Persona 5: The Delinquent and his lover: Full Edition

Guilty Conscience. Part 1

Makoto got out of the train and immediately headed to the exit of the station. She still had some time before her meeting with Ohya, but she wanted to get to the bar in which they'd scheduled to meet as soon as possible. Makoto didn't know for how long her sister would be able to delay the fake charges against Akira. She felt like every second counted.

As she walked out of the station she noticed that something was happening in the district. It should be quiet in the morning, but it seemed to be teeming with activity. In almost every direction she looked there were one or two patrol cars parked outside a venue, and a small army of police officers were apparently arresting several people. Makoto could see most of them being hosts, but also some girls and some men in suits.

To Makoto, the sight of all this was bittersweet. Akira and her had walked into that party hoping to help one girl, but they ended up helping take out an organization dedicated to exploiting and abusing a lot of people. Normally she would've felt so proud... If only the price they paid hadn't been so steep.

Makoto approached the bar named "Crossroads", relieved to see that there were no patrol cars outside of it. She went in and walked up to the owner.

"Hello. My name is-"

"I know who you are gorgeous," said Lala "you're the reason I opened the place this early in the first place. The thing is, you're a little early and Ichiko is always late, so you're going to have to wait a bit. Here, have some tea."

Makoto accepted the drink. "Thank you. For the drink and for letting us meet here."

"Oh don't worry about it. Ichiko explained everything to me last night... I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How is he? Is it really that bad?"

"Do you know Akira?" Asked Makoto, a little surprised.

Lala looked away and sighed. "Such a sweet kid. I remember the second time he came here, when he came to ask us to keep an eye out for you. The bar was full that day, and I was barely keeping up with the orders. Then, out of nowhere, I see him wearing an apron, taking orders and serving soft drinks. I didn't even have to ask him for help, he just did the job and did it well. Didn't even let me pay him afterwards..."

Makoto smiled. That definitely sounded like something Akira would do.

"It... It was really bad. He... he got shot in the chest. Thankfully he got to the hospital quickly enough. He should make a full recovery with time."

"Oh my! That poor kid... I told him! I told him and Ichiko that you two shouldn't be messing with dangerous things like this and-"

Lala was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Ohya came into the bar and sat next to Makoto. Makoto could tell it was her from her search on the internet the previous night. She could also tell from one look at her face that Ohya had not been having enough sleep. Makoto couldn't blame her. She had been having horrible nightmares ever since the night of the party herself.

"Hi Lala-chan," said Ohya before speaking to Makoto without looking at her. "You... you must be Niijima."

"Yes I am Ohya-san-"

"Skip the formality Niijima. Just call me Ohya. You said we needed to talk, so let's talk. What do you want?"

Makoto was taken a little aback at the attitude Ohya had. It was borderline rude.

Well... I don't know what her problem is, but it doesn't matter. I need her to cooperate so I can help Akira, so she'll cooperate, whatever it takes.

"I need your help. Akira is not only in trouble because of his wounds, you see..."

Makoto told Ohya about Akira's past, the truth about his record and how now he was at risk of being sent to jail again. She was careful of leaving out the details about her sister's boss and Shido's name, as she didn't know if she could trust Ohya fully yet.