Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 5

“And the great ace detective genius is at it again!” A voice would exclaim loudly before Goro would feel a sudden shove from behind, a hand having him pushed a little forward. He knew the voice all too well by now, not having caught a break from it ever since meeting him for the very first time. Or was it the second? No, first meeting, second encounter. Something like that. But then again, were the details really that important? That didn’t change any of the facts at hand. And besides, he was just tolerating the guy to begin with. There was nothing more to it in the end. 

“Didn’t I ask you to be more careful Luka?” He asked, putting on the smile he always would in public as well as the usual tone. Even now he was holding his annoyance back with the guy who was standing right in front of him.

It was someone significantly shorter than Goro himself  yet not to the point the guy, also called Luka, would look like a child. There was just a significant height difference between the two. The clothes were all baggy, as if a little too tall for this guy yet covered almost the entire body successfully. Not just that but he also had short, brown hair, though messier and the shade of brown was darker. Not just that but that guy always wore such an irritating grin, very unserious. In truth it would make Goro roll his eyes constantly but he decided to bear with it, for now. 

“Ah, sorry! I always forget Akemi–Kun!” Luka apologized while scratching the back of his head, then letting out a laugh. But there it was again… Seriously, was he doing it on purpose!?

Goro only sighed out loud however. “How many times do I have to tell you that it’s ‘Akechi’ and not ‘Akemi’?” 

“Ah— Whoops. There goes my habit of mixing up names again. No wonder my buddies ask ‘Who the fuck is the great detective Akemi’? Haha…” Yeah, this had to be on purpose… There was something foul whenever Luka spoke up like this. Anyone could tell. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to ya. It’s about that interview they aired.”

The inter— Ah right, the one about the Phantom Thieves. “What about it?” The detective asked. 

“Finally met someone who’s got some guts to debate ya and isn’t blindly fawning or following you. Good on him, good on him~” The guy brought up yet sounding so nonchalant about it. Did he even care? It was hard to tell… “But seriously? You would believe that those Phantom Thieves really exist?”

Wait… Is that what Luka wanted to talk about? Then again, it might be pointless banter to him. There was no evidence in any way that suggested for the guy to be involved in any way. And he didn’t strike anyone as the type of person. He was a little suspicious but… Not in that way. It was hard to tell what he actually wanted, from Goro in particular. But he had to play along with this game, whatever Luka decided to play. 

“You cannot deny that at least something is happening, can you?” He would counter, only making Luka cross his own arms and think for a moment.

“Well.. I guess. But…” 

“Oh? Would you beg to differ?” Goro would ask, the most curious he had been around the guy for a while. 

“I get that it looks strange and all but… Changing people’s hearts? As if it was that easy.” He said. “You sure it’s not some conspiracy going on? You aren’t actually buying that crap, are you?”

Oh if he had any idea… “I understand that something like this must sound surreal to you. But we cannot rule out the possibility that someone is behind all of this, trying to play justice warriors.”

“I mean someone’s gotta be behind this… Blackmail I guess, digging up the dirt before coming forward with it themself maybe.” 

Hearing that was a little surprising for Goro’s ears. Then again, he hadn’t expect Luka to be the person to care about such matters. He was rather carefree if anything, not even bothering with trends or the latest hot topics. So with him showing an interest in something like that… Then again, if a person like Luka could be swayed then the general public would be as well soon, wouldn’t they? “So you agree that they are indeed criminals?”

Suddenly Luka’s gaze turned away for a moment. “Probably in the eyes of law or something…” He began. Just what was that supposed to— “I don’t know… Maybe it’s just a load of crap altogether. If it was just that easy to change a person by stealing their ‘heart’...” He mumbled the last part. Truly one could hear the conflict in the guy’s voice. He was… Awfully serious. It was almost uncharacteristic of him. No, it wasn’t just almost. It was out of character. So much so that even Luka himself shook his head soon after, soon returning with that ever so irritating grin on his face. 

“Nah, who cares! Thinking about it too much makes my head hurt! Sorry for bringing it up!” He switched the topic from one moment to the next, without a care in the world. Yeah, that’s the Luka Goro is more than used to… Much to his own dismay. “Say, you’re off the clock now, aren’t ya? Let’s hang out!”

“Huh!? W… Wait a minute—” Yet before being even able to come up with a counter the guy would snatch the young detective in some way, even if it meant latching onto him. No matter which face the guy took he was still the same as always in the end… No shame whatsoever. Honestly, he knew how to be a nuisance, didn’t he?

“Gotta get your mind off things too, right? Plus, I’m bored! Let’s go somewhere already!”

“You will not take no for an answer, will you?”

“Hehe. Did I ever?”

“You really are a handful sometimes…” Or rather a pain to deal with… 

“Not sorry~”

Of course he isn’t… “I did not expect anything less…”

Looks like Goro would have to endure Luka for the time being… As long as he won’t interfere though he should be a tolerable presence at least… Tolerable.