This story is a work of fiction.

Any relation to persons, living or dead, as well as events, are purely coincidental.

The author owns none of the characters, or events, that take place here.

The world is not as it should be.

It's filled with distortion, and "ruin" will soon descend.

However...there are those who would challenge fate, in desire for change.

Since time immemorial...they were known as,

"Tricksters."

Persona 5: Hoshi To Bokura To

Prologue: Gambling for Escapade

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(cue: Life Will Change)

A helicopter rushed above the crystalline ocean, running toward the brilliantly-lit city not far away from it's destination. It hovered above the towering sky scrapers, moving straight toward it's apparent target destination; a large casino with a woman dressed like a cow worker, holding up a pair of scales with the word "WIN" highlighted down from the scales in neon light, like the cowgirl. Everyone was moving through the street, the ground below being congested with a constant flow of activity. However, some people had stopped, either in front of the casino, or in front of several TV's scattered throughout the streets, be them through a window or built-up on a building. Some even stopped to look at their phones.

The reason for this? One must look no further than inside the casino. Alarms were blaring loudly, men dressed in black suits and tinted glasses ran all around the places, heads snapping around wildly as they looked at their surroundings. The people inside the casino were quickly growing confused and terrified, unaware of what was happening. Some had found black shadows leaping across the balconies and chandeliers. "Wh-what's going on?" a woman asked, anxious and worried. The casino was quickly growing more and more confused, even as three men in suits began to enter the room, their eyes trained above them. No one knew what was happening. Had someone been killed? Was it a terrorist's attack? Was there a robbery taking place? The more confused they grew, the more terrified they became. It was within human nature to seek information in order to develop a rational decision and then act upon that decision as calmly as possible. Without information, humans are left in the dark, left to the unconscious dark thoughts in the back of their minds, thinking of the worst case scenarios. Some people began to flee, not willing to see just what was causing this commotion. A few others, however, looked excited, looking around for the cause. They had a feeling they knew who was responsible, and they wanted to see who it was.

Then, someone found the cause. "L-Look, up there!" Their attention turned to one of the chandeliers above them. Security immediately fled into action, making their way towards the target while also keeping in mind of the danger they proposed. The crowd became more wild, with the rare few mentioned before taking out their phones, and snapping pictures. Standing atop the chandelier was a singular individual, dressed like a magician. He had short, messy black hair and gray eyes, the upper half of his face hidden behind a white mask, shaped somewhat like a bird, with a black design. He wore a black trench coat, a gray-collared shirt with black trousers, boots pressed against the foothold beneath him, and red gloves at his hands. Under one arm, he carried a silver briefcase, and plastered across his face was a giant smirk.

"Target has been found," one of the guards remarked as they moved. "Moving in to capture."

Seeing the security guards moving, the masked individual's confidence grew as he turned away, leaping off the chandelier and into the darker recesses of the casino. As he moved, he left behind the briefcase for his allies to take, and continued to move. He continued to dash around, leaping across all the obstacles in his way like a phantom, which he indeed was, before he found himself atop a glass catwalk. Below, the startled masses were in a stir.

"Good," a boyish voice said, resonating in his head. "Now get running!"

"This is our only chance!" a boy's voice followed.

"Stay calm," a girl's voice said with enthusiasm. "You can get away now!"

"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end," another girl's voice called out. However, static and garbled words also came across, causing confusion. "Hm? What was that?"

"Don't concentrate on us," the boyish voice continued. "Just concentrate on getting away!" The masked thief nodded, and began to move, jumping across the catwalks and chandeliers. As he did, the boyish voice began to praise him. "But I have to say...showing yourself to the crowd in such a bold manner was an excellent move!"

A third female voice, this one with a more light-hearted feel, giggled. "I bet Skull couldn't have done that easily."

"This is because he has a lack for the aesthetics," a refined male voice said with an exasperated sigh.

Another male voice, this one more casual and boisterous, growled. "Nobody asked you, Inari!"

The masked thief rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a grin before he stopped, about to head up towards one of the exit routes before he stopped, finding several guards where he was supposed to be. He immediately changed directions, and moved away, jumping across another catwalk before he reached an archway. Swiftly, he made his way across before jumping up on the railing, getting up to the second floor. He broke out into a run, but was stopped when two guards blocked his path. A rumble shivered through their bodies before they broke, bodies convulsing as their forms turned dark, skin becoming pitch black, and steel masks covering their faces, bearing only bright yellow eyes, cold and dark with a sense of stone cold melancholy. He heard the sound of foots slamming into the ground, and turned to find another such masked individual in front of him.

"Enemy readings determined," the cheery female voice called. "Beat 'em up, Joker!"

The masked thief, now known as Joker, smirked. 'Time to roll up my sleeves,' he thought before he jumped up. He landed square on the shoulders of the masked man behind him, and then grabbed it by the chin of the mask, then proceeding to rip it off with fearsome force. The guard was knocked back after Joker leaped away from him, revealing a blank, black face with red eyes. Then, the body began to darken, red veins flushing out over the black skin. Suddenly, the guard's hulking frames began to spasm wildly. Then, the bodiy exploded. Emerging from the black and red mess was an inhuman creature. It looked like a bipedal beast with the head of a bull, bearing a demented form of a noble with a large tail and a cravat at the neck. The creature let out a snarl, and slammed its feet into the ground. Joker, sensing danger from below, performed a backflip, evading a pillar of fire from engulfing him. He landed back on his feet before he whipped out his knife, smirking devilishly.

"Ravage them."

Suddenly, his mask became engulfed in blue flames as he placed a hand over his face. The flames grew above him, forming into a figure from behind. The flames solidified, forming into a solid shape, easily twice the size of Joker. Wearing a red coat, the length of the clothing only made it up to the mid-back of the thing. A black mask with red designs made it seem like it had horns. Two gigantic black wings spread themselves out in a flourish and showy motion. Massive red boots with bladed heels were worn at the bottom to create a rather dignified yet dangerous look. Then, there was a white scarf and a tall top hat as two articles of clothing a gentleman would wear along with a massive vest with red strings. Black-clawed fingers sprouted out from red fingerless gloves, ready to slice all those that stood in its path. Chains rattled and surrounded its body, as if the metal links were being bent to the will of the massive entity. Flames burned on the black mask, resembling sharp teeth curled into a wicked grin, and eyes narrowed into a taunting glare.

Immediately, Joker acted. Swiftly, he pulled out a black gun from his sleeve, and proceeded to unload his bullets into it. One, two, three, four, five, six. Seven shots blasted into the monstrous creature, leaving holes with fluid leaking out of them. The bull-like being snarled in rage, snapping its head up and glaring at him with red eyes. "You're gonna pay for that!" it bellowed before it slammed its feet into the ground. Unlike before, Joker couldn't evade it. The winged being behind him, however, shielded him from the flames, its wings wrapping around him to form a shield. The pillar of the inferno engulfed its being. Pain erupted through Joker's body as the intense heat seared into the being, almost as if they were connected on some level. The flames faded shortly after. The being vanished, and the white avian mask reformed on his face. Joker scowled, and promptly charged at the bull-like being. It snorted, and swung its tail at him. He dodged it with ease, and retaliated. He swung his knife, three times in succession, creating additional cuts that cut into its chest before he deftly rolled back, avoiding a stomp of anger, and took aim once more. He fired off his gun once again, though this time, he had a clear target.

He pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced straight through its head. The creature gave a dying, weak yelp before it fell back, and became black and red goo, splattering to the ground with a sickening squelch.

Joker huffed, dusting off his coat, which was partially singed before he slipped his gun and knife back into his sleeves. With security fast approaching, he couldn't afford to stay here for long. He took a quick look around, and immediately found his escape route. Just in time, too. Behind him, he heard the approaching footsteps of more enemies, though these were without masks, only bearing faceless faces and red eyes. The closest one jumped up into the air, shock baton raised. He smirked, and leaped away to avoid it. He pushed himself off his hand before he landed on the railing, and took another leap, this time onto a chandelier. Using it as a platform, he jumped up to the next level of the casino, with an open door ahead, as if greeting him.

He wasted no time. Swiftly, he moved into the door, and into the massive complex that also laid within the casino, patrolled only by security. As he moved, he heard the voices of his comrades chatter.

"Alright, Joker is on the move! Security's in a dizzy, trying to locate him! Everyone, get moving!"

"W-wait, is he going to be okay in there? Can he even here us?!"

"I'm reading everyone, and there's no interference, so yeah!"

He gave a small quip, letting them know he was aware. He pushed through a pair of double doors, and stepped into another corridor. He moved left, only to stop and retreat back into the space close to the door, seeing several guards moving about. The only thing keeping them separated, and what would have allowed them to find him, was the fence in between their locations. "We can't find the intruders," the guard reporters. To Joker's curiosity, this one didn't have black skin or a featureless face. Rather, this one had actual features, such as a nose, mouth, and a set of narrowed eyes. "Understood, we'll keep looking."

'A cognition, maybe?' Joker wondered, but shrugged. As soon as the security guards turned their attention elsewhere, he moved away from his hiding spot, and ran to the right, where another set of doors waited for him. In his sprint, he caught sight of another guard, also barred from him by a fence, though he was in clear sight of the thief. "You're quick!" the guard commented in shock as he barrelled through the doors, and then reported in. He wasn't about to waste time wondering about what, and instead got moving quickly as possible. He came into another corridor, this one bending to the right. He was about to round into a corner, but stopped, noticing the presence of a man standing at what was the only way up. He cursed, and quickly took refuge behind a crate.

Joker couldn't afford to waste time. He had to act quickly, lest he be caught. With that in mind, he took out a small pellet from his pocket, a gift from a confidant of his, and quickly moved into position. If one might have seen him move, it would be a fluid motion of black and red as he moved from crate to crate, eventually coming right next to the man, just hidden by the faint, dark shadows of the corner. He looked back at where he came in, and tossed the pellet. It smacked against the wall, creating an audible, loud banging sound. It was a firecracker going off, but the sound was made to distinctly resemble gunfire. It worked, as the guard's attention quickly shifted to where the firecracker was set off, and moved away. With the guard gone, Joker then moved into the staircase. His feet pounded against the pavement, shooting up the stairs before he reached the next level of the casino. When he entered a new corridor, he saw a window leading into another room, this one with several people inside, all at computers. Carefully, he made his way without being seen.

"He's not alone!" he heard someone in the room shout into a communicator, no doubt the leader of what was going on. "Find them, and kill them all!"

Joker gave a low 'tch' of annoyance. He was risking himself for his friends, so he wasn't about to let them die. Without making a sound, he continued his way. He found another flight of stairs, and again made his way up. "Joker, you there?" the cheery girl's voice called. "You're close to the exit!" He gave a nod of acknowledgement. After two flights, he found no more staircases leading up, and only a corridor leading out to a single door. He dashed through the hallway, and rather than take a moment to open it, used his shoulder to plow through the door, forcing it open. The lock broke from the force and it let him spill on through, only to come to a stop at a railing. He grunted a bit, feeling the railing smack into his gut before he looked up, and to his confusion, found himself staring back at the casino's bottom floor, with the area he was in previously not far below. "What's the matter? The exit should be up in front."

The masked thief looked up, and found a stained glass window, easily the size of a clock on a tower, not too far from him. The distance was fairly short, so it wouldn't be hard to reach it, if he used the railing to run across. "Through there?" he asked, wondering if this was the only exit available to him.

"That's just how it is," the voice sighed. "After the commotion, the bottom floor's-"

"-completely closed off!" another female voice, the one who made the remark about skull, said in concern. "H-hey, can you make it?!"

Joker grinned. This was actually exciting to him. It would be like a grand exit. Nice and flashy, sure to catch enough attention. "Don't move!" he heard someone shout from behind. He looked over his shoulder, and found three guards slowly walking toward him, guns aimed. "There's nowhere to run!" Nowhere to run? Who were they kidding? There was always a place to run. With a defiant smirk plastered across his face, he hopped atop the railing, and took off in a run, heading straight for the stained glass window. The guards immediately went to follow, pouring out into the balcony overlooking the casino and then began shooting at him. Screams of shock and horror came from below as he avoided them, some nearly grazing him. Once he was close enough, he hopped over to the railing facing the window. He landed in a crouch, easily maintaining his balance before he looked at the guards. Two were circling around him from opposite sides while the third remained at the door, reloading his gun.

He gave them a cheeky grin, and waved. "See ya~"

Then, without hesitation, he leaped forward, crossing his arms over his face and threw himself through the window. It broke easily, the shards dancing around him was propelled forward, emerging out into the moonlight. "Hmph," the cheery voice snorted. "What a showoff!"

"So reckless..." the other female voice sighed, though it was obvious she was impressed.

Joker landed straight on his feet, though to prevent any serious injury, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he tilted his body forward to come into a roll, thus placing himself into a crouch. He winced slightly from how harsh hitting the ground was. His back, feet, and shoulders ached a bit as a result of the action, though he no doubt left an impression. He dusted off his jacket, and tugged at his gloves after he stood back up. All that was left now was to-

Suddenly, light filled into his vision. One, two, three giant spotlights shined on him, lighting up the area. He gave a slight gasp of shock, forced to raise his arm to block the light. His eyes quickly adjusted, and lowered the arm, only to bite back a scowl. '

Shit.'

"These readings...it can't be!"

"Joker, what's wrong?!"

"H-hey, is he gonna be alright?!"

"Joker, can you make it out of there okay?!"

"What's happening down there?!"

"Joker?!"

"Joker!"

He heard the panicked cries of his crew echoing in the back of his head, the connection still present. Immediately, he cut it off. He didn't want to worry them any further. To be honest, he had to worry a bit about himself here, as he was staring back at what could only be considered a gigantic sea of police officers, armed with rifles, stun batons, riot shields, and padded armor plating. There must have been, at least, a thousand, maybe more. Well, they certainly now how to flatter a guy. All of this, for them? Just to capture the Phantom Thieves? All in all, quite impressive...though now he was wondering how in the hell he was going to get out of this mess. Sadly, Joker didn't have much time to think, as the apparent commander of the large troop yelled through a loud speaker.

"ARREST HIM!"

The shout barely echoed, but it was enough to spur the guards into action. They moved, or rather stomped toward him like a wave of angry mobs herding together. Cursing, he quickly moved, heading straight for the fire escape. The spotlights continued to hunt after him, keeping him in sight. He quickly reached the ladder leading up, and hopped right on, away from the grasp of the officers. One had swung his shock baton just right underneath his feet. He smirked tauntingly, glancing back at them as he made his way up.

Unfortunately, he realized too late he should have looked at the fire escape more closely. As soon as he reached the catwalk that would have led up to his escape route, he found several officers crowding it, all with their guns aimed. His eyes widened, now realizing his blunder as one guard raised his rifle, and slammed the butt into his face, knocking him off the ladder and right into the sea of guards. He hit the ground, and was immediately swarmed, several of them, all at once, restraining him. One bound his legs, another with his arms, and others keeping their gun trained on him, not allowing him to even escape.

Soon, however, the police began to part, allowing a man to walk forward. Joker couldn't see his face, because of the spotlights shining right at his back, thus creating a shadow obscuring his figure. His feet stopped close to his face. "Huh," the man remarked with slight surprise. "Didn't think we've been chasing a kid all this time." He bent down, his hand grabbing a fistful of hair. He bit back a yell as the man rudely pulled his face up, bringing them face to face. Now he could see the man's face clearly. Gaunt, stone-faced with cold blue eyes, and neat black hair. A face of a man that, quite frankly, Joker didn't want to be near. It was a face of someone who, clearly, had otherwise more dark intentions.

Also, much to his great displeasure, the man was smirking.

"You have your teammate to thank for this. You...were sold out."

TakeYourTime

When Sae Niijima reached the police station, she realized that there was a slight knot in her stomach, and her heart banging against her chest. Her feet carried her right past the doors and into the lobby, her destination being the open doors of an elevator, faster than what someone may have thought possible were she just strictly walking. Her palms were sweaty, her body was giving an occasional twitch of anxiety and fear, and she was constantly checking her wristwatch.

"They finally caught him," she muttered under her breath. "They actually caught the leader of the Phantom Thieves."

It left a bad taste in her mouth. Initially, she was put in charge of the operation and objective to capture the Phantom Thieves, though the Director of the SIU had grown impatient, so authority was transferred to someone else. It aggravated her greatly, knowing that she had once again been passed up the opportunity to go up the ladder, only to have that chance taken away. However, right now, she had to push her mindset out of there. Now that they had caught the Phantom, the leader of the notorious Phantom Thieves of Hearts, the group that had terrorized Japan, all that was left was to build a case against him. No doubt they were already trying to get information out of him in the interrogation room. Given that the room itself was underground, there were...many things that could happen here. Things that would otherwise be deemed unethical.

Then again, this wasn't a normal case, since even now, no one had any idea how exactly these illusive criminals were behind the mental shutdown cases, the psychotic breakdown incidents, or the cases involving Suguru Kamoshida, Ichiryusai Madarame, and Junya Kaneshiro. That was why Sae was here. She had to get to the truth of the matter, before anything unsavory happened to her only lead to this case. However...as she thought more and more about the matter, the more unsettled she became.

"Please," she whispered under her breath. "Don't let it be him."

The elevator doors opened. She took a deep intake of breath, and snapped her eyes open, letting her more serious nature take over. Without hesitation, she barreled out and went straight into the hallway. The interrogation room was in sight, guarded by two men. One was a police officer, stationed right outside the door, and the other was a detective, stone-faced with cold blue eyes, wearing a black suit. He noticed her approach, as the hallway was silent and the clacking of her heels gave away her position, thus he stepped forward, holding up a hand. "Excuse me, but this area is off-"

"I'm Sae Niijima," she said swiftly, cutting the man off with an edge in her voice. She had no time for this crap. "From the Public Prosecutors Office."

The man quirked an eyebrow. "The Prosecutors Office?" he scoffed. "What business do you have here?"

"Just let me through; it's urgent," Sae answered curtly, pinching her nose. Already, she just wanted to shove the man out of the way and enter the room. She needed to confirm so many things, and she wasn't about to let some detective screw her over that chance. Especially if the person in that room was who she thought it was. "There's something I need to confirm with the suspect."

"Niijima-san," the detective decided to oh-so-gratefully remind her with cold indifference. "Need I remind you that this case is no longer in your jurisdiction? Besides, you-"

A voice called out from behind them. "Are you Prosecutor Sae Niijima?" The silver-haired woman turned and found a man, a higher-up from the look of him, walking toward her with arms folded. "There's a call from your director. Please hurry up and get it over with. To be perfectly frank, you're being an inconvenience."

Sae bit back a scowl. Of course, there it was. That sexist, overbearing attitude she had grown so used to seeing. The smug attitude only made it worse. If it weren't for the fact that she had learned how to keep herself in check, she would have slugged the man. As he said, however, her cell phone in her bag began to whine. She removed it swiftly, answered the call, and pressed it to her ear.

[I thought I ordered you to stay on stand-by.]

"I'm responsible for this case," Sae spat out angrily, yet made sure to keep her voice level and as possibly in-line as possible. "Yet I'm not even allowed an interrogation?"

[I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up.]

She shook her head. "I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself," she reaffirmed, and stated with a clear tone she normally never used. "This is MY case."

[Good luck to you, then. I won't be expecting much, though...]

With that, the call ended. Sae felt quite bitter with how the call came out, but otherwise felt somewhat relieved. After all, her director had more or less gave her permission to interrogate the Phantom. As she slipped her phone back into her bag, the higher-up officer spoke, "Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important. Your time will be cut short. We can't have you talking with him for long." Sae bit her lip. She understood why. The Phantom was an unknown individual who used unknown means. He brainwashed, killed, and his methods were practically unknown. Currently, she believed that he was using Wakaba Isshiki's Cognitive Research, though how a mental perception of one's surroundings could be used to actually kill someone, or make them go crazy, was beyond her. Regardless, she gave a reluctant nod of understanding. "It's for your own sake. His methods are unknown. After all, we don't even know if its safe to simply meet and speak with him."

"...I understand."

With that, she turned on her heel, and walked towards the interrogation room door. The officer was kind enough to open the door for her, though he stood for a moment, as if asking whether or not he would have to accompany her, should things get hairy. Sae, however, shook her head. Afterwards, she stepped inside, and the door closed behind her. The interrogation room was dimly lit, but well enough to illuminate most of the room. It was at least slightly bigger than a cell, with steel plated walls as to prevent any...unusual attempts of escape. Like most interrogation rooms, it had a table and two chairs, each on opposing sides. Hanging from the ceiling was a light bulb, and hooked up on the corner was a camera, no doubt to record what happened. As she moved to sit in the chair opposing the suspect, she took a look at him.

Her fears became true, as her heart nearly dropped, as had her face. "...no matter how much I wanted to deny it," she said in sadness, her red eyes staring at the table rather than at the Phantom. "I thought it might have been you, Akira-kun."

The Phantom, Akira Kurusu, was a teenager, sixteen years old. His hair was a frizzy mess of black, barely coming down to the nape of his neck. His glasses, which he had no need for since he has 20/20 vision, were nowhere to be seen on him. He wore the traditional Shujin Academy uniform, albeit modified to his own tastes. Rather than a turtleneck sweater like many of the students, he wore a dress shirt with a black and red striped tie hanging loosely around his neck, and the black blazer left open. Below, his black and red plaid slacks were slightly ruffled, and his bag was gone, not that she expected it to be there. However, his form was...horrible. His skin was pale, water dripping from his face and mixed with sweat, eyes tired with dark rings and slightly bloodshot, bruises clear on his face, especially horrible on his left eye which was swollen, and cuff marks were clearly evident on his wrists.

Upon hearing his name, Akira raised his head, eyes tired and slightly hazy. Recognition flashed, as his eyes widened slightly, and looked a bit more lively, in contrast to how he looked when she saw him, defeated and brutalized. "Sae-san..."

Sae gave a small smile, whether because of her attachment to him, or because of her developed status as his guardian rather than as his proverbial guardian. She then noticed the syringe lying on the ground, a small pool of liquid underneath. Instantly, a scowl formed on her face. "Bastards," she snarled before she turned back to Akira, leaning forward with concern. "Are you alright, Akira-kun?"

"I'll live," he answered, albeit weakly. "Although...those guys really hit hard, don't they?"

In spite of the shape he was in, a smile, just so fitting of him, a smile that showed only the face of one who went about life like it was a game; a trickster's smile was clear on his face. In all honesty, were it not for that, Sae would have been worried. It looked like he was coherent, so she would be able to get the answers she needed. For now, she would put aside her familial attachment to him, and focus on the task at hand. "Akira-kun...at lot's happened, and almost anything can happen in here," she told him seriously. "Things that I can't stop. That's why," Sae leaned back in her chair, though she kept in eye contact with him. "I need you tell me everything, as honestly as you can. We don't have much time to talk."

He gave a slow nod.

Sae smiled slightly, though it barely lasted before she began questioning him. "What was your objective, Akira-kun? Why cause such a major incident? Quite honestly, I didn't treat this business like it was some sort of prank, or joke. But I could never form a prosecution case, because I lacked the facts." She paused, and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Because I lacked the knowledge of the method."

"And you wouldn't ever know, either," Akira responded rather cheekily for someone in his position. However, she gave a light chuckle.

"True...after all, who would believe reports of another 'world?' It would be hard to be convinced about such ludicrous claims just from a few reports. So...Akira-kun, answer me truthfully."

The prosecutor, and probation officer of Akira Kurusu, the Phantom and leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, leaned forward, and asked the fated question.

"When and where did you find out about that world?"

TO BE CONTINUED...