Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, Atlus does.

Author Note: Alright, now that that's over with, this is basically going to be a series of one-shots of random chance meetings between members of P3 and P4. For now, I'm probably going to do the main teams, maybe eventually it'll move onto social link characters. Maybe. Spoilers will be there because these will take place after the ending of both games, but I don't think I'll actually mention the ending that much. Looking forward to any and all criticism because I am frankly disappointed in my own writing. Style, pacing, character, story, how boring it is, etc.

Also, don't expect frequent updates. I don't write as often as I should.

Urgh.

The Priestess & The Magician

It was summer. Not a week had passed since exams had ended that their summer break began. No more school, no more homework. He had even convinced his dad to give him a break from work. For all intents and purposes, now was the time when he could just kick back, relax, and hang out with his friends. Hell, he even heard that Aiya would be adding a new Rainy Day Challenge – rumors were that it would be more like a Meat Universe. For once, there seemed to be exciting going-ons in the small town of Inaba.

And Yosuke could not enjoy any of it.

After being told that he could take a few days off from work, his dad had announced their family would be taking a small vacation to Tatsumi Port Island. Seemed fairly normal, right? Not that Port Island was anything huge, but it was a city, and a city did have a lot of stuff to do. And from the small glimpse of the city he had during the school trip, the city did seem to be fun.

But it was all a trap. The allure of going on vacation, away from the stress of work, school, and having to babysit Teddie, it all seemed so appealing. After arriving though, he had a gut feeling that something just didn't feel right. When his dad pulled into their hotel, just one look out the window accounted for his unease. Outside his window he could see a giant banner sporting "GRAND OPENING" waving above of a Junes. And by the time he realized what his true purpose in this "vacation" was, it was too late.

And now? Now he was trapped inside of yet another Junes, helping to stock the shelves while his dad was off wherever talking with the manager of this Junes about whatever. Sure, he was told he'd be compensated, but wasn't that amount the regular salary he'd get back home anyway? Not to mention how it was a lot more crowded in this store than the one back in Inaba, so much so that he could barely move without bumping into a customer asking him where this or that was. Luckily though, he was able to get duty stocking the shelves in the seemingly abandoned Sauces and Spices aisle, so at least he didn't need to deal with anyone at the moment.

"Um, excuse me, do you work here?"

Of course, life never did like dealing Yosuke a good hand. Not bothering to turn around, he chose to answer with his best "I-don't-want-to-deal-with-you-but-I-have-no-choice" voice, "Yes, and how may I help you?"

"Sorry for bothering you, but, um, if you aren't that busy right now, I just was wondering if I could maybe get a second opinion on which…" the woman stutters out before drifting into silence.

Maybe he shouldn't be so harsh on customers. Souji had taught him at least a bit about thinking before speaking, and Kanji had taught him the consequences of not doing so. Sighing, Yosuke turned around to apologize.

It was a teal-haired girl, not much older than him. She was pretty cute, but also seemed to be a bit too nervous and that made him immediately regret how he acted earlier. Scratching the back of his head, he muttered out an apology, "Sorry about that, it's just I'm supposed to be on vacation right now, so it's kind of hard to be all "Everyday's great at your Junes" and all that. So how can I help you?"

Well, that worked sort of well because she did look a bit less scared. "Oh. I understand. I was finally able to get a few days off from work to meet up with some of my old friends, and I wanted to cook something nice for the occasion. It's just I haven't really been to this store before so I'm a bit lost, umm…Hanamura-san," she said, gazing at his nametag.

"Oh, no need to be all formal. Just Yosuke is fine, that's what everyone else calls me," he replies with his lopsided smile and wink.

"So, um, Yosuke-san, I was thinking about making curry, but I'm not really sure whether I should add this or this," she answers, holding up two bags.

"Well, I think—"

…?

Wait, she did say curry, right? Why is she holding up a bag of potato starch in one hand and a bag of flour in the other? An odd rush of déjà vu works its way up and memories of a Mystery Food X appear before Yosuke forces it back into the depths of his mind. Glancing again at the girl, he sees that she is absolutely serious, and waiting expectantly for an answer.

Well, Souji would tell him to be a gentleman, and he didn't have the heart to tell a cute girl her ideas about ingredients would be absolutely horrendous. And hey, it's not like he was going to eat this. Yosuke could only think to offer the deepest of apologies to this girl's friends.

"—both would work great!" he says, giving what he can best describe as a wry smile. I am so sorry to you all.

A warm smile grazes her face as she places both bags back into her cart. "Really? It's been a while since I last cooked curry, so I was beginning to wonder if I had completely forgotten! Thank you for the help."

For all the talk he did, he had never actually gotten close to a girl - any physical contact was limited to a certain kung-fu obsessed demon pounding on him any chance she got. Man, why couldn't she just get every hint that he dropped. That's why when this girl happily grabbed his hand in gratitude, Yosuke could do nothing but sputter in shock. "Wha, well, I mean, it's nothing really, I just-"

"!"

Before he could finish his nonsensical mumblings, she had already withdrawn her hands, eyes wide in shock. Oh man, what did he do this time? Have to apologize quick, before this ends up being another incident that ends with him reeling on the floor. "Wait, whoa, it's not what you think. Not that I even know what you're thinking, but it is most definitely not what you're thinking. Just what are you thinking anyway?"

"You…you have a Persona?"

Whoa. Full stop. That did not just…what…huh…how….what? Wait, maybe she just overheard him talking about it earlier, when he was muttering to himself. Was he muttering to himself earlier, though? Dammit, whatever, remember what Naoto told us about this: deny everything, laugh it off, whatever it takes to not draw attention to this. "Persona? Hahaha..what's that, some kind of new game or something?" he said, with a forced, crooked smile.

Silence. So very awkward, but she isn't responding. That should be good, right? Alright, time get the hell out of here. "Hrmm, well, I uh, think they need my help in the back, so I really need to get going now. I hope you had a great time shopping at Junes!"

Turning around, Yosuke was ready to dash away from this person before any more questions got asked. Before he had even taken a step though…

"He is…Susano-o, right? Ascended from Jiraiya, and of the Magician Arcana."

What. Seriously, what? How did she know that?

Forcing himself to turn around, he was shocked at what he saw…and felt. At first he thought Rise had suddenly appeared behind him, but he realized quickly enough that it was still just him and the girl. The way she was standing…hands held together as if in prayer, and this feeling…just like the time they fought Rise's shadow. "…are you…scanning me?"

A light smile as she looks up and nods. "Yes, to the best of my ability. It's been a while since I last needed to ask Juno for help, and I can't get effective readings without calling her out completely."

He doesn't really know what to say at this point. This girl, whoever she was, also happened to be a Persona-user? And on top of that, her Persona was strong enough to be able to get that much information about him? Sighing, he spoke back cautiously, "I didn't know there were other Persona-users out there. We all thought it was just limited to our town, 'cause that's where it started."

"Limited? Whereever Shadows exist, so too does the possibility of awakening a Persona. But then again, that's about all I found out before Mitsuru sealed off all the old files," she replies. "Susano-o…he feels really strong. You and your group must have been through a lot."

Oh damn. How much to say, how much to say? She already knows that he has a Persona, and she has one herself, so she probably already knows about the Midnight Channel, right? Agh, man, if only Souji were here, that guy always knew the right response for everything. Still somewhat cautious, he replied, "Erm, yeah I guess. Compared to the other guys in my group, Susano-o's the most experienced, since I was there from the start. Can't really count our leader though, that guy always seemed to have a different Persona, but he was still the strongest of us."

"Different Personas?" she whispers in a soft voice.

"Yeah, he really—" Huh? What's with that look? She's not technically crying, but…. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh, no, it's fine," she replies, but now she's looking away. Even Teddie, that ball of happiness with no sense of social tact, would be able to tell that whatever it is, it is not just fine. But before he can press her on this, she shakes her head and the soft smile returns. "All of you guys must be really close, huh?"

Surprised at her sudden change in demeanor, but not willing to bring up anything painful, Yosuke just chose to go along with it. "Yeah, we are. That year together really changed a lot…for all of us." Thinking back to not too long ago only ended up bringing a warm smile to his face. "Oh yeah, we had a scanner too, just like you. Rise Kujikawa, maybe you've heard of her?"

Wow, her eyes flew open fast. "Rise…you mean Risette?"

Heh, that was a quick reaction. "Yeah. Don't mention it to anyone, though. I don't think the world is ready for an idol that battles monsters in her spare time."

"Don't worry. I'm sure if I told Mitsuru about you guys, she'd want to interrogate all of you 'till she figured out everything about how you got your Personas and what you did with them…"

"Aren't you curious, though?"

A sad smile grazes her face before she nods. "I'd be lying if I said no, but Personas…Shadows…I made a promise to keep moving forward. Learning more about them, it'd feel like I was going back, and I know I would end up regretting again."

Another moment passes of pure silence in which Yosuke is at a loss for words. Finally, she gives a quick bow before speaking. "It was nice meeting you. But I should probably get going, everyone is still waiting for me. Maybe next time we can talk a little bit more."

Watching her walk away, Yosuke suddenly realizes something. "Hey! I never learned your name!"

"Fuuka Yamagishi," she tells him, turning around for just a moment. "Take care, Yosuke-san."

As he looked back at the boxes of cans and bottles that still needed shelving, he sighed. Well, at least that's one good thing that came out of this trip.