Author's Note:

Haven't long finished Persona 5 and I'm just not ready to say goodbye to the characters yet. So I'm just doing some short little tidbits to try and soothe the pain of when you finish a fantastic game. I've got a couple of other ideas floating around that I really want to do, so this might go upwards of 5 chapters. Tt goes without saying it's going to be Akira/Makoto focused but the others will be here, don't worry.

There were other chapters I wanted to do more than this one, but I couldn't bring myself to do it out of chronological order and I did want to do this scene in some form. Ended up enjoying myself with it, so I'm happy with how it turned out, I think.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

"You see her, right?" Came the muffled voice from his bag. Akira glanced down, looking into the big blue eyes of Morgana.

"Huh? You mean Niijima-senpai?" Akira asked.

"Yes, her." Morgana said. Akira turned his eyes away from the cat and threw a quick look behind him. He was working his way down the central street of Shibuya, heading toward the convenience store to pick up some snacks for him and Morgana when he spotted her. Makoto Niijima, the student council president of Shujin Academy. Normally, it wouldn't be too unusual to spot a student of Shujin around Shibuya, with it being a popular hangout spot for students. However, what Niijima was doing was far from "hanging out." Holding a manga up to her face, probably in some attempt to blend in, she was blatantly following Akira around the city, attempting to stealthily keep tabs on his activities and trying to catch him in the act of "Phantom Thiefing." Or so he suspected, he couldn't imagine what else she would be doing.

Right now, she was barely 10 meters behind him, awkwardly navigating the crowd of people whilst holding her manga up to her face.

"So, what do you think?" Morgana asked.

"About what?" Akira replied, blinking back to attention.

"The student council president?" Morgana asked again, clear impatience in his tone.

"Oh, yeah. She's cute, right?" Akira asked. Morgana let out an exasperated noise.

"That isn't important right now!" Morgana hissed.

Akira glanced back again and saw Niijima peaking over the top of her manga. The moment he made eye contact with her, she ducked her head back down.

"Yet somehow, it feels important." Akira muttered. Morgana sighed to himself.

"Just don't do anything suspicious when she's watching us. She's trying to figure out if we're Phantom Thieves after all. So don't go to Iwai-san's shop and definitely don't call a meeting, got it?" Morgana said. Akira nodded.

"Alright. I should probably stop talking to the cat in my bag if I'm trying not to draw suspicion, right?" Akira asked. Morgana hissed at him again.

"Lets just grab the snacks and get home, I want to watch the end of the Running Dead." Morgana said. Akira got to the entrance of the convenience store. One glance back confirmed that Niijima was still following them, but was now trying to stay out of sight by the entrance of the movie theater.

"Mhm, one stop after this though." Akira said. Morgana looked up at him, his eyes curious.

"Sure, where?" He asked.

"The diner."

"But we'll be eating when we get home. Or are you going to study?" Morgana asked.

"Something better." Akira grinned to himself. Morgana tilted his head in confusion.

"Can't we just go home?" He asked, clearly wanting to get home to the Running Dead to see if they'll ever make it off the farm.

"Morgana, this is a prime opportunity to connect to my senpai, as part of my honest student life. You cannot take it away from me." Akira grinned. Morgana frowned again and said no more as Akira entered the convenience store.

Makoto looked up from behind the pages of the manga. Her target, Akira Kurusu, was just leaving the convenience store after spending only a few minutes in there. She'd considered following him in to make sure he wasn't meeting anyone inside, but decided against it. She'd almost certainly be caught if she got that close. She was sure he'd seen her earlier when their eyes locked, but he must not have been paying attention.

"Alright, resume operation." She muttered to herself. Holding the manga in front of her face, she began to follow Akira again from what she had determined to be the perfect distance to not be noticed. Honestly, she surprised even herself at how good she was at this sleuthing business. She'd been tasked by her school principal on finding information about the Phantom Thieves. An utterly ridiculous request for the student council president of all things, but he hadn't exactly left her a lot of room to negotiate. With no other leads to go on, she decided to look into the ones who had been seen having an altercation with Kamoshida not too long before his change of heart. It felt wrong, spying on her fellow students like this, but the Principal had made it very clear what was at stake…. And besides, how could she say no to such an authority figure? The memory caused her to wince, but all negative thoughts were rushed away when she saw Akira entering the diner.

Damn, he could be meeting anyone in there. Could Sakamoto or Takamaki have slipped in when I was watching the store? She thought to herself. There was nothing else for it, she'd have to go in and keep an eye on him. With a tentative look around, Makoto made her way to the diner's entrance, ascending the stairs and pushing her way through the glass door. She winced as the little bell that signaled a new customer went off, hoping the noise wouldn't cause Akira to look over. Makoto quickly scanned the area, trying to locate her target. The diner wasn't exactly empty, but it wasn't packed either. It would mean there'd be room to sit, but it was far more likely that she'd stand out more.

No… I have to push on. If he really is meeting with the others, then I could get the information I need right now and put an end to this. She thought to herself. An end to the Phantom Thieves… It's for the best, right?

She run her eyes over the diner again.

There!

His black, curly mop of hair was unmissable, especially in this small diner. He was currently sitting at a table with a book out on the desk, but was currently writing on what looked like a small piece of paper. It looked like he hadn't ordered yet.

Could he be waiting for the others to arrive then? Makoto thought. Realising she'd been standing there staring, she pulled up her manga to her face and walked quickly, finding a table where she was behind Akira and he wouldn't directly be looking at her. It was a surprisingly fortunate position. From the corner of her eye, she saw a lone waitress rushing around, the poor overworked girl no doubt trying to get everyone's orders. With no other choice but to wait, Makoto pulled her manga up to her face and watched Akira.

5 minutes pass.

10 minutes. No sign of the others. Makoto chided herself for being impatient. She had to be diligent, the sooner something showed up, the sooner she'd be allowed to return to her studies.

The waitress finally went to Akira, giving him an apologetic smile as she brought out her notepad. Makoto saw Akira look at the waitress, no doubt giving his order. To her surprise, the waitress suddenly looked over at her, then back to Akira. She nodded her head with a sly little smile on her face, jotted something down on the notepad, accepted the money from Akira, then walked away. Makoto's heart began to race as she ducked behind the pages of her manga. Was he on to her? What if the waitress was an accomplice!

No… No calm down, it's probably a coincidence. She just happened to look over here… Maybe she even recognised the manga I'm reading? Makoto assured herself. Besides, they were in public, even if they did try anything, what could they do? Makoto steadied her breathing, focusing on stopping the thumping of her heart.

Even if he IS a member of The Phantom Thieves… They don't hurt people. Would I really be in danger? Makoto thought to herself. Shaking her head, she shouldn't be thinking of such things, she cautiously raised her head above the pages again, seeing if Akira had moved at-

He was gone. Makoto placed the manga on the table and stood up slightly, resting her hands on the table. Maybe he'd gone to the bathroom? If she got up to look around now and he came back, there'd be no way he wouldn't notice her. Wait, there! The unmistakable black mop of hair was visible behind the glass door of the diner, disappearing down the stairs very quickly. Makoto grabbed the manga and made to leave in a rush, before she was suddenly stopped by the waitress, who stood in her way and placed a drink on the table.

"There you go, Miss!" The waitress chirped, a big, goofy grin on her face.

"I-I'm sorry, but I didn't order anything." Makoto said, eager to push past and chase her quarry but not wanting to be rude to the waitress.

"Oh, I know. It's from that kind gentleman at the table there-" The waitress pointed at where Akira had been sitting, only now seeming to notice he'd left.

"He must've run away in embarrassment, how cute!" The waitress exclaimed before continuing on, "He also left a note with the drink too. Enjoy, it was his treat." Makoto's mouth was agape as the waitress scurried off. She looked at the drink, it was a tall, fruity drink that came with a silly looking straw. It looked pricey. Beside it on the table was a lone piece of paper. With slight hesitation, Makoto picked up the note, flipping it around to read.

Hiding behind books

The lone beauty stalks her prey

Did I steal your heart?

"A… Haiku…?" Makoto whispered to herself. At the bottom of the note was a terrible attempt at the Top hat and mask logo that was on the Phantom Thieves calling cards.

"What." Makoto stared at the note in sheer disbelief. Before she knew it, she could feel her cheeks burning red in embarrassment. Either from the fact he'd clearly known she was following him the whole time, the fact that he had saw it fit to pull something like this and mess with her, or simply from the audacious implication in the message of why exactly she was following him. Crumpling the note up and shoving it in her back, she had decided it might come in handy as evidence later, even if it didn't actually prove anything, Makoto stood up in a huff and stormed out of the diner.

"That was a pretty risky move, Akira. Are you sure that was a smart decision, giving the person who suspects you of being a Phantom Thief something like that?" Morgana asked. Akira shrugged it off.

"Everyone in our school has seen the calling cards. It doesn't prove anything." He said. Morgana let out a concerned "hmmm."

"You do realise this will only make her more determined to try and catch you?" Morgana asked. Akira let out a slight laugh.

"I'm not going to complain about getting to see more of her." Akira smirked.

"Take this seriously!" He snapped. Akira gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Morgana. I really am taking this seriously, I'll be sure to to stay extra vigilant and not do anything suspicious if I even slightly suspect she's watching." Akira swore, a hand over his heart. Morgana nodded, happy at the response, and crawled back into the bag. Akira looked at the sky, his confident smirk fading.

Besides. She looked so damn stressed out. Student Council President, Honor student, she's probably working herself to the bone as it is. Whoever put her up to this is a real asshole. Akira thought to himself.

I just hope I could help her lighten up, even a little.

With that thought, Akira pulled his bag tighter and started making his way down to the subway.

Makoto clung tightly to her bag as she stomped through the streets of Shibuya, not even bothering to hold her manga to her face.

What's the point, he's probably long gone by now she thought to herself. She let out a frustrated sigh. Why did she have to deal with this? Why didn't she just have the courage to tell the Principal no?

Giving up, Makoto decided to make her way home. On a whim, she pulled out the note Akira had left her and read through it again, looking at the terrible little drawing at the bottom. He was bound to know why she was tailing him, what she suspected him of. The audacity of it was unbelievable, giving her a note like this, and a haiku of all things. A normal person would be way too embarrassed to do something so ridiculous. Yet, despite herself, despite her embarrassment over being caught and anger she felt toward the Principal, she felt a small smile form on her lips.