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⠀ ⠀ ⠀ warning ⚠️ | This story will include signs and mentions of physical abuse. If this is a trigger for you, do not read this under any circumstances as this is just the natural nature of Persona 5's topics. Thank you.

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⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨͟𝐠͟𝐮͟𝐞

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⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ❝ 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞 ... ?

——— 🔹

The red haired girl's head jolted to look before her, poppy eyes coming into contact with the bulging bloodstained eyes of an old and strange man before her. His body is seemingly long, his nose large, and his expression ... insane. Beside him stood a boy in blue and white. He honestly looked like a saint in comparison to the insane looking man.

　　　Around them all was a room of blue, with many paintings. Paintings of good times. Paintings of bad times. Gruesome, morbid times ...

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ " h-huh..? "

She heard him loud and clear, just.. not expecting to hear a question like that, from someone she'd been standing before in what felt like an eternity of silence. Unfortunately, it seemed to go over the sane boy's head, as he approached a single step forward.

" what my master was trying to say was ——— "

A hand was raised by the master, silencing the young man instantly. He had a large, toothy grin on his face as the younger one stepped back and remained in silence.

" Surely, after all you have been through, there would be something ... "

The girl in red looked down, shamefully, at her body. Bruises. So many of them covered her collarbone and thighs ... and those were just what was exposed. There were more, but were kept hidden to the public by an oversized fur line sweater and black long-socks. Somehow the scary man could see right through her.

" You've been through so much. Endured so much. "

She was not strong either - tears welled in her eyes with the mere mention of her pain.

" anything ..? I'd make it stop, " the girl's words were spoken barely above a murmur, but were easily heard as tears fell. But her tone progressively grew louder as she spoke. " I'd make all of this stop ! all the abuse, the sleepless nights, I'd make it all go away ! "

There was visible guilt upon the young man's face, and yet upon the elder, the expression never changed. The girl seemed not to notice, be it from melancholy or naïveté.

" What if I told you I could help with that ? " the man asked. Her eyes looked up to meet his, before the rest of her body conformed to the more dignified, polite stance. Though sadness was still ever present in her eyes, her face lit up like the sun when hearing that maybe she could get out of her struggles.

" Really — ?! " she asked, much louder than before.

" yes. I need, from you, something in return though. "

" Okay — I do not have much to lose, so I am okay with anything. "

The girl approached the desk at which the master was seated. A paper was slid across, with a stamp seal containing a V.

A literal contract ...

She signed it instantly - without reading what the contents had to say.

As the letters were formally signed one at a time, the canvas' paint began to run unrealistically - as if the paint were never dried to begin with. The pictures upon them all melted together into nothingness, before the canvases became void of color at all. The girl's eyes became heavy. Not from tiredness, rather ... a feeling of unwellness. Her head started to hurt, yet she followed through with the signature...

After the final dot of a letter was added, the girl's body began to give in, collapsing to the floor. And yet the man was not surprised. If anything, he expected it. He took the contract from the desk, eyes darting to the name ...

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　　　𝒮𝒶𝓎𝒶𝓀𝒶 𝒟𝓊𝒷ℴ𝒾𝓈.