Persona 5

Author’s Notes: The gorgeous piece of artwork shown above was commissioned by me and created by the Great RelleRtR (https://twitter.com/ReLLeRtheR/status/1727446415897461167) It was made specifically with Kasumi Yoshizawa’s storyline in mind, but since it is a nice group shot of the main female characters being naked and embarrassed I thought I’d put it here. Sets the mood rather well in my opinion.

His voice faded to a strained whisper as the visions in his mind once more began to slip out of clarity, falling away and running together as the elusive memories faded back into darkness. Like a sleeper being jarred awake, Joker once more found himself abandoning his recollections and slipping back into the cold, hard reality of his present. His throat was dry and heavy from speaking so long. The countless cuts and bruises from his interrogations and beatings continued to throb in protest. He was aware of a growing, aching pain in the back of his head like every caffeine addicted headache he had developed when skipping his morning coffee at Leblanc over the past year was now coming back to haunt him at the same time.

Slowly, painfully he raised his eyes back up to the intense stare of Sae Niijima. She sat across from him in the dark, bleak chamber that they shared. Her arms were crossed, the scowl on her face a blend of judgment, wonder and focus as she took in his account (again weighing each piece of information, whether to trust it or discard it, and once more reassessing her impressions of her now exposed nemesis).

Joker said nothing, expecting another prompt to help center his mind and provide a place to pick up the narrative he was untangling for the both of them. The silence stretched on and on. Joker's eyes narrowed in exhaustion and confusion. The look Sae was giving him had changed slightly. This wasn't the vicious, judgmental stare she had first confronted him with, nor the bewildered and awe filled look she occasionally assumed when the details of his account clicked into place despite the sheer absurdity of his statements, nor even the ever so brief yet increasingly frequent sparks of genuine camaraderie she occasionally flashed his way (despite her every effort, she was growing increasingly FOND of the bastard). This was...pensive, unsure, as if for the first time she was actually hesitant to ask her questions despite the time limit that was dogging them throughout the process. If Joker didn't know any better, he would swear she was starting to blush in the dim light.

"I wasn't going to ask about this...." She sighed at last. "But I need a full account. And as strange as your story has been so far, this incident still stands out to me." She withdrew another picture from her briefcase and slid it across the table to him.

Joker's eyes widened in disbelief as he began to remember. He felt his own face flushing to match his interrogator's as the events began to play out in his mind. He covered his mouth to hide the noise which threatened to escape from his throat, a combination of a laugh, a groan, and a small sigh of glee. The photo showed a familiar young woman, face contorted in a cry of dismay and terror, her body completely naked and poorly hidden behind her hands. Small black bars blotted out her exposed anatomy and hid her eyes from view, but Joker of course immediately knew her name.

"This can't be real." Joker rasped in disbelief.

"I gather you recognize the girl in the photo, then?" Sae asked slowly, leaning forward, an uncharacteristic blush on her face. Apparently the court room hardened prosecutor was feeling sympathetically bashful for the poor creature whose image had been caught in a moment of time, pride and dignity forever lost to her. Perhaps she felt some kinship, no doubt knowing the terror of standing before an audience unexpectedly humiliated when a rival counsel produces some unexpected bit of evidence to derail her carefully woven narrative of guilt. Joker shrugged inwardly, chalking it up to the general thaw in her attitude towards him and the life of the phantom thieves. He suspected deep down she deeply wished it could have been her, rather than her sister, to secretly flaunt the law and **** the true monsters of society to admit their guilt.

"Are you sure...this happened?" Joker said at last.

"I beg your pardon?"

"This feels...surreal. Like I'm moving in slow motion. Like I'm in a dream. And this...all of this...is absurd, isn't it? These palaces, this life...now suddenly naked girls are popping up. This is-"

"That's the effect of the ****! You need to focus on-"

"How can we be sure, though? Can you prove its real? What if this already happened? What if this is just...just a nightmare I keep reliving? This...." Joker gestured at the picture. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Very little of your story does." Sae noted. "But I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here. I need you to do the same. You are correct. I cannot 'prove' this is reality. All I can do is ask that you treat it as such until you are proven wrong. I think you want to tell me your story as much as I wish to listen. Are you really going to lose that chance based on a supposition?"

"No...." Joker muttered. This was important....vitally important. Somehow. For some reason. If only he could remember WHY he needed to tell her...

"I said FOCUS!" Sae said curtly. "Don't get lost in your own head. We're doing this, one step at a time. I know these ****. If you try to dig too deep too soon you'll only make yourself pass out."

Joker nodded, blinking and focusing. Staring. His eyes locked on the bare flesh before him. His smirk returned.

Sae drummed on the table after several minutes of silence. Joker gave her a side long look, then quickly went back to the picture. In utter exasperation Sae snatched the photo from his hands. "Yes, well done. Quite enough FOCUSING from you for now. SO..." She fixed Joker with a meaningful stare. "Tell me what you remember. How did this happen? Let's start simple. This girl....what was her name?"