May I Have This Dance? | Persona 5

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Something was definitely wrong with Akira. Sure, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was a busy man for only being a teenager, but he always seemed to make time for his teammates. For him. Of course, his tendency to overwork himself wasn't why he was worried. Lately, he has been avoiding everyone. He was abnormally quiet in the group chats and things always seemed to come up when they planned to meet up. It was so unlike him that all of the thieves had begun to worry for their leader. Part of Ryuji felt selfish for wanting Akira's time when he did so much for them already. Maybe he just wanted time alone? In an effort to ease their worry, the Phantom Thieves planned to meet at the Shibuya Accessway to discuss how to help their friend.

"He's never been that talkative but this is seriously weird." Ann sighs, leaning against the handrail for support.

The other thieves stood around her in their school uniforms, waiting for Morgana to arrive. Ryuji sat on the concrete sidewalk, scrolling on his phone. The cat must have had a hard time finding an excuse to leave without Akira becoming suspicious of him. He was exceptionally perceptive and any hint that they were planning something behind his back would cause him to worry and possibly try and stop them.

"It's as if he is actively avoiding us..." Makoto trails off, staring at a spot in the ground solemnly.

"I'm sure he has a good reason." Morgana's voice cuts through the almost sicking silence and gets the other teens’ attention as he jumps up onto the rail.

“Not that he has any interest in talking to me, either.”

“Seriously?! Even you, Morgana?” Ryuji asks.

“Joker’s behavior is highly suspicious. I should know. He was always running around for the Phantom Thieves but now…” Morgana’s voice is thick with worry that he is unwilling to show.

“Then, what should we do?” Ryuji stands with a new found determination.

Morgana seems to pause for a moment, almost nervous to explain what came next. However, the cat lets out a soft sigh before continuing.

“I think we need to input his name into the Nav or check Mementos, at the very least.”

A lump grew in Ryuji’s throat that he desperately tried to choke down, like all of his fear and anxiety was collecting there.

“The Nav? You don’t mean-” Yusuke starts, straightening a bit.

“Persona users can have very strong desires, like the desire to rebel that you all felt when you first awoke to your Persona. Similarly, your Personas are the representation of your true selves. You should remember agreeing to stay true to yourselves when forming the contract with them.”

“Hold on, so if we don’t stay true to ourselves, our Personas will get mad at us?” Ann exclaims.

“Yes and no.” Morgana corrects. “It’s more like you are breaking your deal. This will sever your bond with the Persona and thus it would return to its original form as your shadow. Pair that with a strong distortion or desire and a palace will appear… I think.”

“What do ya mean, ‘ya think’? This is Akira we’re talking about!” Ryuji shouts, jumping up from his spot on the ground, brows knitted together in frustration.

“Don’t you think I know that? That’s why we have to check the Nav. If this is what I think it is, this will only get worse as time goes on!” Morgana all but hisses back.