HELLSLAGGER

People watching had been a longtime hobby of his and now it was something that more often than not put food on the table for both Futaba and himself during their stay here. Working a normal job just wasn’t possible and so he’d taken to doing random portraits of people who left impressions on him as he saw them. It was nothing too grand, but some may consider it unsettling to see a young man sitting in the same spot every day, sketchbook in hand and a slew of poorly put together art supplies that he’d managed to scratch together one way or another. It wouldn’t be like this forever, at least that’s what he tells himself.

He’s well into his day, a canvas already filled with colors and shapes of all different kinds when Ryuji’s familiar voice speaks up to him. Yusuke doesn’t move, just continues on with drawing before finally looking up to where Ryuji stood in front of him. “Painting. I have to make a living somehow. A starving artist  must not go hungry. It’s become my duty to provide for Futaba as well.” Though all they ate these days were cheap ramen noodles and took the occasional visit to the soup kitchen downtown.

“Did you just get here? I checked for everyone’s name in the number directory and hadn’t come across yours even once.”

           The calm expression on Yusuke’s face, as well as his words, somehow put Ryuji ill at ease. He couldn’t quite pin down the reason, though instinct led him to believe it was the familiar way the other boy sat there, canvas in hand, as if he had done this many times over. Or that expression, did you just get here?, the implication that Yusuke had been in this city a long time subtle but clear. But Ryuji had never been a big thinker, and these reasons didn’t immediately jump out at him. So, he simply scuffed the heel of his sneaker against the pavement and shoved his hands in his pockets before speaking again.

   ❝ Futaba’s here, too? And... you’re providing for her? ❞ Even for Ryuji, the idea seemed almost comical. After all, Yusuke could barely feed himself most of them time, foregoing food for art supplies, so the fact that he was getting food for another made Ryuji skeptical. ❝ She’s not starving, is she? The boss would kill you if she is. ❞ At the mention of the Leblanc shopkeeper, he couldn’t help but frown slightly, the fact that he couldn’t visit the coffee shop hitting home to where he was.

           Cities were big places, especially when someone wasn’t used to them. And for the Hive, where the buildings shifted without warning and people from all different worlds resided, that was even more true. It would seem like an exceedingly rare case to come across someone that you knew in such a place by simply walking the streets, but sometimes chance and luck could lead you to the right place at the right time, and the fates could align just perfectly.

   And so as Ryuj, hands jammed in his pockets, kicked a can discarded on the sidewalk before him violently before following it with his eyes as it skittered across the street, his last thought would be that his gaze would land upon a familiar face. But, there he was. The same suit, the same pleasant smile, the same ever-present briefcase. Goro Akechi, the detective that had fallen out of grace after the Phantom Thieves’ rise to fame. The man whose very existence pissed Ryuji off.

           It wasn’t every day one was sent to another world. Even for someone who was used to taking regular trips into a cognitive reality separate from their own, something as big as being sent to the Hive would send a shock right through them. The strangeness of it, the foreign elements and the countless people who had come from every different walk of life made it impossible to adjust quickly. Even for Ryuji, who was more brawn than brain and tended to take things in stride, the experience was rattling. And, if he admitted, a little frightening.

   Which was why, upon coming across the familiar scene that lay before him, the Phantom Thief couldn’t help but think that it was a little out of place. And yet, at the same time, he felt a measure of relief. This, at least, he could deal with. After all, Yusuke being weird was just a normal occurrence when it came to Ryuji’s friend group.

damn……thats true you’re the LAST person i should’ve gone to

needle little money to take futaba out

needle

RYUJI SAKAMOTO ( SKULL ) OF PERSONA 5

16 years old / 5′9 / 135 pounds

a student at shujin academy and best friend of akira kurusu

a member of the phantom thieves, a super secret group whose goal is to reform society by changing the hearts of corrupt adults

a loudmouth who has trouble keeping secrets

has a heart of gold though

the former star of the track team before (spoilers)

will do pretty much anything for his friends

knuck knuck