Altered Personas (Persona 5 AU)

Leblanc

Akira awoke in a bed, blank white walls staring back at him. He sat up, wondering what exactly had happened. Akira was unaware of how long he had been asleep for. There were no windows, no furniture, just an empty room with a bed. Akira stood up. His neck still felt sore where the syringe had stabbed him. He rubbed his neck and looked over at the door. There was no knob. No window. Just a slab of metal built into the wall.

Those scouts... did the government really want him that bad? Did they even need him? There must have been plenty of other scouts out there who would be willing to get paid to do this work. Akira studied the door. It didn't look like there was a way to open the door from this side. Akira stared at it long and hard, waiting for something to happen. He knew that nothing would come if he just stood there, but there was a possibility that something could come to pass.

It was then that his Meta-vision was activated. Akira noticed that the door now appeared to be open. Akira stepped through the opening and out into the hallway. Just like that, he was outside. He glanced left and right. No signs of life. He decided to go right. Akira ran, not knowing where he was or how far in this building he was. Was he underground? Thousands of feet above? Was he at the center of the building, or the outside? Akira rounded the corner and smacked into a person. He fell flat on his back.

A pair of hands grabbed him, and he felt himself restrained. Akira's vision went back to normal. He looked up at the person in front of him, and the pair of arms wrapped around from behind.

"I see that you're awake," the person stated. "As to be expected. I didn't think that you'd be able to escape so easily, but it seems that we have underestimated you."

The person fixed her uniform and looked Akira over. She sighed and shook her head.

"Scouts, I swear... There's always something up with the new ones... They seem to be getting younger and younger, huh, Akechi?"

The person restraining Akira scoffed. "As if. Niijima, what are we to do with him?"

Niijima pursed her lips. "I doubt he'll find his way out on his own. Besides, I feel there is something about him that we don't know... How he got out of his room, I'm not sure. If he can somehow slip through walls, then that's the first I've heard of it."

Akechi laughed. "I haven't been able to do that, don't worry. He's possibly smarter than he looks."

Akechi let go of Akira. Akira pulled away, cautiously backing up. If they had just released him, then they probably did it for a reason. He looked back and forth between Niijima and Akechi. They were both wearing uniforms that he wasn't familiar with. They turned, completely ignoring him, and walked down the hall. Akira decided that it would be best to follow them.

<><><>

Akira had spent a year in training and had become familiar with procedures. He was still unsure of many things, like where he was, or why he was there. Akira hadn't seen the sun or felt the wind in his hair for so long, the outside world seemed alien. He'd learned not to talk back, not to resist. If he did, then they'd come for him. The punishments were harsh.

Akira had somewhat learned how to control his Meta-vision. Many scouts had come to teach him, but never had the same person taught him twice. He hadn't seen Niijima or Akechi since he'd first encountered them. He'd held onto those names, hoping that perhaps one day they would help him. Akira would often think of his parents, and wondered where they were, or if they were thinking about him.