(DISCONTINUED) Persona 5 AU - Mansion

[ Prologue ]

Akira was always quiet, selfless and lost in thought. Although he rarely spoke, he had a heart of gold and cherished the bonds he made during his life. He was lucky that people still thought of him as human compared to those who doubted his everything. It came as a surprise when he found a new meaning to add to his dull life, a fate that was destined to change over the course of time, a chance to show the world the reality that they lived—a cruel reality corrupted by the desires and expectations of adults.

A singular person could impact many, corrupt the eyes of perception and deceive those who look down upon them. One such person carried the whole of Japan within their grasp, ready to devour and create destruction amongst the society they lived in. While the other carried hope and a pure sense of justice to those who took a blind eye—even if that justice was masked within shadowed identities.

Those two people were none other than anti-hero, Ace Detective Akechi and Infamous Phantom saviour, Akira himself.

Akira's mind scattered endlessly as he sat down upon the soft red seats of the cafe he stayed in. From the unexpected visit of his friends, to the sudden headache that emerged, he felt strange, like something was amiss. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, but it made his thoughts spread loose like wildfire and his stomach tie in knots from all the stress. The constant chatting of his peers were only muffled, like their voices were deep underwater, and that didn't help his mind from calming down at all.

Akira escaped a quiet yet heavy sigh, somehow catching the attention of some of his comrades.

Ryuji looked worriedly at his best friend beside him, his eyes staring at him with full seriousness, "What's wrong, Akira?" He questioned as the rest of the group were now full in focus, their eyes piercing towards him. The silent boy shook his head in denial, ready to fend off excuses that his mind could think of in that moment. He didn't make an attempt to socialise with the group, weird as it is to say, he was quieter than his already quiet self.

Perhaps his friends didn't notice, due to them being so use to Akira's silent personality, "You sure? You're quieter than usual today, is something on your mind?". Akira averted his attention from Ryuji to the glossy oak floor of the cafe below him, shaking his head once again.

"It's nothing... just tired" he lied, rubbing his eyes to emphasise his saying. He just wanted some peace and quiet to somehow get rid of this unknown headache he had received mere hours ago. Nothing seemed to work, even if he relaxed for a bit or drank some water, he just felt.. odd, out of place somewhere.

Akira could feel the stinging of the side effects given to him from his painful interrogation a while back, a wave of dizziness and a feeling to vomit kicked in. He cringed his eyes shut, feeling his body ache all throughout.

Makoto gasped louder than the creaky floorboards of the cafe, "Ah! we've been here for quite a while and it's really late into the night now..." She sighed and hurriedly helped the rest of the group pack up their mess of chip bags, drinking cups and plates, while Akira stayed where he was and watched the whole scene play by. He would get quick glances from his friends from time to time but none of them said anything by the time the door closed and he was finally alone inside the cafe.

He sighed once again, attempting to walk to his room upstairs but failed miserably, when he found himself using the wall for support. Dragging his body up the stairs while maintaining his balance and his mind stabbing him every step of the way, he swiftly made his way to his soft bed stationed at the far side of the wall in front of him. Akira collapsed onto the bed mattress, losing every strength of energy he had left inside of him.