Hope for Freedom (Persona 5 x Danganronpa)

Before the Storm

Shuichi's POV:

My name is Shuichi Saihara. I'm a Detective in Tokyo who acts mostly in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Aoyama-Itchome, and Yongen-Jaya. I live alone in a small apartment in Kichijōji, and I work in the Tokyo police force. I gained my expertise as a Detective from working in my Uncle's agency before he...

I prefer not to talk about that.

Let me take you back to when it all started, on April 24th, 2015. That was two years before the Phantom Thieves of Hearts began operations. I was only Fifteen at the time.

I was walking home from the city where I visited my only friend I've ever known. She's always been here for me when no one else was.

Her name is Kaede Akamatsu, and she's the most incredible person this world has ever known.

However, her situation was horrible. Her family was low on funds, and her deceased mother just so happened to be blackmailed to owe a powerful, corrupt man a large sum of money when she passed on. So, of course, the debt fell to Kaede and her Grandmother. Apparently, her mother had struck a deal with this man before Kaede was born. Apparently, she did not have enough money to pay the hospital bills, and the bank refused to give her a loan. The hospital refused to take her in without her paying the bills beforehand, and she had no way of earning enough money in time for Kaede's birth.

So the man formed a deal. He would pay the bills for them, but he would need to be payed back. Every month, he required a hefty sum of money. If it was not payed back, the Mafia (which is also under his control) would take Kaede away.

You probably have questions. First, I found this out after the death of Kaede's mother. Kaede told me about it and how scared she was. Secondly, if you're wondering why I didn't just investigate and arrest him, it's because he owns most of the Tokyo police force. Almost everyone around me at work is one of his lackeys, either bought out with money, power, blackmail or threats. How can you arrest a man who owns the law? 

Anyways, protecting Kaede became her mother's only goal in life. It worked her into the ground. In fact, she was so overworked that one day she just collapsed. She died later that day due to malnutrition. Her father died not long after in a car crash, so she no longer had a source of income. Because of this, Kaede would regularly perform at expensive piano competitions to earn enough money to pay the debts and stay alive. She wouldn't get any free time because she would constantly be practicing piano while trying to maintain decent grades.

This was, of course, not healthy for her at all.

I earn more money than I could need due to my detective work, so I tried paying of her debts for her. That's why I had decided to go to her house that day. However, she would not accept the money no matter what I did. So, the next day, I went straight to the man behind it all.

???: "Come in."

Me: "Hello, sir. My name is Shuichi Saihara."

???: "Ah, yes, I've heard of you. You solved that murder case at a young age, an impressive feat if I must say so myself. Take a seat."

I sat down in a chair in front of his desk. He looked down at my from behind his orange-tinted sunglasses in a manner that showed his true inner thoughts. It showed that believed that he is better than all other humans, and he still thinks that way to this day.

???: "So, what do you require from me, Mr. Detective?"

Me: "I believe that you know someone called Kaede Akamatsu. I believe that she... owes something to you."