Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 126

To say that they were in a better mood lately was an understatement. It had not been too long yet anyone could have noticed that these circumstances were actually beneficial for Lukanja. They did not just trick everyone into awakening some of their powers but overall they seemed to be doing better than usual. Talking to more people, some they really seem to connect with. 

And that new name of theirs they used… Lukanja. While yes, it was a simple combination and could be something anyone could come up with (if not sound rather silly at times) they didn’t seem to mind that. And if it made them happy, who was Goro to judge? It’s not as if he had the time for that to begin with. He was busy with other things and by now they knew. Not to mention that he had certain preparations he had to attend to, to keep up the act for just a little longer… But it would all be over by the end of the month, November. So he has to hold out only a little longer… Yeah, just a little.

But the change within them didn’t go unnoticed for him. They seemed more open and overall just in a way better mood. Outside influences seemed to get to them more now, didn’t they? It was almost… Scary. Or rather, he felt scared for some godforsaken reason. It wasn’t jealousy, not even close. Nor was it hatred he felt towards them. 

No, it was rather… Him being scared of something. He should feel indifferent about it despite having come to terms with his feelings towards them, at least somewhat, yet that wasn’t happening. Something just irked him, made him want to pull them away more often than not. But he also knew that it would benefit no one and he would make a fool out of himself. So he was not going to drag them away whenever he saw fit, just because he felt some pettiness towards whoever Lukanja was talking to.  He couldn’t be like that, no. He swore to himself that no matter how he felt about them he would see this through until the end. And his emotions for some person were not going to get in the way of that. 

Though… There was this lingering fear… Since they got along so well with the Phantom Thieves there was a chance… What if they decided out of nowhere to call it quits and keep in touch with this small group? They could easily fall into this group at that rate, couldn’t they? It was—

No, what had Goro been wasting his thoughts on? Even if they did, so what? He doesn’t care that much… He can do it all by himself. Not like he had been working with them together in any way. And he sure doesn’t need their help either! 

Long story short, everything seemed to be going fine at that point. There was no big deal whatsoever involved. No major roadblocks of any kind. And that was a good thing.

Even when the both of them had stepped inside the police building near the courthouse, just to get started on the regular work. Goro had never expected to be teased into oblivion but Lukanja had not given it a rest the entire train ride in the afternoon. And he was trying so hard to not snap the entire time, especially not in public. He still had a facade to keep up and causing a scene in public would be anything but beneficial. Regardless of retreating from media attention or not he still had a public image to uphold. And it was exactly that carefree attitude which had prepared none of the two from what they overheard the moment they had stepped inside the building. And from two officers nonetheless.

“Wait, really? Sato–San is going to resign?” One of them brought up all of a sudden making both of them step in their tracks. Goro’s gaze went towards Lukanja for a moment, They especially freezing up for this split second. He wasn’t exactly sure why yet the two did seem kind of close. Nothing too close but it wasn’t rare to not see them together either. Officer Sato was of course busy with many other cases and things so he wasn’t around them all the time. But enough for it to stand out.

“Yeah. I’ve heard him talk about it.” The other officer mentioned. “He’s apparently working on the paperwork for it as well.”

“You sure? I mean, he’s always taken his job so seriously.”

“Yeah but don’t you know? The major fumble?”

“You mean— Ah right, that Wolf guy. Yeah. Didn’t he get shit for it?”

“Pretty much. ‘If a little girl can solve this case, you could’ve done the same! But here we are, forced to correct this mess!’ They were all pretty angry at him for that.”

“Actually, now that you mention it, he’s been acting odd since then. He’s become less snarky and laid back.”

“The pressure is finally catching up to him. Honestly, I’m surprised that he didn’t get fired already.”

“Probably because he usually gets the job done. Even despite the massive fumble.”

“Eh, you’re right.”

The entire conversation was… Not odd, it sounded plausible. Even Goro had caught wind of what was mentioned. And that was not the off putting part for him. That bit went to Lukanja yet again, them just standing there frozen and facing the ground with their pupils. Those were almost seeming to tremble on their own, staring and staring right onto the ground. They even made sure that one of their hands clutched around their chest, said clutch looking surprisingly tightly. They didn’t comment on it yet they didn’t really have to. He could tell what was going through their head at least a little bit.

And, unfortunately, it didn’t really surprise Goro. Maybe this was only a matter of time. Sato–San played though yet could be a little fragile so this incident got to him, especially when reminded of failure constantly. How it was all on him, especially in the case regarding Karl Wolff. There was quite a bit of backlash and criticism. 

However, the reaction which had gotten his attention was Lunkanja’s. How they were not saying a thing, only starring in disbelief, mumbling to themself. And it was from that reaction alone where he knew that at least something was coming up very soon… And it all started with Sato–San’s attempt at resigning for good.