The City of Hearts (P5) Protagonist x Reader Pt1

It's been two years already?

You stood alone at the train station. Everyone was supposed to meet you here. Yosuke, Yukiko, Chie and Yu, but apparently something came up. Something none of them could explain to you. It was always something they couldn't explain. They busied themselves with these missions for days at a time and the distanced was noted every time. You really began to wonder if they still cared that you would probably never see them again.

The familiar sound of the conductor reverberated throughout the area.

The train was to depart soon. If you did have a choice in the matter, it was invalid now. You made your way onto the train and found your empty seat waiting for you. 

It was time to say goodbye now. You looked down at a small picture in your hands. The back side said, 'We'll never forget you!' and all this other mushy stuff. Everyone in the picture looked so happy. These were the kind of memories you wish you were leaving behind. Leaving this place though, felt liberating. You didn't have to pretend anymore. You could finally go back to the city you called home and remain unseen from those surrounding you. The city was a place where you could either make a name for yourself or you could blend into the background. There was no betrayal for someone like you. You felt exhaustion slowly creep over your body and you found yourself drifting off to sleep. Rather than fighting your urges, you let the sounds of passing fields lull you to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You felt your arm move around involuntarily and soon found yourself waking. The stewardess had woken you and from your surroundings, it would seem that you were finally home. You felt the corners of your mouth creep into a sad smile. Standing silently, you thanked the stewardess and grabbed your things. You didn't even bother picking up the photograph from the ground. You didn't need the memories to drag you back to some place you couldn't blend with. The stewardess didn't even bother asking you about the dropped picture, so you kept walking straight off of the train, and out of the station.

First priority was to signal a cab and get home. The sounds of honking horns and people too busy to bother themselves with those around you brought a sense of glee to your face. Everything was back to the way it should be. You managed to flag down the first taxi you saw and hauled your stuff into the back. You hopped into the cab and told him your destination. The silent ride was all too relaxing, until the driver decided to strike up a chat.

"A nice looking girl like you should be watching yourself. These days we got a bit of trouble running 'round these parts."

You remained silent for a second pondering. Wasn't there always trouble? And why would it concern you? You let out a small laugh, "Isn't there always? It is the big city after all!"

"But this ain't usual stuff, girl. These thieves calling themselves Phantoms and Thieves of Hearts and what not. Seems like they all the news nowadays..."

You sighed. "Well I don't think I have much to be concerned over. My apartment is nothing special and nothing in it is really worth stealing either."

The man looked at you through his rear view mirror. How could you speak so nonchalantly about all of this? Unlike every other girl your age, you didn't seem to care for any of it. He let out a small chuckle. "I don't know if I'm relieved that my customer isn't a super fan, or if I'm just concerned because you don't seem alarmed by any of this."

As rain began to descend on the city you let out a small smile. "It's a nice break, huh?"

The rest of the ride was quiet, minus the pitter patter on your window. Everyone around you was walking with bags or umbrellas on their heads, desperately keeping dry. Unlike out in Inaba, taxis were so common that no one bothered to look at the occupant inside. The windows and doors served as a shield from the rest of the world. 

The city's scenery began to transition from high end shops and large corporate buildings to smaller boutiques and more residential apartment complexes, you began to feel a nostalgic feeling in your gut. Slowly, but surely, you were returning to city life. Soon enough you saw the top floor of your apartment building creep into view and sure enough, the taxi slowed down and gradually came to a stop in front of your building. This was it. You paid the man and he helped you get all of your bags into the calling area of your building. 

"Now you be careful, young lady! I hope the city treats you as nice as it did before!"

You waved and thanked the man. You pressed in the code for your apartment and walked all of your stuff up to the door of the elevator which, to your dismay, read 'Out of Order'.

"Well shit on you too, universe..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You somehow managed to make it up 5 flights of stairs with all of your belongings. You turned in the rusty key to your apartment and dragged your stuff into a small, modest apartment. You were already exhausted from the trip, but lugging all of your stuff up the stairs was the real drag... How much longer til I can sleep? You inwardly groaned as you read 2:00pm clear as day on your phone. You needed some coffee... now. You grabbed your (f/c) jacket and threw on some sneakers. You walked out with your phone and wallet in a your pants pockets and walked down the hall with your keys hanging from your mouth while you put your hair back in a messy ponytail. 

As you walked through the lobby, you wondered if your favorite coffee shop was still open. It was a small, family run business, which was tough to find these days. As you walked outside, you noticed it was still drizzling so you put up your hood and began your trek. You figured the extra distance would be worth it. It was for a good cause, after all. Somewhere along the way, you began to fiddle with your phone began to ring. You flipped it open and were about to answer the call...

But it was only Yu...

He was probably with the rest of them too. You silenced the call stuffed your hands into your pockets, walking at a faster rate than before. Hopefully you could get that long awaited coffee soon, or you swore you would punch the next guy you saw. Soon enough, you saw the delightful lights were lit. But it wasn't the name you were used to... It was still a coffee shop, but now it said, Sumikon...

The fuck is Sumikon?

Though you hadn't come for Sumikon, coffee was coffee to you at this point. You walked in and noticed the seemingly quiet shop. It was warm, but not welcoming as you were used to. There were a few customers sitting alone and there was one small trio sitting at a table who looked to be about your age. It felt... strange. A worker from behind the counter greeted you.

Taking that as your cue, you wiped your feet on the doormat and walked over, soaking from the rain. The worker seemed a bit weirded out by your attire. Not only were you dripping wet from the rain, but your clothes were so much more casual than the rest of the customers.

"Um... Hi. I-I know this is a weird question to ask you, but do you know what happened to the old cafe that was here before..?"

You covered your arms in shelter from the cool atmosphere. Damn you were definitely going to catch a cold for this...

"Huh? You mean the one that closed down a year and a half ago? From what I heard the owner caught pneumonia at old age and passed away. We relocated here a few weeks after. Were you here to visit or..?"

"Ah... I see. Sorry, I just moved back and was looking forward to a strong cup of coffee to help me unpack. Got any kind of special brew?"

"Oh! Of course. Well we have our signature lat-"

"Oh nothing like that I mean... I was only looking for black coffee. Large please?"

The worker nodded and turned around to get your coffee. Just as you walked to the register to pay you noticed the small 'table-trio' was staring blankly at you. You couldn't lie, it was a bit creepy. Just then your phone began to ring. You looked down at the caller I.D and noticed it was a number you weren't familiar with. You took another glance around the room and noticed that most people had left the cafe at this point and it was really only the barista, the trio and you left. Taking that as your chance, you picked up. "Hello?"

"Oh, (f/n)-san, you picked up."

You froze for a second and almost dropped your coffee. "H-hi Narukami-kun. What's up?" 

"We were just wondering why you weren't at Junes today. Remember, we all agreed to meet up?"

The ignorance in his voice was irritating. You would think that even a 'friend' would remember the day you were moving back to a city hours away. But still, you decided to play nice. You sighed, a bit disappointed with the people you had hung out with for the past two years. Of course Yu had come about halfway through, you still would have expected more. Honestly between the elevator and the coffee, you could have used even an insincere farewell...

"Well Narukami-kun, I told you all that today was the day I was moving back to the city. Remember, you all had other business to attend to..?"

You heard a couple curses from various voices so you had assumed you were on speaker.

Sigh... "Hi guys..."

"(f-f/n)-san, I'm so sorry we missed it!"

"Y-yeah me too! We'll make it up to you, I swear!"

It's funny how sincere they sounded right now...

"Guys seriously, don't worry about it. It really isn't much of a big deal. My train left really early anyways."

"That's still not a reason we shouldn't have been there! Man, I wish we'd just moved the plan-"

Just then, you heard thunder boom from outside the cafe door and the sudden noise made you scream and drop your piping hot coffee all over your jacket. Luckily for you, it had cooled down quite a bit.

"Ah.Fuck.Goddamnthathurt." You mumbled incoherent as the barista ran around from the counter to aid you. "I-I'm fine, please. I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused you." The barista shook his head and went to grab some towels and some ice.

You notice a hand in front of your face and looked up to meet a handsome one. He was cute, in a kind of dorky way, but the way he looked at you earlier had given you enough reason to believe that he wasn't going to help you up for the sake of your well-being.

"Are you alright?"


His voice was smooth and casual, but you still didn't believe a thing you saw so you rejected the help. Those who seek out for their own sake are the exact kind of people you don't like to associate yourself with. And at this point, that included most of the world's population.

"I'm fine, seriously... I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused to you and your friends."

"You just spilled fresh coffee all over your skin, which is brewed at 96 Celsius, you should be a bit more careful."

Alright shitbag you liste-

"No, I'll be fine, I promise not to cause you all any more disturbance, so you can go sit back down."

The sooner you could get this guy off your back, the sooner you could head back and take a scalding hot shower. Damn it was cold. You knew you were definitely coming down with something, but you weren't sure how fast the effects would take in. And on top of all of that, there was thunder outside and you were a solid 20 min walk from home. Perfect first day away from Inaba, right?

Speaking of which, you hadn't hung up on the little group yet. You picked up your phone, rose to your feet and interrupted a very concerned Chie.

"H-hey calm down,. Chi-CHIE SHUT UP I'M NOT DEAD!"

The boy in front of you chuckled and walked back to his little friend group.

Filthy prick. "Chie, I'm fine. I just spilled coffee on myself."

"You sure your okay? Sounded a lot worse than just coffee..."

"Yes I am perfectly fine-and oh wow would you look at that, I'm back at my apartment, gotta go unpack! I'll call you later, m'kay? Bye!"

Before anyone else on the line could get a word in, you hung the phone up and let out a sigh. Another sound of thunder came from outside the window and you flinched. Thunder or any loud, threatening noises really weren't your thing. The barista soon returned with ice and a towel to get up the coffee. You crouched down and helped the man wipe up the coffee, rejecting the cold ice pack which your burns surely needed right now. Despite the burning sensation on your chest and the uncontrollable shivering, you were more focused on how you were getting home. You didn't have any headphones or any music you could block out the thunder with and you had to admit, it wasn't the best idea to walk a long distance in the rain. 

Once you finished helping the man with your little mess, you stood up and bowed slightly, apologizing once more for your disturbance. He thoroughly insisted that it was fine and asked if you would be alright going home in such weather. You smiled gently and reassured the man. As you were walking out he ran from around the counter and offered you a new cup of coffee and offer 'best wishes' on unpacking and settling down. You smiled and thanked him, though a certain gaze caught your eye. Your face was already a slight tint of pink from your rising fever, so you knew that your rosy cheeks would be hidden from his view. You turned and ran out the shop doors and down the street in the pouring rain.

Meanwhile, a certain someone had caught a glimpse of your old school I.D while he was trying to help you up. He smirked in his seat as he watched you run from the entrance of the cafe.

(l/n) (f/n) of Inaba, huh? Welcome back to the city of Hearts...

Surely, the two of you would cross paths again.