ペルソナ5 ザ・ロイヤル/ Persona 5 (The) Royal- Dual-Sided

Chapter 10- A Cruel World

As soon as he walked in, the staring started, accompanied by whispers.

"Hey, isn't he that transfer student?"

"You mean the one in all that shady stuff? Yeah, that's gotta be him!"

"It's bad to get involved with something like him."

"What'd he do?"

"I heard he got charged with assault, on top of previous charges. It even goes as far as some sex crimes."

"For real?! Man, that's some scary stuff..."

"I heard that some people saw him with Takamaki this morning by the station."

"Woah! Could she be cheating on Kamoshida?!"

Ren had to grasp the inside of his pockets to prevent him from blacking out. 'Don't  lose consciousness,'  he kept repeating to himself. That was an experience that he did not want to go through here of all places.

But more importantly, how did all of these people know about his record? And where did those other claims even come from? Those never happened, so who...?

"Kamoshida," a voice that wasn't his own rang in his mind. It was the same one he had vowed to not too long ago, if he wasn't mistaken, Ren realized with a start as he continued to make his way to the faculty office.

'Ar... Arsene?'  he thought, not knowing if it would work, but hoping the Persona would say something back.

"You are correct," the same voice responded in his head. "Are you surprised?"

'U-um... a little bit...'

"This may take some time to get used to, so I will briefly explain why I can interact with you in this world.

"Due to the nature of your awakening, it seems that my mind -and soul- has become more intertwined with yours than usual, which allows us to have normal conversations like this in your world. Moreover, the rest of the effects from this bond can be seen here as well, but you will be able to better experience them the next time you travel to the Metaverse."

'Meta..?' the teen mentally asked, though he let himself trail off as he realized what the Persona was referring to .

"It seems you know the answer to that one," Arsene replied back, letting some amusement make its way into his voice. "Shouldn't you be asking about the changes I mentioned?"

'...Probably...'

"Don't worry, my Trickster," Arsene reassured the boy, his voice returning to its remarkably gentle tone, "I will show you at the end of the day, when there is no one else around you."  Ren reached the door that he was supposed to be at, fully aware that he was the center of attention by most, if not all of the students at Shujin.

"Ah... It seems like you've reached your destination. Au revoir, at least for now, my Trickster."  And with that, the voice went silent in Ren's mind, leaving him to his own thoughts once more.

'Hmm... Thinking back to the beginning of our conversation, that would only make sense, though, that Kamoshida was the one who leaked my record," Ren thought, remembering the first thing that his Persona had said to him. That P.E teacher had acted a little too smug when "wished" the transfer good luck. He would have to look into that when he had the chance. 

But for now, he focused on tuning out the gossip about him and opening the door to the faculty office. Inside, only one teacher was there, and that was the one he needed to speak to.