[WARNING]

This entire story (ESPECIALLY THIS FIRST CHAPTER) contains spoilers for P5R. Some things that take place in this chapter will either not make any sense to you at all, or will completely spoil some of the things that are only revealed very late into the game. By reading any further, you are subjecting yourself to this. If you have not experienced P5R for yourself yet, I would highly recommend doing that first.

This story is a reimagination of another fanfiction I wrote last year. You do NOT need to read that first. The story will have a multitude of different changes in it to help differentiate it from the original.

July 31st, Last Year (Friday)

Evening - Home

Despite how quiet it was in the house, today was an exciting day for everyone Toya's age. Summer break was finally here. Starting today, for an entire month, Toya had no school-related responsibilities. He could finally relax, without the pressure of deadlines and exams weighing him down. However, even though his next day of school was over an entire month away at this point, he was already working on his summer homework. He wanted to get it out of the way immediately, that way he could relax throughout the rest of the break without having anything to worry about. But then, as he was getting through his work, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in!" He called out, putting his pencil down and looking towards the door to his room. And then, sure enough, his father walked through the door. Or, well, 'father' was only true to an extent. The man who entered his room, Eishi Kazero, was by no means related to Toya whatsoever. But that didn't really matter to him. The two of them got along like a 'real' father and son would, so he didn't care.

"Already getting through your homework, huh?" Eishi said, softly chuckling. "Yep. That's definitely a you thing to do."

"You know me, Dad. I've always been diligent about this kinda stuff."

"That's true, that's true. Hey- I got you a little something." He said, pulling a white box out from behind him, one that was small enough to hold with just one hand. "Catch!" He said, gently tossing it towards Toya's direction.

"What's this?" Toya questioned, grabbing hold of the box and staring at it.

"It's… Well, to be honest, it's probably not a gift you'd expect to get. Go on, open it up." Toya tilted his head at his father's response, but despite this, he opened the box in his hands, and was met with a soft, purple piece of fabric. He slowly took hold of it, pulling it out and letting the box fall to the bed.

"Is this a bandana…?"

"Go ahead, put it on. Make sure you cover most of your face with it, alright? I'll explain it all in a second, don't worry."

"Alright…" Toya was confused, but he had no reason to really decline his father's request. He held both ends of the fabric and tied it around his head, covering a majority of his face with it, all the way up to his nose. "You mean like this?"

"Yeah, perfect! It looks pretty good on you, too. Matches your eyes and everything!" Eishi was surprisingly ecstatic to see how well it fit on him, showing a bright smile.

"Yeah, but… What's it for? Like you said, this isn't something I was really expecting you to get me."

"Well, no. but this isn't just some normal occasion- this is for something special. Something really special."

"Something special…? Is there some culture festival going on that I'm not aware of?"

"No, no it's nothing like that." Eishi laughed, seeing how clueless Toya was about it. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, alright? For now, just relax. And make sure you hold on to that!" Before Toya could give a proper response, Eishi walked away, closing the door behind him.

"What was that all about…?" Toya thought to himself, taking the bandana off and holding it in his hand, staring at it. There had to be some kind of reason that he gave this to him, but Toya couldn't think of it. He found himself staring at the bandana, unable to pry his eyes away from it. It felt important… Like he had a responsibility of some kind. He had no idea what, though. But, something about it felt so important…

April 10th, 20XX (Sunday)

Daytime - Shujin Academy

"Hey- wake up!" Reality hit him like a truck, as Toya's eyes jolted open. It was just a dream- or rather, a flashback. He hadn't even realized that he dozed off, so he was in a complete daze when he finally came to. It took him a moment to get himself together and figure out his surroundings. He was in the passenger seat of a car, and the person driving it was his 'brother', Kai Kazero. Just like with his father, the two of them weren't blood related, but they were still family. He wasn't as close to his brother as he was to his father, though. Once he had finally got himself together, he looked out the window and saw that they had stopped in front of a school, Shujin Academy. He sighed, and then looked at his hand… Just like in his dream, he was holding a purple bandana. The one that his father gave to him last year.

"...Sorry. I didn't intend to doze off." Toya responded, putting his bandana back in his pocket.

"No, it's fine." Kai took a deep breath, before opening the car door and stepping outside. "Well? Are you coming?"

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm coming." Toya slowly opened the door on his side, softly closing it behind him. All of his movements were slow, and void of any energy, especially compared to how he was a month ago. Kai noticed this right away, but he didn't say anything about it. There wasn't anything to say about it, in his opinion. Toya was depressed, and with his reasoning, who could blame him? Kai certainly couldn't, especially considering the fact that he was experiencing some of the same symptoms as his brother. Though, it wasn't to the same extent- not even close.

"Come on. We don't wanna keep your new principal waiting." Kai said, as he started walking into the school building with Toya lagging behind him. The two of them walked through the barren school halls together, that Toya would soon have to roam on a near-daily basis. This was Shujin Academy, and starting tomorrow, this would be his new school. He still wasn't excited about moving away, but there wasn't anything that could be done about it. Without saying as much as a word, the two of them finally reached the door to the principal's office, where they heard other voices speaking to each other.

"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. In my opinion, you're nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider… Whatever you might've gotten away with in your homework… those days are over. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind."

"There's another transfer student?" Kai said, listening in on the conversation. "Wait… Is it that one?"

"That one?"

"He's your age. He was a normal kid, but… He got convicted for a crime, and sent here on probation for a year."

"He's on probation? What'd he do?"

"He attacked a government official, or something like that." Kai looked towards the ground for a moment, before turning back towards Toya. "Look- just try to stay away from him, alright? Associating with people like that brings you nothing but trouble." Toya sighed in response, averting his eyes away. A moment later, the door to the principal's office opened, with two people walking out of it. One of them was the other transfer student, and the other one was the person that Toya could only assume was the boy's guardian. "You're…!" Kai froze up, taking a glance at the man who was walking with the transfer student.

"Hm?" He said, turning around to face Kai. "Sorry, do I know you?"

"Ah… No, sorry. You just looked like someone I used to know. Sorry for the confusion." He averted his eyes away from the man, and then looked towards the transfer student. He looked relatively calm, much to his and Toya's surprise. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would actually harm a government official- or anyone, for that matter. Though, despite their efforts, they couldn't get a good look into the transfer student's eyes due to the glasses on his face.

"Well, alright." The man said, turning towards the transfer student with him. "Come on. We have to get back to the shop." He turned away from Toya and Kai, walking towards the exit with the transfer student following close behind.

"He's the one who took in the transfer student…? Him?" Kai mumbled to himself, looking towards the two of them as they walked away.

"So you do recognize him?" Toya asked, as his eyes trailed down to the floor. He couldn't bring himself to care much about the transfer student, despite his brother seeming concerned about what he's like.

"He used to work for the government a few years ago. I never met him personally, but… Well, he's someone I've always had a more personal interest in."

"Personal interest? Is he part of a case you're looking into?"

"...Something like that. Anyways, we've stalled long enough. We should get going." Kai turned around, looking towards the door to the principal's office and walking toward it.

"Personal interest…" Toya thought to himself, starting to follow Kai into the principal's office. "Could he be relevant to thatcase?"

April 10th, 20XX (Sunday)

Afternoon - Shibuya

"The same class…" Toya spoke in a soft tone, taking a glance at his student ID. He was in the same class as the new transfer student, who was found guilty for assaulting a government official. The sheer thought of that made him feel like he was going to have a difficult time adjusting to his new life here- even more difficult than he had anticipated.

"I know I told you to keep your distance, but… It may work out in my favor if you two got to know each other."

"You want me to be on speaking terms with a criminal?"

"You saw him too, didn't you? He doesn't look aggressive. Hell, he's wearing fake glasses. It's very unlikely that he'd pick a fight with you if you started talking to him." Kai sighed, putting his hands back on the wheel as he finally began nearing the end of traffic. "Besides… His guardian is a point of interest to me."

"You said you have a personal interest in him. Is that because-"

"Don't finish that." Kai completely cut Toya off, surprising him. "This isn't something you should be getting involved with. It's… too dangerous for you. Please."

"...Right. I get it." He had no choice but to accept this. Kai wasn't as lenient as his father was, after all. If it was connected to that case in any way, there's no way that Kai would let him know. He's always kept things like that close to himself.

"Anyways… We have one more place to go today. We're off to see a friend of mine."

"What for?"

"He's a therapist. I met him a couple years back when looking into something for work. He's a talented guy… One that Eishi would want you to go see." Kai let out a big sigh. "Even if he is a complete fool."

"A fool…?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. He has a good heart and an even better goal. He wants to fix everyone's problems in the world with his research. With his goal, the world would be an amazing place. An amazing, beautiful… unrealistic world." With the way Kai spoke, it was fairly evident that he had conflicting feelings on this person and their ideals. It sounded like he wanted them to be true, but didn't believe in the world enough for it to ever happen. It sounded like something Kai would think, according to Toya's mental image of him. "Well, you'll see what I mean. Come on, we're here." He stepped out of the car and closed it behind him.

"A therapist trying to help the world with his research? He might be related to this case too." Toya stepped outside of the car, closing the door behind him and walking forward with his head down. "Just how deep does this go, Kai? What did you get yourself into? What did you get Dad into…?"

April 10th, 20XX (Sunday)

Afternoon - Therapist's Office

"Go on, take as much time as you need. I'll be waiting out here." Kai took a seat and took his phone out, diverting his attention away from Toya for a brief moment. Toya took a deep breath before turning towards a door, one where he could only imagine the therapist in question was waiting, and knocked on it.

"Come on in!" A cheerful voice called out from inside, inviting Toya inside and leading his hand towards the doorknob.

"Toya." Kai spoke in a stern tone, quickly catching Toya's attention. He turned his head, making eye contact with Kai. "You remember your story, correct?" Kai stared daggers right at Toya. He wasn't just looking into his eyes, he was staring directly at his very soul, and his words pierced just as deep as his gaze.

"...Yes. I do." Toya responded as calmly as he could, before quickly breaking eye contact and opening the door he had reached out to, stepping inside. Once he was inside, he was met with a man with a gentle expression sitting in a chair, with an open seat across from him. On the table between the two seats was a bowl filled to the brim with various different types of candy. Toya slowly walked forward, taking the empty seat across from the therapist.

"So, you're Kai's younger brother, huh? I was starting to think I'd never meet any of his family!" He said, happily smiling.

"We're… not related. Not by blood, at least."

"Ah, right. He mentioned that once a few months back." Immediately, toya could start to see what Kai meant by his descriptions of the man. He had this aura around him, a gentle one, but still very noticeable. "I'm Dr. Maruki. I'll be your counselor. Thank you for taking Kai's advice on seeing me."

"Oh… Yeah. Thanks for agreeing to see me…" Toya averted his eyes away from the man. The overwhelming positivity coming from him was too much for the mindset Toya had. "Am I just… Supposed to say what's been bothering me? Sorry, I don't really know what I'm meant to do in this discussion… In truth, I would have never come if Kai didn't recommend it."

"That's fine. We can just chat for a while and see how you feel later, if that's what you'd like."

"We can just… chat?"

"It's not really possible for us to talk about things you don't want to talk about. I've heard bits and pieces of it from Kai, but he never told me the full story. But, from the bit I do know, I can't imagine it being easy to just say."

"Kai told you some stuff, huh…?"

Kai: "You remember your story, correct?"

Toya: "...Yes. I do."

"...What did he say?"

"Well, he told me about how you two came home together… and what you found." His demeanor changed as the words came out of his mouth, but only for a moment. He did his best to keep smiling. Whether or not that was an act or not wasn't something Toya could tell right off the bat.

"...We went out to get lunch together. Me and Kai hadn't really gotten to know each other that well, so he took me out as a way for the two of us to get to know each other a little better. At least, that was the intention of it. But when we got home… we saw him. Father, on the ground…" Toya dug his nails into his pants as he spoke, recalling the story.

"Lies…" He thought to himself, keeping his eyes away from Maruki's. "A complete web of lies…" Despite his best efforts to hold them back, a single tear began falling from his eyes, gently slipping down his cheek and dripping onto his hand.

"Please, don't feel pressured to continue yet. We can work at whatever pace you feel comfortable with." Maruki said in an attempt to calm Toya down a bit. "You did a wonderful job explaining that. Why not just take a breather?"

"Yeah… Okay." Toya did his best to try and calm down, but it wasn't exactly working. There were a large variety of emotions running through his mind, but they ultimately equated to one central feeling going through him: pain.

"Let's try changing topics a little bit. What's something you enjoy doing?"

"Something I enjoy?"

"Yeah. It could be any kind of hobby- whatever it is that brings you happiness."

"If I had to pick something, then it'd probably be my training."

"Training? What kind of training is it?"

"A little under a year ago, my father began physically training me. He was a kickboxing instructor, and on my first day of summer break last year, he asked if he could start training me."

"Kickboxing, at that age? You were only a first year in high school then, weren't you?"

"I was confused too. But I had no reason to disobey him. He's the only father I can remember ever having, after all."

"I see… So, what do you plan on doing? Do you think you'll try to go somewhere with your training? You could potentially make a career out of that, you know."

"A career out of…" Toya's words trailed off as he felt a sharp pain in both his chest and his head, spawned purely from the overwhelming guilt that plagued his mind. "...No. It wouldn't be right." He finished, bringing his hand up to his head and grabbing onto it.

"Wouldn't be right…? What makes you say that?" An audible concern was present in Maruki's voice, still trying to keep a calm yet caring demeanor about him.

"It just wouldn't feel right. After what I…" Toya stopped himself. His mind rushed back to the last time he saw his father. He took his hand off of his head and held it in front of him, staring into his palms. "So tainted…"

"Tainted?"

"My hands. Ever since that day… my hands feel so tainted." His hands slowly fell to his sides, as he looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I'm far beyond any help that you can provide- or anyone, for that matter."

"Surely that can't be true."

"It is. What I've done is irredeemable. I'll have to pay for my crimes…" Toya slowly got out of his seat, turning away from Maruki. "I'll be taking my leave. Again, I apologize for wasting so much time." Not even turning back to look Maruki in the eyes, Toya began heading for the door.

"W-Wait!" Maruki called out, reaching his hand out. Toya stopped moving, slightly turning his head. "Please. I'm sure that whatever it is… There's an answer to it that you haven't considered yet."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew everything."

"Then I'll listen to everything you have to say. Every little bit."

"...Why? I don't have anything that I can give you in return… It's seriously just a waste of your time."

"You're in need of help. I refuse to believe that there's no hope for your situation at all. So please, try to tell me whatever it is that's plaguing your mind, and allow me to try to help."

"You're serious…" Toya closed his eyes, clenching his fists. He turned back around, walking towards Maruki's direction and taking a seat.

"Whatever it is you think you've done, I'd like to hear it. All of it."

"If you insist…" Toya closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding onto his legs. "Well, to start off… me and Kai never went out that day. I hadn't seen Kai in weeks, maybe even months at that point. Me and my father were both home. Like I said earlier, he had been physically training me. It went on for months at that point, and I guess he thought I was getting better. So… He wanted to fight. A real, genuine fight- not like the sparring we had done before. He didn't want me to hold back- and he wasn't going to hold back either. So I agreed… That's when it happened." He took another deep breath, clenching his fists. "That's how he died. By the idiocy of the kid he adopted..." He grit his teeth, as tears slowly began to form in his eyes. "Stupid… So stupid…!" He raised his fist into the air, before quickly smashing it back down against his leg.

"Toya…"

"All I wanted to do was to make him proud… The one person that took me in! Every single second of that training was all to make my father proud- and for what!? So I could kill him!?" Toya grunted, raising his fist once more and bashing his leg, a mixture of anger and sorrow ravaging his mind. "And I can't… I can't even tell anyone! My brother already lied to the cops, so if they find out what happened, then I'm ruining his life, too! So what can I do!?"

"You can continue living." Maruki's words pierced straight through Toya's psyche. "No matter what kind of guilt you feel… You did what your father asked of you. No matter how things turned out. He wouldn't want you to live a life where you're constantly blaming yourself for the grievance of your family. I don't think Kai wants that for you, either."

"Kai wasn't joking…" Toya didn't lift his head, staring straight at the ground with his hands clenched around his legs tightly. "Amazing… Beautiful… And…"

"...Impossible." His head continued to hang low, not even trying to lift it up anymore. "How am I supposed to just do that? I've been riddled with this guilty feeling… I can never just let it go and live my life normally after that. If Kai's story was the truth, then sure. But, as is… It's simply not feasible."

"Sure it is." Maruki's calm voice had a hint of cheer in it. Toya's curiosity finally got the better of him, and he slowly lifted his head up.

"What do you-" Before Toya could finish speaking, he could feel time around him stop for a brief moment. And within the vast moments of stopped time, he could feel something in his head begin to change. He couldn't even process what it felt like, he could only tell that something was happening to him. He closed his eyes for a moment, but even with his eyelids sealed shut, he could see a bright flash of light engulfing him- not the world around him, just him. And yet, this feeling of something happening to him- the feeling of a mysterious force engulfing him and showering him in its light… It was soothing. Something about it was so beautifully calming, and for the first time in a very long time, it gave his mind peace. It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of him- or rather, as if shackles were removed from his soul. He felt free. Free to have emotions once more, free to feel like he was worthy of the life he was given by his adoptive father. The tears stopped flowing down his cheeks, as time seemed to begin moving once more.

"Well? How do you feel?" Maruki asked, snapping Toya back to reality.

"I feel… Empty, in a weird way. Like I just let my entire mind go free." He removed his hands from his legs and glanced at them. For some reason in the back of his head, he expected to feel something when he looked at them, but he didn't. He just felt normal. "I don't really know how to explain this."

"Haha, that's okay. Letting out so much stress feel liberating, but it also comes with a large chunk of confusion, doesn't it?"

"Yeah… It does. But I don't dislike it at all." Toya slowly stood up, stretching a bit and taking deep breaths. "Whatever happened to my father… It's too late to be worrying about it. Like you said, he'd want me to continue living my life, wanting me to be as happy as I possibly could, while honoring the path he put me on. So that's exactly what I'll do from this day on!" Toya's voice was ecstatic. He was infinitely happier than he was before, so much show to the point where he finally started to smile, for the first time ever since his father passed away.

"I see… So you've stopped blaming yourself."

"...Huh? Blaming myself for what?" Toya tilted his head, giving Maruki a confused look.

"Oh, nothing." Maruki slowly got out of his seat and extended his arm outward. "I'm glad I could help you. Keep your chin up no matter what happens, okay?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Toya shook Maruki's hand while keeping eye contact with him. He felt indebted to Maruki for this feeling of ease, but he couldn't explain why. Perhaps all he really needed was to let out his pent up frustrations- that's how he perceived it, at least.

"It's starting to get late. You should be on your way home soon. I take it you're starting at a new school tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Oh, right! I still have to unpack a lot of stuff at home, too." Toya broke the handshake and turned around, walking towards the door. "Thanks for everything, Doctor!" He said, quickly opening the door and walking out.

April 10th, 20XX (Sunday)

Evening - Kazero Household

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kai said as he and Toya walked into their home, letting out a big yawn.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll manage myself perfectly fine tomorrow." Toya yawned as well, stretching his arms out. "I'm exhausted though… I think I'm gonna head to bed early tonight."

"Good. You're starting at a new school tomorrow. First impressions are important, so you better get all the rest you can." Kai started rubbing his eyes, beginning to walk upstairs. "I'm pretty beat, too. I'm gonna turn in for the night."

"You too." He watched his brother walk upstairs, before following him and entering his own room. Well, it was hardly his room. Originally it was just a guest room that, for the most part, was fairly unused. But due to the unforeseen circumstances, it was repurposed as Toya's bedroom. It was still a bit messy, though. Toya lacked the motivation to actually clean it at all until recently, but now he lacked the energy.

"First thing tomorrow…" He thought to himself as he walked toward his bed, quickly laying down. His eyes felt really heavy tonight. The talk he had with Maruki took a lot more out of him than he had anticipated. Within mere moments of laying down, his eyes closed on their own and he drifted off to sleep. It felt like it was going to be a good night's rest, unlike the nights that had been coming before this.

April 11th, 20XX (Monday)

Early Morning - Kazero Household

"And… done…" Toya collapsed onto his bed again. After neglecting it for so long, he finally got around to cleaning up his room. "That took way too long… I don't wanna do anything for the rest of the day…" He said, as he slowly began to close his eyes.

"You're going to be late if you close your eyes now."

"WHAT THE HELL-" Toya's eyes jolted back open and he jumped up, getting on his feet. "Who was that!? Who's here!?"

"You're not going to find anything like that."

"Who the hell are you!? What do you want!?"

"I want you to get to school on time. We don't want to be late on our first day, do we?"

"We…? What are you-" A sudden realization hit Toya. He took out his phone, turning the screen on and looking at the time. "Wait, it's THAT late already!? You're joking!" Toya grabbed his bag, quickly putting it on and starting to head towards the door. "But… Who the hell are you!? And what did you mean by 'we'...?"

"I can explain that to you on your way to school. Now go."

"Damn it… Okay, fine! But you better explain everything!" Toya yelled, quickly running out of his room and making his way towards the subway station.

That's surely one way to start your new life somewhere, isn't it? I'd say that it at least can't get any weirder from this point on, but... Nah, it totally will get weirder.

Thank you all for reading the first chapter of this story. There's a lot to unpack, and if you've read the original, you can probably already tell that this is going to be a MUCH longer story than the original. I'm going out of my way to be more in-depth on everything, with the hopes of having a fully fledged story by the end of it, with every arc reaching a fitting conclusion, and no questions being left unanswered. That being said, it's going to take a LONG time to get there.

I'd appreciate any kind of feedback on this first chapter. And, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a review. I'll answer any questions at the end of the last chapter. Keep in mind that I post on both FFN and AO3, so I'll have probably have questions from both websites.

Or, if you want to ask me something else, feel free to contact me on Twitter ( Kazero5340). I check Twitter often enough to get back to any questions you all may have.