A Thief's Prison

The Anomaly

-Thursday, April 28, Early Morning-

"Akira...!"

A paw from my cat Morgana tapped my cheek, probably in an attempt to wake me up. I'm so tired, but my body probably won't-

"Go away..." I grumbled, not moving an inch. Wait a second...

I gasped and shot up from my bed, Morgana being flung to the other side of the futon. I should probably explain... Hi, I'm Akira Kurusu. I'm 16 years old, and I'm a second-year transfer at Shujin Academy, after I was falsely accused for assault and put on probation. I used to live in the countryside, but now I live in Tokyo. I stumbled across a fantastical world called the Metaverse, where I met Morgana and awakened to a power called 'Persona' along with people who are now my friends, Ryuji Sakamoto and Ann Takamaki. Together, we took down a perverted, abusive gym teacher at our school. We're playing the waiting game for the results now. Not only that, but the entire time my body was seemingly possessed by some... Being. So being able to talk and act freely right now is a huge scare for me.

"Holy shit...! D... Did I just speak!? Aah! I did it again! Oh my god!" I cheered.

"Ooooow... Of course you spoke, Akira! You've always been able to speak... What are you talking about?"

"Uhh... What I mean was... Uh..." I hesitated. Explaining that over the past month or so that my body wasn't my own might not be the best idea... "...I've just had... T-trouble speaking my mind, is... All..."

In the next second, my head was rushed with memories upon memories of the year. Memories of reliving this year over and over and over... Palaces, pain, lack of control... And... Blood. Assasination. Chaos. ...Sacrifice... Sacrificing everything... And... Death... There was so much... I was horrified by what I was seeing! And that was just from this year!? My breath was uneven and shaky, and I was trembling... Morgana took notice of this and began to climb onto me, purring.

"Akira! Are you okay!?"

"M... Morgana... You..."

"I... What?" the feline tilted his head "What is it?"

"L-let's... Go to school..." I barely managed to stutter out, climbing out of bed to get dressed.

——

I was at the station about to transfer onto the line to Shujin, but I saw a foreign-looking girl in a Kosei uniform. There were minimal adjustments, other than her heart tights. It wasn't her darker skin that told me she was foreign, no no, it was the fact that she was looking extremely lost. And of all the things I saw in that weird future vision, I never once saw her... Not even in passing. I didn't expect her to approach me, pushing her bobbed dark brown hair behind her ear, hazel eyes behind her glasses and filled with anxiety. Understandable. Her bangs looked like she cut them herself.

"Ah- U-um... Excuse... M-me?" she asked in the most hesitant tone I've ever heard. Her Japanese sucks "K-Kosei high... H-help me..."

"Why are you asking me?"

She went silent and I raised an eyebrow, but that only made her more nervous. She must be afraid of something.

I told her "...Y'know what? Yeah, I'll help. Kosei-"

I ended up giving her the best directions I could, based on any memory I had of Kosei High. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. But hopefully it was enough.

"S... Slowly... Please..."

"Huh? I'm gonna be late"

"Please!"