Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 10

It should not be surprising that Anja is the one collecting plushies. And yet… It somehow is. Maybe because she didn’t seem to be the type for that? Then again Goro knew how much she was spending on merchandise alone. How many times had he seen her on the streets, holding bags worth of merchandise which she happily showed off each time, as if having no shame whatsoever?

“ Oh, I was just in the way to grab these! I had to get it and I just so happened to have gotten the money for it from my part time job! Pretty neat, right!? ”

Talk about expenses wasted. Well, it was not going to be his business what she spent her money on in the end but… A part time job just to afford stuff like figurines? What must her room look like? He didn’t even want to imagine And honestly he didn’t even bother asking to see it. After all, he didn’t see her that close… Nor would it be necessary to inspect her room anytime soon. 

Regardless it was still a sight to see her at the arcade and try herself at the crane machine. He had witnessed her playing darts several times and the way she just kept tripping over herself. There was nothing going on really and yet she managed to lose her balance regardless. If she was already that clumsy how long would it take for her to get one pulsh toy out of a claw machine? 

Honestly Goro could have just moved on that day. He was in no rush or anything, one of the rare times where he had a long window to breathe. He didn’t have to stay. She didn’t ask him to stay. Heck she probably didn’t know that he was around to begin with. He just managed to take a glimpse of her through the window and he had been watching her attempts since. And there sure were attempts. 

He didn’t know for how long she had been hogging that one crane machine yet it seemed to be for a while now, judging from her face.  Her expression was at the brink of annoyance and she looked as if she was about to kick the machine in right then and there. Perhaps she was even cursing it in her mind, who could tell. Not just that but her gaze was seemingly focused on something, one of the plushies inside the small glass box. Which one he couldn’t tell yet it wouldn’t matter anyways, would it? In the grand scheme of things she was aiming to get a toy. And yet he had watched it all the way for some reason… He wished he knew why. In the end it should have not interested him. There was nothing of significance going on there, nothing worthy of his time. And yet he was watching it go down from afar, wondering if she were to give in midway through or not. All he could do was watch and bid his time.

More often than not the plush on the crane was falling down everytime, making Anja’s hopeful smile fade from one moment to the next. She looked rather peeved in fact, the pout visible from afar. She probably said something like “Next time!” or “I’m gonna get you now!” – Just something which had caused a bit of a ruckus, given that the people inside were also looking at her, staring at the girl who had one poor attempt after the other. It was almost amusing to watch, he had to admit. But just almost. 

Although, maybe he was wasting his time here. He should really just move along now, shouldn’t he? Yeah, turn away and lea— Oh, there it was. After who knows how long the tiny plush had finally dropped down and was ready to be taken right into her arms. And she hugged it very tightly already. Good for her or something. He just wanted to shrug it off. Leave before she could spot—

But too late. The moment Goro wanted to take his leave but when she had turned to the window to leave she had already caught a glimpse of him, waving over. Or rather she made the plush wave over while looking ever so cheerfully. Then again she was in great spirits either way from that win, wasn’t she? And from that point on he knew that there was no escape. She was going to run out and be as overbearing as ever, this time starting by smushing his face against the plush she just won, probably trying to prove the point that it was ‘soft’ or something. He may as well prepare himself now… All because he was watching her for some reason. Then again it could have been worse…

Though a plush collector… He didn’t know what he would do with this information yet but it might be worthwhile one way or another.