Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 10: Ties That Bind.

"Student...?"

...

"Stuuuuudeent?"

"Huh?"

Makoto, laying in his bed, forced open his dreary eyes. He looked over at his clock, which read 7:00 am.

Makoto usually set his alarm for 9 am, so initially, he wondered what it was that had woken him until he turned his tired head a few degrees to the right.

"Ah, hmhm~ You finally awoke? I was beginning to get worried."

THIS woke him up!

"WAAAGH!?" he screamed, lurching up in his bed in a panic, "Agatha!? When did YOU get here!?"

Aria of the Soul - Persona 5

Sure enough, standing right next to his bedframe, leering down at him was the mysterious woman in blue, Agatha. Who had somehow left the confines of his head and was now standing in his dorm room, a fully corporeal figure.

Makoto was starting to wonder if this was a dream and went to pinch his arm, but Agatha stopped him.

"This is not a dream," she stated bluntly as if she could read his mind, "my master and I have business with you, and I decided it would be a good opportunity to show you something."

Makoto was acutely aware that he was still in his star-patterned onesie, and he didn't exactly feel like going anywhere this late at night without getting properly dressed first...But at the same time, Agatha clearly wasn't intent on waiting around, and he sure wasn't about to get changed in front of her. However, what surprised him most was that Agatha didn't seem to be leaving his dorm room. Instead, she wandered over to his bathroom door and examined it.

"Hm...Yes, this should do nicely...It's out of the way and won't be a bother to you," she said, "young one, please, I ask you to follow me."

"Into...the bathroom?" Makoto clarified.

Agatha didn't answer. Instead, she opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

"Hey! Agatha, wait!" Makoto scurried after her, "I don't know what you're...doing...!?"

His breath was taken away as he stepped through the door. To his utmost astonishment, stepping through the door did not take him into his bathroom...but instead, into the familiar azure gleam of the Velvet Room!

"Wait...my BATHROOM is the VELVET ROOM!?" he frantically tried to remember the last time he had used his dorm room bathroom, almost immediately realizing how dumb this conclusion was as he most certainly remembered walking through the door into an ACTUAL bathroom, and NOT into a mysterious blue classroom, just recently.

Nevertheless, he certainly HAD this time around. He couldn't find any words in his mouth, as Agatha took him by the hand and guided him to his seat.

As soon as Makoto sat down, Igor appeared at the teacher's desk again. However, Agatha chose not to take his side this time.

"I'm confused..." Makoto opened with this, "I thought I had to be asleep in the real world in order to come to this place?"

"Yes, that has been the case so far...But it would not be ideal if you could only come and visit while in your time of rest, is it not?" Igor asked, "especially given what new opportunities we would like to present to you today. Therefore, we have decided to create a doorway for you so you can come and go at your leisure..."

"In...my bathroom..." Makoto frowned.

"All you need to do is envision the doorway as the Velvet Door in your mind. That will make it appear," Igor explained, "then all you need to do is step through it, and we shall be here to greet you."