Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 52

"I guess it was only a matter of time until you would come across her."

If someone knew more about Ishikawa they knew who to turn to – Maki Watanabe. It was still a rather surreal feeling, that they would sit there now and hold a conversation with her. But that is what things had turned into since she had a 'change of heart', said change of heart having been caused by the Phantom Thieves. They had reached out for help after all and they had taken on the request shortly after. A lot of luck was involved in these chain of events, wasn't there? Otherwise this all would have never occurred. Let alone would they have gotten any closer to Maki on their own accord nor would she have approached them.

But that is how things are now, some weird partnership forming, Maki having declared herself the one who would give up on her crush yet support theirs... That was her premise at least but in truth it had been more than that. The source of information, at least to some degree. Maki was the go to source when it came to anything Detective Prince related. And this was no different. In the end she was not even surprised when she heard the name 'Ishikawa Miyuki' .

"Rumor has it that she is very close to Akechi–Sama." Maki continued. "Then again, maybe it's not that surprising. His contacts should reach very far, even to influential families."

"Influential?" They asked, looking at the female with slightly wide eyes. Both were discussing this matter on the way home, at the train station. So they had to try keeping their voice down.

"Yes, influential. Didn't you know that the Ishikawas are a big deal?"

"I... Never even heard of them."

"Seriously? You're living under a rock."

"I just... Never follow anything in regards to trends." This was getting a little embarrassing. Were they supposed to know who the Ishikawas are? Are they really that big of a deal?

"I can tell." Maki sighed as she crossed her arms. "Listen, the Ishikawas are a very big deal. They have business left, right and center. Not to mention that their ties reach in every possible industry. All of their kids are known to be successful, heir or not. Miyuki is held in high regard for that alone."

"So she is essentially just a big shot?" They rolled their eyes. Was it that easy for people to get famous? "What does she do?"

"What... She does? Uhm..." Maki started to fumble there for a short moment. She looked around even as she tried to think about a coherent answer. "She... Is a higher achiever... I think? And uhm... She's pretty! And... Well..."

"So she's got a status because of her family. Noted." They sighed at this, unimpressed at this point. Even someone like Akechi is at least known for being a young detective, not because of some lousy family status. And not just him, recently they have also heard of this famous girl who is a shogi player. They had something to back it up with. This case sounded like 'pretty girl from a rich family'. Talk about being born into a prestigious household. "Sounds like pampered rich girl syndrome."

"Well, sometimes people are easily charmed, wouldn't you say?" Maki threw in yet trying to probably ignore their sour mood. Yet even that was an understatement. "You're awfully harsh today..."

"Doesn't that thought puss you off a little? Having to do nothing to get people to talk about you?" Not to mention that this sounds a little too good to be true... As if this was some fictional scenario...

"Huh? I... Never thought about it that way." Maki admitted, first staring at them before having a light grin on her face. "Or is that your jealousy talking~?"

"My what now?" They asked, raising an eyebrow at this remark.

"You see, Miyuki is often spotted around Akechi–Sama. And the media is curious about that too."

Huh? Wait, she is? That's new but... Interesting, in a sense. "Good for her." They scoffed however.

"Did you finally find a rival? It might be hard to compete with someone like Ishikawa Miyuki you know."

"A rival?" They repeated the word which made them think for a short moment... Seeing her as a rival, Miyuki... The conversation yesterday flashed back into their mind as a result, them thinking back on Akechi's reaction. How he masked it with the usual smile on his face. And yet he always had something about him, as if he didn't want to be there, just barely preventing himself from getting up and leaving. Yet at the same time his body had frozen in place, making it impossible for him to move to begin with. It was easy to tell though that he did not wish to be there in any shape or form. It was not hard to miss. But he involved himself in this conversation regardless.

"No. Nothing like that." They responded after careful consideration.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I was just curious about her." That was not a lie, they were. But that changed nothing at hand... Miyuki Ishikawa... Something was a little off about her. Just what?