For all of you who clicked on this, thinking it looked interesting. Thank you.
Now that being said, this is my very first attempt at making a fanfiction. I have been and will continue to research everything related to my selected series. While I am no stranger to the Persona and SMT series, I prefer to be as correct as possible. Most personas will be correct pertaining to their most recent arcana incarnation (Persona 4/Golden) or demon incarnation (SMT IV). Bear with me as I begin what I hope is the beginning of an amzing story. Remember to R&R and like if you really did like it.
Oh, Disclaimer! I don't own the Persona series or SMT IV. They are all owned by Atlus.
It's a nice night for Vivaldi.
Those were his thoughts as he gazed out his office window towards his city. It was his city, in a quite physical and literal sense.
After all, it had taken him the better amount of his fortune and 5 years, but in the end he had raised this city. Inhabitants flocked to it when they7 heard about the opportunities one could and would have in it. He had promised them the moon and in those 5 years, he had delivered on his promise.
He could reminisce all he wanted later, for now, he was expecting something to happen soon.
"Sir? You have a video call in the conference room… or is it more apt to say that we have a call."
A soft giggling could be heard over his intercom, but to him it was more or less the equivalent of a goddess's laughter.
He considered himself to have a small attraction to his secretary, Mai. His subordinates, however, know that he had it bad.
"Well sir? Should we head to our positions? It would be such a shame if we were caught as we entered the room, wouldn't it sir?"
Her teasing tone at the end sent his heart a-flutter and caused his face to heat up.
Oh yeah, he had it bad.
He quickly composed himself and turned around to press the buzzer on his desk. "Of course, Mai. It would be quite a shame if we were caught with our figurative pants down. After all, with our positions and sense of authority, we are expected to have a high sense of decorum." He finished with a small smirk on his face. He knew how "noble" his comrades were. In his mind, their decorum could buy a dildo and go fuck itself. Decorum was worth squat in the midst of battle. It was all well and good to know how to act presentable and respectable when in social functions, but when they tried to transfer that very same state of mind to the battlefield, one got sloppy or excessively paranoid. It was a sure-fire way to cause a death by incompetence.
His statement was met with a small pause, which was then broken by their very own raucous laughter.
In contrast to his own soft chuckling, Mai's was a… strange phenomenon. It started at a soft and almost nonexistent volume, before suddenly exploding into an attention-grabbing event. It took both of them several minutes to calm down enough to breathe and several more to be able to speak.
"We haven't laughed like that in quite a while, Mai. But, alas, this is one call we cannot ignore, no matter how hilarious it would be. You go ahead; I still have some things that I need to prepare."
He could hear her shuffling papers and arranging objects on her desk before she responded.
"Yes sir, I will wait for you there. See you soon."
After she spoke there was only silence, until the light on his desk went dark, signaling that the intercom had been disconnected from her side.
Silenced reigned in his office for a while, leaving him to his thoughts.
He remembered how he met his Mai. Oh Gods, his Mai? Maybe his employees were right. He quickly changed from that train of thought. Of course Mai was no exception; he remembered every employee he had ever met and the reason why he contracted them. Most of them had the potential, the ability that was so desired by his older compatriots. He could never understand their drive to find and have more with the potential under their proverbial thumb. He himself knew of at least 7 regular humans who could beat him, hands down. Potential or no.
He had always thought it strange that his compatriots were somewhat obsessed with these humans. He paid them no mind most of time, if only because they held the power he needed to fulfill his goal. Of course he was not without his plans B-F.
He was nothing if not pragmatic. Betrayals were expected in groups such as the one he was currently, he had thought at the time, and such plans would forestall a setback in his own plans.
But life is fleeting he mused to himself, maybe he should take Mai out for dinner and see where it went. After all, what had he to lose?
…
…
…
The conference room at the uppermost floor was a bit of an understatement. It could be said it was more of a conference hall than a room.
It had a 20 meter ceiling (60 ft.) with 13 meter walls on all sides. In the very center of the room stood several screens setup in a display which allowed any direction to view and weigh in on calls and meetings.
It was a rather dull color, being a very light sky blue.
As he walked in, he noticed Mai setting up for the call, with her fingers moving agilely and quickly over the keyboards. What those fingers could do, he thought…no those thoughts could wait till later, when… if; he and Mai ever got that far.
"Are all preparations close to completion? Last time one of The Organization had faulty connection, our meeting was near insufferable. I couldn't ignore the others with all the static that was present." And he meant it. It would seem ignoring someone required a certain measure of peace and quiet that was usually present in their meetings.
She sent a glare in his direction, one that cause him to back up with his hands held up in a defensive manner.
"Are you implying that my technological skills are lacking? May I remind you who it was that managed to fry the whole system, merely by touch the keyboard of his computer?" Her accompanying glare was enough to cause him to sweat nervously.
Screw what his idiot brothers said, there was no way he was going to die merely because he had manly pride.
"No, no. I was just mentioning how our last meeting was to noisy to properly tune out the other members. I'm sure the problem wasn't your fault in the very least. And you know perfectly well that I had very little control of my electricity that day; I had just learned Thunder Reign, for cripes sakes."
She spent several moments analyzing him before she turned back to her work.
"You're just lucky you're really cute, otherwise…" She needed no further example of what she would do. He had seen her executions on other workers. He liked having his mental state the way it was, thank you very much.
"There, done. We should be receiving them crystal clear now. No interruptions or interference of any kind for now."
There was a small lull in conversation while they both sat around waiting.
He cleared his throat with a small cough for what he was about to ask. "Mai, there's something I want o ask…"
She turned to face him when he spoke. "Hmmm? What is it JOKER?"
"Well, I was wondering…"
Anything else he might have said was cut off by the sound of their monitors beeping to signify an incoming call. "It can wait sir. We have a meeting to attend."
She stood and turned to face the monitors, as did he, and pressed a small button next to the keyboard.
The screen flashed once, and stayed dark for several more seconds before blinking to life. The action was followed by a soft, feminine voice sounding out through the speakers.
"Voice confirmation required. Please state name, designation and codename one at a time please."
JOKER went first. "Number 0, JOKER. Designation neo-Vanguard #0, Codename Akuma."
The screen went white for several seconds before his information was displayed on-screen.
"Number 0, JOKER. Voice recognition confirmed. Thank you, JOKER. 1 more presence confirmed, please. State your name, designation and codename."
Now it was Mai's turn. "Number 2, Mai Villanueva Fuyutsuki. Designation neo-Vanguard #2, codename Mora."
Again, the screen went white, before displaying her information. "Number 2, Mai Villanueva Fuyutsuki. Voice recognition confirmed. Thank you, Mai. Both presences have been confirmed and authorized as members. Proceeding with connection to main call. Thank you for your time."
The screen went blank, except for their group's emblem on it.
"So, didn't know you slept with a kitty plushy." This managed to elicit a blush from JOKER. He took a few seconds to stutter before responding.
"S…s.. ?! What about your 'excessive pocky obsession'? Apparently you've managed to cover your walls with the boxes?"
Now it was her turn to blush. "I..i.i..it's not that bad. Besides, pocky is tasty and comes in so many different flavors!"
They were force to calm down as the screen blared to life with 11 panels, each with a separate person in it. Mai and JOKER took a step back from each other as the commenced with the meeting.
As before, JOKER began. "Number 0, JOKER the Nexus; The 0th/22nd arcana, Fool."
"Number 1, Zolf; The Magician/ 1st arcana."
"Number 2, Mai Villanueva Fuyutsuki; The High Priestess/ 2nd arcana."
"Number 3, Yuri; The Empress/ 3rd arcana."
And so it went until reaching the 13th, and last, member for the night's meeting.
JOKER seemed to be the only who seemed to care if the rest were missing. "Are the old geezers all have their Viagra prescriptions refilled today or what?!"
Number 13 was the one who answered him. "As you so eloquently put it, Number 0, yes they are busy, but not with that. They have other concerns, pertaining to tonight's agenda. May we continue now, JOKER?"
He scoffed before replying. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get on with it already!"
He received a nod in return. "Thank you Number 0. Now, as for tonight's meeting, are we on track concerning recruitment?"
Number 7 answered. "Yes. Current projections show that we will, in fact, receive somewhere around 200% the amount we previously anticipated. They also show that these recruitment rates will not drop in the foreseeable future."
A nod. "Thank you, Number 7. How about our R&D, how are we there?"
Number 10 this time. "We have managed to successfully test on willing human volunteers. While their expected life spans have dropped considerably, to somewhere around only 40 years of age, their power outputs have increased 150%."
No motion in response to this. "Are they in pain or some other debilitating ailment?"
Number 10 shook his head no. "Not that we can tell."
This did elicit a nod of acceptance. "Acceptable. We expect more results like these in the future. Now on to out\r main concern involving field operations. Is Hinokagutsuchi proceeding along to plans?"
JOKER answered. "Of course. He also believes himself to be in charge of the situation. He believes that after his plan succeeds, he will be able to use his newfound power to take us out."
"Good. Let him have his delusions of grandeur. By the time his plan will be able to come to fruition, the Inaba group will eliminate him for us. We need not worry about him. He will ultimately fail in his quest."
A murmur of consensus was heard throughout the room.
Number 13 then nodded and addressed the group. "Very well, I believe our meeting was productive. We will meet again after the culmination of the P-1 Climax. Meeting adjourned."
The screen went black following his dismissal of the group, and all that remained was the emblem for The Organization.
"Guess we keep progressing our own plans, huh sir?" Mai turned to face her superior, only to find him at the window, the only window, in the room. He was facing out, viewing his city with thinly veiled joy.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess, but two things were solidified in his future plans.
He inclined his head slightly to his right and turned his head to face her. "Mai, have our people begin preparations of our contingency plans…and get yourself ready for dinner." He saw her smirk at him before he turned back to face his city.
"You know sir, you have to give a girl prior warning before you drop a bombshell like a date on her," her smirk turned into a full-on Cheshire grin, "but since your so handsome… I guess I'll allow it." As she began to walk towards the elevator which would take her back down, she heard him begin to chuckle.
She had already pressed to call button for the lift when she heard him speak again.
"Oh and Mai, dear…"
She turned to face him. "Yes, JOKER?" He smirked at her.
"Put on the Four Seasons, specifically, Summer." She smiled at him, knowing how much of a fanatic he was for the classics.
"Of course, sir…I mean, dear." The lift arrived at precisely that moment and Mai got on and descended with it.
JOKER merely cackled to himself, now that he was alone.
Thousands of thoughts flitted about in his mind, plans that needed to be solidified, people to be contacted, but of all these thought, of all the epiphanies he had, only one stood out to him.
It truly was a perfect night for Vivaldi.
