#she’s miss yasogami to me

[m0e-ru]

p4 pokemon au where all problems are because of some stupid zoroark cracked with action replay

maul me over as much as you want over poke partner choices because idgaf im going to start yapping under the cut (2.5k words are yuo joking ?)

um where can i start

i wanna make it clear im sure these characters would all have different pokemon teams if they were playing pokemon on the nintendo ds, like, souji could be a rest staller if he wanted to. but anyway, heres my idea of who these guys would partner up with because i think it’s fun. and none of this is final i could give namatame a goomy too AHAHA

oh another disclaimer while i proclaim ive played all the mainline games, is i havent actually played a pokemon game past XY also im a unova babygirl est 2014 . yippie

Souji feels like such a normal-type guy to me. Cheren black and white. Well, the gray did influence it, but also he’s a very flexible guy.

He caught a Lillipup as a kid, and it’s been with him through multiple moves. His parents didn’t care about a pokemon in the house as long as it didn’t make a fuss, and was kind of Souji’s only friend at the time. It evolved into a Herdier at some point before he gets to Inaba, and probably gets to be a Stoutland for the whole Izanagi-no-Okami equivalent.

Not that I think he’d cheese his way through battles with Work Up -> Return shtick, but I think it’s a funny thought lol

Yusuke got a Tadbulb following him around, which he found in the moving van when his family was unpacking. And the next few weeks, he almost ran over a Froakie going 60kph on his bike. Yosuke appreciates having the Tadbulb around when working around Junes, and the Froakie guides him through Inaba as a local I guess lol. It evolves into the Frogadier when they go investigate the serial murders with Souji. It probably knows Aerial Ace for all I know LMAO

Chie’s Glaceon’s actually Muku, the Eevee Yukiko tried to take care of, until it was put in Chie’s care when she wasn’t allowed to keep it. When they were middle school, after one vacation at Mt. Yasogami, the Eevee ended up evolving next to an Ice Rock of all things. The two wondered why it didn’t evolve from friendship, like an Espeon or an Umbreon, and they joke around that the Eevee loved neither of them and bonded with a chunk of ice instead. Chie makes it wear a muffler because she misses Eevee's fluffy coat, in a way.

Around the same time, Chie found a Mienshao training with her at the flood plains, and it decided to stay with her. Sometimes, she’d offer Yukiko to have it help out at the inn.

Kanji’s mom actually kept a Cottonee around to gather the stray cotton it leaves around to spin into thread sometimes. She wondered where it went, until Kanji admitted it evolved into a Whimsicott after it touched a rock he found lying around on the way home, which was a Sun Stone. It still stays around to help, and even floats all the way to Yasogami just to deliver Kanji’s lunch he forgot at home.

Kanji caught a Blitzle himself, and it was also there when he was beating up all the bikers making a ruckus by the highway, which made him easy to profile during that one TV segment about him. It goes with Kanji while he’s biking, and he’d refuse its help even when he gets tired.

Nobody really knows how Teddie became a boy, nor where he got his Cubchoo. All he’s mentioned is that they “saw one another in each other’s eyes” and it starts sneezing into Yosuke’s face. Well, it’s not too bad because they’re both Junes’ new mascots, in a way. Maybe he IS the Cubchoo 🤔🤔🤔

Rise had the Ralts since middle school. Having it perform with her during her audition to be an idol almost basically made her in the cut. It evolved into a Kirlia which made her more popular as Risette. Although, fans and haters started throwing Dawn Stones at it after a statement where Rise didn’t want to reveal its gender even with so many people asking. Most of them were fake, just to give Rise a scare, and it was only super fans or super haters that would throw in the real deal at shows or even just handshake sessions.

Naoto’s grandfather helped him catch a Surskit before he left the estate and became the Detective Prince. He once accused a Sneasel to be a culprit of one case, but it ended up proving itself innocent, nagging Naoto to certain evidence when he just thought it was annoying him. Impressed by each other’s wit, they’ve become partners in solving crime. Naoto would pacify it with his Surskit’s sweet syrup. And when the Surskit evolved into a Masquerain, Naoto would have two partners by his side. Although, this lead to trusting his own instincts and pokemon more than other people.

Chisato owned a Rockruff, which even adored Dojima before they were even married. It evolved into a midday Lycanroc, which started to help Dojima with his own investigations. When Chisato passed, it was less bitter than Dojima, and would be sent home to stay with Nanako if he ever had to work overnight. When Nanako was comfortable enough with Souji and his Herdier, the Lycanroc would stay with Dojima, and Adachi would help prop him on its back when he gets himself drunk.

A bit after Chisato’s funeral in the middle of the mourning period, her mother came to her granddaughter, Nanako, and gave her a Cleffa, in which they would both learn to take care of each other. It would have fun being tossed around in the air by the Lycanroc and Herdier at home, while Souji would tell Nanako to make a wish on the star everytime it was in the air. Because it’s the Star Shape pokemon lol i think it’s cute

While Adachi was still in the big city, he’d see the skinniest Purrloin in an alley on the way home. He fed it once, and it wouldn’t stop pestering him since. He thought it was over when his apartment complex neighbors started feeding it, but it found delight in annoying Adachi specifically, taking his keys from his pockets, or nabbing a bit of his takeout when he was distracted.

It jumped into the boot of his car, genuinely curious of what was going on, until it found itself in an hours long trip which ended with it in Inaba. Dojima mentioned his Lycanroc smelled a feline scent on him, while Adachi just denies he owns a pokemon, much less that Purrloin that isn’t even native to the area. It’s caught the attention of the locals for a while, and it took it to its advantage to get more people to feed it, but still hangs around Adachi to go nick his new, rusty apartment keys.

There’s also like, this Shuppet that shows up at some point, and his landlady and neighbors keep telling him about it and giving him weird looks. But he doesnt believe in superstitions and doesnt have a pokedex to look at so who cares

Namatame's family has a Bunnelby helping around the business with little chores and such. His parents send it off to Namatame to work with him and keep him company while he tries to recover. Somewhere along the way, he finds an Absol following him on a rainy day, which he takes care of alongside the Bunnelby entrusted to him, or maybe it’s taking care of him? While Namatame becomes more manic each passing day as his messiah complex gets to him, he starts distancing himself from Bunnelby and spends more time with Absol. 

The MOEL gas station has a shiny Heliolisk, but a lot of people don't really know the concept of shiny pokemon, and they haven't seen Heliolisks or Helioptiles in the urban area, so they don't really think it's so special besides it being a different color. It's nothing more than a mascot of sorts, and does silly things with the attendant; like startling Adachi and that Purrloin that follows him around. It can sense when it's going to rain by feeling the static electricity around it. And what's rather peculiar is that it doesn't seem too averse to rain or cloudy skies. It does enjoy basking in the sun, and people would look up to see it hanging around on the station canopy with a spread out frill those days.

okay, so this is the part where I'm supposed to talk about plot. um. anyway

Way back when, there was a Zoroark that would walk among people, disguised as a human. People started rumors and suspected this woman really is a pokemon, but nobody seemed to shun her or really care, she was just a nice lady and took care of the people around her. People would say she came to them from a greater power to be a guardian to the land, similar to the legends in different regions, like Sinnoh and their Arceus.

However, the way she protects her people would be through illusions. She would keep external and malicious forces at bay by severely frightening them at the mountaintops, or the forests, if they ever got through, be it human or pokemon. If anyone were hurt or were about to die, unable to be treated to health, she would comfort them in a grand dream as they would fall asleep for the very last time. 

As time went on and technology developed, people were so entranced with the television broadcasts, wanting to know who was behind the screen, even if they were covered up in makeup and filters. 

The greater power sought to sate the people's desires, and saw the Zoroark it left in their care wasn't enough. So it split the pokemon into two, with one half so weak it was just a Zorua. The newly born Zoroark went off to accomplish its appointed duty, no matter the means. To better determine what the people wanted, however, it created a scheme which would involve stimulating the masses to come to an answer.

The Zoroark played a simple gas station attendant, which would stay close and observe the people. It would choose three pawns to watch over, manipulating the situation in tandem to their reactions. 

well so um basically there's still an isekai with TV portals. the iznmi Zoroark has enough power this time to create pocket dimensions straight from its illusion power. Every victim that ends up inside still gets haunted by their “truth” iznmi determines after scrutinizing them. The Midnight Channel broadcasts are also their illustrations. so basically, instead of things going on by itself from the collective unconscious reacting, it's a Zoroark piecing things together. it's kinda like pokepark 2. HAHAHA

Namatame's still kidnapping people he sees on the Midnight Channel. And when he gets Nanako, the Bunnelby stays behind and begs the IT to help. It helps them find Namatame, where they confront him and his Absol. Through illusions and legitimate power channeling, the Absol mega evolves. The IT defeat it and it returns to a normal Absol. They take both Nanako and Namatame to the hospital, the Bunnelby by Namatame's side the whole time.

When Adachi's suspected to be the killer, he escapes into the world inside the TV and makes a deal with the Zoroark. The Purrloin follows Adachi's scent and ends up in the TV, terrified of its unknown surroundings and hiding from the rest of the monstrous illusions that popped up. It got used to the world, however, and when the IT arrived, it helped them with Adachi's silly puzzles, to which he groans through a PA about how that pokemon’s still annoying him in another world. 

The IT confront Adachi, until a Mismagius appears to stop them. It sings Perish Song (because Magatsu-Izanagi is a Ghastly Wail kind of thing lmfao) but everyone stood their ground, blocking the song from their ears. Even under Adachi's (albeit in pain) command, the Mismagius falters, and the Zoroark takes things into its own hands, creating a bigger illusion to finally deal with these meddling kids for itself. 

But they defeat Ame-no-Sagiri, and its grand voice agrees to stop the grand illusions plaguing Inaba. The IT still have no idea who this conductor of schemes is, and Adachi can't give a clear answer either 

Marie's a Zorua with amnesia so bad she forgot she's a Zorua at all. She started her illusion as a human girl just to aimlessly wander around Inaba more easily and has been stuck in that form since. She was taken into the Velvet Room where they can clearly see that she isn't a human, but a pokemon. What's impressive is that she doesn't have a tail sticking out, which would mean her powers of illusion are rather potent. 

Souji’s made to chaperone her around Inaba to get her memories back, the whole shtick. While everyone stops prying into her nonexistent life, they're impressed with her ability to understand pokemon, as if she can actually understand them. Marie comes to the conclusion that she must have grown up around pokemon to be able to understand them that well. 

In the end, she finds out she is a pokemon, and iznmi Zoroark sends her to a grave that is physically in Inaba, instead of a pocket dimension. 

Margaret creates a conduit from that shed TV to that tomb somewhere in Inaba. Marie runs around as a Zorua and makes illusions to stop the IT from getting to her. But they manage to get to the heart of the tomb and get Zorua Marie from burying herself. 

They defeat another one of iznmi Zoroark’s avatars dwelling in Marie which was controlling her, then Marie comes back to the IT, accepting her identities as a pokemon and a human girl.

The IT thought that the illusions have stopped, and people are free to see what's really in front of their eyes. But Souji confronts the gas station at MOEL, where he reveals he's really a Zoroark with a duty, even startling the Heliolisk by its side. 

The IT enter the final world of illusions and desperately try to find the Zoroark to convince it to stop and let people truly live, that no one should hold their hands all the time, and quit living in a painless and meaningless utopia.

With everyone and their pokemon exhausted, Marie finds the strength to convince her other self. To let it see that she is living proof how people can live a life with the truth, and how they can stand on their own feet. 

After some time, the Zoroark agrees to dispel the illusions it has made, and appoint the rest of its power to Marie for her to be the guardian pokemon of the people of Inaba.

[rpking99]

Detective Prince's Problems

OPEN RP (Preestablished Relationship)

"Mm! Nnggh! Blast-Blaster thing! Close!"

The noise that echoed through your apartment was definitely that of your muses fiance. Coming from your bedroom.

Entering it... The famous Detective Prince, the original, Naoto Shirogane.... Was wearing her old uniform form Yasogami High School in the small town of Inaba. Back when she pretended to be a boy as to reduce the amount the adult men around her looked down on her masterful detective work

As she had not gained much height, it still fits her over all. But accepting her femininity, and the curves that came with it? Well.....The small black jacket was straining with just two of the five buttons done up, Naoto struggling to hold that second button closed

PING!

And the button literally exploded off, flying away like a bullet. Barley missing your Muses head

"Gaah!" Naoto cried out with a blush "Oh-Oh. H-Hey babe. I.... So... You know how I met up with some old friends the other day? W... Well Rise commented about how I'd always had the biggest breasts, but they've gotten bigger lately, and... Well, it pissed me off."

The blush that formed over her face was adorable, the normally unshakable detective looking like an adorable school girl right now

"So-So I got my old uniform, because I wanted to prove her wrong, and-and I even tried using my old binders but I... It... Ugh!" Naoto tried to further explain before falling to her knees, putting her head in her hands "I'm ridiculous..."

[yusuke-of-valla]

The Place Where The Lost Things Go

A/N: Alto writes fluff, ten dead, six injured

AO3

Over a decade ago, Tsuru Kitagwa could only lie down on the floor dying as her mentor smiled and refused to get her medication. 

Then she woke up in the body of a fox in a small town called Inaba. 

Over the years she’s watched people come and go, worked to restore the shrine, had some kits of her own, got a teenager to do various odd jobs for her by offering a discount on magic healing leaves when he and his friends entered an alternate reality inside the TV, and ceded watching over the shrine to her daughter while the other kits left home. 

She can’t help but feel disconnected from it all, like something is still missing.

She’s doing her usual tour of the shopping district, when she hears a familiar name.

“Kitagawa!”

Huh? Why would someone call her name? She trots over to Tatsumi Textiles where Kanji is addressing a group of students she doesn’t recognize. Kanji’s a very nice boy despite his face, and she remembers hearing something about a cultural exchange program with Yasogami and some school in Tokyo, where art students could come to Inaba for a weekend to learn about pottery and textiles that Inaba made famous.

A slender young man trots over to the group, and Tsuru tenses. 

She’d recognize her Little Da Vinci anywhere. Yusuke! That’s her Yusuke! 

“Sorry Tatsumi-sensei,” Yusule says. “I was simply distracted…”

“You’ll get a chance to see everything soon, just stay with the group. Don’t want you getting lost.”

Her little boy! Her baby! Her son! He’s here in Inaba! Is he too thin? He looks a little too thin. Naturally Tsuru follows him around. He keeps making very good and insightful comments about what Kanji shows off, but the other students seem to ignore him. 

The group disperses to let the kids explore on their own. Yusuke quickly begins buying various things that seem a little random, then his stomach rumbles. Aww he’s just like he was as a kid. Getting so wrapped up in his business that he doesn’t realize it’s dinner time. She remembers having to promise him that he could finish coloring when he was done, but a growing boy needs to eat.

Yusuke heads over to the steak stand, then stops and frowns.

“Oh, I seem to have spent all my money…” he mutters.

What? He didn’t budget for food? 

Shit. Her son is bad with money.

Yusuke frowns and starts to head towards Amagi Inn, where they’re naturally staying. Oh no, no way is she letting her Little Da Vinci go to bed hungry! She has to get his attention somehow. 

She spots a scrap of fabric hanging out of his bag, and leaps forward to grab it.

“Hey! That’s for my friend!” Yusuke shouts, and he follows her. 

She leaps up and hits the bell of the Dojima residence with her tail, and Nanako-chan opens. Tsuru bolts inside before she can react.

“Wha?” Nanako-chan gasps, and Yu comes down in the commotion.

“I’m sorry, that fox stole my scarf!” Yusuke says. 

Tsuru’s patiently waiting in the living room and as Yu looks between them. “Ok, what are you trying to get at?”

Feed my son! Tsuru tries to say, but of course all anyone hears is “yip, yip, yip!”

“Uh, do you need something?” Yu asks. “That fox is pretty smart, she’s probably trying to help you.”

“By stealing a gift for my friend?” Yusuke says. 

“I promise she’s really kind.”

Suddenly, Yusuke’s stomach rumbles again. 

“...do you need something to eat?” Nanako-chan asks.

Yusuke’s eyes widen. “The fox did jump out at me when I realized I didn’t have money for food.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Yu says. “Well, come in.”

“Really? You’d do that?” Yusuke gasps.

“The fox is a good judge of character, even if she’s… roundabout sometimes.”

If you could understand me, I wouldn’t have to be, Tsuru thinks.

“So, are you one of the Tokyo students?” Yu asks as he pulls something out of the fridge and heats it up.

“Yes! Inaba’s lovely! There’s so much culture here!” Yusuke announces, pulling things out of his bag. “I have a friend who grows plants so I got her this jar, there was this man by the steak shop selling models that would look really nice in another friend’s room—“

“Who’d you get the sword for?” Nanako-chan asks, pulling a wakizashi out of Yusuke’s bag.

“I admired the craftsmanship. In fact I had a wonderful discussion with Diadara-san about metalworking.” Yusuke sighs. “Ah if only I could take it up in Tokyo, it might be useful…”

“It’s always nice seeing someone from the big city who likes Inaba,” Yu says, putting a plate in front of Yusuke who digs in.

“It’s wonderful!” Yusuke says between mouthfuls. “I don’t think I could live here though, it’d be too far from my friends.”

Yusuke’s smile drops.

“It’s already hard enough with some of them in different cities or countries, and who knows what’ll happen when we go off to college.”

Tsuru heads over and tries to put a comforting paw on Yusuke’s lap.

“I think things will work out,” Yu says. “Seems like you and your friends have strong bonds. A little thing like distance won’t break them.”

“Thank you,” Yusuke says. “Goodness, how crass of me, you’ve done all this for me and I haven’t even asked your name!”

Yu laughs. “I’m Yu Narukami, and this is my cousin Nanako Dojima.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yusuke Kitagawa.”

Yusuke cleans off his plate.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Narukami-san.”

“Well you should thank the fox too,” Yu says. “I think she likes you.”

“Futaba would have something to say about that,” Yusuke says under his breath. “Thank you.”

Tsuru wags her tail and runs circles around him. At least she was able to help her Little Da Vinci somewhat.

“Wow, she really likes you,” Nanako-chan says. “Maybe even more than big bro!”

Yu frowns. “After all I’ve done for you?” he says.

Sorry! You can’t blame a mother for being biased towards her son.

Yusuke stands up and stretches, and at that moment there’s a bright flash of lighting and roar of thunder. It normally wouldn’t be a problem, except Yusuke’s caught off guard and trips.

Into the TV.

Tsuru has enough time to hear Yu say “shit” before she jumps in after him.

Did Tsuru fully understand the TV World when she first started following Yu in? No. Did anyone feel the need to stop and explain it to her? Also no.

But she died and reincarnated as a fox so it’s not like she has room to question it.

She understands enough to know that Yusuke falling in might still be dangerous even if it’s less pressing than it was when the murders were ongoing.

Upon landing, she scampers over to Yusuke who is sprawled on the ground and has a conspicuous bruise on his forehead.

Oh poor thing, he must have landed headfirst. Of course he inherited her tendency to bruise easily so she also can’t tell how bad it is.

“Yusuke,” she says patting his face with her paws, “wake up.”

“Hmnnnn five more minutes mother…” Yusuke murmurs before turning over.

“Yusuke! Wake up! It’s not safe.”

“Uggghh…” Yusuke finally sits up. “What happened?”

“I wish I could explain sweetie,” Tsuru says. She sniffs out where the exit is and makes sure Yusuke is watching so he’ll follow her.

“The atmosphere here,” Yusuke mutters, “it’s just like— oh. There it is.”

Tsuru turns around and suddenly Yusuke is wearing… a fox costume? Well it’s probably meant to be a kitsune costume given the mask.

“WHAT THE HELL?” Tsuru gasps. Her baby is a magical girl?

“Look out!” 

Tsuru turns and sees one of those shadows about to attack but then Yusuke summons a Persona and blasts it away.

Her baby is a magical girl with a Persona?!

Yusuke picks Tsuru up and zips her into the front of his outfit. “Can we just keep heading this direction?” 

Tsuru nods and Yusuke takes off.

It must have started raining the way the shadows are agitated, but thank goodness there isn’t more fog.

Soon enough, they run into Yu fending off some shadows alongside with Kanji and Teddie.

“Uh, Kitagawa-kun?” Yu asks.

“Narukami-san!” Yusuke pants, clearly getting tired.

“He’s not a shadow,” Teddie says.

“I can see that, but then why did his outfit change?” Kanji asks.

“This just sort of happens when I need to fight,” Yusuke explains. “I’m shocked you all are summoning Personas without masks.”

“Oh good, you already know about Personas,” Kanji sighs in relief. “I was worried we had a lot more to explain.”

“The shadows here are weird looking but really the thing that confuses me is how I got here and why your fox sounds like my mother.”

“This is the TV World—“

“WAIT, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME?” Tsuru gasps, cutting off Kanji.

“THE FOX CAN TALK?!” Yu gasps.

“NOW YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME?!?”

Yusuke blinks and gently removes Tsuru from his suit and sets her down. “Um, yes I can understand you? This is someplace in the Metaverse, right? A place made of human cognition?”

Teddie nods. “Yeah, we don’t call it the Metaverse but it’s a place made from the thoughts and feelings of everyone in Inaba!”

“Right, and being here changes your cognition so you can understand…” Yusuke frowns. “I can’t call you Fox-san, I’m Fox. Sorry, is there something else I can call you?”

“Mother or mom or mama, whatever.”

“You can’t adopt him just because he has a fox costume,” Yu says.

“No, literally. My name is Tsuru Kitagawa, I died and woke up in the body of this fox around 14 years ago.”

“M-mom?” Yusuke gasps. “Is it really you?”

“Of course Little Da Vinci, why did you think I was looking out for you earlier?”

Yusuke looks about to cry. “M-mom”

“Hey sorry to interrupt but can we do the reunion stuff when there aren’t as many shadows around!” Teddie yells.

“Right,” Yu says. “Come on the exit is this way.”

Once they’re back in reality, they all settle on the roof of Junes.

“Are you still hungry dear?” Tsuru asks. “Do you need something to eat? Yu can you buy him some steak skewers?”

“I’m still not over you talking,” Yu says, going to order.

“Ok so you’re sure the fox is talking,” Yosuke, who’s gotten off of work and joined them, says. 

“Yeah man, the fox talks,” Kanji says.

“Then how come I can’t understand her?” Yosuke asks. “I mean, I’ve been to the TV World.”

“Well being in the Metaverse, or TV World in your case wouldn’t be enough,” Yusuke muses. “I know someone who’s been there but still can’t understand Morgana because she never heard him in the Metaverse.”

“Is Morgana a cat?” Yu asks, coming back with the steak skewers.

“Yes, how did you know?” 

“Something about this just feels familiar,” Yu says. 

“How’d you mean, partner?” Yosuke asks.

“It’s like a vague sense of deja vu. I can’t really explain it.”

“Weird,” Teddie says. “But I’m still confused about Ms. Fox. We’ve been to the TV World with her before but she only talked now?”

“Well it’s all cognition,” Yusuke says. “So I suppose the most likely explanation is mother didn’t expect you to understand her.”

“That’d make sense,” Tsuru says. “I’ve been a fox for a long time, I gave up on other humans understanding me years ago. I suppose deep down I want Yusuke to understand me, so my cognition changed.”

“Awww,” Kanji says.

“Man are you tearing up?” Yosuke sighs.

“Shuddup! If my ma died and I reunited with her after years I’d be sobbing.”

“I’m very happy to see you again, mother,” Yusuke says, petting her head. “Would you like some steak?”

“No! You need it more, you’re skin and bones!” Tsuru says. “Who’s in charge of feeding you, anyway?” 

“Myself, mostly,” Yusuke says. “I live in the school dorms.”

Tsuru frowns. 

“You know, mother, I was thinking,” Yusuke says. “Would you like to come back to Tokyo with me?”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“But surely you can’t have pets in the dorms!”

“We can keep it secret,” Yusuke insists. “You can just come around in my bag like Morgana does with Ren! Or I’ll move out!”

Tsuru isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “You know most sons can’t wait to move out of their mother’s house.”

“I don’t want to force you or anything, I’m sure you’ve built a life here in Inaba,” Yusuke says, “it’s just, I’ve missed out on so much time with you, mom.”

Tsuru nuzzles his chest. “Oh Yusuke, I’d love to go back to Tokyo with you.”

The next day, Tsuru is back at the shrine roughly explaining the situation to her kits. Despite being born after Yusuke, they’re all grown up, and the boys have gone off to find their own dens, but the girls are perfectly capable of taking over the shrine. 

Sofoxnisba is the oldest and she’s resolute when Tsuru explains that she’s in charge now. Foxes and other animals don’t communicate the way humans do, so Tsuru can’t give all the details, but she promises to visit when she can and reminds Sofoxnisba to watch over the others, and Sofoxnisba takes the responsibility within pride.

As Tsuru leaves, she passes by some people going to offer their prayers. The shrine has been her home for a long time now, and it’s taken her as much as she’s taken care of it.

But there’s a new chapter of her life ahead of her now, and it’s with her son, waiting down the road.

[shadowtarot]

Prompt: How about the thieves visiting Ryuji in Gekkoukan. Maybe there's some event that has schools suspending operations in Tokyo and wherever Ren returned to, so the thieves decided to visit Ryuji. They see Ryuji in the prescribed uniform looking all sharp. cue their reactions.

Well maybe not visiting, but maybe a video call?

The Phantom Thieves had promised to stay in contact with each other following the chaos that was Summer Break. But with most of the group dealing with the workload that comes with being a Third Year, plus the two Senpai in university, it’s taken the crew at least three weeks before they all have a clear enough schedule to even video chat.

Futaba lets out a yawn as she and the early to the call people wait around. “Ugh..Ryuji’s taking too long to connect.” 

“Didn’t he say he just got a new laptop? It’s probably giving him some issues.” Haru giggles, moving some hair out of her face.

“..be lucky that we’re roommates and we’re sharing this Laptop for calls, Haru.” Makoto sighs.

Ren’s screen finally shows up. “Sorry, had to finish up a paper real quick. Didn’t miss anything did I?” He adjusts his Yasogami uniform a bit.

“Haven’t changed at all yet? I’m telling you, Shujin’s uniform looked better..” Futaba states. “Though I guess it looks good on me, ehehe!” Yusuke seems to be observing Ren’s uniform with fascination. “Inaba, yes? I had heard there’s a famous hotel known for it’s hotsprings. The Amagi Inn. The history there must be outstanding!”

Ryuji finally shows up, stretching as the cam comes on. “Sorry for keeping all of you. Laptop did a force update n’ shit.”

Like Ren, seems Ryuji’s yet to change out of his uniform. The well known Gekogan Uniform.

“Whoa! I know you said you moved Ryuji, but I didn’t realized you moved to the Port Island.” Ann exclaims. 

“Yeah...” Ryuji nods tiredly. “I’m originally from here, so it’s more like I moved back. Shit here’s a lot more hard than what Shujin offered.”

“So I’ve heard...” Makoto nods. “How were you even able to get in, Ryuji?”

“That part’s a long freaking story, and I still feel like strings got pulled by someone...” He furrows his brow as he speaks, folding his arms in view of the cam.

“Pulling Strings? How so?” Ren asks, tilting his head.

“I-I duno man! Maybe everything with Gramps has me a bit Paranoid or something! You saw my Grades at Shujin, I barely survived on my toenails there!”

“Several famous people went to school there, you know.” Haru smiles. “You watch Feather Man, right Futaba-chan?”

“Oh! Oh! The actress for Pink Argus was a graduate from there, that’s right! It was the first time in series history that Red wasn’t the leader! Everyone online thought that it’d change the series formula forever but that’s yet to be seen.” And there she goes, nerding out.

“Well, now here’s the big money question for you Ryuji.” Morgana smirks as best as a cat can. “If a big name actress can obviously get good grades...then how are yours?”

“I bet he still suucks~” Futaba teases.

“Actually...I’m doing okay.” Ryuji shrugs. “While I’m not apart of the Track Team up here, a few of the guys from it dragged me into a study group. That, was the other reason why I was late. Still doesn’t mean any of this shit’s easy to me, though!”

“...maybe we should have done more study groups while we were all at Shujin still.” Ren wonders outloud.

“Uh, ya THINK? Coulda helped both me AND Ann!” 

Everyone laughs.

“Yusuke, you’ve been quiet this whole time...is everything okay?” Makoto asks him, noting how he’s been in deep thought.

“Getting accepted to a high profile school...it’s strange, but I think there may actually be something afoot. But...normally if any of us gets targeted, it’s Ren. He is the one who still has records within the Police due to the stunt we pulled in Nijima-san’s Palace, as well as his false arrest.” the artist staes.

“I’m kinda on Ryuji’s side with this. We’re getting paranoid.” Morgana states. “Nothing bad’s happened since we got rid of the Jails. And we’d get contacted by Zenkichi and Ichinose if anything did happen, remember?” 

“Or hell, even Doc.” Ryuji shrugs. “Just say I got lucky and leave it at that. They mostly commented on my sport skills anyway so...”

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTE: Here we go. Little bit of a shift in this chapter... you'll see. Thanks for keeping up with this fic and all your comments!

------------

Everything was rather quiet for a couple of days. Rise threw herself into practicing her vocals with every spare moment, meeting with her manager and conferencing with her record label over the phone. She needed the distraction. Without any clear course of action with Ai, she had decided to let that matter fade into the background. Maybe something would come to her eventually.

On Sunday, she and the gang decided to go fishing, since that was one of Narukami's favourite activities and they were all missing him lately. For most of them, it simply meant getting to wave around poles and wade into the water, splashing each other. Kanji and Naoto resented this because they were much more serious about the matter, but the others didn't pay them too much mind.

"Hey, why didn't you invite Ai?" Chie suddenly asked as they re-baited their hooks. "She too snobby to get down here in the river with us?"

Rise laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, giggling right along. "No way would she be caught dead touching a fish that's not cooked."

"No… I meant that she wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"Why not?" Yukiko asked. "I thought you were becoming sort of close with her."

Wow, how oblivious could they be? "Not anymore."

Once she had explained properly, which took the better part of half an hour, most of the joy had been sucked out of their springtime activity. Rise did feel a little bad about that, but it was as much their fault as hers, so she didn't spend too much mental energy on sympathy for her friends.

"Gosh, that is so sad," Teddie said with a pronounced pout. He really did seem genuinely disappointed not to have another friend. "I know you guys didn't really mean to hurt her feelings."

"Guess I thought he'd be over that by now," Chie confessed quietly.

"Yeah," Yosuke added. "Like, as long as he stays away from my butt, I don't really care what he does with his time. And man, he looks way better in drag than even Teddie did, so…"

While Teddie was harrumphing as if genuinely offended, Kanji chuckled harshly as he twitched his line in the water the tiniest bit. "What is it with you and that gay panic, bro? I'm surprised your Shadow didn't look more like mine."

"H-hey, I'm just a healthy, red-blooded Japanese male! I like girls who are actually girls! Is that a crime?"

"I'll buy you a butt-protector to keep all the dicks out," Chie cackled bemusedly. Yosuke just grimaced.

"I'm… starting to get why she didn't want this getting out," Rise sighed.

"Hm?" Yukiko said as she turned back in her direction. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No, that sounded important. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings…"

Which she appreciated. Even if the others were a little oblivious sometimes, Yukiko genuinely meant well all the time. Every minute of every day. "It's just… I'm no big expert on this subject, but you guys can see how much work she put into being taken seriously as a woman. Because she looks like one! Nobody could tell! And I think I haven't paid much attention to how hard that must have been for her… I'm… wow. And I really did almost ruin her life."

Not that she had been unaware of that before. She thought she understood, and she did — better than her friends did, for sure. But listening to them casually treat her like a drag act, a joke, a source of anxiety for Yosuke's extra-fragile masculinity, peeled back just enough of the curtain. Now she knew that she really didn't know anything at all.

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed. "Like you said, he was able to play it off, and he's giving you a lot more shit now than is necessary compared to what you did on accident. Like, scales balanced. If he wants to keep being a dick then that's on him."

Rise shrugged helplessly as she tossed her fishing pole back onto the shore. "You're not wrong about that part. I'm not saying her trying to get revenge on me is right. I'm just saying I understand why she feels so betrayed. Didn't really get it before, but…"

"I still don't get it now," Yosuke grunted. "The whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. But it sounds like he already had the surgery, so… doesn't that mean he's a girl anyway?"

"What? No, it's… nevermind that part." She had been about to insist that Ai did not have "The Surgery" yet, even though she had probably undergone several other minor procedures. But that was the kind of detail that would get her even deeper in trouble than she already was, so she cut herself off.

"Well, I'm with Chie," Yukiko said cautiously. "You have apologized for hurting her, you didn't intend to in the first place. If she were a true friend, she would accept your apology."

"I'm not sure it's that simple."

They all turned to look at Naoto, not having expected her to speak. The girl was wearing a very thoughtful expression underneath her newsboy-casquette cap. "What isn't?" Teddie finally prompted when everybody had been quiet for a little too long.

"This situation with Ebihara-san. She's living her life as transgender, and you have jeopardized that life. Even if on accident, I can see how she would interpret that as an attack."

"Come on," Chie sighed. "Any idiot knows the difference between on accident and on purpose."

"Not necessarily. In law, there is such a thing as 'gross criminal negligence'. This means that even if it's an accident, even if you did nothing with the premeditated intent to do harm, you can still cause harm and be held accountable for it. At least, partially."

"So you're saying it's okay that this asshole is trying to frame our friend for cheating?!" Yosuke burst out.

"Hm? Oh, no, not at all," Naoto insisted, a slight crease in her brow. "But this is a matter of criminal pathology. Even if Ebihara-san is not a criminal, she is perpetrating criminal acts; understanding them requires the same skill set. Motive. Means. Opportunity. We already know the last two, more or less; security isn't especially tight at Yasogami High. I'm sure it was a simple matter for her to sneak into the classroom and pilfer the answer key, then sneak it into Rise's bag when no one was looking. So all that's left is… why?"

"Because he's a petty jerk," Chie provided immediately.

"It's not that simple."

"No, it really is. Maybe you guys get something about how serious us gossiping about him was that I don't, but I don't care. You don't treat a friend like that. Period! Even if he's really pissed at Rise, she did apologize, she's trying to make it right. He's not acting like a friend at all. So I say, screw him! Just let him self-destruct and be alone. And if he won't stop being a jerk to you, we will be jerks right back. I'm not going to sit around while he drags you down for something you didn't even do on purpose."

Rise felt a rush of affection toward Chie Satonaka. Even if she couldn't completely agree with everything she was saying, it was nice to know her friends had her back — that these were true blue friendships that had lasted beyond being part of the same Investigation Team. The passion with which she spoke, and the anger she clearly felt toward Ebihara because she was attacking her friend, made the existence of those bonds unmistakable.

However… she also couldn't ignore the way Naoto's brow furrowed further. Kanji also rested a hand on her shoulder. Was she simply upset about losing an argument, or was there more to that?

"I can't disagree with what you say. I was merely trying to point out that in Ebihara-san's estimation, Rise may deserve vengeance more than she does in any of our estimation. She is viewing the situation differently than we are."

"Well his 'estimation' sucks," Chie grumbled.

"Maybe," Rise finally cut in with a discomfited sigh. "But can you guys… can you promise me you won't do anything mean to her without asking me? At least that? I know she's being a jerk, but it's because I messed up. Huge. So this has to be between her and me."

None of them looked too thrilled with that. Yukiko nodded immediately, seemingly satisfied right away that she was doing what was asked of her by her friend. The others were a little slower to agree but they still all did at some point or another, dissatisfied as they were.

"Thanks. And I'm so happy you have my back, I can't express that enough. But I have to figure this out on my own."

"You got it," Kanji grunted as he started reeling in a fish. "Shit… it's a big one… but I'm not gonna forget how you looked when that old bag accused you of cheating. That ain't right. Ebihara better make it right eventually, or his ass is grass."

What an ominous threat. Well-meaning, but ominous. Rise knew she would have to sort this matter out post haste — before she had to find out just how far her friends were willing to go to come to her aid.

                                          ~ o ~

All of this gave birth to a very determined Rise Kujikawa, and this was the one who walked into school on a foggy Monday morning. Ai had done enough damage; she had to forge ahead as if everything was fine. Her new tactic had to be not to let the bullying get to her, because she better understood it was just her friend being hurt by her own actions. And if she wouldn't accept her apology… there was nothing more she could do.

But she didn't have it in her to give up. That option was stricken off the list. Rise was no quitter.

Everything was fine until her second-to-last class of the day. Rise had mostly focused on schoolwork and chatting with her other friends, taking her mind off more depressing matters. Gearing up for a promotional video she was supposed to shoot soon; that would be a first step toward reestablishing herself as an artist, even if she still didn't intend to go back to singing full-time until she graduated. And the class with Ms. Sofue was fine in and of itself… for the first ten minutes or so.

That was when she noticed the smell. At first, she was looking around the room to try and figure out who had lost control of their bowels in such close proximity to other students. Maybe it was something they had for lunch?

A brief investigation ten minutes later revealed the true culprit, once everyone was looking at her like she was being most unladylike. Deep in the recesses of her desk, which she never used to keep anything since she would just have to move it again after class, someone had stuffed an old sandwich. Unless she missed her guess, there was natto and egg on it, among other things. But there was too much mold growing inside the sandwich bag for her to be certain.

"Oh GOOD GOD!" cried one of the boys nearby, covering his face with his arm. "What's in that thing?!"

Waving at the air with her crooked heka, the teacher coughed and demanded, "Please dispose of your lunch in a proper manner from now on, Miss Kujikawa! Make no mistake, even I have no interest in mummified food!"

A few of them were able to wrap it in some paper and drag it to the trash can, amid Rise's protests that she had never seen it before. Nobody believed her, because the natto tended to make it seem obvious that it had come from Marukyu — even though their speciality was tofu, not other soybean offerings. A lot of bickering back and forth broke out until the teacher banged her cane on her desk.

"Enough! Miss Kujikawa has technically broken no rule, even if it was her sandwich. So we'll say no more about it. Please, open your books again and turn to page…"

But the entire class period, Rise couldn't stop thinking about the sandwich. She already knew who it was; only one person at that school was stupid enough to actively mess with a famous pop idol. The instant the bell rang, she pelted out of class so fast that quite a few students gasped. By now, she knew what class Ai was supposed to be in around this time… and where she could find her.

                                          ~ o ~

"Oh!" gasped one of the girls in the locker room when Rise barged past her. "Do you even have this class? What are you doing in the-"

"Ebihara?" she asked. Some girl with a towel wrapped around her hair pointed further into the room. Rise stormed over there to find a towel-clad Ai preening at the mirror hanging on the inside of her locker, running the brush through her hair over and over. "Thanks for your present."

Smirking a little, the girl didn't even glance over. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah? You don't recognise it?"

Everyone gasped when she threw it onto the bench nearest Ebihara. That was nothing compared to the chorus of disgusted noises that followed once its foul stench began to pervade the air within the steamy room. Even still wrapped in the plastic bag, it was horrendous.

"Oh, GOD," Ai joined in, though she was chuckling just a little. "Why would you be carrying that thing around? Just to throw at me like that?"

"Why?" she demanded. "This has crossed the line from mean to just… weird! What's the point of stinking up the classroom?"

Full of false innocence, she pressed a hand to her chest as she said, "Why, I don't know. Sounds to me like someone just forgot to throw away her lunch. Maybe you should be a little less wasteful. Then again, as rich and famous as you are, I bet you don't care at all."

A ripple of murmurs spread throughout the room. Rise knew that they didn't really care about the sandwich, or about wastefulness, but they were highly concerned with this argument between two students playing out right in front of them. Gossip fodder. So she decided not to give them any more ammunition.

"Okay. We'll just throw it away." She snatched it off the bench and flashed Ai a poisonous smile. "Have a lovely day, Ebi-chan."

"Don't you mean Ebi-kun?"

Rise stopped dead in her tracks. She actually looked around for what assholes had said it, determined to give them a dressing down. Even if they were fighting, nobody got to talk about her friend like that. But she realized it had come from Ai herself. "What?"

"You were one of the people that started the rumour, right?" She looked so haughty, arms folded over her chest and hip cocked to one side. "So I'm surprised you let it go that easy."

Deciding to play along, she smirked and shot back, "I heard you showed off the goods to some other girls and it proved it was false."

"Yeah. But since when do people like you care about facts? You would much rather be right than the truth prevail."

"People like- okay. Whatever this is, whatever you want from me, I'm done with it. I thought we could try to be adults and move on, but all you want to do is start a war — one I'm not interested in fighting. Just leave me alone if you really can't stand me this bad, okay?"

Ai laughed and took a step forward. "Rise-Risette, the gossip-monger. And now, the cheater! What terrible thing are you going to do next?"

"I didn't do anything in the first place!"

"You know you did." The smile disappeared for a second, leaving her friend's features full of cold fury. But it was so brief that most of the other girls probably wouldn't have noticed; then she was smiling like rainbows were shooting out of her ass again. "And hey, if you want to try to blame me for all of it, go ahead. You might as well."

"No, that's not necessary. Maybe it's just a series of tragic coincidences."

"Uh huh. Or maybe you're just a self-destructive pop idol, a little brat who couldn't hack it in the entertainment industry, and now that you're stuck in boring old Inaba, you want attention again. Don't you see you're going about it all the wrong ways?"

So that was her game. Now Rise could see this for what it was: it wasn't just any one incident meant to slander her and give her a bad name. All of them together were supposed to paint a picture of a celebrity spiraling out of control. Rise was going to turn into the Japanese Britney Spears if Ai Ebihara had anything to do with it.

"You really want to destroy me that badly?" she hissed now that they were so close their noses were almost touching. All the girls around them were whispering and chattering, watching the drama intently. The rub was, they were gossiping so much about what they were saying that they couldn't even actually hear what they were saying.

"You can bet on it. I told you I was going to, unless you destroy me first. And I think you will. I think you are exactly the kind of person who will shoot in self-defense."

"That isn't me," she breathed, glancing down at Ai's body. It was so close to her own… she couldn't help looking, couldn't help feeling flustered even though they were fighting right now. "We both know that. You're just mad I messed up, and you won't let me apologize, and you won't leave it alone. There's nothing else I can do."

"Yes there is." Then she hiked an eyebrow slightly, lowering her voice to barely a whisper. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just… trying to figure out what to-"

"You were trying to figure out if you could see my dick. Weren't you?" As Rise felt her brow furrow, Ai chuckled and pressed on, "Do it. Go looking."

She could feel her temper flaring hotter. It was getting hard to control. "Stop being so gross. I wouldn't do that, I haven't done that, and I'm not going to do that."

"Why not? Come on… all you have to do is rip this towel off me. Show the world. Maybe I'm tucking again, maybe I'm not. But wouldn't that be great if you exposed a scandal in the women's locker room? Risette the Hero, saving all these poor girls from the freak."

"You know — you know I have never once in my life called you a freak, why do you want me to hurt you so badly? What do you get out of it? Are you some kind of psycho masochist?!"

"Sure! Go with that. Even more reason to save everyone. Do it." No movement. "Clock's ticking. The longer you wait, the weirder it's going to be that we're standing here whispering to each other."

But Rise's mind was racing. She still had no idea really why she was pushing so hard for her to attack, to be so vicious. She thought back to the revelation she had when walking home — about Ai, about what these attacks meant for their relationship. And when she thought of it that way…

Everything came together. Of course, nothing was for certain until she heard it straight from the horse's mouth, but now Rise thought she understood the reason her former friend was trying so hard to get her to treat her like vermin.

"No," she whispered with a small smile.

"No? Aww, I guess the games continue then," Ai said with a fake, exaggerated pout. "You're going to have to be a lot tougher than that to make it as a star."

"Actually… let's play a new game. Unless you want to give up now?" Her pleading face returned. "Please, please just stop. I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, or we can go back to being friends and… try to put this behind us. But I'm not giving up, not going away. So…? Maybe?"

Ai shook her head. "This isn't your game, you don't get to change the rules, princess. So nice try."

"Fine," she sighed… before sliding her arms tightly around Ai.

"H-hey!" she burst out. Then a little louder, "Oh my GOD, now Risette is trying to molest me!"

Before the gasps really had a chance to deepen, Rise sobbed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I just love you so much Ai, a-and when you… when you pulled away, I didn't know what to do! Can't you forgive me?"

Even the girls who weren't watching before were glued to this scene now. And even though she could tell Ai didn't like losing control of the situation — hated might have been more apropos — she still drew back to gape at her.

"What… did you just say?"

"I asked you to forgive-"

"Cut the bullSHIT!" she snapped loudly enough that one smaller girl yelped and fell back on her ass, scrabbling for the nearest bench. "You can't mean that. Not in front of all these people, you… they'll know you're- if you say how you feel, that's…"

"I don't care about them! I love you, Ai, I… I didn't mean for us to end up this way!" Her bottom lip wobbled hard as she took a shaky breath. "But if you really can't forgive me, I'll understand! I just… I can't go on with us hurting each other like this!"

"Oh, this is so not going to work," she scoffed… until she saw a few of the girls putting their hands on Rise's shoulders, comforting her as the big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Offering tissues, petting her hair. "Are you- wow, you guys can't be buying this! It's an act!"

"Hey, don't be so mean!" said some girl with bobbed hair; Rise thought her name was Matsunaga, but she couldn't remember at the moment. The moment Ai's gaze was on her, she said much more quietly, "S-sorry."

"Oh my GOD. Fine. Whatever, I'm out of here."

But a wall of girls blocked her way. They were all glowering at her now, looking ready to throw down; they would never have challenged alone but there was safety in numbers. Ai's eyebrows shot up, unimpressed… but the more she looked at all of them, the more anxious she appeared. Not frightened, just uneasy from the attention. The constant attention, while wearing a towel… prospect of a fight… she backed into a corner and they started to advance on her. This would get seriously out of hand if someone didn't step in.

Someone stepped in.

"Please, just give me another chance," Rise provided smoothly as she slid forward through the throng of girls, taking up Ai's hand — which was immediately yanked out of reach. Her voice was taut with emotion as she pleaded, "That's all! I'll show you I can be a better friend, a-and those pranks? Forgotten! And I won't ever tell another lie about you again, I promise!"

Ai took another good look around at the student body standing in opposition against her. The wheels were turning behind her eyes. Then she glared down at Rise with a shake of her head. "You… conniving… snake," she muttered.

Some of the girls heard it, and looked more scandalised. And because now everyone else was behind her… Rise felt comfortable allowing a smug, triumphant smirk to take over her features. Just for an instant. She even mouthed a few choice words:

"You only have one way out."

Oh, she had never seen Ai look that angry before. This wasn't just annoyance or rage. She looked murderous. But it only lasted a second before she sighed, shut her eyes, took a breath.

"Rise… fine. I know… I went too far. Can you forgive me?"

"Wow, really sounds authentic," one of the others closest to the lockers scoffed.

"No, really." When Ai opened her eyes again, she was smiling weakly. "I have missed you. I just didn't know… I was so angry when you started that nasty rumour."

"I know. It was a stupid mistake! And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you just… take me back! That's all you have to do." She took both of her hands, ignoring the way nails were digging into her own. Petty little revenges were par for the course now. "Just be with me."

One could hear a pin drop in that locker room. Ai pulled her close and whispered softly, "You want to play this game? We're playing it on a national level."

"Bring it on," she replied in kind, smirking again — even while her heart pounded in her throat from the closeness. "But c'mon, I beat you this round."

"Shut up."

Such a chorus of "WHOOOOO" went up when they kissed that it felt like they were shaking the foundation of Yasogami High. Probably because, metaphorically as well as literally, they were. Game-changer indeed.

                                          To Be Continued…

[thatlittledandere]

This isnt for the ask meme but can you nerd out about Trans Yosuke cuz actually im curious about the story you planned.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE! Disclaimer though that I can’t claim any of this is even REMOTELY realistic, but these are the thoughts that inhabit my head and were not created to be shared so I’m not taking constructive criticism lmao.  It’s MY Yosuke backstory and I get to choose Also warning that I’m going to go into excessive detail.

Sooo when Yosuke was a little kid everyone figured he was just a tomboy. Some girls like superheroes and rowdy play and hate dresses, big deal. It wasn’t that much of a “problem” yet in elementary school, where kids wear their own clothes and are generally freer to do as they please. Some kids from other classes or grades may have even thought of him as a boy.

The name Yosuke comes from a character Yosuke thought was cool from a TV show he used to roleplay with his friends - you know that thing kids do where they pick characters to “be” and then do dumb shit. The group sometimes used the character names as nicknames even when they weren’t “being” them, and Yosuke especially liked it so much he started insisting on it at home, too. His parents eventually caved in to keep him from being insufferable, thinking it was just a phase, with no idea how much it actually MEANT for their kid. The name felt much more him than what his supposedly “real” one.

The problems started when Yosuke started middle school and was supposed to wear the girls’ uniform and be a “female student”. It was unbearable for him. He was incredibly difficult about it, went to school for maybe two weeks, and then refused to go. After a few more weeks of just... having someone bring Yosuke his homework and being unable to explain to the school why Yosuke was constantly absent, not understanding it themselves, the Hanamuras contacted a psychologist (or a psychiatrist; after all these years I don’t know what the difference is). After listening to what everyone had to say, they referred Yosuke to another professional - one that was more versed on transgender issues.

This one confirmed with Yosuke that the problem was that he really, really, REALLY didn’t like being seen or treated as a girl. Not that being a girl was bad; Yosuke liked girls and had friends who were girls; he just really really REALLY didn’t want anyone to think he was one. Like, seriously. Somehow it just wasn’t who he was. And the doctor understood, called Yosuke’s parents in, and handed them a booklet on the basics of being trans. She explained the concept, and how it’s been proven that those people are the happiest and healthiest when they’re being treated the way they want to.

And alright; maybe it sounded a little weird to his parents at first, but Yosuke seemed to perk up immediately after hearing that what he was going through was a real thing with a name and there were others like him. He was visibly relieved, and smiled like he hadn’t in months. So... they decided to go with it. I don’t know about the medical specifics but Yosuke got diagnosed with gender dysphoria and Mr. and Mrs. Hanamura contacted the school with doctor’s orders that he needed to be allowed to wear the boys’ uniform, attend gym class with other boys, and generally be treated as a male student. In my dream universe everything it nice and easy like that and Yosuke got through middle school with no more trauma than any other teenage boy.

The procedure was repeated when Yosuke started high school, and when he transferred to Yasogami. After middle school nobody knew he was any different from other boys, and that was that. Nobody at his old HS (excluding the faculty members who had to know) ever found out he was trans. Yu was the first person Yosuke properly came out to, trusting that he’d understand. And he did. Nothing in their relationship changed much, but Yu felt like he maybe understood some of Yosuke’s behavior and apparent insecurities a little better now.

The second person Yosuke came out to was Naoto (who isn’t trans in this specific headcanon universe for personal reasons I have no obligation to disclose. I respect everyone else’s interpretation and adjust my language accordingly when interacting). Yosuke visited her in the hospital once, alone. What her shadow said about wanting to be male struck a chord to him, and he just couldn’t leave her be without confirming that she at least knew it was an option. They talked about their experiences and everything’s good :) The conversation is more about Naoto lore and repeat of what I’ve written out so far so. Yosuke came out to the rest of IT after Naoto’s discharge and yeah maybe they did make some slightly insensitive remarks because boy these teens are insensitive, but they’d never seen him as anything other than a disgustingly typical teenage boy anyway so whatever, nothing changed. Not like any of them particularly WANTED to see him without clothes in the first place.

The beauty pageant and “miss” Yasogami contest can burn in hell for several reasons but making me imagine it triggered Yosuke’s dysphoria is one of them.

I’m skipping all Yosuke lore that doesn’t directly involve his transness so let’s seeee he started HRT somewhere in college at which point he’s definitely dating Yu no matter when they get together in the scenario at hand. I can’t bear to keep them away from each other for two years sdggsgh. Yosuke gets his legal documents changed at some point in his earl 20s I think. He keeps in contact with the doctor who originally diagnosed him all throughout this, and in the scenarios where Yu is nonbinary he directs them to her as well. And life after that is smooth sailing. Everything’s good and nothing hurts.

So yeah! That’s my personal “canon” for Yosuke. Many things about the P4 characters change according to the scenario I feel like exploring at that time but this is sort of like the canon backstory that I don’t really divert from. I don’t know how to make a TL;DR of it; thanks for suffering through if you did and please don’t yell at me.

[iconsumeheadcanons]

P4 x P5 crossover

there are very slight p5r spoilers but its kinda just using some lines from the bad end like just a little ref...so up to you i guess :p

Ren (our protag) goes home to Inaba with Mona. Kinda connected to my other headcanons: his ‘family’ includes his mother, his step-dad, his younger half-brother (step bro? idk), and his twin brother Akira. Akira usually lives with their mother’s ex husband, but something is going on court-wise that he has been deemed unfit for child care, which is why Akira is back with his mother. For now Akira sleeps in the room where his father used to practice tea ceremonies.

The twins kinda reconnect but things are very different and they didn’t have contact at all last year so Ren is surprised to see Akira. Ren is still kinda (not) dealing with all of the stuff from the last very many months, and Akira is still kinda not dealing with how messed up things are with his dad and the fact that he’s pretty sure his brother is The Phantom Thief but absolutely no one in the Amamiya household will acknowledge it so he feels like he’s going crazy. Especially the weird cat Ren brought back home that he keeps talking to.

Anyway, Akira’s not really going to school and Ren’s going to Yasogami (the high school he didn’t get expelled from) so Akira doesn’t know what is going on until he comes back from his part-time to see his mother and her husband arguing over the whereabouts of Ren. Apparently he skipped school that day. Ren doesn’t come home that night and the adults argue over calling the police since Ren won’t answer his phone. Akira avoids them and instead searches Ren’s bedroom for his cat or any sign that he might’ve packed up and left. He finds neither so he goes to bed and tries to remind himself that Ren survived in Tokyo kinda on his own and that this is not the first time he’s gone off to be stupid.

Ren still doesn’t show up at school or the house the next day. Step-dad wants to call the police because Ren is missing and he’s causing trouble and stress for the family. (“Clearly last year taught him nothing.”). Mother doesn’t want to call the police because she’s tired of police stuff and she doesn’t want this kind of stuff to keep affecting their family. Mostly she’s worried about how this will affect her youngest son. She’s losing the argument mostly because she’s losing conviction in herself as a ‘good mother’. 

Akira can’t handle their argument so he goes upstairs and finds Morgana trying to paw open the sliding door of Ren’s bedroom and meowing a whole lot. Akira opens the door for the kitty wondering if the talkative kitty just wants to sleep in Ren’s room like usual. Instead the cat paws at Ren’s laptop. Akira opens it and stares at the very intelligent looking animal. Mona unlocks the laptop (“Wait--is that his password?! That’s stupid as hell.” “Meow...”) and tries to get Akira to do something but Akira is mostly shocked so Mona uses a pen on paper to write, “Video Futaba.”

Akira doesn’t know who Futaba is, but he follows Mona’s instructions. He doesn’t find a Futaba in Ren’s contacts but Mona gestures at the one called ‘lil sis :3c’ so Akira calls.

In Tokyo, Futaba’s on a people-watching walk with Yusuke late afterschool when she gets a video call from the recent ghost Ren. She asks the person who she thinks is her pseudo brother where he's been and if he’s all good, but Mona jumps in before Akira can say anything and Mona starts talking away. Curious about the existence of a twin brother that they never knew existed before but more concerned for Ren’s safety, Futaba and Yusuke ask Akira to convince the adults to NOT call the police because Ren will definitely freak out while they call the rest of the group together to figure out what they can do. Futaba says she hasn’t been able to track Ren at all in the past two days and she’s worried he’s gone somewhere service doesn’t matter (like the metaverse). Akira tentatively asks if they and Morgana are part of the Phantom Thieves and Futaba’s like, “Duhhhhh,” and Yusuke very intimidatingly informs Akira not to get the authorities involved in any manner. Futaba says they’ll call back in an hour and hangs up, so Akira decides to get right to work (bc Phantom thieves can be very scary even if they arent trying).

Downstairs Akira tries to appeal with emotions. He warns the adults how calling the police to find Ren will not end well because Ren has had so many bad experiences already and anything that happens will not help Ren try to stay out of more trouble. Step-dad is mad that Ren wouldn’t trust law enforcement and Mother is just so-so tired of the whole mess. Akira doesn’t normally stand up against bullshit (normally Ren’s thing) but Akira is done with this so he’s like, “Of course he doesn’t trust the police! He’s the Leader of the Phantom Thieves and the police put him in fucking solitary! He’s never gonna trust you again after this either!” something like that.

Step-dad and mom are upset and they say Ren was doing the wrong things as a Phantom blah blah. Akira argues that the Thieves exposed bad people including the wrong-doings in the government where the law enforcement works, but the adults won’t hear it so Akira stops talking, turns and grabs a jacket, and leaves the house. It’s late, it’s raining, and Mona follows behind even when Akira climbs on his bike to go out and try to find Ren by himself.

The two end up at Samegawa after checking under bridges, mostly soaked and irritated when they spot a group of people up on the road with three umbrellas. Souji and Yosuke, Yukiko and Chie, and Kanji and Teddie are strolling around, hanging out, and what-not when they spot a teenager, a cat, and a ruined bike by the water. Souji goes down to help them because of course, and everyone follows because of course. Akira recognises like half of them and he’s wary these random adults just seem to bypass the distrust in the air by collectively worrying over him and his poor poor kitty.  

Teddie thinks he recognizes the teen because he’s like, “Ren-kun? Why aren’t you at work today! You abeardoned me to unpack the freezer by my lonesome!” And Akira stares because he didn’t know Ren works at Junes. Yosuke tries to hop in but Akira cuts them off and explains that Ren has been missing for two days and he’s trying to find him before the police get involved. If these adults want to help out so bad then maybe they can look for Ren too. Yosuke and Teddie get confused though because they both saw Ren at work yesterday. The rest of the adults also mention seeing him around town yesterday as well, including when they went into Junes before they…

Akira is confused about all the glances they give each other, but Yukiko quickly catches on and asks if Akira thinks Ren might have been stalking them, and Akira gets offended. (Yukiko wasn’t making a serious accusation, she was just trying to distract Akira from the fact that they almost admitted to the existence of the TV World.) Chie asks what would be wrong with calling the police, and Akira says, “Bad experience,” ready to ditch these random people and continue his search, but Yosuke goes wide-eyed and urges Akira to wait. Yosuke clearly understands some of what Akira meant and says they’ll help out, especially since they were the last to see Ren.

They go to Junes where Yosuke unlocks the back door (after Kanji searches around any place in the area that delinquents like to hide. It’s raining too much for anyone to be out.) They check the worker room to look through any of Ren’s stuff. They don’t find anything weird until Souji points out that Ren signed into work yesterday but never signed out. Now that doesn’t indicate everything, but the weird hours he worked yesterday do, mostly because they line up with the time that the group went to Junes yesterday. Chie investigates on the security footage and finds video of Ren sneakily following the group around the department store until they finally end up at...the electronics section.

All the adults + Teddie get real quiet and Akira and Morgana get real angry about all the silence. Akira asks why the camera is angled so weird over the TVs, and why the adults had gone into the electronic section and had not come out until an hour later, or why they don’t see footage of his brother away he followed them into the TV area. No one says anything right away so he asks if they hurt him or if they did something magic to them, like put him some place where his team couldn’t track him. Kanji jumps up to defend them all to say they didn’t even know Ren was actually following them and that they would never hurt a kid, but of course Akira has many reasons to not believe a stranger, so they’re both very tense. Souji tries to stop the fighting when suddenly the old CR in the room turns on.

P5R spoilers sorta!!! But the Midnight Channel shows an Asia-based fantasy world where Ren (with horns because you know he would want them) is in a version of Leblanc soaking dishes in a pail of water when Sojiro (plain but nice human) walks over and mentions that he wishes Ren wouldn’t have to go back to his hometown. Ren asks to stay forever and Sojiro agrees, talking about how happy their little weird family is now. They tease each other over the honesty, but they both look happy. The Midnight Channel shows this like a scene in a drama and the camera does a close up of Ren’s genuine happiness until there are sudden distorted voices telling their vile prisoner to focus. The camera pans out to show Ren alone in a dark, gross, blue prison cell wearing ragged clothes and his hands bound behind him. Someone opens a cell door, and judging by Ren’s unmasked trepidation, whatever follows next will not be good. The clip ends with an echoing slam of the bar doors behind the visitor.

In the darkness following the end of the clip, the IT members all freak out over the recurrence of the whole thing while Akira numbly checks his phone . He didn’t realise he had gotten messages, but they are all from someone who is somehow in his phone as Alibaba. The messages are asking where the hell is he and that there better not be police involved and that the only reason he shouldn’t be looking at his phone is because he fell asleep or something. Judging by the (loud, knowing) reactions around him and Morgana scratching at the door, Akira thinks he understands what is going on and why that Phantom Thief said that she hadn’t been able to track Ren. Akira leaves a message that says, “I think I know where he is,” and then he turns to the others and says that it's obviously some sort of magic that they know about and if they won’t help him out further, than he and his brother’s magic cat will do it on their own.

Of course that is a problem so the IT goes nonono we’ll do this this is our job let’s go, and Akira successfully swindled the IT into shutting up and helping. They all go inside the TV where Morgana can stand on two legs, Teddie is in a bearsuit, and the world is gorgeous and bright. The IT gets straight to work, Teddie sniffing, everyone putting on glasses, and trying to explain things to Mona and Akira. They don’t have to explain much because Mona understands most of it already and he’ll likely ask Lady Lavenza later. Akira is so confused about talking cat-shaped embodiment of hope and this entire night, so Souji urges them to focus on at least finding Ren. 

Teddie can only confirm that someone is in the World, just not who or where, so they need more info. Chie suggests leaving for the night and coming back with more info or maybe sleep? Guys? But Akira is worried out of his shit and Morgana is angry at Ren for running off so they start saying as much as they can think of. Akira mentions Ren’s obsession (big ol’ crush) with Naoto when they were in middle school (to everyone’s great discomfort), Ren’s average grades, and Ren’s favorite color. Mona mentions that Ren is a phantom thief (to the IT’s great surprise) and that recently they had a...disagreement.

Two days ago, Ren decided to skip school. Morgana had said that if he didn’t keep his grade up and/or his attendance, Ren would get in trouble and his mom would never let him go back to see everyone in Tokyo. Ren, who had been oddly quiet and down the past few days, suddenly got angry and said if Morgana wanted to go back to everyone so bad, then he should have never followed Ren to Inaba. Morgana said he came home with Ren to watch over him and keep him out of trouble, but Ren said there was no trouble that he hadn’t gotten into already and that he doesn’t need anyone breathing down his neck. Mona got pissed and asked why Ren wouldn’t want him (his roommate for a whole year!!) here when no one else was friendly, but Ren didn’t answer and left.

Morgana hadn’t seen Ren since they argued, and he didn’t understand why Ren had been so angry all of a sudden, but Akira realized quickly. Yes, the twins aren’t very close anymore, but Akira says that Ren won’t ever ask for help even from people he trusts. Ren stands up for others all the time, but rarely does anything for himself. When their parents divorced and the twins were split up, Ren only got mad for Akira’s sake. Ren definitely doesn’t see Inaba as home anymore (maybe not even since Akira and Dad left), but he’d rather send a friend home (his REAL home) than both deal with his feelings and drag friends into it.

This is plenty of info for Teddie but before they go Souji reassures Mona and Akira that they’ll find Ren, help him talk, and help him be some place where he’ll be happy and supported. (Souji works as a social worker so kids can find homes like he did when he came to Inaba.) They all set off in a direction and they find what seems to be a fantasy village of similar looks to the clip from the Mayonaka TV. Morgana starts to recognise some of the streets as streets in Yongenjaya so he leads the way to the street Leblanc is on. They get interrupted by the guy who owns the second-hand shop. He starts talking to Akira and Mona like he knows them (he’s assuming they were hit by a witch’s spell that changed their appearances) and says he’ll always give them a discount for everything they do for the community. 

This is confusing wording so Mona points out that the man sells them materials for tools when they can’t get enough from the Metaverse. The man shouldn’t know what Ren does with those tools. Souji points out that this area they’re in does not seem to be wealthy, so maybe their Phantom Thievery has supported the area. They head to Leblanc to investigate more.  

[welcometohashihigh]

Meeting the Cast: Akira

Akira ran to his classroom, his breath coming in short gasps. He couldn’t believe he was late on his first day. Not again, he thought. He slid to a stop in front of the door and flung it open, revealing only two students. He checked his watch, then looked up at the clock on the wall. Damn, he forgot to adjust the time for Tokyo. 

Akira looked up at the two students, familiarity shooting through him. They were the two boys from his vision! The gray haired one was at least attempting to get some sort of work done while the blue haired one was doing his best annoy the gray one. When Akira slid the door open, both had looked up, a minor amount of shock crossing over their faces. He felt like he had intruded somewhat.

“Ah, s-sorry to disturb both of you.” Akira was about to walk away when the blue haired one spoke up. His voice was voice was soft and almost monotone.

“No, its ok. Come on in, we weren’t busy.” The gray haired one glared at the small boy. 

Akira walked in and sat down next to the two. “I’m Kurusu Akira. Are you two part of the cultural exchange?” He felt odd sitting close to them. The only other time he saw them was the vision of battle, and both had looked much different then. 

The blue haired one nodded. “Yeah. This class is supposed to be everyone who’s part of it. Arisato Minato.” He smiled very softly, like he didn’t do it often. Arisato wore a small pair of headphones over his school uniform. His voice was light, but staring into his eyes Akira found a rather similar look. He wasn’t sure why, but whenever he looked in the mirror recently his eyes had this dark gleam in them. He didn’t have it until…. Well the more he thought about it, the gleam had only shown up after he had ‘died’ by Akechi’s hands. Perhaps that was it. The look of someone who not only saw death, but truly felt it.

“I’m Narukami Yu.” Narukami adjusted his glasses, a pair of thick black frames with a few colorful stripes on the side. “It’s supposed to be a rather large mix of different years. Not sure who else is supposed to be here, besides some of my friends from Yasogami High. I heard some students from a nearby school are coming too.” Narukami seemed friendly enough. His gray eyes were hard as stone though, filled with a rather odd intensity. They flickered when he mentioned his friends, as is fear had flashed through them.

“A nearby school?” Akira thought about it. There were lots of local schools, but his mind went straight to Shujin. Though he doubted all of his friends would end up here. And Yusuke went to Kosei anyway. He felt his heart drop at the mention of friends, especially since Narukami was going to get to spend his school year with his. 

“My friends from Gekkoukan High are a part too.” Arisato sighed. Despite his teasing of Narukami, he seemed to have a rather lax personality. “There was another school. Just one student, one who volunteered. I heard rumors he only came because of the free food.”

Now that sounded like Yusuke. “Were the other two schools Shujin and Kosei?” Akira couldn’t keep the hopefulness out of his voice. He truly missed his friends. 

Narukami shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t exactly remember. All I really remember was that Yasogami was on the list.” He continued to do his work rather dutifully. The two seemed like such interesting people. 

“You really only care about the Investigation Team, huh?” Arisato teased, a small smirk pulling at his mouth. “It’s fine, you know. S.E.E.S. would absolutely destroy you guys anyway.”

“Huh?” Akira was confused. Was that their friend groups? They had odd names, but then again… he still referred to the group as the Thieves. Despite the Phantom Thieves technically being done, the friends still talked and hung out when they could. 

Narukami looked up, a little worried. He shot an angry glare at Arisato, before responding. “Well, you see-”

“Yu!” An incredibly happy voice burst into the room. Narukami instantly perked up as a tall, brown haired boy walked in. “Sorry for taking so long, Chie wanted to finish her breakfast.” Narukami stood and walked over to the boy as five more people walked in behind him. 

Akira smiled at the onslaught of people. They must have been the students from Yasogami High, considering how friendly they were with Narukami. He couldn’t deny that he felt a pang of jealousy. 

The group made their way to their seats, still chattering. Arisato turned away, apparently not interested in further teasing with Narukami. Once it started to settle down, Akira introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Kurusu Akira-”

The brown haired boy grabbed his hand too eagerly. “Hi Akira! I’m Hanamura Yosuke.” Akira felt odd, but not bad at hearing Hanamura call him by his first name. The boy reminded him of Ryuji. He smiled at the memory. When he and Ryuji had first met, the boy had absolutely refused to call Akira by his family name. He had found it slightly off putting at first, but he grew used to it. 

A girl with short, light brown hair and extremely intelligent eyes laughed at Hanamura. “What was that, Yosuke? I’m Satonaka Chie, but go ahead and call me Chie.”

“It’s….” Akira giggled. He found the group absolutely charming. “It’s nice to meet all of you.” Narukami seemed to be the odd one out, with his larger stature and softer personality, but all of his friends liked him. Another pang of jealousy hit him. Damn, he really missed his friends. 

“Akira! Holy shit!” That was a voice he recognized. Akira stood quickly, almost tripping over himself to get to the source. There he was, the absolute idiot. 

“Ryuji! I didn’t think I’d see you until later!” Akira felt elated, his heart fluttering. He pulled Ryuji into a tight hug, though what was behind him shocked him even further. “Ann? Makoto? Yusuke?!” The entire group was here, apparently just as surprised that their leader was here too. 

“Akira, we… we all volunteered for the exchange program, since we already knew each other. We never expected you to be here too.” Makoto smiled softly, clearly happy to be back with the gang. “The Thieves are all back together again.”

“Well, almost all of us.” Ann noted the absence of Morgana with a sad note. It was true, Morgana hadn’t come back with Akira to Tokyo. The group seemed a little downtrodden, but then Akira remembered. 

“Oh, well I promised I would video call him tonight. I’m sure he’d love to see you guys too!”

“The Thieves? Wait, are you guys talking about the Phantom Thieves?” Chie looked over at the new group, and Akira felt his heart drop. Oh. Just because they beat Yaldabaoth didn’t mean that people just forgot about the Thieves. “Do you guys remember that from last year? That was crazy to watch! Oh, but they were so cool!” Chie seemed oddly optimistic. 

“Ah, right. I lived in Tokyo at the time, so they were a little… up close and personal.” Akira cast a sharp glance at the others. His message was clear; we weren’t the Thieves. He walked back to his seat with them, everyone sitting down and chattering. People introduced themselves, laughs were exchanged. Akira felt happy, relishing in the wonderful people he was surrounded by. 

“It was weird though. Didn’t the very police say that the leader of those Thieves was dead? But then he turned up all of a sudden! Completely unharmed!” Hanamura pondered the logistics of Akira’s death. A small boyish looking person, who sat really close to the largest of the group, spoke with a firm voice. Akira remembered that their name was Shirogane Naoto. 

“It was very odd, yes. We weren’t in Tokyo at the time but the stories circulated everywhere. I myself watched that calling card several times over, trying to figure out how this ‘Phantom Thief’ managed to escape death.”

“Perhaps he was as crafty as the gentlemen thieves of legend.” Akira smiled sincerely. Ann had looked ready to try and bullshit, but knowing how horrible her acting was, he decided to step in. “We liked them so much we decided that we’d name ourselves after them.”

“While I agree that the Phantom Thieves were quite the spectacle, imitating them is probably a bad idea. What happened earlier this spring doesn’t just go away.” A tall girl with long red hair walked in. She didn’t seem to be from Yasogami or Shujin, but Arisato jumped up. 

“Mitsuru! Junpei!” It was weird to hear Arisato sound so excited. He didn’t seem like the type to really get excited. But Akira couldn’t deny it was almost cute. Arisato greeted the group that just showed up. The room was starting to get full. 

“Oh, I’m glad everyone is here finally.” A tall woman strode in. She looked young, with short black hair and wire glasses. “I’m Mrs. Tori, I’ll be your homeroom teacher. Welcome to Hashi High.”

[reverselights]

[Series of Drabbles]

[Yosuke Hanamura] - Fireman AU

"Here's your cat! He's safe and sound," Yosuke handed you your cat as you smiled in relief. Your cat had gotten stuck up a tree after running away from you for about the fifth time this month. It refused to eat again and went up to the tree in front of your house and you tried to coax it down. However, your cat was too scared to go down. But luckily, some firefighters saw and helped you get your cat down the tree.

"Oh my gosh, C/N! I've missed you so much! Oh how could I repay you?" you asked. Your cat was basically your life and he had helped you get it down. You genuinely wanted to repay him back, after all, your cat might've stayed up that tree forever!

Yosuke pondered about your question for a few seconds and decided to throw in a joke. "How about a date?" After some seconds passed, he laughed to fill the silence in. "Haha, it was only just a j-"

"Consider it done!" you chirped.

And just like that Yosuke got himself a date and a whole ride to the station back filled with teasing by a gray-haired firefighter.

_______________________________

[Tatsuya Suou] - Silent Time

"I know that you're our leader and all, but take it a little easier, would you?"

Tatsuya lied in his bed and you sat on the edge of the bed as you held his hand while occasionally squeezing it. Today was a long day and the team had fought many battles. Tatsuya was usually on top of his game, but today wasn't the best day for him, as he took many hits and used his spells quite frequently.

He felt too awkward and stiff to respond to you. Instead, he motioned for you to come and lay next to him which you happily agreed to do. He turned towards you as you moved closer to him for warmth and more comfort. He never meant to worry you, and gave you an apologetic look , to which you smiled at. Tatsuya looked sleepy and moved even more closer to you.

"Sweet dreams, Tatsuya," you mumbled. And unbeknownst to you, he whispered an, 'I love you' before the two of you drifted off to sleep.

[Chie Satonaka] - Studying

The smell of dusty books enveloped the library, where you and Chie were studying. You offered to help her study for the upcoming history test so that she wouldn't fail the next one like she did last time. However, it was awfully quiet in your area.

"Hey Chie, are you done?" you asked her. You lifted your head up from reading the book you were engrossed in to check on your girlfriend. She had fallen asleep and rested her head on the set of history questions you prepared for her to complete, to only find it to have a bunch of scribbles and a minuscule spot of drool on it . You sighed and cringed for a slight second and tapped Chie's arm.

"Wake up. It's time to go now," you softly spoke. Chie groaned as she lifted her head off of the desk. She rubbed her eyes for a second and then had a devious smile plastered on her face.

"Can we get meat sticks first?"

'I swear that girl loves meat sticks more than she loves me.'

[Yu Narukami] - Bookstore Meeting

You strolled through the aisles of books as you tried to find an intriguing book. It went on like this for a few minutes until you found a red-covered book called The Great Thief.  However, due to your height, you couldn't reach the book. You tried to grab the book, but failed miserably until a certain someone came to your rescue.

"Is this what you were looking for?" a monotone voice asked you.

You turned around to see a boy with silver hair, wore a Yasogami High uniform, and was tall. He handed you your book and gave you a small smile. Blood rose up to your cheeks and fidgeted slightly from the embarrassment.

"It's a good book. I highly recommend it," he informed.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to read it all the way," you shyly said. He left the aisle you were in, but not before giving you a small wave.

Now you just had to read this book.

[Kanji Tatsumi] - Battered and Bruised

"H-hey! That hurt!" Kanji growled. He had gotten into another fight with a random gang that was harassing his mom. Although he won, he came back battered and bruised and  needed his wounds to be tended to. He was being a little annoying while you helped him though, which you were definitely not grateful for.

"It's supposed to hurt! So just shut up and bear it! " you scolded back at him. He gave you a look and you retaliated by giving him one too, and he went quiet for the time being. You picked up another cotton ball and put some alcohol on it. Kanji braced himself for the incoming sting when you put the cotton ball on him, and then relaxed when you retracted it. He noticed the scowl on your face, and felt a little guilty.

"Hey, why're you so mad at me?! I didn't do anything, did I?" he grumbled.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm just...worried about you. I hate seeing you in bruises and cuts even if it is for a good cause. I love you too much to see you in pain, ya know?" you sighed out.

Kanji moved towards you and pulled you closer to him, which forced you to sit close to him. You blushed at his sudden actions, but you just stayed there. Although he was your boyfriend, he never really showed romantic actions and this was the closest you could get, so you just let him do whatever he wanted to do at the moment.

"I-uh, I'm sorry alright. When we're done, we can spend some time together, o-okay?"

[Maya Amano] - Positive

It had been an exhausting day for you: you were late for work, spilled your coffee on the street, and your boss yelled at your for things that you didn't do. All you wanted to do was to go home to relax and see your girlfriend.

"I'm home," you sighed. Footsteps could be heard coming from the hall, which belonged to Maya.

"Hello Y/N! How was your day today?" she asked as she began to help you take your belongings on the counter. You sighed again and shook your head.

"It was terrible," you mumbled. "I just want to lie down and sleep, like, forever." Maya gave you a sympathetic look and gave you a hug and a peck on the lips.

"Let's be positive, okay? I'll make you a nice bubble bath and we can order something in for tonight," she cheered. You gave her a small smile as she went into the bathroom to start the bath. Even though you had your not so great moments today, Maya for sure was the best part of the day.

[Futaba Sakura] - Competition

"Come on, please...!"

"You really think that can beat me?"

"Wha-"

"Haha, yes!"

You sprung up from the chair and cheered for your victory. You were playing a game with Futaba (which she begged you to do) and won the last round. She had a pout on her face and was feeling sour about her loss. You gave her a confident look and laughed at her expression.

"It's just a game Futaba! No need to get so sad over it," you assured her. Despite your words, Futaba still kept the same expression.

"Y-you, you cheated! I just know it!" Futaba angrily exclaimed. You laughed again, which made Futaba start to laugh too. After some moments of laughter, the two of you finally calmed down.

"Well, now you have to give me my prize too, since I won," you slyly brought up. Futaba groaned and her face started to flush. She leaned closer to you and gave you a kiss on the lips, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

"There, you happy now?"

[Akihiko Sanada] - Sleeping Troubles

As the moon towered over the earth, you could hear the subtle noise of the crickets outside your bedroom. You had been up for a while now and tried all sorts of ways to try and make you fall asleep, but it was to no avail. Perhaps the nightmares about Tartarus from the previous nights were keeping you awake. The stress of being the leader for S.E.E.S combined with the horrible nightmare was too much for you tonight and you groaned softly just thinking about it.

You really wanted to sleep, you really did. But you just didn't know how to, until an idea came in mind.

You grabbed your phone from the nightstand and pressed Akihiko's contact and then pressed the call button.

"H-hello? Y/N what do you need? It's...two a.m," Akihiko groaned out. You felt bad waking him up, but you needed him.

"I-I'm having some trouble sleeping. Can you come over to my room? Pretty please?" you asked him. Akihiko immediately said yes. He loved you too much to say no, and he understood not being able to sleep due to the fear of having nightmares.

You hung up and in a few minutes, you heard your door open and saw a tall silhouette. You held your breath, a little part of you thought it wasn't Akihiko. "It's me," Akihiko softly called out, as he closed the door. You exhaled out of relief and moved over to let Akihiko lie on your bed. He lied down next to you and put an arm under your head to make it more comfortable.

"You feel a little better now?" he mumbled. You nodded against his chest for a reply and finally began to feel like you were falling asleep.

"Thank you, Akihiko," you whispered. And that was how the two of you slept for the remainder of the night, in each other's arms as the moon glistened in the background.

[individuationfic]

It Was The Best Year

AO3

It’s a cruel twist of fate, Kotone thinks, that they have to stay in the love hotel for their trip. Even two years later, the rooms are painfully familiar; she remembers Junpei joking around, remembers Akihiko-senpai getting flustered at seeing her in a towel, remembers smashing mirrors with her naginata. From the extra little twinge in her belly, she knows Makoto feels the same way.

In some ways, Kotone is grateful for Philemon’s deal. It’s given her another chance to live, and to live it with the brother she thought was gone forever. But the toll—she and Makoto sharing emotions and pain—can be a little much. Though, she thinks, he has it worse. He has to deal with my cramps.

They convinced the school administration to let them share a room, and Elizabeth and Theo are next door. She’s glad they came, even though they had to pay for their own room and transportation. Being back on Tatsumi Port Island is easier with them here.

Makoto fakes being sick to get out of the trip to Gekkoukan, and Kotone offers to stay with him, and none of their teachers really care so it works. The four of them sneak to the mall for coffee and spend a quiet afternoon reminiscing. They’re leaving just as Narukami-kun and his friends are arriving, laughing and chattering, and Kotone can’t help the smile that stretches across her face. She wishes S.E.E.S. was more like them.

She feels more than sees Theo reaching out  to her. Things have been… awkward since he broke up with her when she was still Minako. Was “break up” even the right term for what happened? Can you even break up with someone you’re not officially dating? The whole situation is just as confusing now as it was back then. Maybe even more so, now that Theo’s given her a ring. Regardless, he’s been making amends ever since the day late last winter when he showed up on the doorstep of the hotel room Elizabeth was hiding her and Makoto in, so she doesn’t pull away when his hand falls on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asks. 

Kotone’s never been good at lying to Theo, so she says, “I wish I— we —could have said a proper goodbye before we—” The word died is unspoken, but heard all the same.

Ahead of them, Makoto’s feet stutter in their stride. He’s felt the rush of emotions she has. His sorrow answers hers.

A contemplative expression takes over Theo’s face. Then, almost too quiet for Kotone to hear, he says, “Elizabeth and I may be able to help with that.”

*

All four of them end up in Makoto and Kotone’s room. Kotone clambers up onto the bed and rests her head in Theo’s lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Makoto and Elizabeth take up a similar position.

“Only the two of you should remember this dream,” Elizabeth says. “The others will only have vague impressions of it when they wake up.”

Theo continues, “This means you can tell them anything you want; nothing that happens in a dream violates your deal.” Warm fingers press against Kotone’s temples. “Do you two have anything specific in mind for the setting?”

And God, Kotone can feel Makoto’s grin. “Hey, Elizabeth, do you remember that time I took you to Club Escapade?”

*

The place they end up in looks like the Velvet Room but isn’t quite right. Igor isn’t there, for one, and there’s a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and pulsing neon lights on the walls and loud, bumping music playing from a source Kotone can’t see.

She looks down and sees that her clothes have changed. They look like a modified version of her school uniform—not from Yasogami, but from Gekkoukan. A quick glance at Makoto tells her he’s dressed similarly, and the message is clear. Tonight, they’re Minato and Minako once more.

Minako blinks, and she and her brother are surrounded by the rest of S.E.E.S., who are also dressed in modified school uniforms. They take a moment to take in their surroundings and freezes when they register Minako and Minato’s presence. Minako’s heart leaps into her throat. Her brother reaches out to squeeze her fingers.

Aigis moves first. Of course she does. She wraps an arm around each of their necks and pulls them into a bone-crushing embrace. Her hug is not warm or soft, but it’s so full of love that neither Minako nor Minato complains about the discomfort. “I was supposed to protect you,” she says, and her voice is thick, like she would be crying if she was able to. “Why didn’t you let me?”

“We missed you too, Aigis,” Minato says. 

The sound of his voice seems to act like a trigger, because the rest of their team surges forward, and they’re caught up in a storm of love and affection and relief, and there’s no where else either of them would rather be.

*

“Wait, Aigis, you’re a Wild Card now?”

Minako, Aigis, Yukari, and Fuuka are all sitting on a couch near the de-facto dance floor, catching up while they watch Mitsuru-senpai try to teach Minato some of her ballet moves. “It happened shortly after your—after graduation,” Aigis says. “We all got trapped in the dorm and had to clear a place similar to Tartarus to escape.” Yukari and Fuuka both shift, uncomfortable, and Minako knows there’s more to the story that they’re not telling her. “Now that I know you two are alive, I’ll channel my new strength into finding you.”

And that’s a headache and a half to think about. Even if Aigis would be able to remember their shared dream, no one knew which timeline Kotone and Makoto existed in. They never wanted to find out. There’s a fifty-fifty chance the wrong Aigis would be the one to remember, and then she’d spend the rest of her life on a wild goose chase.

But Minako doesn’t want to ruin their night, so she just laughs and says, “That would be nice.”

*

After spending a few more minutes tiring Minato out, Mitsuru-senpai grabs Minako’s wrists and pulls her up to dance instead. She giggles helplessly when Mitsuru-senpai leads her into a dip, wildly inappropriate for the heavy rock music that’s currently playing, and when she’s upright again, Minako says, “Aren’t you in a good mood tonight? Do you have a cute girlfriend taking care of you now?”

Mitsuru-senpai flushes. “Not yet. I’ve been busy with work.”

“The Shadow Operatives, right? Fuuka told me about it.” Minako smiles. “It’s good work, Mitsuru-senpai. I’m glad we can trust you to do it.”

“You and Minato will remember this, right?” Minako nods, and Mitsuru-senpai continues, “Feel free to reach out if you need help with Shadows. Anonymously, of course. We take anonymous requests, too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

*

The couch has been taken custody of by Minato, Junpei, and Akihiko-senpai when Mitsuru-senpai finally releases her, so Minako plops down into her brother’s lap and wings her legs up to secure the other two. Akihiko-senpai, who is apparently just as useless with girls now as he was in high school, goes red and starts sputtering. Junpei laughs and says, “don’t let Fuuka see you. She might get jealous.”

“She’d be a hypocrite,” Minato snarks. “She loves Minako’s cuddles as much as you.”

Minako laughs, and then her brain catches up with her brother’s words and her eyes go wide. She swivel her head towards Junpei and says, “You and Fuuka are together?”

Junpei, a dumb, lovestruck grin pasted on his face, nods. “For about a year now. After, well, losing Chidori and you guys and the whole trapped-in-the-dorm thing, she was really good for me. Plus everyone else is pairing off, so we just kinda got put together and we found out we liked it.”

“What do you mean, ‘everyone else is pairing off?’” Junpei begins ticking off fingers. “Well, Ken never goes anywhere without Koromaru anymore, Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai still have their weird codependency shit going on—” Akihiko-senpai sputters at this, but doesn’t contradict it— “and Yuka0tan and Aigis are living together.”

“Huh,” says Minato. “That’s weird. I didn’t think they got along.”

“They didn’t, for a while. Yuka0tan was pretty resentful of Aigis for becoming a Wild Card. We all figured she inherited from you, y’know, and Yuka-tan was in love with you—”

This makes Minato jolt. “She was what?”

Minako laughs. “You never noticed? She fell for us after Yakushima. It was pretty obvious.”

Minato huffs and says, “Maybe I was just too gay to figure it out,” which sends Junpei and Minako into hysterics and gets a smile out of Akihiko-senpai. 

And then Ken is asking Minato to dance with him, and the conversation is over.

*

Shinji, surprisingly, doesn’t refuse her request to dance. “I’m sorry,” she tells him, voice low so the others can’t hear, “that I didn’t save you. I could have, but I didn’t.”

He knocks his forehead against the top of her head. “I was sick, y’know. Like Trega. I doubt I would’ve lived much longer anyway.”

“Knowing I stole the last few years of your life isn’t much more comforting.”

“Hey.” The soft tone in his voice compels her to tilt her head up to look at his face. “You took care of the others. That’s all I could have ever asked for. I forgive you.”

Minako lets out a quiet sob.

“And,” Shinji continues, “you have my blessing.”

“What?”

He jerks his head toward the far wall, where Theo and Elizabeth are standing, watching their group dream play out. “The blue guy. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since this whole thing started. I know what an idiot in love looks like.”

“Theo,” Minako says. “He lived in my Velvet Room. He and Elizabeth are helping us live now. He, uh.” She thinks about the ring on the chain. “He wants to marry me.”

“If you love him, go for it. You deserve to be happy, Minako.”

The relief is instant, like she let go of a breath she’d been holding for a long time. Finally, she feels free.

*

Kotone wakes up slowly, a lethargy having settled over her body. Theo’s pale hands are no longer cupping her head and have fallen to the comforter instead. He’s snoring softly. It’s cute.

She turns her head to look at Makoto, who is also awake. In unison, they sit up, careful to not disturb Theo and Elizabeth, and they slip out the door and into the hallway. They don’t speak at first. They just lean against the wall opposite their room, each deep in thought. Kotone is surprised when Makoto breaks the silence first. “What did you and Shinjirou-senpai talk about?”

“He gave me his blessing to get married,” she admits quietly. “He said he forgives me for not being able to save him.”

Makoto’s arm wraps around her shoulders and tugs her in for a hug. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’m sorry Ryoji wasn’t there.”

“I know.”

“Maybe we’ll find him in Tokyo.”

“Maybe.”

Then their door swings open and Theo’s frantic face pops out, though he calms significantly at the sight of them unharmed. “I thought something happened! Why aren’t you in bed?”

Makoto’s laugh is silent, but Kotone hits him anyway.

*

After she gets out of the shower and Makoto gets in, Kotone decides to talk to Theo.

Shinji’s words are a calming mantra in her mind. It’s funny; she’s never felt like she needed permission for anything before, but Shinji’s words are just that.

She and Theo go to Chagall for breakfast. The familiar aroma is comforting. Minako worked here, before. Kotone misses it. They order coffee and pastries and sit at a table in a corner away from the door. It’s still pretty early, so the café is mostly empty, which is nice.

It takes half a cup of coffee to pluck up the courage to speak. “I talked to Shinji last night. Or, well, Shinji’s ghost, or whatever you wanna call it.”

Across from her, Theo freezes. Oh, really?” he asks, his voice carefully emotionless. She knows he doesn’t like talking about Shinji. Well, he doesn’t dislike the topic itself; he just has trouble understanding how she can have platonic feelings for someone she’s had sex with. 

His worldview is still so simple, she thinks. Everything is black and white to him.

“Yeah,” she finally says. “I did.” She reaches under the collar of her uniform shirt and undoes the chain holding the ring he gave her. She holds it out to him, the golden circlet resting in the middle of her palm, and his face falls. She quirks an eyebrow and, before he can say anything, says, “I’m not wearing it until you propose properly.”

It takes him a minute to catch up, but when he does, the smile he gives her makes her stomach do somersaults. He snatches the ring from her hand with an endearing fumble and sinks to one knee. Distantly, Kotone hears the barista gasp, but all her focus is on Theo. He licks his dry lips and says, “Kotone, will you marry me?”

And the thing is, she’s known Theo’s wanted to marry her for a while, but knowing something is different from hearing it, and her heart feels fit to burst. “Nothing could make me happier,” she answers, and Theo takes a moment to shakily slide the ring on her finger before he’s picking her up and spinning her around.

“You deserve happiness.”

“I forgive you.”

Thank you, Shinji, she thinks, and pulls her new fiancé down for a kiss.

[crackimagines]

Sayaka Maizono meets Rise Kujikawa

Well hey, this is a nice ask that I don’t typically get! 

Thanks for the ask anon. I kinda went trigger happy on the dialogue because that’s my actual specialty when it comes to writing. Character interactions, and surprisingly not shitposts. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

After walking around Inaba, Sayaka strolled around Okinawa City, not knowing where to go next.

“Ugh, why did I ever think about coming here without anyone? I’m genuinely surprised I haven’t been hounded by fans, so I suppose that’s a plus. Still though, maybe i should’ve asked Makoto here…-”

Thud!

“Wha?!-Oh, I’m sorry!”

“No worries! I should’ve watched where I…was…-”

“-Wait a second, aren’t you Maizono?”

(Sayaka) “Yes…Hold on-Oh my gosh, Risette?”

(Rise) “I never thought I’d see someone like you around here!”

(Sayaka) “Same here! Oh right, aren’t you from Inaba?”

(Rise) “Well, my grandmother runs a tofu shop here, but I guess you can say that.”

(Sayaka) “Ah. You’re here on a break from showbiz, right?”

(Rise) “Yeah…something like that. Actually, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see someone like you here either.”

(Sayaka) “Well, I figured it’d be nice to get away from the cities for a bit and walk around the countryside would help me get some fresh air. But uh, I guess I can’t really stay away from the city, can I?”

(Rise) “Hah, I know that feeling. Ya know, I can treat you to some tofu if you’d like! I’ve actually been curious about your group.”

(Sayaka) “Sure, I’d love that!”

Tofu Shop, Inaba…

(Sayaka) “Wow, this is really good! I really appreciate this, Risette!”

(Rise) “No worries! And hey, since we’re both on break, just call me Rise.”

(Sayaka) “Gotcha. You can call me Sayaka too.”

They both nodded and continued to eat the tofu Rise’s grandmother prepared for them.

(Sayaka) “This town seems really nice! It must be really relaxing to just kick back here.”

Rise stopped eating and laughed nervously.

(Rise) “Uh y-yeah. It’s honestly really refreshing!”

Sayaka didn’t notice and kept digging in. Rise looked down at her bowl and continued to eat while contemplating.

(Rise’s Thoughts) Hm…She doesn’t seem to be aware of the murders going on here. Eh, I suppose that’s for the best.

They continued to make small talk, chatting about various things ranging from schools to the love life they desired. Though, Rise dragged a tad bit on about a senpai she really admired.

(Rise’s Grandmother) “Ah, welcome! It’s so good to see you again!”

(Sayaka & Rise) ?

“Thanks Rise’s grammy! Let’s see I want-”

“Hey hey HEY! Cool your jets there, me and Naoto can’t pay for your ass! You’d buy out this entire store!”

“The last thing I wish to do is to add on to Yosuke-senpai’s bill.”

Before saying anything, The three noticed Sayaka and Rise.

(Kanji) “Oh, hey-”

(Teddie) “OH MY GOSH! That’s Maizono Rise-chan is with!”

(Naoto) “Apologies for the commotion, miss Maizono.”

(Sayaka) “Huh? You’re friends with the Detective Prince, Rise?”

(Rise) “Yeah, this town has a lot of interesting people!”

(Kanji) “Nice to meetcha then. Name’s Kanji Tatsumi.”

(Teddie) “I’m Teddie!”

(Naoto) “Naoto Shirogane, a pleasure.”

(Sayaka) “I’m Sayaka Maizono! Please, just call me Sayaka.”

(Kanji) “So, how do you know her Ted? She popular or something?”

(Rise) “Well, Sayaka’s an idol like me! She’s here on break.”

(Kanji) “No shit?-”

(Naoto) “Kanji!”

(Sayaka) “Ah, it’s fine! I’m quite used to the language, what with being around Mondo a lot…”

(Naoto) “That’s right, you attend Hope’s Peak Academy. We go to Yasogami High School, it’s one of Inaba’s signature schools.”

(Sayaka) “That’s neat! By the way, I’ve heard a lot of people mention something about Junes? What exactly is it?”

(Teddie) “Why, it’s the most awesome place ever! I’m from there!”

(Sayaka) “Huh? What do you mean?”

(Rise Kanji & Naoto) !!!!

(Teddie) “I-I mean I work there! I’m the store’s mascot!”

(Sayaka) “Oh, that’s cute! Mind showing me around? I still am curious about Inaba!”

(Rise Kanji & Naoto) deep sigh of relief

(Sayaka) ? “Is something the matter?”

(Rise) “N-Nothing. Lemme buy something for them, and we’ll be right behind you. Mind takin em out, Teddie?”

(Teddie) “Sure thing! This way, Saya-chan!”

Sayaka nodded and followed him out.

(Naoto) “Before we head out, I’d like to advise caution. Someone of this status would only attract attention from everyone.”

(Kanji) “Yeah, 2 idols in a small town? No way in hell this is gonna go unnoticed.”

(Rise) “Should we contact Senpai and the others?”

(Naoto) “It’s best we should. Yosuke is already at Junes as far as I’m aware. Yu, Yukiko, and Chie-senpai are out and about, but they should be free.”

Everyone walked out the store and began to follow Sayaka, but Rise lingered back a moment to stare at Sayaka.

(Rise’s Thoughts) “A break huh? That must be nice for you Sayaka-chan…Though, I already seem to see where this is going…and I pray that this isn’t going to lead where I think it’s going to.”

“We’re not going to let you fall victim to these killings!”

won’t lie here, I definitely would NOT be opposed to writing more of this.

[dlamp-dictator]

Allen’s Rambles About Persona 4 Arena

So... back in my RWBY Rambling I said that I really wasn’t going to like May since I’d be doing my breakdown and retrospective on the Blazblue series for the release of Blazblue Cross Tag Battle. Well it turns out I suck at keeping a schedule when it comes to these Ramblings, because I still need to talk about Persona 4 Arena and Under Night In-Birth. Sorry for the wait folks, I just haven’t had anything to say about these two series until now. It was hard to figure out a good way to articulate how I feel about these two games. After a bit of thinking I now know how I want to tackle these series, so I’ll get started with Persona 4 Arena first then move onto Under Night at a later date. 

With all that said, hello Persona 4 and Blazblue fanbase, I’m Allen X. I write fanfics, fan lyrics to video game songs I like, and occasionally write out an opinion piece or two when I’m in the mood. 

I’ve been a big fan of the Persona series for a few years now, with Persona 4 Arena  being the main thing that drew me into the series. Since then I’ve played Persona 3 FES, Persona 4, and Persona 5, even dipping in SMT: Devil Survivor 2 just for the sake of trying what the SMT universe had to offer, and reading through the manga adaptation of SMT: Devil Survivor 1. For those of you not familiar with the Persona 4 game and are curious about it... well, I’m sadly not going to explain the plot or story, but I do recommend watching the anime, Persona 4 the Animation if you want a crash course in what that game is about and not spend 60+ hours on a JRPG.

In any case, let’s get that Synopsis out of the way. I’m gonna’ be a little cheap this time around and copy the wiki page if that’s alright with you all. If I were to give a true synopsis of Persona 4 Arena I’d be spoiling Persona 4 and Persona 3. So then:

The game takes place two months after the events of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 as well as two years after the Persona 3 FES's "The Answer" storyline. Like Persona 4, Persona 4 Arena takes place in the fictional, rural Japanese town of Inaba. However, most of the events occur in the TV world, a dimension that reflects people's feelings. In this game, the world takes the form of Inaba's Yasogami High School, which is divided in multiple areas that serve as arenas.

As Yu returns to visit Inaba for Golden Week, he and the others witness a commercial on the Midnight Channel for a fighting tournament, the "P-1 Grand Prix", hosted by what appears to be their friend Teddie. The tournament not only involves them, but also their companions Kanji Tatsumi and Naoto Shirogane. With their friends Rise Kujikawa, Kanji and Teddie missing, and Naoto absent, Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko decide to investigate. The following day, they enter the TV and find themselves stuck in a world resembling Yasogami High School.

So yeah, it’s literally a Persona 4 fighting game with some Persona 3 characters thrown in. I’d talk a little bit about Ultimax, but again I don’t want to fill this Rambling with spoilers

That done, I’ll move onto...

My History

Like I said, Persona 4 Arena was my first true dive into the series in terms of a financial purchase, but I’ve been familiar with Persona 4 since it first came out on the PS2 (God, I’m getting old). Yes, it looks like we’re two for two in terms of drama and fandom outcry not being what initially drew me to Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 as a whole. 

I actually got into Persona 4 when let’s plays of the original game was coming out. I mostly saw the clips and cutscenes of the game and was able to piece together enough about the plot to understand and enjoy it, but I was fully hooked when the anime came up, Persona 4 the Animation. I had a PS2 and PS3 at the time, but I really didn’t want to buy the game since the PS3 was starting to gain more prevalence and I was saving for other games. I found the anime it to be a great adaptation for the game, to the point where I can safely say if you don’t know about the story Persona 4 the anime is a great way to get caught up if you don’t want to spend 60+ hours playing the original game.

I bought Persona 4 Arena a little after it released in the West, and I found it to be one of the more accessible fighting games at the time, especially for anime air-dashers and for Arc System Works games in general. I had Blazblue at the time, but I sucked at it and just spammed revolver combos or Noel’s drive to get by, but Persona 4 Arena helped me get a better handle on how fighting games work.

Which brings me to...

The Appeal

I’ll be honest, this game doesn’t really have much appeal unless you’re a Persona fan. This game heavily references both Persona 4 and Persona 3 with how characters fight, a lot of flavor text that happened between characters, how a lot of the UI is displayed, and (most important of all) its story. I feel the same way about Dragonball FightererZ,  this game is a love letter to Persona 4 and Persona 3 fans, but unless you like those two games there isn’t much to care about. I think outside of a love for the series the only other real appeal is the accessibility. Before DBFZ came out, Persona 4 Arena was probably the most accessible Arc System Works fighting game out there. There was an auto combo system for new player to use, but there were also some more complex systems to it too, liking properly using EX moves and EX supers, managing Awakening Mode, properly using strong and Persona attacks in your combos do a large amount of damage, and so on.

Though, it I were to give a personal appeal of the Persona 4 Arena, namely for Ultimax, it’d be Golden Arena Mode, an RPG-esque mode that lets you gain experience, level up your character, and gave you wicked-powerful buffs as you get stronger. It was a great call back to Blazblue arena, and something pray get’s put into Cross Tag Battle somehow.

So all in all, not much I can say to sell Persona 4 Arena to people that have never played a Persona game. In any case, I’ll be moving onto...

My Mains

What kind of Fighting Game Retrospective would this be if I didn’t talk about who I mainly play? Just a quick explanation before I go on. When I play a fighting game, I usually have two to three mains, and about 4 subs. The main reason being in case someone gets extremely nerfed and become unplayable in a competitive sense. Now I rarely play top tier characters for this reason, but... well, they nerfed Answer in Guilty Gear for some God-forsaken reason, so I think I was right to have Ram and Chipp on the side. The reason I have so many subs is because I play these games on a more casual level, and I like experiment with just about everyone... except the grappler characters... sorry Kanji.

But anyway, here are my Persona 4 Arena Mains

Yosuke is basically the ninja of the game, and as you will see in future Ramblings, I usually main toward the ninja, the only games I haven’t would be Under Night In-Birth where I sub Seth, Virtua Fighter were I just haven’t touched Kagemaru yet, and... that’s really it. Yosuke is “Mixups the Character”. He has a move for just about every situation and can easily confuse his opponents. A warping sweep, kunai throws, his moonsault, God’s gift to all Yosuke mains, Tentrafoo, and Sukaja. And honestly, this is probably the most fun I’ve heard Yuri Lowenthal have voicing the guy. He sounds so energetic. 

Along with the ninja, I always main who I believe is “Best Girl” of that series. Now that’s a very subjective matter, I know, but I’ll just say that Chie is a rushdown-heavy character that I could get down with. I think this was my first time hearing Erin Fitzgerald’s voice too, and what a way to do it. I think she sounds great as Chie, at least for the fighting games. I’ll save my critique of Persona 4 for a later date, but her Power Charge ability and God Hand can one-shot just about any opponent. She’s a bit of a glass cannon as a result, but God what a cannon.

So... SHO Minazuki. I really like his playstyle, mostly because I don’t have to worry about his Persona breaking since he doesn’t have one. He’s rushdown-heavy like Chie, but he’s a little more risk-reward. His all-out attack has a weird hitbox, but other than getting around that I have a lot of fun playing him. I like him, I like him a lot.

I also subbed Yukari, Marie, Teddie, and Sho MINAZUKI, but these are my three mains.

So, with my main’s out of the way, I’m going go straight into...

The Conclusion

I sorry this Rambling isn’t like the monster the RWBY Rambling was, but I’m honestly very apathetic to Persona 4 Arena as a fighting game. As a Persona game I’ve got some issues with how it writes some of it’s characters and how contrived the story feels, but over I find it to be a solid game in general and worth getting if you’re a fan of Persona. 

[heartheaded]

"There is something you can do," Ai counters as he picks up his gaze again.

Yes, he's familiar with Kubo. He saw those broadcasts, too. He saw the interview, did his own digging beyond what they dressed up for the media outlets. Ai's entire existence revolves around looking past the television screen itself and exposing the reality within. Even if the show is a farce, it doesn't mean he will act as such. He prides himself on exposing that truth, even after what he went through.

"If guilty, Kubo ignored his own established pattern. Morooka wasn't on the news beforehand. No interviews. No talkshows. Nothing." His voice is more sure of itself now, and slowly Ai's posture begins to straighten up. Now that he's saying all of this out loud, he needs to also come clean.

"Have you heard of the Hope's Peak Academy Tragedy in Tokyo? It happened three months ago. Seven students from various classes were murdered by a girl named Toko Fukawa."

He returns to that previous grim expression, as if any moment he expects the world to simply cease to be. Ai can't seem to decide on embodying a defeated acceptance or stubborn resolve. Changing his commute would have been enough if Ai hadn't foolishly just shown his hand, but running into Shirogane clearly proved his fate was sealed either way.

"She was my classmate, but you will find no bias here. You will only find someone who knows what to look for, and Kubo does not have it."

"... If I go missing in the next 24 hours, you'll know it's still worth looking in to. There's this gaggle of students at Yasogami that were asking me questions since they recognized me. They might be able to help you, even if they're a bit... uncouth."

heartheaded​:

He follows shortly behind, but keeps his distance. Ai doubts the detective is worried about being on a train alone with a person whom they barely know, but being significantly taller may have a chance at inciting fear. Then again, though… would he even be afraid of such a familiar route? Ai must be the only one, yet he hides it well. This light thankfully pales out his skin so the other couldn’t see how pale he was.

It was with that thought that another comes to mind. Naoto is still working on those disappearances, last he was aware. Even if it isn’t exactly his business, Ai had been looking into it too. For the simple fact of not letting what happened at his old high school happen here, too. Tragedy would not follow him, and nosing about would ensure as many eyes that were available would be looking out.

❥ { ❝Shirogane, I have something to share with you that may be of use.❞ }

His voice is somewhat quiet, but still loud enough to carry from the aisle across from Naoto.

❥ { ❝I noticed something about the missing people. A one-man search party may not be as useful as an entire force, but it would be for the safety of the populace that you at least hear me out.❞ }

He looks out the opposite window into the darkness of the quickly passing tunnel, his eyes empty and devoid of his usual fabricated charm and wit. Would he even be believed?

❥ { ❝Everyone who went missing has appeared on a local channel in some fashion before they went missing, whether it be an interview or otherwise… they were recently on TV. I looked into the public news recordings available after each broadcast, and I saw each one of them at some point. The detail seems small, but I can’t help but be wary… since after those broadcasts, are when the disappearances would happen no less than a handful of hours later.❞ }

Ai pauses, contemplating his next words. He’s gravely serious, not an ounce of a joke available to find.

❥ { ❝Yesterday, I had a public interview for the papers and magazines, right outside of school.❞ }

Another pause, as his voice starts to waver.

❥ { ❝I think I’m the next victim.❞ }

Her eyes remain closed as he speaks. Information she already knows, but to hear it from an ordinary high schooler—more or less—and one not attached to the Investigation Team’s hip? He’s done his research, formed his own hypothesis and it resulted in the same conclusion she had, as well as that gaggle of idiots. If the way they had reacted in front of the tofu shop wasn’t enough of an indicator, this is.

He may be the next victim.

“I see.” Her eyes remain closed. The police never caught on to the same things she had. In fact, saying as much would more than likely add to the pile of mockery. If he had known the Investigation Team were connected, wouldn’t it make more sense to tell them? What could one private investigator do? If this culprit could kidnap Tatsumi, engaging in brute force would end poorly.

“And you are telling me this because…? As far as I know, the case is over. Kubo is the culprit. Even if I were still investigating, there isn’t much I can do.” In exchange for the pressure lessening, it feels like eyes are roving, watching the two of them.

She can feel it. Something wrong is going to occur, now or later, but the feeling is there, resting in her stomach like a heavy weight. Her father said to trust her gut instinct, even if it sounded illogical under the circumstances. Right now, it’s telling her to listen and stay on guard.

[zee-isaiah-pugnacious7-blog]

Campout (AU)

[The following is a revised scene of the Camping Trip. Expect mild fluff.]

It fell quiet in the tent an hour after Kanji joined them.

Yu didn’t mind. He had been spending time with the rebel a couple days after he joined the Investigation Team. He started out aggressive at first, but by the second time he decided it was time to make a change for the better and leave behind his ‘trouble maker’ reputation.

Since then, the leader started to like his company, and welcomed him in sharing his and Yosuke’s tent--- it was actually perfect, considering two of their guys didn’t make the trip… as if the night had plans for the boys.

Plans that, with Yu’s interference, took a different turn.

It was a gut feeling he developed. After the trio had shared their own rants about the dreaded King Moron (and devoured Kanji’s animal crackers, no penguin to be found), silence came over them; tired from a day of picking up trash and suffering food poisoning of the Nth-degree, there was no way Yu and Yosuke could stay up any longer.

At least, so he figured.

“Hey, Kanji, do you have any more room over there?” Yosuke asked, his tone a bit… tense.

He’s going to say something. Yu thought.

“Barely. If I move any further, I’ll be lying on a rock!” Kanji responded. “Why don’t you move over?”

“If I move any further, I’ll roll downhill!” Yosuke responded. (Yu then wondered how they ended up pitching the tent in such a horrible spot). “You sure you can’t scoot over?”

He’s going to say something… Yu knew.

“Why do you want so much room, anyhow?” Kanji scoffed.

“Uh, no reason…” Yosuke replied.

Better shut him up. Yu figured, then scooted closer to the rebel. “There. Is that plenty of room, Mr. Claustrophobic?” he quipped.

His friend blinked, while Kanji arched an eyebrow. “I-I’m not claustrophobic!” Yosuke countered. “I just… this tent is small, y’know? And the ground sucks,”

“You picked the spot,”

“Because it was the only spot left!”

“Lets just get to sleep…” Kanji groaned. “My group bailed on me, so I was stuck with the work.”

Yu looked at him, astonished. “You did all the work yourself? W-What were they doing?”

Kanji sneered. “Probably hiding in the tent until dinner… Bastards didn’t even save me any food by the time I arrived.”

“…Ouch. Talk about a dick-move.” Yosuke muttered, then added quietly, “(…at least you weren’t poisoned.)”

“Whatever. I didn’t expect anyone to eat with me anyway--- that’s why I brought my own snacks,”

Yu felt his stomach clench (and not because of Mystery Food X); to know he and Yosuke shared the only minimal food the rebel had brought for himself left him feeling a bit guilty.

“I see.” Yosuke replied, twiddling his thumbs.

He’s going to say something. Yu realized once again. Hanging out with Yosuke for so long, he knew when his best friend was going to speak his mind--- often leading to trouble.

And he knew that, whatever it was, it would piss off Kanji.

“So… Kanji,” Yosuke began.

Shit, here we go. Yu rubbed his face.

“We’re… ‘safe’ in here with you, right?”

Kanji gave him a look. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, given the fact that you’re---“

*WHUMP!*

Before Yosuke could utter another word, Yu hit him in the face with a pillow. “(Shut it!)” the leader hissed.

Kanji sat up, a glare in his eye. “What was that, Yosuke-senpai?” he groused.

“…I’ll tell you after my concussion clears up…” Yosuke groaned.

“It’s nothing, Kanji. Don’t listen to him,” Yu sighed.

“No, I want to hear what he has to say!” Kanji reached over and yanked the pillow off Yosuke’s face. “Go on, senpai, spill it!”

Yosuke flinched. “Well, d-don’t take this the wrong way, but… well, after seeing your Shadow---“

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up…! Yu repeated in his head, his eyebrow twitching.

“…I figured… you might… be… gay? I-I mean if you are, that’s fine, but since we’re in a tent I just wondered---“ Yosuke was rambling now.

“Seriously?!” Kanji fumed. “You don’t trust me in the same tent because of that?! You think I’m going to…?! That I’d even consider…?! What the hell, senpai?!”

“Well, sorry! But the way your Shadow was acting, it makes me nervous---!”

“You obviously missed the symbolism, idiot.” Yu spoke up, sitting up between the two.

“W-What…?”

Yu gave him a hard glance. “Think about what Kanji had told us on the rooftop--- he enjoys sewing. But because people find it feminine, he had to keep it to himself; if people learned the truth, they would call him gay solely because they think it’s not ‘manly’. …That’s what his Shadow symbolized--- in truth, he just wanted to be accepted. Think about Yukiko’s Shadow--- it was a princess. Because everyone kept talking about how she was the heir to the Amagi Inn, that’s how they made her feel. And think about yours and Chie’s Shadows--- yours was a total jerk and Chie’s was a bitch, based on how you both felt about your own situations.”

Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck. “…O-Okay, you’ve got a point there…”

“Then why do I feel like I have to prove my sexuality to you?” Kanji sneered. “Should I go hit the girl’s tent now?!”

Yu shook his head. “That’s overcompensation,”

The rebel gave him a confused look. “What?”

“…Trying too hard. Plus it would only make you look like a perverted creep--- like Yosuke.”

“Hey…” Yosuke whined.

“I dunno… apparently it’s not ‘safe’ to share a tent with me,” Kanji muttered, bitterness all over his face.

Yu scooted closer, patting him on the back. “I feel safe with you.”

“(S-Seriously?)” Yosuke whispered, taken-aback by his leader’s actions.

Yu have him another heated glare. “If you don’t feel comfortable, Yosuke, you’re welcome to sleep elsewhere.”

“W-What?! No fair, I had to set up this tent…!”

“So did I. But you’re the only one having a fit about our sleeping arrangements--- ergo, sleep somewhere else.”

“But---!”

“Out.”

Yosuke grimaced. “…tch, whatever. This spot sucks anyway,” he then smirked. “Maybe I’ll use Kanji’s idea and sleep in the girl’s tent, hee hee.”

Kanji rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Good luck with that, Major Pervert,” he said, Yu giving a mock-salute afterward.

Yosuke sneered, but smirked. “Good luck--- try not to turn this campout into Brokeback Mountain!” with that he dashed out.

However his reference was wasted, as the rebel only arched an eyebrow. “Brokeback what?”

“Never mind.” Yu chuckled, turning out the lantern and lying down. “I give it five minutes before he comes back with a black eye.”

“I give it less,” Kanji lied back, staring at the top of the tent. “…y’know, you didn’t have to stick up for me.”

“I wanted to. …Besides, Yosuke needs to learn to keep his mouth shut about certain subjects,”

The rebel turned on his side, looking at his senpai. “Why did you get so defensive about it? As close as you and Yosuke-senpai are, I figured you’d joke around with him.”

Yu shrugged, keeping his poker-face. “I knew you’d get upset about it.”

“You sayin’ I’m sensitive?!”

“I know I would be…”

Kanji arched an eyebrow. “Huh? W-Why would you be sensitive about it?”

The leader sighed; he had to choose his words carefully. “I just would be. Getting picked on for something like that… it really hurts. Don’t think that I never had problems with other people’s comments, before.”

“Tch. Don’t try to give me sympathy… You’ve got girls like Chie and Yukiko-senpai hanging out with ya! And Teddie keeps calling you ‘Sensei’. I hear you’re good on the basketball team, too, and hear a buncha kids talking about you--- good things, too.” He frowned, looking back at the top of the tent. “No one goes quiet when you enter a room, or takes off running when they see you coming down the hall…”

Yu sighed. “Yeah, well… it’s only because I’m from the city, and everyone thinks I’m a hot-shot. Honestly, I’m just doing my best in school, and help people out with favors.”

“Yeah, but people trust you! And why shouldn’t they? You didn’t give yourself a bad reputation…”

“No… I got the ‘cool’ reputation--- and it’s a pain in the ass.”

“How?! People love you!”

“Because they think I’m cool!” Yu clenched his fist. “At first I figured it was just because I was the new kid. But no--- somehow people take one look at me and think, ‘Hey, if I hang out with this guy, I might be cool too!’ ...It was like that in the city, too. I think you guys are my only real friends, just because you like hanging out with me as a friend, not to ride my coattails,”

“Well, yeah. Of course we like hanging out with ya--- hell, you’re the only friend I’ve ever made! No one else ever had the guts to just walk up and talk to me,”

“No one else hung out with me just for the sake of hanging out,”

“Still… at least they hung out with ya,” Kanji sighed, shutting his eyes. Yu could tell he was trying his best to keep a cool head, to forget about all the comments Yosuke made--- and then some.

The leader could sympathize, but in more ways than one. True, he was the most popular kid at his old school, and had gained quite a bit of popularity since attending Yasogami High… but there was a secret he himself had.

He felt alone.

His parents worked nonstop--- not because they needed the money, they just put their jobs first. The 16-year-old couldn’t remember the last time they spent time together. He thought of those nights where he had dinner alone, all the birthdays were the most he got was a card with a half-assed signature on it, all the sporting events and ceremonies his parents missed…

Now their work took them overseas. Why bother sending him to stay with relatives? He was used to being home by himself.

Sure, he could invite his ‘friends’ over, but once they had to go home, it felt as if no one ever entered his doorway. None of them left behind a memorable moment like his new friends did--- all they wanted was to check out his stuff, ask him about parties, watch a movie then leave. No one told him about their problems, asked him for advice, confided in him…

To everyone, he was just a ‘cool kid’.

To his parents… he was more like some pet that went to school.

When he first came to Inaba, he was worried it would be the same cycle… Kids would just see him as a hot-shot, no one would be home, and he’d feel like an empty shell.

Thank God things were different.

“Senpai…” Kanji whispered, breaking him from his thoughts for a moment. “Do you really feel safe with me? …Not because of what Yosuke-senpai said, but… from what I’ve done in the past?”

Yu didn’t have to think too much. The rebel had a bad reputation--- taking on biker gangs, threatening to beat up the team the first day they met… hell, the guy punched his own Shadow’s lights out!

But deep down… there was more to him than his tough-guy image. Yu wanted to keep hanging out with him to see what all he kept hidden in his heart.

Like how he wished someone would hang out with him just to learn more about him…to see if they found their time together worthwhile.

It often scared him. If something happened to him, would any of them have cared? Probably not. His parents wouldn’t notice until weeks later, and his old classmates would just turn to the next ‘cool kid’.

At least the team cared. And he cared about the team.

Kanji included.

“Of course I feel safe,” Yu replied, moving closer and resting a hand on the rebel’s shoulder. “We’re always watching each other’s backs, remember? I know who to put my trust in,”

Kanji looked at him, taken off-guard. “S-Seriously?” sputtered; he crossed his arms, clearing his throat. “Y-You’re just saying that cuz I’m helping you guys catch the killer,”

“And because we’re friends,”

“Yeah?” Kanji turned on his side, looking his leader in the eye. “So if the cops suddenly come up to me, accusing me of causing trouble, you won’t deny we ever hung out in case they pin you as a troublemaker too?”

Yu sat up on his side; their faces were close. “If anyone accuses you of anything, I’ll be there to stand up for you, even if it gets me in trouble.”

Kanji looked at him, sighing. “You say that now, but you’d probably back down…”

“Don’t be stupid--- I didn’t back down when we had to fight your Shadow and save you. I didn’t turn and leave when that cop came into Aiya’s and started making comments. And I kicked Yosuke out of the tent when he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. …I told you--- as long as you’ve got my back, I’ve got yours, no matter what anyone says.”

“Not even if your uncle got involved? He’s a detective, right?”

Yu scoffed. “He questions me about anything… Nanako often interferes so we don’t fight. Once I convince him you’re turning a new leaf, he’d cool off--- maybe still be suspicious of both of us, but I guess it’s part of being a parent.” He grinned. “Nanako would probably want you to make her something,”

Kanji blushed. “D-Don’t go around telling anyone! It’s bad enough someone saw my Shadow on the Midnight Channel. If you guys talk about my hobby, I’ll pound ya into the concrete!”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” The rebel turned on his back, letting out a heavy breath. “…Sorry. This whole trip’s been a pain in the ass,”

“At least it’s almost over---“

There came footsteps and loud groaning from outside the tent. “Hey…! Are you frickin’ kids asleep in there?! Anyone out past *urp* curfew gets suspended!” came the unmistakable threats of the teacher, Morooka--- aka, King Moron. It was clear he hit the booze a little too hard tonight.

“We’re asleep,” Yu responded, in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

“No you’re not! Get to sleep or you’re on my Shit List! (uugggh I drank too much booze…)”

The two stayed still, waiting until the obnoxious teacher stumbled off. “Senpai… Yosuke’s still out there!” Kanji said, a bit concerned.

Yu shook his head. “King Moron’s drunk off his ass. Yosuke could hide behind a tree and manage to avoid him,” he looked at his watch. “He should be on his way back by now. I wonder what’s taking him?”

Kanji stretched, letting out a yawn. “Maybe Chie knocked his lights out or something,” he looked at his senpai. “…Same thing probably would’ve happened to me--- I was so pissed I didn’t think twice about her deadly heels. Thanks for stopping me,”

Yu once again gave a shrug. “Like I said, it would be overcompen--- er, trying too hard. As long as you’re comfortable, I’m comfortable.”

“Alright, if you say so…” His face was still a bit red, and his position remained tense; he was still forcing himself to relax.

Yu moved back. “Here, scoot near the middle,”

“What? Why?”

“The ground isn’t too bad here. This way you’ll have less chance of rolling onto that rock,”

“Oh, uh, thanks… but what about you? Any further and you might roll downhill,”

“I don’t move much in my sleep, I’ll be fine.”

“Still… I can move back over, it’s no problem,”

Yu sighed. “How about we share the middle?”

Kanji’s eyes widened. “Are you nuts?! W-What if Yosuke comes back…?!”

“Then he can join us.”

“SENPAI!” The rebel’s face was completely red now.

“Kanji. We’re just. Going. To sleep. There’s no reason to feel embarrassed--- and if Yosuke wants to make comments, let him… you can just kick his ass later--- I’ll help.”

Kanji had his face covered in a face-palm. He mumbled something under his breath. “…If it were anyone else… Alright, senpai. If you’re okay with it,”

The leader gave a nod, then closed his eyes. The rebel let out another breath, relaxing and doing the same.

A few minutes passed before the two drifted to sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Since he left the tent, Yosuke had been in stealth-mode. The entire campsite had fallen quiet since the sun had gone down, save for a few students sharing gossip.

“Did you watch the Midnight Channel the other night?” one student was whispering to another. “That show was BEYOND weird!”

“I know right? …I liked the last one with that princess.” His tent-mate responded.

“…I almost had a heart attack,” a boy was saying in a first-year tent. “I was like, ‘There is no way in hell Kanji Tatsumi is my soul-mate!’”

“How about that weird show he was on? I didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up!” another boy replied. “…Hey, Naoki, you used to hang out with him when you were kids, right?”

“Yeah, but that was years ago.” Naoki replied. “Besides, I don’t think you should be talking about him behind his back. He looked pretty pissed at you guys when he left,”

“Where do you think he went?” the first boy asked.

“I dunno, but if he doesn’t get back soon, he’s gonna get expelled--- King Moron likes to lurk around, y’know.”

“Oh well. It’s his funeral,” the second boy responded.

“…talk about a freak,” a girl was stating in a third-year tent. “And I thought he was scary enough in person!”

“But why would he show up on TV like that? You think he’s someone’s soul-mate?” another girl asked.

“Ugh, who would want to date… that?” a third girl sneered. “In any case, the Midnight Channel sure has been showing weird stuff. I wonder who’ll appear on next?”

Hopefully no one, Yosuke thought. So far the investigation was proving difficult--- every time they had a lead, the next victim would end up throwing them off-track.

He paused in his tracks, hearing a horrible sound…

“SNOOOOORRRRRKKKLLLLTH… ZZZZZZZHHHHHOOONNNKK…”

“The hell is that…?!” Yosuke whispered to himself, finding it was coming from a second-year tent…

Right at this moment, Chie and Yukiko were coming out. “…no way I’m sleeping with that!” Chie was muttering; she gave a yelp when she noticed someone outside their tent. “Augh!”

“Shh! Shh! It’s just me!” Yosuke stammered, shielding himself.

“Yosuke?! What are you doing outside our tent?!” Yukiko demanded in a hushed tone.

“I was just, uh, taking a walk. I was having trouble sleeping, so I figured the fresh-air would help. …What about you guys? Why are you doing, sneaking out?”

“Ugh, can you not HEAR that?!” Chie sneered, pointing to the tent just as another symphony of snores rang out. “We couldn’t sleep with all that racket!”

“We were going to see if someone else would let us bunk with them,” Yukiko said.

“Why don’t you come to my tent? Our guys cut out, and we’ve got Kanji staying with us already…” Yosuke began to persuade.

Chie glared. “Nice try, Horny-mura. There is no way I’m sharing a tent with you,”

Yosuke sighed. “It was worth a shot…”

Yukiko looked up at the starry skies; thankfully the weather was clear for their trip. “We should find somewhere to sleep; it’s already getting late. I heard Morooka patrols the campsite at night,” she whispered.

“Oh shit… I forgot King Moron’s obsessed with busting anyone on school trips,”

“W-Well, lets hurry up and get back to your tent; if he catches you around ours, he’ll call you out for being a pervert.” Chie stated.

“Me?! What if he catches you two walking with me back to my tent?!”

Yukiko shushed them both. “Let’s just be careful; your tent isn’t far from ours, right? We can get there, then Chie and I can slip into someone else’s tent.”  She suggested. Another loud snore came from their tent. “…preferably, the farthest one from ours.”

The trio began walking. As they snuck through the campsite, they heard a couple more students gossiping. “You think the killer will strike again?” a first-year girl was asking. “I mean, it’s been a while, but… you think he’s still in Inaba?”

“I hope not… C-C’mon, lets get some sleep. No more talking about murders,” her tent-mate replied, timid.

“…You think the killer did skip town?” Chie asked in a hushed voice as they walked behind some tents. “We’ve thwarted him twice now.”

“So he might be in another town, throwing people into the TV?” Yukiko wondered. “…but… wait, would this even work in other towns?”

“…I don’t know. But, it sure seems weird--- the Midnight Channel rumors didn’t start until that reporter, Miss Yamano, appeared on television.” Yosuke replied.

“Oh, yeah--- someone was making a fuss about it, saying she was his soul-mate!” Chie remembered. “It does seem to fit… The Midnight Channel is an urban-legend that only exists in Inaba--- er, right?”

Yosuke shook his head, sighing. “I hope it’s just Inaba… If it turns out someone got thrown in from another city or country, we’re going to have a hell of a time tracking them down in the TV World,”

“Heeeyyy… are there a buncha low-lives over there?!” came a drunken slur, ten feet away.

“Oh, crap--- King Moron’s coming this way!” Chie gasped.

“Q-Quick, hide!” Yukiko urged.

The threesome hurried around some trees; Yosuke ushered them to climb up one, each of them clinging onto a sturdy branch, just as the drunken teacher came lumbering over, waving around a flashlight. “Where are ya?! I know someone’s over here…!” he hollered.

Yosuke flinched, hiking his leg higher as the flashlight’s beam aimed his way, avoiding getting caught in the light.

“Morooka!” came a teacher’s shout in the distance. “Get back to your tent--- it’s almost midnight!”

“And let these hooligans run ‘round…? *urp* probably heading into each other’s tents to cozy up with someone… Ya want to deal with a buncha pregnant teenagers?!” Morooka slurred back.

“Ugh, you’ve been drinking too much. Go get some sleep--- you’re going to wake up the whole camp!”

“Fine… but whatever happens didn’t happen on MY clock, buster…!”

Everyone kept quiet until they were sure the teachers were gone, then climbed down the tree. “Whew! That was too close…” Chie sighed with relief.

Yukiko looked around at the rest of the tents; they all had fallen silent. “I think everyone’s sleeping now. It’s so quiet,” she said. She paused, still hearing snoring in the distance. “…save for our tent. If we sneak into someone’s tent now, they would probably freak out.”

“My offer’s still on the table,” Yosuke said with a wink.

“Ugh, get over it…” Chie sneered; she heard the snoring in the distance. “…Fine. But will there be enough room? You said Kanji-kun was with you guys,”

“Why IS he in your tent, anyway?” Yukiko asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be sharing one with his group?”

“They all got quiet when he was in there, he said. We let him bunk with us,” Yosuke grinned, trying not to snicker. “That’s… actually the real reason I’m out here. I kinda pissed him off, so I had to am-scray.”

“What did you do?” Chie sighed.

“I-I just made a couple jokes about his Shadow--- I made a crack, asking if he were really gay and if Narukami and I would be safe sleeping with him. …Man, the look on his face! I never saw anyone turn that red!”

“What?!” Yukiko snapped; out of reflex, she slapped Yosuke across the face. “You asshole! How could you say something like that?!”

“I-It was just a joke…! Sort of… I mean, his Shadow was practically eying Narukami and I--- a-and those two muscular shadows it summoned groped our asses!”

“But his Shadow was just an extension of his feelings--- the way he was made fun of as a kid made him keep them locked up inside.”

Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… Narukami told me that…” he looked at himself and Chie. “I wonder why our Shadows never transformed into something like that, Chie. Ours dressed like us--- they just acted like jerks,”

“I wondered that too… Why did mine look like some evil twin of mine, while Yukiko’s was a princess?” Chie agreed.

“Well… maybe it’s based on how others make us feel?” Yukiko guessed. “I felt like a princess, Kanji felt like a gay stereotype… But, despite both of your inner-feelings, no one dubbed you two as anything else.”

“I think I get it…” Yosuke crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. “…and now I feel like a dick… He’s probably dealing with enough, after what everyone saw on the Midnight Channel.”

“I suggest you apologize to him. NOW.” Yukiko said firmly, a heated glare in her eyes. “What you said was downright mean-spirited!”

“Yeah. A-And you have no right to tease him about it, anyway! You keep making lewd comments--- how would you like it if we accused you of being a sex offender?!” Chie snapped. “I’ve got a cell-phone full of the gross text messages you send me at night as proof!”

Yosuke flinched. “Alright, alright, I’ll go apologize! No need to get personal…”

“You’re already there, Hana-moron.”

Yukiko snickered, covering her mouth to stifle a laughing fit. “Hee hee hee! That’s a pretty good nickname for him…! *snort* Ha ha!”

“Shh! Shh! Keep it down, Yukiko! You’ll wake the whole camp!”

“C-C’mon, our tent is over here. …It might be a little cramped, but I think we can make room,” Yosuke assured as they snuck over to his tent. The lantern was out, and it was quiet save for soft snoring. “Huh. They must be asleep. Better be qui--- guh!” He froze after poking his head in.

“W-What’s wrong?” Chie asked, as she and Yukiko looked in.

“Aww…” Yukiko sighed softly.

Lying in the middle of the tent were Yu and Kanji; at some point during their slumber, the leader’s head ended up resting against the rebel’s chest; the first-year’s arm was draped around his senpai’s shoulders, both of them looking content.

“Oh geez… I was right…” Yosuke said, his voice almost cracking.

Chie elbowed him in the ribs. “If you say one word, I’ll kick you in the balls so hard your semen will ache!” she hissed.

“Oh c’mon! They’re curled up together!”

“I think it’s pretty sweet… But, should we wake them and let them know we’re here?”

“Let’s let them sleep,” Yukiko advised, then grinned. “Hee hee, they can actually serve as a barrier between us and Yosuke.” She looked at the right side of the tent. “We can sleep on this side.”

Yosuke’s shoulders slumped. “But that’s my side… and there’s a huge rock on the other side! It’ll kill my back!”

Chie crossed her arms, giving him a look. “Well, maybe that’ll teach you to think twice before you make gay-cracks about someone, hmm?” She and Yukiko crawled over to the left side. “(Careful, Yukiko, it slants here…)”

“It’s only for tonight. We’ll be out early in the morning,” Yukiko assured, lying down with Chie.

Yosuke groaned, lying down on the left side, adjusting himself so that he wasn’t too close to the middle or lying on a rock; he ended up on his side, his back slightly arched. Damn, his muscles were going to ache after this…!

He looked over at Kanji and Yu, trying to get his head around their position; sure, in his mind, he figured the tough rebel secretly liked to cuddle (something he was sure to tease him for later)… but looking at their leader, he was confused. He was only outside the tent for maybe 20 minutes, half an hour at the most--- they couldn’t have ended up that close in such a short amount of time, especially with the amount of time it takes someone to fall asleep (which, given their poor location, would be triple the effort).

Plus, Yu’s head was on Kanji’s chest… the silver-haired student using the freshman as a pillow. The way the rebel was laying--- one arm around his senpai, the other sprawled by his side--- it seemed he made no effort to curl up with the leader.

In actuality… it seemed like Yu was the one who snuggled first…

So, our leader cuddles in his sleep… Yosuke thought, beginning to drift off as fatigue set in despite his suspicions were going haywire. I wonder if that’s his only secret, though…

He wasn’t alone, as Yukiko and Chie were looking at Yu as well; the leader had been training with the tomboy for a while, and had just started hanging out with the inn-heiress. “Hey, Chie… do you think Yu-chan…?” the latter quietly whispered.

Chie shook her head. “L-Let’s not jump to conclusions… otherwise we’d be no better than Yosuke.” She smiled, looking over at the middle. “…besides, it’s kinda cute. Oh, I wish I could take a picture with my cell phone,”

“Um, maybe it would be best if we kept this a secret. For their sake.” Yukiko rubbed her arm. “I don’t want them getting teased...”

“Yeah… Okay. Consider my lips sealed,”

Yukiko nodded, and the two drifted to sleep.

…

Unbeknownst to them, their leader overheard everything. He had only been half-asleep by the time they came in--- Kanji dosed off quicker than he did, his arms stretching out. The silver-haired student had no choice but to lift his head above the left arm… and it automatically curled around him. He would have moved, scooted over… but knew that would make him a liar after stating he was comfortable in the middle with the freshman.

In fact, he was more comfortable than he thought he would be.

After a lonely life in the city, it felt nice to be held by someone--- guy or girl, it left a warm feeling in his heart. He actually felt like the bond between him and Kanji would be growing closer soon.

Not to mention… he did like the rebel. He admired his will to change, the effort he was making to turn a new leaf, how he opened up to the group after his recovery… And Yu wanted to see the best of him.

He stole a glance over at Yukiko and Chie, thankful they would stay quiet about it. Yosuke would probably make jokes about it, but the leader was already thinking up retorts to counter his wise-cracks.

Closing his eyes, Yu began to nod off, listening to the chorus of soft breathing, mild snores, and a strong heartbeat drumming against his ear.

Yes, he certainly felt safe.  

[shadowtarot]

Ken and Akihiko blindly charging at Takaya - TII

Thieves in Inaba Part 80

Ryuji falls to the ground, holding his abdomen. “D-Damnit! That was a real ‘effing gun!” 

“You stupid monkey!” Morgana shakes his head, moving to heal him, Ann asists. 

“Seems that wasn’t enough. Oh well…” Takeya refocuses his efforts on Shinji. 

“I’m not letting this happen again!” Akhiko charges at the shirtless gunman, decking him in the face which catches him off guard. 

Ken takes the opportunity to trip him with his staff. “Now’s our chance….”

“You’re wide open! MOROS!”

Yasogami Tower Lobby

A number of destroyed machines litter the once clean marble flooring. Out of breath and close to dropping, Sho looks around. “Is that…all you got?! No more toys to break?!” 

But no response is given. 

“Where did he….?” The red haired Wild Card looks to the stairs to see no one there. It seems during his fight, his adoptive father used the chance to flee. 

“COWARD!” Sho starts to run up the stairs, but staggers a bit as he does so. “I’m not gonna let this beat me…I’m not done questioning you…you son of a bitch…”

Persona Training Center

Looking up, Ai sees Kou shielding her from the Shadow wolf. It’s biting down hard on the sword he grabbed, but a claw managed to get him bad in the still bare chest. 

“Kou…” Ai shakes her head. This wasn’t the time. Quickly moving to grab a spare air soft gun she shoots the shadow dead. 

“Nice work…are you okay?” The basket ball player asks, looking her over for injuries. 

“I should be the one asking you that! Your chest is bleeding!”

Kou looks down, seemingly just now noticing it due to moving on only adrenaline until this point. “Damnit…so I am.”

“Hey, you lovebirds can chat later! We still have more shadows to deal with!” Iwai shouts, shooting a few. 

“R-Right!” 

The group fends off the remaining shadows until none remain. With a collective sigh they all relax. 

“We did it…” Daisuke slumps down into a chair, exhausted. 

“Well now we just need to treat Kou’s injury.” Sae states, looking at the basketball player. 

“But the town’s on lockdown.” Ai states. “How can we?”

“I have a way. Sadly my phone is dead. Iwai do you mind making a call?”

Tokyo

“Monsters roaming the streets, children going missing, and now I get a weird call from that Cafe owner.” Tae mumbles, looking over her papers. “Several people have come in with all sorts of injuries. Not life threatening…but ones that no one else would believe came from ‘Monsters’. Am I the only one who remembers what happened on Christmas Eve? Or was that just a dream?” 

She shakes her head, when her phone rings. “Again?” Answering she hears comotion on the other line.

“Nijima better have given me the right number. Is this Takemi?”

“Yes, you have the right number. May I ask who’s calling?”

“Look I’m just gonna skip the formalities. I’m not calling for a house call, we have an injured kid here and I need advice as soon as possible.”

“Pushy much? What’s the issue?” Takemi asks, taking out a notepad. 

“We’re in Inaba. Place has become the equivalent to hell right now and we were attacked by those freaks.”

Tae gasps, hearing how far the sightings have spread. “It’s reached Inaba? I’ve had to treat several people today for ‘Monster attacks’.”

“More like they’re coming from Inaba. This place became a damn hornets nest. Kid has major scratches on his chest. Claw marks.”

“How deep are the cuts? And how close to the heart?”

“Seems to have missed the heart, but the claws went in a bit deep.”

“I see…are there any first aid kits where you are sir?”

“Yeah, pretty damn heavy duty. Ren must have over prepared..”

Tae pauses, hearing Ren mentioned. “Ren you say…. Frizzy hair, not afraid to back talk? Lives in Inaba?”

“We both know him? Makes things a bit easier. But why do you ask?”

“Open the first aide kit, and look for a leather pouch.”

“Uh..okay. I found it, but what’s in it?” 

“Medicine he bought from me. According to him it helped a lot with his work.”

Iwai is quiet on the line for a second. “I’ll use it on the injury then.”

“Keep me on the line, alright? I want to make sure nothing else affected this young man.”

Captive Block

Making their way down carefully, the freed captives start to slowly search for an exit to the floor they were on. The Fox however, seems tense. 

“We still haven’t figured out what this little guy saw.” Kenji states. “If Hifumi-chan’s statement was right then there has to be another person here right?” 

“It was only a hunch.” She clarifies. “Basing a claim on unproven evidence and one sided opinions makes you no better then Goro Akechi.”

“Speaking of that guy, do any of you know what happened to him? He just vanished after that last TV show he was on.” Yumi asks the group. 

Sojiro is quiet, not wanting to answer but also hiding his knowledge by tuning out the topic.

“Well I never really liked him.” Naoki admits. “He seemed really happy to be on TV so often. Nothing like the other one…” 

“He’s dumb. The Phantom Thieves are good guys and he did nothing but bad mouth them.” Shinya states. 

The fox suddenly growls, stopping in place. The group looks forward to see a scarfed figure approaching them. 

“Who’s there?!” Hifumi demands. 

Block 1, Floor 2

Ken and Akihiko are sent back a bit by Jin’s attacks. This allows Takaya to stand back up.

“Don’t let your anger get the best of you!” Minato yells. “This is a mistake I’m supposed to make, not you two.” 

Ryuji stands up, now healed from Ann and Morgana’s magic. “Yo, need back up?” 

Akihiko and Ken look to each other and then shrug before looking to Ryuji and nodding. Yosuke and Yu run in to assist as well. 

“So you’re going to try to overwhelm us by shear numbers? Very well, the outcome will still be in our favor.” Jin states, taking out a grenade. 

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

WARNING: Continued transphobia.

So I did try to put this up sooner, due to cilffhanger feelings, but didn't quite manage it. Hopefully you all forgive me!

------------

Rise couldn't believe the level of disaster her life had reached. And all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Because by the time she had finished crying, scraping herself together and sending the shambles that had once been a lovesick fool back into the school, she knew exactly where the leak had occurred. Plugging that would have to be the first step. And then…

Then what would she do? Beg Ai to take her back? She took out the note, stared at it, and almost threw it in the nearest receptacle. But that wouldn't do. No… she had to hang onto hope that there was still time.

"I got this," she whispered to herself as she used the note to wipe her eyes, smearing her makeup. "I'll do my best." Fine but empty sentiment. She had to take things one step at a time.

And step one was…

                                                   ~ o ~

"CHIE!"

The bowl-cut-hair had barely stopped whirling around Chie's head from turning to face Rise when she was hit in the face, full force, with a bookbag. The blow knocked her from her chair in the Junes food court and she went sprawling to the ground.

"WHOA!" Yosuke burst out in sheer alarm. "Hey, wait a minute there, Rise-chan! Where's the fire?!"

"You wanna know who's fired? SHE'S fired, that's who!"

Still struggling to sit up, Chie looked a little silly with a bag-print reddening half of her face. "Wha… whahidme?"

"Rise, what is the meaning of this?" Yukiko gasped in exasperation as she crouched over her girlfriend, trying to help her up. "Are you upset about something?"

It took real, concentrated effort not to snap at Yukiko, as well — especially given the Captain Obvious question she had just asked. But she knew she was only trying to be kind, to look after all of her friends equally. So she bit back the scathing retort and focused on the situation at hand instead.

"I'm upset about a lot of things, every day. But this time it's because somebody doesn't understand what a secret is!"

"Me?!" Chie intuited. "Are you- hey, I'm no snitch! Wait, what secret are we… talking…"

The food court went silent. Which was partly because it was too early for dinner, so they were the only ones there, not talking to each other. Rise idly noticed it seemed like Teddie and Kanji were absent, but she was on a mission; she didn't have time to worry about their whereabouts.

Finally… "Oh."

"So you got it? Huh? You figured out how you just screwed everything up?!"

"Now just wait a whole second, okay?" Chie said in a slightly nervous tone as she began to struggle to her feet. "I didn't say- I mean, like, I just figured it came out! Right? Because it's a secret, and this is a small town, and like, c'mon!"

"Who did you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyb-"

"NO! No, don't give me any of that crap, because we both know you had to have told someone — you already told at least one other person! I didn't tell anybody else! So who was it?"

"It… it doesn't matter!" Chie was trying to hedge with a hopeful smile. "Really, like I said, it was gonna come out sometime! Do you really think Ebihara could hide that forever? Like, he's kinda snowing the whole school…"

"Shut up!" Rise snapped, as Yukiko covered her mouth with her hand in alarm at the sharp tone. "That wasn't your choice, okay? And like I said, if I didn't tell, and Ai-chan for fucking sure didn't tell, then there's only one person it could be! Because I-"

"Oh dear," Yukiko whispered.

"Hey! I didn't commit any crime!" Chie shot back, starting to get heated herself now as she clenched her fists. "Tell that to the drag queen you've been hanging around with — he's the one that's gonna catch hell if they figure out he's been using girls' bathrooms and stuff! He should at least tell us if he wants to-"

"It's my fault."

Rise was still shouting when she turned to Yukiko. "What?! I mean…" She cleared her throat, tried to take the volume down a notch. "What?"

"Chie told me. When we were… well, when we were alone, because we're best friends. As you know, because we have already discussed things… so I was the beginning of the problem. I'm sorry."

"Yuka…" Chie sighed, grimacing. Clearly, at some point she had realised what had happened, and shifted her tactic to protecting her significant other. Rise would have respected it… if they weren't both going to be on her list now. At least that cleared up the true reason Yukiko had gasped; it was a sound of recognition.

"Really? You?" Rise said, completely betrayed. And disappointed; that much must have been readily apparent, because the innkeeper hung her head in shame.

"Yes. And Chie was so conversational about it, I… didn't realise… you seem very upset about all the rumours that have started going around now. Did we… have we done something wrong?"

Rise let out an exasperated noise. "Are you kidding? Of COURSE you did!" In the back of her mind, she knew she was basically just coming down on them to sidestep the blame Ai had thrown her way, but she couldn't stop; they had to pay for ruining everything. Someone had to, and she couldn't face herself. Not at the moment. "Do you have any idea what life would be like for her if they figured out for sure?!"

"Dude, who cares?" Chie tried to tell her reasonably. "Remember when we found out about Naoto? We're all cool! So what if she's a chick instead of a dude, or Ai's a dude instead of a chick?"

"U-um, I prefer you leave me out of this discussion," Naoto said in a quiet undertone. "If that's alright."

Throwing up her hands in surrender, Rise began to pace back and forth as she said, "This is unbelievable. I really didn't think confiding in one friend… well, I guess I should ask who you told, Yukiko."

Rise was too observant to miss the glance between her and none other than Yosuke. The boy gulped when she turned her glare on him, holding up both hands in front of his chest.

"N-now, let's be reasonable here. Just a second while I explain-"

"UGH! Did everybody here play a part in this?!" No answers. Rise groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, well… I guess I'm going to be eating a whole big plate of crow later. If she even talks to me."

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed as she rolled her eyes, hands on her hips now. "You're friends, you'll bounce back before you know it!"

But the idol was already shaking her head before she even finished. "You didn't see how mad she was. I'm… I'll see you later."

"But you just got here," Yukiko protested in a pleading voice, taking a step toward her. "I'm sorry we didn't understand the situation, but do you really have to go?"

"Yes. Got a lot of thinking to do."

As Rise headed toward the elevator, she passed Kanji coming from it. He smiled and waved and asked, "What's up?"

"Ask our Judas friends."

"Huh?!" He got no answer to his question. As the doors slid shut, she thought she could just barely hear him say, "Man, chicks sure are crazy," but it was too late for her to attack him since she was already heading downstairs. Oh well; there was always next time for him to pay for his crime against her gender.

                                                  ~ o ~

That was on her mind a lot as she lay in bed that night, staring up at her ceiling. Gender. Sexuality. The differences between men and women. How those lines could be blurred right in front of her eyes and she had no idea. And when she wasn't thinking about that, she was thinking about…

Why didn't she realize she shouldn't have told Chie? Theoretically, she should have been able to confide in her and everything be fine — and she also knew none of her friends really intended to hurt anyone. They were just careless. But now she could see with sobering clarity that carelessness still had consequences. Would Ai really have to transfer again, just because the secret got out?

Something that made her blood run cold whenever she thought of it: that comment about guys beating her up. Just because she used the women's bathroom? When she thought of it as a man sneaking in there, she supposed that made sense. Most guys would do that to protect any women from being harmed. But she had gone to the bathroom alongside Ai plenty of times — enough to know that she never did anything in there except her business, and preen in front of the mirror. At least she had found a way to prove to those nosy girls that she was all woman.

Even if it was a lie, technically speaking. Which confused Rise so much she just wound up stuffing her head underneath her pillow.

All her texts went unanswered, of course. She had expected that. Somehow, she still couldn't help herself and sent a grand total of seven before she manually turned off her phone to reduce the temptation.

The worst part of all? Now she couldn't talk to any of her friends about it, either. That was what got her into this fix in the first place! So all she could do was panic, wallow, and panic again.

                                                  ~ o ~

If Rise had thought the previous day was unpleasant, Tuesday definitely counted as a catastrophe.

"Oh my God," she overheard a girl muttering as she walked in through the front gates. "Can you believe she would ever look like that?"

Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes of blissful peace to have no idea what they were talking about. The minute she reached into her locker to get her indoor shoes, she felt the glossy paper on top of them. Withdrawing it, she felt her heart sink when she saw her own face.

A goofy face indeed. There was nothing particularly wrong with the picture; she had been trying on dresses in Croco Fur and was sticking her tongue out with her finger up her nose, obviously making the stupid face for the camera. Nothing incriminating, just vaguely embarrassing. However…

Everyone seemed to have a copy. No matter which way she looked, every single student of Yasogami seemed to have a glossy paper in their hands. Rise felt her face begin to heat up. She had done nothing wrong, and the picture wasn't that bad, but seeing the entire student body laughing at her brought on the reaction regardless.

"Wow, this is hilarious," some guy was saying as she headed to class. "Thought Risette was so cool but she's actually dumb. Look at this! Her finger's in her nose, gross!"

"I think it's cute," his friend said. "She's having fun."

But another guy in glasses standing nearby just sighed and rolled his eyes. "You plebs. Obviously this is just another publicity stunt orchestrated by her management. She probably distributed them herself."

The idol stormed into the room before she had to hear any more. Did they really think she had nothing better to do than print off a bunch of pictures of herself and throw them all over the place?!

"Uh, hey."

She looked up, ready to ream the speaker, when she saw a chagrined looking Kanji standing there, scratching the back of his head. "May I help you? Or am I too crazy?"

His weak chuckle spoke volumes. "Heard that, huh? Sorry… I just didn't know what to say when you snapped at me. Guys filled me in after you left."

"What? You mean the way you all stabbed me in the back by gossiping about my girlf- my new friend?" Damn. She would have to be more careful about that.

"Hey, I didn't do that shit," the tall, dangerous looking boy grunted with his arms folded over his barrel chest. Sometimes Rise forgot just how intimidating Kanji was to most people, because they knew him better than that now. He was a big teddy bear under that yakuza-esque exterior. "Yosuke was the real problem, I guess. He was talking about it to Naoto, and wasn't paying attention to who was around them. Bunch of people overheard. And Naoto didn't say shit to anybody, so don't blame her!"

Rise sighed. Unsurprising that he was so defensive of her, since his crush ran so deep. "Fine. So it's Chie and Yukiko's fault a little bit, and as usual, Yosuke's fault a lot. At least they're the same old idiots they've always been."

Kanji nodded with another grunt. "So… what's with the photo?"

"Ughhhhhhhh."

                                                  ~ o ~

The way Ai was standing at the edge of the school roof, gazing over Inaba, almost made it look like she was lying in wait for Rise when she got there. Probably because she was — and had been since the start of lunch. The popstar shoved the glossy page in front of her face.

"Well? What exactly is this supposed to mean?"

"Mean? Why, I don't know. Isn't that your picture? Aren't you supposed to be the one who knows?"

"You took this. I literally remember you taking it, with your phone, not mine. So why would you go to all this trouble to print up a dumb picture?"

Ai's smirk was practically demonic as she looked sideways at her without fully turning. The worst part was that she still was as beautiful as ever, even when being an asshole. "A beginning. By the time I'm through with you, you will be begging me to stop, and I won't. I won't stop until you feel the way I did yesterday."

"Right. So this is a really pathetic beginning to a revenge plot?"

"Hah! Good try. Have you forgotten how much abuse I've weathered over my entire lifetime? You're going to have to do better than that to undercut me."

"Ai, you don't have to do this," she pleaded in a quieter voice. "This is nowhere near what I wanted, I still don't want it. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, but attacking me like this isn't going to-"

She fell silent when Ebihara actually yawned. Her anger flared, and her eyes narrowed to slits as her fists curled tight. "That's your pitch? 'Whoops, I outed you and almost ruined your life, hugs'? Lame."

"Fine," Rise hissed. "I guess this didn't mean anything to you at all. Throw it all away because you're butthurt. Whatever."

"That's why I'm doing it, you idiot." Now her aloof tone had dropped to absolute zero. "Because it did — it meant everything in a way you will never understand. And now I feel stupid for trusting you, because you broke it. Don't go acting all high and mighty and trying to play the sympathy card."

Rise's eyes were watering as she tried to come up with something to say. The bratty side of her personality wanted to swear her own revenge, that she would make things even worse for Ai… but she knew she wouldn't be able to live with that. Besides, it was the wrong move, regardless of what her friend…

Regardless of what her ex-friend had done. It was really over. And figuring that out took all the wind out of her sails.

"Okay. Bye."

"That's it?" Ai chuckled harshly as the idol turned away, walking toward the stairwell. "Wow, you're usually so much chattier. You had better thicken up that skin, Kujikawa, or the next few days are going to be pretty unbearable!"

They really would. Just not for the reason Ai thought. Mourning the end of something beautiful tended to put a damper on one's week.

                                                  To Be Continued…