The Place Where We Belong ( Persona 5 x Reader )

Aftermath conversations

[2 May, after school]

'Dammit, (Y/n). Why are you like this?' Kurelin asked. 'I don't know...' I told her. 'I guess his speech was too much for me... I don't know.' I simply replied. My phone buzzed for the tenth time and saw that I had messages from both Akira and Ryuji. I switched it off. 'They're at the rooftop, just go speak with them. Might help you.' She told me. 'How can I be sure that it will help me?' I asked as I got up. 'Tell me one time he let you down.' Kurelin told me. I found it strange that she referred "he" alone, but be it either of them she mentioned, I don't think any of them ever let me down.

I slowly got up and pulled my bag on my shoulder. I walked out of my classroom and went up the stairs all the way to the rooftop. I hesitated as I faced the door, but then slowly opened it and it revealed the three boys speaking at a table. They looked at me and got up as Morgana sat down. A weak "Hey" escaped my mouth as I closed the door behind me. I walked towards them and Ryuji and Akira walked towards me. Ryuji immediately hugged me tightly and after he pulled away, Akira looked at me with his hands in his pockets.

"We were worried about you, you know." Ryuji's frown showed itself as he crossed his arms. I was okay with that, that meant he cared.

"We saw you with Kamoshida as he was taken away." Akira said while twirling his hair. "What did he tell you?" He asked. I shook my head sideways and then looked at Ryuji.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now..." I told them as I held my arm and looked down.

We went to the table with Kamoshida's medal and talked for a while. Ann then appeared as we drew conclusions from our mission and its results. Ann had gone to see Shiho and returned. "How did it go? ...With Shiho, I mean." Ryuji asked her as we all looked at her.

"She regained consciousness!" Ann told us with a smile. Our eyes shot wide open.

"For real!?" Ryuji said as he looked at her. Ann started sobbing.

"It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her...!" She admitted. "I was able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he had done...!" She added. She started talking about Shiho's reaction and how she and her mother decided she would transfer school once she recovered. It was for the best. She would probably be treated differently after all that had happened.

"That aside, I was surprised you two could hold yourselves back against Kamoshida's Shadow." Ryuji told Ann and I, as he looked at me and I rose my head a bit.

"For me, it wasn't like that... I just wanted him to apologise for everything he did himself." Ann stated. Everyone then looked at me. I shrugged as I looked at Ann.

"To be honest... If it weren't for you guys, I would've finished him off there..." I looked at the ground again, on the verge of crying again. I would not have been able to bear his death if I had done that back there.

"(Y/n)..." Ann muttered. Akira was next to me and got his arm around me and pulled me in for a hug.

"No matter how much of a shit bag he was, finishing him off woulda left a bad aftertaste, huh?" Ryuji stated. I gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah, maybe." I said as I cleaned my nose and rose my head again.

"I don't think so, actually..." Ann stated. We all paid close attention to what she had to say. "I think revenge is better served if I make him repent. Realising what he's done, he'll grovel for forgiveness the rest of his life, you know? I just believe there are fates worse than death." She explained. We all looked at her surprised about how dark that was. Ryuji looked at us.

"Holy shit..." He simply let out as a surprised expression was plastered on his face.

"You said it." I added as I looked at Ann, checking if she was okay.

"A-anyways, t-that's all settled..." Ryuji stuttered, shaken by the dark conversation. I couldn't help but smile at his concerned figure. "But you know, there was one more thing I was wonderin' about that castle." Ryuji sat with his elbows on his legs, leaning forward. "Why was Kamoshida the only one that had that Metaverse thing?" Morgana and I looked at him.

"What thing?" I asked him as he looked at me.

"The cas- The Palace." He replied.

"Oh, anyone could have a Palace." I told him and Morgana followed up with the explanation. He wasn't criticising Ryuji, that was a first... Maybe he got a fright from the time that I scolded him.

"It's something anyone could have, if their heart became warped from their desires." Morgana explained. Ann looked at the table.

"Anyone...?" Ann muttered.

"Anyone." I stated firmly as I fiddled my fingers. "Any of us could have one." Morgana sat down and sent a judging gaze my way. "If we weren't Persona users, that is."

"Want to check it out?" Morgana asked as he looked at me and then at Akira.

"N-not right now. We better lay low for a while. People are still talkin' about Kamoshida." Ryuji said. "Anyways, let's check how much this medal can be sold for!" Ryuji had the widest grin I had ever seen. With one move, he got his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, doing a quick search. "It'd be better if we pawned it off ASAP." He scrolled through his phone until he found what he was looking for. "Ooh, got a hit!" He said with a big smile. "WHAT?! Thirty thousand yen (277 dollars)?! That's all a gold medal is worth...?!" Ryuji cried.

Ann immediately looked at him with a smirk. She started talking about how Ryuji owed her money since middle school, ready to stay with his share of the money. Morgana cleared his cat throat and stood up. "I agree on the laying low and keeping an eye on the situation." He sure changed topic fast. "However, you dragged me into this. It would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission." Morgana stated. Ryuji smiled.

"I guess we could blow this dirty money on something fun." He suggested. We all agreed and decided unanimously that we'd be eating at some luxurious place one day, the last day of holidays, on Children's Day. The restaurant was chosen by Ann, a place where Shiho and her wanted to go and no one said anything against it. Finally, Akira, Morgana and I were the ones that had to go and sell the medal. And our small holidays were going to start the next day.

We all started to leave, but at the entrance I grabbed Ryuji's wrist and kept him from walking. He looked at me surprised and so did Akira and Ann when they saw we had stopped moving all of a sudden.

"What's the matter, (Y/n)?" He asked as he looked at me in the eyes. I stared at him as I thought of how to say what I wanted.

"Y-you remember how, when we were dating and all, Kamoshida was always there making our life difficult, yeah?" I asked.

"Of course, how could I forget that?" He smiled as he looked at me.

"Kamoshida... He- He told me to apologise for him, for all he did to you." I told him with a frown. His face remained neutral. He didn't know how to react. He felt happy, but also mad at him for all he did, and how he felt back then.

"Thanks for telling me that, (Y/n)." We smiled at each other as he placed his arm around my neck and we started walking with the others.

We all went home and for the next two days, there was no school and we just spent time with each other. Getting to know one another better, an opportunity to escape our problems and all.