, Aki?”

“Uh-huh!”

There was a pulling at his pant leg, and he looked down at the dark-haired form of Ryuji. “Misteh Sakuwa, can I see too?”

He smiled. “You’re gonna have to sit on my shoulders, though. Do you think you can hold on?” At Ryuji’s emphatic nodding, he smiled and kneeled down.

After a few seconds of scrambling, he felt the small weight settle on his shoulders. “Okay, I’m weady!” Sojiro slowly stood, making sure to keep the kid steady. “Wooooah! You’we weally tall!” Sojiro smiled and kept working.

In the background, Wakaba made a few more notes.

=-=-=

There was a small scratching at the door, and Ryuji jolted. “U-uh-oh… what’s dat?”

Akira shrunk into Sojiro’s side as he looked towards the door. “Don’t like it…” Ryuji quickly made his way over as well, taking Sojiro’s opposite side.

“Hmmm… you two stay here, I’ll go see what it is.” The pair nodded, staying still as he walked to the door.

He opened it, and there was a blur of motion at his feet, and his hand shot out, grabbing the scruff of a kitten’s neck. “Well look at that…”

Akira looked up, eyes practically sparkling. “A kitty!” He hopped up and darted over, looking at the cat.

“Now now,” Sojiro started. “We can’t be touching them too much, we have to get them cleaned first.”

“Can I help?”

“Me too!”

Wakaba smiled and turned on the faucet in the little kitchenette, preparing it for the kitten.

=-=-=

A week later, and the newly registered Morgana had become a mascot of sorts for the daycare… though he only really liked Akira and Ryuji.

Currently, Sojiro was dealing with a pair of panicked parents. “I’m so sorry, we were supposed to be off today, but we just got called in,” The father explained. “Can you take our daughter now?”

The mother continued. “We can pay now, we’re so sorry for the incon-”

Sojiro just laughed. “Don’t worry, you two. I can take her now, and when you two are done with work you can come get her and get payment squared away, got it?”

Their expressions melted with relief. “Oh, thank you so much!”

“It’s no trouble.”

=-=-=

“Papa?”

“Yes Aki?”

“I think there’s a mean man bothering Miss Wakaba…”

Sojiro raised an eyebrow and looked out the window, only to narrow his eyes at the scene. “I think you’re right. I’m going to go help her out, okay?” Akira nodded, and Sojiro walked out.

“I told you, I’m not interested.”

“Come on, you look like you could use a good time, babe.” Sojiro suppressed a shudder as he approached Kamoshida Suguru, who was trying (and failing, Sojiro noted with a certain smugness) to chat up Wakaba.

“Oi, schnoz, didn’t you hear the lady? She’s not interested in you or your greasy face.”

Kamoshida’s head snapped to him, scowling. “Stay out of this, it ain’t your business.”

Sojiro rolled his eyes. “It’s happening outside my daycare, and I’d rather the kids have a good example, not… whatever you are, so it kind of is my business.”

“Why you-” The man moved to do something, but Sojiro moved first, his fist impacting the man’s nose in a blur of motion with a crunch. Kamoshida fell to the pavement with a cry, holding his face. “Agh! You son of a-”  

Suddenly, Sojiro was kneeling above the other man, pressing a finger to his lips. “Shhhh…” He whispered. “Little ears are listening.” With those words came a crushing weight…

Kamoshida felt very small indeed.

=-=-=

Yusuke had been coming to the daycare for a few weeks, and had quickly hit it off with the other three. Every so often, he approached Sojiro with a new piece of art with the same few words. “I maked this, Soji.”

Each new drawing made its way to the fridge or a wall, without fail.

One day, when his mother was picking him up, she began clutching at her chest before falling to the ground. Sojiro was there in an instant, catching her. “Wakaba, call an ambulance.”

“R-right.” She strode into another room, quickly dialing.

“M-mama?” Yusuke clutched his mother’s hand, shaking her arm before looking up at Sojiro in panic. “Soji, why won’t mama get up!?”

“Your mama is having some troubles right now, so we’re going to have to keep her safe until some nice people can come help her, okay?” Sojiro picked the woman up and brought her to one of the couches, some of the older children herding the younger ones away.

Yusuke nodded, tears forming in the young boy’s eyes. “O-okay Soji…”

Sojiro thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers. “Hey, Yusuke-kun,” The boy looked up, lips starting to twitch downwards. “I have something important for you to do. Something that’s gonna help your mom out a bunch.”

The boy looked up, eyes wide. “I get to help mama?”

Sojiro nodded. “Mhm. I need you to draw something, something that could beat up a monster.”

“A monster?”

He smiled. “Mhm! You see, there might be a monster that’s making your mama feel bad like this.” Yusuke gasped, looking at his mother. “So, your mom might need something very big and strong to beat up that monster.”

Yusuke nodded seriously, running over to the crayons in the corner.

And later, when the paramedics arrived, Yusuke gave them a piece of paper with his creation, a crayon samurai with an oversized sword. “I maked this to protect mama…”

They smiled and promised to keep it right next to her the whole time.

He walked back to Sojiro, hugging the man’s leg. “Did I do good, Soji…?”

Sojiro smiled, patting the kid’s head. “You did, kiddo. You really did.”

=-=-=

Sojiro gave the man a quick once-over. “Athletic… there’s a gun on him. And judging by that cockiness, he’s got a few pals.”

“Can I help you?” The hand under the counter slid to a button.

The thug smiled, putting a hand on the table. “Yeah. How much does it cost to keep a kid here?”

“Well, there are a few different options for payment-”

“Which means that you’ve probably got quite a bit… yeah?”

“I guess so.”

The younger man’s smile widened, and he pulled out his gun. “Hand it all over then. You don’t want these sweet little kids to have to see someone get hurt, huh?”

Sojiro sighed. “Hey kid, quick question before I get up.”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t happen to wear a cup today, did you?” When the thug’s face twisted in confusion, he pressed the button, and a section of the front desk flew outwards, nailing the thug where the sun don’t shine.

He dropped like a brick, whining. One of his allies ran through the door, balking at the sight of him as Sojiro walked around from behind the counter. “Wh-what the-!?”

“Oi,” Sojiro interrupted. “Beat it.”

The other thug snarled and rushed Sojiro with a pipe. “I’ll kill you old ma-urk!” he fell to the ground after curling around Sojiro’s fist.

A few yells sounded from outside, and Sojiro sighed, walking outside and preparing to deal with them, only to find an equally thuggish-looking man standing over them. “Damn punks… what’s the big idea, tryna’ hold up a nursery of all places?”

“We’re a daycare, thank you very much.” Sojiro walked up to the man, holding out his hand to shake.

The man gave a quick huff of laughter and took it with a firm grip, grinning. “Heh, I like you. And I guess you took care of the guys inside? Good… I guess Kaoru’s in good hands. I’m Iwai Munehisa, and the tyke on my leg is Kaoru.”

Sojiro looked down, and sure enough there was a little boy gripping Iwai’s leg. “Ah, you looking to get him signed up?”

“Straight to business, huh? I can respect that.” Sojiro smirked as he let Iwai inside, before both of them sighed as the sound of sirens filled the air.

“Looks like I’ve got some other business to take care of.”

A few minutes later, Sojiro was giving his account of the events to the police. “So you worked in security before this? I guess that explains how you were able to take out all four. Good on you.”

“It wasn’t much, officer. They weren’t exactly good fighters.” He rubbed the back of his head.

The officer chuckled, finishing the report. “Y’know, I got a couple daughters of my own, and it’d take a lot of stress off my back if she could be safe… do you think I could set something up with this place?”

“Of course. Just come over to the counter and I’ll get you squared away. Name?”

“Niijima Daiki.”

=-=-=