Persona Z Golden

In Medias Res

A sharp blow hit Gohan in the chest before he was sent soaring through the air. His vision shook as he hit the ground hard, shaking himself from the near concussion as the battle raged around him, several figures moving in unison. "Gohan!" A voice shouted to him as long blond hair whipped around and he was pulled to his feet before a red light engulfed them both.

Prologue

Gohan jolted awake as the train passed into a dark tunnel, the orange lights passed by quickly as he woke up properly.

A little girl, about nine years old, lay fast asleep next to him dressed in traditional Japanese attire. Her dark pigtailed hair reached her shoulders while her head rested against Gohan's arm.

Gohan smiled at her as he took out his train ticket, reading today's date; April 7th, Age 774 and destined for Satan City, his home for the next year living with his non-biological uncle, Yamcha, who worked as a detective for the Satan City Police Department.

Just then, the in-train entertainment system, more commonly known as the train's Television, turned on to show a commercial of a young Idol with long red hair that curled at the end, her attire was that of a bikini while she sipped from a Capsule Corp Energy Drink.

"Hi, all…" The Idol said cheerfully with a smile and wink to the camera. "The summer's coming up soon and I for one can't wait to go to the beach with a refreshing can of Capsule Corporation's new and improved Pickle-Oh-Up energy drink, now able to give you that extra kick you need to get your bodies down to the beach and have some fun."

She gave a giggle and waved to the camera before the commercial ended and the scheduled program, the six P.M. news, returned to the screen.

"And now back to our regularly scheduled program…" The reporter began as he fixed his notes properly. "It seems our very own King Furry has been implicated in a scandal with his wife and a reporter, Miss Razio Racorde…"

The reporter's voice trailed away from Gohan's attention as the young girl stirred slightly and rubbed her right eye with the back of her hand sleepily as she woke up. "Are we almost there?" she yawned.

Gohan pocketed the train ticket. "Almost Chiyori, we should be there after this tunnel." He patted her cute little head, smiling as she pouted and blushed.

The train emerged from the tunnel to reveal the large busy buildings of Satan City. Chiyori looked out in awe at the large skyscrapers, having lived out in the country all her life, the sight must have been a shock to her with all the infrastructure and bustling streets of cars.

Gohan let out an internal sigh as he remembered why he came here with her. Recalling his mother sobbing slightly as she gave them their suitcases, happily seeing them off at the train station and reminding Gohan not to get into trouble as he studied in his first year at his new, and very first school, Orange Star High.

"Now, Gohan, I want ya ta take good care of you and your sister, do ya understand?" Chi-Chi ordered affectionately back home as she dusted off his shoulders gently.

Goten hugged Chiyori and beamed up at his brother. "When I grow up, I'm gonna go to Satan City too!" He announced proudly.

"Ha-ha, Goten, I'm gonna go before ya." Chiyori teased her little brother before sticking her tongue out.

"Now, now, you two, no fightin' on your brother's big day." Chi-Chi reminded them before turning back to her presentable son. "Now, Yamcha's gonna be waitin' for ya at the train station in Satan City, be on your best behavior…" Chi-Chi gave a small sniffle.

Gohan chuckled. "Mom, we'll be okay. I promise."

Chi-Chi shook slightly, her voice quivering. "I… I know… But my little boy's all grown up and flyin' the nest… Soon you'll want ta start dating an' I can't do anythin' to keep ya the same sweet little boy ya were before…"

Gohan practically froze up at his mother mentioning dating before he held her close. "Aw, mom, I'm still your little boy, nothing will change that… Not even if I am five foot nine inches and taller than you."

Chi-Chi giggled slightly at his small attempt to cheer her up.

"That's right, Momma, I'll kick all 'em city girlie's who come lookin' for Gohan." Chiyori interjected with a display of her somewhat lacking martial arts moves.

"And I'll do the same with the city boy's for Chiyo." Gohan said innocently with a grin.

"Will not!" Chiyori pouted with crossed arms and a cute yet angry face.

The other three laughed gently at Chiyori's outburst.

"Gohan! Do ya think they have a Julays here?" Chiyori asked in wonder on the train.

"They better have, or Satan City will have to face the Great Chiyo's wrath…" Gohan teased with a chuckle.

Chiyori pouted again.

Gohan pulled out his flip phone and read Yamcha's text. 'Meet you at the station at ten past six.' He looked at his phone's internal clock to see they have five minutes left.

"Come on, Chiyo, I see the station." Gohan informed her.

Chiyori jumped off the chair excitedly before trying to reach the compartment above her but failing as her short body barely reached.

Gohan stood up and easily opened their luggage compartment, handing Chiyori her two suitcases and taking his into his hands. They then began making their way to the exit and waited.

As they waited, a sharp pain shot through Gohan's head. Blurry images of a struggling person flashed in his mind. However, as quickly as they came, they were gone again.

"Are ya okay, Gohan?" Chiyori asked worriedly, helping her brother regain his footing.

Gohan gave a short nod, letting her know he was fine. As he stood up, he pondered what had just happened. 'Who was that person?' He thought quietly.

The two walked out of the train station before looking around.

"Is he here yet?" Chiyori asked excitedly as she stood on her toes to look over the heads of the busy street.

Gohan easily scanned the area, noticing a tall man just over his own height waving to them. His attire was that of a black suit with cherry red tie, gray shirt, brown jeans and sleek shoes with his long black hair hanging untamed down his back and scarred face bearing a prominent five o' clock shadow.

They watched as he walked up to them, his left hand tucked into his pocket. "Wow, looks like you got more handsome over the years." Yamcha said with a grin. "Great to see you again, Gohan." He held out his right hand and Gohan took it, feeling his firm grasp in his palm.

It was then that Yamcha noticed Chiyori hiding behind Gohan's leg, her shy eyes widened and blushed as she turned away from Yamcha's eyes.

"Hey, is that little Son Chiyori I see?" Yamcha asked as he leaned to the side to look at the shy girl. "Last time I saw you, you could fit right in my forearm."

Chiyori gave out a shy squeak as she blushed deeper.

"Chiyo, don't be rude…" Gohan turned to her. "Say hi to Yamcha."

Chiyori's eyes looked up from her hanging, pouting head, holding her hands behind her back and rubbing her ankle with her adjacent foot. "H- Hello, Mister Yamcha…" She said with her deep blush, her country accent now hidden by a shy, city accent she had been practicing.

Yamcha smiled with joy. "Aw, she's cute, and looks just like her mother when she was younger." He held out his hand to Chiyori. "Welcome to Satan City, you'll be staying at my place while you attend Orange Star Middle School."

Hesitantly, Chiyori took his hand and stiffened at his touch. Instantly, her other hand shot to Gohan's hand, grasping it hard.

"Ah! Chiyori! Too tight!" Gohan groaned as his fingers became cut from his blood flow.

"S- Sorry!" Chiyori stuttered before taking both her hands away. "I… I'll just grab my things…"

With that, she took her suitcase into both her hands and hid her burning red face behind her teddy bear.

Yamcha turned back to Gohan. "In any case, we should get going, my cars parked nearby." He turned and started jogging to catch up to Chiyori.

Gohan began following Yamcha before bumping into someone.

"Oh, sorry…" Gohan apologized hastily to the dark haired teen, her pigtails reaching down to her chest.

"Would you watch where you're-" She began before stopping and stooping down. When she rose to her feet, she held a photo of a young boy flanked by a spiky dark haired, muscular man and a smiling woman with her hair in a tight bun, in front of him beaming into the camera stood his younger sister with her hair in a ponytail.

The girl held out the photo. "You dropped this…" she informed him.

Gohan blushed lightly before taking it back, politely thanking her with a bow and watched as she walked away.

A while later, Yamcha's car pulled up to a nearby gas station near the heart of the city.

"Alright, everyone out for a moment, you can go buy a snack if you want from the store inside." Yamcha informed them as he looked over his shoulder with a smile.

Chiyori swung her door open and jumped out as a gray haired gas attendant walked up to them.

"Good day…" The teenage girl greeted politely with a smile to Yamcha as Gohan climbed out of the vehicle. "Are you taking a trip?"

"Nah just got back from the train station collecting these two…" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Chiyori and Gohan. "Just a quick fill-'er-up is all she needs." Yamcha motioned to the car.

Chiyori tugged on Gohan's pants, causing him to turn to her. "I need to go potty…" She murmured uncomfortably.

Gohan nodded and took her hand, motioning to Yamcha what they were doing.

Yamcha nodded in return.

Gohan waited outside the girl's restroom for Chiyori to finish in the rest room.

As he stood there, the gas assistant walked up to him. "So, you're a country boy, huh?" She asked.

Gohan froze up slightly at her bluntness, giving a small nod to confirm her question.

"Are you in high school?" She asked.

Again, Gohan nodded slightly.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" She pointed out before smiling. "No worries, it's common for someone from the country to get overwhelmed straight away from the city. Don't fret so much; once you settle in, you'll be fine. Hell, you may even want to get some friends early or get a part time job to see how things work here. We have an opening here if you're interested." She gave him a different smile this time, almost fondly.

She held out her hand. "Just… Give it some thought, okay? We don't mind if you're a student."

Gohan smiled and took her hand, noticing that so far, both people who shook his hand had firm grips.

"So, um…" She pushed her hair back behind her ear. "Do you want me to give you my num-?"

At that moment, Chiyori opened the door, cutting the girl off as she announced; "I'm finished."

With an awkward smile and a faint blush, the girl backed away, her hands behind her back. "Well… I'll see you around, consider my advice, okay?"

And with that, she turned the corner and disappeared.

"Hey, you okay?" Yamcha asked as Gohan and Chiyori approached him, his question directed to Gohan.

"I don't know, that girl… she…" Gohan began.

"Oh, Chrysta? Ah, don't mind her; she just has some trouble around boys her age. Come on, it's almost sundown and we still need to get home and get you two unpacked."

With that, the three entered the fully fueled car and drove through the city.

They arrived at Yamcha's quaint home and became acquainted with its studio-like setup, a kitchen and dining room sat in the left corner next to the living room with a wide square oak chabudai in the center and medium flat screen television in the corner, a sliding glass screen led to the backyard next to the chabudai.

The two country kids then went to their separate clean, prepared rooms and unpacked.

Gohan's room contained a work table in the right far corner, study table and couch next to the window overlooking the city. A futon lay on the floor at the back left of the room next to a small TV set facing the couch.

After some time, they walked out to see Yamcha sitting on a zabuton at his chabudai.

The siblings joined him, sitting on their own zabutons either side of Yamcha.

"Let's have a toast." Yamcha announced as they took up cups of orange juice from the chabudai. "Why don't you toast, Chiyori?" He asked with a smile to the young girl.

"Oh, um…" Chiyori murmured nervously before smiling and raising her glass. "To a fun year!" She announced happily.

The three drank to her toast.

Yamcha turned to Gohan as he placed his drink down. "So, your mom wanted you to study over here, huh? Strange, I thought she'd never let you out of her sight… Though, I guess she does put a considerable amount of care into your studies."

Gohan simply nodded.

"Well…" Yamcha continued with a smile. "It's just me here, so having some company would be a nice change of pace…" He gave a half hearted chuckle. Gohan noticed Yamcha's left ring finger twitch slightly at his own comment.

"As long as you two are here… You're family, so make yourselves at home." Yamcha finished.

He turned to look at Chiyori, who had been leaning on her arm, looking up at him with doe eyes.

Upon him turning, she hastily looked away, almost knocking over her glass before giving a nervous giggle.

Yamcha smiled unknowingly. "You guys must be hungry; I have some quick cook food in the refrigerator. I'll go whip it up for-"

Just then, Yamcha's cell phone rang.

"Who could be calling at this hour?" Gohan asked as he looked at the nearby clock, which had just gone past eight P.M.

Yamcha stood up as he answered the call. "Yamcha speaking… Oh Tien…" He said as the two siblings followed him with their eyes. "Mhh hm… Yeah… Alright, got it… Where is it? Alright… I'm on my way." He finished as he grabbed his coat hanging nearby.

He hung up and turned to the others. "Something came up… Sorry but I'll have to leave. The food's in the fridge; just follow the instructions. I dunno how late I'll be, so don't stay up too late, okay?"

Chiyori and Gohan nodded before watching Yamcha leave.

"I'll get the food." Chiyori murmured as she stood up.

"Hey, I sh-" Gohan began.

"Gohan, you can't cook!" Chiyori said bluntly as she put on an oversized apron on, stuffing the bottom inside its large pocket to be able to move her feet.

"Gohan? Can you put on the TV please?" Chiyori asked as she took out their dinner.

Gohan did as he was asked, presenting the weather report on the screen.

"…For this week. Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather." The weather girl said. "With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas…"

"Aw, rain?" Chiyori pouted. "I wanted to go on an adventure…"

The TV switched to a different News Anchor. "And now for the local news…" He began. "Our diligent King Furry is under investigation due to an alleged affair with a female reporter. His wife revealed to this station that she will most likely pursue damages. In response, Herculean Eye has decided to cancel all of announcer Razio Racorde's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with King Furry are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye."

"This is boring… Gohan, next channel please." Chiyori asked as she watched the food cook.

Gohan changed the channel and Chiyori spun around as a familiar voice spoke. "At Julays, everyday is customer appreciation day. Come see for yourself and browse our amazing products!"

"Everyday's great at your Julays." The familiar jingle played and Gohan smiled, knowing what came next.

"Everyday's great at your Julays." Chiyori sang happily.

Ten minutes later, the premade food was cooked and served with the two digging in.

Gohan kept quiet as he ate his sister's delicious cooking.

That night, Gohan lay on his futon with his hands under his head, softly breathing as his muscular chest rose and fell while he drifted off to sleep.

He awoke to a fog covered landscape. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and cast his gaze around, barely able to see through the thick mist.

"Do you seek the truth?" An unfamiliar voice spoke through the mist.

"Who's there?!" Gohan growled as he readied himself.

"If you desire truth, come and find me…" The voice spoke with purpose.

Gohan turned to see a portly silhouette floating in the distance.

"You have come seeking the truth?" It spoke in an odd accent, as if from a land not of Gohan's universe. "You must first enter the unknown world, only then will you find me and the path to the truth you so desire. However, do not take this invitation lightly; terrible consequences await the Seekers of Truth."

The silhouette began fading before the fog covered Gohan's eyesight and he awoke in his room. The sun had just begun to rise over the horizon, signaling the start of his school days.