Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 134

The conversation had persisted for a long time, until it had been very late. Of course not until midnight or even close but late evening hours. Lukanja and Akechi had been busy throwing words at each other, making a list of what they had thought could be a candidate for the ‘distortion’ Sato–San had. To outsiders it must have looked ridiculous however, the both of them just throwing one word after the other in. And they had done so in turns too while one of them had noted down the entire list. Needless to say they had gotten plenty of terms ready, those they had agreed to use the day after, testing out if it was any of those terms which could have been the distortion in question. And once having a list lasting for two pages they agreed to call it a day and head home. The next meeting spot? Right behind the police station, where no one could spot them. Also where no one usually passed by. So they could take their time and test those terms out freely.

And that was exactly what they had done at that moment, right after having done some work of their own. The two were in a rush to get some time alone which probably had resulted in some rumors by then. Especially since Lukanja was presenting as ‘Anja’, something they usually did on a work day… Given that this was connected to their legal name and all. But it was also nothing unusual and the two brushed it off quickly. 

In any case they were now right behind that building, testing one word after the other out, speaking right into the navigation app. The first few were no match yet that had not surprised them in any way. Though it only dragged on and on with each term. It was almost sickening to hear by then, especially in that voice. ‘ No match found. ’ They were so close to just throwing that phone in the corner and breaking it. But they had to take a deep breath and keep themself together no matter what. There was no other way around this.

So the two just kept on trying and trying yet there were not many words left there anymore. They had gone way over half at that point and it was all seeming like a losing game. Even when they had said the last few words on this list.

“Castle.”

“Prison.”

“Jail.”

But even then nothing. As soon as the last word had left one of their mouths the two were out of words, having crossed out everything. It was something to look at to say the least. Even one of Lukanja’s eyelids twitched. 

“Talk about terrible odds.” They said, the grip on their phone tightening. Yet they took a deep breath, then looked back up at Akechi. Though he didn’t look great about this either. In fact he seemed to be somewhat infuriated by this. 

“Are you kidding me? None of these work!?” He even hissed. “Is this some joke!? Ugh… Is there one we missed?”

“I don’t think so.” Lukanja had to confirm, much to their own dismay. “We’re outta words.”

“Damn it. This can’t be that difficult!”

“If it wasn’t we would have found a match by now.” They sighed. “We can either try to think of more or leave it be and try again later.”

“And back out when we’re this close? Not a chance.” He scoffed. And he liked to call them stubborn… He should look at himself for a change. Maybe then he’ll finally know what stubborn means. “There’s gotta be something we didn’t think of yet.”

“Didn’t we go through the entire category? I’m pretty sure that we ran out of synonyms.”

“There’s gotta be something. I refuse to believe that we thought of every possible word.”

“Maybe it’s in a different direction than we thought?”

“No, it’s gotta be that. Something related to imprisonment.”

“You’re pretty set on that Akechi–Kun.”

“Oh, so he dragged himself through the mud just for fun?” He remarked. Usually Lukanja would snap yet they could understand. They were also a little frustrated here. It was as if their conversation and meeting yesterday didn’t even matter. Talk about efforts wasted. The two could have done many other things with that time after all. 

“N… No, just…” They were about to sigh however yet left it be. There was something on their mind but… “Are you implying that he threw himself into a dungeon or somethin’? Because that sounds a little—”

“Match found.” This would cut them off instantly however, making both of them turn their gazes to the phone in surprise. They didn’t say a word, not having had the chance to. Instead they just quickly glanced at another, then back at the phone where the voice had even come from. “Starting navigation.”

And before the two could even process what was going on they were soaked in, right into the other world, away from the public eye… Only leaving an empty street behind