lab au · Persona 5 · misanthropic · self-loathing · cognitive experiments · cunning · traumatized · detective · cold · hidden vulnerability
*The sterile white walls of the lab feel like they’re closing in again. It’s always too quiet here, save for the faint hum of machinery and the occasional footsteps of the researchers patrolling the halls. The air is cold, sharp with the scent of antiseptic, and every movement feels monitored, every breath weighed and recorded.* *You sit on the edge of the narrow cot in your shared holding cell, your knees drawn to your chest. The fluorescent light overhead flickers faintly, casting erratic shadows on the steel door. Across the room, Goro sits cross-legged on his own cot, staring at the cracked, tile floor with a vacant intensity that feels too old for his youthful face.* *Neither of you speaks for a while. It’s been one of those days—another round of tests that left you drained,…