Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 120

"Hey, what'cha— Ohmygosh! Isn't that the latest UR character they've released!? That's like an S+ tier one! You're so lucky!"

It had caught Lukanja a little off guard when they heard a voice right behind them. There was not much of a reason to stay at Leblanc that day yet they had decided to anyway. They had been here a few times before any of the incidents, before they had been involved in any of the Phantom Thieves' business. Long before they had even decided to take up the hint and lead of their father's disappearance and figure out what had been exactly going on behind the scenes. It was just relaxing and good for some time on their own when they needed it. No one they knew had come here to begin with for a while so they had a peace of mind here. They were one of the younger patrons, they had realized, yet it didn't matter all too much. As long as they could unwind or write their stories in peace, then they were taking it. Such spaces were rare in fact, especially in abuzzling city like Tokyo. Shibuya specifically could be a little crowded from time to time.

However, since they had started to become a part of the operation they were greeted more often than not by familiar faces. One of those faces was Futaba Sakura. And she was sure a lively one. So much so that it was becoming addictive. She was also speaking in an interesting way, yet when having played some games before one could easily understand her. In fact it was a bit of a shock when they had learned that both were playing a few of the same multiplayer games. It was not rare that the two would spend playing a game together a few times actually. It was a lot of fun, something they thought of as impossible. After all, they weren't the type to often play multiplayer games if any at all. They were mostly indulging in single player experiences. But those few times where they got to play? It was at least a little fun.

Yet that also meant that they were not exempt from being snuck up on and sudden hearing her talk to them, just like right now. Not just that but the look over the shoulder all of a sudden, the curious gaze something they could already imagine. It was nothing out of the ordinary though, not really at least. They were used to it. Though that didn't make it any less sudden.

Thus they sighed soon enough before lifting their head up, spotting Futaba who was standing right next to them as they had been sitting on one of the couches at a coffee table, looking at the gaming app they had opened. Gameplay wise it was some type of turn based strategy rpg on a chess board. Except the chessboard was different terrain depending on the level and the chess pieces were characters with their unique skills and abilities, usually attractive looking male and female anime characters. A game which had run for a while now and one they kept on playing in their free time. It was surprisingly engaging and it kept their attention for a long while. Then again, it was also part of one of their favorite IPs.

In any case, Futaba had observed how Lukanja had been currently busy adjusting the skills on set character and she was fascinated by this alone, looking at it with the utmost curiosity. In fact, they were surprised to hear that even she indulged in it from time to time, though not as frequently as Lukanja.

"Say, how many pulls did that take you? It's gotta be ages!" She continued, her amazement not becoming any less. And they wish that they could ease her a little bit but...

"It was the free pull actually..." They admitted sheepishly, only receiving a shocked reaction.

"What!? No way! Again!?"

They nodded weakly. "Y... Yeah..."

"Your luck's outta this world! That's not fair!" She added, though she didn't seem all too upset about it. Even if she had sounded a little whiny for a moment. "But is this character as good as they say?"

"For the type of character... Yeah actually." They confirmed. "I mean you can look at the stats alone." They had decided to even lift up the phone a little to allow her to get a closer look.

"You're right. Those are pretty high. Wait... A counter regardless of range? And stat bonuses!?"

They nodded. "Yeah. Pretty insane, right? Even for an UR character."

"Maybe I should try too. Just to have a bit of an easier time. Oh, by the way, while you're here, have you seen this new anime?"

"You mean the recent adaptation of that manga we've been reading?"

"Yeah yeah! What do you think so far!? I've been dying to talk about it!"

"Are you sure you want to talk about it to me? I might not stop talking."

"Nah, it's fun to listen to. Actually, keep talking. I could use some background noise while playing by myself."

"H... hey!" Yet it was not something they minded in the slightest. It was fun to know that they had met someone they could discuss these things with, someone who didn't mind in the slightest. And Futaba was that someone. She didn't even mind when Lukanja was going on and on about whatever thoughts they had. At first they had worried yet Futaba said that it was at least somewhat fun to listen to.

And that's how the two are always held up talking, even if only somewhat. Time is always flying in that instance. And yet that was also the fun part. Indulging in it a little bit outside of the mission wasn't wrong... Was it?